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
As the searing heat from Slade's syringes coursed through his body, Red X stood up, faced with the concerned stares of the five Teen Titans. The giant robot's orange glow had disappeared, and it was once again poised to attack.
"What happened?" Robin shouted, focusing his attention on the wound in Red X's side. "What did that thing do to-"
"It's going to attack!" shouted Red X, rushing toward the robot with one hand still clutching his side, his other hand tingling and blistered, having also been affected by the serum. "I can't tell them that Slade was trying to kill them... at least not here... they'll never trust me if they know I was part of the plan..."
"Starfire, float up and see if you can breach its hull again!" shouted Raven, her focus returning to the battle. "Just try not to get grabbed this time..."
Starfire nodded, and floated up to the underbelly of the robot, placing her hands on the metal and beginning to form Starbolt energy into heat again.
"We'll try to keep this thing's legs away while you make us a hole!" shouted Cyborg, blasting two of the large, swinging tendrils with his arm cannon. Red X and Robin stood back to back directly underneath the robot, tossing shurikens and Bat-a-Rangs at its legs as they tried to swing inward at Starfire.
"I can't believe I'm actually fighting with him like this..." thought Red X, coordinating his attacks with Robin as the two stood together under the robot's immense frame. It was almost surreal, Robin and Red X working with one another like some kind of bizarre WWE tag team, especially when X recalled their brutal fights over the past few days.
"X, look out!" shouted Robin, suddenly running around in front of Red X and extending his bo staff to block an incoming laser blast. Red X groaned and leapt back, angry that Robin had stepped up to defend him.
"I can look out for myself," replied Red X, who'd seen the laser but had been too busy attacking the robot's legs to block it. "Don't step up for me like that, kid."
"He doesn't need to protect his identity anymore, and he's still calling me that," thought Robin, glaring angrily at Red X as the thief resumed his assault on the robot's legs. "I thought we were a team!"
Red X merely chuckled, not offering a reply to Robin's comment. Robin was about to repeat his statement, when a joyous cry from above diverted his attention to the robot's underbelly. There, Starfire's energy had created a large hole where the robot's structure had been severely damaged. The hole was sparking and smoking, a glaring weakness that all of the Titans now knew to aim at.
Beast Boy quickly turned into a hummingbird and fluttered into the hole, transforming into a Tyrannosaurus Rex once he'd made it inside. He began chewing and tearing at wires, immediately causing the robot to behave erratically, staggering about as if it were drunk.
"Great job, Beast Boy!" shouted Robin, directing the other Titans to the underside of the robot. "Everybody, aim for the hole!"
"Azarath, metreon, zinthos!" shouted Raven, aiming a large beam of dark energy straight into the robot's core, creating a brilliant black flash that nearly knocked the machine off of its robotic legs, and knocked a detransformed Beast Boy out of the hole. He was quickly caught by Starfire, who set Beast Boy down on the ground before firing a barrage of Starbolts and eye lasers into the hole. Another large explosion threw the robot backward, knocking it off balance and causing the enormous spherical head of the machine to crash toward the ground, slamming into the street and throwing up a large amount of asphalt on impact. By now, the street was abandoned, so no one was hurt as the robot made its final descent.
"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg in a celebratory tone, firing his arm cannon straight into the now-grounded robot's weak spot. The beam blew the head of the robot apart entirely, scattering its debris all over the street. All that remained of the enormous bot were six disembodied mechanical tendrils and a heap of smoldering scrap metal in the middle of the road. "We did it!"
"Great work, team!" said Robin, congratulating the Titans as they gathered around the heap of scrap that had once been one of Slade's formidable robots. Red X, unwilling to join in the celebration, slowly turned to walk away. As he did, the blistering wound in his side became nearly unbearable, and he fell to one knee, groaning in pain.
"Damn..." thought Red X, shaking his head and blinking his eyes. His vision had become hazy, and he became violently nauseous, his body swaying back and forth as he knelt on the ground. "Guess that wound was more serious than I thought."
"You... okay?" asked Raven, a hint of concern in her calmly monotone voice.
"Dude, I think he's hurt... really badly!" shouted Beast Boy, who began running over to Red X, along with the other Titans. He extended his hand toward the costumed thief, only to have it roughly slapped away.
"Don't you touch me," said Red X, turning away from Beast Boy and wobbling as he looked down at the ground. He was getting more and more nauseous by the second, and finally, he could no longer contain the urge to vomit. He ripped the mask from his head... and then, without a word, fell unconscious on the ground.
O-O-O
Sanza awoke in the Titans Tower infirmary, his vision hazy for several seconds after he awoke. When he looked down, he could see that not only had his Red X costume been removed, but his undershirt as well, leaving him in only a pair of blue jeans. His hand was heavily bandaged, as was his hip where the wound from Slade's exploding syringes had been made. He let out a groan, still feeling the dull pain in his side.
"Finally awake, huh?"
Sanza looked up and to the side of the bed. There, sitting in a small wooden chair and reading a comic book, was Cyborg, a smile on his face.
"Raven didn't have enough energy after the fight to use her healing powers on you, so Robin and the others patched you up and put you in bed. You've been asleep for about two or three hours now."
"Unnnh..." groaned Sanza, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his hand over his bandaged side. He wasn't surprised that the Titans had helped him, but he did feel slightly vulnerable in their tower without his costume. For all he knew, the X suit could be inaccessibly locked up in a safe somewhere. And if that was the case, he knew there was nothing he could do. "Where are the others?"
