DISCLAIMER: TEEN TITANS and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and copyright DC Comics. This story is more directly based on the animated series of TEEN TITANS produced by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
OTHER CREDITS: Research on comic events, specifically for character pasts, was done at the website TITANSTOWER.
Consultants for the first chapter were Toon Zone members, ShadowOfAGhost and Welshie's Mate. I feel like I should also give some credit to Vortexgirl for her support.
TIME PERIOD: This story can really take place any time after the episode X, but I tend to put it sometime before THE END, or even BIRTHMARK.
But note that the prologue is primarily taken directly from the episode MASKS.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In keeping with my "fanfiction philosophy", this is just as personal a piece to me as my last story; I've even called this "Lifted Nevermore – Book II". That said, this ISN'T A SEQUEL. cough And that said, if you came here expecting anything like my first Titans fic, this isn't it. This takes a different tone entirely. But the result is a much weaker plot; don't argue with me, because it is. Chapters are much shorter—it was a total of about 40 pages shorter—and they aren't nearly as episodic. Though this story pales in comparison to "Lifted Nevermore", I think it could make a beautiful stand-alone episode; that's how the idea was conceived and that's how the story was written. I hope this doesn't result in any lost readers for my next story (which I'm hoping will be a step up), but I had to get this concept out there.
REASON FOR T RATING: You may find this story quite tame and perhaps deserving of a K+ rating, but for disturbing themes (some of which only cryptic or implied) it's been given the T rating.
Robin hunched over his desk as he tried to learn the villain's motives. Though he tried to think logically, as Robin was always logical, and he tried to focus on the specific situation at hand, as Robin was always focused, his thoughts dwelled more on the character's haunting quotations and the question of his true identity.
Slade's words rang though his head, "Robin, is that the best you can do?
"Excellent work, Robin; I think your skills are improving.
"If you're really so curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet face to face."
Robin looked over the various gadgets recovered from past encounters with Slade, though they had never faced him directly.
Robin hated Slade with his entire being; why he was so obsessive is anyone's guess.
"Who are you?"
He was so lost in thought he hadn't heard the door open and Starfire enter. "Robin," she began, "I am wondering if you might wish to—"
"No," he interrupted, turning around to face her, "Thanks, but I need to figure out why Slade wanted that chip."
She smiled for him, "Agreed, and perhaps if you were to take a break the answer would be easier to—"
"I can't," he walked towards her figure in the doorway, "You almost got hurt; next time it could be worse." Thoughtfully placing a finger under his chin he looked off to the side under his mask, "He's planning something. I have to find out what."
"But Robin, I am sure that—"
He shut the door.
And there he would remain brooding, plotting, and planning.
It seemed obvious to him that Slade's psychology must be far from Robin's. So he came to the realization that to understand a villain one would have to be a villain.
To find out what Slade was planning he'd have to fool him into thinking he wanted to strike a partnership.
And so Robin thought up an assortment of weapons and tools. Robin thought out his whole plan. But as the hours progressed his creativity grew weary just as he was trying to think of his super villain name. Knowing of so many made it even more difficult to come up with a new one.
Robin began to doze off.
As he closed his eyes, an image of an X appeared before him. Out of this X came a trickle of blood. As if provoked, the X oozed out a substantial amount of the bodily substance until it began to contract to its initial state. But the wound opened again, now with a greater flood.
Suddenly Robin felt wide awake and in a cold sweat. He took a pencil and scribbled down a rough draft of his alter-ego's costume.
He wrote down his name: Red X.
"Alopecia"
by Kevin Kypers
Chapter 1 – Red X
The breeze was cool but it was comfortable. The sounds of the bay were relaxing and the smell was enchanting. The moon shone bright on the outskirts of Jump City; the elements were so soothing, he was having a hard time keeping from dozing off.
Lying on his back and looking towards the night sky was Red X, contentedly waiting atop the warehouse.
o-o-o
"So why'd you drag us out here, again?" asked Cyborg as the Titans strolled along the boardwalk.
Robin answered, "I have a feeling something's going to happen."
"You dragged me away from Ninja Monster Fighter 3 because you had a feeling," Beast Boy pouted, "What—so you're a psychic now? I thought that was Raven's thing!"
Raven gave her team leader a thoughtful stare; she too wondered what this was really about.
"Man, you should be thanking Robin for taking us out here! I was kicking your butt!"
"No you weren't! You only had forty-two HP left!"
"You only had sixteen!"
"But I had another ninja monster!"
"Guys, be quiet," Robin ordered.
They walked in silence for a moment until Cyborg whispered, "I so was gonna win."
Beast Boy argued, also keeping his tone to a whisper, "No you weren't! I was gonna send out Chiyo!"
"You started the fight with Chiyo; I already killed him with Junji," Cyborg replied, quietly.
"Then I would have sent out Hakaru."
"B, you can only carry six Ninja Balls with you to a battle; the only one still alive was Akashi!"
"Dude, I know how to play the game; I've played it through, like, a million times. You only beat five of my ninja monsters. There was still one with some HP."
"…That was the one you were using, man!"
When it finally hit Beast Boy he was suddenly very embarrassed and feeling like an idiot, "Oh, yeah."
"Shh," Robin hissed with his index finger by his lips. He listened to the silence disturbed by the call of a steamboat.
