Disclaimer:

Me: Do I really need to say it?

Gale: Yes, you do.

Me: Alright. I do not own the Teen Titans, DC Comics does. However, Gale is my creation and mine alone!

Gale: Then why am I not getting that much action?

Me: Shut up and don't complain! You'll get loads of it two chapters from now.

From Darkness Comes Light

By: Patattack

Xcellent

"Remind me again, what're we doing here?" Gale asked Cyborg. The cybernetic teen had brought his fellow titan to the tower's lower levels, where the t-ship was lying on an apparatus similar to what mechanic shops used to lift up cars in order to have access to the bottom.

"Because, the t-ship only has five places," he explained. "And with you on the team, we're six. So, we need to work on upgrading this baby so that it can take all of us if it needs to."

"Okay then. But why do you need me? You're the techno guy around here, and I'm not exactly a pro at this kind of stuff."

"I know, I know, but I could still use an extra pair of hands to help out. And it'd be best to have you with me just in case I need specifications for your part."

"Alright then, if you say so."

"Okay, let's get this thing started." Cyborg passed Gale a sheet of paper outlining the tail end's design. Gale went on top of the ship while Cyborg crawled underneath to work on the bottom. He worked meticulously at the different tasks that the robotic teenager gave him, which consisted of different steps for taking apart the t-ship's tail. For the most part, when Gale would have need for a tool, he would simply use his powers to forge one from the air, and disperse it when he was finished.

The two titans went on like this for a while until the tail end was detached from the rest of the vehicle. "Now that that's done-" Cyborg began, but was interrupted by the familiar sound of the alarm blaring through the tower. "Guess we'll have to work on it later."

After finding out the cause for the alarm, the Titans had rushed out of the tower towards a building where an unknown person had broken in. Beast Boy, in the form of a Pterodactyl carried Cyborg on his back, while Robin rode on his R-Cycle and the others flew by themselves. They arrived at their destination before long and entered in pursuit of the intruder. It wasn't exactly hard for them to follow, as they could see a trail of deactivated security measures. Moving fast, they just caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure when they came into an elevator shaft.

Black energy surrounded the cables as Raven used her telekinetic powers to bring up the elevator, on top of which they rode until reaching the level they'd seen the figure disappear to. They hopped off and continued the chase, coming to a doorway with a multitude of red laser that would have formed a grid, if not for the mirrors keeping them apart to allow a person to walk through. Robin, Starfire, Raven and Gale passed through with little problem, but Cyborg's size caused him to knock aside a couple of the mirrors when he crept through. An alarm sounded out and the lasers went back to their original pattern, forcing Beast Boy to change into a mouse to crawl through. The alarm was cut short when someone smashed a panel up ahead in passing.

The titans ran until reaching a large warehouse like room where the intruder had gone into. The figured turned back to face them, and they were surprised to see a sight familiar to them, except for Gale. It was a man dressed in a full black body suit, with a white skull shaped design on the mask. He had a cape on his back, with the inside being a metallic gray, as well as his utility belt and gloves. Apart from that, there was a red 'X' on his chest and in the middle of the skull's forehead.

"Red X?" Beast Boy said in surprise. "I thought Robin was Red X."

"Think again," the suited man said in a computerized voice, then raised his hands and fired a pair of X's at them from the palms of his hands.

"Titans, go!" Raven stayed in place and put up a dome of black energy around herself while the others moves out of the way to avoid the projectiles which landed on the floor where they'd been and exploded. The sorceress dispersed the dome, but then saw Red X coming at her with a flying kick and conjured a black shield in front of herself. This was countered when he simply vanished and reappeared behind Raven, sweeping her feet out from under her.

A red shuriken then came into his hand, but was promptly wiped out by a starbolt. Starfire flew at him, flinging pellets of green energy. He simply jumped back, twisting his body so that none of the starbolts struck him, then bounced back on the wall, landed on Starfire's back and kicked off. The agile thief leapt from one metal beam to another as the alien girl continued to pursue him. At one point, he turned jumped, turned around and fired a blast of red energy from each hand. They hit the metal pillars and crossed each other, catching Starfire as she passed through, dropping her to the floor.

