Chapter One: A Meeting in Mexico
AN: "Ya mean we're here again?"
"Aw Chere, y' actin' like y' don' wanna spend time wit' dis Cajun."
"Ah don't."
"Y' wound Remy, Chere."
"Okay now we're getting into the main story."
"Did ya pull a time jump on us, B?"
"Yeah, kinda. This takes place after they leave Tokyo in the movie. Don't worry it'll get clearer later."
"So am Ah gonna have ta give anotha disclaimer for ya?"
"Remy'll do it this time, Chere. Blackberry doesn't own DC comics, the Teen Titans, Mexico, or Roguey and Remy-"
"That's not mah name, Swamp Rat."
"-or any music that de petite may t'ink goes wit' her story."
"Actually the only thing I can think of is Another One Bites the Dust by Queen. Oh, and let's just add Spanish to the list of languages Raven can understand just for the heck of it, huh? Enjoy!"
A face blending into the crowd. Yeah this was exactly where a thief wanted to be. It made his job just that much easier as he glided right through public eye, only to be forgotten the instant he passed. The suit hidden underneath his clothes was starting to become more apparent to him however, as the morning sun continued to beat down upon the traffic that made up the blood in the city's veins. He loved Mexico. He loved the little tourist trap towns, the fresh foods right at hand, and the incredible valuables that seemed to flood the country. But he especially loved the views. Give him a picturesque beachfront property amid the gulf and he could die a happy man. The only problem with that was that he'd die a poor happy man so, obviously his ties to the city life back in the States couldn't be completely severed. But that didn't mean he couldn't hope for a nice retirement with a great view.
And the mention of great views went resounding in his mind again, as his eyes scanned the crowd and picked up something which shocked him to the core and almost made him stop in his tracks. He stared as the ever so memorable head of shoulder length violet hair made its way through the crowd in his direction, and he caught a glimpse of pure amethyst eyes. What in the world was Raven of the Teen Titans doing in Mexico City?
She stood out from everyone else that was for sure. The dark blue of her cloak would normally seem subdued and blend in amidst the background, but here in the bright streets it distinguished her. It wasn't only her normal apparel that made her presence obvious though; simply the way she glided through the crowd, head held straight up, constantly scanning the faces of the crowd, the mere way she seemed to encompass dignity made her absolutely untouchable.
But her distress could also be seen. Even in her proud manner, the slight wrinkle on her brow, the way her eyes did scan back and forth as if on high alert, and the fast pace she kept provided the evidence that all was not as it should be in the empath's world.
X couldn't help himself. With his luck he had a compulsory disorder. Regardless, soon after the enchantress had passed his place on the street unnoticed he turned back around and subtly followed her from amidst the throng of people dividing them. He could easily pick her out, that was no problem, however keeping himself unnoticed from not only her prying eyes, but from those who take suspicion at a man stalking only a few paces behind a beautiful young woman was another story. So he held back letting pedestrians get in his way, ducking down to look at some of the street vendors' merchandise, but always keeping her in his line of vision out of the corner of his eye. That is, until, a swift, closer inspection of some "genuine" Aztec artifacts led his eyes to wander over the seller's goods just a little too long. By the time he looked up again, Raven had vanished.
Well, that can't be good. He knew she had been keeping towards the fringe of the crowd, or at least attempting to, but it really didn't do him any good to assume she had left the street simply by walking. She wasa super hero. She could have teleported if she had wanted. But the growing sense of unease was telling him something different. Later, he would recall his actions and admit that, yeah, he was a glutton for punishment as he started to make his way towards the last alley he had seen Raven near.
As Raven made her way toward the alleyway she couldn't help but feel like eyes were peering towards her covered back. She knew coming to Mexico was a bad idea. Beastboy suggested it; that should have marked it as a clear no go. She just stood out too much for the crowded streets of Mexico City. Sure the streets of Jump City could be just as filled, but there she didn't stand out as an eyesore. She had finally reached the edge of the street, and with a sigh of relief she stepped into the shade offered by the solitary white walls of her surroundings. She slowly crept further down the passage way trying to escape public line of sight and rid herself of the vague impressions of emotions she had picked up from brushing against the clustered traffic. She usually had a better control on her powers but the combination of the already scorching sun, the never ceasing noises, and the maze-like area had sufficiently taxed her nerves to the limit, leaving her extremely fatigued and slightly muddled. That's probably why she didn't see the first attacker until he had his hand on her shoulder, giving her a fierce shove towards the once comforting walls.
