Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine
Sorry for the delay! Promise we're getting there.
This chapter has some violence and of course, Jinx's bad language.
Mmm. Morning already?
Jinx curled up in bed. Quiet warmth enveloped her body. She stretched her legs, still half asleep, then pulled the covers over her head.
Suddenly, a loud crash from outside sent tremors through her whole apartment. Wha-?
Jinx sat up. It happened again a moment later. The pink haired girl got up, puzzled. She walked over to her window and lifted the curtain. A couple blocks away, there were plumes of smoke rising from the skyscrapers in the city. She spotted a bit of purple goo stuck to the side of one of them. Oh boy. Plasmus. Guess Rae and friends are takin' care of it. Shouldn't be a big deal for 'em. Guess I'll go back to sleep.
She turned away. Wait. Something's a bit fishy. What's with all the smoke. Jinx turned back. Wait a sec. Weren't there a couple of skyscrapers there just a second ago? Maybe I'm imaginin' things. No, I swear they were there.
... maybe I should go check it out.
The thief shook her head. Nah. Not my problem.
People could be gettin' hurt!
Not like they'd want help from me anyway. I don't owe 'em anything.
That's cold.
...
Well, I do feel a bit bad. But them cops would just cuff me and throw me in jail anyway.
...
What if Rae's there? What if she needs your help?
Nah. She's probably fine. Rae's way stronger than me anyway. I'd just get in her way. 'sides, she probably doesn't wanna see me there if she's fightin'.
If you show up and help, she'll like ya more. It'll show that you care.
Like impressin' Rae really matters. I don't really care about that.
...
'Kay that's a fat fuckin' lie. But seriously, she might get mad at me. I could distract her.
But she could get hurt. You really don't want that, do you?
No, I just... I just...
You want her to like you.
I just don't want her to be mad at me... it sucks but... Rae's kinda my best friend, right? I don't wanna lose her.
So go.
Her brain said no, but then again, when had she ever paid attention to that thing?
Jinx snuck behind a couple buildings, hiding in the shadows as she approached. It quickly became evident that it was not a simple matter of Plasmus causing a bit of trouble. She stepped over the bodies of several metallic parts - probably the limbs of broken robots - and some very dead people, trying to keep focused on the center of the action. Peeking around a building, Jinx made sure not to be seen.
It was an absolute disaster.
So she had been mistaken. It wasn't just Plasmus. It was that horrible monstrosity of Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload all fused together into a big steaming pile of sludge, stone, and electricity. What is that thing called? Ternion, right? Yuck.
The legion of robots surrounding it probably were only making things worse as well, but they, in themselves, shouldn't have caused that much trouble either. No, the real problem was the giant, metal, worm-like creatures that were currently drilling in and out of the ground, and occasionally through the base of the surrounding buildings. The damage was already severe, with several skyscrapers looking like they were ready to topple over, and many of the vehicles in the streets had caught fire. The ground was broken and shattered in many areas, almost as if an earthquake had ravaged the city, and from the holes, even more of the worm contraptions kept appearing moment by moment.
Jinx gulped. 'Kay. That looks really bad.
A bubble of black energy blocked a blast of goo and energy from the giant monster, drawing Jinx's attention. A moment later, the Titans emerged from it, tearing through the robots as they tried to bring down Ternion. Black energy spread, cutting through metal like paper.
"Raven! Focus on those worm robots!"
Robin's voice could be heard even over all the commotion. She had to assume Raven got the message because the tendrils of magic shifted and engulfed several of the worm creatures, holding them in place and slowly disintegrating them. All the while, she continuously provided her teammates with shields from various attacks. It was incredible, actually, that the dark sorceress was capable of immobilizing dozens of the huge worm robots at once while still maintaining enough focus to defend her teammates, but then again, she was Raven.
Jinx squinted. So she's in the back right now. Guess she's gotta be to keep an eye on everyone. Gosh, those worm robots are huge! They're like as big as trains. Maybe bigger. How can she even stop something like that?