Beast Boy was the next one to come after him. Flying as a pterodactyl, he changed to a Sasquatch and went to swing his arms at the black suited man, who stuck a solid X in his mouth. He stood on the beams for a moment, trying to bite through the offending object and pull it out. The shape shifter then became a hippopotamus and opened his mouth wide enough so that it fell out. But the change caused him to lose his balance and crash onto a pile of crates below

Just as Red X dropped to the ground, he found himself unable to move as Gale was running towards him. But when the winged boy went to punch him, he simply disappeared. Gale's senses alerting him, he sent out a pulse of air in all directions. It struck the black suited man who was blasted towards a metal beam, but he simply grabbed onto it, swung around and landed in front of Gale. He lashed out with a powerhouse kick that sent him back, although he managed to thicken the air behind to slow himself. Cyborg came charging in at the villain, who raised his right hand and shot out an 'X' from the palm. It bounced off the robotic teenager and expanded, its four 'arms' latching onto a different crate on either side. They like an elastic, it pulled back, causing the crates to converge and smash into Cyborg.

Beast Boy then became his usual self and got to his feet. Starfire flew next to him, a starbolt covering each hand. Raven rose from the ground, black telekinetic energy covering her hands and a crate she picked up with her powers. Gale stood up straight, his powers not showing, but still at the ready. Cyborg got back up, flicked a board off his shoulder then changed the arm into his sonic cannon. "Come on kids, X marks the spot," he taunted, pointing to the ''X on his chest.

He jumped up to avoid a blast from Cyborg's cannon and a blunt wave of air that zoomed towards him. The villain then sprung off the crate Raven sent his way, twisted himself to dodge a pair of starbolts and landed in front of Beast Boy, who'd changed into a yeti. The changeling raised his fists and brought them down on the floor, X having disappeared again. He looked at his friends around him and shrugged his shoulders.

Red X reappeared on a stack of wooden boxes, only to be tackled by Robin. Both of them rolled away on the floor and quickly got to their feet, the latter pulling out a birdarang and throwing it at his opponent, who vanished before being hit. The projectile flew around and came back into the Boy Wonder's hand, but he suddenly moved to the side, allowing for Red X's fist to miss his head. The black suited man swung at him again, but he ducked, flipped upside down, grabbed the arm with his feet and catapulted X away.

Red X landed nimbly on his feet as Robin came at him again. He dodged he titan leader's first punch and caught the second, pulling him down and jumping up at the same time. He then fell down upon Robin, his leg extended to land on him, but the offending limb was caught and he was tossed into a bunch of crates stacked against the wall. Robin then sprung to his feet and pinned X with his hand against his face. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?" the reply was punctuated by him grabbing Robin's wrist and sending out an electric shock into the Boy Wonder. He followed this up with a hard punch that threw him back through a pile of wooden boxes. Cyborg primed his cannon arm and ran towards their enemy at the same time as Raven. When they got close enough and were about to throw their powers at him, he sent a small 'X' which flew in between them and sent out tendrils of red electricity at the two, causing their powers to strike one another.

"Looks like you got your wires crossed," he commented. Starfire flew at him again, throwing a multitude of starbolts. He simply did a back flip and dived forward, without getting hit. Starfire turned around when she passed him, only to get caught by a large 'X' which carried her to a wall and stuck her there. "You know, cutie," Red X said, walking close to her and holding up her chin. "The only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a-" but he was interrupted when Starfire fired her eyebeams and struck him full center. He flew far back, slammed into a pile of crates and dropped to the floor. He got up in time to see Gale running towards him, along with Beast Boy who changed into a polar bear. The villain struck the floor in front of him with the palm of his hand, creating a fissure which the two titans fell through. "Watch your step."

