After that, there was nothing.
Literally nothing.
Jinx welcomed it, of course. She wanted nothing more than to drown in darkness and never resurface, to sleep forever and be lost in her hazy dreams. The pain from her broken leg would disappear, and so would her fervent worry for the Titan children. As she slowly felt herself sink into the abyss, she couldn't help but smile a little bit. There wasn't anyone here to hurt her. The HIVE didn't exist here. Gizmo wasn't there, Flash wasn't there, Mammoth and all the other assholes weren't there to jeer at her or bring her down.
She fell into the darkness, simply floating around in the nothingness. She couldn't grasp any concept of thought here. All she felt was a blissful warmth, the silence ringing beautifully in her ears and washing over her in undulating waves of utter relaxation. For once in her miserable life she was happy and peaceful; the pain dissolved into nothing but a little mist.
After that, there was nothing.
After that, there was nothing.
After that, there was nothing.
After that, there was nothing.
After that, there was nothing.
After that there was nothing.
After that THere was nothing.
AFter tHat there was Nothing..
AfTER that THEre was NOTHing...
A Fter thAt th there wwas-
Jinx blinked, consciousness washing over her painfully. It felt as though she had been run over by a truck. The world's worst hangover had finally caught up with her, leaving her helplessly drowning in her own misery and vomit. Her stomach heaved for a moment, and she thought she was going to spew everywhere. Closing her eyes and letting herself sink into the hard thing she was lying on, she tried to get her stomach to settle. Breathing in carefully, she concentrated on the soft humming noise surrounding her.
After a few moments, she felt well enough to open her eyes again. Oh, every part of her body ached like a bitch. Her leg especially; it felt as though it was on fire. Her throat was raw and on fire, completely devoid of water. She twitched painfully, slowly forcing herself into a sitting position to look around. For a few seconds she had believed that she was dead, but now she was... someplace quiet?
Maybe she was dead. Was this hell?
No, it was too nice for hell. Stainless metals all around her, tucked in a rather small space. Her fingers dug into the hardness she was lying on. Leather...? Jinx looked down to see brown, shiny leather, unstained by blood. It looked new. Ignoring her aching head, she slowly turned to see the rest of the tiny space she was in, the humming noise still hidden in the back.
Jinx could barely believe her eyes. It was a plane. Why in the hell was she on a plane? The last thing she remembered was.. She racked her head, suddenly desperate to remember.
"I hurry! Cyborg start the fly-thing! It on? Hurry hurry!" "Jink! Rwobin.. is she okayz? Her leg.. her leg gross..." "I hurry! Cyborg start the fly-thing! It on? Hurry hurry!"
The Titans..? The children! The Titan children!
"You're finally awake."
Jinx jumped violently in her seat, sending spasms of pain shooting angrily up her entire body. With a loud gasp and an obvious wince, Jinx tried to focus her blurring vision on the person standing in front of her. The person with the familiar voice. Her eyes scanned over the familiar looking suit, nearly torn in every place, bandages covering each and every hole. She raised an eyebrow, almost disappointed. "Creep?" Her voice felt as though she hadn't used it in a thousand years.
Creep raised an eyebrow at her, his purple eyes shining for a moment as he sat down. His entire face was still covered, except for his eyes. The suit was still the same, if not for the thousands of bullet holes embedded in the cloth. Some of the bullets were still drilled into the vest he had worn underneath, stuck forever in the material. "I'm glad you haven't lost your keen way with words, Lorraine."
"I told you not to call me that." Jinx snapped, not missing a single beat. "Where am I? Where are the Titans?"
A small chuckle escaped from Creep. "They're asleep in their seats. You have been unconscious for a while, it's been nearly an entire day."
Jinx stared at him for a long moment. Really? A whole day? "Why didn't anyone wake me up?!"
"You were a bit.. wounded." Creep said coolly, giving her leg a glance. "
"Besides, you are less annoying whilst asleep."
She snorted, trying to seem unamused by his banter. Well, it was good to know that some things remained the same. Creep was still.. well, creepy, and she was alive. Soft little snores floated from the backseat, small mumbles sounding suspiciously like children. It was enough to make her sigh with relief: so he wasn't lying. Everything, at least at the moment, was okay. Her throbbing leg distracted her for a moment, the pain making her eyes tear away from Creep and to the offending pain.
Her entire leg was wrapped in white gauze, the material stained with blackish blood. The stuff had crusted, staining the leather seat that she was lying on. The brown material was now a rusty red. Jinx winced and slowly moved her crappy burlap dress a bit upwards, exposing her thigh. It wasn't any better: her usually pale skin was black and blue, mixed with some greens in the middle. It looked as though she had been run over.
"You were unconscious as we left." Creep explained, his attempt in consoling her, it seemed. "I had to drag you from the floor to the jet, because you wouldn't move. Slade's companions had beaten you senseless, crushing your already broken leg into little pieces. Not to mention you were nearly shot at, and stabbed. You'd be dead if the Titan children didn't come to your aid, or if I hadn't taken you off that floor."
Jinx let out a choked laugh. "So what, am I indebted to you or something? If anything, I owe it to the kids. They hauled some ass in the end."
"You owe me nothing." Creep said in that horribly dull tone that always made Jinx roll her eyes. "I was merely explaining to you what had happened. And yes, the Titans had proved why they were Titans in the first place."
"Yeah." Jinx wiped her nose and pushed down the crappy little burlap dress she wore. It still irritated her skin. "Speaking of which, where are we going? Slade is going to follow us. This jet probably has GPS, or other some kind of tracking device. All he has to do is wait for us to land."
Creep stared at her with an unamused expression. "Have you forgotten what I'm capable of? I've already hacked into the system, and took out both the GPS and the tracking device for Slade to find us. Unfortunately, we're susceptible to attack from anyone. Even governments, who will take our jet for terrorists."
"Aren't we pretty close to that, anyway?" Jinx sneered.
Ignoring her retort, Creep shifted a bit in his seat. "We will land when the sun sets on the East side, where we are now. We'll go to a city and disguise ourselves for a bit."
Jinx scoffeded. That sounded easy. Too easy. "What makes you think I won't dump your ass the second we land? The deal was that I help you escape, which kind of fucking backfired but whatever, and that we go our separate ways. Why are you so willing to help me now?"
"I'm concerned about the safety of the Titans." Creep said, without missing a single beat. "It has nothing to do with you."
"And you care so much about the Titans now, why?" Jinx shot back. So what if her powers and leg were fried? She still had her wit.
Creep was silent for a long moment, nearly unsettling for her. She waited impatiently, wanting to move in her seat, but the pain stopping her from shifting too often. Creep looked down at the floor and then back at her, his eyes unreadable. "They're the only ones that can stop Slade. They're the only ones who've successfully escaped Slade many times. He would never show it to the rest of us, but the Titans were always an annoying thorn in his side that he couldn't remove. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't eliminate them. It makes him so angry, angry enough to do whatever it takes to destroy them while their weak. Even as children, they are dangerous. They proved that already."
"Fine." Jinx said quietly. "Valid point. But you're one of his.. minions. They're… We're your enemies."
"Yes." Creep agreed. "But I have my own reasons. Just leave it alone, okay? Take my help. It's not like you're going to be good on your own for a while anyway, with your busted leg and drained powers. Thoramine is a powerful drug. It'll take your body time to regain it's mutations."
Jinx made a face, remembering the unpleasant feeling of a needle being plunged into her arm when she was first capture. Then the dizzying sense of being unable to really move, and then the utter frustration of being unable to use her powers. She felt weak and human, something that she didn't want to go through again. At least the thing had a name now. Toramine. And at least she knew that her powers would return to her.
Eventually.
"Why don't you take off your mask?" Jinx asked, pushing her limp hair out of her face. "It's not like anyone's going to recognize you anyway."
Creep stiffened. "I prefer to keep it on."
Curiosity pressed in Jinx's chest. Why was this asshole always so deceptive? It wasn't as though he had anything to hide anymore. What was it with men and their need to be mysterious? "Why? Are you ugly or something?"
"No." Creep's voice was flat.
"I'm pretty sure you'd only be medium ugly. Compared to Mammoth, everyone was a model." Jinx cocked her head and leaned against the wall of the jet, relaxing her body for what felt like the first time in decades. The entire experience must have taken a decade off her lifespan. "Or maybe you have some kind of battle scar. Or a bad nose. Or thin lips."
"You are annoying as hell." Creep snarled quietly, getting to his feet. "I asked for you to leave my wishes be."
"And I asked you a simple question, and now you've got your panties in knot." Jinx fired back, feeling her face redden from the simple insult.
Creep left without another word, the door to the main panel of the jet swishing shut quietly. Jinx stared at the door for a second before huffing quietly, her leg still throbbing angrily against the leather seat. She was now alone, accompanied by the humming of the engine and the soft little snores of the Titan children. Every now and then she would hear a little snort, mainly from Cyborg, and the occasional little purring from Beast Boy.
The children seemed to be sleeping alright, at least. No nightmares. But perhaps they had seen worse.
I know it's been a long time, and I'm sorry. Truly.
Please review.