Jinx shifted nervously in her seat. Phase one was all up to her, and she'd only get one shot to get it right. Her future, her friends' future, depended on this meeting. The implications of what she was about to attempt, to essentially go back on everything she'd ever been taught, everyone she'd ever aided or been aided by, the magnitude of the entire situation set her foot to tapping furiously.

She'd gotten Gizmo to hack into the District Attorney's online schedule and arrange for a meeting. He'd said something about a school paper interview story, but she was much too preoccupied to worry about things like details. The only thing she had been concerned about was getting in the door, and thanks to the holographic projector Giz had rigged up for her, hiding her more obvious meta-human traits, she was almost there. She glanced at her watch, then at the closed office door. 'Just a few more minutes, Jinx... we can do this.'

Finally, the door swung open and a middle aged man with thick, salt and pepper hair stepped out into the waiting area. He smiled and seemed to be perfectly relaxed, a fact which annoyed Jinx more than she cared to admit. 'I'm sittin' here crawlin' outta my skin, and he just strolls on in here like it's any other day... though I guess to him it is. For now.' She returned his smile with a tight grin of her own.

"Right this way, Miss...?"

"Just call me Mark."

His grin faltered for barely a moment before he recovered. "Okay, eh, Mark. You can call me Roger. So, where do you attend school?"

'Here goes...'

"Alright, here's the deal," Jinx leaned forward, placing her elbows on his desk and clasping her hands. "I don't actually attend school. So there actually isn't a paper for us to interview for. I just needed to talk to you." His broad smile fell once more, but this time it didn't pop back up. 'Crap, better cut to the chase before he gets any crazy ideas about callin' in the cops or somethin'. Can't have that. Least, not yet.'

"It's not what you think, it's a legitimate opportunity for you. Seriously!"

"Look, miss, if this is some sort of bizarre bribery attem-"

"No, not like that. Just hear me out." Jinx let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before flicking the switch to turn off the image inducer that had previously been hiding her true identity. It took less than a second for the image to flicker off, and Jinx was left sitting in all of her pink-haired, cat-eyed glory.

Roger let out a high-pitched and undignified "Shit!" before throwing himself back into his chair almost hard enough to knock it over. Luckily, he managed to (just barely) keep it upright.

"You... I recognize you. You're one of those, those H.I.V.E. kids, aren't you? Look, I don't know what you want from me, or why you're here, but I'll tell you right now that I don't, I won't negotiate with terrorists." His false bravado was easily given away by the trembling that accompanied his declaration, and his flinch when Jinx stood up further highlighted his terrified state. Jinx had to give him a bit of credit, though. Even in the face of fear, he was trying to be as brave as he was able.

"It's not like that, not really. What I came here to discuss is more of a," Jinx paused, considering her words, "favor. Not a demand. A proposition, if you will, that could benefit everyone involved." She found herself holding her breath once more and willed herself to breathe normally. She was heartened to realize that he seemed to be calming down a bit, not too much, but at least he wasn't barreling toward blind panic any longer.

After about a half minute, which felt like an eternity to both parties, he finally spoke. "Okay. I'm listening."

Jinx smiled her first real smile at that point, her relief being too great to even try hiding, and Roger was momentarily stunned to realize that, outside of her crazy hair, peculiar eyes, and the sharp canines that he had to admit were very off-putting, that she looked very much like a normal kid. A pale, gangly, gaudily dressed kid, but normal.

Jinx stood and began pacing the small confines of the office, "Me and my group, see, we want out of the whole thieving business. And we're prepared to quit, cold turkey. But as you can imagine, that leaves us in bit of a predicament. A quandary, if you will." She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head up, grinning. She'd been up for half of the previous night with a dictionary and thesaurus at her side, trying to make her plea sound as intelligent as possible and trying to plan for any contingency. The H.I.V.E. hadn't prepared them too very well in speech-writing or public speaking, so she was quite proud of herself for managing to prepare a half-way decent sounding speech (though after it carried over into conversation, Gizmo did threaten to destroy every pair of boots she owned if she didn't start talking normal again). She cleared her throat before turning to Roger, "That's where you come in."

"I don't follow."

"See, we've gotta make a living somehow. If we're not stealin' an' fencin' merch, or takin' contracts or whatever, how exactly are we going to pay the bills? Then I started thinking, the Titans have a pretty good thing going, amiright?"

Roger frowned. "You... want to join the Teen Titans?"

"No, no, not at all. No. Just... blech." Roger almost chuckled at her expression of obvious disgust at that suggestion, but managed to clamp it down. "What I'm suggesting is, I dunno, maybe supplementing the Toddler Titans. I mean, they can't possibly handle all of the crime in this fair city, and your little suburban cop squad isn't equipped to handle the more, eh, overpowered of the threats. So why not bring in another group. Like, for the sake of argument, my group."

