(Author's Note: Not much to say, other than enjoy:)

Chapter Seven: Mask

A lone figure was walking through a dark room, towards a single source of light that held a strange red technological chip.

The figure itself mostly wore black, with gray armor around its arms and neck along with gray gauntlets and a belt. Their face was completely black with an orange circle in the center of its face and two white eyes.

Just as the figure was about to reach in and grab the chip, it noticed a boy hanging upside down and glaring at it. "Tell Slade if he wants this, he can come get it himself!" The boy brought his feet down and kicked the figure in the chest. As it back flipped back, the lights came on and the boy was revealed to be Robin with the other titans with him.

Suddenly, a yellow laser cut through the ceiling and appeared at the feet of the titans. Another appeared and they began circling, cutting a hole clean through. In seconds, over two dozen of the exact same figures came pouring in the room. "TITANS GO!" The team scattered just as the figures landed.

Robin flipped backwards and threw two birdarangs, which took out two of the figures. Another ran forward and threw a punch, but Robin caught it and flipped it over and to the ground. As another seven leaped down and surrounded him, he tool out and extended his bo staff. With a mighty battle cry, he attacked.

Starfire kept to the air, firing off starbolt after starbolt against any figure that tried to attack her friends. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw about four figures pointing something at her. It was a small silver device with a handle and a yellow orb in front. Seeing them glow, Starfire had only seconds to confirm their action and react. As each of them fired a beam of yellow energy from their weapons, Starfire retaliated with her own green energy beam. While it was a stalemate for a few moments, her enemies were no match for the power of a tameran. She overpowered in not even ten seconds.

Leo was on the ground, throwing his enemies around like ragdolls in the form of an elephant. He really didn't know who (or what) these things were, but the others told him that they worked for a madman and that's all he needed to hear. Suddenly, most of his enemies focused their efforts on him as dozens leapt on his body. He quickly took the form of a hawk and flew away, causing them all to collapse on each other. He changed into a lion and roared in challenge, just as a large black and blue object suddenly took all of them out.

Leo looked to the side and saw his cousin brushing his hands off, "Amazing what you can do with computers these days." Leo rolled his (lion) eyes before the two of them went charging after more enemies.

A multitude of the figures suddenly went flying through the air, courtesy of Raven. She suddenly turned and projected a shield, just as one brought its fist down. It began swinging the weapon in arcs, creating laser slashes that were (actually) suceeding in cutting through Raven's shields. It then took her by surprise when it lowered and swept her legs out from under her.

Raven landed with a pained groan and look to see her opponent pointing its weapon at her, with the intent to finish her off. Before it could, however, a familiar green goat came out of nowhere and crashed into its side. The empathic girl looked on to see Beast Boy standing there, an arrogant grin on his face, "~You owe me big time~! ~You owe me big-," he yelled as the figure got back up and made a ran to attack.

...Or it would have, if Raven didn't stop it by telekinetically slammed two pieces of machinery into it. Beast looked back before looking at Raven to see her with her hands on her hips and a raised eyebrow. He rubbed his head and laughed nervously, "Call it even?"

While the titans were otherwise preoccupied, one of these figures leaped foward and grabbed the data chip. Robin was the first to see, "Don't let him escape with that chip." Leo was the quickest to react, teleporting in the figure's path before pouncing on them and roaring.

Just as another leaped for it, Beast Boy turned into an anteater and grabbed it with his tongue. However, a third figure promptly stomped on the changeling's tongue and grabbed the chip when he let go. Beast Boy turned back to normal, with swirls in his eyes and his tongue hanging out, "That tasted so nasty."

"Titans, MOVE!" Robin called to his team as he sprinted out of the room, with them not being far behind. They soon found themselves at an impass, six different tunnels stood before them. "Split up," he spoke in an authoritative voice and they followed without question.

Leo had taken the form of a cheetah, to search the tunnel as quick as he could. He could have teleportated, but he has to be able to see where he's going or he could end up through a wall. Plus, back-to-back teleports drains his energy insanely fast. Leo was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he didn't notice the fact thst he was running out of tunnel. He went flying over the edge before quickly taking the form of an eagle. Not exactly my proudest moment, Leo thought to himself.

"STARFIRE!" Turning to the sound of his leader's yell, he saw Starfire plummeting to the ocean with one of those figures flying into the air with jet boots. Robin leaped off of the cliff and fired a grappling hooks around the figure's ankles and Starfire's waist. The figure began flying all around the area, Robin screaming the entire way.

