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

Okay, here comes my first attempt at my own story arc. It's not going to be particularly long, just three chapters, but hopefully you guys will like it.

~Young Justice: Red X~

Chapter 4: The Auction Part I

|UNKNOWN LOCATION
|2010 June 22, 21:58 EDT

Red X came too slowly, withholding a pained grunt as he found himself laying down on what he guessed to be the floor. Carefully opening one eye, he found his intuition to be correct as grey, cracked concrete met his gaze. He blearily took in his surroundings and realized, with a pang of apprehension, that he had no idea where he was. 'Alright, stay calm, and assess the situation.' The words immediately set in, halting his first instinct to jump up into a ready stance, he was too well trained to react otherwise, and he checked over his own condition before attempting anything else.

The first thing X noticed was that his left ankle felt heavier. Subtly shifting around without making any noise, he found a thick metal cuff attached to the limb. He curled slightly to get a closer look and heard it giving off a low buzzing sound, a telltale noise that meant the cuff was likely electric. A deterrent to keep him under control then. Red X decided not to find out what would happen if he tried to remove it. Examining the rest of his person showed that his belt was still in place and that the rest of his gear, like his staff and grapping gun, hadn't been taken away, nor had anyone attempted to remove his mask. He frowned, finding the logic behind his entrapment very puzzling.

Why put a restraining device on him, but leave his weapons available? His captors had either seriously underestimated him, or they were that certain about their security measures. Perhaps leaving his weapons was meant to be a message, one that said he had no hope of escaping, no matter what he did. If so, then it would be an impressive demoralizing tactic, but only if it held true.

Narrowing his eyes, Red X gave up the pretense of still being unconscious and stood up to examine the room more closely, searching for a door or window. There were no obvious exits, and he couldn't find any seams in his prison, leading him to deduce that one of the walls must be the entrance to the room. His cell was an eight by eight area, with only a ratty, thin mattress placed up against the opposite wall. The room itself was made out of concrete, something his Xenothium powered abilities could easily breakthrough as opposed to steel or other metals. However, he did notice that a rather expensive looking camera had been installed in the right corner of his cell.

So he was trapped, being monitored, and had no idea how this had happened. Taking a deep breath, X sat down on the mattress and took up the meditative position Raven had taught him.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." He muttered calmly, repeating the chant several more times until his mind eased and he was able to focus his thoughts without any distractions. X tried to think about the last thing he'd done before waking up in this cell. Retracing his memory, he recalled that he'd been hunting down leads the last few days, searching for the two sidekicks who'd recently gone missing, Kid Flash and Aqualad. He'd been out scouring through Gotham's East End when Batman had found him.

It'd been a week since his fight with the archers against Count Vertigo, and besides the occasional headaches every now and then, Red X finally felt like himself again. Speedy had tried to get into contact with him to see if he was okay, despite Green Arrow's orders to stay away, so he'd decided to give the redhead the access code and frequency to his comlink. He'd asked Speedy to share that information with Robin, but no one else. He definitely did not want Batman calling just so that he could be interrogated. In hindsight, X was grateful for having made himself available to the two sidekicks because it hadn't taken long before something went wrong.

Red X stood mounted on one of the numerous gargoyles that overlooked Gotham City. It was his second night searching for the missing sidekicks. He'd gotten calls the day before from both Speedy and Robin. Their friends had apparently disappeared and their mentors had asked them if they knew where Kid Flash and Aqualad could have gone. When it was finally discovered that the teens were missing, Robin and Speedy had been forbidden to go outside.

The League's fear was understandable, as whoever had captured the two sidekicks could possibly be aiming to go after all of the younger heroes. A hostage situation seemed most likely and Red X shuddered at the thought of what could happen in such a scenario. Robin and Speedy had given him all the information their mentors had and asked for his help in finding Kid Flash and Aqualad. He'd of course agreed and immediately begun his search. Thanks to Robin's hacking skills, he now knew that the League had at least figured out that the missing sidekicks where located somewhere in Gotham City.

"What are you doing here?" X heard the familiar gruff voice of his mentor's counterpart ask from behind him. Bracing himself, he turned slightly to look at the man, catching the way Batman's left hand twitched slightly at his side, as if he were about to reach for a Batarang. Well, as of four days ago, he was considered a wanted criminal.

