A/N: Okay, these next two chapters are action-packed!! Thanks for your patience!! This chapter will be extremely long!!

CherubTenshi: Aww cuz!! I would never be mad at you!! You've been supporting me muchos ever since I started this story... (for those of you who don't know, "cher" and I are cousins... yea, we just found out who we were a month ago!) And what were you doing logging on my name anyway??

Lance Arkel: Wow, thanks! You make a very good point with Robin's eyes and Slade's mask. I love it, and I just might go into depth with that!

v son sayian: Sorry for spelling your name wrong!! I know how annoying it is... nobody ever spells my name right because it's all weird (FYI, my name is not kiki)... so yea, I'm so sorry!

Behind the Mask

Episode 4. (continued)

Robin and Isle stood in the television producer's office with James Fuentes lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, his hand pressed on his gunshot wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Robin kneeled down next to him, pulled him up by his collar. "Where is Slade keeping Starfire and Ali?" Fuentes spat blood from his mouth on Robin's face, and Robin wiped it off and punched him in one swift motion. "Where is he keeping them??" He asked once more.

Fuentes cackled. "Your little girlfriend... will be dead in hours... The poison Slade gave her will consume her body... eat away at her insides... And you... you'll regret ever loving her... Because of you she's suffering... and because of you... she'll die..."

Robin grabbed the gun from Isle's jacket and reloaded it. "Don't make me do this, Fuentes!"

"Please do!" Fuentes coughed. "By all means... you'll only be doing me a favor... by making my death quick and painless..."

"Robin, don't be ridiculous!" Isle grabbed the gun from Robin, put it back in his jacket, and grabbed Robin's arm, picking him up from the floor. "You'll never get him to talk like that." Isle suddenly stomped on Fuentes' wound, making the Hispanic cringe. "Where are they, Fuentes?" Isle asked. When he didn't answer immediately, Isle dug his boot deeper into his skin. "Okay!!" Fuentes yelped. "The caves outside of Jump City... That's where he's keeping them!!... That's where he's been hiding!!"

"FREEZE!!"

Robin and Isle turned from Fuentes to the police. They were about to go after Isle with cuffs when Robin stopped them. "Wait! He's innocent! I have evidence!!" The police viewed the tape and nodded. They took the video camera containing the evidence and called the paramedics.

Robin turned to Isle. "I hate to leave you like this, but..."

"Go find her, Robin!" Isle insisted. Robin was about to leave when he gave Isle a folded sheet of paper. He looked at Fuentes now lying on the ground unconscious, looked back at Isle and said, "If he ever becomes conscious, give this to him." And he left.

"Robin!! Where've you been?? We've been looking all over for you!!" Cyborg's voice appeared in Robin's earpiece. Robin was on his motorcycle again. "Sorry. Isle and I were putting Fuentes in his place."

"I'm guessing he's no longer a threat."

"He's heading to Arkham as we speak. I'm heading back to Titans Tower. I know the location of Slade's hideout. Tell Beast Boy and Raven to get ready for battle. We strike at midnight."

In the caves outside of Jump City, a blonde girl was walking through the corridors. She went inside a man-made room with a large computer monitor. Sitting at the computer chair was Slade. She stood beside him and asked, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," His voice was as cold as the caves. "Prepare for battle! Something's bound to happen soon."

"Why do you say that?" Terra questioned.

"James should have returned by now." Slade explained. "It's nearly dusk. What he had to do this evening should not have taken him long. Get the captives ready." Terra obeyed and turned around and walked down the passageways of the caves. She went into the cave where Starfire and Ali were being held prisoner.

Ali was watching the ailing Starfire drift into an uneasy sleep. Suddenly, footsteps were heard along the hall, and Ali stood up. Terra came from out of the shadows.

"We're taking a field trip, kids! Get her up, and let's go!"

"Where are you taking us?" Ali crossed her arms.

