1/28/23

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Cursed

Chapter Forty-Six: Fork in the Road

….

"The face of our enemy has changed. No longer is the Doom Patrol our only threat. Now a new generation stands in our way. And those who rule the young will control the future."

I chew my bottom lip slightly, trying my best to conceal how nervous I really am. Standing with my hand on my hip next to Gizmo and Mammoth, from a distance I must look like the powerful leader of the Hive Five. But on the inside? I'm a mess. Glancing around, I can spot many familiar faces in the crowd. Jade, standing still as a statue in the very front with See-More and Grant standing behind her. Angel standing smugly by Kyd Wykkyd, snuggling up next to him for show. A multitude of Billy Numerous clones, scattered throughout. Headmaster Mod from Darkway Prep. The witch who took over my team after hiding in our pie. And worst of all, Headmistress, who never truly cared for us the way we idolized her.

"We have a common enemy. The Teen Titans and their friends will fall. Working together, we will destroy them. One. By. One."

I stare at the back of Jade's head, wondering if she feels as nervous as I do. We're in the same boat, she and I. We let the kids go. This is our last chance to prove our worth. We're already on thin ice after what happened last time. I don't want to think about what could happen if we fail this time.

"It is now the eleventh hour. Our time to strike is now. You each will be given a file. Many of you will work together and rely on the strength of your partners, but those who rebelled must work alone. The files will contain your assignments. Merely contain them if possible, but kill them if you must. This is your mission, and these are your orders. Together, we will destroy the Teen Titans."

A chill hits my spine as The Brain finishes his speech. The villains surrounding me cheer in excitement, but I can't seem to play along. I know his words were directed at me. The meaning behind them isn't lost on me. In order to win back the trust of the Brotherhood, I must face this daunting task alone. The team I've built, and the family I've gained with it, cannot help me now.

Angel walks towards me, her heels clicking against the tile floor. In a room filled of lively discussions, it is still the only sound I can hear.

"I heard you failed," she sneers, a haughty smirk dancing across her features. I wish I could slap that look off her face. She has no idea what we were asked to do.

"Maybe you should focus on your mission instead of being so obsessed with my team," I counter.

"Yeah Snotlord!"

"She's right, and you have no right to talk to Kyd Wykkyd like you're still together after everything you put him through!" See-More snaps.

I smile, feeling proud of See-More for standing up to Angel like that. Kyd remains wordless, standing stoically next to Mammoth. Despite Angel's best efforts while I was gone, it doesn't look like Kyd Wykkyd has been fully convinced to go back to her. I'm thankful for it.

Angel scowls, planting a hand firmly on her hip. "Maybe you should be the ones worried about yourselves. What did you even do to mess up so badly?"

"Oh, you know. We couldn't focus because we were too busy singing little songs. About you, mostly," Jade teases, weaseling her way between us. "Its amazing how many of them you would hate. Shall I demonstrate for you? We could start with Ding Dong The Witch is-"

"I've heard enough," Angel interrupts, shoving Jade out of the way. "I don't know what I was expecting from you. Maybe some competence for once."

"Right back at you," I mumble, watching as she walks away.

"Heigh ho, heigh ho! It's off to die she goes," Jade sings, just loud enough for Angel to hear. "How has she gotten more insufferable with age? Here I was, hoping she would've mellowed out more."

I sigh, breaking the seal on my envelope. "I have no idea. Some people just aren't worth it."

"Agreed. So you and I will be working alone, I take it? Maybe we should've thrown Gizmo under the bus after all."

"I heard that Snotbrain!"

"You know none of us hold it against you, right?" See-More reassures us. "Any of us would've done the same."

I'm about to answer when I notice something very wrong with Jade. She freezes up, hand trembling as she holds a paper from her file.

"Cheshire?" Mammoth asks. "Are you okay?"

Before the words can finish leaving his mouth, Jade has vanished entirely, taking the file with her. What's with her? It can't be that scary for her to go alone, right? Whoever it is, I'm sure she's neutralized far more difficult targets on her own during her time as an assassin. Yet at the same time, this reaction worries me. If the Brotherhood intentionally set her up for failure, what will my assignment look like?

I momentarily drop my suspicions, just long enough to pull out the documents. But in an instant, I wish I hadn't. In that moment, I wish I could vanish as easily as Jade. In that moment, I regret everything.

Because staring back at me is a photo of none other than Kid Flash.

...

That night when I wake up, I'm not in my bed. Nor am I in any of the usual locations of my dreams. Instead, I find myself in a dark, damp cave. Rats scamper about the rock formations, scurrying across my feet when I block their path. A mournful chorus of wailing echoes through the air, blending with the squeaking of the rats to create one of the worst sounds I've ever been subjected to. Droplets of water drip from the ceiling, freezing my scalp when they make contact. The atmosphere reminds me of the dark basement where the Witch held me captive.

I push back any slithers of fear I feel in the moment. The only way to go is forward, so forward I must go. This is probably just another dream. If I can find Kid Flash, everything will be okay.

But will it? Will it really? After all, when I find Kid Flash tomorrow, nothing will ever be okay again. But this is what I wanted, wasn't it?

I steady myself against the wall, ignoring the dizziness and despair that clouds my head. Forward. Just focus on going forward. The rest will sort itself out later.

