Chapter 2: Breakfast and A Light Show

Chapter by phoenixblossoms

Notes:

Copy pasted from AO3, if you see any weird formatting errors please let me know.

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Jinx had been sleeping with one eye open since leaving the HIVE. So, when she woke to the smell of bacon and eggs, feeling strangely well rested she knew something was wrong. Deciding to play it safe, she peeked one eye open. No large windows facing the bay, the TV wasn't an impressive 75 inch flat screen, and the couch she was laying on had a loose spring that was digging into her ribs. In other words, this wasn't the vacation home she'd been crashing in for the last week, and she had no idea how she'd gotten here or who the person humming in the kitchen was.

Calm down. She took a deep breath. Remember your training. Slowly, Jinx took inventory. Her hands weren't bound, her dress had a rip on the hem of the skirt, white bandages wrapped around her sore neck… Her neck! She remembered the previous night's mishaps. Madame Rouge had set her up, there had been that wanna be Kid Flash, and then the real Kid had showed up. He'd taken her back to his place. Her memories were a blank after that. She must've passed out from the concussion.

She sat up with a groan, prompting the hero in the kitchen to turn his head her way.

"Morning Jinxy!" He said, his voice all chipper. She glared at him and his dumb, pink 'kiss the cook' apron. "Hope you're hungry. I made a lot of everything."

Is he really this stupid? Jinx pondered and then said, "I'm leaving."

She had just put one foot on the ground when Kid appeared in front of her with a pout on his face.

"C'mon Jinxy," He was practically whining. "I made extra bacon. Everyone loves bacon… Well except BB. He's vegetarian though, so he doesn't count."

Jinx rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with Kid's ridiculousness.

"Fine." She growled, "but there better be coffee."

Kid paused at that, "Hmm, coffee and speedsters don't mix, but I can run and get some real quick." He disappeared in a gust of wind and returned just as fast, looking a little sheepish. "I forgot to ask how do you take your coffee?"

She wanted to say black, but at the same time, she really needed to be able to drink it, "Two creamers, two sugars."

He flashed her his signature grin before racing away. A few minutes later, he returned with what she'd never admit had to be the best cup of coffee she'd ever had. She had to hold back her smile as she sat at the counter. There was a mountain of waffles, a pile of bacon, and three huge bowls of scrambled eggs.

Jinx stole a plate and some food. It made her a little angry how good it was. She had never pictured Kid Flash to be capable of making his own meals. Then again, with how much he must eat, it made sense. In the time it took her to finish her one waffle, Kid Flash had already finished a meal for twelve. It would have been impressive if it wasn't so disgusting.

"Sho, we nee do fid da ewa shpeedshter ad-" He must have noticed the way her nose scrunched up because he froze mid-bite looking like a deer caught in headlights. Swallowing his food, he said with a flushed face, "Uh… sorry. Not used to the company."

She shrugged, "I've seen worse. Have you looked at the boys I've been living with the past year and a half? I mean Mammoth and Billy Numerous don't exactly scream table manners."

He laughed at that, and she looked away when she caught herself staring at the way his dimples scrunched his mask up.

"Anyway, what were you saying? Something about washing a t-shirt?"

Kid looked at her like she'd grown an extra head before bursting out in laughter again.

"Washing a t-shirt?" He managed between his chuckles to say, "What? No, I said we need to find that evil speedster."

"We," her tone made him swallow his laughter. "There is no we, Kid Flash. How many times do I need to say it?" She slammed her fist on the table, making her coffee cup shake. " I am a villain! I mean, should I spell it out for you? V-I- double L- A-I-N!"

"Jinx," In spite of her angry outburst, his voice was all soft and gentle. She hated it. "You're not-"

His words were cut short by the buzzing of his communicator.

"Ugh, Doctor Light?" Kid groaned.

Jinx snorted, "The dimmest bulb in the junk drawer. You would really think someone with Doctor in their name would be a bit brighter. Then again, poor soul probably got his doctorate off of Ebay."

"Ha, good one Jinxy!" He got a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You know, you already excell at Trash Talking 101. That's like 25% of superheroing."

"And it's 50% of Super Villainy. I aced that actual class in Hive Academy."

If it weren't for her dry tone, he would have thought she was joking.

"Huh, you don't say."

"Yup. Advanced Insults with Cheshire." She smirked, "It was right after Femme Fatale: Mastering the Superpower of Seduction. Wanna know what grade I got in that class?"

Jinx leaned closer, forcing Kid Flash to lean back slightly in order to avoid their noses from bumping. Raising an unmarked brow, she watched his eyes flit to her lips and barely managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Boys.

