A.N. I'm attempting to post faster than I have been recently so I can spare you all from the horror of my habit of ending chapters in cliff hangers. Plus I am exited about writing again so that has boosted my enthusiasm, hope you like the chapter I've decided to delve into Tobias's mysteries and let you all in on some of his secrets.

Disclaimer: Tobias is mine, whoever owns Teen Titans more power to ya.

Chapter 10: past scars healing

Tobias had been wondering the Tower for hours and it was now almost 10:00 at night; he hadn't even noticed the change in time because there was no darkness to him. Shadows were non existent and because he was wearing the goggles Robin made for him he hadn't noticed the sun's glare had disappeared. He found himself on the roof standing at the edge looking out at the bay; he marveled at where your feet could take you if you let them lead the way. It was silent all around him except for the waves and the wind; he began to think about himself and all that had happened to him in the last year. Meeting the Titans, Raven, everyday finding out he had some new super human ability it all made for one very exiting life. It occurred to him just how little he still new about himself; even through every thing that had happened his still felt he had only scratched the surface of his destiny.

He realized that he had never actually tested what he could do; in the training room he had just done simple exercises and during his period of solitude he had imply lived on instinct. It had made him stronger for sure but he had never seriously trained or given himself a real workout; looking around he decided now was as good a time as any. Not sure of what to do he decided to try warming up; he ran around the roof a few times then squatted down to do some jumps. He had always been able to jump a good twenty feet into the air but while he was leaping up and down a feeling inside told him he could go higher. As he fell back down to the rooftop he braced himself; when his feet touched the concrete he sprang back up with all of his strength. Up and up he went the tower disappearing as he vanished into a cloud; Tobias was shocked he didn't know how high he was but it felt like he was flying. He began to descend and when he emerged from the clouds he found he was no longer above the tower but hurtling toward to pavement at massive speed!

As the ground was looming up on him that feeling he had felt before came back and he knew he was safe; there was a huge shockwave as he hit the pavement and chunks of asphalt flew everywhere. Tobias was sitting in a crouched position in the center of a small crater; he stood up and dusted himself off as the others came flooding out of the tower. Not a one of them could find words to suit what they were thinking; they had all just been watching a movie when they saw Tobias fly by out the window.

Tobias himself was wide eyed and breathing heavily; he was scared by what he had just done and even more frightened that he had survived. Raven walked up to him and slowly took his hand looking up into his face; he just pulled her into a hug and sat there holding her and shaking. Raven teleported them back into the tower leaving the others to examine the scene.

Cyborg whistled as he examined the point of Tobias's impact; according to his calculations Tobias had fallen from a much higher point than the rooftop and had to have been going at least 100 mph to leave a crater like this.

"I dunno what he was doing up there but that guy just gets more and more crazy; I'm starting to doubt there's anything he cant live through." Robin nodded;

"I know what you mean Cye; I'm just glad he doesn't feel any impulse to turn criminal at least he is as much of a Titan as we are." He lapsed into thought and for a moment forgot where he was. He snapped back to reality when he remembered he needed to talk to Cyborg; "Hey Cyborg I've been thinking if Slade has changed like Raven says maybe we should think about calling in for some extra support." Cyborg nodded.

"Yeah we can always use some help when it comes to that dirt bag" he said.

Robin pulled out his communicator "I'll call in some of the others" he stayed outside and made the necessary calls while Cyborg and the others went back in. when he entered the living room he found that everyone else had resumed watching the movie and were sitting quietly; he eyed Beastboy and Blackfire who were curled up together on one side of the couch. Robin still didn't fully trust her but she and Beastboy had taken to each other quite well and he just didn't have the heart to ruin Beastboy's good time.

