Dirty Laundry
Chapter Three

)O(

His head cocked to the side, trying to catch snippets of the conversation between police officers as he melted into the crowd slowly building around the investigation site. Robin and Cyborg were standing next to the commanding officer, discussing subtle nuances of the site and what it meant for the criminal known as Red X. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the Titans showed their faces and started investigating as well. Glancing around at the people both behind the caution tape and in front of it, he felt a bubble of satisfaction knowing he had successfully pulled off yet another heist, and they all thought it was the real Red X.

Well, except for Raven. His happy bubble popped and he glowered slightly. Leaning back on his heels, his eyes darted around him, trying to see her face in the crowd of superheroes and police officers.

Their conversation this afternoon made him realize that he wasn't as perfect as he thought he was. He had spent an immeasurable amount time analyzing the few and rare pieces of footage he had found of Red X, figuring out his fighting style, the way he held himself and interacted with the Titans, and the nuances to his speech and movements. He had been incredibly proud of himself after he started his plan, feeling like he had managed to get away with far more than even he expected.

And then Raven happened.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, eyes looking up at the sky for her familiar, shadowed form against the dark purple of the city's night sky. What made her special? What made her realize that he wasn't the real Red X? In all the footage that he had ever encountered, Red X hadn't interacted with her once. He had slapped a tacky X over her mouth to stop her incantations, and moved away to flirt with Starfire. So, how could Raven have even the slightest inkling that he wasn't the real Red X. Was it that she could sense his emotions? He had tried to keep himself guarded around her powers, but it seemed that it was all for nothing. She knew it wasn't the real Red X… but still… what in the world gave her the ability to realize that they weren't the same person?

He sighed again, fighting off the sinking feeling in his stomach. This was going to prove problematic if she kept it up, but it was unlikely that she would be able to convince her teammates of the differences. Shrugging off his concern, he melted even deeper into the crowd before walking away. It was just a small bump in the road, and he wasn't going to be concerned with it until it became a serious problem. And that wasn't just yet. He still had hold of the reigns until his plan evened itself out. After all, this was just stage one.

)O(

Raven stood in the middle of the cavernous room, looking at the upended boxes with a mixture of anger and frustration. She turned to her leader and waved at the mess of broken boxes and pottery littering the floor. "Do you see now? I am not just saying things because I want to hear myself speak."

"Okay. Okay." He held up his hands in defeat as he walked up to her. "You have a valid point." Robin leaned back on his heels and rubbed his chin in confusion, looking down at a chip of a Ming vase at his feet. "And, I see what you are talking about now, Raven. You're right, Red X would have never made such a mess before, I mean… he's broken quite a few display cases in his time-"

Raven was thankful that her hood hid her blush. The display cases weren't always entirely his fault after all.

"-but he's never made this much of a mess before. And he's never been so reckless that he'd let his image be caught on camera. Twice." Robin shuffled through a few more still-shots from the warehouse's security cameras. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, obviously upset that he had to admit he was wrong about who they were investigating, but was too proud to admit it. He turned back to the rest of his team, who were gathering around him again. "So then, who or what are we dealing with? A copycat?"

"A copycat to a copycat?" Cyborg snorted.

"Jeeze, that's like a paradox." Beast Boy goaned and sat down on his haunches, obviously exhausted from investigating a third crime scene in twenty four hours. He stared up at his friends and offered a small shrug. "Well, at least he's efficient. I mean, look at what he's managed to do in the past two days. He's taken out a jewelry store, a bank, and now a shipping warehouse."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to praise him you know."

"I'm just saying, the dude is working overtime and I don't know if I can keep up." He grunted and stood back on his feet. "I'm whipped after all this, and if I have to investigate one more crime scene, I might lose a brain cell or two from outright exhaustion."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You mean the only two you have?"

He rolled his eyes, but took no offence to her comment. After all, he'd managed to become used to her jibes over their years as teammates.

