10/7/17

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

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Cursed

Chapter Nineteen: Gizmo

…..

(September 18, 2008. Earth-24)

Once again, I find myself walking down the halls of the Junior HIVE Academy. It's hard to believe that I will soon take this familiar route for the final time. If all goes according to plan, I'll be out of here sooner than I ever planned, which is exciting. But I'm not sure if I'm ready to let this place go.

Today's destination is the cafeteria, where I agreed to meet with the other members of my group for the mission. It's hard to contain my excitement, but I know I have to- after all, a true leader must keep her cool in any situation. But the concept of simply being a leader again is enough to make me stray away from my mantra. I've dreamed of the day I get to go on a real mission again for so long!

If only Jade and Roy were here.

No, they made their choice. They're traitors, after all. They probably weren't even my real friends. As I've told myself before, it would be better to forget about them. But no matter how hard I try, I find that I can't.

The hallway is empty, except for me and my thoughts. It's weird, but it's probably because most of the other students are in class right now. Skipping class is an unknown perk of being on the path to graduation. Which is strange, because you would think that I would need to be in class studying, but oddly enough it looks like most of the requirements for graduating aren't academic based. But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. My class for this hour, one about aliases, is getting me nowhere. For someone who has been using a fake name for years, I'm having a little too much trouble picking a replacement.

It's just… nothing sounds right. When I became Mallory, the name just clicked. I never had any problems with remembering it, or that I had changed it at all. I never accidentally introduced myself as Linda, and I never sat around wallowing in how much I hated my new name. But that was different. Mallory is my middle name- something that's always been a part of who I am. Any attempts at creating an alias sound like I'm trying to be someone I'm not. Charmer, Curse, Lucky- nothing sounds right. They sound fake.

As I continue down the hall and obsess over my situation, I actually see someone at the end of the hall. Which is weird, but maybe it's one of my teammates.

Wrong. It's Angela, taunting the little boy I saw the other day as he shouts back what I can only assume to be his attempt at swearing.

"Hey, Angela! Pick on somebody your own size!" I shout, hexes tingling along my wrist.

The boy backs away timidly, but Angela crosses her arms and stands her ground.

"Well if it isn't Mallory. Why do you even bother? We all know who's stronger," Angela boasts.

I laugh to myself. "You're right, it's me. Friendly reminder that I'm a Level H now, and you're just a Level G. Clearly, you're the one who isn't good enough."

Judging by the look on her face, I'd say I've struck a nerve. She flutters her wings angrily and narrows her golden eyes at me, but I refuse to wipe the smug grin off my face. Neither of us have time for a confrontation today, but that doesn't mean I can't be catty.

"Is that so," she says, hissing through her teeth.

"Yeah," I brag. "In fact, I'm going to be seeing the Headmistress very soon. How do you think she would feel if I told her you were picking on kids?"

Without another word to me, Angela sticks her nose in the air and walks away.

"I could've handled that, you pit-sniffing crudmuncher!" the boy snaps, stomping his foot.

"Yeah right," I scoff. Him verses Angela. There's a thought!

We glare at each other, and both begin walking side by side. It's probably a good thing that wherever he's going is on the way to the cafeteria, seeing as he's already established that he has a case of Chihuahua Syndrome. Maybe it's a good thing that he has someone to look out for him now.

He must not feel the same, however, because after about three minutes of this he turns to me and yells, "I told you, I can take care of myself!"

"I know," I say dryly. "We just happen to be going in the same direction."

"Well stop following me!" he snaps.

What did I get myself into?

"Look, it's like I said!" I yell as I spot the entrance to the cafeteria. "I'm just going right there!"

"No, I'm going there!"

"Well maybe we're both going there! Now shut up and follow me in!"

"Why do I have to follow you!"

"Because you told me you don't want me to follow you! Now come on!"

He finally shuts his bratty little mouth, and I almost regret saving him from Angela. Maybe a slap to the face would've humbled the little brat.

Together, we begrudgingly walk into the cafeteria, where the Headmistress is already seated next to Baran. At the sight of him, I instantly feel a little calmer.

"Mallory, Mikron, have a seat."

Oh crap, he's in my group!

We both sit down (me next to Baran, Mikron next to the Headmistress but unfortunately across from me) and the Headmistress begins.

"Now, the three of you are the only Junior HIVE agents going on this mission, so I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you do not give the older agents a reason to respect you, you will not be respected. And it will your own fault when the three of you graduate in December and your new classmates refuse to take you seriously."

Baran is roughly as confused as I am. "You're telling me this little squirt is a Level H?"

"Say that to my face you snot-faced-"

"Mikron," Headmistress interrupts, "may be young, but he is a technological genius. To hold him back would be a waste of potential."

Mikron smirks and leans back in his seat, which tragically affects how well we're able to see him.

"Now, if we are done behaving like children, I would like to explain your mission."

"Yes Headmistress," we all say, in nearly perfect unison.

"Good. Now, the mission of our older students is to go to Darkway Prep and retrieve something which rightfully belongs to me. However, after the last time a group of our students invaded, the school has appointed student guards to protect the school. Your mission is to distract those guards so our students can slip in."

"Sounds easy enough," Baran says.

"It is a simple task," Headmistress agrees. "However, it is not one you should take lightly. Your failure or success will be part of what determines if you will graduate this December."

Hearing her words make me nervous, but I nod my head in understanding.

"Good. I will go into more detail on the night of the 26th. In the meantime, you must prepare. I give you full permission to skip classes in order to do so."

"Yes Headmistress."

She gets up to leave, before pausing for a moment. "One more thing. Mallory is in charge."

This time, there's more hesitance before the others join me.

"Yes Headmistress."

She leaves us alone, and we wait for her to be out of earshot before beginning our discussion.

"Who do you think you are?" Mikron asks.

"Excuse me?"

"Being the leader, knuckle-head. What makes you so special?"

I don't answer, because I can't. Sure, there are reasons why she may have chosen me, but those things don't necessarily mean she had to pick me. She could have easily chosen someone less qualified, so they could have the experience. And saying that I do have the necessary skills makes me sound arrogant. The last thing I want is another fight.

Much to my surprise, Baran answers for me.

"Mallory's a good leader. I trust her."

Mikron stares at me for a moment, before giving his final verdict.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance."

I can't help but smile.

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you down!"

I'm not sure why, but a part of me knows that the three of us will make a great team.

…..

Hi again! Sorry I haven't updated in a month. Life's been busy, but with NaNoWriMo coming up I'm hoping to get more writing done.

I think I forgot to respond to reviews last time, so I'm getting it all it one go if that's okay ;)

Thank you:

Rose (guest) for reviewing (Thanks!)

nomnomthegreat for reviewing (Aww, thanks! Have you heard her other new song yet? It's fantastic!)

Moheart7 for following and favoriting

Silver-Infinite for reviewing (Thanks! I hope she'll appear somewhere else too. I heard they're doing a live-action Teen Titans show, so maybe she'll show up there eventually. I'll be excited for it even if they don't include Jinx though, since I've been waiting for more Titans since sixth grade)

Quote of the day!

"Oh, it's nothing. You know, I'm just talking to the disembodied professor who lives in my head." -Justice League Action, Firestorm

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess