Author's Note: Nice to see I've garnered a bit of interest out there. I promise to do everything I can to keep things interesting for my readers. Shout outs:

AnimationWickedRaven: Thanks! Updates on the way!

RavenOnline: You're too kind. Hope this chapter will also be to your liking.

SecondLevelWriter: Thanks for your comments. Don't worry, you'll be seeing more soon!

Siberian-Tigress: Why thank you so much. I do try, after all.

Pixel: Thanks Pixie-chan! I've been told that I'm at my best when I'm doing battle scenes (even by you a couple times now, hehe)

Random person in the audience: Man, that guy writes a good fight scene!

As for the RobStar bits, I might decide to do a little something for the legions of RobStar fans sooner or later…we'll have to see.

Thanks for the reviews, Chapter 3's for you guys!

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Chapter 3: Interrupted

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The trip back to Titans Tower had been rather uneventful, Raven recalled. However, maybe that hadn't been too bad, as it had given her a bit more time to think on things…Beast Boy couldn't talk while in the form of a falcon, except for this annoying habit he had of screeching way too close to her ear, as far as she was concerned. She tried her best to ignore him, though, as the team finally crossed the bay to make their way back into the Tower.

"We are home!" Starfire said enthusiastically, smiling bright and throwing her arms up in joy. The other Titans decidedly ignored her save for Robin, who offered an acknowledging nod before turning to head toward the main room. Before everyone went off in his or her own direction, however, Robin cleared his throat, signifying that he had something he wanted to say.

"Combat Training starts at 8:00 a.m. sharp."

Beast Boy groaned, his eyes drooping to show his discontent. "More training…? We just did Combat Training the other day! And besides, it's really late. I need sleep!"

Robin said nothing, as Beast Boy looked from the Boy Wonder, to Starfire, to Cyborg, and finally to Raven, looking for some kind of support in his claims. Starfire seemed content to start training again in only a couple hours time, and Cyborg simply shook his head slowly, trying to send the message that Beast Boy should just drop it. Raven ignored Beast Boy entirely.

"…Deal with it." was all Robin said before he went off into a dark hallway. After encountering Red X again, Robin was still in a serious state of mind, and everyone already knew what it was like once Robin started behaving in this way.

Raven had decided that she'd already heard enough, and floated off toward her room without a word to anyone. "Maybe things will seem a bit clearer after I get some sleep…" she thought as she shut her door behind her.

Back in the main room, Cyborg yawned loudly, turning to head towards a security panel.

"You heard the man. Best to just get the few hours in you can…" Cyborg said as he placed his open palm on the panel. It lit up as a computerized voice announced throughout the Tower that the security system had been activated. "Well, I'm going to bed. Night, y'all." He moved into the doorway next to the panel, walking into the hallway leading to his room as the door slid shut behind him.

As Cyborg left, Starfire turned to Beast Boy, smiling gently and gesturing with her hands. "Perhaps Friend Cyborg is right…" she said, looking over at Silkie, her pet worm who was already fast asleep on the top of the couch. "Let us return to our rooms and rest, so that we may be well-prepared to train in the morning. If it is any consolation, I shall take it upon myself to prepare a breakfast feast worthy of the Ruler of Tamaran!"

"Sounds great, Star…" Beast Boy said half-heartedly, wondering if he could even stomach the thought of enduring an entire training session after eating some of Starfire's cooking. "…maybe I'll help with the cooking..." He said with a half-smile.

"That would be most wonderful!" Starfire replied happily, clasping her hands together in front of her chest.

"Alright then. Night, Star." With that, Beast Boy turned, heading off toward his own room as Starfire did likewise.

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A few hours later, Beast Boy awoke to the sound of someone knocking at his door. He rolled over groggily in bed to glance at his alarm clock. 7 a.m. He groaned, burying his head under his pillow.

"Just a few more minutes…"

The knocking paused momentarily, but it wasn't long before it resumed, even louder than before. Beast Boy sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get those few more minutes anytime soon. He rolled off the bed, landing on the floor below with a firm "thump" sound. The knocking hesitated again after the sound of him hitting the floor, but once again it continued, louder still, Beast Boy beginning to wonder if the Tamaranian was going to knock his door down trying to wake him up. He hustled over to the door and opened it. It slid open, revealing Starfire's giant smile which beamed down on him.

