I've got to say, I've been dreading this chapter since I first started this challenge. I mean, what are you supposed to write when the prompt is "cancer"? But I'm pretty happy with how this ended up. I'm also recently taken out vendettas against many things, and near the top of my list is cancer. It's going DOWN.
Takes place sometime before Deception. And Brother Blood never fails to amuse me.
Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Go figure, right?
025: Cancer
Jinx can't help but feel a little nervous as she walks to Brother Blood's office. She doesn't think she's done anything wrong, but with Brother Blood you can never be too sure. As brilliant as he is, Jinx has come to realize that he's also a little… eccentric, and every now and then he'll fly off the handle at the littlest provocation. But even if she is in for a lecture, it's not like she can choose when to respond to Brother Blood's summons and when not to. Brother Blood is the headmaster, and Jinx is the student, so when he calls for her, she complies.
When Jinx reaches Brother Blood's tall, imposing office door, she takes a moment to straighten her dress and take a deep breath before knocking confidently.
"Come in."
So she does.
Brother Blood is sitting behind his desk, which is sometimes buried under files and loose papers, but today is tidy. Instead, a single file sits on the sand-blasted copper before him. He smiles stiffly as she enters, and motions to the chair across from him.
"Good afternoon, Jinx. Please, take a seat."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Jinx sits down cautiously. She really wishes she knew why she was here.
"I've been looking through your file, Jinx," he begins, motioning towards the papers on the desk, and a pair of pink eyes glances at the papers before meeting his again. "You have some impressive achievements, you know. First place three years in a row on the Doomsday Device Competition, straight A's on all of your assignments, your attack patterns are consistently superlative…" He looks up at her. "That's some truly outstanding work, Jinx."
She lets the smallest hint of a smile creep onto her lips. Maybe he just wants to commend her for being a good student?
"Thank you, Headmaster."
"Of course, you've also had your share of bad marks."
The smile slides right off her face. Jinx opens her mouth to respond, finds she has no idea what to say, and closes her mouth again. Brother Blood is unfazed, and carries on.
"You somehow managed to fail your final exam and get sent back. Granted, this happened before my time at the HIVE Academy, but nonetheless that is exceedingly disappointing, especially for someone of your usual abilities."
Jinx feels the most compelling urge to remind Brother Blood that it was not only her that failed, but both of her teammates as well. Instead she nods slightly and says, "I was unprepared, Headmaster. I shouldn't have used Attack Pattern Alpha more than once, and I should have taken the time to reassess the situation once the targets regrouped."
Brother Blood nods. "Yes, you should have."
Jinx again has the craving to make a retort, but she keeps her mouth shut. No need to get herself into further trouble than she apparently is already in.
"It is always disappointing when a student fails their final exam," Brother Blood continues, "but no more so than when that student is at the top of their class with a bright future ahead of them. It signifies a failure of both the Academy and the student." He pauses and looks her in the eye. "A very disappointing failure."
If Jinx could have just one wish it would be the power to sink into the chair and disappear forever. She forces herself to keep holding his gaze; averting her eyes would be a further sign of weakness.
"However." Brother Blood looks down briefly at the file still lying open on his desk. "Sometimes failures can lead to… opportunities."
Jinx raises her eyebrows, and hopes that maybe, just maybe, there will be a silver lining to this conversation.
"The HIVE Academy's mission statement is very clear," Brother Blood says.
Jinx nods before reciting the statement from memory. "To educate and shape students into first class criminals with the ability to carry out nefarious actions anywhere in the world as either an individual or member of a team." She has had the HIVE's mission statement memorized since the day she was accepted.
Brother Blood nods. "Indeed. But recently…" He pauses and frowns, hunting for words. "Recently I have decided that while the majority of HIVE graduates ought to set out on their own, it would be beneficial to keep a handful of students affiliated with the Academy after graduation. And while these students could work individually, I believe the better option would be for them to form a group." He raises his eyebrows. "A team, if you will."
"That sounds like a very good idea, Headmaster." Jinx doesn't know what kind of reply Brother Blood is looking for, so she is relived when he continues on with little attention to her comment.
"This team would be stationed somewhere in the nearby vicinity. Steel City, or Jump City, perhaps. It wouldn't be a large team, but it would need to be made up of students able to work well together. The objectives of the team, besides being a branch of the Academy, would largely be up to the team itself." He pauses. "This team would need a leader."
Jinx bites her lip to keep from smirking. Well obviously it would need a leader.
"Jinx." For a moment she fears he caught the smirk she was trying to hold back. But then he continues and all Jinx can do is try to keep her mouth from dropping. "I want you to be the leader."
"What?" The entirely juvenile word leaps out of her mouth before she can stop it, but she doesn't really care. "You want me to be the leader? To have my own team?"
Brother Blood nods curtly, and if Jinx weren't so shocked she wouldn't have missed the amused glint in his eye at her excitement.
"You're coming up to your final exam again. I trust this time you won't fail."
Jinx shakes her head. "No, Headmaster." She is passing her final exam if it's the last thing she does.
"And you consistently display exemplary knowledge of fighting techniques, electronics, and the arts of blackmail and the like." He gestures nonchalantly towards her file and then glances at her. "Unless, of course, you don't want your own team."