Robin had retired to his room where he was working on his project; he had abandoned using his bio staff and adopted using the two halves of his old one as separate weapons. He had gotten the idea from fighting Tobias the two shorter sticks were much more effective than one long one; his bird shaped boomerangs were now black with red edges. He slipped into his new suit to see how it looked; he had a tight black shirt with his R logo on the right breast and on the back was a big red bird silhouette. He had black forearm bracers and fingerless gloves; his yellow utility belt was the same as were his boots though he now wore a pair of black S.W.A.T. issue tactical pants. His new fighting sticks slipped into slots in the pants; he tied back his semi long hair in a short ponytail though his bangs were too short so they hung loose tucked behind his ears. He had not touched his mask and it still fit perfectly with his look; now there was only one thing to do…introduce his change to the team.

Jinx moaned as her eyes fluttered open she was in someone's room lying on the bed; sitting up she looked around on the table next to her was a red rose in a silver vase. She smiled when she saw it now knowing who had taken her; she groaned again clutching her head all she remembered was Slade grabbing her then she blacked out.

"Finally awake huh" said a voice "don't try to move to fast your still pretty banged up" Jinx managed a small laugh

"Somehow I don't think I'll have to worry about moving fast with you around" she said. Kid Flash laughed and was suddenly holding a tray of food;

"I figured you would be hungry when you woke up so I took the liberty of preparing this." He said offering the tray to her; she snatched the tray and devoured the contents fast enough to make Kid Flash whistle. After she was through with the food she fell back onto the bed and passed out; Flash smiled and placed a blanket over her. He had been out running around when he spotted her abandoned in an ally and seemingly drained of life; it had been only minuets after he had brought her here when he received a message from Robin asking for him to come lend a hand at the tower. He had told Robin he would come but only if he could bring Jinx with him; Robin had agreed but he had seemed like there would be a bigger issue with her staying there other than she was a criminal. Shrugging he figured he would find out when Jinx was strong enough to make the trip.

Tobias was having a vision a, very unpleasant one. He was sprinting through the forest as fast as he could but no matter how fast he moved he could not escape the unknown thing chasing him. Tobias had never been scared of any living thing but his heart was overcome with fear by the mere presence of this thing behind him. He suddenly found himself in a part of his forest he had never been before; it was a clearing and the trees grew taller than he could see and were so close together he could no longer move between them. Whirling around to return the way he came he found the whole forest had closed in around him; trapping him in the clearing. The only way out was a narrow gaping hole; even Tobias's eyes couldn't cut through that darkness and before he could even take a step a pair of gleaming red eyes appeared in the gloom. Tobias backed up until his back hit the trees there was nowhere to run; a voice echoed around the clearing.

"Fear me not Tobias I am no enemy; your time has come. Long has your warrior spirit slumbered; so long has it lain dormant that you are a mere shadow of your former self. The time has come for you to arise once more."

Tobias though frightened was still a beast at heart and as with all animals when cornered he is most dangerous; he felt his body changing as it morphed into the giant black tiger. The eyes in the darkness widened with fear and amazement before suddenly disappearing into the trees.

"Awaken warrior; awaken and remember"

Tobias's eyes snapped open; he was drenched in sweat and Raven was shaking him. He leapt to his feet looking down at his body before running to a mirror; he let out a long sigh of relief for it was his own reflection looking back at him and not the black creature he had become. Raven slowly moved to wrap her arms around him; she didn't dare to ask what it was that had scared him so but she knew that she had never seen him scared before. She doubted anything in the world could petrify him with fear; whatever it had been must have been horrible.

Robin was in the training room practicing how well he could move and maneuver in his new outfit; it was every bit as flexible as his old one and his fighting sticks made his assaults much faster and far more damaging. He wondered what everyone else would think of his change…Starfire most of all; he had called for backup yesterday and he assumed the help would start to arrive tomorrow. It wasn't until he stopped working for a moment he realized he was not alone in the room; Raven was sitting on a bench tying on a pair of workout shoes. She didn't say anything about the change in Robin's appearance as she walked up to him.

