"Swindle" by Ed Alger (SecondLevelWriter)

Author's notes: Yep, still the same disclaimers from Chapter 1. Most of the events in the next few chapters will elaborate on things that happened off-stage during "Deception". Nope, I'm not dead, nor have I given up on this story. English Lit. class is just taking up a lot of my time right now. Fear not, I'm always keeping this story in the back of my head. :)

Chapter 5
Infiltration

The next few days were rather uneventful for Swindle. There was never any punishment handed down for sneaking out of his room, nor was there any mention that it even happened. His classes were going rather smoothly, as well. The martial arts class was helping him refine his skill with knife fighting, as well as teaching him new tricks to use should he be caught unarmed. His math class gave him a few problems, thanks to his short attention span, but his determination kept him mostly on track. In the technology course, however, the rogue had quickly risen to the top of his class.

Before class started on the third day following their run-in with the Titans, Jinx stopped by Swindle's room and knocked on the already open door. The thief looked up and had to quickly hide the surprised look on his face, as well as the T-com in his right hand.

"Oh, uh, hi Jinx!" he stammered, instantly stuffing the device into his back pocket. "What, uh, brings you here?"

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. You've been kind of quiet since our trip to the bank the other night."

"Oh, that... Well... I've... uh..." he struggled to find the right words while trying to ignore the protesting Tamaranean voice in his pocket. "I've been thinking about what happened. We got lucky in that nobody was captured or.. um, hurt."

The hexer grinned, easily figuring out who he was mostly referring to, "Don't worry, I'm a big girl. I can handle a few bumps and bruises. Besides, you were the one who helped get Bluebird off my back."

Swindle blinked several times as the nickname took a moment to register, "Bluebird?"

"It's short for 'Bluebird of Unhappiness'," she giggled a bit. "Just a little nickname we made up for Raven."

"Heh. Yeah, I see whatcha mean... But, um... Well, I had to do something or else you were gonna get hammered by that sack of money. I mean, we are a team, after all. Right?"

"That's why you have that now, isn't it?" Jinx answered with a smirk, pointing at the Hive's communicator just as she noticed the gold chain hanging from a nearby belt loop on his shorts. "Hm? What's this, a bracelet? How did you come across this little item?"

"It's a... uh... memento from someone I knew. I got it for her after the first week..."

"'Her'?" the sorceress echoed, interrupting him. "Your girlfriend, perhaps?"

Swindle smirked, holding back a chuckle, "Yeah, you could say that. We were startin' to get pretty close, but then she moved away before I even got a chance to say goodbye to her. All I've got to remember her by is this..."

Before Jinx could ask more questions, the bell for the first period sounded and cut the conversation short.

"Damn, there's the bell... Well, I'll see you after class, Swindle. Study hard!" Jinx said before running off, throwing a wink at him over her shoulder. She couldn't help but wonder why it seemed like he thought it was funny that they were talking about his former girlfriend.

The rogue just stood at the door and watched her leave, murmuring to himself, "See ya later, Jinxie. I'm gonna find a way to break whatever spell the headmaster's got you under, I promise."

Much later, during lunchtime, Swindle took a seat with his other new friends: Bumblebee, SeeMore, and another student by the name of Billy Numerous. All were greeted with a friendly wave of his hand, which was soon returned.

"Well well well," said Numerous in his thick Southern drawl. "Looky whut we got here. If'n it ain't the new big man on campus! Yer makin' quite a name fer yerself 'round here, Swindle."

"Is that so? I didn't think I'd get so popular in such a short time."

Bumblebee nodded, "We all heard about what you did during the entry exam. They say you set a record, and Gizmo's starting to get just a little jealous of you."

"Lemme guess, he was the original title holder."

SeeMore shook his head. "Rumor has it that Jinx has got a bit of a crush on you," he explained with a bit of a smirk. "It's also pretty well-known around here that ol' Gizmo has a soft spot for her, too. Although you'd never get him to openly admit it."

"I wondered why I kept getting those death-glares from him," Swindle chuckled a bit, while musing to himself that history does tend to repeat itself. He was then reminded of what he wanted to ask his fellow students, "Oh, hey, I've been wondering about something... Have there been any, uh, 'field trips' to different places? Like, say... the First Federal Bank of Jump City?"

"Yeah, we git tested every once 'n a while," Numerous answered. "I passed mine with flyin' colors! Made off with some high quali-tee construction materials, I did. Ain't that right, fellers?"

"You-u-u betcha!" a chorus of Billy duplicates shouted from practically everywhere.

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Swindle's forehead while he continued to dig for more information, "Has the headmaster told you guys what this project's all about?"

"Not yet, no," Bumblebee answered. "We figure it's some kind of high-tech weapon, since Gizmo is the only one overseeing it right now. All we're doing is getting the components for it. After the show you put on, I wouldn't be surprised if the headmaster assigns you a mission in the next day or two."

As they continued chatting, the rogue noticed another new face making his way past them. The young black man looked damnably familiar, although Swindle couldn't quite put his finger on it. The newcomer's outfit was fairly simple-looking; a regular, gray t-shirt with black pants with a metallic headband directly above his eyes. He was practically a mountain of muscle, and looked to be on par with Mammoth in terms of physical strength.

