Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, or anything like that…don't you think I would have told you by now?
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"Your right hook needs a lot of work," Rachel Roth said, watching her best friend as she fought Jade Nguyen. The dark girl shook her head and continued to watch, noting all imperfect fighting maneuvers and potentially disastrous moves. Jennifer Hex and Jade had been going at it for almost thirty minutes, with Jade getting most of the good hits in. Finally, Jade threw Jen to the ground, stood over her, and said, "I win."
Jen sighed, her hopes that she would win this time disappearing. She glanced over at Rachel, who was sitting on a lawn chair. Thankfully, Toni Monetti's backyard had a wooden fence all around it. Toni's extremely rich parents were paranoid to the point of extremism. Rachel stood up and walked over to Jen. Jade had already moved over to the picnic table in the far left corner of the yard to get some water.
Rachel bent down and helped Jen to stand. Jen shook her off. "Nine years of martial arts training and I couldn't beat her," Jen mumbled, slightly depressed at the fact that Jade's Vietnamese martial arts instruction could beat her so easily. Rachel rolled her eyes at her blonde-and-pink haired friend as she finally stood, shaking a bit.
"You were fine, Jen," Rachel said, letting Jen lean on her for the moment. Jen's left leg had gone numb from the impact of when she had landed. Finally, Jen began to walk toward the lawn chair that Rachel had just vacated.
"Yeah, right. She swept the floor with me, Rach. I don't know if I'm going to be good enough out there," Jen said, motioning to the fence, outside of which there was a city teeming with gangs and dirt. Jen reached the chair, plopped down, and began massaging her left leg, which felt like pins and needles were coursing through it. She needed to get the blood flowing again. Rachel knelt down by the chair and began kneading the leg as well. Then she spoke.
"The only reason you failed was because you were fighting a friend, someone you wouldn't normally hurt. Jade obviously doesn't have that restriction, though she only used moves that were sure not to harm you too much." Jen looked at her with fascination, rubbing her leg harder. The feeling was starting to come back.
"You really think so, Rachel? What if I go out to fight and one of you gets hurt because of me? I don't know if I can do it." Jen sighed and looked away from Rachel, toward the girls at the picnic table; Jade Nguyen, Lilith Clay, Mia Dearden, and Toni Monetti. Her shoulders loosened and she hung her head. Rachel punched her shoulder playfully.
"Head up, Jen. You'll be fine out there and so will we. You know what? I've been meaning to talk with you and the others. Come on," Rachel said, motioning for her to get up. She began to walk over to the other girls, helping Jen up and assisting her in the process of joining the other girls. Lilith saw them coming and moved over to make room. The others did the same.
"Hey, Jen, are you okay? I didn't mean for you to fall quite so hard," Jade began, but Jen cut her off.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My leg once again has feeling!" Jen said, masking her disappointment at her loss. Jade smiled and looked over at Rachel, who was beginning to speak.
"Okay, we've been training for a month and it has helped us immensely. I propose that we try out our costumes now, discover how they work, and maybe, just maybe, start patrolling the area sometime soon." Rachel carefully watched the faces of her friends. Most of them went from curiosity to joy, but Jade went from questioning to a pained like face. The others noticed this as well.
"Uh, Jade? Are you okay?" Lilith asked, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Jade shook it off and then said, "I promised I'd train, not fight. If my mother learns of this crime fighting, I'd be in a lot of trouble…" Jade started mumbling in a foreign language, most likely Vietnamese. The girls watched her, a bit startled. Lilith put her hand on Jade's shoulder once more but Jade jumped away, shouting now.
"Cô sẽ biết, tôi sẽ bị bắt, tôi sẽ được trong những rắc rối. Tôi muốn làm điều này nhưng tôi sợ rằng tôi có thể không!"
They stared at her, not one of them having any idea what she said. Then Rachel said, "Jade, calm down!" Jade looked at her and then sat back down, breathing heavily. She shook her head slightly and said, "I'm sorry. It's just, if my mother finds out, I doubt any good will come of it."
