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
The Sladebots clearly had a numerical advantage over Red X, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, but that fact didn't intimidate the four fighters in the least. As the bots rushed forward, Red X fired a flurry of exploding Xs into the crowd, immediately reducing their numbers and throwing up several large explosions within the ranks.
"Azarath, metreon, zinthos!" shouted Raven, raising up several chunks of rock from the ground and tossing them at the Sladebots who'd avoided Red X's attack. Raven had barely thrown three rocks when several Sladebots rushed up to her and began pummeling her with their fists and feet, throwing the blue-cloaked Titan to the ground before she could raise her shields. The bots were quickly blasted away by Cyborg's plasma beam, freeing Raven to begin another attack.
"How were they able to find us here?" shouted Cyborg, leaping into the air to avoid two Sladebots as they jumped toward him. He fired his cannon downward at the chests of the attacking bots, destroying them both as he leapt behind Terra's statue for cover. "X, you didn't tell 'em-"
"If I wanted to betray you, I'd do it myself!" shouted Red X, dodging blows from a group of three Sladebots as he stood in front of Terra's statue to protect it from attack. As he fought the Sladebots, he too realized the implications of their presence... it meant that Slade likely knew that the Teen Titans were still alive. "We have to beat these things quick... mom and sis could be in serious trouble!"
Fueled by the desire to protect his mother and sister, Red X slammed his fist through the chest of one of the Sladebots. The other two bots quickly recoiled, only to be smashed to pieces after having been landed on by elephant Beast Boy.
"Only a few more to go," said Beast Boy as he detransformed, looking to see the remaining Sladebots forming a circle around Red X, the Titans, and the Terra statue. "I can't believe these jerks would attack Terra's statue like this... I won't let them hurt you, Terra..."
But instead of stepping forward toward the heroes, the Sladebots joined hands in the circle, their gaze fixated on the center. The surrounded Titans and Red X readied themselves to attack.
"...this is strange," observed Raven, watching as the Sladebots began swaying side to side in perfect rhythm.
"Yeah... it's almost like watching an old soda commercial," said Beast Boy, transfixed by the rhythm of the Sladebots as they swayed.
"Well, I'm not gonna wait for them to start singing," said Red X, extending one of his palms and firing an X. The X flew toward one of the Sladebots, but instead of hitting the bot in the face, it bounced back, as if it were made of rubber. The X flew back toward the Titans before exploding in a red burst of light, shrouding the entire center of the circle in smoke. "What the...?"
"Whatever they're doing just bounced that attack right back at us!" shouted Cyborg, coughing as the smoke from Red X's backfired attack slowly sifted away from the group.
"I'll handle this..." said Beast Boy, transforming into a rhinoceros and charging one of the points in the circle where two of the Sladebots were clasping hands. His powerful horn slammed into the junction point, but immediately, all three tons of rhinoceros Beast Boy were thrown back into the center of the circle, his enormous back headed straight for Terra's stone body. He transformed just before slamming into Terra, his head smashing into the chest of the statue. He slumped to the ground, in a daze. "Guess that didn't work either..."
Suddenly, every Sladebot in the circle began to glow, their eyes resonating with a deep shade of red. From each of the Sladebots' eyes came a burning red laser, which zipped straight into the circle and struck one of the Titans. Multiple Sladebots meant multiple lasers hitting each of the Titans, as well as Red X, who was hit in the face, chest, and right leg. The four trapped fighters collapsed to their knees by the Terra statue, moaning in pain.
"This must be... one of Slade's new weapons..." gasped Cyborg as he struggled to stand.
"...you think?" replied Red X, clenching his fists as the Sladebots' lasers burned into his flesh. "There's got to be a way out of this somehow..."
The lasers moved slowly up and down, constantly burning away at a new part of the flesh of their four targets. Raven was the first of the four to stand, though she was quickly overcome by pain as the laser seared across her knees, forcing her to the ground again.
Beast Boy was taking the most damage from the lasers, as he stretched out his body as much as he could across the Terra statue to protect it. Being immobile, Terra was completely defenseless from the lasers, which would probably mutilate her stone body if they happened to make contact. He wobbled to his feet, stretching out his arms and screaming as numerous lasers burned his flesh.
"Why the hell are you protecting a statue?" said Red X, looking up at Beast Boy with his eyes narrowed. "She's dead, isn't she?"
"No," replied Raven, "at least not to Beast Boy... he'll protect her even if we can never find a cure for-"
"Enough of this," said Red X, standing up and covering the entire statue in a thick layer of Xynothium, then pulling Beast Boy to the ground and crouching over him to protect him from more laser fire.
"Dude, what did you-"
"Keeping you from killing yourself over a damn statue, that's what," Red X grumbled as a laser traced a painful path across his leg. "Dammit, we need to end this now!"
The Xynothium protected Terra's statue, but Red X and the Titans were still dealing with the brunt of the Sladebots' powerful laser assault, and it seemed that no end was in sight. Red X tried to stand again, but the lasers continued pummeling his body, and he was forced into a crouching position like the three Titans.
"The only way... we're going to stop them..." said Cyborg, looking at Raven, Beast Boy, and Red X, "is if we work together... that means you too, X."
"I'm listening," Red X replied, knowing that the sooner the Sladebots were defeated, the sooner he could get back home to protect his family. "You'd better have a damn good plan, robot man..."
A plan was quickly set forth. Beast Boy would transform into a rhino again, his thick skin being better equipped to withstand the Sladebots' lasers. Cyborg and Red X would climb on top of him, while Raven would float in front of Beast Boy and raise a dark energy shield around herself and the others.
