NOTE: If you're wondering about the latest update, I went back to the previous chapters and changed a few things. There is no new chapter yet.
(A mysterious figure side-steps into the room wearing N/M Shin's clothes and a badly drawn Alfonse Elric mask)
Figure: Hi...um, I'm not N/M Shin or anything sooo... please don't pelt me with hard things.
Readers: WHAT ABOUT REALLY HOT THINGS? (Reviews approach the mysterious figure with hot, pointy metal objects)
N/M Shin: (removes mask) Okay, okay. Let's backtrack a little here to an author's note I wrote a few weeks ago. Just don't hurt me yet! (Curls up in a little ball)
XXXXXX-Real author's note-XXXXX
N/M Shin: Hehe, (Cough) um... (Makes that sound when you inhale through your teeth)
(Camera zooms out to find N/M Shin, Zeph, and Jax in a cage made of cheetos)
Maggles: This war has been won by the political party formerly known as FORTY-TWO!
N/M Shin: (Stands up, breaking the dangerously cheesy roof of the cage) Yeah, yeah. Long story short, we had to join forces to battle Maggles, but somehow still lost...Whatever, I'll give you guys the details later...
...I can't believe none of you reviewed about Cyborg and Robin's mini plot. You guys tell me to include them, but you don't really care, do ya? DO YA!
Zeph: Since your LAZY authoress hasn't updated in over two months, we're avoiding the details of the war for now. Maybe another chapter.
N/M Shin: Hey, a lot of things came up and LAZINESS WAS ONLY ONE OF THEM!
Jax: But I'm sure you'll regale us with all the thrilling details...
N/M Shin: I'll just make a quick list! Okay! Does that please you, rabbit breath?
Jax: Do you wanna start another war?
Readers: NOOOOOOO!
N/M Shin: Okay... (Deep breath) After I turned in the HUGE project on March 8th I got another one and another one from that very same class and now that I take the time to add them up I have had about twelve more projects since I last updated IN JUST THAT ONE CLASS and then I got a huge science project the same week that I had a huge math project and three more Social Studies projects so my tally that week was five projects and I didn't have time to do them all and this time I didn't procrastinate because I found out about them a week before they were due and I had to stay up until about three in the morning on my math project and I was still missing a lot of crap but I had to get to bed so I could wake up at five in the morning and do a social studies project and when I got the math project back I got 64 on it so my teacher said I could do it over and it was due on Tuesday so I'm gonna work on it this weekend and make it PERFECT and surprise her by turning it on Monday so tonight is Friday and I'm only allowing myself to work on this chapter tonight because I will dedicate my entire weekend to THIS FUCKIN HARD MATH PROJECT. (Breathes in and collapses)
Zeph: Hmmm... Spell check didn't say that was a run-on sentence... (Looks for periods and commas and finds none)
Jax: Not only that, but N/M Shin was a bridesmaid in her brother's wedding, pressure washed her driveway, went camping with her friend who had to go because her brother was in cub scouts and she needed a friend there, and had to help out all this week because her mother's first grade class was doing their rainforest plays and she had to paint the forest scenery behind them and turn a support beam into a kapok tree.
Zeph: (looks up at the last two paragraphs) ... Sweet Jesus...
Jax: So... is that it?
Zeph: Unless N/M Shin wants to tell them about her new CD.
N/M Shin: (Laying on the floor unconscious) Zzzzz...
Jax: Of course, we all know how much fun we have when she's unconscious...
Zeph: Sorry 'bout the long wait folks, here's the next chapter.
XXXXXXXXXX-EVANESCENCE!-XXXXXXXXXX
(Just so you know, this is gonna start out pretty silly)
(...As many chapters do...)
The large ship stood firm on the shifting ocean tides as the sun disappeared on the horizon. Another day gone, another day closer to a death at sea. The captain leaned over the wheel of his ship, taking in the salty air that he only noticed when he was bored. The crew on the deck below him cheered and sang, celebrating their latest haul.
"Cap'n, why don't you come down and have a drink? We won't hit land for days, and we've got all the best food and booze, these are the days a pirate lives for!"
The captain turned to his first mate, taking in the grin plastered on his face. "I guess a break wouldn't hurt, but make sure there's a lookout in the crow's nest."
"Paranoid as always, but consider it done cap'n."
