Author's Note:
Here's another chapter finally done! Hooray! Please understand that this chapter went through some different thoughts and versions of how the OC was going to get incorporated. Hopefully you all like it and come back for more chapters at a later date. (Please, I'm so lonely.) What? Who said that? Not me, that's for sure.
Anyway, I want to thank you all for your love and support. To the new people just joining us on this journey, I want to say, "How're you doing?" If you're returning, thank you, you're all the greatest.
So without further adieu, let's get on with the chapter.
Nothing but silence filled a large, darkened storage area where nothing but a bright beam of white light shined in the center of the room. In it, a red microchip rotated slowly in the air, hoisted by its own power. From within the darkness, a large figure approached the light; clad in black armor, with additional steel plating reinforcing its' shoulders, biceps, shins, and waist, while it also wore a mask that hid the entire face. The mask was black, with a red-orange circle in the center whose edges touched both eyes. Slowly, the figure reached toward the chip, revealing a steel-gloved hand. But before it could grab the object, the thief cocked one eyebrow in surprise as it noticed a familiar red, yellow, and green clad teen hanging upside down on the other side of the suspension field.
"Tell Slade if he wants this, he can come get it himself!" The teen yelled before dropping from his perch and delivering a kick that sent the thief tumbling across the darkened area.
Once the thief landed, the lights in the room came on, showing the other five Titans in formation behind him, as well as revealing the place to be a chamber stuffed with supercomputers. A laser beam lanced down from above, forcing Robin to jump out of its way. He looked up and saw a section of the ceiling being cut. When the section finally fell, it gave way to a cloud of dust where several more intruders, similar to the first, leapt in.
The Boy Wonder did a few more backflips to avoid getting diced by another laser blast and soon had one of the new arrivals coming right at him. He blocked and dodged several punches, then tried to counter with a kick, only for the attack to get deflected. The masked figure then whipped out a brass knuckle-like blaster with a muzzle on the front edge and opened fire. Robin quickly performed a few acrobatic tricks that carried him out of danger before retaliating with a jumping roundhouse kick that sent the attacker crashing into the far wall.
Just above the struggle with the masked leader, Starfire was flying through the chamber, evading shots from a squad member who jumped up after her. She gathered herself and blasted a starbolt that found itself dead center in the chest of her pursuer, sending it skidding across the floor. However, another thief followed up with a blaster of its own and struck one of the light lenses, slicing it off and sending it down to crush the Tamaranean girl directly underneath. Luck would be on this girl's side today as Robin darted across the air and plowed her away just in time as the lens crashed to the ground, creating a massive dust cloud that obstructed their view.
When the dust cleared, Robin set his teammate down gently. She was a bit dazed but soon snapped out of it with a sharp gasp as she noticed what was in front of her.
"Huh?" The spiky-haired hero let out as he looked in the same direction as the orange-skinned Titan. Across the room, three squad members leveled their weapons, ready to blast them to the next world. But before they could shoot, a computer cabinet slid across the floor and bulldozed them across the room before crashing into a wall.
"Amazing what you can do with computers these days." Cyborg smirked as he clapped his hands together before running toward the heart of the battle. Behind him, a green bighorn sheep charged across the ground and into the back of another thief, ramming it into the wall.
Kylar found himself weaving between blasts on the ground from his own opponent as another commando ran up behind him. The thief behind him placed a hand on the brunettes' shoulder, only for the teen to quickly turn around, grab the intruder by the wrist, and fling him over his shoulder into the other henchman, knocking both down to the ground.
On the opposite side of the room, Raven floated backwards across the ground, staying just ahead of a laser beam. Just as another blast was fired from midair, she created a shield around herself, protecting her from the attack as it disintegrated into the floor around her. A moment later, the enemy rushed her and started throwing punches. She was able to stop the advances by forming small barriers in front of herself as she slowly backed away, but a low kick from her opponent cut her legs out from under her and dropped her to the ground. Propping herself on her arms, the mage looked up and saw the blaster aimed at point-blank range.
"Rrrrraaaahhh!" A voice roared to the right of the commando, catching its' attention. The next thing Raven saw was Kylar speeding by, grabbing her attackers' face with his right hand, and ramming it against a nearby wall. The brunette continued slamming its' head multiple times, causing a full body indent to form in the wall. The blue-clad girl stood and stared in genuine surprise as Kylar approached her, the commando lying crumpled in a heap against the crater in the wall behind him. "Are you all right?" The black-jacketed Titan asked. At the end of his question, another armored thief jumped behind him and aimed its blaster at his back.
At the last possible instant, two computers, outlined in black magic, slid together from opposite directions and crushed the would-be shooter between them. Kylar quickly looked over his shoulder to see what happened just as the hardware fell away, revealing the smashed figure within. "You should worry more about yourself." Raven stated as she dispersed her powers.
"Well, that's why I've got my guardian angel, isn't it?" Kylar said happily as he shot the girl a cheerful grin. He couldn't notice, but the remark caused the mage to blush under her hood.
At the center of the room, Cyborg broke out his sonic cannon and started blazing away before receiving help in the form of Starfires' fusillade. One of the thieves leapt impossibly high to avoid the blasts, then pushed off from the wall and sailed straight toward the chip, grabbing the bounty in a fly-by, and racing for the door after touching down. Robin gave chase as he hurled a birdarang at the commando; it struck the thief's hand and knocked the chip high into the air.
"Mine!" The energetic shape-shifter called out before running after the airborne piece of metal. Transforming into an anteater mid-stride, Beast Boy lashed out a long, thin tongue around the chip and snagged it out of the air as he slid to a stop at the wall. Unfortunately, an attacker's boot came down on the tongue, causing it to let go of the chip so it could be seized. "That tasted so nasty." The green teen cried; reverting back to human form and speaking as if he had bitten his tongue as a tear of pain hung from his left eye.
