DC Gothic – Red-X
Part 10
New Years Eve
The Bay – Jump City
It was so typical of someone like Slade to turn what should be a nice reward for a job well done into some sort of training. Maybe I was being punished for saving Raven, but she had been a cute kid. Besides he might actually be happy about it as I was suppose to be trying to make the Titans trust me enough to let me get close.
At least the training wasn't going to end in me getting bruises thanks to a sparring session with Deathstroke, or in me getting chased around a building by those bloody hero kids. Which was a big plus in my books and the training wasn't too bad either. All I had to do was to pass myself off as a rich playboy and seduce any woman I wanted to on this boat. I hadn't gotten laid in like days now so I up for that.
When I'd first heard Slade tell me that I'd thought he was joking, but he never kidded about he was always serious, and once he explained why he wanted me to do such an odd thing I saw the value of it.
After all an assassin couldn't always take out his target from a distance, sometimes he had to get in close and say drop a bit of poison into a drink. To do that he needed to be able to blend in with any crowd. Including this one, which was mostly made up of wealthy old men and women who were half of their age.
Also being able to impress a woman, and even get them into bed was important because while it was a stupid idea to kill someone you'd just seduced, as that only made you the prime suspect, people said things in bed that they wouldn't say elsewhere.
Getting the information was what mattered, and to that end Slade had encouraged me to learn to do things that would impress the ladies. Which for now involved learning to speak French, cooking and playing the guitar.
However I was going to have teach myself as the boss was busy yet again. He'd vanished around Christmas, going off to do the gods only know what, and was he away again for New Years. I sometimes wondered if he had a family somewhere, but I found that hard to imagine. Perhaps he had a girlfriend of his own somewhere but that idea was also laughable, as he'd lectured me on using women when it suited me and then moving on.
According to Slade, who was a font of wisdom in many areas, women were more likely to share their bed with a man they'd just met at certain times of the year. Valentines Day was the most obvious, but not necessarily the best time to try something like this.
New Year's Eve was actually better because like Valentines Day people disliked to be single at this time, but unlike Valentines Day a woman might not be so interested in finding a long term partner. The main difference was alcohol, everyone drank at New Years, everyone, and when you drank your inhibitions were lowered. This meant ladies acting a bit more wild than they normally would do.
How exactly Slade had come up with this theory, one that I was going to test, was unknown to me. He didn't seem the type of person who'd spent his youth trying to get laid. But training was training and I had to get on with this sort of thing.
To that end I looked around to try to find a woman who I was not only attracted to, but also wasn't on the arm of lecherous old pervert, so that I could put her on the arm of this lecherous young pervert.
Thankfully one came to me because so far I hadn't actually been able to talk to anyone.
"Greetings" said the owner of a sexy voice "I am Talia al Ghul".
(Line Break)
Titan Tower – Jump City
It was New Year's Eve and the Titans were throwing a big party, they had invited all their friends. Everyone had dressed up especially for the occasion, and no one failed to notice how closely Robin was sticking to Star a lot tonight, and with the dress she was wearing who could blame the young hero. And he didn't look to shabby himself, being the ward of Bruce Wayne had it upsides and access to designer wear was one of those perks What he was wearing tonight might as well have been made out of money given how much it had cost.
Cyborg being a robot couldn't really dress up fancy, so he just waxed his plating even harder tonight, making himself rather shiny. Actually he went a little over board and ended up looking a little a human shaped glitter ball due to all the party lights.
Even Beast Boy gone to some effort, granted mostly this mostly involved taking a shower, so he didn't smell so much like an animal but itt was a greatly appreciated by everyone.
As for Raven, no one could find her. She had simply disappeared when the first of the guests had arrived, and hadn't been seen by anyone since. Starfire had looked for her for a while, but had given up as it was getting close to midnight and she wanted to get kissed by a certain boy.
However a certain green skinned meta-human did not give up so easily.
"Rae?" Beast Boy called out "The party's downstairs! Aren't you coming?"
She was not in her bedroom, and BB didn't think she'd go as far as to leave the Tower so there was only one place Raven could be.
"She'll be on the roof" Garfield realised.
Beast Boy pushed the roof's door open and he knew he was right when he saw her, sitting rather than levitating near the edge of the roof. Her hood was down and he could see her violet hair blowing in the night's breeze.
"I know you're there, Beast Boy." she said, not even bothering to turn around. "What do you want?"
Beast Boy stepped out from the shadows and came up beside her.
"Uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the party?" he asked.
The answer wasn't unexpected.
"I don't want to party with a lot of crazy teenagers." Raven said "I'm staying right here"
Even the idea of going down to the party was enough to make her want to bring out her demonic side.
"Why?" was BB's follow up question.
"Why, what?" Raven replied.
"Why are you up here, instead of down there?" he questioned
They spent the next minute or so in an uncomfortable silence, and Beast Boy had to say something.