"So what's his MO?" Robin stared at his notes, his fingers running over lines of his nearly indecipherable script and lips pursing as he tried to put everything together in some kind of coherent pattern. "Nothing that he took makes any sense at all, except from a money standpoint. I mean, jewels and money and an old vase? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Perhaps he is only interested in the monetary acquisition of items of value. Perhaps these thefts are not for the same thrill that the other Red X receives when he is working a heist?" Starfire leaned over Robin's shoulder and glanced at his notes, trying to make sense of what was written there. "After all, he seems to have targeted mostly items that are of great value and the physical money itself."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "And the real Red X doesn't care for money?"

"The real Red X has a peculiar list of infractions, including theft of everything from chemicals, to technology, to fine art, with all of the thefts varying in degrees of difficulty. Some of the things are easy and paltry, and some of them are high-profile, incredibly guarded items. It's almost like he has a grocery list and he picks things up as he goes along." Robin flipped through his notes again. "Like he has a contract with different people needing different things, and he steals these items for this person."

Raven fought against the urge to roll her eyes, and managed to keep her face blank. How long had that taken him to figure out? Some detective he was. She turned to the rest of her teammates and sighed. "So, he's a contract worker, but what about this guy? I mean, he works fast. Three heists in twenty four hours… it's almost like he looking for our attention."

Beast Boy rubbed his forehead and whined. "But who would want our attention? I mean, we're out to stop the bad guys, not congratulate them."

"That doesn't negate the fact that Raven has a valid point." Robin sighed again and snapped his notebook shut, his tired eyes meeting each of his teammate's. "I mean, all of the heists have been fairly high profile involving a lot of money, and they have garnered serious attention both from us and the media."

"Do you perhaps think that this person is working in conjunction with the real Red X?" Starfire's lips pursed as she thought. "That perhaps this is some kind of ploy to have our attention averted for a moment so Red X can pull off the actual heist?"

Raven jerked in surprise. Thinking about it objectively, that was a serious possibility, but she knew better. Jason didn't work with people. In fact, he absolutely despised x-factors, and putting his professional trust into someone else was completely out of his ability, so it was unlikely that he was tag-teaming with someone. But how in the world did she convey that idea to her teammates without exposing herself?

"He's never worked with anyone before, why start now?"

Robin shrugged and rubbed his forehead, as if warding off a headache. "Maybe he has a heist that will take longer than he expected. Maybe he needs the attention off of him for a while."

"It seems strange though."

Robin continued to stare at her, as if her concern for the actual Red X was slowly turning on a lightbulb in the dark recesses of his brain. He gave a one shouldered shrug. "It does seem strange, but we don't know the exact details of what's going on just yet. So, we can't rule it out until we have definitive evidence."

"True." Raven decided agreeing with him was better than trying to start a fight again. She glanced around at her suddenly quiet teammates, and saw their exhausted and worn out bodies slump and teeter. They were running on almost zero sleep for the past 24 hours due to their constant search for a copy cat thief that they couldn't figure out. "Look, everybody, it's getting really late. Let's go back to the tower and sleep on this for tonight. It's pointless for us to wear ourselves out by looking for something we won't find. Let's get some rest and we can approach this tomorrow with clearer heads."

Beast Boy threw up his hands in joy. "Thank you! I was waiting for someone else to call it quits for the night. I didn't want to be that guy."

"My batteries are running low." Cyborg tapped his arm and sighed.

"I am also beginning to feel the crankiness start." Starfire frowned.

Everyone turned and looked at Robin, waiting for his go-ahead. He just stared at Raven with a raised eyebrow, expression unreadable. Under his calm exterior Raven could feel his confusion and curiosity roiling like a kettle left to burn for too long. He eyed her carefully before continuing. "I'm fine with heading back to the tower, but I have to ask: are you coming home with us, Raven?"

Color filled her face and she stood up straight under the stares of her friends, trying to make herself look far more imposing than she actually did. Of course he would notice her frequent absences, and of course he would bring it up now, in front of everyone. She pulled her hood tighter around her face, trying to hide her blush.

The subtle change in her defensive posture did not go unnoticed, and Cyborg gave a low, teasing whistle in response. He grinned and nudged her shoulder teasingly. "Got a hot date or something, Raven?"

Beast Boy snickered. "As if. Raven couldn't find a date if it bit her in the ass."

Raven clenched her fists and glared at him, somehow managing to remind him that they had dated for a brief moment in time. Instead, she sniffed indignantly at her friends. "What I do in my free time is none of your concern."

