Another chapter and things are getting interesting. I know I'm giving many of you heart-attacks but come on, isn't that half the fun? Things can't stay good forever, this is the DC universe! Pain and suffering are common-place.

Again, special thanks to Glyth for all her moral and immoral support. The next few chapters are almost completely written, so expect frequent updates of at least twice a month. (I am studying for LSATs and doing a masters and writing professionally, so time is not on my side) Also, the Irish Song is a real one, it's an old one and sources debate who actually wrote it. It just wasn't me.

Happy New Year to those who celebrate!f

Would you mind if I hurt you?
Understand that I need to
Wish that I had other choices than to harm the one I love
What have you done now?

I know I'd better stop trying
You know that there's no denying
I won't show mercy on you now
I know I should stop believing
I know that there's no retrieving
It's over now

I've been waiting for someone like you
But now you are slipping away
Why? Why does fate make us suffer?
There's a curse between us
Between me and you

--Within Temptation

What have you Done?

Time was passing far quickly. One moment, Jinx had signed a contract with the devil and had smoked a joint to soothe her nerves, trying to pretend it wasn't happening.

Twenty minutes later, a package appeared mysteriously on her front door, taken by a little girl who said a man had paid her twenty dollars to give it to Jinx and no, she couldn't remember what he looked like. Jinx didn't even need to know.

It was not easy to prepare the fatal lipstick. The instructions were easy enough, but it was the act of actually putting it on, of feeling the slight burning sensation around her lips that made her pause with regret. She was going to kill someone today. Someone she cared about, someone she knew was good and kind and fair. And that was the reason why he had to die.

She had debated trying to turn Kid Flash to the dark side one last time. Surely that would please Slade even more and she wouldn't have to be alone. That would make her so happy, her and Kid Flash united against the world, no rules, no lines between them, no masks to hide their identities. It would just be them and nothing else would matter. He could take some scary name like Impulse and strike fear into the hearts of society.

The only problem was, Kid Flash just wasn't cut out to be cruel. He cared about others. He had what to lose. He had a family somewhere and he was loved. He didn't have enough anger and hatred to become a bane of society. She had pushed him to the limits of his anger and he had never hurt her. He could not hurt anyone.

Maybe she should just publicly break up with him, fool him, make him hate her, let him put her behind bars, haul her butt to juvvie and let him forget her. He'd find some other girl, he'd take her to those wonderful places and forget all about her. She knew of the other heroines, Argent, Bumblebee, they all were beautiful and non-treacherous. And she almost preferred knowing he was dead, than seeing him happy with someone else. She wouldn't be able to live with herself, watching him with another; loving another while she was alone. It was better, more romantic that he die for her.

"You're selfish. You can't trust anyone. He'd eventually hurt you. Or you would hurt him. So it's better he go back to his parents. You'll make it quick and painless. One quick stroke and it's over," she steeled herself. She was doing the right thing. She should know it in her heart. She was sending him to a better place.

The problem was…she knew she was lying. She was killing him because she was weak. She was a miserable coward, unworthy of love. She was destroying herself and she was destroying everyone around her. She was bad luck.

So she'd make this date the best date of his life. She would be the soul of perfection, till she had to betray him with a kiss. It seemed like the best way to end it. In fact, it would be the perfect way to do so.

He was standing there, waiting for her. She would have to remember everything about him, how his hair was the color of tomatoes and fire. How his eyes were blue like the sky on one of those sunny days she used to loathe. How his smile was bright and had no idea what pain and suffering was about to hit him. How he was a naïve lamb coming to the slaughter.

"Hello," he said softly, holding out a bouquet of roses for her. They were dark red, her favorite. He really was thoughtful. He was even wearing the shirt she had picked out for him. He still wore those dorky glasses, but they fit him. "I picked them myself from a garden I pass by on my morning run. I had to weed the entire garden for them, so I hope you like them."

"I do. Thank you. They are beautiful," Jinx whispered, smelling the wonderful scent. She would remember roses when she thought of him.

"Not as beautiful as you," Kid Flash said in that way that made cheesy lines sound good.

Now was the only time to ask. "Can you...tell me about you? Everything, I want to know all about you. What's your astrological sign? Where were you born? What's your favorite food? " Jinx asked quietly. This would be the last time she ever spoke to him. She wanted to know everything before she slid the knife between his ribs.

