Chapter 10: Talking Shop

The first thing Red X was aware of when his eyes opened was how bright the lights above him were, and how much they made his head throb with pain. The realization that it was the late morning sunlight didn't make it better. The next thing he noticed was how the pain wasn't just concentrated in his head, but spread evenly through his whole body.

The next thing he noticed was Robin glaring at him, arms crossed.

Red X never felt so relieved in his life.

"You have got to help her," he said, the hoarse whisper with which he spoke not managing to hide his desperation. He tried to get out of bed, but crippling weakness struck him, and he crumpled back onto the bed.

"Not until we get an explanation," Robin said.

"You don't understand," Red X pleaded. "She's in trouble, we've got to help her…"

"Who is in trouble?" Starfire asked, walking up behind Robin. Red X was too far gone in exhaustion and anxiety to notice that Robin turned away slightly from Starfire, and wouldn't have cared even if he did. "We need to understand why you would come to us for help- surely you know you are a crimi-"

"Jessie's in trouble, and you want story time," Red X spat. "Fine- wait, did you recharge my Xinothium supply?" he asked urgently, the terror in his voice obvious. "It wasn't from Aquinas, wasn't it?"

"No, it's from the Titans' armoury, so-"

"That's a relief," Red X said. "Fine, you want story time, you get story time- but I want all the Titans to be here. If I'm going to talk, I want a freakin' audience." He waited until Robin had assembled all the Titans, and then told them everything.

He told them of being 'adopted' from a slum orphanage, to find himself in a truck full of other unfortunates- runaways, children of illegal immigrants, nobody who would be missed. He told the Titans how, a year after being 'inducted', he was the only survivor of that truckload of children. "All before my age reached double digits," he said with a grim pride.

He told of the pain of implantation, how he would spend weeks in a bed, his body wracked with unending pain, kept alive only through an intravenous cocktail of chemicals, nutrients and Xinothium. He told them of seeing other children subjected to the same treatment; out of all the children who had survived the initial year, only one out of ten survived this last stage, while the rest were 'disposed of'. "And they called me the lucky one," Red X said with bitter irony.

Then, Jessie came. She was older, around eleven, when they took her in. At first, Red X thought of her as inferior to him, and was insanely jealous when they selected her for more refined modifications than he had. But what really rankled was the administration's decision to spare the newcomers the torture Red X and his kind had gone through; Red X didn't know why, nor did here care. Why should Jessie have been spared what he had gone through?

"But the thing is," Red X continued, his voice softening, "she was more human than anyone there. They could have stuck her brain in a robot, like they did with that ED thing in Detroit, and she'd still be the most human thing to come out of that place. More human than me, for sure- or Simone."

He turned to the Titans, who had perked up at the sound of the name. "You know, Simone Page?" he said, his grin evident even beneath the mask he wore. "Aquinas Corporation? Ice queen? Yeah, that Simone."

"Wait, what?" Cyborg said.

Red X let out a series of short coughs, which was all his tired body could pass off as laughter. "Yeah, surprise, surprise," he laughed bitterly, before his voice became quiet again. "She was crazy, you know," he said, seemingly more to himself than to the others, as if trying to remind himself of a past he'd rather leave forgotten. "She actually enjoyed what they were doing to her, demanded more implants, more modifications, never mind how much pain she'd have to go through. We didn't mind, at first- if the spooks were busy working on her, we'd get left alone."

Red X coughed again. "But she started getting crazier with every 'improvement' they made," he said. "You know, they didn't just get us from off the streets, you know," he suddenly said, his voice a madman's feverish tone. "They recruited from places like Juvie too, that's where they got most of the Aces High gang the Joker broke out back then. That's where they got her, I'll bet. She was old, real old, like you guys' age right now, betcha fur that's where they got her."

He slumped back onto the bed, his bizarre outburst gone with the surge of energy that had fuelled it. "I don't know how she got in with Aquinas, just that it must have happened a long time after I and Jessie escaped."

"Why did you not stay with her?" Starfire asked quietly. Perhaps only Robin picked up the restrained note of desperate questioning in her voice. If he did, he gave no sign.

Red X turned away, as if it would help him escape the question. "We… we had a difference of opinion," he said quietly. "I... I wanted to take the easy road, you could say."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to become a criminal, all right?" Red X snapped. "Sure, it doesn't sound like the normal thing to do, but hello? My body's a freakin' Xinothium factory!"

He slumped back down on the bed again, the burst of energy dissipated. "Least, that's what I told myself, and Jessie. I told her that my body needed Xinothium, and that the only way to get it without being sent back was to steal it. I wanted her to help me, she refused, and we split up, simple as that."

"…Well, he does have a point," Cyborg admitted. "I mean, it's not like you could buy the stuff out of a store-"

"But it wasn't the point," Red X wailed, and the Titans realized that he was crying beneath the mask. "I just wanted things to be back the way they were for me! I mean- no," he said, shaking his head. "No, you couldn't possibly understand."

"Oh really?"

