Enemy of My Enemy

by Concolor44

It's been a few years since Jinx was last in town, and Raven thought she had everything sorted. But memory is a malleable thing, and hers may be playing her false. Rated M primarily for gore and violence. Shoujo-ai with a slight lime flavor.

3. Chapter 3 Magic

ENEMY OF MY ENEMY

[Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Earth-shaking news, I know, but what can I say? Oh, and by the way, lest it escape your notice, there are many instances of not-quite-canonicity in this story. Get used to it.]

Chapter Three - Magic

Okay. Here's the thing about magic. (And pay attention, 'cause there'll be a test later.) It comes in five major varieties: Innate, Glamour, Psychic, Sorcery, and Natural. Innate magic is the kind that most magical creatures have, things like dragons and manticores and pixies and stuff. It's also the most powerful, by a damn sight, which is why you do not screw around with dragons. Bad juju, short lifespan. Honestly, the idea that some armored guy with a long stick on a horse could present any kind of danger to a dragon is just … well, funny. But that's another story.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Glamour. That was, I guess you could say, invented by the Fae. Yeah, I know they mainly fall into the 'Innate' category as a race, but Glamour is something extra, mainly because mortals can learn to use it, too. Basically, it's illusion magic, but sometimes it can be a lot stronger than just an illusion, and I mean a hell of a lot stronger. That Doppelganger spell I used on Raven? All Glamour, baby! My own brand of hexing is a roughly equal mix of Glamour and Psychic magic, and if I do say so myself, I'm pretty badass.

But, yeah, and what most people think of when they think 'Psychic' is palm readers and gypsies with crystal balls and shit like that. And … yeah, well, okay, they do fall into that class. Clairvoyance and telepathy and precognition, stuff like that. Mostly those guys just stay frustrated 'cause it's hard to focus and the results are usually hazy. Usually. I did meet this one chick one time who knew – and I mean knew – what was gonna happen in the next hour or so. She was one dangerous bitch. If she'd had a mean streak … eh. She got into the stock market for a few weeks, made a bajillion bucks, and disappeared. Probably bought herself an island somewhere.

But then, if you mix Psychic magic with Sorcery, you get some truly scary crap. Pyrokinetics and t-k and mind-control and folks that can fly and teleport and stuff. You know, like Raven? Yeah, she's all about the Psychic Sorcery combo. Like I said: scary. And she hardly ever even taps the surface.

But really, a just-plain-vanilla Sorcerer is bad enough. See, the thing is that with most baseline humans, even ones that have some degree of aptitude for the Craft, doing any more than just dabbling in it puts your sanity on the line, big-time. It's not that Sorcerers always become evil, it's that if they really get into it, you know give up everything else to study it, they almost always go nuts, and when you've got a lunatic with god-powers … yeah, fill in the blanks. They try stupid stuff, like challenging a dragon, or transforming into one, and the dragons don't much care for that. That's why I don't worry about Raven, though. She's a half-demon, and pretty much immune to the down-side. And demons – all the spirit-beings, really – fall outside these categories. A demon or angel or djinn can use any or all of the various magic types, and how well they work depends almost completely on the individual's personal power level. That's why Trigon was such bad news when he came knocking.

But anybody can use Natural magic. That's why it's called 'Natural', right? That's stuff like where some herbs have healing powers, and some crystals are just better for scrying or help with protection spells, and some metals are resistant to Sorcery, and then there's the ley-lines that wrap the whole damn planet. With a little training, anyone can tap into a ley-line and use the mana to add focus or strength to a spell or a potion or a charm. That's the plus side. The back of the coin is all those little imp-type things you hear about in mythology. You know the ones? Kobolds and vampires and ghouls and trolls and weres? That ilk? Yeah, they all know how to use Natural magic, too, and they've been doing it a LOT longer than humans have. Why d'ya think trolls are so strong? It ain't because they eat their spinach, bub. No, they park their carcasses on a ley-line every night and soak up the power. Stupid things, but I sure don't wanna meet one anytime soon. (And, yes, to answer that question you're just dying to ask, trolls are real. Like I said before, all this shit is real. It just flies under the radar most of the time.)

So. The different kinds of magic have different levels of … you could call it affinity, I guess. Sorcery just pairs up real nice with Psychic and Natural magic. Innate magic goes with Natural and Glamour. But Glamour and Sorcery?Nah, not so much. They're too different, and the two kinds of magic tend to work at cross-purposes. That ain't to say that somebody couldn't ever combine the two into one spell … it would just be more trouble than it was worth. Same goes with Psychic and Natural, or Sorcery and Innate. The creatures that use (are?) Innate magic kinda look down their snouts at Sorcery and Psychic magic, like it's beneath them to even consider using it. And, hell, it may be. Like they need to use anything else.

And I was pullin' your leg about the test. It's no skin off my nose if you remember this shit or not.

So. What else? Oh, yeah, I thought it went really well with Stone this afternoon. Neron spooked him, but good. Think I've got me a convert. Now I just hope he can talk to Rae and get her to have a look, too. Or at least leave all my internal organs in their present locations. 'cause if I have to do this demon-battle shtick all on my own hook, magic-wise, it ain't gonna be pretty.

Okay, so now … um, yeah, that's right! Gotta check in with the Bones, find out my next move. Laters!

