A/N: I took a whole week off from writing because my brain just shut down for any kind of writing, so I'm sorry if I caused any of you guys pain while I didn't update in forever. But I read a lot over the week and formed new ideas and tried to improve my writing by any way possible. I still need reviewers to express their thoughts to me. I want to improve my skills. So give me any kind of advice or criticism you got. But enjoy the chapter! I made it longer to make it up to you guys.

Disclaimer: This is getting old. I don't own anything from the Teen Titans.

Chapter 15 Gunpoint

The cuffs were rubbing and cutting into his wrists that he almost absentmindedly struggled in for the hundredth time. James gave a small wince as the sharp and tight cuffs drew some blood that added to the small, red puddle forming under his hands. The man looked up and saw that Slade was watching him through the darkness of the steamy room.

Slade was sitting next to his small laptop and was doing something unknown to James. The two men had been down in the boiler room for the whole night and morning with little or no sleep for either of them. Sweat was beading down both of their foreheads now, but both would never admit that they were hot.

The still silence of the room was suddenly broken when James's cell phone went off. The loud, annoying ring of an American song sliced through the dark silence. This made Slade raise an eyebrow in interest. He got up and picked up the cell phone lying next to his laptop, and when he saw who it was he smiled under his mask evilly.

"It's for you," Slade said with his sardonic humor as he looked up to James. The man bit his lower lip because he knew that it was his kids calling him. He wondered how far Slade would go to make him answer it so his kids would not suspect anything. He hadn't told Slade anything yet, but the man knew a lot of things already.

Slade opened up the phone and put it on speaker phone so he could hear the conversation that was sure to come. He then picked up the laser gun that was also sitting next to his laptop and placed the barrel on James's forehead. He then nodded to James to tell him to go on.

James had no doubt that the mad man would pull the trigger at this point. He had been too stubborn and hadn't said anything, so he was someone with no information and easy to dispose of. And James could not bet on his life. If he died his kids would wind up orphans. He couldn't do that to them.

"Daddy!" Sam's voice echoed around the room with cheer in it. "You didn't pick up right away. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

James swallowed a lump in his throat and said with equal cheer, "I'm fine, Sam. I was just in the middle of teaching some students. What about you and Abe?"

"Doing fine, dad!" Abe's voice came through from the other side. "I'm just practicing on Robin's voice right now. I'll have him down by the time the superhero gets here. How's this so far?" The kid's last sentence sounded just like Robin's voice.

James looked up to see Slade raise his eyebrow again in surprise. James swore inside his head that Abe was talking so freely on the phone like this. Slade was figuring out everything now. The man had to shake his head to get back in the game as he said, "It's great! Keep going at it! How 'bout putting your sister on the phone? Love it how you kids share."

"Move, freak!" Sam shouted in the background and suddenly there was a loud bang as the phone was dropped in a fight over it. More immature insults and threats were heard in the background. James gave Slade a guilty smile and mouthed out to him, "Kids." Slade just rolled his eye in frustration.

Finally the phone was won by Sam and she said into it, "What do you need, daddy?"

"I just need to tell you that…um…Robin never was able to get his memory back, so go easy on him when he comes," James said with some hesitation. He and Slade were staring at each other, and it seemed like James was testing his limits on how much he would be able to say to his daughter without Slade blowing his brains out.

"Kay!" Sam said with her always excited voice. "We can handle that. We just called to check up on you. When should we call you next?"

"How about right when you find Robin?" James asked.

"Sounds good," Sam said. "Talk to you then. Love you, daddy." There was a pause and then she added, "And Abe says that he loves you too."

This part made tears come to the father's eyes. "I love you guys, too," he said softly. "Be safe." They both then hung up and there was silence in the room again. Slade stood there with the phone in his hand for a few seconds as he thought over the conversation. James stared at the floor as he silently prayed that his two kids wouldn't get hurt in this fight for the superhero. He wished he hadn't pulled them into this, but he knew that he couldn't change the past.