Once the object of importance was in the thief's possession, it quickly vaulted across the room to the door, where five other survivors had gathered, and threw down a smoke bomb. The resulting gray clouds shrouded the commandos and once cleared, it revealed that the six have escaped.
"Titans! GO!" Robin shouted as he ran toward the door in an attempt to chase down the thieves.
0-0
After running through a very long and empty corridor, the six teenage superheroes found themselves in a chamber similar to the one in which the theft occurred. The lights were dim, but not out, and a large circular hatch, covered with a steel grid, was in the center of the floor. Along with the door they entered, there were five other passageways that led out of the chamber.
"Split up!" The leader of the team called out. On his command, each of his teammates fanned out toward the five other doors in an attempt to find the thieves. Seeing as his comrades covered the passageways, Robin headed for the hatch and moved it aside before descending. Climbing down from an overhead ladder, he found himself inside a sewer tunnel. Nothing but the sound of rushing liquid was heard as he dropped into the water. Looking up, he saw one of the thieves making a break for it and quickly gave chase. The commando noticed it was now being followed and quickly shot a blast from its' laser, only for the pursuer to run up the pipe wall and throw a birdarang in retaliation.
A huge jump carried the escapee out of the projectiles' path, and a second shot from the blaster reduced it to junk. Skidding around a corner, the thief made its' way down a side channel and tossed a grenade back at the entrance. Once the explosive detonated, the effect caused the path to be almost entirely blocked by collapsed rock and debris. Robin could do nothing but stare through a small opening in the cave-in as the thief moved further ahead toward a dead end. Once it reached its destination, it raised its' blaster and cut out a door-shaped outline, revealing the side of a mountain at sunset. The commando stood at the opening, ready to make its escape, but was interrupted when a certain auburn-haired Tamaranean flew up to him.
"I am asking you nicely to stop running and-Ah!" Starfire cried as the fugitive shot her down with the blaster, sending her into a free fall. Her assailant jumped out after her and activated hidden jet thrusters in the boot soles and started flying away.
Robin had finally breached the wall of debris and reached the opening just as the armored figure zoomed past him. Looking after him, then at his falling comrade, he leapt out of the opening, a grappling hook in each hand, and fired one down and the second up.
The first line wrapped around the falling Titan as she dropped toward the rocky waterway below, while the second looped onto the armored chest of the thief. The commando stopped ascending and went into a sharp dive; Robin was suddenly yanked along toward the water with a gasp and a long scream as all three flew off, skimming the surface of the water, and heading toward a small beach.
Once the three flyers crashed onto shore, Starfire found herself half-dazed with a wriggling fish stuck in her mouth. She quickly spat the marine animal out of her mouth as she groaned weakly.
"Now talk!" The alien teen heard Robin shout. She looked to her left and saw the boy standing over the masked criminal, holding it by the collar. "Who's Slade? Why does he want this chip?" He demanded angrily as he placed his right hand over the black and orange mask, "And why are you working… for…him?" He trailed off as he pulled the mask away. The reason for his trailing was that the entire front half of the head came off in his hand. Behind said 'face' was a small monitor.
Suddenly, the blank display came to life, resolving into a not-fully-tuned image of an imposing figure silhouetted against an ominous orange light. Behind him stood another shorter and slimmer figure also silhouetted against the light. "Excellent work, Robin." The figure complimented in a rather calm and erudite tone through the video feed.
"Slade!" The masked Titan said icily.
"Really, I think your skills are improving." The figure, referred to as Slade, added as the image flickered and refined itself.
"No more games! What do you want?" Robin demanded.
"But you do lack patience." Slade went on to say, "If you're really so curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet-face to face."
"Tell me where you're hiding and I'll be there in a heartbeat!" The teen snapped back as the image flickered again.
"Patience, Robin. Patience." Slade repeated as the sparks crackled from the monitor before cutting off. Smoke rose from within the skull of the robot as the system fell apart.
A fierce scowl settled on Robins' face as he released his grip, dropping the robotic body to the ground. "Robin?" Starfire asked worriedly as she approached him. His only response was turning away from her and stalking his way back to their home.
0-0
Later that night at the Tower, after returning the stolen item, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Kylar had settled themselves on the couch in the Ops Center while Beast Boy stood in front of them; Raven was reading a book while the changeling spoke.
"Okay. All work and no flicks makes me a dull Beast Boy." Said green teen stated as he held up two videotapes, a broad grin slapped across his face, "So, my fellow couch potatoes, what'll it be?" He asked holding up one of the tapes, "Super Ninja Showdown Eight…" The videotape he held showed two ninjas bowing before they started fighting, "…or Maniac Fury: Attack of the Protozoids?" He held the other tape where a Godzilla-like creature spewed fire as screaming people ran for their lives.
"Gee. They both sound so good." Raven sarcastically stated as she continued reading her book, not even looking up at the movie fanatic.
Cyborg rubbed his chin in thought, "Yeah. It's really hard to pick." He said in all seriousness, "Wanna watch 'em both?" He offered with a huge grin.
Kylar let out a soft chuckle while the overly critical Titan gave him a dirty look as a vein flared up on her forehead. "I could go for both." The brunette admitted, earning him a hard stare from the mage that sat to his right.
"Perhaps Robin would enjoy potato-ing the couch with us." Starfire said in her usual misunderstanding of the English language, clearly worried about their leaders' state of being, "Tell me, is he-"
"-in the exact same place he's been since his little chat session with Slade?" Beast Boy interrupted with an annoyed look on his face, "Uh, yeah." He finished. The answer earned him a very worried look on the alien Titans' face as she stood up and walked toward the Ops Center door.
0-0
'Robin. Is that the best you can do?' The eerily calm voice of the man who spoke to the Boy Wonder just hours earlier rang through his head.
Robin stood at a desk under a solitary overhead light in his room. Multiple newspaper clippings about different villains' exploits in Jump City hung from the wall in front of him as well as littered the desk and the floor around him.
