a.n. I have no clue how radar works... so either I got it right here or I make myself look like an idiot. :) Either way, hope you know what I mean... (example: as I was proofreading it, I found that I had made the plural of 'radar' 'radars.' yeah.)
Also, another double title. Just 'cause.

nevermore199- Hey, I've seen you around the site. Nice to meetcha. :) Thanks for the review... and they have buttons for bold and italic stuff? Seriously? o.O;; kidsnextdoor112- Bwaha, as I said earlier: I strive for cliff hangers. X3; It's a good sign for me that you like it. :3 hehe, thanks for the review. raex18- Aw, thank you. :D And about Raven and X... meh, I'll see what I can do. LoL gracefulraven- Thanks for the advice. It'll help if I find the B button first, I'm guessing. o.o; Hehe, I seriously have seen none of those buttons before. I am so out of it. Anyway, Slade can't be too nice to Raven... but he might be a little nicer to her. / I'm not the best judge of my own characters. heh. lolopixie- Forced learning... that made me laugh. XD; And how come just about everyone else has seen these buttons? I just must not be very observant. x.x; Well, glad you liked. ShadowDevil- Dash button for the lines... I cracked up at that. And dang, you want Raven to turn evil, nevermore199 wants her to stay good... I can't please everybody! .x;; Eh, we'll just have to see where the story goes. (It's pretty bad when the author doesn't even know. X3;) raven717- Happy Birthday to you and your mom. :) How did they go? For my mom's b-day, I think we're just going out to a nice restaurant. She already bought herself a present. X3; LoL. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like iiiit. Kendra Chetnova- 4 was my favorite HP book, so this movie was also my favorite. :33 It may be the first I'll actually want to buy... if only for the lovely shots of Krum and his odd, single line in the movie. o.O; LoL. I'm glad you like the story... faLLen-dreamz- Okay, it's official: every other person on this site knows about those buttons. x.x; I'll really to need to find those next time I update. heh, thanks for the review. Tritium- Master's gonna be useless? Eh, in that you'll be disappointed... ëcause I wrote him as like the best fighter on the Hive team. LoL. And I love Gizmo. :3 I seem to have made his favorite word "slappin." heh. VampireSelene- Mostly A Beka... but I'm so happy I'm a senior this year. I always hated when my books arrived in the summer. So depressing. LoL. Thanks for the review.. glad you like. :) psycicflower- It's strange I find that so interesting. hehe. I always though the Irish spoke english... just with a different accent than Englanders. There's a whole nother language? So is every Irish person bilingual? This is all very fascinating to me. X3; I'm working on being bilingual... and it's hard. LoL. Well, glad you like the chapter and that it could serve as a distraction... I mean... "break."

Chapter 17

X's fingers flew across the keyboard in the farthest corner of the Mega Arcade's basement. He was staring diligently at the monitor and didn't even notice Aqualad walk up.

"What are you doing?" the long-haired boy asked curiously as he looked over the thief's shoulder.

"Hackin' into the Titans computer. I'm setting up a permanent link. Whatever info they bring up, whatever alerts come up, we'll see," explained X, not taking his concentration off the monitor.

"Aqualad tilted his head. "But then if we start accessing files on this end, won't they know?"

"Nope. Completely one way. They'll never find out."

"And just how will you set that up?"

"Secret of the trade," the thief replied briskly, tapping a key twice. The Titans screen showed on the monitor; plain because no one in Titans Tower was using the computer.

"We're up," announced X. He walked over, Aqualad following, to Hotspot, who was also busy typing away on a computer.

Hotspot, anticipating a question, spoke up voluntarily. "Okay, after Blackfire said on the tape that she was headed for Monaco, I checked the Monacan air space. They had a strange air craft on their radar for a little bit yesterday, but it disappeared. Now that means she could've turned on the cloak, turned off the ship, crashed, or landed below the radar's scope."

"Where'd she disappear at?" Speedy questioned, leaning over in his seat to get a better look at Hotspot's monitor. The other boy pointed to a blip near the edge of the screen.

"It's right near the beach. But there were no reports of any other sightings and nothing on the news about it." Everyone was silent for awhile. Suddenly X spoke up.

"Could her ship be in the water?"

Aqualad smiled at that. "I see my services are finally needed."

-

That evening Slade, Raven, and a handful of robots were outside the tower on the training course. For the first time Slade was testing the dark girl's powers.

