Ravens POV:
The ride back to Titans Tower was an unpleasant one to say the least. Everyone was feeling anxious and confused. A man going by the name of 'Red X' had somehow appeared almost out of nowhere and taken down the entire team and almost murdered the Joker in mere minutes. Not only that, he had left Robin in a pretty bad state. Robin hid it well from the team at first, but the cut he received had been deeper than he'd thought. It was when Robin tried to step onto his bike and let out a groan of pain that we looked over to see the blood seeping through his costume and dripping onto the floor that we realised his injury was more serious than we'd first thought. Without a Zeta-Beam being nearby Nightwing had me teleport Robin, himself and I to the Bat cave where their butler, Alfred, seeing the situation, dropped the tray of tea that he had brought down and rushed to get medical supplies. Nightwing assured me that Robin would be ok and that Alfred was at one time, a medic for the Royal Air Force and had been stitching members of the bat family back together for years. With that knowledge I teleported back to the rest of the team and told them Robin was getting medical assistance and since then no one had said a word. Like I said the ride back was unpleasant. Wonder Girl was staring out the window, clearly worried about Robin, Beast Boy wasn't his happy go lucky self, Cyborg was simply driving, saying nothing and keeping his eyes planted firmly on the road and the usually happy and joyful Starfire was sadly looking towards the floor. And Kid Flash, well my boyfriend had decided not to run alongside the car as usual. He'd run ahead almost as soon as the car started, back to Titans Tower I assume.
Bart's POV:
I was still in complete and utter shock. Not from having my rib cracked and displaced and having to snap it back into place, but from the entire team being taken out effortlessly and one of my best friends being seriously injured. I had run ahead of the rest of the team. I needed to take a minute. I sat on the couch and let out a shaky breath. This man has seriously fucked with my head. How the hell did he manage to take us down so easily? It was as if he'd studied us, he knew what to use against all of us and how to take us down, his combat skills rivalled Nightwing and Robins. The thought of someone watching us and studying how we worked and finding out our strengths and weaknesses made me feel incredibly uneasy. So uneasy in fact that I walked over to the window and checked no one was watching us from the rooftops. I didn't look for too long, I knew my mind would start making me think I'd seen something in the shadows. I didn't like feeling this way. Helpless, worried, paranoid. I walked back over to the couch and sat myself down. I couldn't get comfy, I could still feel myself shaking and having the feeling someone was watching me. My breathing quickened and I was starting to sweat. What the hell had Red X done to me? He'd totally fucked with me psychologically. I got up and looked around the room quickly. I ran over to the window and again checked. There was still nothing out of the ordinary. I just couldn't shake the feeling he was out there. I ran to the sink, I felt like I was going to vomit. After a few moments the feeling passed and I took some deep breaths.
I went to my room and found my phone. I sat on my bed and rubbed my eyes before I quickly searched through the contact lists until I found Jaime. I hit the call button. It rang five times before he answered "Hey Gringo! It's so late! Why you calling? Checking I'm not gonna turn evil again?" I couldn't blame him for being mad at me "Hey Jaime. Look man I'm sorry for what I did to you; I lied and acted as if I was your friend, all to keep an eye on you. I know after everything was over I haven't really spoken to you or hung out with you at all and I'm sorry. There's just been a lot going on. There was Wally's funeral, fighting off Darkseid and the Para-Demons, joining the Titans, learning about the full extent of my powers and the speed force. I know I haven't made the best attempt at trying to make amends and I know a simple phone call isn't going to make things ok, but I need someone to talk to right now. I need a friend." I said trying to get across as much sincerity and regret over the phone as I could. There was a pause. "Jaime?" I said, wondering if he was still there "Yeah I'm here. You're right a phone call won't make everything ok. You hurt me man, I thought you were a real friend, and as soon as I