Robin or Red-X? (Teen Titans/Young Justice)

Chapter 9 (Red and Arrows)

"There won't be a next time, I'm afraid." They heard someone, no doubt Count Vertigo, say from just beyond the lights reach. "It's always a pleasure to see you again Green Arrow, Speedy, but I'm sorry to say I don't know your new friend." The Count said as he stepped into the light along with his group of thugs.

"The name is Red X." He replied as he counted the amount of grunts.

"Ah yes, I've heard of you. A new young hero who appeared only about a week ago. You've already fought Sportsmaster and the Mad Hatter. I hear Sportsmaster has been most eager for a rematch." Count Vertigo said as his hired help of thirty-two started to surround the three heroes.

Red X shot a look towards the archers and tightened his fist in warning that he was about to attack. They gave subtly nods and he turned his attention back to Count Vertigo.

"After tonight, I'll get to add your defeat to my growing list of achievements." He said as he teleported in front of Count Vertigo and launched a sidekick at him. He knocked Vertigo deeper into the shadows and looked back to see how Green Arrow and Speedy were fairing. The thugs had swarmed onto them, but he could see that the archers were quickly disabling their foes. He launched himself into the shadows to find Vertigo.

Red X turned on his night vision and saw the man just starting to get off the floor. Red X smiled as he heard Vertigo's irregular breathing, the man couldn't take a hit. That usually meant that he couldn't dish out one either. He would only have to watch out for Vertigo's special power in this fight.

He activated his cloaking device to limit Vertigo's sight even more and stalked his enemy, waiting for the fear of the unknown to build and make his opponent uneasy. It was a basic technique that Batman had taught. As he hid in the shadows, the fear of his enemies would grow and they would be more likely to make a mistake.

He frowned as he saw the opposite affect happen on Vertigo. Instead of his breath intake increasing, it slowed down and he seemed to calm. Red X felt like smacking himself upside the head for thinking that Vertigo was like any other punk. They were certainly not like the criminals he Red X used to fight when he'd been a Titan. Vertigo had obviously figured out his strategy. That didn't mean that Vertigo's eye sight had improved at all though.

"A wise move to push me into the shadows like this, but you should have made sure that you were the only one who would gain an advantage in the darkness." Vertigo said as he stared in the opposite direction of Red X and put something over his eyes.

Red X narrowed his eyes in anger and suspicion. He should have kept attacking Vertigo instead of trying to scare him. Now Red X could see that Vertigo had put some sort of tech-goggles over his eyes. Deciding to rectify his mistake, Red X charged towards Vertigo as the man turned to face him.

Suddenly Red X was slammed with extreme imbalance and nausea. His sense of direction was so thrown off course he didn't know which way was up or down and his head started to ache so much he thought it might explode. He struggled to look up and found Vertigo standing over him.

"How?" He grunted as he tried to stand back up onto his feet, though he couldn't remember falling to his knees. How had Vertigo seen through his cloaking device?

"Simple. You assumed that I could only see in night vision like you. These are Thermal imaging goggles; I could easily see your approach because of your body heat." Vertigo said as he kept up his attack on Red X.

"I have to say, you're definitely full of surprises Red X. Teleportation and Invisibility along with whatever tricks you have up your sleeve makes you a dangerous adversary. It would be best if I finish you off now." Vertigo said as he increased the strength of his attack.