"…bad luck woman is a jinx and a worry too."

-Papa Charlie Jackson, Salty Dog Blues

"Walk Away"

Huffing indignantly, Jinx slung her backpack over her shoulder and elbowed the diner's glass door. Its bell chimed pleasantly on her way out- just about the only pleasant thing in that damn place. She barely had enough time to sit herself at the counter before the owner refused to serve her and asked that she leave without any farce of civility.

"I don't want no meta-con around my customers," he practically spat.

"Ex-con," Jinx grumbled as she left.

So here she was again, fellow pedestrians giving a wide berth as she hoofed along Jump's sidewalks. Her black leather uniform packed away in her bag, Jinx wore comfortable black jeans, thick boots, and a fishnet poncho over a plain purple T-shirt. This was exactly why she hated the city: the noise, the exhaust from hundreds of cars stinging her nose, the people, the crowds, the people…

Okay, mostly the people.

In her time with the HIVE, Jinx and her partners in crime had robbed, vandalized, and pretty much terrorized Jump City countless times over. Even with her newfound status as an honorary Titan and an official pardon from the Governor, the city's citizens still had long memories. And bitter ones too. To make things worse, the rations the Titans gave her last week were just about out, she was low on money, had no idea where she would be staying that night, and Kid Flash had gone off to do whatever it was hyperactive speed-freaks like him do in their spare time.

If it weren't for her food situation, Jinx would be hours out of the city with a good horizon's worth of wilderness in every direction. If only she were that lucky. So drawn into herself as she watched her own feet chase each other down the sidewalk, Jinx nearly jumped with a crisp electronic voice taunted her from above.

"Well if it isn't the Raven-wannabe, free as a bird and poor as a stray. Oh how the mediocre have fallen."

Her new life of reform did nothing to lessen the bite of her scowl; Jinx addressed the skull-faced shadow perched cat-like on the streetlamp with distaste. "Oh. You."

X just chortled at Jinx's sour greeting. "Always nice to see you too, kid."

Though he was still very young in his criminal career, X had already developed somewhat of a legendary status in underworld circles. Ever since she heard of him, Jinx had always been curious about the bold thief who'd single-handedly tackled the Titans and gotten away with it.

Not that she was gonna admit that to him, of course. "What do you want?"

"I'd heard you've gone legit, decided to see it for myself. I'll bet your friends at the HIVE aren't real happy with your little career change though, eh?"

"They're not my friends," Jinx snapped. Downcast, she added. "At least not the kind that mattered."

A small part of her regretted that last sentence. See-More briefly came to mind.

Well…maybe not all of them…

X snapped his gloved fingers. "Now that's what I'm talking about, Precious. The last thing you need is a buncha hopeless losers like them holding you back."

"I'm with the Titans now."

The thief groaned painfully. "The Titans? Geez…shake yourself of one batch of losers and get reeled in with another!"

"They're not so bad," Jinx defended. "They put in a good word for me with the governor; they even let me stay with them whenever I want."

"Stop kidding yourself darlin', it doesn't suit you. What do you think is gonna happen to you? Huh? The people here hate you, kid. They'll always think you're a con because that's exactly what you are. You're the Queen of Bad Luck, babe; everyone around you is gonna be miserable- there ain't no changing that. Now, if I were you, I'd look after myself and screw everyone else. If bad luck's in your cards, why not make it bad luck for someone else? After all, one man's trouble is another man's gains."

Jinx's sharp purple eyes appraised the thief critically. "Is that how it is for you? Some twisted, narrow-minded narcissism?"

Red-X shrugged helplessly. "Hey, it's a living."

The petite sorceress shrugged up her bag and turned to leave. "Yeah well, have a nice life."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, kid!" X called out behind her. "Once a con, always a con. Nobody ever changes!"

Flicking her hand absently behind her, Jinx smirked wickedly to the sound of a collapsing streetlight and a surprised yelp. "Oohh…tough luck there, 'babe'."

"Can't Find My Way Home"

Starfire couldn't decide which earth-season she loved the most. Summer had its swimsuits, lemons of aid, trips to the beach, and- as friend Beast Boy insisted- the iced-cream. But then fall come with the bright leaves that left all the trees laughably naked and carpeted the ground so she could hear them crunch underfoot; or the free candy given away on the 'hallowed-ween' simply for dressing in silly garments (many friendly people had given her candy before she had even learned of that joyous tradition).

And winter! The time of Christmas and presents and happiness- she fondly remembered that long wonderful day when Robin bought her warm snuggly clothes so he could teach her to make angels in the snow and taste falling snowflakes on her tongue; and when Beast Boy and Cyborg then struck Robin in the face with a rolled up ball of compacted snow, Starfire then learned the joys of winter warfare in the building of snow fortresses and smashing car-sized snow boulders on friend Raven's head when she adamantly refused to join the snow-war.

