Disclaimer: I don't own this show or any of the characters... It's late, so I'm skipping my usual disclaimer, not like anyone reads that, amirite?
Chapter 3- Titan
Jinx
Either way, I'm going to have to go back home eventually, right? And then, they're all going to ask me for what we're going to do. They'd expect me to take the Brotherhood up on their offer but…
I'm still unsure of where my own loyalties lie… Can a person be loyal to another? Do we have to choose sides or can we just choose people?
It seems… that your whole life can change… In a single day… Just last night, I was sure of what I wanted from my life, but now…
I guess there are things no one's meant to know…
As I was walking home, I decided to take the scenic route back, although it would be easier for me to get caught. Wally would've said this was a dangerous move, but it's not like normal cops on patrol could lay a finger on a sorceress, now, could they?
I began to hum to myself, a random song that I don't think I could name the lyrics to for the life of me, the kind that wanders in and roots itself into the deepest recesses of your mind… The kind of tune that gives off a familiar, even nostalgic air that envelopes, suffocates you, but you give into it willingly…
It's the kind that makes you remember things that you don't want to, but differently than you once did, the kind of song that grasps the fondest memories you have of the past and knits them into a finely woven blanket, erasing the negativity within you.
It seems everything's different all of a sudden… That anything I think should happen is thrown off balance and my world's become unpredictable… Nothing really makes that much sense anymore but at the same time, not understanding it all is…okay…
Is this what love feels like? Such a… intangible feeling that I've never… really experienced? Where the world is in turmoil but you feel like it's… all going to be alright? Where you almost blindly believe that it has to turn out all right? That even someone like me could-"
"Mister, my brother.. They, they-" someone cried as they were cast aside by a man in a navy blue outfit. As he turned around, I could see a metallic object gleaming in the sun.
A badge, eh? So he's a…
"Listen up, missy, if your brother's missing, you're going to have to file a report down at the station before we can do anything about it"
"But-but I already told you, mister! He's not missing at all… He's over in that alleyway fighting-"
"Well, when they're through with him, he will be," the officer said, chuckling a little, "Now get outta my way, I don't have time to deal with pathetic twerps like you"
Something… about this seems… eerily familiar…
"Someone, anyone...Please, save them… My family… They're still… still in the… the fire…Please, someone help"
But no one… No one could…
Well, technically speaking, this is H.I.V.E territory… any and all infringements on our rights have to be attended to, and who better to take care of it than me?
The little girl started bawling, furiously wiping away the tears.
Even when she's been pushed out of the way… Even when she's told she doesn't matter in this world…
Well, this one ain't my problem to deal with so…
I felt a tug on my leg and looked down to find the little girl with the same entrancing hope in her eyes Wally usually brings out to get me into doing something crazy.
I'm going to regret it, aren't I? But it can't hurt…
"All right, little girl, I'll bite. Why ya crying?"
"They took my brothers into… into that alleyway and then… If you can get someone to help him…They can't just-"
Not that I'm interested but right now, this seems like a lot more fun than heading back to the tower… I might as well take a peek…
"Whoa, whoa, slow down there… Who exactly is they?"
"They said they were called the…Aryan Brotherhood. There were like 8 of them and they said they wanted to give my brother a warning to send to his friends…"
Is that a gang or something? Never heard of 'em… Probably why they would do something stupid like this when the H.I.V.E. has a claim here… So I'll teach 'em a thig or two about rules..
"Oh, I'll give 'em a warning, all right… Let's go, punk… Clock's a-tickin'… If you wanna see your brother alive, then… We should probably get going"
"Are you sure, miss? I mean, there are going to be a lot of them and just you… I don't think you'd end up any better than my-"
"I have a black belt in 4 forms of martial arts… I'll be fine… And so will your brother… The only ones you should be worried about… are those gang members," I said, my best Kid Flash smile
I had to use a marker to color one of those belts black, but that's beside the point…
We walked into the alley to find swords drawn, blood splattered on grey walls, and a circle of men half the size of Mammoth.
"This… is why we have training sessions, isn't it?"
I aimed a single hex at one of the gang member's feet and he toppled backwards.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right? If it was Mammoth… We'd have nothing short of a mini-earthquake on our hands…
"Well, looky here… A girly wants to play with the big boys, eh? You even know who we are?" the madman who I presumed led these buffoons said.
"I've heard you're called something like the Aryan Brotherhood, whatever that is…"
The leader appeared shocked, I wonder why?... Maybe they are a pretty big name… For non-superpowered folk. Of course, I don't notice any one of them, a few of us could take them out faster than it'd take Kid Flash to find me.
