Into the Ocean

The next morning, I wander into the main room. Argent practically pounces on me.

"Jinx!" she squeals. "There you are! We were looking for you!" She leads me over to the couch, where Wonder Girl is sitting, watching something on TV. I think it's a soap opera.

I glance around. "Where are the guys? Where's Rose?" I ask.

"Oh, Rose is still asleep." Argent replies casually. "As for the boys, we sent them to get breakfast…" I nod, expecting them to be back in a matter of seconds, before she adds, "In Japan."

My mouth falls open. "What?"

"We wanted to talk you privately! " Argent exclaims. Wonder Girl nods. I guess I should have seen this coming. I can't say I'd be surprised if Argent had tied them up in a closet, just so she could bombard me with questions. I basically fell into bed the second I got home. By now, I bet Argent is desperate to hear about my… Date.

I sit down on the couch. "Alright, then. Start talking." I say, glaring at them slightly. I'm suddenly feeling self-conscious about the fact that I'm still in pajamas.

"So how was it?" Argent asks.

"Did he kiss you?" Wonder Girl chimes in.

Did he kiss me? I want to scream, shout "YES!" at the top of my lungs. I want to announce it to the whole world. He kissed me! He kissed me! Not only that, but he told me that he loves me!

And I told him that I love him.

But something holds me back. I can't tell them that. Not without… Without telling them what happened to See-More. I can't just tell the good things, that I'm in love, that he loves me… I can't just tell them that and not tell them the bad.

That I'm a murderer.

I take a deep breath. "It was… Fine."

"And?" Argent asks.

"And what?" I say, even though I think I know the answer.

"Did he kiss you?" Wonder Girl repeats. Just what I thought she meant.

"Yeah." I say quietly. "He did."

Wonder Girl squeals excitedly. "Yes!"

She and Argent exchange a high five, as Argent adds, "It's a happy ending!"

Happy ending.

Those two words make me cringe. Happy ending. Happy ending.

There's no such thing as a happy ending.

For some reason, Argent's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants comparison comes to my mind. Lena. How did I get stuck being compared to Lena? How did I get stuck being compared to the girl who was just one tragic love story after another? I'm not some Romeo and Juliet just waiting to happen!

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a Juliet if there ever was one. Right down to the fact that someone killed himself over her.

Guess there's one difference. I'm not dead.

I sink a little lower into the couch cushion. Yeah, I'm alive. So what? What's the use if I know that See-More's… An ice sculpture! And it's all my fault.

Maybe last night I tried to place blame. On Madame Rouge or Gizmo or Kid Flash, anyone but me. But I was just… Mad. It's not true. There's no one to blame but me. Everything that happened to the HIVE was my fault. I took their world in my hand and let it fall. I let it crash into a million little pieces, and then just walked away. I left them to cut their hands on the tiny shards of broken glass.

I don't care what anyone says. What I did is just like what Terra did. I don't care if she turned bad and I turned good. I don't care if she died and I'm here with the chance to start over. I don't care if I'm… Everything she could have been if things had gone right.

I'm no better than her.

"So, tell us about it!" Argent exclaims. She starts to bombard me with questions. "Did he like your outfit? How was the food? How long did he kiss you for? Did he tell you he loves you? Did you tell him?" Her eyes gleam on that last one.

I narrow my eyes at her, but answer anyway. "Yes, good, I wasn't timing…" My rapid-fire answers stop. Hesitantly, I add, "Yes, and yes."

"Oh. My. God." Argent says, grinning.

"That's amazing!" Wonder Girl adds. They're practically more excited than I am.

On second thought, they're not. I'm so happy about it, it almost makes me forget… Well, everything else.

The door swings open, and in comes a multi-colored blur. "We're back!" I hear Kid Flash before I see him. As he slows to a walk, he leaves a bag of food on the counter, and then runs up to me.

"Hi!" he says, resting a hand on my shoulder. I am blushing like mad. I know I am. I can hear Wonder Girl and Argent squeak happily, and Hotspot groan. I should really get around to blowing something up in their faces, just to show them I can.

"I got you something," Kid Flash says. He holds out a small porcelain… Cat?

"A cat?" I ask.

"It's one of those feng shui cats. It'll bring you good luck." He chuckles. "Made me think of you. You know, because it's good luck, and it's pink."

"Ha ha. Very funny." I joke, rolling my eyes and pretending to be annoyed.

Kid Flash grins. "The pink ones bring you good luck in love."

