Alice: Teen Titans and Victorious ended up tying on the poll, so I'm going to write one of each!

Emily: On my website there's a poll for which Teen Titans story I should write next, so vote for which one you want me to write! It's the same two options from the previous chapter.

Alice: In the meantime, I posted an Avengers story (it's around three to five chapters). Once I finish that story, which should be soon, I'll close the poll and write the winning Teen Titans story.

Emily: In the meantime, enjoy the chapter!

X

Part 2

The first thing the Titans did when they went inside the building was split up. Normally Robin preferred it when the team stuck together, but there was too much ground for that. It made him uneasy especially considering Cyborg's disappearance. He tried to suppress any self-blame, but it was hard when it was his fault. Raven was right though when she said it would only hinder him, so he tried taking her advice.

It made him smile that she still helped him even when she was determined to avoid him.

Maybe there was still hope for them after all…

Are you in love with Raven?

He sighed and continued looking through the halls, wondering when Red X would pop up. He knew the criminal would attempt to surprise him, but he wasn't sure when. He had to keep himself on guard at all times.

He approached one of the main rooms and walked in. He frowned at the strange set up. Below him, the floor structure changed the black marble. Or what appeared to be black marble. Above it, there was a strange beam with a large gun on top. It was supposed to be a trap for anyone who walked in. Robin snorted, wondering who would fall for something like that only to feel a hand on his back. Gasping, he tried to regain balance but it was too late. He landed right on the floor.

"Sorry," Red X's tone was not apologetic in the slightest.

Robin growled but he couldn't make a comeback. Instead he had to quickly dodge out of the way when the gun came above him and fired at him. Running as quickly as he could, he tried to outrun the weapon as Red X was laughing at him. Right before he could reach the door, Red X appeared at the doorway. "Thanks kid," he stated before it shut on him, locking Robin out.

"Shit!" Robin cursed, jumping up onto the platform as the weapon followed him. He quickly searched his surroundings before thinking of a plan. From his utility belt, he grabbed his grappling hook. It latched onto the beam holding up the weapon, and Robin felt the familiar sensation of the air hitting his face as he practically flew up. Once he was on the beam, he crawled to the weapon and started to play with the multiple wires, using weapons from his utility belt to help loosen it. As the huge weapon fell to the floor, Robin smirked.

Hoisting up the weapon over his shoulder, he carefully aimed it at the locked door and blasted around it. He dropped the weapon to the ground and narrowed his eyes at Red X, who was staring at the open doorway with the vials of zynothium in his hands. "Dang kid," Red X whistled. "I'm surprised Batman fired you with all those talents you had."

Robin growled, charging at Red X and kicking him in the gut, "Batman didn't fire me," he snarled. "I quit!"

Red X quickly dodged the next hit, and the two continued fighting with all they had. Throughout the fight, Robin attempted to analyze everything this new criminal did. His fighting style was similar to his own hinting at some sort of acrobatic background; however, he relied more on outright attacks, which implied he was not entirely comfortable or talented with that particular skillset. He was trained to fight but not in the same way Robin or his team members was. It was more of a street fight style fighting than anything else. Chances are he was raised in a crime filled neighborhood where he was forced to lean how to fight and steal. That made him a thief, not a criminal master mind.

He avoided another hit, but his dodging was becoming sloppy. Focusing his attention back onto the fight, his attacks became more precise. Red X cursed and tried backing up, "Lighten up, birdie," he sounded amused. "I'm not some big villain threatening your city. I'm just a thief. From what I've seen, titans don't deal with thieves."

As he suspected. "You stole from me," Robin grounded out. "That gives me reason enough to go after you."

Red X shrugged, "Good point. Still I'm not a bad guy once you get to know me. I think you and me could be good friends once we—whoa!"

In the middle of his little monologue, Robin went after him and nearly kicked him. Red X barely avoided the attack. "Play time's over," Red X spat out, and it was the first time he sounded annoyed instead of amused. Red X quickly made a run for the zynothium, and Robin hurriedly chased after him. Just as Red X grabbed the vials, a multitude of men in protective gear walked in. Before Red X could even speak, one of the men pulled out a taser and used it to attack both Red X and Robin.

Both fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Red X, Robin could tell, was knocked out. Judging by his inability to move his legs, Robin guessed this was no normal taser and cursed himself. Seeing that he was still awake, one of the men dropped a phone to the ground with a video on it. "Professor Chang," he glared at the man on the screen.

"Robin!" Professor Chang smiled. "I've realized something today. I'm no longer okay with selling zynothium to the bad guys! I want to be one. So I sent some men to follow you and Red X and steal all the zynothium without even breaking in! Perfect planning, am I right?"

