Now came the part where I had to watch the episodes over and over again. Enjoy the action scenes ahead! Next chapter has Bruce and the kids again. Enjoy!

Dick-16/17 Jason-13 Cass-11/12 Tim-9 Damian-3

Sacrifice

14 – Introducing X

Normally a string of robberies would be a low priority to the Titans, better left to the police. But these robberies were unusual. The robber was a masked teenager near their age, and he was usually only caught on camera twice per heist. The first time was deliberate, a calling card. He'd sign 'I'm Sorry' to the cameras then vanish again. The second time was when he snagged the item, making it clear it was he who took it. Then he was gone.

Property damage was minimal, one or two guards were knocked out, if any, and there was no evidence left behind to incriminate anyone. The sensors never picked him up and he never tripped a wire or pressure plate. The kid was a ghost! And the media was calling him the 'I'm Sorry Thief'. It was the talk of the tabloids, and all the websites that liked to praise criminals instead of heroes. The guy was getting his own fanclubs! And he only started about two weeks ago!

What really put him on the Titans radar though was when he went after a series of chips that apparently could guide a nuclear warhead. The first one he took without a fuss (no sign of anyone targeting it before), but after a coincidental run in with Aqualad, the team made a point to catch the guy when he went after the other two. They wanted to know why a criminal like him would go out of his way to save their teammate from a burning building, and call him 'Lancelot'. Especially one who wore a cruel looking 'S' over his heart.

Hearing that there were two others needed, Donna thought it'd be a good idea to split off into two groups and keep an eye out for this guy. It was time to make the 'I'm Sorry Thief' really sorry. Cyborg and his group spotted him running in the tech district, away from the crime scene. When had he snagged the chip? "There!"

At the sound of his voice, the thief stopped and looked at him, eyes widening behind his bandana like mask. Even though they couldn't see the color of them through the white lenses, every muscle on the guy's face screamed 'Oh Crap!'. Within seconds he was running again, possibly faster than before. With that piece of encouragement, the four of them sprinted after him into the subway tunnels. The guy was scared of them. Good.

Starfire flew ahead of everyone else and looked around in surprise. "Where is he? Where is this thief claiming to be sorry?"

"He came in here, we all saw him!" Beast Boy turned into a hound dog trying to pick up a sent, but everything was too confusing for his nose to make out anything. "Eeeww! Someone peed in here!"

"He's gotta be here somewhere…" Cyborg tapped his controls for a moment, adjusting his eye to see cloaked individuals. "The station's empty this time of night. And the next train shouldn't be coming for another ten minutes."

"He's here. Mhm…" Raven leaned heavily on the stairs railings, touching her head gingerly.

"Raven?" Starfire floated down to their friend, concern all over her face. "What is wrong? Are you hurt?"

"That guy…" She winced, looking upwards to the rafters. "His emotions are all over the place, bleeding out. He's terrified."

The thief swung down from the rafters and kicked Cyborg skidding across the floor. A back flip backwards regained the guy's balance before charging at them for a second strike.

"Doesn't look terrified to me!" Beast Boy jibed before getting a swift punch in the gut. The guy propelled himself over the shape shifter and leapt back to Cyborg, getting behind him before he could attack.

"Say what?!" An electric pulse coursed through his body for a moment, limiting his defenses so the back panel opened and his systems were exposed. The thief's hands dived in and started working. "What are you-! Who told you how to hack… my… ssyyyssstttteeeemmmssss…."

Cyborg fell to the ground, limp and shut down without a fight. His friends gaped in shock at the thief and their squad leader. No one, not even Gizmo, had managed to take him down like that. "Cyborg?"

The thief didn't give them any more than a second to realize what happened before he dived back at them. Beast Boy narrowly escaped a gloppy gooey substance launched at him, but Starfire couldn't evade the bolo thrown at her. Tied up, two members were down and a third wasn't looking too good.