"Robin's in his room studying some of the robot's parts to see where it originated from. Raven's in the front room, and Beast Boy's in there with her watching TV. I've got no idea where Starfire is... she was in here watching you for a while, then she left a little while ago and told me to watch you until she got back."
Sanza smiled, unable to help but feel grateful that Starfire had watched him.
"How long was she here?" asked Sanza, trying to remove the smile from his face.
"Since you were brought in until she left a few minutes before you got up," said Cyborg. "Star told me about the talk you guys had this morning... about how you were sorry for kidnapping her."
"Yeah, well, I was going to take you, but your robot ass would've been way too busy to carry," said Sanza, trying to act as tough as he could. Cyborg, not buying the 'tough act' for a second, simply smirked and interrogated Sanza further.
"You like her, don't you?" asked Cyborg, playfully nudging Sanza in the ribs. Sanza grimaced in pain, clutching his side and scooting back in the bed.
"Hell no," Sanza replied, a terrible lie if there ever was one. "Can't you focus on your own damn relationships and stay the hell out of mine?"
Sanza still didn't know if he was going to tell the Titans about Slade's syringes. They just assumed that the robot had burned Sanza's hand and side, and as far as Sanza was concerned, that's all they needed to know.
"Just askin'," said Cyborg, turning slightly away from Sanza. "You do know she's Robin's girlfriend, right?"
Out of all the Titans, Cyborg was definitely the one who razzed Robin about Starfire the most, knowing that Robin and Starfire probably had the closest one-on-one relationship out of any two of the Teen Titans. He knew how tense Robin often got, and hoped that his friend could lighten up enough to acknowledge his feelings about Starfire... with a little persuasion, of course.
Right now, Sanza didn't care about Robin, or even about Starfire... well, he cared about Starfire, but not about Robin and Starfire. That's it, that's what he didn't care about. What he did care about was that the left side of his waist was covered in a nasty second-degree burn that stung more and more with every waking second that went by.
As Sanza started to respond, the infirmary door slid open. Sanza turned his head, and his eyes stared straight into Starfire's, who was standing in the door and holding what appeared to be a large, blue teapot and a matching blue mug. As she saw Sanza, her face lit up, and she nearly dropped both the teapot and the mug.
"Wonderful, you are awake!" said Starfire, walking over to Sanza and handing him the blue mug of tea. As she did, Sanza could get an easy whiff of the pungent aroma emerging from the cup... a smell that Sanza had never smelled before, but one that he instantly knew he never wanted to smell again. "It is the delicious Tamaranian delicacy of Mulk Tea, a delicious and wonderful treat!"
"I'm not drinkin' this," said Sanza, gently pushing the cup back toward Starfire. Though he was happy to see her, he didn't want to have anything to do with her if she was going to push disgusting liquids in his face.
"Aw, c'mon, Sanza, drink the tea!" said Cyborg, before catching a whiff out of the teapot and wrinkling his nose. "On second thought, you might have a good point..."
"But why not?" asked Starfire, looking slightly hurt. "Once you drink it, your ailments will be soothed and your heart will be immediately lifted!"
"Because it probably tastes like shit," said Sanza, his hand still pushing against the side of the cup of tea. Immediately, he could feel Starfire yank the mug away, her red hair swooshing through the air as she violently turned around.
"Hey, that was uncalled for!" shouted Cyborg, rising from his chair and pointing his finger in Sanza's face. Suddenly, Starfire stepped in front of him, turning to look into Cyborg's face.
"Please... I shall speak to Sanza," replied Starfire, gently requesting Cyborg to leave. He nodded, and turned to walk out of the room as Starfire turned back to Sanza, who now began to regret so rudely refusing Starfire's tea. "You know, I do not understand a person like you... one moment, you are telling me that you do not wish to hurt me, that you are sorry for what you have done to me, and that you perhaps wish to be my friend, and the next moment, you are using Earth obscenities to my face! If you did not wish to have some of my tea, you could have been a lot less rude about it..."
"Why the hell do I care that I hurt her feelings?" thought Sanza, looking up into Starfire's hurt and angry face with genuine regret. "She's a Teen Titan... she's the enemy... but she's probably the nicest person I've ever met... Starfire, it's not... it's not you, it's just..."
Why had Sanza tried so hard to antagonize the Titans, even after he'd made a deal with them to work together to fight Slade? It seemed like even when he wasn't wearing the mask, he was trying to be Red X... trying to intimidate the Titans into helping him instead of being as grateful and friendly as he could.
Sanza's hesitation to inject the Titans with Slade's serum had saved their lives, and they didn't even know it.Is that what he was angry about when he'd woken up? That they should be grateful to him?
He'd come within seconds of killing Starfire, and now he was being rude to her, even after she'd sat by his bedside for two hours to make sure she was okay. Even if he was still the Titans' enemy, still Starfire's enemy... what he'd said, what he'd done... it wasn't right. Maybe right for Red X, but definitely not right for Sanza.
"I'm sorry, Starfire..." said Sanza, looking up into her eyes, which were still narrowed in anger. "I shouldn't have said that..."
"You are right, you should not have... all we were trying to do-"
"Is help me, I know," said Sanza, with a sigh. "You brought me here and took care of me... and Cyborg told me how you stayed in here after Robin and the others bandaged me up. Thank you... I didn't tell you that when you came in, but... thank you."
Immediately, Starfire's expression softened, and her eyes returned to their bright, normal roundness. She gently set down the teapot and mug on the table next to Sanza's bed and sat down on the chair next to him, a slight smile appearing on her face.
