I flopped on my back with a pained grunt. The dirt around me flew up into the air, coating the back of my sweaty neck with dust.

"I... I yield." I panted. I squinted against the bright blue sky. "Can I go back inside now?"

Robin, with his hands on his hips, leaned into my view, blocking out the sun. "Come on, we've only been training for fifteen minutes. I haven't even broken a sweat."

"Sorry I'm not as gifted in punching and kicking others as you are."

Robin offered a hand, and I accepted it and stood up.

"All right, one more time, then I'll let you be done for the day." Robin said.

I sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Robin smiled, a little too cheeky, and brought his fists up. I mirrored him. For a few moments, we stared at one another in tense silence. Finally, Robin stepped forward and threw a punch. I moved my head out of the way and grabbed his arm. I reeled my foot back and launched it for his face. He ducked out of the way, maneuvering behind me, and pulled his arm from my grasp. I turned and brought my arms up as he threw multiple, quick punches, each hitting my forearms. The last one, with the impact of a ferocious quarterback, nailed me in the stomach. I gasped and stumbled back, clutching my stomach and doubling over as I fought against the nausea and loss of breath. I reached for my energy pistols, only to remember that they sat off in the distance. I eyed them longingly as they rested on a large boulder. Cyborg had installed the bow transformation and taught me how to change into it; I wanted so badly to use it.

"I told you, no weapons allowed. This is strictly hand-to-hand combat." Robin said.

"If you're not careful, it'll turn into projectile vomit combat." I said.

"As tempting as that sounds... Come on. I'm wide open. Give me your best shot."

"My best shot is lying on top of a rock." Taking in a few deep, wheezy breaths, I forced myself to straighten. I charged toward Robin. I faked a punch, which he prepared to block for, but I instead took a step closer and shoved my shoulder into his chest. He stumbled back. I followed after him and threw a punch.

Robin stepped to the side, and I fell forward. I turned my head, uttering a gasp as Robin wrapped his arms around my torso and threw me. I tumbled to the ground and landed once again on my back.

"Okay! We're done!" I cried in my starfish pose.

"That was... decent." Robin said somewhere nearby. "You tend to get a little prideful when you manage to deal a hit, which can lead to trouble for you when they catch you off guard. Once you daze them up close, you should step back and switch to your guns. Attacking long-range is one of your stronger tactics."

"I would appreciate this much more if you hadn't tried to rupture my appendix."

"How else can I expect you to learn all you can?" Robin helped me up again, my gun holster in his other hand. I clipped on the holster, and Robin returned with a towel and a bottle of water. I wiped my face and neck with the towel, staining the white with dirt streaks, and gulped down half of my water in a few gulps.

"Hey, Robin," I said, "how would you feel if I told you you'd be expecting some... unwanted company soon?"

"Um..." Robin said. "Can I get some more information?"

"Well... Today's going to be a blast from the past you don't want, and the other one won't happen for a few more episodes, but it's definitely worse."

"Great, thanks. That cleared everything up."

"I can't tell you everything. It'll ruin the fun." I stopped, thinking about yesterday's episode. I washed down the bitter taste rising in my throat with the remainder of my water. I capped the bottle and started walking back to Titans Tower.

"Cyborg told me about your encounter with Brother Blood." Robin said, catching up with me. He lowered his voice, taking into consideration of if this scene might appear in the new episode. "Is... Is there someone else here that's from your world?"

"I'm led to believe so. Maybe if he had just said he knew about me, I'd have thought maybe Slade spread it around like a nasty rumor. But Brother Blood knew how the entire episode would play out. If this character is helping out the bad guys, this season, even the rest of the series, could take a completely different turn- for you guys and me. I just wish I knew who they were and how they managed to get into this show."

Robin was at a loss for words; any time I spoke about my world, it left the others in a sort of existential crisis.

Our communicators chimed. We answered them, each responding with Cyborg's voice.

"The scanners have just picked up a break-in at a warehouse down by the docks." he said. "Ciela, you better be in the garage in the next thirty seconds unless you want to walk there."

I closed my communicator and draped my dirty towel over my shoulder.

"We'll have another training session tomorrow." Robin said.

I nodded. As Robin passed by me, I stuck my foot out. He snagged on it and stumbled a few steps. After catching his balance, he turned back to me with a glare.

"That's for throwing me like a discus." I said. I jogged past him and up to Titans Tower.


The T-Car and R-Cycle came to screeching halts; our opponent definitely knew we were here now. At the door to the warehouse, a black, masculine shadow turned to us. He slapped a device onto the warehouse door that whirred and spun until it had unlocked the door. The door slid open, and the man crawled inside. We raced to the door before it closed, and Cyborg pried it open using his super strength to let us inside. We followed the shadow to a broken elevator. It pulled out a grappling hook shaped like a red shuriken and used it to climb up the shaft. We stepped onto the top of the elevator.

"Hey, wait up!" Beast Boy called, lagging several feet behind. Raven, ignoring his pleas, used her astral magic to force the elevator to climb the floors. I faced Beast Boy and stretched my arm out to him as much as I could. He transformed into a squirrel and leaped through the door. His tiny paws clung to my jacket sleeve, and he scurried up my arm and sat on my shoulder, pausing a moment to catch his breath before he jumped down and changed to his human self. "I think there's this thing called 'patience' that you should really learn."

"I know all about patience from having to deal with you." Raven mumbled.

We hopped off on the correct floor, just in time to see the shadow crouch in front of a door covered with red-hot lasers. He placed a reflector device that created an opening for him to sneak through. One-by-one, we maneuvered through the small space. As I passed through, the heat of the lasers traveled to my face. Something sizzled for a split second, and I wondered if it was loose hairs burning off my scalp. I shuddered the thought away.

Cyborg crawled through the opening last. His large body bumped into the device and destroyed it, reverting the lasers back to their previous pattern.

"Stop! You can't run forever!" Robin called.

The shadow finally stopped and turned back to us. He took a few steps back, allowing the moonlight to bathe him. The light reflected harshly off his white, skull-like mask. The red X's adorning his clothing glowed dimly.

"I should say the same thing to you." Red X said.

"Hold on a minute! I thought the Red X thing belonged to Robin!" Beast Boy said.

"Not anymore." Red X thrust his hands to us and shot several Red X shurikens at us.

"Titans, go!"

Everyone except for Raven and I leaped out of the way of the shurikens. They trailed the ground, leading to the two of us before they formed a tight circle around us. Quickly and one by one, they exploded. Raven stretched her arms out and created a dome from, her magic that protected us from the explosions.

Once they subsided, Red X lunged at us. Raven cast a shield in front of us, but Red X phased through like a flickering shadow and appeared behind us. I reached for an energy pistol, but Red X grabbed my wrist and yanked it up.

"Nice try." he said. Even though it wasn't Robin underneath there, the person still had his voice.

Swinging my other arm around, I smashed it into the crook of his elbow, releasing his hold on me. I threw another punch, but Red X shadowed again and reappeared behind me. He swiped his hand, pulling off my gun holster belt, and threw it across the room. It skidded between two large craters.

"Not so tough without those now, are you?" Red X said.

"I still have these." I said, bringing my fists up. But I won't last five seconds against this guy, especially since his skills match up with Robin's.

Cyborg football tackled Red X, giving me a clear path to the craters. I sprinted over and crouched down. I reached inside and blindly searched the floor, but I couldn't grab my belt. I pulled my arm out and tried to push the craters out of the way, but the weight of the multiples stacked on top of each other made it impossible.

Something moved between the cracks. I yelped and lost my balance, landing on my butt. Beast Boy, as a snake, slithered out, his tail wrapped around my belt.

Beast Boy changed back to his human self and offered my belt. "Looking for this?" he said.

"I thought we'd agreed that you wouldn't change into a snake again." I said, swiping my belt back and clipping it on in one try.

"You said that about the giant python. That was a Garter snake."

I pulled out my energy pistols and clicked them together by pressing them side-by-side. They lengthened out, shorter than my arm span by about a foot, and the curves slimmed down, creating a wide arc. A piece of string dangled from the top, and I pinched it between my fingers and attached it to the bottom.

I looked up as the other Titans surrounded Red X. They used their attacks simultaneously: Starfire and her starbolts, Raven and her astral magic, and Cyborg with his cannon. Red X pressed a button on his utility belt and shadowed away.

I turned and focused on the top of a crater mountain, the boxed stacked neatly like a pyramid. I pulled the bow back, and a red laser formed.

"Go, Robin!" I called as I launched the arrow. Red X reappeared on the top of the craters and dodged the arrow. Robin climbed up to the metal support beams above us and lunged at Red X, knocking them both to the ground.

