Visions of the Real
By: AegisX
I know that you all are thinking not another story, but regrettably to say the least, yes it is. It's my mind that has been on overdrive lately, spouting out things like this and they won't let me be, so I have to do something about it, yeah.
Summary: "It started with the prophecy and a meeting with the ever so elusive Red X," Raven thought. What happens when your world is revealed? What do you do when everything you thought was real turns out to be nothing more than an illusion? That question and its answers change everything. TitansXMatrix RedXRae.
1:Connection Lost
Raven sat on the tower roof, gazing at the full moon in the sky. The salty ocean breeze caressing Raven's face and sending her hair billowing behind her as she continued to gaze out towards the ocean. 'What am I going to do about this prophecy?' She thought to herself, trying to will her mind into providing an answer for her question.
"Penny for your thoughts?" a rough, metallic voice reached her ears.
She immediately whirled around to see none other than Red X standing behind her, looking up at the moon. "Red X! What are you doing here?" Raven said, standing up and sliding into a combat position, her black energy surrounding her fists.
"Relax, I'm not here to fight you," Red X said, walking over to her and taking a seat next to where Raven stood. "I just want to talk," he added as he slid off the power belt for the suit and laid it next to Raven.
"What makes you think that I want to talk to you?" Raven asked, slowly lowering her fists to her sides. "What makes you think I won't attack or call the others?" she asked, as she continued to gaze at the thief in front of her.
"You haven't called the rest of the team yet and you seem ready to take a seat," X remarked as he fiddled with something at the neck of the suit. "Besides talking isn't a crime is it?" he asked, looking up at Raven.
"No it isn't but you're a wanted criminal," she answered back and sat down, thinking 'What's the harm in talking? Considering how things might turn out, pretty soon.'
"Let's just put that aside for tonight," X answered as he slowly extended his right arm out, opening his hand and closing it around the visage of the moon. "Look at the moon; it's beautiful, isn't it? Kinda makes you feel like you could reach out and grab it, doesn't it?" he said casually before pulling his arm back.
"Yes it does, but I never figured a thief could appreciate something like this," Raven answered with a dry tone, looking at X while he lounged back on his elbows.
"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things that I appreciate," X told her, as he raised his hand up to the mask and pressed a hidden button on it. "For one thing, I appreciate your leader. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have this suit."
Raven was surprised when she realized that X was now using his normal voice, as he had deactivated the voice changer. He carried an accent that spoke of street life, yet it was not harsh, only smooth and sweet. "Why turn off the voice changer?" she asked, as she leaned back on her elbows as well.
"I don't know, it makes me feel different, inhuman," was X's response.
"That's not inhuman," Raven retorted, "Inhuman is-"
"I know what inhuman is, I just used it to express myself." X snapped back, turning around to gaze at Raven. "I know all about it, Raven, all about it."
Raven's gaze shifted back out to the ocean, seeing the moving shapes in the water at the distance.
"You know something, that prophecy of yours isn't bad."
Raven turned around to look at X, giving him an intense glare as she answered "Not bad? Not bad, you say? It means the end of the world, so how wouldn't that be bad?"
Red X chuckled as he sat up again, his hands moving up the mask. Raven's eyes went wide as it fell to the ground, making a small sound as it landed next to the belt and she got her first look at Red X.
Young, around 17 years old, he had long red and black hair, trailing past his ears, which were pierced several times, silver hoops dangling from them both, and he turned around with a wicked smirk on his face as she gazed into his silver rimmed forest green eyes, almost losing herself to them. The paleness of his skin adding to a strange aura of attractiveness that seemed to pour out from him as he continued to watch her face. "Am I that horrible to look at?" he asked in a joking manner.
Raven blushed as she stuttered out "N-no, i-it's just that…" she trailed off before she could say anything else. She remained silent for a few minutes while X continued to look into the sky, before she asked "Why take off the mask? Why me of all people?"
