A/N: This is a long one lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Titans or any other copyrighted characters mentioned :)

4. Friday Night Lights

"Thanks again," Raven mumbled as Aqualad dropped her off at her fourth class that day. He really was a good, loyal boyfriend, almost even like a little puppy. He seemed to be enamored by her and she just couldn't begin to understand why. She was no saint and had the most shut off personality of anyone she knew.

Aqualad smiled a bashful, content smile and nodded, "No problem."

"You know," she started before he could walk away, "you really don't have to walk me to the rest of my classes."

Aqualad swiftly waved his hands in front of him, showing his disagreement. "No, I insist. It's the least I can do since swim practice has been taking up so much of our quality time. Plus, I sort of accused you of cheating on me. I owe it to you."

Raven smiled as largely as she could, which of course wasn't very big, and nodded understandably. He was just trying to be a gentleman and she couldn't knock him for that. "Well, if you insist, that's fine with me."

Then, to Raven's shock, he flashed her a goofy, white-tooth grin—a.k.a. something she's never seen him do in the real world—and quickly bent down to peck her on her pierced lips. "Okay, see you in fifty minutes."

Raven stood there speechless as his tall figure retreated down the busy hall. Did he just kiss her? On the lips? Even though it was small and simple, she still hadn't necessarily been kissed before. And that was definitely not the way she imagined her first kiss would be.

"Uh, yeah…" And with that mumbling to herself, she turned and walked into the unfamiliar classroom behind her. She wasted no time picking the seat furthest to the back and hidden in a dark corner as she had done in all of the previous classes. Yet the desk in this one seemed to be darker and creepier than the rest of the room with all of the scribbles and doodles carved into it.

"Hey, Raven," a voice called for her. She turned her head slightly to see a still pink-haired Jinx eying her funnily. Before she knew it, the villainess-turned-hero was making her way over to her old, creaky desk in a black slip dress, a spiky, black choker, a purple, leather jacket, and black combat, lug sole boots. She'd ditched her signature pigtails for one, big ponytail on the side. Her style reminded Raven of all of the hideous clothes she'd sorted through in "her" closet that morning. The outfit she was sporting now was probably made up of the least gothic pieces she could find.

"Can I help you?" Raven deadpanned blankly as the girl stood over her waiting for answers.

Jinx twisted her mouth in the same confusion the others had shown earlier that morning. "What's your problem? Why are you sitting over here?"

Raven was about to say something sarcastic, but then quickly remembered that she didn't know how things were going in this world. For all she knew, she and Jinx could've been best friends in a different lifetime. And maybe that different lifetime was this one.

"I-I guess I forgot which class I was in," Raven tried to sound friendly, but even she didn't believe it was working. "Where do I normally sit?"

Jinx raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her small chest. "Beside me, duh. What's gotten into you, Raven? You're starting to act like that dumbo Mammoth who sits next to me in science. Is that hole in your lip giving you a fever?"

"Maybe," Raven rushed before thinking, then quickly changed her response, "um, of course not. I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh, no. You did it," Jinx gasped in amazement and practically used all her strength to pull the dark-haired girl to the desk right next to hers. She plopped in her own seat and turned eagerly towards Raven. "Tell me all the details."

Raven squinted in ignorance. Why did everyone here have to be so vague?! "Of what?"

"Of how you finally got that goody-two-shoes Aqualad to sleep with you," Jinx replied instantly. She was obviously very excited to hear what Raven had to say.

Raven once again blushed at the image that suddenly popped in her head. Let's just say the image was…very pleasant to her. But who was she kidding? In her universe, she was a goody-two-shoes as well. She'd never done anything of a sexual nature in her whole life. She was seventeen and hadn't even had her first kiss for Pete's sake! Well, technically, now she had thanks to the tall, dark lad. And why did everyone think no sleep meant she was getting it off?!

"We didn't sleep together," Raven finally said, causing the girl's perky ears to fall. "And probably never will."