was ok, you stopped hanging with me, stopped talking. I know you've had a lot going on but so has everyone else. But I'm willing to try and repair this friendship if you are." He replied. I smiled "Thanks Jaime." I said "So what's the problem, why are you calling so late, what's happened?" Jaime asked "What happened is I got my ass handed to me by some new villain calling himself 'Red X' you ever heard of him?" there was another pause "Can't say I have." Jaime replied. I sighed "Yeah I doubted you would have, he didn't just kick my ass, he kicked everyone's ass and I mean everyone. All of the Titans. Even Nightwing was with us and he took him down too! We were stopping The Joker and his gang from acquiring a bunch of dangerous weapons and just seemed to be wrapping the whole thing up, when this guy just showed up outta nowhere and easily defeated us all. He knew our weak points, like with me he hit me in the ribs in a way that not only cracked my rib, but displaced it too. He knew I'd have to snap it in order to put it back into place so it could heal correctly." I explained. "Mierda man! Are you serious?" Jaime said clearly shocked. "Yeah man I'm serious, he did it to slow me down, and it worked. But he didn't stop there he tried to murder Joker! Nightwing and Robin tried to stop him but he managed to get the better of them again and now Robins in pretty bad shape with a deep cut across his abdomen. I don't know if he's ok yet." I continued. Jaime was silent "I'm on the verge of a panic attack over here man, I was so shaken by it all I ran ahead to the tower and now I can't shake the feeling that he's watching me." I said. Suddenly a voice echoed through my room "That's because I am!" I turned to see Red X standing behind me. I dropped the phone. I could hear Jaime shouting my name but I wasn't responding, I wasn't responding to anything. I knew I had to run, or fight but my legs weren't doing what I wanted them to. It was like I was standing in cement. Red X raised his arm and the same X shaped blade he used to cut Robin was slowly extending with a terrible 'SHIIIING!' sound. Red X got ready to attack me. I closed my eyes tight.
"BART! BART!" I heard a voice shouting my name as I opened my eyes wide and jumped up screaming, someone was in front of me, stopping me from moving, I fought against them, desperately trying to get away whilst they were still shouting my name. Suddenly I was staring into a pair of beautiful violet eyes. "Bart." The voice said again, softer this time. The person moved back and I saw Raven. I was so confused "What? Raven? Where is he?!" I said frantically looking around the room. Raven placed both hands on my face "Where's who?" she said sounding concerned. "Where's Red X?! I saw him! He was here and he was going to kill me!" I said back to her wondering why she couldn't see him. She looked around my room and that's when I realised I couldn't see him anymore either. She looked back to me "It's ok Bart, you're ok. It was just a nightmare. The team came back to the tower a few minutes ago. I found you in here asleep so I decided to let you rest but then I heard you screaming." She explained. I sighed "Oh god, this guy really did a number on me both physically and psychologically." I said. Raven sat next to me and I lay my head on her shoulder. Raven started stroking my hair; it was nice, soothing and comforting. I could feel the fear, anxiety and paranoia slipping away "I think he did quite a number on everyone Bart. Speaking of which Nightwing called us not long ago, Robin should be fine, but they are keeping him in the Bat cave just until they are sure he's healed up." Raven said. I was at least relieved to hear Robin was ok "Their butler was apparently a medic in the RAF so he knows how to perform surgery on them. I never expected Batman to hire a butler just for the Bat cave but I guess it would give him more time to focus on his work." Raven said. I smiled "He's not just a butler hired for work in the Bat cave." I said to Raven "How do you know?" Raven asked "Because I know who Batman is and I know Alfred is Batman's alter-ego's long time family butler. Alfred has known Batman since he was born." I explained. Raven stopped stroking my hair "Aren't you just full of surprises, don't suppose you're gonna spill on who Batman is?" she asked "Not a chance." I replied and sat up "Thank you." I was glad to see Raven smile. She placed her hand on mine "You still worried about Red X?" she asked sounding concerned, "Not as much anymore." I answered honestly.