Terra frowned. "That's none of your concern, not like I would tell you either way."

"Tell me where you're taking us if you know what's good for you."

Terra chuckled condescendingly and replied, "You really think I'm threatened by a little rich kid?" Ali didn't reply, making Terra smile. "That's what I thought! I won't continue this meaningless argument, so wake her up and go!"

"I don't take orders from you!"

"Not used to such hard labor, princess??" Ali's heart sank. Princess. That's what Cyborg called her, and how she wished he were here now. Unfortunately, the nasal tone of Terra's voice cut through Ali's thoughts like a knife and heard, "If you want to live, I suggest you do as I say and MOVE!"

Cyborg and Beast Boy were in the gym. "I can't believe it, Cy," Beast Boy said as he wrapped his hands with tape. "This is like serious de ja vou, like when we last fought Slade."

Cyborg was lifting weights... a lot of them... when he replied, "I thought you saw both Slade and Terra die."

Beast Boy shook his head before spin-kicking and punching the bag. "I thought so, too." He was punching and kicking the bag faster and harder. The very thought of Terra misleading them... deceiving him... for a second time... he should have known better...

Raven knew all along...

Beast Boy stopped punching and leaned on the punching bag. Raven. She knew Terra could not be trusted. She knew his tapes would be in the wrong hands. Beast Boy should have realized a lot of things, but what he should have realized sooner was his growing feelings for the telepath...

But then there were her powers... he knew if she showed emotion she wouldn't be able to control it.

And the possibility she couldn't return those feelings... but then, why would she hold his hand?

"Hello?? Earth to Beast Boy!!"

Beast Boy shook his head. "Wha--?"

"Where'd you go?" Cyborg asked interestedly.

Beast Boy began punching the bag again, not responding. Cyborg smiled. "I know what you were thinking about... or should I say who you were thinking about?" The changeling still did not respond, putting more tape on his hands. "So??" Cyborg asked. "Did you go for it??" Beast Boy stopped taping and turned to Cyborg, about to speak but Cyborg interrupted. "You didn't, did you?"

"Cy, I like her, but she doesn't feel the same!"

"But she does, man!" Cyborg blurted.

Beast Boy's ears went red and his voice cracked a little. "R-Really?"

"Yea! She told me so."

Beast Boy smiled. "She likes me." He shook his head and brought up another issue. "Okay, so she does. Then what??"

"Then you ask her out!" Cyborg replied. "Quit making things so complicated!"

"As if dating a demon isn't complicated!" Beast Boy snapped. "Her emotions would constantly get in the way of everything!! I mean, we held hands for like, ten seconds, and then the lamp in my room broke!!" (A/N: Okay, I know I didn't mention that in the last chapter, but that was after the scene change!!)

"Don't you think it's improvement?" Cyborg asked optimistically. "Two years ago, if she'd been holding your hand for three seconds, you would have been eaten!"

Beast Boy didn't respond. The humanoid remained at the changeling's side for a while before the changeling snapped at him. "Are we done here?"

"So you're giving up?" Cyborg frowned. "Just like that? Even if there's something there between the both of you!!" Beast Boy, now punching the bag replied sadly, "I have no choice."

Raven stood outside the gym and heard everything. 'He's right.' She sighed. 'Beast Boy can't wait for something that will never happen...' Suddenly, Robin walked past her. "You're back. Is everything okay?"

"Not yet." Robin replied, his back facing her. "But it will be."

Raven spun his around to feet her hidden eyes beneath the cape. "Robin. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

Raven shrugged. "Maybe this is too drastic. Don't you think we're moving in on Slade too soon? We don't even have a plan of action!"

Robin was furious. "How can you say that?? 'Too drastic'? Starfire and Ali could be injured, or even worse... Fuentes told me that Slade injected Starfire with a poison. She only has hours left before she..." Robin couldn't say it. If he said it, he would think about it, and if he thought about it, he would have a breakdown. Raven sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Robin was heading for his room when he stopped and looked over his shoulder to Raven. "And as far as a plan of action, get Star and Ali out. Kill Slade and Terra. That's an order!" And he left.

