Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Teen Titans or DC Comics-this story, however, I do own.


Teen Titans: The Return of Red X

Chapter III-An Unwelcome Visitor…


"Any final words?" –Shrike, Robin #132: Fresh Blood, Part I


Nighttime had given way to morning, and with morning came the sunrise in Jump City. Starfire was awakened in her room by the sound of her Amazing Mumbo alarm clock, which she promptly switched off. Dressed within seconds and ready to face the day, Starfire zoomed out of her room and soared to the Operations Center; Robin was already on the couch watching the news, Beast Boy in the kitchen attempting to make tofu, Cyborg attempting to stop him from doing as such, and Raven was reading one of her books.

"Good morning, friends! It is a wonderful day to be doing the hanging out, yes?" Starfire eagerly asked.

The others' responses were short, quick and blunt for Starfire's taste:

"Not if we're going to the mall." Raven noted.

"I still get my rematch to face Robin from yesterday-maybe at lunch." Beast Boy chimed.

"I gotta do some more work on the T-Car. Toss me in for lunchtime, too." Cyborg added.

Interestingly enough, Robin hadn't given an answer. Hoping his answer would be a bit more positive, Starfire floated over to him, her green eyes speaking volumes.

"Robin? Perhaps you would be free to do the hanging out after breakfast?"

Grinning lightly, Robin was prepared to give Starfire his answer-which would've dashed Beast Boy's hopes for a rematch at this time-when they were interrupted.

"This just in: police authorities have discovered the body of Aaron Mitchell, otherwise known as The Carver. He had been sighted in town by the Teen Titans and promptly arrested by authorities earlier after being taken to a local medical facility. He was en route to the minimum security prison when the guards in his caravan were killed by an unknown assailant only seconds before he was killed by the assailant. Officials have no idea who the assailant was, nor his current location at this time."

"Sorry, Star-looks like I'll need to toss my hat in for lunchtime as well, 'cause we have work to do. Titans, move out!"

Immediately, the five Teen Titans headed out, intent on discovering the identity of the mysterious assailant who had killed Mitchell.


Unbeknownst to any of the Teen Titans, they were being watched as they headed to the location of the caravan by someone who they couldn't see, due to the fact that he was invisible. Once the entire team had gone, Red X pressed a button on his new belt and made himself visible. Pressing another button on the back of his mask, Red X then made contact with Slade with his communicator.

"The Teen Titans have taken the bait and are en route to the caravan."

"Good. Proceed with phase one, and as long as you're there, you should pick up a few things."

Smirking under his mask, Red X replied, "My thoughts exactly. Should they receive a proper welcome when they get there?"

"No, not yet. Once they arrive, I think they'll find what they need, and learn what they need to know. Inform me when you've accomplished your task."

Turning off the communicator, Red X prepared to fulfill his orders to the letter.


It hadn't taken long for the Teen Titans to arrive at the area where the caravan had been halted at when Shrike had made his appearance. Naturally, the evidence was gone, but that didn't stop them from doing what needed to be done.

"Okay, Titans-we need to find clues on anything that will give us some idea on who we're facing, and who killed Mitchell." Robin advised calmly. "Raven-take Beast Boy and get to the morgue, then meet us at the junkyard when you're done."

"Got it." Seconds later, Raven flew off next to Beast Boy, who had turned himself into a falcon before shooting into the sky.

"Cyborg, stay here and scan for prints, then meet me and Starfire at the junkyard. We're gonna see if we can stop them from scrapping the caravan long enough for us to get a look at it."

"On it."

As Cyborg began scanning, Robin hopped back onto the R-Cycle and zoomed in the same direction they were facing, Starfire flying after him as fast as possible.

"Hmm…no signs of a struggle. Of course there wouldn't be-the dude was chained to the wall! And, the guards were driving it-they probably didn't expect anyone to be able to stop them. Wait a second…"

With the police having already been to the area, it had been likely that what Cyborg's eye had found would've been gone, yet there was still a faint trace of it left, just enough for him to catch.

"Hope Bird boy thinks this is a useful print, 'cause if he meant fingerprints, that would be on the caravan." Cyborg laughed to himself before getting into the T-Car and heading in the direction Robin and Starfire had went in.


It hadn't taken Raven and Beast Boy long to get to the morgue. It had, however, taken them a bit of time to get inside to inspect the bodies. Thanks to Raven's usual-or unusual-method of persuasion, they had managed to get in.

"Dude, I didn't know Robin lets you get away with things like that!" Beast Boy exclaimed in surprise as he and Raven headed in and prepared to find a certain pair of bodies.

