Chapter 8 – The Truth Hurts

(Robin's PoV)

Raven had been acting rather strangely for the past few weeks. I mean really, Raven DOES NOT hum. But despite my best efforts I couldn't tale her. She always disappeared. As it turns out though, I didn't have to. The answer, or part of it, revealed itself one night when a robbery caught Raven unprepared.

It was about nine o' clock on a Friday night. We were all lounging about the tower when the alarms went off. Immediately everyone was on their feet and ready to go. Well, almost everyone.

"Where's Raven?"

The other Titans shook their heads. Just then the missing girl ran in looking flushed and out of breath. As we were running down the street I noticed her earrings. That was weird enough; Raven never wore jewelry. These were amethyst and looked expensive. Maybe even custom made because I couldn't remember ever seeing raven shaped earrings before. I moved over next to her.

"Raven, what are those?"

"They were a gift." She blushed

"Who gave them to you?"

"That is none of your business."

Raven moved over to join Cyborg and ignored me until we reached the park. A jewelry store on the other side had been robbed and I expected the thief to run through here. Several seconds later Red X came flying out of the trees and skidded to a stop just in front of us.

"Hey X, back for another whopping?"

"Beast Boy, you and your pathetic friends couldn't whop me if I let you."

He suddenly jumped forward, pushing a very surprised Starfire out of the way and ran off. We followed. Once I nearly thought we'd lost him when he turned into an alley. But we kept going. Quite suddenly we came around a corner and found ourselves face to face with Batman!

"Batman? What are you doing here? We don't need your help."

"Well that's a nice way to greet a mentor you haven't seen in over a year. Rest assured, I had no intention of taking your job. I came to Jump after the Joker but caught whoever this is instead."

The Dark Knight held a struggling, black-clad thief against the wall by a hand between his shoulder blades.

"Red X." Raven supplied the boy's name through clinched teeth.

"Well, I suppose there's no point to letting him go. If one of you wants to come over and hold him I'll be on my way."

Starfire steeped forward but Raven was faster. She appeared at X's feet in a swirl of darkness and placed her hand over Batman's. He looked at her doubtfully.

"Don't worry, I've got him."

Lines of black, the manifestation of Raven's power, wrapped themselves around the thief. I handed her the cuffs and she locked them firmly around X's wrists to further restrain him. Only then did Batman remove his hand. Raven pushed X toward me.

"He's your thief Robin. And I think you should unmask him."

Batman, contrary to his word, had remained. As I reached up to remove the mask he placed a hand on my shoulder in congratulations. As X's true face was revealed I heard several gasps. Beast Boy and Terra were looking at the unmasked thief with horrified anger on their faces. Raven, standing at my side, had gone deathly pale. She gave X a glare that ought to have made him bust into flames. But the effect was ruined by the silver tears running down her cheeks.

"Why?" Anger, sorrow, confusion; all the emotions she never showed were contained in that one word.

"You betrayed me. You're just as bad as him. I trusted you."

"Raven, please, let me explain."

She laughed bitterly.

"Let you explain? No, it's too late for that. At least Melchior had the decency to just come straight out and laugh at me. I don't want any more lies. Because I think I figured it out, Rillan."

She said the name slowly, as though it carried great weight. X's eyes widened, huge golden orbs in a pale face. He struggled to pull himself together.

"How did you know?"

"Slade wasn't the only one hiding in the shadows the night you robbed the museum. And I know that you don't want to be Red X now; though I'm sure you stole the suit of your own violation. After all, you did save our lives once. Slade wouldn't have let you do that.

"You quit after that night, I think. But Slade made you start again. Though I don't see why he needed you I'm sure his reasons made sense to him.

"You are an empath, which explains a lot. That shock when we shook hands, and the reason your moods were so catching, for example. That's also why my empathy toward you was so strong, and why you knew Aqualad disliked you. He was right though; right to suspect you of something. You knew where Slade had taken the others because you probably helped him. I don't know what game you were playing, but it's over now."

"And here I thought boy blunder was the detective. But Raven;" his tone turned serious. "I wasn't playing with you. I paid for helping you and your friends. And I really do care. I don't know if you've realized it, but I'm selfish. I wouldn't help you kids if I didn't have a very good reason. I've liked you from the very beginning, and that's not gonna change."

"That's not the point, X. The point is you lied to me. You could have told me about being Red X, I would have understood. Maybe I could have helped you. But I can't now. You're caught, and that means jail."

Raven took the earrings out and dropped them at X's feet.

"And you can have those back. I cannot wear stolen jewelry. Nor," she added coldly, "do I want to."

"I didn't steal those. I paid for them with money I earned working as a clerk at the store I bought them from. I couldn't ask you to wear stolen jewelry. Nor would I want to. And they don't just turn out amethysts cut like that. I had to custom order those. I have the receipt at my apartment. Keep them, as a gift from Black Hawk."

I opened my mouth to speak but a giggle from somewhere nearby cut me off.

(Raven's PoV)

A young girl, arm in arm with her boyfriend, came walking towards us. A soft sound of frustrated anger from behind me caught my attention. I turned and met Rillan's eyes. They locked with mine and I suddenly heard his thoughts clearly.

