Chapter Two: The Quiz.
Jinx half turned curiously towards the newcomer, while keeping one hand trained on the Titan. It was an odd figure, covered from head to toe in a tan leather trenchcoat, with brown gloves and boots. Any facial features were concealed by a huge gas mask and helmet. The entire ensemble was liberally sprinkled with red question marks.
"Oh, please no," Beast Boy continued, as he continued to back away, almost colliding with Jinx. "Please tell me that this is some new Hive member or something. Like, the Riddler's teenage sidekick you've teamed up with."
Jinx blinked. "Wait, you actually want this freak to be on our side?"
Beast Boy turned to look at her, and gave her a kind of insane grin. "Compared to the alternative? Most definitely."
Before Jinx could ask for clarification, the figure spoke.
"Beast Boy! I heard you were running with a new team, but I must admit this wasn't what I had in mind. Care to introduce me to your friends?" The figure, by the voice, was female, and spoke with a Japanese twang and distinct amusement.
"Hey! We ain't no friends of his!" Billy Numerous angrily protested.
"You aren't? Oh, what a shame." The figure sounded genuinely disappointed. "Well, then I shall have to apologize."
"Fer what?"
The figure shook her head. "You walked right into that, didn't you? Sorry, but you're in my way." With that, she raised her hand towards the red-clad criminal, and a ball of red light gathered in her palm-
"Energy projection!"
-and fizzled out and died, leaving Billy white-faced and shaken, but otherwise unharmed.
"Oh, poop," the villain said, a pout evident in her voice. "Well, I suppose I shall have to do this the old fashioned way." With this, she cracked her knuckles.
"Super strength!" Beast Boy shouted, earning him some odd looks.
"Damn. Right, how about-"
"Telekenisis!"
"Err-"
"Monster summoning!"
"...ah!"
"Mind control!"
"..."
"Trans- transmo- turning things into other things!"
Beast Boy and the unknown enemy stared each other down, each deep in concentration. From behind Beast Boy, Jinx cleared her throat.
"Mind explaining what's going on?"
Beast Boy looked at her from over his shoulder. "She's called The Quiz. Her power is everything you haven't mentioned yet. Flight!" he snapped, and The Quiz crashed back to earth with a thud.
"Oh. That's a really stupid power."
"Time travel!"
"Although, now I think about it, it does seem kinda handy."
"Altering the fabric of reality!"
The Quiz spluttered incoherently as she wracked her brains.
"Super speed!" Beast Boy turned back for a second. "Luckily, she's not too bright. Awesome gadgets!"
"'Awesome gadgets' isn't a power," Jinx protested, not unreasonably.
"Tell that to Batman. Weasel control!"
"Weasel control?"
"She actually did that one time. Elasticity!"
Jinx joined in, with less enthusiasm than Beast Boy had. "Invisibility."
"Good call. Dream manipulation!"
"Shapeshifting."
"Now why didn't I think of that one? Turning people into toilet bowls filled with flowers!"
"...what?"
"Hey, I speak from experience."
The Quiz, who had been motionless while this had been going on, spoke up.
"A pretty good list there." You didn't have to see her face to know she was smirking. "But you missed one."
With that, she snapped her fingers. There was a blinding flash of light, and when the glare cleared, Beast Boy and Jinx were gone.
--
Raven bundled into the T-Car after Starfire. Normally, both of them might have elected to fly, both everyone was too tired after two straight days of fighting.
As the vehicle motored down the underwater tunnel that led to the city, Raven spent a little while nurturing a bad mood. For all her life, she had never thought she would see this day, and now it had arrived, she had wanted to savor it. But then Beast Boy had to go run into trouble. Typical.
No, that wasn't fair. Beast Boy had just found trouble this time; he hadn't actively caused it.
She would try to keep this in mind when she got to him.
--
To their credit, the Hive recovered from the disappearance of their leader fairly quickly, and instantly surrounded The Quiz. Gizmo, standing tall on his mechanical legs, stepped forwards.
"Alright, where'd you send her?" he asked, in his most intimidating voice.
The Quiz didn't give the impression that she was particularly intimidated. "I'm not sure. If she ever comes back, I'm sure you can ask her," she replied with a smirk in her voice. "I didn't really mean to send her as well, just Beast Boy. She was just a little too close to him. Oh well, that's life."
Enraged, Gizmo struck her with one of his metal legs with all the force they could muster. The Quiz simply took the spike to the stomach without even flinching, and the robotic appendage crumpled on contact with her.
Gizmo gnashed his teeth. "Invulnerability. Fast healing. Immunity to pain. Now," he said, this time extending a kind of beam weapon from his backpack, "are you going to start giving me some answers?"
The impromptu interrogation was interrupted by the screeching arrival of the Titans.
"Aw, crud. We gotta get out of here."
See-More spoke up. "No, wait! Since this crazy lady zapped Beast Boy too, they'll want to get him back, right? So, they're kinda on our side, in a way. For now."
Gizmo uneasily eyed the costumed vigilantes as they piled out of their cat. "Well...okay. But you're explaining what's going on to them."
See-More gulped and walked towards the Titans, his palms parallel with his ears. "Err...hi." Seeing Robin give him a very odd look, he decided to explain as quickly as possible. "Now, before I say anything, I want you to know that none of this is our fault, okay?"
Robin cocked an eyebrow. "I think I'll be the judge of that."
That didn't sound good. Talk quickly. "Well, we just happened across your friend when this crazy lady pops out of nowhere and starts attacking him...and..."
"And," Robin prompted.
"And...kinda...madehimdissapearalongwithJinxinaapuffofsmokedon'tkillmerememberwhatIsaidaboutitnotbeingourfault."
Robin blinked. Then blinked again. Then realization dawned.
"What?!"
"It was her!" wailed See-More, and pointed at The Quiz. Robin stormed over to the captive villainess, with the rest of the Titans in tow.
"Is this true?" Robin barked.
"Yes," The Quiz replied genially.
"Bring him back. Now," Robin ground out through his teeth.
"Ooh, I'm so sorry," she said, although her tone slandered her words, "I'm afraid I can't do that. At least, not now."
Robin shared confused looks with the rest of his team. "And why not now? Stage fright?"
"Oh, nothing like that, it's just I can't do anything once it's been mentioned. Power limitation." She continued, brightly. "But no one mentioned this!"
On this, The Quiz vanished in a puff of laughter and purple smoke, leaving nine angry and confused teenagers in her wake.
--
Believe it or not, I did not invent The Quiz. She's an old Doom Patrol villain. And she did once turn people into toilet bowls filled with flowers.