Cyborg laughed. "Oh, you totally have a date, don't you?"

"Oh, Raven! You have entered into courtship with someone?" Starfire's eyes burned unusually bright and she clasped her hands together tightly, moving closer to her teammate. "May I enquire as to whom? How long have you been courting each other? And when shall we have the pleasure of meeting said person? I wish to meet him..." Her words trailed off for a moment before she added, "or her."

"Never. So, stop asking." Raven glared and pushed a little more space between her and Starfire. "And I would appreciate if you stopped teasing me." She picked invisible lint off of her cloak, trying to do anything it took to keep her face as blank and calm as possible. "I don't see how anything I do outside of the team concerns your attention."

"Because, Raven, you're so antisocial it seems damn near impossible that you might have a date." Beast Boy laughed and leaned back on his heels. "You're always locked in your room that we're lucky if we ever see you… it's just strange to think of with someone else."

Raven glowered at him. "Thanks for that cheerful breakdown of my personality."

He shrugged unrepentant. "I'm just pointing things out, no need to freak out, Rae."

"Enough, guys. Leave Raven alone." Robin's voice effectively dispersed of the teasing, earning a confused stare from Raven before he continued. "She is right, Raven can do whatever she wants in her free time outside the tower, and we shouldn't pester her about it."

There was a collective groan from the team, but everyone seemed to know that it was probably best if they didn't tease and goad the half-demon anymore.

Robin motioned toward the door. "Alright, everyone… let's head back to the tower, and we'll deal with the situation when we're better rested tomorrow. Okay?" A round of nods was his response and everyone moved slowly and awkwardly toward the exit, but Robin caught Raven's wrist before she could escape. "Can I have a moment with you, Raven?"

Of course she wasn't off the hook just yet. He was her leader and her friend, and he was going to be the most nosy out of all of her friends. She stood her ground and looked up into his face, keeping her expression blank. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"First, I want to apologize for this morning and this afternoon. What I said was out of line, and I was just so wrapped up in trying to find Red X that I didn't really think about what you were saying and I overreacted. So, I'm sorry I didn't listen, because you were clearly right about the situation." He motioned to the remnants of the crime scene around them. "It's not Red X and you deserve an apology for my reaction this morning.

"Apology accepted." She raised an eyebrow, sensing he wasn't quite finished with talking to her just yet. "What else did you want to talk about?"
"I am… curious… as to why you've never told any of us about your boyfriend."

Raven blushed. "Well, come right out and say it, why don't you." She sighed and looked away, trying to formulate a proper and polite response to him. "Look, Robin. My relationship status has nothing to do with the team, and will never have anything to do with the team. While I know that you are trying to look out for me, understand that this relationship is hard on me too. I'm a superhero, and I have a lot of responsibilities in and outside the team. Also, I don't want to ruin the chance of building something emotionally fulfilling because Starfire is constantly peppering him with questions or you're giving him the third-degree." She glanced up into his sheepish face. "I want to do this on my own, and I want you to trust that I know what I'm doing."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt." He shrugged and looked away, kicking at the ground with the toe of his boot. "You're my best friend, Raven… if someone were to hurt you, I don't know what I would do."

"Let me figure that out." Raven shook her head and put much needed space between the two of them. "It's not your responsibility to try and protect me from the world, Robin. I'm an adult, I can protect myself all on my own."

"I know… I'm just trying to help."

"And I appreciate that, but you're really not helping at all."

He sighed and shook his head, looking back into his face. "Alright. If you want me to trust you, I will trust you. But you really should consider maybe bringing him around the tower. Cyborg will have a conniption if he figures out you've been sleeping with someone he hasn't met yet."

Raven's face erupted into varying shades of red. "What…? How did you know?"

Robin laughed. "Your guilt is written all over your face."

She scowled at him before walking to the door ignoring her leader's snickering as she stepped outside. Everyone had to be a critic, didn't they?

