A/N : can not believe i started this story 13 years ago and haven't updated it in over 10 years. I just re read it. It is a rough read , so many grammar mistakes and some of the story was a bit rushed as far as plot goes. But I could NOT stop reading. I wanted to know what happened next! And i still want to know what happens next. So here goes chapter 12. Let's see if I've still got it after all this time!

Chapter 12

3 weeks had passed since Raven and Red X crossed paths in Downtown Jump City. As Robin had so sternly put it, Raven had since done her due diligence in fighting crime with her team. Any spare time was spent confined to her room, meditating. She wasn't intentionally avoiding her friends, but what transpired between her and Jason left her emotions scattered through her mind like stars in a night sky, leaving her powers mildly unchecked. As she felt herself missing him, a cup would begin to crack. As she remembered his scent, a light bulb would burst. As she remembered the way he gripped her against the wall that cold night dowtown, the look of such intense disgust on his face, she'd unintentionally shake the entire tower. She just wanted to be back to normal. It truly confused her as to why she was still struggling with this. They had spent less than a full week together, so how did he get so deep under her skin? The tower was quite, everyone settled in for the night. Raven snuck to the roof for some fresh air. She looked over the city she had sworn to protect so many years ago. She wondered where he was, what he was doing, whether or not he was okay. She hadn't even seen him in a "professional" sense. Not a single crime committed by him in 3 weeks. Jack's voice rings in her head ... You've got four weeks... this meant soon Jack would be at Red X's door to collect. This made Raven's stomach twist with fear. 'Please be okay' she thought to herself as she took a deep breath of the crisp night air.

150 miles away

Alarms blarred through the still night of the homely town Red X currently occupied. He wondered why he had not thought of this sooner. Simply moving from one small town to the next, pulling one big job and vanishing, never to been seen or caught by local law enforcement. He chuckled to himself. 'Because you loved kicking Robin's ass with his own suit' As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his smirk quickly faded. Hearing his name in his head made the image of the cocky boy wonder, so close to Raven, force its way into his mind. It sickened him. But what sickened him more was the thought of soon having to return to Jump City and meet with Jack. That night in downtown, the night he so deeply regrets, was the last time he saw her. After their encounter, Jason immediately went back to his run down shack, packed a bag, and skipped town. But he was now close to having everything he owed Jack, and would have to return to settle his debt once and for all. The idea of being in the same city as her made Jason's knees weak. 'Drop off the money, take your share, leave, and never look back'. Those words ran through his head in a loop. He needed to never see her again. She made him weak. He vowed to never be weak. Not after what happened to his mother so long ago.

15 years ago

The Summer was just beginning. The country side was so full of life. Birds chirping, bees buzzing, children laughing. The air smelled of Lavender. "Jason!" Sally called to her son as he jumped from the school bus after his final day of the school year. Her face lit up with endless joy as he jump into her arms, as he always did after being away from her for more than 10 minutes. He buried his head into her long curly black hair. "I missed you mommy" young Jason left their embrace and stared into his beautiful mother's deep green eyes. "Come, your father will be home from his trip soon." she said as she grabbed her only child's tiny hand and started for their farm home located up the road. Jason began to drag his feet . The idea of his father being around again left him with mixed emotions.

As they entered the front door, those emotions quickly faded as he ran to the kitchen doorway, as he did every Friday. "Mom, Mom, measure me! Measure me!" he called to his mother desperately. She giggled as she responded with her sweet soft tone "okay, okay." She grabbed the measuring tape and the pencil she kept in the kitchen for this weekly tradition. "Let's see now. 8 and 1/2 years old, 4 feet 1 inch. 2 inches more than last week!" They high fived and Jason begin to jump with joy. Right then, there was a hard knock on the door. Sally excitedly went to the door thinking her husband must have made it home earlier than expected. But as she opened the door her demeanor changed, got tense. She adjusted her flower dress, pulling it down to show less leg, and placed her hand over her chest nervously. The farm hand her husband hired was at the door. "What can I help you with Jack?"

