Chapter 10:

Hey guys! So...Yeah, it's been a while…

I'm really sorry guys. I really wish I was more consistent in updating and writing chapters, but college is really kicking my ass. I'll try to update more; I'm still trying to figure out a schedule for writing. If everything works out, I might be able to monthly schedules, maybe even twice a month if I pace myself. So, thank you all for being so patient with me!

Anyways, this chapter and the others that follow, I'm free-balling it. I may take some chapters from the original, but other than that, these chapters are gonna be all-new content.

So, yeah. That's enough of me blabbering on and on and on…

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TEEN TITANS OR YOUNG JUSTICE!

Warning:There are some implications of M/M content. Nothing (too) graphic, but thought I'd warn you beforehand just in case. So if you don't like, don't read.

"Blah"- talking

'Blah'- mindlink/sign language

Blah- thoughts

Enjoy~!

It was nearing midnight when he felt a warm body sliding under his blanket. A muscled arm reaches out and wraps around his waist, pulling him closer and against the person's chest. He lets out a content sigh before pulling the owner of the arm's hand from his waist to his own chest, cuddling into the man's embrace. Kyd traces letters onto the person's hand, slowly forming sentences so that he could understand instead of turning on the lights to sign. 'Lonely?'

A chuckle vibrates from the chest against his back. "Just a bit...The beds here can fit an entire herd if they tried." Billy says quietly, trying not to disturb the others through these paper thin walls. Kyd lets out a pleased hum as he felt chaste kisses trailing down the nape of his neck.

'I was getting lonely.' He traces, and he could feel the smile curling against his neck.

"Yeah?" Billy breathes out, his breath tickling his neck, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Kyd spins around to face his boyfriend. He leans forward, resting his forehead against Billy's as he tries to match his breathing with his. Billy raises a hand and cups Kyd's face, his thumb tracing the pale boy's bottom lip. Kyd's purt tongue teasingly touches the pad of his thumb, making the cloning man groan with desire.

Billy opens his mouth to speak but the voice that tumble out of his mouth is hollow and indifferent. "Master Slade knows what you're up to…" At the mention of that monster, Kyd's body stiffens, and he shuffles backwards in surprise.

Billy stumbles into the darkness before gloved hands reach out and grab Kyd by the wrists. He's screaming now, even though no actual sound comes out from his mouth. He inwardly curses his inability to call out for help.

Instead of seeing the face of his boyfriend, he is met with a black and bronze mask, the sole eyes piercing into his soul. "I will not tolerate betrayal, Kyd Wykkyd." The man's cold voice echoes as two hands wrap around Kyd's neck and begin to squeeze, restricting his air passageways painfully. "You may not think I am aware of what you're planning, but I am already three steps ahead. It's foolish of you to think that the heroes will come to your aid. I will get what I want," Kyd claws against the iron grip around his neck, desperately struggling to call for help but to no avail. He can hear the smirk in Slade's voice as the grip around his neck squeeze with more power.

"And I will do it by any means possible..." His eyes burn with white spots, a sure sign of him losing consciousness, and tears prickle at the corners of his eyes as he feels his body grow limp in the hands of this monster. His last thought brings him at peace as his body stops fighting all together.

Billy.

Kyd gasps as he's startled awake. The room is dark, and his silent wheezing echoes in the confinement of his dubbed tomb. Or, at least, what Slade likes to call, "sleeping pods for the pets". Just thinking about the man makes Kyd's blood boil as he let out a growl of pure hatred and disgust.

He needed to work fast. No one would expect anything to happen while he was currently supposed to be in a catatonic state inside his pod until the Master woke them up for their next task. Through the glass of his pod, he can make out the shapes of other pods through the darkness- not a flicker of movement in sight. Cheshire must have gone off-duty and was letting the cameras do all the work for the night.

Slowly, Kyd rustles in one of his pockets for the note he had pre-written and slides it beneath his leg to subtly teleport it to his desired location. He hears the slight whoosh! of the mini-portal opening, and he drops the slip of paper into it before dissolving it as quickly as he can. He closes his eyes and hopes his message gets through to the right person.

She was hoping to sleep for a few more hours if her arms hadn't been cramping so painfully. Her whole body felt heavy as if it were made of lead. She didn't want to wake up just yet, but she can only keep her eyes closed for so long before getting bored with being in a state of half awake and half asleep. Jinx groans, forcing her eyes to flutter open. She blinks away the sleep from her eyes, attempting to sit up in bed and is immediately pulled backwards once again.