"We… are the most feared gang in all of Jump City… Soon, the world! How- how can you not- This insolence shall not be tolerated! Men-"
Oh, boy, this should be good… It's been a while since I've had some fun on my hands.
"Stay back, kid, don't want you getting any blood on your hands, kay?" I said, pushing the girl behind me.
The first attacker came at me, almost too easily, and knocking a single blade out of his hand was easy as pie. Catching a sword, however, was not that easy, and the wrong end brushed against my fingertips…
Don't get me wrong, I can stand blood. Blood is fine. I've even spilt my fair share of it, but that'd be other people's blood, not mine, so… My own blood is something different. Pink shot out of my fingers uncontrollably, and I could see the fear in their eyes. I managed to knock down my fair share of them, and the rest… ran like cowards… Well, all should fear the might of Jinx, leader of the H.I.V.E. Five.
I went over to the boy and waited, perhaps rather impatiently for him to get up. The girl tried to give him a hand but even though the boy seemed a bit scrawny, she couldn't manage to help much. I waited until he was back on my feet to ask him a few questions. After all, being a supervillainess doesn't mean you automatically lose your curiousity.
As soon as the boy was back on his feet, he picked up the small girl and hugged her, ruffling her hair affectionately. Putting her down, a sterner look came to his face.
"Mira, I told you to run as far as you could and not come back. You can't just not listen to me anymore… Someone isn't always going to be around to save us, kay? Sometimes, you have to run… And not try to play the hero… If it wasn't for Miss Pink over here, we'd be goners, Mira… Dead like mom and dad, and you and I both know they left us here cuz we were meant for more…"
"Miss Pink? That's not a very sophisticated way to refer to your savior. I'd prefer more… exalting terminology"
"Sorry, I was trying to figure out what you'd call yourself, being a hero and all, you wouldn't just give out your secret identity… So I figured since you shoot pink lightning and your costume is kinda pink…"
I shot him a well-received death glare.
"Sorry, if it was up to my guessing skills, the world might be doomed. Anyways… thank you for saving us. Thank you for keeping Mira safe"
"So usually, members of a gang attack you because you have something valuable, right? Gold, jewels, cash, diamonds? Drugs? I could go for a shot of coke myself, ya know?" I joked, knowing that there was more to this guy than met the eye.
"Um, please don't be mad that I didn't help you… I'm sorry to make you go to all this trouble, miss… But I had to protect these from any harm at all costs," the boy said, holding out a bouquet of roses, the likes of which I'd never seen before.
"What- what are those? I've never seen anything like them before… Thought I'd gotten every single kind of rose, but…"
I'd be jealous of the girl who's getting those… Must be pretty special to risk your life for her… Stupid, foolish, lovesick, normal boy… I don't see why Kid Flash would be doing something like this all day, every day…
"These are a rarer variety of roses, the Juliet rose, and… Well, like you said, they are fairly expensive… luckily, I know a garden and one of my friends lets me pick out a few things now and then if I want… Mira wanted to put these in our house so I picked out a few… Who knew that the Aryan Brotherhood would be around to see?"
Not lovesick… just stupid, but not like it'll do him much better…
"Mira?... Is that… the name of your… little sister?"
"Yeah, I told her to run away as fast as she could when they started to attack me… Apparently she ran into you…"
"Next time you plan on doing something like that… Don't. You're needlessly reckless, aren't you? You knew that those roses were expensive, and you took them anyways… Just to make your sister happy? You can't just- you shouldn't cast away a life like that, you know? You told your sister that you were meant for more than that, didn't you?"
"Well, you see… There wouldn't be any point in not… Since I was 8… The only thing I've wanted is to see Mira happy. In a way, that's all I have left, so you see, if I was going to die, I'd rather die knowing I tried to make her smile again… That's what life means to me now"
It's just… just not right for someone to give up on their life like that… It's just not- Why do I care? Why should I bother if someone else has a death wish? That's not my problem, is it? It's theirs… It's the job of the heros to do this kind of stuff… Not mine…
"Robin. Batman. Kid Flash. Superman. Green Arrow… They're heros… Heros of this world who believe this world has something to protect. Some of theme are here, in Jump City, and they waste their lives fighting because they think you're worth something… They think you're someone worth protecting. So for you to die… Here, after all they've done to make sure you don't… is disgracing everything they stand for, got it? Besides, how much do you think Mira would like it if you died? If you really want to make her happy… Stay alive… Make something of yourself. Just- just think about it, kay?"
