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, about Sanza/Red X: When he's wearing the mask, he's Red X. When he's not, he's Sanza. Simple as that.
SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to "The Life and Times of Red X", which is in my profile. Read that before you read this. Also, this fic COMPLETELY IGNORES the events of the fifth season (with the exception of "Go"). For the purposes of this fic, "Things Change" NEVER HAPPENED.
O-O-O
The day after his second close encounter with Sedaris, Sanza could still feel the effects of the bruises he had sustained, and he continuously shifted in his chair during the school day in an attempt to temporarily alleviate the pain. He couldn't wait to get home, and when he finally arrived, he saw something very peculiar lying on the second floor of his apartment's fire escape. It was a warm cherry pie, and he could smell the sweet fumes emanating from its filling the moment he bent down to pick it up.
"Did mom make this?" asked Sanza, before spotting the small tag hanging off the side of the pie tin. "From your dear mother... hunh, I guess she did make it. But then why would she leave it out here?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Sanza walked into the kitchen and set the pie down on the table. Maddy, who had already arrived home and was sitting in the living room, could smell the pie and immediately ran into the kitchen to investigate.
"Oh my gosh, Sanza... that pie smells so good, is that for us?"
"Yeah, it is," said Sanza, walking past Maddy and heading right for the stairs. The pie did smell good, but Sanza wasn't hungry at the moment... at least not until he got the chance to lie down on his bed for a while. "Don't eat it all, Maddy. Mom left it here for both of us."
As Sanza disappeared up the stairs, Maddy sat down in front of the pie and began staring at it, becoming lost in the fumes as they drifted up into her nostrils.
"This pie smells so good... I don't wanna ruin my supper, but... oooh, I have to have some of it right now!"
Not even bothering to find the silverware, Maddy reached into the pie with her bare hands and pulled out a large chunk, covering her fingers in pie crust and sticky red filling. She began licking the crust and filling off of her fingers, and had soon devoured the entire segment that she had pulled out, then began reaching down to take another.
As Maddy ate, a figure watched from the shadows... she had crouched down in the corner and was watching the small girl as she ate more and more of the pie, her eyes growing wider and wider. As they began to glaze over, Maddy stood up from the table and walked over to the sink, washing her hands and leaving half of the pie sitting in the center of the table.
"That was so delicious," said Maddy, her voice much softer than it had been before. As she spoke, her words came in a haunting monotone, and the figure crouched in the corner had emerged from her hiding spot and was now standing out in the open, waiting for Maddy to turn around. "I must thank mother for making it for me..."
"You're very welcome, Maddy-pie!" came a loving, gentle voice from just behind the small girl. Maddy turned around with a smile, and when she saw the large-headed women standing in front of her, she let out a squeal and gave the woman an enormous hug. "That's right, my child... you love your mother very much, don't you?"
"Of course I do, Mother Mae-Eye! Thank you so much!"
O-O-O
While Maddy was gorging on pie, Beast Boy and Terra were at a nearby ice-cream shop, gorging themselves on a large ice cream sundae. The sundae had been piled high in a large, glass bowl, with dozens of scoops, each one a different flavor of ice cream, showered with whipped cream and sprinkles and topped off with a large, red cherry.
Beast Boy hadn't yet told Terra of his growing feelings for Raven... he knew that he would have to tell Terra eventually, but he also knew that he still loved Terra just as much, if not more than Raven, and that Terra was still the girl that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Seeing her happy, when only a week earlier she had been ready to have a nervous breakdown, brought peace and joy to Beast Boy's mind.
"This place is the best, Beast Boy," said Terra, digging her spoon into the bottom of the sundae and emerging with a large bite of peach ice cream. "You really know how to treat a girl well... I'm so glad we got the chance to come here."
"Yeah..." Beast Boy blushed as he took another bite of the sundae, then left his spoon in the bowl and leaned over toward Terra, his eyes narrowing. "So, uh... it's been a whole week since you've come back... are things still good for you, or are you still having doubts about the whole Teen Titan thing?"
"Well, I've thought it out, and... I just want to do what's best for the city," said Terra. "And what's best for us... you've really kept me going this week, and I appreciate that."
Beast Boy leaned back in his chair, briefly glancing up at the ceiling before once again picking up his spoon and digging it into the sundae.
"You and everyone else have been so nice to me... so supportive of me..." Terra bowed her head, another guilty thought entering her mind. "Even Raven... after all I put you guys through, I just... I'm really glad that you're giving me another chance to be on the team, and I'm glad that you trust me after-"
"Terra, don't worry about it," said Beast Boy, cracking a smile. "It's water under the bridge now, okay? We're alive, you're alive, the city is safe again... you're a good person, and don't ever forget that. I'm just glad that you forgave me for rejecting you..."
"You never rejected me, Beast Boy," said Terra, reaching over and taking his hand. "Even when I was Slade's apprentice, you still believed that I was a good person... even after all the horrible things that I did, even after I tried to kill you, ever after I..."
Terra hadn't noticed it, but she had a tear streaming down the left side of her face, and Beast Boy immediately reached up to brush it away. As soon as Beast Boy touched her, she moved her head and reached up to wipe away the tear on her own.
"No, Beast Boy... it's fine, I'm fine..." said Terra, sniffling as she wiped away the tear. "Let's just... let's finish our ice cream, okay? I'm sorry, I just... I can't keep doing this... I have to get over what happened, I thought being with Beast Boy would help, but... I still hate myself every time I see him... I have to try and fight it but I can't..."
The two finished their ice cream while trying to return their conversation to the normal, happy mood that it had once been. They succeeded for the most part, but Terra still couldn't bring herself to forgive all the things that she had once done... she loved Beast Boy, and she hated herself for hurting him... and his forgiveness made her memories all the more painful.
O-O-O
Sanza was hungry... and as much as his body hurt, and as much as he just wanted to stay in bed, the allure of the pie sitting on the kitchen table made it just as painful to lie in bed as it was to get up and walk downstairs. His appetite was only compounded by the fact that he'd left his little sister with the pie, and if he didn't go downstairs soon, she'd probably eat it all before he got the chance to take a single bite.
So Sanza climbed out of bed and trudged downstairs to the kitchen, where he saw that there was still a lot of pie left... and that his sister hadn't used anything even resembling etiquette when she'd eaten her share. He could tell from the mess around the plate that Maddy had used her bare hands to eat half of the pie, and when he saw her seated at the table, he found it hard to contain his disgust.
"You used your hands to eat the pie?" Sanza shouted, staring into his sister's glazed-over eyes. "That's disgusting... and what's wrong with your face?"
"There's nothing wrong with me, big brother... and I think you should eat the pie, mother made it for us and she would want us to appreciate it."
Sanza stared at the half-eaten pie, which, while it didn't look as good as before, still looked delicious... and its smell was growing stronger and stronger by the second. Sanza could feel saliva beginning to pool in his mouth with every moment he stared at the pie.
"I'd appreciate if you would use a fork next time, Maddy," said Sanza, who couldn't understand why his sister was speaking so strangely, as if in some sort of euphoric high. "And... uh... wouldn't be so creepy right now."
"How am I creepy, big brother?" asked Maddy, tilting her head slightly to the side. "I just want you to appreciate the pie that mother made for us... it's very, very good."
The increasing strangeness with which Maddy was speaking began to peak Sanza's suspicions... and the look in her eyes was becoming downright scary, as if she was somehow being controlled. Something wasn't right, and Sanza had a strange feeling that the pie sitting at the center of the kitchen table had something to do with it.