Her eyes snapped open in panic and her hands flew up to brace her impact with the rough stone surface. As soon as she made contact, however, she was instantly yanked back by her cloak towards her assailant. She felt an iron hard fist collide into the small of her back, and she hissed in sudden pain while her left forearm was suddenly seized. She didn't waste time after that. Contorting her own body, she fell into herself, dragging her opponent around her until she had her opening. Never let it be said that Raven was above using cheap blows. Her leg snapped out and collided forcefully with the man's groin and he instantly released her as he doubled over in obvious pain. As she attempted to dart away from the injured man, she collided into another solid surface. The kind of solid surface that was wearing a predatory grin as he leered down at her behind mirrored sunglasses. Letting her glance take a roving look at his obvious, muscle-bound appearance she assessed her next step carefully.
Unfortunately the half-step she took behind her to give her more room to pivot from her position also made her bump into yet another breathing solid surface. A snatched look over her shoulder as she jumped away made her realize that two more thugs were approaching her sides to join their partners in order to box her in.
She nearly snarled at the stupidity; whether it was hers or theirs she wasn't really sure as she summoned black shadows to encircle her hands.
"Azarath Metrion Zen-" her cry was cut out as one of the thugs quickly snapped his fist and made connection with her jaw. She could feel her ears ringing from the impact, as the magic that had been at her finger tips instantly dissipated.
Before she could see straight she felt another man grab her roughly by the upper arms and sling her through the circle to come back into contact with the wall. This time her entire left side was slammed into it at full force and she just barely registered the sickening crack as her head made impact, already too disoriented by the pain. Another hiss was barely out of her lips as she took jagged steps away from the wall, trying desperately to escape her attackers, until once again her cloak was seized in another clenched fist behind her. This time before she could feel the weightlessness of being jerked back her hand snapped to the latch. But her built up momentum sent her propelling forward as she lost all sense of balance as the blue material fell from her shoulders. She hit the ground hard, instantly pushing herself up from the ground, desperately ignoring the pain that began shooting up her arms. She felt herself being dragged back suddenly as two pairs of hands seized her arms and lifted her off the ground and slammed her face first back into the wall, this time holding her there. Her left arm was quickly twisted around until it felt like it was going to come out and she unleashed her first scream of pain. The torture on her arm instantly halted as she heard a deep voice muttering a few words. After that came the real pain.
At first all of her energy was focused on how to keep her arm attached to her body, until she felt a sharp pressure right above her shoulder blade, that instantly swelled into a fiery pain as something began to tear deeper into her flesh and agonizingly slowly was brought around to trace her shoulder, before being roughly jerked out. Her throat swelled shut as she attempted to simply let her powers work on the damage but a soft whimpering did tumble out of her lips. She felt her cheeks swell up with heat at her shame as she remembered that she was supposed to be a super hero. The heat in her face only increased as she heard the cold laughter from the same deep voiced man from earlier. She was soon roughly turned around by her attackers to face the cold eyes of the man obviously giving the orders as his clothes were slightly nicer, and none of the dirt had marred his appearance from the scuffle. She wished she could have suppressed the moan that escaped her lips as she leaned back onto the cold wall behind her, and she heard the deep sick chuckles that the six surrounding men gave off at her obvious pain. She was cornered, injured, and at this point almost desperate for anything short of miracle.
She knew the instant the atmosphere changed around her that something wasn't going as planned for her attackers. Out of the haze that filled her vision she could see most of the group turn their attention away from her crumpled form, and the greedy, possessive eyes were replaced with wary looks of disbelief. The few orders given by the ring leader were drowned out by a sudden cry.
"¡Cuidado!" *Watch out!*
With that nearly late warning the thugs in front of her spread like the parting of the Red Sea, as one of their own ranks was forcibly hurled head-over-heels through them from somewhere just beyond her line of sight. The momentum of the assaulted man left a small wake of destruction in his path as Raven tried her best to stagger back up to her feet again. But the voice that was sent echoing down the alley way in the mid-morning sun caught her off-guard for the second time that day. The voice with a decidedly mechanical Robin-like ring to it.
