It had been a very, very long time since I had last broken into anything. I did not realize exactly how long until I felt the excitement of bashing the guard's heads together, the adrenaline of using my powers to phase through the security doors, the anticipation eating at my stomach of not know what was going to happen next. It was all a breath of fresh air, at least for the moment.

In the end, Red X and I found ourselves inside the military base, in some lobby looking room with a reception desk, tables, chairs, magazines. The works. Though there were no people.

"So, where's our welcoming committee?" Red X questioned, pacing around the room with folded arms. "Those defense turrets didn't give me close to the excitement I was hoping for."

I merely shrugged, slightly disappointed at the lack of security as well. I was starting to have fun...

"Fixit has most of the security taken care of down here," a familiar robotic voice informed as the mechanical orb hovered into the room, its red eye surveying everything. "The military will not be as compliant as security however, so there is still plenty of excitement to be had further along. Just continue down that hallways across the room and up the stairs, he will be waiting for you, Red X."

"For me?" the thief inquired, him and I sharing a look. "You mean silent and creepy over there isn't going with me?"

"No. I have a different assignment for him."

Red X shrugged. "Ah well, more for me." He was already making his way across the room and throwing out a hand in farewell. "It was fun, Wykkyd. Good luck."

"As you might have guessed, the initial plan was to have you both go in, grab Fixit, and leave as quickly and with as little...distractions as possible," Blackfire began, the robotic orb hovering closer to me. I couldn't help but take a tiny step back. The collar still felt uncomfortably cold around my neck. "But Fixit has been giving me constant reports about what is going on around here, and it seems that rouge scientist I mentioned earlier has become much more of an interest to my plans..."

One of the small flaps on the robot suddenly flew open, and while I visibly flinched, the little claw that came out did not hold another torture device. In its grip rested a large piece of paper.

"It's a map. Take it...I promise it won't bite," Blackfire assured. It was easy to hear the smile in her voice that time.

With a slow but deliberate extension of my arm, I grabbed the map.

"You will need to head up from here, straight through the ceiling, if you can. In that room you will find several hallways and more guards, if you're lucky. Take the hallway leading in the direction of the largest room on the map. I want you to find the renegade scientist in there, find a way to restrain him, and take anything you find on him, specifically blue prints. If you find nothing, make your way to the scientist's dormitories, they are the rectangular rooms lined up together against one side of this warehouse. You should not run into too much resistance if Red- X does his job correctly, but do not tarry. Get in there, get the blue prints, and get out. We will all meet back at the rendezvous point. Any questions?"

I heaved my chest in an attempt at a sigh, folding my arms and giving the android a dead look.

"I thought not," Blackfire said with a smile still in her voice. "Now, get moving."

I simply nodded, tucking the map into a pocket and grabbing my cloak. I wrapped myself into its cold embrace and fell into darkness.

When my feet felt solid ground again I pulled back my cape to reveal a bare room with multiple hallways leading in different directions. Looking around the small room, I quickly took notice of several unconscious guards leaning against the wall. It looked like Red X had already been through here.

Pulling out the map, I took note of where I was and connected the hallway on the map to one of the ones in this room. The one that led to the largest room in the base. The large square on the map seemed to dwarf the others, it nearly took up a third of the base, and one could only wonder what that room was used for.

A sudden moan broke away my attention from the map and, quickly folding it back up inside a pocket, I looked back over at one of the supposedly unconscious guards. The guard moaned a little louder, his head rolling around his shoulders, and I could see the eyes beneath his helmet open a little and dazedly fixate on me.

"Are you...a Teen Titan?" the guard asked in another pained moan. I began to approach the man, prepared to finish what Red X started, when he started speaking again. "Please...you have to stop him...he's gone crazy...going to...destroy this entire city..."

I raised a curious brow. I assumed the guard was speaking of the rogue scientist... unless he was speaking of the boy who had just recently knocked him out. But that was crazy. As far as I knew, Red X's only interests were thieving and that strange stuff that gave him all the powers...but then, what were Blackfire's interests?

Did she just want to escape...or did she desire something more?

I shook my head clear of these thoughts. None of this was my concern; all I wanted was to get my friends back. So, without further hesitation, I reached the injured guard and pinched him in a spot near his neck, squeezing the nerve until he was unconscious. The only useful move Billy Numerous ever taught me.

