Im sorry… I didn't mean to wait so long to post. I just started college this year so im getting into the swing of things. Anywho, I pretty sure that even before he named himself it was pretty obvious that it was you-know-who. I want to pick up the pace of this a tad because I have a lot more I want to do with it and the longer it takes the less motivation I have. Kindly review as always! Tell me what I can do better! Just please no flames! Ta~

The kid was smart; he knew how to fight and how to sneak like a thief. But something was missing. He lacked the drive. For how adamant he'd been about becoming a criminal, he sure didn't put much effort in. Maybe Vendetta had always been overly cautious, but it was as if Red X was trying to be noticed.

It infuriated Vendetta.

She lounged on the roof of a nearby target building. She had sent Red X in there; she figured that her help in teaching him could be repaid with him carrying out some of her less important missions. Not to mention she also got a 50/50 split to make him do all the work but we won't go into that… The target they were retrieving was pretty simple. Some obnoxious chick named Kitten wanted a new necklace, but apparently her boyfriend named Fang was in jail or something and couldn't get it for her. So naturally she made her daddy pay for the thief with the highest rates to go and get it for her. Honestly, it would have been cheaper just to go out and buy it herself, but if she was getting paid, Vendetta wasn't going to complain.

It had been quiet for a while, which Vendetta took to be a good sign. A thief should be a shadow, nothing more than a passing phantom before he disappears. The best thief is one that no one knows about.

CRASH!

She thought that just a second too soon. Sirens began to blare, lights flashing to warn the entire freaking world of the appearance of her… partner. Vendetta was seriously regretting allowing this punk to ruin her reputation. The Titans would be appearing any moment and the police soon after them.

She saw the group tearing down the street, speeding towards the jewelry store. She tracked them for a moment as they disappeared through wrought iron double doors. She looked to the roof. Red X hadn't appeared yet. She waited; unwilling to leave him behind just yet. He should have had absolutely no trouble with this mission. He'd shown her better when she was testing his skills. He must have been nervous for his first solo mission and became careless, Vendetta decided.

A plume of smoke rose from the roof of the jewelry building. Vendetta sprang to her feet as she saw a black figure leap from the haze. It bounded over buildings, hurtling towards the female thief. With a small note of relief, she realized it was Red X, but that relief was quickly overshadowed by the fact that four other shadows were in close pursuit.

"You led them back here?!" She cried out incredulously as he sped by. He grabbed her wrist as he passed, yanking Vendetta with him as he hurled himself off the roof, free falling off the building. As they plummeted to the concrete, the building flashing as they hurtled past the windows, Red X released his grip on Vendetta. He whipped out an x-shaped grappling hook and swung to safety. Vendetta rolled in the air, activating arm blades along her gloves, slamming her body into the steel of the closest building and digging the blades in as deep as she could to slow her fall. She dropped safely to the ground, two deep slashes the only mark to show where she had fallen. Much better than a pile of mush if she had been unable to slow her fall. The metal curled outward from the gash with ragged edges.

Vendetta staggered back, looking at just how far she had fallen. Almost fifty stories. That boy was going to get it for throwing her off. Vendetta was not equipped for free falling like her partner apparently was. Vendetta scanned the skies for the Titans, but none came hurtling down to her. X had thrown them off her trail.

The Titans and X were far gone, probably halfway across the city by now. Vendetta heaved a sigh; she couldn't leave X to fight them all alone- that just wouldn't be fair. She took a deep breath then set off after the group, hoping that she could catch up in time.

Red X had led the Titans in a very roundabout pattern; it made it easy for Vendetta to catch up to them, and she was relieved to find them when she had. Vendetta had returned to the rooftops and followed the tracks of Starfire's starbolts as they shone brilliantly against the night sky.

X was holding his own-he was by far a superior fighter- but they had him cornered in an alley; forcing him to take them on one by one while the others had a chance to regroup.

"well, well."

Everyone looked up. Vendetta struck an impressive figure: standing proudly above both heroes and thief, illuminated by moonlight. The Titans looked from Vendetta to Red X, linking the two as allies.

"You two work together?! Dude! Not fair!" Beast Boy cried. The others ignored him.

"Temporary partnership so this idiot doesn't land his sorry kiester in jail," Vendetta informed the heroes, scorn dripping from her voice.

She launched a smoke bomb amidst the group of teen heroes, giving Red X the chance to make his getaway. He trailed behind her as she made a beeline for the meeting spot they had decided on when Vendetta began training. She swung in through a window, landing silently on the concrete floor. She was engulfed in darkness; she and Red X relied mostly on flashlights to keep from attracting unwanted attention. A light clanging from above informed Vendetta that X would enter from the roof.

He dropped down before her as she busied herself throwing the switches on the flashlights. He said nothing. She turned to glare at him. "The idea was that you don't get caught, sport. I'd give that a failing grade," Vendetta informed the other thief. "I thought you would be good at this, X. I thought this was what you wanted. You'll land your ass in jail in less than a week if you keep this up," she sauntered over to Red X, who seemed rather nonchalant despite Vendetta's taunts.

"You win some, you lose some," he muttered sullenly, shrugging his shoulders. Vendetta whipped around to stare at him in disbelief.

"This isn't a game, airhead. If you botch a heist for a mastermind like you seem to think you're ready for, they'll kill you. They're insane, X. they don't tolerate failure. If you can't handle the Titans, there's no way you're ready for the big leagues of the underworld,"

She made her way back to the window she entered, staring through the small opening. Was it just her imagination that showed her a shadow lurking around the corner of the next street, just out of the yellow light thrown off by the street light. She shook her head to clear it, turning to look back at her partner. The light of the flashlight swept over her goggles, reflecting back with a flash in Red X's face. Beneath his own, mask, he flinched, but refused to look away. "This is it, X," She told him, her voice cold and flat. "We split from here. Go back to your life. You still can. But I'm not wasting my time anymore."

The beams of light from the few flashlights scattered around the base guttered out. By the time Red X's eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, Vendetta was gone. X never said a word, just stood there motionlessly. After a moment of silence, he slammed a fist into the wall, leaving a small crater in the concrete.

A voice resounded behind him. "Now, now. No need to waste your strength like that," Red X spun to face the source of the noise, a tall man in a black body suit, face covered with a simple mask that was half orange, half black. It seemed that X would not have to find Slade after all; he had come himself.