"Here, Sanza, try a piece," said Maddy, using her hand to scoop up a large chunk of pie and holding her fingers up to Sanza's lips. "Please, it's very good!"
Sanza's eyes widened, and he took several steps back, slowly shaking his head.
"Something is seriously wrong here," thought Sanza, his legs beginning to shake as his sister walked toward him. "She looks like she's on some kind of drug or something... could that pie have something to do with it? I'm starting to wonder if mom even made the pie at all..."
As Sanza was thinking, Maddy had gotten right in front of him, and was once again holding the pie up to his mouth.
"Mother's not going to be happy if you don't eat any of-"
"And what's with you calling her mother all the time? You never call her that, it's always 'mom' or 'mommy' with you! Something's not right, and-"
Immediately, Maddy jammed the piece of pie into her brother's mouth. He began to spit it out, then his eyes lit up. This pie was good... the best he'd ever eaten, and far too good to waste by spitting it onto the floor. He savored the piece of pie, letting the sweet cherry juices soak into his tongue, and chewing it for more than half a minute before slowly swallowing it, his eyes glazing over as the pie slid down his throat.
"Mmmm..." said Sanza, slowly and unknowingly losing his grip on his mind. "That was so good..."
"I know," said Maddy, running over and picking up the rest of the pie, carrying it over to her brother and lifting it up to his chin. "Mother made it just for us, isn't she wonderful?"
"She sure is," replied Sanza, rapidly eating the rest of the pie out of the tin, then letting out a loud burp, licking the remainder of the cherry juices off of his lips. As Maddy returned the pie tin to the table, the woman who had baked the pie once again stepped out of the shadows, a loving smile on her face. "Mother!"
"Hello, my adorable little Sanza-kins!" said Mother Mae-Eye, wrapping her arms around Sanza's back in a tight hug. As soon as she was done hugging Sanza, Maddy rushed over and hugged her as well, and soon, all three of them were hugging, Sanza and Maddy both bearing euphoric grins on their faces. "Mother loves both of her children very much..."
"And we love you too, Mother Mae-Eye!" said Sanza and Maddy in unison, their minds completely won over by Mae-Eye's hypnotic spell.
O-O-O
Starfire, her eyes bright and glowing, flew up into the air and launched dozens of Starbolts toward the ground, where her opponent was standing in a battle-ready position. Her opponent dodged all of the Starbolts, then leapt into the air and swung his staff around at the side of Starfire's head.
"Not this time!" said Starfire, raising her left arm to block the staff, then rushing forward with a kick directly to her opponent's chest, sending him flying across the rocky landscape.
Starfire's opponent was Robin, and for the past hour, the two of them had been training together on the Tower's battle simulator. Starfire had been taken completely by surprise during her battle with Sedaris, and knew that if she wanted to reach his level of strength, she would have to train... and who better to train with than Robin, the strongest and bravest person she knew?
"Aaagh!" shouted Robin as his back impacted hard against a large, granite wall. He slowly stood up and reached down to his side, pulling several Bird-a-rangs from his utility belt and launching them Starfire's way. She took them out with a barrage of Starbolts, then flew toward Robin and struck at his face with a powerful punch. He dodged to the side, allowing her fist to soar past him and become imbedded in the rock wall behind. Then, he swooped around back of her and shot a cable around her arms, pinning them to her sides. "Starfire, you have to get faster, not just stronger..."
"Ungh... I know, Robin, but..." Starfire struggled in the cables, her eyes lighting up as Robin began swinging her around numerous times. "You are much faster than I expected, and-"
"I'm not faster than you, Starfire!" Robin said, swinging Starfire into a wall, the force of the impact giving her a small bruise on her left shoulder. She cried out in pain, the cables slipping away from her body and enabling her to rub the injured spot. "You're faster and stronger than me, I shouldn't be able to beat you like this, even with my gadgets."
Starfire nodded, but didn't say anything, continuing to stagger toward Robin as she nursed the bruise on her shoulder.
"I believe... that I need a bit more training, but... may we please take a break?"
Robin nodded, and signaled for Cyborg to shut off the environment simulator. He pressed a button at his control console, causing the rocky environment to fade and be replaced with simple white panels. As the simulator turned off, Starfire let out a sigh, bowing her head toward the ground, her eyes clearly showing the shame that she felt.
"Robin, as long as you have known me, you have seen me overcome many things... I have outpaced my sister and at times I have been able to beat even Slade in combat, but... why can I not defeat someone like Sedaris? He may have been enhanced by the government, but... I know that I should be able to beat him, and yet in mere minutes, he had me at his mercy..."
Robin could see the hurt in Starfire's eyes, and he reached up to place his hand on her shoulder... accidentally agitating the bruise that she'd just sustained. She let out a quiet 'ow!' and Robin quickly pulled back his hand, apologizing quickly.
"Starfire, you're the strongest girl I know... I always thought it was really cool how you could be so loving and gentle, and at the same time you could be determined and fierce in battle..."
"Perhaps I should not be as gentle as I am..." said Starfire quietly. "Perhaps that is holding me back..."
"No, Starfire... that's what makes you so wonderful, and such a great fighter," replied Robin, a smile on his face. "Because you're such a caring person, you're very emotional about protecting others, and it makes you a lot tougher... that's how you were able to get better than your sister, even though she's older and should probably be stronger than you. She doesn't care about anyone, but you're always fighting to protect people, and that makes you really strong."
The smile quickly returned to Starfire's face, and she placed her hand to her chest, realizing that everything Robin was telling her was absolutely right... had she not been able to make such wonderful friends, she would have no motivation to fight other than her natural blind rage... which would inevitably lead to her own destruction.
"Thank you, Robin..." said Starfire. "I feel much better now... you are right, I must always remember who I am."
"You're a wonderful person, Starfire... and a wonderful friend."
"As for Sedaris," said Cyborg, looking over at Robin and Starfire, "if we're gonna take him down, we'll have to do it working together. He might be tough, but nobody's too tough to be taken down by the Teen Titans."
Robin nodded, while Starfire already felt the rush to get back to training again.
"Cyborg, please resume the simulation... I do not believe that Robin and I are through yet," said Starfire, giving Robin a smirk. Robin smiled, and gave Cyborg a thumbs-up.
"All right then, y'all... resume environment simulation!"
O-O-O
Beast Boy and Terra had already returned to the tower, and were seated together on a couch in the main room, watching television. Terra had once again managed to push her self-doubts to the back of her mind, and was enjoying the time that she had with Beast Boy, whom she loved dearly, despite all of the terrible things that had happened between the two of them in the past.
While they spent time together on the couch, Raven was in her room, her mind focused on meditation, as well as trying to figure out where Sedaris had gotten to. He was no longer at the Mycoso Building... a quick check by Robin that morning had produced neither hide nor hair of the late Dullahan's former bodyguard... but it was imperative that the Titans did find him, before he could be allowed to carry out whatever plot that he was making against the city.
"I can sense his brainwaves from here... a terrible, dark evil lies within his mind, but all I can sense is the evil itself... no direction, just the vibes that he's giving off..."
With growing alarm, Raven realized that Sedaris' motives were not like any of the other men that had once been in his group. While their motivation for destroying the city was monetary in nature, Sedaris was seeking something else... not money, or power... the dominant motivation that Raven could sense within Sedaris' thought patterns was curiosity. He wanted to destroy the city because he was curious about something.