After briefly checking the other possibly semi-unconscious guards, I made my way down the hallway I had marked on my map. The walk itself was quiet and uneventful. After leaving the first room of the warehouse, the rest of the building seemed like one would assume a military base would appear, dull and metallic. My footsteps echoed in the wide hallway and I swear I could hear my own heart beat.

Strangely enough, the quiet unnerved me. I didn't notice right away, but I was completely tense and wary, my red eyes looking every which way as I moved. Multiple spots on my body continued to itch, to which I tried to ignore, but an unsettling heat began to sink beneath my costume that was growing more and more suffocating. And, for the first time in my life, I desperately wished for a voice to fill the void of silence.

That wish was soon, if not immediately, answered when a horrible scream suddenly filled the expanse of the hallway. I literally jumped back misstep, the sound being that loud and sudden. I grabbed my cloak as a reflex but I didn't immediately teleport. The scream died quickly, though I could still faintly hear it travel down the hall behind me. Was it more of Red X's sloppy work...or something worse?"

Still gripping my cape, I continued down the hallway, the strange hot and empty feeling gone and forgotten. Getting these blue prints might turn out to not be as simple as it seemed. Like that was a big surprise.

I picked up the pace when I noticed the end of the hallway spilt off in a few more directions. Confused, I pulled out my map, the hallway I believed I was on should not be splitting in any direction...I should be inside the giant room right now...

After looking from the map to the splitting hallways a few times, I began to grow frustrated and itchy again. Perhaps I was on the wrong floor...

So, gripping my cape once again, I leapt into the air and pulled it around my body. Removing it again a moment later brought a cold blast of air to my face. Shaking away the sudden shock, I looked around me and quickly realized I was standing on the roof of the warehouse.

This is impossible, I thought to myself as I walked slowly across the roof, staring up at the numerous stars in the sky. I had only gone up two stories...this building had to have at least four...

I looked back at my map...but now it seemed like the all the rooms had changed! The giant room that took up a third of the building seemed to have disappeared entirely, replaced by a multitude of tiny rooms. I stared at the map in disbelief, was this some kind of joke? Was Blackfire sending me on some kind of wild goose chase? In a sudden fit of aggravation, I crumbled up the map and threw it.

I watched as it sailed through the air and hit an unsuspecting guard taking a smoke break against the ledge of the roof.

"What the...hell!" The guard exclaimed, dropping his cigarette as he jumped in surprised. Fumbling with his rifle, he quickly caught sight of me in the dark. "Who the hell are you? Hands up or I'll shoot!"

I moved before the guard had time to regain his composure. I ran, pulling the cape around my shoulders and, reaching the edge of the roof, I leapt off. I threw the cape around me, preparing myself to land back into the hallway I was in previously, only to have my vision filled entirely by the backside of the guard I had just attempted to escape from. I heard him yell in surprise as I collided into him, sending us both into the ground.

"Get off me!" the guard screamed, flaring his arms around. A bright burst of pain hit me as his elbow collided with my nose. I quickly rolled away from him before his antics caused me anymore harm.

"Where did you go damnit?!" The guard exclaimed, fumbling for the gun in his panic. I looked over to the edge of the roof to find it balancing dangerously over it. I quickly walked over and kicked the gun the rest of the way off.

Cradling my still throbbing nose, I quickly searched for an exit, not desiring to use my cloak for the moment.

A tight grip on my shoulder reminded me of the guard I had momentarily forgotten.

"Found you!"

Instinctively, I ducked as my other instinct turned me towards the guard, avoiding the fist he had waiting for me, and sent an open palm into the man's gut. Thankfully, the guard seemed to indulge in more than just cigarettes as his gut was soft and doughy. The force of my palm was more than enough to lose his grip and have him double over. The guard fell to his knees and I quickly took the opportunity to put some space between us.

The man remained there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath, and I began debating whether to just quickly knock him out or try and figure out a way to interrogate him when he spoke. "Are you working for that rogue scientist?" he gasped, looking up at me, though I couldn't make out any distinct features in the dark of the night. "Who is he damnit?!"

I simply stared back at the guard. Even if I did have the answer and a voice to speak it, I doubted it very much that I would tell him. He wasn't exactly in the position to be demanding answers.

After several more seconds of silence, the guard seemed to grasp the same thought as he coughed awkwardly before trying again. "Whatever he's offering you...we would double it...triple it...Anything, please, if you have information on how to get to him..." I then heard him gasp in sudden realization and look over in the direction that I had thrown the map. We suddenly were on the same page again as the man tried to get up and I raced over to him. Before he could turn to face me, I sent a hard kick into his gut.

