A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. Just warning you that im going on vacation next week so my updates my slow for a bit but I WILL continue to update as fast as I can.
Dude Your Awesome8: I am pretty awesome, arent I?
Angelica: UR ONE OF MY FAVORITE REVIEWERS! I hope I don't disappoint!
Yamisangel101: WIFEY! Yes, of course! Robin would NEVER be so daft. He IS a detective. Jump City's best! Trained by Batman himself J but, thank you for the review. YOUR TOO SMART FOR ME WOMAN!
Morphious444: CLFFY FOR YOU!
Hey guys! I won't update until I hit 55 reviews. Thanks
Shit! I can hear Raven fuss as she slips and types in the code again. She's coming in soon! And this fucking book won't shut up! I quickly shuffle through the pages until I come to one ripped page. Half of the page is the nose and above of a face. His eyes grow wide.
"Raven… you have… changed?" He decides.
Raven will be in here soon.
"You're still beautifu-"
I cut him off, "Shut up! Listen to me and I swear to God, if you don't shut the fuck up I will light you on fire, attempt to put out the fire with gasoline, put out that fire by hitting you repeatedly with a fire extinguisher, then when the fire goes out, I will dance on your ashes!" I warn.
"… Message received," he replies.
I quickly slam the book closed and stash it into my bag. Raven walks in and smiles at me.
"Hey, you…" she greets.
"Hey," I smile and for once I feel nervous. I have stolen so many other times, NOT THAT I'M STEALING, but still. I have never been nervous. Though I never expected to steal from the girl I love, NOT THAT I LOVE HER! I think of it more as borrow. I'm a titan now, I'll have to help to get it back anyways.
"What are you doing in here? You have your own room now. But if you want to stay in here…" She winks and struts toward me. Her lovely violet hair gracing her sleek, smooth, grey skin. I can only remember sneaking around, kissing her lovely shoulders, sticking my tongue out to taste her. Just a taste. It was fun, sexy, hot… But now it's just us. I don't do romantic, fluffy, or cute. Maybe I'll just have to make my own fun…
"Maybe later…" I decide to not take my chances. That book of hers has a big mouth…
"Oh," her face falls. Then her voice goes back to her usual monotone, "Then your room is down the hall. Third on your left."
"Oh," I reply, picking up my bags, "Cool."
"RAVEN!" I hear my bag gasp. Dear God, this book is going to drive me crazy.
"Huh?" Her eyes widen and she pulls her hood up.
"What?" I ask. I begin to pray to not let her catch me.
"You called my name."
"Yes, that I did. I-I like your name…" Yeah, that's believable…
Her eyebrows knit together.
"LET ME OUT, YOU FOWL BEAST!"
"What?" She almost shouted. I hit the bag against the door.
"Hehe, the uh, the door is stuck…"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"I must be going now," I open the door and rush out of the room. As I run down the hall I hear her call after me.
"Jason! What's going on?"
"Maybe you should meditate. You're hearing things!" I rush into my room and shut and lock the door behind me. I look around. A bed, no blankets. A small dresser. That's all. Yep, Robin must have decorated. Well, I feel welcomed… Not really. I risk another glance around then pull out the book again.
"RAVEN! HE HAS TAKEN ME! RAVEN! HELP ME!"
I open the book and look into his eyes.
"What will make you shut up?"
"My beautiful Raven!" He answers.
"Well you have me. And I'm pretty damn hot…" I muse.
His eyes squint a bit, "Hmmm. Alright. You come from Azarath?"
"No," I answer. "And I'm not keeping you long either." Dear God. I'm talking to a freaking book! What is wrong with me?
"You may call me Machior. I have been cursed and spellbound to this-"
"Yeah yeah, save me the annoyance and shut the fuck up. I'm giving you to someone else soon So if you're just quiet maybe he can help you. In the mean time," I close the book and shove him back into my bag, "Just hang in there."
Rae POV
That guy is weird. Maybe he's not ready to be a titan. I still don't think he wants to be one. I think he misses the sneaking around already. He's all about being sneaky. I don't think he likes the idea of an actual relationship either. I mean 'ONE GIRL? LOVE? ROMANCE?' it's really not that surprising. He's the one who made a big deal of me and Robin. Ok, maybe he's just caught up in his double standard. I hate to say it but, I never did trust him. I'm really surprised that Robin does. I'll just have to watch Jason very closely.
