Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them, so leave me alone!

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JCPD Headquarters.

The lobby was busy. Actually, 'busy' was a understatement. The truth was that the atmosphere in the lobby was none short of absolute chaos. Compared to the buzz in the lobby, the stock market in the World Trade Center looked like Sunday mass.

All over were a number of people doing a number of things that were completely unrelated. There were some officers booking some thieves, gang members, and the occasional drunk driver. There were some people who were there to file some kind of report about missing relatives, burglaries and other such things. Then there were the other stuff, like a particular old woman who was complaining to an officer that her neighbor's microwave bell was too loud.

In the middle of all this utter lunacy, there stood somewhere a young press lady. She was moderately tall, had light skin, was wearing a pink blouse, navy blue khaki jeans, brown, pointed, leather boots, and wore a gray raincoat over the whole thing. The look of her face suggested she was around twenty, or even younger. Her eyes were hazel brown, behind large round glasses and her hair was short and blonde.

Hanging off her neck from a thin chain was a small laminated piece of paper with the word "Press" written in bold font and big letters, along with her picture and her name. On one hand, she had an open notepad and on the other hand she had a mechanical pencil.

Throw in a hat with a Press tag sticking out of it and the look would be complete, thought the officer who was talking to her. The officer in question was sitting on the front desk, with a look of frustration on his face quite evident. It was the kind of look that said: "give me a break or, I swear, I'll go insane." Though he did not say that out loud, the press lady could read the exact same message on his face.

"How many times do I have to tell you," said the officer, "I can't give you that information."

"Why not?" asked the press lady.

"It's classified information. Only the chief can grant you permission."

"Then let me see him."

"You'd need a prescheduled appointment to meet with the chief, Miss…"

"Franklin, Jane Franklin."

"Right… um, look, Miss Franklin. I simply can't give you access to the info we have on the Venus case, alright? It's a pretty big case and we like to keep all the sensitive stuff under wraps."

"But it is a big case and the people have the first amendment right to know all about it."

"And I have the first amendment right to kick you out of here on your cute little behind. I can't let you in and that's final. Now, please leave."

"But I have to--"

"No 'buts', that's the final answer."

"You don't underst--"

"The door is that way," he said, pointing in a direction far away from himself.

"But--"

"Thank you for your time!"

"Oh, fine!" she huffed and trudged off, though not particularly in the direction that was pointed out to her. As she walked away, she started thinking of several words from her extensive vocabulary and found a few choice words to describe the officer in the front desk, all of which are probably illegal to say out loud.

Jane Franklin then looked for someplace to sit and found an unoccupied bench. She took a seat, and placed her chin on a raised knuckle. She estimated that she's been here for about an hour now and while she was used to long waiting since it was essential to her job, it was the atmosphere around her that was particularly annoying.

Eventually, Jane got up and left, deciding that there was nothing else she could do here and that another second in this lobby would cause her ulcers. She made her way to the door rather quickly, opened them wide, and trudged out, grumbling.

Outside in the parking lot, a familiar BMW pulled up to its usual spot. The engine died and the door opened. Marvin stepped out and walked towards the main building. The sky above him was turning dark and some stars are already visible. He trudged on, a hint of annoyance in his face. This day has turned out to be a lot less fruitful than he hoped for.

Jane Franklin was now in the parking lot and walking away from the main building. Ahead of her, she spotted Marvin walking towards her. She knew who he was and what he might have for her. She didn't hesitate in opening her little notepad and ejecting a few millimeters of lead from her pencil. She ran towards him.

"Detective Davenport!" she called out.

Marvin looked up and saw the approaching girl, and her Press ID. He immediately wished he was in a coma.

"Detective," she called out as he neared him, "A few questions if you please."

"No comment," he said flatly, like a recorded response of a computer.

"Don't be shy, Detective. Me and my audience are just curios on a few things."

"Whatever it is, I can't comment on it."

"I just have a few questions about the Venus case," she said, now walking beside him and struggling to keep up.

"It's classified information, ma'am."

"So I've heard, but maybe you can give me some answers about who is distributing the drug in the city."

"I can't. So please, leave me alone."

"But surely you have some clues to who the distributor is and their whereabouts. Can you confirm the rumor that the distributor is actually under Falcone namesake?"

"I've said this to you people before; I cannot confirm nor deny anything at this moment. Now, please do us all a favor and let the issue rest with the people whose job it is to take care of this."

