A/N: Guys, I am SO sorry for not updating for a whole month without any warning. My dumb computer suddenly had some problems with its keyboard. I couldn't get it fixed till one of my computer savvy friends changed the keyboard last night. So I'm giving you two chapters in one weekend because I have them all typed up and ready to go. Enjoy and forgive the delay!

Disclaimer: Own, I do not.

Chapter 9 The Break Up

Journal Entry 10

How long does this usually take with her?

I read Kid Wicked's note with a grin. With a sigh I leaned my head back against the wall next to the girl's dressing room. Of course we had been forced into shopping with Arabell. The girl was stubborn as a bull.

"Girls usually take hours to shop," I told the mute. Before I registered what I was saying, I added, "Rose always took forever when she dragged me off to the mall."

Kid Wicked raised an eyebrow in interest. It was the first emotion I'd seen from him besides annoyance since we landed in Sydney. As soon as we had stepped out of the airport, of course Red X had other important things to do rather than baby sit us. There was no surprise there. Even though he would have been a valuable tool in our planning to rescue the Titans, I knew the thief wasn't likely to help us, or wasn't expected to at least.

It took me a second to get over what I had just said and answer Kid Wicked's silent question. The guilt I felt for putting Rose in a coma was sometimes too much for me to stand. I hated to bring her up because it would just dig up all unwanted and untamed emotions that were hard to control.

I regretted ever meeting her sometimes. I miss her so much. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be in that coma. She would be a normal freshmen girl in high school right now. She would be happy with another boy and surrounded by friends. She wouldn't be lying lifelessly on a bed somewhere in a hospital in the States under Slade's constant monitoring. I had put her there. That fact was like a 100 pound weight pressing against my shoulders each day.

"Rose is my girlfriend," I explained softly to Kid Wicked. "We grew up together before I even knew I was a clone." Kid Wicked noted the pained tone in my voice and nodded in understanding. That's another thing that was so cool about the guy. It was like he understood everything you said.

Ask her how long she is going to be, Kid Wicked wrote down on his pad for me to read.

"Hey, Arabell!" I called out to the girl.

"Yeah?" Arabell's voice responded from one of the many stalls.

"We're dying from old age out here," I said. "How much longer will this thing take? Do I even want to know why it takes you so long to change?"

"I'm done," Arabell said. Kid Wicked and I let out relieved sighs and looked toward the door to the dressing room. The girl shyly stepped out of the room to show off her new outfit she had bought. My eyes went wide when seeing her.

She wore a collared green sleeveless shirt that showed off her slim midriff. A cute orange mini skirt with bluish greenish tights covered her legs. Some cool looking orange boots adorned her feet. All in all, the outfit was original, stylish, and great on her! I was surprised with myself when thinking about how hott she was.

"You look really good," I told her honestly with a smile. I had to quickly turn away to hide my flushed cheeks when realizing what I had just said. Smooth, Gene! I really needed to work on my thinking before speaking technique.

With a giggle, Arabell put a hand on my shoulder and said with a teasing smile, "Thanks." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kid Wicked sigh and head for the door of the store. Quickly, I bolted to join him in the retreat. I felt a small spark of frustration from Arabell before she followed after us.

The day was amazingly bright and warm that afternoon in Sydney. Silently, I lead both my team mates down the sidewalk with my hands in my pockets. I fell into my own thoughts and absently started to lag behind my team.

I couldn't believe I had felt that way towards Arabell. I hadn't had attractiveness to anyone besides Rose since 7th grade. The feeling was as bizarre now than it was then. But I didn't want or could afford a crush on the girl. Rose was still my girlfriend. I could see her and me together till the very end. And I couldn't get romantic with anyone at the moment because I could send them straight to the hospital. It was killing my conscious just having to be the leader of two teens.

I knew I had to get over what had happened six long months ago with the wind controlling kid. I knew what happened to Zach and Rose wasn't my fault. That psychotic kid had put them in the hospital, but for some reason I just blamed myself. The whole thing was just tormenting my mind. Why couldn't I just shove my guilt aside and get on with my life?

"You look awfully down today, sir," someone suddenly said from in front of me. I lifted my head in surprise right before I walked into the girl. I put on my brakes and watched in wonder as the girl took off her black top hat and pulled out a perfect red rose. "I hope this brightens your day, sir," the girl said as she offered the rose to me.

The girl was at least a foot or two taller than me. She had dark brown, almost black, hair that parted half way down and tied with white strips of cloth. She wore a black and red neck tie, white sleeveless shirt, jeans cut off at her knees, and worn down bright red Converse. Her mysterious green eyes took me in with a hint of slyness as she flashed me a bright smile.

"I've always wondered how magicians do that," Arabell said as she and Kid Wicked came to my side when noticing I wasn't with them. Hesitantly, I reached for the rose. My fingers barely touched the stem when it suddenly shriveled up and turned an ugly shade of brown. I retracted my hand with a slight gasp.

There was a second where I felt the girl magician's sense of confidence switch to pity when our eyes met. "Terribly sorry, sir," she said while throwing the flower into the air. I heard Arabell gasp in delight when seeing the withered rose burst into a pure white dove. The magician was good!

All three of us looked back to the magician with smiles on our faces. The girl wasn't done with her show just yet. She took out a deck of cards from her pocket. She bent the deck with one hand till the cards spurted out over her head. I watched, mystified, as the cards turned into drops of rain. The water lightly cooled the three of us as it sprinkled onto our shoulders.

The girl gave a bow as we applauded her for her skill. A single card floated down between us. She snatched it out of the air and handed it to me with a sly grin. I gave her a weary look and took the card. Arabell and Kid Wicked looked over my shoulder as I read it out loud.

"What do you think, shrimp?" I read in confusion. I shot my head back up with my eyes going wide in shock. Standing beside the magician was Red X.

"You should see your face right now," Red X said with a chuckle. "It's a true Kodak moment."

"How did she do that?" Arabell asked before I could get my head together.

"Simple," the magician said, "Magic."

"Wait," I said before Arabell could ask another question. "Who's this, Red X?" I asked while pointing to the girl magician. Apparently the two knew each other somehow.

"The name is Petra Alexander," the magician introduced herself with another dramatic bow, "But you may call me by my stage name, Sleight. I'm glad to be of a service to ya', mate." I shot Red X a quick warning glare. He had better get explaining.

"No worries, shrimp," Red X said, catching my drift. "Petra was a high school foreign exchange student that I met years ago," he explained. "I was the only one who knew she used real magic back then. When we flew over here, I decided to go give her a visit when Arabell dragged you off to go shopping. It ended up she knows about this place the Titans and others have been taken to. She has decided to help us save the do-gooders."

"How much do you know of this place?" I asked Petra. It didn't hurt to be extra careful and skeptical. I wasn't always treated with answers or easy ways to do things. I hated to be so disbelieving, but it was a habit by now. My life was too hectic for me to trust everything that offered help.

"I know it's really an Academy for super powered teens," Petra answered matter-of-factly. She glanced around before saying quietly, "I'm afraid I can't tell any more of what I know here. They have cameras and spies all over Australia and the islands around their base. I've been tracked and spied on many times. We need to get to my place if you want to know more."

"How much time do we have till we need to be at the airport?" I asked Arabell.

Without having to look at a clock or anything, she answered quickly, "We have exactly one hour, 14 minutes, and 26 seconds." We all stared at her in surprise till she said with a blush, "Since I can control time, I always know what time it is. Sorry if it scared you guys."

"I wish I had an internal clock," Red X said. I felt his grin under his mask.

"Okay," I said, trying to get everyone back on track, "Let's quickly get to your place, Petra. We need to know everything about this Academy if we want to rescue the Titans. But we don't have much time. Let's hurry there."

"Sure thing, mate," she said with a steady nod, "Just follow me." Soon, the whole team was jogging behind the magician, on our way to her home.

"This poor kid has no clue what he is getting into. He'll be lucky if he even gets into Stellar Academy," I thought I heard Petra say.

"Hey! At least I'm trying!" I protested to the girl, jogging up beside her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, clearly confused. "I didn't say anything."

"Oh," I said, embarrassed completely. I could feel my cheeks flush as her green eyes critically narrowed down on me. "I…I just thought I…are you sure you didn't say anything just now?"

"Great. Our leader is being strange again," I thought I heard someone say behind me. I glanced back and saw that only Kid Wicked was listening to Petra's and mine conversation. I looked back ahead with confusion spreading over my face. Kid Wicked couldn't have said that because he was mute. Then how come I had heard him so clearly?

It was just what I needed, a power surge. Slade told me I'd have one of those. To quickly get my powers up to date with Raven's, he told me I'd have random times where I wouldn't be able to control my abilities or be forced to deal with new ones I didn't know I had. It seems like telepathy was starting to kick in. Now I had to deal with blips of my friend's thoughts, and so far they weren't all that encouraging.

What else could go wrong?

Of course, everything that could go wrong did. We rounded a corner and were met face to face with Daphne Hawthorne, her gun squad, and two other faces I hadn't expected to see anytime soon. With that wicked grin planted on his face, the air bending kid raised his hand to strike at my team and me. Right beside him and standing proudly was Cyborg from the Teen Titans.

I was too stunned to react to what I thought would be a blast of air. Instead, the concrete in front of me sprung up from the earth and wrapped around my waist. The move was so quick, I had no time to fight back as the piece of earth enclosed around my waist flung me into a nearby brick building back first, pinning me there. The move knocked the air right out of me. As I gasped for a breath, two more pieces of concrete morphed themselves out of the ground and forced my wrists above my head.

My team watched my two second take down with wide eyes of shock and fear. Arabell actually let out a short scream as she saw me slam into the building. I barely felt their emotions, though. My mind was knocked into high gear as my adrenaline shot right through the roof.

I was ready to get out my rock bindings and kick some butt, when suddenly Daphne's pistol barrel was pressed against my forehead. My gut did a twist as I felt her choking emotion of anger engulf my senses. She could have easily pulled that trigger and killed me there. The end. No more running after Gene Summers. I was at her mercy. The feeling scared me half to death. Good thing I didn't freeze up.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at my team hurriedly. "Run away and split up! Don't let them catch you!" The stupid teens didn't move at first. "Go!" I screamed urgently at them. This seemed to spur them on. I grinned in relief when seeing the four suddenly take off in sprints without even second thoughts. Hopefully they wouldn't get caught.

"You are just one big pain in the ass!" Daphne hissed at me, pressing the gun harder against my skull. She turned to the air bending look-a-like teen and asked, "Do you have him?"

The teen had both his hands out stretched toward me. "Yeah," he answered the woman, that elfish grin never leaving his face. He slightly squeezed one of his hands, chuckling evilly when seeing me squirm as the earth pinning my waist against the building tightened. "Go ahead, Hawthorne," the boy told Daphne. "Cyborg and I got the pest."

"Don't do anything stupid, Ted," Daphne told him sternly before ordering her men to follow her in her chase after my team. Soon, the place was quiet except for the light splash of waves on the wooden deck on the other side of the road and the seagulls soaring overhead.

"So what do you think we should do with him?" the kid, Ted, asked Cyborg as if they were new best friends.

"What the heck are you doing, Cyborg?" I yelled angrily at the metal teen. "Don't you remember this psycho path from six months ago? Why are you helping him?"

"What is he talking about?" Cyborg asked Ted with genuine confusion. At first I didn't want to believe the vibe I was getting off him, but it was true. Cyborg didn't know who I was anymore! Something had happened to him. Were the other Titans just as brainwashed as him as well? I had no idea, but now I knew why Raven had told me to hurry. This was just insane!

"You must be talking about my brother, Derek," Ted said smoothly.

"Brother?" I asked, trying to get my head back together.

I gave a wince as the rock around my waist suddenly tightened some more. My mind was still trying to get around the fact that I was captured, my team could soon be following after me, and Cyborg was doing nothing to help me. There was a second where I almost just totally freaked out. I had to tell myself to calm down and keep a level head. Being a spaz wouldn't get me anywhere. I needed a plan.

"I have three brothers, actually," Ted said casually, as if he was talking to a buddy of his, "One kid for each element. You've already met up with Derek."

I didn't buy into his fake assurance. He was having a great deal of trouble keeping the rock around my waist and hands against the building. Sweat was working its way down his forehead from his extensive use of power. He wasn't like his wind bending brother who had absolute control over his abilities.

"Didn't Derek give you a message before we left?" Cyborg asked Ted with a wicked grin.

"Oh yeah," Ted said, giving me an identical evil smile as his brother from six months ago, "He told me," he paused for a gulp of air, "To finish the job."

I was a step ahead of him. Just as he squeezed his hands, I latched my powers onto the rock around my waist and held on tight. Ted looked at me with anger flashing through his green eyes. I grunted as I forced the earth to break up and crumble. Ted tried to put the rock back into place, but by now he had used too much power. He was too weak to fight back and keep me there.

With a loud shout of distress, Ted let go of the hold he had on the rock. The smashed pieces of dirt fell back to the earth below me as I pushed off the wall with one foot extended. My heel was an inch away from colliding into Ted's forehead when suddenly I was roughly blasted with Cyborg's sonic cannon from the side.

The force of the cannon hitting my shoulder sent me soaring into the air. I let out a short yelp of surprise before hitting the cement ground. I painfully rolled down the road a few times before finally coming to a stop on my side. With a groan, I got to my feet. That hadn't gone exactly how I planned it too.

The rock below me suddenly shot into the air from Ted's power. I was forced to my knees before the rock platform beneath me stopped two stories above ground. The laws of physics did its wonderful job keeping me in motion. I found myself airborne again.

The air around my body rushed past me as gravity pulled me back down toward earth. I quickly got my wits back together and said my mantra right before impacting the ground. The second I felt my body stop its deathly descend, I shot toward Cyborg at tremendous speed. The guy had no time to react. I grabbed his shoulders and levitated high into the air.

"This isn't you're fight," I told Cyborg. "Sorry, Cy!" With that said, I flung the teen into the air. He gave a panicked yell. I did a roundhouse kick in mid air that sent the poor Titan soaring toward the ocean. I flinched as I watched him hit the surface of the water with a giant splash. Hopefully he wouldn't remember any of this later on.

I looked below to see where Ted was waiting for me. He wasn't there. I swore under my breath while twisting around to confront the presence that had snuck up on me. Ted had a scowl planted on his face now. I guess he wasn't too happy to have his assistant thrown into the ocean. He stood on a slab of dirt that was floating steadily a few yards away from me. Did I forget to mention we were around three stories high in the air?

Ted didn't waste time in attacking. He wasn't like Derek, I quickly found out. Derek had been out to submit to his blood lust. Ted was just out to do his duty. He didn't want to stick around to watch me die a slow and painful death. He just wanted it done.

With a battle yell, Ted lifted both her arms. I watched in alarm as chunks of earth below us cracked away from the deserted road and lifted upward till they were floating next to Ted. I had thought that staying in the air would prevent him from getting too close. Now I saw my mistake.

I crossed my arms in front of me just as the hunks of earth flew at me. The first hit was harder than what I had predicted. It sent me spiraling backwards out of control. It took me a second or two of concentration to steady myself and face my opponent. My eyes widened in fright when I saw one last piece of concrete was heading straight for me.

Thinking fast, I locked my power onto the giant hunk of earth and pushed it back at Ted with a grunt. His eyes narrowed in frustration and pushed back with more power. It took everything in me to keep my hold on the rock and stand my ground…or place in the air. Just levitating was hard for me to do at this point.

