06/15/24
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Change For The Better
Chapter Eleven: Metamorphosis
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By her second day of searching, much of Jinx's fire had burnt out. No matter how hard she looked, Jump City seemed devoid of any evidence. The closest they had come to finding anything was during their visit to the school where Beast Boy had been seen a few days before his disappearance, but the visit only left them with more questions than answers. Two girls claimed they talked to Beast Boy, but for some reason they couldn't remember why. The girls described the days he showed up as something like a fever dream, and reported feeling light-headed when they tried to remember.
At least, that was what they told Kid Flash and Hawkgirl. The girls, Amber and Dionne, didn't exactly give Jinx a warm welcome. She spent most of that conversation hanging back and trying not to be too interested in the school itself. It seemed nicer than the H.I.V.E Academy. It almost made her wonder if her parents' idea of enrolling wasn't so bad after all (of course, the side-eye she got from Amber dashed that thought fairly quickly, but part of her still wondered).
The school visit set a precedent of Kid Flash and Hawkgirl doing the talking while Jinx trailed behind them nervously. Amber and Dionne's coldness was only the beginning, and if looks from civilians could kill Jinx was certain she would be a corpse in the ground by now. She did her best to pretend she didn't notice, putting on all the bravado she channeled as the leader of the H.I.V.E Five, but in the end the past two days had done their damage. Jinx's ever-growing self-doubt was beginning to reach its limit, and she highly doubted things would end well if this kept up.
Hawkgirl, to her credit, was much kinder than Jinx expected her to be. Although she was a little rough around the edges, Jinx could clearly see what Kid Flash saw in her. She was brave and headstrong, and everything Jinx wanted to be, but she was also level-headed and compassionate. She certainly would've made a better role model all these years than Madame Rouge did. Maybe it was because of this that Jinx's burning desire to gain her approval only grew stronger throughout the days, which meant her perceived flaws only stung that much worse.
(It is worth noting, dear readers, that Hawkgirl was entirely unaware of Jinx's internal turmoil. The only thing on Hawkgirl's mind was getting to spend some quality time with Kid Flash or, better yet, slam her mace into Chemo or D'kay's squishy flesh. She trusted Kid Flash's judgment far more than either of them realized, and wasn't too concerned about Jinx's past. There wasn't really an ulterior motive to Hawkgirl choosing Jinx for her little squad; just a strong, unwavering desire for violence.)
Jinx was unsure if it was a relief or the end of the world when Hawkgirl suggested they split up to cover more ground. The idea of going out on her own and facing the judgment of the entire city that she used to terrorize put her stomach in knots, but it also meant that she could go completely rogue and simply... not do that. Instead, she found herself in the familiar pattern of sneaking around in the shadows, pursuing a mission entirely of her own making. After all, there were some people she wanted to see more than anything else in the world, and she was getting impatient waiting for her court approved and heavily monitored visitation sessions to begin. After the week she was having, all Jinx really wanted was her team and she would be darned if she couldn't sneak into prison to see them for a bit.
She was nervous about it, sure. They definitely felt burned when she betrayed them at the Brotherhood of Evil's Parisian hideout. Their first meeting post-betrayal probably wouldn't be sunshine and roses. But she was legally entitled to regular visits with her former teammates in hopes of being a good influence on them (it was, after all, free rehabilitation therapy for them in the government's eyes) so the sooner she could get past the awkward first visit, the sooner she could actually enjoy their time together.
Unfortunately, her teammates weren't the only old acquaintances she was destined to have a clandestine meeting with that day. If she had known who was lurking around the corner, Jinx would've made an effort to stay on the other side of the city. Or even outside of the city. Anywhere but here, really.
Jinx scowled, narrowing her eyes. Hexes tingled around her fingertips, ready to fire. The newcomer only laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender.
"Whoa, Lucky! Nice to see you too! You know, I was wondering when you'd show your face around here."
"What do you want, Leo?" Jinx growled, strengthening the intensity of the pink electricity sizzling against her fingers. Her ex-boyfriend (ex-mistake, in more honest terms) only smirked at the sight, which made Jinx even angrier.
