Double Threat

By Dark Swan

Disclaimer: Yup, I own them… haha just pulling your chain! I do not own the guest appearance.

A/N: Chapter 9 of Double Threat. Wow, never thought I'd say that. Thanks for all my reviewers and readers. I love you all so much. Some of you have followed this story and I appreciate it. Lovely alexia has given me encouraging words and more and more inspiration has entered my creative mind. Thanks for all your support everyone. Continue to read… I think this story is ending soon… so who knows what will happen. Just a note but I know in the first chapter I said that the titans knew each other for more than a year now and I'm changing it to a few years. Meaning, Robin and the others are around the ages of 17, 18, and 19. BB is 17, Raven and Starfire 18, and Robin and X 19. It probably isn't accurate but just bear with me. There are guest appearances in this chapter. Who could they be?

Robin paced in his room. Why didn't he say anything? That was the perfect moment to say something. He scratched his head and sat down. What am I going to do? He leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back. I'm nothing without Starfire. A knock at the door took him away from his thoughts. The door opened and Raven stood there.

"We need to talk." He rose to his feet and walked right past her.

"If it's about Starfire, I don't feel like talking about it." Raven grabbed his arm and pushed him back in the chair.

"You aren't the only one who is missing Starfire. You know… you are just so selfish! You haven't even noticed your other teammates. We all miss Starfire yes, but you need to take the time to be with your other teammates. When we lost Starfire we lost you too." She became black and fell through the floor.

Oh my gosh. What the heck is going on with my life! Everything was so perfect one day then it all went to hell the next. He decided that he needed to get his mind off Starfire. He needed to start thinking more about Slade and how he could get rid of him. He still didn't know who he was. Instead of getting Star, it was all about getting Slade.

"What the heck happened back there? That idiot Beastboy had to bring it up didn't he?" X fell into his black leather chair. Red X didn't like it when the issue between Robin and Starfire came up because Starfire could figure out the truth and leave him. I can't lose her.

"Hold on, please do not call my friend an… idiot." Starfire paced back and forth. "Robin needs to know that I will not leave you. Robin has caused only pain."

X patted his lap and Starfire accepted the invitation. She gently jumped onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her head leaned on his shoulder and X kissed her forehead. He slithered his hands around her waist and rocked her back and forth.

"I love you, Starfire." He placed his lips on her head and continued rocking her.

"Oh X…" Still unsure if she should say the words she took a moment to think of a reason to not say the sacred words. "I am sorry, but I cannot return those words. Being of Tamaranian Royalty descent, I can only profess my love for one person until we are brought together in marriage or undergo an act of commitment." After saying the last statement, she wished she hadn't said anything. I hope he doesn't recall me telling Robin that I love him.

"And that act of commitment would be?" X raised his eyebrow and smiled seductively. Starfire pushed him playfully away as he drew closer to her.

"Oh X, stop. The type of commitment that needs to happen would need years of knowing the person and eternal love." X opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Starfire's kiss.

Later that night, X and Starfire were on the couch watching a movie. Starfire didn't know what it was or what it was about but X assured her that she would enjoy it. It was more than half-way through the movie and her mood hadn't changed. She was still bored and her eyelids became heavy. Red X noticed her drowsiness and shut off the movie. He scooped her into his arms and walked to her bedroom. Since she was already in her silk pajamas, he didn't need to change her clothes. He bent down to move the sheets and then placed her gently on the mattress. She immediately curled into a ball and X covered the blankets over her. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the head.

"Goodnight, princess." He turned to walk out the door, but a small hand reached out to him.

"Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Her face so innocent, Red X smiled at her naive ness. He knew what she meant although he would have enjoyed it if she were serious.

He went over to the other side and cuddled with her; Starfire's face against his chest, listening to his gentle heartbeat. Red X held her close as if his life depended on it. They both fell asleep in each other's arms.

"You were never good enough for her."

"You coward, never had the guts to say anything to her."

"You never really loved her."

"How could you deceive her like that?"

"Way to go, bird brain."

"So you do not wish to be with me?"

