DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, this would be on TV and not here.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This doesn't take place in the same storyline as my "Forced Base" and "Fractured Heart" stories, so forget those when you're reading this. Also, this takes place after the fourth season, so anything that happens in the show after that isn't applicable to this. Also, about Sanza/Red X: When he's wearing the mask, he's Red X. When he's not, he's Sanza. Simple as that.
O-O-O
Starfire didn't know whether to gasp or scream. All that she knew was that Red X was at the door of Titans Tower, asking for the Teen Titans' help. Before the Tamaranian could make a single move, however, another of the Teen Titans stepped in front of her.
"Look, dude, I don't know what kinda stuff you're trying to pull this time, but you'd better get out of here!" Beast Boy shouted, pointing a finger in Red X's face. "If I wasn't in the middle of a video game, I'd totally kick your-"
"Please, Beast Boy..." said Starfire, gently nudging her green friend out of the way.
"No, that's all right... I know how you guys probably feel about me," said Red X. "But I'm not here to fight, or to steal anything-"
"That's kind of hard to believe," said Raven, floating up to the door. "For the past four days, all you've been doing is stealing from us or fighting us. In fact-"
Suddenly, Robin pushed his way out in front of the other Titans. He withdrew his bo staff, extending it and pointing the tip in Red X's face. His eyes narrowed with anger, and his lips curved into a cold, bitter scowl.
"Get out," said Robin, his teeth clenched. "We know that you've been working for Slade."
"Not by choice," Red X replied. "I want to help-"
"The last apprentice of Slade's that we trusted turned around and betrayed us in just a little less than two weeks," said Robin. "Who's to say he's not making you come here to gain our trust?"
Red X sighed. He knew Robin would put up the most resistance... he was the leader of the Titans, he had every reason to.
"Maybe I am just here to betray you," said Red X, putting his hands on his hips. "But let's look at it this way. Either it'll be me and you against Slade, or me and Slade against you. If you don't help me, it'll definitely be me and Slade against you. But if you do help me... if you can trust me just for a little while... you might get lucky and make a new teammate for a few days."
It was a harsh choice, but Robin couldn't help but accept the reality of Red X's words. Maybe he was telling the truth... maybe he DID want to help the Titans fight Slade. Maybe for the first time since the battle with Dr. Chang, Red X and the Teen Titans had a common enemy...
"Maybe you should come in and tell us how you and Slade got together in the first place," said Cyborg. "Then if we believe your story-"
"No," said Robin, his staff still pointed at Red X's face. "You're not setting one foot in this tower... we're not letting you get in any sort of position where you could undermine this team!"
"Well, look at you... 'undermine' the team... what the hell could I possibly undermine?" asked Red X, shooting a brief glance in Starfire's direction. "You worried I won't be able to keep my hands off your girl?"
"You listen here, Red X... I am perfectly capable of keeping your hands off me myself!" said Starfire indignantly. "And if you continue to speak rudely to us, you might not receive our help at all!"
Clearly, this was going nowhere. Robin was showing no signs of allowing Red X to even enter the tower, and it looked like even Starfire would be a tough sell. Red X looked down at the ground, another sigh escaping his lips. It was a bad idea to come to Titans Tower and ask the Teen Titans' help... especially after all he'd already done to them.
"All I'm asking is for you to help me," said Red X, starting to turn around. "But if you don't want to, I guess we'll just be seeing each other again soon... when I'm Slade's newest apprentice."
Red X turned and began to walk away. Robin retracted his bo staff and stared at X as he left, an angry look still on the Boy Wonder's face. Meanwhile, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg turned away from the door and went back to their previous activities.
Meanwhile, Starfire, who'd just berated Red X for being rude, took a step forward and watched Red X as he slowly walked out into the rain, his head unbowed, his body straight. He was leaving with his dignity intact... but Starfire could still sense the sadness in his steps as he walked.
"He really needs our help..." thought Starfire, her hand trembling as she placed it to her lips. "And we... we are turning him away... that is not what the Teen Titans do!"
"C'mon, Star..." said Robin, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know he might seem like he needs our help, but he's Slade's apprentice now... this has to be some kind of tr-"
"Wait!" shouted Starfire, her hand reaching out toward Red X. He stopped walking and turned around, his eyes staring directly into Starfire's. "Please... tell us why you have chosen to be Slade's apprentice..."
"Starfire, what are you doing?" asked Robin, a hint of concern in his voice. "It could be a trick!"
"I do not believe so..." said Starfire as Red X slowly began walking back toward the tower. "He just seems... he seems like he is telling the truth."
"It would be too easy to trick them..." thought Red X, now a few steps away from the tower's entrance. "It almost makes me wish I was actually trying something..."
"I don't know why, but Starfire seems to trust you," said Robin, "so you can come in and explain your story. But if you try anything-"
"You'll kick my ass, I know, I know," said Red X, walking past Robin and Starfire and into the main room of the tower. Not surprisingly, it looked almost identical to how it had looked when Red X had visited just a few months ago as Sanza Salazar. As soon as he entered the tower, Beast Boy and Cyborg looked up from the couch, their mouths opening wide in shock. Raven, standing over by the stairs, briefly looked Red X's way.
"I thought we couldn't trust him," said Raven, her arms across her chest. "What made you change your mind?"
