[A/N]: Aaannnd here's chapter 2! Enjoy and remember to review!


Jinx rubbed her paint speckled fingers across the canvas. Her new apartment, which she's had to acquire after rendering her last one unlivable, smelled strongly of wet paint with a gentler undertone of turpentine. Boxes where still scattered everywhere, cluttering up the small place after a two week long move in session.

After playing the the little pretty scared girl walking home on her own and freaking out about her then wasteland of an apartment, jinx answered a few general questions from the police, "Do you know of any previous tenants with an ax to grind?, How well do you get along with your neighbors?, Have there been any other cases of vandalism in the building recently?", before being cut loose. After which she promptly went to the super and demanded back her security deposit - it's not like they can prove she actually caused the damages herself anyway, the police don't even believe she was here when the place was being 'vandalized',- and tore the check right out of the greasy managers hands.

Fast forward and here she is. It wasn't all bad. The move in sucked, what move doesn't but this complex was relatively clean and the apartment itself was small, but comfy. It some how escape feeling like a cave and had a decent amount of storage space. It was also closer to her college campus. At least this time when she moved the cable guy decided to show up before she got so bored she use her powers to put cracks in the ceiling just to count, or splatter paint over every boring white wall in the place. She was sure this new super was grateful as well.

The super was a bubbly woman with dark pink hair and bright blue eyes by the name of Kole. She'd showed her around the building after Jinx signed the lease and even took the liberty of introducing her to some of her neighbors.

A couple were creeps, that was to be expected in a city like this, but they more like the shut in type that watch torture porn on their laptops and were too afraid to actually approach a real girl so they stare through the peephole all day trying to spy on them instead. Jinx made a note of one skinny, black boy that was staring at her for far too long. She sent him a blood curtailing death glare that made him to lose his grip on his groceries. His freshly bought eggs fell from the bag and broke all over the hallway floor. The rest of the tenants on her floor actually had jobs so they weren't home.

Jinx smirked at the memory. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of that one since and she wanted it to stay that way. She set the painting on her easel and grabbed a rag to wipe her hands down with. She had a stack of fresh paintings leaning against the wall ready to be either sold or given away or entered into competitions. All, but one.

A giant canvas carefully wrapped in brown paper leaned inconspicuously against a blank half hidden behind opened and unopened boxes and heaps of crumpled newspaper. This one wasn't hers, but it would sure as hell make her a shit ton more money than hers alone ever would.

She's not a fanatic for traditional European paintings, most of them were just portraits of still white guys where the painting technique outshining the actual subject of the piece. They never held her interest long.

This one was beautiful though, she had to admit. Beautifully painted, deep blue sea, he silhouette of a ship off in the distance a black thunderstorm hanging over head in the background. The foreground was taken up by a pretty, fiery haired, mermaid staring off at the boat, her chin in her palms and a small smirk on her face, like she had a secret. Her scales gleamed with gold leaf applique. Maybe someone on the boat earned her ire. Maybe her sailor boy left her and she asked the sea god for vengeance. Maybe she just took pleasure in the misery of others, who knews? All Jinx knows is that these artfully done paint chips are about to make her a very fat stack.

Her regular, everyday cell rang, Argent flashed across the caller ID. She paused her latest episode of Game of thrones and swiped the answer icon. "What's up silver?"

"Hey, . When's your first class today?" Argent asked. Lucy R. Heart was the fake 'normal' name she used in her day to day life.

She checked the clock, 10:00 A.M. Her first class was at 1.

"In a couple hours why?"

"So, you'll be done by five, right?" Her friend asked. Jinx,or rather 'Lucy', could just see her on her single person, college standard bed inside her dorm looking at her black nails while she sneakily tried to broach whatever subject she was calling her about.

Jinx sighed dramatically. "I guess..."

Argent laughed. "Alright, so you can met us at the pub down the road around then no problem, right?"

"Who's we?" Jinx asked incredulously. Argent had some friends that just rubbed her the wrong way. All where honor student who've never done anything wrong in their lives. She could practically see the halos above a few of their heads. Call it a sixth sense, women's intuition or whatever, but they gave her the same sinking feeling she got whenever a cop brandished a pair of cuffs at her.

"Oh, no one in particular, just a few chaps I know. They're all from Uni. It'll be loads of fun, I promise."

Jinx snorted. "Sure it will. Getting piss drunk in a sea of green sporting morons on St. Patrick's Day will guarantee no drunken idiot will fuck with us." She'd passed AP Sarcasm with flying colors before she even left elementary school.

Argent laughed, "Yes, but you will be there." It barely felt like an invitation anymore, more like an order from a superior officer.

"Well I was planning to binge on GoT all night." Jinx said. "And that red wedding didn't really leave me in a partying mood." Argent groaned. "I know you're joking. Why do you insist on making me twist your arm?"

"I'm a masochist."

