Fan Fiction ❯ Nightwing: A Dark Beginning ❯ Hanging Out and Letting Loose ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Thank you to my two new reviewers; InvincibleInuYasha and kalinchan. It's nice to know the story is liked. I know everyone wants to know what I'm planning to do to the Titans, especially BB and Star. Let's just say, lives will be altered permanently. In response to my spelling and grammar, cut me some slack. When you're dyslexic and writing in Notepad (meaning no spellcheck) mistakes happen. I try to catch as many as I can. So unless it's horribly hard to understand and needs clarification, please don't make fun of the retarded kid trying to entertain you. Because I'm much stronger than you. And now that I'm done berating my reviewers (ya know I'm only teasing right?) on with the fic. Hope you enjoy this one too.

Disclaimer: As soon as I get my tax refund I plan on making a bid on the Titans. . . . . .What do you mean I owe the Feds money?! Eh, nevermind then I won't own them anytime soon.

Chapter 6

"Rich, since nothing is going down tonight is there a chance we could go out? You went ballistic the other night at the depository and I think you could use a break."
"For once, I think I will. How about we go to the pool hall? We haven't hussled anyone in a few weeks."
"Now you're talking. I don't suppose there is any way we could invite Terra and Raven with us?"
"Look, I know you've been following them for 5 months now as Red X, but Jax and Rich have only met them once and passed them a few times. Although . . . . . ." Rich began to rub his chin and look up in thought.
"It always makes me so fucking nervous when you look like that. I have a 50/50 chance of some kind of grueling training."
"No, was just thinking that I could plan a little thought in Cy's mind. They will jump at the chance. That work for ya?"
"Dude, if you ever do ditch the superhero bizz and become a criminal mastermind, can I be your number one?"
"So you'd rather work for me than be a partner, huh?" Rich smirked.
"I figure then you won't kill me to be the soul boss." Jax returned the smirk.
"Let me send the message to Cy. Then we'll blast over to Shooters. Hell, we might even con them out of cash."
"Yup, definitely a criminal mastermind."

Back at the Tower, Bumble Bee had stopped by with some parts Cyborg needed.
"Thanks, Bee. I can finally make sure Blood isn't able to gain control over my systems ever again now. Just gimme a minute." Cyborg inserted the new chip in and closed his chest panel again. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind.
"Hey, Bee. You wanna go out and shoot some pool?"
"I have no idea where that came from, but it actually sounds like it could be fun. Hey, Rae and Ter! Wanna go with us?"
Terra was flipping through the channels on the TV. "Yeah, will get me outta this place at least."
Raven was looking out the windows in deep thought. She no longer needed to meditate to control her powers, but that didn't stop her from thinking about things. Especially Ro-, er Nightwing. 'I'll never get used to that name.' "Yeah, I need a major distraction right about now. Where we going, Cy?"
"Place called Shooters. It's a huge pool hall and restaurant. Okay, everyone to the T-car."
The four Teen Titans went to the garage and piled into the T-car and headed into town.

