Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ /The Chronicles of Pain: Doon's Story/ ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

Author’s Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the plot/characters/places/etc. of the T.V. show Teen Titans, and I don’t know who does. Just to remind everyone…I own Ariana, Nate, Doon, and Sara. Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare are dead, but I still don’t think they would like me taking credit for their literature. So “The Raven” is a beautiful poem by Mr. Poe and “Othello“ is a play/story written by Mr. Shakespeare. ~Chapter Nine~ “Revenge is Sweet… If You’re the Devil”  

Doon was prepared. Everything had been set out for her. It was time to infiltrate the Titans, and eventually, against Doon’s will, kill them. But she had no choice; Slade’s wish is her command.  

Doon had been in intense training for the past two weeks. All of the knowledge she had learned before in training sessions over a period of a few years had been crammed in during that time. Everything from work-outs, power-training, and role-play studies had been forced on Doon. If she incorrectly did something, she was sometimes beaten, scolded, or made to do extra work. Other times Slade had just walked out of the room silently, which was sometimes worse than physical and verbal abuse to Doon, and she didn’t see him until the next day. She just hoped she would be able to smoothly execute all she had learned.  

So here she was, sitting with her legs crossed, trying to look professional. She was wearing the same outfit she had when she had met Robin on the rooftop, a cloak on top of black shirt and pants with her favorite, not to mention only, pair of black boots. She also had the brown wig on over her own silver hair, and the green contacts currently covered her sharp aqua eyes.

She was in the briefing room once again, awaiting Slade’s presence for the final briefing. Slade waked swiftly in a few minutes later and sat down opposite Doon. He wasted no time in beginning, staring down at a stack of papers on the table in front of him.

“The Titans have the potential to cause a real threat to my future operations if not taken care of.” He glances up at her briefly. “What better way to dispose of an enemy than to become an enemy yourself?”

She looked tiredly ahead at him. She had only been able to sleep a couple of hours; she couldn’t with the new nightmares of her slaying the Titans racing through her mind.

“That being said, do not attempt to tell them anything, to run-away, or deceive me in any way. I will know immediately, and you will not survive the consequences.”

Doon remained silent, but nodded. She knew he wasn’t lying.

“No doubt you remember the plan?” he questioned.

Of course Doon recalled every piece of information, he knew so. Years of training in this area, his training, had sharpened her memory to a little less than perfection. She explained the entire procedure, in extreme detail, to Slade; with hints of subtle sarcasm and mockery in her voice.

“At least you can do something.” He looked at the large digital clock hanging on the wall to the right of where he was seated. “It’s nearing show time. Get ready.”

ooo

Robin and Raven had walked back down from the roof together and had then, after a brief, unfamiliar hug, gone their separate ways. Raven had a lot on her mind already, and now this offer of help? She was feeling extremely overwhelmed, but she couldn’t meditate. He was there. She couldn’t sleep. He was there. She was afraid to even close her eyes. He was always there.

So she went and committed herself to her favorite hobby for the rest of the night; reading. The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe; one of the many stories of his she had in this book. She picked up the book lightly, as if it was real and deserved respect. She opened to the page with her bookmark, and began to become lost in the sad, captivating poem.

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

She softly closed the old book with a grin on her face. This was defiantly an idea of a good time to Raven. Dark, depressing poetry late at night.

She suddenly yawned. She knew she couldn’t stay awake forever. Especially because of the strain her powers take on her because of Trigon. But she had to stay awake. Either that, or to fall victim to her father.

She read through the rest of another book she had been reading, Othello, before she finally became too tired to hold herself up. She fell down onto the bed and was asleep before she had even closed her eyes. She woke up the next morning with her book lying open on the floor, sunlight pouring into her room and invading her vision, and her father Trigon standing right before her eyes.

“Hello, daughter.”

ooo (A/N: Oooh, cliffy…)

Doon was currently perched on top of a building, Yuzumaki Corp., waiting for the arrival of both Slade’s drones and then, shortly after, the Titans.

