DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, this would be on TV and not here.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This doesn't take place in the same storyline as my "Forced Base" and "Fractured Heart" stories, so forget those when you're reading this. Also, this takes place after the fourth season, so anything that happens in the show after that isn't applicable to this. Also, about Sanza/Red X: When he's wearing the mask, he's Red X. When he's not, he's Sanza. Simple as that.
O-O-O
A routine burglary had quickly turned sour for Red X, who was now in yet another confrontation with the Teen Titans. So much for the school dance...
"You kids can't ever seem to stay out of my way!" shouted Red X, pulling three large Xs out of his belt and hurling them toward the Teen Titans. The first X flew toward Cyborg and Starfire, expanding into a net that trapped the two inside. The second X flew toward Beast Boy and Raven, dissolving into a large, noxious cloud of crimson tear gas that enshrouded them both.
"My eyes!" screamed Beast Boy, collapsing to the ground, quickly blinded by the gas. He quickly transformed into a bat and flew up into the air to escape the toxic cloud while retaining most of his vision.
The third X was intended for Robin, but he didn't stay around long enough to find out what it was. Instead, he leapt into the air, extending his bo staff and swinging it downward at Red X's head. Quickly, X rolled out of the way, through Robin's legs and behind his back. He stood up and pushed Robin hard with both hands, sending the young crimefighter crashing through the front doors of the museum. As Red X quickly dashed away, a familiar orange-skinned alien floated in front of him.
"That was not very nice," said Starfire, her eyes and hands lighting up with Starbolt energy. She threw several small Starbolts at Red X, who cartwheeled out of the way as the green energy spheres slammed into the ground behind him, each one throwing up a minor explosion. He looked back at Starfire, who had changed direction and was now launching into another storm of Starbolts.
"She's ferocious when she needs to be..." thought Red X, smiling under his mask. More Starbolts came flying past him, one managing to strike the criminal in his left hand. The Starbolt stung as it impacted, and Red X quickly realized that without the suit, he might have been left with at least a second degree burn. "You should really watch where you're throwing those..."
Red X extended his palm and fired another X at Starfire, intending to bind her arms and render her incapable of firing any more Starbolts. Instead, a black energy shield emerged in front of Starfire just in time to block the X, which dissipated harmlessly against the barrier.
"And there's more where that came from," said Raven, standing behind Red X, illuminated by one of the parking lot's overhead lights. "Azarath, metreon, zinthos!"
The spotlight shining down on Raven disappeared, as its source, the light above Raven's head, was engulfed in dark energy. The huge metallic pole the light was mounted on lifted up out of the ground and curled into a large ball of twisted, jumbled metal, which Raven then hurled at Red X with her telekinetic powers. Red X barely had time to tumble out of the way as the ball careened past him, smashing into the ground and hurling up a huge chunk of concrete from where it landed.
More Starbolts flew at Red X from his left side, as well as bursts of dark energy from Raven and blue-colored blasts from Cyborg's plasma arm cannon. It was a three-on-one assault, and Red X was caught right in the middle. He flipped backward several times before backing up against a wall of skin that felt strangely... reptilian.
Red X turned around to see a gigantic, green Tyrannosaurus Rex standing just inches behind him. It roared in his face, sending out a plume of the most horrendous case of bad breath the thief had ever had the misfortune to smell.
"I don't have any Tic-Tacs, but here's something that might help..." said Red X, firing several Xs out of his palm and into Beast Boy's gaping maw. The T-Rex continued to stomp toward Red X, menacingly swooshing its powerful tail across the ground. Red X leapt over Beast Boy's tail, walking backward as the powerful creature roared and snarled at him, foam dripping from his enormous green lips. "Right... about... now!"
Beast Boy roared again, only to have red goo completely fill up his mouth from the inside. Within seconds, the red goo was coming out of Beast Boy's mouth so quickly that his enormous T-Rex body was soon completely engulfed in a sticky goo cocoon from which there was no escape. As Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg rushed to their friend's aid, Red X dashed inside the museum, still after the treasure he hoped to collect.
