A Tale Of Two Apprentices

by RySenkari

[Follows Life and Times of Red X and Maiden of Stone] Terra is back on the team, and Red X is back doing what he does best. But the city is under siege from the Brotherhood of Evil, and in addition to that, Slade still wants Red X to be his apprentice.

25. A Night To Remember

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, this would be on TV and not here.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This doesn't take place in the same storyline as my "Forced Base" and "Fractured Heart" stories, so forget those when you're reading this. Also, about Sanza/Red X: When he's wearing the mask, he's Red X. When he's not, he's Sanza. Simple as that.

SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the third part of a trilogy, which includes "The Life and Times of Red X", and "Maiden of Stone", both of which are in my profile. Read those before you read this. Also, this fic COMPLETELY IGNORES the events of the fifth season (with the exception of "Go"). For the purposes of this fic, "Things Change" NEVER HAPPENED.

O-O-O

From the moment that Robin awoke in the small, dark room that Slade had imprisoned him in, he noticed a loud ringing in his ears... the residual after-effects of Omega Ternion's powerful roar. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings... the room was windowless, and illuminated only by a dim light from the crack beneath the locked door on the other side of the room.

"Slade didn't kill us...? What's he up to?"

Robin had barely had time to react before Omega Ternion had knocked out him and his fellow Titans... so when he realized he was now a prisoner, it came as both a shock and a relief... one moment he'd been facing down the most formidable monster he'd ever seen, and the next moment he was alone and trapped in a strange room.

The room itself wasn't what one would normally expect from a prison... it was clean, the floor seemed to be carpeted, and the walls, at least from what Robin could tell in the darkness, were solid white. The room was completely lacking in furniture, it almost resembled an office that had been emptied out.

"Beast Boy! Raven! Cyborg! ...STARFIRE!!!"

No response... at least at first. A moment later, Robin could hear a faint voice in his head... it was Raven, communicating with him through telepathy.

"You're awake? Good. The others are as well..."

"Raven? You can hear me?"

"Barely. I haven't heard anything from the others, but I've been able to communicate with them... right now, telepathy is the only one of my powers I can use. Slade's placed some kind of strange device on my wrists... I'm not restrained, they're bracelets of some kind that I can't remove, and even with my chant, I can't use any of my dark energy powers."

Raven's analysis of the situation was a bit comforting to Robin, who knew that if the others were awake and communicating, that meant that they were likely unharmed. But questions still remained... why did Slade keep the Titans alive, and what did he plan to do with them next? Whatever it was, Robin knew it couldn't be good.

"So you've talked to Starfire then?"

"Yes, and she's fine, she's unharmed, just like the others... though she's also wearing bracelets that restrict her abilities. Beast Boy's been fitted with a collar, from what I can tell, and Cyborg seems to have been injected with a device that shorts out his system whenever he tries to use his weapons."

"...injected?" Robin's inflection, even in his thoughts, took on a bit of a worrisome quality.

"He senses it inside his bloodstream, his scanners are malfunctioning a bit but he was able to detect the presence of some kind of incredibly tiny mechanism..."

Robin immediately thought back to when the Titans infiltrated the Brotherhood's lair... the strange device they'd seen inside what remained of The Brain's liquid casing... a device that took the form of an ominous puddle of gray goo.

"A nanomachine."

"That's what I suspected too, Cyborg's running some tests to make sure... I'm worried."

"Don't worry, Raven. I'll get all of us out of this somehow, and then we'll get to the bottom of exactly what Slade's planning!"

"Be careful. It's likely that if Slade comes in to take one of us, he'll try to incapacitate us first. Did he take your utility belt?"

Robin reached down to his waist and began feeling around for his utility belt's presence. Sure enough, it was missing... though when Robin reached down inside his left boot, he quickly detected the one device of his that Slade hadn't gotten to... a long, thin screwdriver-like device that doubled as both a weapon and as a lockpick. A smile crossed the Boy Wonder's face.

"It doesn't matter," Robin thought back to Raven. "I'll get it back soon."

"BE CAREFUL. You have no idea what's out there."

But Robin couldn't be bothered to worry about that at the moment. He had to rescue his friends, before Slade decided to act on whatever terrible purposes he had for keeping them alive. He pulled the lockpicking device from his boot and got to work... as smart as Slade had been in taking Robin's utility belt, he'd placed him in a room with a keyhole lock.

"It's almost like he WANTS me to get out of here..." thought Robin.

O-O-O

Red X made extremely good time as he flew down the California coast from Jump City to Los Angeles. He picked up speed as he got closer and closer to the city, and was able to make the entire journey in just under two hours... driving there in a car would've taken several more.

"So, Terra... you ever been to Los Angeles?"

"A few times... there was a movie premiere that I really wanted to see, so I came down here and tried sneaking into the theater by digging a tunnel. I know, it was a stupid thing to do, I could've put the whole building underground... that's why I took my time, and I ended up getting caught before the tunnel was even halfway finished."

"You're not too good at the whole sneaking around thing, are you?"

"Maybe you could teach me," Terra replied, tightening her grip around X's waist as the skyline of the city drew nearer. "Not like I wanna become a thief or anything, I just-"

"Suuuuuuure you don't," said the thief, laughing to himself as he began his descent. Almost immediately, he could see the bright, flashing lights of firetrucks and police vehicles surrounding the city's major skyscrapers... and upon closer inspection, could see that each and every one of them had their windows almost completely blown out. "Okay, what'd we miss?"

"I have no idea..." said Terra, her voice immediately lifting into a quiet gasp. "...where are the Titans?"

"We're gonna find out," said X, immediately floating down to the ground, just outside of the main downtown area, so as not to attract undue attention from the army of emergency workers below. "Wherever they are, it must've been some battle..."

The geomancer and the thief touched down in an alley and began running toward the cadre of people and vehicles surrounding the affected areas of the city. On the streets, people were looking up in bewilderment, pointing up at broken window frames, while others were staring at the ground, amazed by how much glass had littered the city streets. Ambulances weaved their way in and out of the crowds, rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. Barely anyone was paying any attention to Red X and Terra, who darted across streets and through alleyways for several minutes before finally being stopped by a uniformed LAPD officer.

"Hey, where the hell were you guys?"

X and Terra looked nervously at one another, then back at the officer, who pointed up at the damaged building that the three were standing next to.

"Yeah, you guys, about six hours ago... you're two of the Teen Titans, right?" The officer pointed to Terra's communicator. "I noticed that weird gizmo on blondie's waist, the Titans all have 'em, so I figured you two were Titans too."

"Well... I'm a Teen Titan," said Terra, gesturing to herself before gesturing to Red X. "And he's-"

"An independent contractor," X replied smoothly. "And we just got here, so we're as puzzled as you. Maybe you could shed some light on this whole situation so we could get to the bottom of it."

The officer gave X a slightly annoyed look before letting out a sigh.

"All right, here's what we know so far. Six hours ago, this big ass monster... musta been as tall as this building here, or even taller, appeared near this warehouse complex on Wilshire. Thing lets out this HUGE roar, I'm talkin 'bout... sounded like a bomb going off or something, and almost every window within two miles just goes boom. Panic in the streets, glass raining down on people... at least a thousand people injured, but nobody dead, thank God for that."

"Yeah... thank God..." thought Red X, quickly tracing the Sign of the Cross on his chest. "But where are the Titans? And where were they when all of THIS shit went down?"

Terra was wondering the same thing... she looked all around, looked up at the damaged buildings... how could the Teen Titans let this happen? The answer came to her immediately. They couldn't have let this happen, unless someone got to them first... the Teen Titans were in trouble.

"Where did the monster come from, exactly?" asked Terra, who hoped that wherever the monster was last seen, the Titans would be as well.

"From all the accounts of the people who saw it, the corner of 79th and Wilshire. We've got a bunch of officers scanning the place, but we haven't found nothin'. Somebody had to have been there, or that huge monster wouldn't have just popped up, but... it's like whoever was there just up and vanished without a trace."

X and Terra looked at one another again, obviously thinking the same thing. The warehouse complex described by the police officer was obviously being used by Slade for something... but apparently, Slade had vanished again. Still, perhaps he'd left some clues that the officers hadn't been able to find.

"You mind if we go down there and take a look?" asked Terra, not knowing exactly what the officer would say. "I don't want this to be any harder than it's already gonna be..."

"Sure thing, it's about time some of you Titans showed up to handle things. What happened to the other ones? Showed up yesterday at the airport, and now they ain't here no more."

"I'm... sure they're doing something, they just... they're probably investigating other leads," said Terra, trying to cover for her missing teammates as well as she could.

