Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Coil ❯ Hexagram ( Chapter 5 )

 

“Coil”

Chapter 5: “Hexagram”

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine; it belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Ryuji, Candy, and the gangs that appeared last chapter are my invention, though.

Author's note: Did anyone like the motorcycle racing in the last chapter? I got the idea from watching 2 Fast 2 Furious too many times in one week, but I like motorcycles slightly better than cars, so I used those instead. Expect more of that in future chapters, as well as more sexual tension between Robin/Alvin and Blackfire.

Now on with the story.

The Titans were restless. Slade had been quiet for the last several days, which worried them all because they knew that quietness of any sort involving Slade merely meant that he was gearing up for something really bad.

Cyborg and Raven had combined their considerable knowledge in investigating Slade. The cybernetic Titan attempted to track down Slade through technological means. The mystic Titan searched through her ancient tomes for anything that could have imbued the one-eyed mastermind with the powers that he now possessed.

After having no success at all on his end, Cyborg visited Raven's room. Raven opened her door to him.

“No luck?” she surmised.

“No luck,” Cyborg confirmed. “You?”

“Nothing,” Raven replied. “It's not as though he has a demon mark on his forehead. That would at least give me a clue as to what empowered him like that.”

“You think . . . that you should . . .” Cyborg hesitated to say.

“Look inside Malchior's book and interrogate the bastard for whatever could have given Slade his powers?” Raven finished. “His knowledge of magic could help us.”

“But what?” Cyborg prompted.

“I don't trust him,” Raven answered. “He already deceived me once to gain his freedom. Who's to say he won't try it again?”

“Have you been able to find anything in your books?” Cyborg asked.

“No,” Raven replied.

“Then I don't think we have much of a choice,” Cyborg concluded.

“There's something else,” Raven said.

“What is it?” Cyborg inquired.

“When Starfire and I were fighting Slade in Los Angeles, I sensed a trace of Robin,” Raven responded. “He wasn't there, but I could sense the emotional imprint he had left when he was there before.”

“And you didn't tell us why?” Cyborg prompted.

“Because if I had, Starfire would immediately make us try to find him,” Raven replied. “As much as I like her, she is not the most clear-headed person in the entire universe when it comes to Robin.”

“That's true,” Cyborg admitted, recalling the time when Killer Moth had forced Robin to go on a date with his bratty daughter Kitten and Starfire had broken away from the investigation simply to make sure that Kitten didn't try to put the moves on Robin.

“Besides, he's not ready to come back to us yet,” Raven stated. “I can still feel him, but his emotions are clouded, so I can't properly track him through those . . . and the darkness dragon inside him is starting to gain a degree of influence over his actions.”

“That would explain why he's putting criminals in traction,” Cyborg mused.

At that moment, the alarm blared. Cyborg and Raven ran to the main room of the Tower and Cyborg asked, “What's going on?”

“We just got a call from the Titans East,” Beast Boy replied.

“They say that Slade's `murder machines' are wreaking havoc at an archaeological dig,” Starfire added.

“We'd better go help them,” Raven advised. “They don't know what Slade's after.”

The four Titans got into the T-Ship and flew to Steel City to assist the Titans East. When they got to the coordinates, what they saw was nothing short of hell. The androids' laser fire had resulted in fires all over the dig site, although it didn't seem to bother them in the least. Titans East, on the other hand, seemed to be suffering greatly from the heat . . . with the exception of Aqualad, whose Atlantean physiology enabled him to survive extremes of temperature. However, he was sweating bullets from the exertion of fighting Slade's androids and that could not be good in light of the fact that he needed to hydrate every so often to survive.

“About time you guys got here!” Bumblebee exclaimed as she flew and darted over the laser fire of Slade's androids, retaliating with electrostatic blasts from her stingers.

Speedy was shooting arrows at the androids like a madman, but the androids were dodging each and every one. “Damn it! How do they move so fast?”

