61. Full Circle part 8

In the dark editing room of a news station, two young men worked on piecing together the two sets of footage taken of the day's events. Monitors glowed blue and silver with images of the exploding Phaser Labs, The Titans in pursuit of the elusive Slade, and—most rare—a certain Wyldecarde performing an act or two of heroism.

Glover stepped into the room while the footage was being selected and pieced together.

One of the young editors turned around and pointed out a few things on one screen: "I almost have a shot of Wyldecarde's opponent in this snapshot. Whoever it is, it's definitely female. Seems to be wearing the same sort of outfit that Wyldecarde is."

Glover leaned in between the men's chairs. "Same outfit, huh? Could she be working for Slade?"

"Why would two apprentices of Slade be fighting each other?"

"Maybe because only one of them is the true apprentice….," Glover mumbled. A beat. "Look at the way she moves. Almost like the former Noir himself."

"Could they be related?"

"Pffft. Hardly. One relies on darkness and the other on light."

"Even if their powers are different…they fight relatively similar."

Glover nodded. "Give or take a sword."

"Heheh…"

"Whatever the case," Glover folded his hands and grinned. "I think this footage of ours will be pivotal in one form or another."

"To do what exactly, sir?" One man remarked. "I-I mean…what does this prove?"

"It proves that…even though I'm an old man…I'm not quite so demented," Glover patted one of the individuals' back and walked out the door. "If you need me, I'll be in my office. Send me a page, please. I'm gonna be a bit busy."

"Working on a project, sir?"

Glover stopped at the door, glanced at the monitor displaying Wyldecarde on the highway, and uttered: "I've got a….phone call to make…"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Inside the Main Room of the Tower…

"Okay…here's what I think is wacked out!" Beast Boy exclaimed. He sat on the top of the sofa with his back to the night-shrouded windows. "Slade's been making these badass threats all week. And yet he can't seem to hold true to any single one of them!! I mean, one day he wants to blow up a freighter. He sends Wyldecarde to knock us around a bit. Then he ditches the freighter and leaves dead robot parts behind. Then he warns of blowing up a chronotonic core or something, but instead just sets the front of Phaser Labs on fire and explodes an abandoned building clear across Town!! I mean…I know Slade is like supremely evil and all that jazz….but since when was he this clumsy?"

"I am not exactly sure it is clumsiness," Starfire remarked. "I think Slade knows we expect him to be so punctual in his wickedness. Perhaps these inept bomb threats have been an attempt to distract us until he is truly ready to strike full force?"

"Let's look at things like there's a pattern," Cyborg uttered. "Before we discovered Noir was a traitor, every time we tried to catch up with Slade…something crazy happened to us. Now that Wyldecarde is reunited with his master, Murphy's Law has switched around. With the exception of my Baby, of course."

"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded. "It's like chaos was playing practical jokes on us…then switched over to Slade since he got his apprentice back!"

"Don't forget the office building with the computer lab," Robin lifted a gloved finger. "That wasn't so lucky an excursion for us either. And it was after we discovered Noir's treachery too."

"Ah yeah…..," Cyborg nodded.

"Perhaps Noir best functioned as a satellite agent?" Raven suggested. "He seemed to work alone well, even when he was pretending to be on our side. Now that Wyldecarde and Slade are working side by side, there's most likely a clash of egos. The chemistry breaks, and chaos ensues."

"Do you suppose Slade and Wyldecarde are at odds?" Starfire asked.

"I suppose nothing except for what I've seen," Raven responded. "Either Slade or Wyldecarde is screwing things up. And it shows."

"One thing's for certain," Beast Boy sweatdropped. "Wyldecarde's did a good job at least twice to kick our collective butts!!"

Robin bit his lip.

Cyborg uttered: "Heh."

"Have you forgotten the last time we saw him??" Starfire looked at everyone. "He was hardly possessive of his villainous confidence which we have previously born witness to."

"Fine by me…," Raven huffed.

Robin gave the dark girl a sideways glance before saying to everyone: "I think Wyldecarde's starting to feel the heat of justice on his heels. He once fought for the good guys—traitor or not—so he must be at least remotely aware of our intolerance for villains such as him."

"Or Slade's giving him a hard time for something," Cyborg muttered. "Can't be fun."

Beast Boy glared. "You say that almost like you sympathize with the jerk! What's wrong with you, man?"

Cyborg glared up at the changeling. "I had a friend named Noir who 'died'. How about you?"

Beast Boy bit his lip and looked away.

Robin cleared his throat. "Come on…guys. No leaping at each other's throats. Just because Noir hurt us all…doesn't mean we can't look back and find at least some shred of good memories lying around. By no means is what Noir did excusable. I'm merely saying that……well…..okay, I do miss him. And I'm sure you all miss him too to some degree. But the hardest part of it all is realizing that the 'person' we are now missing is---rather, was a fake. And there's nothing that can shirk that truth."

Beast Boy rubbed his forehead.

Cyborg stared straight down to the floor.

Raven blinked. "Who knows…."

Everyone looked at her.

"…after this whole fiasco is over with and we have Wyldecarde in jail…maybe he'll answer a few questions."

"We're taking him alive??" Beast Boy blinked.

Raven glared. "Yes. What did you think I was inferring?"

"You weren't inferring anything!" Beast Boy cackled. "Why does Wyldecarde have to be alive?"

Cyborg chuckled dryly.

Raven sighed and shook her head. "I'm not having this conversation with you---"

"You think a crook like that deserves to live?" Beast Boy shook.

Everyone but Raven winced.

"Of course not," the dark girl retorted and glared at the changeling. "But I'm gonna let him live anyways if I can help it! Are you suddenly obsessed with capital punishment, Beast Boy? You wanna be the one to put the wet sponge on top of Wyldecarde's head when all is said and done?"

The changeling flushed red. He looked away, fuming.

Robin shook his head, rubbed his temples, and stood up. "Maybe some of us should just….catch up on some sleep or something."

"Yeah…," Beast Boy folded his arms and muttered. "I think I have a better idea. That 'some of us' is going off to mope on his own." Frowning, he jumped up out of his chair and marched out of the room.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire reached a hand out to him.

Cyborg halted her. "Let him be….," he said, hushed.

The elevator doors opened…closed…and then just the four remained.

"Ugh….," Raven shook her head. "Why does he have to be so young?"

"It all goes back to Terra," Robin spoke. "You know he still hurts from that."

"He cannot take betrayal as well as we can," Starfire added with hands clasped together.

Raven shifted her robe. "Well, y'all let me know when he grows up. I'm tired of counting down."

"Be patient with him, Raven," Cyborg said. "Lord knows we're all patient with you."

Raven's mouth opened. She stopped. She took a deep breath, sealed her lips, and nodded.

Silence.

"I keep thinking about Schauer's words….," Robin eventually said out loud. "You know…from the tape Raven and Noir found."

Absent-minded nods…..

"All that talk about the Experiment…the Balance of Morals….Fate. Heh, just the other day I was sick of hear those terms. And, to be honest, I'm sick of hearing them now. And yet…now they mean something else entirely in my head."

"How so?" Cyborg asked.