She was definitely having second thoughts about this entire situation. Killing the Titans? Could she really do it, take the lives of five heroes? She had taken lives before, don’t doubt that, but these five were innocent, and needed desperately by Jump City; without the Titans, it would fall. But therein lies Slade’s entire plan. Take out the heroes, take the city for whatever use he intended, and then take all the credit.

It made her sick to think of it all. She was certainly as evil as her father. She had killed at least two dozen people, not including her own mother, aided terrorists and criminals in numerous operations, and committed countless crimes. And with the exception of her mother, she had done it all in Slade’s name, at his command, and usually at his side.

She remembered now, in gruesome detail, an occasion a couple of years ago when she had been pitted against other fighters in an underground fight. Slade had bet all he had against the enemy, who had cheated him out of a large sum of money when they didn’t pay for the completion of a job; and he had very well known that Doon had an extreme advantage over the competition...

ooo (flashback)

“Make it seem as if you’re the underdog.” Slade chuckled to himself. “Those bastards won’t know what hit them. That will certainly teach them a lesson about stealing from me.”

Doon had no idea what was going to happen. She had been drug from downstairs at three in the morning, told to get dressed quickly, and then put in Slade’s limousine.

She had asked questions, but received no answers. Then she had been grabbed and shoved again down a set of dark, damp hallways until they had reached a changing room. Slade sat her down and had said she would be performing for a small crowd.

Now here she sat, a thirteen-year old girl, about to face off against anywhere between twenty and thirty year olds who have been doing underground fighting for year upon year. She couldn’t even begin to realize what she had just stepped into.

It was almost time now, Slade informed her. All of her senses were on fire from the new surroundings, all of them telling her to run from whatever was coming her way in a few precious minutes.

Then it happened all at once.

She was yanked up and guided through more hallways, just as dark and damp as the previous ones, and then finally shoved into a bright white room. A door was slammed behind her, and she struggled to adjust her eyes to the light. As her senses were heightening from her surroundings, she felt more overwhelmed than usual. She was standing in a fairly large white room (more like a small arena, she decided), with stands all around the top of it. There was blood stained barbed wire all over the bleach white walls. Drip, drip, drip; her senses told her that some of it was fresh.

She looked upwards, towards the stands. There were hundreds and hundreds of people crammed into the tight space above her, all holding cameras, weapons, chains, whips, and madly waving money around in their hands.

Her head felt like it was being pounded. The crowd’s screams and bellows, the sound of chain and leather whip against skin and metal, and the blinding white light all contributed towards her developing headache. But she had no time to dwell on that, as a loud “CLICK, THUNK” resounded in the small space.

Her opponent entered the semi-small arena through a metal door that had been painted the same color as the all, making it blend in perfectly.

He was a large, revolting Mexican man. He was not only some wide load (six hundred pounds, to be precise), but also very tall, at least seven feet. He was wearing a white leather belt (specially made for him, she assumed), a pair of navy blue, tight-fitting pants that were almost ripping at the seams, and a white half-mask that covered the immediate area around his eyes, and nothing more; this exposed his sweaty, pale face. On his feet were enormous red boots that looked as if they could crush a person if trampled by them.

Muerto they call him. Why this title? It’s Spanish for death, a very appropriate name for this towering beast of a man. His fighting style screamed “kill me, or be killed”. He was totally undefeated.

Doon looked upwards, towards the stands, and found Slade sitting there, completely foreign in the sea of jostling, shouting people. He had his legs crossed, concealing his eagerness to let the fight begin and let his plot progress.

Doon stared into his eyes, and hoped he could feel the icy hatred she was feeling for him now. She knew he didn’t care if she came out of this alive or in a crumpled, dead heap. And with that knowledge,

Doon turned to her opponent, trying to analyze him, and defeat him at the game he had been playing for over a decade.

He had one of the most ugly face on that Doon had ever seen. It was something between a constant grimace of pain and a crooked, slimy smile; and it was currently directed at the crowd up in the stands. She scowled at him automatically; and followed his gaze, up above the crowd, to a special viewing box. A few Japanese men were seated up in it, next to a group of Americans. It looked as if there were some Irish, Mexican, and German men there, also. There were thirteen in total. Not too much to her surprise, Slade walked into the room and took a seat next to a taller American man.

