Chapter Text
It’s been about two weeks since Jinx had been stranded in this god forsaken universe and it was becoming increasingly worrying that she still hadn’t made any progress with returning home.
“Crap.” She muttered, glancing around her ‘guest’ room which was now looking more and more as though she had moved in.
Her temporary residence was looking more and more permanent. It had started off with bedsheets, but she didn’t want ugly ones because where was the comfortability in that? She wasn’t boring. If she was going to be stranded in some nowhere dimension, then the bare minimum was that she going to be stranded with comfort.
The room adorned soft pink bedsheets and matching curtains she’d chosen, a sunset lamp that she’d impulsively bought off of amazon, the vanity she’d ordered because if she was going to be stuck here then she was going to at least be able to have a nice set up for her make up and skincare—not to mention her hair care (those horns did NOT stand up by themselves), her art work and supplies were littered around for during her free periods or down town. There were finished pieces stuck up on her walls that she doodled whenever she pretended to listen to Billy Numerous talk, the Hello Kitty squish-mallow Gizmo had gotten her from the arcade—
“Dear God, I’ve gone native.” She mumbled, entering the credit card numbers from the HIVE account into the checkout section on Etsy since she’d wanted a nice homemade rug for the room, and she was actually rather baffled when the HIVE presented her with the card after she’d gone through all that hell to pick pocket all the citizens of Jump city with some random redhead she’d met in the street.
(She had no idea how she’d possibly transport all of this stuff back with her when the time came to go home but that was irrelevant because she was determined to find a way).
At times, she forgot that she actually wasn’t from this universe—which wasn’t entirely her fault since she was still technically surrounded by the same people that she lived with back on her earth. She’d been integrated in their routine (which was nice because back home her HIVE didn’t really have a routine), they’d regularly go into the HIVE academy during the weekdays and abruptly leave if any crime was going on—
Considering their main contenders were just the Titans and very rarely the Titans East, it really didn’t seem so bad.
Pulling up her report files, Jinx skimmed through what she’d learnt so far.
- She’d switched places with her hero self (who was not nearly as fashionable as her) by a magic stone from her dimension.
- The Titans were called ‘Titan Tyrants’ here??? (Stupid name).
- All the titans apart from Starfire looked like they came out of a My Chemical Romance music video from 2005 and had collectively entered their emo phases. (No, seriously, why was Cyborg’s colour scheme suddenly red and black??? It was meant to be blue and white, damn it).
- Kid Flash had stolen the only other stupid magical stone and has probably already gone ahead and given it to Raven for reasons???
- The stone works based on your emotional state if what evil Kid Flash said was true.
- The Kid Flash of this world clearly knew a lot more about the stupid magic stone than she or any of the HIVE members did (probably due to Raven. She really needed to figure out where that girl got her spell books from).
- The pizza joint the titans regularly visited back in her dimension was steadily becoming her go-to fast food place (this was a problem as once she returned home she doubted the pizza place there would offer her anything at all seeing as she was a known criminal who had more than once terrorised the city and gotten said Pizza joint destroyed.
- Kid Flash went to Metropolis to steal something from evil Superman for the Titans.
- Find out more about the stone!!!
Jinx stared blankly at her notes realising that they were about as helpful as a sack of flour. The Brotherhood of justice had yet to really come up with a solid plan but that was fine, she was used to coming up with plans on short notice. Jinx was the plan guy back on earth, it was standard procedure at this point.
This was fine. She could work with this.
Though, the more she stared at her notes, the more she was starting to cringe. Everything was pointing back to that stupid speedster.
Dear God, she was going to have to find villain Kid Flash again, wasn’t she?
She instantly face-planted against her fluffy pillow and screamed.
The alarm signalling a crime was taking place immediately went off right after, blaring the siren and flashing red lights throughout her room.
“HIVE FIVE! TROUBLE AT THE MUSEUM!” See-Moor’s voice blared through the speakers.
Jinx screamed louder.
Why was it always the stupid museum?
“If this keeps up, I’m seriously going to burn this place down.” Jinx muttered darkly as they all got out of the car.
Mammoth laughed, “Careful Jinx, you almost sound like a villain.”
Oh sweet, naïve Mammoth, if only you knew. Jinx sighed wistfully. Oh, how she missed the days of committing felonies.
Not that there was much of a point being a villain in this universe. No one shunned her and she basically got everything she wanted if she asked nicely enough. Jump City taxpayers were more than happy to accommodate her materialistic needs (She almost felt somewhat bad for robbing them not too long ago while with that ginger teenager who’d taken her half of the cash).
It was a serious downgrade on her villainous image but an upgrade from how she was shunned and abused as a child so beggars couldn’t be choosers.
She was an embarrassment to the entire villain community. The only small mercy she had was that Madame Rouge wasn’t here to witness her downfall from grace.
“The Titan Tyrants are robbing the museum!” Gizmo gasped, narrowing his eyes as she began to type furiously on his holographic wrist monitor as he attempted to pull up the security footage.
