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
Red X stared at the blank screen for several seconds, as tears nearly came to his eyes. He couldn't stand, he could barely move, and it took a great amount of effort for him to even be able to say one word.
"Slade..." Red X whispered, his eyes still fixated on the Titans' enormous television monitor.
"Sanza..." said Robin, walking over and gently gripping his fingers around Red X's upper right arm. "We'll save them... don't worry-"
"What am I supposed to do?" shouted Red X, standing up and ripping his arm from Robin's grasp. "Don't worry? My sister was crying, dammit! They were tied up, they were helpless, Slade could kill them both any time he wants, and you want me not to worry? I should've killed all of you when I had the chance..."
Red X took several steps back from Robin and the other Titans, extending his wrist blades and crouching into a fighting stance.
"Please, no!" Starfire shouted, her hands up to her lips. Her eyes were wide with worry, and she knew that she might have to get ready to fight Red X at any moment.
"Dude, Robin said-"
"He said they'd be safe... he said he'd watch them... but look what happened!" shouted Red X, interrupting Beast Boy and focusing all his attention on Robin, standing just a few feet away. "They were both taken... right under... right under our..."
It was then that Red X realized that it wasn't the Titans' fault his family had been kidnapped... it was his own. He'd left when Mumbo had attacked the hardware store... he'd been too obsessed with revenge to protect his own family. And in the process, he'd almost taken a life... something that would have lowered him to the level of the very criminals he was trying to protect his mother and Maddy from. A sinking feeling overtook Red X, and his legs began to wobble again.
"We said we wouldn't let anything happen to your family," said Robin, a look of genuine sincerity on his face. "We can go to Slade's headquarters... we can save your mother and sister together."
Instead of responding with anger, X looked into Robin's eyes, trying to gauge just how determined he and the other Titans were to rescue his family.
They were heroes... rescuing people was their job. He'd come to them before, trusting that they would help him... and now X knew he'd have to give them a chance.
"...all right," said Red X, retracting his wrist blades. "Slade's still at the Tekita Refinery... if we hurry, we should be able to take him by surprise."
Red X looked up at the Titans again, all of whom looked ready for a fight. It was now or never... it was going to be Sanza's family, or Slade. X couldn't afford to make another mistake.
"We'll save them," said Raven, and Robin backed her up with a nod of his head.
"And we'll take down Slade once and for all. But we'll need your help, Sanza..."
"This isn't about Slade," said Red X, clenching his fists. "This is about my familia..."
O-O-O
The T-Car raced through the streets of Jump City, now lit only by streetlights in the wake of the newly-risen moon. Robin rode alongside the car in his T-Cycle, allowing Starfire to occupy the seat behind him.
"Robin, do you truly believe that Slade will not harm Sanza's family once he sees us inside the refinery?" asked Starfire, a worried tone in her voice.
"Don't worry about it, Star," replied Robin. "Once Slade sees us, Sanza's family will already be on their way back home."
"I hope so..." replied Starfire, gripping her hands around Robin's back as the T-Cycle rounded a curve. "If Sanza's family is harmed, it will be all our faults..."
Inside the T-Car, Red X sat in the front passenger seat, gazing out the window at the lights of the city passing by. In each of those buildings, thought X, there was a family, just like his own... a family who loved and cared for one another more than anything in the world.
"What have I done?" thought Red X, his elbow resting on the side of the car door. "If I'd never taken this suit, mom and sis would be... they'd be at home... and I'd be at home... we'd be doing normal, family things... as much as it bothers me sometimes to have them around, I'd rather be playing a game of Monopoly with them right now than be in a car headed for the factory where they're being held captive, not knowing whether they're alive or dead..."
O-O-O
Three years prior, such a Monopoly game was a frequent occurrence at the Salazar house, as Friday was designated as their family game night.
"Ooooh... Sanza, you landed on Boardwalk, that means I get $1200!" said Maddy, eagerly reaching over to collect a stack of money on Sanza's side of the table. For an eight-year-old girl, she was exceptionally good at Monopoly... most likely because Sanza's mother would occasionally sell her properties at bargain prices in order to balance out the age difference between her and her big brother.
"This sucks..." sighed Sanza, looking down at the few green and white bills of Monopoly money he had left. He'd mortgaged all his properties, and was now down to his last $133, hopelessly behind Maddy and her nearly $3000 in assets. She'd already eliminated her mother Maria, and was now closing in on victory. "Okay, Maddy, it's your turn."
Maddy picked up the dice in her hand and threw them across the board in a wanton fashion. The dice nearly skidded off the table, knocking off the house that Maddy had placed on Ventnor Avenue before landing just inches from the table's edge.
"One, two, three, four, five, six!" shouted Maddy, loudly announcing each step her pewter piggy bank piece took before finally landing on a 'Community Chest' place.
"Here's your card, Maddy!" said Maria, handing Maddy the top card on the stack. Maddy held it up in front of her face, taking several seconds to read the small letters.
"Ooooh!" said Maddy, showing Sanza the card. "I won a beauty pageant!"
"You got second place," replied Sanza, "which means that third place must've been really ugly."
"I'm pretty," said Maddy, showing Sanza her face, which was decorated in swaths of her mother's makeup. While Maria didn't let Maddy go out in public with her face decorated, she would occasionally let her daughter wear makeup in the house, as long as she washed it off before she went anywhere. "Aren't I pretty, mommy?"
"Of course you are!" said Maria, handing Maddy a Monopoly ten-dollar-bill and causing Sanza to roll his eyes. "Now maybe you should give Sanza the dice..."
Sanza sighed as Maddy handed him the two dice, throwing them down on the table and rolling a four.
"I collect $200 for passing GO..." said Sanza, moving his top hat piece four spaces from Boardwalk. When he reached his destination, he slammed his head down on the table. He'd landed on Baltic Avenue, where Maddy had erected a hotel. Game over.
"I win!" shouted Maddy, hopping up from the table and dancing around it for several seconds.
"Stop that," Sanza groaned, sliding his chair out from under the kitchen table and starting to trudge out of the room. As he took his first few steps, he could feel Maddy's arms wrap around his own. "What do you want now?"
"Thank you for playing with me," said Maddy, her eyes wide and happy. Clearly, she wasn't as happy about winning the game as she was about the opportunity to do something with her big brother, who she loved more than anyone in the world. "We can play again another time, okay?"
Sanza started to push his sister away, but couldn't bring himself to move her arms away from his. Maddy's hug made Sanza feel special, and he allowed her to embrace him as long as she wanted to... which turned out to be quite a long time indeed.
"That's so sweet..." said Maria, smiling as she watched her two children embrace. "Okay, Maddy... maybe it's time to wash all that makeup off now..."