Everyone turned to face Blackfire, who continued. "Let me guess, you liked the thrill of it. It's not just the fun of breaking the law; sneaking into a heavily guarded vault, yeah, that neverending adrenaline rush as you're looking out for danger. That high you get when you see that guard inch closer and closer to you, and you're holding every atom of your breath so he doesn't hear, then watching him walk away…"

Blackfire held a hand to her head and laughed. "Hells, even if it doesn't work out, it's still okay. When the bullets are flying, and the alarms are blaring, and it's just you against the world… it's like you never really appreciate life until you're this close to losing it, isn't it?"

She fixed Red X with a soft, but firm gaze. "Trust me, it's easier to understand than you think," she said solemnly. She gave Raven a quick glance, than said, smiling thinly, "And trust me when I say that you made the wrong choice."

"You're not sneaking into the Aquinas building, Blackfire," Robin said. "Their security is too tight. We need another plan."

"Wait," Red X said, not quite believing his ears. "Does that mean you're going to help me? I mean, I could be lying, and this could all be a trap, and, and-"

"So what if it is?" Cyborg said, checking his power supplies. "You could also be telling the truth, and if your friend Jessie is in trouble, then we'll just have to take that chance."

He gave Red X a grin. "We'll have Jessie safe and sound real soon."

"You have a plan?" Red X asked skeptically.

"Actually, we do," Blackfire piped up. "I thought it up last night."

(scene change)

"You sure you guys don't need a little more time to think?" Beast Boy quivered over the intercom, his voice a squeaky series of chitters and clicks- not like there was any other way to speak when one is a lizard.

"It's not like we're asking you to storm the place, Beast Boy," Robin chided.

"Easy for you to say," Beast Boy grumbled. "You're all nice and safe in the T-Car with Blackfire."

"We're barely a block away," Robin added.

"'Sides, if anything goes wrong, you just say it was all my idea!" Blackfire said easily. "I'm sure people'd believe you if you said that."

"That's reassuring," Beast Boy grumbled. In the T-Car, the display on one of the screens flickered. "This thing's itchy," he added.

"Just don't scratch it off or lose it," Robin warned. "We don't have a lot of microcams."

"I heard you the first ten times," Beast Boy muttered, as he sneaked into one of the ventilation shafts, his form virtually indistinguishable from the average green gecko save for the tiny camera strapped to his head.

"He's got a point you know," Blackfire said. "You don't have to babysit him."

Robin sighed as he cut the audio on their side of the link, minimizing the basic radio noise; with any luck, that, along with Cyborg's modification would make it seem no noisier to any surveillance equipment than an employee's cell phone or wireless connection.

"Sorry," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's been… hectic, lately."

"I know," Blackfire said in a calm tone. "I talked to my sister last night."

"…I see," Robin said, leaning back, his voice as calm and as even as Blackfire's. "Is this why you volunteered to accompany me and Beast Boy?"

"Actually, no- okay, a bit. But seriously? Raven and Cyborg are needed back at the Tower to help Red X, and I don't think my sister really wants to see you right now. Dunno why she's so caught up in this, it's really none of her business."

"That's not what she thinks," Robin scowled, before giving Blackfire a speculative look. "You seem to be taking this well-"

(scene)

"-are you not angry?" Starfire asked as Raven swallowed another sandwich; healing Red X's near-shattered physical body was very strenuous, and she and Cyborg had agreed to watch him in shifts, more for Raven's benefit than Cyborg's. Raven privately wondered at how he was able to manage to stay alive; even with the Xinothium factories factored in (or, if Cyborg was to be believed, despite them), Red X was still clinging on to life.

"Actually, no," Raven said, picking up a mug of tea. "To tell the truth, I was expecting this."

What she hadn't expected was the slamming of Starfire's hands on the table as the Tameranian stood up quickly. "And? Do you not feel the need to defend your relationship with my sister? Does not Robin's solution of chopping you two in half not anger you?"

"Actually, it's splitting you two up, not 'chopping in half'," Cyborg said from the doorway. "What's happening? I just came up for a can of Pixie, and I hear this- who's splitting who up?"

"Robin wished to split my sister and my best friend up!" Starfire responded angrily.

"WHAT?!"

"Actually," Raven said, quietly, "Robin might have been on to something."

"WHAT?!" This time, it was both Cyborg and Starfire who cried out in unison.

(scene)

"You're actually agreeing with me?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Only if your guess is right," Blackfire hastened to correct, her arms crossed as she stared out of the T-Car's windshield. "But if you are, I'm not going to take the blame if the Tower's attacked and there's nobody around to defend it."

"That's the least of my worries," Robin sighed, before fixing Blackfire with a speculative look. "I have to admit, you're taking this a whole lot better than I thought you would."

Blackfire was silent for a moment. "I won't pretend I like it," she said at last. "But that doesn't mean that I don't understand it. And believe you me, when Starfire told me, the first thing I wanted to do was to kick your butt off the Tower into the sea."

"So what stopped you?"