"Curious how people would react? Curious of exactly how many people will die? Curious of how it's going to look visually?"
Every few seconds, her thoughts would be interrupted by emotional patterns given off from Beast Boy and Terra... uncertainty from Beast Boy, and doubt from Terra. She tried to block the thoughts out of her mind, but they kept coming, and soon, her attempts to focus on Sedaris were rapidly becoming futile, as she kept picking up signals from the two Titans just below her in the Tower's main room.
"Terra I can understand, but... Beast Boy, what in the world are you thinking about? What is it that's got you so worried?"
Raven leaned back in her bed, her head coming to rest on her pillow. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, still wondering what Beast Boy could possibly be thinking... and wondering why she even cared.
O-O-O
On the Salazars' kitchen table sat nearly two dozen cherry pies, each of them baked to be as delicious as possible. The smell of the pies filled the entire kitchen, and it was doubtful that anyone who smelled the wonderful aroma of the delectable treats would be able to resist their tempting allure.
Seated at the table and getting ready to dig in were Sanza and Maddy, who had each been dressed by Mother Mae-Eye to look as adorable as possible. Sanza was dressed in a frilly blue shirt with wide, puffy sleeves and lacy white trim around his neck, complete with a red bow in the center of his collar. Maddy was dressed in a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, with red, white, and blue sailor top and a short blue mini-skirt.
"Now you children eat as much as you like... and remember, mother loves you!" cooed Mother Mae-Eye, who watched with delight as the two children ravenously scarfed up the pies. "Love, love, love, a mother loves when her children say that they love her!"
"We love you, Mother Mae-Eye!" shouted Sanza and Maddy as they ate pie after pie, with each pie that they ate quickly replaced by another freshly-made pastry. The two children continued to eat for several minutes, their minds completely shifted away from thoughts of their own mother, their love now focused on Mother Mae-Eye. "Mmm, delicious!"
"Well, well, well, both of your tummy-wummies must be completely full by now... I think it's time for the both of you to take a nappy-poo!"
"Awww..." said Sanza, his smile quickly shifting into a frown. "But I'm not tired, Mother Mae-Eye... may I please stay up just a few more minutes?"
"I know you don't feel tired now, Sanza-kins, but if you don't take a nap you'll feel tired later, and you'll be very sad... and mother never wants to see her children sad!"
"But Mother Mae-Eye, I'm not tired either," whined Maddy, her shoulders slumping. "Please, may we stay up just a little bit more?"
"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" chirped Sanza and Maddy in unison, their eyes wide and innocent.
"Well... since you asked me so nicely, I'll let you stay up just a little bit more!"
"Thank you, Mother Mae-Eye!" shouted Sanza and Maddy, their arms wrapping around the deceptive witch's back. Mother Mae-Eye returned the embrace, her arms looping around both Sanza and Maddy and hugging them tightly to her chest. "We love you!"
As the two children hugged Mother Mae-Eye, their bodies were being slowly drained of their life essence, which seeped into Mae-Eye's body in the form of a light, pink mist... and as the mist continued to flow, the witch's eyes began to light up.
"Yes, that's it... both of you keep giving me your love... and as you do, your delicious energy is slowly becoming mine... mine forever!"
O-O-O
Though the outside appearance of the apartment had not changed, the inside was now a chocolate-coated paradise of gingerbread men, candy canes, and teddy bears. The kitchen table had become a graham-cracker and marshmallow confection, and the chairs and beds had become licorice and jelly beans. The only thing in the home that wasn't made of some form of candy was Maria's bed, which had been transformed into an enormous oven, big enough to fit two children inside. Inside this oven now lay Sanza and Maddy, being tucked gently into what appeared to be a large pie tin.
"There there, my sweet little children... soon, you'll be away in dreamland," said Mother Mae-Eye, gently bending over to kiss Sanza and Maddy on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little Sanza-kins..."
"Thank you, Mother Mae-Eye," said Sanza with a yawn, as Mother Mae-Eye bent over to kiss him on the forehead.
"Sleepy-weepy time, little Maddie-pie," said Mae-Eye, giving Maddy a kiss and slowly closing the oven door.
"I love you, Mother Mae-Eye," said Maddy, she too letting out a yawn. The oven closed, and the two children slowly shut their eyes, oblivious to the danger that they were in, even as the oven began heating up.
Every few seconds, Sanza would have a brief moment of clarity... but the haze that Mother Mae-Eye had put him in with her magic was far too strong, and just as Sanza was beginning to realize that he was in danger, he would think about Mother Mae-Eye's love again and drift back to sleep.
"It's getting kind of hot in here," yawned Maddy, rubbing her eyes and shifting her body under the covers. "Maybe mother could get a fan or something... Mother Mae-Eye? Mother Mae-Eye, are you here?"
"Sshhh, Maddy," said Sanza, raising a finger to his lips. "Mother told us to go to sleep, we don't want to make her mad..."
Sanza then let out a gasp, having had another moment of clarity. He shook his head and leaned forward.
"I... I think I have a headache..." said Sanza, sweat now pouring down his face from the effects of the rapidly-heating oven. "Mother Mae-Eye, I need an aspirin..."
"And I need it to not be so hot in here..." said Maddy, crawling out from under the covers and climbing over to the door of the oven. "Mother Mae-Eye? Mother Mae-Eye, are you out there?"
As Maddy began rapping on the inside of the oven door, Mother Mae-Eye sat in the kitchen, intently waiting for the two children to finish cooking. She drummed her fingers on the table, a grin on her green, witchly face as she heard Sanza and Maddy faintly calling from the oven inside their mother's room.
"Naptime is quiet time, children!" said Mae-Eye, taking a large sip of coffee. Her voice suddenly deepened, and became stern and angry. "So both of you pipe down, right now!"
O-O-O
Maria Salazar walked up to the second floor of the apartment building, having had a long day at work and wanting nothing more than to relax with her two children. She placed her hand on the doorknob leading into the downstairs kitchen and slowly pushed open the door, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
What she saw when she opened the door caused her to nearly drop her purse in shock. Her entire kitchen had been turned into some kind of fairy-tale nightmare, and at her kitchen table sat a large woman with frightening green skin and a large, pointed nose. Mother Mae-Eye saw Maria and rose up out of her chair, leaving the coffee cup that she was using on the table.
"How dare you come here and try to steal my children away from me!" shouted Mae-Eye, pointing her finger at Maria. "They're resting now, and I don't want you disturbing them!"
Maria, her mouth wide-open, began immediately thinking of her son and daughter, who were nowhere to be found. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her teeth, her parental fury rapidly building.
"Did you just... say that they were your children?" growled Maria, tossing her purse into the corner of the room. Her hands curled into fists, and Mother Mae-Eye immediately narrowed her eyes, which began glowing bright pink.
"That's right, they're my little children, and I'm their mother!" said Mother Mae-Eye, cackling loudly before snapping her fingers and forming two large red ribbons that flew toward Maria in order to trap her. Before they could, Maria had reached out and grabbed them, clenching them tightly in her hands and ripping them loose from the wall that they had emerged from. She dropped the ribbons to the floor and ran toward Mae-Eye, overturning the graham cracker table with one mighty toss and sending it crashing into the candy-cane stove at the side of the room.