####

*Cobb Park, 19:45*

Some days, Raven mused, I'd give a lot for a good old-fashioned tussle with the H.I.V.E. Five. This thought crossed her mind quickly, being somewhat busy dodging bullets.

Gang activity was a constant worry these days, and had occupied most of the Titans' attention over the last several months. The bangers were typically young, uneducated, and vicious, and had basically nothing to offer society … nothing positive, that is. They offered a lot of grief and difficulty for any neighborhood they happened to infest. And there always seemed to be a steady supply of them, no matter how many got arrested.

It had gotten so bad in some parts of the city that a couple of unaffiliated vigilantes showed up to combat them. The Titans hadn't met either of them yet, but they sure did hear a lot about them. Raven was convinced that one of them was a meta, probably a telekinetic of some variety. He (or she) kept a very low profile, and took down the perps without ever revealing so much as a glimpse. The other one – the more dangerous one – was most likely a baseline human, but one with military training, a fondness for limited-effect explosives, and some mad martial arts skills … and no hesitation about maiming or killing the gangbangers. He kept vigil over a nine-block area at the southern end of downtown. The Crips and the Bandidos put an even ten grand each on his head. The police had several warrants out for him, but not a single one of the residents was willing to give them any information; none of his victims was able to. Detective Harris, who was leading that investigation, referred to him as The Ghost.

Yes, Raven knew all this; she just didn't have time to think about it right now.

The gangs' increasingly frequent use of automatic weapons had forced Raven to adapt, and she'd done so via magic. So far, it worked well. Her cloak, tee-shirt, vest, and slacks were all made of a special silk that was not normally available in this dimension (but she had connections). It lent itself to Sorcerous manipulation, and readily accepted such magic into itself. The runes she used were subtle, and any observer would have to know where to look and know what to look for, but each article of clothing now carried enough magic warding that no projectile of base metal could penetrate it. That isn't to say the impact wouldn't smart, but she didn't have to worry about getting perforated. Mainly she relied on shields she crafted from her soul-self, and in this she had achieved mastery.

Now, after much time practicing in their training yard, she could reflexively produce and angle her shields so that the incoming slugs ricocheted off at a shallow angle. That allowed her to handle an automatic fire rate without strain, and occasionally she was able to direct the fire right back at her attackers.

That was another "new" thing the Titans were dealing with. While most super-villains tended to adhere to a sort of rough justice, showed something of a grudging respect for their foes, and usually didn't go out of their way to try to kill them, the gangbangers had no such compunction. Adapting to this mindset, the team learned, meant that sometimes they had to be at least willing to take human life. None of them wanted this. But war is war; it involves killing, it always has, and likely always will. When confronting ignorant thugs who enjoyed taking the lives of innocent people, and had the firepower on hand to overwhelm a SWAT team, they reluctantly realized that they couldn't pull their punches anymore.

####

* elsewhere, earlier *

Mario closed the door behind him and carefully locked it before making his way deeper into the building. It wouldn't do to have anyone not directly involved stumble onto what they were up to. This scheme, if it worked, would be a real game-changer; it would put them back on top, where they belonged, and then they could grease the rest of the Crips and the Bandidos at their leisure.

Ernesto had begun his trance meditation, the other eleven already around him, when Mario got to the Assembly. He drew a short, sharp object from his vest and laid it on the table in front of their shaman beside the others, taking his place in the Circle and taking up the low chant that was already in progress.

Many minutes passed. Lit censors ranged around the room gradually filled it with sweet, narcotic smoke, and the gang members' collective trance deepened. Then, gradually, the smoke collected in a dark pool over the table. Small, bright lightnings began sparking in its depths, some of them reaching down to the objects lined up on the table. This went on for the better part of an hour until each one achieved a soft, red glow, whereupon the smoke suddenly dissipated, and the chant stopped. Ernesto fell over; they knew he'd be out of commission for several hours, but they had accomplished their objective. Mario watched as Jacinto, Ernesto's right-hand man, gathered the bolts and placed them into a specially warded quiver. Then he hefted a heavy crossbow, grinned at the other gang members, and said, "Tonight. We will call them tonight, and when they come, they will see that the Titan witch is not the only one who can make the magic!"

####

*Cobb Park, 19:47*

The Titans weren't sure just yet which two gangs were trying to snuff each other this time. The players changed constantly and no one published a program, so they usually went into these things reeeeal short on information. There were some dozen or fifteen heavily-armed bangers barricaded inside a gazebo pavilion, and maybe a score out under the trees trying to kill them. Robin got a quick update from the two beat cops who were currently hiding behind their squad car – reinforcements were on the way, but still minutes off – and then split up the team to their various duties in this little shindig. Kori shot straight up, disappearing into the gloom; Cyborg powered up his brand-spanking-new sonic shield and zipped over to get behind the largest concentration of assailants he could see; Nightwing pulled a birdarang and melted into the trees; and Raven got the plum job of taking out the group in the gazebo.

Actually, she didn't mind. She'd trained, and trained hard, for an occasion just such as this. The only real difficulty would come in getting over to the gazebo's roof, when she'd be exposed to the other gang's decidedly unfriendly fire. Thus her 'enhanced' outfit. Starfire very much approved of the change; she had grinned broadly and said it made Raven look 'hot'. The empath had to work hard to suppress the blush that wanted to creep up her cheeks after that comment.

