These Black Eyes

by P0ST

The ongoing adventures and experiences of the Teen Titans, as witnessed through the eyes of a silent newcomer.

148. Double Jinx part 5

148. Double Jinx part 5

"DAAAAAAAAH!!!!" Jinx wailed.

"!!!!" I pivoted my body in mid-air until I reached the end of our mutual arms' lengths. Rock faces flew up past either side of us while dark shapes of an evening-shrouded stream of river rapids swallowed us from below.

Down and down and down....

"Okay....," Jinx shuddered as she 'fell past' me. "Death owes me a favor." She gritted her teeth and aimed a glowing hand of pink down at the rapids flying up to us. "Death owes me a favor!!!!"

FLASH!!!!

The pink bolt flew down and struck the rushing water between two huge stones.

SPLOOSH!!!!

Cold river water leapt up towards us.

Jinx swung her body around.

I got the idea and did so as well. I aimed my boots down and encased my lower body in murk. I gritted my teeth against the wind---

FFFFFFFH!!!!

Streams of water skirted up across our bodies and limbs in a reverse cascade.

Jinx produced an aura of pink that succinctly transformed the force of the upwards rushing water into gravity resistance.

I let loose a pulse of murk that adhered us to the water as it slowly descended from Jinx's manipulation.

FWOOOOOOSH!!!

Our deadly descent was cut in half. We lowered on a cushion of water and landed—awkwardly but safely—atop the two largest rocks emerging from the rapids.

THWUMP!!!

"OOF!!"

THWAP!!

"!!!!"

Jinx and I tumbled once or twice—and barely stopped with our lower limbs hanging over the rocks' edge. We teetered on the brink of falling into the raging rapids and sat up straight.

Jinx got on her knees. Panting, she looked up at the dark line of night's sky showing through the rock faces on either side of the ravine—

FLASH!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!!

--the freeze frame of Jinx half-kneeling on the wet boulder and staring up the ravine appeared, splashed across a theatre-sized computer monitor.

The Headmistress slowly turned around from the podium where she stood. Facing a wide-stretching, indoor amphitheatre of Academy students, she uttered: "Can anyone identify who this individual is?"

Various young, costumed villains-to-be sat en masse throughout the H.I.V.E. classroom. Their tabletops—splashed randomly with books and learning materials—were of the same predominantly yellow hue as the hexagonally structured walls and ceiling of the place.

After an uncomfortable pause, one student cleared her throat and raised her hand.

"Yes, Bumblebee?"

"That's Jinx, isn't it, Headmistress?"

"That is correct," the old Headmistress turned her gray head to the huge freeze frame and highlighted the panting girl's image with a laser pointer. "Jean Jenkins to be precise. She was inducted into the H.I.V.E. Academy nearly four years ago. During her three and a half year career in our school, she was transferred over to the Fearsome Five where she learned to work with two of our most legendary students, Mammoth and Gizmo."

"But...sh-she betrayed H.I.V.E., right?"

"Charger!!" the Headmistress frowned. "Don't speak out of line!!"

He shrunk back in his seat and gulped. "S-Sorry. Yes, Headmistress...."

The aging woman cleared her throat and went on: "But yes...she did betray H.I.V.E. Through help of outside sources—among which is assumed to be the rogue former student Pulsade—Jinx sought to steal the prized Khazza jewel and flee Westhaven on her own. Because of Jinx's actions, H.I.V.E. never got ahold of their precious ruby artifact...which would have been priceless in the criminal black market. Luthor and Dagger were asking much for it, among other prospects."

The woman highlighted the picture again.

"Today....Jinx is a vengeful spirit. She realizes that much of her past......at least much of her past that is valuable to her......is nothing but a figment of her imagination on behalf of our expert methods of brainwashing. But the main proponent of the process that made Jinx so reliable back in the day is now a threat to our Academy. Can anyone guess who?"

A hand rose.

The Headmistress smiled somewhat. "Yes, Bumblebee? You've been rather eager today."

She lowered her hand and said: "Dr. Simon Jones, now known as 'Psimon'."

"Very good, Bumblebee," the Headmistress nodded. "Psimon was the second in command of the Fearsome Five. He was subservient to the leadership of Dr. Light, despite his superior intellect. Even before Dr. Light died, it was obvious that he desired control over the criminal team. He undoubtedly used his powers of telepathy and mind control to instill in Shimmer a rebellious initiative, for she soon went on bleak and suicidal missions that put the security of H.I.V.E. interests internationally at risk. At her last 'mission', she was captured and framed for miscellaneous crimes so as to serve a jail term. This was accomplished through Dagger—with whom our Academy had been reciprocating financially until his death on the very same night that Slade perished. At the same time, the imprisonment of Mammoth and Gizmo and the death of Dr. Light have broken up the Fearsome Five. But now Psimon has returned and is planning to put his plans with the Fearsome Five into full effect. He has already broken two criminal partners out of prison to accomplish his will—one of whom is Shimmer. And now with Gizmo and Mammoth collected back on their side, they are combining forces to assault Jinx. But what for? To what means are they attempting to accomplish?"

".................," the classroom was clueless.

Headmistress smiled. "Watch and learn...."

She turned around, picked up a remote off the podium, and clicked it--

FLASH!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

--Jinx panted. "Look out!!!"

"???" I looked up.

Huge wooden splinters from the shattered bridge were sailing down at us in a torrent.

FWOOOOSH!!!!

I gritted my teeth and stood up.

I swung a murk-trailing Myrkblade in heavy arcs.

SLASH!!!!

SLASH!!!!!!

SLASH!!!

My upward swings ripped wooden planks in half. They split over our heads and safely clattered on either side of us. As for the huger chunks--

"HAAAA!!!" Jinx flung a huge stream of hex up at the sailing shreds.

FLASH!!!!

Even tinier splinters showered down at us from the explosion.

Jinx and I shielded ourselves with our free hands. Then something blocked the moonlight from above. We squinted our eyes upwards....and gasped.

A huge shadow got even huger as it fell towards us down the ravine under the nubile night.

"NnnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNYAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!"

SWOOOOOOOSH!!!!

"SCURRY!!" Jinx squealed. She dove forward.

YANK!!

I flew forward too--

WHAM!!!!!!!

Rock and rapids water sailed up in a destructive crater as the glowing form of Neutron landed heavily behind our diving bodies. He hissed out steam from his helmet, flexed his red and orange muscles, and produced a radioactive aura of glowing mayhem.

"RAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!" once a huge enough pulse of death was summoned, he stretched his arms toward our collapsed bodies and unleashed a stream of nuclear energy.

ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP-----

FLASH!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

"This....," the Headmistress said as she highlighted the freeze frame of the red-suited, nuclear giant. "Can anyone tell me who this is?"

A hand raised up.

"Disruptor? Educate us."

Disruptor leaned back in his seat and smirked: "Neutron. The walking atom bomb."

"But who was he originally?"

"Pfft! Nat Tryon! Some lousy crook. A member of some even lousier group of bad-guy-wannabes. The 'TNT Trio' or some crap. He got exposed to radiation at the Metropolis Nuclear Facility. When he broke into S.T.A.R. Labs and tried to use their stuff to fix himself, he only became more radioactive."

"Radioactive but stable," the Headmistress emphasized.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Ahem. Neutron became capable of wielding the nuclear power invested in him. But in order to keep from....well....becoming a human meltdown, he must wear his suit at all time. As much as he would love to destroy an entire City...he doesn't want to destroy himself as well."

A hand rose.

"Yes, BumbleBee?"

"Didn't Superman finish him off?"

"Indeed he did. But as the law enforcement in Metropolis is.....Nat Tryon was never truly punished for his criminal deeds following his transformation into 'Neutron'. But he was contained within an expensive facility. But just as of late—Psimon made the recently-escaped Shimmer infiltrate the facility and also turn Neutron into a fleeing convict. Neutron's danger is second only to Psimon himself....and considering that Psimon has complete control over what the radioactive man could do....there's no telling what may happen if Neutron is allowed to enter our Academy. We must not allow Psimon to locate this new facility. If that were to happen, he would have anything and everything he needs to destroy our greatest stronghold of interests....for whatever reason that untrustworthy man demands."

Another raised hand.

"Yes, Charger?"

"Then why is Neutron attacking Jinx?"

"A very good question. Let us find out...."

The Headmistress picked up the remote again and—

FLASH!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

--ZAAAAAAAAP!!!!

Jinx gasped.

I gritted my teeth and--

FLASH!!!

--let loose a huge pulse of murk.

I vaulted off.

Yank!!

Jinx flew off with me.

"YAAK!!"

We arched over the raging rapids in the night air.

The stream of nuclear energy soared hotly past us and exploded against the river in a flurry of rocks and white spray.

CRAAAACK!!!

I took a deep breath as the two of us descended and stuck Myrkblade out towards the ravine's east rockface.

SKRRRRRRKKKKKTT!!

Sparks flew as my murk-covered sword slowed us to a scraping stop.

FWOOSH!!

Jinx soared down past me.

