More chapters enter, ready to replace those that came before. I'm rather proud with this one. I dunno why, I just feel like my writing improved or something along those lines. Anyhow, introducing some new characters. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, all I have is the plot.

A Haunting Memory Returns

Chapter 18: Undiscovered Topics

It was at the crack of dawn that they began moving, hoping to get to the nearest airport that day. Jinx was still shaken up after her nighttime meeting with Dracul, but she didn't let on. She didn't even let on that there had been a meeting at all. Wally didn't seem to care in the slightest. He was more concerned with that same voice that he told he about a few days ago. He'd often turn to her and tell her what it, or he rather, told him.

"I keep asking him who he is and what the Hell he wants, he just responds saying that he's above my comprehension."

"Seeing as it's you, he probably is." Jinx joked.

Wally stopped and tilted his head as he stared at her. She felt uncomfortable with those eyes looking her over; normally she'd accuse him of perversion, but his eyes didn't show any of the childish pleasure that used to be there.

"Was that a joke? I couldn't tell."

He certainly didn't look upset, more curious. Obviously, trying to break the ice would harbor nothing.

"Let's just keep walking." Jinx suggested.

"Nice way to end a conversation."

"Shut up."

"He won't. Just continues to tell me not to trust you."

"How could you trust a voice, someone you don't know, over me?"

"I sure as Hell don't know you."

"You never did, yet you thought I could make something better of myself."

"Was it worth it?"

"You tell me."

"No, not that. Was it worth it? You leaving all your friends behind like that?"

This question caught Jinx off guard. This conversation never popped up, they both just considered it infinitely better and she just went with it. Come to think of it, occasionally she'd come to be homesick for her "Super-de-duper Evil Lair". And miss that pint-sized brat. And the "extinct" giant. And the hillbilly. And the mute. Hell, she'd even trade some of the moments with Wally for the occasional awkward moment between her and See-More. They were her friends, and she let them get iced—no—she led to them being iced.

"They were..."

She tried to find more words to describe how she felt about them while being vague enough not to let on how much she missed them.

"Something else."

It didn't seem to work, because there was a hint of depression on Wally's face.

"I'm sorry that I tried to replace them. I never was the guy to take no for an answer, and now I've taken away something special."

Jinx felt bad for him, it was like watching a guy get hit in the head a little too hard and live a new life until being shown what he used to be. He probably never knew how arrogant he could be. She turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He twitched at her touch.

"Listen, you've done nothing wrong. You just did your job."

"Yet I expected a reward far beyond what I deserved."

"I could have left if I wanted to. You didn't steal my heart, you've earned it."

Wally growled and winced, his hands shooting up to his head. His eyes opened to reveal a malice-filled glare. He snatched her hand and gripped it tightly, his fingers digging into her arm.

"Don't you dare fucking touch me!"

Jinx's heart pace quickened, panic rising through her veins. She tried to break free but she was too shocked to even move. And before she knew it, her arm was back in her possession. Wally stepped back and looked at his hands in horror. He stared back at her arm and panicked even more.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

She ignored the pain and tried to pacify her boyfriend, assure him that he didn't hurt her at all.

"Your face! My hand marks are on your face! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" he cried out.

She held her forefinger to his lips to silence him. He just looked back at her with those moist blue eyes.

"Sh... it's okay."

Jinx smiled and he seemed to calm down at the sight of it. He even smiled back. Slightly. For once it seemed as if the worst of the storm has passed.

…

Dracul had sent them off, all of them together. The Hive Five were going to get to rob an Airport.

"Goody." Gizmo grumbled.

The old man heard it and was quick to turn to him. Those red pieces of glass glowing like fluorescent headlights.

"Gizmo, dear child..." he started sweetly, "You'd best give your opinions to my face. That is, unless you don't wish to keep yours."

"What face? Your mask?" Gizmo thought.

So here they were, Gizmo threatening the clerk of a hamburger joint for a couple loose bucks. It was dull, unworthy of their attention. So imagine his surprise when he sees Mammoth fly backwards from what looked like pink energy. Gizmo let out a high-pitched groan and turned to face his comrade's attacker. Sure enough, his ex-friend/leader was standing there with that stupid, cocky smirk on her face.

"Too long. You guys miss me?" she asked in that I'm-so-cute voice.

"Hardly." Gizmo spat out coldly.

He instantly became aware of the shadow towering over him, and he turned to find the fastest boy alive himself. He gulped nervously. The frown on his face was new—and quite an unwelcome addition at that. Gizmo braced himself for the worst and was surprised to receive a palm to the back of the head.