"Nice weather we're having, huh?"
Raven remained silent, as she had no desire to point that it was winter and therefore not so nice. Not that it was unpleasant for this time of year, but a chill breeze wasn't really worth talking about.
"So come here often?" BB then asked.
He really had no idea what to say and so was really scrapping the barrel for ideas of what to say. He would have already left he wasn't determined that Raven not spend New Years alone.
"Uh, Beast Boy?" Raven said, sounding rather nervous "Could I talk to you about something important?"
This was odd for Ray to want to talk about anything, but BB was happy to converse with people. In fact he was hard to get him to shut up sometimes. Besides Raven knew that while Robin might offer better advice, this time he was not going to be voice of reason.
"Sure" the green skinned meta-human replied "Ask away, Rae".
Raven took a moment to think about what she wanted to say.
"I've got this friend..." she started to say.
Then she stopped because that hadn't sounded so obvious in her own head. Plus she had very few friends so it wasn't like BB would think she meant an actual friend. Even he wasn't that dense, well not all the time.
"...And she has feelings towards this guy"
It was too late to pull back at this point so the purple haired girl decided that she just going to come out and say what was on her mind.
"But she's not sure how to handle these feeling, and he's with someone else, so should she forget about him, or should she pursue this guy?"
Beast Boy thought for a moment and then, his face suddenly lit up as he figured out what Raven was talking about.
"Wait, do you like Robin?" he asked "I know he and Star like each other but they aren't like boyfriend and girlfriend, so I think you have a shot".
Raven's face fell, and Beast Boy suddenly felt something hit him right over the back of the head it was a pillow. Given that she'd been sitting on she'd had to levitate to get at it, but the effort was so worth it.
That was when the fireworks started and they both just sat there to watch the display. It was an amazing show and nothing was allowed to spoil it for either of them. The whole bay was lit up for a few seconds and they could both see the ships in the water, that were full of people who also were getting to enjoy the fireworks.
"Ray" said Beast Boy once the noise had died down "Is it Red-X?".
Beast Boy wasn't going to be thrilled about Raven's sudden interest in romance, but being a nice guy he wasn't going to be anything less than supportive.
"Yes" Raven admitted.
It was crush, a crush on a bad boy she barely knew, but Raven couldn't deny those feelings any longer. Not after being taken care of by him for a evening as that had been a real opener. Sure she want to suppress those memories but efforts to do so had just made her more moody then normal. At the very least she'd needed to tell someone about them, and maybe she did need to do something about them too.
As for Beast Boy he was now ready to give his friend his opinion, and also his blessing. He didn't dislike Red-X really as the guy was just a thief, and after all the masked man had helped Robin escape Slade so even the Boy Wonder had lightened up on the whole Red-X issue. Only for the time being as BB knew that the team's leader would get all obsessed again as soon Red-X did something less than heroic.
"Yeah" she replied, confirming what they both already knew to be true.
Garfield got up and started to walk away. Then he turned around, smiled at his friend and said.
"Go for it"
(Line Break)
The Bay – Jump City
"It seems the Titans are having a party" Talia al Ghul commented.
By now the boat we were had moved enough that Titan Tower could be seen. All the lights were on, and while it was hard to see from this distance, the silhouettes of a lot of people were in those windows.
"Even the capes need a night off" I said.
Slade had been very clear when he'd given me instructions on how to flirt with women, and while Miss al Ghul was well above my pay grade following that advice still seemed wise as offending her in any way would just get me killed.
Don't drink to much, but drink a little to blend in. It helps if you look like your having fun, but having too much fun will attract too much attention and make the woman think less of you.
Which was why I was only sipping the glass Miss al Ghul had brought over to me.
Be smooth when you talk, don't let your voice waver as a nervous sounding man is not as desirable as a confident sounding man. Always look her directly in the eyes, eye contact is important. Women don't trust men who avoided eye contact, it makes you look like you have something to hide. And try to smile. Not too much, but a smile now and again as woman are not attracted to clowns or to men that bring the mood down.
He'd gone on for a while but to be fair it did seem to working as Talia al Ghul had moved closer to me and she had been playing with her hair so that her own eyes could be more clearly seen. Which was a sign that a woman was interested, even I knew that.
Also I got the impression that she might be trying to seduce me, even thought I did look too young for her. On the other hand I was closer to her age than most of the men here, and I was alone.
Still this was the daughter of the Demon's Head so it wasn't impossible for her to know that I was Red-X. She had a connection to Batman, who Robin would be reporting to but I doubted it that was why she was here.
She might actually be here of her own accord after finding out I was Red-X another way. If I remembered right Slade, as Deathstroke, had been connected to the League of Shadows. Therefore she might be town to check out his apprentice.
Whatever her reasons, she wasn't going to come out and just tell me even if I asked. Besides actually possible that she was just looking for a guy to play with, she was the daughter of a very rich man and could be bored.