My left arm pulled taut.

Jinx jolted and dangled by the handcuffs.

She panted and got a pink-glowing handhold of the rockface in reverse. She gulped and stared at the distant villain.

I strained to hold onto my blade with my right hand while Jinx hung tightly from my left.

Neutron hissed, steamed, and cracked his 'neck' underneath the helmet. "Atoms are too pretty to waste on holding you meatbags together."

Jinx gritted her teeth. "You're pretty condescending for a big, burning trash can."

"And you're pretty upstart for someone who's about to evaporate....," Neutron flexed his suited arms and glowed brighter. A single hand pointed at us. "How about a spoonful of Bikini Atoll?"

"........," Jinx blinked. "How about a change of scrypt, you stupid—YAAAK!!!"

I had yanked Myrkblade out. The two of us plummeted towards the rapids.

A good thing too...

ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!

A glowing stream of radiation flew at us.

CRAAACK!!!

Rock and dirt shattered above and scattered over our plummeting bodies.

SP-SPLOOSH!!!

The two of us fell into the rapids. We bobbed up and under and under and up and under for a few watery seconds of infinite adrenaline before my blade swung blindly and struck into a flat segment of rock.

CLANK!!!

"!!!!!" I gritted my teeth, strained, and pulled the two of us up onto dry earth. We tumbled wetly onto the stony surface when--

"RAAAAUGH!!!"

STOMP!!! STOMP!!! STOMP!!!

Jinx and I looked up, gasping.

Neutron thundered in our direction. His heavy feet charged through the rock and water alike. He had a huge elbow aimed at us like a mountain of glowing metal.

I scurried to my feet.

Jinx hobbled behind me, dragged by one wrist and flinging a handful of hex with the other. "HAAAAA!!" FL-FL-FLASH!!!

"NRRRRGH!!!" Neutron simply batted the pink hexes away and was upon us with a last minute leap--

THWOMP!!!!!!

The sheer concussion of his nuclear weight sent us flying up and over the streaming rapids.

"RAAAAUGH!!!" he flung another radiation stream at us.

ZAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!

Time slowed in mid-air. The red glow flew at us....and directly ate its way through the thin winds toward where our arms joined. I saw the vulnerability of our chain link. I saw the blinking light. I thought of the hidden explosive. With a gasp I concentrated murk, coursed it through my limbs, enveloped Jinx's upper body in smoke, shot it down her limbs vicariously, and--

FWOOOOSH!!!

The two of us materialized against a rockface ten feet away. Time resumed. We fell down.

CLUMP!!!

We tumbled hard across a stone surrounded by stormy, splashing water.

"......," Jinx sputtered.

"......," I winced and sat up. I examined ourselves.

The link was still in place. But teleportation wasn't quick enough to avoid all of the proximity of atomic disruption. I realized how close of a call that was when I noticed that my hair was on fire.

"!!!!!!"

I jerked towards the edge of the rock.

"Yeek!!" Jinx jolted and half-slid with me.

I gasped and---DUNK!!!!—plunged my head into the splashing water's surface. A beat. I whipped my head back out and panted. I dripped all over. My long black strands dangled across my shoulders....and end of one particular lock was effectively singed by Neutron's handiwork.

"......," I fingered it. "........." I started to gnash my teeth.

This......has not been my day.....

Black vapors danced out from under my wet shades like obsidian flame.

Not my day at all......

".....," Jinx gulped. "Um....Ghost Boy? About that look in your eyes—"

YANK!!!!

"ACKIES!!" Jinx shrieked as she suddenly found herself the unwitting caboose to a murk-streaking locomotive.

Teeth gritting, I blurred us both up stream over stones and rapids and along rockfaces towards the glowing target. I gripped Myrkblade tightly, trailing onyx vapors.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!" Neutron was laughing his head off. He slowly glanced down and saw us incoming. "...........Ha?"

I leapt at him, twirled with a helplessly-spinning Jinx, and descended with a murderous swing of Myrkblade.

RAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!

CLANG!!!!!

Neutron's helmet jerked right from the impact.

SWOOOOSH-SLASH!!!

Myrkblade impacted against his chest. Sparks flew. He stumbled back.

I gritted my teeth, landed, spun, teleported, materialized behind him, and slashed at his left shoulder.

CLANG!!!

He lerched left.

I swung at his right shoulder while Jinx swung and panted.

SMACK!!!

Neutron all but fell off the rock and into the rapids.

I held my breath, teleported in front of him, twirled Myrkblade, charged, and swung the sword with a thunderous force of smoke energy up and horrendously between his legs.

SLAAAAAAASH---

FLASH!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

The frame froze in mid-slash of Myrkblade.

"Can anyone identify this person?"

Half of the students were stuck in an equally frozen wince of vicarious pain.

".............class???"

The students stopped wincing and cleared their throats.

Charger raised his hand. "Wh-What was the question, H-Headmistress?"

She folded her wrinkly arms and frowned. "Care to identify the swordsman attached to Jinx?"

"Uhm....."

Bumblebee raised her hand. "That new Titan! The dark one...."

"'Noir'," the Headmistress said. "The new 'Sixth Titan', since Terra was more or less had that title removed from her identity. Noir has been with the Titans since May of this year. Since then, he has proven to be an invaluable member of the young vigilante club...even in spite of his controversial switch to the role of Wyldecarde during Slade's last bombing run in the City. Noir has proven that he has what it takes to be a villain as well as a hero. Unfortunately, he seems incredibly dedicated to being the latter. As a result, he has been a chief proponent in the Titans' defeat of many villains as of late...including Mammoth, Gizmo, and Dr. Light himself."

Another student raised her hand.

"Yes, Deuce?"

"Wh-Why's he helping Jinx then?"

"A good question. It would seem obvious that Noir's part in this recent debacle with the Fearsome Five is not out of his own choice....," the Headmistress highlighted the handcuffs in the freeze frame. "That is the source of Jinx's manipulation of his powers. A Model-Five Biological Responsive Detonator. If Noir was to separate himself from Jinx....even for a second...an explosive somewhere would go off. Considering the history Jinx and Noir have together in combat, Noir knows to truly respect a threat made by the pink sorceress."

"What's she using him for??" Deuce asked.

"It's hard to say," the Headmistress leaned against her podium. "Again...it is known that Jinx and Noir have a past together. But that is something strictly of antagonistic relation. At Westhaven, Jinx and Noir first conflicted. It was a tough battle on either side...but eventually Noir defeated her. Jinx lost possession of the Khazza jewel she betrayed us to acquire. But at the same time, she escaped and became the apprentice of Slade. The grounds were set for her rematch with Noir, and the two did battle on multiple occasions. Slade had successfully used Noir as a criminal façade while Jinx covertly ensnared the Titans into doom. But Noir countered with an unexpected tactic. He purposefully amplified his fake persona as the Third Apprentice of Slade through the adverse acts of Wyldecarde. In the end, Slade would still ensnare the Titans...but extreme actions taken by Noir ended Slade's plans....as well as his life."

Murmurs. Eyes staring fixedly at the screen. Thoughtful expressions.

The Headmistress took a deep breath: "Don't underestimate this stranger chained to Jinx. Even we masters of the Academy know very little about him. But one thing is for certain...he killed Slade. And since Dagger himself disappeared on the same night as Slade's perishing, many of us assume that Noir was responsible for his end as well."

More mutterings. Whispers.

"What Jinx wants with him is something only she understands....for it's quite possible that she understands something about Noir more than any criminal or hero in the land. All that's left for us is to observe the two in action." That said, she clicked the remote again.

FLASH!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!!

CLANG!!!!!!!!!

Myrkblade struck dead center in Neutron's......center.

"Nnnnnnghhhh!!!" the armored villain fell down in a radioactive slump.

WHAM!!!

I stood above him. Panting. Wet from riverwater. Shoulders heaving.

A trembling Jinx stood at my left side. She caught her breath and winced as she looked at the collapsed villain. "Man oh man.....," she looked up at me and blinked. "So much for his Three Mile Island."

".......," I stopped panting and stared at her.

She stared back at me. "......"

"......."

"......."

".......," I helplessly snickered.

"Hehehehehe," she giggled.

I shook my head and shook all over with breathy chuckles.

"Hehehehehehe!!!"

WHAM!!!!!

Neutron's glowing first flew up and slammed into me.

"!!!!" I flew back.

Yank!!

"DAAH!!" Jinx flew back with me.

WHUMP!!! I landed against the rockface--

PLOP!!!

Jinx flew into me.

We fell---tangled together---onto a half-submerged rock below. Our legs dangled in the rushing waters. The two of us struggled to climb up—

STOMP!!!!

Neutron stood up, groaning.

"Now....you shall doubly die.....TRIPLY DIE!!!"

"After all that....," Jinx wheezed for air. "I-I'd say it was worth it!!"

"......," I struggled to pull us up.

But Neutron had other plans.

"RAAAAUGH!!" He ran for us.

