DISCLAIMER: Don't own the Titans…that's the story of my life!

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Chapter 11

Traitor

After making sure nothing was left of Titans Tower, Red X left and went straight to Slade's lair. He flew down to the ground and stopped at the warehouse's entrance and gave a questioning look at it. He was wondering if this was a safe place to bring Starfire who was still unconscious.

-"I have no where else to go"-Red X said

Red X finally went inside the warehouse and walked until he arrived at Slade's office. He again stood at the door, thinking about how Slade would react now that Robin was dead and that he had brought the only survivor who happened to be Starfire, to their secret lair.

-"I wont let anything happen to you, Star"-Red X said

Red X went inside Slade's office holding Starfire in his arms and carefully laid her on the floor. He needed to talk to Slade; there had been some change of plans. The Titans were gone, only Starfire was alive and she would be the only one to join them, it was not that bad. He had the person he cared for the most with him and no one could stand between them. He would make sure that she would forget her friends. He was the only one whom she needed now.

-"I see you brought a visitor"-Slade said

-"Yes, I did. She is the only Titan remaining. The others had different plans and they were taken care of already. All we need is her"-Red X said

-"You mean all you need is her"-Slade said pointing at Starfire

Red X frowned. He did not understand if Slade's comment was good or bad. Either way he would keep Starfire whether Slade liked it or not. No one would take her away from him. Not even Slade.

-"Whatever! What's the next part of the plan?"-Red X asked

-"Patience, Red X. It seems I could make you fly but I could not make you patient"-Slade said

Red X did not like his comment; in fact, he did not like the tone he was using with him. He decided to ignore him and use his mind to take care of Starfire while she woke up and use his spare time to think about how he would manage to convince Starfire of joining him and make her accept that the rest of the Titans were gone for good.

-"If you have nothing more to say I'll leave and I'll take Starfire with me"-Red X said

-"Do as you wish. You have done much already"-Slade said

-"Sure"-Red X finally said

Red X picked up Starfire from the floor and left Slade's office. He started to walk through a long hallway. There were many doors to the sides but he just wanted to find the one he knew: the door of his room.

-'She looks so beautiful when she sleeps…more beautiful'-Red X thought.

Finally Red X arrived at his room; he opened the door and took Starfire inside. He put her on his bed and he sat on a chair next to her. He was looking at her; he could not believe why after everything he did for the Titans they would turn him down and stick with Robin. He would not forgive them, ever. Too bad he was not able to make them pay in a slow, painful manner. Maybe this way was better. He did not think that Starfire would like to see her friends suffer. Moreover, he would not like to see her suffer. Red X had been staring at Starfire for a long time now. He was slowly and carefully caressing her cheeks and her hair. He wanted her to wake up already but at the same time he was afraid of her reaction when she opened her eyes. Red X fell asleep next to her still sitting on the chair, and spent the night waking up now and then to make sure she was ok and that she had not ran away. He held her hand all nightlong since he felt that if he let go she would leave him. He loved her so much. He could not believe how Robin had been so stupid and never told her about how he felt. Then again, he was part of Robin and now that he thought about it, he knew why Robin never told her how he felt. First, because he was too blind to see that Starfire felt the same way for him; second, he had learn to hide his feelings, he may not be as restrained as Raven was regarding her feelings but he knew that as a leader of a team he had to show control over his emotions. He had found out what happens when you do not control your feelings, and he had found it the hard way when he became obsessed with catching Slade. On second thought, his anger and obsession had not turned to be that bad, if Robin had completely controlled himself, Red X might have never been born and he would not be here, taking his place. Another reason why Robin hidden his love for her was because he knew the danger he would put her in if his enemies found out about his weakness. Robin, or Red X for that manner, would not be able to handle losing Starfire and mostly if she had gotten hurt because of him. Now that he had analyzed it, Robin's hidden feelings could be used for his benefit in the long run. Starfire never heard from Robin that he loved her so maybe he could tell her that he only saw her as a best friend and that might win a piece of her heart for him. With all these thoughts Red X was falling asleep again when somebody called him.

-"Red X, I have a mission for you, report"-Slade ordered Red X thru his communicator

-"I am on my way"-Red X answered

Red X gave Starfire a kiss on the cheek, left his room and headed for Slade's office.