"So Abe is planning on transforming into Robin?" Slade thought out loud to more himself than James. "I was expecting that from you, James," he said to the man while looking at him with some amusement in his one eye. "You're beginning to become predictable and somewhat boring, Hess. And here I thought you had some big trick up your sleeve. This is becoming a minor detour."

"I fail to see why," James said while glaring up at Slade with his eyes cold and deadly. "Robin said that he didn't want to be your apprentice and he was heading for Pulcallpa. It is kind of obvious that he will escape when he gets there and my plan will just be executed. How will you get Robin back here? It would have been easier to just lie to him and use your well developed talent."

"True," Slade said with a nod. "But I now have two people who know my plans and might not be too afraid at this point to shout their thoughts out to the Titans if something goes wrong. I'll let them play their little game of theirs, and they won't find out my true one till its too late."

"W…what are you going to do with my kids?" James asked the man with dread in his voice. He was extremely scared for their lives now. He had no way of escaping at this point. All he could do was sit there and watch the things unfold.

"The only thing I can do, Hess," Slade said simply. He smiled wickedly under his mask as he answered, "Eliminate them."

- Robin -

Robin stiffly walked down stairs with the robot right beside him. We squinted in the bright light of the South American sun that was blazing down on them in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere. The air was hot and humid. Robin could feel himself sweating already even though he had just gotten off the airplane a few seconds ago. He already missed the AC system. But who was he to complain?

The robot and Robin both stepped onto the dusty and dry ground and headed for the small airport that sat next to the airplane. The engine of the plane still buzzed loudly into the boy's ears, yet he could softly hear the cry of many tropical birds singing away just to make beautiful music together. The rhythmic sound gave the poor teen a small bit of hope in his heart as he kept walking.

The pistol barrel at Robin's side was shoved more into his stomach as the two walked through the open doors of the airport. They were suddenly swept up in a crowd of people all talking and yelling in elegant Spanish that seemed to flow smoothly off all their tongues. Everyone, except the few tourists, had a head full of jet-black hair, and all had deep brown eyes that were full of life. Robin watched a few of them closely and his eyes narrowed in frustration. James had said that someone would be there to help him. How was he going to find this person if almost everyone looked the same?

Things would have to pick up if Robin's plan would be able to happen. He wanted to find the person he had to go with then he would have to disarm the robot. But that would be easy. Slade should have sent a real person to do this job. Men didn't try to make mistakes and were hard on the moral side to kill off. A robot could make mistakes and Robin would have no guilt or pity if he had to kill it. This would be easy when the right time came.

The two walked to another gate silently. Slade had already bought tickets for another flight back to Lima and then to Italy. The man seemed to be three steps ahead in his game of cat and mouse. Robin wondered if Slade had another back up plan if he escaped at this airport. Would he have other robots come for him? What if he was walking into a trap right now? He shook his head to get these worries out of his head and focus on the mission before him.

Robin was forced to sit down at one of the uncomfortable seats next to a gate. The robot sat next to him and they both waited there for a few minutes. Robin's faith in James was quickly slipping away as he counted the minutes that past by. He was starting to lose all hope when a whole hour went by and no one showed up. Surely the person would recognize him!

"You don't look very Peruvian," a man's voice said from behind Robin suddenly. The voice was calm and casual as if he was talking to a friend. "What are you doing way out here, kid?" Robin slowly moved his head a little so he would be able to at least catch a glimpse of the person talking to him. The teen's eyes widened when he saw that the person looked like a younger form of James. Was this his kid?

Robin didn't answer and went straight into action with no warning whatsoever. He relied on his weird yet surprising fast instinct that he assumed he had gotten from being a superhero. A battle yell escaped his mouth as his fist collided violently with the robot's metal mask. A throbbing red mark appeared on Robin's knuckles as he saw that he had created a dent in the robot's mask. He barred his teeth as he got up from his chair. The man next to him looked up at him with wide eyes of surprise.

Bang!

The loud shot of the pistol rang out and echoed around the airport gate. Both Robin and the young man winced while looking back to the robot that held the gun up at the ceiling. All chaos brook loose at the sound of gunfire. Screams of fright and terror were heard around the area, and quickly everyone was running around the place to get out of the way of the robot that had the gun now aiming at Robin's head.

Robin moved to get out of the way but stopped and cringed as another thundering shot was heard. It had missed on purpose. More screams ensued. The teen stayed completely still as he stared at the robot standing on the seats and looking down on him. The last two shots had only been warnings. It wouldn't hesitate to shoot him now.

The police were all yelling frantically in Spanish at the robot and Robin. The teen picked up a few lines here and there, but he didn't dare say anything back as he waited for the robot to do something first. The robot slowly got off the chairs and came over to Robin with the gun still pointing at him. It got behind him and shoved the barrel of the gun into the side of the teen's head while he wrapped its other arm around Robin's shoulders. This wasn't how Robin thought it would turn out. Things were quickly going down hill.

A sick feeling started to form at the bottom of Robin's stomach as he was forced to back up at gunpoint. He gave a frustrated grunt while struggling a little in the robot's grip. The hold on his shoulders only tightened and it made the teen stop resisting. He wasn't going anywhere unless this robot told him to.

"Give me the freaking gun," the young man hissed harshly in perfect Spanish to one of the police men suddenly. He grabbed the gun out of the guy's hands and barely even took aim at his target before pulling the trigger.

Robin gasped as another shot echoed around the gate that made everyone's ears ring. He was surprised at how swiftly the man had worked, but what did he shoot? Surely he couldn't have gotten the robot dead on without even taking aim first. He got his answer when sparks flew over his head and the robot behind him loosened its grip around his shoulders and slumped to the floor with a bullet hole right in the middle of its head.

"Run!" the young man yelled to Robin in English as he turned him around and pushed him forward. "I have realized that taking a gun away from a police man and firing it is kind of against the rules and a bad idea to anyone who wants to try and do so for now on."

"Definitely James's kid," Robin said with a wry smile coming to his lips. The man only smiled down at Robin. They both sprinted side by side through the airport with some police men chasing them a few strides behind. They rounded a corner and saw that about a dozen policemen were running their way. The men spotted the two running towards them and quickly made a line in the hallway and aimed their guns at Robin and the young man while shouting orders to stop.

"Follow me," the young man said while smiling. He duck rolled on the floor then pushed off at the end of his roll to get more air and distance as he flipped over the line of men. Robin didn't need to do anything to get the same amount of air in his jump. Shots rang out in the hallway as Robin landed in a crouch on the ground behind the policemen and didn't waste time regaining his senses as he took off after the young man.

The two finally made it out of the airport and quickly ducked as more guns were fired in their direction. The young man stopped next to a motorcycle at the curb and shoved a black helmet into Robin's arms without a word. Robin didn't ask questions as he strapped on the protective gear and hopped onto the back of the motorcycle.

Robin wrapped his arms around the man's waist as the guy got on quickly. It was automatic, so they didn't have to waist precious time trying to start it. The engine roared into life and the man took it off neutral and into third gear. The thing took off down the dirt road at what seemed to be light speed. The policemen yelled to each other while getting into their own cars and going after them.

"Where are we going?" Robin shouted above the engine of the motorcycle as they zigzagged through the crowd of other motorcycles and motor taxies. The teen coughed as they raced around a corner and dust was thrown up into the air. It was hard to see anything in the hot dust bowl they were in. There were no paved roads to ride on, so the ride through the small town was bumpy and very hard on the butt.

"To the check point," the young man answered over his shoulder to Robin. "My sister will be waiting there for us. We had planned all planned out. But that robot was not part of it. My dad never said anything about Slade knowing our plans."

Robin opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when they faintly heard the sirens of the police cars coming up behind them. Robin cursed while glancing behind his shoulder. They drove into a dark alley and came to a sudden stop. They both got off the motorcycle and threw off their helmets. The man led Robin down the wet and creepy alley to where a motor taxi was sitting at the other end.

"Hey, Abe!" a young girl of maybe 12 with glasses said to the man from where she was sitting in the small passenger seat on the motorcycle. (A/N: A motor taxi is just a regular motorcycle with a seat in the back of it that could hold two or three persons. There are so many of them in Pulcallpa that they are like New York City's taxies.)

"Robin, get in with Sam," Abe said quickly to the teen while pointing to the seat on the motorcycle. "Sam, give Robin his clothes and change into a Peruvian woman. I'll drive." Robin watched the two in stunned silence as they morphed into two totally different people. Abe changed into a Peruvian man and hopped onto the motorcycle. Sam changed into a dark skinned Peruvian woman. She handed Robin a red shirt, baggy jeans, a navy blue hat, and dark sunglasses.

"Change quickly," Sam said while getting into the seat. Robin wanted to protest, but he had no choice right now. He threw off his armor and gloves in a rush and took off his tight black shirt that was part of his apprentice outfit. He pulled on his red shirt and put his jeans over his other pants. He gave a sigh while putting the hat on. He ripped off his mask and when he looked up his eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses.

"Vaya!" he said to Abe while jumping into the seat next to Sam. He slipped his mask into his jeans pocket and kept his head slightly down as they came out into the sun once again. The three held their breath as three police cars zoomed by them in a search for the exact people they just passed.

"Where are we going now?" Robin said to Sam beside him.

"To the hotel a few blocks away," Sam answered while smiling sweetly at him.

"How did you change into these people?" Robin asked her while throwing his head over to Abe.

"Runs in the family," Sam said with a smile and redness coming to her cheeks. She might have looked like a Peruvian woman, but she sure was acting like a young American girl.

"So does that mean that if you're James's kids then he can morph as well?" Robin asked with confusion sweeping over his face.

"You're definitely the leader of the Titans to put those together," Sam said with a cute giggle. Her voice hadn't changed at all. She saw the deep puzzlement on Robin's face and her smile slipped away from her lips with concern. "Remember anything yet?" she asked him.

"No," Robin answered softly while looking ahead.

"It will come," Sam said sweetly to him. "Just trust your heart till then. It doesn't need a memory to tell you the right way."

- Red X -

The moonless night was pitch-black. No light could be seen in the sky except for the few stars that poked out through the mass of clouds overhead. Red X looked down at the city below him from where he crouched on top of a tall building. The wind picked up and blew into his ears over the sound of the night time business of Jump City. Cars honked and the talk of the people was like a hum from so far away.

Red X gave a long sigh of sadness as he watched all the people below him. He shivered in the coldness of the harsh wind trying to blow him off the building. He then heard one sound that his ears didn't find familiar. He whipped around while taking out two red X's.

"Put the weapons down, Jake," Jessica said with a sticky smile. She waved her hand in front of her and Red X's hand that held his X's was forced to put down his gadgets against his own will. His eyes narrowed at her till she finally let his arm go.

"What do you want, Jessica?" Red X asked her.

"Slade ordered me to keep an eye on you," Jessica said with a shrug. "I can't do that if you leave the Tower. I had to find you. But if I knew you were just going to stand up here for two whole hours I wouldn't have bothered."

Red X turned back around and looked down at the city once again in silence. Jessica walked up to where he was and stood next to him with a disgusted look on her face. She shook her head as she watched the people. "I can't wait till Slade kills all these people," she said suddenly. "They all have the perfect life…yet they want it to be more perfect. They don't know what it is like to have a power they couldn't control," she seethed through clenched teeth. "I'm just lucky I found Slade and figured out how to use my powers."

