Cyanocitta

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vii. parade before the pain

"Not like that," Red X had his hand over hers, "When you punch, you should aim right here." He placed her fist on his chest, "Or, if you're fighting a human, right here." He gestured to his upper arm, "Right here is where one muscle ends and another connects, so if you hit someone there, it'll be painful."

"I was not aware that so much thought should go into a simple punch!" Starfire exclaimed, but nodded as Red X jumped out of her way. They were in a now-abandoned parking lot, and he hid himself in the shadows as he watched the two spar. They had thought it would be a good idea to teach Starfire how to conventionally fight in a worst-case scenario – her not getting her powers back. While they did so, Red X was working on the T-Comms Speedy and Starfire had given him; using the generator he had stolen to make them work properly.

"Ugh," She groaned as Speedy easily deflected her with just his bow. (A fake one, of course, he didn't want this actual bow to get broken!) He grinned at her, dropping his bow and then she stepped forward, curled her hand into a fist, and smacked him in the arm – right where Red X had shown her.

"Ow!" He cried, stumbling back as she continued her assault. This had Red X's attention, and he glanced up to see Starfire pushing him back. It looked like she needed some help, as Speedy regained his poise and held his bow up to block her fist. He knew Speedy was concentrated on formulating a counter-attack for Starfire, so he quickly maneuvered around a car to remain hidden. Red X deftly jumped on top of the car, seeing the archer knock the Princess to the ground. Her eyes flicked up to the thief, but he just pressed his finger to his lips.

It seemed she took her cue to be oblivious a bit too far, as she let out a dramatic, "Oh, I do not wish to lose!"

It was then that he descended, knocking Speedy way with a sidekick to the head. Red X landed, and then offered a hand to Starfire. She smiled at him, and took his hand, helping herself up. She had been so warm around him ever since he had helped protect her from those criminals, and he wasn't quite sure why.

She then held up both her hands to him, eyes closed with a bright smile on her face. She seemed pretty triumphant. When he did nothing, she chirped, "Friend, I would like to request the double high five that is most common on your planet!"

"…I don't do high fives, kid," He said, which caused her expression to fall as she looked at him. He instantly felt terrible, so he held out his fist instead. "Fist bumps only, sweetheart." She clapped her hands excitedly, completely missing the point and high-fiving his fist instead. She was so cute. He couldn't imagine anyone disliking her.

"Hey!" Speedy approached them both, scratching his head. "What gives?"

"I'm surprised Green Arrow's prodigy would leave himself unprepared and open," Red X replied, crossing his arms and saying, "You have to be ready for anything, kid."

Speedy growled, narrowing his eyes at the black-clad criminal, "Ugh, I'm not a kid! Where do you get off being such a condescending jerk, anyway?"

"Perhaps," Starfire's voice broke the tension as the two males snapped their heads towards her, "You can solve the male aggression in the air with a practice battle?" She had seen this once before when the team had just formed; when Robin and Cyborg had a disagreement and Cyborg left the team briefly. It hadn't been pleasant, and she certainly didn't want their makeshift team falling apart when they all had just agreed to work together!

The two males nodded, and then walked a few paces apart from each other. The redheaded alien stood in the middle.

"I advise that you both should ready your marks," She said, clearing her throat and stepped back, "Get to the set…and go!" She jumped on top of the car, watching intently as Speedy unleashed a volley of arrows at Red X. The thief used his wristblade in the shape of an X to fend off the arrows, and waited patiently until Speedy no longer had anything left in his quiver.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to put all your eggs in one basket, kid?" The thief asked with a smirk, retracting the wristblade and running towards the archer, who in turn smirked.

"No, but she did tell me not to put all my arrows in one quiver!" He responded smartly, an arrow sliding out of his sleeve as Red X approached – too surprised to dodge as Speedy spun the arrow around his hand and stuck it to the thief's side. A very mild shock emitted from it, which knocked the black-clad teen off course. Using the thief's temporary imbalance, Speedy grabbed Red X's wrist and twisted it in such a way that the boy stayed on his knees.

"Oh!" Starfire jumped from her seat, hand over her mouth as she looked on the scene with worry. She was not immune to the fact that they were still getting used to each other, and she was afraid she had just presented them with an opportunity to injure one another.

However, Red X was able to retaliate with a punch aimed at Speedy's exposed ribcage. With an oof, the archer let go, pulled into a chokehold by the thief. The sidekick knew what to do to escape it, however. He grabbed the crook of Red X's elbow, slightly bending and stepping behind the leg that was on the side he was chokeholding him so that their calves were touching. In this position, he was able to turn 180 degrees and knock Red X down to the floor. The thief then lifted both feet to kick Speedy in the abdomen, causing him to stumble back as Red X rolled back to his feet, steadily standing. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Starfire clasping her hands and looking right at him.

"Star," Speedy noted Starfire as well, "You're not supposed to be rooting for anyone! That's biased judgment! Besides, he's the bad guy!"

"He is not a bad guy, Speedy, I implore you to open your eyes and think of him as a friend!"

"Kids, I'm standing right here. Are you forfeiting or what?" Red X asked, to have Speedy whip around to face the thief's fist. The archer was knocked back, causing Red X to cross his arms and state, "Didn't I tell you to always be prepared?"

The archer swung his bow towards him, causing Red X to block it. Speedy then planted a foot in the thief's stomach and propelled him backwards, sweeping him to make him land on his back. Speedy offered his hand, and because Red X knew that Starfire was watching, he took it. But...he pulled Speedy down towards him, determined not to lose so easily. Not when Starfire was so avidly watching, absorbing their combat techniques. Red X pulled his knee up sharply so that it hit Speedy's chin, rolling out of the way as the archer fell to the ground.

"Hey," Speedy groaned as he sat up, glaring at Red X, "That was low!"

"How many times do I need to tell you, kid," The thief huffed, "You should always be prepared."

"I've always got my arsenal stocked, Red," Speedy grinned, running his opponent as he pulled another arrow from his sleeve, notched it, and fired it. Red X ducked, and it sailed over his head. However, he felt a sudden weight on both of his shoulders. Speedy had predicted his duck and had used that opportunity to jump on him. But unlike Speedy, Red X was always prepared - and had planned a counterattack. The black-clad quasi-hero punched one of Speedy's knees, which caused him to buckle. Red X also buckled as the pressure increased, but he did not falter. He reached up and grabbed Speedy's elbows, which were dangling just in range, and threw the Titan off of him. Speedy slid into the ground, but Red X decided to show sportsmanship despite his earlier warning of preparedness.

So, he reached out a hand to the archer, who rose an eyebrow. He didn't take his hand, but did end up grabbing Red X's shoulder to balance himself as he stood. "Geez, Red, who taught you how to fight like that?" Speedy laughed as he joked, "Batman? Seriously, it's like I'm fighting a meaner Robin!"

"Meaner..." Red X repeated what he said, and then crossed his arms, "Not a cheap knockoff?"

"Nah," Speedy changed his mind, shrugging a shoulder. "You're alright...for a villain, I mean." Red X would've offered his own compliment, something about how Speedy wasn't being a sore loser - which was something that greatly surprised him. But he kept his mouth shut for the sake of not doing anything out of character. He was still a villain, just like Speedy said. And their Princess was striding towards them, happy that their practice battle had come to an end.

Starfire walked over to them, declaring, "Friends, I do wish to participate in the activity known as group embracing!" She was rather happy that the aggression that hung between them seemed to have dissipated.

Speedy and Red X exchanged glances before answering at once, "No."

"Besides," Speedy added, "I don't feel like I really lost. I know it was a practice battle, but you didn't use any of your gadgets, so I didn't go all out on you, either." Starfire and Speedy both looked at him quizzically, until he finally answered them.

"I'm almost run dry," He said, and explained to Speedy, "I don't know if Chuckles informed you, but this suit is run on xenothium."

"What?!" Speedy's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, "You're kidding! Robin would never -"

"Friend, please," The memory obviously distressed Starfire, "You do not have any idea the lengths Robin would go to in order to achieve justice."

Speedy shook his head, muttering, "What was Robin thinking when he made that suit?" And then, to Red X, "Red, don't you know how dangerous xenothium is?"

"Yes, obviously," Red X sighed, "I was thinking of stealing some tonight. There will be no security there anyway, but I'll need to be stocked up."

Speedy sighed, "Playing the thief card isn't my thing, but…"

"You're coming along?" Red X asked, raising an eyebrow, "Wow, never knew you would so easily cave your hero duties, Sidekick."

"You both cannot be serious!" Starfire exclaimed, but Speedy nodded.

"If Red X has all his gadgets, we'll be able to save the rest of the Titans with a better chance of success. This will be our only shot we get at this, everything needs to go down perfectly."

"But -"

"Look, Star," Speedy sighed, "I know that Red X being Robin's technology and we're using it to steal seems bad, but would you rather risk his suit malfunctioning and letting our counter-attack fail?"