A smile spreads on my face. "Okay, that's pathetic." I laugh. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He says, grinning even more.

The door flies open again. There's a massive blur of color, and a shout of "UNCLE WALLY!"

The next thing I know, a gust of wind pushes me a few steps back, and a boy with messy brown hair is clinging to Kid Flash, who looks confused, to say the least.

"No way! Bart?" Wonder Girl exclaims.

"There's two of them?" Hotspot shouts.

I raise an eyebrow. "Wally?"

Kid Flash laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, Wally. Guys, this is my nephew, Bart." He turns to the boy. "Bart, what are you doing here?"

"I'm showin' my friends the tower!" Bart exclaims. He talks so fast it's hard to make out a word. "It's so cool that you're livin' here in Wing!"

"He brought friends?" Hotspots demands, glaring at Bart.

"Yes, he brought friends!" chimes in another voice. I turn to see two girls and a dark haired boy standing by the door. The girl who's talking has short blonde hair. "Real nice of you to introduce us, Scarecrow." Bart doesn't seem to notice, and he dashes over to the couch.

"HeyDonna,howsitgoin'?" He exclaims, making it sound like one word. Donna? He grabs the remote from Wonder Girl and starts flipping channels so fast that's it's dizzying. "Cool, TV!"

Kid Flash shakes his head, and then gestures towards the girl. "This is Bart's friend Cassie," he gestures towards the boy, "this is Tim," he gestures towards the second girl, also a blonde, but with longer hair. "And this is… Anna, right?"

"Not anymore," she answers, "my Mom found out I was using Anna. Completely ruined it. So now it's Cissie."

"What? When did this happen?" Tim asks her. "How did you get Cissie out of Suzanne?"

"Yesterday. And it came from her middle name, Cecelia. I came up with it." Cassie declares proudly.

I walk over to Kid Flash, one eyebrow still higher than the other. "Two things. One, what are they doing here? And two…Wally?"

"One, I have no idea. Two, Wallace Rudolph West." He snickers. "And, yeah, before you ask, I know. My nephew's a dork."

"I wasn't gonna ask that." I tell him, even though I was. Figure I'll humor him.

"Hang on, Bart, go back! Go back!" Cissie exclaims, flailing for the remote. Bart starts to click the channel in the opposite direction. "Okay, stop! Stop!" I have no idea how she keeps up with the channel when it's going that fast.

It's the news. The newscaster stands in front of a pile of rubble, and he looks soaked. The caption on the bottom reads San Diego sinks underwater. Earthquake destroys America's Finest City.

"I'm live in San Diego," the newscaster says, "where an earthquake has just split the city in half. One half has sunken into the Pacific Ocean. Areas that are confirmed to be underwater include the San Diego Zoo, the…"

"Oh my…" Argent comments, leaning on the back of the couch. My communicator goes off as she speaks. I pull it out of my pocket. It's Robin.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Did you hear about what happened in San Diego?" he questions.

"Yup." Kid Flash answers.

"Good," Robin continues. "The Justice League is out there, and they called me a while ago to ask for help. Your team and the Titans East can be there faster than us, so head over as soon as you can. I'll tell Bumblebee to contact you when she gets there."

"Got it." I tell him. The communicator shuts off. I glance down at my pajamas, and then turn to Kid Flash. "I'm gonna go change."


"I don't like it here." Rose declares loudly, for the fourth time. She's seated herself down on a stack of debris, her arms around her knees. Wonder Girl goes to sit next to her.

"I know, Rosie," she says sympathetically. "But, we have to help the people who's home just sunk underwater, okay?" Rose shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't like it here." she repeats.

We've been "here" for hours. Once the Titans East and West showed up, the Justice League stuck us on rescue missions. The Titans West and Aqualad have been in and out of the water and the T-Sub, while Kid Flash, Mas y Menos, and Bart, who begged us to let him and his friends come, are constantly running between here and the nearest hospitals.

"I don't like it here either." I tell her, sitting down. There's too much… Death. Which sounds funny from the girl who used to go around hurting people for fun. But maybe not so much from the girl who just found out she killed someone.

I can see a blur coming from behind me. It stops, and then Kid Flash is next to me, panting for breath. He's been running back and forth so much, I'm surprised it took him this long to get tired. "Whew, I need a break," he says, collapsing next to me. He sits so close we're almost touching.

