VAGARY (A Flinx Story)

Prologue

Set after season 5.
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For the first time in months, her body felt warm. Her hands, wrapped around a steaming ceramic mug, did not have that looming pink glow. She was in peace. But, of course, she was not going to tell him.

"You okay?", he approached her from behind the sofa. She turned around in a rush – when the hell had he got there? He was walking towards her as he detached the red globes from his suit, mask still on. His messy red hair could be spotted from a mile away. Around his eyes, she could pinpoint a few freckles. Did he seriously think people who knew him would not realise he was the fellow Keystone speedster?

She blinked, realising she had been staring for too long.

"Why would I not be?", she asked nonchalantly. She turned her head back around, now facing the black screen of the TV. How he managed to provide for an actual apartment all by himself, Jinx chose not to take any wild guess.

Kid Flash let out a small chuckle as he plumped himself down on the sofa. He tossed his globes on the coffee table in front of him, and stretched his fingers. Their bodies were on opposites sides of the couch.

She re-adjusted the blanket around her shoulders. She did not dare to look at him. She didn't want to.

"I mean, "he spoke, "you've just put all your old friends in jail... The Brotherhood of Evil? All gone", he smiled. "You've just helped the Titans. I guess it's not something you do every day", he said carefully. He knew she was still in denial about the fact that she was not a supervillain anymore.

Jinx could hear his smile. And she wanted to hex it off his pretty face. She took a sip of her hot beverage. She knew he was looking at her, and it made her tense. "Don't get your hopes up, Flash", she said, "I'm leaving as soon as I find a better place. Or any place at all".

He laughed again. What the hell was wrong with him? Did it, by any chance, cross his mind that she could never find a better place to stay? Did he seriously think she needed him at all?

Funny.

Her eyes met his. He was already looking at her. "I don't need you, Flash", she stated, cold as ice. The tension in her body had grown intensely in just a few seconds. Maybe she needed to find out what was wrong with her, too.

"Believe me, I know that", he said, that smile of his never leaving his face. She hated it. She hated him. "Yet you required my help to realised you were too good for them", he said, cockily. A nearby lightbulb exploded in pink sparks.

"If I were you", she said, slowly getting up from the couch and making her way towards the living room door "I wouldn't test your luck".
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The smell of sulphur. The sight of darkness. The sound of echo. He was blinded by fear, heedless by revenge. He was finally going to succeed at what he had for so long failed at. And it was right at his fingertips.

"You", said a demonic, too familiar voice, "can't take Robin down" A gust of wind hit his face, almost removing his mask. He clenched his fist in impotence. He did not need to be reminded of his past failures.

The fiendish voice resounded against his ears again "But you can take her".

The man raised his head, as if to see whatever being was talking to him. "How so?", he asked, unsure of his reaction.

The mysterious creature laughed "Leave that to me, henchman. You do what I tell you", he spoke, pausing for a few seconds. "The world will be mine, again".