"Starfire," Robin replied, as Red X looked around the room. When his gaze returned to Robin, Robin pointed him toward the couch. "Have a seat."
As Red X walked over, Beast Boy and Cyborg shifted to each side of the couch to allow Red X to sit between them. Skeptical for a few seconds, Red X finally sat down, ignoring stares he received from his two couchmates. By now, Raven and Starfire had walked over to the couch, standing just behind it and looking down at Red X. Robin walked over to the front of the couch, remaining standing as he continued to ponder whether or not he was doing the right thing by letting Red X into the tower.
"I guess I should probably start talking now," said Red X, looking back and forth at Beast Boy and Cyborg before facing Robin. "As you probably know, I've been in contact with Slade for the past few days."
"Tell me," said Starfire, "because this has been bothering me for quite some time... did Slade order you to kidnap me at the museum?"
Red X could tell that Starfire obviously believed that he was either incapable of or unwilling to capture the girl on his own. He briefly considered lying to her, but realized that a large part of trust his truth, and that he should probably start coming clean with the Titans now in order to avoid further problems down the road.
"Kid, I grabbed you because I wanted to grab you, not because Slade told me to," said Red X. A disappointed and slightly sad sigh from Starfire told Red X that that was obviously not what she'd wanted to hear. Meanwhile, the frown on Robin's face grew slightly angrier, and his gaze narrowed.
"Why'd you take her?" asked Robin. "If Slade didn't tell you to, then why?"
"I thought this was about why I've been working for Slade," said Red X, not wanting to have to answer a question that even he himself wasn't quite sure of, "not your personal vendetta against me."
"It's an important question," said Robin, "because if you kidnapped Starfire once, you might do it again."
"Robin, drop it," said Raven, not wanting the interrogation to turn into an argument or even a fight. She too wasn't sure of whether or not to trust Red X, but if he and Robin had a huge argument right off the bat, the situation could deteriorate in a hurry.
"Fine," said Robin, returning to the main line of questioning. "When exactly did Slade first contact you?"
"When I had Starfire still with me," said Red X. "He told me to fight you, and so I did. Obviously, it didn't work out as I had hoped... I was supposed to kill you."
"You were supposed to what?" shouted Robin, his eyes widening in disbelief. "So that's why he seemed so desperate to beat me... it wasn't about Starfire, it was about killing me..."
"I didn't want to kill you, so I let Starfire go to distract you so I could make my escape. Obviously, this didn't make Slade very happy, but I don't give a damn about what makes him happy, just what's best for me."
"And what's best for you is having a rapsheet that doesn't include murder one," said Robin, who seemed to be getting more and more agitated by the second. Starfire noticed this, and quickly interposed a comment of her own.
"Thank you..." said Starfire, "for freeing me-"
"Consider it my one good deed for the month," replied Red X, "and don't expect it to happen again."
"So let me guess... Slade's also the one who sent you to steal our stuff, right?" asked Cyborg.
"Of course," said Red X. "You don't think I'd actually go into a freaky place like Raven's psychotic mind on my own volition, now do you? I was sent to take five things: a feather from Beast Boy, the chip from your car, Raven's mirror, a lock of Starfire's hair, and Robin's mask. After I got those things, Slade would start training me as his apprentice."
Red X's statement confirmed what Robin had already suspected... the items were of little value to Slade except as tools to gauge Red X's battle readiness. Clearly, by retrieving them all, X had proved his worth and that he could go toe-to-toe with the Titans on numerous occasions.
"So then... why'd you come here?" asked Robin, still skeptical that Red X hadn't been sent to Titans Tower on yet another of Slade's missions. "You got everything on your list but the mask... you didn't come here to get that, did you?"
"I'm not so sure Slade wants it anymore," Red X replied. "Actually, it wasn't quite Slade who wanted the items... it was one of Slade's lieutenants, a man by the name of Sorel. You haven't met him, and now you won't ever, because he's dead."
"Did you... did you kill him?" asked Beast Boy. "Is that why you-"
Red X shook his head, though he knew that he was at least partially responsible for Sorel's death, if still unintentionally.
"He killed himself trying to get to me after I didn't return Robin's mask to him like he asked," said Red X. "I'm not sure whether Slade's mad at me or not, but I didn't want to risk it. That's why I came here. I can't beat Slade on my own, as much as I'd like to say I could... I'm a thief, I'm not a fighter. But you guys have beaten Slade before... you guys have what it takes to-"
"Protect you from Slade..." said Starfire, finishing Red X's sentence.
"That's... not exactly how I'd put it," said Red X, shaking his head. "I don't need protection, just help. Help to beat Slade and to get him off my back. I'm Red X, I don't work for anyone... I don't want to be Slade's apprentice."
"Then why did you do all that stuff he told you to do?" asked Beast Boy. "I mean, if Slade asked me to be his apprentice, I'd just flat-out refuse him, or turn into an elephant and stomp his butt!"
"Yeah, if you didn't want to work for Slade, why'd you do all that stuff for him?" asked Cyborg. "Were you just trying to mess with him, or-"
"I had no choice," replied Red X, sadly bowing his head. "It's hard to explain, but-"
"Who are you?" asked Robin, taking a step closer to Red X. "What do you have that Slade can take away if you don't do what he says? I had my friends, Terra had powers that she couldn't control... what about you? Why-"
Red X stood up, walking away from the other Titans and toward the center of the room.
