The World's Finest [Red X]

Red X raised a brow when Batgirl asked that question. How was that so interesting? And what did she even mean? Even while aware of what she was asking, though, the thief was absorbed in their thoughts. Memories of what it was like growing up on the streets. Stealing just to survive.
"Huh? Yeah." They snapped out of their thoughts. "You think if I grew up well off, I'd want to do this?" The thief gestured to themselves in the Red X suit.

And then, pondering her question about how they got to this point. "This point? What do you mean? Stealing from high profile targets like the Teen Titans? Or the stealing life in general?" Red X crossed their arms. "It's fun. And it keeps me fed. What about you? It's a little rude to ask all the questions and answer none of mine."

Batgirl shrugged. "Honestly? It wouldn't be unheard of. Batman and I have taken down plenty of people who start well off and aren't satisfied." She sat back, crossed her legs, and got nice and comfy. "I think it's clear what I mean. Who trained you? How did you learn to do all this? You've made it abundantly clear why you steal from high profile individuals. But in that aspect, why limit yourself to this city?"

Red X shrugged lightly when she said that she and Batman had encountered people that had it all and still weren't satisfied with their lives. Then she started asking who trained them, and how they learned to steal so efficiently. Red X raised their hands to their side. "I learned on the streets. I just happened to pick up a few tricks along the way from the people I worked with." They began pacing lightly to kill some time. "What about me led you to believe I'm only in Jump City? I've been quite busy internationally. Especially since that race. Haven't you heard?" The thief grinned. "I own most of the Xenothium in the world now."

Batgirl shrugged. "And to a majority of the world, it's worth absolutely nothing. They just lock it up because it's unstable." She leaned in against her legs, watching them pace. "Your M.O. is just like...it makes no sense, X. You talk about being number one, but you refuse to let anyone know who you are. It's not a superiority complex, otherwise you'd operate like Nigma. It's not kleptomania, because you're selective in what you hit. You don't work by impulse. It's not hard greed, because you're hitting Xenothium, not banks. And it's not a power fantasy, because you don't hurt people. Ever." It was very clearly something that bothered her. A lot. "To do this shit, there has to be something wrong with people. Me, Robin, Batman, all the Titans, everyone has something wrong with them that makes them do shit like this. You can't be the exception."

The thief scoffed lightly when she said that Xenothium wasn't really worth that much. "Are you kidding? If I was interested in letting that psycho run around with it, I could call up Dr. Chang and be a billionaire tonight. It is pretty unstable, but as a power source, I know plenty willing to pay for a fortune of it. Don't you know the secret about diamonds?" Red X paused. "Eh. You're probably not interested."

"But yeah. Maybe I do have a little emotional baggage hidden away somewhere. And I don't see any reason to unload it for you when you aren't even answering my questions." It began to dawn on the thief that they had been talking for a long period of time. They kept her in sight, but then took a look around in the nearby vicinity. Could she be waiting for someone to close in on them?

Barbara sat back and let Red X prattle on. "I mean...Chang would also refuse to pay you and just try to kill you. So." And frankly, X was correct about one thing. Babs really couldn't care less about the truth behind diamonds or gold or any other precious anything.

She clicked her tongue as X accused her of staying distant, and to be fair, they weren't wrong. "Not technically incorrect. Fine." She stood up and kicked a few loose pieces of concrete on the roof. "What I'm doing right now? I don't feel it. My legs don't work. The only reason I'm able to do anything I do right now is because of some super advanced garbage surgery. But I still don't have all the feeling in my legs."

She balanced some concrete on her foot and kicked it into the air, catching it in her left hand. "So while I get some context, I don't get a lot. Sure, I've got all the important crap back, but there's a nice chunk of time I lost, and a whole lot of pain, and a whole lot of misery that came with it. So I want revenge. I don't think it's too much to ask."

Red X shrugged. "I could think of a few ways around that. But that's besides the point."

The thief listened as she actually decided to open up about what her damage was. They went from a neutral, arms crossed position to one of surprise. She filled them in on how she could use her legs, but she couldn't actually feel anything she did with them. And she also revealed that she was missing time. That was pretty scary. Missing time where you should have been awake and not knowing for certain? Most people had anxiety disorders from that kind of thing. And maybe she did, too. Not to mention the pain she had suffered all throughout the ordeal. And that was why she wanted revenge.

The thief let that all settle in. "Well, I have to hand it to you, Bats. You put me on the spot. I didn't actually expect you to share anything with me. So I'll give you this much." Red X crossed their arms again. "I never knew my parents. I was in and out of shelters for most of my life. My stealing? I had to learn that. And I had to be good at it around here. I got into a lot of fights." A pause. "I got into some trouble one day, and a family took me in. I don't know what they saw. Maybe they just pitied me. Life was peachy. They didn't treat me any different. But they had...expectations of me." There was another pause. It was longer. Then, with an edge to Robin's voice, "And when shit hit the fan, I disappointed them. So I left."

Barbara nodded, watching and listening as X spoke. "Honestly? This is a dark mirror, and I'm not sure how I feel looking into it." She laughed for a moment. "I never knew my mom, and dad is an...extremely busy man." She mirrored X's posture, crossing her arms as well. There weren't a lot of differences between them. "Ended up throwing myself into computers. Got pretty fuckin' good at it too!"

She blinked as X spoke on the subject of a family. She chuckled at first. "Believe me, I know the feeling. I really do." But then she stopped suddenly, her eyes lit up like she'd just realized something very specific. ...Please don't tell me I'm right.

