Chapter 31

Titans Island, Jump City. March 17th, 2018. 3:17 PM.

Raven let her body drift to the grass, looking up at the clouds as she lighted to the ground on her back. Reaching out with her mind, she peeked in on each of her friends; Jaime was in his room talking to his grandfather over the phone. Garfield and Tara were strewn across the sofa in the livingroom, some old horror flick on the TV. Kori and Jon were in the Training Room, working on expands Jon's capabilities–"aggressive conditioning", Kori called it. She could feel Jon seething with irritation, his punches snapping all around their instructor, throwing great gusts of wind behind them. And she needn't reach out to find her Damian… she could see him shuffle up across the lawn, dropping to his knees as he drew closer. She smiled at him as he flipped around to lay down, resting his head on her stomach. She brought a hand up to his head, her cheeks turning pink as her fingers played in his hair. They kept on gazing up at the sky, watching all different shapes come and go in the wisps of white fluff in the air.

"So…" Damian said in a half-whisper, his head slowly rising and falling with Raven's stomach as she breathed. "After we're married, where do you think we should live?"

Raven let out a low hum as she pondered the question. "I haven't thought about it too much…" she replied softly. "I guess I figured we'd make that decision when it came closer to time. But I mean, yeah… guess it wouldn't hurt to think about it."

"I mean, don't think I'm pressing you for an answer or anything…" Damian raised his head up just a bit, looking up at Raven's face. She smiled and placed a hand on the boy's forehead, and he let his head drop softly back to her body.

"I know baby, I know." Raven let a sigh drift past her lips as she thought. "… I mean, we would have to get our own place. That's a given… maybe somewhere small, like Dick and Barbara's place."

"Yeah, I like that…" Damian let a smile slip across his face as he began to blush. "Maybe some place off in the suburbs, I dunno. A little house with a big yard, enough from for a dog or two, maybe a little slide and swings for the kids."

"Kids? Like plural?" Raven rose an eyebrow as her free hand slid into his. "There's an interesting idea… a boy and a girl, maybe."

"Yeah… but where?" The young man wondered. "We could stay here in California…"

"Maybe we could move back to New Jersey," Raven mused, "We could be near your dad if anything happens."

"Who knows?" Damian grinned. "Maybe we'll run off to Kansas, live in some little farm town, go to Friday night football every week." Raven cracked, pulling her Damian's head into her chest as she sat back up laughing. "I know, I know. I'm a dork."

"Yeah…" Raven pressed her lips against his head. "But you're my dork."

Damian smiled, straightening up and looking into Raven's eyes. "Always." He held his head back to her chest, as closed his eyes as he felt the soft thump of her heart against his cheek. Raven put her arms around him, one hand gently holding his head to her as she looked down at him, love filling her eyes as a cool breeze blew across the island, its subtle chill gently kissing their skin as it passed over them.

"Y'know…" the witch whispered. "… It's not gonna be easy going every day like today."

"I know that…" Damian kept his voice low, gently dotting kisses on the girl's chest, right over her heart. "But for every day my heart stops, there'll be a day where I can sit and listen to yours beat that makes it all worth it."

Raven felt her breath catch in her throat as his lips pressed into her skin, and she let out a quiet, shaky hiss as her head rolled back, her eyes closing. A pale hand slowly came to rest on the back of Damian's neck, and he smiled as he lifted his head up, placing a few quick pecks on her chin and down her jaw. The girl's cheeks burned vermilion, and her arms snaked around his neck as she fell back, pulling him to the ground in her embrace. Damian rubbed his nose against her cheek as the laid there, his own arms slipping around her waist as he pulled her to her side. He pulled his face away, looking into her eyes for a moment, watching the clouds in her irises crackle and flash with light as the whirled in a torrent of emotion.

"Are you alright?" He whispered. She smiled, her face still completely flushed, and she pulled him close, touching her forehead to his.

"I'm wonderful," Raven sighed. "You're wonderful, Damian. I can't picture a better moment than this one."

Damian closed his eyes, smiling as he felt her all around him. Her presence was like a blanket on a snow day, hot soup on a sick day, and sleeping in on a Sunday all rolled into one. She smelled like strawberries… God, it was so right. He could never deserve this… he was not, by any definition, a good man. He had done awful, horrible things. He had hurt so many people in his life. And yet, someone allowed him to find his way to Raven. Karma was a joke. Had to be. She was… perfect. There was no other way to describe it. She was perfect. A crackling fireplace when it stormed outside, a lighthouse when the waves were crashing down, an oasis in the heat of the desert… that was Raven.