"Good Morning, friend! I trust you slept well? Come, we must begin preparing the breakfast foods." Before Beast Boy could get in a word edgewise, Starfire had already grabbed him by the arm, leading him toward the kitchen area. Having trouble keeping up with Starfire's pace, Beast Boy nearly tripped over his own feet once or twice before reaching the kitchen.

Once there, Starfire began floating this way and that, grabbing pots and pans of all sizes, along with various ingredients from the fridge and drawers. While she did so, Beast Boy moved toward the sink, splashing some water on his face and hands to prepare himself for the task ahead.

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Raven was still asleep, tossing and turning in her bed, seemingly the victim of a nightmare.

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She found herself standing alone in pitch blackness, unable to see anything around her. She took a few steps in an arbitrary direction, but to no avail, as nothing changed about her surroundings.

Thinking she'd heard a soft noise behind her, Raven turned to glance over her shoulder. Again, she saw nothing. But as she turned her gaze forward again, she suddenly saw two pairs of enormous red eyes, staring into her from the darkness. She trembled slightly, her eyes growing wide as she took a step back.

"You…no…I destroyed you!" Raven shouted, to which the four red eyes narrowed.

"You think that was the end of me? Pathetic!" As the deep, disembodied voice seeming to come from the red eyes themselves spoke, a violent wind also emerged from them, crashing through Raven. She threw up both arms to shield her face, the wind bordering on painful as it whipped across her, blowing at her cloak wildly. As Raven struggled to remain standing, the eyes spoke to her again."You may have erased me from your realm, but I'm not done with you yet, my daughter."

"No… you're gone…you can't torture me, Arella, my friends, or anyone else anymore!" Raven yelled, holding her ground as she fought off the winds.

The voice of Trigon only uttered a sinister laugh as the winds grew even fiercer, completely enveloping Raven's body. The force applied to Raven multiplied exponentially as Raven screamed, her eyes glowing white.

"NOOOOO!"

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In a flash of white, Raven found herself sitting up in bed, breathing heavily, eyes panicked. The rays of early sunlight cascaded down through her window, bathing her in glorious light. Quickly, she placed a hand to her forehead, then checked her arms, legs, and torso. There were no markings. She sighed, slowly rising from the bed. Trigon was still gone. He wouldn't be back. "It was all just a bad dream…and nothing more." She thought as she left her room.

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Raven finally emerged from the hallway into the main room, the last person to wake. As she entered the room, she saw everyone else already seated, scarfing down plates of food like nobody's business. Especially Starfire, who was practically drowning all her food in mustard from her economy-sized personal bottle before savagely devouring it. Raven floated over to the counter, opting instead for a warm cup of tea.

"Morning, Raven," Robin said, curtly nodding in her direction. She acknowledged his greeting with a slight nod of her own.

"How you feeling?" asked Cyborg. She shrugged. "Just fine…I guess." came her reply.

Just as she was preparing to make some tea, she was surprised to see it already steaming in the kettle on the stovetop. Beast Boy turned and smiled at her.

"I know how much you like your tea, so I decided to make you some." He said before getting back to spooning large heapings of tofu into his mouth. Raven glanced at him for a moment, allowing the tips of her mouth to curve upward ever-so-slightly. "Thanks…"

Raven found a seat, and tentatively took a sip of her tea, cautious because after all, Beast Boy had made it. She winced on pure reflex as the reddish brown liquid touched her lips, prepared to spit it out if necessary…Amazingly, it actually tasted pretty good…a tad bit sweeter than Raven was accustomed to, but still bearable nonetheless. "I guess he isn't so bad…sometimes."

"…So as I was saying, I did some research," Cyborg said between forkfuls of the REAL eggs he'd specifically requested Starfire to make after learning that Beast Boy would be helping make breakfast. "…ran a few searches through some databases…and it turns out, that thing Red X stole from Wayne Enterprises was some kind of physical enhancer. It's a prototype, not really in production yet. The details I uncovered are sketchy at best, but that little black thing is capable of a lot of destruction in the wrong hands."

