DC Gothic – Red-X 2
Part 10
Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City
For once I was glad I was not in my Red-X suit as I was getting paint everywhere. It was not easy to put wards up all over an entire building, and I had to do it right otherwise my efforts would be for naught. Which would just suck because I really, really wanted this place to be impossible to spy upon using magic.
"X, can I talk you" a voice asked.
Slowly I turned my head to see Raven and I was very annoyed to find her here, because the rest of the Squad did not want her around. Not just because she'd trashed the place, which was partly Jinx's fault, but also due to the fact they were scared of her.
"I knew I should have done the demon proofing first" I said to myself.
The only reason I hadn't was because those wards had to be on the outside of the building and since it was day time it was best to the that part at night. Now I was thinking that it would have been worth the risk of being caught by the police.
"What can I do for you Ray?" I asked while I kept on painting.
Really I did want to know if she was okay because I was worried that she might have taken a blow to the stomach during her fight with Jinx, but I knew I had to keep myself emotionally distant from all the women in my life until I decided what I was going to do about them.
"I'd like an explanation" she then said "About Jinx".
It was interesting that Raven didn't care about Blackfire, it was like she didn't see the alien princess as any sort of threat. Perhaps because she thought she was Starfire's problem.
"What's to explain?" I asked her "She's not my girlfriend, and neither are you, and if either of you had been then you wouldn't be anymore".
While it took some effort I managed to stay focused on the work in front of me, as I really didn't want to met Raven's eyes right now. She could manipulate my feelings with them.
"I thought we were dating" she said.
Slowly I moved the brush and started on another symbol.
"We only went on two dates" I reminded her while keeping my voice calm "That doesn't make us a couple".
I had ever offered her any sort of commitment. In fact I'd told her more than once that we had no future together.
"Well I want to proper relationship" she said "We're having a baby, so we should make an effort to be a family".
That did make some sense as children should have a home environment to grow up in, it just wasn't possible in this case.
"So were you thinking a nice house in the suburbs?" I asked "You could be a housewife, and I could get a job in an office. At the weekends we could have barbecues, and invite our friends. They would try to beat each other, but I'm sure the neighbours would love it".
Now that I'd said it out loud it sounded rather amusing. Of course I knew the reality would be far less funny.
"I was thinking that we'd live in the tower for a while and then get an apartment somewhere" Raven said "Raising a kid won't be easy because I have responsibilities, but you don't need to be a criminal".
Me being stuck at home with a baby. If that was her plan then it sucked big time
"That sounds horrible" I commented "You might have noticed that I'm a rebel. I'm not the kind of guy who going to stay home and mind the baby. I have things I want to do with my life".
Like have a life.
"You'd have me" Raven argued "And you could still do stuff once the baby is in daycare, and we can hire a babysitter if you ever feel the need to go out and do stupid guy stuff".
No doubt her mind was full of ideas of domestic bliss. Sadly things rarely worked out how people imagined they would.
"That's not what I want" I told her.
She didn't seem to grasp that we weren't the kind of people who got the house with the white picket fence and the family dog.
"You're being selfish" Raven accused
Now I was getting mad, and that made it very hard to focus on what I was suppose to be doing.
"I'm a bad guy" I pointed out "We're suppose to be selfish"
My work then came to an end with the pot of paint I'd been using, exploded, and for a second I considered the idea of demon proofing as must of the city as I could.
"Fine!" Raven shouted "You be Red-X and I'll be a Titan. Our kid can grow up with parents who fight each other all the time, and you'll be such a great role model!".
In my view there was no reason for my child to ever know I was Red-X, at least not until he or she was a grown up. It wasn't like I'd wear the suit when I took the kid to the park.
"Sounds good to me" I said.
That took her a moment to process that.
"Okay so you'll be a terrible father and I'll resent you for it" Raven replied "You can have the baby at the weekends, but I'll want child support".
Now I needed a moment to sort out my thoughts. She was actually purposing that we act like a divorced couple where the Dad had custody at the weekends. But given that I was a criminal she had every right to refuse me any contact so it wasn't that bad of a compromise.
"That sounds fair" I told her.
Judging by her reaction to my words she'd been expecting us to fight some more.
"Okay fine" she said when she spoke again "And you'll come with me to doctor's appointments, and be there for the birth, as in the room".
The last one was a rather tall order, but I could make her stop a demonic rampage then it might be best for public safety if I was there at the birth.
"Yes, that's fine" I said.
Raven looked as if she had one some great victory and then she walked into a black swirly thing which took her away.
"Wish I could that" I muttered.
(Line Break)
Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City
"So is that what you call a workout?" Jinx asked me as the training room shut down.
Gizmo, being a nerd, liked Star Trek and being a tech wizard he'd built a sort of holodeck. It wasn't that complex when compared to what they had on the Enterprise, but it served its purpose and my little buddy had programmed it to provide me with a training environment. However without some to spar against I just didn't think I'd improve.
"No that was just a warm up" I said to the crook before addressing the computer "Reset".
