"Swindle" by Ed Alger (SecondLevelWriter)

Author's Notes: All previous disclaimers still apply here. Since this story's is already flagged for AU, I'm taking a bit of a liberty with the chronology. Just a little warning so you're not scratching your heads later. :P

Chapter 17
Investigation

Swipe awoke before Jinx did, just after daybreak. He rocked his head from side to side to get the kinks in his neck out and attempted to do the same with his back, eliciting a few disturbing cracking noises in the process. To the rogue's surprise, none of it awakened Jinx. Figuring that she had a harder night than he though, Swipe decided to let her rest some more and headed to the back lot for some target practice. He found his training arena in severe disrepair, with weeds sprouting up in several patches and most of his makeshift drones partially rusted and malfunctioning.

"As grateful as I am that they kept my home from bein' torn down, I wish they'd've kept it up a little, too," he muttered as he tossed one of the broken drones onto a pile of its brethren. "Guess I'm not trainin' today..."

After checking on the still-sleeping hex-caster, Swipe headed off into the city in search of new supplies. He passed by the library on his way to a construction site, and figured a little research into what made Steel City so special to Brother Blood couldn't hurt. The trip was only a few minutes out of his way, and finding a free computer would take even less time. Swipe immediately opened a search engine site and entered the words "Steel City."

After a few pages concerning the history and culture of the city, Swipe started finding the local news sites. The first of the links brought him to an online news forum, with a huge top story headline.

Steel City Welcomes New Heroes to the East Coast!

Today marks the arrival of a new branch to Jump City's famous band of crime-fighters, the Teen Titans. They have been dubbed the Titans East by the mayor and have already begun construction of their very own version of Titans Tower. The current standing members of Titans East are Aqualad, Speedy, Mas Y Menos, and Bumblebee. It is not clear yet if a leader has been chosen, or if one will be chosen at all. Base construction is nearly complete...

"Bumblebee, eh?" Swipe thought out loud, glancing back over the article. None of the other names rang any bells for him, unless they were all going by aliases while in the academy. Still, he noted to himself to warn Bumblebee of a possible attack from Brother Blood. He knew she turned on him, so it was entirely possible that he would hunt her down and exact his revenge.

What bothered him, however, was the lack of any activity in the Steel City area.

He looked at the headlines from the last few weeks and saw nothing out of the ordinary. So, why this big move? Most of the supervillains were already centralized in Jump City, thanks to all the industry and high-end technological facilities. Steel City appeared to be more aligned towards metal fabrication and the like. The only one who might be interested in that would the the rogue himself, not a megalomaniac bent on world domination. Even Brother Blood scavenged the materials for the underwater base from the ruins of the academy, only needing specific metals and glass to construct his secret weapon.

Come to think of it, there was no mention of previous attempts at robbing any of these places. Brother Blood's machinations were never subtle, as the results were usually quite visible and announced on the morning news. Furthermore, the article hailing the arrival of Titans East wasn't very old. If Brother Blood was going to hit them, he would have done so already. Something wasn't adding up...

"I never thought I'd find you here," a quiet, raspy voice spoke from just over the thief's shoulder.

Swipe nearly jumped from his seat, or perhaps he had done so in the time it takes for the human eye to blink once. He turned a wide-eyed gaze towards Raven, who stood just behind him with a few books in her arms.

"Raven!" he breathed. His words came out more like a whisper's version of shouting. "You scared the crap outta me!"

"Sorry. I didn't know you were that deep in thought. What're you up to?"

Swipe appeared hurt, "Why does everyone ask me that? Like I'm always causin' trouble..."

"Because you usually are causing trouble," she replied with a smirk. "Alright then, how about Jinx?"

"She's fine right now. Just sleeping back at the motel."

"Mm. That's good to hear..." The cloaked Titan snuck a glance past the rogue to see what he was looking at, "So, I guess you've heard about it too?"

"What, the Titans East? I only just now read about it. I didn't think Bumblebee would make that big a step so soon."

"That's not quite what I was talking about."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean?"

"Cyborg was sent to Steel City to help start up the eastern branch about two days ago. I heard Robin say that the base was attacked last night. and now Cyborg's decided to stay there as leader." She sighed once, "I knew something like with was going to happen..."

A chill of realization raced up Swipe's spine as he listened. All the pieces to this puzzle suddenly snapped into place.

"It's a trap..."

"What did you say?"

"That's it! That's gotta be it! It's a TRAP!"

"Swipe, what do you mean..."

Without waiting for the rest question, Swipe shot out of the library and left Raven more worried than confused. Once she checked her books out, she wasted no time in returning to Titans Tower. Talk of a "trap" and the sudden shift in the rogue's emotions were definitely things to report back to Robin.

Meanwhile, Swipe was already back at the motel and checking on Jinx. She was still sound asleep, which made the thief's departure all the easier. He quickly wrote up a note and pinned it to the curtain surrounding Jinx's bed. He hesitated for just a moment to give his girlfriend one last look. He didn't want to leave her alone again, but, if Brother Blood regains his power, there would never be any peace for either of them.

The rogue leaned down to kiss Jinx's forehead, which caused a warm smile to spread across her face. He smiled as he watched her before heading to the front door, vowing silently to return only after their former headmaster was defeated.

It would be two and a half hours before Jinx awoke to the small rectangle of paper that was attached near her face. She sat up and unfolded the note, waiting for her eyes to adjust before reading.

