"Swipe" by Ed Alger, aka SecondLevelWriter

Disclaimer information listed on Chapter 1 does indeed apply for this chapter, as well.

Chapter 7
The Big Meeting

The next morning, Swipe was up before the sun even appeared over the horizon. Using the back exit to avoid waking Jinx, the rogue headed back to the mall to find more damaged gadgets that he could try repairing and adding to the hideout. On his way there, however, he was stopped once again by a familiar sextet.

Wait a minute... Sextet?

It was the Teen Titans, only there was an extra member this time. The rogue looked the new girl over; she had long blonde hair reaching just past her shoulders, an exceptionally thin frame (moreso than even Jinx), and piercing blue eyes. He began to wonder what her abilities were, but chose to address that later.

"Alright, what d'you guys want this time?"

Robin stepped forward, "We want to extend an invitation to you."

Swipe blinked, "Invitation? What about the other night?"

"We wanted to see what you were capable of. We know as well as you do that Senator Goodson is corrupt, and grand theft doesn't include corndogs and soda," Robin allowed himself a grin.

The rogue had to laugh, "I figured as much. So, where's this wild party that I'm being invited to?"

"Titan Tower, of course," Cyborg replied. "We'd like to see your abilites up close this time."

Swipe seemed to choke at that, "Erm.. You don't mean... ya want me to be a Teen Titan?"

"Oh, please join with us! We would be delighted to have you as part of our group! We can share stories of glorious battles and even participate in the creation of the Earth delicacy, 'S'Mores!'" Starfire suddenly chirped as she swooped up to the rogue and grabbed his hand, which she squeezed with all her might.

Swipe pried his hand from the Tamaranian's grip and shook the feeling back into it, "I dunno.. I'm not exactly a hero-type."

The blonde girl finally spoke up, "At least give our obstacle course a try. Besides, if you won't join us, we could still be allies."

The rogue scratched his chin thoughtfully, and finally nodded, "Ya got a point, there. Alright, I'll come with you. BUT... I'm still on the fence about joinin' you guys, okay?"

Robin nodded once, "We won't force it out of you. After you?" He gestured to the T-Car, but Swipe held up a hand.

"You go on ahead. I'll follow you on foot. In fact, I'll race you."

The Titans' leader only snickered as he waved everyone back, "You're on. Titans, let's go."

Cyborg started the T-Car's engine as Terra climbed in last, giving the rogue one last look just before she settled into the back seat. Something about that look unsettled Swipe, however, as if she were sizing him up. The vehicle sped off towards the Titans' headquarters, leaving Swipe to stand on the curb and watch. The rogue soon shook the thought out of his head and took off running after them.

At Titan's Tower, the T-Car pulled into the holding bay, just in time to see Swipe standing outside the doorway with a satisfied smile on his face.

"And you thought I was gonna let you win, didn't you?" he chuckled as he saluted the Titans. Robin and the others alternately smirked and shook their heads (except Cyborg, who was busy recovering from the fact that a human just outran his car).

"It is good to see you are here, friend Swipe!" Starfire enthusiastically greeted the rogue, wrapping him up in a bonecrusher bearhug before he could even try to escape. "Have you had any of those second thoughts during your trip?"

"Grk! Thanks for the welcome... Star..f-f-fire... but I really need to.. (wheeze) need to breathe now... if my brain's gonna have any thoughts!"

Starfire blushed from embarrassment and quickly released Swipe from her vicelike grip. Robin approached the coughing rogue and offered him a hand.

"Ready for the obstacle course?"

"Hang on a sec," Swipe replied before pressing his hands to his sides and counting to himself. "Feels like they're all there and intact... Okay, I'm ready."

With that, they all gathered to what could be considered the "backyard" of Titan's Tower. At first glance, it didn't look like much of an obstacle course: flat expanses of dirt, peppered with a few rocks of various sizes. No drones, no walls, no nothing.

"So... what am I supposed to do?" Swipe asked over his shoulder.

