Young Justice: Red X

by Hexalys

Robin, leader of the Teen Titans, wakes up in a world not unlike his own, Earth-16. Isolated and stranded, he decides to take up an old alias and joins a new team of young heroes. As Red X he builds a new reputation and battles against enemies both new and familiar. Ch17: Red X fights against Klarion and is placed under a spell, making his worst nightmare a reality.

3. Meeting The Archers

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

Here's another chapter for you guys, which is unfortunately again on the shorter side, being five thousand words long. I kept trying to add more content, but nothing fit in well with the rest of the chapter and then I just got frustrated. At this point, I'm focusing more on just getting Red X used to this world and how he'll interact/react with the people here. We've seen him sort of deal with the loss of his team, and by that I mean he's not dealing with it, but rather ignoring it. Typical TT/Robin behavior. Anyways, we'll be getting some new characters in this chapter so enjoy and review!

~Young Justice: Red X~

Chapter 3: Meeting The Archers

|STAR CITY
|2010 June 14, 01:53 PDT

Speedy gazed down at the person surrounded by eighteen criminals and turned back to his mentor, Green Arrow, with a questioning look. The older hero shook his head and signaled for him to just watch. Roy nodded back uncertainly. He looked back down through the roof's skylight and tightened his hand around his bow. He didn't really understand why they were just watching. They had arrived to bust up this gangs' heist, but then Green Arrow had stopped him from going in. He guessed that Ollie just wanted to check out the new guy's moves before they saved the day.

There was also the fact that Speedy wasn't sure which side this guy was on.

If the he was a hero, then he certainly didn't look the part. 'But then again neither did Batman.' He was dressed mostly in black with a long cape that was tattered and torn at the end. He had grey gloves that matched his gunmetal belt in color and there were red X's located on his mask, chest, and hands, each varying in size. His mask, which completely hid his face and hair, had a white skull on it that hardly seemed suitable for something the good guys were supposed to wear. As such it was hard to guess the guy's age. Roy could tell the newcomer wasn't as tall as himself, but rather closer to Aqualad's height, so the newcomer was either a teenager or just a rather short adult. His build was fairly muscular, but not overly so. He was likely a speed oriented fighter and with no visible weapons, probably adept at hand-to-hand combat.

Speedy tensed as he saw one of the ski mask wearing thugs lunge for the skull guy. The stranger jumped over the clumsy charge and shot a red X shaped weapon at a different criminal at the back of the group. Roy watched the fight progress in silence, becoming reluctantly impressed as he saw the skull guy, who he suspected to be no older than himself, take down the group with an impressive display of skill and agility that must have taken years to obtain. After about five minutes, all eighteen grunts had been rendered immobile, either unconscious or restrained by those weird X weapons, and not one had landed a hit on their attacker. It fell silent once every criminal was taken care of, with the skull stranger just standing still in the center of the room. Speedy didn't even realize he was holding his breath until the newcomer brushed off some nonexistent dirt from his shoulder and suddenly disappeared.

Beside him, Ollie stiffened.

"You know, it's not polite to spy on people." On instinct, Roy pulled out his bow before the unknown person could finish speaking. 'How did someone sneak up on us?' "And it's especially rude to not lend a hand when a person is clearly outnumbered." The voice, male he noted in an afterthought, continued in an odd metallic undertone from a few feet away from them, his voice was smooth, not showing any sign of fear or worry as Roy aimed an arrow at his chest. Tense and ready for Ollie's signal, Speedy was put off as Green Arrow held up his hand to hold his position. Frustrated at not knowing what was happening, Roy grunted as he lowered his bow a little, but pointedly made a show of not relaxing his stance. He narrowed his eyes as the unknown person stepped out from the shadow to their left, revealing himself to be the skull guy. 'Is he a teleporter?'

"Outnumbered yes, but not outmatched." Speedy heard Ollie say as he stepped away from their position as if to greet the guy with a handshake. Silently cursing Ollie for letting his guard down too quickly, he straightened his shoulders and put away his bow with more flare than necessary, radiating confidence from his posture as a warning to the stranger. There was no doubt in his mind that he and Green Arrow could take this guy down if was stupid enough to take them both on.

