*As usual, I DO NOT own the Teen Titans (No matter how much I wish I did). While Apollo is mine, none of the other characters are :P

It was late afternoon in Jump City and the urban landscape was sparkling with life. Like the glittering lights of the buildings and street lamps, the sparkling jewels and gems of the local jewelers shone radiantly in their display cases. Like priceless, pocket-sized stars, they sat proudly in their illuminated glory. Everything was peaceful, harmonious; then suddenly, there was a thunderous boom, followed by a green flash and a grunt as a shadow blasted through a wall- crashing into one of the displays. Once the debris cleared, the once polished gems littered the floor, surrounding the staggering feet of their attempted liberator- Red X; and standing before him, the Teen Titans.

"Robbing a jewelry store," questioned Robin as he confidently whipped out his staff. "That's a little old school don't you think?"

Apprehensively, Red X stood his ground and snickered, "What can I say? Diamonds are a thief's best friend."

"Titans GO!" barked the leader as he and the others rushed the delinquent. As always, the team worked together to quell their opponent; however, this time they had the assistance of a new addition. Immediately, Apollo rushed forward and proceeded to help in the attack as if she had been fighting alongside the Titans all along. Swiftly, Red X slipped through and dodged each of the teams' attacks; flipping and teleporting through every attack. Once out of firing range, Red X arrogantly turned and ran toward a dark room in the building. Once inside, he looked around to find more vulnerable jewels waiting to be lifted from their cases. Quickly, he proceeded to gather his spoils and look for another case to empty; then a particular gem caught his eye. With his sack tossed over his shoulder, he began to walk towards a specific case; once above it, he stared down at its most enticing article- a large sapphire ring, accented with white diamonds and sterling silver detailing.

Confidently he plucked the gleaming ring from its case, chuckling to himself, "And you'll make me millions, now won't you?" He continued to muse over the priceless gem until suddenly he was struck in the back by an unanticipated blow. Immediately, he fell to the ground, allowing the dazzling ring to drop to the floor, sliding to his aggressor's feet. Expecting to see Robin, Red X was startled to find a new face standing before him- a girl.

"Hmm," Apollo scoffed under her breath as she slowly bent down and picked up the ring. "Pretty," she smiled sarcastically as she looked at the ring, then down at the thief on the floor. "Funny, but I didn't take you for a 'ring' person. A little feminine don't you think?"

Slowly, Red X rose to his feet and answered, "Which is why I plan to keep it in reserves; you never know when you might meet a babe who likes bling." He then sped towards the girl- shooting several weapons at her in an attempt to throw her off and take back his prize. Instantly, Apollo countered the attack and fought back in defense- much to the surprise of her opponent. "Whoa, didn't know Robin had a sister," commented Red X in response to the girl's martial arts expertise.

"Think again," shouted Apollo as she continued to battle the masked bandit.

"Well excuse me," he replied as he threw a quick blow in defense. "Girlfriend?"

"Not hardly!" snapped Apollo, agitated, as she drop-kicked the scourge in the chest.

Against the wall, Red X came to just in time to see the femme fatale flying towards him, prepped to kick again- this time in his face! Within a split second, Red X managed to port out of the way and reappear behind the girl whose foot had left a crumbling dent in the concrete wall- right where his head had been! "Whoa, someone's out for blood," commented Red X, trying his best to hide his shock at the force of this, interesting, new girl.

"Na," answered Apollo casually. "I'll settle for the jewels." She smiled as she set the ring aside and bolted toward the smooth criminal, set to strike. Immediately, the two began to scrap- picking up where they had left off. Like an acrobatic act, the two teens leapt and flipped around, over and under one another. Whilst doing so the two began to talk; exchanging witty, smart-aleck comments- flirting. "You know," said Apollo casually as she spun around and effortlessly leapt to the nearest counter. "That suit looks familiar. Hmm, now where have I seen it before? Oh yeah," she exclaimed sarcastically. "Robin had one just like it! You know, the real Red X?"

"Well personally I think it looks much cooler on me!" replied Red X as he hurled a series of smoke bombs in her direction. "Besides, it's not like he was using it anymore; haven't you ever heard of the rule 'finder's keepers'?"

"Oh, so you're good for stealing pretty jewels and other people's clothes? Humph," she giggled aloud as she swung her staff at his head. "You're like the ultimate evil sister." Missing the first time, Apollo took another shot at her target's torso.

"And who might you be?" asked Red X in mid somersault. "I didn't know Robin and his lackeys were picking up strays." Insulted by the comment, Apollo slammed her staff into the ground, vaulting herself into the air, her foot aimed at his chest. Once again Red X set himself to dodge the attack, unfortunately this time he moved a second too late and was hit directly in the stomach. Gasping for breath, he fell to his knees, clutching his abs. On the ground, Red X stared at the ground just long enough to see a shadow hovering over him; he looked up and quickly rolled out of the way before Apollo could jab him with her staff. "Whoa, cheap shot! Looks like someone likes to play dirty," he remarked as he regained his footing. "But that's okay… I like'em fiery!" the jerk commented while blocking another punch to the face. "Not very 'Titan-esque' if I say so myself," he paused and looked into her eyes before reaching to his left and picking up the dazzling sapphire ring. Looking at the beautiful blue stone, then back into the glaring amethyst eye in front of him, "You sure you're on the right side?" he asked sarcastically as he fiddled with the ring in his hand. Enraged by the playful remark and what it meant to her personally, Apollo let out an agitated roar and charged toward the cocky thief.

