A/N: And we're back! I know this took quite a bit longer than previous chapters, and the explanations for that are at the bottom. Anywho, this is where the story really begins, as the first three chapters act as something of an intro, getting everyone into their places so we can get on with the plot. Enjoy!
IV
"What's the matter with you?" Jinx asked Raven as soon as she'd joined the rest of their group at the lunch table they'd quickly claimed as their own. "You look like someone stole your favorite torture device." The girl in question wore an expression of severe irritation today in place of her usual look of boredom.
"Do you recall that boy who threw the milk carton at you?" Raven stabbed her food a few times, looking very much like she was imagining it as someone specific as she watched the blood spill out onto her tray.
Jinx snorted. "Hard to forget after the way you made him eat the wall. He botherin' you or somethin'?"
"No, though I'm sure I'd rather be antagonized than… this." She reached into the folds of her cloak, pulling out a small, semi-transparent object that glistened even in the fluorescent lights overhead. "His brother gave me this after professing some sort of misguided affection for me."
"Is that an ice rose?" Jinx examined the artificial flower closely. "We've been here barely a month, and how many guys have the hots for you now?"
"Too many." Raven said. "One of them has even attempted to use his powers to look through my clothing, so I plucked out his eye." She crushed the flower between her thumb and index finger, sending a small spray of ice across the table.
"Ugh, fucking creeps." Jinx scoffed. "Mike, what do you got on these top scoring twats."
"Huh? Wha…?" Gizmo sat bolt upright; his impromptu nap interrupted at the sound of his name.
"I said, what did you find out about the guys who scored first in their entrance exams?" Jinx sighed irritably.
"Right, yeah." Gizmo opened his laptop with a yawn, pulling up a page and turning the device to show the others. "James and Erik Sherwood, AKA Cryo and Pyro, respectively. Fifteen years old, discovered their meta-genes at an early age, and trained with some US paramilitary group that doesn't officially exist; and I got no name on that. Everything else is basic info; normal home life for the most part, no dirty secrets they're tryin' to hide, far as I can tell."
"So, one likes you, and one hates you, and other than that, we've got nothin' on 'em." Jinx looked off to the side in contemplation. "I should be able to think of a way to use that."
"Uh, use it for what?" Mammoth interjected, having been looking for a way into the conversation. "I thought we were gonna let it be?"
"We still are, for now." Jinx explained. "But one of 'em's already tried some shady shit, and I want to be prepared the next time it happens. By the way, what did you tell… James is Cryo, right? Yeah, what'd you tell Cryo when he told ya how he felt?"
"I informed him I had no interest in forming a relationship with him, and then I mentioned that his brother was a quivering pustule on the face of society. He laughed, then handed me that rose, saying he 'wasn't going to give up that easily'."
"Gotta love that perseverance." Jinx intoned sarcastically. "Well, we can deal with him later; how's English class going?"
"I'm inclined to agree with my father, for once." Raven huffed. "This language is horrendous; it's like they threw dice to decide the grammatical rules."
"Sounds about right." Jinx agreed. "What about Mr. Jacobs; he try any weird demon hunter shit?"
"Nothing overt, so far." Raven said. "He seems to be content with observing me for the moment, when not trying to explain one of the most needlessly overcomplicated languages ever devised." Her head twitched slightly. "And apparently, he's not the only one fond of that particular activity." Jinx immediately started looking around the room, searching for whoever Raven was implying.
"Oh, it's them." Jinx groused. "Don't they have anything better to do?" The twins shifted their attentions to Jinx when they caught sight of her glare. Pyro looked down at his food, trying to appear casual, while Cryo merely grinned at her, doing his best to give off an air of suave charm, and surprisingly not failing entirely. 'So much for dealing with it later…'
Jinx could see they were trying to subtly discuss something, but even if she could read lips, they were too far away to do so. Whatever it was, Pyro didn't like it. Not wanting to actually make the trip over there, she settled for narrowing her eyes to send a non-verbal message, turning back around to return to her meal when she was sure they'd understood her.
But it seemed something got lost in translation, as not five seconds later, two sets of footsteps approached their table, followed by the sound of a throat clearing.
"Sorry to bother you." Cryo started in, not faltering in the slightest under the harsh looks he received. "I believe my brother has something he'd like to say…" He clapped Pyro on his shoulder rather forcefully at the word 'brother', producing a small puff of steam at the contact.
