"Soul sister, soul sister, you are my only hope. I ruined any other chance. Kali, why did you abandon me after my mission was done?" Jinx was sitting in the courtyard of a temple, just an hour's walk from her empty grave. She'd boredly taken the darning and was working on embroidering a patch she'd had to put into a tunic. Jinx had little skill with a needle, and feared she'd dye the garment red at this rate. "Stupid piece of metal! Stop sticking me." She muttered, tying a knot and biting off the thread. "Jeez, I hope Raven can figure it out."

"Misse Sahib? The Guru will see you now." Jinx groaned inwardly at being called Misse Sahib, but followed the boy in nonetheless.

"Shreya Ila-Sundar, you say? We thought you lost when the rocks fell, as all your village. How did you survive?"

She couldn't lie, the Guru was not only trained to hear and see the signs, but she was honor bound when asked by an equal. "I was at the end of the procession, and Kali's hand shielded me."

"Durga held you? I see. You have come then to renew your vows?"
"I am required to."
"Ah, so you do not wish it, and none of your blood remain. I shall give you lenience, you may have another month to find a soul sibling, if you remain and tell stories to the young ones."
"I'll do one better, I'll work the laundry with the girls, and talk the boys into bed."
"I doubt you can manage that."
"Watch me." She heaved the laundry basket onto her head and set off towards the river, the younger temple children trailing behind her.

---

"So, then, I say to the shape changer, 'here kitty-kitty'" Jinx laughed, soaping a wet garment on the broad rock, basking in the sun. "'What's the matter,' I asked him, 'afraid of a little bad luck?' And, of course, with a spell toward the ceiling, he takes debris to the head."

"Like in a comic book!" One of the boys giggled.
"Exactly."
"Mem Sahib! Mem Sahib, tell us about the creepy old man."
"VISHNU! Mem Sahib? You little, I am not that old." She snapped the shirt she had been washing at the impudent brat. "All right, now, this was when I had been sent back to school for failing my first mission."
"Against the giants?"
"Titans, love."
"But, I read in my Greek history that the Titans WERE Giants."
"Not these Titans, they just took the name to make people think of the Giants in comparison."
"That's stupid."
"Yeah, why call yourself a Titan if you aren't?"
"They're lying! Dishonest."
"Do you want to hear the story or not?"
"YES!"
"You imps…"

---

"Sister, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Blackfire asked coldly over the transmission, arms crossed over her chest.

"You are wanted here on Earth. It is a matter of dire importance involving your soul sister."
"Baby sister, whatever you want from me, can't you get from your friends?"
"She said soul sister, Blackfire. Not Star."

"Lovely. Except for one detail, I've never met my soul sister, if indeed I have one."

"Oh, you do. And she needs your help."
"Well, put her on then, to ask for herself."

"We cannot. She is in another country. She wants to be freed from religious vows she took years ago, but only family can ask for her to be released. All her blood relations are dead."

"At her own hands, many of them. Blackfire, don't be stupid. Jinx left a list of qualities in her soul sister, and Starfire seems to think you fit them all."
"Jinx you say? Interesting name. What's her list?"
"Someone who plays by her own rules, who was condemned by the situation of her birth."
"Check one"
"Someone who is reckless and pushy, loud and controlling."
"KORIAND'R! I am pushy and controlling am I? I should wring your neck for that!"
"Sister, Jinx asked for them as positive qualities."
"You also refuse to be beaten, a big plus on the list. But, do you have fashion sense and sympathy for darkness?"

"Sympathy for darkness, hello, who do you think you're talking to? Show me this Jinx; I'll see if our styles are compatible." Raven typed for a while, and then a series of images of Jinx came onto the screen.
"Is that hair natural?" Blackfire asked critically.
"Yes."
"Hellas, yes. All right, I'll admit she may well seem my soul sister. Of course, the tests have to be run."
"We know, we know. She's from a different place than me, but the basics should still be the same. Soul sisters are a concept that spans galaxies."

"Righto, I'll hitch a ride on the nearest freighter headed to your star system, expect I'll be in your monstrosity of a tower in a week or so."
"Komand'r?"
"Whaaat?"
"Behave. Jinx's hope of love depends on you."
"As if I'd act up under your watchful eye, little sister."