From the living room I heard the Justice League's computer voice "Recognised: Nightwing. B01." Raven and I got up and headed for the living room, Nightwing was here to give us a de-briefing I'd expect and hopefully another update on Robin. As we entered the room the rest of the Titans were all already gathered and Nightwing stood in the middle of the room. "I'm glad you're all here, I'm sure it's painfully apparent that we all need a de-briefing on what just happened." Nightwing said pretty matter of factly. Beast Boy grunted "Except we're not all here are we? Robin is stuck in the Bat cave getting stitched up because of some psycho!" he exclaimed, Wonder Girl instantly whimpered earning Beast Boy a glare from everyone "Sorry Cass, I'm just angry that it happened. I'm sure Tim will be fine." Beast Boy said to her. It didn't seem to help as she continued to sob as Starfire rubbed her back. Nightwing spoke up again "He's right Cassie, Tim will be fine, Alfred is an excellent medic and he's certainly patched Batman and I up from worse injuries multiple times over the years." He said with a smile. It still did nothing to comfort Cassie. But if I were in her situation and it was Raven lying injured and away from me, I wouldn't stop worrying until I was by her side. "Get on with it Nightwing, let's get this over with!" Cyborg said in a very irritated tone, he was obviously pissed at the entire situation. Nightwing simply nodded.
He touched a specific spot on the living room table and a hologram appeared showing a picture of the Warehouse. "As you all know we were sent to stop The Joker and his gang from acquiring dangerous weapons from the GCPD's secret armory." Nightwing said taking a serious tone "Some secret." Raven said dryly. It earned a sigh from Nightwing "Point taken. Whilst we were successful in stopping them from acquiring these weapons albeit by sending a vast majority of them to the infirmary and Joker being in the intensive care section of Arkham due to the fact we were not ready for a surprise attack from our new adversary. Red X." As Nightwing finished his statement the holographic picture changed to Red X. "We don't know anything about this person except that he is male, 6 foot tall and very well trained. His training and combat skills rival both mine and Robins, and I can tell you that some of the techniques he used are ones that could only be learned from Batman or the League of Shadows, which leads me to believe he has some connection with them." Nightwing's face then grew sombre. "I can also tell you that the suit he used...was mine." The room went completely silent for a brief moment before I spoke up "What are you talking about?" Nightwing sighed "The suit that Red X used is mine. I designed it." Before Nightwing could explain himself he was slammed into the wall by an extremely pissed Cass. She'd used enough force that it had caused the wall to crack. Cassie was holding Nightwing tightly by the throat with a furious look on her face as tears streamed down her cheeks "So you're saying it's your fault Tim got seriously injured?" she asked and drew her fist back. Everyone gasped. Even if I ran over there I wouldn't have the strength to stop her. Before she could do anything Starfire was holding onto her arm preventing her from driving her fist through Nightwing's face "Let him explain himself." Star said, but Cassie was literally shaking with anger and distress. Raven quietly floated over to her and placed her hand on Cassie's shoulder "Calm down Cassie." She said and used her empathy powers to dampen her intense feelings. I saw Raven briefly wince as she experienced the pain, sorrow and anger Cass was feeling. As Cassie released her grip on Nightwing and Starfire led her back to the sofa, Raven returned to my side. I leaned in close to her "You know I hate you using that power." I said to her "I'm used to it." Raven replied simply "And as I've said before you shouldn't have to be." I replied firmly. Nightwing returned to the middle of the room rubbing his throat. Cassie looked up towards him "I'm sorry, but you'd better have a damn good explanation." She said to Nightwing with a severely harsh tone. Nightwing coughed "I was going to." He said with a hint of anger "Yes, the suit is mine. I found out that Wayne Tech was designing a new suit for the U.S Military, a very powerful suit. However it was very early in development, only one prototype and not ready to be put into production. It runs on an element called Xenothium. However that compound is both extremely rare and dangerous. It is unstable and can be quite volatile but it's that instability which makes it a highly suitable power source. It seemed to be the only thing possible of powering the suit however due to its rarity and danger no one, not even Bruce Wayne could buy it, not legally. And so they stopped designing it. I saw some potential and used my...'contacts' at Wayne Enterprises to get the prototype suit and through some not entirely legal methods I managed to get some Xenothium to power the suit too. I then turned it into what you saw Red X wearing. It was supposed to be an identity and suit I'd use if I ever needed to go undercover and pose as a villain, just as Aqua Lad did but without the trouble of making everyone think I'd betrayed them. That's why it worked so well against all of you. The suit is designed to be an effective weapon against most heroes should I have to use it. Up until now I thought it was still safely locked away in one of Batman's secret lairs hidden in Gotham but obviously it's not as secret as I thought." Nightwing said glancing over to Raven with a knowing look before she could say anything as he finished. "I'm sorry everyone. I truly am. It was never meant to be found and I prayed I'd never have to use it myself. But it is my fault. If I had left it alone we wouldn't be in this position." He said sincerely.
