So we are around eight chapters till the end, and I have written the entire story out, it's just about editing it and posting it. I hope you enjoy this part. About the court system, I figured that if every villain got a trial like we had, the court system would go under. So I invented my own system, an information gatherer for the city, a defender and then a judge. I'm a law student next year, but this year, I'm just a humble writer. So Jinx's mysterious past finally comes to light.
PS. This song is incredible, and I really hope you check it out on Youtube, it's just so fitting about every single Flash.
The Ballad of Barry Allen
Now I have to try to be so patient and wait for calamity to strike
Because when things change in an instant it's almost fast enough for me
And I'll be there before you know it, I'll be gone before you see me
And do you think you can imagine anything so lonely
And I know you'd really like me, but I never stick around
Because time keeps dragging on
-Jimmy Big Ego
"So, you've been doing much better. You're able to walk to on crutches," Uncle Barry marveled, as Wally practiced walking. "You should be walking around normally in a week or so." That was some good news everyone was waiting to hear.
"Good to hear," Aunt Iris said softly as she handed him a glass of water. "You're much better walking. I have a lot of chores for you to do," she teased, looking particularly happy. The peace in the family was a nice change for her, no longer having to play the UN between two warring forces.
"Thanks a lot," Wally said happily, as he stretched his sore muscles. Physical therapy was painful, but it was nice to come back to his old self. Soon he'd be able to finally run again, something that would really help him get his mind clear. "I come back to the world of the living and you put me to work."
"Well, before we do, we thought you would like a treat. Why don't you go into the lab and see what's waiting for you," Aunt Iris said with a wink. "We added a little charming bonus for you."
Standing in his room was Dick, back in his civilian gear. "Nice to see you up, and about it," he quipped. "Thought you might appreciate a visit."
"We figured since you deserved a chance to be with your friend a bit," Aunt Iris said, giving him a kiss. "So I have ice cream, pizza and burgers waiting for you two and you can enjoy some nice video games and bond. The child parenting books say that it's very healthy. "
"You're the best," Wally said, overjoyed, sitting down his best friend. "And now I get to trounce him in video games."
"Enjoy," Uncle Barry said softly, patting Wally's shoulder before leaving the two alone. He had been much happier lately.
"I'm glad you're all right," Dick said suddenly, as he furiously attacked the monster on screen. "I'd be mad if you were dead." He really had this amazing habit of being able to say the nicest things while still sounding like a jerk. It was a unique talent of his.
"I'm touched. Next thing I know, you'll give me a hug and we'll sing the Barney song," Wally said, saving the moment from getting too mushy. He couldn't have that happen, after all.
"Don't push it. I'm still pissed at you," Dick said softly. "You lied to me. I'm not good with that. Even if she was using mind control…I still think you should have told me." Yeah, he had a feeling that would come up. Dick rarely let things go without harping on them for a bit and nagging like an old woman.
"Look, I wanted to. And I should have. I'm sorry, but I just don't want to deal with it tonight. You can lecture me any time but now. This is my night to just be happy I survived. Please?" Wally pleaded, trying to take his mind off the mess he had put himself into. Reminding himself that he had hurt his best friend wasn't a fun feeling.
Dick nodded, and patted his friend's shoulder with one free hand. "So, when you get better, you will be moving into the Tower? I already asked your uncle and he said its fine," he said cheerily. He looked quite satisfied with that information.
Wally smiled. Becoming part of the team would be incredible; he couldn't wait to spend a lot more time with his friends. "Sounds great," he said, before realizing what had just happened. Dick and Uncle Barry had talked by themselves and Dick had just agreed to have him come stay by him, where his best friend could monitor him and make sure he stayed on the straight and narrow. "Oh. Will you be checking up on me to make sure I don't break curfew?"
"Don't look at me like that. I follow orders," Dick said, his voice getting colder. "And my orders are to keep you alive and I intend to keep them. I am not losing anyone else, especially not you. I'll work with you, I'll watch your back, and I won't let you get jumped alone again. And you will listen to me, or I will clobber you." Wow, how kind of him.
