A/N: So many people are getting captured or avoiding capture in this fic that it kind of makes me laugh. Oh well, I just wanted to get that out for some stupid reason. Nothing much else to say but to please enjoy and review. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I only own the Hess and White family. Pretty much everything else is from the Teen Titans.

Chapter 18 Trust Issues

"Aw, Rae, you didn't have to knock him out cold," Beast Boy said to the Goth girl. He had been the bait in their plan. Beast Boy only got out that Robin was really Red X/Jake and that the real Robin was with Slade somewhere. That was all the other Titans needed to hear. They had constructed a quick plan and tied up Beast Boy against his will to lure Jake down into the basement. But they let him go after Raven knocked the teen out by using her powers to throw an old 30 pound weight at Jake's head.

The Titans were crowded around the fallen thief in seconds to see what damage Raven had done. Starfire looked depressed as she thought about their situation. She missed Robin. Cyborg only had an eternal worried expression on his face. Millions of things zipped through his head as he stared down at Jake. Most of them were not positive. Beast Boy just looked plain guilty for putting Jake in this position. He didn't want the dude's little sister to get killed because of his big mouth. Raven concealed her anger in her and just had her hood up to hide all her expressions in the shadows.

"Should we to tie him up so he will not escape?" Starfire asked the team to cut through the still silence that had gone on for a few minutes. "What if he wakes up?"

"He won't wake up anytime soon, Star," Cyborg said while dragging the limp body of Jake toward the chair Beast Boy had been tied to earlier. "He took a huge hit to the head. He's bleeding."

Beast Boy's ears perked up in alarm at this information, and he ran over to where the two were working on tying the teen up. "We should help him!" Beast Boy said while hopping around them in a frantic mess. "We need him!"

Suddenly Cyborg snapped. "And who told you that?" he snarled at the green teen harshly. "Him?" he asked while pointing sharply at Jake. Beast Boy stopped on a dime and his ears dropped. Cyborg wasn't finished, though. "He is the one who willingly took Robin's place and tricked us for who knows how long while Robin was carried off by Slade! He's the enemy and you trusted him for some idiotic reason! How could you be so stupid?"

"No," Beast Boy said with his voice little and weak. He hated to see his best friend yell at him like this. It just crushed him inside. "He has a reason to take Robin's place. Slade has his little sister as blackmail. He didn't want to do this to us!"

"He was lying!" Cyborg yelled down at him. "Don't you get it, Beast Boy? He played you! Everything he told you was bogus. Why can't you use your head? This kept on going because of you!"

"But…"

"You know what?" Cyborg said. "Just shut up and keep out of this, Beast Boy. You have already done enough damage."

Beast Boy opened his mouth to shout a protest, but then self doubt clouded his brain and he decided not to argue. He finally gave way to defeat and dropped his eyes to the floor with a long sigh. What if Jake had been saying all those things just to keep the Titans off his back? What if he really did want to work for Slade? Everything could have gone so wrong just because of his stupid mistakes. The changeling sat off to the side of the basement to just think it all over.

Jake's wound stopped bleeding quickly and he finally came around after a few long hours of quiet waiting from the four Titans. He gave a loud groan from the pain shooting through his head, and this alerted the Titans he was fully awake. Everyone looked up to him and then came over to talk to him.

"Where is Robin?" Cyborg spoke first to him. "Tell us!" he growled down at the teen.

"I…I don't know," Jake said weakly after a few seconds of silence. He looked up at all of the faces before him and became a bit overwhelmed. Slade was going to kill him and Valentine! How could things get so out of control?

"Do not lie to us!" Starfire yelled at him. The others were kind of surprised at her actions because usually she was quiet and didn't interfere much at times like these. But this was the leader they were talking about.

"What's the use?" Jake whispered to himself with a sigh. He then looked back up at them and said, "Slade said he was going it Italy. But if you guys know him well, he won't be there for long."

"Italy?" Cyborg asked in confusion. The question was never meant to be answered. "Why would he bring Robin to Italy?"

"How should I know?" Jake asked him with a hint of anger in his voice. "He doesn't tell me a damn thing!"

"You work for him," Cyborg stated with his hands folding in front of him. "You should know."

"So now I'm classified as someone who loves the madman?" Jake yelled up at the robot teen. "Just because I was doing his dirty work and playing as clone boy, that doesn't mean I wanted to. I wasn't the person begging to be picked on. He just picked me and only me. I was forced into doing this. Get it?"

"You expect us to believe that load of crap?" Cyborg asked him. "It's the same lie you told Beast Boy. But this time it's different. We're not as gullible and won't ever buy it."

"Jeez! You guys are impossible!" Jake yelled. "I'm clone boy for a few weeks and you don't get the obvious lie till forever. But now that I'm shoving the truth in your face, you won't believe a single word. What do I have to do?"

"You're going to reverse this problem," Cyborg said. "You're going to tell us everything we need to know so we can get Robin back."

"I have problems of my own," Jake said quietly as his eyes shifted to the floor. He gave a small sigh as he swallowed his pride. He then looked up to the Titans with a pleading and hopeless look on his face. "I didn't want this job. I took it up because Slade has my little sister. If he figures out that you guys know about me, then he'll kill her with no hesitation. I…I'm begging you guys. Help me. Trust me. Please."

There was a long silence as everyone stared at Jake with different thoughts going through their heads. Some were on the brink of believing the poor teen and trusting him. But all those thoughts came crashing down as the girl who had been oh so quiet this whole time told them what was on her mind.

"NO!" she screamed. Something exploded from somewhere in the basement. Everyone jumped in surprise and fright. Raven suddenly yanked off Jake's mask and stared down at him fiercely. The boy gave a small wince while blinking his eyes a few times to get used to the new feeling. He then looked up into Raven's eyes and saw the deep pain and suffering in her heart.

"You tricked us!" Raven yelled at him in the face. "You lied, plotted, schemed, cheated, and deceived us! And we all believed you! We trusted you with our lives everyday. We laughed with you. We…we loved you as our friend and leader. But you didn't care! You kept going! So you kept pulling us up just so the drop could be more painful. You deserve no trust from any of us!"

There was silence once again as Jake and Raven stared into each other's eyes, as if exchanging all the pains in their lives. All the Titans watched the two as they battled it out with deadly stares. Jake narrowed his eyes before taking them away from Raven's in defeat. They weren't going to believe him. He was never going to win their trust even if he saved one of their lives. He had done too much damage. This was exactly what Slade had planned for him.

"Fine!" Jake snapped back up at the Titans. "I seriously don't care anymore! Do what you want with me and I'll answer everything you ask me as truthfully as I can, but I'm not going to be looking out for your health. I'm babysitting no one."

"But you said that you were fully with us a few nights ago," Beast Boy spoke up with anger in his voice. "Or was that a lie too?"

"How can I be on your side when your stupid team won't trust me?" Jake asked Beast Boy harshly. That shut the changeling up. He was still fighting the battle inside of him of whether Jake had been lying to him or not. Jake felt kind of sorry for snapping at Beast Boy like that, and his face softened a little when seeing the teen look to the floor with uncertainty. "Sorry," he muttered with a sigh. Beast Boy and Jake were kind of close, and they had evolved into something like friends over the past few days.

"So you'll answer our questions?" Cyborg asked Jake. His voice was still stern even though he had found it very interesting on how the two had just acted a few seconds ago. Cyborg was starting to think that maybe the changeling had been right about the thief, but he couldn't take any chances.

"It doesn't mean I know the answers to most of them," Jake said with a shrug. "But I would like to give you guys one piece of advice. Hurry up with it because someone was sent to keep a sharp eye on me. Once she realizes that I've been caught, all hell will break lose. I don't want to be in Jump City once Slade is through with it."

- James -

The earth was about 20 floors below them now. Slade led the way as they climbed the abandoned stairs up to the roof of the sky scraper that was scheduled to be toppled down in two days. The warm, night air in Lima, Peru brushed over James's face as he was forced to stand to one side on the roof with the little girl he had seen with Slade the day he had arrived in Italy. James had been surprised that she was still alive. Robots were then placed around them to make sure they wouldn't leave.

The girl was in a pretty bad shape, though. Her long brown hair was a mess on top of her head. Smudges of dirt were on her clothes and skin. Small scars ran up and down random places on her body. James looked down at her with sadness in his heart. He remembered when his kids were her age. Seeing her like this was triggering so many parental instincts in him.

When Slade silently walked over to the edge of the roof to look down, James put his tied up hands onto the girl's shoulder and squeezed it a little to comfort her. She looked up to him with those sad green eyes and gave him a weak smile. James returned it with a small one of his own even though it was such false hope. If his predictions were right, this girl would be dead before he would. He thought of a small prayer and sighed to calm his nerves.

"He's here," Slade said emotionlessly as he looked over to James. This made a small shiver go down James's spine even though it was warm outside that night. It was easy to see in Lima at night. So many lights were everywhere. The Peruvians loved to exaggerate in this city, so every building had to a have a neon light flashing in Spanish what it was all about. It was kind of like Times Square in New York, just ten times more brighter it seemed.

"Who's here?" James asked Slade with confusion sweeping over his face.

"You'll see," Slade said evilly. James knew Slade had to be smiling under his mask. He didn't like this. He knew Slade had something in store for him, and whatever it was, it wasn't going to be a good and happy thing. James's stomach turned as that perpetual sick and dreaded feeling twisted his insides once again.

Then the doors opened up that were off to the side of him, and out came two robots holding onto a mud covered boy that was struggling fiercely with loud protests. It took two seconds for James to recognize the kid and register it all in his head. It was his son!

"Abe!" James yelled while lunging forward in some desperate attempt to save him. The robots around him expected this act and quickly pulled him back to keep him in place.

Abe looked to James when hearing his name, and the dad could see the flash of panic in his boy's eyes. But his kid quickly got over his shock and turned his eyes over to Slade. James could only watch hopelessly as his boy was forced to stand in front of his enemy. How did he get so muddy? The poor kid was covered in the dry muck.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Abe yelled up at Slade. "Why waste you're time bringing me here? I'm no freaking use to you!" James could see that Slade was actually chuckling at the boy's actions because his shoulders were slightly shaking. The man only stared down at Abe with his hands placed behind him, in that tranquil stance. Abe quickly quieted down when seeing that his shouting wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Smart boy you have here, Hess," Slade said over to James as his eye was still pinned on Abe. "But is he smart enough to keep himself or you alive?"

"Crap," James whispered to himself. He knew where this was going. What was he going to be forced to answer? Now that Slade had one of his very weak spots, he could almost make James or even Abe do anything. This guy just had to be the devil himself for being this cold and evil!

"Let's just get down to the point," Slade said. "Where is Robin and you're sister heading to?"

"That's it?" Abe asked him in disbelief. He gave a cocky laugh and said with a shrug, "I have no clue. Shouldn't you be the one keeping a tab on your so-called 'apprentice', Slade? Not doing your job, are you? Shame!"

"You're making this harder than what it can really be," Slade said down to him with his voice calm and peaceful. His eye said that he was kind of enjoying it, though. James let his son be his cocky self. He kind of got the overconfident attitude from his dad anyways.

"Why would I lie to you, Slade?" Abe asked the man with a smug and sarcastic smile.

This didn't seem to please the man. His eye narrowed a little to show this frustrated emotion. "I don't like repeating myself," he said to Abe. "Tell me where they are. If I get the same answer I won't ask nicely again."

"I don't like being redundant too," Abe said with a small shrug. "Maybe I didn't make it clear the first time. Let's try it this way. I. Don't. Freaking. Know. Understand?"

"You must think this is a game," Slade said while folding his arms in front of him.