"I… never got your name… Or rather, what you want to be called… the name's Solomon, by the way... Solomon Drake, pleasure to make your acquaintance"
My name? Jinx? Lucky? What- what should I call myself?
"Well… I'm not exactly fond of telling you that… If you must, just... call me Miss Pink… You get special privileges this once"
He nodded before opening his mouth. "You don't include yourself with them, do you? I've never met a hero so… not heroic. Usually, they show up and disappear, but you've stuck around far longer…"
"I-I… don't know… I just… don't know," I said softly to myself. "I'm not really a hero, so I can fight for whatever, do whatever I want, be whoever I am... In fact, it wouldn't be against my nature to take those roses from you, so you should probably get going"
"Nah, you don't seem like someone who'd do that to someone… Taking away someone's happiness doesn't seem like you. So… You're a- an anti-hero? That doesn't believe in the old heroism? do you fight for something else, then? Something greater than the people? Vengeance, perhaps?"
"I fight for… I-I just don't know, okay? Christ, I save one person and this happens… Remind me never to listen to Kid Flash again"
"Kid Flash is giving you advice? Tell him I said hi, kay? I bet he misses me… But, after all, you did save me? Someone who you didn't even know the name of… Yet you came here, so… I don't think you'd do that to a guy like me, would you? You might not be a hero, but you… aren't a villain, that much I know"
"You're halfway insane, you know that? One day, you're going to end up in a heap of trouble…"
"But then, the heros of Jump City will save me, right? Just like you did?" he asked, plucking a rose from the bouquet and offering it to me... reminiscent of the way Wally would…
"I-I… Thank you… It's- it's beautiful"
"You're beautiful… But I can tell you get that one a lot. You're no stranger to roses, are you? Flash'sprobably gotten to her already," Solomon muttered, leaving me to wonder just what Kid Flash's role here was after exchanging a few more pleasantries with the two.
As I entered a tower, a thought occurred to me, a terrible realization, like coming out of the shower to find yourself left with no hair gel.
I had just completed an act of good… I… saved someone… Probably two people…. with no other real, true intention than saving someone… who I had no connection to whatsoever… that had little personal gain for me… And I think… that I might have enjoyed it.
Oh my god… Am I becoming a hero? Has Kid Flash… infected me with some sort of experimental serum that makes me do these things? Will I ever lust after power again? How will I go on like this?
As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, I found the usual mess throughout the H.I.V.E's living room.
Mammoth's wardrobe in this pile… Videogames in this one… Half-finished cereal bags here… And assorted junk food in this pile….
Just like every other goddamn day in this hellhouse. Same old, same old… I guess it's kind of comforting to know… nothing's changed here…
But isn't that why it is a hellhouse to you? That it'll never change? That you'll never be anything more than a petty thief incapable of besting a single superhero?
Oh, after all this time, you finally decide to show back up? Do you realize how much I could've used you in the past few hours? Do you? You better have a good reason for being here now… Otherwise I'll hex you six ways to Sunday!
Well… Yes… and no… You're kind of genuinely confused right now… And I know little more than you do… For example, did you know that Gizmo likes to eat blue crayons?
Oh, god, don't get me started on that again… Apparently the yellow ones were… Wait… You should know that I know that… I was thinking about that not too long ago… So… why would you ask?
Please, just because I'm here all the time doesn't mean I'm paying that much attention to you… You didn't think the world revolves around you or something?
Well… You are my conscience, so…?
Yeah, yeah, even a conscience needs some rest every now and then… You lead a busy life. I can't be expected to have answers all the time, you know?
So you're kinda useless right now? Just like you've always been?
I brought you and Kid Flash together, didn't I? I managed something of that magnitude, didn't I… Lucky?
And that had to be like an 11 on the impossible scale, so… I think you should retract that statement…
You did that? But… We did that… That was all me… and him… Well, either way, what good did that do? You got rid of one problem… But that just opened up another…
So…are you going to head up to your room? I've heard there are some… interesting things that may await you…
How would you know that anyways? If you're stuck with me all day long, and you haven't been able to go anywhere… How even?
Sure, sure, call my bluff… I'm just saying, you basically went on a date with Kid Flash today so he's probably going to visit more often because of it… I wouldn't be surprised if-
I walked up the stairs to my room and opened the door to find a figure lying casually on my bed, rifling through my sketchbook.
If he was in your room admiring unicorns was what I was going to say, but this works too, I guess…
Kid Flash
"Wally! What in goddamn hell are you doing here? This is my room! Do I have to remind you what happened this morning?
