Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot, Neo, Nemo, and to some degree Rush! And the clones and Methuss belong to a friend of mine! So there!

He veered left in the maze of metal, forcing himself to listen to the sounds surrounding him in the vent rather than the blood pumping through his veins.

'Suffocating vents, too many guards, the occasional spider web and rat's nest…' He thought as he slid down a ventilation shaft and stepped in rat poo.

He grinned. 'God, I missed this life!'

"How you holdin' up, Red?"

"Fine, Cyborg, just fine."

His excitement must have slipped into his voice, judging on the Sorceress' next comment.

"You're loving this, aren't you?"

"Sure am, Raven, sure am."

His partners-in-crime were quiet.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah."

"Fine."

"We're good, Red."

He frowned. What were they being so dodgy for?

"If you say so…"

More silence, and he shook his head, continuing until the vent came to a sudden stop.

He frowned. 'What the…?'

"Well, gentlemen, as you are no doubt aware by now, no doctor of any sort can help you with your current…ailment." A familiarly oily voice said, sounding even oilier than usual.

"Damn you Epsilon, just tell us what you want!" An angry voice wheezed.

"I should think that was obvious." The oily voice sneered.

"You're already the second richest man on Earth. What more do you want?" Another voice said, followed by a harsh cough.

The first voice became less amused. "I should think that was obvious as well."

"Why you selfish—you're going to kill all of us so you can become the richest man on Earth?" Yet another voice gasped hoarsely.

"Something like that, yes."

"So, what, you expect us to sign our companies over to you in our wills?"

A snicker. "Something like that, yes." The first voice said again.

"And if we don't?" The second voice rasped.

"Well, I would hate for your families to contract this illness, too…"

"You—"

"Not to mention that whichever one of you impresses me the most will get the antidote. There's only enough for one of you, after all."

In the intense silence that followed this declaration, he heard a soft sloshing sound, like liquid in a small bottle or vial. He smirked as he heard a clink of glass, like the vial (or whatever it was) was being set on a table.

"Oh, and gentlemen, you shouldn't forget that not only will Bruce Wayne soon be joining you in your…situation, but none of you has more than three days to make your decision."

He heard whispered grumbles pass through the other men in the room.

'Time to do the 'hero' thing.'

He kicked through the vent screen and found himself landing right in front of That Man, on a table surrounded by several coughing businessmen, though the room he was in looked more like a laboratory than a place to hold a business meeting.

"Wow, all this just for lil ol' me?" He asked, feigning embarrassment and putting a hand to his chest. "Epsilon, my dear old friend, I'm flattered."

"Red X!" That Man roared after getting over his shock, snatching at a vial that had sitting in front of him on the table.

He smirked and plucked it right out of That Man's hands.

God, how he loved stupid businessmen and their naiveté when it came to stopping thieves—who in their right mind grabbed the very thing they had to know was what the thief was going after?

As if that could stop a good thief—it did little more than point the object out for them, which in turn only made the job that much easier! No time wasted searching for the thing!

"Thanks for everything, Methuss, you're a real doll. And, uh, you guys go see Bruce Wayne about this antidote—tell him Red X sent you. Once he stops fuming about rude youngsters he ought to help you out." He said, and shot out of the room with a laugh.

"Hey Titans, I could use that diversion of yours right about now."

"SOMEONE GET HIM!" He heard That Man yell, and knew the others had heard it, too.

"You got it, Red!"

"WHY ISN'T ANYONE GOING AFTER HIM!"

The guard who he'd seen standing by the door answered sheepishly. "We're trying, sir, but there's been a disturbance on the other side of a building by three figures dressed in our guards' uniforms! And the head guard has completely disappeared!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM! JUST GET RED X!"

Then he was out of earshot, laughing all the way as he sidestepped or X'd (meaning he used one of his X-shaped gadgets on) all the guards who tried to stop him (there weren't many, which he attributed to his accomplices' distraction).

The others met him at the front of the building in Cyborg's car, looking to have just arrived there themselves.

"Looks like we're home free, eh?" The Original asked with a smirk.

"We aren't home free 'til we're out of Bludhaven, and don't forget we still have to pick up my bike." He replied. "Step on it, Cyborg. And for God's sake, don't make this too easy on them by yelling your catchphrase!"

"You got it, Red!" Cyborg stepped on it, refraining (rather huffily) from yelling 'booyah!'

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, DAWSON!" That Man's portly figure came running and huffing out of the building.

"Go ahead and try, murderer!" He yelled back, and then they rounded a corner and couldn't see the building anymore.

"Can we get out of these clothes yet?" The Sorceress asked, eyeing her uniform disdainfully.

"Not until we're home free." He replied as they pulled up with a screech in front of Tandi's apartment. "You riding with me again?"

"Not on your life."

"I was actually talking about my bike, but if you insist—"

"Just go!" She shoved him out of the car, scowling as he laughed at her and leapt onto his bike, jerking the helmet over his head and kicking the bike so it roared to life.

They tore out of the city, and this time he allowed himself the pleasure of listening to only the blood and adrenaline rushing past his ears.

(THE RUSH)