Chapter 1: Criminal Minds
Jinx paced back and forth along the sidewalk, arms crossed over her chest. She'd been waiting here for almost an hour now, and was growing impatient. She'd never been terribly good at waiting, though compared to her former teammates in the HIVE Five she was a master (well, maybe Kyd Wykkyd was better- it had always been hard to tell exactly what was going on in that guy's head). For a moment she allowed her eyes to flicker across the street to the dark windows of the jewelry store located there, but she shook her head. It had been months since Jinx had stolen anything, and the fact that she'd been even jokingly considering it now was a sign that she was both bored and on edge, if it was possible to be both at the same time. Still, it would be interesting to see if she still had the skills…
She was pulled forcibly back to reality when she noticed the two figures she'd been waiting for come slouching down the sidewalk. Bob and Joe Wood were twin brothers whose torn clothing, unkempt hair, and general air of smugness gave the impression of those who were trying their hardest to be both cool and menacing, and were failing miserably on both counts. Still, both were tough enough for people who didn't have any powers, and they were in deep with one of Central City's minor ganglords, a man who had recently acquired a high-powered explosive and threatened to set it off in the middle of downtown if he didn't receive a million dollars by next Saturday. Jinx thought the threat showed a distinct lack of imagination (Brother Blood certainly wouldn't have marked it very high if it had been submitted as a project in his Doomsday class), but boring or not, it could still do a lot of damage.
"Evening, boys," Jinx called out to them as they walked past. The twins turned to look at her, their dim expressions torn between being startled at her unusual appearance, and happiness that she was attractive anyway. She sighed under her breath- idiots were so predictable- but smiled anyway, determined to play her part regardless. "What's up?"
"Who wants to know?" one of them asked suspiciously- Bob, she thought. She saw him fingering something in his pocket- probably a knife- and allowed herself a silent chuckle at imagining his face when he found out it wouldn't do him any good.
Joe elbowed his brother. "Be nice- she's cute," he muttered under his breath, before turning to Jinx with what he clearly thought was a winning smile. "Course, I wouldn't mind knowing who you are either."
"Let's just say I've heard all about both of you, and I'm really impressed," Jinx told him- the first part, at least, was quite true. "I was wondering if you could take me to meet your boss? I'd really appreciate it."
"I don't know," Bob said slowly. "Sounds kinda fishy to me. What do you want to meet the boss for?"
"Maybe I've heard all about his operation and want in. And maybe I think you two would know all about how to help with that."
Joe stepped forward and tried to put his arm around her- Jinx neatly sidestepped, which didn't seem to faze him. "I think we could do that," he said. "We're always looking for new help."
Bob was still looking murderous, but he didn't act on it while Joe lead Jinx down the street- it was clear who was the brain (such as it was) of this operation. After some time walking in silence, the twins turned down an alley and motioned for the former supervillain to follow them. They stopped a ways in, standing beside a manhole.
"The sewers?" Jinx asked, wrinkling her nose. "I was expecting something a little- classier."
"Sorry, babe," Joe said. "This is what we got- at least right now. Once the city coughs up all that money, then we'll get someplace real nice."
"Boss doesn't want us to talk about that," Bob told him.
"It don't matter," his brother shot back. "She's not gonna tell anyone. Ain't that right?"
As he spoke Jinx saw the dark shapes moving along the rooftops, but she studiously ignored them- sure she could probably take all these guys if she wanted to, but that wouldn't get her any closer to finding their base or their bomb. And so she did nothing as one of the figures crept up on her and struck her over the back of the head, sending her to her knees in a fog. Joe's apologetic voice echoed in her ears, but it was someone else- about the same age, but certainly smarter and with much better personal hygiene.
"You'd better appreciate this, partner," she thought, and then blacked out.
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Jinx groaned and opened her eyes slowly to find herself in a large space that was clearly a sewer that had been remodeled into an impromptu throne room. She was surrounded by about a dozen people in various stages of thuggishness, and directly in front of her was a large metal chair. On it sat a tall, thin man in a surprisingly nice looking suit, tapping a cane against the chair's side. Flanking him were two goons who looked like they could be Mammoth's long-lost relations.
"So," the man on the throne said. "You're the one who's been poking around."
"Is this who you treat everybody who wants to meet you?" Jinx asked. "Because if you do, then I can see why you don't have better quality henchmen."
The man's eyes narrowed. "I don't want to play games with you, girl," he snapped. "Who are you, and what is your interest in me?"
"Name's Jinx," she said, getting to her feet. Joe and Bob stepped out of the circle of watchers and came to stand behind her menacingly. "And you must be- what was that name? Oh yeah- the Big Boss. Real creative."
"What is your interest in me?" the Boss asked again, slower this time. Jinx could tell he was on the edge of blowing his top completely, which worked out quite well for her. She'd spent enough time on the criminal underbelly to know that bosses who let themselves get set off too easily didn't hold on to their turf very long.
"So I guess you're not going to accept that I really admire you and want to join your gang?" Jinx asked, trying her best to look infuriatingly innocent.
"No, I'm not," the Boss spat. He raised his cane and leveled it at her- probably he had some sort of weapon stashed in it.
