DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, this would be on TV and not here.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: About Sanza/Red X: When he's wearing the mask, he's Red X. When he's not, he's Sanza. Simple as that.

SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fanfic was not written by me!! This was written by an author named 'oneortheother', who gave me his express permission (and in fact insisted!) that it be posted on this account. This is the fourth installment of the Sanza Salazar saga, following "A Tale of Two Apprentices". Read the last three fanfics in the series before you read this. Also, this fic COMPLETELY IGNORES the events of the fifth season (with the exception of "Go"). For the purposes of this fic, "Things Change" NEVER HAPPENED.

O-O-O

"How could this happen?"

It was a question that all of the visitors to the young Sanza Salazar had embedded into their minds. They were all curious, all amazed, and all in shock of the revelation that had occured. The atmosphere was tense as the five visitors all took their places as they waited for the leader of this charade to arrive. This turned out to be the chief of police, who had full reins over the famous case that the press was describing as 'the most inhumane massacre of the decade'. The stiff, graying leader of Jump City's police force ushered the visitors into the waiting room where the supposed mastermind and murderer lay in his cell. The Jump City prison was generally quite crowded due to the efficiency of the police force as well as the dedicated work of the Teen Titans. As a result of this, often up to four inmates would be sharing one cell, but seeing as Sanza Salazar was certainly a special case, he was graciously offered a cell in solitary confinement, all to himself. Lucky him.

Though Sanza had thankfully just been released from that hampering and foreboding area to go to his waiting room, escorted by half a dozen guards no less, he was undoubtedly grateful for seeing his loved ones… there was so much that needed to be said. A handcuffed Sanza Salazar sat down as the first of his guests arrived. The guest slowly walked in, watched by the police through the one-way mirror and by the other dutiful guests. Sanza's makeshift waiting room seemed to be eerily similar to an interrogation room as there was no dividing mirror that separated the two that were typical in other waiting rooms in Jump City prison.

Once again Sanza figured he was a special case, though there were times when being dubbed so special could get depressing…

First things were first, that was the way the way that old saying went, though Sanza never really figured out the logic of that statement.

"Of course first things are first, what else could they be? Last?"

However while Sanza was busy pondering about the mysteries of life in his makeshift waiting room, he was immediately zapped with the familiar twinge of guilt as he looked up and saw the solemn face of his caring mother. Maria walked to the table in the centre of the room, gave Sanza a quick hug and kiss on the cheek and sat down, promptly followed by a spectacled, graying lawyer wearing a bland grey suit, which Sanza didn't recognize, which spurred the somewhat nervous Hispanic teen to ask his mother.

"Who is this guy? What happened to our usual family lawyer, that Mr. Stanhope?"

"We had to find the best…" Sanza's mother trailed off as this new lawyer introduced himself.

"Name is Edward Claudius, and I will be the lawyer representing you, Mr. Salazar, at the arraignment tomorrow," responded the esteemed lawyer stiffly as he raised his hand for 'Mr. Salazar' to shake. However, Sanza's only response was to jiggle the tight handcuffs that were biting into his wrists to convey to the formal lawyer that he wasn't really in the mood to 'go through the motions' today. Things were dire enough as they were, and time was running out.

"This is Mr. Claudius, son. A very good lawyer who I hired for your appeal," Maria explained matter-of-factly.

"But Mom, you lost your job… can we afford this?" came Sanza's hesitant response.

"I don't want to see my son in jail for life, no amount of money is worth that," Maria insisted.

Sanza then resigned to his mother's decision and faced the lawyer, who had prepared plenty of questions to bombard him with.

"So Mr. Salazar, are you sure you want to plead 'not guilty'?" asked the spectacled lawyer, looking up from a sheet of paper.

"What do you mean 'am I sure'? I didn't do it!" replied Sanza hostilely.

