Story has been recovered, edited and updated. There's been many changes with this resurrection, hopefully for the better.

2018-2019.

Monthly update on the 18th. For more information, check out my profile.

Chapter One: The Thief

Flash!

He opened his eyes to a grey sky, water droplets cascading heavily upon his hot and bleeding body.

What... what happened?

There was ringing and pain as he slowly came to; his vision blurry at first, but slowly finding focus. Black smoke rose leisurely darkening the pale sky, painting a picture of gloom. The rain sizzled unpleasantly against the hot pavement, even his body emitted some steam under the mild abuse of the cold downpour.

After a small eternity of shallow breathing and wincing at the sky, he slowly turned his head to the side with a low groan, feeling deep bruising against his core as the rest of him followed suit. Debris surrounded him, the crumbling ruins of the warehouse stretching tall at the four corners like skeleton fingers.

An explosion.

His mind slowly caught up with him as he began to remember all that had happened.

With some difficulty, he pulled himself up, feeling a dull and throbbing ache pounding in his head. He took account of himself through the glossy screen of his mask, several curses falling quietly under his breath. He was scrapped up pretty good, but nothing seemed serious. The suit was still in tact and had done it's job, for the most part.

Come on, stand up…you've been though worse…

He slowly got to his feet, unsure if he could bare his own weight yet, but not willing to linger much longer. He stumbled for a minute before catching himself against an iron railing, it didn't take long before he found his footing and he took in a deep breath. Surveying the world at this new angle. He let the tattered cape fall over his shoulders to shield him from the rain.

I wonder if they lived… He thought to himself, thinking of the Titans.

Staring blankly ahead, his quick and clever thoughts tried to make sense of what had happened. Who had planted the bomb? What were they planning? Was he the target or was it the Titans? Deciding that one way or another he shouldn't stick around to find out, he reached for his belt, ready to faze out and leave behind the dreary scene, when a burst of red caught the corner of his eye against the blur of the surrounding grey.

He glanced behind him only to stiffen.

For a moment, he could only stare at her, unsure if she was real or just a trick of his mind. She laid unmoving, sprawled upon the ground, her body covered in debris.

Was she... dead?

His senses were quick to return to him as he stumbled awkwardly forward and fell to his knees beside her. He removed one of his grey gloves and took her wrist into his hand, feeling his throat dry up as he waited for a sign of life.

Come on… give me something...

After a second too long, he felt it, a small pulse. He let out a shaky exhale. Without much thought, he hurried to recover her from the debris with care and took her body into his arms. Gently he pushed her thick wet hair out of her face, looking her over in a silent evaluation. Nothing looked broken, though he knew well enough that she was pretty durable. There was some pulling strain against his bruised abdomen as he stood with her, cradling her to her chest. She was light and unpleasantly limp in his hold.

I've gotcha, princess. he promised silently, moving slowly forward against the pain. He wasn't sure what his next move was, but he knew they couldn't stay there.

…

A young hero awoke to the dripping of water from a distant sink faucet. He panicked for a moment at his surroundings, till he remembered it all. He was not home in the tower, but alone in an old, abandoned apartment.

He was being hunted.

…

The thief watched the unconscious form of the young girl upon his bed thoughtfully. She lay silently, her breathing shallow, wounds now bandaged and dried blood washed away from her body. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now, so he decided on watching her carefully until she awoke. He leaned against the pale wall, arms crossed tightly in front of him as his mind worked. He had really managed to throw himself into the middle of it this time.

The television blared in the background, but nothing was news to him now.

He wondered if the others had survived, who'd set off the bomb, and what did they want.

The girl stirred for a moment, making his heart skip a beat before she settled into a quiet stillness once more. It had been a good two years or so since he had last seen her, she was still the same as he remembered.

Still beautiful.

…

Starfire found herself staring into dark ceiling of a room that was terribly unfamiliar. For a frightening moment she couldn't feel or remember anything; her conscience was as as dark and void as the world above. Then instantly, the memories flooded back, all of them at once… The warehouse… a thief running away… her team in pursuit… an explosion...

"No!" she yelled, springing upward, thinking of her team, thinking of Robin.

She immediately regretted the action as she felt a wave of pain rush to her head. She dug a hand beneath her abundant auburn hair to feel a large bump and winced at the contact. Examining the rest of her person, she noticed bandages wrapped around her exposed skin.

Who had done this?