"I told you," said Red X, looking back at the Titans. "If I wanted you to know who I was, I wouldn't be wearing a mask."
If the Titans found out Red X's identity, as soon as they were done with Slade, maybe even before, they could have him arrested... his family would find out, he'd be ashamed... he'd come to get the Titans' help, nothing more. If he lost his anonymity, the Titans would never leave him alone... they were already angry at him for taking the suit from their tower, and if they knew who he was...
"Please..." said Starfire, floating over to Red X and putting her hand on his shoulder. She now had a great deal of concern in her voice, and Red X knew that he'd made a mistake by telling the Titans that he had no choice but to help Slade. "We wish to help... do you trust us?"
"Trust?" chuckled Red X, pushing Starfire's hand away. "You were about to beat the crap out of me before I even came in here. There's no way that any of you trust me, so how am I supposed to trust any of you?"
Robin knew how vicious of a master that Slade was... there was no way that anyone, even someone like Red X could be working for him completely by choice. Ever since the Red X suit had been stolen from Titans Tower, Robin desperately wanted to know who could possibly have taken it. Red X's mood, his personality... none of the villains the Titans fought, even Slade, were anything like him.
But Robin also knew that whoever had taken the suit was a criminal... someone who'd have to be taken to jail. Red X wasn't stupid... he wasn't going to take off his mask and reveal himself as soon as he entered the tower.
"You're right... we don't trust you, and we probably won't for a very, very long time... maybe ever," said Robin. "But unless we know exactly why you feel so compelled to work for Slade, we can't possibly trust you to fight with us against him. If you can't tell us who you are, at least tell us why... why Slade was able to make you do all the things he told you to do."
Red X turned back toward the Titans. He looked over at Robin, whose expression had softened... then turned to Starfire, a look of concern still reflected in her beautiful face.
"You don't have to lift up the mask," said Raven, "just lift up the barrier you've placed around your mind. If you can trust us a little bit, we'll trust you a little bit. I know what it's like to guard a secret... you think that there's no one in the world who'll be able to help you. But we're the Teen Titans, and we can always help, even someone we've fought before."
"That's right..." said Beast Boy, thinking of Terra as he spoke. "Everybody's got at least a little good in them-"
"Shut up... just shut up," said Red X, raising his hand to silence Beast Boy. He sighed again, realizing that his secret... the secret that compelled him to fight and that compelled him to obey Slade was a part of him, a part of him that he couldn't reveal without revealing himself as well.
If he removed his mask... he was showing the Titans that he trusted them quite a bit, and the more he trusted them, the more they could trust him.
Plus, maybe they'd be reluctant to have someone as young as they were sent to jail, or at least he could hope. He'd already come all the way to Titans Tower... and it was time to come all the way clean.
"I've seen you before..." said Red X, now trying to lead the Titans on a guessing game before he revealed his identity. "You saved my life once... not too long ago."
"Inside Raven's mirror?" asked Starfire. Red X shook his head.
"You saved my life... the life of the person behind this mask," said Red X. "A villain, attacking somewhere in the city... my life was put in danger, and-"
"We don't have any time for games," said Robin. "We've saved a lot of people before."
"The villain was Mumbo Jumbo, and he'd attacked my sister and I... now do you know who I am, Titans? That day in the magic shop? That was the day that Red X as you knew him was born."
Red X lifted his hands to the corners of his mask, and slowly began to lift it from his face. But Starfire, having listened to Red X's clues, already knew whose face she'd see when he lifted the mask. She remembered that day, and the boy she'd freed from the magic shop door.
"My name is Sanza Salazar," said Sanza, his mask in his left hand. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were all surprised, but the most shocked Titan of all was Robin... and he once again flared up with rage.
"I don't believe it!" Robin shouted, angrily storming over to Sanza with his fists clenched. "We let you into the tower, only to have you steal-"
"Dude, I thought you said you were going to the bathroom!" Cyborg shouted.
"What did you think I was doing for a half hour, taking a dump?" asked Sanza, a smirk on his face. "I got done in the bathroom, so I tried to get back here, but I ended up getting lost and stumbling on this suit."
"Why, Sanza?" asked Starfire. "Why did you take the suit from us? You certainly knew that it was not yours!"
"I want answers," said Robin, "or I'm taking you straight to jail."
"I knew this would happen..." thought Sanza, knowing that the Titans' anger would incur retribution on him. And it wasn't like he didn't deserve it... he'd stolen something that belonged to the Teen Titans, and used it to commit even more crimes. He knew he should be going to jail... but should he? Should he go to jail just for trying to protect his family?
"That day, at the magic shop..." said Sanza, walking back over to the couch and sitting down, "was one of the worst days of my life... my sister was attacked, and there was nothing I could do to protect her."
"But we came... and we saved her... is that not good enough?" asked Starfire. "I am sure that you did all you-"
"That's the problem!" shouted Sanza, pointing at all of the Titans. "You all came... you all came and saved her, saved us, but... I'm Maddy's big brother! It's supposed to be my job to protect her! So when I came to the tower and I saw this suit... saw everything that it could do, and all the power it would give me-"
"But it wasn't yours," Robin said sternly. "Don't you even know the danger that you put people in? That you put yourself in?"