"Well the fact is, if you insist on your innocence… and considering they have indisputable evidence not only of you being there, but evidence of the fuel source from your weapons being found in the bodies of several of the victims through an autopsy," replied the lawyer, flicking through his notes as he made sure he was correct about his information, "If you plead guilty and show remorse, maybe I can persuade the judges to get you a lighter sentence… If the judges are understanding, they might sentence you to only twenty years in jail for your crimes, with good behavior you could be out in twelve," continued the spectacled lawyer, clearly oblivious to the seething Sanza.

"Twelve years in jail!?" exclaimed Sanza. "But I didn't do anything!"

Claudius seemed to take this without a beat as he propped up his briefcase on the table, opening the fancy brown case to reveal stacks and stacks of case notes.

"I am afraid that regardless of the truth, the law has decided that you are guilty," said the new lawyer monotonously as he handed Sanza a summary sheet with all the evidence that had been put forth for this case.

Sanza looked up, shocked that all this 'evidence' was being used to convict him, before slumping in his seat again.

"But I really didn't do it…"

O-O-O

Sanza's next visitor was someone he honestly hadn't expected to see. This was evident in his expression as a green changeling walked in. Beast Boy quickly explained his presence.

"Hi, Sanza… well you see, I came over to keep Terra company, and I figured you and Terra wouldn't have time to talk about serious stuff, so I thought I'd brief you on the case," Beast Boy said awkwardly, scratching his head as he sat down.

"You still like her don't you?" Sanza probed, not paranoid in what Terra might do while he was incarcerated or anything…

But Beast Boy had known the beautiful blonde for longer than Sanza had, and being the typical hormonally-influenced teenager it wasn't exactly surprising if Beast Boy had felt some residual emotion to Terra. Considering what Sanza had heard from Terra and the other Titans, since there wasn't anything going on with the other girl in his life, the cranky telepath Raven… once again, not that Sanza was suspicious of Beast Boy putting the moves on Terra or anything... Beast Boy blushed ever so slightly as he held his ground and opened his smiling mouth to reply.

"Well, I… she's my best friend…"

Sanza sighed, and looked up with a smile.

"Don't worry. If I get executed, I won't hold it against you if you ask her out. That is, if your thing with Raven doesn't work out so well..."

This lightened the atmosphere significantly as the morbid, ominous feelings evaporated, replaced by the mutual laughter and understanding between the two teens. After the laughter subsided and Beast Boy's familiar grin returned to his face, Sanza began to ask more about the case, namely the Titans' thoughts on the matter, as he knew that if the Titans' voiced suspicion, it could lead to a 'proper' inquiry into the matter.

However, according to Beast Boy, things were not looking too good…

Apparently the moody leader of the Titans had, in typical dictator fashion, insisted that Sanza was 'reverting to his diabolical thieving ways' and that the Titans were all idiots for believing the master thief could have changed. What else could be said? Robin certainly wasn't the kind of person who took betrayal lightly, especially considering his constant experience with it…

And even an emotional Terra, skeptical Raven and a conflicted Starfire did little to change his mind or quell his rage. So eventually, the compromising Titans had decided that even though most of them felt that there was something that was amiss they would just 'play along' till the moody Boy Wonder was having a better day. This was quite an interesting development, albeit not all that helpful. This was because of the fact that the Titans had already posted their testimonies while Robin was in one of his 'moods', meaning that despite the fact they did have concerns, those devious lawyers trying to get Sanza thrown in jail would still have that little extra bit of evidence to throw at him.

O-O-O

A few days earlier, the day after Sanza had been caught, Terra was with her friends in Titans Tower, trying to persuade them that Sanza was innocent, as she knew if the Titans voiced their suspicions, it could greatly affect whether or not there would be a proper investigation into the matter. All the Titans, minus one, were still perplexed by the horrific scandal that had happened out as a result of the Sanza Salazar/Red X case and that shady corporation the Craig–Wilson Alliance. But despite the fact that Sanza was certainly their friend, considering all that he had done for the Titans and the city (and Los Angeles), and despite Terra's vocal protests, the Titans knew they had a oath to the city, to arrest the villains and those deemed criminals by that city. Despite the fact that Sanza was their friend, they knew that the city had to come first. Also, since all the evidence of Sanza's trial was stacked against him, it seemed the Titans would have no choice but try to apprehend Sanza.


