Sorry it took me so long guys! I had to write most of this the old fashioned way in secret because I got grounded from writing. LoL Anyway thank you for all that reviewed, I love you guys! Here it is.
How to Save a Life
"Lay down a list of what is wrong, things you've told him all along. Pray to God he hears you, and I pray to God he hears you."
-The Fray
Sunlight streamed in through the blinds filtering onto the girl's pale face. Jinx blearily opened her eyes and blinked against the morning's brightness. She turned her head, her pink strands spilling over the pillow, and was met with the sight of a well toned back and untidy red hair. She resisted the urge to giggle. Wally was lying on his stomach in shorts from last night, his face smothered in the pillow. It looked like he had stumbled in, took off his shirt, and fell face first into the bed without even bothering to change or get under the covers.
'That does not look comfortable.'
She tried to turn on her other side to check the time but something was restricting her movement. Looking underneath the covers, one lean arm was wrapped securely around her waist. Her eyes traced further down the bed and saw that the arm's owner was still wearing one shoe.
"You're a mess Wally."
He shifted slightly at her whisper but did not open his eyes.
'He must be really tired to sleep this late. He's always up before I am!'
Trying not to disturb the sleeping boy, Jinx wiggled her butt to the right hoping to escape his hold. She had barely moved when Wally's arm tightened in response, imprisoning her once again.
'This could be harder than I thought.'
It was time for some serious acrobatics. Putting one hand underneath her she pushed herself up and flipped her legs over, successfully facing the other direction upon landing. Her body had barely hit the mattress when she was pulled backward against Wally's chest as he also rolled on his side. She blushed, incredulous at the fact that he was doing all this in his sleep.
'Are you kidding me? Now how am I supposed to get out of the bed?'
Her back to his face, she missed the smirk that would have otherwise alerted her that he was actually awake and having a little fun with her. Jinx huffed exasperated and pursued a new strategy.
'I don't care if he ends up on the floor wide awake, I am getting out of this bed!'
She grabbed his arm and pushed, sucking in her stomach so she could slip out. It didn't budge.
'This is starting to get ridiculous! I know super heroes have strong reflexes, but come on!'
Jinx could feel Wally's breath on the back of her neck tickling the sensitive skin there. She was extremely ticklish and started to laugh both at the sensation and the hilarity of the situation. Her quiet giggles grew into violent bouts of laughter, her petite frame squirming in his arms. Flash, unable to keep up the act any longer, also began cracking up and surprised Jinx by flipping her over on top of him. The girl gasped and stared in shock at his smug face.
"You were awake the whole time!? You…you faker!"
She shoved an accusing finger in front of his baby blues. Her trickster had the audacity to look, if even possible, more cavalier than before.
"Mornin' gorgeous. You weren't really thinking about getting up without saying hi to me first were you?"
She frowned at his playful question, tired already from just the act of waking up, no thanks to Wally.
"Yes actually, I was thinking about doing just tha – Ah haha!"
The roguish boy interrupted her by tickling her sides relentlessly.
"Wrong answer Jinxy. I think some punishment is in order don't you?"
She gasped for air in between hysterical fits of laughter, trying to get away from her captor. Despite her protests Wally could tell she wasn't really upset.
"No…ha…more…ha ha…please!"
Kid Flash's smile turned mishevious.
"What's that? More please?"
Jinx flushed hotly for the second time since she had woken up. She wanted retributive justice and she wanted it now. Summoning her dark energy Jinx jabbed Flash in the side. Nothing happened. Confused, she tried again when Wally gave her another opening. This time not only did pink energy not appear at the tips of her fingers but a painful shock raced up her arms and into her chest, sending her body reeling into the mattress. Jinx groaned and opened her eyes cautiously to see Wally hovering over her, his playful attitude gone. He ran his hands lightly up and down her arms and over her heart checking for any damage. She shivered under his ministrations, goose bumps rising on her skin.
"This is why I hate inhibitor bracelets."
Wally picked up her wrist and gently rubbed the flesh underneath the offensive object. Satisfied she wasn't badly injured, he sat back on his heels and evaluated her sternly.
"So quickly we forget, eh Jinx?"