Robin climbed to his feet before Red X, and he grabbed the mask and shoved him into the wall.

"Who are you?!" he hissed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Red X said. His hand crackled with red electricity. He grabbed Robin, consuming him with a massive shock, and shoved him into a crater. He plowed into it and laid in the rubble.

The other Titans attacked, but Red X dealt with them quickly. Red X kicked Robin off the crater pieces and fished a gun out. Going back to my energy pistols, I shot at Red X. He jumped into the air and threw a few shurikens at me. I shot down a few, causing them to explode on impact. One cut through the air and sliced across my thigh. I cried out as my legs buckled and I dropped to one knee.

"It's a shame you're not evil, or else I'd like to get to know you better." Red X said, walking towards me until he stood over me.

"You'd have a hard time keeping up with all the surprises I've got." I said. I reached out and yanked a shuriken from the ground. I stabbed it into the center of Red X's utility belt. It fizzled with a few sparks. Red X jumped back and pulled out the shuriken. He tapped the center several times to try and get his shadow teleportation to work, but all he managed was a mildly flickering appearance. Grumbling under his breath, Red X ran for the rooftops. Robin managed to free himself from the X wrapped around his feet, and he chased after him.

"Are you damaged?" Starfire said, kneeling at my side. She forced me to sit down and stretch my leg out so she could examine my cut. The shuriken only danced across my skin, leaving something that looked like a very long paper cut. "We shall get this treated once we returned to the Tower."

She stood us up. Draping one arm around her shoulders and placing hers around my waist, Starfire flew us up to the roof and reassembled with the others.

"Did you get him?" I said to Robin.

"No. He got away." Robin said.

"Or... did you get away?" Beast Boy said, eyeing Robin suspiciously. "How do we know that you're the real Robin?"

"You saw me fighting him, didn't you?"

"Sure, but the last time we did, you were a hologram." Beast Boy stepped closer and slugged Robin in the arm.

"OW! Beast Boy!" Robin rubbed his bicep.

Beast Boy shrunk back and chuckled. "Okay... So maybe you're not a hologram... But I've still got my eye on you."

"I'm no longer Red X. That was a stupid mistake, and I supposedly left it in the past... but now it's come back to haunt me."


Starfire knelt beside me and wrapped multiple layers of gauze around my leg while I sat on the couch with it propped on the table, listening to Cyborg's confusion as he stared at pictures of Red X displayed on the screen.

"If Robin's not Red X anymore, then who's the dude prancing around in his old leotard?" Cyborg said.

"No need to search madly for answers any further!" Beast Boy said, shoving Cyborg aside and showing us a white board. He flipped it onto the other side, showing a large diagram map. Red X's face was in the middle, and several versions of Robin were taped all over. "Go ahead and take a look at all the possibilities. Obviously one of them must be the new Red X. I'm going with the bionic monkey."

Beast Boy tapped his knuckle against the picture of a monkey dressed like Robin with metallic arms and screws poking out where his ears should be.

"I don't think so." Raven lifted her hand and consumed the board with her astral magic. It spun rapidly, knocking Beast Boy in the back and launching him over the couch. "Red X could be anyone, whether there's a connection between them and Robin or not. It could take weeks to figure things out."

"Unless..." Beast Boy poked his head out from behind the couch, next to me, and rested his arms on the top. "Spill the beans, Ciela. Who's the new Red X?"

"Actually... I don't know." I said.

The other four Titans stared at me, flabbergasted.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Cyborg cried, shattering the silence. "I thought you knew anything and everything there was about this show!"

"I do..." I said. "But in my world, it was never confirmed who the new Red X was. I'm sorry, but it's a mystery that's beyond my capabilities."

"Like I said: bionic monkey. I guarantee it!" Beast Boy said. I sighed and shoved his shoulder, causing him to fall again.

The door opened and Robin entered the room. We fell to a hush as he made his way to the front.

"There! I have finished your treatment! I hope I have secured everything properly." Starfire said.

"Uh..." I sweatdropped as I stared at the bundle of gauze wrapped around my thigh. It looked like a giant ball of cotton candy, and my leg was the stick. "A few layers is perfectly fine, Starfire. You didn't have to use the entire roll. I just got a little cut, not a cannonball wound."

Starfire pouted and worked to unravel my leg. I turned my attention back to Robin, who typed furiously on the computer keyboard. He pressed a final button, wiping out the Red X photos and displaying an X-shaped atom strand.