"I'm… sorry." Pyro was sweating, likely with nervousness, and he refused to meet Jinx's eyes. "Throwing that milk at you was childish and a dick move, and I hope that we can all move past this like mature young adults." He avoided eye contact like the plague as he waited for her to respond.
Jinx couldn't help herself; the way he spoke was so obviously scripted and forced, she busted out laughing.
After a solid three minutes, she calmed down enough to form a response.
"Did, did you tell him to say all that?" She looked to Cryo, wiping a tear away.
"I sincerely hope this is not the whole of your ploy to win me over." Raven said without looking at them.
"Why, I wouldn't dream of insulting you with something so simple." Cryo's voice had just the barest hint of a drawl not shared with his twin, and Jinx figured it was something he played up for girls. "I only figured my brother owed your friend here an apology, and he was just too scared of you to follow through."
"Shut up, dude; you didn't see what I saw." Pyro punched his brother in the arm. "Something ain't right with her."
"I'm still here, you know?" Raven said, turning her head just a bit farther than what should have been feasible to glare at the two intruders to their lunch. Erik blanched, while James kept his smile up all the same.
"See what I mean? That shit ain't natural." Pyro motioned to Raven with both hands. "Ya know what, screw this, I'm going back to see if I still have an appetite."
"I apologize for my brother's rudeness." Cryo said as they watched Pyro walk back to his seat. "No one ever really explained the concept of a social filter to him."
"So I've gathered." Raven said, returning to her own meal. "If that's all you needed, I would welcome the loss of your company; the stink of arrogance is ruining my own palate."
"Just one other thing." James smoothed back his light blue hair. "If you ever decide you want a change'a scenery, there's always a spot open for you on our team… and on my arm."
"I think I'll pass."
"And I think it's time for you to leave." Mammoth chimed in, crossing his powerful arms over his broad chest in a show of intimidation. Cryo's smile dropped a bit then as he raised an eyebrow, looking between each member of Jinx's team.
"That's alright, I can see when I'm not wanted." He raised his hands in the gesture of surrender, placing his right foot behind him. "But just think about what I said if you don't want to hold yourself back anymore."
"Well he was… slimy." Jinx said after he'd returned to his sibling.
"Gotta hand it to him, though, guy's got balls." Gizmo said. "I'm surprised you didn't decapitate him or somethin'."
"I'm not going to repay affection with malice." Raven argued. "Though that will change at the slightest show of force in his efforts."
"Aaannd… Done!" Jinx exclaimed, grabbing the attention of the resident demon. In the amount of time they'd been there, Jinx had managed, with the help of her teleporting roommate, to fully furnish their room. As of right now, she had officially finished painting.
Everything was done, as promised, in varying shades of pink and purple.
"Not bad." Raven dragged her attention away from the English work she'd been trying to complete to take in Jinx's handiwork. "I hadn't thought you were any sort of artist."
Jinx shook her head, wiping sweat from her hairline. "Nah, this ain't art; you should see what I can do with actual supplies."
"I think I'd like that." Raven's words brought a wide smile to Jinx's lips, but before she could offer a reply, a knock was heard at the door. Standing on the other side of the entrance was their tour guide. "Hello, Ms. Fields."
"Hello, Raven. May I come in?"
"I don't see why not." Raven floated aside to let Melanie in, closing the door with her powers as they came back over to Jinx. For her part, Melanie appeared unfazed by both the heady smell of paint and Jinx's attire of paint-splattered overalls.
"What can we do ya' for?" Jinx asked, taking up the same nonchalant attitude as their guest.
"Well, I know you guys haven't been here for very long, but based on the progress you and your team have already made, along with your natural skills, the Headmistress and I both believe a proper field test is in order." Melanie handed Jinx a folder.
"You mean we're getting a mission already?" Jinx asked incredulously, skimming over the contents of their contract.
"Sort of." Melanie said. "It's pretty beginner stuff; basic retrieval work. A company here in Jump had two of their vehicles stolen a few nights ago, and have taken out a contract with the HIVE to get them back. Of course, if you don't feel ready for this, we can always put it off for now."
"No, no; we can handle this easy." Jinx affirmed.
"Great; the rest of the details are in there, just let me know when you're ready to leave." Melanie said, making her exit from the room.
"Whoa…"
"Something wrong?" Raven asked.
"Not really wrong, per se." Jinx said. "More like weird. The cars that were stolen belonged to Wayne Enterprises."
"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate." Raven prompted.