Raven was used to the course; she had run through it countless times when the Titans had trained as a group. Since she was well familiar with everything she was up against, the man had her complete the track in a very short amount of time. At first Raven was nowhere near the expected time, but slowly she was shaving away seconds.

After an hour and a half of intensive training, the dark girl collapsed at the finish line. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for air and she was dripping with sweat. Her mind was exhausted for exerting her powers.

Slade left his post behind the course controlling station and walked over to the crumpled up girl. For awhile, all that could be heard was Raven's heavy breathing. Finally the man nudged Raven's arm with his boot to get her attention.

"What happened out there?" he demanded, staring down at her critically. With much effort, Raven turned to look at him.

"I... ran the... course... over and... over," the dark girl said between breaths.

"You were fine at the beginning, but at the end your powers waned."

"Yeah, I was... tired," retorted Raven. It took her a moment to build up enough breath to stress the last word, and afterward she went back to panting for air. One hand was clutching a cramp in her lung.

"No, you were deliberately holding back. I want to know why," Slade responded quickly. The dark girl gave him a quizzical expression.

"Well, I have to... make sure I still have... some power to keep all my... emotions under control." The man sunk into a crouch next to her, tilting his head as he observed her.

"You mean, after all those years of meditation, you haven't honed your powers enough to suppress your emotions with the least amount of effort? Shouldn't it be second nature to you now?" Slade let a faint chuckle slip past his mask.

"What are you getting at?" Raven asked, eyes narrowing. The man gave a casual shrug of his good shoulder.

"Just what I had told you before: the Titans were a hindrance. And now that they're gone, the real progress can begin. What do you say, my dear? Will you try harder tomorrow?"

A sigh of relief escaped from Raven. Practice was over for the day. Slowly, dumbly, she nodded her head.

"Good," said Slade, standing up. He extended the hand of his good arm, his left arm, toward the collapsed girl. Raven's eyes widened at this unusual gesture of helpfulness, but she took his hand and let him pull her up.

"Get a better hold on your emotions with minimal power. I believe you did it once before," Slade said as he walked back toward the Tower entrance.

"I had help then. But it's not the kind of help I want again," retorted the dark girl, trying to keep his pace.

"However, there had to be some kind of good advice there. From such a powerful dragon, you had to have learned a trick or two."

Raven had long ago given up wondering how Slade knew so much. Anymore, statements like this didn't surprise her. The dark girl shrugged. "Maybe. But most of what he taught me I'll never use again."

"That depends," Slade spoke up quickly. Raven's head snapped around and she started at him with disbelief and defiance.

"On what?"

"Entirely on whether I tell you to or not."

-

The room had instantly quieted once the Master of Games appeared, and now everyone was watching. The large creature looked at all of them, too. Then his gaze landed on Gizmo.

"You," he said with a hint of familiarity. "Why have you brought me here?"

"For some fun, ape-man," sneered the Hiveling, turning to Jinx. "Gonna let these posers in on the plan?"

The pink haired girl solemnly stepped up onto the table and cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention. "All right, listen up. We've brought you all here today-"

"Saved your sorry little butts is more like it," Gizmo added quickly, his arms folded across his chest and his mean little face screwed up in annoyance. Jinx continued as if she hadn't heard him.

"-to join our cause. We want to take the city out of the hands of Slade and his little yesman, Raven. The rest of the Titans are gone, and in their absence, Slade's taken over-"

"Crud-munching, dimwitted, pit-sniffing-"

"-and he is a threat to us all! If we get him out of the way, there will be no one to stop us from doing whatever we wanted." A murmur rippled through the listeners.

The Master of Games, who was still standing on the transport, suddenly announced, "Why do you bother me with your trivial human affairs? I want nothing to do with your race-"

"Zip it, furball!" shouted Gizmo, pointing a stubby finger at the creature. "Those Titans that got rid of you couldn't even get rid of this Slade chump! If you're so great, why not face off against him and see who wins?" As the Master considered, Jinx again addressed the crowd.

"He's got millions of soldiers. They might be slow and dumb, but when they gang up on you, you're in trouble. So, here's what we're going to do-"

"Wait a minute," Johnny interrupted, stepping forward. "You expect all'sus to take orders from three kids?" A mumble of agreement came from a few others.

"Yeah. And if you got a problem with that, you can leave," replied Mammoth. He stomped over and stood full height in front of Johnny, making him shrink back from the taller Hiveling.