'Excellent work, Robin. I think your skills are improving.' Slade's voice rang in his head again, 'If you're really so curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet-face to face.'
Robin looked down at the desk. It was covered with a jumble of items: notes, maps, blueprints, wires, electrical instruments, parts of the commando robot's equipment… the front half of its head, and a communicator marked with a stylized S. "Who are you?" The masked teen mumbled to himself as he stood in the solidarity of his room, deep in thought. The sound of his room door sliding open snapped him out of his focus.
"Robin?" A very worried Starfire called out to him from behind, "I am wondering if you might wish to-"
"No." Said Titan answered bluntly, causing the Tamaranean to look at the floor sadly, "Thanks. But I need to figure out why Slade wanted that chip." He continued as he turned and faced his friend.
"Agreed." She responded with a smile as she blushed a bit, "And perhaps if you were to take a break, the answer would be easier to-"
"I can't." Robin sighed sadly as he approached the girl at his door, "You almost got hurt. Next time it could be worse." He said with a sense of guilt in his voice, "He's planning something. I have to find out what."
"But, Robin, I am sure that-" The auburn-haired alien began. But the stubborn, spiky-haired teen ended the conversation by closing the door in her face. Sighing quietly, Starfire hung her head as she walked down the hall and made her way back to the Ops Center.
0-0
Back in the trashed chamber where the battle for the chip took place, two prison guards were stationed by the recovered microchip, with only a dim light being their only source of… well… light in the darkened area. All was quiet, no sense of urgency at the moment. But the calm broke when an alarm went off and red warning lights flashed. Both guards ran toward the door and found themselves in an emptied chamber that split into five different passageways.
"I don't like this." One of the guards said as both pointed their weapons back and forth as they scanned the room. Nothing happened for a moment, but the door suddenly slid shut without warning behind them.
"Hey!" The other guard shouted before the door closed completely, locking both out of the room with the precious cargo.
The alarms fell silent, but the lights continued flashing. Inside the room with the suspended microchip, a figure materialized in front of it. It wore a skintight black outfit with a large red X emblazoned over the heart; the low end of the upward stroke was extended to cross the chest. Long black cape, gray belt and gloves, the latter with X's on the backs of the hands. A black mask whose face resembled a white skull, with another red X on the forehead; its upstroke extended, like the one on the chest, to cross the right eye.
The newcomer plucked the chip from the field. Once doing so, an explosion erupted from the door. The new thief turned to face the destruction and saw the two guards running in. "He's got the chip!" One of the guards yelled as both opened fire on the intruder. In a quick motion, the masked thief leapt into the air and disappeared into the shadows.
"Where'd he go?" The other guard asked as they stared in complete astonishment at the shadows.
0-0
It was a clear night where the full moon shined brightly over Jump City. On the rooftops, five of the six Titans were gathered as a small ringtone was heard. Cyborg extended his forearm and on it, a panel appeared to reveal Robin's face.
"I'm working a Slade lead on the far side of town. Sure you guys can handle this without me?" The masked Titan asked through the small screen.
"No problem." The metallic man replied reassuringly. With a nod from Robin, the connection cut off. On the far edge of the roof, a skylight opened and the skull-faced thief climbed out. "You working for Slade, tough guy?" Cyborg questioned as he broke out his cannon.
"Red X works alone." The figure stated. The voice revealed the thief to be male, but it was heavily distorted. He held out one palm, revealing the same mark on it, and fired a red X toward the five Titans.
Cyborg brought his cannon into play as the other four scattered; the two shots annihilated each other in midair. More cannon blasts sent the, self-named, Red X jumping all over the roof. Launching himself high into the air, he fired X's from both palms that forced the big guy to run for cover.
Beast Boy took his cybernetic comrades place in the battle as he leapt into the air and transformed into a charging lion mid front flip. The villain fired off another scarlet cross that became liquid as it flew; connecting with the green felines' face like a glob of mud, it carried him back down to the roof. When he landed, he was unable to pull free of the gluey mess. Lion, human, gorilla, hawk, elephant-none of those forms were strong enough to allow him to break loose. As a result, the shape-shifting Titan was taken out of the fight.
Starfire and Raven flew in; the former reeling off starbolts while the latter prepared a spell. Rex X nimbly avoided both shots of neon energy and a large black hand that emerged at his feet and tried to grab him. Two big X's were hurled at the girls as he flew through the air. One of them connected and tied itself around the orange alien like a giant rubber band, dropping her out of the sky.
"Azarath Met-Mmmph!" The mage began but was cut off when the other X pasted itself across her mouth. Try as she might, she could not tear it away and fell to the roof.
As the victorious villain began his escape, a yell from Cyborg caught his attention. He turned around to see the hulking Titan try and seize him, only to sidestep easily out of the way.
"Huh?" The titanium Titan uttered as he tried punching the thief, only for that to yield the same results. "What?" He felt the villain slap something on his back. On his back, a panel opened up and those gray-gloved hands of the thief reached in and tinkered with the circuits. "Hey! Yo, who told you how to shut me down?" Cyborg cried out as his arms flailed about wildly. After a few moments, the massive teen slumped over on his feet while a little push from Red X sent him crashing down.
Just as he was ready to bug out, a couple of purplish-black orbs of energy exploded at his feet, cloaking him in a cloud of smoke. Next thing he knew, a purplish-black fist hit him clean across the face, sending him tumbling. He landed in a crouch as he slid across the roof. When he stopped, he saw the one who had punched him.
Kylar was standing in front of him; both arms enveloped in his trademark power, "Any last words?" The brunette asked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Big mistake." Red X replied before jumping into the air and hurling two more X's from his palms. His adversary easily finessed his way around the oncoming projectiles and charged the masked thief.
He led with a feint, pulling his right arm back to punch. Once he saw what side Red X dodged to, Kylar then followed with a sweep to the legs, knocking the villain into the air. As the scarlet letter spun through the air, the black-jacketed Titan followed up by grabbing one of the thief's legs and throwing him over his shoulder.