A robot came flying toward her and she ducked back as it landed at her feet. The robot twitched a bit as electricity ran through its body momentarily, before lying still. Jinx prodded the head with her foot carefully. It's one of those Slade bots. Duh. Of course it's him. But wait. If he's behind this, that means that there's something else he's got planned. He always has at least one trick that isn't in plain sight. Uh...
Right on cue, she spotted something approaching rapidly down the street. Jinx nearly blew her cover in a panic when she realized what it was. That's a fuckin' missile!
Raven must have realized it as well because she turned on her heel rapidly and threw up a shield. There was less than half a second to react, but she did it in time. Dark energy enveloped herself and each of her teammates, and Jinx was startled when it engulfed her as well, making sure that the blast did not harm her.
She half expected the energy to drop as soon as the smoke cleared, but a second and a third explosion delayed that from happening. The ominous sound of creaking metal drew her attention away from Raven and back toward the skyscrapers. Oh no. Don't tell me that's what Slade was goin' after. He's gonna bring those buildings down on her head.
Unfortunately, the pink haired girl was spot on. She spotted black energy repairing some of the skyscrapers at the base, but there were simply too many falling for her to fix them all at once. Jinx nearly jumped out in panic, but she stopped in amazement as dark sorcery engulfed the remaining towers and held them in place, preventing them from collapsing farther. There were more than ten skyscrapers, giant blocks of metal and glass, hovering in midair above the battleground, suspended by the sheer force of Raven's powers. Even her teammates were looking up with wide eyes, but a quick order from Robin set them back in action.
By now, the robots were mostly cleared away, but there was still the matter of the giant monster. Jinx chewed on her lip, studying the look of utter concentration on Raven's face as she slowly began to shift the skyscrapers back in place, gathering debris to fill in the gaps at their bases and keep them at least temporarily upright. It wasn't good enough.
Is that... a freakin' tank? Jinx's breath caught in her throat. It seemed like a tank, but it was much larger and more powerful than a normal one. She watched in terror as it fired a shell straight at Raven, engulfing her in a cloud of smoke. The vehicle drove forward and fired another shell. The ground around Raven was blackened with scorching fire and molten metal.
Jinx simply could not take it anymore.
Even as Starfire rushed back to help her teammate, a blast of pink light intercepted the next shell, causing it to blow up near the alien girl. Oops. Uh. Guess I'll have to explain that one. But for now...
Jinx turned and threw several hexes at the tank, watching as it fell apart within moments. She ran toward the spot where Raven was, worry etched on her face.
"Rae!"
She found the dark sorceress coughing into her hand, a little bit bruised, but otherwise unharmed.
"Rae, oh my god, you're-"
Jinx darted to the side as a staff made contact with her shoulder. She moved in the same direction as the blow to avoid getting hurt, then looked up. Robin pointed his weapon at her defensively, eyeing her with suspicion.
"Don't come near her."
Beast Boy and Cyborg drew closer as well, fending off the attacks from Ternion, but also keeping a watchful eye on her. The pink haired girl threw her hands up.
"I'm not here to fight you. I wanna help."
"You attacked Starfire." Robin hissed. He glanced momentarily at his singed girlfriend, who had rejoined the battle against their monstrous foe.
"I was tryin' to defend Rae! I'm sorry that I happened to blow up that missile when Star was close by."
"I'm having a hard time believing that."
"Robin," Raven's strained voice cut through their argument. "We have more important things to worry about right now."
"... Raven?"
"She's not a threat. Believe me, I've... dealt with her a few times."
The masked hero frowned and turned toward his teammate, suspicion marring his face. "You've what?"
Raven bit her lip. Sweat beaded her forehead as she desperately tried to maintain focus. "Robin," she repeated. "In case you didn't notice, I am holding thirteen skyscrapers above us right now, and any lapse in concentration will mean that I drop them and the people inside will die. So I need you to trust me. Jinx isn't going to fight us right now."
Robin glanced up briefly, then back at her. He looked back at Jinx, then toward his teammates. Beast Boy and Cyborg were also looking at Raven curiously, probably unsure as to why the sorceress was bothering to defend a known criminal who had a sizable bounty on her head. After all, they had gotten into many fights before, and Jinx had worked for Slade before, so it could have been a ploy-
Abruptly, Starfire flew back and put a hand on Robin's shoulder. He turned briefly, puzzled by her presence.