Mas and Menos were zooming around at super-speed, outrunning and outfighting the androids. Unfortunately, a particularly smart android switched his laser blaster to its sword mode and it slashed at Menos, who reflexively separated from Mas to evade the swing. Once the twins were separated, the androids seized the opportunity they had been given, grabbing the twins and keeping them apart.

“Mas! Menos!” Aqualad shouted. He used his hydrokinetic powers to rupture some underground pipes and channel the water inside them to blast the androids holding Mas and Menos, each drop propelling itself like a bullet. The perforated androids were forced to let Mas and Menos go.

“Gracias, senor Aqualad,” the twins said.

“You're welcome,” Aqualad answered and then blasted more androids with water.

Starfire and Raven pelted the androids with starbolts and shadow-TK blasts while Cyborg shot sonic blasts at them with his cannon arm and Beast Boy tore into them as a lion.

“Hey, where's Robin?” Speedy asked as he dodged an android's laser and retaliated with an armor-piercing explosive arrow.

“In L.A.!” Cyborg shouted over the noise of laser fire.

“Why the hell would he go off to L.A.?” Speedy asked after his arrow pierced the android and blew it apart.

“Ask later!” Cyborg shouted as he blasted several androids apart.

“Ok,” Speedy muttered as he continued shooting arrows at the androids.

Eventually, all of the androids were dismantled.

“What the hell did they want here?” Bumblebee asked.

Raven looked at the locator bracelet around her wrist, the gems in which were blinking powerfully. “An Apocalyptic Gem. It's here.”

“Apocalyptic Gem?” Speedy asked.

“Yeah,” Raven replied. “One of a set of four that when put together will summon the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and thus end the world.”

“Is that what Slade's androids were after?” Aqualad asked.

Raven nodded.

“Then we must make sure Slade does not get that gem,” Starfire stated.

“I'm afraid it's too late for that, dear girl,” a deep, malevolent voice drawled.

All the Titans turned to face the source of that voice . . . Slade.

“Slade!” Beast Boy spat.

The masked madman held his hand out, revealing three gems colored black, white, and blue each. “I already have Black Death, White Famine, and now Blue Pestilence.”

“But you don't have the last gem,” Bumblebee declared defiantly.

“That's all right,” Slade said. “You don't have it, either. But I know where it is. I know who's holding it. And I know he can't do a thing to stop me from getting it.”

“If you speak of Robin, then you will not be able to get that gem from him,” Starfire affirmed. “He has beaten you before and he shall do so again.”

“You are smarter than most people would believe, but your love for Robin blinds you to his weaknesses,” Slade answered, “weaknesses that I know how to exploit to my advantage.”

Starfire's eyes glowed and she lunged at Slade, ready to take the three Apocalyptic Gems from him. However, Slade merely disappeared into a fiery warp, evading Starfire's charge.

“N'mad,” she snarled under her breath. “Robin is in danger. We must find him and assist him.”

Back in Los Angeles, Robin - in the guise of Alvin Draper - rode on his disguised R-Cycle to the junkyard where Ryuji had told him to meet him and the other Hell's Dragons. He parked his motorcycle outside the junkyard and walked inside, where he was greeted by the Hell's Dragons.

“You made it,” Ryuji stated.

“Yeah, why wouldn't I?” Robin asked.

“I was almost afraid you'd chicken out,” Ryuji answered.

“I don't chicken out of anything,” Robin stated.

“Good,” Ryuji remarked. “It's time for your initiation.”

“How's it work?” Robin asked.

“Simple. If you want in, you gotta kick all our asses,” Ryuji replied.

Robin smirked and clenched his gloved fist, cracking the knuckles in it.

“He don't look that tough,” a Hell's Dragon remarked.

“We gon' own that bitch,” another Hell's Dragon added.

Robin just smirked and shifted into a fighting stance as the Hell's Dragons surrounded him.

“Go,” Ryuji ordered.

