When the team arrived back at the base, they gave themselves only enough time to make cups of coffee and a glass of water for Siren, before they dove straight into business. The coffee table in the Main Ops room had been renovated into their make-shift office, with papers and a laptop with police footage covering the surface.

"What'd your sister look like? We didn't get a good look at her from the video feed," said Argent, before sipping her coffee. She was leaning over the table, looking like a drooping flower.

"She is smaller than myself, with wild black hair and a darker tint of green to her skin. She says it makes her look more mysterious, but I think it looks more like seaweed," Siren said, smiling over the rim of her glass. "She is a better singer than I."

"We'll get her back," Jinx found herself saying. Siren looked almost as surprised as she did, but nodded, looking grateful.

"Could your old team be hiding in one of their bases?" Hot Spot asked. "We could see if they're there."

"I was thinking of that," Jinx said. "We had our fair share of hideouts, but they would've cleared them out already. They know I'm working for the good guys."

"Could still be worth a shot. Maybe they've left some clues behind, some plans about what they're doing. They seem messy enough for that."

"Except they haven't been," Jinx said. "Not this time. At least, not unintentionally." She still wasn't convinced that the van they found had been there by mistake.

"But their bases are our only lead so far," Kid Flash said.

"I must concur. So far, these papers give us nothing," insisted Siren, scowling at the surface of the table. "We are running out of time."

"We could contact Jump's police and see if they could check out the hideouts," suggested Argent.

But Jinx was shaking her head. "You couldn't find them unless you knew where to look. Plus, the police couldn't hack through the security Gizmo and I made in a million years. Kid Flash and I would be faster."

"Alright, you two can check them out," Hot Spot agreed. "But don't engage if you don't know exactly what you're up against. Call us for backup first."

Jinx quirked an eyebrow up. "Who's bossing around who now?"

He smirked, and Jinx returned it.

"In the meantime, I think it wise to convene with the creatures of water," Siren said. "The chance is slim, but perhaps they have witnessed clues we did not."

"You can talk to animals?" gawked Argent.

"Underwater creatures," clarified Siren.

"Remind me to hook you up with Aqualad," quipped Kid Flash.

"That could give us some more information, but I'm not sure it's safe for you to go out right now," admitted Jinx. "The same people who took Nixie may be after you, too."

"I can be her bodyguard," Hot Spot said. "It'll give me something to work on while you and Kid are gone."

Siren frowned, looking ready to protest, but then she tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "Does this mean you must obey my commands?"

"Yes," said Argent, the same time Hot Spot answered, "No."

It was Argent's eyes that Siren met. "I will accept him as my bodyguard, then."

Now Hot Spot looked ready to protest, but Argent broke in with a well-timed yawn, stretching her arms. "Now that we've got that figured out, anyone mind if I rest up here? I'll keep an ear to my communicator and the police's radio, and anyone who needs a rest can trade off with me."

"Sounds good," Kid Flash said. "Rest up, and let us know if anything happens." The team started finalizing their plans, but Jinx was interrupted when her phone buzzed. "One sec, guys." She walked away from the table, and took out her phone. When she saw the number, all at once, her body went cold. Then burning hot, as she mumbled some excuse—not even sure if it was coherent—before shoving her way into the hallway.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Mom?!"

T*T*T*T*T

Jinx had just ended the phone call when there was a knock on her door. Her heart was still beating fast when she opened it. Unsurprisingly, Kid Flash was on the other end. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Were you listening?"

He blinked in surprise, but shook his head. "Boy Scout's honor," he said, raising one hand in the scout oath. "We just wrapped up the meeting, and I wanted to make sure you were alright. You ran out of there almost as fast as me."

"Right. Sorry." Jinx sighed, two fingers tapping her forehead to try and get her mind back on track. Just hearing her mother's voice again made it feel like her body was one tight muscle ready to spring, and she struggled to relax her bunched-up shoulders. "How'd it go?"

"Things are moving along. Siren and Hot Spot are getting ready to leave, and Argent's resting up."

"Good," exhaled Jinx, nodding.

Kid Flash leaned against the doorway, his eyes glancing at her hands, and only then did she notice she was picking at her sleeves. She stopped, crossing her arms instead. Kid Flash's gaze flicked back up to her, a question in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," she muttered. "I'm fine."

