This story delves into the darker side of Teen Titans. Set post Season 5, after the Brotherhood's defeat, Things Change, etc. RATING WARNING: Rated T+ (if I could) for blood, death, mentions of blood, death, pain, torture, and mental instability here and there. HEAVY adult themes, adult undertones, and innuendo present.

I do not own the Teen Titans or any of their franchises.

The Truth in Lies

Robin walked into the Tower's living room, grabbing a slice of pizza from the fridge and idly watching the rest of the team. It'd been over a month since the Titans had responded to any crime alerts, and things had been quite casual at the Tower since then. Beast Boy and Cyborg sat on the couch, spitting fire at each other as they tried to beat the other at a video game; Starfire busied herself at the dining room table attempting to feed Silkie some sort of Tamaranian goop, and Raven sat in a corner reading a spell book.

Though it was odd having next to no crime in Jump City, it made sense. Ever since the Titans had taken down every, and it really was every, from the Brain to Fang, villain in Jump City and placed them in custody, things had been quiet. Now the Titans were just busy being the Titans.

It wasn't as if Robin, or anyone else for that matter, had grown lazy in this time of "calm before the storm" as Raven put it, but he did enjoy the ability to relax a bit. Everyone had even been able to get some things on their "to-do" lists done. Since Slade was no longer dead, Robin himself had gotten the several boxes devoted to the man from the basement and placed them back inside his crime room. Cyborg had updated the Tower security and added a few new gadgets to his T-car. Starfire, after a dozen failed attempts, had successfully made the Tamaranian dish Blorgspotch, apparently a delicacy on her planet. Raven had read through half the spell books on Azarath, and Beast Boy had beaten his high score on Mega Monkeys 4.

Now finished with his slice of pizza, Robin walked over to the Tower's window and stared out toward Jump City. Even so, with all the relaxing the Titans were able to do, all this lack of crime was a bit . . . unnerving. Robin couldn't help wondering if there really was a storm coming to Jump City, just as Raven had said a week earlier. Frowning, Robin turned to the rest of the team.

"Hey, Titans," Robin said.

Cyborg had leveled his cyber cannon at an octopus Beast Boy. Hearing Robin, the two quit their fight, paused their game, and walked over to him, followed by Raven and Starfire. Starfire was covered in quite a bit of food that she'd been trying to feed Silkie.

"What's up, Robin?" Cyborg asked.

"Is there an alert of the crime?" Starfire asked, wiping some of Silkie's food off her face.

Robin glanced over his shoulder at Jump City, then back to the Titans. "What do you guys think about the lack of crime there's been for the last month?"

"Dude, it's great!" Beast Boy laughed. "Finally I get to sleep in and not worry about anyone waking me up at five in the morning!"

"It's quiet," Raven said. "It's nice."

"And I have been able to make several delicious Tamaranian dishes with the lack of crime," Starfire said, beaming.

"The T-car's looking great," Cyborg said.

Robin nodded, but a twinge of worry still tugged at him. Why hadn't there been any crime within the last month? Were all the villains of Jump City planning some nefarious scheme? Or was it —

"Hey, I know what you're thinking, man, but don't worry about it," Cyborg said, stepping forward and putting a hand on Robin's shoulder. "There's no use in worrying about something that's not even here yet."

"I worried myself sick before my birthday and our battle with Trigon," Raven added.

"Cyborg's right; It only makes things worse."

"If you wish for the distraction, you can help me feed the Silkie," Starfire said, walking toward him and holding out her pet.

"Or just go train," Raven suggested.

Robin held his hand up to stop Starfire's advance. "That's okay, Star." He grinned. "You know what? Training sounds —"

"And don't worry!" Beast Boy said. "It's been like three months since we've seen or heard from Slade, so . . ." Beast Boy looked around at the rest of the Titans with a smile, recoiling when he saw their glares of fire.

Robin's jaw twitched. Like he had forgotten; how could he forget Slade? Ever since Trigon had been defeated three months prior, he'd disappeared. But that didn't mean he was gone or not working behind the scenes. Far from it. He was definitely planning something. Maybe that was the storm Raven had been talking about. Robin, however, knowing what the rest of the Titans would say if he began obsessing over Slade again, shook off his thoughts. "I'm going to train," he muttered, walking toward the hallway door. Behind him, Robin could hear the Titans' whispering.

"Do you just enjoy being an idiot?" Raven hissed.

"Just had to bring it up, didn't you, Beasty?" Cyborg asked.

"We almost had him in the relaxed!" Starfire sighed.

Robin had barely walked through the door before the Tower alarms went off. A jolt of both panic and excitement rushed through him as he ran back into the Tower living room, accessing the Tower data base to see what the crime alert was.

"Who is it?" Cyborg asked.

"The H.I.V.E.?" Raven asked.

"The Slade?" Starfire asked.

Robin blinked, then slammed his fist on the counter. "It's the Brain. Him and his gang have broken out of prison! We need to put them back where they belong!"

"Why can't the people we put in jail actually stay there?" Beast Boy asked, already turning into a wolf.

"Because then there'd be no need for heroes like us," Raven said, pulling her hood over her face.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, leading the charge out of the Tower and over to Jump City's maximum security prison. When the Titans arrived, they found half of the building in ruins. Rubble lay everywhere, and several guards were knocked out. "Didn't take them long to fight past all those guards," Robin said as Cyborg flipped over a large boulder and freed a guard who was underneath it. "Titans, fan out and find the Brain. Also be on the lookout for Monsieur Mallah or Madame Rouge."

"Got it. I just can't believe those three managed to escape," Beast Boy said, human for an instant before changing into a bat.

"We put him in a maximum security prison," Cyborg said. "How was he able to break out at all?"

"Doesn't matter. Fan out," Robin repeated. "Find them. Go!"

The Titans separated, sweeping the area in a five mile radius as they searched for the three escaped villains.

"Titans, report," Robin said some thirty minutes later.

"Nothing to report," Raven said.

"It's all clear here," Cyborg said. "Wherever those three went, they're long gone."

"Vanished into thin air, more like it," Beast Boy said.

"All right," Robin said, sighing in tiredness. "Let's give it one more hour before calling it a night." The Titans all acknowledged, then Robin cut the transmission. Barely had the call ended before Robin squeezed his communicator in frustration. Of course the Brain, Mallah, and Rouge had gotten away. It was quite common for escaped criminals to be on the run for days, even weeks, before the Titans recaptured them, but Robin found this breakout to be particularly frustrating. Maybe it was because they hadn't had a crime alert in a month and Robin believed himself to have become sloppy during that time. Perhaps it was because a villain's breaking out of prison was a bit of a deflation for a hero's ego. Or maybe it was because, deep down, Robin had secretly hoped that the villain they faced would've been Slade.

Robin blinked as he walked on the sidewalk, nearly dropping his communicator as he continued his search that became more and more futile as time passed. It wasn't because he enjoyed fighting the man, though combat against a worthy opponent was, indeed, thrilling. Adrenaline rushes aside, Robin hated Slade. He hated him and wanted him gone. However, three months of time to hear nothing from the man made Robin a bit nervous. If nothing else, seeing Slade behind this breakout, or just seeing him at all, would've set Robin's mind at ease. At least then, whatever Slade was planning would start. The longer Robin was forced to wait on Slade, the more worried he became of the man's plan. What was he planning? What plot did he have to take them down?

"Cyborg here, I've just found Rouge."

"On my way," Robin said into his communicator. Transmission cut out after that, but Robin was already running toward the site of Cyborg's locator. He was just passing an alleyway when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hello, Robin."