Jinx stretched and made sure the electric feeling was gone. She pouted and looked furiously at his knee. The electrical surge had hurt and Jinx felt a little degraded by the whole thing.
"I don't understand why I have to wear this, I'm not a mutt who needs to wear a shock collar! I hate this stupid bracelet! Jeez, Sorr – y Wally for forgetting my place as untrustworthy criminal!"
Wally shook his head, ignoring her sarcasm. He noticed that in times like these, when she was hurt or angry, the old Jinx seemed to shine through the new one's shell.
"Don't apologize to me. You're the one who got shocked. I guess you'll remember now won't you?"
Jinx glared at his knee even more intensely and blinked back angry tears. Kid Flash leaned forward into her line of vision so she was looking him in the eye instead.
"Jinx…"
He waited until she focused on his pupils, showing that she was listening intently.
"I trust you. Remember that."
The recovered girl nodded and took a deep breath. He was right as usual.
"Come on Wally, it's a new day. Let's get up and face it!"
He smiled at her newfound determination and dragged her with him off the bed.
"Well we better hurry then. We won't be able to face it if it has already passed us by."
"I'm sorry, who wouldn't let who out of the bed?"
Flash tried to catch her as she glided tauntingly into the kitchen but ended up falling flat on his face. It seemed his feet were a little unbalanced.
"Why do I only have one shoe on? Wait. Why am I even wearing a shoe?"
Laughter was the boy's only answer before it was drowned out by the banging of pots and pans and the sound of running water.
Breakfast was pretty much an uneventful affair, the only mishap being that Jinx forgot to turn on the waffle iron forcing them to eat toast and fruit instead. Jinx did not try to use her powers again and Flash did not bring the incident up.
"Are you gonna' be alright here?"
Wally was putting on his shoes by the front door, getting ready to make his trip to the Watchtower. Jinx dried her hands on a dish towel and looked at him over the kitchen counter, wondering why he was even bothering to ask. 'You couldn't do anything about it if I said no and I don't think you would take me with you. On second thought why would I want to go up there anyway? It's not like I would get a warm reception.'
"I'll be fine. Maybe I'll clean…or something."
She was really not looking forward to spending another boring day cooped up alone in Wally's apartment. Jinx was starting to develop an acute case of Claustrophobia from all the time she spent shut indoors. Her boyfriend met her eyes sympathetically from across the room and unlocked the door.
"I'll come by later this afternoon and rescue you. How does dinner out on the town sound? I could always bring you home before my nightly rounds."
"My hero."
"I try."
Kid Flash blew the girl a kiss and, with one last look of sympathy, disappeared in a gust of wind. Jinx walked over to the open doorway peering out into the corridor.
'Freedom…'
The man living across the hall opened his door clad in a bathrobe, and bent over to pick up his newspaper. He gave Jinx an odd look as she stared wistfully at the dirty and chipped stairwell. She snapped at him, finally noticing what she probably looked like just staring off into space.
"What?! Never seen a girl with pink hair before?"
Without waiting for a response, Jinx walked back into the apartment and slammed the door. She turned all the deadbolts into the locked position, her hand wavering uncertainly in front of the safety chain. Then, remembering Robin's angry promise about making her pay for her misdemeanors, she decisively locked it as well. Jinx opened the hall closet and took out the vacuum cleaner. Speaking to it, she unwound the power cord and plugged in the machine.
"It's just you and me today buddy. Care to dance?"
Flicking on the power, the girl proceeded to vacuum, waltzing her way up and down the carpet.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Kid Flash tapped his foot impatiently inside the Watchtower's glass elevator. The view of Earth from outer space would have impressed most people, but not this boy. The awesomeness of it all had worn off somewhere around the 50th trip, and now he just hated not being able to run in the confining tube. With a soft swooshing noise, the lift door opened and Wally walked into the interior of the space station.
'Why is it that every time I'm here I feel like I've walked onto the set of Star Trek?'
"Well it's about darn time Kid. Do all junior heroes keep their superiors waiting, or are you just special?"
He turned, recognizing the voice but not quite able to put a face to it.
"Lois Lane!?"
'That's my name. I would say try not to wear it out, but that just seems so cliché don't you think?"