"We'll make sure she doesn't know, Jade," Mia said, confidence in her voice and her posture. She looked around and then said, "I don't know about you, but I'm itching to learn about the powers! We haven't done anything fun since Homecoming!"
Flashback:
"I can't believe you got me into this dress, Jen. I thought you didn't want to go either!" Rachel said as she looked at herself in the long mirror in Jen's bathroom. Jen chuckled.
"I don't," Jen said, "but Jade is very persuasive. She mentioned to me that if I went, I would get to see you in a dress, and wouldn't that be a sight to behold." Rachel glared at the pink clad girl. Jen was pulling on her silver Manolo Blahnik shoes, the ones that had cost $1,050 at Barney's. Rachel sighed before pulling her shoes on too. She was wearing a blue dress that was a bit shorter than knee length and silver Sigerson Morrison shoes. Rachel had already had her hair forcibly made into 'lush waves' (or that's what Jen called them anyway; she just thought they made her head look big) and her makeup (not very much, just eyeliner and mascara) was pristine. Jen stood up.
"Let's go," she said, heading to the door. The others would be meeting them at the dance. She stopped when she realized that Rachel was not following her.
"Rachel, come on," she said, a bit more forcibly. Rachel slowly shook her head.
"I'm not going," she said, pulling off her shoes. Jen was astounded. She moved toward Rachel and said, "Come on Rach, you bought the dress and now you're not going?"
"Dresses are not for me, Jennifer. I refuse to be put on display like a mannequin. You go; I'm staying here." And with that, Rachel unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor, standing now in only her strapless bra and panties. She walked over to Jen's bathroom and picked up a washcloth. She began washing off the makeup that Jen had so carefully put on. Jen just watched, dumbfounded.
"But you…you can't just…" Jen stuttered. Rachel turned to look at her; mascara streaked down her face, and said, "I can, Jennifer. Just go to the damn dance." Jen hung her head slightly, then looked back up, nodded, and said, "I'll tell you how it went when I get back."
Rachel also nodded and finished wiping off the horrendous makeup. When she looked back in Jen's room, Jen was gone. Rachel sighed and then sat on Jen's black bed and slept.
In the meantime, Jen was just arriving at the dance. She saw Toni and Mia waiting for her outside the school gym. Toni was dressed in gray, with black and white plaid on the top and bottom. Her black shoes had just a hint of red on them. She looked fabulous. Mia also looked very nice. She was wearing a red bubble dress with the diamonds that Jen had bought for her. Her expensive silver shoes were also bought by Jen. Jen stepped out of her mother's Mercedes. She waved goodbye to her mother and ran as fast as she could (without breaking any heels) to Mia and Toni. The girls exchanged squeals and then Toni said, "Where's Rach?"
Jen sighed. "She's not coming," she said, disappointment evident on her face. Toni looked upset and Mia looked a bit sad. Then Mia said,
"Oh, look there's Jade. She's going to have a heyday." Jen looked around and saw the beautifully made up Jade, wearing a dark green dress and black Manolo Blahniks, rushing toward them.
"Where. Is. Rachel?" Jade asked, and one could almost swear that there was a fire in her eyes. Jade looked at Jen, waiting for an explanation. The girl swallowed and then said, "She's…uh, not coming."
Then the explosion happened. Metaphorically, of course. "NOT COMING?" Jade asked, practically blowing smoke out her ears. Jen nodded, steeled herself, and said,
"Look, Jade, dances just aren't Rachel's thing. Let's just go in, have fun, and you can murder her later."
Jade looked at her in surprise and then thoughtfulness. Then she nodded. The four girls started to walk inside but were stopped by a figure in white. An angel? No, more like the thin form of Lilith Clay. Lilith's red hair was curled slightly and framed her face perfectly. Her white lace dress and bright red pumps looked superb. All of her friends were staring at her, amazed that Lilith was showing this much skin. Lilith blushed and said, "So…are we going in?" The other girls all nodded and they proceeded inside.
