Diasclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, those AWESOME people at Cartoon Network do! cough-Nickelodians Better-cough> Enjoy!

Chapter Three

It was dusk, and the Titans were in the common room, Robin pacing, the others still, hoping that Starfire would return. The thought of her running off with Red X tore at Robins mind. He knew they had screwed up. Worse than screwed up. They killed their friends by hesitating. If they had gone when the alarm went off instead of cowering like frightened little children, their friends might have lived. They all might have died, but at least there would have been no guilt or doubt hanging over their heads.

Robin was so angry with himself, he grabbed the table, and with a pained scream, he threw it out the window. He fell to his knees and hands, and began to sob, choking and sputtering painfully.

The others made no motion, saying nothing, because they all felt the same way. Raven had her hood completely covering her face, curled up at the corner of the couch, her hands around her knees like a child. Beast Boy had transformed into a dog, his tail between his legs, cowering under the couch. Cyborg was sitting as well, his hands buried in his face, silent tears falling continuously, like the rain outside.

Robin got to his feet, and said tearfully, "I need to find Starfire. I need to know if she is okay." Raven and Beast Boy said nothing. But for the first time since they got home, Cyborg looked up.

"Just let it be, man. We let her down. We let them all down. She deserves better than to be around us."

"I won't accept that! I know we can't bring them back, but I can at least try with Starfire. I need her to… I NEED HER! I –I'm lost. I need her." He looked down at his feet, tears falling all the while, his hands balled up into fists. He looked back up at Cyborg. "You've GOT to understand that!"

"I do, but it's not fair to her. She needs time alone to figure things out. If you go now, she will only hate us more."

"SHE DESERVES TO HATE US! I HATE US! WE"RE BETTER THAN THIS! WE LET THEM DIE! We let them die………" he broke down again, and for the rest of the night, they said nothing. None of them moved, none of them slept. Just stared off into space, lost in their own thoughts.

Meanwhile Starfire and Red X were sitting on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the city, just beyond the storm, so they could see the rain fall over the city. It was a pitiful sight, Titans Tower barely visible. She looked away from the tower, and found Red X looking at her.

"What?" she asked, trying to see behind his mask, into his eyes.

"Just when I think I got you figured out kid, you pull something like this." He said, as if he's known her for years.

"I could not stand being in that place for one more second. We feel the same pain, so it is natural that we now have a bond." She was silent for a minute, looking at her hands in her lap, and intent on getting what just happened out of her mind, she turned her head, and said teasingly, "You did not answer my question."

He gave her a confused look. "Huh?"

"You said if I answer your question, you would answer mine, and you did not answer. Why were you in my bedroom?"

He was silent for a second, contemplating whether or not he should tell her the truth. In the end, he decided that if she trusted him, he should trust her. "Well, cutie, I was sitting on top of Dr. Chang's old hangout, thinking about…things, and I saw you fly past. You probably didn't see me, you were flying at top speed. But I could tell you were upset. When you turned around, and headed back to your tower, I decided to investigate."

"You followed me to see if I was alright?" She asked in amazement.

He shrugged and said, "It was a slow night. Its not like I had anything better to do. Since Wonder Boy snatched my utility belt, I've had a very limited source of power. Just a heads up, I plan to get that back one of these days."

Starfire shook her head. "That is not my problem anymore. I am no longer a Teen Titan. What they did…I cannot stay in a place where that might happen again. What if it was the whole city? They hesitated, and now we have our friend's blood on our hands. It is a horrible feeling to have…the one of guilt." She looked at him and dared to ask the question that was on her mind. "Who are you? I know now that you are Speedy's brother, but I did not even know he had a brother. Please, explain."

"We are not related by blood, but I've known Speedy since I came here. We looked out for each other. He was my best friend."

"Then why have you two chosen different paths? Why are you a criminal?" She asked accusingly.

"I am not a criminal. He just had a better life than I did. I grew up with someone who hated me. I could hardly call him a father, let alone a foster dad. He was an insane scientist, always experimenting with time. Never supported me. I had to resort to stealing to survive. It was never anything that people would miss. A couple loaves of bread, some shoes. I guess it was natural that after a while I became good at it, and just made a profession out of it. Well, one day I got fed up with staying, and stole one of his time machine things. Only thing was it only warped you into the past. Well, the first person I met was Speedy. His guardian, Brave Bow took me into his home, and treated me like another son. But I couldn't forget what I was: a thief. So one day, a few years after I got here, I stumbled onto your tower when no one was home. I saw an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. The rest is history. Speedy never knew about the Red X suit. I don't think he would have been happy about it. But…he still would have been there for me, no doubt about that. He was the only person I could let myself get close to. That's why I called him my brother. He might as well have been. I just wish there was something that I could have done. You know…to save him." He was quiet, looking away from Starfire. Then he said quietly, "If there is one thing I regret, its not telling him about Red X. If only…"

In an attempt to lighten the situation, she said, "You still did not answer my question. Who are you?"

Red X laughed, and said, "My name is Tim. Tim Drake."