Abe gave a sharp laugh and asked, "That was a joke, right?" Slade glared down at him silently. "You're the one playing the stupid game, Slade. The world is your playing field. You have all your pawns that you move here and there. Everyone is just one of your pawns! Some are easy as pie to move, but then others are harder and need blackmail or something else to make them go your way. So tell me, Slade. What's the goal of your game?"

"It has many goals," Slade answered calmly. He then kneeled down to Abe's height and said, "And the game will be won. You, one of my 'pawns', can't stop me. And by now you should know that I play this game pretty well. And I will play it as hard as I can. If I have to cheat, I'm willing to do so."

"I'm not one of your pawns," Abe spat out.

"You might not be," Slade said with a simple shrug, "But I can still make you move the direction I want."

This pushed Abe over the edge. With a loud battle yell, he threw himself at Slade in an attempt to hurt him. The robots holding onto him pulled him back, though. Abe was only able to get his head an inch away from Slade's because of the pull of the robots on his small body. Slade stood back up and stared down at the boy yelling incoherently at him. He had a bit of a temper. No patience at all. Robin had more than him.

Slade finally had enough of observing the boy. He suddenly grabbed the front of Abe's shirt and forcefully dragged him over to the edge of the building. Abe caught onto the action quickly and tried to stop Slade, but he was just too small to do any damage to the man. James stiffened in the grip the robots had on him as he saw the confidence in his child vanish for a few uncertain seconds. Even though Abe was portraying such a cocky person, only his father could see that he was scared to death. Maybe Slade knew this as well.

Once the two were at the edge, Slade swung the small boy out over the edge of the roof with one hand gripping the boy's shirt. Abe gave a small yell of fright while grabbing Slade's hand that was holding onto his shirt so that he wouldn't fall if he let him go. He glanced down with wide eyes at all the cars zipping around below him. No one on the busy streets noticed him dangling dangerously over the tall building.

"Now," Slade said casually to Abe. "I won't ask you where they are anymore. I'll believe your answer for now. But I'll ask this. How could I find them?"

"Don't you have some tracking device on Robin?" Abe asked him like the man was some idiot.

"He destroyed his communicator right after running away," Slade answered blankly. He then waited for his answer. Abe knew how to contact his sister, but he wasn't about to give Slade any information just yet. He was only thinking logically. He knew Slade was going to do more damage if he ever broke Robin down and the teen was finally forced to take his place. So maybe Abe would be saving lives if he kept his mouth shut. If he had to die to save other people in the future, he was okay with that because it meant the world would be gaining something. But that didn't mean that he wasn't scared of losing his life.

"You mean you went after him?" Abe asked Slade. "You should have put more effort into capturing him than me because you did an excellent job at bringing me down in that muddy river." It then dawned on him and he smiled slyly. "You were confident that I would tell you where they are! Well, not a chance, Slade! Mums the word."

"Don't you value your life?" Slade asked him. He started to loosen his grip on the kid's shirt and let him slip a little. Abe gave a short yell of surprise as he dropped a few inches, but Slade tightened his grip at the last second. Slade smiled wickedly as he saw the look of panic on the boy's face. He was scared. And so was James. Why didn't his son just give him the answers and not push it? Why was he so willing to die?

Abe got a hold onto himself and his look terror was quickly erased. "Of course I care about my life," he spat back at Slade. "I've just learned everything I've could, analyzed the situation at hand, chosen a course of action, and now I'm doing it boldly. Know, think, choose, do. It's a smart way of solving simple problems."

"So you think this is simple?" Slade asked the kid, amused. Actually the kid was making lots of sense to him. Slade went through that process of thinking all the time. He was entertained by the boy's intelligence for such a young age.

Before Abe could answer the man, James yelled at him, "Abraham! Cut it out before you kill yourself! I can't let you do that. No more of this family is going to die. Think about your sister and me! We couldn't bear to have you be killed too!" James kicked himself mentally for giving Slade everything that he needed. He hated to give up so easily, but the only way to knock Abe out of his decision mode was to give him a better reason. Abe would have never told Slade where his sister was if James hadn't spoken up, and the father knew that all too well. But he just didn't want to lose his son.