"Robin, she is not a threat. If Raven trusts her, we should as well."
"Uhh, and you guys have a lot on your hands right now. I can help. For real."
The masked Titan turned back toward his girlfriend, grimaced, then gave Jinx a curt nod. He looked back toward Raven, frowning.
"We'll have to discuss this later."
As soon as the two Titans went back to the fight, Jinx darted forward.
"Rae!"
The dark sorceress's face was strained and tired; the dark circles under her eyes and pale complexion of her skin wasn't only from overexertion of her powers - it almost seemed as if she were somewhat sick, or something of the sort.
"Jinx," she muttered, a little irritated. "You should've stayed back there. You could have sniped that vehicle from a distance and Robin would've never had to know it was you."
The pink haired girl chewed on her lip. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinkin'. He's... he's gonna chew your ass out later, isn't he?"
"He might, but as you can tell, I don't exactly have the energy to worry about that right now."
"Right. I'll stop distractin' ya."
Pink eyes turned up toward the sky as, through a veil of smoke, the skyscrapers began to shift back in place. The process seemed a bit slow - she had seen Raven's powers work much faster before - but then she remembered that there were people inside, and moving the buildings too quickly would not be good either. Tense and nervous, Jinx kept her gaze fixed on the giant buildings, failing to notice the red dot of a laser on Raven's shoulder.
The bullet was silent. Incredibly, Raven still managed to react to the attack, but her shield didn't have much time to strengthen, and the metal bead pierced the black energy, cutting into her in a little spurt of blood. Jinx shrieked, eyes wide.
"Oh my god, Rae-"
"Get down," the demoness hissed.
She shrouded them in a shield as another laser point appeared, then another. This time, however, high powered missiles came flying at them. Jinx winced as the ground rumbled with the explosions, but this time, Raven's shield held. The dark Titan was clutching her shoulder, her face a mask of pain as she began extracting the bullet with her powers, blood flowing freely down her arm. She gave off a soft gasp as it came free, then lowered her shield tentatively.
Big mistake.
He was there, standing right above the two girls as the dark magic faded.
"Hello Raven. Jinx."
The pinkette's eyes blazed. "You-!"
She reached forward to throw a hex at him, but Slade was too fast. He grabbed her wrist and bent her arm to the side. She cried out in pain, forcing back tears.
"Get away from her," Raven growled.
"Make me."
Black energy responded, but in her distracted state, she couldn't keep track of him well enough to pin him down. The masked villain was a blur as he darted around, but she at least managed to force him to retreat over the course of about a minute. Her face was a mask of concentration as she stared at him vehemently.
"Stay away."
Slade shrugged. "I have done what I intended, regardless. Until next time, dear Raven. If there is a next time."
"If there's-"
Raven and Jinx looked down simultaneously. The bastard had planted three mines directly around them. They looked at each other. Oh no.
The explosion hurt. A lot. Jinx felt her head hit the ground and she gasped as bright light exploded over her vision. Time seemed to slow. In the distance, the blasts of goo and electricity slowed to a near halt as the Titans all looked up. The black energy that was supposed to be surrounding the skyscrapers disappeared, and with a terrifying noise, the metal and glass behemoths began to topple. Jinx's breath caught in her throat. Images flashed in front of her eyes. Raven being buried under a pile of rubble. Her broken body crushed by the weight of thousands of tons of stone. Raven being hurt. Raven being... Raven being killed.
"Raven," Jinx whimpered.
She fumbled around, reaching for the dark sorceress's hand. She found it only after what seemed like an eternity and squeezed it gently. Well, if they were going to die, at least it was going to be together. The pink haired girl closed her eyes.
At the same time, Raven's powers returned.
When Jinx finally realized that they were not, in fact, dead, she opened her eyes again. Raven was sitting up beside her, energy pouring from her body in a frightening torrent. She never let go of Jinx's grasp.