)O(

Jason stood in the shadows of the roof, staring at his watch. The guards moved in seven minute patterns and paths, which meant once the guard moved he had seven minutes to get his mark and get out. It might as well have been a year, seven minutes was more than enough time for someone as skilled as him. But still…

Something in the pit of his stomach twisted and turned cold. It had been four days since his copy cat started making his own rounds around Jump City, and his last heist was less than 12 hours ago. Even after these few days, the Titans were no closer to figuring out his identity or capturing him, and the whole city (including the Titans) were on high alert because of it. That meant Jason's heist had a higher chance of being discovered and targeted sooner. It was unlikely, but it wouldn't be unheard of. After all, the Titans were good. He shuffled a little on the tar and pebble roof, still staring at his watch, just a few minutes to go.

He still had help though. If he were discovered before he could fully make his escape, Raven would do everything in her power to keep the Titans off of him, but even she had her limits. If the Titans got too suspicious, or one of her teammates caught him first, she would have to let him be captured. It hurt a little to think of himself finally losing to the Titans, but he never blamed Raven for her job. How could he? She never blamed him for his. It was a mutual understanding that these were jobs and professions, not personal expressions of themselves or their relationship, and neither one wanted to mix business and pleasure.

The last number turned. Time to go.

Jason silently lifted the rooftop access hatch to the building and slid inside, his feet quiet as he landed on the upper floor. What he needed was in the middle of the fifteenth story, three floors below him. There was a security camera in the stairwell and in the elevator, and tampering with it would set off an alarm. Instead he pulled out a fake policeman's hat, similar to those worn by the security guards, and pulled it down over his cowl and mask. Apparently, Red X was now part of the "Naughty Night Patrol". It didn't matter, it was unlikely that the security office would look at the camera footage all that closely, and he wasn't wearing his cape so he wouldn't draw attention by any unnecessary movement either.

The stairwell was empty and he walked casually down the steps, counting his seconds as he moved. He had six minutes and fifteen seconds left when he reached the appropriate floor. Good lord, this was a fucking cake walk. Whatever. It didn't matter. He just needed to get the mark, get out, and collect his reward.

He moved down the hallway, ducking around the corner before an additional guard moved too close. Seventeen more seconds until he walked into the antechamber to the vault. Perfect. He almost had time to stop and grab a snack for the way home. Opening the door, he was befuddled by what he saw in front of him:

It was himself.

Or rather, a terrible copycat version of himself.

"You."

The small box containing the microchip with the information on it fell to the floor, forgotten in the tense silence of the small room. Neither one of the Red Xs moved to pick it up, and neither one of them dared to break eye-contact.

"I never thought I'd get to meet you in person."

Jason glared behind the mask, sizing the slender form up. "Is this some kind of sick joke? What are you doing?"

"Stealing." He shrugged. "For fun."

"For fun?" Red flashed across his vision, and Jason moved forward to wrap his fingers into the cheap spandex surrounding his throat. He pulled the slightly shorter Red X up to his height and growled. "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you even have any idea what you're doing to yourself? To me? This isn't fun, kid. This is a job. This is my livelihood and how I survive everyday, and you are ruining it by trying to emulate me."

The kid ripped Jason's hand off of his throat and stumbled back down to the floor, gasping for breath as he glared. "Emulate you? Is that what you think I'm doing, you egotistical prick? Ha! Yeah-fucking-right. You're a pain in my side and you're not the only one who does this for a living. So, I am going to bring you down the only way I know how, by beating you."

"Beating me?" Jason snarled. "I'd like to see you try."

"I already have." Without another word, he moved around Jason and disappeared into the hall. Jason reached down and grabbed his mark still lying on the floor, fully intending on chasing the kid through hell and high water, but when he looked up, he was met with the sobering image of six police officers and five Titans.

His stomach dropped as he stared into their faces, looking specifically at the one of intense horror on Raven's delicate features. He winced, there was nothing she could do to protect him now, and he didn't want her to stick her neck out. The odds were stacked against him, and Jason only had one possible reaction:

"Fuck."

)O(

Sorry for the absence, everyone! I have had a hellish month between school, work, and my (sort-of) first Con (where my fan-girl card was revoked because I apparently cannot control myself - I'm looking at you adorable Raven cosplayers at Youmacon), so I apologize for the delay in getting this to you. Updates should be a little more frequent from here on out.
Anyway, thanks for being awesome and reading this chapter! Please let me know what you think!