"Okay, mommy!" said Maddy, releasing her hold on Sanza and running out of the room, turning her head one last time as she left. "Bye bye, Sanza... I love you, k?"
O-O-O
The T-Car and T-Cycle pulled into the parking lot of the refinery, just as they'd done a few days ago when the Titans had tracked Red X to the location. This time, they'd be accompanying Red X to the building... and instead of a recon mission, the Titans and Red X would be collaborating on a rescue mission.
"Are you okay?" asked Raven, leaning over the back of Red X's seat. The thief had his head in his hands, and appeared to be deep in thought. "We're at the refinery now."
When Red X didn't reply, Raven leaned back into her own seat. Beast Boy, who was sitting next to her, turned his head and whispered something in her ear.
"What was that about?" whispered Beast Boy, noticing that Red X had ignored Raven. "Why didn't he say anything to-"
"His family's in danger," replied Raven. "Leave him alone."
With a heavy sigh, Beast Boy placed his arms across his chest, a scowl on his face.
"Just asking," Beast Boy mumbled to himself. As soon as the T-Car parked in front of the building, Red X climbed out, slowly walking up to the front door.
"Aren't we going to go through the garage?" asked Robin, walking up behind Red X and gesturing to the large metallic door through which the Titans and Red X normally entered the building. X shook his head, reaching up to the handle on the glass door and slowly pulling it open.
"Slade would expect that," said Red X, "and besides, my family's probably not through there anyway. We're going through this way."
Red X walked into the door, entering the front lobby of the refinery. The room was well air-conditioned, its gray tile floor and clean white walls a stark contrast to the gringy factory atmosphere 'enjoyed' by the most of the rest of the building. An unmanned reception desk at the far end of the room was flanked by two glass doors, both leading into what appeared to be long office hallways.
"We'll go straight through to the central tower," said Red X, walking to the right and opening up the glass doors. "We'll probably get there no matter which way we go."
"Should we not split up and look for your family as well?" asked Starfire, prompting Red X to shake his head.
"If you guys just go wandering around the factory, Slade might see you and order my family killed," replied Red X. "If Slade sees us all together, he may get the impression that I'm leading you into a trap. That will buy us time to get to him and maybe find my family along the way."
The Titans followed Red X down the right-side office corridor, past several wooden doors and through to what appeared to be a hallway leading off to the right.
"What if he is leading us into a trap?" thought Robin, as he and the other Titans continued following Red X as he led them around the corner and down the new hallway. Now that Red X had actually seen his family in danger, he might do anything he could to protect them... including sabotaging the Titans on a potential rescue mission.
But Robin and the Titans continued to trust Red X, who was genuinely concerned with the well-being of his family, and had to know that the best chance he had to save them was keeping the Titans alive.
At the end of this hallway was a row of three elevators, as well as two halls that led off toward the left and toward the right. A sign indicated that the right hallway led off to a factory area, while the left hall led toward the central tower. Immediately, X turned down the left hallway and continued to walk until he reached another corner and a set of glass doors set inside a large, transparent window. Behind the doors and window was a neat-looking room with dozens of circular tables and several vending machines.
"...I just remembered how hungry I am," said Beast Boy, placing his hands over his now-rumbling stomach. "Can we just stop in the cafeteria for a few minutes and-"
But Red X had already made another left, down another long, well-lit hallway. The video feed Slade had shown him of his terrified mother and sister kept replaying in his head as he walked through the building, anger in the background of his every thought.
He paused as he reached a glass door in the middle of the hallway. The door led into a wide, long lobby area, with a large elevator at the end. Above the door was a sign that read 'TO CENTRAL TOWER AREA'.
"This is it," said Red X, placing his fingers around the handle of the door. "The elevator should take us right to Slade..."
X hesitated for several moments, still thinking of the video he'd seen... the tears streaming down his sister's face... how clearly he was able to make out 'help me', even through the tape over the girl's lips... and how much he hated Slade for putting his family through all of this.
"X, are you-"
"Robin, I'm fine," said Red X, opening the glass door and slowly walking inside. "I told you... it's my family I'm worried about..."
The room was enormous, but X was only concerned with the middle, as he walked the straightest path he could up to the large elevator at the end. The Titans, even the hungry Beast Boy, followed him without hesitation. Finally, he stood in front of the elevator, its metal doors closed in front of him. His hand reached out for the button that would set the elevator in motion... then his hand dropped to his side, as another memory washed through his mind...
O-O-O
Nine-year-old Sanza sat up in his bed, his eyes beginning to water. For the first time in years, his mother hadn't read him a bedtime story... Sanza had told her that bedtime stories were 'stupid', and that he wanted to go to sleep. Just a few minutes later, he'd come to regret that decision.
"M...mommy?" Sanza cried into the darkness, his hands gripping the blanket that lay over him. She was downstairs, watching the television... the only way he'd get her attention was if he went downstairs. But it was getting late, and he wasn't supposed to get out of bed. "Mommy?"
Sanza climbed out of bed and slowly creaked open the door to his room, waiting for nearly a minute before finally gathering the nerve to step out. He slowly walked down the stairs, then entered the living room, tears now streaming down his face.
Maria immediately noticed her son's crying, and pressed the 'Mute' button on her TV remote, looking over at him as he walked slowly toward her.
"Sanza, honey... you're supposed to be in bed, aren't you?" asked Maria, as her son stood in front of the chair, rubbing tears from his eyes.
"I... I'm sorry I called stories stupid... I want a bedtime story... p...please... mommy?" asked Sanza, his words coming out in small gasps as he began crying more and more.
With a smile on her face, Maria bent down and picked up the boy, placing him in her lap and rocking him back and forth. She reached over to her remote and turned off the television.
"Let's find a book, okay?" asked Maria, gently setting Sanza down and walking over to the large bookshelf in the living room. Sanza wiped away his tears, smiling as his mother happily picked out a book. She wasn't mad at all...
O-O-O
"I can't..." said Red X, turning away from the elevator and toward the five Titans.
"Why not?" asked Robin, a look of surprise. "All we have to do is fight Slade, and-"
"I can't let him see that all of you are still alive."
Red X narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. The Titans held their ground, unsure of what Red X was really going to do. But Red X knew... if he ever wanted to see his mother and sister alive again, he'd have to complete Slade's mission. As much as he didn't want to fight the Titans... didn't want to kill them... he knew he had to protect his family.
"X, please!" Starfire shouted, not wanting in the least to fight someone she almost considered a friend. "We do not have to-"
"Yes, we do," Red X replied, pointing his palms at the five Titans. "Slade will kill them... he'll kill them if I don't kill you first! Why don't you just make it easy and let me-"
"We can't do that," said Robin, extending his bo staff. "If you're really going to turn on us-"
"Isn't it your job to protect innocent lives?" shouted Red X, his voice lined with rage. "If you don't die, then my family will! Sacrifice for the greater good, isn't that your maxim? If you die, I can protect the city..."