"You are welcome..." she said, briefly glancing once more at Sanza's wound before her gaze returned to his face. "I am just glad that you are unharmed... without your help, we may not have won the fight today."
"Of course you would have," replied Sanza, as sincerely as he could. "It was the heat from your energy that caused the robot's armor to weaken enough for us to strike him."
"But it was you and Robin working together that freed me from its grasp when I was captured," said Starfire. "Without both of you together..."
"He'd have found a way, Starfire," replied Sanza, referring to Robin, who Sanza knew from experience would never fail to protect Starfire when her life was in danger.
Starfire smiled, looking up toward the ceiling and thinking of Robin... his bravery, his determination, and his unwavering kindness... when Starfire looked back toward Sanza, she could see that he was smiling, not even trying to hide it.
Sanza couldn't help but feel happy around Starfire, especially when she felt the same way. Whether it was about him or Robin didn't matter, simply seeing Starfire's smile was enough to warm his heart.
"Starfire, you're such a kind person... you'd never hurt anyone unless you were forced to, and when you do have to fight, you still look for the good in the heart of the person you're fighting... you're always looking for the good in people's hearts, that's why... that's why I..."
Sanza didn't know what he was saying, but once he started, he knew he couldn't stop. It was a burden, and he had to get it out into the open. He had to tell Starfire how he felt... he knew that that was the one thing that he had over Robin, was the ability to express himself truthfully. Maybe, just maybe, if he was the first to tell Starfire, she might...
"Sanza, I believe you might be overestimating me..." Starfire said, humbled by Sanza's words. She couldn't remember herself always looking for the good in people... certainly not people like Trigon or Slade, who she fought with all her might without holding back. Even when she fought Red X, she gave it her all, despite the fact that she knew there was a real, maybe good person behind the mask.
And what was Sanza saying to her? Was it everything she wanted Robin to say? She couldn't be sure... she always knew that she'd probably have to be the first to admit her feelings to him, if either of them were actually going to speak without holding back.
"Starfire, I... everything I'm telling you is the truth," said Sanza, who began leaning toward Starfire as he spoke, so that his face was now just a short distance away from hers, and drawing closer. "You really are the nicest person I've ever met..."
And then, before Starfire could respond and before Sanza truly knew what he was doing, his lips brushed against hers, ever so slightly before pressing slightly more forward into an actual kiss... and stayed there for just more than a second, Sanza only pulling away as Starfire realized Sanza's lips had touched hers. Immediately, he shook his head, his now-trembling hand moving up to his now tingling lips.
Starfire didn't know how to respond, and she too raised her hand to her lips. Should she be disgusted? Enraged? Flattered?
"No... I shouldn't have done that," said Sanza, immediately starting to turn away. "What the hell was I thinking? It's... I'm not the one who should be... it's Robin you should be with... you care about him, and he cares about you. He deserves someone like you, Starfire... more than I could ever-"
Starfire stood up from the chair and stared at Sanza for several seconds, her face still slightly showing some remnants of shock.
"So he does know..." thought Starfire. "He knows that Robin and I... that I..."
"I'm sorry," said Sanza, though in his mind he was once again beginning to feel happy that he'd gotten away with kissing Starfire, at least a small kiss.
"You... you should be," she replied, narrowing her eyes and trying to sound as indignant as she could. "On my planet, such displays of affection are reserved only for-"
"That's the way it is on this planet too," said Sanza, turning back toward Starfire. His talk with Starfire had made him immediately realize that he had to come clean, not just about his feelings for Starfire, but about what Slade had almost made him do. For Starfire's sake, as well as the other Titans. "Star, go tell Robin and the others that I've got something important to tell them..."
Starfire nodded, picking up her teapot and mug as she walked out of the room.
"And if you ever get the chance..." said Sanza as Starfire walked out the door, "tell Robin how you really-"
The door closed behind Starfire, and Sanza stood up, grimacing from the dull pain in his side.
"Or don't," he said quietly, a frown on his face. "See if I care..."
But Starfire, who still had the memory of Sanza's kiss fresh in her mind, tried to remember the sensation exactly as it was... so that she could juxtapose Robin in Sanza's place. It didn't work, Starfire quickly realized... only a real kiss from Robin could bring that kind of sensation.
"I should tell Robin how I feel..." thought Starfire, sighing as she brought the tea items back to the kitchen, all the tea she'd made still swooshing around inside of them. Sanza's kiss hadn't angered her as much as she thought it would... at least she knew how he felt... and if he could ever get over his thievery obsession, he might actually be someone Starfire could see herself... maybe... "...maybe later..."
O-O-O
Starfire gathered the other four Titans, who came to the living room to find the bandaged Sanza seated in the couch, still dressed in only his blue jeans. As Robin entered the room, he held the Red X costume folded up in his hands. With a slight bit of hesitated, he presented the costume to Sanza, who took it and put it in his lap.
"We still have our deal," said Robin, "and I told you I wasn't going to go back on it."
"That's kind of you," replied Sanza with a bit of sarcasm, resting his elbows on the folded-up costume after checking to see that the utility belt and Xynothium reactor were still in place. They were.
"Now, what was it you wanted to tell us?" Raven asked, having taken the seat on the couch next to Sanza. "Starfire didn't give us any details."
"That's because I didn't give her any," replied Sanza, now beginning to feel nervous as he realized the implications of what he was about to confess. "I wanted to tell all of you at the same time. The robot that attacked the city today was sent by Slade."
"I already knew that," said Robin, "from studying the components of the robot scrap I collected."
"Wait a minute, Sanza... if you knew the robot was made by Slade, why didn't you know how to stop it?" asked Beast Boy.
"Good point," said Robin, glaring over at Sanza. "Did Slade tell you he was sending a robot to-"
"I had no idea he would send it," replied Sanza, "and I don't care if you believe that or not. What I really have to tell you is a lot more important. That robot was sent to activate something... and when it did, I got the wounds on my body that you guys patched up."
"So... Slade sent the robot to hurt you if you didn't do what he said?" asked Raven.
"When you were unconscious, we scanned your body for implants Slade might have placed on you, but none were found," said Cyborg.
"He didn't place an implant on me," Sanza continued. "The robot triggered five syringes that I'd been carrying to explode. Four of them in my pocket, and one in my hand. The syringes continued a liquid that Slade instructed me to inject into each of you. Had I been able to do that, it would have exploded inside your bloodstream, probably killing all of you instantly."
The Titans gasped, and Robin stood up, walking over to Sanza in a burst of rage.
"I trusted you!" Robin shouted, clenching his fists. "I took you in here, trusting that you hadn't been sent by Slade to-"
Sanza stood up, his eyes staring straight into Robin's. He refused to back down.
"Slade told me that the syringes contained tracking devices and nothing else! He didn't trust me either, because he knew that I wouldn't have injected you if I knew they were lethal!"
"Liar!" Robin shouted, grabbing for the costume in Sanza's hands. When Sanza pulled it back, Robin lunged for Sanza's throat.
"Chill!" shouted Beast Boy, standing up and trying to stop Robin from attacking Sanza. "What if he's telling the truth?"
Starfire, slightly stunned by Sanza's confession, couldn't bring herself to stop Robin, but also couldn't bring herself to be mad at Sanza either. Sanza had already promised her that he wouldn't hurt her... she knew that Sanza wouldn't inject her with something that might cause her harm.
But then again, she also knew that Sanza's family could be hurt if Sanza didn't follow Slade's instructions. He obviously valued the lives of his family over the lives of the Titans... but still, there was no way for Starfire to know if Sanza was aware of the true contents of the syringes.
"Beast Boy's right," replied Raven, as much as it pained her to say it. "If Sanza knew about the syringes, he would have also known about the robot, and probably wouldn't have been attacking it as furiously as he was."
"Even if he didn't know, the fact remains that he was still going to inject us with something made by Slade. Even if he thought it was just a tracking device... sabotage is sabotage, and-"
Sanza didn't stay to hear the rest of Robin's speech, because he was already heading for the exit of Titans Tower, slipping on his costume as he walked.
"It's clear that neither you nor Slade trust me," said Sanza, putting the Red X mask over his face. "And I really don't blame you. But if you don't trust me, we can't fight effectively as a team. In other words, the deal is off. I'll take care of Slade myself. Goodbye, Titans."
"You can't leave!" Robin shouted, but Red X was already walking out the door, letting it close loudly behind him. Robin began to give chase, but he was stopped by Starfire's soft hand on his shoulder. The girl was gently shaking her head.
"He is right... we do not trust him," said Starfire softly, still remembering her kiss from earlier.
"He's working for Slade... whether by choice or not, he's still working for Slade... and we can't trust anyone who works for Slade," said Robin, his voice slightly disappointed. "And I almost thought we could trust Red X..."
O-O-O
It was the first time Red X had taken this particular elevator... he didn't know where it went, except that it went up, and that it would take him directly to Slade.
"We need to talk..." thought Red X, feeling genuinely betrayed by Slade's lie, though he should have known someone like Slade would try to deceive him. "You really think I'd screw around with my family's lives on the line? What kind of idiot do you take me for?"
The elevator stopped at the end of a long, narrow hallway on the top floor. It opened up, and Red X stepped out into the hall, barely able to see the large, black double doors at the other end. He could barely hear the sounds of the factory below, echoing up into the dark hallway.
In years past, troubled employees would take this walk to learn from the refinery dispatcher that they were being fired. Now, Red X was taking an equally uneasy walk, though instead of a factory boss, he was dealing with a criminal mastermind who could have him and everyone he cared about erased from the Earth.
He stopped for a second in front of the double doors, reaching out to the handle only to hesitate and pull his hand slightly back. Then, pushing all thoughts of revenge from his mind, he moved to open the door... only to have it open by itself, the doors swinging into the room and revealing Slade standing behind his desk, facing away from the wall toward the monitors on the other side of the room.
"I thought you might show up," said Slade, his hand gesturing to a chair in front of the desk without turning the rest of his body. "Have a seat."
"I'd prefer to stand," replied Red X.
"You really should be more obedient, Sanza... I'll tell you one more time to have a seat, before Maddy gets a bullet to the head."
But instead of sitting down, or even moving toward the chair, Red X held up both of his hands... with middle fingers extended high into the air.
"Cute," Slade replied, knowing that it would take him at least a minute to get his bots into position to attack Sanza's house. Either way, Red X knew he was bluffing, and Slade really didn't care. He'd gotten used to disobedient apprentices... and he'd also gotten to like the challenge of bending them to his will. "I assume the Titans know about the syringes."
"I told you I could kill them in their sleep," said Red X, finally walking over to the chair and sitting down, mostly because his legs were starting to hurt. "You could've at least told me what was in the syringes before your robot caused them to burn off half my pelvis."
With a chuckle, Slade turned around to finally face Red X. He pulled out his own chair and sat down across from him at the desk.