"Eight-ball, corner pocket."
"Damn, you suck Rich. That's three straight games. And we've only been here 20 minutes."
"It's a gift. And speaking of gifts. I believe you owe me 50 bucks." Rich gestured towards the door.
Just then, Terra and Raven walked through the door followed by Cyborg and Bumble Bee holding hands.
"Damn, put it on my tab."
"One day you're gonna have to pay that off you know."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's go put the moves on."
"Shit, you need a pill." Rich followed his hormone driven friend towards the girls.
Terra and Raven were looking around taking in the place when they heard a voice that sounded familiar somehow.
"Well, fancy meeting my fiesty blonde babe here."
Terra looked over to see Jax smiling goofily at her with Rich just to his side.
"I'm Jax, this is my partner in crime Rich."
"Decided to get out and shoot some pool, huh? Wanna join us at our table?" Rich asked while looking at Raven. 'Hmmm, she's changed since I've been gone. Kinda miss being around her. Oh well.'
"You two go on ahead, me and Bee are gonna go get some food." Cyborg gently pushed the girls ahead of him.
"So, you ever shot pool before?" Jax asked while putting his arm around Terra's shoulders.
"No, we haven't. So you're gonna have to teach us." Terra replied with a slight smile and glint in her eyes.
"Oh, I think we can handle that. What do you think, Rich?"
"No problem. Go grab a stick you two." Rich couldn't help but notice Raven blush from the innuendo. 'This could be fun.'
"Alright, I'll show you Terra," Jax said. "Hey, Rich. Why don't you show Raven how we play." Both girls blushed lightly.
"Sure. Come here, Raven." Rich stepped behind her and put his arms around her body to show her how to hold the cue stick. He saw the red enter her face and noticed it was the same for Jax and Terra. He then loudly whispered into her ear. "Now, you just slowly pull it back and aim. Go back and forth a few times to make sure you have your line right. And then, drive it home." The last sentence was emphasized by hitting the cue ball and breaking the table. "Exactly. Now you got it. Terra, go ahead and give it a shot now." 'Heh, I can't believe how red Raven is.'
They played a few games, the boys taking it easy so as not to show off the fact that they were pool sharks to the girls. Then Rich had an impossible shot to win the game. The cue-ball and eight-ball were surrounded by the stripes, unfortunately they were solids this round. Rich looked over to Jax and just smiled slightly and winked. 'Guess we'll show off now.' Rich thought and smirked. Cyborg and Bee joined the group watching to see how he could get out of this one.
"Eight-ball, corner pocket." Rich said pointing at the obviously blocked shot.
"Yeah, right. If you make that, I'll give Jax and kiss and Raven will give you one." Terra smirked very confident they wouldn't have to go through with it.
Raven looked shocked and horrified. Terra then whispered to her, "He'll never make it. Relax. Even if it did, would it be so bad. They're total hunks." Raven blushed a bit then watched to see what Rich would do.
The boys looked at each other, "DEAL!" They both shouted a little too enthusiastically.
Rich turned his back to the table then got up on one toe and gently sat on the side of the table. He put the cue stick behind his back and aimed his shot.
Raven's breath caught in her throat. 'Calling him a hunk was an understatement. That shirt outlines him completely. He's a GOD! I have to stop thinking about him, but I can't. What is it about him that makes me want him so bad?'
Rich took his shot, jumping the cue-ball over the offending striped ones and hitting the eight-ball dropping it into the called pocket. The Titan's all dropped their jaws on the ground. Rich twirled the cue in his hand for a second then pretended to sheath it like a sword.
"Maybe we should have told them we come here at least three times a week." Jax chuckled.
"Maybe. Now, what was that about a bet?" Rich teased.
Terra smiled and walked over to Jax giving him a sweet and innocent kiss on the lips. He sighed and beamed a smile. When she finished she went to hide her blushing face.
Rich snickered. "That was too short to count. Come on, you can do better."
"That was perfectly fine and that's all I'm doing!" Terra shouted before hiding her face behind Raven.
"Not quite," Rich said stepping up to Raven. "This is how it's done right." Rich then put his right hand behind Raven's head and his left on her hip and dipped her while catching her in the kiss. It lasted for only a few seconds but it seemed like an eternity to them. Rich broke the kiss and let her back up. Her knees gave out and Terra had to catch her.
"That's, how a kiss is supposed to be." Everyone stared with wide eyes at him.
Raven was in shock. 'Why did he stop? Oh that was so good. Wait, I can't fall head over heels for this guy. What's happening to me? Why do I feel like I know him and that was supposed to happen?'
Jax broke the silence among them. "Uhhh, Rich? Isn't she the one that can throw you into an alternate universe of neverending darkness?"
The realization for this hit home for everyone except the two lovebirds who still looked into each others eyes.
"Yes she is. But you wouldn't do that to me now would you, Raven?" Rich smirked and put his hands in his pocket.
Raven just shook her head no.
The moment was ruined though when Rich's cell phone went off. Looking very pissed at the phone he answered it. "What?!" He listened to the conversation for a minute. "Got it. Bye"
Rich and Jax looked at each other. "C'mon, Jax. Problem at work."
"Where do you guys work?" Terra asked.
"We run a private security firm." The well rehearsed lie came off without a hitch from Jax.
"Yeah, and that call was a problem and we have to run off to save the day as usual." Rich said with a small smirk.
The boys went and took the girls hand and kissed them, slipping them each a slip of paper with their numbers.
"Call us sometime and we'll get together." Jax grinned at Terra.
"Come on, Jax. We gotta hurry."
The four Teen Titans sat there stunned at the development. Bumble Bee then spoke up first. "So what was that about them not being your boyfriends?"
"Well, they aren't." Terra sheepishly said.
"Not yet at least." Raven said with a sigh.
Outside the boys jumped on their bikes and tore off towards The Pit as fast as possible.
"What's the problem, Rich?" Jax asked through their helmet radios.
"The gang leader we busted at the gold depository busted out. He's planning to try the heist again. This time there's only gonna be like 20 guys, but they're gonna be a little less lenient with shooting innocent hostages. We gotta move."
They gunned the throttles on their bikes and headed for their base to change and head out as fast as possible."