"It doesn't work that way," said Raven. "The lesser of two evils... we're going to fight back, X."
"We can beat Slade!" shouted Robin. "We can beat Slade and save your family! We-"
"If you could save my family, they wouldn't be in the mess they are right now, would they? Enough talk, you're all going to die!"
Dozens of exploding Xs shot out of Red X's hands, colliding with the five Titans before they had a chance to react. The explosion destroyed the tiles on the floor beneath the Titans, sending up an enormous amount of debris and covering Red X in dust.
A blue laser rushed forward from the cloud of smoke, slamming into Red X's chest and tossing him back into the front of the elevator. Then, a green tiger leapt forward at him. Red X leapt over tiger Beast Boy, shooting out an X that transformed into a muzzle and snapped over Beast Boy's jaws, forcing them shut. Confident that he'd neutralized the threat of Beast Boy for the time being, X concentrated on the other four Titans, standing in the middle of the crater the thief had made with his initial attack.
"You're making a huge mistake," shouted Robin, leaping forward and swinging his bo staff at Red X's head. X ducked under the staff, grabbing the end of it and flinging both it and Robin back into the still-muzzled Beast Boy, forcing both of them to the ground.
"The only mistake I made was trusting you to protect my family!" shouted Red X, dodging a combination of dark energy blasts from Raven and missiles from Cyborg's chest. He extended both of his arms again, firing out binding Xs that wrapped around Raven and Cyborg's arms. The momentum from the Xs tossed Raven and Cyborg to the ground, their arms immobilized from the attack. Wasting no time, Red X rushed forward, extending his wrist blade and slamming it down into Cyborg's chest. Sparks and electricity flew from the gash X had made, and Cyborg let out a loud, pained scream.
X flipped over to Raven, who was able to stand and was still trying to wrench her arms free from the X wrapped around them. He extended his wrist blade and sliced at Raven, who leapt away but was still cut slightly across the cheek. Black blood dripped in a slow trickle from her wound.
"Nothing personal, kid," said Red X, walking toward the still-struggling Raven, "but business is business, and-"
Starfire's foot slammed into the side of Red X's face, knocking him away from Raven and sending him skidding across the room. His head hit hard against the tiled floor, but as he tried to stand, Starfire reached down and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up several feet and holding his face at eye-level.
"We do not have to fight!" shouted Starfire, her eyes glowing bright green. "Please, allow us to-"
"Please, shut up," said Red X, stabbing both of his blades at Starfire's chest. "Wait a minute, what am I..."
X stopped just short of impaling Starfire, holding his blades just an inch away from her skin. She looked down and saw that Red X hadn't stabbed her, then looked back up and stared into his eyes... she could see nothing but fear. Fear for his family... fear that the Titans would kill him... fear that Starfire would hate him for what he was doing.
"I knew... I knew you did not want to hurt me," thought Starfire, the glow in her eyes disappearing. "Trust me... trust me like I trust you..."
Red X's blades retracted, and his anger quickly returned. With as much strength as he could, he pulled back his fist... and slammed it into the side of Starfire's face. More stunned than hurt from the blow, Starfire released her grip on Red X's neck. He quickly dropped to the floor, landing on his feet and firing another X, this one at Starfire's stomach. The X slammed into her stomach and disappeared, manifesting in the form of a jolt of electricity that caused Starfire to scream and fall hard to the ground.
"STARFIRE!" shouted Robin, leaping at Red X and swinging his bo staff at the thief's head. Red X leapt over the staff, swinging around and sweeping his leg at Robin's face. Robin raised up his hand, blocking the kick with his wrist. Red X continued spinning around, this time striking at Robin with a kick to the side. Robin leaned his body out of the way, then threw a punch of his own, hitting X in the chest and knocking him back.
"Nice moves, kid," said Red X, holding his hand to his chest, with was now slightly stinging with pain. Behind him, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg were recovering from his earlier wave of attacks, and were now getting ready to strike at X again, while Starfire was just getting up from the ground, her hands glowing with Starbolt energy.
"Give it up, X," said Robin. "What makes you so sure Slade will even hold up his end of the bargain?"
"He knows what'll happen to him if he touches my family..." replied Red X. "And as soon as I kill the Titans and I know my family is safe, your ass is mine, Slade..."
Red X rushed at Robin again, wildly swinging his fist at the side of Robin's face. The punch missed by several inches, and Robin countered with a much swifter punch that found its way to X's jaw. The much faster Robin then swung his bo staff under X's feet, tripping him up and allowing Robin to kick upward at X's chest.
"I don't think so..." thought Red X, reaching out and grabbing the tip of Robin's foot as it came upward. His adrenaline was now pumping at an incredible rate, and this time, he wouldn't let any of the Titans, even Robin, push him around. Robin swung his body upward, kicking at Red X's head with his other foot. Red X leapt back, dropping Robin and letting the Boy Wonder slam hard on the ground, his back impacting against the cold tile. With incredible dexterity, Robin leapt to his feet, only to have a powerful punch from Red X strike him in the nose, knocking him back to the ground again. "Kid, this just isn't your day..."
Beast Boy, transformed into a wolf and enraged by the attack on his leader, leapt forward, only to have Red X extend his palm and fire out a Xynothium bubble that trapped Beast Boy and began floating in place, holding its shape even as wolf Beast Boy's claws and teeth shredded at it.
The tile underneath Red X turned from a shining gray to a solid black, and dozens of tiles lining the floor did the exact same thing. The affected tiles rose up from the floor, flying at Red X like a swarm of square Frisbees. As X tried to run to escape them, Raven guided them around the room in pursuit. Red X continued to run, unaware that Cyborg, arm cannon charged and ready to fire, was standing right in his path.
X turned around and was immediately confronted with the inside of Cyborg's cannon, glowing bright blue. He leapt into the air, all the way over Cyborg, who found himself firing his cannon into the heart of Raven's tiles, still in pursuit of Red X. The cannon blast destroyed a few of the tiles, while the rest all slammed into Cyborg at the same time, covering him in debris. Now Red X found himself running straight toward Raven, whose eyes were staring straight into his. He launched into a flurry of punches and kicks, which she blocked by forming tiny energy shields between herself and X's limbs, stopping his blows.
"Looks like you need a band-aid," X said sarcastically, looking at the cut on Raven's cheek as he tried to strike her with a punch or a kick.
"My body can heal itself," replied Raven, an emotionless expression on her face.