The captain climbed down the rungs of the main ladder after his first mate. Then, breaking through the sounds of the happy sea-men, he heard a familiar and dreadful voice.
"Whatever, try shaking him."
The boat rocked violently back and forth, and the captain hung on to the rickety ladder for dear life. After a particularly hard quake, he was flung from the ladder like a rag doll. The captain sputtered as he hit the water with a splash. His feet felt as if they were incased in stone, and no matter how hard he struggled to stay afloat he still sank into the deep, cold water. Sharks began encircling him, and the largest of them lunged forward, its jaws open wide enough to swallow him whole.
"WAKEY, WAKEY, BOY WONDER!"
Robin's eyes shot open, and the first thing he noticed was the primitive face of Mammoth.
"Mammoth, only you could shake my mighty ship," Robin groggily slurred his words, "Now get ready to walk the plank..."
"I think ya gave 'im too much uh that sleep stuff, Gizmo."
"No, I'll bet he's always like that."
"Whatever."
"Robin!" Cyborg's voice brought the boy wonder out of his daze.
"Cyborg, what's going on?" Robin struggled to get out of Mammoth's grip, but found he couldn't match the Neanderthal's muscle. He reached for a freeze capsule in his utility belt, but only grabbed air.
"What, where's my utility belt?"
"Jinx and these losers are working for Slade, they tricked us!"
Robin growled like a feral animal. "Slade..."
"They took your belt, and smart-ass over here disabled my kinetic functions!"
"Uhhh..."
"I can't move!"
"Not that this isn't fun in its own way," Jinx interrupted, "but Slade's paying us good money for this, and we need to get it done."
"What is he paying you to do, kill us?" Robin shouted, squirming in Mammoth's god-like grip.
"Oh no, all we have to do is bring all of you to one place, and he'll take care of the rest."
"Heh, well what're you gonna do with two people? Us splitting into teams really fucked up your plans, didn't it?" Cyborg sneered.
"Actually, all we had to do to fix that little mess was have Slade kidnap a little girl and make a brief appearance. We could never beat all of you at once, but that green loser you call a friend still trusts me." Jinx gave a seductive smile.
"Jinx'll just walk up, terrified and hurt. Tell salad-head that she knows where you are, and lead all of them right to Slade." Gizmo beamed with pride, "Just a little fix to the plan, thought up by yours truly."
"And thanks to our little vixen's phenomenal acting..." Mammoth sneered at Cyborg, and got a glare that could freeze a volcano. He didn't dare finish his sentence.
"Well, I'm off. Good thing I got pretty scrapped in that robot fight." Jinx turned to leave the room, and Cyborg noticed that she was covered in bruises and cuts. She was in pretty bad shape; too bad none of the HIVE members had healing powers.
"Make sure you get those two to Slade."
"Don't worry; these two won't be a problem." Mammoth popped his neck with a disgusting crunch.
The metal man couldn't help but feel sympathy wash over him. Some part of his soul still believed that Jinx wasn't doing this on purpose. But that small part was getting more worried about the rest of him by the second.
XXXXXXXX-Pie, pie in the sky...-XXXXXXX
Have you ever been doing something, and not realized what it was, how you were doing it, or how long it had been since you last stopped? How the entire world just faded as you were encompassed in deep thought, but your physical body still went on with a menial task? If you tripped, cut yourself, stubbed your toe, you didn't have a clue. Sometimes, our souls become so focused on our thoughts that they decide they don't need our bodies. But they always come back, and the realization that you had actually been doing something the entire time hits you in the face.
She had been enthralled in her thoughts for what seemed like eternity, but for some reason or another, she kept up the steady limp towards her goal. Jinx had no idea where the other Titans were, but maybe her powers would grant her some luck and she would find them.
Can they even work that way? She thought to herself, still limping along. Well, I'll find out soon enough...
Jinx laughed inwardly at herself. If I haven't fount every little detail of my powers by now, I never will.
After Cyborg and the rest of the Titans took down Brother Blood, they assumed the HIVE would follow. What they didn't know was: a headmaster was expendable. Anyone with reasonable knowledge of fighting skills and military stratagem could train the school of young villains. They had gotten a new headmistress only a week after Brother Blood's death. To be honest, the school had never functioned better.
