Fan Fiction ❯ Red X, in...Punked ❯ The Players Move into Position.... ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I would just copy and paste one of my old ones, but it wouldn't really do this part justice. To start with, I don't own any of the characters, though some of the bad jokes could be mine. And big thanks to CloudsHalo, who offered to let me use his identity for Red X, Kale Riley. This doesn't mean this story is linked to his, though some could see it that way. Also, no offense meant to Billy Idol, whom the other character in this story, Punk Rocket, is based on. I didn't make Rocket, but I find him fairly offensive, and so I just wanted to say that in case any one complains about it, I have no issues with Billy Idol. I actually hope everyone who reads those won't hate it :P And yeah, I just copy and paste this thing from chapter to chapter.

 

 

A/N: Some of this part may seem a little weak, but some of the elements present here aren't actually going to be here for the full fic, if my interest isn't in it. The title itself may also get changed at times. And yeah…for the sake of my sanity, I'm also introducing a Titan into the story…Raven. Don't ask why. At least not right away.

 

 

 

~The First Chapter~

 

 

As with every day, there was that element of boredom that usually ended up motivating one to get up and do something, no matter how lazy they were. This feeling usually persisted until the person who had said feeling got up and did something. Now, while this wasn't normally a problem for most people, it was for Raven, who was attempting to read her book quietly, while sitting on the couch in the main room of the tower. The feeling, however, had been gnawing at her all day, and with a sigh of disgust she slammed the book down, and crossed her arms over her chest.

 

The grey girl was annoyed beyond her usual range, because she didn't know why she wanted to so badly go out and do something. Then it hit her. Beast Boy was making his jokes again, and was slowly driving her up the wall, as some people might say. So she decided to at least get out of the room.

 

And with a slight groan, she sat up slowly, worked the kinks out of her back, and picked up her book, taking it with her as she went up the stairs, and out into the hallway. She decided to stop by her room to drop the book off, and then figure out what to do from there. After she had set her book down, of course, she started sifting through all the other ones, making a soft humming sound every time she saw one she was interested in. This kept the feeling at bay for all of twenty seconds. She stamped down hard with her right foot, then stomped out of her room, before levitating up, and heading for the elevator, to go to the roof.

 

 

*****

 

Once there, she attempted to meditate, but her concentration was partly ruined by the feeling that today, she should go out and attempt to be a part of the human race, at least in outward appearance, for once in her life. All of the instances of things she had done in the city had all been with her friends at her side. So now, she reasoned, trying to rationalize her boredom, she had to go out and do something on her own.

 

`Well, there was that bookstore downtown…' she mused to herself, one hand going to rub against her chin thoughtfully.

 

 

*******

 

 

What does a person do when they get bored?

 

They go out and do something.

 

Case in point: a young man, possibly 16 years of age, with medium length brown hair that fell loosely across his face, dark blue eyes, and a sort of average look wearing a black and red backpack, baggy jeans, and a simple dark blue t-shirt was walking through a large crowd, bored out of his mind and trying to find something to do. The crowd, as it happens, was forming due to a new large, and rather expensive, museum opening. The place was full of old stuff, like all museums, but the crowd was there to see the special opening exhibit, a special set of precious gemstones that were worth a great deal of money…hence the large opening. The boy only found this out by stumbling across a pair of tourists that were also quite possibly the loudest couple he had ever seen.

 

It took him all of three minutes to start wearing a small grin, and make his way towards the museum, to see what all the fuss was about, a spring in his step, and whistling loudly.

 

*****

 

 

After what seemed like forever, but was only fifteen minutes later, the boy was standing inside the museum, looking at the large display case that held the gems, and whistled again, this time in appreciation. “Wow…” he reached forward, fingers grazing against the case, and immediately got a harsh glare from a tour guide. Feeling a little berated, he took his hand back and looked down at his sneakers. It was as the group passed by the restrooms that he ducked through the door, and headed inside one of the stalls, making sure the cover was down before he set his backpack on it, and reached in, pulling out a mask with a skull-shape on it, as well as a red x.

 

“Well, this beats hanging out at the mall…” he mused, slipping the mask on, then bringing out the rest of the costume, hopping a little as he removed his shoes, and pulled on the lower half, fitting into it snugly. Then he put on the top half, and fixed his gloves in place. Then came the cape, which he made sure was fastened tightly. Finally, the belt which was also happened to be the suit's power core, weapons system, and stealth device.

 

Once he made sure everything was in place - because it was terribly embarrassing to realize you had forgotten a piece of your costume - he stepped out of the stall, still carrying the backpack over one shoulder, and crept back out. He poked his head out of the doorway, then tapped his belt once, making sure he was hitting the stealth function, and then made his way back to the display case.