"Aw man, we need to hurry..." shouted Cyborg, rapidly shoveling red goo out of the pile that had consumed his comrade. "He's gonna drown in this stuff!"
Meanwhile, Starfire and Raven were blasting the goo with energy, hoping to blast it away fast enough to save Beast Boy.
But it was Beast Boy who saved himself, crawling out of the sticky mess just a few seconds later, back in his original form, wheezing and coughing.
"Duuuude... it was like, nastier than Starfire's pudding in there!" shouted Beast Boy, picking the sticky red goo from his hair and eyebrows. "Where the heck did Red X go?"
"Into the museum," said Raven, "which is probably where Robin is too..."
"Let us hurry!" shouted Starfire, flying into the museum with the other Titans.
O-O-O
The museum was completely dark, its front lobby lit only by dim white spotlights along the front lobby hallway. Red X wandered inside, looking for a sign that would point him to the exhibit he was looking for.
He'd forgotten about one thing.
"Yaaaaaaaaah!" shouted Robin, leaping from the shadows with a powerful kick to the side of Red X's face. The thief was knocked into the air, his shoulder slamming against a pillar hard enough to knock a priceless Ming dynasty vase to the floor, shattering it to pieces.
"Unnnh... you're gonna pay for that, you know..." groaned Red X, rubbing his shoulder and picking himself up from the ground.
"Not until you've paid for everything you've stolen," Robin replied, holding his bo staff sideways and looking into Red X's eyes with an angry glare. "You're going to jail for a long, long time."
The other Titans quickly ran into the museum, standing behind Robin, all of them focused on Red X. The thief smiled, holding up his hands and slowly backing toward an elevator.
"All right, all right, you've got me..." said Red X, his hands still held up to the level of his head. "For a bunch of kids, you're all pretty good at finding me... you guys plant a tracker on me or something?"
"It is our job to know when a crime is being committed," said Starfire. Red X's attention turned to the alien girl, his eyes locked on her own. "Not just by you, but by all criminals..."
As Red X backed toward the elevator, his left hand was slowly moving toward the button marked with an 'up' arrow. The motion did not go unnoticed, and Robin was the first to sound the alert.
"He's trying to escape using the ele-"
The door opened and closed in seconds, Red X having already slipped inside, heading up to the second floor. The museum had four floors in all, and Robin knew that X could be headed for any one of them.
"Split up and search!"
Raven didn't have to be told twice. She quickly transformed into a wisp of dark energy, seeping through the ceiling and emerging right in front of the second floor elevator. She was ready for X as soon as the doors slid open.
"Azarath, metreon, zinthos!"
The energy blast felt like a punch to the stomach that sent Red X flying back into the wall of the elevator hard enough to make a small dent against its aluminum surface. As Raven stepped into the elevator to apprehend the thief, Red X pointed both of his hands at the Titan and fired several small Xs that exploded on impact, blasting Raven out of the elevator and into the middle of the second floor's 'Ancient Egypt' exhibit.
"Sorry, but this isn't my floor," said Red X, standing up and pressing the button to go to the third floor. The doors closed, and Red X was off, leaving Raven between a model pyramid and an ancient sarcophagus.
"Great," coughed Raven, wiping shards of glass from her cloak.
O-O-O
The third floor elevator opened in front of a long, dark hallway lined with small glass display cases in which bones from Plistocene-age animals who had once called Jump City their home were now stored. Red X dashed through the hallway, uninterested in bones and still looking for his original target, the Dark Ages exhibit. A sign at the end of the hallway gave him all the information he needed to know. Inventions of the 1800s, a collection of rocks, and a smattering of historical documents were down the left hallway, while several collections of ancient weapons lay to the right. The Dark Ages exhibit, it seemed, was going to be on the top floor. But as soon as Red X turned back toward the hallway leading to the elevator, three of the Teen Titans stepped out. Raven was back... and she'd brought friends.
"Beast Boy and Cyborg," thought Red X, staring down the dark hall at his new foes. "You're gonna have to catch me first..."
Red X dashed down the right hall, and the chase was on. Beast Boy transformed into a cheetah and immediately followed, gaining significant ground on Red X in a very short amount of time. Red X had barely made his way to the Revolutionary War cannons when cheetah Beast Boy tackled him to the ground, snarling and snapping at him with his large, predatory teeth.
