Sorry for the wait! Too much to do before students went out on break. Anyway, my plan is to finish uploading this story by the New Year, give or take a few days :)
The five Titans sat separately around the Main Oops room, each doing their own thing. Beast Boy was laying on the couch reading a comic book, Cyborg was playing some fighting game on the big screen, Starfire was folding some laundry, Robin was going through possible locations that Red-X could be holding the Alcina collection, and Raven was looking through her books trying to see how the moon phases and the diamonds correlate in finding the Fountain of Life. Everyone was so engaged in what they were doing that they were all startled a few feet in the air when the doorbell rang.
Everyone remained still, waiting to see if whoever was at the door would ring the bell again. When they did, Cyborg was the one to answer the door, muttering about people hacking into his system way too many times. The rest of the Titans went back to their activities until they heard a voice that only one of them recognized.
"How did you manage to get authorization for the tunnel again?"
"I'm a friend of Jason's," said the voice.
"Well that explains it."
Cyborg came back into the main room followed by an African American boy in dreadlocks. Raven stood up from her place by the window, allowing the surprise show on her face as she walked up to him. "Theo."
"Hello Miss Raven," said Theo.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to speak with you, if you have a spare moment," was the reply. Raven couldn't help but narrow her eyes at his request, and she could tell her friends were just as confused. They've heard of this Theo character from Jason and the twins, and a little bit from Raven herself, and based on what was said, this young man wasn't exactly fond of their teammate.
"We can talk," said Raven, giving her friends an assuring nod. She gestured him to follow her out of the main room, leading him outside by the rocks that sprawled along the shore. "I have to admit I'm surprised at your visit Theo. I'm assuming Jason sent you?"
"No he didn't," admitted Theo. "He doesn't know I'm here actually." That peaked her interest.
"Then what are you doing here? What do you need to talk about?"
Taking in a deep breath, Theo went over to one of the rocks and sat down, watching the waves before turning to her. "It's about Jason –"
"Being Red-X?"
If it weren't such a serious topic, Raven would have laughed at the way Theo's eyes nearly popped out of his head. In all the time she's known him, she has never seen him so caught off guard. It was almost a refreshing reminder that he was, in fact, human. Theo soon recovered, but instead of denying it, he simply smirked and said, "So you knew."
"You knew I knew," retorted Raven, taking a seat next to him.
"How long?"
"Ever since the game at the park," said Raven. Theo looked at her expectantly, but instead of continuing, she just gave him the two-finger salute that Jason had done as he made the winning shot. "I knew I saw it somewhere. That's a Red-X signature move. I'm surprised Robin didn't pick up on it when he came to the tower."
"Are you sure?" asked Theo uncertainly.
Raven looked at him in disbelief. "You really think Robin would have let Jason leave if he knew that Jason was Red-X?"
"Good point." Raven smiled when Theo laughed at the irony. It was as if in that moment, all the tension between them just dissolved into nothing. Theo smiled up at her and shrugged. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"It's complicated," replied Raven. "When I saw him do that move, I could only call it a suspicion. When Jason and I started hanging out more, I started seeing some similarities in auras between him and Red-X, but that still wasn't something concrete. It wasn't until the funeral that I would be able to actually make a connection that would be considered proof. And besides, even though I knew I should have told Robin of my suspicions from the beginning, there was always something about Red-X that I couldn't really deem evil. I mean, when Jason puts on the mask and becomes Red-X, all he thinks about is getting the job done, and if it weren't for the fact that that attitude is aimed at stealing, there would be nothing wrong with it. But without the mask, all that mattered to him was Anthony, you and the others, your families…me. Sure he's a criminal – but he doesn't have any villainous tendencies."
They sat there silently for a while before Theo broke the silence. "He likes you, you know. Jason. He genuinely likes you. I'd say it would be a miracle if he hasn't fallen in love with you by now." When Raven remained quiet, the young man continued. "Does that – this – change anything for you?"
"My feelings for Jason have not changed," declared Raven. "My feelings for Red-X have always been a bit more complicated. My duty as a Titan requires me to put him away."
"But?"
