Red-X awoke with a heavy moan. He couldn't remember the last time his body felt so bad since his last fight with the Titans, and that had been months ago. The master thief sat up, groaning softly as his aching body protested against the action. Directly in front of him, was an almost blank, white wall with what looked like a painting of a boat resting on the water. Floating beside that painting was an all too familiar looking black orb.

"Failed your mission, I take it?" Blackfire's mocking voice echoed in the room.

Red-X could sense that the red lens was staring at something past him, so the thief turned to see that the other half of the room had been thrown into utter chaos. The ceiling had completely collapsed, the floor was littered with debris that piled up through the gaping ceiling, and bodies— of scientists, soldiers, and what looked like the receptionist— lay lifeless amongst all the carnage.

"A minor setback," Red-X commented, forcing his strained body to its feet. "Nothing a few well placed detonations won't fix."

"You're joking, right?" Blackfire asked as the robotic orb watched the thief walk over to the massive pile of rubble, rubbing his hands eagerly. "I thought you might have learned by now that simply blowing parts of this building may not be the best of ideas."

At that Red-X froze in place. "Nope," he replied before slowly turning his head around to face the floating robot. "Though I did learn that this place is quite dangerous."

"Really now? Learned that all on your own did you?"

"I mean more dangerous than you first implied," Red-X explained, folding his arms with a twinge of pain. "I would also like to add that I'm pretty convinced that this building is out to get me. Does that make me crazy? Or is that not far from the truth?"

At that, the hovering robotic orb fell silent. Red-X waited patiently, arms still folded and watched the android through his skull mask.

"To put things as simply as possible, this building is basically on the line between our dimension and another one, threatening to implode if too much of the other dimension creeps its way into ours."

"Pardon?" Red-X asked, leaning in closer. "Maybe I am going crazy, but did you just say that we are...in between dimensions?"

"I'm having Fixit find out more information as we speak," Blackfire replied— exasperated, more like. Her tone clearly indicated she knew little more than he did. "But it's been very tiresome. Wireless communication is risky as we don't know if the properties of this dimension have a way of traveling through electronic waves and entering one's head."

"Er...they can do that?" Red-X muttered, remembering clearly the little device Blackfire had him put in his ear.

"I've been to planets where its species had such capabilities. Better safe than sorry."

"Right..." Red-X then started pacing around the room, standing still in one spot too long always made him antsy. "So, if we can't leave this room, or contact anyone who may be outside this building, then...what do we do?"

"We wait."

"Wait!?" Red-X exclaimed. He looked around the room, quickly spotting the doors that led outside. "What about those doors? If we get outside, we can try to find another way up."

"Not an option." Blackfire insisted, the red lens surveying the doors as well. "I tried earlier and simply opening them sent me plummeting out of this room's ceiling."

"Damnit!" the thief swore, hitting a large chunk of rubble with his fist. He then thought for a moment as he nursed the new injury. "Could I perhaps-?"

"You cannot blow down the walls."

"Damnit!" Red-X cursed again before falling back against the ground with a defeated sigh.

The room was quiet for a time. Both villains accepted that all they could do was wait for their comrades to try and find a way to finish the mission. After awhile, Red-X let out a second heaving sigh. He held out a hand in the air above his face, staring at the red x shape on his gloved palm.

"I almost wish the Titans were here," he commented, with no immediate reply from Blackfire. "They always manage to find some do-goody way to clean up someone's mess, and I could just take what I wanted and slip away while they do it."

"You really have a one track mind, don't you?" Blackfire's voice asked, disappointment clearly evident in it.

Red-X chuckled. "Stealing is what makes the world go round. Well, my world anyways."

"Idiot."

"And what makes your world go round, Ms. Ex-Tamaranian-Princess?" Red-X asked, looking over at the floating orb. "Power? Money?...Men?"

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Blackfire shot, the robot turning pointedly away from him.

"Ooooh. Touchy tonight I see. Well, how else do you plan to kill time? Sitting all quiet like in that cell of yours?"