"You wouldn't have killed them with the syringes, just like you wouldn't have killed them in their sleep," said Slade. "Even if you weren't plotting with them against me, which I strongly suspect you are... your sense of honor wouldn't permit you to kill them in such a deceptive fashion. You're one of those... 'gentleman thieves', aren't you?"
"And what does someone like you know about being a gentleman?"
"I tire of this," said Slade, standing up and walking over to Red X, leaning down so that his face was just a few feet away from Sanza's. "Next time, you will do as I ask. You act as if your family's lives don't matter..."
"I told you, Slade, if you touch them-"
"You will LISTEN to me and you will do what I ask!" shouted Slade, his hand roughly grabbing Red X's jaw and pulling the thief out of his chair, staring right into his face. "As long as you are my apprentice, you will follow my orders! You're lucky that I'm allowing you to even see your family, let alone allow them to live! And if you're really only pretending to be with the Titans to gain their trust, then why did you come back here? Just to tell me what to do?"
"They don't trust me anymore after that syringe stunt you pulled..." replied Red X, not resisting as Slade continued to hold him off of the ground.
"That's your problem, not mine," said Slade, tossing Red X back down into the chair. "And this little 'honor' thing that you have... you'll have to wean yourself of it really quick if you want to be my apprentice."
"That's just the thing," said Red X, standing back up to face Slade. "I don't."
"Oh, I think you do..." Slade replied, walking over to the other side of his desk and pressing a button. There, on Slade's monitors, was every room in the Salazars' house... including the bathroom, where Sanza's mother was currently taking a shower. Her back was facing the camera, so Slade couldn't really see anything, but the message was clear, and Red X's heart began pounding with rage.
"If you've looked at my sister on that thing, I'll kill you right now," said Red X, pointing his palm at Slade. With a laugh, Slade pressed another button, causing the monitors to switch back to the rooms of the factory.
"I'm not into that sort of thing... but just know that I can tell exactly where your family is, and whatever they're doing."
"I know," said Red X, lowering his hand, "which is the only reason I'm even here in the first place. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a tower to re-infiltrate."
"You can't escape me that easily," said Slade, not moving as Red X turned to leave his office. "Whenever I want, I can give you new instructions... and believe me, that time will be sooner rather than later. And you're right... good luck getting the Titans to trust you after the syringe incident."
As Red X left the office, Slade mulled over the success of his syringe plan. The way it had been set up was perfect... if Red X injected the Titans before the robot activated the syringes, they'd be dead. If X waited, and the Titans weren't injected, the syringes would be shattered and the Titans would be alive... but there would no longer be any semblance of trust between Red X and the Titans... and no chance of them forming an alliance.
"Either way, I win..." thought Slade. "Because I hate to lose."
O-O-O
The streets of Jump City were no place to be late at night... even for a fat, bearded man wearing a long, brown overcoat. But that didn't stop Control Freak, who'd escaped from prison and was now out on the town and looking for trouble. He'd even built a new remote control, which he was about to use to create plenty of havoc.
His plan to turn the denizens of Jump City into zombies with a deadly television program had failed, so instead, he was back to robbery... and as he walked down the dark road, under the glow of streetlamps... he was thinking about robbing a house.
The apartment buildings that lined the street would just have to do... and besides, there'd be more people in the apartment, which meant more valuables.
"This'll be great!" said Control Freak, pointing his remote at one of the buildings along the street. But just as he started to press the button that would open the door and allow him access to the building, he heard a familiar voice off in the distance...
"Great to see you back in jail," shouted Robin, flanked by Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. "Titans, go!"
Angered, but not surprised to see the Teen Titans, Control Freak smiled and pointed his remote at the nearest thing he could... a blue car parked by the side of the street. Immediately, the car's headlights began flashing, and the car raced down the street toward the Titans, seemingly with a mind of its own.
"It'll take more than a car to stop us," said Raven, gathering her energy. "Azarath, metreon, zinthos!"
A black barrier appeared in the street just in front of the car, but the car simply drove around it, its two front seatbelts snapping forward toward the Titans. The seatbelts ensnared around Robin and Starfire, pulling them both back into the front seat of the car, which continued on past the other three Titans and zoomed uncontrollably down the street.
"You ain't goin' anywhere!" shouted Cyborg, his chest opening to reveal two long chains that zipped out of his chest and toward the back wheels of the car.
While Cyborg was saving his friends, Beast Boy transformed into a powerful ram, charging toward Control Freak and trying to knock the remote from his hands. Control Freak just smiled, leaping up and zapping two nearby streetlamps with the remote. The lamps turned into lasers that fired down upon Beast Boy, making small explosions wherever the lasers impacted. One such explosion made a crater that Beast Boy's two front hooves fell into, knocking him off-balance and sending him hurtling forward, his horns slamming hard into the ground.
Inside the runaway car, Robin was struggling against the seatbelt wrapped around his arms, trying to grab a Bat-a-rang from his utility belt to cut himself loose. Starfire too was taking matters into her own hands, fighting against the seatbelt with all her might. A powerful tug broke her arms free, and she floated out of her seat, following the car as Robin tried to escape.
"I will try and get you out, but you must not move!" called Starfire, looking back to see Cyborg being dragged along by the car, his chains doing little to stop its movement. He planted his feet into the pavement, but that simply created sparks, as the force of the car's motion was far greater than anything Cyborg could do to stop it. "Please, go back and stop Control Freak, Robin and I will-"
A tall brick building suddenly towered before the car, just a few dozen yards away. Robin frantically intensified his struggles, while Starfire gasped and blasted her eye lasers at the seatbelt holding Robin. The blast was precise, and Robin was cut free, leaping into Starfire's arms at the last possible moment before the car slammed into the building in a fiery explosion.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" shouted Cyborg, tossed backward by the force of the blast and hitting his back on the ground. "Unngh..."