Inside the dance it was dark and loud, flashing strobe lights and colored beams were everywhere. They saw some people they knew and some they didn't dancing inside. They watched as Tara Markov and Connie Anders danced past, their designer dresses making them look fabulous. They saw the beautiful Kori Anders dance past, followed by a couple of drooling boys.
The girls walked farther into the room, pushing their way past several couples in…compromising positions.
"C'mon, guys! Dance!" Jade shouted over the pounding music. The other girls agreed and began to move to the music. Jen moved away from the others unintentionally. She was just looking around for them when someone behind her said,
"Looking for the other losers, Hex?"
It was Connie Anders, captain of the cheerleading squad and tease extraordinaire. She was standing behind Jen, one leg bouncing to the beat. But she wasn't alone. Oh, no. With her were two extremely mean-spirited girls. They were usually implicated by crying girls of all ages and social statuses. With Connie were Adrianna Tomaz and Karen Beecher. People thought that Tara Markov was mean but she didn't hold a candle to these two harpies. Adrianna Tomaz was an Egyptian girl, dark hair and eyes, who thought that everyone was beneath her. She was convinced that she was perfection. She was wearing a short white dress that turned into gold sparkles at the top. It was a beautiful dress. Too bad it was on a very ugly girl…inside of course. If she wasn't beautiful on the outside, she wouldn't hang out with Tara Markov and Connie Anders.
Karen Beecher used to be a nice girl, until she dated a guy who not only cheated on her but beat her up. The whole school knew the story. She was pissed and beat Sebastian Blood up so hard that he had a school transfer. He was now at Gotham Heights High School, leading a blessedly Karen-less life. So now the loudmouth Karen took out her frustrations on pretty much everyone. She went by the motto, "There's not a man alive who can tell me what to do." And for the most part, it seemed true. Even male teachers were wary around her. Her orange and gold dress looked magnificent on her, as well as her gold heels.
So what were these three fruit loops doing cornering Jennifer at a school function?
"So, Jenny, where's little Rae-Rae? Skipped out on the dance, has she?" Connie asked, malice evident in her voice. She took a step closer. "Or was it that she didn't want to be in a dress, for the first time in her life?"
Jen gulped silently. She hated talking to idiots like these. "No, it's just that she didn't want to be near losers like you three," Jen heard herself saying. She mentally smacked herself. If Connie didn't react, Adrianna was sure to.
"You little bitch! How dare you talk to your superiors like that?" Yep, Adrianna reacted.
"Adrianna, can you please go away? I just got over a cold and I don't want to catch Egyptian Fever."
That did it. Insults on Egypt did not sit well with the attractive harpy. She lunged for Jen, who sidestepped, allowing Adrianna to become splayed all over the gym floor. Several people began to snicker. Adrianna glared at everyone as she got up. Thankfully for Jen, a teacher or two had just come over to see what was wrong. Connie and Karen had slipped back into the crowd. Adrianna was trying to push the fall off as her tripping. Jen sighed and walked away to find her friends. She reached the girls, explained what had just happened with the three popular girls, and then made a very welcome suggestion.
"Let's leave."
Jen's friends looked at her in shock. Jen continued.
"Adrianna might come back with other friends and I don't feel like being in a fight tonight. Let's go grab Rachel, change into party clothes, and go clubbing." Jade nodded.
"That's actually a good idea. Rachel would probably go for it too. Let's go," Jade said, heading for the doors of the gym.
The girls promptly left the dance.
Once they reached Jen's house, they ran inside, giggling about how Jen had stood up to those three empty headed twits. They went into Jen's room…and saw Rachel asleep in her underwear. Giggling again, they all went over to the bed. Then they counted to three and yelled.
"RAE!"
A hand shot out, taking Jade by the throat. Then a slightly hoarse voice said, "My name is Rachel, not Rae." Jade was quickly losing air so she fought for freedom. Rachel swiftly let go of the girl's neck and mumbled an apology. All Jade did was massage her neck.
"Don't scare me like that," Rachel said to the girls gathered around the bed. They all nodded slowly. Then Rachel sat up and said, "So, how was the dance?"
"We left early," Jen said, amused with the look on Rachel's face.
"Left early? Why?" Rachel asked, confused. She looked at Jade. "You let them leave early?" she asked.
Jade nodded and said, "Jen got in a spot of trouble with some idiotic nitwits. We left. We're going clubbing. You gonna come with?"
Rachel nodded and said, "As long as I don't have to wear a dress."
End flashback.
"Oh yeah, that was kinda fun," Lilith said, referring to the clubbing. The rest of the girls murmured their agreement.
"Can we try out the powers now?" Rachel asked, getting anxious and annoyed. The rest of the group nodded so they all took the pieces of jewelry out from their pockets. Of course, they had no idea how these worked so they ended up staring at the little pieces of technology.
Jen broke the silence. "So…how do we work them?" The same thing was going through all of the other girls' heads. How the hell do these things work?
"Dammit, this is dumb," Toni said, fumbling with the locket. It clicked open, finally. Inside was a little fingerprint scanner and a tiny screen. Toni stared at it, very confused. A scanner? Well, here goes. Toni stuck her index finger of her right hand on the little scanner. She felt a tiny prick on her finger, and then the locket beeped very quietly and her name came up on the screen. Next thing she knew, she felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded.
Toni Monetti was Toni Monetti no more. Toni was now dressed in a white and black one piece. Since Toni was originally 5'7", it looked rather good on her. Her skin was grayish, but her black hair looked exactly the same as it had before. She looked down at herself and whimpered.
"Guys?" she asked, realizing that no one but herself had seen her transformation. Mia shook her head.
"Not now, Toni. We're trying to figure out how these work."
Toni gulped. "I think I figured it out," she said. The others looked up and were promptly surprised. They gasped.
"Oh my god, Toni! How did you do it?" Mia gushed, letting the other girls stare with open mouths. Toni looked down at herself again. She had no idea how this had happened. She stated this fact but Mia was not swayed. Then Toni remembered the scanner.
"Oh, wait! I remember how this happened! I was playing with the locket and I finally got it open. Inside was a small scanner and screen. It was a fingerprint scanner so I stuck my index finger on it and my finger got pricked and then my name flashed on the screen. Then I felt kind of woozy and then I was like this!" Toni said, ranting. She pointed to Jen. "Try it!" she said, motioning to the choker.
Jen grasped the choker with both hands, looked at it, and then said, "It's not a locket, Toni." Toni walked over and glanced at it. Then she said, "Maybe the gem is a hidden scanner." Jen thought this might be it so she put her finger on the black gemstone. A slight beeping noise and a feeling of dizziness later, and Jennifer Hex was gone.
In her place was a gray skinned, extremely thin girl. Jen's new hair was bright pink and was the same way she had it before, in a ponytail. She was wearing a purple and black dress, purple and black striped tights, and black platform shoes/combat boots. Rachel gaped at her.
"Your hair!" she said, stifling giggles. Girls like Rachel did not giggle. Jen glared at her and said, "I hope your hair changes colors too." Rachel just smothered the giggles even more. When she talked, her hair bobbed up and down and it looked so funny pink.
While Jen had been changing, Jade had too. They both had chokers and so Jade decided to try it out too. Of course, it worked. Jade was now wearing a dress of some sort. It was green, with long sleeves and a short skirt. The whole dress had gold trim. She also had green boots on, with the same gold trim. Her forearms had black bands attached to them, and attached to the bands were metal claws that could be shot out and retracted. Her hair was wavy and black, as it had been before, but she now had a green band on her forehead, kind of like a sweatband, but Jade never really sweated. What really got her attention, though, was the fact that she now had a tattoo of a pink flower. On her breast. She was appalled. Of course she would get the costume that her mother would despise the most.
Mia noticed her and said, "Whoa, Jade, you look hot." Jade scrunched her eyebrows together, wondering if that was a compliment. Then Mia looked down at her arrow necklace and said, "Mine's too small to have a scanner!"