Leo began flying after them, his wings flapping as fast as he could move them. Using this form's enhanced eyesight, Leo began analyzing the flight pattern of the figure.

In an instant, Leo changed into a monkey and teleported about a second later. Leo latched himself onto the figure's face and held on with all of his might. The figure's faltered in the air and pried to pull Leo off, but the changeling was stubborn and refused to let go.

He began beating on the figure's head, screeching all the time as he did. Leo then crawled over its body and began gnawing on Robin's grappling hook. "LEO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Leo didn't answer, however, and kept gnawing. Just as the rope snapped, Leo quickly took the form of a pterodactyl and used his feet to grab his two friends. He looked back to see the figure realize that he was free, only to crash into the side of a mountain. "Leo, fly down there," Robin spoke in a serious tone. Leo nodded before turning and making his way towards the downed assailant.

As he set his friends down, Robin immediately went to the fugure and started yelling at it. Turning back to normal, Leo was at the side of his downed alien teammate, "Star, are you alright?"

She groaned and rubbing her head as she sat up, "Yes. I am...well," she then gained a sick look on her face before coughing up a fish.

"ANSWER ME!" Both teens flinched at the volume of their leader's voice. "Why does Slade want this data chip?! And why are you working for-," as he pulled off the mask, the figure was revealed to be a robot. There was a small screen where its face should be and soon flickered to life, showing a man cloaked in darkness with only half of an orange mask visible.

"Hello Robin."

"Slade," Robin snarled.

"I must admit, you're more persistant than I originally gave you credit for. If you're so driven to figure out my plan, perhaps we should meet. Face to face."

"Tell me where you're at and I'll be there in a heartbeat!"

"Patience, Robin. Patience." The screen then died out as the robot began to crumble, leaving the three teens with their thoughts.

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Later that night, Beast Boy stood in front of his teammates, "A day of hard work earns us some serious downtime? So, what'll it be my fellow couch potatoes? Super Ninja Showdown 8? Or Maniac Fury: Attack of the Protozoids?" He held two movies in his hands with a big smile.

"Gee, they both sound so good," Leo snickered at Raven's sarcasm.

"Yeah, it's really hard to pick. Wanna watch 'em both?" Cyborg commented.

Starfire spoke up, "Perhaps Robin would like to join into our decision?"

Beast Boy scoffed, "Please, Robin is way too busy in his manhunt for Slade to hang out with us," as much as Leo hated to admit it, Beast Boy was right. Robin had been so preoccupied in bringing Slade to justice that his mood had lessened, and his entire team could see it. Starfire suddenly stood up, surprising everyone, "Where are you going Star?"

"To speak with Robin." Leo watched his friend walk out with a worried expression on his face. He was concerned, for both her and Robin. He understood what it was like to become obsessed woth the capture of a villain, but also knew the negative concequences that came with it. It didn't seem like an issue at the moment, but he needed to keep a watchful eye out.

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Now, Leo was starting to get pretty worry. They had received a crime alert of a theft and they were without their team's leader. The rest of them were currently on a roof, waiting. Leo heard Robin speaking on Cyborg's arm, "I'm working a Slade lead on the far side of town, sure you guys can handle this without me?"

"Don't worry man, we'll take care of it." Susdenly, a figure burst through a door only to pause when they spotted the wore a completely black suit with gray gloves and boots along with a gray cape. They wore a white skull mask with an "X" on it and had another on their chest. As the team got ready, Cyborg charged up his sonic cannon, "You workin' for Slade, tough guy?"

"Red X. Works. Alone," he spoke in a deep voice before raising his hand (an "X" was also on both palms) and firing an "X" shaped projectile. The titans dodged it and Cyborg fired his sonic cannon about a second later. Red X leaped through the air before firing more projectiles, forcing Cyborg to retreat.

Beast Boy took the form of a lion and, with a roar of challenge, pounced. Red X effortlessly dodged each swipe of the changeling's might paw before firing off another projectile. This one turned into a strange goo-like substance through the air and splattered onto Beast Boy. When he hit the ground, Beast Boy found himself unable to move. He tried taking multiple forms (including a gorilla, a falcon, and even an elephant), but he couldn't escape.