"Are you all right, Robin?" asked Starfire, setting Robin down on the ground. He nodded to her, brushing the dust and debris from the explosion off of his costume.
"Thanks, Star... but we need to go back and take care of Control Freak," said Robin, running back down the street as quickly as he could. "I just hope Raven and Beast Boy can handle him until we get back..."
Back at the battle, Raven was using her energy shield to block the blasts from Control Freak's lamp lasers.
"If you think that's the only thing you need to worry about from me, you're dead wrong!" shouted Control Freak, laughing as he pointed his remote at the ground beneath Raven's feet. The asphalt beneath Raven suddenly turned into a quicksand-like goo, sucking Raven under all the way to her waist before hardening again, trapping Raven halfway in the ground.
"Not good..." thought Raven, struggling to pull her legs out of their concrete-hardened state. Control Freak walked up to her, looking down at his remote.
"Now I know there's gotta be a mute button on this thing somewhere..." said Control Freak, trying to figure out which of the many buttons to press.
"Azarath, metreon-"
"Ah, here it is!" said Control Freak, slamming his finger down on a small, yellow button. As Raven shouted out the last word, not a single sound could escape from her mouth... her voice had been completely taken away. As Control Freak laughed triumphantly, he felt a violent tug on the back of his overcoat. He turned around to see Beast Boy, now an alligator, his teeth clamped tightly on Control Freak's coat, an angry look in his eyes.
"Leave her alone!" thought Beast Boy, snapping at Control Freak with his powerful teeth.
"Crikey, that's a mighty big crocodile!" shouted Control Freak, in a mock Australian accent. He pointed the remote at himself, and his outfit transformed into a khaki jacket and wide-brimmed beige hat. "Or is it an alligator? Guess I'll just have to wrestle it and find out!"
Control Freak grabbed alligator Beast Boy by the neck and locked him in a powerful half-Nelson, much to Beast Boy's surprise. He quickly transformed into a mouse, but just found himself in even more of a headlock.
"Yo, wasn't that show canceled when the dude fed his kid to one of the crocodiles?" shouted Cyborg, his arm cannon pointed directly in Control Freak's face. Robin and Starfire stood at either side of him, their expressions serious.
Control Freak quickly tossed mouse Beast Boy away and stood up, his hands on his hips.
"Speaking of crocodiles, I just got an awesome idea!" shouted Control Freak, pointing his remote down at the street below and pressing a button. Suddenly, every manhole in sight popped open, water from the sewers gushing rapidly into the air. Raven, still trapped halfway in the street and muted by Control Freak, fired a blast downward that freed her legs, enabling her to float up into the air.
"Titans, spread out!" shouted Robin, running to one side of the street as manhole covers began falling all around the Titans.
A loud scream from Starfire caused Robin to look in her direction... only to see her floating nearly ten feet above the ground. Out of every open manhole emerged dozens of alligators, their eyes red with rage. Beast Boy was barely able to detransform from his mouse state and run away just before he would have been completely swallowed up in one of the gators' powerful jaws.
"Attack, my minions!" shouted Control Freak to the alligators, who seemed to obey his every word as they slowly closed in on the five Titans. Starfire and Raven, both of whom could float, quickly grabbed Robin and Cyborg respectively, holding them just out of reach of the gators' grasp.
"Dude, wait up!" shouted Beast Boy, transforming into a bat and flying above the gators as well.
"It's no fun if you're not going to play..." said Control Freak, a disappointed look on his face. "These gators are hungry, they have to eat someone... I guess I can just order them to go into every house on this street, and-"
"Don't you dare!" shouted Robin, dropping from Starfire's grasp and extending his bo staff to begin swatting at the gators. He knocked several of them back into the manholes, but the sheer number of the gators put him at a severe disadvantage.
"I can help," said Cyborg, gently dropping from Raven's grasp and firing multiple concussion blasts at the alligators. Like Robin, he too managed to knock a few of them back into the sewers, but the alligators rapidly regrouped, crawling closer and closer to the two grounded Titans.
"You will not be attacking anyone!" shouted Starfire, firing Starbolts not directly at the gators, but close enough so that the blasts would knock them into the manholes. She mostly concentrated on keeping the gator swarm away from Robin and Cyborg, while knowing that most of the gators were just being knocked back into the crowd, not into the manholes like they needed to be.
"Didn't you hear me?" shouted Control Freak, pressing another button on his remote and causing roller skates to appear on the alligators' feet. "ATTACK!"
With roller skates on, the alligators could go much faster, charging at Robin and Cyborg so fast that Starfire was barely able to keep up with blasting them. Raven too fired her blasts at the alligators, but without being able to speak, she couldn't focus her stronger blasts enough to be able to fire accurately, nearly hitting Robin and Cyborg as she tried to keep the gators away.
"This isn't any good if I can't use my focusing chant," thought Raven, her mind racing to come up with a solution. Meanwhile, Beast Boy had transformed into a gorilla, and was swatting away all the gators he could, but now that they had roller skates, he was quickly getting overwhelmed as the gators chomped at his feet and stomach. "Beast Boy!"
With as much focus as she could muster, Raven formed a soulself that floated over to Beast Boy and extended its arms, creating a powerful shield around him that blocked off the gators. Beast Boy quickly detransformed, looking up and watching as Raven struggled to keep up the shield.