"… we should go on another date." He opened one eye, waiting to see her reaction.

Raven's lips curled just enough to form a smile, and her own eyes fluttered back open. "I'd like that," she said quietly. "Are you free tonight?"

Damian grinned. "I am indeed. What do you think… Bertinelli's at 7:30, then see what we find around town?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're funny. Nobody just walks into Bertinelli's, not even a Wayne. You have to make reservations weeks in advance."

Damian just nodded and gave her a wink.

Raven's eyebrows rose slowly. "You didn't…"

Damian planted a quick peck on Raven's lips. "Surprise."

Bertinelli's Bistro, Jump City. March 17th, 2018. 8:24 PM.

"Might we be able to interest the two of you in any dessert this evening?"

The restaurant was dimly lit, candles here and here casting their flickering lights which melded with low-light bulbs hidden behind artistically-designed lampshades to give off a quiet, intimate atmosphere. Damian looked across the table at his date, who shook her head slowly. "No thank you," the young man said, "I think we're ready for the check."

The waiter smirked as his eyebrow cocked. "Of course… I'll get that right away, sir." The server turned and walked towards the back, his hair bouncing around in a ponytail as he made his way through the restaurant.

Raven glared back at him. "I don't like the way he said that…" she commented, her voice low. "Yeah, sure, we're a couple of kids, but come on."

"He probably thinks we either saved up for months to come here, or that we're the dine-and-dash type," Damian said smugly. "Little does he know that my father owns this restaurant. We pay this idiot's salary."

Raven held back a laugh as she turned back to face the other Titan. He cleaned up rather well for someone who was so unsophisticated when they first met; under his black slim-fit coat, the Son of Batman wore a red vest and tie, with a black shirt ornamented with (of course) red X-shaped cuff-links. On his tie was a small gold clip in the shape of the Wayne Enterprises logo. (She later looked it up out of curiosity; the clip was, in fact, solid gold, and was worth $8,300. Again, that was just the clip.) Raven couldn't help snickering a bit when she peeked down at his ankles to find him wearing argyle socks in black and grey with red cross-hatching. He never struck her for an argyle man, but apparently she was mistaken. The slim-fit suit look was definitely working for him, and his slicked-back hairstyle made him look like the high-brow socialite he and his father often pretended to be. He looked a bit older, too… the waiter had even mistakenly offered them a sampling of some of their wines when they first sat down. She and Damian had a good laugh about that, which drew some unwanted attention from the other patrons.

Damian, meanwhile, had hardly been able to take his eyes off Raven from the moment she met him outside the Tower. She looked stunning; she wore her hair up in a dignified style, which gave her an air of confidence to mask her inner demure while also drawing his attention to her exposed neck and shoulders. She had arrived wearing a long, translucent blue shawl over her body, but she'd slipped it off when they sat down, leaving her in a black strapless dress at came down to just above her knees, which drew attention to her feminine shape while still maintaining her modesty. She'd decided to wear flats tonight… which didn't bother Damian at all (he thought high-heels were stupid anyways; if it makes walking difficult, it defeats the purpose of footwear entirely), but he noticed they were open-toed, and he was able to make out a deep blue shade of polish on her toenails. He didn't know why he noticed it, but he did, and it was cute. She wore her brooch from a thin white-gold chain around her neck, and little purple gemstones dangled from her ears. A birthday gift from his father, is he recalled correctly. He looked back to her face, noticing that, unlike many other women in the establishment this evening, Raven's makeup was certainly minimal, no more than she wore any other day. The only thing he noticed that she'd done any differently had been her lips, which were coated in a dark red lipstick. (It was some brand she apparently heard about from Kori, which was known for not coming off once applied. She'd tested this, of course, by planting an exaggerated smack of a kiss on his cheek the moment she walked out of the Tower… they were right, it didn't come off.)

After a moment, the smug waiter returned with their bill in his hand. Damian grinned as he handed the kid a check proudly signed Damian Wayne rather large across the bottom. When the waiter peeked at the check as Damian rose to help Raven from her chair, his eyes went wide as he recognized the logo on the check he'd just been given. The two Titans barely held back their laughter when they saw the poor boy run a hand roughly through his hair as he realized he'd been sassing at a Wayne the entire night. The two barely walked a block away before they burst out laughing, falling all over each other.