Slade. Beastboy. Cyborg. Raven. X. Starfire. They all raced through his mind. There he was at his desk, looking at pictures of Starfire. The voices. Why wouldn't they go away? The volume increased, making it hard for him to concentrate. His fists banged on his desk, making it break into pieces. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. The voices grew louder and louder. Nothing would make them go away. The voices' owners stood in front of him, with their arms crossed.

"You were never good enough for her."

"You coward, never had the guts to say anything to her."

"You never really loved her."

How could you deceive her like that?"

"Way to go, bird brain."

"So you do not wish to be with me?"

He couldn't take it anymore. It was too much.

A scream echoed through the tower originating from Robin's room. He rose from his bed trying to keep calm. It was just a dream… more like a nightmare. He turned to the side of the bed and shoved his head in his hands. He waved his hands in front of his face, trying to cool himself off. His sheets were drenched with sweat. He quickly got up and headed for the shower.

"That's what I need… a nice cold shower." He flung the towel over the shower door and turned to knob to cold. He stepped in after a few seconds and closed the door behind him. The cold water flowed down his body. After a while, his body became numb because of the water being so cold. Numbness. How glorious it was to finally feel nothing.

"Robin? Robin? Where are you Robin? ROBIN!" Cyborg busted open the shower room door. "There you are, buddy." Robin opened a sliver of the curtain and looked at Cyborg, confused. "I guess you didn't hear the alarm." Robin's eyes bulged and he jumped out of the shower, with his hair in a shampoo mess.

Robin rode down the streets, trying to find the cause of the alarm. He found nothing. The streets were bare, no one was outside. Where is everybody?

"They must be inside." Raven answered his question.

A little annoyed by her powers, he ignored her. Raven smiled inwardly knowing how it bugged him. Beastboy soon met up with the searching titans. He was in the form of a hawk and soared alongside of Raven.

Cyborg didn't join the other three titans. He watched his arm as it showed him the area the alarm originated from. He closed in on the tiny red dot that meant the cause of danger. He looked around and saw nothing. Must've been a false alarm. He clicked his communication button and Robin appeared.

"Nothing's here—" The ground beneath him shook. He ran over to the sidewalk and watched the road crack. He continued to watch and soon green vines escaped from the cracks. Vines? Where were these coming from? Cyborg called the other titans and told them to take a look at this. The violent shaking stopped and they were vines all over the cement road. One vine even wrapped itself around a car and crushed it into chunk. The titans stood back and took in the view.

"Oh no, it couldn't be… could it?" Robin looked around and bent down to grab a vine. It immediately wrapped itself around his arm and started to cut deep into his arm, losing circulation. His arm began to turn purple. He quickly took out a bird-a-rang and sliced the vine off. He rubbed his arm and moved his arm trying to circulate blood.

"Don't hurt my baby, dear Robin. It never did anything to you." She bent down and picked a flower growing off the vine. "I don't think you would like it if someone sliced you in half." She crushed the flower with her hand and smiled at the caped crusader.

"Who is THAT?" Beastboy gazed at the woman. Her thick red hair falling over her shoulders, vines hugging every curve of her body, and eyes as green as grass after a three day shower.

"That's Poison Ivy… she's a criminal in Gotham." The titans stared at Robin. Ever since he told them about his past with Batman and Gotham they have never heard him bring it up. "Ivy, what are you doing here? I can't believe Batman let you get all the way over here in Jump City." Robin didn't make a move. At any moment, Poison Ivy's vines could attack.

"You used to have partner… the Bat sure did help you a lot. My partner is helping me too." She winked and walked forward, closing in on the young hero. Her steps were light and quick, her heels echoing through the city. For some reason, Robin was silent. He didn't dare speak when she was this close. She could easily use her gas, vines, or even kiss him. The other three titans backed away and let the two enemies decide what's going to happen. Her red hair flew through the air and lay back down perfectly. Robin scratched his head and noticed the soapy bubbles on his glove. "Forget to rinse?" A smile crossed his face. What was happening? Ivy was the villain. She didn't use anything yet right? He shook his head, trying to get some sense back.

