Alright my friends it has come at last, the end of yet another story. I hope you've all enjoyed it. Yeah this last chapter is much longer than any of the others but hey……it's the last chapter. I actually thought up this plot a few years ago but just now got around to it. Weird. NOW! I'd like to kindly thank everyone who reviewed because you guys make it worthwhile; Featherpan13, KF Fan, Lizzpercrush, Skyler-A-Teloiv, Angelfly06, Music16, Tennishgal456, Chocokittins.

Chapter Five

The Journey Home

Jinx set the pad down on beside her and leaned back against the cushion of the mattress. Did he really mean everything he said? Apart from all the goofiness and buffoonery anyway. Jinx had long ago promised to get home but she was determined like never before, if not just for her and Kid Flash's future but that of everyone else as well. It simply boggled her mind how one person can make such a difference. She would. She would not let their sacrifices and toils go to waste. She was going home, whether the forces that sent her to the future liked it or not.

THE NEXT MORNING……..

"Jinx….Jinx wake up!" Groaning irritably, Jinx's eyes slowly opened at Raven's prodding. Soon the blurry form of Raven before her focused. Jinx sat up, shaking her head of fatigue.

"What is it? It's five in the morning."

"Yeah sorry, but we have a problem."

"I'm waiting for words like that to get old," mumbled Jinx. She rose out of the hospital bed and followed the holographic Raven to a wall screen. With a wave of her hand Raven brought the screen to life. It showed them digital representations of three circuit breakers.

"So what am I looking at?" asked Jinx.

"These breakers feed power into the time machine," said Raven. "I was running a diagnostic this morning, and there's a problem with breaker two. The power isn't reaching the time machine's buffer." Jinx roamed her eyes over the screen. "In fact similar power failures have been happening over the past week."

"So what do we do?" asked Jinx.

"The conduits have to be repaired."

"Where are they?"

Raven dreaded this. "They're located within the T-Sub docking bay."

Jinx screwed up face. "I don't get it Raven; I thought the lower parts of the tower were flooded." Raven nodded while scratching the back of her neck. "Are you telling me they're underwater?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed.

"There is a merging option, we can force the needed power through the two other remaining breakers but that's not something we really want to try."

"And why is that?" asked Jinx, rubbing her forehead.

"The machine's unstable as it is, forcing that much power into it at one time will probably cause an overload." Jinx couldn't help but chuckle to herself. It was ironic how advanced things were in this time period and yet they were so utterly useless that it was just too funny.

"This just isn't my lucky week," muttered Jinx.

"Look I wouldn't put anymore pressure on you but I'm nor really in a position to do anything about it. You're the only one who can get down there and make repairs. And I don't think I need to remind you that we're on the clock here."

"No, you don't," said Jinx solemnly. "Alright, what do I do?"

Raven smiled. "Okay, there's an access point here…" She pointed to a display outside the tower. "Now listen carefully, repairing gel-pack conduits can be a tricky business."

----------

Once Jinx had been given a concise, albeit still a little complicated, repair training she and Raven stood in the main entrance hall. Jinx hated the idea of having to once again dip into the icy water around the tower. However this time she was given a wet suit which Raven told her would keep her fairly warm. Jinx pulled on the last of her suit, which fit her body quite snuggly.

"Ready?" asked Raven.

"Not exactly, where's my air?" asked Jinx gesturing to the lack of oxygen tanks.

"Ah, right. Inside your tools," said Raven. She pointed to the pouch Jinx had set off to the side. The pink haired heroine sifted through her tools until Raven saw her hand pass over a special item. "That one right there." Jinx pulled out a block metal ring which, if Jinx sized it up correctly, appeared to fit around one's neck. "Put it on," ushered Raven. Jinx was understandably hesitant but slowly opened the ring and clasped it around her neck like a thin metallic dog collar.

She shrugged. "Now what?"

"Give it a tap, anywhere." Jinx's index finger lightly tapped the surface of the ring. At once a thin clear film sprang up from the collar and covered her mouth and nose. Jinx stood stunned for a moment. She prodded the bubble, and it felt as though her finger was passing through jelly.

"What is this?" her voice was muffled slightly.

"It's a semi-permeable membrane; the water it lets in gets converted into oxygen. Also there's a microphone built so we can communicate." Jinx tapped the collar again.

"More future stuff huh?" she said marveling at the device.

