Chapter Three: X Marks the Spot

The day after our little encounter with Control Freak, the Titans decided that it would be a good idea to do something to relieve ourselves from any stress. Starfire suggested that they all go to the park for a picnic. Link agreed with her, saying that it was a good idea, and the others agreed soon after, although Raven sounded a bit moody when she agreed (to be fair though she almost always sounds like that). I was still sitting on the couch when they were discussing this, and Starfire flew over and asked me if I wanted to come along. I wasn't sure at first, considering my past of keeping myself hidden most of the time; but before I could decide for sure, Starfire grabbed my arm and lifted me off of the couch. I tried to struggle free, but she was insisting that I come along with them. I guess there was no point in arguing, especially with a girl strong enough to punch holes through steel walls, so I decided to come along with them. Before any of us left, Robin once again told me that he'd be keeping his eye on me. Sheesh! Is Spikey ever going to give me a break!

Everyone brought along their own food and games to play; well, everyone except me that is. Still, once we were at the park we all had a good time, including me. Though I did notice that a few people that walked by had given me strange looks. Link noticed this though, and told me that they were probably directing the strange looks at him. But why? I mean, the guy did give off a weird vibe when you're close to him, but other than that he didn't seem that bad. I also noticed that Starfire was putting mustard on her sandwich… I mean, a lot of mustard. I wasn't sure if this was normal for her, or something new.

"Uhh… you want some sandwich with that mustard?" I humorously asked her.

"Oh, my apologies. It is just that I love the mustard! It is my favorite Earth beverage… I mean condiment!" She answered.

I really didn't know how to respond to that, but whatever. Shortly after we had all eaten, Cyborg asked if any of us wanted to play 'foo-ball' as he called it. I assumed that he meant football, and everyone seemed game; everyone except Raven, who was just sitting under a tree meditating. I decided to play too, if only to annoy Spikey. Cyborg said that we should divide ourselves into groups. Almost instantly, Starfire called to be on Link's team and immediately went to his side, causing him to blush a little. Yep, there was definitely something going on between those two, and I could see that it was making Robin a little jealous. I guess he hasn't gotten over her dumping him yet. Beast Boy decided to be on Link's team too, so I guess that meant that Cyborg, Robin, and I were gonna be a team. I nudged Spikey in the shoulder to let him know that, and he responded with a unenthusiastic 'yay.'

We split off into our separate teams and the game began. Beast Boy managed to get the football to Link, who really didn't seem to know what to do with it. Because of this, Robin was able to take the ball from him rather easily. He started running towards our make-believe goal, but wasn't paying attention when Starfire swooped out of nowhere and took the ball from him. That didn't seem fair! She was flying! I ran after her, even though it seemed like a pointless effort. She turned her head to me while still in the air, telling me to 'catch her if I could.' I didn't exactly know how to play this game, but I was determined to whip these guys at their own game. That little thought suddenly gave me an idea; I just remembered that there was a weapon I could use for this exact situation. While still running, I focused and formed a glowing red whip in my right hand. With one crack, it grabbed the football right out of her hands.

"Piece of cake!" I said while twirling the ball on the tip of my finger. "Umm… what am I supposed to do with this again?"

While I was distracted and wondering what to do, Beast Boy, in the form of a hawk, grabbed the ball out of my hand. Then he changed into a wolf and ran towards the goal with the ball in his mouth. Cyborg stopped him though, and grabbed the ball, but he immediately dropped it for the fact that it was covered in BB's saliva. Link came in and picked it up, despite the fact that it was all slimy, and ran towards the goal. It was hard for him to keep hold of it though, so he was half-focused on the goal and half-focused on making sure he didn't drop the ball. Since he wasn't completely paying attention, I was able to get behind him and tackle him to the ground. I took the ball from him and threw it over to Spikey, who was closest to the goal. No one caught him, so he was able to score a touchdown. He, Cyborg, and I shouted in joy from our score. Robin high-fived Cyborg, and then he high-fived me, almost like he forgot the fact that he didn't entirely like me. Almost in an instant, he drew his hand away and turned to the side, as did I, and both of us were blushing slightly. Link, Starfire, and Beast Boy came up to congratulate us.