The room changed back into an intact dojo, and I got some fresh dummies to break into pieces.
"Need something?" I then questioned
I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, and I also knew that she would need a moment or two to summon up her courage before she asked me anything.
"Yeah I wanted to talk to you about the fight I had with demon-girl" she said "I was wondering how mad you are at me",
I wasn't mad at her at all, and I didn't understand why she might think I would be. Then I recalled that I had promised to destroy anyone who hurt Raven, and Jinx had fought her.
"Don't worry" I assured the pink haired girl "I saw the footage. She came in her uninvited and attacked you. It was her fault not yours".
Besides I was rather found of Jinxy so she'd have to do a lot worse that get into a catfight in order to get me pissed at her.
"Okay" she said, sounding more relaxed tham before "My next questions is this: Is she your girlfriend?".
Since the matter of my relationship with the Teen Titan had been settled, at least for now, I could answer her.
"She was never my girlfriend" I told Jinx "We just went on a couple of dates, and she thought it meant more than it did. I'm not in love with her, in fact I don't even like her very much these days".
My team mate was happy about that, it was written all over her face, but it didn't last as her expression soon became a thoughtful one.
"But if she's not your girlfriend, then why are you so protective of her" Jinx then inquired of me.
I spent a moment wondering if I should lie, but I decided not to.
"She's pregnant" I said simply.
Jinx didn't need any time to figuure out who the father was.
"I get it now" she said "I knew you had a good reason, but I didn't think..".
She stopped for a moment as if she needed to organise her thoughts.
"Hey, you were in the same room as her during that messed up contest" she soon realised "That's when it happened".
If the other rooms had been anything like mind then the meta-human girl would have noticed how they had been furnished to create an atmosphere that could led to sex.
"Yeah" I confirmed.
Now that it was all out the open Jinx seemed much happier, at least until she brought up the next topic.
"I know this is a bad time given what happened yesterday, but you do need to decide whose your second in command" the pink haired girl said "And if I'm your girl then it should be me".
With some effort I was able to resist sighing.
"I don't want a proper relationship right now" I told her.
Jinx wasn't put off by that statement.
"I'm not saying we should get married" she assured me "And I'm not saying you can't do stuff with Blackfire either I just want to be your girl so everyone knows who's the boss when your out, and you need someone to talk to about stuff like this".
She had some good points there, and if she wanted to formalise what we already had then for me it wasn't such big deal.
"Okay your my girl" I said.
I didn't doubt for a second that she would find a way to make sure everyone knew found out about this, but that didn't bother me as we did need a proper chain of command around here, and by being my girl she got to be second in command. Which would also take some stress off me, which would be nice.
"Do you want to spar?" Jinx then asked.
I'd seen her fight hand to hand a few times, but she wasn't on my level because she depended on her powers. Which to be fair were formidable as I'd seen just last night.
"Think you could keep up?" I inquired of her.
Jinx smiled before flipping backwards several times, and since she was in her normal outfit again that allowed me to see that for some reason wasn't wearing any underwear. Then when she did a handstand it became impossible to ignore that she was going commando.
"Well that's distracting" I commented.
Jinx smiled again.
"I figured you might want to spank me for knocking Raven around" the pink haired girl explained "And since you have boyfriend privileges now, you get to do that when ever you want".
While this was good news I couldn't help but question it.
"So you wouldn't have let me do that as just your leader?" I wondered.
I had been the under the impression that it had been my right.
"Oh you could have ordered me to do anything" Jinx explained "But now I want you to and I'll even tell you when I've been a bad girl".
She knew me better than I had thought. It became tricky for me to focus as I envisioned what she could do for me, and she took advantage of that. The sneaky minx lunged at me and, span so she could deliver a roundhouse kick. I didn't see this coming so I ended up on my back. Thankfully the floor was matted so it didn't hurt to bad even though I wasn't wearing my Red-X suit.
"Oh you're are so going to get it now" I promised Jinx
Despite my words I went easy on her as I no desire to give her bruises, and that proved to be a mistake because he was able to easy flip about in order to avoid any blow I attempted to land.
"You are one seriously flexible chick" I said.
Jinx grinned once more, and then jumped forward intending to plant a kick to my chest. But I saw it coming so I took hold of her leg, and then I pushed intending to make her lose her balance. However, Jinxy simply went with the motion and flipped again so she remained on her feet when she landed.
"What do you think?" the girl then asked.
I didn't need to answer as she would be able to see how impressed I was, but I expressed some words anyway.
"You're very agile" I said.
Jinx smirked, and then lunged forward once more. Only this time I side stepped so she went past me.
"Okay my turn" I said.
With that I tackled her and I ended up carrying Jinx over my shoulder. Which caused her to start giggling like a mad woman, and then I span her round which made it even more fun.
"Hold on!" she called out "We have a meeting".
She was right we did have a meeting to go to. Now that Gizmo had done the repairs we needed to discuss how to improve our defences, in ways aside from what I had done. Then we needed to go through what jobs we'd been offered. We were after all crooks for hire.