"Because Slade seems to be doing the exact opposite of manifesting some awe-inspiring, fateful destiny," Robin shrugged. "Everything is chaotic and going in circles."

"Murphy's Law in reverse," Cyborg smirked. "Just like I said."

"But then again, Starfire could be onto something," Raven added. "This is probably one huge trap. Just because Slade's made some goofy---er---villain moves as of late, it doesn't mean we should let our guard down."

"By all means…," Starfire nodded.

"I suggest strong vigilance," Raven said. "And perhaps even….cautionary reconnaissance the next time there's a transmission drawing us to some sort of Slade-imposed target across town."

"Beast Boy or myself could fly in and report to the rest of you the authenticity of the crime scene!" Starfire smiled.

"Let's just hope Slade isn't ahead of us in that degree," Raven spoke.

Suddenly, there was a chiming sound on a distant computer.

Everyone looked across the Main Room.

"Hrmmm," Robin stood up. "Phone call."

"Is it customary for earthlings to make transmissions this late after the setting of the sun?" Starfire asked.

"Not really," Cyborg grunted. "Unless it's urgent………………or sexy."

"I don't care," Robin grunted. "I'm bored." He clicked a button on the computer console and opened an intercom program. "Titans' Tower. This Robin. Who, may I ask, is calling?"

"Dear Titans…," uttered Blake Glover's unmistakable voice, "…I have something you may all desire to see. Nothing frightening, I assure you, but pertinent all the same…"

Robin's eyebrow lifted. He spun around and glanced back at the other Titans.

They were all gaping.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I took a deep breath.

1…..2….3….

My muscles tensed.

Murk warbled up my limbs…

And…

SWOOOOOSH!!!!

I morphed into smoke, slipped out of the claustrophobic compartment, swam through walls of Titanium along passageways of wires, soared past electronics, reached a socket at the end of my breath, and solidified on the other side.

WHUMP!!

I tumbled forward across the floor of the Tower's security hub.

Not a moment too soon, I leapt up to my feet, rushed over, and flattened myself against the wall of the dark room.

Pant……Pant……Pant……

Sensors in the floor detected a sudden temperature change from my presence.

With an electronic whur, a field of criss-crossing lasers appeared and swept across the room, flexing in a patchwork format that ate through the air like a cheese grater.

I watched from the wall as the red field swam at me.

I took a deep breath.

One touch of the lasers and every alarm in the Tower would go off.

I knew that.

I was once a Titan.

I stretched my hands behind me and flattened the palms against the cold metal wall.

I tilted my neck back.

Red lights glittered off my goggles.

Sweat ran down my brow.

The laser field was a foot and a half away.

I took another breath.

Counted down…

And……

FLASSSSH!!!

As the lasers ate into the spot where my body was, my body once again took the form of smoke and literally became one with the wall. A thin, microcosmic layer of murk inked across the wall like a shadowy paint job.

It took approximately seven seconds for the laser field to reach the wall, pause, and then shift back towards the opposite side of the room where it had started.

I materialized and immediately gasped for breath.

My body heaved.

The field died out on the other side. But there were still cautionary red lights flashing across the many computer consoles in the security room. The temperature had not fallen to normal. In about thirty seconds, an alarm would go off if my heat had not been removed.

I had only a handful of time to work.

I rushed over and unsheathed Myrkblade while standing over a console.

Obviously, all of my activation codes had been disabled and there was no way a former Titan-turned villain such as myself could switch off some of the security protocols manually. So I resorted to a….ghetto method.

I calculated approximately where the wiring for the motherboard responsible for temperature detectors throughout the Tower would be. I aimed for it, summoned murk, and stabbed my blade down.

SWOOOOOSH!!!

I turned the end of my blade into smoke. Inside, the friction of the warbling, metaphysical weapon severed the connections quietly.

The blinking red lights switched off.

I took a deep breath.

Now all I had to worry about were cameras….and darned if I couldn't switch those off in a similar fashion as I had the temperature detectors.

I headed for the door, aimed my body into the crack leading to the other side, and teleported out into the hallway…

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"I'll tell you this as much," Blake Glover's voice said. "The information I have has to do with Wyldecarde."

"If you're wanting to give us a long lecture concerning his treachery, save it," Raven droned. "We're quite aware of his villainy. After all, he did betray us, you know. And if you're calling to brag about your pessimistic premonitions concerning him than you can just—"

"Titans, seriously," Glover's voice was emphatic, "I called for neither of those reasons. I merely have video evidence of Wyldecarde outside the crime scene."

"What kind of evidence?" Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"The sort you would be most interested in."

"Let me guess," Robin folded his arms. "There is a price involved for our seeing it?"

"You are all so very defensive…," Glover uttered. "You do truly feel betrayed, don't you?"

"Just answer the question!"

"The only price I have is your honorable time spent in meeting me. I'll be here until two in the morning in the JCNT News station building. If you so desire to pay me a visit, I would be most honored to share this information with you. Either way, I do intend to submit it to the media tomorrow afternoon. So it might be in your best interest to peruse it first."

At that, the Titans exchanged glances.

"Don't misunderstand me, Titans…," Glover solemnly spoke. "I want to do what's best for you. Until later, farewell."

-click-

"Okay….," Raven blinked. "So some people do change."

"I dunno….something sounds fishy," Cyborg rubbed his titanium head.

"What is the plan of action concerning this, Robin?" Starfire outright asked.

Robin sighed. "Well…I know I sure as heck won't be sleeping any tonight. And I have no other leads to follow concerning Wyldecarde. So…."

"Gonna go for it?" Cyborg asked. "I'm not all that enthused, to tell you the truth."

"I'll go alone if need be," Robin asked.

"I'll go with you," Raven stood.

"You're sure of that?"

"It was both you and I who investigated Noir/Wyldecarde to begin with. Besides…."

"What?"

Raven blinked. "You'll need someone to fly you there."

Cyborg chuckled. "The R-Cycle's smashed up, remember?"

The Boy Wonder blushed.

Starfire giggled. "Fly the skies of friendliness, you two!"

Robin rolled his eyes under his mask. "Do I need a helmet for this?"

"As long as you don't need a vomit bag," Raven walked to the elevator and motioned him along. "Come."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I rushed over to a wall in a hallway and flattened myself against it.

I panted.

Just above me, an electric camera whirred and pivoted its lens around.

My black eyes squinted up through my goggles.

The camera whirred to the side.

I made a run for it.

I blurred around a corner, snaked along a wall underneath another camera, and rushed down a flight of stairs and towards the floor below me.

I was looking for Cyborg's laboratory…

At one point, I came through a junction in the halls. They were dark and hauntingly familiar. Oddly enough, there was no camera present around there.

I heard a whispery sound.

My ear pricked.

I looked down the hallway.

An automatic door was halfway open and the wall console beside it partially torn out.

I raised an eyebrow. I blurred over and sneaked my way over and glanced inside…carefully.

The whispery sound turned into a gentle weeping. I realized I was looking inside the room that once belonged to Terra. The same room an irate Beast Boy once threw me out of. Peaking in, I could presently see the green changeling. He was curled up in the bed in elf form, hugging the silverfish, homemade heart box to himself.

