Author Note: I am so sorry that I am a human trash can. I am sooo sorry this took so long. I just graduated college and moved into another state. I have three chapters set and ready though. So I will update again this weekend. Please forgive me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. Even though I wish in the New 52 Jason Todd and Raven know each other, sigh. That's what fanfiction is for right?
Red-X looked at the crappy worn down storehouse in the bad side of town. It was always the bad side of town, because here is where no one cared. Their lives were too run down. If someone paid it didn't matter what happened inside the storehouse walls. He groaned, reminding himself not to be sentimental.
He walked in and rolled his costume to look at his watch. It was nine o'clock on the dot; he looked around looking at every box and crate, until he heard Blood's footsteps. Brother Blood came in his hands inside his blood robe.
"Ahh, see you are doing well, Buddy." Red-X fidgeted with his gloves while walking up to him.
"Skip the pleasantries, Thief." He scowled. "You are here for an update right?"
Red-X pulled up the chair in the middle of the room. He kicked up his feet on the table, his eyes glancing towards the stains in the middle of the table. He let out a light chuckle. He was right, it did stain.
"I'm hurt." Red-X touched his chest in mock insult. "Here I was going to ask you about your hand." Red-X shrugged.
He can see Blood flinch, his hands rustling in his robes. "That is not of your-"
Red-X pointed "If you have trouble holding stuff, maybe you should get a home attender. You have problem grabbing things right? Is it the hand you use to-"
"Enough!" Blood yelled. "If you do not-"
Red-X raised his hands in defense.
"No, I still want my update. I am just trying to get pleasant conversation from an unpleasant guy." Red-X motioned to the chair in front of him. "I'm the guest. Yet, you are standing. Sit."
Blood looked at Red-X and scowled. Red-X smirk quickly faded.
"Sit." He said; his voice harsh cutting through the room. He kicked his feet off and leaned over the table. "I really hate telling people twice."
He could see the hard lines on Brother Blood's face deepen. Red-X watched as he pulled the chair with his left hand. He sat, a slight huff escaping his mouth. Blood's face stayed the same, eerie and stern, completely unamused.
Red-X noticed the dark bags under Blood's eyes, how the older man's hair was slightly unkempt and ruffled. The look surely aged Brother Blood. Yet, what was alarming was how anxious Blood looked; the slight oscillation of his hand the only real indicator.
Now Brother Blood's anxiousness is what interested him.
"Update: what have you found on The Lazarus Pits?" Red-X said absently tracing his fingers against the table stain.
Blood sneered. "It's hard to study when Batman decided to destroy most of them."
Red-X shook his head.
"Excuses." X smiled under his mask. "If I know Batman, he found out every nook and cranny about this pit, before destroying it. One needs to know their enemy before they destroy their enemy right?" Red-X nodded. "You are a smart man aren't you, Blood?"
"I don't-"
Red-X cut him off. "I bet you have lots of resources correct?" Red-X pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and fidgeted with it. "Books, spells, and magic to find what are The Lazarus Pits?" Red-X laughed. "I don't really believe in magic, Blood. Not really. I believe that there are many things we can't explain in this world that science cannot prove. That is what we call magic. The Lazarus Pits must be made of something, something that heals people."
Red-X stared at Brother Blood.
"And something must be bringing them back insane." Red-X sighed. "I already know what the thing is made of. I need to know how the things works. I'm giving you the easy job."
Blood huffed. "What you expect us to do? We can't make one out of thin air."
Red-X laughed and shrugged.
"Batman did it." Red-X split the paper in half. "I bet you can too."
Brother Blood's eyes widened, before he grumbled to himself. He frowned.
"We have found something; one of Ra's al Ghul's daughters was able to use the pit more than once, without the psychological effects."
Red-X stopped, feeling his heart beat fast.
"Oh?"
"Yes, we also found that The Pit is something the world needs. It's a natural occurrence. We have theory to believe it might be…interdimensional."
Red-X snapped his fingers.
