"Swindle" by Ed Alger (SecondLevelWriter)

Author's notes: All previous disclaimers still apply. OC, really AU, songs later. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Chapter 16
Salvation

Swipe threw his free arm into the water again and again in a frantic effort to find the cliff face. With each passing moment, his body was becoming number and his grip on Jinx gradually loosened. He blinked several times to rid himself of the psychic mire that had coated his senses, until he could finally make out a dark brown mass in front of him.

The cliff!

He swung his arm one more time and slapped it hard against the rocky surface. He was probably cut by something, but he couldn't even feel it now. He groped around for some handholds and hoisted himself up, seating himself on an overhang. The rogue carefully sat Jinx on his lap and checked her vital signs as best as he could. The lack of warmth alarmed him right away. He found that her pulse was very weak, and she was not breathing at all.

Swipe rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands. It seemed that his eyesight was getting better, and the voice was no longer trying to beckon him. He hoped that meant Brother Blood's power isn't as strong as it used to be.

Finally, he could see the beach just a short swim away. Getting his second wind, he waded back into the ocean and pulled Jinx to the more comfortable resting place. Once there, he laid the hexer on her back and proceeded to perform every water rescue maneuver that he learned from the academy.

He pushed his hands into Jinx's stomach first in an attempt to purge any water from her lungs. After a few unsuccessful tries, he turned her onto her back and pushed in on her lower back. A quick check showed a trickle of sea water dribbling from the corner of Jinx's mouth. Not enough to drown her, but certainly not a healthy amount to have in any case.

Certain that her lungs were clear, he turned her back over and put his ear to her mouth. Still no breathing. He checked the artery at her neck and found her weak pulse again. Without even thinking, he leaned down and clamped his mouth over hers to breathe into her lungs.

"C'mon, Jinxie, breathe."

Another breath. There seemed to be no response from her. Swipe cursed to himself and to the ocean.

"Dammit, this ain't fair! You can't take her now!"

He tried again and watched her chest rise and fall only once.

"Jinx, please... Please don't leave me. Breathe!"

Another breath. The fifth one, probably. He'd already lost count by that time.

"Don't you die on me, Jinx! I can't lose you now! Not after all we've gone through!"

He hung his head for a brief moment out of his growing despair, which kept him from seeing her chest rise again on its own.

"Please, Jinx... I- I love you too much... I can't be without ya now."

He leaned over her and tried once more. Before he could push more breath into Jinx's lungs, he felt her arms reach up behind his back and hold onto him. Her lips pushed back against his this time.

Their first kiss.

They pulled away after only a few seconds, when Jinx needed to cough. She managed to sit up with some help and turned to her long-lost boyfriend with a weak smile and a very faint blush.

"I guess that's two lives I owe you now."

Swipe simply smiled as he wrapped his arms around her again, holding her as tight as he could. The act caught her by surprise, but it didn't take long for her to return the favor.

"Tell me... Tell me I'm not dreaming..." she whispered.

"You're not dreaming. An' if you are, just don't wake up this time."

The hex-caster smiled and snuggled against him, still wanting to make sure.

"I'm sorry I've put you through so much trouble, Swipe."

"No trouble at all. I couldn't just letcha go after the impression you left in me. After Brother Blood took you, I suddenly noticed that the motel is a lot colder an' a whole lot quieter. I just... I couldn't take it."

Jinx giggled, "Oh, stop it. You're embarrassing me."

"I mean it! Ever since you dropped into my life, I haven't been able to go back to bein' the wandering thief who plunders the senator's kitchen every other weekend an' always preferred to work alone. I just can't do that anymore. You're somethin' special to me now, Jinxie. I mean, listen to me! I'm babblin' like crazy!"

The sorceress's blush brightened on her cheeks, a good sign of her returning health.

"I like ya a lot, Jinx. I wouldn't trade you for all the treasure in the world."

She smiled and leaned into him once more, happy to hear him say that. Swipe noticed a few stray bangs flattened against her forehead and brushed them away. This brought Jinx to the realization that her hairstyle had been destroyed by the water. She frantically tried to push it all back up as it was, but her pink curls cascaded back down around her shoulders again. It was then that she caught Swipe watching her, causing her to turn away a little with a much stronger blush across her face.

"You shouldn't stare. It's impolite."

"Sorry. I've just never seen you with your hair down like that."

"It looks awful like this."

"You kidding me? I think you look cute that way."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

Jinx's blush had now spread across the bridge of her nose while she remained silent.

"It doesn't matter how you look. It's never mattered. It's your heart that matters, and that's why I like ya so much."

Jinx smiled for a few seconds, "You still like me, even after seeing what I really am?"

"You're not really like that, though. I've seen the real you. You like having friends an' you care about 'em a lot. You really don't want to hurt anybody, but the friends you had always pushed you into doin' it. You became a villainess just because of the people you hung out with."

