Archive of Our Own

It was a deceptively normal morning in Titans Tower when it happened. With each and every member of the Teen Titans gathered in their living room, each of them minding their own business.

Then again, the beginning of the end always started with deceptively normal things. Just ask Raven. 

Robin was fixing himself up some lunch, the eggs crackling as soon as they made contact with the sizzling pan. He moved expertly around the kitchenette, picking up ingredients while stirring what was already in the pan without missing a beat. Every now and then, he’d rake his hand through his notoriously spiky dark hair in an absent-minded manner. 

Starfire wasn’t too far away. The alien princess was cooing over Silkie on the counter, her back to their team leader. She poked and tickled and prodded at her pet, the little mutant larvae squeeing in delight at her ministrations. Impossibly green eyes sparkling, the giggling Tamaranean brought her little bumgorf into a bone-shattering hug in adoration.

It was a good thing Silkie had no bones to speak of. 

As usual, Raven sat on the opposite side of the living room, engrossed in a book. Even though her hood was down, her expression betrayed nothing. She may as well hate what she was reading with every fiber of her being; either the other Titans heard a small explosion going off somewhere, or they’d be none the wiser to her true feelings. They knew better than to push her too far by now, anyway. 

While their teammates busied themselves with quieter activities, Cyborg and Beast Boy needed more… eye-catching stimuli. 

Bright splashes of colour flashed through the massive flatscreen while an ear-splittingly loud soundtrack blasted through the speakers. Cyborg’s deft fingers slid over his controller as he commanded his avatar to deliver hit after hit on Beast Boy’s. The shapeshifter, on the other hand, couldn’t help but thrash about in his seat as he tried to regain the upperhand, gloved digits clumsily button-smashing, to no avail. 

“Player 1 Wins”, announced the disembodied voice coming from the game, causing the robotic man to leap to his feet in joy while his green friend slumped forward in defeat. 

Cyborg flashed him a shit-eating grin, and Beast Boy returned the gesture with a glare of his own. Right before diving into yet another round. 

Clean, rinse, and repeat. 

All in all, an extremely normal morning for the Teen Titans. 

What wasn’t so normal, however, was when Beast Boy spotted a rather familiar shadow from the corner of his eye. 

Furrowing his brow in confusion, he ignored Cyborg’s cry of protest when he paused the game to take a better look. What he saw made his blood run cold. 

“Uh, Star?” He called out weakly. “Have you been giving Silkie any more of those weird berries from your world?”

“Do you mean the zorkaberries, Friend Beast Boy? In which case, no, I have not. You were all very clear that I was never to feed them to Silkie again after the last time.” 

As if to demonstrate, she raised a wriggling but perfectly regular-looking Silkie for all to see. 

It was Robin’s turn to furrow his brow. “Why do you ask?”

“Because it was way better than the alternative.” He whined, pointing at what he’d seen outside. 

Following his finger, the remaining Titans gasped, immediately taking battle stances. Roaming outside their window was a dog-sized mutant moth baring its razor-sharp teeth at them. The buzzing of its wings only grew stronger the more time it passed, as if it multiplied, and they soon learned why. 

A giant swarm was making its way over to their tower, which could only mean one thing:

Killer Moth was at it again. 

“I think that’s the last one.” Jinx dusted her hands off after dropping her last box on the floor. 

Satisfied with her work, she placed her hands on her hips and gave the room an appraising look, a proud smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

Her small, one bedroom apartment still had a long way to go before it started feeling like a real home, but considering she wasn’t planning on staying for long, she supposed that was fine. To be honest, she wouldn’t even have to worry about unpacking, as she didn’t have that many things in the first place. 

Firstly, because most personal belongings that weren’t absolutely essential—such as personal hygiene products, clothes, text books, or stationary—would be immediately confiscated by the faculty at HIVE Academy. They were training future villains and mercenaries, but God forbid their students kept anything from their missions. 

And secondly, and more glaringly, because Kid Flash had made sure she completely and utterly obliterated her room and personal belongings back at her old hide-out. When called out on it, the speedster recognised that, in hindsight, that was a tad extreme, and he had apologised profusely. Still didn’t change the fact that suddenly she had even less possessions than when HIVE Academy came crushing down—literally.

Which meant that rather than having countless carton boxes all piled up everywhere, she really did just have the essentials and whatever she’d managed to scavenge over the last few months. Not like it really mattered, though. Her apartment was small, yes, but it had everything she needed. 

Comprising a large room that doubled as a living room and kitchen, one bathroom, and one bedroom, there wasn’t much else Jinx could possibly want out of a cheap thing like this. It even came fully furnished; her room had a nightstand and a bed, and there was an old sofa and TV set in the living room. As long as there were plates and silverware in the kitchen alongside the fridge, she was golden.

Not like they would cook much, though. Cooking back with the HIVE Five would have been suicide—as if she didn’t have enough trying to reel them all in, then she would be relegated to being their maid. And Kid Flash couldn’t be trusted near a stove lest they risked burning the whole place down. His words not hers. 

So it was best if they stuck to take-out, pre-cooked food, and the basics. Especially when her landlord made it clear that so long nothing was broken, they wouldn’t need to see much of each other. 

Which was fine by the girl. She did not look forward to interacting with that greasy, unkempt sleazeball that kept sticking his nose up at her in distaste any more than she had to. 

It’d been months since she left the HIVE Five and her life of crime behind and became an Honorary Titan alongside Kid Flash. A transition that was both easier and harder than she thought it would be. 

On the one hand, she was a top HIVE student. Fighting and using her powers to their full potential was second nature to her after years of honing her skills in and out of simulation rooms. A sommersault here, a well-placed hex there, a cheeky one-liner if she was feeling generous… Coupled with Kid’s super-speed, taking down bad guys felt as easy as breathing. 

But on the other hand, she was suddenly helping defeat people she used to consider allies not too long ago. Not friends, no, but allies. Saying they were ‘friends’ would be too much of a stretch—villains did not-so-mutually beneficial partnerships, not friendships—, but they would work together or tip each other off on some potential loot or of any nosy goody-goodies lurking about. Now, they saw Jinx tying them up for the police to find and they looked at her with a mixture of shock and betrayal.

Not that Jinx particularly cared or regretted anything, mind you. She liked the life she’d begun to forge for herself. But it was still awkward. 

Though nowhere near as much as the lingering cautiousness and suspicion that practically oozed out of the authorities and civilians whenever they caught sight of her working with the Titans. Their judgemental stares made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. An unpleasant, itchy feeling taking over that—.

She shook her head. She refused to follow that train of thought. 

All in all, Jinx was pretty content with her life. Still getting used to it, but content nonetheless. 

The only real problem was that she’d been between houses ever since leaving the HIVE.

At first, it wasn’t that bad. She had some secret stashes with cash hidden all over Jump City, so even though it wouldn’t get her a room at a five star hotel, she could at least afford to pay for having a roof over her head at some ratty motel. It was far from ideal, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

The problem came when she and Kid Flash were called to action somewhere far away. Sometimes, if they were working with whichever Titan was in charge of the area, she’d ask to crash on their couch. Other times, they weren’t so lucky and they had to find a place to stay. At least Kid had no problem paying for his half of things, but Jinx’s savings were being quickly used up and she couldn’t exactly afford to get a job to earn some money. 

Between her unmistakable features, her prominent criminal record, and the fact that she didn’t have that much time in the first place with all her newfound superheroics, the pink-haired girl just didn’t see herself flipping burgers or working as a cashier at some rundown mall. 

Naturally, Kid had offered to help her out, but she categorically refused. A girl had her pride, after all. That, and she couldn’t depend on him for everything. 

And yet, it was her boyfriend who came up with their current short-term solution. 

Renting an apartment. 