Rachel and Lilith noticed the same on their necklaces. The girls all sat down at the picnic table, trying to discover how to work the other necklaces. Mia felt along her little arrow, sighing. Maybe not all of them worked! Then her finger hit it. There was a little ridge between the gold fletching. A button. Mia felt it again, sure that this couldn't be it. She pressed it, lightly. She felt something puncture her finger and the little red arrow turned bright gold. She felt faint and then she knew something was different. Her friends were staring at her. She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a red one piece suit. There was an arrow shaped cut out on her chest, exposing just a bit of her breasts. She was also wearing a yellow cape with a hood. Currently, the hood was pulled up, so you couldn't see the red mask covering her eyes. She had yellow boots on and yellow arm braces. A yellow quiver was strapped to her back, containing red arrows. An unstrung white and red bow was in the quiver as well.
She looked back up at her comrades, who were all staring at her with looks of utmost interest. Then Rachel said, "How the hell did you do that?"
Mia glanced at her, then at the piece of jewelry that she was currently holding. She put the golden necklace on, the small arrow once again red with gold fletching. It swung for a second before Mia said, "You have to find the small, very small, button. Mine was between the fletching on the arrow. Lilith, yours is probably on one of the orbs. Rachel, yours is probably on the gem."
Said girls went quickly began searching for the switch. Rachel was the first one to find it. Originally, her necklace's gemstone seemed perfect and untouched. Upon closer inspection, Rachel notices the smallest of lumps on the back of the stone. She touched it…and was overcome by a feeling of lightheadedness. When the feeling subsided, she gazed at herself. She wasn't wearing black yoga pants and a dark blue tank top. No, she was dressed in a black leotard with long sleeves and a blue cloak. A red gem and gold pin was holding her cloak together and the same types of gems were on the backs of her hands. Her shoes were blue boots, the same color as the cloak. To add a final touch, a belt made of the same red gems was around her waist. The belt, which was an odd one, was just the right touch. Lilith found her button as Rachel was changing. The elusive little switch was on the third orb from the right on her necklace. Lilith pushed it and changed as well.
She was now wearing a red and black dress. Larger silver orbs were wrapped around her waist in a sort of belt. Bandages were wrapped around her forearms and black boots went to her thighs. She snapped on the necklace.
All of the girls were in costume. Now, they looked more like a team and less like a group of kids playing make-believe. They looked like heroes. They watched each other, drinking in their new appearances. Then they all smiled, except Rachel.
"Can we try out our powers now?" Jen asked, examining a lock of her pink hair. Rachel nodded and then said, "But be careful! Nothing too amazing or Toni's parents will see."
All of the soon-to-be superheroes agreed and they stood up. "Hm, telekinesis…" Rachel said, curiously. She stuck out one of her hands tentatively and the lawn chair that she had been sitting on earlier shot into the air. "Ah!" she cried, not knowing how to control it. The shout broke her concentration and the chair fell, breaking as it hit the ground. Jade and Mia, who had been closest to the chair, jumped back, scared. Rachel began to smile. Just a bit. She began to imagine lifting the pieces of the broken chair. To her surprise, it worked. She began lifting things all over the place.
While Rachel was lifting pieces of lawn furniture all over the place, Mia was trying out her arrows, Jade was learning about her new claws, and Lilith was trying to read Jen's mind. Jen wasn't doing anything. Toni and Lilith were the only ones who noticed this. Toni walked over to Jen and asked, "Are you alright, Jen? You're not trying out your powers." Jen glanced at her and said, "One of my powers is hex bolts. I don't want to mess up your backyard with my new powers." Toni nodded, understanding. Then Rachel walked over. She stopped just short of Toni and Jen. Then she said, "You're worried you're going to screw things up with your powers." Jen muttered a word of agreement. Rachel tapped her head and said "Telepath."
"Uh, guys? Do you think we should choose superhero names now?" Lilith asked, wandering over. She had also read Jen's mind and wanted to remove the tension, which was currently so thick you could cut it with a knife. The rest of the cluster nodded, also hoping to make things better.