"Watch this." Following those words, Gale rocketed out the rift and flew straight at X, spearing the rogue before he had time to react. After, the winged boy flew back to avoid an electric projectile at point blank range, but was then faced with another. He thrust his hand forward, at which a gust of wind emerged, blowing the projectile back towards its owner. Red X hopped onto a box, jumped off and landed on a metal beam. He extended the palms of both hands as he sailed over Gale's head, shooting out a flurry of red shots which converged into a semi-sphere that blocked him from sight.

X dropped to the ground and walked over to Robin's prone form. He rolled him over with his foot and picked up a white gun shaped object, except with a little screen at the back. Robin got to his feet and chased after him as he ran. "I won't let you get away with-" he began, but his feet were bundled together by an elastic 'X' which caused him to trip and fall over.

"Better luck next time, kid," Red X said as he attached the object he held to his belt. "And thanks for the suit." He pressed the middle of it, but did not teleport away like he intended to. "Come on, come on!", yet still nothing happened. "Great!" he said, in relation to the suit's malfunction, the fact that the point of a transparent sword had emerged from Gale's prison and was slicing it apart, and also that Robin had gotten his feet free and was coming for him again. He ran away through the rooftop entrance. Seeing the Boy Wonder behind him, he smacked the button on his belt with his fist, then jumped up as Robin dived at him. "Catch you later." He gave a small salute and was gone.

Robin stared at the place he'd been as his friends joined him on the roof. Starfire stood next to him, her eyes peering at him as if she were unsure about how real he was. She poked his shoulder repeatedly, getting his attention. "Hey, Star, ow!" He grabbed her hand to stop the poking. "That hurts."

"Then… you are not a hologram?"

"No," he said, letting go of her hand.

She continued poking him over and over again. "The last time we faced the Red X, he was you in disguise. And you were not really there."

"Starfire! Cut it out!"

"He is not a hologram," she declared, leaving the Boy Wonder untouched any further.

"He could still be a robot," Beast Boy suggested. "Check im for batteries."

Cyborg cracked his knuckles and took a step towards the team leader. "Wait! Please! It wasn't me, I promise! It wasn't me."

"This is the real Robin, not a robot," Gale confirmed.

"How're you so sure?" the green teenager asked.

"Because, he's breathing. I can hear it and I can feel it."

Beast Boy had a confused expression on his face at this. "Feel it?"

"I have power over air, remember? I sense and manipulate it. By the way, what's the deal with Red X and the way you guys look like you know him?"

"We don't know the person," Robin said. "We know the suit." Gale raised a questioning eyebrow at this. "Let's get back to the tower. I'll explain to you when we get there."

They got back to Titans Tower the same way they'd left. While Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven went to the common room to look over at some shots of their latest fight, Gale followed Robin as he went to a different area of their home. "Red X was a mistake," he began. "A mistake I won't ever make again."

"Uh huh. So…"

"You remember Slade?" Gale nodded in confirmation. "We met him before you came along to Jump City. It started when he sent Gizmo, Mammoth and Jinx after us. But that was only the first step. He launched multiple attacks at us and the city overtime. At one point, I created the suit and an alter ego. Red X, a ruthless thief who could get close to Slade, close enough to take him down. But I didn't tell the others and my plan didn't work. I almost lost my life… and my friends. It was the closest I've ever come to crossing the line between the good guys… and the others." Gale remained respectfully silent at this. They entered into a room with a vault that had the skull mark of Red X on the door, except that it had been taken off its hinges and lay on the floor. A plaque that would have had the suit hanging on it was wiped clean. "I thought the whole thing was in the past. But now… someone else crossed the line."

"Robin… if it's of any consolation to you… we all do mistakes, things we regret later on. You don't need to beat yourself up over this."

"Thanks, but it's still my job to stop him."

The two of them left the room behind and went back to join the others. "Let's face it," Raven spoke up as they walked in. "Red X could be anyone. Anyone smart enough to steal the suit and dumb enough to take it for a joy ride."

"And when Robin returns, he will help us to discover who," Starfire said.