As the two continued their melee, Beast Boy and Cyborg watched, as they could do nothing to help their friend, "Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" The glued Titan asked.
Catching himself in midair, Red X performed a few backflips away from the brunette. Small X's were placed on the roof where his hands touched as he continued his finesse. Kylar gave chase, not knowing the X's were there, which is exactly what the thief wanted. As soon as the pursuing aura manipulator flew over the traps, the crimson villain clapped his hands together. This resulted in the X's detonating underneath the brunette, sending him flying over the villain and down into an alleyway, out of sight.
The victorious thief gazed at the Titan as he fell into the alley before leaping across the rooftops and disappearing into the shadows. Kylar soon floated back onto the roof, but stumbled when he landed, the force of the impact seemed to have dealt some damage. He looked around for the villain, but saw that he was no longer among them, "He got away." The aura manipulator stated, disappointed in himself.
"Who was that guy?" The motionless bionic Titan asked.
"I don't know," Kylar replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he straightened his spine, "But I get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of him soon."
0-0
Deep inside an underground lair, perhaps well below the surface world, the image of the successful thief was visible on a giant monitor that covered a sidewall. In front of the monitor, the silhouetted figure of Slade stood on a platform and listened to what the kindred spirit had to say.
"Rumor has it, you're interested in this." Red X said through the monitor as he held up the red microchip for Slade to see.
"I'm interested in many things, Mr. …"
"X. Red X." The thief answered.
"Hmmm. Catchy." The imposing, armored silhouette stated, "So, are you proposing a sale or a gift?"
"A partnership." Red X stated, "I give you the chip, you cut me in on your plans."
"Partnership. My, my, we are ambitious." Slade said in a playful, or as playful as his voice could sound, tone. "But an alliance cannot be forged from one small chip." He continued, "If you're going to win my trust, I'll require more."
After a brief moment of silence, the master thief spoke up, "Just tell me what you want."
0-0
After a hard night of fighting and much needed sleep, the Titans returned home and were recuperating from the damage they had received from the scarlet thief the following morning.
"I had no idea Red X would pose such a threat." The masked leader of the Titans said in an apologetic tone, "I should have been there."
They were all situated in the Ops Center. In the kitchen, Starfire was seated on the counter as she clipped the red gunk out of a very annoyed Beast Boy's hair.
"You bet you should've been there. Look what he did to my 'do!" The distraught greenling cried as he pointed to his head, "I'm looking at two months of bad hair days!" As he spoke, a thundercloud floated briefly above his head before vanishing.
"Mmm Mmph!" Raven shouted, gagged by a big red X that was plastered across her mouth, as she glared at the complaining Titan.
Beast Boy and Starfire merely smiled cautiously at the angered mage. "I don't know, Raven. That's kind of a good look for you." The sticky-haired boy said.
The comment caused a throbbing vein to pop out on her forehead, speaking more clearly about her supreme vexation than her tongue could. She then noticed a hand reach over and grab a corner of the X. "I apologize in advance." Kylar said as the shape-shifter and Tamaranean braced for the inevitable. With one quick jerk, the brunette ripped the gag away from the cloaked girls' mouth.
The two onlookers screamed in sympathetic pain as they saw that a vivid red imprint had been left on the mages' face. She pressed her lips together as two ghostly images of her popped out on either side of her head and screamed through gritted teeth.
"Ow." Raven said flatly as the imprint and ghostly images disappeared, "Even if you had been there, it wouldn't have made any difference." She stated as she placed a hand on her chin.
"Dude knew exactly how to bring each of us down." Cyborg added, "I guarantee he had a gadget with your name on it."
"Agreed. You need not feel guilt." Starfire said reassuringly in her trademark cheerful tone, "We are undamaged."
"Hel-lo?" The Titan whose hair she was currently cutting cried out as he indicated his mangled head.
"Like she said, undamaged." Kylar repeated as he tossed the red X he had in his hand in the trash. Beast Boy pouted at his words. "Besides, Sparrow, you were with us." This statement earned the brunette a confused or surprised look from his comrades. "Spiritually, I mean. Since we're a team, we're always with each other." He explained; everyone nodded in agreement when he said that. "Anyway, how did that lead turn out?"
"Oh yes! We are all eager to learn what you have discovered about Slade." The Tamaranean barber said gleefully.
"Nothing. It was a dead end." Robin responded, disappointment apparent in his voice. "I should get back to work." He then turned away from his friends and headed out of the Ops Center. Nothing but the sound of the door sliding open and close accompanied him as the other five Titans watched him leave.
0-0
Much later that night, when the Titans were soundly asleep, a distress call was sent to wake them. Robin, who had made himself scarce the entire day, was the one who called for the others.
The door that led to inside the Ops Center opened to admit the five as they rushed in to find what was wrong. "Okay, Robin, what's the…" Cyborg trailed off as they stopped and looked around the room.
"Robin?" The auburn-haired alien called out. From what they could see, everything was perfectly fine: no Robin, no villains, no nothing. Actually, the only thing that could be considered out of place was a few dirty dishes that were placed in the sink. "Robin?" Starfire called out again as the gathered team members walked slowly toward the couch.
"You mean Captain Research?" Beast Boy gibed as he yawned expansively, his hair had returned to normal after six showers, "Ah, he's probably filling out note cards at the public library."
"I was." The voice of Captain Research rang throughout the room through the speakers. Those two words startled the daylights and a short scream out of the sleepy green teen. The other four, who weren't startled, looked to the window screen and saw Robins' face projected on it, "But then I spotted Red X pulling a robbery in the tech sector. I'm on it. Get here as soon as you can!"