That didn't mean the Titans believed that he was guilty of the crimes that he had apparently committed… or rather, they were divided on the matter, with Terra being a vocal protestor of Sanza's innocence. She felt so strongly about it that she had moved back into her room at Titans Tower until the case was resolved, and was only going back to the Salazar household on occasion.


"I know this is hard to understand, that Sanza has resorted back to his old ways or worse. But-" Robin stated solemnly before he was interrupted by Terra.


"There's no way he would have done that! Sanza's not a murderer! There has to be some kind of explanation!" Terra protested, so emotional in her stand that tears were beginning to form in her brilliant blue eyes.


"Well, maybe you gotta face facts. I mean, you saw the video tapes of him fighting there, even my computers say that the tape is real and that's Sanza…" stated Cyborg, as he moved to turn on the console for his computer, shifting so all could see. "…see there? That's the guy in the coat firing an explosive X. Who else could that be but him?"


"Even so, I just don't buy that he would do that, maybe he went there because he heard that the bank was being robbed." Beast Boy added. Seeing as how broken-up Terra was by this incident, he felt that the least he could do was support her.


"When Sanza departed from his home, he left his cell phone behind, which is why the police were able to get hold of it. He didn't get our messages," stated Raven calmly, trying to reassure the frantic Terra, though it seemed using facts that Sanza had in fact committed those crimes was not the way to go about it. Raven's emotionless, monotonous approach wasn't working either.


"Yes, I do not feel friend Sanza would have just fought us for no reason…" came Starfire's quiet remark.


"In all fairness, Star, maybe he just didn't want to get caught. You saw his disguise!" came Robin's insistent response

"This can't be right, there has to be something we're missing!" Terra insisted, fervent in the belief that Sanza couldn't possibly have done the crimes they were accusing him of.


"The only thing we missed was that Sanza couldn't change!" yelled Robin, getting impatient with trying to persuade the blonde geomancer to see the truth. "People like him can't change, no matter how hard they try. Once a thief always a thief."

Robin was clearly oblivious to Terra's tearful state and the looks he was getting from his other teammates.


"Sanza had changed…" replied Terra, almost weeping as she walked away from the Titans and towards the exit. She really just needed to spend some time thinking…

The leader of the Titans watched the geomancer's silhouette as she walked away, before turning back to the team only to be greeted by Cyborg flicking his metal fingers against the tactless boy wonder's forehead.


"Way to be sensitive, Rob…"

"Yeah, totally not cool, dude…" added Beast Boy, who had his arms crossed, shaking his head as he spoke.


As the other Titans all went to do some thinking of their own, Robin was left alone to just think about if he could have handled that better…

O-O-O

Then last, but certainly not least, entered the final of Sanza's visitors, the one that undoubtedly meant the most to him. The humbled Hispanic teenager looked up as the graceful blonde geomancer slowly walked in, looking as radiantly beautiful as ever. Just seeing her made things that much more bearable. Terra didn't say a word as she sat down opposite to Sanza. Her face reflected her inner emotions. In Terra's fine features, Sanza saw compassion and understanding, not the despair, the anger and the shame he had so dreaded he would see. The intelligent female opposite him understood everything. There was no need for words between the two, there was no need of Sanza to preach his innocence because simply put, 'she already knew'.

Terra smiled sadly as she grasped for Sanza's hand and gripped it tightly, trying her best to be unhindered by Sanza's handcuffed state. And then she spoke the first words she had said since she came in. Simple words, yet they meant so, so much…

"Sanza, have faith…"

Sanza just smiled dopily, amazed at how acute his girlfriend's senses were.