I blushed a little, fully aware of my transgression upon the sacred rules instituted by the H.I.V.E.
You think she'd understand if I said I'm in the wrong room? It's believable, right?
… Well, at the very least, Beast Boy would fall for it? But I doubt Raven would need a reason for Beast Boy to let her in his bedroom…
"Well… I just… wanted to check up on you, make sure you got home safely? Something like that?"
"Nice try… What are you really here for?"
Well… I didn't come here to tell her what I'm doing here… Wait just one second… What's that in her hand?...
"Wait, is that a Juliet? How did you get your hands on a-?"
Whoever gave her that Juliet is beyond dead… I may be a hero, but I've met a few villains along the way, made a few connections here and there…
"Don't change the subject with me, Kid Flash… What in the name of Valhalla are you doing here!"
"Do I have competition? If they managed to get their hands on a Juliet… Well, in any case, I'm taking this rose to be a formal declaration of war, milady. Fear not, for I shall fight bravely for your hand!"
I took her hand, knelt and mock-kissed it, then got up, leaving a weird tingling feeling in my lips.
"You're jealous, aren't you? It's not nice to be jealous of others… Isn't that one of the seven deadly sins or something?"
"Lust, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, and Greed… Envy's kinda different than jealousy, but it's still no better to harbor. But I'm not jealous. After all, we aren't together or anything… There's no reason to be jealous about something so trivial such as-" he said, pausing to catch a breath as his face grew visibly hotter, "some guy giving you a rose… Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel like going for a little run to burn off a few calories… I had too much pasta for lunch today"
I left a tremendous gust of wind and a sonic boom a few seconds later…
Some might say that running away from a bad situation is cowardly… But it's kinda part of my job…
"Here. I feel like if he can get you a single Juliet, then I can do you one better," Wally said, handing me a bouquet of Juliet roses in every color of the rainbow.
"You really are jealous, aren't you?"
"Just… let's not talk about it, kay? Isn't there anything else you want to know?"
So you really are… If it wasn't so unlike you… I'd say it's almost… cute"
At her saying "cute", I felt my face redden and I had to pull my mask off, complaining about how hot her room was and asking if I could get Cyborg to fix her air-conditioning in a hopeful-but-futile effort to brush it off.
"So you still haven't told me why you're here in the first place…"
"I… really… don't have a reason, Lucky… Well, I kinda came here to ask if you'd even consider… well, becoming a hero… Or at least, not a villain? There's still a lot about… us… that we have to figure out but… There was an attack by the Brotherhood on Titans Tower today… We're pretty much on full alert… I may or may not be risking my hero-ing career by being here, but I'm not too sure Robin would let me see you if the Brotherhood does… keep attacking us like this…"
Jinx
I looked at the rose Solomon gave me, clutching it tightly enough to let one of its thorns prick me ever so slightly.
Mira… Solomon… What would've become of them if I wasn't there to help out…? What if there are more Miras and Solomons in Jump City?
You can't save them all, Jinx… In fact, you aren't supposed to be saving any of them… You're supposed to be the one doing that to them, not the one getting them out of it. You're a villain, through and through.
"Someone isn't always going to be around to save us"
What if you save them today, so that they die tomorrow? What does that do for the world? For you? If they just die after you save them? Wouldn't it be better to save them again?
Jinx, the Brotherhood… is at your doorstep, humbly requesting your assistance on a mission. Everything you've ever wanted is at your fingertips… Are you really just going to- to throw it all away after you've worked your entire life for it?
"And why do you think I'd care about risk? I'm a villain, remember? Being bad is part of who I am. I'm bad luck, Wally… You knew that… And I told you, I can't change that, it's part of me too. It's just- I-I'm always going to be evil. It's who I've always been, and it's who I'm always going to be"
"Ever done something nice for someone, Lucky? Remember how it feels?"
I clasped the rose tighter. "You really don't know when to stop talking, do you? Do I have to shut you up?"
"That rose wasn't just cuz a guy liked you, wasn't it...? You've saved someone, haven't you? The rose was your… reward"
"What? Where in hell do you get that one from? Is there like a machine in the sky that gives you your famous theories and I'm just not aware of it?"
"I can see it in your eyes… It's weird… You were just thinking of it… I could see the pain and sorrow that they felt… And how happy they were when you helped them out… How happy you were when you helped them out"
"Seriously, Kid Flash, just stop doing what you're doing before we enter into this place, this dark abyss of no return where you think I'm going to go on some soul-searching journey that leads to me-"
"That flower… The Juliet reminds you of them, doesn't it? Don't think I'm blind to people… I'm a hero, remember? I know what it feels like to save someone… All too well, really… I've seen countless people save someone else, and I know that look…So before you start denying it again… You've saved someone, haven't you? You tried to help?"