"You got it, dude." The changeling uttered sleepily as drool fell from the side of his mouth. He was in such a state of exhaustion, he dozed off while their leader was speaking, "We'll be there any…" He trailed off as he fell asleep while standing. After a few snores, Cyborg reached down and grabbed a fistful of clothing before yanking his shorter friend with the rest of the team as they departed.
0-0
On the streets of Jump City in the tech sector, the leaderless team was gathered and standing at the ready. But instead of finding the villain they were after, they found nothing waiting for them.
"There!" The bulky bionic Titan yelled as he pointed down the street. Looking at a nearby building, the teens saw Red X jump down from a roof with Robin in hot pursuit. After a few dozen yards, the black-clad thief stopped and threw a net back at the chaser. It ensnared him and sent him rolling across the pavement, stopping where he came down from the roof. "Robin!" Cyborg called out.
"I'm fine! Get X! Go!" The trapped hero ordered as he pointed in the direction of the escaping villain. With a nod, the other five set off.
0-0
The chase led the team underground, into a subway station. All seemed too quiet for the Titans liking as they scanned the area for their target. "I've adjusted my ocular implant to scan at multiple sub-harmonics in the EM spectrum." The metallic teen stated as he continued his search.
"'Kay…" Beast Boy trailed off, confused at what his teammate just said, "…do you come with subtitles?"
"My eye should spot him even if he's invisible." The genius bruiser simplified as he pointed to his red eye. From his perspective, there was no activity on the tracks or the platform, at least none that he could see. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the skull-masked thief dropped into his line of sight and decked the unsuspecting Titan.
Cyborg was driven back several yards before falling onto his back as he skidded down to the far end of the subway station. "It's him." Raven stated as their bulky teammate slid past the four other Titans.
When he stopped sliding, the titanium teen stood up and rubbed the back of his head. He was still woozy from the attack and was in no condition to retaliate against the X that appeared in midair and flew toward his back. Sparks flew from the bionic Titan as the black-clad thief jumped behind him, appearing from thin air as his cloaking device wore off, yet Cyborg remained in full control of his body this time. The result caused Red X to back away, completely surprised by the upgrade. "You gonna have to learn some new tricks, dog." He taunted as he grabbed a fist full of material covering the chest of his target and threw the villain along the platform toward the others.
"Surrender! We do not wish to fight you!" The orange-skinned alien pleaded as the thief landed in a crouch between the remaining teens.
"Sorry. I'm not through with you yet." Red X stated as he leapt high into the air and hurled an X at her. At the last second, a black energy barrier, created by Raven, stopped it before it could connect with her face.
Now, Cyborg was on the skull-faced figure, coming up behind him and swinging a few punches in an attempt to hit the thief. These punches proved to be ineffective as Red X weaved his way between each jab. The Tamaranean flew in for a low-altitude bulldoze, but missed her mark and plowed into the bigger Titan, sending both to the ground.
Kylar then tried his hand at attacking the caped villain by throwing arcs of purplish-black energy from his hands. Of course, the thief found these to be easily avoidable and met the brunette with a right jab. He quickly found that the punch was useless as Kylar blocked it easily with his left hand and punched back with his right, which Red X caught with his free hand. The two were locked in a standstill for but a brief moment before the aura manipulator cocked his head back and swung it forward, meeting the forehead of the white skull with enough force to knock the thief back. He then flew at the villain at full force, but before he could get to him, Red X performed a back handspring, bringing both his feet up and clocking the black-jacketed teen under his chin. The hit sent Kylar upwards where he struck the ceiling before falling to the ground… hard.
Following the attack, the mysterious thief nimbly made his way between Raven and Beast Boy as they tried attacking him. Dodging waves of black magic from the mage, Red X twirled his way around a large green bear that brought down a giant green paw in an effort to hit him and kicked it in the chest, knocking the ursine away. With the momentum of the kick, the thief flew back and struck the cloaked teen as well, sending her crashing into a stack of crates. The changeling wasn't going to let his friend get hit without a response and rammed into their opponent from behind as a bighorn sheep.
Beast Boy quickly resumed human form again and charged the thief for a follow-up attack. However, the foe caught hold of a pole and swung his weight around it, launching himself feet first back the way he came. His trajectory forced the green Titan to duck, having Red X land behind him. To the shape-shifters' surprise, the thief quickly whirled around and threw a punch that connected with the Titans' jaw, sending him crashing against the opposite edge of the tracks where he bounced off and fell onto the rails.
Sitting up dazedly, Beast Boy snapped back fully when the glare of headlights fell across his face and a train whistle made itself heard. He stared like a deer about to snuff it on the grille of a pickup as the underground locomotive made its' approach. At the last possible moment, Red X hurtled across the tracks and pulled the green teen screaming to safety as both landed on the platform an instant before the train hustled through.
Beast Boy and Red X stood up and looked at the train, "Dude! Did you just save me?" The Titan asked in complete astonishment. Rather than an answer in words, his reply was a swift kick in the gut from the villain of honor.
Red X then ran for the exit stairs. But before he could reach them, Kylar dove from the shadows and tackled the black-clad figure to the ground. They struggled for a bit before the thief kicked him off. Landing in a crouch, the brunette leapt into the air and brought his right fist down. Red X jumped to the side, dodging the attack that slammed into the ground, and tried to hit the Titan with a jump kick. Kylar quickly recovered from his missed attack and caught the thief's leg and threw him over his shoulder. The black-clad villain also landed in a crouch, but had no time to breath as his adversary was on him again with a flurry of jabs and kicks, which caused him to bob and weave quickly. Barely keeping up with his pace, Red X caught the brunettes' fists and kicked him away, sending the Titan skidding down the walkway. He then tried turning the tables on the Titan by giving him a taste of his own tactic, but found it to be useless as Kylar easily kept up with his tempo. Red X then tried for a roundhouse kick, only for that to be caught by the black-jacketed teens' left hand, leaving him vulnerable for an open palm strike that sent him tumbling across the ground.