Nevertheless, aside from a couple of grazing almost-hits, she made it to the relative safety of the roof unscathed, the inky blackness of her shield keeping her from being an obvious target. Settling into the cupola, she drew her shield more closely around herself and effectively vanished. Her mind opened to the presence of those below and, as expected, all fourteen of them were crouched behind their barricades, aiming and firing at those in the wood who so ardently desired their demise. After a few seconds she blew a disgusted breath and shook her head. Drugs? You're joking! This is all over who gets to sell crack to a bunch of losers? Give me a break! Not for the first time did she wish that The Powers That Be would just go ahead and de-criminalize all that crap, slap a hefty tax on it (similar to, oh, say, tobacco? or maybe whiskey?) and regulate it to within a millimeter of its life. That would at least keep most of the money out of the hands of the gangs, and perhaps then they wouldn't be quite so well-armed!

Stilling her mind again, she prepared her attack …

####

* Jinx's hotel room, somewhat earlier *

"… Bones … Bones … dammit, where'd you … ah!" Triumphantly she pulled a small leather bag from the recesses of her folding valise and plopped herself down onto the carpet at the foot of the bed. Pouring the objects in question out into her hand, she studied them briefly.

Technically, they weren't made of bone; they were ivory, hand-carved from the tusk of an extinct marine mammal into the semblance of wrist bones, only somewhat smaller. The craftsman who fashioned them belonged to a race that had been forgotten long before early humans discovered fire. Consequently, the figures carved into them belonged to no known language group; but Jinx knew their secrets. Deep yellow with age, these runes had had nearly thirty thousand owners in their long, long history. She took a large sheet of paper, spread it on the floor in front of her, and carefully cast them.

The first reading didn't seem to make any sense. "Magic arrows? What the hell?" The surrounding guidance runes weren't much help. She scratched her head, stood, and closed her eyes, feeling for the ley-line that she knew passed through this room. "Ah. It moved. Okay." Repositioning herself in front of the door to the tiny bathroom, she again laid out the paper and cast the runes.

This one was much clearer. There was a distinct reference to Raven, which is what she was after, and the guidance runes at the cardinal points all hinted at danger … and there was that thing about arrows again! The skin prickled on her neck.

She thought this over a minute or two and swept the Bones back into their bag. Then she pulled out a worn deck of Tarot cards, shuffled them while chanting a short incantation, and quickly flipped a reading out onto the bedspread. Her eyes narrowed to mere slits: The Tower was in prime position, The Magician, inverted, below it. The Eight of Swords exerted dominance from the right, The Chariot, inverted, from the left. The implications made her skin crawl.

"Shit." Leaving the cards where they lay, she dug again into the valise and pulled out a small plastic bag containing some dark-purple hairs and a very nice convex lens of clearest quartz, slightly larger than her palm. Removing one of the few remaining hairs from the bag, she quickly closed it and returned it to the valise; then she placed the hair on the crystal lens and muttered a few choice words. The hair vanished in a puff of smoke, and a hazy scene took shape in the crystal. Holding her breath as she watched, the figures and objects soon clarified, and impressed into her mind was the location of the vision: Cobb Park.

"Shit-fuck! That's on the other side of the city!" Not for the first time did she wish she had Raven's ability to teleport, and cursed the lack vehemently as she grabbed the valise and made her way down to the parking lot in impossibly long bounds and drops.

####

*Cobb Park, 19:48*

Raven considered her targets. Those below her were, in fact, members of a notorious Central-American gang; their rivals were an outlaw motorcycle gang that had broken off from the Bandidos because the parent organization wasn't ruthless enough to suit them. To a man, the only life each counted as worth anything was his own. But that life, each would sell very dearly, indeed, and they had the armaments to back that up. Three smoldering holes in the tree-line opposite attested to the RPGs they had unlimbered when the other gang suddenly appeared and started shooting. They knew several of the ex-Bandidos were already dead, as were three of their own. It was now, while the one who wielded the launcher was again taking aim at the muzzle flashes under the trees, when a creature of nightmare and lunacy dropped among them. The thing was squat, black as the depths of space, and gave vent to a soul-chilling cry as it spread scaly arms tipped with many, many talons.

The men screamed, and turned, and fired and fired and fired at the thing in their midst … the thing which was but a figment of their collective imagination, made of bad dreams and shadow, and completely insubstantial.

In a bare handful of seconds, it was over. Nine of the gang lay dead, riddled with their own bullets; three were severely wounded and unconscious. While she crouched there above them, Raven felt the other two freak out and start jabbering frantically. Calmly she reached into their minds and turned up the volume on the panic knob. Both of them shrieked and jumped out of the gazebo, firing wildly, and were promptly cut down by their enemies. Nodding, she pulled out her T-Com and pressed a button.

That was the signal the others had waited on. Now that they wouldn't have to worry about stray fire from the gazebo, they could concentrate on taking out the rest. The remainder of the battle was very short. Baseline humans, even those that were well-trained, were after all rather delicate creatures. Flesh and bone were no match for field-effect explosions and starbolts and sonic cannons. By the time the police pulled up less than two minutes later, the combatants – those still alive – were laid out in a neat line on the ground in front of the gazebo.

Nightwing turned to the rest of the team. "The cops'll want a lot of details on this one. You guys can go on back to the Tower if you want. I got this."

"Unless your desire is otherwise, I would like to stay here with you," said Starfire with a hopeful air.

A grin gave her his answer, and she appropriated his arm. "Okay, then, I guess we'll see you two later."

