Return of Red-X
Raven floated cross legged above the ground, angrily and impatiently glaring at the front door of Titans Tower, where she knew her fellow team mates would be entering soon. On a normal day, Raven would have been meditating, happy to have the tower all to herself for a few precious, and quiet, hours. But that would have been on a normal day; and today had been anything but normal. After a few more minutes of sitting in total silence, Raven took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on finding her center and relaxing. She chanted calming words in her head, and tried to breathe evenly, in and out through her nose.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang. Raven's eyes popped open as she lost control of herself and crashed loudly onto the floor. She struggled to get up, squirming around on the floor and trying to talk through the large, red, X shaped piece of tape that covered her mouth.
"Mmph mmm phmmmm!" She shouted at the four who had just come through the door.
"Raven!" Robin and Cyborg ran over and helped her stand. She glared at Robin, seething with rage. He took a step back, appalled at the anger in her eyes, so clearly directed at him.
"Raven!" Starfire's wide green eyes appeared, blocking Robin from Ravens view. "What has happened dear friend? Have you not had fun alone?"
"Dude, I think you should give her some space, like, before she freaks…" Beast Boy took Starfire's arm and pulled her gently away from the venomous look that Raven was creating, a look that he was all too familiar with.
"MMMPHH! Mmm phmmn MMMMM!"
"Uh… What? Rae, I can't understand a thing you're saying. Hold on a minute…" Cyborg grabbed the corner of the tape covering Ravens mouth and pulled as hard as he could. There was a loud ripping sound and Raven lost her balance, falling flat on her face. Robin helped her up again.
"…ouch…" She muttered, trying to control her voice. "Would you mind getting me out of the rope? I attempted to use my powers, but they didn't work."
Cyborg's mechanical finger opened to reveal a small blow torch. He set to work on the rope that bound Raven. The ropes fell off and Raven rubbed her arms where they had gone numb from the pressure placed upon them.
"Er, thanks," She muttered.
"No probl-"
"This is ALL YOUR FAULT." Raven turned on Robin, her eyes blazing a hot, angry white.
Starfire and Cyborgs mouths popped open; Beast Boy dove behind the couch, an automatic response he had learned to use whenever Raven grew angry, as her anger was usually directed at him.
"What?" Robin took another step back as Raven advanced on him.
"YOU made that stupid thief up! YOU created him! You weren't careful enough, and you can't contain control over him… Over you! It's. Your. Fault," Ravens voice grew dangerously low as she continued her advance.
Robin stood his ground, his hands raised in front of him, "Look. I don't know what you're talking about-"
Raven rose off the ground so she could stare directly into Robins confused eyes. "You know exactly what I'm talking about you lying little-"
"Raven!"
"Friend! Please, I would ask that you control your emotions! They are growing out of the hand!" Starfire shouted, concern coloring her tone.
Raven whirled around, the room was in disarray. Furniture flew in circles, battering Cyborg; electric cords had tied Beast Boy down; Starfire was attempting to fly away from the TV, which was attempting to eat her. Raven blinked in surprise, never before had she let her emotions get the best of her.
Her feet touched the ground and the room settled back into its normal state. "I'm… sorry…"
"Raven, what's going on?" Robin demanded her attention, "You need to tell us. I really have no idea what you're talking about!"
"You don't? I- you were here! You fought me, hurt me! And then you went into my room! WHY did you go into MY room?"
"But Raven, I didn't! I was out with them," He gestured to the rest of the team, who were staring at the scene before them, shocked at what had occurred.
"You left them then! I know it was you! It couldn't have been anybody else!"
"Rae, Robin was with us the whole time. He never left us alone, and we never left him alone," Cyborg said softly, attempting to clear Robin's name.
Robin's brow came down as he stared at Raven, "Why don't you start from the beginning, tell us what happened."