Meanwhile down the hall in another noisy class was a highly agitated, highly exhausted, and highly ready to go home Robin. So far his day had been beyond boring since most of his classes were the typical AP and dual enrollment classes. He loved learning and showing off his intelligence, but where was the action? Where was the P.E.? Thankfully, Bruce had had them all homeschooled for a couple years to get their degrees. He didn't think he would've made it if he'd gone to real school and tried to manage a superhero lifestyle.

'How did Kim Possible, the Powerpuff Girls, and all the other in-school superheroes on T.V. do it?' he thought to himself as he sat in a middle row desk at the center of the classroom with his chin in his hand.

"Yo, Rob," Cyborg called as he sauntered into the class, "your seat's over here, man."

'Ugh,' Robin sighed within his brain. I forgot to mention that when he wasn't bored out of his mind, he was being endlessly harassed and teased about his hair, sunglasses, and attire by Cyborg, Kid Flash, and Speedy. Of course the K.F. and Speedy jokes came in between periods since they weren't in any of the college level classes. Thankfully Beast Boy was still grieving because he was sure he'd be even more annoying in this universe as well. Bumblebee was her usual studious, independent self in all of their classes. And as for Starfire, he hadn't really seen much of her or Aqualad and Raven since that morning.

Diiiiinnngggg, the bell rang signaling the start of fourth period, but it barely fazed Robin. He was too busy thinking as he walked over to his seat beside Cyborg and behind Bumblebee. Sadly, the topic he was focused on was pulling his usually still heart towards an emotional downfall.

Aqualad and Raven. Robin breathed outward once again at the thought of the two. What did this-world-Raven see in this-world-Aqualad that she didn't see in this-world-him? He didn't know why it was bothering him so much since it wasn't actually his Raven that had chosen Aqualad. In fact, back in their universe, Aqualad and Raven rarely interacted since he was usually on the other side of the country. But when they did see each other, there was no doubt there was chemistry and lots of good conversations and shy glances shared between the two.

Robin often wished he could read her mind like she could with his. He knew she never actually invaded his privacy, but it would be nice to just have the ability. Especially now. All he could think about was is she okay? Is she still uncomfortable or has she warmed up to the fish boy? Did he walk her to every single class and kiss her in between? Had she found friends or was she a loner each period? Ugh, he hated worrying. He knew she could protect herself if need be, but he'd much rather do it for her.

Out of nowhere, the door to the classroom wildly swung open just as the teacher was about to begin his lecture. Swiftly after the door opened, a six-feet tall, dark-haired, grumpy-faced boy walked in and swaggered past the teacher as if he wasn't there and as if he himself wasn't tardy.

The late teen's appearance almost instantly caught Robin's eye. 'Jason?' Was all he could think as he observed the boy sauntering down the furthest aisle of students in the room. The shadowy guy had dark black hair that was almost identical to Robin's save for the fact that it was gelled down almost like his when he woke up that morning. The boy also had a very contrasting gray streak going through the front right side of his dark locks. His threatening eyes sparkled an icy blue color that was a shade or two lighter than Robin's brilliant, cerulean blue ones. His jawline was strong and tough like a streetfighter and his thin, pink lips were set in a straight line.

But all of these features were more than familiar to Robin. And that was because they were actually the features of one of his younger, adopted brothers, Jason Todd. Jason was the bad kid that Bruce was trying to change for the better. So far, Robin couldn't tell if it was indeed working. Sure he put on his hero's cape and mask and fought the bad guys from time to time, but there was just something dark surrounding him. Last Robin knew, he'd disappeared from existence, causing Bruce to adopt another orphan, Tim Drake. But Tim was much more like Robin and he had no doubt that he was a good kid. Jason, on the other hand, was unpredictable.

After the boy sat down in his corner seat next to the window, Robin continued to steal a few glances. Then, his breath was cut short as he glanced one time too many and caught the attention of the boy himself. Their blue eyes locked and Robin almost felt a twinge of fear until the boy let a playful smirk find his face. Yet Robin wasn't so sure that that was the source of his fear.

In addition to the thick, black bomber jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots he was wearing, Jason was also sporting a form-fitting, black t-shirt. But what stood out the most about the black t-shirt was the large, red X sitting right in the center. The logo made Robin's last memories from his universe flash right before his foggy eyes. Suddenly, he was seeing rushed visions of Terra's melancholy funeral, Beast Boy blowing up on everyone then storming away, and fighting Red X in a museum that was ruined because they arrived too late. Was Jason really truly Red X? Beast Boy sure did seem to think so and so did a lot of other people. But Robin was always in denial. He always figured it was Slade's son Grant Wilson or maybe even an old thief from Gotham by the name of Eric Needham. Jason might not have been the best hero, but he wasn't a villain. Although, that would explain Red X's antihero persona. He even once said he knew how to play the hero. Not to mention, he'd saved Robin's life on numerous occasions.

A better question though was, was Red X the reason they were here? Or was it some other villain? And why did he smirk at him like that? Did that mean he knew something Robin didn't? Robin spent the whole class pondering those questions and ones like them. Before he knew it, the bell rang signaling lunchtime. Cyborg practically sprinted to the cafeteria causing Robin to have to jog to keep up with him. Apparently, today was pizza day which meant everyone was excited and racing to the lunch room. Robin unwillingly participated in their anticipation until he almost ran smack dab into Jinx and Raven. Well, at least he assumed it was Jinx and Raven. He had to keep reminding himself that Raven looked extremely different from her usually covered, modest appearance. And Jinx without pigtails just made his head hurt.

The two girls ogled him oddly until Raven spontaneously wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into one of Starfire's signature, bone-crushing hugs. "Robin, I'm so glad to see you."

Robin was dumbstruck. She hadn't hugged him since they defeated Trigon and before then, she'd never hugged him at all. It was an extremely rare gesture since she hardly showed her vulnerable and emotional side. But it made his heart warm to know that she'd missed him that much over the last few hours.

"I missed you, too, Raven," the ebony-haired boy teased and smirked as they finally pulled away from each other. Jinx was still looking at them big-eyed with her purple lipstick covered mouth so agape they could see her tonsils.

Raven cut her violet eyes at his cockiness and folded her arms across her chest to show what she was really thinking. "I'm not glad to see you because I miss you, I'm glad to see you because I'm ready to solve this and get out of this place. I hate it here," she whispered.

"Oh, yeah, right," Robin mumbled while scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Can't believe we haven't had any classes together."

"Ahem," Jinx proceeded to clear her throat loudly, interrupting their secretive reunion. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"

Raven rolled her eyes and put on a fake smile before turning back to Jinx. "Do you mind if I eat lunch with Robin today? He's helping me out with some calculus homework."

Jinx's pretty face fell blank right before she dropped this bomb, "You don't take calculus, Raven. And since when do you care about doing your homework? You hate school."

Raven glanced at Robin who just softly hunched his shoulders. "Uh…"

"You know what? Never mind," Jinx rushed with her hands up in surrender. "There's something weird going on with you two. Whatever it is, it's not going to be a secret for long."

"No—" Robin started, but was interrupted by the pink-haired one.

"No worries, Raven," she dragged and started back towards the cafeteria, "I'll just tell Argent that you'd rather spend lunch with your penis-having best friend."

The otherworlders' mouths fell at her terminology and watched in shocked as she sassed her way into the cafeteria. They glanced at each other silently once more and eventually made their way to their own empty, secluded table. They sat directly across from each other and avoided talking for a good minute before Robin decided to break the silence.

"So, I take it, Jinx and Argent are your best friends in this universe," he uttered casually.

Raven watched him with a poker face. "Yeah, and you, too, apparently. I think the girls and I are outcasts in a way, but because I'm friends with you, I'm friends with the others as well. You and I are only friends because we've been neighbors most of our lives."