"But," continued Raven, "I'm not sure I'll ever have another person look at me, and actually see me, the way he does."
She could tell that Theo wanted to tell her something. He was anxious, and his heart was beating fast. Raven waited patiently as he took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Jason – Red-X – will need your help for the next few days. I would like to know that you will be with him."
"Help for what?" asked Raven.
"To find Alcina's Fountain of Life."
"But – but Anthony is gone. The Fountain would have cured his disease, but it can't bring him back to life."
"It's not for Anthony," said Theo with a sigh. Bowing his head, he said, "Not anymore at least. Each of us – Jason, me, Eli, the twins – had someone that we wanted to get the water for. Jason was going to use the water from the fountain for Anthony, Eli for his step-dad who has Alzheimer's, the twins for their cousin Jeremy and Aunt Delia who both suffer from schizophrenia, and me for my sister who is slowly going blind. I know that Jason is hurting for his brother, but he knows that there is more at stake. We're all family. I don't think he would want to risk losing anyone else."
Her mind reeling, Raven nodded. "How would I be able to help?"
"Jason will be able to find the fountain," explained Theo, "but the diamonds are encased in magic."
"He'll need to release the magic within them at some point," said Raven, finally understanding.
"Exactly," said Theo. "He didn't know he wasn't supposed to touch the diamonds – none of us did. If he had known…"
"Is that why he chose me?" blurted out Raven. "Is that why he decided to get closer to me? To be able to find the fountain?"
Looking her dead in the eyes, Theo asked her seriously, "In all the time you've been with Jason, or even Red-X, did he give you that impression?" No, he didn't. Raven deflated immediately and gave him an apologetic look. "Jason is a lot of things Raven, but one thing he isn't, is heartless. He chose you because there is absolutely no one else who would be able to compare."
Raven felt her lips twitch, but refrained from allowing the smile to break out. Sighing softly, she asked, "When will he come to me?"
"You'll need to go to him," stated Theo. "He knows he'll need your help, that it'll be easier if you go with him, but he's too into his own mind to accept it."
"Where will he be?"
"JC's Museum of Fine Arts," replied the young man. "He'll be on the roof about half an hour before midnight."
"I'll be there."
They stayed out there for a while longer before Theo had to go, leaving Raven with a lot to think about. Of course she had suspected from the beginning who Jason was. Everyone had a specific aura in them that separated them from the rest, so it was easy to find a similarity between Jason and Red-X. And she knew that she should have told Robin from the very beginning, that she was basically betraying him even more with keeping this secret, but she couldn't. Red-X, in a weird way, proved to her how much he trusted her by allowing her to see his face, allowing her into his home, allowing her to meet that one person that meant more to him than his own life. And it was like Anthony had said: she did find herself falling in love. She fell in love with the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, spoke to her, wanted her. She fell in love with his smile, the sparkle in his eyes when he laughed. But she also fell in love with the dark side of him. They way he mocked power and law, the way he enjoyed outwitting the justice system, the way he laughed at Robin's obsession of finding him – they were not the best features considering she was a hero and she shouldn't admire the way he managed to evade capture every time, but she did. He isn't evil, nor is he exactly a bad guy; he just got things done his own way, even if it meant fighting for it for the rest of his life.
"There's no doubt he's dedicated," grumbled Raven as she walked into her room. She went over to her closet, took out a backpack, and started packing a few essentials. Extra set of clothes, some bottles of herbs and potions, a pocket-sized spell book with a limited amount of handwritten spells, some snacks, and a few other things that might be needed for the journey to the Fountain of Life. "Wherever the hell that might be," she mumbled under her breath.
"You should also take some water just in case."
Raven's head snapped to where the voice had come from, her heart skipping a beat in surprise. Standing at the doorway was Cyborg with his arms crossed, a knowing look on his face. Raven let out a silent breath, gesturing him to speak. "Go on. I know you have something to say."
"Where are you going?" asked Cyborg, throwing a canteen at her, which she easily caught, putting it in her backpack.
"I'll be out for a few days," said Raven vaguely. "Jason needs my help –"
"In finding the Fountain of Life," finished Cyborg. He walked into the room and leaned on the dresser. "You sure it's Jason that needs your help? Or Red-X?"