"What's that?" Beast Boy said.

"Xenothium. This is what Red X is after. It's... the fuel of the suit."

Raven and Starfire gasped. Beast Boy grumbled, completely clueless about the material.

"Xenothium?! You powered your suit with Xenothium?! Are you nuts?!" Cyborg cried. "Tell me you're not stupid enough to mess around with one of the most dangerous chemical compounds in the world!"

Robin exhaled sharply. "Like I said, it was a mistake." Robin pressed another key and brought up a picture of the gun Red X stole from the warehouse. "The item Red X stole was a scanner that allows him to track Xenothium. It can locate any amount within a ten-mile radius."

"That black ballerina's not the only one that can find Xenothium." Cyborg unplugged the block in the center of his chest and attached it to the side of a computer. "I'm installing scanners into all of your communicators."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Robin turned and headed for the door. "I can find the Xenothium on my own."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Raven said.

"The same way I did it before." The door closed behind Robin.

"Is this satisfactory?" Starfire said, leaning back to let me admire her work.

"Perfect." I said, setting my foot on the ground. Starfire unraveled ninety-percent of the gauze, leaving enough to cover the cut, as well as a few inches around. "Thank you."

I stood up carefully. The fitting wrapping absorbed any possible pain, making it all right to walk without discomfort.

"I've set coordinates for places where each of us can search for any possible Xenothium." Cyborg said, stepping away from the computer. "If we want any chance of catching Red X, we should start our search now."


"There's nothing here." I said as I scanned the library books piled neatly on the shelves while speaking into the communicator. "Although I did find an interesting series that I should check out the next time I'm here. I wonder if my school library card is valid in different dimensions."

"Ew. Unless they're comic books, I better not even have to look at them." Beast Boy said.

"Can we please talk about something important?"Raven hissed.

"Titans! I know where Red X will strike next. I sent you all coordinates for where to gather."Robin said.

"We'll get there as soon as-"Cyborg said, but his line cut off abruptly.

"Cyborg? Are you still present?" Starfire said.

"Raven, go to where Cyborg is and check things out. Hurry. The rest of you, come here quickly."Robin said.

I switched on the radar and exited the library. I scanned the buildings and set my sights on one of the tallest. I circled around the building and found a series of ladders built into the side that traveled up to the top.

Oh, great... This again.

Upon reaching the roof, I scrambled onto the solid ground and laid there for a few moments, allowing my heart rate to return to normal. After the world stopped spinning, I stood and walked around the circular area. Turning a final corner, I saw Robin standing at the edge of the roof and overlooking the city. His cape covered his torso, cloaking him in black, as it billowed in the night wind.

"Do you have any idea who this new Red X could be?" I said, slowly scooching closer to the edge. After closing in at five feet, the nausea kicked in and I stopped.

"No clue." Robin said. He sighed. "I can't believe I didn't lock that stupid thing away tighter than I did. I should've suspected someone would want to get their hands on it. I wish I never made Red X in the first place."

"You did have the chance, but you chose not to listen to me." I said. My words weren't received well. I swallowed my sarcasm. "You made Red X with good intentions. You wanted to stop Slade and keep the city safe from his schemes, and you accomplished that. While Red X wasn't the best idea, what's important is you learned from your mistakes and you'll never make them again. How else can you expect to learn all you can?"

"You really need to stop giving me back my words."

"But am I wrong?"

Robin sighed in defeat.

"Man, I'm tearing up behind this mask." We turned to the voice and saw Red X standing above us. "Why watch a sappy soap opera when you losers are good enough entertainment?"

Robin pulled out his bo-staff. "Stay behind me." he said, holding the iron bar in front of me.

I gulped and looked over the edge. "Can you suggest a better idea?"

Red X jumped down, and he and Robin charged toward each other. Robin swung his bo-staff, but Red X ducked underneath it and shoved his foot into Robin's back, throwing him into the wall.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Just leave your little friend to me." Red X said. "Hope you're not afraid of falling either."

Red X shoved my shoulders hard. I lost my balance and tumbled over the edge. I tried to scream, but the wind forced its way into my throat and made it hard for me to breathe. Midway through, I landed in a pair of arms.

"Forgive me for saying this, but it seems you enjoy falling from extended heights." Starfire said.

I breathed a relieved chuckled. "You think I'd be used to it by now." I said. Starfire brought me to the ground. "Robin's up there dealing with Red X. You'd better hurry."