Yet for all the trouble even meeting Talia could get me into I couldn't walk away. She was beautiful, she had stunning eyes, a perfect smile and flawless skin, and a rack that made most other women seem as flat as a ironing board even thought they weren't that big. Jinx would hate me for even looking at a woman like Talia al Ghul.
"This suit is new" Talia said as she ran a finger down my sleeve.
It was very new, in fact I'd only owned it for a matter of hours.
"How does it compare to the suit you normally wear on a night out?" she then asked.
Now I knew she knew.
"How do you know about my other black suit?" I inquired.
"Where is Slade?" Talia asked rather than answer my question.
So this was about Deathstroke then, and if I was any judge she wasn't trying to seduce me she'd be trying to get me to lower my guard, or just to play with her food. Now she was done playing.
"You are going to tell me" the daughter of the Demon's Head was now saying "or the poison will kill you, if I let you live that long".
Given that I'd been taught that a little poison could go a long way I knew that even though I'd only sipped this drink I was already dead. Even now I could feel a burning sensation in my guts.
"I have the antidote" Talia then said "and you may have it if you tell me where Slade is".
It didn't take a genius to figure out that my master had sent me here as bait for Talia, and it didn't look like he was going to save me.
"By the time midnight comes it will be too late, so unless you agree to tell me everything you know about Slade Wilson" Talia was now saying "then you will die".
There was no point me doing that as if I betrayed Deathstroke he'd make me beg for death, so it was better to die now. I was oddly okay with that.
"Ten!" people shouted out.
Calling out for help would be pointless so I didn't even bother.
"Nine!"
I spent a second wondering if I'd done enough bad to be sent to hell, or if I'd be forgiven for my sins.
"Eight!"
However I didn't pray, and I was going to beg for mercy either.
"Seven!"
Now I was in an extreme amount of pain and I was wishing for the seconds to pass more quickly. Death was coming for me I wasn't even fighting it, but I really wanted the pain to stop.
"Six!"
"Oh God" I heard myself moan.
"Five!"
At this point I could barely stand and also something was poking me in the back. I guessed it was a gun or maybe a knife.
"Four!"
"Even now it's not too late" Talia was now saying "the poison won't kill you quickly".
"Three!"
"Fuck you, bitch" were my last words.
"Two!"
"Ubu, deal with him" I heard my murderer say.
"One!"
As the fireworks went off and people shouted for joy I felt something enter my back, and before everything went dark I hit the water. I heard a splash, it was not the kind of noise you want to hear while your dying.
(Line Break)
The Bay – Jump City
When my eyes opened I found myself lying on a beach looking up at a blue sky and for a moment I wondered if I had somehow made it to heaven as there was no fire and brimstone around me.
Then I decided that this might be Limbo or Purgatory. Something between Heaven or Hell because while I wasn't in any pain I was pretty sure that when you arrived in Heaven there was suppose to be some pearly gates.
Then a seagull landed next to me and I decided that I was somehow alive and still on Earth. Which was actually even more wonderful than discovering there was an afterlife.
As I got up I stripped off the sodden jacket and checked myself for injuries. I was fine, there wasn't even any blood but I remembered being stabbed and when I stripped off the shirt I even saw a big red stain. So I had been stabbed, of that there was no doubt. Also I had been poisoned, and then dumped into cold water with a knife wound in my back.
The chances of me surviving being poisoned weren't that high, but it wasn't impossible. People had different tolerances for such things and the dosage could have been measured wrong.
As for the knife in back well I had healing powers, so again it was possible for me to have healed before I bled to death. The weapon wasn't still in my back so it must have been pulled out.
Also I could swim so being able to escape the cold waters of the bay wouldn't haven't been too of an impressive of a feat. I was young, strong and a stubborn asshole. So I could have dragged myself to shore before passing out.
But all three, no there was no way I should have survived that even I did heal fast. I really should be dead, no one had helped me because if they had they'd be here now.
So whatever had saved me had to be something special. Maybe I had more super powers then I had imagined. Maybe I was a lot like Wolverine and nothing could kill.
There was a chance that some sort of outside power had resurrected me. Maybe I was back to avenge my own death, but that didn't feel right. I didn't think I'd actually been dead. It felt more like I'd just woken up from a very deep sleep.
Which would explain why I'd faced death so easily. On some level I must have already known, or at least suspected that I wasn't going to die any time soon.
That was when I decided that I had to find out more about what I could do and what made me special and I knew that somewhere out there someone or maybe even something had the answers I needed.
I was going to get those answers, and if I was immortal then no one was going to be able to stop me. But that didn't mean I could afford to me reckless, no I had to tread carefully and gather some resources before I went and killed Talia al Ghul.
That might take years, but it would happen and I'd kill her father too if I got the chance. Heck if I was immortal then there was no rush at all.
I could take my time.