She directed her attention back to the large Mexican man, and tried to get into his head. What kinds of attacks would he unleash? Size and strength were definitely on his side, but brains (which would most likely be of little use) and telekinetic powers were on her side.

A small Japanese man entered the arena from a concealed door in the wall. He walked to the middle of the room, and signaled to more men who has just emerged from the same door. They were carrying every sort of unconventional weapon that could be imagined. Spears, spikes, bats, swords, bottles, glass, barbed wire, tacks, axes, saws; everything that could cause a very messy and painful death.

The men set the variety of weapons against the white walls around them, under the place where the barbed wire stopped. They walked back through the concealed doors from which they came, and the Japanese man walked to the middle of the arena.

“Za kiritzu kanshite za gekitou gotoku tsuizui,” he paused, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Asoko iiya kiritzu!” The rules are as follows… there are no rules!

Some people in the audience laughed with the man. Others who didn’t laugh in the crowd could care less about what he was saying, they wanted to see a fight. And if they didn’t know what the “referee” had just said, and actually cared, they would’ve gotten the just of it sooner or later.

“Za kan ichi daun, matawa nai, rosu.” The first one down, or dead, loses.

Doon had no idea what the man was saying, which made her become even more nervous than she was before. The Japanese man looked up into the “VIP box”.

“Betto kasho?” All bets have been placed?

An assistant who was standing next to the door of the room that the betting parties were in went and collected the bets from all of them. The assistant nodded down to the ref. He nodded back up to him, then looked at both Doon and Muerto.

“TATAKAI!” FIGHT! The huge, bellowing noise was extremely unexpected from such a small man.

Although Doon didn’t speak the language, she soon understood the meaning of the word when she heard the quick stomping of feet against cement. Just barely in time, Doon dived to the right side, not even knowing what she was diving away from, when Muerto smashed into the wall upon missing Doon in a charging attack.

Doon hardly had enough time to scramble up and dive out of the way a second time as he came thundering towards her, putting an enormous amount of force into a head-first charge attack. His head smashed into the cement wall and created a rather large dent, but he didn’t even miss a beat. He got up and went over to one of the walls. He picked up an axe from there and slapped it against one of his hands.

He twisted around with surprising speed, and came running at Doon a third time, this time with the axe drew back menacingly.

She reacted the only way she knew how. She summoned her powers to her hands, and shoved them in the direction of the advancing man. He stopped dead in his tracks, and not by his own will. An invisible energy was channeling through the air, in a clear line, as Slade had taught her to do so, and it was aimed strait at Muerto’s pumping legs.

He didn’t even realize what had happened at first. He stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the axe. For a moment, he thought he had just bizarrely had a heart attack. Of course he had no idea… none of the audience members did. Her powers were completely invisible, sensed only by her, and a few key others who could actually sense the unimaginable.

The crowd roared their opinion on this sudden halt of action. They had bet on a fight and they expected just that; so what was with this guy?

His legs were completely stuck to the ground beneath them, and he toppled backwards and crashed to the ground. His head hit the concrete hard, creating a resounding CRACK in the fairly small area. For a moment, everyone in the arena suspected him to be completely knocked out. Obviously, they didn’t know Muerto very well.

He had a skull like a goat, and was now struggling to free himself of the captive boots the telekinetic energy had formed. Doon looked on at him, satisfied and concentrating hard on keeping him down, but aware of the fact that she was a long way away from victory.

She followed up her first attack with a levitation technique. She held her arms in front of her and with one swift motion she swept them in a slow figure-eight, binding her opponent in telekinetic energy and making his arms and legs draw in towards his body. She proceeded to raise them slowly, bringing the Mexican up along with her. She looked into his confused, frustrated, and all around pissed eyes; and flung him headfirst, near-full speed straight into one of the bleach white concrete walls.

And he’s down for the count.

He flopped limply (and with a great THUMP) onto the ground, and lay still.

The crowd went wild. Doon withdrew her grasp and breathed in deeply. She felt bad the bewildered man, but she was afraid it would’ve been her slamming into the concrete if she hadn’t done something soon.