Wally sighed. "You have no social skills," he said wearily. "Everyone's acting like I'm a complete doofus who needs his hand held." He appreciated his friend's worry, but the smothering was getting on her nerves.
"Some of us don't get our hands held, Wally. Some of us have to stand alone and make their own way. Stop playing the martyr. You ever realized you are the only one of us with a normal life?" Dick said, rolling his eyes.
"A normal life?" Wally asked, snickering. "What about my life is normal?" The superspeed which made it impossible for him to have a normal identity or the hero job which made him always have to run off when he wanted to stay.
"We're all heroes, so that's not what I'm talking about. I'm saying you have a stable family which gives you a lot of mental stability. No one else has a mother figure to kiss him goodnight and make him a party because he's dumb enough to nearly get his spine broken," Dick mumbled. "Roy's an orphan. Aqualad was abandoned at birth. And don't get me started on my team. Oprah could make a living dealing off their issues. And don't give me the crap about you being an orphan. Your aunt and uncle have given you the Cosby family of normalcy. Everyone runs to make sure you're all right..."
"So what?" Wally asked. He had lost his parents and he was a superhero with barely a social life. He had a lot to complain about. Of course, he did have two amazing guardians who loved him a lot.
"So…appreciate that you have a family who cares about you. In our business, it's not an easy thing to keep safe, so we have to do all we can. I would be really mad if I lost you," Dick said, before steeling himself and dropping the subject. "Do you have more ice cream?"
Wally sighed. His own best friend was spying for his uncle and the worst part is he understood completely. He would have done the same thing on Batman's command. It was a hard way to have friends, having to put the fate of the world before anything else. Maybe that was why he liked Jinx so much. It had felt good to be selfish sometimes. He had been lying so much to keep everyone happy. "Sure, help yourself. Aunt Iris would have bought plenty of it. It helps me keep my medicine down," Wally said, before realizing that was not a good subject. Dick's jaw clenched. "Thanks for coming," he added, remembering his manners.
"Any time," Dick said, still uncomfortable. He winced as Wally whacked him with a pillow. "What was that for?"
"Because it's fun," Wally said, giving him another whack. "Come on, you remember fun, don't you?"
Dick laughed and threw a pillow back at him. "You're doomed, West. You're going to regret this. Loser does the dishes."
Having friends was nice. Having a family was nice. It was almost worth lying for.
Jinx wasn't impressed by the idea of a bench trial. She didn't know why they didn't just declare her guilty and save everyone the time. The evidence was all against her, she had no explanation of why a criminal had been near the site of the Star Labs home. It wasn't like anyone would believe she had just been there at the scene of the crime. Even if it was the truth, the truth didn't matter to anyone. She was a criminal, she was the enemy and she would receive no mercy or sympathy. She symbolized everything society feared, a meta-human with great power that was not afraid to use it.
The nice child advocate had already come to visit her. Alice Mitchin had tried to explain that "this would be a tough case" and discussed plea bargains, but Jinx only had one goal. "We need to keep me tried as a juvenile." She couldn't tell her advocate why, but she was the client. She didn't have to say anything she didn't want to.
She had still been drugged up so her powers would be neutralized, but at least she had gotten some new clothing for her date at court. She had blood on her hands and people after her blood. She had the Scarecrow after her mind. Wally had abandoned her, on orders of Uncle Evil. And Barry Allen wanted her blood. She had to be grateful for small things.
But still, waiting for more people to tell her what a naughty girl she was, was kind of boring. She barely listened at the arraignment as the charges against her were read. She knew the verdict already.
"Hearing for Layla Jensen vs. the People of Jump City will now commence," the judge said, a small dark haired woman with glasses. Jinx would have preferred a man, they usually felt sorry for helpless little girls and she couldn't pull the sympathy act as well. "The recommendation of our Criminal Expert, Dr. Allen, will be heard."