"All right, y'all," said Cyborg, climbing on rhinoceros Beast Boy's back and sitting in front of Red X, as Raven floated ahead of Beast Boy and formed a protective shield. "Beast Boy, charge!"
The lasers battered Raven's protective shield, which was weaker than normal due to the damage Raven had already sustained. She kept up her shield despite the barrage, as Beast Boy neared a junction between two of the Sladebots.
"Now!" shouted Cyborg, who leapt off of Beast Boy and over the heads of two of the Sladebots, soon followed by Red X. As soon as they were outside the circle, Raven and Beast Boy took the full force of the robots' lasers, and both she and Beast Boy were blown back to the center of the circle, Beast Boy detransformed and Raven's shield completely destroyed. On top of that, the lasers had blasted off the thick layer of Xynothium around Terra's statue, leaving her completely exposed to a full-force assault.
"TERRA!" screamed Beast Boy, his eyes widening in horror as the Sladebots pointed their eye lasers at the statue.
They were just starting to fire when Red X's wrist blades ripped through the chests of two of the Sladebots, instantly deactivating them. The circle now broken, the Sladebots' lasers and shielding were rendered ineffective, leaving the Sladebots themselves defenseless. Cyborg's plasma cannon quickly destroyed nearly all of the Sladebots in the circle, while an energy blast from Raven and a quick sweep of tyrannosaurus Beast Boy's tail handily destroyed the rest.
The battle was finally over... the Titans and Red X were victorious, and Terra's statue was safe. Even Red X breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a gasp as Cyborg slapped him hard on the back.
"Way to go, my man!" shouted Cyborg, a congratulatory tone in his voice. "See, I told you teamwork was fun!"
"That was the worst battle of my entire life," replied Red X, "and I had absolutely no fun at all."
"...Rae, did you give him cranky lessons or something?" asked Beast Boy, gently elbowing Raven in the side. With a sigh, Raven turned away from Beast Boy and towards Red X, her arms at her sides.
"I guess it's time to head back to the tower," said Raven, but Red X shook his head, turning away from the Titans and back across the grassy field.
"Those Sladebots only attacked because they knew I didn't do my job," said Red X, a slight bit of worry in his voice. "I'm getting back home... I need to check on my family."
As Red X walked away, the T-Coms on the waists of all three Titans rang. As they opened up the tiny communicator units, Robin's face appeared on the screen, a solemn tone in his voice.
"Slade attacked Starfire at a restaurant," said Robin. "We're already back at the tower... if Red X is still with you, tell him we did everything we could to-"
"On second thought," said Red X angrily, "I think I will come back to the tower... I need to have a word with someone..."
Robin's announcement that Slade had seen him and Starfire both alive sent chills through Red X's spine... how could Robin have been so careless to show his face in public, even though he knew it might put two innocent lives in jeopardy? And not to stop a villain, but to go out on a date? With Starfire?
"X, Robin tried the best he could to-"
But Red X wasn't about to listen to Cyborg's apology. He walked quickly off the field, followed by Raven and Cyborg, who both knew that Red X wasn't going to be happy when he got back to the tower.
Beast Boy lingered by Terra's statue, taking one last look at her eternally-petrified face before turning and following Red X, Raven, and Cyborg out of the field and back toward the city.
O-O-O
Red X stormed through the front door of Titans Tower about ten minutes later, followed by Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. Starfire, who was seated on the couch, watched with trepidation as Red X walked up to Robin and pointed his palm in the Boy Wonder's face.
"Give me one good reason not to blow you away," said Red X, his eyes staring coldly into Robin's. "Well?"
"We had no way of knowing that Slade would find us at that restaurant!" Robin replied.
"Please, do not-" began Starfire before Red X quickly turned to her and narrowed his eyes.
"This doesn't concern you!" shouted Red X, lowering his hand and turning back to Robin. "Your outing put my entire family in jeopardy! They could be dead right now, and it would be your fault!"
"Robin couldn't have known Slade would find him," said Raven, "and you need to calm down."
"Slade can find anyone," replied Red X, clenching his fists in rage. "He found me... he found you... he put cameras in every room of my home!"
"Wait a minute," said Robin, an idea quickly forming in his head. "Slade put cameras in your house? If he did, then we can tap into that feed."
Robin quickly walked out of the room, and Red X began to follow him, questioning him every step of the way.
"What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Red X, following Robin all the way across the room until he reached a hallway that led to another part of the tower.
"We have some equipment that might be useful," replied Robin. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, Robin returned with a pair of devices in his hand. One of them was a small, rectangular device with a monitor and several white buttons, while the other appeared to be some sort of small, metallic disc about the size of a sand dollar. By now, a slightly calmer Red X was sitting on the couch next to Starfire, while Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg positioned themselves in another couch, adjacent to the one where Red X and Starfire were sitting. Robin walked over to Red X and placed one of the devices in each of Red X's hands.
"What are these?" asked Red X, holding them delicately in his hands.
"The one in your left hand," said Robin, pointing to the rectangular device, "is an electronic signal detector. With it, you'll be able to tell exactly in the house where Slade put the main signal control for the video cameras."
"How will that help?" asked Red X. "Slade will know if I rip them out of the wall."
"The second device is a satellite signal router," said Robin. "Once you find the source of the signal, place this disc on the wall or wherever the signal is at. That way, even though Slade will still be able to watch what goes on in your house, so will we. So if Slade tries to hurt your family... we'll know."
Red X sighed, standing up from the couch and staring at the signal detector and router.
"I don't want anyone to be able to see into my house..." thought Red X. "But if it keeps Maddy and mom safe..."
"You know, if they're both dead already, there won't be any need for any of this," said Red X, looking at both Robin and Starfire. "If the two of you had stayed in the Tower like I asked..."