 

He was trying to figure out how he was going to get the case open, and get the gems while everyone was there watching, when there was a loud sound, like a Doppler affect, and all the windows in the building exploded inwards, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Red X turned to the case, and saw that it had exploded as well, the jewels littering the floor. In the panic that whatever it was had caused, he picked up what he could, stuffed them in the back pack with his clothes, then put it on his back, and jogged towards the blown open and wrecked doors….

 

Only to get knocked off his feet and flung back through the air towards a rather sharp armor display, which he narrowly avoided by saying one word, and with a woosh of air, he teleported behind the display, skidding to a halt next to one of the other exhibits. `Now what was that?'

 

His unspoken question was answered when yet another Doppler shook the building, followed by a loud, somewhat accented laugh.

 

“That's right, you fools!! Run from the sound of chaos!!”

 

X blinked a little, then headed for the door at a fair run, avoiding the guards at all costs, and running out onto the stairs, looking up and up and up to a street light, where Punk Rocket was precariously balanced, his guitar and guitar pick at the ready.

 

`Mother always said there'd be days like this….'

 

 

******

 

 

Meanwhile, Raven had been at that bookstore she'd been musing about, checking through everything in the arcane/occult section to see if there was anything she'd missed from her own collection. So far, it had come out to three large books, and one rather small one. The bill wasn't anything to worry about, as she still had some money left to herself, without having to ask for any from one of the others.

 

She was partway through paying when she heard the loud explosions, though at this range they sounded like thumps in the distance. She picked up the bag of books, and with a chant of Azarath Metrion Zinthos, they disappeared in a ball of black light, and reappeared in her room, making her next move that much easier.

 

She started levitating, and passed through the walls of the bookstore, flying about the streets and looking down, a little puzzled. Then, she saw the clouds of smoke, and the huge fleeing crowd, coming from a large, stylized building with the remaining letters saying “ -p Ci-y Museu-” and something she really hoped she wouldn't see again, not out of fear or dread, because it was just so incredibly annoying and lame that the first time was way more than enough.

 

Punk Rocket, in all his annoying glory, was furiously playing his guitar and causing the museum to crumble and fall apart, which wasn't anything really new, since he'd basically been doing the same thing with a concert hall the first time he appeared. Though now chunks of rubble were falling towards innocent people, and she wasn't going to get there fast enough to do anything about it.

 

That's when something small hit the debris, and exploded it into smaller pieces, and spared the innocents beneath it from anything worse than a few bruises. However, the small object had a ring of familiarity about it, but at this distance, closing in as she was, it didn't really ring any bells.

 

With another of her usual chants, she levitated a car, and sent it flying at the street lamp Rocket was on, and it connected, bending the pole in half and sending him falling down rather painfully on the hood of the now-mangled car. He turned his head, and saw, from his perspective anyway, Raven floating upside-down, a small, cold smirk on her face. “Oh, it's you…” he groaned, rolling off of the roof and landing on his knees. “Bloody hell, does that hurt….” He coughed loudly, then swung his guitar up, violently dragging the pick over the strings, and sending out another blare of sonic energy, knocking Raven both back and forth, which resulted in her spinning in mid-air. Afterwards, she looked somewhat ill. “Heh heh…too bad your friends ain't here…I wanted to say `ello, after all….”

 

 

******

 

 

During this, Red X was trying to figure out what he was going to do. He had saved those bystanders, but only because he wasn't really all that bad for a villainous-type person. He still had the stolen jewels, and he had plenty of time to escape, but he remained stuck in place, watching as Raven took Rocket down, and as the punker returned the favor. Then he clenched his fist and ran forward, swinging the backpack hard and catching Rocket across the face, sending him spinning to the ground. Unfortunately, the force of the impact caused him to loose the backpack, and it faded into sight. He mentally cursed, then was blown back by a sonic wave from the downed rocker, one so bad that it messed up his belt and caused his stealth to shut down, revealing him in broad daylight.

 

“What the ruddy hell….?” Rocket blinked, before getting a quick jab to the face, followed by a right cross, then a backflip kick, which sent him flying back onto his butt. He was about to use his constricting gel when a piece of rock came flying at his head at high speed. He ducked, falling into a crouch, and saw that Raven was now targeting him.

 

“Great…two of you…what, you had a falling out or something?” she asked, looking irritated beyond belief.

 

“Sorry, dark girl, but you got it all wrong….I'm not with this dork…” he raised a hand, before sending the gel at her, catching her off-guard and pinning her arms to her sides. With a frustrated roar though, she split it apart, sending gooey chunks flying everywhere. “Uh oh….” He mumbled, tensing himself for a real fight.

 

 

 

~End First Chapter~