The Titans? She made a face. Why the hell were they robbing the museum? They already had the Opal of creation, so what was the point? Unless they were robbing the place blind for cash there really wasn’t anything worth stealing.
Wait. Wasn’t the Injustice League here funding them? They weren’t like her team back at home. The Titans here didn’t need to needlessly waste their time with robbing places and selling them on the black market for quick cash. These guys actually had facilities to remain operational.
The only other magical artefact worth their time that she could think of was the—
Oh, for fucks sake. It always went back to that stupid amulet.
“I know what they’re after.” Jinx said, standing up straight. “Upstairs, the Egyptian exhibition. Gizmo, Mammoth, take the west wing, See-Moor and Billy the East, Kyd Wykkyd, you’re with me. We’ll drop on them from above.”
It was a testament with how much they trusted her as everyone immediately tensed up and nodded at her command.
“Wait—” See-Moor frowned, grabbing her by the elbow. “How do you know? What do they want?”
Jinx met his gaze evenly.
It was always this. It always led back to this.
“They’re after the luck amulet.”
She’s with Kyd Wykkyd up in the rafters, and she can’t help the mixture of relief and annoyance that she was actually right about this.
Why the fuck did they need the luck amulet?
And why was every piece of magical jewellery being kept at this museum? With this shitty security?? In all honesty, it was a miracle both items hadn’t been stolen years ago.
“Keep an eye out for any silent alarms or intruders,” Evil emo looking Robin started, glaring at the rest of the team. “We can’t let the HIVE get wind of this and mess this up for us again.”
Jinx had to hold back a snort. So, this is what it felt like to be on the opposite end of these things.
“We’ve already got the Opal, is the luck amulet really necessary?” Beastboy asked, stretching and cracking his joins in annoyance.
“All of this is necessary if we want to win.” Raven says, stepping out of the shadows like a psychopath and scaring the literal shit out of Jinx. “We’ve barely been scraping by lately, the luck amulet is imperative if we want this to work.”
Jesus, and here Jinx had wrongly thought that it was just Batman and Robin who were that creepy and into the whole ‘stepping out of shadows’ business.
“I’m getting intense readings off of this thing.” Emo Cyborg says, looking way more robot than human in this world as he read off numbers from the small monitor on his arm.
“You’re supposed to.” Emo Raven snapped, (actually Raven just looked the same. The Red cloak was new though) “There’s still one final artefact left—"
Feeling a breeze against her, Jinx scowls as she begins rubbing the goosebumps away on her arm.
“Whatcha doing there, cutie?” Kid Flash whispers next to her.
If it wasn’t for the hand that immediately covered her mouth, her scream would’ve woken the dead.
“What are you doing here?!” she hissed quietly, removing his hand and glaring.
He grins back at her, undeterred.
“Getting the luck amulet, duh.”
“Why the fuck would you even need that?!”
“For luck?”
Jinx just stares at the speedster in disbelief while he just shushes her to peer down at the scene.
She turns to Kyd Wykkyd for support and finds herself vindicated when his eyes are the size of dinner plates gawking at their newest addition.
“Aren’t they YOUR team? Why aren’t you down there with them?” she whispers aggressively and he waves her off.
He holds a finger to his lips, eyes darting to Beastboy whose ears decided to helpfully twitch in that moment.
Huh. Makes sense that he’d have enhanced hearing from all the shapeshifting. Her team really should’ve made detailed notes on the titans’ profiles back at the HIVE. They really did get too cocky after graduating from their HIVE the first-time round.
Kid Flash immediately switched to American asl. ‘I’m not like, actually on their team. I’m just there for Robin’s needy ass—plus, there’s loads of teenage drama, you don’t wanna hear about it.’
Jinx’s eyebrows shot up but immediately followed, her hands making their own movements in response. ‘Uh, yes, I do! How’d you even know we were up here?!’
Kid Flash scoffs quietly, ‘Please, you always drop from the rafters.’
‘How do you even know that?! I’m not even from here!’
He snorted ‘Not my fault you’re so predictable. It’s fucking baffling how you’ve managed to evade the titans for so long pulling shit like this.’
‘Baffling my ass, you’re the one whose been getting his ass beat by me—'
‘Oh, you’re beating my ass now? What’re you gonna do, spank me? Bet you’d be into that, huh. That horn updo you’ve got going on just screams bdsm—'
Kyd Wykkyd, horrified, immediately began signing. ‘EITHER GET A ROOM OR STOP FLIRTING. EW.’
Jinx rolled her eyes and signed back, ‘Jealous much?’
Kyd Wykkyd groaned—silently, of course—and turned his focus back to the team below. Kid Flash leaned in closer, and Jinx stiffened, immediately elbowing him back.
"Boundaries, asshole," she whispered.
"Right, right—no touching unless invited," he muttered, holding his hands up in faux surrender.
Below, the display case cracked, Raven’s shadows curling around the luck amulet. Cyborg scanned it while Robin signalled the others. Everything was moving fast. Too fast.