"Just try not to break it, we only have the one," said Raven. Jinx nodded while turning away.

"I'll keep that in mind. Okay, be right back." Jinx used her powers to once again force one of the large doors open far enough to slip through. She walked down the hill closer and closer toward the ocean. It was a shame that she was being forced to spend a few hours underwater when the day was actually quite nice. The first thing she would do when she got home was take a nap outside in the sun. In no time at all Jinx reached the shoreline. She sighed regretfully, tapped the breathing collar, and dived down beneath the sea. The water around the tower was very dark and full of tiny sea creatures. She was able to discern the massive pillar of land on which the tower was built. Needless to say Jinx felt easily dwarfed by its sheer size. Bringing her mind back to her task, Jinx switched on a light strapped to her wrist and began swimming around the island.

"Jinx, can you hear me?" Raven's voice came through the bud in Jinx's ear.

"Loud and clear," replied Jinx.

"Good, I've got your locator. You should be right over the access chute; dive a little deeper." Jinx did as she was told. Just as Raven had said, the access tube was directly in front of her. She was about to punch in the access code to open the door when she noticed something that was both odd and unsettling.

"Don't think I'm going to need that code Raven."

"Why?"

Jinx felt around the rough and jagged edges of the large hole that was made in the door. "The door's burned through." Raven didn't immediately answer, giving Jinx the impression that she was silently thinking.

"Come back, we'll find another way."

"Last I heard the only other way was to use that overload button. Raven you know there isn't any other way."

"If something's down there you could be just like that door, our future is going to be pretty bleak if our only hope ends up as a puddle of goo." Jinx rolled her eyes and began swimming inside.

"You're breaking up Raven."

"Jinx! No Jinx! Come back!" She didn't get a reply back from Jinx. Raven sighed. In a slightly angered voice she said, "You just be careful, understand?"

"Yes mom, I understand." Said Jinx shaking her head. Her arm light led the way through the chute, which turned out to be quite a tight fit. One her other arm Jinx glanced at a screen showing her the path she was taking versus the way to the damaged conduits. Finally the long small tunnel opened up into the large flooded chasm that previously served as the T-sub's dock. The state of the dock was quite haunting. The main doorway that used to lead to the upper floors was entirely blocked by debris. Large metal girders formed an intricate web of wreckage within most of the length of the dock. Worst yet was the sight of the T-Sub laying in many pieces at the bottom except for one of the pods which hung daintily by one of the girders before her.

She almost shuddered at the thought of actually witnessing the downfall of this particular room. The only way to take her mind away from it was to return to the task at hand. Using her small computer to guide the rest of the way, she swam up to the damaged conduits. The exposed fibrous wiring slowly pulsed on and off with a red glow. Jinx narrowed her eyes as the damage.

"I found them."

"How bad is it?" asked Raven.

"I'm pretty sure I can fix it." Jinx reached into her pouch. It floated around her quite freely on its tether. Her tools were designed to work underwater. The small torch she used gave off a few bright sparks but nothing her eyes couldn't get used to. As she switched between tools she began to think out loud. "It almost looks like they were…..bitten off."

"Probably our mystery guest, don't waste any time." Jinx worked on. It was difficult to hear underwater but subtleties could be detected. Such a sound met Jinx's ears and she whirled around in place with a gasp. She shined her light in random places. The feeling of being watched and followed was unmistakable. There were plenty of places to hide in het darkness and behind the myriad of downed girders. Jinx swallowed hard while her eyes darted in all directions. "Everything okay?"

"Y-yeah….this is just way creepy." She turned back to her work found her tool floating nearby. "I'm almost done." Her shaking hands returned to the circuitry and went back to work. Her arm that bore the flashlight was shaking so hard that she was forced to quickly grasp her wrist and hold it steady for a moment. Only when her nerves calmed did she released her hand. "Can't wait to get out he-" The meager amount of light around her suddenly became shadowed. She turned but a large scaly hand tightly grabbed her. "RAVEN!"

----------

Inside sickbay, Raven dashed up to the monitor showing the dock and a blue dot denoting Jinx.

"Jinx?! JINX!" Raven's aged eyes flew to the Jinx's locator. "Jinx?" The small blue locator flickered in quick succession and then faded from view entirely. Raven, even in holographic form, felt weak at the knees. "Oh God…."

ELSEWHERE………….