STOMP!!! STOMP!!! STOMP!!!!!!! On the last charging step, he flew up into a massive jump and came down onto the top edge of the rock we were gripping to. "NNNGH!!" WHAM!!!!!!

SHATTER!!!!

His half of the rock exploded.

Ours shot upwards like the sad end of a lever.

"!!!!" I twirled in the air with Jinx. I spotted a patch of rocky platforms in the middle of the raging waters and tried guiding us murkingly towards a firm footho—"

GRIP!!!!

My body felt on fire.

I gritted my teeth in the iron hold of Neutron. He held me by the throat—dangling. Jinx doubly-dangled beneath me, gasping.

"Look at the upstart little blackhead...," Neutron's helmet leaned in and hissed. His grip on my neck squeezed intolerably. "What say I pop you??"

I wheezed.

Jinx gritted her teeth and aimed low. " HAAAA!!!"

Her pink hex struck the stony ground beneath the metal-armored creep.

FLASH!!! CRAAA-AAACK!!

"AUGH!!!" Neutron cried as he plunged into the waters.

SPLOOOSH!!!

HISSSSSSSSS!!!!

Water steamed violently into a white cloud above the currents as he submerged and was carried down the ravine.

PLOP!!! I landed on my rear on rocky earth, gasping.

Jinx perched beside me in a nimble pose. "That ought to cool him down some....."

I wheezed.

She looked at me. "You know, you're cute when you're dying."

I glared at her.

"Having a special moment??"

"!!!"

The two of us looked directly up.

Shimmer stood atop a dry tree jutting out of the rockface twenty feet above. She posed sexily in the growing starlight and smiled a mischievous smile. She held a few flimsy leaves between her fingers.

"No....we're not." Jinx frowned.

"Good," Shimmer smiled. The leaves in her grasp glowed and turned into razor-sharp crystals. "Cuz I hate romance. It produces too many retards."

She let out a shout, spun with her orange hair fanning out, and unleashed streaking rings of razor sharp leaf-knives. "HAVE A TASTE OF AUTUMN---!!"

FLASH!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

The air-slicing leaves stopped in the freeze frame.

"Shimmer....," the Headmistress spoke. A beat. She took a deep breath. "So many members of our former flock are mixing into this heated cauldron of conflict. Jinx. Pulsade. Mammoth. Gizmo. It's quite a tragedy, really. But Shimmer...she is an outsider. A former ally of sorts—yes. But she's Fearsome Five down to the core. Not a member of the Academy's pride."

After a thoughtful pause, the teacher turned to face her students. She spoke: "Can anyone tell me why Shimmer would be acting so vengefully against Jinx?"

A hand raised.

"You've done your part, Bumblebee. Anyone else?"

Another hand.

"Deuce?"

"Didn't Jinx force her out of the Fearsome Five?"

"Jinx was Shimmer's replacement," the Headmistress nodded. "Shimmer was forced away from her team and her very own brother, Mammoth. After having spent so much time in jail because of Psimon's manipulation, one would imagine her wanting to exact revenge on him. But it would seem that his influence is too great. All of her anger....all of her angst....it is being centered on one person and one person alone. Jinx."

The Headmistress pointed to the freeze frame. "What we're seeing here is not just a clash of rogues in the Academy's eyes...but something coldly calculated by Psimon himself. There is every reason to believe that all we're about to see unfold before us is nothing more than the manifestation of Psimon's detrimental plans for our interests and organized crime abroad. That's why we must keep careful....careful watch on the proceedings."

The students nodded in dizzying agreement.

The Headmistress lifted her remote, smiled, and—

FLASH!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

FLASH!!!!

"RAAAAUGH!!!"

SW-SW-SW-SWIIIIIIIISH!!!!

The razor sharp 'leaves' flew down at us in air whistling streaks.

Jinx shrieked and covered her short pink hair.

I stood firm.

I twirled Myrkblade once—CL-CL-CLANG!! And lifted up vertically—CLANK!!

The leaves shattered apart and crumbled to my feet.

I exhaled.

Shimmer gripped a four foot branch of the dead tree sticking out of the ravine's rockface. She applied force---SNAP!! She broke the branch free, held it over her shoulder like a club, and leapt down at us. SWOOOOSH!! She dropped twenty feet and landed in a graceful squat.

Jinx looked up, panting. "Oh no....don't try and get CLOSE to us, hag!!" She unleashed quick bursts of hex with her left wrist.

FL-FL-FLASH!!!

Shimmer smiled.

She twirled left, advanced, jumped rignt, spun, and ran at us with a leap—all the time avoiding the respective blasts of pink energy. She charged straight at me, flailing the flimsy wooden branch over her head.

I smirked and raised Myrkblade at ready.

CHIIIING!!! In a flash of orange-red light, her stick turned into a heavy-iron club.

"!!!!!!" I exhaled.

"RAAUGH!!!" SWOOOOOSH—the club came flying down.

I yanked my handcuffed hand up and gripped Myrkblade above me at both ends.

CLANG!!!!! Metal met smoking wood.

She gritted her teeth and pressed the club down into me, applying its weight.

I struggled to push back against her.

Jinx recovered from having been yanked by my left hand's movement. She twirled on one boot and aimed at Shimmer's feet. "HAA!!" A hex flew.

Shimmer yanked the club back and flipped over me.

CRACK!!!

The stone beneath her leap exploded in pink hex.

My black eyes spun.

Shimmer soared over us.

Jinx's head rolled.

Shimmer landed. Jinx's side.

"RRRRGH!!!" She swung the club in a massive horizontal sweep.

"!!!!" Jinx leapt up high.

My left arm flew up.

SWIIIIISH!!! Where Jinx was missing, the club streaked through and barely missed my nose by a millimeter.

I sweatdropped in slow motion.

SWIIIISH!!! Shimmer teetered awkwardly from her heavy miss.

PLANT!! Jinx landed from her leap and shot a hex into Shimmer's chest. "HAAA!!!"

Shimmer held the metal club vertically in front of her chest.

CLANG!!!

The pink bolt split.

Shimmer sneered and shoved forward with her bludgeon. "Nnngh!!!"

THWUMP!!!!

Jinx was shoved into my chest.

I was shoved into the rock wall.

THWAP!!!!

I leaned precariously back into the side of the ravine with a thick stream of water surging between my feet and the wall.

"......," I strained to keep my balance and to keep from suffocating from Jinx's shoulder in my face.

The pink witch in question said: "Get ready for blastoff?!?!"

"????"

Jinx jumped up and planted her feet painfully against my chest....upon which she vaulted off.

WHUMP!!!!

"!!!!!" I exhalded.

Jinx leapt forward as far as she could on the handcuff's length. She landed low in a heavy squat and—through a pulse of pink aura—anchored her body hard into the floor.

Which meant--

YANK!!!

I flew forward on the scant chain, flipped over, and vaulted—boots first—into Shimmer's body.

WHAM!!!

"OOOF!!" the villainous vixen flew back from my blow. She bounced off two rocks and barely fell into the starlit currents of water rapids. "Nnngh...."

THWOMP!! I landed on my back a few feet in front of Jinx, wincing.

"HA!!" the witch smiled a Cheshire grin. "Now I'm ready to kick fanny!!!"

SWOOOOSH!!! She streaked forward with glowing pink.

"????" YANK!! My black eyes bulged beneath my shades as I was dragged forward and yanked up onto my feet. I blurred my legs to keep up as Jinx hopped us from rock to rock and over rapids streams and leaping high and sailing down mercilessly towards Shimmer.

CHIIING!! "HAAAAA!!!" Jinx made a hex blade in her left hand during the descent.

CHIIIIIING!!! I had Myrkblade ready with gritted teeth.

Shimmer stood up with her club.

SWOOOOSH!! We both landed down on either side of her. SWIIIISH!! Our blades sliced in together like a giant pair of scissors.

Shimmer held her club up and deflected our weapons with both ends of her bludgeon. CL-CLANK!!! She twirled it like a fan and stepped backwards slowly across the precarious rock ledge.

CL-CL-CL-CLANK!!! Her spinning mastery deflected Jinx's repeated stabs.

Jinx jumped back.

I jumped forward.

SWIIIIIISH-CLACK!!!

Shimmer held the broadside of her metal club to block my blow.

I pressed down hard into her weapon, holding her down.

For....

"HAAA!!" Jinx jumped in, hex blade swishing.

Shimmer tilted her head back.

SWOOOOOSH!!

The Hex blade barely glazed her nose.

Shimmer stepped back, twirled her blade, crouched, spun, and swept Jinx's feet out from under her.

"Augh!!" Jinx fell down on her butt. THWOMP!!!

Shimmer jumped up, growled, and swung one end of the bludgeon down hard over the witch's head.

I gasped and yanked back hard on the handcuffs.

THWOOOSH!! Jinx slid back.

CRACK!!! Shimmer's club struck the rock hard.

I spun my body around, anchoring my weight to my right foot.

Jinx swirled around like a tether ball over raging rapids surrounding us until—three hundred and sixty degrees later—she was slamming her knees into Shimmer's gut.

WHAM!!!