"Let's go" I said while heading out of the room.
Jinx had a problem with this.
"Wait I'm not wearing panties" she reminded me.
That didn't stop me from heading for the door.
"Someone might see what belongs to you" she then said.
She'd phrased that well because now I didn't want anyone to get an eye full of what was mine to enjoy. Well maybe Blackfire, but then only if all three of us were in bed together.
With that in mind I let Jinx down and she scampered off to her room.
(Line Break)
Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City
A short time later we all at the big conference desk, as it was now time to discuss business.
"I finished the warding" I informed everyone "This place is now demon proof so Raven, and any part demons in the League won't be able to enter this place. Well not unless someone destroys the wards, but any security system can be countered. We all know that".
In fact we made a living doing that very thing.
"And I fixed all the damage" Gizmo told us "But I don't get why you even let that crazy chick in here in the first place",
I couldn't help but exchange glances with Jinx and her look made me decide that I needed to let everyone know why I was giving the Titan so much leeway.
"Because she's pregnant with my kid" I explained to the squad "That's why I don't want her hurt".
The guys in the group said nothing, they all just nodded in complete understanding. However Blackfire wasn't so silent on the subject.
"So that's why she went psycho!"
Being from a race of people who were passionate to the point of seeming a little crazy to most humans, I was pretty sure the alien princess would have done the same thing.
"She wants me as her boyfriend so we can play happy families" I then said "And she's not exactly the most emotional stable person around so this kind of thing might happen again".
The guys were now understandable nervous. Ray was far more scary than anyone else on her team.
"So we need way better security" Gizmo said in a surprisingly serious tone of voice "That's not going to be cheap"
Thankfully I had some money heading my way.
"I should be getting paid for a job I did a while back" I told him "And if you need more I can steal it".
They didn't call me the Prince of Thieves for nothing.
"What about getting some new members?" asked Mammoth "The more people we have the better, right?".
That wasn't a bad idea as we had the space, and we had jobs lined up so there would be a share of the spoils for anyone who joined.
"But the only place we can recruit from is the academy" Jinx said.
I didn't think that was true, as there had to be other young crooks out there, however the guys and girls in the school had been trained to work with other criminals as a team, were as most bad guys couldn't be trusted in a group.
"And since Brother Blood took over he only lets students out if a client hires them" the pink haired girl added.
I'd heard of Brother Blood, but I didn't know much about him.
"So close the school" Mammoth suggested.
That sounded like a tall order, and until I had more information I wasn't going to be able to come up with a plan.
"Where is this school?" Blackfire asked.
In my day it had been underground, and I'd not been back since I had started working for Slade. Now there was no point because the Titans had shut that place down.
"Underwater" Jinx informed the alien "Very deep underwater, if it wasn't the League or the Titans would have found the place by now".
Hearing that got me thinking.
"Could you take me there" I then inquired.
If she did I might have a plan.
"Sure I can, boss" she said "I know all the hidden passages to get there from Jump City".
Now I was sure I had a scheme.
"I know Doctor Fate, and he knows Aquaman, so I can get in contact with Fate then I can get a message to the King of Atlantis" I told everyone "If he finds out theres an underwater school for crooks he will do something about it".
It did not take long for everyone to figure out where I was going with all this.
"And if the school closes then we can cherry pick the best students for our group" Jinx said "Oh that's smart".
The hard part would be contacting Fate, if I failed to think of a way then I'd have to risk tipping off Batman. Which wouldn't be hard as I could just post him a letter, or I could sent Clark Kent a message at the Daily Planet disguised as an anonymous tip for a newspaper story.
Already I could envision the headline.
UNDERWATER SCHOOL FOR JUNIOR CROOKS!
Hopefully it would something more memorable than that.
"Okay so here's the plan" I said to everyone "Gizmo will focus on improving our defences while Jinx gets me to the academy. The rest of you will be collecting a debt. We're being offended ten grand to recover a lot of cash which isn't much I know but its worth it if only to increase our reputation".
The money was owed by some gamblers who were a rough lot, but they would be nothing when faced with Mammoth and Blackfire was even more dangerous then him. But they might not need to fight as Kyd Wyykd could simply go in and take the money.
"Can this wait a couple of days?" Jinx then asked "It's girl's night tomorrow. Which means me and Fire will be out till late".
There was no rush, but still I would have liked to have gotten the ball rolling as it were.
"What's wrong with tonight?" I asked.
Jinx gave me a look that hinted at something.
"I want an early night" she said "I'm still a little sore from that fight. Maybe you could help me relax?".
That sounded like even more fun that sneaking into an underground base full of dangerous criminals so that we could gather intel for an attack. But only just because I did so enjoy testing out my thief skills.
"Fine we can chill for a couple of days" I declared.
With that I ended the meeting and decided to go out for a take-away. I wanted to buy Jinx dinner before I spanked her ass because I was old fashioned that way.