Then Jinx saw it.
A shimmer above the pedestal—barely visible. The telltale flicker of Wykkyd’s portal forming.
Normally, she’d be mad at her team for deciding things on their own, but this was arguably a good call. She met Wykkyd’s gaze and grinned.
“Let’s ruin someone’s night,” she muttered.
She dropped from the rafters like a pink lightning bolt, landing with a heavy crack between Raven and the amulet. Her hex launched at the same moment Raven’s magic surged—but hers hit first, knocking the amulet upward in a spinning arc of luck-charged energy.
“NO—!” Robin lunged.
Too late.
The moment it reached its peak, the air behind it ripped open—and a pale hand darted through.
Kyd Wykkyd.
His fingers closed around the amulet just as the portal snapped shut again, leaving only smoke in its wake.
Silence.
“Hi, assholes,” Jinx said sweetly, a hex forming at her fingertips. “Miss me?”
“What.” Raven started, the room dropping in several degrees, “Did you do?” Raven’s voice echoed like a death knell, low and cold, her eyes glowing red beneath the hood of her new crimson cloak. Shadows hissed off her like steam, clawing at the ground as they surged toward Jinx.
Jinx didn’t flinch. Not even a blink. “Relax, weirdo. I didn’t break your toy. I just stole it.”
“You,” Raven seethed, stalking forward, “have no idea what you’ve done.”
“God, and I thought regular you was bad,” Jinx muttered. She tilted her head, feigning confusion. “Wait—Should I be scared? Should I beg for your forgiveness?”
Raven snarled, her magic lashing out like a whip—but a blast of static stopped it cold.
“Back off, birdbrain,” Gizmo barked, sliding into the fray with his gauntlet still sparking. “You wanna throw a tantrum? Go cry to your boyfriend.”
“I’m not here to cry.” Raven hissed while Beastboy chose that specific moment to sneeze besides her.
“Clearly,” See-More added, casually stepping between her and Jinx, a red lens adjusting for threat analysis. “But if you are here to throw hands, maybe don’t start with our leader.”
“Leader?” Cyborg echoed, his arm shifting into a cannon. “You just stole from us.”
“Oh my god,” Billy Numerous groaned as four of him fanned out behind See-More. “You guys barely touched it! And it’s not even yours to steal! What kind of weird entitlement do you all even have?”
Raven’s hands were already glowing again, and the H.I.V.E. members tensed. Even Mammoth cracked his knuckles, eager for the go-ahead.
But then Jinx heard it—the unmistakable swoosh of a sudden breeze. She knew that sound.
Kid Flash appeared beside her with a gust of air, kicking up her pink-tipped hair.
“Okay, everyone chill out.” he said, casual and cocky like he hadn’t just watched Raven turn into a full-on demon. “As much as I love a bitch off, I don’t have the mental strength right now.”
Raven’s head snapped toward him. “You were supposed to grab the amulet.”
“Yeah, well,” Kid Flash said, brushing a speck of dust off his jacket. “You try racing gravity and a teleporting goth ninja at the same time. Not even I’m that fast.”
The temperature dropped again. Jinx felt it—a spike of dark pressure in the air like a vice closing in. She caught it in his posture too: the way his arms tensed ever so slightly, how he kept his eyes off Raven. His tone didn’t change, but Jinx was unfortunately overly familiar with Kid Flash’s quirks.
He was scared of her.
Genuinely freaked out.
And he was trying extremely hard not to show it.
Jinx blinked, something quiet stirring in her chest. It wasn’t pity, exactly. More like unease. Because she knew fear—knew it intimately. And she’d never seen it on his face before.
The closest she’d seen was back when she’d managed to capture Kid Flash in the level 5 containment field back on her earth,
On a surface level, she was pretty sure the Titans were all scared of Raven. It was probably the only reason they were still a team doing her bidding after all—not even the Robin of this universe looked like he was truly the one calling all the shots if everything was Raven’s planning.
“Y’know,” she said, half to him, half to distract Raven, “you put on this whole bullshit cocky attitude, but I bet you’re sweating under that suit, Flash.”
He shot her a look—sharp, warning—but she didn’t back off.
“You scared she’s gonna hex your heart into pulp or something?” she asked, sweetly venomous. “Because I gotta say, that’s my job.”
Kid Flash scoffed in mock amusement “You think I’m scared? Don’t be dumb, Jinxy, I’ve got nerves of steel. I went against Ultraman.”
“More like you stole from Ultraman without him knowing.” Evil emo Beastboy coughed.
“You’ve got a death wish,” See-More muttered, side eyeing Jinx.
“You’ve got terrible taste,” Gizmo added.
“You’ve got a crush,” one of the Billys chimed in.
Jinx rolled her eyes, hand on her hip. “Shut up, all of you.”
But she was still watching Kid Flash. And he wasn’t watching her. He was watching Raven, every muscle in his body ready to bolt.
Raven’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “You all made a mistake tonight.”