Slowly, I reach out and take his hand. It almost surprises me when he squeezes my hand a little tighter and moves his foot so it touches mine. I guess we really are… Together. I let my head drift closer to his shoulder, but at the last second I jerk it away. Too close. Last night, we were so close, I could touch him and kiss him and tell him how I felt. Last night everything was perfect. Last night nothing else mattered. Today we're sitting in the wake of a disaster. Everything seems to matter.

Carefully, I pull my hand away. Today, I'm not good enough for him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Robin and Bumblebee gesture at us. "Kid Flash, Jinx!" Robin shouts, "Leader meeting!"

We join them, on another pile of rubble. The remains of another building. Another disaster.

"I've noticed something," Robin begins, as I seat myself down on someone else's tragedy. "A lot of the people we're rescuing from the water aren't breathing above water. The second we get them to dry land they seem to lose their ability to breathe. Some of them have lost consciousness. I figure it's only a matter of time before they suffocate."

"What?" I say, shaking me head lightly. "That doesn't even make sense. Why wouldn't they be breathing?"

"Maybe something in the water is giving them," Kid Flash hesitates before choosing the word, "gills."

"That's impossible," I retort. "People don't just grow gills."

"Doesn't Aqualad have gills?" Kid Flash asks.

"Yeah, but he was born with them, right?" I protest. "That doesn't count."

"I don't know how he got them," Bumblebee admits, "but I don't think we should rule out people growing gills."

"It doesn't matter why they aren't breathing," Robin says. "The important thing is how we solve it."

"I hate to ask this, but how are we going to do that?" I say. Robin looks at me. At least, I think he's looking at me. It's hard to tell through the mask. He sighs, and straightens himself up.

"I don't know."

It's weird seeing Robin like this. He's always had a plan. As a villain, he was the hero I was always a little nervous about. The other Titans were easier to take down, but Robin always had something up his sleeve. I can't think of any reason why things are different right now, but they are. He's got nothing.

I stand up. "Whatever, we'll figure something out." I decide. I think I was trying to be supportive, but it came out a funny combination of condescending and empathetic, tinted with both the fact that I know how to beat Robin in combat and the fact that I think he's upset.

Suddenly, I hear a crash, and something that sounds like screaming. Bumblebee jumps to her feet, her weapons poised for attack in her hands. Robin draws his bo, and I'm so used to it pointing at me that I'm surprised it's not.

Just as Kid Flash runs off to find the noise, the screams change to coughs and gasps. When he comes back, he declares, half smiling, "Gill theory wins."

Robin, Bumblebee and I follow him to a spot a few feet away, where, amidst the rubble, sits a girl who's basically… Choking on air. Through her struggling wheezes she manages to ask, "Please… Have you… Seen my cl-class? I wa-was on… A… Field trip with… my class… Miss Christopher's… Fourth grade class… From the…" she collapses on the ground before she can finish her sentence. Robin rushes to pick her up, suddenly back to normal.

"Jinx, find Kid Flash's nephew or Mas y Menos and get her to a hospital. Bumblebee, get the rest of the Titans and search this area for other. Kid Flash…" Something in his face falls, just for a second, before he finishes, "tell Batman."


Somehow, I got stuck on hospital duty. Robin showed up not too long ago. From the bench in the hall outside the room where the girl we found earlier is, I can hear him arguing with the nurse.

"People aren't breathing! How can you be sure this isn't medical?" he asks. He's using a tone that I'm familiar with, the one he always uses when he interrogates villains. Wow, Robin sure mood swings fast. One minute he's all… Leadery. One minute he's a detective. The next minute he's almost… Sad.

The nurse says something in response, but at that moment, Kid Flash rushes into the room in a burst of color. A he slows to a stop, he scoops me into his arms and kisses me, so deeply and fiercely that for a moment it seems like last night again. For a moment, all I want to do is feel his lips against mine and feel the warmth of his touch. For a moment, it doesn't even matter that See-More is…

The moment passes.

I pull myself away and ask, "What was that for?" Kid Flash smiles. That big, goofy smile makes me want to kiss him again. But I can't, no matter how much I want to.

"I just wanted to kiss you. You looked so beautiful sitting there." I think he might be blushing. The grin turns to a laugh, and now I'm sure he's blushing. "I guess I just couldn't help it."

"That's so sweet…" I murmur. How can someone like me be good enough for someone like him?

"So, why are you here?" I ask, trying desperately to change the subject.

"I need to talk to Robin." Kid Flash replies.

I narrow my eyes at him. "And you didn't use your communicator because?"