"Whatever suits you, love. I'll see you at five. Goodbye."

"Yeah, yeah, see you later." She hung up.

Jinx checked the clock again. Her new employer wanted to rendezvous at 12, though for the drop off. They were suppose to text her the rest of the details. This time it was her burn phone that vibrated on the kitchen table. 'Speak of the devil.' She tucked her regular phone back into her school bag before snatching up the cheap track phone. She smirked down at it and then at the painting. "Time to go meet your new owner."

An hour later she was out the door, black cat suit covered by her long jacket and cloaking device projecting a pretty brunette. She strained to get the painting in the elevator, but managed. On the way out the door she nearly hit someone strolling in.

"Watch where you're going!" She barked over her shoulder. The redhead just laughed and said have a good day. She huffed, 'weird kid.'


Jinx drummed her fingers against the cargo box. The cargo warehouse was right off the ocean and reeked of fish. Jinx made a mental note to take a shower when she got home. She probably smelled like she bathed in cat food at this point and it wouldn't do to have a horde of cats tailing her across campus.

They're late, a half hour late. Jinx glanced at the warped painting leaning against the box behind her. 'Don't they know not to keep pretty girls like us waiting?' Her first class would start soon and her teacher would sooner lock her out of the damn class then let her off with a "I woke up late", excuse. Maybe she could get away with the "Dying sister", one. There were plenty of people she'd imagined killing off in her head before. Why not put one of these little fantasies to use?

The sound of a revving engine pulled the pinkette out of her musing. 'Finally.' She huffed. Jinx straightened up and schooled her features into an icy cold mask of professionalism. The black suv drove in slowly from the docks and stopped a safe distance away. The windows were blacked out, making it hard to tell just how many were in the car, from its size she estimated no less than two and no more than eight. They flashed the headlights signaling someone was about to get out.

The door opened and out stumbled a smaller man dressed in a suit two sizes too big. His fedora was smashed down on his head, covering an unruly mass brown curls. He fidgeted. Jinx was struck by just how young this kid was. He couldn't be any older than 13. Her features betrayed nothing though as he approached her.

She scanned his body looking for concealed weapons, but couldn't see a visible signs of any. He fidgeted, nervousness rolling off of him in waves. When he finally reached her he spoke. "My boss wants me to load the painting and then he will give you the money." The kid spoke slowly, english wa obviously not his first language as Jinx watched him struggle to pronounce every vowel. He sounded Latino, probably from Central America rather than just south of the border. They were thousands of miles away from either.

Jinx tried to remember her spanish. "Y lo que hace tu jefe me tomas? Un tonto ?" She cringed slightly, she so rusty, but he got the gist. His head snapped to attention. His eyes lit up at the sound of his native tongue. He gave a wide, gap toothed grin. He looked even younger now with his brown eyes twinkling. "No, no, señorita rosa que sólo quiere asegurarse de algo antes de que usted paga." The kid scratched his wrist. jinx's eyes darted downward and they froze of something they hadn't seen before. The kid had a power neutralizer chained to his wrist so tightly that the skin under it was rubbed raw and had dried blood and scabs encircling the narrow with of his appendage. 'What the hell?"

JInx scowled. "Bien, pero venir aquí." The short teen paused before going back to the suv. Jinx crossed her arms, just who the hell was she in bed with this time? A few minutes later two of the car doors opened. A burly, stereotypically dressed gangster stepped out of the car behind on one side, he was obviously packing. Another, much older and obviously higher on the totem pole mobster came around from the other side. The grey haired man looked obviously irritated.

"What? Is he still speakin' Mexican? Can you not understand him?" The kid glared at him out of the corner of his eye. Jinx rolled her eyes. 'Spanish, moron.' "I understand him perfectly well Vecchio." The man's eyes darkened. "But I don't work on a wing and a prayer. I'm not going to hand over the merch and let you lug it in your car so you can make a speedy getaway and rip me off." Her pink eyes flashed. She pulled the painting forward. "If you want to inspect it, by all means go ahead, but I'm not a punk, so don't try and jerk me around like one." The room temperature dropped by five degree as the two were locked in a glaring contest. The burly man reached behind him and Jinx sent a wave of hex energy to her hands. The pink sparks licked along her pale fingers. The kid shrank back from the scene.

The old man stepped back first, waving off his associate. "Show us the goods already, bambina."

Jinx smirked. "Gladly, Vecchio." She took the paper off the painting and stepped back, letting them study it. Most idiots never realized just how keen her eyes were. The dark was nothing to her. There was little transition between the daylight hours and the night times one. It didn't take her long to realize they weren't interested in the painting at all, atleast not the canvas. The burly man tapped his knuckles against the wooden frame and grinned at her. His teeth looked like daggers hanging from his mouth. Jinx shifted from one foot to the other trying to resist the urge to run.

The grey haired man looked at her icily. "Load it up, messicano." The kid glared, but did as told. When he went for the painting though, Jinx grabbed his arm. "Where's the money?" The old mobster snapped his finger and an oily haired kid got out from the suv with a brief case. He handed her the case and the group went back to the car, painting in hand.

Jinx smirked as lifted the hefty brief case onto a shipping crate. This was gonna be such a good pay day! She snapped the case open and the smile slide off her face. A pipe bomb inside counted down...5...4...3... Jinx grabbed the briefcase and threw it toward the suv. She threw herself behind the metal shipping container as the bomb exploded over the getaway car, raining down flaming chunks of scrap metal on the mafioso's get away car. The kid was still half out the car and flew across the room as the vehicle swerved out of the warehouse. The stacks of wooden boxes caught fire, acting like tinder in a bonfire.

Jinx growled. These fucking dumbasses were going to try and fucking rip her off and blow her up. Hell. Fucking. No. Eyes flaming pink, she threw the strongest hex he could a them. The car surged forward, almost being thrown across the docks from the force of the attack. The pink magic seeped into the paint and sheet metal, rusting every layer off the back end until a large chunk of the car was reduced to dust. The car recklessly veer onto the asphalt road and around the corner out of sight.

Jinx furiously whipped her hair out of her face and pushed herself off the ground. She was going to have some impressive bruising on her side tomorrow. Red streaked her vision as she stared out where the old bastard and his crew disappeared. 'If They think this is the last they see of me they are sadly mistaken!' The kid groaned from his place sprawled out on the concrete floor.

She stomped over, grabbing him ruffly by the collar and pulled eye level to him. Her knuckles sparked when evry they grazed against the skin of his neck. "Where did they go?" His dazed eyes flashed to her's before he finally registered what happened and started flailing. "¡Mi hermano! ¡Que todavía tienen mi hermano!" The kid flailed around trying to twist out of her grasp, tears bubbling to the corner of his eyes. 'Brother? What brother?'

"Listen, you little-" A cracking sound echoed through the warehouse. She looked up. The ceiling was quickly catching fire.

Jinx threw the kid out of the way as the beams came crashing down. She flung herself backwards, scrambling to get back from the intense heat. She nearly tripped over the kid as he lay on the ground. More rafter pieces came down. Jinx grabbed the dazed boy and put his arm over his shoulder, dragging them to the center of the room. The exit was blocked by the thick wooden beams. Jinx raised her hand and fired a hex at them. The fire grew extraordinarily big when the wave of pink energy hit, nearly scorching the two. Jinx could almost smile at the irony. 'My luck just turned on me.'

The fire mostly stayed to the outside where the boxes where. Eventually it would devour the walls and make its way over head, but they'd probably die of smoke inhalation long before that. The kid was coughing in fits and Jinx's own lungs felt weaker with every breath. 'There's no way out.' She realized. All the windows were engulfed as well as both exits. 'We're trapped!'


Wally sat in his AP physics class flipping through his notes. The class was just ended and he was raring to get started on his homework. A long weekend in front of the TV, marathoning Game of Thrones and a couple dozen bags of popcorn to snack on had his name written all over it. If he got this done quick then he could just go home, plop down on the couch and see what happens after the 'Mhysa' episode. Game of Thrones is getting so good!

Wally saw another student come in out of the corner of his eye, but barely paid attention. "Hey, guys look at this. That hot news anchor is doing a story."

"Haven't you been stalking his facebook page for like the past month?"

"I'm not stalking."

"You're obsessed."

"Just a few minutes ago a shipping container warehouse along the coast was set fire."

"My dad works by there. He says tons of crackheads hide in those buildings. They try and loot whatever they can from the shipping containers."

"Minutes before the building went up in flames, eye witnesses have said to have witnessed a strange pink explosion coming from inside the building." Wally stopped.

"Others reported seeing a badly damaged black suv speeding away from the crime scene. Authorities are convinced the fire is an act of arson. It is unknown at this point if anyone is inside the fire."

Wally walked over to the set of girls with a charming smile. "Can watch too?"

"Sure." One of them said twisting a lock of hair and giving him a flirty smile.

"We have just gotten hold of security footage from the fateful blast." The phone screen showed a few grainy seconds of footage capturing a dark car escaping followed by a well aimed blast the the back of it. 'Is it her?'

"Whoa, heavy. Aren't the docks, like, the mobs territory or something?" Her friend shrugged.

"This just in, Firefighters can hear someone from inside the blaze. They are trying to reach the victim, but are having extreme difficulty due to the amount of debris blocking the exit."

"What do you think, Wal-" He was gone. She looked around. "Where'd he go?"


[A/N]: Will Jinx make it out of the fire? Where did Wally go? Who is the kid stuck with Jinx? Tune in next time to hear the answer to these and other burning questions! Review!