"Mine doesn't need to," shouted Red X, leaping back and firing two sticky Xs straight at Raven. The first slapped over her mouth, while the second went over her eyes, blinding her. Another X was then fired, exploding in front of Raven and showering her with red goo. The force of the explosion knocked her goo-covered body all the way back into Beast Boy's bubble, which itself burst, trapping both Raven and Beast Boy in a pile of red slime at the center of the room. "Now to do them both in..."
But no sooner had Red X begun to walk toward the pile of goo covering Raven and Beast Boy did Robin leap forward with a powerful kick, striking the back of Red X's head and knocking him to the ground. X used the momentum of the kick to his advantage, somersaulting forward and turning around to block Robin's next attack, a punch that struck Red X in the palm of his hand.
"Damn you, Robin..." thought Red X, clenching and unclenching the hand Robin had struck in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. Robin didn't give him a moment's rest, leaping up and swinging his leg around at Red X's chest. He leapt back to avoid the kick, only to have a flurry of Starbolts slam into the ground all around him. He looked up to see Starfire just to his side, floating in the air to defend Robin from attack. "Enough!"
Red X turned around and fired a binding X at Starfire's arms. She quickly floated up, letting the X sail past her as she fired several more Starbolts at him from above.
Robin ran at Red X, vaulting off the top of his bo staff before bringing it down on Red X's head just as he dodged another Starbolt. Red X reached up and grabbed the tip of the staff, hurling it to the side and swinging Robin straight into Starfire. The two collided and slammed into the ground next to one another, only allowed a second to breathe before they were engulfed by another dozen or so exploding Starbolts.
"Don't worry, Maddy..." thought Red X, not blinking as he fired X after exploding X at the downed bodies of Robin and Starfire. "I'm fighting to protect you..."
O-O-O
In his office at the top of the building, Slade watched the fight with a great deal of interest. His apprentice was doing well, and all five of the Titans appeared to be incapacitated.
"I knew that taking your family would get your attention, Sanza..." said Slade, briefly looking over to a monitor that showed the video feed of Maddy and Maria. Maddy appeared to be asleep on the floor, while Maria sat just in front of her, reaching back with her bound hands to gently rub Maddy's soft hair. A tear could be seen rolling down the woman's cheek. "Keep it up, and your family just might live through the night..."
Slade smiled, his attention returning to the ongoing battle between the Titans and his newest apprentice.
"It's just as I told Robin... at some level, Sanza, you enjoy this... you enjoy fighting for me... you enjoy making the Titans suffer."
O-O-O
Beast Boy, detransformed and somewhat weary from the fight, sat up and wiped some of the Xynothium goo from his face. He looked to his side, where another part of the pile of slime was moving slightly.
"Raven?" said Beast Boy, staring at the moving ooze. "Are you-"
The blue-cloaked girl rose from the slime, pieces of goo still dripping from her head. Red Xs were still pasted over her eyes and mouth, and she reached over to her face and delicately began tugging at the X over her lips, pulling it off with a great deal of effort.
"Beast Boy, tell me what's going on out there," said Raven as soon as she'd pulled off the X. Beast Boy quickly looked over and saw Red X standing over Robin and Starfire, both apparently unconscious on the ground. Their bodies were shrouded in smoke. Beast Boy let out a loud gasp.
"Raven, look!" Beast Boy shouted, pointing at the fallen Robin and Starfire. Annoyed, Raven reached over, felt around for a few seconds, then grabbed Beast Boy by the shoulders.
"Beast Boy, look," said Raven, pointing to the X still planted over her eyes. "Now until I get this thing off, you're going to have to describe very carefully-"
Beast Boy reached up and ripped the X from Raven's face, nearly taking her eyebrows with it. Clenching her teeth, Raven turned around and looked over at Red X, Robin, and Starfire.
"Hey!" shouted Raven, standing up in the middle of the pile of goo and shouting to get X's attention. Beast Boy stood up next to her, and together the two stared Red X down, beckoning him to come forward.
Meanwhile, Cyborg too was walking toward Red X, the sparking and smoking hole still in his metallic chest. Red X looked around at all three of them, unshaken by their apparent second winds.
"I already took down probably the two strongest members of your little team," said Red X, confidently standing over the fallen Starfire and Robin. Unbeknownst to him, Starfire's eyes were beginning to open, and even as pain shot through her body, Starfire stood up. Red X stumbled back away from her, watching as she, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all walked toward him, ready to resume the fight. "Fine then... I'll take you all on! I won't let my family down!"
X extended his arms, gathering up all the Xynothium energy that he could as the Titans continued walking toward him. Finally, just as they prepared to strike, he released four long chains, two from each hand. The chains consisted of what appeared to be glowing red electricity, with red Xs poised at the ends. Each of the Xs slammed into the chests of one of the standing Titans, and the instant it had affixed itself, an enormous amount of electrical energy surged through the Xs, bringing all four Titans to their knees. They all began to scream, with Starfire screaming the loudest of all.
"What is this?" shouted Starfire, her pain-filled eyes looking straight up into Red X's face. For a second, he felt a pang of regret at hurting Starfire, but he quickly drowned that thought out of his mind with a different, much more unpleasant thought... the thought of Slade killing his helpless mother and sister. He intensified the electrical charge, flattening all four Titans face-down on the ground. Then, he ripped his hands away, dropping all four energy chains to the ground. The smoking bodies of the Titans, accompanied by their loud groans of pain, clearly indicated the damage Red X's attack had done.
Red X slowly walked over to the four Titans, his attention focused away from Robin, who was just starting to get up a few feet away from his fallen teammates. X looked down at the Titans, lying helpless and injured on the ground. His palms pointed toward them, now trembling slightly, especially as he took another look at the back of Starfire's head.
"X!" shouted Robin, staggering toward the thief. X turned around, away from the Titans and toward the Boy Wonder, who he could've sworn he'd knocked out with all the exploding Xs he'd fired earlier.
"You're in the way," said Red X, pointing his palm at Robin's face. "In the way of me seeing my family again... in the way of their lives... in the way of everything."
"I won't let you hurt my friends," said Robin, now running at Red X, his bo staff fully extended. He swung it, catching Red X across the nose and causing him to stumble back. "It still doesn't have to be like this!"
"Shut up!" shouted Red X, furiously striking Robin in the cheek with a powerful right hook, then bringing up his knee and slamming it into Robin's stomach. Robin stumbled slightly, but quickly recovered, lifting up his leg and kicking Red X in the chest. The blow knocked the thief back, but he remained on his feet. X extended his wrist blades, lunging toward Robin and slashing toward his neck. Robin raised his bo staff, blocking both of X's blades and holding back his brutal assault.