"Just trying to balance out the equation, you know?" X commented as he stood up, stretching slowly. "It's not fair for me to know so much about you and you to know nothing about me," he added as he turned and gave her a roguish smile and a wink.
Raven colored, watching as both the mask and belt be enveloped by black energy. X chuckled again before snatching the said items out of the air and placing them back down on the ground. "What do you mean by know so much about me?" she asked after a few minutes.
"Well, it was kinda hard to miss a dead man coming back to life and all," X answered as he sat back down on the ground. "I mean, no one survives a fall into magma then comes back shooting flames."
Raven's eyes intensified as she asked "What do you mean it's kind of hard to miss a dead man?" Suspicion was the main thing radiating off her voice and also there was worry.
"I wanted to talk to you so I came hear and well after you got the call, I kinda shadowed you all the rest of the way," X answered, shrugging his shoulders and drumming his fingers on the roof top.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Raven asked as she forcefully pushed away the memories of her encounter with Slade.
"I wanted to ask you if you've felt it yet," X said, his manner now serious.
"Felt what exactly?" Raven said, and a familiar, yet strange feeling of vertigo suddenly washing over her as she looked around. She looked at the bridge that crossed the Jump City bay and it seemed to vanish in her eyes before returning back to its place. She continued looking around and it happened repeatedly with anything that she looked at. "What's happening?" she asked in a tremulous voice.
"You feel it then, as I thought." X replied before turning around to face her once more. "What you felt and what you saw, what exactly was it? Explain it to me."
Raven looked at him in the eyes for a few seconds before she started speaking "It felt strange, it felt as if nothing here was real." X nodded and she continued "Everything seemed to vanish from their places before reappearing again. Nothing felt real, it felt as if this was all some kind illusion."
X nodded again and this time he said "Good, so you do feel it. Do you want to know what is and why you can feel it?" Raven nodded but before X could continue, the sound of the roof door opening reached their ears. X quickly put on his mask and the belt as he stood, Raven standing as well.
"Look, it all has to do with your prophecy," X said hurriedly before looking over his shoulder and he added "Don't try to stop the prophecy, that's what will give you your answers."
"Raven, hey, Raven!" Cyborg's voice reached their ears and X walked towards the edge of the roof.
"Don't stop the prophecy, remember that," he repeated.
"What the hell-" Raven started to ask but before she could finish, X jumped off the tower edge and vanished from sight.
Raven sighed and quickly straightened herself when Cyborg walked over to her "You alright Raven?"
"Yeah," she responded before pulling her hood back up and heading back into the tower.
xXx-xXx-xXx-xxXxx-xXx-xXx-xXx
X materialized on the rooftop of a rickety apartment building, the wind playing with his cape making it billow. He pulled a black razor cellphone, and placed it against his ear listening to the line ring away.
"Operator," a foxy female voice answered.
"Erika, I need a line out." X spoke into the receiver while he examined the block around the building.
"Hold on…" was Erika's reply as the sounds of rapid typing reached his ears.
"Can't give you an exit… The exile's behind you," she replied tersely.
X turned around as the sounds of footsteps reached his ears and he whirled around, the phone falling onto the ground as he shifted into his favored Jeet Kun Do fighting stance.
Another man walked out of the shadows, clothed in a black and red body suit, the face mask having only one eye visible and a glowing red S like symbol on the forehead. "Slade!" X hissed, as the figure came to a halt only 2 meters away from him.
"Well, you seem well," Slade commented as he looked X over.
"What the hell do you want? Or are you here for another stomping?" X asked, his fists clenching and unclenching as he watched him warily.
"Boy, do you think you can best me?" Slade asked with a chuckle as he turned away from X and looked up at the sky.
"I did before and I'll do it again if I have to," X answered, this time X shaped blades extended from the jagged x's on his gloves, rotating rapidly.
"Now, now, just relax. I'm not here to fight you" Slade said as he walked towards the spot where X stood. "And anyway, you can't defeat me as I am now," he added, laughing maliciously.