"Even if I did agree to something like that," he shook his head, "the city just doesn't have the resources to fund another group. And even if we did have the resources, I'm not the one you'd have to go through." He was worried that his answer would set her off, but to his surprise she just smiled back at him. He realized she must've anticipated his answer, and became curious as to just what exactly she was getting at.

"Ah, but that's just the thing." She pulled a few folded papers out of her pocket and handed them over. They listed names and photos of criminals from the city's Most Wanted database, and listed a reward amount beside each name. "We could just do a whole pay-per-villain thing. Like, commission or something."

Roger considered her idea. It was plausible and had its merits, but he still wasn't sure where he fit in. "Looks like you've got it all figured out. I still don't understand why you're coming to me with this though."

"Warrants, Roger. Warrants." His obvious confusion prompted her to explain. "Ya see, while me and my team have turned over a new leaf, our pasts are still there, taunting us." She clawed the air in what he could only assume was an imitation of her past. She leaned over to point at the unfolded papers Roger was holding, finding her own picture in the mix, as well as those of her teammates. "The second I try to turn in one of the real bad guys, I'll get my own butt thrown in the can. So you can see the problem." Roger was beginning to understand where this was going.

"You want me to wipe the slate clean?"

"Exactly!" Jinx's grin threatened to take over the majority of her face-

"And if I say no?"

-before it promptly dropped off completely. "Huh?"

"If I say no, what're you going to do? Beat me until I agree? Threaten the city until we're forced to accept?"

Jinx sighed and dropped back into the chair. "If you say no, I leave. That's it."

Roger closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, weighing what she'd said. He was expecting a relatively easy day, free of courtroom drama and politicking. What he wasn't expecting was one of the city's most notorious criminals offering to help clean up the streets. He fully realized that it could be some sort of ploy, some plot whose purpose he couldn't even begin to guess at, but the girl in front of him seemed sincere.

If she was honest about her and her team's desire to reform, then it would be great for the city. If she was lying about the whole thing then the most that could happen is... nothing. A return to status quo. Roger had seen plenty of repeat offenders stuck in what seemed to be the revolving door of the legal system, but he'd known a few that had managed to turn their lives around as well. It was easy to become jaded in his line of work, but the ultimate reason he had gotten into law was to help people. And here he was presented an opportunity to do just that.

He finally looked up to see that the girl was still staring at him, a look of hope plastered on her face that almost broke his heart. Sighing, he pulled up the police database on his computer.

Name: Unknown

Alias: Jinx

Birthdate: Unknown

Warning: Meta classification

Power - Active: "Hex bolts", a control over

probability that usually results in "bad luck" to

whatever or whomever she targets

Power – Passive: Superhuman agility, heightened strength

Distinguishing characteristics: Pink hair, pink eyes

Tattoos: None

Birthmarks: None

Use extreme caution when approaching.

He scrolled down, scanning her list of offenses.

"You have, uh, quite a history with JCPD, it seems."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"In fact, it looks like you're wanted for questioning on a B and E and burglary from, eh, two days ago."

"Attempted burglary," Jinx started, before catching herself. "I mean, I don't know anything about that."

"Right."

"I never claimed to be a girl scout, I'm just looking for a second chance. I'm still a minor, right? All that junk'll be kicked offa my record eventually anyways. I just want to speed things on along."

He pulled up the police files for her two accomplices as well, before exhaling loudly. "That is one of the things working in your favor, yes. Your status as a juvenile... same with your associate Mikron."

"He prefers Gizmo."

"Baran, er, Mammoth rather... he just turned 19. It might not be so easy to get his record expunged."

Jinx frowned. "Sorry, no dice. It's all or nothing. I'm not gonna just -"

"I didn't say I couldn't do it. I just said it would be tricky."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'll see what I can do." Jinx jumped up, her grin back in full force, but Roger cut off her celebration. "It isn't a decision I can make unilaterally."

"Uni-wha?"

"I mean it's not just up to me." Jinx's expression fell. "But- and I'm sticking my neck out for you here, I just want you to know that- I can pull in a few favors. I'll figure something out."

"Yes!"

"I can't promise you anything."

"Yeah, yeah, but you'll try? Really try? You're not just jerkin' me around?"

"I promise. I don't know how long this might take, but if you leave me your phone number I can-"

"How dumb do I look? I give you my number, you trace it back to our location, and boom! You might think I'm stupid, but I've had enough experience with the system, not to mention about a million hours watching CSI, that I know how this crap works. You're lookin' to double cross, obviously, and I'm not one to get trapped that easily."

Jinx's glare had the ability to bring much more powerful men to their knees, but Roger had managed to see past her cocky front. She had dropped her facade just enough for him to see that there very well may be someone in there who had done bad things in her past, but there was something vulnerable there, too. He had been involved in bringing down organizations like H.I.V.E. before, organizations that gave kids with no place else to go the closest thing they had to a home, and then warped those kids for their own sick interests. Many of those that had fallen prey to such manipulations were too messed up to come back from the edge they balanced precariously on, but he was hoping he might be able to save at least a few of them this time.

Roger looked hard at Jinx, trying to convey his sincerity. "You're going to have to trust me. I'm putting a lot of faith in you to stick to you word. A lot of faith. I assure you, the last thing I want to do is stick a couple of down on their luck kids in prison. Especially if those kids are really trying to change."

"We're not kids."

"Ah, of course." Roger barely managed to suppress a smirk, sure that it wouldn't go down very well. The more he talked to Jinx, the more she reminded him of his own headstrong daughter when she was younger. "My point remains though. Trust is a two way street, Mark."

Jinx grinned back at him. She realized that she was taking a huge risk, but was well aware that she couldn't do this without him. Finally, with a sigh and a dip of her shoulders, she agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Dammit, Jinx!" Gizmo was stomping around the living room and gesticulating wildly, the amount of noise he was making a lot louder than his size would imply. "You put us all at risk... the cops could come storming through the door any flippin' second!"

Mammoth glanced at the door in question, then back at his roommates. He snickered, then grabbed a bag of popcorn and settled in enjoy the fight. It was gearing up to be a doozy.

"I did what I had to do. You said you'd give me chance, so just, ya know, wait."

"No, I don't want to wait! That wasn't the agreement. Giving our location to the scud lickin' cops wasn't ever part of the plan." Gizmo was progressively turning a more and more interesting shade of red with each word he spoke.

"I trust the guy. He said he wasn't going to turn us in. He seemed legit."

"Oh, well, goody. A lawyer promised that he wouldn't tell the cops where the criminals were hidden. Nice!"

"Gizmo, just freakin' trust me on this."

"Oh, yeah, like I trusted you the last dozen times we got out butts kicked? Maybe it's about time someone else took over the leadership role, huh? Couldn't do any worse at it."

Gizmo realized his mistake about a split second too late. Jinx had gone silent, but her eyes were beginning to glow that lovely shade of pink that just promised retribution.

"Really, Giz? You wanna take me on?"

"Uh..."

"I'm ready when you are, tiny."

"Hey!"

Mammoth's bellowing laughter took them both off guard, just enough to pull them off the brink of battle. "Aw, naw, come on! It was just getting good."

Jinx threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine, if you want to leave, go. I'm not gonna try to stop you."

"Whatever. I may hate your stupid plan, but I won't bail. You guys couldn't even set up the DVD player without my help." Jinx pulled the unsuspecting boy into a hug before he could dodge. "Ach, get offa me!"

"I knew you couldn't leave us, hah!"

"Crud munchin'..."

-RING-

All three froze and turned to look toward the phone.

-RING-

"Uh... someone gonna get that?" Gizmo looked to Jinx,who looked more afraid than anything.

"I-"

-RING-

"Yeah, okay, sure. This is what we were waiting for." Jinx barked a nervous cackle, a sharp biting noise that neither of her teammates had ever heard from her before. Apparently she wasn't as sure of her plan as she let on.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is District Attorney Roger Scalion. Jinx?"

"Yeah?"

"Good. I just wanted to let you know it's done."

"Done?"

"There are some stipulations, of course. You and your team are basically on a form of parole. You commit another crime and all of your past crimes are back on the table."

"I figured as much."

"You will have to submit to weekly drug tests."

"Not a problem."

"And each of you will be assigned someone to oversee your progress. Like a parole officer, but since this is a bit unconventional, I've decided to keep this out of the system."

"So who exactly are we talking about here?"

"Hear me out. I have a feeling you're not going to like this, but it's the only way I could convince the Mayor."

"The Mayor? Really? The Mayor knows who I am, hehn? Must've made an impression."

"Something like that. Regardless, she wouldn't give her approval unless, well, unless the Teen Titans were in charge of your parole."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry. That was her only requirement."

"Oh, God."

"You're still on board, I hope."

"Gah. Jeez, man. Yeah, yeah. Sure."

"Great! I wasn't kidding when I said I had to call in some serious favors for you. Just don't let me down, Jinx. I have faith that you can do it."

Jinx blushed, unused to such confidence from someone who wasn't Gizmo or Mammoth. It was a bit overwhelming and left her not quite sure how to respond. She fell back into old habits.

"Whatever, I've got it. Don't worry so much, jeez. I hear it gives you wrinkles."

She could almost feel him rolling his eyes over the phone. "I'll draw up the papers for you to sign and drop them off at the Titan headquarters. According to your police files, you should be well aware of the location."

"Hah, yeah. That would be an affirmative, captain."

"And Jinx? Good luck."

"Riiight. See ya, Roger."

-CLICK-

"Giz, you're not going to like this..."