"I had no idea that you could be so complementary, Green Arrow. Your manners are much better than Batman's." There was an underling meaning to the skull guy's words that wasn't quite sarcastic, but it was too polite to be genuine either. "And since you have been so courteous, I'll return the favor. The name's Red X." He continued as he held out his hand towards Speedy, turning all of his attention to him in a way that like he was snubbing Ollie. "Speedy, right? I've heard you're good." The guy's, Red X's, voice was odd again, sounding pensive with a touch of humor lingering at the end of his sentence. He gripped Red X's hand and they both gave each other a measuring squeeze before letting go.

Speedy decided that even though Red X had questionable tastes in clothing, he seemed to be a decent enough guy. The fact that Ollie was now sporting a pinched, irritated expression helped a little. He was also almost a hundred percent certain that the tattered caped hero was a teenager. It was little things here and there, like how he held himself, and how his limbs seemed just a little too long for the rest of his body, as if he were going through to the last phase of a growth spurt.

"Thanks, although can't say I've heard about you before. You're new right?" The question got him a stilted nod. "So who's your mentor? Is it Black Canary? I heard she's been looking for a partner for a while now." Speedy mused as he searched the nearby rooftops for any sign of Oliver's love interest.

"I'm here on my own." Red X replied in a serious manner. Or perhaps that was just his normal voice? The metallic undertones, no doubt added to further hide his identity, made him constantly sound intimidating, hard, giving him a steely persona. Still, the answer had the red archer blinking at Red X in surprise.

"Oh, so you went solo tonight? That's cool." He commented lowly while shooting a narrowed glance at Green Arrow, trying to ignore his indignation. They had talked about him taking another solo mission every now and then, but Ollie always gave him the runaround. Admittedly, the fact that his first solo mission spying on Lex Luthor had resulted in him going missing for three months didn't help his case much. He understood Ollie's hesitation, he really did, but that was almost three years ago. He'd changed so much since then.

"No, you misunderstand me. I no longer have a mentor, he's gone." Red X corrected lowly and Speedy snapped out of his thoughts, giving the tattered caped hero a startled look, coincidentally missing the sudden sharpness in Green Arrow's gaze.

"Do you mean he's… dead?" He asked as delicately as he could and Red X nodded stiffly.

"He was a good teacher." The newcomer replied as he turned his head to look away from both archers.

"I'm sorry." Speedy offered somberly. He subtly glanced over at Green Arrow and wondered, not for the first time, about what he would do if he ever lost his guardian. Ollie may be a goofy pain in the neck most of the time, but he was still the most important person in his life. Speedy looked back at Red X and felt his respect for the guy grow. It must have taken a lot of strength for him to put on the mask and move forward after his mentor's death. Though he still had to wonder who Red X's mentor had been. Not a superhero, or at least not a well-known one. The quiet mood was ruined as Ollie's communicator suddenly went off. He gave it a quick glance, before frowning at the screen. "What's wrong?"

"It's Count Vertigo. He's just broken into the National Bank." Green Arrow answered as he turned towards Red X. "Would you like to come with? It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands." Speedy couldn't help but stare at his mentor with a mix between shock and curiosity. Taking down a bunch of street goons was one thing, but Count Vertigo was in a completely different league. And Ollie usually got extremely territorial when it came to the Count, so why was he inviting somebody that they'd just met to help out? Roy frowned and glared at his feet. Something was going on and he didn't like not knowing what.

"I will of course help when asked, but you should try being more discreet in the future Green Arrow." Red X replied, sounding oddly reproachful with the green archer. Ollie looked back at Red X surprise for a second, but then he nodded and even smirked a little. Speedy, having watched the small exchange, felt even more left out of the loop and gritted his teeth in irritation.

"Can we just go already?" He growled towards them both, who blinked at him in surprise as if they'd forgotten he was there. Ollie recovered quickly and nodded again before he jumped to a neighboring rooftop, leading the way towards the National Bank. Speedy stared at Red X for a second before they both silently turned to follow Green Arrow at the same fast pace. Still feeling wary towards the newcomer, Speedy did his best to leave Red X behind as he pushed himself to catch up with Ollie. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Red X was able to keep up with his stride easily.

