It was a dark, cold night, and Naiya knew that she really shouldn't have been out. She seemed to have an uncanny sense for finding trouble, and today certainly couldn't have looked any better for one to do so. Naiya fancied walks after or as the sun went down though, and here she was, out on the streets, far past the time she normally would've been asleep. It was Friday. But the city wasn't a good place for midnight strolls; in fact, it was a rather bad place for the likes of it. Naiya would've done well to heed this advice when she happened to overhear a few slits of conversation. The word that popped out at her was "Slade". That was no doubt the name of an infamous arch-villain often plaguing the town. Naiya turned towards and headed in the direction she'd heard it from and saw two, tall shadows in an alleyway. She pressed herself against the wall in front of the turn-off but peeked around the corner.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that when I'm out and about?" the larger one hissed.

The voice only merely resembled the notorious Slade's confident tones in its subdued, quiet state, but Naiya was able to find the small traces since she knew it was really him.

"I'm sorry, Sla--" he corrected himself, "Err, sir."

"You'd better be. Now listen, my good man, I need you to do another favor for me."

Naiya leaned out a little more to get a better look. She squinted her eyes and focused on Slade's figure. Her jaw almost dropped open in shock. Slade was Mr. Wilson, a trusted employee in Jump Industries. She had even met him several years ago on a field trip, back from middle school.

And this is where Naiya made her fatal mistake.

"Mr. Wilson!" quietly but surely left her lips.

Her hands flew to her mouth, but the two men's' heads had snapped in her direction. She broke off into a mad sprint, not bothering to zip up her light coat as a harsh wind matched up to her speed. Naiya had never experienced such adrenaline pumping through her veins, or heard her heart's panicked thumps so loud in her ears. What could she expect? Throughout her entire life, even though she lived in Jump City, she had rarely encountered much of any criminal activity. The Teen Titans apparently did a good job as super heroes. But out in the dead of night, would they be able to help a mere, single girl out of a fix that was just about all her fault? They just had to, but it would serve Naiya right if they didn't.

Naiya's heart seemed to stop its rapid beats as a hand tightly grasped onto her left wrist. So scared that her scream was stuck in her throat, she froze for a second; and then she pulled as hard as she could, only thinking of trying to escape. She didn't care who had grabbed her or the fact that she had lost her jacket by tugging right out of it. Naiya just kept running.

The wind felt ten times colder and sharply bit into Naiya's now bare arms, tore into her face with a bitter edge, and whipped her long, dark hair back. She and her stupid walks. The fear still high in her body and if anything, steadily rising, was not enough to keep her going forever, and Naiya knew it. All she could hope as she continued to press her sore legs and aching lungs further was that it would be enough.

Naiya risked turning her head back for a second. Through her hair, she could see three of Slade's commandos swiftly gaining on her. She couldn't find Slade though—probably in a shadow somewhere—and didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. As Naiya reverted her neck to the front again, she slammed right into a young boy about her age. She heard him start to mutter something as he spun around but the blood rushing through her ears and her ragged breaths were too loud for her to hear him.

"I'm sorry!" she almost whispered because she was utterly out of breath.

One of the commandos suddenly seized her by her upper arms, pinning them to her sides and slightly hoisted her in the air, just so that her legs dangled. Naiya thrashed and kicked, her legs flailing everywhere, but the robot remained firm and unflinching. The boy gazed at the scene wide-eyed, completely confused and irresolute of what to do. Slade emerged out of the shadows from around the corner. Naiya's face grew paler and paler with every step the villain took closer. He was donned in his more appropriate, well-known costume, complete with the mask. Mr. Wilson did not exist anymore for the time being, but Naiya forgot.

"Mr. Wil—"

He slapped her hard across the face, the rough leather of his glove stinging her cheek. Naiya blinked, jaw agape, her mouth tingling with flecks of agony and the taste of blood. Her hair fell over her face in a curtain and she didn't look back up.

"What's going on?" the boy demanded.

"Nothing that concerns you, my dear boy, now run along."

Naiya's head flew up, a slight bruise already taking shape beneath her right eye. She gazed at the boy imploringly, her eyes desperate. "Help me! Please!"