One Hell's Dragon took out a length of chain and swung it at Robin, intending to ensnare him. Robin simply held his arm up and let the chain wrap around his forearm, using it to wrench the Hell's Dragon toward him so that he could knee-jab him in the stomach. He followed up with a karate chop in the back of the neck, hitting a nerve that knocked him unconscious.

Robin saw a Hell's Dragon pull out a gun near him and another Hell's Dragon edging closer to attack him. Robin threw his chained arm out, using the loose end to ensnare the gun-holding Hell's Dragon's hand. The force of that lash knocked the gun out of his hand and sent it flying into Robin's hand. Robin proceeded to throw the gun at the other Hell's Dragon's head, knocking him unconscious. He turned his attention to the Hell's Dragon he had connected to him by way of chain and maneuvered himself so that he was in his face. With one vicious head-butt, the Hell's Dragon fell unconscious.

A Hell's Dragon came up from behind with the intention of beating Robin over the head with a crowbar, but Robin whirled around and delivered a vicious spin-kick that knocked the air out of him. He grabbed the crowbar and smashed him over the head with it, putting him in the land of sleep.

“Who's next?” Robin asked with a feral snarl.

Hell, yeah! the dragon shouted. Let's kick some ass!

Three more Hell's Dragons came at Robin from all sides, but Robin jumped up and spun around, kicking them all hard enough in the head to send them to the world of dreams for a while.

Landing on the ground, he found himself facing Ryuji.

“Now it's just you and me,” he declared.

The two began to fight hand-to-hand and to Robin's surprise, Ryuji was a very good fighter. From his style, Robin could tell that he wasn't a martial artist but rather a very competent street fighter.

Ryuji swung at Robin, who moved his head out of the way of the punch and swung back at Ryuji. Unfortunately, Ryuji managed to catch his wrist and channel the energy from the punch into a throw that landed Robin on the ground. Robin just got up and kicked Ryuji, but Ryuji grabbed his leg before the kick could impact and twisted. Despite this, Robin twisted upward and kicked Ryuji in the face with his other foot, forcing Ryuji to let go of him.

“You're not bad,” Ryuji remarked.

“Thanks,” Robin answered. “Neither are you.”

The two came at each other again, trading blows like they'd die if they stopped. Robin dropped and swung his leg out in a low spinning kick, but Ryuji jumped up to avoid it. Undeterred, Robin spun back into an upright position and kicked Ryuji in the chest as soon as he landed back on the ground. Ryuji stumbled back, but he was quick to recover and retaliate with a quick jab that Robin blocked, only for him to fall victim to a sucker punch in the gut.

“I could do this all day,” Ryuji remarked.

“Likewise,” Robin rejoined as he ran and jumped into the air to kick Ryuji, who blocked his kick with his forearm. The Teen Wonder flipped back and sprung up to kick Ryuji repeatedly, and not even the leader of the Hell's Dragons could stand up to the force of Robin's assault forever.

Robin finally finished it with a vicious kick to the gut that knocked Ryuji's air out and nearly made him just as unconscious as his fellow Hell's Dragons.

“Damn, you're freaking relentless,” Ryuji remarked breathlessly.

“When I have to be,” Robin responded.

“You're in,” Ryuji said. He looked around to see the unconscious bodies of the other Hell's Dragons. “Are they gonna be ok? You really jacked them up.”

“I didn't jack `em up that bad,” Robin answered. “They'll wake up soon.”

“All right,” Ryuji conceded.

After the incapacitated Hell's Dragons woke up, Robin was allowed to go but not before the assorted gang members complimented him on his fighting skills. Once he was outside the junkyard, he got on his R-Cycle and rode away. He was rather surprised when he felt a weight settle on the back of the motorcycle and a pair of arms wrap around his waist. If not for his extreme discipline, he might have swerved out of control and crashed.

“Just drive, Alvin,” he heard Blackfire's voice whisper in his ear.