Ravens POV:
No one said anything for some time after Nightwing finished telling us about the suit and why he'd designed it. "I think the least you could do is give us a full run down of the suits capabilities so we're better prepared next time."I said to Nightwing as he stood in the middle of the room looking sorry for himself. He looked up. "Seconded." Bart said raising his hand "I agree." Said Cyborg also raising a hand, "Me too." Said Beast Boy "Me three." Added Starfire. Cassie remained quiet however we knew she too agreed. Nightwing nodded again "Ok that's fair enough. The suit is made out of a Nomex and Kevlar weaved material, but also has titanium armour chest plates hidden beneath the top layer of the material. The belt is where the Xenothium core is located; it is hidden in the buckle which also acts as the cloaking and short range teleportation device. The belt also contains multiple compartments like the belts Robin, Batman and I use. His cape is also made out of the same Nomex and Kevlar weave as the suit however it has expanding elastic area's allowing him to use the cape to glide. The gauntlets are very similar to mine and have two rows of extra compartments to hold extra weapons or tools. The gloves are potentially the most dangerous part, the palm and back hand of the gloves features a launch port for various types of weapons." Nightwing explained. Cyborg cut Nightwing off "Yeah but what we want to know is what types of weapons he has." Nightwing got ready to speak once again "It has the X-shaped shurikens you saw, lasers; it can shoot powerful bursts of energy or concentrate them into beams, which are primarily used to repel the enemy away but can leave burns or even gaping holes when concentrated enough. It can also produce a sticky glue like substance. The X-shaped restraints he used are made of an alien metal that is able to expand and stretch without losing its strength and emits a powerful lightning shock the more you struggle. There are also hand blades and mini buzz saws however whoever stole the suit could have added more weapons. The mask has starlite lenses like Batman, Robin, Batgirl and I use, a voice changer, an air filter and the skull piece is made of a solid carbon fibre piece." Nightwing said finally finishing the rundown of the suits impressive list of capabilities. "You really outdid yourself." Cyborg said. Nightwing just stood there looking guilty "The suit really is amazing, so amazing that we might not be able to beat him. Are you really so overconfident and conceited that you didn't think to create some sort of weakness or a device that would render the suit useless should it be stolen?" Cyborg said angrily "Why is it the entire Bat-family are so egotistical and arrogant that you never once think that your plans might fail." He asked "I've admitted I messed up, however the suit does have one weakness. It needs to be re-charged, and without the Xenothium it won't function at all. Its like a battery and once it runs out, unless Red X somehow managed to find some Xenothium, which is highly unlikely given its extreme rarity, the suit will be useless to him." Nightwing said. Bart chuckled "Well I guess that's some comfort, but you screwed up big time. It's gonna take a lot for me to trust you again, I don't want to speak for anyone else in the room on that point but I think I do speak for us all when I say that I think you should leave. Now." He said in a cold and uncharacteristic tone. He said it with such confidence and authority that it shocked everyone in the room. Kid Flash, the hyper active, goofy 13 year old, was telling Nightwing, Batman's protégé, his predecessors best friend and a man 6 years older than him to get out of the tower. Without a word Nightwing left.
The room was silent for what seemed like an eternity until Bart broke the silence "I'm sorry about that but I just couldn't stand seeing him there any longer. I think I would have done something I'd regret had he not left. I'll see you all in the morning. Goodnight." And with that Bart walked off to his room. I couldn't believe how angry it had made him, but then again it did mess with him psychologically pretty badly and it was all Nightwing's fault, so Bart had good reason to be mad, but that was just so different from his usual self that no one expected it, not even me who knew him better than any of the other Titans. The atmosphere was extremely awkward and uncomfortable so it's no surprise that everyone soon retired to bed.