"… So what if I did?"
"And did you enjoy it?"
"No. No, I did not, Kid Flash… And that will be the end of this discussion. Period. We are done here," I said, placing a finger on his chest and tracing light circles.
"You know why I'm a hero, Lucky? You know why?"
God, he's persistent… This hero thing must mean something to him, huh?
"No, and I don't really care to know either… Knowing you, you're telling me anyways, right?"
He looked out the window and took the deepest breath I've ever seen anyone take. I sat down on my bed.
This… is going to be a long day, isn't it?
"I'm a hero because I have powers and there's a lot of dangerous people in the world… As long as there are people willing to hurt others, I want to protect them… Because-"
"Because what? Because you can't just let the world fall into shambles like everyone else? Face it, Flash, some people aren't worth protecting… Some of them don't care for protection… Some of them are willing to throw away their lives…"
"Because, Lucky, if you would be so kind enough as to let me finish… I was once a poor, little boy, without powers about to die on the streets until superheros saved me. Such is the case with many people… You know, the world doesn't have to fall into shambles… The world is a beautiful place, and I'd like it to stay that way for now"
"Of course, you've seen it all, you could probably run around the world in the blink of an eye. But… I'm not a hero, Wally. I tried it, didn't go so well. I'm not cut out for the hero life… By the way, Solomon sends his regards…"
"Of all the people to save… You just had to pick him… I'd've chosen the other path, but that's a me thing… Knowing him, he probably wasn't your typical rescuee, right?"
"If your typical rescuee cares about being rescued in the first place, then, nope, he isn't your typical rescuee"
"Yeah, kid wants to change the world someday… says he's gonna grow up to be a scientist and give people powers so that people can protect themselves… Crazy idiot, right? Being that idealistic, that naïve, who on earth would do that?"
"He's gotten crazier since the last time you met, I'd be willing to bet good money on that… If I was a gambler… At any rate, you came here to get me to be a hero, and it didn't work… Are we done here now?"
"I'm just saying, don't you think people like that deserve protection? You probably met his little sister, Mira… What about her? Are they doomed to die?"
"That seems like a you-problem, not a me-problem. And because it's a you-problem, I'm going to let you take care of it, kay?"
"You really seem to think that being a villain is what you're good at, huh? Even if it's what you've trained for your whole life… Didn't playing the hero work out better for you in the end?"
I got off my bed and walked over to where he was, using my hand to shove him out of the way and look out over the windowsill.
"You see those stars, Kid Flash… All those stars in the sky? Those are the good things. But not everyone gets a star… Some of us have to live with the darkness in between. Some of us just aren't good people… You can't change that… You can't make something shine out of darkness. It's- It's just not possible, you can't, I can't, Solomon can't, Mira can't, Gizmo can't, no one can… no one can," I repeated softly to myself.
"Maybe not alone, Jinxy… Maybe not alone… Maybe none of us can make that happen by ourselves, but I'm willing to give it a shot with you?"
"You're impossible, Wally… You think that everyone has some good in them but some people just don't. I'm evil, you're not… And that's just how it's going to be…"
"Not all heros started off heros, you know…"
"What are you getting at, Wally? What's the point in trying to get me to change?"
"I'm just saying, there are a lot of us that started out as failed heros… Don't know if Starfire told you, but she almost leveled Jump City the first time she came here… Raven let the world get destroyed once. Robin's had his fair share of failures, and Beast Boy… never once finished a mission without getting reprimanded when he was on the Doom Patrol. We're not perfect, we're far from it… I'm far from it… But we learned to put the past behind us and, well… now we're here, saving people, so…"
"But you all started out on the good side… And you never changed… You never had to change. Change is terrible… It fills my pockets with pennies of uncertainty"
"I'm a change, aren't I? How'd that one turn out?"
"I'm… still not quite sure on that one… Don't force my judgement on it if you know what's good for you…"
"So you took a chance on me… Why not take a chance on being a hero? Full-time?"
"Taking a chance on you was… not at all like taking a chance on this… That was safe… This is… Even if I go with you, what's the chance that the Titans will still hate me? What about the H.I.V.E… Where would I go? It's not like I'd be welcomed into Titans Tower, given a communicator, and we'd throw a party or something?"
"You wanna find out?"
Do I? Do I want to see what he's planned?