Another thing civilians and heroes didn't know of is that, while the HIVE academy is a school, it is also a well-paid and much-used corporation whose real name isn't even known by the graduates who work there.
Jinx always referred to it as "Rent-an-Assassin."
But she couldn't complain. She got paid more than Governor Schwarzenegger. (I spelled that right, on the first try!)
Out of the blue, Jinx said "Rent-an-Assassin" in her best Ah-nold voice; and was glad that she was alone and could make a fool of herself in private.
Man, how long has it been since I talked? My throat feels so dry... She shouldn't have left the watch Gizmo had built for her in her apartment, Jinx had no idea how long she had been walking, everything looked exactly the same; one big, gray, foggy war zone of a city.
God, this used to be a city, full of people... This is all my...No! Don't think like that Jinx, this wasn't your fault; you're just doing your job! Besides, when people see a superhero in the city, they know its time to evacuate, none of them were caught in the blast. You're just looking for something to occupy your mind, just don't think of what might be under that rubble. Don't think of couples, huddled around each other, both determined to protect the other. Don't think of the small children, clinging to their parents, telling them to make everything okay. Don't think of the frantic people, searching for their loved ones even they know they can't be found alive. Just...don't...
"Just... stop it..." She sniffed, and her back convulsed as she took a trembling breath. "Don't think...that way...anymore."
XXXXXXXX-Coco for KOOKOO puffs!--XXXXXXX
"So, we're sure this is the only way to find them?"
"Yes, now shut up for a sec," Hellion growled, "your breath alters the smells in the air."
Connie raised an eyebrow. She had about a million comebacks, but didn't want to hinder his progress. Hellion, and two different colored bloodhounds that need no introduction, had their noses to the ground, hoping to find the three remaining members of their team/family.
"Augh!" Beast Boy returned to his human form, "We'll never find'em like this! We've been sniffing around for hours!"
"Fine, let's just give up then!" Hannah yelled. "That'll solve everything!"
"Why do you two gotta be so negative all the time? We'll find 'em!" Darren tried his best to keep everyone positive, but hope was dwindling. It was easier to be hopeless than hopeful.
"Yeah listen to fuzz face over here, his head is half full instead of half empty!" Hannah had a strange mix of comedy and a bad attitude.
"I think whatever Han was high off of just wore off. Let's see if any drug dealers survived the blast!"
"You're such an idiot!"
"Definitely wearing off, her insults are getting weaker by the second!"
"Listen you sonofa-"
"That's enough from both of you! Stop before you say something you'll regret." Raven intervened before she could be rudely mentioned.
Hellion started laughing, returning to his human form. "You were about to call Mom a-"
"I think we should all shut up, and think for about two minutes before we say anything."
"Ooh, kitchen-fire here should join the peace corps." Hannah stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her hoody.
"It's Wildfire!" Darren and Connie growled at once.
"Whatever, she's your girlfriend." Hannah began to walk off.
"And where do you think you're going?" Beast Boy stepped in her path, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I thought we were trying to find someone, not get a spot on Family Feud. I'm gonna look around."
"That is what caused our current problem in the first place; I believe that we should stay together for the remainder of the day." Starfire spoke up. Nobody had noticed that she was even there until her suggestion.
"Okay, let's not split up, gang." Beast Boy smiled.
"Oh god, he's quoting old TV shows..."
Gar thought for a second. "Y'know, Han doesn't have a superhero name yet..."
Darren snorted, "Han's not a superhero, she's just a walking bad attitude with the power to make everyone around her depressed."
"That's enough out of you," Raven ran a hand through her violet hair, "you're being just as bad as she is."
"Ooh, the ultimate insult!" Darren gave a hurt look.
One glare from his mother had him with his hands folded behind his back, looking down at the asphalt.
"Both of you apologize..." there was a moment of silence as Hannah and Darren shared glares, "NOW!"
"Sorry Han."
"Sorry Darren."
"Now kiss and make up!" Everyone stared at Connie. "...Or not."
"So, about that name..."
XXXXXXXX-Having fun yet?-XXXXXXX
Jinx wasn't sure when she had first noticed the trail, but she had been following it for what seemed like ages. The longer she followed it, the more there was. In more droplets and soon in small puddles. There sure was a lot of it, whoever's it was.
Being an assassin, she was trained to follow trails of blood.