At first Jinx had been sceptical, as she made sure to let him know. If the issue was that she was using up the little money she had and couldn’t save up, how was yet another long-term expense going to help? 

“That’s the best part, Slow-Poke. It wouldn’t be long-term.” He revealed, intriguing her. 

Apparently, Robin was working on a big scale project, his ultimate plan to coordinate the Titans. He and Cyborg were designing the blueprints for more Titans Towers all over the globe, with each location being assigned to a group of Honorary Titans that would work as a team and protect their respective cities. 

And that included them.

The fastest boy alive explained how his best friend (a fact that left Jinx gobsmacked the first time she heard about it) fully intended to assign them their own team, too, but he needed a few months to organise everything. Cyborg also needed that time to finish designing and building each and every tower. 

So, in the meantime, why not rent an apartment in Keystone and fight crime from there? After all, Keystone City was Kid Flash’s turf—the civilians already trusted and loved him, and would therefore be much more accepting of Jinx than back in Jump City. Not to mention, well, her boyfriend was super fast. If they ever needed to be elsewhere, he could take them both in a matter of seconds. 

And so, incapable of seeing any flaws in his logic, the sorceress caved in and put down a deposit for her new temporary living arrangements. Although this time she agreed to split the bill with Wally as he’d be living with her more often now. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by her boyfriend calling out to her from the doorframe, “Where do you want me to put this, Jinxy?”

Shaking herself off her reverie, her cat-like eyes landed on the box in the speedster’s hands, a small frown pinching her brow. “Careful now, those are my drawing materials. I had to strategically set some money aside to be able to buy them.”

Understanding flashed through his blue eyes at her warning. With a nod and a smile, he placed the now precious cargo on her new bed, knowing she’d prefer to rummage through the box’s contents and organise everything herself. Walking over to her, he couldn’t help but notice how her ‘bed’ was actually little more than a mattress with a pillow. 

He raised an eyebrow from underneath his mask, “You got any bedsheets, Slow-Poke?”

Jinx just shook her head. “Nah. Somebody tricked me into destroying the ones I did have.” She reminded him with a pointed look, to which he at least had the decency to look sheepish. “Doesn’t matter, though. I at least got a blanket; I can manage.”

“We should go get you some, then.” Kid Flash suggested, but his girlfriend waved him off. 

“Don’t worry, there’s no rush. I’d prefer to get all settled in before we buy anything. Besides, we’re supposed to be moving away again soon. The IKEA shopping spree can wait til then.” She shrugged. 

“If you say so…” Just then, something flashed through Kid Flash’s eyes, like he just remembered something. Her suspicions were confirmed when he facepalmed before turning to her with a dazzling grin. “Oh, I almost forgot! Be right back.”

True to his name, he was gone in a flash. 

By that point, Jinx knew better than to think she had enough time to do anything else productive before he came back, so with a small huff she plopped down on the bed and brought the box containing her art materials onto her lap. Her boyfriend’s return was heralded by a small breeze that rustled her pink horn-like pigtails a little. Her cat-like eyes glanced up at him curiously. 

He was clearly trying to hide something behind his back.

Okay, now her curiosity was piqued for real. 

She set the box aside again, “What’cha got there?”

Sometimes, Jinx hated the way Wally’s smile never failed to send butterflies fluttering through her stomach. Stupid charming speedsters and their adorable thoughtfulness. 

“Just thought you might need a little something to liven up the place.” He said enigmatically before procuring a red rose from his back and handing it to her. 

Doing her damnedest to not blush but knowing she was failing furiously—indeed, a faint pink coloured her pale cheeks—, the bad luck sorceress gingerly took the flower proffered to her with a soft, “Thank you, Kid. I know just where to put it.”

True to her word, she turned just enough to face her nightstand, where she had already placed the small vase Wally used to deliver his last rose to her after she helped him escape from Madame Rouge that fateful night. She was too embarrassed to admit it, but when she first left the HIVE Five, ready to start her new life on the run, a part of her propelled her to go back to the warehouse district to retrieve the vase too. 

The soft smile on her face after putting the flower inside the vase vanished as soon as she saw the speedster’s cocky grin, one hand still behind his back. She frowned.

“What?”

“That’s not all I got for you, Slow-Poke.”

Before Jinx had the time to ask, he was already presenting her with another gift. The goth could feel herself sweatdrop as she stared blankly at the present and back at her boyfriend, equal parts unimpressed and exasperated. 

“A framed picture of you, really?”

In between blinks, Kid Flash had already placed the frame on her nightstand, beside the vase, now looking up at her from his comfortable position laying face down on the mattress with an easy grin. He smiled up at her with the exact same dazzling expression displayed on the picture. 

“So you won’t get lonely during those long, cold winter nights when I can’t be with you, Jinxy.” He winked cheekily, earning himself a snort from the pink-haired girl. 

“Oh, wouldn’t that be tragic…” She rolled her eyes, but the way a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips betrayed her amusement. 

“How’re you feeling?” Kid asked. When Jinx sent him an odd look, he went on to elaborate, “About all this, I mean.” He gestured around them. “I hope I didn’t pressure you into renting this apartment. I know you weren’t too sold on the idea…”

“Kid, please.” Jinx scoffed, but there was no real malice behind the action. “As if you could pressure me into anything. I tried to ship you off to the Brotherhood of Evil when we first met, remember?”

“Not many people can say that’s how they first met their girlfriend.” He conceded, tilting his masked head to the side. 

“Exactly. So, there’s nothing to worry about. You and I both know I would have never listened to you about renting an apartment if I didn’t want to rent an apartment. Besides, this is all supposed to be temporary, anyway.”

To this day, the sudden feeling of his hot breath near her skin still managed to send goosebumps down her spine. Not that Jinx would ever admit it. Not that Wally didn’t know about it already and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Willing her blush to recede, her feline eyes stole a furtive glance his way. Her heart skipped a beat when pink met blue. When she turned to face him, their faces were much closer than they’d been five minutes before. 

“I’m glad to hear that.” He whispered, a smile ghosting his lips as they closed the distance inch by inch. “You know I’d never want for you to feel like you have to do something you don’t want just because I said so.”

“Wally,” she breathed, loving the way his name sounded on her lips sent shivers running down his spine. “Everything I have done ever since I met you was because I wanted to…”

Eyes closing shut, their breath mingling and lips brushing each other, they were mere seconds away from closing the distance between them for good—.

Jinx had never hated the sound of the T-Communicator more than she did at that moment—even when she was still a criminal and that usually spelled trouble for her. Judging by the way Kid Flash groaned loudly and ran a hand through his red-headed locks in frustration, so did he. 

She really couldn’t be blamed if her response had been a little more snappy than usual, “What is it now, Robin?”

The Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow, taken aback by her tone, and—huh, would you look at that. The rest of the Titans were also present, huddled around the big screen in their living room. Maybe this was more serious than she thought. 

“Sorry if I’m interrupting anything.” Liar. He didn’t sound sorry at all. “But we need your help with an extremely delicate mission only you two will be able to carry out.”

That got Jinx’s attention. She huddled closer to Kid Flash, placing a hand on his shoulder for support. The crimefighting couple hovered over his communicator as they awaited further instructions. “What’s the matter, Robin?” Kid Flash asked, his brow furrowed in concern. 

“See for yourselves.” Cyborg said gravely before pressing a button on the remote. 

The couple could only gasp. 

The image had changed from the Titans’ living room to a view of Jump City being completely overridden by a giant swarm of abnormally large—and worse, abnormally aggressive— moths. Screaming civilians ran for their lives as the insects invaded the city, gnawing away at buildings, traffic lights, telephone lines… The whole thing looked straight out of one of Beast Boy’s bad horror movies. 

“You need our help fighting the moths?” The speedster guessed once the team of heroes reappeared on his screen. “Got it. I suppose I could draw them all to a tornado and release them somewhere they won’t pose a threat anymore.”