"They're lazy bums, officer, but don't worry, Terra and I are on the case." X's comment received an immediate glare from Terra, who didn't quite realize that the thief still had an image to maintain. "In fact, I'm so confident that we'll get to the bottom of this that it might be better if you clear all the officers out of that area so Terra and me aren't crowded."

The officer nervously blinked for a couple of moments before offering up his reply.

"I don't have that kinda authority, only the chief of police can do that... I can radio him for you if you want, but-"

"Would you?" X replied, tapping his foot. "And hurry, I have a hunch that the criminal responsible for all of this might still be at the scene of the crime... hiding somewhere, undetectable by anyone who's not a superhero like us."

Terra's eyes widened even more, beginning to wonder if Red X was being smart, or just arrogant. She knew he didn't like playing the hero, but she didn't think he could actually get all of those police officers just pulled off of an investigation like that... but sure enough, after a few seconds of talking with the chief of police over the radio, X turned to Terra and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We've got the place to ourselves now... soon as the chief of police heard that the Teen Titans were in town, he ordered all of his men elsewhere. We can start snooping now."

As X and Terra began running toward the site of the warehouse complex, Terra continued to think about X's remarks... and if it was really such a good idea to get rid of all the police.

"I know you don't want them interfering, but I'm not so sure about exploring that place by ourselves... if something's happened to the Titans, what makes you so sure it's not too dangerous for us?"

"I'm not," Red X replied, "but I figured that if the police didn't find anything, neither would we... I'm just hoping we can find out where the Titans got to."

"So am I..." Terra said, forgetting all about X's earlier remark concerning the Titans being 'lazy bums'. He obviously didn't mean it, and when she heard how much more confident his voice had gotten, she knew exactly why he was talking the way he did. "He's still trying to get his confidence back... maybe going into this alone with me is just another way to confront his fears... I know exactly how you feel, Sanza, I'm worried too... not just for the Titans, but for us..."

O-O-O

It had taken Robin less than a minute to break out of the room with his lock-picking device, and once he'd gotten outside, he'd had to deal with only a single upgraded Sladebot guard. He was able to defeat it easily with judicious use of his martial-arts skills... though he still regretted not having any of his gadgets with him, and a thorough check of the surrounding area didn't get him any closer to finding it.

He was in an office building... apparently a large one. Sladebots patrolled the halls, forcing Robin to sneak from room to room in order to avoid being spotted. He checked several offices, unable to find any of his fellow Titans, and with all the Sladebots walking around, he was unable to call out to them to discern their locations.

"Raven? Raven, I'm out, can you tell me where..."

She didn't reply, and Robin realized that in order to speak with Raven, it had to be her initiating the telepathic link, and not him. He couldn't contact her directly, making it all the more hard for him to find her, or anyone else. He soon turned the corner into a long hallway with several of the Sladebots standing in front of doors... four of them, to be exact.

Robin had found his teammates. Now came the real problem... getting them out.

"Okay... this shouldn't be too hard... all I've gotta do is lure away the Sladebots."

He pressed himself up against the wall immediately left of the hallway where the bots were stationed, hiding himself from view while continuing to think of a plan. He looked to his left... another Sladebot was coming around a corner, almost into his line of sight.

"Damn..." he whispered, preparing himself to enter the Sladebot-filled corridor. "Guess I just have to do this now..."

He jumped out into the middle of the hallway, in plain view of all four Sladebot guards, and two additional guards who were walking back and forth. All six Sladebots turned to face him as he stuck out his tongue and waved his hands above his head.

"Look at me!" shouted Robin. "I broke out, come get me!"

The six Sladebots all pointed their weapons and began firing, leaving their posts in order to chase Robin down the hall. He turned left, running straight at the other Sladebot who was now just a few feet away, barely giving it time to raise its weapon before being struck by a leaping kick to the center of its head. It stumbled backward, and Robin rolled behind it, placing both hands onto its back and pushing it hard into the oncoming crowd. The Sladebots instinctively fired, destroying one of their own and creating a large cloud of smoke that Robin was easily able to charge through undetected.

"I didn't expect them to do that..." thought Robin, throwing out his shoulder to charge through the unsuspecting Sladebots as he rounded the corner again and began running toward the now-unguarded offices where his friends were being held. "Upgraded my ass!"

Using his lockpick, Robin was quickly able to open one of the offices, throwing back the door and peering forward into the darkness. There, standing in the middle of the room, was Beast Boy, his arms across his chest.

"It's about time you showed up! Raven keeps refusing to talk to me, she asked me if I was hurt and after I answered she wouldn't do her weird talky thinky thing anymore..." As Beast Boy tried to start a conversation, Robin hastily undid the power-restraining collar around Beast Boy's neck, unlocking it just as the six upgraded Sladebots began filling the doorway. "Dude! Hurry up!"

"You hurry up," Robin replied as the collar dropped to the floor. "Hurry up and transform into something that can get us out of here!"

"You got it!" said Beast Boy, transforming into a rhinoceros. As soon as Robin had hopped onto his back, Beast Boy charged forward, ramming the Sladebots and knocking them over like bowling pins before they could raise their weapons to fire. He continued to charge forward, crashing through the wall of the office across the hallway. Inside was Raven, whose meditation came to an immediate end as Beast Boy plowed into the room.

"...just as I was beginning to enjoy my captivity," Raven replied, standing up and rolling her eyes.

"Raven, come over here and I'll undo that those things on your wrists," said Robin, holding up his lockpick. "Hurry, before they-"

A small beam of energy caused Robin to let out a scream, clenching his wrist as the lockpick flew out of his hands and skidded onto the floor. As Raven dove forward to grab it, another energy beam hit her in the side, throwing her body into the wall. Another Sladebot appeared, firing a glowing silver energy net that wrapped itself around Robin and Beast Boy, trapping them both inside.

"Dude!" shouted Beast Boy after detransforming, crying out as the net immediately constricted around himself and Robin. "Unnngh... I can't even move!"

Robin struggled within the net, equally immobilized by its flexible, yet incredibly strong material. As the two of them fought to escape, Raven noticed that the lockpick was now behind the net, hidden from view by the bodies of the trapped Titans... and as all six Sladebots filed into the room, Raven grabbed it quickly, slipping it over to her body and concealing it within her cloak as the bots approached.

"I need to do this quickly..." thought Raven, placing her hands behind her back so that she could undo the bracelets without being seen. "I'm not as good at this as Robin..."

The Sladebots ignored Raven, walking over to the net where Beast Boy and Robin were trapped. Two of them leaned down and picked up the struggling Titans, hoisting them into the air as another of the bots made its way over to Raven.

"Come on... come on...!" Raven worked furiously to remove the bracelets, her hands beginning to sweat as she unlocked the first and moved on to the second. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and just as the Sladebot reached in to take her... "Got it!"

Immediately, she pointed her hands out at the Sladebot, firing an energy blast into its chest and throwing it backward. She stood up and turned toward the two bots carrying Robin and Beast Boy from the room.

"Azarath, metreon-"

One of the Sladebots dove to stop Raven, who stepped to the side and kicked it in the chest as hard as she could, knocking it away.

"ZINTHOS!"

A large section of the floor beneath the Sladebots lit up, crumbling to pieces and causing all six of them to fall, including the ones carrying the trapped Beast Boy and Robin. The net around them disappeared immediately, and they landed on the floor, groaning slightly and flexing out their limbs.

"Okay, that was a little bit too close..." said Beast Boy, stepping back away from Robin. "I mean, if I was gonna be squished up next to someone-"

"Don't even say it," Raven muttered, knowing exactly what Beast Boy was thinking.

"We still have to save Starfire and Cyborg, let's hurry up and go get them!" shouted Robin, taking the lock pick from Raven and running out of the room before the Sladebots could get up. Beast Boy and Raven soon followed, and soon, all three of them were racing across the hallway to free their remaining friends.

O-O-O

By the time Red X and Terra reached the warehouse complex, the police officers had all filed out, leaving the two superpowered teens to investigate the area. With the largest building in the group destroyed by the rise of Omega Ternion, X and Terra's work was cut down a little bit... but they both knew they still had a lot to accomplish, and they began investigating immediately.

A thorough search of the first three buildings turned up no sign of the Titans or of any of Slade's machinations... leaving one final building, the one in the northeastern corner of the complex. The building was the second largest in the group, but was much smaller than the one that had been destroyed. It consisted of a large room in the center and several smaller, peripheral rooms on the sides... after a search of the large storage room, the pair began looking through the smaller ones.