"I already admitted that I met Batman." Red X stated suddenly, his tone so low that Speedy had to concentrate to pick up the words over the sounds of the city. "Naturally he was, and still is, very suspicious of me. He's in regular contact with Green Arrow and the other Justice League members. It only makes sense that Batman would tell the other heroes to be on the lookout for me. I wasn't sure if he asked the others to play recon until Green Arrow invited me along. I doubt he would normally bring along an unknown variable to take on a criminal of Vertigo's standards. He's doing this in hopes that he can find out more information on me." As if to prove his point, Speedy saw Ollie glance back at them shiftily, before slowing down his speed a little to eavesdrop better.

"Hey, Green Arrow may be many things, but subtle is not one of them." He said as smirked at Red X, ego smoothed slightly with the new information. Even though he couldn't see it, Speedy was sure that the guy was smirking back at him. Yep, Red X was definitely around his age.

~Young Justice: Red X~

|STAR CITY
|2010 June 14, 02:30 PDT

Red X stood next to Speedy, just a little behind Green Arrow as the older archer scanned the inside of the bank. He took another inconspicuous glance at the redhead beside him, amazed at the differences this Speedy showed to the one he used to know. This Roy Harper, and he had no doubt that the two versions were indeed the same person, was so serious, tough, focused. While his dimension's Speedy could be stern too, he was by far the one of the vainest hero Red X had ever met. He was also a bit of a jokester, somewhat arrogant, and had always been overconfident in his abilities.

Red X gave the scowling teen another measuring look. Speedy was tall and muscular, much more so than his counterpart had ever been. The ages of the sidekicks in this world confused him too. Here, Dick Grayson had been born on December 1, 1996 and would be turning 14 this year. Yet in his dimension, Red X had been born on March 20, 1993. Speedy had been a year older than him, but in this world, Roy Harper was older than Dick Grayson by four and a half years, making him 17. The odd thing, from what X could figure out, the timelines were the same; the year, month, and day had matched upon his arrival in this dimension, so he hadn't gone back in time at all. The tattered caped teen shook his head. He couldn't deny that this new dimension was completely baffling in some ways when compared to his own.

Red X was brought out of his musings as Green Arrow signaled that it was clear.

While he was trying to establish himself as a hero and not as a sidekick in this world, he followed Green Arrow's lead as this would be his first time fighting against Count Vertigo in either dimension. He knew his Batman had a run-in with the villain once, years before he'd become Robin. Vertigo had tried to steal some sort of sonic drill that Wayne Enterprises had created. He couldn't remember much about the case specifically, only that Batman had needed to take Talia al Ghul as backup. If he remembered correctly, Vertigo had used a weaponized eyepatch that was able to produce a vertigo effect on its victims. While it was likely that this Count Vertigo was essentially the same as his counterpart, Red X knew better than to make any assumptions about the man or his abilities.

Watching Green Arrow drop down into the back, followed quickly by his partner, Red X silently jumped down after them. They landed in the darkened room, only for the lights to turn on to reveal that they were surrounded several men.

"Next time, I'll check to see if the room is safe." X heard Speedy grumble towards a sheepish looking Green Arrow.

"Hey, I couldn't tell if there was a trap down here, okay? It was too dark." Green Arrow defended himself as he pulled out his bow and readied an arrow.

"I have night vision." Red X added simply, feeling a little amused at the confused stares that came from both archers. "Just so you know for next time." He offered, shrugging lightly. The two smirked and he easily slid into a ready stance.

"Unfortunately for you, there won't be a next time." X heard someone, no doubt Count Vertigo, say from just beyond the lights reach. "It's always a pleasure to see you again Green Arrow, Speedy, but I'm sorry to say I don't know your new friend." The Count continued in a Vlatavan accent as he finally stepped into the light, accompanied with the soft tapping of a cane. Count Vertigo, aka Werner Vertigo, was indeed the same man from X had studied in Batman's files. He was Caucasian with blue eyes, boasting white-blonde hair slicked back and a widow's peak hairline.