"You won't get away with this," Robin narrowed his eyes. It was a clichéd line, but it was true. He wouldn't allow Professor Chang to steal all of the zynothium.

"But I will." Professor Chang grinned. "If you come after me, then I'll kill your friends!"

The camera view shifted to four tubes, and his friends were frozen inside all of them. He clenched his fists, "Chang…"

"Goodbye Robin!"

The screen went blank.

"Cities… towns… neighborhoods… lives," Professor Chang grinned to himself, glancing at the trapped titans. So far, only their heads were unfrozen, and their bodies were unable to move. He ensured that the girl with the cap was gagged just in case she used her magic to free them. While many would call that careless, he thought it was brilliant. He wanted to see the looks on their faces when they realized their whole city was about to be destroyed. "Tell me, pretty girl," Professor Chang grinned at Starfire. "Have you ever seen anything ripped apart molecule by molecule? It's a beautiful sight... almost as beautiful as you."

The alien girl's eyes glowed green with anger. "Robin will come." She glared at him. "He will stop you."

"No he won't," Professor Chang beamed. "Because I have you. If he so much as steps in here, you will all be killed! Would he really risk that?"

Yes, they all thought to themselves. Robin was known to save them even when villains threatened him with their lives. Whenever his friends were in danger, he acted more vicious and more careful than he normally would. It was a dangerous combination, and Professor Chang was about to realize his mistake in threatening his friends.

"Dude, why do you even want to destroy the city?" Beast boy changed the subject. "What's the city ever done to you?"

"I don't know," Professor Chang shrugged. "Why did Slade want to destroy the city? He never gave a reason, and I suspect he never had one. We just like seeing the world burn."

"Slade is dead." Starfire stated. "Do you want to have a fate like his?"

Professor Chang actually seemed surprised by that. "Dead? Did the bird boy go dark and kill him? I never thought the child would do it… then again, I never thought someone like Robin would come to me for zynothium either… He's just full of surprises that one."

"He didn't kill him!" Cyborg interjected but a voice suddenly rang in his head.

"I've killed before, Robin. You can't come back from that."

"I've killed too, and I came back from that."

Robin had outright confessed that to Terra, and he never explained to Cyborg what he meant by that. Shaking his head, Cyborg focused on the situation at hand, "Slade died because he fell into a pit of lava."

"Fascinating," Professor Chang mumbled before turning around and looking at some of the blueprints for the overly big gun fueled by zynothium. Cyborg rolled his eyes and sighed, glancing at his teammates. Raven continually glared at the professor, and Cyborg could tell she was not happy about the gag around her lips.

"We'll get out of here," Cyborg whispered to her.

She turned her head to him with a look that said "I know," and Cyborg smiled. They just had to wait for an opportunity to escape.

By the time Robin could move his body, he knew he had to hurry. He shakily stood up and walked over to Red X, grabbing him by the foot and literally dragging him to the center of the room. He knew with the press of a button he could trap Red X, but he wanted to do something first. He crouched down in front of the unconscious boy and grabbed the corner of his mask.

When he ripped it off, he didn't know what he was expecting.

The person who stole the uniform was definitely older than Robin but not by much. Five years older at the most perhaps. He had dark, ruffled hair with tan skin. He almost looked like Robin himself, but there were still some slight differences. His jawline was more defined, and his eyes weren't as big.

He tried to remember every detail of his face because he would definitely look up the boy once he got back to the tower. Shoving the mask back on his face, he made a grab for the belt that powered the suit when Red X began stirring. Robin quickly sprang up and walked to the podium, which controlled the room. Just as Red X started to push himself off the ground, Robin pressed a button that caused bars to surround the thief.

"Seriously?" Red X groaned.

"A mad man has just stolen all of the zynothium in this room and is about to power it to destroy the city." Robin stated, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Okay."

"Okay? Do you even care? It's your fault this happened!" Robin shouted.

"Don't you mean our fault?" Robin could tell he was smirking under that mask.

"At least I'm going to do something about it," Robin countered, remembering Raven's words about how his guilt made him sloppy. He couldn't afford to pity himself and his past actions now.

"Sorry I don't like playing the hero," the thief shrugged.

"Fine." He bit out, turning towards the exit of the room. "I'll come back soon to arrest you."

He strutted out of the room, knowing fully well Red X would most likely escape. It didn't matter right now though because Professor Chang was the bigger threat.

He'd catch Red X soon enough anyway.

