Chapter Eight: Falling Far From the Nest

TWO MONTHS LATER

It hadn't taken the city a very long time to notice the difference in 'Robin's' behavior. Though not everyone was against the new Robin's methods and style. Teenage boys found him much cooler. And even some members of the police force had started paying more attention. The Titans had never really made any link with the police, but since Red X stepped in, they had been called with five jobs from the Jump City Police Department.

As much as the Titans disliked the way Red X was taking over their team, they couldn't deny that his ways were effective, to say the least. He was fighting crime and he was winning. It was his way of winning that frightened them. He was much crueler than Robin, much more violent and much less merciful. He wouldn't stand to reason with anyone, for anything. When he was after a criminal, he would not let them get away unharmed. Robin's policy was never to hurt anyone if circumstances didn't call for it. He had his own system for justice that Red X lacked. Red X got the job done...but he didn't do it in the righteous way. And that's what was bothering the Titans the most.

"Come on! Can't you run any faster?"Red X barked nastily back to the Titans as they chased down a robber. The Titans didn't like the idea of fighting with Red X, and they disliked it even more when he kept yelling and shouting orders and insults at them. So they weren't trying very hard to begin with.

Red X pounced on the robber, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. He snatched the sack of stolen money and tossed it at Starfire. He raised his fist...and socked the man right in the face.

"Please! I...I didn't want to steal the money! But I just lost my job, and my wife just had a baby...I was desperate! I didn't think! I'm sorry!"the man pleaded. The other Titans all felt remorse for this poor man. But Red X didn't seem capable of feeling remorse for anything.

"You were right. You didn't think. You didn't think about the consequences you'll have to pay now,"he snapped. And he socked the man again.

"Stop!"Cyborg commanded. Red X turned to him.

"Excuse me? Are you the one in charge here?"he replied dangerously.

"This is not a bad man. He's a desperate man in bad circumstances. He needs help, not your beatings,"Cyborg said through gritted teeth, trying to stay calm.

"He's a thief. Thieves don't deserve help,"Red X snapped.

"Would you have said that a month ago?"Cyborg returned. The other Titans all froze. Red X stared Cyborg straight in the eyes, fury growing in his face.

"That is completely different!"he growled, leaping up, letting go of the man. "I never asked for your help! I never wanted any of this! I knew the consequences of my actions, I just avoided them so I could continue to do good things!"

"Just like him,"Cyborg said, looking behind Red X. Red X turned around just in time to see the man dashing around the corner.

"NO!"he started after him, but Cyborg grabbed him, pulling him back. Red X struggled to break loose from Cyborg's grip, but Cyborg held tight.

"Look what you did! You let him get away! You let a criminal get away!"Red X cried frantically.

"No. I helped an innocent man get away from you,"Cyborg replied. Red X finally broke away from Cyborg's grasp. He was glaring furiously.

"I never asked for your help. And I certainly don't need it,"he growled fiercely. Cyborg frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"he asked. There was a pause.

"All of you go home. I'm going after that man,"Red X said.

"No you're not! You can't make us leave!"Cyborg shouted.

"Cyborg, come on,"Beast Boy said.

"No! We can't let him do this! You guys, we're not letting him...right?"Cyborg turned to the others. They all turned away slowly. Cyborg looked around in horror.

"You guys...you guys!"No one replied. Red X shot him a look of disdain, as the others looked at the ground. Cyborg shook his head in disgust.

"That's it. I'm not putting up with this any more...I quit! I'm leaving! I refuse to be on this team as long as he's here!"Cyborg declared.

"Cyborg!"Raven cried, looking up.

"No Raven. I'm gone."And Cyborg stormed off. A small smile spread on Red X's face.

"Well, we've finally taken care of that problem,"he said brightly. And he headed off after the man. Not sure what to do, the other Titans silently turned and headed back towards the tower.

"Um, I'm sorry, I did not mean to bother you, but I thought perhaps we could speak?"Red X had been sitting on the roof of Titans Tower, looking out across the city. He turned to see Starfire standing behind him hopefully.

"Sure,"he said, grinning a little to himself. Starfire walked over, sitting down beside him.

"Mister Red X-"

"C'mon, why do you have to be so formal? Are you uncomfortable with me?"Red X asked, moving closer to her. Starfire edged away a little.

"Um, no, that is not...I mean, I did not...I am not..."Red X moved closer again.

"You know, Starfire, you really are very beautiful,"he said. Starfire's eyes widened.

"Mister Red X, please-"

"I'm Robin now, remember?"Red X corrected.

"Oh yes. Pardon me, er, Robin..."Red X ran his fingers through Starfire's hair. She squirmed uncomfortably.

