The Wicked One

Chapter 26: Zeal

XXXXXX

Cyborg always hated hospitals. Even before his accident just being around all that bright whiteness, the smell of disinfectant, the detached doctors. It always made him feel uneasy. But he sucked it up as he sat outside a particular room, hands crossed and eyes closed. Even if he tolerated it—it didn't mean he had to like it.

"Hey Cyborg!" A loud voice suddenly rang in his ears, causing him to jump up in his seat. Looking around he quickly spotted Bumblebee, hands on her hips and giving him an amused smirk, "Bout time, that's like the third time I called out to you, you forget to recharge today or somethin' Sparky?"

"Nah, just lost in thought." Cyborg answered after he had recovered from the surprise. The downcast way in which he spoke caused Bumblebee to glance over at the door he had been sitting in front of. "It looks like your back up to speed though."

She looked back to the metal teen to see he was trying to force a smile at her. Bumblebee quickly collected herself before beaming back.

"Yup! Back and stronger than ever!" She declared, flexing a bicep for emphasis. "You can test me on it if you want."

"I think I'll just take your word for it." Cyborg replied, waving her off as he sat back down in his chair.

Bumblebee remained standing as the two fell into silence for a few moments. Cyborg's eyes now seemed glued on the door as he leaned forward in his seat. The only time she had seen him that deadly serious was during their dealings with Brother Blood. Without saying a word Bumblebee walked over and leaned against the wall space beside Cyborg and his chair.

"How are they doing?" She asked as she looked at the door as well. The window was far too small to make out any great details.

"Raven says it'll take them awhile to recover, even with her healing." He responded in that dead voice he recently developed. "If we still had the tower I could have them better in less than a week."

He said this with a hint of anger as his large metal hands clenched into fists. Bumblebee wanted to try and comfort him in some way but she knew enough about this particular teen that it would more than likely only make the matters worse.

"How's the construction coming along?" She asked, opting instead to change the subject.

Cyborg didn't answer right away. First he had to take in a deep breath before releasing it out in a very drawn out sigh.

"I just came back from overseeing everything. I made sure they knew what they're doing but…I really should head back soon if I want it to be standing for longer than a few days. I was thinking there might have been something I can do here but Rae is watching over them, I don't think she's left the room since they got back…"

Cyborg stood up again but didn't seem inclined to move any further, his eyes still on the door, his hands still clenched into fists. Bumblebee looked at him, biting her lip, unsure if she should ask the question that was now on her mind. Before she could have the chance to, however, Cyborg suddenly let out a cry of fury, sending his fist into the wall behind him.

Bumblebee jumped at the action. Slowly the metal teen removed his fist from the wall, the impact leaving a very large hole in the plaster. She could only watch as he then buried his face in one hand, the other fist shaking terribly at his side.

"I couldn't do anything." He said heatedly in his hand. Bumblebee wasn't entirely sure if he was still talking to her. "They went out there alone. They could have died. And Starfire…and I couldn't…"

"Cyborg…" Bumblebee breathed, slowly walking over to him, slowly reaching out a hand towards him.

Before she could however the Titan suddenly dropped his hand and turned away from her.

"I'm going to go see about this hole in the wall." He spoke in a dead voice.

And with that he began walking away from her. She watched his back silently, her hand still out in open air, and couldn't help but notice the shaking fists still at his sides.

XXXXXX

Jinx walked silently through the expansive, wooden hallways. Her eyes momentarily glancing at the paintings on the walls, the colorful flowers that were placed inside elaborate looking vases that rested on little tables, even the designs of the brown carpet she walked on caught her attention. All the while she made sure the shiny, silver pitcher of water and towel that she carried on a tray remained steady in her hands.

This really was a beautiful place. This summer home that Red-X let them use. Well, it seemed more like a summer mansion to her. She couldn't say she was completely convinced that this belonged to him, master thief or not this definitely didn't seem like the kind of place someone with his tastes would spend money on. Granted she has only known him for about a week now but still.

As she continued to gaze around her eyes caught a mirror as she drew near to the room she was after. There she saw a fairly cute girl with pink hair that fell loosely around her face, dressed in a simple black blouse with purple ribbons. Jinx couldn't help but giggle at the sight as she passed the mirror. She couldn't remember the last time she wore anything casual like this…not since…

Her dates with Wally.

The pitcher of water suddenly threatened to spill off the tray and Jinx quickly moved to steady it by holding the tray with one hand and using the other to grab the container. She let out a sigh of relief when everything remained steady before proceeding back down the hall. The room she was looking for was now in her sight, the door was cracked slightly open so she could tell which one it was out of the numerous others that lined the hallway. With that in sight she quickly waved away any distracting thoughts.