Raven glanced over at Victor. "Are you ready to head back, or is there anything you need to do while we're close to downtown?" Her tone indicated her preference loud and clear.

"Got somethin' weighin' on your mind, Rae?"

"I really need to meditate. Even when death is as richly deserved as it was here tonight, I find the process distasteful and rife with stress."

"Okay. I get that." Well, crap, she's not gonna be wantin' to talk about this whole Jinx-and-demon thing for a while, looks like.

But Raven wasn't the most powerful empath on the planet for nothing. Even though she made a point of not poking around in people's heads, she could tell when they first arrived that there was something bothering the big cyborg. Sighing, she laid a hand on his arm. "You have something to say, though, don't you?"

Chuckling self-consciously, he gave her a sheepish grin. "If it ain't too much to put on ya, it'd be nice. It ain't no little thing, though. If you need to meditate … well, I guess it'll keep."

A reassuring pat let him know that she understood. "It's early yet. If I can meditate effectively, we might still be able to discuss what's on your mind later tonight. Would that be all right?"

"Sure! But don't rush things because of me. I know how …"

"Trust me, Vic, I won't." An inky black shroud wrapped the two of them in a close embrace, and then vanished.

####

From the edge of an alley some two blocks from the entrance to Cobb Park, Jacinto ground his teeth in frustration. Not a single one of the other group would answer his radio calls, and that could only mean that they were incapacitated … or dead. He knew they'd never let the pigs get to them. He knew what kinds of weapons they carried, knew their skills. Had a rival gang ambushed them? Had the Titans come early?

His scout came scurrying back, face set in a grim line, and Jacinto wasn't all that surprised to hear him say, "Dead."

"All?"

"All. Muhfuckin' bikers were waitin', an' they rumbled, but then the Titans showed up. Took out e'ybody."

"They still there?"

"Two of 'em. Leader an' that alien bitch."

One of the others said, "Heard he's tappin' that fine ass now."

"Fuck that shit. We gettin' some payback, before they get away!" The rest voiced their agreement. The dozen gangbangers moved quickly but stealthily toward the park.

####

*Titans Tower, 19:54*

Very little time passed before Raven was floating in the air over her bed, eyes closed, muttering her mantra to herself. She considered (very briefly) going back in to discuss things with her emotions, but quickly decided that she wasn't ready for that yet. In the first place, what she'd said to Victor was the bare truth. She really did need to meditate over the loss of life that evening, even if – or especially if – the loss was justified. It was a hard thing for her, this war they found themselves in. It took a toll on her psyche. She didn't like to believe that so many humans could be so … well, there wasn't a better word for it. So evil. The minds she'd felt just a handful of minutes earlier were thoroughly, poisonously evil, being fully preoccupied with the pursuit of vice and the execution of pain and mayhem. The Titan had done the world a favor by removing them from society. They would never amount to anything, individually, and clumped into a gang they only multiplied the wickedness.

But knowing that empirically, and internalizing it fully, were two very different things. She hated taking life. Hated it. That's why she didn't attack the gang directly, going instead for their fears and then allowing them to react naturally. It helped her sleep.

####

*Cobb Park, 19:55*

There was no warning. There rarely ever was.

One second the two Titans were briefing the police sergeant on the recent events, and the next they were under a withering fire. Of the eight officers present, only two were alive after the first volley. Starfire caught a couple of rounds in her upper back, but they were standard hollow-points, not jacketed, so all they did was tear her skin a little … and get her thoroughly pissed off. Nightwing's exoskeleton stopped four rounds, but they hit him almost simultaneously from the same direction, and the simple force of the impacts drove him to his knees.

The Titans and the two remaining officers skipped quickly over to take shelter behind a cruiser. Given the frequency of heavy-caliber (or energy-based) weaponry that the criminal element used in Jump City, the law enforcement leadership had, for once, responded with accuracy and thoughtfulness. The old cruisers were scrapped and replaced with state-of-the-art vehicles that offered some real protection for the patrol cops. They'd stop cold any solid projectile less effective than a fifty-caliber high-power, and would absorb quite a bit of laser or microwave radiation before failing, so the four of them weren't too worried, at least not from that quarter. One of the cops had a belt radio and immediately called for backup, and Nightwing pulled out his T-Com. Starfire, her jaw set, shot straight up, intent on bringing the battle to their attackers.

####

*Titans Tower, 19:56*

She wasn't really even comfortable yet. She'd only intoned her mantra three times. That's when the image hit.

Shortly before the unpleasantness involving her sire, Raven and Richard had been through a particularly harrowing episode wherein he almost died. She installed a tiny piece of her soul inside him; it was the only way she could think of at the time to save his life, and it worked. But ever since, they shared a link, a special bond. Any time one of them was in mortal peril, the other would know. So, before Victor had even had a chance to answer the emergency signal from his T-Com, Raven appeared in front of him, wrapped them both in a cloak of non-light, and pulled them through that Otherwhere back to the Park.

####

*Cobb Park, 19:56*

Jacinto knew the SWAT team would be along in not that many minutes. They'd already pegged six badges, so they could call the night a success if it came to that. But he wanted the Titans, or at least one of them. He'd seen Nightwing take cover behind a cruiser, but he couldn't be sure of a shot, and they only had seven of the special bolts for his tactical compound crossbow. Starfire, on the other hand, was a better possibility.