……………………….

X and Star flew together trying to find Robin and the titans. Throughout the city, they found vines, trees, and flowers. They followed the cracked streets and soon found the group. They both landed softly on the ground and immediately asked for an update. Star quickly noticed Robin and the green woman. She stood there eyeing the beautiful flower. Starfire had to admit that she was gorgeous. A sting of pain shot through her body. What was it? X walked to her side and gently slid his arm around her shoulders. They both watched the two talk and occasionally laugh. 'What the heck is going on between them?' Red X started to become impatient. His leg started to twitch and he let go of Star's shoulders.

"I can't wait anymore." He bolted towards the two forms and flung a handful of Xs at the green beauty. She quickly covered her prized possession, her face. Each X sliced a few vines wrapped around her body, sending them falling to the ground. When they reached the ground, they shriveled up and turned black.

"My poor babies." She bent down and picked up her disintegrated work of art. The dust fell through her fingers and was quickly taken by the wind. She slowly looked up to find the killer. She gazed at her new enemy. "How DARE you!" She searched for her new weapon… something hard to destroy…

"X, you idiot!" Red X looked at the angry titan. His eyes wide with shock but voice dripping with fury. "Those vines are off limits at all times. It is just cruel to kill those vines. I've never attacked those my whole crime fighting life." He turned his head in the direction of the revenge seeking villainess. X stared at Robin with confusion. Why were these vines any different? X opened his mouth to ask but Robin continued explaining. "Her life force is running through the vines. If you cut one it's exactly like cutting out one of your own veins." He saw Poison Ivy take out a few small pellets. She walked over to a crack in the street and crouch down. She kissed every individual pellet then dropped them into the crack. She quickly straightened her form and back away. She smiled at her accomplishment and watched her plants grow before her eyes.

Robin and X stopped fighting to study the massive plants. Each of the three was mutated differently. The biggest was as tall as a six story building, the others around a four story. Robin watched the spiked balls of leaves inch closer and closer to him. The "minions" was decorated with roses meaning all three would be ferocious, violent, and brutal. Robin spoke quickly and described the game plan.

"X and Star, take down one of the smaller ones." Starfire nodded her head in agreement and looked over at Red X. The couple stood back and X brought up an ignored controversy.

"Star, why doesn't Robin ever pair you off by yourself? You are a strong woman, you can handle pretty much anything" Starfire smiled at him when he used the word "woman". Robin would only call her a "girl". She nodded her head and went back to the huddled titans.

"Excuse me, Robin, but I think I can take the big green ball by myself." Robin looked up at the "girl" and quickly shook his head. He started to disagree but X interrupted.

"Star's a big girl now. She can take care of herself." He placed his arm around her shoulder and Star crossed her arms. Robin gazed at the two with jealousy and understanding. Starfire was known to be one of the best warriors on her planet. She could definitely handle herself. Robin didn't want to agree with the man that stole the love of his life away.

"Robin, I am going to do it with or without your approval." She turned around to fly towards the creature but Robin quickly took hold of her forearm. Her head turned to the sudden pressure on her arm. "Robin, let go." She looked at him with annoyance in her eyes while Robin stared into hers with concern.

"Be careful." His voice, quiet and caring. His hand slid down the rest of her arm and she flew off with a hidden smile. X looked at the two… a little worried. Oh, it's nothing, he thought to himself. He suddenly noticed that Robin was speaking to him. "X…Red X!" X jerked his head toward the leader of the titans. "Okay, since Star is taking one of those by herself… Rae, BB, and Cyborg… you take one while X and I take the third one."

………………………………..

