10 Leisurely Days

by Blue Ten

Summary:

Robin finds out that Starfire will be leaving for Tamaran in 10 days. Keeping his discovery a secret, he has a little over a week to give her a reason to stay. But when things keep getting in the way, will he even get the chance? RobxStar, BBxRae

Disclaimer:

I do not own Teen Titans.


Day 8, Part One: The Enemy of My Enemy

Robin held the heavy bokken out with one hand as he rotated his wrist, attempting to keep himself from dropping it. By this time, having completed so many exercises, a burning sensation was coursing through every muscle he had used. He took this as a sign that he was getting stronger as a result of this training; the previous time, he had felt more pain than burning. As Tyrus motioned for him to stop, Robin rested against the bokken like a cane, looking across the room inquisitively.

"Good, good." said Tyrus, obviously tired at this early hour. "Now, since you were able to learn all the sets last time..." he started, hardly able to believe the words as he spoke them; such a thing seemed impossible, "You shouldn't have a problem going over them one more time. I want you to perform--in order--the Omori Ryu, Hasegawa Eishin Ryu, and... Okuiai again." he could barely stomach saying that last one; the highest set, Okuiai, were called 'secret iai' for a reason... and Robin had learned them with little difficulty. "Just to make sure you've got it all... figured out." he finished, sounding almost sarcastic.

"Sure." Robin nodded, centering himself and kneeling down to start. Robin knew he had Tyrus surprised with the speed he had learned those forms. However, it was no surprise to him; all that training back in Gotham City had beaten focus and discipline into him... almost literally.

Nearly half an hour passed. Robin had taken each of the kata slowly to show that he knew what he was doing; finally, he returned the wooden sword to his side and stood up fully. Once again, Tyrus stood dumbfounded in place, attempting not to look too surprised. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Tyrus looked to Robin, "Very good." he said, taking a few steps to the wall, looking over a collection of sharpened steel blades. "Let me remind you that this can be a lethal art form... Just wanted to make sure you knew that since you're planning on fighting someone... I wouldn't want to be an accessory to anything." he eyed Robin curiously, raising an aged eyebrow.

"You won't be." Robin replied in a serious manner, never planning on doing too much damage to that man; just... enough damage.

"Lethal as they are, many of those cuts can be utilized defensively for blocking; keep that in mind." said Tyrus, picking up a wooden sword as he stepped away from the glass displays. "Alright, I'm sure you're eager to move on to Kenjutsu. But before that, I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Robin asked, slightly agitated though he realized he had plenty of time to answer a simple question.

"What's your goal in all this?" Tyrus leaned his weight on the sword, "Your reason for becoming stronger." he added.

Robin felt like he had answered this before, "I already told you--"

"Beyond that. What are you fighting for?"

Robin sighed; he had to be vague about this, "I'm fighting... to protect someone I care for." he said.

Tyrus nodded, "I see. Would you say it was your dream, to protect this person? To see no harm befall them?"

'My dream...' thought Robin, "You could say that." he put it simply. He realized that perhaps 'dream' would be a good way to describe it. Fighting crime could hardly be considered a dream; it brought far more frustration than fulfillment. But, seeing Starfire happy... made him happy.

"Then I hope you can accomplish this." Tyrus looked to his swords once again, thinking back, "I had a dream once..."

- - - - - -

The ebb and flow of the ocean was omnipresent outside the tower walls; calm and constant, its voice perpetuated the dream state. Through the open window came a steady humid wind. The air was warm, but carried with it the scent of precipitation; a light summer shower... or a thunderstorm. The continuous beeping of his alarm served to gradually pull Robin from the depths of his slumber; each consecutive beep becoming louder in his mind. With a groan, he reached across his bed and shut off the alarm without looking. Sitting up, Robin turned a tired eye to the window, surprised to find the skies completely overcast. It wasn't a thick layer of clouds, bright and illuminated by the rising sun around the horizon; however, this early in the morning, it was still quite dark, and the cloud cover only aided this.

Tossing his covers aside, Robin stood up and began stretching as he did the morning before. This time, his muscles were not quite as pained; however, he found that his body was just as, if not more, drained of energy. His stomach let out a low growl. With a weak arm, Robin placed a hand over his abdomen... this was no way to live. It seemed to be draining all the life from him, but it wouldn't be for much longer; it was all worth it, and the training was paying off. Thinking back to his battle with Grey, Robin now knew of many ways he could have avoided his various failures during that fight. He was sure that with a little more training, he'd have seen and learned enough to defeat him.