Red X leapt up, over Robin's head and back behind him. He swung out one of his wrist blades again, but Robin took his staff in one hand, swinging it up to block X's blade. With another hand, he reached down to his utility belt, pulling out four small explosive devices.
"We can... save your family... isn't that what you brought us here to do, before you decided to attack us?" shouted Robin, before leaping back and tossing out all four devices. The small bombs didn't hit Red X, but instead, flew off to four different parts of the room, exploding harmlessly against the places in the room they hit.
"You missed," said Red X, rushing toward Robin and swinging his wrist blades at the boy's head. "And by the way, yes, I did bring you here to save my family and take out Slade! But then I realized that was impossible!"
"No," said Robin, ducking under one of the blades before the other slashed at his side. "It's n-"
The blade cut through Robin's outfit before grazing across his skin, wounding the side of Robin's hip and causing him to stumble backward.
"He's injured... now's my chance!" shouted Red X, leaping up and stabbing both of his wrist blades down at Robin's throat. But Robin wasn't too preoccupied with his wound to respond... and respond he did, ducking down and kicking hard at Red X's ankle with his left foot. The attack sent Red X tumbling forward, but as he did, Red X reached out and punched Robin hard in the mouth. Then, X hit the ground, landing awkwardly on his feet and clutching his hurt ankle. Robin stumbled backward, wiping a small trickle of blood from the side of his mouth. As soon as Red X straightened himself out, he stared at Robin, letting his wrist blades retract back into his suit. In his flight, he'd seen something... a few sparks dropping from the wall where one of Robin's bombs had exploded... Robin would now get another opportunity to speak.
"How about you go take out Slade, and we'll look for your family?" asked Robin in a less combative tone, though his raised fists clearly meant that he was ready to fight if X refused his offer.
"That sounds all well and good, but you'll never find them," replied X, "and even if you do, it might be too late... Slade would know."
"He doesn't know what's going on in this room right now," said Robin. "I blew up the cameras."
"I could see that," replied Red X, "which is the only reason I'm not pummeling your face in right now."
Red X looked back toward the elevator... then over at Robin, who was still in somewhat of a fighting stance. The other Titans were lying exhausted and injured on the ground... in no shape to fight through the legions of men and machines that Slade had probably deployed to guard Maddy and Maria.
"If my family doesn't come back safe..." said Red X, turning and walking toward the elevator, "then we will fight again. And this time, I won't quit."
Red X pressed the 'up' button on the elevator. In a few seconds, the doors opened, and Red X stepped inside. He turned back to Robin one last time.
"Tell Starfire... no, just forget it," said Red X, sighing as the doors closed. "She's probably already forgiven me..."
Robin watched as X disappeared into the rising elevator. Then, he ran over to his fallen comrades, kneeling down next to Starfire and turning her around. Her eyes were closed, but she was conscious, breathing heavily and occasionally giving a soft moan.
She opened her eyes, wearily looking up into Robin's. She smiled softly, sitting up and trying to climb to her feet. Robin extended a hand to help her, but she shook her head, standing up and stumbling about for several seconds before finally regaining her balance.
The other Titans stood up a few seconds later, weary from the fight but still ready to go on a mission. And a mission was exactly what Robin had for them.
"I'm glad you guys are okay... but now we've got to try and find Sanza's mother and sister," said Robin. "Are you guys okay with-"
"Robin, did you see what X did to us?" shouted Beast Boy, rubbing his head.
"If you're saying that we shouldn't help Sanza because he attacked us," replied Raven, angrily glaring at Beast Boy, "then-"
"I mean, just think about what he'd do if we didn't help out his mom and sister!" said Beast Boy, a smile forming on his face. "C'mon, we gotta go save 'em!"
"BB's right, let's kick some Sladebot butt and rescue the mom and kid!" said Cyborg, eagerly pumping his fists.
"I am worried about Sanza..." said Starfire, glancing back at the elevator. "Is he... is he really going to confront Slade?"
"If he fights Slade as hard as he fought all of us, he's going to be just fine," said Robin, walking toward the entrance of the now-wrecked elevator lobby. "But the sooner we save Sanza's family, the sooner we can come back and help him."
"So we must hurry, then?" said Starfire. "Then let us hurry and rescue Sanza's family!"
O-O-O
The elevator took Red X up to the circular room again... two elevators to his left was the capsule that would take him back up to Slade.
He stepped into that elevator and went up again, all the way to the very top floor of the tower.
"How is Slade going to react when I get up here?" Red X asked himself as the elevator carried him skyward. "I'll just have to stop him from ordering his men to kill my family... and then keep him occupied long enough for the Titans to save them..."
But Red X didn't just want to keep Slade occupied... he wanted to kill him... wanted to end this ordeal once and for all, both for himself and his family.
"I'll never be your apprentice," thought Red X as the elevator finally reached its destination, the top of the shaft and the beginning of the long hallway that would take him to Slade's office. "Even if you kill my family, I'll never serve you... my only purpose now is to destroy you."
The elevator door opened, and Red X stepped out into the hall. At the very end, he could see someone standing in front of Slade's office. It was Slade himself, and from the way he stood, X could tell that he'd already been expecting the thief's arrival.
"I wonder if he already knows I'm coming to kill him?" thought Red X, walking until he stood about twenty feet from Slade. He stopped, and his entire body began trembling... X was nervous...nervous that Slade knew, and that he'd already ordered Maddy and Maria to be killed. X could only hope that wasn't the case...
"I didn't get to see the end of the fight... but I can only assume you've completed your mission," said Slade, a hint of skepticism in his voice. "Am I right?"
"What did I tell you, Slade?" asked Red X, his eyes staring straight into Slade's. "What did I tell you would happen if you laid a hand on my family?"
"Sanza, Sanza, Sanza, does any of that matter now? The Titans are dead, and we can begin our-"
"I'm going to kill you, Slade," said Red X, reaching up to pull off his mask. "And this isn't about Red X... it's about me."
The mask dropped to the floor at Sanza's feet. He looked up at Slade again, his eyes narrowed in rage. An angry tone seeped into Slade's voice.
"You didn't kill them, did you?" said Slade, his fists clenching.
"What does that matter?" replied Sanza. "What matters now is that I'm going to tear off your head!"
Sanza charged Slade, wanting to fight the evil mastermind up close and personal, without resorting to his gadgets unless he needed to. As he got close, Slade's powerful arm smacked hard across Sanza's chest, knocking him to the ground. His head slammed against the hard obsidian floor of the hallway, and when he looked up, he could see Slade staring down at him.