"If you must know, I'm looking for the missing sidekicks." He answered in a steely tone. X was in no mood to be hounded by the Dark Knight, and he could already feel a new headache taking root. His search was slowly coming to a standstill and he felt as if there were a guillotine hanging just over his neck. Or rather, over the sidekicks' necks. Red X carried no naïve delusions. Depending on who'd captured Aqualad and Kid Flash, they could already be dead at this point. Batman had clearly come to the same conclusion if his aggressive demeanor was anything to go by.

The doppelganger of his mentor glared before moving to stand beside him, body posture rigid. Red X continued to watch the man warily out of the corner of his eye. Being an old pro at the Batman game, he knew that the man was reaching the end of his rope. He would have no patience for a teenaged vigilante with attitude. Despite wanting to seem indifferent in the man's presence, X felt himself tense at the close proximity.

"How did you find out about Kid Flash and Aqualad?" Batman growled and he turned away slowly to look at the city skyline, discreetly making sure he could still see every movement the Dark Knight made. If the man made a grab for him, X was prepared to dive off the roof.

"You're the world's greatest detective, figure it out." He replied in a bored tone, noticing the way Batman's fists clenched suddenly, but felt no regret for his behavior. Everyone was under pressure and the search for the sidekicks was quickly becoming desperate. With tensions running high, Red X kept expecting something to go wrong for him personally.

How long would it take before that desperation devolved in distrust? Would the League soon be pointing their fingers at him, their suspicion given way to paranoia? The idea bitterly reminded X that he had no allies to speak of in this world. He glanced at the man beside him again, gritting his teeth at the glare he was receiving. Batman was just another hero here, one who would be just as likely to see him as an enemy.

"We've come up with a plan, but we need your help." The man stated after a moment and X turned to glare at the caped crusader suspiciously, instantly trying to figure out what the League's plan was. Predictably, Batman met his gaze head on, leaving nothing to be construed from his expressionless face. Still, he had a pretty good idea.

"You think that whoever captured Kid Flash and Aqualad is going after sidekicks, yet none of you want to risk losing Speedy or Robin." He guessed, already having similar thoughts as well. "The League wants to use me as bait." He continued stoically and Batman simply nodded, offering no platitudes or excuses.

That was what he liked about being Red X the most; no one sugarcoated anything for him. As an outsider, no one felt any need to shelter and protect him. It was almost like he was on equal footing with Batman. Almost. His mentor's double was only asking him for help because they had no other options. In fact, he was likely the last person the League wanted to turn to at the moment.

The scars on Count Vertigo's face of course drew the media's attention. Even though the man was a criminal to the League, he'd never actually been convicted of any crimes. As a member of the Vlatlava royal family, Vertigo had diplomatic immunity. In the eyes of the law, he was innocent. So naturally, the Count had painted himself as the victim when he'd been interviewed, claiming that Red X, an assassin of all things, had attacked him. The Vlatlavan embassy had demanded his arrest almost immediately after the interview went global. And to keep the peace with Vlatlava, the American government had placed a warrant out for his arrest.

The warrant didn't bother so much. There was a time when Batman had been in the same position, back when heroes were few and vigilantism was new. Red X was certain he could work around it fine. Avoiding the police would be simple enough. The only thing he needed to be concerned about was the hero community.

Green Arrow certainly hadn't helped matters much there. Oh, he'd informed the Justice League that he wasn't an assassin, but that was the only good thing Queen had to say about him. The archer had mostly written him off as a delinquent and it seemed most heroes took his opinion to heart. The League had issued a statement against Vertigo's allegations of him being an assassin, but it did little good. With no proof to offer for his innocence, he was considered guilty and the government fully expected the Justice League's cooperation in capturing him.

As far as the world was concerned, Red X was just another criminal.

At least the villain community was taking him seriously. After learning that he was responsible for Vertigo's new scars, and with the man claiming he was an assassin, he'd earned a lot of recognition in a short amount of time. While looking for the sidekicks, he'd heard plenty of hushed conversations about himself, speculating who he was and his motives. Gotham's underworld was already beginning to fear him. All it cost him was the respect of the League and how the public viewed him.

"Will you do it?" Batman asked, bringing Red X out of his thoughts as the Dark Knight held out a familiar looking tracking device.