"Keep in mind, hot shot, we kids didn't get ourselves locked up in no stinkin' jail!" cried Gizmo, taking his place next to Mammoth.

"All right, all right!" Jinx shouted, stomping on the table with her boot to bring the attention back to herself. When many people still ignored her, she sent a chair hurtling at Johnny. It hit him, broke, and knocked him to the ground. "Okay," she continued in a dignified manner. "If you don't mind taking orders from three kids who broke you out of jail and have a finished plan for attacking Titans Tower, step forward." The two Hive boys folded their arms across their chests and looked expectantly at the group.

The room fell into silence. A few of the escapees were hanging back to see if anyone else volunteered. Just as Gizmo was about to spout some other scathing remark, Cinderblock and Plasmus stomped forward, barely missing stepping on Johnny, who was slowly staggering to his feet.

Reluctantly, Dr. Light followed, making sure to inform everyone as loud as he could that it was only because he wanted to fight Raven.

Mumbo fingered the brim of his top hat. "Well, you see," he began slowly, casting a nervous glance at each of the hulking figures in the room. Compared to them, he looked as dwarfed as he felt. "I've already played my games with the Titans and... this just doesn't sound fun." He shrugged and waved. "Toodles," Mumbo said before spinning the hat between his hands, setting it on his head, and pulling the brim all the way down to his feet. He was totally encased in the stretched hat until it suddenly popped back to its normal size, empty. Mumbo was nowhere to be seen. Just as Johnny picked up the hat, it disappeared from his hand.

"That freak's got a good idea," the biker said, looking back at the Hive. "If I want Slade brought down, I'll go after ëim myself." Johnny turned and headed for the door, Gizmo sticking his tongue out after him. Then everyone's expectant gaze landed on the Master of Games.

Fearful he would leave too, Jinx quickly piped up. "If you follow us into battle, you don't exactly have to be under our command. Just get Slade." Her two teammates immediately looked at her, their faces choked with disbelief. Another tense moment followed.

"Agreed," the Master said at last. He stepped off the transporter for the first time. "However, this does not make us allies. Threaten me, and I will not hesitate to crush you." At that, Jinx's and Mammoth's gazes fell onto Gizmo.

"Whaaat?" the boy snapped, looking even more mean and impish than before.

-

The next morning, Raven dragged herself out of bed early before Slade sent any robots to confiscate her. When she sleepily stumbled into the living room, she found the man already there, intently watching the screen. The girl thought nothing of it until Slade called, "Is this a friend of yours?"

Raven set her newly retrieved tea cup on the kitchen counter and floated over to the couch, a quizzical expression on her face. On the screen was a replaying video of a strange bright boy who was watching the tower from far away. He repeatedly put a pair of binoculars to his eyes, then removed them to squint at the tower.

One of Ravens brows raised as she watched the stream replay.

"He's in your records." Slade said when the dark girl remained silent. "A certain Hotspot...?" The man's voice trailed off and he watched Raven to see if anything clicked.

"I've only heard of him," replied the girl truthfully. She watched the clip play again. "Is this all he did?"

"Luckily for him, it was."

Raven glanced up at him. "Feeling threatened?" The man stopped the replaying video, freezing it on a frame with a clear view of Hotspot.

"If he returns, I will," replied Slade. He turned his head to the dark girl. "And you'll take care of him."

Raven remained silent; she was lost in her thoughts. First Aqualad, now Hotspot. What was going on? She was fine with fighting her enemies... but her friends? Raven didn't want to turn on the Titans' allies. But then again, what were they doing swarming around the Tower all of a sudden?

"Eat. Regular training starts in an hour," Slade spoke up, breaking the girl's thoughts. Stifling a gasp, she looked at him with an acknowledging expression. Raven floated over to the kitchen and continued getting everything ready for her herbal tea.

Later that morning Slade commented on how quickly the dark girl was improving as they sparred. "If only you were this responsive with learning mechanics."

"Maybe you're just not as good a teacher on machinery," Raven said, ducking out of the way of the man's fist. With surprising speed, Slade's other fist swung around and nailed the side of her head with unusual force for his hurt arm. Again, the girl fell.

"That was uncalled for," mumbled Raven, holding her head. Her body was far too exhausted to allow her to get up.