“And you wore a red cloak,” Jinx snapped. “We all make bad choices.”
Robin stepped forward, hand on his staff. “We’re not letting you leave with that artifact.”
Mammoth snarled. “You gonna stop us?”
A tense beat.
Then Jinx smirked and held up a glowing pink hand. “You can try.”
And chaos erupted.
Cyborg fired the first blast, Mammoth charged, Raven’s magic cracked across the tiles, and the H.I.V.E. team met the assault head-on. Billy Numerous multiplied, See-More dropped flash bombs, Gizmo leapt onto Cyborg’s back with a taser-glove, and Jinx—
Jinx hexed the floor beneath Robin’s feet, making him crash into Kid Flash mid-sprint. They both tumbled, limbs tangled, and Kid Flash groaned.
“You do that on purpose?” he hissed.
Jinx grinned, crouching beside them. “Duh.”
Then her voice lowered, quiet, serious. Just for him.
“Get your shit together, dumbass,” she whispered. “You’re terrified of her—and if I can see it, so can she.”
He blinked, startled.
“Not that I care.” she added, rising to join the fight, “if you get turned into a shadow puppet, that’s on you.”
Kid Flash stared after her, stunned. And just for a moment, he looked unsure before annoyance kicked in, clearly not expecting to be read to filth. “Shut up. You seriously think I’m scared of her?”
Then Raven’s scream echoed across the chamber, and the battle resumed with fresh fury.
Kid Flash cringed and Jinx gave him a pointed look. “Okay, in my defence, that shit didn’t sound human.”
She rolled her eyes and moved on, clutching the amulet in one hand, energy thrumming through her veins like static before a storm. It pulsed warm, strange—like it knew her. Like it liked her.
Oh yeah. This was gonna be fun.
The moment she slipped it into her pocket, a ripple of pink energy burst from her like a shockwave, sending Robin’s birdarangs spiraling off course. One smacked him square in the shoulder, earning a grunt of pain.
“Whoops,” she said, not sounding sorry at all.
Beast Boy lunged at Mammoth in tiger form, only to be caught mid-air by a twist of hexed probability that made his leap stumble just enough for Mammoth to punch him into a wall, debris crumpling.
“Nice assist,” Mammoth grunted, and Jinx winked.
From the other side of the chaos, Raven zeroed in.
“You’re using it,” she hissed, eyes glowing red. “You idiot, you don’t know what it’s capable of—”
And Lord, didn’t that sound familiar?
“Don’t I?” Jinx grinned, raising her hand—and the air warped.
Raven’s shadows lashed out—but twisted mid-strike, reversing course and yanking her backward instead. She crashed into Cyborg, who flailed, Gizmo still latched to his back like a tech-gremlin.
Kid Flash skidded up beside her, panting. “What the hell did you do?”
“I’m just letting the universe love me a little harder today,” Jinx waved off.
But under her cocky front, she could feel it—the way the amulet was syncing with her powers, amplifying them, tuning the battlefield to her favour like the world itself had tilted in her direction. It was different to the first time back on her home Earth. At the time, she’d barely believed it was working, not utilising the amulet to its entirety.
Back home, she hadn’t had a clue on how to use it, believing the Luck Amulet was purely a ‘dumb legend’.
Jinx knew better now.
Behind them, Billy Numerous mumbles. “Yo, is this what it feels like to have plot armour? This shit’s kinda dope, maybe we should keep it.”
“Focus!” Jinx and See-Moor barked in unison before See-Moor continued “We’re not done till they’re all down.”
Raven rose again, hair fanned by some unholy wind, face contorted with rage.
“This isn’t over,” she growled—and this time, when her shadows rose, the ground shook.
Jinx’s hand tightened around the amulet, heart hammering.
No. She’d gotten them this far. She wasn’t losing now.
“Wykkyd!” she shouted. “Get that portal ready—now!”
The room exploded into chaos once again.
Cyborg fired first, Mammoth charged, Raven’s magic cracked across the tiles—and the H.I.V.E. Five met the assault head-on.
Billy Numerous scattered into a swarm, overwhelming Beast Boy. See-More lobbed flash bombs across the line, blinding Robin and Cyborg momentarily. Gizmo shrieked, springing onto Cyborg’s back with an electric buzz from his taser-glove.
And then there was Starfire—blazing.
Her eyes flared green as she shot across the battlefield, fists glowing with solar energy. She slammed through two of Billy’s clones and hurled an energy blast that sent Mammoth stumbling. "You will return that amulet!" she shouted, furious and radiant.
Jinx hexed the floor beneath her, making Starfire stumble—but the alien recovered quickly, spinning mid-air and blasting a shockwave toward Jinx.
The pink-haired witch deflected it—barely—and yelped “Jesus—close call much?”
“Return the amulet!” Starfire repeated, furious before diving again.
“How am I meant to return something that’s not even yours?!”