"Don't congratulate us yet! This was only round one!" I told them.

"Scarlette, their called 'plays' in football." Cyborg told me.

"Whatever. My point is that this game had just begun!" I replied.

Before we could continue though, everyone's communicators began to sound an alarm. The one that Starfire had given me was also ringing within my pocket, and I was hoping that no one had noticed. Robin went to answer his, and told us all that there was a crime in progress at one of the local banks. Yes! An emergency to deal with! That was so much better than playing football! Well, in my opinion anyway. Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg all hopped into Cyborg's car, the T-Car (gee, how original). I hopped in as well, but I noticed that there were only five seats. I didn't need to worry though, as Starfire was just going to fly there, and Link had a little trick that he used in these kind of situations; he was able to use his spirit powers on his boots to let him run abnormally fast. Umm… okay. Anyway, since our transportation problems had been solved, we all raced off to the crime scene, and I was eager to kick some butt!

We arrived at the bank to stop whatever criminal had decided to trash the place, but oddly enough it didn't even look like the place had been broken into. Robin mentioned that didn't mean there wasn't trouble. I believed him, but there was still the slight chance that our communicators had given us a false alarm. I couldn't have been more wrong, cause on the inside, the bank vault had been blown open. When we went to investigate, there was no one inside, but then Robin still gave the order for us to search around. Each one of us searched every inch of the bank, but still found nothing. I was beginning to think that ol' Spikey was full of it!

"Titans, don't let your guard down. Keep searching." Robin told us.

"Will you open your eyes already and admit that there's nothing here!" I told him. "Or are you too much of a snob to realize that you might have made a mistake?!"

"Excuse me, little miss pickpocket?! Might I remind you that I am the team leader!" He snarled.

"Big whoop! It doesn't mean you're always right!" I snarled back. "Also, I'm the one who does the name-calling around here, Spikey!"

"You'd better watch it or I'll….!" He began.

"Or you'll what? Give me a red signal, Mr. Traffic Light?!" I interrupted him angrily.

Our arguing kept on for about five minutes, with the other Titans just looking on with freaked out looks on their faces, until Link finally interrupted us. He said that he had heard something, or someone hiding in the shadows. As we paused to look around, from out of nowhere, several X-shaped projectiles flew right at Robin. I got him out of the way just in time (not sure why), and once we were up we readied ourselves for whatever foe we were facing.

"Told ya." Robin told me snidely.

"I said you might have made a mistake! Turns out, you didn't." I said a bit awkwardly.

A moment later, I definitely heard someone moving in the shadows, but it was safe to assume that it was only one person. Just one guy? I could take him! Err… I mean we could take him. However, I still had no idea who the guy we were dealing with was, but apparently the others had an idea. Before I could ask though, our opponent leapt out of the shadows and revealed himself. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit and cape, and wore a white mask with a big red x across it. He also wore a belt that looked very similar to Robin's. Actually, this guy resembled Robin greatly, all except for the color, symbols, and the fact that his hair wasn't showing.

"Red X." Robin growled.

"Long time, no see, huh kid?" Red X asked tauntingly.

Red X? That was this guy's name? That was almost as lame as 'Robin'… almost. Naming issues aside, Robin demanded that Red X explain his actions here. Though it was actually quite simple; he was robbing the bank. Well, duh! Sometimes I think Spikey gets way in over his head.

"You see, I took a job from these criminals very recently, and they claimed that they'd pay me big for it. That job didn't work out so well, so I decided to come here and 'withdraw' from my 'account'." Red X told us.

"It'd help if you actually had an account!" Beast Boy remarked.

"Let's just say everything here is my account. Or at least it will be, right after I deal with all of you!" He responded.