"Wow, a ship; good thing we showed up," sarcastically commented the frustrated shape-shifter.
"I am sure Robin has brought us here with good reason," Starfire affirmed with a smile on her face.
Robin was looking from side to side when he caught a glimpse of a figure standing up on the roof of a warehouse and proceeding to run towards the edge. Pointing and running to meet with it, Robin called "Right there!"
The other Titans shared some surprised looks with each other; there really was someone.
"I told you Robin knew precisely what he was doing," Starfire chimed.
o-o-o
X leapt from the roof of the warehouse and upon landing prepared to sprint towards the dock. He was stopped when out of nowhere a bird-a-rang flew out and planted itself in the ground in front of him. Looking to the left he saw the Teen Titans plainly standing in their signature formation.
"I knew I'd find you here," said Robin.
"You know me too well, kid," said Red X. He proceeded to aim his palms towards them and shoot X-shaped disks.
Robin jumped forward, landing on one X and kicking the other towards the villain. Red X easily dodged the inverted attack, but as soon as he stood firm Robin planted a kick in his chest. The force sent him flying towards the open doorway of the warehouse. He bounced back up quickly, but ran inside.
"Titans, GO!"
o-o-o
Red X was swiftly leaping from beam to beam when he suddenly had a glowing palm in his face. As quick as lightning, X dodged Starfire's assault, jumping right over her head. While airborne he glanced back at the explosion resulting from the starbolts shot by the Titan. The section of girders where he had been was destroyed.
The shards of metal were naturally pulled by gravity down towards the floor, until they were surrounded by a black aura. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven used her powers to toss the debris upward at an angle; the pieces would beat down the adversary. The hit was direct and now Red X was hunched at the bottom of the warehouse. But as Raven and Starfire approached the character he threw a sort of red capsule towards Raven. It opened with a sort of X-shaped door as the object suddenly increased in size, and the next moment Raven found herself trapped in a strange crimson ball.
X soon jumped away and back towards the standing beams. The flustered half-demon immediately began attempting to destroy the shell with her dark powers while Starfire flew to her side, trying to pry it open with her fantastic alien strength. But the battle with Red X would continue as the boys caught up.
Cyborg led the barrage, charging his sonic cannon. But X, who swung on a horizontal rafter half-circle to position himself facing the Titans, pulled out another gadget and tossed it towards the charging blast. The object, red and X-shaped to stress the theme, was a type of shield that attached itself over the blaster. Red X found Cyborg's expression somewhat amusing just before the blast fired; the shot reversed itself when it hit the shield.
The intensity sent Cyborg flying backwards, knocking into Raven's bubble, which Starfire was still trying to open. The ball rolled backwards, with Starfire still attaching herself, and forced Robin, who had been right behind it, to turn around and run to avoid being crushed.
Such droll events had not fazed Beast Boy who changed from a falcon to a pterodactyl to knock X off the beam. Beast Boy's beak plowed into Red X's stomach, but he did his best to ignore the pain. Confusing Beast Boy, X flipped over the emerald-colored animal's head and on to its back. He planted a kick on the rear of the shape-shifter's head, dazing him as he flew straight into the wall. By the time he became an unconscious green human, the offender had already leapt onto another supporting beam.
Unable to help Raven in a timely manner, Starfire left the amusing scene of the rolling sphere to continue fighting Red X. Before she could actually attack, however, four of Red X's toys were put to use. One X covered her mouth, another bound her hands together, and a third attached itself to her ankles. The fourth locked around her waist with a rope connecting to his belt. She was too surprised to realize what had just happened as X swung her crashing through a window. He jumped out, himself, onto the boardwalk, but by this point Robin was right on their tail.
o-o-o
As Red X approached the dock whilst he held the Tamaranean under his arm, Starfire shook a bit violently in an attempt to tear the bonds; had she more than a few seconds before an abrupt action she would have broken free easily. Just when she was about to free her arms, X detached the cable between them and tossed her into the ocean.
Suddenly the girl found herself trashing about under the sea. Water was rushing up her nose; she felt she was going to die. A muffled splash was heard just before she felt a tug at the rope attached to her waist again. Robin had, predictably, dived in the rough waters to save her. Struggling to stay at the surface himself, he managed to shoot a grappling hook at the ship Red X had come to plunder.
o-o-o
Aboard the vessel were crates of xenothium ore, the substance that powered his suit. After carefully opening the box, Red X helped himself to the glass tubes containing the xenothium, each securely placed in individual holders, as it was a very unstable substance. Untamed as he was, he figured they were safe enough cradled in his arms.
The sound of the grappling hook caught his attention, and soon after Robin and Starfire emerged. Once onboard facing the enemy, the drenched Robin realized, dishearteningly, that trying to fight X while he held the ore could result in the death of all three of them. He could do nothing but stare at him.
He had to ask, "Who are you?"
Red X tossed the question right back at him, "Who are you?"
"I'm Robin," he answered simply.
"I'm Red X."
With that he made his getaway, jumping over the crate and continuing in that direction. But to assure that they would not follow, X tossed a tube of the unstable xenothium at the opened crate.
There was just enough time between the ore leaving his hand and the resulting explosion for Robin to jump back into the ocean, taking Starfire with him, of course.
Red X got away again and Robin blamed himself.