"You went out too, you know," said Raven, her arms across her chest. "And you knew the three of us were going as well."
Red X bowed his head, knowing that Raven was right. The Sladebots and Slade had seen all five Titans still alive... a direct defiance of Slade's order. X walked up to the front door of the tower and turned back toward the Titans.
"You'd all better hope my family is all right," said Red X, swinging open the front door of the tower and slowly backing out, with the two devices in hand.
"I hope that they are all right too..." thought Starfire, as Red X disappeared behind the door. She looked over at Robin, a worried frown on her face. "If something has happened to them..."
"It wouldn't be your fault, Star," replied Robin. "I'm the one who suggested the date... and besides, something tells me that Sanza's family is all right... if Sanza loses his family, Slade loses his apprentice."
"Just like how you were willing to kill yourself to save us from the probes," said Cyborg, recalling the time Slade had wanted to make Robin his apprentice, using blackmail to force Robin into doing his bidding.
"But I don't think Sanza would kill himself if Slade killed his family..." thought Robin, knowing Sanza's intensely protective nature. "I think Sanza would take out Slade first..."
O-O-O
Red X rushed home as quickly as he could, unsure of what he'd find when he arrived. Would Slade have taken his family, or would they simply be killed?
X ran up the fire escape and hastily leapt through his window, removing his costume and placing it under the bed. Through the door of his room, he could hear no signs of activity outside in the hall... but that was perfectly normal, especially if both Maddy and his mother were downstairs watching television.
Placing the two devices Robin had given him on his desk, Sanza slowly walked over to his door and turned the knob, a knot growing in his stomach as his worry for his mother and sister began to grow.
"Remember our deal, Slade..." thought Sanza, stepping out into the darkened hallway. "If you touch my family, I'll destroy you..."
As Sanza walked out into the hall, he could still hear nothing coming from any part of the house... not a voice, not a whisper, not even a thump or a hint of music. He walked up to Maddy's bedroom door and pressed his ear to it, hoping to hear a sign of activity from inside.
"Nothing..." thought Sanza, starting to become worried. "Either she's downstairs watching TV with mom, or..."
Sanza reached down to the doorknob and turned it slowly, opening the door and stepping into his sister's room, its lights turned off. Her walls, painted with a beautiful mural of the Mexico City skyline, sparkled as light from the moon outside reflected off specks of glitter pasted on the wall to resemble stars.
"Maddy?" whispered Sanza, glancing around to his sister's closet, then to her bed, and finally to a stack of toys she'd placed by the wall. "Maddy, are you-"
A set of arms looped around Sanza's back, following by a set of small legs, covered to the knee by a pink nightgown.
"I heard you outside, Sanza," shouted Maddy, "so I got behind the door so I could catch you sneaking into my room! And you did and now you're in big trouble!"
A wave of relief swept through Sanza, who struggled to stumble over to Maddy's bed with his eleven-year-old sister tightly holding onto his back. Finally, he managed to make his way to the bed, where he threw his little sister over his head, gently allowing her to land on her back on the top of her pink sheets.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" shouted Sanza, walking over to the light switch by the door and turning it on. "Where's mom?"
"Downstairs," said Maddy, sitting up at the foot of her bed and straightening out her hair, which had been ruffled during her attack on Sanza. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Checking up on you," replied Sanza, walking over to Maddy's bed and sitting down next to her. "Seeing as how I haven't seen you in like... forever."
"That's your fault," said Maddy, turning away from him and trying to feign anger. "You've been out of the house doing who knows what, even though you're still supposed to be grounded. You're lucky I haven't told mom!"
"Why haven't you?" asked Sanza, poking his fingers into Maddy's side.
"Stop that!" Maddy squealed, smacking Sanza's hand away. "Or I will tell her you've been sneaking out!"
Sanza chuckled, standing up and staring at Maddy's open doorway.
"...so why haven't you told her yet?" asked Sanza, looking back at Maddy.
"I dunno," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe so I can use it against you later on... or maybe because it would take like a whole minute to get up and tell her, and I'd rather stay in here and talk to my friends on the phone or listen to my music."
Sanza began walking toward Maddy's door, prompting her to hop up from the bed and grab him by the waist.
"Where are you going?" asked Maddy, gently trying to pull him back toward her bed. "You came in here, don't you wanna talk to me?"
"Maybe I should talk to Maddy a bit more..." thought Sanza, knowing that Slade might come and take her away from him at any moment. He'd certainly been neglecting his little sister over the past few days, and every second with her was a precious commodity indeed. But instead of letting her pull him back, he continued to walk forward toward the exit of her room, even as Maddy tried to tug him in the opposite direction. Looking at Maddy made Sanza feel guilty... guilty that he'd endangered her by associating with Slade, guilty that he almost let her die at the hands of Plasmus... guilty that he hadn't been a better big brother.
"Fine, don't stay," said Maddy, releasing her arms from Sanza and sitting back down on her bed. Though her voice was mostly angry, it also contained a hint of sadness... sadness that Sanza immediately detected. He turned around and saw Maddy bowing her head, a dejected look in her eye... she'd been through a lot over the past few days, and while she tried to handle it the best she could, at times it felt as if her beloved big brother was abandoning her.
Sanza turned around and walked over to Maddy, who slowly raised up her head.
"Since you want me to stay so badly, I will," said Sanza, his hands reaching toward his sister's sides, "but being in here has exposed me to tickle cooties, and you know what happens when I get tickle cooties... I turn into the Tickle Monster!"
Sanza lunged at Maddy and began furiously tickling her ribs, causing her to let out a loud squeal.