I let the rose fall from my hands onto the floor, and it made no audible sound on the carpet.
"You really believe in me, huh?"
"I believe that I became a superhero because I saw the good in others and I wanted to protect that… I believe that there's good in you… I believe that you're worth believing in… I believe a lot of things, okay, don't judge me for it!"
"Would you believe that I'm willing to give this a shot?"
"Jinx, are you?- You're serious, right? This- this isn't something to joke about, this is- this is life, Jinx…"
"Shhh," I said, placing a finger on his lips and bringing him closer to me. "Just savor the moment while it lasts," I whispered, pulling him in for a kiss.
I shoved him onto the bed, hopefully hard enough to leave a mark. "Alright, moment's over, let's get packing!"
"You don't mean… we're going to sneak out in the middle of the night or anything, do you?"
"For someone who really wanted this to happen, you don't seem too enthused about the prospect…"
"I'm just saying, doing this is kind of… cowardly, running away in the dead of the night, leaving a note, not saying a proper goodbye…"
"You want me to say goodbye? I'll tell them that on the battlefield. Now… I think you should get moving before I change my mind about this whole being-a-hero thing"
Kid Flash
I grabbed a few boxes lying around and drove everything I could into them, unable to contain myself. Rushing Jinx over to ye ol' tower, I thought I'd burst with excitement.
Do you know how long I've waited for this day? 126, not that I've been counting or anything, why would anyone do that?
Still, I can't believe she finally said yes… I never thought she would… At least, not right now, but if I kept asking her over and over again over the course of a few years, she might've but… I never expected now…
The world works in mysterious ways… Having friends like Solomon Drake sure comes in handy sometimes, I have to say…
"Aight, Jinxy, we're here… Behold, Titans Tower, in all of its grandeur!"
"Is that a tear, Kid Flash? Are you really happy enough to cry?" she asked, playfully punching me in the arm.
"I'd say you punch like a girl… But I'd rather live through today so… I'll just ring the doorbell"
"You think they're even awake right now? It's like 1 AM, Wally… Don't superheros need their rest?"
"It's a Saturday night, Lucky… They've probably just gotten home from… clubbing, partying, things that I'm not invited to…" I grimly said, pouting.
"Don't worry 'bout it… I've been to tons of places uninvited… Sure, they get kinda mad, but it's not like they can kick you out of the place without it coming down on them after a few well-placed hexes"
The door opened and I was greeted by a familiar metallic figure.
"Wally, nice to see ya man! Wait, what's she doing here? Do you know what's going to happen if Robin finds out about this? He'll have my head on a silver platter… not that I can't just build a new one, but I really like this head… I've grown attached to it," Cyborg said in mock agony.
"If I find out about what," a cool voice asked from behind him.
Oh God, Lord have mercy on our souls…
"Nothing. Nothing at all, dear leader, nothing… What were you expecting to find out about? No new reports on Slade or anything to report about. Nope, nothing here, nothing at all. Certainly no H.I.V.E. members"
"So you… managed to get her… to be a hero? That's… That's almost impressive… Perhaps Batman seeing something in you wasn't just luck after all…" Robin said.
"I'll show her to her room… Lemme just grab a few more boxes and-"
"What are you all doing awake at this ungodly hour? Never mind, I don't care, does anyone have a trash can? Oh, hi, Jinx, how are you?" a stumbling Raven asked me.
"Is she… Is she all right? I don't think that she should be-" I began.
"Raven can't hold her alcohol… Yet Beast Boy here takes her out drinking every single week…" Robin said.
"Uh, guys, why are we not trying to get rid of the intruder? She's right there and Raven just walks past her like nothing's wrong?" Cyborg asked, still clueless as to what had occurred in the past few hours.
"I believe that now would be the time to inform friend Cyborg of the proceedings… It would be quite unkind to not tell him," the Tamaranean said, yawning and placing an arm around Robin.
"Cy, Jinx is moving in with us… She's going to be a Titan from now on," Beast Boy said, "Aren't you excited? We're getting a new team member!"
"Yeah, but… Let's show her to her room, I guess letting her stay here wouldn't kill us…" Cyborg reluctantly agreed.
I pushed a few buttons, waved my wand, and presto-change-o, Jinx's door opened, and her room's interior decorator was someone I'd hire.
"Wow, it's… I- I don't know what to say, this is… Isn't it a bit much, Wally… I mean, where did you even find this many?" she asked, pointing to the Juliet roses that adorned nearly every inch of her room.
