Alright kiddies, let me tell you a little story. I was bored and browsing old files on my computer and I came across this totally dead story and reread it and realized, I've got to finish this. So, after quite a loooong time, welcome back to Under the Rose. "Sub Rosa", Latin for "under the rose", means secretive or hidden. Jinx is finally finding a new life for herself under the alias "Rose Thompson". But a spree of robberies at her college of choice have the police after her, with the help of Kid Flash as Wally West, a fellow college student. Romance ensues, obviously. Teen Titans isn't mine, but this story sure was, and I'm going to reclaim it. Any ideas are welcome; I don't really know where I'm going with this. But I am going, and that's a start.

Under the Rose

Chapter 1

One lumpy duffel was all she could credit to her name, but Rose Thompson felt transparently happy standing in front of the brick building she would be calling home for the next nine and a half months. She grinned, fingering her newly ebony tresses, Midnight Marvel to be exact, straight from a bottle, and the only thing that would obliterate any traces of the cotton candy she'd had to refer to as hair. If anyone had looked closely behind the trendy (at least, she thought so) frames of her glasses and beyond the caramel-colored contacts that were her eyes now, they'd notice that the whites were not actually white but pink- matching the elastic that held her stick straight ponytail in place. Jinx rummaged in the pocket of her black jeans and pulled out the now-crumpled letter.

Rose Thompson,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Jump City University for your freshman year of college.

She hadn't needed to read beyond that. The rest were details and unnecessar. She repocketed the letter, her key to freedom, and grabbed the map enclosed in the letter. Harding Hall. Here she was.

Hive Five was now, officially, five. Seemore was in charge now. She had specified in her goodbye letter. He would do a good job. She would miss them, no joke, cross her heart, but three years ago her eyes had been open to something better and she was clutching to it with pale but strong fingers.

JCU didn't know that Hive Academy wasn't a GT Magnet School (or, at least, that by GT they meant thievery and cunning and not violin and piano), and they didn't know that Jinx was paying with her share of stolen Hive Five loot (another minor detail...), but they knew that Rose Thompson had received top marks and by golly if there ever was a place she wanted to be it was there, cross her heart again.

Jinx stepped forward but, in a flurry of black hair and long limbs, collided with a passing student. Auspicious beginning. Maybe. Her duffel broke the fall, but Jinx grimaced, knowing that the sketchbook she had so carefully tucked away was probably bent.

The "long limbs" half of the flurry stood, apologizing over and over in a pleasant tenor that Jinx didn't really mind listening to. She lifted her gaze to a pair of fairly cute baby blues, and shaggy strands of beach-blond hair.

"I'm incredibly sorry," he said, offering a hand. Jinx waved it away and stood on her own, giving him a smile that she had practiced in the mirror all summer (villains weren't expected to friendly-smile, just evil-won-smile, which wouldn't have gone over too well with the dean). She wanted to hex him- destructive habits don't just up and disappear- but instead she gratefully accepted his hand to shake and replied, " It's okay."

He laughed. "I was offering the hand to help you get up, but I guess you'd rather have an introduction."

"I like to know the people who bulldoze me into the sidewalk," Jinx replied playfully.

"Well, I'm Brian. I'll be a new freshman in North Hall. I'm assuming you're new too?"

"Yeah," Jinx said, "I'm Rose Thompson." The name still felt foreign on her tongue.

"Nice to meet you, Rose," Brian cordially returned. "I would love to stay and talk with you, but I need to help my friends with all the junk their moms made them take here. So maybe I'll see you around?"

Jinx smiled again. "Sure thing." Brian continued down the sidewalk, at a slightly slower run than before.

Jinx watched him for the shortest second and turned back to the brick building, feeling the tingle that so often accompanied new experiences travel from the back of her head down, lingering on her spine. Tugging the hood of her violet sweatshirt into place, she continued forward and approached the "Welcome Table" just inside the foyer.

"Hello! Welcome to JCU!" exclaimed a peppy (and, taking in the pink shirt, preppy) girl from behind a stack of orange notebooks. "Name please?"