But Jinx pulled a face, unconvinced. “Do you really need our help with this, though? Haven’t you dealt with mutant bugs on your own before?”

As if to demonstrate her point, Silkie chose that very moment to come crawling through the room, all eyes on him. Jinx flashed them a meaningful look. 

“You are correct, Friend Jinx. We have battled the mutant moths and the demented mastermind behind them before.” Starfire began solemnly. The way her otherwise cheerful expression turned grim actually caused a pit to form in the sorceress’ stomach. “But I am afraid the situation is more dire than ever, which is why we need your help.”

“In stopping Killer Moth?” Jinx offered, leaning closer to the communicator, completely captivated by the severity in which the Tamaranean spoke. 

“Wait, Killer Moth?” Kid repeated. “As in, the Batman villain? What’s he doing in Jump?”

“He’s been operating here for a few years now.” Robin explained. What he said next, though, only served to confuse them further. “However, you won’t be helping us in stopping him. At least, not exactly.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“We need you guys to deal with Kitten.” Beast Boy blurted out, seemingly unable to take it anymore. 

It was like a record being scratched.

“...come again? What does some cat have to do with anything?” Kid Flash questioned, his face scrunched up in incredulity. 

“It’s not so simple.” Raven intervened, her usual monotone betraying nothing. “This isn’t about a cat, Kid Flash. Kitten is a girl; Killer Moth’s daughter, to be precise. And we need you to talk to her.”

“That pink bitch?” Jinx blurted out, her jaw hanging low in disbelief. 

Robin actually looked uncomfortable for a second. “Please, Jinx, we would appreciate it if you refrain from using such language when referring to other people. It is unbecoming and disrespectful towards them. But yes.”

“Sorry, it slipped out.” She wasn’t sorry at all. Judging from her boyfriend’s disapproving stare, he knew. 

“Um, no offence, but wouldn’t that apply to you as well? With your whole, you know…” Beast Boy trailed off, gesturing meaningfully at the sorceress’ pink eyes and hair. Only to flinch when his teammates (and Wally) sent him murderous looks for his appalling lack of tact. 

For her part, Jinx just huffed and crossed her arms. 

“Come on, Beast Boy. When we first met, I ambushed you all in the middle of the street, terrorised you in particular, and ran you guys out of your own home. And even then, you have got to admit that I was never nearly as insufferable as Kitten!”

A beat passed. Then…

“Tooshy.”

“It’s pronounced touché, you idiot.” Raven corrected the shapeshifter with a glare. He just blushed in embarrassment. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Kid Flash interrupted, waving his free hand in front of his face so fast, he almost caused a mini tornado. “How do you know this Kitten? Did she go to HIVE Academy, too?”

“Oh God, no!” Jinx exclaimed, genuinely relieved to have been spared from such trauma. “She was just there with her dad when the Brotherhood of Evil first summoned all of the Titans’ enemies. Trust me, that was enough to get a good grasp on the kind of person she is.” Shuddering at the memories of the girl’s childish tantrums and disgusting flirting with her equally disgusting boyfriend, she turned her attention back to the core team. “So, what’s the deal? Why would you need us specifically to handle her?”

“This morning, just as we first noticed the swarm, we received a transmission from Killer Moth.” Cyborg explained right before pressing yet another button, this one replaying the aforementioned transmission. All Jinx and Kid Flash could do once it was over was grimace in sympathy and discomfort—the man really was desperate. “As you can see, he needs our help in getting Kitten and her boyfriend Fang back together. He’s threatened to have his little pets go for a nice ‘walk’ if we don’t.”

How was it possible that Jinx had been raised in schools specialised in grooming the next generation of villains, meaning they were expected to rise above petty teenage drama, only to find herself thrust into petty teenage drama upon redeeming herself?!

“Wait, wait, wait!” She mimicked her boyfriend’s previous actions, although nowhere near at the same speed. “That’s it? His daughter can’t keep a guy around—no surprise there—, and suddenly that’s our problem? What, are we supposed to play the role of couple’s counseling, or something?”

“I gotta agree with Jinx here.” The redhead muttered, equally flabbergasted and uncomprehending. No small feat for someone who processed information at superhuman speeds. “Not that we don’t want to help you, but why us in particular? Are all the other Titans unavailable?”

They didn’t like the way they suddenly averted their gaze one bit. After a minute or two of awkward silence, he gently prodded, “Well?”

It was Starfire who spoke, “The thing is, when discussing who would be better suited for this mission, Raven pointed out the best way to help those two criminals reconcile would be to ask for the opinion of an expert. Somebody who knows how criminal couples think.”

“Okay…” Jinx said slowly, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“And after a zisnik’s consideration, Robin reached the conclusion that you two would be the most appropriate choice because… Well…” The Tamaranean trailed off meaningfully, avoiding eye contact again as she gestured vaguely at Jinx. “Because of your own romantic history.”

Indignation coursing through the sorceress’ body, all Jinx could do was scoff and cross her arms, “Uh, rude much?”

“Sorry, Jinx.” Robin said, and this time he did sound genuine. “But you just said you know Kitten. Your intel could be invaluable in solving this crisis.”

“I said I met her at the Brotherhood’s headquarters.” She corrected pointedly. “In fact, it would be more accurate to say I suffered her; I don’t know squat about the girl!”

“But you do know how dating between villains works.” Raven chimed in matter-of-factly, her tone leaving no room for argument. Her intense dark violet eyes staring straight at Jinx’s pink ones. As always when it came to the more powerful sorceress, Jinx deflated, much to her annoyance. 

“Unfortunately.” She admitted at last. “It’s about as messy as any normal teenage crush but with a heavy dose of sociopathy added into the mix. And knowing Kitten and Fang’s track record, they’ll be back together at the end of the day with or without our intervention.”

“But you know how to speed things up, don’t you?” Robin smirked. 

“Yes.” She gritted out. 

“Then we need you to get on the case and help them patch things up as soon as possible.” The Teen Titans’ leader said urgently. But then, he did something that surprised her. Even with his mask on, he stared at the pink-haired girl with empathy, almost pleadingly. “We’re sorry to ask this of you, guys. If it were just between those two, we wouldn’t even bother. But with Killer Moth involved in his daughter’s love life again… We can’t afford to let anyone get hurt.”

Jinx’s own annoyed gaze softened at that. “I understand, Robin.”

She could sense Kid Flash smiling tenderly at her before turning at the Titans with a much more decisive expression on his face, “We’ll take care of this in no time. No worries.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, friends!” Starfire squealed, green eyes shining as she applauded, bouncing in place in delight. “I am truly sorry that you have got to encounter that manipulative grimplork; rest assured, I shall recite the Poem of Gratitude in celebration of your bravery upon the completion of your mission. All six thousand verses!”

Kid Flash actually paled a little at the offer. He lifted his free hand slightly. “Uh, thanks, but that won’t be necessary, Star. Right, Jinx?”

But Jinx was still too busy processing things. Was it just her, or did Starfire just call someone a bitch? She supposed it was okay if you couldn’t understand the language to prove it. 

“Slow-Poke?” The use of her nickname broke the girl out of her reverie. Shaking her head, she nodded with a small, uncertain smile. 

“Right. Sure. You can count on us.”

“Excellent. Cyborg will send you the coordinates so you can meet up with Killer Moth and be put up to speed.” Robin sent a meaningful nod his teammate’s way, who began working on his system to send them the required information. “Keep us updated. Teen Titans, out.”

And just like that, the screen went black, followed shortly after by a message sent by their half-robot friend with the villain’s address.

“Damn it.” Jinx hissed as she began to make her way to the door to leave for the mission, Kid Flash hot on her heels. 

“You’re not looking forward to playing matchmaker?”

