Robin sat on his bed silently until he slowly lowered his head into his hands. He had just lost another teammate. Sure, he might not be going to the other side, but a resignation hurt just the same. He wondered if it was his fault as the leader. Was he doing something wrong? He knew that it was a difference in ideals that drew them apart, but a leader who was good enough could still keep the team together no matter what was happening. He began pouring over every detail of all events that had happened since Control Freak's capture.
I put full effort into finding evidence that supported Control Freak claims of innocence, so there was nothing I could do about changing that. My conversation with Starfire could have gone differently, and if I had said the right things, she wouldn't have broken Control Freak out of jail. If I had been strong enough to take the three prisoners back to the police station myself, they wouldn't have gotten free again. If I had stayed stronger and been there for Cyborg, he wouldn't have left the team. If I-
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Robin? What's going on with you? You're never late to morning meetings" Raven deadpanned through the door.
Late? Robin had woken up early, and had only paused to watch Cyborg's video. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was almost 8:00. He said they would be ready to leave at 7:00 last night. The Titan leader had apparently been sitting on his bed for more than an hour, but didn't even realize that time had gone by.
"Is Cyborg in there with you?" Raven added. "He's not in his room."
Robin cringed. He had to let everyone know about that too, pushed himself off the bed, and slowly walked towards the door. He wish he could just ignore Raven, the team, and the Titans that had left and try again another day, but he knew he had put if off long enough. Robin palmed the door open, and even before the door had slid back into place, he said, "Cyborg resigned."
Raven stared at him. "What do you mean by, resigned?" She asked in a confused tone.
In response, Robin turned around and walked back into his room. Raven paused for a moment, and then followed her leader into his room. He walked over to his laptop, with Cyborg's message still on the screen, and hit play. She watched the video in dead silence. Even as it finished, she still looked quietly at the now darkened screen.
Raven took a moment to gather her thoughts and then looked confidently at her leader. "What's the plan for his replacement?" She asked.
Robin stared back. "There is no plan." He said with a face and voice devoid of all emotion.
"Shut up. You're Robin. You always have a plan. This isn't the time to wallow around in guilt and worry about what could have been different. You're the leader; act like it." The longer she talked, the more confident and strong her words sounded. "So what is the plan?" She finished in an almost angry tone.
Robin's eyes narrowed. She was right. He always did, and this wasn't an excuse. He took a moment, and thought of all other Titans that could be available. In his mind, he made a list of the honorary Titans and went down it.
No. No. Maybe. No. Yes. He stopped at the first name that would most probably come to their aid.
"Kid Flash, should be available for duty. I'll send out a call right after we talk to the rest of the Titans." Robin said back with as much confidence that Raven had just spoken to him with.
She smirked at the result of her firmness with Robin, but it quickly disappeared. "No higher ups? Would the Justice League help us out?" She asked.
Robin looked at her eyes with complete determination. "We don't need them. We'll handle this as Titans."
He turned and walked out the room, ready to take on the problem head on. Raven smiled again. She knew he would react well to a little mention of the Justice League. He would strive to prove all of them wrong, especially Batman. She followed Robin out of the room, and the two went down to the main room. As soon as they came through the doors, Robin was already talking.
"Okay team, I have received news from Cyborg himself, that he has resigned from the team." He paused only for a small moment to let it register in his teammates' minds, but continued quickly. "I already know that we can call in Kid Flash for back-up, and once we finish here I will do exactly that. He will be able to replace Cyborg's place on the team, and we will still go out on patrol as a team. Is that clear everyone?"
The Titans just looked at their leader silently for a moment. "What are you saying, Cyborg resigned? I didn't even know we could do that." Speedy responded in disbelief.
"It is, and he did. We still have a mission to do." Robin said back.
"Alright, you're the boss." Speedy said with a shrug.
Robin looked at each of his teammates in the eyes, saying, "We will get through this. We just need to stay together and stay strong. Now let's go contact Kid Flash."
The other Titans just nodded in agreement. They were affected by the news that their leader had given them, but his determination and strength made them feel like they would be okay. Robin walked away to contact Kid Flash and the rest of the team followed. As they walked to the Titans' computer, Raven thought that it was good to see that Robin had fully recovered and was back to his normal self. She knew his mood had genuinely improved, but she couldn't say the same for herself. Cyborg was their rock, and she couldn't just get over him leaving. She noticed that everyone had stopped walking and looked up to see that Kid Flash was currently being dialed. Kid Flash answered on the fifth ring, and appeared on the giant screen.
"You've reached the fastest kid on earth, how may I be of assistance for you today?" He said with a cocky smile.
"Kid Flash, we need you here in Jump City." Robin said, getting straight to the point.
"Ooh, about that. So I'm a little busy right now and-hey!" the screen blurred as the communicator was taken out of Kid Flash's hand. When it came back into focus, the screen showed an irritated Jinx.
"He's off limits right now." Jinx said curtly.
Kid Flash appeared next to Jinx and said, "Sorry, but her majesty has spoken."
Robin needed his teammate right now, and wasn't going to back down easily. "I'm sorry if we're intruding, but this is an emergency, and we really need you right now."
In response, Jinx held the camera further away and higher and said, "Do you see what's behind us right now?"
Behind the two heroes loomed the Eiffel Tower. Jinx continued on knowing that they didn't need to give a response. "We are preoccupied at the moment. Try again in a few days and he's all yours, but for now, he's mine." She finished with a smile.
"I get that you're on vacation, but we really need him." Robin paused as he looked Kid Flash in the eyes. "We need you, Wally."
Kid Flash knew that there was trouble. Real names weren't used very often, and the look that Robin had on his face was sincere. He knew that there was a problem, and he knew he was needed in Jump City now. He planted a kiss on Jinx's cheek and said, "Be back in a flash."
Jinx turned to him and said, "Oh no you-" but he took off before she could finish her sentence. Kid Flash disappeared off the screen. There was dead silence for a few seconds, as the team looked at Jinx on the screen as she let out a sigh. Then Kid Flash appeared next to the team in Titans' Tower.
Jinx knew he was a hero, and it was his job to do this. She looked at Kid Flash, who was now on the screen of her communicator, waving tentatively, and said, "I'm gonna go eat lots of food and take my time doing so. You better mean 'back in a flash.'"
Kid Flash shot her a wink and said, "You know it, baby."
Jinx closed the communicator, and the screen in Titan's tower went black.
Kid flash looked around the room at his fellow teammates and said, "Yah, so I'm on a time limit, and I think she means she wants me back by the time she finishes eating, so let's get to work people. Robin, hit me with the facts."
Robin didn't miss a beat. "We've had multiple teammates go rogue and are now helping the criminal, Control Freak. They are somewhere in the city right now, and we need your help finding them."
Kid flash was wide-eyed in astonishment. "No kidding. This really is an emergency. Who all is involved?" He asked.
"You'll be looking for Starfire, Beast Boy, and Bumble Bee along with Control Freak." Robin replied.
"Okay, I'll find them. You said just somewhere in the city?" Kid Flash asked his leader.
Robin nodded and the speedster smirked back and said, "Piece of cake." Kid flash disappeared in a flurry of wind, leaving the rest of the Titans standing in the tower.
Across town, the rogue Titans were just exiting Cass's apartment. They were all glad to finally get out and start doing something for a change.
Beast Boy stretched and said way too loudly, "Aw yeah! Time to go find some explosives!"
Bumble Bee smacked him on the back of the head to quiet him and said, "Could you shut it? We're tryin' to keep a low profile here."
Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head saying, "Right. Sorry about about that."
The rest of the group was now outside, Cass remained inside with the rest of the team not wanting to put her in any more danger, and they all gathered around Control Freak.
"In what manner will we best be able to find the explosives, Control Freak?" Starfire asked.
Control Freak had spent the entire time they spent in Cass's apartment figuring out the best way to do this. He brought them all into a huddle and started talking. As they drew in close, a gust of wind blew by them all, but quickly receded.
Control Freak started telling his plan "I know the perfect plan. Phase one, we go to the house or building closest to the art museum, and using the remote-"
"You mean, this remote?" a voice said behind them.
The group of lawbreakers turned around and saw a certain speedster in yellow and red holding Control Freak's remote. They all stood in silence, because they had no idea what he knew about the situation. Kid Flash continued speaking seeing that no one was going to answer.
"Funny thing you guys." He started walking towards them as he spoke. "I was at the tower and a little birdie, you know Robin, told me that you guys are helping Control Freak. I'm newer to this hero thing than you guys are, but I'm pretty sure that that's not what superheroes do. I wanna know your side of the story, before I bring little Robbie back here."