"Uh, Rose Thompson," Jinx replied.

The girl flashed her pearly whites without reserve and checked off the clipboard with a pen she had tucked behind her ear amidst bouncy curls. "Welcome welcome, Rose! Here's your room assignment, room key, spare key, complimentary Jump City Jackal notebook, complimentary Orange Howl key chain, the rule book for Harding Hall, and-"

Soon she was loaded with more tangerine than she could handle, all emblazoned with either the JCU emblem or the "Flaming Jackal" logo. She managed to locate the room keys to 204, on the second floor, and made her way up the steps slowly.

So this was college. Other moving freshman coursed around her like a current, shouting and laughing and opening doors, creating a white noise that brought the clichéd "sea of people" analogy right home. This was the better, honest life of which Jinx had been cajoled into pursuit. Problem was, Jinx thought angrily, the cajoler hadn't even come back to drop by and see the progress being made. Kid Flash, most annoying, most dense, most inopportune, most flamboyant, most noble- three years! The fastest superhero on the planet, and he can't squeeze in time for a visit. No more roses, zip-nada-the end-goodbye. No more roses.

Good Riddance.

That didn't mean she didn't miss the slob with his fiery eyes and hair, but if this whole "normal" thing was going to stick, it had to be for herself and herself alone. Jinx stamped her foot for effect as passing JCU students stared, silently telling her to get out of the way of their many boxes. The stairwell during move-in wasn't the best place to reminisce. Jinx made a mental note and moved onward.

She arrived in front of her assigned dorm room and, one hand supporting the Jackal paraphernalia, managed to open the door without dropping anything.

"Here, let me help you with that," said a friendly voice on the inside. Jinx gratefully handed off her stuff to the girl, who set it down on the empty bed to the left and turned with a friendly smile.

The dorm floor was a chilly tile, but there was a mini-fridge in the corner and two dressers with a TV on top of one, so Jinx figured it all evened out. Her eyes shifted to her roommate, a tall- very tall- honey-haired athlete, with hazel eyes and lean limbs.

"Rose Thompson?" she asked with a giggle. "I had Miranda tell me my roomie ahead of time."

"Miranda?" Jinx repeated.

"She's the welcoming committee downstairs. I'm Elisa Black, but everyone calls me Ellie. Miranda and I went to high school together." Elisa laughed. "We'll get along great, I think," she said, clapping Jinx on the back, " as long as my closet stays untouched." She may have meant it as a joke, but Jinx made another mental note. "I'm OCD about clothes too," she replied weakly, blanching at the orange and pink that covered one side of the room. She walked over and began to unpack her own indigo covers and bed sheets.

"Want some help?" Elisa inquired. Jinx nodded with a grin and Elisa set to unloading several sketchbooks. The volleyball player casually leafed through some pages.

"Wow," she finally said, "you're really good."

"Thanks," Jinx said modestly, blushing a bit. " Drawing's a passion of mine."

"I like the unicorns."

Jinx froze, embarrassed. "They're not that big a deal," she stammered, remembering the last time someone had commented on her drawings. Of course, that someone had trashed her room, insulted her art, and then of all things gave her the most precious rose- but that was all the past now. Jinx smiled. "I'm planning on majoring in art or design," she added. Elisa nodded in approval.

"Wanna go to the Pizza Place this afternoon?" Elisa asked suddenly.

Jinx tucked away another shirt into the top drawer of her dresser. "Pizza Place?"

"I know, it's such a creative name. But the pizza is to die for. I'm meeting some friends from school, so I can introduce you. We can all hang out."

Elisa was quick to make friends. Jinx was glad. 'I'd love to come," she replied warmly.

And so, once again, this was college. Their dorm room was a clash of cultures, volleyball posters sharing wall space with fantasy landscapes, but things were looking good by Jinx's standards, and she wondered, why didn't this happen earlier? The former villain laughed and collapsed backwards onto her newly made bed.