(scene)

"Me," Raven sighed, as healing energies slowly flowed from her into Red X's unconscious form. "I hope you're not disappointed," she said wryly to Starfire.

"I… I am angry at Robin," Starfire admitted. "But I did not wish any harm to come to Robin then, nor do I wish it now."

"Could've fooled me," Cyborg said dryly as he fiddled around with a few settings on a nearby machine. "So," he asked Raven, "you talked Blackfire out of kicking Robin's rear- that can't have been easy."

"It wasn't, nor was what the two of us realized," Raven said quietly. "I mean, after all we've been through, we suddenly have to break up? The worst part was that it wasn't our decision to make, apparently."

Her hands clenched. "But if it had to be done, then that was what needed to be done."

(scene)

"What?" Robin said incredulously. He had been expecting a spirited defence, a quiet anger- anything but acceptance. "Are you saying-"

Blackfire turned to Robin, a devil-may-care smirk on her face masking the emotions all too plain in her eyes. "Yep," she said with a levity she didn't feel. "If you want us out of your hair, that's what you're going to get. Well, kinda."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think I meant? If you want us to go, we'll go."

There was another silence in the T-Car. "You're leaving?"

Blackfire shook her head. "Not really either. Look, here's the thing…"

Blackfire broke off as Robin looked at her questioningly. Damn, she had been so ready to blow his mind when she started, but now, when the big moment came, it had turned out to be a whole lot harder to say what she wanted. "I love Raven," she said simply, deciding to plow through the problem. "And…"

(scene)

"…and if I have to leave to make her happy," Raven said, to Cyborg and Starfire's shocked faces, "then I don't mind."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Rae!" Cyborg said, holding up his hands to her. "What?"

"Perhaps you misheard what I or Blackfire said," Starfire said. "Never did I say that Robin said that you would have to leave! He only meant that perhaps your relationship with my sister would have to- to- to skate!"

"Put on ice, you mean?"

"That is exactly what I- he- we meant!"

"I know, Starfire," Raven said. "But… but if there is no other way, then I will leave; Titans East could-"

"No they couldn't, Rae," Cyborg said sternly. "And let me tell you why- you're not just our teammate, Raven, but you're also our friend, and friends stick together."

(scene)

"That's the problem," Blackfire said quietly. "I'm not exactly a Titan, am I?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I'm not really a hero either," she added. "Legally, I'm just here on probation for escaping from prison."

"Blackfire… I just thought you and Raven need some time to let things cool down between you two, that's all. I just think Raven needs some more time to control her emotions-"

"She's had so much time to control them already, what makes you think she hasn't got it yet?" Blackfire countered. "I've thought about things, and… and maybe you were more right than you thought."

"Raven will be devastated if you leave," Robin said.

"She'll get over it," Blackfire said flatly. "She's a strong girl."

"No, Blackfire," Robin said, surprising even himself with the vehemence of his denial. "She's not."

(scene)

"You're just like any of normal teenager out there," Cyborg said. "Heck, you're like 90 of teenagers out there, right down to the all-black getup and the bad poetry," he joked.

"Cyborg," Raven said, unwilling to let the subject go. "Most teenagers aren't half demon-"

"Stop it."

Raven and Cyborg turned to Starfire. "Stop it, Raven. You are making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Actually- actually, you got it right, sorry," Cyborg said sheepishly.

Starfire didn't pay attention to him. "My sister is not as strong as you think, Raven, and she cares for you very much. If you leave…"

"She won't go back to being a criminal, Starfire-" Raven began.

"And do you know why?" Starfire responded, her tones heating up. "It is because of you, Raven. She has changed because she saw no other way to be with you. Are you saying that it was all not worth it?"

"Of course it was, Starfire, but-"

"Then why do you speak of leaving? Whether you or my sister or Robin like it or not, you are more than my sisters teammate!"

(scene)

"I won't lie, the thought of what could happen if things go wrong is a scary one," Robin admitted. "But it won't be the first scary thing the Titans come up against, and it won't be the last. It won't be the first or the last scary thing we beat either."

Blackfire looked at Robin, and after a moment, nodded. "Thanks," she said, before grinning. "So you don't want us to break up after all, then?"

"Not at all," Robin said. "Maybe I was tired, or Starfire was tired, or maybe both of us were, but whatever I said last night, breaking you two up wasn't part of what I wanted. Like I said, you two should just hold off on things before going any further. Or at least take it somewhere where it won't hurt anybody."

"Hmm…" Blackfire said, considering something. "So… Batman, he get along well with the Lantern Corps?"

"I guess so, why?"

"Well, if you really want us to be out of your hair," Blackfire grinned wickedly, her old spirit returning, "I could take Raven out on a trip somewhere nice."

"Anything that doesn't require your planetary arrest lifted?" Robin asked dryly.

"Oh come on, Robin!" Blackfire pleaded. "There's this really swanky resort world in the Pleiades Cluster, Magrathea-made, and-"

Before Blackfire could finish her spiel, Beast Boy's voice came over the comms. "Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"