Ghosts of the Past

Alexnandru Van Gordon

Alex: Good grief, this thing is so aggravating! That's it! I'm not saving anymore files on my USB storage device; otherwise this thing will never get done. Or Word...Just wait until I get rid of this old lap-top…

Victor: Yeah. This update has been dragged out long enough.

Alex: I hope none of you guys hate me. I'm really really really really really really really really really really really sorry about this…I didn't mean for this to take so long because it's almost over completely.

Victor: (Sad.)

Alex: Brighten up. I'll have time to help you with your story.

Victor: Oh yeah—I finally got an account! And I'm actually writing something. That's a big step for me, considering how sensitive I get when being judged. No insults please. If you hate my story then just don't read it.

Alex: Anyhow, let's get on with the chapter you people keep badgering me about. Oh yes—there may or may not be another character death, so I'm just going to warn you now…And I can't believe I made Wintergreen out to be so mean…I haven't actually read any comics with him in it so I haven't the slightest idea if he's a good man or not…All I know is that he's friends with the bad guy…

HW: That's such a lie. Bad guy all the way. (Arms crossed and frowning) I mean, he got Slade into the army under-age. What man in his right mind would do such a thing?

Victor: O.o? Aren't you supposed to be dead?

Alex: -.-….Yeah, I specifically remember killing you off. You know, I do those sorts of things for a reason. Now go…be dead again.

HW: Relax…(slouches down in chair miserably) I'm just here to make sure my entire family doesn't die off.

Alex: Hmmm…what if I've been planning to kill Vincent all along? I killed Kyle, didn't I?

HW:…Then at least I get to watch his last stand.

Alex: Aw…I'm moved.

Victor: Really?

Alex: No. If I kill him, I kill him. End of discussion. Besides, if I said exactly what I was going to do before each chapter, no one would bother reading.

Victor:…Good point.

HW: Go, Vincent! Go!

Alex: Hush! I'm trying to watch the show…

Victor: (Pulls out popcorn).

HW: (Said, scared and anxious)…

Let us begin…

DISCLAIMER: Nope. Don't own anything but my mind and what's in it.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Beginning of the End

The 'other' side of town was as quiet as a graveyard. The 'other' side of town was, as always, nearly deserted and the 'other' side of town was, at that very moment, the war central of Jump City when you considered the evil master-mind villains and heroes 'back with a vengeance' about to destroy the place (AKA: the older docks). It was almost like the Narrows of Gotham, except that it was once entirely a working area before a couple of explosions here, a few accidents there and then—Shazam! Not even the homeless people dared to hang around there, not since the old lair of Slade collapsed and took one seven story warehouse (built above it) with it. They should have known he would pick the same community to build up his second lair. But hey, X knew the place like the back of his hand (after escaping) and that led to the production of a well-laid-out—but simple—plan. Very simple, actually. They just needed to be…careful…

A chilly breeze picked up and blew across the street, down the alleys and above each roof. Fall was on its way soon. Perhaps the snow of winter would scare away all the scary boogie-men hiding in the dark. Who knows? Weird things happened in their city?

One lone figure stood atop the oldest warehouse, gazing down at one of the sunlight windows as he crouched and reached to a new belt for supplies. Red-X wasn't likely to make mistakes, but even he worried about getting caught. Hey, it happened once before. What was stopping the past from repeating itself?

'Get caught and I'll kill you'

X chuckled softly to himself, tapping the communicator in his ear. "Relax, I've got this handled."

'Where have I heard this before…'

"Shut up and get going." X took out a small pen shaped device and pressed the end. It almost looked like a click-pen…but you'd be pitied if you mistook it for one. It was created by none other than the Dark Knight himself, a 'borrowed' object for the time being, and the one end glowed menacing red. Then, with his other hand, he took a small suction-cup and pressed it to the window. "If you guys get caught…well, good luck."

'Do you mean that sincerely?' It was Starfire's voice this time. 'Will you come to our aid?'

"I doubt there's much I could do to help, seeing that I'm diving into the lion's den, but yeah. Just give a call and I'll see what I can do."

Starfire giggled joyously in the background before the communicator was handed to Raven, ringing loudly in X's ear. 'I can't sense Vincent.'