There was silence as Abe stared at his dad with a sad look in his eyes. He then gave a sigh before turning his eyes back to Slade. He gave the man a weak smile and said, "Unfortunately, that whole system of know, think, choose, do does not have any space in it for feel." Abe just knew that Slade was smiling at him under that mask as he spoke. "And sometimes to be human, I have to screw the system."

"And that's what makes you weak," Slade said wickedly to the boy with that smile still on his lips. He had won.

- Robin -

"I'll take the first shift," Robin said quietly to Sam. They were both in a dark and damp alley somewhere in Pulcallpa. It was around three in the morning, and the two had gone out of their way to make sure those robots weren't after them. They had finally settled down in the alley with weary eyes and worn bodies just begging for rest. Sam didn't protest about sleeping first.

"Thank you, Robin," Sam whispered back to the teen as she curled up into a ball on the muddy ground under her. She closed her eyes and let her body relax and calm down. Robin wanted to sit down next to her and rest his body as well, but that would only send him off to dream land. He had to keep on his toes. He couldn't take any chances.

Robin paced the alley in front of Sam while eating something he had stuffed into his backpack before leaving the hotel in a rush. His eyes were sharp and his keen hearing stretched out to capture all kinds of sounds that could be any possible danger coming their way. He kept all his senses alert.

He would sometimes look up to see if anyone was watching them from above. He was only met with a black sky full of bright stars. He gave a small sigh while staring up at them. He remembered when he was in Italy and had his memory erased. He had come out to look at the stars at that time as well. He had been searching for an answer in them.

Robin gave a small laugh at the thought. The stars were a wonderful sight, but they would give him no such answers. He made his own answers. He was the one in control of his life. The stars couldn't do anything for him but give him comfort and hope at times, just like it was doing to him now. Was one of his friends looking into this same sky right now? Oh, how he missed them! But he would see them again. He promised himself this.

Suddenly Sam's cell phone rang. Robin gave a small jump from the unexpected sound that now echoed noisily through the whole alley they were in. It woke Sam up with a loud gasp of fright, and she quickly answered it up with wide eyes. She was deeply afraid someone had heard it ring.

"Yes?" she asked quietly into the phone. Robin and her made eye contact, and he gave her a small nod to keep going as he kept being lookout. He sure hoped no one had heard them.

"Abe?" she asked into the phone with great surprise in her voice. "I thought Slade or someone got to you because you didn't call earlier! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Robin glanced behind his shoulder to the girl and his eyes narrowed. She should hang up. It was a trick. Slade had gotten Abe and was now getting him to somehow call the two and get them to fall into a trap just like he had done with James so many times. Didn't Sam see this?

"Meet you in Lima?" she asked Abe while staring back at Robin boldly. "Well, we will try. No, Abe, we won't just stay here! You're impossible to talk with over the phone! Fine! We will meet you in Lima tomorrow morning. Happy now? Good! I hope you get a bumpy plane trip there, loser!" She then hung up with a smug smile on her face.

Robin gave her an odd look. She was acting kind of strange. Shouldn't she be feeling happy that her brother was okay for now? Why was she giving him such a weird look as if she was proud of herself for something?

"Convincing?" she asked him slyly. "Do you think Slade will take the bait?"

Robin then got it. She had thought the same thing he had during that fake conversation with her brother. He then smiled wickedly down at her and said, "You're good."

"I try my best," she said with a simple shrug.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter sucked out loud. I had writers block for the ending part and didn't know really what to do. And I have an important update for all you readers. I'm going to Peru with my dad for a whole week and will be missing school. When I get back I'll have midterms to deal with and a whole bunch of homework to make up for my teachers. So I will not be updating this fic till the 3rd of Feb. Sorry if that seems like a long time. I just have lots on my plate. But please give a review! Thanks!