Prey Mate

by Lynx Klaw

Raven's second heat is upon her, and she has been forced to her extremity. This time, she allows her Demonic instincts to come to the fore. Raven is on the prowl... Who might catch her eye, and what will she do when that happens? The paths of Fate that open as a result take the entire world by surprise.

11. Chapter 11

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"...love will find its way / Through paths where wolves would fear to prey..."

-Lord Byron, The Giaour

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Prey Mate

by

Lynx Klaw

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Chapter 11

~§~

-=Raven=-

The safe place turned out to be in the heart of the yellow-and-black themed tents set up by the northern outskirts of the already massive campsite. Here, they passed by many milling HAEYP graduates who immediately saw the large gaggle. However, besides a passing glance, none of them made a move to join their group. Rather, they seemed to go about their business while making a secondary barrier around them by proxy of their presence.

After a few moments, the group paused, then slowly expanded somewhat as they began to settle down. Raven sat down with the rest of them, coaxing Jinx along with her. As they sat on the grass, Kamala stared out at nothing in particular... Raven felt her mate's mind in a vast swamp of helpless anger and depression. Even as she was thinking about what she could possibly say to bring the hex-caster out of her mental muck, Kammie spoke.

"Fuck India and the IMRO."

Though Raven could sense the rage behind it, Jinx's tone held little of that vitriol. It was a flat statement, perhaps sounding a little disappointed, as though commenting on poor weather. She hugged Kamala tighter and kissed her temple. Raven still didn't know what to say...

"Fuck Markovia," Selinda huffed.

Baran chimed in, "Fuck Australia."

Angel threw in her opinion on the matter shortly after, "Fuck Blood."

That was supported by several other 'Fuck Blood' echoes.

"Fuck the Brotherhood."

Raven blinked and watched this... strange butterfly effect as a wave of profanity began swirling about them. The demi-Demon shook her head and sighed. Even so, it was doing something despite all sense. Each of them had pains—some very deep, some only superficial grievances—and one after another, those were voiced. It was as though the burdens, spoken aloud and so cursed, eased the overall pain of the group.

"Fuck you."

Raven's head snapped to the speaker, a frowning glare already digging into her previously stoic expression.

"Fuck me, Fuck us; Fuck Tom, Fuck Mary, Fuck Gus; Fuck Darius."

The Titan squinted, her mouth slowly opening even though she wasn't exactly sure she knew what to say to this... The speaker was mostly blocked by the others sitting between them, so Raven could only see the back of a head of straight, green hair about as long as Raven typically kept her own. She gleaned the person was female by the voice. Lastly, her empathic senses told her the woman was, at the very least, slightly unbalanced...

The woman blithely continued, "Fuck the West Coast, And fuck everybody on the East; Eat shit and die—or fuck off, at least! Fuck pre-schoolers, fuck rulers; Kings and Queens and gold jewelers; Fuck wine coolers. Fuck chickens, fuck ducks; everybody in your crew sucks—punk mother-fucks.

"Fuck critics, fuck your review; Even if you like me—fuck you..."

The lines of profanity continued and her wide eyes slowly turned to Kamala, hoping to get some explanation for this... what she was hearing. She found Jinx biting her lip, her eyes wide with pupils broader than typical. Raven saw her mate's neck straining for a second or two longer before the girl lost all composure.

"Ff-fahahahahahahaha!"

The vulgar woman continued heedlessly, "...Fuck the real deal, And fuck all the fakes, Fuck all fifty-two states—ooo! And fuck you!

"If I only could I'd set the world on fire... Say fuck the world!"

It was at this point that a few others actually joined the woman, and a chorus of "fuck the world" and "fuck 'em all" meshing with the voice of this leader of vile verbalization. Suddenly, it dawned on her that everything had rhymed... She had been too dumbstruck to compute it for the first few lines. Raven's frown grew more pronounced, but this time in confusion.

"Is this a... song?" she almost demanded of Jinx, "Is this a real song? What is the point of—"

Kamala half-snickered and nodded, then entered a sudden duet with the green-haired girl, "Don't bother tryin' to analyze these rhymes; In this song I say 'fuck' 93 times!" Raven glowered and huffed. Finally, Jinx took pity on her. "It's a rap song, Raven... by ICP. I used to listen to them during my darker, more rebellious moods while at HAEYP."

"ICP?"

"The Insane Clown Posse."

Raven said nothing; merely pinched the bridge of her nose.

~§~

-=Kamala=-

Kammie's mood sobered and she knew Raven took notice. With a quick kiss, she pulled away from her demi-Demon and muttered, "I have to deal with this really quick."

Jinx meandered around a small group of her siblings before finding the woman who had brought up that song. There was only one person on earth she knew would do something like that—someone that knew how to get Kamala with something like that. Sure, it did knock her out of her funk long enough to get some perspective on her grief... and she wasn't angry over that. However, she was angry—and worried and frustrated and hopeful. She could sense Raven's presence in her head stir just a bit, a feeling of concern seeping in from the wings of her own psyche. Kamala didn't have time to answer it, as she was suddenly upon the green-headed woman.

The hex-caster sat down behind the silly thing and grabbed her by the shoulders. Kamala pulled her back and glared at the upside down face. Those bright, cherry eyes stared at her even as the fine, pine hair haloed out in Jinx's lap. She frowned down at the sheet-white countenance, mustering up as much censure as she could at the woman who—at least physically—appeared to be her age. The truth was different... and complicated.

"Jessie. ...What are you doing here?"

"I saw you on TV! I hopped Mr. Riker's stealth-hovercraft and-"

"You told me it was experimental!" Jinx said in a harsh whisper, trying not to draw too much attention with her argument. She had to keep calm—or sound and appear calm—while dealing with her charge. Shouting at Jessie never got anyone anywhere. There was a method to dealing with the girl, and one of these days, she might just sit down and write a manual.

"It was... a year ago," Jessie explained, but Kamala's glower didn't lessen. The girl's lips pursed in a petulant expression, "And you told me you weren't doing serious relationships. You said Fate said."

There was accusation in Jessie's tone and she pointedly slid her gaze over Jinx's shoulder. It made Kammie glance behind her to confirm her sudden suspicion. Raven stood there, looking both stunned and outraged. Kamala would have to do damage control with that soon, but right now, she had to deal with Jessie... and possibly get the girl home.

"Fate did say, Jessie. However, recently, Fate also said that Raven was the right choice. I didn't call you because you still had classes—still have classes at Dark Way Prep!"

"Nope."

Kamala wanted to wring her neck. Instead, she shoved the girl's head out of her lap. Jessie sat up and turned to face her, then settled herself in easy pose. Jinx was certain her charge was trying to affect an innocent appearance. Unfortunately, with Jessie's appearance, that simply couldn't be done.