"Tobias had a bad moment while meditating and needed some time alone; so I came here figured id work out a little." She said, Robin nodded feeling a little awkward that Raven had discovered him before he had been ready to show anyone. He watched her as she started jumping rope; she was wearing short athletic shorts and a tank top; he had always found her sexy but Starfire had always been the one for him. He tried not to recall an incident that had happened between him and Raven shortly before Tobias came into their lives; but the image of her wrapped around him as they kissed in the hallway one night forced itself into his mind.

Raven looked over at him and her eyes narrowed;

"Don't you even think of bringing that up" she said dangerously "if Tobias ever found out about that I don't know what he would do; and I am not going to loose him again." Her eyes glowed as the anger surged through her. Robin put his hands up;

"It was just something that flashed through my head I wasn't even going to say anything." Raven calmed down and nodded before going back to her jump rope. Robin sighed and decided he would go find something to do; he left the room and went upstairs to see if the other guys were doing anything fun.

The sounds of video games greeted Robin as he topped the stairs; but he was surprised to discover Cyborg playing alone,

"Where's Beastboy?" he asked; Cyborg sighed and nodded towards the city.

"He and Blackfire went out to dinner a few hours ago and left me here alone." Robin smiled and sat down next to him picking up a controller; this cheered Cyborg up immensely for he was soon jeering and laughing at Robin who was trying to keep up with him in the racing game.

It wasn't until a considerable time later that Cyborg noticed Robin's new costume;

"Uh, hey Rob…what's with the outfit bro?" Robin shrugged

"Just needed a change that all" he said, the answer seemed to satisfy Cyborg because he went right back to whooping Robin at the game. Some time later Beastboy and Blackfire came home; Blackfire was whispering in Beastboy's ear. Beastboy grinned and they both ran up the stairs. A few minuets after that Starfire came down and she and the boys put a movie on; as time passed Raven joined them leaving only Tobias unaccounted for.

The dark youth was wandering the streets of jump city completely oblivious to all around him; anyone who crossed his path moved out of his way. Eventually he found himself standing in front of the club where he had met Jinx; he walked in and was blasted by warm air and techno music. The air was rank with sweat, smoke, and alcohol; Tobias's hyper sensitive senses had grown accustomed to the city's masses. He took a seat and just sat there staring out at all the people filling the club.

Back at the tower everyone's movie was interrupted as the doorbell rang. Robin leapt up from the couch to check the camera; seeing it was just some of the people he had called he opened the door. AquaLad, Speedy, Hotspot, and Huntress walked through the doors; hands were shaken and hugs given as the heroes exchanged greetings. Robin showed them all the rooms they would be staying in; as they passed Tobias's room Speedy called out,

"Hey Robin I thought there were only five of you living here. Whose room is this?" Robin looked over;

"That's our friend Tobias's room, he's been living here for almost eight months" he said "he's not here right now and he stays out really late so I don't think you will meet him till tomorrow." Speedy laughed cockily;

"He better be able to hold his own; there's no room in the business for lightweight wannabe's." Robin didn't even bother to look at Speedy; actually he wasn't worried about Speedy's cockiness pissing Tobias off. He was far more worried about the presence of someone else.

Jinx gulped as she approached the foreboding tower; she knew he was in there most likely watching as she and Kid Flash approached. She had become quite fond of the speed demon in the last couple of days and she had actually felt the need to apologize to Raven and Tobias. This had made her sick at first but now she didn't mind the idea so much; she watched Kid Flash ring the doorbell and held her breath. The door opened and they were let in; it was Cyborg who had answered and he looked at Jinx with a very cold expression. Robin had told everyone except Tobias that she would be coming; Raven had put up a very big fight about it but in the end she agreed to have her around. She felt a surge of relief when she felt Flashes warm hand envelope her own.

"Don't worry" he said "If this guy gives you any shit, I'll straiten him out" Jinx smiled and was secretly grateful but she played her role of bitch.

"Whatever do what you want" she said. Kid Flash could read her like a book he just smiled and sped up the molecules in his hand to make it warmer for her. Robin showed up a minuet later and showed them to their rooms. Jinx thanked the heavens she didn't run into Tobias in the halls; she just didn't have any idea how this was going to play out.