They were now actually up the steps of the front door and Jane hadn't seemed to notice yet. "But if I could just ask--"

"No, you can not," said Marvin as he opened the front doors and walked in, "Goodnight!"

Marvin shut the front door in Jane Franklin's face, nearly flattening her nose. Jane then slowly walked back and huffed at the now gone detective. Feeling frustrated, She went back down the parking lot. She was practically fuming.

"Bunch of jerks," she mumbled to herself, "How's a girl suppose to save the day when she can't even get some decent information…?"

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Inside the building, in the upper floor offices.

Marvin walked with disdain up to his desk. He quickly took off his coat and hung it on his seat. He sat down and slammed his head on his desktop making a loud thud. He lifted his head and raked his hands over his head of hair, feeling every strand through his fingers. Today was definitely not his day.

"Today not your day?" asked Bob, who was suddenly standing next to Marvin's desk.

Marvin found himself wishing for Armageddon. "Please, Bob, not now."

"I told you not to go."

"I had to anyways," replied Marvin.

"It was completely fruitless, Marv. Sure you nabbed a gunman but he doesn't know crap. You're no closer to nailing Falcone than you were a week ago. You should take a break."

"I can't rest while that madman is poisoning my city. You wouldn't understand, Bob. You haven't even been here in Jump City that long."

"I'd say three-and-a-half months are pretty long."

To be more exact, Bob has only been in the JCPD fro three months, three weeks, and five days. During that time he has built quite a reputation among the police force which was initially jumped started by the fact that he was actually a transferee from Gotham city.

He immediately became one of the most respected detectives the JCPD ever had. He's been constantly breaking a number of cases ever since he arrived. On several cases, he and Marvin worked along side each other. Though Marvin still had the bigger reputation, as a detective, Bob, was quickly matching that level. Despite this booming reputation, Bob, unlike Marvin, has been very reluctant in taking the Falcone case and inste4ad concentrated in lesser matters which he did quite well.

It seemed to Marvin that the Falcone case was their only source of argument in an otherwise perfectly professional friendship. Maybe it was the fact that Bob was not from this city and is from Gotham (as well as a few other cities that Marvin eventually found out about), so he did not have the same sense of duty towards the city as Marvin himself had.

"Either way, you can't change my mind on the matter, Bob," said Marvin.

"If that's how you you're gonna go on, I can't guarantee your safety. Falcone's simply gonna get angrier."

"Then let him. Angry and confused enemies are easier to manipulate. If I'm lucky I could catch him with his pants down."

"That's only if you're lucky, Marv."

"In this line of work, luck is really the best thing you could ask for, Bob. I'm willing to take this case all the way if I have to. Nothing's gonna stop me now."

Bob sighed exasperatingly. "Alright, fine. Look, I've got some work to do. Just think about what I said about taking a break…"

Bob started to walk away to his desk, which was on the other side of the floor, very far away and out of sight from Marvin's desk. Marvin watched as Bob disappeared into the background of the busy office space. There was something about Bob that was putting Marvin off. He shook it off and went back to work.

After looking at all the stuff he had to work with, he concluded that this was gonna be a lot of work. Marvin had quite a lot of experience with overloading work. He had trained himself to be able to handle these long cascading hours without much problem. He could now easily go three whole days without sleep if he had to.

While this was no problem for Marvin, he couldn't help but feel that it is a problem for other people. Namely, his family. His eyes automatically fell upon the picture he had on his desk. His eyes naturally focused on Tomoyo, his wife, first and foremost.

The day after tomorrow, he mentally reminded himself. The day after tomorrow, one more day to go. That's when she'll arrive. That's when they'll all be together again. He couldn't wait for it. He couldn't wait for one thing to go right this whole week.

He reached for his phone and pressed the speed dial. The phone immediately dialed a predetermined number set by Marvin himself. From the receiver, Marvin could hear the line ring once, twice, then it was picked up.

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The Skyline Tower Apartments, room 2314.

The ringing phone was answered with the press of the speaker phone button. The sole occupant of the Apartment greeted the caller with the traditional "hello?"

"Nick? It's just me," said Marvin's voice on the other line.

"Oh, hey Dad," quickly replied Nick, "What's up with you tonight."

"Work , apparently. I guess you know the usual drill by now, right."

"I already ate my dinner and finished all my schoolwork so you don't have to worry about anything else, Dad."

"That's good. Well I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then."