"You are good…"

"I know…"

Terra rose up to give Sanza a parting embrace. The Hispanic teen knew that considering how bad things were, this was a moment he surely would want to cherish as he felt Terra's cool fingers slide over him. Sanza tried to return the favor, but the handcuffs we quite constricting, so he settled for just wrapping his arms over her head as he closed his eyes, trying to block out everything that was happening. The consequences of what he had done, all the tragedy that was about to befall them, Sanza just tried to block all these negative thoughts out of his system, and just focused the blonde angel who was weeping on his shoulder, the blonde angel he could call his own.

Sanza put on a brave smile, though the despair in his eyes betrayed his true emotions, the subsequent kiss from Terra doing little to wither away the dread eating away at him, but the blonde's passion was infectious and soon he felt himself giving way to the kiss, losing himself in her, losing himself in those tearful blue eyes….

Sanza whispered gently in her ear, "Just please don't do anything crazy, okay?"

Terra had been the last visitor, though perhaps that was made her the hardest of all. Then came the most unwelcoming sound in the world. The bell rang, signaling the end of the session and Sanza's last moments with his loved ones before the trial that would change his world. It was the most unwelcoming sound Sanza felt he had heard in his life, so he was quite pleasantly surprised when he saw the concrete holding up the bell crack and tumble to the floor. Terra's smile returned, her eyes gleaming with a yellow glow as she pulled Sanza forward again.

"We deserve a bit of peace and quiet for important matters like this…"

O-O-O

Shortly after that little interlude however, the information from the CWA prosecutors had just gotten through, and truth be told, things did not look good for the young protagonist of this tragic tale. The brief burst of happiness that had been instilled by Terra's acts was quickly bubbling away due to the harshness of reality. Despite Sanza's youth and past heroism, it looked like the court was really prepared to throw the book at him. The evidence was stacked against him, though perhaps that was a generous way to put it. 'No chance in hell', might have perhaps been a more realistic way of phrasing it. The CWA lawyers who were pressing charges on Sanza, claiming multiple accounts of homicide in the first degree, among other charges, had quite the bedrock of evidence to stand on. For: Salazar's blood was found at the crime scene, namely a few blotches splattered around areas where corpses were found. The timestamp confirmed young Sanza Salazar had indeed been in the area during the slaughter of several civilians (though the Hispanic teenager had insisted they were the robbers). Sanza insisted he had not murdered them, yet the Xynothium residuals found in the crime scene, found in the bodily remains of the recently deceased, the exact same chemical fuel used to power Salazar's weapons, meant that only an individual with access to rare Xynothium armaments could have committed the crime. Also, that shady company, the Craig-Wilson Alliance, claimed to have CCTV footage of the event, which they played before a grand jury. The footage showed a hazy, cloaked figure clearly firing an explosive X, though it wasn't apparent who at. Despite the ambiguity of it all, evidence of Sanza firing a weapon was bad news, Details like this would really put the nail in his coffin.

Not to mention the numerous testimonies, from citizens, to hostages, to police and especially the reports from revered individuals such as the Teen Titans and high-ranking police officers who swear they saw a figure matching Red X's description commit the atrocities. Sanza insisted that it was all a coincidence, reiterating the truth he had spoken about the similarly dressed fiend who had actually committed the crimes. But sadly, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

After all, who would believe that?

What were the odds that an identically dressed man, who was also wearing an almost-comical mask, also had and used Xynothium weapons and could miraculously escape despite all the Titans and police?

The jury believed it was impossible that such a thing could happen.

Sanza believed differently.

Terra believed differently.