'What is she doing here? I know her dad is some hot shot in the military but she's a civilian!'
Lois winked at the puzzled boy and adjusted the shoulder strap on her reporter bag. Sensing his confusion, she smiled kindly and offered an explanation.
"I was just working on a story for the five o'clock news and I'd thought I would drop by to see if Clar- I mean Superman, had any info that would help me."
'Duh Wally! She's with Superman. Although, this is awfully far for someone to just "drop by". He probably forgot his lunch at home.'
A picture of the man of steel in his red cape walking out the door, lunch in a paper bag forgotten on the kitchen table, popped into the speedster's mind. Wally bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud.
"I'm sure."
The female reporter narrowed her eyes at him as she got into the elevator and pressed the down button.
'You'll find your uncle in the Archives and Data room talking with Superman. Goodbye Kid Flash."
Wally tried to look innocent as he waved politely.
"And a very good bye to you Ms. Lane! Have a great day!"
The doors hissed closed on and Wally continued on his way.
'Note to self: Watch your mouth when speaking with anyone from, affiliated with, or dating, someone in the League.'
Coming to his destination, he stopped, took a deep breath, and knocked. The door slid open immediately and two men looked up at him upon his entrance.
"Wally! Finally! Get in here and close the door already will ya!"
Wally took a seat in between the two super heroes, the corners of his mouth twitching. Nothing was too fast for his uncle. There was fast, faster, and more fast.
'Come to think of it, I share that philosophy with him too.'
"It's good to see you to Uncle Allen."
His uncle clapped a hand on his shoulder affectionately before addressing the man next to him.
"Okay Clark, so I guess I'll run these tests for you and we can bust Luther later?"
The legendary hero rose, making him even more compelling at his full height. The big "S" symbol seemed to cover his whole chest, practically yelling who he was and what he stood for.
"No hurry Barry, it's not like Luther Corp is going anywhere. Besides, if it isn't this, Lex will just be involved in something else illegal. It's just in his nature."
Flash senior sighed.
"Stupid fool. Knowing that man, it's probably some half baked scheme to take over the world or make himself invincible."
The two men looked at each other for a couple seconds, thinking about who it was they were dealing with.
"Yeah, actually I think I'll get right on that."
"Yeah, good idea."
Superman turned to leave, but not before flashing Wally a warm smile and a nod. Kid Flash returned the gesture and watched in awe as he left the room. His uncle laughed at his expression.
"I believe the word you are looking for is 'star struck'."
Wally shook his head trying to focus.
"Huh? Did you say something Uncle Allen?"
The older man reached up above him to gather some discs, his eyes twinkling.
"No, just thinking aloud. Here, take a look at these."
The Flash put a disc into the database and information scrolled across the screen. Wally began to read.
"These are…crime scene reports?"
His uncle nodded an affirmative.
"Not just random reports. The crime is very specific."
Wally looked at the screen a little closer.
"I don't see a pattern, except that all the crimes occur at scientific research centers and that in all cases something was stolen."
"Not just anything: radioactive material, technology, alloys, and…uranium."
"So?"
The older hero raised an eyebrow that said "Are you joking?"
Wally scratched his head thoughtfully. Horrified he came to a conclusion.
"Oh. Oh my God."
'Someone wants to harness nuclear power!"
"I don't think God has anything to do with it."
Wally quickly scanned the locations of the crime scenes.
"Jump City, Central City, Gotham…they're hitting all the big labs."
His uncle agreed.
"And they're not stopping."
"Where do you think the suspect will strike next?"
"What big city still hasn't been mentioned?"
Flash junior thought for a minute and then looked at his uncle in alarm.
"Metropolis!"
His uncle prompted him, satisfied that he was finally on the right track.
"And what is there of value that the suspect might want to break in to?"
"S.T.A.R. Labs."
Wally's whispered answer echoed in the tiny room.
"Bingo."
The worried boy looked from the screen to his uncle and then back to the screen again.
"So…what are we going to do?"
The Flash shrugged and unhurriedly took a sip of coffee.
"Wait until something happens."
His nephew's jaw dropped open, not believing what he was hearing.