"Now I'm liking the way you're thinking, Sidekick," Red X said, and then turned to Starfire and appeased her worries, "Don't worry, cutie, xenothium will be the only thing I'm after. Or don't you trust me?"

Starfire bit her lip, now conflicted with her answer. Sure, they hadn't exactly been law-abiding citizens since her sister swept in, but neither had any other citizen of Jump. Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes…but, Speedy, Red X…I have more information to share with you."

"You were leaving information out back at the bakery? That's cold, cutie."

"I do not know if this shall help either of you, but perhaps…if you are both set on stealing -" The word was bitter in her mouth, and a part of her was still very adamant about convincing them otherwise – "—xenothium, then perhaps you can look for this as well."

The two heroes glanced at each other, before looking back at Starfire. "I'm listening."

She smiled. Somehow, she knew that the two would end up getting along just fine.

It had been a long two days of gathering resources – such as xenothium, sharing knowledge and attempting to work together. Starfire and Speedy both knew by experience that rushing into something this dangerous without practicing teamwork would be suicide. Though they were now acquainted with all of Red X's gadgets, that didn't bother him. Robin knew the suit better than anyone, and Red X could still give him a thrashing.

Starfire had been so anxious about waiting that long, but it had to be done. Going in there unprepared would only lead to them being captured. They had one shot at this, and they couldn't screw it up. On the bright side, however, Speedy and Red X seemed to be getting along – when they had come back from stealing xenothium, the two seemed a bit more friendly with one another. She did not know what had transpired in there, but was happy the two bonded.

But now, it was gametime. Everything was set in motion. They had managed to siphon off a part of Blackfire's force with an actress they hired to portray Starfire, and Red X and Speedy had managed to pick off the rest of the security littering the outside. The black-clad thief had entered the building, and now all she could do was sit and wait in worry. Was he okay in there? Had he encountered Blackfire?

The redheaded Princess sat behind a few rocks just outside the tower, as Speedy stood atop of them and notched another arrow. They only had two communicators to break down into battery-charged walkie-talkies, and they had decided that Starfire and Speedy could share, for she didn't need one. She didn't think she needed one either; it was for the purpose of telling Speedy how many enemies were in what section of the tower. It required moving around a bit so he could hit the targets – and having arrows that could vibrate and break the glass - but it was nothing that he couldn't do.

Her hand absently ran across Red X's utility belt. He had given it to her, insisting that she would need it in case he couldn't find the off switch for her power collar. Of course, he had taken some gadgets with him, but she had some pretty cool stuff in there. Not that she knew how to use most of it. It was underneath her hoodie - or, well, one of his hoodies. He'd been lending her his clothing, and she had been spending so much time in his home and in his clothes that she was rather used to the smell of smoke. She disliked it when she saw him smoke, but was unsure of how to approach him about the matter.

Red X had very kindly let Speedy use his apartment as well, so the presence of Green Arrow's sidekick had made things difficult. She had taken the couch, Red X his own room, and Speedy slept on the floor. She would have suggested a movie night, but none of them even slept - too worried about all the possibilities of what could go wrong. Speedy seemed to appreciate Red X's hospitality, and Starfire had discovered that they were both avid readers. She hadn't expected that out of either of them, and had been lost when they were discussing symbolism in Lord of the Flies. Since the red-clad Titan had been around, however, Starfire hadn't gotten the opportunity to ask Jason anything about his life. She desperately wanted to know more about her new friend, but she hadn't seen his face - not once since Speedy had joined them. She wondered if that meant Speedy knew who Jason Todd was.

A fizz of static broke her out of her reminiscing. The communicators turned out not to be the most reliable technology, but they had generally worked during the few test runs.

"Is he alright?" She asked, worried for him. If Blackfire and her goons could capture the Titans, then surely they would have no trouble with a lone thief. 'No, he is not alone,' Starfire thought, biting her lip.

"Red, coordinates? Over." Speedy asked, only to clench his teeth and wince as spark came out of the communicator. "What? There's too much static - I can't -"

Anxiety spiked in her as she jumped up and grabbed the makeshift walkie-talkie from the archer. "Red X! Friend, please respond!" She pressed her ear to the device as she tried to make out what he was saying.

"...Nd...fire...ll...over," Was all that came through. She looked at Speedy, her face crestfallen as she thought of him being in trouble.

"I'm sure it's not him in trouble," Speedy said reassuringly, "The battery is just probably dying! Or maybe he knocked it around, or something."

The message came through again, this time more urgent. All that could be heard was, "Found...Blackfire..."

The masked hero laughed nervously, "Well...maybe it is him in trouble."