-"What's the problem?"-Red X asked

-"There is a new chemical substance that has been created a few weeks ago and now that we have a change of plans I need this chemical to proceed with the next phase of the plan"-Slade answered

-"Where can I get it?"-Red X asked

-"Here's the address of the laboratory. It's far from here so you better get going"-Slade answered

-"Fine"-Red X said

Slade handed Red X a piece of paper with the address and Red X picked it up. He saw it and made his way out of his office and out of the warehouse. When Red X was finally gone Slade's face had an evil smile on it, he got up from his seat and left his office. Starfire had slowly begun regaining consciousness, not entirely but at least she was not completely asleep anymore. Her head hurt and she could not manage to focus her sight. Someone was standing next to her, and for her relief, that someone had a familiar and welcomed face. However, his words were not as friendly as she thought they would be.

-"You're not welcomed here"-The person said while getting closer to Starfire

Starfire heard the voice but could not understand what the person had said. The sedative was still in effect. She could barely move and tried to open her eyes to see Robin.

-"Robin, is that you? Oh! I am so happy to see you!"-Starfire said

-"Robin? You are mistaken, my dear. I am not Robin and you definitely should not be happy to see me"-The person said

Starfire rubbed her eyes and Robin's image became blurry. Then she blinked a couple of times to recognize who was the person in front of her; it was Slade.

-"OH!"-Starfire gasped

-"Hahaha! Yes, you should be surprised…and afraid. I don't want you interfering with Red X's plans and my plans again"-Slade said

-"But, I did not ask to be brought to this place. Please, get away from me"-Starfire pleaded

-"Oh, I will! Once I have finished you!"-Slade said

Slade grabbed Starfire by the wrist. He got another weapon similar to the one Red X had used to sedate her, shot her arm and then threw her against the wall. Starfire was feeling weak again. She had been sedated for the second time and she had not been able to fully recover from the first sedative and now she had to deal with two of them. Even before Starfire could react, Slade grabbed and lifted her by the throat and started choking her.

-"You were the reason why Robin didn't want to be my apprentice before. And now you are making Red X not follow my orders either. I do have patience, but I had enough of you"-Slade said while squeezing Starfire's throat even harder.

Starfire lifted her hands and tried to free herself from Slade's grip but she was to weak to even be able to keep her hands on the air.

-"Robin, I wish you were here"-Starfire whispered

-"He is not here and he would not be here…he's dead!"-Slade said

-"What? That is not true. You are lying"-Starfire protested

-"You think I am? Well, I'm not and you know who killed him? Who killed all of your pathetic friends? My apprentice did!"-Slade said

Starfire felt her strength abandoning her when she heard her friends were dead. Robin was dead and she was about to die too. She would not try to fight him anymore. Tears ran down her cheeks and Slade's image was fuzzier every second.

-'I am going to die here! I will join my friends shortly'-Starfire thought

Slade pressed her against the wall, still holding her throat. Starfire's arms gave in and her eyes closed.

-"She's gone"-Slade said

Starfire's eyes were closed but she could still listen to Slade breathing. She could not feel her body or move but she could hear all the sounds from her surrounding starting to fade. She thought this was it for her. She never told Robin how she felt and he had died without knowing. And now she was dieing too and she had not been able to make Slade pay for what he had done to her friends.

-'I have failed them'-Starfire thought

Slade was reaching to his pocket to take out a knife and finish Starfire easier and faster; but something stopped him from doing so.

-"LET HER GO!"-Red X said

-"What are you doing here? I sent you away on a mission"-Slade yelled while looking at Red X not letting go of Starfire.

-"I thought you remember you made me smarter. I knew you did not want her here and you better let her go…NOW!"-Red X said

-"Make me!"-Slade said

Red X rapidly went straight to Slade and kicked him hard. Slade let Starfire go and she fell on the floor with a loud thump. Red X saw her and only wished she was ok. He could not stop and make sure she was still breathing; Slade's defeat was first in his list for now.

-"You better had not killed her, Slade"-Red X said

-"What if I did? You cannot defeat me…you may be better than Robin but I'm still better than you"-Slade said

-"We'll see about that…"-Red X said

Slade and Red X began fighting. Strong punches and kicks were thrown from both sides. Slade tried to attack both Starfire and Red X. He knew that if either one of them got hurt, Red X would suffer anyway. Red X was trying to protect Starfire and attack Slade at the same time. Slade finally gave Red X a big punch on the stomach, he spitted blood and fell on his knees while he put his hands on his stomach, and tried to ease the pain he felt.

