Notes: So TheCreativeCasseroles recently reviewed My normal, not crazy friends! and I felt like doing a sequel based on their comments about 'what Jinx will do when she finds out that her (usually) serious leader was that kid who wanted to break into Teen Titans tower'. While not focused on that, Jinx does find out about Dick being Robin in this one. She doesn't really get a chance to react because things happen. I just wanted gang shenanigans. It might help to read My normal, not crazy friends! before this one.
The Time with the Brothers and Glitter
Jinx was walking in the park with Wally. It had been a slow week and they were enjoying it rather than wondering when the next attack would come. Wally grabbed her a rose and smiled, his face lighting up in the sunlight.
Jinx took the rose and leaned in to kiss him.
"Freckles! It is you!" a voice called out, startling them apart.
Jinx turned to see Roy and another young teen. This one was tall but had muscles poking through his short red shirt. Or maybe his shirt and jacket were too a size too small. His dark hair was short but long enough to wave about in the wind.
"Why does your friend look like he stepped out of a fashion magazine?" she asked Roy.
Said friend raised one eyebrow and smirked. "Darlin', I'm the furthermost thing from 'fashion magazine' material."
"That's because you ate an entire pizza. For breakfast," Roy said.
"Jinx, that's Jay. Or Jason, if you rather," Wally said this with a frown.
"Jason..." Jinx had done her research. Dick's brother. Dick Grayson from Gotham's brother. "Aren't you Jason Todd-Wayne? Didn't you die?"
She didn't miss the look of wide-eyed panic from Roy and the way Wally grabbed her shoulders suggested he was having a similar moment.
Jason assessed her for a moment, his gaze trailing up and down her body. She frowned and stuck her chin out. She wasn't going to go back on what she had said unless he denied it.
And she dared him with her eyes to deny it. They both knew it was truth.
"It didn't take," Jason finally said. "I take it you're the little lady who came up with 'switch Beast Boy's and Cyborg's food prank'? Good stuff."
Jinx shook her head. "I can't believe you guys actually went through with it."
"Come on, like you haven't broken into Titan's Tower before," Jason countered with a wild grin.
"Jay," Roy sighed.
Jinx narrowed her eyes and stepped back. This guy radiated danger and not the same kind as the Hive Five. He could get a job done however, he would do it his way and it didn't matter if you liked it or not.
"Come on, guys!" Wally whined. "We're on a date!"
Jason's eyes widened a moment before he grinned. "Well now. I can see we're not wanted. I think we'll go bug Dick, yeah?" He shared a look with Roy.
Jinx was not surprised when they stopped for lunch and found Wally's friends sitting at a booth inside. They were protective and seemed to be able to predict Wally's movements.
"Jinx!"
"Hey, Pinky, join us!"
"Yeah," Roy snickered, "ditch that guy and join us!"
"Shut up, Roy," Wally grumbled back.
Dick raised his hands. "Come on, Wally, you know it's all in good fun."
Wally glared at him. "I know you're behind this."
Dick shrugged and Jason smirked.
"Of course you'd think it was him."
Wally snapped his attention to Jason. "Was it you?"
Jason shrugged, smirk not wavering for a moment. His silence left the question unanswered.
Jinx rolled his eyes and her shoulders before slipping into the space next to Dick.
"Sit down," she said to Wally. "They're here and they're paying."
"What?" Dick spluttered.
"I'm all for that," Wally said with a grin as he slipped in next to Roy and Jason, squishing them up together.
All in all, it wasn't a bad lunch. Roy seemed to be playing the peacemaker between everyone but it didn't help keep the peace when he suggested that Dick pay for everyone since his money had mysteriously vanished this month.
"Yeah," Jason snorted at that, "mysteriously vanished into those parts you stashed at my safe house. I want them gone by the way."
Safe house? No one else seemed to react but Jinx only knew one kind of person who had safe houses; criminals.
"Aw, come on Jay, I'm not allowed to work in Dick's tower," Roy whined.
"Tower?" She was going to question that one. At least it didn't sound like it had criminal connotations.
The boys shared a look. It was wide eyed and there was a lot of quick flicking like a silent conversation was passing through them at Kid Flash speed.
"It's what we call where Dick lives," Wally said.
"Graysons like to live high up," Jason said. "Like birds- OW!" Jason glared at Dick who Jinx guessed had kicked him under the table.
"Shut it," Dick snapped. "There's nothing wrong with where I live."
"You have," Jason silently counted his fingers, "four roommates. That's a lot of people."
"It's four," Roy stated bluntly like he didn't agree that it was a lot.