A light smirk was Raven's response before she replied, "He doesn't. Yet, with him not here, I get to do…certain things he would frown on."

Beast Boy gulped loudly as they looked at the gurneys-some of them didn't have any bodies on them at all. Some, however, did. After looking at some of those, Beast Boy turned away and resisted the urge to throw up.

"I don't know why Robin didn't just have you come here alone-this place is creepy!"

Raven rose an eyebrow while asking, "You can watch scary movies in the Tower without batting an eye, but when it comes to a simple 'go to the morgue,' you get weak in the knees?"

"It's not that!" Beast Boy protested irritably.

"Then what is it?"

"…These are real people. Some of them didn't even deserve to die, like those guards. What if they had families to go to, and now they won't ever get to?"

Raven felt a pang of sympathy once Beast Boy explained his reasons, yet kept her composure.

"Life isn't always fair, Beast Boy. You know that just as well as I do."

"Yeah…I do." Beast Boy agreed with her assessment before Raven floated over to the freshest set of gurneys.

"Here they are. Let's get to work."

Heading over to where she was at, Beast Boy cautiously unzipped one bag and looked at what was inside before throwing up in a nearby trash can!

Looking inside it herself, Raven stared at the headless guard before coming to a conclusion:

"Whoever killed the guards was very skilled with a sword."

"Any…anything else he was skilled at?" Beast Boy stammered while walking back over as slow as possible.

Unzipping another bag, Raven found herself staring at the empty eyes of Mitchell before giving her comrade another explanation.

"Whoever did this wanted it to be known, otherwise, they would have disposed of the bodies and destroyed the caravan."

Raven closed Mitchell's eyes while staring at the wound that Shrike had made with his sword, deep in thought.

"Raven? What is it?"

"When Mitchell attacked us yesterday, he injured you, was able to shut Cyborg down for a time, and injured me. But, when Robin and Starfire returned from Gotham, he only attempted to attack her-not Robin. What do you think that means?"

Realizing that Raven was right, Beast Boy was quick-for once-in coming up with a conclusion of his own.

"That…whoever sent this dead dude to attack us didn't want Robin harmed?"

"Exactly. There's much we've discovered, yet much we don't know. However, there is one thing we know to be true…"

Beast Boy blinked in confusion as Raven turned around and prepared to head to the junkyard.

"What's that?"

"Whoever killed Mitchell is still out there, and, if he's taken his contract, will come after us next. Meaning we can't let our guard down, or relax, for even a moment."

"Dude, when do we ever let our guard down, or relax in this city?"


It had taken Robin and Starfire a while to get to the junkyard, since its location wasn't even anywhere within the city limits. However, when they got there, it didn't take them long to gain entry, and find the caravan-untouched; yet how long that would remain as such was anyone's guess.

"Okay, Star-you check the driver and passenger's sides of the caravan, and I'll check the storage area where Mitchell was kept." Robin advised as he opened the doors and walked inside.

"Let us hope our separate searches prove to be a positive note." Starfire added while she floated toward the front door and opened it. What she saw caused her to scream loudly and bring down a few tires-near the caravan-that were stacked on top of each other.

"Starfire, what is it?!" Robin demanded as he jumped from the back and ran over to the driver's side of the caravan.

The Tamaranian had slammed the door with such force that it had fallen entirely off its hinges and revealed what had surprised her-dried blood on both of the seats, plus the heads of one of the guards-without his body!

The second the Teen Wonder got a proper look at what was inside, he visibly shuddered before making a statement:

"Well…looks like there's a body at the morgue without its head."

Starfire numbly nodded before pushing Robin to the back of the caravan.

"Let us now hope that your search proves to be less shocking!"

Robin got back inside the caravan, with Starfire holding tightly onto his arm, as they reached the wall where Mitchell had been chained to. The only piece of evidence there was the stained blood that the assassin's body had made after Shrike had stabbed him-and a note. Quickly grabbing the note and scanning it, Robin's eyes narrowed to slits behind his mask.

"Robin? What is it?"

Robin crumpled the note up and dropped it without responding while he turned around and headed out of the caravan, a worried look on Starfire's face.

"Robin?!"

Turning back around to face his closest friend, Robin said in a deadpan voice before contacting the others, "It was a message Starfire…that said this: 'Your team is good, kid-impressive for your ages. But, when you come up against me, you'll all be outgunned.'"


The Teen Titans had arrived back at the Tower, having received Robin's message to forego heading to the junkyard and instead, to return home; what he had discovered would prove to be very shocking to the other Titans-once he gave them a detailed explanation about the current situation. But first…

"Report, Titans. What did you discover?"