-"You now, Red X. I made have made you better and meaner, and Robin's feelings for Starfire may have stayed in you, but I am better because I can kill…and you can't. That's why you put those bombs on Titans Tower, because you could not kill them by yourself"-Slade said

-"You may have created me…but you don't know me. What makes you think Robin could not kill for love…and if he could…what makes you think I can't?"-Red X said, grinning

-"Is that a threat?"-Slade asked

-"Why don't you find out?"-Red X said

Red X and Slade engaged into a new and more brutal fight. The winner would not only have the delight of winning but also of living to show off his triumph. Red X got his Bo staff out and Red X got into fighting mode. They exchanged glances at each other and moved in circles, looking for the best opportunity to attack. Slade attacked first. He jumped and tried to slam Red X with his Bo staff but Red X was too fast for Slade and quickly moved. While moving, Red X jumped and kicked Slade on the back. Slade cursed while he felt the kick and when he was on the floor he managed to throw a kick to Red X who was standing behind him. Slade hit him and Red X flew back and hit his desk and then the floor. Slade grinned and did not waste anytime as he ran towards a fallen Red X and made him fly again when he hit him with his staff. Red X flew towards the door that broke and sent Red X outside his room. Instead of going after Red X, Slade stayed inside his room and walked to where Starfire was. This was his opportunity to finish her once and for all. Slade pointed his staff to Starfire's throat and planned to stick it until she bled to death. Red X got up and saw what Slade was trying to do and used his powers (you know, the "X" he throws from his hands) and shot Slade's staff. Red X made his way to Slade and punched him on the face. Taking advantage of Slade being on the floor, Red X took the staff and Starfire on his shoulder. Slade shook his head and grunted angrily as he ran towards Red X. Red X still had Starfire on his shoulder and was holding her with one hand while he was defending both of them with the other hand using Slade's former staff. Slade was getting tired of Red X evasive moves and decided to attack Starfire instead of Red X when he realized he had cornered them. Slade jumped and aimed a powerful kick to her since Red X had nowhere to go.

-'I'm not letting him hurt her'-Red X thought.

Red X grabbed Starfire and pressed her against the corner and he gave his back to Slade. Red X put Starfire on the floor and he covered her with his own body and waited for Slade's kick. Slade saw this and grew angrier; he did not only kick Red X but he punched him in a repetitive manner. Red X closed his eyes and waited for the moment to turn back and hit Slade. For now he just wanted to protect Starfire. As he was getting hit he saw Starfire's face. He saw she had dried tears on her cheeks and that Slade had left a mark on her throat. She also had bruises and scratches that she had gotten when Slade threw her around the room. Seeing her like that only made him madder. Maybe Slade had created him but he had no right to hurt what he cherished the most. Red X's mind brought flashbacks of how Starfire had been nice to him and she even consider him to be part of the team. Red X had to act and fast before Slade hurt him so much that he would not be able to defend anyone, not even himself. With this in mind, Red X moved his arm and grabbed one of Slade's feet and made him fall. Red X turned and faced Slade who was grinning while he was standing up.

-"Did you get tired of being my punching bag?"-Slade asked

-"You have no idea what you have done. I had it! I hope you are prepared to see how powerful you made me!"-Red X said in such manner that made him look like a murderer psychopath

-"What?"-Slade said while his face showed a little bit of fear, actually a lot of fear

For the first time he was afraid of someone, and ironically, he had created this someone.

-"I don't think Robin would had mind if I killed you…even if he knew you were his father"-Red X said

-"You're truly evil…I created a good apprentice"-Slade said

Red X had had it with Slade. Before he did anything else, he turned back and gave a last look at Starfire. He felt how his anger rose and his evil side –the one that Robin tries to hide- had taken over him. He would do anything for Starfire; even kill if necessary. Red X smiled and threw several "X" to Slade to tight him up (you know, from his hands). He stared kicking and punching Slade so fast and strong that Slade had no chance to react. Red X did not stop until he heard some bones be broken and destroyed a great part of Slade's uniform. Besides kicking and punching, Red X used Slade's staff and broke Slade's legs; Slade fell on the floor with a cry of pain and tried to hold himself up to see Red X. Finally, Red X stopped for a second just to see Slade on his knees, breathing heavily and with a face of fear. Red X enjoyed seeing Slade in this predicament. There was no way out and no turning back; this fight had to end now.

-"You taught me well. Thanks"-Red X said

Red X jumped and threw a flying kick to Slade. The kick was not meant to make a bruise or throw him away from him, it was meant to hit Slade on the neck and broke it, and it did. Slade was dead.

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NOTE: Almost done guys! Be patient…four more chapters to go…