Robin placed a chin in his palm and uttered, "That sounds likely. In fact, now that I think about it," he squinted behind his dark frames, "I think we're all cliché teenage archetypes here. You, Jinx, and Argent are the goths and outsiders. Cyborg is the jock. According to my dad, Speedy is the stoner. Bumblebee's the smart, most likely to succeed type. I'm the preppy, smart kid who probably golfs on Sundays. Aqualad's the good-natured yet mysterious guy. BB and KF are the comic relief. Obviously, Starfire's the beautiful cheerleader-type."

'Of course, he has to call Starfire the beautiful one,' Raven dry chuckled to herself in sarcasm. Why did that thought suddenly make her heart drop to her stomach?

"And," Robin started again, but just as quickly paused as if he was scared to finish his sentence, "and Jason's the rebel."

Raven raised a confused eyebrow. "Jason? Your brother Jason?" Robin nodded his head hesitantly. "He's here?"

"Yeah," Robin mumbled almost incoherently, "and I think he may be Red X."

"What?" Raven screeched lowly, her eyes as round as the oranges on everyone's trays. "How do you know?"

"Well, I was sitting in my art history class when Jason just came barging in late. I was shocked to see him alive since I thought he was dead, too. Needless to say, I kept stealing glances at him and what do I see? Red X's logo on his t-shirt."

"Oh Azar no," Raven droned and dropped her head towards the table, "Beast Boy was actually right about something. He's never going to stop bragging."

"I know," Robin said, catching her eye as he placed his hands on the lengthy, solid surface across from hers. "Funny thing is he caught me looking at him and all he did was smirk. Like he knows something I don't."

Raven narrowed her large, doe eyes, quickly pulling her hands from near his, and thought long and hard. "Wait a minute, Red X? That's who we were fighting before we ended up here. Do you think he's the Red X from our world?"

Robin let out an unknowing, angry sigh. He absolutely loathed not having the answers. "I don't know. But I think it's highly poss—"

"Sup, dudes," Beast Boy's goofy voice came out of nowhere as he placed a tray on one side of Raven. The two birds stared at him in disbelief and was about to scorn him for interrupting their conversation, but they soon realized that Beast Boy wasn't the only heading for their table. Before they knew it, Starfire, Cyborg, Bumblebee, Kid Flash, Speedy, and Aqualad were joining them as well. Raven and Robin couldn't do anything but sit in silent anger. The crew already thought they were being weird; they couldn't further that idea by acting out.

"Hey, my Sting-Rae," Aqualad whispered almost sensually as he eased into his spot next to his unwelcoming girlfriend. She gave him a visibly fake smile that fell almost as quickly as it rose. He noticed this but decided to shake it off, thinking he must've been imagining it. "I came after class to walk you here, but you weren't there."

Raven turned her head to the opposite side so that he wouldn't witness her rolling her eyes. Then, she forced yet another fake smile and caught a glimpse of Robin smirking mockingly at her situation as she turned to face her boyfriend. "Yeah, I walked here with Jinx. Sorry about that."

Aqualad nodded in understanding. "It's fine. Not a big deal."

"Thanks," she mumbled and reached over to grab a hot, greasy fry off his tray. He raised an eyebrow at this and almost laughed out loud as she stuffed the cooked potato into her mouth. She felt her stomach rumble and grabbed a few more before stuffing them in her mouth as well. She had no idea why she was doing this, but at this point she'd do anything to take her mind off everything going on.

"Hungry much, Raven?" he finally chuckled as the others—not including Robin—carried on their own conversations and laughter, oblivious to the moment the two were sharing.

"What?" she spat with a mouth full of mushed up potatoes. "This is what girlfriends do, right? Steal their boyfriend's food?"

Aqualad's chuckle died down into a small smile, then, out of nowhere he planted a sweet kiss on her small, cutesy nose. "Right."

Raven couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks from the heartwarming sensation. She suddenly felt bad for being so dry and dispassionate to the boy. She was starting to get the impression that he really loved her or at least the this-world her. It wasn't his fault that his real girlfriend was gone.