Robin shuddered with repressed desire and continued driving.

“Turn right,” Blackfire instructed.

Robin turned right as Blackfire instructed and continued following her instructions until he arrived at Sacrilege. He parked the motorcycle and he and Blackfire got off and walked into the club. This time, there wasn't just dancing going on; there were also people making out passionately. Another thing Robin noticed was that the people in the club were all dressed in fabrics that fit them like second skins, like leather, latex, rubber, and spandex.

“How did you do that?” Robin asked in feigned surprise.

“I can fly,” Blackfire replied with a smirk. “Now let's dance.”

She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, sensually rubbing her leather-clad body against his as they danced. Robin's hands moved down her sides to her hips, holding her close as he felt his blood surging southward.

“You want me, don't you?” Blackfire whispered.

“Yes,” Robin hissed. “I want you so much I can practically taste your breath.”

“Does my breath smell nice?” Blackfire asked.

“It smells like heaven,” Robin replied, “if heaven had dark angels such as you in it.”

The annoying thing about her outfit is that double choker she's wearing, the dragon snarled. Prevents me - us - from kissing and biting that delectable throat.

As they continued dancing, Robin silently observed that he'd found a way to have sex while remaining clothed. His and Blackfire's hands roamed over each other's bodies, his hands feeling her curves and her hands feeling the planes of his body. At the same time, he felt his pelvis pressing and grinding urgently against hers.

Blackfire let out a soft moan as Robin kissed the line of her jaw and the tiny bit of throat left exposed by her choker.

“X'Hal . . .” she moaned. “I have to have you . . . now.”

Knowing what she wanted, Robin began moving toward one of the closed doors, praying silently that it wasn't occupied. When he opened it, he was gratified to find that it wasn't occupied.

No sooner had he gotten through the door than he was pinned to the bed with Blackfire on top of him, holding his wrists over his head and kissing him like she was trying to suck the air out of his lungs. Robin kissed her back passionately, wishing that his hands were free so that he could touch her. At that moment, he no longer cared that Alvin Draper was nothing but a lie. He no longer cared that Starfire was the one he was supposed to love.

All he saw was Blackfire. All he could hear was Blackfire. All he could smell was Blackfire. All he could feel was Blackfire. All he could taste was Blackfire.

And God help him, he wanted it that way.

Blackfire broke the kiss and Robin could see her violet eyes literally glowing with need. She nudged the collar of his shirt aside and began kissing, sucking, and biting his throat, delighting in his soft gasps and moans as he writhed against her in need.

“What do you want, Alvin?” Blackfire asked.

“You . . .” Robin replied raggedly.

“Good answer,” Blackfire remarked. “What do you want me to do?”

Robin couldn't answer; he was too busy whimpering in need.

“I think I know already, seeing how excited Alvin, Jr. is,” Blackfire remarked with a smirk. Just as she was about to tear his clothes off, they heard an explosion. “What the hell was that?”

“Some whack job with a bomb?” Robin asked, jarred out of his desire-fueled haze by the blast.

“Stay here,” Blackfire ordered. “I'll check it out. Don't need my favorite toy getting himself killed.” With that statement made, she walked out the door, fusing it shut with her starbolts so that Robin wouldn't try to get out.

Robin breathed out a sigh of relief and began stripping off his clothes, revealing that he'd been wearing his costume underneath them. He shook out his cape just to get rid of the wrinkles and slipped on his gloves, flexing his fingers. He pulled the mask out of his pocket and put it on, the adhesive substance on the inside securing it to his face.

The Teen Wonder kicked down the door Blackfire had fused shut and walked out into the fiery chaos . . . only to see Blackfire fighting Slade. She seemed to be doing rather well, keeping Slade on the defensive by constantly pelting him with starbolts.

“And who might you be?” he asked as he finally knocked a starbolt aside and charged at her.