"Nice kitty..." said Red X, a hint of nervousness in his normally calm voice. "This could be a bit more than I'd bargained for..."
While Beast Boy was hardly planning to rip Red X's face off, he knew that if he kept him pinned to the ground long enough, his friends would soon come to take the thief in. Red X wouldn't give him that chance.
"I know you didn't lose this in translation..." thought Red X, slamming a knee into the one weakness that remained consistent no matter what animal Beast Boy transformed into. Immediately, Beast Boy detransformed and rolled off of Red X, painfully clutching his groin.
"That was... literally below the belt... agh..." Beast Boy choked out, tears forming in his eyes. With a chuckle, Red X dashed past the war cannons and into a room containing a large, wooden ballista. The huge weapon, almost like a bow-and-arrow on steroids, lay stretched out in the middle of the room in all of its glory, with a sharp, iron-pointed arrow aimed directly at the back wall.
"I've got to try and find another elevator," thought Red X, running past the ballista and into another hallway that diverted into three paths, one going left, one going right, and one continuing forward. "Oh, come on!"
Suddenly, a powerful blue beam exploded against Red X's back, causing him to stumble forward and cry out in pain. He turned around and saw Cyborg standing behind him, charging up another plasma blast. Then, he could feel a set of arms clasping around his own from behind and holding him in place.
"Got you," came a soft, haunting female voice from behind Red X. It was Raven, holding him tightly and not allowing him to move.
"What you did to Beast Boy back there was just low," said Cyborg, "in more ways than one."
Red X smiled, again invisible to Cyborg under the mask.
"I'm allergic to cats," Red X lied. "I had to find some way to get him off me."
Red X broke out of Raven's grip, elbowing the cloaked girl in the nose, which immediately knocked her away. Cyborg fired a plasma blast, but Red X easily leapt away from it, lunging forward and striking Cyborg with a powerful kick to the face. Then, he shot out an X that plastered the powerful robot to the wall. Cyborg struggled against the X, letting out a loud cry of anger and frustration that echoed through the hall.
"When I get outta here, I am gonna mess you up!" shouted Cyborg, his plasma cannon useless now that it was stuck to the wall. As Red X admired Cyborg's predicament, Raven transformed into a dark energy bird and slammed into Red X's chest, tackling him hard to the ground.
"You're going down for good!" shouted Raven, raising her hand to strike Red X with another energy blast. Red X immediately blasted Raven's hand, covering it with goo as he'd done to Starfire the previous day. Then, he shot out an X similar to the one he'd used on Cyborg, pinning Raven to the wall across from him.
"I hate to stick and run like this, but I've still got an elevator to catch," said Red X, running back the way he came.
"No!" shouted Cyborg, angrily trying to peel himself and the X from the wall.
"It's no good," said Raven, beginning to concentrate her powers, "but I'll have us free in just a few moments... azarath, metreon, zinthos... azarath, metreon, zinthos..."
As Red X ran back to the elevator, he passed Beast Boy, still writhing on the ground from the pain of the low blow he'd been dealt.
"Not the most honorable way to end a fight..." thought Red X, now feeling slightly guilty about the cheap shot to Beast Boy's groin, "but who said there was honor among thieves?"
Red X got into the elevator and was soon heading up to the fourth floor, where he knew his treasure would be.
A familiar adrenaline rush began surging through X's body. Though he'd become a thief originally only to gather Xynothium to power the suit, stealing quickly brought such a thrill, such a high to Red X that it quickly became an addiction. He knew that stealing Dark Age artifacts had nothing to do with protecting his sister... but he enjoyed it, and that's what mattered.
"And it looks like I'll still have time to make it to the dance..." thought Red X, rolling up his sleeve and taking a quick glance at his watch. "Twenty-five minutes to go..."
The elevator doors slid open, and Red X stepped out into a wide hallway that opened out into three large rooms. A room on each side, and a large room out in front... the special exhibit room, with a sign that read 'Relics of the Dark Ages' hanging out in front of it. Red X smiled... his mission was almost complete.
With Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg incapacitated, Red X was confident that he'd be able to take the relic with no interference. Surely Robin and Starfire couldn't have found him... they were most likely busy helping their other friends.
Red X got halfway to the exhibit before a powerful burning sensation engulfed both of his ankles, taking his legs out from under him and sending him crashing face first to the ground. He looked up and saw a very angry Tamaranian girl, her eyes aflame. She had just fired her eye lasers into Red X's ankles, the reason why he'd fallen to the ground. He stood up with some difficulty and braced himself for another attack.
"I do not wish to hurt you... do you not remember saving all of our lives from Dr. Chang?"
Red X remembered like it was yesterday... the Titans had been captured, frozen in ice, only Robin free to save them. At the last moment, Red X had shown up and helped Robin free the Titans from their fate at the business end of Chang's powerful laser.
Red X couldn't let the Titans die... especially after he saw the look of terror in Starfire's eyes. He'd been compelled to save all of the Titans, but especially Starfire, who was probably the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.
But that wasn't about to stop Red X from claiming his prize, and he was prepared to fight anyone, even Starfire, to get it.
"My memory's kinda hazy... maybe you can refresh me once I get the treasure!"
He reached out and fired two sharp, spinning Xs that seemed to be aimed straight at Starfire's head. She screamed and ducked, only to have the Xs curve upward and hit the sprinklers mounted high above her on the ceiling. A shower of water poured down on the two fighters, dousing them both and stunning Starfire long enough to enable Red X to leap forward with a kick that caught Starfire right in the nose, knocking her to the ground. She immediately responded, firing two Starbolts that hit Red X in the chest and arm and knocked him down as well.
Starfire floated up and launched even more Starbolts at Red X before he could stand, quickly engulfing him in an enormous green explosion that filled up a good part of the room. Out of the explosion came three Xs, whizzing past Starfire. One of the Xs clipped Starfire's shoulder, making a small slash in the purple top of her uniform before continuing past her to a large support pillar. The pillar, gashed to bits by the Xs, came tumbling down on Starfire in pieces.
Starfire, preoccupied with dodging the shattered pillar, didn't see Red X as he ran toward her and slid into her legs, knocking her back down to the ground. He threw an X at her feet that melted into a large puddle of a strange red substance that oozed under Starfire's legs and one of her arms, sticking them to the ground.
"Sorry it had to be like this, babe..." said Red X, standing up and casually walking past the stuck Starfire toward the Dark Ages exhibit. He blew her a kiss as he passed her by, and immediately her eyes began to glow with rage.
"I am not a babe!" shouted Starfire, firing a Starbolt that freed her hand from the ground, then freeing the rest of her body with a well-aimed eye laser. "I am just started to get warmed up!"
Red X turned around and immediately felt a powerful backhand across his face. He was knocked back into one of the side rooms, his back slamming into a pile of cardboard boxes and hurling them all up into the air. The boxes all fell on top of Red X, burying him in a mountain of cardboard.
Starbolts immediately slammed into the pile of boxes, blasting them away and hitting Red X one after another, bruising his body as they impacted.
"This DEFINITELY isn't what I wanted to happen..." thought Red X, stinging more and more with every Starbolt that slammed against the outside of his suit. "ENOUGH!"
In desperation, Red X fired a barrage of his own, a barrage of Xs to oppose the Starbolts. The Xs each slammed into a Starbolt, nullifying both in the resulting collision. Wearily, the thief picked himself up out of the ashes of the charred cardboard boxes, his body tingling with pain.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" asked Starfire, her hands still green with charged-up Starbolt energy. "It appears that you have not..."
"I'm through toying with you, Starfire..." said Red X, his hand pointed straight at Starfire's chest. "This is going to end, and it's going to end now!"
Another X shot out of Red X's hand, slamming into Starfire just as she raised her hands to fire a Starbolt. The X quickly expanded into a metal band that encircled Starfire's arms and chest, tightly binding her arms to her sides and behind her back. Another X wrapped itself around Starfire's legs, binding them together as well. As Starfire rolled on the ground, trying to get free, Red X casually walked up to her, nudging her bound form with the sole of his foot.
