Chapter 10

"Have you any idea what this could mean for us?" Cosmic Boy thundered with a note of worry when Shrinking Violet informed him Invisible Kid had discovered from the history books that when Jinx turned evil, she'd killed the Titans – and whoever was with them. "It's an absolute disaster! If Ruby succeeds, there will be no Legion. We've got to stop her."

Bouncing Boy swiveled around on his chair. "It seems to me that Ruby managed to completely suppress Jinx's good side and encourage the bad side until it became the epitome of evil. To kill her own teammates…"

"…is all part of Ruby's plan", Shrinking Violet finished for him. "Ruby knows what she has to do to get Jinx to crack – and turn completely and irrevocably evil. We have to prevent that at all costs because if we don't, the course of history will change more drastically than I can say – for the worse. If we don't stop it, the future is going to be a very bleak place."

"But what about the 41st century?" asked Star Boy. "Trip said it was completely fine."

"Maybe the changes hadn't reached the 41st century yet", Violet answered. "See, the time-space continuum is like a fabric. When you tear one part of the fabric and keep pulling, it takes a bit of time to tear the whole piece. Likewise, if you change one part of the timeline, it takes a while for the far-reaching effects to spread to every time period. And the further away a certain time is from the time of the change, the longer it takes for the event to change things in that time. I think the changes have probably reached the 41st century by now, but there's no way to tell."

"All right", said Cosmic Boy. "Let's assume the 41st century has also changed now. This makes it all the more important. If Ruby succeeds in turning Jinx evil, there may very well be no heroes left, at least for a thousand years. We need to contact Titans East again and let them know the latest update. Trip…" He nodded to Triplicate Girl, who sped off to the computer which had the coordinating device of the one she'd given Bumblebee. "Vi, keep calculating; Bouncing Boy, guard duty; Star Boy, evening patrol." Cosmic Boy turned to go.

"Where are you going?" asked Bouncing Boy.

"I need to check on something", Cosmic Boy replied.

Kid Flash sped into the room bearing several paper bags, which he began to pass around one by one. "Okay, here we are. Submarine sandwich for Jinx, double chicken cheeseburger for Speedy, pasta salad for Bumblebee, non-seafood Mediterranean rice for Aqualad, corn and chicken nachos and spicy-hot Mexican salsa for the twins, and an extra large traditional hot dog for me." He withdrew said hot dog from his paper bag and took a large bite.

"You were slower than usual today", Speedy commented with a smirk. Kid Flash shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, blame Aqualad. It was his Mediterranean dish that took five minutes to prepare."

Said Atlantean rolled his eyes. "Like you care. You were gone less than fifteen minutes."

Kid Flash grinned and took another huge bite out of his hot dog just as the large plasma communication screen flashed to life.

Bumblebee jumped as she heard the beep that signaled that the incoming call was being received by the time-space continuum communication device. Moving faster than anyone expected, she ducked in front of Jinx and Kid Flash, blocking their view of the screen.

"Sorry guys", she said apologetically. "Secret timeline business."

"Can't we at least meet whoever's calling?" asked Jinx.

Bumblebee considered that. "I suppose it'll be all right", she conceded. "Won't it, Trip?" she asked, confusing Jinx and Kid Flash.

"I guess so", a voice answered cheerfully. It was then that Jinx realized Bumblebee had been addressing the person on the screen. She looked up to see a slender girl in a multi-colored blouse and a matching skirt with purple and orange streaks in her white hair.

"Um, hi?" said Jinx.

Kid Flash dashed to the spot in front of the screen. "Hiya."

"Hi."

"Trip, this is Jinx and Kid Flash; Jinx, Kid Flash, this is Triplicate Girl of the Legion of Superheroes", Bumblebee introduced.

"Nice to meet you in person, Triplicate Girl said. "Have you heard anything from Saturn Girl and the others?" she asked Bumblebee.

"Latest update from Robin says the tracker – a friend of the Guardians – they sent out to trail Ruby brought home someone who said she could help us locate Ruby", Speedy answered. "They're currently building a machine that will enhance – what's her name?" he asked his teammates.

"Iris", Aqualad supplied.

"- Iris' powers to a global coverage", continued Speedy. "Robin said Cyborg estimates to have the thing done within ten days."

"Interesting", Triplicate Girl remarked. "Where did this Iris character come from?"

Aqualad shrugged. "Search me. All I know is none of the Legionnaires trust her implicitly, and I know Robin doesn't either."

"Have they had Saturn Girl do a mind probe on Iris?" Triplicate Girl asked.

"Don't think so", Speedy replied.

"Pienso que esta persona de Iris está hasta no bueno", declared Mas.

"Tenemos ni dados ella una oportunidad", argued Menos. "Para todo usted sabe que ella podría ser bastante confiable."

"Both of you have a valid point", Bumblebee interjected hurriedly before the disagreement escalated into a full-blown argument. The twins didn't often quarrel, but when they did, it was best to keep furniture out of the way. "But Ruby could be anywhere on this planet. We need what help we can get – even a dubious one."

"You can understand them?" Triplicate Girl inquired.

"When you live with them for some time, you pick up some words." Bumblebee shrugged.

"Anyway, I have to talk to you about…" Triplicate Girl jerked her head to the side. "Future stuff."

"Oh." Bumblebee turned to Jinx and Kid Flash. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry", said Jinx as she backed out. She wished she could stay – it was probably her future they were going to talk about anyway – but Bumblebee had explained to her how disastrous it could be if she knew too many details about what was going to happen. Kid Flash followed suit.

When the duo were gone, Triplicate Girl launched into a reluctant retelling of what Invisible Kid had discovered in the history books. She also added an account of Shrinking Violet's hypotheses and theories concerning the events.

"Cuán horrible!" Menos exclaimed in horror.

"Cómo puede ser esto?" Mas added in great consternation.

"So are you saying", Aqualad managed with some difficulty after a period of silence, "that Jinx is going to kill us?"

"Not you", Triplicate Girl clarified. "Titans East survived. But Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all died – and so did whoever was with them."

"It doesn't say in your history books?" Speedy asked.

"No", replied Triplicate Girl, "because the history is being written as we speak. When you mess with the timeline, things get complicated, and if you go too far, you might just destroy history itself, and it'd have to rewrite itself all over again. You can imagine the huge changes that could occur if that happens."

"So…" Aqualad began, trying to make sense of the whole thing. "So, if…if Jinx really does go bad, and if we can't prevent it, she's going to kill Robin and his team?"

"And probably Saturn Girl and the other Legionnaires", Triplicate Girl confirmed solemnly. "Since they're from the 31st century, and that event hasn't occurred in the 21st century yet, it stands to reason that they're the ones who were with Robin and the Titans when it happened. There was nothing about the Guardians, though, so it's a safe bet W.I.T.C.H. wasn't involved in that situation."

"How can we stop this from happening?" asked Bumblebee.

"The key point in all of this is Jinx's conversion to evil", answered Triplicate Girl. "If we can prevent that, we could prevent everything else. But in order to do that, we have to prevent certain key events which lead up to it. Invisible Kid's working his way through the history books and criminal journals and profiles, and Violet's coming up with theory after theory. Hopefully we'll have more soon. Keep an eye on Jinx and let Saturn Girl know about this."

"What about Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy?" Aqualad asked.

"On no account can you tell them about this", Triplicate Girl said firmly. "They're from the past, and this concerns them. They can't know this. Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Timber Wolf, and Phantom Girl are all from the this time, so their knowing won't harm the time stream."

"Oi, I hate dealing with tricky time things", said Speedy, rubbing his forehead in mock exhaustion.

Triplicate Girl smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, most villains from this time period love changing history, because they know a changed timeline is hard to predict and therefore hard to prevent. We've had to counter that by becoming extra knowledgeable about the nature of the time-space continuum. But even all that knowledge didn't prepare us for Ruby. The main thing we know now is that we have to thwart Ruby at all costs, or the future is doomed."

Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin appeared outside Titans Tower directly after school. When they were admitted inside by Starfire, they instantly heard the loud argument, though it was several rooms away, between Cyborg, Lightning Lad, and Iris.

"It is absolutely impossible to fit that tube into that slot!" Cyborg was declaring in exasperation. "The tube is so big and the slot is so small, it'd be easier to fit a metal rod into a nut!"

"The only nut here, Cyborg, is you", said the smooth voice of Iris. "I've had experience fitting large tubes into small openings, and I say it can be done."

"NO IT CAN NOT!" Cyborg bellowed.

"Cy, Iris is right", Lightning Lad tried to explain. He had lately taken to calling Cyborg by the nickname Beast Boy had given him. "There's a certain technique that allows –"

"Whose side are you on?" Cyborg asked sarcastically. "Look!"

By this time Starfire had led the Guardians up onto the roof, where Cyborg, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, and Iris had begun constructing the machine. Cyborg did not notice them, however, as he was attempting to prove to both Iris and Lightning Lad that a particular hollow, metal tube could not fit into a certain opening.

"See?" Cyborg said, pushing the tube against the opening to no avail. "It won't go in. Now do you believe me?"

"Cyborg, you have to twist it in, like this." Lightning Lad demonstrated his point, and the tube slid in with a click.

Cyborg stared at the tube which was now fitted perfectly into the slot. "Traitor", he muttered. But everyone could tell his good humor was returning, and they were proved right when he said a moment later, "Fine. So I was wrong. So help me – I'm from the 21st century, but you…" He rounded on Iris. "How'd you know this stuff?" he asked, half-suspicious and half-admiring.

"I've done a lot of research", Iris said with a wave of her hand. "And I hypothesize a lot."

"Can we get back to building this machine now?" Brainy asked pointedly from his position leaning against the inactivated power generator, where he'd been witnessing the quarrel.

"What! No 'Hi, Irma, it's awesome to see you here, we could really use your help'?" Irma inquired teasingly.

"Well, the 'Hi, Irma' part I can do", said Lightning Lad with a grin.

"Where's everybody else?" asked Cornelia, looking around the roof of the tower.

"Raven and Beast Boy are still looking for the remaining pieces we'll need to make this work, Robin's out on a mission he won't tell anyone except Kell-el about, Kell-el himself is in his guest room, and Saturn Girl, Timber Wolf, and Phantom Girl are all on patrol", Lightning Lad replied.

"Anything we can do to help?" inquired Will.

Cyborg grunted, his head behind a panel in the metal block that would become the body of the machine. "Yeah, I could use Irma, Taranee, and Cornelia."

"Please tell me he didn't just say name", sighed Cornelia.

Cyborg withdrew his head and sent her a half-hearted glare. "Yes I did, princess, and you're going to help me. For starters, use that telekinesis of yours to hold this wire in place while I solder it onto the casing." He pointed to a burnished copper wire.

Cornelia sighed again and did as she was told.

"Why are we here?"

It was twilight, and darkness was beginning to fall, especially just outside Jump City Jail.

Ruby looked highly annoyed at the question. "We are here", she began in a lofty tone of voice, "to recruit more villains to our cause. The Titans have put more people in here than the police. I'm sure some of them hold a grudge. We can use that to bring them in – if the prospect of a world where villains rule does not."

"Having a grudge against the Titans is not the only necessary qualification", Madame Rouge stated. "We must be sure that these villains are trustworthy enough that they will not betray us, and that they have skills we can use."

"Oh, the list I have in mind has taken all of that into account", Ruby said with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Don't forget, Madame Rouge, in the 31st century, I have valuable access to history books which delve deeply into the exploits of villains from the past. I have done my research, and I know who I want to recruit."

"Very well", Rouge conceded. "And who do you intend to break out first?"

"Someone who was not originally on my list", answered Ruby. "I am flexible, Madame Rouge, and when I saw him in action, I altered my plans to fit him in. The mark of a good villain is one who knows when to change – as indeed one must do frequently as circumstances develop."

"I shall make a note of that", Madame Rouge said dryly. "Who is this person?"

"His name", Ruby replied, "is Control Freak."

A/N: And here is our halfway point. This story has 20 chapters in total, so we're halfway through. By the way, since some of you were wondering, Saturn Girl has lost her telepathy and any other powers associated with it. That means she can't read minds, erase memories, create illusions, or anything else which involves her mind and somebody else's. But she is still telekinetic (which, by the way, was one of her powers to begin with - check Wikipedia and the Season 2 episode Man From The Edge of Tomorrow Part 2), and of course, she can still cast force fields. Just thought I'd clear that up. And as usual, thank you so much to my loyal reviewers The Violet Rose, leath, lovegarth-1105, Devilbunny (who was understandably indignant about how Ivy used Blunk), TheEclipse, and DangerZone.

Disclaimer: Concerning this story and the other two related to it, I own nothing except the plot(s), Ruby, any pieces of futuristic technology which are not mentioned in canon, and any other figments of my imagination.