"You find anything?" asked Terra as she dug through a small, empty file cabinet. X was searching through a stack of cardboard boxes, but aside from a few building diagrams, he could find little of interest.

"I'm starting to think that before Slade left, he moved all his stuff out with him," X replied, slumping against the wall of the room.

"Yeah, but how? The police didn't mention anything about people leaving the area, so either he's still here, or..."

"He tunneled his way out," the thief said, walking toward the entrance of the room. "Start looking for big holes."

"Somehow, I don't think that's quite how Slade did it..." Terra followed X into another of the small office rooms that lined the sides of the warehouse, but after a quick search, nothing came up to indicate that anyone, including the Titans, had been there. "You know, we never checked out that building that got destroyed... maybe-"

"The cops were probably all over that place," said the thief, stopping in the doorway of the office and turning to Terra. "If the Titans were there, the cops would know..."

"Still... we know that's where the giant monster probably came from, so... if that's the case-"

"We can check, but I don't think we're gonna find anything. I really don't."

Figuring that he had nothing to lose by taking Terra's suggestion, and that it would probably be at least a bit less boring than continuing to search through abandoned offices, Red X left the small building with Terra, and the two made their way back over to the large warehouse that had been destroyed by Omega Ternion. The building's roof had collapsed inward, flattening most of the rooms inside and destroying their contents... and with all the wreckage lying around, walking into the building was a bit too hazardous an undertaking. Just before reaching the rubble, X extended his wings and picked up Terra, flying them both about fifteen feet above the building.

"You see anything?" asked Red X, flapping his wings slowly as he scanned the wreckage along with Terra. Below, he could see shattered test tubes, Sladebot parts, twisted metal... but no sign of the Titans, and no sign of anything suspicious. Terra couldn't detect anything interesting either, but once she spotted a relatively rubble-free zone near the center of the building, she directed X to set both of them down.

"I just want to get a little closer, that's all..."

"Well, okay... I just wish the Titans were here to help us clear out all this rubble..."

"It's okay, I know how to do it."

As X set both himself and Terra down, the geomancer did a quick visual scan of the area... then, she lifted up her hands and began to raise up the ground beneath her feet.

"W...whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!" X said, a little bit nervous as Terra began making a small hill beneath the building's wreckage, with herself and X on top. As the grade of the hill became steeper, wreckage began sliding off, revealing the floor and the ground below. "Okay... you're moving all the crap somewhere else... I don't see how that-"

"I'm looking for a tunnel," said Terra, smiling over at Red X as she cleared out more of the wreckage.

"But... you said he didn't tunnel his way out," X replied.

"It's an expression, Sanza... it's not a TUNNEL tunnel, but... maybe Slade had some other way of escaping that we don't know about." As Terra was speaking, she pushed the ground beneath X and herself back down, until it was once again flat... with the difference being that most of the wreckage had been moved away. "All right, now we can start-"

"I see something," said X, immediately pointing to a metallic pole a short distance away. Nearly three feet tall, it had what appeared to be a plastic box on top of it, and several sparks were shooting from the box and from the pole. "Looks almost like... a keypad or something."

On the box were several buttons similar to those found on a telephone. It was a keypad, and once Terra and X got closer to it, the resemblance was clear.

"I think we found our tunnel," said Red X, looking down at the ground below. "But... I don't see any signs a moving floor, so..."

"Maybe this just went to a door that got knocked down once that big monster showed up," said Terra. "Can you crack the code?"

"Can I crack the code... of course I can crack the code, just watch me."

Smiling under his mask, Red X put his hand on the keypad. Electrical impulses began shooting out from his finger tips, decoding the combination in only a few seconds... and automatically inputting it into the display. X then pushed 'Enter', and suddenly, a bright silver light engulfed both himself and Terra. The two both began to let out a scream... before disappearing completely.

O-O-O

Starfire sat alone in the darkness, unable even to use her Starbolt energy to light up the room. She'd tugged at the strange bracelets that had been locked onto her wrists, but had no luck in removing them, and now, she waited for her friends to come and rescue her.

Fortunately for Starfire, that rescue was about to come. She could hear the sound of a lock being picked, and suddenly, the door flew open, revealing Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy.

"Oh, Robin... you have come to rescue me at last!" shouted Starfire somewhat melodramatically, walking over to Robin and giving him a tight hug. "I was so worried that something may have happened to you, are you undamaged?"

"We're all undamaged, Starfire, and we need to go rescue Cyborg before those Sladebots catch up," said Raven, looking down the hallway to see the regrouped Sladebots already coming after them.

"Here, I'll unlock these for you..." said Robin, using his lockpick to undo the bracelets from Starfire's wrists. As soon as both of them were off, Starfire's hands and eyes began to glow, and she quickly flew out into the hallway, letting out a yell and unleashing a flurry of Starbolts and eye lasers on the unsuspecting Sladebots. "...she was ready to fight..."

The Sladebots were bombarded, and one of them exploded into pieces after being hit by the concentrated blast from Starfire's eye lasers. The others were able to shield themselves, taking only a small amount of damage from the Starbolts before raising their guns and unleashing a torrent of energy blasts that knocked Starfire backward into Robin's arms.

"Robin, can you and Starfire hold off the Sladebots while we go free Cyborg?" asked Raven. Robin nodded, and Raven and Beast Boy quickly ran down the hallway.

"That... did not feel good..." thought Starfire, rubbing her head as she tried to recover from the blasts she'd sustained. "Robin, we must work together to hold them back! You use one of your flash devices, and I will-"

"Starfire, I... don't have my utility belt," Robin confessed, walking up beside Starfire and taking a fighting stance. "It's all right, we just need to keep them busy for a few seconds... once Raven and Beast Boy get Cyborg, we'll be ready to-"

Several strong metallic bands shot out from the Sladebots' blasters, wrapping themselves around Robin and Starfire and pinning them back-to-back in a sitting position on the floor. Immediately, Starfire's eyes lit up, but another band quickly wrapped around them, preventing her from using her eye lasers and rendering her as helpless as Robin. She let out a scream and began to struggle, but this only caused the bands to constrict even tighter, putting pressure on her stomach and forcing some of the air from her lungs.

"Robin...! We must do something, quickly!"

"I know... don't worry, once Raven and Beast Boy bust out Cyborg, they'll help us out! At least this is better than when I was trapped with Beast Boy..."

A short distance away, Raven phased through the wall of the office where Cyborg was trapped. He looked up at her, surprised to see that his friend had managed to free herself.

"Raven... where are the others?"

"They're outside, we need to hurry," said Raven. "Were you able to complete that scan?"

"Yeah," Cyborg replied, bowing his head. "It's a nanomachine all right... new model, way more advanced than the ones Slade used to get Robin to be his apprentice. Just one of 'em inside my bloodstream is all it took to render my weapons completely useless..."

"Maybe if I concentrate, I can get it out," said Raven, placing her hands gently on the sides of Cyborg's head. "This might hurt... a lot. But we don't have much time."

As Raven closed her eyes, and Cyborg braced himself to have the nanomachine purged from his body, Beast Boy remained outside, watching as the Sladebots walked past the incapacitated Robin and Starfire and started to come his way. He immediately transformed into an elephant, charging forward in an attempt to impale one of the bots on his tusks. All five Sladebots quickly stopped in their tracks, raising their guns at Beast Boy and firing small, electrified harpoons into his body. Beast Boy let out a loud cry and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Beast Boy!" screamed Starfire, unable to see what was going on, but easily able to hear her teammate's cry of anguish. "Robin, they are hurting him!"

"I know, I'm trying to escape as fast as I can! Get up with me, Star!"

Robin pressed his feet into the floor, and Starfire did the same. On the count of three, both of them pushed up, getting themselves into a standing position... which drew the attention of three of the Sladebots away from the fallen Beast Boy.

"Robin, what is going on?"

"They're looking at us... I'll run toward them, you just hang on!"

As Robin bent down slightly, lifting Starfire's legs up from the floor, the Sladebots pointed their blasters at him, undeterred by the fact that Robin was now coming at them at full speed. He threw himself into the Sladebots as hard as he could, and the combined weight of himself and Starfire knocked all of them over, which distracted the remaining two Sladebots away from Beast Boy.

"Ow... Robin, I do not believe that helped..." Now lying on her side, Starfire could feel a dull ache from where she landed on her shoulder, and was unable to see that the Sladebots she and Robin had just knocked over were surrounding them.