“Nyuusensha!” Winner! The Japanese man came and raised Doon’s right arm, making it seem as if it had just been a boxing match. As if that actually makes this legal… Doon thought.

She bitterly glared up at Slade in the VIP seating, and hoped he knew how much she hated him for throwing her into this. She had no desire to harm or, God forbid, kill, anyone. She just wanted to be back in her room, a familiar place, and be away from all the flashing camera lights, blinding white walls, and screams of the crowd.

But, as usual, Slade had other plans, and as usual, she was trapped right in the middle of them.

About a minute later, she was escorted back out into the locker room by Slade, and given a half scolding, half twisted pep talk. But he never raised his voice, he rarely did. He kept it at a low, soft tone; but every time his lips moved, they were like a snake bite, releasing subtly large amounts of venom into the air.

“Why did you finish him off so quickly? You have to make it look convincing! Why did you waste your powers on him? They should’ve been saved for more challenging matches! Why do you think I teach you martial arts?” He took a deep, seemingly calming breath before continuing. “Since it’s too late to put on an innocent act, you will face your next opponents with the regular amount of force, and take them out as quickly as possible. Understood?”

Doon nodded. She had had a mind to tell Slade that she wouldn’t go out there again, face another innocent person (she wasn’t sure if “innocent” was the right term) and risk killing someone. But, as it always turns out, she was intimidated by Slade, and the need, want, and normality of doing his will crept into her mind. So she quietly obliged.

“Good. Now get out there, and show the crowd blood.”

Doon took a deep breath as she was escorted back out into the small arena. A new opponent was already waiting for her. This time she would be fighting a Japanese man. Or rather a teenager, like herself. He was young, fit, very clean and attractive even under these circumstances.

He had somewhat long, spiky jet black hair with bangs swept across some of his face and light blue eyes, similar to her own. He was wearing an all black, tight fitting outfit with a long black jacket over it. He didn’t have a grimace, or even a glare on his face as her last opponent did. He was different, as if, like Doon, he didn’t belong here.

He looked on ahead, right into her eyes and smiled. A smile? From an underground fighter? She was so shocked that she found her mouth opening to say something about it. But she didn’t have time, as the referee stepped back into the middle of the room.

“Niterashite za chinji, bokura akiru aoji za nyuusensha aaiu izen aibeya ahiaru za izen aibeya ashirau za nyuusenshafinaru.” In light of the odd circumstances, we have faced the winner of the last fight with the finalist.

The boy turned to face her, and bowed. She bowed back. This simple exchange told her he used some sort of martial arts. Perfect, so did she. Plus, she had her telekinetic powers. But she didn’t want to use them against this boy, he was her same age, and he seemed innocent enough (again, for lack of a better word).

The referee looked back and forth at them, then threw his arms up into the air. “TATAKAI!” FIGHT!

Neither of them made a move. They were both analyzing one another, studying posture, facial expression, movement... He smiled once more at her. She smiled back this time, small, but a smile nonetheless. It seemed as if neither of them wanted to do this. Maybe he’s being made to as well… Doon briefly wondered. Suddenly he grimaced in pain. He loosened his posture and gripped his neck., which was covered by the tall, raised collar of his coat.

If this had been another opponent, Doon would have taken advantage of this opportunity, doubtless. But there was something about this boy, as if he was in the same situation as she was. She couldn’t attack him, at least not while he was in a disadvantage. He straightened up and tilted his head back up towards her, his bangs covering one of his blue eyes.

He looked hesitant at first, but then ran towards her with incredibly agility and speed. She dodged out of the way of both punches he threw and responded with a kick to his stomach. He blocked with his arm and returned a punch to her face. She was stunned and stumbled back. He was fast and strong. Crap.

She recovered in time to flip backwards away from his next attack, a punch and a kick to her torso. She straightened up and spun towards him with her foot outstretched perfectly. But it wasn’t enough, he easily moved out of the way and landed a blow to her lower back, making her bend over. He grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back. He leaned down and edged his lips until they were almost touching her ear.

