running with wolves (I)
cracked
It had seemed easy enough – she was to aid alongside the Teen Titans and provide the most she could in such short notice.
Two days notice to be exact.
Argent isn't normally the kind to pass by major cities for the fun of it; to be frank, she had been on her way over here to Jump as vacation from the hero stuff, not to deal with more of it. She hadn't been lying when she'd told them that she was known as a type of hero in her town, but she just didn't deal with insane villains. The common thief or escaped juvie was as far experience as she'd gone. Punk Rocket was the craziest she'd encounter, before the Brotherhood, anyway. That's how she likes it. But two days isn't at all enough time to acquaint herself with the villains here. Reluctant to admit it to herself, but the truth was that ever since the incident with those guys, with the Brotherhood of Evil, it was like her whole performance was starting to plummet downhill.
Within the very night she arrived, she had encountered that fat nerd – Freak or Freaking Control or something of the sort; humiliating. Giant metal tentacles had wrapped her lithe form, her red plasma not being able seep through – not enough for her to break free, and after her failure at reaching his remote, she had to sit out for a bit to recover. There was a sound of a deep guttural snarl – and not the aggressive kind either. Before she'd known what was going on, the fat tub of lard had sauntered next to her, despite Argent trying to escape. "Hey so," He slicked his disgusting greasy hair back in an attempt that she assumed was trying to impress her. "You're pretty freaky – what say after this whole thing, you ditch the Titan dorks, and we could-" She didn't let him finish, bile already leaking to the front of her mouth just by smelling him. But despite that, the dolt was close to literally crushing her bones. She may very well have not been completely human, but she wasn't immortal either; she couldn't feel her darn limbs for the next two hours after nearly getting crushed. After insisting relentlessly that she would be okay, she had been sorely beaten yet again when they encountered a giant clay-like muddy... monster thing. Getting goo in places where she'd never imagined had been quite the... experience. More so than when she'd been nearly crushed, slammed onto the concrete floors – had it not been for her slight red shield around her head, she was sure she probably wouldn't have survived. It continued on with every other crime after. Her coordination was poor, her powers were not providing the viable help she tried to use it for, and her performance was just lousy overall.
Argent is slipping – and she is painfully aware of it.
Its only two days is the only type of consolation she really needs though. Two days. She… somehow miraculously convinces Robin that she's going to be fine and reassures him constantly that she won't slip.
It works only marginally. She's surprised he doesn't outright deny her; but the pensive look on his face, even with wearing the mask and all, makes her wonder for the first what he really thinks of her and her abilities. Apparently, a good deal. At least, thankfully, at least she's shown a visual of all these guys so she can at least get a hint of familiarity should she need to point them out. She and Robin had come to an understanding at some point – get her as familiar as possible with as many villains as she could possibly take in. She'd lost count as to how much time they've spent standing in front of their monitor, with her pointing to every single man, woman, person or thing that looked remotely interesting – which, she found out, were a whole lot of them.
"And.. who is that bloke?" Argent says, pointing blatantly into one of the many faces of the screen on the giant computer. It had only been until now that she realized just how small her city's level of crime was compared to Jump City. At her question, she's surprised to find out Robin's abrupt change in demeanor. "Friend of yours, I'm assuming?"
Her attention is drawn to him once more. "Something like that." His tone is rather harsh, and this gets her to wince slightly, and before she can say anything, it's Starfire that steps in, as if sensing the oncoming distress. Ever the savior, ever the peacemaker.
"The Red X has been a thorn in our side for a while." The red head grimaces slightly, remembering actively when he had to gall to try to flirt with her.
"That's kind of an understatement." Comes the dry remark from Raven; Argent hadn't even realized the others were near or remotely interested in their conversation. "I'd say he's more than just a thorn."
This causes Argent to arch a brow. "Am I… missing something here? The tension in the room is a little much." The Titans stay quiet, and nobody says anything for a few moments. Tough crowd. Robin, though still tense, manages to calm himself and he relaxes visibly.
"It's nothing – just know that some bad guys here aren't taken so lightly. More so than others." However, as it stands, Robin also can't ignore the fact that he was aided by Red X – there is respect there, a semblance of comradeship. But he shrugs it off – he is a criminal. At least, that's what he told himself time and time again. It isn't supposed to be complicated – there is good and there is evil. But Red X had managed to somehow interweave the two, and Robin doesn't exactly know what to make of that, so he's left it be. "He hasn't been active for a while now – I wouldn't worry about him."
