I don't own A Lack of Color or Monsters. I don't have the brilliance that those bands do. A Lack of Color goes with the first part, Monsters goes with the second part of the story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last time! Virtual cookies go to you!
Flash had finally stopped running he put his hands on his knees and panted for a bit. He was still as fast as he used to be but it just took a lot more out of him. He had circled the globe about four times and this was where he had stopped. Gotham City outside their apartment. Her apartment. He stood up now staring up at the tall skyscraper, Thalia had said that Jinx still lived here; the question was is she home at the moment?
'What do I say if she is home? Do I want her to be home?' Flash sighed and started into the building. He sped up the seven stories, turned right and stopped at the door to the apartment. He didn't have a key anymore; Jinx had demanded it back from him a long time ago. But of course he didn't need one, he could just phase through the walls. He took a deep breath and then he was in the apartment.
'Well she redecorated,' He looked around, the furniture was different but still in the same positions as they were when he left. The walls that were once red were now a grayish blue. He walked over to look at the pictures on the mantle. It was covered with Jinx and Thalia, at the park when Thalia was about four it looked like. Christmas a couple years ago. There was no sign of a significant other for either of the multi-colored haired girls. Flash didn't know whether this made him happy or not.
'Thalia said that Jinx had had a couple dates now and then but nothing serious. Does that mean she might actually still…love me?'
He walked through the kitchen part of the room, on the fridge there was a picture of Thalia with the new Titans. They all were smiling and looked like regular kids, no powers or uniforms, just normal. Yeah right. What really caught his attention was next to this picture was an older picture. It was of the Old Titans outside the tower. Robin and Star were standing next to each other, Beast Boy and were on Robin's other side. Terra had an arm around Starfire and another around Raven, who didn't look too happy with the human contact. The speedster laughed a quiet laugh but it died when he saw who else was in the picture, sitting in front of everyone else was him and sitting next to him was Jinx. The picture had been taken on the last day the Titans were all together as teens. Again no uniforms, they looked ordinary as if they weren't heroes. Sad smiles were on all of their faces, except his. He and Jinx were going to the same college; nothing was going to change for them until much later.
'Where did I go wrong?' His question was answered by another picture on the fridge. This one had four people in it: Argent was leaning up against a telephone pole laughing at something Red Star must've said, next to them Jericho was sitting on the sidewalk and Kole's figure was leaning against him. The dark pink haired girl's head was missing. That made Flash laugh.
'Oh yeah, that's where. God if I could re-do anything it would be Kole. Why did I let her get to me? I should have just ignored her, but no I had to go and be a stupid hormonal guy who melted at the first sign of some girl wearing a thong.' He took another look around the small home, though there was no sign of Jinx having a boyfriend what he felt was worse, was that there was no sign of him…unless. Flash made his way up the small staircase and down the short hallway where there were two rooms. He walked into the one on the left which he soon assumed was Thalia's.
The room was a light purple, on one wall there was a collage of band posters, art drawings and random pictures clipped out of magazines. A small bed was in one corner of the room and there wasn't much else besides a closet and dresser. It looked as if she never left.
Flash walked out of his daughter's room and stopped outside the door leading to the other room, a wave of guilt washed over him, he didn't feel right about this.
'Do I really want to know? It's wrong snooping around her room. But you've done it before, and she hated you for it then too. Hmm déjà vu? Here goes nothing.'
He pushed the door open, the walls were a light gray color. A large bed with a black comforter and pillows and matching iron headboard took up most of the room. Two black nightstands were on either side of the bed. He walked over and laid face down on the bed. It smelled like Jinx, some exotic floral scent. He loved it, but feeling like he was getting to creepy he sat up and that's when he noticed the flat piece of paper on the onyx colored table.
The red head reached for the piece of paper which was folded over, he opened it up. It was a crinkled photo. 'How many of these things does she have around here? Wait, I have this picture back at my house.' It was the picture Jinx had looked around in her drawer for, the one of them when they first moved in.
