As you noticed from the previous chapter, if anyone remembers, I have changed the villain/villains in this story, simply because I hated the previous ones and couldn't think of reviving the story if I kept them on. I felt there needed to be more gravity to them, something more sinister and mysterious. The plot will more or less remain the same, but I needed some different adversaries for our heroes.

Chapter Two: The Princess

The sound of thunder echoed hollowly through the complex, waking the young alien from her restless slumber. She started, unsure for a moment where she was nor how she had come to be there, but her mind was quick to recover, the memories of late seeping back unpleasantly into her weary consciousness. The warehouse, the thief, the monster.

Rain plummeted relentlessly against the window, as another flash of lightening faintly illuminated the room, making her wince and brace herself against the inevitable roar of the thunder that followed. The creature's touch and lifeless mask haunted her, but more than that she was alone and far from home. No friends, no allies, just a criminal. A criminal who only had ever shown interest in looking out for himself.

Such storms would usually send her fleeing from her bed to find comfort in strong, warm arms that were always happy to receive her. Blinking away tears, she banished Robin from her thoughts. She had to believe he was alright, that he was out there looking for her. In the meantime, she had to be strong and think of plan, a plan to locate the others while remaining hidden herself... and somehow stop that thing.

I am the Gatherer... I have come to gather.

She shivered, remembering it's hollow, almost robotic voice, sinking slowly back into the firm mattress to find some solace beneath the comforter. It took a few hours, but somehow she managed to fall back asleep, unaware of the shadow that had been looming nearby, keeping silent vigil over her.

…

The young empath felt helpless holding her unconscious comrade in her arms. Hand engulfed in the pale glow of her healing energy, she put everything she had into reviving him forgoing her fears and emotions, locking them away in the dark recesses of her mind. The green-skinned boy's breathing was shallow and fading. She knew she needed help, but as weak as she was herself after the attack, she didn't dare leave their hiding place to face that thing again. She forced back tears…

"Raven…" she heard him mutter and looked down at him, but snapped her head back up as she heard footprints above their hiding place.

"Shut up." was all she could reply. "It's okay."

…

The next morning the thief pushed open the door to find the princess hovering, staring out the cracks of the boarded window beside her bed.

"Morning, sunshine." he greeted cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

"How could I?" she replied shortly, not even turning to look at him.

"Aw, rough night?" he asked with mock concern, shoulder falling against the door frame casually. "And your boyfriend's not here so…"

She turned her head and glared at him, eyes glowing with that formidable solar energy he remembered all to well. Considering past encounters he probably should have been more afraid than he was, but he was more amused than anything else.

Such an easy target.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked, clearly not sorry at all. There was that smirk again, she knew it was there even though she could not see it. "Well, now that were on the topic, how is the boy wonder?" he asked. "Word on the street is you're both still going steady."

Her scowl deepened and he could see a blush creeping slowly up the back of her neck, but she remained silent, unwilling to give in to his baiting. Inhaling deeply the way Raven taught her to keep her unbridled emotions at bay, she turned away from him, back out the window, crossing her arms crossing with purpose. "That is none of your business."

"Okay, okay," he soothed, sounding as if he were to yield. "Still, nice to know he got over himself and made a move."

Well, that apparently did it.

She spun around to strike him, controlled breathing be damned, but he caught her wrist mid air, his grip fast and strong as a viper's, reminding her just who she was dealing with. She stared up into the empty skeleton eyes, stunned, not just by his actions, but by her own.

"Take it easy." he told her, his tone low, but soft. He could see that her eyes were red from crying, and perhaps he had pushed her too far. It was two seconds too long before she pulled her hand away, forcing herself to regain control. The room was suddenly quieter than it was before, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily upon them. What strange circumstances they found themselves in.

"You…" she was at a loss for words. "You…"

"Me… me… me…" he droned, recovering fast. "I know it's hard, but you'll just have to try to stop thinking about me."