The guy's emotions… Weakly she chanted her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zin—"

A super sticky tape was slapped over Raven's mouth, cutting her off before she could finish. A well placed kick knocked her too to the ground, unconscious.

"Raven!" Beast Boy turned into a ram and struck at the thief, landing a blow when the others hadn't. Propelled forward, the guy grabbed onto one of the pillars supporting the roof and twisted around it, striking right back at him. The green shifter thought he felt his ribs crack from the kick and his back bruise when he fell onto the tracks. While he tried to regather his bearings, the thief turned back to Starfire to make sure she couldn't follow him.

A train's horn filled the air. Like a deer in headlights, the former Doom Patrol member froze, looking at his oncoming doom. The 116 was early. Gaping at the lights coming towards him instead of shifting or getting off the track, dread filled him. Such a short life. A hard yank brought him out of his stupor as the thief jerked him off the tracks and onto the opposite platform. Hard.

The wind knocked out of both of them and breathing hard to regain their strength, they looked at each other for a moment. Beast Boy could swear he saw desperation and worry on the guy's face. "Idiot."

Both of them struggled to their feet, the thief looking at the train for a moment while the hero pointed and stared at him. "Dude, did you just save me?"

The words seem to strike the guy, making him kick his chest and high tail it up the stairs on that side. Beast Boy was still gripping his chest (definitely a cracked rib now) when the train passed and Starfire made it to him. Raven was going towards Cyborg to see if she could help him and radioing the rest of the team. "Beast Boy! You are undamaged?"

"Mostly…" Slowly the most experienced earth hero there got to his feet, staring at the exit their target used. "Who is that guy?"

Dick wiped his mouth with the back of his glove. He was sick again. Master wasn't going to like that. He threw up after every heist, his stomach twisting in knots the entire time he did opposite of what he believed in. His parents would have hated what he became. If he were in Gotham, Batman would have taken him down.

Quickly he shook his head, clearing it as he came closer to the chamber Master was waiting for him in. One hand stayed on the wall for support. He needed it with the exhaustion and stress hitting him. Fighting the Titans, even half of them (their more powerful ones at that), took more out of him than he anticipated. Or maybe it was just saving Beast Boy from certain death that did it. He shook pretty badly after saving Aqualad too.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door leading to Master's monitor room. He liked to watch 'Renegade' as he performed from surrounding security cameras. Looking at the screens he could see every move he made in that subway tunnel. Frankly, they were the only cameras that got a good look at him the entire heist. The company's cameras only saw a body and hands. He really was that good, and all from games he played as a kid in Wayne Tower.

"Put the chip on the desk." He did, taking it out of his belt and putting the stupid thing as far from him as possible. "Come here."

Dick took a long breath before coming to his master and standing at attention. He liked that, imitating military manners. It made the man feel he was in control. Deathstroke brought up some footage, particularly of Beast Boy being saved from the train. "Didn't I tell you before to leave the Titans alone? If they fall, let them fall. If they burn, let them burn. They aren't doing you any favors alive are they?"

The teen said nothing, kept himself stony. If he was going to be punished for saving a life, again, then couldn't he hurry up? Slade came within six inches to his face, displeasure dripping from his voice. "This is your second strike apprentice. When I tell you to fight the Titans, you fight as if your life depends on it. Next time you fail to obey my orders, their lives will. Understood?"

A chill ran through the teen's body as his chest became heavy again. His lip trembled slightly but other than that he kept his composure. He had to act strong, even if he really wasn't. "Yes Master."

Satisfied, the man nodded. "Good. Now get to the shower. You smell horrible."

Immediate panic filled the teen's chest but he nodded and obediently headed for the 'shower', stripping along the way. His fault for getting sick. His fault for not obeying orders. His fault for putting Beast Boy in danger in the first place. They were all grounds for this in Slade's mind, and it all wore away his.

It was only the thought of his siblings' lives and that of his force upon him foes that made him go through that door and face the music.