It seemed like a path of blood this long would have to be made by more than one person, but she was always surprised to see just how much blood one person could hold. She had seen large amounts of blood; not only in the line of duty, but also at the Red Cross, where she frequently donated blood. They could fill five Ziploc bags with the stuff!
I sure am sweating a lot...
Jinx could feel the collar of her outfit dripping perspiration down to her right shoulder, finally trickling down her slender hand and dripping from her fingertips to the ground. But sweating is a sign that you're not dehydrated, so I guess that's a good thing...
Rrip!
"Damnit!" A sharp piece of metal caught onto the thin material of Jinx's skirt, leaving a piece of black fabric hanging from the jagged wreckage, limp in the still air. The metal, which looked like it could have once been a curtain rod or a pipe, had also left her with a shallow cut on her right thigh. I should've been more alert; I can't believe I just walked right into a pile of cement, with sharp, pointy things sticking out of it!
Jinx put one hand to her temple and shook her head with chagrin. Is it exhaustion? Am I nervous about the mission? Am I having trouble trusting Slade? Huh, maybe my conscience is catching up with me. Or could it be... no...
I shouldn't be this worried...about, him
The thought of him made her shudder. How could she have sold him out like that? He had treated her with nothing but love and compassion, simply thinking about him made her lips curl into a smile and sent shivers down her spine.
It was a job; she had been doing it as long as she could remember. Her life with the HIVE was supposed to be simple: go see the customer, get your money, do what you were told. How did something so simple become so complicated? Her hands, her heart and, sometimes, even her teeth were stained with the blood of countless innocents. But this feeling, this slowly overpowering feeling that rushed through her at the thought of what she had just done, she had never felt it before in her life. No, that was a lie, she had felt it before. She knew exactly what it was, but it was a rare emotion for her...
...Uncontrollable guilt.
Jinx put her left hand on her opposite shoulder in order to comfort herself. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have acted so...so...willing to betrayCyborg, while inside she was ripping apart her own heart? Jinx knew she had a seductive smile, an enchanting voice, but sometimes she hated it. She could fool anyone, turn any man to mush with a word or a smirk, but that made it so easy for her to fool everyone. She began to wonder what in her life was real and what she had fabricated. But she knew one thing in life was real, what kept her from mistaking her life from her dreams.
Victor Stone, and the love that came with him, that was what kept her from breaking her fragile grip on reality. That was something she knew was real, always had been real. It was strong, unbreakable. Now the illustrious spellcaster knew what had truly been done. She had lost that thick, strong rope that had been her tie to reality.
What remained was a delicate thread, and it wouldn't be long before it snapped.
"And what'll happen to me once it does?" She thought aloud.
All this time she had been walking along, following the path of blood. It all seemed to blend together somehow, like every where she looked was the same. Every once and awhile, something would look familiar. She convinced herself it was because she had hung out in this part of town a lot, but something still felt strange. It all made sense soon enough.
Shnick!
Jinx cringed as something sliced about half an inch into her thigh, the same place she had ripped her skirt earlier. The exact same place on her leg, now that she thought about it. What had sliced into her leg was a sharp piece of metal protruding from a pile of wreckage.
With a piece of black cloth hanging limply from it in the still air.
Drip.
More sweat trickled from her fingers onto the ground. How could she be sweating this much? Even her endurance training at the beginning and end of each semester at the academy never had her perspiring this hard. And since when does sweat only appear on one half of your body? Jinx realized that her left hand still clutched her right shoulder in an act of comforting herself. She pulled back her hand and gazed at it.
It all made sense now. The same pile, same jagged pole, a path of blood that kept getting bigger, the dripping from her right arm.
She had been walking in circles for hours, following a trail of her own crimson blood.
The enchantress fell to her knees, weeping in desperation, fear, and all-consuming guilt.
XXXXX-So, was that predictable or were you surprised? - XXXXX
"So it's agreed; everybody will suggest a name and we'll go from there." Beast Boy was acting as chairman of the Think-up-a-Cool-Name-for-Hannah committee that he had just made up. Honestly, sometimes he acted like a four year old playing pretend.
"Can't I just think up a name on my own? C'mon!" Hannah wasn't amused in the least by her father's antics.
"No, but you can submit one and we'll get back to you." Darren's huge grin looked even goofier on his human face than his demon one.