"I- uh…" His ears were bright red as he stumbled through his words. Then, as quickly as she had flustered him, he recovered, a charming grin gracing his face. "Well, I'd say you're a solid A+."

The T-communicator continued to buzz, and she couldn't stop her eye roll any longer.

"Don't you have a c list supervillain to stop?"

He had a glint in his eye she didn't much care for.

"Well, actually, I can't exactly leave you here unattended. You know, being the dangerous criminal that you are." Her eyes lit up in a warning, seeing where his words were taking this, "I'll just have to take you with me. Who knows, maybe after seeing me in action you'll decide to give heroing a chance."

"I have never," She was quite suddenly picked up and carried across town, "heard a more moronic… idea."

Kid Flash smiled as he avoided her angry hex. They were standing in front of an electronics store which was suffering from a blackout thanks to Doctor Light stealing all of their light bulbs. Ugh, what a sorry excuse for a criminal.

"Ah! Kid Flash! A worthy adversary for sure, and you've brought a friend? How strange! Is that Jinx? Nevertheless, you are no match for the power of the LIGHT!" He sent a beam of light at them which Kid swiftly dodged, Jinx still in his arms. She shoved him away with an indignant glare. "AH! You are fast, but can you outspeed the light?!" Kid laughed joyfully as he proved he could do just that. "Hmm, perhaps this calls for a change of tactics. You may be fast, but your partner is-"

"We are not partners or friends or anything!" Kid almost looked a little hurt at that. Good. "I am not with him!"

She pointed at Kid who pouted in response. Just to prove her point, she sent a hex at him, which the hero narrowly dodged. He appeared next to Doctor Light, leaning against a pole like he had no worries in the world. It was infuriating.

"Ah! So you've come to assist the light? How sweet of you, but I'm not looking for a side kick at the moment." Kid laughed while Jinx made a horrified noise in the back of her throat. "Ah, but perhaps I should consider. No, no oh I simply cannot! Your powers have nothing to do with light. Yes, that's why- but don't cry over it dearie…"

"No, I'm not, ugh! Forget this!"

With a sweep of her hand, she sent a huge hex flying at both of them. Kid barely noticed in time to dodge while Doctor Light was too busy carrying on to notice. He was out cold by the time he hit the pavement.

Kid Flash disappeared for a minute. When he returned, Doctor Light was nowhere to be seen. He must've dropped him off at the nearest jail cell. Good riddance. If only Jinx could get rid of Kid so easily.

"Nice one!" He went for a high-five which was promptly ignored. He was much less bothered by it than she would have liked. "Next time we'll just have to work on that teamwork thing and then-"

"Next time? There is no next time!"

"Why not?" Where her voice was rash and angry, his was soft and gentle, and she hated it. She hated him. "You don't have to be a villain. Don't you see, Jinx? You can use your powers to fight bad guys just as well as you can use them to fight heroes. You're not-"

"I'm not what, Kid?" Her tone rose a few octaves more desperate than she would have liked, but she couldn't stop herself. "I'm not a bad person? You don't know me! The first fight I had against your precious Titans, I almost killed your fearless leader."

"But you didn't."

Her eyes glowed in frustration, "But I thought I did." He paled at that. She took a step forward forcing him to take a step back as her words continued to boil over. "I thought Robin was dead, and that I killed him. And I laughed! I celebrated! Because that's the kind of person I am!"

Jinx waited for him to say something, but for once, it seemed he was speechless. There was a pity in his eyes she wanted to destroy.

"Don't look at me like that!" With a snarl and a twisted smile, she laughed, "You thought you could race in with a couple of roses and this nice guy routine and you'd what? Sweep me off my feet? Ha! What a joke."

He actually looked close to tears. She'd never seen him look so hurt before. Even hiding in a storage unit after being beaten by Madame Rouge, he'd carried an air of confidence that she seemed to have broken with some choice words. Which is what she wanted. She'd been trying to get this hero off her back since the first rose. So why? Why didn't it bring her the joy it was supposed to? Why did it hurt her so much?

He was still silent, his eyes seemed to be searching hers for something. Some regret, some promise. Well, he wasn't going to find, not with her. Jinx looked away, her anger turned to grief.

"I'm never going to be that person you think I am. So do us both a favor and stop trying."

Her words spent, Jinx turned and left. She got to the end of the street and subconsciously paused, waiting for that familiar breeze and the itch of a rose in her hand, but it wasn't there.

For once, the speedster didn't follow.

Notes:

Oof, that hurt to write. I originally had that ending in Kid's perspective, but this was really a Jinx moment. I also had them fighting Kid Zoom instead of Doctor Light, but I really needed the weight to be more with Jinx and Kid Flash, so I needed a more light hearted villain for them to face.

Next Chapter: A Bouquet Exchange Is Interrupted