"Grrr..." Robin looked up helplessly, watching as all five Sladebots pointed their guns down at Starfire and himself. He'd managed to distract them from Beast Boy, but now, it seemed that he'd made a fatal mistake. "Starfire, I'm sorry..."

A massive blue energy blast emerged from the wall next to the Sladebots, punching easily through it and continuing forward to take out three of the bots that were standing over Robin and Starfire. The remaining two discharged their weapons, only to have their attacks blocked by a glowing dark energy shield.

Cyborg and Raven had joined the battle.

"You guys okay?" asked Cyborg, running over and kneeling next to the fallen Robin and Starfire. He grabbed the metallic bands around their arms and tugged with all of his might, ripping the material free after a few seconds of struggling. "There we go..."

"We're both fine," Robin replied as Starfire helped him to his feet. "Starfire, your shoulder, is it-"

With her arms free, Starfire easily ripped the metallic band from around her eyes, tossing it away and shaking her head.

"It is just sore... do not feel guilty, you did a wonderful job for both of us," said Starfire, leaning in and kissing Robin on the cheek. Nearby, Raven was tending to a detransformed Beast Boy, whose body was pocked with several burns from the harpoons that had been fired into him.

"I shouldn't have left you alone out there," said Raven, a hint of guilt in her voice as she started healing Beast Boy's wounds.

"It's okay... I should've been able to kick those things' butts," Beast Boy replied. "They took me down so fast, I didn't even have time to-"

Several energy blasts rained down near Raven, who would've taken a direct hit had Beast Boy not pushed her out of the way at the last moment. He stood up to see the two remaining Sladebots running toward him, and quickly transformed into a bear to ward them off. He swiped his claw into one of the Sladebots, who responded by issuing a hard punch to Beast Boy's nose. The green bear let out a roar and staggered back, then angrily charged forward and tackled the offending Sladebot, bringing it to the ground and ripping the wiring from its chest.

"One more to go," said Robin, facing down the last of the Sladebots, which turned away from Beast Boy and back toward the Titan leader. "That's right, come at me..."

"Robin, you do not have your utility belt, are you sure you can-"

The Sladebot rushed forward, lunging at Robin in an attempt to wrestle him to the ground. Robin kicked back into the wall, doing a somersault over the Sladebot's head and landing behind it. With a single powerful punch, he was able to create a hole in the back of the Sladebot's frame, and with his other hand, reached in and tore free a large chunk of vital wiring, causing the bot to spark violently before falling to the floor, permanently deactivated. A relieved and surprised Starfire let out a cheer, while Cyborg did a quick scan of the area to make sure no more Sladebots were lurking nearby.

"I think we got all of 'em... there's others, but they're in a different part of the building."

"That's great to hear, but that just begs the question... what building is this, anyway?" asked Robin, scratching his head. "It's not the one we were in, that's for sure..."

"I can do another scan to see exactly where we are," Cyborg said, raising his arm up to his face and typing in a couple of commands. "That's... weird, there's some kind of jammer signal nearby, I can't get a lock on our location."

"Are you sure?" Robin replied, walking over to check the readout on Cyborg's scanner. "Try it again."

Cyborg's second attempt was as unsuccessful as the first. An attempt by Raven to use her psychic abilities to discern the Titans' location was also unsuccessful. It soon became clear that Slade didn't want the Titans to have any clue about their current location.

"Let's just try to find a way out of here," said Beast Boy. "Maybe once we escape, we can look around at where we were to find out where we are!"

"That's... not the way I would've put it," said Raven, "but I think you're right. We need to get out of here, not just to find out where we are, but to keep Slade from unleashing more of his robots on us."

"We're not going anywhere until I find my utility belt," Robin said. "And until we find out exactly what Slade's up to. It's obvious that this must be his headquarters, and whatever plans he has for the city, we're not going to get to the bottom of them unless we explore this place thoroughly. I know you guys are exhausted, but this might be our one and only chance to stop whatever Slade's planning!"

"I agree with Robin, we must find Slade before it is too late!" Starfire's voice was lined with courage and determination, just as much as Robin's was... she was ready to tear the entire building down if she had to. As tired as she was from the hectic battle against the Sladebots, she and Robin both knew that the Titans still had plenty of work to do. "We must not leave until Slade is defeated!"

Reluctantly, Raven and Beast Boy both nodded their heads in agreement, while Cyborg took the time to raise another important point.

"Let's go look for that jammer signal, the sooner we find it, the sooner we'll know exactly where we are."

But before the Titans could begin their exploration of the rest of the building, a long cable rushed forward from down the hallway. It wrapped tightly around Robin's arms, pinning them to Robin's torso and pulling the screaming Boy Wonder back. The other Titans all looked in the direction Robin was heading... and saw a tall, young-looking man with long silver hair pulling their leader back toward him. The man sneered at the Titans as the bound Robin came to a stop at his feet, face-down on the ground. Around the man's waist was a long, yellow belt with numerous compartments... Robin recognized it immediately.

"...my utility belt!"

"It's my utility belt now, along with all of Robin's other cool stuff," said the silver-haired man, holding the end of Robin's Birdcable in his left hand, and a long bo staff in his right. "The name's Construct, I'm Slade's personal bodyguard and mercenary... it's nice to finally meet, though it's easy to understand why we haven't... I was only created yesterday, after all."

The Titans stared in shock at the mysterious man, who'd appeared out of nowhere with Robin's utility belt and had quickly subdued the now-helpless Titan leader... but Starfire didn't stay shocked for long, and instead, she leapt forward, flying head-long at Construct.

"You will release Robin, or I will make you release him!"

Construct simply raised up his right hand, hitting Starfire with a powerful stream of silver lightning. The Tamaranian girl let out a scream and hit the ground instantly, ten feet away from Robin.

"STARFIRE!!!" The trapped Titan began struggling furiously, but the cables were far too strong, and he found his arms completely pinned. "What did you do to her...?"

"I shocked her with about ten million volts of electricity, formed by the nanomachines comprising my body. It's a low-current charge, so she won't die... but I bet she wishes she could."

Gritting her teeth in pain, Starfire climbed to her feet, shrugging off the other Titans as they rushed forward to help her.

"I will not... allow you... to harm Robin... you may shock me all you wish, I will not be stopped!"

With a determined glare, Starfire stumbled forward, her eyes narrowing as Construct raised his arm to attack her again. It was then that a large, red net appeared from behind Construct's back, wrapping around him and pinning him down to the floor. As Construct fell, two more figures were revealed at the end of the hallway... and the Titans recognized them immediately.

"Terra!" Starfire shouted joyfully.

"And Red X, too!" Beast Boy called out, waving over to the thief.

"Seems you guys were having some problems..." said X calmly, walking over to the trapped Construct and kneeling down beside him. "Gotta compliment you on capturing Robin, I've never been able to do that myself..."

As X taunted Construct, Terra raised up a section of the floor, transforming it into a sharp piece of rock that she used to cut the cables away from Robin's body.

"Are you guys all right? We were wondering what you were doing..."

"We were captured by Slade," Robin replied, "but we escaped. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"No... we were sorta... teleported here," said Terra.

"Damn... teleported from where?" Robin asked.

"The wreckage of the warehouse complex... do you know anything about a really big monster that-"

"We'll explain everything later," interrupted Cyborg, "right now, we need to-"

Construct's hand reached up from the net, grabbing Red X by the throat and lifting him up into the air. As X began to gasp and choke, the Titans watched in amazement as the silver-haired man stood up, his body passing right through the net as if it wasn't there at all.

"A wonderful thing, nanotechnology... my body isn't what it seems, it's comprised of billions and billions of tiny robots, all far too small to be trapped inside something like a net..." By now, the net had completely fallen away from Construct's body, and he was now standing completely upright, still holding Red X high in the air. "But that was a nice try..."

In desperation, X kicked Construct as hard as he could, his leg swinging into the man's side and impacting his ribs. Despite Construct's strange composition, the blow still stunned him, just as it would a normal human being... and he dropped the thief to the ground, clutching the afflicted area and giving X a chance to crawl away.

"Titans, he's weakened, everybody strike now!"

On Robin's command, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg unleashed dozens of energy blasts at Construct's body, engulfing him in smoke and flames. He backed into the wall, and the Titans and Red X surrounded him in a semi-circle, waiting to see the results of the attack. As soon as the blasts stopped, a shockwave emerged from the center of the smoke cloud, slamming into the heroes and knocking them all onto their backs. The cloud was blown away, revealing a battered but still very formidable Construct, who began breathing heavily as the nanites in his body began quickly healing his wounds.

"I see you're all a bit more powerful than I thought you'd be..."