She frowned at such a concept. "You do not know anything about him, nothing, so don't you dare…"

"Dare what?" he asked.

Having suffered him quite enough, she turned and began to storm out of the room. He was quick to grab her upper arm, yet again, pulling her back in front of him.

"Hey, hey, truce okay?" he conceded. "I get it, he's taboo."

Too tired and frustrated to fight, she consented, but not without giving him the nastiest glare she could muster.

It was adorable.

"You enjoy my irritation."

He shrugged. "You're really cute when you're mad."

…

The young man walked the streets, pulling up the long collar of his secondhand jacket. Beneath the shelter of a faded beanie and dark shades, the young man looked more like a shady pickpocket than a hero. Boldly he walked the fog soaked streets, watching the city, searching. Civilians were frightened, more police were on patrol than usual, the whole world felt off its axis.

In all eyes he passed he saw the questions, the fear.

Where were the Titans?

Why have they abandoned them?

What was happening?

The tower loomed in the distance, no longer a beacon of hope and security, but now a dark omen.

"Need a lift?" a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, making him turn sharply, ready to attack.

"What are you doing here!?" he exclaimed, his heart lurching with both anger and relief.

"Keep it down, get in the car." The tall, broad-shouldered man replied, pulling him by the collar and practically shoving him into the sleek black lexis parked at the curb.

Once the doors were closed, the younger man took off his shades, completely furious. "I told you not to get involved with me here."

"Well, I think this is a bit of an exception." the man replied, annoyance in his tone. "It's good to see you too, by the way… it's been what five years?"

"I have it handled." the hero replied.

"I could tell. But, you've always had it handled haven't you? When a psychopath was controlling the city, when your team was all over the planet, slowly being knocked off one by one…"

"Didn't see you around any of those times, why show up now?" the youth mouthed off, his weariness and pent up frustration getting the better of him.

"Maybe I've had it with having to watch the news and only be able sit by and hope that you can handle it without killing yourself, because of what ever anger issues you're harboring towards me." his old mentor countered. "You and your team have been missing for seventy-two hours, what am I supposed to do?"

"This is my life, this is my city, it's my friends who are either dead or alive, because I..." he rubbed his eyes violently against the angry tears forming. "I couldn't protect them."

"Dick…"

"Don't okay, I am not like you, I can't ignore that I may have just lost them, because I need to be in control… I thought I had to be that way, but I don't…" his breath caught, but he pressed on relentlessly. "My whole life you taught me that justice is all there is to life, and it's not. It's not."

It was quiet for a long moment. The boy put back on his shades and stared out the window.

"She taught you that didn't she?"

His adopted son spared him a pitiful glance, surprised, but not really, that he knew about such things.

"I don't know what'll do if they're... if she's…"

"Don't bury them just yet." the man interrupted. "We need to find out who's doing this first... Did you know what's after you."

"No." the boy wonder replied, recalling the shadow creature with the white face he had seen in the warehouse. "I've barely gotten a good look at it... there's been some sightings, but none of them connect."

"Whatever it is, we'll find it, and we'll stop it." the billionaire vowed, taking hold of his shoulder firmly. "Alfred, take us around the city to my suite uptown."

"Of course, Master Bruce."

…

"The way I see it," the thief spoke up, getting down to business and taking a seat at the table across the room from the lovely alien who remained firmly planted beside the window, like a bird in a cage. "You have two options, sweetheart."

She kept her back to him.

"You can either hide out here until help arrives or..."

"You are wrong, there is only one option," she snapped. "I must leave here and find my friends."

"I was going to say; you had to find them without getting killed yourself, which I have to say, is going to be pretty difficult." he continued on, regardless. "Especially with Casper still out there wanting to reap your soul or whatever, and neither us knowing what he is or how to stop him."

"That doesn't matter to me." she replied.

"Okay, princess, are you going to keep interrupting me or you going to actually listen to what I have to say?"

She relented, turning to face him without another word, waiting.

