A/N: Man, I'm on a roll today. Pretty much I was sitting at the computer, writing chapter after chapter. I should really work on my other story, but I kinda have a writer's block on that. I'm more into this story right now. And that's a good thing for you guys :D I also saw X-Men 3, awesome movie!

Chapter 14: To feel once more

Robin looked down at his tiny knapsack. Inside were an extra jacket, a knife, survival kit and a medical kit. Taking the folder with his orders, Robin read through once more, cementing the information in his mind. Slinging the pack over his shoulder, Robin sneaked out of the housing unit, tossed his orders into metal bin where the fire was still roaring inside and made his way to the gate.

As written in the report there was truck waiting for him. Hoping inside, Robin nodded to the driver. The muscular soldier smirked back, spit out his tobacco and drove out of the camp. No one talked during the drive, the mission was classified and no one knew about it except the general, the driver and Robin. But then again the driver only knew that he had to drop Robin off at an intersection, drive back and then five hours later come back and pick Robin up.

While the driver began humming a random tune, Robin leaned his head against the window. He was free at last of Slade's presence. He was no longer under the man's watchful gaze or poisonous words.

"Then why do I feel alone all of a sudden?" wondered Robin, "Why in the back of my mind do I wish he was sitting behind me?"

"It's because you got use to his company. Got use to having a familiar face in an unknown location. You miss his presence."

Robin shuddered involuntary at the thought. It couldn't be true, but it was. When he thought Slade was dead, that empty feeling had arouse, pushed him far enough to stay up late at night watching the screens for activities. The longing lured him down into the basement where he opened the box and held Slade's mask in his hand. Even after the hallucination episode, he still was wary, wishing sometimes that it was Slade behind the petty thieves. His obsession over the man had become his only support line to keep him sane and when that was gone for the briefest of times, he felt lost amongst friends.

"He was right. You can always trust in the fact that your archnemesis is behind plots to destroy you and that brings about a comfortable feeling."

Closing his eyes, Robin allowed for a small tear to trickle down his cheek. In that moment of agreement, he felt that he just lost a part of himself but on some darker level, a part of him awoken, something more powerful, darker…freer. He had felt that presence once before…the time he stole for Slade during his brief apprenticeship.

"But did you ever leave his apprenticeship? Did you actually end it officially?" sneered the darkness.

Robin wanted to retort back but the driver's voice boomed, "We're here."

The young man nodded, jumped out of the truck and began his trek on foot. The night was at its' darkest hours. Every breath he took felt like knives to his lungs. His eyes started to water as his body tried to warm up the ice-cold air. After an hour of walking, he finally saw the burnt tree and turned into the woods. Hiking with extreme caution, Robin made his way through the woods. Suddenly he heard a crunch of snow and halted mid-step. His senses were alert and his blue eyes scanned the area. His eyes stopped their roaming and took in the deadly beauty of the gray wolf. It was the same young wolf he had spotted with Slade, except this time the wolf has holding a dead deer in his mouth.

Both hunters eyed each other. A few seconds trickled by when a silent agreement was made between the two. The wolf turned and walked deeper into the woods as Robin made his way to his prey. Only a couple miles away, he reached another camp, except this was the enemy's camp.

An old familiar feeling began to seep through his cold bones. It was the sip before the gulp, the breath before the plunge, the thrill before the rush. A small tiny smirk tugged at Robin's lips as he swung his backpack off of him. Pulling the black military mask over his face, Robin pulled out his knife and placed it behind his back. Slipping the pack on, the boy looked both ways before sprinting to the wall. Once he reached the wall, scaling the mud brick wall was barely an obstacle for him. Swinging his body over the ledge and dropping into a crouch position on the ground, the boy paused. So far no one knew of his presence. Good.

Remembering the detailed map of the enemies' camp from the folder, Robin sprinted within the shadows of the buildings to headquarters. Odd no one was outside. Where was everyone? Then he heard a tremendous applause coming from the warehouse. Dirt trickled down on him and Robin pressed himself into the wall, eyes darting upward. Above him were two guards looking towards the warehouse. They muttered something about how they wanted to be at the show and some nasty things about their general. Finally the guards moved further down the wall, away from headquarters.

Robin sighed with relief but excitement lit his eyes. It had been far too long. Not wasting anymore time, he ran full speed at the headquarters. Spotting the air vent, Robin used his speed to vault himself up to it. Grabbing hold of the bars with one hand, Robin unsheathed his knife and unhinged the gate. Sliding into the vent, Robin placed the grate back into position and made his way to the conference room. Pausing before another vent, he watched with an intense gaze as a secretary picked up their plans and locked them into a safe. Turning to take one last look, the man turned off the lights and locked the door.