"That's what I was trying to do until your annoying prattling interrupted me!"

"Oh, right, of course, how utterly rude of me."

"...You'd better hope you don't live long enough to see me escape from here."

"Oh? What are you going to do, chide me to death?"

"...Do you even know what my kind is capable of?"

"Well, if it's anything like what your sister is capable of, then I can't say I'd be all that impressed."

"Hah! Do not even attempt to compare me to that little nobody. My sister is nothing but dirt underneath my boots."

"Uh huh. And is that why she's in a warm home surrounded by friends while you're rotting away in a cell?"

"She only grows weak with such comforts while I continue to grow stronger! How dare you even suggest-!"

"Yeah, yeah, evil villain speech. Very frightening and all that."

"...I hate you."

"That's nice, honey. So, I've been wondering something, why Wykkyd?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I know what happened down there. I know him. The Brotherhood of Whatever, and most of the villains worthy of note, were frozen down there, but why did you unfreeze him out of all the others? I will admit his cape thing is useful, but he's just a kid with a lot less experience with the kinds of things you're trying to have us pull off than most of the others that were also frozen."

"Well, not that it's still any of your business," Blackfire answered, the red lens reflecting Red-X fully in its scope, "but Kyd Wykkyd is more than just a boy with a fancy cape."

"And just what's that supposed to mean?"

"Just know that I did my research before choosing who would take part in my escape. And who knows, live long enough and you might even see it yourself."

"Right..." The thief muttered, already starting to lose interest in the conversation. He moved back to lean against the mass of rubble. He soon found himself distracted with the bodies that littered the ground and it wasn't long before he found himself rifling through their pockets.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Blackfire said with a sigh when the orb took notice of the thief. Red-X, who was busy opening a scientist's wallet, hardly paid her any mind.

"So, this is how the great and terrible master thief makes his living I take it? Rifling the pockets of the dead."

"Oh, please." Red-X scoffed, still digging through the wallet. "When you're this good, you don't need to steal money."

"Well, from what I know of Earth customs, they normally keep their money in those small leather pouches, don't they?"

"Yep," the thief replied as he casually shook out the contents of the wallet and watched as some bills, coins, and several cards fell out from it. "But you'd be surprised what other little goodies you can find in these things. Notes of passwords, photos of family, phone numbers, that sort of thing. But, sometimes, if you're really lucky, you can find what you'd least expect..."

Red-X then reached for something on the ground and picked it up.

"Aha!"

"What? What did you find?" Blackfire asked, the robot edging in closer to the thief's hunched over back.

"Condoms!" Red-X cried out triumphantly, showing the robot his small, square prizes.

"Con-...what's?" Blackfire asked quizzically, the robot edging in closer to the things clasped between the thief's fingers.

"Oh? You mean you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Oh, I see..." A wide smile then grew beneath the master thief's mask. "Well, Blackfire, let me do you a great service and tell you all about these things we call condoms..."

Red-X would be damned if he let a simple collapsing building ruin his fun.

...

Marie lay against the bars as quiet darkness slowly began to enclose her eyes. All of the other children had fallen asleep. Benny was still passed out on the cell floor. The scientist man, head face first on his desk, had fallen asleep hours ago.

The machine that took up most of the giant room hummed soothingly. It reminded Marie of her fish tank back in her room. Thinking of it now calmed her tense body more. It wouldn't be long now until she fell into a deep, calming, sleep...

But, just as Maries eyes began to close, something materialized out of thin air. It flew through the air in the corner of the girl's eyes and hit a series of filing cabinets with a silence shredding crash. At once, all of the children awoke with cries and tears.

"What the-!" the man at the desk cried out, jumping straight up from his seat. Marie watched, her eyes wide open now, as he grabbed something small and metal from a bottom shelf. The young girl instantly recognized it as one of those guns her daddy always carried around.

"Who's there?" the man demanded, walking slowly towards the destroyed filing cabinets, his gun pointed straight out. Marie strained to see, but large tables obstructed her view.