They continued to stare at Kid Flash as he now stood right in front of them. Apparently, he knew everything and was now in Jump City. Starfire spoke up.
"You say that we help Control Freak, and that is not something that a superhero does. Tell me, is helping those in need not something that superheroes do?"
That made Kid Flash think. "Well yah, but he's a bad guy." He said less confident then he was before.
"What is the difference? If there is someone who needs help, we will help." Starfire paused and for in moment realization. "What of Jinx? Was she not someone who needed your help?"
That made Kid Flash stop completely. She was right. He didn't know the reason behind these Titans siding with Control Freak, so how could he judge them for helping a criminal. He had done the same thing before. Albeit, Jinx was rather cute and Control Freak was the exact opposite of cute, but that really didn't have anything to do with the situation.
"Alright, you got me. Why are you guys helping Control Freak?" Kid Flash asked, now having a completely open mind to whatever they had to say.
Beast Boy was the first to answer and did so rather enthusiastically. "Dude! So everyone is after Control Freak, cuz they think he killed someone, well he did, but he did it because the guy had a bomb! Even then he wasn't even tyin' to kill him, he just wanted to get the bomb off the guy, by zapping it into a t.v., but he took the dudes chest with it. Now we are tryin' to clear Control Freak's name by finding those explosives in one of the t.v's in the city!"
Bumble Bee jumped in and added in a much more even voice, "And there's this new mayor, and he instated the death penalty for all costumed bad guys. So if we let Control Freak get caught, they'll kill him. The idiot mayor already killed three other guys."
Kid Flash looked at them with a hand on is chin. "So, you're telling me, that Control Freak's innocent of his crimes, and you're saving his life from someone that you think is bad that is trying to kill him?"
The three teen superheroes nodded back enthusiastically.
Kid Flash looked directly at Control Freak and said, "If that's not the definition of a hero, I don't know what is."
"Sooo… are you still gonna turn us in to Robin." Beast Boy asked timidly.
Kid Flash pondered that thought for a long time. Well, he knew what his answer was immediately, but he wanted the rest of them to sweat it out.
Finally, he looked at the rest of the Titans and said, "Nah."
They all let go of the breaths that they were holding in huge sighs of relief.
"But tomorrow," Kid Flash said, causing them to cease breathing yet again. "I still won't."
Again, they collectively sighed.
"In fact, I think I'll help out." He said with a giant grin. "It would be a low blow to just wash my hands of all this and leave. Not to mention hypocritical if I turned you all in for helping out a criminal."
Starfire flew forward and swept the speedster into a huge hug. As she did so, Bumble Bee leaned over to Beast Boy and whispered, "I guess that's sorta the initiation to be a part of our rag-tag team. You gotta be hugged by Starfire to become one of us."
Beast Boy chuckled, "That's funny, I think it should be official."
After Kid Flash was deposited back on the ground, he told all of his new teammates, "Okay, everyone back at the tower is expecting a report back from me, so I'm gonna head back and buy us some time to go search for those explosives you mentioned. While I'm there, want me to deliver a message to anyone back home?"
Nobody expected such a thing could be done. Now, they had a chance to talk to their friends that were now on the opposite side. They immediately thought what they wanted to say to those back at the tower.
Bumble Bee was the first to speak, "Just give my boys a punch on the arm for me, Kid."
"Can do." Kid Flash answered and turned to the next person. "Beast Boy?"
Beast Boy tapped his chin and then responded, "Say what's up to Cyborg for me, and tell Raven…" but he paused not sure if he wanted to have something said to her. "Actually never mind, don't say anything to her." He finished with a blush.
"If you say so, Beastie Boy." He responded with a shrug.
He turned to the final Titan and looked at her expectantly.
Starfire was staring at the concrete beneath her feet. She had never thought she would be able to send a message to her friends. It had been so hard to walk away from them, but she could put up with it, because she could not see how they were handling things without her.
Starfire replied without taking her eyes off the ground. "I have no message for my friends, thank you, but if something must be said, I say 'hello.'"
"Alright then, princess. I'll do all of that for you guys. Be back in just a sec." Kid Flash said before disappearing in a gust of wind.
Back at the tower, the Titans were all still were gathered in the main room.
"Why are we all waiting in here again?" Aqualad asked Robin.
"Because Kid Flash left without a communicator, so it would be impossible to find him or communicate with him. It would be easier to wait for him to report back here instead. He shouldn't be too much longer." The team leader replied.
"If you say so." Speedy replied while spinning an arrow in his hand. "You sure he's gonna be solid? It seems everyone these days refuses to work with us."
I trust him. He may have just been helping out the Titans recently, but I've known him a while. We were some of the first sidekicks on the scene." Robin said back confidently.
A moment later, Kid Flash rushed back into the room, and everyone jumped at his sudden appearance.
"Hey everyone. I would just like to inform you that I, Kid Flash, fastest kid alive, who is loved and ad-"
"Oh, shut it, and just tell what you found." Raven cut off with little patience left in her.
Kid Flash put his hands up in front of him "Alright, alright, no need to get angry there, Raven. It's hard not to give such an introduction when I'm just so amazing."
Raven rolled her eyes and muttered, "That sounds like such a burden."
Robin, on the other hand, was itching to hear the news. "What's your report."
Kid Flash shrugged. "Nothin' much. Just that I found all of them, and know their plan."
They all stared at the speedster, some of them with mouths hanging open. He had done in less than ten minutes, what they had been trying to accomplish for the past few days.
"Yup, and they all have some messages for you guys." Kid Flash added.
Robin shook himself out of his stupor. "You found them, and they have messages for us?"
Kid Flash nodded. "Bumble Bee told me to do this."
Kid Flash took off quicker than lightning, and went to each Titans East member. He landed a solid punch on one of their arms, and when his fist connected with them, they each gave a little yelp of surprise and pain. He returned to his original spot as the others rubbed their arms. "Sounds like Bumble Bee to me." Speedy said as he winced.
"Starfire gives a collective hello, and Beast Boy says what's up to, to…" He started whipping his head to look around the room. "Where's Cyborg?"
Robin's face fell slightly. "He resigned. That's why we called you in for back up. You left too quickly for us to tell you that."
"Wow. That sucks." Kid Flash looked away from Robin, but as he did his eyes fell on Raven. "Well, Beast Boy also says hey to you too."
Raven arched a brow at the speedster. "Really?" She said with little emotion.
Kid Flash thought back to exactly what the shape shifter told him. Tell Raven…. Actually never mind, don't say anything to her. "Yes, yes he did."
Raven nodded slowly back. She didn't think that he would have wanted to say anything to her, but it was a nice surprise.
Kid Flash turned to the rest of the Titans. "Well that's all I got from them, but as I said earlier, I know their plan, so we need to act now, and I have something in mind. Do you guys keep duct tape here in the tower?"
Robin was confused by the response, but answered any way. "Uh, yah. There should be a lot in the garage. Why?"
"Oh, nothing." Kid Flash said. "And knockout gas?"
Robin was again thrown off by the question. "Red box in the armory. Why do you need to know this? Is it part of your plan to capture them."
"Just curious." Was the speedster's response before taking off at full speed. He appeared less than a second later right next to Raven holding a gas canister. "No reason." He said right as he opened it right in front of the empath's face.
The sudden movement made Raven take a sharp breath in. She instantly felt drowsy and began to fall like a rock to the floor, already losing consciousness.
Time to get to work. Speedy thought to himself before taking off faster than lightning.
He sped towards the twins first and moved them away from each other, because he didn't want them to come chasing after him. He then took off in search of the Titan's garage, all the while he thought to himself,
Okay, garage. That would be at the ground floor, or would it be under ground? Let's see, I'm not seeing it anywhere over here… Ahah! Found it! It was underground! Why do we always have to be so fancy as heroes? Now where is that duct tape? In these shelves? No. By the T-Car? No. Is it in one of these boxes? No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes! Wait, no, that's just masking tape. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. How about these boxes over here? No. No. No. No. No. Yes! Alright got the duct tape. Wow, Robin wasn't kidding about having a lot. I mean, what is this? A 32 pack? How does a person even need this much duct tape. Well, Beast Boy does live here, and duct tape fixes everything. At least I don't have to worry about running out. Now let's get back up there and get to work on our Titans. Alright twins first. Mas, you're gonna go nicely right on this wall over here. You're a small guy so it shouldn't take to much to make you stick to the wall. Let's make sure your arms are nice and secure, the legs too, aaaaand done! Your turn Menos. Let's put you on this wall over here so you're nice and far away from your brother. What's brother in Spanish? No idea. Alright Let me put a few more strips to on to make sure you're not going anywhere, aaaaand now you're done too! Whose next? I don't trust Robin, I'll get him next. Let's move you over to a chair. No utility belt for you young man! I'll set this over on the counter. Alright, now let's get going to make sure you won't be going anywhere. I'll start with the legs, now let me get the the waist, let me make sure those arms are nice and secure, and I think that's enough duct tape, but your also Robin. Let's put a little more on. You also probably have some secret weapons or something incase you lose you're belt too. Let me check. Nothing in the gloves, cape looks clear, now the boots. Ahah! You sly dog, Robin. Don't want you to use that to get out. And is this another one in your other boot? Sneaky, sneaky there, Boy Wonder. I think you're all clear. Wait. That's a lot of hair on your head there. Is there are reason behind having all that, per say, as a way to hide weapons incase you get stuck? No that's ridiculous. You wouldn't do that would you? Well, now I have to check because it's in my mind. Aaaaand nope, nothing. That's good, I thought that would be crossing a line into paranoia. Oh, now your hair is messed up! I'll fix it for you, no thanks necessary. Now you are 100% done my friend. Let's move to Speedy next. Alright my archer friend, let's take those weapons off you and put them over here next to the utility belt. Alright, now you're just a normql guy so it shouldn't take too much, right? I'll play it safe. Should I put you in a chair as well or leave you standing? I kinda want to see if you can stay standing even if you're taped up. Is that cruel? Nah, it'll be funny. Now let's do this! Legs secured? Check. Arms? Check. Making sure you're nice and straight so you won't instantly tip over? Check. I believe you are now finished my friend. And last, but definitely not least, we have you Aqualad. Let's see, as an Atlantean I think that means you have super strength, so extra duct tape for you young man. I'll grab another chair for you. I want Speedy to be confused as to why he's the only one standing. Now let's sit you down and secure the legs, secure the chest, and now the arms. I think you won't be able to get out of that without leverage, but just to make sure, I'll add another roll just incase. Any other powers? You can control water too, so let me leave for the moment and cut off all water in the tower. Let's see, that should be in the basement, right? Away we go! Wow, it's dark in here. Don't want to run into anything at super speed now. Is it over over here? No. Is it over-oh it's right here. Aaaaand I think that should do it. Now let's get back up there to make sure everyone's nice and comfy. Speedy? Check. Mas? Check. Menos? Check. Aqualad? Check. Robin? I do have some duct tape left, might as well make sure he's not going anywhere. Now, check. And Raven? Better make sure she won't hit the ground.
Kid Flash ran up and caught Raven before she was even close to the ground, and set her down on the sofa.
He then stopped, and waited for everyone's reaction.
"No, Raven! Huh?"
"Wait, how did I get here?"
"¿Por qué estoy pegado a la pared?"
"Is this duct tape?"
"Why am I taped to a chair?"
"Why are you guys taped to a chair, but I'm standing?"
"Kid Flash! Why did you do this?"
Kid Flash smiled. They all reacted in a humorous way, and Speedy had noticed the difference. It was a good plan in it's entirety, and it worked perfectly.
"Why, Robin I'm hurt by this accusation! How do you know that I'm the one who did this?" Kid Flash said in very hurt voice.
"I trusted you, Wally!" Robin yelled back.
"Yah, well sorry about that. It's not my fault you guys sided with the crazy mayor." Kid Flash quipped back.
"He's not crazy! He's getting results in this city!" Speedy loudly protested.
Kid Flash walked over to Speedy and said with a chuckle, "Careful there. Don't get too angry, or you might fall over."
Robin yelled again. "You just made a big mistake!"
"Considering I could have just punched you all the face instead of going through all of this effort, I'd say I was very generous. Now you guys sit tight. I'm sure Raven will wake up in the next few hours, and she'll untie you all, but for now, ta-ta." Kid Flash said with a wave, before zooming out of the tower.
Kid Flash sprinted back to where he first found the rogue Titans, outside Cass's apartment. He had no idea which room they were all in, so he stood and looked at it for a moment, scrathing his head. He heard a sharp whistle and looked up to see Bumble Bee give a short wave from one of the windows. He gave a small salute and ran up the side of the building, went though the window, and stood in front of the rest of his teammates.
"Hey everyone, miss me?" He asked with a raise of the eyebrows.
"Dude, you were gone for like ten minutes." Beast Boy said back.