Sitting and thinking when they had just gained use of amazing powers was a difficult task. Mia kept playing with her arrow necklace and Jade took out and withdrew her claws.
Finally, the sweet silence was broken by Jen.
"Jinx."
"What?" Rachel asked, perplexed.
"My name. Jinx."
"You're not bad luck, Jennifer."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but my new powers sure want to show some fool just how unlucky he is when he comes across us out there on the street," Jen said, smiling a bit. She did tend to be unlucky, but maybe she could make that into a good thing. Mia's head shot up from where she was "resting" it.
"I got it! Speedy!" Mia said, grinning widely. Rachel gazed at the blonde girl with a smirk on her face.
"Isn't that the name of that sidekick to Green Arrow that went rogue a couple years back? Didn't he kill someone and stop being a hero?" Rachel asked, stifling a smile. Mia looked shocked.
"Well…yeah, but I could be his successor! Speedy II! I'll be a good guy, I promise."
"Whatever. So, we have Jinx and Speedy. What about you, Jade?" Rachel said, sighing at Mia's dramatics.
"I was thinking Cheshire."
"Cheshire? Why?" Jen inquired. Jade put on a shy smile before she answered Jen's question.
"Like the Cheshire Cat, in Alice in Wonderland. He was constantly hiding in the shadows, using tricks to move, talk to Alice, and help Alice. Or in some cases, screw with Alice's mind. In the end, though, all that was left of him was his very wide grin. I think that in this case, someone crazy such as the Cheshire Cat is a good example of how I should be. Since I don't have actual powers, I need to hide in the shadows, help people, and screw with people's minds."
The other girls were stunned by the thought put into this answer. Yes, it was true that this was how someone without powers needed to be. Smart, smart Jade.
"I came up with a name too," Lilith piped up, ready to tell all. She waited and then said, "Omen."
"Omen?" Toni said questioningly. Lilith nodded.
"Omen."
Lilith would provide no more information on this subject. That being that, they all turned to Toni and Rachel, the only ones without names, so far.
Toni glanced at her necklace and told the group that her name was to be Argent. She held up the necklace with the A on it and then shot out a blast of her plasma energy. Silver plasma energy.
Rachel, being the only one left, was soon turned to. The cloak she was wearing had the hood up, as it had the whole time, so she slowly lowered it.
The five others gasped. Embedded in Rachel's forehead was the red gem from her necklace, the chain of which was nowhere to be found. Also, Rachel's hair color had changed from jet black to a striking purple color. Only Jennifer spoke.
"Uh, Rach? You know your gem thingie is implanted in your forehead, right? Oh, and your hair is purple!"
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Jennifer."
Jen sweatdropped and backed away. Rachel's tone implied certain death to anyone else who mentioned it. She spoke again.
"Raven."
No one needed nor wanted an explanation. Not after seeing her get all riled up about the stone-in-forehead thing.
"If it helps, guys, I can hook up either a radio or a computer to the police radios. Then we'd know when something bad was going on." Mia broke the second round of tension that afternoon.
All of the girls sighed and nodded. "I propose nightly patrols as well," Jade stated, warn=ming up to the idea of fighting crime. Rachel nodded.
"We need a name," Rachel added, searching her mind for a suitable name for their team. The others racked their brains as well, but no one came up with anything. Rachel heaved a sigh.
"I guess we can come up with something later," she said.
"How do we change back?" Jen, now Jinx, asked. Right then, there was a small flash of light and Mia looked as she had before, dressed in jean shorts and a green tank top. She giggled.
"Just think about changing back. It'll do the rest for you," she said. The others shrugged and tried what she had suggested. Soon, with five more small flashes, the girls were back looking as they normally did.
They all made sure that the necklaces were on before they headed inside. Calling out the her mother, Toni made sure that she knew they were inside again. Toni's mother rapidly made sure that the teenagers would have something to eat and then she left them alone.
