1/1/24

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Cursed

Epilogue: Freedom

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In the lobby of the CCPD, a family waits patiently by the front desk. The father, a tall Korean man in a neatly ironed suit and thick-rimmed glasses, makes small talk with the secretary and Kid Flash as he fills out forms. To the untrained eye, he looks proper and well put together, but a closer glance reveals a small paint stain on his tie. Many years ago, his 7 year old daughter accidentally made a mess with her brush while painting together, but he just laughed it off and stuck the tie in a drawer when the stain wouldn't come out. John Park was kind like that, never the type to get mad at his girls over an accident. As he talks to the secretary, he occasionally looks back at his wife, checking to see how she's handling things.

Hilda Park seems more shaken than her husband. The bags under her bright blue eyes tell a thousand stories. Stories of loss and worry, of countless nights hoping and praying that their oldest would one day be returned to them. Today, that long awaited day will finally come. Her hands tremble as she runs her fingers through her pin-straight blonde hair, a calming ritual she's had since her youth. But in spite of her nervous disposition, or perhaps because of it, Hilda was always a patient and doting mother. On her wrist, she wore a bracelet that had been made from a children's jewelry making kit. I don't recognize the specific bracelet, but given Dad's tie I'm sure I know where it came from.

And finally, there's my little sister. Felicity. How much have I thought about her in the past decade? How often have I wondered what kind of person she had become? She looks just as lovely and wonderful as I always imagined. She must be in middle school now; a hard age for sure, but the wide grin on her face tells me she's handling it well. Our Indian heritage is more evident in her than it has been in me for years, with her tan skin and dark hair, and it makes me wonder what I would've looked like if I had never been cursed. The way she bounces and twirls back and forth between the secretary's desk and Mom's chair makes it clear that she's every bit as bubbly and energetic as she was when I still knew her. Kid Flash told me that she was officially adopted a few years after the incident. Maybe someday...

In the meantime, I'm all packed up and ready to go home. It's all been arranged, thankfully. If this were a normal teenage-supervillain-reforming situation I'd be stuck in foster home with experience working with troubled teens, but things are a little different considering I was already in foster care to begin with. I'm just glad the foster parents I already had were cleared to take me. Kid Flash has already moved my suitcases and backpacks to a pile by Mom's chair. Felicity was snooping through them a moment ago. Mom almost started crying when she pulled out Clover, so thankfully she stopped that nonsense to keep Mom from getting too choked up. I may have missed my sister, but I still don't want her digging through my stuff.

I duck my head behind the door before Felicity can spot me. Kid Flash told me I can come out whenever I'm ready. According to the clock in the hallway I've been hiding in, I've been trying to feel "ready" for the past 23 minutes. Nope, scratch that. 24 minutes now. Everyone is probably wondering where I am. I feel like I'm going to throw up. What if they take one look at me and decide they don't want me anymore? What happens when it hits them that I'm a criminal? I don't want to go to a different foster family, I just want my family.

I take a deep, shaky breath and try to calm down. Maybe if I just stay in this hallway forever, I won't have to face them.

After peaking out the door one more time, I turn around to take a walk. Maybe that will clear my mind. Or maybe I'll find a good hiding spot to just stay in forever. I must look pretty pathetic, because The Flash stops me when I walk past.

"Hey, Jinx are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I grumble, pushing his hand of my shoulder. Why does every hero in this city have some supernatural ability to see right through me?

"You know you can go see your family now, right?"

I bite my lip, glancing at the floor. There's really no avoiding it, is there?

"I'm just... worried. About everything."

Flash gives me a reassuring smile. "It's a lot, isn't it? You're doing great though. I promise things will start to feel normal soon."

I shake my head. "But what if it doesn't? What if people always see me as a villain?"

"I can't promise that it will be easy," Flash admits. "Maybe some people won't. But you're not the first villain to make a change. It's getting easier for people to come around."

"But what about my family?" I answer quietly.

"They know that you're Jinx. We didn't hide that from them. But they still came, didn't they?"

I smile and take a deep breath. "You're right, aren't you?"

I've had this talk with both Flashes multiple times over the past few days. The answer is always the same. I have nothing to worry about. My family clearly loves me. So why am I so worried?

"You were my hero when I was little. Did I tell you that?" I say, avoiding his gaze.

"I think my nephew mentioned it a couple time," he says good-naturedly. "I think someday, you'll hear someone tell you that too."

I smile, finally feeling a little cheered up. "Yeah, I hope so."

As if he knew we were talking about him, Kid Flash enters the hallway.

"I think 'Lizzy's ready for you," Kid Flash says, ceremoniously linking his arm with mine. "You should probably head out before she starts tearing up the place looking for you."