It was time. Professor Chang sat on the chair of his gun and grinned happily. Raising the weapon to the skyline, he aimed it at the Titans Tower. What would be more symbolic than destroying the home of the Teen Titans? Grinning, he began powering up the gun, ready to start destroying the city when out of nowhere, Robin appeared.

Robin had used his grappling hook to swing over and kick him right out of his chair.

Professor Chang hit the floor of the lab, and Robin was standing over him. "You made a big mistake," he growled.

"Attack!" Professor Chang shouted, and one of his hired men grabbed Robin from behind, throwing him off the professor.

Robin began fighting the majority of his men, and Professor Chang scrambled off the ground and dashed to his weapon. From the sounds in the background, he could clearly hear Robin was winning the majority of the fights. It was no matter though. He just needed to get back onto the chair, and Robin would be helpless to stop him.

"Yes!" He exclaimed in victory once he sat down in his chair again. He whirled the weapon around so it was facing Robin, who just happen to be standing in front of his frozen friends. Robin narrowed his eyes and quickly grabbed another grappling hook from his utility belt. With great speed, Robin was hurled into the air, and Professor Chang quickly followed with the weapon. Unfortunately, Robin was slightly faster, and in his impatience, Professor Chang fired. It barely missed Robin, who was hanging from the ceiling rather helplessly.

He was only thankful the lab was so far away from the city that Professor Chang's misfires wouldn't hurt anyone. Using his body, he began swinging on the grappling hook and leaped onto the ground. Professor Chang followed him, and Robin had to quickly dash away from all of the shots made at him. One came too close, and the ground beneath him collapsed. Gasping, he quickly searched for something to grab onto. His hand somehow found the metal railing, which had been broken due to the blast. He hung from that spot, trying not to look down. Judging by the way the broken railing was shaking, he didn't have long before it collapsed. At this height, he would definitely die if he fell.

And he refused to die like his parents did.

Professor Chang laughed maniacally. "Now who should I kill first? You, or your friends?" He moved the weapon down to where his friends were frozen and trapped. Robin narrowed his eyes, trying to think of how to save them when Professor Chang screamed.

The metal railing snapped, and Robin found himself plummeting to the ground.

Images flashed through his mind. Of his parents. Of his mother's horrified expression before she began to slowly fall. How his name was the last thing she said before hitting the ground. The sound… the terrible sound of their bodies hitting the floor. How disfigured they were...

Suddenly a hand grabbed his arm and hurled him to the platform above. He wasn't falling anymore and he gasped in relief. He turned to see Red X standing before him. He knew he must have looked pale, but Robin smirked anyway, "I thought you didn't like playing the hero," he said, trying to mask his furiously beating heart and outright fear that he could have died by falling.

"Doesn't mean I don't know how," Red X commented. He held out his hand, and Robin took it without question. Together they stood up and glared at Professor Chang, who was looking panicked. Robin already took out all of his men beforehand, and he only had the weapon as a defense. Judging by how he tried pressing the buttons, Red X's weapons had destroyed the weapons controls. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how the rest of the titans were unfreezing at a fast rate. The controls for that must have been on the weapon as well.

"No… no!" Professor Chang screamed.

"I think we just saved the day, bird boy." Red X said jokingly, and together the two of them leaped onto the control panel for the weapon. Right before they landed, Robin quickly grabbed the back of the belt. It instantly came undone at the front, and he quickly tucked it under his arm, hoping Red X wouldn't notice until it was too late. Both landed right in front of Professor Chang, who was nervously sweating.

Robin kicked Professor Chang out of the chair. He quickly handcuffed the professor just as Red X leaped a couple feet away from him. He was closer to an exit (well more like a giant hole in the building due to Professor Chang's lack of aim when he tried to shoot Robin). "Time to get what I came for."

"No chance." Raven stated, flying right beside Robin along with the rest of the unfrozen Teen Titans. In her hands there was a strange cloth, and Robin would have to ask her later what it was. Well, if she bothered speaking to him.

"Sorry X," Robin smirked. "Just because you helped us doesn't mean you get whatever you want."

"It doesn't matter," Red X cockily said, holding up a single vial of zynothium. "As long as I have this, the suit will be fueled for a long time."

"And how exactly are you going to power it without this?" Robin asked, holding up the belt in his hand.

The team's expressions were hilarious. Each one looked incredibly shocked, and even Red X appeared surprised. He looked down, just noticing he was missing an important element of his suit. "Not bad kid," he actually sounded impressed. He quickly turned around and jumped out of the building, disappearing into the night.

"Are you just going to let him go?" Cyborg questioned.

Robin shook his head. "Without the belt, he's just another thief. We don't go after thieves."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "You know something, don't you?"

