Our Time in Reverse- What It Takes
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Chapter 8: California Dreamin'
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It, was Renegade.
He, was Robin.
"As you command, Master."
That was the mission. He nodded; glassy eyes understood the man as Slade observed in silence on the screen. ~ One year of this and you will have your reward. Good luck. ~
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A pizza place at early noon was busy opening its doors.
Two kids were running after a ball in the park on the next block up. Their parent was scuttling along as quick as their day off would have them.
The street square in Jump City was a- bustle; with salary men and women of their decade. The old arcade was coming back into relevance and ne're do wells were outside it, greedily taking up one machine with grins on their young faces.
There was a boy with no hair and large goggles on his neck. He was short, dwarfed in height yet his eyes were mesmerized by the person at the controls.
A girl with cotton candy pink hair in a Gothic style dress put a hand to her hip from beside her brother. The third. A hulk of muscle who had to kiss his claw prize goodbye. Slapping his face, the others chuckled cruelly in a joking way at his shortcomings.
" Aww! You lose, M. Wanna go on another lazer tag run?" The googled headed youngster grinned. "I got new ammo ta' try out. State and the art, not even on the black market…anymore." The goggle boy was short, nearly as tall as a toddler, he wore a dark green jumpsuit and reminded their onlookers of a mad scientist.
"I'm bored though, Mammoth has been at this for hours. But I know a trick to fix his bad luck streak-
"Don't cheat today, Jinx." Grumbled the big baboon of a creature. His red sideburns made the older look even older, the girl Jinx waved off his response as a minor annoyance . "Whatever. I'm tired of playing these kid games. Why can't we use our powers anyway? I made sure to get you bozos a viper card each. You owe me."
"Fine bossy pants!" Hissed the youngest of their three person group. "What do you wanna do to avoid the popo? This was all we could think of."
"The heroes sure do get to take it easier then us." Mammoth looked out at the bay where the giant T could never block enough if that midday sun. "Stop gawking and think, stupid –
"Uh, hi."
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Dick didn't waved exactly but cane up to them in his red hoodie, ratty jeans and his dark shades to just associate. The mission was to get to that tower. He wondered who these bad kids were, yet he also wished Slade had told him more about the city.
"Hi…."
Gizmo raised his body up and soon his was off the ground, motor powered in the air as Dick tried to remain calm. "Scanner's not picking up nothing. I say he's a runaway."
"Who cares. Kid? You aren't from around here. Are you?" Jinx now squinted her eyes as Dick shifted his feet side to side. "Escaping my old man. Can't stand being such a freak to him…you guys…know the Titans?"
"See?? See?? How is that not a red flag!"
" Gizmo." Jinx shot back. "You had better get back to class, whoever you are. Listen, we don't associate with just anybody. And we don't –
"We don't hang out with those goodie -goodie , Titans!" Mammoth finished as Jinx dropped her gaze to pinch the bridge of her eyes. "Yeah, what they said. Go figure your own life out –
"I have, and I think you can use something new to do. I saw how preoccupied you were. Want me to show you a trick my old man taught me?"
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Dick fiddled on the side with a mechanism as the claw machine gave out. Jinx watched as he was blocked by her friends, and out popped her….
He pulled out Kitty – Pire.
Jinx's mouth dropped open coyly as a cat's as Dick handed the cat plushie to the leader of the small group he had just injected himself into. With a small smile, she had turned pinker than her hair.
"I saw that one and it was the one Mammoth had tried to get , right?"
"You work as a repair man, monkey wrench – master?" Mammoth asked, rather glad that his sister had gotten her prize by the kindness of another. "Naw, my old man ran amusement rides at this one attraction and I watched him every day…but he lost custody of me so my new…." Dick pulled back and rubbed his arms, selling that crap to these defenseless teens. "Sorry. We all.losy somebody important too, new kid. I'm Gizmo, boy genius and don't you forget it!" Boasted the youngest member to the newbie.
""This here is Mammoth, and our unofficial leader, Jinx."