"Well, aside from being a genius and a superhero, I'm also a gardener… My family thinks that having a huge garden is what cultured people would do with their money, and someone's got to look after it… That someone happens to be me, and as payment… Well… Guess now you know how I always have a rose on me"
"Always?" she asked, surprised that I'd think that far ahead.
I reached behind her ear and pulled out a pink rose.
"More often than not," I said, feeling a cold metallic hand forcefully push me into Jinx.
We went crashing down on her bed and our lips met for an instant before we pulled apart, both of us turning around and beginning to deny everything to the rest of the Titans.
"Get a room, you two!" Cyborg said, closing the door on us and leaving with his teammates.
"So that was… interesting," Jinx said, swallowing.
"Wait for it… If I can find it in this pile of junk…The tour ain't over just yet, Lucky," I said, pulling out a redesigned yellow circular device.
"Is that?-"
"Yup… It's a communicator… From this moment forth, you're officially… A Titan. How does it feel?"
"It's nice, I guess… It's overwhelming- It's…I'm speechless," she said, taking a rose of the wall to smell it.
"You know, I smell every bit as well as a rose… After all, I had to be in here arranging all of those," I said, pouting.
"Suprisingly, you aren't wrong," Jinx admitted, leaning in closer. "If H.I.V.E. Tower smelled as nice as this room…"
"Well… You're here now, aren't you? And we are here… Don't think any of the other Titans would come in here… Kinda have the place to ourselves, don't we?..."
"So what now? You gonna break curfew and be a bad boy?"
"I'll have you know I can be just as bad as you are… I can totally break curfew… I've already called every adult I know and told them where I am, so we're fine…"
"Woah, lemme call the cops, we got a real rebel up in here, thinks he's gonna start a revolution, bomb a few countries, invoke terror in the hearts of his enemies"
A silence enveloped the room and neither of us were really sure what to say. It was one of those times when no one had to say anything to be understood. Like we could read minds and know what the other was thinking, a sort of consciousness that transcended verbal communications.
So I leaned in and kissed her, quickly enough that our lips brushed against each other for merely an instant.
She scrunched her nose. "Wally, just cuz I like you doesn't mean you have free right to go around kissing me! There are procedures to be followed, permission to be obtained… At least wait until I kiss you back next time…"
Permission, eh?
"I had permission… from Ingrid Bergman…"
"What? Is that one of your exes or something? I can't be bothered with the likes of them. A girl's got better things in life to do than worry about that…"
Exes? Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha ha hahaha. Ha… Let's not go there tonight… Or ever… A jealous girl might very well be the cause for WWIII
"You've never heard, "A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous"? Seriously? What kind of parents do you have?".
I'd like to meet these people… I probably will, eventually… I'm going to see Jinx's parents sometime… She's got to want to take me home… I mean, I'm practically everything a girl's parents could ask for… I'm good-looking, I have an excellent sense of humor, I can cook, I'm responsible, trustworthy, I don't drink… cept for the occasional glass of Sprite…
"Wally?"
"Yeah, Lucky?"
"Some of us don't get parents… Some of us don't have families to go home to…"
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know. I- Well… For me… Even when I don't see my family… The Titans are family to me…"
Well, there goes that idea…Guess my parents will just have to be impressed by her.
"I wish I thought half as highly of the H.I.V.E. as you thought of the Titans…"
"Lucky?"
"Yeah, Wally?"
"I wanted to be the first to say it, so… Welcome… Welcome home, Lucky… To a family that'll annoy the hell outta you, but one that'll be here when you need us," I said, wrapping my arms around her in a hug I'm sure Starfire would be proud of.
Welcome home, Lucky… To a place that doesn't care who you used to be… Just who you are now…
"You're an idiot, you know that? An idiot that believes in everyone, everything, doesn't care who it is… An idiot that thinks the world can be saved even when it's beyond all hope… An idiot… Who believes in me, even, the greatest lost cause of them all. You're an idiot, Wally, and one day, you're going to see that you can't protect everyone," Jinx began, bursting into tears, one emerging as another streamed down, flowing in succession.
"Jinx, what are you?-"
Are you enrolled in a psychology course or anything? This has 1st-year psych student written all over it…
"One day, you're going to learn that- that people don't just- hope is sometimes the most painful thing to have… Giving someone hope, deciding to love them, show them the light, make them believe… Just to have their dreams crushed… I'd rather never have an ice cream cone than get one and have it taken from me…"
Mmmmm… Ice cream… Jinx… What if Jinx's lips tasted like ice cream?
"Wally, why are you licking your lips? Stop it! Wally? Wally? It's freaking me the hell out! Wally?"