"I have come here to-"

"Shhhh..."Red X shushed her, slowly turning her head towards him. Starfire meekly went along, not quite sure what he was doing. And then Red X kissed her right on the lips. Starfire's eyes widened even more, and she pushed him away. Red X sighed in frustration as Starfire leapt up.

"Please! I have not come here to do the flirting and the kissing! I have come to tell you that I have been rather fearful for you lately!"Starfire admitted. Red X frowned.

"Why?"he barked.

"You are taking this work much too seriously. I understand that you wish to help, but you are not doing it how Robin would-"Red X stood up abruptly, walking away from Starfire.

"Of course! I should have known it, this is all just about Robin!"he snapped. "Everything is about Robin! Your little worlds just revolve around Robin night and day, don't they? Well news break, kid. There's a new Robin now, and that's not changing any time soon, so you're gonna have to deal with what you've got!"

"Please, I did not mean to offend you! I just wished to speak with you-"

"So you could tell me that I'm doing everything wrong, and I should be more like your hero, right? Yeah, I've heard it from everyone else!"Red X growled back.

"Robin's way was good! It was right! And you are not doing things good or right!" Starfire blurted out. Red X stopped, staring at her. Starfire covered her mouth.

"I did not mean to say that..."she said softly.

"Yeah, well, you did! You finally came out and said what everyone has been thinking for the past four weeks, so bravo!"Red X yelled angrily.

"Please do not be angry! We are just fearful that-"

"If you're all so scared, why don't you just leave like your friend?"Red X retorted. Starfire stopped, shocked.

"We cannot all leave...we are a team!"she said slowly.

"Fine. Then I fire you all,"Red X decided. Starfire froze.

"...what?"she asked, uncomprehending.

"I'm getting rid of you. I don't need your help. I want you all to just get out. I'm the only one who can take care of Jericho. And if you don't believe me, ask your precious Robin. He said it himself,"Red X spat, beginning to walk off.

"You cannot do this! You cannot!"Starfire shrieked after him. Red X turned.

"What's stopping me?"he asked.

"I shall tell Robin!"Starfire declared.

"Go ahead. That boy means nothing to me. I've taken over this team. He's lost control, and there is nothing he can do to intimidate me. I'm Robin now, and he's just a puny, weak, worthless boy hiding behind a name,"Red X replied. Starfire stared at him in shock.

"Please, I am begging you...do not do this,"she pleaded softly.

"I've gotten enough pathetic begging from your leader. I don't need it from you too."And Red X was gone, Starfire left on the roof, staring after him in horror.

About an hour later, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire stood outside of Titans Tower with their bags.

"What are we gonna do? We can't let him take over like this!"Beast Boy yelled.

"We must defeat him! We shall take down the Red X!"Starfire declared angrily.

"No,"Raven replied simply.

"Raven, how can you say no? The guy just kicked us out of our own home! He's a psycho! He's lost it!"Beast Boy insisted.

"He shall pay for this...he shall pay for the things he said about Robin!"Starfire growled.

"No. We won't stoop to revenge. That's not what the Teen Titans would do,"Raven said calmly. "We'll continue on without him. We'll go after Jericho on our own."

"Raven, we can't. We're not strong enough!"Beast Boy reminded her.

"And we do not have friend Cyborg to aid us in our attempts any longer,"Starfire added sadly.

"Raven, we can't do this! We need Cyborg, we need Robin!"Beast Boy said frantically. Raven let out a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"Look, we just need to stop and think this over..."she said.

"No! There is no time for stopping and thinking! We must act now! We must stop this! We must get Robin back!"Starfire cried.

"We can't, Starfire!"Raven snapped furiously. Huge waves rose in the ocean, crashing down on the little island where the three Titans stood. Raven closed her eyes again, breathing deeply, and the waves shrunk. "We can't get Robin back. We need to understand that. We all miss him, and we all need him, but we just have to face the fact that he can't help us now." Starfire's eyes welled with tears as she stared at Raven.

"But...but Robin is our leader! He has always helped us before!"she sniffed.

"But he can't help us every time. Everyone falls, Starfire, but the rest of us still need to carry on. Robin can't always be there to save us. Sometimes, we need to save ourselves,"Raven explained softly.

"But how?"Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know. We'll find a way. Right now, we just need to stick together,"Raven said. Starfire and Beast Boy nodded. Starfire sniffed again, wiping her eyes.

"Where shall we go?"she asked quietly. Raven looked out across the ocean.

"We'll need to go to the city. We can't stay here all night. Come on,"she said. And she leapt into the dark ocean water. Beast Boy and Starfire exchanged glances. This was on their shoulders now. They had to fix this themselves. They nodded to each other, and followed Raven across the ocean to the city.