Uncle Evil was sitting in the shadows, in his usual dreary nature. "Layla Jensen is a known thief and troublemaker. Her record is clear; she has been convicted numerous times of fencing articles, burglary, assault, and vandalism. Despite her young age, she has spent more time in prison than out of it. She clearly was a threat to society. Now, she burned down Star Labs, killing three innocent people. This is clearly unforgivable. Layla Jensen is not only a menace to society but has exhausted the system's current resources to rehabilitate her. The only solution is to lock her up where she can no longer hurt people. It's the only way society will ever be safe." It was a cruel statement but nothing she hadn't heard before. She was the scum of the earth; she was a danger to society, yadda yadda yadda. As long as she was sent to juvvie, they could call her what they wished.
"Alice Mitchin, representing the minor. Your honor, Layla Jenson was seen near the building. That is all the evidence we know. We have no evidence that she caused the fire or murdered the Hamilton family. It was a terrible tragedy, but we have no evidence she was involved. All we do now is Layla is a fifteen year old girl with no family or home. She has no record of school attendance, she has no permanent address. Now that she is in the court custody, it is not our duty to punish her. It's our duty to help her. Because, if we don't care for and help the neediest among us, how can we call our society just?" Alison said, and for a moment, Layla was actually impressed. Then of course, she realized that nothing anyone could say would convince a judge that she was anything less than a menace to society. "Therefore, I must ask that court sentence Layla to rehabilitation, to get the help she needs."
"The prosecution calls Harry Jensen, your honor," Allen said, as Jinx winced and turned around. Yeah she could see them both there entering the room, the people she had once called Mother and Father. She hadn't seen them in almost seven years, since she had been eight years old.
"State your full name, age and occupation for the record," Judge Siegel asked, her tone clipped and annoyed. Something was on her mind, she could tell.
"Dr. Harold Franklin Jensen, age forty-two, dermatologist at St. Elle's Hospital," Jinx heard him say. He had lost a lot of his hair since she had last seen him. He really had gotten old and fat. That suit fit him terribly. Andrea never had any fashion sense.
"Please state your relationship to the defendant?" the judge continued, as Jinx tried to pretend she was somewhere, anywhere else but here. Actually, being back in her cell would have been very nice right now.
"She's a foster child of mine. I have the papers right here. Technically, my wife Andrea and I were her legal guardians till she ran away," continued the verbal torture and reopening of wounds.
"May I ask why she ran away? Did you provide a loving home for her?" the judge asked in a cold tone. They all wanted to believe that she must have been kept under the cupboard as a child, which explained her criminal nature. No, she had a wonderful childhood. She had just been too much of a freak of nature to even fit into the ideal suburban family.
"Of course I did. I can submit sworn affidavits stating to that fact. My wife and I were fine with taking care of Layla. We had lost a child to cancer and wanted to bring another child into the house. I figured she could be a third sibling to Travis and Brooke, my two kids. I didn't realize what I was bringing into my home." Harry looked pretty sorry now. Jinx almost felt bad for him. Almost. Then she remembered what he had said about her and remembered why she left.
"Please explain what happened?" Allen said, as he probed like a hot iron into a wound. Jinx was not here. She was not drugged with a power blocking serum, she was in her lair, drawing a picture and watching the guys argue. Kid Wykked had just brought her hot cocoa. Or at least she wished she was.
"Well, her parents were allegedly thieves or vagabonds. She was found, wandering around in the cold and the only words she would say were "Layla" and "Mama." Apparently, they didn't provide a good home for her and the social worker said she'd be a tough case. Still, I never imagined that she would require so much effort." Harry was sweating like a pig. He even looked like one.
"Layla is a Meta-human, correct?" Mr. Allen asked softly. He looked like someone who didn't' fit in either. She almost wished he was defending her, like he thought he was defending Wally. He really loved that red haired idiot, didn't he? "Her powers bring bad luck to people,"
"Yes. We have no idea who her birth parents are, but her hair and skin color definitely indicated she was different. We didn't mind though, we thought she would be able to control it with time." Harry stared at Layla for the first time and looked away. "But that was impossible. You can't imagine how frustrating it was to want to make her normal and realize that she couldn't change. Terrible things would happen when she was around. Ceilings would fall, chairs would break, and it was just permanent bad luck having her around. It was like dealing with the cancer again, but there was no hope of chemo for her. When she ran away, god help me, it was a relief."