He must be talking about Felicity. It seems to be her nickname, since he's called her that a few times. She was named for our mom's friend, so it makes since that she goes by a nickname now that they both live in the same city. While most foster parents wouldn't get to name their kids, we were an... unusual case. No one knew where we came from. We were found on the side of the road when Felicity was a newborn. They assumed I was around four or five, but I had memory loss so it's hard to say exactly how old I really am. Looking back, I guess that Witch who claims to be my biological mother was the cause of my memory loss. I couldn't even remember my own name. Linda was actually a name my parents had in mind for their future children before they learned they were infertile. I picked it off a list they gave me, and they stuck Mallory in as a middle name after my father's late sister. We were Janie Doe and Baby Doe until they took us in long term. It's hard to believe I abandoned the name they gave me for so many years. That name represented so many of their deepest hopes and dreams, and they gave it up for me without a second thought even though they didn't know if they'd get to keep me. How could I have doubted their kindness and care for so long?

I grip Kid Flash's arm, taking one last deep breath for my nerves.

"Okay, ready."

We turn around and walk to the door. I turn my head to glance back at Flash, who nods encouragingly. He's right. I can do this. The only way to go is forward. I was strong enough to make it through these long, excruciating years. I led my team through countless victories, and picked up the pieces through our failures. One day, I'll stand as their leader again, but on the right side of the law this time. All that's left to do for now is to be reunited with my family at long last.

Kid Flash opens the door, barely giving myself enough time to collect myself. I squeeze my eyes shut, take another breath, and rip off the band-aid of facing my family.

"Mom? Dad?"

Felicity reacts before our parents get the chance. She sprints forward, faster than even Kid Flash could manage, collapsing into my arms.

"Oh gosh, oh, it's you! You're really here!" she sobs, clinging to me like a koala.

Her weight pulls me away from Kid Flash and down to the ground. I grip my baby sister tightly, soaking her hair with my tears.

"I've got you now," I whisper, nuzzling my cheek against her head. "I'm never leaving you again."

"Linda! Oh, my baby!" I hear Mom sob.

I can't see her, with my eyes too blurry from tears, but I soon feel her embrace. Dad is crying too, but whatever he's saying is unintelligible. The four of us soon become a useless pile of limbs and tears on the CCPD lobby floor, all thoughts of custody paperwork and maybe-boyfriends forgotten in the moment.

The journey was long, but I'm finally free. At long last, I've found my way home.

….

Hi again, for the last time on this story! :')

We've finally made it to the end, after eight and a half years (nine total years if you count all the planning and outlining I did before sitting down to write the first chapter)! I've written this story across three laptops and a global pandemic. I started this fic as a high school student, and now I'm finishing it the month after I officially crossed the stage and graduated college. Things in my life have changed drastically since I sat down to write the first chapter, some changes being positive while others were definitely negative, but I can finally say I did it!

I always knew I wanted to end the fic with Jinx finding her family again. In fact, this was one of the first chapters that I planned. The message of redemption was one I wanted to emphasize, so the picture of Jinx's family still taking her back after everything that happened resonated well. So much of her life was taken from her by both the HIVE Headmistress and her biological mother, and now she gets to have her happy ending with her family (and Wally, we can't forget him ;) ).

For those of you who were wondering about the identity of Jinx's bio-mom, don't Despair (wink wink, nudge nudge), Jinx's story will be continued! While this story won't be getting a traditional sequel, Jinx's story will continue as the subplot of my other Teen Titans fics (the first of which, Change For The Better, has been ongoing for a few years already). Though for those of you who aren't interested in keeping up with my other fics, I have no qualms about giving out spoilers to put your mind at ease concerning Jinx's future. She becomes a hero in Central City, working with the Titans and Justice League alongside Kid Flash. Her parents officially adopt her soon after they're reunited, and when Jade makes a reappearance she gets adopted by the Park family as well. Her teammates are eventually reformed and released from prison, and they remain close to Linda and find their own happiness in life. The HIVE Academy remains closed, despite Angel's efforts to reopen it, and no more children suffer from the same fate as Linda did. Eventually Jinx defeats her biological mother once and for all (whom's identity will probably be clear if you poke around on the Sandman wiki for a bit, keeping in mind that I've taken some creative liberties). She grows closer to Kid Flash, who she eventually marries when the two of them are older. Over all, not much changes in the sense that she gets a much deserved happy ending surrounded by those she loves. She earned her happiness, and she gets to keep it.

Quote of the day!

"Does anyone want gum?" -the mom from Monsters University, during a car chase

(That movie is intensely linked to New Years in my mind because we watched it at a "New Year's" sleepover one (1) time like 10 years ago. Said sleepover didn't even happen on New Year's Day, it happened during the weird gap between Christmas and New Year's. And yet somehow, it's the New Year's movie for me.)

God bless everyone during this new year! I hope everyone has a wonderful 2024!

May the odds be ever in your favor,

~Spectrobes Princess