"Wait!? Wait for what? Half the U.S. to go Kaboom? How can you be so calm about this?"
The coffee mug was set back down on the table gently as Wally waited eagerly for things to start making sense.
"First of all Kid, a super hero should always remain calm. Freaking out is a civilian's job. We don't know if these materials are going to be used for a bomb, which by the way, is why the League is giving the assignment to you."
The younger boy tried to accept the explanation.
'Uncle is more experienced than me. If there was a real threat, Superman would have taken care of it. Metropolis is his city after all.'
"If you say so Uncle Allen. Any leads on who the culprit is?"
"Not a clue. Out of all the people questioned and security footage we've seen it's like the thief is a ghost. No one took the stuff, yet the stuff turns up gone."
"No one that isn't supposed to be there anyway."
Flash Senior looked at his nephew approvingly.
"You think it's an inside job?"
"Possibly. I'll look into it."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.
'This is just great. In addition to doing my nightly rounds and taking Jinx out, I have to remember to watch S.T.A.R. Labs. Super. Jinx is gonna' kill me for needing to go out again.'
The older speedster leaned back in his chair and surveyed Wally's stressed expression.
"Putting villains in jail and making sure they stay there is hard work isn't it?"
"Not as hard as keeping them out."
His uncle laughed.
"A bit of a wild one is she?"
Wally pursed his lips.
"More like a free spirit. I mean you wouldn't believe the lack of common sense! Just the other day she went out in the cit-"
He broke off, noticing the "know it all" smirk that was now adorning his uncle's face.
"But seriously Uncle Allen, thanks for believing in me…in us."
"Don't make me regret it."
The Flash turned in his chair, pulling out another disc that said "Confidential" and Wally knew the conversation was over.
"Don't work too hard Uncle."
The boy turned on his heel and made his way back to the lift. It was time to liberate a certain rose eyed beauty from her cage.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Grey fingers drummed in time with the ticking of the clock. It had been four hours, thirty-six minutes, and fourteen seconds since she had stopped cleaning and six hours, forty minutes, and six seconds since Wally had left for work. She knew this because she had been keeping track. Jinx had taken two showers, counted all the tiles in the kitchen wall, guessed every person's name and life story that walked on the city street below, and had taken apart and reassembled the clock in an attempt to make time go faster. Through these endeavors Jinx came to two conclusions. 1) Time passes at its regular intervals of sixty seconds per minute and sixty minutes per hour no matter how much you stare at the clock and 2) She was losing her mind. Jinx looked at the clock for the umpteenth time.
'Wow. Three whole minutes and three seconds since I last checked. That must be a record for me.'
She didn't know why she even bothered to look at the clock. Wally didn't say a specific time he would be home, just that it would be sometime in the late afternoon. Technically afternoon was anytime between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.; although since he paired the word "late" with "afternoon" she was guessing it would be more in the 3:30 to the 5:00 p.m. range.
"I am going stir crazy just waiting here! Argh!"
She flung herself backwards, laying spread eagled on the floor. Bored out of her mind, Jinx tried to make a "snow" angel in the carpet.
"Ouch! Gawd this sucks!"
All the girl succeeded in doing was give herself a rug burn. On a sudden inspiration she raised her head to look at the clock again.
Yes it's 4:29! 4:30 is definitely my lucky time now!"
Perhaps it is noteworthy to mention that at "lucky" times 3:00, 3:30, and 4:00, Kid Flash did not walk through the door. So at 4:31 p.m. when the sound of a key turning in the lock filled the girl's ears, she did not react right away. Her senses were so focused on listening for the soft tread of Wally's shoes coming down the hallway that they missed the more obvious, louder sign. The front door swung open only to be snapped to a stop by the safety chain, Jinx's upside down face meeting the inquiring expression of her boyfriend.
"Uh…Jinx? What are you doing?"
The excited girl scrambled up off the floor, ignoring the stinging rash on her arms and legs. She ran to the door and bounced on the balls of her feet like she was going to meet Santa Clause for the first time.
"Wally! Thank God! I was going nutso in this hell hole waiting for you! What took you so long? Did you know the 27th tile in the kitchen wall is chipped?"