"You might want to take it easy there." a raspy, yet vaguely familiar voice spoke up, making her heart jump.

She turned sharply, to see a dark figure leaning against the door frame.

"You!" she exclaimed upon identifying him.

"Me." he agreed.

She quickly raised herself to her feet, poised and ready, green energy illuminating her fists.

"I said easy, I'm not going to fight you." he told her, moving away from his perch, but staying where he was.

"Where are the other Titans?" she demanded.

"Not sure, sweetheart." he replied, putting his hands up in surrender. "All that had nothing to do with me."

"How can I believe that?" she asked harshly.

"You know that isn't how I operate." he reminded her, eyes watching her carefully, knowing he was trekking through unknown and dangerous territory. "What's the point of saving you, if I just wanted you dead."

"If that is so, why are you helping me?" she countered. "You have nothing to gain from that either."

The thief tilted his head slightly at that, watching her silently for a moment.

"Look, I get that we have a complicated relationship and everything," he replied. "but I'm not just going to stand by let someone die."

"No..." she murmured quietly, almost to herself, recalling how he saved the team before in the past… how he had saved her. "I suppose not."

Feeling a sudden wave of dizziness, she reached for the bed post to steady herself, making the thief take a step toward her in concern, but she straightened just as quickly and made for the window. "I offer you thanks, but I must return home now."

"You're wasting your time, the tower's abandoned." he told her casually, his tone the same as if he was talking about the weather.

"What?!" she stopped, looking sharply over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I brought you there first." he explained. "There's no one there. Your teammates haven't been seen or heard for nearly twenty-four hours."

"No..." she began, but had nothing to say due to the sinking feeling in her heart. Her unbridled emotions made her angry the next moment. "That is a lie."

"See for yourself," he shrugged. "Turn on the T.V. or better yet look out the window."

The princess moved forward quickly, peering out the tinted glass. She could see the docks and Titan's tower in the distance, but it was grey and lifeless a few windows shattered. Smoke rose from various points in the city and the sound of sirens were echoing faintly.

She let out a shocked gasp and backed away from the window, hand over her chest in shock. "No..."

"Easy." the thief repeated, advancing again.

She exhaled quickly as she felt his slight touch on her shoulder, moving away from him as if she had been burned. "I have to find them!" she exclaimed, turning to unlock the latch and fly off without another thought.

"Wait!" he called out, firmly grasping her arm to stop her. "Whoever did this, they're probably still after you."

Her eyes flared up as she tried to pull away. "I don't care, I cannot stand still and do nothing!"

"Yeah, well you're no good to them dead or captured either." he countered back. "We have no idea what you're even dealing with, but whoever it is has sent your team running for the hills or worse."

That was obviously something she did not want to hear as she opened her mouth to retaliate, but he pressed on, his hold on her tightening. "I don't think you're as concerned about that as you should be."

"You can't..."

She was cut of by a sudden blast through the window and the shattering of millions of pieces of dark glass. She cried out in surprise as the thief quickly moved, pushing her roughly out of the way, they both fell to the ground with a thud, his body shielding her own as the world shook. Bricks crumbled and smoke rose in the wake of the energy beam.

X smirked as he lifted his head, acknowledging their close proximity. "That was close, huh?" he asked coyly before quickly getting to his feet to face the threat, extending his x blades from his upper wrists.

A moment later, a figure dressed entirely in black emerged from the newly created opening in the wall levitating slowly, a tattered cloak covering it's long frame. The titan and criminal stood still as the figure's dark aura fell over them, readied for a fight.

Slowly the creature turned toward them, revealing a white bird-like plague mask beneath the dark hood, making them both falter. Round, bright red, glass eyes gleamed in the twilight, fixating quickly on the alien princess, omitting a strange clicking sound like that of a ticking of clock.

What the hell? The thief's eyes widened, taking a slow step back, his arm rising in front of the frightened titan, to protect, but also to keep her from provoking whatever that thing was.

"What.. what are you?" Starfire asked, her star-bolts activating despite her fear.

The emotionless mask acknowledged her for a moment, before the ticking stopped. "I am the Gatherer." It replied, its voice deep, hollow and inhumane.

"Yeah, sorry," Red X spoke up with a shake of the head. "What?"

"I am the Gatherer." It repeated, turning it's attention toward the masked rogue, raising a bony gray claw from beneath it's robe, electric dark energy beginning to materialize from its palm.