With these thoughts, she touched her face and felt that it was still warm therefore probably still red. Embarrassed, she slowly turned her head to the opposite side once again, this time catching another glance at a now fuming Robin. The disappointment on his face caught Raven off-guard, causing her schoolgirl giddiness to vanish.

But before she could say anything, Cyborg's manly yet somehow childish voice rang. "Now back to you two," he said, pointing at the two dark-haired birds. "What's up with the memory loss?"

"Yeah, you're really starting to creep me out," Beast Boy admitted with a shudder. Raven glared at him next to her, causing him to laugh out in fear. "Hehe, sorry."

Speedy took a sip of his stark white milk which left a silly mustache over his top lip and said, "I think they just finally dabbled in a couple of illegal substances. Messed with their brains."

"Not everyone's a heroin addict like you, Speedy," Bumblebee added bluntly. "They're probably just burnt out. It's only October and senior year's already kicking my butt."

"Hey, I only did heroin once," Speedy retorted and pointed an authoritative finger at her.

"Could it be possible that they are both only tired?" Starfire threw in naively. Raven and Robin were about to agree with her statement when—

"Or maybe they're the ones who killed Terra last night," Kid Flash expressed nonchalantly as he pulled and tugged at his cheesy slice of pizza with his hungry teeth.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and eyeballed him in complete stillness and silence. Why would he say such a thing? All it did was remind them that someone that was once close to them was gone. Beast Boy couldn't take the sudden pain that hit from the reminder and abruptly stood up to storm out of the room.

"What?" Kid Flash asked ignorantly and stopped chewing on the rubbery pizza as everyone continued to glare at him. He was slowly beginning to grow uncomfortable under their piercing stares.

"I'll go check on BB," Bumblebee offered and jogged after the depressed teenager.

"What the hell, Wally?" Speedy soon asked what everyone was thinking.

"What?" he repeated himself, truly not realizing the magnitude of his accusation. "That's the only believable thing I can think of. We know they don't do drugs, we know they're not clones, we know they can handle the pressure of school, we know being tired doesn't give you Alzheimer's, and we know they aren't from some alternate universe or something crazy like that. But we don't know who murdered Terra."

"Why would they kill Terra?" Aqualad scowled and wrapped a comforting arm around Raven's shoulders as if she needed his protection. "She was all of our friend."

"Okay, look," Robin suddenly rushed, causing everyone to gaze at him with nervous pulses, "we did not kill Terra. Starfire is right. We're just tired. Now, please, leave it alone."

"Whatever you say, Rob," Cyborg said before stuffing a whole slice of pepperoni pizza in his mouth. "Just make sure you're at the game tonight. It's going to be a big one."

Sitting at home with their parents wasn't exactly ideal for Robin or Raven. Both for very different reasons. In Robin's case, despite the fact that he missed his parents dearly and always figured he'd do anything just to have one last day with them, he couldn't actually bring himself to enjoy them. He knew they weren't real, and the closer he grew to them and the more memories he made with them, the harder his grieving would be when he got back home.

Raven was the complete opposite. She had no desire to spend time with Trigon and knew she wouldn't regret it. He was commanding, coldhearted, and unbelievably powerful. All of the minions and servants in their house did everything he asked and his loyal, satanic followers bowed down at his feet like he was the Pope. Raven just thought it was all too pitiful to be true.

Because of this, they decided to take Cyborg up on his request to attend the game. With the day they were having, maybe a good Friday night, football game would bring some much needed fun. It wasn't like they had any big leads on who was responsible for them being here. And even if it was Red X, they had no idea where to find him outside of school. So, they just had to wait. And waiting could get tedious.

Not to mention, on top of everything else that happened that day, they'd both gotten in trouble in their very last class of the day. Ironically, the only class they had together was the final one due to the fact that it was an elective. Home economics to be exact. The teacher who was apparently an all human version of Mother-Mae-Eye, someone Robin had been dreading all day, had ordered him to remove his black sunglasses. But in fear of revealing his identity and just because the thought made him uncomfortable, he simply and kindly refused. So, she simply and kindly kicked him out of class. Raven, being the firecracker and loyal friend she was, decided to take up for him, which got her sent out as well. In the end, all they had to show for it was early morning, Saturday detention.