"You witch... I'll tear you to pieces!" shouted Maria, striking Mother Mae-Eye right between the eyes with her right fist. Mae-Eye stumbled backward and snapped her fingers again, creating hundreds of gingerbread men that leapt upon Maria and began trying to wrestle her to the ground. "Aaaaagh! Ugh... get off me, you little... get off!"
Mae-Eye cackled as Maria fought against the gingerbread men, thinking that within seconds, the woman would be completely overwhelmed. But it was not to be... Maria's rage gave her strength far exceeding her normal abilities, and she was quickly able to toss the gingerbread men off of her body, sending them flying in all directions and shattering them to pieces.
"Where are my children?" shrieked Maria, her hair disheveled by all the fighting that she had been doing against the gingerbread men. The scrunchie that had been keeping her hair in a ponytail had fallen out, and now her long, raven-black locks were draped over the sides of her face, occasionally blown back by Maria when the strands of her obstructed her vision. "TELL ME!"
Before Mae-Eye could say anything, the faint cries of Sanza and Maddy could be heard emanating from Maria's bedroom. The woman dashed out of the room and into the adjacent hallway, flinging open her bedroom door and gasping in horror at the large oven that stood in place of her bed.
"Oh my god, my babies..." Maria rushed over to the oven door and flung it open, only to have Maddy immediately fall into her arms, covered in sweat but otherwise completely unharmed.
"Mother Mae-Eye, can we please have a fan next to our bed, it's much too hot..." whimpered Maddy, still in a hallucinogenic haze brought about by Mae-Eye's magic.
"Close the door..." moaned Sanza, waving one of his arms. "I wanna sleep..."
Maria hugged Maddy tightly to her chest for several seconds before setting her down and forcibly pulling Sanza out of the oven. She then hugged him, while Maddy, getting the first look at her real mother since she'd gotten home, began to snap out of Mae-Eye's spell.
"Mommy?" said Maddy, a confused look on her face as her mind tried to work out the differences between Maria and Mae-Eye. "But... but I thought..."
"Maddy-pie, mother is here..." said Mae-Eye, lumbering back into the room and sweeping Maddy into her arms. "It'll be okay... this bad lady is just trying to take you away from mother... so you have to help mother get rid of her..."
Maria slowly released Sanza from her embrace and looked over at Mae-Eye and Maddy with an expression of pure rage, watching helplessly as Mae-Eye continued to talk to her daughter.
"Just hold her in place and mother will take care of everything," said Mae-Eye, releasing Maddy, who then turned around and looked up into Maria's face.
"Mother will take care of everything..." said Maddy, all the life drained out of her voice as she slowly approached Maria, her eyes completely glazed over. "M...mother will..."
Maddy put her head in her hands, rapidly shaking her head. Her mind was completely conflicted as Mae-Eye's spell was forced to contend with all the memories and thoughts that Maddy had of her real mother... her real memories clashing with the fake ones that Mae-Eye's spell had placed in her mind.
While all of this was going on, Sanza had looped his arms around Maria's waist, pinning the woman's arms in place and holding her as tightly as he could.
"Mother..." said Sanza, glancing around his real mother's back and looking directly into Mae-Eye's face. "I love you, Mother Mae-Eye..."
"Sanza, no!" gasped Maria, struggling violently within her son's grasp. "No... I'm your real mother... please, please try to remember!"
"M...mommy...?" whispered Maddy, turning toward Maria as Mae-Eye slowly walked toward her, holding a large kitchen knife in her right hand. Maria continued to struggle, trying desperately to break the hold that this terrible witch had over her son's mind.
"SANZA, MADDY, SHE'S NOT YOUR MOTHER!" screamed Maria, her legs flailing wildly, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"But... but she makes pies for us," said Sanza, "and she makes us cookies and gingerbread men, and..."
"And I am terribly sorry," thought Maria, stomping down hard on her son's foot and forcing him to release the hold that he had on her body. As Sanza cried out in pain and stumbled back, Mae-Eye held the knife high over Maria's chest, preparing to stab deep into the woman's heart. "And as for you..."
As Mae-Eye's hand came down, Maria grabbed the witch by the wrist and painfully twisted the bone, instantly spraining Mae-Eye's wrist and forcing her to let out a scream and drop the knife from her hands. Mae-Eye's hideous scream drew the attention of Sanza and Maddy, who stood in stunned silence as their real mother let out the full force of her rage.
"You are NOT my children's mother!" screamed Maria, striking Mae-Eye across the face with a powerful spinning kick that knocked the witch to the ground with another painful scream. As Mae-Eye weakly attempted to stand, Sanza and Maddy slowly started to come out of the trance that they'd been put under. They blinked their eyes and continued to watch as Maria repeatedly stomped Mae-Eye, forcing her to crawl back into the kitchen, where a single pie was laying on the ground, next to the overturned graham cracker table.
"P...please... I just wanted a little bit of love..." said Mae-Eye in a pleading voice, attempting to gain mercy from Sanza and Maddy's true mother, mercy that Maria had little reason to give.
"You were trying to cook them alive!" screamed Maria, stomping down on Mae-Eye's face and causing the witch to let out another terrible scream. "Now I want you to go right back where you came from, or I'll cook you and eat you myself!"
Mother Mae-Eye only had to take one look at the terrifying and violent anger in Maria's eyes to realize that the woman was certainly ready to follow up on such a horrific promise. With one final scream, Mae-Eye disappeared in a pink puff of smoke which then seeped back into the pie from which it came, imprisoning the terrible witch once more. The inside of the apartment immediately reverted to normal, including the kitchen table, which remained overturned on the floor next to the stove.
Sanza and Maddy, having watched the whole thing from the kitchen's entrance, stood in stunned silence as their mother, breathing heavily, turned slowly toward them, sweat pouring down her reddened face.
"M...mom?" said Sanza quietly, his memories of what had happened to him under Mother Mae-Eye's hypnosis now hazy in his mind. "Uh... what just happened here?"
Without a word, Maria rushed over to her two children and wrapped them tightly up in her arms, kissing them both several times on the cheek as tears began streaming down the sides of her face.
"I love you both so much..." said Maria, nuzzling her cheeks against the sides of her children's faces.
"I love you too, mommy..." Maddy replied, blinking her eyes several times as Sanza slowly slipped out of the embrace, looking down in horror to see what he was wearing.
"This... this is what the Pillsbury Doughboy wears!" screamed Sanza, quickly ripping off the outfit to reveal his real clothing still on underneath. "Ugh! Burn this! Burn this now!"
As Sanza tossed the scrap pieces of fabric into the middle of the living room, Maria began to laugh, wiping the tears from her face and slowly releasing Maddy from her arms. She walked over to Sanza and kissed him on the cheek, supremely grateful that her two beloved children were safe and sound.
"Hey..." said Maddy, looking down at her own outfit with a wide smile, "I really like this... I think I'm gonna wear it all the time!"
Turning to Maddy and realizing how much leg that the miniskirt would be showing if Maddy weren't wearing a longer skirt underneath, Maria shook her head and immediately ordered Maddy to take off the schoolgirl outfit.
"Not in a million years," said Maria, her hands resting on her hips. "You take that thing off, I'm not having you getting kicked out of school for wearing something that doesn't even cover up your whole thighs. Take it off and put it away."
"Yes, mom..."
O-O-O
Starfire strained heavily, her fingers interlocked with Cyborg's as the two faced one another down and attempted to overpower the other. The ground began to crack beneath the two Titans, but neither of them were willing to back down, and both were giving their all, pushing forward with all the strength they could muster.