'That's enough for now.' he told himself. The sun had risen; it was time to forget about such things, time to focus on what was most important to him. Thinking about what happened last night, a smile came to Robin's expression. He felt strangely energized by the thought of it all, nearly able to forget about his fatigue. He had come close to telling Starfire exactly how he felt, and she wasn't turned away at all; in fact, she had returned his words, in an embrace he could still feel. 'You are my dearest friend.' the words still played in his ear like music, making his heart skip beats as he thought about it. She had used the word 'friend', which normally felt contrary to something more... but this seemed different... very different. He wouldn't get his hopes up; however, he knew that thanks to what she said, those three words didn't seem quite so far from his tongue anymore.

- - - - - -

Though cooler than yesterday's air, a warm breeze floated in through the window; something about it seemed to signify impending rain. The wind had awakened Starfire, though it wasn't quite as energizing as the sun, which was remarkably absent this morning. Without much of the sun's light to help her up, Starfire felt slightly more tired than usual. Pulling the blanket up to her shoulder, she hugged her pillow and attempted to take in a few more minutes of rest. However, Starfire found herself fully awakened as she thought about last night's events. Robin had said things she never thought she would hear from him. 'But I really do care for you Star... more than anything or anyone I've ever known.' uncontrollably, she smiled as the thought came to her, torrents of blush rushing to her face. She couldn't help but cuddle closer to her pillow and imagine she was holding him again. That scene had been present in her dreams the entire night... only she dreamt that she had kissed him at the end. Starfire giggled out loud. Realizing how strange she was acting, Starfire sat up fully, feeling like she needed a good splash of water to her face.

Suddenly, Starfire felt a cool droplet of water against her cheek, followed by another, and another. The wind had picked up and began carrying tiny beads of rain in through the open window. Stepping off her bed, Starfire raced to the window, sliding it closed as she reached it. Resting her arms on the windowsill, she watched the droplets' frequency increase as they tapped against the glass. In the distance, a thunderstorm could be seen on the horizon; infrequent flashes of lightning illuminated the faraway clouds.

Feeling like that bit of rain was the perfect thing to knock her out of her stupor, Starfire shook her head at herself, 'He merely says that he cares for you, and you are acting as though he has asked you to be... the girlfriend...' she thought, squinting at the sea as the window became distorted by water. 'If you continue down this path... you will only hurt yourself.' she warned. Starfire looked at her reflection in the window, 'Why would he feel more than friendship for you?' she asked herself, 'You are alien to him. Acting against earth customs, always asking the annoying questions... You should be happy that you even have his friendship. It is plainly selfish to want more.' she continued. Starfire shook her head once again, not at herself, but in an attempt to forcibly remove those doubts from her mind. Letting the doubts drift away, Starfire smiled in spite of them; she was far too happy to let it affect her.

- - - - - -

Holding her cloak tightly against herself, Raven shivered as she walked about the cold, enveloped in darkness. As dark as it was, she could see her breath as she exhaled, escaping her mouth in clouds of thin white mist. Her footsteps echoed surrealistically through the area, bouncing off into what appeared to be a pitch black infinity. Though she couldn't decipher her reason for being in this place, Raven continued forward, feeling as though there was some destination to be reached. The farther she progressed, a chilling resonance of sound became more prominent; the sorrowful cries of children... hundreds of them. Raven attempted to disregard the sounds, though they seemed to grate on her mind. A single white light could be seen in the distance; supposing this was her destination, Raven traversed through the echo of cries which saturated the air.

Approaching the light, Raven found it to be a small starlike object, shimmering like a jewel in the darkness. Suddenly, the children's cries immediately stopped, save for one, the voice of a young girl.

'I-I don't want this.'

'Let me go.'

'Please...'

Raven heard sadness in the voice, like someone lost and trapped within the darkness, pleading for escape. The voice emanated from the source of light. Without thought, she reached out her hand toward the object. As soon as she touched it, her mind was assaulted by images... memories. Several dark figures approaching from the streets at night, one whose eyes were gray like stone; a bright light, and cold air; fear, as new sight was given; and finally... strange eyes staring into the mind, then nothing.