The Tamaranean was well-known for her volatile temper. If he could get her worked up enough to get close enough for a decent shot …

They didn't actually have to work on that very hard; she was incensed already, and starbolts began peppering the attacking gang members. They'd spread out in a thin line, the better to take angles on their shots, and the less of a target to present to return fire. Striking from cover as they were, Koriand'r had to follow their muzzle flashes, but that was enough. One ragged scream, and then another, indicated her success.

It was when she was taking a long, swooping loop past their line that the short, glowing missile came streaking up. Had it been an ordinary bolt she would hardly have noticed the light strike to her arm. But it wasn't. Pain of an intensity she couldn't quite grasp ran from the shallow cut like lava. With a wailing cry, she tumbled back toward the ground, hitting well on the other side of where the officers were taking cover. Jacinto crowed his jubilation, and then busied himself in cocking the crossbow for another shot.

####

Sometimes it just pays to go first class. Jinx would have patted herself on the back for choosing a rental car that had some muscle, had she not been so worried about Raven. She had a few minutes to put two and two together while speeding across town, and the 'four' she came up with put her stomach in knots. She only knew of three likely candidates to stand in for the 'magic arrows', and could pretty much dismiss one of them out of hand. That left Firedarts or Doombolts. Firedarts were easier to make, but it would take a powerful sorcerer to handle them, once constructed. She hadn't detected such a mage nearby (of course that didn't really mean there wasn't one) and so she put her money on Doombolts. Which would be very, very bad.

The sounds of the nearly-continuous gunfire reached her while still a couple of blocks away, and she floored it.

####

Raven and Cyborg stepped out of the dark shroud into heavy fire, and quickly hunkered down with the officers. He gave Nightwing an exasperated look and said, "Weren't we just doing this?"

"More of 'em showed up. We got six officers down, and I think Kori got clipped. She went down over there." And he pointed back toward the trees.

Raven nodded. "I'll go get her." Darkness enveloped her, and she winked out, popping up out of the ground a hundred meters away. Casting about with her empathic ability, she instantly located her wounded teammate, flew over to her, and gathered her close. Then she 'ported them back to the others.

Cyborg, meanwhile, switched to his sonic cannon and started blowing away the opposition, one at a time. Then another of those glowing bolts came streaking out, passed through the cruiser, through his left thigh, and through the head of one of the crouching cops. Cyborg fell to the ground, and the cop flopped over, dead before he hit the dirt.

Nightwing jerked and hopped over. "Vic! What happened?"

"Dunno, man, my leg just stopped workin'. Feels damn funny." He pointed at the cop. "Whatever it was toasted him, but good."

Richard examined the small hole in Vic's leg, and the matching one in the cruiser's door panel. "They've got something that'll go straight through a car?"

"Looks like it."

Raven reappeared with an unconscious Kori. "She's in shock. I think she was magically attacked." Placing her hands on either side of her friend's head, Raven called up her healing aura. A blue glow surrounded them briefly and then Kori stirred. "Star! How do you feel?"

For an answer, the Tamaranean rolled over and threw up. Then she dragged a weak hand across her mouth and said, "Uhh … Truly, I have felt … better." Clasping her injured arm, she hissed in a breath. "My arm is … cold."

"Damn. Guys, this is bad. I think someone is using a sort of vampiric magic here. I've got it stopped, but it'll take more than just will power to really cure it."

Nightwing could feel the sweat break out across his brow. That was his wife she was talking about! "What can we do to help?"

"I don't know yet. It seems to be some kind of life-draining charm."

Vic asked, "How's that explain my leg?"

"… Your leg?"

"Yeah, one o' them arrow things came through the car and went through my leg and then into that poor sap there. Now he's dead and my leg won't work."

Raven quickly examined the deceased officer. She shook her head and swore softly.

"What?"

"I think they're using Doombolts. That's really bad."

"What do we do?"

"We don't do anything. I'm going to go kill those bastards."

"… Kill 'em?"

"Anyone that would use Doombolts needs killing." And she wrapped her inky cloak around her and shot into the air toward the gang …

… just in time to take a bolt through her ribs.

"Raven!"

####

No one had bothered to close the gates, giving Jinx a clear path over to where she could see four squad cars parked. As she sped into the Park, one bullet shattered the glass behind her and another found her left rear tire. Fishtailing madly, in a shower of sparks, she skidded to a stop in front of Raven's still form. Leaping out the passenger side, she scooped up the dark Titan and jumped over behind the cruisers. Cyborg gaped at her and said, "Jinx?"

Nightwing, suddenly very confused, said, "Jinx? What the hell …"

"Gods-damned Doombolts. Here." She tossed him something, which he caught, and then did a double take as the object elongated in his grip. She quipped, "Go get 'em."

He was having a little trouble processing things. "What? 'Get 'em?' Who …"

She pointed at the line of attackers. "I have to cure Raven. She'll die if I don't start real soon. You go kill those fuckers!"

"But …" he looked at the sword in his hand. "… a sword against automatic …"

"That's Excalibur, moron! You can't lose! Go! Kill! Wreak havoc, or whatever, but keep 'em busy and let me work!"

"… Excalibur?"

"Scram! Run! Now!" She turned her attention to the wounded girl gasping her life out on the ground and started unfolding her valise.

