A/N: I'm just having so much writer's block for my crossover fic, so I'm going to just go along with this one. I'm getting more reviews and this makes me very happy. Other than that, I have one other thing to say before you read. The very beginning of this chapter will be giving you a short introduction to two new characters. So don't be too confused when you start to read. I'll shut up now and let you read. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yeah, do I really have to say it? Might as well. I don't anything from the Teen Titans.

Chapter 9 Race to the Tower

Sam flipped her dirty blonde hair back behind her shoulders as she made her way to a bench in Central Park in New York City where she lived. School had just let out, and the peaceful park was the best place to relax after a long, boring day at school. With a book in one hand and her cell phone in the other, Sam walked up to her bench with a carefree smile planted on her face.

That smile quickly faded when she saw that someone had beaten her to her bench. The boy looked to be around twelve with short jet black hair that spiked up in all different ways. His head was deep into his own book of choice as he sat crossed legged on the bench. His soft brown eyes flew over the pages with much interest in them.

Sam strode over to the boy. She was very tall for her age and pretty much towered over the small twelve year old sitting on her bench. She was only twelve herself, but she always tried to portray a much older girl. She adjusted her glasses with a small cough.

"Hum?" the boy asked her while still reading. "Do you have something that I can eat?"

"No, idiot!" Sam hissed back at him. "Get out of my seat, shorty!"

That snapped the boy out of his book world. He shot her a dirty glare, but then his expression softened and a smug smile came to his face. "Get me something to eat and then I'll move for you, princess."

Sam narrowed her eyes at him as she thought over the deal. "I don't have any money," she said quickly.

"Nice try," the boy said with a small laugh. "You always put ten dollars in your front pocket before school. You have money. Now stop trying to fool me and get me something to eat. School starves the poor kids."

"You have lunch in the middle of the day, genius," Sam shot back. "And what are you? A stalker? Freak!"

The boy shrugged his shoulders with that smug smile still on his face. Sam gave a frustrated sigh while shoving her cell phone and book into his hands. She then walked off to buy him a hotdog or something to settle his always hungry stomach.

"I'm not short," the boy muttered under his breath as he watched Sam leave. Then her cell phone started to ring. The boy jumped in surprise and almost dropped everything in his hands. He saw who was calling Sam and a wide grin spread over his face.

"Dad!" the boy said happily into the phone while opening it. He was greeted with someone speaking fast Italian. "Yeah, this is her phone. So?" he said in English after a pause. "She went to get me something to eat. She'll be back soon."

There was a long pause as he listened to the person on the other end. His smile dropped into a deep frown of worry. "You got to be kidding me, dad," he said more quietly this time. "The dude filling in for him must be one hell of an actor!" There was a pause then he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry. One heck of an actor. It just slipped out. I'm sorry."

"Abraham!" Sam yelled at the boy as she came back with a Sprite and hotdog. "What are you doing on my phone? You monster!"

"Shh, Sam!" Abe whispered to her. "It's dad."

"Really?" she asked with her mood totally changing. It went from angry to joyful in less than a second at the sound of her dad on the phone. "When can I talk to him?"

"Whoa!" Abe suddenly yelled as he listened to his dad on the other end. "Right now? You always were crazy, dad. You do know that?" He sighed while listening some more. "Okay. We'll do it." He stuck the phone out to Sam and said, "Say goodbye."

"Love you, daddy!" Sam said in a sing song voice. She was returned with a goodbye in Italian.

Abe then listened to his dad for a few more minutes. He started to fidget with the small silver cross attached to a chain around his neck. Sam noticed this and started to worry. Only when her brother was nervous he would do that out of habit. She hoped that her dad was okay.

"Okay," Abe finally said with a nod. "Be safe, dad. Love you." He then hung up and looked at his sister with his brown eyes dead serious. "We need to hurry," he said. "We have to catch the first plane heading for Peru." A wicked smile then faintly came to his lips as he said, "Dad has something very important for us to do."

"Let's go," Sam said quickly. Well, her school year was going down the drain…and she could never be so happy!

- Jake -

That sickening pit in the bottom of his stomach started to form as Jake put down the communicator. He felt weak and defeated. His world was spinning into oblivion and there was nothing to hang onto to save himself. He hated this feeling with a passion. But he could not prevent it or fight it.

Jake slumped to the floor in a complete mess. His last conversation with Slade had left him like this. He should have known that Slade wanted to win and finish this battle with a grand finale. Jake just never knew it would be him who would have to do Slade's dirty work.

"I can't take this!" Jake finally said to himself. He got up in a rush and took off his Red X costume and pulled on some normal clothes. He was in such a rush that he did not take time to notice the two eyes staring at him through the crack of his closet.

Jake grabbed Robin's grappling hook and then threw himself out the open window. He safely made it to the ground then headed for Jump City. It was an early cool spring morning. The stars were still out because it was only around two. The darkness was a welcoming blanket to the distressed teen making his way to his home. His suffering blue eyes looked up to the sky as he let out a sigh. A bird flew over him with a small chirp. If it was daylight, Jake would have recognized the green color of Beast Boy.