"Alright. Did you...want to talk about it?"

"Do I have to?"

"Nah."

"Then not really."

Kid Flash nodded, his expression thoughtful as his fingers tapped rapidly against his thigh, belying his nonchalant demeanor. She hoped he wouldn't push it. "Did you need some time to yourself?" he asked instead.

"No," Jinx said immediately. Then added, more gratefully, "It's fine. Let's just get going." Give her something else to think about.

"If the lady desires." Kid Flash flashed her a grin as the worries seemed to fall away from him like cobwebs. That was one point in the speedster's favor; he didn't hold on to things. He knelt down in a squatting position. "Hop on, Slow-poke."

Jinx rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling as she knotted her arms around his chest and held on as he stood up. She knew the moment would be brief with Kid Flash's speed, but in that moment, she didn't think about her old team or her mom's voice. Just this moment, of being with Kid Flash solving another case, one of many. She never would've thought she'd seen the day, but it felt...familiar.

T*T*T*T*T

Their first stop was back in Jump City. Once they hit the city limits, Kid Flash slowed to about the speed of a plane (slow for him), probably to take in the sights. From what she could tell through the blurring background, the city looked the same as when they had left it, with quiet streets and an almost idyllic air, as if it was in a perpetual summer. Guess those annoying goody-two-shoes were still doing their job. Jinx wouldn't call herself a nostalgic person, but in a way, it was comforting to see it hadn't changed. That the place she had called home for so long was still there, nearly untouched. Nearly. She noticed that some of the buildings and streets had some work done on them that weren't there before. Such was life with supers.

Jinx started to frown as the scenery flew by, and with it, recognizable landmarks. "Why are we heading here?" she hollered over the wind.

"Thought we'd check out your team's old base first," he shouted back.

Ah. He was thinking of the one where they first… "talked." "No point," she yelled. "We cleared that out as soon as we could."

"Oh…" The speedster slowed down until he was jogging just fast enough that Jinx could catch the street names. "Then where are we heading?" Jinx told him the address. ...Or at least as close to it as she could; the bases weren't exactly "on the map." Once they reached the closest building to the base, she had Kid Flash stop, and hopped off his back to take the lead.

Traveling at the speedster's rate always made her nauseous at first, but now the world only tilted a little when she got onto her own two feet. She imagined almost nothing would give her motion sickness now. She led him for another block through the city's downtown, to a back alley. "This is it," she announced, tapping her foot at a manhole cover.

Looking puzzled, Kid Flash tilted his head. "Really? Odd living situation."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said, crouching down. A metal bar was crossed over the diameter of the cover, held shut with a padlock on one end. That was new. Some city workers probably saw that it had been cracked open, and put a lock on it just to be safe. Happened occasionally. From her boots, she pulled out a folded piece of cloth, and unwrapped it to reveal her locking picking kit.

"I don't remember that in your boot," Kid Flash said.

"You don't know all of my secrets," Jinx responded with a sly smile, selecting a pick before she slipped it into the lock.

"I can bust—

"No need." The padlock fell away. Jinx stood up, dusting off her hands. "One skill I picked up before the Academy. We'll put it back on after we leave. C'mon." She pocketed the lock so they wouldn't be trapped later, lifted the cover up, then jumped into the darkness. She landed silently on her feet. "You coming?!" she called, peering up into Kid Flash's face, silhouetted by the sunlight. Kid Flash felt for the ladder, and while he climbed faster than a regular human could've, it was still slower than if he had jumped. Jinx scoffed. "Rookie."

Kid Flash stuck out his tongue, and held up his communicator, switching it onto flashlight mode. A beam of light lit up the darkness. Not that Jinx needed it. Her cat-eyes weren't just for aesthetics.

He swept the light over the tunnels. The drains were empty of any waste or liquid, and outside of the occupants in cobwebs and glimpses of scurrying rodents, they were alone. "This is a lot nicer than I expected," he admitted.

"These sewers were cut off from the main line," she explained. "Cities have tons of them underground."

"How'd you find this place?"

"When you live on the streets, you get good at finding hide-outs," said Jinx. "And Gizmo might've hacked some city blueprints."

"Kudos to him," he said, as she guided him through the tunnels. "I feel like I'm a kid finding a secret base."

"...So, what you are right now, then?"

"Basically."