"You're going to learn the hard way that an apprentice does not raise his hand to strike his master!" shouted Slade, stomping down at Sanza. Sanza rolled out of the way, standing up and punching at Slade's chest. The punch was blocked by Slade's palm, and before Sanza could strike again, Slade's fist slammed into his forehead, knocking him to the ground again.
"I knew Slade would be tough, but... damn..." thought Sanza, weakly rising up from the ground. Slade's foot struck him in the chest, knocking him into the side wall. As Sanza slumped against the wall, Slade walked slowly toward him, his voice calmer, as a cold calculation began to seep into his words.
"If this is about Maddy and your mother, rest assured, I haven't harmed them..." said Slade, his powerful hand reaching up and holding Sanza to the wall by his neck. "But maybe now I'm going to change my mind."
Sanza's palm thrust outward and blasted Slade in the chest with an exploding X, hurling him away and knocking him into the wall on the other side of the hallway. Sanza slumped to the ground, trying hard to catch his breath.
"Tired already..." thought Sanza, rubbing the spot on his neck that Slade had grabbed. He looked up and could see Slade already walking back toward him, his chest completely undamaged by the explosion. "That fight with the Titans took more out of me than I thought... there's no way I-"
Slade's fist rushed toward Sanza's head. Sanza, reacting as quickly as he could, leapt to the side, allowing Slade's fist to rush past him and into the wall, punching through several inches. Sanza reached out and blasted Slade's legs with another X, the X wrapping around Slade's ankles and binding his legs tightly together. As Sanza backed away, Slade glared toward him.
"You think this is going to stop me?" said Slade, pointing down to the metallic binding cable around his feet. "You really are dumber than I thought."
Without warning, Slade leapt into the air, striking Sanza's face with a powerful drop kick that slammed him back into the front door of Slade's office. As Sanza slumped against the door, groaning in pain, he could taste blood starting to run down his face, from his lips down to the bottom of his chin. He stood up to see Slade easily tearing the cable from his legs, tossing it to the ground and watching as it dissolved into the floor.
"It's unbelievable that you kept the Tamaranian girl tied up in this stuff for so long," said Slade, standing just a few feet away from Sanza as he continued to wipe the blood from his lip.
"Robin designed it, remember?" said Sanza. "It's designed to hold back the powers of a Tamaranian... it's too bad he couldn't make a special binding cable for douchebags, too."
Slade didn't even offer a chuckle. Instead, he continued watching as Sanza struggled to keep himself on his feet, still dazed from Slade's earlier dropkick.
"By the way, if you're wondering why I don't want to be your apprentice... it's not because of my family, or anything else except the fact that I just don't want to work for you. Or anyone else."
"That's nice to hear," said Slade, "but I think after a sound beating, you'll be singing a different tune."
Slade rushed at Sanza again, who crouched in anticipation of another attack. As Slade began launching into another kick, Sanza leapt up, pointing both palms at Slade and firing several exploding Xs aimed at Slade's face and chest. The Xs created a cloud of smoke that shrouded Red X as he ducked between Slade's legs, turning around briefly and placing an X on Slade's back before running out of the cloud of smoke and turning to face Slade again.
"C'mon..." said Sanza, watching the cloud of smoke eagerly for any signs of movement. "Come on out and-"
Slade burst from the smoky cloud, throwing several punches at Sanza's head. Sanza leapt over the first punch, but was unable to dodge the second, as it landed squarely on target, hitting Sanza in the stomach and throwing him to the ground. The punch was powerful, and Sanza felt immediately as if the wind had been knocked out of him... but the X that Sanza had planted still remained on Slade's back. As Slade's foot raised to stomp Sanza again, the X suddenly widened, expanding until it seemed like there was a metallic pair of wings growing from Slade's back. The X then rushed backward, taking Slade with it until it embedded itself into the wall in front of the door to Slade's office, holding Slade nearly a foot off of the ground.
"How dare you!" shouted Slade, struggling to break free of the X that held his back to the wall. But the X had planted itself firmly into Slade's back, and now he was completely stuck... and vulnerable to attack. Sanza extended his two wrist blades and began walking toward Slade, a smile on his face.
"You've got a lot of nerve kidnapping my family like you did, Slade," said Sanza, "especially after what happened to Sorel..."
Slade didn't bother kicking or thrashing as Sanza walked up to him, even as the boy pointed the tip of his wrist blade at Slade's heart.
"Can you really go through with it, Sanza?" asked Slade as Sanza pulled back the blade in preparation to stab Slade in the chest. "Do you think God would approve of you killing me?"
Sanza hesitated for only a second... then he again remembered how terrified his sister's face looked in the video feed Slade had shown him. The tears in her eyes, her muffled screams...
"If he doesn't, I guess I'll see you in hell," said Sanza, stabbing down at Slade's heart. But when his blade hit Slade's chest, it didn't pierce through... or even make a small wound. Instead, Sanza's blade began to crack... his right wrist blade now bore a fracture that went all the way from its tip down to its base. As a stunned Sanza looked down at his broken blade, Slade kicked him hard across the face, knocking him to the ground, several feet away. Then, with some effort, Slade ripped himself free from the large X embedded into the wall, which broke into pieces as Slade freed himself from it. Sanza, now with both a bloody lip and a broken and bloodied nose, cried out in pain as Slade walked toward him, angrily grabbing the boy by his collar and holding him in the air.
"You have no chance against me!" shouted Slade, tossing Sanza to the ground. "The only way you'll ever amount to anything, the only way you'll EVER be strong enough to protect your family is if you join me as my apprentice!"
With a renewed anger in his heart, Sanza stood up and punched at Slade, who easily moved his head out of the way. Sanza kicked at Slade's side, but Slade blocked the kick with his wrist, then slapped Sanza across the front of his broken nose, knocking him back down to the ground.
"This... isn't happening..." thought Sanza, looking up and seeing Slade without even so much as a scratch. "All the powers of this suit, and my own abilities... and I haven't even hurt him yet!"
Suddenly, the walls of the room began to change... instead of the black that their smooth obsidian surfaces reflected, the live video feed of Maria and Maddy appeared all around the room, reflecting on hundreds of screens that Slade had built into the walls. Sanza looked all around, the images and sounds of his mother's sobs overwhelming his senses. He stood up, clenching his fists in rage... his eyes stared straight into Slade's, and with all the fury and anger in his heart, Sanza's fist slammed right into Slade's face. Slade stumbled back, surprised by the force of Sanza's punch... and also surprised by the painful tingling in his face behind his mask.
"YOU'LL DIE FOR HURTING THEM, SLADE!" Sanza shouted, running at Slade as adrenaline surged through his body.
"That's it, my apprentice... show me your rage!" shouted Slade, raising his fists to protect himself from Sanza's next attack. "Show me how far you can go!"