The amulet pulsed hot in her pocket. With a flick of her wrist, probability bent again—Starfire's flight path jolted midair, sending her crashing into a nearby support beam. Concrete cracked. The alien warrior snarled, already spinning up another blast.
“Wykkyd!” Jinx barked. “Portal—now!”
Across the battlefield, Wykkyd sliced through space, forming the first edges of a swirling vortex. Energy crackled at the seams.
Cyborg turned, eyes narrowing. “They're trying to bail!”
“No, we’re trying to win,” Gizmo shouted from his perch on Cyborg’s shoulder—before zapping a voltage spike into the back of his neck. Sparks flew. Cyborg roared and stumbled, giving Gizmo just enough time to spring clear.
Robin whipped another birdarang at Jinx—only for the amulet to flare, redirecting the throw back at his shoulder once again with a resounding thunk. He staggered, clutching his arm.
Jinx grinned wide. “Karma’s fast today. You don’t learn much here, do you Boy Wonder?”
Robin’s expression momentarily scrunched up into confusion “Boy what—"
From the wreckage, Raven rose once more, her aura enormous now—darkness rolling off her like a stormcloud. “Azarath Metrion—”
“Shit.” Jinx muttered, “HIVE FIVE! Brace yourselve—"
“—Zinthos!”
The wave of dark energy ripped through the ground, splitting floor tiles, tossing debris like shrapnel. One of Billy’s clones vanished with a squeal. See-More hit the deck hard. Even Jinx was knocked back, landing hard beside a smoking chunk of wall.
Kid Flash appeared at her side in a blur, crouching low. His hand hovered near her arm but didn’t touch. “You good?”
“I’m fine,” she snapped—but softer than she meant to as she tried to cough away the dust and debris.
His gaze flicked over her, quick, unreadable then he was gone—just another streak in the chaos.
He didn’t look back.
He didn’t need to.
Jinx shook it off, rising unsteadily. “Wykkyd!” she shouted. “Today would be really fucking nice!”
The portal fully bloomed—stable, glowing, humming like a heartbeat. The rest of the team regrouped fast: Gizmo dragging See-More, Billy reforming mid-sprint, Mammoth shouldering past rubble.
Jinx covered them, hexing a blast from Starfire into wild green confetti that burst mid-air. The alien screamed in frustration.
“We’re not finished!” Raven bellowed, fury peaking—
But Robin grabbed her wrist. “Yes, we are.”
“What?” she turned on him.
“We’re outnumbered, outpowered—and out of time,” he ground out. “Fall back!”
Raven’s expression twisted—but she didn’t argue.
Cyborg hit a comm switch. “Emergency evac, coordinates now!”
A boom tube burst open behind them—one of the Titans' last backups.
“Move!” Robin shouted. “Starfire!”
Starfire snarled in Tamaranean, eyes locked on Jinx—but she still obliged, covering their retreat with a solar flare that scorched the floor.
In less than five seconds, they were gone.
Silence crashed in behind them.
Jinx stood still, heart pounding in her throat. The amulet pulsed like it was laughing.
Wykkyd’s voice finally broke through the quiet. “We won?”
Gizmo beamed, because he was an angel and not a gremlin. “We won!”
Mammoth raised both fists with a triumphant roar. Billy did a somersault. Even See-More grinned.
Jinx didn’t smile right away. She stared at the empty spot where the Titans had vanished, hand still curled tightly around the amulet.
Raven had said that there was one final artefact left.
Fuck, why couldn’t anything be easy?
“Earth to Jinx?” See-Moor frowned, clearly concerned and Jinx shook her head, snapping out of it and dropping the amulet into his hands.
“You hold onto this.”
“Uh—I’m no expert on magic but shouldn’t you keep it?” Billy asks, scratching his head in confusion.
“Why?”
“You’re the only one who knows how to use it. You’re the best bet of holding onto it until we get back to the tower.”
Jinx paused, expression thoughtful before sighing and reluctantly taking the amulet back, putting it over her neck. “Fine. But its not safe with me, our home’s a giant fucking ‘H’. We’re screwed if they try to come after it.”
Billy tilted his head. “Why not give it to the Brotherhood of Justice?”
Pausing, Jinx considered this. It’d be a pain if they tried to capture it. “Isn’t that too obvious.”
“The Brotherhood of Justice move around a lot,” See-Moor piped up. “It’d be pretty easy to keep the Amulet under wraps.”
“…Alright, let’s do that. Only issue is Raven said there’s one more artifact. If they get it before we do, we’re screwed. We don’t even know where to begin in finding it or what it could be. The likelihood of it also being in Jump-city is kinda nuts.”
The team nodded, already moving to regroup and head home. Wykkyd opened a small, pulsing portal. One by one, the H.I.V.E. filed through.
Jinx lingered, just for a second.
Wait.
Did she really just say ‘we’?
Ugh, she really had gone native.
Grimacing at her own behaviour she stepped through the portal without so much as a glance back.
The HIVE Tower’s conference room quieted as the screen lit up, signalling an incoming call.