Red X glanced over to Jessica with wonder in his eyes. He then looked back down on the city and said quietly to her, "Not everyone down there is having this 'perfect life' you speak of. You don't think of this city as your home like I do because you only moved here a few years ago, but some of us do. With no real parents for years, I've had to fight my way to survive here. I know sometimes it feels like no one goes through the struggles you do, but we all do have our own."

"What point are you getting at, Jake?" Jessica snapped back at him callously.

"What I'm saying is that if this is the reason you joined up with Slade then it's a pretty lame and stupid one," Red X said sternly to her. "No one has a perfect life, Jessica."

"Bull shit," Jessica spat back with her eyes narrowing into dark slits of hatred for the city.

Red X opened his mouth to say something else, but he was cut off by Jessica's communicator going off. The girl pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open to show a screen. Slade stared back at them with that tranquil manor about him.

"I see that you are already with Jake at this moment," Slade said to Jessica as he spotted Red X standing by the girl. "Having a fun time?" he asked them sardonically. He actually let himself express a hint of a smile at their childish actions for their responses. Both gave small sighs while looking away from each other. Jessica rolled her eyes from pure annoyance.

"Not exactly, Slade," Red X said coldly. He folded his arms in front of him and asked, "Why do you want us together? It's not like we are two peas in a pod."

"I need you two to go on a mission for me tomorrow night," Slade cut down right to the point. "I want the Titans dead in a week from now if it is possible. I have already personally told you both my plans for them, so you must know what I need."

"So what's the mission?" Red X asked impatiently with some edge to his voice. He muttered a sorry when Slade gave him a stern look to obey. Red X just didn't want to hear about how he had to kill the Titans himself so that Slade could come in and take over the city. The thought just made him angry at the man even more.

"You're mission is to get the things I need," Slade said emotionlessly. "With both your skills combined I'm expecting you two to at least get in three robberies in one night without the Titans knowing. Jake will know where to find the stuff. I will give you the list of things after we are done here."

"What if I can't find everything?" Red X asked the man. "I'm a thief who wants only money. I don't look for explosives and crap."

"But you somehow know where the finest jewels and money stashes are," Slade answered quickly. "Just switch it around for what I need."

"And what if the one of us trips the alarm and the Titans show up?" Jessica asked. "There won't be a Robin there."

"Jake won't allow that," Slade said calmly as he stared at Red X with his one eye. The teen gave a shiver at the intensity of the man's stare. "Jessica, I'm putting you under Jake's charge for now. You do what he says. No childish games. I want your best."

"I can't take orders from him!" Jessica shouted angrily at Slade as she pointed to Red X. "He's just some stupid thief that can barely take orders from you."

"He's in charge because I wish it," Slade said firmly. "Now, Jake, get to the Tower. Jessica…watch him closely." The screen then showed up a small list of the things Slade wanted them to get. Jessica saved it to her communicator then closed it up and put it in her pocket with a sour expression on her face.

Red X smiled slyly under his mask as he watched Jessica pout over having to listen to him for now on. "Having fun yet?" he asked her. He circled the angry girl with his hands placed behind his back in a relaxed manner. He liked making the girl frustrated. It was beginning to be his favorite past time.

"Shut up, idiot," Jessica muttered back.

"Well, to find these places where the stuff is, we need to do some research," Red X said while tapping his chin in thought. "I'll be too busy tomorrow with the Titans because it will be Saturday, and those days are busy for superheroes. I guess you'll be bored watching over me like a hawk all day, so maybe I can spice it up for you."

"Don't make me do your dirty work, Jakey," Jessica said.

"You want to keep your job, Jess?" Red X asked her with venom in his voice.

A/N: I hope this is okay for you guys. I am now putting set dates on my two main fics so that I can have a deadline. I know it will challenge me, but it will be good. If my next chapter is not out by the 23rd I give you readers full permission to yell at me in a review till I'm dead. Won't that be fun. Till then, have a good week and get into the Christmas spirit by watching Elf! Best movie ever! Enough with the randomness. Please give a review!