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.

13. A Bad Day Part ll

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

Holy hell guys, it's the official one-year anniversary for Young Justice: Red X! Fucking rejoice people! I want to thank everyone who's stuck with me since chapter one and say welcome to those of you just joining us now. Since it's the anniversary, I decided to post this chapter way earlier than I'd originally planned so enjoy and tell me what you think.

To Guest,I worked hard on the last chapter and while it wasn't as long as chapters six, eight, or eleven, it was still on par in length with all of my other chapters, so I don't appreciate my writing being labeled as "table scraps". If you wish for my chapters to be longer than just say so in a polite way or at least be respectful enough to PM if you have an issue with my work. I don't post these chapters just so that people like you can nag me or complain about how I do things.

And now my good mood is officially ruined, so without further delay, here's the exciting conclusion to my mini arc…

~Young Justice: Red X~

Chapter 13: A Bad Day Part II

|GOTHAM CITY
|2010 July 20, 22:45 EDT

It was worse than he thought, much worse. Batman had suspected something happened to Red X, but he hadn't anticipated this. He'd interviewed Michael Jacobson last night, as soon as he'd stepped into that interrogation room the boy had told him everything he knew.

He explained how he'd been approached by a pretty woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. How she offered him money if he did the measly little job of attacking her, it was staged assault. He claimed she said it was supposedly some kinky routine she did with her boyfriend from time to time. She'd be the damsel in distress and her lover would come in and play the hero, saving her from the two brutish thugs.

The boy said that he took the job thinking the whole thing was harmless. He'd been planning to use the money to buy a ticket to get out of town and go somewhere that he could make a living for himself. What he hadn't expected was who the woman's boyfriend turned out to be.

The Joker.

Jacobson and O'Malley had met the woman, Harley Quinn, in alleyway, like she'd instructed, and were greeted by the infamous criminal himself. Joker had come to get his own read on the two of them and Michael had admitted that it was the most terrifying moment of his life. The clown threatened the two men, making sure they knew what they were supposed to do and promised a painful death if they didn't follow their orders. It was simple enough, attack Harley and anyone who might show up to be her rescuer.

The boy hadn't expected to see Red X drop down into the alley, knocking O'Malley out with a single punch. He hadn't even had the chance to run or warn the hero before he too found himself collapsing onto the ground due to Red X's knockout gas.

Batman left the precinct as soon as Jacobson finished his story, leaving the boy in Gordon's custody. He knew the Commissioner would do what he could to help the boy, especially since he'd been coerced into doing the Joker's dirty work. If there was any justice left in Gotham, the charges would be dropped and the boy would be well on his way to that college in Star City. The Dynamic Duo hurried to search the alleyway Red X had been last seen, finding only a joker playing card with a red x penned in on the top right corner. The message was clear.

Joker had Red X.

"Why would he take X though? Joker's never been interested in anyone besides us." Robin asked lowly as they combed the alley one last time for any clues the might've missed.

"Because Red X made his first appearance in Gotham, the Joker took that as a personal challenge." The Dark Knight replied grimly, his eyes focused on the playing card that was slightly bent from his tight grip. He didn't say how similar Red X's fighting style was to their own, that the tattered caped teen greatly reminded the caped crusader of himself. It also didn't help that Batman had given Red X his support when the League had denied Count Vertigo's allegations against the young man. Nor did he voice the fact that Joker must've noticed these things as well, which lead to the crazed criminal taking an in interest in the teenager.

It was a well-known fact that he was fiercely territorial went it came to Gotham, stating clearly to the rest of the hero community that they had better stay out of his way. Joker was like him that regard. He didn't appreciate criminals from other cities muscling in on his playground.

By letting Red X continue to fight crime in Gotham, Batman had given his silent approval of the young hero, which was something he'd never done before. Not even the original League members were as welcomed in Gotham City. It was that curious tidbit that must've convinced Joker to make his move towards the young hero.