Raven took a deep breath. "Fine. After I finished meditating this morning, I came out of my room to find the house empty. I was making tea when I heard a noise. I followed the sound. It was you, but as… Red-X," Raven whispered the name, remembering all too clearly how they had all felt about Robins other identity, the thief Red-X. Robins eyes grew wide behind his mask, Raven heard Starfire gasp. She continued her story before anyone could interrupt. "Red-X was rooting through Cyborg's stuff. I asked what was going on, and he turned around and attacked me. We fought hard, but I couldn't beat him. It was like he knew every move I would make. He even used tape on my mouth so I couldn't verbalize my spells. Then he knocked me into Cyborg's exercise equipment. Everything went black, and when I woke up, I was tied up and he was in my room. I tried to use my powers to get out of the ropes, but nothing worked. He left, busted through the window, and I managed to get up and make it to the door. I was trying to meditate when you came back."
"Raven, I swear to you, it wasn't me behind Red-X's mask."
"Then who was it!" Raven snapped, "He knew all my moves, he knew where I keep my most private things, he even had the foresight to use rope and restraints that would restrict me from using my powers. He knew when the tower would be mostly empty! If it wasn't you, Robin, then who was it?" Raven turned away from him and left the room, pushing roughly past Cyborg and Beast Boy. Starfire winced as Ravens bedroom door slammed shut.
"Heh heh… that went well…" Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably.
"I just don't understand. I kept that locked up in a box, in the room with all of our other evidence. No one but me knew where it was. This just doesn't make sense" Robin sat on the couch; he put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.
Starfire sat next to him, "Perhaps it is not real. Mad Mod-"
"Is still in jail. I checked the status on everyone we've tossed in yesterday, there were no recent breakouts." Robin leaned against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.
"Dang, man, she was angry. I don't think she's ever even been that angry at Beast Boy," Cyborg laughed at the annoyed expression now on Beast Boy's face. "Maybe you should go apologize."
"I didn't do anything! That's the whole problem. I don't know what to do to make Raven believe me, and I don't know who would be imitating Red-X! This doesn't make any sense!"
"Hey! I've got an idea! Maybe Raven's imagining things! Ya know, like Robin did with Slade!" Beast Boys eyes shined eagerly, hoping that his idea would make sense.
"Yes! Perhaps Raven has been inhaling gifrak snorffs, the Tameranean flower that causes hallucinations." Starfire hopped off the couch, "I will go retrieve for her the rorflix blossom! She will then be cured!"
"Uh, Star, that wouldn't really make sense. Since Rae's nowhere near your planet or giffle whatever's," Beast Boy smiled at Starfire's embarrassment. She sat back down.
"I inhaled dust from Slade's outfit, that's why I saw him. Raven didn't inhale anything from the Red-X outfit, so she's either right, and he really is a copy of me… or she's really imagining things."
"Here's what we're gonna do," Cyborg gained his teams attention, "Robin, tell Star and BB where they can find Red-X's costume. They'll go look for that while you and I get Raven and run some tests."
Robin hurriedly told Starfire and Beast Boy where to look, and followed Cyborg to Ravens mysterious room. They stood for a moment outside her door.
"Knock," Robin gestured at the door.
"Man, I'm here for moral support. You're the one she's mad at. You knock," Cyborg whispered.
Robin bravely lifted his fist and brought it to the door. Just as he tapped on the door, Raven screamed angrily from inside the room. Robin jumped back in surprise.
"What the-!" Cyborg exclaimed as he listened to the loud crashes and shouts that could be heard from inside the room.
"How did you get in here?" Raven yelled. "Get out! Stay away from me!" There was a loud bang. "Azarath Metrion Zin-," the curse was cut short, but Raven's muffled shouts could still be heard.
"Hold on Rae! I'm coming!" Cyborg rammed into the door, and flew backwards into the wall. "That ain't cool," He stood and rubbed his head.
"Stand back!" Robin pulled a bomb out of his belt and stuck it to the door. The bomb went off, and when the smoke cleared, her door stood unharmed. Robin pounded on the door. "Raven! Open up! What's going on?"