Jinx turns her gaze down and realizes the glowing magenta cuffs around her wrist. Jinx reaches out to the cuff with her other hand, only for it to be restricted by a matching cuff. "Ah…" The events of last night replay in her head, and she clicks her tongue in annoyance. After the twins saved her, Jinx realizes, she must have passed out. She's been passing out a lot these days; this recurring phenomenon is really starting to get on her nerves...She looks down at the cuffs and tries another hard tug before finally giving up. "I guess I pushed a bit too far and really pissed Bats off this time…"

"That's an understatement," Jinx jumps at the sound, lifting her head up to see Robin stroll in with Kid Flash following behind. "Sorry for the cuffs. Bats didn't want to risk you running away again." Robin gives her a tired smile, leaning against the wall beside her bed.

Kid zooms past the Boy Wonder and is at her side in an instant, settling on the stool at her bedside while intertwining their fingers together. "How are you feelin'?"

"As good as I can be for someone who just got her ass handed to her by her ex-best friend." She massages the skin of her wrist around the cuffs, narrowing her eyes at its ability to deflect the use of her powers. Anti-meta cuffs. Wonderful. "So, does Batman have a bondage kink or-"

"Jinx," Robin shuts down her joke, a warning in his voice. It makes her sits up a little straighter in bed, ready for orders or maybe even scolding for her reckless behavior yesterday. Either one, she knew, would not be pleasant.

Robin opens his mouth to continue but is interrupted by the door slamming open. A furious Artemis stands in the doorway with an apprehensive Miss Martian, a solemn Kaldur, and an equally unhappy Superboy trailing behind her. "Good, the traitor's awake." The archer spits out venomously with a vicious glare to match. "Let's finish that talk we put aside yesterday, shall we?"

Jinx glares right back at Artemis, who doesn't even flinch. "Oh, would you get over it?! I've been crime-free for four years now, so why don't you get that stick out of your ass, princess." Artemis's eyes narrow and looks prepared to throw some punches at Jinx when Kaldur shoots out a hand to stop her.

"Artemis, why don't you let me do the talking?" Kaldur tells her before training his eyes onto the pink-haired sorceress. The steeliness in his eyes melted away Jinx's irritation at the blonde archer temporarily. "I apologize for Artemis's behavior, but I do believe her anger is justified. Why did you keep this from us?" He glances at Kid Flash and Robin, who shrunk under his pointed stare. "Were we not worthy of your trust?"

"We're supposed to be a team." Superboy adds, crossing his arms over his chest, anger etched onto his face. Kid Flash and Robin flinch at his words, while Jinx's heart pangs in sadness at their flinching. They have replaced the Titans. They have replaced her.

"Look, don't blame them. I should have been the one to tell you," Jinx speaks up, fidgeting with the cuffs around her wrist, her eyes drifted down onto her lap. "It's just that...Everyone knew that I used to be a villain and always used to shove that in my face every now and then. But then, I met you guys, and...I don't know…" She rubs the back of her neck, feeling a slight bit embarrassed by all this personal-feelings talk. Even when she was in the Titans, Jinx was never good with speaking about emotions and whatnot. "It was kind of a nice having some people not know about my villain status and have this underlying caution against me."

She could see the twinkle of pity flashing in their eyes, and Jinx inwardly cringes at the sight. This is why she doesn't talk about these things. The other party always makes it weird.

Artemis, however, is the only one who doesn't take the bait. She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "As if that will get me to trust anything you say, you deceiving bit-"

"Lay off, Artemis," Kid Flash intervenes, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "What's your deal? You've been so pissy ever since she got here." Jinx's eyes glances from the blonde archer to her speedster-ex in exasperation. He couldn't be serious right? She had thought the answer to that question was obvious, but she kept her mouth shut. It wasn't her secret to say. Artemis may be getting on her nerves, but she kind of understands where she's coming from.

And besides, she respects the girl code. Blurting out a girl's yearning to their crush is a big no-no. She knew better than that. If she was still a villain, she wouldn't give two shits about following some pathetic, unspoken rules girls had.

