Disclaimer: I own nothing. Unfortunately.
A/N: There are a few things you need to know before you read this story:
1. The story begins after the end of the series.
2. While the events of Lightspeed did happen, Jinx did NOT show up with Kid Flash to fight the Brotherhood of Evil.
3. The Teen Titans universe and the Justice League Unlimited universe have been meshed together. This means that I've had to work around (well, completely ignore) what little information about the comics I know. In the span of ten years, the Teen Titans version of Kid Flash (Wally West) has become The Flash; he is the first Flash, so forget anything the comics have ever told you, ever. Characters like Robin were a bit of a problem, because Flash works with Batman in JL. In this fic, the Robin of Teen Titans left Batman and became Nightwing; when things flash forward ten years (pun unintended), there is no 'Robin'; Batman and Nightwing fly solo (well, sort of).
4. I don't know that Teen Titans actually takes place in Jump City. Is that correct?
I hope this all makes sense. If not... well, just read the fic anyway, and I'll try and answer any of your questions. This chapter is fairly vague, I think; sorry. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Ten Years
Jump City - Train Station
Rain poured from the sky, drenching anything that lay uncovered on the earth below. The train station was crowded with civilians eager to get out of the downpour, plastic jackets and umbrellas dripping water onto the linoleum floor, directing a symphony of squeaky sneakers. Children cried and complained, while adults argued with the ticket-taker. Within the otherwise mindless chaos, a teenage boy sat alone beside the giant array of windows that stretched the length of the wall. Had it been earlier in the day, and the atmosphere less tense, no doubt he would have been the center of attention. His body was thing but muscular, the build of a runner, and over it he wore a suit that was most peculiar: red spandex pants gave way to a yellow spandex shirt, long-sleeved with a red lightning bolt emblem stretched taunt across his chest. A cowl covered his neck and upper face, open to reveal a mop of flaming red hair and glittering blue eyes.
Kid Flash slumped further in his seat with a sigh; today had to be the worst day of his life. At the muffled sound of approaching heels, his gaze drifted from the falling rain to the girl that appeared beside him.
"You don't have to do this," he stated as he leapt to his feet. The girl sighed with an air suggesting this wasn't the first time she'd heard him protest.
"Flash, we've been over this," she said impatiently. "This is something I need to do." She picked up a small pink bag with her pale hand, and maneuvered through the crowd toward the door. Both of them had been at the train station for hours. The rain, combined with the more than irritable crowd, had put her patience to the test; it was only with Flash's calming words that she was able to restrain herself from hexing the lot of them into the next century. Even so, her companion was fairly annoying unto himself; he couldn't seem to grasp the fact that she had made up her mind. Nothing he could say was going to change her decision, and yet he wasted enough time attempting to do so, making a frustrating situation that much more unbearable.
"But why?" Flash argued, following her onto the covered platform. The rain was louder here, and had she not turned to glare at him, her face inches from his own, he would have missed her reply.
"Because, Flash. Because." Her voice was as icy as her stare. Flash felt himself instinctively recoil as she turned away and continued walking.
"But Jinx-"
"But what, Flash?" Jinx turned again, pink eyes flashing dangerously. "What part of 'I have to do this' do you not understand?" This time Flash stood his ground.
"Look, I can take care of the HIVE - you used to work with them, you know how dumb they are. And I'll talk to Robin, he's a good guy, he'll-"
"FLASH! Just... stop talking, all right?" Jinx stopped walking and so did Flash, staring at the back of her head with a frown. "It isn't you, and I don't want to be a bad guy again, but I have too much history here to start over." Flash's frown deepened; he thought she was wrong, but the time to argue was over.
"At least let me take you," he insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I can get you there in the blink of an eye."
"No thanks," she replied. His smirk faded. "I don't know where I'm going. Besides," she shrugged off his hand, "I like to slow down and enjoy the scenery."
"Where's the train taking you, then?" His voice was colder than Jinx could ever recall.