The teen slowly made his way through the town on his way back to his crummy apartment that he had just left there to rot with no rent. He paused when he got there. He thought that he would feel home here. But that empty feeling was still gnawing away at him. Then where was home? Jake never felt so alone in his life. This was worse than the time his parents died. He had Valentine then. He had nothing to hold onto now.

Jake finally went into his room in the building. He stood by the door and glanced around the dark kitchen and the very small living room. A single mouse stared up at him from one of the kitchen counters. Jake gave a faint smile at the memories of him coming home at midnight after stealing. Valentine would welcome him home with some junk food, and they would have a small party for his victory.

These memories then made him frown. What would his parents think of him now? They put all their trust in him to keep the family alive and well. That had gone down the drain when he started to steal. Now look at him! He was working for a mad man, and his sister was the one being punished for it! Jake felt terrible.

Suddenly the cell phone on the kitchen table started to ring. Jake jumped in fright of the sudden loud sound. He bit his lower lip as he picked up the phone. It was his best friend, David Smith. He kind of missed his friend from school. He smiled when he remembered school. He had been gone for around a week now.

With some hesitation, Jake finally pressed a button on the cell phone and put it to his ear while saying, "Hello?"

"Jake!" came David's voice from the other end, "Haven't heard from you for ages!" Jake winced when he noticed the slurred speech of his friend. Something went wrong when he had switched places with Robin. David was depressed for some reason and must have gotten himself drunk.

"How's it going, Dave?" Jake said in a quiet voice. "Need some help getting home?"

"Uh…yeah!" David said then laughed really hard. "I would drive if I could get to my car, man! But my legs keep betraying me." He then laughed hard again.

Jake felt sorry for his poor friend. The two used to be so tight. But once Jake became Red X their friendship drifted. David found himself a pretty girlfriend as Jake stole from any place with money in it. They were now pretty much opposite of each other. Jake was just thankful that when he got depressed he never went to alcohol. He just punched the living crap out of some punching bag. Being depressed would only be a downfall to everything for Jake. He had to keep his emotions in check if he wanted to support his family.

"I'll be right there, Dave," Jake said calmly. He then hung up and stuck the cell phone in his pocket.


There was only one bar where David went to when depressed or bored with life. Jake wondered what put his friend into such a mood because David had lain off the drinking before Jake had switched places with Robin. Jake walked up to the bar with a small frown on his face. David was standing outside and talking to a chair like it was some hot girl. He had sobered up some more.

"Hey, Dave," Jake said to his friend while walking up next to him. David looked over to Jake with confusion in his eyes. "I'm here to take you home," Jake said calmly but with enough sternness in his voice to demand control.

"Okay," David said with a nod. He said a goodbye to his beautiful chair and tried to follow Jake. He stumbled and Jake had to hold up his friend to prevent him from falling. "Where are we going, Jakey?"

"Home," Jake answered with annoyance in his voice this time. He dragged David to his car and helped him into the passenger's seat. Jake grabbed his friend's keys from his jacket pocket and started the car. As they started to make their way to David's house, Jake started to ask a few questions.

"So why did you get drunk this time, Dave?" Jake asked him with a quick glance to his friend.

"I never saw it coming, man," David said. He was a bit more sobered up now and was serious. "Jessica broke up with me just a few days ago."

Jake raised an eyebrow in interest. "Really?" he said. "You two were together for at least a year."

"Two," David corrected while holding up three fingers.

Jake nodded then asked, "What was the reason?"

"That is what confuses me, man!" David yelled while kicking the glove department in front of him. Jake did not care if he broke it. This was not his car. "She just came up to me and said we were done. She then walked off without telling me any reasons for this break up." He gave a heavy sigh then muttered, "I kind of miss her."

"She was insane," Jake muttered under his breath while looking away. He did not know how right he was. For some reason him and Jessica never clicked. Whenever they had to be together was when they had to share David. Mean words and dirty glares usually were the only means of communication otherwise.

"Stupid fly!" David yelled while swatting a green fly away from his face. It landed on Jake's steering wheel, and Jake could see its color now. His face went pale with fright as he stared at the bug.

"Beast Boy!" Jake whispered so faintly that only his ears could hear it.

"Jake, the light is red," Dave said to his friend while pointing to the road.

Jake looked up and cringed as he slammed on his brakes just in time. Both passengers were thrown forward but they were safe. Jake watched with dread as he saw the fly zigzag its way out of the open window. The green teen knew. He was making his way to the Tower to tell the other Titans. In Jake's mind something snapped, and he went into overdrive. He had to get there before Beast Boy.

"I gotta go, Dave!" Jake yelled over his shoulder. He pretty much kicked the door open and jumped out of the car. "See ya later! Get home safe!"

Jake could hear David yell back at him about how crazy he was as he sprinted down the sidewalk as fast as he could. He rounded the corner and saw that all he would have to do was jump a fence into a small park then he would be at the docks. If he hurried, he could make it there in time.

