Back to Jump...Why? (Open)

Jinx had come back.

Against her better judgement, she'd come back, again and again. Why? This city smelled like crap, Titans were always hassling her, and she was constantly nostalgic for the good old days of H.I.V.E and her brief moments as a hero. She was nineteen now. No, she was almost twenty, and what did she have to show? Nada. Well, except her new Jeffrey Campbell's, which she was wearing. Tights, a skirt, a dark jacket. Her pink hair was down today, shielding her neck from the wind, and she was making her way towards the growing noises of civilisation. Bars and restaurants, people, general life.

What was she even aiming to do? Save a cat from a tree, say something sarcastic to the drunk guys who hit on her, save the day? No. No, she just really wanted some sushi.

She, of course, took the clichéd short cut of the alleyway. She could hear her footsteps echoing...but there was something else too, and she sighed, rolling her eyes and turning slowly. People only ever followed her down alleys to start trouble.

"Can I help you?" she asked, forever the sceptic.

A little girl with a red balloon stood behind Jinx, a wide smile on her face. The girl was wearing an oversized bathrobe, and shivering violently.

"Excuse me, miss. I just recognized you. You're Jinx, aren't you? You used to be in the HIVE." The girl and her balloon suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Jinx. "I think you're a very interesting person. You've been in Jump City longer than anyone else I've met. At least, anyone important." The girl disappeared again, reappearing sitting on a nearby garbage can. "You fought the original Teen Titans. That is worth my respect. I have a job offer for you, if you will take it. I want you to return to the HIVE, as a teacher." The little girl giggled. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Shivering Jemmy, the current Headmistress of the HIVE Academy. If you accept the job, I'll certainly make it worth your time."

Jinx wasn't going to lie to herself; there was something about little girls with balloons that creeped her out. This was no exception. Especially when Jinx realized how violently the girl was shivering - so much so, in fact, that Jinx folded her arms across herself, as though that kind of cold was contagious.

She was taken aback that someone still recognized her. She bared a small smile. "What gave it away? The hair?" she asked, before blinking at this magic show that was happening around her. She was quite definitely freaked out now. Rule number one, you never showed it, but this was beginning to strike Jinx as the set up to a horror story.

A job opportunity, though, was something she couldn't turn away; not right now. "You really wanna hire a girl with no college degree as a teacher? And what kind of teacher?" she asked, before her mouth popped open slightly.

"You're the new headmistress? But you're so...young..."

(OOC: Is this open?)

(Ooc/ it sure is!)

Jemmy didn't answer what had given Jinx away. She had been studying the more prominent graduates of the HIVE Academy, and Jinx had stood out. Out of all the past students, Jinx was the one most tied to Jump City. At least, that was how Jemmy saw it.

She giggled at Jinx's surprise. Jemmy did look like a 10 year old girl, and she enjoyed seeing confusion on people's faces. In reality, Jemmy was far older than Jinx could imagine, but this was the face she wanted to wear. Besides, you're only as old as you feel.

"My age isn't important. And yes, I do want to hire you. College degrees wouldn't help you with this job, anyways. You'll be teaching HIVE students to steal, kill, and destroy. Most importantly, though, you'll teach them how to do so with some grace. The other professors are all so rigid and uptight. You, on the other hand, are flexible, loose, and free. Those are qualities I very much think the HIVE needs."

This was going well so far. Jinx seemed interested in getting a job.

"Of course, your pay will be...considerable. The HIVE has ways of acquiring a lot of money. Tons of it, in fact. Plus, you'll be on the winning side."

Jemmy considered making a threat in case the appeal of the job wasn't enough. She decided to wait. There was no need to scare the poor human...yet.

Jinx tried to keep her face neutral. She was admittedly uneasy; this little girl knew far more about Jinx than Jinx would have liked. She had no doubt the little girl knew of her excellence in the HIVE, her successes, her failures, her departure, her return to petty crimes...and suddenly, Jinx was beginning to grow far more worried about this little girl than she wanted to be.

Even the giggle seemed creepy, and Jinx was trying to imagine sitting in staff meetings with this strange little girl. She tried not to shudder.

"I'm not so sure about the killing. You get a lot more out of people if you just...cripple them," Jinx began, carefully. She didn't much have a taste for killing others. In fact, she was relatively sure she hadn't ever killed anyone, but this girl didn't need to know that. "But you've got the flexible thing right. In fact, that's what mostly keeps me alive," she said, though this was mostly obvious.

Jinx's mouth curled into a little smile, albeit uneasy. "And how much pay are we talking? Enough so I can get a better apartment?" she asked, looking down at her shoes. "And another pair of these?"

Better to let the girl think she was a thief of simple tastes. She was still unsure of where her own loyalties lay.

So Jinx wasn't sure about teaching people to kill. Well that was not a real problem. HIVE students could still use the skills she taught her while killing people, right? Jinx was also quite proud of her flexibility, and that seemed to be working in Jemmy's favor. Who didn't want to show off their skills?

