[AN: I was told I need to work on spacing, and that this is a little too cluttered to follow, so I'm trying to work on that in this chapter onward. PS: I'm totally grateful for reviews, both good and bad.]
"Friend Jinx, tell me again how you shoved the iced cream into the face of Friend Cyborg," Starfire said with a giggle.
"Come on Star, I already told you three times!" Jinx responded, with the same giggle. "I want to hear about you. What's up with you and Robin?" Starfire blushed at Jinx's words.
"Well, Robin is the leader, and he is very good at his job. However, do not tell anyone, but I care for him very much," Starfire giggled. Jinx decided that this 'girl talk' thing Starfire talked her into involved a lot of giggling. That didn't make it inherently bad, however. Suddenly Starfire gasped. "I have just had the most wondrous of ideas!" She exclaimed. "Perhaps Robin would allow me to accompany you to the mall of shopping!" Jinx smiled.
"That'd be awesome, but Robin almost had a panic attack about the park. How are you going to get him to let you take me to an enclosed space, surrounded by innocent people, with stuff I could potentially steal in literally every direction?" She asked, doubtful.
"You will simply promise not to do any of those things," Starfire responded, perhaps a bit too trusting. "And if your promises of good behavior do not convince him, then I will simply use the face." Jinx made the mistake of looking up as Starfire said those last two words, and was instantly blinded by such a look of pure, innocent sadness that she was forced to cover her eyes.
"You can have everything I own, just stop!" Jinx cried. Satisfied with her secret weapon, Starfire floated out of the room.
Only a moment later, Jinx heard Robin squawk "What? No way! It's far too dangerous!" Starfire responded that Jinx had promised not to do anything wrong, which, now that Jinx thought about it, she actually hadn't done. "The answer's still no, Star," Robin's voice stated again, softer this time.
"Then you leave me with no choice," Starfire countered.
"Wha- Wait, Star, no," Robin said, in a warning tone. "No, no, Star, stop," he continued, sounding progressively more and more panicked. "NO! NO, NOT THE FACE ANYTHING BUT THE- ALRIGHT, FINE!" He gave in. Jinx pumped her fist. "IF," Robin persisted, "You take Raven with you." Almost before Robin was done speaking, Raven flatly refused. However, Starfire wasn't willing to give in.
Next, Jinx heard Raven's voice saying "Star, you know the face doesn't work on me. No, don't come closer, that- Just because you're floating upside down won't make it work, Star. You- Hey, where is that sad music coming from? Wait, are you carrying around a stereo?! No, Star, really, quit it. It's not going to- How did you even get your eyes so big?! Alright, fine! I'll go, just stop! And we're going by the bookstore," she finally conceded. Then Raven said "Ow, ow, ow, you're crushing me," and Jinx immediately knew she had been caught in one of Starfire's signature death hugs. Jinx rolled her eyes.
The walk to the mall was pleasant, except for Raven complaining the whole way about not being able to simply fly there. Of course, if they were caught in the air, it would blow their disguises, and since everyone knew there were only two female superheroes in Jump City, it would raise the question of who their new friend was. The Titans weren't quite prepared to let the entire city know they were harboring a supervillain. However, it didn't take long to get to the shiny, "new" building (the mall was always new, no matter how long it stood, with all the repair work done as supervillains destroyed different stores). "Ooo," Starfire squealed. "Where should we begin the shopping?" She floated upwards in her excitement.
"Hey, balloon-girl, feet on the ground," Jinx said, from where her wheelchair was tilting dangerously, with the alien girl still holding the handles.
"The bookstore," Raven responded dryly, as if Starfire had forgotten her promise. The empath walked through the entrance and towards the bookstore, but before she reached it, an explosion rocked the building. The Titan's hero instincts kicked in immediately. Starfire shoved the wheelchair containing Jinx into a store that had been emptied of fleeing civilians, and both she and Raven threw off their disguise rings. The smoke cleared, revealing… Jinx gasped. It was the Hive, minus one vital (or so Jinx had thought) member. In her place stood Red X. A surge of anger rocked through Jinx's paralyzed body as she watched the fighting. Raven immediately pulled out her communicator, calling for backup, but with Titan's Tower halfway across the city, the two girls were easily overwhelmed. Her old team members and their new friend picked up the stolen goods, about to make a hasty escape while the Titans were unable to follow. Suddenly, the anger was too much for Jinx to bear. She threw off her disguise ring and rolled her wheelchair into the middle of the fray. A bolt of pink electricity hit Gizmo, then See-More, then Billy Numerous, all before they knew what hit them. Mammoth whipped around in time to see his bolt to the face coming, but not soon enough to dodge. Jinx saved Red X for last.
"So, you think you can replace me?" She purred, her rage not affecting her tone of voice, but betraying itself in the bone-chilling look on her face. Red X tried to run, his mask doing little to hide his terror. Jinx simply laughed and caused a billboard to drop in front of him, blocking his escape. He turned to run the other way, and Jinx threw another obstacle in his path. This continued until Red X was trapped in a cage of debris. "Let's have some fun," Jinx said.