When they'd returned to the Bat Cave, Robin was silent and serious as he eyes constantly flickered back to the playing card before turning away. His protégé had tried to suggest for the Titans to be brought in to help, but Batman's glare had stopped him from finishing his sentence. Robin didn't bring the subject back up again.

It wasn't that Batman didn't think that the Titans were capable. He knew they were and had said as much to the rest of the League when they'd questioned his actions about forming the team. It was just that Joker was on a completely different level, one that even he had struggles with most of the time. Meanwhile a third of the Titans were still inexperienced, untrained, and all of them, sans Robin, were ill-equipped to handle the Joker. No, he could not leave Red X's fate to their hands.

After running several different scans on the card, Batman got back three results. A fingerprint belonging to Rupert Thorne, some powder made from that scales of a North Atlantic Trout, and the residue of a substance most commonly used as an antiperspirant in face makeup. Clues, the Joker always left him clues.

With every heist the clown criminal committed, he always left Batman a hint, a chance to play the mad man's games. Sometimes the clues led him straight to Joker, other times they led him into a trap. Whatever the case, they always brought him closer to figuring out the man's schemes, and it was always a test of wits.

Batman analyzed each clue and what they meant. Rupert Thorne was a longtime business tycoon of his own criminal empire, he had ties with the mobsters and was behind many organized crimes throughout the eastern seaboard. The man practically had his hands in every petty crime in Gotham and narrowing down what the Joker was alluding to would take days to figure out. Red X did not have that kind of time.

He and Robin went straight to the source and had snuck into Thorne's penthouse, finding the overweight man indulging himself with expensive wine, with Mozart playing softly in the background. Batman resisted the urge to grimace in disgust. Interrogating Thorne got him nothing; for once the mobster seemed to be innocent. He left the kingpin with a broken nose and the promise of seeing him again in the near future.

With that lead gone, they moved on to investigate the docks and riverfront, searching through every company and warehouse that sold North Atlantic Trout. There was no sign of the Joker or Red X, that would've been too easy. Batman moved on to the places in Gotham that either stored or sold the brand of face paint found on the joker card. Nothing.

He'd ran into dead-ends or leads that required more time to look through, taking up most of the following day and into the early evening. Once he hit the 24-hour mark of Red X being in Joker's grasp, Batman knew his time for doing this his way had run out. With little choice left, he turned to the only person who knew Red X, his old teammate Raven. He'd called Dinah, explaining the situation and asking if they could meet Raven. Their rendezvous point was at the canal warehouse where Red X and the other sidekicks had been put up for auction.

Beside him Robin stood, silent and vigilant, his laidback attitude replaced with something more stern. Batman briefly wondered if his ward had told the other Titans about the situation, but those musings were abruptly cut off as a giant black bird made of some sort of energy landed a few feet away from them. The black bird disappeared to reveal Black Canary and Raven, their dark customs blending with their surrounding shadows. He heard Robin whistle appreciatively, much like he'd done the first time they saw Red X in action, and the Dark Knight wasted no time in approaching Black Canary's student.

"Hey, I'm Robin." His partner announced as the young boy broke ahead to greet the pale girl.

"I could tell. I'm Raven, Black Canary's… acolyte." The girl returned apathetically and Robin grinned in response.

"I know, I hacked Batman's computer and read up on you. When do you think you'll be joining the team?" He asked and Batman cut in sharply, aiming a look towards Robin that clearly said now was not the time.

"When Black Canary says she's ready. Right now though, we need to focus on finding Red X." His hard tone earned him a firm nod from Robin, who straightened at the silent command to stay attentive. He saw Raven shoot an odd look at Robin, but she quickly replaced it with a blank expression before turning towards him.

Batman let his masked eyes roam over the young heroine, taking her appearance and noticing that her costume was still very much the same, but with little bits of Black Canary's own uniform thrown in. Her dark blue hood casted most of her pallor face in shadows, her large dark violet eyes staring back at him unblinkingly. Batman honestly didn't know what to make of Raven. Red X vouched for her, which was a point for her in his books, but there was still too much mystery when it came to the newest sidekick.

And he'd never liked dealing with unknown variables.

"Red X went missing last night at around ten. We know that he was taken by Joker, but not where and I'd rather not go another night without getting any results. Can you find him?" He questioned pointedly and she bowed her head a little, her violet eyes drifting downwards. Canary delicately placed a hand on the young girls' tense shoulder and Batman narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"

"I got a telepathic message from him about thirty minutes ago. All he said was my name. I've tried to contact him since then, but he's been blocking me." Raven said as she wrapped one of her arms around the other, silently drawing comfort from the action.

"Does that mean you can't find him?" Robin asked anxiously and the girl shook her head.

"His ability to block me is more about me respecting his privacy. If I really tried, I could force my way into his mind. It's just that– he wouldn't be blocking me unless he had a reason to." Raven explained and Batman stiffened.

"Can you feel what he does? Is that why he's blocking you, to protect you?" Batman demanded and the girl slowly nodded her head in response. "Is there any way you can track him without entering his mind?"

"You misunderstand our connection. It was born through my entering his mind in a traumatic moment, and bonded us in a profound way. Not even I know the extent of what I'm, we're, capable of. But I only need to break into his mind for a moment in order for the link to be reopened." Raven clarified calmly as she looked up at the Dark Knight.

"Then you better get to work." He stated simply and she nodded before closing her eyes. She floated into a meditative stance, that dark energy from before outlining her thin form.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven repeated the chant for several minutes, her face and tone never changing. Batman saw that Robin was about to say something when the black energy Raven emitted suddenly lashed out at them. Batman shouted a warning and jumped back to avoid the attack, quickly pulling Robin out of the way before turning to look back at Raven.

She had collapsed onto the ground, her shoulders were shaking and her head hung low, her hands were gripping her sides so tightly it almost looked painful. Laughter suddenly belted from her mouth, sounding mad and wrong as tears streamed down her smiling face.

Without a moment's hesitation Batman raced forwards, the antidote to Joker's Toxin already out and ready to be administered. He stabbed the needle into Raven's shoulder, her body practically seizing furiously in his grip. Robin and Canary quickly rejoined him, grabbing her limbs and keeping her still as best they could. Her powers shot off at random, cutting across the rooftop and into the other buildings, forcing them to retreat so that they wouldn't get hurt. After several more minutes, the laughter finally died and Raven slowly came to her senses. She stood up, hunching her shoulders, and pulled the hood back over her face before turning away from them.

"What was that?" The girl asked, not waiting for an explanation before she continued, her voice still a little shaky. "I honestly felt… insane."

"Joker Toxin, the effects are uncontrollable laughter, brief moments of insanity and eventually, if left untreated, death." Batman ground out as Canary once again laid a hand on Raven's shoulder, the younger girl leaning into the touch slightly. "Can you find him now?" She nodded her head.

"I know which way we need to go."

~Young Justice: Red X~

|GOTHAM CITY
|2010 July 20, 23:04 EDT

He laughed, he'd been laughing for so long and he couldn't stop, but why would he want to? What was wrong with laughing? He chuckled again as the man in front of him said something, it was too funny! Where was he again? Why was he laughing? A shock, a buzz, and he was screaming, laughing. A joy buzzer.

"I'm disappointed Robin. Really, is that the best you can do?"

A moment of clarity came as quickly as it left, leaving him only able to stutter the man's name through the onslaught of laughter. He wasn't supposed to be doing this. He was supposed to be doing something else. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't and he bit the inside of his cheek, hard. Something swelled up in his mouth and he spat it out. It tasted gross, all thick and… and…. and… coppery-ish. Iron blood. Metallic, like the two-colored mask. He laughed and the man, the one with the smile, hit him again, causing more of that coppery stuff to spill from his mouth.

"Defeated by a clown with laughing gas."

He laughed again, he couldn't stop. The funny man said something and he hollered in response. For some reason he thought he shouldn't like the funny man. Orange and black lunged for him, and he gave a shrieking, hissing laugh as he tried to reel back. Something hit him, on the back of the head, causing his teeth to snap down on each other. He was terrified, but that feeling, like everything else, slipped away as a wheezing laugh escaped his clenched teeth, and his gaze alternated between the funny man to the masked man.