"Nnngh!!" Shimmer stumbled back. She fell three feet and tumbled across a lower rock in the rapids.

Jinx stumbled to her feet.

I ran ahead.

Yank!!

"Ackies!!" Jinx was forced to run with me as I streaked towards the rock edge, leapt up, sailed over rapids, and flew down towards Shimmer.

SWIIIIISH!!! Myrkblade licked through the air.

Shimmer rolled to the side.

CRACK!!!

My sword slammed into the rock.

Shimmer jumped up to her feet.

"HAAA!!" Jinx flung a hex at her chest.

Shimmer tilted back, backflipped, and landed on a stone two streams away.

SW-SW-SWISH!! I twirled Myrkblade at ready.

Jinx brandished her hex blade.

Shimmer's eyes narrowed. She smirked.

The two of us charged her. SWOOOSH!!

Shimmer kicked her foot into the river rapids besides her stone.

SPLOOOSH!!!

The water lifted skyward in a spray.

Shimmer gritted her teeth, glowed her hands a red-orange, and flung both limbs forward through the fountain.

"NNNNGH!!!"

As a result, the water morphed into pellets of black lead that flew at us in a torrent. FWOOOOSH!!!!

"Waaaiee!!" Jinx skidded to a stop and covered her face.

I shielded my shades with a single arm.

TH-TH-TH-TH-THWAP!!!!

We were pelted with streams of tiny stones all over our figures. It was blinding. Hot.

"NYAAAAAAUGH!!!"

I stopped wincing just long enough to peer through the black stream.

WHAM!!!!!

Shimmer sailed through foot first across my chin.

"!!!" I spun from the impact.

"Yaak!!" Jinx consequently spun from the impact.

The two of us tumbled off the rock, splashed through a shallow stream of frothy water, and rolled wetly onto the surface of another rock.

"Should've brought a paddle...," Shimmer smiled. She reached down and grabbed two three rocks from a dry quarry over the rapids. "I don't know what you were thinking when you blew up that prison and tried escaping, Jinx. You were dead girl walking from the get go."

Jinx sat up, wincing in the starlight. "I....d-did not set off that bomb...."

"Sure you didn't," Shimmer juggled the three rocks and smiled. "And you didn't royally screw up my life the very moment you were born."

Jinx narrowed her pink eyes. "Look....Selinda.....about that. Psimon, he—"

"Don't call me by my REAL NAME!!!" Shimmer hissed. Her eyes flared an orange-red. "You ungrateful little pink turd!! Guess you'll never know what it feels like to be burned, huh? Well....allow me to elaborate some!!" She stopped juggling the rocks and tossed them at us one by one.

FWOOOOM!!!! The stones turned into balls of hot-streaking flame.

I about melted at the sight of them.

"Move!!!" Jinx jerked us downstream.

What's the point anymore--

YANK!!!

DAAAH!!

I ran helplessly with her.

FWOOOOOOM!!! SPLASH!!!!

The rocks exploded at our heels.

FW-FWOOM!!! SPLASH!!! SPLASH!!!

Jinx leapt.

I leapt.

Jinx hopped over a stream.

I jumped over a stream.

Jinx skirted against a ravine wall.

I blurred against it after her.

We found ourselves running towards an open spot of even rocks along the ravine.

Jinx smiled in mid-sprint. "Great!! Keep it up, Ghost Boy! We can lose them! We can—"

POW!!!! An orange light exploded against us.

"Yaaugh!!" Jinx flew back into me.

I caught her awkwardly. I looked up.

FWOOOSH!!! Gizmo hovered to a stand-still in front of us.

"Going somewhere, blubbermunchers??"

"Yeah...," Jinx snarled. "How about up your tiny ass with a pipe bomb?"

THWOMP!!!!

I spun around with Myrkblade in my right hand.

Mammoth had just landed from the ravine's cliffside above. He cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Such potty language, Jinx. Look at what prison has done to you."

"And look at what Psimon has done to you...," Jinx leaned her hand against her hip and smiled. "Don't tell me he practically has you both sharing toothbrushes by now."

"You shut up!!" Gizmo squealed, aiming a laser rifle from out of the back of his jetpack. "We've been waiting a long time for this moment, girl."

"Really, all we want to do is rip the skin off your skull and feed it intravenously to you before stomping your insides into jelly," Mammoth said, advancing menacingly. "But we've been ordered just to roughen you up some. Nothing more."

"So I think we'll just settle for burning you alive," Gizmo snickered. "What better a fate for a snotlicking witch?"

"Keep it up, guys," Jinx merely Cheshired. "All these death threats will only make killing you so much more rewarding...."

The two former teammates of hers snarled angrily.

Jinx glanced back at me, smirking. "Don't I know them or what?"

I blinked at her.

Do you ever shut up???

"RAAAUGH!!!" Mammoth charged.

"Eat crud!!" Gizmo shot.

Jinx ducked low, yanking me down with her.

FLASH!!!! Gizmo's laser shot slammed into Mammoth's face, frying his hair.

"Aw jeez!!" Mammoth hissed and put his hair out with flapping fingers.

"Stupid oaf!! Stop being so big!!" Gizmo cackled.

Jinx and I panted from where we hovered on the floor.

"I get Gizmo," she breathed. She glanced at me. "Back to back. You get the big one."

".....," I glanced at her over my shoulder.

Gee...thanks.

We both jumped up.

FLASH!!! Jinx reformed a hex blade.

CHIIIIING!!! I held Myrkblade out.

We stood back to back. Petite body to tall frame. My left hand and her right hand joined together. My right hand and her left hand brandished destruction.

"HAAAA!!!" Jinx jabbed forward with her hex blade.

"!!!!" I slashed Myrkblade.

CL-CLANK!!! Mammoth deflected with his tough skin.

SWOOSH!! Gizmo barely ducked. He gritted his teeth and fired laser volleys at Jinx's figure.

Jinx cartwheeled to the right—forcing me to as well.

I gasped and barely managed to balance myself upright at the end of the cartwheel--

"RAAAUGH!!!" Mammoth charged at me with a fist through my head.

I took a deep breath.

SWOOOOSH!!!

I teleported my upper body into smoke form just as his fist flew through.

Mammoth spun awkwardly from his pure strike of air.

I materialized and slashed Myrkblade up into his underarm.

THWAP!!!!

He teetered back.

I put pressure back into Jinx's body and slammed my right foot up. WHAM!!!

Mammoth teetered back into the Cliffside. "Whoah!!" THWAP!!! He winced.

CLAMP!!!

He gripped onto the end of my murking blade, struggling to hold it in place.

I struggled to pry it from his iron grasp.

In the meantime, Jinx was swinging her hex blade madly at Gizmo. "HA!! HAAAA!!!"

Gizmo thrusted left, back, right, back again, and forward—avoiding the multiple sword strikes. At one heavily missed swing, he produced a second laser turret from his jetpack and fired with both. "Nya ha ha ha ha!!!"

BL-BL-BL-BL-BLAM!!!

Jinx gritted her teeth. "Ghost Boy!!!!! Cover your back!!"

I started to feel her legs tensing.

I gritted my teeth. Smoke danced under my shades and---

YANK!!!

I pulled Myrkblade out from beneath Mammoth's fingers.

"OWIE!!" the big oaf blew on his palms.

FWOOSH!!! Jinx performed a handstand on my shoulders.

SWISH!!! I twirled Myrkblade blindly behind me.

CL-CL-CLANG!!! Gizmo's shots were deflected before they could sail into my back.

Mammoth charged, stomping. "RAAAUGH!!!"

SWIIIIISH!!! I brought Myrkblade back around and met his charge. CLANK!!!

FWOOOSH!!! Jinx landed down from her handstand, charged her hex blade bright, and launched it as a projectile at Gizmo. "HAAAA!!!"

POW!!!

The hex struck dead center with his jet pack.

"CRIMINY!!!" he fell hard to the rock beneath him. SPLAT!!!

Mammoth growled and gripped his huge hand around my throat.

"!!!!!!" I wheezed and struggled for breath.

Jinx glanced over her shoulder. She gasped. In a heartbeat she flipped up and over my shoulders with her two feet plunging over my head.

WHAP!!!!

She slammed her entire weight into the top of Mammoth's skull.

"OW!!!" he let go of my throat and stumbled back.

Jinx snaked back over me. Her weight pulled me into a forced, backwards flip.

I held my breath, graced a spinning world of stars and river water, and landed on my feet, facing Jinx.

She blinked.

I blinked.

"RAAAUGH!!" Mammoth shook his head and charged us both.

Jinx pointed down behind me.

I glanced.

I saw Gizmo struggling to his feet.

Teeth gritting, I twirled about.

Jinx spun at the end of my left arm.

SWIIIIISH!!! I jabbed Myrkblade. SLIIINK!!! I caught Gizmo between his back and jetpack.

"WAAAA!!" He wailed.

I spun again and swung Myrkblade at Mammoth.

RIIIIIP!!!

Gizmo's jetpack shredded apart and his body went sailing into Mammoth's chest.