"They're my friends and I happen to enjoy living with them. It's better than with him."
Both boys shuddered in a shared moment that no one else understood. Jinx had no idea who the 'him' was but she could make a few guesses.
She didn't know that those guesses were wrong.
"Point. But why can't Roy stash his stuff with you guys?"
"Because his inventions are dangerous and I'm not paying for a new bike. He totalled the last one."
"Please. If you had let me spray your bike with the protection film then it wouldn't have rusted."
"Rusted?" Wally questioned, pale face going paler. "What did you do?"
"Don't ask," Dick groaned.
Jason was grinning. "This sounds like a story."
"I could show you."
"Give me the story, Roy. Tell, no show. And move your stuff out of my safe house."
"But it's designed to withstand my experiments," the red haired man wined.
"Why do I hang out with you people?" Jason groaned.
Roy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Because you tolerate us. And because of the pranks."
"Mostly the pranks," Dick concurred.
Wally thought that the lunch had actually gone well.
"I don't know if it was your presence or if they were in a good mood but they seemed to be getting along."
Jinx didn't really understand why he was saying that until a few days later. She had been minding her own business, shopping for food, when she heard a voice in the other aisle. It twinged her memory and was cursing loudly.
A very familiar voice responded in the tone of a leader, "you know, if you keep talking like that, they're going to get security to escort you out."
Jinx had quickly moved around to the next aisle, seeing Jason in a red tee-shirt with a basket on his arm talking to Dick.
"Us. They're going to escort us out. If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."
Dick stepped back, seeming to believe the threat. Jinx stalked forward.
While she was tempted to ask what was wrong with them that they fought like that but she held her tongue. She didn't need them fighting her.
"Wow," she said instead, "Wally wasn't kidding when he said you two fought."
"If you think this is fighting then you really need to get out more," Jason huffed.
Dick looked apologetic. Whatever he was going to say was stopped when Jinx tilted her head, taking in his features. Maybe it was just the dark hair and short, skinny statue with defined muscle in his arms but he was like Robin.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You remind me of someone," she said. Dick and Jason shared looks. Dick's was a worried frown while Jason's was a grin.
"Well, well, well."
"Don't."
"I think the bird's out of the bag, don't you?"
"Do not."
"Ooh, no contractions! Been hanging around your girlfriend lately?"
"Hey!" Jinx said. "Focus."
"On what?" they asked in unison.
Jinx rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you guys were able to sneak into Teen Titan's tower. You can't even shop without getting distracted."
"You're only as good as your last prank," Jason said in a tone which suggested he was quoting someone. He gave Dick a sidelong glance and raise and eyebrow.
"It was nothing to write home about though," Dick mused.
"Then, what would you suggest?" Jinx asked him, slightly annoyed that he called her prank idea 'nothing to write home about'.
There was a moment of silence before Jason grinned widely. "Glitter."
Dick's eyes widened. "Glitter?"
"Glitter."
Dick grinned wildly and Jinx wondered how two people who had been at each other's throats a few minutes ago could communicate like that.
"Okay, what is it and can I join?"
"Are you sure? The Teen Titans might come after you again after this," Jason said.
Jinx shrugged.
"I'm not going to protect either of you if we get caught," Dick informed her. "I escape better alone."
Jason clicked his tongue in disagreement but didn't say anything.
Jinx was feeling a spark of the old bad girl she used to be. Jason was kneeling off to her side, focused on the lock as his hands deftly picked it.
Dick had disappeared into the trees, keeping a perimeter.
Dick seemed to magically appear at the moment the lock clicked open and they went inside.
"Who's the target?" Jinx asked in a whisper.
"Roy," Jason responded. "He used a flamethrower on me."
"He what?" Dick questioned in a harsh whisper. "How are you not charcoal?"
"He did it while I was in the shower and apparently put some kind of fire retardant liquid in the shower-head."
Dick snorted a laugh. "He attacked you in the shower?"
Jason's eyes narrowed. "We glitter everything." He looked to Jinx. "You got everything?"
She held up the full duffel bag she was carrying. Inside was cans of glitter and glue and glitter hair spray.
"This is going to be sweet, sweet revenge."
"At least nothing's going to explode," Dick commented, sounding like the team leader Jinx knew he was. They hadn't really talked about it and she didn't care to. Dick seemed like a different person to Robin, more relaxed. If this was what he did to not go crazy from being in charge, then she wasn't going to question it.
She was going to question Wally for not even hinting at her that his friends wore masks and capes most of the time. Although she wasn't too sure about Jason.
