Chapter Twelve: Deception

Disclaimer 1: I do not own teen titans or the teen titan's characters – though I do wish I did.

Disclaimer 2: I do though own Max Steeler. She is a character of my original thought and design. Steal and die.

She abhorred what she was about to do. Every bone inside her screamed against it, as well as every moral she had gathered the last few days. She could disguise her sin with innocence no more. She knew this was wrong, and she was following through anyway. No turning back now.

The screws of the window levitated from their proper spaces, releasing the window which they had held captive. Max caught the glass frame swiftly, using however little metal was left in it to guide it safely to the ground below. Slinking into the building, Max could feel the heaviness of here own breath.

"Are you inside?"

Slade's menacing voice echoed through the earpiece within her ear, Max nodded in reply.

"This is audio not visual apprentice. Speak to me."

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

There was a pause.

"Apprentice," Slade hissed in warning.

"Yes…master," the metal-bender spat out in disdain.

"Good girl…"

"I still don't understand what I'm doing here," Max muttered.

"You're following my orders. That's all you need to know," Slade replied, thrilled by his own game. "Just steal the microchip and remember don't trip the alarm before I say."

"You've only told me a few dozen times," Max replied blatantly.

The communication line went dead.

Just as well, Max thought, I work better in the quiet

Max walked further into the room. Computers decked the walls, and buttons of all shapes and sizes. In the center of the room there stood a high security case, and in it levitated a microchip. However this wasn't any microchip, nay, this was the master microchip. This technical advice could enhance any system's capabilities beyond fathomable range. A device with endless potential and yet could rest on Max's thumb and still have room to spare. Max drew a deep breath and held her hand up, watching as the metal chip gradually floated toward her, phasing through the glass encasement. As long as another item did not enter the energy shield, the alarm would keep silent.

"Max, what are you doing?"

Max whirled around, the microchip levitating above her open palm. "Terra…you're not…"

"Max…you don't have to listen to him. You don't want to do this, Max. Don't make the same mistake I did."

"You don't understand," Max attempted to explain. "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be…"

"Going after Slade?" Terra finished. "I came for you Max. You're all that matters. This is for your own good."

With that the geomancer's hand opened to reveal a rock. She hurled it with all her might toward the shield, guiding it with her meta-human abilities. Max attempted to stop it, but found herself too late. The pebble had already penetrated the shield, bringing the alarm to life. Max glanced back at Terra, panicked.

"I wasn't supposed to trip it now! Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in?" Max yelled in rage, "This was for you, Terra! Why'd you have to go and ruin everything?" Max raised her hands, causing a tipped metal rod to rise. "I was trying to do the right thing!"

The rod hovered dangerously toward Terra. With a final throw of the brunette's hands, Max screamed, "I was protecting you!"

A horrified look came to Max's face as she saw the rod pierce through Terra's soft flesh. Her stomach lay in ruin, penetrated by the metallic rod. Terra stared up at Max, her gasps for breath audible. "Protecting me?" She asked questioningly as the blood spilt forth. The light faded from her eyes as her head drooped lazily to the side. Her blood ran cold.

Max awoke screaming. The bed was soaked with sweat and strands of hair clung to the still remaining perspiration. Only when she was able to compose herself did she remember her current situation. Slade had given her a mission, and he expected it to be carried out tonight. Max sighed, rubbing her temple. What had she agreed to?

Pushing herself from the bed, Max began the process of clipping several gadgets onto her belt and stuffing others within her various pockets. Well if she was going to do this, she might as well get it over with. Max then fastened the two way communication device in her ear. She closed her eyes, hoping that the feeling in her stomach would dissipate. She was really about to do this.

"What are we going to do Robin?"

"What on earth can we do Raven?" A frustrated Robin answered.

"Terra…" Beastboy muttered.

"Beastboy we can't go after Terra right now. She chose to leave. We have more important things to deal with right now," Robin stated.

"We find Terra," Beastboy said firmly. "We find Max."

"That may be the case, Beastboy, but we don't know that, and until we do, we can't worry about Terra right now." The quick-witted leader answered.

Raven, who sat beside Beastboy, placed a condoling hand on Beastboy's shoulder. Beastboy glanced over at Raven and sighed. "We just finally got her back is all…" The changeling answered softly.