Whirling around to face her teammate, Raven narrowed her eyes at him accusingly. "How long have you known?"
"Since the basketball game," replied Cyborg. He did a two-finger salute before letting out a chuckle. "He needs to be careful with that. He got lucky that Robin wasn't looking when he did that, or he would've been sent straight to jail."
"Robin doesn't know?"
"He's the only one."
"Seriously?" scoffed Raven. "He was Batman's apprentice! And he's the only one who doesn't know who Red-X is after spending an entire afternoon with him? What did Starfire and Beast Boy think?"
Cyborg shrugged. "We've all agreed to keep it to ourselves for now."
"…Why?"
"You were happy Raven," stated the metal man. "We want you to keep being happy…even if it means protecting the enemy for a bit."
"Red-X isn't the enemy," defended Raven.
"Maybe not anymore," said Cyborg, "but there is still quite a bit for him to answer to. Still…we just want you to be happy Rae." Raven gave him a soft smile that soon turned into a frown.
"When Robin finds out where I've gone," she said, "he'll accuse me of helping Red-X. He'll kick me out of the Titans."
"He'll consider it."
"He'll be mad at you guys too," Raven continued, "for not telling him who Red-X is from the beginning."
Cyborg sighed. "Yes he will, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, you seem set on going with Jason. I know you Rae, so I know that you wouldn't risk Robin's wrath unless it was for a good reason." Raven nodded in understanding.
"You're giving me a head start."
"I'm giving you a chance to work things out with Jason," stated Cyborg. "I doubt this revelation of him being an exclusive criminal who is going after a legendary fountain for the sake of whatever reason helped your relationship at all. Don't get me wrong; once Robin finds out you're gone, I'll have to tell him the truth, and he will be pissed. But some time to work things out is never a bad thing. Maybe by then we could talk some sense into Robin about taking it easy on you."
Going over to her teammate, she wrapped an arm around his waist just as he put his arm over her shoulders. Of all the Titans, she could always count on Cyborg to be levelheaded about certain situations, and honest. She didn't miss how he didn't mention about taking it easy on Jason, but after so many years, it would be a mistake to even hope that Robin would let go of his grudge against the thief. Who knows, maybe things won't work out between them now that Red-X's identity has been fully acknowledged, but considering Cyborg was pushing her to give it a chance, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to see in which direction it would lead to. Besides, there were other reasons for her to go. Remembering what Theo had said about their family members, Raven knew that she had to help in whatever ever way she could.
"I'll try to be back soon," said Raven.
Smirking, Cyborg said, "Enjoy your honeymoon Rae."
...RX...
Everything he might need for the journey was packed and ready to go. All Red-X needed was the coordinates of his destination. It was nearly 11 o'clock as he placed his things down to set up the telescope when the lone thief froze and came face to face with a cloaked figure. When he realized who it was, Red-X tensed but continued as though she weren't really there.
"Are you just going to ignore me the entire time?"
"Go home Raven," ordered Red-X as he continued to set everything up. "You have no business here."
"You won't be able to find the Fountain without my help," pointed out Raven.
"I'll find away."
"No you won't."
Red-X snapped then, his anger clear even through the mask. "Yes I will. I have to."
"Jason –"
"No!" barked Red-X, turning to face her, closing in until she was only inches away. "You are going to go home Raven. You are going back to the tower, you're going to tell your team what you know, you'll come looking for me, but we will never see each other again after tonight, you got that?"
"Is that what you want?" hissed Raven. "You want to leave now? No explanation, no nothing, just leave?" Letting out a humorless chuckle, she added, "And you actually think I'll let that happen?"
"Go home Raven," growled Red-X.
"No."
"I said, go home."
"And I said no."