As the two of them clashed, Robin and Raven exchanged punches and kicks some distance away, Raven using small psychic shields to block the blows that she couldn't block with her arms. The two leapt backward and came at one another again, with Raven's eyes beginning to glow as Robin reached down to his belt.
"Azarath, metreon-"
A large bomb exploded onto Raven, sending out a sticky, green goo that latched onto her face and sealed her lips. As she tried to focus her energy, Robin kicked her to the ground and stood over her with his bo staff ready.
Suddenly, a large section of rock underneath his feet crumbled to pieces, and he fell face-first to the ground. Terra floated above him on a small boulder, which she leapt off of and sent flying his way.
"Let's see you dodge that!" shouted Terra, which prompted Robin to leap to the side, avoiding the boulder completely.
"I just did," said Robin with a smile.
"ZINTHOS!"
The boulder began glowing a bright black, coming back toward Robin and smashing him across the chest, sending him flying across the battlefield. Terra turned to see Raven standing some distance away, her mouth still covered by Robin's green goo. Terra gave her a puzzled look, prompting Raven to point just above her head, where a smiling soulself was floating, its arms across its chest.
"Ah... very impressive," said Terra, just before being interrupted by a violent impact just behind her. She turned to see Beast Boy, transformed into a t-rex and in a perfect position to strike. He let out a roar with such force that it knocked Terra backward and blasted the goo off of Raven's face, then turned and swung his tail right at the two ladies.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" screamed Cyborg, flying over Beast Boy's head and causing the green t-rex to stop in mid-swing. Before he could see just what had happened to his robotic teammate, he was bombarded by a hail of Starbolts, causing him to detransform and fly sideways, landing on top of Robin and Cyborg. As the three groaned and tried to stand up, Starfire, Raven, and Terra walked over to them, looking down and smiling proudly.
"I believe that this time, the girls have obtained victory," said Starfire, turning toward Raven and Terra. "Shall we now do the ritual of celebration?"
"Heck yes," said Terra, raising one of her hands into the air.
"Oh, fine," sighed Raven, rolling her eyes and raising one of her own hands. Starfire high-fived them both, then gestured for Raven and Terra to high-five each other. While this was going on, Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg had gotten up and were rubbing the parts of their body that had become sore during the battle.
"Great job, ladies," said Cyborg, "though I'm pretty sure we just about had you there..."
"Yeah, I mean... I totally got the jump on you and Raven, Terra," said Beast Boy, making clawing motions with his hands.
Terra let out a giggle and walked past Beast Boy, closely followed by the other two female Titans.
"You guys lost, so you're making supper tonight," said Raven. "See you in the kitchen."
As the girls exited the training area, Cyborg walked over to the control console and shut off the virtual environment function, then walked with Beast Boy back toward the tower entrance. Robin lagged a few seconds behind them, his mind heavy with thoughts of Sedaris and what he had done to Starfire... and what could happen to the city if he wasn't stopped.
"I'm glad you're okay, Starfire... but as soon as dinner is over, I'm devoting all of my time to finding Sedaris... he's still a threat to the city, and a big threat to us... and I'm not going to let him get away with everything he's done."
O-O-O
After supper, and after Robin had retired his room to do research on Sedaris, the other five Titans decided to spend their time in the main room of the tower. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Terra had parked in front of the television, while Starfire and Raven were seated at the kitchen table, enjoying a batch of cookies that Cyborg had made for desert. For the most part, Starfire had recovered from the injuries that she'd sustained during her battle with Sedaris... though the lopsided result still stung her pride.
"Raven, the next time that we face Sedaris, I will not be beaten so easily..." said Starfire, though Raven could sense the lingering fear that Starfire still had of the abnormally powerful bodyguard.
"Losing hurts, Star... and I know that Sedaris' strength took you by surprise," replied Raven. "Next time we face him, all of us will be working together... he might be able to beat one of us, but he can't beat us all."
"For us to beat him, we will first have to find him..." said Starfire, bowing her head. "I just hope that Robin will be able to locate him soon..."
The door opened, and in came Red X, holding a freshly-baked pie in his hands. Starfire dropped the cookie that she was holding and stood up, rushing over to X almost as quickly as Beast Boy and Cyborg were.
"Dude, you brought us dessert!" shouted Beast Boy excitedly. "Cyborg already made us some cookies, but this pie is just as-"
"I wouldn't eat this particular pie," said X, twisting his body to keep the pie out of Beast Boy's ravenous grasp. "Actually, I was hoping one of you could put this pie somewhere where it WON'T get eaten... ever."
Starfire's eyes widened, remembering the bad experience that the Titans had once had with a particularly evil pie, and realizing almost immediately that Red X must've had a similar experience.
"I... I understand," said Starfire, taking the pie from Red X. "I... hope that you are undamaged..."
"It's Mother Mae-Eye that got damaged," said Red X, chuckling slightly. "My own mom is a bit... territorial."
As Starfire exited the room with pie in hand, Terra also rose from the couch and walked over to Red X, scratching her head. Since she'd still been a statue when the Titans had dealt with Mae-Eye, she had no idea who Red X was talking about.
"Could anybody tell me who Mother Mae-Eye is?" asked Terra.
"She's uh... she's one of the weirder baddies the Titans have faced," said Beast Boy, taking Terra's hand and leading her back toward the couch. "I can tell you all about her if you want..."
As Beast Boy and Terra walked away, Red X turned back toward the door. He was about to leave when Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around.
"You didn't just come to drop off that pie, did ya?" asked Cyborg. "C'mon... I know you're a thief and all, but spend some time with us... after all, we are gonna be fighting Sedaris together, right?"
"Uh... yeah," said Red X, "about him... have you found him yet, or-"
"Robin's been looking," said Cyborg, walking with Red X toward the elevator at the back of the room. "He's upstairs... I figure he hasn't found Sedaris yet, but there's something I always wanted to see that we'd better do right now before I forget."
"What's that?" asked Red X, pushing Cyborg's arm off of his shoulder and turning to face the half-robot as the two stood in front of the elevator. "I've got a schedule to keep, you know..."
"I always wanted to see the two of you facing off in the battle simulator," said Cyborg, "and I've got just the environment I wanna try to have you guys fight in. C'mon, are you up for the challenge, dawg?"
Red X let out a sigh... he'd already fought with Robin enough times for real to know that it wasn't something he wanted to do just for fun... but he did need the training, especially if he wanted to have any hope of beating someone as tough as Sedaris. As the thief pondered the matter, his concentration was broken by a loud, boisterous laughing noise from the vicinity of the Titans' couch.
"You had to wear a bunny suit?" asked Terra, almost in hysterics. She clutched her stomach and laughed again as tears poured down the sides of her face. "Oh my god, Beast Boy, that's so hilarious!"
Beast Boy chuckled as well, always happy to see Terra laughing, even if it was at his expense... of course, anything that made Terra happy was a good thing, knowing how sad she'd been feeling over the past week. As she continued to laugh, X turned back toward Cyborg and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, I guess I'll fight Robin for your amusement," said Red X, rolling his eyes. "I've got nothing better to do, except my homework..."
"Sweet, I'll get the simulator set up and you go get Robin," said Cyborg, entering the elevator with X, an excited smile on his face. "But first, I'll go get my camera..."
As the elevator door closed, Red X took one last look at Terra, who was still laughing loudly on the couch as Beast Boy told her about Raven's reaction to being put in a dress.