“I’m sorry, it’s not me; I don’t want to hurt you.”

He gasped in pain again and released on of her arms. She pulled away from him and saw that he was clutching his neck again. She didn’t stop to think, and instead jerked her fist towards him. He grabbed it and returned with a spin kick to her side. She pulled her fist away and jumped into the air. She used her powers to suspend herself and spun, outstretching her legs in an extreme spin-kick attack. He sustained a blow to his stomach, but nothing more. He recovered quickly, and just as she landed straightened out his four fingers, folding in his thumb, and began striking her with short, painful jabs.

She block them with her arms, and unleashed a series of low kicks meant to land upon his legs. They hit their target, and he stumbled backwards and almost fell backwards. She came running again and tried to punch him in the face with a quick jab, but he dodged the blow; and instead struck her with his foot as her hand passed by. She coughed at the intensity of the blow, strait at her ribs. She even heard one crack.

She flipped backwards again, away from a series of punches aimed at her face, and tried to refocus her concentration. The crowd was screaming as loud as ever. She briefly glanced up at the seating where Slade was, and met his eyes. They were calm, even in the midst of her current lack of performance, and they told her to kill. She looked back at the mysterious, strong blue eyed boy who had obvious skill beyond his years.

Who are you? She found herself wondering. He stared back at her, panting lightly. She decided she was going to have to use her powers. She was good at martial arts, but she could tell without even bringing out her full force that he was more advanced than she was. So, she summoned her powers to her hands, and balled them into fists. She noticed he was grasping his neck again, and there was blood stains on his coat collar now.

He ran towards her with a fist outstretched an another one withdrawn. When he was close to her and about to execute his attack, she brought her fists together and shoved them towards him. The strength of her blow was enhanced by ten, and knocked him clear off his feet. She proceeded to run towards him with the same power now in her legs as well, and tried to try a stomp-kick. He rolled backwards and used his hands to propel himself up and forwards towards her.

She used the powerful energy in her arms to block his attack and send his force right back at him. His arms shook with the force, and Doon found herself thankful that she blocked it. She channeled an extreme amount of energy through her legs and landed multiple kicks to his stomach, legs, and even one to his face. He fell backwards and his back dug into the barbed wire on the wall. He yelled out in pain.

Doon winced. She felt bad, she shouldn’t have hurt him that much. She just meant to knock him out quickly, so that both of them didn’t have to continue. She wanted to run over and help, but she knew Slade would be furious. More blood stained his collar from under it. She was beginning to wonder what it was hiding, and why he kept clutching his neck.

The only thing she could do was look on and wait for him to detach himself from the barbed wire. He had his eyes tightly closed, his bangs clinging to the sweat on his forehead. He yelled out as he slowly pulled himself off the wall of barbed wire. He panted heavily and she saw blood running from his neck, nose, mouth, and slowly dripping onto the floor from his back.

She felt horrible for having done this to him. She never wanted to hurt anyone, she just wanted to be back in her bed, asleep, without the nightmares…

He looked ahead at her, still not glaring, which was amazing enough, but smiling once more. She gazed back at him, and gave him a look that said how sorry she was. He nodded back. He bent over and put his hand over his neck again, grasping something.

Doon stared hard at him, trying to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly she saw a silver band around his neck when he bent over, barely revealed by the coat collar. He was being controlled more so than she, some sort of sick shock collar with thorns or spikes. It was sending strong waves of electricity through his entire body whenever the person with the controller saw fit.

It made her pity this boy all the more. He was being so kind to her, in the sense that he seemed to be holding back in his attacks and still smiling at her through all of this. He had all the reason to fight her aggressively, though,; it wasn’t his choice. He was being used, just like her. Suddenly understanding coursed through her, and she had no desire to even try to harm this boy, no matter what Slade did to her. Suddenly, an idea sprang up in her head.

She looked at him one last time before running forward and jumping. She propelled herself up and over him, landing behind him. She spun around and used her powers to seemingly shove him over, but in actuality it didn’t even hurt him at all. She bent over him, like he did, and whispered in his ear for a mere moment.

“Follow my lead.”