"Sorry I had to do that, but it was either you or me, and it sure as hell wasn't gonna be me," said Red X, looking directly into Starfire's face. A wave of fear and anger shot through Starfire as she looked back at him, still determined to win the fight.
"You have not won this, Red X... as soon as I get free, I will-"
"Mess me up?" replied Red X, back to his casual, carefree self. "Your friend Cyborg said the same thing, and I don't see him anywhere near here. Face it, Star, you lost fair and square."
Starfire gasped... Red X mentioned Cyborg... which means he might have met some of the others... he might have hurt Robin!
"Robin..." thought Starfire, still struggling against the metal bands that held her arms and legs. "If there is anyone who can beat the Red X, it is Robin... I bet you have not found Robin yet! When you do, you will certainly be sorry!"
Red X smirked. Starfire was right on the money... Robin was the only Titan whom Red X hadn't encountered since escaping in the elevator... and he'd bet a million dollars that the Boy Wonder was still lurking somewhere, looking for him.
"Robin will find you!" Starfire shouted, her voice loud enough to carry to the entire floor. "He will find you, and he will make you pay for your crimes, you will see!"
Red X certainly didn't need any more interruptions. Exhausted from his fight with Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and now Starfire, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take the Boy Wonder if he happened to show up... and if Starfire didn't stop yelling, the whole city might show up.
"I'm gonna need you to shut up now," said Red X, pointing his hand at Starfire and firing a sticky X that affixed itself to Starfire's mouth, turning her loud protests into muffled squeaks. "I might come back and free you once I've gotten what I'm after... maybe."
As Starfire began shouting muffled Tamaranian curses at Red X, he used his foot to nudge Starfire into the shadows of the room, out of sight from the main hallway and of any Titans that might happen to walk by. Then, he walked out of the side room and strolled toward the end of the hall and the 'Relics of the Dark Ages' exhibit. By now, he was going to be late to the dance... so he might as well get something to show for it. Being late to the dance and being empty-handed would be a total loss for the thief... and he was already sore from the earlier fights.
The Dark Ages exhibit was spread out in the form of a small medieval village, complete with stables, cobblestone buildings and cardboard cutouts of peasants standing out on the streets. At the back of the village was a long hallway leading up to a Gothic-style castle, built probably to about a 1/6 scale of an actual medieval castle. While the small buildings in the mock village contained display cases filled with coins and small tools used during the Dark Ages, Red X was sure that the real prizes, the jewels, would be located in the castle at the back of the exhibit. Ignoring the buildings and cardboard cutouts, Red X continued on to the castle, throwing open the wooden doors and walking inside.
By now, Red X's adrenaline was at its maximum level. His heart was beating rapidly, and sweat was running down his skin on the inside of the tight costume. He took several long, deep breaths before continuing onward into the room that the castle was built to encompass. Surrounded by cobblestone and straw were several long, glass display cases housing suits of armor, ancient swords, and of course, the most valuable thing of all... authentic crowns worn by kings long past, made of gold and studded with priceless gems. Red X looked down into the display cases, his hands pressing firmly against the glass.
"This is what I came for," he thought, preparing to place an exploding X on the top of the case. He'd defeated four of the Titans, and was now about to claim his reward. "You're all mine..."
Out of the corner of his eye, a shape out of the shadows rushed toward the thief at a quick pace. Red X rolled out of the way just in time to see the Boy Wonder swing past him on his Batcable, looped around a brick on the outside walls of the fake castle. He released the cable and landed on top of one of the cases, his eyes meeting Red X's own.
"Kid, I already took out your friends," said Red X, his focus now on the Titans' black-haired leader. "What makes you think you can beat me?"
But Robin didn't respond. Instead, he leapt at Red X with a powerful kick, which Red X blocked by sticking his forearm in the way. Robin responded by swinging around, his other leg slamming into Red X's head and knocking him clear through one of the display glasses, his suit shielding him from the sharp glass.