Kid Flash peered at the little bit he could see of her through the latched doorway.
'Oh Lordy…Looks like I need to do some damage control. She really needs to get a hobby."
"That's great hon. Hey, do you mind, like, letting me in my own apartment?"
"Oh! Of course you can come in!"
Jinx unlatched the door, almost stepping on his heels as she followed him closely into the main room.
"I cleaned everything from top to bottom, even got the soap rings off the bathtub-"
Wally dropped his stuff and went into his closet to change, Jinx's voice drifting in through the cracked opening.
"You know, you really shouldn't let the cleaning get away from you like that. I swear there were cobwebs under the coffe table-"
Wally came out of the closet in dress clothes over his uniform and walked over to the dresser to comb his hair. He could see Jinx sitting on their bed chattering away in the mirror's reflection.
"And you know those moth balls in the hall closet? They're gone. I just swept them all out and laid out the jackets so they could freshen up."
Wally put down his comb and paused, a smirk appearing on his face. He turned and walked towards Jinx.
'I don't think you need all those jackets anymore Wally, some of them are so moth eaten that-mmph!"
In one fluid movement Wally covered Jinx's mouth with his own, effectively silencing her with his kiss. She closed her eyes, feeling some of the craziness from the day melt away. After a few seconds, Flash broke away and rested his forehead against hers.
"Woah Wally. What was that for?"
Wally smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
"To shut you up. You have the next few hours to talk to me. I wouldn't want you to run out of…er…exciting things to tell me would I?"
Jinx laughed and hugged him briefly realizing she had been babbling about cleaning. She gathered her purse and shoes before taking Wally's hand, ready to leave.
"Somehow, I'm betting you will have much more interesting things to talk about, your day being filled with crime fighting and all that."
"Ah."
Wally acknowledged her, pulling her out the door.
"But who's day was more productive?"
Jinx looked at him sassily.
"Wally, if I helped the world more by cleaning up the apartment than you did cleaning out the bad guys, you know there's a problem. Maybe you needed me to fill in for you today?"
Kid Flash whacked her lightly on the butt as she skipped happily down the stairs, laughing the whole way down.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
After dinner, Jinx and Kid Flash took the long way home trying to enjoy one another's company as long as possible before the ex-villainess had to be dropped off at home. They ran across the Metropolis rooftops jumping from building to building so that Jinx could burn off any left over energy that had been pent up during the day. With a clang, Wally clung to a fire escape ladder having just leapt a particularly wide gap. From across the way, Jinx jumped and somersaulted over the void, flipping gracefully to stand on top of a lighted marquee sign above him. Wally whistled under his breath noting her excellent form silhouetted by neon light.
'She ain't no pushover, that's for damn sure.'
He hoisted himself up onto the roof and looked out at the brightly lit city spread out before him. There was flashing lights near the outskirts of town and an echo of an alarm on the wind. Police sirens wailed somewhere in the distance. Squinting, Kid Flash tried to make out the source of all the ruckus.
"S….T…A…R…L…A…B…S."
"Oh crap not S.T.A.R. Labs!"
Jinx joined him on the ledge.
"Wally?"
'I have to go check it out! What if it's that ghost thief? But I can't just leave Jinx here that's against the rules. I don't have time to take her home either! Argh!'
Wally growled in frustration and his warring emotions battled inside him.
'If I take her with me she might get hurt. She is capable of defending herself without her powers but…'
Wally looked down into Jinx's questioning eyes.
'So trusting of me…'
He shook his head and grabbed the unsuspecting girl running at high-speed through the town. Before Jinx could yell at Wally for not warning her they were already there and crawling through a broken window on the second floor. After quickly filling her in on the basics of the situation, Kid Flash and Jinx crept up and down the silent hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs hunting for the intruder. Several minutes of searching proved unsuccessful until they spotted a shadowy figure dart across the corridor a few feet in front of them. Wally broke into a run calling out to Jinx behind him.
"Stay here I'll get him!"