"Dammit Raven!" He turned away from her and began to pace in front of her. "This isn't a fucking game! I need to find the fountain – I will find the fountain – and you are not going to stop me." Raven opened her mouth to intervene, but silenced herself as Red-X continued his vent. "I don't care what deal bird-brain sent with you, but I am not giving myself in. Lives are riding on my finding the fountain, and I'm not going to be blindsided by whatever it is you have to offer. And I know you're probably mad about how I didn't tell you who I was before, but goddammit Raven. This is bigger than me, this is bigger than us – and yeah I'm sorry for not being honest with you, believe me I wanted to be, but there was just too much going on, and I knew you would go on about dark magic and all that shit like you did last time, but there are just too many people counting on me; I can't quit when I am just so close to knowing the fountain's location, so you can just go back home and just – just – just fuck off."
"Will you shut the fuck up for two seconds?" snapped Raven, an extra set of red eyes flashing on her face before vanishing. She marched up to Red-X and poked him hard on the chest. "Don't you dare think you have the right to talk to me like that. Don't you ever, ever speak like that to me again, especially when I'm here on my own. My being here is not an order from Robin; I'm here to help you."
She could feel Red-X take in a sharp breath. "What?" he said.
Smirking slightly, Raven said sarcastically, "So now I have your attention? Yeah, I'm here to help you find the damn fountain."
"But…why?"
"Theo told me about why you need the waters from the fountain," admitted Raven. "I'm not sure how to find it, but I do know that the magic surrounding it can be dangerous if you don't know how to handle it. If there's a chance for you to save your family, I want to help." She could hear a scoff come from within the mask.
"Always the hero."
"For as long as I can be. But this isn't about being a hero. I want to do what I can to help, but…" Pausing midsentence, Raven sighed. Red-X stared at her expectantly as she took a step closer. Raising her hands, Raven lifted the skull mask slowly, coming into eye contact with emerald green eyes. Her gaze softened as she saw the sadness and confusion in them. "Mainly, I just want to be with you Jason."
It was like the world around them was still, no sound daring to interrupt the intense soul searching the young couple was conducting through each other's eyes. Raven knew that Jason was having mixed emotions from her silent confession; he was grateful, sad, happy, angry, and scared all at the same time. But she knew that some of those emotions were reflections of her own. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. Last time she put herself in this position of actually giving someone her heart, it nearly killed her and her friends. Now she could only hope that she won't regret it. But based on everything she saw in his eyes – those green orbs that were breaking her heart with how broken they were – he didn't want her to regret it.
Leaning forward until their foreheads touched, Jason closed his eyes and whispered, "It was for Tony. I was supposed to save him. I was supposed to give him the life he deserved – better than he deserved. I was supposed to save him. Raven…I-I killed my brother –"
"No," cut in Raven, looking directly in his eyes when he opened them, her voice firm. "No, you didn't. Don't ever think that. Anthony –"
"Would've still been alive if it weren't for me."
"Magic is unpredictable," offered Raven, almost pleading with him. "There was no way you could've known that it would work so fast, or that it would choose him –"
"But I did. You said it would cost the one thing that made my life worth it. I knew it the night you told me. I traded Tony's life –"
Raven shook her head against his. "Stop it. You did not. You're right, he did deserve a better, longer life, but he was happy. Believe me, he was so happy because of you. And he was ready. I'm sorry he didn't go peacefully, but he was ready to go. I didn't tell you before because I didn't think it was my place, but Anthony was tired. He was so tired of waiting to die. And even though I don't exactly have the power to communicate with the other side, I know that he's doing much better now. I can feel it. Can't you?"
Jason's expression turned hopeful just as a stray tear ran down his cheek. "Do you think he would forgive me?"
"He wouldn't need to."
"But would he?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
The tears were running freely now as he pulled her in for a tight hug, his shoulders trembling as he tried to contain his sobbing. "Because I wouldn't."
They stood there holding each other for the longest time. Everything that Jason was going through, Raven could feel it deep in her veins. All the pain and guilt he felt was so overwhelming that she couldn't help herself; tears fell from her eyes as she allowed his emotions overtake her own, absorbing some of them from him to lessen his burden. But there was too much. All she could do was hold him tight, but even that didn't seem enough. 'Is this what it feels like to be helpless?' As it all poured out, Raven could feel herself become drained, nearly empty of emotion. But she wasn't sure if it was her or if she was getting everything from Jason. Either way, enough tears were shed when they pulled away enough to look at each other.