The rock locked in both our powers started to break up as we pushed against it. It must had been five minutes of pushing before the rock suddenly crumbled enough so we couldn't hold it up. Our powers must have collided against each other for a brief second when this happened, because suddenly both of us were flying away from each other in out of control manners.

I landed in the salty waters of the ocean face first. Water flooded my nose and mouth as I was quickly submerged. I desperately struggled to the surface for air. With a giant gasp, I broke the surface and started to choke uncontrollably. Salt water stung my eyes and nose, making me wince.

BAM!

I didn't even see my attacker coming. Cyborg had jumped off a nearby dock and slammed right into me, knocking me back into the water without any warning at all. Panic flashed through me as Cyborg's giant hands wrapped themselves around my shoulders as he pushed me toward the ocean floor. My lungs burned for air as we plummeted downward.

I brought both my legs up to my chest then pushed off the robotic teen. I didn't stick around to see if he was okay. I shot toward the surface in desperation. The edges of my vision were blackening just before I reached the surface. Quickly, I swam to the wooden dock and grabbed the edge of a slimy plank with both hands to pull myself up.

I didn't get the chance to set foot on that deck. I was just pulling myself up when both my feet were engulfed in something hard and with weight. I looked down to see that I was being pulled down my Ted's earth bending powers. I turned my gaze to the beach and saw Ted standing there with a dark expression on his face. He was going to drown me!

"Crap!" I hissed while latching onto another part of the plank to secure my place there. The pull on my legs started to make my arms burn from holding onto the plank. I gritted my teeth and held on for my life, once again trying to beat Ted with perseverance. But this wasn't going to be a battle I would win.

"Ready to join the fish?" Cyborg asked from above me.

With a gasp, I looked up to see the Titan looming ominously over me. Icy fear shot down my spine, instantly making me shiver. Cyborg lifted a metal foot and slammed it down onto my fingers gripping the end of the plank.

"No! Cyborg, stop!" I shouted at him. "Don't do this!" My fingers stung and throbbed from the pressure under his foot. He didn't listen as he started to slowly push them to the edge. My brain desperately tried to come up with something to help me. But I had nothing to levitate, nothing to fight with. I was defenseless and quickly losing this battle.

With one last stomp, Cyborg shoved my fingers off the edge of the plank. I tried to grab his leg or something before dropping, but it was useless. The earth around my legs pulled me under the water, sinking me deeper and deeper into its depths.

Like a pathetic caged animal, I struggled to get free. Nothing worked, though. My lungs longed for air as I wiggled, clawed, and fought for my freedom from the rock. I even at one time tried using my powers to loosen up the rock, but I was too tired to hold them there.

As I descended, my wrist started to burn and sting. For a second, I peered through the fuzzy salt water to see what was going on. A stream of diluted blood drifted from a symbol being burned into my wrist. It was the same red symbol that was on my other wrist!

This pushed me over the edge. I screamed madly into oblivion, letting out all my anger and frustration in one silent yell that was lost in the water. This surge of released emotion exploded the rock pulling me deeper into the ocean. I quickly found myself free.

I pushed for the surface even though I knew I wouldn't be able to make it in time. I still fought against the odds because that one-in-a-million-chance of living this was the only thing on my mind.

My lungs begged me for air as my vision started to darken. Every surge upward was like climbing a vertical cliff with weights as hands. Soon I just couldn't go on. My body started to shut down, preparing me for death.

Through the darkness pressing in upon my vision and mind, a hand tightly gripped my out stretched hand. I looked up and didn't register the face at the time. All I knew was that I was being rescued by someone. I let this person pull me upwards and to the surface. I knew this person would keep me alive.

Before I could peacefully slip into darkness, though, I finally realized who this person was. It was Slade. And with that last thought, I blacked out.

A/N: Next chapter, Robin and Starfire go at it. It's very exciting! Please review! Thanks!