"Wh-What's going on?" Benny asked, sucking his thumb fearfully. Marie did not answer, her wide eyes focused on what was happening in front of her. The man had now reached almost exactly where the impact had occurred.

"I said whose-!" the man cried, but then the girl heard him let out a low gasp, his gun lowered a bit. "My god! Bosko! Is that you?"

"Y-You..." Marie heard a low voice respond, it sounded weak, in pain. "You...BASTARD!"

Marie let out a low squeak of surprise at the outcry and watched in horror as a shadowy figure lunged at the man. There was a short struggle before the scientist man shoved the figure off him, his attacker falling against a table. He immediately gripped it, struggling to stay on his two feet.

"I don't know how the hell you made me forget," the rather short man spat as he held on to the table. "But I remember it all, just as clearly as how I can see your ugly mug right now."

"Bosko..." the man breathed, he then gripped his forehead and let out an angry moan. "This isn't right. You shouldn't be here...You should be..."

"Should be what? Dead?" the one called Bosko shot, gripping the table as if he was prepared to launch from it.

"What? Dead?" the man murmured, white horror coloring his face. "What in the world are you talking about Bosko?"

"Dead!" the short man yelled as if that was all that needed to be said. "Dead, you bastard! Dead just like Stanley and Collins. Dead like our colleagues. Dead like all these children's parents!"

"Marie, what's he talking about?" Benny asked, tears in his eyes as they watched one man yell and the other man turn white. "What's he talking about?"

"This...This has all gone so wrong..." the man spoke, his entire body shaking. "I just wanted...to keep them away...I just wanted my son...."

"Yeah? Well, I just wanted a simple life of research and discovery," Bosko spat. His voice dripped of anger and hate. "And what did I get? A bullet in my leg, two friends dead, and some crazy ass general blowing down the world around me. And guess who I have to thank? MY BEST FRIEND!"

Without warning, the small man lunged at the scientist man. In a panic, the scientist fired his gun. The shot rang out through the cries of the frightened children. The small man stood there for a moment, frozen in time, before falling wordlessly to the ground and out of the tear stricken eyes of little Marie.

"Oh, god!" the scientist man cried, collapsing to the ground himself. "God...no...Bosko....god...what have I done...I didn't want this for you...god...no...Bosko...I'm so...I'm so sorry..."

Young Marie stood struck to her core as she listened to the man cry and sob over his dead friend. Benny lay on the ground beside her, crying frightened, confused tears, most of the other children doing the same.

Only Marie saw it. Saw the second dark figure rise from the ground. Cloaked in shadow, eyes red as blood. It made its way slowly to where the man had collapsed. In a panic, Marie screamed with all her might. "Mister Adam's dad! Look out!"

Yet, whether the man had heard her or not, did not matter. As soon as the second figure realized it was noticed, it vanished, as quick as that. A second later the scientist man was falling, screaming from the ceiling, the dark creature gripping him by the collar, Marie watched wide eyed as they fell. But, right before they hit the ground, they vanished.

Marie stared at where they had slipped out of thin air. In her amazement, she was unprepared for the sudden force that rammed into the bars of the cage. The brute force sent her off her feet and unto the ground, her head hitting the steel floor hard, instantly pulling her down into cold, sharp darkness.

...

"Wh-What do you want from me?" the scientist cried out as I pinned him against the cage.

I knew I had almost over done it with all the teleporting, but I did not care. All I could see was Bosko, lying face first in a pool of his own blood, bullet in his skull. I gripped the collar tighter as I picked up and slammed the scientist into the cage again. I heart small voices cry out in fright, but I paid them no mind.

"Please, stop!" the man begged, sweat and tears streaming down his face. I only pushed him further against the cage, wanting nothing more than to mash his body between the small spaces between the bars.

"Kyd Wykkyd, that's quite enough, I think," a stoic voice spoke over the cries of the scientist and children. Surprised, I looked over my shoulder to see a tall, pale scientist standing only a few feet away.

"C-Castro?" the scientist gripped in my hands mumbled.