However, the costume this Count wore was radically different from his counterpart. Instead of simple grey uniform with black boots, gloves, and a cape, this Count wore clothes that were hardly suited for a fight. Looking even more aristocratic than his double, the count wore a lime green blazer on top of a brown waistcoat, which was over a white dress shirt, with a dark green ascot with a golden broche. He also wore a dark green cloak with matching pants and gloves, black dress shoes of all things, and was idly twirling a golden tipped cane. Strangely enough, there was no eyepatch. Did he have some sort of gun that would produce the same effect?

"The name's Red X." The caped teen replied shortly as he moved his assessment of Vertigo onto the surrounding grunts, mentally counting their numbers.

"Ah yes, I've heard of you, the newest little troublemaker to come out of the shadows. Rumors say that you've already run afoul with both Sportsmaster and the Mad Hatter." Count Vertigo intoned just as Red X finished counting. There were thirty-two henchmen in all. 'Hmph, a decent number for once.' As Vertigo raised his hand, the large group started to close in on the three heroes. "I hear Sportsmaster has been most eager for a rematch." Red X shot a look towards the archers and tightened his fist, the only warning he gave to let them know he was about to attack. At their slight nods, he turned his attention back to Count Vertigo. "A shame he won't get the chance."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." He retorted before he teleported in front of the Count, taking the man by surprise as he delivered a powerful kick into his unprotected stomach. He knocked Vertigo deeper into the shadows and looked back to see how Green Arrow and Speedy were fairing. The thugs had descended onto them like a veritable tsunami, but he could see that the archers were quickly disabling their foes. Concern appeased, X launched himself into the shadows.

He activated his night vision and saw that the villain was just starting to get off the floor. He smirked as he heard Vertigo's irregular breathing; the man clearly couldn't take a hit. That usually meant that he couldn't dish out one either, he should only have to worry about the man's ability to induce vertigo, whether it was via gun or something other weapon. Red X turned on his cloaking device to limit Vertigo's already diminished vision even further and stalked towards his enemy, waiting for the trepidation of the unknown to build. It was a basic ploy that Batman had first taught him, and one the Dark Knight preferred to use the most. In truth, Red X had gotten much of a chance to employ this tactic with the Titans. While Raven may have taken to the approach, his other friends simply hadn't had the skill or patience for it. As he hid in the shadows, waiting for the Count's anxiety to grow, X couldn't help but feel like he'd miss this.

He soon found himself frowning though as he watched his opponent, not panic, but regain control of himself. Instead of Vertigo's breath intake increasing, it slowed down and he visibly calmed himself down. Damn it, he'd made a rookie mistake. Red X felt like smacking himself upside the head for thinking that Vertigo was like any other criminal. Not even most of the villains that the Teen Titans had normally fought were on the same level as the Count. The man was Green Arrow's archenemy for a reason after all. Count Vertigo had obviously figured out his strategy, but that didn't mean that the man's vision had improved at all. He still had the advantage.

"A wise move to push me into the shadows, but you should have made sure that you were the only one who would gain an advantage from the darkness." Vertigo said as he stared in the opposite direction of Red X and began to place something over his eyes. X scowled, knowing he'd screwed up. He should have kept attacking the Count instead of trying to scare the man. Deciding to rectify his mistake, he charged towards Vertigo just as the man turned to face him.

He staggered, suddenly feeling an onslaught of dizziness and nausea, unable to keep his balance or even see straight. His sense of direction was so thrown off course that he didn't know which way was up or down. His head thumped so loudly that thinking proved to be an almost insurmountable task. He felt as if one wrong twitch might cause his head to explode. Red X struggled to look up, able to feel the floor under him more so than actually see it, only to find five Vertigo's filling his vision instead of one.

"H-How?" He grunted through gritted teeth as he tried to stand back up on his feet, though he couldn't remember falling to his knees. How had Vertigo seen through his cloaking device? How was able to use his ability without some sort of weapon? Was the man a meta-human in this dimension? The Count tapped the thing resting over his eyes and Red X was able to focus his sight long enough to see that it was some sort of tech-goggles.

"Simple. You assumed that I would be unprepared. These are thermal imaging goggles; I could easily see your approach." Count Vertigo explained as he increased his crippling attack on Red X, causing the teen to grunt in pain as the pressure in his head increased. "I have to say, you're definitely full of surprises Red X. Teleportation and invisibility, along with whatever tricks you have up your sleeve. You make a very dangerous adversary. It would be prudent to finish you off now." The pressure increased again, almost making the young hero cry out in pain.

"T-Too bad…you… f-forgot I… d-didn't come h-here alone." The tattered caped teen managed to growl, accidentally biting his tongue in the process.

"What?!" Falling for the bluff, Count Vertigo turned to search for an attacker that wasn't there. As quickly as he could, X grabbed the man's ankle and activated his Electric X, sending volts of red electricity racing through his body. Vertigo screamed for a few long seconds before he promptly passed out and crashed into the ground, a steady stream of smoke rising up from his still twitching body. X laid still for a minute as he tried to regain his bearings, breathing harshly through his nose and swallowing blood. After he was sure he wouldn't throw up, he shakily climbed to his knees and shuffled over to check on Vertigo.

The reflexive spasms were starting to stop and Vertigo's breathing was regular, if a little heavy, but he should be fine. He tore off the metal thermal goggles that Vertigo had been wearing and quickly dropped them as he felt extreme heat burn through his gloves. X stared down at Count Vertigo's face and saw that there were raw, red, blistering burn marks surrounding his eyes. He grimaced at the grisly wounds that would no doubt leave very ugly scars. While he felt little pity towards the man who had just tried to turn his brains into mush, he knew that Vertigo would never let this go. No criminal would.

Sluggishly, he tied up the Count and slowly dragged the man back to where he and the archers had entered the bank. He paused as he watched Speedy and Green Arrow finish the remaining thugs and used the slight break to regain his failing strength. He could feel his legs shaking, straining to keep him standing. It was obvious that Vertigo's attack had done a lot more damage then he'd initially thought. Once Speedy and Arrow defeated the last of the grunts, X straightened his posture and tossed Count Vertigo at the older archer's feet. He walked into the light as both heroes looked from him to Vertigo in surprise.

"You beat him on your own?" Speedy asked in disbelief, silently thinking that even he would've had trouble taking the Count down alone. Green Arrow shot Red X a searching look and he met the man's gaze without blinking.

"I fought him. I doubt I could have defeated him if I was here by myself though." He replied evenly as he casually leaned up against a nearby wall. In truth, throwing Vertigo had taken up what little strength he'd regained and he needed to lean against something or else he'd fall over. Bitterly, X did realize the accuracy behind his words. Had he come alone, he wouldn't have been able to trick Count Vertigo into looking away, giving him the split second he needed to win. He was so used to fighting with a team still. Going solo was proving to be harder than he'd thought.

Green Arrow moved to check on the villainous aristocrat's condition and gasped sharply as he saw the burn wounds that marred Vertigo's face. He looked back up at Red X and glared viciously. X was too well trained to flinch at the heated look, but that didn't stop the swell of emotions that formed in his stomach.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Green Arrow growled and Speedy moved to see what was wrong. The younger archer grimaced at the sight of Vertigo's face before he too joined Arrow in scowling at Red X. The burns looked much worse now that he could see them properly in the banks overhanging lights. Grimacing behind the safety of his mask, X shrugged before answering.

"I did what I had to." He knew that he sounded callous, but he'd really had no other choice. Count Vertigo had been causing him so much pain that he hadn't been able to regulate what amount of voltage to use. It had been a desperate move, one that he was starting to feel guilty over. But it had saved his life in the end and he couldn't regret that.

"Speedy, I'm taking Vertigo to the hospital. Round up these guys and wait for the police to arrive." Green Arrow said quickly as he carefully picked up Vertigo before turning towards Red X. "And as for you, you can get the hell out of my city." The archer snarled before he took to the roof tops. Red X didn't respond as he was too focused on trying to keep his balance as the pounding in his head returned with a vengeance.

Once Green Arrow was gone, Speedy quickly advanced on him.