This does little to sate Argent's curiosity, but something tells her that she should pick and prod any further, given his body language. Her gaze lingers for a few more seconds on the one called 'Red X', before shifting away to another guy. She points again, "How about this one? Seems like my type."
"That's Johnny Rancid."
( &. )
Make more friends, she'd said. Be more social, she'd said, and travel. Avoid your mother at all costs is more like it, more truthful. Factual.
And now, she's paying the price for it.
After relentlessly and insisting to Robin that she'd be perfectly fine the next two days, and that yes, she knows where everything is and she'd make sure to call if anything pops up and that she'd keep him updated, finally they depart, and she was left with the appropriate keys to the Tower for temporary access.
"Alright, West-side has cleared. Gonna go ahead and take care of the rest. I believe that should be it for the night; is that alright?" She waits, and then after a beat of silence: "Care to give a girl a clue, now? Was there anything else you wanted me to look over?" She takes precise care in not to hold the communicator too close to her lips; she doesn't want to mess up her meticulously applied lipstick despite the hard wind slapping her face and practically peeling her eyelids back. Still nothing but utter radio noise.
And then finally, "Noted. Continue on; it's a simple in and out. Nothing exciting." She comes to a halt, hovering there; she's too engrossed in taking in her surroundings to care for the pensive, if not awkward, pause that follows. "Thanks again, Argent, you didn't have to do this. I know you're not exactly there for the hero work, and it's not like we really gave you any backup." The girl blows crimson strands out of her field vision, exasperated. "You know, you can always access backup from Titans East; they're much closer than we are at this point, should you need anything—"
Eugh. "I uh, took care of a couple of brutes; Control Freak—" she shudders at the sheer mention of his name on her lips. "… and that Plasmus guy. Nothing I couldn't handle." oh how she feels the obvious discrepancy in that one (and she knows Robin does too, he saw, after all. They all did). "I don't need back-up," she never had back in her home in New Zealand; she isn't about to start asking for help now. Argent sucks in a breath to calm her own irritation and is careful to not let the sound bleed onto the T-Com, letting it out as a small sigh. "Look, I know, Robin; it's called free will, or something, I'm sure. I wanted to. Don't worry about it. Really; I don't mind taking care of your Tower and Jump for just two days. I work best alone, anyways, you know that. I wouldn't be top dog back home for nothing." She's surprised, though, that they hadn't assembled a full on back up team to reside while they were away; it's none of her concern, and she doesn't find it within herself to care. Who else could they get on such short notice? "I got it, mate. In and out." She says absentmindedly, her attention not being given fully, already more than bored with this conversation; she had stopped just a few moments before, letting herself hover over the docks, enjoying the sound of the water. She tries not to let the annoyance be apparent.
Thankfully, Robin doesn't seem to notice. "Right."
"Right," she repeats pointedly, glad to move on. "I'll get to the finishing the report logs once I'm done here. Argent out." She nods, despite not needing to and cuts the conversation short and shutting off the T-Com. The humidity from the great speed at which she has flown is not the reason for why glistening pearls have gathered to the base of her forehead, but she tries to convince herself so. It's been a very crummy day. "Well, the town on the far east isn't going to take view of itself," she sighs, relenting, and takes off. She tells herself this is a favor to a friend. Her friends. Teammates. Whatever. She tries not to feel sick right then and there, trying to convince herself that her care is genuine. On a surface, level, she supposes it is. She tries not to think about Robin with a nice, certain red-haired, pretty alien girl, and she tries not to compare herself. Argent can only try. Grunting, she flies faster. The cold air hits her face like small daggers – ironically enough, however, Argent feels alive. Heart throbbing almost painfully against her ears, and she pays no mind to the slight drizzle. She didn't get sick so easily, anyway – she has no problem checking the coordinates of whatever possible crimes are going on as she flies rapidly through Jump City's dark skies. Right before she had left, Robin reassured her over and over again that if she were in any danger or in need of back up, to never hesitate to send out an S.O.S to her fellow Titans, local heroes. She scoffs.
Right... heroes.