Even though Jinx was sure she was as good as dead, she soon found that she was wrong; at least for the moment. Her groggy head slowly but surely returned to consciousness. Jinx groaned from the pain of where she was suddenly seized. Despite an enormous urge to fall back asleep, she forced her eyes to open. Jinx found she was in a damp cave which was dimly lit by exposed wires that ran through sections of rock. Running through the red earth were also many pipes of varying size. Her attention was grabbed by the frightening sound of something dining hungrily and greedily. Ahead of her, a long lizard like creature sat hunched over scraps of metal and clumps of wiring; it glutinously sank its teeth into the scraps and tore large pieces of free.

'Okay, a swimming lizard that eats metal,' thought Jinx. Her eyes roamed around the cave and to her horror she saw the nearly mummified remains of human skeletons. 'Uh oh.' Jinx immediately tried to move but her arms remained at her side. Looking down she saw with disgust that her hands and feet were stuck firmly in place by a gelatinous muck.

"uhhh…..eww…" She thought of using her powers to get free, but that could alert the creature to her movements. She began trying to activate her ear bud by bumping that side of her head against her shoulder. After several failed attempts she let out a quiet frustrated growl. "Come on…" She tried again with more force and her ear piece switched on. She bit back her discomfort when a high pitched screeching filled her ear. Not soon enough it cleared and a low static was left behind. The creature stopped and began looking around. Jinx quickly closed her eyes, pretending to still be unconscious. Bravely, she peeked open one eye to get a look at its front. Its face greatly resembled the alien from Predator and looked around the room with four slanted eyes. Tiny spikes and sharp edges grew out of several areas around his body. The creature went back to its meal. Jinx took several breaths before talking quietly into her collar.

"Raven…..Raven are you there?" The reply of white noise gave Jinx the depressing feeling that she was far too deep beneath the earth. Jinx prepared herself to tear through her bindings and most likely face a gruesome death.

"Jinx!" Her eyes bulged at Raven's voice.

"Raven!" Jinx silently exclaimed.

"Jinx you nearly aged me another hundred years," said Raven through a chuckle. "Where are you, you're locator's no longer registering."

"I don't know," said Jinx looking around. "Somewhere underground, I think." She gazed back at her only companion. "I do however think I know what's been causing your power failures."

"What is it?"

"Some…..thing, I guess Godzilla and the Loch Ness monster had a baby." She tugged at the slimy bindings again. "I can't move. There's some kind of slime holding my arms and legs."

"I'm going to try to amplify your locator signal." A moment later Raven began talking as though she was unsure and narrowing her eyes. "It looks like you're closer to the mainland. The cave must be in the general vicinity of a natural gas plant."

"Explains all the pipes," said Jinx. "Look Raven, I don't mean to be rude but I would like to get out of here sooner rather than later. He's almost finished with dinner and I'm guessing I'm dessert."

"There has to be a way out somewhere nearby, just cause enough commotion and find it."

"Good advice," said Jinx sarcastically. She looked all over the cave floor for anything that looked like a watery exit. It was so dark and murky that the slightest puddle could be where they came in. Jinx knew her time was quickly running short. The time to act was upon her, whether she knew where she going next or not. She had to act. The creature threw away the last of the edible sheet metal and stood up on its hind legs. Jinx's eyes dully followed him all the way up. When he was finally stretched to his full height the creature easily stood twelve feet. Her lower jaw trembled at not just his domineering size but also his oversized webbed fingers. Jinx saw a long thin tongue flick out of its mouth and sniff the air. Abruptly he turned his head to her and issued a low hiss. The creature took one step toward her and Jinx was snapped out of her trance.

"Oh no you DON'T!" Her hexing powers broke away the slick bindings. The creature shrieked unearthly at her escape. Jinx leapt to her feet shot her powers up at a rock above his head. The large piece of earth fell upon the creature causing it to utter another bone chilling screech. Jinx took this opportunity to quickly search for a way out. Her arm light barely worked but it did help to bring some light to the dark corners. Everywhere she looked was nothing but solid cave floor