"I used to tell Cleo stories about my embarrassing moments all the time..." thought X, a twinge of sadness passing through him as the elevator began to move up through the shaft. "She would laugh just like Terra was just now... she knew they weren't my proudest moments, but... hearing about them made her happy... god, why do I still miss Cleo so much?"
O-O-O
Several months earlier, Sanza and Cleo sat on the steps of the fire escape just outside Sanza's room. He was telling Cleo of his sister's most recent slumber party... and of all the terrible things that Maddy and her friends had done to him.
"And you say they tickled you for how long?" asked Cleo, struggling to speak through intermittent giggles.
"Five hours," said Sanza, letting out a long sigh. "The six of them were like jackals, they completely overpowered me..."
Cleo began laughing harder and harder, until tears were flowing rapidly out of her eyes and she had begun hiccuping from laughing so much.
"Sanza... that... that sounds... oh my god... are you sure... you didn't LET... them overpower you?" With every pause, there was another hiccup... and the entire time that Cleo was talking, she was laughing hysterically. "Sometimes when I'm babysitting and I feel really nice, I'll let the kids do whatever they want to me."
"Yeah, well, I have a lot more pride than you do, Cleo..."
"But you love your sister and you'd do anything to make her happy, right?"
"Yeah... just like I love you, Cleo..." said Sanza, leaning in and giving the red-haired girl a gentle kiss on the cheek. Cleo giggled, then took Sanza's face in her hands and kissed him deeply, her tongue slipping past his lips and into his mouth. The kiss continued for twelve seconds... until Maddy poked her head out of Sanza's window and began yelling down at them.
"Ooooh... are you guys gonna do it?"
"Oh my god..." said Sanza, standing up and clenching his fists. "Maddy, get out of my room! Get out of my room now!"
Jogging up the fire escape toward his bedroom window, Sanza let loose with a flurry of Spanish profanities, which of course provoked Maddy to run immediately to her mother and report exactly what Sanza had said to her. The whole time, Cleo was in hysterics, barely able to stand because she was laughing so hard.
O-O-O
"Cleo..." thought Red X, sadly shaking his head as the elevator door opened. "I'm going to make those bastards pay..."
"Okay, we're on Robin's floor," said Cyborg, letting Red X out. "I'm gonna go fire up the simulator, so you go challenge Robin."
"You think that'll sound good? Me challenging him to a fight while he's trying to find Sedaris?"
"Don't call it a fight, call it practice!"
O-O-O
The simulated environment that Cyborg had set up for Robin and X do to battle in was the roof of an enormous skyscraper, and the two had been fighting for nearly fifteen minutes, neither of them holding back as they pummeled one another with their fists, their feet, and their weapons. Normally, Robin would've been reluctant to interrupt his work for a battle practice session, but the chance to practice with Red X didn't come very often, and without his life or Starfire's on the line, Robin was eager to tussle with the thief, especially when he knew that they both needed the practice.
"Okay, I'm gonna simulate some rain now..."
"No need," said Red X, pointing up at the clouds that had just passed over the moon in the sky over the Titans' practice area. A clap of thunder could be heard in the background, and a flash of lightning lit up the sky. "Well, well, well, this is very familiar..."
Robin narrowed his eyes, remembering quite well just how familiar the situation was. A few months ago, he'd done battle with the thief in the park, during a thunderstorm... with Starfire as the prize.
"Can you simulate a tree with Starfire tied to it?" asked Red X, only half-jokingly. "Hmm... ya know, Robin, she's right downstairs, maybe I can ask her to-"
"Yaaaaaaaaaah!" shouted Robin, dashing toward the thief with his bo staff in hand. He took a quick swing at X's head, which the thief blocked with one of his wrist blades before ducking down and firing an X downwards at Robin's legs. The X exploded in a thick smoke that mixed with the falling rain and turned into a noxious mist that began to burn Robin's skin. "Dammit..."
As Robin painfully stumbled back, the thief threw two more Xs at him, which exploded and created a shockwave that knocked the Boy Wonder clear off his feet. Robin hit the ground hard and let out a cry of pain, and Red X rushed toward him, aiming a kick straight at his side.
"No," said Robin, reaching out and grabbing Red X by the ankle. With one motion, the thief had been thrown to the ground, landing on his face next to Robin's side. "How's that ground taste?"
"Very bad..." groaned Red X, coughing as he attempted to get to his feet before Robin did. "Whoa... this is a lot more fun than what I had planned tonight... definitely brings back some old memories..."
O-O-O
As Robin and Red X clashed outside, Beast Boy remained inside the main room... Terra had gone to bed, and Beast Boy was by himself... or so he thought. When he walked toward the elevator at the back of the room, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye... and turned to see Raven, still seated in the kitchen in front of a cookie crumb-filled plate.
"Hey... Raven," said Beast Boy, turning and waving to her. She looked over at him and said nothing, returning her attention to the empty plate and running her hand through her short, blue hair. "I guess she doesn't want to talk... then again, she never does."
But he turned and walked toward her anyway, sitting down next to her and attempting to strike up a conversation, just as he always did.
"So, have you heard the one about the-"
"Of course I have," said Raven, cutting off Beast Boy before he could even begin to tell a joke. "I'm sure you've told it to me a million times."
"No, this is a new one, I swear!"
"Look... go talk to Terra, she thinks you're funny, I don't," said Raven with an annoyed sigh. "I had to listen to her laughing about me in a dress for nearly ten minutes."
"...part of that was me in a bunny suit."
"I don't care."
Beast Boy frowned dejectedly, leaning his head on the counter and staring out into the empty room. As he did, Raven could sense the uncertainty welling within Beast Boy's mind... as well as a strong emotion that seemed to be in conflict... with itself. She couldn't quite pinpoint what that emotion was, but she knew that Beast Boy's psyche was in turmoil, and she couldn't help wanting to know what it was.
"So... having any problems lately?"
Beast Boy's ears perked up, and he lifted his head, not believing what he was hearing. Raven wanted to talk to him all of a sudden? Where had that come from?
"Uh... no problems, not at all! I'm doing great, Terra's doing great..."
"Are you sure?"
One of Beast Boy's emotions, the one that was in conflict, was strengthening... and for just a moment, Raven could pick up exactly what Beast Boy felt. Then, just as quickly, it was gone, and Raven was again left clueless as to what that emotion was.
"Look, I um... I'm feeling tired," said Beast Boy, standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "Dammit, I can't talk to her... every time I talk to her I start getting feelings for her, and I just... Terra's back now, Beast Boy, and you love her! Terra!"
As Beast Boy briskly walked out of the room, Raven turned back to the empty cookie plate, completely confused as to what had just happened.
"O...kay, that was completely normal behavior," Raven muttered to herself, picking up a crumb from the plate and popping it into her mouth. "Maybe I'm the one that needs to get to bed..."
Raven stood up and walked out of the kitchen area. Like the others, she was completely unaware of a tiny, blinking light in one of the upper corners of the main room...
O-O-O
Red X clutched his chest, exhausted after his long practice session with Robin. He gasped for breath, and Robin did the same, though the much more thoroughly conditioned Boy Wonder recovered a few seconds before the thief did.
"That wasn't bad," said Robin, smiling as he looked over at Red X. "I think you've improved..."
"And you think that's a good thing?" said Red X. "You remember, I'm a thief, and as soon as we get through with Sedaris..."
