Vengeance of the Night: Prologue

"Beast Boy, ya there?" Garfield snapped to attention while perching from the side of the building. Robin's voice still ringing in his ear. "Yeah Robin, I'm here. What's up?" Garfield knew that tone of voice, he used it all the time, it was his 'we have a situation' voice. Not that it was bad, Garfield just knows he'll have to work. "There's a robbery down on 52nd street, 3 armed thugs, 12 hostages. Police are already on the scene. Be careful, we already have our hands full with the stakeout."

Garfield looked a bit confused, but then remembered that Robin and Raven were staking out a cult leader. Apparently there's no hard proof of any crimes, but he's using his meetings as a cover-up for a drug ring. Starfire was off-planet visiting her's, and Cyborg was doing overwatch on Robin and Raven.

"Alright Robin, don't get your tights in a bunch, I'll be fine. Beast Boy out." Robin was always kind of a hard-ass, but his heart was in the right place. 'Be careful he says, while he stakes out a place that might be the biggest drug bust of the year.' Garfield was a little bit jealous, Robin getting a lot of alone time with Raven.

Raven, the prettiest girl he knew. The Teen Titans had really grown up, Garfield was the youngest of the group. As he runs across the rooftops to get to the robbery, he remembers his 18th birthday; the cake and candles, everyone wearing party hats (even Raven), the presents, and the kiss on the cheek he got from Star. Thinking about that kiss still makes him blush, even if it was totally plutonic. After the party, he went up to the roof for some fresh air, to find Raven smacking lips with Aqualad. He was stunned, to say the least, and coughed on purpose to get them to stop.

***Flashback***

*Ahem* Raven and Aqualad step back from each other and look at where the sound originated from. Garfield standing in front of the door, skin pale, blushed in the face, sweating almost profusely, and knees shaking. "I-I-I just wanted to get some fresh air, I-I'm sorry, I'll be downstairs."

"N-No it's fine Garfield, I was just leaving. I'll see you later Aqualad." She gives him a wink, and he winks back. Both Garfield and Aqualad both wait for Raven to leave to start their talk. "Really? You had to make out with her?"

"What can I say? She digs me and I really dig her."

"But you knew I liked her, pretty much everyone knows except her. You knew, and you still did it." Both Garfield and Garth were in each other's faces, and it looked like something was gonna go down.

Garfield blasted back into the present by the sight of red and blue lights of the police cars, right in front of the bank. The bank itself wasn't very big, just a branch of the local corporate bank. Garfield then perches on a roof just across from the bank. What would be the strategy of getting into the bank? Maybe sneak in as a moth and sneakily take out the armed thugs? Maybe run in as a cheetah and hit them before they expect anything?

He didn't get that far in his planning as someone was sneaking upon him. "What do you want X?" Red-X, the thief of Jump City. Some would say the best. "I needed to talk to you."

"Why do you need to talk to me? Why should I even entertain the thought of not bringing you in?"

"Because I have information. The kind of information that means life or death, for you." Garfield then turned around and looked at him, looked at him in a way that can only be explained as are you serious? "If you don't mind X, I have hostages to save and thugs to beat up."

"Don't bother. It's all fake. I paid a dispatcher to fake a call." This surprised Garfield, by the way, X sounded sincere. Like, sincere sincere. What kind of game was he at? At the back of his mind, there was a little voice that said trust him. Maybe Garfield could trust him, even if X was planning a trap it wouldn't be easy to get out of, but if he was telling the truth, it could save the lives of others or his friends. "Ok X, what's this info that could supposedly save lives hmm?"

"Not just any life, your's kid." A look of shock struck Garfield's face, fake shock, but shock to be sure. "I'm not sure you get it X, but I've been in danger my whole life, you're gonna have to be a little more convincing." Garfield smirked at him. It was a I got ya beat smirk. Really one of his signature smirk. "It's not like that kid, I've been doing some work in the under-world. Someone wants you dead. Dead dead, like a freakin bounty has actually been put on your head."

"Yeah, ok, how much is this 'bounty'?" Garfield air quotes at the word bounty and thinks it's funny. Maybe it would be if not in this situation. "It's at a million dollars kid. It's increasing every day. Every. Single. Day." Ok, now this really disturbed Garfield, even kind of… Scared. "Very funny."

"Not kidding. Someone is eventually gonna try at getting that money. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of it. I can't help."

"Why not?"

"I'm getting out of the game. I burned all of my contacts trying to find out about this bounty. Asked too many questions. Red X dies tonight."

"Wait your not gonna…?"

"No, but this alias dies tonight. I live rich with my spoils and never lift another finger. If you want to find Red X, look in the Graveyard." He then turned away ran across the rooftop and right before he jumps off, he hears a soft "thank you" from Beast Boy. X stands at the edge and looks over his shoulder. "Good luck Beast Boy." Then he jumps off the roof, never to be seen again. Garfield didn't expect a response but was grateful for it.

He reached up to his earpiece and touched it so he could tell Robin not to worry about the robbery. "Hey, Robin, you don't need to worry about that robbery, it was just a false-" KAPOOOWW "alarm…" Garfield looked down at his chest. Blood. Blood…

"Garfield? You there? Garfield! Garfield!? Garfieeell…" Garfield never heard the rest of that sentence.

"This man is the perfect candidate for Vengeance"

"Or he could be the prominent figure of justice he was and is meant to be Spectre"

"What business is it of yours Phantom? The man should get vengeance for his death!"

"The man would choose justice and justice is my business."

"Please, he is obviously an Agent of Vengeance!"

"He's an Agent of Justice like he always has been."

"Fine. Let's agree to disagree. Wake him up."

Author's Note: Hey, hoped you guys liked it. I tried out an idea kinda like this before, but I couldn't figure out how to write past that chapter. Oh well, new beginnings and all that. See ya next time! (Also, tile is a bit of a WIP. Will probably change within the next few weeks)