Sorry for taking so long to update. It's getting close to the time for me to leave for my first year at college so my mom's been on me for everything haha. Oh well. Here it is!

Apparently when a thief takes a holiday, all the others try to steal her thunder. Vendetta found few clients waiting for her when she returned to the theft scene. Someone needed to put the small fry in their place and let the big guns out to play. Vendetta quickly grew to dominate the field once again, many of the other competitors bowing out of the way once they heard of her return. Surviving among the city's criminals necessitated one to build up a reputation and it didn't hurt that in doing so, one also gained respect. It was all a part of the game; the bigger the player, the harder the fall. Vendetta stood as a sort of royalty among her people; very few had ever seen her, but everyone knew of the legendary thief who could steal anything for anyone- at the right price of course.

Vendetta could afford to come out of hiding now; Slade would find her anyways, so it was best that she simply took back her title. She returned with a vengeance; no job was turned down and she completed every mission efficiently and flawlessly. She wanted to show him (and herself) that he couldn't own her completely, that she still had the power to do as she pleased. He hadn't visited her again since the last fateful incident, and she would really prefer to keep it that way.

Things never go according to plan.

She abandoned her stealth that she was once famed for. Reports came flooding through the news about a new thief that was taking the city by storm. No one had gotten a good view of the masked criminal, but everyone noted the same flash of green as he passed. He also left a sign at each victim's door: a giant "V" lasered onto the entrance. The Titans appeared at every crime scene, but Vendetta was always long gone. At least, that was how the public saw it.

The Teen Titans busted their way into the latest crime scene, poised for the imminent fight. The target was an old warehouse that housed unused equipment for a nearby nuclear plant. Any one of the machines in here could cause a great deal of trouble if it fell into the wrong hands But as the debris cleared, they realized that they were alone. The room was dark; all the lights had been smashed and the alarms were blaring with a never ending screech. The group peered into the dusky gloom warily, anticipating an attack that would never come.

Robin was the first to enter the room, his boots crunching shards of glass as he passed over it. He delved deeper, disappearing from the view of his team who had remained close to the only light source they had; the hole they had created that allowed the street lamps to emit their glow into a small section of the room.

Robin saw a shadow pass behind a large piece of machinery. He followed after wordlessly, hoping to catch the criminal by surprise rather than give the other the advantage by calling his friends. The two stole deeper and deeper into the warehouse. Robin could no longer see the patch of light and he knew his friends would be unable to hear them if he called. The shadow in front of him stopped suddenly. Robin paused too, hiding behind and jumbled pile of discarded parts. When he looked back out past his hiding spot, the shadow was gone. "Where did you go…" he muttered to himself. He felt the presence behind him just a moment too late.

"Here," the voice was mocking and cold Robin noticed just before a kick aimed at his upper back sent him sprawling. The shadow he had been chasing strode up to him, a bright "V" flashing on his chest.

"Vendetta…" Robin wheezed, attempting to return some air to his lungs as he flipped to his feet. The kick had winded him, but not to the point where he was incapacitated. As his feet hit the floor, they were swept out from under him. His bottom crashed to the ground painfully and his head cracked on the concrete, cushioned from serious injury by his spiky hair. This time he was prevented from standing by a booted foot on his chest with enough pressure to make breathing difficult, but not impossible. "What are you doing?!" The boy gasped. He knew Vendetta was a criminal, but he had only ever really toyed with the Titans. He now acted like a serious threat.

Vendetta leaned closer to the boy, propping her elbow on her bent knee. "You're gonna do something for me, Champ. I need a favor," she told him.

"And… why would I ever… help the likes of you?" Robin gasped out. "you're…a criminal, Vendetta. You need to be put behind…bars…"

Visor and mask blocking her face, Robin had no way to see the look of impatience that flickered over the girl's face as she replied. "And you can lock me up after you help me with this. I'll go willingly, even. But my problem isn't just mine; it's yours too."

Robin's brow furrowed. "How can your problem have anything to do with me?" he questioned suspiciously. Before the thief could answer a new voice drifted though the warehouse.

"Robin?" Starfire called out, darting through the air, illuminating the space around her with an unfired starbolt. Raven floated behind her, scoping out the area while the two other males of the team searched on the ground, using the light installed in Cyborg's shoulder. They were approaching quickly.