"And faster!" shouted Terra, standing up and levitating a wave of rock from the ground. The wave ripped a large hole in the floor as it rushed toward Construct, hitting him and knocking him back into the wall. Angrily, he drew a freeze bomb from Robin's utility belt, tossing it to the ground in front of Terra. It exploded, encasing the blonde in a large, spiked block of solid ice.

"Terra!"

Immediately, X extended his wrist blades and began chipping away at the ice encased around Terra's body. He was waved off by Cyborg, who produced a blow torch and gave X a friendly smile.

"I know how much you wanna help your girl, but I think I can do this a bit faster... go take out your anger on nano-boy and let me handle the rescuing, okay?"

As Red X reluctantly nodded, Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla, lumbering toward Construct and throwing a powerful punch at his head. Construct raised up Robin's bo staff to block the attack, then struck with a punch of his own, right into Beast Boy's chest. As his hand moved forward, it hardened into a thick metal, which made a loud plunking noise as it collided with gorilla Beast Boy's skin. Beast Boy let out a roar, flying back into the wall and making a large dent.

"Azarath, metreon, zinthos!" Raven screamed, sending large chunks of drywall forward at Construct from all directions. Smiling, Construct raised up his arms and formed an electrical barrier around himself, catching the drywall and causing it to stop in place. It hovered in the air for a moment, then flew outwards again, forcing the Titans to shield themselves by raising up their arms.

The next to attack Construct was Red X, whose wrist blades made an immediate impact. They slashed across Construct's arms and chest, creating several noticeable wounds before the silver-haired man was able to block the assault with his bo staff.

"I've heard about you... you're the kid who got his ass kicked by Slade... well, you shouldn't be much of a challenge..."

Construct used the staff to push Red X back, then took another quick swing with it, hitting X in the side of the head and nearly knocking him over. The thief quickly recovered, withdrawing an electrically-charged X and flinging it at Construct's face. The electrical radiation from the Xynothium began to react with the electrical field given off by Construct's nanites, and the result was soon evident.

"Aaaaaaaaagh...!!! What did... damn you!"

Shrieking in pain, Construct fell to his knees, red and silver electricity sparking outward from his body. Angrily, he ripped the X from his face and looked up to see the thief kicking forward at him. He caught X's kick and pushed him back, then stood up and blasted him with a quick burst of electricity. X let out a scream, clutching a hand to his chest while pointing his other hand right at Construct's forehead.

"Don't you ever mention Slade to me again, you pathetic bastard," X said, anger clearly showing in his voice as he fired an explosive projectile at Construct's head. Construct was unable to dodge the attack, and soon, a large blast engulfed his upper body, accompanied by a loud scream. As smoke wafted through the hallway, the other Titans looked on, wondering if this really was the end of their newest foe.

"That was... perhaps a bit excessive," said Starfire, placing a hand to her lips.

Nearby, a shivering Terra kneeled down in a large puddle, the only thing that remained of the ice that once surrounded her body. She slowly stood up, looking over at Red X and at the large cloud of smoke where Construct once stood. Once the smoke faded, she and the other Titans could see the extent of the damage that X's attack had done.

Construct's head and torso were gone, completely blown off... only his legs and waist remained. Red X lowered his arm, thinking to himself that maybe he had overreacted a bit.

"Still... it had to be done. He almost killed Terra, and-"

Suddenly, Construct's legs began to move... then, above his waist, something else... his body was beginning to construct itself from the belly up. First, the chest, and then the head, the entire process taking less than ten seconds. Immediately, Red X stepped back, and the Titans quickly went on the defensive. Gasping, Construct lifted his head and looked into X's eyes, his regenerated fists clenching tightly.

"Do you know... how much energy it takes... to do that?"

"Oh, so maybe if I do it again, you won't be able to grow back? That's nice to know," X replied, raising his arm to fire off another explosive. He had barely opened up his palm when Construct lunged forward, striking him first with an elbow to the face, and then with a knee to the gut, causing X to double over. The final blow came in the form of a wicked forearm that sent Red X immediately to the ground on his back, gasping for breath. As Construct lifted his leg to stomp on X's chest, several Starbolts slammed into his back, causing him to turn around and see Starfire just a few feet behind him.

"I suppose you want to get knocked down too, right?" Construct shouted, blasting Starfire with another powerful electrical burst that caused her to scream and fall to her knees, trembling in pain. Smiling, Construct reached down to his waist... only to realize that Robin's utility belt was no longer there. "What the..."

"Looking for this?" Robin said, holding up the utility belt. "I slipped it off right after you regenerated... I guess it was a good time to do it, since you didn't notice even a tiny little bit..."

Robin hastily put the utility belt back on, and as Construct charged toward him, withdrew his bo staff and slammed it down on the man's forehead, sending him tumbling back into the wall. Looking around, Construct could once again see Red X and the Titans surrounding him, and as he tried to generate another energy shockwave, the silver sparks around his arms indicated that he no longer had the ability to do so... at least until he was able to recharge.

"Looks like you're outta juice," said Cyborg, smirking to himself.

"Out of luck," Raven added, "and out of time."

"Tell us now," said Robin sternly. "What's Slade up to?"

Frantically looking back and forth to measure up his options, Construct saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him smile... and a few seconds later, Cyborg detected it as well.

"Robin, we've got Sladebots... dozens of 'em... incoming!"

Sladebots were approaching from both directions, charging forward from the ends of the corridor, rushing to the aid of their defeated ally. Letting out a growl, Robin backed off from Construct, and the other Titans did the same, allowing him the space he needed to escape. He ran toward one of the groups of Sladebots, pointing at the Titans the entire time.

"Get them, don't let them escape!!"

"What do we do now?" asked Terra, who leaned on Red X's shoulder as the Sladebots approached. Robin quickly looked to the left, and then to the right... there was a hallway leading off in another direction that would allow the Titans to escape... but where would they go from there?

"No time to worry about that... come on, Titans, this way!" Robin quickly ran forward toward the group of Sladebots that Construct was now leading... but instead of plowing into them, he turned quickly to the left, and X and the rest of the Titans followed. The two groups of Sladebots soon merged into one and began pursuing the heroes down the hallway, following them at every turn they made.

"I don't think that helped us..." Raven noted, looking back to see Construct and the huge group of Sladebots hot on the Titans' heels.

"We're not going to be doing any more exploring, that's for sure," said Beast Boy, who then transformed into a cheetah so that he could keep up with the rest of the group.

"I remember this hallway!" shouted Terra. "The transporter that Sanza and I came from is in a room nearby... we can use it to get out of here!"

Levitating a small chunk of the floor beneath her feet, Terra quickly floated out ahead of the other Titans, leading them into a small room containing a circular platform in its center. Next to the platform was a keypad similar to the one back at the wrecked warehouse... it was an identical teleporter, and the group could use it to escape.

"Wait a minute!" shouted Robin, watching as Red X and the other Titans stepped up onto the platform. "We can't just leave... this is where Slade is planning everything, if we leave now, we might never be able to stop him!"

"And if we don't leave, we're gonna get our butts kicked by those Sladebots and that Construct guy!" Cyborg shouted back. The door had been closed, but outside, the Sladebots were pounding at it with their fists, and it didn't take the Titans long to realize that within a few seconds, the entire room would be flooded with them... and with Construct to coordinate the Sladebots' attack, the Titans wouldn't be able to overcome the numerical odds again.

"Dammit... it's not fair... we can't leave now, not when we know EXACTLY where Slade is planning to strike from... but if we stay, we're dead... I just hope I can use the teleporter to get back here later on..."

Reluctantly, Robin stepped up onto the teleporter, and Red X placed his hand on the keypad, quickly inputting the code.

"Hurry up, hurry up, they're about to knock the door down!" Terra shouted, crouching down and readying herself to block off the door with debris should it be breached. Fortunately, at that moment, the code finished inputting itself, and Red X was able to press the 'Enter' button. The Titans and X were teleported out of the room just as the Sladebots knocked down the door and rushed inside.

O-O-O

Back in the wreckage of the warehouse, the Titans and X re-appeared around the teleportation keypad. After breathing a momentary sigh of relief that they'd escaped from the Sladebots, Robin walked over to the keypad and stared down at it for a few moments.

"We're going back... just as soon as those things think we're not..."

"But Robin, what if they decide to come here?" asked Starfire, causing all of the Titans except for Robin to step a good distance back from the teleportation point. They waited for a few seconds, but... "...I was just making sure..."