Starfire and Raven took to the skies and attempted to double team him. They fired bolts of energy and magic at the thief, but he showed impressive agility by dodging each and every attack. He fired off two more projectiles at the girls, these being more solid than what he used first latched around Starfire's body, binding her arms. "Azarath Metrion Zin-," the second projectile latched across Raven's mouth, preventing her from speaking, before she received a kick to the chest courtesy of Red X.

Taking the form of a bear, Leo attacked with Cyborg not far behind. Red X was obviously well trained, as he dodged each bear claw and metal fist seemingly without effort. He sent a kick to Leo's face before taking out an X and attacking it to Cyborg's back. A panel was opened and Red X began interfering with the technology. "Hey! Yo, who told how to shut me down?!" Cyborg's entire body limped and Red X pushed him off.

Suddenly, he leaped to the side in time to avoid a fireball courtesy of an angry Leo. The two remaining combatans simply stared, both looking to weaknesses. The two began running across the roof as they fired their own projectiles at own another, multiple explosions occured as bombs met fireballs.

Ending the clash, Leo took the form of a cheetah and quickly took off. He avoided every projectile that was sent his way before pouncing, only to receive a kick to the side. Leo saw him fired another projectile, looking similiar to the one that he used on Beast Boy. He quickly changed back to human form before launching another fireball, the impact of the two projectiles caused a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Leo was furious to discover that Red X was gone.

"So, do you guys see what I don't see?" Beast Boy's comment didn't help.

Then, Cyborg asked the one question that was on everyone's mind, "Who was that guy?"

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"I had no idea that Red X would pose such a threat. I should have been there," Robin stated, arms crossed. The team was back recovering at the tower, having informed Robin of their duel with the masked thief.

"Ya, you should have. Look what he did to my do!" He pointed to his hair, which was spiled upwards with pieces of the substance Red X fired still stuck in his hair. Starfire was behind him with a pair of scissors, trying to get it out. "I'm lookin' at two months of bad hair days!" They all heard a noise and turned to see Raven with an annpyed look on her face, the object still attached to her mouth. Beast Boy smirked, "I don't know Raven, that's kind of a good look for you." Sge simply glared at him.

"Hold still," Cyborg gently grabbed the edge pf the object, before he quickly tore it off. Every titan winced at the action and you could tell that Raven was using every ounce of self-control that she had to keep herself from screaming.

"Ow," was all she let out, before rubbing the area. "Even if you were there, I doubt it would have made much of a difference."

"Dude knew exactly how to bring each of us down, he probably had a gadget with your name on it."

"Hey wait," Beast Boy spoke up, "How come he didn't have anything for Leo?" All eyes were now on him.

"I've dealt with Shot more times than i could count, and he has multiple weapons specifically designed to bring me down. I've learned to work around such a tactic."

"Lucky," he heard Beast Boy and smirked.

"Still, I should have been there," the frown didn't leave Robin's face.

"Well," Starfire spoke, "It is alright. We are undamaged."

"HELLOOOOOOOO!"

Starfire blushed and smiled nervously at Beast Boy's glare, "Mostly undamaged. And, we are eager to discover what you found out about Slade."

"Nothing. The lead was a dead end."

"Well, then you will be able to help us against-."

"Can't. I'm working another lead. The sad truth is that bringing down Slade is more important than capturing a random thief with a few dangerous toys." With that, he quickly left the room. While the others were upset, Leo watched their leader leave with a slightly annoyed look on his face. If Slade was anywhere near as dangerous as Robin said, then his statement was correct. But still, he needed to work with his team. They can't be split like this. Leo and Robin were going to have to have a talk, and soon.

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"Word on the street is that you're looking for this," Slade looked at Red X holding the red data chip in his hand through his monitor.

"Interesting, young man. Are you proposing a trade, or a gift?"

"A partnership. I give you the chip, you cut me in on your plan."

"My, aren't we ambitious? However, it'll take more than a single data chip. Obtain another, and then we'll talk."

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Leo was in the form of an eagle, flying through the night air to clear his head. This whole thing with Robin and Slade and even Red X was getting very stressful. He could only hope that Robin could come to his senses soo, or he'd gave to take matters into his own hands.

Leo turned back to normal over the tower's roof, and his communicator started beeping wildly. "Hello?" It was Cyborg.

"Robin found Red X! I'm sending you the coordinates now!" With a nod, Leo looked at the coordinates and took to the skies as a hawk.

