*insert creative title*

Do we really know each other?

The Raven was terrifying. Janus would never admit it, but his nemesis was powerful. Smart, cunning, and remorseless, The Raven would do anything to get to his goal. Janus was... quite similar to Raven, in that aspect. They each had goals, and neither would stop until they got the prize.

But where Janus had power and influence, The Raven made up for it with his intellect and infamy. They were one of the few hero-villain pairs to never have fought. Physically, that is.

Their battles were always of wit and tongue, knowledge and cunning. A game of chess on the scale of the world, with Raven and Janus each being a queen of the opposite team.

Janus, or Serpent, as was his alias, was currently going to meet The Raven. He had no doubt that this was going to be one his hardest missions yet. Raven had been... planning. Scheming, almost. For what, exactly, he didn't know. No one ever knew. The man was an enigma, shrouded in shadows and mysteries.

As he stepped into the dark forest, a familiar voice greeted him. "Serpent, how pleasant to see you here."

He spun on his heel, holding his Shepard's cane defensively. He could just barely make out The Raven's silhouette. Raven was leaning on a tree, his black half-cape draped lazily around his shoulders. The mask he always wore, decorated with stars and silver, sat on his face. Janus turned his surprise into the languid feeling of routine. "Raven, darling, you've got to stop sneaking up on me like that."

Raven simply hummed, twirling his dagger in his hand with easy grace. "I suppose you're here to ask me about what I'm planning to do next?"

"Oh, you know me so well."

Raven straightened, and shook his head. "I don't know you, Serpent. But I do know your organization." That last part was said with an astounding amount of venom, hatred and... bitterness. Almost like Raven missed something about it. Janus raised an eyebrow, brushing off the words.

"And what makes you say that you don't know me? Are we not standing in front of each other, talking?"

"Oh, Serpent," Raven laughed, shaking his head, "So naive. We don't know each other."

The words stung Janus, for some reason. Had they not been fighting for so long, developed some sort of connection? "What do you mean?"

"We hide behind masks and names and guises. We only know the image of each other that we have created. We only know a lie."

Janus paused, mulling that over in his head. "But we must know something about each other, some sort of truth. After all, there is always a truth hidden in a lie."

Raven nodded. "We do know things about each other. But those things are up to you to figure out."

He hummed. Hiding things and twisting words– that was how Janus worked. He knew how to figure it out. But the way Raven said it, as if he knew something, that annoyed Janus.

"Right," He drawled, light brown eyes flicking up to meet Raven's dark ones, "What if I told you I already knew everything I needed to?"

Raven's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "I would know you're lying."

Before Janus knew what was happening, Raven had him pinned to a tree, obsidian dagger glinting dangerously under his neck. "And I don't like liars."

He stared at his opponent in shock. They hadn't gone physical in years, why now? Why now, when Janus had just begun questioning his loyalty to the Hero's Alliance?

"Raven, please," he begged, voice breaking, "I'm sorry. Just please, don't kill me."

"You should be sorry. You have no idea what your alliance has done to me, to this city," Raven paused, "But I'm not going to kill you for it. I know you don't know."

He sagged in relief as the blade was pulled back. He glanced up at Raven, who was looking at him with an almost... puzzled look.

"Thank you– thank you for not... slitting my throat, I suppose."

"I wasn't planning on ending this meeting in bloodshed, Serpent," Raven cooed.

He cleared his throat, glancing away. "I was... I was wondering if you could tell me–"

Raven set a finger on his lips, shaking his head gently. "I'm more than meets the eye, but you'll have to dig deeper to find out. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Janus nodded eagerly. For all his deceptions, he liked to know. Raven's stare was calculating. Then, he nodded.

"I'll tell you when you're ready, but not today." He turned away, and started into the forest. Janus gazed after him, happy and scared and sad all at once. Raven paused, and turned around with a small smile. "You can call me Logan."

And then, like a leaf in the winds, he was gone.