Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. Except the idea. Which is probably also owned by someone else anyway, so yay for me.
A/N: Basically, I got this idea after watching the episode "X" the fourteenth time. I began thinking about all of the villains in the Teen Titans that switched sides for whatever reason. Then I started thinking 'What if they all grouped together?' Voila!
Oh yeah, this story takes place after "The End Part 3." Just so you know.
Read, enjoy, and review. In that order:
Chapter One: The Gathering
My name is Red X
Well, not really. That's my alias. My real name is entirely different. But that doesn't matter right now. Not to you, not to me. Not to any one.
I was a thief, a criminal. I was no hero, but I was no villain. I was stuck in the middle. Good and bad, justice and evil, they didn't matter to me. I was too busy watching out for number one. Me
But I changed. I faced the Titans and saw just what the life of a hero was like. It wasn't easy, but it was right. I helped the one named Robin save his friends. And then I ran. Defeated, I ran like a coward. But I was a coward with style.
I fled to the sewers, under the city. To this day, I still don't know how the Titans never found me. Maybe I was too good. Maybe they didn't care. It never really mattered. But it gave me time to think.
I thought of my place, and their place, and even Chang's place. They were heroes, selfless teenagers helping people. Chang was a villain, a devious old man who wanted nothing more but to harm the very people the Titans helped. And what was I?
I was neither. And I was both. I helped them, but I ran. I performed crimes, but I suffered for my mistakes. I didn't want to help people, but I didn't want to hurt them either. I was nothing
I decided to change that. I returned to Jump City and I searched for others like me. People that weren't sure which side they were one. People that had done terrible things, and wanted to make up for it. People that wanted to redeem themselves.
I was looking for reforms. People that had reformed their villainous ways to try and help people. I didn't have to look far. The first week I found three very willing people. They called themselves the HIVE. I had heard of them before. Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. The HIVE's top graduates.
They wanted the same thing as me. They wanted a second chance. A second chance at life, at redemption. They no longer wished to be villains. They wanted to be heroes. So they joined me. They abandoned their other two teammates who did not share in their dream. Seymour (I think that's his name) and Private Hive were arrested the next day. We made sure of that.
And we continued on our way. We looked for others like us. For a while it seemed we four were ruly alone. We were the only ones with dark pasts. We were the only ones that wanted to change that. We stayed away from Titan's Tower at all costs. No matter how much we explained, I was sure they would shoot first and ask questions later.
But we did find one other. It was Jinx's idea originally. She had heard of the girl we found. She had apparently ben a Titan for a short time, but she betrayed them to Slade. Even I didn't like Slade. According to Jinx, she had turned on Slade at the last minute and saved the town. But she turned to stone in the process
I thought about it. A girl who had betrayed an entire town, and then sacrificed herself to save her friends. That sounded perfect to me. The perfect reform. So we searched her out. And it was actually rather easy.
The girl was located on the abandoned section of time. The area had suffered irreparable damage from Slade, and had long since been abandoned. But in the center of it was a vast cavern. And that's where we found her.
Terra
A Teen Titan
A True Friend
Perfect. We had found her. Terra. The only problem was waking her up. But once again, we found a way.
Gizmo was sure he could do it. He had the technology, he just didn't have a energy source powerful enough to charge it. That's where I came in. I had enough Zinothium on my person to power my suit for twenty years. I figured I could spare a year or two.
I gave the Zinothium to Gizmo, who was excited to accept it. Using the Zinothium, he power up his machine. He connected it to the girl. And then came the moment of truth. She was brought back. Together the five of us became a new set of Teen Titans. We became the Titans South, codename: The Reforms. I became their leader.
My name is Red X
This is my story.
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"Where am I?" The girl couldn't see where she was. Her eyes were unfocused, and whatever light was in the are, it was blinding her. As she blocked her eyes from the bright light, a shadow appeared in front of her.
It was a figure with a dark black costume. His muscles bulged beneath the skin-tight suit, and a dark cape flowed behind him. Red markings covered the costume.
"Robin?" she asked, holding her hands above her face. The mysterious figure bent down and offered a hand. The girl accepted and took his hand. The figure slowly pulled her up, keeping her close to him in case she felt weak. Which she did.
"Close," he responded, a slight chuckle in his voice. "My name is Red X. Are you Terra?"
"Yes...I am," Terra responded. "What...happened?"