As I push myself away from the wall, I notice the writing scrawled across it. I ready a hex, using it as a flashlight to read the text. There are names written there, covering every inch of the cave. It takes me a moment, but I manage to read them all. Most of them are mine. Others I've never heard at all.

Mallory. Endless. Linda. Jasmine. Desolation. Park. Elaine. Mal. Vortex. Rockwell.

Jinx.

My hands tremble, and my head swarms with confusion. But I don't have time to wonder what the meaning behind the words could be. I just have to focus on taking one step after the other, avoiding the rats as I move forward. Whatever is happening will be over the moment I wake up.

(But will it?)

"Kid Flash?" I yell.

My throat feels raspy, and my voice cracks as I desperately call for the boy. It's as if my voice has faded from disuse, or broken from overuse. I'm reminded of the days before I was kidnapped, when I would be stuck at home with strep throat. The memory makes me want my mom. I'll have to settle for Kid Flash, though.

"Kid Flash!" I call again.

"Jinx?"

My heart races, and my feet race forward on instinct. He's here! He's really here! Rats swarm around me, climbing on my limbs in an effort to hold me back, but I push through them and hurry down the hall. Having him here with me lifts a weight off my shoulders, and my heart feels lighter. Suddenly, I'm not afraid anymore.

But maybe I should be.

A blue light shines at the end of the tunnel, and I instinctively know that it must be where Kid Flash is. I step into the blinding light, and it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the brightness. When my eyes begin to focus again, my smile falters at the sight in front of me.

A strange figure stands before me, holding Kid Flash in their grasp. He struggles to escape, but to no avail. The figure, though beautiful, wears a smug expression that instantly makes me distrust them.

"Jinx, run while you still can!" Kid Flash coughs. The figure snakes a hand around his neck, choking him tightly.

"Let him go!" I shriek, trying and failing to summon a hex.

"Ah ah ah, you cannot harm your family," the figure taunts.

Chills run down my spine. Although there are similarities between this person and the witch, I can tell they're not the same person. So there are more of them now?

"Who are you?" I manage to choke out.

My newfound relative doesn't answer, nor does that annoyingly cocky expression fall from their face. Despite all logic, Kid Flash is still breathing. For now, that's the most important thing. I just need to keep him safe so we can get the heck out of here.

"Two paths lie before you."

I look around desperately for the witch. That was her voice, I just know it.

"Kill the tether. Become what you were always meant to be. Free me from my Despair!"

"I'm not killing anybody! What's a tether?!" I snap, my fear morphing into rage.

"Seven shall become six. Your Destiny must be fulfilled."

Kid Flash and the figure disappear, leaving me alone. The walls around me begin to change, morphing into a crystalline structure. Images begin to flash along the crystals, one after another, slow enough to register in my mind but too quickly to commit them to memory. Jade curled up in a prison cell on death row. A blonde woman vanishing in thin air as Roy and Kid Flash desperately reach for her. The world on fire, dotted with pools of lava, as countless heroes fight a demonic red monster. A boy who I've never met, but feels so familiar to me, searching hopelessly through the rubble of a building, only to find the lifeless frozen corpse of a woman covered in blood. My sister being held captive by a supervillain. A tombstone with an illegible name. Two children being torn from my arms.

"This is the future before you! You will only have two more chances to make things right! Don't you see the despair of a world where that boy is allowed to live?"

I put the pieces together. I finally realize what I'm being asked to do.

"You want me to kill Kid Flash?" I ask, my voice shaking.

The images on the walls around me keep changing, faster than ever, and I realize now that my future is flashing before my eyes. I can't even take in the images anymore. I feel dizzy, nauseous, and afraid. Falling to my knees, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to keep myself from hyperventilating.

"I won't do it! I can't! I couldn't even sell out those kids to save my own skin! Why are you doing this to me?"

I feel a hand clamp onto my shoulder, and my eyes snap open. But the sight around me isn't the glowing cave from my dream. And that hand wasn't the cruel hand of my enemy.

"Mal?" Jade asks in a small voice.

My heart rate calms down, and the tension releases from my body. It's over. That awful dream is finally over.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting up. The memories of my dream begin to fade, no matter how hard I try to hold on to them. Perhaps it's for the best.

"You were crying in your sleep. I was just... worried," Jade admits, seeming slightly embarrassed. "I didn't want to wake you up, but then you started glowing and there were these lines on your skin, like little fish hooks. I... must have been seeing things, I apologize. Just forget I said anything."

My blood runs cold, and I glance at my arm. Sure enough, a tiny, fish hook shaped mark slowly fades away from my wrist. I suppress a shudder.

"Why were you up?" I manage to ask, changing the subject.

"Couldn't sleep."

I nod, finally noticing the fear in Jade's eyes. I feel a pang of guilt at the sight. Jade's been through a lot, but whatever she saw tonight was still enough to scare her.

"Come on. Let's get some hot chocolate."

…

Hi again! A little late, but Happy New Year! Hopefully this will be the year I finally finish the story. Actually, it's likely that it'll be done before I graduate this spring since we're only a few chapters away!

Quote of the day, coming a little late since this one was planned for Christmas but fit the chapter too well to not use:

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! When I wake up, I'm getting a CAT scan!" Scott Calvin, The Santa Clause

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess