A/N: Sorry for delay in update. I first went on a media fast, so no computer. And then I couldn't log in on this site and had to get them to fix it for me, which took three days. I then decided to put this chapter up on my birthday, so here it is. So please give me a birthday present by giving a review! Thanks!

Disclaimer: This will never get old, will it? I don't own any of the Teen Titan characters!

Chapter 25 Growing Up

"What time is it?" Jake asked Raven in a rush. He paced the library in the Tower with Raven sitting on a black leather seat facing him. The teen was a nervous wreck and close to a total break down at this point. His wondrous blue eyes darted around the room of shelves as his mind replayed his plan over and over again. Doubts were starting to pressure his mind because it was close to crunch time.

"Ten-thirty," Raven answered him after a sigh. She had dragged the teen into the library so they could take their minds off the mission for an hour or so. They were waiting for Bumble Bee and Speedy to come back to the Tower with the Hess family and Valentine. But Jake's mind was not calming down any time soon and his restlessness was messing with her powers and emotions.

"Okay, I leave in a half an hour," Jake nervously told himself. He glanced over to Raven and noticed that she was simply reading a thick book without any expression in her face or in those deep violet eyes. Jake stopped his pacing in front of her and wondered how she could be so relaxed at a time like this. The teen stared at Raven for a minute or two. Didn't she realize that her city could wind up destroyed if they didn't defeat Slade tonight?

"What are you looking at?" Raven asked him darkly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him when he kept staring dumbly back at her. Jake then came out of his trance while shaking his head. He blushed slightly when she kept glaring at him.

"Sorry, I just spaced out for a sec," Jake muttered. He scratched the back of his neck before asking hesitantly, "How do you stay so calm? I'm a freaking nervous wreck! I've never been this way before and…ah crap! My hand is shaking." He held up his hand and Raven frowned when seeing it shake uncontrollably. Jake was worse than she thought.

Raven silently marked her book and got out of her chair. She lightly held onto his wrist and ordered quietly, "Take a deep breath, Jake. Close your eyes. These are stress relievers. Just focus on your breathing and nothing else." Jake did what she said and quickly felt his body calm itself. He didn't even notice when Raven let go of his arm and walk back to her chair to sit in. Raven smiled slightly at him before returning to her book.

After about fifteen minutes of the boy standing there and breathing deeply, Raven thought it best to snap him out of his relaxed state. "Jake, you need to get ready to leave," she told him. She stood up as he opened his eyes to look at her. "Go get dressed. I'll meet you in the living room." She paused before adding quickly, "Cyborg will drive you to shore. You'll be on your own after that."

Jake paused in his brisk walk to his room when he heard her say this. Before he could say anything, she was gone. He gave a sigh and walked back to Robin's room. He quickly pulled on his Red X costume and snapped the Xenothium belt on. Starfire had gotten more Xenothium an hour ago and had refilled it for him. It would come in handy later on.

The teen stopped at the door to the room. He looked around the place with a sort of attachment toward it. Over the past two to three weeks, he had come to like the Tower and the people living in it. His mind finally realized that after this he wouldn't be able to regard them as his team or friends anymore. He would miss the Titans. He might actually miss the identity of being Robin. But he knew that fate hadn't put his wishes into its plan.

With that done, Jake pulled on his mask with a slight frown on his face. But the frown didn't stay there for too long. He was now his favorite identity and that put a smile to his lips. He sprinted down the hallway with his smile widening. At least he would always have something to fall back on. He would always be Red X, the greatest thief in all of Jump City. No one could take that away from the teen.

Red X arrived at the living room in a rush. Raven was already at the computer keyboard. Red X walked up beside her and looked up at the screen while folding his arms in front of him. "Why do you have the map of Jump City up here? What is with the little blinking red lights anyways?"

"Those are their communicators acting like tracking devices," Raven said. She looked down at the communicator in her hands and Red X glanced at it with surprise. She finally held it up to him and said emotionlessly, "This one is yours…for now. Call me or any of the others if you feel the need to. Give it back once you're done here."

Red X took the round device and clipped it onto his belt silently. "You know the plan, Raven," he told her. "I need to get going. Where's Cyborg?"

"In the garage in the T-car," she answered. "He's waiting for you. Don't push your luck with him, okay?"

Red X laughed slightly as he walked off. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as unwanted emotions flew through him. He heaved a sigh while turning around and coming back to Raven. He took off his mask as she turned around when noticing he hadn't left. He lightly took her head into his gloved hands and put his face close to hers. Their eyes locked.

"You're beautiful when you smile, Rae," he whispered to her. She leaned in to kiss him but he stopped her. Their love was forbidden and they both knew that. Jake knew that if he kissed her now, he would have to change his life, and he didn't want that. He was better as a thief and he couldn't let a relationship bolt up that freedom inside of him.

Raven looked at him with hurt in her eyes. Why was he messing so much with her emotions right now? "Please smile more once I'm gone," he told her softly. "I'm sure your team mates love it as much as I do." Tears collected at the corners of Raven's violet eyes as she stared into his. She wished their relationship could deepen, but he had a greater love in his life and she couldn't take that away from him.

"I will," she whispered back. She grinned up at him as he gently kissed her forehead. They both blushed while nervously laughing at how they were acting. "Be careful," she told him as he slowly backed away from her.

Jake laughed out loud as he pulled on his mask again. "Raven, I'm Red X," he said. "When was I ever careful?" Raven didn't say anything as she watched him leave the room. She wiped the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand. She would miss him.

-Cyborg-

Cyborg started the T-car as Red X opened the passenger seat's door and collapsed into the seat next to him. Cyborg didn't even glance at the teen as he headed for the doors that lead to the underground bridge that would take them to the city. As the car swiftly flew down the underground road, the two teens were silent. Lights on the walls flashed by them and made the inside of the car light up then plunge right back into darkness in a repeating cycle.

Once the car got to land again, Cyborg spoke up. "I'm not against you, X," he said to him without taking his eyes off the road. Red X looked up to the half robot with his masked eyes narrowed with suspicion. But Red X kept his mysterious silence as he waited for Cyborg to explain.

"I never really was against you," Cyborg said with a sigh. "It's just that the Titans learned about trust the hard way. We used to have another Titan on the team. We trusted…" he trailed off at the bad memory of the blonde girl he thought to be their friend.

"Terra?" Red X finished for him. His voice was a bit warped from the mask's built-in speaker.

"Yeah," Cyborg muttered after a long sigh. "We all thought she was for real, and at the end she was and saved the city. But she was really working for Slade. After that, my team and even I have trust issues. I keep seeing you as her. You worked for Slade and pretended to be our friend."

"That's where you're wrong," Red X said slowly. "At first I pretended to be a friend, but after a while I…I uh…saw you guys as my friends." Cyborg glanced down at him with confusion in his eyes. "Robin's a lucky guy to have you guys. As far as friends go, I would only count a few guys in the school, but those don't count because…well…"

"I get the picture," Cyborg said with a chuckle at Red X's stumble for words. "They don't know the real you. They don't know Red X. You did the same with us. It was all fine till you had to build relationships with us even if they were fake ones at first."

Cyborg stopped the car in a vacant alley. "So…we're okay now?" Red X asked him with a smile under his mask.

The half robot stared out of the windshield before smiling down at the teen beside him. The small smile finally broke out to a wide grin as Cyborg said smoothly, "Yeah. We're okay." He held out a hand and the two bumped fists.

"You know what to do," Red X said. "If you can, call me when Val and the rest get over here." He opened the passenger door and was about to step out. He paused while looking down at the pavement with his emotions mysterious to the robot teen. "Don't…" he hesitated before steadily continuing, "Don't think I'm going to keep being a goody good superhero after this." He looked up to Cyborg's questioning face and said, "That life is not mine. Tell the others that."

Cyborg gave Red X a skeptical look. He smiled slightly before saying, "Is the reason why you keep telling us that you're not a good guy is because you're just unsure what you want to do with your life? I've seen you fight, X. You're good, I'll give you that much. Don't waist your life in jail because of a stupid mistake when robbing a museum in the near future." Cyborg looked down with his face getting more serious. "And a life being a great thief gets you into these kinds of situations with Slade a lot more often than you think. I know you don't want your sister to deal with being the hostage for the rest of her life. You being a thief is unfair to her. Consider this, 'kay?"

Red X stared back at Cyborg as his words sunk in. "Yeah," he said quietly. He then got out of the car and closed the door. With only a few swift jumps, the thief was on the roof of a building and steadily heading toward the warehouses where this whole mess begun.

-Robin-

Robin growled into his gag with frustration. He pulled some more on his rope binds that had his arms tied behind him on the wooden chair. Where he was located was the real problem for the superhero. The darkness in the room he was in was so thick that he couldn't see two inches in front of him. Slade had knocked him out with another sedative before they got off the plane. When the boy woke up, he was tied to the chair in a room he had never been in. And now he was getting sick of waiting and tired of the darkness.

Suddenly he heard footsteps close behind him. He almost didn't catch them. Whoever the person was, they didn't want to be heard. Then Robin's gag was taken off, and the first thing he said was, "This could be a trap!"

"Does it seem like I care?" a voice responded quickly. Robin could feel this person sliced through the ropes binding him. Just from the warped, dark voice, Robin guessed the person was Red X. "The plan was for me to somehow get to you."

"A plan?" Robin asked with a smile on his lips. "They came up with one pretty quickly. I hope that signal I gave you worked." He got out of the chair and rubbed his sore wrists that had been bounded and handcuffed for what seemed like days. Everywhere he went he felt like he was tied up.

"It was very creative and helped me get out of a lot of messes with your team," Red X said with his own smile. "So I guess I actually owe you a thanks."

"Did my team give you a hard time?" Robin asked him sarcastically.

Red X quickly came back with, "Like hell they did!" The sentence was just Jake's character coming out.

"Good," Robin said with a laugh. "I'm sure you took them for a loop. How long did you last, anyways?"

"A good solid week or two," Red X said with a shrug. He tapped his foot with impatience. Both of the boys knew that Slade was there somewhere. They were just talking to past the time. Robin gave Red X a wry grin as if to tell him that he was experiencing the same eagerness.

"So how has the superhero life been?" Robin asked while folding his arms in front of his chest.

"It was all right," Red X said with a shrug. "It's too easy to fight with a team, though. Stealing gives you much more of an adrenaline rush."

"I'm sure Robin agrees thoroughly with you, Jake," Slade's voice said from somewhere in the darkness. Flood lights flickered on and the kids were suddenly bathed in an eerie dim spotlight that seemed to over exaggerate on their shadows. Both of the boys reflexively got into fighting stances and tried to spot their adversary somewhere in the darkness outside their circle of light. Their shadows made uncanny dances every time they moved.

"Show yourself, Slade," Robin commanded in a firm voice. His masked eyes narrowed dangerously while he and Red X went back to back. "Why play with us like this? We're tired of your useless games." His eyes desperately searched the darkness around him. But it was no use. Slade wasn't stupid enough to get too close to their weakly lit circle. The man didn't want to be spotted by their probing eyes, and it would stay that way till they figured out another way to spot him.

"I didn't notice that you two were in fact friends," Slade said as he totally ignored Robin's demands and stayed hidden in his darkness. "It really is a small world after all."

"Was that his attempt at joke making?" Red X asked Robin. He had a habit of being sarcastic when he was nervous.

Robin also sometimes had that habit and couldn't help but quickly come back with, "Pitiful isn't it? Imagine having to be the guy's apprentice?"

Red X winced under the mask. "I guess his lame jokes would have to come with the package. Dude, I feel so sorry for you."

"That sounded a little too much like Beast Boy," Robin stated. He gave a wince as another vision of the green teen hit his brain. Robin just hoped that Slade hadn't seen him give that show of pain. His wish wasn't granted.

"Still getting memory flashes, Robin?" Slade asked him. The hair on the back of Robin's neck bristled at this question. He refused to give into Slade's smooth talk and decided to keep quiet as the man continued in a slow, steady voice that creeped both boys out. "You don't fully remember your team or city and you still are trying desperately to save it. I seriously don't see the point."

Red X gave a short sarcastic laugh at the man's statement. "You could say the same for me. This city is my home. Do I really want some madman blowing it up? I'm sure that is one of the many reasons both of us are here right now."

"True, Jake," Slade's voice said to them. "But do remember that you're not going back to the superhero life after this if everything goes your way. You'll just change your school and name and reverse to stealing for your way of life again. I wish Robin had the same bug you had for thieving, but he'll get it soon enough after a few years working for me. He won't admit it, but he likes stealing. He is bored with his superhero life and he wishes he had yours."

"That's not true!" Robin yelled angrily at the darkness. "I love my home, my friends, and my position as superhero. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I wouldn't give it up for some crappy place by your side!"

"But it was so easy to replace you, Robin," Slade said calmly to him through the darkness. Red X suddenly threw an X into the air with a loud yell. It vanished into the blackness surrounding them silently. But the attack was only a desperate attempt to shut Slade up before he went any farther in their conversation. Red X knew exactly where it was going and knew it wouldn't help Robin's mind set.

"Jake effortlessly became you for two weeks without the Titans knowing a thing," Slade said to Robin. His voice was not as calm as before, and he seemed to pressuring the boy. "They were attached to him as they did to you. Think about it, Robin, they didn't know you were half way across the world in my command for two whole weeks! Doesn't that tell you how great they are as friends?"

Red X threw another X while shouting, "Shut up!" He turned to Robin and told him, "Don't listen to the madman. Beast Boy found out in only a few days."

"By accident, my I might add to your reasoning, Jake," Slade added evilly.

"So?" Red X asked with his eyes narrowing. "He and all the others had their suspicions the whole time. Raven knew something was wrong with me and so did Starfire, but it was Raven who looked into it." He looked back to Robin who was surprisingly ignoring him and Slade. He was listening to something. Red X didn't notice this and took Robin's frown as one of uncertainty.

Robin new that if Slade presented this argument any other time, his mind would have doubted everything he believed in. The same thing had happened the first time Slade attempted to make him apprentice. It had destroyed him on the inside. Many lonely nights he would have breakdowns, and he would constantly wake up at nights from nightmares of a tormenting Slade.

But over the years Robin was able to grow and deal with these problems somehow. He was barely a teen when Slade forced him as his apprentice the first time. It had never occurred to the superhero till now, that he was older and he had matured more from when the two last fought over his destiny. Robin had spent years suffering from Slade's doings and his words, but finally the teen realized that he had moved on. His mind didn't doubt his friends' loyalty or his status as superhero.

Instead, Slade's old brutal words only made Robin want to laugh at the man. For the first time in forever, Robin felt firm in his beliefs, and he had a clear understanding as to what path he wanted to take. Even with his loss of memory, the teen knew that no words of Slade's would ever keep him awake at night again.

"Well, Robin, I've realized how much you love your home and friends," Slade's voice said to him. Robin's frown deepened because he knew exactly where Slade was taking this. The man knew his change. He had already devised a plan to counter attack it. "So I've decided to eliminate those things from the equation. At the end, I'll have you with no where to go or someone to confide in. You might hate me for it at first, my boy, but you will thank me in due time."

Without warning, Robin took out two bird-a-rangs and threw one in front of him and the second one off to his side. The move was swift and silent. One gadget actually whacked into something in the surrounding darkness. "There!" Robin yelled at Red X as he promptly ran after the hit target. Red X grinned under his mask while quickly following right after the other teen.

Robin was on the talking robot in seconds. The thing was easy to take down, and just as easy to figure out that it wasn't Slade at all. Both boys stared down at its sparking bits they had torn apart with disgust on their faces. Red X gave a sigh before asking Robin, "Now what?"

"The madman is pulling all the strings at this moment," Robin muttered distastefully. He growled in aggravation before adding, "He'll lead us somewhere else soon."