"Oh man, we can never go back there!" Raven cried, leaning into Damian's chest for support to keep her from collapsing to the ground as she giggled. "Did you see the looks we were getting?"

"I knoooow! I'm pretty sure the old lady sitting behind us called us brats when we mentioned how old we were!" Damian clasped his hands over his eyes as he cackled. "Oh, man…"

That two stood there on the sidewalk laughing for awhile before their giggles died down, and they continued walking trough the city. Eventually they found their way to Central Park, and smiled as they saw children and families playing, dogs running about, and other couples strolling arm-in-arm in the place where, last they'd visited, was completely empty and covered in snow.

"So what were we talking about before we went crazy laughing so hard back there?" Damian asked with a smile still plastered across his face.

"You mean back in the restaurant? I think it was something to do with how quiet it's gotten around here lately," Raven replied, taking hold of Damian's arm as they walked. "I mean… you've noticed, right? Even when we're just patrolling for little stuff, it seems like nobody's out and about anymore…"

"Yeah," Red X said under his breath, his smile finally easing up as he pondered the situation. "I mean sure, Jump has never had anything on Gotham, but… well, it's still a big city. No city is without crime. But lately everyone seems to be– oh hey," Damian pointed into a nearby tree at the little silhouettes of several feathered creatures perched in the branches. "More crows."

"That's strange… I didn't know Jump City had crows," Raven commented. "Of course, I don't really pay much attention to what birds live where, but I didn't think–"

Raven stopped short as an explosion shook the ground beneath them, and smoke began to pour into the sky in the direction of the Jump City Library. After their initial brace, Damian let out a groan.

"Come on…" he griped. "Why now? Why tonight?"

Raven just smiled and shook her head. "Come on, Boy Wonder. We got work to do," the mage teased as she pinched at Damian's side, rising into the air as she flew ahead. Damian followed on foot, pulling his red mask out of his inner coat pocket and sliding it onto his face.

By the time Red X had reached the Library (which, granted, would have taken much less time had he been in full uniform… or planned on canning his and Raven's date night), the whole team had gathered inside, and were busy at work putting out the fire. Having retrieved an emergency breather from Jon, Damian rushed inside to join them, grimacing as he felt the heat of the flames licking at his suit through the fabric. His eyes darted all around the main hall of the library, looking for anyone in need of assistance; he knew that without his belt, he wouldn't be much help with the actual putting out of the fire (his father would have been more useful, but frankly… Damian wasn't quite as intelligent and quick-thinking as his father yet), so he knew his efforts would be best utilized in getting people to safety. Searching around for anyone, however, he found nothing… until he came to the Children's section. There, lying on the floor, was what appeared to be a child covered up by a blanket. Smart kid, staying low and covering up to keep the smoke out.

"Come here, little one," Damian called out over the sound of the conflagration all around them as he slowly inched forward, his hands outstretched. "You don't need to be afraid, I'm here to help you get out of here. Just take my ha–"

As the blanket whipped aside, Damian realized three things. One, this child didn't need any help. Two, this wasn't a child at all. And three, he really should try to be more careful in these situations… unfortunately, these realizations came to him as the solid steel of a boot heel shot right into his jaw, knocking him back several feet and sending the breather flying from his mouth, landing on his chest. As Damian scrambled to his feet upon re-applying his breather, he (begrudgingly) pulled the springlocks at his wrists, frowning quite hard as his X-blades tore the sleeves of his suit all to ribbons. He raised his armed fists, shifting into stance… but froze for a moment at what stared back.

Standing there, having assumed a stance just like his own, was another Red X.

The suit was practically identical: same cape, same belt, same X-blades. It was almost like looking in a mirror, save for two distinct differences: firstly, instead of the red eye mask, this Red X wore a full face mask that covered their entire head, fashioned to look like the top half of a skull, with a red X over the left eye. Secondly, while about the same height as Damian, this impostor's body was a tad smaller than him at the shoulders and around the waist, but slightly wider at the hips… this Red X was female.

"Okay… I've heard what they all say about imitation and flattery…" Damian quipped. "… but I'm gonna need to ask you to get out of my suit."

The false X said nothing, but quickly advanced towards Damian, darting left and right as she moved like a ghost through the fire around them. Damian instantly raised his defenses, and the two X's began their strange dance, the clanging sounds of metal bouncing off metal ringing out over the crackle of the library falling apart around them as blade collided with blade, both combatants moving in a flurry around the library. As Damian continued to fight back at this pseudo-Titan's onslaught, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been in this situation before. Something was familiar about this new enemy, and it wasn't just his suit… but whatever it was, it made him feel uneasy.