That earned an amused eye roll. "Stay behind me," she said, guiding him deeper through the sewers. Occasionally, she'd hold out her hand for him to stop. Then, she'd squat down, disabling a trap they'd come across. Some old, some new, and a good amount probably set just for her.

Finally, one of the side tunnels led to an end, where they reached a door with letters etched onto the front: MAINTENANCE. Jinx pulled out a small panel concealed in the wall, and types in a code. Beep! The door groaned as Jinx slid it open.

She flicked a switch, and the lights came on, illuminating the base. The area was small, although larger than one would expect from a room in the sewer. The walls were curved metal so it felt like they were in a hole. When her old team first found it, she felt like she was in a bunker. She was never much for keeping an excess of personal possessions, but for the sake of her old team, she'd tried to make the base cozier, laying a fuzzy rug on the floor she'd got from a yard sale and throwing in every nook and cranny whatever overstuffed pillow she could scavenge. They were still here.

She tried not to watch Kid Flash as he took in the scene. While she wouldn't have wanted to do this without him, it also felt weird for him to be here, like two incompatible parts of her life colliding.

Kid Flash whistled. "Life in style," he said, eying appreciatively a purple pillow with lime green tassels she'd found in a yard sale. If anyone else had said that, Jinx would've thought they were mocking her, but Kid Flash said it simply, the admiration in his voice transparent.

Jinx nodded, looking away. "Gizmo had wired up a generator so we have electricity, and Mammoth was a huge help in the construction," she said, but quickly frowned. Empty pizza boxes and soda cans littered the upside-down metal can they used as a makeshift table (she'd thrown a tablecloth over it to make it look better), while crumpled papers were discarded by Gizmo's workstation. She would've yelled at them to stop being such slobs. But the signs of active living were missing. There weren't any spare pairs of muddy shoes by the door, and the radio See-More would tinker while cooking was gone. Kid Flash opened the fridge in the corner of the base, and found only blue, moldy food.

"Like I thought," she sighed. "They knew I would be coming."

"And-or they hid their tracks so we wouldn't connect Nixie to them," he countered.

"One way to find out." She stalked over to Gizmo's abandoned papers. They were scribbled in his haphazard scrawl, filled with notes and diagrams. She looked over each one in case they hid any hints about Nixie, but even through the spots of the ink where he'd hastily tried to scratch out his work, she could tell they were half-baked ideas than any real plans. Nothing having to do with Siren's sister. She pitched the papers in the trash bin. They wouldn't help her now.

"Should we be worried about more traps inside?" Kid Flash asked.

"Other than that rotten food and the disasters waiting in the bathrooms, nah. These guys are too lazy to set serious traps at every single base. The ones we'd found outside were obligatory. I'm going to check out the rooms," Jinx said.

The other bedrooms didn't have locks on them. Not because her old allies fully trusted one another, even while on a team, but more that trying to keep others out was moot. Jinx could take down a lock in seconds, Gizmo could engineer a dozen different ways through and around it; Mammoth could simply crush one in his bare hands; See-More had x-ray vision; and Kyd could just teleport through the door. No, their incentive to keep out was more personal. They already had enough trouble with watching their backs outside of the base; no one wanted to worry about it inside, too.

Not that that's applicable anymore. When Jinx entered the room, she wasn't surprised to find them empty. Cleared out of all personal stuff. Everything—Gizmo's CDs, Mammoth's weights, See-More's game systems, and Kyd Wykkyd's books—gone. Like Kid Flash had said, they could've been clearing their tracks in case they connected them to Nixie. But in that case, why go through all the trouble of clearing their base out in Jump City, only to let themselves get caught on camera in the middle of the crime in Erie? Were they only so methodical with the bases because they knew she could rat them out, and they just got sloppy afterwards? They never were the best-planned bunch without her.

...But it still didn't sit right.

She finished her search of her old teammates' rooms, before coming to hers. She paused outside the door. She had never come back for her things; mainly because she didn't want to have a run-in with her team again, but also because she hadn't felt the need to. She didn't need that stuff anymore. But now, standing right outside her door, she wondered what she'd find. Would her room be trashed, or would it be empty, her old team selling off or simply throwing away the few memories of her?

But when she opened the door, it was like opening a time capsule. She was never one to be sentimental about things, but any belonging she had once kept, it was still there, right where she'd left it. Sketch paper and pencils on the desk, a suitcase under her bed for a quick escape, and a single poster of her favorite band on the wall.