Robin walked past them to a console on the wall. "It doesn't matter. I created Red X, every system, every weapon. Whoever's inside that suit, he's my responsibility."

"Well if we're gonna catch him, we at least need to figure out what he's after," Cyborg pointed out.

"I already know." He typed a few keys on the console and the screen changed from showing images of Red X to a molecular structure of a certain substance. "Xenothium, the fuel that powers the suit." Starfire and Raven gasped in surprise, while Gale simply had a blank look on his face.

"Aww man!" Beast Boy moaned. "I never understand anything."

"XENOTHIUM!" Cyborg exploded. "YOU POWERED THAT SUIT WITH XENOTHIUM! Are you crazy man, that stuff is dangerous, and unstable! Tell me you were not stupid enough to go messing with it!"

Robin sighed. "It was a mistake. The scanner Red X stone will locate any Xenothium within a ten mile radius."

"So we must locate it first," Starfire said.

"X isn't the only one with a scanner." Cyborg pulled open a compartment on his chest and took out a cable which he plugged into an outlet next to one of the consoles. "I'm downloading the molecular signature and transferring to your communicators."

"Thanks," Robin said as he walked back towards the door. "But I won't need it."

"How're you gonna find the Xenothium without a scanner?"

"The same way I found it the first time."

A good distance from Titans Tower, there was tall hill with an observatory like building built on top. It had a large cylindrical object sticking out like a telescope, except that it was covered so one wouldn't be able to guess exactly what it was. Robin climbed up the building, until reaching the presumable telescope's extension and hopped onto it. The building he entered had an abandoned look to it. Walkways built into the walls that went all around were devoid of people. Barrels, crates, mechanicals parts and other such things were stacked or lying around. A bunch of large, empty glass tubes were standing against the wall opposite where Robin came down.

After jumping off the large covered structure, he soon after jumped back when a blast of what appeared to be red electricity struck the floor in front of him. He took note of a figure dressed in a white laboratory suit who held a long pole from which he fired at him. Robin ran towards this person, jumping from a barrel, to a stack of crates and tackled them, causing their weapon to skid away. He gripped the man by the front of his suit and held him pinned against the wall. Upon closer inspection, one could see that he seemed to be Chinese, though he wore a strange white hat that only left his face open, a pair of techno lenses and a black and gray apparatus that hung on his shoulders. "Professor Chang. Remember me?"

"The good little boy who likes dangerous toys," he spoke in a light voice. "How could I forget?"

"Xenothium, where do you get it?"

"Nowhere. Suppliers skipped town months ago. That stuff… there's no way to get any. Unless…"

"Talk!"

"There is a tech company on the south end. Rumor has it that they keep a generous supply of Xenothium Ore in their vault. But it's not for sale, and it's locked up tight. You'd have to steal it."

"Not interested." He tossed Chang to the floor and went to got out the same way he'd come in. "But I know someone who is."

At the moment, Cyborg was walking along the docks by himself. He had a light extended from his shoulder for illumination as he searched around. Being done, he stopped for a moment and called up his friends. "West side's clean," he spoke into his arm. "You guys find anything?"

"Thus far my search has been unsuccessful," Starfire answered.

"Same here," Gale added.

"What he said," Beast Boy spoke up.

"Ditto," Raven said.

"Titans," Robin's voice came up. "I know where Red X is going to strike next. Sending coordinates."

Cyborg looked at the indicated location. "On my way." Unfortunately for him, he was suddenly stunned by an electric shock and knocked out cold.

Being the first to know about X's intended target, Robin was the first to arrive. He stood on the rooftop of a tall, circular building while he waited for his teammates to arrive. Beast Boy was the next one to get there. He changed from an eagle to his usual form. "So, you're pretty much kicking yourself for not getting rid of that Red X suit when you had the chance, huh?" Robin simply kept his back to him. "Uhh, forget I said anything."

"I couldn't destroy it," he answered. "The Xenothium power core is too dangerous to dispose of. It was supposed to stay locked away."

Raven then rose from the floor of the roof at the same time as Starfire landed. "No sign of Red X," she reported.

