Happy Birthday Acastus, hope this day finds you in the best of everything. I'm so glad you and Savitri are enjoying this gift. As for everyone else, I hope you enjoy this next part as well! I am going to be expanding this arc a chapter or so more so you will really get into their relationship!

Desert Rose

And now she turns
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams
This fire burns
I realize that nothing's as it seems—Sting

"What a great concert," Wally said, as he debated how best to get food into his system. He could go for a hot dog, or a pizza, or both at the same time if possible. He needed food and now. They were sitting together on a park bench, watching the stars.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess," Jinx said briskly, her pretty pink eyes fluttering with boredom that definitely looked forced upon her. He knew she must have enjoyed that concert, it was Johnny Clegg for chrissakes! Even Brainiac would enjoy him!

"Come on, admit it, you had fun," Wally urged her, nudging her in the ribs before ducking a swift right hook. "I thought you looked pretty happy during the last few songs. It's okay to admit I'm right, you know?"

"I'll admit it when it happens,' Jinx said irritably. Wally loved it when she was spicy. He just wanted a change once in a while, like a kiss!

"So what do you want me to cook for you? I'm extremely talented in many areas. If I wasn't saving the world, I could have my own restaurant," Wally said, trying to lure her into agreeing to come back to Uncle Barry with him. He knew his mentor could talk some sense into her. He had a habit of being very persuasive with hard-headed people.

"Not a chance. You wouldn't be letting me know where you live unless you had a plan. I'm very sharp, you know,' Jinx said, proving he was in love with a woman who could think as fast as he could.
"Hey, I'm a good guy. I don't plot," Wally lied, trying to look angelic. "Why don't you trust me?" he asked.

"Because of what you said. You're a good guy. I can trust a person to do bad things or good things depending on what will benefit them the most. Good guys tend to be…less predictable in that you have some vague idea of right and wrong and will achieve anything to get things in your version of right." Jinx was looking awfully smug now.

"You aren't making this easy, you know." Wally was beginning to ponder if Jinx would ever like him more than she would like gum stuck to her shoe.

"Why should I? If I wasn't so pretty, you wouldn't be devoting so much time to trying to reform me. This isn't some mission of mercy, your hormones have taken over your brain," Jinx sneered.

Wally winced. Maybe she was right. He was sure that there were more villains who just needed some guidance, but was it so bad that the one he had chosen was one who had taken over his fantasies as well? He was male, after all. "Well, if I'm being selfish, than I'm behaving badly. Shouldn't that endear me to you, Mistress of the Dark Magic?" he asked.

"You couldn't be bad if your life depended on it, apple-shiner," Jinx said, rolling her eyes.

Wally snickered. She knew so little about his past. If she did…well, she would be very shocked. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said softly.

"You shouldn't. It wasn't meant to be, Spandex boy," Jinx sneered, as she picked a leaf off a tree and tore it apart with very sharp fingernails. No wonder she was his Catwoman (although if Batman ever knew he knew about that…well…Wally wasn't afraid of many things but Batman was one of them)

"Fine. So let me try something else. You ask me anything. You can have three questions, besides for my secret identity. Anything you want to know," he offered. Uncle Barry said communication was the key to a great relationship. He had been watching way too much TV, according to Aunt Iris.

"I have nothing to ask," Jinx said, concentrating on fixing her shirt. "I'm fine just the way I am." She was right about that.

"Fine. Then can I ask you three questions?" Wally said, not deterred by her lack of good humor. He could work on her even with her resistance. He had always trusted his gut and his gut told him two things now. Feed me, and love her.

"Fine. Just make it quick," Jinx answered, studying her nails. That was what Wally loved best about her. On the outside, you couldn't tell how amazing she was. You had to look for the little details, the way her eyes would narrow when she was listening or the way her hands would flex when she was thinking deeply.

"Fine. What's your favorite food?" Wally said, starting off on with a soft pitch. He didn't want to anger her again. He inched slightly towards her.

"That's easy. Chicken soup with dumplings," Jinx said, her eyes narrowing in thought as she inched away from him. Damn!

"That's not a common choice," Wally said, marveling at her choice of a comfort food. She wanted something to soothe her. That said a lot about her personality.