Right afterwards, he threw several more X-shaped projectiles at us, then leapt on top of one of the vault's gold piles. We all either dodged or blocked his attack, and then went after him. Starfire and Raven tried to head him off, but he threw out two X-shaped devices that binded their arms and cancelled out their flight somehow. Cyborg tried to stop him with his sonic cannon, but X disappeared and then reappeared behind him, then attached a device to Cyborg that sent an electric shock through his body to short him out. Beast Boy attacked him as a lion, but Red X threw out another X that exploded into some kind of red goo that stuck BB to the ground. He tried everything he could to escape, but to no avail. Link was up next, and managed to evade the first few attacks that Red X sent at him. X then extended two X-shaped blades on his wrists and charged towards Link, who intercepted them with his sword.

"Heh. Not bad for a new guy." Red X remarked. "Still not as good as Robin though. In more ways than one."

That remark for some reason made Link angrier, almost as if X's words had pierced something inside him. Unfortunately, Link's anger got the better of him, and although he was attacking mercilessly, X was able to subdue him in some kind of red energy net. Robin then charged towards him, but X jumped out of the way. I tried to catch him, but he was too quick. X gestured towards us, saying 'catch ya later', and vanished. I thought at first that he got away, but turns out Robin had put a tracking device on him while his back was turned. He told me to stay behind to help the others, while he went after X, and then left. What?! Stay here?! And miss all the action?! Not a chance! I turned invisible and chased after him. Fortunately, the signal tracking Red X was displayed on the communicator that Starfire gave me, so it didn't take very long for me to catch up, and neither of them knew I was there.

When I had caught up, I saw Robin and Red X ducking it out at the end of an alley, similar to the one where we fought. They seemed evenly matched at first, but eventually Red X got the upper hand, hit Robin in the back of his head, and knocked him out. He was about to escape, but before he could I reappeared and intervened. I formed my whip, snagged his leg as he jumped, and slammed him back down to the ground. He got back up in time to see me ditch my whip and stand ready for action.

"So, Red X huh? Well, when I'm done with you you'll be red all over!" I quipped, although I'm not sure if that was a good one.

"Who the heck are you?" He asked me.

"They call me Scarlette. But you can call me the one who's take you down!" I answered.

"Scarlette? And you're teasing me about being red?!" X responded. "So what's the deal with you? You one of Robin's new lackeys?"

"What?! As if! I follow my own agenda, bub!" I replied angrily.

"Eh, whatever. Lackey or not, no one's catching me!" X claimed.

Heh. Bold claim, but whatever. He came at me with a few punches and kicks, but I dodged them. Once I had some room, I decided that I'd try to show ol' Spikey up and use a bo staff to take this guy down. Once I had it in my hands, I used it to block his next wave of attacks, just as efficiently as when I had first practiced with it. When X fired projectiles at me, I spun my bo staff to block them. When he charged at me again, I thrust my staff into the ground and leapt up to it's tip. X stumbled, and I swung down and kicked him in the back. He quickly recovered and tried using that red goo that he used on Beast Boy to subdue me, but I was quick enough to dodge it, and then I tried the same trick that I used on Robin and Control Freak; I turned invisible. X hadn't seen this coming, but unlike Spikey and CF, X seemed to know I had turned invisible. He didn't know I could, but he figured out that I was. He stood completely still, prepared for where and when I would strike. I was going to get him up close from behind, but he was probably expecting that, so instead I tried getting him from a distance with my whip. He managed to dodge it, but I could tell that I was wearing him out, so I made a pair of nun-chucks and went in for some close combat. Each of us hit each other with a few blows, with neither of us letting up even for an inch. After a few more hits, X and I were both forced back, but still ready for more.

"I have to say, you're as good as you look, girl." Red X commented.

Oh brother. Was he hitting on me?! He better not, or else he's the one who's gonna get hit! But before he could pull off another attack, something hit him from behind that completely froze the upper part of his body! Neither of us knew what happened at first, but it turns out that Link had fired an ice arrow from behind. He and the other Titans had recovered from Red X's traps, and had come to help. Cyborg and Raven went over to help Robin up, who was just now regaining consciousness.

"What happened?" He asked.

"That Red X guy whacked you in the back of the head and knocked you out." I informed him. "Good thing I was here to pick up your slack, huh?"

"I told you to stay behind and help the others! You ignored my orders!" He snapped at me.

"Hey! If I hadn't followed you, X would've gotten away! Show a little gratitude!" I snapped back.

"The day that I show you gratitude is the day I take off this mask in front of everyone!" Robin claimed.

"Well, maybe that'll… wait, you don't take that thing off?" I asked.

Before our argument could continue, Cyborg interrupted us, telling us to get over here so we could interrogate Red X. X was still frozen, but who knows how long that ice would hold him. We had him surrounded just in case, and Robin started the interrogation by asking Red X what he was planning.

"I've told you before, kid; I'm a thief. I take what I want. Looking out for number one. That sort of thing." X claimed. "And after my most recent job, I needed to cash in on something new."

"And what exactly was that 'job?'" Robin asked.

"Heh. Well, I guess it might annoy them if I tell you…" He began. "I was hired by these freaks to steal something from the museum of Bludhaven; a relatively new artifact called the 'Phantom Hourglass.' Why anyone would be interested in a dusty old hourglass was beyond me, but they were offering me a large reward and it sounded like an easy job, so I got the hourglass for them. But when I handed it over, I was double-crossed. They said that my reward was that they'd 'let me live,' and then told me to beat it. I was really ticked, so I came here to 'compensate' for it."

"Things just aren't going your way, huh? That's what you get for choosing the life of a thief." I told him.

"You're one to talk." Robin remarked.

As he turned to face Red X again, I quickly stuck my tongue out at him, then quickly looked away when he looked at me in response.

"Having some girl troubles, huh?" Red X asked Robin.

"Shut it!" Robin snarled as he grabbed X by what little scruff of neck was unfrozen. "Who were the people who hired you?! Why did they want that hourglass?!"

"They never told me their names. One of them was a skinny pale guy in a red cape, and the other guy wasn't even human; he was this weird floating mask with tentacles coming out of it." X answered.

I had no idea who he was talking about, but the others knew exactly who he was describing. They blurted out two names: Ghirahim, and Majora. Those two names were the weirdest I've heard yet. I asked the others who they were talking about, and their descriptions of the two seriously freaked me out. Ghirahim was this pale white-haired man in a red cape and white unitard. He claimed to be a Demon Lord and had powers that included summoning daggers and swords, and teleportation. Plus, he had stalked Link when the guy had to leave on a three-year journey around the world. He sounded like a real creep, but the description for Majora sounded even worse. Majora was a mask that came to life after Link and Starfire accidentally freed it from a deserted island. The last time they encountered it, it took a form with sharp teeth, a flaming serpentine body, and eight tentacles coming out of it's back. From what they told me, Majora was completely insane and delighted in destruction and the torture of others. So far, he has been the most dangerous foe the Titans have ever faced, and I was both eager and a little frightened to face him.

"There was a third one there too. A man in black armor, who claimed to be a god. He was the one who gave me the deal to 'let me live.'" X mentioned.

The description of this third villain didn't sound familiar to any of us. Robin demanded that Red X tell us more, but before we could get anything else out of him, X broke one of his arms free and threw down a smokescreen. None of us could see what was going on, but when the smoke cleared, Red X was gone. I pulled out my communicator and claimed that the tracking signal on Red X said that he was still here, but after looking around a little I noticed that the tracking device was on the ground. It must've been knocked off during our fight. I informed the others of this, but Robin was more concerned with what was in my hand.

"Where did you get that communicator?" He asked me with an angry tone.

I looked back and forth at the communicator in my hand and towards him, then quickly concealed the communicator behind my back. I smiled nervously, but the angry look on his face only grew angrier, and my nervous smile just turned into a nervous look.

"Uhh… I can explain!" I claimed.

Before Robin could tell me off, no doubt about to assume that I had stolen the communicator from one of the others, Starfire interrupted him.

"Robin! Do not blame Scarlette! She did not steal anything! I gave her that communicator!" She informed him.

"What?! You? Starfire, why would you give your communicator to… to… her!" He inquired, pointing towards me afterwards.