"Nor of Cyborg," the alien girl noted.

"Where's Gale?" Beast Boy asked.

"He's the furthest away, but he'll be here soon," Raven said.

"Cyborg report," Robin spoke into his communicator. "Cyborg… X must have attacked him. If Cyborg's hurt, it's my fault."

"Robin…"

"I'm responsible, Starfire. For everything that's happened."

"No Robin. The error you made, it is in the past. You are no longer the one inside that suit."

"And personally…" Red X's voice was heard. The present titans turned their attention towards it and saw the man in question standing in the middle of the rooftop, which was higher up than they were standing. "I think it looks much cooler on me." He then hurled a handful of red shurikens, which impaled the floor when they jumped back.

Raven flew towards him, aside Beast Boy who became a charging Rhinoceros. X materialized a different 'X' in his hand and hurled it at them like a ninja star. It caught Beast Boy, pushed him into Raven, wrapped itself around both of them and tossed them back. Starfire caught the incoming duo and was pushed back by their momentum. A whirlwind suddenly arose, pushing against Beast Boy and Raven. Added to the Tamaranian's super strength, it stopped the pair from going off the building and she was able to set them down.

Robin charged at Red X, who stood immobile, like a matador waiting for the bull. He simply side stepped him, and turned around as he came again. For the second run, he did close to the same move, except that he also pushed Robin down. When the boy Wonder got to his feet, he was greeted by his opponent pulling back on his mask and letting it snap back. While the Titan's leader was busy clutching his eyes, he took the opportunity to dive off the building towards one of the lower levels.

Robin adjusted his mask and turned towards his teammates. Raven was standing up straight, though still attached to her partner's back, who was upside down, as a rhino. "And now, I smell like rhino butt," she said, blowing his tail out of her face. Starfire tried to pull on their bonds, but they snapped into place and Beast Boy reverted to himself.

"Dude, you think you gave this guy enough gadgets?" he asked Robin sarcastically.

"Hang on," Gale said as he landed next to them. He materialized a transparent knife in his hand and used it to cut them free.

"Come on, we need to keep going after X," Robin reminded them. They flew down to the same level as Red X had gone, passing through a hole in a roof and landing on the floor of a large, empty, circular room. "Split up. And be careful. I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

They each separated and went their own way. Robin walked cautiously down a deserted hallway for a while, seeing nothing, yet still remaining alert. At one point, he passed a console against the wall and came to a door locked with a security system in place. As he walked up to it, he suddenly heard Starfire screaming. "Starfire?" He started to run back down the hall, but stopped when he heard Red X's computer voice speaking up from behind him.

"What's the matter, kid? Don't you wanna play? After all, they're you're toys." He held up a hand, which contained a bunch of shurikens, then hurled them all towards him. Robin fell flat do the floor and they passed over him, sinking into the console and causing it to explode. The lock on turned a little and the door opened up, revealing a hallway filled with a mesh of red lasers.

X leapt through the web, followed quickly by Robin. Both of them jumped on the floor, off the walls and passed through without creating a disturbance. At the end, they came to a long chute and let themselves free fall. When he got close enough, the rogue fired an 'X' at the forcefield below, opening up a rift which let him go through. Unfortunately for Robin, it closed up afterwards and he fell onto it rather hard, even though the surface wasn't that solid or the fall too great.

When Robin finally made his way through, he continued down the hallway ahead. A door opened up at the end, leading to a room that most of the floor was black, outlined with a green grid. "After you," Red X said, then pushed him inside.

The tiles that composed the grid lit up in red, forming an 'X' with Robin in the center. He looked up and saw a cannon aligned on the ceiling preparing to fire. He jumped out of the way and a blast of red energy struck the floor where he'd previously been. Another 'X' formed on the spot where he landed, and the cannon adjusted itself to fire. Robin ran towards the opposite door, moving from side to side, but the cannon hounded him persistently. Red X dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of the open doorway. "Thanks for the hand, kid," he taunted, then stepped back and closed it.