"His hands are the wrong hands…" Robin said, no longer hungry as he leaned forward and rested his chin on his knuckles, elbows on the counter. Brooding over the sudden topic of Red X, his eyes narrowed as he stared off into the wall.

"We'll catch him, Robin…" came a sudden reply from Raven, the girl a little surprised at herself for speaking up out-of-turn. Maybe it was the sugar in the tea. Or maybe something else…

"I don't know what he's up to, but I won't let him go through with it," Robin said, not moving from his pose.

"…And neither will we." Starfire pitched in, glancing reassuringly in Robin's direction.

"I will stop him." Robin said, hints of anger beginning to seep through his voice.

He was glad he still had the support of his team, but Robin still found anger and utter frustration bubbling up inside him whenever he thought of Red X. It had gotten to the point several times now where Robin would simply wish he'd never created the suit in the first place… never came up with the idea of disguising himself from both his enemies and his friends in order to get closer to Slade. That one mistake had haunted Robin for far too long now, and it would be an understatement to say he was quickly growing tired of it.

It was bad enough when Robin had reached the point where he was even desperate enough to agree to become Slade's apprentice… he'd hated himself for quite a while after that. He knew that no matter what horrible thing could possibly happen after that, he'd never forget the look Starfire had on her face when he confronted her and the other Titans on the roof of Wayne Enterprises so long ago… Starfire had seemed so distant, so sad… but her words to him on that terrible night were especially poignant.

"Robin, you are my best friend, and I cannot live in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil, then do as you must."

Her words had struck a tender chord, resonating deep within his soul, his spirit, and his heart. She would've willingly given up her life rather than be forced to become his mortal enemy. With every fiber of his being, Robin objected to such a painful thought, no matter what Slade threatened to do to him, or anyone else.

Robin promised himself and his team that he'd never turn against them again. But not only that, he also promised Starfire… a vow he never intended to break, which brought him back to Red X… before Slade had even approached him about becoming an apprentice, Robin used the suit because he didn't trust his team enough to trust him. After finally realizing his mistake, he'd locked the suit away, hoping it would never bother him again…but he was wrong.

It simply perplexed Robin to no end when he ran the numbers through his head, trying desperately to figure out how anyone could be skilled enough to sneak inside the Tower and swipe the suit. Not to mention the recent return trip for the belt. It was as if Red X's entire existence was merely to taunt Robin…The only person he could be any angrier at was Slade himself…

"Umm…Robin?" Starfire said cautiously, tapping Robin on the shoulder from behind. "It is 8:15, everyone else is in the training area outside already, and you still have not moved yet." Indeed, Robin had still been sitting at the counter brooding, oblivious to everything around him. Suddenly broken off from his trance, Robin stood, turning to glance at Starfire.

"Right…let's get to work." he said simply before heading for the training area. Starfire nodded, floating a few steps behind him.

"Are you…alright?" Starfire asked as she followed him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. She couldn't help but worry about him whenever he got like this.

"I'm fine, Star." Robin replied, glancing back with a smile as he walked, trying his best to ease her concerns.

"You are…certain?" she inquired, still not quite convinced. To this, he simply nodded.

"Never better." Robin said as he opened the door leading to the training area. The two of them emerged from the Tower, onto a rocky cliff face which eventually dropped off into an open plain where Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy were standing.

"Dude, where were you, in the toilet or something?" Beast Boy asked while pointing an accusing finger at Robin, a question at which Cyborg couldn't help but chuckle, at least a little bit. Starfire found the question a little odd, furrowing her brow yet again as she pondered how it could be possible to fit someone in a toilet bowl. Raven simply sighed, placing a hand on her forehead.

"I was thinking about things," Robin said as he pressed a few buttons and flipped some switches on the training area's central control unit, located near the door he'd just emerged from. "Red X…Slade…things."

A few moments later, several metal walls sprang up from the ground, along with some armed droids.

"Man, Robin…" Beast Boy thought, arms folded. "Obsessive much…?"

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Author's Note: That Robin can get obsessive at times, though, ne? He just won't stop until he puts all the criminals away. As for Raven, surely her nightmare is over, right? She did beat Trigon, after all. In spite of that, she can still sense something strange…but what? Next chapter, the Titans spend some time working on combat maneuvers, but as they say, a hero's work is never done…