His shoulders heaved and he hiccupped once or twice. The back of his head was to me—which was a good thing considering the situation I was in. But I couldn't see his tears.

I took a deep breath.

The last time I saw Beast Boy sobbing, I was there and able to hug him…..

I swallowed a painful lump in my throat, spun around, and blurred on down the hallway.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Starfire, how are you doing?"

The Tamaranian girl looked up from the kitchen unit where she was making a small dish in the tradition of her home planet. "Huh??"

Cyborg smiled and asked. "How are you doing?"

Starfire blinked. "I am doing wonderfully well, Cyborg. And you?"

"Just curious. You've been quite…..calm over the past few days," Cyborg said.

"Is there a reason that I should not be?"

"No. It's just that….well….sometimes you really make me wonder, Starfire."

"In what fashion?"

"I'm amazed at your composure. At your ability to take any situation and—"

"Count it all joy?" Starfire smiled. "Cyborg…it is a very, very sad thing that we are both suffering from the betrayal of our former friend and the elusive villainy of Slade. As you recall, I already went through my mourning, and I have you to thank for the companionship at such a time. But the way I see it, I still have four dear friends left and they have not done a single thing to disappoint me in the middle of all this chaos. Would you not count that as joy too?"

Cyborg chuckled. "Yeah, Starfire, I guess I would."

"Then it is not so much to wonder about, is it?" she fluttered her eyelashes.

Cyborg chuckled. "You're one in the million Star. Robin's lucky."

She blinked. "How so?"

Cyborg cleared his throat. "Er….no reason. Ahem. Lemme know when Robin and Rae are back."

"Where are you going?"

"Lab," he said bluntly. "Thought I could use a little recharging."

"Very well."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The doors to Cyborg's laboratory stretched above.

I took a deep breath and unsheathed Myrkblade.

CHIIIING!!

Cyborg's father was the one who built this Tower. Similarly, Cyborg was the one who engineered the security for it.

Thus it was perfectly understandable that Cyborg's room—more than anyone else's—had a supreme security grid inside.

Sensors in the floor, wall, and ceiling registered changes in heat, motion, light, and even bio-electric signature.

It was all run on a high-tech computer system positioned with its core inside of a console on the opposite side of the room from the door.

I had only one way of beating it all.

Moving really…..bitching….fast…..

I knelt to the ground, gripped Myrkblade, and took a breath.

Again….

1….2….3….

SWOOOOOOSH!!!

I teleported under the door, exploded into smoke on the other side, shot through the air like black lightning, and materialized on the other side of the room with Myrkblade stabbing straight ahead.

CHTUNG!!!!

I let out a gasp of relief.

Bulls eye.

My sword sank into the computer console, which short-circuited.

The red lights of the dim room flickered for a moment, then blipped out.

I was surrounded by perfect darkness.

I stood up straight, sheathed Myrkblade, and relaxed.

Familiar territory….

I wandered over to a switch in the wall and flipped on the lights.

My black eyes squinted momentarily under the goggles.

I looked across the room. I spotted Cyborg's recharging table, a medical bed or two, suspended animation chambers, compartments for holding technologies and crime-fighting weapons, and an assortment of sensors and fancy microscopes.

I wandered over towards the latter area of interest. There was a huge, opposable metal arm of sorts. I pulled at the 'wrist' of the device, and it pivoted easily in my grasp. It was a sensor for cybernetic scans. Cyborg used it for 'checkups' and system diagnostics on himself.

I glanced over to the side. There was a compartment that looked like an oven, complete with a transparent shield and everything. It was a scanner for analyzing strange materials.

I scratched my chin.

I decided I had even more homework to do.

I reached into one of my belt's pockets and pulled out the sliver of carbonite that I had acquired a few days ago. I eyed its faintly glowing structure…then glanced back at the compartment.

I was about to reach for the handle when I froze and stopped myself.

I glanced at a console in the center of all of this equipment.

A huge handprint rested in plain view.

Crud……

I sighed.

The device would only respond after one of the Titans placed a limb across the console, activating the system.

And I wasn't a Titan anymore.

I looked across the room.

There was a metal cabinet with a lock on it. I remembered it from the very first day Cyborg showed me around the lab.

I momentarily pocketed the carbonite sliver and walked over to the cabinet.

There were two layers to it. The outer one had a simple locking mechanism to it. A hole for one of Cyborg's special keys to slide in and undo. The inner layer—I knew—was just a compartment door to slide open.

I leaned forward and squinted into the keyhole.

A beat.

I leaned back. I raised a hand. I took a breath.

My limb warbled into a field of smoke. I extended it forward. My smoking limb entered the keyhole. I thinned my black eyes and concentrated. The smoke murked around inside the keyhole, fumbled with the tumblers, and found the right position.

CLICK!!!

The compartment snapped to life.

I reached my hand out, solidified it, and sighed. Renewed, I opened the outer door, slid the inner lid to the side, and peered inside.

Bingo…

A literal pile of titanium right hands rested in the shadows on to of each other. Cyborg's spare arms. Yes, he had more than two.

I reached in and grabbed one. I walked back across the floor, positioned the hand right, and flattened it across the console.

After a while, the sensors lit up and a pleasant beeping sound lit my ears. The consoles, equipment, and compartments me came to life.

I smirked.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Cyborg whistled to himself as he walked down the hallway.

He rounded a corner and descended a flight of stairs.

Just two stories down…and he'd be right at home.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The carbonite material rested inside a glowing compartment. The device glowed and rotated the sliver around. It almost looked like a microwave. On a computer monitor hanging over the apparatus, a computer screen flashed forth graphs, data tables, and other technical readings of the matter in question.

While I waited for that test to complete itself, I busied myself with the bio-reading arm apparatus. I stood in various positions, stretching the metal 'wrist' around me in almost every conceivable fashion. My limbs. My torso. My neck. I was searching for something……..foreign. And I waited for the computer to give me a signal of confirmation.

So far, I had heard none……

I pushed the metal apparatus away, leaned against the wall, and sighed.

My mind wandered.

I thought of the brown-suited thug earlier that day…twitching in pain at the end of Myrkblade.

My black eyes narrowed.

"Ch-CHIP!!"

I blinked.

"Look…ch-ch-check yourself!!"

I searched my mind a bit more.

I found….

"Arm…ARM!!!" the man had shrieked. "Check for it!! A chip!!!"

I took a deep breath.

I looked at my arms.

The same arms of mine I had always known.

Nothing felt odd about them. I had even scanned them just minutes ago…but nothing showed up.

I inhaled.

The thug…he knew something about Dagger….and a chip….

And my 'arm'….

I just had to…search harder.

I positioned my right hand upwards and slowly scanned the 'wrist' of the machine along it. Slowly. One centimeter per second. Back over again. The front side. The back side. Down to the elbow. The shoulder.

Nothing.

I sighed.

I positioned my left hand up. I scanned my fingers. My palm. My wrist. The back of my arm. The front of it---

SKREEEEEEEEEE!!

The machine whistled.

I froze.

Chills ran through my body.

Slowly, I brought the sensor up to my wrist.

Silence.

I brought it down to the middle of my forearm in exactly the same position as before. SKREEEEEEEEEE!!!

I blinked.

I brought the sensor down to the inside of my elbow. Silence.

An uneasy lump formed in my empty throat.

I swallowed it down and brought the sensor back over the area of alarm.

I reached over my right hand to a nearby computer console and typed away.

I stood still as the sensor did a strong scan.

When it was done, I stepped hesitantly over towards the monitor and looked at it.

I squinted my eyes. I took my goggles clean off and stared at the blindingly bright screen. Blinking.

A three-dimensional image of my left arm showed a foreign object, rectangular in shape, no larger than a postage stamp. It had settled somewhere between the foremost joining of my radius and ulna. Surrounded by muscles and bones—yet inconspicuously away from moving tissue—the chip had managed to rest unnoticed in my system. And it was hard to detect too. Never before had I scanned a part of my body as thoroughly as I had just then. So when I was first given an examination upon joining the Titans, it must have avoided detection somehow.

But…..

I blinked.

My black eyes rounded.

Goosebumps formed on my skin.

How long had it been inside of me? What did it have to do with Dagger? And how on Earth did it get inside of me?

I suddenly gasped. A painful breath escaped from my lungs.

FLASH!!!!

Ana's body surrounded by streams of blue bolts.

Screaming in the dark.

Standing in a pool of red sauce and gripping Myrkblade.

A shadowy skeleton and…

Laughter……

Laughter………

FLASH!!!!

I gripped the wound on my neck.

I swallowed…exhaling.

I knew very well when it must have been put inside of me.

And I decided to leave it at that.

But still…Dagger's words from the meat locker where the flood lights blinded me ran in my head again. And I had to wonder.

Was he there? Was he there when I lost……I lost…………

I shook my head.

I clenched my fists and stared—fuming—at the computer monitor. The chip glared at me.

I gritted my teeth angrily. For I suddenly knew that I was branded in more ways than once.

The 'X' shaped scar flexed with the tightening of my neck.

And then….I heard footsteps.

I gasped.

I spun around.

There was a shadow beneath the crack of light on the other side of the automatic doors….

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SWOOOSH!!!

The doors opened wide.

Cyborg stepped in---and froze.

His eyes narrowed.

All the lights were on.

He glanced over.

Half the equipment was switched on and in use.

He stepped forwards slowly. One titanium foot after another.

The compartment to his spare limbs was open.

He looked forward. He saw the stabbed hole in the security console and came to a stop.

A beat.

Cyborg had a hauntingly calm expression on his face as he took a breath and spoke liquidly to the air: "Noir…what are you doing here?"

I kept still. I had blurred over to a shadowed, thin crevice between computer consoles across the room. From where I hid, I could look out and see Cyborg with my black eyes. Beyond him, the monitor displayed information concerning the carbonite sliver which I had openly left inside the sensor compartment.

"What are you looking for?" the android Titan asked again.

A beat.

I breathed slowly…steadily………quietly.

"Was it worth coming back here for?" his voice asked as he slowly spun around and 'addressed' the lengths and breaths of the room. "Understand me, Noir. I'm actually giving you a chance here. You hear me? I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself. If the other Titans caught me…they would have my neck. But I don't care. Things with Slade have turned too chaotic for any of us to sum up. Why'd you betray us, Noir? Could you at least answer me that?"

I bit my lip. My throat turned sore. I wanted to just give up and melt right there and then. I wanted to tell him everything…to defend myself. And who knows? Maybe he would have actually listened to me. Unless this was a trap.

"Noir….please….," he pleaded in a solemn voice. "Just show yourself. I promise…I won't try and hit your or anything if you'll just explain why you've done what you did!" A beat. "Being evil must feel very……very lonely."

I clenched my eyes shut. My body shook.

I couldn't give in. I couldn't give in….

When my black eyes reopened, they were somewhat moist. I gasped as I noticed something.

The readings on the monitor for the carbonite scan.

I silently lifted my goggles, rubbed my wet eyes, and squinted across the bright interior.

A red, blinking window appeared besides a three-dimensional, spectral analysis of the carbonite sliver. The diagram of a tiny circular device with an 'S' engraved on it appeared. And next to that were the flashing words: 'Nanoprobes detected'.

My mouth fell open.

My mind wandered back to long, informative conversations with Robin. The Boy Wonder told me of the first epic battle with Slade. He told me of his coercion into serving the terrorists, and the threat to his friends.

The nanoprobes….

The nanoprobes in their bloodstream, and how at a touch of a button Slade could kill the Titans.

All of them.

My black eyes twitched.

Long before I ever joined the group, they had narrowly escaped a gruesome fate at the hands of such microscopic machines. Surely they were familiar with the threat of them. But as Robin had told me, the way it got into their bloodstream to begin with was from the impact of a laser gun of sorts that beamed the technology into their bloodstream.

How was it that Slade's carbonite explosives were infected with the very same things?

Better yet…why was it?

My brow scrunched.

The way the carbonite glowed….the way it pulsed and gave off energy…it must have released more. It must have released the nanomachines too…

That meant......

My black eyes widened.

We were getting infected. The Titans and myself. We hadn't suspected that the carbonite was more than just carbonite. It actually was contaminating material. And each time Slade made a bomb threat, the Titans had to assemble and approach the carbonite explosives as a whole. The warehouse…the scrapyard…all of us came close to the locations of the explosive materials.

Which meant…we were already contaminated. Slade could have killed the Titans at any time. And yet he hadn't.

But why??

My brain pulsed. I remember listening in on the radio I had torn apart. On the day of the freighter bomb threat, Slade's transmitted words to Jinx…

'This will be it…the final pull…'

A breath escaped me.

'The Experiment is nearly complete. I can already taste the power…'

I trembled.

The Titans hadn't accumulated all of the nanoprobes, but they were close! Just one last exposure away from being fully contaminated! That's why Slade was playing his cat and mouse games. It wasn't that he wanted to bomb the City into submission. He wanted to drag the Titans to nests of glowing carbonite until they were stocked up on enough nanoprobes for him to inflict whatever destiny or fate he wanted to on them.

The Experiment…

The application of an old scheme renewed. Full circle…

My thoughts were quickly shattered as my eyes refocused and I noticed—to my horror—that Cyborg had seen the strange glowing object inside the compartment and was slowly stepping up close to it….

SWOOOOOOSH!!!!

I blurred out in an instant, raised my weapon in Myrkstaff mode, and slammed the android hard in the back with gritting teeth.

WHACK!!!

"OOF!!" he fell hard to the floor.

I hobbled over him, slid to a stop at the compartment, and punched my fist through the glass.

SHATTER!!!

Shards rained down to my boots as I grabbed the carbonite, pocketed it, and spun around.

Cyborg was struggling up to his feet.

I skewered the monitor with my sword. It sparked as I swung it and launched it straight into Cyborg's chest.

WHAM!!!

He stumbled backwards.

I blurred at him, teleported through him, and ran out the doors on the other side.

I slid into the hallway, panted, and looked desperately down both avenues for the best escape route.

I heard a whirring sound.

I looked straight up.

A camera glared down at me. It 'clicked'.

Alarms went off all throughout the Tower.

I sweatdropped.

Too late to care about that.

I turned around.