"Don't you guys know it's my job to beat up the Titans?"
The obviously uncomprehending thugs just began to surround the black figure as the leader let out one more order.
"¡Atrápalo!" *Get him!*
"Guess not." He said as he dodged the flying fist of one thug. The multitude swarmed over him as he deftly slipped and dodged around every attack that came his way until one member had managed to slip around behind him and in attempting to tackle him down, was slung over his shoulder, propelling his attacker to the ground. The desperate man swung out blindly to alleviate his fall, unknowingly seizing the inky black skull-imprinted mask of the thief.
Raven stood there with bated breath as she witnessed what the Titans had attempted to do countless times in their own run-ins with the criminal, as the shadowy material was pulled over the features of the mysterious vigilante.
It appeared that she was going to have to wait a little longer.
Red X merely adjusted his descent to fall with the man carrying him down and rolled to the point to where when he was left without his mask, he had his back towards her. With a quick flick of the wrist that she barely perceived, he had snatched the fallen man's sunglasses from his face and flipped them upon his own. While this was impressive in and of itself he completed the arc to slam his leg in a quick scissor cut that brought down the two men that had started to approach him in his mild distraction.
He sprang up with the agility that an acrobat would have viewed with envy, and reached for one of the very familiar shurikuns on his belt. At his seizing of an obvious weapon, the multitude adjusted their tactics to surround him once more and the gang tried to dog pile on-top of him, trusting in their combined numbers. Raven internally winced as she recalled a similar tactic used by Cyborg and Beastboy once. The end result hadn't been pretty. Red X seemed completely aware of where her thoughts were at the moment, as he waved a small cheeky salute in her direction while his other hand quickly pressed the glowing x in the center of his belt, seconds before the massive forms of his attackers reached him. The shouts of surprised were intermixed with curses of pain as their intended victim vanished in mid air to leave them at the mercy of gravity. He reappeared only a few steps away from her, holding the gang's leader roughly with one arm around his shoulders, while his other hand pressed the blood-red X shurikun to his throat, effectively immobilizing him and the others as they realized the threat to their boss.
"La Santa Muerte," tumbled out of the leader's lips in a quiet cussing, before the shurikun was shoved just a little deeper into the man's throat, silencing him once more. *The Saint of Death.*
"Believe me, I'm no saint." The words were spat out as little more than a hiss, and Raven felt a shiver run down her own spine. It was the first words she had ever heard him speak without the aid of the voice modifier. How she found it wise to speak was beyond her own comprehension.
"You do know they don't understand English?" she questioned her apparent rescuer.
His only obvious inclination to her words at first was to tilt his head in her direction. But his words surprised her, as his lips curled up in a knowing smirk.
"Lo sé, pero así es más divertido." *I know, but this way is more fun.*
She took this time to examine his features as he sized up the anxious crowd, barely a few feet away from them. Some looked ready to approach but were held back as the black-clad figure tightened his hold. His hair, which was cropped short in natural disarray, was a ruddy, rusty brown, almost auburn color and not nearly as dark as she had expected it to be. His face, or what she could see of it, was composed of angular lines and high cheek bones, under a complexion that could easily have let him blend in with Hispanic public around them even if it was maybe just a shade lighter. She expected he must have had eyes to match, but her thoughts were cut off as he spoke to the encroaching attackers.
"Yo no haría eso si fuera tú. No va a ser bueno para la salud de tu jefe si te acercas." *I wouldn't do that if I were you. It won't be good for your boss's health if you come any closer.*
To emphasize his point, he brought the barely struggling man back a few paces so that now he and his captive stood directly in front of her, shielding her from the mob's view.
"¿Ves a esta chica?" * You see this girl?*
It would have been comical had the situation not been so tense. The entire group nodded their heads hesitantly, but together in perfect unison.
"No, no usted. Usted no ve a esta chica, no sé nada de esta chica, y quiere absolutamente nada que ver con esta chica o cualquier persona que está con, ¿entiendes?" *No, you don't. You don't see this girl, you don't know anything about this girl, and you want absolutely nothing to do with this girl or anyone that she's with, understand?*
At this, there was a sudden unrest among the crowd but the muttering was quickly silenced again as a quick growl came from the back of X's throat that sent his hostage shaking as if his legs were about to collapse underneath him. The crowd quickly began nodding their understanding.