Pausing for a few minutes, Robin kicked opened the grate and caught the metal frame with his feet before it fell onto the ground. Lowering himself, with his arms, Robin gently placed the grate on the ground before landing softly beside it.

"Well, if nothing else, that little stunt proved I've grown. Couldn't pull that off before back in Jump City," mused Robin to himself.

Now kneeling in front of the safe, Robin closed his eyes bringing up his memory of the secretary opening the safe. Reaching out, he slowly turned the lock. When he stopped at the last number, Robin did a quick pray, licked his lips and turned down the handle. The door opened.

Grabbing the folder, he quickly skimmed it making sure it held documents of the enemy's next attacks. Satisfied, Robin reached out to close the safe when he noticed a tiny red light blinking in the far left corner.

"Great," growled Robin but once again that warm feeling began spreading deep in his stomach.

Sprinting out of the door, he made his way down the hall. When he heard footsteps approaching, Robin turned and spotted a janitor closet. Sneaking inside, he waited until the soldier paused in front of the door. Not taking a moment's chance, Robin sprang out of the closet and kicked the soldier in the neck region, knocking him unconscious. Quickly stripping off the soldier's jacket and hat, Robin dressed in his new guise. Dumping the body into the closet, he marched down the hall, head down. Guards within the headquarters ran past him. It seemed that this General did not want the whole camp to know what was going on and kept the security breach known only within the building.

Taking a left turn, Robin found himself in front of one of the Colonel's offices. Taking out his knife once more, he picked at the lock until it opened. Leaving the door opened a bit, he watched as other officers and guards ran towards the conference room. Shutting the door completely, he turned and surveyed the room. His true goal was somewhere in here. Walking around quietly and softly as not to trip any alarms, his eyes darken with concentration looked for anything out of the ordinary.

"Bingo."

There it was, a tiny seam in the shape of a square right below the Colonel's chair. Robin squatted to take a closer look. He would have to be careful; if he pulled the chair away an alarm might go off hence the chair being bolted down on the ground but appeared to be a rolling chair. Frowning, he took a couple steps back and grinned. He spotted another seam in the shape of a triangle near the cabinet. Once again using his knife, Robin opened the triangle. A tiny number data pad glowed in the dark room.

Mumbling a curse, Robin sighed and cut open the wire box. He would rather hack his way to the goal rather than type in the wrong password. Working the wires, Robin's mind began to play on him.

He found himself back in front of a building in Jump City. He was hidden in the rafters while the security guards walked underneath him. Hearing Slade's command to go pierce through the tiny intercom in his ear, Robin fell onto the ground and bolted to the door. He stood before it and used on his birdarangs to pry open the pad. Hacking into the system, he was able to open the door and later on steal the thermal blaster. Than everything went to hell when the Titans showed up…

Shaking his head, Robin bit his lip. He had to focus on the present. That one time he stole was to save his friends life. Just like now, he was protecting his new companions. Besides, it was Slade who was the reason why he stole back in Jump City.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Robin found himself hunched in the shadows. His calm breathing hissed out of the skull mask. The red chip floated in front of him, glittering like a prized jewel. Making sure no guards were around, Robin or Red X to be precise nimbly walked over all the red lasers on the ground. Plucking the chip out of the air, he smiled. This time he would outwit Slade not the other way around. But he had to focus and make sure his acting was top notch. The Titans should arrive any minute now.

Robin ran a hand over his face, his guilt about the Red X incident about to consume him. Slade was not behind that steal, neither was the safety of his friends. It was all about him getting closer to the mastermind, and on some level, to satisfy the curiosity to be on the other side of the law. Narrowing his eyes, Robin watched as his little hack job beeped softly and the chair tilted all the way to the ground. From the area underneath the chair, the panel slides open and a metal claw rose from the ground. Opening up, the claw revealed a tiny, but powerful bomb.

Wiping his sweating palms, in one swipe Robin removed the bomb and replaced it with the folder before the claw snapped back into position. When the floor slide back into position and Robin tilted the chair back in place, did a flicker of doubt cross his features. He was stealing in the name of justice. He was doing a criminal act to help others. Just like last time, where he stole to protect his friends. They understood then, they would understand again wouldn't they?

