Hey! Cobalt Vixen again! So this story is my take on Red-X's possible identity. The show never really gives him one, so I decided to. Hopefully y'all will like him!
Renegade. Noun. 1) Traitor—somebody who abandons previously held beliefs or loyalties. 2) Rebel—somebody who chooses to live outside laws or conventions.
He closed the dictionary and replaced it to its shelf. Renegade. Yup, he liked it. Especially the rebel part, but not so much the traitor part. He'd never betrayed anyone.
That's a lie. He'd never betrayed anyone who didn't deserve it.
He stuffed his gloved hands into his jeans pockets and sauntered out of the Gotham Public Library. He scowled as the snow and biting wind immediately stung at his face. Why did it have to friggin snow all the time? Yes it was December but come on. He tugged his grey scarf up around his nose and mouth and bowed his head, watching his boots as they crunched through the snow.
Now, some guys would be ashamed of or embarrassed to wear a scarf. Too girly, they would say. But he really didn't care; it kept part of his face from freezing and, dare he say, he looked pretty dang good. Oh yeah, he could pull off just about anything. He bet he could even rock a dress.
As soon as the thought came to mind he cringed; a dress might be taking it too far. He was still a man and men did not parade around in dresses; especially not just because they could.
Lost as he was in his thoughts, he never saw it coming. Halfway down the steps of the library, he was suddenly assaulted by a significantly large, hard-packed snowball. It exploded against his left temple and the snow stuck in his dirty-blond hair, messing up his perfectly messy locks. He wiped the freezing snow off his face and ruffled his hair to dislodge the snowy shrapnel as two girls approached him on either side.
The girl to his right was giggling madly behind her hand while the girl on his left wore the most horrified expression. Seriously, you'd expect to see Godzilla suddenly appear from the look on her face.
"Nice shot, Haven. At least you got a cute one," the girl on his right said, her giggles turning into all out laughter.
A voice spoke from his left. "I. Am. So sorry," the girl, Haven, said, reaching a hand up as if to touch his face but pulling it back instead.
He pulled his scarf down around his neck and conjured one of his charming smiles. Not his most charming, but more than just friendly.
"Hey, it's okay. No harm done," he said. "And your friend's right—it was a nice shot."
Haven blushed and opened her mouth to speak, but her friend got to it first. "Her 'friend'," she said, holding her hand out to him "Is named Mila."
He took Mila's gloved hand in his own, but instead of shaking it as she'd expected, he brought her hand up, bending his head and pressing his lips to her knuckles.
Mila's cheeks, already rosy from the cold, blushed a deep crimson. He smirked. Yeah, he had that effect on women.
"Ah, a gentleman," she said with a smile. "And cute. You sure know how to pick 'em, Haven."
"Mila," Haven began with disbelief in her voice. "I just hit him with a snowball. In the head. He could have a concussion."
"Really, Haven, I'm fine," he said. "It's just a bit of snow."
She still didn't seem convinced, but let it drop, tucking a strand of long chocolate hair streaked with cobalt behind her ear.
"Well, if you're sure you're okay, my name's Jaylee." She didn't offer her hand.
He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Jaylee?
Mila seemed to understand his silent question and explained the change of names. "'Haven's' like a pet name," she said. "Her real name's Jaylee but I prefer not to call her that."
He nodded and offered the two girls a small bow. "Well, my lovely ladies, allow me to introduce myself," he said.
Anyone who had ever doubted his ability to woo women should have been there in that instant. The two girls before him were living, breathing proof that he was a natural charmer. Jaylee/Haven seemed to forget all about the snowball and Mila was visibly melting at his chivalry. They were eating this up.
"My name is Dimitri Coleman, Gotham's resident charmer." He threw on a dazzling smile and the girls giggled and blushed prettily.
Mila twirled one of her short red curls and smiled at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dimitri. I'm going to be bold here," she began and shot a glance at Jaylee/Haven, not really asking permission, more like telling her she was about to do something, as she said, bold.
He looked to Jaylee—he'd decided to call her by her real name; Haven seemed too personal,—who was looking at Mila like she was crazy. Really, this girl had quite an expressive face.
"I know we just met and everything," Mila continued "but you strike me as a risk-taker. And aside from the snowball, we won't hurt you. So how would you like to join us clubbing tonight?"
He chuckled. "Risk-taker. Trust me, you have no idea. Where do you have in mind?"
There were several clubs in Gotham, both above- and under-ground. If he agreed to go, which he most definitely would—seriously, what idiot would turn down the chance to accompany two gorgeous girls to a club?—he would need to know where to meet them.
"There's a new dance club on Dawn St downtown. We really want to check it out—"
"Correction," Jaylee cut in "Mila really wants to check it out; I'm just going to keep her out of trouble."
"—which won't be necessary. And we'd really love for you to come along, if you're interested."
Dimitri pretended to think about it, even checked the calendar on his phone, to build anticipation. It was a little trick he'd learned in high school. Even if you'd already decided on your answer, make the girl wait for it. If one did so, presenting the possibility of a rejection, then the girl would want you to go even more.
"Yeah, my night's clear—this Saturday only—and I'd love to join you beauties," he said, adding another charming smile.
Mila's face broke into a beautiful grin and even Jaylee's face brightened at his answer. He passed his phone to Mila, who added her phone number to his contacts and told him they'd rendezvous at ten that night.
"Um, I guess we'll see you later then," Jaylee said as she pulled Mila down the steps towards a silver Mini Cooper.
Dimitri pulled his scarf up around his mouth and nose again and tucked his hands into his pockets. He descended the last steps into the fast-approaching blizzard, almost passing his motorcycle that was buried under a fair amount of snow.
He shook his head. As much as he loved his glossy black Yamaha YZF-R1, it was not going to do him well against the white flakes of evil. He'd have to find another mode of transportation for a while. Maybe a pickup truck. Yeah, he could definitely see himself in a brand new Ford F-150.He made a mental note to check his stash, see if he had enough for a new truck, as he slipped on his tinted black helmet and mounted his bike.
I'll be posting chapter two sometime later this week, maybe next week, depending on how work and the like goes. Anyways, Hope you liked chapter one! Please review and let me know!
Love to all!
~Cobalt Vixen