If Hannah's glare at that exact moment had been on a demon face, he would probably have wet himself.
"Wh-what did you have in mind?" Hannah's polar-opposite brother tried his best to retain his composure. His dad always told him that his mom's glare was twice as frightening, then she would glare at his dad and he'd believe the shape shifter.
"Ooh-ooh," Beast Boy snuck up behind Hannah, her eyes following his every move, and put his hands on her shoulders, "how's about Beast Girl!"
"How's about not?" Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Awww, c'mon! Pleeease?" Her father turned into a squirrel and perched on her shoulder, being as adorable as possible.
"Bet I'm the only girl on earth whose dad has rabies." She gently brushed him off of her shoulder.
He touched ground and morphed back to being human. "Well that's not gonna work... Y'know, you used to love it when I did that."
Hannah shook her short tawny locks and rolled her eyes again. "I'm sure I did."
"Well, so far we've got Beast Girl. Any more suggestions? How 'bout you, Mom?" Darren somehow managed to be cheerful without being naïve or annoying. How he managed this was beyond anyone's comprehension.
"No thanks," Raven shook her head, keeping a smile on her lips, "I'm not very creative when it comes to names. You'll notice that I kept my real name as my superhero name, part of that was because I couldn't come up with a better one."
"So Beastgirl it is!" Gar seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"No, I have an idea! Shut up and let me call myself what I want!" Hannah was practically yelling in her father's ear. A piece of the street rose up, engulfed in emerald energy. Hannah's eyes grew wide and within seconds the street went back down where it belonged.
"Damn, damn, damn..." The youngest member of the group ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry."
Darren sat down, Indian style, in front of his sister. He looked like a preschooler waiting for story time. "No problem. Had an idea you wanted to share?"
Hannah gave a slight, almost invisible smile. "Yeah."
The scent of cinnamon filled the air as Hannah materialized some of her energy. Why it always smelled that way, Darren had no idea. The aroma always made him feel safe for some reason, he never questioned it.
"Azerath..." her green aura began to solidify into a smooth, long object. "Metrion..." a pure black string connected both ends of the object, bending it into a shallow U shape. "Zinthos..." A sharp, ebony arrow was knocked into the bow. As soon as the energy arrow had been secured, it fired. The magical weapon flew through the air so fast that within a few seconds it was out of sight.
Hannah held out her hand, and a whistling sound rushed over their heads as the arrow landed neatly in her palm and evaporated back into her body, as well as the bow.
She looked back at them as if it was nothing. "Artemis."
XXXXXXX-ARTEMIS HOMERIC HYMN-XXXXXXX
"I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earth quakes and the sea also where fishes shoal. But the goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart, this huntress who delights in arrows slackens her supple bow and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo, to the rich land of Delphi there to order the lovely dance of the Muses and Graces. There she hangs up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they utter their heavenly voice, singing how Leto bare children supreme among the immortals both in thought and in deed. Hail to you, children of Zeus and rich-haired Leto! And now I will remember you and another song also."
XXXXX-Did I write that? Yeah, I wish...-XXXXX
(Seriously though, I didn't write that hymn thing...)
"That's so cool! You just made that bow thingy and-" Connie's ramblings were interrupted as Hannah, Beast Boy, and Darren all turned their heads in the same direction.
"What is it?" They smelled something, she knew it.
They all took deep breaths, as if indulging themselves with the scent. Beast Boy spoke first.
"Fresh blood, and lots of it."
XXXXXX-Whew, it's 2:06 AM and I am TIRED!-XXXXXX
Hope all the Jinx-ness didn't weird people out. She a pretty cool character, and her thoughts just seemed to pour from my fingertips...
Big Thankies to Maggles for suggesting Artemis, I read about her and she's PERFECT for Hannah. Not only that but she won the vote so...yeah. I should be updating regularly now, summer's started and I've got nothing better to do. Not makin' any promises though...
Artemis is cool, she's, like, the goddess of a lot of stuff. You should do a google search and read up on her.
One more thing: I got the ULTIMATE Evanescence CD. It's called Origin, and it has 19 tracks of wonderful, beautiful, unhindered Evanescence. Amy Lee is a goddess in my book.
Had to get it off Amazon though, they only sold it in Europe... I wonder why...?
Well, until next time, this is Ninmenjushin, signing off.
And remember: Read, review, repeat!