"Swindle" by Ed Alger (SecondLevelWriter)
Author's Notes: Any and all disclaimers from previous chapters still apply here. Check my notes at the end of the chapter for more disclaimers, as I don't want to spoil things. The format is a bit different, but certain features are still about the same. Don't count me out just yet, I'm not out of this thing!
Chapter 13
Evacuation
Walls were cracking and shuddering from the explosions that were rocking the academy's foundations. Just as the fleeing students reached the landing where Gizmo's latest multipurpose vehicle awaited, Swindle decided to turn back to retrieve his belongings. He answered his comrades' protests with the calm assurance that he could out-speed the collapse of the academy and broke into a full run back towards the dormitory wing.
He was thankful that he had brought very little to the school in the first place. It barely took thirty seconds to get everything gathered together, which gave the rogue the idea to save some of Jinx's possessions with the extra time. Swindle abandoned subtlety this time, kicking down the door to Jinx's room and scouring the dresser and closet for anything that might be valuable to her. With little time left, he grabbed some extra sets of clothes and what looked like her diary. He soon learned that it wasn't her diary he picked up, but a small sketchbook.
"You draw? I didn't know you drew..."
He opened the book to a random page in the middle and found a large drawing of a unicorn staring back at him. The sketch made him laugh out loud, since he never believed that she liked unicorns even when she was in her more reformed phase. After flipping a few more pages, he found another large drawing that gave him pause. It was a large broken-heart icon, which looked exactly like the charm that he gave her so long ago. Curious, he flipped one more page to find a fantastic scene: Two figures together in the middle of a huge dance floor, encircled by a crowd of people. Blues and purples blended together all throughout the drawing, just as they did on the night they danced at The Retro Zone. Five words captioned the artwork, "The Night We Never Met". Time had stopped for the thief as he reflected on the artwork, placing two fingers over the dancers and knowing what it meant. The dreams that Jinx told him about were becoming clearer. She was finally starting to remember.
A loud bang shook the academy, taking Swindle out of his thoughts. The rogue hurriedly stuffed the book into his duffel bag, along with a few extra changes of Jinx's clothes, and raced back to the escape vehicle. Gizmo had already fired up the engines, apparently having no faith in his classmate's abilities. SeeMore and Mammoth hauled Swindle into the passenger bay and slammed the door shut, signaling an all-clear to get out of the area. It was only a minute later that the complex went up in a great ball of fire.
Wondering where their next destination was, Swindle made his way to the cockpit where Gizmo was calmly auto-piloting his craft towards the ocean.
"Uhh, Giz? I can't help but notice that we're driving straight towards the water."
"I know. We're on our way to the new academy. Ya might wanna get into a seat. This part gets pretty bumpy."
The thief did as instructed, just before the vehicle shuddered and jerked as it fought against the waves. The turbulence didn't last long, and the remainder of the ride would be as smooth as glass but as silent as a tomb. Everyone was still reeling from the shock of having a spy in their midst for so long and never even realizing it. Jinx seemed to be affected the worst, as she sat by herself at the rear of the vehicle and did nothing more than gaze out the window at the blue-green horizon of the ocean. She looked exactly as she did when he saved her from killing herself; depressed and distant.
SeeMore's voice broke Swindle's train of thought, "Man, I've never seen her like this before."
"I have, not too long ago," Mammoth replied behind both of them.
"Really?" the rogue asked as he looked back over his shoulder. "When was that?"
"When she first came back to the academy, before Brother Blood counseled her. All she kept talkin' about was some dude named Swipe..."
The answer made Swindle's blood turn to ice. After a swallow of air, he continued to probe for information.
"So, uh, what... what happened?"
"After she was counseled, she never mentioned him again." The brute shrugged and leaned back in his seat, "I don't get it, either. The way she talked, he sounded like someone important to her."
Jinx didn't appear to be paying any attention to the conversation, much to the relief of the others. Everyone knew of Jinx's hair-trigger temper, but Swindle had not yet been privy to the more violent side of it.
"Maybe someone should talk to her an' see if she's okay?" he finally tried suggesting. This brought a fervent stream of rejections from his classmates, ending with SeeMore vocally questioning the rogue's sanity.
"You ain't seen Jinx when she's mad," Mammoth added. "You don't wanna see 'er mad."
Swindle couldn't believe what he was hearing! What kind of friends are these people?
"B'sides, she'll get over it. Just like she did with that Swipe fella."
The thief felt his jaw set at those words. He knew better, and the drawing he saw proved it. Rather than starting an argument, he instead decided to make his way to the front of the submarine to see the newly-built academy. It looked quite impressive with its central tower stretching at least two miles up from the sea floor, dwarfing even the larger whales that swam near to it. Parts of it were still unfinished, particularly the large sphere near the tower's top. Why the hell Brother Blood wanted this thing built at the bottom of an ocean was anyone's guess.
"Not bad, huh? Bumblebee and I worked pretty hard to get everything put together," Gizmo bragged from the pilot's seat.