"AH!" She cried out as something thick and solid shot past her head. Jinx rotated her head back to see the creature retracting a long tentacle that had shot out from one of its oversized fingers. The former Hive agent sprinted along the labyrinth of caves walls and nooks. Everywhere she went Jinx was bombarded with the pounding attacks from the tendrils emerging from each of the creature's fingers. Both her training in the Hive and her short time with the Titans came into full blossom. The creature flung his retractable tentacles about like several bullwhips. The resulting shrapnel scratched and cut Jinx on various areas of her body. Her eyes bulged at the sight of one of the tendrils heading her off and gearing to clothes-line her to the ground. A near instinctual reflex allowed Jinx to perform a beautiful aerial clear over the tentacle. Right after Jinx came out of her flip she released another wave of energy at her foe. The pulses of bad luck caused the tentacles of one of his hands to become tangled and twisted. This did not deter the raging monster for long, as it only fueled his primal rage. From his mouth, he spat a large wad of slime which caught Jinx at the ankle. The thick sticky gunk stopped her dead in her tacks and she fell flat on her stomach with a painful grunt. Her eyes scrunched shut from the pain but they snapped back open when the creature stood over her. She turned up on her side just as he raised a mighty arm into the air. She rolled over as far as she could to avoid the powerful downward strike of his arm. She blasted him away with a point blank shot from her right hand. He flew across the length of the cave, letting out a long roar as he did. Jinx freed herself from the slime and stood ready once again. Breathing heavily, her eyes passed over a previously unnoticed pocket behind a stalagmite. Within the pocket was an opening which led down underwater. The problem was that the hole was not exactly within jumping distance and the monstrous carnivore was already recovering. She set herself in a defensive stance. As the creature stood upright he revealed a gas pipe that one of his elbow spikes had broken open. Jinx could already smell the pungent aroma. Her mind put the sight of the broken gas pipe and a plan together into one crazy idea. She and the creature actually looked each other in the eye for a moment. Jinx then cocked her head with a solute.

"See ya." The moment her hand released a quick burst of her powers Jinx was already turning and running away. The creature followed the path of Jinx's attack all the way to the broken pipe. It forced the broken pieces of scratch against each other; the resulting spark caused the leaking gas to erupt in a massive explosion. However Jinx was far from safe. She covered her face as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. All around her the pipes within the rock exploded and spewed volatile flames. As she got closer Jinx hope what she was wouldn't turn out to just be a deep puddle. She was a mere hop away from the hole and jump she did. Locking her arms to her side, Jinx sank all the way through the hole just the whole of the cavern was engulfed in flame.

----------

Within what remained of the tower's common room, Raven looked through the large main window. Her eyes roamed the beach around the tower in search of any sign of Jinx. Much to Raven's surprise a series of tall spurts of flame, like mini volcanoes, erupted near the edge of the mainland. Her face then widened into a wide smile when she saw a lone figure slowly swimming toward the tower.

NIGHTFALL……..

Jinx stepped out of the one and only working shower left in Titans Tower. She had a towel wrapped around her upper body as well as her head. It was both alleviating as well as disconcerting to walk naked but for a few towels through such an enormous and deserted place. On the one hand she needn't worry about running into anyone. However the fact that her footsteps were the only ones that could be heard was still creepy. Jinx made straight for the small enclosure as soon as she entered sickbay. Raven materialized outside of it and saw both towels being slung up over the top of the cubical.

"Rough day?"

Behind the shade, Jinx could only have rolled her eyes. "It figures that it would take you twenty-two thousand years to develop a sense of humor."

"It helps when you have certain obstacles removed."

"Tell me about it," said Jinx. She stepped out from behind the cubical. She dressed in the same nightgown as before and her pink hair was completely let down. Raven thought she looked rather nice without her hair kept up in its usual horned style. Jinx sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall. "Someone should really put up a sign: Beware of man eating lizard squids."

"Lizard squids?"

"Hey I dare you to take one look at one of those things and come up with something better," said Jinx giving her a sideways glance. Raven took a seat at the other end of the bed. Jinx steadily became aware of how intently the Azarathian was staring at the moonlight; as though it had become her nightly ritual. Jinx titled her head at her fellow Titan. She wondered just how much time Raven had actually watched go by, and to be all alone.

"How aware are you?" Raven slowly looked at her. "Really…." Her form shimmered like a garbled transmission. In this present form, Raven was unable to shed tears. Jinx reached out to take her hand but she merely passed through the holographic image. She looked up at Raven.

"I diverted power from the holo-emitters," said Raven quietly.

"I'm so sorry Raven-!"