He remained motionless, but he was biting his lip, as if torn among decisions, and his eyes darted back and forth nervously. Slade, his eye narrowing in agitation, approached Naiya while retrieving a small needle from his belt. As he came face to face with her, she lashed out, trying to once again break free, but to no avail. She squirmed wildly, her eyes wide in terror, and Slade clenched the side of her head to still the rabid movement as he drove the dart into her neck.

It was painful for only the shortest second before Naiya started losing consciousness. Goodbye world, her mind whispered for her, it's all over for me.

And darkness rushed to meet and engulf her.

Red X didn't like being out at night without his suit on, and only because he almost always did have his suit on when it was dark. But today he didn't. It had been a normal, boring old Saturday. Or…was it Friday? Yeah, Friday. He really needed to get a job, and a life while he was at it. For one thing, he didn't even know why he was bothering to look both ways before crossing the street.

Was it just habit?

Couldn't have been, since Red X didn't look both ways normally anyway: just in front. That was the only important way to look because as long as there was nothing in front of you, you could keep moving forward. People didn't seem to agree with his logic though. Maybe that was why cops gave him dirty looks when they were inspecting car accidents. It wasn't a good idea to get on the police's bad side when you didn't want people to suspect you of anything in any way, but Red X didn't care.

Was it because he was subliminally being cautious since it was night?

The city was a bad place to be in the dark, and everybody knew it. That's why it was so quiet and Red X didn't need to be watching for cars. Instead, he should've probably been watching for criminals. But why would he do that if he were a thief himself? Red X had never considered himself a real bad guy, mostly because he didn't approve of everything that villains did.

Or perhaps it was because that brief pause was needed to allow enough time for him to be shoved in the back. Red X had almost fallen over, so hard was the impact. He broke out of temporarily stunned state and switched to an angry one as he spun around to meet the stranger.

He grumbled, "What kind of person gets up at 12:30 at night just to go pushing around-"

He stopped, realizing it was just a girl, but something was wrong. Her face was ghost-white, her mouth open while breathing hard, and her eyes wide with horror. Yes, something was evidently wrong, but what?

"I'm sorry!"

Red X was too dazed to answer—surprisingly, since he was usually quick with his words—but he wouldn't have gotten the chance to since one of those Slade commandos snatched the girl up. Two more appeared right behind it, and soon even Slade himself showed up. Red X wanted to help the frightened girl, but he had not forgotten (almost, but not quite) that he was not wearing his suit.

"Mr. Wil—"

Red X was almost shocked to see Slade smack her athwart the side of her face. What could he possibly want with her? And who was Mr. Will? Or was it William, or maybe another name. Not that that was important right now. What kind of jerk picked on a scared, helpless little girl at night? The indignant thought triggered Red X's voice.

"What's going on?"

It sounded lame, but he doubted it mattered to anyone but himself.

"Nothing of your concern, my dear boy, now run along."

Stupid Slade. It didn't make any difference to Red X that they were both classified as villains, because in his eyes, they were far from the same side. He never really knew the guy anyway, and he wasn't afraid to be on less than best terms with Slade, regardless of how dangerous it sounded.

"Help! Please!"

He wished he could tell her how much he wanted to, but against four people…if only he had been in his Red X gear; then he could've at least tried to conquer Slade (the automatons would be easy enough, he was sure). But he wasn't, and in the given situation, there wasn't anything he could do to save the girl from whatever evil Slade was planning to do. He looked up in time to see Slade stab a dart into her neck, and she dropped limp in the henchman's (well, sort of) arms. Red X clenched his hands into fists, irritated and disappointed that there was nothing to be done, as they began to walk away.

He blurted out, "But she's my sister!"

It was obviously a lie, and Red X could tell that Slade already knew it as he turned back to regard him. The look melted from a bored one to an amused one as Red X continued.

"I was…out all night looking for her…" He trailed off, unsure whether to continue his fib or not.

Slade was wickedly grinning behind his mask and Red X could guess it. "Then put your mind at ease since you have found her. Now say goodbye because you will never see your sister ever again."

"No!" He reached out with his arm, but let it slowly drift down in defeat as they disappeared into the darkness.

He stared at the shadows for a moment; then made a break for his house. So maybe he couldn't save that girl, but Red X would. With any luck, he'd not only see her again, but also make a new friend.

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"How do you know my name?"