"Seriously, this is one confusing dude," Gar murmured as they watched every bit of the 'I'm Sorry Thief's footage. "He steals, takes down security guards, fights us, and saves both our lives?"

"Looks like it," Roy murmured, looking over the data. They had a pretty good idea what the next theft would be, but they were more interested in the motivation. "A thief with a conscience."

"But why?!" BB looked at everyone, emphatically conveying his confusion. "Why is he stealing at all?! Why is he doing this?! I mean, Rae said he was terrified because of us and—"

"I said he was terrified," Raven stated evenly, a damp cloth covering her eyes as she laid on the couch. "Not necessarily of us. It's possible he's being forced to steal and we just made his job that much harder."

"Okay, that I'll bite," he admitted, "but that guy looked seriously worried about me when he saved my hide."

"Same with me." Garth rubbed his chin in thought, glaring at the screen. "He called me an idiot with a death wish, then clammed up and ran away. That's not normal, is it?"

"Not usually." Cyborg continued to work an algorithm to protect him from their next encounter with the thief. No permanent damage. It was more like he was forced into a reboot, up and at 'em in five minutes. The guy could have killed him or shut him down for good, but he didn't. That was saying a lot to him. "Then again, nothing about this guy is normal. Did you see how he moves? Those flips and kicks?"

"Not to mention he has a pretty nice looking tushie." They all gaped at their leader in shock. Roy was especially jealous of the comment, turning red with anger. Donna just shrugged. "Just pointing it out. There aren't a lot of guys out there with that cute of a butt. He's like a super acrobat."

"More like a miniature supervillain!" Now Roy was 100% for catching this guy and getting their answers. "He took down half our team! In minutes! I don't care how many people he's seemed to save! He's still a criminal!"

"But he hasn't killed." Wonder Girl smirked as she one upped her boyfriend, thinking it was cute how jealous he got over this guy. "He's clearly new to the game too. He's not on the Justice League radar and only the local authorities have a warrant out for his arrest. We just don't know what his motivations are, and that's what's so confusing."

"I'm more interested in how he knew how to take us down." Cyborg glared in frustration. "My systems aren't that easy to hack, and Star's no pushover. How could a new guy beat us all so easily?"

"Dunno…" Kid Flash was looking over the schematics from analyzing the goop the guy used to silence Raven and tried to stop Beast Boy. It was frighteningly familiar, from Central. "But I'm thinking Raven might be right about there being someone else pulling the strings."

"Why's that?" Aqualad leaned over his shoulder to see what he was looking at, and was soon joined by Starfire and her cooking.

"Those tricks of his? They're a lot like something Trickster used on Flash once. I'll have to run this by him and see if—"

Their conversation was cut short by their alarm. Dr. Light was trying to rob a bank downtown. This case would have to wait. "Titans! Go!"

Another heist. Already his stomach hurt. Lowering himself into the room the chip was floating in (seriously, floating chips? What was wrong with these people?! They were safer if they were hidden in different tech or in an inauspicious drawer!) Dick tried to not set off any alarms as he grabbed it. Only signs of him being there would be the security footage and the thing being missing. He already made his sign to the camera (and a hidden message if anyone ever bothered to look), this was all that was left before high tailing it out of there. And that was exactly what he had in mind when the lights flared on.

"Oh wow, looks like we've got a Spiderman fan!"

He clenched his jaw, freezing at the voice. 'No… not him…' Slowly he turned his head about, his eyes readjusting to the light, and saw he was surrounded. Speedy had his bow drawn and pointed at him, grinning.

"I'd advise surrendering Sorry Boy."

"Seconded," Wonder Girl stated, lasso ready for use. The whole team took a step towards him, threatening and down to business at the same time. "You will not win this fight."

