It took everything she had not to throw Beast Boy into the bushes and tell him to run away, to fly off the damned island and never come back to look for her or the other Titan children. But she drew back that urge. Even with his setback, there could always be another opportunity to escape. And maybe, just maybe, she would see the other children again.
She would be able to tell them goodbye, at least.
Jinx slowly got to her feet as the man asked, her legs screaming as she put weight on them. Carrying Beast Boy in her arms like a baby, she stubbornly stood in that one spot, leaves and twigs still clinging to her suit. She glared at the man with all her might, daring him to shoot her where she stood.
But he didn't.
"Follow me." was the curt instruction, and with that, he turned and walked the opposite way from the building. Jinx raised an eyebrow, but she did as she was instructed, following him like a pathetic little pet. She kept her eyes forwards and her body tense, keeping every instinct in her body aware of what was going around her. She would be damned if anything happened to the little boy sitting in her arms.
As they walked in the forest, Jinx could feel Beast Boy stirring uncomfortably against her, as though he was anxious to get away from the strange man as soon as possible. She just held him a bit tighter, gently stroking his ruffled green hair and hoping that she was calming him down just a little bit. Of course, she kept her vision concentrated on his moving back, the black suit blending in with the dark foliage around them and nearly turning into the shadows. Jinx had to hand it to Slade- he understood how to make fantastic suits for his little followers.
"Jink.." Beast Boy whimpered in her arms, his tiny hands grasping at her collar. "I scared.."
Jinx pressed her lips together and bought her hand up to console him, gently tousling his hair and trying to pet as though he was a little puppy or something. It was the only thing she could think of to calm him down before he stared to panic and cry aloud, alerting other Slade followers to where they were. As if their situation wasn't bad enough.
"Quiet." The man spoke sharply, the word nearly being hissed out. "If you don't quiet the little brat, I'll do it myself."
Jinx scowled and simply muttered quietly to Beast Boy, glaring daggers at him the entire time. Oh, if only she had her powers! She could cause a huge tree to fall right in front of him and squish him on the spot. Or she could cause a tree root to suddenly lift off the ground and trip him, maybe with a stick accidently stabbed upwards into the ground. There were countless 'accidents' that she could cause, if only her powers were functional. But for whatever reason, she couldn't do a thing. It was as though she was normal.
And sadly enough, that terrified her.
Jinx closed her eyes for a moment and tried to push her welling panic. She couldn't ever imagine being.. normal. All her life she had been an accident, a misfortunate girl who was avoided at all times, her only friends coming from the inside of her mind or with other freaks like her. Even though she was with the Titans, these children with strange powers, she still felt like an alien. The only place she had felt at home was with herself, by herself, all alone and secluded. Without her powers, she was nothing but a.. a..
A human.
Gritting her teeth, she felt as though her frustration would explode through her head and cause her to faint on the spot. Pushing herself on, she tried to focus on more important matters. Who gave a shit whether she had her powers or not? There was still some children who needed some help. Any help would do right now. Even hers.
"How long?" she asked bluntly, her voice nearly a hiss in return. "My feet fucking hurt."
The man remained a stony silent, just pushing a branch out of the way as he slipped through the ravine. Jinx scowled as she slipped in after him, ducking her head to avoid a sharp looking splintered trunk right above them. Asshole.
Thankfully for them, and her feet, it wasn't much further. They were in a small little meadow, surrounded by the forest and lush foliage. It was a pleasant little spot to kill someone, her mind whispered, and repressed a cringe. Jinx swallowed and held onto Beast Boy a little tighter, the green changeling making a whimpering noise as he hid his face in her collar. As the clearing became a bit bigger, and the leaves becoming less and less thick as they traveled, Jinx could see something clear in the distance.
A clear cylinder-shaped object. Well she'd be damned..
Jinx's mouth fell open, and she couldn't stop the words that fell from her mouth. "The Titans!"
"Indeed." The man spoke roughly, and stopped right in front of her. His arm stuck outwards, preventing her from moving towards them. "You may go to them and greet them, but do not do anything you might regret. I am watching closely."
Oh fuck you. Jinx clasped Beast Boy a bit tighter to her and she ran to the clear container in the middle of the field, forgetting entirely about her training at HIVE academy. All of her dignity and pride of remaining emotionless flew out of the window. She dropped to the ground and gently set down Beast Boy, her hands pressed to the glass in utter worry.
At first she was terrified that she would see them gone, or even worse, dead. A billion scenarios were running through her head; what if Slade had killed them and turned them all into his little zombies- and that's what the solider had wanted her to see? Or what if they were sick and on the verge of death, their tears milky and blood crusting at the corners of their mouth? There were so many things that she could see Slade doing to these kids, or even the guard himself, but to her utter shock, it was nothing close.
All four Titan children were fine. They were awake, clutching each other in fear, but they were okay. Jinx stared at them, her eyes tearing up the instant they made eye contact.