Robin was forced to keep moving quickly to avoid getting struck. But as soon as he was able, he pulled out his grapple hook and pulled himself up to the ceiling. He then grabbed onto the cannon and used a birdarang to cut through the wires holding it up. This permitted him to pull it down and redirect its fire towards the closed door. With it, he cut all around the door, which then fell forward, revealing a tall, circular room with a bunch of pods in the walls. Red X was kneeling down, putting a tube of Xenothium into a cylindrical container which held five others. He took notice of Robin letting go of the detached cannon which died down. The Boy Wonder then lashed out with a flying kick that sent him slamming into the wall.

"Kid, you are taking life way too seriously." The rogue got up and ran to meet his opponent. He ducked underneath Robin's kick, who then turned around and hurled a fistful of explosive globes, which of quickly avoided by diving to the side. Retaliation came in the form of a half dozen shurikens that ended up stuck in the wall or deflected by the staff Robin pulled out. An 'X' extended from the back of both his hands and he charged the Titans' leader.

'X' shaped blades clashed against Robin's combat staff, then parted when the villain jumped to avoid getting his feet swept out from underneath him. They connected again and both fighters pushed against one another, until Robin gave a shove which sent his opponent sliding back. X took a couple swings when the titan came at him, but they were avoided and he was struck by the staff. Rapidly getting to his feet, he had the blades on his hands spin around on themselves.

Robin ducked low and rolled away, the red blades grating against the wall. He parried a few moves then bent back to avoid another and lashed out with a kick that hit X. But the persistent villain simply came back, his blades meeting Robin's staff once again. "Why did you steal the suit?" he demanded as they held each other at a standstill. "And what're you planning to do?"

"Whatever I want." Red X left himself drop and used the momentum to propel Robin back over him, but he was also able to get up in little time. "Not everybody likes to play the big villain, kid. I'm a thief. I'm not threatening your precious city. Just looking out for number one." He retracted his weapons as he spoke.

"So you're psychotic, you're just selfish."

"Lighten up, chuckles. I'm not such a bad guy… once you get to know me." He sent out an 'X' from the palm of each hand. One high, which Robin blocked with his staff, and one low, which tripped him over. He came down at the Boy Wonder with his foot extended, but his target rolled away and kicked him into the wall. He got up again and seeing as he was close to the container he'd previously been holding, he picked it up. "Play time's over kid." Robin drew a birdarang in response. "Back off, or I trip the power core. And the core triggers the rocks. I don't think you want that on your conscience."

"And I don't think you want to be disintegrated." Robin then took notice of a gang of hazmat men coming up behind X. One of them raised a rod and fired a blast of red electricity that struck the villain full in the chest, which another did the same to Robin. Both fighters dropped to the floor instantly. The men proceeded to pull out the pods from the walls and remove the Xenothium containers. One of them placed a transmitter with a TV screen in front of Robin's face. "The Xenothium!"

"Yes," Chang spoke up, the screen showing him still in the lab Robin had gone to see him. "And I do so appreciate it."

"Chang," Robin said angrily.

"Since you two were doing the break in, I decided to cash in. I'm sick of selling to bad boys, I'm ready to be one. And now that I finally have enough Xenothium to power my disintegrator cannon, I can be very, very bad." He then saw the concealed object be unveiled, revealing itself to be what Chang spoke of.

"I won't let you get away with this."

"Oh, I think you will. Because, my good little boy, I didn't just steal the ore, I stole your friends." The camera turned towards the glass tubes against the wall. Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy in the form of a dog, and Starfire were each frozen in a different one.

"Sir," a deep voice spoke up, presumably one of the other hazmat men. "We've got a small problem."

"What is it?" Chang asked, annoyed. "And where is the one with wings? Shouldn't he be with the rest of them?" he pointed to the four frozen titans.

"That's the problem, sir. We've lost all contact with team five."

"Gale," Robin muttered to himself.

"Grr…" Chang pulled the camera to focus on his face. "Stay out of this," he warned Robin. "Or I'll test my cannon on your friends." The screen then went blank.