'Watch me.' Dick firmly kept his mouth shut as he threw gas and smoke pellets at them, blinding them temporarily. He let go of his line and sent it skyward to confuse them while flipping off and ducking out of the way. Arrows shot at where he once was and a speedster ran headlong at him while Starfire and Beast Boy followed after the cable diversion. Quickly he threw dry ice pellets at Kid Flash's legs, freezing them instantly and tripping him up. He knocked himself out when he crashed into the wall. One down.

As the smoke cleared, the reluctant thief darted out the side door, barely seen escaping by Cyborg. "I don't think so wise guy!"

"Aqualad! Go with Cyborg. We'll try to cut him off at the bend!" Wonder Girl looked over to her remaining teammates and saw Raven was still struggling. "Raven! Are you—"

"I'm fine, go without me." She nodded over to KF. "I'll handle him."

"Careful, he's a horrible patient." Speedy and Wonder Girl ran out another door, navigating through the halls to possibly cut the teenager off before leaving the building. But they didn't know about all the training and all the experience this guy had in playing tag in corporate buildings. He was outside and running on rooftops to get away before they even made it to a fork.

"BB and Star have him in their sights! He won't get far!" Cyborg informed them when they met up, all of them racing to catch up with this thief. Aqualad grabbed his partner and rode some conjured waves to propel them forward while Wonder Girl took Speedy's hand and flew ahead. And the guy was still ahead of them!

"Is he another speedster?" The archer demanded after five minutes. He was losing feeling in his hand.

"Don't think so! Look!" The group seemed to reconverge on the rooftop still under construction, where both Starfire and Beast Boy were fighting… were those Sladebots?! "It can't be… Titans! Go!"

Wonder Girl dropped her boyfriend so he could start firing his arrows at the monstrosities. Speedy's shots blew several of them out of the water before he even touched the ground, rolling with the landing. Cyborg and Aqualad soon joined him in the fray while their leader worked on assisting Beast Boy and Starfire. She looked around anxiously, not happy about this new development. "Where'd he go?!"

"Up there." Raven and a bootless Kid Flash (they shattered when he vibrated out of them) appeared in the shadow of a black bird, ready to rejoin the fray. But when she pointed to one spot, it was as if time stood still. Even the robots around them pulled back so they could see.

The 'I'm Sorry Thief' stood before their old enemy, Slade. The teen did not look happy, and in truth his stomach was turning around in worse ways than ever before. Darkness and dread filled his chest as he stood before his master and handed him the last chip. "Well done apprentice. You even led them here for a proper introduction."

"Introduction?!" The Titans glared at the two of them, seeing the similarities in their costumes now. How couldn't they see it earlier?! The kid was dressed like Slade! "What's going on Slade?! Why are you back?! For another butt-whoopin'?"

"Quite the contrary Titans. This is merely the beginning. Oh, please. Allow me to introduce you to my apprentice, Renegade." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, but Dick didn't move or flinch. He focused on being stone, on feeling nothing, doing nothing. He couldn't let anyone know how he really felt, not yet.

"Renegade?!" "Apprentice?!" "Who would ever work for you?!"

"It's a mutually beneficial relationship, I assure you." The look of disgust on each of the teen's faces was almost humorous. If only it wasn't matched with how the apprentice felt. His fist was tightly clenched shut and it took all his willpower not to lash out. When Raven suddenly collapsed behind him, Slade smirked under his mask. "Well well well, someone isn't suited for this job. That only makes this easier. Renegade, attack."

For a brief second the teen hesitated, then he back flipped and dropped towards them, weapons flying. Master's boomerangs weren't near as accurate as batarangs, but Dick grew up throwing hats, plastic knives, badly made paper airplanes, and Styrofoam plates for fun. He hadn't missed a serious target since he was thirteen. Speedy's bow string snapped on impact, Cyborg's false eye had metal sticking out of it, and Aqualad had a tear down his arm. And that was before the teen landed.

"Ah cripes!" "Titans! Go!"