It was springtime now, where all the snow had melted away and the birds that had left for the cold months returned to sing their much-missed songs of chirping. Hands clasped behind her, Starfire hummed as she floated lightly around Jump City's park. Raven had retired underneath the shade of a large tree so she could read peacefully and the boys were forming teams with the younger children so they could play a game of the foot ball.

The Princess of Tamaran was content to enjoy the bright rays on her sun-colored skin, taking a relaxing stroll (or…float?) around the park to admire the blooming flowers and lush grass…And was most puzzled to find a young man in dark clothes standing stiffly in the shade of a small tree. His skin was still a light cream tint from long months outlasting the winter indoors, but the way he avoided the sun's glare much like friend Raven hinted to her he most likely looked that way all the time.

His frame was much like Robin's, tall and thin- though obviously lacking the boy wonder's fitness. Even as Starfire approached him curiously, he made no indication he saw her; the eyes behind his square-rimmed spectacles were locked somewhere far ahead of him.

"Good afternoon," Starfire greeted him with a beaming smile. "Is this not a wonderful day?"

He didn't seem at all surprised an alien girl was speaking to him. The Titans were hardly considered unusual by most residents of the city by now. "Yeah," he agreed. "The weather's pretty nice today."

The way he seemed broken out of a reverie… "I apologized," she said. "Did I interrupt you in some way?"

"Not at all," he assured her politely. "I was just admiring the spring's cherry blossoms."

Tracing his haphazard gesture ahead of him, Starfire saw a tree she did not recognize; a short, slender tree with its wide umbrella of branches blossoming with tiny petals of red hued with soft pink.

"It's beautiful…" Starfire gasped.

"Oh, that's nothing. When I was a kid, we used to have a cherry tree planted on the front lawn of our ranch. It had been there since before we had moved in, and every spring like clock-work it would just explode with blossoms the softest pink you'd ever seen. I always loved seeing it bloom…it always made me feel so…fresh."

The alien girl caught his grim tone of regret. "What happened to it?"

"My family broke up." He explained. "My mother took me to live at my uncle's place here in the City. My father stayed at the house with my older sister."

Such a thing was so unfamiliar to Starfire. Ties of blood were powerful bonds on Tamaran, bonds not so easily broken by simple feuds or arguments. Even to this day, Starfire always hoped her sister Blackfire would forsake the crooked path she had chosen…it was a dim hope, but it was one Star could not find it in herself to let go. "Do you miss it? Your home with the cherry tree."

"Everyday," he replied with a sigh. A thought came to him, and he said "I once read somewhere that cherry blossoms are very important events in Japan."

Star smiled at that. She knew all about that place.

He went on. "Well, apparently the cherry blossoms are considered almost tragic over there. After they bloom, the petals' lifespans are very short."

"How short?"

"You see that tree over there? The blossoms will fall out in about a week, maybe a little more."

"I believe the Japanese are correct: that is quite sad…"

The boy shrugged "Oh well, life goes on. There's always next spring, right?"

Just as she was about to respond, a set of voices spoke up: "AAAARRIIII! Where'd you go, man?"

Starfire caught sight of two more teens a distance off. One was a short girl, bangs dyed white as her T-shirt declared Dragons killed the dinosaurs. The young man beside her was handsome- tall like Ari but well built; and the length of his hair almost rivaled Aqualad's!

Pointing, the boy said. "You see them over there? That's Ash and Zeke. They're my family now."

"ARI!" they called again.

Running his fingers through his messy hair, Ari adjusted his glasses and grinned. "It was nice talking with you, Starfire."

As her new friend sprinted across the park to rejoin his family, Starfire thought it time to return to her own.

"Laugh, I Nearly Died"

His eyes firmly shut, the toes of Robin's boots slowly edged the lip of the rooftop. The setting sun's weak, final rays warmed his face; ears brimmed with the slash of the surf so many stories below him as the wind played with his cape.

Taking in a steadying breath, Robin opened his eyes.

And fell.

At first, it felt much like the same: rushing air clogging his ears with its moans- running through his hair and wrapping around him like sky on a bird's wing. How many rooftops had he thrown himself off of? As absurd as it seemed, such a suicidal thing to a normal person was just so easy for him. It was in his blood, to fly through the air just to spite gravity and the ground it worked for. People gasped and screamed when he parents leapt from the safety of their ropes to the empty sky- but not him.

He was born in the sky.

The ground was getting closer; the sharp island rocks jumped at him, the roar of the tide growing louder in his crowded ears. Years of training insisted he reach for his grapple-gun. But the secret, dreaming child in him won.

After all, the secret of flying was to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Robin suddenly felt a cold chill swimming through his body- his bones shivered. The cold sensation condensed, thickening the air around him. Suddenly, the ground wasn't rushing eagerly to meet him: it was retreating. The pointed rocks shrank away as the cowed surf quieted. Spreading his arms out like a bird, Robin surrendered himself to a blissful joy he hadn't felt since he was a boy, before his parents- and his life- crashed into the ground.