"How do we know that she's hasn't returned to being evil?" Artemis spits out. "What if she's just deceiving you guys to get you captured? From the beginning, everything about this situation seemed sketchy. Is it really just a coincidence that Slade is looking specifically for her? What if this is all just some kind of ploy to-"

Jinx's eyes narrow at Artemis's accusations. "I'm not-" The door swings open once again, stopping the next few words from coming out of her mouth. A dark, intimidating shadow looms in the doorway, silencing any other arguments from starting. Batman's rigid glare is pointed at the two girls who are desperately trying to stop themselves from putting on a screaming match in front of the Caped Crusader.

"Jinx," Jinx stiffens at the sound of her name. "Since you're awake, I think it's time to talk about your punishment for disobeying my orders."

"I thought the cuffs were already punishment." She jokes, rattling the chains around her wrists for emphasis, but Batman's stern glare makes the remaining taunts die in her throat.

Jinx sighs, "Look, Bats, I had to-"

Batman puts up a hand to stop her from continuing. "No, you didn't." He steps into the room, and the rest of the Team make way for him silently.

Jinx pales, not liking where this conversation is going. "Bruce-"

"I don't want to hear another word from you," Jinx bites her lip and continues to stay silent. "You explicitly went behind my back and put yourself in more danger, even at the cost of the Team. I have no choice but to put you under house-arrest to avoid any more danger."

Jinx gapes at the Caped Crusader, unable to properly form words. "B-but-! You can't-"

"I can, and I have." Batman says with a resigned sigh. "Jinx, I will not have you putting yourself or anyone else is danger. This is now the League's problem to solve. You aren't ready to handle this kind of-"

Robin jumps out of his seat. "Wait, hold on. You can't be serious. If anything, I should be the one to-"

"Enough, Robin. We will talk about that matter later in private," Batman shoots him a look, but Robin stands his ground defiantly.

"I know Slade more than anyone in this room, in the League, even more than you. I deserve to help-"

"Robin, I said, enough!" The superteens in the room flinch at Batman's loss of patience. The duo give each rock hard looks, neither one determined to falter. Jinx was reminded of how Robin used to be-the fearsome leader of the Teen Titans.

She tries to simmer down the tension in the room. "Bats, if you think it's going to be that easy, you are definitely underestimating Slade's abilities." Batman's jaw tenses, and she takes that as her cue to continue. "This goes beyond even that League's power. The Titans have been taken down, what makes you think he can't overrun the League?"

"Is he really that powerful?" Miss Martian speaks up, a wavering of perplexity in her voice.

"He managed to overcome death," Robin says indignantly with a scowl on his face, "who knows what he's capable of now." He crosses his arms over his chest and directs a glare to the ground.

Jinx nods in agreement. "That's why I should-"

Batman cuts her off before she can continue, "My decision has already been made, Jinx, and that's final." He explains with unwavering resolution. "You will not be leaving this mountain. I will surround this room with a level-four containment unit and confine you to this room if I have to."

Jinx glares at the Caped Crusader and spits out, "So, what? You're just going to keep me chained up here like some animal? A criminal?" If she wasn't so angry, she would have noted the way Batman tensed up at her words, but any sense of guilt was immediately washed out as he covers it up with an equal amount of stubborn ferocity.

"If that's what it takes to make you stay put, then yes," Batman spins on his heels and makes his way to the door. "This is goes beyond anyone's control, which means this the League's matter to tend to." He pauses at the doorway and says, "You should stay here and consider yourself grateful to be under our protection," before exiting the room.

"I'll speak to Unc-I mean, Flash to maybe get Bats to take the handcuffs off you." Kid Flash says in an attempt to comfort Jinx, taking her small hands in his.

"Where are the twins?" Jinx asked, taking notice of the absence of the twin speedsters. She felt exhausted; Batman's scolding drained her immensely. All she felt like doing was curl up in her bed and wish for everything to just be a dream.

But this wasn't a dream. This was reality.

"Batman grounded them and sent them to their private quarters." Robin explains with a dark look. "In their separate private quarters." Jinx closes her eyes, running her hands through her face in frustration. The twins must be devastated, not being able to be with the other. But they were clever and will figure something out to stay in contact- probably using some Morse Code through the walls in order to speak with each other.

She shrugs away Kid's hand and grips the covers of her bed. "I'd like to be alone...if you don't mind…" A flash of hurt passes through Kid's face, but he recovers quickly.