The past was the past. She had gotten over it before. She could do it again.

Despite how unconvincing that sounded in her head she stuck with her plan and pushed those kinds of thoughts aside as she reached the door. Despite knowing it was futile Jinx carefully balanced the tray with one hand while using the other to gently knock on the door.

"See-More…are you awake?" She called, waiting for a few moments for the no response that she was expecting. Silence answered her call and with a little sigh of defeat she used the free hand to push the door open further.

It was a beautiful looking bedroom, like all the others that were here. With old looking, dark oak furniture, deep red carpeting, and fancy looking paintings that lined the walls. But what Jinx liked most about this room was the large bay window that filled up almost the entire back wall. The window looked out to the football field sized backyard that stretched out into a lake, it was all surrounded, just the mansion itself, by miles and miles of trees. The beauty of it all was only enhanced by the setting of the sun.

Who knew a place like this even existed so close to Jump City. Jinx had thought when she first saw what was behind this summer home. Granted it was at the city limits…but still…

Her eyes unwillingly looked from the window to see the bed that lay right beside the window, and the small teen who rested in it. See-More slept peacefully, his small body looking even smaller in the large bed.

The top part of his head, from the top of the nose, was covered in bandages. It was her first time replacing the bandages this morning and she had almost broken down into tears seeing what was underneath them. She forced her eyes away from his face momentarily to look down at the rest of his body that was currently being hidden behind a thin white sheet.

His arm and a few ribs had been broken; the majority of his body had been riddled with bumps and bruises, though thankfully most of those had settled down by now.

But still…

Jinx looked back to his face as she began to approach his bedside.

How could someone so hurt still be able to look so peaceful?

She placed the tray on the nightstand that rested beside the bed. It was quite large and allowed for both the tray, and the bowl that had already been there, to be placed down. With more care than was probably needed Jinx slowly poured water from the pitcher into the bowl. After it had been fairly filled she placed the towel inside the bowl, letting it absorb the water before squeezing it mostly back out so that the towel was simply slightly damp.

This was also something she was doing for the first time.

Moist towel in one hand Jinx slowly used the other to pull down the sheet from See-More's body.

Usually Kyd Wykkyd would be doing this.

She let the blanket fall at his waist. She knew she would have to get there eventually, but for her sanity's sake she would take this one step at a time. His chest lay bare before her now, upper body completely stripped of clothing, revealing to her the casted arm, the slightly burnt chest, and various scratches and still slightly faded bruises. She let out a steadying breath as she returned to his face, reaching out with the cloth.

One step at a time.

She gently placed the towel against his face. But as she did Jinx swore she suddenly saw See-More's mouth twitch. Letting out an inward gasp she quickly pulled the towel back, but as she looked again the mouth was no longer moving. Jinx shook her head then, trying again to settle herself.

It's just nerves making you see things. She told herself as she moved the towel around the rest of his face taking extra care to avoid messing with the bandages. With that done she placed the towel back in the bowl and squeezed excess water out again.

Okay…step two.

Very slowly Jinx placed the towel on top of See-More's chest. It was at that moment See-More let out a small, surprised gasp. A not so small gasp escaped Jinx as she suddenly yelped in surprise, falling backwards on her butt. She remained where she fell, looking up at the bed as a weak chuckle began to rise from it. She watched in shock as a brown hand carefully removed the damp cloth she had left on his chest and dropped it back on the bed.

"Man… that was really…cold." A voice spoke out-loud, causing Jinx to gasp again.

"S-See-More?" She asked out loud, too afraid to stand back up.

"Yup!" He replied, his enthusiasm seemed to be fighting against his natural weakness. "I was gonna see…how far you'd go but…it's really cold…"

"How far I'd…?" Jinx trailed off as she thought. And as she thought a warm blush suddenly sprung up to her face. "You ass!"

Surprise momentarily gone in place of fury Jinx stood up in a flash, arm raised in preparation to slap the crap out of the little pervert, but she froze as soon as her eyes fell on him.

He was looking at her. Of course not really looking but his head was turned in her direction and there was a very big, very obvious smile on his face.

"Hey man…you wouldn't hit a guy with bandages…would you?" He teased playfully. Jinx's arm immediately fell as she suddenly collapsed besides him. Knees on the ground and head buried in the empty bed space beside See-More she began crying furiously.

"Whoa, Jinx! What's going on! What happened!" See-More quickly spoke up, trying to rise but letting out a groan of pain when his body adamantly refused. Jinx's head quickly shot up at the noise.

