I wouldn't really consider this a one shot, more of a drabble. I was extremely bored one night and didn't really feel like working on my other stories, so I wrote a little behind the mask kind of story.
Summary: Behind every mask is a person, behind every villain is a lost soul. And that's just what he was, a lost soul. But maybe...that soul isn't as lost as we'd like to think. Red X origin drabble
If the demand's high enough, I'll continue this. Maybe, possibly.
Please note to anyone else who reads my work (mostly, my two most popular stories) I haven't felt much like writing for those two lately, so until I get any ideas, they are officially hiatused. (is that a word?) I'm sorry. Damn depression...
I didn't want to post this, Rainbow-Jess made me.
Warning: If you have a problem with mention of hoods and swearing (I can't remember if I swear in this)...eh. Probably shouldn't read. Rated T for that reason.
Zack was running. He was running faster than he ever had before. His feet pounded the ground in a rhythm he remembered as a song he'd heard on the radio this morning. His left hand was closed around brown fabric, his other hand clutching a black rifle.
He ducked into an alley at a last second, breathing a sigh of relief as the sirens blared on past. Yes, Zackary Dunkin was good. He was the best in his neighborhood; no one could out run him, no one could outsmart him.
By age thirteen, Zack had made his first steal. It was his mother's birthday, and he was tired of giving her the same happy birthday card he'd made in art class that he gave her every year. No, that year was going to be different. That year was the year that Zackary Dunkin changed.
But they had been so flawless, and perfect. So shiny, so taunting, that they were the kind of thing his mother stared after from afar.
And the security had been so crappy; no one would probably care. By two weeks, no one would even remember the pair of diamond earrings that had disappeared from their case.
His mother would, though. She would remember her birthday as the very first day her son lost the will to be good.
By fourteen, he was making jobs.
By fifteen, he'd shot his first person. Not enough to kill; just in the leg. But Zack didn't care at that point. Money was money; he didn't care how many wives lost their husbands or how many children lost their fathers.
By the time he reached seventeen, he had a name for himself.
"You got the stuff?" A thick, accented voice said from behind him. Zack smiled to himself before turning around; exchanges were always the fun part.
"What do you think?"
"You smart mouthing me, kid?"
Zack frowned. "Look, you want the damned jewels or what?"
"Hand 'em over."
"Not yet," Zack laughed, "pay me first."
"How much you want?"
"Four hundred."
"You're walking on a tightrope, kid."
"This crap is worth more than 4 big ones, Doc."
"Fine," Doc hissed, "but don't use my name so freely."
Zack only laughed again in response as he inspected the roll of money. 1, 2, 3, 350… "Are you trying to shortchange me?"
"It's all there, kid."
"I think you were," Zack's hazel eyes narrowed, "and I don't like it." He cocked the gun.
"Are you actually threatening me?"
"If I am?"
Doc kissed his teeth, and although in the shadows, Zack could sense him shaking his head disapprovingly. "Bad choice of words, kid," He said, "Tony; get him."
And then the pain hit.
---
Zack dragged himself home that night, beaten and bruised. His lip was bloodied, and his eye was already swelling. His mother didn't even gasp when her son crawled through the door, just silently cried into her hands.
Sally Stone was a strong woman. She had endured her brother's endless teasing for his intelligence, she had stood by as her nephew went through the angst of no longer being flesh and bone, and she had stayed strong when her husband passed, for her son. She had done all of it for her son, for her family. But the sight of her son coming home so often with bruises and coughing up blood made her heart rip into pieces.
What had she done, to make her son this way?
She painted on a smile and held up a newspaper. "Did you hear? Your cousin stopped another villain. Isn't that great, sweetie?"
"Having a superhero for a cousin doesn't exactly give me perks, Mom. And the dude's a freak anyway, so who cares?"
Why? She had seen the commercials for the movies about black boys going through hoods and money exchanges, staying together for family, but very few of the people who saw those movies had gone through it first hand.
"The school called again, dear. You didn't show up—yet again."
"I had work."
Sally had rehearsed these lines dozens of times; now it was time to put them to work. "Zackary Stone Dunkin, this needs to stop."
"What—"
"Do not," she held up a finger, "interrupt. Look at yourself, Zackary! You're getting yourself into so much trouble! Why?" Another wave of hysteria set in and she slinked back into her chair. "Why…"
"I do it for you, ma! I do it for the money. So we can live comfortably," Zack couldn't believe this. After all he'd done for her, this was how she treated him?
"You're overreacting, mom. I'm good at what I do! I just talk too much; gets me into trouble. I'll just keep quiet during exchanges, okay?"
She didn't reply. The tears just kept coming.
"Mom…" He was getting soft again. Don't go back, don't go back. Zackary picked up the paper she'd thrown on the ground and head off to his room, leaving her to her thoughts.
There had to be a way he could do what he did best and still make her happy. If only there was a way he could escape the guns, get some higher work. If only there was a sign to point him in the right direction…
RED X IDENTITY REVEALED. TEEN TITAN ROBIN HAS ADMITTED TO HIS WORK BEHIND THE MASK…continued page A6.
Well, hello.
---
After hours of digging, it has been discovered that the Teen Titan Leader Robin, ex-protégé of Gotham City's The Batman, has indeed admitted that he was the short lived but unbeatable thief Red X. It seems, Robin confirms, he went undercover to learn more about the mysterious villain Slade. However, the plan backfired…
Boring, boring, boring…Zackary came from a smart family, and he was no exception from the fast-reading genes that ran through his mother's blood. He skimmed ahead… Yeah, more about the suit.
Where is the suit now? Robin tells us the Xenothium-powered suit has been locked away safely. So tightly, in fact, someone would have to know at least eight sets of locks, including the ones on the Tower itself…
Zack's eyebrows shot up. Old Victor always had the same passwords for everything; couldn't hurt to try. And once he was in, he'd find a way to the suit.
Zackary Dunkin was getting himself some new duds.
Omg, this is so random. But notice how Red X doesn't really talk much to Cyborg?
Whee, I'm weird. But hey, I'm unique. Bet you never saw this before. And if you have...nyah!
I doubt I'll continue this, I've got so much going right now.
Review?