Another of the pale red arrows came singing through the cruiser, narrowly missing the sole remaining cop and disappearing into the darkness. Cyborg looked at his leader and said, "You're the sword guy. Better go for it."

And suddenly, holding the sword gave him an odd feeling of buoyancy. A grin creeping onto his face, he said, "Yeah. You're right." Then he leaped over the cruiser and ran at the line of murderers … moving faster than he ever had before. A lot faster.

Victor watched as Jinx pulled several small objects from her magic bag. She lit a short, white candle and let the wax drip onto the charred hole in Raven's side. Dark red mist came boiling out. Then she began a chant, pressed a large jewel of some sort into the still-warm wax, and sprinkled a fine powder over the girl. Raven pulled a stuttering gasp and writhed in pain. "Vic, hold her still! This next part is kinda delicate."

He obliged, gripping Raven's arms and holding her steady against the pavement.

####

Jacinto had three bolts left and meant to make the most of them. Elated that he had hit two of the Titans – and thoroughly convinced they would both die – he hoped he could get the other two. Then, wonder of wonders, Nightwing came running toward them, swinging a great big sword and yelling his stupid head off. A feral grin plastered on his scarred features, he took careful aim at the approaching Titan, let go half a breath, and pulled. The bolt, like all the others, flew straight and true. But, just before impact, the Titan whipped the sword around … and knocked the bolt away! It ricocheted instead back toward the line of killers, and through one of them. There were now only six of the gang left.

Jacinto's jaw fell. That couldn't be! Nothing material could stop it! No armor, no wall, nothing! He was still trying to wrap his brain around this impossible outcome when Excalibur parted his head from his neck.

####

Richard Grayson was in what he would later refer to as a berserk euphoria. Excalibur hadn't been in the grip of such a puissant warrior in many a year, and it wanted to make the most of it. The sword in his hand sang a siren song in his mind, drawing him on to battle, promising victory, and delivering it! He mowed his way up the line, dodging or deflecting the steady hail of automatic fire, the heady thrill of success like lightning in his blood, and he neither slowed nor stopped until no foes stood to challenge him. Holding the mighty weapon high, he cried, "For king and country!"

No one noticed. The only ones in the vicinity who were still alive didn't have the spare attention to care. The sole remaining cop climbed into his cruiser and started making frantically urgent calls.

####

Starfire's teeth began chattering. She curled up into a fetal position, but the others were too busy to notice.

The gem that Jinx had affixed to Raven's side was originally a light green. It quickly turned dark, then brown, then gray, and then it crumbled to dust. Raven gave vent to an agonized, bubbling moan as black ichor dripped from the corner of her mouth.

Jinx, cursing steadily under her breath, was feverishly mixing up a poultice. It only took her half a minute, but in that time Raven had gone nearly white, her breathing fast and shallow. Spreading the foul-smelling compound on the stricken girl's wound, she recited a powerful incantation. After narrowly staring at the results for a few seconds, she nodded and then said, "Vic, get Bird Boy back over here. I need that sword."

Cyborg levered himself up on one leg and waved at Nightwing, yelling for him to come over.

In just a few seconds, their leader arrived, leaping easily onto the top of the cruiser and brandishing the sword. "What ho! Be there more of the foe?"

"Foe? The hell? Dick, cut the shit and get down here, Raven's hurt bad and Jinx needs the sword to cure her!"

That statement seemed to finally make it through the knightly haze over Richard Grayson's mind. He shook his head a few times and jumped down. Blinking deliberately, he stuttered, "Wh-what … what just happened?"

Jinx held out her hand. "Sword! Now!"

He slapped it into her palm. She pressed the blade up against Raven's side and resumed her chant. The keen edge began to glow a soft yellow. Raven's color immediately improved.

"Oh, yeah!" said Cyborg. "That's the shit! You're doin' it, Pinky!"

At that point, Richard noticed his wife lying in a curled pile. "Kori!" He ran to her and cradled her head. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"… C-c-c-cold …"

Jinx noticed them and jogged over. "What is it?"

"Kori got clipped with one of those damn things! Raven started healing her, but …"

"Lemme see it."

Kori turned to show Jinx the scratch, which just barely broke the skin for about three centimeters.

Nodding, Jinx said, "Right, got it." She ran back to her bag and rummaged briefly. Zipping back over to the alien girl, she said, "Here, drink this."

Starfire obliged, making a wry face. "Uhhfff. What is that?"

"You really don't want to know. How do you feel?"

She worked her arm around a little and sat up. "Not so cold anymore." Her fingers found the cut, now closed, and she winced. "My arm hurts."

"It will for a while. But you ought to be okay now. Take it easy, though."

A few meters away, Raven groaned. Jinx ran back to her and examined the wound, making a worried noise. "This was a bad hit. It punctured a lung and broke a rib and I think a little piece of the bolt is still in there."

"Meaning what?" Victor asked.

"Meaning … hell. Man, I wish I had one of those Doombolts. Then I could …"

Richard said, "I think there were a few left."

Her head whipping around to pin him with a glare, Jinx said, "What? Serious? Where?"

He pointed to the spot where he'd encountered the first thug. "The guy had a crossbow. I think he had some extra …"

"Why are you still here? Go! Get 'em!"

Being given orders by a thief was starting to grate on Nightwing's nerves. But she was trying to save Raven's life, and that definitely took precedence over his pride. He sprinted over to the spot where the killer fell, quickly found the quiver containing the Doombolts, and hot-footed it back to the group.

Jinx pulled out one of the Doombolts, careful not to touch the point, and held it in her hand while muttering something they couldn't hear. Her mouth drew down in a grim line. "Bastards."

"Can you heal her?"

"I think so." She glanced around, and then pointed. "There's a water fountain." Quickly producing a small copper pot, she handed it to Richard and said, "Fill it up." He ran to comply.

Another short search of the valise brought to light a chunk of green chalk. With this she drew a circle around the injured Titan. Around the outside of that, she quickly sketched several complex runes, then enclosed those with a larger circle. Taking a small, silver knife, she pricked the ball of her left thumb and allowed a few drops of her blood to invest each of the sigils. It soaked in, and the emblems began to glow an eerie blue.

Richard returned with the water. Jinx took the pot and allowed some more of her blood to drip in, mixing with the contents. She balanced the pot on top of Excalibur and began a lengthy incantation. About halfway through, she took the Doombolt and slid it into the pot, which immediately started to bubble madly. Raven's wound took on a reddish glow, and slimy crimson tendrils climbed out of it and into the pot. The others watched in morbid fascination.

Gradually, the evil magic was pulled from the wound. The pot was giving off significant heat by then, and Jinx quickly set it off to the side. Raven drew a stuttering breath and her eyes fluttered open. "Ohhhhhh…"

"Rae?" Jinx got right into her face. "Can you hear me?"

The dark Titan swallowed and grimaced. "Don't … call me … Rae."

The erstwhile thief grinned in vast relief. "Whooo! She'll be okay. We need to get her into your sickbay, though."

Nightwing gave her a look. "What do you mean, 'we'?"

Cyborg dope-slapped him. "Cut her some slack, 'Wing! She's on our side."

He didn't answer, merely nodding, but thought, "Jinx is on Jinx's side. She always was and always will be."

####

*Titans Tower sickbay, the next day*

. . . . . . . Once again she was facing down her father, but it wasn't going well and all her countermeasures were failing except that it wasn't really her father now, it was another demon, but he looked a lot like Trigon, and he had a swarm of minions with him and they grinned at her, anticipating how it would feel when their sharp, sharp teeth tore the flesh from her living bones, and now they were coming and they were firing things at her, throwing things at her that scorched and burned and she twisted, trying to get away from the furious, blinding pain, but nowhere was safe, nowhere could she turn that didn't spell her death, and a scream tore from her throat . . . . . . .

"Raven!"

The dream pulled away in confusing bits and pieces. With a long gasp, she tried to sit up, but an acid-coated icepick in her side convinced her that was a bad idea, and she slumped back to the pillow. "Oh … ow … holy shit, that hurts!"

"Just remember, pain is your friend. That's how you know you aren't dead."

It dawned on the empath then that the voice speaking to her wasn't one she was accustomed to hearing. She opened her eyes and focused on … "Jinx? What the hell are …"

"And a very good afternoon to you! How does your head feel?"

"… Head …"

"Yes, that vaguely round thing on top of your neck. How's it feel?"

"… Like a soccer ball … after the World Cup. But how …"

"Hah! That good, huh?"

"… Good?"

"Hey, you're managing to hold up one end of a conversation, sort of, when yesterday you were about as close to dead as it's possible to be and still recover. By my lights, that's bleedin' splendid."

Raven closed her eyes against the antiseptic whiteness of the sickbay and concentrated on breathing for a few moments. At length she asked, "What happened?"

"You took a Doombolt to the chest. Zeroed a lung."

"… Doombolt … hellfire … I was right. Why am … I not … dead?"

"Because yours truly, as magical practitioners go, is totally made of Win and Awesome, that's why."

"… You … cured me?"

"Don't sound so shocked. It's not as if it was the first time." She chuckled a bit. "Of course, this time I had better equipment."

With a supreme effort, Raven reached out and grabbed Jinx by the wrist. The pink eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't pull away. After close to a minute of this silent tableau, Raven asked, "What did … you do … to my memory?"

A film of sadness came to rest over the thief's watchful gaze. "You figured it out, huh?"

"I know … you came up … with some way to … sequester … my memories. But … I don't … know how. You … you aren't … a telepath."

Her expression fading to basic 'nonplussed', Jinx tenderly took Raven's hand and answered, "That's an … interesting observation. How much have you remembered?"

Biting her lip, Raven averted her eyes.

"Ah." The sadness was back. "That much, huh?"

"… I don't … have the whole story … yet."

"I might be able to help with that. If you want. You … you don't have to."

"Yes, I do!" This came out with enough conviction to startle the other girl. "I have to … be in possession of … all my memories. I'm not … not whole … not really … without them."

Nodding in understanding, Jinx patted the hand. "That makes all kinds of sense. I'll be happy to help you get the memories back, just as soon as you get well."

Cyborg chose that moment to stride into the room. He did a double take and trotted quickly to Raven's side. "Rae! You're awake! How do you feel?"

Jinx chuckled, earning her a glare from the supine girl. Victor glanced between them, puzzled.

The laughing pink eyes turned his way, and she waved off the nascent comment. "Ain't you, Stone, it's just that we just went over that ground. She's in a lot of localized pain, but gratifyingly lucid."

Raven asked, "Since when … are you a … diagnostician?"

"Hey, just because it didn't come as original equipment, don't think you're the only empath around. I can get a pretty good idea of what's going on by holding your hand."