"Huh?" With the end of the pen pressed against the glass, he began drawing a large circle. "What's that supposed to mean? He's not dead…is he?"

'Either that, or he will be. But—' There was another ring as the communicator was then snatched by Beast Boy. 'Dude, relax. We'll worry about Vince and the commandoes.'

"Good. Now hand the communicator back to your merry-old leader and stop switching. It keeps ringing in my ear when you do that…"

'Sorry.' And he did as he was told.

'You know the way?'

"Like the back of my hand. Just get going before my head explodes. Change the volume on that stupid thing."

'Sorry. Over and out.'

"See you around…" Completing the circle, he pulled with the suction-cup and took the glass from its place. Then, setting it down gently, he took the grappling hook from his belt and attached it to the top of the sunlight before jumping down into the darkness.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he took up a fighting stance and waited patiently for his eyes to adjust to the dark. The other sunlight's provided little light from the moon to shine through to the ground, but this part of the old factory was as good as useless. Slade's main room was a few doors down the single hallway running down the center of the building. The Titans were on the other side of the building, prepared to break in and distract anyone who would come between X and Slade as they fought.

Probably no one would be in there, but you never knew. Slade was a master at planning five or six steps ahead…

…and X hated it when he was right.

A spotlight turned on at that instant, focusing a large beam down toward the center of the room when a single person hung from a noose. His back was too the former thief, but he already knew who it was.

"No…" He gasped, reaching to his belt for a birdarang. It flew from his fingers with expert aim and cut the rope above the boy in one swoop as X ran forward. He slid to his knees beside the boy's fallen figure and turned him over onto his back—

—only to find he'd been tricked. The boy was unconscious but the noose was looped around his chest and then loosely around his neck.

"You're not quite who I was expecting to fall for the grand bait…but perhaps I can hit two birds with one stone."

X cursed beneath his breath and gazed off to his left. Slade, hands calmly folded behind his back, stepped forward from the shadows into the large beam of light. There wasn't the least bit of amusement in his eye, or disappointment for that matter. He obviously didn't care about X's appearance.

"I imagined you would have left the city by now." Slade stated, circling the make-shift prey. "Being a thief and all…I thought you wouldn't have taken your lucky escape for granted."

Standing to watch his enemy closer, X shook off his fear. "Yeah, well, you know me. I put on the mask and suddenly I'm an entirely different person, new every day."

"So it would seem…" Slade stopped, facing X, and said nothing as the remaining lights in the room flashed on. To X's surprise, they were alone.

"Well, are you just going to stand there and chat or do I get to have some fun?"

"Perhaps…"

"Perhaps, what? First off, you leave a lot of your sentences open at the end, and, secondly, you talk too much. I thought actions spoke louder than words."

Slade sighed. "Youth is indeed wasted on the young. Don't they teach you anything in school these days?"

"I'm not sociable. I finished school over the internet."

"That would explain a lot." Slade eased into a fighting stance, watching as X prepared for the first attack. "Then, by all means, begin."

X didn't need to be told twice. He was in the air before Slade finished the sentence, right foot aimed high, waiting to deliver an axe-kick to the man's head. This attack, of course, failed, dodged by Slade, but the moment X touched the ground he crouched down and narrowly missed a side-kick aimed for his mid-section before pouncing up and hitting Slade square in the chest with his right shoulder. Slade was forced back a few steps, watching as X stood again, but he was back in the action before the latter had time to recoil. Three kicks aimed for the chest nearly failed until the last one caught X in the abdomen.

Leaning forward, giving a small gasp for air, X dropped down to the ground and rolled away from the axe-kick which followed Slade's short burst. Then he was back on his feet, ducking under a fifth kick and aiming an upper-cut for the man's chin. It hit its mark, twisting Slade's neck back a littler farther than what was expected. But the older man was prepared for such. He grabbed the boy's fist, crushing it in his hand as he snapped his neck back into shape.

"Not bad." He commented. "It's a little more than what I expected from a petty thief."