Cyborg limped out the doorway and stared at me. He looked hurt. His eyes did, at least.

I gave him a deadpan look and blurred down the hallway without gesturing a thing.

"Titans!!" Cyborg shouted into his communicator. I heard his voice echo throughout the hallways above the sirens and alarms. "He's here!! Wyldecarde is here!! He's broken into the Tower and now he's trying to get out!! Stop him!!"

I panted.

I ran up a stairwell and onto the floor above.

Red lights flashed all around me as the sirens thundered against the walls.

Ahead of me, two huge panels within the ceiling and floor closed in to meet in the center.

My black eyes widened.

The emergency seals!!

I dove forward and slipped through barely in time to avoid being snapped in half.

I rolled along the ground, hopped on my feet, and blurred forward.

I rounded a corner and skidded to a stop as a green glow erupted before me.

I gasped.

"W-Wyldecarde…," Starfire trembled and managed to say as she floated in front of me with glowing eyes and hands. "Do not take another step!! I implore you!"

I glanced to the left.

Bare wall.

I glanced to the right.

A fire extinguisher.

I whipped out a playing card and tossed it at the red case.

SWIIIISH-CLANK!!

PHOOOSH!!!

CO2 exploded outward and bathed Starfire.

"Unngh!!" she winced from the sudden slush.

I streaked past her.

She blindly shot a trail of furious starbolts at me.

They trailed heatedly at my heels, forming melting craters in the metal floor.

I ran up a wall and around the corner, the craters chasing me for a few dozen paces until I had distanced myself from the Tamaranian and ran up another flight of stairs to a higher floor.

Another set of security doors closed way ahead of me. They were too far ahead for me to dive through.

I desperately glanced to my right. I twirled Myrkblade, charged up smoke energy, and plowed myself through the wall.

SMASH!!!

Debris flew as I jumped through the structure in a cloud of metal-slicing-darkness and emerged on the other side.

A familiar tunnel stretched before me. Half repaired.

I sweat. I glanced past the evidence room.

I saw a starry cityscape.

An exit!

I ran towards it…but before I could make it out the huge, gaping hole…a green elf dropped down, switched into a rhinoceros, and charged straight at me with thundering hooves. The stampeding changeling occupied the entire girth of the 'tunnel'.

I gasped and dashed into a shredded hallway to the side just seconds before his emerald horn could skewer me.

I slid on a smooth metal floor, vaulted myself up, and smashed my way through the elevator doors.

There was nothing but empty shaft below me.

I impacted a wall, charged up murk, and vaulted myself upwards and off of it. I bounced off the thin shaft and up the rest of the stories of the Tower till I reached the very top. I grabbed ahold of the elevator cable, aimed myself at the topmost doors, twirled Myrkblade, and leaped forward.

I smashed through the doors, rolled onto the breezy rooftop, and jumped up into a sprint.

FLASH!!!!!!

I skidded to a stop as a blue light stabbed into my black goggles.

I shaded myself with an arm and made out the sight of Cyborg, his laser rifle aimed at me.

He frowned. "As far as you go, man….," he said in a low, saddeningly solemn voice.

SWOOOSH!!

A green aura lit up behind me as Starfire floated down to the ground and aimed two starbolts at me from the side. "Attempt to escape no more!!"

I glanced over as finally a green falcon touched down and turned into Beast Boy in a fighting stance. "Whatever you came here to do, Wyldecarde…you're not getting away with it!"

"Just put your weapon down…and surrender….," Cyborg glared.

"We do not wish to persist in this conflict!" Starfire insisted. "Do not make us hurt you!"

Hurt me……

The idea rang in my head.

I was surrounded by three frowns. Three angry hearts.

Slowly, the threatening Titans closed in around me.

I took a deep breath and shivered. I could not let them get too close to me. Not when I was carrying the infected carbonite.

I held Myrkblade up with two hands.

"I said…put it DOWN!!!" Cyborg snapped.

His voice ripped through my soul.

"It's over, dude!!" Beast Boy glared. He was the angriest of them all. "It's so over!! Don't try and get away!"

I slowly turned around.

Staring at their frowns. At these former friends of mine.

It was a great reminder that I was a villain.

That there was a terrible Experiment to prevent.

I took a shuddering breath as I realized my last resort.

It was time for an 'Experiment' of my own.

I twirled Myrkblade around in my hand.

Starbolt's green intensified.

Cyborg gritted his teeth.

Beast Boy raised his fists.

I glared at them. I twirled Myrkblade to a stop…and jabbed its tip right up to the edge of my throat.

Stopping there…warbling the blade with murk.

Slowly…the three frowns melted into three faces of shock.

Cyborg's human eye widened.

Starfire gasped.

Beast Boy blinked.

I glared at them all.

I took a deep breath.

I pressed Myrkblade closer to my own throat….threatening myself.

Threatening them…and what was left of 'us'. God it was cruel……I was cruel……

Cyborg was the first to flinch. His laser rifled lowered ever so slightly. "N-Noir….no…," he gasped.

"Shut up!!!" Beast Boy snapped. His whole body shook. "Let him do it!! We don't care!! Do we?!"

"Wyldecarde….you need not resort to that…," Starfire shuddered.

Beast Boy clenched his teeth. "Rrrrgh!! Go on, you criminal!! Make the job easier for us!!" he stammered.

I glared at him.

I charged up Myrkblade some more. The blade licked at my throat.

Beast Boy panted. His limbs trembled. He clenched his green eyes shut and shook his head. "Why?!?!" He glared at me, tears forming in his angry eyes. "Why are you doing this to us?!?! Why must you rip us apart?!?! Why must you torture us?!?! What did we ever do to you?!"

I merely glared at him. I was 'Wyldecarde'….

"Say something!!!!"

I didn't.

Silence. Dead silence. Even the wind closed its mouth.

Starfire sniffed and stepped back. She lowered her arms to her side.

Cyborg looked down and lowered his rifle.

Finally, Beast Boy turned around and let out a huge sigh.

I closed my black eyes and inhaled.

"Go on…..," Cyborg muttered. "Get out of here………"

I wasn't there to begin with.

WOOOOOOSH!!!

I blurred up, backflipped, and fell over the side of the building. Streaming down the Tower, my legs went into motion…murking against the structure. In such fashion I pivoted around, blurred down the building, and off over the waters of the Bay towards the City.

Escaping….

"I can't believe…w-we gave in…," Beast Boy shuddered and wiped the sleeve of his uniform against his cheek. "I can't believe we let him escape…."

"But we did…," Starfire stammered. "We did allow him a way out…"

Cyborg looked off towards the City. Titanium fists clenching, he wandered towards the stairwell.

Starfire looked his way. "Cyborg, where are you going?"

"To the lab where I found him," he muttered. "I'm going to try and find out just what the Hell he was searching for…"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

When I reached the shore, I ran under the suspension bridge and hid in the shadows of the girders beneath the structure.

Safely in the shadows, I caught my breath. I leaned back against a concrete slab inside the 'pocket' and panted.

My left hand twitched. I subconsciously hugged it to my chest and stroked the wrist. I glanced at it through my goggles.

To think….Dagger knew where I was. He always knew where I was.