"So, that family...did you have siblings? A brother or a sister? Mom and dad? Two of one or the other?" She tried to play it off as best she could as continuing the conversation.

The thief shrugged lightly when Batgirl said that she saw a reflection in them, and wasn't entirely comfortable with that revelation. "It's just the same story as a lot of people. On both accounts. I'm obviously a lot better off than most. I'm not too great with computers, but I do have some good sleight of hand. It's great for magic tricks."

She seemed to have an alarmed reaction, prompting the thief to survey their surroundings once more in case there were any Titans running up to convene on their location. But again, they found nothing. What was she reacting to? The thief began to worry. But she was quick to change the subject, asking about the family itself.

"A mom and a dad. And an older brother. Real sports nut. Never shut up about it while he was in high school. But he meant well." Red X watched her intently. "What about you? Any siblings?"

Barbara nodded. "I learned how to do some killer sleight of hand too. Doubt it's as good as yours though." She was very clearly racking her brain behind that calm visage she kept up. Was she just mistaken? Or was she truly onto something at this point.

She scratched her chin as X spoke about their family. "I've got a little brother of sorts, yeah. But then again you're already quite familiar with him." She gestured to the Red X suit and sighed quietly. "And yeah, you know how obsessive he can get, I'm sure. Except I've got three dads. A real one, a worrier, and an enabler."

She was extremely quiet for a moment. "Then...I had another sibling. One more. A baby sis." She was crossed her arms. "But I'm sure you've realized by now that the revenge story is a thriller."

Red X shrugged. "I appreciate that boost of my ego," they joked lightly, but continued to listen to her. it took them a moment when she began talking about her little brother, and then they broke out into laughter. "Yeah, I guess so. They're not the healthiest." And then a puase when she said that she had three dads. "Three? A worrier and an enabler? That's...pretty unique. You gonna tell me more?"

She mentioned something about having a little sister. But then they quickly changed subjects, and started talking about their revenge story. "Well, when you're going to talk about it like that, how can I not be interested?" Red X waited patiently for her to continue.

"Yes, because clearly your ego needs a boost." She breathed a laugh and clicked her tongue. "It's a really long story, honestly." She shrugged and crossed her arms, squatting down and sitting on her ankles. She stared down at the rooftop and bit her lip.

She had a hunch, and it was a decent one. But nothing to act on just yet. Just a nagging voice asking if she could be wrong. Healthy paranoia bred into the kids by Batman, probably. "Hey, uhm...quick question for you..." She stood up and strode across the rooftop, stopping in front of X, raising an eyebrow, now only about a foot from their face. "You wanna like, go see a movie tomorrow night? Like, with me? As a date?" She waited for a response initially, then breaking the silence. "I mean, if Batman is allowed to bang Catwoman in the back of the Batmobile, I think I'm allowed to date a thief too."

X had shown interest in the past. This was the best bet to see them out of their mask, and confirm those suspicions. This was her best bet.

Batgirl actually managed to elicit a chuckle from the thief (yeah, because that's a feat). "Hey, it's the ego that keeps on giving," they said, pretty sure of themselves. And letting the remark about her revenge being a long story pass with a nod.

But the next things she said caught the thief completely off guard. She asked them on a date, and then said if Batman was allowed to bang Catwoman, she should be able to date a thief as well. Red X raised a brow, but soon realized that was impossible to convey without, well... taking off the mask. "That...sounded very specific. To both of those things."

"Look, as tempting as that is- very- I'm not an idiot. You just want to see me with the mask off so you can arrest me. If I'm gonna see a movie with someone, I feel like they should be honest about their feelings." Though that was really hard to say. "Not that it isn't fun being the focus of so much of your attention."

Barbara rolled her eyes as Red X argued. "OK, one, my alter-ego can't exactly bring yours in without any proof. Not only does no one have any reason to listen to me, but I'm apparently illegal now. So even if that was the goal it'd be insanely poorly thought out." She crossed her arms and started walking away, shrugging. "Truth be told, I think it's a good chance to determine if you're actually dangerous to have walking around. And evidently you like me so...I figure it'd probably be pretty fun."

She turned around at the edge of the roof and smiled. "Besides, it's a good chance to get the suit off and the comm link out of my ear. I mean really! Listen to this crap!" She took a small comm link out of her ear and held it up, didn't change anything else, and yet Red X could faintly hear a mix of police scanners, other Titans, and god knows what else coming out like a garbled mess. "Seriously, one would assume they'd shut up after a while."

Red X couldn't help but chuckle at Batgirl's expense as she said that she wasn't legally allowed to arrest the thief and turn them in. "Listen, Batgirl. Whether you believe it or not, I don't actually agree with any of DOMA's bullshit, either. But you and the Titans doing your thing, that was already illegal. Which clearly," the thief gestured to their person, and particularly the suit that they were wearing. "I have no room to judge. Just because some people turned the other way doesn't mean it was legal though."

Red X crossed their arms lightly, still transparently having doubts about this arrangement. But the fact that they had to even think about the ordeal meant it was entirely all too late. After some silence and deliberation upon hearing her point and her little police scanner, Red X let their arms return to their sides. "Fine. I'll stick my neck out a little bit here. I'll meet you wherever you want. Whatever time. And I'll give you my word that it won't be for business." Red X slowly held out their hand to shake. "But if you go back on your word, then I'll know a little more about you, too," the thief said cryptically.