Shouts echoed down the hall. His logical side told him to run but that warm feeling spilled and trickled throughout his whole body. Time to feel again.

The first guard that entered the room didn't a have a second to glance inside. The bottom of a black boot smashed into his face, the gun clattering to the ground. The guard slammed into the wall and slide to the ground unconscious, blood-spilling out from his broken nose. His fellow companions immediately fired down at the black figure that rolled out into the hall. The small clad figure dodged the bullets, did a handstand and flew over them, knocking their heads together. Not sparing a glance, Robin quickly tightened his backpack to his body and sprinted down the hall. A whole squad broke through the front doors, closing off his exit.

"Freeze!"

Robin merely smirked and ran straight at the group leader. The squad opened fire and out of the thousands of bullets that filled the way only a couple grazed Robin's outfit, drawing a little bit of blood. Reaching the leader, Robin grabbed his arm and flung himself into the middle of the group, bringing the leader crashing down with him, pulling the arm out of the socket. Catching a quick breath, instinct moved the boy's agile muscles. Despite months being out of this type of combat, Robin was a little slow. A punch in the gut and an uppercut made him realize that he'd better end this fast. Yanking a gun out an enemy's hand, Robin twirled it around like his old bow staff and sent most of the squad onto their kneels or sides, holding onto their injuries. Slamming the butt end of the gun into a man's chest, Robin heard a vicious snap as blood gushed out from the man's mouth. Before he collapsed to the ground, Robin caught him and checked his pulse. The attack had broken ribs near the man's heart causing massive internal damage. Thankfully, the man was alive but for how long, Robin didn't want to think about. He only wanted to injure not kill.

But everything changed when a gun fired. First Robin tilted his head in confusion. Looking down, he watched, as the black fabric on his sweater took on a darker, damper appearance in his right shoulder. Fingers dabbed at the spot and came away with a pink tinge.

A young soldier stood shaking, brown eyes wide with fear and shock, a gun trembling in his young hands behind the injured man Robin was holding. Robin's gaze broke from his wound and at the man. Sure Robin had gotten shot countless times but for some strange reason this was different.

A stuttering voice cracked from the young man's throat, "Crim…inal…you are under ar…ar…rest…Hand over whatever you stole…stole!"

Blue eyes hardened. That was the difference. Before he shed blood to protect, was called a hero for it. But now, he shed blood in order to get a taste of his old life, to feel the primitive delight of a fight and the bittersweet thrill of a steal.

"You'll learn to like it."

Slade's statement from his first imprisonment of apprenticeship cut through all the emotions he was feeling. Robin's mind shifted from a clear-cut diamond to a dirt pile of carbon. The tunic of the unconscious soldier slipped through his fingers. Before the body hit the ground, Robin already was sprinting down the hall, bullets from the lone gun biting at his retreating heels.

Guards on the wall had the spotlights now and searched the whole compound. Slithering like a snake but with the speed of a centipede, Robin crawled towards a food truck that was about to leave. Hopping underneath the truck, he held onto dear life as the guards checked the tailgate for any escapees. As the muddy ground slowly moved underneath him sending dirt and grind into his face, Robin forced his mind to stay focused on the current situations and not on past ones.

Finally reaching a deep road pit, Robin let go and dropped into the water. When the truck drove a far away distant, the boy rose up from the ground. Swinging the pack to the ground, he quickly pulled out his med kit and cut open the shirt where the bullet was. Taking a pair of tweezers, Robin paused.

Closing his eyes, Robin prayed, "Mom, Dad…for-ARGH!"

The scream sent crows flying into the sky as the tweezers pulled out the bullet. Through his pain filled eyes, Robin allowed his hands to move mechanically as they stitched the wound with dental floss and wrapped a bandage around his wound. Feeling that the patchwork was good enough, Robin draped the pack over his good shoulder and began the walk back to the rendezvous.

When the truck arrived, the same driver eyed him suspiciously as a tired, wounded, cold Lt. Dimitry pulled himself into the truck. On the way back, the driver broke the awkward silence.

"Your hands are shaking. Want me to turn up the heater?"

Robin's eyes opened up from the light doze and stared at his shaking hands. "No." It wasn't the cold or the shock of committing a crime that caused the reaction. It was the result of an adrenaline rush coming to a close.

----------------------

A/N: I'm bad, I know making Robin steal on his own choice but I needed action. I've already planned out the next chapter and for you action people; there will be a lot now. And for those whom love the mind twisting games, I'll still add them in there.