"So, Raven, Jinx, Cheshire, Omen, Argent, and Speedy. Superheroines," Mia said, giggling.
"Toni's house is base, right?" Jade asked, not wanting to miss out on anything.
"Yeah, and we'll start patrols tomorrow night," Jen said, looking at all of her friends.
"Only one problem," Rachel said blandly. The girls looked at her with confusion evident on their faces. What? – all of their faces seemed to ask. Rachel rolled her eyes and said, "With us being teenagers and all, it's very likely that this is going to get out of hand. We're all going to want to do separate things. We're going to need plans for everything we do. We're going to need somebody to lead this team, someone who can think under stress and that all of us trust completely."
Jen furrowed her brow. "I don't know about the others, but I'm voting for you, Rach," she said, glancing at the other voters. Lilith was nodding and Jade seemed to be zoned out, thinking. Rachel sighed and said, "No, not me, Jen."
Then Toni spoke up. "But Rachel, you're all of those things that you said. You can think under stress and we all trust you. Come on, you were totally born to do this."
"It may not be the best idea, Toni," Rachel said, thinking of her father. She shuddered. She didn't want him to know that she was the leader of a superhero group, that was for sure.
"Rachel, look at it this way," Jade said, staring Rachel straight in the eyes. "If you don't do it, one of us will have to. I doubt either Mia," insert a snort from said teenager here, "or Lilith would be able to handle being in charge, no offense meant. Toni's a little too hot headed for this; she'd have us barge in without even thinking of a plan first. Jen or I could do it, but both of us have different vies of how things should be done. I would think so much that nothing would ever happen, and Jen would have us act a lot and get us into sticky situations. You're the best for this, seeing as you can handle pressure and stress, unlike Lilith, Mia, or Toni, and everyone trusts you the most, seeing as you're the most straightforward person we've ever met." Rachel grumbled a bit at this. Jade sighed.
"Look, Rachel. You and the others convinced me to be on this team. So, if I'm gonna be on it, I want to be under a strong leader, someone I know will take us in the right direction," Jade finished and then went silent.
Rachel stared at the ground from her spot on Toni's red and black bed for a moment. It seemed as if she was still going to refuse. Then she spoke, in a darkly monotone voice.
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Thanks Rae," Jade said, smiling a little. Rachel fixed her with her fiercest glare, the one that put Tara Markov to shame.
"My name is Rae-chel, Jade, so please call me such." Jade quailed under the furious stare, not moving a muscle. Then Rachel stopped glaring and said, "Raven, Jinx, Cheshire, Omen, Argent, and Speedy. Superheroes."
The girls all grinned and began chatting about various things, such as their powers, costumes, and what their parents would think if they ever found out.
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Night was just settling in upon Jump City. In the nicer area of town, almost no one was on the streets. Many of the houses were shrouded in shadow and half-dark already. One house, at the very end of Lilac Avenue, was completely dark, save one bright room on the upper floor. Inside the room is none other than Tara Markov, the blonde ringleader of the Jump City popular crowd. Her parents were out for the night, at some charity function or other, leaving Tara with the house to herself. Tara was locked in her room, doing what all teenagers do. No, not that! Get your mind out of the gutter, people. Sheesh. So, Tara was IM chatting with her friends, girls that the devil practically spawned.
PrincessTaraM: Did you see what Charlotte was wearing today? I mean, come on, a batshirt? We're in Jump, not Gotham.
CAEmpress: Ya, I know. But what really got me was that twit Jen Hex. I srsly can't stand her pink and blond hair. Makes me sick.
PrettyInPink1040: Must you be so harsh, Connie?
CAEmpress: Shut up or get off, Kori
DeathToBatz690: You are way too nice, Kori. Grow a spine.
PrettyInPink1040: Cassie, please do not be so mean to me, for I have done nothing to warrant such abuse.
CAEmpress: Go away Kori.
PrettyInPink1040: I believe I shall. Goodnight Tara.
PrincessTaraM: See ya Kori
PrettyInPink1040 has signed off at 7:59:07 p.m.