Meanwhile, in the lower levels of the jewelry outlet, the other titans had managed to straighten up the damage that had been done downstairs and account for all of the scattered gems. Once everything had been cleared up with the cops and the store owner, Robin and the others took one final look at the store before they prepared to exit the building. Then suddenly Robin stopped and realized that someone was missing, 'Apollo!' Amidst all the chaos and debris he and the others hadn't noticed that their newest teammate was missing- and so was Red X! Hurriedly, they rushed back into the building calling for their missing member. At first there was no response, but then Raven was alerted to her whereabouts by a loud thud a series of growls and grunts; she was still in the building- as was Red X!

Almost instinctively, Robin dashed up the stairs and followed the sound of the fighting and chatter; the others close behind. Finally, they entered the display room turned battle ring where their missing teammate had been knocked to the floor. "Red X… Apollo!" shouted Cyborg, gaining the girl's attention for a brief second.

"Back off!" shouted Robin as he and the others rushed forward to help apprehend the thief.

"Ooh, easy 'Big Bro' we were just talking," joked Red X as he raised his hands and chucked two large cherry-bombs towards the team. Completely off guard, the heroes stared up at the falling explosives as they dropped closer towards their unprotected faces. Just as they were about to make contact, Apollo managed to jump in front of her partners and deflect the explosives with a large metal shield which seemingly sprouted from her wrist! She then lunged forward in an attempt to strike again, this time with a sword-like blade which had taken the place of her shield. Just as the smoke was beginning to clear, Red X found himself unprepared and vulnerable as Robin and Apollo threw a series of their own smoke bombs in his direction. The blinding light and suffocating smoke was unbearable; quickly, Raven created a force-field to shield herself and her friends from the smoke. Once the fumes had ceased, Raven cleared the shield to reveal that the room had been deserted- Red X had escaped.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Robin as he scanned the premises and his friends. Everyone responded positively, putting all senses of worry to rest. "What were you doing up here alone?" asked Robin, as he quickly walked to Apollo's side. "We could've helped you."

"I was fine," she responded calmly as she brushed the few traces of ash from her suit. "Relax; I know how to fly solo."

"Yeah, but that was before," interjected Beast Boy.

"Yes, you are part of a team now," added Starfire while she and the others all began to uncomfortably crowd around their new member.

"Yeah," said Apollo shyly. "I guess I gotta get used to that huh?"

"Well either way, it looks like you had things under control here," said Cyborg, looking around the room at the still present jewelry. Confidently, Apollo smiled at her friends and let out a light laugh as if to confirm how easy her brawl had been.

"Well, now that that's over," started Robin as he began to walk out of the room. "Let's go home." Everyone agreed and proceeded to follow suit. As the team filed out the door, Apollo took one final look around the room- recounting her fiery, yet fun, fight with Red X- her first villain since she had made the switch. Though she had clearly won the fight, something about the whole incident still felt strange- almost alien- to her. Finally, she managed to shrug off all her second thoughts and catch up with the others. Just before walking down the stairs, she stopped to remove her mask and fix her slightly tousled hair; however as her hand made contact with her face, she felt the cold sensation of metal against her temple! Immediately she pulled her hand off of her face and held it in front of her to find the sparkling sapphire on her ring finger!

'What the-' she exclaimed to herself at the sight of that accursed ring. 'How did?... X,' she thought to herself; disgusted at the thought that that arrogant little jerk had managed to slip it onto her finger during the fight. Without a second thought she snatched the big blue stone off of her finger and placed it back on one of the displays where it belonged; she then ran to the others and silently exited the store.

On the ride back to Titans Tower, everyone laughed and joked and argued with one another on what to eat. Though the others all seemed content with the day's outcome, Apollo, face pressed against the window stared out at the shinning street lights and thought to herself about what had happened during her private dual with Red X. In her mind the whole scenario continued to replay as she remembered everything that had been said to her: '…Never knew the team was taking in strays; I like'em fiery!... Not very 'Titan-esque' if you ask me. You never know when you might meet a babe who likes bling… You sure you're on the right side? Girlf-'

"Hey, you okay?" asked Robin with no answer. "Apollo?" he asked again, this time tapping his friend on the shoulder and waking her from her annoying- yet interesting- daydream.

"Oh, yeah," she mumbled, lazily shaking her head. "I'm fine." She smiled reassuringly. Once Robin had gotten the message and turned back to the front of the T-car and his pizza topping battle with Cyborg; Apollo closed her eyes her eyes in a final attempt to block the fight out. However, instead of the typical darkness she'd expect to see when her eyes were closed, all she saw was Red X…. and the ring; that stupid, gaudy, overpriced… beautiful… sapphire ring….