Robin lazily grinned at her. "Maybe… I'll let you guys know if it's an actual lead or not."

"You're so frustrating when you do that," Raven mumbled under her breath.

"Do what?"

"The 'cocky smirk, I know something you don't know' thing." Raven retorted as the team began walking back to the tower.

"I don't do that!"

"Yeah," Beast boy cut in, laughing. "You do that all the time!"

"It's really annoying," Cyborg chipped in.

"I think it's funny!" Starfire giggled. "It makes you very mysterious, friend Robin!"

The team continued to tease Robin on the way home. Beast boy and Cyborg even went as far as doing impressions of the 'cocky smirk' making even Raven chuckle every once and a while. Robin continued to deny it, but his smile revealed he thought it was funny. By the time the team made it back to the tower, they were relaxed, something that hadn't happened since the Red X suit made a second appearance in their lives.

"Let's do a movie night!" Beast boy exclaimed when they walked into the lounge. "I'm all for seeing another stupid horror movie!"

"Cause that worked out so well last time," Raven rolled her eyes, and Beast boy blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah… bad romantic comedy then?"

"What's that?"

The team frowned and turned to Cyborg, who was pointing at a package on the kitchen table. The team slowly walked over to it. Without a stamp or a return address, they had no idea who it was from. "Be careful," Beast boy tried to joke, "I don't want to turn into a puppet again."

Robin snorted and pulled the package towards him. The team watched from behind as he slowly started opening it to reveal a sturdy box. Their leader lifted the top off and immediately dropped it. His entire body stiffened, and the team tried to look over his shoulder at what was inside. "That's impossible," Robin breathed out.

Once the team managed to see what was inside, they froze as well.

Slade's entire outfit was inside with his cracked mask on top. That was impossible. When he died, he melted into a pit of lava. There was nothing left of his to send. It was all gone just like the man himself. Even if he had a spare uniform, his entire lair had gone down in the lava. There should have been nothing left.

"How… Terra took him down," Beast boy was trembling. "Does that mean he's still alive?"

"We saw him die," Raven countered. "He couldn't have come back from that. No one can!"

"Then someone else is behind this," Cyborg concluded.

"But how would they have gotten Slade's… everything?" Starfire asked, staring worriedly at Robin, who hadn't said a word so far.

"We need to investigate this." Cyborg stated. "We have to—"

"I'm going to put this in the basement with all of the other pieces of evidence." Robin stated.

Cyborg frowned, "But—"

"We need more evidence before we start coming up with theories," Robin crouched down and grabbed the lid of the box. "Storage is the safest place to put this just in case someone's watching from the other side."

He placed the lid on top and turned to the team. They instantly knew not to question him least he snaps at them. Robin had always been obsessed with Slade, and they thought he was gone. If he somehow managed to survive, Robin's obsession might take an even scarier form. He stiffly walked out of the room with the box in his hands, and no one dared to follow him.

Except for Raven, who didn't even realize it until they were out of the lounge and in the dark hallway.

"Following me again?" He asked.

"I'm worried."

"Me too."

"I'm worried about you." Raven clarified, frowning at him as they walked down the steps to the basement.

Robin sighed. "I thought it was over…"

"It is." Raven frowned. "He couldn't have survived. It's impossible."

"It's Slade."

"And as far as we know, Slade is human," Raven insisted. "He's not back. Someone is trying to mess with us, and it's working. We can't let whoever did this get to us."

Robin sighed, placing the box among the hundreds of others. He slowly turned to her and nodded. "You're right."

"I know. Now come on. I think we should discuss this with the team."

Robin nodded, and together they walked up the steps. They didn't speak, but they didn't need to. Both were lost in their own thoughts, wondering who sent that box. Was it Slade? Was he back? If not, who knew Slade well enough to send an extra uniform just to scare the titans? Was it really Slade's uniform or just a fake made to scare them?

All they knew was that they needed to be especially careful from now on.

Alice: Thanks for reading! Betrothed is next.

Emily: There's going to be a lot of RobRae and a lot of RaeStar friendship.

Alice: Basically the next chapter will be all about how Starfire ships RobRae like crazy and really wants them to get together.

Emily: It will also explore more of Starfire's feelings for Robin and how they've developed since he rejected her.

Alice: I'll try to make Betrothed one chapter, but it might be two.

Emily: And foreshadowing for Haunted! I never knew how they got the uniform when Slade literally melted, so I figured I'd add that in there. Anyways, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

Alice: Don't forget to vote on the poll for which Teen Titan story I should write next! I added a third option that I didn't have before.