Shocked out of her trance, Raven pulled her hand away from the light. Frightened and unwilling to remain in this place any longer, she turned around and began running blindly through the chilling darkness. The cries of the children began to echo once again, now louder than ever. Overwhelmed, Raven stopped and began frantically searching all around herself for a way out. She immediately came to a shocked halt as she found herself staring into a pair of jade green eyes. They were not frightening, but childlike, and innocent.

"Who are you?" asked Raven. The figure remained stationary, however she could see the confusing thoughts which permeated through this person's mind...

"I'm trapped, and so are they..." Raven was surprised to hear her own voice answer.

- - - - - -

Sitting up quickly in her bed, Raven broke from her dreams, the sound of rain tapping gently against her window bringing her slowly back to reality. With an angry sigh, she placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply for a moment, not feeling entirely like herself.

"I thought you had left... but you linger... always there... always following!" she babbled nonsensically. Realizing how she was speaking, Raven immediately shook her head and looked around her room. On a shelf across from her bed sat the stuffed animal Beast Boy had given to her, its goofy eyes staring; an odd contrast to the grim decor. Groaning, Raven enveloped it in her energy and turned it around so it was no longer facing her. She figured that perhaps it was all simply a dream; a manifestation of her own thoughts, unable to let go of those vivid images, though the presence she encountered that night had been completely detached from her mind.

Stepping down from her bed, Raven walked over to a mirror which rested against the wall atop a waist-high shelf. On the counter was a bowl of water; dipping her hands into the bowl, Raven splashed her face, allowing the shock to further convince herself of her awakening. Picking up a small hand-towel, Raven wiped her face dry and looked into the reflection... 'Nothing... it was just a dream.' she thought, setting the towel down beside the bowl. Oddly enough, she felt like telling someone about it. Not Robin, with whom she shared a psychic bond, not Starfire, who would most assuredly listen, and not even Cyborg, who seemed to be the most understanding when he needed to be... but Beast Boy... of all people. To see that look of concern on his face... to hear the consolation in his voice made her feel... something.

Raven slammed a hand against the shelf, 'Stop it!' she ordered herself in thought. No matter how she... felt, she wasn't going to tell anyone about this; it may have just been a dream, but it was her dream, and her battle to confront.

- - - - - -

The living room was dimly lit due to the cloud cover just outside the windows. Light droplets of rain which carried themselves gently down from the clouds through the warm air, tapped quietly against the glass, creating a peaceful ambiance. With a yawn, Robin stepped out of the hallway and into the common room, surprised to find everyone awake so early. Searching through the cupboards, Cyborg was in the kitchen, just beginning to start breakfast. Seemingly thinking about something with atypical intent, Beast Boy sat on the couch, a hand placed firmly on his chin. Raven hovered just beside the rain-spotted window, eyes closed, meditating as usual. Starfire... was now standing right next to Robin, a spectacular smile on her face.

Starfire stood by his side for a moment, her expression describing the pinnacle of cute, "Good morning... Robin." she said, gingerly placing a hand on his arm.

Robin's heart nearly stopped as he was met with Starfire's gesture, "Morning." he said quickly. Hoping Starfire wouldn't notice, Robin searched for something to turn attention away from his increasingly red face, "B-Breakfast?" he asked, pointing to the kitchen table. Ironically, even after he was able to tell Starfire that he cared for her, he found that he was still made blushful by even the slightest touch... he imagined saying "I love you" wouldn't be any different.

Starfire took her hand away and smiled with her eyes closed, "Breakfast sounds wonderful." she said jubilantly. "Come, surely you are famished." Starfire took hold of Robin's hand, leading him off to the table where they would wait for Cyborg to finish.

Robin and Starfire sat still for a moment in their adjacent seats, absentmindedly staring at each other, quickly breaking glances as soon as they noticed. "Robin I--" Starfire started, wanting to talk to him about certain things; after what he told her that night, she figured it would be easy, "I am wondering if it will stop raining today..." but it seemed harder than ever now. Starfire smiled as Robin told her the rain was probably just a little shower; breakfast, with all the others in the room, didn't seem like the right time or place to discuss such things anyway.