Its gaze returned to Starfire. "I have come to gather."

The thief raised his armed fists higher, crossing them in front of himself in a offensive, but versatile stance. "I would rethink that if I were you, birdbrain."

"Stand aside." the creature spoke, the cackle of the black lightening growing louder. "I have not come for you."

"And if I don't?"

Without another word, the enemy drew back it's rigid claw and the unlikely allies leapt away from each other as the black lightening surged forward, shaking the whole building as the east wall fell, leaving nothing but smoke and dust in its wake. Red X reached into the back of his belt and pulled out a few detonators, quick to throw them at the strange adversary in numerous directions. They went off, covering the creature in a cloud of smoke only for it to reemerge untouched, a dark force field engulfing it completely only to fade away. "I have come to gather." it repeated again.

The villain moved to attack again before a blast of green energy fell upon it, making it return to shelter of its force-field. "Who are you and what do you want from me?" Starfire asked ferociously, levitating just above the ground, ready to fire again.

"I am the Gatherer." it said again, rising to meet her height, two claws rising this time. "I have come to gather."

"What have you done to my friends!?" she exclaimed, her eyes alive with green flames. "Where are they!?"

"Come and you will see." it promised before reaching suddenly, faster than lightening, it's large claws taking hold of her around her middle. She screamed as the unnatural electricity coursed through her veins painfully.

Red X moved quickly, jumping up and leaving an explosive X on the creature's grey arm. It howled in pain when the devise went off, dropping it's captive as it withered back momentarily into the shadows. The thief pulled the princess up to her feet. Though she shook uncontrollably from it's touch, she managed to rise beside him, watching the creature warily.

Whatever it was, at least it could feel pain.

"I think it's time we vacated the area, sweetheart." Red X told her quietly, keeping a hold on her arm as the red eyes turned back toward them, hissing faintly as the clicking sound began again, this time louder than before.

Before she could speak or comprehend what he was saying, he pulled her along by the wrist, jumping from the perch that was all that remained of the wall. Throwing several cherry bombs to help cover their escape, he punched the buckle of his belt before pulling her close as they both teleported and re-materialized in deep in the belly of an alley and the alien fell to her knees, trying to regain control of herself.

"Quiet." he ordered quickly, kneeling beside her and forcing his hand over her mouth, holding his other hand up, waiting. They watched silently as the gatherer slowly levitated past, his gaze searching patiently. What seemed like an eternity later it moved on, floating away into the distance like a phantom. Once sure they were safe, he released his hold on the girl, wondering just what the hell had happened.

"C'mon," he said, pulling her along once more. The further they got away, the better. "As fun as that was, I don't think we're ready for a rematch."

She had no idea why she was allowing herself to be dragged along by some cocky, arrogant criminal who had only ever caused more harm than good; but the idea of facing that thing alone seemed far more foolish.

He finally stopped behind the cover of a parked U-haul truck. "Catch your breath, sweetheart."

Starfire managed to shoot him a glare, though clearly out of breath, and pulled her wrist from his hold sharply. "Who... what was that?" she whispered, peering carefully out into the dark streets, more to herself than to anyone else, her teeth still chattering from the monster's touch.

"You tell me." the rogue responded, with some annoyance."It wasn't me that it was after, that thing wanted you."

"But, I've never seen it before." she replied innocently. "I don't even know what it is!"

"...The Gatherer." He tested the name, tried to make sense of it. Was that what had destroyed the warehouse? Where had it come from? Was it even human? "Whatever it was, it didn't seem to have much of a mind of it's own." he mused thoughtfully. It had come to gather, but what was it gathering for?

The alien moved back into the safety of the shadows. "I cannot stay here, I cannot go to the tower, I don't know where the others are nor what that thing is..."

"Easy," The criminal said again before she could work herself into a frenzy. "I'm taking you somewhere safe."

She looked up at him, her brows furrowing.

"Aw, cutie, why so confused?" he asked in amusement, catching her chin in his gloved hand and leaning in far too close, bringing back recollections of their first meeting. "You think I'm really such a bad guy as to leave you all on your own?"

She scowled against his invasive touch, turning her face sharply from his hold and slapped his hand away, half tempted to send him flying into the nearest brick wall. "You have nothing to gain from helping me."

"I wouldn't say that." he replied lowly, before continuing on ahead, deeper into the shadows. "You coming?"