“That’s not—well, okay. That too.” She admitted, turning around to face him. “I just realised we should’ve asked Robin to cover the first month of rent in exchange.”

That got a laugh out of her boyfriend, who pecked her lightly on the lips before taking her in his arms and running towards their destination back in Jump City. California was hundreds of miles away from Keystone City, and considering Kid had to go a little slower whenever he travelled with Jinx, they should arrive in a matter of minutes. 

She wasn’t joking. 

If anyone had asked Jinx that morning how she expected her day to go, awkwardly sitting inside Killer Moth’s oddly suburban home, teacup in hand, as he told them his daughter’s romantic struggles wouldn’t have even made it to the top hundred. 

And yet, there she was. Sitting stiffly on Killer Moth’s uncomfortable sofa, in the middle of his straight-outta-an-80s-sitcom-looking living room, while the villain in question comfortably reclined back in his chair to their left and her boyfriend stuffed his mouth with pastries. In the meantime, Jinx held onto her teacup and plate for dear life, like they alone could anchor her back to reality and remind her that, no, this wasn’t some bad dream. She was indeed in a madman’s perfectly furnished, most-likely mortgaged home. 

It all felt extremely… domestic. 

It was so wrong. 

While Killer Moth poured himself some more tea, the sorceress eyed the preppy-looking horse statuette placed on the table behind the sofa and next to the stairs. She bet everything she had on that thing acting as the way to access his secret lair or lab, or wherever he plotted from. That was Secret Lairs 101. Literally—Jinx had to take that class back in freshman year back in Dark Way Prep, and aced it, naturally. 

Just as she was beginning to wonder whether this man actually attended neighbourhood association meetings or not, Killer Moth set his teacup down. His bulging, compound eyes landed on his guests. “Thank you for coming here today. I hope it didn’t interfere with any prior plans.”

“Not really, don’t worry.” Kid Flash assured him far more diplomatically than Jinx could have ever done. “So, why don’t you tell us what seems to be the problem here?”

The mutant nodded. “I’m worried about my daughter, Kitten. She recently broke up with her boyfriend, and she has been quite… depressed lately.” He settled for after a while, carefully, as though he’d needed to find the right word first.

Jinx figured a loving father wasn’t supposed to just call his daughter ‘insufferable.’

“Most people would get over a bad break-up with Rocky Road, not biogenetically engineered terrorism.” The pinkette deadpanned with a raised eyebrow. 

Killer Moth frowned. “As a parent, all you want is to make your child happy. You’ll understand once you’re older.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” She was about to tell him exactly what she thought of his parenting when a gloved but warm hand on her wrist stopped her. Glancing up, she saw Kid Flash shaking his head, the message clear.

“It’s not worth it, Slow-Poke.”

She took a sip of her tea with an irritated roll of her eyes, but didn’t say anything else. For now.

“Why don’t you tell us exactly what happened?” Kid Flash suggested politely. “That’ll help us understand what we’re working with.”

Crossing one leg over the other, Killer Moth laced his fingers together over his lap as he observed them carefully. His wings fell from the back of his chair, almost like a cape, no doubt because it would be painful for him to accidentally sit on them. 

After what felt like an eternity, he began, “It all happened about a week ago. I was busy with my… research, when Kitten called for me. Apparently, that idiot Fang had just broken up with her a few days shy of their anniversary, for no good reason. Naturally, my little girl was left devastated.”

The superhero couple shared a sceptical look at his initial hesitation followed by his deliberate use of the word ‘research’, but they chose to just let him speak for the time being. First, they had to make sure he called his creations back. Then they could focus on busting his ass for good, too. 

“I told her she was too good for him, and that she’d find someone much better in no time at all.” He went on. “But it’s been days and Kitten has yet to stop crying, or screaming, or interrupting my work to rant on and on about how much she hates her ex and how much she misses him simultaneously. I’m on my wits’ end, here!”

By the end of his own rant, Killer Moth had jumped to his feet. His voice raising in volume the more he complained—erm, shared his concerns regarding his dear child. His large, insect-like eyes were wide and manic as they stared back at the heroes sent to help him. Noticing the way they seemed to shrink further into his sofa in discomfort, he cleared his throat and tried to regain some semblance of composure. 

“As you can imagine, I understood my Kitten would only feel better if she at least got some sort of closure. So I’ll admit I went out of my way to move things along.”

“Is that what you call releasing an army of flying little monsters to terrorise the city and force us into compliance?” Kid Flash asked ironically, his tone more biting than what even Jinx was used to hearing from him. His head rested on his palm while he leaned into the armrest and flashed an unimpressed look at Killer Moth. 

“As I told your partner, there’s very few things a parent won’t do for their child.”

This time, Jinx refused to hold back any punches. The whole thing was beyond ridiculous. She expected this kind of bullshit from the HIVE Five, but not an actual, honest-to-God Batman villain!

“In other words, what you’re saying is that you can’t take your daughter’s whining anymore and expect us to do your dirty work for you. Is that it?”

Killer Moth was about to open his mouth, one finger in the air, surely to protest her accusation, when an unholy sound stopped them all in their tracks, causing them to look upwards in concern. Between the pterodactyl screech and the furious stomping going on upstairs, a part of the cat-eyed sorceress couldn't help but wonder if Beast Boy had been assigned to help them after all. 

Her hopes were dashed when instead a screeching, blonde banshee wearing a pink top with matching flats and headband and washed-out jeans came barrelling down and straight at her dad. 

“Daddy! You won’t believe what Kendra just said!” Kitten whined, storming straight towards her father, who was left cowering behind his chair. Luckily for him, she was momentarily distracted by the sight of two Titans seated in her living room. Two Titans who were definitely not Robin. “Who are you?” She asked disdainfully, her brow pinched in distrust. 

“Kid Flash, fastest boy alive.” Wally introduced himself cheerfully, ever the gentleman. He then gestured at his girlfriend. “And this is Jinx. Nice to meet you, Kit—.”

“Whatever.” She waved him off rudely. She then turned her attention back to her father to continue to drill him with her latest drama. “Anyway, did you hear me, Daddy? Kendra just said she saw Fang hanging out with some floozy just the other day! We haven’t been over for a week, and he’s already seeing someone else!”

“Good for him,” Jinx whispered to the speedster. Unfortunately, Kitten heard her loud and clear. 

“Excuse you. What do you even know about what I’m going through?! I bet you goody-two-shoes have never had to deal with something as serious as having your heart broken once in your lives!” Just then, something akin to recognition flashed through her blue eyes. Without warning, she got much closer than what was considered polite to take a good look at Jinx. “Wait a minute, I know you! You’re that goth loser who hung around that bunch of lowtime crooks back at the Brotherhood of Evil’s HQ. What was it again, Hex?”

“It’s Jinx.” The bad luck sorceress snarled, her eyes beginning to glow a dangerous shade of pink as she stood up to face the Barbie wannabe straight on. 

Sensing a fight incoming, with a panicked grimace, Kid Flash was back on his feet in no time at all. He placed a comforting hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder, knowing that alone managed to reel her back in for the most part, and sent the person they were supposed to help a charming smile. 

“And I’m Kid Flash.” He reintroduced himself, knowing it probably didn’t register the first time. “And we’re here to help you talk to Fang and hopefully patch things up.”

“Why would I ever want to take that unfaithful creep back?!” 

That got Jinx’s attention. “He cheated on you?” 

Okay, maybe she was being too harsh on the girl. Insufferable or not, nobody deserved to be cheated on. 

“Uh, hello? Didn’t you hear me just now?” Kitten crossed her arms as she stared down at them. “I literally just said he’s started dating someone else not even a week after he broke up with me!”

There went Jinx's sympathy for the girl. 

Next thing you knew, the blonde had flung herself onto the sofa, face down, and begun to sob into the throw pillows about how her ‘Fangy-poo’ had already forgotten about her. The couple sent her father an incredulous look. He could only shrug helplessly. 