WHAP!!!

"OOF!!!" Mammoth stumbled back.

I twirled to a stop. Jinx spun like a tetherball and stopped against me. She leaned her body back and flung an upside down hex-bolt straight into the conglomerated villain's bodies. "HAAAAAAA!!!!"

FLASH!!!!

The pink glow struck dead-center, forcing the two young crooks off of their rock and into the river rapids.

SPLOOSH!!! SPLASH!!!

"Augh!!!" "Crammit!!!"

They bobbed down the currents.

"Just like old times, huh?!?!" Jinx shrieked. "You're both all wet and I'm still standing!!!!" She stood up straight. "Hehehehehehe!!!" A pause. "......" she realized that we were standing chest to chest. She looked up at me.

I bit my lip and shoved her to my left side.

"Ahem....," Jinx shook her short head of pink. "Wh-Where were we?"

"Try oblivion....," said a familiar voice above us.

We both glanced up.

Shimmer perched on a rock ledge, smiling down at us.

Jinx groaned. "Will you give up already?? Haven't you enough badassness for one evening?"

Shimmer examined her nails as she spoke: "Oh....I'm done breaking sweat. However there's someone else who's regaining steam."

"Eh???" Jinx cutely blinked.

"........," I glanced around....taking notice of the white mist forming heavily from the water around us. The temperature of the wet air was rising. I shuddered.

"Uhm....," Jinx blinked. "Who was keeping his eye on that one anywho?"

"RAUGH!!!!!!!"

CRAAAAACK!!!!

Neutron exploded upward from some hidden crevice beneath us. Water and stone flew in the nuclear force....our bodies included.

FWOOOOSH!! Jinx and I sailed through the air. We twirled about and plummeted dangerously towards the conglomeration of hard rocks and shallow river water below.

"!!!!" I twirled us in mid-air using waves of murk.

Jinx had an aura of pink ready.

We landed safely on the rocks....but...

"Melt already....," Neutron aimed a glowing wrist of metal. "MELT ALREADY!!!!"

"Go!!" Jinx tugged and pulled. "Go go go go go go go go!!!"

I gritted my teeth and blurred us off the rocks and into the water.

ZAAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAAP!!!!

Streams of radioactive energy warbled behind us.

Our pink and black feet blurred over the surface of the watery rapids. It was a tough feat in and of itself to navigate our way through the splashes and the uneven torrents of water and various, jutting rocks.

At the same time, red-hot streams of energy exploded rock and earth and ravine walls around us. Shimmer's cackling laughter filled ecstatically through the canyon.

But soon all of the chaos was drowned out as a huge mist formed in front of us, followed by a gust of air and a dead horizon of black.

My black eyes narrowed.

What in the world? Why is everything suddenly dropping---??

"Waterfall!!!" Jinx panted.

My eyes bulged.

The two of us were helplessly running along the top of the water towards an huge plunge of at least fifty feet into pounding surf below.

"Ah jeez! Ah jeez!" Jinx's teeth clattered. "We gotta go back! We gotta....we gotta...."

I glanced back behind our running shoulders.

I saw the angrily glowing Neutron and the homicidal Shimmer and the slowly surfacing Gizmo and Mammoth.

...........yeah.....

I gripped hard to Jinx's hand.

"What??" she gasped. "No wait!! AUGH!!!"

And I leapt....

....

And we fell.

And somewhere our bodies got lost between the gravity and the water and the queasily solid feeling of centripetal force combined with liquid pressure.

SPLOOOOSH!!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

-BLIP-

The classroom monitor switched off.

The Headmistress turned and faced the class.

"Are they dead? Most likely not. Already, our sources in the field who were responsible for recording this debacle have also confirmed the continued existence of these two targets. We have let them be the brunt of the Fearsome Five's pursuit long enough. Soon...they will be coming dangerously close to the Academy. And there will soon come a time when we will have to intervene. Either our graduates....or you yourselves, students. Now is the time to test your loyalty and learning. For eventually....I may be asking you.........to capture Jinx and her handcuffed partner."

"................," the young villains stared blankly.

"Keep that in mind....," the Headmistress smiled. "It is your up and coming project."

There was a creaking sound. Then footsteps.

The Headmistress gazed up.

Damien Darhk stepped in at the top rear of the classroom, above the descending rows of seats. He stood with a smile on his young face. His hands were in his pockets.

The Headmistress took a deep breath. She faced the students. "If you will excuse me.....I must attend to our situation. Class is dismissed. I want to hear about each and every one of you training by sundown thoroughly. Long live H.I.V.E."

"Long live H.I.V.E." the classroom collectively droned. They gradually broke up and left the classroom in scattered groups and loners, muttering and sharing anxious conversations about the material covered.

The Headmistress gathered her briefcase and shuffled over to meet Damien. "Well?"

"Reports are in. They're on dry land. They're headed west....howbeit slowly."

"And the Fearsome Five??"

"I've got some extensive info on them too," Damien smirked.

"Talk while we walk."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Neutron stood on a cliffside overlooking the waterfall. His metal-encased limbs heaved. Steam filtered in and out of his helmet.

Shimmer jumped up and perched on a tree-limb. She overlooked the nightshrouded river below. Squinting her eyes, she could spot two miraculous bodies running ashore from the river and disappearing into the forest.

"Hmmm.....," Shimmer smirked some. "Well there's always pneumonia."

"Okay....so.....," Mammoth grumbled as he dragged himself and a soggy Gizmo from the elevated river rapids. "Please tell me that was part of the whole plan. We got our butts kicked on purpose, right?" A beat. "RIGHT????"

"Just put a sock in it, Dumbo," Gizmo squeezed the water out of his sleeves and knocked some extra droplets out of his ears. "Psimon says suck. Then we suck. Isn't that what Psimon says?!?!" He glared upwards.

Shimmer and Mammoth turned to see the elderly man shuffled over in his robe. His translucent brain-dome glistened in the starlight. A wrinkled mouth formed a pale smile and: "Excellent. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to direct intervention. Psychology works all in itself, doesn't it?"

"How come you couldn't HELP us anyways?!?!" Mammoth grunted. "Even Dr. Light knew how to get his fingers dirty!! Why can't you just...I dunno...MAKE them go to H.I.V.E. by mind control?"

"But you see, Mammoth....it is Mind Control," Psimon smiled. "At least where Jinx is concerned." He gazed lovingly at the wooded landscape beneath the elevated cliffside. "It's always been mind control with her. Her past. Her present. Her future. All created. Dagger and H.I.V.E. thought they had hired me to make a secret weapon for them. Slade used her as if she was his own. But Jinx has always belonged to me." His eyes narrowed. "Now that we have given her something to run from...she will be ever quicker in leading us to her Academy. This is something she's doing of her own will...not knowing that her own will is just as much an illusion as two precious sisters she once believed in."

"Rrrrrrgh!!!" Neutron suddenly shouted and spun around with swinging fists. "I've had enough with your telepathic games and super ego!! We could have accomplished what you wanted AGES ago!! We could have stole our way into the Academy and my wish would have been granted!!"

Shimmer giggled. "My my....what are you babbling about??"

"You....," the helmet hissed as a burly finger pointed as Psimon. "You're too full of yourself and your strategies!! Just read the blasted girl's mind and tell me where to go!!"

"I....can't....do....that....," Psimon glared. "And you—sir—are speaking out of line."

"Don't DICTATE TO ME!!!" the nuclear freak roared. "You promised me that I'd be freed from this suit the moment after I successfully stormed into H.I.V.E. And you're DELAYING THAT ON PURPOSE!!! This is not a bargain! It's SLAVERY!!!"

"I assure you....," Psimon's eyes started to glow threateningly. "It is perfectly....legitimate."

Gizmo and Mammoth shifted uncomfortably where the stood.

Shimmer hummed.

"Rrrrgh!! Don't...I know what you're trying to do...," Neutron shook. "Don't....Don't......"

Psimon's eyes continued to glow.

"NOOOOOO!!!" STOMP!! STOMP!! STOMP!! Neutron charged him.

Psimon flicked his wrist.

FLASH!!!

Neutron froze in place. His glow died out. He looked like a catatonic statue.

Mammoth muttered: "Wh-Wh-What did you do?"

"Reprogrammed him....," Psimon smiled. "It's about the fifth time I've had to do that to this stupid brute since he was freed from prison."

Gizmo glanced at Shimmer. A beat. He glanced back at Psimon.

The freakish elder smiled. "Some people just don't know how to revere those who have truly freed them...."

"Was what he was saying true, though?" Mammoth asked. "About freeing him from his suit after we follow Jinx to H.I.V.E. and trash that place?"

Shimmer suddenly chuckled for some reason or another.

"Indeed it is true, Mammoth," Psimon said. "Nat Tryon shall be freed from his suit. At the same time, he shall be freed from this plane of existence."

"What do you mean??" Gizmo asked, his eyes suspiciously thinner.

"Once we situated him deep inside the domain of H.I.V.E. Academy....," Psimon spoke over the deaf ears of the suited freak. ".....we will detonate him."