"You see, Blood, now you giving me something useful." Red-X poked at the table. "All the weeks you have giving me crap, you could have saved stains on your beautiful wooden table." Red-X moved his hand across the table. "Yet, the new mahogany color does match the gloom of this place."
Red-X lifted an eyebrow at Blood and asked, "Are you good with foreign languages?"
Blood blinked in confusion.
"I can translate some ancient scriptures."
"If I hand you a book that may explain its existence, will it carry this along?" Red-X asked.
"A book?" Blood laughed. "I have every precious book on magic and supernatural phenomenon known to man. If there was a book that explain The Pits instead of a flippant mention of it, I would-"
Red-X waved his finger.
"That's where you're wrong, Blood." Red-X smiled. "I know that a certain Titan is a collector of sorts. Also happens to have a book on Lazarus Pits, as the main title. Sadly other than the title, everything is in her home language. It's interdimensional, no? I am sure other cultures have detail of these pits."
"How do you know Raven-"
"You think I solely rely on you? Funny." Red-X shrugged. "My insider searches for clues; anything that might help me. That includes raiding Raven's room. The Lazarus Pit is considered magic, why not search the bookshelves of a well-known practitioner?" Red-X kicked his feet up. "I'll get you the book, you give me what I need, and I'll give you Raven."
"How much longer until she is ready?" Blood asked.
Red-X raised an eyebrow.
"What is she, a basted turkey I popped in an oven?" Red-X shrugged "Depends, she starting to see my insider as her world. It won't be too long."
He couldn't help but feel he was wrong. Raven may have been learning to trust Tim, but it didn't mean she trusted him. Nor was he part of her world, not in the long shot. Yet something in his stomach, that stirred and crawled, told him in was closer to the other way around.
"Give me two months." Red-X shrugged.
"I have already given you four months; how long does it take to fool a blind woman?" Blood hissed.
Red-X laughed.
"You want her or not, Blood? I'm guessing it is going to take you about a month to figure out how The Lazarus Pits works. I'm also throwing in another month to figure out how to remove the side effects."
Blood banged his hand against the table. "That wasn't part of the deal."
Red-X shook his head. "If Ra's al Ghul's daughter can do it, so can you. It can't be that hard right, Blood?"
Blood clenched his hand and X could see the tension in his jaw.
"You-"
"Look, I would love to give a fuck; but sadly, the fuck crop is barren this season." Red-X shrugged. "I am being generous really. I know you just don't want Raven; you need her. I thought I made this clear before."
Red-X stood up and pushed his chair in. "This is something I want. I'm just upping the deal to match what's being exchanged. A pit and knowledge for a-" Red-X caught himself, he almost said human.
He almost called her human, not half-demon, not even half-human; but human as though it meant something.
"For a demon..." Red-X said, tightening his grip on the chair. "... Who isn't easy to catch."
Blood huffed.
"Fine, two months I will find the information you are looking for. However, I would like the ingredients to make the pit, and the book." Blood rose from his chair. "I need to conduct test on the pit, but to do that I need to make one. Ingredients?" Blood offered with an open hand.
"Ingredients." Red-X shook on it. "Fine, I will give you the list tomorrow."
Red-X looked at Blood who seemed to look over his shoulder. For a moment, he could see Blood's body slightly shake as his shoulders were raised. It was the body language of caution; the language of a hunted mouse. Red-X watched from the corner of his eye to Blood's line of sight. There was nothing. Nothing but dark shadows cascading over boxes. Yet, the very thought of nothing being there made Red-X…worry.
Red-X looked at Brother Blood; before X could mention what happened, Blood's fear subsided. Blood's shoulders relaxed and stared at X. No trace of the incident evident. Blood could win a Oscar.
X raised an eyebrow. "Okay, down to business. Two weeks."
Blood nodded and Red-X turned around. He left the warehouse cautious of the shadows that plagued the place.
Author Note: Thank you guys for your patience and I hope you guys will continue to read. I hope you guys will continue to support me!
Edit: So apparently I don't watch enough television to know Grammy and Oscar are for different things. I am sorry for the mistake. I changed Grammy to Oscar!