"Found anything?"

Jinx nearly jumped when she heard Kid Flash's voice, saw him in the doorway. She resisted the impulse to shut him out, hiding the room from view. He didn't fit in here. Not here.

Instead, she just shook her head.

"No. There's nothing." She closed the door. "Let's go."

T*T*T*T*T

They searched the rest of the bases one by one. Some were in sewers, others in abandoned buildings, and a few even in nearby forests. For the first few bases, Jinx checked her old room. Then, as the day dragged on with no results, she stormed past the door without even looking, leaving Kid Flash to quickly check inside instead. Each time, Jinx could feel the tension creeping back, tightening her jaw and bunching up her muscles. At the last base, she stormed out after only a cursory glance.

"We've just wasted our time," she spat when Kid Flash joined her a moment later outside. She threw her hand at the direction of the base. "They knew I could've ratted them out, and now we don't know anything about their plans."

During the searches, Kid Flash had been cracking jokes about the location, her old team's poor hygienic habits, and whatever else he could think of to lighten the mood. She thought he would've cracked one now, but instead he put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. We knew this was only a small chance."

"I know that. It's just frustrating not knowing what they're up to. They drop off the grid for months and then they just show up again for no reason at all?" Jinx shook her head, scowling as she kicked at the dirt. "That's too suspicious."

Kid Flash tilted his head. "This isn't just about your team, is it?"

Jinx gave him a look. Sometimes she wished he was as oblivious as he let on. "You should've stuck with your jokes."

"I mean, I always have jokes. What do you call a mix between an elephant and a rh—"

She clapped her hand over his mouth. "Pass." She could feel him smile against her palm, and she knew he was giving her a way-out. For a moment, she considered taking it. Another time, she would've.

But this was now. And there was no point in hiding what was wrong. It was already clouding her head. She might as well spit it out while they have an ounce of privacy away from the Tower.

"My mom called."

"Ah. Guessing it's not all warm and fuzzy there?"

She snorted with disdain. "About as much as Siren is." She hadn't told Kid Flash much, if anything, about her time before the Academy, but both her and the speedster understood that their homes before they were official supers weren't exactly happy ones.

"What'd she want?" he asked.

"To see me. After years of not giving a damn about me, after I've finally done something good with my life, now she wants to see me."

"Maybe she's proud of you."

"Tsk." She pulled away from his hand to pace in front of him. "Nice fantasy world you live in. Considering she used to blame me for powers I couldn't control, I doubt she's proud."

"Maybe now she's trying to understand you."

"But she doesn't." She spat the words like poison. "She never had before. All she wants is money or something." Jinx stopped pacing, throwing her hands down. "But she doesn't get it! I'm done trying to impress others. The only people whose approval I care about now is mine and my team's."

"And that's a good thing. You've changed your life for the better," Kid Flash insisted, and his blue eyes focused on her made her want to turn away, like they were too intense for the usually light-hearted speedster, and she didn't know how to handle it. She looked away.

"You don't talk to your parents," she said quietly, looking down at the grass. "What would you do?"

The speedster sighed, stretching his arms behind his head. "That's a toughie. We were never really close, but there isn't the same...animosity like there is for you. I don't know what I'd do. But I know you don't have to figure it out right now." He took her hand and smiled, his eyes light again. "Come on. Why don't we get your mind off of this?"

Jinx shook her head. "We're on a time crunch, remember? Don't know about you, but the sooner we get a crazy sea elf out of our house, the better."

"Somehow I doubt 'sea elf' would go over well with Siren, but we need to refuel sometime," he said. "Now's as good a time as ever."

Jinx rolled her eyes, but let him dangle their hands lightly between them. "You're just hungry, aren't you?"

Right on cue, his stomach growled. "Hey, all this running has to be fueled somehow. You don't want me to collapse in the middle of a desert, do you?"

"Fine. But just a quick break, and then we're getting back to work."

He winked. "C'mon, I know just the place."

T*T*T*T*T

They went to their old favorite fast food joint, Ricky's, known for their secret family chili recipe. The burgers ran with grease, a messy combination of popped egg yolk and brown chili that would turn a disturbing gelatinous texture when refrigerated—but right now, Jinx didn't care. She was eating not very lady-like in the interest of time, but her burger still tasted like heaven. Jump City at its finest.