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The five titans were currently running (the girls were flying) towards their sent location, and saw Robin chasing after Red X. The two masters of the physical form ran and flipped over obstacles that stood in their way. Red X leaped up and chucked a strange device at the boy wonder. A red energy net suddenly sprung up and ensnared Robin, causing him to trip and sprawl across the ground.

"Robin!" Starfire began to fly towards Robin.

"I'm fine, get X! Go!" With reluctance, they left their leader in pursuit of the criminal as he leaped down into a subway tunnel.

"Great," Beast Boy commented, "Now how are we supposed to find him?"

"It's fine. I've adjusted my ocular implant to scan at multiple sub-harmonics in the EM sectrum."

"And for those of us that don't speak techno-babble?"

Cyborg looked back to his cousin, "My eye will locate him, even if he's invisible." The team was silent as Cyborg scanned the entire area, searching for the criminal.

Suddenly, as if hit by an unseen force, the metal teen was sent flying back. Standing there, completely visible, was Red X. The two shape-shifters attacked him as one force, Beast Boy as a lion and Leo as a tiger. Red X backflipped from their claws, and landed in front of Starfire.

"Please, surrender. We do not wish to fight you." He simply looked at her.

"Sorry, I'm not through with you yet," he fired a projectile from his palm (the same one he used against her last time), but it was caught by Raven's magic. Hearing a yell from behind, he backflipped once again to avoid Cyborg's fist as it slammed into the ground where he once stood. He placed a device on Cyborg's back, but was shocked when it did nothing.

Cyborg looked back and smirked, "You're gonna have to learn some new tricks dog." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leo running to him in the form of a velociraptor. He narrowly avoid a bite, only to be smacked in the stomach by his tail. Sliding back only a few feet, Red X sped foward a threw a punch. As Leo dodged, his eyes suddenly widened in pain as the criminal drove his knee into Leo's stomach.

The sudden burst of pain actually caused Leo to revert to human form, to which X quickly shot a punch to his face. The impact sent Leo into the air and slamming onto the train tracks. As he slowly sat up, he could hear, see, and feel the fast approaching of the train. Before he could teleport, he was suddenly grabbed and lifted off of the tracks. Opening his eyes, they widened in confusion as Red X was the one that got him out of there.

The criminal then shot a kick foward, but Leo teleported behimd him and grabbed X in a full nelson, "You saved my life," he harshly whispered in his ear, "Why?!" Red X offered no answer, instead choosing to throw his head back into Leo's face. He let out a pain grunt and let go of X a little bit, which was all the time that he needed. Red X leaped out of Leo's grasp, and dissapeared from the teen's eyes.

"Leo!" Hearing Starfire's voice, he looked to see his teammates running over to him. The tameranian girl put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

She suddenly gasped, "You are...bleeding!" Feeling something trickle from his nose, Leo wiped his fingers between his nose and lips and saw blood.

"Don't worry about it. Head wounds always bleed a lot." He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "I'm fine Star. Really."

"Why did he save you?"

Leo sighed, "I don't know. I don't know."

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Shortly after his second encounter with the titans, X contacted Slade.

"Very impressive. I saw your performance. You treated the titans to quite...the show."

"Glad you enjoyed it," he held up two data chips, red and blue, "Is the audition over?"

"Not yet. Trust is easy to break, but it takes time to build. One final test," he showed an image of a green data chip, "And then we shall talk about your future."

"Good," Red X commented after Slade cut the connection. He then took off his mask, revealing himself to be none other than Robin of the Teen Titans, "It's about time we met face to face."

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Leo was lying in his bed, not asleep but thinking. The rest of the team had gotten into a disagreement over how Robin has focused more on Slade than the current issue. They did make a fair point.

He needed a walk. More than that, he needed food.

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Leo was now in the litchen, scrounging through the refrigerator for a midnight snack. He finally settled on a slice of leftover pizza. He sighed before taking a bite. His team was currently NOT in a good place, and the problem needed to be fixed.

Suddenly, the computer started beeping. "Well, this isn't gonna be good." With his food in one hand, Leo ran to the monitor. Suddenly the others (minus Robin) came running into the room. Raven was the first to speak.

"Leo, what happened?"

"X boy is back."

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The teens were flying through the air, with Starfire carrying Cyborg. "There," Cyborg pointed to a building, the one that they got the signal of Red X from. The team began their descent towards the building. Cyborg readied his sonic cannon and blasted a hole through a wall, them flying through it. "Titans go!" Upon entering they were might with the sight of not only Red X and Slade, but also dozens of Slade's commandos along with large white robots with black lines over their body, pincer claws, and a singular red eye.