"J-jink..?" she heard Robin ask tentatively. Starfire and Cyborg stared at her with wide eyes, as though they didn't quite believe what they were seeing.
It took all of her willpower not to burst into tears like a little kid. She nodded, putting her hands on the glass. "It's me, you guys. It's okay. It's okay." she repeated, her voice cracking a little bit as she tried to console them. "You're gonna be okay, I promise."
The kids all looked at each other in surprise, their eyes growing a bit wide. Then, quietly, Cyborg opened his mouth and smiled. "You came t' save us!"
"Told you so." Robin said to Cyborg, his lip sticking out in a pout. "Tol' you that Jink would come. An' Beast Boy too."
Starfire had crawled up to the wall in front of Jinx and laid her grubby hand on the glass, the dirt smearing into the crystal clear window. "I knews you'd come back. I knews it."
Jinx laughed quietly and wiped the tears off her face, damning her emotion to hell, but relieved nonetheless. Pathetically, amazingly relieved. "I'm not the real hero here, guys. Beast Boy stuck it through until the very end, didn't you buddy?"
Beast Boy stuck his hands on the glass as well, giving his friends a wide smile. "Rwobin, I save Jink! I did alls by myself! Jus' like Batman."
Robin's face broke into a huge grin, and he looked at the two other Titans. They returned his large smile with smaller ones, the tiredness on their faces breaking for a moment. Cyborg looked as though he was about to add a comment, but the little robot kept his mouth closed.
Jinx was so happy to see the Titan children again, she had nearly forgotten all about the stranger that had lead her there. As she slowly turned her attention away from the happy reunited friends and back to the solitary man standing in the distance, her worry grew anxiously in her stomach, twisting and turning angrily around. He was still standing there, watching them with his mask glaring at them.
She grit her teeth and slowly got to her feet, uttering to the Titans that she'd be right back. Even though the grove around them was silent and surrounded by leafy trees, she still had the nagging doubt that this man wanted to help her. What if he had a syringe filled with toxin in his sleeve right now? Or what if her powers came back, only to be torn away from her once again?
Or worse- the childrens'.
Jinx slowly walked over to him, her hands calmly down at her sides but her body tense. The man stared at her; unmoving, unflinching.
It wasn't long before they were face to face, only a few mere feet away from each other. The man bathed entirely in black cloth was only a few inches taller than her, but that didn't mean Jinx was less afraid of him. No, she was still terrified. No weapons, no powers, nothing that could help her win in a fight. Not to mention her weakened body, which was barely allowing her to stand. It wouldn't take much to hurt her badly, even kill her. And the Titan children would be left to fend for themselves. And that would be the end of it.
That scenario had ran through her mind a billion times already.
"So you've bought me here." Jinx said quietly, almost angrily. She couldn't afford to piss him off, though. Especially with Slade so nearby. "What now? What more could you possibly want from me?"
The man remained silent, staring at her with the emotionless glass of his mask. The black gleamed in the darkening light.
"Did you want to see me happy, only to tear me down later?" Jinx hissed. "I have nothing to give to you. Nothing! I'm nothing but a pathetic little criminal from Jump City, who made a living by rummaging through the trash and stealing from homes. I'm nothing even close to the scum Slade."
The silence was growing ever stronger. Jinx felt her face flush in humiliation, in fear, and in anger. Who the hell did this guy think he was?
"Let the kids go. Please. They'll remember nothing of this. Make them human or something. Give them the toxin you gave to me, the one that drained my powers. Just.. please." Jinx found herself begging, the opposite of what she was going for. "Keep me here. I'll become a part of the mindless drones that live here, but I'll stay."
"You would stay?" the man inquired. His voice was soft, much softer than she had ever heard it. It sounded nearly.. gentle. "You would stay for the safety of these children?"
Jinx nodded, her hands clasped together so tightly that they nearly turned white. "They've been through too much. Heroes or no, they.. they need to be someplace safe and warm."
There was a soft sigh. Then the guard straightened his back, nearly cocking his head at her. "I have bought you here, prisoner, to see your loved children. I pitied you in your cell, you see. I have a way off this island; but one way, and one way only. We must do it at once, for the punishment for rebellion is torture and then death."
Jinx could hardly believe her ears. Blinking in surprise, she nodded and tried to keep her voice level. "Deal. Continue."
"There is a bomb hidden underneath the building." the guard said quietly, looking around to make sure no one could hear him. "I can detonate it for you, and then you may make your escape on the jet leading off the island. But there is a cost, my dear."
Of course. There is always a catch.
"What is it?" Jinx asked suspiciously. She gazed at the children happily chatting with one another, the three little Titans in the cylinder and Beast Boy on the outside, smearing his own little hands all over the glass.
"Take me with you."
Well, we got to see more of Jinx's emotional side this chapter. :)
Please review.