"What do you mean, 'nope?'"

"Mr. Riker an' a whole bunch others got called away—here, yeah? Classes got put on a temporary hold," Jessie explicated the situation, "So we got like, a week or two off, right? An' Mr. Riker just... left it in the hangar."

"And did he have it securely locked down?" Jinx eyed her suspiciously.

"...Mmmaybe, but—but you told me that if they really wanted to keep it out of our hands, they wouldn't leave it where the students could get to it."

"Dark Way's hangar is not on campus, Jessie. We both know that, so don't try to pull that with me."

Kamala could read the nervousness in Jessie's eyes and, as usual whenever the green-haired girl got worked up, her pale lips twitched and pulled back into a wide grin. It was compulsive and unmistakable. Kamala huffed a sigh and looked around.

"Did you bring Prank with you?" she asked, half hoping that wasn't the case.

"Teh-heh-heh..."

The nervous chuckle only made her groan and drop her head into her palm.

~§~

-=Raven=-

The woman sent a chill of discomfort down Raven's spine with her mere appearance. It wasn't any one thing about the woman, but the combination—the unmistakable conglomeration that shouted an identity. Raven wanted to yank Kamala away from the woman, but she could sense the bond between the two in Kammie's mind. They bantered like family, but Jinx was being somewhat mothering... That in itself was enough to still her initial reaction and evaluate just what she had in front of her.

The clothes had to have been custom made. The combat boots, cargo pants, and fingerless gloves were all a deep, royal purple with fuchsia stitching. Those alone were simply a style—and hard to replace, probably. The rich, forest green vest with the paisley-pattern embroidery also looked good with the purple and showed understanding and coordination in color theory. Even the red carnation lapel-flower didn't push the image too far.

The green hair wasn't really that much of a shock; Extra-Normals were known for their variety. Raven didn't doubt this was its natural color. It was fine, straight, and a shady, forest green, but glinted in the sunlight with hues between emerald and bright fern. The eyebrows held similar colors, if a shade or two darker. Even so, she might have passed it all of that off if not for the girl's pallor.

It had to have been the face that cinched the deal. Jessie's skin wasn't an ashen, desaturated sort of grey like her own or even paleness the likes of Jinx. No, Jessie's skin brought to mind images of flawless porcelain or new-fallen snow. That pure, colorless complexion surrounding eyes like fresh-spilt blood brought everything into a horrifying sense.

Still, none of it truly struck Raven, 'But then she smiled...'

One of those blazing eyes gave a small tic, "She's staring at me..."

Kamala's eyes went wide, and she slowly turned her head to Raven. Her mate's mind practically fired thoughts into her head like speeding bullets and with the same severity, 'Fuck! Raven, don't stare at her! And whatever you do, for the love of everything, do not say his name!'

Raven managed not to flinch at the suddenness and volume behind Jinx's pleading, but sent a quick, mental affirmation, "I was just noticing your unique style of clothing. I don't think I've ever seen purple combat boots."

"Yep, the whole ensemble is custom work! I made it myself—I think..."

'Let it slide; I'll explain later.'

The stab of thought made Raven squint a little, 'Kamala, I can hear you just fine through the link I created yesterday. You don't have to 'shout' your thoughts at me. Just say the words in your head like you did before.'

'Oh... sorry,' came the much more subdued message. Then Jinx took control of the situation and addressed Jessie, "As soon as I can, I'm going to get Mr. Riker to take you and Prank home."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, Jessie. You know better than to hijack Dark Way property—and you know even better not to take it across international borders! I've told you before not to leave Coast City. And don't ask why again; you know why. Goddamnit, Jessie, the League is here!"

Mention of the League only gave the jokerette half a moment's pause, "I still want to help! That's what family does. Family comes first—always and forever. You said that!"

Jinx froze, and Raven could see the confliction playing ping-pong in her head. She could see Kammie trying to find a way to phrase things so as not to set off her charge. The Titan broke the uncomfortable silence with calm reason that she hoped didn't incite Jessie's ire.

"But if your presence here creates complications or strains the good will of the League, then what help is it truly providing?" Raven gently countered, "There have been times back in Jump when a church or other religious group was involved in one of our missions. Those that we saved—those that I saved... weren't welcoming of my presence. Yes, it's bigoted and yes, it's narrow-minded... but it wasn't worth the effort to stay there and let them throw their scriptures in my face. Before you ask, it does gall me... but the alternative is to make a working relationship with many of the people of Jump almost impossible."

Jessie deflated and rested her chin in her palm, propped by an elbow on her knee. Those garnet eyes flicked between herself and Jinx. Finally, the girl blew out a dissatisfied sigh.

"I need a girlfriend like yours," Jessie muttered.

Raven suddenly had a front-row seat to a drama the likes of which she wasn't sure she wanted any part.

~§~

-=Kamala=-

Kammie frowned at the thought, "What you need is to graduate high school."

"I can do both."

"That's not the point-... ...You've already got something in the works, don't you?"

Jessie blinked with wide, crimson eyes, "What?"

"I taught you that look, Jessie. It doesn't work on me."

"Did I do it right, at least?"

"Misdirection won't help you, either, J," Kamala said warningly, "You might as well spill."

Her dependent threw her hands in the air, "It wouldn't help; you don't even know her!"

"I've seen most of the students in Dark Way and HAEYP, Jessie; I'm like their unofficial mascot. HIVE Academy Valedictorian, remember?"

"She's not a student; she doesn't go to Dark Way," Jessie rebutted with a flare of rebelliousness.

"...Then where the Hell did you meet her? You aren't supposed to go off campus—fuck, Jessie! It's not safe!"

"We haven't even met...! I just—I'm still trying to figure out how to approach her."

Jinx knew this could go all sorts of bad. She knew, eventually, that Jessie would want to spread her wings. She had hoped to keep the girl reined in until she graduated HAEYP. At least then she would have an idea of what she was working with and the resources—not to mention the professional opinions of her instructors—to help her build a life for Jessie. Right now wasn't a good time for the girl to get all entangled in this sort of drama. In many ways, Jessie was far too young for all this.

"You're not stalking her, are you?"

"I didn't leave campus! She's not even in Coast City!"

"Is it someone in Jump?"

"No," Jessie huffed.

"LA? San Francisco? Jessie, just tell me, already."

"No and no! She's not even on that coast!"

Thunderstruck, Kamala shrewdly regarded her charge. Jessie had better not be thinking of the East Coast. Jinx had enough issues uprooting the girl in the first place, and keep it quiet was even harder. Still, she had managed and she was never letting the girl go back over there—period.