Beast Boy changed into an octopus and wrapped around one of the robots, while another was coated in Raven's magic and thrown into a wall. Leo headbutted one as a rhino while Cyborg went for Red X. He grabbed him by the cape, "Gotcha."

Red X struggled to escape, "Let me go," he pointed to where Slade had fled, "Stop him!"

"Release him!" They all heard Starfire yell from the air, "He is-."

"Me!" The team got the surprise of the century as the criminal pulled off his mask...and revealed himself to be none other than their leader! In his shock, Cyborg had let go of the cape. "Slade is getting away! Come on!" Robin flipped over two robots and sprinted towards the criminal mastermind.

Robin. When this is all said and done, your ass is MINE! Leo thought angrily to himself as he mercilessly rammed into three comandos in his way. He then turned into a gorilla and began furiously punching any enemies around him. He then leaped into the air and landed on a robot, before beginning to furiously pound away.

As it reached to grab him, he changed into a spider and began crawling over its body. He turned into a bear and swiped strongly at its side. Looking around, he saw that the others seemed to be handling the commandos and robots pretty well. So, his objective was clear. Taking the form of a falcon, he quickly flew out of the hole that they had made and into the chilly night.

He flew high into the air, his razor sharp eyes constantly searching the area. Searching for his leader and his enemy. Following the trail he'd seen them leave, he flapped his wings as hard as he could to reach them. Searching, he could barely make out the site of two figures fighting on a rooftop.

As he flew downwards towards the rooftop, Leo morphed into a lion as he landed. He roared in challenge, causing them both to turn to the newcomer. Slade chuckled, "Interesting." With a snarl, Leo pounced.

Slade jumped to the side as Leo brought his claws down onto where he once stood. Leo pounced again, only to receive a swift kick to the snout. He quickly changed into a gorilla and backhanded Slade away with tremendous power.

Robin suddenly flipped over Leo's entire body and sprinted towards Slade. He threw a punch, which Slade caught before driving his knee into the boy wonder's gut. He then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the wall.

Suddenly, Leo leaped and wrapped himself around Slade's head in the form of an octopus. Slade tried hard to pull the shape-shifter off, but Leo held a tight grip. He then turned into a fly just as Robin raced foward and kicked him in the chest.

Just as Slade landed, Robin chucked an ammunition disk towards the criminal. As soon as it made contact with the armor, there was a large explosion followed by a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Slade was lying on the floor. By this point, the others had caught up. Robin quickly ran up and grabbed Slade by his collar, "This ends NOW!" He pulled off the mask, only to find a monitor!

"Patience Robin. We'll meet face to face another time. Oh, and speaking of time-," the monitor began to count down from five. Robin managed to leap backwards with hardly two seconds to spare. The entire team simply stared at the fire that was left behind, no words to be had.

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The door to Robin's study opened, to which the leader to see Leo walking in. He wasn't looking particularly happy.

"I suppose you're here to yell at me too. Everybody else has," Robin commented in an emotionless voice, staring at the reminders of the Slade copy's mask.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Robin looked surprised at Leo's harsh tone, "Hiding like that from your team? Attacking us for some damn role? What the hell? Why didn't you tell us the truth?"

He sighed, "If I had told you guys, you would have held back. I needed to fool Slade, so I had to fool you guys. But, it was pointless. I didn't find out anything of use."

"Even if you are the leader, you will NOT be doing that again. Believe it or not, I understand," Robin looked at him in confusion, "I felt the same way in dealing with Shot. I felt that I was the only person who understood how dangerous he really was. That I needed to do whatever I could to bring him down. But," he looked Robin in the face, "There are limits. Things that we can't do to bring in the criminals. I accepted that a while ago, and now you need to as well." He turned to the door, "The point of being part of a tram is so we have help against obstacles that we can't tackle on our own. However, it doesn't seem like you truly understand. If you're going to lead this team, you need to learn that. And soon." Leo then walked out of the room, leaving Robin to his thoughts.

(Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, too much going on this week. A test, a quiz, and a fucking project. The teacher wants a hard copy AND an online copy by FRIDAY! So fucking annoying. Away, sorry. Review, favorite, follow, and I'll see you guys next time.)