Starfire flung thousands of green star bolts at the enormous mutated plant. The green ball of leaves, vines, and multiple types of flowers had no eyes or mouth. Star advanced at the regenerating monster. Nothing could kill this thing, Star thought as she threw more star bolts. She began to ascend but a slimy, spiked vine secured itself around her tiny ankle. She bent down and worked at releasing her ankle. The spikes ripped through her flesh and dug deep, almost making contact with her bone. She struggled to tear the vine off but a bird-a-rang raced through the air and split the vine in two. Starfire freed her ankle and searched for her friend Robin. Their eyes quickly found each other and they kept eye contact for as long as possible. She gave him a quick smile and he responded with a wave. Starfire returned to her unfinished battle swooped down used her eye beams to divide the monster in half. The upper half fell hard on the concrete. Star walked up to the steaming being and leaned over it. She twisted her torso around to tell the others that she had vanquished her plant. Suddenly, vines danced up her legs, flowers covered her face, and tiny needles poked her neck. She immediately fell to the ground but the now whole plant caught her. It stomped over to its master, Poison Ivy. She smiled at her creation and motioned the other plants to retreat for Ivy had what she wanted.

"Oh Robin!" Ivy called in a teasing manner, "I think I have something of yours!" Her 'big' babies surrounded their mother and watched for attacks. Robin raced X to Poison Ivy and leaped over the obstacles. The two defending plants stepped up tried to stay in the way but the hero and "villain" sped past. Raven, Beastboy, and Cyborg handled them while the two concerned boys ran for their past/present lover. They both stopped in their tracks. Not only did they find Poison Ivy and Starfire, but a rather tall man with midnight black hair. He stood there with his leather coat hanging over his shoulders and black pants covering his legs. "Have you met my comrade—"

She was cut off by his deep, intimidating voice.

"Night Blade." The British accent immediately kicked in. His head slowly rose to meet eyes with Robin. "I suppose this lovely lady belongs to you." His finger pointed into the direction of the leader of the group. Before Robin could answer, he was pushed to the side by the real boyfriend. "Oh? I was told you were the villain." His eyebrow rose and he switched his weight to his other foot.

"Not anymore, pal." He cracked his knuckles and converted into his attack position. "Give her back, now." His voice coated with venom and malice. He fingered a smoke bomb and an X or two.

"Is that a threat?" His eyes squinted and he pulled out his trusted sword. "You sure you want to mess with me?" The cold, night air swept through the city as the sun began to set. He caught the last ray of light on his sword and gleamed the ray into X's eyes.

Red X stood there not impressed and decided to make the first move. X guessed that Night Blade was the type of guy that liked to give speeches. He was wrong. Night Blade was already preparing for his attack.

X ran straight towards the man and threw multiple X's his way while launching a few smoke bombs around him. Poison Ivy seized Starfire out of the smoke and watched for the smoke to subside. The gray found lifted and the only thing there was X standing there with confusion. She took a moment to share a laugh with the hidden Night Blade.

"Show yourself, Blade!" The streetlights were the only thing helping him. Red X stopped and opened his ears to give him some sort of a clue but there were only Star's muffled cries, Robin yelling orders, and the sounds of the other three titans battling the plant monsters.

He crept up out of the shadows and stood inches away from Red X. He cautiously stepped closer and whispered into his left ear. "Excuse me, but call me by the right name son." He unshielded his mighty sword and went straight in for an attack. X spun around and used his armored gloves to stop the blow. He held the blade back from severing his head completely off. His arms began to shake from the immense force against him.

"Let. Her. Go." His words sharp and deadly. He forced Night Blade a few paces back but it didn't buy him any time. Night Blade quickly recovered his footing and snatch Red X from behind and wrapped his arms tight around X's neck. Night Blade bonded X's hands behind his back, confirming that he couldn't wiggle out.

"What if I were the say no?" His lips, so close his hot breath escaped onto Red X's ear. "I'm thinking about keeping the lovely lady." Something triggered in Red X; the anger that was boiling up inside him bursted. His fist clenched in rage and he butted heads with his enemy. He quickly turned around to see the blood drip down Night Blade's forehead.

"Over my dead body." He dug his nails into his own hands because of squeezing so hard. He ran in for an attack, but something small injected into his neck. He slowly fell to the ground, not comprehending what exactly was happening. He lifted his hand to feel what hit him but he lost himself in the darkness of unconsciousness.

"As you wish."