---

"Why me? Why me?"
"Kid Flash, if you keep hitting your head on the wall you're going to get a concussion."
"Robin, I can't stand it, Raven and Star and Bumblebee and Blackfire haven't stopped their 'talk' for hours. They won't let me know what to do about Jinx! They just up and took this over from me!"
"Man, its girls' business, you don't want to go in there anyways."
"YOU WOULDN'T SAY THAT IF SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFIREND!"
"West, THINK for a second, what would happen if you went in there?"
"Raven would murder me…."
"No, just throw you out a window"
"Trust Beast Boy man, it's happened to him too many times."
Kid Flash sulked, and picked at the burger on his plate. This was torturing him. Robin sighed.

"Look, if you promise to behave, I'll try and get an update from them." There was not as much of a risk for him to ask what was going on, although it was still considerably dangerous. Not physically as much as the verbal abuse. Raven had a surprisingly foul mouth when interrupted.

Kid Flash perked up and nodded quickly, even for him, Robin could have sworn he heard his brain rattle in his skull. "YES!"

"Ya know he's only doing this to figure out why Blackfire is here, really."
"I am not!"
"Riiiiight, next thing you know he'll say he doesn't jump when we say... 'Slade'!" Robin tried, oh how he tried not to jump, but failed. "DUDE! See what I mean?" Robin ground his teeth as his three companions shared a laugh at his expense. Shaking his head he went off to ask for his update.

"Raven? I need a word."
The empath's annoyed voice filtered through the door. "What part about 'no' do males not understand? When we're done in here you'll know."

---

"Is he gone yet?" Blackfire asked irritated, glaring daggers at the amulets bound all over her body. She was laying on a cot, arms held up in odd positions, one held over a bowl, as blood dripped slowly into it.

Bumblebee listened at the door for a moment before nodding. "All clear. Rae, lets get this over with, this incense is killing me. And all that blood loss can't be good for Blackfire."

"She will bear it." Starfire said simply, holding her sister still.

"If all the other tests were right, we'll see Jinx's present image in a moment." Raven's breath caught in her throat, not at all sure that this was right. How could someone like Blackfire be Jinx's soul sister? Wasn't a soul sister supposed to complete you? That was what she had thought when she and Starfire had formed the bond. They had bonded shortly after they switched bodies. The two seemed far too alike for that to be true.

As if to spite her, the pool of blood shimmered, and soon they saw what must have been Jinx, by a river, with a swarm of children around her. She was laughing, and they appeared to be asking her all sorts of questions. She was carrying on in an animated way, as if re-enacting a battle. Clothes were spread drying behind her, and the kids seemed to be thrilled, as if this was a great treat for them.

"Enough." Starfire declared, beginning to bind the wound on her sister's forearm and removing the amulets. Bumblebee extinguished the candles with a great deal of relief, she didn't want to find out what flame would do to her wings. Raven let out her held breath.

"Now all we have to find is someone to play the role of their mother."
"Who does that? One of us?" Bee asked, curious.
"No. It has to be someone who's had a kid before." Blackfire sat up, rotating her arms experimentally. "I haven't got a clue who we're going for."

"None of us do."
"Oh great."
"So, should we tell the boys?"

---

"I've never heard of Soul Sisters." Robin said skeptically.
"Of course not, you're a guy." Blackfire snapped, still touchy due to the tests she'd just gone through.
"Ok, so she's Jinx's soul sister?"
"Potentially. It's not official until the ceremonial binding."
"How do you, uh, know all this stuff Rae?" Beast Boy asked trying to wrap his brain around it. Unlike Cyborg who had given up understanding long ago.
"Ra-VEN. I know the same way my soul sister knows."
"You have a soul sister? Maaan I pity her."

"It's Starfire." Beast Boy clapped a hand over his mouth, going very red, which looked quite comical given his unique coloring.
"That was priceless dude."
"Ahem. Yes. As I was saying, all that's left is to bind them as sisters."
"Hey, quick question, what would Jinx be to you then, your soul-sister's sister's soul sister?" Blackfire put in curiously.
Raven thought for a few minutes, finally shrugging. "No idea."

"But we must go to India very soon."
"INDIA? She's in India?" Kid Flash burst out.
"Great job Koriand'r, now he knows where she is." The elder Tameranean sneered.
"You're not going anywhere, Kid Flash. You're staying and helping while the girls are gone." Robin's stern look cut off any protests.

"Sweet! We can party now! Three to one, Robin, you can't stop us all!"
"He's got ya there, no stick in the mud attitude." Robin made a mental note to throttle Jinx when she got back.

To be continued