Coming to a decision, Beast Boy nodded to himself with a serious expression. Standing up from the couch, he walked over to Raven who didn't seem to notice his approach, "Raven." he called, tapping on her shoulder.

Suddenly, Raven grabbed Beast Boy's hand rather tightly and glared at him with anger in her eyes, "Remember what I told you not to do?" she questioned in a menacing but restrained tone. Realizing what she was doing, Raven saw the pained expression on Beast Boy's face and felt her heart sink, "I-I mean... what?" she asked, releasing his hand.

"Hehe, sorry..." Beast Boy chuckled sheepishly, shaking his hand off. Seeing this, Raven was glad she hadn't broken anything... even though Beast Boy should know better than to interrupt her during meditation.

'Doesn't exploding like that defeat the purpose of meditation? Shouldn't you know better?' she questioned herself. She had been somewhat on edge since her dream that morning... but she couldn't make any excuses for herself.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Beast Boy turned around, "Hey, Cyborg--"

"Look, I'm just stepping away for a minute." Cyborg held up his arms defensively, "Don't worry, you'll get your..." he trailed off, shuddering, "Tofu bacon."

"That's not what I meant." Beast Boy explained, "I was thinking, since it happens tomorrow night, we should tell them now." he pointed to the kitchen table where both Robin and Starfire were blushing madly. "Y'know, give them time to get ready." Beast Boy finished with a grin.

"Good idea, but... who's gonna tell Robin?" Cyborg asked, unable to see Robin going willingly.

"We'll tell them both at once." Beast Boy held up a finger, "Robin won't be able to say no when he sees the look on Starfire's face."

"Yeah." Cyborg chuckled, beginning to walk alongside Beast Boy to the kitchen.

Before moving too far, Beast Boy came to a stop and turned around to face Raven, "Come on Raven, you promised to stick with the plan 'til the end." he crossed his arms.

"...No I didn't--Hey!" she exclaimed as Beast Boy took hold of her hand and began pulling her along, grinning. Oddly enough, she didn't protest.

Beast Boy rested his hands on one end of the table, "Hey, we've got something we know you're gonna love." he smirked at Robin and Starfire.

Robin's eyebrow began to twitch at the interruption, "What is--" he started, immediately interrupted by the alarm. "It'll have to wait." he said, feeling like letting his face fall to the tabletop. All disappointed, the Titans walked over to the large screen to see where they would be going; what appeared on the display was both surprising and unwelcome. Simply from the location and the nature of the crime, the Titans knew there could be only one person interested in stealing from such a place.

"That's never good." Cyborg commented.

- - - - - -

The clouds, slightly heavier on this end of the city, obstructed the early morning sun as they let loose their drizzle. The winds remained calm and restrained, gently pushing along the warm air. A large gray facility by the coast was well isolated from the rest of the city by a dense forest of tall green trees. On the roof of one of the buildings was a good sized hole, obviously caused by a small explosion; evidence of a break in, which was also made clear by the constant blaring of alarms.

Inside the building in a room used for chemical research, a figure in a black suit began moving toward his prize, his dark cape rustling as he walked. With his height and build, the figure was obviously a young man no older than the Boy Wonder. Young as he appeared, the boy's actions upon entry into the facility demonstrated a certain know-how... a professionalism in the art of thievery, even if he did trip the alarm. Perfectly concealing his identity, the boy wore a rather unnerving mask which would scare most little children away at the mere sight of it. The mask was black like the rest of his costume, except for the face which looked something like a skull with no bottom jaw. The eye holes were two narrowed slits which revealed nothing of the eyes beneath the mask. On his forehead was emblazoned a red 'x' with one slash extended.

Gently picking up a cylindrical steel case from one of the tables, Red X carefully twisted open the top, satisfied to see what he was looking for inside; ten vials of liquid arranged in a circle around the interior of the case, held in place by protective foam. Shutting the case, he turned to several armored guards resting against the wall who were bound by a strange red substance, struggling against their bonds, "Hope you don't mind if I take this." he said, holding up the case, his voice distorted mechanically by the mask. The guards, whose mouths were also covered by the substance, simply spoke muffled protests. Red X smirked under his mask; turning to the hole in the roof, he prepared to make his escape.