Cyborg had transferred what he had learned into the main computer, then had it brought up as he summed up what he had found out.

"Whoever took out our would-be assassin left a print when he walked to the back of the caravan. When the cops walked all over that crime scene, I was worried that that piece of evidence would be eradicated. Luckily for me, I have a very good eye." The android Titan laughed lightly at his own inward joke before eying Robin, who only responded with a brief nod.

"Raven, what did you and Beast Boy discover?"

Whereas Beast Boy was listening to some rather loud music on his CD player, Raven summed up what they had found out as best she could without knocking the changeling out-and using her powers to yank the headphones off his head.

"That whoever killed the guards and our 'would-be assassin' was very skilled with a sword. He sliced off one of the guard's heads-"

Starfire visibly shivered when Raven mentioned that factor out loud. The Teen Wonder simply nodded while adding, "Yeah…we found his head still inside the caravan."

Without even breaking stride, Raven continued onward with her summary.

"-and, whoever did this wanted it to be known. Also, Mitchell had attempted to attack only myself, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and when the two of you had returned, Starfire. He didn't want to attack you, Robin…"

"…Meaning that whoever hired him didn't want me harmed." Robin concluded, then giving his own brief summary about what he and Starfire had found out, finishing up with the note that had been pinned to the dried blood stain and what it had said.

Raven raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "What could this person have meant by us being outgunned when we confront him?"

"I'm not sure, Raven…but, I have a feeling we'll find out more about him than we want to know-"

At that second, the computer screen blacked out, then turned right back on, replacing the information Cyborg had downloaded into the computer with Red X's face!

"Congratulations, kid-you've nearly gotten the entire puzzle together!"

Starfire gasped in surprise, while Robin's eyes narrowed once more at the sight of seeing someone who he had thought was gone!

"How did you get into our computer mainframe, X?!"

"I thought you would've remembered-I'm a thief. Meaning I can get into anyplace to get anything I want, whenever I want…and, what I wanted back was this!"

X chuckled while holding up a very familiar belt in his right hand. Instantly, Robin turned around and ran to the elevator, ignoring Starfire's protests.

"Robin! If he has infiltrated the Tower, our best option is to remain together!"

"Don't worry, sweetie-I'm not anywhere near the Tower anymore, if you're seeing this recording. By this time, I should have already broken into WayneTech to retrieve the one thing I need to ensure that this suit is used to its full potential…"

"Xenothium." Raven announced grimly.

"Precisely."


The split second the elevator's doors opened, Robin raced out of the elevator and shot down the hallway to his special safe-the one that could only be opened with a special password, a password that only he knew.

"There's no way he could know the password…!" Robin gasped as he finally reached the safe and immediately stopped in his tracks.

"You're right, kid." X's voice suddenly came from the speakers that were strategically placed around the entire Tower. "I didn't know the password. But, I have ways of getting around those little problems. You gave me the solution during our last encounter."

Robin remembered that encounter quite well-it was when he had attempted to keep Red X from stealing the Xenothium in the only remaining place it had last been kept, and he had been halted by a door very similar to his safe. The only way he had managed to gain access was to use the laser that targeted him on the door. Apparently, by the sight of a deactivated laser in the middle of the floor, X had done the same thing.

"Whatever you're planning, X, you won't get away with it!" Robin growled as he turned right back around and headed toward the elevator.

"Kid, you can't do a thing to stop me-not from where you're at, anyway. I'd be more worried about the sweetie and your friends rather than yours truly."

At that precise second, the elevator that was taking Robin back up to the Operations Center came to a dead stop-mainly because Titans Tower had suffered a blackout!


"Dude, who cut out the lights?!" Beast Boy exclaimed in amazement, his eyes blinking in front of the other Titans, who were equally astounded.

"Obviously, it was Red X. Not only did he break into the Tower, he set a timer so that, when we had come back and Robin had separated himself from us, we would lose all power, including the backup generator." Raven explained.

"Ohh…this is not good! What if Robin is injured and may require our assistance?" Starfire asked worriedly. "We will not be of any help to him if we are trapped up here and he is down there."

"Relax, Star-I got it covered." Cyborg reassured her as he activated his flashlight. However, when he swiveled it toward the elevator, someone was already in front of it-someone who wasn't Robin.

"X wasn't the only one who broke into your precious Tower-but, his only job was to attract your attention-and separate you from your leader-just long enough for me to get here." Shrike announced calmly, as he held onto two blades that were extended from two sheaths, pointed directly at the Teen Titans!