"You got another one of those bombs? 'Cause I just got myself a good idea." Robin stuck another bomb to the door, and just as it went off, Cyborg blasted the door. "Boo-yah!" He shouted triumphantly as the door flew off the hinges.
The boys ran into the room, prepared for the worst. But instead of the fight they had been expecting, Raven floated alone in the middle of her room, looking serene. Her room was anything but peaceful, however. The window had been busted open, glass shattered everywhere; her bed was broken in three pieces; her bookshelf torn apart; every wall was covered in burn marks and scratches.
Cyborg was speechless. He stood in the doorway, taking in the wrecked scene before him. "Rae…"
Robin rushed to Ravens side and reached a hand up to hers, so that they were almost touching. He stared up into her face, trying to see her eyes, which were shadowed by her dark hood. Cyborg joined Robin, "Rae, you okay?" He asked, his hand twitched, as if he wanted to reach up and pull the girl back onto the ground. "Raven?"
Robin snatched her hand when she didn't respond, and Raven fell limply out of the air, Cyborg caught her just before she hit the ground. "What is going on?" He asked, mostly to himself.
"We have to get her to the medical bay now. I'll go get Star and Beast Boy. You set Raven up with whatever it takes to wake her up and make her better." They split up, Cyborg hurrying to the medical ward with Raven, anxious to decipher what was going on with his friend, and Robin rushing to retrieve Starfire and Beast Boy, he had to know if someone had stolen Red-X.
Robin sprinted to the evidence room, panting as he grasped Starfire and Beast Boy by their arms.
"Robin? Is everything good?"
"Dude, what's up? We can't find the stupid costume if that's why you're here." Beast Boy tugged out of Robin's tight hold.
"Something bad happened. Raven's with Cyborg in the med ward. We have to figure out if someone's stolen the Red-X equipment."
"We will search for that later!" Starfire cried out, "But now we must attend to our friend!" She flew out of the room as fast as she could, Robin and Beast Boy in pursuit. The three burst into the medical ward, gasping for air and attacking Cyborg with questions.
"Woah y'all! Slow it down!" He set his clip board on a table. "Raven's not responding. She's in some sort of trance and I can't break through."
Starfire rushed to Ravens bedside, staring sadly at her broken friend. "Please, dear friend, you must be okay. You must answer me." She cocked her head to one side, "Cyborg, why does she float?"
"Like I said, Raven's put herself in a trance or something. Other than some broken ribs and bruising, she has no other injuries, at least none that I can find. Even checked her brain waves. Normal as they can be when it comes to Raven."
Robin stood on Ravens other side. "She's healing herself. Like the time that she was attacked by Atlas. It's just a matter of time before she wakes up," Robin thought for a minute, "One of us will have to stay with her at all times to monitor her vitals and keep an eye on her in case she wakes up and has a problem with Red-X again."
"I'll take first watch," Cyborg volunteered, "I had some more tests that I wanted to run on her anyway. Star, will you take her cloak back to her room? It's only gonna get in my way. Rob, I might need you to help on some of the tests. I'll call if-"
"No," Robin interrupted, "I'll stay and help you with them all. It's always a good idea to have more than one person checking things over. Beast Boy, I need you to look through everything until you find the box for Red-X. Star, you circle the Tower inside and out to see if you can find anything that has to do with Red-X. I want full reports by sundown."
They solemnly left the room, looking worriedly behind them at Raven, who floated calmly a few inches above the medical bed.
"So what tests did you want to run?" Robin hadn't broken his intense gaze on Raven's face.
"Just looking over her brainwaves again, to see if there's anything unusual. While I do that, you check to see if there's any other serious injuries, and then put that brace on her so there's no more damage to her ribs while she heals herself," Cyborg paused and put his hand on Robins shoulder, "She's going to be okay. Trust me. This'll all be sorted out."