Naiya shook her head hopelessly. She knew the answer, but the words just weren't coming. He kicked her hard in the gut and she hit the back wall, sliding face-first onto the floor. Her whole body was still faintly numb, but the blood was back in her mouth. At this rate, would Naiya live through this nightmare? Probably not, as Slade most likely had no need for witnesses to his secret identity. Who would? Maybe he'd stop pounding her if she told him where she knew him from (just maybe), but she'd surely die after that. Once Naiya informed him of what he wanted to hear, she would be exterminated because they would both know and only one of them mattered. Either way, she'd be murdered or tortured to death. Dying quickly was always said to be the better death, but Naiya didn't want to stop believing that somebody would rescue her. Someone had to, didn't they? That was how happy endings came to be. But she realized, with a sinking feeling, that life did not always have happy endings.

Slade interrupted her thoughts and pulled up her head by tugging on her hair.

"Where. Did. You. Find. Me?"

He accentuated his point by tightening his grip with every syllable. Naiya winced at each word, finally understanding why boys were so lucky. Or perhaps she just needed to cut her hair.

"Jump Industries," she choked out.

The pain wasn't that intense, and she felt a bit ashamed to have given in. It was just that the immense stress Naiya had built up from restraining her reply for apparently no reason (she was going to die anyway, right?) had gotten under her skin.

He let her hair go, her head immediately dropping to the floor. There wasn't anything left to say since he now had an idea of how Naiya recognized him. And Slade just didn't want to talk to her. She was merely a miserable piece of vermin beneath his feet with a particularly good memory and a nose that stuck into business out of its filthy boundaries. He would deal with her tomorrow. Night was too good of a time to get things done to be spoiled by a stupid little girl. Besides, the frail little thing would probably pass away all by itself. If not, he'd take care of it in the morning.

Naiya had struggled to her feet. Surprisingly, Slade thought she had less bruises than before. The one on her cheek was certainly gone. It must've been a trick of the shadows flickering, Slade settled. He got that a lot.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

Her tone reminded him of that boy they'd run into: defeated but defiant. Maybe they really were related.

"Of course I am," he replied, annoyed, but acting calm.

His computer suddenly flickered on. It displayed one of his hidden security cameras' views, and he discovered that Red X was undoubtedly heading for his lair. Slade chuckled, realizing exactly who the boy from earlier was, and he decided he'd let the girl die when he arrived. Maybe he'd even let Red X keep the body.

"And since you insisted…" Slade got up from his seat and unsheathed a crooked knife, its nicked but sharp edges glinting in the dim light.

Naiya smiled grimly, and he was little startled at how bravely she was taking it. But why should he have cared? He clutched her by the neck and threw her down, face flat on the ground. He kneeled, his knees painfully pinning down hers and cut a line down the back of her shirt. Pulling the two flaps apart, her back was now exposed. Naiya hoped he wouldn't do anything sexual before he killed her, and she didn't have to worry. Slade plunged the knife into her upper left back, just underneath the shoulder. She made a strangled, gasp sort of noise, probably trying to stifle her scream. It was deep, but not near far enough to skewer her or even pierce any organs. He didn't stop with that stab though, and continued to drag the knife down in a diagonal line. Above the segment, he struck again and crisscrossed the first line. A large, bloody x had been carved into Naiya's back, and she was well aware of it.

Slade laughed quietly to himself again. "I think he used to say, 'X marks the spot'?"

He grabbed the grimacing girl roughly by her elbows and dumped her unceremoniously into a cell, closing the black bars with a satisfactory click of the lock.

Naiya collapsed onto her stomach, her hands clawing at her shoulders in a vain effort to stop the burning agony sizzling in her back. Her little walk had not been at all what she had expected, but she now suspected that it would be one long night.

Completely oblivious to the chills of the winds through the night, Red X had almost made it to Slade's lair. It might have been a hunch traveling there, because a while ago Slade's lair had been destroyed. Red X was guessing he had rebuilt it, right here, the same place on the exact same spot. And as he began to recognize his surroundings, he was better sure his suspicion was correct.

"Red X, so glad you could make it."