"Raven, hold on!" shouted Beast Boy, glancing over at Control Freak. "If I can get his remote, I can press that mute button and give Raven her voice back..."
"That's right, Titans, you're no match for my alligator army!" shouted Control Freak, laughing as Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg struggled to fight off a crowd of gators, while Raven's soul shield around Beast Boy completely disappeared. "Devour them alive!"
Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla again, charging Control Freak while swatting off any gators that came near. As Beast Boy drew close, Control Freak's eyes widened, and he pointed his remote at the mighty green gorilla, hoping to halt Beast Boy with the press of a button.
"If you watched as many movies as I do, you'd know King Kong always died!" shouted Control Freak before Beast Boy suddenly swatted the remote from his hand with a powerful swipe of his paw. "HEY!"
Beast Boy detransformed and dived on the remote, pointing it at Raven and pressing the same button Control Freak had used to mute her earlier. Almost immediately, he was tackled by dozens of alligators, knocking the remote from his hands and back into Control Freak's.
"I'll take that, thank you very much!" shouted Control Freak, laughing as the gators ripped and bit at Beast Boy's flesh.
"HELP ME!" shrieked Beast Boy, his anguished cry causing Raven to emit a loud gasp.
"Azarath, metreon, ZINTHOS!"
Her powers completely focused, Raven was able to throw out a powerful blast from her body, its energy rushing forward like a shockwave. It slammed into all of the alligators, including the ones attacking Beast Boy, knocking all of them on their backs, and many of them into the sewers. Seeing their chance, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg let loose with a barrage of bombs, Starbolts, and missile blasts, knocking the remaining gators into the manholes. Before they could reemerge, Raven used her telekinesis to put the covers back on the manholes, sealing the alligators inside.
A weary, bruised, and lacerated Beast Boy stumbled over to the other Titans, his clothes covered in rips from the alligator claws and teeth.
"You... totally owe me..." said Beast Boy, before collapsing into Raven's arms. Sighing, she gently nudged him back on his feet, turning him around to face Control Freak, who looked angrier than ever.
"Let's beat this guy first," Raven said.
"You'll never beat me!" shouted Control Freak. "You barely overcame my gators, and I've got like..."
Control Freak stopped to take a brief count of the buttons on his remote before returning to his speech.
"Forty-five or so more buttons on this thing! So prepare to taste the wrath of the ultimate fighter, and that's the bottom line, if you smellelelelelelelelelelel... what Control Freak is cookin'! BWAHAHAHA! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Control Freak's laughter echoed down the street... and that, combined with the sounds of the ongoing fight, had kept Sanza Salazar awake for the last thirty minutes. He'd had a rough day, it was late, he wanted to sleep, but someone kept making a racket outside, and now he was going to find out who. He glanced out the window... and saw Control Freak standing just outside in the street below, still laughing. A quick look to the right brought the Teen Titans into Sanza's view.
"Oh," groaned Sanza, weakly climbing back into bed. "It's just the Titans fighting one of their lousy villains... who for some reason, is right outside my house."
As Sanza buried his face into the pillow to drown out Control Freak's laughter, a thought kept entering into his head. What if Control Freak wasn't there by chance? What if... what if he was merely a warning?
"That's enough!" shouted Robin, clenching his fists and quickly getting frustrated of Control Freak's antics. "Titans, attack!"
And with that, all five Titans rushed forward, only to have Control Freak point his remote at them and offer another snide remark.
"I don't know what this button does, so let's all find out together, shall we?"
Control Freak pressed the big red button in the middle of his remote, and all five Titans were surrounded by a bright, red glow. They collapsed to the ground and began clutching their chests, writhing and moaning in pain.
"It feels like... my heart... is gonna burst!" shouted Cyborg, feeling a great deal of pain despite the fact that his heart was mostly robotic. "What the heck did you just do?"
"I guess this must be the heart attack button..." replied Control Freak, watching the Titans' predicament with great amusement. "Who knew all of you were at risk? And so young, too, it's a real shame... BWAHAHAHA!"
"That... laugh..." thought Raven, gritting her teeth as she tried to stand, despite the immense pain in her chest. "I can't stand... that laugh..."
"Hey, Control Douche," said Red X from behind Control Freak, causing him to turn around. "Why don't you just shut the hell up?"
A sticky X shot out from Red X's palm and affixed itself to Control Freak's mouth, turning his laughs into angry, muffled shouts. As he brought up both his hands to remove the X, he clutched the remote to his face as well, accidentally re-pressing the red button. The Titans' remote-control induced heart attacks quickly subsided, and they stood up, all of them looking at Red X.
"You... came back!" shouted Starfire, a smile appearing on her face.
"Actually, I was just in the neighborhood," said Red X, looking down at Control Freak with an angry glare. "Unfortunately for you..."
With a strong tug, Control Freak ripped the X from his face, angrily clutching it in his hand.
"I HATE when people interrupt my favorite show!" shouted Control Freak, shaking his fist at Red X.
"Then maybe you should buy a VCR and tape it," said Red X.
"I'll show you!" Control Freak shouted, hurling the sticky X back at Red X's face. Before Red X could react, the X slapped over the eyeholes of his mask, blinding him. Then, Control Freak pointed his remote control at Red X's belt and pressed a button. Several Xs quickly formed on their own, wrapping around Red X and encasing his body from his neck to the bottoms of his feet, immobilizing him on the ground.