"Well, it's just that, why would a multi-billion-dollar organization like that want to hire mercenaries, especially ones who haven't even been in the game for very long, just to get back a couple of company cars? They make enough money every day to recover what they lost with these thefts."
"It does sound… odd, when you put it that way." Raven noted. "I assume we'll still be going, despite the suspicious circumstances?"
"Oh hell yeah." Jinx said. "Even if it turns out this is some kind of ridiculous convoluted trap, I doubt we'll have any real problems taking care of it."
"A fair assumption." Raven agreed. "Though I should warn you against overestimating my abilities. I know I might have given a somewhat deity-esque impression, but both Robin and Pyro were wholly unprepared to face down a demon, which would obviously lend itself to my advantage. Make no mistake, I am considered one of the more powerful beings in the underworld, but I am far from unkillable."
"I guess." Jinx conceded. "But hey, even if you're not invincible on your own, I think we can get pretty close as a team."
"For your sake, I hope you're right."
"Of course I'm right." Jinx assured her. "Now let's go tell the boys."
"I don't like it." Gizmo said as soon as he'd read the file for their mission. "Somethin's fishy about all this."
"I had the same thoughts." Jinx admitted. "But I'm not about to turn down our first contract just because it seems suspicious; we need to show 'em that we're a capable team who aren't afraid to take up potentially dangerous missions."
"Works for me." Mammoth said.
"Your pride is gonna be the death of me…" Gizmo complained, which Raven evidently found amusing, as she sniggered at him.
"Alright, can I trust you guys with this?" Jinx asked sternly, looking between Mammoth and Gizmo in accusation. "I don't think I need to remind you what happened on our last job."
"I already told you that was because of extenuating circumstances!" Gizmo argued.
"I'm gonna show you 'extenuating' if you guys mess this up." Jinx threatened him.
"That doesn't even make any sense." Gizmo countered.
"Shouldn't we get going?" Raven interrupted, having no desire to watch them fight amongst themselves when they had more important matters to attend to.
"She's right." Jinx agreed. "But just to be sure, tell me what you're supposed to do."
"We go to the place, we sneak in, we steal the thing, and we meet back here in front of this park." Gizmo recited.
"Good enough." Jinx ceded. "You ready, Rae?" Raven nodded once, wrapping the two of them in shadow and disappearing an instant later.
"Hey, how come we have to walk?!" Gizmo exclaimed.
"You really wanna go through that again?" Mammoth questioned the shorter boy. Gizmo didn't answer, just stalked off toward their destination, grumbling all the while.
"Whew, you were right about that getting easier." Jinx said, stumbling a few times before catching her footing.
"Though it does seem you're not fully acclimated to it just yet." Raven noted.
"Well, we'll just have to do it more often." Jinx said, blushing as soon as the words left her mouth. "Uuuhhh… I mean, um, teleporting, of course… just forget I said anything." She didn't miss the smirk Raven now bore, but chose not to comment, instead refocusing on their mission while trying to force her face to go back to its usual colourless state.
"Well this mission just gets more suspicious by the moment." Raven commented.
"Yeah, this doesn't exactly look like the kind of place you'd stash a high-end stolen ride." Jinx agreed. They found themselves in the run-down area on the outskirts of Jump; the sort of place where one might expect to see things like drug deals, gang violence, and the like.
"Do we have a more specific search area?" Raven asked. "From what I know of these types of places, and those who inhabit them, we will no doubt appear as outsiders."
"That just means they'll know who their messin' with." Jinx justified. "But anyway, we're lookin' for a warehouse that only looks old on the outside."
"That would describe most of them around here." Raven stated dryly.
"Door to door it is, then." Jinx concluded.
It was five warehouses, three homeless men, and one creepy, staring child later that Raven and Jinx finally found what they were looking for, at least according to Jinx.
"We haven't even opened the door yet." Raven said. "How can you be sure this is it?"
"A few things." Jinx explained. "See that symbol just above the door? That's the logo of the gang that's supposed to have stolen the cars. And the door itself has way too many security features, not to mention that unlike most of the other places we checked, none of the windows are broken here."
"You're cleverer than you lead people to believe." Raven said.
"Well, you're not wrong, but this stuff was pretty obvious." Jinx asserted. At Raven's inquisitive look, she continued. "You're right, I do let people think I'm impulsive, a little hyperactive, and somewhat childish, but that's exactly the point; underestimation is a witch's best friend in a fight. Now, how's your stealth skills?"
