The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Nine - Masks

The goon dashes behind a corner before placing a smoke bomb there. When the smoke disappears, rock has taken its place and we can't get through. I grin and move the rock, just as the criminal runs into Starfire.

"I am asking you nicely to stop running and—" Starfire begins, but he blasts her and Robin jumps down. I capture the villain in the air and fly after Robin and Starfire. Once on the ground, Robin grabs the goon by the collar and I walk over, leaving Starfire by the shore.

"Now talk!" Robin snarls, his eyes turning to slits. "Who's Slade? Why does he want this chip? And why are you working...for...him?" He slows down as he takes of the mask, revealing the henchman to be a robot.

"Excellent work, Robin," Slade says from the mechanism.

"Slade!" Robin and I say in unison, matching each other's level of disgust.

"Really, I think your skills are improving."

"No more games! What do you want?"

"But you do lack patience. 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."

"Patience, Robin. Patience."

"We will find you, and you—" Slade flicks off, leaving us with a blank screen. I growl and turn to Robin. "Isn't there any way we can—?"

"Robin?" This time, I'm interrupted by a concerned Starfire, who's recovered from the blast and now looks at us both with the same expression. "Ember?"

~~~

    "Okay. All work and no flicks makes me a dull Beast Boy. So, my fellow couch potatoes...what'll it be? Super Ninja Showdown Eight..." the green Titan holds up his first CD. "Or Maniac Fury: Attack of the Protozoids?"

    "Gee. They both sound so good," Raven comments before turning back to her book.

    "Yeah. It's really hard to pick," Cyborg says thoughtfully, and I think he's being sarcastic before a large, mischievous grin engulfs his face. "Want to watch 'em both?"

    "Perhaps Robin would enjoy potato-ing the couch with us," Starfire says. "Tell me, is he—?"

    "—In the exact same place he's been since his little chat session with Slade?" Beast Boy finishes. "Uh, yeah."

    "Ember." The sound of my name catches my attention. All four Titans are looking at me, and I snap my head up quickly. "You were there," Cyborg presses. "What did Slade say?"

    I look around in a panicked frenzy, shutting my book hastily and standing up. "I have to go," I mutter before rushing out the door. I can almost see their puzzled and suspicious looks, but I don't turn back.

~~~

"Hey there," I say cautiously as I open the door.

The boy inside's leaning over his desk, a singular light illuminating the object that he's looking at. "Hey," he offers.

"Can I come in?"

There's a pause. It's so frightening, for inexplicable reasons, but it's there. "Sure," he eventually says, and I walk up to him slowly. Scattered across the table are several objects, all of which link to the same person. There's a helmet, a walkie talkie, a blaster, and several articles related to the villain. Slade.