"That you put your family in," said Raven, having put two and two together. "Slade threatened your family... that's why you had to do what he said, isn't it?"
Sanza nodded, his face bowing into his hands.
"When I first took this suit, the gadgets stopped working... so then I found out that I needed Xynothium to fuel it. I found out where the Xynothium shipments were, and... started stealing them. It felt incredible... the rush, the feeling of excitement you get when you're in danger, being chased... the adrenaline..."
Robin knew that feeling well, having been ordered to steal by Slade during his brief stint as the evil mastermind's apprentice. But still, that didn't excuse everything Red X had done... including kidnapping Starfire.
"When Slade contacted me, I was going to tell him to go screw himself, but then he told me that he'd hurt my family if I didn't comply with his orders. That's why I came here..." said Sanza, letting out a long sigh. "I took this suit so that I wouldn't need the Titans to protect my family... but it looks like I do need you after all..."
The Titans still couldn't believe what they were hearing. Their Red X suit had been taken by a boy who couldn't be much older than many of them. And it hadn't been taken for money, or for power... Sanza had taken the suit to protect his family. All of the Titans, even Robin, could sympathize... but the fact remained. Sanza had committed a crime by taking the Red X suit.
Now, Sanza, a criminal, was asking for the Titans' help. He'd trusted them with the secret of his identity... but could they trust him? For all they knew, the story he'd concocted was a complete lie... or it could be the truth, and Sanza could be on another of Slade's missions, his family to be killed if he didn't infiltrate their tower.
"No wonder he liked me..." thought Starfire as she looked down at Sanza. He looked almost like a slightly darker version of Robin, except that Robin's hair was far spikier, and Sanza's face still had a long scar going down the side. The look of sadness on his face seemed genuine to Starfire, and she knew now why he'd been so scared at the fight with Robin. He'd been ordered into a fight to the death, and if he didn't win, his family would be killed. He was a kid who'd gotten caught up in something he couldn't get out of, almost like Robin when he'd been forced, like Sanza, to become Slade's apprentice. "I promise that we will do all that we can to help you..."
Sanza looked over at Starfire, her arms resting on the couch right next to Sanza's head. As he looked at her, she flashed him a brief, slight smile, and for the first time since Sanza had started telling the Titans his story, he smiled back.
"This was certainly unexpected," said Raven, "but I think you're telling us the truth... and that we share a common enemy."
"Yeah, it looks like you wanna take down Slade just as much as we do," said Cyborg, ready, at least temporarily, to accept Sanza as a comrade in arms.
Though Sanza had opened up his heart, and had revealed his face to the Titans, Robin still wasn't sure about helping him. He might not have been dangerous like Slade, but he still posed a threat, especially after all the times he'd attacked the Titans. Plus, he didn't seem like anyone worthy of the Titans' trust. After all, he'd stolen the Red X suit right out from under their noses... who knew what damage he could do if the Titans' trust had been misplaced again.
"Do you know where Slade is?" asked Robin. "You've been in contact with him, so I'll assume you do."
"The Tekita Refinery," said Sanza. "We can go there right now, or-"
"Not tonight," replied Robin, knowing that Slade would probably remain there, especially if he was using it as a factory to construct his deadly new tech. There were few places in Jump City that afforded him those kinds of resources, and even if he moved, the Titans could find him easily. "We need to rest up and start training tomorrow. Sanza, you're going to get a crash course in teamwork. Since you normally work alone, you need to realize that if you're going to fight with a team, you're going to have to know exactly how our team works or you're just going to get in the way."
"...we're making him a Teen Titan?" asked Beast Boy, looking over at Sanza. "I mean, I know he needs our help, but-"
"I'm not a Teen Titan, and I never will be," replied Sanza. "After all this is over, I'm gone. I won't do anything to you until we beat Slade, but afterward, I'm going to go back to being Red X... and Red X works alone."
"Then we'll just have to go back to trying to catch you," said Robin, "and taking you to jail. Until Slade's beaten, we won't bother you if you don't bother us. But afterward-"
"Then we have an agreement?" asked Sanza, extending his hand for Robin to shake. "Please say yes..."
Robin looked at Sanza's hand, wondering if he was really wise to be making such an agreement with a thief and criminal. Like Sanza said, after the battle with Slade, they'd go back to being enemies. Red X was hardly a Teen Titan... or even anywhere in the ballpark of being a Teen Titan.
But if they were going to work as a team, they'd have to get along... both Robin and Red X. Who knows... maybe Red X would keep his end of the bargain.
Robin and Sanza shook hands as the other Titans looked on, all of them still slightly in shock at the new developments that had taken place. After all the searching, the battles, and the mystery, they knew exactly who Red X was and why he'd taken up the suit... and yet they still had no idea who Sanza Salazar was. Only that he was apparently one of the most crafty and skilled 16-year-olds they'd ever met... and that he had a mother and sister that he loved very much.
"Now, as for where you'll be sleeping while you're here..." said Robin, looking up the stairs. "Terra's old room is still available, no one's lived in it since-"
"That's fine, I'll sleep out here on the couch," said Sanza, patting the red upholstery with his hand. "Feels nice and comfy, and I don't even need a blanket because the suit keeps me warm."