“Blackfire,” the exiled Tamaranean replied as she caught him and used the force of his charge to throw him into a wall.

“Would you be related to Starfire of the Teen Titans by any chance?” Slade asked as he recovered by kicking off the wall and retaliated with a fierce kick to Blackfire's jaw.

“Unfortunately, she's my little sister,” Blackfire answered with a scowl as she rubbed her aching jaw.

“Such a shame,” Slade remarked. “You are certainly a much better fighter than she is.”

“I know,” Blackfire answered arrogantly.

“I have a proposition for you,” Slade said.

“Ooh, a proposition,” Blackfire remarked. “I haven't met a man on this planet who hasn't said that to me at least once.”

“It is not anything of that sort,” Slade amended, sounding offended. “I have no desire for your body. Only your allegiance.”

“I happen to have a hard time giving anyone my allegiance,” Blackfire said. “I work for myself.”

“You seem like a very experienced young woman, so I can offer you something better than my usual,” Slade answered. “I propose a partnership.”

“What's in it for me?” Blackfire questioned.

“You hate your sister Starfire,” Slade stated. “I hate her, too. She is the reason Robin is no longer in my service. If it wasn't for his love for her, I would have been able to maintain my hold over him. So my proposition is this: You become my partner and I will give you the means to eliminate Starfire. In return, you will assist me in my plans. Together, we will devastate armies and conquer nations.”

“Sounds like fun,” Blackfire remarked. “I'm in.”

Those two words broke Robin's heart. Once again, he felt like weeping.

But why? Why did it hurt so much that Blackfire was joining his sworn enemy? He only desired her, didn't he? It was just physical between them, right? What did it matter to him if Blackfire allied with Slade? Why did it affect him to the verge of tears?

He heard a harsh, rasping laugh within his mind, quickly realizing that it was the dragon.

What the hell are you laughing at? he snarled.

Because you're so frickin' dense, the dragon replied. You love her.

Love her? How can I love her when I know just how evil she can be? Robin asked.

The heart's decisions are never truly understood by the mind, the dragon responded.

I'll lick my wounds later, Robin decided. Right now, Slade's sorry ass is mine!

The mark of the dragon pulsed and glowed a lurid black on Robin's right arm. “SLADE!” he roared.

“Ah, it seems our Teen Wonder has finally decided to join us,” Slade purred. “Robin. It's been a while.”

“Get ready to burn in your own flames, you son of a bitch,” Robin spat.

“Ah, I see you've finally forsaken your no-killing rule,” Slade observed. “But do you really think you can kill me?”

Robin's response was to leap into the air and viciously batter Slade with a series of punches and kicks, one of them delivered with such force that it dislocated Slade's shoulder and snapped his neck. Those wounds didn't seem to matter to Slade; he just cracked his neck back into place without using his hands and proceeded to snap his shoulder back into place.

“See what I mean?” Slade asked rhetorically.

Robin punched Slade straight in the face with the hope that the metal caps on the glove's knuckles would do some damage, but Blackfire grabbed his wrist before he could finish the punch and threw him into the wall. Much like Slade had when Blackfire had done this to him, Robin kicked off the wall and retaliated with a vicious kick to her stomach.

“Why the hell are you working for him?” he asked. Then he spat into the flames. “Dumb question. Scum always sticks together.”

Blackfire gave no outward signs of being offended, but Robin could have sworn that her eyes briefly flashed with hurt and anger.

“Partner, shall we eliminate him together?” Slade asked.

“Let's,” Blackfire replied as her eyes and hands glowed with deadly violet light.

Slade's fists and eye glowed with unholy flame.

At that moment, Blackfire and Slade blasted Robin at the same time with starbolts and hellfire. However, the darkness dragon's power took the shape of a fiery dome to protect Robin from their combined attack. As soon as the immediate danger passed, the dome became a sphere that Robin launched at both Blackfire and Slade, who dodged. The sphere kept going, though, at least until it blew out the entire front wall and entrance of Sacrilege.

“You're not playing around, are you?” Blackfire remarked.

The dragon mark ignited into flames that spiraled around his right arm and shaped themselves into a sword. Without saying anything, Robin lunged at Slade and Blackfire and slashed at them both with his dragon-fire sword. Slade generated a fiery shield to protect himself and Blackfire from Robin's attack and blasted Robin with hellfire as soon as the attack was blocked. Blackfire flew at Robin and kicked him into the flames, but Robin stopped himself from landing in them. Once he was safe, he transformed the fiery black sword into a serpentine blade that lashed Blackfire, cutting a hole in the midriff of her mesh body stocking and burning through her skin.

“Bastard!” Blackfire exclaimed. “I paid good money for this outfit!”

“Like I care anymore,” Robin snarled.

“`Anymore'?” Slade quoted with an amused chuckle. “You mean to tell me that you harbored feelings for my new partner?”

Robin seethed silently, knowing full well that the truth of his feelings for Blackfire was all over his face.

“A Freudian slip, I'll take it,” Slade mused. “Yes, that's it, isn't it? Only a heartbroken man could fight with the ferocity that you've displayed.”

“And how would you know about heartbreak, asshole?” Robin asked. “You've never loved anyone in your entire life!”

“Don't be so certain of that, Robin,” Slade answered cryptically. Suddenly, he whirled around and caught a red X-shaped shuriken. “You can come out now, X.”

“You really piss me off, Slade,” Red X stated. “I was just about to sample the pleasures of the flesh with this cute redhead and then you showed up and started burning the place down. What the frig is up with that?”

“You failed me, Red X,” Slade rumbled. “I hired you to acquire that last gem and you handed it right to Robin.”

“So that was you on that pay phone?” Red X asked. “Damn. Oh, well, if you're going to destroy the world, I kinda have to stop you. I'm no hero, but I'm not so warped that I'd think annihilating all existence is a good idea.”

“Destroy the world?” Blackfire questioned.

“I will explain myself later,” Slade replied. “Right now, we must rid ourselves of these interlopers.”

“Destroy the world!” Blackfire exclaimed. “I don't want the world destroyed! I want it in the palm of my hand!” She fired a brutal optic blast at Slade, knocking him into a wall. Slade just got up, looking very displeased.

“If you would have waited for me to explain myself, you would see that there is more to my plan than the simple annihilation of this world,” Slade snarled. “But since you have turned against me, you will have to join the others who have turned against me . . . in hell.” He placed his hands together and made some arcane gestures, unleashing a wave of hellfire once he finished.

Robin, Red X, and Blackfire dodged the wave of hellfire and Robin shot a retaliatory blast of black fire at Slade, who generated a barricade of hellfire.

“I know you have the final Apocalyptic Gem, Robin,” Slade snarled. “You will hand it to me . . . or I will remove it from your corpse. Your choice.”

“You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands,” Robin snarled.

“So be it,” Slade answered before flames shot out of both hands and formed into swords. Robin mirrored his action and the two black-clad warriors charged at each other, slashing at each other. Robin ducked under Slade's swing and attempted to slice Slade's legs off at the knees, but Slade jumped up and kicked Robin, who stumbled back a few steps. Robin swung at Slade again, but Slade bent over backwards to avoid the swing, subsequently rising up and slashing Robin at brutal speeds. The slashes cut through his suit, leaving holes and burn wounds that rapidly began to heal.

A zinothium-fueled blast of red energy and a bolt of violet energy suddenly hit Slade at the same time, one striking his chest and the other striking his legs, knocking him off balance.

“Need a hand, kid?” Red X asked.

“Thanks,” Robin answered.

“Three on one,” Slade remarked. “As far as I'm concerned, that means you're outnumbered.”