Kid Flash shot him a grin. "I don't know how you can survive being apart from me for so long."
Beast Boy shook his head as he chuckled.
Starfire was dying to know what happened and jumped in front of the speedster. "Tell me of what has transpired in our home." She said excitedly.
"Well, I said 'hi' to everyone for you guys, and then I duct taped everyone to a chair, a wall, or just standing straight to buy us a few hours of searching without the other Titans getting in the way." Kid Flash informed them all.
"You DUCT TAPED them?!" Beast Boy yelled back.
"Uh, yah." Kid Flash replied with a shrug.
Bumble Bee broke into such hard laughter that she almost started crying. Cass found the idea hilarious, but could contain her laughter much better than her friend. Control Freak liked Kid Flash's style and nodded in approval. Beast Boy just stood in a stupor. He had always that it would be awesome to try a stunt like that, but never dreamed someone would have actually done it. Starfire just looked at Kid Flash with a confused look.
"You have attached water fowl to our past teammates to apprehend them?" She asked asked.
Bumble Bee had just started to compose herself, but she was once again sent over the edge, and this time, Cass joined her. "Water Fowl? WATER FOWL?" She gasped between fits of laughter.
"Wait, What? Oh, no, no duct not duck. It's just a really strong type of tape." Kid Flash filled in.
Starfire nodded back. "That does make more sense, but how does Raven not easily escape from this powerful adhesive?"
Kid Flash blushed for a moment and spoke, "Well, I kinda used some of Robin's knock out gas on her instead, because I knew she could escape the tape."
"You used knock out gas on Raven?" Beast Boy asked incredulously, "She's almost thrown me out of the window for accidently spilling my drink on her shoe! She's gonna want to murder you when she wakes up, dude!"
Kid Flash gave a soft laugh. "Oops. Guess I'm in trouble now." He said with raised shoulders. "Don't even worry though, I told her you said 'hi' before I did. Not like like an ending of an action movie where the hero tells the villain that his friend that the villain had killed previously, says 'hi' all menacingly right before he pulls the trigger. It was much more friendly and way before I knocked her out."
"Wait, but I didn't tell you to say 'hi' for me!" Beast Boy said, while wildly gesturing and pacing around the room. "I told you not to say anything to her!" After a momentary pause he asked at a quieter level, "But what did say back?"
Kid Flash chuckled. "She asked if you really did say that, to which I said yes, and then she just kinda went quiet and had a distant look in her eye."
Beast Boy covered his face with his hands and spoke from from behind them, "She probably hates me, that's why." He let his hands drop and continued, "Well what did Cyborg say at least?"
Kid Flash's smile faded quickly. "Actually, when I got there to say 'what's up' for you I didn't see him. When I asked about why he wasn't there, Robin told me that he resigned."
Starfire looked at the speedster in the eyes, and said in a voice of disbelief, "Cyborg has resigned?"
Bumble Bee's laughter quickly died out and she looked up yelling, "Sparky quit?!"
Kid Flash nodded solemnly. "I'm here because they called me in as a replacement. I didn't know till just then."
Control Freak snorted. "Well that backfired for them."
"No kidding." Kid Flash responded while shaking his head.
"I can't believe he quit." Beast Boy said ever so quietly. The last time he saw his best friend, he looked like he wasn't handling things well, but he didn't expect that to happen. He looked up at everyone, needing a good distraction. "Okay, all the Titans are stuck, so let's go and look for the bomb." He said morosely.
Kid Flash nodded. "Sounds like a plan, BB, and I think that I can help out a ton with that, but I've gotta go do something first. You guys head out, and I'll catch up to you."
Bumble Bee, now much more serious, responded, "Okay, see you in a little while. Let's all head out." She motioned, and everyone moved to leave with her. "See you back here later, Cass." She called out as she walked out the door.
"Okay, girl!" Cass yelled back.
Everyone was now back outside, and with a salute, Kid Flash took off. He was across country in a second, and in Europe in three. He went back to France, into Paris, and began searching all eating establishments around the Eifel Tower. He found Jinx at a very nice looking café, halfway through a meal. He quickly sat down and joined her. "Hey there, gorgeous."
Jinx nodded with pleased look on her face. "That was faster than I expected."
Kid Flash ducked his head, and hesitantly responded, "Yah about that, I'm gonna need to stay in jump for a while, and I have no idea how long I need to stay there."