He spun around, well aware of Slade's "ability" to compose from the darkness. But the man still was able to appear behind him despite his preparation. Red X reached for one of his countless x's but cursed under his breath when he found that his belt wasn't there. Slade held it up mockingly, and Red X silently swore again. How did an old man manage to outwit people so bad? With a swift kick, Red X was trapped in the same prison that Naiya was. So much for playing the hero.

"Why did you come back?" she demanded, having shortly recovered from her injury. "You're that boy I ran into earlier."

"Does everybody know?" he muttered to himself, then to her. "You could at least manage a 'thank you', couldn't you? After all, I did this for you, and it's your fault for smashing into me."

He hadn't meant it that harsh at all, and her eyes widened as if he had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her. A long pause went by.

"Thanks," she mumbled softly, shyer than Red X had anticipated.

Naiya pulled her shirt farther up her shoulders. Slade had slit her bra open as well, and there wasn't anyway to ensure that the articles would stay put. She hadn't been worrying about it earlier (probably because of her wound dulling the point or the fact that she had been alone), but now that someone else was locked in the small, confined space with her…It didn't help mentioning that he was a male, and she a female. Red X had noticed it too, though he wasn't quite sure whether the girl's shirt was really ripped or that she was teasing him. Definitely not teasing him, he confirmed, but he wouldn't have minded reacting.

"Did he hurt you?" He reached a steady hand towards her.

She stiffened and started to back away, but was well aware that she would painfully crash into the bars if she continued and that he'd obviously see the mark on her back sooner or later.

"Yes…"

Still clutching her shirt, she turned, allowing him the whole view.

Though the large gashes had only recently been cut, the blood had stopped gushing and the skin already showed signs of healing. But Naiya didn't know that.

Red X took a step closer. "This looks at least a couple of days old…" He ran his gloved fingers over the x, not to touch her bare back, but a with mere aching to preoccupy himself with something. When she winced at the contact, he asked, "Does that hurt?"

"Not really," she admitted. Naiya had just been startled, never having been touched so familiarly by a mere stranger. She later returned his comment, "He only just sliced it right before you arrived."

He continued stroking what would eventually be a scar for a few minutes. It intrigued him yet disgusted him at the same time. Red X wouldn't have minded carving it himself if it didn't involve hurting a little girl, and knowing that Slade had put his liking in someone else annoyed him.

Red X pulled off his mask, since everybody here knew who he was and he needed some air. "That's weird. It's already almost a scab." He looked at it again. "And now it is."

"Really?" Naiya craned her neck; disappointed she couldn't see it for herself.

"Really." He sat down at the other end, bored.

Did that bloody x mean that Red X was supposed to end up with this girl? Or just seduce her? Or was it simply because Slade wanted to practice his skills with the blade on her and he was the first thing he thought of? One way or another, the topic quickly lost interest to him, and that girl's quick regeneration had already reached its highest peak of fascination The city was full of super heroes and super villains. What could he, what could anyone who lived here, expect? Truthfully, the only thing he could really think about with a girl and her shirt practically off in such a situation wasn't appropriate to share with her.

"My name is Naiya."

She was a little nervous at the way he was staring at her and had tried to start a conversation.

"Ok."

Awkward silence. Not exactly what Naiya had been shooting for. She waited a moment before inquiring, "Should I call you Red X?"

He shrugged, and repeated blankly, "Ok."

It was starting to get on her nerves, and she had to wait a minute before thinking of a weak reply, or start, considering how this discussion was pretty dead.

"You didn't need to come back… you know?" She started slowly.

"Ok." He grinned; he knew that he was going to break her mellowness sooner or later with the same answer.

Sure enough, she frowned at him, clearly agitated but lost for words.

"Why did you come for me!?" She looked confused now. "You put yourself in danger's way just because I was in it.? It didn't mean you had to play the hero…and get yourself caught…You're even a villain yourself, aren't you?"

Boy, did he know girls inside out, better than the back and front of his hand, and how to drive them wild (and sometimes even over him). And before he knew it, his instincts had taken over. He swapped sides and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Her face flushed as he did so, which told him he had even more control over the situation than he had at first thought he would. He was starting to think urging her shirt off wouldn't be nearly as hard as it had seemed a mere minute ago.

He lifted her chin so their eyes would meet, Naiya's cheeks still reddening deeper. More red than he thought someone's face could get, actually. "I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me," he murmured softly.

And his lips sunk into hers.

A kiss.