"On one condition." He began, hoping the man wouldn't call his bluff on this. If Batman denied him this, he'd still help them. "You and the rest of the League won't come after me on behalf of the government. I'm not an assassin." Batman's eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth and X quickly talked over him. "All I'm asking you to do is lie to the government. Officially I'd been on the League's wanted list, but that's all. I don't want any capes coming after me because Vertigo is a lying bastard." The caped crusader studied him for a long moment before speaking.

"You do this, and I'll make sure the League agrees with your terms." Batman agreed lowly. X nodded and placed the tracer on the inside of his left glove to hide it from view.

Red X stared at the wall in front of him as his memory slowly came back to him. No doubt a side effect from whatever he'd been drugged with. He had been attacked not even a few hours later at some random construction site. While he could have easily of beaten the group of men who'd been sent after him, he'd allowed himself to be tranquilized and captured in order to find the others.

Turning away from the camera slightly, Red X discreetly activated the locater device that was fortunately still under his glove and leant back against the wall, knowing he simply had to wait now.

~Young Justice: Red X~

|WATCHTOWER
|2010 June 22, 22:07 UCT

Oliver Queen impatiently tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. Batman had already given his tracer to Red X so all they could do now was sit with their thumbs up their asses. Ollie personally hated the idea of getting help from Red X. That kid was not fit to be a hero, no matter what Roy said otherwise.

"I still don't like this." He said out loud to the others in the room. Wonder Woman shot him a look of agreement, but stayed silent. Flash had yet to move at all during the meeting, the man was not handling the situation well. Sure enough, Ollie could see the speedster with his head buried in his hands, looking like the poster boy of despair. Aquaman bore his grimness with poise in a way that only royalty could pull off, barely acknowledging Ollie's statement with a slight nod, and not bothering to break his staring contest with the table. Superman stood off to the side, looking out through the window and down at the Earth while Batman manned the computer, waiting for Red X to activate the tracking device.

"Fortunately, you don't have to like it in order for the plan to work." Batman growled from his position and Oliver glared at him. He and Batman had never had the best of relationships. There was just something about the Dark Knight that rubbed him the wrong way. It certainly didn't help that he tended to view the Batman as something of a rival. But they'd been at each other's throats more often than usual lately as their fights seemed to constantly revolve around Red X. For some reason the Bat was on the kid's side and it irked Ollie to no end.

"Why are you defending him? I told you what he did to Vertigo." He asked heatedly, itching for a reason to fight. He didn't like all this standing around. It made him feel useless. "The kid may not be an assassin, but he sure as hell ain't a hero."

"Because Robin told me what actually happened. You should listen to your partner more, Queen." Batman replied, not even bothering to look away from the computer screen. Ollie gritted his teeth in frustration. He hated it when Batman used his real name. It just served to remind the archer that he didn't know the other man's identity. No, only Superman was privy to that knowledge, and that was because the Man of Steel had taken a peak by using his X-ray vision. Oliver was about to make a retort when said Kryptonian interrupted him.

"What do you mean Batman?" Superman asked and he noticed that the rest of the room was giving their full attention to the caped crusader. Reluctantly, Ollie bit his tongue and remained silent. In all honesty, he hadn't really listened to Roy's explanation about Red X. He'd been too angry at the time.

"From what Robin told me, Vertigo tried to kill Red X during their fight. He was apparently under too much pain to regulate how much electricity to use, which resulted in the burns Vertigo received. Frankly, the boy's lucky he isn't dead." Batman informed the rest of the room in a sharp tone that somehow always managed to make Oliver feel like an idiot. The Dark Knight turned his head slightly, no doubt to take in their reactions.

Ollie felt somewhat torn. On the one hand, he still believed that the kid was a danger to himself and to those around him, but on the other, he hadn't realized how close the kid came to dying at Vertigo's powers. A part of Oliver knew that the events of that night were partially his fault. He was the one who'd invited Red X along, unable to give any support as the teen had charged after the Count alone. He could have slipped away to help the kid, but he hadn't wanted to leave Roy on his own.

Flash grimaced wordlessly into his palms, imagining Wally in Red X's position, and felt his stomach churn at the thought of his nephew coming that close to death. Fortunately, there'd been no such situation in the year and a half that Wally had been working with him as Kid Flash. Until now, that is. Barry didn't care what Ollie said, if Red X helped saved Wally, he'd never doubt the kid's right to be a hero.