Reverend believed differently…

O-O-O

Sanza's trial was due to start as soon as the young man got back from his obligatory religious observance before (potential) incarceration. It was the one small success Mr. Claudius had had, threatening to bring in the ACLU if the young man wasn't allowed to visit his church despite the fact that he'd been denied bail. Terra could only watch as she slowly walked back out of the prison facility with an equally lethargic Maddy and Maria, the female trio all crying softly as they watched Sanza get carted off by the police escort.
They were all in shock, especially Terra, who just couldn't believe that such had actually thing had happened. She was even beginning to blame herself for the all that had happened.

"If only I had been there that night, I could have done something, maybe stopped this…"

But Maria fervently insisted this was absolutely not Terra's fault, and that Sanza couldn't possibly be guilty. The matriarch of the family, while she admitted that the evidence seemed to be the suggesting the contrary, knew deep down that her son would never murder anyone in cold blood. And while she never was aware of all the things Sanza did, she did know her son. It couldn't be denied that the evidence did not look especially promising. According to government analysts, as well as several independent analysts, there had been traces of Xynothium found in the area, not to mention in several of the corpses, which pointed towards the culprit using Xynothium weapons. While that evidence may not have single-handedly nailed the person who had committed these crimes. Over the years, many Xynothium tools and weapons had been spread through the shady black market through dealers such as the now-retired Dr. Chang. Still, if the Xynothium traces weren't enough to convince the judge, a security video tape, which clearly captured Sanza firing an explosive X and blowing things up, was damning enough.

At least it was to anyone who didn't know Sanza… Terra knew that her better half would never possibly commit such an act. It couldn't possibly stand up in court, and she would have trouble persuading anyone, she knew this. But the fact was, Sanza didn't do it. Terra just knew. Terra knew that deep down, her dear boyfriend could be rebellious, and he could bend or even ignore the rules on occasion. And he might even consider his needs above the needs of all others at times. He was a selfish human being after all, as we all were, although some would be less willing to admit it than others. Still, Terra believed Sanza, and no matter how far-fetched and coincidental his tale was, despite the fact all the evidence was stacked against him, Terra believed Sanza was innocent. And she would certainly not stand by as an innocent man, her Sanza, was arrested and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

Terra hadn't really given it all that much thought, but she did consider the possibility of perhaps violating the law, purely in order to achieve justice, as in her mind it made little sense for an innocent to pay for an act he didn't do. The earth-shaking geomancer clenched her fists tightly, aware she was considering breaking the law, potentially being a fugitive herself, just so she could help Sanza clear his name. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as she watched the armored police van, the grimy transport that her dear Sanza was handcuffed in, drive off, with several police vehicles accompanying it. And imagined, just fantasized using her powers to spring her boyfriend from his gilded cage and just 'make the rest up as we go along'.

Some of her other friends, namely the Titans would be shocked about what she was considering… shocked that she would betray them a second time, Beast Boy most of all. She knew she wouldn't be betraying them out of selfishness, knew she wouldn't be hurting anyone like she had done when she was serving Slade… but the thought of betraying her friends again still made Terra's blood run cold. There was one certain fact in this equation. One lone fact that comforted her and reassured her with this radical and extremist idea.

And it was the one thing that she didn't have a sliver of doubt about.

"He would do it for me."

But the fact was, it mattered little what an emotional Terra believed, less what a crestfallen Sanza believed, and a whole lot more of what a steely, decisive jury believed. And as far as they were concerned, the case was rock-solid. Sanza Ruiz Salazar was guilty. End of story.

This was the future that many interpreted for the young aspiring thief-turned-hero then later hero-turned-criminal, and a sad fate indeed. But was this the destiny of Sanza Salazar and his ominous alter-ego Red X? How many lives would be changed forever because of what happened? Would there ever, truly be justice?

Only God knows…

Many questions, few absolute answers, though only one thing was for certain.

Only time would tell.

O-O-O

Wow, I sure took my time on this one, and it wasn't even that long... Rest assured, next one will be up before you know it!

Chapter 5 will be: "The Unheralded"