Irritation flaring up, Jinx pointed at the girl more aggressively, urging the villain to do something. 

With a long-suffering sigh that rattled his wings, Killer Moth sat at the other end of the couch and began to pat his daughter’s back comfortingly, if a little awkwardly. It was honestly sad to watch. 

“Kitten, honey. It doesn’t count as cheating if you two are already broken up by the time he’s seeing someone else.” 

“What would you know!?” That got her to spring right back up, a furious glower on her face that she directed straight at her dad, who could only shrink in place. “You’re too busy plotting world domination to even remember what it's like to be in a relationship!”

“Uh… she meant planning our next vacation.” He chuckled uneasily under the Honorary Titans’ judgemental stares. 

Already regretting getting out of bed that morning, Jinx walked around the couch and leaned over its backrest. Her arms crossed, she peered down at the girl. “Why’d you two break up, anyway?”

Kitten sniffed with a flick of her hair. “If you really want to know…”

She really didn’t.

“Fang got it inside his head that, apparently, I’m too ‘demanding’ and ‘uncompromising’, and that, like, he’s the only one who ever has to make an effort for things to work.” All throughout her retelling, she kept making quotation marks at everything she found ridiculous. “Which is, like, so unfair. I am so making as many sacrifices as he says he does—a month ago, I had to cancel a date we’d been planning for weeks because I broke a nail and desperately needed a new mani pedi! And all to look my best for him! If that’s not commitment and self-sacrifice, I don’t know what is.” She scoffed from her position on the couch, crossing her arms petulantly.

The pink-haired girl raised an incredulous eyebrow. No, she really didn't. 

Jinx looked at Kid Flash. Kid Flash looked back at her. They both blinked slowly. The same thought running through their minds. 

“What have we got ourselves into?”

“Moreover,” she went on, and the sorceress could already feel an incoming headache. “He has absolutely no right to say I’m a bad girlfriend after I forgave him for what he did.”

“What did he do?” Kid Flash blurted out. Grimacing apologetically, he could only raise his palms up in surrender when Jinx and Killer Moth both sent him dirty looks for getting her going. 

“What did he do? He was late to our date at the amusement park two months ago! Had me waiting for, like, ten full minutes, and I still took him back. How’s that for high-maintenance, huh?”

“If he’s such a terrible boyfriend, why even be this torn up about him?” Jinx deadpanned, a hand to her temple in exasperation. “I mean, what’s so great about him anyways?”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. With a speed that would’ve made Wally jealous, a furious Kitten was in her face in a matter of seconds. 

“What’s so great about him, you say?!” She screeched, genuinely offended. She gestured disparagingly at Kid. “Not like I expect someone with a speeding hot dog for a boyfriend to know any better, but for your information, Fang is one of the coolest guys out there.”

She then began to list off his, somehow, many good qualities with her fingers. 

“He’s also, like, super tough. You’d have to be a real idiot to mess with him. Everyone knows that. He’s super protective of me—you should see what happened to the last guy who tried anything funny with me while Fang was around.” She giggled maliciously at the memory. “Pretty sure someone’s gonna have arachnophobia for life. Oh, and don’t get me started on how good a kisser he is…” She swooned, her voice taking on a dreamy cadence. 

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Kid Flash interrupted, waving his hands frantically in front of himself, drawing everyone’s attention. The last thing he needed was that lovely mental image in his head. And judging from Killer Moth’s relieved sigh, neither did he. “He’s a swell guy, we get it.”

A watery smile danced around Kitten’s lips. “Yeah, he’s the best. He’s the best, and he’s never coming back because he hates me, and I miss him so much!” Kitten cried out hysterically, and next thing they knew, the waterfalls had begun. 

While Kid zipped away to hand her over some tissues, which she accepted greedily and noisily, Jinx remained frozen in place. Comforting people had never really been her strong suit. Let’s just say HIVE Academy didn’t really encourage empathy or basic human decency. So she didn’t quite know what to do. 

Just then, her cat-like eyes met with Kid’s warm blue ones. He smiled at her. She’d told him before about her struggles with connecting with other people, and he’d assured her she’d get it in no time. It was all a matter of putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and trying to help them like she’d want to be helped. 

While father and daughter bickered after his latest failed attempt at comforting her, Jinx took a deep breath. 

“Here goes nothing, I guess.”

“I’m sure he misses you too.” She said at last, and that short sentence was enough to quiet the chaotic room. She shrugged nonchalantly. “Guys are like that. They think that by fooling around a bunch, that’ll help them forget. But it never does. All they manage is missing their ex more. Trust me, he’s probably crying himself to sleep or something.”

Kitten dabbed at her eyes with the tissue, sniffling. She looked up at Jinx. “You really think so?”

“Yup.” She replied, popping the ‘p’. “You probably just need to talk things out. And that’s why we’re here right now.” She gestured at herself and the red-headed speedster. “Come on, call him and set a place and time to meet as soon as possible. We’ll take it from there.”

Even though the tears had subsided, it appeared Kitten’s attitude remained untouched. With one last derisive roll of her eyes, she stood up from the sofa and took her pink phone from her jeans pocket to call her ex boyfriend’s number. 

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” She warned them, lifting her chin up haughtily just in time for Fang to answer the phone. 

Jinx and Kid shared yet another look. Seriously, what had they got themselves into?

It would be a gross lie to say Jinx hadn’t done some really messed up shit over the years. 

She was groomed to become a superpowered, high-paid mercenary, after all. That was the kind of life that required a very specific and morally questionable type of training and skillset. (Often deadly) hand-to-hand combat; evasive maneuvers; advanced heist planning and coordination; extortion methods… The whole nine yards. And she had put just about everything she learned back at the academy into practice. 

It always left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Even when she told herself she was being a wuss and to get over it. Even when she doubled down on committing crimes because it was all she ever thought she could aspire to. 

Unsurprisingly, that bitterness turned into deep regret once Kid Flash reached out to her and helped her turn her life around. 

So Jinx would be lying if she said she had no regrets. But it would be an even bigger lie if she didn’t say there was nothing she regretted more than being forced to play wingwoman for Kitten and Fang in this very moment. 

If anybody had told her what her prior bad judgement would have led to down the line, she would’ve never so much as looked at a baby’s candy greedily. 

Now that was an effective dissuasion method. Rehab centres really needed to up their game.

She also deeply regretted not bringing her headphones and MP3 player with her to block out the noise of Kitten and Fang’s incessant bickering and finger-pointing. 

Really, she regretted getting out of bed that morning in the first place. 

As the whiny blonde and her spider-headed ex threw accusations around like it was nobody’s business—constantly shifting the blame regarding what made their relationship go south—, Jinx and Kid found themselves leaning up against a tree. With Jinx lightly banging her head against the trunk in frustration while she noticed her boyfriend’s fingers impatiently tapping against his forearm at hyper-speed. 

When Fang first picked up the phone and agreed to meet up to talk, there was a moment where Kitten panicked. She frantically glanced over at the Honorary Titans, silently begging them for advice while she stuttered to suggest a location.

Surprisingly, despite Wally’s popularity with the opposite sex, it was Jinx who had the most experience with dating. Especially with dealing with bad break-ups and difficult conversations. So, with a roll of her eyes but not a beat missed, she whispered back to Kitten that they should meet at a neutral place. Somewhere neither of them held more power over the other.

Hence why they were currently waving shyly with awkward smiles at any passerby who noticed the commotion caused by two teenagers (or whatever that greaser spider-human hybrid was supposed to be) in the middle of a public park on a Saturday. 

“We’re probably ruining a lot of childhood memories right now.” Kid Flash muttered, wincing at the way a mother grabbed her son by the wrist and dragged him far, far away. 