"You succeeded," he said. "The volcano you triggered did not erupt. You saved this city, as well as your friends. You are a hero."
"And Slade?" she asked.
"He is still alive, for that I am sorry," Red X responded. "I won't get into details. We'll save that for later."
"Can I see them?" Terra asked. Her eyes finally focused. She saw the figure clearly know. He had a skull mask over his head, and a large X over his chest.
"Yes, but not now," Red X told her. "You have just woken up from a coma. When you stopped the volcano, you also turned to stone. We brought you back." As he finished his sentence, Terra finally noticed the other three people standing around the pair.
One was a female in a black dress and leggings. She had pink and black hair that stood up on the sides. The other two were male. The tallest one was covered in thick yellow hair and was very muscular. The last was only about three feet tall, and bald.
"How long?" she asked, looking up at Red X. "How long was in the coma?"
"It's been...six months," Red X said, hesitantly. "I'm sorry."
"Six months!" Terra exclaimed. "No...no, no, no. What happened while I was gone? Are the Titans still friends?"
"Yes, it's all right," Red X reassured her. "If you want, we will take you to them now."
"Yes...I want to go back," Terra said, tears filling her eyes. "I hope they don't hate me..."
"They don't. Trust me," Red X replied. "Can you still control the earth, or do you want a lift?"
Terra shrugged. She lifted her hands and they glowed yellow. Slowly, a nearby boulder lifted into the air and then fell to the ground with a thud. Terra panted. "I can still do it...but I'm too tired right now."
"Then I can take us there," Red X said.
"Hey, Terra. Welcome back," the other girl said, coming up to her.
"Um...do I know you?" Terra asked. The girl shook her head.
"No, we were never formally introduce. My name is Jinx. Over there is Gizmo, and that there is Mammoth."
"Hey," Terra said, raising her hand. Mammoth smiled in return, but Gizmo didn't grunt in acknowledgment. Terra noticed that Red X still had his arm around her waist.
"Um, you can let go now," she said. Red X looked up. She saw his eyes go wide, and he released her immediately.
"Sorry," he replied. "I wasn't sure if you could walk properly."
"Thanks, but I'll be okay," Terra told him.
"Good, then get in," Red X said, referring to a car that sat at the top of the cavern. Climbing out, the five of them all walked over to the car. The car was solid black, but had red markings all along it, just like Red X's costume.
As Red X got in the driver's seat, Terra got shotgun, and the other three at in the back. The drive to Titans' Tower took about half an hour, and it gave Terra time to look around. So much had changed in Jump City. There were more people, for one thing, and there were many new stores and buildings. As they approached the edge of the city, Red X simply drove right into the water, pushing a single button. As the four other people in the car screamed, the car transformed into a hovercraft that simply floated across the water.
"Sorry about that," he told them. "I stole this car from Prof. Chang. I probably should have told you I was going to do that."
"Ya think so, skull-face?" Gizmo snapped from the back seat. X ignored him.
As they finally reached the Tower, Red X parked the hovercraft along the shore and turned to Terra. "Terra, we need to talk before we see your friends."
"What about?" she asked.
"A lot of things," Red X sighed. "The first is about you. You've been gone for six months, so they will happy to see you. They have missed you while you were away, don't worry. However, the team had...changed some."
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Red X shifted uncomfortably. "Jinx, maybe you should tell her?"
"Good idea," Jinx replied. "Remember BeastBoy?" she asked, turning to Terra. Terra nodded. "Well, you used to date him, right?"
"Kinda," Terra replied, blushing. "What about him? Is he okay!"
"Oh, he's fine," Jinx said. "In fact, he's better than fine. He...has another girlfriend."
"Who?" Terra asked. She could feel tears starting to come to her eyes. "Who is it?"
"Raven," Jinx said. She was however, surprised at the response.
"Oh, that's okay," Terra said. All four of them turned to stare at her. She noticed. "What? I thought the two were dating when I joined! It's about time they were actually going out!"
"You can say that again," Mammoth grumbled. "It was so obvious!"
"Anyway..." Red X interrupted them before they could go off. "There are some...other things. The fact is the other four of us aren't welcome in the tower. We are...criminals."
"You're criminals?" Terra asked, her eyes glowing yellow. All four of them immediately held up their hands in self-defense.
"EX-criminals! We're reformed," Jinx explained. "Why else would we have brought you here!"
"I guess you're right," Terr said, her eyes returning to normal. "So, you don't think the others will let you in?"
"Actually, we're kinda hoping they don't arrest us on the spot," Mammoth said.
"What we're saying is, it will probably be better if we all go in with you," Red X said. Terra nodded.
"Okay, follow me," she said, getting out of the car. The five of them walked up to the Tower. Terra stood in front of them and rang the doorbell. Immediately, a huge screen appeared on the side of the door. It was blank until someone finally answered it. Terra saw that it was Cyborg, but his back was turned to the camera, and he looked like he picking something up.
"Hiya! Just hold on, I got the money for the pizza right here."
"Cool! Can I have a slice?" Terra said. At once, she saw Cyborg straighten and look around. His human eye grew wide and a smile overtook his face.
"Terra!" he cried, running to the door. The door opened, and the robot ran out to greet him. As he ran out, he finally saw the other four. Terra was standing in the center of the group, smiling widely. And around her stood Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx, all ready to fight. Red X stood completely still.
"Get your hands off her!" Cyborg cried as his arm transformed to his sonic cannon.
"Whoa there, metal head!" Red X cried, throwing an X. The red X splattered across the cannon, causing it to jam. "We mean you n harm."
"Cyborg, I swear I'll explain everything inside, okay?" Terra said. Cyborg looked around at the group. Gizmo was sneering, Mammoth was smiling weakly, and Jinx looked lovesick.
"Okay," he said, defeated. "But if this is a trick, I swear I'm throwing all of you out."
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One hour later, all five Titans had gathered in the common room and heard the three stories. What Red X had done, why the HIVE had changed sides, and why Terra had returned. Robin, likewise informed Terra what had happened while they were away. After everyone told their story, they broke off. Cyborg and Jinx left the room to 'talk', Robin conversed with Red X, and Star started getting to know Gizmo and Mammoth. This left Terra to go talk to Raven and BeastBoy.
As the blonde headed towards the couple, they both shifted uncomfortably. BB was the first to speak.
"Terra, there's something I have to tell you..."
"I already know BeastBoy, and it's cool."
"You what?" BB was dumbstruck. "You know that I'm dating Raven?"
"Yeah, and it's cool," Terra told him, smiling. "I always thought you two were a cute couple!"
"Thanks for understanding," Raven said, lightening up a little. The three continued to chat happily while Robin and Red X faced each other.
"So why exactly are you doing this?" Robin asked his doppelganger. "Why the sudden...change?"
"Your words hit a nerve," Red X replied. "I thought about what had happened, and it changed me. I began looking for others like me. And I found these four."
"So, what do you plan on doing?" Robin asked.
"Actually..." Red X replied. "I've been thinking about leading the team. I've been thinking about becoming the Titans South."
"The Titans South?" Robin asked. "Why south?"
"I heard of a town down in the south that could use some help. I'm from there originally," Red X explained. "The place has its set of villains as well. I want to take these four down there and teach them how to be heroes."
"How can they learn anything from you?" Robin asked, his familiar warrior face returning. "You're no hero."
"I'll learn as they learn," Red X told him. "All five of us want a second chance. And I want to give it them."
"Fine," Robin said. "I give you permission to become Titans. But I'm keeping my eye out for you, just in case."
"Understood," Red X said. "I wouldn't expect anything less than that. It must take a lot of gut to help us reforms, huh?"
"You have no idea..." Robin trailed off, finally giving X a genuine smile. He handed him five communicators and taught him how to use them.
"Thank you," Red X replied, accepting the communicators. "This means a lot to me."
"No problem," Robin told him. "Do the others know about your plan?"
"Well, everyone but Terra," Red X said. "We wanted to bring her here before mentioning it."
"I'm glad you did," Robin agreed. "It's good for her to see her friends before you ask. She needs this. Here, you five can stay here tonight."
"Are you sure you trust us that much?" Red X asked him.
"Not really," Robin admitted, shrugging. "But I'm fairly sure that if you're lying, we can take all four of you down."
"True," Red X agreed. "Alright, I accept your offer. We will stay here tonight."
"It's a deal."
A/N: Sorry to cut it off here, but my fingers hurt. Next time, Red X tells Terra his plan. Will she accept? What will the other Titans think? And why does Terra blush everytime Red X is nearby? All that and more in Chapter Two: The Proposition!
Review Please. I won't update if you don't review!
PEACE OUT!