"If they come here, they leave Slade's headquarters unguarded," said Robin. "But we're going back... that's-"

Before Robin could finish his sentence, the keypad began to spark. Immediately, Robin extended his bo staff, thinking that perhaps a few of the Sladebots had come through... but instead, something entirely different happened. The keypad exploded into numerous pieces, showering Robin with shrapnel and sparks, and causing all of the Titans to gasp. Robin just stood there, brushing small pieces of metal from his clothing and staring down at the remains of the keypad, the only way the Titans had of returning to Slade's base.

It was gone... there would be no returning. Angrily, Robin slammed his staff down repeatedly on the large metallic stand on which the keypad used to be mounted. He let out a cry of frustration, kicking the stand several times before Starfire could rush up and comfort him.

"I KNEW we shouldn't have left!" Robin shouted. "Dammit, now we can never go back there!"

"Anger is pointless," Raven replied calmly. "We will find a way..."

"We had to be captured just to reach it the first time, how do you think we're going to get back there again?" Robin asked.

"Uh... let ourselves get captured again?" Beast Boy suggested, causing the others to glare at him. "...just one of us maybe?"

"...come on," Robin muttered, turning away from the wreckage of the warehouse and heading back to the nearby street. "We're going back to the hotel room... X, Terra, there's only six beds in the suite, but since I'm not going to be sleeping, one of you can have mine..."

"I was, uh... thinking maybe we could share a bed," X replied with a bit of hesitation. He looked over at Terra, who giggled and nudged him playfully in the side.

"We can share a room," Terra said, turning back toward the other Titans. "Are you guys going back too?"

"Yes..." said Starfire, though Beast Boy wasn't quite sure. He looked over at Cyborg, and then at Raven.

"C'mon, we're in LA! We gotta see some of the sights... the Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame..."

"...Beast Boy, it's almost midnight. All of the restaurants are probably closed, and the Walk of Fame would be too hard to see."

As Raven and Starfire walked over to join Robin, Cyborg walked up to Beast Boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, I'm sure there's someplace fun in Los Angeles that's open all night," said Cyborg. "Besides, I haven't eaten since this morning... I'm starvin'!"

"Sweet, late-night snackage it is!" said Beast Boy, pumping his fists. "Still... I REALLY wish Raven would come along with us, I mean... well, I just wanted to talk to her is all..."

Beast Boy looked back over at Raven, who was beginning to glow as she stood on the sidewalk nearby. Starfire had already picked up Robin to fly him back to the hotel, and Raven was able to follow them.

"Hey, Raven!"

The blue-cloaked girl turned her head to look at Beast Boy, who was frantically waving at her in an attempt to get her to come along. She glared at him, then looked up at Cyborg, who was offering a friendly smile.

"C'mon, Rae... I know you're totally a night person," said Cyborg. With a quiet sigh, Raven walked back over toward the two Titans.

"All right, but only if I get to pick where we eat."

"Sure, you're the lady, after all," said Cyborg, who then turned to Red X and Terra. "What about you guys, are you coming with us, or..."

"I suppose we-" Terra began, before X interposed himself between her and Cyborg.

"Actually, there's... something I wanted to show you, you've probably already seen it, but it's like my favorite place in Los Angeles, and I've really wanted to go there with you..."

"Really?" asked Terra, a bewildered look appearing on her face. "Where is it?"

"Can we come too?" Beast Boy asked, poking his head between X and Terra.

"I sorta wanted to go there with just Terra..." thought X, rolling his eyes beneath his mask as he contemplated whether or not he should invite three of the other Titans along. "Well... I guess it would be more fun with more people... and I'm sure I could get some alone time with Terra while I was there. ...all right, you guys can come along too. But only if you can keep up."

As soon as he'd finished speaking, Red X began to concentrate... and two large Xynothium wings appeared from the back of his suit. Beast Boy quickly did a double take, his eyes going wide as he leapt away from X.

"You just... are those...?!" Beast Boy couldn't get out the words, but Cyborg could, and it was easy to tell that both of them were impressed.

"You got wings, man! How'd you get wings?"

"I just got 'em," X replied calmly, walking over behind Terra and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

"Don't tell Robin about those," Raven replied, her neutral expression giving little indication about whether or not she was impressed by X's new ability. "He's got enough to worry about without having to know about you becoming even more skilled with the Red X suit than he was..."

"Eh, I'm sure he'll find out soon," said X. "Terra, you ready to go?"

"As always," she replied, smiling warmly as she placed her hands on top of X's and held on tight. "I wonder where he wants to go?"

Terra knew she would find out soon, and after Beast Boy had transformed and Raven had lifted up Cyborg, Red X took off into the skies above Los Angeles, flying off to the west and leading his companions toward their late-night destination.

O-O-O

As soon as Robin returned to the Titans' hotel room, he immediately logged on to his computer and began furiously typing away, searching for any clue as to where Slade might be or what he was planning. He didn't care how exhausted he was, or that he had several bruises on his body that needed treatment... he wasn't going to sleep until he had a clue as to where he and the Titans had been just minutes ago.

"Robin... are you truly going to be staying up all night?" asked Starfire, walking over and pulling up a chair next to Robin, her voice rife with concern. "I understand that we must find Slade quickly, but you know that this is not healthy for you."

"Starfire, please... just let me work. I'm searching for every source of nanotechnology in the area. It's a new science, so I know there are only a few people working on it, and if I can find them, one of them might know where Slade is..."

After running a quick search, Robin quickly located the three best nanotechnologists in the entire city. One of them was a young woman 29 years of age, the other was a 70-year-old man, and the third was a 49-year-old man with graying hair.

"That narrows it down..." Robin said to himself, smiling a bit. "I thought there'd be more..."

Upon seeing how well Robin's search was going, Starfire breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Robin wouldn't have to push himself so hard to find a new lead. He'd worked so hard already, he deserved a break... especially since he needed all the strength he could get for the fight against Slade.

"Robin, do you wish for me to pick something up from the small refrigeration chamber?" asked Starfire, pointing to the minibar in the corner of the room. "A soda, a piece of fruit, perhaps a bottle of milk..."

"This is really strange..." said Robin, staring forward at the screen. "I cross-referenced some things, and apparently, the 49-year-old reported his daughter missing last week... and had her reappear shortly afterwards... the whole thing seems really strange, I think Slade might've been responsible."

"Do you suspect Slade may have taken the man's daughter to get him to do something for him?" asked Starfire.

"I don't suspect, I KNOW," replied Robin, checking the man's address before getting up and walking toward the door. "Starfire, come on!"

"Wait, should we not notify the others about-"

"We can call them on our communicators if we need them, but I don't think we will," Robin said, opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Starfire quickly followed him, and though she tried to look as serious as possible, she couldn't help but smile at Robin's quick success.

"He seemed so angry and sad after losing Slade the first time... I am so glad that he has found another lead! Do not worry, Robin, I will make sure that this time, Slade does not escape so easily..."

O-O-O

By the time Red X approached his destination, Terra could quickly tell where he was taking her and the others... the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, its amusement park clearly visible as X began his descent.

"Oh, I know this place!" Terra remarked. "I didn't actually go out onto the pier, but it looked really pretty..."

"My mom brought me and my sister here a couple of times on day trips," said X as he landed in front of the pier's main entrance. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy landed a few seconds later, the changeling letting out a squeal of glee as he ran past Red X into the park.

"I totally forgot about this place! It's awesome!" cried Beast Boy excitedly.

"It's also closed," said Raven, scowling as she followed Beast Boy into the park. "It's all dark, and none of the rides are moving..."

Calmly and casually, Red X approached the control panel for the park's Ferris wheel. He looked down at it for a moment, then placed his hand down on top of it, sending an electrical surge through the control panel that activated the Ferris wheel, lighting it up and causing the buttons on the panel to glow.

"...well, I should've seen that coming," Raven replied, unsure of what to do as Beast Boy eagerly walked up to the activated ride. "I'm not so sure about any of this... this has to be trespassing, it's a crime to be here... and we're superheroes, so I don't think we should be committing any..."

But as she was thinking, Cyborg had run past her, and both he and Beast Boy were waiting for Red X to start up the ride.

"...hold on a minute, Sanza," said Terra, walking over to Raven. "Something wrong?"

"This can't be legal," Raven said. "Not that I'm against having fun, but-"

"I know, we should've come here in the daytime... but we're the Teen Titans, there shouldn't be too much of a problem... besides, you already admitted that it was gonna be fun."

"...did I say that?" Raven stammered, looking over at the Ferris wheel, and then back at Terra, trying to conceal her growing excitement. "You know me, I only have fun in the dark."