Robin nodded, "I know. I can't help but worry though…"
Three hours later, Starfire and Beast Boy entered the room.
"Robin, I have found nothing at all inside or on the outside," Starfire hung her head, as if she had failed at the task assigned to her.
"That's okay, Starfire," Robin smiled at her, "I'm sure you tried your best. We'll run another check tomorrow morning. Did you find it, Beast Boy?"
"I checked every single box, and then I finally found it all. But it was hard work! I even paper cut my finger," Beast Boy held up the wounded finger, pouting.
Robin ignored the complaints, "And it was all there?"
"Everything."
"I guess all we can do now is wait. I'll take the next shift. Everyone, go get something to eat and then rest up. I have a feeling that tomorrow's going to bring even more trouble."
"Rob, man, you've been on your feet all day. You need rest too. Let somebody else take a turn watching Rae," Cyborg hit one last button on the monitor and then left with Beast Boy, eager to get some food.
"I will take the next watch, Robin. You must too rest."
Robin hesitated, "Fine. But I'm coming back to check after dinner. I'll send Beast Boy in with food for you. If anything happens-"
"Then I will call for you and Cyborg. Do not worry. I can watch our friend!" Starfire pushed Robin out of the room and took a seat next to Ravens bed, "You should also not worry. I will take good care of you," She said, patting Raven kindly on the hand.
Raven gasped, her eyes flying open as she sat up quickly. She blinked away the sleep that still clouded her mind and took in her surroundings. The medical ward? Raven didn't remember going there… She shook her head, confused. What on earth had happened? She had been really angry… and then… Red-X! He had attacked her, again! Ravens eyes narrowed in anger. She flung her legs over the side of the bed and hopped off, nearly smacking into Beast Boy, who was snoring in a chair. Raven dodged around Beast Boy and padded quietly out of the medical room that she despised, making her way to the kitchen. Some nice, relaxing herbal tea was just what she needed.
As Raven gathered her mug and the tea, she realized that there was something not quite right about her… She looked down and groaned. It was just like Cyborg to put her in some ridiculous cast thing. Raven finished making her tea and began to undo the straps that held the cast around her stomach and back.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" The light flicked on and Raven jumped, whirling around to see a smirking Cyborg.
"Oh. Uh, hey… Cyborg…" Raven played with a strand of her hair.
"Now I know you know the med ward rules," Cyborg crossed his arms over his chest.
"But I-"
"No leaving until Dr. Cy has cleared you. And Rae, you are not cleared to leave. At least not until I check your injuries."
Raven sighed, "I hate the medical ward," she grumbled, "Can I at least take off this stupid cast thing? I don't need it."
"It's not a cast. It's a support. And no. Not 'till I run some more tests. Now come with me."
They heard the pounding of feet and their remaining team mates burst into the room.
"Raven! Friend you have awoken!" Starfire ran at Raven and the dark girl disappeared into a huge hug, "I was so very worried for you! I am pleased that you have finally woken up and-"
"Er, Star, she's still in an unstable condition," Robin winced as Starfire squeezed Raven tighter.
"Ouch…" Raven muttered as Starfire pulled away, blushing.
"Sorry Raven! I guess I kinda just fell asleep," Beast Boy yawned, "I haven't gotten much sleep lately," he grumbled.
"Hold on. You haven't gotten a lot of sleep 'lately'? How long have I been out?" Raven questioned, a little bit concerned at how injured she may have actually been.
"Like, a week-ish. And I've barely slept at all!" Beast Boy griped, shooting Robin a death glare.
Robin ignored him, "Are you feeling better?"
Raven blushed at the attention she was getting, "I'm-"
"Coming with me!"
Raven gasped, "No!"
The team whirled around to see what had gained Ravens attention; Red-X leaned against the back wall of the room.
"Titans!" Robin yelled, not hesitating to really take in what he was seeing, "GO!"