By the time she was done putting the buildings back in place, the Titans had finally managed to split the Ternion monster back into three. Separated, Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload were much easier to deal with, and within a few minutes, they were vanquished as well.
Raven shifted at Jinx's side, blue energy surrounding her hands and seeping into the pinkette's body. Jinx sighed softly, feeling her aching muscles relax. Relief washed over her quickly.
"Rae... I'm good. Thanks. Really. I'm fine now. Save your energy. I'm not hurt."
Raven's tired eyes shifted up briefly at Jinx's face. "That's... good."
The dark sorceress closed her eyes and slumped into the pinkette's lap.
"Rae? Rae, you okay? Rae-"
"She's fine." Robin knelt beside her, clutching his arm. "She faints when she's used too much energy. This isn't the first time it's happened. We'll need to get her back to give her a safe place to recover, however. So let her go."
Jinx blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realized that she had been hugging the other girl so tightly.
"Sorry. Look, Robin, I, uh..."
Masked eyes judged her suspiciously. "Make no mistake. You still have a bounty on your head, but... given the current circumstances, none of us is in a position to chase you around. So I suggest you get out of here quickly before the police arrive."
"But Rae-"
"We'll take care of her."
The look on his face grew a little suspicious at the way Jinx referred to Raven, but he didn't mention it further. Jinx sighed and touched Raven's cheek before letting her go. She was out of there before the other Titans arrived.
Minutes passed in quiet darkness. She laid on her bed, clean and showered, mostly unharmed. Somehow, that only made her feel more guilty.
She was right. I shouldn't have jumped in like that. Now Bird Boy's gonna be suspicious of her. And she had to waste extra effort to protect me. I'm so stupid. I should've just... ugh. She even spent the last of her energy to heal me when she should've healed herself. She even fainted after. I should've been the one to get hurt. Not her.
Rae...
Jinx curled up. She buried her face into her pillow. Why did I even do something like that? I'm so impulsive. Just because I was worried about her...
I was scared for her. I thought... I seriously thought she wasn't gonna make it. But she was totally right in the end. I shouldn't have bothered her.
Raven...
Frustration welled up.
Can't you see that I just want you to be happy? I don't want you to get hurt. I wanna be able to protect you and make you feel good. You just never let me.
...
... I guess it's kinda hard for me to protect you when you're way stronger than me. But still, why won't you just... why won't you tell me if you like me? I thought we were at least friends... or...
Maybe I really am annoyin' to her. Yeah, I guess I kinda am. Probably just get her in trouble with her team. Probably just waste her energy when she could be protectin' herself. I couldn't do shit for her... I never can.
Minutes faded into hours. Back in the quiet comfort of her own room and bed, Jinx settled into the soothing warmth of her blankets. It was so different than the blood and metal of the earlier battle. It was much calmer. It was...
Alarms rang in her ears. The shrieks and screams of the dying rang all around. The scent of iron and stench of smoke filled her senses. Jinx held her head. How does she even deal with that? Isn't it hard fightin' like that, 'specially when you're an empath? Doesn't it get hard, Rae?
...
You know, I think I kinda get why she wants me to stop stealin' stuff. I really get why now. I'm just makin' trouble for her. It's really gotta hurt her to keep fightin' like that. Even if it's just against me, it's gotta suck for her to deal with all of this. I really am just nothin' but annoying to her.
...
I really should stop. I'm sorry, Rae. I just... I was bein' selfish. Makin' you clean up after my messes... ugh. Sorry you have to deal with my mess of a life.
Jinx reached for her phone. She sighed. Maybe I should tell her how I feel... she'd probably appreciate it. I should at least say sorry. Yeah. It couldn't hurt.
Her fingers moved over the words in a tired stupor.
Rae, sorry for jumping in like that earlier.
I was really worried about you.
I just wanted to help.
The pink haired girl paused. It was no good. Something just didn't feel quite right. She turned over, staring into the darkness of her room. It reminded her of the dark sorceress's room a bit, except that there were fewer books and more paintings. And it was a bit smaller. And it was lacking someone. Jinx chewed on her lip.
Just... text me back so I know that you're okay. Okay?