((Disclaimer: Again, I do not own the Teen Titans. And again, the lyrics belong to Evanescence.)
All that I'm living for
All that I'm dying for
All that I can't ignore alone at night
He spun to face the bright beam of the flashlight facing him, glaring into his eyes. The two thugs stood speechless, unable to believe that they've found themselves face-to-face with another criminal. Beneath the full-face mask, the thief's upper lip curled into a snarl. He glared at the other two thugs, though they couldn't know it.
"You two are way too late." He growled, the voice distorter installed in his mask changing his natural voice into something much more sinister. "I got here first, so why don't you run along and try somewhere else. Leave the pro-jobs to the professionals."
"No way, punk!" One man snapped. He was big and burly, unworthy of calling himself a thief, or so the professional thought. There was no way someone of his girth could move as quickly as a true thief. No, the professional decided that this one was just a common thug. "We been plannin' this gig for a week—"
The professional thief's sharp voice cut his adversary off mid-sentence. "Firstly, the term is heist. Secondly, I've been commissioned for this heist. As in, it's my job. And thirdly…" He whipped out a pair of X-shaped blades. "You'll have to fight me for the keep."
I can feel the night beginning
Separate me from the living
Understanding me, after all I've seen
Piecing every thought together
Find the words to make me better
If I only knew how to pull myself apart
Needless to say, the thugs ran. The thief known as Red-X finished packed his belt and extra bag with jewels before the alarm even went off. He bounded up to the window and out, dropping into the street before the night watchmen even arrived. Dashing through the back streets, Red-X thought himself a very good professional.
Once he had returned safely to his storehouse, he began sorting through the gems, deciding which ones he should keep and which ones he should drop into opportune places for certain people to find. There was always his payment to Chang for the latest shipment of synovium, and the pretty young lady whom he had watched over from a distance on her lonely walk home from the club a few days ago. And then of course, his own sweetheart deserved at least one gem out of his steal.
All that I'm living for
All that I'm dying for
All that I can't ignore, alone at night
The thought of his girl sent a chill down his spine. Not just one of adoration, but also one of dread. He was the type to take care of himself first and others only if it suited his own safety, but ever since he had met her, there was someone else for him to care for and watch over. And with his line of work, he couldn't exactly afford to be attached to anyone. That way, his various employers had leverage over him. And if there was one thing Red-X hated, it was people having leverage over him.
All that I'm wanted for
Although I wanted more
Lock the last open door, my ghosts are gaining on me
He stretched out on his makeshift bed. Just a mattress, really, and an old down pillow with feathers randomly sticking out of it. His black-gloved hands reached up and slowly took off his mask. The moment he laid his head back, he felt something stick into the back of his head. He sat up again and pulled the ebony feather out of starkly contrasting hair.
He sat staring at it, turning it slowly and examining it. Its color, the way it shined, it reminded him of that suit she always wore. Not so tight as to be considered skanky or whorish, but flashy enough to show that there was something to desire concealed beneath. Red-X smiled slowly, and then in a rare display of purely childish affection, he stuck the feather back into his white hair. Then he flopped his head back onto the pillow and just lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling.
I believe that dreams are sacred
Take my darkest fears and play them
Like a lullaby, like a reason why
Like a play of my obsessions
Make me understand the lesson
So I find myself, so I won't be lost again
She had been a dream-come-true for him. He had been on the verge of leaving the town, unable to continue living as he did—void of emotion, lacking friends and relatives, unable to appear as a normal person. So he'd decided to plan one last heist before he disappeared forever, a final great chase for the Titans and a lasting thrill for the City. Oh, he wasn't going to destroy anything. That's not how he was. Sure, if a shop window or perhaps even a wall got between him and his precious gems, he would start breaking things. But even then, he would only break what needed to be broken.
And so it began—he broke into a jewelry store in the evening, just when the sun was beginning to set, because he knew the lack of natural light to guide them would make the chase all the more fun for him. Well, had he been paying more attention he would have noticed the black portal opening up in front of his feet, but he didn't see it for the shadows that it hid in. And so it was that Raven caught him and held him up above the water of the Bay until he explained what he was doing. She didn't seem too convinced, but he had a spur-of-the-moment idea and, reaching into one of his bags, he held out a beautiful necklace to her. It being stolen material, she wouldn't take it, of course, but he shrugged and said that he just thought it would look nice on her. She shook her head and put him down, shooing him off like a child, but he could see a twinkle in her violet eyes that told him they would be seeing each other again soon.
All that I'm living for
All that I'm dying for
All that I can't ignore, alone at night
He had disappeared for a few weeks after that, but then he decided that he couldn't help himself. He came back and left a note on her mirror—"Meet me alone at the southern-most dock?" And she had showed! The minute he was sure she was alone, he approached from the shadows and handed her a small plastic bag. Inside was the necklace he'd offered her and the receipt proving that he'd paid for it this time. She smiled ever so slightly and accepted it with a small nod of thanks before retreating to her steel and glass Titans' Tower.
All that I'm wanted for
Although I wanted more
Lock the last open door, my ghosts are gaining on me
After that he couldn't stop thinking about her. Apparently she felt the same way, because she would "accidentally allow him to escape". He would leave notes on her mirror and she would meet him for young-hour strolls along the beach and they would talk. Eventually he went back to doing commissions for higher-up criminals, just stealing, though. As he had told the Titans more often than not, he was not a killer or a common villain—he was merely a professional thief. That was all.
Eventually, when Raven suspected that the other Titans were catching on to her late-night excursions and her "accidents" that resulted in their not being able to capture Red-X, she had taught him how to project a bit of his aura to her mind, to allow her to feel his presence as clearly as if he were standing with her in body. That way, they lessened the risk of being caught by anyone, Red-X's employers and the Teen Titans included.
Guess I thought I'd have to change the world
To make you see me
To make you want me
I could have run forever
But how far would I have gone
Without mourning your love
He sat up and ran his hand through the shaggy white hair on his head. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "I haven't seen her in two weeks… haven't even reached out to her." He thought back on those past two weeks. He had had a huge job to do for a crime lord up near Gotham. It required all of his concentration, since it involved breaking into one of the highest security vaults in the region and stealing a few of the most precious items in the world, though Red-X usually asked that his employers not disclose what was so important about the objects or why the matter of their retrieval was so pressing, as these bits of information often distracted him from the job at hand. This being the case, he decided it would be in both his and Raven's best interest if he were to refrain from contacting her until the job was finished.
The job itself had taken a mere fifteen minutes to complete, but it had taken over a week and a half to plan out, and then another two days to return to Jump City and rest up. In that time he had received another commission, the one he had just acted out… the thought of which brought his wandering mind back to the point at hand—he hadn't seen his Raven for two weeks and he was sure she wasn't incredibly happy about that fact. Neither was he, so with a stretch and a groan, he pulled his mask back on and pressed the "X" on the center of his belt.
All that I'm living for
All that I'm dying for
All that I can't ignore, alone at night
Once atop the Titan's Tower roof, Red-X simply stood and stared at Raven, using the shadows and Raven's lessons to mask his presence from her. She unfolded form her lotus position and stared up at the sky, as though trying to form an image from the stars. He couldn't see her face from this angle, especially since she had her hood up. He knew there was grief and worry in her heart and probably showing now in her pretty violet eyes. Finally she turned and glided slowly back to the door at the top of the building. Just as the door began to close behind her, Red-X darted across the rooftop with the agility and silence of a cat and caught the door. He held it for a moment or two, waiting until her was probably back in her room before he followed her in.
All that I'm wanted for
Although I wanted more
Lock the last open door, my ghosts are gaining on me
He followed her into her room, which took more skill to enter from inside the Tower than from outside of it, he discovered. But as soon as he was inside the dark place, she realized that he was there with her. Without turning around, she unclasped her cloak and laid it aside. Then she glanced over her shoulder at him, and he stepped from the shadows, removing his mask for her for the first time. He heard a slight intake of breath that betrayed her surprise. Raven turned fully to Red-X and he wrapped his arms around her slight body, placing a sweet and lasting kiss on her lips…
Should I hurt to love you?
Should I feel like I do?
Should I lock the last open door?
My ghosts gaining on me