A/N: The beginning of this chapter might be a bit boring, but it does have a purpose. I hope I'm not confusing too many people by going back and forth from Gene's journals and the Titans. Read, enjoy, and most importantly...review!

Disclaimer: Any characters you know from the show Teen Titans, I don't own. The rest…are mine!

Chapter 10

"How's the smell down there, Robin?" Cyborg's voice asked jokingly into the teen's ear.

"Lovely," Robin came back after a pause, pressing a hand against his earpiece, "Thanks for asking. Any other questions you would like to ask, Cy?"

"Just one more," Cyborg said wickedly. Robin's jaw tightened in slight annoyance. "Are you enjoying the fact that you are the one with the best sneaking skills on the team, so you are the only one worthy enough to craw around in the sewer and ventilation shafts?"

From where Robin was waist deep in sewer water, the boy responded with a sigh, "It's truly an honor." The small illumination of his flashlight barely was able to show him a pathway through the tunnel. Deciding to play Cyborg's game, he said to the tin man, "I didn't know how much crap was down here till now. Jump City's sewers are cleaner than the Hive Five's."

"And you know they are cleaner because…?" Cyborg asked.

"They are a thief's greatest escape route," Robin answered. "What policeman in their right mind wants to go chase a thief in the middle of the night in the sewer system? As Red X, I used them all the time to get around."

"Maybe we should set up some cameras in our sewers so we can catch the new Red X," Cyborg suggested. "He's become more of a problem lately."

"He has only made two heists since the take down of the Brotherhood of Evil," Robin said flatly.

"Yeah, and both of them we didn't even see him in person," Cyborg said. "We only saw him on the security cameras, waving at it like we were some big joke. I don't like him."

Robin smiled bitterly to himself in the darkness, remembering the footage. Even without the belt, Red X was still pulling off incredible heists. The Boy Wonder had to admit, the guy was good at his job. At first Robin hated the man's guts for shoving his huge flaw in his face, but after a while, Robin didn't mind the thief. He actually had helped him a few times. He was borderline good and evil. If the two sides were black and white, Red X would be gray.

"Since when did we start liking villains?" Robin asked Cyborg, his smile becoming one of amusement.

"You win," Cyborg said. "Oh, and the entrance into the Hive Five hideout is coming up above you soon. How are you going to hide your smell?"

"I guess I'll just have to stay down wind from Mammoth," Robin came back quickly. For once he was in a weird enough mood to joke around with Cyborg when he was on a serious mission. It was even more surprising for Robin because Slade was somehow intertwined into this mess.

"You okay, Rob?" Cyborg asked him skeptically, "You actually didn't sound very bothered for the first time tonight."

"Get over yourself, I'm fine," Robin answered. He stopped under a round door and shined his flashlight up at it with a frown. Usually a ladder would let someone up to the door, but there was none here. Robin put the small light in his teeth and crouched down a little, submerging most of his body in the smelly water rushing past him.

The teen jumped up toward the latch, launching himself out of the water. He grabbed onto the round handle he had to turn to open the door with both gloved hands. The boy positioned himself so that his feet were pressed firmly against the ceiling above him. He was now hanging upside down; the only thing keeping him from falling was him gripping the handle.

Brown sewer water trickled down his back and lazily dripped back into the man-made river under him. Robin gritted the flashlight in his teeth, wishing he had the utility belt with the rip cord in it, but that one was damaged because of Kid Wicked's portal of goo.

"You're not moving on my radar, Robin," Cyborg's voice said to him through the earpiece. "Are you at the entrance yet?"

"Yeah!" Robin yelled back with the flashlight still in between his teeth. His masked eyes narrowed in irritation of Cyborg's copious amount of questions. "One sec!" He gripped the rusty handle and started to turn it, at the same time rotating his upside down body with it.

When it was unlocked, Robin flipped back down into the water with a quiet splash. He shot one of his grappling hooks up next to the entrance and zipped up next to it. With both hands on the grappling hook's handle, Robin swung his feet at the door. The door was pushed open by his feet with a loud creak. Robin left his grappling hook there as he easily pulled himself out of the hole and closed the door behind him.

"I'm in," he whispered to Cyborg. He was in the basement to the Hive Five's hideout. It wasn't as big as the Titans, but it could be just as creepy. At least the Titans cleaned theirs' once a year. It looked like these guys avoided the job of that entirely. There was a layer of dust on everything, a person with allergies worst nightmare. Spider webs inhabited the rafters and corners. Robin could even hear the high pitched squeaks of rats somewhere in the near darkness.