"You were just borrowing that, weren't you?" Beast Boy chimed in as the Titans busted through the doors. Oddly enough, this was Robin's usual place for a comment... however, Robin simply wanted to get this over with.

"I thought you guys would show up." Red X narrowed his eyes, taking a step backward.

"We're gonna need you to hand over the Xenothium." said Robin who stepped forward from his place at the front of the team.

"Not gonna happen." replied Red X, holding the container close to his side.

Taking out his staff, Robin held it ready. Floating above the group with her eyes already glowing, Starfire imbued her hands with energy. Cyborg followed suit by charging up his sonic cannon. Stretching out his muscles in preparation, Beast Boy morphed into a tiger and let out a low growl. Raven, not one to show off, simply eyed the area for things she could use during battle.

"Then you know what that means, don't you?" Robin asked rhetorically.

"Oh yeah." responded X, sounding almost enthusiastic. Keeping hold of the container, he held out one hand, and with the flick of his fingers, motioned for the Titans to come.

"Titans, Go!"

Leaping into the fray first, Beast Boy extended his claws, attempting to pounce on Red X. Ducking under Beast Boy's grasp, the masked thief delivered a powerful punch to the tiger's abdomen, causing Beast Boy to shift back to human form. Winded, the changeling remained propped up on Red X's fist; grabbing Beast Boy by the legs, Red X whipped him around and tossed him through the air at the others. Robin ducked under Beast Boy, who was then caught by Cyborg and Raven, knocking them over in the process.

"Sorry kids, I don't have time for games today." said X, taking a few steps backward.

Standing up, Raven's eyes glowed red under her cloak, "Good..." she started, focusing her energy on a large generator near the wall, "Because we're not playing." she finished. Literally tearing the generator away from the wall, Raven hurled it across the room at her opponent. Caught off guard, Red X was struck by the full force of the impact, sending him flying across the room where he and the generator crashed against the wall, denting the metal.

"Whoa... nice." commented Beast Boy as he stood up, regaining his breath.

With a groan, Red X pushed the generator away from himself and held a hand on his head. Realizing he had dropped the container, he quickly searched the ground for it. Locating the case, Red X held it securely; standing up, he attempted to regain his balance after that attack, 'I have to finish this now.' he thought. Deciding on process of elimination, Red X aimed a hand at Beast Boy who was still recovering by the wall; from the palm of his hand came a large 'x' shaped substance which propelled itself at Beast Boy.

Without time to react, Beast Boy was slammed against and stuck to the wall by the red adhesive; morphing into a snake, he attempted to escape but found that the substance merely conformed to his shape. Giving up, he shifted back to human form, knowing the battle was up to the others now.

Without thinking, Raven ran up to a surprised Beast Boy and began pulling at the red bonds. Unfortunately, Raven was then caught from behind by more of the same strange adhesive, slamming her up against the wall, face to face with Beast Boy. "Don't. Say. Anything." she ordered bitterly as she avoided his eyes.

Knowing there wasn't much they could do, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg turned their attention back to Red X as they charged into battle. Starfire started by throwing starbolts to direct him away from his escape route. Swinging his staff, Robin managed to sweep Red X's feet from the ground; keeping hold of the container, X merely landed on his free hand and acrobatically propelled himself over a table, landing feet first on the other side. Attempting to make a break for the doors, he became blocked by Cyborg.

"Sorry, exit's closed." Cyborg smirked, aiming his cannon. Before Cyborg could fire, Red X held out the steel container in front of his cannon, causing the cybernetic Titan to shift his aim around, knowing how unstable Xenothium was. Cyborg growled as X simply moved the steel case before his aim every time he thought he had a good shot. Seeing his opening, X quickly placed a hand on the barrel of the cannon and sealed it with that red substance. "Ah, man." Cyborg put away his cannon and began throwing punches toward his enemy. Though he managed to land a few good strikes, Cyborg quickly found himself restrained by X's trademark red ropes, falling to the ground as he struggled.

"Heh, three down..." Red X looked to Robin and Starfire who were now charging from across the room. Approaching first, Starfire began to throw her starbolts at him.

"Starfire wait, you could hit the Xenothium!" Robin called as he continued.