"I can have Sanza turn off the lights... I think the ride still works then," said Terra, giggling to herself. "C'mon, Rae... we might not get a chance to come back here again, at least not until Slade's defeated."

Raven looked up at the Ferris wheel again, then began thinking to herself. Should she really be doing this? Even if it was legal, which it wasn't, there was still the matter of Slade... was it really right to be enjoying herself with the threat of Slade looming over the city?

"I guess I do need to relax a bit... well... all right then," Raven thought, hoping that she wouldn't regret it later. She walked over to the Ferris wheel and stood next to Beast Boy and Cyborg as Red X got ready to start the ride. "But we can't stay here long."

"Are you kidding? I wanna ride everything at least once," said Beast Boy excitedly. He looked up into Raven's eyes, and the half-demoness could see the smile growing on her changeling friend's face. "Wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me?"

"...aren't you riding with Cyborg?" Raven asked. Cyborg looked at her, then over at X, who was standing at the control panel as Terra walked over to him. "Cyborg?"

"...y'know, I think I'll run the Ferris wheel," said Cyborg, immediately walking over to relieve Red X of his duties. A few seconds later, X and Terra were walking over to the Ferris wheel together, and Raven knew that she'd either be riding with Beast Boy, or riding alone.

"Alone sounds real nice..." thought Raven, rolling her eyes as Beast Boy began pouting at her. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

Reluctantly, Raven got into a seat with Beast Boy, while Red X boarded the seat behind them with Terra.

"...you know, I think they'd be a LOT cozier if we were a few seats back," said Terra, climbing up from her seat and pulling Red X out with her. "Cyborg, take Beast Boy and Raven to the top, then me and Sanza will get back on!"

"What?!" Raven shouted, her eyes widening as Cyborg gave Terra a thumbs-up and turned on the Ferris wheel. "...is the whole world conspiring against me today?"

"Oh, come on... I won't snuggle up with you if you don't want me to," said Beast Boy, scooting as far to the side of the seat as he could and giving Raven plenty of space. "C'mon, reverse psychology..."

"...that's fine with me," said Raven, scooting as far as she could to the other side. "By the way, when we're this close, I can hear your thoughts... even when you don't want me too."

Beast Boy let out a started scream, nearly jumping out of his seat as Raven's voice echoed in his head. As the Ferris wheel came to a stop, he began trying to clear every single thought he was having about Raven out of his head, lest she see or hear something that made him seem like a pervert.

"...only your VERBAL thoughts, Beast Boy. Though I know that look."

Beast Boy slunk even further away, curling up against the side of the seat and burying his face into his arms, trying to hide himself from Raven's view. She stared at him with an emotionless expression, trying to hide the growing amusement she was having with the entire situation.

"Is he really THAT concerned about what I think?" Raven thought to herself, thoughts that Beast Boy couldn't hear. "I feel kind of bad for enjoying this now... I know he really does care about me, but he's just... I don't know... this isn't the time to think about it anyway."

Back on the ground, X and Terra climbed into the seat opposite from where Beast Boy and Raven were sitting.

"You feel bad for Beast Boy or something?" X asked, wondering if perhaps Terra might be pushing Beast Boy and Raven together because she felt a bit guilty about leaving him. "Or did you and Raven have another fight?"

Terra giggled at that last comment, then quickly shook her head 'no' to both questions.

"Just thought it'd be cute for the two of them to spend a little time together... I know how much Beast Boy likes Raven, after all."

Terra saw that the moment that Beast Boy had to choose between them... how much agony it gave him when Sedaris had both she and Raven trapped, their lives hanging in the balance... but that seemed so long ago now. So much had happened since then... especially to Terra.

"By the way, I forgot to ask... how are you holding up? Are you confident about taking on Slade now, or..." Terra trailed off as the Ferris wheel began to move, and she started to think that it might not be the best time to ask such a question... this was supposed to be their time to relax, not to think about Slade... that would come tomorrow.

"I feel pretty good... seeing you trapped in that ice was pretty tough, but... I think I showed Construct exactly what happens to people who try to mess with you," said X, his voice clearly showing that his confidence had somewhat returned. "How about you, you okay?"

"I'm still a bit cold..." said Terra, prompting X to immediately pull her closer to his body. She smiled up at him, nuzzling her face against his cheek to warm her nose. "That feels a lot better..."

X and Terra had reached their apex on the Ferris wheel, and as the two looked out, they could clearly see the beautiful city illuminated against the night sky. It was an amazing sight... Los Angeles was so much bigger than Jump City... it was sprawled out over dozens of miles, an endless sea of light... and it made Terra instantly realize what she was fighting so hard to save.

"I can't let Slade destroy this city... I won't let him hurt anyone else... I'd give up my life to stop him."

O-O-O

It had been an incredibly trying week for Ian Seslam, Los Angeles' foremost nanotech researcher. A few days ago, he'd gotten a mysterious message about his fourteen year old daughter who had gone missing just hours before. He'd spent the next few days doing unspeakable things to get her back... he knew that his actions would likely lead to many deaths, but he was a weak man, and he loved his daughter very much...

He'd spent the past few nights crying himself to sleep, and this night hadn't been any different. But instead of being awakened by a nightmare, he was awakened by the sound of a young man's voice... and opened his eyes to see that young man, concealed in shadow, standing at the foot of his bed.

"Mr. Seslam?"

The man started to let out a scream, only to have a soft, orange hand clamp over his mouth... it was Starfire, who looked down and raised a finger to her lips, trying to calm the terrified nanotechnologist.

"Please, we do not wish to harm you... we only wish to ask you a few questions about Slade..."

"What... what about Slade?" stammered the man as soon as Starfire removed her hand. He sat up in his bed, clenching the covers tightly to his body. "That bastard kidnapped my daughter, if he ever lays another finger on her again-"

"We're trying to stop Slade, and you can help us," said Robin, walking around to the opposite side of the bed, across from Starfire. "We know he's about to attack the city."

Upon hearing Robin's words, Seslam began to tremble and shake, his eyes immediately watering up with tears.

"I... I knew it... I knew he was planning something... oh my god... I've gotta get out of here, I have to take my daughter and get out of the city... it's all my fault!!!"

"Please, it is not your fault," said Starfire in as calming a tone as she could, placing her hand on Seslam's shoulder and trying to assuage his fears. "We understand everything... your daughter was in danger, you did what you had to to save her..."

Starfire's words did little to calm the horrified Seslam, who looked over at Robin and drew little comfort from his intimidating glare.

"I... I don't wanna go to jail! Please, I only told him that stuff because he threatened my daughter, he was gonna kill her... please-"

"What did you tell Slade?" asked Robin, leaning in close and looking right into Seslam's eyes.

"Robin, please! Can you not see that he already feels terrible about everything that is-"

"WHAT DID YOU TELL SLADE?!" Robin repeated, raising his voice significantly. "I know, Starfire, but we don't have much time here!"

"I told him everything! I told him how to build a nanoreplicant, told him how to create a nanoteleporter..."

"Nanoreplicant... nanoteleporter..." Robin knew exactly what Seslam meant by those terms... Construct was obviously the replicant, and Robin and the other Titans had used the teleporter. What he wanted to know is exactly where the teleporter was... or at least where it used to be, before Construct and the Sladebots had destroyed it. "Tell us more, and slow down. You won't get into any trouble as long as you cooperate. What exactly did you tell Slade?"

Robin's calmer tone finally managed to put Seslam at ease, and he stopped gripping his bedsheets so tightly, looking up at the two Titans and relating his story as calmly and as clearly as he could.

"A few days ago... my daughter went missing... and I got a call from this man... Slade... he told me he was holding her hostage, and if I didn't go along with all of his instructions, he'd kill her! I couldn't... I couldn't say no, he had a gun to her head, and-"

"We understand," Robin replied. "Continue."

Seslam continued telling his story... he told Robin and Starfire how Slade had forced him to collaborate on several projects, all involving nanotechnology. He forced Seslam to help him build an array of weapons and devices, including the replicant that the Titans had fought, and the teleporter they'd seen back at the warehouse.

"...and where does the teleporter lead?" asked Robin.

"I don't... I don't know," Seslam muttered, shaking his head. "Slade just wanted to know how to build one and how to program it, I built one for him at that warehouse you told me you were at earlier today, but I don't know where he built the other one."

Robin wasn't satisfied with this answer, and he wondered if perhaps Seslam may have been hiding something... he leaned forward and grabbed the man by the collar of his pajama shirt, pulling him close.

"Are you SURE?"

"Robin!" Starfire protested, but Robin ignored her.