"You see…that's where…you're wrong…" X grumbled, trying his hardest not to fall to his knees as Slade' bent his writs back. "I think I have you figured out."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah…" X shifted his body forward, slipping under Slade's arm and leaning it on his shoulder. As Slade's hand released his fist, he grabbed the man's wrist and leaned forward, falling to a knee as he threw the man to the ground. "I don't take on a challenge I know is going to kill, so you can try, but I can't say you'll succeed in getting rid of me so easily."

Growling in frustration, Slade hopped back to his feet and planted a back kick to X's face before the boy could stand. "You should think before you act. That's a commonly known fact."

"Yeah, and my mom always said it was bad to recite old clichés. You'll jinx yourself…"

-W-

He waited in the main room as instructed, cleaning out one of his old pistols as the far wall was blow apart by a small explosion. It was really done by the arm cannon of the one called Cyborg, who was, in fact, the first to step inside the room. It was a fascinating weapon when you thought about it but, then again, so was everyone on the Titans' team. Each individual made up their share of the team's strength equally.

The demoness was second to step through the debris and settling dust cloud, followed shortly by the green changeling and the alien princess as they lined up as a team by the cyborg.

"Ya gonna tell us where the kid's are…" Cyborg started, arm cannon warming up a second time as he aimed it at the old man. "Or do we have to do this the hard way."

"Have fun…" Wintergreen sighed. From the darker corners of the room, twenty commandoes stepped up for the fight. All Wintergreen had to make sure was that the four Titans members didn't disturb Slade in the other room as he dealt with Robin. Simple as that.

"Aw man…" The green one complained. "Dude, do you have any idea how many times we've fought these things? They're really isn't much too them anymore."

"That's why I improved them." He replied, not once looking up from his work. "Like I said before: Have fun."

Starfire titled her head to one side. "You are wishing us fun when you are in fact the enemy…Tell me..." She turned to Raven. "Is this some form of deception."

Raven sighed. "It's called sarcasm."

"Ah…the sarcasm…"

Then they attacked.

Each of the four members dove toward opposite ends of the room, driving forward into groups of the commandoes to tackle on their own. It was interesting to see how quick they were to act, but they were foolish to split up. These robots really were better than the last version.

Like he said before…

Good luck.

-S-

He had to admit that something was different. Maybe the kid had indeed figured him out, or maybe it was just because Slade was used to fighting against Robin, but X was doing better than he expected. The thief could have learnt a different fight style, but there was something wrong about the whole situation. He was learning from his mistakes…

Slade didn't give the thief a moment's rest, hitting him hard in the gut with a simple kick. The boy had been too busy blocking punches that he neglected Slade's legs entirely. It wasn't very hard to kick in close range.

"Hmmm…you should be glad to know…" Slade began, dodging a kick quickly as the boy recollected himself. "…that you died fighting a good fight."

"Who said I'm going to die." The thief refuted. "I can here to watch your funeral."

Slade grinned behind his mask. "I'm sorry to disappoint you…"

-A-

Ales: There. I think that should leave you hanging for a little while longer—choke!

HW: (Hugging Alex to death) You didn't kill him! Yay! He lives!

Victor: Yay…you actually let an OC live. But doesn't that break some sort of code of yours?

Alex: (Slips out of her grasp) Jeez, I can't breathe! And as for a code…it's unofficial. I mean, I wanted to kill off Jaze in Not Again but then too many people grew attached to him.

Jaze: Thank God for that. And is it just me or has anyone else noticed that he makes sure his OCs have guilt or sin on their conscious before thy die? It's like, none of them can die a straight hero…

Alex: Hey, get back in your own story!

Marionette: Ordering people about, little fraud? Tsk tsk, what has this world come too…

Alex:…What are you doing here? You're not in any of my fanfic stories.

Victor: Not to mention you don't exist yet. You're back on my account.

Marionette: Hmmm…I was drawn by argument.

HW: Who's she?

Alex: Ignore her, she's leaving—as are all of you! Since when did you guys start popping up? I thought you left for good.

Jaze: Says who?

Alex: -.- Leave already…

HW: Fine, but I will return to haunt you if you attack my brother…-.- (Glares as she leaves).

Jaze: And I'll just bug you in Not Again.

Marionette: And I…shall wait for creation….

Alex:…Yeah…goodbye to you too…

Until Again,

Alexnandru Van Gordon,

And

Victor Van Heiring