"Raven! Dinner!" I hear Robin call. I exit my room, pulling my hood up and come face to face with Robin.
"Hey, Rae," He smirks. God I love that lop-sided grin. He looks different, his smug expression still hasn't returned.
"Hey guys," Jason passes us. I glance at him. Then I realized, Jason has his smug look. He stole it from Robin. I guess I never noticed. I look into Robin's domino mask.
"Let's get to dinner," he says, linking arms with me. I walk with him to the dining room. Cyborg gives me a look. A look that says 'Not again,' or 'watch yourself…'. I quickly unhook my arm from Robin and sit next to Jason. Robin takes the seat on the other side of Jason.
"I think I found Slade's whereabouts today…" Robin initiated the conversation. Everyone else just groaned.
"Really?" Jason speaks up. I look at him. No, he seems fully interested. This is odd. Why would he care? No one else does except for Robin. Once he realizes that Robin is crazy and obsessed and will work us until we find him, he will be groaning along with us.
Robin seems a bit on the fence. I can tell what he's thinking. He's wondering if he should tell Jason or not. I know he really wants to talk about it, but he obviously does not like him. He also doesn't trust him, and I can tell that he's thinking the same as I.
"Yes," He continues, taking a bit of chicken into his mouth. His eyes narrow behind the mask. "He is residing in the upper east side. Actually, he has this under-ground thing going on. I'm not sure what he's looking for but I met up on the street a few nights ago. He's looking for someone…"
"Someone?" Jason interrogates, fully setting down his silverware to give Robin his full attention. So now he's sucking up? Well played X, well played. But even I feel like this is something more than getting to Robin. Something much more.
"Yes, someone to steal something for him. This happened once before. The only real way to find out is to gain his full trust, though we are not able to do that. Actually, we've tried." He refers to the X costume.
"Maybe we shall send friend Jason in to gain such trust?" Starfire offered. Actually, that idea isn't half bad.
"No," Jason answers.
"Well, actually. He may trust you, he almost trusted me…"
"No. I will not. I can't," he answers.
"Sure you-" Beast Boy started.
"I said no. End of discussion."
The room had a very uncomfortable silence. No one was sure what to say. I felt as if Jay would blow up any minute. I then began to wonder why he couldn't. It was a fine idea. It may have worked. If it didn't, so what? I mean, happened to Robin. Thus Red-X was born! Still, Jason is a well-known criminal. It would have worked.
Jason POV
I can't do that plan. Though Cutie over there does have a smart mind. Her body's not so bad either, she's a little easy on the eyes and her hair… I swipe the thoughts from my mind as Raven rubs my arm. I guess I was a bit intense, though they never give up! A persistent few! Though, I've already decided to work with Slade. I'm not sure how to contact him, though Boy Blunder seems to have a few ideas. Actually, this whole plan would get me straight to him. But I could never lose any kind of trust or bond Slade and I might make, by throwing him into jail. No, I can't risk them viewing any transaction. I'm still trying to decide how I would help them when they realize the book is gone…
The room begins to flash red as an alarm rings.
"Titans! Trouble!" The leader calls. Dear God, they are so typical. They all rush out the door and hop into Cyborg's car. I'm sure they would have arrived at their destination much faster if they had flown or something, but no. They got into the T-Car. I followed right behind them.
Cyborg darted and swerved through the streets, following the coordinates shown on the GPS. Robin was just babbling, trying to seem leaderly. But I could only hear certain words that stood out to me.
"Slade…" Was the one word that made me curse. If he sees me with these titans, then I'd have lost all chances…
We stop by the shore, as Cyborg uses his stupid cannon to drill a hole into the ground. This is crap. This is how they do their jobs? They jump into random holes? Then search? I'd always have pictured it to be cooler…
So anyways, we drop into the hole to find a corridor. It's sleek and modern. It seems metallic and the walls, ceilings, and floors are made of metal. We walk for a bit. It's silent but intense. We come to an opening. The path is split to four separate corridors.
"Titans, slit up," Robin decides. They all agree and choose their halls. Haven't they ever seen movies? Every time they slit up, they're picked off one by one. Plus, none of them ever find the villain. The halls were just to throw them off, and the one who does find him, always gets captured because they couldn't take them on alone.
Either way, I take the hall on the far right. I walk down it. It's kind of eerie. As a thief, I have never hidden in a place like this. I don't get why others do. I continue walking, getting the feeling that someone is watching me. Any good criminal watches what the hero is up to, and surprisingly, I'm the hero this time.