The man let out a horrible gurgle. It sounded as if he was about to throw up before he fell back to the ground, wrapping his arms around his belly.

"Cheap shot...bastard...." the guard moaned.

Without paying him any more mind, I made my way over to where I believed the crumpled ball had landed. Before I could find it, however, a particularly loud groan caught my attention.

"I have a message for that child thief. You mind giving it to him?"

I turned just in time to see the guard, still on the ground, with one hand keeping him up and the other holding a gun, pointing directly at me. Time slowed down in that moment and my body quickly switched into survival mode. Without wasting a second, I ran straight at the man with the gun.

I could see his face now, even in the dark. It shone with fury, but was slowly shifting to surprise. I knew he would only have time to fire one shot before I was on top of him, I could only hoped it was a bad one. The guard fired and I felt instant, searing, pain, but I ignored it long enough to get close enough to launch myself at him. Before the man could react, our bodies collided once again and, with a final burst of strength, I threw my cape over everything, sending us into the cold darkness.

...

"Blackfire, I think something's wrong," Red-X spoke into the communicator device in his ear.

"What? More unexplained, unconscious bodies?" he heard the Tamaranian's voice respond inside his head. "I'm sure it's just Wykkyd making bad use of his time."

"No, it's not that," Red- X said impatiently, stepping over one said, unconscious, guard as he made his way up a flight of stairs. "This map you gave me...I think it's of the wrong building or something..."

"...and why would you think that?" Blackfire's voice questioned, almost hesitantly.

"Well, for instance, I've been going up this flight of stairs for about thirty minutes, going up dozens of stories, and this map is telling me this building only has four...and, in fact..."

Red X stopped when the stairs reached the next floor. Peering through the doorway, he let out a groan. "I swear I've seen that potted plant at least six times now. You know, Blackfire, I'm starting to get the feeling you didn't tell me everything I needed to know."

"...listen, Red X, how much Zinotheum do you have?"

The thief was caught off guard by the question, but a smile slowly grew beneath his mask. His fingers traced over the vials at his belt.

"Enough to turn this building into dust a couple hundred times over, why?"

"I want you to go into that floor and start blasting through the walls— though I trust you know how to contain it enough not to bring this entire building down on us."

"But of course," Red-X replied, smile still on his face. "Though, may I ask, will there be a purpose to this?"

"Same purpose, different method. I will be sure to notify Fixit to avoid walls until you find him. Oh, and if you need to change stories, blast through floors or ceilings, is that clear? Avoid the stairs."

"Blow up things until I find Fixit and be sure to avoid stairs, loud and clear."

"Good. Radio silence until I contact you again, it might be traveling through our communication waves to."

"What might?" Red-X questioned, his curiosity sparked, though Blackfire didn't reply. The thief simply shook it off, already losing himself to the excitement of his precious element. Red-X walked through the doorway, rubbing his hands together. It's been so long since he was last able to do this.

Walking up to the closest part of the wall, he pressed a few unseen buttons on his wrist. The thief could already feel the heat begin to intensify on his palm.

"I always wondered what Robin planned for this," Red-X mused to himself. Preparations done, he walked closer to the wall and pressed his palm against it. He pushed against it until he felt the heat leave his hand. As soon as it was gone, the thief raced away from his spot and through the doorway where the stairs were. Poking his head out, he spotted a small, red, x on the wall, roughly the size of his hand.

"Three..." Red-X whispered to himself as he watched the x, "Two...One...."

The small x then began expanding at a rapid rate. In less than a second, the tiny x grew until it stretched across the entire expanse of the wall. It was only when it began to glow that Red-X hid his face. Though, even through the doorway, the thief could feel the intensity of the x and then...it was over. With a delighted sigh, Red-X walked out of his cover and back into the hallway to examine his work.

The wall was gone. Simple as that. So little of its existence remained that one could almost believe that this warehouse had been built without it. No rubble, no smoke, no mess at all. Just a bunch of, now revealed, empty rooms, all missing a part of the wall that disappeared. Constantly checking the supports that remained before walking into each room, Red-X searched through them all, though none of them held any cowering scientists.

"Ah well," Red-X said with a shrug and a smile, already rubbing his hands together again. "More where that came from, plenty more."