Chapter Fifteen: Two World's Collide

She was at the outskirts of the city, where Blaze had met Red X before. He usually came to her, so she sat on the stoop of an abandoned building and waited for him to make an appearance. When he didn't, she almost got up and left.

Instead, she felt his gaze. He was somewhere, watching her. Blaze hated when he was did this. It was so creepy! To make it stop, she had to find him. It proved easier than she thought. Blaze spotted a dark alley across from where she was seated. "Olly olly oxen free." Blaze wasn't sure what that meant, but she knew you said it in a game called "hide and seek" to let the other players know you had given up.

"You got what I want?" She heard his mechanical voice.

"You never told me what you wanted."

"I thought it was obvious." He let out a small laugh. "The one thing nobody but Robin has and everybody wants."

"And what would that be?"

"The briefcase."

"Briefcase?" She was straining her eyes to see him. Hearing him, but not getting a visual was making Blaze a little unnerved. Then it hit her. She had heard something about a briefcase. Something about a race to get it. She didn't know what was inside or why Red X would want it, but it must have been important.

His cycle rolled out from the shadows. It's engine was off, and he was dragging it with his feet. "Ready to go?" He asked through his mask, nodding towards the back of his bike.

"She's not going anywhere." Robin's voice echoed through the air.

Blaze froze, fearing of what to do. What was she going to tell Robin. How was she going to explain this? More importantly, she was wearing that skirt she had disregarded on the floor the other day. What was Robin going to do when he saw the bruising?

"You brought Boy Wonder with you?" Blaze couldn't see it, but under his mask, X was raising his eyebrows at her. More in disbelief than confusion.

Robin peeled his helmet off his head and stood in front of her, fists clenched. "I knew something was wrong." His gaze hadn't moved from Red X, still on top of his cycle, but he was directing his voice to Blaze.

"There's nothing wrong." She whispered. He hadn't heard her though.

X swung his leg over the side of his bike to face Robin. "What are you gunna do about it, Bird-boy?" he snickered.

Robin lunged towards his nemesis with every intention of causing bodily harm. "Stop!" Blaze stood, arm outstretched. A pink screen appeared between the two, expanding from quite a distance. "Robin, let's just go. He's not worth it. A common thief isn't worth it."

Robin turned one shoulder to her, but wouldn't turn his back to X. He handed Blaze his helmet and walked slowly towards his motorcycle. "This isn't over, X." he retorted through gritted teeth.

"It never is." X replied, revving his engine and disappearing into the shadows once again.

Blaze wrapped her arms around Robin's waste, tight. Tighter than she ever held onto Red X. Being so close to him, feeling his body warming hers, she couldn't help but wonder. Seeing Red X and Robin together made her think, what if she had saved X in her dream and not Robin? Would she still feel so strongly about Robin? Would calling X a "common thief" made her stomach churn more than it had a minute ago.

"Thank you," she whispered to Robin. He heard her this time, but didn't reply. Blaze decided to forget about it, and left those questions behind her as she and Robin sped back towards the Tower.

a/n: very short chapter. i get it, but keep in mind it's more of a filler than a chapter. this situation had to arise sometime, right?