Hoodlum's Wearin' an X.
Rains decided to break into the car of his high schools richest and most pompous kid. Now Rains was a hood, the bad guy of the school, because he still went while the other hoods just hung out by the old drive-in-movie theater or the V Zone the bar where guys like him could get good ol' alcohol and cancer sticks even if guys like him were only sixteen. The guy whose car he planned to take wasn't a bad guy, got good grades, hot girl, and a real and lovin' family (the one thing Rains used to want before deciding he wanted to get out of the town of Brownsville more) but the guy with his lack of problems pissed off Rains for some reason he couldn't quite identify.
As he approached the car, whose owner was at the big football game and was driven by a friend, (he didn't play cuz' mommy wouldn't let him) with all caution. Rains had lifted a car or two in his glory days of Hooddum (he still was the best fighter the town had but he stopped stealing and picking fights). The car served no problem as it was unlocked. Then Rains drove to the small, vacant, and crumbling auto garage he used as a base of operations (and home at the few times he could not keep up on his rent and needed to cool down and save money) which held all of his tools that ranged from a standard screwdriver to a hydraulic jaws of life type tool.
Now Rains could do a lot to the car from returning it to its place in perfect condition to cutting it into spare parts to sell or give as presents (his friend Davis had this nice car made of all salvaged parts that could use…something). After deliberation he decided to open the trunk and look around for inspiration. Before he got his multitude of tools out he slid into the driver's seat and opened the glove compartment. Inside of the glove compartment was a little yellow button that had minute print on it claming "TRUNK DOOR" in its middle. One push and the trunk popped.
Rains strode over to the opened trunk in his confident way. The interior of the trunk held a jacket, some trash, and a spare tire. Rains pulled the floor mat and started to rummage in the spare tire storage but his fingers met a metal lockbox. He pulled the box out and placed it on his worktable and left the trunk gapping like a monsters maw.
A few prods with a lock pick and the box was open. Rains lifted the lid and peered inside and promptly slammed said lid after all he had seen a skull inside of the box. He shook his head and flipped the lockbox's lid back and saw the skull was not in his imagination.
Upon closer inspection Rains noticed the bright red lines that ran perpendicular in an 'X' across the skulls front. Picking the skull up he figured it to be a mask instead of a skull. Putting the mask to one side Rains pulled the rest of the box's contents up and out of the metal container. A black skin tight suit of some odd fabric with mimicries of the perpendicular red lines forming an 'X', two gauntlets the color of gunmetal, black boots, a ragged cape, and a belt of twilight gray with the same red lines as before. As Rains looked at the suit he remembered something he had read in the paper a few months ago, that the Red X suit was stolen from Titan's Tower and was running around unchecked. Rains had thought it was a good laugh or something to that effect. But seeing the suit that now belonged to some guy at his school, in his town, hell in his state was…
And then a smile stole itself onto Rains face, that bitter angry smile that his friends said made him into a twisted madman of a hood. He found that his old chum from high school having the suit amusing especially when Rains held it in his hands.
Slamming the lockbox's lid Rains returned it to the car's trunk sans the Red X suit. Slamming the trunk in the same way as the lockbox, Rains went to the drivers' seat and pushed the small remote he had produced from his pocket that opened the garage door and drove the car out of his garage. He took the car and parked it where it was originally, waiting dutifully for its master to come back from his friends at the summer "football fantastica" that all the towns in a twenty mile radius went to in the summers break from school for a festival centered around football.
Rains had to walk to the garage but it was only about six blocks away. Nobody from town would dare try and jump him because everyone knew him by his pale, corpse like skin, dyed purple hair (all because of a bet in the seventh grade and the subsequent adding to his reputation), and blazing eyes the same shade as the desert sky.
When he got to his garage he closed all the doors locked them and retreated to his apartment with the suit in his backpack. And when he opened the door to his apartment he locked it. The same process went with all of his doors and windows. As the last door shut Rains put his backpack on the writing desk his dad had made before he died.
Rains tore off all his clothes but his boxers, and climbed into the suit. It stretched perfectly to fit his slender yet strong frame. He wondered how Zack (the guy the suit came from) had fit into it when his shoulders were broader. He figured that the suit stretched so he must be a bit bigger than the guy it was made for. After he had taken the time to align the suit to his body he pulled the boots that with a second glance had grey up their sides. The gauntlets came next and then the ragged cape. The belt was snapped upon his waist in a matter of moments and as its buckle clicked into place the suit felt different like it had cooled down. And lastly the white skull mask. Once that last piece of the suit came into contact with the others the suit came to life.