"Good to see you again, William," the scientist deemed Castro returned with a casual nod before focusing his unblinking gaze back at me. "Kyd Wykkyd, if you would be so kind as to release him. I believe you've made your point."

Just then, I realized who I was and where I was. Instantly the blinding anger left me, the dark cloud passing. I released the scientist who fell to the ground in a shameless heap. I stood there, dumbfounded, before finally deciding the best thing to do was help the man up.

"I...ah...thank you..." William muttered, taking my extended hand as I helped him up. He then looked from me to Castro.

The anger gone, I could now easily see how beat up and worn out the man looked— not including the scarring I had recently gave him. Dark bags hung from his eyes, his forehead had endless wrinkles, and a permanent frown seemed etched on his mouth and in his eyes. He looked like some un-dead creature struggling to live.

Castro chuckled just then."How amusingly accurate," he said as if out of nowhere. I looked over at him, half confused—half amazed. He didn't just...

"Oh, but I did," Castro said with a smile and a wink. It looked odd, as if his face was not used to expressing emotion. Which, through all my sudden shock and awe, I guessed wasn't far from the truth.

"Professor Castro," William spoke up, his eyes fixed on the ground. "I..."

"...have made a complete mess of things, is how I hope you planned to finish that sentence. Because you certainly have," Castro said, looking over at Bosko lying dead on the ground and the cowering children in the cage.

"I..."

"You could have at least told me," Castro continued, looking down at his fellow scientist. "I would have told you what this was a lost cause from the beginning."

"But...But it's not a lost cause!" William argued with a sudden sense of determination. He then walked over to a machine that shocked me that I could have possibly over looked it.

For one, it was massive. Reaching from the top of the expansive room to the very bottom, it resembled a circular gate with tubes intermingling around it. Stairs led up to its giant opening, which only led into the wall it was built into. William walked up to a number of consoles that had their wires linked up with the massive device.

"It's only minutes from being ready, Castro! Only a few minutes until I can bring my son home again!"

Castro looked at the machine, his face expressionless."Was it worth the lives it cost?" he asked, looking at William.

His fellow scientist looked at the ground, his face looking slightly whiter. "Bosko said that too. What lives are you talking about? All I did was kidnap the children and lock myself in with the machine. I waited until it was near ready...though it took longer than expected to set up..."

"But what of what you have done to the properties of our dimension?" Castro pressed, though there was a note of doubt in his accusation and I to was beginning to see what was transpiring. "You allowed whatever you're trying to open up to seep into this building, twisting its properties and killing unsuspecting innocents."

"I...what?" William responded, dumbfounded as he stared up at the machine. "I did not even think this thing was capable of doing that! Until just a few minutes ago, I didn't even have it running!"

"You..." Castro began, though he quickly drifted off. I could only imagine he was doing whatever he had done to read my mind to read the one named William's. "...You blind fool. How else do you think you managed to avoid being caught for days?"

"I...thought, because of the kids..." the scientist mumbled.

Castro gave him a dead look. "More like, doors that should lead to the next room led to the basement. Windows sent you tumbling through ventilation systems. You could take the stairs forever and never get anywhere. The list goes on, my friend."

"Fascinating!" William suddenly exclaimed, wide eyed. Though he quickly lost his enthusiasm when his eyes locked with Castro's cold ones. "I mean...ah...How awful..."

"Yes. But what is most awful about this situation is that our dear general has decided to take very drastic measures to reach you now."

"Now...when you say drastic..."

"I mean suiting up in a battle mech and ordering his men to blast through walls with grenades drastic."

"Ah...I see..."

"That is good." Castro spoke evenly, his gaze focused on a door on the far side of the room. "For. in less than two seconds, you will be seeing those very same men come blasting through that door."

"Now...when you say two sec—"

In that moment, a great blast tore its way through the door that all three villains were looking upon. Even before the dust cleared, squads of men with guns and armor came storming out, forming lines around the hole, guns trained at the trio that stood directly across from them.