'She still has this, I would have thought she'd have thrown this out years ago. It was out, that means she's been looking at it recently right? So she must…miss me? Why else would she have it out!?' A wide grin spread across his face, this was probably the best day the speedster had had since the awful day Kole came into his life. But then another thought occurred to him. 'What it she has it out because she wants to throw it away? It was folded over.' Flash's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet walking up the stairs, Jinx was home.
'Oh shit! Quick, where to hide? The closet? No she'll find me there, but I don't have another choice. She'll know it's me if I run by and probably hex me again. So the closet it is.' He ran as silently as he possibly could into the closet and closed the door silently. He watched through the crack between the door and the wall. 'I'll just wait until she leaves and then I'll speed out.'
Jinx strolled in, at least she looked like Jinx but with blonde hair that went to about her jaw line. She was dressed in business clothes, a grey knee length skirt and a fitted white blouse, a black blazer in one arm and a red shiny purse in the other that matched her high heeled shoes. Normally someone would look completely dull like that but Flash thought that she still looked hot. The witch shook her head and it changed back to the bubblegum pink color Flash knew and loved. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as she walked over to the other side of the bed and lay down in the same position he had been in moments before. The woman looked tired, not from the stressful day at work but as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and no one to help her carry it.
'She looks miserable, even more miserable than when she was with those Hive Five guys.' He wished he could reach out to her more than anything, but again she would probably hex him if she saw him. Then she sat up suddenly supporting herself on her elbows. Something in her eyes changed, and she was looking straight at the closet.
"Flash, I know you're here I saw your aura the minute I walked in the lobby. Now come out come out wherever you are," Jinx said playfully as she got up off the bed and with a wave of her hand the closet door opened, but Flash wasn't behind the doors anymore.
Jinx's face fell, "I could've sworn," she whispered before feeling a gust of wind behind her. She gasped and turned around, but again it was only her in the room. Except on her pillow there was something lying there. Curiosity overcame her as she walked over to the midnight colored bed. On her pillow was a red rose and under it was a piece of paper. But when she turned it over and it was the picture of her and Flash that she had looked at a couple weeks ago.
The snow was lightly falling as Thalia made her way home from her afternoon with her dad. A huge smile was on her face as she stopped to admire the swirling flakes as the fell and how they looked against the city lights. Feeling absolutely giddy, the teen spun around in circles ignoring the stares from the gawking passerby.
'Life is great!' Thalia decided as she started to walk back home, 'I've got friends, I just found my dad who really wants to spend time with me, and I've got the best boyfriend! Oh my gosh, Oliver! I completely forgot!'
Thalia quickly ran into a shopping store, rushed towards the girl's changing rooms. She found one and the teleported herself back to the park where she was supposed to meet the English boy. She arrived around a bunch of trees, and when she decided the coast was clear she made her way to the park bench where Oliver was still sitting though she was almost an hour late. His head was down staring at the ground.
"Sir? Are you alone?" Thalia asked, when she said this his head shot up. At first he looked almost angry but it was only for a second when the sneer was replaced by a winning smile.
"'Ello love. What took you so long?" Oliver said as he stood up, he draped his arm around her as they started to walk through the park.
"I uh, got lost on Main Street," Thalia said, "I'm so sorry! What can I do to make it up to you?" she said in a sweet voice as he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"Oh I don't know, I'll figure out something," he said with a mischievous grin as he started play with a few strands of her hair. He started to lean into her, his face just inches from hers when…
Do do do do do do do do do!! (Titans theme song) her communicator went off. Thalia groaned.
'Shit! Perfect timing as always.' She reluctantly pulled away from the boy, "Sorry I have to take this, be right back." She zipped around the corner leaving a confused looking Oliver behind her.
Once she was sure she was hidden, she pulled out the annoying yellow device which she was still cursing under her breath. Alex's face was on the screen and she didn't look happy. She was in her uniform, and Thalia knew that meant one thing: trouble.
"Where are you? We've been calling you for the past five minutes!" Alex shouted as she dodged what looked like a black beam.