"Thanks, if you want…" Jinx bit the inside of her cheek to think," You can hang out with us, just until it gets late. We're on a strict watch."
Dick turned his head to the others. "Why's that?"
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He was easy to let be as from a safe distance, Dick continued to observe the kids and their personalities fir hid master to be proud. Jinx was a princess with a more sensitive side than her snobbish exterior. Gizmo was a trickster, but way too advanced for his grade….or was he older?
Mammoth wasn't the brightest two – legged cousin to a yeti, yet they got along even so. He was a bit more laid back and loved to eat. Gizmo liked money of course, and technology. Jinx liked fine jewelry and…
Dick saw where they were. The square.
The busy passerby weren't even paying notice as Dick listened in on what the three were going on about. Lost in his thoughts, he had almost lost sight of keeping an eye on himself.
"We should totally do it."
"I dunno…" Jinx looked at the electronics store as Gizmo drooled over a new console. "During the day? It's going to get us caught –
"We got a new rookie, Jinx." Mammoth told his sibling as she still felt wrong about what these knuckle heads were going on about beside her. "Coming, and if THEY show, you can show em how much you've been practicing."
"You said today was boring, anyway."
"Sorry, what's going to happen?"
Dick pulled back as Jinx looked the vagabonds teen dead in the eye. "They want you to be in an initiation of our group. And we want to get what Gizmo's after for our new place."
"A brand new system, a few tvs in each –
"Are… are you going to rob that store?" Dick kept his voice way down as Jinx sighed, her stress pooling down in waves around them. "Yes, it's how we survive on our own. You did it, so can we. You just don't know what we're capable of. You were even asking about this city's heroes.." She stated. "Right?"
"I…I was, but is that how you'll get their attention? Shouldn't we wait until it gets dark?"
"Not as dramatic. We wanna be their adversaries, and so far the Titans didn't even pick a sludge – muffin leader. They're totally gonna fail at this!" Chuckled Gizmo as Jinx looked more angry than relieved to be taking part. "And we could even get other villains to recognize our work. Fighting the Titans will put us at the top."
"Can you though?" Dick looked over all three. "You said you can use something power, but k don't see how –
Jinx snapped her fingers as Dick's body ended up farther from the ground. "Magic?"
"Bad luck. A curse but I'm gifted with a way to get the most out of it. Gizmo is a genius, and Mammoth is the muscle of this operation. Who are you, new kid?" She grinned while her eyes let up soft pastel and white. "Are you in, or aren't you?"
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Dick was going to rob, or assist s group of teen delinquents, in robbing an electronics store in the center of the city. Cook's was the name of the large shop ln the neon sign as Dick took in a breath. He'd be their distraction. Have their trust. Get to see the Titans.
In his pockets his hands went, his hood up and shades on as he entered the shop. Act like a kid just browsing.
It was simple. Be the distraction his master needed him to be-
"Hey, it's school hours." The manager was walking over?
Dick looked behind him and kept walking. "Hey!"
He walked through the back of the isles and to the X rated films in the back. The older male manager shouted as Dick looked for a place, or object to use to drag out his plan.
"Get away from there, you brat!"
Dick actually liked this. He was leading that idiot adult into the closet as he side stepped the adult. The man fell into a stack of mannequins and shelving hooks while Dick took the man's keys and locked up.
" HEY! …
BANG BANG , went the door.
" LET ME OUT! HEEY!!"
The rest would be said and done. Dick moved about the next room until he was back with his –
Jinx blasted a few tapes to slap him in the face. Her smile less forgiving as Mammoth took so many Tvs in a full on shopping spree. Gizmo raided the register.
Dick looked over the place as Jinx smiled with a hand to her hip. "This was fun, but you have one more job. Take the fall so we can get outta here."
"You…you're coming back, wait…were you going to ditch me all this time??" Duck gawked at his one mistake. Being double crossed. He thought nothing could go wrong. An alarm went off and the group scattered, leaving Dick a wreck under a set of sprinklers and a bunch of video discs in his lap. "Wait!"
They didn't, and the doors opened on one side to the back, while out in front…
The heroes, had arrived.
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