Starfire nodded and let go of her energy, landing on the ground in front of X. Eyes glowing with righteous fury, she began to fight X hand to hand; of course, he could not match her strength and simply attempted to dodge each strike as he was backed up toward a wall. As his back met the wall, Red X saw a punch coming from Starfire and, a short way behind her, Robin about to jump over a table. Quickly, he ducked under the punch and ran behind Starfire, causing her to strike the metal wall, creating a heavy dent and hurting herself in the process. While Starfire was distracted, X kicked one end of the table, causing it to stand up; with all his might, he shoved it forward, which pushed Robin up against the opposing wall, now trapped behind the table. As soon as Starfire turned around, Red X aimed a hand at her and quickly glued her to the wall with the same substance Beast Boy and Raven were subject to.

A slight chuckle could be heard from Red X as Starfire struggled against the bonds. Walking up to Starfire, X placed a hand under her chin, "I may not have time for games, but I always have time for you." he flirted. In response, Starfire charged up her eye lasers and blasted at him with an angry growl; X dodged, just barely, seeming shaken after he was almost hit. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Red X turned around to be met by Robin's fist.

"Something tells me she doesn't like you that way." he said, watching as X fell to the floor, immediately regaining his balance and keeping hold of the container. Starfire seemed very surprised by Robin's statement; if she had not been stuck to the wall, she would have smiled.

"I'd love to stick around, but I've got bigger things to worry about." seeing Robin take out his staff once again, Red X quickly ran forward and leapt as Robin swung. Landing on the staff, X looked down at Robin, "Thanks for the lift." he said, propelling himself toward the ceiling, "Later kid." Robin looked up to see that X had led them back to the hole in the roof; a few droplets of rain fell through as the thief had already disappeared.

Robin looked to the others, "I'm going after him." he said, stepping up onto the closest table, "Star, you guys gonna be alright?" he asked.

"Yes, do not worry about us, we will be fine." said Starfire, still trying to move her arms under the surprisingly strong substance.

"Speak for yourself." Raven commented with her eyebrow twitching. On the floor somewhere, Cyborg could be heard attempting to hold back hysterical laughter.

"Alright." Robin nodded seriously, jumping up through the escape.

- - - - - -

On the rooftops it was clear that the rain was much heavier than before, now making heavy and audible taps against the asphalt roofing. The droplets did well to impede Robin's sight as he searched the other rooftops for Red X; it was made especially difficult now that the sun had broken through some of the cloud cover, brightly illuminating many of the falling droplets. However, if there was anything that stood out in the sun, it was a dark costume. Just a few rooftops over, Robin saw Red X leaping across a gap, making his way to the forest.

"Made it." said X as he landed on the last rooftop before the forest. Before he could go anywhere, the thief found himself tackled from the side by Robin. Dropping the container, X rolled across the roof, catching himself before he could fall over the edge.

"You're not going anywhere." Robin pointed at him.

Red X stood up, keeping an eye on the Xenothium which remained nearly an equal distance between them near the edge of the roof, "Come on, you know we're equally matched." he spoke up over the sound of the tapping rain.

"Then you're in for a surprise." Robin took out his staff and held it at his side, "It's your move." he said, holding his position. Narrowing his eyes, Red X began to charge, knowing it would be foolish to go for the Xenothium. Robin watched carefully, drowning out the tapping of the rain, focusing only on Red X's feet as they approached, 'Distance...' he thought. With a single tap of X's foot against the roof, Robin drew his staff, "Now!" he said out loud. Too quick for X to notice, Robin pulled to the left and slashed his staff horizontally through the air, hitting him directly in the stomach.

Red X doubled over and fell to the rain soaked asphalt, "That move... just like..." he groaned, trying to stand up.

Retracting his staff and placing it back in his belt, Robin walked over to the container and picked it up, "I'll be taking this back to the building..." he said. Making his way back to X, Robin pulled him up by the collar, "And you... you're going away for a while."

"I thought about getting myself caught... just to get away, but bars won't stop them... nothing stops them." said X, confusing Robin a bit.

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Them?" he questioned, hearing an answer in the back of his mind.

"They call themselves... The Tempest." he grimaced under his mask at the name. Immediately, Robin dropped Red X to the ground.

Standing up, Red X held on to his side, too winded to attempt an escape, "I take it you've heard of them?" he asked.