Jinx cocked her eyebrow at the speedster and after rolling her eyes said, "Fine, we can head back there for a while, but we're coming right back, okay? It's not like we need to buy plane tickets."
Kid Flash, really didn't want to say what he had to next. "Actually, I don't want you coming there with me." He said, already cringing for what was to come.
Jinx just stared at him and blinked a few times before responding. "Excuse me?"
Kid Flash let out a huge sigh. "Look, there's been this new mayor that's come to town, and he's killing costumed villains. I don't want to risk bringing you back there while he's running the show. I can't put you in that danger."
Jinx scoffed at him. "Danger? Like I've never been in danger before."
Kid Flash shook his head. "It's different this time. The Titan's are split right now, and I'm helping out one side. If you come, Robin might come after you, and you won't just be put in prison." Kid Flash paused for a moment as he looked into Jinx's eyes. "You'll be killed. Now, I'll drop you off anywhere in world you'd like except Jump city."
Jinx knew that this was different this time. She would never back down, but she had never seen Kid Flash act this way; he was never this serious, ever. "Okay, I've got distant family up in Keystone City. You can take me there, and I'll be safe."
"I won't take you with me it's too- wait. Did you just agree with me?" Kid Flash asked in astonishment. He was ready to go to war with the enchantress on this one, but she had already backed down.
Jinx nodded back. "Yah, you can take me to Keystone City."
Kid flash shrugged and just went with it. "Keystone City it is, then."
After getting more exact directions, they arrived at the city a few seconds later, he set down his girl and asked, "Is this the place?"
Jinx looked at the nice house in the suburbs of the sprawling city. It had been a long time, but she still remembered the place. "Yup, this it it." She turned back to face the one that single-handedly turned her into a superhero. "You be safe, okay?"
Kid Flash pulled her close and with a winning smile said, "No promises."
The two leaned in simultaneously and shared a long lasting kiss. They knew it would be a while before they would see each other again. Finally pulling away in need of oxygen, Kid Flash hit Jinx with one more dazzling smile.
"Be back in a flash." He said as he took off.
After he disappeared Jinx shook her head. "That's so cliché. Why does he always have to say that?"
Back in Jump City, Kid Flash had just found the rest of the group. None of the heroes needed to hide, but Control Freak did, and that slowed them down considerably.
"Hey, how's the work going?" He asked, after suddenly appearing almost out of thin air.
As everyone kept their criticism to themselves, Starfire happily replied, "We are making the progress!"
"That's one way to put it." Bumble Bee said under her breath.
"I believe I'll be able to speed up the process." Kid Flash said with a smile that never seemed to leave his face. He turned to Control Freak and said, "I need you to give me a crash course in how you're looking for the explosives."
Over the next five minutes, Control Freak broke it down completely, and Kid Flash took in every word.
"I think I've got it." He said extended out a hand towards Control Freak. "May I?"
Control Freak handed the remote over to Kid Flash, and he took off running.
"So do we just wait here for him now?" Beast Boy asked. "I think we've gotten pretty good at that now."
"Ain't that the truth." Bumble said in agreement.
"Indeed." Starfire concurred as well.
It wasn't thirty seconds later, when Kid Flash returned. Seeing that he wasn't carrying any explosives, they knew he hadn't found what they were looking for.
"So I only got through 127 t.v's before the remote conked out on me, and seeing that it's not smoking, I don't think it over heated. I thought it was out of batteries, so I went to go replace them, but when I opened this baby up, I saw that it doesn't take good ol' AA's." Kid Flash informed them all.
"Of course it's gotta run out of juice!" Control Freak said loudly in frustration. "That power source is incredibly hard to come by! I don't know if you guys have heard of it before, but it runs on a power source called Xinothium."
[End Chapter]
Uh-oh. What (or should I say who) does that mean? How are the Titans handling their "sticky" situation? Hahaha, I have no friends...
Wow, I gotta say this was the most fun I've had writing a chapter for this story! I hope you liked it, cuz I had a blast writing it! Sorry that I'm now updating every five days now, but things are getting serious as finals are now looming in the near future, and I think I'm gonna have to keep with this five-day update schedule.
As always, thank you for reviewing, favoriting, and following! You guys are so amazing!
I'm keeping this speech short for today. Ax4 (I have decided that is how I will refer to myself) signing off!
I think this one might be the best one yet, but was it Above Average in your book?