O-O-O
The Titans had made their way back through the refinery, and were now heading through the part of the building that they'd seen marked earlier as leading to the factory area. Sure enough, after heading down that hallway for about half a minute, they saw a large, closed metallic gate in front of them, and could hear the sounds of machinery working hastily behind it.
"Guys, that fight really made me hungry..." said Beast Boy, holding his stomach as Robin planted a bomb on the gate and stepped back. "Are you sure we can't just go to the cafeteria for a little-"
The explosion made by Robin's bomb interrupted Beast Boy and destroyed the gate, leaving a wide-open path to the factory ahead. The Titans, including Beast Boy, rushed through the gate and into an enormous room with a smooth, cement floor and large, metallic walls. Inside the room, conveyor belts, cranes, and hundreds of small metallic parts could be seen moving about. Some of the parts were being assembled into entire machines, and soon, the Titans could see assembly lines of Sladebot workers, making new brethren for themselves.
"Sladebots building Sladebots," said Cyborg quietly, so as not to be heard by the busily working machines. "It figures..."
"Slade's building an army," Raven replied, amazed at the sheer number of machines that were being constructed in such a short amount of time. "He's trying to take over the city..."
"With Red X at his side," Starfire ominously continued. The Titans walked past several assembly lines, wondering why the Sladebots who were working didn't see them and try to fight them. Robin concluded that it was because the Sladebots had been programmed to build, not to fight... that way, efficiency could be at its maximum.
The Titans continued walking through the factory room, before Cyborg spotted a small elevator off to the side that appeared to be going down. Several Sladebots were entering the room through it, while others were exiting, apparently to do more work on the lines. When the group of Sladebots coming out of the elevator saw the Titans, however, it was clear that these particular bots weren't completely in 'assembly' mode.
"Intruders!" shouted the leader of the Sladebots, pointing his gun at the five Titans. Immediately, every Sladebot working at the lines suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned toward the Titans, their eyes glowing a deep red.
"Uh, guys?" said Raven, charging up her energy and preparing for a Sladebot pincer attack, "it looks like we're going to be fighting our way through after all..."
O-O-O
Sanza's punches and kicks were much faster this time around... his anger and determination were both clearly showing, and Slade was forced to block each and every one of Sanza's blows instead of just dodging them. After a few punches and kicks, Sanza leapt back, prepared to try something else... several shuriken Xs that sliced toward Slade, most of them bouncing off his armor, but one that actually managed to slash across his shoulder, making a small chip in the metal.
"Looks like you've got a little nick there," said Sanza, running at Slade and leaping over a kick aimed for his knees. "I'll just have to focus on that!"
Sanza extended his left wrist blade and stabbed down into the nick before landing behind Slade and retracting the blade back into his wrist. Slade felt a slight pain as Sanza stabbed into his shoulder, and when Sanza looked back, he could see the damage for himself. A small trickle of blood was oozing from the crack in Slade's suit.
"So you do bleed under all that armor," said Sanza, a slight smile on his face.
"Of course I do," replied Slade, unfazed by the small scratch Sanza had made. "I'm only human, after all."
"We both are," said Sanza, running at Slade again and striking forward with a punch at Slade's neck. The punch caught Slade right in the throat, and he stumbled back, gasping for breath. Sanza didn't give him a chance to counter, leaping back and tossing four Xs onto the floor around Slade. The Xs lit up, forming an energy dome around Slade just like the one he'd trapped Sorel in. "Now you're trapped..."
"I thought you wanted to kill me, Sanza," said Slade. "I'm not going to kill myself like Sorel did."
But Sanza couldn't reply to Slade... because he was on one knee, struggling to catch his breath. His attack on Slade had exhausted him, and now he was barely able to stand, let alone throw many more punches. Sanza could only hope that the barrier would stall Slade long enough for him to get some of his strength back.
That hope was dashed when Slade's fist slammed through the barrier, causing the entire thing to disappear and all four Xs on the ground to shatter. Sanza stepped back, his mouth widened in shock.
"How... how did you... Sorel-"
"...tell me you didn't think that Sorel was even in my league, or close to it. If he was that good, he'd have been my apprentice, not someone like you... Sorel was pathetic, just someone to hold my place as I built up my army and made preparations to take you on as an apprentice."
Sanza looked at one of the screens on the wall. By now, Maddy was awake, as she had begun sobbing again, her tears running from her eyes, over the tape that covered her lips, down her chin all the way to the floor below. Her eyes were wide, and seemingly staring straight into Sanza's. The video feed was one-way, so neither Maddy or Maria could see Sanza and Slade in the hallway... but to Sanza, it seemed like his little sister was looking straight at him... begging him to help her.
"She's depending on you, Sanza... depending on you to make the right decision."
Sanza turned to Slade, his eyes once again narrowed in anger.
"Will you become my apprentice and save your family's life? Or will you continue to fight me and get all three of you killed?"
Sanza pointed his palms at Slade and fired a large, glowing red net. Slade leapt into the air, kicking straight through the net and striking Sanza in the chest with a powerful kick.
"WRONG CHOICE!" Slade shouted, running over to Sanza and raising his fist above the boy's head.
O-O-O
Nearly one hundred Sladebots... the odds against the Teen Titans were incredible, but somehow they were managing to hold their own, tired as they were from the battle against Red X. Raven's shield protected the Titans from an enmasse attack from every Sladebot at once, and a combination of Starbolts, eye lasers, flash bombs, plasma blasts, missiles, and large animal hooves was quickly reducing the enemy numbers.
The Titans had just finished destroying every single Sladebot when a large crane from the ceiling suddenly lowered down toward them, its four arms opening to reveal large laser ports that began firing down at the five beleaguered Titans. The laser blasts quickly destroyed Raven's energy shield, knocking the girl flat on her back. Three other cranes also lowered toward the Titans, their lasers firing at full-strength.
"I assume this is one of Slade's new weapons?" said Robin, firing his Batcable and wrapping around one of the cranes. As soon as his cable had wrapped around it, the crane stopped firing and began violently spinning around, flinging Robin into one of the factory walls.
"I shall assist you, Robin!" shouted Starfire, floating into the air and firing a flurry of Starbolts at the crane that had just thrown Robin. The crane was undamaged, and it opened back up to bombard Starfire with lasers, knocking her to the ground next to Raven.
Cyborg spun around, blasting the cranes with shots from his arm cannon that did little good against their well-crafted metallic frames. Deciding to try a different approach, Cyborg transformed his arms into powerful gatling guns that fired thousands of bullets at the durable cranes. Again, his attacks had little effect, and before he could try firing again, the crane had picked him up and was lifting him high into the air.