Jinx asked if the pay would allow her to get a better apartment, or afford nice clothes. Jemmy frowned. She disappeared. A few seconds later, she reappeared in front of Jinx, holding a thousand dollars in cash. Jemmy dropped it on the ground.

"A better apartment? The HIVE will provide a sweet room for you to live in. If you really don't want to live there, you could get a very nice apartment. You could afford whatever clothes you want."

The red balloon suddenly moved on it's own, wrapping it's string around Jemmy's body and lifting her into the air. Jemmy, completely at ease with the situation, just sat there, floating in the air. "You can keep that money. It's just the payment for this interview. If you accept the job, I've been told you'll be payed about this much every day." Jemmy usually left such trivial matters as pay to Malharon. She hoped the promise of riches would be enough to persuade Jinx.

The wind blew down the alley again, sending Jinx's pink hair into a swirl, before it settled again, the full length extending beneath her shoulder blades. Her comments hadn't seemed to upset the creepy little girl, and Jinx took that to be a good sign. God, it had been a long time since she'd actually really, really been even remotely serious about the HIVE. The last time she'd been there, her team had been mostly incompetent fools. Had the HIVE really improved since then?

Jinx's mouth popped open as the cash pooled at her feet. She eyed Jemmy wearily, crouching and unzipping her bag, slowly gathering the money and placing it in her bag.

"This much a...wow. Holy crap. That's...that's a lot to consider, Miss...Miss...Jemmy," she finished, locking eyes with the floating girl. The idea of money appealed to her...she'd started out no more than a petty thief, after all. She blinked her pink eyes.

"Let me think it over for a few days," she began, rubbing the back of her leg with her foot. "It's, understandably, a big decision. I'm sure you know I haven't been back at the HIVE, seriously, since I was about sixteen. How can I contact you with a response?"

Jinx wanted to think about it for a few days. That way okay. She wanted a way to get in contact with Jemmy when her decision was ready.

"You won't." Jemmy giggled. "I'll give you three days. Meet me at Frosty's Ice Cream stand at noon, three days from now. Then you can give me your decision. I'll see you then."

The balloon carried Jemmy higher into the air. Suddenly, she disappeared altogether, returning to her private room at the HIVE Academy.

Now it was time to wait and see.

Why did the bad guys have such a love of theatrics? Then again, she was a hypocrite, because so did she. She tried to act unphased by all the weirdness of this situation.

"O...Okay," she agreed, nodding her head. As final as that, the little girl dismissed her. Jinx was normally the one to do the dismissing. She couldn't shake how wrong this felt.

As quickly as that, the girl was gone and Jinx was left in a darkening alleyway, her head tilted towards the sky. She shook her head, shoving her hands deeper in her pockets. She headed towards the restaurants. She needed to think.

Three days later...

Frosty's Ice Cream Stand was quiet today. A little blonde girl in a blue dress ran up excitedly with a dollar in one hand, and a balloon in the other. Jemmy ordered a strawberry cone, and then walked around, looking for Jinx.

Time was up. It was noon. Now was the time that Jinx would make her decision. Jemmy had thought about threatening the girl if she didn't comply, but she might also just let the girl go. Terrified slave teachers would probably not have their students' best interests in mind. So, if Jinx didn't want the job, it would be just as well to let her live.

Jinx tentatively made her way to the stand. She was hoping it would be busy, but despite the cool blue sky it was windy and cold. She was half hoping the creepy little girl hadn't shown up, but Jinx spotted the balloon before she even spotted Jemmy. She swallowed.

Damn it, Jinx, what had gone so wrong in your life that you were afraid of a little girl?

Jinx tried to look as nonchalant as possible, but her heart was still beating in her chest. Something else had come up recently, and Jinx wanted to keep her options open. But she wasn't sure this Jemmy would see it that way.

Jinx tried a smile, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you in the daylight," she began, before second guessing herself. "Look, I've had a good, long think about your offer..."

Jinx had arrived. Good. Jemmy was glad she didn't have to hunt down the human girl. That would have been far too time consuming.

The pink haired girl held out her hand. Jemmy let go of her balloon, which stayed perfectly in place instead of floating off into the clouds, and shook Jinx's hand. Retrieving her balloon, Jemmy took a lick of her strawberry ice cream. She smiled. "And you're going to accept, right?" Jemmy smelled the air briefly, then returned to licking her ice cream. "I must say, you smell...delightful. But back to business, I hope you realize that there are only two sides in what is about to happen. Either you're going to be my ally, or my enemy. You don't want to be my enemy, do you?"

(ooc/ so sorry for the late post, I thought I'd replied!)

Jinx tried to keep her smile fixed and steady. This little girl knew what she was doing, alright. Jinx cleared her throat.

"Yes. About that. Don't get me wrong. I'm honestly flattered, I am, and if you'd asked me three weeks ago I'd have been all for it. But...something came up. Personal, really, and I'm not sure I'd be a very...stable teacher at the moment. I don't want to make enemies, m'am, but I also can't accept something I'm not entirely comfortable with," she finished, deciding to retract her hand and lean back a little. Truth be told? Jinx was terrified this was going to turn into a straight up horror movie.