Mammoth blinked.

"H.I.V.E. will be short a cove of villains."

"But what for??" Gizmo grunted. "What's the whole point?"

"The point....my little technogrunt....," Psimon glanced down and smiled. "....is to get to the bottom of the one thing in this world that I feel is strong enough to threaten me."

"What's that?"

"Not a 'what'....a 'whom'," Psimon spoke. "Whoever is the mysterious stranger who wields the force whispering through the red tresses of darkness. The words in the wind that hiss 'Red Aviary'....."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The Headmistress and her assistant walked slowly through the yellow hallways of the Academy. Guards and students wandered between posts and training sessions.

"—and as it stands, there is no sign of Jinx's aides."

"Pulsade and the mysterious hacker?"

"Indeed. We've attempted to study up on that hacker, though."

"Oh? Inform me, Damien."

"I wish I could," the young Mr. Darhk nodded. "We came up with one thing and one thing only. A letter."

"A letter?"

"'J'."

"......," the Headmistress took a breath. "That isn't very helpful."

"I would have to agree with you, ma'am," Damien smiled.

The Headmistress came to a stop and sighed. "Somehow....somehow I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it would be wrong to ever wake Jinx up. What would the original Headmistresses say?"

"Nobody has seen the founders in years, ma'am," Damien said. "What jurisdiction could they possibly hold over Jean Jenkins at this point?"

The Headmistress shook her head. "None of that matters. This is all about Jinx. I almost wonder.....would she stop leading the Fearsome Five to us if we simply told her the truth?"

"We've let Psimon change her too much for that to ever work."

"True. Very true," the Headmistress nodded. "I think it's about time we intervened."

"Shall I call in the Strike Squa—"

"No!" the old woman hissed. She clutched her briefcase tightly and frowned. "We must never kill Jinx. She can always be changed back to us. I'm convinced of that."

"Then what do you suggest, ma'am?" Damien smiled. "I'll do whatever task you give me."

"..................send a covert squad."

"A covert squad?"

"Perform an Enforcer Masque maneuver," the old woman smirked. "Intercept Jinx and the boy at their next destination."

Damien blinked. "Blue Pine."

The woman nodded.

Damien smiled. "I'll round up the boys. I must say....we do look good in uniform. Even if it's not our uniforms."

"Take four squad cars with you," the Headmistress commanded. "I want it to look authentic."

"Oh....it'll be authentic," Damien smoothed his hair back and walked away. "I assure you of that...."

The old Academy Leader sighed and turned around. "If it comes down to it, Jenkins.....I'll tell you the truth myself."

And she walked off towards her faraway office.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Jinx limped to a stop in the forest. She leaned her soaked body up against a tree trunk and panted for breath. I stood beside her, sheathing Myrkblade and inhaling deeply.

It was dark. Dead dark. The autumn night air stung our wet bodies with cold. Our flesh and metal wrists trembled inside the rattling handcuffs.

"I like gymnastics.....when they stay dry......"

".......," I ran a hand through my soppy black hair. I sighed. I saw a thick branch quite close to our left hands. Slowly...I stretched my metal fingers out and carved some lines into the wood. I managed to match my movements with the trembling of the cold girl attached to me. In the meantime, I glanced behind my shoulder for any Fearsome villains that may be pursuing us.

At that time exactly, Jinx uttered: "Psimon......," her fists clenched against my fingers and the tree bark. "....why doesn't he just leave me alone?? What's he getting everyone together for?? Shimmer....Nuetron.....," she took a deep breath. "Gizmo.....Mammoth...."

My black eyes narrowed. I stared at the girl's lonely form in front of me. She took a deep, sighing breath and stood up straight. "It's.....It's okay.....," she exhaled. "Nothing I shouldn't have expected."

She glanced at me with a sickening layer of sadness in her cat eyes. "Life is....really all about everyone hating you."

"...........," I simply stared at her.

Jinx shook her wet head. "Bah....w-we gotta keep moving. Th-The last thing we should do is let them catch up with us." She rubbed her right arm with her left hand and shivered. "Brrrr.....gawd it's cold. Freakin' Autumn. I'm soaked through to my skin. Hang on a damn minute."

She twisted her left hand back, under, and up her black blouse. I watched confusedly as the wet tent of her submerged wrist stretched up and came to a stop. There was a snapping sound, and quick as a switchblade she whipped her arm out and into the open, dangling a training bra.

".........," I blinked.

"Yeah. To Hell with that....," she tossed the pale article beyond the nearby bushes. She glanced at me. A beat. "What??"

"......."

"Stop looking at me like that!!" she rolled her pink eyes. "Pfft! Not like I even need it."

I ran a hand over my face and sighed.

"Come on...," she sighed and trudged ahead.

Yank!!

I followed her in a cloud.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Hours later.

Under the darkness of night.

Above the ravine that lead to the river rapids...

Two young bodies levitated down to the ground.

Raven lowered herself and Robin. Once they reached the forested earth, she released her flying fields of dark telekinesis.

Robin ran forward and looked around. He gazed at the floor in whatever starlight could help him. But it wasn't good enough. So he reached into his utility belt and whipped out a small flashlight. He swept a shimmering beam of illumination across the misty woods. His eyemasked vision scanned the floor.

Silence.

"If we're searching possums, we're off to a sour start," Raven droned.

Robin ignored her. "This is the only spot in the forest with a beaten path. It would have been easiest for the two to traverse this route."

"Since when would Noir choose a path that's easy?" Raven asked.

"But you forget. Jinx's at the reins."

"Ah.....true."

".........," Robin sneaked forward. His boots cracked against twigs and leaves. His eyemask thinned.

Raven floated quietly behind him, her cloak billowing lightly in the autumn air.

".........," Robin glanced down. His lips parted. "There.....," he murmured.

Raven looked down.

Footprints.

One small set.

One large set.

"Boo-ya," she droned.

Robin glanced at her.

She glanced at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he smiled.

Raven frowned.

The Boy Wonder crept over and knelt by the tracks. "Looks like they were slowing down. The footprints are closer together. Like they were taking smaller steps."

"This path does take them sorta downhill," Raven said. "They had to have taken it slow."

"True...," Robin said. He stood up straight. "Guess we follow them from here—"

"Robin....," Raven pointed at something. "Look."

"???" the Boy Wonder glanced over. He and Raven rushed to a huge tree trunk around a bend in the path. There were scratches on it that spelled out something:

'28 W'

"Another message....," Raven slurred.

"From Noir??" Robin remarked. "It's just like the last one."

"Not quite," Raven said. "The last one was '17 W', remember?"

".........."

"If only he could have been more specifi—"

Robin gasped. "Of course!!!"

Raven blinked. "What did I miss?"

Robin stood up straight. He glanced up. "Raven....take us up over the treetops. Pronto!"

"Okay....," she shrugged. Her eyes and hands glowed. "You're the boss. Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She lifted herself and Robin up beyond the branches and tinted leaves of autumn. The night sky yawned open above them and a cold wind kicked at their hair.

Robin pivoted on the platform of black energy for a bit. His eyes scanned the celestial hemisphere. "There!" he pointed. "The North Star! And......" He slowly pivoted his gloved hand left as he counted off in his head. ".......twenty-six.....twenty-seven...twenty eight degrees! Twenty eight degrees west of the Northern Axis!" He turned to look at Raven, smiling wide. "Noir's been giving us coordirnates! He's telling us in which direction Jinx is taking him! The last marker was '17 degrees West'. He's trying to tell us that Jinx is taking him west of the original direction! She wanted nothing from the Metropolitan Highway!"

"So we can rule out Metropolis...," Raven said.

"Exactly. For all we know...she could be taking Noir elsewhere. Gotham City. Chicago. Indianapolis....."

"Or Grandmother's house."

"Let's head in that direction," Robin pointed. "If we're lucky...we'll find another marker—"

"And then maybe find Noir...," Raven blinked. "I would hope so. The mosquitoes are coming out."

"Leave it to you to hate blood sucking."

"........"

"Raven, that was sarcasm."

"........"

"........sarcastic humor."

"Stick to giving commands, Robin."

"Yeah....good idea."

"Let's go...."

The two lowered to the forest floor and ran down the path......until they found themselves on one side of a shattered wooden bridge.

"..........."

".........."

".......okay," Raven blinked. "Can I start worrying about Noir again?"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Jinx and I were in the thickness of another forest when she really started to....lose it.

Her breath that is.

"I can't.....I won't....uh uh.....not tonight....not this night....," the witch panted as she limply lead the way.

"..........????"

I leaned my head to the side.

What's your problem??

"I will not....cannot....give into.....sleep.....," she murmured.

Oh.....

I shrugged and followed her calmly. Mr. Endurance....

"I swear....I'm too....dainty....f-for my....my own good....," she swallowed, panted, and turned around to look at me. "Even when....I worked for Slade....I-I was....a laughing stock. I was....so winded....and confused.....while you ran....circles around me.....Wyldecarde....."

I gritted my teeth.