"No, please, don't get up." Jinx spoke, placing one hand gently on his shoulder to keep him down while the other wiped the still dripping tears from her eyes. "I'm fine, really."

"But…" See-More protested but allowing himself to fall back down on the bed. "You're cryin'…did somethin' happen?"

"Yes somethin' happened you idiot!" Jinx replied, letting out a half laugh half sob as she continued to try and control her tears. "You almost died and we've been worried sick for days!"

"I…almost…died…?" See-more said slowly, letting it all sink in. With his unbroken hand he reached over and placed it on the hand that was still on his other shoulder. Jinx quickly stopped any other action as their eyes almost seemed to lock. "Sorry…for makin' you…worry."

"Don't apologize, idiot!" Jinx scolded, taking her hand back and using both to wipe over her face, the tears finally passing. "I'm just happy that you're okay."

See-More still appeared unsatisfied as he let his arm rest back at his side, still looking in her direction with a frown on his face.

"What happened?" He asked after they had sat in silence for about a minute. Jinx looked back at him for a moment, at first not entirely sure what to say.

"Well…it's kind of a long story." She said finally, "And I'm not even sure about everything that's happened…that might be something you should ask one of the others."

"Others…" See-More repeated slowly, his head then jerked up and he suddenly tried to sit up again, letting out a groan of pain when his body once again refused.

"See-More!" Jinx gasped, quickly moving to help him but stopping when he held out a hand before he allowed his body to fall again. Jinx remained where she stood, watching him intensely.

"Fixit…Red-X…Kyd…what happened to…are they…alright?" He asked through ragged breaths.

"Please See-More…I think you should get some more rest…" Jinx pressed, "We can talk about all this when you're feeling better-."

"No man…please…" See-More interrupted, trying desperately to control his breathing, "I gotta know…please…"

Jinx stared at him for a moment, biting her lower lip, as See-More rested his head back against the large pillow, his small chest rising and falling slowly as he began to regain his breathing. With a final sigh Jinx walked back over to the bed and sat down at the edge, keeping her eyes on his bandaged face.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to freak out anymore and try to sit up again?"

"Yeah man, totally!" He quickly assured, flashing a smile in Jinx's general direction. She smiled back, despite knowing that See-More wouldn't see it.

"Okay so Fixit…he's the one with the robot voice right?"

"Yeah."

"Well Red-X found some computer chip thing on Blackfire after we…defeated her-."

"Whoa, you guys beat Blackfire!" See-More suddenly cut in.

"Of course we did! How else do you think we were able to bring you back home with us?"

"Home…" See-More spoke the word out slowly, letting it sink in the air around them, "So…we're…back on Earth?"

"Oh man." Jinx grumbled playfully, rubbing a hand through her hair, before flashing See-More an unseen smile, "You really have a lot of catching up to do."

Despite not seeing her smile See-More grinned back at her, chuckling softly. She was sure he'd laugh harder if not for his body that held back his chuckling with weak groans of pain.

"Maybe we should do like…one step at a time…or something…my head really hurts…" See-More mumbled, he lifted his hand as if he was going to rub his head but stopped himself, "I kinda want to ask why I can't see anythin' but…then again I kinda don't…"

"I'll tell you whatever you want to hear." Jinx assured, placing a gentle hand on See-More's shoulder. The smile on his face was all but gone. She couldn't explain how misplaced his face looked without a smile.

See-More sucked in a deep breath through his nose before blowing it all out in a very drawn out manner through his mouth. She could only imagine how many thoughts were going through his head right now. How many questions. However she was surprised when See-More almost seemed to look directly at her, small smile back on his face, and said:

"So, you were sayin' about Fixit?"

"Oh…" Jinx spoke, suddenly finding herself struggling with the right words to say as she pulled her hand away from his shoulder to rest at her side, "Well after your eye…got damaged…we thought he was…gone for good or something. But Red-X found this computer chip that Blackfire had…when we uploaded it on a computer it had blueprints and other technical stuff but it also had…Fixit."

"It…had him?" See-More questioned.

"Yeah, the keyboard and screen began to glow red after we put in the computer chip and some word document pulled itself up and he began…typing to us and we could hear him talking through the speakers as the words appeared on the screen. It was pretty creepy at first."

See-More seemed to visibly relax at her words, his smile spreading wider on his face.

"So he's okay…" See-More breathed out.

"Yeah. He said the chip was like a back-up file of himself. Apparently he's got a bunch of them stashed away but Blackfire had his most current one…" Jinx hesitated to go further; the relaxed look See-More had only made her want to stop more.

"Jinx? Somethin' wrong?" See-More asked, quickly picking up on her silence.

"Well…he told us the memories he has now stopped whenever his original body was destroyed, he said he doesn't remember the time he spent inside your eye device…"

Jinx wasn't sure why she felt so uncomfortable saying this. She didn't know the relationship See-More had with Fixit, or any of the others for that matter. But she did know See-More. She knew he wouldn't be stuck in a group with people and not at least try to be their friend, no matter whom or what it was. Her fears were confirmed when a frown quickly replaced See-More's face as he lay there.

"I see…" He said it very slowly and quietly, but just as Jinx was about to try and find some way to comfort him another big smile suddenly replaced the look. "Guess I get to teach him how to be human again. Man, that guy can really be a pain sometimes!"

He said this with a pained chuckle and after he had settled down again:

"What about Red-X and Kyd?"

"Red-X." She said the name with a scoff, "That ass dropped us off at this mansion summer home thing about a week ago and I haven't seen him since."

She decided to keep the little detail of him dropping off a large cart box of Zinothium vials and empty needles a secret for now.

"Whoa! He's letting us stay in a mansion!" See-More asked this as he looked around the room, despite the fact that he couldn't see anything. "That's cool! I didn't know a guy like him would have a mansion!"

"I'm sure this place isn't even his. I bet he broke in and is leaving us here to take the blame."

"Nah Red-X wouldn't do that." See-More said seriously, his pointless looking around ceasing as his head then turned towards Jinx, smile still on his face, "He might act kinda like a jerk sometimes, but he's actually pretty cool, ya know?"

"No, I don't know." Jinx returned, trying to fold her arms and look unmoved by his words, before quickly realizing how pointless it was. Instead she let out a sigh as she smiled as well. "But I guess I can take your word for it."

"I hope I get to see that dude again." See-More commented before his smile suddenly disappeared for a second. "What about Kyd?"

"Kyd."

Jinx said the name aloud, her own smile vanishing as she thought about how best to answer See-More's question. How long had these two been together since she betrayed them? What had they seen together? What had they been through together? After everything that might have happened would See-More still be satisfied with the answer she gave him?

"He's…" Jinx said softly, and before she knew it a small smile returned to her face as she placed a gentle hand on See-More's chest. The teen flinched at the contact as his mouth opened slightly in confusion.

"He's gone to right a few wrongs."

XXXXXX

"Crud!" A small and whiny voice cried out in shock as he was suddenly falling to the floor.

He tried to use his little arms and legs to stand but they were numb for whatever reason and wouldn't obey him. With a little curse of irritation he pressed a button on the strap on the backpack he wore, but only electricity sparked in response. Somehow his equipment managed to get wet.

"How the crud did that happen?" He asked out loud as his hands finally allowed him to slightly push himself off the floor.

They were still shaking terribly and only allowed him to look around in front of him. Unfortunately he could only make out that he was in some very big and very dark room; he could only make out the metallic walls that stretched further into the darkness than he could see.

"And where the crud am I!" He spat out loud.

"You're at where we at, I reckon!" A country tinged voice sang out, instantly sending a moan out of the little one on the floor.

"Oh don't tell me…" He mumbled as a rather strong hand gripped his back and pulled him to the air, "Hey, hey! Put me down you big stinkin' oaf!"

Mammoth glared at his friend as he held him in the air before him. Gizmo was prepared to shout at him some more but at his new vantage point he could now see behind his partner in crime. This at first, was a small gathering of Billy's as they joked and messed around with one another, but quickly looking past them Gizmo could see what could only be described as giant shelves of people frozen in personal chambers. Though it wasn't just any people, they were villains, villains of all kinds.

"What the…"

As Gizmo looked on he could see that some of the villains were getting freed from their frozen cells from small, floating objects that were shooting some kind of ray that melted the ice without harming the person inside. Gizmo glanced beside them to see that he, Mammoth, and Billy Numerous were all standing outside a recently unfrozen cell of their own.

"We…we got captured?" The little teen asked out loud, "How the crud did that happen!"

"Dunno…we weren't the only ones though." Mammoth mused as he set Gizmo back down on still shaky feet as he looked around them. "Looks like they got everybody."

"Whose they?"

Mammoth only shrugged. Of course Gizmo wouldn't get a straight answer from him, but strange thing was…the more he tried to think about what led to them all getting frozen the more his own memory drew up a blank.

"Stupid cruddy brain!" Gizmo hissed, slamming small fists against his bald head, "I can't remember anything about this!"

"Awe shucks, who cares about how we done ended up here little trigger!" One of the Billy's spoke up as he walked over to stand beside them, arms crossed with a rather triumphant smile on his face, "We're free as a bird now! And this little birdie's feathers are itching to do some pluckin' if ya know what I mean!"

