Jinx promised herself to wake before the sun came up in the morning, determined to refreshed enough so that they could make their escape that day. She had expected Creep to still be asleep against the rocks and bushes, the silent statue amiss the lush scenery. But as she rubbed her eyes and stretched out, she saw that Creep had disappeared, no guard found. Nothing.
It was as if he wasn't there to begin with.
Jinx frantically looked around her, making care not to start screaming in case the kids woke up. She was on the edge of panic; had Creep snuck away in the middle of the night, faithful to Slade the entire time? How the hell could she have been so stupid? She couldn't trust him. Especially since he had been one of Slade's followers. He could have killed Jinx in her sleep, or even the kids.
The kids.
With a startled yelp, she scrambled to her feet and ran up to the mouth of the cave, half-expecting to see no one there. Or even worse, dead Titan children.
She stopped at the entrance, dripping with sweat. The children were lying on the ground still, curled around each other. Beast Boy was a little tiger, and the other three were using his hide as a pillow. They were perfectly fine; Cyborg's loud snoring unmistakable against the echoing of the cave. They were fine. Utterly fine.
"What are you doing?"
Jinx jumped violently, her hands balled into fists as she twisted around, her first instinct to punch the person behind her.
It was Creep, still dressed entirely in the Slade's uniform, the mask still over his nose and mouth and only revealing his eyes. He raised an eyebrow at Jinx's expression, seeming disgusted with her. "Seriously, what are you doing?"
Jinx let out a splutter. "I.. I thought you had left, you asshole!"
Creep stared at her, ever so expressionless. "I didn't. I took a piss."
Jinx breathed exasperatingly, relief weighing down on her shoulders. So he HADN'T left her alone to die, along with the kids. He hadn't betrayed her. She was pathetically happy that Creep hadn't left; he was the only person that was an adult. Ever since Raven had.. "left", she was stuck with the kids. And as much as she loved those Titan kids, she needed someone else to talk to besides babbling toddlers.
"Whatever." She huffed, crossing her arms. There would be time to argue later- they had more pressing things to worry about. After they had escaped the island and were safe, then they could argue to their hearts content. Jinx sighed and her shoulders fell in surrender. Creep wouldn't be an easy person to deal with, she knew. But he was all that she had. The only possible way of escaping Slade once again was through him.
And she had to take it.
"What do we do now?" she asked quietly, her voice soft so she wouldn't wake the kids. Not yet. They needed their energy.
Creep looked at her, his eye's expression unreadable. "I'm not sure. But whatever we do, we must do it quickly. The feeding cycles for the prisoners will start soon, and then the guards will notice your disappearance. The children's absence will be discovered soon after. Slade will be infuriated, to say the least. The entire island will be ravaged within hours, and not one stone will be left unturned. You and I will be found, and we will be killed instantly."
Goosebumps settled over Jinx's skin at that. He was right. They were both virtually helpless once the guards swarmed the island, Slade himself rising to search for them. With her powers gone, she was as good as dead.
"We can't fly off the island on Beast Boy alone." Jinx said, crossing her arms tiredly. Her pink hair was down around her shoulders in sticky sweaty strands, and she was exhausted already. "And I want to make sure Slade won't follow us again. At least not for a while."
"The bomb underneath the island should create an explosion big enough to destroy Slade and his followers." Creep raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. "We can steal a jet from the surface and take off in that. Beast Boy will not have to transform."
Jinx took another look at the children. "We can't set it off alone. We'll need them."
"And here I believed you hated them." Creep said, almost affectionately.
Jinx narrowed her eyes at him, a small scowl etched on her lips. "And how would you know? I thought he had just met."
Creep let out a small, spooky laugh that sent another round of goosebumps on her skin, pricking on the back of her neck. "I know whom you are. You do not know me, but I know you. We all know you. Slade has a very detailed report of you, and of all the children. I know all of your secrets, Lorraine Moore."
Lorraine Moore?
Jinx stared at Creep with wide eyes, at first utterly shocked at what he had said, and then terrified. Lorraine Moore was her childhood name, the name that she had grown up with until she had realized the freaky power she had gotten. But she had never told anyone that name, not even her closest friends at the HIVE academy. They would've only laughed.
Slade truly knew all of her secrets. And that was more horrifying than anything else she could've been told.
Creep chuckled, those eyes growing dark at her horrified expression. "You seem surprised to say the least, Lorraine."
"Do NOTcall me that!" Jinx hissed fiercely, her fists balled at her sides. "That's isn't my damned name! Call me that again, and I'll gut you the first chance I get!"
"I hit a nerve?" Creep said softly, cocking his head. He didn't seem fazed at all by her threats, nor did he seem frightened. In fact, he looked as emotionless as ever. It infuriated Jinx beyond belief, even more now that he had dug up parts of her that she didn't even know was out. "You do seem cranky with me. Maybe it's the heat getting to you."