"Glad we could come to an agreement. Now leave."
The members stared warily at the imposing figure as they slowly backed their way back down the alley way until they reached the opening, where they dispersed into the never ceasing traffic of the busy streets. By the time the last member had abandoned him, the boss's shaking had increased to where X was having problems holding him up straight. X simply heaved an annoyed sigh as he raised the hand holding a shurikun behind the trembling man's head until he snapped the back of his hand down on the base of the man's neck before Raven could even comprehend his actions. The man sank to the alley floor, effectively unconscious.
"Cowards, the lot of them," was all X said as he placed one of the man's arms over his own shoulder and half-carried, half-dragged the deadweight until he was concealed from direct public eye behind a bulky garbage container. On his way back toward her, he stooped down and grabbed the neglected mask where it had been left during the course of the mob's flight. He noted her still defensive position with some amusement.
After she had rolled her neck for about the fifth time, let alone the fact that she was still leaning against the wall, it started to alert him to the fact that maybe the thug had done more damage than he had originally thought. He moved closer to her as though he were approaching a wounded animal, an extremely vicious, homicidal wounded animal.
"You okay, Sunshine?"
She looked up at him startled as if she had expected him to be gone already. Sheesh, he was a villain, but he wasn't heartless. But why was he here again?
As she finally straightened up, his attention snapped back to her lithe figure. Her monotonous features revealed nothing about what pain she might have been in, but X sensed that there was more going on in her thoughts then she was letting on. But her first words directed towards him relieved his worries a little.
"Don't call me Sunshine."
His smug smile was back on his face in an instant.
"Is that any way to thank your savior?"
She rolled her eyes at that and he knew she couldn't be too seriously injured, but her unusual hunched posture still bugged him.
She looked up at him suddenly, and the words seem to tumble out of her mouth against her will. The shocked look in her eyes said it all.
"He sliced through my shoulder pretty badly."
He looked at her again and if she hadn't known any better, she could have sworn his features had contorted into some semblance of concern. "How bad is pretty badly?"
"Its fine, just leave it alone."
"Listen Sunshine, you of all people should know how the rescue game works. The hero sweeps in saves the damsel in distress," he emphasized these words as if they were the most important part of his tirade, "then after all injuries are accounted for, the hero and said damsel in distress are swept off into the sunset, where the damsel showers the hero with her appreciation. You don't want to mess up the system do you?"
He saw the spark set off something behind her violet eyes, and knew his guess had been right: Raven did notlike to be patronized. Why would he intentionally set off the threat of an aggravated empath? Can anyone say, glutton for punishment? It was way too entertaining to get a reaction out of her.
"Number one," she hissed out, the eminent death threat lurking in the depths of her eyes, all the while stalking closer to his relaxed form, "you of all people have no right to lecture me on being a hero. Number two; I am no one's damsel in distress. And the only thing that you're going to get for any stunt that you pulled, will be a fat lip."
To emphasize her words he noticed as her left hand, which had been pointing an accusatory finger at him as if he were a child, reared back to form a fist that she threw at him with actually a lot of force behind it. That is, if he hadn't easily side-stepped her in a fluid movement and caught her wrist attached to said fist, pulling her actions up short. He almost smirked again, until he heard her hiss of pain and was immediately reminded of her injured back. He instantly stopped his attack to freeze them both and caught the sight of her wary eyes.
"Turn around," his resolute voice should have left no argument. Did that stop Raven?
"Excuse me?" Obviously, not.
"Just turn around before I literally twist your arm," said an exasperated Red X. Seriously, how much brain power did it take to comprehend he was trying to help her?
Her only response was to narrow her eyes further until he let out a frustrated sigh and gave a little warning tug on her wrist. He could have sworn he heard her growl, which only served to make him smirk wider, as she turned her back towards him, always keeping her head turned just right to keep him and his quick hands in her line of sight. But before she could even complete the full 180 turn he stopped her as he grabbed her upper arm rather forcefully, and she almost bit back another sharp retort to the thief. So intent on her own anger, she flinched back when she felt the rather gentle pressure of his fingers near her temple. At his touch though, she felt the sudden sting and throb of yet another open wound and another hiss escaped her lips.
