Author's note: …Well. Hi, guys. XD Yes, I am aware that this chapter is waaaay overdue. I know it's not an excuse, but I've been swamped with midterms and work. I work in retail, so you can guess how the past few days have been for me. But I digress. I am NOT happy with this chapter, to say the least, but as of right now it's the best I could do. The next one will be better… I moved the confrontation with Jinx's HIVE buddies to the next chapter, so there's that, too.
I'm extremely happy with all the good reviews I've gotten, but don't be afraid to criticize (constructively, of course XD). I do have one question for everyone: Do you think I'm making Starfire act too stupid? Something I've been wondering.
Again, sorry for the long delay, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Keep checking back for more!
Disorderly Conduct: Chapter Four
The next day, Jinx camped out in the tower's main room, a painful bump on the back of her head, watching with a glazed expression as Cyborg beat Beast Boy at Gamestation time after time. Eventually Beast Boy sank so low into the couch, all Jinx could see were his purple shoes sticking out into the room.
"Booya! I am on a roll," Cyborg crowed after the fifth smackdown in a row.
Beast Boy tossed his controller to the floor and said indignantly, "Well, how do you expect me to beat you, anyway? Half your brain's a computer! You probably know what I'm gonna do before I know what I'm gonna do."
"Excuses, excuses," Cyborg said, smirking. "We going again?"
"Please, let me recover first," Beast Boy grumbled. "My hands are starting to cramp up."
Jinx couldn't help snickering at this last comment, and Beast Boy looked over at her, opening his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by a loud beeping. Immediately, Cyborg and Beast Boy stood and rushed to the control room, Jinx close behind them. This, she thought, covering her ears, is why I could never be a superhero.
"They're over by the bank on Third Avenue," Robin announced. "Let's go, Titans!"
"Hey, what about me?" Jinx asked before they could rush off.
Cyborg blinked. "Well, you could just chill and watch a movie here," he suggested.
"Or play a video game," Beast Boy said.
"Oh! Do the redecorating of your living space, like on the television!" Starfire piped up, apparently forgetting that Jinx was sleeping in a spare room with no furniture but a bed.
Just then, Raven halted the suggestions. She didn't say a word—she didn't have to. The look she gave Robin said it clearly enough: Leaving her alone in the tower—are you insane?
Robin took the hint. "On second thought, maybe you'd better come with us."
"Glorious!" cried Guess Who. "A new addition to the team!"
Raven made a snorting noise. "Not quite," she deadpanned under her breath.
Jinx rolled her eyes.
--
The Titans reached the Third Avenue Bank in less than fifteen minutes. Jinx was slightly impressed by this feat, only because she and her team were chronically late for most of their planned schemes. If they had been the superheroes, she doubted that they'd be helping the city very much. Mammoth would probably stop on the way to get something to eat; Gizmo was so irritating he'd probably be mobbed by annoyed citizens; Private HIVE and See-more got their kicks mostly by hanging back and laughing at the commotion going on around them. As for herself, she doubted she could ever have the motivation to help someone that, a: she didn't know, and b: wasn't going to be paying her.
As the Titans spread out, ready to take down their newest adversaries (two burly men wearing stockings over their faces—how cliché), Jinx sat down on a nearby bench and watched the fight go down. She couldn't help being impressed.
Robin was the kind of leader she could never be—he concentrated on… well, leading, while she concentrated mostly on keeping the boys controlled and avoiding Gizmo's random attempts to overthrow her and take over the team. They'd all been giving her crap lately over the team's attack names, which were based on the Greek alphabet. It had been a technique she'd learned at Darkway Prep, hello, and it hadn't failed her yet. She didn't see what the big deal was with attack names, anyway. Boys were stupid.
As she watched the Titans' fight as objectively as a girl of her nature could, Jinx began to realize why her team always failed when they went up against the Titans. Robin's team was fluid and instead of ignoring each other, they used the other team members to their highest advantage. The HIVE Five were more likely to turn and run, leaving whoever got caught behind, when things went bad. Also, they were way too cocky. She was going to have to adopt a few of Robin's techniques as soon as she returned to the HIVE.
Whenever that would be.
--
That evening, the Titans, plus Jinx, returned to the tower tired, but in good spirits. They'd gone for Chinese food after the fight, and Robin had explained, at great length, why he couldn't let Jinx join the team on such short notice.
Jinx's lip curled up. The poor guy probably thought she was heartbroken! Yawning, she walked slowly up to her room. Yeah, right, like she would ever join the Titans. They couldn't pay her enough to deal with that friggin' alarm all day and night. And never knowing when she'd have to jump out of bed, or worse, the shower, just to kick some stupid… criminal's… butt?
She paused, shaking her head, then opened the door to her room. As soon as she entered, she heard the familiar trilling noise that signaled somebody calling her on the communicator. She waited until the ringing stopped, but before she could relax, a crackling voice issued from the communicator.
"This message is for student number 5225, alias Jinx. Our records show that as of today, you have missed two days of classes. If there is no excuse for your excessive absence, severe disciplinary action will be taken. If you are currently in police custody, please press 'one' now and a team will be dispatched to your location within two nights. If you are confused or do not remember who you are, please press 'two' now and a team will be dispatched to your location immediately."
The message cut off abruptly, leaving Jinx standing in the now silent room, a sullen expression on her face. She'd really done it now—severe disciplinary action meant business.
"Crap," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring down at her feet.
--
Jinx didn't get much sleep that night. She lay awake, going over everything that had happened in the last couple of days. She had no desire to stay in the tower much longer. Even though it was a pretty good deal, she felt like she'd outstayed her welcome, and plus, she could never really be friends with the Titans. Not while she was still a student at the HIVE.
Which was another problem. Time was running out. If she didn't make a decision about her enrollment at the HIVE soon, there would be… well, "severe disciplinary action," whether she went back willingly or not. But would she go back willingly? Sure, it had been fun during her first few years at the HIVE. She, Mammoth and Gizmo had worked their way up, from novices to experts, finally forming their own team. They'd strutted around the school as if they'd owned it. Even when they got caught committing some crime or other, they'd laughed about it. Had fun.
Lately, the HIVE was getting much more serious about its students and how they spent their time. What had once been a small-time robbery was now being doubly scrutinized, more harshly graded. Students were expected to shape up—or get out. So Jinx and her friends had dealt with two new team members and a handful of botched crimes, all of which led to jail time and then punishment back at the HIVE. There hadn't been as much fun, even as they'd been cracking bad jokes and acting as though they ruled the school.
And suddenly, she felt like asking, what was it all for, anyway? So they could help the HIVE Academy achieve the greatness it deserved? When she'd first enrolled, the answer had been a definite, if slightly cheeky, yes. So that she and her friends could become supervillians in their own right? Once upon a time, the answer to that had been: Duh!
Except that they always lost. They lost against the Titans every single time, even after their teams were evenly matched. The HIVE never got any more powerful than it had been in the first place. Jinx never got the recognition she'd always desired. In fact, the most news time she'd ever gotten had been after she saved Beast Boy, which had pretty much ruined her reputation, anyway.
It would just go on like that until she got too old—the small-time crimes, the nights spent in cold, concrete jail cells, the sting of being beaten every time. Then where would she be?
That was the thing to think about.
Saving Beast Boy had caused more trouble for Jinx than she was beginning to think she could handle.