Jason's eyes were empty, and he looked positively exhausted, but there was calmness to him now. Before Raven could say anything, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss started off slowly, questioningly, but it grew into something full of longing and passion. It was like Jason was trying to put his apology into that kiss, but there was more to it than that. And Raven knew what it was, because she felt it too. There was a sense of love in that kiss. There was the need to never be without the other, especially during times like this, but there was fear of what it would mean to give yourself to someone who might be taken from you. Jason was scared of losing her more than she was of being used again. And in that kiss was a promise.
When Jason made to pull away, Raven kept him in place. Pressing a hand to his chest, right above his heart, she said, "Don't dwell on forgiveness when it is not needed Jason. Focus on what Anthony would want. What would he want for you?"
His heart skipped a beat at the mention of his brother's name. After an inner battle, he replied, "He'd want me to be with you."
"Stay with me?" Jason whispered into her lips. Raven gave him another peck before replying.
"I'm not going anywhere."
After separating from each other, Raven stood back a bit to watch as Jason set everything up for whatever it was he needed to do. While he positioned the telescope to face the moon that was more than halfway full, the sorceress walked up behind him, tilting her head in curiosity. Feeling her breath in the back of his neck, Jason couldn't help but laugh. "You have no idea what I'm doing, do you."
It wasn't much of a question, but Raven shook her head. "What is the point of all this?"
"Let me show you," said Jason. He took out a crystal-like diamond, which Raven recognized as the Centenary Diamond, from one of his pouches and placed it at the lens of the telescope. "The moon phase for the Centenary Diamond is a waxing gibbous, but even then, the telescope needs to be aiming directly at the middle of the sphere. We put the diamond here and then we take out this thing," he took out the laser pen from another one of his pouches and clicked it, shooting out the claw from the end, "and make it grab hold of the diamond. We click this button right here and –" He didn't finish his sentence, but instead looked up smugly as the ultraviolet beam shot through the diamond, through the telescope, and up at the moon. "We click it again to make it a continuous shooting beam." Jason pressed the button, and it did as he said. Raven raised her eyebrows, but the way she pursed her lips showed she was not impressed.
"So what's the point of all this?"
"Just wait," chided Jason lightly. He took out a sheet of paper with six circles on it and placed it directly under the telescope. As he searched his pouch for something else, Raven took a closer look at the paper and was even more confused.
"Braille?"
"Yep," said Jason, pulling out a mirror. He held it out in front of the telescope, tilting it a bit so that when the beam hit it, it shot down to the paper. Raven couldn't help but think that all he was doing didn't make any sense, but was taken aback when the beam burned into three different circles even though Jason didn't move his hand. "Zero," he mumbled as he put the mirror away.
"Zero?" asked Raven. "Okay, I'm officially confused." Writing something down in a small pocketbook, Jason smirked at her before showing her a line of numbers.
"Each diamond is different," explained Jason. "By matching them to the correct moon phase, it will give you a different number."
"And what's the point of the numbers?" asked Raven, looking at the ones he had written down. "Eight, three, zero, seven, one, zero, nine, four, five, seven, three, zero. Okay?" Jason put a few marks around the numbers, and Raven's eyebrows shot up. The way he had marked them showed: 8'30 71'0 / 9'45 73'0. "They're coordinates."
"Yes they are," said Jason feeling absolutely proud of himself as he took out his laptop from the bag he had placed by the entrance to the roof.
"Are they coordinates to the Fountain?"
"Not exactly," said Jason as he put the coordinates into the laptop. "It's going to lead us to the next location, that should then lead us to the Fountain." Frowning, Raven was about to ask him how he knew all of this when he smiled up at her. "I hope you brought your sunscreen because we are going to Venezuela."
Next Time on Twelve Lovers of Alcina
Jason and Raven get some alone time:
"You know…this is the first time we've been alone since that day."
"So?"
"I'm not going to lie. Some very inappropriate thoughts are running through my mind."
As well as some new revelations:
"So…you've never…been with anyone?"
"I never said that."
"So…so you've –"
"Don't tell me you're starting to feel insecure."
"I'm just curious...Who was the lucky bastard?"
Until Next Time!