They crept along hallways and up stairs. Jason knew exactly where the cameras were and how to avoid them.
"I've done this before," he mentioned. Jinx didn't think he was referring to the tofu and meat switch prank. "Okay, this the guest room Roy's in?"
"Yep," Dick said, moving up next to Jinx and opening the bag. He pulled out the glitter. "Time to get started.
Jinx woke to the Titan's communicator going off. She groaned and rolled over, recalling that she had crashed in Jason's safe house. After they completed the prank, Jason said something about drinks. While Dick had initially shot down that idea, Jason had insisted and Dick gave in.
As long as they had the drinks at Jason's safe house.
Jinx grabbed her communicator and rolled slowly to her feet as she answered it.
"Wow, your hair looks great all windblown like that," Kid Flash said to her with a grin.
"It's bed head," she grumbled, wincing in the darkness. Jason's safe house was in a warehouse and had no windows. "Why are you calling me so early?"
"Babe, it's like ten in the morning." Kid Flash's grin wavered as someone angrily muttered something in the background. "And Speedy is kind of… mad? Apparently someone broke into Titan's Tower last night and Robin's not answering his communicator."
"Give me a moment," Jinx said stumbling around for a light switch. She kicked the bag with all the bottles in it as she moved. The sound of clanking glass filled the area and she heard a couple of answering groans from the other side of the room. Jason had insisted that they dispose of the empty bottles and any other mess they made in the bag.
"Why Jinx?" Jason groaned at her as light filled the room. He pulled his arm over his eyes and tried to ignore everything going on.
"It's for you," she said to Dick. She didn't know how someone could sleep curled on their side on a recliner but Dick had somehow managed it. She wasn't going to complain though because it was why she had been free to sleep on the couch while Jason took the mattress on the ground.
Dick covered his eyes like Jason but took the communicator.
"What?" he said, sounding every bit the leader Jinx suspected he was.
"Robin! What happened to your communicator?" Cyborg questioned in the background.
Dick groaned and rolled off the couch, digging into his pockets. "I think it got broken."
"What did you two do?" Kid Flash demanded to know in a worried tone.
"Three," Dick corrected. "We're at Jay's. And surely you know what we did."
There was some indiscernible, angry yelling in the background.
"I'm… aware," Kid Flash commented slowly. Dick was grinning.
"You liked it."
"I also like not being on fire," Kid Flash commented, referencing the flamethrower they all knew Roy had. If he said anything the archer didn't like, he suspected the flamethrower would be fired at him. "Just, get back here."
Jinx plastered on her game face as Robin walked her into the common room of Titans Tower. Robin stood as and serious as always. If she hadn't seen him put the mask on, she wouldn't have connected him with the guy who helped spread glitter all through the guest room.
"Jinx!" Kid Flash cried in relief.
Jinx smiled at him and then noticed the other titans. Beast Boy was on the sofa, leaning over the back while he snickered quietly to himself. Raven was meditating in the corner. Cyborg could be heard clattering away in the kitchen.
Starfire flew up to Robin the moment she spotted him.
"Please Robin, can you explain the glitter Speedy now possesses? He gets angry whenever I ask and I am confused. Is it a new kind of fashion?"
Roy was sitting at the table, growling to himself. His hair was covered in glitter which fell around him whenever he moved. His shirt and body were covered in the stuff. Jinx was surprised at the amount which remained on the body when it wasn't glued on.
"Robin," Cyborg called. "We're going to have to scrub down the guest room. Someone breached security and glitter bombed the place."
"And Speedy," Beast Boy snickered.
There was a red blur as Speedy stood up. Kid Flash had moved and grabbed his bow and arrows before he could.
"I know exactly who did this," Speedy growled. Glitter sparkled in the light.
"But you refuse to tell us," Cyborg sighed.
"They will get their just desserts. I will have vengeance."
Jinx noticed Robin swallow nervously even though she wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"Someone might want to warn Jason," Kid Flash whispered to them.
"I need to make a phone call," Robin announced, turning on his heel and storming out of the room with his cape fluttering on a non-existent wind.
"Jinx, how about brunch at a nice place on the pier?" Kid Flash questioned. Jinx was barely able to nod before the scenery blurred and she was on the pier. Escape: success.
Jinx returned home to find notes sitting on her bed.
I know you played a part – Roy
You're alright, Pinky. Join me for drinks anytime (just don't tell my uptight bro) – Jason
We should hang out again. Jason needs to be pranked. – Dick
I think you're officially part of my gang. I must admit, I don't know whether to be happy or worried. – Wally