She straightened back up and flipped backwards over and over again until she was in the far corner from him. She summoned all of her powers together and distributed them all over her body. She ran forward and drew both her fists back, as if she was going to land a finishing blow. When she had almost reached him, he braced himself, not knowing what was going to happen. She flipped in the air, as if she was going to strike from behind him. Instead, while airborne, she focused her energy on the collar and snapped it. She then landed and brought it to her hand. She crushed it with her powers and threw it aside. The boy spun around and faced her with a questioning look.

Doon had made up her mind. She grabbed his hand and pulled him near her. She wrapped an arm around her waist and flew straight upwards, away from those headache inducing white walls, above the crowd, above Slade (Doon could only image the look on his face) and the rest of the men. She summoned near all of her powers to her open fist, leaving just enough power everywhere else to keep herself airborne, and smashed through the roof. Luckily, it was a rundown place and the roof was made of some sort of weak material.

Doon kept on flying. She didn’t know where they were, or how to get back to Jump City, but she flew fast and far. Once they caught sight of city lights, Doon relaxed. She looked down at the boy, only to find he was unconscious.

“Shit!” Doon cursed. She knew she had to get him to a hospital, but she couldn’t she was the daughter and accomplice of the city’s most powerful villain. She couldn’t risk it, even if that was being a little paranoid. She would have to try and help him any way she could on her own. She poured on speed and energy she didn’t know she had and eventually reached the city. She flew high, trying to find a rooftop to land on.

She picked the third highest in town, Yuzumaki Corp. She set him down gently and rolled him over onto his stomach slowly. She gently took off his coat and laid it aside. She took off his shirt next, and examined his wound. She could see the imprints of the wire, they had gone in deep and blood was seeping out and rolling slowly down his sides.

“Oh no…” Doon trailed off. She had done this to him, and she felt horrible. “I can’t even take you to the hospital.”

She looked at him sadly. He was still unconscious, and losing blood at a fast rate. She was utterly pissed. This was all Slade’s idea. Slade’s money, Slade’s fight, Slade’s fault. She felt sick, she didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want this boy to be here, and she sure as hell didn’t want him hurt.

Suddenly, out of desperation, an idea sprang into Doon’s head. If she was only that skillful… but she had to try. She had to fix her mistake, the mistake of ever participating in this bizarre mess. Once again, like she had done so many times before, she summoned some of her power and distributed it to her finger tips. She felt the power, a cool burn, sitting on the edges of her fingertips, begging to be released.

She concentrated, as much, if not more, than she always did in training when under close watch by her father. She traced an index finger over his wounds, just barely above the skin, and followed up each of her fingers after that, excluding only her two thumbs. She focused her energy on the two sides of skin that were split, and drew them together. She was attempting something far out of her skill level, mending human flesh. Not only that, but attempting to mend scar and muscle tissue underneath.

She went slowly, her work was near perfection. Despite herself, she found it very impressive that she was able to accomplish this. She distantly noted that Slade, may he burn in hell, has taught her well. She was beginning to feel the strain, more than ever now that she had reached the deepest part of the wound. She had to pause her work and pour more power into the task, which in turn drained more energy.

She could feel something moving slowly from her nose and dripping onto the ground. Blood. She was almost finished, just a little more… She had a tremendous headache, her fingers felt as if they were in a fire, and there was a quicker moving drip of blood coming from her nose.

Finished! She fell back and landed on her bottom, leaning forward to allow the remainder of blood to come from her nose. Her head was pounding, and her entire arms ached; but she had done it, she might of even saved his life. She smiled and tore a bit of her already-torn sleeve off. She stuffed it into her nostrils and went over to the boy.

Doon went over and got his coat, putting it on the rooftop. She lightly turned him over, using her powers to help in light of and despite her recent outpour. She laid him on top of the coat and used his torn shirt as a makeshift blanket.

Now to wait…

ooo

Slade was riding back to his mansion in a different limousine than the one he and his apprentice had arrived in.

He had quickly and quietly left after Doon and the other fighter had… not so quietly left. Even as he was walking to the limo, he was thinking of a horrible punishment for said telekinetic girl.