"I used to do some fencing operations near this Jewish temple and they had the best soup. I always made sure to steal some before I went out on a crime spree. Really put the bad in my luck," she said with a wink.

"You stole from a temple? Gosh, and I thought stealing candy from kids was bad. You're lucky Ragman wasn't there or he would have not been very happy," Wally said, actually quite grateful that the clothed defender of the Israelites wasn't around. He had a nasty habit of smothering villains and turning them into ribbons, a most horrible fate for such a beautiful girl.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind. Stay away from heroes," Jinx said, chuckling harshly. She began playing with her long hair, as if bored by him.
Wally knew she was needling him and allowed the answer to pass. The wind rustling through the trees was soothing and wonderful. It was a cold night and he was the one in spandex, yet he was actually feeling good. "Okay, where were you born? You can just tell me the state or city," he asked.
"No idea. My parents are dead and my family has always been the Hive Five," she said, a look of glazed coldness coming over her eyes.

"Oh come on. Everyone has a family. Surely you must have some memories?" Wally asked, wondering if he was treading on a raw nerve. Nah, she was just being ornery and making him work for it.

"Nothing. There's nothing to know about me," Jinx hissed, her eyes beginning to glow. Jinx was way too proud and prejudiced, his Jane Austen loving Aunt would conclude. And Wally was not much of a Darcy. He had to just be a Wally.

"I can hack computers; I know how to find out." Wally wanted an answer and he would not take no for an answer. He wanted to show her how devoted he was to getting to know her.

Bad idea. He ducked a blast of bad luck and a look to kill. Yeah, about that raw nerve…

"Well, here is what you'll learn. I was found when I was a year old. I was wandering around the woods. The DNA tests didn't show anything since the people I was related to seemed to be unlisted. So, no parents. No life story. Are you happy now?" She looked furious for having to be so personal with him.

"I really didn't mean to…" Wally said, backing away slowly from the enraged female. "I didn't think…"

"Of course you didn't think. Yes, villains have feelings too. 'If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge'?" she demanded, putting a small smile on his face.

"So…I see you checked out Merchant of Venice. Did you like it?" Please let her allow the subject change…God was on his side, wasn't he?

"Yes. I did. I especially liked this part. 'The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.' Shylock learned from the abuses of heroes like Antonio to be cruel and angry and demand his pound of flesh. Society abused Shylock into becoming a villain and then punishes him for it. And you go on about how righteous you are, but you're just a jerk who won't take no for an answer!" Jinx hissed, really looking angry.

Okay. Wally was, in the immortal words of Robin was a complete idiot. Time to allow himself to show some weakness. "I'm sorry I brought up such a bad topic. I'm a jerk, you're right. And if it's any consolation, my parents are dead too," Wally confided. "Car crash when I was young. Kinda sucks, no?" he asked, his eyes clouding over with pain as well. He rarely talked about it.

It worked. She looked actually sad for him. "Yeah…" Jinx agreed. She looked away into the dark sky. "That must have been pretty tough," she grudgingly admitted after a long moment.

"One day they were there and then they were gone. I still miss them so much," Wally continued. He was really opening emotional veins for her. Normally, talking about this would have him tearing up. "Still have the scars." Scars that could and couldn't be seen.

"I never knew my parents so I really couldn't care less…so I guess it wasn't that bad," Jinx said in a voice of forced bravado. There was pain in the tightness of her jaw, the rigidness of her hands. A lot of meta-humans were orphaned, seemed to be the universe's way of righting the balance, phenomenal cosmic powers, itty bitty tons of bad luck. "Your life sucks more."

"I guess I was lucky. I knew them. They…were great people," Wally said, using the common ground between them. "Sometimes, when my phone rings, I still think it will be them, telling me it was all some horrible joke and that they are alive and well and want to see me again."

"Well, sorry about your loss," Jinx said, her voice growing cold with something that wasn't disinterest. "Can we move on? I really don't want to talk about this," she said brusquely. "You have one question left."

Actually, neither did Wally, but it did prove that Jinx missed her family, or at least the very idea of a family. That meant she was searching for acceptance, something Wally could give her. "Hmmm, my last question. What gift would you like me to bring you on our next date?" Wally asked.