Gritting his teeth, Jake sped up. He zipped across the road, nearly getting hit a few times. Determination was a burning in his deep, blue eyes as he kept sprinting. He easily jumped the fence with much grace. He almost felt like his old self again when being chased by the Titans. This time he was the one pursuing.

After going through the park, the teen got to the island by one of the speed boats that Robin used sometimes to get across the water. The wind rushed into his face, and he looked ahead to see a small bird land on the top of the Tower. He set his jaw and did not care to tie up the boat when he arrived on land. He rushed up the steps to the Tower like the devil was on his trail. He whipped out his grappling hook and aimed it for his room. In seconds, he landed on the floor of Robin's room with sweat dripping down his forehead and panting hard.

Jake quickly pulled on Robin's uniform and ran out of his room in a great deal of hurry. He made his way to Beast Boy's room and walked right on in. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. He stared gaping at the sleeping form of Beast Boy snuggled up against one of his old stuffed animals on his bunk bed. He was snoring like a freight train and seemed to be in deep sleep.

The teen stood there with total shock on his face. "Idiot!" he whispered harshly to himself as he bent over panting. He was so worn out from that sprint and race to the Tower. But he could have sworn that he had seen Beast Boy as that fly. Or maybe it was just a green light shinning down on it. Now he was not as sure as before. He was really loosing it.

Jake watched Beast Boy sleep for a few seconds then finally left and went back to his room to get some well deserved sleep. As soon as Beast Boy's door closed, the green teen opened his eyes but kept on making his loud snoring sound that could fool anyone who did not know his real snoring. Jake's secrete was known to at least one Titan now. But how long can Beast Boy keep his mouth shut?

-Beast Boy -

Beast Boy sat on the kitchen stool with his head in his hands. He looked to be in deep thought, which was very rare for the teen. It was early morning, before anyone was up and the sun was just rising. He could not go to sleep that night because of what he had seen. The past events kept replaying over and over again in his head.

He could not make up his mind on what to do. His real leader was long gone, and this new guy was fooling the others pretty well. Where was Robin? Now that he knew the truth, he really did miss his old leader and was starting to worry for him. Slade was an insane man who would do anything to get what he wanted. And Robin was part of that want list. Had Slade won already, or was there some chance that Robin could be saved?

And there was this Jake who was posing as Robin and Red X. Three lives wrapped up into one and he was doing a pretty good job with them. If Beast Boy had not been in the right place at the right time no one could have guessed that Robin was not their leader at all till it was too late. But Jake was an okay guy. Beast Boy found that out just by following him last night. The only reason he was doing this for Slade was for someone who he called Valentine. Sister, girlfriend, or just friend, Beast Boy did not care. All he knew was that someone's life was on the line right now.

This was a life and death situation. Jake would do anything for Valentine. He had pretty much given up his soul to Slade for her life. Beast Boy knew Jake was desperate to keep this girl alive. If Beast Boy told the Titans that girl would be dead by tonight. As a superhero, Beast Boy had to keep innocent people safe. He could not tell the others about Jake for now. But he would have to tell Jake that he was on his side.

For once in his life, Beast Boy was forming a plan in his head to get back Robin and keep Valentine safe. Jake was not alone in this.

- Jake -

Jake sat on the edge of his bed all ready for the day. He watched the communicator carefully and waiting for that call from Slade. His heart was beating loudly against his chest. He had thought over last night's events and thought that there might have been a chance that Beast Boy had been faking it last night. Slade could know by now and everything would be over. He was a nervous wreck right now.

The communicator rung and Jake snatched it up and answered it in a heart beat. "Yes?" Jake asked Slade with a forced smile as if nothing was wrong. "What is the plan for the day? Make it fast, because I have breakfast in five minutes. Most important meal, you know?" He was actually doing a pretty good job pretending his cockiness. After this, he might have to pursue a career in acting.

Slade didn't sense the nervous vibe over the communicator and just went on. "I want you to get more Xenothium for that belt of yours," he said in that creepy, steady voice that could just give anyone the chills. "Do that tonight. But I want you to take it easy today. Talk with the other Titans so they don't suspect anything. Who knows, you might have fun, Jake."

Jake knew the man was smiling wickedly under his mask at his last statement. He frowned a little and said, "I can do that. When do we talk next?"

"After you steal that Xenothium," Slade answered. "But before you leave, I need to tell you this one last thing. I can't watch you from here, so I'm sending over a little look out for me. She will watch your every move and tell me everything you do. You will meet her tonight at your break in." He gave a small yet evil laugh and said, "You might like her."

"Her?" Jake asked with confusion. "What's her name?" He could not help but to be intrigued.

"She wants to keep it a surprise," Slade said with a smug smile forming under his mask. "Goodbye for now, Jake." Then the screen went black.

A/N: Sorry for the really short chapter. You guys were pretty much begging for the next chapter, so I threw away my promise to update my crossover fic to give you this. You guys are smart enough to know who the dad is to my two new characters. My next chapter will be of Robin. And I love the guesses you readers are having to who James really is. This is very amusing. But please give a review! Thanks!