"Whatever, just say your piece and jam," X retorted as he unclenched his fists and the x blades retracted back into the gloves.
"Well, I noticed that you went to the tower, did you speak with our little bird?" Slade asked, mock innocence the tone he chose.
"She's not yours and you know that already," X snapped off, causing Slade to laugh again.
"If you say so, I was sent by the master to ensure your help in this endeavor," Slade answered, choosing not to hear what X had said.
"I say that both you and your master aregoing to screw this whole thing up for us," X said walking towards the edge of the roof.
The sound of a door slamming halted X and froze Slade where he stood as they both turned around. Standing by a damaged door were three men, dressed in black suits, sunglasses covering their eyes and all with a earpiece inserted into their ears. "Fugitives are ordered to stand down and await termination," the middle one with his black hair slicked back out of his face spoke.
"You actually think that works?" X snapped off as his X blades reappeared on his gloves, spinning at a high velocity. "I think it's time you wind up toys left."
"We need not concern ourselves, they are weak," the brown haired agent next to the center agent spoke as he calmly drew a handgun.
"Yes, inconsequential," the third agent added as he himself pulled out a handgun.
"Oh, I'll show you inconsequential!" X yelled as he prepared to launch himself at them. He found an arm barring his way and that arm was attached to Slade, who only laughed coldly.
"Let me deal with these insects," Slade spoke, not making it sound as a request but as an order. He raised his left hand, which was surrounded by a deep red glow before he lashed out with a bar of flames that sliced across the agents and reduced them to motes of ash, which in turn disappeared entirely.
"No style whatsoever Slade," X commented as he picked up the phone he'd dropped earlier and placed the receiver back to his ear. Once he realized the line was cut, he shrugged and placed the phone back into the belt as he turned back to Slade.
"If this concludes our little meeting, then I'll be heading out before those agents return." X told Slade.
"As long as you do your part of the bargain," Slade answered and walked into the shadows of the building.
X pulled out the cellphone again, "Operator, I need my exit now," he said. After a few minutes, he was on his way to a jewelry store, whose phone was currently ringing off the hook. He found it easy to penetrate the security and find the phone; he picked it up and held it to his ear, feeling a wave of cold rush through him.
xXx-xXx-xXx-xxXxx-xXx-xXx-xXx
"Titans, trouble!" Robin's voice reached her ears as she finished dressing herself after a long, cold shower. With a grimace, Raven pulled her cloak towards her with her magic and slid it on, running out the door. She met with the rest of the titans in the living room as they stopped to watch the giant television as it currently played live footage of an attack by none other than Slade.
"Titans Go!" Robin yelled and they all dashed towards their own methods of transportation. Soon they arrived at the scene of Slade shooting beams of flames at cars and other objects, which proceeded to detonate.
"Slade, it's time to put you on ice," Robin yelled, always some kind of line pouring from his lips before lunging at him to attack.
Slade laughed before dodging out of the way of the vicious blows that Robin rained on him with his quarterstaff, biding his time until… "Got you," he said as he planted a kick to Robin's ribs and proceeded to send him flying into the sky with a well placed uppercut.
Cyborg saw Robin take the hit and he launched one of his sonic blasts, which Slade dodge, before getting nailed by a pillar that Raven tossed at him.
Slade shrugged off the hit from the pillar and planted a kick to Beast Boy's head as he rushed at Slade in bull form. Slade followed the kick with several more that left the changeling on the floor bloody and unconscious. Several starbolts hit the ground at his feet and exploded throwing up a cloud of dust which Raven threw several benches into and Cyborg shot off his cannon more than once, hoping to get him with a clean hit.
Raven felt strange yet she didn't realize why she did.
A/N: Sorry to leave such a cliffhanger, yet I'm too sleepy to resume my work on this, yeah. I'll see all dat bother to review this, at the batcave…oops, I mean in the next session. Yeah.