Rufus tapped the cuffs. "Jail?" he asked.
Jinx started, then looked at Ron. "He talks?"
"Yep," Ron grinned. "He's a big part of our team."
"Yes, Rufus, I was in jail," Jinx answered.
"Awww... too bad. Like you," said the mole rat, patting her on the cheek.
"Well, I like you too," she answered, feeling a little better.
They exited the warehouse into the bright midday sun, heading for a blue Ford Focus which Kim's parents had given her on her eighteenth birthday. Wade had done some modifying making it better suited for Team Possible missions.
Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator, and tapped the connect button. "Wade?"
"Hi, Kim, how'd it go?" asked the now 13 year old supergenius.
"Shego got away with the amplifier, but we ended up with an unexpected prisoner," she answered, and turned the video pickup toward Jinx.
"Whoa! Who's that?" he asked.
"Jennifer Wheeler. Could you contact the... what was it?" she turned to Jinx.
"Jump City State Pen," she answered.
"...and tell them we've got her?" Kim finished.
Wade made a frown. "Never heard of Jump City, but I'll see what I can do." He signed off.
Ron looked at Jinx closely. "Wow, they let you dye your hair pink and have slitted pink contacts like that in prison?" he asked. "That's cool."
Jinx looked at him. "No, these are my normal eyes and hair color," she answered.
Ron looked skeptical.
"Don't believe me? Look," she said, and leaned toward him. "Do you see any contacts?"
Ron looked closely. "No..." he admitted.
She tilted her head forward. "Look at my roots."
He did, and saw the pink extended to her scalp.
"Huh," he commented.
"Ron, we've seen stranger stuff," Kim reminded him.
"Yeah, I guess..." he said.
"Hair pretty," commented Rufus, running his claws gently through it.
Jinx grinned, and followed them to the car.
"Jinx, you get in front. Ron, you ride behind her," said Kim.
"Please, Ms. Possible, I'm your prisoner. Call me Jenny, or Jen. Or Wheeler. I'm not Jinx now," she said.
"Okay, Jenny," said Kim, unlocking the door and opening it, "As long as you call me Kim, and him Ron."
"You sure you want me up front?" Jenny asked.
"Yes. You haven't given us any reason not to trust you so far, but until we figure out what's going on, I don't want to take chances," Kim answered.
Jenny nodded, and got in. As soon as she was settled with the seat belt around her, Rufus climbed down and curled up in her lap, going to sleep almost instantly.
"Rufus REALLY likes you," commented Ron, getting in the back seat behind her.
On the way to Kim's house, she studied the odd girl sitting quietly and looking out the window.
"Jinx...uh, Jenny, why is your skin gray? Did they have you in solitary for a long time?"
she asked.
Jenny looked at her. "No, this is normal for me. Raven has gray skin too, but I think it's because she's half-demon."
"Who's Raven?" asked Ron.
Jenny glanced behind her. "Raven? Of the Teen Titans? Don't tell me you've never heard of them."
Ron shook his head. "Can't say I have."
"This is getting weirder by the minute," Jenny muttered.
KPKPKP
At Kim's house, they reconviened at the kitchen table.
"Want something to drink?" Kim asked her guest.
"A soft drink would be nice. Haven't had one in months," Jenny answered.
Kim handed her a can, and tossed another one to Ron. She got a diet drink for herself and sat down with them, putting a piece of cheese down for Rufus. Just then the Kimmunicator beeped.
"Go, Wade," said Kim, keying the button.
"Kim, it's weird. There's no such place as Jump City, or a Jump City Pen. I did a global search, and it just doesn't exist. It wasn't secret, was it?" asked Wade.
"No, just your standard prison with a metahuman section," said Jenny.
"A what section?" asked Wade, typing.
"You know, a place to hold bad people with powers. Like me," she said.
"You have powers?" Ron asked. "What can you do?"
"I can cause bad luck," Jenny answered. "That's why I'm called Jinx."
"Riiight..." said Wade, obviously skeptical.
Jenny sighed. "Okay, the explanation I was given is that my power affects local probability to give my target bad luck. I used it to cause accidents and destroy stuff so my team and I could steal what we wanted."
"So, what about being in prison?" asked Wade.
"Kid Flash convinced me to go over to the good side, so I turned myself in and got a ten-year sentence. I had served two years and was eligible for parole in a couple of months. Then that little jerk Gizmo got me out. So my chance at parole is probably blown, and they'll add more time to my sentence." She answered.
"Awww...sorry," said Rufus, patting her hand.
"Jenny, we're witnesses that it wasn't your fault. We'll help you fight that," said Kim.
Jenny stared at Kim. "You'd do that for me?"
"Sure. It's only right," she replied.
"Jenny, I can't find any reference to any of the people you mentioned. There ARE two 'Jennifer Wheelers' in prison, but they're both accounted for, and are both in their forties. How old are you?" asked Wade.
"Eighteen," she answered.
"Hmmm... there are no warrants out for you, no alerts that you're missing. Let me do some more digging," said Wade, and the screen went dark.
Kim made a decision. "Ron, take the cuffs off."
Jenny and Ron stared at her. "Well, we can't find where she's done anything at all, so there's no reason to keep them on her. Rufus likes her, and that's also a big point in her favor."
"Okay, KP, sounds good to me," said Ron. He turned and dug out the key. When he turned back,
he found Jenny's hand in his face, the still-locked cuffs dangling from one finger. He took them and put them back in their place.
Kim was staring wide-eyed. "You could have gotten out at any time?"
Jenny shrugged. "Sure. But I didn't want to cause you any trouble." She took a long drink of her soda.
"Thanks for the consideration," Kim said dryly.
"Would it be okay if I took a shower? I really need one," said Jenny, finishing her soda.
"Sure. I'll see if I can find something else for you to wear," said Kim.
"That would be great!" said Jenny, grinning and stretching.
While Ron stayed in the family room watching TV Trash Heap and Jenny took a long shower,
Kim dug out some clothes. Jenny was as tall as her but a bit more slender, so Kim found some clothes from a couple of years ago that would probably fit.
As she laid them on the bed, the Kimmunicator beeped.
"Go, Wade," Kim answered.
"I can't find anything at all. It's like she came out of nowhere. How did you find her?" he asked.
Kim told him about the portal she had come through, adding she had called it a 'wormhole'.
"Well, I guess that explains it. She's from another dimension, and never existed here," he said.
Kim looked skeptical. "Oookay..."
"Remember the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer? She probably came through something like that,
like when you and Ron and Drakken and Shego went through all those cable channels," he said.
"Well, you're the supergenius. Guess I'll take your word for it. Can you send her home?"
she asked.
"That won't be easy, and will take some time. Think you can take care of her until then?"
he asked.
"Shouldn't be a problem. She's been nothing but truthful and cooperative," Kim answered.
"I'll work on it," said Wade, and the screen went dark.
A minute later Jenny came in, a towel around her head, and another around her body.
"Man, that feels better. I think I used all the hot water, though," she said.
"Don't worry about it. I've got parents and twin brothers, so it happens frequently," answered Kim with a grin.
Jenny looked over the clothes, and nodded in approval. Without warning Kim, she pulled off the towel, and started getting dressed.
Beet red, Kim quickly turned her back. Without meaning to, Kim had seen proof that Jenny's hair really was pink, and all her skin gray.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jenny. "I'm used to showering with other women."
"That's okay, come downstairs when you're done," she answered, and made a beeline down the stairs.