Artemis, on the other hand, is furious. "If you think our conversation is over, you are mis-"

"Artemis," Kaldur stops her by putting a hand on her arm. "I think we've had enough scolding for one day. I think we should give Jinx the space she wishes…"

Superboy and Artemis stare at their team leader in shock. "Wha-?" Artemis gasps out as Superboy says, "Seriously?" Miss Martian tugs at Superboy's arm towards the exit.

"Kaldur is right," Miss Martian speaks up with a passive voice. "I'm tired of everyone yelling at each other." After a few more encouraging tugs, Superboy concedes along with a reluctant Artemis in tow.

"I have some errands to run, so I'll be back in the morning." Kid Flash tells Jinx and Robin, who just grunts as answer as he pushes past the red-haired speedster and out the door. Kid Flash turns back to Jinx and reaches out to her, but stops midway. He lets his hand fall back to his side and gives her a tentative smile. "Don't give 'em too much Hell, Lucky." The corner of Jinx's lips tilt upward just slightly, and that's enough for Kid Flash to leave without worry.

He dashed out the door and through the Zeta-Beam teleporter tubes. Once he was out of Mt. Justice, and far enough away from any prying eyes, he rummages in his pocket for the slip of paper that had appeared out of nowhere and fallen into his lap when he awoke this morning.

The handwriting was very sloppy, as if written in a haste, but he could make out an array of numbers-no, coordinates. It was a destination that was written on the tiny scroll of paper.

Tonight. Midnight. Come alone. -KW

This could be a trap, and he would be stupid to even consider going on his own. But he remembered the forlorn desperation on the bat look-alike's face from the day before, and it had been haunting him since. Kid shook his head, decision made, and pocketed the note before dashing to the coordinates on the paper.

Guess, he was just that stupid then.

He smashes the chessboard against the wall, black and white pieces scatter separate directions. The noise shatters the still silence of the room as the pieces clatter to the ground. Cheshire flinches at the violent act and stands up straighter to avoid being another victim of Slade's aggressive wrath. "Master Slade," Cheshire speaks up as she rigidly kneels before the man, eyes down casted onto the floor. "I bring news to report."

"I am already aware of your disappointing performance, Cheshire," his voice is devoid of any emotion, and Cheshire is suddenly struck down by intense fear, "due to the sole fact that you have returned empty-handed."

She swallows down the fear in her throat and tries to keep her voice measured. "I had underestimated the number of our opponents." Cheshire removes her mask to look Slade in the eye. "However, last night had proven to not be as much of a failure as we assumed."

This had piqued Slade's interest. "...continue."

"Although we have failed to obtain Jinx, we managed to learn something...interesting about that boyfriend of hers," Cheshire smirks at the change in Slade's demeanor when he hears her words. "Before we get into those details, I came to inform you that the reprogramming has been completed. Project T is ready for deployment."

"Is that so?" Slade walks over to the holographic keyboard and punches in a series of codes. A holographic screen opens, and he scans its contents, a smirk begins to make its way onto his lips. "Excellent…" Slade turns back to face Cheshire, who continued to kneel behind him. "Now, I believe you mentioned some interesting information about a certain speedster?" Cheshire's smirk widens as she stands up from her kneeling position.

"It seems that Kid Flash's powers have become…limited since he was last with the Titans." Cheshire continues without skipping a beat, "He's slower- nearly ten-times more. And he can't vibrate his molecules through solid objects either. One of our biggest obstacles had just knocked itself down without us even doing a thing."

Slade makes a noise in amusement. "That is interesting…" Slade types onto the keyboard once again, and a picture of Kid Flash appears onto the holographic screen. "Very interesting, indeed..." The masked man's shoulders shake with a laughter that steadily rolls into a maniacal one as it echoes into the empty room. "Best news of the day so far. Prepare Project T for deployment. Do not disappoint me again, Cheshire."

Cheshire gives a short bow in response, her eyes glittering in bright red. "With pleasure, Master."

I know it's super short, sorry about that. But this is all I can do for now. I'm really trying guys. I really am. Please don't lose faith in me!

If you want, you can follow me on Tumblr on the usernames: the-young-writer101 (personal account) or superbluestar428 (fanfic account). One account, my personal account, is more for me and my interests, while the superbluestar428 account will mostly focus on my fanfics.

And don't forget to RR! I love hearing people's opinions on my writing, and they also encourage me to continue.

Also, although I must sound like a broken record by now, a tremendous thank you to all of those who have been patiently waiting for my updates and have stayed with me thus far. You guys are all so great and I truly appreciate all the support!

~Superbluestar428