"You're not getting out of here... not without a fight!" Robin shouted, dashing toward Red X. Still trapped inside the display case, his body bent awkwardly within its metal frame, Red X desperately grabbed for something to ward off Robin. His fingers wrapped around a large, diamond-studded sapphire, which he hurled right at Robin's forehead. Robin reached out and grabbed the sapphire, only to have another gem, an emerald, tossed at his shoulder. He caught the gem in his other hand, now stinging from the force of the throw. "Nice try, but-"
An X slammed into the center of Robin's chest and began pulsing with a strong burst of electricity that knocked the crimefighter to his knees, the gems dropping from his hand. Red X leapt out of the shattered display case and kicked Robin in the head, knocking him to the floor on his back.
"Unngh..." Robin groaned as Red X stood over him, his palm pointed right in the Boy Wonder's face. His body weak from the shock, he was helpless at the feet of Red X, and his eyes widened in fear. "Damn..."
Suddenly, a metallic fist slammed square into Red X's chest, knocking him into the wall of the castle. As he slumped against the hard stone, he could see Cyborg, plasma cannon pointed right at him. Cyborg fired, and the result of the explosive blast knocked Red X through the wall of the castle and into an empty part of the dark room.
"Cyborg? But how-"
Red X didn't have time to ponder the question, because a dark portal suddenly opened up beneath his feet, releasing a large pillar of dark energy that exploded with such force that Red X was knocked back through the wall of the castle, landing in the straw on his face. Raven stood behind him, her eyes glowing white against the dark glow surrounding her body.
"Raven! Cyborg!" shouted Robin, relieved to see two of his friends safe and sound. "Red X said he took you guys out!"
"It takes a lot more than a few Xs to take out the Teen Titans," said Cyborg, his robotic fist pumping victoriously.
"And besides," said Raven, gesturing to the ceiling above the fallen Red X, "we had a little bit of help..."
Beast Boy, who had morphed into a tiny fly too small for Red X or Robin to see, now transformed into a gigantic whale, poised right above Red X's head. Gravity was now the thief's mortal energy, and a wall of green death was just a few yards away, ready to smash him to ribbons.
"No!" thought Red X, painfully getting up and leaping out of the way to escape. Beast Boy landed just inches behind him, impacting with such force that the very walls of the castle began to shake. "Too close..."
"Uh, guys..." Beast Boy said as he detransformed, rubbing his head in embarrassment, "I think I kinda missed..."
"You kinda did," said Red X, standing up and firing explosive Xs in all directions, destabilizing the already shaky castle structure even further. "Adios, kids..."
Red X dashed out of the castle, leaving the four Titans scrambling to escape the stone structure that was currently crumbling down upon them.
"Titans, after him!" shouted Robin, pointing at the exit of the castle. As soon as he'd finished speaking, the front wall of the castle crumbled in front of the exit, sealing it shut. "But... not that way!"
Raven tried holding up the structure with her telekinesis, but it was too little, too late. Within seconds, the huge mock castle fell on top of the Teen Titans, burying them in a thick layer of cobblestone rubble. Red X looked back but one time as he ran out of the exhibit like a scalded dog, relieved to have make it out with his freedom... and his life intact.
"I'm pretty sure they survived..." thought Red X, turning around and casually walking back through the main hall. "But it's sure going to take them a while to get out of there... meanwhile, I'll be heading to the dance with my tre-"
Red X stopped. Immediately, he realized his error. Though he'd escaped the Titans, he'd escaped... with absolutely nothing!
"Dammit!" Red X shouted, his fists clenched in frustration. He looked back toward the 'Relics of the Dark Ages' exhibit... now shattered and ruined. The gems probably survived, but he'd have to risk another encounter with the Titans to claim them... not worth it by any stretch of the imagination. "I'm such a freaking idiot!"
A weak, muffled squeal quickly drew Red X's attention to the side room. There, crawling out of the shadows, was Starfire, still bound and gagged with the Xs that had been fired at her at the end of her earlier encounter with the thief. Red X smirked.
"Don't worry, your friends are just fine... a little dusty, but just fine. I'm sure they'll be by to get you shortly."
Then, a thought crossed Red X's mind. He had no treasure... absolutely nothing to show for his raid on the museum. Sure, he could stop by one of the lower floors to grab a painting or a few ancient documents... or he could escape with something much more.