"Just make sure you're available for tomorrow when Mom arrives at the airport."

"You know I wouldn't miss that for… wait a minute, how did you know about that already? I never told you have I?"

"Chill, Dad. Mom sent me an e-mail this morning. That's how I know."

"Oh. Well, don't worry about that. I'll be there for sure. What about you? Any plans for tonight?"

"Oh me?" Nick paused for a while. He was in the process of fitting a gunmetal gray colored gauntlet with a slashed red 'x' on it. He flexed his finger with the glove making sure his hand was comfortable. He smiled satisfied. The glove went well with his other, matching gauntlet that he was already wearing, along with the jet black Red X suit, pants and ragged cape.

"Oh, I'll probably just go out for a while," continued Nick, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll make sure to stay out of trouble."

"Alright, keep safe then. Bye"

"Bye…"

Marvin hung up. Nick smiled wryly as he fiddled around with the Red X suit. He flexed his limbs to make sure that the suit was fitting him like a custom made glove. The suit felt like a second skin to him. He looked towards the TV which was turned on to the news channel.

The news that was being reported was something Nick seemed to take pride in. It was a report on how the Dream Stone, one of the most valuable treasures ion the known world, was stolen from the Jump City museum the other night. Nick grinned.

He then focused on something else, other than the TV. On top of the TV, the final piece of the suit rested. The white ivory skull mask with the slashed red 'x' on it. Nick took it and put it on his head. It slipped easily around his face, conforming comfortably to the contours of his head.

Now, the ensemble was complete. Red X, the crimson thief of the night, stood tall in the middle of the apartment.

"Time for a night out in the town," he said, seconds before he suddenly disappeared out of sight.

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The city at night.

Red X jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Unlike the night before, he had no particular place to go, no particular objective to pursue, no specific prize to hunt for. Even hunter's need a break from the game every now and then. And that was exactly what he was doing; taking a break.

Though it wasn't a break in the traditional sense. Red X was never the kind of person to just sit back and relax. It was a good night that night, warm with the coming summer. The wind blew gently over the city, and the pale blue moon was clear in the night sky.

It was a perfect night. Red X couldn't have asked for a better night to unwind and stretch out his limbs in the most extreme sense of the term. Flying across the night sky of the city scene, Red X reveled in the rush of adrenaline this was giving him. It was nothing compared to the thrill of stealing something valuable, but for tonight it sufficed.

Red X landed on top of a rooftop of one of the many skyscrapers that littered the city. He didn't hesitate in quickly running towards the edge of the roof top. Upon reaching the edge, he again leapt out into the chilly night wind, blindly as it seemed.

It seemed though that he was in luck, as the next rooftop was very much within his reach. Red X landed on the next rooftop in a crouch but again quickly got up and sprinted towards the edge. This time however, the building closest to Red X was well out of reach over a wide street. No matter, thought Red X who wasn't the least bit phased by this situation.

Red X reached out an arm and shot forth a grappling wire towards the edge of the next building. It grabbed hold easily and Red X reeled himself up. He reached the edge of the roof top and flipped over it, landing smoothly on the rooftop gravel.

Instead of sprinting to the edge, Red X calmly walked there instead. It was obvious by the time Red x came to the edge that running off of it would be a lousy idea since the next elevated surface was actually an elevated freeway. Red X looked in the direction of oncoming traffic.

He found something that he was looking for then stepped a good distance away from the edge but continued to face it. He waited and timed himself right. With the right timing he, once again, sprinted to the edge of the rooftop and leapt off of it.

Red X landed squarely on the top part of a speeding semi truck carrying a large container behind it. The truck driver probably never noticed the new hitchhiker and continued on. Red X stood up on the truck's container. His black tattered cape flailed freely in the wind as he surfed the truck down the free way.

Red X looked from side to side and saw numerous cars of all kinds pass by the truck. At one point, Red X spotted a station wagon driving along side the truck. In front was a man in the driver seat and a woman next to him. In the backseat, there was a kid, about four years old, looking up fascinatingly at Red X. Red X looked back at the kid for a moment before turning away.

Red X looked forward and spotted the next building coming up fast. He glanced back at the kid, who was still looking up at him, and saluted with two fingers. Red X looked back at the building coming up, reached out an arm, and launched a grappling cable towards the buildings rooftop edge.