"Sanza, I'm not a little kid anymore..." said Maddy, struggling to speak through rampant giggles, "stop it right now! Stop!"
Maddy flopped down onto the bed, convulsing in wild laughter as Sanza's fingers traced up and down her sides, from her ribs to her armpits and back again.
"That's... hoo hee... not... hee... not fair!" screamed Maddy, almost in tears from laughing so hard. As Sanza tickled her, he found himself laughing too, recalling all the times he and Maddy used to play together when they were little, before Sanza got swept up into the crazy world of the American teenager and he found himself too old to play childish games with his younger sister.
"Well, until you let me out of your room I have to entertain myself somehow, don't I?" asked Sanza, his fingers digging into Maddy's sides and drawing giggle after giggle out of his sister.
"I hate you...hoo hoo... Sanza!" shouted Maddy, her near-insane laughter filling the entire room. "You... heee... you're so stupid! It's great to see you again, big brother..."
O-O-O
Later that night, as Sanza lay awake in his bed, he continued to worry... he'd found the source of the video feed and had placed the router disc... the Titans could see everything going on in the house, and Sanza's family should be safe... but Sanza couldn't be entirely sure.
"Just because you can see if Slade's here doesn't mean you'll be able to stop him..." thought Sanza, his chest rising up and down as fear gripped his body. "Only I can truly protect my familia... and they can only be safe once Slade is gone for good."
O-O-O
The next day, Sanza almost didn't go to school... he certainly didn't want to, knowing that every minute at school meant another minute that his mother and sister would be vulnerable to Slade's attack. The entire day, he was unable to concentrate in class, his mind continually drifting to the possibility that Slade might take revenge for Sanza's failure to complete the mission of killing the Titans.
As soon as Sanza got out of school, he made his way to Titans Tower, having worn his costume under his school clothes, with his Red X mask in his backpack. If anything happened at home, he wanted to be ready... at the first sign of trouble, a note coming to one of Sanza's classes to refer him to the office, or even worse, a police officer approaching Sanza at school, he would become Red X and confront Slade at the refinery.
But that sign of trouble never came... and Slade didn't even try to contact Sanza that day. So when Sanza ran to the Tower, every indication was that his family was still safe... but he could only make sure once he'd seen the monitors at the Tower for himself.
Sanza ran all the way to the bay across from the Tower, checking to make sure no one was around before he removed his school clothes, put on his Red X mask, and made the long swim to the island where the tower was located, not caring that his backpack was getting soaked as he dragged it behind him in the water.
He walked up onto the island and walked into the Tower through the front door, setting his soaked backpack down by the entrance and stepping into the main room. Unlike the previous day, Red X could see far more activity taking place inside. Robin and Starfire were sitting together at the kitchen table, while Raven was a few seats away from them, sipping herbal tea, her head buried in a thick book.
"I thought they were supposed to be watching my house?" thought Red X, just as Beast Boy ran up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"How's it goin'?" asked Beast Boy, a friendly smile on his face. "You're here a bit earlier than usual..."
"If you're looking for Cyborg, he's a few rooms down the hall," said Robin from the kitchen.
"What about my family?" asked Red X, walking past Beast Boy and toward the kitchen where Robin was sitting, annoyed that the Titans had seemingly forgotten his number one concern. "Are they-"
"Cyborg's monitoring them right now," said Robin, pointing toward the hallway to the right of the main room. "Three doors to your left."
With a sigh of relief unheard by any of the Titans, Red X walked down the hallway Robin had indicated, quickly finding the third door to the left and stepping inside. The room was small and dark, with a large television monitor taking up the room's entire back wall. Seated at the monitor was Cyborg, his eyes staring intently at the screen, on which sixteen different live video feeds of various parts of the Salazars' apartment were displayed.
"I guess Robin told you I was in here," said Cyborg, his eyes unmoving from the screen. Red X stared at the screen as well, looking for his mother on one of the feeds... finally, he could see her, walking around in the kitchen apparently looking for something to eat. "Your sister stepped out a few minutes ago."
"I know," Red X replied, remembering that Maddy had told him and his mother at breakfast that she was visiting the mall with a few of her friends. He'd almost spoken up to discourage Maddy from going, but knew that telling her she was in danger might compromise his identity as Red X, and furthermore, with her friends she should be safe... at least a little bit safer, anyway.
The door to the room opened, and through it stepped Starfire, a smile on her face. Red X turned to her, wondering what she had to say.
"It is good to see you back here..." said Starfire, "and perhaps if we can get a bit more training done, we will be ready to battle Slade as soon as tomorrow..."
Red X nodded.
"After all that bastard has done to them... threatened them, sent his henchmen to attack them... I can't wait to put him away once and for all," said Red X, turning back to watch the screen.
"And... and after Slade is defeated?" asked Starfire.
"Like I said, this alliance extends only until Slade is gone," replied Red X. "I've got no interest in being a Teen Titan."
"You do not have to be," said Starfire. "Besides... after all that you have done before, Robin would probably not allow you to stay... even if you were to become an honorary Titan like Aqualad or-"
"I don't want to stay here," said Red X. "I have a family. I live with them. And besides, I don't even want to be a Titan. I'm a thief, and-"
"You... you promised that you would consider becoming our friend," said Starfire, reaching out to place her hand on Red X's shoulder.
"Star, leave him alone..." said Cyborg. "He's been through a lot lately, just like we have."
"I don't need you to talk for me," said Red X, turning to Starfire. "I said I'd consider being your friend. I didn't say I'd stop stealing."
"The Titans are sworn to protect the city from crime..." said Starfire, pulling her hand away from Red X and placing it to her chest. "If you continue to steal, then we cannot... cannot be your friend..."