"Exemplary." Raven answered, phasing both herself and Jinx through the door without so much as a hint of detection.
After a short stint down a hallway and past a second, less heavily fortified door, they came to a stop on a catwalk overlooking several dozen dangerous looking men and women, all of which were engaged in some sort of gang-related activity. There were people assembling and disassembling weapons, people working on what looked to be experimental tech, and a group of them gathered in a circle in a lounge of sorts, passing a small white cylindrical object around, each of them taking turns inhaling on it.
"What is that smell?" Raven asked in a whisper.
"What, you never smelled weed smoke before?" Jinx asked sarcastically.
"If you'll recall, there are many things I've yet to encounter in this world." Raven pointed out. "Many rituals call for burning some kind of plant, but they've never had this particular aroma. But besides that, I'm fairly certain that's not magic they're doing in the first place."
"So, you were literally born in Hell, but you don't know what drugs are?" Jinx was incredulous. "Okay, that's a long discussion best saved for a controlled environment; for now, we need to find the car, and I don't see it anywhere in here."
"Do you still want to go with the stealthy approach?" Raven asked. "If not, I'm certain we could make short work of these people."
"I don't doubt it." Jinx agreed. "But this isn't the whole gang, and I'm not fond of the idea of making enemies out of the rest of 'em. I don't suppose you could turn us invisible?"
"Not quite." Raven answered. "There is something I can do, though." She slung part of her cloak over Jinx's shoulders, and though the magic wasn't visible, Jinx could feel its effects.
"What was that?"
"I've melded us with the shadows." Raven explained. "So long as we stay quiet and keep to the edges of the room, we'll be effectively unnoticeable."
"Cool." Jinx said. "Let's go." They moved along swiftly but quietly, Jinx's slight frame aiding her silence, while Raven made no footsteps at all.
The stairs were obviously a no-go, and the two opted to simply float down noiselessly on the opposite end of the room. There were a few close calls as they moved along the wall when one of the gang members would walk near them, look around suspiciously a few times, then proceed to continue on to wherever they'd been planning to go.
After ten anxiety inducing minutes of methodical procession, Jinx had Raven tentatively phase them through a door marked as being off limits. They hadn't seen anyone enter this room the entire time they'd been in the building, and it was just as devoid of life as expected.
And just as Jinx had been hoping, there was their goal sitting prominently in the center of the private garage.
"Okay, that is definitely not a regular company car." Jinx observed. The vehicle before them was definitely their target, if the large, stylized W was anything to go by, but it was absolutely not something just any corporate underling would be handed the keys to.
"Is there something special about this particular machine?" Raven asked.
"I'm so glad you asked." A new voice sounded off behind them in the dimly lit room. Jinx and Raven turned to find three men, all brandishing some type of blunt instrument. "Ya' know, little girls like you really shouldn't be in a place like this."
"I agree." Jinx said. "So, if you don't mind, we'll just take the car and be out of your hair."
"Sorry, but it don't work that way." The man in the center spoke, shifting his weapon onto his shoulder.
"Is this the part where we're supposed to be intimidated?" Raven asked. "I have to wonder, though, how did you manage to sneak up on us?" She was genuinely curious, as it was fairly difficult to elude her senses.
The man reached into his shirt, pulling out a necklace. "A gift from our generous benefactor; grants invisibility to magical detection."
"Yet you willingly give that up instead of attacking while our guard was down?" Raven questioned him.
"Well, I figure if I'm gonna take a bat to a kid's face, I might as well let 'em see it coming. Plus, I'm a sucker for dramatic entrances."
"I don't suppose you could teleport both us and the car out of here?" Jinx asked quietly.
Raven gave a small shake of the head. "I have no way of shielding something like that from the stress of the journey."
"The only journey you're making tonight is to the morgue." The man interrupted before he and his two friends came running at Jinx and Raven.
The 'fight', if one could call it that, lasted barely a minute before all three of them were unconscious. The girls waited a few more seconds to see if reinforcements were coming, and when none did, Raven bent to retrieve the item that had hidden the men from her scope, giving it a few tentative touches to make sure it was harmless.
"Do you recognize it?" Jinx asked.
"No." Raven shook her head. "I'll ask Mr. Jacobs about at some point." She pocketed the item, turning her gaze back to the car. "I assume you know how to drive?"
"Functionally, yes; legally, no." Jinx assured her. "Let's go."
