First, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I honestly never expected to get six reviews for the first chapter, and I really appreciate all of you who took the time to do so. Second, um, let's see... Let's just skip straight to the disclaimer, shall we?
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
002: Back Alley
Jinx had never been a follower. Ever.
From the moment she'd been abandoned at age seven, Jinx had made her own way in the world. At first she'd been scared and unsure of how to fend for herself, but within weeks the small, pink-haired girl had learned the ropes of survival. Pick pocketing had come easily to her, and soon she'd moved onto bigger things, like setting up sting operations with the other homeless kids she met.
Organizing these crimes, Jinx found herself in a constant leader position, not because no one else cared for the job, but because Jinx wouldn't let anyone else take the job. The way Jinx saw it, standing idly by while someone else directed what she would do was suicide, and would probably result in a more painful outcome than the occasional day of going hungry. Also, and almost more importantly, Jinx had absolutely no interest in getting pushed around, and if the other kids didn't like it, then they could find another crowd to hang with. Ultimately, if the plan hadn't come directly from Jinx's mind, and hadn't been carried out to the letter, there was no way she was going to do it.
At eleven years old Jinx heard about the HIVE Academy. By that time Jinx had matured enough to realize that there was still much for her to learn, and many people to learn from. Plus, if there was a place where she could not only learn to perfect her powers and possibly gain respect, but also receive meals and a bed, she figured she might as well check it out. Jinx hadn't even been that set on attending until she'd been told they wouldn't accept her.
It was something about too many students, or not enough teachers, or Jinx's powers being too ordinary, but for whatever the reason the HIVE Headmistress had told her to get lost. And Jinx, who had never asked anyone for anything before, and therefore had never been turned down before, was angry. But angry doesn't mean resigned, and like her days on the streets Jinx had no intentions of taking no for an answer. That evening she waited outside the Academy until dark, and when finally the Headmistress appeared in the doorway Jinx mustered all the strength she had to send a massive hex flying at the wall not two inches from the gray-haired woman. The Headmistress took one look at Jinx's handiwork, and without changing her expression told Jinx to be at the Academy tomorrow morning at nine sharp for her first classes.
From that point on things had gone well. Very well. Well to the point that by the time she was fourteen she was the head of the top graduating class in the Academy, and even after getting sent back for failing her final exam, Jinx found new ways to excel and to bend the system to fit her needs. During her years at the Academy, Jinx learned to design her own attack patterns, to add her own twist to predetermined ones, and to argue her way out of almost any situation. Easily one of the most determined and unwavering students, when finally she graduated and formed the HIVE Five Jinx handpicked her team, turning down several students who asked to join, and even coercing a few who didn't want to. In the end, though her team looked to be unruly and unsynchronized, in reality the eclectic mix of people was just what she was looking for. It was too bad that she happened to choose the five people who were about as uncooperative as she was smart.
Before Jinx knew it, her team was falling apart around her, tossing aside her commands like trash, and throwing all her hard work back in her face. It was an evening after a particularly vexing day with her team that Jinx started to seriously rethink her lifestyle, and the thought suddenly flashed across her mind that it didn't matter which side of the law she was on as long as she was making her own decisions.
And because of this realization that her team was quickly destroying everything she'd worked so hard to achieve and that something would have to change, Kid Flash's appearance and remarks had been startling to the point that she wasn't entirely sure they were coincidental. But although Kid Flash said nothing to her that she hadn't already thought of, Jinx had an image to maintain, and not even to others, but to herself. Because Jinx had never been a follower.
Ever.
So even though it would have been easy to smile and take Kid Flash's hand and walk off into the sunset, even though the idea of turning hero had already crossed her mind, even though Jinx knew her life as a villain was one way or another coming to a close, she couldn't go with him. Not yet. Not just like that. Instead, she turned the other way, walked down the back alley, and, just like all the other times her life had to change, made the decision for herself.