X could tell that Starfire had been reluctant to say those words... she truly did want to be Red X's friend, but she knew that her duty to the city came first.
"Does he not understand that his life of crime is dangerous?" thought Starfire. "That it is hurting people? Perhaps after we defeat Slade... perhaps I can convince X not to steal anymore..."
Red X turned back to look at the screen. His mother was now seated at the kitchen table, eating out of a bag of potato chips.
"Did you know you've got the most boring family in the world?" asked Cyborg, placing his elbows on the monitor's control console and heaving out a sigh. "No offense, but-"
"None taken..." said Red X, "especially since you're probably right anyway."
Starfire started to leave the room, having already said to Red X everything she felt she needed to say. But as the door opened, Robin rushed in, seemingly with an urgent message. Starfire stopped and turned to face him, listening intently to what the Titans' leader had to say.
"Titans, trouble!" shouted Robin, as Beast Boy and Raven stood in the doorway behind him. "A store's being robbed in the city!"
"Damn," said Cyborg, standing up from his seat at the monitors and walking over to Robin. "X, can you-"
"Already got it," said Red X, sitting down at the monitors and watching the screens that were transmitting a live video feed of his family. While Robin was wary to trust Red X in the tower alone, he also knew that if Red X tried anything, he wouldn't be able to watch the screens, thus putting his family in danger. X would be staying put. "You guys have fun."
"Who is it this time?" asked Cyborg.
"Mumbo Jumbo," Robin replied. Immediately, Red X's eyes went wide, and he turned his chair around to face the other Titans.
"...I'm coming too," said Red X, standing up from the chair. Six months ago, it had been Mumbo who had attacked Maddy and Sanza at the magic shop... and X had been waiting for his chance at revenge.
"But... what about-"
"This won't take very long," said Red X, interrupting Starfire before she could remind him about his family.
"Maybe I should stay and watch the monitors while you guys are gone," said Cyborg.
"No, we all need to come," said Robin, knowing how tricky of a villain Mumbo could be. "It took all of us to stop him last time..."
Red X, his mind completely focused on revenge, didn't even try to encourage one of the Titans to stay behind and watch the monitors. He walked past Raven and Beast Boy, dashing down the hall toward the exit of the tower. When he reached the main room, he turned to the other Titans, who were just starting to leave the monitoring room and follow X down the hall.
"What are you waiting for?" shouted Red X, not wanting to wait even a second to get his hands on the malicious blue magician. "Let's go!"
O-O-O
Mumbo Jumbo loved to extend his act as long as possible, and even though robbing a hardware store would usually take less than a couple of minutes, Mumbo couldn't resist putting on a show for his captive audience of store workers and customers, tied up in blue ribbon on the floor below.
"It's really been wonderful robbing you all," said Mumbo, holding up a large sack filled with the money and valuables of everyone in the store. He thumbed through the cash register, taking out large stacks of bills and placing them in the sack, with a showboating flourish all his own. "Thanks for coming out to see my act!"
"You won't get away with this!" shouted a male worker on the floor. "The Teen Titans will-"
"Not be a part of the show!" said Mumbo, knowing that he'd have to wrap up quickly if he wanted to avoid being foiled by the Teen Titans again. "They're a bunch of party poopers, and they know all of my secrets anyway. But you fine people can watch as I leave with all your wonderful stuff!"
"Not today, or any day," said Robin, standing with the other Titans in front of the entrance to the store. With a loud, angry cry, Mumbo stumbled backward, enraged that the Titans had arrived before he could make his escape. As he did, he saw someone else with the Titans... someone he didn't usually see... and the newcomer was staring straight into his eyes, an angry expression on his face.
"Is that a new assistant, or am I just seeing things?" asked Mumbo, rubbing his hand over his chin as he surveyed the newcomer. "I don't think you've seen my act before, so-"
"Shut up!" shouted Red X, running toward Mumbo with his palm extended. "When I'm through with you, you'll wish you'd never taken up magic!"
Before Mumbo could raise his wand, he was hit by a barrage of exploding Xs that sent him flying backward, over the checkout counter and into a shelf filled with hammers. Mumbo crashed through the shelf, barely able to keep his wand in his hand as he was buried in the debris of the hammer display.
"If I didn't know better," said one of the tied-up customers on the floor to one of his fellow hostages, "I'd say that's that thief Red X..."
"What's he doing fighting with the Titans?" asked the other hostage, watching as Red X leapt over the counter and dashed toward the fallen magician.
"X, look out!" shouted Beast Boy, watching as Mumbo slowly raised his wand.
"Abra-kaboom!" shouted Mumbo, his wand blasting Red X in the chest with a bolt of lightning. The lightning slammed into Red X and exploded, tossing X back into the counter and giving Mumbo a brief reprieve from any further attacks. He stood up and saw the five Teen Titans rushing toward him, also preparing to strike. "Freeze!"
A wisp of light blue air shot from the tip of Mumbo's wand, sifting over the Titans and instantly hardening into a sparkling, cold block of ice. The block froze over the counter and the space immediately behind it, freeing all five Titans in place, including Starfire and Raven in mid-air as well as Robin in mid-leap.
"You won't get rid of me like you did last time..." thought Red X, standing up with his hand clutched to his chest. "Didn't you forget someone?"
"Hmm... I thought for sure that lightning would get you, but I guess you're a bit tougher than I thought," said Mumbo, removing the hat from his head and holding it out. "That's okay, I've got a special place for-"
"You can shove that hat up your ass," said Red X, kicking his leg up into the air and straight into the side of the hat. The top hat was knocked high into the air, and Red X pointed his hand at it, firing three shuriken Xs that cut through the hat, slashing it to pieces.