"Here come the lovebirds," Beast Boy commented playfully as Raven and Robin sashayed up the bleachers towards their friends, but before he could say anything else, Aqualad elbowed him in the gut. "Ow! What'd you do that for, dude?"

"Raven's my girlfriend, you know," the long-haired boy replied with a sigh, then focused his worried eyes on the two marching up the stairs. Robin was extremely close to Raven's body. It was almost as if it was taking everything within him not to wrap his arms around her. They both had secretive, reddened looks on their faces like there was something they didn't want the others to know. For some reason, Raven had been so against him picking her up for the game, claiming that she'd be "just fine" riding with Robin. And was that Robin's letterman jacket she was wearing over her shapely yet fragile body?! It was all just so suspicious.

But, nevertheless, she was his girlfriend and he truly loved her. Even though Robin was her best friend, nothing could trump their relationship and the memories they'd made together. All those long walks by the bay, quiet nights swimming around the pool, and long talks over tea meant the world to him. She might've been dark and creepy to everyone else, but that was exactly what he loved about her. So, he was just going to suck it up, and ignore her weird actions today.

"Hey, Beautiful," he said when the two finally reached their bench. "You can sit right here next to me."

Raven glanced back to catch Robin's reaction to the boy's offer, but it was indifferent. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. She looked back into Aqualad's dark, anxious eyes and finally gave him a tiny, genuine smile. "Okay."

Robin grunted lowly to himself before scooting down the aisle to sit in between Speedy and Beast Boy. "So, who's winning?" he said in an attempt to get back in everyone's good grace.

"So far, we are," Speedy started before taking a bite out of his ketchup covered hot dog, "but it's a close game."

"Cyborg's put up a lot of points already for it to just be the second quarter," Kid Flash added and munched loudly on his cherry red snow cone. "Hopefully, he can keep it up."

"May I ask why you're eating a snow cone in sixty-degree weather," Bumblebee questioned the redhead with an irritated tone. All of the slurping and gulping he was doing was driving her out of her mind.

"The Hive Academy is one of our biggest rivals. JCH has lost every game with them for the last twenty years. I really hope we beat them today. For her sake," Beast Boy softly added. Everyone could tell his mood was still down from earlier. Coming to the football games and supporting Cy was one of his and Terra's favorite kind of date last season.

"Where's Starfire?" Robin enquired next. Raven rolled her eyes at his typical-Boy Blunder question. Of course, even in this world he still wanted to worry about the happy-go-lucky redhead.

"She's a cheerleader. Obviously, she's cheering," the secretly jealous, violet-haired girl answered for the others.

Robin looked down to the track to see a festive Starfire jumping and bouncing happily around with her red and yellow pom-poms shaking violently in her hands. But even as he looked at the tall, happy girl, his mind was on Raven. What was her problem all of a sudden? Was she angry because he mentioned Starfire? Or was she just being her usual sarcastic self?

"Go, Cy! Don't stop! Don't let them get you!" Speedy jumped up and shouted out the blue. The others turned their attention to where he was looking and saw Cyborg dashing down the bright green turf with the football tight in his grip. The other team's players were hard on defense and close to tackling him but he wasn't stopping till he reached the goal line.

Kid Flash sprouted up next, dropping red, flavored ice all over a now infuriated Bumblebee. "Come on you got it, Cy! You're so close!"

Everyone watched with anticipation as the fast quarterback grew closer and closer to the white line. He swerved through the crowds of people trying to attack him and held onto the oddly shaped ball with all he had.

"Woo! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Everyone cheered and clapped when his quick foot finally crossed the line.

"Yeah, that's my boy. Four touchdowns in a row," Speedy cried out happily, clapping his hands so hard in the process, his whole body flushed scarlet.

"Wow, Speedy. Such school spirit," Raven droned sarcastically and watched as Cyborg celebrated by whipping and nae-nae-ing on the field. Then, she continued to watch as his happy mood vanished the moment the referee blew a whistle calling some kind of penalty.