The rogue indicated the youth with a thrust of his chin, "Hey, who's that guy? I didn't see him during orientation."

Everyone else turned in their seats to follow their friend's gaze. Bumblebee was the first to respond, "Couldn't tell you. I guess he was a last-minute entry."

"An' he's already askin' fer trouble," Billy added. "He's sittin' where Mammoth, Gizmo, an' Jinx usually sit."

Sure enough, no sooner had the youth sat down than the trio was already looming behind him. Swindle strained his ears to listen in on them while the others only watched from where they were sitting.

"You're in my seat," Mammoth grunted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, newbie! This is our table! What d'you think you're doin' here?" Gizmo added.

"You look awfully familiar, though..." Jinx also commented, eyeing the new student suspiciously.

"What's yer name, punk?" the brute started interrogating.

The new student opened his mouth to respond, but Gizmo cut him off, "I'll bet it's something lame. Lemme guess, Snotmuncher? No, no, no, wait! Captain Nosepicker!"

The hex-caster narrowed her eyes while she studied him further, "Do you even have any powers?"

The newcomer barely had a chance to answer when Mammoth reached down and grabbed the sloppy joe right off his tray. As he shoved the food into his mouth, he let out another grunt, "I'm hungry... (urp) Now, get lost!"

"Yeah, scum! Take a hike!" the techno-geek chimed in again, this time throwing a disc-shaped device under his victim's chair. The object released a spring-loaded punching glove that immediately sent the new guy flying. It didn't take long for most of the cafeteria to erupt into laughter at the misfortune.

Swindle only sighed, "Another addition to the nameless rabble..."

The scene wasn't over yet, though. After picking himself up, the new student growled and slammed his fists together. His whole body suddenly transmuted from flesh and blood to dark gray rock. With another loud shout, he smashed those same fists into the table and sent the whole thing into the distant wall. The laughter abruptly stopped, and the trio could only stare in surprise.

"My name is Stone," the young man finally said. "And you guys need a new table."

"Not bad..." Mammoth mumbled, looking back at the destroyed table.

"Interesting..." Swindle also commented under his breath.

Jinx shrugged a little, adding confidently, "Let's just see how he does in Combat Practice."

"May I have your attention, please. Would Swindle, SeeMore, and Jinx please report to the headmaster's office for your next assignments. Once again, --"

"Looks like you guys're up," Bumblebee remarked over Brother Blood's voice. "Good luck, Swindle. Show 'em what you've got."

"Thanks, Bee. Although," the rogue put on a light British accent. "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck. Come on, See."

"Right behind you, Boss."

"Wait up for me, you two!" Jinx called as she ran to catch up. Just before they exited the cafeteria, the sorceress turned and gave her friends a parting wave.

Swindle again glanced back at the new student. He still couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen the guy before, and his voice sounded even more familiar. That guy definitely wasn't at orientation, so chances are good that his mind hadn't yet been reprogrammed by Brother Blood's psionics. If so, the rogue might have a valuable ally if the situation arose. He wouldn't have long to dwell on the subject before they all arrived at the headmaster's office, where they were ushered into a smaller briefing room.

"Ah, good. You're all here. I have a new assignment for you," Brother Blood greeted them as he closed the double doors behind him. "There is a rumor going around that Wayne Enterprises has developed a regulator chip that will withstand high temperatures. I'd like you three to... 'acquire' one."

Swindle rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I dunno if that'll be easy, Teach. I've heard Mr. Wayne makes it a requirement to have the highest level of security for any an' all prototypes. Especially after the incident they had six months ago."

Blood arched a curious eyebrow at the remark, wordlessly requesting more information.

"Hey, it wasn't me that did it. Wish I did, though. They say it was somebody workin' for... Slade..."

Swindle trailed off as realization hit him. He'd heard from his friends that there was a big battle between the Titans and Slade shortly before he arrived in Jump City, and that there was a rumor of one of the Titans actually joining the late criminal mastermind. He always wondered who it was...

Brother Blood's words shook the rogue out of his thought, "Ah, yes, I remember that. A good point, besides... In that case, you should deploy just before midnight. I would assume that security would be a bit lighter then."

SeeMore and Jinx nodded in agreement while Swindle remained in skeptical silence. It took a glare from the headmaster to remind the rogue that he was supposed to be enthralled, prompting a quick nod.

"If there are no questions...?" Silence followed Blood's query. "Excellent, you are dismissed. And Swindle, I'd like for you to lead this operation."

The thief was halfway to the door before he heard his name, "Who, me? I- ah.. I'm not really a leader-type person..."

"Nonsense. You have great potential, but you merely lack experience. Tonight should prove to be good practice." The headmaster placed a hand on Swindle's shoulder, "I know you won't fail me."

Swindle swallowed hard and looked over at Jinx and SeeMore, who were silently encouraging him with their smiles. After a moment, he met Brother Blood's gaze as evenly as he possibly could.

"I ain't gonna fail tonight. Count on it."

End of Chapter 5

In Chapter 6 - The rogue gets the chance to not only show off his thieving skills some more, but to also dip into his darker side... Wait, Swipe has a dark side?