Mumbo watched in dismay as the remnants of his shredded hat floated to the floor below, his hand tightly clenched around his wand.
"You're gonna pay for that, kid!" shouted Mumbo, angrily clenching his teeth.
"That's my line," replied Red X, unintimidated as his stared into Mumbo's blue, bearded face.
O-O-O
After her mid-afternoon snack, Maria Salazar put the bag of potato chips on top of her refrigerator, smiling as she began walking toward her living room to watch an afternoon of TV.
"Maddy's at the mall, Sanza's probably with his friends... against what I told him, but he's probably safe... it's nice to get a bit of time to myself."
As Maria walked toward the living room, she didn't see or hear the figure towering behind her... until a chloroform-soaked rag was clamped over her nose and mouth, held there by a cold, powerful hand. She screamed into the cloth as she struggled to get a breath, only succeeding in inhaling an enormous amount of the powerful sedative.
"Breath deeply, Mrs. Salazar..." said Slade, using one hand to hold the chloroform to Maria's face while keeping his other arm wrapped around the woman's chest, holding her arms in place and rendering her struggles useless.
"Who are you?" thought Maria, struggling wildly against Slade's grasp while screaming through the cloth and Slade's hand. "What could you possibly want?"
The last thought Maria had as she slipped into unconsciousness was that this was most likely the same person who'd sent those men to attack her and Maddy on Sunday... and now he was coming to finish the job.
Slade picked up the unconscious woman, flinging her body over his shoulder as he carried her out of the house. Her long, black hair hung limply past Slade's waist, flopping up and down as Slade took her out the door.
"One down, one to go..." thought Slade. "I told you, Sanza... but you just didn't listen."
O-O-O
Mumbo pointed his wand at Red X and fired another lightning blast, only to have a large, metallic X rise up in front of the blast, completely blocking it. The X disappeared, only to be replaced by another X, flying past Mumbo's shoulder and grazing across his ear, making a small cut.
"Damn, I missed," said Red X, walking toward Mumbo with a stone-cold gaze and an unusual amount of hatred in his voice. "A couple more inches and it would have taken out your eye."
"Kid, you haven't even seen my best trick!" shouted Mumbo, pointing his wand at Red X and wrapping him up in the same blue ribbon with which he'd tied up the employees and customers. A smile crossed Mumbo's face as he saw Red X seemingly immobilized by the ribbon.
But Red X snapped the ribbon in just two seconds, continuing his walk toward Mumbo, backing the magician all his way to the far wall of the store, and a display of power drills. Behind Red X, the five Teen Titans burst free from their icy prison, leaping over the counter and running up to see if Red X was all right.
"What's next, Mumbo?" asked Red X, stopping about ten feet from the magician and placing his hands on his hips. "Are you gonna saw me in half?"
"That's a great idea!" shouted Mumbo, pointing his wand at Red X. "Abra ka-"
A Starbolt slammed into Mumbo's hand, stopping him in mid-spell and forcing his attention behind Red X, to where the Teen Titans were now standing.
"You leave him alone! Your fight is with all of us!" Starfire shouted. Red X quickly turned around, shaking his fist at the Tamaranian girl.
"His fight is with ME!" shouted Red X, his eyes narrowed in rage.
"Not anymore," said Mumbo, pointing his wand at Red X. Suddenly, X found himself trapped in a giant, purple box, with dozens of swords poised outside ready to stab him to death. As Robin and Starfire ran up to the box, desperately trying to open it and free Red X, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg charged Mumbo.
"Azarath, metreon, zinthos!" shouted Raven, using her powers to take control of the power drills behind Mumbo. With a wave of his hand, Mumbo shot out a burst of energy from his wand, shattering the drills to pieces.
"Hey, Dumbo!" shouted Cyborg, charging Mumbo with his fist extended. "Look over here!"
"I don't usually take requests for tricks, but in your case, I'll make an exception!" shouted Mumbo, pointing his wand at Cyborg's arm. Immediately, the arm came loose, falling to the floor and making a loud 'clang' as it hit the tile.
"HEY!" shouted Cyborg, bending over to collect his arm as a gazelle-transformed Beast Boy leapt over him. Mumbo waved his wand again, causing the broken drill parts on the form to reform into a giant drill, which began chasing Beast Boy around the store.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out!" shouted Robin, slamming his fists into the purple box that Red X was trapped in.
"Yes!" said Starfire, blasting the box with Starbolts and eye lasers. "We shall help-"
The swords stabbed into the box, and Starfire let out a loud scream. Even Robin gasped as the swords went in.
"NO!" shouted Robin, who began rapidly pulling swords from the box. "Dammit, there's no way-"
A red substance began seeping from the box, and Starfire, thinking that it was blood, wrapped her arms around Robin's waist, struggling to hold back tears. Robin turned around, placing his hands on Starfire's back, trying to comfort her.
"It's... it's okay, Star... he can't... he can't be-"
An explosion of Xynothium burst the box apart, covering Robin, Starfire, and Mumbo Jumbo in the sticky red goo, and throwing swords and shards of wood all over the store.
"How did you do that?" shouted Mumbo, wiping goo from his eyes to see Red X staring at him from the shattered remains of the box. Red X said nothing. Mumbo lifted his wand, pointing it straight at Red X's head. "Alaka-"
"Shut the hell up," shouted Red X, leaping forward and striking Mumbo in the face with a kick that knocked him back through an 'Employees Only' door. Red X continued to stalk Mumbo through the door, slamming it shut and locking it behind him. "Just you and me now..."