"The first pit-stop." She heard Flash sigh, and when he spoke again, he sounded significantly warmer.
"Are you sure there's nothing I can say to change your mind?"
The train rolled into the station, deafening as its wheels screeched along the rusted tracks. For a moment he thought he had missed what she had said, before he realized she had not spoken. Steam hissed as the train settled. Jinx turned to face him with an expression so sad, he was almost certain she would change her mind.
"Yes, Flash, I'm sure," she said softly. Flash felt something inside him break; it would not be until long after the train vanished behind the bed that he realized it was his heart.
"I'll look for you," he told her, "and I won't stop until I bring you back home again."
"This place was never home to me, Flash," Jinx said. "Besides, there are hundreds of countries, and you're a busy hero - you'd be wasting your time."
"When you're the fastest boy alive, time is something you've got plenty of."
The crowd slowly thinned until the only ones on the platform were Kid Flash, Jinx, and a handful of the train's new passengers. For a moment hero and former villain stared at one another, oblivious to the rest of the world. Then Jinx turned away, and the crowd around them came crashing into place. She made her way to the train, pausing at the door only when she felt a hand on her arm.
"You won't find me, Flash," she said without turning. His hand slid away. "Heroes aren't the only masters of disguise." Jinx handed her ticket to a man in uniform before boarding the train. Flash backed up to track her through the windows, only to find her pink hair strangely absent from the crowd.
When the train at last began to roll away, Flash followed behind it. The pace was easy enough, and despite the rain, he had little trouble keeping up. When the train reached a bridge, the planks too widespread for him to run across (he could run on water, not air, and the railings were too slick to be trusted), he was forced to stop. He watched the train chug quickly out of sight; before long he stood drenched on the train tracks, cold and alone. With a yell of frustration he spun and ran the opposite direction, unsure of where he was going, and how many times he'd run the world over before he stopped.
He would run, and he would search, and it would be a very long time before either saw the other again.
Ten Years Later - JL Watchtower
Flash was bored.
And hungry.
But mostly bored.
The meeting had been going on forever, or at least in his mind it had been. Then again, he seemed to run on a schedule slightly faster than everyone else, perhaps the only downside to having super speed; not only did his body function at an extremely accelerated rate, but he was also cursed with extreme impatience. Granted, he had always lacked patience, or at least from what he could remember about his life pre-speed. He didn't like to think about his childhood much; Kid Flash was a thing of the past, and he wanted it to stay that way.
Besides, they treated him like a rookie, anyway; he might as well be Kid Flash again, for all it was worth.
He had trained himself not to spin his chair during meetings; it squeaked, and he suspected no one had bothered to get it fixed for that very reason. It meant there were fewer distractions for Flash, which meant he was that much more likely to actually pay attention; he liked to get away with his mischief, and attracting the gaze of his fellow Leaguers wasn't getting away with it.
They had, however, given him a glass of water, and he had made due with staring at it for the duration of the meeting.
It wasn't as if they ever discussed anything important; mostly reminders on scheduled public appearances, who was on what shift for monitor duty, what to do about the recent outbreak of petty theft crimes, and on and on and on about things Flash could have figured out without two hours of mindless Bat-droning. As the discussion turned toward civilian and P.D. reports on new villains, Flash lifted the glass into the air, idly watching the water inside slosh against the sides. He resisted a sigh, sparing a quick glance at the screen; a balding, spandex-clad man stared back at him. A witty retort built on the edge of his tongue, but again he held back, as experience had taught him it simply wasn't worth interrupting. Instead, he swallowed his comment on a long sip of water.
"... by the name of Jinx."
It took several thumps on the back from Green Lantern before Flash could breathe again. He couldn't believe that he had heard Batman correctly. Jinx, out in the open, causing chaos and creating mayhem? It didn't seem at all likely, not from the Jinx he knew, because the Jinx he knew had been good. Or at least, that's what he had thought.
The pink woman smirking down at him from Batman's screen said otherwise.