"...Is she in Portland?" Jessie's silence was beginning to unnerve her. "...New York? ...Steel?" Jessie shift uncomfortably. "Jessie. Fucking Hell, Gotham? Gotham is—no, Jessie. That is not happening."

"Just because she lives in-"

"Do you have any idea how bad of an idea—no, of course you know; I've told you!" She leaned forward, seizing the green-haired girl's shoulders and shaking her a bit. "You can't do this, Jessie. I don't care about the girl; I don't want you anywhere near that city!"

Jessie pulled back from her, jaw tight and lips pursed stubbornly. The corners of her mouth were twitching as though she wanted to smile, but Kammie knew that was involuntary; emotional stress always garnered a grin or a laugh from Jessie. They stared at each other intensely for several seconds. Neither of them was giving, but Jinx wasn't about to back down from this. No matter what—or who—Jessie had found in Gotham, Kamala just couldn't let her go there. The very thought horrified Kammie.

"I'm not going to give up on this chance just because he is there."

They never spoke his name; they'd long ago agreed upon that much. However, if even he wasn't enough to stop Jessie, Kamala realized she was going to have to make some sort of compromise or deal with her charge. Whenever the girl got something in her head, it was nigh impossible to get her to let it go. Jinx closed her eyes in acute frustration.

'Goddamnit, Jessie...'

"Then... then call her or something. Talk—agree to meet elsewhere—I don't care; just promise me you won't go to Gotham."

Jessie looked to be almost frustrated to tears, "I can't just call her! She doesn't talk all that much... or at all."

Where the Hell had Jessie gotten wind of a mute Gothamite? It made no sense. How had this even crossed Jessie's path? Jinx had been very clear with the Dark Way instructors that they were to filter Jessie's various media while on campus. It was to isolate her from anything to do with that city. Everyone understood her reasoning and worked hard to keep it that way, lest something exactly like this happen. So how in the Hell had this even happened?

"Jessie..."

Unfortunately, Jinx was at a loss for words, at this point. Nothing she could tell Jessie was what the girl wanted to hear and that wouldn't help anything. Repeating herself at this point would do nothing. She felt Raven brushing a soothing feeling against her nerves, but it couldn't assuage her feelings of helplessness.

Short of locking Jessie up, something she utterly refused to contemplate, Kamala couldn't really prevent her charge from going to Gotham. If Jessie were determined enough, she would find a way. Jinx was fairly certain that would be a death warrant. She knew the jokerette got obsessive at times, but she had always hoped to prevent this particular obsession.

"Jinx, I just want-..." Jessie shook her head and slowly clambered to her feet, "Look—listen, I'll try. I know it's a bad idea to go there; I don't want to. I just can't get her out of my head. I have to know if there could be something there. If there's another way, I promise I'll try..."

'But failing that, you'll still go,' Jinx morosely finished the train of thought. Raven's arms wrapped around her and she relaxed into her mate. As Jessie wandered away with about as much spring her step as a rusted slinky, Kamala sighed and called out. "Prank."

~§~

-=Raven=-

A large shadow fell over them and Raven felt hot breath gust against her neck for a moment. As the large form circled them, the demi-Demon slowly turned her head to see the large, furred creature. It was about the size of a grizzly bear, with a similar brown pelt but covered in darker, near-black circles. A scraggly mane stuck up in random directions from its scalp and traveled a tapering path most of the way down its spine. This, Raven surmised, must be Prank.

Prank's beady, brown eyes regarded two of them, idly flicking one of its rounded, perked ears. It groaned at Jinx in a soft, but very deep tone. Kammie smiled somewhat sadly at Prank, receiving a lightly flicked tail in return.

"Follow her for me? She's upset and you know how she can get sometimes. And... I dunno, but it's possible someone might see her out here. The League or one of the other Titans..."

Prank grunted lowly. The enormous hyena's eyes stared hard at them while its head rose imperiously. The legs slid a little bit wider for a stauncher stance. Even Raven understood that clear, aggressive signal.

"No—I don't want any fighting. Okay? And don't let her pick a fight, either. In her current mindset, she just might. We can't afford that right now. Pin her if you have to."

"Hehehe," Prank shifted nervously and giggled.

"I know she won't like it, but it's for the best. And she would never go through you to get to them, so... it's kind of the safe option."

'Can you understand him?'

'Her, actually. It's more interpretation than actual understanding. I watch her posture and the cues she gives. Prank knows how to get points across with me, but Jessie can read her better. As for Prank, she's extremely intelligent—she can understand us just fine. At least, she does when I speak English. Anything else she gets through body language.'

"And remember, if everything goes to Hell, you can trust the Bat."

"Oooo," Prank half-whooped and ambled away, carefully winding her massive form through the various, relaxed HIVE Alumni and ignoring their surprise when her deceptively stealthy movement startled some of them.

"If you need me, just holler," she called after the hyena.

~§~

-=Kamala=-

Jinx sighed as she meandered through the HIVE tents. She had reluctantly left Raven's embrace to speak with Batman and she wouldn't find him among these wasp-themed tents. Even so, she was stalling. There wasn't enough time for her to take in everything and the last thing she wanted right now was more responsibility. She had come to Biratnagar hoping for a simple in-and-out job. Fate had said otherwise, and now she was in India and feeling overwhelmed.

Kamala loved this country. It was beautiful to her. India's geography and nature spoke to her, its culture and religion resonated in her soul. She loved it, but it was very clear that India hated her—maybe for what she was, or maybe for what she represented. Then again, maybe it wasn't either of those things. The more painful idea was that the teachings of wisdom and acceptance fighting ignorance and rejection had been set aside, and she was merely reviled for what they perceived her to be.

'...I am the Manushya-Rakshasi... I am the Jinx. And now you know my name, Bhārat. Hate me, fear me, but you can no longer deny me.'

Everything with the IMRO, the children, and Jessie had piled up on her, leaving Jinx frustrated and wanting to do something. Kammie's energy was for naught, as everything that would happen here was to be over weeks, months, and probably years to come. The hex-caster needed some immediacy, needing to do something that yielded immediate results—even if it was a pointless endeavor—just to get something done.

Kamala emerged from the yellow tents into the brighter, white tents. She made a point to circumvent the medical section for now. She just wasn't ready to go back there, yet. Her sense of probability fairly swiped her upside the head a half-moment before she collided into someone rounding the corner of a tent. The mercenary reeled back and caught herself in a backspring. As she righted herself, Jinx looked up to find none other than the main man himself.

"Oh! Uh, hey, Bats. Was hopin' to run into ya... more figuratively than literally."