"You are accurate, my apprentice," Slade said to them as another spot light hit a different section of the room. Both boys stiffened when seeing the real Slade standing in the light. He was in his relaxed stance with both hands behind his back and that one cold eye boring into the superhero and thief. "You have passed all the tests I've given you over the past few years. I was delighted when you passed my final mental test." He paused to let his words sink in before continuing. "Now you must pass my final physical test."

"Pfft!" Red X said confidently with a wave of his hand. He turned to Robin and asked, "What the heck is he talking about now? What does he mean by these tests?"

"You must remember your mental test, Robin," Slade told the superhero with an evil smile creeping onto his lips under his mask. "It was only a year ago. I activated that dust that almost killed you. I was very pleased that you managed to figure the puzzle out just in time." Red X looked back from the scowling Robin to Slade with confusion. "Tell me, Robin," Slade added in a slippery voice, "Do you still fear the dark?"

"If I said yes," Robin asked slowly, "Why would you care, Slade?" The man didn't answer as he only watched Robin with no emotion in his eye. "See?" Robin asked the man with a bleak smile. "That is what makes us different. You get joy out of making others weak or angry. It makes me happy when I save a woman and her child from a robber and when they smile at me in their own way of saying thanks.

"And even though Red X, here, steals and strives to be a thief, most people would think he would be more like you," Robin and Red X shared eye contact for a second before the teen went on. "But Red X is still not like you because he doesn't get joy from making others worthless. He enjoys just seeing the smiling face of his little sister. He's really balancing the two. And the reason you don't like him is because of this. If he was in my spot you know he would bend to your will. You want me because I'm a challenge.

"Face it, Slade, the only reason you would pick me over Red X is because you would get more fulfillment just watching me suffer while slowly bending to your ways. You want me as your apprentice because I'm the one person who won't easily submit to you. I'm a work in progress and the very reason you just won't crumble me up and throw me out of your head is because that would mean I would win…and you…would lose." Robin smiled while saying, "And I know how much you hate to lose."

Red X smiled when seeing the triumph on Robin's face. If he wasn't Red X right now, he would have said something nasty to Slade. But the kid kept his mysterious silence and became the only audience to this fight. And for some odd reason, Jake liked being quiet. He liked being the listener and watcher.

An ominous silence filled the dark room as the adversaries stared at each other. The mood swiftly changed as Slade gave a chuckle of satisfaction. Robin's proud smirk dropped to a small frown. "Very good, my young apprentice," Slade said evilly. "You're thinking capabilities have really developed over the years. I'm pleased. Your theory is an excellent one."

Red X sighed before asking, "You're going to add a 'but' to this, aren't you? You never make life easy for anyone." That silence had been broken quite easily.

"Even if you are annoying and a nuisance, Jake," Slade said to him unemotionally, "You are correct. My test for Robin has not been forgotten." He smiled wickedly under his mask when adding, "And I'll give you one bit of advice for you, Robin, before I present your examination. The only way to defeat this person is for the person to actually kill the person who first killed her."

"What do you freaking mean?" Red X yelled at Slade in frustration. "Do you ever stop talking in riddles?"

Slade's only answer was a sinister laugh. Suddenly the lights shinning on the man turned off and he disappeared into the darkness. At the same time another set of lights blinked on behind them. Both boys spun quickly around with weapons ready in their hands.

Shivers went down Robin's spine as he saw the lone girl in the spotlight. Her cold, light blue eyes stared blankly at both of them. Her eyes were as pale as her vampire white skin. Her fading blonde hair hung straggly around her body that swayed slowly in the light. But her creepy, "The Ring" like look wasn't what made Robin so freaked out of her. It was the dry blood on her face and forehead with an open bullet hole in it.

"No!" Red X barely breathed as his hand holding onto his X started to shake slightly. Robin glanced to him with confusion. Did Red X know this disturbing person? "Its…her," Red X said. Robin looked back to the girl and suddenly realized who she was with a gasp. They were in trouble now.

A/N: I LOVE cliffhangers! I'm sure you can guess who this zombie girl is. I'm so happy how this chapter worked out and that I have the ending planed out inside my head so perfectly. And if you like this fic, then please check out my new one, Speed Mixed With Smarts. And please review! Thanks!