The door creaked, and a little bell chimed as a family walked into the establishment. A mom and a dad with two boys; they found a seat in a corner booth. The dad ordered a tray stacked with hamburgers and milkshakes. From the corner of Jinx's eye, she could see the woman perched at the very edge of the seat while the brothers sat together, silent.

"Jinx?"

"Hmm? What'd you say?" She turned away, breaking her stare from the family to look at Kid Flash.

The corner of his lips pulled up. "I said it's been awhile since we've been here. When we're not on duty, we should come back here sometime."

"It's not like we have to worry too much about travel time," she agreed, her gaze drifting back to the family. The dad reached across the table for another burger, but as he did so, the youngest boy flinched, a movement so quick Jinx could've missed it with a blink.

"You alright, Slow-poke?" Kid Flash said, his fingers tracing over the back of her hand, catching her attention. She hadn't realized she'd been clenching her hands so hard, the napkin in her fist was crumbled.

"Fine," she said, and took another large bite of her burger. This time, the chili went down like sludge.

By the time she and Kid Flash had scarfed down their meal, the family had packed up their leftovers and left. Only the dad seemed to have finished his food.

"Hey, would you mind paying?" Jinx asked, dabbing at her mouth with her crumpled napkin. "I'll pay you back. I just need to do a quick errand. I'll meet you back here."

"Only if you don't pay me back," he agreed, fishing out a twenty.

She rolled her eyes, but thanked him, squeezing his hand once, before letting go. She crossed the street to a nearby electronic store. She didn't usually have interest in these types of stores. Gizmo and See-More were the tech nerds; she usually enjoyed Kyd's silent company as they waited nearby the store while those two geeked out. But she wasn't completely inept. When she stepped inside, her eyes scanned the shelves, and she found what she was looking for easily enough. As she left, she heard someone's gruff voice, and she stiffened.

"I said get in the car." The man from the restaurant slammed the door of a car, his family flinching inside. Jinx lingered back. From the shadows, she watched him leave the parking lot and enter a gas store, shuffling between the aisles. He would be an easy target. All she would have to do is wait for him to leave the store, turn the corner, and there she'd be. It'd be easy.

And pointless. No matter what she did or made him swear, as soon as she was gone, he'd just take out his anger and humiliation on the same people. Jinx took a deep breath, her heels stabbing the ground.

"Hey." The family flinched when she tapped her knuckles on the window. The woman startled, but Jinx waited. The woman rolled down the window barely an inch. "What do you want?" her voice squeaked.

"Look, I don't know what your circumstances are, or what the problem is, but I see how your husband treats you. It isn't right," she said, meeting her eyes. "I can help if you want. I'm with the Teen Titans. Either go to their T-Tower, or contact me at mine, in Keystone City. We can get you help."

The woman stuttered, her expression caught between fear and...something too quick and buried for Jinx to name. The youngest boy looked at her with open curiosity, but the older boy hugged him close to his side, glancing at her only from the corner of his eyes with a guarded look she knew too well. The woman's mouth parted like she was about to speak, but then she startled when the store's doorbell rang. She rolled up the window and started the car, avoiding Jinx's eyes. Jinx quickly moved out of sight before the man could see her. She sighed.

"Good work, Lucky."

Jinx hid her surprise, putting her hands on her hips when she turned around to see Kid Flash leaning against the wall, smiling at her. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. It's rude."

"Sorry," he said, loping over, and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm proud of you."

"What're you talking about?" she said irritably, crossing her arms.

"How you tried to help that family. You did the best thing you could."

She scoffed. "Fat lot that did."

"You should know there's always a chance." He took her hand that was pulling at her sleeves. "We still have a few more bases to check, right?"

"A few," she sighed. Speaking of chances, she wondered what the chances were of them finding anything.

"Let's get back to work."

T*T*T*T*T

By the time they made it back to Keystone City, the sun was starting to sink low in the sky. They found Hot Spot and Siren returning at the same time.

"Any luck with the fish?" Kid Flash asked.

Siren shook her head. "We convened at Erie's lakes and surrounding waters, but alas, to no avail. The only reports were of a particularly loquacious bass."

"Apparently bass have a lot to say, too," grunted Hot Spot.

