Raven sat on the roof top of a building located in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Jump City. She had been trailing the gangster Jack for an entire week hoping Red X would appear to settle his debt. Maybe he's already come and gone. She thought to herself. Or maybe he has absolutely no intention of paying back what he 'owes'. He did say Jack stole it first, from his mother. Her stomach began to twist and turn. The idea that she'd never see Jason again started to sink in and, oddly enough, this filled her with a deep sadness she'd yet to become familiar with in her lifetime. She had worked hard this passed month, since she last saw him, to regain control of her emotions and powers. However, there was still a longing present within her. Please show your stupid face Jason!
Red X took a deep breath. He sat on his bike, idle, at the out skirts of Jump City. He giggled to himself. I should be nervous about the meeting with Jack. And here I am MORTIFIED at the idea of seeing HER instead. He'd done his best to refrain from saying her name to himself over the last month. The mix of emotions made him dizzy. Anger, guilt, shame, regret, longing. He shook his head violently. Let's get this over with. He made his way to the Burrows. Jack's base of operations was there. Red X got a chill down his spine as the memory flooded his mind. Jack running from the stables of his family home, leaving the woman he supposedly loved to the monster that was Jason's father. What sickened Jason more was what Jack ended up doing with the $600,000 Jason's father had buried so long ago. Going from farm hand, to one of the most powerful and ruthless mobsters to ever walk the streets of Jump City. The infamous gangster was now worth millions. Jason clinched his jaw. He arrived at Jack's door, shaking his head violently once more, repeating the words to himself. Let's get this over with.
Raven shot up, suddenly filled with angst. She almost rubbed her eyes in disbelief. It was him. He was here. Take off your helmet, show your smug face! She was suddenly overrun with mixed emotions. She'd imagined this moment many times over the passed few weeks. What she would say. How she would slap him and then hold him so tight. But now she was just frozen in place, unsure of how to approach him. She watched as he turned off his motorcycle and placed his helmet onto the back. He had a huge duffle bag on his back, which she knew must have been filled with what he owed. She noticed his hair was a bit longer and, as she narrowed her gaze, she realized the scruffy hair now present on his face. She made a mental note to tease him about his new look right after a swift slap to his face. Red X rolled his bike into a dark alley and covered it with some kind of tarp. He then put his Red X mask on and made his way to the door she had seen Jack enter and exit so many times during her time tailing him.
Jason had gone inside Jack's a mere 30 seconds when Raven's T-communicator began to ring. She opened it to see Robin running through Titan Tower. "The H.I.V.E. are downtown raiding the museum! Get there now!" Raven's stomach dropped as she closed her device. Jason finally showed his face and she'd have to walk away. Although she was torn on whether or not to stay or go, she took one last glance at the door Jason disappeared into, before vanishing into her void.
Jason dropped the bag of cash onto Jack's desk, right between the array of knives and assortment of guns, clearly placed in a way to insight fear in Jack's clientele. "It's all there then?" Jack asked as a devious smile crept onto his face. "There's maybe an extra thousand or two." Jason retorted with a smug tone. Jack rose from his chair and walked to the side of the desk where Red X stood. Jason tensed up and Jack wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a sideways hug. "My boy! And Johnny told me to just drag you to an alley and shoot you right between the eyes." Jack placed his index and middle finger onto Red X's forehead and gave him a little push. Red X clinched his fist and jaw but refrained from hitting the man he knew to be a coward. "But I told him we got history kid. I'd never do that to family." That word made Red X boil head to toe. Family?! You're the reason my family is gone! He again forced himself to not react violently. "You know, if you had not taken EXACTLY $600,000 from me, I would have never guessed in a million years who'd ripped me off. It was, in fact, a brilliant heist. But I must of counted that money a dozen times after leaving your house that day. So as soon as I heard the amount missing, I knew it HAD to be the only remaining member of the Cross family. Wasn't too hard to track you down at that point. I must admit though, finding you to be the ever so talented Red X was a shock, huh boys?" He looked back to his two goons in the room and they both gave a nod. "I'm proud of you son. But here's the thing. Even though we're family and all, I can't have people thinking if they steal from me, I'll simply give them the opportunity to pay me back, right?" He looked to his goons again, who both gave another nod as they began walking toward Jason. "Now, in some countries, if you're a theft, they'll chop a hand off." The goons each grabbed one of Jason's arms and made him hold his hands flat onto the desk. Jack made his way back to the other side of the desk, opening a drawer. "But I'm no monster kid. A man of your talents needs his hands." Jason began to struggle as Jack pulled a hammer from the drawer he had opened. "Besides, your debt has now accumulated interest." He began smashing Jason's left hand with one blow after the other. Red X yelped in pain and fell to his knees, now drenched in sweat. "You work for me now boy!" He repeated the action with Jason's right hand.
They tossed Red X onto the now wet sidewalk. It was raining so hard Jason could barely see 10 inches in front of his face. "Don't even THINK of leaving town, I'll know." And with that statement, Jack turned and began to walk away. "Wait. WAIT!" Jason pleaded, causing the brute men to turn and face him, curled on the ground. "The suit. I need you to the remove the suit." Red X knew where he needed to head to next, and in order to be there, he needed to go as Jason. Jack thought for a second and then gave a nod to his goons. He couldn't have his now most valuable asset picked up off the street by some rookie cop trying to make a name for himself. The goons stripped Red X, leaving him with nothing but boxers, socks and boots. " You can come back for this once you're healed and ready to get back to work. The hospital is 3 blocks that way." Jack pointed east then disappeared into his headquarters with Jason's suit. He picked himself up off of the ground with just the use of his elbows and legs and began walking toward Titan Tower. This is a bad idea.