"How pathetic. You've fallen far, haven't you apprentice?"

Fallen. Fell. They fell didn't they? Flying Grayson's that fell. Wrong, so wrong. Zucco did it, he made them fall. Did he fall too? Was that why it hurt so much? But then why was he laughing? Maybe he was so badly hurt that he couldn't even feel it anymore? That sounded bad, good thing the funny man was there to make him laugh though. Laughing was always better than crying. No, Batman hated crying. He had to toughen up. Or else he'd fall.

"Or, you were never worth my time in the first place."

Where was he again? Did it matter? He chuckled and the funny man joined him. Not the masked man though, no he never laughed. Laughing, why couldn't he stop laughing? Maybe he wasn't supposed to. Maybe he'd always been laughing, but hadn't realized it until now. Maybe–

'Robin, are you there? What's–' A voice in his head said. Not the masked man, who was only in his head, but wasn't. It was a nice voice and he really liked it. Then it, she, the voice, was laughing in his head too. He laughed in response. He really liked her laugh and he got the odd sense that she didn't do it a lot. The funny man hurt him again, making him grunt for a second, but the laughter came back quickly.

It always did.

But then something happened, the laughter started to slow and turn into quiet chuckles instead of uncontrollable bursts. The funny man said something and he laughed a little again, but not nearly as loud as before. Then the pain hit, electricity raced through him and it pulled him out of the fog of insanity that had plagued.

Red X grunted as he spat out a mouthful of blood and glared up at the Joker, his lips still twisted in a smile, one that the Joker could see. 'When did he take my mask off?' X thought slowly, though he soon noticed that his domino mask was still in place. The Joker would only want to see his smile after all. He was remembering things now. He'd been poisoned, though for how long it was impossible to tell. Joker had retied him to the off balanced wooden chair and had reintroduced him to shock therapy, not that the clown knew that his counterpart had done the same thing at one point.

"Finally back in the realm of sanity, Robin? Although, with me here, once could argue that you weren't all there in the first place." The teen gritted his teeth as his glare moved to the delusion standing a few feet behind the Joker. He understood why he was hallucinating at the moment, Joker's Toxin was a powerful drug, but he did not need the illusion's taunting at the moment. Not when he was dealing with perhaps the only criminal more dangerous than Slade.

"Okay, how come you're not laughing anymore?" Joker asked, sounding more confused than angry. Red X answered him by spitting out some more blood, but this time it landed on the man's left pant leg. The clown stared down at it for a second before chuckling in response and X had to bite his bottom lip to stop himself from doing the same.

Raven's brief telepathic message must have rebooted his subconscious, driving away the madness that came from Joker's toxin into the corner of his mind. The chemicals were still running though his bloodstream, meaning he couldn't stop smiling, and the urge to laugh was still very much there, but it was being suppressed, barely.

"One too many shocks to the head, maybe?" X offered as he shrugged his shoulders as best he could from where he was strapped down. The clown tapped his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before shrugging and moving away, slipping off his overpowered joy buzzer into his pocket.

"Eh, watching you twitch like a stoned schizophrenic was getting boring anyways." Joker mocked as he turned to the table full of weapons. He brought up a rusty looking crowbar, weighing it in his hands for a moment before tossing it over his shoulder. "Hmm, nope. That's much too intimate for us kiddo, this is only our first date after all." The mad man joked.

Slade, the hallucination, walked over to the teen, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the chair in a way that looked completely natural. He said nothing, but he then again he didn't have to. X had tense the moment the delusion entered his personal space.

"First date, huh? Don't let Harley hear you say that." The teenager replied, his throat hoarse from all the laughing. He'd learnt a long time ago that it was better to play along with whatever the Joker said. As X predicted, the clown burst into a fit of laughter, dropping the gun in his hands before gripping his stomach overdramatically.

"Oh-ho, good one kiddo! You have a sense of humor, I appreciate that. I really do." The clown turned back to the table, idly tossing a medieval looking mace over his shoulder. "For some reason, no one jokes when they're around me. Well, no one except for Bird Boy that is, but his jokes usually end with a punchline." Joker continued before laughing at his corny pun. Red X gritted his teeth hard, but a strained chuckle still managed to break through and somehow, that impossibly large smile on the Joker's face grew even bigger.

"Okay, I got one for you." X said as another chuckle escaped his clenched jaw, his eyes darting up to Slade, who watched with a judgmental air. He saw the Joker raise an eyebrow in response as he slowly lowered the barbed wire he'd picked. 'Remember Robin, if you ever get caught by the Joker try to keep him distracted.' The teen shook his head slowly, dislodging the memory and advice that his mentor had given him years ago.

"Batman and Robin are camping in the desert; they set up their tent and soon fall asleep. Some hours later, Batman wakes his faithful friend and sidekick. "Robin, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." He said and Robin replied, "I see millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Batman asked and Robin ponders for a minute before answering. "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Batman?" Batman is silent for a long moment and then says: "Robin, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."

Red X's restrained laughter broke free once that the joke was finished, sounding wild and unhinged. The Joker simply stared at him for a second before he too started laughing. His laughter carried a different tone to it though; it was loud, boisterous, and very dark. He warily watched the clown grab a knife from the table before slowly walking up to him, those red eyes gleaming.

"Ha-ha, alright, heh, alright, here's one." Joker laughed as his arm suddenly swung out in front of him, the knife cutting across Red X's chest. The blade tore through the Kevlar in a jagged manner, but X could still feel that the metal had successfully pierced his skin a little. The cut wasn't deep, but he suspected that was only because the crazed criminal hadn't anticipated for his suit to be so resilient. Slade hummed from beside him, his sole eyes focused on the clown rather than on the teenager.

"You know Robin; a lot can be deduced from the kind of enemies a person has. The Joker is Batman's greatest foe, isn't he? I wonder what that says about the man's stability." He didn't react to the illusion's ridicule, rather he tried to take a calming breath, but all that did was cause him to choke out more snickers.

"Okay, so this guy goes into the hospital, his wife has just had a baby and he can't wait to see them both. So he grabs the doctor and he says, "Oh doc, I've been so worried. How are they?" And the doctor smiles and says "They're fine, just fine. Your wife's delivered a healthy baby boy and they're both in tiptop form. You're one lucky guy!" So the guy rushes into the maternity ward with his flowers, but it's empty. His wife's bed is empty. "Doc?" He says and turns around. The doctor and all the nurses wave their arms and scream in his face. "April Fools! Your wife's dead and the baby's a spastic!"

Even as the Joker's knife suddenly plunged into Red X's right shoulder, the young hero still laughed loudly along with his torturer. The two males were reduced to a teetering mental state of pain and humor, craziness and rationality. One man broken and twisted, the other injured but resilient. And hovering beside the hero, his hallucination chuckled, sending shivers down the cackling teenager's spine.

"Hey kiddo," The Joker asked as their laugher faded slightly. X weakly raised his head to look at the Clown Prince of Crime, readying himself for another attack. "you ever had a bad day?"

~Young Justice: Red X~

|GOTHAM CITY
|2010 July 20, 23:36 EDT

Rupert Mime's Aquariums.

Robin could almost hear Batman's teeth grit in frustration. The clues had been all there, but they'd been looking too deeply to see the broader message. Rupert as a reference from Rupert Throne, the only thing Joker's clue had in common with the crime lord was the first name. Mimes used white face paint, the same kind that had been found on the playing card, and the aquarium part was obviously referring to the fish clue.

They should have figured this out sooner.

Robin dropped down onto the warehouse rooftop, staying a few steps behind his mentor and closer to Raven. He shot a look at the girl and was only mildly surprised to see her so calm, if a little tense. Right, he had to remind himself that she was not a rookie like Miss Martian. He'd read the file Batman had compiled on the strange, pale girl, her real file anyways. He wasn't sure about what fake history Batman had given to the League and Robin honestly didn't care enough to find out.