"Oh, fuck you." Jinx scowled, turning to head into the cave to wake the kids. One more minute with Creep and she would've lost her temper; an attempt to grab a stick or something to smash the idiot over the head with was too tempting. Even without her powers, she was still willing to kick ass if she could.
But again, she needed him. No matter how much he scared her.
Jinx and the children ducked into the narrow underbrush, waving away the mosquitoes and gnats. They were waiting by the entrance of Slade's building, watching silently as the guards marched in and out. The sun had just come up over the horizon, and the building had come to life. It was a nice day to be out, Jinx had to admit. It wasn't too hot outside, the sun and clouds in perfect ratio. It almost looked like the perfect paradise, if it wasn't for Slade's lackey's running around with their drills and guns, their soulless eyes glancing over everything in sight.
The alarms hadn't tripped off yet, which told Jinx that her disappearance hadn't been discovered. Even more disturbing; that meant the children's absence hadn't been found either. How long would it be before these assholes noticed?
Creep was lurking among the guards, his eyes looking at them ever so often, just standing at the entrance of the base and nodding at his fellow staff. He had explained to Jinx that he would help them inside without being noticed, and from there they could activate the bomb and slip into the jet. He would follow them shortly after.
Starfire and Robin were cuddled together, their eyes wide with fear. Beast Boy was peering underneath Robin's cape, and Cyborg was staring at a tree. None of them spoke, but they understood that they had to escape, or else it would be their last time seeing the sun. Jinx had tried to explain it as gently as she could, but it ended out coming out so blatantly that Starfire started to cry in terror. It had taken Jinx a good 15 minutes before she calmed Starfire down, and then Cyborg had to use the restroom.
It had been a hard morning.
"You guys remember what to do, right?" Jinx whispered as she watched the guards form a single line, starting to go into the building for whatever evil plan Slade had hatched. She looked at the children, her mouth set in a firm line.
They all nodded. Starfire whimpered quietly, but stayed quiet.
"We knows." Robin muttered, looking at the entrance with a fierce expression. "Me n' Starfires sneak into the basements and make boom. Right? An' Creep come with us."
"Yep." Jinx looked at the entrance. "Me and Cyborg and Beast Boy need to get the jet started so that we can get the hell out of here. Creep'll protect you both. Not that you'll need protecting; you guys are superheroes."
"Supa-heroes." Starfire mumbled, an echo after Jinx. She looked at Jinx with wide emerald eyes. "We save? We like Batman?"
Jinx gave her a small smile. "Just like Batman. The both of you."
The beam on Robin's face was more than enough reward for her.
The silence in the air was enough to drive them all insane, but the sounds of footsteps coming towards them was enough of a welcome. Jinx peeked her head through the foliage just enough to see Creep's black figure stepping towards them, his boots clomping quietly on the pavement. The leaves rustled aside and Creep looked at them, the same empty eyes and the black mask over his lips.
"They've gone inside for now. It's now or never."
Jinx stepped out cautiously, the children following closely behind her. They hid behind Jinx's thighs, peering out to Creep with distrust. Both Robin and Starfire had protested going with him, begging to go with Raben instead, or with her, but Jinx had to make them go with Creep. It was hurtful, to see the children so distrustful of everyone they met.
She turned and gently pushed Robin and Starfire over to Creep, the both of them looking as though they would much rather be someplace else. Kneeling on the ground, Jinx grabbed Robin's little shoulders and shook them gently.
"It's up to you both now." She said softly, her voice choking a bit. Jinx looked at them and gripped their shoulders as tight as she could. Would it be the last time she saw their stubborn little faces? God. She couldn't believe she was getting choked up over the damned Titans, but she was. "Robin, I know you're a leader. You're so brave. And Starfire.." Jinx swallowed painfully. "If anyone bothers you, you throw your bolts at them as hard as you can."
"As hard as I cans throws?" Starfire asked excitedly, her face beaming.
Jinx nodded and gave her a small smile. "As hard as you can throw. The both of you stay safe, and protect one another. I'll be seeing you soon."
Creep looked at her silently, giving her an affirmative nod. He walked away with the children, quietly slipping into one of the side doors and disappearing from view. It was silent for a moment, the birds chirping. It was strange to feel both Robin and Starfire gone, their giggles now absent. She missed them already, but there wasn't time to mourn.
She turned to Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were both tracing their fingers into the dirt and sticking it up their noses. Great.
"Come on, guys." Jinx said firmly, pointing to the doorway. "We've got a plan, and we're going to go through with it."
Put in some more Creep moments for all of you. :)
Please review.