Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline.

Okay, lucky for you guys I had chapter two ready with just a few edits to make, so now it's up!

Chapter 2

Curiosity really was a crime in this case, for it kept holding the two of them back from pouncing on the figure standing before them. He repeated his question. "What do you want?" It wasn't really a question anymore. It didn't seem to be getting an answer, anway. Now it was almost a plea.

"Well, kid, believe it or not, I need some backup."

Her eyes opened in surprise, though his did not. He figured it would be something like that. X wasn't the big criminal type; he had said so himself. The question now was why Red X had enlisted the two of them and who he needed help with. It had to be a problem with a person; X knew better than to try to get them to help with any other problem.

"With what?" He turned. She had voiced the exact question he had just been thinking. They really were getting to be good friends if they could do that; voicing each other's thoughts. She said it with a harsher tone than he would have, though. Obviously her curiosity hadn't quite gotten to her yet. Besides, she didn't know X as well as he did and therefore wouldn't act the same. To him, X wasn't a hero, but he wasn't a threat either. To her, he was just another criminal. Then again, she didn't think highly of anybody.

Red X chuckled. "She's a gem, kid. Keep her." He turned towards Robin. "Actually, I wasn't planning on taking her too, but she kind of came to call when I was in the middle of my work." He was referring to when he had just knocked the Boy Wonder out. She had knocked on the door and called the boy's name. He had had no other choice but to make sure that she couldn't tell the others, since the last thing he needed was somebody else after him. So, now she was here with the kid and causing a bit more trouble then he had anticipated. He had been forced to wire another room.

Her eyes widened as she realised what had happened. So now it was her fault for wanting to tell him that he had left one of his birdarangs on the sofa and that Beast Boy had accidentally sat on it? She made a mental note not to bother with that anymore. Robin apparently had too many contacts in the world of villains. Truthfully, she sometimes wondered what side the boy was on, but then again, she thought that about herself as well.

"Great. So what did you need me for anyway?" he asked, wishing the X would cut the small talk and just get to the point like he did. They weren't the same people, though, which was both a bad thing and a good thing. A good thing in that, well, Robin wasn't a criminal, and a bad thing in that this new Red X was hard to make any conclusions about.

"Cool it, kid. I'm getting there. Look, I need some help with these people that keep following me. I don't know who they are, but they keep trying to enlist me in some weird school of villainy. I already tried telling them that I don't play the big bad villain, but these people won't take a hint. Lately, they've resorted to violence. They keep threatening me now and it's getting annoying."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that all? I'd think you could handle yourselve against some petty threat like that." He knew there was more to the story.

"Look, I just need some protection, okay kid? If you've got to know, that leader of theirs is nasty. I almost didn't survive our last encounter. He's got these weird glowing eyes and he looks like that robot of yours. You sure you've got all your teammates under control?" Red X replied, taunting the Boy Wonder.

"You're dealing with Brother Blood?" he asked, mostly for himself to hear and also for X to hear the name.

"Isn't that normally Cyborg's field of work?" Raven snickered quietly in his ear and he couldn't help but smile.

"Sure, if that's the guy's name. Look, are you gonna help me or not? Because if you're not, I'm sure I can find somewhere to dump you," Red X interjected.

"We'll think about it." He spoke cooly, not wanting to give away any emotions.

"Suit yourself, kid." With that, the secret door closed and a flicker of light told them that the barriers were back up.

"What do you think?" he asked, turning to her. He wouldn't make a decision without her, though he would chose his own way in the end.

"I don't know if we should trust him or not. Remember, we're still not sure if he's good or not," she replied with her normal monotone, though her eyes gave away her thoughts. He knew that she wanted to know more.

"So it comes down to is he good enough to save? Come on, Raven, you and I both know that we're obligated to help people. I wasn't aware that we got to pick and choose who to save. When did that happen?" he could be sarcastic too, watch him.

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just wondering whether it's our place to choose sides on this," she said, frowning at him.

"So you're not sure if we should choose whether or not he gets thrashed? Makes sense to me." He backed off at the looks of fury he was getting and added, "Truthfully, I was wondering the same thing. If we take his side, we'll be siding with a theif, but if we don't take his side, we could be sending him to his grave. Brother Blood has been getting more and more ferocious lately."

"What about the others? Shouldn't we let them know where we are?"

He sighed. "We don't even know what time it is. Besides, I'm sure that X made sure that we couldn't radio anyone."

Rolling her eyes in response, she said, "You have an answer for everything, don't you? Fine, we'll help him, but I still won't give him any more trust than I would any other criminal."

That was the answer he wanted to hear. "All right, then. We'll try to take care of this quickly. When we get back, I'll even make you a pot of herbal tea, okay?"

She laughed half-heartedly at his feeble attempt at humor. "I'll hold you to that promise, Robin."

He laughed too, but it was a distant laugh. He was already lost in thought. There was more to this story, and he was going to find out. Even if it meant siding with a criminal for the time being. He shuddered at the thought. He had sworn off being on the other side of the law, yet here he was again. This was turning out to be a hard habit to break.