Kid Flash again dashed forward, trying to hit the guy who destroyed his boots, only to get tripped and thrown into Beast Boy. That glue putty he analyzed the other day splashed over both of them, stopping both from using their powers effectively as they fought against it. Three down

Starfire threw her bolts at him, easily dodged as he made a beeline for Speedy. Aqualad put up a water barrier in order to give the archer time to restring his bow, but a quick freeze pellet into it made the barrier easy to destroy. Renegade tripped up the Atlantian quickly, striking pressure points then throwing him into a nearby electrical box. The fishboy screamed out in pain when the electricity ran through him, but he was quickly thrown from it when it exploded before it could kill him. Four down.

Speedy jerked up to defend himself only to get a quick set of kicks and punches before Renegade flipped over him, grabbing several arrows from his quiver. Wonder Girl flew right into her boyfriend, accidentally set on a collision course after checking on Aqualad. The archer was down for the count but their leader was going to get back up soon.

Renegade had to dodge a well-aimed kick from Cyborg, but it only served him a favor. Quickly he drove one of Speedy's arrows into the back of the mechanical knee, the electromagnetics in that arrow sending false signals throughout his parts in seconds. The former athlete screamed out in pain before toppling to the ground as well. Six down.

Only the two power house girls left, alien and amazon. The teen braced himself for the next attack, trying to think fast. 'Okay… Diana and J'onn. How did we say we'd take them down?'

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven's soul-self latched onto all the Titans, gathering them inside a dark bird form and taking them away from that rooftop. Renegade nearly tripped over himself, having been in a run towards Wonder Girl in order to try some martial arts trick when the dark light took them. He barely managed to turn it into a roll and stop himself before injury.

Breathing hard he looked up to where the inanimate raven flew away. The Titans had escaped. 'Didn't know she could do that. Bruce missed something…'

"Well done apprentice." Slade put a hand on his back, proud of him. Startled, Dick grabbed that hand and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him against the concrete roof. The last arrow he had came within inches of the man's good eye before he realized what he was doing. He stopped, his breathing panicked as his master's eye narrowed at him. "Interesting. You're really giving your all tonight."

Deathstroke grabbed and twisted the teen's hand as he flipped back to his feet. Fear drove into Dick's heart as the searing pain rushed up his hand and arm. His master locked his arm into an uncomfortable position and pushed. It felt like his bones were being forced into each other, making him cry out in pain and fall to his knees. He never saw this move before, and didn't know how to counter it.

"But you need to work on that instinct you've gained," the man lectured. He kept up the pressure, standing firmly on his feet as he continued. "Throwing and killing your enemies is all well and good, but you must be sure he isn't an ally before you do something drastic. I don't think you're ready to kill me quite yet, apprentice."

"Please…" Dick weakly begged, pain filled tears starting to come to his eyes. "Stop… Master please…"

Satisfied, Slade released him and strode forward. "Come. The authorities will be here shortly. And truly, you performed magnificently tonight Renegade. Only one mistake, and only towards me. Well done."

A/N: and Renegade meets the Titans! This was the Red X ep, clearly with a completely different take. Due to a game the Wayne's play at the dinner table, and reading Bruce's files on all the heroes out there (Bruce being Bruce), he knows everything he needed to take most of them down. Raven being an empath, I made it so Dick's over-the-edge emotions knocked her out. Personally don't know how to take down Starfire but I did the best I could based off the eps. I think Beast Boy would be the hardest for him to fight due to all his experience and powers (did you see how well he fought in those eps?), while many of the others would be a bit predictable. and considering Dick did beat all this friends single handedly in both the red X and apprentice eps, I don't think this is too far off.

the only reason Dick didn't take the extra step and killed Slade, was because he's still not a killer. He only flipped him was because he was in the moment and reacted instead of acted. Oh and Dick saves lives, that's what he does. =P I'll write up Garth's life saving moment in the extended. Just because he's being manipulated into becoming a bad guy doesn't mean he is one.

I really like the Titans' banter and I think over all they take this whole thing rather well. Things are speeding up. =D