"I've been wanting to speak with you, myself. However, I don't have the time for that right now. Green Lantern mentioned a large animal in the area and he's concerned it might be dangerous."

Jinx winced, "Yeah, no. You don't have to worry about that."

"You already know. What's going on?"

"Eh—that's one of those things I need to talk with you about. You can tell the Bearer of the Ring he doesn't need to do anything... Actually, I'd suggest just leaving her alone. She's doing a rather important job for me." She could almost feel the raised eyebrow behind the mask. "Long story, lots of genetic experimentation—I'll explain later."

"You seem on edge."

Kamala's laugh was a tuneless instrument; a desperate, weary fit that took energy she didn't have. Threading her right hand into one of her hair horns in frustration, she shook her head to free herself of the thoughts devouring her. It didn't really work. She started walking toward a clearing she saw in the tents—a patch of grassy space between the white of the relief aid's tents and the yellow of the HIVE Alumni's tents. The Dark Knight moved with her, clearly intending to continue the conversation. That was fine with her.

Kammie's shoulders were anchors that dropped, dragging her forward motion to a stop. She stood listlessly in the long, narrow strip of field between the two tents. Staring at the ground, Jinx admitted, "I don't know what I'm doing anymore. This situation is draining the life out of me. I'm starting to wonder if I was just... too late."

"No," Batman spoke the word with such conviction that it dragged her gaze from the blades of grass to his stalwart frame, "What you're doing here is necessary. They still need you—you strengthen them by your mere presence."

When Jinx said nothing, he continued, "It's hard... and painful to be that symbol of hope. You have to give everything you have... and then give more. You have to endure beyond your endurance. You have to because the alternative is unacceptable."

"They were using the numbers! I can't reach them! Where's the hope in that?" she demanded.

"You reached them, Jinx. They heard you. When I was there, some of them were doing just what you said—making up names."

Kamala stood dumbstruck, almost afraid to believe him and too emotionally exhausted to ride that particular roller coaster again. The truth was in his stance, his proclamation delivered with such certainty that denied any doubt. She chose to believe him, and it swamped her with such relief that the sudden, elating removal of those stones on her chest—one for every prisoner—left her feeling dizzy and weak. Jinx fell more than sat on the ground, sucking in a stunned breath.

"I'm so fucking sick of crying," she growled while dashing a sleeve across her eyes.

"It's a release. We all need it sometime in our lives."

Jinx sucked in a long, steady breath, held it for several moments, and sighed out, "I'd rather be doing something else."

"Such as?"

A few of her siblings were milling about, but she didn't pay them any mind. She wasn't doing well, but far better than she had earlier. It felt like she had done something. Kamala once more sensed the reins of power resting in her hands. All of the senselessness and aimlessness began converging into a point—a path blossomed open in her mind. Once again, Jinx seized her mantle as an Agent of Chaos.

She tilted her head up, regarding the Bat with a solid stare. Kamala felt her pupils contracting. In the next moment, she launched herself from the ground in a whirl, one of her platform boots swiping at the detective's head. He hunched, effortlessly letting her foot fly only an inch over his cowl's pointy ears.

Her instincts pulled at her. Ever obedient, she was in motion the very instant her feet touched the ground. Her body lurched a half step to the right, his gauntlet's sharp fins whistling by her ear. Juking back and to the left, Jinx stepped in on the right and spun to deliver another heel kick to his head. His palm caught her boot by the sole and promptly halted her motion dead in its tracks. Then he pushed up and away; she followed the motion and sailed into a back tuck...

~§~

-=Bruce=-

She rose, feet together and standing erect as perfectly poised as an Olympian gymnast. In that moment, Jinx reminded him of Dick. A wide grin stretched across her face; something that he hadn't seen since Nightwing had sent him that video footage of her chasing Changeling down a hallway. Her fingers flexed and splayed out, then clenched into fists. It was like watching her remember what the will to fight was.

In the next moment, she was dashing at him fast and low. Halfway to him, she boosted herself into the air and sent herself somersaulting forward. Her landing brought Jinx into a series of roundoffs and back handsprings all charging toward him. Batman noticed that she continually spotted him, barely paying attention to spotting her landing—as though she simply knew where she was going to be and just how she was going to get there. He didn't bother moving out of the way, merely prepared himself for her arrival.

The gyroscopic Jinx opened her attack with a load of momentum behind a sudden and forceful tornado kick stolen from Tae Kwon Do and delivered with all the professionalism he would expect from a mercenary of her caliber. He stepped back out of the boot's range and sent a strong, forward kick toward her midsection... except she wasn't there. His eyes tracked her even as his heavy boot was falling to the floor. Jinx had transitioned into a dodging cartwheel the moment her grounding foot touched the grass.

He blocked an elbow coming from behind him and turned with a backfist she was already in the process of ducking. Her reaction seemed ahead of his attack by mere moments, as though she knew what he was about to do and had moved to accommodate his attack as a part of her own. The way she moved around him such that left him in a lurch was unlikely—or, more accurately, improbable. His thoughts then turned back to his second conversation with Dick about Jinx.

"...her HIVE profile says she borders on precognitive, at times..."

He caught a right high kick by the ankle and stepped in only to feel her leg go limp and Jinx's upper body arch away from him. The sleuth leaned back to avoid the other leg flying upward, but didn't compensate for those platform boots she wore; it just barely nicked his chin and flicked his nose, but otherwise completely missed.

Fighting Extra-Normals was never a task to be taken lightly, and the Dark Knight now understood why Nightwing considered this girl so vexing. She had yet to throw a hex, but he didn't think she would. This was all about action—something she probably felt starved of since she saw the last of the prisoners out of the IMRO complex.

Since then, she had kept active only by doing odd, random jobs to help around the medical staff. Jinx wanted to do more—needed to do more, but there just wasn't anything else she could do. That feeling of uselessness could only have grown when the mercenary had heard the children using those numbers...

Jinx knew how to fight and she wanted to fight those kids' problems. Unfortunately, those weren't the kind of problems that she could beat down with fists and feet. But if they were things she could beat up, then she wanted to show that she could. She wanted him to see that she was still capable... or maybe she was only trying to prove it to herself.

The Krav Maga strikes came next—including an incoming dirty shot to the groin that he checked by a boot halting her thigh's forward motion. He kicked forward, sending that leg flying out behind her... and her arms flying up to box his ears. After stopping her forearms on his own, he reached forward and put her in a Muay Thai clinch.

His superior strength brought her head down and she had to know the knee was coming. As his supporting knee buckled, Batman still didn't know exactly what she had done. He had heard her squeak, and then all the resistance against his hands had disappeared. In the following instant, his knee touched his palms and he felt her punch the back of his supporting leg's knee. Somehow, she had dropped and slipped between his legs...