Vendetta let out an audible sigh and turned back to Robin, whose face was lit up in a smirk. "Don't think you'll be able to catch me, Champ. I know every escape route there is in this place. Your friends are just delaying the inevitable. You're going to wish they hadn't followed you. Not a threat from me, but I can tell you it's true. She whipped two small knives at the other Titans. One knocked the light that Cyborg had clean off, sparks flying at the severed spot. The other hurtled into Starfire's hand, shocking the alien into loosing the bolt. The warehouse was pitch black now.

Robin felt the pressure on his chest ease up and sprang to his feet immediately. He heard a faint rumble and figured that Vendetta was climbing to the rafters. He shot his grappling gun straight up, allowing the hook to wrap around a beam before releasing the catch to hoist him up. He ran nimbly along the beam and saw that there were several windows that opened from the ceiling. He wandered along farther and saw that one had been opened. He leapt through it, pulling out his bo stick and flicking it open to its full length. He found Vendetta waiting for him at the edge of the building. "Do you just like rooftops, or something?" Robin asked. Vendetta motioned for him to close the window. HE did so, but hesitantly.

"Yeah I like them. But it's not the only escape I know, so don't always count on the roof," Vendetta shrugged. "Now, do you want to hear me out or not? This will affect you, you know,"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, tell me. It won't make much of a difference anyways."

"It's about Slade,"

That got Robin's attention. He grabbed the fabric covering Vendetta's collar bone and spun her to slam her against the chimney stack. "Tell me what you know," he snarled. "Now," Vendetta's arm had been healing, but it was still sore and she didn't appreciate getting tossed around when she was trying to help him. She grabbed onto Robin's wrist and twisted, hard. He let go with a strained grunt and Vendetta advanced on him. This could no longer be a game. Not when her own life was on the line. Some would call her shallow for not caring until it was her own neck on the chopping block, but a person had to be selfish if she was going to survive on her own in the cold world of criminality.

"All right Kid, listen up. I gotta save my own skin here and it just so happens that if you help me, you'll end up helping yourself, got it? I'm asking for a partnership. Temporary. Just until I can get this freak off my back and then you can continue your amusing little merry goose chase for me over Jump city." She offered, holding out a hand to seal the deal. None of her usual playfulness remained; she was cold and calm, intimidating and lethal. She needed Robin; it was clear that she could no longer save herself.

He knocked her hand out of the way. "Not a chance, mister. I don't do deals with criminals. It's just not my style," he informed her, smirking. Vendetta uttered one small sigh, shaking her head as she released the hero and backed up.

"Sorry Champ. I did try to warn you," she muttered. "by the way.." she had turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks and twisted to look back at him. "You were wondering how to get a hold of a thief. It's my calling card." She flung something at his feet that billowed smoke on impact with the rooftop. She was gone before the haze cleared. Robin bent down to pick up what she left. It was a V made of metal. It had to be a communicator of some kind; small buttons ran up one side and a small light flickered on and off. He toyed with a few of the buttons, nearly dropping the thing when Vendetta's deeper voice rang clearly through the night.

"When you need me, Champ - and I know you will - press the middle button. This baby'll lead you right to me. Don't let any of your friends see this. I mean it. For all I know, this partnership between the two of us could mean life or death. Vendetta out." The transmission died and the button ceased its flashing.

Robin ground his teeth in frustration. He'd beentrying so hard to find something anything on Slade, and here some common criminal wanted him to partner up. Robin couldn't afford to lose his morals. Not for a villain like Slade. He wouldn't call Vendetta, even though he sorely wanted to know how he and Slade were connected. He would listen to the last piece of advice however; he didn't show his partners the calling card, he told them Vendetta had simply vanished. For now.

Sort of a filler chapter. I hope it makes sense. We start to see a darker side of Vendetta here. Slade's messing with her is really screwing with her head and she's getting desperate. Stupid Robin is too stubborn to see how deep in she is though XD.

Now, there are a few people who sent me messages that I have not responded to. I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind reviews and I will try harder to send PMs, it's just been a little crazy for me.

Until next time then. Ciao.