Jinxie,

I won't be here when you wake up, and I'm sorry for that. I have a good hunch that the Teach is going to hit Cyborg while he's in Steel City. It's the only chance I'll have at taking him down, once and for all. I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't get you up. Well, it's because I didn't want to see you get hurt, or worse. I know what you're going to say, that you're a tough girl and can take care of yourself, but I can't risk losing you a third time.

Please, just this once, stay in Jump City. I'll make it up to you, I promise.

Love,

Swipe

Jinx felt a knot of dread tightening in her stomach as she read. Without so much as a second thought, she jumped from her bed and quickly got dressed. She wasn't there for Swipe when he had to battle Slade, and she would be damned if she let that happen again with Brother Blood. The hex-caster was about to leave the motel hideout when she realized that she had no idea where he was or, if she did, any way to make up the head start he likely had. A part of her still hated to admit it, but there was only one group she knew of that could help her now.

Later that evening, at Titan's Tower...

Beast Boy had just finished his quick game of Super Ninja Showdown 6, where he had managed to knock another Cyborg high-score entry from its perch, when he heard a frantic buzzing coming from the front door's intercom. Before letting the others know, he decided to investigate personally. Maybe it would be something he could resolve himself.

He was shocked to see Jinx standing on the other side of the door, cheeks streaked with tears and eyes filled with anxiety.

"J-Jinx? What're you---"

She held the note up to the shapechanger's face and said in a very terse voice, "There's not a lot of time to explain. I need to get to Steel City before it's too late, and you guys are the only ones who can get me there before Swipe does."

"Wait a minute. Isn't he supposed to be back at... uh... wherever it is you're supposed to be?"

"He was there last night. When I woke up this afternoon, though, he was gone. All I found was this note, saying he's going to Steel City to stop Brother Blood from attacking Cyborg."

Beast Boy hesitated to buy her story at first. Jinx had been brainwashed by Brother Blood once. It might have happened again...

"You have to believe me! I don't want him going out there by himself! I need to be there with him!"

"Let her in, Beast Boy," Raven's quiet voice spoke from the adjacent hallway door. "She's telling the truth."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I already told Robin the same exact thing. I ran into Swipe at the library earlier today. He was looking up Steel City."

Jinx stared at Raven intently, absorbing every word she said.

"When I mentioned Cyborg going there to lead Titans East, he said something about a trap and left in a flash. I guess my premonition was right, after all..." Raven looked back to Beast Boy, "Let her come in. Maybe her story will convince Robin to help Cyborg."

The green Titan was about to protest the idea, but a sharp glare quickly overturned the decision. Jinx was then led inside to the main meeting room, where Robin and Starfire were watching television. Actually, Robin was flipping back and forth between the various national news channels with a rather sullen look on his face while Starfire brainstormed on ways to cheer her best friend up. When the two Titans noticed Jinx's entry, they both got to their feet and prepared uncertain battle stances. Raven was the first to speak.

"Relax. She's fine, and she's got a favor to ask."

Robin lowered his fists, "A what?"

"That's what I said..." Beast Boy muttered.

Jinx ignored all comments and held up the note again, "I came here to ask for your help. Swipe is already on his way to Steel City. He believes Cyborg's in trouble, and Brother Blood is the one behind it again. I'm not letting him face the headmaster alone. Please... Please, help me."

Robin mulled over this for a moment. What Jinx said coincided with Raven's report on Swipe, and if Brother Blood was still at large...

Jinx mistook the pause for disbelief, "You have to believe me! I know what I've done before doesn't make it easy to trust me, but I'd never lie about Swipe! If he's going to fight, then I want to fight too!"

The room fell silent, with the Titans slightly dumbfounded at seeing this particular side of Jinx.

"I can't lose him, either..." The sorceress sniffled and added quietly, "I don't want to be alone again..."

Starfire was the first to step towards Jinx. Just listening to the sorceress's story, she knew for sure that this was the same Jinx that danced the night away at The Retro Zone and found a new purpose in her life. She gently placed her hands on Jinx's shoulders and smiled.

"I believe you... Friend." She looked to her fellow Titans, "We shall help her, yes?"

For a moment, all eyes fell to Robin. Their leader considered the matter for only a few seconds before giving a firm nod.

"Titans, we're heading to Steel City. Jinx, you're welcome to come with us."

The hexer felt her eyes welling up all over again, as she never once believed that it would feel so good to be accepted like this. She furtively tried to keep her head down and use her bangs to hide her tears.

"Thank you... Thank you all." She cleared her throat and rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes before looking back up and seeing the Titans looking on with smiles of varying degrees on their faces. After an embarrassed giggle, she said, "Well, why is everybody standing around and staring at me? Are we going to Steel City or not?"

With a single nod from Robin, the four Teen Titans ran for the hangar bay with Jinx right behind them.

At that same moment, halfway across the country, Swipe was riding a freight train to conserve energy on his trip eastward. He held Jinx's bracelet in his left hand, letting it weave between his fingers as he looked at it. Despite not being able to give it back to its rightful owner, he was glad to still have it as a reminder of the girl he was fighting for. A thought crossed his mind; a lyric from a song he remembered hearing on the radio, which influenced his musical preferences for the rest of his life.

'Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?'

The memory of that song would help the rogue fall asleep, still wondering if he did indeed have what it takes to be a hero.

End of Chapter 17

In Chapter 18 - All of the performers are ready to take the stage. Brother Blood is set to strike, Swipe is racing to stop him, and Jinx is ready to put herself at risk for the one she cares for. What will happen when the curtain rises? We'll soon find out! (I hope!)