"Do you have something in your mouth?" Cyborg asked him, "Because I have no idea what you just said."

Robin spat out the flashlight he had forgotten was still in between his teeth. "I'm in," he repeated. "That entrance is definitely a go, Cyborg. It seems like the best way to get in here."

"Speak for yourself," Cyborg muttered. "That water is gross, man."

"Not as bad as the time Beast Boy had us chase him through the sewers when he was that beast," Robin pointed out. "No one complained there."

"Yeah, because Raven and BB are worth it," Cyborg said. "I just don't see why we have to risk our butts for this kid because of some visions you and Rae had. Are you sure he said Slade was after him?"

"Trust me, this kid is worth it," Robin said. He quietly crept over to the metal stairs leading up to the door to the main floor. As he climbed them, he said to Cyborg, "He and the Hive Five were talking about Slade. Gizmo didn't let the boy say much, though. Slade doesn't want any of us involved."

"So of course that makes us involved," Cyborg said.

"Exactly!" Robin whispered loudly.

"You're obsessed, Robin," Cyborg told the teen flat out suddenly. Robin stopped in his tracks, stunned by his friend's words. "You freak whenever someone says that man's name. Well, stop! Just because this boy said his name, that doesn't mean we should get involved. Slade has his own business now. He hasn't done anything to us in a long time. We should leave it that way. I know this sounds crazy, but I think he's through with Jump City. He's not interested in it or any of the Titans. He's like, retired, man."

"I can't believe what you're saying!" Robin hissed at Cyborg through the small microphone. "This is Slade! He's always planning something. I don't know what he is planning with this kid, but I can't just sit back and watch as my city is over taken by a mad man. Even if it has nothing to do with us or Jump City, the kid needs help."

"See? You're obsessed," Cyborg said simply. "I agree about looking into it, but you're obsessed."

"I'm not…" Robin stopped in the middle of his sentence and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead with frustration. He was over the apprenticeship thing with Slade. It scarred him, but he was done looking at the past. And from his and Slade's conversation back when Trigon was ruling the earth, it seemed like Slade was done with him too. They had moved on. The only thing that didn't change was that Slade still wanted power and Robin still fought crime as the leader of the Titans. He wasn't obsessed anymore…or was he?

"Look, man, I'm sorry," Cyborg said quietly. "I was a little too blunt."

"No, you're fine," Robin muttered. "I guess I'm still cleaning up after my mistakes."

"On a brighter note," Cyborg said suddenly, "We have scheduled you for an appointment with a psychiatrist. Now…how does that make you feel?"

"Annoyed," Robin growled back. He took off his head set and smiled evilly as he heard the squeaky voice of Cyborg protest. He then stuffed the thing into his belt and patted the pocket, knowing the sound would sound like an avalanche on Cyborg's end of the head set.

Now with that out of the way, Robin was free to go along with his mission with whatever inner thoughts of his not getting interrupted by his friend's questions and wrong opinions about him. He let himself smile while sneaking out of the basement and down the hall. It had to be at least four in the morning, but Robin thrived in the night and in the dead of morning. When it was dark outside, that was when his brain really was able to work.

Just as easily as Robin had gotten in and out of the sewers, the boy was in the ventilation system of the hideout. It was just as dusty and dark as the basement. He made his way quietly to the main room. He stopped at an opening right above the cage in the center of the room. He looked down and spotted the boy in the cage, looking bored and a bit worried. Billy Numerous was watching steadily over him, and he didn't look too happy about it.

Robin took out his head set and whispered into it, "I see the kid."

"What was that back there, man!" Cyborg shouted loudly into his earpiece. Robin winced and told himself he should have expected Cyborg to yell at him after that small stunt he pulled. "You totally blew me off!"

"I'm thinking about doing it again if you don't shut up and tell me the next part of your plan," Robin said. "I can't believe you made this whole thing up while I was in the shower."

"Well, you and Raven were showering for at least twenty minutes," Cyborg pointed out. "I guess Kid Wicked got you good." Robin rolled his eyes under his mask while taking out a set of mini binoculars from his belt. The voice of Cyborg faded out to a nice background noise in Robin's mind.

"You listening to me, Robin?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm waiting for the plan," Robin answered in a low whisper. He examined the room with his binoculars, zooming in and out on random things. "They really out did themselves with this hideout. The place is nice, kind of reminds me of the Tower. You were right about one thing, though, lots of security where the kid is. The front door is definitely a no go. I guess you'll have to take the sewers with Beast Boy and Star."

"That's nice to know," Cyborg said with a sigh. His voice then changed its note as he said, "Okay, here is the plan. We'll give them a little scare before we drop in."