His smile widens. "I wanted to see you."

Well, so much for changing the subject.

"Back in a sec!" He dashes into the room, the door swinging back and forth in the sudden gust of wind. "Batman says we should take the rest of the night off." I hear him tell Robin. "He say's he'll get someone on the breathing thing. Aqualad wanted to stay and help since he can breathe underwater, but everyone else is crashing at your tower. You mind?"

"No. You and Jinx go to the tower. I'll stay here and work. It's my case, I found it."

There's a silence before Kid Flash says slowly, "Dude, I know you and your dad have…"

"He isn't my dad."

"Yeah. Look, I know you and Batman have some problems, but don't you think you're overworking yourself?"

Robin's voice rises. "He said he's thinking of hiring a new Robin! All because of a pointless fight we had years ago! You, of all people, should understand that!"

"Not really," Kid Flash replies. I think he's trying not to yell, but his voice is halfway there. "I was flying solo because I wanted to, not because I was mad at Barry or something. And Bart starting his training doesn't have anything to do with me. Once I'm the Flash, he'll be Kid Flash. It's just how my family does it."

"Well it's not how mine does."

"So? Diana's thinking of training a new Wonder Girl and I haven't heard Donna complain! And Bart's friend Cissie? Her mom wants her to work with the Green Arrow! We may not be sidekicks anymore, but someone's still gotta do it! Don't you think you're being a little… Immature?"

"Immature? Who are you to call me immature? You trusted someone who almost turned you in to the Brotherhood of Evil!"

Kid Flash sounds like he's still trying to keep calm when he says, "At least I didn't get her killed."

"That was different!"

"Why, because she was working for Slade? You may have been forced to work for him, but that doesn't change what happened to Terra! It isn't different! Grow up, Dick!"

"You grow up, Wally! I'm not the one with a crush on a villain!"

The almost furious tone in Kid Flash's voice disappears, replaced with something… Cold. "Jinx isn't a villain."

"Well she was one."

There's a banging noise, and I have a sickening feeling that Kid Flash just pinned Robin to the wall. When he speaks again, it's clear he's forgotten any attempts at rationality.

"SO WERE YOU! I DON'T JUDGE YOU ON IT, SO DON'T YOU DARE JUDGE HER!"

I can't take this. I fling the door open. Robin, as I expected, is backed up against the wall. Kid Flash looks about ready to throttle him. The nurse seems to have disappeared, and the girl from earlier is peering out from behind, ironically, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She's pretending to read, but I call tell she's really watching the fight. I know it's not the time to point it out, but she seems to be breathing just fine.

"Kid Flash, stop it!" I exclaim sharply, grabbing his arms and forcing him away from Robin. Robin looks at me, angry but maybe a little relieved. If there's some guilt in there, good. There should be.

"Come on, we're leaving." I tell Kid Flash, taking his hand and pulling him away from the room. Just as we reach the door, I turn to Robin and add, "Nice to know I'm a valued member of your team."

I slam the door shut.

We're at Titans Tower almost as soon as we leave the room. Kid Flash brings us to a halt just outside the door, and I say, "We need to talk."

I've always thought it was weird that Titans Tower is on an island, but right now I'm thankful for it. We sit down on the edge and I stare out at the city. What in the world am I supposed to say now?

Kid Flash breaks the silence. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't bear hearing him say those things about you. It's weird. I've known him for years and we've never fought like that before."

"It's okay. I wouldn't have stood for it either. That's not what we're talking about." I have to come right out and say it. I breathe deeply and continue, "Kid Flash, Robin's right. I was a villain. You're a hero. And I'm… I'm not good enough for you."

He moves to hug me, so fast that I can't push him away, so tight that I can hear his heart beat.

"In that case," he starts, "I'm going right back there and punching Robin in the face. Maybe I'll graffiti my name on every wall in the hospital while I'm at it. And if you still think I'm too good for you, I'll steal all the toilet paper in the state of Rhode Island."

I can't help it. I burst out laughing. "What?"

"Yeah!" He's on a roll now. "I'll… Make it into a sculpture! A sculpture of a giant toilet! Yeah, I'll call it the Leaning Toilet of Paper!" he speaks the title with a mock Italian accent.

I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts. Kid Flash seems to take this as a challenge. "Then I'll switch it with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and all the tourists will looks at it and wonder, "How do you think it stays titled like that without flushing?""

"Okay, okay, I get it!" I exclaim. "Stop now or I'm gonna puke all over you!"