See-More stood at the front, adjusting his wrist communicator as the team gathered around. Mammoth leaned against the wall with a big grin, Billy Numerous juggled leftover pizza crusts, and Gizmo had his feet kicked up on a chair, goggles reflecting the screen’s glow.
Jinx hovered near the back, arms folded—but even she felt the subtle shift in the room’s energy. Everyone stood just a little straighter when Brother Blood’s face appeared.
She didn’t really get why, this version of Brother Blood was nowhere near as terrifying as her mentor.
His image flickered in, calm and smiling and Jinx automatically lets See-Moor take the reins. This technically wasn’t her team, despite how instinctively they followed her orders on the field.
Without her alternate here, the team’s responsibility fell under See-Moor, and as much as Jinx hated giving up control, she still had no idea how to talk to someone with the same face as her formal principal.
“Ah, there you are,” Brother Blood greeted, voice warm. “Everyone safe? No injuries?”
“We’re good, sir,” See-Moor replied with a nod. “Mission success. Titans neutralized, minimal damage, and we’ve got full crowd support.”
Brother Blood beamed. “I knew I could count on you. Naturally, I reviewed the mask and CCTV footage.”
His eyes scanned the group with genuine affection. “I’m proud of you. All of you. Your coordination, your heart—you reminded this city today what real heroes look like.”
Jesus, was this the type of nonsense they were getting regularly? Positive reinforcement?? This was corny as hell.
Billy Numerous gave an exaggerated bow. “Thank you, kind and wise mentor-slash-supervisor.”
That earned a few chuckles, and Jinx resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Jesus, they were cheesy.
Brother Blood smiled. “Billy, don’t think I didn’t see you catch that falling civilian mid-duplicate. That was quick thinking.”
Billy actually looked bashful. “Aw, shucks.”
“Mammoth, great restraint with Cyborg. You could’ve gone for a knockout, but you de-escalated.”
Mammoth rubbed the back of his neck. “Felt right, y’know?”
“Exactly,” Brother Blood said. “Being strong doesn’t always mean striking first. It means knowing when not to.”
He turned his attention gently to Jinx. “And you. You held the line beautifully. The way you supported Gizmo when he overloaded the EMP charge—brilliant thinking.”
Jinx blinked. “...I just reacted.”
“And that instinct saved the operation,” he said warmly. “You’re a part of this team, Jinx, even if it is temporary. Don’t forget that.”
Something in her chest twisted. She nodded once, quickly.
Brother Blood leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands. “I don’t say this lightly—you’ve made me proud. Not just as your instructor, but as someone who believes in you. This world needs more than flashy rescues. It needs people who care. People like you.”
The room was quiet for a moment.
“Now,” he added with a soft chuckle, “go celebrate. Gizmo, no inventing tonight. Billy, try not to clone yourself into a food coma. Mammoth—stay away from fireworks. Please.”
“I only lit one last time—!”
“Rest, all of you,” Brother Blood said gently. “Tomorrow, we keep working to make this city safer. But tonight, be proud.”
The screen blinked off.
For a beat, no one moved.
Then See-More let out a low whistle. “Well, I guess that’s that then.”
“I love that guy,” Billy said simply.
Jinx didn’t speak.
She was still hearing his words echo in her head.
"You’re a part of this team."
If only the old man knew how much a fat lie that was.
In her world, Brother Blood was a psychopath. He didn’t ask if you were okay—he made you stronger by pushing you past the point of breaking. He believed in pain as a tool to mould, not kindness. When Jinx succeeded, it was met with a nod, “finally.” And if you failed? It wasn’t an option.
But even in his cruelty… she'd admired him.
He made her believe she could become someone powerful. Dangerous. Important. It was why she’d been so hellbent in sucking up to Madam Rogue and the Brotherhood of Evil.
Now?
Now she stood in front of a man with the same voice, same face, same eyes—except his were warm instead of calculating. He spoke to her like she mattered.
It was fucking gross and she hated it.
Was this what her counterpart grew up with? A mentor who believed in her? A team that fought for her instead of just with her?
She bit down on her lip, anger flaring for no reason she could name. It wasn’t fair. Not the praise. Not the warmth. Not the way her chest ached at hearing it.
This version of her—hero Jinx—had everything she ever wanted.
“You guys get started, I’ll catch up.” Jinx waved off, already heading out of the double doors and making a beeline for her bedroom.
“Wha—uh, okay?” There were a few members that called out her name in confusion.
These losers didn’t know how lucky they had it.
Jinx tapped her nails against the counter of the boba stall, squinting at the options like her life depended on it.
“Can I get the brown sugar milk tea with extra tapioca? And—” she paused, narrowing her eyes in contemplation. “—make it half sweet.”
The guy behind the cart nodded. “You want toppings?”
“I am the topping,” Jinx said flatly. Did he not hear her? Was tapioca not a topping? This universe was a lost cause.
He blinked. “So…no?”
“Just the tapioca, thanks.”