Robin was about to answer when the alert siren rang out. Automatically, the boy wonder rushed over to the main computer, his hands gliding across the keys. "There's been a break in at the city's main chemical laboratory," he turned toward his team. "It looks like the intruder is still there, so there's no time to lose. Titans GO!"

This was getting her nowhere. Terra had interrogated numerous street mongrels, but none seemed to know where Slade was. She was in the process of questioning another.

"Do you know who Slade is?" She asked.

"I would crazy to live in this city and not know who he is," the man answered.

"Do you know where to find him?" The desperation was beginning to show in her voice.

The man chuckled, "I don't think anyone knows that."

"Please," she begged. "Do you know anything at all?"

The man turned toward her, and his eyes grew wide with fear. He grabbed his dirt covered backpack and scampered down the alleyway, leaving a bewildered geomancer to her thoughts. Terra shrugged and turned around. There stood Slade, towering above her.

"I heard you were looking for me," Slade said gravely. "You of all people should know that's not the wisest thing to do."

Terra glowered at the super soldier, "I came for Max."

Slade sneered behind his Max. "And I came for you."

Terra took a step astern, "I…I don't understand…"

"If you swear to fight by my side, Max will remain unharmed."

"How…"

"Her life is in my hands," Slade smirked. "With a simple touch of a button, I could kill her."

Terra flashed Slade an icy stare, "What do you want from me?"

"Your service," Slade replied. "You swore to fight by my side for forever, my dear girl, and that's a promise I intend for you to keep."

Terra screamed out suddenly, two rock forms shooting from the ground, plowing into Slade. The super soldier soared through the air, making contact with a brick building. He pushed himself up, shaking with ire.

"Do not test me," Slade pulled out a switch and held it up in the air.

Terra's eyes widened. No, he couldn't be telling the truth.

"That's right," Slade jeered. "Her life is in my hands."

"I don't believe you," Terra cried. "After all she's done for you? You couldn't be that cold."

"Watch me," Slade hissed, his finger dancing precariously on the trigger.

"No!" The geomancer cried out.

"That's what I thought," Slade smiled.

There was enough Lithium in here to power a nuclear weapon, strong enough to take out the entire city. What Slade wanted it for, Max had no idea. She was just here to take ten canisters, attach them to her specially designed belt, and leave. Max sighed, hooking up the first canister. She would be in and out, simple enough.

"Freeze!"

Robin's voice shattered the silence. Max glanced over at the titans. This wasn't good. Using her powers, Max lowered nine more canisters from the shelf and scurried off. She would have time to fasten them later. She sprinted behind a wall, using the opportunity to hook four more canisters to her belt.

Robin had every suspicion that the intruder was, in fact, Red X, which only heightened any ill feelings toward the suspect. "Take him down," Robin hissed in distaste. The titans were brought to life at those words.

Max could hear them coming for her. Hastily she fastened the remaining cylinders and darted off. The ground beneath her trembled as a rush of sonic blue energy was shot behind her. If she could just reach the window, she could slip off into the night. Max raced with all her might, barely able to dodge the green starbolts, blue sonic canon, and explosives. She leapt toward the window, covering her face as the glass shattered around her. A circular rusty metal sewage lid arose to meet her. Upon landing she shot off through the city and into an ally way. From there she took a secret passage into the underground sewer.

Robin stopped at the broken glass window, ignoring the shrill scream of the alarm that pierced his ears. He glared as Max's shadowy figure disappeared into the alleyway.

"There! Down the alleyway!" He yelled.

Beastboy took off in the form of a hawk, Raven and Starfire, flying not far behind him. When they arrived in the alleyway, they found that the intruder had vanished. There search produced nothing as they soon came to realize it was a dead end.

Max walked into the darkness with confidence. The mission had been successful, and so Terra would live yet another day.

"There, I stole your stupid lithium," she said, unlatching her belt and throwing it on the sleek metal table.

"Good," Slade answered, stepping into the light.

Max then saw the second figure step forth from the light. Her heart stopped. No…it couldn't be…

Well I hope that's a good enough cliff-hanger. Sorry if there's any spelling errors. My friend's been bugging me for this chapter, and I didn't have time to edit it.