When I finally manage to stop laughing, he whispers, "Seriously, though. Of course you're good enough for me. Why wouldn't you be?"

I break out of the hug.

"It's my fault See-More is dead."

Kid Flash looks at me. That look. It's sort of comforting, now that I know what it means.

"He's frozen, not dead," he tells me. "And even if he was… Jinx, he did it to himself."

I plunge a pebble into the water. It lands with a satisfying splash. "Because of what I did. If I'd stayed…"

He interrupts me. "Then you'd be unhappy."

A moment goes by.

I throw another pebble, watching the ripples in the water as it sinks.

"Yeah," I whisper. "That too."

Something would have gone wrong. Whether I'd stayed or not, something would have gone wrong. He could be dead, I mean frozen, I mean… Even if I'd stayed, I hurt him enough just by falling in love with someone else. Even if he hadn't died, I'd be unhappy. Even if he hadn't died it wouldn't be a…

A happy ending.

There's no such thing as a happy ending.

I stand up. "Come on," I say. "Let's go inside." I can't talk about this anymore.

When we reach the door, Kid Flash stops. He puts a hand on my shoulder, leans forward, and kisses me. Soft and short, but sure.

He runs inside, and I follow him.

I want to swim away but don't know how

Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean

Let the waves up take me down

Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah


Did everyone find the story okay after the title change? I probably should have told you guys about that before hand! Sorry! I just felt like the titles and lyrics I was using for the story and chapters were not working, and I needed to change it up. The wait between chapters was not too long this time, I think. Better than the five month wait last time, right? Still sorry about that! XD If anyone wants to, feel free to challenge me to a deadline for the next chapter. I cannot guarantee I will meet it, but I can try!

Now, about the actual chapter! The title and song lyrics come from Into the Ocean by Blue October. This is the "watermelon" of the "exploding watermelon", and now I shall slowly lay the TNT until the watermelon is ready to go kaboom! XD The watermelon actually blew in my face while I was writing the chapter, but I got rid of a scene so now the watermelon has yet to blow. (I really like this analogy. XD XD XD I also love that face too much. XD) Another thing that just sort of happened without me expecting it too was the fight between Robin and Kid Flash. I had not planned it, but it just sort of came out and it ended up being the climax of the chapter. I really like that about this chapter, because it does not start out having to do with Jinx. It starts out about Batman. The argument starts out kind of cold, but once they start to use each other's real names it gets personal. And I think that makes it kind of interesting. And then Jinx takes the argument and kind of turns it into something about herself with that little side comment to Robin and the things she later says to Kid Flash. The whole thing was unintentional, but it really worked!

Okay, it's disclaimer time. The San Diego sinking underwater thing was not my idea, but a plot that I lifted from the Aquaman comics. I needed some kind of disaster because I want to use some of the other Titans (like Robin), and I just thought that the San Diego plot from Aquaman was a neat idea. The girl they found, by the way, is none other then a ten-year-old version of Lorena Marquez, who is Aquagirl in the comics. Just because I could not write Sub Diego without Lorena. XD I wanted to play with Sub Diego and see how it fits into this world, which is also why I am using Bart, Cass, Ciss and Tim! (For those of you who do not know, Bart, Cassie, Cissie, and Tim are Impulse/Kid Flash II/Flash IV, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, and Robin III, respectively. They were all on a team called Young Justice for a while in the comics.) I am such a big YJ dork, and Ireally love these characters, so I decided I had to see what they would be like in the Teen Titans cartoon's universe. XD They will, in their own strange little way, help blow up the watermelon. Also, Bart recently died in the comics, and I needed to give him some kind of tribute because I love him. Speaking of Bart, I would like to point out that I messed up the Flash family tree. Last chapter, I mentioned Barry as being Wally's uncle, which is impossible, since Bart is Barry's grandson and I have been saying Wally is Bart's uncle, especially since Wally and Bart are actually cousins in the comics. Um, oops? Okay, how do I retcon this? Wow, I write really long author's notes. XD

\Review Responses:

Archerelf: Thanks! Naming plot twists is fun. I can see why the people on Lost do it. XD

Titangirl797: Thank you so much! I am glad they admitted it too. XD

Freakycuteducky: It made you cry? I am so unbeleiveable flattered! I can barely believe my writing made you feel that much. Thank you! I really wish I had thought of having him ditch the bill. That would have been awesome. XD

Lemony anemone: Thanks!