Could Slade have known too?

At least it explained how I was ambushed in Phaser Labs and the thugs at Renee's and Daniel's.

Though…those men at Phaser Labs….

I shook my head. I sighed.

My left hand twitched at my chest.

It felt foreign. Odded out.

I bit my lip and leaned my head back.

What was I to do now?

What was I to do now……

I had no place to call 'home'. I had no more devices to my disposal save for what was on my person.

How was I to carry on the charade? How was Wyldecarde to be the thorn in Slade's side? A kink in the Experiment?

Dagger and Slade had the upper hand on me now. Perhaps they always had. The chip in my arm sang that out loud and clear.

A pause.

I reached into one of my belt's pockets. I pulled out the carbonite sliver. It glowed at me as I twirled it about in my fingers.

I squinted my black eyes through the goggles.

Dagger and Slade may have had an upper hand, but I had an upper hand of my own. I had come this far…sabotaged their plans so much…that fate itself—the full circle and the experiment—had been delayed. And if that isn't a feat, then I don't know what is.

And another thought struck me. More than any other Titan over the past week, I had been exposed to the carbonite explosives. I was three times more infected than anyone else in my former team. And yet—if Slade could have exterminated me by remote control—he didn't.

And that meant one of two things.

Either her was sparing me for some ludicrous reason, or…

I was immune….

My black eyes narrowed.

I stood up and dropped the carbonite onto the concrete ground beneath me.

I had a mission to accomplish. I had already showed my former teammates that I would do anything to get what I wanted. Even kill myself.

I whipped out Myrkblade.

I twirled it.

This isn't over……not until I'm over…

SLASH!!

CRACK!!!

I shattered the carbonite into bits and kicked it into the Bay waters.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Over the skyscrapers of the City, Raven flew with Robin floating besides her on a disc of black telekinesis. The high winds kicked at their hair. They headed towards the JCNT News Station in the West District of the City.

"Thanks for the lift," Robin smirked as he spoke over the whipping, night air. "I often forget how rewarding it must be to have the ability to fly."

"You can swing. Isn't that good enough?" Raven droned.

"For the most part, yes. But even I've dreamed of having the gift both you and Starfire have."

"I find that hard to believe…"

"Why's that, Raven?"

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"Knowing you, no."

"Then you know better than to ask."

Robin rolled his eyes under his mask. "Why do I even try to speak casually with you?"

"Sorry," Raven grunted. "I'm not Starfire."

A beat.

"I beg your pardon?" Robin asked, eyebrow raised.

"We're here."

The Boy Wonder glanced as the neon lights of 'JCNT' glowed on top of a seven story building with a huge antenna.

"Wow…and what a wonderfully fun trip it was," he droned.

Raven glared at him, temple pulsing.

The two landed on the rooftop of the building and meandered their way down the fire escape on the side.

In the distance—atop another building—a shadowed figure landed and perched still.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I blinked.

I squinted towards the distant new station.

Did I see who I thought I saw?

My lips parted.

I cocked my head aside.

A beat.

Screw it…

I blurred over, leapt, landed on the antenna, slid down, impacted with the rooftop, and slowly crept down the fire escape after the two. I scurried down to a window and quietly tip-toed my way to the frame. I craned my ear. There was definitely a conversation going on between familiar voices inside.

Raven's voice. Robin's voice. And….And….

My eyes twitched and I sweatdropped.

Glover's voice?!?!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Get to the point," Robin placed his hands on his hips. "What is it that you have to show us?"

Glover leaned against a table in a dimly lit meeting room outside his office. "Video footage taken from earlier today."

"WHEN earlier today?" Raven glared.

"Following the explosion at Phaser Labs," Glover spoke. "There was an incident on the highway soon after the fiery eruption. My camera men and I were there on the raised interstate when---well---Wyldecarde practically fell into our laps."

"How so….?"

"The video feed we have will show more than I could ever tell you," Glover smirked. "And trust me…you will benefit from seeing it." He gestured towards a t.v. and vcr seated on a metal tray in the corner.

Robin and Raven exchanged glances. They both looked back in Glover's way.

"Fine…," Robin sighed.

"Let us see it," Raven relented.

"I'll be right back," the aging journalist said. He turned around and quietly headed into his office.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The lights were out in his room.

He closed the door behind him and headed to his desk.

He froze. His eyes widened.

The window had been opened since he was gone.

And on his desk where he had left the video…..

He gasped.

He ran over and cradled what was left of the tape. It had been smashed and shredded to bits.

"How…….wh-who?!?!?!" Glover stammered.

A shadow materialized behind him.

Glover's head raised.

He spun around and gasped.

I rushed over and clamped a hand over his mouth.

I raised a hand to my lips and emphasized: "Shhhhhhh!"

His eyes curved. He looked wounded…confused.

I removed my hand. With a sad look behind my goggles I shook my head and mouthed: 'Don't……'

"But….why??" he whispered.

'Don't……please…' I mouthed.

"But….you……....w-why, Mr. Noir?!" Glover stammered quietly. "It had proof! It could vindicate……y-you…."

I stared silently at him. I took a painful breath.

He blinked. He squinted his eyes. "Why do you want to be the villain, Noir?" A beat. "Are you…..doing it to save your friends?"

I clenched my fists. I looked away.

"Mr. Glover??" Robin's voice called from the meeting room outside. "What's taking you so long?"

Footsteps approached.

Glover gasped. "I….I-I have nothing to show them now…"

I tapped him on the shoulder.

He looked at me.

I held up a piece of paper from his notepad I had scribbled a short message on.

'Do not worry. I am not going to hurt you.'

His brow furrowed. "Huh??"

I crumpled the paper, tossed it into an unseen wastebasket, and disappeared in the shadows.

"………….," Glover blinked. "What is he up to….," he whispered.

The door cracked open.

A sliver of light glowed into the dark office from the meeting room.

Robin and Raven peaked in.

"M-Mr. Glover? Is everything okay?"

The journalist spun to face them. He stuttered: "Uhhhh….I-I…."

Raven glanced down at the table. She raised an eyebrow.

"Is that….th-the video?" Robin pointed at the shattered pieces Raven was staring at.

Glover fidgeted. "I…..it…."

"What happened to it?"

CRASH!!!!

A nearby closet burst open.

I blurred out of it—as if I had been 'hiding' in it the whole time—and rushed up behind Glover. The man gasped—startled—as I unsheathed Myrkblade (CHIIIING!!) and held the smoking blade up close to the base of his neck.

"WHOAH!!" Robin exclaimed.

Raven's teeth gritted. She glowed gray eyes and lifted a chair to toss at me.

"No!!" Robin held a hand out. "He's got Glover!!"

The man trembled back against my chest.

I held the blade threateningly across his neck.

I bore a mock, villainous grin at the two heroes and blew them a kiss before backing to the window with Glover in my grasp.

"Wyldecarde…let him go!!" Raven glared.

Robin whipped out his staff, extended it, and spun it at ready.

"N-No sudden moves…," Glover stammered to the Titans. He sweated…but calmed himself as he subconscious eyed the crumpled letter in the wastebasket. "N-Nobody has to get hurt…r-right Wyldecarde?"