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"Who says there's going to be a next date?" Jinx asked. She had been having a fun time at the concert, but she wasn't about to be caught dead with a hero ever again. She did have a reputation to keep after all. And talking about all those personal matters was starting to really annoy her. She wanted to cause some mayhem; all this mushy stuff was making her feel sick.

"Well, I'll just have to keep following you foiling your evil deeds around till you agree. So save us both a lot of trouble and go out with me again," Kid Flash said, giving her a smirk. Okay, he had a small evil side, but it was very annoying.

"You're persistent," Jinx noted angrily, feeling herself quite annoyed. She really had to find his weakness and torture him sometimes. That would definitely be fun. That would teach him to bring up stuff like her past.

"You're really worth it," Kid Flash replied, giving her a shy smile. It was a statement that frightened her in how touching it was. How could she be taken in with a lame hero? It was against the rules, against the laws of nature. She had half the Hive Academy males praying to even get her smile. Why was she allowing this do-gooder near her? She must be losing her mind.

"No, I'm not. I'm worth more than you can ever know. I can do so much better," Jinx sneered. This was getting ridiculous, she was wasting too much time and not wasting him…painfully.

"Then why don't you? I don't see your social calendar being very full. Villains aren't smart enough to appreciate your charm and beauty, and I am right here…." Why was he constantly returning all her insults with praise?

"I might get you killed. You never know when an ambush might find you," Jinx threatened. She could very easily arrange that and she was almost sorry she had warned him.

"I'm fast enough to escape. And you had your chance to turn me over to my doom. You let me free," Kid Flash reminded her. "Don't you realize I mean slightly more to you than an enemy? Even if I am a jerk, I have some good points."

He had a point there. If she had wanted him dead, she would have done it already. She just didn't know why she hadn't already. "Fine. But this time, I want a gift. A nice gift," Jinx said, trying to sound much tougher than she was actually feeling. "And it better be expensive." She really did need the money.

"Your wish is my command," Kid Flash said with a mock bow. "And till then, please behave yourself. I'd hate to have to visit you in prison. Though I always liked a captive audience."

Jinx growled and stared at him. Those puns were worse than she was, someone should whack him over the head with something and break him of the habit. "And how am I supposed to live without money?" she demanded, giving him a glare that could freeze beer in the heat of August.

"You could…you know get a job?" Kid Flash had no idea how hard it was to find work.

"One, I'm not flipping burgers. Two, I have a criminal record. I don't get many call backs for jobs." Jinx was disgusted. What did this spoiled hero think? Did jobs and money rained from the sky? He may be an orphan but Jinx had a feeling he had never suffered for money. He was coddled and pampered, dear hero that he was.

"Okay, point. You're right, I'm wrong. Finding a job might be tougher than I thought," Kid Flash said, validating her again. She hated and loved when he did that. "So you could take up my offer. I have people who will help you. The guy I know, he can do anything if you just give him a chance. Can we go to him?" Kid Flash asked, looking overjoyed.

"In your dreams. I'll go out with you, but I will not turn my back on my fellow villains." She was a loyal person. She had taken this path and she would not jump ship when it was getting hard.

"I'm sure they have a lot of loyalty to you. I've seen your fellow villains work. Joker, Slade…not the kind of people who would give you a helping hand," Kid Flash said, giving her a thoughtful look.

Jinx scowled. She knew he was right, but she could take care of herself. She was important enough for them not to hurt her. "I can take care of myself. Besides, that's who I am. I'm a creature of bad luck, crime, not some cute little angel you can keep."

"You know you are more than that," Kid Flash said with a sigh. "I'm waiting for you to admit it."

"Look, why do you have to be so mushy? I'll go out with you again, if you stop annoying me so much," Jinx mumbled. He was getting too close to her, she needed to get away and rethink her plan.

"All right. I'll pick you up in the park by your home. And I'll bring you something special." The Spandex clad geek bowed slightly before disappearing in the blink of her eyes.

Jinx realized something terrible. This was the most fun she had enjoyed in a really long time.

She was going soft. She was going mad. She was going to be sick!

AN-So, do you want to see some more Wally alone time or some Jinx alone time first? Review and tell me!