"Nonsense. You were just unprepared. Expect anything. Be ready for everything. Now get up," retorted the man briskly. He moved his bandaged shoulder around as if it was sore while waiting for the girl to comply. With a weak grunt, Raven managed to pull herself into a sitting position.

She looked up at the distracted Slade. "I hope you didn't treat your wife like this." Immediately Slade's head snapped around; his stare bored into her.

"I thought I told you to forget about that," he said fiercely, with a tone that made Raven flinch. However, she held her chin higher, her face bearing an expression that wouldn't show intimidation.

"You had a reason for telling me." Slade vented a mocking snort, his gaze beginning to wander around the room.

"No, that's what you would call one of my rare accidents. There was no reason for that- you were never supposed to hear it," the man retorted, showing obvious disgust for his mistake.

"I think you wanted somebody to know," said Raven, tiredly staggering to her feet. "I also think that was the first sign of trust you've shown me."

"Well," Slade began after a long silence, "practice is over for today." The dark girl's eyebrows furrowed with annoyance. She watched as he headed for the entrance, and when he reached the doorway, Raven spoke up.

"What happened to her? Death or divorce?"

Slade stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn around; he didn't even look over his shoulder. "That, apprentice, is none of your business." The man's fists were clenched and his neck stiffly bent. With caution, Raven floated closer to him, but stayed behind him.

"You know so much about me- I don't even know how much- but you don't want me to know anything about you?"

"That is as it should be," the man replied flatly before walking off down the hallway. Raven sighed, pulled her hood over her head and sunk through the floor.

-

Hotspot cheered victoriously as he earned a new high score on the dinosaur game. For the past hour he had been glued to the controls, not getting up even when Speedy returned with food. Now, they were the only two in the basement; Aqualad had left the previous day for Monaco and X had been gone scouting since early morning.

"Can you turn it down?" Speedy shouted over the noise of the game. Annoyed, Hotspot glanced over his shoulder to see the archer intently reading something on the computer linked with the Titans mainframe. The boy paused his game and headed to the corner computer, suddenly curious.

"Find something?"

"I've been checking on our friend X," Speedy replied, accessing another file.

Hotspot dropped into the chair next to him. "You're never gonna trust him, are you?"

The archer snorted, looking at his teammate. "I have no reason to trust him now. He's a thief. And well-known by the police. They just can't catch him." The fiery boy's eyes widened and he quickly leaned over in his seat to read the monitor.

"I knew he was no good," Speedy growled. "He's up to something. Why help the Titans if there's nothing in it for him?" He folded his arms across his chest and glared off into space.

Once Hotspot finished reading the screen, he leaned back with a low whistle. "Maybe he's turned over a new leaf or something." At that the archer jumped up, his hands flying over his head.

"No! This is a bad guy! We're helping a guy who should be in jail!"

"Helping him find the Titans," Hotspot quickly noted.

"He's a thief! He was never a friend of the Titans; he was their enemy!"

"He's being friendly now by trying to rescue them. And if there was something in it for him, why would he have us help him? It would've been easier to just do everything himself and get whatever reward he was after."

Speedy grabbed his short hair as he paced around the room and gave a frustrated growl. "Stop defending him! He doesn't deserve it!"

During the silence that followed, a mechanical voice spoke up, "Ooh, lunch... nice." Both boys' heads snapped around to see X at the bottom of the staircase, his eyes fixed on the two bags of fast food on a table in the middle of the room.

"How long have you been there?" Hotspot asked quickly, rising to his feet. The thief shrugged as he rummaged through a bag.

"I dunno. A little while. I didn't want to interrupt." The other two boys exchanged glances but listened as X continued. "If you really wanna know what's in it for me, I guess there's one thing: I want to get that jerk Slade out of the tower and out of the city. If you can't stand to work with a thief, you're welcome to leave. But I plan to stick it out to the end. Ooh, taco..."

"Why didn't you ever tell us your... occupation?" demanded Speedy, one hand resting threateningly on his bow. X gave another shrug as he began to explore the second bag. "You never asked."

--
Next chapter: Dec. 12.

...fa la la la la, la la la laaa. :)

Thank you to all those who told me how to make that section-breaking line. But seeing as how I'm against sudden change, I'm not going to be using it in this story. X3; Stories to come, however, will have that lovely line. LoL.

And dang, the site deleted all my hits again. For awhile the stats part didn't show either of the stories at all... and when they finally came back, the hits counter for both was depleted again. :( Does anyone know why this is happening? Site rennovations or something?