This was no time for fooling around, the thief was on a tight schedule and his foe was getting in his way. In one final attempt to fend off his attacker, Red X charged at the aura manipulator. With a vicious smile, Kylar ran toward his opponent as well, forming his purplish-black energy around his arms. As they got closer, the thief brought his right palm up and formed a red X in it while the brunette formed an orb of energy in his own right palm.
The train finally passed and the remaining three Titans crossed the tracks to get to the other side. The group formed around the downed Titan. "Beast Boy! You are undamaged?" Starfire asked as she helped her fallen friend off the ground.
"Look!" Beast Boy cried as he pointed at the scuffle. The other three observed just in time to see the two fighters bring their respective palms to each other's faces. Once the two connected, explosions of red and purplish-black sent both of them flying away from each other. Kylar crashed through a stack of crates while Red X collided with a pillar.
"Kylar!" The four Titans cried out.
The thief was the first to recover from the attack. He sat up in a daze as he brought his hand to his face. His mask now had a crack that extended the x so that it also crossed over his left eye to accompany the red slash over his right. He shook himself awake and quickly rushed to the stairs, escaping from the team before they could catch him.
The five heroes ran over to their fallen comrade and gathered around him. He had swirls in his eyes as he lied in the broken wood of the crates. "Are you all right?" Raven asked as she helped him up.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kylar coughed as he stood up, shaking his head to remove the dizziness.
"Who was that guy?" Beast Boy asked, looking at the stairs the thief ran up.
0-0
"Impressive, Red X." Slade's voice complimented through a computer screen. Red X was sitting at a desk where a pool of light shined in a void as black as the night sky. On the monitor the thief was looking through, Slade's silhouette stood. "I tapped into the security cameras to catch your performance. You treated the Titans to quite a show." He continued saying.
"Glad you enjoyed it." The black-clad figure returned.
"However, it appears the one with the black flames gave you some trouble." The foreboding villain stated, motioning to the large crack that ran across Red X's mask.
"Everything went according to plan." The thief responded. He then pulled out the two microchips from beneath his cape and held them up to the screen. "Is the audition over?"
"Patience. Trust is easy to destroy, but it takes time to build." Slade's smooth, yet chilling voice said. His image on the screen shrank toward the top right corner, giving way to a pure white field. Inside, a green microchip revealed itself to the thief. "One last test. Prove yourself and… we'll meet to discuss your future." On the last word, the villain faded away, leaving only the bit of hardware on the display.
"Good." Red X growled as he turned around and pulled off his mask. When it was finally free from his face, none other than Robin (big surprise) was there. "It's about time we met face to face."
0-0
"One last test. Prove yourself and… we'll meet to discuss your future." Slade spoke before cutting the line between him and the crimson slash. After the screen shut off, nothing but the dimly lit lights of his underground lair accompanied the intimidating man. "Ravager." He called out.
"Yes, Father." A shorter and thinner armored female came up behind him and kneeled as a sign of respect.
"I believe it's time to pay the good doctor a visit again." Slade stated without turning around to face the girl.
Without saying anything, Ravager stood up and walked away from the Titans' arch-enemy, the sound of clanking metal echoing through the dark chamber with each of her steps.
0-0
Later that same night, Cyborg, Raven, Kylar, Starfire, and Beast Boy were gathered in the Ops Center looking at the window screen. On it, a large computer map of Jump City was superimposed with two green dots marked. Raven was standing at one of the consoles while Kylar stood behind her.
"Okay. That's where Red X has been." The bionic teen said, pointing to the two dots on the screen, "Now we just have to figure out where he's gonna strike next." The mage did a little typing on the keyboard; in response, many more spots on the map lit up, culminating to a total of 23 extra locations.
"Great." The changeling sighed wearily. The sound of footsteps was heard from behind the five as Robin moved across the room, carrying a box with him.
"Robin!" Starfire cheered, "Wonderful! Our efforts to locate the Red X will benefit greatly from your help." She added as she moved toward the masked teen.
"It'll have to wait." Said Titan answered as he headed to a side door, "I'm close to a breakthrough with Slade."
"More wonderful!" The girl gasped happily, "Perhaps we could be of assistance to…" She trailed off briefly as Robins' back retreated into the dark hall, "…you." Starfire finished as she hung her head dejectedly.
"Let him go. Not like he's been much help lately anyway." Beast Boy stated angrily, "If Robin wasn't always A.W.O.L., X would be K.O.'d by now." He said as he socked his right fist into his left palm.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Beast Boy's right." Raven added.
"Y'all think maybe Robin's losing his grip?" Cyborg asked worriedly as he rubbed the side of his head.
"I'm thinking he's got too tight of a grip on Slade." Kylar sighed as he closed his eyes.
"No! Robin's grip is not tight!" The auburn-haired Titan cried in defense of their leader, "He works harder than any of you! He works to catch Slade before something terrible happens!" The boys she was speaking to had their arms folded across their chests while Raven looked at the girl with worrisome eyes. "He works to save us all!"
"Yeah. That's why every time we need him, he disappears." The green Titan retorted. The charge struck a chord because Starfire had no ready answer for her friend. She quickly turned away and headed down the hall to chase after Robin.
Kylar still had his eyes closed as he brought his right hand up to rub his chin. "Something on your mind?" He snapped his eyes open and saw Raven in front of him.
He looked down at the floor for a moment, "It's nothing… just…" He looked at her and gave her a warm smile, "I was wondering what kind of tea I was gonna drink. Want any?" He said before walking toward the kitchen. Raven didn't respond, only watched with concern as her teammate walked away from her.
0-0
'Who's Slade... You almost got hurt. Next time it could be worse… Nothing. Lead was a dead end… I'm close to a breakthrough… Sure you guys can handle this without me?'
Robins' words echoed in Starfires' mind as she walked through the door to his room. Inside, a single overhead light still shined on a loaded desk as she proceeded in and looked at the newspaper-covered walls. She stopped at the desk and looked at the items; she picked up the blasted birdarang from the sewer chase from a few days ago.
