05.

"He's heading to the roof! Raven, Starfire!"

The two didn't need further instruction, they flew up immediately to chase the thief. Robin (who stopped insisting on calling him Nightwing for now) was more obsessed with unmasking the guy than throwing him in jail.

"You shall not run away this time!"

Starfire rushed after the shadow that just teleported onto the roof of a building several blocks away. She accelerated with a blast of speed which Raven's levitation couldn't follow.

"Starfire!"

Raven shouted, but she was already out of reach. Raven clenched her teeth, unable to follow. She was standing in a red pool of strange liquid which grounded her. A shadow started to approach her. She faced him with a half scowl.

"Illusions? What a cute trick."
"Aww, I knew you thought I'm cute."

Red X chuckled, but Raven just raised an eyebrow.

"Fancy to see you robbing jewelry, X. A gift for your girlfriend?"

The Titans knew that he never involved himself in 'boring and lame' crimes(quoting X). It was very unlike him to break in for a mere necklace. Expensive it was, but it wasn't that it held any value or fame.

There was no answer, but Raven could feel that he was taken aback. She frowned at his light confusion as if he wasn't sure what to come back at her with. Red X being speechless? That was something she could live with. She actually smiled.

"How adorable. You have such a great taste in accessories, she's so lucky."

He clearly couldn't ignore the sarcastic note in her voice, but his emotion waves were gone and guarded now.

"I didn't know you were an expert on gifts, Little bird."

He came closer. Raven had a blank face, but she was growling inwardly. Red X's liquid was distracting her concentration. It was blocking her magic circuits, making it risky to use her powers. One wrong move and her powers could backfire, possibly blowing her veins up.

"Say that I was trying to give a gift then, Princess. I would love to hear your suggestion on what I should get. Surely you know everything about that."

His finger touched Raven's jaw, lifting it up. He stared into her eyes as if he was trying to search her. Raven faced the mask and smiled tauntingly.

"Could this be? The notorious Red X asking for relationship advice? I never knew you could be so desperate."
"I've never heard you speak so highly of me before, Raven."

Even though those times were rare, it wasn't the first time he called her by the name. But somehow this time it sounded so different - possibly because his voice sounded unfamiliarly rough and dangerous. Raven had to play along until this sticky liquid lost its power, or at least until one of the Titans would come to help.

Why were they taking so long? She didn't like the feeling of being dragged down to the ground, or her powers feeling unstable. She made sure to sound bored as she answered. She had to keep Red X engaged.

"Since you're so lost, allow me to help. You should start with a hundred of roses. Or you could shower her with jewels that matches her eyes. Make sure to send her an invitation to a masquerade ball, dance with her for a night and she'll be yours."

She made sure to sound bored. Red X's hand fell. He took a step back.

"..I didn't know you'd be the type to fall for fairytales, Sunshine."
"Works all the time."

He actually chuckled.

"Well, if you say so, Sweetheart. Now excuse me, I wouldn't want our moment to be ruined by a certain brainless bird."

He clicked on his belt and disappeared. Almost at the same time, Raven heard Robin's furious growl.

"Ambush.. thirty killing robots.."

He managed to mutter angrily under his breath. He walked up to her, taking out a device and freezing the liquid that was holding her. After breaking it to pieces, he checked if she was hurt. Raven shook her head to tell him there was no harm made. She took a deep breath in as her powers started to flow as normal.

"Cy and Beastboy?"
"They're fine. All worn out though. They're taking care of the people in the building. Where's Starfire?"

She reached into her pocket for the communicator when something odd got caught into her hand. She flinched. Mistaking her reaction, Robin's voice rose.

"What happened? It's that bastard, isn't it? What did he do to her? Did he kidnap her? Raven!"

Ignoring the stinging sense, she took out the cold object that was in her pocket. Both Robin and Raven froze.
It was a bracelet, the deep clear purple seemed to shine and sparkle on their own in the dark.

Robin knew it was one of the pieces of jewelry that were stolen by Red X.

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Hey everyone!
I just wanted to add that English isn't my first language, so there might be some grammar errors or unnatural expressions. I swear I'm trying to make it as natural as possible.
If anyone's reading this, review/comments would be greatly appreciated haha