Part One

It was another two weeks before she saw Jason again. Or, rather, Red X. 

Raven had spent the entirety of their separation trying to think that the fates had been wrong. They had to have been wrong. How in the world could this have been right? They were complete opposites, and not just on different sides of the law. Jason was crass and rude, he drank heavily, and glared at her from beneath too-dark lashes, his eyes the frightening, verdant green - residual magic from the Pit. He was the kind of person she would have avoided at all costs, and now she was thrust into every personal aspect of his life, just as she was thrust into his. 

Red X stared at her from his perch on a half-broken gargoyle atop the Metropolitan Natural History Museum, his mask betraying none of his emotions. It was… disconcerting. He didn’t move, didn’t say anything - just stared at her. It was as if there were a hundred secrets he was keeping just out of her reach, and she wasn’t sure if he was trying to protect her or himself. 

Raven’s feet landed silently on the tar roof, and she tried to read him with her powers, but he was a steel trap. What few emotions she managed to glean from him were a jumbled mess, as if he wasn’t quite sure what parts of were true and what parts were lies. 

Red X turned and looked watched as she approached, unapologetic. “You’re not going to find answers by digging into my mind without my permission, Little Bird.”

She scoffed and stood next to him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Trust me, I am not looking to go digging into your thoughts and emotions, Jason.” 

“Mm.” He reached into his pocket and dangled a necklace dripping with diamonds in front of her. “I take it your after this?”

She glared. “You’re making it seem like that’s all I’m here for.” Her powers snatched it easily out of his fingers. “But that is the main reason.”

“Oh?” He turned and peeled off his mask off, a tilted smirk tainting his face. It was as if he knew something about her, and he didn’t want to share. “If not just the crown jewels of Markovia, then what? What else could possibly drag you out of your solitude to come track me down?”

“I… we should talk.” Raven pocketed the necklace and finally sat next to him, her stare mapping out the familiar skyline of the city before she looked down at the mark on her wrist, still annoyed by it. She pulled the sleeve down over the old date and ignored the strange, roiling feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something about being around him was calming, and realizing that only irritated her more. She wanted nothing to do with him. “We should talk about… about whatever this is between us.”

“I agree.” He leaned back, kicking his feet out in front of him. “I think we should talk about that. I think we should talk about how we clearly hate each other, how the universe made a very apparent mistake, and what we need to do to fix this. Because, I can tell you that I have a type, and you're certainly not it.” He scratched at his wrist, where his matching mark - date and time - sat against his skin. “I like big tits and a better ass.”

Raven ground her teeth together. “And that is how I know the universe made a mistake, because you are absolutely not the person I should be bound to for eternity.” She yanked her sleeve down further and sighed. “We should ignore it. Date other people, try to forget that-”

“Here’s the problem with that, Little Bird.” Jason whipped his head around to stare at her. “I’ve tried dating other people. I’ve gone on dates before this stupid date on my arm, and I could get it up and it was okay, but-” His eyes narrowed, that vibrant green of The Pit filling his stare with something akin to poison. “-now I can’t even get close to another girl without suffering from limp dick. I can’t even masturbate unless it’s to-” He stopped and snapped his mouth shut, a faint flush darkening his cheeks. “Forget it. The point is, I didn’t want any part of it, and now I’ve stuck with this stupid feeling that we should be together.”

Raven looked away, ignoring the way his stare darkened. “We don’t even like each other.”

“I definitely don’t like you.” He growled and fished a cigarette out of his belt, shoving it between his lips but not lighting it. “So… Here’s what I suggest.”

Raven snorted, giving him a flat stare.

“I propose we figure out how to break this curse between us, and then we both go on our merry way.” He pulled the cigarette out from between his lips and spun it between his fingers. “I think that’s the best use of our time and resources, and offers the most limited contact. Because, like I said, I can’t stand you, and you’re definitely not my type.”

“Same.” Raven pushed at her hair, turning her stare back out into the city. She weighed his offer, her fingers tightening around the jeweled links of the necklace in her hand. Working with him wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was at least a way for them to try to break this curse. Raven had her resources, and Jason had his, and together they should have been able to find something that would work. She wanted nothing to do with him, and he wanted nothing to do with her. The sooner they fixed this, the better.

“Alright.” Raven let go of a deep breath and glanced back at him from the corner of her eye, standing up and dusting herself off. “We’ll work together to fix this, and when we break whatever binds us together, we’ll pretend we don’t know each other and go on our separate ways.”

“Good.” Jason shoved the cigarette between his lips, still not lighting it. He lifted his eyes to her own, a teasing smile playing across his lips. “Of course, this means you can’t bring me in what we’re still researching. We can’t have half of this curse behind bars, now can we?”