"That's better," he grinned at her pout. "Look, I said that I'll help you find them, but we're going to have to use stealth." he told her. "If that thing's looking for you, you have to be someone else, no flying, no round, green things, no lifting things that weigh more than you… nothing."

"But then…"

"Look, if we measly humans can do it, I think you can manage it for a few days."

"How can we even be sure it won't find me regardless?" She asked. "It could be a telepath."

"I think it would have found us by now, if that were the case." the thief observed.

"It found us before."

"Twelve hours after the fact." he pointed out. "If it could just sense us or track us, why did it take it so long?"

"...I suppose you're right." she replied, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Alright then, there's a jacket in that coat closet, it'll have to do for now; make sure you put the hood on. "

"Why?"

"I think I've picked up a signal from one of your communicators, if we leave now, we might catch up to it." he replied.

Her face suddenly lit up, instantly pleasing him as she began to levitate.

"No flying." he reminded.

She fell back to her feet and ran to the closet, hardly able to contain her eagerness.

He frowned as she passed, however, wondering what he was just going to do if the signal was legitimate.

…

The jacket made her look bigger and had a large hood to cover her abundant hair, hopefully it would be enough to make her less noticeable. He looked her up and down from across the way, thinking how that was easier said than done. The girl was a bombshell, but more than that, she was otherworldly, literally from another world. She stuck out like a sorest of thumbs.

"Here." he tossed her a baseball cap to wear under the hood, at least then she would have something to hide her face.

Go Gotham University!

Pulling her hair through the back strap, she turned to look herself over in the mirror. The thief lip tugged downward beneath his mask. It didn't really make a difference, but it would have to do for now.

They walked the streets and she him lead the way, following the signal displayed on the screen of his wrist. They weren't alone, the docks were littered with thugs and homeless hovering around barrels and making deals through windows. Where was he taking her? She had never been on this side of town before. What would Robin think if he could see her now?

She lowered her head when a group of men eyed her as they passed, not liking what she saw in their desperate gazes.

"They just want to intimidate you, cutie, don't let them get to you." X murmured, noticing the looks as well. He wasn't worried. They all knew him and were smart enough to keep their distance.

Well, most of them.

"Where you going there, beautiful?"

Starfire gasped when a tall, spindly young man snatched her shoulder.

"Back off, skinny." Red X turned quick, weapons ready, but the man pulled her around the middle, a pistol aiming where the girl's chin met her throat.

"Not so fast there, Red." he spoke, his voice quick and shaky. "Let's keep the tricks in the bag today, eh?"

The thief lowered the explosives slowly and leveled the bold assailant silently. The kid was fast, stupid, but fast. "Let's think very carefully before we do anything else there, bud." his voice was calm through the modulator, but it had lowered a whole octave in an unsettling way.

Starfire met his gaze, she was frightened, unsure if she'd be fast enough if she were to try anything to free herself. He silently willed her not to. Any wrong move and she'd be dead or lead that ghost thing right to them.

"Who's your friend here, huh?" the man asked, peering down at his new captive appreciatively, his mouth dragging along her hairline at their close proximity. "What's she worth to you?" However, when his eyes met hers, realization dawned on him, angling her head higher toward him. "Wait, I know you." he told her. "You're that alien girl..."

In the next moment, the thief moved, fazing out and reappearing before the thug could blink, taking him by the wrist and activating a red electric surge through his palms, as the assailant cried out in shock and pain, releasing Starfire. The alien ducked and fled from the conflict, waiting to use her powers until she absolutely had to.

The thief moved swiftly, once she was free, knocking the pistol out of the the kid's hand and thrusting him roughly against the wall with considerable strength. "Big mistake, friend." he told him, extending the x blade from his wrist, holding it up to his throat.

"Easy, easy." the thug panted. "Tough times, man, you know? We all don't have freak suits to depend on to get by."

"Yeah, well, you picked the wrong guy in a suit to fuck with." X countered pointedly, throwing him unto the ground. "Now run along and go ahead and make my day by telling anyone you saw her, or me, got it?"