"Hello, Red-X…" Slade greets me. He has a voice as smooth, sleek, and sharp as a knife's blade. Though it cuts through you, it also intimidates you, echoing in your mind, freezing you in your place. I turn and smirk, perfect, finally alone with my newest soon-to-be client.
"Hello, Slade."
"You're not Robin this time. I've heard of you. I hear you've got quite the sticky fingers…" He quirks his head to the side.
"Yes, that's me. I've heard about you too. I hear you're looking for a book…"
"Yes, that's me. I've heard you're very close to it. Residing with the titans? I think we would make great business partners. I have a lot to get done, and you're in the exact place to do them."
"Really? We'll have to talk on the subject later. I haven't much time and I want to make things quick. I know what you want, I have what you want. Now a price for my services…" I demand.
"$15,000..."
"What? No! I heard you were offering 500,000..."
"You've heard wrong, but if I heard right, the word has spread. This means that later on there will be others looking to do business. Take your chance now."
"20,000 dollars…" I decide, "Or no deal."
"Well, I don't know if it's worth that much."
"Listen, I have the damn book, any other thief will have to go through me to get it. I'll give it to you easily if you can follow my demands. I deserve more because the Titans trust me. To steal from them could get me into a whole lot of trouble…"
He looks at me for a moment then chuckles coldly, "Ok, X. You drive a hard bargain but I think we have a deal. The exchange can take place tomorrow at nine. I want to do this casually, no suspicions, I'd rather not be caught. You must sneak out, do not tell the others where you are going. I want you to meet me at The Jump Plaza Hotel. Suite number 63 on the fourth floor. Like I said, casual. I don't want to rise any suspicion or uproar, so no costumes."
I nod, "Yes, sir. It will be a pleasure to do business with you." He nodded and disappeared. I just continued to follow this empty, epic hallway.
Rae POV
I find it odd how I always find myself wandering down the same empty hall, thinking the same pointless thought, and looking for the same stupid criminal. I just continue to walk though. I can't believe X is actually helping. I would've never believed he'd be a hero. I'm proud of him, maybe he can change.
I stop to process my thoughts, but something stumbles into me and I tilt toward the ground. A pair of arms wrap around me, catching me from my fall.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were going to stop…"
I turn and see Robin. I quickly pry his hands off me, "What are you doing? Why are you following me?"
He smirks, "Sorry. I just wanted to make sure nothing would happen to you. Watching your back, you know."
"No, I don't know. What about Slade? What if his whereabouts were in your hallway?"
"You're more important to me than Slade, Raven."
I let a small smile grace my lips but I quickly wipe it away. "Listen, Robin. I can handle myself."
"No you can't." He argues with me. What does he mean I can't? I sure as hell can!
"What?" I cross my arms.
"You couldn't handle yourself with X! You fell right into his lap! I don't want Slade to get to you too. I love you, Raven. I just want to keep you safe. Don't you miss me? Don't you miss us?"
"Yes," I answer honestly.
"Then give me another chance, Rae. I can live up to your expectations. Whatever you want. Why don't you want to get back together?"
"Robin, the reason why I don't want to get back together is this. All this. You just followed me, on a mission, because you thought I'd hook-up with Slade. That's not trust, Robin. You need trust for a relationship. I completely understand why you don't trust me, Robin, but you never trusted me. You've never trusted anyone."
"Trust? Trust? You don't know the first thing about trust! If you've honestly given your trust to that, that CRIMINAL, then fine! But if that's the kind of person you trust, then you don't know what trust is!"
"I CAN TRUST HIM, ROBIN! HE'S CHANGED!"
"Changed? Changed my ass! He hasn't changed, Raven. For all we know he's selling us out right now. He can't be trusted, Raven!"
"Robin, he's a good guy…"
"Raven, he's not. Trust me, Raven. He will break your heart…" His voice and features were softer now.
"Robin, I trust him."
"Raven, I trusted you."
Wow. Just, wow. I can't believe that he's bringing this up. I just hoped he'd forgive and forget. Though, I'm not sure how to reply.
He can see I'm hurt because he takes my hand and rubs it gently. "All I'm saying is: Sometimes, you can't trust your heart."
"All I'm saying is: Sometimes, you have to take the risk."
He smiled that small broken smile of his, "Ok, Raven. I'm always here for you."
"Hello, Titans. Sorry to ruin the moment…"