DeathToBatz690: Thank goodness she's finally gone.
PrincessTaraM: Hang on. The doorbell just rang
CAEmpress: Me too
DeathToBatz690: Same with me
PrincessTaraM: Weird.
PrincessTaraM: Okay, did either of you get a box with no note and a piece of jewelry inside?
DeathToBatz690: I did.
CAEmpress: Kori and I both did.
CAEmpress: What does your jewelry look like? Mine is a necklace, gold, with a large red gem on it. Kori got a silver necklace with a green gem on it, smaller than mine.
PrincessTaraM: Mine's silver with a small blue butterfly charm on it.
EgyptianGoddess000 has signed on at 8:08:25 p.m.
EgyptianGoddess000: Did any of you get a box at your doorway this evening?
PrincessTaraM: Yeah, we did. We were just describing them. What's yours?
EgyptianGoddess000: A golden armband that coils around your arm like a snake. I love it.
DeathToBatz690: Silver chain, blood red stone
KittyMothLove3 has signed in at 8:17:54 p.m.
KittyMothLove3: Oh em gee! I got jewelry in the mail!
DeathToBatz690: You don't say?
PrincessTaraM: What's it look like, Kitty?
KittyMothLove3: It's a necklace with a silver chain and a really pretty pink charm shaped like a butterfly or something.
CAEmperess: Lovely. We've all gotten jewelry too, Kitty.
KittyMothLove3: Really? Ohhhh, are they pretty?
DeathToBatz690: Yes Kitten, very pretty. Someone get Karen online. We need to know if she got something too.
CAEmpress: On it.
KarenStings101 has signed in at 8:22:48 p.m.
CAEmpress: Hey Karen
KarenStings101: What do you guys want? You said that it was urgent on the phone, Connie.
DeathToBatz690: Did you get a little box at the door just now?
KarenStings101: Yeah. How'd you know?
PrincessTaraM: We all got them too.
CAEmpress: Wow, Tara, you were quiet for so long that I thought you had skipped out on us to go hang with Gar.
PrincessTaraM: Nahh, Gar's hanging with Roy tonight. They and some of the guys are having a 'guy's night'.
KarenStings101: Back to the jewelry from the boxes?
DeathToBatz690: Right. So, what's it look like?
KarenStings101: Well, it's a necklace, silver, with a spiky little gold B on it as a charm. I assume someone was playing on my last name.
DeathToBat690: Maybe, maybe not. Remember a couple of weeks ago, Wayne Enterprises was broken into?
PrincessTaraM: Yeah. Point?
DeathToBatz690: I'm getting there. Well, they said that top secret super suits in the form of jewelry was what was stolen.
KittyMothLove3: You think that this is the stolen jewelry?
DeathToBatz690: Yeah. I mean, it makes sense, right? Maybe we're holding super powers right in our hands.
CAEmpress: Even if we are, we have no idea how to work it. Let's talk about it tomorrow.
EgyptianGoddess000: Okay, I gotta go anyway. Buh bye, ladies.
EgyptianGoddess000 signed off at 8:33:43 p.m.
PrincessTaraM: I gotta go too. Bye.
KarenStings101: Me too
CAEmpress: I don't but since everyone else is leaving.
KittyMothLove3: I don't have to go!
PrincessTaraM has signed off at 8:34:21 p.m.
KarenStings101 has signed off at 8:34:24
CAEmpress has signed off at 8:34:27
KittyMothLove3: Cassandra?
DeathToBatz690 has signed off at 8:34:35 p.m.
KittyMothLove3: *sigh*
KittyMothLove3 has signed off at 8:34:40 p.m.
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So, another plan set in action, most likely by the dastardly Slade, or Deathstroke, or whatever.
I hope that you review! Speaking of reviews, I've booted Terra off because she tried to help Jinx…and it just doesn't work like that 'round here.
Chapter name from a quote by Amy Tan: "You see what power is - holding someone else's fear in your hand and showing it to them!"