"Bastard!" shouted the blind and bound Red X, struggling on the ground. "How could I be so stupid to let him get the jump on me like that?"
"And since you interrupted my show, I'll just have to make a new one... with you as the star!" shouted Control Freak, pointing his remote at Red X.
Suddenly, a barrage of Starbolts slammed into Control Freak's back, and Robin's feet both slammed into the side of his head. As he fell back, a blast from Cyborg's arm cannon hit him in the chest, and Beast Boy, transformed into an armadillo, bounced hard off of his stomach. Before he hit the ground, Raven took telekinetic control of his clothes, tossing him into the air before slamming him hard to the pavement below, along with his remote. As soon as it hit the ground, the remote shattered into pieces. Control Freak screamed in dismay.
"Consider your show canceled," said Robin, just as Red X cut himself free with his wrist blades and ripped the X from his eyes. He began walking over to Control Freak, who was lying on his back on the ground, moaning in pain.
"We are victorious!" said Starfire, gently grabbing Red X's arm as he stood over Control Freak. "You do not have to-"
"I have my own business with him," said Red X, his voice serious as he gently shoved Starfire away. He bent down and picked Control Freak up by his collar, lifting him up to face level.
"Hey, what are you-" Beast Boy began to say.
"Who sent you here? Was it Slade?" shouted Red X at the now-trembling Control Freak, who began rapidly shaking his head.
"I don't know what you're talking a-"
"I WANT THE TRUTH!" Red X shouted furiously. Against his best judgment, Control Freak snickered and offered up the first answer he could come up with.
"You can't... handle... the truth?" said Control Freak nervously. Red X growled and tossed him hard to the ground, pointing his palm in Control Freak's face.
"YOU THINK THIS IS A FUCKING GAME?" shouted Red X, ready to blast Control Freak to kingdom come. Almost immediately, Robin grabbed Red X by the arms and spun him around.
"What do you think you're doing?" shouted Robin, almost as furiously as Red X was shouting. "He's not working for Slade!"
"Then why did he come here, to my neighborhood?" shouted Red X, pointing at the apartment where he lived. "He was standing in front of my home!"
"I swear, I... it was just a coincidence-"
"Shut up," said Raven, looking down at Control Freak with an angry glare. "Just because Red X isn't going to waste you doesn't mean you're not going to jail."
"X, you said that if you followed Slade's instructions, he'd leave your family alone," said Robin. "Obviously, he's double-crossed-"
"He suspects that I'm plotting with the five of you against him," said Red X, looking down toward the ground. "I knew it wasn't a good idea to come to the tower..."
With a heavy sigh, Red X turned back toward his house. Suddenly, a hand went on his shoulder. Expecting it to be Starfire's, he turned around... only to see Robin standing behind him.
"You did the right thing by coming to us," said Robin. Red X pulled away, walking back across the street toward his house.
"Yo, man... didn't you hear Robin?" asked Cyborg. Red X stopped, but didn't turn around. "He said-"
"I heard him," replied Red X, "and I don't care. It was a mistake. I endangered my family, and I endangered all of you. Not that I care about the last thing, but-"
"Please... come back to the tower with us," said Starfire. Robin began to say something, but then realized that Starfire was right... he'd turned Red X away far sooner than he probably should have. If Red X was that concerned about Slade, then maybe he legitimately wanted the Titans' help... and if X wasn't tricked into trying to kill the Titans again, legitimately could be trusted.
"Are you kidding?" asked Red X, turning back toward the Titans. "I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep. I'll come tomorrow... if I feel like it."
Then, without another word, Red X dashed back up the fire escape and up into his room.
"I know you want us to help you beat Slade..." thought Robin, the last to watch Red X as he leapt into his window. "But first, you've got to help us help you... and not endanger us when you follow Slade's orders. If you can steal a Xynothium reactor, kidnap Starfire, and help us beat guys like Plasmus and Control Freak, I know you can protect both your family and us at the same time."
Robin turned back to the Titans, who were standing around a now-unconscious Control Freak.
"C'mon, guys..." said Robin, walking back toward Titans Tower. "Let's take Control Freak to jail and head back home."
O-O-O
After removing his costume, Sanza tried for nearly a half-hour to get to sleep, but it seemed that the adrenaline from the battle was still coursing through his body, and it would take quite a while to return to the land of slumber.
"I've still got to memorize those ten Bible chapters..." thought Sanza, walking sleepily over to his desk and opening his Bible to Luke, chapter one. "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things-"
The sound of Sanza's cell phone ringing interrupted his study and drew him over to his bedside table, where his cell phone lay.
"I thought I turned this thing off..." groaned Sanza, picking up the phone and answering it. "Hello?"
"You told me you could kill the Titans in their sleep..." came Slade's voice on the other end. Immediately Sanza's eyes shot wide open, and he quickly became alert. "Then prove it. It's one thirty in the morning, they're probably sleeping right now."
Sanza didn't say a word, continuing to hold the phone in his hand as Slade spoke.
"I don't care whether they trust you or not. Sneak into the tower if you have to. If you're not a liar, you'll kill them all. I trust that I'll never see the Teen Titans again after this conversation... oh, and good night, Sanza. Pleasant dreams."
The connection ended.
O-O-O
Now the Titans are in trouble... or is Sanza the one in harm's way? He might already be on every Robin/Starfire fan's hit list after kissing Starfire... not that it was really a romantic kiss, but... and of course, Sanza's now got to go kill Starfire, along with the rest of the Titans. Is this the moment of truth? Find out next chapter...