I had a playful expression on my face. I licked my lips, smirked, and suddenly blurred back—shoving the man forward with my foot and releasing Myrkblade from his neck.

WHUMP!!!

Robin and Raven caught Glover's stumbling figure.

In a flash, I backflipped out of the window and blurred down the building side.

"He's getting away!!" Robin rushed to the window.

"He got away…," Raven muttered, steadying Glover back to his feet. "Let him go. There's no point."

"But….but……….," Robin clenched his gloved fists, growled, and punched the window frame. "Damn it!!" He spun around and faced Glover. "Glover!! What was on that tape?!?! What did Wyldecarde want to destroy it so badly for?! What did your men record?!"

"We……I….," Glover glanced at the wastebasket.

Raven and Robin stared impatiently.

The man sweat. He looked back at them and his voice almost squeaked as he barely uttered: "Wyldecarde….tore his way through traffic on the highway. He tried to kill a woman and h-her two children. Thankfully my associate Avery and m-my boys ran in and saved them at the last second. All I r-recorded was Wyldecarde's total disregard for life…"

Raven and Robin looked off into space. They fumed.

A beat.

Wyldecarde bravely added: "Whatever you do…Titans….y-you mustn't…..you mustn't trust that boy…."

They nodded.

"Way ahead of you on that, Glover," Robin said. He whipped out his communicator with a Star Trek sound and hailed the Tower. "Titans. We need to regroup in the Main Room and discuss some stuff. Turns out we almost ran into Wyldecarde…"

Cyborg's voice immediately replied: "Small world, Robin. We just chased him out of the Tower about twenty minutes ago."

Robin's eyemask widened.

Raven walked over. "What???"

"I suggest you come back here, guys," Cyborg spoke solidly. "There's some stuff I'd like to show you."

A beat.

Robin glanced up at Glover. "Over and out."

He flipped the communicator close.

"What did Wyldecarde want at the Tower?" Raven exclaimed.

"Never mind that…," Robin muttered. "How'd he manage to escape it?"

Glover stared at the wastebasket.

"Mr. Glover?"

The journalist snapped out of it. "Huh? Wh-What?"

"Thanks for trying to help out…but we have to go."

"Oh….y-yeah. Sure things, Titans. Do your duty…"

"Let's go, Raven."

They rushed out the window.

When they were gone, Glover bent over and picked the crumpled paper out of the basket.

'Do not worry. I am not going to hurt you.'

He sighed.

"Dear boy…….I hope whatever of a hero is left inside of you will benefit from my lies…"

He tossed the paper aside on the desk, where it joined the shattered pieces of the video evidence.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"I'm convinced that Wyldecarde broke into the Tower just to get into my laboratory…," Cyborg spoke, standing before the others in the Main Room.

"What did he want in there?" Robin asked. "Was he trying to steal something?"

"Everything's present and accounted for," the titanium Titan said. "Granted, one of my arms was relocated cuz somehow he broke into the compartment holding my….er….extra limbs. Ahem. But nothing was stolen."

"Anything damaged?" Raven asked.

"Well….yes. Security systems were fried—specifically the temperature sensors throughout the Tower. Don't worry, I repaired them by the time you two got back."

"I thought you said there was something else smashed in the lab," Robin said.

Cyborg nodded. "The computer component of the metallurgical analysis apparatus was destroyed. It was in tact when I first got in there. I noticed something glowing inside of the device. But before I could get to it, that's when Wyldecarde sprung on me, shattered the apparatus, and dashed off with whatever the glowing thing was."

"So he did steal something…," Beast Boy uttered.

"I think he brought that with him," Cyborg replied. "Whatever it was, he didn't want me near it."

"What did it look like?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg blinked. "If I didn't know better….I'd say a sliver of Type IV Carbonite."

Beast Boy gasped.

"So he was trying to blow up the Tower…," Raven clenched her fists.

"Nah…not enough of it," Cyborg shook his head. "It was just a tiny fraction of the sort of stuff you'd put in a carbonite explosive. And before you ask, the answer is yes: I ran a scan for carbonite emissions throughout the Tower and came up negative."

Starfire looked over at Robin. "Why would Slade's apprentice break into our Tower just to run an analysis on the very same explosives his Master is using to threaten the Town with?"

Robin rubbed his chin. "Did you catch sight of the results of Wyldecarde's scan?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Didn't even get a good look at the monitor. If I did, then we could search the memory banks of my neural net and find an optical snapshot of it."

"Just our luck…," Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"Curious…," was all Raven had to say.

A beat.

"He was doing something else too…," Cyborg said.

"Like what?" Beast Boy asked, eyebrow raised.

"He seemed to have given my bio-scanning device a real workout…," the android paced over to the huge computer monitor as he spoke, "…I checked the computer's memory. He moved the apparatus well over two hundred times…pivoting it around and such."

"To what purpose?" Starfire asked.

"Well, naturally to find something inside himself," Cyborg said.

"Like what?" Robin asked.

"Like this."

Cyborg pressed a button on his arm.

The screen blipped to light.

The last image of Wyldecard's scanned arm from the laboratory flashed into existence in the Main Room.

The Titans all stood up.

"Um….," Beast Boy blinked. "Is this a bad thing?"

"A computer chip…," Robin stammered as he stepped forward. "He was….scanning himself to find this?"

"If you knew where a computer chip was in your body….," Cyborg spoke, "…would you move a scanner over two hundred times to find it?"

"How is it that none of us knew of this inside of him before?" Starfire inquired. "Did he not undergo a physical examination upon first joining our ranks?"

"Perhaps he received it after joining us," Raven stated. "Maybe it was a crucial step in his betraying us?"

"Just what would it accomplish, anyways?" Robins shrugged.

"Besides…according to the data from the scan, he got this thing in him way earlier," Cyborg gestured to the screen.

"Like how earlier?"

"Try four and a half years ago."

Silence.

"Again…I must reiterate my confusion regarding that," Starfire blushed.

"So we overlooked something crucial in an examination," Raven shrugged. "It happens. The computer can't be right all the time."

"Still…what does it mean?" Robin gestured towards the screen. "So Wyldecarde's got a chip in him. It sure as heck isn't our chip."

Cyborg looked at the monitor. "I'm beginning to think that there's some sort of rift forming between Wyldecarde and Slade. Assuming such is true, let's also assume that Slade put that chip in there and didn't tell Wyldecarde about it. So if Wyldecarde wanted to use any devices to search about his person, he couldn't use Slade's stuff. So he broke into the Tower and used ours, thinking it'd be less risky in and of itself."

"I agree with Cyborg," Starfire nodded. "Insomuch as there may be a rift forming between Slade and Wyldecarde."

"Or perhaps it was always there…," Robin muttered.

Everyone looked at him.

He glanced back and gestured: "Well, it would explain things, wouldn't it? Every time Slade's posed a threat, Wyldecarde has gotten involved. Yet every time Wyldecarde gets involved…it always feels like Slade's plans are only halfway coming into fruition. Slade threatens to blow up the freighter. Wyldecarde beats us up. The freighter is ditched. Then Slade threatens to destroy the chronotonic core at Phaser Labs. Again, Wyldecarde is there. The threat turns out to be a dud, and—aside from two massive explosions on both sides of Town—Slade's threat falls short."