Not too long afterwards, Red X managed to get to his feet, rubbing the side of his head. "Okay, who were the moon men?" Bars rose from the floor, trapping the thief.

"Men working for a criminal named Professor Chang," Robin answered.

"Come on, kid," X said, turning towards Robin, holding onto the bars. "You don't really think this little play pen can hold me?"

In response, Robin pressed a button on the console near the imprisoned rogue, forcing him to let go of the bars when he suddenly found them to be electrified. "You don't even care, do you? Chang just got his hands on enough Xenothium to power disintegrator cannon and rip apart the entire city. And it's your fault!"

"Don't you mean our fault?"

"At least I'm going to do something about it. And if you cared about anything other than yourself, you'd be helping too."

"Sorry kid, but some guys don't like to play the hero."

"I'll be back to take you to jail." Robin turned his back on him and walked away.

Back at Professor Chang's base, the ceiling was opening up to allow for the cannon to poke its nose out. Inside the observatory like building, a bunch of hazmat men were working at different task, welding, carrying materials around, or doing tasks on the cannon. "Buildings, neighborhoods, lives… countless targets just waiting to be disintegrated." The professor gave a small maniacal laugh at the idea of the destruction he would do. "Tell me, pretty girl," he said as he walked over to the tube containing Starfire. "Have you ever seen something ripped apart, molecule by molecule? It's breathtaking."

The alien girl managed to free her head with her eyebeams. "You are a bad man!" She then fired them at the glass around her, but to no effect.

"If you think I'm bad now, then you're going to be really impressed once I finish with your city… and move on to you."

"You plans shall fail! Robin will-"

"Not be joining us. Not with your lives on the line. Far too risky for good boy like him."

"You would be surprised at the risks Robin is willing to take."

The hazmat men working on the cannon finished inserting the last canister of Xenothium at the butt end and signaled for it to be closed. Chang then made his way to the ladder and climbed up to the control seat attached to the middle of the cannon's side. He pulled on one of the levers and the whole thing started to go up, the barrel pointed at the multitude of building that formed Jump City. "I've spent years hiding from this cursed city… now let them hide from me! Prepare to fire!" he ordered.

But at that moment, Robin came swinging on his grapple hook. His feet slammed into the maniacal professor and caused him to jerk back on one of the levers. This in turn, caused the cannon's barrel to lift up as it fired a large blast of red energy, which ended up striking the middle of Titan Tower's top, making it look like someone had taken a bite out of it. Robin landed on the walkway opposite where he'd come in and retracted his grapple. "You just made a big mistake," he warned Chang.

The cannon's rear pulled out, rotated the canisters and closed up again. "Attack," the evil professor ordered his men.

Two hazmat men fired a blast of red goo and electricity at Robin. He leapt off the walkway and landed on the one below, falling on the man with the electric pole. Then he kicked off and landed on the other, slamming him into the floor. Grabbing his weapon, he fired off a stream of red good which solidified into a slide from the walkway's railing to the bottom level. Robin went down this, like a surfer without a board, and then jumped off when he got to the floor, hitting one of the men with a flying kick. He spun around and drove a powerhouse kick into another's stomach, knocking him flat out, then floored a third with a punch.

A man holding an electric pole came running towards him, but he simply side stepped the weapon, grabbed onto it and kicked him away. Jabbing back with the weapon, he shocked another hazmat guy, grabbed his pole and did the same to the one coming up behind. Three more ran past the prisoners towards the fighting Titan. Robin hurled both poles at one of them, the shock dropping him to the floor, then charged the two others. Number one was taken down when the Boy Wonder lashed out with an uppercut, and number two was engulfed by a load of goo when the cable connecting his pole and tank was yanked out.