Kid Kold dropped his hands, crossing them over his chest instead. He leaned against the alley wall, still wearing that stupid smirk and that stupid parka.
"You know, I think I finally figured out your game."
Jinx raised a brow, but did not extinguish her hex. "What game?"
"The reason why you're going around pretending to be some big dumb hero. It's all just a plot to get everyone's guards down and get your stupid team out of jail. You're not fooling anyone. Definitely not me."
"Hey, no one calls my brothers dumb except for me!" Jinx snapped, releasing the built up energy from her fingertips.
Kid Kold collapsed against the wall, residual bursts of magenta still sizzling against his clothes. He only laughed about it rather than showing any sort of regret, which only served to irritate Jinx further. She briefly wondered if there were any security cameras around. If not, surely she could get away with hiding just one dead body before fully committing herself to turning over a new leaf.
"You know you don't need those bozos, right? I mean that yellow guy too, obviously. I'm thinking you and me could build our own criminal empire. We'll do it right. Better than my lame dad and ditz of an aunt ever could."
"Not happening," Jinx deadpanned. She found herself faced with the dilemma of not having a pair of power-dampening handcuffs on her person, which would make arresting Kid Kold a tad bit difficult. Not that he had any warrants out for his arrest at the moment, but surely being annoying could count as a crime. No, she supposed she just had to be the bigger person and walk away, as painful as it was.
"It's still more likely than bad luck incarnate working for the good guys!" Kid Kold cackled. Jinx tensed up at his words, nearly stopping in her tracks before forcing herself to keep walking. "Face it! All you're good for is destruction! The sooner you learn this, the easier it'll be for you!"
Jinx gritted her teeth, taking off into a hard run and praying that Kid Kold wouldn't follow her. But she knew in her heart that even if her ex stayed in one place, his words would still haunt her for days to come.
...
When Beast Boy finally woke up, his mind was still hazy from D'kay's influence. His mind cleared slowly, bits and pieces coming back to him as seconds stretched into minutes, stretching into hours in turn. For the first few hours of it, things still felt like he was waking up from a bad dream. He was devastated the moment it clicked that this was all so very real. He didn't yet realize that there was a light at the end of this dreadful tunnel, like a butterfly ready to hatch from its cocoon does not yet realize that it will soon hatch from its chrysalis prison and feel the sun on its wings once more. So much like that butterfly, all he felt was a crushing disappointment.
As more hours went by, he began to regain his senses and take in his surroundings. First, he realized that he was strapped to a slab of concrete. Then there were the wires and needles, IVs and catheters. He eventually followed the trails of the wires to the machines he was hooked up to. What he could remember of D'kay's words helped him piece together that the machines were sustaining him, keeping him alive without food or water. He briefly wondered how long it would be until his captor returned. Theoretically, she wouldn't have to for a while if she didn't need to feed him or anything. It could be a chance to escape, if he was careful.
First, Beast Boy tried the logical option of trying to shift into a smaller creature so he could slip out of his restraints, but he was disappointed to realize that something was dampening his powers. Then he tried brute force, without much luck. When he thought that he could maybe, almost get free, he realized that an IV needle in his hand was dangerously close to falling out. He was terrified of the possibility that this could be his food source, leaving him to starve if he failed to escape. This was enough to make him slow down and think things through.
"You're not gonna get away with this!" Beast Boy screamed, struggling against the restraint trapping his other hand. It would be better if he could free himself on this side first, to avoid ripping out the needle. "You hear me? The Titans are gonna realize I'm missing, and then they're coming for you! We're going to beat you just like we've beat every other bad guy that tried to stop us before!"
The room was silent, save for a small, barely audible gasp on the other side of one of the cell's concrete walls. Beast Boy's heart raced at the sound. Was someone else here too?
"Is someone in here?" He finally asked.
The other prisoner's voice was quiet and full of fear. "Beast Boy? Is that really you this time?"
If his heart was racing before, it had stopped completely now. He knew that voice instantly. He would know it even if he forgot his own name. It was a sound he would never forget, not in a million years.
"Terra?"