They sprang forward, Raven ripping off the stupid support and throwing it across the kitchen. Beast Boy reached Red-X first, jumping on him in the form of a chimpanzee, but the master thief was prepared, and with the flick of his wrist, Beast Boy was soaring across the room, wrapped in sticky, stretchy red restraints.
Starfire and Cyborg assaulted the intruder next, hitting him with everything they had. He dodged easily out of the way, and soon the two Titans joined Beast Boy on the floor, bound and gagged.
Robin leapt seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed Red-X's mask, rolling on the floor and leaping up, prepared for battle. His mouth dropped in surprise. The man under the mask was him. Red-X smiled and pulled his mask back on. He kicked Robin in the jaw, sending him flying into the couch where he lay, stunned.
"Go away!" Raven shouted as she nailed Red-X with the T.V., literally knocking the smirk off of his face. She advanced on him. "You have hurt me and my team enough!" She used her powers to pick up the portion of couch that Robin did not occupy. Raven swung the couch into Red-X, sending him crashing out the window. She caught him just before he hit the ground and bound him in his own restraints. And then, with a flash of red and orange light, Red-X disappeared.
Raven flew solemnly back up through the broken window. She landed lightly on her feet and walked over to Robin. He nodded in acknowledgement, "Red-X got away?"
"I had him, but he disappeared. There was nothing I could do."
"Can someone give me a hand over here? I'm kinda stuck!" Beast Boy had managed to stand and was hopping around the room, creating a bigger mess than what was already there.
"Man, you're making a huge mess! Stand still!" Cyborg shouted after Beast Boy. Robin pulled away the last of the rope that bound Cyborg, who stood and ran to catch Beast Boy.
Starfire, who had managed to get herself out, chased after them, "Please! You will allow me to help!"
"Robin," he turned to Raven, "I'm sorry. I should have believed you."
"Hey, it's okay. In a way, you were right. Did you happen to see who it really was behind the mask?"
"Yes. It had to be a… a clone of some sort. There's someone greater behind this. There has to be."
"And we'll figure it out. No matter how long it takes us. But right now, let's get the Tower cleaned up. And you have to get back to the medical ward," He gave Raven a small smile, more like a smirk in Ravens opinion.
The team set to work on putting the room back together, which was taking a surprisingly short amount of time, probably due to the six extra arms of Beast Boy's octopus form and Ravens levitating powers. Everything was moving along smoothly, at least until Beast Boy saw the now broken television.
"No! No! NO!" Beast Boy wailed, popping back into his human form. He ran to the T.V. and hugged it, "Oh my poor baby! Don't worry! You'll be okay!"
Cyborg sat next to Beast Boy, "Man, how are we gonna play GameCube now?" He reached out his hand and pet the television, "Poor girl."
"Am I the only one who realizes that it's just a T.V.?" Raven floated next to the mourning boys, she rolled her eyes.
Their mouths dropped open as they turned on Raven, "JUST A T.V.? NO WAY DUDE!" Beast Boy shouted.
Cyborg growled, "She is more than 'just a T.V.'! You insulted her! Say sorry!"
Raven took a step away from the snarling teens, her hands raised in front of her in a sign of surrender. "Sorry I asked…" She flew across the room and from the safety of the kitchen, used her powers to lift the television back into place.
"Good job, team. It looks like everything's back to the way it was. Now we have to figure out where Red-X went. Any ideas?"
"You don't have to do much searching. I'm right here."
Robin gasped, "Titans go!" He shouted for the second time that morning. They jumped into action, attacking the intruder. He dodged easily out of the way, throwing a strong net over four of the Titans and heading straight towards Raven.
Robin shouted Raven's name, trying to warn her, but she was occupied. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were all attacking her. At least, their doubles were attacking her, clones maybe? She fought back, but couldn't take them all at once, and when Red-X joined in the fight, she was overwhelmed.
"Robin! Someone! Help me!" She cried out, struggling in the other Starfire's strong arms. She tried in vain to use her powers, but Red-X had tied her hands with the same rope he had used earlier, the kind that restricted Raven from doing any sort of spell. Her eyes glowed in anger, but there was nothing she could do. The other Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl and lifted Raven up in his mouth, soaring out of the window. The rest of the clones followed him. Even Red-X and Cyborg flew, equipped with jet packs.
Starfire, the real Starfire, screamed in anger. She shot furiously after the retreating clones. "They cannot have our friend!" She yelled, bursting through the net with a final push of strength. She flew as fast as she could after Raven, who still struggled in clone Beast Boy's beak.
The real Beast Boy caught up to Starfire in the air, in his favored form of a hawk. Robin and Cyborg were in the T-Car below, speeding after the parade in the sky as fast as they could. The clones flew faster and faster, eventually peeling away from the Titans.
"Starfire, Beast Boy," Robin's voice could be heard over their communicators, "Return to the T-Car. We can't have you both being tired out before we go to fight those imposters. We'll find Raven using the tracker on her communicator."
Starfire sighed, but flew down to where the T-Car waited.
Beast boy opened the door and clambered in, out of breath. "Dudes, that was hard. And fast. I think I'm gonna pass out!"
"Why have they taken our friend? And where have they come from?" Starfire put her head in her hands, "I do not understand how this can be real!"
"Neither do we," Robin put his hand on Starfire's arm, "But don't worry. We will get Raven back."
"I found her locator on my systems. She's somewhere on the edge of the city."
"Great, Cyborg. Here's the plan," Robin leaned forward excitedly, "We bust in, Starfire, you take on clone Cyborg; CY, you take Beast Boy and Red-X, and Beast Boy will take Starfire. I'll get Raven."
"Buckle up for safety y'all! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Cyborg barely gave anyone time to sit in their seats before speeding forward as fast as the car would go. He zoomed around corners and through red lights, quickly coming to a stop in front of an old warehouse. "Looks like we found Raven," He said, getting out of the car.
The rest of the team clambered out, looking a little woozy from the crazy car ride they had just been through.
"Titans," Robin shook his head to clear it, "Go!"
Starfire and Beast Boy burst through the roof of the building, and Cyborg blasted a hole through the wall so he and Robin could get in.
"Return to us our-friend?" Starfire gaped at the scene before her. The room was full of meditating Ravens. There were small, large, bird-like, pink, orange, grey, large, thin, and transparent Ravens everywhere.
Beast Boy landed next to her and turned back to his human form, "…Woah. Uh, this is weird. Is anybody else totally freaked out right now? I mean, everyone else sees the fifty Raven copies, right?" He laughed nervously.
"Beast Boy, hush," Robin quickly formulated a plan, "Okay, don't touch anything. Crawl under them all to the other side of the room. But whatever you do, don't wake them up! We don't want to provoke them."
Beast Boy had shrunk behind Cyborg, "Yeah, really," he chuckled, "One Raven is bad enough. There's no way we could handle-"
"Beast Boy?"
He jumped, "Raven? Did anybody else hear Raven?"
"Yeah. We did. Now shut up," Cyborg pushed Beast Boy away from him.
"I'm over here," her voice seemed to be coming from every corner of the room.
"Uh, where?" Cyborg turned his light on.
"Look up," She sounded annoyed.
Raven floated on a platform made out of her own magic. She sat cross legged, obviously trying to meditate.
"Friend Raven! Please come down so we can kick the butt of our clones!" Starfire flew up to Raven and reached out her hand, eager to have her friend back.
Raven sighed and stood, floating above the platform, "I can't come down," she said in her monotone voice, "If I step off of this platform, they will wake up and attack. And I don't think you want that to happen, they're all incredibly unstable."
Starfire frowned, "But how will we save you?"
"From what I've been able to learn, you have to find the generator that's keeping the clones alive. You have to destroy it. And you have to do this before you're caught, or bad things will happen."
"What kind of bad things?" Beast Boy gulped, thinking the worst.