He rushed at the trio and slashed them all in one swing. Robin retaliated by swinging both dragon-fire swords at Slade, but Slade placed his hands between the fiery blades and knocked them out of the way. At the same time, he had to dodge a volley of starbolts from Blackfire, moving so quickly that Red X almost mistook him for a character from the Matrix films. Then he shot her with a ball of unholy flame, knocking her straight at the fires of the club.

“BLACKFIRE!” Robin screamed. The next thing he knew, he had brutally slashed Slade's side with his fiery blades and with such swiftness that the mastermind was taken by surprise.

“What the hell?” Slade asked.

“Something the matter, Slade?” Robin asked but his voice was no longer anything recognizable as human. To Red X, Slade, and Blackfire, it sounded more like the fires of darkness given a voice.

The Teen Wonder flexed his gloved fist, having dissipated his swords. “That was just the beginning,” he hissed.

Slade saw the pulsing draconic mark coiled around Robin's right arm and knew the truth in an instant. “You . . . you're the dragon . . . aren't you?”

“Guilty as charged,” the dragon confirmed.

“What the hell is going on?” Red X asked.

“Beats me,” Blackfire replied, looking just as astonished as Red X felt.

With a roar, the dragon charged at Slade and dealt him a brutal punch, following it up with a ferocious heel kick to his wounded side and swinging himself up to kick Slade in the back of the head with his other foot. Never relenting, he bent to deliver a vicious elbow jab to Slade's chest.

“Damn, he's flexible,” Red X remarked.

“Gives me ideas,” Blackfire added with a lecherous grin on her face.

The dragon grabbed Slade by the shoulders while he was contorted over him and viciously slammed him onto the floor.

“Is that enough, or do you want more?” the dragon asked.

Slade's response was to teleport away, eliciting an incensed roar from the dragon. Low, ragged growls followed the roar, as though the dragon was trying to contain himself. Finally, he seemed to cool down.

“Uh, what happened?” Robin asked.

“You went psycho on Slade and kicked his ass,” Red X replied. “And you were talking in this really scary raspy voice, too. Sounded like something that crawled out of hell.”

“Sorry,” Robin replied. “That's my houseguest.”

“Looks like Alvin and I are gonna need a new place to hang out at,” Blackfire remarked. “Dammit! I left him inside that room!”

“He's all right,” Robin said. “I managed to get him someplace safe while you and Slade were fighting. He's probably worried sick about you.”

“Thanks,” Blackfire said. A smirk formed on her face. “You know, it's rather flattering that someone of your high morals would be in love with someone like me. Unfortunately for you, I already have a boyfriend. Still, it wouldn't hurt to see if you really are a Boy Wonder in everything.”

Before Robin could ask her what she meant, the alien thief tackled Robin and kissed him passionately. Against his better instincts, he kissed her back.

Blackfire pulled away with a puzzled expression on her face. “That kiss . . . it's just like how he . . .” Her befuddled expression turned into an angry one. “You bastard!” She slapped him with almost enough force to wrench his head around a full 90 degrees. “Playing me like that . . . I hope you're satisfied with yourself, Alvin.”

With that angry declaration, she walked out of the remains of Sacrilege.

“Alvin?” Red X asked. “Your real name is Alvin?”

Robin snorted. “Don't be an idiot, X. You think I'd use my real name if I wanted to infiltrate a street gang?”

“What the hell? You're infiltrating street gangs now?” Red X asked. “Didn't think you were willing to get that down and dirty to catch a crook.”

“There's a lot you don't know about me, X,” Robin answered.

End Notes: There you have it. Blackfire is now aware that Alvin is really Robin and she thinks he deliberately deceived her. What does that mean for Robin's chances of staying inside the Hell's Dragons long enough to take down the crooked businessman subcontracting their drug sales? How will Robin convince Blackfire that his feelings for her are real? In the meantime, Slade's still out there trying to get his hands on the last Apocalyptic Gem, but what does he really want with them? Those questions and more will be answered in the next chapter . . . or maybe not.