His cape pulled taught and hauled him backward from his knees onto his back. The little pixie had actually yanked his cape. The Dark Knight caught her incoming fist with a steel grip. From her kneeling position above him, she stared down with widened pupils. She seemed to sense the same, sudden shift in flow as he did.

"Uh-oh."

He smirked, "Indeed."

With that, the Caped Crusader sat up abruptly, hauling her arm forward and sending the girl flying over his shoulder. She tumbled forward and abruptly whirled about—by then he was already on his feet. After a moment to brush herself off, the witch returned his grim smirk with a mirroring version of her own.

Her eyes were bright—not just in hue, but in radiance. They weren't in full glow, but he could see her irises were almost incandescent. The mercenary threw herself forward with a volley of mixed Muay Thai and Eskrima. She certainly didn't have his wealth of martial arts under her belt, but she knew how to use what she had. When added to Jinx's incredible luck, he found himself feeling a few solid impacts against his body armor. Of course, her flexibility and evasiveness only took her so far before she had to strike—and he decided not to attack her, but rather counter.

In this way, he landed a strong solid hit to her gut that blew the wind right out of her. To her credit, Jinx didn't crumple—but grabbed his wrist and performed an aerial cartwheel that torqued his arm up. Her incoming uppercut aimed at the joint of his shoulder to dislocate. However, she couldn't meet him for mass and muscle, and he bent at the elbow, pulled his arm—and her with it—toward himself.

Her errant uppercut sailed off to his right as he stepped in sideways. Gripping her just above the elbow with his left hand and hooking his right around that same arm, he dropped to his knees and threw her again in a drop shoulder throw. She landed—but only on her feet, her upper body was still off the ground and she stared at him upside down. His head was close to her and she grinned again.

Her right leg swung up in a vertical split, the boot targeting the back of his head. Batman had to let go of her with one arm to block, but kept hold of her arm by pulling it down behind her, leaving her elbow pointed skyward. With a sudden lurch to his feet, The Dark Knight hauled her back up, leveraging her by the arm and forcing her spine to bow. With her back to him, Batman threw a knee at her right kidney. Jinx played him like a jungle gym. She rolled along his thigh on her back, kicked her feet into the air, and firmly planted her free palm onto his shoulder.

He let go of her other arm and she spun that hand away—a weight settling on his other shoulder had him looking upward. Batman found the mercenary doing a handstand on him. She blushed—or maybe that was blood rushing to her head. He raised a hidden brow at her.

"Really, Jinx?"

"...I may not have thought this one through."

He took a sudden step back and watched her legs sway to compensate for his motion.

"Your skirt's flown up."

"I'm wearing shorts under it."

"Foresight?"

"Luck."

He reached up to grip her at her wrists, only to have her twist away. It didn't matter. She had to dismount and the moment she was in freefall, it was over. She whipped her body into a side flip... and in that moment, he clotheslined her midsection and dumped her on her back.

"Gweh—uff!"

Jinx coughed out a chuckle that, as she recovered her breath, turned into a full-bellied laugh. This time, her instrument was in tune. She rolled to her feet and stood up, brushing her shirt and skirt free of loose grass blades.

~§~

-=Kamala=-

"Wow. You are as advertised!" she grinned, "Now, let's talk some business..."

She glanced around and found they had attracted a bit of an audience from some of her brothers and sisters. However, what drew Jinx's attention was one dark-skinned young man in a white jumpsuit. His green helmet housed a rather large eyeball themed lens; the iris was currently white, but rimmed by a red ring and a large black pupil that kept blinking red.

"Oh, no," Kamala muttered, and then shouted, "Seemore!"

As she marched over to him, she noticed his suddenly wary glances. She wasn't about to let him run away with something like this. Of all the voyeurs to attract the attention of, it just had to be him...

"Uh... He—hey, Jinx! How, uh... how ya doin'?"

"Seemore, you had better delete that video right now!"

"Sssure, yeah. You got it. All gone."

He grinned nervously. She scowled. His grin widened, as did his eye and he glanced to the side. When Jinx began to growl, he held up his hands.

"Okay, okay, I can't! It was a live pod-cast... I was just walking around and 'castin' when I saw you an' the Bat! I figured it would get me some extra viewers; I didn't know you were gonna throw down! The pod-cast uploads to YouTube once it's over."

"Take it down! Now!"

Seemore promptly dug out his smartphone and began flicking through menus, occasionally glancing up at their irate valedictorian. Finally navigating to his uploads page, he paused. Then, after a moment, he blinked and whistled.

"Whoa, 85,000 views? Man, it's only been like, three minutes! That's more viewers than I had when-"

Kamala looked fit to explode.

Suddenly, Batman's voice authoritatively cut in, "Seemore, was it?"

"Uh, yeah—I mean y-yessir."

"We have a press restriction. Assuming you haven't already done irreparable damage, I think it might be in your very best interests if you reconsidered any further recordings. Have I made myself completely clear?"

"As glass."

"He has HD ADHD; I wouldn't expect him to remember this conversation took place five minutes from now. Which reminds me: Seemore—delete... the video... now."

"Oh, right, yeah..." A series of hurried taps ensued, after which Seemore nodded. "Aaand gone."

"Good," Kamala said, and then swiped the smartphone out of his hand, "I'll be keeping this to make sure nothing else winds up plastered all over the internet. Goddamnit, Seemore, you have to be more careful or-..."

The hex-caster stopped, as she noticed his eye was already focusing elsewhere. Kammie sighed and decided it would be a waste of energy to hit him. If she left him to his own devices, he would wander off and go do something else in a few seconds. Shaking her head, Jinx looked over her shoulder at Batman. What she saw had her turning to face him completely.

"You're bleeding... when did that happen?" she stared at him stupidly for a moment, when she finally blinked, a thought entered her mind, 'How did that happen?'

Batman reached up to gingerly trace the cut with two fingers, "You don't remember?"

"What I remember is you beating me—gently. I hope it doesn't ruin your pretty-boy complexion. It looks like you had a shaving accident with a batarang. ...Can you shave with a batarang? I bet you could," she rambled, "Wait, have you?"

"Jinx."

"...Right. We need to talk, but I need to get everything settled in my head... ordered so I don't just start rambling. Those secrets are dangerous and their price just went up, unfortunately—nothing to do with you, just... unforeseen developments. Was why I was looking for you in the first place. Now that I'm thinking clearer, I can see I might have done some damage if I'd just spilled everything so haphazardly. ...Can we meet up a bit later, after I've had time to... sort my head out?"

"You've obviously put some thought into this."