Jinx rolled her eyes. You couldn't control being a meta-human. It was a force inside of her, growing like ivy over her soul. She would feel the power surging inside her and it had to get out, some way. She would lie awake at night, trying to hold her breath and stop the whirling in her head. She had tried her best, but how could she control it? Harry had tried to find her, but Jinx had sworn she would die before going back there. She couldn't stand being looked at as if she was a monster, while she tried to be normal.
"We love Layla, but we can't afford to have her as part of our family anymore. After the accident, well, we can't take care of a meta-human without damaging our family. We're sorry. She's a violent girl who can't help herself. She needs to be committed for her own and other's safety. It's the only way she'll survive to be eighteen. The next time she explodes, she might take herself and everyone around her into injury and pain."
Jinx couldn't care less. She didn't want to go back to them, with their pancakes breakfasts and their barbeques, and their neatly pressed clothes when they would march on their way to church. They could go to hell for all she cared. Going back to them might be better than Arkham but worse than juvvie. If she had to stay with them, she would run away again.
"I think that information will suffice," Allen said, raising an eyebrow. He managed to convey his disgust even through that short statement.
Alison got up. She paused for a moment as if trying to gather her thoughts. Jinx pitied both of them, the lawyer with the impossible case and the defendant with an underworld after her blood. "Did you try and help Layla control her powers, instead of asking her to shut them down?" she asked. "Layla can't help being a meta-human. Did you seek out organizations that help people like her?" she asked. Layla was impressed, good question! She might actually even get off this time. She'd have to steal something nice for her.
"We did not. My wife and I felt that it would best for our family if we tried to raise Layla to be as normal as possible. She had to understand that those powers were not conducive to the family and for everyone's benefit; she had to shut down those abnormal abilities. Surely, that isn't too much to ask for. Especially considering the tragedies she worked in her midst." Harry demanded, being his usual idiotic self. Had he just tried to understand her, maybe she wouldn't have turned out a criminal. "Six years ago in July, the children in our neighborhood were all playing together. According to the other kids, Cory Haulms pushed Layla. She got angry and her eyes began to glow. Next thing the kids know, a tree fell on Cory," Harry explained. "He's in a wheelchair now." Layla looked away. It had been an accident. She had been sorry. No one had cared.
"But couldn't you have done more for her? She was eight years old, she couldn't be held responsible for what she did. You made her so frightened that she ran away rather than stay with you. Is that the sign of a good parent?" Alice demanded, her eyes flashing.
"Please refrain from such an outburst. Either ask questions relevant to the case or dismiss the witness," Judge Siegel directed, banging her gavel. Jinx had already given up hope that Harry would help her in any way. She was done for.
Alison nodded, running a finger through her short dark hair. "Can't you find anything good to say about your daughter?" she begged, sounding like she was at her wits end with trying to do anything for her. "Surely, you must have loved her at one point."
"I did once. But now, hearing that she was responsible for killing an innocent family, I don't know what to say," Harry said, looking away. "Please, don't involve me anymore in this. She needs to be locked up."
Jinx looked straight ahead and remembered that no one would ever care about her. She was bad luck and that was always unwelcome. "Please…I just want to speak to…" she spoke up, before realizing she couldn't say his name. That infernal spell!
Dr. Allen sighed and looked away. "She needs mental help, your honor. Dr. Jensen clearly was incapable of dealing with her. I agree with Miss Mitchens, she is a victim of society but she's become a victimizer. Arkham can help her. Dr. Jonathan Crane himself offered to help rehabilitate her. I'm not made of stone; I don't want her to suffer. But I can't allow her to hurt people anymore."
AN-Next chapter, things come to a boiling point, and Wally finally gets the truth of what has been happening for him.