Red X landed once again on the rooftop of another building. Upon hitting the gravel of the roof, Red X immediately got up and began sprinting to the edge. To repeat the same process all over again. With every leap towards the next building, Red X relished the feeling.

He loved the feeling of the wind blowing against him as he flew through the air. He loved the way the rush towards the next edge gave him such an adrenaline boost. This is how he unwound. While other simply sat and watched TV, played a video game, drank something hot, or went into their bedrooms with a partner to do unmentionable stuff, Red X did this.

He was free as a bird. As old as that saying was, it fit him perfectly. For what is the Red X if not a symbol for the life that is untamed, free and wild, living and rejoicing in the moment. The life unhindered by the order of things. A life set by no rules. Truly, the world was his oyster.

He stopped at one of the buildings. He slowly walked to the edge and stood there, over looking the city, his home, his hunting grounds. The many lights from moving cars and open windows looked like the reflections of moonlight on the dark surface of a wavy ocean. In his mind, red X thought that this city, in its own way, was just as deep as any ocean.

"Help me!" he heard someone cry out all of a sudden. Red X traced the source of the voice down to the street below him. He looked down and found the source of the voice and its reason for distress.

On the street, several stories below Red X, a woman, middle-aged, brunette, wearing a waitress's uniform and clutching a purse, was running down the street in haste. Some distance behind her, Red X most certainly noted, four shady looking men were easily keeping up with her and getting closer. The men were laughing madly as they ran after the woman.

The woman tried to run into the middle of the apparently abandoned roadway. She stopped dead in her tracks as two more men, shady as the first four, appeared out of the shadows and grinned menacingly at the woman. Six men now surrounded her. The woman searched desperately for an avenue of escape. She found an alley just to the side to be the only one available.

The woman ran for the alley and disappeared into the darkness of it. The men looked at each other, not the least bit deterred. The followed her, not bothering to hurry after her since they apparently knew that there would be no need. They all disappeared into the alley.

Above, Red X watched silently as all of this transpired. He turned around and started to walk away. Halfway across the rooftop Red X stopped. He looked over his shoulder, then down at the gravel, then over his shoulder again, then turned around. He looked down at the gravel one last time, whispered something that sounded like a curse word, and ran towards the edge in the direction of the woman and six men.

After leaping into the air, he spontaneously disappeared.

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Down the dark alley.

The woman ran, frightened for her life, down the dark and deserted alley. Her feet echoed on the redbrick walls that were on either side of her. She ran, not really caring to where, just that she'd get away from those men. She thought that taking this particular road was a quick shortcut to her place. It was safe during the day when she used it first.

What ever made her think it was safer at midnight?

She ran for what seemed like forever before the alley opened up. She ended up in a small backyard. The backyard she was in was just a small patch of dirt with a dumpster and a lamp attached to the side of the building in the corner. Immediately, she noticed one very big problem with the backyard: there was only one way out, which was the way she came in from.

Already she could hear the maniacal laughter of the men who were chasing her. She backed away from the entrance of the yard and ended up cornered up against the dumpster under the only light source. She was a prime target and had no means of escape. She found herself hoping for a quick end.

The six men suddenly appeared out of the alley and into the yard. They approached her, their teeth reflecting the only light from the lamp on the wall above them. The woman barely took notice of a broken figurine resembling the Venus de Milo in one of the men's hands. All their eyes were bloodshot. Their heads were covered in sweat.

"Look!" said one of the thugs, "Tis it not our prey, heh heh heheh!"

The woman thought that he sounded like someone from a mental institution. Although she knew from the start that these men were crazy (being the thugs that they are), the behavior they were exhibiting then was beyond what any normal person would call crazy. It was downright surreal. She wondered if they may be high on something.

"Thy bitch is cornered!" exclaimed another one of the men, "Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"The moment is opportune!" exclaimed another.

The thug holding the broken Venus de Milo figurine put it up to his face and snorted from a hole on the side. "Praise the powers that be!" he exclaimed, "Ours is the prize! Ha ha!"

"Now…" grumbled another, "we reap our spoils, heh heh heh…"

All six men slowly approached her, menacingly. They continued their maniacal laughter as the came closes to the horrified woman who was inching deeper into the corner of the wall and the dumpster but really had no place left to fit into. In the back of her head, the woman was slowly beginning to reside in the fact that she was a goner.

"Please," cried out the woman in vain, "just leave me alone."

"Look, mates!" exclaimed another thug in response, "the swine, she speaks! He he he he!"