"I'm a basketball player, Raven. I gotta support my fellow athletes," Speedy replied with a cynical tone, then softly hit Robin in the chest. "By the way, Coach wants us to be at practice first thing in the morning, Grayson."

"I can't," Robin mumbled in embarrassment. "Raven and I have Saturday detention."

"What?!" Beast Boy, Speedy, and Aqualad shouted in shock. They weren't necessarily surprised about Raven, but Robin was a Gary Stu who would never even so much as walk the halls without a hall pass. He was punctual to each class every single day, made all A's, followed all the rules, and was even student body president. What could he have possibly done to get detention?

Robin shrank from the shame and gulped when Raven sent him a deadly glare for telling their misfortune. "Uh, yeah."

"Coach is going to have your ass," Speedy chuckled with a serious face, then turned his attention back to the game. "Wait, what's happening? Why didn't they give us our points?"

Kid Flash, who was staring intensely at the game, broke his trance to reply, "Apparently the ref called a penalty for Cyborg's touchdown celebration."

"Hey, that's not fair," Beast Boy whined and looked at the scoreboard. Without the extra touchdown, the score would be tied up since the other team had just scored their own touchdown right before Cyborg's big moment. "It's our senior years, dudes. We have to win this game."

"Looks like Sparky's pretty upset," Bumblebee said and shook her head at the dirty nature of this highly-anticipated game. Hive Academy always found a way to cheat themselves to victory, even if it included paying off the referees.

"Yeah, he's pissed," Kid Flash mumbled. They all watched sympathetically as Cyborg blew up on the referee and ferociously removed his helmet. Next, they saw the coach fussing at him and after him the referee, then they watched as the tall, athletic teen threw his helmet to the ground, causing it to bounce back up at a weird angle. In the end, he stormed off the field and towards the empty fieldhouse.

Robin glanced down at the track again and saw the cheerleaders biting their lips and looking around like they were lost and confused, especially Starfire. She almost looked scared and even her skin was as red as her hair. This game must've really meant a lot to everyone for them to be freaking out so badly. It was only the second quarter; they still had time to come back. It really wasn't that serious.

"I'm going to the restroom," Kid Flash said, breaking the tense silence.

Beast Boy watched as he scooted past everyone and skipped down the stairs and decided to follow suit. "I'm going to concession. Anybody want something?"

No one answered. So, Robin decided to speak for everyone. "I think we're good." Beast Boy nodded in return and took off after Kid Flash.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was trying to get himself together inside the weight room of the fieldhouse. But it was no use. He was angry as all outdoors and couldn't even bring himself to face the other team again. Not to mention, adrenaline was coursing through his body at full speed. All he wanted to do was make his dad proud. One of his father's biggest wishes in life was to see his son lead his alma mater to beating the Hive. Just a few months before, his father was accidently killed during an experiment at his science lab. His death sent Cyborg into a spiraling depression, but the passionate teen soon realized that his father wouldn't want him to give up on life. He'd want him to keep pushing and follow all his dreams. And one of his biggest dreams was being the quarterback that led his team to the biggest win of their school history. He knew they could beat Hive Academy. Jump City High had a much stronger team and a bigger heart when it came to football. Even if the Hive had better defense, nothing could tackle their school spirit and ambition.

Well, nothing except cheating referees.

"Argh!" he belted out in anger before trudging over to a dumbbell bench and loading heavy weights onto the bar. His rage grew with each clank of metal as he added more and more weight plates. In the end, the weight on the bar totaled to 500 pounds which was exceedingly heavy for his body. But he didn't care. He lay back on the cushion of the bench and prepared to use all his strength to lift the bar. He knew he needed a spotter, but he wasn't exactly thinking rationally at the moment.

"Argh…got to…lift it…" he cried and struggled to lift the heavy weight. The highest he ever pressed was 300 and that was on a good day. He had no idea what he was thinking trying to lift 200 more than that.