Cat-like pupils eyed the way a family of four rushed to clean up their mostly untouched picnic and got the Hell away from them. 

“You’d expect them to be used to weirder by now.” She let out a huff. “This is Jump City; an alien tofu lifeform spent weeks abducting cows once, for fuck’s sake!”

“Really? You gotta tell me that story someday.”

“Meh.” Jinx waved him off dismissively. “That’s just something I heard from the gossip mill. Ask Beast Boy. He knows more about it than I do.” She smiled softly when that earned her a fond chuckle out of him.

Their gazes met, reality dulling away as matching tender smiles stretched over their lips. Just as they were about to step a little closer into the other’s personal bubble, the spell was broken by an unholy screech that had Kid wincing, Jinx covering her ears, and nearby dogs howling in alarm. 

“You do not get to tell me that when it’s not even been a week since we broke up and you’ve already replaced me for someone else!” Kitten cried, scandalised, an accusatory finger jabbing straight into her ex’s chest. “Like, who even is she?!”

Fang’s four, beady eyes narrowed, spider legs rattling in aggravation. “Oh, like you’re one to talk.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She sniffed. 

“Don’t give me that!” Fang snapped. “I’m not the one who took a freaking Titan as her date to Junior Prom the day after we broke up.” 

If the jab was supposed to land, it did a very poor job. The blonde barely reacted, just let out a little indignant sound of protest before placing her hands on her hips. 

“Exactly! You dumped me the day before Junior Prom. Who even does that?! I had no time left to look for a date, and you know going alone would have been social suicide!”

“Couldn’t have been so pressed for time if you could still make it with your precious ‘Robbie-Poo’ in tow.” The accusation got Jinx’s attention, her whole expression perking up in curiosity and impish delight. All of a sudden, her mood had improved exponentially. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for Fang. “Face it, Kitten! If you could have Birdbrain all to yourself, you wouldn’t even look my way!”

This time, the girl had the decency to gasp. “That’s so unfair!”

“‘Robbie-Poo’?” Jinx echoed, stealing a glance at Kid. She smirked at the way his lips fought not to be upturned by his barely suppressed laughter. “Things just got a lot more interesting.”

“Something tells me there’s a very good reason why Robin and his team didn’t want to take care of this mission in particular.” One hand placed lazily on his hip, he rested the other against the tree, peering down at the bad luck witch with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “A bad date, apparently.”

Jinx snorted. “That’s putting it lightly.” Then, her whole expression brightened as a metaphorical lightbulb lit up inside her mind. “Say, you think Kitten’ll have pictures?”

“Pictures?” Wally raised an eyebrow, confused. 

“You know…” She gestured vaguely. “The typical ones that parents bombard their kids with when their dates come pick them up—dressed to the nines, standing awkwardly in the middle of the foyer corsage in hand.”

It was the speedster’s time to snort, “If they forced Robin to take pictures, he’ll most likely have confiscated and burned them all already. That is, if Star didn’t get to them first.”

She hummed. “Fair point.” A few more moments passed, where all she could do was observe the quarrelling lovebirds impassively, when she noticed her own boyfriend still had to stop staring at her. Her face scrunched up in confusion, pink eyes peering up at him when she spat, “What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “You’re just surprisingly knowledgeable on proms, that’s all.”

“Not really.” It was her turn to shrug, gaze returning to the front. “We didn’t really do dances and the like back at HIVE Academy.”

“Cyborg once told me he was your date for a dance held at HIVE back when he was undercover as Stone.”

It wasn’t an accusation, not really. More like a reminder with a little more edge than either of them had expected. Wally looked away, the tiniest bit of an embarrassed blush peeking through his mask.

Jinx had to suppress a pleased smirk at the subtle jealousy coating his words. And then people thought she got jealous easily…

“That wasn’t really a dance; more like an in-depth simulation of undercover missions we might have to carry out in more distinguished settings.”

“Ah, I see.” Wally blinked rapidly, perplexed. Well, he supposed that made sense. They were being trained to be elite mercenaries, after all. They would have to learn to operate in all manner of contexts. 

The redhead’s thoughts were interrupted by a gentle nudge on his side. Looking down at Jinx questioningly, she responded by simply pointing at their wards for the day. Their argument had apparently devolved into a childish going-back-and-forth over who’d broken up with whom more times and why.

Impossible as it seemed given his powers, Wally’s heart almost skipped a beat when Jinx leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. The smell of her—rosewater and a faint note of vanilla—still managed to leave him disoriented even after several months of dating. 

“Have you noticed how, whenever Fang is the dumper, it’s usually because of something serious, but when Kitten dumps him it is always over some bullshit?”

He pulled a face. “Yikes. Yeah, I’m just saying—you gotta be a real piece of work to make your spider-headed, greaser-looking boyfriend look like the martyr in the relationship…”

Jinx let out a short exhale of air that wasn’t quite a laugh, but was halfway to becoming one. “Tell me about it. Here he is, genuinely concerned she’s just bidding her time until she can snatch Robin—.”

“Which we both know it’s never gonna happen.”

“—which we both know it’s never gonna happen.” She agreed with a nod. “And meanwhile, she is dumping him over being ten minutes late once.”

Wally started nodding along, before her words fully sank in. “Hey, you get mad at me for being late to our dates.” He pointed out, slightly offended. 

Jinx leveled him with an even glare. “I get mad at you because you’re the self-proclaimed fastest boy alive. Being late should be literally impossible for you. Besides, I don’t threaten to dump you over it, let alone go through with it. There’s a difference.”

Kid considered that. As much as he hated arguing with Jinx, especially when they were supposed to be on a date, he supposed she had a point. Maybe when this was all over he could take her out for ice cream to make up for all the times his superpowers proved kind of useless. 

No matter how much she tried to deny or hide it, there was no mistaking the child-like glee dancing in her eyes when she got a scoop of her favourite flavour.

His mind made up in a matter of seconds, he focused back on the topic at hand, “You really think they’re gonna get back together after this?”

“Who knows?” She lifted one shoulder, her velvet dress scratching against the rough surface of the bark. “They kind of remind me of Leo and I. Unstable and codependent. They won’t break up for good until one of them wises up, realises it’s more trouble than it’s worth, and calls it quits.”

Kid Flash was about to ask if that was what happened between her and her ex when Kitten’s loud, scandalised gasp drew their attention back to the bickering on-and-off couple. Their postures immediately tensed up, eyes darting everywhere in search of the slightest sign of trouble. 

“We were on a break when I started seeing Kid Qwiz!” She shouted, her face growing red. Out of anger or embarrassment, Jinx couldn’t tell. “You said you understood and there was nothing to forgive!”

His pedipalps tightening in distaste, Fang crossed his arms with a sniff. “Doesn’t change the fact that you have no right to get mad at me for seeing someone else when you’re the first one to look for a rebound immediately after we break up.”

If this had been any other couple, Jinx and Kid Flash would have relaxed upon seeing it was just a lovers’ quarrel. But this wasn’t any old couple. These two were a mutant crook and a supervillain’s daughter. Their eyes widened in alarm accordingly when they noticed Kitten’s hand twitching at her hip, or the way Fang’s squared up his shoulders. 

Those were the tell-tale signs that they were about to go from a lovers’ spat to a full-on confrontation if they didn’t intervene soon. 

“Okay, okay, okay. Enough!” Jinx exclaimed, catching up to Kid, who used his super-speed to get in between the couple before things escalated. “Clearly, this isn’t working. Maybe you guys should cool off first.”

“Mind your own business!” Kitten snapped, flashing the sorceress a derisive look that made her blood boil. “This is all your fault, anyway. You’re the one who told me to talk to him. Well, look where that got us!”

