The night sky consumed a black figure as it jumped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for something unknown. Music of wind filled the ears of sleeping citizens who slept in ignorance. The stars glimmered in unheard warning as the blood-red interior of the shadow's black cape disappeared unbeknownst behind the walls of an unsuspecting building. Jump City Bank.

Thomas Roberts, Jump City's prestigious bank owner, stepped slowly toward the bank vault, looking into each dark corridor for any suspicious silhouettes. Finding none, he double checked the lock on the city vault before turning to return home after a stressful day of business. As he neared the door, a sudden breeze blew over the bank owner. His heart leapt in his chest, his breath quickened, but it was too late. A single grey hand crashed down into the back of his neck and all was black.

"Too easy," laughed the night prowler. "I need a challenge. It seems so unfair to steal all of the money when there's no one around to stop me."

The shadow walked to the bank vault, a red light glowing in his hand, and in one swift motion, the blood red energy brought the door to a simple pile of ash. A short chuckle of amusement sung from his lips as he reached into his belt for a small coin. Looking down toward the lasers that danced upon the vault floor, the strange man launched his simple coin into the blinding red light, relishing in the sound of the security alarm alerting a well known pack of heroes.

"And now, the fun begins."

A pair of familiar headlights flashed brightly before diminishing as the sound of the engine died down. Each door opened and out stepped five faces of justice, determination heavy in their eyes. The calming silence was not to last as Beast Boy's need for attention burst out of control.

"So what big, bad, criminal's butt are we about to go kick?"

Cyborg sighed. "Don't know. The report just said the alarm was triggered. Let's just hope it's not the same villain we faced last time the reports didn't know who was attackin'."

Raven and Robin both stiffened at the mention of their last attacker. As the two dark teammates shared a knowing glance, the Teen Titans ventured toward the bank's entryway. Robin placed a gloved hand on the knob before calling out to his friends.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" And with that, he threw open the door.

Empty. Aside from the unconscious bank owner, there was no one in view. Robin's eyes filled with suspicion as searched frantically with his head for any signs of the villain. There was none, only an eerie red goop the lined the broken vault. He let out an audible sigh, turning his head slightly to clearly send his voice to his fellow Titans.

"Titans, split u-"

"There's no need for that, kid. I'm right here."

The young leader spun to face the voice that called for him. His hidden orbs grew wide in shock as he stared into the unforgettable white skull that marked his opponents face. Robin opened his mouth to speak, puffs of air being the only sounds audible at first, as he watched the dark figure walk gracefully from the vault, a large bag of money in hand.

"Red X!"

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Robin? Tell me though, why the shocked face?"

The boy's masked eyes narrowed in anger, his mind racing through thought after thought, making no sense to him at all. "But how? How can you power the suit without the Zynothium belt? That's impos-"

"Nothing's impossible, kid, isn't that what you're always saying? Come on, give me a little credit. If I was good enough to steal the suit from you, then you should already know I'm good enough to find a new way to power it," Red X sneered as he looked at each Titan carefully before locking onto Raven who had taken to levitating a few feet in the air

The white skull pierced her blue eyes, bringing her inexplicable fear. Raven mentally cursed herself for suddenly feeling such childish emotion, but all grew worse as the villain spoke once more.

"Though, I guess I don't deserve all the credit. I had a bit of help from an old friend of yours."

Each young fighter froze. Disbelief washed itself over their faces as the words of Red X resounded in their heads. Any further mentioning of their "friend" was unneeded, each knew exactly who this criminal had been referring to and it frightened them with unexplainable power.

The Teen Titans were suddenly thrust from their moment of thought as flashes of red flew their way. Beast Boy merged into a cheetah, dodging each X that flew his way. Cyborg followed the green animal's lead, his Sonic Canon firing rapidly toward their attacker while Starfire and Raven took to aerial attacks. Robin extended his Bo Staff, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Red X merely laughed at the futile attempts to stop his rein of supremacy. He threw himself into the air, dodging the combined rays of sound of green fire as he flipped backwards, landing on the top the main counter. Starfire's eyes ignited the color green as she moved in, determind to bring the callous villain to his knees.

"Hey there, Beautiful," Red X snickered as he lifted both hands. "Catch"

A massic X of reddish slim flew toward the alien and, try as she might, her starbolts were useless to stop it. A high pitched shriek flew from her lips, alerting Raven far too late. The dark empath turned only to see a flash of pink as she was thrown back by the weight of their collision, the red goo trapping the two to the ground.

Cyborg raced toward him, his right arm extended as he took aim at the man's skulled mask. The clank of his bulky body gave away his fast approach, giving the criminal ample time to devise a solution to stop the robot in his tracks. Red X let out a small laugh as he turned to face his new opponent.

"Uh uh uh," the vile man huffed as he shook his head. He raised the bag of money in the cybernetic fighter's line of fire. "You wouldn't want to destroy all this money, now would you?"

The Titan lowered his arm, mentally kicking himself for having foolishly rushed in. Robin's eyes sprung widely open. This was his chance. He leapt into the air, letting out a loud battle cry as he brought his staff into contact with Red X's left hand, causing the satchel of cash to fall from his grasp.

Recovering quickly, the black fighter blocked a blow from Robin's metal boot. A war broke out between the two. Fists flew, capes were torn, and the clash of sliver and red filled the room as they used weapons to their advantage. The fighters were soon locked in a brawl of strength, Robin's staff trapped between his rival's red X hand razors, keeping both weapons locked in place.

"Not bad, kid, you've improved."

The Titan leader smirked. "You're not too bad yourself."

"So, curious as to how I got this suit of yours to work again, or would you rather have your buddy tell you himself?"

Robin's rage burst from inside his mind, consuming him. He pushed harder against X's razorblade defense, desperately trying to bring down his opponent for the mockery he had been thrown. Lost in his fit of anger, the young fighter faltered when the white skull before him appeared to take a new shape. For a split second, Robin found himself face to face with a vision of Slade.

Red X lifted his right leg, a red light flaring from the bottom of his boot, and smashed it into the pit of Robin's stomach, laughing at the boy's foolish move of lowering his guard. The young boy was thrown several feet back until he fell from the counter, hitting his head roughly against the metal floor. His vision faded from dark to light as he struggled to get up, the image of Red X's shadow taunting him as it drew near.

He drew in a staggered breath, feeling his body go numb. "S-Slade…"