Just a one shot, it sucks, and I don't doubt I'll get plenty of flames. But I had to get it out of my system anyway. So, please be gentle.

They say it exists.

They say it is there, and since the dawn of time men have hunted it. Men have searched for it, losing everything to pursue it, yet they never find it. Not once has anyone ever found it, that elusive treasure. Buddha quested for it, the Bible preaches of it, dictionaries define it. Every one knows of it, they use its name in everyday speech, but no one knows how to find it. Some think it comes in the form of jewels. Others think it's love. But how can we know what it is if no one has ever found it? Because it is true happiness. The greatest knowledge to have no worries, to know your loved ones will always be there; or at least that was it for me.

I was simple, I was an average person of my age, with an average life, and average contentment. But then I met her.

She was as unusual as I was usual. When I stayed up late watching movies with my friends, she went to bed early so she could wake up at dawn and dance in the rain alone. When everyone brought pencils to class, she had a feathered quill. When everyone craved attention, she shunned the spotlight. She was odd, and oddness has a way of averting people, myself included. Until she saved my life.

We were in an assembly, she had seated herself in the corner of the bleachers, silent when we cheered and smiling when we were sober. It was my great misfortune to be sitting next to her, but hard as I tried, some part of me was touching her. I'd move my elbow and bump her shoulder, I shift a hand and my foot would scoot over. It was almost as if we were dancing, me trying to avoid her, her accommodating my shift. But suddenly she froze, not minding when I accidentally rammed my elbow into her side.

I noticed her eyes were trained on a dark corner of the gym, but only she could see what was in there. That shadow gave me a bad feeling, a feeling of pure fear that if I hadn't been crowed in the stand I would have bolted. Suddenly I had room too, but I was so shocked that I didn't. She was standing up, slowly walking toward the shadow. She cut through the cheer squad, ignoring the eyes of all the students on her. Slowly, like a lioness stalking her pray she approached the corner, almost as if the shadow would run if she were to fast.

I began to notice a hissing noise, followed by a faint clicking. I didn't know what the noises were until it was too late. The hissing was the shadow, which indeed moved; it had slowly inched tentacles toward the ceiling beams, and the clicking was them breaking, rusting faster than natural time could allow. The beam it had targeted snapped, right on the cheerleaders and her hand snapped out. I noticed a glint of silver, a small X that shot for the shadow.

But the thing – what ever it was – was too fast. It zipped across the floor, destroying everything in its wake. A teacher, foolish, stepped in it's way as if they could stop it. They didn't; they burst into flames. But the flames weren't flames; they looked like fire, but they weren't, they were like the absence of light in the shape of a fire licking around the teacher. Soon nothing was left but a charred mark on the floor.

That was all we needed; we bolted for the door. Just then she sprung, digging a silver X into the dark substance, and a great crackling, like lightning hitting a tree, tore through the air. That bang slammed the door shut, right on my leg.

Try as I could, I couldn't get loose, and the pain of the door shutting tighter on my leg grew agonizing. She was panting, watching the shadow drift away; I had no idea what she'd been doing while I was running. But for some reason the door kept closing, until I cried out for the few people left in the gym to help me. They burst into the dark flames as soon as they touched me. I looked down on my arms to see a grayish film covering me, spreading up to my face. I cried out, but I didn't think anyone could hear me.

But she did. She rushed over to my side and with inhuman strength tore open the door and didn't pause one second as the stabbed the silver X into my heart.

I woke in the hospital, and the first thing I saw was her face. She explained everything to me, but I was too groggy to listen. I shouldn't have to explain it, it's a typical story. We got to talking, became friends, kissed, pronounced to the world our love, yadda yadda yadda. So, everything was hunky dory, graduation was looming near, she'd been accepted – somewhat – by our peers, and we had everything lined up. Only problem was those shadows. They were hunting her, as I guessed because she never told me, and coming in stronger numbers.

I don't remember where we were, I think it was a restaurant. All I remember was a sea of those shadows coming in and sucking at us. She bolted into the parking lot, me not far behind. It was a fantastic show, her spinning and twirling, always keeping the shadows just at bay with the silver Xs. But one of the shadows was smarter – if that's possible - than the rest. It took hold of a driver and ran her over. Honk, scream, splat. It was that simple .

The shadows disappeared; apparently I was of no consequence to them. In a blur of legal action and mourning, I left town. I can't tell you where I went for your own sake, but I came back much improved. When I'd been gone a group of kids had set themselves up as "The Teen Titians." Too many Ts. Well, They fought criminals, kept evil away from their city, all that crap. But I was interested, so I did some digging, and found out about one of them they called Robin. Cool guy, only a little too serious. But as I learned more about him I heard about his little escapade as "Red X" He still had the suit.

I got to thinking. To put things into two words, life sucked. I figured as long as I'd gone down as far as I had, a selfish greedy pig who only looked out for number one, I might as well have fun with it. And it seemed as symbolic as it could get. She used Xs, and they'd been red when she died, so at least I wouldn't forget her. So I stole the suit and had a nice long run.

But then the Titians got a whiff of me and got me really working. Soon I was out of fuel for the suit and had to steal more. Well, you know the story, I ended up helping Robin and he went and thanked me by taking my belt. Really, it's his belt, but even under those circumstances you don't take a guy's belt. Believe it or not I didn't want then seeing my nice green briefs.

But you don't know why I helped them. I should tell you. Because when Robin said he was going to correct his mistake, I saw her. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally straight, but there was that ideal, that great love of good. He doesn't have long, those shadows will get him if something else doesn't. But might as well go out with a bang, right?

The point of it is, there is no such thing as happiness. Darkness, evil, bad, whatever you want to call it, has too much of a handhold. You can fight it, but it's pointless. I said it before, I don't like to play the hero, and I don't intend to. But for that brief space in time, I knew she was smiling at me as my red Xs flashed in the darkness.

BE GENTLE!