Wonder Woman furrowed her eyebrows in concern and shot Green Arrow a look, the man seemed too caught up in his thoughts to notice though. She was against including the children in general, feeling that battles were no place for young ones. But she respected her friends' decisions, grudgingly understanding that Themyscira's ways were not the ways of Man. However, one of those children, one who apparently had no caretaker to speak of, had come close to joining the afterlife. Not only that, but he was now wanted for crimes he didn't commit.

Aquaman closed his eyes and sighed heavily as he reflected upon the Batman's words. His heart went out to the lone warrior, a boy on the cusp of manhood, who now bared unfair scorn. What concerned him the most though was the boy's lack of a mentor. For a brief second, he imagined Kaldur in his place, with no guidance, unsure, friendless, and seen by many as an assassin. And hanging over that lost Kaldur was the long dark shadow of his father. It was not a fate he wished to see on anyone.

"And now the boy is wanted by two countries." Batman said, breaking the permeating silence that had fallen upon the room.

"But what can we do?'" Diana asked tersely, feeling frustrated by the entire situation. "We told both régimes that the boy was innocent. They did not listen."

"Vlatlava refuses to believe Vertigo is anything other than a virtuous ambassador." The Dark Knight explained to ease the Amazon's anger. While irritating, neither body of government was solely to blame for this incident. It was Vertigo who was responsible. "He's one of last members of the royal family. He's too important. The President had no choice but to put that warrant on Red X, or else he'd risk our foreign relations."

"Vertigo got the better of us with that interview." Superman said somberly as he stared into space, unknowingly voicing Batman's thoughts. He found himself feeling sorry for the young hero. To be on your own and feel like the whole world was shunning you must have been tough. Now they had the nerve to go up to him and ask for a favor, to put himself in danger in order to save their own.

"Well Red X is all right in my books. Anyone who's willing to risk their own neck for Wally is." Flash added in a serious tone that he rarely used and Aquaman nodded in agreement.

"Anyone who would help Kaldur has my thanks and respect as well." The Atlantian king intoned as if it were a decree.

"Well I'm glad you all feel that way, because Red X had one stipulation in agreeing to this mission." Batman announced disparagingly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "After this the League will not track him down to turn him in to the government. Officially, we will acknowledge that he's wanted by the government, but that's all." Before the others could say anything on the matter, whether to comply or refute it, a sudden beeping echo throughout the room and everyone looked to Batman who was furiously typing away on the computer. "It's Red X. He's activated the tracking device. It looks like our intel was right. They are in Gotham, near the riverfront, but I can't get an exact fix. Something seems to be blocking the signal." He continued and a few heroes smiled, feeling a little relieved.

They didn't have a location yet, but it wouldn't take them long to find the sidekicks now.

~Young Justice: Red X~

|GOTHAM HARBOR
|2010 June 22, 23:02 EDT

Red X opened his eyes, stopping his meditative exercise as he heard the sound of his cell opening. As he had suspected, the far left wall peeled back from the rest of the room, revealing the way out. He watched warily as two men stepped into the room and resisted the urge to simply knock them out and search for the sidekicks on his own. His only job was to buy time now.

"Watch it kid, you try anything smart and you'll become the first human bug zapper." One of the men warned as he gestured to the metal cuff and Red X nodded his head in understanding. He got up slowly and stepped out of the room, following the two henchmen through the dark hallways. They wore nondescript clothing, bulletproof vests, and carried what looked like nightsticks. At best, they were hired guns with basic military backgrounds, but judging from their slumped postures, they were likely common criminals.

He memorized the paths they were taking, left, right, straight for two more intersections, an elevator ride down, another left, until Red X found himself being pushed into another room that looked similar to his prison. He waited and listened to the noises that were being made from outside, muffled by the thick concrete walls. It sounded like the murmurings of a crowd of people and he estimated that there had to be a decent amount of them out there. After a minute, a different door opened and Red X was greeted to silence. Cautiously, he stepped into the lager room, blinking rapidly at the harsh white lighting, and saw that he was inside an enclosed stadium.

As his eyes quickly adjusted to the spotlights, he saw that the crowd was not filled with your everyday man, but with criminals. Most of the audience seemed to be made up of the grunts found working for Gotham villains, identified by the different uniforms they wore. Clown masks, penguin emblems, question marked armbands, stitched burlap masks, even a few of Bane's leather toting muscle men could be spotted. Then there was the mafia dressed in their neutral colored suits, sporting fedoras and suspenders. Even petty thugs were present, discernable because of their lack of uniform. X even thought he heard the infamous laughter of the Joker coming from somewhere in the stadium.