They continued to get ever closer. The woman was practically in tears and huddling like a scared child. She vaguely noticed something moving in the distant shadows but didn't pay it any attention. She fell to her knees and was wishing for a quick end.

"Leave her alone, you ass wipes."

The voice was new and unfamiliar to everyone in the scene. The thugs stopped for a second to survey the scene and found nothing. The woman also peeked out to see if there was anyone new on the scene but also found nothing. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Who dares," began one thug, "To disturb our hunt? Show yourself, scoundrel, lest I stab you in th--"

The thug had no time to finish is sentence as Red X suddenly appeared out of the darkness and threw a powerful punch which met the thug's face. The thug flew all the way to the wall in the back of yard, crashed into it, then fell to the ground with a resounding groan before slipping into unconsciousness.

The five remaining thugs were caught by surprise and had a hard time reacting. It was also dark so they couldn't even see their new attacker that well. Red X was the only one their with an edge. The thugs drew out random weapons (all of which were improvised blades and daggers) in a vain attempt to fight back.

Red X grabbed onto one of the men's faces. The tug which Red X held onto reached out both hands to pry his face free. Red X didn't give him the chance and promptly pulled the thug's face forcefully in a downward direction, slamming it into the ground the way an NFL player would a football during a touchdown.

Two thugs were now unconscious. A man behind Red X started charging at him with a knife made of glass and duct tape. Red X saw it coming a mile away and promptly stepped to the side out of the knives trajectory. As the thug's arm stretched in front of the thief, Red X karate chopped the thug's hand, feeling the wrist bones breaking.

The thug yelped in pain. Red X quickly followed up with his other arm swinging towards the thug's chin. The man fell down hard on his back. Red X finished with a hard stomp over the man's stomach, knocking the wing out of him and probably broke a few ribs as well.

Three men were left. On charged at Red X from the front with another improvised knife. The man swung high, red X ducked low. The knife missed the thief by inches. Red X saw the opportunity, and quickly sprung back up, grabbing the thug by the chin, lifting him off his feet, and then finally slamming him down onto the hard dirt.

The remaining two thugs began to back off from the newcomer in fear. Red X turned and faced them. On of the thugs threw his knife at Red X. Red X merely raised his hand and caught the blade of the knife between his fingers. Red x simply let the knife go and it dropped like a piece of trash. The two thugs backed off even more.

Red X slightly raised both his hands which started to glow bright red. Red V shot both of his arms outward and shot two x's from his open palms. Two glowing x's flew through the air and towards the two thugs. Upon impact, the x's delivered a massive electrical shock to the two thugs.

After screaming in pain, both thugs fell to the ground in a smoking heaps, completely stunned. Red X was the last standing person in the entire scene (the woman was still cowering in the corner on her knees.) Red X turned to look at the woman in the corner.

The woman, noticing the dead, silence, started to look up. She saw the lone standing figure in the yard. Slowly she got up, trying to adjust her vision to see who the newcomer really was. It was difficult since the person who just saved her was standing in the dark and the glare from the lamp above was making her vision a little hazy.

Nevertheless, she started thanking him. "Oh, thank God for you," she proclaimed.

Red X didn't offer a response and continued to stand where he was ever so stoically. The woman was standing straight now, fully recover, as it seemed from her recent panic episode. She had a big smile on her face, and was clutching her purse tightly.

"You were… amazing!" she continued her praise, "I don't what could've happened to me if it weren't for you. You saved my life. You're a real hero!"

Red X slowly stepped into the light and revealed himself to the woman. She immediately gasped at the sight of his form. Two emotionless eyes stared at her from a skull mask with a red slashed x across the face. She found that she couldn't move her legs no matter how hard she commanded them to move. For the longest time, neither moved nor said a word.

Eventually, Red X turned around, his back to the woman who was utterly speechless. Red X slowly began to walk away but then stopped just at the edge of the light. He turned his head slightly as if to take a parting glance at the woman.

"…I'm no hero…" declared Red X, flatly.

He then proceeded to walk away, out of the woman's sight, and down into the alley from which all of them came from. The woman remained there in her place, dumbfounded, among the unconscious bodies of the thugs that pursued her.

"…Never was, never will be…" he said to no one in particular.

Red X went home, feeling disheartened.

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Author's note: Another one down. The usual stuff: Please R&R, all your comments are helpful. The story may be a little slow now, but the plot will start picking up on the next chapter. See ya then!