"Sorry, what are we dealing with?" Thalia apologized with a roll of her eyes.
"Why don't you see for yourself!" Alex snapped, she was very angry so it must have been bad. "Get yourself down to Rosen and Baker NOW!" Alex's face disappeared with one last scowl.
Thalia sighed, time to go but what to say to Oliver? She ran back to the boy who was waiting patiently where she left him.
"Oliver I am so sorry but, my something's come up. I have to get home now or I'm grounded," she laid feeling awful as the boy's face fell.
"It's all right, I don't want you to get in trouble. DO you want me to teleport you home?" he asked politely.
"No I'm sorry, I can better do it myself." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I'll call you later." She smiled as she turned and sprinted down the road she teleported as she was changing her hair and her outfit changed. Suddenly she was standing next to Hydroclone who was shooting lightning with one hand and blowing gusts of wind with the other. He was aiming it toward these small black figures that were dodging every blow.
"Welcome to the party," Hydroclone said sarcastically as he sent a wave that hit four of the little figures.
"Thanks," she said as she sent a wave of green energy at ten more of the things. It just went through them. Thalia gasped, "What are these things?"
"We were hoping you might know. Shadow thinks they might be demons from another dimension but the rest of us have no clue. Look out!" Thalia ducked, one of the little demons had tried to surprise her from above. It fell to the ground and faced her. None of its facial features were visible except for the pointed gleaming white teeth that it was flashing in a malicious smile towards the two teens. It lunged at Thalia teeth bared and claws stretched out. Thalia waved her arm and sent it flying backward.
"Nice one," said her other male teammate Scorch as he landed on the ground blasting starbolts.
"Thanks but I don't think it worked all too well," the green-haired witch said as she pointed at the demon. It shook its body like a dog does after it gets wet and snarled in her direction.
"How are we supposed to beat these things? Nothing's working!" Shadow shouted appearing next to Scorch.
Midnight was next to arrive as she dropped in the middle of the circle her team had formed, landing in a crouch. "They have to have some weakness, we just have to figure out what it is," their leader said with determination.
"Well we better do that fast because I think they're multiplying," Hydroclone said staring at the army of the black demons around them. He was right, there seemed to be more of these things than there were when they started fighting.
The Titans stood close together in a circle, their backs to the center. "I guess we'll just do what we always do. Improvise," Midnight said as her eyes started to glow blue. She blasted about twenty away and they disappeared into the city sky.
"Titans Go!" Midnight shouted as she threw some black bird-a-rangs. The others sprang into action. Shadow was next to Thalia now and the two witches started blasting energy at the demons. Shadow chanting "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" at the top of her lungs as Thalia tried to manipulate the demons to turn on each other.
Hydroclone and Scorch were trying to combine their powers, Tyler's water with Derek's burning starbolts, to try and burn the little monsters but it wasn't doing much good.
Midnight was on her own with ten of them ganging up on her, she threw starbolts at them, and kicked and punched but again her attempts were fruitless. They started to laugh mockingly as she drew tired and started to pant. Then one of them grinned and started to rub its feet on the pavement the others did the same. Midnight stared fro a moment, mystified at their actions. Then the road sparked where the demons feet were and flames fifteen feet high appeared encircling her. She was trapped.
Midnight froze as she heard laughter ringing in her ears but not from the demons, this was from the person who still haunted her nightmares every time she slept. She dropped the knife she was preparing to throw and knelt on the ground, covering her ears.
"It's not real, he's not here. It's just your mind playing tricks on you," she mumbled to herself.
'Or is it?' A voice in her head answered, only it didn't belong to her. Fahrenheit. 'You're dead, I killed you. You're not here.' 'Are you positive?'
Midnight gave out a bloodcurdling scream. The blood in her veins felt as if it had frozen, the voice was getting louder. Far away she thought she heard someone shout her name but her senses were hazing and she couldn't identify the voice. That one was getting louder too, competing against Fahrenheit's mocking voice. This one sounded like a male and was frantic.