Just the mere thought of the word leaves a bitter trail in her mouth and thoughts, but she dismisses it as soon as the communicator starts alerting her, beeping frantically. It's stating that there's danger right up ahead, very nearby.
This… hasn't really happened before.
Sure, it… alerts her when there's trouble, but it doesn't go crazy like this. Perhaps if she knew more on how to work this bloody thing, she'd know what exactly is the trouble. She's never bothered to read it before. A moment passes, and she allows herself to freeze in uncertainty; the timing was impeccable. However, emboldened by this sudden challenge, a challenge she is most certainly willing to accept to prove herself, she silences the communicator and puts it back in her pocket.
She's ready. She can take it.
She hopes.
( &. )
Argent arrives no longer than five minutes; pretty impressive time, if she does say so herself. This isn't the kind of place she had expected. A museum, a bank, a store.
Not on the near outskirts of Jump; not in the city's south end.
Not in an abandoned warehouse facility.
The young pale teenager slowly makes her way down – her platform shoes hit the ground, filled with nothing more than gravel. Checking for the communicator once more to confirm its' location, she looks around. The first thing she notices is a barbed wire fence – and from the looks of it, she thinks distastefully, hasn't even been remotely touched in the slightest. Her lips frown and she approaches the building closer, taking in a more careful look. There isn't anything around or really touched to raise suspicion, which is what the offender probably wants. With a huff, she flies over with ease, being slow out of weariness and suspicion rather than exhaustion or hesitance. She wants to take her time with this, make sure she doesn't mess anything up – she has to be smart not hasty. Going through the door is easy enough, and she expects there to be security – something to serve as an obstacle, but her suspicion rises even more when she notices there's nothing of the sort. Her face scrunches, nose wrinkling at the heavy chemical stench emitting from, what she realizes is, a laboratory. The place is well built, and so far, she's seen nothing thus far that would indicate any type of break in. So why does the blasted communicator insist there is? Either her communicator is jammed, or whoever is in here is really good at not being messy.
She feels the urgent vibration in her pocket, and her heart nearly stops. Again with the ringing?
The girl shakes her head, and deciding to just be done with it, she flies full speed forward and forms a giant red sledgehammer to break the rusty, heavy doors open. She's ready for any bullets or an onslaught of some offense. Loose dust flies everywhere, and her eyes water. She coughs and wheezes,
and waits.
No attack. No people. Nothing.
Something clicks though; it's so faint and kind of… far. Once the dust clears away, Argent narrows her eyes at the light noise from the far left, trying to focus on her hearing and on that one sound – her senses are delicate, and a second passes.
….running!
Quickly, she follows the source, making sure not to make herself heard – after all, two can play at this game. Just because she gave herself away already doesn't mean she has to stay that way. She knows she's not imagining things – it's more than obvious someone is in this building. Her fists clench as she feels she's getting closer to the perpetrator, her vision slightly flashing due to the lack of lights in these rooms. Levitating herself slightly off the ground so as not to make noise, her adrenaline runs high, nearly pounding her ears.
Whoever they are, they're fast.
She's taking too many turns and twists. It's all hallway, not at all illuminated by the moon outside. It's too similar to a hospital, and perhaps it's something raw within her, but she's feeling cold. The rapid footsteps are echoing in her head, and she tries to blindly focus on that; don't let your vision roam. Focus! She pushes herself a little faster, tries to not let the pounding of her heart smother over the echoes.
She's hunting tonight.
Panic settles in when all noise suddenly cuts off, and she freezes. She closes her eyes, and inhales.
Argent comes to an abrupt halt after taking a harsh right turn; the gut feeling in her stomach pulls her here. Before deciding to break yet another door, refusing to continue this little goose chase, she instead crouches down, hand on the door handle as she inhales steadying herself. After a few moments, her eyes peer through the screened window of the door, having a hard time adjusting her sight – nothing but darkness. Emptiness. But a slight movement makes her squint, and it all comes together; like a domino effect. She makes out a dark figure, couching, hiding. She sucks in her teeth – a habit of pure annoyance – before breaking the door open with a crimson fist, momentarily forgetting any notion of stealth but she supposes it doesn't matter considering they are already on the defense. They move quickly, and for a good few moments, all she sees is a black blur – for a second, they are still, and Argent barely makes their voice out.
"… you're new."