"More than I'd like, but it'll take just a bit more before I feel it's safe to reveal some secrets. After all, 'Three can keep a secret...'"

"'...if two of them are dead.'"

"That's the one," she turned to leave, and then paused to face him again, "And Bats? ...Thanks for the Bat-pep-talk."

~§~

Jinx found herself needing some mindless motion and, unwilling to face the children in the makeshift medical ward just yet, she decided to help indirectly. To that end, she found herself wandering up and down that floating, earthen bridge to the IMRO complex and ferrying files to the medical workers in the ward. It was the long walk—both the exercise and the relative solitude it provided that let her mind wander at random or focus as needed.

People could say what they wanted about the IMRO—she certainly had plenty she could say on the matter—but the Doctor that worked there was in no small way the best part of it. The man was talented; she would never doubt that. He excelled at patching people up and getting them fit. As long as you listened to him, it was almost amazing the recovery you could make.

He knew the Human body and how to work with it. He even knew Metahuman bodies with foreign designs wrapped up in them. The time when she thought the Warden had flayed her flesh to the bone with that whip, the Doctor provided her with a full recovery. Granted, there were scars... but they didn't pull or ache.

The Doctor was a consummate professional. He wasn't your friend or confidant. The man merely did his job—and did it well. She'd heard talk from guards about other guards going missing when they interfered with some of his recovering patients. He had some level of pull in the IMRO, the limits of which she was unlikely ever to discover. The Doc was the only possible rival to the Warden in terms of power within the facility.

Thankfully, he was also a meticulous record-keeper. Every guard and prisoner had a file he saw to personally, it was detailed and up-to-date. Everyone had at least one appointment with him upon their 'induction'—willing or otherwise—into the IMRO. This meant it was possible to find past treatment logs; all they had to do, regrettably, was match the tattoos to the file numbers.

This wasn't difficult work, just tedious and monotonous. There was the same monotony sans tedium in transporting said boxes of files. ...It was exactly was Jinx needed.

'I wonder if the Doctor could have been a Metahuman. He was almost too good at what he did. My scars should be more than just... spots of dead nerves, right? And what was such a medical guru doing in the IMRO, anyway? ...He could've been. Wouldn't that have been a riot? The Warden woulda shit a brick.' Jinx smirked at the very thought. 'Hate to admit it, but I respect the Doctor. ...I wonder if Raven killed 'im.

'Would have been nice to have him here workin' on some of those kids. Warden was whipping them to the day he died. Wounds are fresh, but every one of them treated. Wouldn't expect less o' the Doc.'

Her thoughts turned to other injuries recently incurred. She'd cut the Bat. If she gave credence to the air of superstition around him, she wouldn't have thought that possible. Unfortunately, she was a bit too pragmatic for that.

''His pretty-boy complexion,' I said,' Kamala thought with a shake of her head, 'Man, I can't keep my mouth shut sometimes. ...Where the Hell did I hear that, anyhow?'

It had been within the past few years. It was too familiar a phrase. By the time she had a lead of that thought's origin, she was at the base of the ramp. It was then that the mission in Gotham returned to her. Thankfully, it was entirely aboveboard, so it wasn't likely to attract any of the famous vigilante attention particular to the city. Baran, Mikron, and herself had holed up in one of many hotels, as was typical.

Jinx was keeping an eye on local events via the news. It was always important to note which crazies were on the loose in Gotham. During that time, she had seen Gotham's playboy billionaire himself, Bruce Wayne. Apparently, during some press conference, somebody had pointed out a cut on his chin. Wayne had just touched the cut and made some excuse about shaving. One of the wisecrack journalists asked if he used a sword.

Kammie snorted. Gotham was a breed of its own. Their cynical nature was probably the only thing that kept them afloat. Somehow, their callous method of satire kept the city from devouring itself... but only just. It also helped to have the symbol of hope that was Batman. Kamala couldn't imagine doing the kind of thing she was doing now every night. She would have gone insane...

'So sure that Batman's sane, am I?'

Jinx rolled her eyes. She had a few standing favors to pay out, and it was thankfully all rolled up into a tidy bundle for her. Red-X would probably call her on it if she didn't take the chance to talk to Batman as she promised him she would. Just because the conversation happened almost three years ago didn't mean he was likely to forget. X could be extremely obsessive, so that wasn't going to happen.

'So I gotta worry about X, Jessie, and those League Secrets... That's just perfect. The question is, just what should I tell the Bat? ...Sometimes I wish I had burned some of those Cadmus and League files instead of letting my curiosity get the better of me.'

The thought of wanting to embrace ignorance stung Kamala. Had she not found out about Unkindness, it would still be a danger to Raven. For that alone, she would shoulder this burden. Still, it weighed upon her.

'And how do I bring it all up to Batman? ...Easiest thing to do would probably be to hand over the files to him. That's not going to happen, though. I'm just paranoid enough not to let a resource like that get grouped into his files. What if something happens to him? Then we're all out of luck.' Kamala grumbled her way through her problem as she slid yet another box into one of the plastic storage shelves someone had the foresight to bring. 'Then there's Target: Rich Boy to consider.'

A few years ago, Kamala had been paging through the files Red-X had liberated from Cadmus. Any link between Waller's baby and Jessie would be vital. Still, she didn't expect it to be easy. Everything had a codename, and couldn't be readily identified. Thus, she had to go through each individual file and verify it had nothing to do with Jessie before setting it aside. Still, the things she read in those files alternately shocked and turned her stomach.

'Then I hit Rich Boy.'

It was a veritable shopping list of tools, gadgets, and chemicals. It was a thick folder listing their purpose, components, pros and cons, and proposed methods of nullification. Every gadget had its own page or set of pages; at a glance, her first compulsion was to toss the whole thing to Gizmo to feed him some ideas. It wasn't until the fourth item that she realized what she had in her hands.

At first glance, it was just a utility belt. It was the largest page-set in the entire folder. The more she read about its functions and the plethora of things it held, the more unsettled she became. That was when she began rapidly flipping through pages.

'An inventory of known toys, constantly updated until their liberation. Now the file's some three years out of date, but it's still dangerous to have in the wrong hands. It would figure that Cadmus would want to monitor the Bat's workshop... I mean, it's no Unkindness, but definitely bad for the Dark Knight.'

A trickle of concern not her own touched her mind, and Jinx blinked out of her contemplations.

'I'm alright,' Kamala thought outwardly, 'I just have a lot of considerations.'

Raven sent back, 'Have you spoken to Batman, yet?'

'That's what prompted my considerations. Lot rattling around in here, Poe-bird.'

'Well, take a break and come eat with us.'