She remained where she was, staring after him. "There is no way that I can trust you."

"Well," he glanced over his shoulder. "You don't really have much of a choice right now, do you?"

Biting her lower lip deeply at that, she weighed her options quietly. She could go on alone, but how long would she last before she was found again? Where else did she have to go besides the tower? Without her communicator, she had no means to contact her team or other allies. With a defeated sigh, she followed him. He led her past the docks to the far west, almost past the city limits. Evening was long past as darkness fell upon the city, the street lights reflecting brightly against the black water of the ocean.

Starfire became uneasy. "I do not wish to leave the city, not until I have found my team."

"Good, I'm not taking you out of the city." he replied.

She stared at his tall figure from behind as he continued to walk ahead, only glancing back to look at her once in a while. They had not encountered the infamous criminal for nearly three years. She greatly wondered who he was more than ever before and why it was he was helping her. She, along with the rest of the titans, could never come to a conclusion on the thief's identity and had grown to accept that he would always be a mystery left unsolved.

As odd and unnerving as it was, it was hard for her to picture anyone else behind that mask besides Robin. From his lean figure, his fighting style, his raspy voice... The only thing that differentiated them was that thief was slightly taller and had a more defined and matured physic. That and, of course, his lax personality. He was openly cocky and arrogant, enjoying the thrill of the fight more than the fight itself, where Robin was focused and dedicated to a fault on serving justice. The thief enjoyed himself more than Robin ever could even fathom, never seeming to take anything seriously in anyway, not even loss or defeat.

It was strange that they could be so different, yet also so similar.

"Always so quiet?" he asked, turning his head slightly toward her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She did not reply and only looked away tiredly, keeping on her guard for the creature and whatever else was out there, before he stopped before an old abandoned complex on the edge of town.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's not much," he replied. "But, I doubt that thing will find us here, it's the last place anyone would think to find someone like you."

She followed behind him as he led her into the complex, feeling more and more unnerved.

"I stay here from time to time when I'm in town. Let's keep that between you and me, huh? On regards to me helping you." he went on as they made their way up the stairs, to the third floor where he opened the nineteenth door with a simple silver key. Inside was a decently kept apartment, despite the neglect of the rest of the building, with an overview of the entire city. A perfect hideout.

"That would all depend." she replied as he lit a small lamp, shedding a little more light on the dimly lit room.

"On what?" he asked.

"If you were committing a crime or not." she told him factually, reminding him where they both stood, despite their current circumstances. He was a criminal and she was a Titan.

He scoffed at that, a low chuckle escaping him as he locked the door behind him and closed the binds.

"What?" she asked, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

"You're cute." he told her mockingly, making her blush burn even brighter.

Cute, innocent and in way over your head.

But then, who was he to talk?

"Go get some sleep, it's been a hell of day." he offered, nodding toward the spare room. "I'll keep watch."

He saw uncertainty in her eyes at that, but knew she was too tired and drained to argue.

"Look," he assured, sensing her hesitance. "We both know that I'm your best chance at finding your friends, so let's skip the whole to trust or not to trust thing, I didn't bring you here and risk my life just to betray you."

Satisfied enough, she nodded slowly, before silently retiring into the offered room, leaving the door partially open as she collapsed heavily on the bed. That evil white face and red eyes looming about her thoughts in the darkness. She shivered against the cold sheets, unsure how to defeat this new villain. He had come to gather. Gather her. What for and gather her where? In who's name? Had he already taken the others?

Robin… Where are you? she thought, worry grasping at her heart, making it hard to breath. Raven, Beastboy, Cyborg… how she longed for them. How she wished that they were safe. She tried fighting her exhaustion and began picking her brain for answers, alas it was a short-lived attempt.

The thief listened in on police scanners and everything he could to get word of the Titans and the creature. However, the world seemed just as lost and confused as they did. The Titans were gone and nobody knew where they had went. He honestly had no idea that this would be how his day would end when he first woke up that morning. Exhausted, he stood and turned to check on the one he was harboring, content to see that she had finally succumbed to sleep.

Sighing, he felt his heart melt a little bit at the sight of her so peaceful. He silently slipped into the room, coming to stand beside her. He watched her thoughtfully, before moving a few strands of hair from her face. "I think you're going to be a problem for me, cutie." he murmured quietly before taking his leave.

…

In the shadows the hero moved. He wasn't the only one being hunted, his whole team was.

If any of them were even alive.