"Quickly, quickly, hop!" Chang said as he adjusted the cannon to aim at Robin. Staring at the weapon primed at him, Robin shot out his grapple hook towards the ceiling and was pulled himself up. Chang followed him with the cannon's barrel and fired a blast which lanced through the sky. Though it had created a sizeable hole in the domed ceiling, Robin had been untouched. He swung himself onto the walkway and ran, as Chang fired after him again. He jumped over one blast, rolled under a second, but a third cut the walkway in front, forcing him to grab onto the railing. "Okay, good boy," the evil man said as Robin dangled in the air from the bent railing. "Who should I destroy first? You, or your pretty friend?"

"Starfire," Robin called out when he saw Chang lift the cannon and lower the barrel to aim at the alien girl who remained unable to break free. And yet, before he had a chance to fire, a red shuriken suddenly cut off the lever he'd been reaching for, following by a bunch of others which impaled the control panel in front of him. Robin lost his grip and began to fall, but Red X swung across, caught him and dropped him on the opposite walkway. "I thought you didn't like to play the hero."

"Doesn't mean I don't know how." X jumped over the railing and ran alongside Robin towards a troop of Hazmat men armed with electric poles. They plowed through the group with martial arts skills that made them look like complete idiots possessing no knowledge of how to fight. Another pair fired a couple shots from the lower levels on the opposite end, but were knocked out when Gale dived in through one of the holes made by the cannon, zoomed past the two and bowled over the men like pins.

He turned around to face Robin and Red X. "I miss anything?"

"No, no, no!" Chang cried out, slamming his fists onto the control panel.

Gale immediately flew down in front of his friends just as Chang's disintegrator weapon went off. He poured all his willpower into creating a shield of air to protect the titans behind him. Though he showed signs of strain when the blast struck, Gale was able to keep the barrier locked firmly in place. The cannon gone out of control, it moved on and started to cut a swath through the building. Robin and Red X ran away from the beam, as it went around, until the observatory had been cut in half and the free part slid down the hill.

Chang looked in despair at his failure, but was knocked out when Robin landed in front of him and threw the Asiatic professor out of his seat and down to the floor. "Time to get what I came for," Red X said as he landed next to Chang.

Robin, Gale and the other titans who'd freed already, stood opposite him at the ready. "Time's up," Raven announced.

"Thanks for the help, X," Robin said. "But don't think that means you can help yourself."

"No problem kid." He held up a small tube of Xenothium in his hand. "This should keep me going for quite a while."

"That won't do you much good… without this." In response, Robin held up the suit's utility belt. X looked down at his waist were it usually was, and saw that in fact it was missing. "Better luck next time."

He took a step back, and stumbled a little when his foot kicked a few pebbles down the hill. "Not bad, kid. Not bad." The rogue then threw the tube of Xenothium to the ground, at which it exploded into a cloud of red and he let himself be blown away.

Following the fight at Chang's laboratory, the maniacal professor and his men, including the ones who'd attempted to snatch Gale at the tech company, had all been taken away to prison. The remaining Xenothium had been put away in its place and Red X's utility belt rested in a safe within Titan's Tower, on which repairs had begun to patch up the hole made by Chang's disintegrator cannon. As for the thief himself, no trace had been seen of him since.

Robin was standing on the rooftop of Titan's Tower, simply looking out at the city. "Hey, Robin," Gale spoke up as he landed next to him.

"Hey Gale," the Titan's leader said back. Silence reigned amongst the two of them for a while longer. "You know… before, I used to think that the line between good and evil was supposed to be clear, but really… it can be almost impossible to find."

"Ain't it the truth?"

"Yeah… By the way, what happened after we all split up?"

"You want the official version, or the off the record one?"

"How about the official to start with?"

"I searched for X through the building, was attacked by a bunch of hazmat men and knocked them out, although my communicator got hit. Then I continued looking around, but then I saw X run by and chased after him until it got to Chang's lab."

"I see… The unofficial version?"

"Same. Except that I found Red X trapped in that vault, he told me what happened, I let him out, we flew to Chang's lab, he went in and I followed. You already know the rest."

"I guess that in the end, the answers don't come easy."

There you have it folks! If you liked it, and even if you didn't, please review!