"You didn't feel that?" he whistled as he still gazed at the rather heinous looking gash on her head, "You're gonna have some kind of knot on the side of your head tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's a concussion or not."
She winced a little as his words sank in. Great. Best vacation ever. She was so going to kill Beastboy for this."If it weren't for my powers I'd probably be unconscious right now."
His only response was to nod a little in assent and tug a bit on her arm. She rolled her eyes again. What part of self-healing did this guy not get?
"Come on Raven; just let me see the damage."
He shocked her with the use of her actual name. Shocked her so much, in fact that she actually turned around. X made a mental note of that.
"So what, you're a thief by night, but your day job is being a doctor?"
He didn't miss the sarcasm in her voice and decided to roll with it in hopes of keeping her in a good mood. She was definitely easier to work with when that was the case.
"Please, have you seen the prices doctors charge? Compared to me those guys are the real criminals."
He heard her snort, a very unlady-like gesture, and could swear that by now he could hear her rolling her eyes, but his focus was on the remains of the tattered leotard around her shoulder. Her cloak had probably been lost when they drug her down and he could very vaguely remember her unclasping it in a last-ditch effort to rid herself of her attackers. The jagged line of black material half-heartedly covered the gash that traced her shoulder bone. Even though it had stopped bleeding, once again due to her healing abilities, it still stamped her back as an ugly mar to the surrounding smooth gray skin, and looked like it could possibly fester. He sighed as he reached for her lower arm, leading her to an abandoned corner of the alley. Of course this was met with various protests and accusations.
"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me this instant!" Why was he doing this again?
Oh yeah, glutton for punishment. "Listen Sunshine, you are hurt," he said it emphasizing every word. "You didn't call for back up so obviously you don't have your communicator with you which means a.) you're being really stupid or b.) you don't want your friends to know of your whereabouts. Regardless of both, the fact that you are hurt means that you need to get in contact with your teammates. You can't go walking down the streets of Mexico City in a ripped up leotard, so you at least need a jacket." With his final words he shoved an offending non-descript piece of material into her hands from the pile of clothes haphazardly shoved out of public view. After that he proceeded to turn his back towards her, as he slipped off the 'borrowed' sunglasses and slipped his mask back down over his messy auburn hair. He turned back around to face Raven only to find her with her arms crossed, a decidedly fierce scowl upon her features, with the jacket still remaining in her hands. He let out another sigh, and though she couldn't see it, rolled his eyes towards the boundless blue sky above them.
"Oh come on, Rae-"
"Reá?" came a small voice besides them.
They both could have probably jumped about ten feet into the air. They looked down to see a little girl who couldn't be more than five staring up at them. Before Raven could correct her, the little girl had turned to the now masked thief, and started talking animatedly while pointing at his mask " . . . máscara de Dia de Los Muertos y porque me papa me compró uno." *... mask of Day of the Dead, and, because my daddy bought me one.*
"What did she say?" The little girl's words went by like a whirlwind.
"She likes your mask; it reminds her of Day of the Dead."
Under the mask he smirked, but before he could turn back to reply the little girl had run off back to her mom at the entrance of the alley. When she saw them still looking after her, she smiled brightly and waved, calling out, "Audios Señora Reá y Señor Máscara!".
Raven just shook her head and smiled at the little girl. She reminded her of Melvin. Raven continued smiling slightly, until she caught the look X was giving her. The thief had his head cocked to the side and she could almost feel the smirk coming off of him.
In his opinion he had just witnessed a veritable miracle; Raven had just smiled.
Before she could ask, he said, "Reá. I think I like it."
She blinked rapidly trying to dissipate her normal calm demeanor from her shock and growing embarrassment. She should have been more careful to keep her guard up around the thief who seemingly didn't let anything get passed him.
She finally just rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "At least it's better than Sunshine." She, of course, didn't know about the suit's enhanced hearing, and she wasn't aware of the thief's smirk getting wider, so X just counted it as a personal victory. Now on to the next challenge.
"Come on, Raven," he had to try to reason with her. Wasn't she supposed to be the smart Titan? "Your powers might be able to heal you, but it's going to take time. I doubt you want to spend it in some back alley off the crowded streets with an unconscious gang leader, despite how charming the present conscious company may be."
Her only response was to raise a speculative eyebrow in his direction, in obvious disbelief.
"Okay then, have it your way," with those last words he gracefully folded his legs and sat down in the dirt in front of her, staring up at her expectantly.
"Why are you helping me?" her usual monotone was overlaid with frustrated confusion.
"Because. It's Tuesday," his answer threw her off again, and she pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to get her aggravation under control.
"And what does that have to do with anything?" she said looking at him exasperated.
"Mondays suck, Tuesdays were designed to make up for Mondays, and yours was failing you pretty badly. I'm here to change that," he simply said, sounding rather cheerful about the discussion while he continued to stare back up at her.
She could only stare back at him in utter disbelief, possibly wondering about his sanity. He shook his head and wondered if magic made your sense of humor dry up. It would explain why Grass Stain was the Titan's excuse for comic relief.
"Come on, Raven," he was tired of this back and forth. Didn't this chick ever give up? "Help me help you out. You need to get back to 'safety,'" he put the word in air quotes. "Your best bet of getting through the city injured, without getting jumped again, would to have someone with you. And though I'm sure you would rather it be anyone but me at the moment, beggars can't be choosers. So what do you say?"
He was about to get frustrated with her indecision when he heard her quiet voice.
"Okay."
"What?" She was listening to him?
"But only on a few conditions before you take me to where my friends are. Number one the location where we're staying, you forget as soon as you leave from there. Number two you do nothing to implicate yourself in any illegal activities while we're here, and that includes attacking my friends, using me as a hostage to get at my friends, or committing any unlawful acts when you're in my presence. And finally, number three; you give me a real reason."
"What do you mean?" He asked in a completely innocent tone. Yeah, right.
"Why are you helping me and no joking around?"
"Honestly I figure after this you'll owe me a favor. Don't give me that look Sunshine," he said as she narrowed her eyes to slits again. "Nothing too big, just ease up on the side kicks during a fight, or trip up Grass Stain when he's a T-Rex. I really don't want to be dino chow."
"And then you'd probably get away," she said crossing her arms over her chest, and he noticed she still had his jacket clenched in her hand. He wondered if she even realized it.
"I've never needed any of your team's help for that. But I wouldn't mind not having so many bruises at the end of the day. Not all of us heal so quickly, Sunshine."
She rolled her eyes and kept them sky bound for a moment before muttering, "Azar help me." She looked back at him then with the same determination he had caught in her eyes so many times before. The same look she usually had before charging head first to fight an unknown enemy.
"All right. You can take me back to where we're staying, and I'll owe you one. But don't call me Sunshine," the last words came out at a deadpan.
X just jumped back onto his feet and walked ever so calmly to stand at her side. He snatched the jacket back from her hands before she could blink and held it opened out in front of him. She let out an exasperated sigh as she slid her arms into the light brown material. Once she had it on she ended up having to roll the sleeves up a bit, and X had to bite down the urge to go aww. She looked like a little kid being swallowed up in the fabric, but remembering her rather violent nature, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
"After you, Reá," he said with a flourish of his hands as he gestured back to the entrance of the alley.
As she stepped forward he decided he needed to say at least one more thing to irk her.
"And I won't steal anything if you won't."
AN: "Look at 'im bein' a gentleman an' escortin' de fille to safety."
"He's blackmailin' her!"
"He is takin' care of her though, Chere."
"Raven's strong. Ah'm sure she can take care of herself."
"But then this story would be short and boring."
"And what's with her impulsively revealin' she's hurt?"
"I'm glad you caught that. That'll come later too."
"She sure is a stubborn fille, Remy'll give her that."
"Why ya lookin' at meh, Swamp Rat?"
"Just startin' to notice those similarities Blackberry was talkin' 'bout."
"Anyway the next chapter's gonna take me longer, I haven't gotten all the details worked out. But you're gonna like it Rems."
"Can't wait, petite."
"And what about all you other people? Do you like how this is turning out? I hope you liked Raven's new nickname; credit for it goes to Eternal Luna 21 who originally came up with it! Go read her story for Raven and Red X, it's really great! Thanks to all who did review, if I can keep you guys happy, it's completely worth it."
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