"I wonder how much she's worth to the Titans..." thought Red X, his gaze now completely focused on the alien girl squirming into the main hallway. "I'm not leaving empty-handed..."
Thinking that Red X would simply escape into the elevator, Starfire was stunned when she was suddenly picked up into X's arms and carried toward the exit. She let out a loud, muffled scream through the X pasted over her mouth, but that didn't seem to deter the thief from carrying her into the elevator and quickly heading to the ground floor.
"Since your little friends stopped me from getting what I wanted," said Red X, looking down at Starfire's worried face, "you and me are gonna go for a little ride."
Starfire struggled furiously in Red X's arms, but with her arms and legs immobilized, there was little she could do to stop him as he carried her out of the museum and around to the back, where his car was parked. Red X popped the trunk and tossed Starfire inside, briefly checking behind him to make sure no one was watching.
"They're probably already coming after me..." thought Red X, focusing his attention back toward Starfire, now screaming loudly in his trunk. "I'd better hurry..."
Now more worried about her friends than anything else, Starfire squirmed violently, screaming out to anyone who might be able to hear her.
"Why are my friends not coming to help me?" thought Starfire. "They must be hurt... what has Red X done to them?"
Starfire's fear turned to anger, and she looked up at Red X, her eyes lighting up with a bright, green glow. Red X looked back at her, watching her futile attempts to escape. Here was Starfire, whom Red X had had a crush on ever since he laid eyes on her... even on that day in Mumbo's shop, when she and the other Titans had saved him and Maddy. A girl who could be gentle, sweet and kind one moment, while determined, furious and strong the next... now trapped helpless in the trunk of a car, completely at Red X's mercy. He watched her for several seconds, her body violently quivering, her chest heaving up and down with every breath she inhaled through her nose... and suddenly, he found his hand traveling slowly toward her chest.
"She's helpless..." thought Red X. "I can do whatever I want to-"
He stopped and shook his head. What the hell was he thinking... Starfire was helpless, how could he even consider doing anything to her?
"I'm a thief, not a rapist," thought Red X, quickly pulling his hand back and raising it to his mouth, then lowering it to his chest, tracing the Sign of the Cross. "Lust... I'll need to confess that to the priest."
Red X pointed his hand at the lid of the trunk and created a thick layer of Xynothium that would withstand Starfire's kicks and perhaps even her eye lasers if she tried fighting her way out of the trunk. Then, he closed the lid, trapping her in darkness. He slowly walked over to the front door of the car. He climbed inside, threw his mask onto the back seat, and put his hand to his forehead.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." thought Sanza, sweat pouring down his face. He grabbed the Red X mask and stared at it for several seconds before shoving it into his glove compartment. Burglary was one thing... but kidnapping? Especially a Teen Titan? "No doubt the others will know she's gone..."
Sanza sat in his driver's seat for nearly a minute, not even bothering to put the keys into the car's ignition. Every few seconds, he would hear a loud bump, or a faint, muffled scream as Starfire tried furiously to escape the trunk or call out for help.
"I've gotta get to that dance..." thought Sanza, putting the key into the ignition of the car and turning it slowly. "I'll figure out what to do there..."
As soon as the car started, the CD player in the dash began to play. It was John Cena's 'Bad, Bad Man'... a fitting tune for what Sanza had certainly become. Sanza pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets of the city, heading toward his school and turning up the radio to drown out the noise Starfire was making.
"I can't think about Starfire or the museum now..." Sanza said quietly to himself. "That's something for Red X to think about..."
O-O-O
Sanza pulled into the parking lot, parking his mother's car and removing the rest of the Red X suit before he got out. He shoved the suit in the glove compartment with his mask and climbed out of the car, ready to have a good time at the dance, but still retaining Starfire in the back of his mind. He took one last glance at the trunk before walking toward the school, rapping John Cena's song to himself as he entered the building.
O-O-O
Starfire's been kidnapped, the other Titans are still trapped, and Red X is headed to his next calling... the school dance? It's certainly shaping up to be a wild night... and it's sure to only get wilder!