The security door was blown off the door with C-4. The ten guards were instantly shaken. Then the men stormed into the depository through the smoke. They opened fire on the unsuspecting security personnel. When the smoke cleared seven lay on the ground wounded while the others surrendered to be tied up.
"Alright, boys. Let's start moving the gold to the truck." The gang leader ordered.
"Got it boss." One thug replied while grabbing one of the carts loaded with gold bars. They started carting the gold out but were suddenly knocked back inside the depository by a seemingly unknown force. Nightwing and Red X then decloaked at the door.
Nightwing and Red X did a vitals scan on the guards and found that four had died and the other three that were shot were gonna join soon if they didn't get medical attention. Nightwing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. His pulse rocketed.
"They're dead. Innocent people are DEAD!" He turned to look at X. "The leader is mine. Let's put these dogs down."
X nodded. The look on Nightwing's face worried him, but he wouldn't dare stop him.
Nightwing drew his bo staff and flew in. He swung and cracked two of the criminals across their faces sending them flying into the wall out cold. Red X followed. Cracking bone could be heard from every blow to the heads of the criminals. Blood spewed forth from gashes to their skulls or the blows to their faces that broke noses and busted out teeth. Red X took out 7 of the thugs, while Nightwing took out the other 12 leaving only the boss. Red X then gathered up the guards and started helping them out, taking the injured to get help. Meanwhile Nightwing stood before the boss.
"You won't get the best of me, punk," declared the boss as he assumed a fighting stance.
Nightwing looked disgusted at the man. "These men had families and you shot them in cold blood. They never stood a chance."
"Them's the breaks, kid."
"The name is Nightwing. Remember it well, for it is the name of your messenger of death."
The boss took a swing a Nightwing. Nightwing caught the fist. The boss threw his other fist with the same result. Nightwing then delivered a heavy metallic boot to the boss' chest. As he staggered back Nightwing flew in with a vicous set of punches to his face.
The boss wiped his face to try and free it from the blood that was oozing from both his nostrils and his busted lips. He spit out some blood that was pooling in his mouth and stared at the black-clad superhero before him. He resumed his fighting stance and motioned Nightwing over with his hand. Nightwing lunged for him, but the boss pulled out a double-barreled shotgun that he'd sawed off and blasted Nightwing in his chest.
Nightwing flew across the room and clutched his chest. The pain was immense, but he knew the pellets didn't penetrate the suit. It just bruised his ribs a good bit, and further infuriated him. When the boss looked down to reload, a battle cry ripped through the air. He looked up in time to see Nightwing leaping towards him. The boss swung the shotgun at Nightwing but the hero caught it and then broke the arm. He hit the elbow and destroyed it. The sound of cracking bone and tearing sinew echoed.
"YOU BASTARD!!!" The boss screamed out in pain.
"I'm only getting started," sneered Nightwing.
The boss then swung his still unbroken left arm which Nightwing in turn caught it. He smirked and repeated the process of destroying the elbow.
"AAAAAHHHH!!!" Again the boss screamed in pain.
Nightwing then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. In one fluid motion he brought the staff slamming into the knees of the boss shattering them with a sickening crunching and ripping sound. The criminal fell to the ground in pain. Nightwing retracted his bo staff and put it away, walking towards the door.
"YOU BASTARD!!! AHH. . . .GRR. . . .I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL. . .UH . . .KILL. . .AH . . .ALL . . .OF. . .UHN. . .YOU!!!" The boss screamed at the hero.
Nightwing glanced over his shoulder at the man sitting on the ground writhing in agony. A look of disgust crossed his face. He flicked his wrist and a bird-a-rang flipped out into his hand. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up already?!" Another flick of the wrist and the lethal weapon went sailing through the air in an arc, slicing the boss across the throat and silencing him forever. The bird-a-rang returned to Nightwing's hand and he collapsed the weapon down and put it in his belt. Red X showed up just then and surveyed the scene.
"Nightwing, what have you done?"
Nightwing turned to face Red X. Red X gasped as he saw the condition of his suit and ran over to his partner. He realized he was gonna be okay but was still concerned. Nightwing began having trouble breathing due to his exertion and bruised ribs. He put his arm over Red X and they began to walk out.
"My flight is shot, but I can still cloak. Oh shit, the news crews are here."
"You wanna just take off?"
"No, let them see what we're willing to go through for the city. We'll get more sympathizers that way."
The news crews came running over with cameras rolling and flashes going off. The heroes stood there obviously victorious but at a heavy cost.
"Nightwing, Nightwing, are you alright?"
"Yeah, it'll take more than a shotgun to the chest to take me out. Although it won't be much more I don't think." Nightwing smiled slightly despite the pain.
"What could possibly drive you two to put yourselves through this?"
"Just consider us private security for our fair city," stated Red X.
"And when we get the call of an emergency we'll be there," Nightwing added his part. "Now if you'll excuse us, I've got some repairs to do on my suit and could definitely use a good nights rest."
The duo began to move to leave but Nightwing stopped and turned back to the cameras with a look of defeat. "I just want to apologize to the families of the guards we weren't able to save. Our hearts go out to you and we only wish we'd been here faster." They then turned and took off, cloaking once they were in the air.