Raven stole a quick peek in that direction, reddened visibly, and slowly withdrew her hand from Jinx's.

Victor busied himself with checking Raven's vital signs, but Jinx could see the grin he couldn't quite hide. She vented a sigh and said, "Think I'll go see a bed about a nap."

"Nap? Pinky, you need a little more than a nap."

Raven frowned at that statement. "What's that mean?"

Victor faced her and said, "She didn't tell you?"

Jinx got a stormy expression on her pretty features. "Stone …"

"Tell me what?"

"She was up all night last night …"

"Stone!" Jinx grimaced, "Can it!"

"… makin' sure you didn't croak. Never left your side. I was startin' to think …"

A haze of pink static surrounded his head. His temporomandibular servo seized up, locking his mouth closed. Eyes wide, he said, through gritted teeth, "Wazh zat really neshesherry?"

She patted his right cheek. "Tisk-tisk. Just can't get decent repair parts anymore, can ya? Why don't you go take care of that little glitch you seem to have."

"Dammit, Zhinx! Zis'll take a good hour!"

"You ought to get started, then, yes?"

He stomped out of the room. Raven cleared her throat. "All night, huh?"

"… Stone has a big mouth."

"Heh. Not … right now."

That pulled a laugh from the pale girl. "Yeah, I guess."

"So … why all the … concern?"

Huffing in exasperation, Jinx turned to her and put her hands on her hips. "Are you really gonna make me say it?"

"I guess … that depends on … how much it needs … to be said."

Her face unreadable, Jinx let her arms drop and slowly walked back to the bed. "I need to know. How much do you remember?"

Not meeting Jinx's eyes, Raven didn't say anything for a few moments. "I remember … when you took me … to your … apartment."

Jinx felt the heat rise in her cheeks. "Anything else?"

"When you said … that thing about … not getting what you want."

The thief's face began to show a bit of interest. "Is that all?"

"Well … all the stuff … around those events. But it feels like there's … more."

"So, nothing about the Treece Museum episode?"

She thought that over a bit and gave her head a very slight shake. "Just what I could recall … from the surface. General impressions. Bits and pieces. Guess the details are … still in a box … somewhere."

"… Box?"

"In Nevermore."

That bought her a blank look. She sighed. "My mindscape. It's an actual place … that I can go to … sometimes … if I need to."

"… Whoa. Waitaminnit. Are you saying you can crawl inside your own head?"

"In a manner of … speaking."

"That's either really cool or really creepy. Do you do it much?"

"Only when I need to." She yawned, winced, and asked, "Is there anything … to eat around here? I'm starving."

"Be right back."

####

Three more days passed before both Jinx and Victor pronounced Raven fit to leave the sickbay. She was arguably the worst patient in the western hemisphere the last two of those days.

Jinx spent most of her time hovering around the quickly-healing Titan, but the others snagged her for a few semi-lengthy sessions of catch-up. She acquainted them with a bit of what she'd been doing the past three years, heavily edited, told them about the sorcerer she'd been stalking, demonstrated the 3DBB for Nightwing and Starfire (who had fully recovered by the second day) and introduced them to Neron. Late the third day, while Raven slept – finally – Victor took Jinx back to her hotel so she could retrieve the rest of her effects and check out. Nightwing assigned her one of the empty rooms and told her in no uncertain terms that he didn't trust her yet. She gave him a thumbs-up and her signature Cheshire-cat grin, and allowed as how she wouldn't trust her either, being a thief and all. He wasn't reassured.

While the two girls were together there in the sickbay, they danced lightly around the topic of memory and what was going to be done, eventually, to correct Raven's perceived lack. That probably contributed a great deal to the empath's foul disposition. When she did speak with Jinx, it was usually to complain, either about her forced inactivity or the pain associated with her injury or the prevalence of low-life gangs in Jump or the bland food they were making her eat, or especially her inability to meditate effectively. Jinx explained the blockage as a lingering effect of the disruptive magic in the Doombolt, and told her it would fade soon, but that didn't placate the Titan very much. She had a LOT of widely varying things weighing on her mind, and not being able to deal with it made her, as Jinx put it, testy. (The term Victor preferred was 'raving bitch', but he wisely kept that to himself.) That was the reason, so she said, that she flatly refused to talk about Neron and his schemes. She maintained that she already had a full mental plate and it wouldn't do anyone any good to pile more on if it was only destined to slide off again.

But toward evening of the third day in sickbay – which happened to be a Saturday – one of Raven's snit-fits resulted in half the electronics going on the fritz, and they all realized that she was well enough to move to her room. She experimented with a little levitation, found it no strain, and floated out of the medical wing, waving off the offered assistance.

Jinx walked with her to her room and stopped at the door. "You're gonna meditate now."

"Duh."

A grin quirked the corner of her mouth as Jinx responded, "Come find me when you have things sorted, 'k?"

"Count on it."

The thief had a sudden irrational urge to kiss Raven, and waffled, standing there shifting her weight from one foot to the other. But the empath picked up on the direction of her thoughts and quickly zipped into her room, locking the door behind her.

Jinx spoke up, "Locks? Really? Who do you think you're dealing with here?"

A few seconds later a black mist oozed out under the door and swiftly covered it, creating a monolithic surface free of openings. Jinx poked a finger at the nearly-rigid surface, blew it a raspberry, and stalked off.

####