"Do the best you can," Robin replied as he pressed the START button. In an instant, several metallic columns rose from the earth and unleashed several attack drones while a few metal stumps sprouted pulse cannons. Swipe leaned forward in anticipation.

The first energy pulses had barely left the cannons' barrels when the rogue started into his run, leaving the blasts to punch three pockmarks into the ground behind him. Four drones zoomed in to pursue, but a few well-placed daggers knocked them out of the air before they could fire a shot. Just ahead, several gates pushed up through the ground and proceeded to slam their doors open and closed. Swipe gritted his teeth and timed his dashes to slip past each one. Things had gone well for the first two of these obstacles, until a pair of turrets burst up from the ground. Upon seeing this, Swipe made a noise usually associated with an injured kitten.

"Oh, to hell with this!" the rogue grunted and finally ran at full speed through the remaining gates, consequently causing the two turrets to blast each other as he passed. He glanced over to the Titans, "Could one of you please tell me that there's a finish line somewhere around here!"

"Just a little further!" Robin called back as he tapped a few more buttons on the control panel, thus summoning the final test. Cyborg's latest addition emerged from an underground holding bay, an expressionless chrome android that was half again taller than a normal human with an intimidating pair of steel wrecking balls at the ends of its arms. Swipe made the same noise that he did before, only longer and higher-pitched.

"He's tryin' to kill me..." he breathed to himself before turning towards the Titans' leader. "You're tryin' to KILL ME!"

"I have the faith in you, friend Swipe! You can do it!" Starfire cheered, waving both arms around. Terra barely had time to dodge a wild swing, as did Beast Boy.

"Yeah, come on, Swipe! If I can do it, so can you!" the blonde girl joined in, still keeping an eye on Starfire.

Cyborg and Beast Boy soon joined in with their own words of encouragement, with Raven simply giving the rogue an encouraging nod. Swipe drew his daggers and swallowed hard, awaiting his opponent's first move. The android lurched forward and lashed out with a wrecking ball, only to succeed in making a huge crater in the ground where Swipe once stood. The thief had leapt and rolled away from the attack, but found the other ball bearing down on his head. Desperate to end the fight quickly, Swipe made a run for the robot's legs and tried to slash at its joints. The attack struck true, sending blue-white sparks flying everywhere.

With its balance compromised, the combat droid flailed its arms and double-slammed them into the ground. The shockwave threw the rogue off his feet and into a nearby boulder. There was a collective gasp as everything went still for a short moment...

Through the cloud of dust, a small silhouette could be seen rising from where it had landed. In a flash, Swipe was racing up the robot's arm and perched himself on the thing's back. With a fierce scream, the rogue rapidly stabbed both daggers into his enemy's head. A few sputters and twitches later, the android finally fell to the ground in a deactivated heap. Swipe rolled off the machine and dragged himself across the finish line before promptly collapsing onto his stomach in exhaustion.

"Am I done now...?"

Swipe was led by the Titans back to their main room, where he gladly accepted a soda from Robin. "So.. I did good, right?"

"Better than good. You tied the record, and that one was set before Cyborg's modifications."

"Heh. Lucky me..."

Cyborg, in the meantime, was still grousing over his creation, "You didn't have to be so hard on it, though. D'you realize I worked on that for three months?"

The rogue answered sarcastically, "Sorry, dude, but I was kinda fighting for my life out there! Besides, I only severed the wires that went to its power core an' CPU. At least, I think I did... But if you need help repairing it, I'll be glad to try helpin' ya!"

That remark nonetheless elicited another anguished groan from the half-robot as he searched out some chips in the kitchen's pantry. The others laughed good-naturedly on their way to join him, leaving Swipe on the couch to regain his strength. However, the rogue spotted an unattended communicator laying on the table in front of him. He glanced over his shoulder to ensure he was alone and, in the blink of an eye, snatched the device up and stuffed it into his back pocket. The Titans returned soon after and only saw Swipe scratching his back.