"Does he think we're going to lock him in Terra's room while he sleeps or something?" thought Robin.
"But... the couch seems so... couchy," said Starfire, her elbows still resting on top of it. "Do you not wish to have a room of your own during your stay?"
"Those rooms are for Teen Titans, of which I am not," replied Sanza. "Right here on the couch is fine."
"Well, if you're gonna sleep on the couch, I'd best be getting up and letting you have it!" said Cyborg, standing up and yawning while stretching his arms. "I'm gonna go hit the sack..."
"Actually," thought Sanza, pulling down his glove and looking at his watch, which read '12:20', "school's tomorrow and I should probably be getting some sleep too... and calling mom and Maddy, who are probably really worried about me..."
Soon after Cyborg left, Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy exited the room as well, after Robin gave Sanza a stern warning about not trying to steal anything from the tower. That left Sanza and Starfire, who only stayed to confirm that Sanza did, in fact, want to sleep on the couch.
"Starfire, I'll be fine," said Sanza, taking out his cell phone and dialing his friend Rob's number. "You need to get some rest too... I know you've had a tough day."
Starfire nodded, but remained at the couch for several seconds, watching Sanza as he began to speak to his friend.
"He is just an ordinary teenage kid... like we would be if we didn't stay in the tower all of the time..." thought Starfire, looking down at Sanza with a hint of jealousy. "He lives a real life... he has a mother and a sister who both care about him very much..."
Starfire thought of her own sister Blackfire, who treated her with cruelty and malice. Even so, Starfire could still see herself risking her life to protect her sister, should the need ever arise.
She turned and floated away from Sanza, who was asking Rob to cover for him while he told his mother he was sleeping over at his house. Before she stepped through the door that led out of the main room, she took one last look over at Sanza on the couch.
"I love Blackfire, and would protect her even though she is cruel to me... so I can only imagine how much Sanza would want to protect his sister, because I distinctly remember her being extremely kind... perhaps I was right about you, Sanza... perhaps you are not a criminal at all..."
As soon as Starfire left, Sanza made a call to his house, hoping that Maddy or his mother would be awake to answer at the other end.
The phone rang three times before it was finally picked up, and a slightly nervous female voice replied at the other end.
"Hello?" said Sanza's mother, causing Sanza to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mom, it's me... Sanza."
Sanza's mother gasped, her voice breaking up between her next few words.
"My God, Sanza, I was worried sick about you... when I didn't see you upstairs, I thought-"
"Mom, I'm really sorry... I snuck out when I saw those guys at our house, and ran over to Rob's," Sanza lied. "I shouldn't have left you there like that, but-"
"As long as you're safe, Sanza... I thought they might've kidnapped you or something, I was ready to call the police-"
"I'm just glad... that you and Maddy are fine, mom..." Sanza replied, almost allowing a sob to creep into his voice. "If you want me to come over... I know you and Maddy both want to see me again."
"It's all right, Sanza, you can stay at Rob's if you want... Maddy's asleep, and as long as I know you're safe... you know that school's tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, I'm just about to go to bed... I just wanted to make sure you were both okay... I'm so glad..."
"And I'm glad you're safe too, Sanza," said his mother, sniffling as she spoke. "I... I'm just so happy to know you're all right..."
Sanza placed the phone on the desk next to the couch, leaning back and clutching his mask to his chest. He looked toward the ceiling, high above his head... his family was safe, and soon, he and the Teen Titans would be working together to end Slade's reign of terror once and for all.
He didn't know what would happen after that... only that he would protect his family, no matter what the cost... and when it came to Slade, even if the Teen Titans were helping him, Sanza would still have the last word.
"No one messes with my family..."
And before he realized it, Sanza slipped into slumber.
O-O-O
Robin came down to the main room nearly two hours later... the Tower was dark by now, and Sanza was fast asleep on the couch, the Red X mask resting between his hands and his chest. Quietly, Robin walked over to him, an angry frown on his face. He stared at Sanza for several seconds, wondering how and why a kid no older than he was could've possibly gotten the best of him... of all the Titans, and had stolen the Red X suit, bringing back a demon that Robin had hoped he'd never have to deal with again.
"It's your fault..." thought Robin, angrily staring into Sanza's closed eyes. "That suit is nothing but trouble, and you're the reason it's back! You're asleep now... I can take the suit and take you to jail... it's right there... the suit is right there!"
It would be easy for Robin to take the suit right off of Sanza's slumbering back. The suit and the mask... Robin could take them and burn them, keep Red X from ever returning to torment the Titans again.
But then he took another look at Sanza's face... the scar still across his right cheek, and how he'd gotten it fighting against Robin to keep Starfire captive... no, not to do that, not to hurt Starfire or anyone else... but to protect his family.
Sanza took the suit to protect his family, who he loved very much.
"Just like how I became Robin when my own family was killed..." thought Robin, thinking all the way back to his days as Dick Grayson, a member of the 'Flying Graysons', and how he'd seen his own family killed at the hands of criminals. "If I'd have been Robin, maybe I could've protected them... that's why I became Robin in the first place..."