He was flying.

Eventually, that familiar, alien sensation of his boots on firm ground returned as Robin found himself once again on the roof of Titan's Tower. The cold breath as comfortable as a shadow dissolved as Raven released her magic's hold on him. Greeting Robin with a sure-toothed grin, Beast Boy said, "Well, what did I tell ya, Rob! Isn't flying the greatest?"

"Trust me, Beast Boy," Robin smirked. "I've been flying a lot longer than that."

"Can't fight this Feeling"

Blinking awake slowly, Beast Boy pried his face from his drool-damp pillow and yawned with a wide mouthful of fangs. Stretching his body with a feline arch of his back, the changeling squinted at the clock sitting across the room and wondered why he was up so early.

I mean, it was ten o'clock.

Something tickled the back of his brain. Beast Boy didn't remember his dreams very often- most of them constituting an odd variety of things like the warm wind of the savanna on his fur or the lightless carefree sensation when thermals caught under his feathers and carried him high above heaven- but this was just frustrating.

What the hell had he dreamed about again?

Like grasping for the simple word you knew just a second ago- grasping at those mocking little thoughts just at the very edge of your grip…

Beast Boy suddenly flushed. Transient memories of a fantasy that had seemed all too real at the time; just him and her alone in the Tower…that frame-hugging leotard…growling when her nails dug into her back as he kissed her-

Oh.

Suddenly very still, the shifter lifted up his comforter and looked at his sheets. And groaned. "Aw man…"

Trying to fight off the burning humiliation that had been a smoldering blush for the past half-hour, Beast Boy changed into his uniform and stole his way into the laundry room carrying his pajamas and bed sheets in a wide armload. Stuffing the incriminating evidence into the nearest washing machine, he let out a long held breath- relieved he had managed to avoid major humiliation.

No such luck.

Hiding around a corner further down the hall, Robin and Cyborg watched their grass stain's private drama with knowing grins.

"Hey Rob, how much you wanna bet BB's little visit from the puberty fairy last night was about Raven?"

"Ten bucks," he decided after a moment's thought.

"I'll take that bet." Raven's monotone volunteered behind them.

Puzzling over exactly how much detergent he needed for the machine, Beast Boy jumped at the terrified screams howling down the hall.

"Pictures of Me"

Taking care to mark her page, Raven regarded the envelop Cyborg had set at her side. "And what is this, exactly?" she asked in the same tone she used whenever Beast Boy offered her tofu.

"Fanmail," Cyborg replied.

She stared at him hard. "Exactlywhat was it again I've told you to do with any of my fanmail?"

"I was already on my way to the furnace, but then Star stopped me and said that you'd want this one."

Eager to get back to her book, Raven waved him off. "Fine. Whatever."

The half-metal Titan dismissed himself with a shrug.

Raven pretended to read until she was sure Cyborg left, then set her book down and studied the envelop. Why exactly would Starfire think I'd want this.

Succumbing to her curiosity, the sorceress ran her finger along the envelope's sealed flap, casting a delicate spell that opened her mail without a noticeable mar on paper. And people say my powers are only good for flying and throwing busses.

Unfolding the single sheet of paper that was inside, Raven gawked with rare shock.

The illustration was terrible. More resembling a blue cone with a light-bulb shaped head and a jagged-lined scowl for a mouth, Raven's likeness held hands with a diminutive, smiling stick-figure that was unmistakably supposed to be a child. But most significant were the three words scrawled shabbily in crayon at the bottom of the page:

ANTHONY AND RAVEN

The furniture nearly detonated with her surprise when someone chucked behind Raven.

"Remarkable likeness," Robin commented, then continued on to the kitchen without another remark.

----------------

"Like I said," Raven said as she handed him the envelop. "My mail goes to the furnace, not me. Got it?"

"Yeah Rae, sorry." He nodded to her swiftly retreating back. The dark girl's cloak swished much like annoyed cat did with it tail. While he couldn't exactly feel what he was 'touching' with his metal hand, Cyborg didn't fail to note the oh-so subtle change in the envelope's weight since he gave it to Raven earlier.

Not that he was going to mention it to her, of course.

Yes, I magically managed to actually write a Starfire-centric short story. Definately a first for me.

Less funny, a little more content in this chapter. My brain's overloading with Finals rolling in just a week; I've been so busy it literally took me forever to write this bloody thing. Once Finals are over I'll finally be heading back home- where cafeteria food is just a fading nightmare and computer access is just a reach away. Expect an update in about two weeks, give or take.

As usual, reviews are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

-Cy


(The song titles used in this chapter belong to The James Gang, Blind Faith, The Rolling Stones, REO Speedwagon, and Vue, respectively.)