"There's some mad man scientist behind all of this madness. If he finds and catches you, he will take out your heart and put it in your clone. You will die, and your evil clone will live," Her voice had an ominous tone to it that sent chills down the rest of the teams spines.
"And what does he want with you?" Robin asked.
"He could clone all of you, but my powers weren't able to be copied, and all of my clones were messed up. He has me here because he wants to… combine me with another, evil, clone. He doesn't realize how stupid this idea is. My powers in combination with someone evil… it could destroy the world. You have to stop this."
Robin nodded, "Titans, you know what to do. Let's go!"
They crawled under the meditating Raven clones, and reached a large door. The door turned black and forcefully opened, crashing against the wall. Robin turned and nodded his thanks at Raven before following the others into the room.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It looks like my science project has finally come for a visit," a tall, thin man in a crisp white lab coat, medical mask, and long gloves stepped out from the corner of the room, "I must admit that I have been anxiously awaiting our meeting. I just had to know if I'd gotten your clones correct or not," He smiled charmingly.
"Who are you?" Robin demanded.
"I? I am The Doctor. I make things. Amazing things."
"Huh huh. Right," Cyborg rolled his eyes.
"You made a huge mistake cloning us. Titans, you know what to do," Robin charged forward, sprinting to the machine that was humming in the back of the room.
"Oh Titans!" The villain chimed, "It looks like we have some guests!" Four doors opened, and the copies sprang out, "Why don't you take out the trash?"
"Our pleasure!" Cyborg called, charging Red-X and Beast Boy.
The room erupted in the sounds of battle. Starfire attacked Cyborg with a barrage of starbolts. He fell with a loud thud, and Starfire rushed to aid the real Cyborg. Beast Boy was dodging bolts from the fake Starfire, hitting her with everything he had, and soon, she too had fallen. The three turned on Red-X, the last remaining Titan copy, it didn't take long. Beast Boy got tied up again, but Red-X was no match for the Titans. Meanwhile, Robin had gotten to the machine. He stuck a bomb to it and flipped away.
The machine blew up, and The Doctor wailed, falling to his knees. The clones disintegrated, and Robin tied up the villain.
"I'm gonna go check on Raven!" Cyborg ran out of the room, nearly smacking right into Raven, who had been flying in. "Woah! Oh, hey Raven!" He grinned.
"Hey, Cyborg."
"You feeling okay? You never did let me re-check on everything that was wrong…"
"I'm…" she paused, "Okay. I hate to admit it, but I-"
"Friend! You have come back to us!" Starfire tackled Raven into another massive hug, nearly knocking the wind out of her.
"Starfire, I appreciate your concern, but could you please stop suffocating me?"
Starfire let go, smiling sheepishly, and Cyborg grabbed Raven's arm to steady her. Beast Boy and Robin joined the group.
"Shouldn't we, I don't know, get pizza to celebrate or something?" Raven asked, internally cursing herself for suggesting celebration, but still happy to be reunited with her friends.
"Oh yeah, baby! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Cyborg and Beast Boy high-fived.
"Yes! We shall get the pizza! And we shall do the celebrating!" Starfire flew in happy circles.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten about our little check-up when we get back to the Tower though!" Cyborg warned Raven.
She groaned, "There's really no way out of it, is there?"
He grinned, "Nope!"
They climbed into the T-car. Robin made sure the police had carefully secured The Doctor before joining the rest of the team.
"Know what? We're always going to be the best, the coolest, the only Titans," Beast Boy said, grinning largely.
"Yes we will!" Starfire exuberantly shouted.
"And Raven, you really do have to let Cy look at you. There is absolutely no way out of it," Robin smirked at her annoyed expression.
Raven levitated the top straps to both Robin and Cyborg's seat belts and snapped them back down. They winced, but smiled at her in the rearview mirror.
The Titans rode off to their prize: an extra-large cheese pizza, no meat, no vegetables, just laughter, fun, and friends.