"Just the two of you worked on this? Even if I were helpin' you, it wouldn't be this far done yet!"
"Hel-looo! Technological genius here! I made more than enough work-bots to help with the construction. The headmaster said he wanted it done quickly, and quickly is what he's getting."
"Uh-huh. So, what's that bowl-thing gonna be? Satellite reception?"
The squinty-eyed techie only grinned, "That's our next school project; a tidal wave generator. The coolest thing about it is that the machine's been made from all of Rustybutt's schematics! We're gonna use his sonic cannon to wipe out the whole city!"
As Gizmo started cackling in anticipated triumph, Swindle was already thinking of ways to sabotage it.
The submarine sighed once as it docked in the new base, with the breaching of the water's surface sending a brief tremor through the vessel. Once everything went still again, Gizmo gave the all-clear to disembark. Swindle had to bite his lip to avoid breaking out the "take all small children by the hand" joke. He waited for the others to get off first and watched as Jinx silently shuffled off the ramp and through the mechanical doors leading into the base proper, her chin meeting with her chest and her eyes half-lidded.
"Hey guys!" Gizmo shouted from across the docking bay. "I just got off the comm with Brother Blood. He's lettin' us take the rest of the week off as long as we scope out some more places to get materials!"
"Sweet! Let's go break into the stadium an' watch the big football game!" Mammoth shouted back.
Swindle cleared his throat, "If it's all the same to you guys, I think I'm just gonna take a nice long nap."
"Bah, you're no fun," the brute grunted before turning to the hex-caster. "You wanna come with, Jinx?"
Jinx made no indication that she had even heard her friend's question. She simply opened the door to her new room and went in, shutting it quietly behind her. The other guys shrugged before turning to leave again and go have some fun at someone's expense. Swindle waited for them to be out of sight, even straining to listen for when the noise of the submarine's engine faded out. This was it. Now or never.
The thief knocked twice on Jinx's door and waited a moment without a response. He was about to knock again when something caught his ear. He pressed his ear to the door and focused. After a few seconds, he could hear someone quietly sobbing. He took the liberty of cracking open Jinx's bedroom door and peeked in cautiously.
The room was totally bare except for a bed and a dresser. Jinx laid on the bed, face-down in a pillow. She never looked up to see who was there with her, as she seemed to be lost in her despair.
"Uh.. Jinx?"
More sobbing, but no real reply. Swindle edged past the door and into the room, keeping a wily eye on the sorceress just in case. Jinx still did nothing but cry for a long moment, until she finally acknowledged the rogue's presence.
"I really thought he was the one..."
"You mean Stone, don't you?"
Jinx lifted herself up from her spot on the pillow and looked over at him. The makeup she wore around her eyes had streaked down her cheeks and smudged the whole area above her nose.
"Yes. I thought he was the one from my dreams. I just- I just had that feeling..."
Swindle said nothing despite his inner urges to tell her who she was seeing those visions, since he still wasn't sure if she remembered enough to believe the truth.
"I guess that's just one of those things, huh? I cause bad luck, so I..." Her face contorted as she started to cry again, "So I get it back double."
The rogue took a seat beside her at the edge of the bed while she curled up and covered her face with her hands. Without a word, he reached over to pat her shoulder and comfort her in some way. An idea popped into his head and he soon started rummaging through his duffel bag for the belongings he managed to save. The first thing he found was her sketchbook, which he laid against her left hand. Jinx opened one eye part-way to see what was placed in front of her.
"My... My sketchbook," she murmured through her sniffling. "You got my sketchbook for me."
"Yeah, and a few changes of clothes. It was all I had time for."
"Thanks..."
The hexer began flipping the pages of her book, searching for her favorites, and soon came across one of her unicorn sketches. Swindle peered over the top of the book and grinned at what he saw.
"You never struck me as a unicorn fan, Jinx."
Jinx pulled the book away from him out of reflex. That side of her was always carefully defended.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hold it against you, and I ain't gonna tell anyone else," he said as he moved back beside her. "Besides, you're a pretty good artist. Why didn't you ever tell me you drew?"
"It's... It's not a very redeeming quality around here. Everyone's more interested in my magic... when they're not scared of it, that is."
Swindle looked up at her, silently asking her to continue. Jinx turned halfway away from his gaze out of embarrassment, but continued her explanation.
"I guess that's why I liked Stone so much. He didn't know me as well as everybody else here does. Or, at least, I thought he didn't... Not until I found out he was really Cyborg..."
"But how can anyone not like you, Jinx? You've got qualities that nobody knows about!"
"Because they'll laugh at me!" The hexer sniffled, "Like they don't make fun of me behind my back as it is! I know the other students are looking at me. I can even hear 'em saying, 'Oh, there goes Jinx, the little witch-girl. Nobody wants to be her boyfriend 'cause she'll turn them into a toad if they make her mad.' Well, I don't want to go through life being some creepy girl that nobody wants to get close to! Sometimes, Swindle... Sometimes, I wish I could've been a normal girl..."