"I'm a Gemini. I was born in...Nebraska and my favorite food is pizza with everything on it. What's with the third degree?" Kid Flash said, sounding quite amused as they walked past a beautiful fountain. "Are you plotting against me?" he asked.

He was joking, wasn't he? Jinx was really beginning to sweat. "Of course not. You aren't worth plotting against. I could take you down in a minute if I wanted to," she said, trying to hide how nervous she was. She ran her fingers through the water to calm herself. This had to be done.

"What's the real reason?" Kid Flash asked, proving how much he cared about her worthless evil self. She should just walk away. She would be better off in hiding rather than hurting this wonderful guy.

"I don't know, it's...just a bad day for me and I want to enjoy what's left of it with you," Jinx lied smoothly. "Can I keep asking you more questions?" She was afraid that if he asked her questions, she'd crumble or she would run away.
Kid Flash nodded. "I'd do anything for you if it made you feel better," he said, squeezing her hand affectionately. It burned to be so close to him.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. He would throw himself into a volcano for her. She wasn't so generous. It was what made her such an excellent dreg on society.

"What else can I tell you about myself? I'm currently taking classes via correspondence to take credits for college, where I am majoring in chemistry and engineering. My favorite book is the Scarlet Pimpernel, even if it was a bit of a soppy romance. Cracking good adventure. I have been home-schooled since I was nine and I really didn't have many friends in school, since it was me and one other guy. Still, the other guy became my best friend and I had an amazing school experience," he mused, his face peaceful.

"Let me guess, that guy was Robin?" Jinx asked, offering him a weak smile. It gave her a sick satisfaction that while she stabbed herself in the heart, she would also be hurting her arch enemy.

"My hobbies include you, independent music, and making bad jokes. I enjoy long runs on the beach, walking under the moonlight and eating. Actually, eating is my favorite thing to do, period. I need about twenty to twenty five thousand calories a day to run this fine machine," he said, pretending to hold a microphone.

"You eat that much? It doesn't show," Jinx marveled. If she ate that much, she'd look like Mammoth or worse! She couldn't even imagine how anyone could eat that much and not look like an oversized bowling bowl.

"It goes straight to my brain. That and annoying you works off plenty of calories. I could sell it as a diet plan and make a lot of money," Kid Flash said mockingly. "What do you think?"

Jinx laughed, in spite of herself. "Very funny. Do you have brothers and sisters?" she asked. She would hate to think she would be leaving behind broken hearted relatives as well.

Kid Flash looked away. "They died before I was born. Congenital heart defects, before they reached a week old. They were twins, Rudy and Nadine. I would have enjoyed having them around, it would have been nice having people to pick on me and defend me when I would have needed them," he said deprecatingly.

"I'm sorry," Jinx said, sorry for a lot more. "Your parents must have been devastated," she continued, squeezing his hand. "When did they die?" Wow, he seemed so cheery but his life had been almost as sucky as hers had been. She couldn't understand how he always managed to look on the bright side of life like that?

"Yup. Guess Bad Luck just follows me around," he said softly, looking away for a moment. "I was barely seven. I…don't like to think about that much. But I'm blessed with a lot of nice people myself. So I guess I'm fine. And finally, bad luck pays off." It would be easier if he stuck a knife in her heart.

Jinx wanted to change the subject, something safer and less likely to attract her sadness. "So, tell me more about yourself. Am I the first girl you've ever liked?" she asked, pressing him forward.

"I...don't think I should answer that. I'm...I can tell you this. You're the special one right now. Good enough?" Kid Flashed asked, blushing slightly.

"For now, it's fine. What's your favorite song?" she asked. She wanted something to remember him by. "The song that defines you."

"I like the song Maid on the Shore. My uncle's part Irish and he used to sing it during the shower. When I heard it, I knew he was in a good mood and that made me happy."

"Sing it for me," Jinx urged. She suddenly wanted to hear him sing one last time. It would be a good memory of the two of them together, happy.

"There is a young maiden who lives all alone

She lives all alone on the shore-o

There's nothing she can find to comfort her mind

But to roam all alone on the shore shore shore

But to roam all alone on the shore" Kid Flash warbled, sounding fairly good now that she thought about it. She had no idea why she had found it embarrassing last time he had sung. "At the end, she tricks the captain and steals away all his gold. It's because you can't control people."