Unfortunately, she said all that right in front of her very aggravated ex. Eyes narrowed into slits, he sank his spider legs onto the earthy ground underneath, spreading them out to make himself stand taller. Jinx almost rolled her eyes. A cheap intimidation tactic if she ever saw one. 

“So, that’s it, huh?” He said with fake cheer. Before his expression hardened again. “You didn’t wanna talk, did you? You just called me because your dear Robbie-Poo told you to.”

“Puh-lease.” The blonde’s lip curled up in distaste. She flicked her hair almost boredly. “Do you really think I’d be here, wasting my time with you, if Robbie-Poo had really contacted me?” She made a mocking sound. “Dream on!”

“Uh, Kitten…” Kid Flash tried to reason with her, sweatdropping nervously the angrier Fang seemed to get with each word that left her lips. But either she was too stupid to know how her ex would take being called a second option, or she was perfectly aware and relished in pushing his buttons. 

So she just kept talking, looking at her nails disinterestedly as she did so. As though she had a million better things to do and she hadn’t broken down crying over Daddy Spiderlegs over there that same morning. With a glare, she jabbed her thumb at the exasperated Honorary Titans. 

“Really, if I called you at all it was only because Hot Topic over here told me you were probably crying yourself to sleep over me or something, and I took pity on you.”

“Why, you little—!” Jinx’s face was a perfect picture of shock and outrage, with her brows pinched close together and her mouth hanging open in disbelief. But just as she was beginning to roll up her sleeve to teach that smug clearance doll a lesson, she flinched at the animalistic hiss a furious Fang sent her way. 

A small part of her was grateful when Kid Flash subtly positioned himself between his girlfriend and the scorned monster. The rest of her could still take care of herself, though. 

“Hey, listen here, Big Guy.” Her hands flew up in surrender. “I only said that to console her because she was down in the dumps over you. I couldn’t care less about your love lives!”

Although the reveal that Kitten had apparently missed him more than she was willing to admit softened the spider-headed boy’s edges a fraction, the sound of his ex rummaging through her purse raised his walls back up. 

“You’re right!” Kitten agreed, a slasher smile on her face as she pulled out the same laser whip she used to command her father’s giant moths from her purse. “I don’t care if Daddy’s threatened to release his disgusting bugs again; our relationship is none of your business!”

Jinx and Kid Flash instinctively took a step back. Screaming from all around confirmed everybody else at that park was running for their lives. They remained with their palms up for another beat as they waited for the civilians to be out of danger. The last thing they needed was a hostage situation on top of dealing with two psychotic teens. 

Unfortunately, their restraint gave Kitten the perfect chance to strike. 

“So stay out of it!” She screeched, pulling her arm back before throwing her whip forward, striking Jinx straight in the chest and sending her careening because she didn’t have enough time to react sooner. 

The sorceress let out a cry of pain as she met the ground with a loud thud! Leaving behind his typical bi-coloured streak, Kid Flash was with her in a second, fuzzing over and inspecting her in search of injury. 

“Jinx! Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine…” She groaned, and he made sure to move out of her way when he saw the distinctive pink glow in her eyes. A distinctive sign that someone was about to get their ass beat. “Can’t say the same thing for her.”

Getting back on her feet slowly, though not any less menacingly, the sorceress didn’t hesitate to mimic Kitten’s movements. Only she released a powerful hex straight at the blonde. With a little luck, she’d be impulsive enough to try to deflect it with her whip, only to have it destroyed instead. 

Kitten let out a shocked cry when she saw the pink projectile coming her way, bracing herself for the worst. But when a few seconds ticked by and she didn’t feel any pain, she tentatively opened her eyes. This time, her gasp was equal parts surprised and delighted. 

Fang had positioned himself right in front of her, with his arms and spider legs placed protectively in front of himself to shield them from Jinx’s attack. The bad luck witch cursed to herself. Of all the times for that asshole to be a gentleman…

“If you wanna hurt my girl, you’ll have to go through me first!” He proclaimed, using his extra limbs to leap high in the air and straight at them. 

While Kid Flash was a natural at dodging attacks, Jinx somersaulted away in the nick of time, just as Fang was about to impale them with his tarsus. She sent a meaningful look her partner’s way, silently agreeing on how to proceed, before meeting the spider’s challenge head-on. 

“Gladly.”

And with that, she feinted in Kitten’s direction, causing Fang to instinctively go after her. He could barely take two steps before Kid Flash interceded, drawing the delinquent’s attention to him and away from their girlfriends—or whatever Kitten qualified as at the moment. 

His attention now directed at the annoying kid in spandex right in front of him, with a furious growl, the mutant proceeded to aim for Kid Flash’s head. Apparently, either he wasn’t very bright or he had never heard of the Flash Family, for he kept trying to strike him with his legs. But no matter what he did, he just couldn’t meet his target. 

His leg came from the right, Kid Flash dodged to the left. If it came from the left, he cartwheeled to the right without breaking a sweat. If he tried to take him by surprise with one of his back legs, the speedster crouched low and avoided the attack by sliding right underneath his legs—both arachnid and human. 

Fang’s patience was wearing thin, and it showed. His movements grew sloppy the more frustrated he got. He even resorted to using his actual fists; to no avail. 

“Stay still so I can crush you!” He ordered, his jaws opening wide and revealing a second row of razor-sharp teeth. Things took a disgusting turn when he began spitting spiderweb after spiderweb, all in a desperate attempt to slow his opponent down. 

Of course, when said opponent is the fastest teenager in existence, that was easier said than done. 

Expertly streaking away from each blob, Kid Flash took a moment to tease his adversary, secretly relishing the way he jumped in surprise when he appeared right behind him. 

“Huh, a bug trying to crush a human. Oh, the irony.” He vanished with a smug smirk just as Fang was about to swipe at him one of his front legs. 

“I’m an arachnid, you moron!” Fang protested, genuinely offended. 

Even if he couldn’t see it at hyper-speed, Kid’s smirk widened. Oh, he definitely knew that. 

Although he had to admit the arachnid in question managed to wipe the smile off his face when he started really going on the offensive and began shooting his paralysing venom at him. 

Okay, enough playing around. He had to end this now. 

Meanwhile, Jinx made a mad dash towards Kitten, who managed to keep her from getting too close by flicking her energy whip in warning. Cursing to herself, the sorceress stopped dead in her tracks, sparks flying everywhere as the weapon cracked. 

“How about I do you a favour and I get rid of that awful haircut for you!” Kitten laughed maniacally, aiming straight at Jinx’s head, who ducked just in time to avoid relating to Marie Antoinette on a spiritual level. 

“At least I’m not some basic bitch!” Jinx shot back. So what if her words were against the Teen Titans code of conduct or whatever? She started it!

“How dare you?!”

Her cat-like eyes widened a fraction when she saw the whip aimed straight at her face. Taking a gamble, she flipped forward, missing the weapon’s edge by a hair. She didn’t have the time to heave a sigh of relief before Kitten came back swinging. But that was just as well. She just had to keep flipping her way until she was close enough to neutralise that trigger-happy Regina George. 

If Jinx could avoid and survive Starfire’s starbolts, she could do this. 

“Stay still, you witch!”

Jinx idly thought that maybe Kitten and Fang were truly meant to be, after all. She just heard her deconstructed Spider-Man of a boyfriend tell Kid the same thing. But if those two were soulmates, so were she and Wally; neither was about to back down in the face of two C-rated villains. 

Crouching low to skid close to the ground, the whip’s energy signature hot behind her back, the bad luck witch pivoted with the kind of grace and agility that would have made a prima ballerina jealous. This time, when her eyes glowed pink once more, Kitten wouldn’t dismiss her so easily. 

“Play time’s over, Kitten.”

Before the blonde even had time to register what was going on, her hand twitched in pain, an unpleasant, burn-like feeling taking root in her palm. Unfortunately for her, it was the hand holding her weapon. She barely had time to blink in confusion as a rosy hue took over her whip, went across it, and the structure began to fall apart little by little. 