I told her to stay away from him.

She's the reason you're Red X isn't she? How are you two related?

Rhea is my half-sister's orphan. I promised Marie I'd take care of her, I'll have a hard time doing that now though. Raven, you have to help me. That boy works for Slade. I warned her that he was no good but she didn't listen. I don't know what Slade will do if I go to jail. Please Raven, watch over my niece for me. I'd die if something happened to her.

I looked into Rillan's earnest golden eyes and knew that he truly cared about the girl. And perhaps, he cared about me as well. I nodded.

I'll watch over her for you.

The entire exchange lasted only a few seconds and the pair had yet to notice as. They were about six feet away when they looked up. Rhea's jaw dropped and her boyfriend smirked.

"Rillan? What's up with you? I don't get it. You don't like Jake for reasons you haven't told me but you're Red X? How could you do this to me? Now I have no one."

She turned to go and Jake followed. But Rillan's voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Jake, get your hands of my niece. Did you really think I don't know about you? I didn't become the best because I set around and watched TV. I learned everything about everyone concerned with me and Rhea. And you have been a conniving liar from the very beginning. Now get your filthy hands off her. I won't tell you again."

(Batman's PoV)

Raven looked at Jake.

"He wasn't asking. You have no jurisdiction here, get away from the girl."

He laughed.

"So now the Goth witch is helping a thief? I always knew you weren't as much a hero as you pretended to be. Or-"

He was cut off abruptly as blackness covered his mouth.

"You need to learn how to shut up."

Raven looked into Jake's eyes, her face expressionless. He struggled but couldn't combat the power now wrapped around his body. After a long moment she moved back and whispered into Robin's ear. He nodded.

"You are under arrest for drug abuse, blackmail, and theft."

Raven released the boy's mouth and he glared at Robin.

"You're gonna listen to her? What if she's lying? She might just be trying to help Red X."

"I trust Raven a lot more than I'd ever trust an obvious liar. She will do her duty to this city whether or not she likes X."

"Drug abuse! Jake's never even smoked, let alone taken drugs. He wouldn't do something like that; he couldn't." Rhea's voice was verging on desperate, searching for any hope that Raven was wrong.

A long tendril of dark power grabbed the back pack the boy was wearing and dumped its contents. Clothes, nice clothes that were obviously very expensive, scattered over the ground. The dark Titan's power continued to search though the mess until she found what she was looking for, a bag of white powder wrapped in a shirt.

"I'm sorry Rhea."

The younger girl jerked away from the boy she'd been pressed so close to. Her black eyes filled with tears. The night seemed to grow darker as storm clouds filled the sky. Rhea turned on her once boyfriend, long, Dark hair whipping around her in the rising wind.

"How could you? You lied to me; everything you said was a lie. Ril was right. You're just a good for nothing, self-absorbed, jerk." Behind the angry tears her dark eyes flashed as she continued. "You probably stole those clothes too. At least my uncle actually cares about me."

Rhea stepped to Red X's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. The thief moved so that he could take her small hand in one of his. Raven smiled and looked at Robin.

"You guys go ahead, I'll take X and Jake to jail."

"Really? You sure Rae?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Yes, Time for doughnuts!"

"Oh glorious! I love the nuts of dough!"

Cyborg and Starfire were gone before you could say "Batman" with Beast Boy right behind them. I looked at Robin.

"Are they always like that?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he laughed. "But no one could ask for better friends and partners."

Still laughing, Robin followed his friends. I turned away and headed for Gothem.

(Raven's PoV)

With Rillan and Jake both wrapped securely in my power and Rhea beside me I walked toward the jail. The younger girl was angry; I could sense the emotion so strong it almost made me upset. Had I not learned to control my emotions long ago Jake would've already been sitting in the most unpleasant dimension I could think of.

"I can't believe you two. How could you lie to me like that?"

Rillan walked silently, his eyes on the ground at his feet. Jake was still struggling and cursing loudly. Both boys looked up at Rhea's accusation.

"Rhea, I had to lie. If I hadn't you would be dead. Slade forced me to be Red X, at least, he did the second time. I was X on my own until your mother died and I jumped off a lab into the ocean. Then I quit, to protect you. I promised your mother I'd take care of you. I would've fought Slade and ended this a long time ago, but Jake was too close to you."

Rhea nodded, then looked at me.

"How long do you think he'll be in jail?"

"I couldn't say. There's no concrete evidence that he was ever Red X of his own violation unless he confesses. The theft we caught him red-handed for was prompted by blackmail. If he does confess I'm sure they'll take his age and the fact that he saved our lives into consideration. Two good deeds don't make someone a hero, but they'll help."

We reached the jail and stayed long enough to see that the boys weren't cell mates. As we were walking out I turned to Rhea.

"You want some coffee or something? I know this great little café."

"Sure, sounds good."

So we left downtown Jump and went to the quiet little place by the bay where I'd first met Rillan.

A/N I'm changing Slade from Ril and Dani's father to their uncle. Later I'll change it in the earlier chappies but until then you'll just have to remember.

Arlira