"They are large mouthed for a reason," said Siren matter-of-factly.

Hot Spot gave her a look, as if he wasn't sure how to respond, before deciding to ignore it and look at Jinx. "Yeah, we didn't turn up anything. You?"

"Lots of moldy pizza boxes, but that's it," she said, exhaling a frustrated sigh.

Siren nodded, looking sympathetic. "You should sing your despair," she suggested earnestly. "It is easier on the ears and vocal chords than screaming."

"There was also a lot of singing," Hot Spot winced. Kid Flash quirked an eye at him—Jinx didn't want to know what he was thinking up—but he simply shook his head. "You wouldn't enjoy the show."

The four piled into the Tower, where they found Argent with a mop of bedhead waiting for them. "No luck," she said, shaking her head. "I've kept in touch with Gregory's team through the radio, but they haven't turned up any leads. No one's gotten any more footage of the HIVE Five, either."

Jinx swore, but after today, she couldn't help but feel resigned to the news. It only took a moment for the rest of the team to fill Argent in. They all felt the pressure of the clock, but so far they had no more leads, and nothing to do besides rest for the night and hope something would come up.

Argent volunteered to show Siren to her guest room. Jinx was grateful she didn't have to do it; she could hardly look her way. The expression on the Siren's face looked like she was ready to sing her own song of despair.

The rest of the Titans turned in for the night. Jinx felt ready for the break. Today had been disappointing in more ways that one, and it had drained her. She and Kid Flash went to his room. She changed into comfy yoga pants and pulled on one of his old t-shirts that hung loosely around her frame, before slipping into bed. Kid Flash, however, was another matter. It always took a while for the speedster's mind to wind down enough to rest, and only recently had the anxiety of that nightmare started to abate. After about ten minutes of reciting enough tough equations and the periodic table in bed, he finally started to snore. Jinx smirked. Loud when he's awake and when he's asleep. She gently slipped off his mask, his expression relaxed as he snuggled closer to the pillow. Cute when he's asleep, too. Jinx kissed him on the cheek, before burrowing under the covers. His arms instantly wrapped around her as she closed her eyes…

And waited…

And waited…

But sleep never came. Her mind couldn't settle, her thoughts shifting one way and then another like sand—how to overcome their deadend with Nixie, the itch to find her old teammates, and her mother's voice when she picked up the phone. Finally, when she felt more awake than when she had gone to bed, she sighed and gingerly crawled out of Kid Flash's grasp. He was still snoring when she stood up. While it took awhile for the speedster to shut down, once he was, almost nothing could wake him. And he called her Lucky. Pfft.

Jinx padded silently down the hallway. Maybe some warm milk or tea would settle her.

To her surprise, she found a light was already on when she made her way to the Main Ops room. Argent was in the kitchen, peering at the fridge. Her silhouette shrouded her features when she looked at Jinx.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

"Think I would be here if I could?" quipped Jinx, sliding into a seat.

"Touché," Argent closed the fridge, so the only light came from a lamp in the corner of the kitchen. "I was trying to get a couple of winks today, but the radio interrupted every time I was about to nod off. Thought a midnight snack might help put me to bed, but nothing's calling to me. You want something instead?"

"Hmm...a cup of hot chocolate might be nice."

"Coming right up. What type would you like?"

"I'm not fancy like you are," she said with a smirk. "Instant's fine by me."

"Right…" Argent looked around at the many drawers.

"To the left…" Jinx instructed. "Down...the red tupperware...there you go."

Argent grabbed the cylindrical container and peered at it. "So you just...add this to water?"

Jinx frowned. "You know how to make overcomplicated hot chocolate, but you don't know how to make instant?"

"What? The cooks only used the frother, and I learned from them."

Cooks? Jinx shook her head. How'd she ever end up on a team with her? "Here, let me do it," she grumbled, pushing out of her seat. With a defeated look, Argent handed her the container. Jinx grabbed down her mug with a cat design and another for Argent, filled them with tap water, and put them in the microwave. "Sorry, but you're stuck with powder."

"Fine by me. So what kept you up?" Argent asked, slouching into the chair.

"I thought the customer's supposed to pour out their problems and the bartender listens, not the other way around."

"We're challenging social roles."