The thief put his hand on her shoulder and told her, "Don't say that, Jinxie. You're fine just the way you are, an' don't let anyone else tell you different. Your powers aren't 'creepy', they're just... well, different. We've all got our own gifts here. You shouldn't be ashamed of your powers, Jinx. You should be proud of 'em!"
As she listened to his encouragement, something began to tickle in the back of Jinx's mind once more. It was that same clawing sensation she felt back on prom night, as if something were trying to tear its way out of her head. She visibly winced at it, prompting some concern from her friend.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah... must just be fatigue or something. Maybe I should get some sleep."
"As you wish," Swindle got to his feet and took a few steps towards the door. He said to her over his shoulder, "If you ever wanna talk about anything, even if it's just to get it off your chest, you can always talk to me."
Jinx nodded once and attempted a weak smile, "Thanks, Swindle. Good night."
"Good night, Jinxie. Sleep well."
There was that name again. The buzzing in her head became louder. Where had she heard it before?
In the meantime, Swindle purposefully left the door cracked open before he left for his own room. He remembered seeing that same look on Jinx's face when he sang Safety Dance at the prom. That academy's fall must have caused Brother Blood to lose focus on his domination. With her other friends having a night on the town, this might be the best time to work on her memories.
Three hours passed.
Jinx tossed and turned in her bed, struggling to find a way to get to sleep. The moment she would try to close her eyes, the visions would hit her again. A large crowd of people surrounded her field of vision, bathed in deep blue light. In her dream, Jinx continuously turned around and around, scanning them for the one she was still looking for. At last, standing in front of her, was the silhouette of a young man. His hair was quite messed up, and she could make out the ragged features of his clothing.
"Who are you? Why won't you tell me!" she shouted at the apparition.
There was no response. Jinx felt as if she were simply staring at one of her drawings.
"TELL ME! WHO ARE YOU!"
The images melted away into blackness. Frustrated, the sorceress fell to her knees and cried into her hands. She had been haunted by these dreams ever since she came back to the academy. If only she could figure out what they were trying to tell her.
"What you're seeing is something from your past, Jinx." a quiet voice spoke to her. Jinx immediately recognized it as her own.
She looked up toward the speaker and saw a completely different version of herself. The girl wore a purple t-shirt with a broken-heart symbol on its chest, jean shorts that reached her knees, and a much shorter hairstyle where the "horns" curled in on themselves to form a vague heart shape. What caught her eye the most were her double's hands; bruised and nearly bloody, as if she had been beating on a steel door for days on end.
The other Jinx smiled, which only showed the fatigue even more, and said, "I was hoping I'd see you again."
"You're... me?"
"Of course I am, silly. I'm you from a different time. Before he took you away."
Jinx blinked, "You don't mean Brother Blood, do you?"
Her twin nodded once.
"But, how could that be? I've been in the academy for as long as I can remember!"
"And just how far back can you remember?"
Those words stopped Jinx cold. She suddenly realized that the farthest back she could recall was just before the semester started. Everything before that was nothing but a blur.
Just then, music began to filter into her mind. A familiar song...
Lying beside you, here in the dark, feeling your heart beat... with mine...
Jinx's double closed her eyes and smiled, "That's our song. I knew he'd be here for you."
"Who?"
"The one in your dreams. I can't tell you his name, though. That memory is still blocked from me."
Jinx was taken by her hands and lifted back to her feet by her other self.
"You have to go to him. He's been here all this time, waiting for you to remember him. It's up to you to do it. I know you can..."
At that moment, Jinx jolted awake and sat bolt upright with a cold sweat on her brow. She threw glances around her room as she fought to catch her breath again. In the darkness, all she could hear was the singing from her dream. She pulled herself out of bed to follow the sound, not even bothering with her slippers.
She didn't need to walk far. The singing was coming from Swindle's room.
Softly you whisper, you're so sincere... How could our love be so blind?
We sailed on together, and drifted apart.. And here you are by my side...
Warmth spread through Jinx's body, causing her to suddenly feel flushed. Her eyes teared up again, but she still couldn't understand why.
So now I come to you... with o-pen arms! Nothing to hide, believe what I say.
So here I am... with o-pen arms! Hoping you'll see what your love means to me...
Open arms.
During the chorus, Jinx started to feel lightheaded. Something in her mind was wrenching itself free of the blackness that had overtaken it. She stumbled forward through Swindle's door and dropped to her knees just inside his room. The rogue heard her fall and instantly jumped from his bed to help her up again.
"Jinx! What're you doing up? Are you okay?"
She barely opened her eyes to look up at him, placed her left hand to his cheek, and whispered four words to him before passing out.
"Are you... the one?"
End of Chapter 13
In Chapter 14 - Jinx seems to be shaking off her domination, but how long will it be before Brother Blood decides to strengthen his hold again? Can the Titans find the new academy's location before Swindle loses all the progress that he's made?
Author's Post-Notes: "Open Arms" is still property of Journey, just re-clarifying that to be safe. I hope I haven't worried anyone with my long absence. I promise to get these chapters rolling more smoothly again!