The Teen Titans were back at the tower watching the news when a special report came on showing the gold depository.
"That's right, Maria. Nightwing and Red X stopped the gang tonight. Unfortunately, they weren't able to stop the needless loss of the lives of a few of the guards. During the take down, the ringleader of the gang managed to get in a lucky shot with a shotgun to Nightwing, but he still prevailed. The boss however won't be brought to justice as the fight proved to be fierce with only one sure way to win. The pair of heroes had this to say tonight:
~"Nightwing, Nightwing, are you alright?"
~"Yeah, it'll take more than a shotgun to the chest to take me out. Although it won't be much more I don't think."
~"What could possibly drive you two to put yourselves through this?"
~"Just consider us private security for our fair city."
~"And when we get the call of an emergency we'll be there. Now if you'll excuse us, I've got some repairs to do on my suit and could definitely use a good nights rest."
~"I just want to apologize to the families of the guards we weren't able to save. Our hearts go out to you and we only wish we'd been here faster."
"As you can see, they regret that they weren't able to get there in time. But they certainly did their best to make up for it by nearly giving their own lives to take down this ruthless criminal scum. Back to you, Maria."
Raven and Terra looked at each other.
"Wasn't that kind of what Rich and Jax told us before they left?" Terra asked.
"I thought it was, but that has to be a coincidence." Raven said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself just as much.
Cyborg then interrupted the two. "Hey, girls. You should come watch this. It's the surveillance of the crime."
The three watched as the fight panned out before them. Raven's heart almost broke when she saw Nightwing get shot. But when he stood up and fought even harder it was evident just how powerful he'd become. But what disturbed them the most, was the chilling words he'd spoken before the fight, and then right before he threw the bird-a-rang that slit the boss' throat. The scene caused them to all pale. They stared at the screen. Raven then ran off to her room.
'Oh, Nightwing. I'm so sorry. Please come back to us. We can save you.' Raven lay on her bed crying when she saw the slip of paper with Rich's phone number on it. 'There's only one way to find out if you are who you say you are.' Raven picked up the paper and levitated the phone over to her.



Jacketslacker: Well, so closes another chapter. How'd it go? Remember to e-mail or R&R so I know if you like how it's going or if I need to change things up a bit. I'm also working on a fic for Inuyasha, so I alternate writing a chapter for it and a chapter for this one. So it might be a bit longer before the next chapter shows up. Hopefully no longer than a week if I can help. Until next time, kiddies.