"I swear, I don't know!" Seslam cried, his mind racing to find some way to help out the Titans and get their leader off of his case. "But I know how you might be able to find out!"

O-O-O

After more than an hour of riding rides and playing the games on the midway, Beast Boy hadn't had nearly enough of the pier... but Cyborg's rumbling stomach told him that one o'clock in the morning was about the latest that he could stand going without food. Fortunately, he, Beast Boy, and Raven had managed to find the one restaurant on the pier that stayed open twenty-four hours... and while Red X and Terra opted to spend more time outside, the three Titans made their way into the diner and sat down for a late-night meal.

"As soon as we get done eating, I'm going back out to the pier!" shouted Beast Boy, just before shoveling a large tofu burger into his wide-open mouth.

"As soon as we get done eating, I'm going back to the hotel," Cyborg responded, letting out a yawn as he dug into a large, 12-ounce steak. He glanced across the table at Raven, who was seated next to Beast Boy, taking the seat furthest away from the window. "How's your salad?"

"...not bad, actually," said Raven, applying a moderate amount of salad dressing before taking another bite. She looked up at Beast Boy, who was wolfing down his second burger in a row, and seemed poised to go for a third. "I had fun tonight, Beast Boy."

Seeing the direction that the conversation was starting to take, Cyborg excused himself from the table, heading over to the bathroom and leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone with each other's company, much to the blue-cloaked girl's momentary annoyance.

"Oh... you did? Was it because you were hanging out with me, or-"

"It was because I was hanging out with all of my friends," Raven replied. "All except for Robin and Starfire... I wonder what they're doing right now?"

Seeing that Raven wasn't quite so annoyed with him as she'd been on the Ferris wheel, Beast Boy decided that now might be the time to make his move. He shoved his plate aside, swallowed the last bits of food that were still in his mouth, and tried to think of a joke he might be able to use to make Raven laugh.

"Let's see... already told her the one about the stork and the library... I've used ALL my puns, and she hates those..."

"...I can still read your thoughts, Beast Boy."

Letting out a gasp, Beast Boy pressed himself against his seat and started to slink beneath the table. To his surprise, Raven reached over and pulled him back up, guiding his head toward hers so that he could see eye-to-eye with her.

"Listen... I know I laughed at the very first joke you told to me, and... I guess that probably sent up a signal that I would laugh at all of your jokes..."

"Well... yeah, I mean-"

"So you started telling them to me at the rate of twenty an hour. That's enough to wear anyone out, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy blinked at Raven for a few moments, trying to think about exactly what she was getting at. Then it hit him.

"So... you want me to stop telling jokes altogether?"

"...that might be nice," Raven thought to herself before dismissing the idea, a bit quicker than even she might've guessed that she would. "Of course I don't, I just wish he'd stop telling them a lot less often. But I can't ask him to change who he is..."

"Rae... you're thinking, aren't you? You want me to stop, I get it, okay-"

"I suppose you'd prefer it if I stopped being so sarcastic all the time."

Beast Boy blinked for a few seconds, then tried to come up with an honest answer. It was difficult, as he really didn't know exactly how he felt about that... as sarcastic as Raven was, she was also caring and kind whenever Beast Boy was really feeling down... and he already knew he cared deeply about Raven, sarcasm and all.

"Maybe a little less often, but... I still really like you, I like you for who you are... it's kinda tough to express it, with Terra it was easy, but-"

"Don't worry about it," Raven replied. She reached forward and took Beast Boy's hand, pulling it over to the middle of the table and gently pressing it between both of her own. "You wish I enjoyed your jokes more. So do I. All right? I really do... because at the rate you tell them, if I enjoyed them all, I'd be laughing nonstop."

"...but wouldn't that make your powers go all crazy and stuff?"

"Yes, Beast Boy, it would. I hope you understand what I'm getting at-"

"You could go out with me if you didn't have your powers?"

"...no, Beast Boy, that's not what I meant at all," said Raven, loosening her grip on Beast Boy's hands a bit. "What I meant is... Cyborg, come on... I know you're doing this on purpose, come on out of the bathroom, don't leave me alone with him, I might actually start-"

Beast Boy began to laugh, and Raven instantly realized that she'd been transmitting her thoughts to him for the last few seconds now, the connection made by her hands touching his. She quickly pulled them away, placing her hands in her lap and trying to focus her attention elsewhere, like the ceiling... but it was already too late.

"Now you know how it felt earlier..." said Beast Boy, still giggling slightly to himself. "C'mon, Raven, laugh... I know you wanna!"

Raven just let out a sigh, leaning back into her seat and waiting for Cyborg to return. The problem wasn't her powers, the problem was knowing whether or not she could put up with Beast Boy's annoying tendencies long enough to form any sort of meaningful relationship with him... assuming she even wanted to form one in the first place.

"I suppose I could put up with his jokes... and he could put up with my sarcasm... I mean, he already likes me regardless, so I suppose..." Raven made sure to conceal these thoughts from Beast Boy... she didn't want him suspecting that she was seriously considering... "And... some of his jokes are still funny... but this really isn't the time for me to be thinking about this sort of thing."

O-O-O

Below the pier, Sanza and Terra sat together on the beach, watching as the moonlight glistened off of the gentle waves, waves that lapped at the couple's bare feet, their toes digging into the soft sand. Sanza had removed his Red X costume, hanging it up on one of the boards holding up the pier... and then they'd both removed their shoes and socks, as walking on the beach felt a lot more comfortable without them.

"It's so peaceful..." Terra said quietly. She'd wrapped one of her arms on Sanza's, and the two were taking turns leaning their heads on the other's shoulder... right now, it was Sanza's turn. "You think we could come back here after we beat Slade?"

"You mean... right after? Or go back to Jump City, then come here a few weeks later during the summer?"

"I mean right after. I mean we beat Slade, then come down here and celebrate, just you and me."

Sanza smiled at that thought... the thought of Slade finally being gone from his and Terra's lives forever... the thought of all those nightmares he was having finally going away... or at least losing a bit of their edge with their main subject gone.

He thought of peace... of a life beyond even the Red X costume, a life together with Terra... even stealing a trillion dollars worth of gold wouldn't give him the kind of rush that he had with her, wouldn't lift his spirits like it did whenever he saw her smile.

"Of course we can, Terra..." He raised his head back up, and felt Terra's head immediately grace his shoulder. He peered down at her midriff, wincing at the sight of her still-bandaged ribs... just another reminder of the horrific ordeal he and Terra had faced up on that mountain. He was still afraid... even though he was finally confident that he could stand up to Slade in a fight, he was afraid of what might happen should he lose. "We'll get him... tomorrow, I know we will..."

"Mmmm... Sanza, don't worry... next time you fight him, I'll be there with you... you won't have to fight him alone, not ever again... I promise..."

"I know, Terra..."

He was going to thank her, but... she already knew. Terra already knew how grateful Sanza was for her kindness and love... she just hoped he knew how grateful she was for his understanding.

"I love you, Sanza."

Sanza's hand reached up and gently began stroking Terra's soft, golden hair... and she dug her head even deeper into his shoulder, before beginning to kiss it softly, her lips slowly going up from his shoulder to his neck... and then to his mouth, which slowly began to open as Terra's lips made contact.

As soon as the two began to kiss, Sanza knew how much he wanted Terra... and his hands slowly began to drift to the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up ever so slightly, just to see if she wanted the same thing he did... and she responded in kind, starting to pull up at the fabric of Sanza's soft, black T-shirt to remove it from his body.

The waves began rushing up faster now, coming all the way up to the outside of Sanza's jeans as the shirt was pulled from his back. Terra's shirt came off a second later, and both shirts were tossed away as the two continued kissing passionately, their arms wrapping tightly around the other's back.

"No interruptions this time..." said Terra softly, her lips pulling away from Sanza's just long enough so that she could look into his eyes. He returned her smile, then kissed her again, pulling off Terra's bra and tossing it as far away as he could, hoping that it landed somewhere near the pile of clothing that would soon be getting larger and larger.

"Yeah... but even if there are... I don't care..." Sanza knew that he and Terra were outside, on a public beach... and even in the dark, anyone who approached would clearly be able to see what they were doing.

He didn't care, and neither did Terra. Let people show up, let Cyborg, or Beast Boy, or Raven show up... nothing could stop them now.

And there were no interruptions... in the middle of the night, on the beach under Santa Monica Pier, Terra and Sanza made love for the first time. Neither of them even thought for a moment that it could be their last... as they were in the throes of sexual passion, the thought of Slade never once entered their minds. All they could think about was each other.