"Dumbass, you're not doing it right." Kid Flash growled.

"W—what?" Gizmo stammered in reply.

"Idiot, you're not pulling this crime correctly. If you really want to get fortune and get away you gotta..."

And off he went, chattering on and on about proper threatening techniques and how to make yourself more intimidating. The weirdest thing was that his reasoning actually made sense! If Gizmo had a notepad and something to write with he'd probably jot some of it down. Not only that, but the look on Jinx's face as she listened to him ramble was priceless. Mammoth had enough time to sneak up behind her and grab her from behind, which was actually quite the feat considering how large he was. This day went from crappy to great rather quickly.

"Well pit-sniffer, who's caught who?"

She struggled and tried to break free, and for whatever reason, he actually felt sorry for her. But at the same time he was relishing this moment.

"Settle down or I'll drop you from the top floor." Mammoth threatened as she kicked at him.

"Top floor? Does this airport have a top floor?" Kid Flash asked.

"No, you're thinking shopping mall." See-More answered.

"No, he's thinking shopping mall." Kid Flash stated as he pointed at Mammoth.

"You guys got any money for that doo-hickey that delivers sodi-pop?" Billy asked.

"I'm a poor man; a working man." Mammoth replied.

"I second Mammoth." See-More stated.

Kyd Wykkyd nodded his head in agreement. Gizmo lost patience with the random chatter between his team.

"Would you slug-crunchers focus?"

Jinx looked at him with a happiness only created when seeing others suffer the same pain that you have.

"Gee Gizmo, what did I say when I was in charge?"

"Forget this. Let's just take 'em to the ol' man." Billy suggested.

"No! He'll hurt them!" See-More hollered a little too loud.

The entire team turned their heads to give him the famous "What the F man?" stare. See-More's face gave a rosy hue that shouldn't have been there.

"Hurt who?" Kid Flash asked.

"You dumbass. And that traitorous bitch."

"Goddammit man, what the Hell did I do?"

"You're a hero."

"Hero my ass."

Gizmo shook his head in disapproval of the stupidity being showcased before him. Maybe he should have paid more attention to the men in blue uniforms coming towards them, wielding their weapons in impressive fashion. Or maybe the sound of the store clerk rummaging through the back looking for the PVC pipe that gave him the unwelcome souvenir.

…

For policemen, they were good at fighting meta-humans. They approached in a brilliant, admirable formation. Back when she was a little girl, to the point she was a villain even, she always found the police people who contributed much to society. When she first saw them parade through her neighborhood, she thought it was quite the sight to see. They did everything exactly as they were taught, and they did it well even though spectators were few. You really can measure a man when he takes the time to do something right even though he doesn't have someone looking over his shoulder telling him off for not correctly performing.

When Jinx saw them approach she had a sense of pride in her heart, thinking to herself, "These are normal people, doing extraordinary things that us 'superior folk' couldn't even dream of."

They executed a stealth attack, silently taking out Kyd Wykkyd, See-More, Billy Numerous, and lastly Mammoth. Poor Gizmo received a whack to the head with a pipe. All of them, put down by the Force. These are the idiots that Dracul employed. They shut down the airport for a couple of hours as they disposed of the unwanted criminals and questioned "witnesses". When she saw her ex-team get taken away, she felt that hint of depression that she always felt when she saw them get hurt or punished. She was like big sister, taking care of her little brothers and trying to make sure that they didn't shirk their responsibilities. But it's hard to play big sister when little brother/s hate your guts.

When everything seemed secure to the airport officials, and the media got their input on the event, everyone was allowed to load onto the planes to get where they needed to go. They got comfortable on the flight, Murphy not sparing any expense in having to take multiple planes. No, just one single plane ride throughout the entire journey. Wally took the window seat, lost in thought as he looked outside. Jinx herself took the long ride to get in a few hours of sleep. She laid back as far as possible when sitting in an upright position and closed her eyes, awaiting the exotic wonderlands that she would visit.

…

Wherever she was, it sure as Hell was not a wonderland. In fact, to Jinx, it looked more like a library. Her surroundings were hazy, but it seemed as if she was alone; there wasn't even a librarian. As she looks forward, she becomes aware of the enormous stack of books obstructing her view. Behind them, she heard a ticking noise. She struggled to move the stack and found herself looking at the man behind it all. In his left hand he held a pocket watch; in his right, a book. He put the watch away, now acknowledging her presence. He set the book down on the table and examined the other pieces of text, that she was sure he had picked out for her.