Jinx stood there, used to being left in the dust by now, and went to go look in a lab room she was currently standing in front of. It housed scientific equipment and other technology, all of which were very uninteresting to the girl. She was in the middle of examining a microscope when she was suddenly knocked down by an unknown assailant. Trying to regain her footing, Jinx flipped over and swung her leg out in hopes that it would bring her attacker's feet out from underneath him. He jumped, his body seeming to stretch and bend strangely as he landed on a nearby table. Jinx looked at the crouched figure, surprised that she couldn't tell if it was male or female, animal or robot. It was covered head to toe in black cloth with a black mask over the face. Jinx rolled her eyes.
"How predictable. You know the whole mysterious black cloaked super being thing has already been done right?"
The mystery villain launched itself at her, throwing a punch at her face. Jinx spring boarded backward and brought her feet up for a roundhouse kick. She pushed him away and followed his descent by kneeing him in the back.
"Although your effort is admirable you can't beat me. I was taught at the Hive Academy, headed by Slade."
The black figure rose slowly, swaying oddly from side to side.
'Jeez. This guy is like jello. How did he manage to not get caught?'
Jinx was caught off guard when the mystery man cart wheeled over to her and swung a whip like leg into her abdomen. Coughing, she tried to block a series of punches as she was driven across the room.
'Where did this strength come from? All I did was say he was a copy cat and that I was taught by Slade. Who knew he was so touchy?'
Jinx struggled with her attacker as she found her self backing up into a metal support beam in the middle of the room. She could feel the cold steel through the thin material of her shirt, the unyielding rod pressing uncomfortably into her skin. The cornered girl raised her wrist in front of her face to ward off the masked creature's oncoming blow. Instead of knocking the feeble defense away, her adversary grabbed her wrist yanking Jinx forcefully into a solid chest. Locking one arm around her neck the assailant brought a cloth covered face down to her ear and, in a very unexpected move, began to speak. The words were distorted and robotic sounding, like the disguised person was speaking through a voice box. Jinx's pupil's contracted in shock and fear as the unidentified man confided to her in a low voice.
"Thank you for taking all the credit for my boss's illegal activities. It really is most helpful darling. You see, the Justice League will be so preoccupied with you that we won't be suspected at all. Too bad your days of living as a free law abiding citizen are now over."
Jinx's small frame shook, all plans to escape his hold momentarily forgotten.
'No!'
"Wha…what are you talking about? I haven't done anything wrong!"
"No,"
The masked villain agreed his grip cutting off the circulation to her hand.
"But who is going to trust your word, you a harbinger of ill will?"
Before Jinx could process the foreshadowed meaning behind his words, she was flung back into the metal pillar once again, her wrist straining painfully as the rest of her body left its close proximity. Jinx gasped and saw stars as her head slammed into the pole. Her vision became unfocused, watching for a chance to run away but at the same time trying not to black out. The enemy pulled a cord out of his suit and deftly slipped it under the inhibitor bracelet on the dazed girl's wrist, binding her by it to the beam. Jinx looked up at her wrist in alarm and realized that not only did she recognize the alloyed material it was made out of but that she couldn't get free. Writhing and pulling at the odd contraption, Jinx didn't notice when the masked man slipped out the window left her there alone. She stopped for moment panting and studied the cord more carefully. From her angle, she could see an emblem engraved on the band in the shape of a "z" and a funny looking miniature clock. Closer inspection revealed that the little red numbers on the clock were actually moving at a very fast rate, decreasing in value. Jinx stopped breathing and stilled as she figured out what exactly was holding her captive. Wally was just returning his wild goose chase to help Jinx out when he heard an exclamation a hero never wants to hear.
"A time bomb!"
Kid Flash stared at his girlfriend pinned to the metal pillar and rapidly took in the situation.
"Jinx!"
He ran over and tried to free her from the bomb.
"Wally it won't come off I've already tried! I think it's made of indestructible material!"
Wally's nervous system was signaling his brain that it was time to panic. He squashed the feeling knowing there was no time for that.
'Jinx is going to die if I don't do something fast! But what can I do? I shouldn't try to dismantle the bomb, it's too unstable and I don't know how it works. I could try to break the inhibitor bracelet…but then the League would…'
"Screw the League!"
Jinx watched, frightened, as Flash seized her wrist and brought his hand up to cover the bracelet. He paused for a second and met Jinx's eyes making sure she was paying strict attention to what he was about to say.