The kid nodded as he was lowered down and scrambled away.

The thief looked over at Starfire who was staring at him wide eyed, too stunned to speak.

"It's rude to stare Princess." he told her.

...

Alfred carried a tray of coffee on a silver platter into the sitting room, his face stoic as usual. Robin sat on the couch, in a style he had picked up from his former mentor; elbows on knees, hands folded together, his chin resting on his hands, looking deep in thought as he stared at the laptop computer in front of them.

"Here you are, Master Grayson." he said politely as ever, setting the tray down beside him, without so much of a clank. "Hopefully this will help those bags under your eyes."

"Thanks." he said, not even really paying attention to him.

"If I may sir, I would not lose all hope just yet, your team has always seemed to be able to make it through, no matter the circumstance." he said kindly, not sure how much it would help, but it would go against his nature not to give a young hero some passing advice.

"If they're alive." he mumbled quietly. "I suspected something, Alfred, I tried to figure it out on my own and I put them in danger."

"So, you made a mistake… Deal with it." Bruce interrupted.. "I've located a signal of one of your communicators downtown near the slum, it's faint, but it's our only lead."

…

"Why hasn't anyone found us yet?" The green-skinned boy asked.

His breathing was still quite shallow.

"Well, it's more likely more trouble will find us than anything else." the pale psychic replied. She sat a few feet away, her dark blue cloak wrapped around her. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm not dead… so that's a plus." he said; his joke, as usual, did not make her laugh. "Though, I would feel a lot better if you weren't acting like I had the plague though."

"I have spent the last thirty-six hours pouring my energy into keeping you alive... I want some space." she told him coldly, feeling the need to justifying her distance. He never did seem to get it, did he?

"...I'm sorry." he murmured genuinely, sounding so broken.

She looked over at him at that, her face softening. "You don't need to apologize, I just..." she stopped and looked away again. Yes, she needed space to regain her energy, but it was more than that. She had thought for one terrible moment that he was going to die. Still recovering herself, and fighting off that thing the previous night, she had been so afraid that she didn't have the strength to keep the green boy alive.

It was terrifying how much he made her feel.

"I just… you just worried me last night." she finished honestly.

They met each other's gaze and there was a long silent moment before they looked away again.

"Thanks Raven." he said quietly.

"I hope the others are alright." she whispered quietly. "Robin and Starfire were in the warehouse…"

"They're probably hiding out, just like us." Beastboy interrupted her, his voice was still shallow, but he sounded determined. "And so is Cyborg, he was outside with me and you beforehand… I remember."

Raven looked doubtful and her lips quivered slightly, unable to remain optimistic.

"They are all alright Raven… I know it."

…

"What is it?" Starfire asked the thief who had stopped dead in his tracks, making her nearly collide with him, his gaze fixated with the computer on his wrist.

"The signals failing…" he replied. "That's tragic."

He saw her face fall in the corner of his masked eyes and tried to ignore it.

Before she could reply, a grey van rolled by on the road. They both moved quickly out of sight while it parked on the edge of the street, a girl around thirteen stepped out from the passengers side wearing a school uniform, her skin was unnaturally pale and her dark hair pulled back into two french-braids. Her large black eyes stared ahead at nothing in particular as if she were in some kind of trance. On the drivers side a man emerged, he was tall, well built, with copper hair and looked in his mid-twenties.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Red X whispered, annoyance in his voice.

"Find her." the man told the girl. She nodded in reply limply, her eyes glowing white before she suddenly vanished, making both the thief and the princess stiffen in shock. He took hold of her shoulders protectively, moving her slowly back into the shadows of the ally to flee, but she stayed still. "He's alone, we should take him." Starfire whispered to the thief urgently.

"Mm… I don't know, cutie." Red X replied, his voice still calm, but not so care-free, his hands sliding down to her upper arms gently. "He may look normal, but if Wednesday Addams is following his orders then I don't know if he's someone we should mess with."