He peeked around her shoulder and waved at Jason, before returning his attention to the lady of the house. "There's something at the stables that'll be needing your attention ma'am" "Well, surely it can wait. My husband will be home sooner than later and he could take a look." She seemed to avoid eye contact with her emoloyee by any means. "Oh, I'm thinking it should most certainly be you, ma'am." A devious smirk crept onto his face. She signed and looked back to her son. "I'll be right back in honey. Mommy's going to check on the horses." "I want to see the horses!" Jason exclaimed as he ran toward his mother. She stopped him gently with her soft hands. "No honey. I'll just be a minute." She then turned and walked out the door.

10 minutes passed, but to Jason, it felt like an eternity. He was getting hungry and wanted his mother to make him his favorite snack, as she always did after they measured his height. Growing impatient he decided to go to the stables and bring her inside with him. He called softly for her, knowing she'd be frustrated with him for not staying in the house. As he walked through the stables he heard rustling and whispers. He followed the sounds, and as he grew closer, he began to make out what was being said, although he didn't quite understand what it meant. "No. I meant it when I said this has to stop." Although she was whispering, is mother's voice sounded stern yet shakey. Jason saw their feet in one of the empty stables. The door was slightly cracked. "You told me you loved me, that we could just take the money and run" Jack sounded desperate and anger. Jason began to open the stable door. Jack had a grip around Sally. She was doing her best to keep the distance between them, despite Jack being much stronger than herself. They jumped apart at the sight of Jason. Unsure of what he was seeing, Jason simply stated "I'm hungry Mom." "Come on sweety, let's get you something to eat." They left for the house while Jack stayed fuming outside.

Just 30 mins later, the man of the house burst through the front door. Sally ran to her husband and embraced him, ready to kiss the ground he walked on. She knew anything less would be met with a strong slap to the face, followed by accusations of under appreciation and, of course, her uselessness to him. "Come say hi to your father." Jason reluctantly approached the towering, muscular, seemingly indestructible man who was half responsible for Jason's entire existence. "Hi sir" "Hi son." He set his briefcase down and a formal hand shake was exchanged. The lack of intimacy from his father use to bother Jason, but now seem appropriate, given the fact he saw the man about 6 days out of each month.

The front door was wide open. There was the sound of rapidly approaching foot steps and then the cocking of a shot gun. Jason's father turned to see his employee on the porch with a 12 gauge pointed right at his head . Sally gasps and yanked Jason behind her . "Can I help you with something son?" The man of the house began to approach Jack, who was shaking tremendously. "We're- We're- in lo - love. We- we're going to take the $600,000 and leave an- and you're going to st- stay out of our way." Jack's employer gave out the deepest, darkest laugh as he continued to approach Jack. "Do you have any idea what I do son? Who I work for? You think you scare me? More importantly, do you think you could ever out run me ?" He snatched the gun and smashed him hard in the face with the butt of it, laying Jack flat on his back, dazed. Jason's dad then turns the gun onto his wife, rage in his eyes. "I work to give you everything and this is how I'm repaid?!?! You sleep with the help?!?!?" "No I-" and she's gone. Jason is frozen. Ears ringing. He sees Jack flee out of sight, toward the stables, and then onto the main road with a huge duffle bag. His father speaks but the ringing continues, he can't make out what he's saying. He reaches into his briefcase after dropping the shot gun onto the floor and pulls out a syringe filled with a red liquid that seems to almost glow. He's still talking to Jason as he sticks it into his son's neck and squeezes every last drop into him. The man of the house disappears into the kitchen and comes back with fluid and matches. He set his briefcase and all of it's contents on fire. At this point, Jason's hearing slightly improves. He makes out his father's last words as the brute man picks up the shot gun once more. "You did nothing to try and save her. Weak." And then he's gone too.