All that was left behind was some rusty and burned scraps of metal. 

“NO!” Kitten cried out, incapable of believing she had been taken out so easily by someone who wasn’t even part of her Robbie-Poo’s team. 

Just then, the sound of struggling caught her attention, causing her head to perk up at the origin of the commotion. She let out a gasp of horror at the sight. 

While Jinx was busy playing into the blonde’s overconfidence, Kid Flash got tired of his own game of cat and mouse. So much so, he came up with the perfect plan for the mouse to become the cat and kill two birds with one stone in one fell swoop. 

Using his enhanced sense of time perception to time his every move perfectly, he dashed into Fang’s personal space again, knowing he wasn’t pragmatic enough to use his long-ranged cobwebs or venom in close-ranged combat. As predicted, as soon as he had the speedster within hitting distance, Fang tried nailing him with a leg again. 

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second when Kid Flash caught it in his gloved hand without missing a beat. With a growl of frustration, he threw a second, third, and fourth hit, missing the way the redhead’s deft fingers worked their magic. By the time he tried going for his actual fists, he found that he couldn’t move them at all. 

Four eyes widening in alarm, the spider-head looked down, only to panic when he realised Kid Flash had used his own legs to tie his fists with. The fact that his feet were on the ground when it happened made it almost impossible to notice the trap he’d walked in until it was too late. 

“Sorry, pal. You won’t be able to play Patty Cake with yourself in a while.” Kid Flash joked, before delivering a low sweep that made the trapped criminal fall on his butt. 

“Fangie-Poo, no!” Kitten exclaimed, reaching one hand out helplessly. Brow furrowing in confusion when she felt someone politely tapping her shoulder, she turned around. Eyes widening in terror at the sight of a smirking Jinx and her incoming fist. 

“You’re next.” Jinx said.

Next thing Kitten knew, she was being hauled by the JCPD into a police car (again!). Fang was already waiting inside. Apparently, the officers had orders to go after Killer Moth next for endangering the city with his mutant moths (for the third time in a row). 

“This isn’t over, you hear me!” Kitten swore as she was being escorted into the police truck, a rather garish black eye beginning to form. “Nobody makes a fool out of Kitten. Least of all a goth freak and her loser boyfriend!”

“Make sure to lock her away.” Jinx muttered to a nearby officer, waving their mission goodbye with a mocking, but decidedly tired, smirk. 

To her immense surprise, rather than try to take her away, too—it wouldn’t have been the first time since switching sides, either—, the man just saluted her and went back to his teammates. 

“So…” Her boyfriend’s forcedly easy-going tone drew her eye to him. She had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes when he came walking over to her, hands behind his back. Yeah, totally nonchalant. “How you feeling?”

“I’m not doing so hot.” She said, and for a moment she felt kinda bad when a look of genuine concern flashed through his blue eyes. “Should’ve told that officer to throw away the key.” She smirked at him, causing him to frown for a second before shaking his head fondly. 

“Not feeling up to a repeat any time soon?” 

It was his time to tease, but she just leveled him with her best ‘Are you serious?’ look. 

“Are you?”

“Heck no.”

“My point exactly. Well, I mean, I would’ve actually sworn, but same thing.” She shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Speaking of…” Wally started, his voice dripping with mischief as he snaked an arm around her shoulders. “Should I tell on you because you called Kitten a bitch earlier?” He pretended to shake his head in disappointment. “Why, Jinxy, I expected more of you.”

“Stitches get no kisses.” She said flatly, causing her boyfriend to let out a guffaw that had her smiling softly too. Before a flicker of annoyance crossed her expression. “Besides, after what he just put us through, Robin shouldn’t get too greedy. He’s honestly lucky I didn’t say anything worse.”

“The worst part is that I know that’s true.”

Just as Jinx opened up her mouth to say something else, they were interrupted once again by the umpteenth unholy screech of the day. Only this one actually sounded happy. 

“Oh, Fangie-Poo! You defended me from those freaks!” Kitten gushed over the guy, sliding up next to him inside the police truck, its doors still open wide. “You do love me, after all!”

“You know I’d never let anyone lay a finger on my girl, baby.” He tried for a smoulder, but his four, beady eyes made it look like he was actually constipated. 

Before Kid Flash could request they closed the doors already, something positively scarring happened. Kitten and Fang leaned closer together until there was no space left between them, leading the two Titans to witness in abject horror as those two kissed. It was only after the damage was already done that the police force finally closed the damned doors. 

“I’m gonna be sick.” Wally declared, looking already a little green around the gills. 

They managed to hold it in for all of two seconds after the police drove away. As soon as they were out of sight, Kid scooped Jinx up in his arms and sped right through the park until he found a suitable trashcan. 

They were currently hugging said trashcan for dear life, taking turns to throw up inside it. 

“I have stared evil in the eye, and it was inter-species PDA.” Jinx whispered, her already greyish skin tone turning chalk white from nausea and trauma alike. The pink on her cheeks was practically nonexistent at this point. “Tell Robin I’m handing in my resignation letter. After this, I’m going back to the dark side.”

“I’m going with you.” Kid mumbled as soon as his head was out of the container. “Evil has won. I’m hanging up the Kid Flash mask.”

“Are you shitting me?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, obviously. But honestly? Evil might as well have beat me. I need to eat lots of food to use my powers to their full potential. And I don’t think I’ll ever want to take a bite ever again after that.”

“Okay, yeah. Valid point.” Jinx agreed before disgust took over again. She was just dry-heaving at this point, her stomach completely empty, but it seemed the needy little organ wasn’t done purging itself yet. 

“Today I’ve learned things about spider anatomy I was happier not knowing..” Wally shuddered. 

“Tell me about it…” The pinkette groaned, raking a hand through her pink locks. Then, something unreadable settled on her face. Something that only intensified when she glanced up at her boyfriend. “Wally?”

The boy in question straightened. In case it weren’t weird enough for Jinx to allow such soft vulnerability to seep into her tone, she usually made it a point to never call him by his real name when he was in costume. She knew how important his secret identity was to him. 

This was serious. 

“What is it, Slow-Poke?”

The vulnerability faded away, leaving behind supreme annoyance. 

“Promise me we’ll never turn into them.”

Wally couldn’t help it. He actually threw his head back laughing.

“Don’t worry, Slow-Poke.” He assured her. “I’m here to stay. I promise, I would never break up with you before our anniversary or the day before Junior Prom.”

That got a fond chuckle out of the sorceress. “And I promise, I’ll never break up with you because you arrived a few minutes late.” Then, her expression turned the tiniest bit serious. “Honestly, though, you really gotta work on that. It’s kind of embarrassing…”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A comfortable quiet fell over them by the time they finally let go of the trashcan. Sliding down until they were side by side, their eyes sparkled with affection the longer they stared at each other. Wally began to lean in, his blue eyes going from Jinx’s hypnotically feline pink irises to her lips. 

“Wally?” She breathed.

“Yeah?” He replied, his voice but a murmur.

“We just spilled our guts out into a public trashcan. I am not kissing you until we have both thoroughly brushed our teeth.”

He laughed despite himself, because he honestly couldn’t blame her. 

“Fair enough.”

While having to wait until they could kiss wasn’t the nicest feeling for either of them, they made do by leaning into each other. Wally threw his arm around Jinx’s shoulders and brought her close, while she rested her head on the crook of his neck. A blissful silence enveloped them. 

“By the way?” Wally asked all of a sudden. 

“Mhmmm?”

“You were wrong.”

“About what?”

“We should have asked Robin to pay for the first six months of rent.”

Jinx threw her head back, tears of laughing streaming down her cheeks. Yeah, they should really ask Robbie-Poo for compensation.