"What is this?" Jinx found herself asking.

"A meeting." Dracul replied.

She gave him a skeptical look.

"This is a dream. You can't be real."

"Dreams are a form of communication, a medium if you will, a medium allowing us to pass off messages."

"So what's the message?"

He looked up from the text and gestured to the books.

"Just a way to get to know each other better. A brief explanation of my people and their customs, as well as my ancestry."

"Why?"

"If you wish to stop the enemy, you must know him as if he was a friend."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I'm sorry dear, you'll need to speak a bit louder. These ears have weakened over the years."

He took her stack of books and scattered the majority of them across the library in careless fashion, leaving only two books. He rose up and began looking through the surrounding bookshelves.

"You've made rather quick work of them didn't you?" he asked without looking at her.

"The police helped."

"Relying on others will undermine you." Dracul warned.

"You've never been reliant on anyone."

"I durst say you're wrong."

"What?"

"Leave this place. Leave and go back to whatever insignificant lands your feeble mind travels."

Jinx looked up at him, confused by the sudden change of topic. But she didn't have much time to ponder it as she began to feel horribly nauseous. The entire room spun around her, as Dracul continued looking through the bookshelves. She felt her eyelids get heavy as she seemingly fell asleep in her dream.

…

When they arrived in Vermont Jinx felt somewhat refreshed. It would be nice to rest before another long period of walking. The airport seemed lively—you wouldn't really expect a horrible revolution taking place in the state next door. It made you realize how badly humans communicated with one another. But there wasn't time to think about that, they had to start their trip. They walked for miles and miles, Jinx looking for a distraction for Wally so she could check their baggage. A heavily wooded region entered their sights, and a stream in the middle of their path. Jinx asked Wally to go get some water from the stream. It seemed like a simple enough task, even for a mentally unstable person He didn't object, which relieved her. She looked through what they brought, and sure enough, neatly set on top of her folded clothes were two books. The first one, a dull, sandy-colored book with a leather cover titled "The Demon of Poveglia". The second, a slightly newer looking red book with a picture of a wilted leaf, this one titled "Rats in the Shadows". She quickly zipped up the suitcase, and a chill went down her spine knowing that the old man touched her baggage.

"Got the water." Wally stated proudly.

"Good, let's keep moving." Jinx replied.

…

Well into the forest, Jinx began to wonder...

"Hey Wally."

"Yeah?"

"Are there even forests in Maine?"

"I dunno, I always thought of it as more of a place with plateaus hanging over the coastal rocks."

"That's what I always thought."

"Us too, but we're not complaining." a teenager's voice said.

Jinx turned around to find a casually dressed boy, with jeans, sneakers, a tee shirt, and a jacket. He had brown hair. He was taller than her, but slightly shorter than Wally. He was covered in freckles. Freckles everywhere. More than she's ever seen in her life. She put so much focus in examining this boy, that she didn't notice the younger one hiding shyly behind him.

"C'mon out Ince. They sure as Hell won't hurt you." the freckle face said.

The younger boy, also casually dressed, stepped out hesitantly. He was small, probably around eight years old. He had a sandier tone in his hair, but still harbored as many freckles as the older boy.

"Who might you two be?" Jinx asked in a sweet tone, as to not drive off Ince, the younger boy.

"I'm Izaak." the older one said.

"Isaac?" Jinx asked?

"With a Z and a K instead of the S and C." Izaak responded.

That was a weird way to spell it, seeing as he looked American.

"My brother here is Ince." Izaak clarified.

Ince gave a toothy grin, now seemingly comfortable.

"And I'm eight!" he bubbled.

Jinx was happy to know that she got the age correct. And she smiled back to the little boy; she couldn't help it. He had that cute childish aura around him that made it impossible not to instantly like him.

"Why exactly are you here?" Wally asked skeptically.

"You two are the ones they're talking about, right? The Titans?" Izaak questioned.

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"We're supposed to be the ones to say it, so welcome to Maine!"

End of Chapter...

That's the chapter. What do you guys think of the new characters? Obviously you don't know much about them, but from what you've read, do you think they should play a bigger role in the plot? And what with the books? How do they fit in to the plot? Tell me what you think, and if you enjoyed the chapter. And if you didn't enjoy the chapter/story or you just have a single gripe with it, let me know. I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing. Thank you for taking your time. Good day.