Jinx disagreed mentally. Yes, you could. If you made them frightened enough, you could make them do anything. "Yes. She sounds like a girl I would admire," she said softly.

"I was afraid you would say that," Wally said softly. He gave her a warm smile. "So, you'll steal my heart and my gold."

He had to shut up and stop being so charming or she would never work up the nerve to kill him. "Okay, here's a tough question. Why did you decide to go the tight and capes routine?" Jinx asked. She had to remind herself why she was about to kill him.

"My hero, the Flash. He found to take care of the weak and the powerless. I admired that. I just wanted to help people," Kid Flash said, his eyes sparkling in that wonderful way that made her knees shake. "

"But people don't appreciate you. They never will. I just think it's stupid. Bigger eat smaller, that's the law of the jungle," Jinx said, reminding herself how important it was she kill him.

Wally shrugged. "Here's a quote for you. "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.' It was written by a girl our age who was being persecuted by her religion. She died before she reached twenty, but she died with hope."

"Sounds like a fool," Jinx snapped. Sounded like a foolish dreamer who get herself killed.
"Well, I'm stronger and faster than you. Does that mean I have the right to drag you to see Granny Flash and make you give her a foot tub?' Kid asked, cocking his head. "Do unto others and all that nice stuff."

"Quit it, bible thumper. Let me guess, you were an alter boy," Jinx said, another strike against him. She didn't really have a religion but she had little liking for do-gooder crap from thousands of years ago.

"Nah. I was a hell raiser as a kid. I'd have most likely put Tabasco sauce in the communion wine. I just got shaped up and good," Kid Flash said. "My mentor believed the army was a proper model for child raising. He got me back on the straight and narrow whether I liked it or not," he said, smiling strangely. Kid Flash sounded so grateful to him. "He's…really great."

"You…were a bad kid? Mr. Apple shiner?" Jinx said, wondering how she could have possibly misread him so. She would have never have suspected him to be such a complicated person.

"I'd love you to meet my first grade teachers. They would actively pray that I would get sick and stay home from school. I think I was the first six year old who built his own stink bomb, using rotten eggs and a shoe box. Crude, but very effective," Kid Flash said, giving him a roguish wink. He really was more of an intricate person that she thought.

"Wow, I would have never believed it from you," Jinx said, finding her mind scrambling with terror. "You are really something."

Wally laughed. "Something horrible? Something incorrigible? Something that required a leash? That's what my teachers used to say. My parents…they were never too happy about my grades."

"So what happened?" Jinx asked. "What did your mentor do to you? And why don't you hate him?" This all seemed very confusing to her.

"Well, he talked to me. He really listened and he rewarded me for good behavior. He didn't treat me like a kid. He treated me like an adult. He worked me hard, but he always made me feel very…special to him. Even when I was stuck copying the dictionary, I knew as soon as I finished my punishment, I was back in his good graces. It was…very comfortable. When you're an orphan, you keep feeling like everyone would leave you. I never doubt he'd be there for me." Kid Flash sounded so peaceful and loved. He never knew what it was like to hide in an alley, to beg for food and then be forced to steal it, to spend every single birthday and holiday realizing that the world would never want them. She envied him.

"And your parents…" Jinx asked, thirsty for more information. They walked together in the park, for the last time. "I take it you had problems with them, since you didn't behave with them."

"My parents…tried their best. They weren't abusive. They made sure I was fed, and clothed and schooled and kept healthy. They really cared about me, they just didn't know how to handle me. They were really busy people and they just expected me to be perfect. I think I wasn't an easy child and well, it wasn't' easy. I miss them though.f" Kid Flash's face tightened at that. "I wish they could see me now. Happy."

"You really are stupid, you know. To fall for a girl whose bad to the bone," Jinx whispered, feeling herself almost on the verge of tears. Still, she took comfort in that she was sending him back to his parents. She knew it would be hard on his mentor but at least some good would come out of this.

"I told you, there's something different about you. Maybe it's because if I hadn't have met my mentor, I'd have ended up exactly like you. I guess I just want to give you that second chance I had."

"I don't deserve a second chance," Jinx muttered, feeling like the best evil person in the world, or the lowliest form of pond scum. "I'm sorry, I wish I was." It was now or never. So she kissed him and sealed the deal. Then, all she had to do was wait for him to use his powers and watch the world burn.


AN-Life sucks for Wally, no? But reviewing makes things better.