"Robin, where have you gone?" The girl sighed sadly before a flash from the desk caused her to drop the weapon with a gasp. The damaged projectile grazed a small metal globe on the corner of the desk and knocked it over the edge.
The thing bounced a couple of times and rolled slowly to a stop near the wall. A beam of light shot straight up from it and split into two that folded down toward the floor on either side. Between them, a holographic image of Robin appeared-caught up in the net as during the Titans' second pursuit of Red X.
"I'm fine! Get X! Go!" The hologram ordered as it flickered a bit.
Starfire was completely confused at the sight before her, "Huh? Robin?" She asked as she approached the image.
"I'm fine! Get X! Go!" Robins' hologram repeated. The Tamaranean reached her hand out to touch the Boy Wonder, only to have it phase through the image, "I'm fine! Get X! Go!"
"If you were not really there, then where were…" Slowly but surely, Starfire pieced together the events that transpired the past few days: Robin disappearing, Red X knowing how to defeat the team their first fight, Robin having a hologram of himself, Red X saving Beast Boy from the train… "*GASP*" The truth had finally dawned on her as she gasped sharply. To make matters worse, the alarms in the Tower went off.
0-0
In a protective field of its' own, a green microchip floated peacefully in a dimly lit chamber in a heavily guarded tech building of Jump City. As it floated, Red X approached the piece of technology and plucked it out of the air, the crack across his mask having been repaired.
"Excellent work." The thief heard a chilling voice say behind him. He turned around to see a pool of light cast down from one overhead lamp with a figure approaching it from the far side. The details of the figure were momentarily washed out, but as it stepped to the center of the circle, Red X finally got a fully detailed view of his employer; Slade. The man was garbed in the same manner as his commando robots-black armor, steel reinforcements, and hand and footgear-but with two differences. One, a dark gray sash crossed his chest from his right shoulder to his left side; two, his mask was red-orange on the left side and black on the right, with no eyehole on the black half. "Honestly, I couldn't have done better myself." He complimented.
"So, do we have a deal?" The black-clad thief asked.
"Indeed." Slade confirmed, "You and I are so much alike. It seems only natural that we should be partners." He added while he held out his left hand, ready to accept his payment for the partnership.
Red X held up the three microchips as he spoke. "What are they for?" He questioned, "I need to know what we're planning… partner."
"Patience. You can't expect me to trust you with such sensitive information right away…" The armored villain said, "…Can you… Robin?"
The skull-faced thief's eyes popped at the realization that his cover had been blown. In a flash of light, a small net flew from behind the failed spy, swept the three components from his hand, and carried them to the one-eyed mercenary. Once they were safely in his grasp, the lights came up to reveal the room as a large, oblong chamber with several robots standing around the perimeter. These robots were the white-black trimmed robots from the highlight reel the HIVE agents fought. In addition, there was also a balcony that was packed with ranks of Slade's commando robots.
From one direction after another, the mechanical enforcers advanced slightly, as Red X got ready to throw down. While the robots on either side of the villain started to advance, the entire room shook with the force of an explosion. Everyone looked to its source and saw the ceiling had been blown out as shadows started to appear in the smoke.
"Titans! GO!" The voice of the metallic bruiser yelled from within. Following the command, Beast Boy, Raven, Kylar, and finally Cyborg jumped into the chamber.
As Red X sprinted across the room, Beast Boy came down on one of the white robots as an octopus and yanked it to the floor, while Raven levitated a second one and forced it against a wall. Kylar formed his aura around his arms and threw arcs of energy that cut up a third robot into pieces. When he hit the ground, Cyborgs' main focus was getting a hand on the black cape of the thief.
"Gotcha!" The bionic Titan shouted when he finally grabbed hold of the villain that gave them so much trouble. As Cyborg pulled Red X closer and pinned his arms behind his back, Slade turned around and ran out of the chamber.
"Let go! Stop him!" The black-clad figure cried as he struggled to get free. Kylar jumped in front of him and placed his left hand on the mask, ready to remove it.
As the thief continued offering resistance, Starfire flew in through the ceiling hole, "No! Release him!" She cried when she saw what her two friends were doing, "He is…"
"Me!" Robin yelled once the mask had been removed from his face. The revelation caught the other Titans, sans Kylar, completely flat-footed as they made noises of surprise for a moment while giant red question marks formed over their heads. The aura manipulator only shot their masked leader a bored stare.
The shock was enough for the titanium teen to loosen his grip, giving the Boy Wonder the opportunity to escape and run for the door. "Slade's getting away! Come on!"
A huge leap carried him over the two robots flanking the door, but they just stared after him as he made his way down the corridor the leading villain ran through. Before the other four could do the same, several commandos jumped down from the balcony and surrounded them. Raven, Kylar, Beast Boy, and Cyborg readied themselves as the robots closed the distance between them.
0-0
Away from the action, on the rooftop of the building, a vet cap popped off and Slade leapt out as if launched from a cannon. Robin soon followed after, now having ditched the Red X outfit in favor of his own. He chased the orange and black masked commando from one rooftop to the next and matched the criminal on every leap across a space between buildings.
As they ran, Robin threw a birdarang to strike the villain, but a quick backhand from Slade shattered the projectile before it could hit. The Titan stared down at the pieces as his nemesis ran to the edge and performed an impossible flying leap toward a distant rooftop that had a framework of support beams erected on it, along with a red glow that shined over the area from a huge electric billboard.
Slade stopped for a look back and saw Robin standing on the high, far plateau. The Boy Wonder took a few steps back and charged into a headlong rush before vaulting into the elevated emptiness and began to drop toward the pool of red light. He hit the ground rolling before coming up in a crouch to face the mercenary.
"Careful. I wouldn't want you getting hurt." The villain said, feigning worry in his voice.
"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt." Robin returned with a scowl, "Now hand them over!"
"Robin. I thought we had a deal." Slade stated as he and the young Titan circled each other.
"Sorry. I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos."
"How very noble of you. But stealing in order to trap me? That wasn't so noble." His nemesis alleged, "Two wrongs don't make a-"
"Don't ever lecture me!" Robin snapped back, "Whatever you're planning, Slade, it's over!"
"Oh, on the contrary, Robin. It's just begun." The commando returned before the two charged at one another.
Silhouetted in the harsh glow form the billboard, they tried a few times to hit each other. Backing up a bit, Slade dodged a couple of Robins' strikes; another silhouette view showed him avoiding more blows and then landing a kick that tumbled the Boy Wonder several yards, almost to the edge. The teen got on his feel and went on the offensive, forcing the villain to back around a corner while dodging a kick.
Now, the battle had shifted to within the framework as Slade continued the defensive and avoided more and more of Robins' punches. He then found his opening and struck the Titan with another kick, sending him tumbling further into the framework. Robin quickly recovered from the hit and charged the mercenary again. Back and forth they went, neither connecting with the other until a green fist was caught in a steel one. That big armored left elbow drove its' way into the spiky-haired Titans' solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could catch his breath, Slade flung the teen toward the edge of the rooftop. He stumbled against a couple of crates and fell over the edge with a short scream.
On the side of the framework, hundreds of feet above speeding traffic, Robin held onto the ledge for dear life. Unfortunately for the young man, the masonry started to crumble before giving way to his weight. The leader of the Titans released a scream as he began falling toward the street, likely to meet his end. But before he fell too far, a steel covered hand reached down and seized his wrist.
Robin looked up and saw the masked face of his opponent staring intently down at him. "You… saved me?" He asked in complete confusion.
"I'm not through with you." The man returned as he hauled the Boy Wonder back up and tossed him easily toward the framework.
The youth landed on one of the upper beams and hurled himself back downward to start the brawl anew. Once again, both parties threw themselves at each other in an attempt to inflict damage. This time, Robin landed a flying straight punch that sent Slade and the three microchips careening away. The latter landed in a pile, while the former slid to the edge.
The next thing the commando knew was Robin standing over him and reaching for his mask. "This ends now!" The masked Titan growled as he pulled the mask off the man's face.
The entire front half came off, just like that of the commando robot he tried to interrogate after the first heist; revealing this Slade to be merely a mechanical double. Inside the head was a monitor that showed the genuine evil mastermind safely in his lair.
"Patience, Robin. We'll meet face to face some other time." The masked villain said from behind the screen, "Oh, and speaking of time…" Slade trailed off before a large number 5 superimposed itself on the view, then counting down to 4, and then 3…
Realizing what was about to happen, Robin put his feet into overdrive and sprinted to the edge of the building. The counter continued its countdown at 2, and then dropped to 1. Once the teen was safely clear of the blast zone, he heard a long beep, presumably marking the 0, before a massive explosion roared from the rooftop.
Robin stared morosely at the explosion as the other Titans gathered at a distance behind him. "Heh. At least he didn't get the chips." Beast Boy joked, trying to lighten an incredibly tense mood.
0-0
Later that same night, after returning the stolen chips, Robin was standing next to one of the walls, staring at the Slade robot's mask that he hung on it. He heard his door slide open to admit Starfire. "You want to yell at me too? Everyone else has." The boy said, without turning, as he pulled the mask from the wall, "And I don't blame them."
"I do not wish to yell, merely to understand." The saddened Tamaranean said. "Robin, why did you not tell us the truth?"
"I needed to fool Slade. If you guys knew it was me under that mask, you would've held back." The Titan leader sighed, "Doesn't matter anyway. Slade figured it out, and I still haven't figured out anything about him."
"That is not true. Whoever Slade is, you and he are similar." Starfire stated as she gave her friend a reproachful look, "Slade did not trust you, and you did not trust us." She added before turned to leave the room. Her footsteps echoed hollowly in the space as she left, followed by the sound of the door as it slid close.
Robin continued gazing at the mask in his hand for a long moment, "She's right, you know." He heard a voice come from behind him. He turned around and saw Kylar come from the shadows that covered his room. "But I wonder how your undercover job would've panned out if Slade didn't blow your cover."
Robin thought for a moment before speaking, "I was-"
"Shut up." Kylar cut his leader off, certain harshness was very apparent in his tone of voice. "Listen close, Sparrow. You came to us to form this team; we didn't come to you; that means none of this lone wolf stuff you tried to pull. And I don't what sort of poor excuse you had for doing it." He didn't raise his voice, but the anger was there. "If you can't trust us enough to let us in on your plans, how can we trust you enough to follow you as a leader?" These words carried a sharp sting as Robin just stood there with no response. The brunette stared at his shorter teammate briefly before turning to the door, "I wanted to be wrong when I thought it was you… You need to think long and hard about how important this team is to you. When you find your answer, then come and talk to me."
On his last word, the door opened and closed, leaving the Boy Wonder alone in the darkness again, hanging his head sadly as he thought about what Kylar said to him.
"You guys mean everything to me."
Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.
-Stephen Covey
Author's Note:
And it's over! Thank you for joining me again for another chapter. If you enjoyed it, great! I accomplished what I set out to do. If you hated it, great! I accomplished what I set out to do.
I hope that confrontation between Kylar and Robin was okay. That was probably the second time I wrote a scene with just the two of them and I wanted it to sound impactful. The only other time I had them together was before they officially became a team. Hopefully it works out okay.
Remember to leave a review if you want to. Favorite and follow the story if you want for updates on the chapters, and some other things.
Uh, yeah, everyone enjoy themselves, have a wonderful day, some other generic thank you farewell, and I'll see you next chapter.
So until that time, See You Space Cowboys.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the DC Universe, nor do I own anything from Teen Titans. Any other references made belong to their respective owners, again I own nothing.