"Hey, I thank you guys for yer hospitality and all, but I've gotta get my 'shopping' done."

Robin nodded, "Still not ready to join?"

Swipe scratched the back of his head, "Nah... I'll have to think about it some more. Don't get me wrong! You're a great buncha guys and all..."

"It's all right. If you should ever change your mind, we'll keep the door open," Robin couldn't hold back a snicker. "Unless you'd rather try picking the lock?"

"Ha ha," the rogue deadpanned. "All the comedians outta work and he's crackin' jokes. How do you guys put up with this?"

Cyborg ruffled Robin's spiky hair, "We manage somehow. Hey, keep in touch, all right? After all, I might just take you up on your offer."

Swipe gave Cyborg a salute, "I'll do my best. Maybe next time, I'll bring my karaoke machine. Hope you guys don't mind Eighties music."

Raven rolled her eyes briefly, "Go ahead and knock yourself out. I'll just watch."

The rogue finished saying his goodbyes to the group, noting Beast Boy's suggestion of bringing a copy of "Macho Man". However, he noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Blondie? I don't think I ever caught her name."

"Oh, you mean Terra?" Beast Boy answered. "She said somethin' about setting a tape for some TV show tonight. I guess she went to her room."

Swipe shrugged, "Well, I'd better not bug 'er, then. See ya 'round, Titans!"

"Farewell, friend Swipe! I hope we can all meet again in the near future!" Starfire called back. With a final salute, Swipe left the tower and raced back to the mall.

Once there, the rogue picked up the discarded bed frame that sat behind the furniture outlet store, along with a mattress that was leaning against the door to the stockroom. It wasn't much, but it was a start. He took the ensemble home, unaware that someone had been watching him the whole time...

"Jinxie, I'm home! Where're you at?"

Jinx poked her head through the bedroom door. Judging by the towel-turban she was currently wearing, she had just gotten out of the shower. She called out, "Back here, Swipe. Where have you been all this time?"

"Ohh... shopping. For something."

There was some rustling behind the door as Jinx got changed, "Something? Something like what?"

"Come on out and look! When you're decent, that is."

The sorceress finally emerged, fully clothed, and walked into the living room. Upon seeing the bed frame and mattress, she grinned and asked her friend, "So I guess this means no more nights on the couch?"

"Hey, I want you to be comfortable."

Jinx gave Swipe a quick, one-armed hug around the shoulders, "Thank you.. But, where will you put it?"

"Leave that to me," the rogue replied with a wink.

The project would've taken a normal person most of the day. For Swipe, it was done in an hour. He set up the bed in the far corner of the kitchen, adding two sets of shower curtains for privacy. With his daggers, he quickly carved a door-shaped hole in the wall to allow access to a bathroom that had previously been unused and created a walk-through closet in the process.

Jinx checked out the finished work and smiled approvingly, "This is perfect! Now I have a place to put the rest of my clothes!"

"Glad to be of service to ya. Say, are you free tonight by any chance?"

"Like there's anything else I could do?" the sorceress replied sarcastically. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Well, there's this place I'd like to show you. A little dance club called 'The Retro Zone'."

Jinx arched an eyebrow, "Why, Swipe. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were asking me out."

This put a good shade of red on the rogue's cheeks, "Well, hey... ya know... I- I've got a gig there."

"You mean, you work there? What about your life of theivery?"

"Only when I need to, and only what I need."

Jinx smirked and shook her head, "You never cease to amaze me. Well then, in that case, I should look my best tonight."

As they talked, neither of them noticed the shadow that was listening to them. After a few more minutes, the eavesdropper slunk away from the motel and clicked on a communicator.

"I know where they'll be tonight. Shall I try for a capture?"

"No. I will handle that myself. Continue to follow them for now, my apprentice. We wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention."

End of Chapter 7

In Chapter 8: Swipe and Jinx dance the night away at The Retro Zone, and find that another duo have decided to take a break from their work. Unfortunately, every party has its poopers...