"That's enough of that," said Raven sternly. "Tomorrow afternoon is our window. Like I warned you earlier, the trip isn't going to be comfortable. I suggest you get as much sleep as possible." She stood up and turned away from the window. "Good night Jinx." With that Raven's body dematerialized. Jinx took in a sharp breath and wiped her eyes. She had only been concerned with getting home and the pains of her own suffering, when perhaps it was Raven who all this time carried the heaviest burden; to wait here, for Jinx, all alone.

It was almost too much for Jinx to handle in one sitting. She needed something to take her mind off of it. She reached under the bed and retrieved the pad that had Wally's letter on it. Jinx wanted to read it over and over again, but as she turned the flat screen on she realized something in the upper left hand corner of the screen. She tapped the icon and the screen changed to an entirely different page. There were more letters from him. Just like the first one, Jinx eagerly kept her eyes glued to the screen. Mostly they told her about his day and what parts of the machine they finished or modified. He did make up for his absences of Star City by helping the Titans protect their own territory. She read for hours, due in most part to the fact that Jinx was reading many of them over and over again. Jinx was somewhat relieved to find out that the Titans didn't completely fall apart overnight. She was especially entertained by his retelling of a night in which they were all watching a horror film and he decided to play a prank on Beast Boy and Starfire. Although Beast Boy was thoroughly freaked but knowing it was only a joke, Starfire took his gag as an actual attack from an otherworldly monster.

Jinx laughed to herself whenever she pictured Starfire, up in the air, and raining starbolts down on Wally as he frantically tried to explain himself. No matter how hard she tried, Jinx soon found she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer and she drifted to sleep with the pad still in her arms.

The next morning passed by very slowly. Jinx and Raven did whatever they could to pass the time while they waited for their window to come close enough. Jinx even talked about some of the villainous pranks they pulled on each other while she was still in the Hive academy. To which Raven replied, "I'm sure the young me would be oh so glad to hear more about those."

Finally, the time grew close enough to where they had to begin preparing in order to make their mark. They both performed last minute checks on various pieces of equipment and vital systems. Jinx pulled herself out from under a console and closed it back up.

"I wasn't able to repair all of the conduits but power is getting through."

"Good, hopefully it'll stick," said Raven. She needed to only to stand in place and use the neural interface to access anything she needed. Raven stepped up to the main control console. It possessed no keyboard but only three wide screens slightly separated but small spacers. Raven stood before the screens, placed her hands forward, and blue translucent controls appeared at her fingertips. The holographic interface worked in perfect tandem with her every whim.

"Okay, we're shooting for an elapsed time of about…..a minute. That way we should still be in the sewer when you reappear."

"How do you know I won't end up in some random spot in the world?" asked Jinx. "Or anywhere else?!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"Don't worry, we've made sure that won't happen," assured Raven.

"How?"

"We honestly don't have time for me to explain it." She tilted her head upward to glance at the time. "12:40 on the dot, two minutes….." She turned to Jinx and nodded. "Ready?"

What a question to ask someone who was about to be painfully hurtled backward across twenty-two thousand years. Were Jinx possessing lesser strength she might have fainted right then and there. Nevertheless she was a hero now and as the old saying goes: "Duty Calls."

"I'm ready."

Raven pointed to a smooth platform, which was just below the gyroscopic machine. "Stand there." Jinx walked over and stood on the metal sheet. Raven's fingers moved across the holo-keys fluidly and soon the platform was raising Jinx into the air. It stopped when it reached the center of the rings. There was a small compartment for Jinx to stand in and she needed no direction to know to get in. As soon as she stepped off the platform it lowered back into the ground and enclosure closed around Jinx, leaving only her face in view. Every inch of Jinx's body was shaking with fear. The sooner it was over the better. Raven stepped out from behind the console and looked up at her wither aged eyes.

"Good luck."

Jinx gulped. "T-thanks." Raven began turning away. "Wait! How do I change things when I get home?" Raven smiled up at her and shrugged.

"Just get home, trust me….that'll be change enough." The clock switched to 12:42 and the machine alerted them to the window's existence. Raven stole a quick glance at the console and a single thought activated the machine. It began as a low hum which quickly rose to a higher pitch. Jinx could see blue and white circuitry coming to life below her. The rings around her began to spin, slowly at first, but then with gradually more speed. Jinx could already feel a strange sensation flowing through her; like ants crawling their way to her head. She could also see Raven's visage beginning to fade away; the machine was draining every ounce of power the Tower possessed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!!!