"No I don't know what you mean." Gizmo grumbled rubbing a hand across his face in irritation. He turned his attention back to his large companion, "Mammoth, don't you wanna find out what skuzzbrain was dumb enough to try and capture us?"

"I just want to find some food…" Mammoth grumbled as he rubbed his stomach, "Feels like I haven't eaten in weeks…"

"I could go for a hickory smoked sausage meself!" The Billy near them piped up.

"Or a chicken pot pie!" Another Billy spoke.

"Or a piece of Mama's sweeeeeet apple pie!"

"Stop! I think I'm going to pass out if I think about food any longer…" Mammoth moaned.

"Well let's see if we can rustle us up some grub!" The Billy nearest to them spoke up already going off in what Gizmo could only guess where Billy believed the exit was. An eager Mammoth quickly following.

"And by rustle you mean steal, right Billy?" Another Billy asked.

"Of course Billy!" The original Billy retorted.

"You comin' Gizmo?" Mammoth asked, hesitating momentarily to look back at the small boy who still stood still in thought.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Gizmo gave in with a huff.

But just as he moved to head off after them something caught his eyes. It was a movement in the darkness near him. Something with red eyes and white hair. Gizmo knew it. But when he looked nothing was there.

Cursing silently to himself Gizmo shook his head before running after the quickly departing Mammoth and Billy's. Kyd Wykkyd watched his old comrades depart for another moment or two before silently pulling the cape around him, vanishing into the cold, black darkness.

XXXXX

The throne room was quiet now. Not a soul could be found inside the room as large as a house. Not one soul besides the young Tameranian princess that sat on her knees before two gleaming black coffins. She looked upon them with eyes half open.

She had cried her limit during the ceremony for her sister and guardian. She honestly believed that there were no tears left inside her any longer. She sat in clothes still tattered and beaten from the fighting, the dirty cloth still wrapped around her damaged eye. Her people had tried to get her bathed and dressed but she refused them. She refused to look any different on the outside than she looked on the inside.

Soft footsteps soon broke the silence of the room. Starfire did not turn her head or even tried to acknowledge that she heard them. She wasn't ready for what was to come. She would never be ready.

"Princess Starfire." The figure behind her spoke in Tameranian. Starfire didn't speak back to him, only waited for him to continue. "It was Queen Blackfire's final wish that war would be declared on Earth and her allies. As the final remaining heir to the throne will you agree with your Queen's desire…or shall you try and fight against it?"

The threat was not masked at all in those words. How had her sister managed to sink her claws so deep? And how far did her influence spread amongst her people? The answers to those questions, and many others that raged in the young girl's head, were far from clear. There was one thing that was clear to her though.

"My only desire is that justice be brought to those who deserve it." Starfire spoke, small hands clenching into fists at her knees, her gaze still on the tombs before her. "I only ask that my friends won't suffer under Tameran rule."

There was no response at that. Starfire almost turned to see if he had simply left. But that was when two hands found their way onto her shoulders. Starfire flinched, but before she could move she felt someone breathing against her ear.

"Your friends the Titans shall rue the day they ever even existed." A sinister voice whispered coldly in her ear, "When Tamaran crushes Earth they will have nowhere to run or hide. They will know pains beyond imagining, they will wish for death for every second they are kept alive, and they will personally witness every moment of horror and fear they have brought upon themselves. Suffering."

The figure scoffed the word as he released Starfire's now shaking shoulders.

"Suffering doesn't even begin to describe what they will be put through."

Starfire listened as the footsteps slowly faded away. She supposed she was wrong as a silent tear fell from her eye. She could still cry.

XXXXXX

End.

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Now that we have reached the end of this particular story allow me to take the time to say a final BIG thank you to every single person who has read and reviewed this story. It is the first one that I have finished and have been proud of to have finished and I am very glad you all have been around to take part in it. With that said I have unfairly left you with a very big cliffhanger, something I surely wasn't planning on doing when I started this fanfic, but I guess that's the fun of writing things you aren't sure how will end, they tend to evolve on their own. But I digress.

I am thinking of writing a sequel to this. Though it all really depends on if anyone would be interested in such a sequel. So if you are don't be afraid to let me know, I will mainly base my decision on how interested people would be in reading more about this story.

But whether or not I do write such a thing I very much enjoyed writing this story and hearing about how much many of you enjoyed reading it. Truly you guys are the best inspirations I could ask for when it comes to writing, so, one last time, from the bottom of my heart…THANK YOU! :D