Starfire nodded and took off up the side of the building. I watched her small, purple silhouette disappear over the roof.


I stepped through the observatory doors. As I exhaled, a puff of visible air escaped my lips. I rubbed my arms and shivered.

Why the heck is it so cold in here?!

"Look at all of these lovely targets." a voice echoed from above. I hid behind a crater. I looked up and saw a large telescope, now altered into a cannon. "Just imagine them... Going about their lives, innocent and carefree, completely unaware that they're soon to meet their end."

I heard yelling, but it was too distant and muffled for me to discern words.

"As if I should be concerned about your little friends. I doubt they're resistant to two tons of Xenothium. Now, be a good girl and bite your tongue.

I emerged from the crater and crept to a nearby staircase. I climbed slowly. Near the top, I pressed close to the wall as two workers dressed in white hazmat suits waddled by- minions of the mastermind behind all of this, Professor Chang. Robin came to him looking for Xenothium, and he sent the Titans and Red X into a trap so he could be the real villain of this episode.

"Prepare to fire!" I peeked underneath the railing and saw Professor Chang pumping his fist from a small cockpit built into the side of the cannon. The cannon hummed, rumbling the ground, and I saw the tip of the muzzle begin to glow. "Steady..."

Robin swung in from the large opening in the side of the observatory and rammed his feet into Professor Chang's chest. Chang stumbled back, accidentally kicking the cannon's control stick. The cannon redirected higher up before it fired. The thick, Xenothium laser cut through the top of Titans Tower, leaving a crescent-shaped dent in the center of the top.

Chang growled. "Attack!"

Many of Chang's minions charged for Robin, spraying thick, red goo at him that hardened on impact and long cattle prods. While he fought them, Chang redirected the cannon to aim it at Robin. Using his grappling hook, he tried to escape the end of the cannon, but it followed him wherever he went. Chang finally fired, melting a hole into the roof of the observatory and sending the Xenothium energy off into the sky and missing Robin. He swung his legs, gaining momentum, and threw himself onto the ledge high above. He sprinted across the railing, dodging the cannon's consecutive lasers.

I climbed up the rest of the staircase and hurried over to the Titans.

"Ciela, you have come to rescue us!" Starfire cried, her head the only thing that wasn't encased in ice.

"I'll do my best." I whispered. I examined the pods my friends were trapped in, but I couldn't seem to find a release switch anywhere. I saw a small terminal next to me, but it demanded a password that could easily beat the world record for longest word.

"Looks like I missed a Titan." Professor Chang said behind me. The heat of the cannon's muzzle burned my scalp. I turned and face the large, glowing hole. "I'll take care of this in no time."

A barrage of X-shaped shurikens burrowed themselves into the cockpit's control board, and it began to short-circuit.

"I'm glad I got here in time." Red X said, perching on a railing above.

"Yeah... Uh, thanks." Robin said beside him.

"Don't mention it. Just know you owe me big time."

"Get them!" Professor Chang cried, pounding his fists against the control board like a whiny child.

A swarm of minions climbed up to the high ledge and toward Red X and Robin. A few more approached me. I pulled out my energy pistols and transformed them into my sword. One minion squirted the red goo at me. I ran around and behind a few of his friends, and they were buried in a pile of the goo. A minion jabbed at me with the long cattle prod. I swiped my sword up, catching it with my blade, and swung up. I slammed the butt of my sword into the minion's chest and yanked the cattle prod out of his hands. I shoved the cattle prod into his stomach, electrocuting him as well as a few others. The minions lay unconscious around me. I took the cattle prod and pressed it into the side of the computer. It sparked and sputtered before it died. The pods opened, spreading bone-chilling air and dropping the temperature into the negative. The ice melted off my friends as the pods opened.

Cyborg groaned. "My head hurts." he said. "That must've been some nap..."

"Why is it so cold in here?" Beast Boy shivered.

"Some people try to be the bad guys, but evil just doesn't fit them." Robin approached us, Red X's utility belt clutched in his hand.

"Where's Red X?" Raven said.

"He got away... But that doesn't matter right now. I'm glad you're all okay."

"Glad to be okay-" Cyborg said, then cast his eye above us and out the observatory opening. "What happened to the Tower?!"

"Nothing a little reconstruction can't fix." I chuckled.

"Can we leave now? I think I'm catching a cold." Beast Boy sniffled.