She took her drink with a muttered thanks and wandered down the street, sipping the iced tea through a pink straw. It was, objectively, the best thing she’d had all day. Maybe all week. The sun was setting, the streets were quiet, and for once, no alarms were blaring. No speedsters. No Raven. No drama.
Then again, she did still need to figure out what the fuck that final piece of the artefact was, but that was tomorrow’s problem.
She dared to think, Maybe, today won’t suck.
CRASH.
Glass shattered. Screams echoed down the block.
Jinx groaned loudly, head tipping back to the sky. “Of course.” Ignoring it for now, she continued sipping her drink.
Maybe if she kept her eyes closed it’d go away.
Another crash. This time closer. The kind that made concrete shake and pigeons take off.
Jinx dumped her drink in the nearest trash can and started running.
She rounded the corner—and froze.
A hulking, insectoid monster was rampaging across a school courtyard. Lockers were scattered like shrapnel, one of its claws embedded in the side of the school bus. Teenagers were running in every direction, some trying to record it (literal idiots???), some screaming, some already climbing fences.
Jinx zeroed in on the creature’s target.
A girl—maybe seventeen—trapped at the foot of the school steps, clutching her backpack and ducking behind a toppled bench. The monster reared back with a roar, a glowing sac in its throat starting to charge.
“Son of a BITCH—” Jinx raised her hand, and launched a hex bolt mid-run.
It struck the monster dead in the shoulder, sending it veering off-course. The energy burst made it screech and spin around, lashing out in wild arcs.
Jinx skidded to a stop in front of the girl. “Hey! You good?”
The dark-haired girl whipped around, eyes lighting up in awe. “Whoa! You’re Jinx!”
Jinx frowned. She looked… familiar. The hair. The eyes. Something in the cheekbones.
“…Yeah? Hi?” Was this really the time for such a joyful response in the face of danger?
The girl giggled—giggled, for God’s sake—before floating slightly off the ground, glowing energy building in her fists.
It finally clicked and Jinx paused to gawk.
Blackfire?
But the monster howled again before she could process it.
“Stay the fuck behind me!” Jinx ordered, launching a string of chaos hexes to keep it off balance.
The fight was ugly—mostly because she was half-distracted by how this random student turned out to be Starfire’s older sister.
Jesus, no wonder it took her so long to realise—It wasn’t like Jinx had any fighting experience against her Earth’s Blackfire. The pair had rarely crossed paths, last Jinx had heard, Starfire had beaten her in some bullshit wager for the throne back on their home planet.
Not that it was any of her business seeing as all that nonsense happened on a planet in a different solar system, but either way, they’d crossed paths briefly before. The Blackfire that Jinx knew was smart, coy, manipulative—
Honestly, she would’ve probably passed Brother Blood’s classes back at the H.I.V.E with flying colours and graduated with honours if she’d been a student.
No, wait—something was off. The girl looked the same, but her expression was…open. Sincere. And instead of blasting the creature outright, she was gently guiding students out of the way with quick bursts of violet energy.
Jinx blinked. What in the alternate hell.
The creature lunged, jaws opening wide to bite down on a fleeing student and was flung back with a burst of violet energy.
“Oh my gosh, I love your energy! And that dress? I love! It’s way cuter than your old hero outfit!” The monster roared loudly and the pair glanced over. “Want to tag team it?” Blackfire asked cheerfully.
Jinx raised a brow, somewhat overwhelmed. “You asking me to fight or prom?”
“Both?” she shrugged, then shot a blast into the creature’s exposed underbelly.
They fought side by side—Jinx’s chaos magic weaving unpredictably through Blackfire’s smooth, aerial strikes and powerful energy bursts. The pair fought dirty, Blackfire hitting high and Jinx hitting low, the monster didn’t stand a chance.
After it collapsed with a wheeze and a ripple of greenish slime, the girl lowered herself to the ground and landed with a light thud. She offered Jinx a high-five.
Jinx stared at her.
“…You’re Blackfire.”
The girl blinked, then lit up. “Oh my gosh, you know me? My name’s actually Komand’r, if we’re being formal. But I prefer Blackfire here—it sounds cooler. But I guess that’s more of a hero name? I go by Komi here! But don’t worry! I’m not like… evil. Anymore.”
“Anymore?” Jinx asked, still trying to pick her jaw up from off of the ground because what even was her life right now.
“Long story. Had a rough patch growing up on Tameran. Ran away, found Earth. Thought I’d blend in cause my psycho sister’s been trying to marry me off. Anyway, so I stay under the radar, keep my powers low-key. But Earth has smoothies and musicals and those really dumb reality dating shows, and next thing you know, I’m vice president of the AV club.”
Jinx was speechless at the sudden info dump. “I—”
“And, like, technically I’m still royalty,” Blackfire added, adjusting her very human scrunchie and continuing as if Jinx hadn’t spoken, “but ruling a planet sounds way less fun than student council.”
“…Am I hallucinating? Did I smoke fucking crack on the way here?”
So, this was a thing.