He was surrounded by enemies.

Swallowing back his growing unease, he forced himself to continue his examination. The arena itself was designed simple enough, being little more than an enclosed pit. The crowd's seats were elevated, with a flat ten-foot concrete wall seemingly the only obstacle in his way. Something did catch his eye. There were a number of six large rusted over metal openings spaced out evenly throughout the arena's wall, though they were sealed at the moment. He doubted they'd stay that way for long.

His attention was quickly directed to the opposite side of the stadium where two sudden openings appeared, letting in dual groups henchmen. A quick headcount revealed he had twenty opponents to face, all males. Again, his gaze shifted as a familiar looking man with reddish-brown hair and green tinted glasses stepped onto the overhanging platform that jutted out over the arena. He wore simple black pants, a dark green dress shirt, a purple tie, and an emerald green jacket with a question mark on the left shoulder.

The Riddler physically looked like he had in Red X's dimension; his condescending smirk definitely belonged to Edward Nygma. However, the Riddler he was used to had worn a green suit with a black dress shirt, a green tie with a purple question mark, purple domino mask, and a green bowler hat with a purple band. Putting the costume change aside, X focused on what the puzzle loving villain was about to say, knowing that even though the Riddler could be annoying, it was important to listen when the man spoke. Many times, in the past Nygma had given away his intentions without meaning to, his arrogance often leading to his own downfall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to the first annual auction. We've got three items here tonight and they're all dying to show off their skills. Our recently acquired third item is a rumored assassin in the making." The Riddler called out, smirking at the hushed crowd. "Having already defeated the Mad Hatter and Count Vertigo, how far will this new vigilante go?"

Red X listened and watched in silence as the thugs slowly advanced towards him, already figuring out the situation. So he had to fight for the enjoyment of the worst that society had to offer, where he'd be auctioned off to the highest bidder? There was the option of refusing to participate, but X didn't doubt that he'd be electrocuted for resisting. Plus, every minute he spent fighting was more time for Batman and the League. Had Kid Flash and Aqualad already been through this? Had they been auctioned off?

"Riddle me this young hero, when it comes to pirates and buccaneers, what iconic symbol marks the spot for their buried treasure?" The Riddler asked arrogantly.

"A red x." He stated coolly. His metallic voice could be heard plainly throughout the stadium, causing some villains to look at him with more interest than others. The henchmen charged at him and X stood still as they continued to get closer, his body slowly tensing up in preparation for the approaching fight.

One man broke ahead of the group and swung at Red X with a wide punch that left his side completely unguarded. At the last possible second, he dodged the sloppily thrown punch and kneed his attacker in the gut, sending him hurtling back into the advancing group. A few grunts were taken down by the man, but most had been able to dodge and continued their charge. X dodged and weaved through their attacks, waiting and reacting. He put in some unnecessary finesse, adding an extra spin to his kick and doing some showy flips, silently taunting the group with his superior skills as he took them down easily. He was brutal too, shattering kneecaps, breaking arms, and dislocating shoulders. If he was being forced to perform for Gotham's underworld, he'd give them a show they'd never forget. The last man screamed loudly as Red X broke his elbow before knocking him out with a blow to the head. Not even out of breath, he turned to gaze up at a pleased looking Riddler.

"Next." He called, unimpressed, and the grin on the Riddler's face vanished. He could hear the boisterous laughter of the Joker from above, so it hadn't been his imagination before, as well as a murmur of impressed voices coming from the crowd.

"Another riddle about pirates then, shall we? I'll give you an easy one, since you seem to be more brawn than brains. Time chases all men, but not even the famous hook-handed pirate could escape this beast." The Riddler hummed gleefully and Red X stilled, stunned by what the man was implying. Could they really have Killer Croc here? "Tic Toc, young hero, you're running out of time. What's your answer?"

"A crocodile." He answered lowly and the Riddler smiled sharply.

"Correct." Tensing, the sealed openings in the stadium walls suddenly unbolted, letting in gallons of rushing water. He barely dodged the one behind him, avoiding the powerful geyser of water that would have surely knocked him down. Narrowing his eyes, X thought he spotted the scaly back of his opponent come in with the rushing rapids. Moments passed quickly and the dark water had already reached his waist. It wasn't fresh water, but sea water that he suspected to have come directly from the city's waterfront. He shifted his gaze backwards just in time to see the form of Killer Croc rise up and lunge for him. He dove to the side to escape being crushed, and landed with a splash, quickly righting himself to regain footing in the deepening tide.