"We had a run-in..." Robin absentmindedly placed a hand over the scar on his abdomen, "They're after you?"

"They gave me an ultimatum; join or die." Red X answered seriously, "I don't take orders or threats from anyone, so I chose to fight. That's why I need that Xenothium." he pointed to the case under Robin's arm, "Without it, this suit is just a costume and I'll have no chance against them." X readied a weak fighting stance, "So I'm taking it back... one way or another."

Robin simply stood in shock. He now had a choice; he could hand over the Xenothium and let one of his greatest enemies go, or return it and possibly jeopardize someone's life... There really was no choice; a life is a life... even if it was a criminal like Red X, it was blood he didn't want on his conscience. With an angered sigh, Robin opened the top to the case and pulled out a single vial, tossing it over to X who caught it with ease, "There." he said.

"I can't say I'm not surprised but, just one vial...?" said X, examining the liquid through the glass. "What do you think those scientists were using a volatile compound like Xenothium for? Not to help people, I'll tell you that." he stated gravely.

Reluctantly, Robin pulled out another vial and tossed it over to Red X, "Now get out of here." he spoke through his teeth.

Red X held the two vials between his fingers, "Heh, Thanks kid." he said, turning around to face the forest, "I owe you one. Maybe I'll give them a little extra trouble." with that, he leapt from the roof and disappeared quickly into the forest.

Robin just waited for a moment, standing still as the rain came to a stop and the clouds parted to reveal the bright sun. He had just let a criminal go... and he didn't feel bad about it at all.

- - - - - -

Robin dropped back down through the hole in the roof to find Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven attempting to pull away the substance which still held Starfire to the wall.

As the red adhesive was pulled away, Starfire stepped away from the wall, pulling some sticky pieces from herself, "Thank you friends." she said. Immediately, she turned to Robin and smiled, "You are victorious?" she asked.

Robin scratched the back of his neck, "Sorta... I managed to take back the Xenothium, but Red X got away with two vials." he said, trying to seem angry with himself.

"Worry not. It is still a victory." Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder.

Robin smiled, then noticed something out of the corner of his eye, "How did you two get free?" Robin asked Beast Boy and Raven.

Cyborg chuckled, "Raven forgot she could pass through walls." he blurted. Raven immediately glared at him, "What? ...You did."

- - - - - -

Just as it did the day before, the sun could be seen shining brightly through the main windows as the elevator doors opened. All the Titans walked in, but came to a stop when they noticed something strange. There was a peculiar scent emanating from the kitchen; something was burning.

With wide eyes, Cyborg rushed over to the stove and shut off the element, "My bacon!" he shouted, looking at the burnt black clumps which remained in the pan, "My poor bacon..."

Beast Boy walked up beside Cyborg and looked into the frying pan, "Heh, the tofu bacon looks fine." he said.

Cyborg turned his narrowed human eye to the side, "Not even the stove wanted it..." he commented. Behind them, Robin and Starfire had taken their seats back on the table, deciding to pick up where they left off.

Raven stepped between Cyborg and Beast Boy, "Weren't you going to tell them something?" she asked.

"Oh yeah!" Beast Boy smiled, turning around to rush to the table. Slamming his hands on one end, he grinned at both Robin and Starfire, "You guys are gonna love this..."


Author's Note: smiles evilly Hehe cliffhanger... sorta.

Sorry about the delay, but I have bronchitis (what I originally thought was the flu) and I haven't been able to actually be awake very long for the last week or so because of the medicine, let alone work on the fic much. I'm surprised I was actually able to finish it up today.

Red X was my favorite original character from the series, so I had a great time writing his parts. And hopefully I kept him in character :).

On another note, there are some reviews that just need to be responded to, but anonymous reviewers often don't leave e-mail addresses so I'm at a loss. Let's just say someone left a freakin' great review and I can't use the chapter to respond coughKazzycough So, if anonymous reviewers want responses, please leave an e-mail address in there if you've got one :). Don't worry, I'll only e-mail you in regards to your reviews.

Next Chapter Preview: Beast Boy's plan is finally revealed, and there were some things about it even the accomplices didn't know. Starfire seems to like the idea, but how does Robin feel about it? Day 8, Part Two: The Perfect Plan.