"Cyborg!" shouted Robin, rushing toward the crane and tossing out several bombs. He too found himself picked up and lifted by one of the cranes, which began tightly squeezing into his chest, starting to crack his ribs.
Starfire flew toward the crane holding Robin, firing a desperate stream of eye lasers at the crane's base. By now, another crane had picked up Raven, and as soon as it had raised her into the air, the fourth crane lowered toward Starfire, picking her up and holding her in the air, the crane wrapped around her stomach. Now, all Titans except Beast Boy were trapped in the grasp of the cranes, which squeezed them until they could no longer breathe. Beast Boy, who'd tried punching the cranes as a gorilla, then transformed into an elephant and had tried ripping them out with his trunk, now fretted as he watched the cranes slowly crush his friends, with no good ideas on what to do.
"Beast Boy, you've gotta help!" Robin shouted, as the crane put more and more pressure on his midsection. His mind raced even faster... and finally, he found a solution. He transformed into an octopus and grabbed onto a crane with one of his tentacles... then stretched out as much as he could and grabbed onto another. The two cranes that Beast Boy had grabbed tried pulling backward, hoping to stretch out Beast Boy enough to force his grip loose. With an enormous amount of flexibility, Beast Boy reached two more of his tentacles out to grab the third and fourth cranes... then held on as tightly as he could as the cranes began trying to pull him apart.
"THIS WAS SO STUPID!" thought Beast Boy, straining against the force of the four cranes as they tugged at his powerful legs, trying to break free from his grip. The other four Titans were still being held by the cranes, but were no longer being crushed, as the cranes had chosen to focus more on trying to pull Beast Boy apart.
"You can do it!" shouted Starfire, trying to encourage her green octopus friend. Starfire's words only gave Beast Boy more resolve, and he held his ground as the cranes pulled farther and farther away, stretching his body out as far as it would go...
And finally, the strain was too much... for the cranes. As the cranes continued to pull, their massive frames ripped right from their moorings. The terrible sound of wires being ripped open echoed through the entire building as the cranes pulled all the way out of their bases... and then fell to the ground, deactivated by their own straining. Their grips released, and Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg were dropped unceremoniously to the ground... and finally, Beast Boy, who'd strained so hard to hold back the cranes, detransformed and collapsed, his arms and legs burning with pain.
The Titans rushed to his side... even Raven was concerned for him.
"Can... can we now go to the cafeteria?" asked Beast Boy weakly, his eyes staring straight up into Raven's.
"We've still got a family to save, remember?" Raven replied, helping Beast Boy up from the ground. As soon as he was able to stand, he fell into Raven's arms, his own arms wrapping around her back. "Stop that, I'm still sore from nearly being crushed.
Beast Boy released Raven, his legs and arms still slightly wobbly. With a long sigh, he turned to Robin, who was about to give further instructions.
"We'd better head down that elevator now," said Robin, gesturing to the lift from which the Sladebots had emerged. "They must've been down there doing something important... and we need to find out what."
The other Titans nodded, and together, all five of them went into the elevator, allowing it to take them down into the depths of Slade's refinery.
O-O-O
Sanza rolled out of the way, barely avoiding Slade's fist as it crashed into the floor next to him. He stood up, pointing his palms at Slade and charging up to fire another X attack. Slade had other ideas. He charged forward, slamming into Sanza and knocking him all the way back into one of the monitors. His back slammed into Maddy's face on the screen, shattering the entire monitor to pieces and raining sparks down on both Slade and himself.
"Tell me, Sanza... why are you afraid of the Titans, but not afraid of me?" shouted Slade as he held Sanza's body to the wall, his hands gripped tightly around Sanza's upper arms, preventing any sort of Xynothium attack. "You're shaking... is it because Maddy is in danger? Or your mother? Or is it because you're afraid of what I'm going to do to you?"
"I'm not... afraid of you..." replied Sanza. His voice was trembling... something he found himself unable to control.
"Don't decieve yourself, boy-"
"I said I'm not afraid of you!"
With a great deal of effort, Sanza lifted his legs and kicked Slade hard in the chest, sending him stumbling backward. Then, Sanza pointed his hands at Slade's chest and bombarded the wicked man with Xs, some of them designed to explode, some designed to transform into goo, and some designed to shock Slade with enough electricity to kill a normal human being. The combined force of the Xs brought Slade to one knee, and his entire body was pulsating with a field of red electricity. Sanza extended his arms, firing an X at every screen in the hallway, shattering them all and filling the room with sparks and smoke. He had enough memories in his mind to remind him of his family... he didn't need everything he looked at to remind him of them too.
"I'm going to make you afraid of me..." said Sanza, running at Slade and kicking him in the face, knocking him flat on his back. He stood over Slade, his entire face a bright shade of red, his chest heaving up and down as he spoke. "I'm going to make you wish you were my sister... that's how scared you'll be when I'm done with-"
Sanza's legs went numb. Slade's foot had gone inbetween them, slamming into Sanza's groin with an unbelievable amount of force. Sanza let out a high-pitched squeak, stumbling back as his stomach began to feel as if it had turned inside-out. Slade rose to his feet, watching Sanza as he stumbled back toward the wall.
"I guess you forgot that I'm not a very clean fighter," said Slade, powerfully backhanding Sanza across the face. The blow threw Sanza all the way back into the wall, and opened up a cut just above Sanza's eye, adding to the blood already dripping down Sanza's face. His eyes widened in horror as Slade walked toward him, pounding his right fist into his left hand. "I'm going to enjoy this..."
And for the first time, Sanza realized... that he was afraid of Slade.
O-O-O
The elevator took the Titans to a dark, narrow hallway, devoid of light except for a few small fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Several Sladebots patrolled the hall, but they were easily dispatched by the weary, yet still battle-ready Titans, as they made their way down the hall and to a small, metallic, windowless door at the end.
"If there's just one more Sladebot behind this door, I'm running straight to the cafeteria," groaned Beast Boy, as Robin creaked the door open. But inside the room was something that surprised the Titans even more...
The woman and child the five Titans had been searching for were kneeling inside, their wide eyes streaming tears above their tape-sealed lips.
"Robin!" cried Maddy through the tape, struggling to make it to her feet as the Titans rushed over to her and her mother. She was able to get up and make a single bunny hop toward Robin, who wrapped his arms around the girl before she could lose her balance, holding her tightly to his chest.
"You're safe now..." said Robin, softly comforting the relieved young girl. "We're going to get you both out of here..."
O-O-O
Well, it appears that Sanza's mother and sister are safe... but what of Sanza, locked in a battle with Slade from which there's seemingly no escape? With the screens destroyed, he can't know his family has just been saved... can the Titans reach him in time? Or will Slade's dirty tactics cost Sanza his life?