O-O-O
A group of sixth-graders, walking home from the mall... three girls, two boys... Maddy Salazar was among them, laughing and joking with the group, unaware what had happened to her mother at home.
"That cop was totally looking at you, Maddy..." said one of the girls, causing Maddy to groan. "He thought you were gonna steal those earrings..."
"Sanza says cops follow him all the time because he's Mexican," said Maddy, "but I just think it's because he's a bad boy!"
"Your brother's cool," said one of the boys in the group, slightly tall for his age. "I heard he beat up five guys at the same time!"
The group of five stepped onto a sidewalk and began walking past a row of shops, unaware that a black, windowless van had begun trailing closely behind them on the adjacent street.
"More like he got beat up by five guys," said Maddy, "and I don't like thinking about him fighting anyway... so let's talk about something else."
"Like this awesome video game I bought?" said the other boy, holding up a copy of 'Grand Theft Auto: Jump City'. "In this one, if you get six stars, the Teen Titans come after you!"
"They're not the real Teen Titans," said Maddy. "The real Titans would stop your character for sure."
"Whatever," said the boy, holding his game as if it were the One Ring. "I can't wait to get home and shoot Robin in the face with a rocket launcher!"
"You take that back!" said one of the girls. "Robin's so dreamy..."
By now, the van had pulled up alongside the five kids, and the group began to notice as it drove along the street slowly, at their exact pace.
"Okay, what the heck," said the boy who'd been holding the game, placing it in his store bag. The five kids began walking faster, and the van accelerated slightly to keep up.
"Think it's a kidnapper?" asked one of the girls nervously, taking the hand of the taller boy. "Maddy, Stephi, get back..."
Suddenly, the door of the van opened, and three Sladebots rushed out, leaping onto the sidewalk. Two of them grabbed Maddy, while the third fired a blast from his energy pistol at Maddy's four friends, blasting them back into the front door of a nearby building.
"HELP!" screamed Maddy, as the two Sladebots dragged her, kicking and screaming, into the van.
"Maddy!" shouted one of the boys, getting up and rushing toward her, receiving a backhand across the face by the third Sladebot, knocking him to the ground. As soon as Maddy was pulled into the van, it sped off down the street, leaving her four dazed and horrified friends on the sidewalk.
O-O-O
Inside the 'Employees Only' room of the hardware store, Mumbo tried to scramble to his feet, holding his wand out at Red X with one arm while using the other to keep his balance on the floor.
Red X snatched the wand from Mumbo's hand, snapping it over his knee and looking down at the now incapacitated blue criminal, whose eyes were rapidly widening in horror.
"You remember me, Mumbo?" asked Red X, who continued to walk toward Mumbo as the magician tried to get up. The room was small, however, and Mumbo quickly found that he had nowhere to scoot. X had backed him against the wall of the office. A kitten calendar hung above his head, serving as a morbid contrast to the angry thief that now had him trapped.
"Kid... you know I'm not good at picking faces out of a crowd..."
Red X reached down to his ankle and pulled out a glistening switchblade, its tip flicking out and reflecting the dim light from the small, hanging lamp above.
"Remember me now?" shouted Red X, holding the blade to Mumbo's face. Beads of sweat began running down the terrified villain's forehead.
"Really, I don't-"
Red X reached up and pulled off his mask, flinging it to the floor. Mumbo was now staring into a pair of angry, hazel eyes... a pair of eyes he thought he'd never see again.
"...you!" shouted Mumbo, his trembling finger pointing up into Sanza's face. "The... the kid from the magic store!"
"I distinctly remember you planning to turn my sister into a mouse and feed her to a snake," said Sanza, gripping the switchblade tightly in his hand. "Do you remember that, Mumbo? Do you remember the people you hurt? Or is it just a game to you?"
"K-kid... you've gotta-"
"AND DON'T CALL ME KID!" shouted Sanza, stabbing the knife down into Mumbo's ankle. A howl of pain echoed through the entire room as Sanza pulled out the knife, covered in red blood. "Funny, I thought it would be blue..."
"Please... I didn't mean to hurt your sister!" shouted Mumbo, pleading with Sanza for his life.
"Shut up," said Sanza, his face red with rage as blood dripped from the tip of his blade.
Tears were now beginning to fall down the side of Mumbo's face... whoever Sanza was, he certainly wasn't like any of the Titans... he was vicious, he was angry, he was out for revenge... and there was seemingly no end to his wrath... no chance for mercy.
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," said Sanza, raising the knife above Mumbo's chest. "Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the darkness, for he his truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."
Sanza's fingers tightened their grip around the blade, and Sanza, now fully consumed with rage and unable to see the terrified expression on Mumbo's face, began stabbing the knife down at the magician's chest.
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon-"
"SANZA, STOP!"
Robin's hand grabbed Sanza's wrist, the knife just inches from Mumbo's chest. Sanza whipped his head around, his anger-filled eyes staring straight into Robin's.
"Mumbo's caught... it's over... let it go..."
"He tried to kill my sister..." said Sanza, trying to pull his hand free from Robin's grip. "He deserves to-"
"He deserves to go to jail," said Raven, using her powers to heal the wound in Mumbo's leg. "The Teen Titans don't kill."
"I'm not a Teen Titan!" said Sanza, ripping his hand from Robin's grasp. Mumbo stood up, trembling in fear.
"Get him away from me!" shouted Mumbo, his finger pointed in Sanza's face. As Sanza tried to step forward, Cyborg stepped inbetween Sanza and Mumbo, stretching out his arms and separating the two.
"That's enough, Sanza," snapped Robin. "Put down the knife."
With anger still evident on his face, Sanza slowly flicked the blade of his knife back into the handle. Then, he tucked the blade underneath the pant leg of his suit, and picked up his mask from the floor.