He picked up his glass of champagne and sipped it carefully. He looked out the window casually, letting the hand with the glass in it slump slightly.

So, you’ve decided to play rescuer, Doon? Foolish pest.

Regardless, you did perform well tonight... Perhaps I won’t extract the entire sum of money you’ve lost me from you…

Slade retired from his thoughts about his daughter and enjoyed the luxury of a ride through the nighttime country side, with champagne, as he contemplated other matters…

ooo

It was an hour later when the teen-martial artist returned to consciousness. Doon hadn’t left his side the entire time. She had since been watching the city’s night life pass by as her powers, and energy, slowly came back to her. She smiled when he finally came to.

“He lives.” She said. “You’ve been unconscious for around an hour and a half now, and I had to fix up your back.”

He seemed to acknowledge her for the first time as he sat up slowly.

“How did we get up here?” He mumbled.

“If you don’t remember, then you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She said seriously.

He looked over at her. I remember flying through a roof and being in the air, but your right, I don’t believe it.”

She sighed and looked away from his tired blue eyes.

“It’s a long story, but let’s just say I’m a lot different than your average teen.”

He chuckled softly, richly. “I’ll say.”

She glanced back at him, then returned her gaze to the night sky. She was hoping he wouldn’t remember…

“Nevertheless,” he said, reaching and touching her shoulder slowly. “thank you. You saved me, in more ways than you’ll ever know.”

She smiled and blushed internally at his touch on her shoulder.

“What was that collar on your shoulder being used for?”

He frowned and withdrew his hand. “Control. I was being made to fight for money for a rather passive gang.”

She frowned too. “I’m sorry. I’m in the same situation, though.”

He experimentally moved around, testing his wound. “How’d you…”

“Like I said, long story.”

He looked down at his hands. “Name’s Ryu, by the way.”

She turned towards him. “Doon.” Doon paused for a moment, not sure how to do what she new she needed to. “I’m really sorry about the fight, I never meant to…”

Ryu held up a hand to stop her. He smiled back at her, the same smile he had given her back in the bleach white room. “You saved me didn’t you? That’s more compensation than I could’ve ever asked for.” She smiled at him, thankful he wasn’t mad.

“Besides, I think I did some damage in the fight too.”

She looked up and grinned playfully at him. “Well, if you call that a fight…”

He chuckled again, it sent shivers down her spine. He was a very comely person. They sat in silence for a few minutes, dreading the question they both new was to come. Ryu was the one to ask at last.

“So, what now?”

She looked over at him, then down at the rooftop.

“Do you have anywhere?”

Ryu shook his head. “Not since I was little.”

“I wish I could help you, but I’m in basically the same situation. No family?”

“My mom, but she hates me. Or rather hates what I’ve become. You?”

She looked up at him slowly and responded in a way she found truthful.

“Not anymore.”

The sun was beginning to rise in the eastern sky. The sky turned a blood red as the sun rose greatly into the sky.

“I do have somewhere I need to go back to. Think of it as having my own collar.”

He nodded understandingly. “Do what you have to do, Doon, and I wish you the best.”

They both stood up and looked at one another, blushing after a few moments. Ryu bent down with a painful wince and picked up his coat, slipping it on over himself. He moved forward and hugged her tightly. She reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks once again, and I hope we do meet again sometime.”

“What are you going to do Ryu? Where are you going to go?” Doon asked.

Ryu shrugged and smiled at her again. That warm, caring smile… there was something in it… something pure and good. He turned and headed to the edge of the roof. She watched him walk for a few steps and gaze over the edge before he turned around again. She shook her head and laughed.

“Need a lift?” Doon asked him with a smile.

Ryu nodded and let out another rich laugh. “Please.”

She walked over to him and grabbed onto him, blushing slightly at the close contact. She lifted off the ground painfully at first, but she felt the pain subside as she lifted higher off the rooftop. Doon glanced down at Ryu and saw the look of amazement on his face. His black bangs were swept in front of his blue eyes and he certainly looked amazed.