"What kind of bullshit was that, huh? A hero doesn't ever do that to a person, no matter how evil they might be!" The redhead shouted as he pushed Red X up against the wall that he'd been leaning against. X couldn't say anything in his defense, instead he tried to keep his mouth shut so that he wouldn't throw up. Speedy released him after a minute, a look of disgust clearly shown on his face, and X fell to the ground as he felt his vision tilt. He gagged and mentally willed for his stomach to settle as he clutched his head in pain. He was aware that he was making small moans that only grew louder as the stabbing ache in his head escalated.

Roy stared down in shock and concern as he saw Red X collapse in agony. Obviously figuring out that something was wrong, he quickly bent down and gently rubbed the other teen's back. He knew from personal experience what Red X was going though, he'd felt the effects of Vertigo's power for himself on more than one occasion, but he'd only seen a reaction this bad twice before. Both times Vertigo had used his full power on Green Arrow. The Count had almost killed Ollie then and it looked like he tried to do the same thing to Red X.

After ten minutes the pain started to fade a little and X tried to salvage what little pride he had left. He'd always hated looking weak in front of the others. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and rested his back against the wall as he focused on the taste of iron in his mouth, keeping his eyes closed since the light only made his head ache worse. He didn't need to open them to know that Speedy was still there, no doubt watching with worry. X was struck with a sudden need to explain himself, to make Speedy understand that it had been an accident, and sighed shakily before speaking.

"He'd gotten me, held me down with his power. I don't doubt that he was trying to finish me off. My only chance was to distract Vertigo by saying that you two were sneaking up behind him. I grabbed his foot and sent a surge of electricity into him." He had to pause to catch his breath and wait out another dizzy spell. Nausea pulled at his churning stomach but he pushed it back. "I didn't have time to measure the voltage. I was too heavily impaired to move away from him and my distraction would only buy me a second or two. I didn't mean to burn him like that, but it was the only way that I could save myself." Red X admitted quietly and after a few more minutes, he summoned up enough strength to stand, finally forcing himself to make eye contact with the archer.

He didn't see any anger or blame in the redheads' masked eyes, only understanding and concern.

Red X released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was good to know that he hadn't blown his chances of starting a friendship with this Speedy. He didn't particularly like the idea of being alienated by the rest of the hero community. And if X was being honest with himself, he'd confess that so far, his time in this new dimension had been a rather lonely experience.

"Are you going to be okay?" Speedy asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. Red X nodded cautiously, hoping it wouldn't cause his vision to go double again.

"I should be once I get some rest." He answered as he moved to help Speedy tie up the crooks. The archer grabbed his shoulder, making him pause in confusion, and he hesitated. Had he misread Speedy's look?

"Then that's what you should do. I can take care of these guys and I'll talk to Green Arrow about what really happened when he gets back. You go and get some rest." Speedy offered and Red X nodded his head in thanks. "And don't worry about what GA said. You're welcome here anytime." He stared uncomprehendingly, barely recalling that Green Arrow had essentially told him he wasn't welcome in Star City, before dipping his head once in farewell.

Teleporting to his bike, and steadily ignoring the following head rush, he carefully drove to an abandoned factory just outside the city's limits. He'd bought the building a week ago, making it a temporary base until the one in Gotham City was finished. X collapsed onto a small cot, nursing a crippling migraine and a horrible feeling in his stomach that had little to do with the nausea.

~Young Justice: Red X~

Red X's encounter with Speedy and Green Arrow earns him a lot of respect from the younger archer as well as a budding friendship. However, Ollie has an opposite reaction, so don't expect a feel-good relationship between them. I wanted Speedy to feel like Red X will be the only one who truly understands him when he leaves to become Red Arrow.

X's struggle with Count Vertigo was to show that he isn't unbeatable. I want him to be one of the best young heroes out there, but I'm scared of making him seem all powerful. The scars that Red X accidentally gave Vertigo will earn him a lot of trouble in the future. Count Vertigo will certainly hold a grudge and want revenge, but he's not going to become Red X's arch-nemesis. For that, I have someone else in mind…

–Hexalys