"Come at me, boy. I look forward to feasting on your flesh!" Croc shouted as he charged again. Waylon Jones still looked as monstrous and terrifying as he always had. Killer Croc towered over him, standing at nine feet. His large muscles bulged and flexed with every movement, his dark green scales shimmering in the light. His jaw was more pronounced than Red X remembered, but the jagged teeth were familiar and just as sharp as ever. The lights above the arena abruptly turned off and X was forced to activate his night vision.

Croc dove under the water and he bit back a curse. His night vision lenses could only see what little light the water reflected, not into it. Staying still, he managed to stop himself from flinching as he felt something brush up against his leg. He'd fought Killer Croc enough times to know that monstrous man enjoyed playing with his food, reacting would only please the criminal.

Reaching to pull out his staff, Red X suddenly felt Croc's powerful grip wrap around his ankle and was immediately pulled into the water. He gasped as he felt claws or teeth dig into his right forearm and was glad that he'd had the foresight to install a breathing apparatus into his mask. Unleashing his X-Wrist blade, he stabbed blindly where Croc still had a hold on his forearm. He heard Croc's muffled snarl as he was released and quickly stood back up in the water that now leveled out at his chest.

"You've got more fight to you than I thought, prey." The mutated man growled as he resurfaced and Red X could see the sheen of blood pouring over his face from a shallow cut in his forehead. Croc charged at him yet again, but his time the man chose to attack while above the water. X brought up his Bo Staff, simultaneously using it to counter Killer Croc's attacks and help him maneuver better in the still rising water. He focused on remaining outside of Croc's range, knowing that the criminal had the advantage in close combat. If he got dragged underwater a second time, he likely wouldn't resurface again.

His mind worked furiously to come up with a plan of attack. With all this water to act as a conduit, his Electric X could easily knock Killer Croc out of commission, but then he too would be knocked out as a result, possibly even dead. Red X frowned, knowing he was on the right track. He had to find some way to electrify the water without hurting himself.

Croc lunged at him, frustration from not landing a hit making the reptilian man sloppy, stumbling forwards as a result. X took advantage of the opening and teleported to appear above the mutated man. He slammed his open palm into Croc's back, his Electric X giving off visible red volts. Unfortunately, Croc's skin was thick, offering resistance against the shock. With a pained roar, and the man managed to knock Red X off his back with a vicious backhand that had the teen hurtling towards the arena wall. Thinking quickly, he created a large Constrictive X that stabbed itself into the wall. He flipped, landed on the X, using it as a makeshift platform as he turned to see Killer Croc racing towards him.

"Is that the best you can do, boy?" Croc shouted before he dove back into the water. Red X smirked victoriously for a second before shooting several Electric X's into the water. Croc screamed and thrashed in pain as the dark water suddenly glowed red, illuminating the arena for a few brief seconds before fading.

From above the Riddler hurriedly ordered for the water to be drained from the arena and the villains muttered excitedly as they waited to see what had happened. It took a minute before the lights turned on, revealing Red X standing over an unconscious Killer Croc.

"Next." He called out, baring a hidden smirk at the stunned crowd.

~Young Justice: Red X~

I wrote this auction bit so that Red X's arch-nemesis could start to take root in the next chapter. I made the Riddler the mastermind behind the auction because Rogue di WeReWoLf wanted him to be Red X's nemesis, but I honestly could never see the Riddler pulling off such a feat. Plus, this will lead into how Edward Nygma ended up in Belle Reeve Prison. I'm sorry that his riddles weren't very clever.

Some of you asked to read about what the Justice League thinks about Red X and I (very) briefly touched up on that in this chapter. It's actually rather hard to write them. I'm not trying to make them seem like assholes, though Superman totally is one in this dimension, but I wanted there to be some friction between them and X. Please don't think I hate Green Arrow, but Ollie's brash nature was the best catalyst for being the cause of Red X's strained relationship with the League. As for the fallout from his encounter with Vertigo, causing X to seemingly be an assassin in the eyes of the public…

I have my reasons dear readers.

–Hexalys