"Midnight! Snap out of it! Please!!" 'Is that Tyler?' "Come on Midnight, listen to my voice, and come back to us!"
'It is Tyler!' The villain's voice was getting softer, her sight returning and her breathing was becoming regular again.
'You can't escape me Alex, I'll always be here.' 'No. You won't.' Alex's head snapped up with a new fire in her eyes, staring through the flames and into a pair of beautiful blue eyes. Hydroclone's face relaxed as he sent a wave of water to extinguish the flames. She stared at him.
'He still cares about me.' Midnight smiled, Hydroclone returned it. The moment was short lived as Midnight's peaceful gaze turned to horror. A pack of demons were about to sneak up on Hydroclone, claws and teeth bared as they sprang into action.
Midnight sent a starbolt at the little annoyances, sending them back a few yards. Hydrolone returned the favor by sending a lightning bolt at a few behind her. She smiled at him before the others showed up.
Thalia landed next to Midnight, "There's too many of them! I don't know how to get rid of them!"
"I don't think any of us do!" Midnight shouted back. The Titans started to squeeze close together again.
"So what does that mean for us!?" asked Shadow.
The answer didn't come from any of the Titans, but from two hooded figures. They were perched up on top of the streetlights one shorter than the other, they jumped from their spots in sync and something that looked like black energy but smokier was circling around them. They landed at the same time on their feet and made a motion with their hands. The black smoke surrounded the army of demons who had frozen in place.
The shorter one suddenly shouted, "KaliDISPEL!" The small demons screamed in agony as one by one the disappeared until it was just the Titans and their hooded saviors. The Titans turned to face the figures, confused looks on all of their faces. Midnight as the leader felt it as her job to introduce herself and the team. She strolled over to the two men, or at least she guessed they were men.
"Um hello, I'm Midnight the leader of the Titans. This is Hydroclone, Enchantra, Scorch and Shadow," she said indicating to each of the members as she called their name. "We just wanted to thank you for saving us."
"Don't mention it," said the shorter one, his eyes were hidden but his voice sounded friendly. The other one nudged him in the arm hard. "Ow! Hey, I was just being polite! Chill why don't cha?" The short one rubbed his bruised arm.
Thalia cocked her head, something seemed too familiar about his voice. She walked over to him and saw him stiffen. She was standing barely an inch away from him as she looked up. Somehow his face was still hidden by shadow but Thalia had an idea of who it might be.
"Jude?," the green haired witch whispered. The man was still for a moment but then slowly nodded and whispered back, "How'd you know? I thought you didn't believe me?"
Thalia smiled, "Not here let's get back to the tower and we'll talk more." Thalia turned to see the faces of five very bewildered Teen Titans. "It's ok, they're friends. They're coming back to the tower with us. That ok?"
Alex looked unsure for a quick moment but then, "Alright, it would be our pleasure. But I want answers once we get there okay?"
Thalia nodded, "I know I do too."
"You'll get your answers. We're here to help, something's coming that you've never seen before but we can help," Jude said.
"What!?" said the taller man who sounded incredibly like Xander, angry and anxious. "What are we going to do? I didn't agree to this!"
"Come on X, they need our help and this is what we do. So come on, don't be a jackass and not help," said Jude.
The figure shrugged, "Okay fine let's go." The annoyed tone was not hidden at all.
Midnight looked slightly insulted but said, "Okay then, can you both fly?" the two nodded, "Follow me then." She took off, the other Titans following behind her. Except Thalia slowed to stay with Jude, a serious expression on her face and although Jude's smile was visible it looked worried.
"You sense it too don't you?" Thalia asked quietly as they launched into the air. The smile disappeared from Jude's face.
His voice was low when he answered, "Yes, something big is coming, bigger than those demons."
"Can we beat them?"
There was silence but then Jude said, "I'm not sure."
Cliffhanger!! Sorry about not updating in forever, school's been hectic so updates might not come as often as they used to but I will try my hardest to update every couple months. Well review pleeeaaaseee!!