Don't tempt me......it's so easy to kill someone when the Sun's down.

"Nnnnnnngaaaugh!!" Jinx squealed.

I winced...a bit startled by that.

PLOP!!!

Jinx collapsed to her rear and bawled: "Fine...FINE!! I give in, Fate! I give in!!!"

She sighed and ran a tired hand through her short-short hair of pink.

"Gotta....sleep here. Build up for tomorrow. Blue Pine....."

I gritted my teeth, sweatdropping.

Sl-Sleep here??

"You hear that, Ghost Boy?" Jinx glanced up at me dazedly. "We sit down for the night. Slumber kicks our brains in. We get up. We get on with it." A beat. She looked at me.

I looked at her.

".....the road, that is. We get on with the road."

I slowly nodded and mouthed: 'Yeah.'

"......," Jinx blinked. "Nnngh...," she shook her tired head into her hand. "Either I'm getting older or the world is getting screwier."

I shifted uncomfortably where I stood, tethered to her with my left arm stretched down.

She suddenly frowned in an attempt to be threatening. "And you sure as Hecate better not pull anything!! Remember the bomb, Ghost Boy?!?! Someone or something goes horrendously kablammo if you so much as try to escape during the night, try to cut the handcuffs during the night or try to......."—blink blink—"......through the night."

God...just shut up and pass out.

I groaned inwardly.

My black eyes narrowed through my shades and I took a deep breath.

Because I had to be honest with myself.

Gazing at the half-kneeling Jinx sitting there, deflated, looking up at me with her pink cat eyes.

"......."

How was I ever....ever afraid of her? Just once?

Brief images flashed through my inner vision. A Cheshire grinning vixen blinding me on the rooftop of Westhaven. A darting shadow bringing doom to my Titan allies and framing me for the ambush in a City junkyard. A pink-haired apprentice in a metal mesh outfit kicking and punching my brains out on the blurred rooftops and highway overpasses of some urban Hell.

And this was the same villain??

My jaw clenched and my right knuckles tightened as I felt friction in my upper synapses.

Why is H.I.V.E.'s traitor, Slade's third apprentice, and Wyldecarde's nemesis on the run for her own life? Why would someone frame her? Why would she deny ever trashing the City Prison and...yet....threaten me and my friends just so that I could 'help her'?

I exhaled.

My right fingers relaxed.

I glanced at the handcuffs.

The explosive. She....is still using it. She is still mean....and threatening....and manipulative. She is still Jinx. And she is....is still m-my nemesis.....

"Come on, Ghost Boy...," she grumbled and half-crawled, half-walked through a thin line of shrubbery over to where a soft bed of leaves had gathered under a wide-stretching oak. "Girls on the left.....boys on the right."

God I hate you so m—ACK!!

YANK!!

Jinx laid herself sideways on the earth.

THWUMP!!

I plopped down forcibly on my left side. My back was to her. Her back was to me. We both lay on our sides where our wrists were blindly joined together.

"Shhh!! Don't be so freakin' loud. Hecate....I swear. If you're the type to spin like a top in your sleep, I'll just blast your head off with hex in the middle of the night. And that wouldn't do the biological systems detector in the handcuffs any good, would it?"

I exhaled depressingly.

I just know my left arm's falling asleep from this.

A beat.

My black eyes blinked.

Oh wait....half of it is metal. I forgot. Haha......phwee.....

Silence.

My partne—er.....my 'unwitting associate in flight' was still as stone. I figured that she had settled in. A true line of exhaustion.

My thoughts fleetingly fluttered over a million brilliant ideas of teleporting out of the handcuffs, knocking Jinx's lights out, circumnavigating my way around the Fearsome Five, returning to the City, and throwing the pink witch before the feet of the police. But all my thoughts returned to the same thing my left wrist was bound by. And I gave up.

I decided to keep my shades on throughout the night. There was no telling what would require me to need them....especially with so many.....people 'hating Jinx' that could ambush us in the middle of the night.

I made sure not to sleep on Myrkblade's sheathe.

That checked, I decided to lower my eyes. I tried to ignore the warm proximity of the petite body behind me. And I was slowly......gently................drifting—"

"I bet you're the type to sleep in almost condition, Ghost Boy," Jinx said from behind me.

I cringed. My black eyes reopened and I hissed angrily through clenched teeth.

She stirred some. "As for me? It's not so easy to sleep as a villain. Your very own bed could be made out of....I dunno....crystal cyanide by some wicked assassin. You've always got to be careful."

I nodded to 'no one' and tried to block her out.

"The safest I've ever felt sleeping.......was after I broke out of H.I.V.E. and was temporarily reunited with Pulsade."

"............"

"Oh Hecate, why am I telling you this? I need you to sleep too. And there're plenty of other things I don't need you doing."

I shook my head and practically dug my tired face into the bed of leaves.

You don't have anything to worry about, really.....

Silence.

Jinx didn't move....didn't speak....

A beat.

I exhaled happily and.....let.............myself............

"I kept having bad dreams in prison."

My teeth clenched.

Zeus damn it!!!

"Very.....depressing dreams. Not nightmares. But they were disturbing. Still....nightmares are things that you're supposed to feel scared from. I don't ever feel scared anymore, Ghost Boy. I only feel.........bad......"

I blinked into the black forest.

Bad??

"Guilty."

Oh.....

I stirred some and settled into the leaves more.

Don't talk to me about guilt.

She talked to me about guilt.

"When Slade died....wh-when you killed him....it opened up a lot of things to me, Ghost Boy. N-Not so much because my former master is dead. But....."

A beat.

"But.....I found out that some people.....th-that some people were never alive to begin with."

-Clip-

I blinked. I tilted my head to the side some.

I caught the bare minimal silhouette of Jinx holding an open locket up in her hand behind me. "When Slade told me all that had been done......all about what Dagger had funded to have put falsely into my head................I wasn't angry because I knew I had been wronged. I wasn't angry because I suddenly remembered Psimon and the brainwashing and the....fallacy of everything I once held dear. I was angry because.....because I had no excuse, Ghost Boy."

"???" I listened.

"I......I had no excuse for what I had done in my life."

A beat.

"I-I had never had an excuse for what I had done. There was no pain. No abducted sisters. No danger of having some precious siblings of mine torn apart or gang raped or tortured because of anything I refused to do for my superiors. All of my work for H.I.V.E. was for an empty cause. And when I betrayed Mammoth and Gizmo in pure treachery....it was out of selfishness, not necessity. And when I-I worked for Slade and beat your freakin' brains in.....it wasn't for some awful vendetta. It was.....It was all for nothing."

Silence.

-Flip-

-Snap-

Jinx's body lay limp behind me with a shuddering sigh.

"Some of us are born evil, Ghost Boy. And some of us....s-some of us are simply made evil. But in the end—whether or not I was manipulated or brainwashed or what....it doesn't matter. I'm just as evil as I am than if I would have been if H.I.V.E. or the Fearsome Five never got to me. The sins in my life are stacked up way too high to ever break down. And you know what it is, Ghost Boy? It's Karma. It's Fate playing it's endless game with me. I lost out on luck a long time ago. Some Creator or cosmic accident out there broke a mirror, and out from the blood of—I dunno—the bleeding shards of the universe I emerged and was born. Pink and cute and kickass. But evil. Downright evil. Either because I chose to be or because someone planted a seed. I don't know. And I don't care either."

A beat.

Jinx curled up in a fetal position and hugged herself with her free arm. "I.....I-I don't care. I don't......."

"........."

"I......I-I hope I don't have to dream about that t-tonight...," she said. "Who knows? Heh...m-maybe.....maybe because you're here, you'll soak up the energies of slumber and I'll be spared."

I rolled my black eyes and gazed into the earth.

"No Really Ghost Boy. I.....I......Y-You know what?"

What.......?

"I have......lost so many friends. And....A-And so many comrades. Almost everyone hates me now. And they have the right to. Maybe not Pulsade or "J".....but I know you hate me, Ghost Boy. But I don't think that matters. Because....in all the time I fought for Slade....all the time I tried to off the Titans....all the time I nearly ripped apart the Balance of Morals for my master..............all the time there was you. In between the flipping dives and the flying kicks and the hex bolts and the sword swings and the punches and the shouts......there was you. I.....I-I kinda enjoyed that kaleidoscope. And when I look back at it all....I think I was seeing some glimpse of the future far truer than any gift of Fate could grant me. I saw you, Ghost Boy....and in you I saw myself. Someone impossibly and helplessly alone in this universe. Someone so alone....he or she does nothing but enslave him or herself to fate and just.....exists. Exists for the better good.....or bad. You exist for the better good, Ghost Boy. And I know what I exist for. I knew it the very moment Slade's bullet flew into my chest and nearly punctured my skin. I knew it the very moment you drove that sword through him. Everything....melted in my head. And there was nothing to fight for anymore....because I was already all that I would ever be. There's no conflict. No dichotomy. I j-just.....am. I wish....I-I wish I could explain what that feels like. Th-That sensation. The impossibilities of such a terribly simple revelation exploding in my head like....l-like tiny, tiny thunder...."

My lips moved, but no breath came out.

It's like the sound of one hand clapping.....

Jinx murmured on: "But the difference between me and the Third Apprentice is........I know that it's all for nothing. And I feel bad. And that feeling of b-badness seals me into this existence. I....I-I almost wonder what it is that I saw in you during those kaleidoscopic battles. I w-wonder what seals you in, Ghost Boy?"

I bit my lip. There was a sore feeling in my throat, and I subconsciously ran a hand over my scar.

Nobody....no one knows who' seals me in'....

A beat.

My eyes closed and I sighed.

But then......last night......

Shivers ran through my damn metal arm. I gritted my teeth.

The....p-painting.......

I shook a bit.

Silence.

I opened my eyes. I slowly glanced behind me.

Jinx was finally.....finally asleep.

And I almost regretted it.

I turned back over, sighed, and forgot all about getting comfortable. My head drifted west.....but only halfway.....

God I wish that seal would disappear already.

I swallowed painfully and covered my face with my hand.

I miss you so much, Kara. I really do. I wish to God that I would be as awake when writing to you as I feel awake this very moment.

I shuddered to breathe and let the cold numb me into oblivion.

I keep running away from you. Running away from you by staying here, Kara. So damn East. So far away from Home.....

My aching black eyes glanced up.

Starlight stabbed down.

Maybe....M-Maybe someday you'll at least take me halfway back. I.....I would really like that.

A beat.

Wouldn't I, Kara?

I let the darkness be the judge of that.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Robin and Raven had been searching the ravine for an hour and a half. They started at the shattered bridge high above the rapids. Then they descended and investigated the leftover splinters littering the rocks and streams. They followed the drifting deadwood, only to find shattered rocks and scorch marks and what looked like a metal.....tree limb. But as for signs of the two handcuffed rogues....there were none.

And the two Titans were reaching their biological limits.

"I think I'm reaching my biological limits....," Raven said.

"......," Robin turned to look at her from where he was perched on a rock in the middle of the rapids. "What the Hell does that mean?"

"It means I'm tired," the dark girl droned. "And so are you."

"I.....am not tired," Robin uttered. ".........................................................." He yawned.

"I rest my case," Raven said. She glanced across the rapids at a spot of dry earth. "And I would like to rest my case for that matter...."

"We have no time to rest," Robin grunted. "Do you think Jinx and Noir would be getting some shuteye?"

Raven blinked. "Um....yes."

"Oh...."

Silence.

"You go and investigate the rocks and water, Robin," Raven sighed and floated over to the dry earth. "Be a good bear and catch us some salmon in your mouth for breakfast the next morning."

"You're not abandoning me, are you Raven?"

"There's nothing to abandon," Raven said. "We've been at this pathetic ravine for over an hour, Robin. Our minds are exhausted. If Cyborg was here....he'd say we should 'sleep on it'."

Robin planted his hands on his hips. "But Cyborg isn't here."

"I know. And I'm still exhausted. Imagine that...." Raven deflated on the dry rock. "Set that biological alarm clock of yours for....erm....seven or so. That'll be a good time to resume our chase."

Robin gestured: "Are you nuts?!?! If we slow down, we'll lose our stea—"

"You're not succumbing to worry, are you Robin?" Raven stared.

"............," Robin took a deep breath. "You're right." He hopped from rock to rock and slowly stepped onto the dry rock. "Rest would......be helpful. Even Batman would agree to that."

"Of course he would."

PLOP!!

Robin sat with his back to the rocks and stared at the distant rapids. "I said 'rest'. Not sleep. You can slumber all you want. But I'm going to keep a vigil."

"Suit yourself....," Raven slipped her cloak off. She spread it out like a blanket across the rock and lay down in her leotard. "Just don't vigil yourself into oblivion. I need your detective skills if I'm ever going to bring Noir back alive."

"Heh....," Robin smirked a little. "You speak as if he's some sort of Holy Grail."

"I don't know about the 'Holy' part....but sure."

A beat.

Robin sighed. He stared up towards the stars. "I can't imagine what ambushed them."

"Hmmm?" Raven tiredly hum from where she reclined.

"Jinx and Noir....they were obviously attacked. I mean....I can't imagine them having a fight. Not with the handcuffs' sensor acting as such a possible risk."

A beat.

"I....I can't help but feel that this is all happening.....for some calculably heinous reason," Robin said, his eyemask thin.

Raven turned over and looked across the rockface at him. "How so?"

"I.....," Robin took a deep breath. "I.....opened up to Noir...s-some...."

Raven blinked. "Opened up to him?"

"I.....told him something I haven't told any other Titan," Robin said. His gloved hands wrung together. He tried not to show it....but failed. "I told him about......someone very close to me a while back that I lost." A beat. He glanced sideways at Raven. "W-Without revealing too much about myself, of course."

"Heaven forbid."

Robin smiled sarcastically, sighed, and faced the stars and rapids mist again. "And....it feels as if.........in some indirect way, it's all repeating. I told Noir about it....and the curse is starting over again." A beat. He gestured towards this sky: "And this air. The crispness of Autumn. I....I-I feel like I'm back in Gotham City again. That damn red sky. Dark waters of some forgotten bay....like the mist before us now." He took a deep breath. "It's painfully familiar. And yet I know it's different. This is another time. Another place. Just because things feel similar.....it doesn't mean everything's repeating. It doesn't mean something else is going to happen....like it once h-happened to her...."

Raven's eyebrow lifted. "Her??"

Robin shook his spikey head. "Never mind. God....I never have controls these days. I swear....Batman would kill me."

"Robin....," Raven took a breath. "....only you know whatever in the world you're talking about. If it makes you feel any better, I'm utterly clueless. I'm empathic. Not telepathic. And with you....I still can only perceive what you tell me."

"I don't think so, Raven," Robin shook his head.

"Excuse me?"

He turned and faced her. "What am I feeling right now?"

".........."

His eyemask thinned. "Don't tell me that you can't sense it now."

She took a deep breath. "You are......you are feeling apprehension."

Robin nodded towards the stars. "See? I'm exhibiting emotion, Raven."

"......"

"I'm letting my feelings loose. It's....It's a liability."

"......apprehension......and something else....," Raven said.

Robin glanced at her funny. "Something else?"

"You mean you don't know?"

He seemed humored. "Now I feel REALLY vulnerable."

"You are.......full of compassion," Raven said.

"Compassion?"

"Or maybe just 'passion'," Raven said. "That's a fair description. It's the foremost on your mind right now."

"Pffft!!" Robin chuckled. "I may feel apprehensive about Noir, but the last thing I'd feel for him is—"

"Who said anything about Noir??"

"................"

Raven sighed, on the verge of much needed sleep but being kept from going there.

"Robin....," she spoke. "Was it because you wanted Starfire 'safe' that you chose me to go on this mission with you and not her?"

"................"

Raven stared.

Silence.

Robin ran a tired hand through his hair. "I.......d-don't want to lose.......th-the most trusted people in my present life, Raven." A beat. "Not now."

"Maybe it's not a matter of trust, Robin," Raven said. "But familiarity?"

A beat.

Raven continued: "Me....it's okay. I know that I'm distant to you as I'm distant to everyone else. But Noir....he's like a brother to you. A fraternal twin almost." A blink. "And Starfire.....to you she's---"

"Go to sleep, Raven."

Silence.

"Yes sir," Raven droned. She turned over and was out like a light.

Robin stared out onto the rapids....in thought.

Time passed.

And when the Boy Wonder glanced over his shoulder and realized Raven was truly asleep.....he let out a shuddering sigh and hugged his knees to his chest. He stayed that way for a few lonely moments....and eventually succumbed to his 'biological limits' as well.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"................"

I couldn't sleep.

"................"

I sighed and laid uncomfortably in the leaves.

"................"

Something stirred behind me.

I paid no attention to Jinx.

I exhaled through my nostrils and stared off into the black forest.

A beat.

Another beat.

More stirring.

".............."

I sighed.

I turned and looked at her.

The pink-headed girl was curled up in her sleep. Her face seemed taut. Her arms and legs twitched some.

"........"

I turned back over and shook my head a bit. I tried to go to sleep.

A beat.

"Nnnngh...."

Stirring.

More stirring.

Then......

There was quite a bit of shuffling behind me.

I almost turned to look when--

"Hmmmm....."

Petite arms encircled my upper body as Jinx cuddled up to my back.

"?!?!??!" I looked back breathlessly.

"Nnnnghh.....," a sleeping Jinx nuzzled her cheek into the small of my back. There was a drunken smile on her lips. "Mmmm.......Leslie......"

"...........," I sweatdropped.

I shook against her.

I tried grabbing and pinching her shoulder.

But the position we were in...or I was in....er.....

I shook my head and sighed.

Right now....I wouldn't even mind if Diana saved me.

I simply lay there throughout the course of the night and tried to ignore the small, slumbering witch hugging me from behind like a huge teddy bear throughout the night.

Who needs nightmares?