Both girls were drawn to a shrill alarm coming from the main console. Raven dashed over to it and her face morphed into dreaded shock.

"WHAT IS IT?!" Jinx shouted over the machine's loud noise.

"THE BREAKER FAILED!" replied Raven. "THERE ISN'T ENOUGH POWER MOVING THROUGH THE CONDUITS!" She then remembered their one and only option of forcing the power they needed through the other two functioning breakers. The Azarathian's eyes darted over to a pulsing red button by the console Jinx had checked over. In and instant she flew over to it and pressed her hand down. Yet in her frantic movements she forgot that she was merely a hologram and her hand simply passed right through it. She growled in frustration and hysteria. Looking skyward, she saw Jinx staring down at her with a hopelessly glazed look. After all of this they were going to fail of because one bad wire?

NO!

Raven's voice was no more powerful than Jinx's at the moment so she mouthed the words, "you'll be alright", and disappeared. Jinx could hardly stand the sensations that now rippled through her entire body. The rings around the machine were now spinning so fast they were nothing more than a blur.

-----

The whole of the tower, from the rooftops to the foundations, was shaking and crumbling. Raven reappeared in sickbay; the image of herself was growing fainter. She stood before the stasis tube containing her actual self and drew in a heavy breath.

"Computer……..open stasis tube 3. Authorization Raven."

"Warning, occupant has suffered severe internal damage. Restoration will result in rapid death."

"OVERIRDE!" Shouted Raven. What was left of the computer beeped affirmatively. Raven rippled away into nothingness and soon after the stasis tube flew open. Raven, old and dying, fell out of her lifeline. Almost immediately her lungs began tightening. Their five minute window was closing fast as was Raven's time to act. Taking in wheezing painful breaths she softly muttered;

"azarath…..metrion….zin-inthos.." Her powers, long dormant and unused, gathered beneath her. Raven then back to phase down beneath each floor until at least she emerged through the ceiling of the basement. The machine's activity was so raucous it was a wonder it the tower didn't collapse right then and there. Jinx could see what Raven had done and loudly protested. Alas her voice was unable to overpower the volume of noise coming from the time machine. Raven's powers faltered halfway down and she hit the floor quite hard. Pieces of the walls fell apart around them. Raven's tired arms pulled her closer and closer to the still pulsing button. There was little more than a minute left before the window closed. Once Raven was within reaching distance she tired with all her might to stand up but her burning lungs forbade it. Her eyes were growing darker. She reached a shaking had up toward the button. Jinx was now shouting in agony from the machine's abuse. Raven stretched her arm as far as it could reach and her fingertips were still a fair distance away from their target. There was no time left and Raven knew she was dead either way. The Teen Titan forced every ounce, every bit, every last fragment of willpower she had left into her mind. A dark aura melted over the button and pushed it down.

The massive power surge that resulted flooded into the time machine. Raven fell to the floor and the last sight that her drooping eyes made out was that of a bright white light engulfing Jinx. The field then expanded and destroyed anything not within the time machine's special confines.

"Look man! If I do what I'm seriously thinking of doing, that's going to be the least of your problems!" At this point in time the hapless criminal needed very little convincing. He swallowed the golf ball sized lump in his throat.

"Chang………...it was Chang." And that was it. Kid Flash had everything he could get out of Dr. Light, now came the decision as to what to do with him. His racing thoughts were in maximum overdrive, never slowing down for anything but thoughts on how to make the man in his hands pay. However, Robin's voice through his comm. link broke the tense silence.

"Kid Flash? Kid Flash, respond." The red and yellow hero said nothing. He and Dr. Light simply continued to engage in a most one sided staring contest. They then heard Robin utter a sigh. "Kid Flash, your locator has you, and oddly enough, someone else on the edge of the Grand Canyon. I really hope you're not doing what I think you're doing." Dr. Light's eyes briefly darted down to Kid Flash's comm. link. His silence was the same as yelling back that he most certainly was doing just what Robin feared.

"Kid Flash! Don't let him go!" yelled Robin. Kid Flash's hands began to loosen and Dr. Light's eyes grew wider. "We found Jinx!" Kid Flash seemed to be stunned into a coma for a moment. He reaffirmed his grip on the villain.

"Say that again?"

----------

Robin smiled as he held his communicator to his mouth. Cyborg and Red Star were already gathering up the limp Jinx in their arms. Cyborg's scanners confirmed a steady heartbeat and he sent Robin a thumbs up.

"We found Jinx, and she's in more than one piece."

Jinx slowly woke in the familiar surroundings of a hospital bed. As soon as her eyes took in the sight of sickbay she began to groan. It had all been a dream. She was so excited about going home that she dreamt that the trip was a success. She was so obsessed that she was even seen Kid Flash sleeping in a chair at her bed side.

Wait a second.

Jinx hadn't hallucinated since her time under Brother Blood's tenure. Yet Kid Flash was sitting next to her bed, completely zonked out. Her gazed shifted to the window. It was the same window she had been looking out of for the past two nights but this time the view was entirely different. Jump City stood outside with its millions of tiny lights shining brightly. Jinx's eyes fluttered to a close and she let out a long sigh of relief.

"It worked….." Her voice, quieted as it was, managed to stir Kid Flash from his slumber. He straightened out of his slump and smiled at her.

"Hey, sleeping gorgeous."

"Oh now that is charming," whispered Jinx with a smirk. He chuckled. She detached herself from the device monitoring her heartbeat. "If it's okay with you I'd rather get out of this room as quickly as possible."

"Its fine with me," said Kid Flash. She began to rise but suddenly she was forced back down. Craning her neck around, she saw Raven holding her back. The Azarathian was her young self and looking as deadpanned as ever.

"But not with me," said Raven. Jinx sighed in manner befitting one who was too tired to argue. Moments later the rest of the gang entered sickbay. Starfire carried a bouquet of flowers, which consisted of so many varieties it almost looked like a fruit salad.

"Our friend! We are so glad you are unharmed!" She exclaimed while capturing Jinx in her gentlest crushing hug. She moved away and Robin took her place beside Jinx.

"This is definitely gonna make an interesting report."

"Yeah, and here we thought Star was the only one to zip through time," added Beast Boy. They all shared a laugh and when they quieted they noticed that Jinx was staring at Raven a bit vacantly. The dark haired Titan shifted her eyes somewhat.

"What?"

"Nothing really, you're just an incredible person." Raven shrugged.

"So they tell me." She put her hood back up and walked out of sickbay. Jinx chuckled and lay back down.

"Seriously, I don't think I could've gone through the past few days without her. I mean, I've never really appreciated what you all go through for this city or the world for that matter. I just wish it didn't take the end of the world to make me see that." Robin and the others exchanged knowing smiles. He extended his hand over the newly christened heroine, keeping his smile.

"Welcome to the Teen Titans." She took his hand, shaking it slowly. He nodded to his friends, signaling them to take their leave. Starfire of course protested and wanted to spend more time with their recovered teammate. Soon Jinx only had Kid Flash left for company.

"Soooo…….do we get our own tower?" she asked.

"Sure, it'll probably be a little smaller than this one……but it should be cool." She smiled and while keeping her eyes on him turned on her side.

"You know you're a really good writer."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." She bit her lower lip and fought back a surprise attack by a wave of tears. Kid Flash stood up and took her shoulder.

"Hey, you're home again. Be happy."

"I am……..I really am." He nodded with his signature grin.

"Good." Then, in an unexpected surge of bravery, he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Night." He seemed a little surprised by his own bravado and remained a bit close. He then awkwardly stood up, scratching the back of his neck. She however kept on smiling warmly. "Right…..I've gotta leave and….and fix that rusty gutter." He then quickly stepped out of sickbay. Jinx turned onto her other side, laughing as she went. She couldn't wait to move into their smaller version of Titans Tower. Of course years ago she would have sneered at the bond they all shared, and would have passed it off as nothing more than useless enthusiasm. Yes, her former fellow Hive agents had been the closest she possessed as far as friends. Yet with the Titans it was different and it was better.

She slowly drew the breathing collar Raven had given her for her job and turned about on the mattress. Maybe she would let Cyborg have it later, but for now she would keep it to herself. Jinx no longer felt alone, as she never really was to begin with. For no one who has faith and a just a single friend is ever alone.

The End

Well, this story is now over. Oddly enough this short story took a long time in order to finish. That's okay, anything to make it stretch just a little longer. Hope you all liked it. Laters!