He knew she'd been on a team with Red X before, but there was an incident involving a black hole and Raven had apparently given her life up to stop it. Robin glanced at the girl again and found that she was looking back. He smirked, winking playfully and she gave a slow, if a little confused, nod in response. Hmm, well she definitely wasn't as cheerful as Megan, but anyone willing to give up their life to save the Earth was okay in his opinion. It did make him wonder how the League didn't know about this black hole incident beforehand.

Batman held up his hand, ordering them to stop and the Boy Wonder slowly edged forward to look through the skylight that his mentor had found. Through the dirty glass he saw that they were above the office section of the warehouse. He spotted the regular Joker goons, Moe, Larry, and Curly crowded around an old TV with Harley nursing a black eye and sulking in the corner. Trouble in paradise it seemed.

"How do you want to do this Batman?" Robin heard Black Canary ask.

"Robin and I will move ahead and try to find Red X. No doubt Joker will be with him. You and Raven stay here, take out the hired help and act as backup should we need it. I've already contacted Gordon. He'll be here within twenty minutes." The Dark Knight ordered as he moved across the rooftop after getting a nod from Black Canary.

"Good luck." The Boy Wonder said to Raven and she raised an eyebrow in response.

"We're not the ones dealing with the Joker. Ro–, Red X has told us about how dangerous the Joker could be before, but we never really thought of him as a threat. Experiencing the phantom effect of that Joker Toxin though… Well, let's just say that I never want to have to go through that mad man's mind in the future." Raven replied as she gave a slight shudder and Robin nodded in agreement.

'The Joker's mind, man that has to be one heck of a scary place.' It didn't escape his notice that Raven had almost said a name other than Red X though. Perhaps she was going to say his real name? Roger, Ronald, or maybe Robert? Shaking his head, Robin decided to think about it later and focus on the rescue mission instead.

As Robin moved to follow Batman he heard Black Canary tell Raven to go after the Three Stooges while she took down Harley. He smirked as he imagined the shocked looks on their clueless faces. Knocking those three around had become one of his favorite pastimes. He spotted Batman's dark form huddled over a different skylight and he sped up to see Red X's condition.

Robin was no idiot nor was he naïve, Joker had held X for almost 24-hours, he knew it would be bad. He'd been on the experiencing end of the Joker's schemes before. It was never anything too awful, he'd been gassed mostly, but there'd been the occasional broken bones and shallow knife wounds from time to time. Batman had always made sure that he'd never had to face the Joker alone.

What Robin hadn't expected to see was a mostly unmasked Red X, laughing and bleeding as the Joker was busy carving something into the back of his left hand. The thirteen-year-old swallowed thickly. He was used to the horrors Gotham, but it was still upsetting to see his teammate and friend being tortured. And he considered Red X a friend, even if most of the League didn't.

Robin didn't really understand what everyone's deal was with Red X, he really liked the guy and so did Batman, even if his mentor had never said so out loud. Red X had helped him and Batman beat the Mad Hatter all those months ago. He'd saved Wally and Kaldur, even though the League had been shunning him up to that point. He'd come after them when they'd gone into Cadmus, and helped form the Titans. So what if Red X was distant most of the time and a little spooky, Batman was the same way. Sure the public still thought he was an assassin, but Count Vertigo's true nature would be revealed soon enough.

"Robin, we'll launch a couple of smoke pellets into the room before going in. You're first priority is to get Red X out, make sure he gets an antidote and that his wounds are taken care of. I'll handle Joker." Batman growled and the Boy Wonder knew better than to argue.

As he and Batman dropped into the warehouse, smoke covering their entrance, Robin headed straight for Red X. As the older teen's laughter increased so did the Joker's, the two sounds mixing and falling into step with each other. The Joker's laugh was pitchy, switching from low to high with every new giggle. Red X's laugh was steady and deep, but it matched the Joker's rhythm perfectly.

It was the most disturbing thing Robin had ever heard.