Jinx hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't like Argent. She did, actually, but it was hard enough to tell Kid Flash what had happened. After a pause, Argent smirked. "Alright, then, I'll go first. Every other Sunday, I stay in my room and fight with my parents. Well, my dad, mostly. He doesn't approve of my life decisions. It's gotten better since I went home for the holidays, but it still keeps happening."

Jinx frowned as she took out the two mugs from the microwave and poured in spoonfuls of hot cocoa, mixing them in before handing one mug to Argent. It didn't take a detective to figure out that the girl had some bad blood with her family, but she didn't know it was that self-inflicted. "Why do you bother with them?"

Argent gave a wry smirk as she rested her cheek on her palm. "Ask myself that every day. Partially for my mum's sake." She tilted her head, as if weighing something in her mind. "And my own, honestly. I'm pissed at him, but he's still my dad. It's not like he's fighting with me because he hates me or doesn't care. If anything, he cares too much. We just don't see eye-to-eye."

"You wouldn't talk to him every other week if you didn't think you can win him over," noted Jinx, before taking a sip.

"True, but a girl's gotta dream right?" Argent sighed, and took a sip of her cocoa. She swallowed, then looked down into the cup thoughtfully. "Chalky."

Jinx almost snorted. "Princess."

"Hey, new experience, right?" Smirking, Argent leaned back in her chair and tapped the counter. "Alright, your turn. 'Fess up. What's bothering you?"

Jinx's frown deepened. She took a large swig of her hot chocolate. "My mom called."

"Is that…a bad thing?"

She took another gulp, the hot liquid scorching her tongue. "S'not a good thing."

"I'm sorry," Argent said. Her lips puckered into a pout, and she looked genuinely upset on her behalf. "Do you...want to talk about?"

"You heroes always ask that," groaned Jinx. "Whatever happened to brooding in silence?"

"Became obsolete since the first Iron Man movie."

She wrinkled her nose. "That's the guy with the blue light in his chest, right?"

"You poor thing, you."

"Oh, shut up, you brat." Jinx gulped down the last of her drink, ignoring Argent's triumphant smirk. The other girl finished hers with a delicate sip, before stretching her arms with a yawn.

"Thanks for the cocoa. I can clean up the mugs, if you'd like."

Jinx shook her head. "It's fine. You go to bed."

"If you're sure. Thanks." Argent sat up with a yawn. She padded away, but before she stepped through the doorway, she looked back. "And hey. Thanks for sharing about your mum. I don't really know what's going on, but if you need someone to talk to, my door's always open. Might just need hot cocoa, though," she added with a wink.

Jinx gave a smile. "Noted. And thanks. Now go to bed before you collapse."

"Yep," Argent yawned, scratching her messy hair. The door swished shut behind her. Jinx smiled slightly to herself. She was feeling a little better.

Must be the sugar.

She washed out the empty mugs, then left the kitchen. As she padded down the hallway, her feet automatically took her to Kid Flash's room, but she hesitated before his door. She liked sleeping with him, but right now, she could use just a little space to herself. She made her way back to her room.

As soon as her door swung open, her cat-like eyes took stock: curtain's shut; fifty roses in a vase on her dresser; windows locked, an empty vase filled with water on the sill, out of sight from the window. Jinx let out an exhale. She didn't even bother changing her clothes, only kicking off her boots before climbing into bed. Her body sunk into the queen-size mattress, and she let out a contented sigh. Totally beats any lumpy couch or floor she'd slept on.

For once, sleep took her quickly. Her eyes barely shut before she's dreaming…

T*T*T*T*T

Palms clammy, too sweaty, heat

suffocating her,

like a blanket; hot breath reeking

against her ear, she wants

to barf—

Her stomach—

MOM!

Tap-ti-ti-tap-tap.

Jinx bolted up, sweat drenching her skin.

The sweat was cold on her skin, her heart pounded against her chest like a feral cat. She was shaking.

She squeezed her eyes shut. It was just a dream. It was just a—

Tap-ti-ti-tap-tap.

She threw off her covers. She felt as if she was still in a dream as she padded to the window, her feet seeming to move out of their own volition. She looked out her window. The tapping had stopped. Her heart still pounded fast like a feral cat, but she felt oddly calm as she opened the window and jumped out, landing silently in the alleyway. She stood up slowly as she faced her old teammates: the HIVE Five.

"I thought I told you guys to leave me alone."