And how Bruce Wayne, Robin's idol, almost a second father to him, became Batman because his parents were killed. Love can push a person to do incredible things... and for Sanza, almost losing his sister had pushed him to become Red X. Had the Titans not arrived to save her, Sanza might've been forced to witness his own sister's death... and it was then that Robin understood exactly why Sanza had become Red X... not to be a villain, but to be a hero... to protect innocent people, just like Dick Grayson had been thinking when he became Robin.
He pulled back his hand away from Sanza and slowly turned around, walking out of the main room. Robin still knew that Sanza was a thief, a thief who'd sometimes stolen for a thrill and not just out of necessity. The letter of the law stated that Sanza was a criminal... but Sanza certainly didn't have the heart of a criminal.
"Because if Sanza's a criminal," thought Robin, as he took the elevator back up to his room, "then that makes me a criminal too..."
O-O-O
Sanza awoke to see the first rays of the sun, shining down on his face. He sleepily looked at his watch, which read '6:20'. Standing up, he let his Red X mask fall down on the couch as he rubbed his eyes. He could already hear the sounds of activity within the tower, and could faintly detect a scent that smelled suspiciously like eggs... or at least something close to it. Wearily, he walked toward the source of the smell, which seemed to be coming from the kitchen. There, he saw Cyborg seated at the table, and Beast Boy with a frying pan in his hand, standing over a hot stove.
"Well, good morning, Red X... or Sanza, or whatever you want us to call you," said Cyborg. With a sigh, Sanza glanced over at him.
"When I'm wearing the mask, I'm Red X. When I'm not, I'm Sanza," said Sanza, looking over at Beast Boy. The food in the frying pan looked like eggs, but upon closer look, he could see that the egg whites were slightly... browner than a normal egg white should be. "And I think you might've burned those eggs."
"This is tofu," said Beast Boy, eager to explain his dietary habits to the new temporary resident of the Tower. "I'm a vegetarian, so I don't eat anything that comes from an animal. Milk, meat, and eggs."
"So... you're a vegan then," said Sanza, correcting Beast Boy. "Vegetarians don't eat meat or eggs. Vegans are vegetarians that don't eat anything that comes from an animal."
"...whatever," replied Beast Boy, flipping the tofu eggs on his frying pan. "Just so you know, I'm making some for you too, so you'd better like it."
"Eh, my mom makes me eat tofu on Friday when I'm in the house," said Sanza, "because I'm a Catholic, and the only meat we can eat on Fridays is fish. You... do know what a Catholic is, right?"
"A religion centered around the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as told by the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and not affiliated with Christian denominations as formed after Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation," came a voice behind Sanza, which he immediately identified as Raven's. He turned around to see the blue-cloaked girl standing in the door, a serious look on her face. "And just so you know, I'm only trusting you because I can tell how much you genuinely love your sister Maddy."
Raven, who'd been reluctant to trust Terra when she'd appeared at the tower, and thus the most infuriated by Terra's betrayal, had also wondered about whether or not she should trust Sanza. It was the heartfelt, genuine nature of his story that swayed her, as well as the fact that she'd seen in Sanza the same familial devotion that she'd seen during her brief trip into Robin's mind. Terra didn't have a family to protect like Sanza did... thus, Raven could more easily believe that Sanza's motives weren't entirely criminal.
"I'm surprised you know so much about religious stuff, Raven..." Beast Boy commented, "since you're deep into the whole goth thing and all..."
"Said the guy who wanted to move to England just so he could put 'Jedi' as his religion on his census form," said Raven, not missing a beat.
"As long as you're here, you do what Robin says. He's the leader, and even though I sometimes disagree with his judgment, he's still pretty good at it," said Cyborg to Sanza. "Plus, he probably knows more about that suit than you do, since he's the one who made it."
"I doubt it, since I've been using it for six months now," replied Sanza, turning back to Raven. "Speaking of Robin, you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you? I'd like to patch a couple of things up with him."
"Upstairs, in his room," said Raven. "I'm not so sure if you should go see him right now..."
"I am sure," said Sanza, stepping out of the kitchen past Raven and walking toward the door at the end of the Titans' main room. "Elevator's down here and to the right, isn't it?"
"You should know, you've been here before," Raven said to him, not caring that he was already walking through the door. She walked into the kitchen and sat down across from Cyborg. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
"About Sanza?" asked Cyborg, still a bit reluctant to trust the newcomer to the Tower, knowing that his desire to help the Titans could still be all one big ruse set up by Slade. "Me too, but Robin said-"
"Not about Sanza," replied Raven. "About Slade... about Slade needing a new apprentice... what exactly is Slade planning that he'd need to work with someone like Red X to accomplish?"
"He probably wants to destroy the city, just like he did when he forced Terra to work for him," said Beast Boy, using his spatula to try and extricate an egg from the pan.
"Maybe..." said Raven, "but what about his new base of operations? The factory he was using... the cannon that his robots apparently made. For what Slade's planning, he doesn't need just Red X... he needs an entire army."
O-O-O
Robin's encounters with Slade were varied and numerous, but he remembered them all vividly, far more vividly than any other villain he'd ever faced, even a psychotic criminal like the Joker. Slade was more dangerous than anyone back in Gotham... he'd nearly destroyed the city more times than Robin could remember, and had once helped Trigon to nearly destroy the world.