"Jinx. Listen closely. I don't care if you hate me forever for what I'm going to do, but I would rather live my life an enemy of the Justice League than spend a single second of it without you. I am going to break the bracelet!"
His voice was hurried and gruff and the pink haired girl looked at him in wonder unable to answer, hardly recognizing the desperate man in front of her.
"No you can't!"
Wally's hand stopped a hairs breadth away from the device at her scream.
"Jinx I have to! If it's a choice between us having to deal with the League and you living, I'm gonna' choose you!"
"No Wally! You'll get into trouble!"
Kid Flash, about to slap her for being so annoyingly noble, seized her by the shoulders and kissed her fiercely.
"I don't care. I won't loose you like this."
Wally's hand phased through the bracelet, shorting out the circuitry and wrenching it from the bomb. As she fell forward into Wally's waiting arms, Jinx dimly remembered that he had the power to vibrate his molecules through solid objects. Kid Flash leapt out the window and into the cloudy night sky. Gravity taking over, they fell several stories before Jinx had enough sense of mind to blast them a cushion of dirt, her bracelet's inhibiting abilities now rendered useless. The two teens hit the ground at the same time the bomb above them did, the power of the blast throwing them far away from the lab building. Wally rolled as far away from the flame licked debris as he could, a winded Jinx tucked against his chest. The blaring of the center's warning horn sounded off behind them and the boy raised his soot and blood covered face to the sky, closing his eyes in relief. It began to rain.
"Hey."
"…"
"Hey! Jinx!"
She tilted her head back so that she could see him, water running in rivulets down the front of her throat.
"Hey yourself."
Jinx reached up with an injured wrist to let Wally know she was fine, the mangled inhibitor bracelet sliding down around her forearm. Kid Flash's eyes snapped open, feeling soothing fingers his cut skin, and was met with the sight of a red pulsing light on the troublesome gadget. His eyes widened. Red light… not green.
'No! The tracer has been activated on the bracelet! The Justice League must be on their way! They must think Jinx was trying to get away from them by breaking the inhibitor!"
Wally sat up abruptly, Jinx falling into his lap.
"We have to go. Now."
Jinx, upset that he had broken the comfortable position, rubbed her wrist tenderly.
"What?! Wally are you out of your mind? Can't a girl catch her breath first, I was nearly blown up a couple minutes ago."
"Now!"
Jinx jumped up automatically, her body following his command before she had time to recoil from his bark.
"What is it that has Wally panicked? He doesn't panic when there is a bomb strapped to me but now…'
In her mind, Jinx quickly reviewed anything that might scare him this way. She watched him confused as he picked up a particularly large rock and strode over in her direction. Without a word Wally gently pulled the flashing inhibitor bracelet away from her wrist and hefted the stone like a weapon.
Crack!
The apparatus broke into two pieces before falling to the ground. Flash ground them into the dirt with his heel. Then Jinx understood.
'It's the league! They're coming after us now!'
"But we haven't done anything wrong Wally! It's all just a big misunderstanding. We can just tell them that!"
The hero, probably soon to be ex-hero, picked the girl up not caring if she was ready to go or not.
"Yeah, you tell them that when Batman and Wonder woman come to beat us up and drag us to the Watchtower. The JL is more of hit first ask questions later kind of group. I would rather find the answers to my own questions and avoid the hitting altogether. We still broke the rules."
"But the League is understanding! They will listen to our side of the story before they do anything won't they?"
"Yeah normally, but this isn't a normal situation. There is something going on here that the League isn't aware of – something bigger. Someone is trying to frame you Jinx. It is your word over theirs, and my word doesn't amount to dirt right now."
Jinx looked at the ground feeling as though her dream life was crashing down around her. Tears mixed with rain.
"So where do we go now? We can't hide forever Wally."
He held her tighter against him finally understanding how Jinx felt before he had taken her in.
"No. But we can sure as hell try."
Nothing to gain. Everything to fear.
Done with Chapter four! So does everybody like it so far? Muahaha I'm so evil for almost having Jinx die. Can anyone guess who the masked villain is? –Abunai Ai