"I like this plan already," Robin said with a sly smile.

Journal 3: Part 4

Continuation…

Everything happened at once. The vent above my head was suddenly sliced open and Robin fell down. In the dim red lights, I think I saw him smiling as he landed on the top of my cage perfectly. Just as quickly as I saw the grin, it left. It was replaced by his trademark small frown.

"Ya'll ready to get your butts kicked?" someone shouted at us from a doorway. It was the one called Cyborg. Behind him the changeling, Beast Boy, and the alien girl, Starfire, stood in confident fighting stances. Boy, all this for me! I didn't expect them to make this kind of entrance. It was almost comical.

"Crush them!" Gizmo shouted to his team.

The two teams suddenly rushed into battle. I wanted to join them so badly. But once again I was stuck to sitting helplessly on the sidelines as they fought for me. It made me feel wimpy.

"Come with me," a voice said from behind me. I gave a short scream of fright while spinning around. I didn't know someone was in the cage with me! But there she was. In the red lights, the girl looked like an extremely evil remake of Little Red Riding Hood. She had on a long cape with a hood that only allowed me to see her passionate eyes as they stared at me. It was Raven.

Before I could answer her, Billy suddenly came up from behind and stuck his arm through the bars of the cage. One arm wrapped around my throat. He caught one of wrists with his free hand and twisted it painfully behind my back. He pulled me backwards and into one of the bars. "You're not going anywhere, kid!" he said with an evil annoying laugh. Jeez, and I thought Gizmo's laugh was maddening!

"Get over yourself!" I barked back at him. I watched as he multiplied himself a few times. His copies managed to grab Raven before she could get me free. My mind worked fast. I spotted my backpack and smiled. "You might want to cover your eyes," I said to Billy.

"What?" he asked, a hint of confusion coming to his face.

The pencil in my backpack was so small; I didn't even have to say the mantra. I raised my one free hand up and then suddenly pulled it towards me. The object flew past my cheek and smashed through Billy's goggles. I heard a cry of pain as he let me go.

The second I was free, I heard the big explosion. The whole room lit up as the main computer suddenly combusted without warning. A massive heat wave washed over me, actually knocking me and everyone else in the room off their feet.

"Hold on!" Raven whispered to me. She grabbed my shoulder and used her advanced powers to teleport us out of there. I remember last hearing the loud cursing of Gizmo and the whoops of the other Titans before escaping into the comforting darkness of Raven's magic. Right before I was taken away, I grabbed my backpack with the journal pages in it.

Raven and I were saddening in another room. It was like I blinked and was there. I was now in some hospital room it seemed. Two beds with gates on their sides were in one of the corners. Medicine cabinets were lined against the far wall and a sort of operating table as on the opposite side of the room the beds were. Nurse anyone?

"Are you hurt?" Raven asked me while flicking on the lights.

"Beside my leg, no," I answered. I was surprised that I wasn't freaked out or anything like that. I was a bit excited from that big explosion and the battle still going on in the hideout, but besides that, I was feeling fine and calm.

"I'll take a look at it," Raven said. She pointed to the metal table and I sat on it, watching her as she levitated around the room. Her blue cape flittered at times as she moved gracefully from spot to spot. When would I get talented enough to levitate everywhere? The thought made me excited for my future. These powers just kept getting better and better!

"What happened?" Raven asked me as she saw the wound on my leg.

I winced as she clipped the thread I had used at the pit stop to close it up. "Slade got a good shot at me in a parking lot a few days ago," I answered, trying hard not to move my leg away as it stung from her stitches. "I'm lucky he didn't get me back there."

Raven nodded silently, but I could tell she was concerned about something. I don't know how I knew this because she was looking as expressionless as Kid Wicked. She finished up the stitches and rubbed some alcohol on the wound, which stung like mad.

"The Titans will be back in an hour," Raven told me as she walked me over to one of the beds. "We will get you then. You should rest or just relax."

"Hey, thanks for busting me out of there," I said to her with a smile. I quickly added, "And for professionally patching up my wound." She nodded with a small smile and left the medical room silently. I sat on the bed with a sigh and opened my backpack to take out my notebook.

So since then I've been writing again. I need to stop here. I'm so tiered suddenly. Now that I'm safe in the Tower and finished my hectic story to your guys, I feel like sleeping for hours! I've been sleep deprived for a long time. It will be nice to finally catch a few Z's.

I'll write more to both of you soon. Later!

Gene

End of Journal 3

A/N: I might update this weekend, but I'm not sure. Two updates in one week is a bit much, but I was on a updating spree today. Please review!