At least he had Red X off his mind... but not entirely, as he knew that Red X was now going to be helping the Titans to take out Slade. Or at least Robin hoped that Red X would help... having Red X in the Tower would put him in an easy position, like Terra before, to cause serious injury to the Titans and their Tower.
Robin could only hope that Red X's devotion to his family would come before his obligations as Slade's apprentice. The worst-case scenario was that Red X's family wasn't being threatened at all, that he was a willing accomplice... he'd admitted to kidnapping Starfire of his own accord, a sign that he might be willing to help Slade of his own accord as well.
"No, Robin... you were wrong about trusting Terra, but you won't be wrong about trusting Red X... besides, he's not even a Titan... he's just working with us until we beat Slade."
The door to Robin's room opened, and Robin, sitting at his desk and planning out just how the Titans and Red X could work together, turned toward the door, expecting to see Beast Boy inviting him downstairs for breakfast.
Instead, he saw Sanza, standing in the doorway with a frown on his face.
"Can I come in?" asked Sanza. Robin sighed before nodding his head, allowing Sanza to walk into the room. The door closed behind him, and Sanza sat down on the side of Robin's bed, glancing at the desk where Robin was working.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" asked Robin. Sanza replied with a nod. "You know, I just about took the suit from you last night..."
"I should've expected he'd do something like that..." thought Sanza, realizing how foolish it had been for him to sleep without at least one eye open. "I get it, you still don't trust me. I understand, I haven't given you any reason to-"
"You took off your mask," said Robin. "That's one reason. That's the only reason. Had you not done that, I'd have been inclined to remove it myself."
Sanza smiled. His gesture of revealing his identity had worked... Robin trusted him just enough to allow him to keep his suit, at least until Slade was beaten.
"So... we're cool now, right?" asked Sanza.
"We shook on it, didn't we?" Robin replied, shifting in his chair so that he faced Sanza. "Until we beat Slade, you and the Titans are allies. That was our deal, and I plan to stick to it."
"So... the only way this deal can end is if I screw you over?"
Robin nodded, though his frown intensified slightly, annoyed that Sanza would even suggest such a thing.
"I don't intend to betray our deal," said Sanza. "Like I said... I need your help, as much as I hate to admit it."
Sanza stood up, now confident that Robin and the other Titans would hold up their end of the deal. But before he turned to leave, he knew that there was probably one thing that was still bothering Robin, and he wanted to address it. He looked straight into Robin's eyes, knowing that unless this last thing was addressed, there would still be an enormous amount of tension between the two of them.
"Starfire... about her, I... I would never intentionally hurt her," said Sanza, slightly bowing his head. "When I took her, I completely wasn't thinking, and-"
"If you want to apologize to someone, apologize to her and not to me," replied Robin, "if that's what you were going to do. If she can forgive you, then it's behind us. And if you're sincere with her, I'm pretty sure she'll forgive you. One more thing... you're fifteen, right?"
"Sixteen," said Sanza, a smirk on his face.
"You and I are the same age... so why the heck did you call me 'kid'?" asked Robin, now more puzzled than angry. Sanza's smirk grew into a full smile.
"If me calling you 'kid' automatically narrowed your list of suspects to anyone over the age of thirty, then it worked," said Sanza. "It took you six months to find out who I was, and only then after I showed you."
Robin leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
"And by the way," said Sanza, growing slightly more serious, "that emotion, that anger you have when someone puts Starfire in danger? Don't EVER let your enemies see that. They'll use that against you and it'll get both of you killed. The only reason I never used it against you is because I care about Starfire too damn much to hurt her just to get to you. But the rest of your enemies don't care, and they won't have any qualms about it. Especially some sick bastard like Slade... you let him know about your feelings for Starfire and I guarantee you that you'll both regret it."
Sanza's words were a shock to Robin, who stood up to reply only to have Sanza disappear behind a closed door. Sanza's words were harsh... but they were right, and Robin knew it. He sat back down in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and looking down at the floor.
"A sixteen-year-old kid figured that out faster than any of the villains in Jump City..." thought Robin, who wasn't even sure that Slade knew about his overprotective nature around Starfire. "Well, of course he was able to figure it out... he goes to high school, he probably sees crushes and relationships every day..."
Turning back around in his chair, Robin hastily returned to his work.
"What does he know?" Robin muttered to himself. "Starfire and I don't have a relationship any different from what I have with the other Titans..."
And just like that, he was back to protecting her again...
O-O-O
"If you want to apologize to someone, apologize to her and not to me..."
Robin was right, Sanza needed to see Starfire a lot more than he needed to see Robin. But did he really want to apologize to her? Red X didn't apologize to anyone... Starfire was a Titan, Starfire was the enemy, Starfire was...
The kindest, most beautiful girl Sanza had ever seen.
"What the hell was that?" thought Sanza, rapidly shaking his head. "Starfire's just like any other girl... and I don't have to apologize to her!"
You apologized to Cleo...
"Now my conscience is trying to tell me what to do? Since when does Red X have a conscience?" thought Sanza, walking down the hall with his head bowed, staring at the floor. He walked past Starfire's room and back toward the elevator that would take him down to ground level. He didn't see Starfire as she emerged from the elevator and walked straight toward him.
The two bumped into one another and immediately leapt back.