She looked back up and flew forward, increasing in speed as she went. He grasped on tighter to her as she gained speed, they were at least 30 stories above the world below. They passed over and in between buildings; over stores and houses, also. And finally, one of her favorite parts of the city, the ocean. They passed over the water and she ducked low so they could feel mist clinging to their skin as it was kicked up in the air.

She smiled when she sensed him looking at her in both impression and amazement. She had never shown anyone except for Slade her power in a good way. She felt amazing and impressive herself, and she decided to let lose. She rose up into the air and spread out the one arm that wasn’t holding Ryu up, and did a back flip in the air. She felt alive, as if her powers could actually be something other than hideous to someone else.

She looked at Ryu again when she had came back level with the water and his mouth was wide open.

They flew on over the water and circled around, finally landing on a vacant spot on the beach. She released him and he wobbled at first. She grabbed his arms and steadied him with a smile.

“Your amazing Doon. Martial arts, and you can fly.”

“Thanks… you don’t know how much that means.”

They knew they had to leave each other now. It was a sad thing, to part with a new friend.

“You really think we’ll see each other again?” Doon asked as they walked down the beach.

“Yeah, I do.”

She smiled, satisfied with that answer. They came to a stop once the trees had stopped, giving way to the city.

“I guess this is where I go find something to do with my life, then.” Ryu said with a small chuckle with a lot of seriousness hidden behind it.

“I wish I could help you Ryu, but I have something I need to finish.”

He nodded. “And you’ve already helped me enough.”

Ryu smiled at Doon again, and she felt her cheeks reddening. They exchanged another hug before he winked and turned, heading off into his new life. She watched him walk away, and even then she felt a morbid, foreboding feeling she knew would show up sooner or later.

ooo

That was the last time Doon ever saw Ryu, her only friend in this cruel life she had. He had showed up on the news, about two weeks later, dead. Killed by gunshot to the heart. She didn’t know who the hell did it, or why, but upon hearing the news she had lifted up a chair and smashed it into the T.V.

She hadn’t come out of her room for a week afterwards, had not slept much and had not eaten anything, spare some bread. Slade had kept his distance, something she had not understood to this day. But because of this minute expression of something similar to care that her father had shown her, she knew he hadn’t organized this. It was whoever was controlling her late friend.

Once again, she had made a vow for revenge. She took this revenge as soon as she emerged from her room, setting off into the city after a short visit to Slade. He had known she would come to him ,and he had only one piece of paper t hand her before disappearing into his lab. It read Kiyoshi Bros. 459 Edmund St. that was all she needed.

The next thing on the news (appearing on the newly purchased plasma in the sitting room) was the story of the entire Kiyoshi gang being killed at a meeting of their at their hideout.

“Officer Hanely, could you tell us your view on the current situation?”

“Well, I have to admit that I’m relieved, less work for the force to do. Although it is a mystery how all these people died here at the same time tonight, and we still don’t have any leads or an idea for that matter about who did it.” Hanely laughed roughly. “Hell, what am I talking about, we’ve got loads of work.”

“And you heard it first from FNVC, your number one source for the latest stories of Jump City. Back to you Keith.”

Slade reached and turned off the T.V. He smiled slightly, and took a sip of his wine. A girl was standing behind him, she had just walked in and watched the news with him with half open eyes.

He tossed a towel over to her. She was covered in blood and mud.

“Revenge is sweet, is it not?”

She could only salvage a nod from her wrecked and exhausted figure.

“Clean yourself up.”

ooo

It was here and now that Doon remembered those memories of friendship, pain, and revenge. She had taken her revenge, yes, and it was certainly sweet. But afterwards she couldn’t help but feel Ryu would be frowning at her actions… She pushed these thoughts aside as a tear rolled down her cheek. Let the past be, now was the present, and it was almost time for everything to begin.

ooo

Author’s Note: Ok, so I wanted to incorporate a big event into this chapter, but I’ll fit it in next time. I’m not really sure why I decided to put in this segment, but I hope you guys don’t hate it. I don’t know, it gave some insight into her tough past with Slade so I thought I’d include it. So, I’m going to update the 10th along with this one, so don’t worry, you won’t miss a thing.