"Dude…what about those scary missiles on the building that exploded?" Beast Boy uttered. Robin tossed his hands. He sighed: "Beats the crap out of me, honestly. All I'm trying to say is…if the Master and the Apprentice are trying to work together……they really suck."

"Well, they had to have been together, period," Raven said. "Remember the computer transmissions they exchanged while Noir was still in the Tower?"

Cyborg raised a finger. "Yes….but—now—how do we know those were conversations of benevolent correspondence?"

Raven blinked at that.

"Do you believe it was possible for Noir and Slade to have been at odds with each other and yet still communicate secretly?" Starfire uttered.

"Possibly," Cyborg rubbed his titanium skull. "A battle of egos, perhaps?"

"Then why would have Noir betrayed us at all?" Starfire asked.

"Maybe a race against Slade to see who could screw us over first?" Robin suggested.

Beast Boy pulled at his hair and collapsed in the sofa. "Ughhhhh…..two evil factions….Wyldecarde and Slade. Say it ain't so."

"Nothing to confirm at the moment," Cyborg uttered. "Whatever the case is---if Wyldecarde is working for Slade or not—he is still attacking us and trying to take us out. He's as dangerous a criminal as Slade is, I'm convinced."

"He's a dangerous criminal with a chip in him," Beast Boy rolled his eyes and shrugged. "So…where does that bring us?"

"Only more and more circles," Robin grumbled. He looked at the other Titans. "You're right, Cyborg. Wyldecarde is a pure villain to the core. Just this evening, he threatened the life of Blake Glover in front of Raven and I."

"Almost can't blame him," Raven ever so slightly smirked.

"Was Mr. Glover allright?" Starfire asked.

"You could say that….," Robin nodded. "And according to him, Wyldecarde was wreaking havoc earlier on the highway. Almost killed a mother and her kids."

Starfire gasped.

"Go figure…," Beast Boy mumbled. "He tried to kill himself on the roof earlier tonight."

Robin bit his lip. "I-I remember hearing about that…"

Raven's eyes fell to the floor.

Beast Boy folded his arms and griped: "Lousy creep. He keeps hurting us and hurting us some more. I'm sick of it…."

"You are not alone, Beast Boy," Starfire sighed. "I am also suffering from a spiritual affliction of figurative nausea."

Cyborg sighed and shut the monitor off. "I'm gonna peruse through Noir's old files again. I'll look for one hint…anything…that suggests a kink or a disorder in his left arm. Maybe it'll help me figure out something about this wyrd-ass chip inside of him."

"You think he knows the answer himself?" Robin asked.

"I frankly don't care."

"That's not the answer to my question."

Cyborg sighed and sauntered out of the room. "Answer it yourself, man. This day's been shit."

And he was gone.

Starfire bit her lip.

"Um….'everyone's dismissed'?" Beast Boy sweatdropped.

"Yeah…..," Robin mumbled.

The party got up and parted ways. It was time for bed. Everyone knew it subconsciously.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Coincidentally, Robin and Raven entered the elevator at the same time and descended together.

A beat.

The silence was awkward.

Robin would have said something hadn't Raven started:

"Do you get the feeling that Wyldecarde—as of late—is confused?"

"We're all confused. Why should he be any better off?"

"Well, he's the one who betrayed us, right? Wouldn't he know what he was doing?"

"And I'm pretty sure he does."

"Stumbling into our Tower is 'knowing what he's doing'??" Raven remarked. "And did he seem confident earlier today when he leapt from the exploding front entrance of Phaser Labs?"

"What are you getting at, Raven?"

"I think Noir came to the Tower to find answers…..out of desperation."

"The Chip?"

"Among other things," she nodded. A beat. "And tonight with Glover…"

"Yeah?"

"I…..sensed something odd."

"What was it this time?"

"Noir…..wasn't honest….," she stammered.

"Raven??"

"I can't explain it, really. Only…I kn-know that he didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean what?"

"To smile," Raven exclaimed. "He wasn't enjoying what he was doing to Glover. His smile was fake. And….as a matter of fact….I could swear I felt a similar feeling before."

"When?"

She gulped. "The night of the July Fourth Fireworks promotion." She said. "I believe he was faking then too."

A beat.

"Raven…..," Robin breathed, "….what are saying?"

"Think of it, Robin," she said firmly. "After all the evidence we found…Noir's betrayal was never manifested beyond supposition….until we forced it out of him."

A beat.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Robin remarked, blinking behind his mask.

Raven swallowed. "Yes……," she weakly uttered.

Robin folded his arms, frowned, and stared at the floor.

Raven blinked. "And so are you."

Robin did a double-take. He stared at her.

She stared back.

Silence.

The elevator kept descending.

Robin's brow furrowed. "Raven….Wyldecarde has been attacking us and continues to attack us…."

Raven sighed and shook her head. "Robin—"

"Add that to the digital evidence, Slade's addressing of him as his apprentice, and the manner in which Noir so easily escaped our grasps, and you have all the evidence you need—as far as I'm concerned."

DING!

The doors to the elevator opened and Robin sauntered towards them.

"As far as we've gotten, Raven, we can't afford to soften up on a criminal such as Wyldecarde! We hesitated with Terra when the evidence was staring us straight in the face and it cost us greatly!"

"Robin---!"

"Good night, Raven."

Raven pressed the 'close doors' button with her fist, trapping Robin inside the elevator with her.

"Noir isn't Terra," she said firmly. "He is a completely different person of a different mystery with a different path and different circumstances. To equate him as the same with the Second Apprentice is relying on bias alone."

"Raven, if I remember, you—"

"I was the first to suspect problems with Noir," she nodded. "And until now, I've not had the guts to admit that….th-that I was emotionally reeling."

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"I had just had my personalities scattered and faced an incarnation of my demon father Trigon for the first time in years. I was not in the right state of mind to draw empirical conclusions."

"No, you weren't," Robin nodded. "That's why I stepped in and worked with Cyborg to find proof. And you know what, Raven? We. Found. Proof."

Raven sighed. She looked to the floor.

"I need your help, Raven," Robin said. "You and I….we founded the Titans. The worse thing we can do right now is hold back our convictions---our painful convictions and leave ourselves open to a complete deconstruction at the hands of the enemy. We held back once…and Terra thrashed us so hard, we were wounded forever. It's amazing that we even survived her treachery. Wyldecarde's legacy—howbeit problematic—will be short-lived. Do you know why, Raven? Because we're seizing the opportunity to get a jump on a traitor before he ever had a chance to get a jump on us."

"But—"

"Can I trust you not to hold back any longer, Raven?"

Silence.

Raven's eyes fell aside. "You can always trust me, Robin…," she uttered. "You know that."

He nodded. "Yes. I do."

He pushed her fist aside and pressed the 'open' button.

DING!

"Get a good night's rest, Raven….," Robin said. A beat. "Please."

She slowly nodded.

He limped off and down the hallway towards his inviting room…sighing.

The doors closed behind him and Raven descended two more stories to her own floor.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose with exhausted fingers.

"Maybe…..m-maybe I should catch up on meditating…."