It was thirty minutes until midnight that evening when Mayor Moore got a phone call from the police. "You'd better come down to the station!" Mayor Moore drove downtown to the police station. "Mayor, the commissioner has information regarding your daughter." The mayor ran into the commissioner's office. The commissioner was sitting at his computer desk. "We've found your daughter's kidnapper."

"Correction, commissioner. I found you!" A cold familiar voice replied. Mayor Moore raised a brow. "Where's that coming from? Who is he?"

"Slade. He was able to contact me through our computer systems. He's standing by on the computer as we speak."

"You can refuse to converse with me," Slade's face was now shown up on the computer screen. "And by doing so, you lay your daughter's life on the line." Mayor Moore approached the screen. "Where is she??"

"Safe, and she'll remain that way so long as you do as I say."

"Please!" Mayor Moore said quickly. "Don't hurt her. What is it you want?"

Slade chuckled. "I want power. Yours in particular."

"What are you suggesting?"

"A trade, mayor. Proclaim me as Jump City's new mayor, and get your daughter in return unharmed."

"How do I know you won't go back on your word?"

"You don't," Slade retorted. "But assuming you love your daughter, you'll keep her from harm's way and do as I say." (A/N: rhyming is so cool!)

"Let me see her!" The mayor demanded.

"You're not the one calling the shots, but I suppose it's the least I can do." The screen moved from Slade to Ali, her mouth taped, her hands tied behind a chair. The girl tried to speak to her father, but no sound could penetrate the duct tape.

"You see this is a serious situation, mayor," Slade's voice was audible. The screen moved back to Slade. "And now you know how important your cooperation is in this deal of ours..."

"Assuming we made a deal." Mayor Moore snapped.

"You do want your daughter back, don't you?" Slade asked. Mayor Moore could only nod. "This is what I want you to do. The twelve o clock news will air in about thirty minutes. Go to the nearest television station and resign as mayor, then declare me as your successor. Then and only then will you get your daughter back. I look forward to your public announcement." And Slade disappeared from the screen.

"Mayor Moore! You can't do this!" The commissioner exclaimed. "Our city will be shot to hell if that lunatic takes control of the city!" The mayor shook his head. "The whole damn world can be shot to hell! My daughter is the only thing that matters to me. She's the only one I have left!" And he stormed out of the police station.

Robin was in his room, sitting down on his bed, contemplating what Raven told him. 'She's right. There's no way we can defeat Slade without some kind of plan of action.' Suddenly, the phone rang, and Robin answered. "Yes?" Pause. "Commissioner! What's going on?" Pause. "Mayor Moore can't!!" Pause. "We're on it!" Robin hung up the phone and once he got into the living room, he turned on the alarm that sounded throughout the entire tower. He had obviously gotten word of Slade and Mayor Moore's agreements and had informed the Titans when they got into the room.

"So what do we do?" Cyborg asked. "It's almost midnight!"

"How are we gonna stop Slade and the Mayor's announcement at the same time?" Beast Boy asked.

"Let's split up!" Robin concluded. "Raven, Cyborg, you two will go to the television station and stop the broadcasting. Beast Boy and I will go after Terra and Slade."

"Robin, I'll go with you!" Cyborg insisted.

Robin shook his head. "No, Cy, your expertise is required at the television station. You and Raven find us after you've stopped the broadcasting and after you've hid the mayor." Cyborg nodded, and Robin looked at the clock on the wall. "We have fifteen minutes before midnight! Titans! GO!"

The Titans went their separate ways. Robin traveled by means of motorcycle and Beast Boy transformed into a cheetah, leading the way to the caves outside of Jump City. Robin and Beast Boy found the collapsed cave where they last saw Slade nearly a year ago. They stopped to investigate and found two tunnels leading from the wreckage.

"Let's split up." Robin suggested. "I'll take this tunnel." Beast Boy looked at the tunnel he was assigned to go into. It was dark and dirty, and to be perfectly honest, he was plain scared to go in.

Before Robin could go into the safe-looking tunnel, Beast Boy cried. "Robin! I think I saw Slade!!" Robin turned around, getting his staff ready. When he saw nothing, he turned back around to find the changeling running inside the safe-looking tunnel. Robin sighed as he looked at the scary-looking tunnel. He shrugged and walked in.

Meanwhile, back at Jump City, Raven and Cyborg were traveling by T-Car. By the time they made it to the television station, the twelve o clock news had just started.

"Look, that's the mayor's car parked out front!" Cyborg said.

"C'mon!" Raven said, leading the way to the back entrance.

The two Titans were now inside the building. "Okay, we're in." Cyborg said. "Now what are we gonna do??" Beneath the blue cloak, her eyes glowed, and she began to float in midair. "Cause a blackout! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!!" She chanted. Suddenly, the entire building was covered in the telepath's power, slowly causing a blackout.

"And now the mayor would like to make an important announcement." The anchorwoman stated as she gestured for Mayor Moore to sit beside her. Mayor Moore looked at a sheet of paper, which he wrote his speech of resignation. He sighed and walked up the platform and took a seat next to the anchorwoman.

"Thank you. Citizens of Jump City," His voice cracked and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I am deeply saddened as your mayor to inform you that..." Suddenly, the power went out. Mayor Moore slumped in his chair, wiping the sweat from his forehead, not knowing whether to be relieved or worried.

"What's going on??"

"Power's out!!!"

"I know that!! Check the backup generators."

Everyone scattered except for Mayor Moore. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He grabbed it from out of his pocket and answered. "H-Hello?"

"Mayor, I do not have time for these games!"

Mayor Moore gulped. Slade. "How'd you get this number?"

"What does it matter??" Slade asked. "Get back on the air now!!"

"But the power!! It's really out!!"

Slade huffed. "And I'm sure you had nothing to do with it."

"I didn't!" The mayor protested. "Look, they've gone to check the backup generators. We'll be back on the air in minutes."

"You had better hope so, for your daughter's sake."

Click.

While Raven was causing the distraction, Cyborg went to the generators and backup generators and destroyed them. Cyborg pressed a button on his right arm and spoke into it. "Raven, all the generators have been destroyed. You can stop!"

Raven heard this from her walkie-talkie and stopped her chanting. "Raven, can you find Mayor Moore in this darkness?" Cyborg's voice asked from the walkie-talkie. "This is me you're talking to!" Raven said before instantly changing shape into a black energy and disappearing into the walls.

With the blackout, it was easy for Raven to travel throughout the building unsuspectingly. She finally found the recording room and Mayor Moore pacing the floor (A/N: rhyming!!). Raven reappeared behind the mayor, and when he turned, he yelped. "Oh, Raven. It's you!"

"Mayor, we have to get you out of here!"

"I can't do that!"

"I know." Raven nodded. "The commissioner told us."

The mayor looked down at his feet. "Then you understand why I have to do what I have to do. She's all I have. I can't lose her."

"And if you come with me now, you won't have to lose her. You can help save Ali's life and the lives of the citizens of Jump City!" Raven replied. "It doesn't have to be one or the other. We can win this. Now let us help!"

Meanwhile, Beast Boy was a little more at ease walking in the safe-looking cave. He didn't like faking Robin out the way he did just moments ago... okay, so he did like it, a lot, but he didn't like what Robin would do to him. 'Ah, he'll get over it!' He thought. Suddenly he heard a noise. Beast Boy stopped walking. Silence. 'Probably rats.' But he heard the noise again, and it came from the depths of the tunnel. It was soft, but it was obvious someone was crying.

Beast Boy was running. "Star?? Ali?? Where are you??" The crying became more audible as he went deeper into the tunnel. Minutes later, the tunnel came to an end, and a small blonde girl was huddled in the corner. Beast Boy frowned. "Terra."

Terra's sobs turned into laughter as she stood up from the ground. "I knew that would catch your attention."

"Where are they??"

"It's nice to see you too, Beast Boy!" Terra smirked as she jumped on a levitated rock.

"Can't say I'm thrilled to see you!" Beast Boy hissed.

Terra inched toward Beast Boy. "What's the matter? Can't stand that I deceived you for a second time??" With a loose rock from the tunnel wall, she threw it at Beast Boy with her power, knocking him down. "You were always so easy to fool." Beast Boy got up from the ground and ran towards Terra. She back-flipped off the large rock, and with her power forced the rock forward into Beast Boy, making him fly backwards. "So, anything you'd like to know before I annihilate you?"

"Just one!" Beast Boy said, kneeling on the ground. "Tell me what really happened that day! Our last showdown with you and Slade."

Terra smiled. "It's a good story, actually." Beast Boy got up from the ground, trying to hit Terra once as he threw his punches, however the backstabber blocked all of his shots with great ease. She continued as they fought. "Slade and I had this planned all along! The day you and the other Titans tried to have us defeated, we planned to come here to the deserts outside of Jump City so we could have our final showdown."

Terra spin-kicked his face. The shape-shifter fell to the ground and she continued. "With my powers, I made the caves crumble to the desert grounds." Beast Boy got up and motioned to kick her when the girl grabbed his leg and threw him across the cave. "I knew you would come after me, try to save me, be a hero, so Slade and I staged our death before your very eyes, and we disappeared for months before finally turning up again." Beast Boy attempted to get up when Terra kicked his gut. "Now here's a question for you: why aren't you morphing into some huge animal and defeating me? It's like your not even trying!"

Beast Boy didn't reply, fighting gravity to stay standing; he was already injured greatly. Terra bent down and grabbed Beast Boy's face by the cheeks. "Even after a year, even after these last betrayals, you can't hurt me because deep down, you'll always care. Isn't that right?" She caressed his face. "I have to admit, you were kind of cute... in that oblivious way of yours."

Beast Boy's vision was going in and out from perfect to blurry. He saw Terra in front of him pull back her fist, and when she made impact with his face, everything went black.

Robin found the dark spooky cave led to a dead end, and Robin retreated back to the main cave. "Beast Boy, report!" He called the shape shifter from the walkie-talkie. There was only static on the other line. "Report! Beast Boy!" Static. "Hello?" Robin was about to go into the other cave when he heard a mumble from above him. He couldn't understand it until he heard a familiar voice, however this time it was not so sweet and jubilant. Instead it was tired and fading.

"R-Robin?"

Robin turned and looked up. He gasped. "S-Starfire?" She was hanging from the top of the cave by an old rusting chain from her wrists. "STARFIRE!!" He shot a line and pulled himself up to where she was. Suddenly, a dark figure swung across the cave and kicked Robin off the line. The boy wonder fell to the ground, and the dark figure landed gracefully beside him.

"Hello Robin."

Robin got up and in a fighting position. "Slade."

The figure came out of the shadows and into the light. "I knew you'd come back to me eventually."

"I came for Starfire and Ali!" Robin snarled, taking out his staff.

Slade took out his staff as well. "And unfortunately, you'll leave with neither of them!"

A/N: YAAAAAY!! Sorry, guys, I had to stop there, but either way, cliffhangers rule!! That was super long!! I'm so glad I finally updated. I hope you guys are happy with the way things are going in the story!! I know I am!! I have a huge plan for the next five chapters!! Yes, that's it... only five chapters left of this story... so, peace out dudes, read and review, and rock the vote!! Ciao!!

-kiki