Jinx didn't argue, and shortly found herself at the HIVE command center tent. The tent teemed with mercenary and vigilante alike. Gizmo and Mammoth were there, already stuffing their faces. Two tables had been cleared for food, where the Titans, the League, and the HIVE Five now sat. She completed the scene and grabbed a plate. She paused when she saw the platter of food.

"Mutton-burgers," Baran answered before she could even ask, "Not bad."

Kamala just nodded and loaded her plate with some fries and two burgers. She sat down beside Raven, who squeezed her hand for a few moments before going back to her plate. Raven had four burgers and a load of fries; Jinx couldn't be sure if the large load was taken on purpose to disconcert others or if Raven was just that hungry. Normally, her mate didn't hardly eat anything. She'd noticed, however, that Raven also took large meals about once a month. Other than that amusing bit of scenery, Kammie glanced around the table and shook her head at the present company.

"Something off?" Nightwing asked, clearly having been watching her.

"We're eating mutton-burgers in India with Batman. What isn't weird about that?"

After the meal, there was some idle conversation, but Jinx's attention mostly glossed over it. Her mind was still entrenched in other affairs. Raven's presence had a calming effect on her nerves, so it wasn't very hard to collate everything she wanted into neat little topics. It looked like, after that short period of silence, she just needed the feeling of safety being with Raven engendered to make everything flow harmonically in her mind.

"-raiding the medical facility."

Jinx blinked out of her thoughts and cued into the conversation. Everyone around the table shared nigh identical smiles. Batman touched the covered cut on his chin.

"It was one bandage, Flash. It wasn't much of a raid," Batman said, clearly playing along to their joke—which was kind of weird.

"That's what they all say, at first," Hawkwoman said with a dramatic flourish, "It's just a bandage. It's just a wallet. It's just a car. It's just one bank. Next thing we know, you'll be shaving your head and trying to take over Metropolis."

There was a round of laughter, which Jinx found herself joining. She wasn't sure if the others knew how he got it, but she wasn't saying anything. The Caped Crusader took their jeering admirably.

"Looks like he's already had a close shave," Flash followed with a grin.

There was more laughter, but Jinx's grin was slowly melting down. Her blank stare settled upon Batman as her mind flashed back to that press conference. A thought fluttered through the mercenary's head like a moth dragged by an unseen force toward a roaring fire.

Bruce Wayne touched the covered cut on his chin.

'...his pretty-boy complexion...'

Fate felt like it was nudging her, but she couldn't understand what it was telling her. Still, the unsettled feeling continued to grow. What was it? Was she not supposed to talk to Batman? As she tried to discern her proper path—which had apparently just taken a left turn—a small frown wrought itself across her brow.

'Is it about Target: Rich Boy? Should I not be mentioning it? Why wouldn't I do that? ...That doesn't seem right.'

The chaotic energy inside her seemed to agree with her, but somehow resonated along her thoughts with peculiar strength.

'What about Rich Boy?'

Batman touched the covered cut on his chin.

Jinx's mind twitched; her lips pursed in response. Batman was looking at her, now. She couldn't help but stare back. She felt like everything was tipping on its axis and if she could just figure out what it was...

'Rich Boy? Like the sound of that, don't you, Mr. Chaos? Is the Dark Knight rich like dark chocolate? Or maybe he's rich like Bruce Wayne,' Jinx's expression went slack when her mystical sense seemed to snap back to equilibrium, 'Like Bruce Wayne and his pretty-boy complexion... and Gotham and—oh my God...'

What little color Kamala had drained from her face. Her pupils had gone wide and she was vaguely aware of Raven nudging her mind almost forcefully. Finally, the hex-caster managed to drag her eyes away from Batman to regard Raven with a look of shock.

'Kamala. Tell me what's wrong.'

'No. No, no, no. Don't think about it. Don't think about—Don't think. Don't think. Don't think. Don't think!'

~§~

-=Raven=-

Raven's hand grasped Jinx's and squeezed reassuringly, 'It's okay, Kamala. Whatever it is-'

'Batman is Bruce Wayne,' an obviously unbidden thought shouted into Raven's mind, and she could feel Jinx frantically trying to steal the thought back—to make it stop existing.

Raven blinked, but clamped down on her reactions. Her expression was stoic as it had been in days long passed, as she squeezed Kammie's hand comfortingly. Sending out soothing waves throughout Jinx's mind, the demi-Demon almost invasively calmed the girl until she looked almost drugged. The tension left the hex-caster's body, leaving her with dilated pupils.

'I know. It's alright. It'll be alright,' Raven sent, 'I think you should talk with him, now. Do you need me there?'

Once again, she felt startled—amazed by how resilient Kamala was. The question jolted Jinx's mind into focus. Suddenly, the rising panic gave way to an inner strength. As it swelled within her mate's mind, she felt her empathic, calming influence swept up and pushed out by a surging wave of determination.

'No. No, I should do this alone... minimize the damage. There are some things only he should know... some things only you should know... some things nobody should. Sorry, I'm rambling in my head again. Gonna learn to shut my big mouth one of these...'

The whimsical witch's voice faded away near the end, as if pulling away. Raven let her to her privacy. Hopefully, talking with Batman would ease Kammie's nerves. As her mate stood up and left the tent, the mystic Titan turned her eyes to Batman. He met her gaze, and she tilted her head toward the tent—where Jinx was just making her egression.

Batman stood and moved for the door and she sent a parting thought into his mind, 'Give her time; she'll work through it.'

The only sign he heard her was a minuscule hesitation mid-stride that she doubted most would have noticed.

~§~END CHAPTER~§~

Author's Note:

Come one, come all and witness magic! I introduce to you: an occult sorcerer... of the ancient craft... of Nec-ro-mancy! A caster of mind-bending illusions! From the nether void of shadow walkers, a soul from Shangri-La!

Ladies and Gentlemen! Witness the keeper of arcane, wicked voodoo magic! A beguiler of spells, hexes, and curses! With the help of potions, talismans, and ancient relics from the forbidden realms of the Dark Carnival... Ladies and Gentlemen:

A Rae-Jinx Fanfic!

We start this chapter with the conjuring of another OC. Though short of scene, if not of stature, I bring to you a veritable jamboree of jabbering: a Jokerette juggling a jagged genius with jarring gentility! Fueled by music, this unstable amalgam of sweet and sour disposition is food for future thought; plot; and a hot spot fraught with frottage (eventually).

Quite uncanny and slightly unhinged, we see one of Jinx's biggest secrets: her charge. Now, I have a dossier of her—slightly dated, but still complete—upon dA for anyone that cares about character sheets or that kind of thing. She originally started as a role-playing character after I had gone to see Dark Knight.