It made sense that she’d be the complete opposite of her regular self, yeah, but it was still freaking her the fuck out.
“So, you want to go grab a drink? My treat! I’m craving a matcha boba, we totally deserve it!”
On second thought maybe Jinx had been too hasty in her adverse judgement.
The doors to the HIVE headquarters opened up, Jinx juggling a new plastic cup of almost finished bubble tea and several shopping bags.
“Home sweet—ugh, whatever,” she muttered, stepping inside with Komi in tow, both buried under an avalanche of shopping bags.
The H.I.V.E. lounge froze.
See-Moor looked up from the couch. Gizmo paused mid-bite of cold pizza. Billy Numerous, because of course, whistled.
Mammoth blinked. “Uh… we adopt someone while I was gone?”
“Team,” Jinx said flatly, “this is Komand’r. She’s…a friend.”
“Did you guys buy everything from Jump City’s mall? Jesus guys, what the hell?” Billy gawked.
Blackfire beamed, long, thick black hair cut into layers bouncing as she waved. “Hi! You guys are so cool! I love your home! The giant ‘H’ building is so brave and such a statement!”
Gizmo nearly squinted. “You look super familiar…Wait, are you—?!”
“She’s not a Titan,” Jinx shot back. “She’s just—ugh, long story. Saved her from a giant bug thing. Now she won’t leave.”
Blackfire grinned. “That’s not true! You said we could get drinks.”
“I said a drink, singular,” Jinx deadpanned. “How the hell did that turn into six bags of shoes and several bags of clothes?”
“We couldn’t say no to a good sale.”
Damn, she was right. Why did they have to meet on Black Friday?
BONUS SCENE!
Komand’r sipped her boba while holding some shopping bags, she hummed happily. “So Jinx, got a boyfriend?”
Jinx rolled her eyes, sipping her own drink while idly window shopping as they walked downtown. “A boyfriend? Do you honestly think I have time for that?”
“Wait so superheroes can’t have any love-lives?! God, that’s atrocious.” She sounded genuinely appalled as they walked into a random store, Komi paused at the magazine selection, flipping through it idly.
“Okay, how about this? Any Superhero’s you’d ever date? Cause I think that Red X guy is pretty hot—”
Jinx stared at the girl besides her, flabbergasted by the idea that Red X even existed here. What even would his origin story be?! “Wha—he wears a mask, though! What if he’s ugly underneath?”
“You take that back!” Komi gasped, hugging the magazine to her chest, aghast. “I can tell he’s beautiful under that mask!”
Jinx rolled her eyes and put her own shopping bags down to take a copy of the same magazine off the shelf, idly flipping through it and raising an eyebrow at both the vigilantes and supervillains on the pages.
Jinx paused at the page of Kid Flash, frowning slightly.
The photo wasn’t even a good one—blurry, mid-fight, his grin cocky and stupidly self-satisfied. The headline read: “Titan Tyrants’ Speed Demon: Hero or Heartbreaker?”
She snorted. “More like public menace.”
“Oooh,” Komi sing-songed, leaning over her shoulder, pressing her cheek against it. “Is that your type?”
“God no, I’m not insane. Also, he looks freaking electrocuted here—”
Komi gasped, flipping the page. “Ooooh, wait—hold on, hold on.” She turned the magazine around with a flourish. “Now he’s cute.”
Jinx glanced over and nearly choked on her drink.
Kid Flash—well, the villain version of him—smirked up from the glossy page, all red and black suit and cocky confidence, the photo somehow managing to capture that stupid glint in his eye perfectly.
For fucks sake—he’d totally stopped whatever he was doing and posed for the picture, didn’t he?
“Oh my god,” Jinx groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “Not him.”
Komi blinked. “Why not? He’s hot as hell! That smile? The jawline? He looks like he’d flirt with danger and bring you flowers after!”
“That’s because he would,” Jinx muttered. “Except the flowers would probably be stolen.”
Komi giggled, leaning closer, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Wait… you sound like you know him.”
“ANYWAYS—"
The Tamaranean princess gasped theatrically. “You do! Oh my stars—you totally do!”
Jinx grabbed the magazine, shoving it back on the rack. “He’s an idiot.”
“And handsome,” Komi added, still grinning. “Admit it, Jinx, you’ve got a thing for bad boys.”
“I am a bad boy,” Jinx shot back dryly, snatching up her shopping bags in a huff.
The absolute audacity of this alien girl.
“Now come along before I hex your drink into vinegar.” Jinx grabbed her arm, cheeks tinged pink as she dragged her out.
Komi only laughed, following her out of the store, sipping her boba with a smug little smile. “You know, the more you deny it, the more obvious it gets.”
“Keep talking and I’ll make your tapioca explode,” Jinx warned, but her cheeks were a little too pink to be convincing.
“You’re no fun.” Komi pouted, stirring her drink by the straw, “Maybe if you rode a dick you’d feel better—”
The tapioca from both of their respected drinks chose then to blow up in their faces.