"What if he's behind all of it?" she pressed,eyes widening at her own realization. "He'll have information."

"Yeah, and if we're not careful, he'll have you too." the thief said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Fine, don't help me."

Before he could wrap around what she had said, she flew out of his arms and hurled large balls of green energy at the reasonably surprised villain. However instead of retreating from her assault the copper-haired man smiled and, much to her horror, caught the starbolt between his two hands and absorbed it into his skin as if it became apart of him.

Starfire froze in surprise.

"Well, hello my dear, we've been looking for you all day." he greeted with a charming smile before he suddenly backfired a starbolts toward her. She flew out the way, staying high above him. "Why don't you come down closer since you are so brave to face me?"

"Who are you?" she asked.

"They call me Zorb." he said to her with a quick bow, the energy from the starbolts expanding within him as he hurled another. "I've been commissioned to manage the task of killing you and the other titans."

She avoided the first few shots and fired a few of her own, but they only gave him more power. He could absorb all her energy and expand it to a higher quantity. Before she could move he fired another shot at her that sent her spiraling to the ground.

As she stumbled back to her feet, he walked over and grabbed both her upper arms, sending a surge of pain throughout her body. She screamed in sudden agony.

"I don't only absorb energy from your powers, I also can absorb your life energy." he said cynically. Suddenly a small scarlet x flew between them, blowing up and sending the new enemy hurling in the opposite direction of the alien princess, who fell limp to the ground.

"You know, sparky, I think I've heard about you," Red X commented arrogantly as he came to stand in-between them. "You can suck up just about anything… except technology." with that he tossed the

The criminal looked up and saw the thief holding a handful of red crosses, ready to be fired in his direction.

"You may have no abilities, but all I need is to get my hands on you in order to take all the energy from your pathetic life."

"Well, I mean, if that's all you got to do." the thief scoffed, tossing the bombs, which Zorb barely avoided, before motioning toward the x on his chest. "Hit me with your best shot."

Livid, the villain used the left over energy from Starfire's starbolts to attack the smug rebel, who easily got out of the way by flipping to a second story overlook.

"So, what's the plan?" the thief asked him. "You, Casper and Wednesday all rule the world together?"

"Actually, I am keeping it casual for this round, just a paycheck." Zorb told him, his eyes were glowing green like Starfire's, still in touch with her powers. "How about you? Since when are you on the heroes' side."

"When I feel like it." Red X threw a round red detonator to the ground making a smoke cloud. When it cleared, both he and Starfire had vanished.

…

Starfire bolted awake a long while later, high on a roof somewhere, her jacket pillowing her head. She rose in a panic only to see her unlikely ally standing a few feet away looking over the city, arm over his propped up knee. She could picture the deep, thoughtful look hiding beneath his mask.

"Hate to say I told you so." he said, sounding bored, keeping his gaze on the city.

"...You saved me." she whispered, her tone was hard for him to read.

"Third times the charm." he replied with a shrug. "For being such a good girl, you sure get yourself into a lot of trouble. I'm beginning to wonder what you did without me."

She looked down, angry she had been so foolish and even more so that he had to once again saved her life. She knew she had to say it, but almost didn't want to give him the pleasure.

"That's alright," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "No need to thank me."

She frowned deeply looking up at him. "Then, I am sorry. I should have listened to you."

That caught his attention, he turned and met her gaze.

"It's not easy for me to trust you. I do not know you." she explained, coming to stand beside him looking out into the city, her arms folded around her awkwardly. "All I know is that you are a criminal in a mask."

"Huh, don't like masks... must make things hard with the boy wonder then." he replied, turning back to the view.

"His mask doesn't hide who he is." she said, her gaze meeting his. "Not like yours."

"Nice try, kid." he patted her shoulder for her good effort. "But, I like being the mystery no one can solve, it's part of the charm."

"Charm?" she asked, somewhere between coy and naive.

He smiled at that, a genuine smile, too bad she'd never see it. "And remember, princess, this was his mask before it was mine."