"I know, I know, you're going right back to stealing again," said Robin, leaning against Cyborg's control console with a casual smirk on his face. "You remember, I just beat you. If I can beat you myself, then the team... well, like I said before, you're just like any other criminal, and-"
"And if I keep stealing, you're gonna put me in jail," replied Red X. "Okay, tough guy, we'll see about that. For now, I think I'm through with practice, so..."
"Yeah, all right, I got what I wanted," said Cyborg, smiling as he reached over to turn off the simulation. "Simulation shutting-"
The door to the training area opened, and Robin, Cyborg, and X all looked over to see who had just arrived. It was Starfire, a feigned look of disappointment on her face.
"Oh... it appears that I missed this training session," said Starfire, starting to turn back toward the entrance. "It is all right, I will just-"
"Nah, I think I can go one more round," said Red X, turning back toward Robin. "What about you? You up for another one?"
"Hey Starfire!" shouted Robin, gesturing for the Tamaranian to come over. "Maybe we should make this a tag-team match..."
"Oh, I call Robin as my partner!" said Starfire, rushing over to the group and placing her hand around Robin's shoulder.
"I guess that makes me your partner, huh?" said Cyborg, playfully nudging Red X on the elbow. "Well, all right then!"
"Wait, wait, wait, that's not fair..." said Red X, looking into Cyborg's eyes. "As I recall, I beat you on this thing a few months ago... I don't know if I want you to be my partner..."
"Well, we could make it a three-on-one handicap match," said Cyborg. "After all, you're already used to fighting all of us Titans at once, so..."
"No, no, that's fine, you can be my partner," replied X, letting out a sigh as he walked past Robin and Starfire to the center of the training area. "That's just great... I'm going to get my ass kicked again. Wonderful..."
O-O-O
Beast Boy had lied when he said that he was going to bed... instead, he chose to go up to the roof of Titans Tower, and had been sitting there for the past three hours, staring up into the sky and getting the first glimpse of the moon as it re-emerged from the clouds after the night's recent thunderstorm. He let out a long sigh, his thoughts drifting back and forth between Terra and Raven.
"It would never work out between Raven and me... she practically hates me... and besides, it's not like Terra's second-best... Terra's just as awesome as Raven, she listens to me, she laughs at my jokes, we do all sorts of stuff together... it's just... she doesn't know me like Raven does..."
Whenever Beast Boy had been feeling sad, Raven had always been there for him... even if she was reluctant to do so, she was still there. She didn't hate Beast Boy, the two of them were friends, good friends, despite the fact that the two were almost nothing alike... that they frequently bounced insults off of one another, that they'd both openly stated when the other was unable to speak that they liked it better that way.
Beast Boy still cared deeply about Raven, and he knew that she cared deeply about him... though it may not have been the same kind of caring. As for Terra... Terra was the kindest, most fun girl that Beast Boy had ever met, and during the short time that the two had been friends, they'd fallen in love... despite the horrific falling out that the two had once had, their friendship and love remained strong, and Beast Boy still knew that he loved Terra...
Just as tears were beginning to form in Beast Boy's eyes, the door to the roof opened, and an exhausted Red X began walking toward him, repeatedly wiping his hand over his forehead.
"Dude... I thought you would've left by now," said Beast Boy, standing up and turning toward the battle-weary thief. "It's almost midnight..."
"Yeah, well... time flies when you're having fun, and fighting you Titans is fun," said Red X, reaching up and removing his mask. "Damn... I'm so hot right now... it's nice and cool up here, though..."
Sanza tossed his mask down on the floor and walked over to the edge of the roof, sitting down and allowing his feet to dangle off the side. Beast Boy sat down next to him, staring up into the sky and once again thinking about Terra and Raven.
"Sanza... can I tell you something?" asked Beast Boy, looking into Sanza's eyes. "You can't tell anyone, got it?"
Sanza chuckled slightly, wiping his forehead and taking a quick breath.
"Yeah... go ahead."
"Well... you see, I... I... Terra and I are-"
"Getting married?" asked Sanza. "That's awesome, Beast Boy... congratu-"
"Sanza, this is serious. Terra and I are together, but... but there's another person on this team... I mean, I... I sorta... I have feelings for..."
"Dude, it's okay. Starfire's a great girl, I've been wanting to get into her pants for like a year. Don't worry, I won't tell Robin."
Beast Boy let out an angry growl. It was beginning to appear that Sanza wasn't the right person to ask about his problem... but then Sanza quickly became serious, and stopped chuckling.
"Sorry, I've just been under a lot of stress lately and I need to get it out any way I can, so I decided to mess with you. You can tell me now."
"Sanza, I like Terra and Raven... I think I love them both... and I really can't decide which one I want to... I mean, I know Terra loves me and Raven doesn't, but... I just..."
Beast Boy looked away from Sanza and placed his head in his hands, clearly mad at himself for allowing his heart to lead him into such a conundrum. It was at that point that Sanza placed his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder and tried to give him the best advice that he could.
"I remember a time when I had to choose between Starfire and Cleo... I mean, I loved Starfire... Cleo was just another girl from my school, we were friends, but... then we became more, and I realized that Cleo was the girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
Now Sanza was feeling sad, and he too bowed his head, remembering how well that had gone.
"But... I guess things with Cleo didn't work out, and Starfire definitely loves Robin, so... I'm totally screwed," said Sanza. He stood up and walked away from Beast Boy, back toward the roof's entrance. He'd gotten to thinking of Cleo again, and now he was tired, both physically and mentally. All he wanted to do was go home... he bent down and picked up his mask, putting it back on his face.
"But that doesn't help me!" shouted Beast Boy, standing up and turning to face Red X. "You didn't tell me who I should-"
"I don't care," Red X replied, looking Beast Boy right in the eyes. "The only thing I can say is that one day, you're going to have to choose... I don't know when, but it's the best advice I can give. I'll see you around."
Red X walked off, leaving Beast Boy alone on the roof with no one to talk to and still no solution to his problem. Obviously, it would be something that he'd have to work out on his own... but Red X's 'advice' hadn't helped him at all. It just made Beast Boy feel much worse.
O-O-O
Terra walked out of her room dressed in only a light-blue nightgown, her bare feet jogging along the cold floor of the hallway as she walked toward the elevator. She wanted to go downstairs to get a glass of water, but as she turned the corner, she bumped right into a masked figure who was also attempting to find the elevator.
"You..." whispered Terra, pointing at Red X at he placed his hand to his forehead. "I thought you'd gone home..."
"So did your boyfriend," groaned Red X, having taken the brunt of the impact with Terra and adding an aching forehead to the other pains in his body. "I'm just about to go now..."
Terra stepped back to allow X access to the elevator, but as he walked, a thought crossed Terra's mind, and she reached out to stop him, her hand gently touching his shoulder.
"Cyborg did that earlier tonight, and four hours later, I'm still here," said Red X, not bothering to turn around. "I'm done training for tonight..."
"I just want to talk," said Terra, and reluctantly, the thief turned to face her. "I want to know something... after we beat Sedaris, are you... are you going to be an enemy of the team again?"
It was a strange question for Terra to ask, and Red X didn't know how best to respond.
"It's just that... I've never fought you before, and you... you really seem like a good person," said Terra, obviously remembering the promise that the thief had made to her before... that he would always be her friend, no matter what he did... and friends didn't fight one another, did they? "Then again... I turned on my friends..."
"No, if you guys stay out of my way. All I want to do is steal, but every single time I try, the Titans always seem to show up. If they didn't try to stop me, I wouldn't have to fight them."
"...if you didn't steal, they wouldn't fight you," said Terra, giving a sly smile. Then, her expression saddened, and she bowed her head. "Then again... I guess stealing isn't so bad... compared to some of the things I've done... I mean, you've never hurt anyone like I have..."
Red X could sense the sadness in Terra's voice, and felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, knowing from what the Titans had said about her that she'd once betrayed them... that she'd even tried to kill them, and that she'd willingly become Slade's apprentice. It was all because of her powers that she couldn't control... and in a way, had been by no fault of her own.
"Look, I know you might have done bad things in the past, but... you're a way better person than I am, kid... Terra..." He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder, which she started to try and move away, but then looked up into his eyes and sadly shook her head. "It's true... I had the chance to sacrifice myself to take out Slade just like you did, but... I couldn't go through with it... you're braver than I could ever be, no matter how tough I seem sometimes... I couldn't match up to someone like you."
It was a surprisingly candid comment from Red X, but he did truly sympathize with this girl... the both of them had been horribly victimized by Slade, and both knew how terrifying he could be.
"It's not just that I betrayed the Titans... all the stuff I did with my powers before, I... I hurt people... I caused horrible accidents, I-"
"You couldn't control your powers... it's nothing to be ashamed of. If I couldn't control myself, I... I would've done things that were much worse... there was this time that I had Starfire helpless, and if I hadn't been able to control myself, I... would've done the same thing to her that that bastard Lonnie did to Cleo..."
Red X was being completely sincere and honest with Terra... he had opened up to her, and she began to feel a sense of peace, just like she had the last time the two of them had spoken.
"Thank you..." said Terra, reaching up and brushing her hand across Red X's cheek. "I... I'm starting to feel like I can... like I can tell you anything... even more than I can tell Beast Boy..."
"I made you a promise and I'm going to keep it," said Red X, taking one last look at Terra before walking over to the elevator and getting inside. Terra had turned back toward her room, no longer needing a glass of water... her conversation with Red X had given her all the comfort that she needed. "Good night..."
The elevator closed, and Red X leaned his head against the door, almost ready to fall asleep right there.
"I never realized it before I saw her in that nightgown, but... that girl Terra really has it going on... what the hell am I thinking, she's with Beast Boy, and I'm pretty sure that he's gonna come to his senses and give his heart to her. After all, Raven doesn't even give him the time of day..."
Red X stepped out of the elevator and walked through the darkened main room of the tower, heading toward the front door.
"Speaking of Raven... she doesn't look too bad either... nah, forget about her. If she's anything like the kids at the goth table in the lunchroom... how could Beast Boy have a hard time picking between Terra and her?"
O-O-O
The next afternoon, while Sanza was at school and the other Titans were at lunch, Robin stepped into a large, empty warehouse, having received a distress call on his T-Com and instructions to arrive at the location alone. He knew that it could be a trap, but also knew that if someone was truly in danger, deviating from any given instructions would just put the person even more at risk.
The second he reached the center of the warehouse, he felt a powerful kick to the side of the head. The kick sent him flying several yards across the floor, and with a single motion, he managed to land on one knee while at the same time extending his bo staff and turning in the direction of the kick.
"You..." Robin said, his eyes narrowing in a hateful glare.
"I didn't think you'd actually come by yourself," replied Sedaris, having abandoned his tuxedo for a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a dusty leather vest, garb that clearly displayed his imposing, muscular physique. "You're a bigger fool than I thought."
"After what you did to Starfire, I'm mad enough to beat you by myself," said Robin, rushing at Sedaris and bringing his bo staff down at the man's head. Sedaris blocked the staff with his wrist, then lunged forward and attempted to strike Robin with a shoulder charge. Robin leapt into the air, avoiding Sedaris' shoulder and getting behind him, swinging his staff hard at the small of Sedaris' back. "It's you who should be wishing for backup!"
The impact of the staff was painful even for someone as strong as Sedaris, who let out a scream and stumbled forward, only to have Robin hit him again, this time across the shoulder blades. Sedaris bowed forward, leaving his legs completely exposed to a vicious chop block. Robin dove at the back of Sedaris' ankles, sending the muscular man face-first to the ground, groaning in pain.
"Very good."
"I'm not done," said Robin, shooting his Birdcable at the downed Sedaris, who suddenly rolled over and grabbed the end of the cable, yanking it violently and sending Robin several feet into the air. "Aaaaaaaah!"
Robin came down hard on his back, while Sedaris stood up and stomped repeatedly on Robin's chest, each time eliciting a louder response.
"I'm not giving up that easily..." thought Robin, rolling out of the way and shooting his cable at Sedaris again. This time, he was successful, pinning the man's arms to his sides and temporarily stopping his attack. He stood up and gave the cable a hard yank, only to be kicked right in the face and knocked to the ground again. Sedaris smiled viciously and flexed out his arms, instantly snapping the cables and sending pieces of the strong, wiry material flying across the room.
"You get credit for knocking me down, but not much else," said Sedaris, picking Robin up by his collar and flinging him across the warehouse. Robin smashed hard into a wall, screaming again and slumping against it, his entire body throbbing with pain. "Fortunately for you, I didn't bring you here to kill you."
Robin slowly picked himself up, nursing his injured shoulder and narrowing his eyes at Sedaris, still wanting to fight.
"I came here to tell you exactly where I'm going to be... and that you should hurry up and stop me, if you can. Bring the whole team if you want... I'll be looking forward to the challenge. We'll be in an old military bunker east of the city... I think you're familiar with it, it's the only structure of its kind within a hundred miles of here."
"What... what do you gain by telling us this?" shouted Robin, his hand slowly reaching toward his utility belt. "You know we're going to stop you..."
Sedaris ran toward Robin, clearing the gap between the two of them before Robin could put out any of his gadgets. He grabbed Robin's arm and wrenched it tightly behind his back, causing the already-injured crime fighter even more pain.
"No, Robin... if you show up, you'll all be destroyed... but I welcome you to try."
Sedaris threw Robin roughly to the ground and ran out of the warehouse. Groaning in pain, Robin slowly rose to his feet, feeling that his right shoulder had been dislocated. He gritted his teeth and popped the shoulder back into place, letting out a loud, agonized scream.
"Why... why did he tell me?" thought Robin, limping toward the warehouse exit and nursing his stinging right arm. "He's laying a trap for us... but... but it's the only lead we have... DAMMIT!"
O-O-O
That evening, while Sanza was passing between the kitchen and the living room, he heard a loud ringing from the phone mounted next to the door.
"I'll get it," said Sanza, waving off his mother and putting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Sanza... this is Robin. We're going after Sedaris. Get your Red X suit and meet us at the military bunker east of town... be there in half an hour."
"Damn, and I'm still sore from kicking your butt last night... all right, I'll be there."
Sanza hung up the phone and turned to his mother, who put down her cooking pot and gave her son a curious glare.
"Who was that?" asked Maria. "And you'll be... where?"
"Mom... I'm going to need to borrow the car."
O-O-O
It's about to begin, the assault on Sedaris' headquarters... but just why is he so eager to have the Titans come to his bunker? Is he leading them into a trap, and can they overcome it and save the city? And just what is Beast Boy going to do about Raven and Terra? These questions and more will all be answered in the next exciting chapter!