Despite the movie that spawned her as an idea, she's not part of the Nolan-verse nor is she really built for a grim-dark setting. I used various elements when creating her and fleshing out her character. She's not entered into things lightly, either. I heavily debated whether or not to write her into this story, or to hold off until a later date. You see, Jessie Terr isn't some fanciful whim that was plopped into the set of scenes. You never drop anything related to the Joker lightly in a DC universe.

Jessie has a fully fleshed out part to play in events. ...Just not in this story. I had been extremely circumspect, in that I wanted to keep a lot of things as a surprise in the sequel of "To Catch a Raven." As it came to shift toward a sequel of "Prey Mate" instead, the story of "No Laughing Matter" underwent a sudden shift with this scene (and subsequent scenes). Gone was the shock-and-awe of our Jokerette appearing on the scene.

What, then, do I wow my readers with? With that spoiled, what's holding me back? What questions do I answer? What should I keep under wraps? I took some time to answer those questions. In the end, I found what I felt it was safe to reveal here. After all, it would be an interesting introduction, if nothing else! This is a bit of a detour... brief, yet important—both to "Prey Mate" and to "No Laughing Matter."

In the end, I may have told a bit more than intended. At least, those familiar with DC will probably see some of the things in NLM coming a mile away. Still, it's not just what you say or write, but also how you write it. That's always been my maxim, and I don't doubt that it will be just as much of a ride once I get around to it!

We also get a little glimpse into life at Dark Way Prep, by extension HIVE Academy. This all comes out as part of a mothering side of Jinx that I hadn't really put forward until now. Certainly, she's capable of it. This maternal side is certainly useful, as Jessie responds to it. Jessie has quite a few quirks, and several of them highlighted here along with a side of Jinx that we're going to be seeing more of in the future.

I put some thought into it, and eventually decided that Dark Way Prep is in Coast City. It's got its fair share of problems, but it's got a Lantern protecting it. One would hope there was more stability in that after the city's destruction, but only time will tell. Dark Way Prep saw an opportunity and took it. Despite ushering in a large influx of metas, Dark Way is fairly low-key due to most of their students being minors. They want safety and anonymity, both of which a city filled nowhere near capacity after its reconstruction would do well to support.

We'll be revisiting Jinx's concerns later on in another chapter, but suffice to say that they are very valid concerns. One that she needs assistance to settle them. To that end, we introduce Jessie's partner: Prank. The extent of Prank's augmentations go by largely unmentioned, but I'd put her as about as intelligent as Krypto... maybe slightly more so. She can't really speak, but she vocalizes and pantomimes extremely well.

I think Prank is a weak-point in my story thus far, what with shifting NLM over to being a sequel to "Prey Mate." I need to figure out more about what she's doing and how she helps (or hinders) things. Still, I'll have it worked out eventually. Remember in last chapter's author's notes, what I said about sometimes not fixing your problems?

Believe me, I have room for a lot of this, right now. Heh.

Back into the mainstream events! Jinx and Batman have a talk. This one is much-needed, as Jinx—even with some mild levity—now has a whole bunch on her mind. With the IMRO, identity issues, the Justice League, and Jessie... our lovely hex-caster is certainly stretched a little thin. It's like all of her problems suddenly conglomerated into a single, geographical location. And, honestly, they kinda did.

Batman provides her with both reassurance and an outlet. It's come up a lot in my responses to reviews, but the Batman I am most familiar with isn't grim-dark, isn't slapstick, and isn't the Goddamn Batman. No, I take most influence not just from the Animated Series and JLU... but from No Man's Land. More accurately, "Road to No Man's Land." Batman #561, "Mr. Wayne Goes to Washington: 2." We see there that, as Bruce Wayne, he lobbies for Gotham not to be labeled a no man's land, with all government funding and humanitarian aid cut. This fails, of course, but for all his badassery in martial arts and crime fighting and everything else... this is what I see Batman as: the force of protection. Something to prevent a loss like he experienced, so nobody had to go through what he did. Sometimes he does it in a cape, sometimes he does it in a business suit. He is never more a hero when he is concerned with helping people. If that's by fighting, investigating, scheming, or lobbying... that is what he's there to do.

He's willing to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Or, in this case, Jinx. Honestly, I think this fight had a foregone conclusion to it about two-thirds of the way through it. I mean, she yanked his cape. When has that ever gone well for anyone? I'm pretty sure that's a cursed maneuver with him. Sure, you might get the upper hand on him initially... but in the end? Uh-uh.

When I thought about the HIVE and who might do pod-casts to Youtube, there was really only one answer. Seemore rarely plays a serious part in any of my ideas, if he makes an appearance. He's far too easily distracted to be a major threat. Still, he has his uses, if you can keep him focused.

For the record: Yes, you can shave with a batarang.

Next up, we have some interesting introspection into the Doc. Not The Doctor, no Tardis here... Doc is a character I've been questioned about a lot. Who is he, what is he, where did he come from, did Raven kill him? There are answers to these questions, but now is not the time or place for them.

Suffice to say that more on the Doc will come about later. Though only referenced a handful of times thus far, his actions do have some rather far-reaching effects on both the past and the future. There's going to be a much larger section dedicated to him in another chapter, so just file those thoughts away for later... It'll be worth it, I promise!

And now... we get a little peak into some of those secrets rolling around Jinx's head. Target: Rich Boy. What, you thought the Justice League was the only that would over-prepare? Thought I'd skip over Project Cadmus and Waller? Hah! Oh, no no no—this is my bread and butter.

I promise you, everything ties in on this story. It's not a conspiracy theory. In fact, it's a little hard to see the conspiracy because we're right in the middle of it. You have to step back, otherwise you can't see the forest for the trees.

...But more on that next chapter... Muwahahahahaha!

Ever want a better view of Jinx getting a rather complex nudge from Mr. Chaos? Here you go, front and center! This is how Chaos can work. She has no reason to put any of these things together. She's known about Target: Rich Boy for years now. She's only just now met Batman in person. That cut she gave him was a random, lucky shot. What are the chances that—a few years ago—Bruce Wayne would show up to a press conference with a similar cut? What are the chances Jinx would be in Gotham at that time to see that local broadcast? It's the perfect storm of events to filter Jinx down to a singular thought.

And that brings us to the start of a very important conversation to be had, one that Jinx has both been anticipating and dreading for quite some time. ...But that conversation is for next chapter! It's no spoiler to say that Chapter 12 is going to be one, big, long discussion. You wanna see some threads of plot pull together like strings of Fate? Like seeing puzzle pieces fall into place? Do you get all giddy about a four-line clear in Tetris? Then stay tuned and we'll see you in two weeks—same Bat Time, same Bat Channel!

-Lynx