Her smile turned sad at the mention of her old friends, "You know... If Gizmo and Mammoth come looking for me, they'll want me to join them again."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, then..."

A moment of silence was shared between them as they gazed out at the ocean. Swipe couldn't enjoy the moment, though. The threat of losing Jinx to Brother Blood's control again was still very real, but there was no way of knowing when or where he'd strike next. The last thing he wanted was to be caught unaware again.

Jinx's abrupt sneeze brought the rogue back out of his thoughts. He needed to get her back to the motel so she could dry off and change out of those wet clothes. It wouldn't be a bad idea to regroup and plan the next move, anyways. With that decided, Swipe got to his feet and offerred the hexer a helping hand.

"C'mon, let's go home. We both need a dry change of clothes and some rest after all this."

Jinx accepted his hand and got to her feet. She carefully climbed onto his back and slid her arms under his to wrap them around his chest. Swipe got a few goosebumps when he felt her nuzzle into the back of his neck.

"Comfy back there?"

"Mm-hm, feels just like old times already."

The rogue smirked and said, "Good. Hang on. I can't go real fast, but I think I've got enough left in me to get us home."

Swipe took off running, zigzagging his way down several city blocks. The trip was made in silence. Swipe wasn't sure if he should ask Jinx about Cyborg/Stone now, as he feared it might make her depressed again. Likewise, Jinx remained silent over her memories of Stone because she knew that Swipe had just reconciled with the Titan and didn't want to reopen the old wound.

The rogue slowed down as he got within three blocks of the hideout to conserve what little strength he had left.

"Hey, Jinx..."

He immediately cursed himself for blurting that out.

"Yes?"

Swipe stayed quiet for a moment, still not sure of what to say next.

"What is it, Swipe?"

"... Nothing. I'll ask ya later."

Jinx tried to look at Swipe's face to see if something was bothering him, but to no avail.

"Are you sure you're okay? You act like something's bothering you."

"I'm fine, Jinx. Just need to rest, I think."

At last, they reached the motel. The place didn't look any different from when they were here last. There was one exception: A small piece of paper had been taped to the office door. Swipe eased Jinx off of his back before investigating. The writing on the note had a thin, graceful design, and appeared to be written with exact precision.

"Swipe- Sorry we doubted you. Maybe keeping your home from being demolished will be a way to make it up to you? -Raven & the rest."

The thief chuckled at the note and folded it up, murmuring to himself, "Looks like I've got a debt to repay..."

He pushed the key into the slot and turned it, opening the door slowly and peeking in. Nothing seemed different about the place. The beanbag chair sat in the same place and looked like it retained the same shape as it did when he left. The television was still in its usual spot across from the chair. Jinx looked out into the living room over Swipe's shoulder.

"Well, this place kept up pretty well with nobody here."

The rogue nodded once, just as he started to notice a dull pain throbbing in his arm. Looking almost blankly down at his forearm, he found a rather angry-looking gash right in the middle. He had cut himself on the cliff face, after all.

Jinx spotted it soon after and gasped, "Swipe! You're hurt!"

"It's not that bad..."

"Yes, it is! We've got to get this bandaged up! You're lucky it didn't hit an artery!"

Jinx pulled Swipe into the bathroom and immediately began searching for anything that looked like first aid items. She found hydrogen peroxide, some antibiotic cream, and enough bandages to turn Swipe into a mummy. No time was wasted as she went to work, tending her friend's injury.

"Jinxie, you don't have to do this."

"What're you talking about? You've saved me twice now, so I have to repay you somehow."

Swipe watched as she cleaned and bandaged the wound. To break the silence, the sorceress tried to start a conversation.

"What happened while I was... um, away?"

He looked up and met her gaze. It hadn't occurred to him that she never knew what he went through after Brother Blood abducted her.

"I... Brother Blood left me to deal with Slade an' Terra by myself. I couldn't do it... Got the holy hell beaten outta me... Managed to get away, somehow, 'cuz I remember waking up in the hospital room at Titan's Tower. Slade made his move a few days later, sent an army of robots into the city with Terra as their general."

Jinx nodded as she listened, while making sure the bandages were secured around the rogue's arm.

"I held off this huge, freakin' monster that I guess was s'posed to be three guys all rolled into one. Even he was too tough for me..." Swipe sighed heavily, "I couldn't save the world, let alone you."

"Sounds like it might have been Cinderblock. Don't feel so bad. It usually takes all five Titans to bring him down."

"Still, in the end, they were able to beat Slade. His base blew sky high, which I'm guessing took him and Terra with it."

"So, Terra's...?"

"She'd hafta be. It looked like those movies of Mount St. Helens erupting. Nobody could've survived that."

She looked down to the floor for a moment, giving the late geomancer a belated moment of silence. In the interim, Swipe still could not stop thinking about Jinx's relationship with Stone. His desire to know finally won out.

"Jinx?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened... between you an' Stone?"

The hex-caster balked at the name of her false ex-boyfriend. The remaining bandages fell from her hands to the floor with a quiet thud.