"Got to make pops…proud…" he continued to strain and strain until he felt a burning pain inside his biceps and neck muscles. He was about to give up, but then thought about his dad once again. He could hear his voice saying never give up son and couldn't bring himself to quit.

He kept thinking maybe one of his teammates or a coach would come in to check on him, but so far that hadn't happened. Usually at least Hot Spot or Mammoth would help keep him calm during practice or an intense game, but even they hadn't cared enough to make sure he was okay. And that only fueled his anger.

"Stupid teammates…" he said and continued pushing, but the bar wouldn't budge. He closed his watering eyes shut and tried yet again. "Stupid coaches…stupid referees!"

Suddenly, he heard something similar to steel fall to the ground with a sound that resembled the metal weights clanking against one another. His startled, steel gray eyes popped opened and looked around the room as best they could from his position, but he didn't see anyone or anything other than the heavy bar above him.

He blinked and tried to calm himself down. It was probably just one of his teammates coming to check on him. That's what he told himself over and over again. But when he opened his eyes again, a masked face with a black hood was hovering quietly above him and the bar. "Oh snap!" he bellowed and tried to stand up, but hit his forehead on the hard metal instead.

The masked figure shook its head at his clumsiness and continued to stare down at him. Cyborg groaned in pain, rubbed his throbbing forehead, and eyed the figure angrily. "BB? Hot Spot? Mammoth? Is that you? Stop playing, man. You're creeping me out."

The figure continued to stand in silence before placing gloved hands onto the metal bar. Cyborg squinted his eyes in confusion, then let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, you just want to spot me. Why didn't you just say so?"

The figure lifted a shoulder as if to say "I don't know" and pretended to help Cyborg lift the bar. But yet and still the bar didn't budge. Cyborg's blood began to boil.

"Why can't I lift this stupid thing!" he bellowed and pushed with all his might. To his surprise, the bar actually slightly rose off the hinges. The masked figure above him aided in his victory as he continued to wildly push the bar up and down. "Boo-yah! That's what I'm talk—"

Crack! He never finished his statement as the five-hundred-pound bar was suddenly crushing every bone in his neck. Cyborg's eyes went wide in fear and pain, but he couldn't make a peep. He tried to breathe, but he could no longer find the oxygen in the room. He pried his closing eyes opened and stared up at the person who'd dropped the bar on top of him. He tried to cry out help but it was no use. Before he could try again, the figure lifted up a butcher's knife and started plunging him right in the chest with no shame or hesitation. Dark, warm blood splattered and spurted everywhere as the killer lifted its arm up higher and higher each time, making each wound more and more vicious.

Then, it stopped. Just like that. It silently watched in content as Cyborg's right arm twitched in death and his blank, gray eyes stared into oblivion. It turned crisply and slowly walked away as if nothing ever happened. All the while Cyborg's lifeless body lay bleeding endlessly on the bench. In the distance, cheers and claps could be heard as the Hive Academy scored yet another touchdown against the Jump City High Titans. It was a stark difference in comparison to the complete, unnerving silence of the weight room. Little did Jump City High know, a game wasn't the only thing they were losing tonight.

A/N: There it was. The first real murder in the AU. Hopefully, it was cool. This is going to set off the rest of the murders, so the rest of the chapters will (hopefully) be more fun/interesting. I didn't want to make it too gory, and I didn't want to kill Cyborg first but it just seemed to fit right with the storyline I'm going for. There'll be more of a chase scene next chapter :) Btw, let's pretend Jason and Robin are only maybe a year or two apart. Also, let's pretend Robin isn't Nightwing yet even though Bruce has already adopted Tim lol. Thanks for reading and the reviews! And if you're reading this, thank you for that too :)

: Hey, glad to see you're still here lol. The AquaRae thing was a last min decision, but I think it adds to the plot so I'm glad I put it in there. I honestly never thought about a KF and Star relationship. It might work. I'll definitely keep it in mind!

runner: Very tedious. Dk if it's interesting yet lol hopefully it's interesting enough. Thanks for the review :)