As soon as the garage door lowered behind them, another person stepped out of the corner of the room, wearing a piece of jewelry identical to the one Raven had just taken. Smoothing a hand through his glacial hair, he walked up to the nearest body on the floor, tapping the man in the head with his shoe. The man opened his eyes slowly, giving a groan of pain and hacking up a few drops of blood.
"So, did you learn anything?" James asked.
"I learned you're a fuckin' masochistic nutcase." He answered sluggishly. "I don't know why you want to bag a walkin' nightmare like her anyway."
"Trust me, my emasculated friend, any beast can be tamed." James eyed the talisman hanging from his neck. "One need only know how."
When they arrived at the meeting point, they found Mammoth and Gizmo sitting on the hood of the car, eating fast food and generally looking very bored. Jinx hopped out of the car excitedly, while Raven got out more steadily, albeit with disheveled hair that she ran a hand through to move it out of her face.
"How'd it go on your guys' end?" Jinx asked.
"Nobody home, so we basically walked out with it." Mammoth answered. "What about you?"
"Full house." Jinx replied. "But we only had to fight a couple of 'em. Still, pretty weird for our first official mission."
"What about her?" Gizmo jerked a thumb in Raven's direction.
"I don't think she's a fan of my driving." Jinx laughed.
"I'm beginning to empathize with those I teleport for the first time." Raven said. "I am going to learn how to drive at the first opportunity."
"Gonna have to learn how to read for that." Jinx teased her.
"A skill at which I will be proficiently fluent within the next month or two, based on my current rate of progression." Raven promised. "Now, if we could get back to the school, I'd appreciate a hot bath."
"Gotta agree with ya there." Jinx said. "You guys wanna race back?"
"Absolutely not." Raven interrupted before either of the boys could answer, taking a bit of pleasure in their defeated expressions.
"Well you're no fun." Jinx said in mock irritation. "Let's go back at reasonable speeds, I guess."
"We're gettin' paid for this, right?" Gizmo asked as they exited the parking garage after dropping off the cars.
"Duh." Jinx answered. "Just 'cuz we're students doesn't mean we work for peanuts."
"Good, I could use some extra cash." Gizmo grinned.
"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you." Mammoth said. "We're only gonna see about a quarter of the check."
"He's right." Jinx agreed. "Twenty-five percent goes to the school, fifty goes to a locked savings account we can only access after graduating, and the other twenty-five goes into our pockets now. And seeing as this was a novice level assignment, I wouldn't expect too much to begin with."
"Well this sucks." Gizmo crossed his arms, sulking the rest of the way.
"Speaking of getting paid…" Jinx started.
"Hey guys, congratz on your first mission." Melanie greeted them.
"Thanks." Jinx said. "Hey, do you know who we talk to about getting paid?"
"Actually, your funds should autoload into your student accounts, which I have the cards for right here." Melanie handed them each a sliver of plastic. "The mission was for five thousand total, which means you should each have a little over three hundred dollars waiting for you."
"Nice." Jinx looked at the card, turning it over in her fingers. "These things already set up?"
"Enough to use." Melanie said. "But if you want to set a pin, you'll have to call the number on the back."
"Cool, I'll have to take care of that tomorrow." Jinx said. Though the mission itself hadn't been particularly strenuous, she still felt that familiar fatigue that always accompanied the completion of a job, no matter how small. "See you tomorrow guys." She called to Gizmo and Mammoth, who had begun walking to their own rooms.
"See ya'." Both of them called back simultaneously.
"Hey Raven, you mind if I hop in the tub first? My feet are killin' me and you kinda take up most of the hot water."
"Hmm…" Raven made a show of tapping a finger to her chin a few times, then disappeared in a blink, leaving Jinx to stare blankly for several seconds before she realized what happened.
"Oh c'mon, that's not even fair." Jinx called out into the still night air, deciding to hoof it as fast as she was able to hopefully get to her room before Raven actually got into the bathroom.
A/N: If you want to know why this was delayed:
1. As I said up top, this is where the first arc gets underway, so this chapter required a bit extra attention
2. There are certain... conditions, let's call them, that are able to kill off my motivation to do anything but stay alive faster than a Star Trek red shirt
I should mention that this isn't directed at anyone; I'm not mad or griping, I just want to make sure everyone knows, especially for possible future delays.
Oh, one last thing, Mr. Cell, Mr. Jacobs, and Melanie Fields are all OC's, as are James and Erik. Feel free to use any of them, so long as you let me know and credit me at least once.