"If you EVER touch my family again..." said Sanza, putting his mask back on while looking Mumbo straight in the eye, "I'll finish the job."
"Too late," said Raven, picking Mumbo up from the floor. "He already passed out."
"Dude..." gasped Beast Boy, staggering into the room while trying to catch his breath. "Did you guys get him yet? I don't think I can take another chase like that..."
O-O-O
Inside the black van, Maddy sat scared against the wall, her arms tied tightly behind her back with thick rope. Her ankles were also tied, but with three Sladebots in the van with her, she wouldn't have even tried to escape even if she could.
"What... what are you guys gonna do to me?" asked Maddy, her voice trembling.
"Shut up," said one of the Sladebots, angrily staring into Maddy's face.
"What are you going to do to me?" Maddy shouted. "I wanna go home!"
Maddy looked around at the Sladebots, her lip beginning to quiver. She was both angry and scared, and still had no idea what was going to happen to her... but whatever it is, it wasn't going to be good...
"The Teen Titans are gonna find me... no, my brother is gonna find me, and he's going to kick all of your butts!"
One of the Sladebots walked over to Maddy, a piece of duct tape in his hand.
"YOU ALL BETTER LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" shouted Maddy, before the tape was pressed over her lips. Her angry threats became muffled shouts, and she continued to yell, even though the tape rendered all of her words unintelligible. "Sanza, wherever you are... I know you can save me... no matter what... at least I hope you can..."
O-O-O
As Red X and the Teen Titans walked up to the front door of the Tower, X couldn't keep his anger from resurfacing. He'd had Mumbo Jumbo, the villain who'd threatened both him and his sister at his mercy, and the Titans had completely ruined it... he stopped in front of the door and turned around, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
"Why didn't you let me... why didn't you let me finish him off?" Red X shouted.
Robin could understand X's anger... but he also knew that Red X had clearly used an excessive amount of force in dealing with Mumbo Jumbo.
"Mumbo's a dangerous criminal, but... that doesn't mean you can kill him!" shouted Robin. "That would be stooping to his level... it'd be even lower than his level!"
"You didn't see her... you didn't see my sister's eyes... she was terrified, crying... she was completely helpless... I just wanted Mumbo to know what it was like to be completely helpless, just like his victims..." said Red X, his fists trembling. "And I did it... I made him afraid... afraid of me, just like my sister was of-"
"If you take joy in that, you are as bad as him!" shouted Starfire, her eyes glowing bright green. She walked over to Red X, removed his mask, and slapped him hard across the face. "Listen to yourself! What would your sister think if she saw you that way?"
Sanza's hand lifted to his face, touching the spot on his cheek where Starfire had slapped him.
"She's right..." thought Sanza, his angry expression softening slightly. "I... I'm no better than Mumbo... I took joy in seeing him hurt and scared... and that's a sin... a terrible, terrible sin..."
"Starfire..." said Raven, slightly shocked to see what Starfire had done. She'd been angry before, but she'd never actually slapped someone... "...not that Sanza didn't need it..."
Sanza turned toward the door of the tower, placing his mask back over his face.
"You're... you're right, Starfire," said Red X, "but when we fight Slade, I can't guarantee..."
"Let's just go back into the tower and check on those monitors," said Cyborg.
"I agree... we've been gone for a while, we should probably check on your family," said Robin, walking past Red X and the other Titans and entering the tower. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg walked in as well, leaving Starfire and Red X as the last two outside the tower. Slowly, Starfire walked past Red X and placed her hand on the door leading into the Tower.
"I am... sorry that I struck you," said Starfire sincerely. "I just-"
"Forget about it," replied Red X, walking next to Starfire and placing his own hand on the door. "I just want to go in and see if my family's safe."
Red X walked into the tower, and Starfire followed him, the two Titans entering the main room of the Tower. Robin and Beast Boy headed toward the kitchen, while Cyborg was already heading toward the monitor room. Raven sat on the couch, ready to resume her book... but the big television in front of her flashed on, interrupting her reading before it even began. Starfire and Red X both looked up... only to see Slade's face on the screen.
"I told you that if you didn't do what I said, you would suffer the consequences," said Slade, his eyes narrowing. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The screen switched to a closed-circuit video feed of a room deep within the refinery... inside the room sat Maddy and Maria Salazar, their backs to the wall, their hands tied behind their backs. Rope could also be seen tied around their ankles, and there was a piece of tape over each of their mouths. Maria looked terrified, and there were tears streaming down Maddy's face as she rested her gagged head on her mother's shoulder. Red X gasped in horror, dropping to his knees where he stood as he looked at the screen.
"I really didn't want it to come to this," said Slade, his voice in the background of the video feed, providing a devilish narration to the horrible revelation on the screen, "but when my apprentice doesn't follow orders, there have to be... certain consequences."
Red X didn't say a word, his body still trembling in rage and fear. By now, all five Titans were staring at the screen, their faces bearing the same shocked, angry reactions that Red X's face did under his mask.
"Here's the deal. You bring me the Titans' corpses, and I bring you your family. You don't, and I bring you your family's corpses. Remember, Sanza... you made me do this."
Maddy's muffled sobs were the last thing Red X and the Titans heard as the screen flashed off.
O-O-O
It HAD to happen sooner or later... and now it's now or never, and Sanza is finally forced to make a decision! The Titans or his family, what will it be? Oh, and by the way, Sanza's quote to Mumbo (the tyranny of evil men, great vengeance, etc.) is Jules' "Ezekiel 25:17" quote from the excellent movie Pulp Fiction. Just thought it'd be awesome for Sanza to say.