The first noticeable thing was the pounding rap song that struck Rains eardrum. The next was the cold that hit his body. And a dozen screens flashed before his eyes. Rains ripped the mask off his head and stared at it for a moment. Rains smile was so wide anyone watching could see his near perfect teeth (no teeth are perfect and Rains just had a few teeth to close together but nothing serious).
"So a built in mp3 player huh? Cool," Rains voice came out without any discernible accent.
After a long check Rains had the mp3 off and deleting its songs, the suits built-in cooling/warming system to body temperature, and figured out the heads up display (or HUD). Then he plugged the mask into his computer and downloaded some of his favorite songs and bands like Guns and Roses, Pantera, and The Rolling Stones (he, unlike most hoods, listened to rock and detested most rap). Rains waited until the songs and such were downloaded on the mask then placed it on his head. Glancing down before opening the window of his apartment so he could have some fun in his new suit he noticed a weird thing. His gauntlets now had red lines like the one on his mask and chest.
Suddenly the HUD flashed red and said 'SHORTAGE OF XINOTHIUM REFULE" and the noise that pro and preceded it made Rains take off the mask. Walking to the computer while striping the rest of the suit off of his body Rains wondered how Zack got the suit in the first place and why he was so careless with it.
Sitting down at his dad's writing desk and pulling up the internet Rains thought just how difficult getting the suit running would be. Quickly bringing up the Google website he searched for xinothium and where it could be found. After a few hours of searching Rains found out about a building that had a large grouping of the volatile chemical and had announced they were researching ways to make it stable. The company was located in Jump City the home of the Teen Titan's. Rains decided to sleep on his thoughts right after he had hid the Red X suit away.
1
The next mourning Rains had a plan. First he would call a teacher he had once who had moved because his intelligence was compromised by the lack of interest of his students and the offer of more money at the Martin Scarsdale School for Gifted Youth. The man had tried to convince Rains to move to the school (and Jump City) because they provided a full scholarship and an almost guarantee of an Ivy League collage for its students future. Then he would gather all his money say bye to Davis (his only friend since he had left the gang) and pack his stuff up. The call went over better than expected because Rains had waited until twelve o'clock before his call (so the time wasn't too early).
"Hello?" The voice of his old teacher and his faint British accent gave Rains some relief.
"Mr. Baseman how are you,"
"Fine. And who may I ask is calling?" His British accent gave his voice the soothing quality many lacked.
"I'm Rains. I was once a student of yours and was wondering if the offer to be taught at that prodigious school you work at was still on the table. I know I haven't seen you in about two years but…I was the kid with the purple hair?" Rains waited with anticipation while there was a silence on the other line until.
"Of course Mr. Rains the offer is still on the table. But I can't remember your first name," Rains felt good that the teacher would remember him and even better that he forgot his first name.
"I don't go by my first name anyway just Rains. Um…when can I get the forms you told me about before you left?"
"You'd have to come to the school for testing at this time of year. And you have to promise not to tell but if you came here I could help on the deciding if you're allowed in bit. And I would like some one like you in my class again." His words made Rains smile.
"Fine because I was thinking of moving up there anyway. When can you get me a test Mr. Baseman?"
"In two weeks from tomorrow. Can you make it Rains?" The bad feeling dissipated into the air at those words.
"Yes, and I think I'll start over there as soon as possible because I want a change," Rains had already quit the conversation.
"Bye-bye then Rains,"
"You to Mr. Baseman," And the phone gave a click as Rains turned it off
2
Rains had a quick good-bye with Davis, had withdrawn all his money from his account, and sold some of the things he didn't need from his house. Davis drove him to the train station where he would board and leave for Jump City.
"Guess this is good-bye for real huh Rains?" Davis asked in his long southern drawl.
"Yeah Davis it's good-bye for real. Well I love you man, later," Rains leaped from the car and started for the train that had just pulled up.
"I love ya'll two Rainey day," Rains put up one hand in departing before getting on the passenger train and finding a seat.
Watching the scenery go by Rains drifted to sleep. He had several dreams the first was a semi wet dream about the first girl he'd ever had sex with. The next was about pink sheep being led to the butcher shop by Davis his friend. And the last was a black outline or essence that had two red perpendicular lines that met at the perfect angle to form a red 'X'.
Rains woke about twenty minutes before the train would reach Jump City and he gave a small victory smirk at his accomplishments so far. And as he got of the train and took his first step into Jump City he knew that he would make himself famous…or rather he would make the crimson thief Red X infamous
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How is every one tonight? Good? Bad? Really I don't care but false concern is better than none, right? No I guess not well this is the start of a new Red X different from the second opposite of the first. Hope you enjoy this little ride through the jungle. Have a nice day.
-Endless Mist.