So, whatcha think of Dimitri? Review and tell me, please! :) Now on to chapter 2...
UPDATE: So very sorry about the formatting of this chapter when first posted! That was a disaster and most definitely not what I had uploaded. I didn't realize it until a wonderful reader pointed it out to me. Thank you for that and again I apologize! -Cobalt Vixen
Four hours later, the shrill scream of the Yamaha dealership's alarm was chasing Dimitri as he raced down one of Steel City's side alleys.
He revved the bike's engine and couldn't contain his laughter as the powerful rumble echoed down the alley. While he knew it was probably unintelligent of him to let loose with his new toy, seeing as how the Titans East could easily track him down—provided they ever decided to show up,—he couldn't help but have a little fun with it.
The chilled winter air nipped at his exposed shoulders and bare arms but he didn't care. He was having too much fun. And it wasn't snowing! It was a Christmas miracle to Dimitri. He'd have to visit more often seeing as how the little frosty invaders hadn't spread to Steel City yet.
Dimitri smirked. When it came down to it, really, he wouldn't care if it did start snowing at that moment; not even the snow could dampen his excitement at having just pulled off a successful theft.
He smiled happily to himself, reminiscing about the crime that had just taken place. Dimitri, dressed as his new alter-ego, Renegade, had decided it was time to step up his game a little. It had been just over a year and a half since he'd left Jump City and the Teen titans behind, but he was still a thief. He couldn't very well prance around wherever as Red-X, though, for the Titans would be hunting him down—Wonder Boy would never just accept a life with no Red-X—so he'd lain low for a while. Dimitri had gotten himself an apartment and a steady job in Gotham while he scouted surrounding cities for minimal criminal activity. Steel City had been perfect. Hanging up the Red-X suit, he'd concocted Renegade and started small—petty thefts and small crimes that still paid but only left a little blip on the Titans East radar—and left no clue as to his identity. He'd carried on with the small stuff for approximately six months—a very boring six months—and now it was finally time to step it up to bigger crimes.
He'd had fun with this one. This little beauty had been calling to him from the show window and had provided the perfect opportunity to finally let Titans Eat know he was here. He'd continued to avoid all security cameras, not willing to show his masked face yet, stole the bike, and made a clean getaway with only the crime scene and his new calling card to tell them he'd been there.
He quite liked the idea of his own personal calling card. He'd bought an abandoned storage locker at an auction a month ago and found it to be filled with old casino junk, including crate upon crate of playing cards. At first, Dimitri was just going to sell them online—what use did he have for like a bazillion decks of cards? He worked as a barista, not a blackjack dealer—until his friend James commented on how cool they would be serving as the Joker's calling card for Batman.
He'd liked that idea. A lot. Seriously it was a pretty friggin awesome way to say "catch me if you can". So he'd tried something new in leaving a single playing card painted with a rough 'R' at the Yamaha dealership, right where the motorcycle had been waiting for him.
And he'd gotten away with it. Dimitri let out a cry of triumph. New city, new identity, but he was still the best criminal in the history of ever.
He took in a deep breath of the winter air as he now raced alongside the bay. The glistening 'T' shaped tower of Titans East stood as a sentinel on its lone island in the water.
He shook his head. The whole letter-shaped-tower thing was kind of ridiculous to him. Seriously, what human being—and/or alien in the Titans' case—would find it cool to say "yeah, I live in a giant T"?
Not even Jump's cloaked Raven liked to admit where she lived. If you didn't already know, you never would. And not many people knew where she lived.
It wasn't at all surprising to Dimitri. Only a handful of citizens even knew she existed. They were all caught up in the naïve—and dare he say ditzy—innocence of the beautiful alien princess and the high-tech shine of the metal-man's armor, or the rapid-shift animal show the green Titan put on and the tightly-wound arrogance you could feel coming off in waves from their leader.
He scoffed. They were just a side show; the gourmet vegetable you still had to choke down in order to enjoy desert. The real show stealer was Raven; she just preferred the shadows to an overly bright spotlight. And that's the way Dimitri preferred it, too. If Raven were to let people see everything she was worth, everything she was and all she could do, well, then he'd have to start competing for a perch to watch her from. He enjoyed watching her in battles, witnessing the magnificence of her mysterious abilities. He liked to see her smile when she read over a good part in her book or bite her lip nervously beneath her hood when the Titans' received any sort of attention. It was a rare gem to see who Raven truly was and Dimitri liked that he and the Titans were the only ones to ever truly see her.
He jerked right and braked slightly to avoid the brick wall he was currently on course to hit. He sighed. Yes, he, Dimitri Coleman, Red-X and Renegade, villain extraordinaire, was smitten. And possessive. And way out of line. And aware of that. And didn't care.
He knew they worked on opposite ends of the spectrum and would never change their stripes. It would never happen and he understood that. He just liked to admire her; to take in every second of her he could. He would never find an exact replica of Raven just waiting for him to find her, but he hoped one day to find a girl as intelligent and opinionated and strong and beautiful as she was.
But for the time being, he had some cops to lose. Man, sirens were now chasing him and still no sign of Titans East. Were these guys lazy or what! He'd have to let Wonder Bread know his compadres in Steel were falling down on the job.