His mind slipping into combat mode, Damian quickly came up with a plan, diving behind the smoldering remains of the front desk as the other X leaped after him. As she came down over him, the Titan let out a short cry as he slung a handful of embers into her face. She instinctively flinched, waving her hands frantically to dispel the cloud of glowing ashes coming at her eyes, and Damian took advantage of her momentary drop in defenses, quickly swiping several small, shallow cuts into her abdomen. The false X let out a cry of pain (her voice modulated and distorted through her mask), and fell to the ground. Damian pounced, pinning her to the ground and raising an X-blade to her throat.

"Start talking, faker!" The true Red X barked. "Who are you? Why did destroy the library!?"

"Come now, Damian…" the impostor mused. "If I wanted you to know who I was yet, why would I wear a mask?"

Damian paused, his eyes opening wide. "… what did you just call me…?"

"We'll meet again soon, Red X. I promise." Just as the words sounded from the fake X's mask, the both of them were enveloped in a cloud of smoke that burst out from the impostor's belt. When the gas cleared, Damian was all alone, the other X having slipped right out from beneath his fingers.

As the two had fought, the other Titans were busy fighting back at the flames; shortly after their battle ended, the last of the flames died down. Damian stumbled out of the library, and looked down at himself… his brand-new suit he'd bought just for tonight hung from his body in tatters. His tie had been ripped apart, the pin nowhere to be found, and several small holes were present in his shirt, some of them dripping with blood from fresh wounds. One of his shoes had gone missing as well, and the other was… oh God, it was on fire. Damian frantically stamped the fire out of his foot, and as he slowly stopped hopping about, he sank to his knees. He stayed there for a moment in the doorway, still trying to process everything that had just happened, until he heard someone plop down beside him. When he looked up, Damian almost broke down crying.

Raven's hair hung down in every direction from her head, frizzed and messy from all the action. All that remained of her shawl was a little it of blue cloth around her shoulders, and her dress was torn at her side, exposing a long stripe of skin along her hip. She was completely barefoot, with her toes resting on the concrete beneath them, but her blue toenail polish was somehow untouched. An earring was missing, but by some miracle she still had the brooch hanging undamaged around her neck. She sighed as she looked up at the sky above, them down at a scrap of paper in her hands.

"… you know the library was a front. They built it to hide the Federal Reserve underneath…" the witch sighed. "The fire was a cover-up. A distraction to keep us busy while the bad guys made off with all the gold…" she handed him the scrap of paper in her hand. "He left you a note." Damian opened it up, and a hateful growl rumbled in his chest.

On the paper was a stamped green question mark, with the most awful chicken-scratch handwriting. I'll be in touch.

"So how'd you do?" She turned to Damian. "Are you alright?"

Damian sat in silence, crumpling up the note and looking back down at the concrete.

Raven felt the strain on her Damian's mind. "… Baby? C'mon, say something."

Damian kept his head down, his eyes drifting slowly over and glancing over at the mage-girl. "… I was attacked in there… by another Red X. I'm pretty sure they were female, but they wore a full mask, so I don't now. But… everything about them–their stance, their moves, the way they ran, jumped, even spoke–I've met them before… they called me by my name. I know I've met them before… before the Titans… before Robin."

Raven stared back at Damian quietly for a moment, then nodded slowly. "We'll find them. You know we will."

Damian's hands trembled as he looked back at Raven. "… Raven, I'm sorry… tonight was supposed to be perfect… I just wanted to give you–"

Damian froze as he Raven pulled him into her arms, taking his lips with with her own. This time, they both tasted like smoke, and smelled much the same. But as his eyes closed, all that frustration dissolved. His fireplace, his lighthouse, his oasis… she took him away to another world in their minds, and they were all that mattered. Raven pulled her lips away from his, and he let himself drop as she pulled his head into her lap, stroking his hair.

"You don't have to be sorry, Damian…" the half-demon cooed down at her boy. "You give me more than I could ever ask for every day. You're all I need." She smiled as he curled up next to her, his hands resting on her legs as he let his stress hiss out of him with his breath. "You're mine, Damian. I'm yours, and your mine, always. That's all that matters."

The two of them sat there for a short while, Raven's hands running through Damian's hair, and the younger Titan let his eyes close, the warmth of her body next to his lulling him into a half-sleep.