"Because… I believe that you are acting much too harsh on Scarlette." Starfire claimed. "She is trying very hard to make up for her past mistakes, and I feel that you are not giving her much of a chance. At the very least you should treat her like a friend instead of a prisoner."

Robin hesitated for a minute, for Starfire's words had apparently sunken in. Well, halfway at least. He told her that he would ease up on me a little; in other words, he'd let me keep the communicator.

"Thank you, Robin! I'm sure you will come to see Scarlette as a friend soon!" She told him.

Robin then walked up to me, and said I could keep the communicator, but that he'd still be keeping an eye on me. I once again told him that I knew that; I mean, he's already told me that at least 100 times. He then turned to face everyone else, telling us that we needed to head back to the Tower. The others were kinda bummed out to hear that, considering that meant that we had to cancel the rest of our picnic, but Robin claimed that he needed to look into this whole situation; to find out what Ghirahim, Majora, and this strange third villain were up to.

Back at the tower, I was off in the training room practicing against some wooden targets. I was currently using a bo staff, and swinging it around like it was nothing. Once I had broken all of my targets, I stood in my 'cool-like' stance just for fun.

"Eat your heart out, Spikey!" I said to myself.

Turns out though, I wasn't alone. I turned around to see Link and Starfire in the doorway. They were clapping; I guess they were impressed with how well I handled myself with a bo staff or something.

"That was excellent!" Starfire claimed.

"Yeah! Nice job, Scarles!" Link said.

"Heh. It was nothing, I just…" I began, but stopped short in response to what he just called me. "Scarles?"

"Yeah. It's a shorter way of saying Scarlette. Y'know, for fun." He told me.

"Hmm… yeah, I see what you did there. I like it!" I replied.

Starfire giggled in joy at the fact that we were all getting along so well. Link and Starfire appeared to have a very strong friendship. I was kind of envious of that. I sighed and looked at my glowing bo staff.

"I just wish I could hear complements like that from Spikey." I said.

"You mean Robin? Yeah, the guy can be a… a…" Link began to say.

"Jerk, sometimes?" Starfire finished for him.

"Eh… something like that. He doesn't entirely trust anyone. But he'll warm up to you, just wait and see." Link told me.

"I hope you're right. Not that I like him or anything like that! Heh heh!" I said a little nervously. "But it'd be nice if he'd get off my back!"

A moment later, Link and Starfire asked if it would be okay if they used the training room along with me. With the word of Majora and Ghirahim's activities, they felt like they should be ready. I didn't have any problems with it, so the three of us all used the training room together. They had come in here to train with their swords; Link's was called the Master Sword, and Starfire's was called the Spirit's Sword. I didn't even know she had a sword until now, and it looked really cool; the hilt was shaped like a pair of wings, with each 'feather' having a tip of red, blue, and green, and the blade had four gemstones embedded in it and gold markings across it. It was about as long as Link's sword, and both looked like they've seen some intense battles. I decided to join in their training, so I formed a sword with my powers and trained as they did.

It was almost nine-o-clock when we were done training, and before we headed off to our rooms (or in my case, the couch) for some sleep, Starfire mentioned that she had an idea. Her suggestion was a double date, as a way to get Robin to warm up to me.

"WHAT?!" Both Link and I blurted out.

"Yes! This way, Robin could see for himself just how good of a person you are, Scarlette; and he will treat you as a friend!" She explained.

I noticed that Link was sweating a little, and looked kind of awkward.

"Are you sure this isn't just a way for you and Link to go out without Robin getting on your case?" I questioned.

"Well, that is part of the reason…" she claimed with a slightly guilty look. "But it is mostly for you. I really want Robin to like you."

"So that he won't bug you and Link anymore." I assumed.

She attempted to find a counter-statement, but I told her that it was cool and that I was in on it. She asked Link if he was interested in the idea, and although he still looked like a nervous wreck, he agreed. I guess it was settled then: Link, Starfire, Robin, and I would all go on a double date tomorrow. Well, that is… if ol' Spikey would agree to even step out of the tower with me.