-1exit through the heart
After her encounter with Red X, Argent began to draw a connection between the two incidents where she uncontrollably fell to the ground.
"Mr. X here must have some kind of weapon or power or whatever that can do that to people. Robin didn't mention it. Of course I didn't either, so maybe it's insignificant. Or it could be a new ability. I should call Robin. Wait. No that would seem annoying. I should wait and see if it happens again." Argent's thoughts raced through her mind like a bullet train at full speed.
She walked down to the utility room and accessed the main computer. Argent scanned the screen for any sort of crime. Any crime at all. Her eyes stopped on a distress call from a jewelry store. The thief had been identified as Red X.
"Again? He just left 15 minutes ago. This guy really needs to get a life." Argent said in disbelief as she flew into the air and readied for battle.
The Jewelry store, Ramsey's Rubies, said the thief had left 5 minutes before Argent got there. But she had one clue. He had gone down Skylark Ln. which she knew was a dead-end.
Argent glided through the air until the scent of Xnophium became heavy in the air, "You have no personal life do you?".
Red X stopped and spun around. His eyes playfully narrowed, "And here you have all this time to track me down. Where's your life?"
He threw several explosive Xs at the ground near Argent's feet. She back flipped off the ground and into the air to get away from the explosion. Her eyes were glued on the abnormally red explosion.
"That's actually pretty impressive. Even for Mr. X" Argent said to herself.
"Isn't it?" Red X was suddenly right behind her in the air. Argent turned her shoulder to get a view of him but was too slow. He sent a red X to constrict her arms so she couldn't create her red beams. The constrictor began to rub against her skin.
Argent fell to the ground in pain. The feeling was happening again.
Red X teleported onto the ground in front of her. He looked down on her as she winced in pain.
"Look, if you want me to capture you or something by doing this 'I lose my powers and become defenseless' act, it ain't gonna happen. I'm just here to make some cash, not form some complex diabolical plot".
Argent looked up at him through the pain, "Your not doing this!" She closed her eyes in frustration, "Then why does it only happen when I'm around you!". The pain quickly subsided and she opened her eyes.
He was gone.
Argent cut the last bits of the constrictor from her clothes. She brushed the dirt off her skirt and walked over to the couch. "I don't care who does what. At this point the only crime is that I haven't gotten any sleep." She closed her eyes and laid her head against the pillow and slept.
Argent surfed the web the next morning while drinking some of Raven's herbal tea. She still didn't like it. She was running a search on Xnophium.
"Xnophium fueled criminal steals jewels….."
"Red X strikes again…."
"Behind the mask: who is Red X……"
Her eyes stopped on a medical website. This looked promising.
"New Xnophium allergy recently discovered….."
Argent curiously clicked the link. It took her to an article about how a rare Xnophium allergy had been found in tested subjects. Symptoms included: dizziness, lapse of energy, and blackouts. However the website clearly stated that this was not a lethal allergy, unless digested.
"This allergy explains why I've been getting this feeling around Red X. Though the symptoms must effect my ability to concentrate on using my powers."
She walked over to the counter and picked up a scrap of the constrictor and rubbed it against her arm. She began to feel her body losing energy. She didn't focus on that though. Argent used her strength to fly into the air for a precious few seconds. Allowing herself to crash onto the floor, she began to laugh lightly.
"All this time it was my allergies. And Mr. X thought I was faking it the whole time. He must have thought I was so pathetic." She laid out on the ground and laughed as she was overcome with relief.