Chapter Seven: Old Bird Out, New Bird In

Robin was working on his arm exercises he had created to keep himself vital during his recovery, when all of a sudden the door to his room burst open. Cyborg came stomping in quickly in an angry huff. He looked positively infuriated. Robin stopped what he was doing, staring at Cyborg in shock.

"Cyborg, what's wrong?"he demanded quickly.

"What's wrong? You wanna know what's wrong? It's your little project, your new little replacement that's wrong!"Cyborg hollered hysterically. Robin frowned.

"Red X? What happened? I haven't received message from any of the others about anything drastic..."he said, confused.

"Robin, he is not the kind of leader we need. He's bossing us around and giving us orders, like he was you or something!"Cyborg cried. Robin sighed.

"Cyborg, that's kind of the point. Remember, he's there to replace me..."he began.

"No man, you don't get it. He thinks he is you!"Cyborg insisted.

"And so does the city. This is the plan Cyborg. He's just going along with the act. I understand this is hard for you to deal with-"

"Robin, listen to me! This guy is bad news. He's going to take over this team to the point where you won't be able to take it back! He's determined, and he's getting way too into this. I know you think he's trying to help, but I'm telling you, he's going to become obsessed! I just know he's going to-"

"And exactly how many chances have you given him, Cyborg?"Robin asked suddenly. Cyborg stopped. Robin was staring at him sternly now. "How many times have you tried working with him? Sat down and asked him something? Fought alongside him? From what I've been hearing from Raven, not at all. You haven't even made a slight attempt at trying to accept this guy, and you expect him to be completely friendly and accepting of you? You're being childish. And I won't have that kind of behavior on my team with someone as dangerous as Jericho out there."Cyborg stared at Robin for a good minute, uncomprehending.

"What are you saying, man? Are you kicking me off the team?"he asked slowly.

"If you don't shape up and learn to deal with the circumstances you're under, then that's what'll have to happen,"Robin replied. He was serious. Cyborg opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to answer.

"Robin man, come on. I'm telling you the truth, this guy is gonna get into trouble!"he tried one more time. Robin shook his head, turning away.

"I thought you would react better than this Cyborg. I'm disappointed in you,"he concluded. Cyborg hesitated...then turned and trudged out the door. Robin let out a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut and turning back. He didn't want to be angry with Cyborg. Cyborg was his best friend. He wished Cyborg could just relax and try to deal with all of this. But it looked like things weren't going to happen that way. Robin had a bad feeling deep down.

Red X was up all night working on his own version of Robin's costume. He had recreated it to give it a sharper, darker image. The colors were darker, the belt was loaded with more dangerous, effective gear. The mask was deep black, and more jagged and pointed. It looked more mature. More intimidating. The cape was made of thicker, more protecting material. All red was turned to blood color. All yellow to dark gold. All green to olive. The entire costume was made darker, in all senses. This was not going to be the same Robin. This Robin was going to be tougher. Stronger. Darker. And more effective.

"Friends, Red X has not come down for some time,"Starfire commented two days after Cyborg and Red X's big blow-out. Cyborg had returned, though he was silent and sullen, and refused to tell the others where he had been. Red X had remained locked in Robin's room for two days straight, with no food or water at all, as far as they were concerned.

"Do you think someone should go check on him?"Beast Boy asked.

"No,"Cyborg grunted. That was the most he had said all day. "Let him be. He has his ways, and apparently we're just supposed to agree with all of them."

"No man, that's not what-"Beast Boy began.

"Yeah, it is! Robin trusts him, so we should all trust him, that's all I've been hearing since he waltzed in here two weeks ago! What if Robin was wrong? Has anyone stopped to consider that?"Cyborg snapped.

"Yes. We all have. And maybe that's true, maybe Robin made a mistake. But it doesn't look like he's changing his mind any time soon. And to be fair, Red X hasn't done anything wrong yet. No crimes, no trouble. All he's done is given us a little attitude, and we get all up in arms. We haven't made this easy or comfortable for him, and we expect him to just go along with it. We need to be fair back. We need to give him a shot,"Raven said.

"It's too late for that."They all turned quickly. Red X was standing in the doorway in his new and improved Robin costume. "I was kind to you. I was fair to you. And you shot me back down coldly. You've missed your chance to make things right. I'm taking over in a way that I should have when I first got here. And anything you don't like, you can consider your own fault." Red X shot them all a dangerous, accusing look. They returned it with a mixture of shock, offense, and anger.

"Get out of that right now,"Cyborg demanded through gritted teeth.

"Why? This is my suit now. The Robin that you knew is gone. He wasn't strong enough to defeat Jericho, and he wasn't strong enough to lead you. Me taking over for him has got to be the best thing that's ever happened to this team,"Red X continued.

"Shut up right now! You have no right-"

"You know, you're always telling me that, when in all honesty...I do have a right! Do I have to remind you again who gave me this position? Who practically got down before me and begged me to do this for him? Your precious Robin is nothing but a pathetic, begging piece of crippled nothing! Get over it already! I'm the real deal now, and I am going to lead this team to triumph over Jericho in a way that your leader never could have dreamed! And if you don't agree with my methods, you can leave now,"Red X declared.

"You can't do this-"Raven began.

"I can, Raven,"Red X replied. And the others all knew it was true.

Hey guys! Thanks for being patient with me, I know my updates have been a little crazy lately. I apologize for kind of getting everyone excited about the Starfire/Red X pairing, and then never really going anywhere with it. I promise as Red X's character develops more there will be more between them. Don't give up hope! Haha. Thanks again for sticking with this story, I'm glad you all like it! Oracle