"Assuming that I'm the ice cream in that metaphor… I'm not going anywhere… You know, the Green Lantern Corps comprises of powerful people… But the Blue Lantern Corps is much, much stronger… Cuz it draws its power from hope, not willpower. On the other hand, hope doesn't work at all without willpower…"
"Where is this going exactly, Flash?"
"I'm the hopeful… You're the willpower… It works, right?"
"You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you?"
"Jinx… Where is all of this coming from anyways… That's what's on my mind right now… Is there some deep dark abyss within you?"
"I'm just… worried… That this isn't going to work out well… I've never been a hero before today, and I don't know if I'll survive the ordeal…"
"I've never been inside a girl's bedroom before today, but I've been surviving so far… If she's nice enough, she'll let me stay through the night?"
"Fine, since you did decorate the room, I guess you can sleep here tonight. But on the floor, and don't get any ideas," she said, waving her finger and tsk-ing.
I pulled a pillow out of the closet and made myself at home. Well, as home as I could be inside a pink bedroom covered in roses on a Plexiglas floor.
I should've gotten her carpet flooring or something mildly squishy… this is like the worst sleeping material in the history of sleeping materials. Hey, maybe if I plead enough…
"God, the floor is so cold and hard and please just let me in?" I asked, sobbing and tugging at the bedsheets.
"Wally, you're a grown man… Kinda… Well, you're like around 20-something, right? You can legally drink alcohol… You can withstand a Plexiglas floor for one night… After all, you were the one that wanted to stay here…"
"But-but-but this face? Can you resist the face?" I asked, drawing tear lines with my fingers while pretending to be a puppy dog.
"Wally, you're a goddamn idiot"
"And…?"
"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, rolling her eyes. "If you turn the lights out, I'll-"
I sped to the door, hit the switch hard enough to break it, and raced back.
"You were saying?"
"You know, I still can't believe I'm doing this. I- Just get in already, before I change my mind…"
"Wow, you're… surprisingly warm… Like a radiator or something. If magic ever doesn't work for ya, you could take lessons from Hotspot and-"
"I said you could sleep in the bed… When did I say you could cling to me like I'm superglue?"
I pretended to be asleep as best I could, lying motionless on the bed, praying to every deity I knew that she didn't call my bluff.
"Wally, you're a goddamn idiot," she whispered softly into my ear, the stray breeze tickling every crevice and inciting laughter I couldn't possibly hope to stifle.
God, please don't notice, please don't notice, please don't…
"And that's one of the reasons why you're a goddamn idiot… But… sometimes, you even seem to have a few brains. Trying to change someone like me says otherwise, but… You're still an idiot… And you're my idiot. Don't stop believing, I guess, is what I'm trying to say…"
Her idiot, huh? Well… I'm almost okay with that… That's… better than a week ago…
"So… Does this mean you… love me?," I asked, making kissing noises.
"I thought you were smart enough to figure that one out on your own?"
"Can you just answer the-"
"Do you talk just to hear the sound of your own voice?"
"Well, it is my gift to the world?"
"Hate to break it to ya, but the world… wants to return this gift"
"Sorry, no refunds or exchanges, only store credit"
"It had to be this one, didn't it? There are only a few billion men in this world… And I had to pick this one?"
"So I get no answer?"
"Never stop asking questions, Wally… Never stop beliving… It'll serve an idiot like you well, Wally... It'll serve you well..."
"You know, Jinx, it's going to take a lot more than whatever the future has to make me stop believing…" I found her hand amongst the mess of sheets and others. "I love you, and you're someone worth believing in… Someone worth the world to me…I love you, Jinx… So thanks for doing this for me"
"Idiot. Like I'd ever do this cuz of you? Maybe my plan all along was to be a superhero after the dashing, handsome Kid Flash falls for me? But… As much as I hate to say it… I love you too," she said, ruffling my hair.
"Dashing? Handsome?"
"I know what I said, Wally. I think you've used that on yourself more than once"
"Well, in that case, I guess I have no choice… I'm guilty as charged"
"One more word out of you, and the court will sentence you to the floor, Kid Flash"
"So, does this mean I get a goodnight kiss?"
Might as well push things, right?
I never got a straight answer to that question, but the warmth of her lips against mine seemed to me like answer enough.
So that's the end... For those of you that stuck around, I hope that was a decent end and that you enjoyed!... Reviews are appreciated although I've run out of virtual things to offer... I need to make a trip to the virtual confectionary but I haven't had time lately and they're closed now, sadly... I hope y'all will review anyways?
~lefauxlucifer