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Kid Flash stood, out of costume, in front of North Hall. The lithe redhead pulled the neatly folded acceptance letter from his pocket and rubbed it between his fingers. He had been ecstatic upon its arrival, zipping around the world yelling and the tabloids had read Kid Flash Finally Snaps. Unfortunately for the resulting surge of hopeful kleptos, he hadn't. Besides, Wally West wasn't here just for college, as he had later found out- Kid Flash was here for detective work. The acceptance was no lucky break or coincidence.

"Jinx is on the loose, Flash," Chief had said. "You've been accepted not only as a smart student"- why thank you, Chief, I pride myself on cerebral abilities- "Stop smirking, Kid. You're also here for undercover work. She's been spotted around the campus, and a recent string of robberies have occurred in the surrounding areas. We need you in Jump City now."

Three years was a long time. Bad form, not visiting at all. Flash ran a hand through his bright copper hair. He could have been there in a second- not even that, actually- but his legs turned to mush whenever he saw her and that was obvious obvious cliché crap, but it was true and mushy legs weren't good for saving the world. He may have been a bit nervous as well. Okay, a lot. A big-frickin-load of nervous twitches at the speed of light.

He'd hoped for a change of heart- she had helped out in fighting that oversize gorilla and his lame excuse for a boss, Canned Brain, but from what the Chief was asserting, her good streak hadn't lasted.

The Cheif slid a picture across the mahogany desk. A blurry photo of Jinx's slender frame from the back, hair undeniably pink, showing the unlucky villain running away with a group of other unidentified people, carrying sacks of money and jewelry. Something was off to Flash, but he wasn't about to contradict concrete evidence.

"We suspect she's been leading an underground system of robberies- jewelry stores, banks, any money she can get her paws on-all at the college. She's the same age as you are, and the perfect cover for her would be the same as yours, posing as a student."

"So," said the speedy teen," I'm going to go to college and while trying to pass, look for Jinx and bust this group wide open?"

The Cheif nodded. "We have the utmost confidence in you." They shook hands, and the meeting ended.

Easier said than done. Wally scanned the crowd passing around him, wondering if he would magically bump into her again. He smoothed his letter against his dark blue tee shirt and entered the dorm.

"Wally West," he said to the gothic-looking guy at the bright table in the foyer. Flash was silently handed a plethora of JCU mugs and notebooks and hats. This was going to be interesting.

"Go Jackals," Wally said to the Goth. "As if you care, y'know..." There was a nod in reply, and Wally left for his room.

He took the steps two at a time, trying to go as fast as he could without blowing his cover, and soon (soon being, relative to THE Kid Flash, an eternity or so) arrived at his dorm room. Wally thrust open the door and, dropping his souvenirs unceremoniously onto the bed, proclaimed, " Wally West has arrived, gentlemen and...shoot, guys only dorm...more gentlemen."

His roommate, the only other person in the room, glanced up and returned to playing his guitar quietly. "Andrew Oceans. Nice to meet you."

Wally grinned and pulled out his own electric guitar from his bag, leaving the other junk for later. Andrew nodded his approval.

"Been playing long?" he asked, setting his own acoustic gently aside. Flash grinned and replied, "Five or so years."

There was a knock at the door, and Andrew strode across the room to open it, revealing a sandy haired youth.

"Andrew, we're gonna hafta leave soon to meet them in time," he said. "Your roomie coming too?" He quickly sized up the six-foot redhead.

"Brian, this is Wally West. Wally, Brian Marks."

Flash nodded a hello. "Wanna come with?" Andrew asked Flash.

"Sure thing. Who are we meeting?"

"Miranda and Elisa, friends from high school," Brian answered quickly," and we should have left ten minutes ago!"

College and detective work. This was going to be a real blast. Minus the detective work. Apparently Jinx hadn't taken his advice. It might have been the three-year crush talking, but Wally found this hard to believe. If it had truly been Jinx in the picture, then he would have to put his own thoughts aside and, when he found her, arrest her. But she had proven it: she could do good. And when Wally found her, he'd give her another chance, regardless of the police. It was a skinny line between duty and...love, or whatever that other thing was. But one thing about Wally West was his impenetrable faith in the goodness of people, and he wasn't going to find Jinx again just to arrest her.

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Silver Miracles