"Sanza?" said Starfire, stunned to see him as she came out of the elevator. "What... why are you-"
"I came to talk to Robin, and now I'm going back downstairs to have breakfast," said Sanza. "And then I'm leaving to go to school."
"I thought you were going to be working with us now..." replied Starfire. "What happened to that?"
"I'm coming here right after school," said Sanza, scratching his head. "No, wait, I'm going to come home to say hi to my mom and sister, and then I'm coming here. Because I haven't seen them since yesterday, and they're probably worried..."
"Yes... yes, they probably are..."
Starfire's voice was calm, not angry at Sanza in the least, even though she'd been the one probably most affected by his actions. As the two awkwardly stood in the hall, neither of them willing to speak, Sanza's conscience decided to speak for him. Or at least what Sanza believed to be his conscience.
"Starfire, about everything, I... if I've ever hurt you, I'm really... what I meant to say was-"
"There is no need... I have already forgiven you," said Starfire, a warm smile on her face. "I have thought much about what has happened over the past few days, and I realize that you never once intended to harm me, even in the slightest... you were doing what Slade required of you, and nothing more."
"But when I kidnapped you, that was me!" said Sanza, pointing at himself. "Me, me, me, me! You're not still mad at me for that?"
"If we are going to fight Slade together, we must all work as a cohesive team... which means forgetting our past grudges and perhaps becoming friends," said Starfire, extending her hand out to Sanza. He looked at it and recoiled slightly, unsure of whether to actually take it, or kiss it, or...
"Starfire, after we beat Slade, you and I are going to be enemies. I'm still Red X, no matter what happens between now and when Slade goes down," said Sanza, though the look on his face told otherwise. Somewhere, deep within his heart, he wanted to be friends with the Titans... or at least with Starfire, who showed him kindness and acceptance when none of the other Titans would. "I'm addicted to stealing, you know? I'm going to be the world's greatest thief, and-"
"Tell me," said Starfire, her smile disappearing and her hands going to her hips. "Had Slade not contacted you after you abducted me, what would you have done to me?"
"Well, I guess... I guess I'd have ordered the Titans to leave me alone while I raided a jewelry store or something," said Sanza. "You'd have been a bargaining chip."
"And had they not done what you asked, what then?" asked Starfire. "What if they would have attacked you anyway? Would you have harmed me?"
Now Sanza knew what Starfire was trying to get at. She was trying to draw out some sort of response, trying to gauge Sanza's capability for evil... she was trying to see if Sanza really had the heart of a criminal.
"...of course not," said Sanza, resigning himself to telling Starfire the truth. "I'd have probably just left you somewhere for the Titans to find, and made extra-sure to take it out on Robin next time we fought."
"So... you would not have harmed me?" asked Starfire, watching as he started walking around her toward the elevator. "I am talking to you! Would you or would you not have-"
"No!" shouted Sanza, turning to face Starfire. "I'd never hurt you, because I... because I... because-"
"I see..." said Starfire, interrupting Sanza before he could finish. She continued to stand in the hallway, a blank look on her face as she watched Sanza turn back toward the elevator again. "I knew it... but does he also know that Robin and I are...?"
Sanza knew... and he also knew that his chances with Starfire were slim to none. He walked over to her, wondering what Starfire could possibly be thinking. He reached up to touch her face... then pulled back his hand, the sudden movement causing Starfire to look right at him, straight into his eyes.
"He... he cares about you... you know that, right?" asked Sanza. Starfire nodded, a smile crossing her face yet again.
"Robin and I... are probably closer than the other Titans... at least, that is what I understand... he has trouble expressing his feelings, but..."
"Good," thought Sanza, knowing that Robin's reluctance was a defense mechanism intended to protect Starfire. "I just thought I'd let you know... I'm sorry I bothered you."
Sanza turned back around and walked toward the elevator, knowing that he'd probably made a complete fool of himself in Starfire's presence. The last thing he expected was to feel Starfire's hand touch his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator.
"Please," said Starfire, only continuing to speak once Sanza had turned to face her, "consider... not stealing anymore... after we beat Slade. You are a kind person, and I know that you can be a wonderful friend, if you wish..."
Sanza frowned, but instead of turning away from Starfire, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a light hug. She returned the hug, her arms wrapping softly around his back.
"Thank you... for forgiving me," said Sanza, pulling away from Starfire and backing into the elevator, pressing the button to go back down. "If stealing ever stops giving me a thrill... I might give you guys a call."
As the elevator slowly descended to the ground level of Titans Tower, he leaned against the back wall and smiled.
"As if that'll ever happen," thought Sanza, having enjoyed very thoroughly just having 'stolen' a hug from Starfire. "Sometimes, Star, you're just too damn nice for your own good..."
After eating breakfast, Sanza put on his Red X mask before walking out of the tower and swimming across the bay back toward Jump City.
"Looks like I'm gonna be late for school today..." thought Red X, thinking about all the difficult training Robin and the other Titans were probably going to put him through. "But if it all leads to kicking Slade's ass worse than it's ever been kicked before... than it's totally worth it."
O-O-O
An alliance has been forged, loose as it may be... the Titans are getting ready for a battle with Slade, but will their newfound ally Red X be an asset or a liability? And how will Slade try to sway his new apprentice? If you think you've seen some amazing stuff so far, you're definitely in for a surprise!