"No, Headmaster, that's not it at all, I just didn't expect…" The words are tumbling out faster than Jinx can organize them. She stops and takes a deep breath. When she begins again she is composed. "I'm honored, Headmaster. I would love to lead a team branched from the Academy. I'm just surprised you picked me. I'm…" She forces a nervous smile. "I'm just surprised."
Brother Blood smiles, and its surprising warmth calms her a little.
"Your grades aren't the only reason I chose you for this position. It's more than that. What is it that makes a good criminal great?"
"Knowing how to blend well-known tactics with personal strengths."
"That's right. You know the material, but more importantly you know how to use it to your advantage. Take, for example, your acrobatic abilities. They allow you speed and flexibility that many other students lack. Or, for instance, your powers." Brother Blood leans forward, putting his elbows on the desk and holding up two fists before his face. "Your powers are like a cancer, Jinx. They start in one isolated area, but then expand and spread and destroy everything in their path. Excellent for both one-on-one combat or against multiple opponents." He opens his fists slowly, allowing his fingers to splay. "Like a cancer." He sits back. "Do you see what I mean?"
Jinx nods, and he continues, but she can't help her attention from staying on his last point. She has never been paid a compliment of this magnitude before, and she knows she won't ever forget it. Her powers are like a cancer, able to spread and destroy, and she knows how to control them to her benefit. The smile that has been on her face spreads a little wider as she thinks of it. But at the same time, somewhere in the back of her mind, she is disquieted. Jinx has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime, with a compliment to match, but something about his last words seem off. She forces the thought out of her head and turns her full attention back to Brother Blood, who is informing her of what the proceedings from now on will be.
When they are done discussing technicalities, and it has finally started to sink in that she's getting her own team, Brother Blood stands up and Jinx does the same.
"I'm very much looking forward to working with you in the coming weeks before your final exam and afterwards when you can start putting your team together. It will be a lot of work, but I think you're up to it, and I know it will benefit the HIVE greatly."
Jinx smiles. "Thank you so much, Headmaster. I can't tell you how much this means to me."
"I'll call for you again after final exams to discuss who you would like to be in your team."
"Yes, Headmaster."
Jinx opens the door and steps out into the hallway, closing the door gently behind her before letting the grin take over and walking happily down the hallway; if she was the skipping type she'd skip, but she's never skipped before in her life and she's not going to start now. But still, even as she's never been happier in her life, even as she's mentally counting off the days until final exams, even as she's deciding who she wants to be in her team… something feels off.
Your powers are like a cancer, Jinx. Like a cancer.
It was a compliment, she tells herself firmly. A compliment.
Like a cancer.
A compliment.
Like a cancer.
A compliment.
Like cancer.
xxx
"Dude, you almost lost to Mumbo?" Beast Boy crosses his arms behind his head and props his feet on the coffee table. "All you've gotta do is break his wand. I would've thought that'd be easy for Mr. I'm-So-Fast-It's-Scary."
Kid Flash rolls his eyes good-naturedly and points an accusing finger at Beast Boy from across the table. He and Jinx stopped by the Tower to help compile information on a recent string of arsons, but they finished almost an hour ago, and their conversation has de-evolved, as it usually does, to friendly conversation. There was a time— a long time— that Jinx hated being anywhere in the vicinity of the Titans, but now, nine months after joining their side, it's easier to be around them. She sits in the chair beside Kid Flash, a content look on her face, actually enjoying the banter she used to dread.
"If I'm not mistaken," Kid Flash says, "you once failed to break his wand and got sucked into his hat."
"Pfft. But you have super speed. Couldn't you just jog by him and swipe it out of his hands?"
"Not when he's used a spell that freezes you."
Beast Boy raises an eyebrow. "Since when does Mumbo have a spell that freezes you?"
Kid Flash shrugs. "It's new, I guess."
Smirking, Beast Boy replies, "And he used it on you?" He starts laughing. "Then how did you stop him?"
"I believe you've met my friend Jinx."
At her name Jinx stiffens a little. She's okay being around the Titans now, but she still doesn't want any attention on her.
Beast Boy turns towards her, and she feels better when she notices that his expression doesn't change when his switches from looking at Kid Flash to looking at her.
"So what'd you do?" he asks eagerly. "How'd you take him out?"
Jinx shrugs lightly. "I just hexed him."
Kid Flash snorts. "You did not 'just hex him.' You totally gave him what for." Jinx listens as Kid Flash goes on to describe, in vivid detail, how she evaded Mumbo's new spell, got Kid Flash out of harm's way, rendered Mumbo harmless, and all but shattered his wand. When Kid Flash finishes his story Beast Boy applauds, but Jinx just shrugs again.
"It was no big deal," she assures him, and it really wasn't. She's faced tougher than that many times before, on both sides of the law. "And he'll get his wand back or make a new one soon enough."
"So what?" Beast Boy asks. "You've gotta take it one step at a time. They always fix their toys, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't kick their butts when you've got the chance." Kid Flash nods in agreement, and Beast Boy gives her a thumbs up. "Nice one, Jinx. Very nice."
Jinx smiles, and a moment later their discussion moves on to something else. But without her even realizing it the smile stays on her face, and when she does notice it ten or fifteen minutes later, it suddenly hits her why her expression has remained the same. Because even though no one will remember their conversation tomorrow, even though it was only a passing remark, even though her victory over Mumbo wasn't really that momentous... something feels right.
Nice one, Jinx. Very nice.
Oh, she thinks to herself. So that's what a real compliment sounds like.