"It.. It was nothing."

"Jinxie..."

"We got kind of close, but nothing ever happened. Nothing had a chance to..."

"D'you remember what made you so sweet on him?"

"A little. When my memories were erased, I kinda went back to being the weird girl that everyone avoided. The other students were the most afraid of my power because it was the only one they couldn't understand. At that time, when I didn't know you, I started to think they had gotten to you when I didn't see as much of you anymore."

"That was because of Brother Blood sendin' me out to get junk for his 'project'. An' I didn't wanna try givin' you too much information about your past, because I didn't know if you'd believe me."

Jinx nodded and continued, "And then I met Stone. I hoped that the other students wouldn't tell him about me or my powers, and that he'd like me for who I am. I guess you could say that I saw the same things in him that I see in you."

Swipe listened closely, inviting her to go on.

"I did wonder why he seemed so nervous whenever I'd get close to him. Now I know, of course. The strange thing at the time was that after the dance, he suddenly turned around and started warming up to me."

"Brother Blood strikes again."

Jinx sighed, "It felt like I had really found the one for me then. But then the Titans showed up, and that's when I found out the truth. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I suddenly felt used... Alone..."

She curled her arms around herself as she remembered those moments, finding them so similar to when she was first thrown out of the Hive Academy. When she wanted to do nothing but end her suffering.

But, that was also when she ended up landing in Swipe's arms. Arms that were now around her shoulders, holding her close and making her feel safe again. She sniffled and smiled before her arms similarly wrapped around Swipe's back.

"Those times are over, Jinxie. I told you before that everyone deserves a second chance. This is ours. Things'll be better from now on, I promise." He helped her stand up again, "Let's get cleaned up and changed. All your clothes should still be in your closet. I never moved 'em."

She smiled a bit and playfully poked his stomach, "Better not have. It's rude to go through a lady's things."

"Thieves usually don't follow those rules, but I've got more restraint than they do."

"Says the hopeless kleptomaniac."

"Just take your shower!"

After a few minutes, both teens were clean of sea salt, dressed in fresh clothes, and feeling much better after the ordeal in the ocean base. Jinx chose to wear her old nightgown since she was already quite worn out after all that had happened. Swipe had the same idea, as he was already in some flannel pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt. They came out of their respective doors and nearly bumped into each other.

Jinx giggled upon seeing what her friend was wearing, "I take it this means you aren't going to The Retro Zone tonight?"

"Are you kiddin' me? I still feel like a truck ran over me. Repeatedly." He stretched his arms and yawned, "B'sides, it's not like it'll grow legs an' walk away in the morning. I'll visit them soon enough."

The hexer closed the space between them in only a couple of steps, hugging Swipe tightly, "Then, I guess this is 'Good night,' huh?"

"Good night, but not goodbye." He embraced her just as tight, and added a peck to her forehead, "Sweet dreams, Jinxie. I don't think you've had many lately."

She smiled up at him with a small blush across her cheeks, "I haven't, but I'm sure they will be tonight. Good night, Swipe. See you in the morning."

They held onto each other for a minute more before going their separate ways to bed. Swipe rubbed his eyes a few times and scratched various itches over his torso before climbing into bed. The whole act appeared to be a lot more laborious than it normally would be. The exhausted rogue fell onto his stomach and promptly dropped off into slumber, while Jinx quietly slipped under her covers and did the same.

Swipe soon found himself all alone and in total darkness, fumbling to find a wall or a light source to help him find his way. He finally felt a light switch under his fingers and flipped it on, which caused two spotlights to shine brightly before him. Standing in each spotlight were Jinx and Cyborg, and both were gazing at the other. They walked towards each other and embraced tightly before glancing in Swipe's direction with smirks on their lips and a familiar red aura glowing in their eyes.

Before Swipe could say anything, Brother Blood's face appeared over the couple and fixed his glare upon the thief.

"Come to me, my students. Come to Steel City!"

"No! You- You don't control me! You can't control her! Jinxie, snap out of it!"

"Join me in Steel City. Come to me..."

"JINX!"

Whether Swipe shouted that name out loud or only in his dream would remain unknown as he suddenly awoke and sat bolt upright. Sweat rolled off his brow as he looked around for intruders. Finding none, he leapt from his bed and out of his bedroom to check on Jinx. If that message was no dream...

He parted open the curtains to her "bedroom" and found her thin form still sleeping peacefully under the blankets. Breathing a sigh of relief, he knelt down next to her bed and placed his hand on her shoulder. He watched her sleep for twenty minutes before fatigue quelled his adrenaline rush and he drifted back to sleep, this time on the floor.

End of Chapter 16

In Chapter 17 - Worried over the threat Brother Blood poses to his relationship with Jinx, Swipe tries to determine where Steel City is and what makes it the target of the headmaster's next strike rather than Jump City. However, business in crime-fighting never seems to go stale...