"All right- you win," Jinx said. "I'm really here to do this!" Throwing her hands forward, she called on her powers and unleashed them straight at him. Waves of pink light shot forward, striking the base of the Boss's throne and ripping it from where it had apparently been bolted down, flipping the crime lord out of it and into an undignified sprawl. Snarling, he scrambled to his feet and fired a bolt of energy from his cane, but Jinx just laughed and cartwheeled away from it. Her hex was still affecting him- what aim he had was thrown off horribly. Shooting was, after all, something that took a certain amount of luck- and luck was something Jinx had it well within her powers to take away.
"Get her!" the Boss shouted after it became obvious to him that something was affecting his aim. His two bodyguards lumbered forward, and the rest of the gang drew their knives and guns. Jinx spun, eyes glowing as she shot more hexes their way. The floor buckled beneath them, guns backfired, and knives went flying out of suddenly shaking hands, while Jinx darted around the room, easily dodging the few clumsy shots the gang members managed to get off. In the commotion, no one noticed the chamber's door being blown open as though by a high wind.
One of the giant bodyguards drew a laser pistol from inside his shirt and took careful aim, making sure that Jinx was looking the other way before he fired. Smiling brutally, he began to pull the trigger at her exposed back- and then started as someone tapped his arm. He turned and blinked rapidly to make sure that the person he saw there wasn't just his eyes playing tricks- sure enough, there was a skinny kid with spiky red hair standing casually beside him, dressed in eye-searing red-and-yellow tights.
The kid shook his head disapprovingly. "That's not very nice," he said mock-seriously, and then with a blur of motion the bodyguard's gun was in his hand. He tossed it aside and then dodged each of the bigger man's fists with infuriating ease. Finally he just sighed and delivered a series of lightning quick blows to his opponent. The bodyguard collapsed, out cold.
"Hey," Jinx called from across the room. "I was wondering when you'd show up! I thought you were supposed to be the fastest boy alive!"
Kid Flash shrugged. "Sorry- there was a big door in the way, code lock. Had to wait for someone to come along and open it." He seemed to blur, and suddenly was standing at her side, holding the weapons of all the gang members he shot past in his arms. "Miss me?"
"Maybe a little." Jinx looked over her companion's shoulder to see the tall figure of the Big Boss making for the door. "But right now, we've got other problems." She fired a hex that struck the Boss's feet, sending him sprawling to the ground. He pulled out his cane and fumbled for the trigger, but before he could fire it Kid Flash rushed past, seized the weapon, and left it lying on the other side of the room. Back by the crimelord's side in an instant, he grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"Where's the bomb?" he asked.
"I'm not going to tell you that!" the Boss spat.
"Y'know, that's really too bad, because if you told me where it was, I'd be able to tell my friend here," Kid Flash jerked his head in Jinx's direction, "to be nice to you. Me, I'm a nice guy, and I'd like to do this the easy way, but…" he trailed off, and Jinx allowed her eyes to flash menacingly, letting the Boss's imagination run away with whatever she might be about to do to him. He gulped audibly, then nodded at his toppled throne.
"I had it under there, in a safe, where no one else could get it," he said. "I didn't want to put it in place before I had to, because someone might find it and disarm it."
"And so you just sat on a live explosive?" Jinx shook her head. "You really are an idiot, you know that?" Walking casually over to the throne, she shoved it aside and found the top of the safe poking out from a square hole in the floor. With a flick of her wrist, she sent another hex at it- the lock spun madly, and then it sprung open. Within was a crude explosive, which she gingerly picked up- she didn't dare try using her powers to disarm it. Bad luck might make the bomb a dud, but it might also set it off prematurely, and she didn't want that at all.
Looking up, Jinx saw Kid Flash drop the Boss among his minions and then race around them in a blur of color and sound. When it cleared, he was standing by the side of a group of thugs who were bound tightly by a chain. Jinx raised an eyebrow at that. "Where'd you get the chain?" she asked.
Kid Flash shrugged. "It's amazing what you'll find lying around in the sewers." Pulling a communicator from his belt, he dialed a number into it and smiled. "And now I've sent the police info on where to find the guys who made the big bomb threat, and our work here is done."
"Not quite," Jinx said. "I'm not going to carry this thing around for the rest of the night, you know."
"Oh- right. I'll get it." She held the bomb out, and Kid Flash took it. There was a blur and a rush of wind and he was gone. In moments he'd returned, with the explosive nowhere in sight.
"Left it at the police department with a note," he said. "They'll probably want it as evidence."
"Then let's get out of here," Jinx said forcefully. She sniffed the air, wrinkling her nose as she did so. One thing that could be said for the HIVE Five's old base- Gizmo had at least known how to install air fresheners. Turning, the two left the lair and began to walk down the sewer tunnel, leaving the struggling gang members behind them. "Anyway," Jinx finally said, "I do hope you appreciate my letting myself get captures so you could trace my signal and find their base. I wouldn't do that for just any guy, you know."
Kid Flash shrugged and smiled. "Well, the night is young. How about I get you some dinner at this place I know downtown- the food's great, and you'd love the décor. It's a little dark and spooky for my taste, but-"
Whatever else Kid Flash had been about to say was cut off as the tunnel exploded in front of them.