"Hang on X, I got you." He muttered to his friend as he used a birdarang to cut through the several layers of rope holding the teen in place. He heaved Red X up, stumbling a little under the other boy's weight, and used his grappling gun to pull them out of the smoke and back onto the rooftop.

He quickly administered the antidote before moving to tend to Red X's injuries. There were a couple cuts covering his chest that were mostly shallow so Robin wasn't too concerned about them. The gash on the back of his head wasn't deep and it looked like the bleeding had already clotted, but head wounds were tricky. Batman would want a CAT scan. It was the stab wounds in Red X's arms that worried Robin the most. There were five of them in all, two on his right arm and the three on his left. They were deep and in random spots, bleeding heavily and staining the yellow of his cape a dark brown. Alfred was going to have a tough time getting those stains out.

As the boy's eyes roamed over his friend, he finally landed what the Joker had carved into the other boy's hand. It was a crude smiley face, the smile itself jagged and deep. It's eyes though, that was where Robin could see the Joker's twisted humor come into play.

They were two large X's, a mocking tribute to the hero's name.

~Young Justice: Red X~

|GOTHAM CITY
|2010 July 21, 00:08 EDT

Batman laid Red X on the spare cot that they kept down in the Bat Cave, minding the young man's injuries as Robin ran up to get Alfred. He'd left Joker to Gordon, tied up and waiting to get his own treatment at Arkham Asylum. The crazed clown was battered, bleeding, and left sporting a few broken ribs.

Raven had healed what she could of Red X's injuries, getting rid of the shallow cuts on his chest and whatever minimal bruising the Joker had given him. The stab wounds in his arms had been healed a little bit, looking like they'd been made a few days ago instead of an hour. The concussion would have to heal on its own, but it was mild, so there wasn't any danger in letting Red X get some much needed rest.

Batman however, could not tear his eyes away from the scar now etched permanently onto the back of Red X's hand. The ugly smiley face was raised and raw, shining a bright pink against pale skin. He should have gotten there sooner. He should have stopped this before it happened.

The smile on Red X's face, that mimic of Joker's horrible grin, was slowly fading away, the muscles finally relaxing. Red X had apparently passed out after Robin had given him the antidote, most likely due to blood loss, and Batman had seen no harm in bringing the injured boy back to the Cave, just to make sure that he would be okay.

The Dark Knight turned his attention to the young man's face and was struck suddenly by an odd feeling of familiarity. He narrowed his eyes and was about to take a closer look when the sound of footsteps approaching from nearby stopped him.

"Ah, so this is the young lad that had everyone in such a tizzy." Alfred said from behind him, before moving forward to inspect the teenager's wounds. "He doesn't look too bad Master Bruce. It seems Miss Roth did an admirable job in patching him up." Batman simply nodded his head and grunted, still studying Red X's face closely.

"Will you be spending the night down here, sir?" Alfred asked and he nodded again before moving away and towards the computer. "Very good, sir. Should you or the young Master need anything, simply call. I'll make sure to come down as Agent A."

Batman barely acknowledged Alfred as the old butler left, but instead focused on the blood sample resting on his desk. He lifted it up, eyeing the red liquid inside, and stared hard at the computer. He stood still for a moment, his mind shifting through a variety of choices, before finally brining a red marker up to the beaker, inscribing a simple X on the label before placing it into cold storage.

He would let Red X keep his secrets, for now at least.

~Young Justice: Red X~

Uh-oh, Batman now has Red X's blood! Will he look at it and discover who Red X truly is in the near future? Not likely. Don't worry people, I have big plans for when Batman finally does analyze that blood sample and trust me, shit will get real. Originally I had him take a hair strand from Red X, but then one of my readers said that Batman wouldn't be able to get DNA from Red X's hair so I changed it to blood. Honestly, I have no idea either way. The basic point is that now Batman has a surefire way to figure out who Red X truly is.

I told you Hallucination-Slade would appear again. I'm kind of obsessed.

Finally, I got to do a chapter with Robin's POV in it, which is cool because he obviously reacts and thinks differently from Red X even though they're the same freakin' person. And yay, Alfred cameo!

–Hexalys