Raven: Jinx's Extra Credit Assignment (part 1)

Jinx didn’t bother waiting for the others, she just ran towards the getaway shuttle.

Behind her, the rest of her team fought the Teen Titans, the explosions and taunts of a superhero battle playing backup to the rhythmic clap of her shoes on the pavement. It’s possible she could stay and help turn the tide, but the most important thing was that they get what they came for. And that she got the credit.

Besides, it was their own stupid fault in the first place.

The eldritch, pink-haired young villainess sprinted up the shuttle’s ramp and through its cargo area, taking sharp breaths through her nose. She didn’t have long to make her escape. The ship was large, it had to be to carry all the materials they’d stolen, and it took several endless seconds for her to get from the ramp to the cockpit.

A group of thieves had managed to hit the mother load when they robbed a Star Labs transport vehicle. They’d gotten samples of Joker venom, kryptonite, Apokoliptan technology, magical artifacts, basically a kit to make dozens of super villains. The HIVE Academy had set up a meeting to buy the whole haul, then rob them.

Jinx’s plan was to distract them and steal everything out from under them, but the rest of the team, being the dumb boys that they are, decided it would be best to confront them directly. Of course, the thieves had been ready for that and almost kicked their butts. Of course, the Titans had been trying to find the thieves too and, of course, had shown up to save the day right before the HIVE Five could make their getaway. As far as Jinx was concerned the HIVE Five (four without her) could take their licks and maybe learn to listen to her next time.

She rushed past crates and weird devices covered by tarps, vaulted a canister that hadn’t been properly strapped to the wall with its brothers, then finally reached the cockpit. Sidestepping the pilot’s chair, she lunged to the controls and began flipping switches at a frantic pace. As she worked, the console lit up, the shuttle powering on, and the engines hummed to life. She’d practiced quick takeoffs numerous times, unlike her teammates (besides maybe Gizmo). She didn’t have super epic powers to solve all her problems for her, she had her luck manipulation and everything else had to be attained through sheer skill.

The shuttle lifted off vertically, the engines carrying it straight up while Jinx keyed in the coordinates of HIVE Academy. Mostly run on auto pilot, the coordinates were supposed to be entered before takeoff, but Jinx didn’t have time for that. The ship was fast and even had a cloaking device, but not faster than someone like Starfire. Her only chance was to get away before the Titans finished off her teammates; she hadn’t even bothered to close the ramp.

By the time she’d put in the destination, the ship had reached the necessary altitude and all she had to do was kick in the thrusters. She rammed a control handle forward to full speed and was immediately jerked back by the G forces as the shuttle shot forward, taking the shortest route back to headquarters. A wild grin on her face, she gripped the seat to keep from being thrown on her butt.

Eyes wide with exhilaration at her successful getaway, she turned to grin in the direction of the Titans, hoping they’d noticed the fleeing shuttle just a second too late. Instead, she noticed the loose canister she’d vaulted earlier rolling along the deck, towards the open ramp.

Her grin immediately fell, “Uh oh.”

The heavy canister bumped over a seam in the shuttle’s floor and Jinx sprinted after it. A few other items had shifted and she had to dodge around them but it hardly slowed down the graceful villainess. She bounded after the rolling cylinder, cartwheeled over it, then landed and planted her foot on it. The canister’s momentum made her skip back a few steps, but she managed to stop it well before the edge of the ramp.

“Whew!” she wiped her brow and smiled brightly, “Okay, let’s put you where you’re supposed to be.”

Picking up one side, she rolled the canister towards the others on its bottom edge with a few grunts of effort. Grateful none of the others had decided to fall over, she pushed it back upright with another grunt, let it clank against its companions, then pulled a strap across them that would keep the stack locked in place against the wall.

After locking the strap in place, Jinx turned to stare out the open ramp, the wind making her horn-like hairstyle flap madly. With her bubble-gum pink hair and eyes of the same, almost neon color, she embraced a strange, Halloweeny look. She was dollishly pretty, her eyes big with slit pupils, mischievously slanted to make her look somewhat cat-like, the resemblance intensified by her tendency to tilt her head and grin mysteriously. She wore a shining black skirt with a purple, bat-wing mantle, striped leggings hugging to trim, curving young legs, with leather boots that she moved in with inhuman grace, despite their two-inch thick soles. Part sorceress, part dark fairy, she was comfortable not being like everyone else; you didn’t get what you wanted by fitting in.

Watching the occasional energy blast and explosion of the distant fight shrink to nothing, Jinx grinned impishly then blew a kiss.

“Bye bye, Titans,” she chirped, “Have fun missing the whole point of the caper. Again.”

With that she skipped over to the ramp controls.

Her attention diverted, she didn’t notice the puddle of oil-black energy that spread in the center of the cargo bay. It grew to the size of a manhole cover and a figure draped in a dark blue cloak rose out of it like a phantasm. The cape was held in place by a red jeweled clasp and draped down the figure’s chest, two large eyes glowing like moonlight from within the shadows of its hood. It almost looked like a voluminous, disembodied cloak had floated from the floor, but the blue fabric opened slightly at the bottom, revealing pale, toned legs and blue pixie boots.

Just before she hit the button to close the ramp, Jinx paused, sensing the interloper’s magical energy. Trusting her instincts, she whirled around, hands coming up in a warding pose and surrounded by lotuses of pink energy.

“Going somewhere?” the cloaked figure drawled, her voice a gravelly monotone.

Jinx smiled without any warmth, her eyes narrowed.

“Oh hi, Raven,” she said, “I wondered where you went. Figured you had your nose in a book, learning how to be more sullen and depressing.”

Not one to trade banter, Raven threw her arms wide and floated off the ground, her cloak thrown out like the wings of a bird of prey. Beneath the cloak was a glistening black leotard painted across a nubile body, a belt of circular red jewels hanging rakishly off the flared hips.

“Azerath metrion zinthos!”

A claw of black energy shot at Jinx but the young villainess flipped aside, landing in a crouch. She drew her arm back to throw a jinx bolt but hesitated, giving Raven the chance to attack again. Without throwing the bolt, she had to cartwheel, back flip, then dive over a trio of smaller tendrils, barely avoiding all of them.

Jinx immediately knew that this was one of the worst battlefields for her to fight someone like Raven. In most places, Jinx could fling her hexes anywhere she wished to make things fall on the Titan, cause an unfortunate rockslide, make the floor give out beneath her, maybe make something short out and electrocute her. All Jinx had around her now was the shuttle she needed to keep flying and fragile equipment she wanted to stay intact. If she fought Raven how she’d like to, she’d destroy all the loot she’d gathered and tear the ship to shreds in the process.

Landing after nearly being flattened by a fist of dark, telepathic magic, Jinx flung a pink bolt of energy at her opponent, hoping at least pull her hood over her face.

Raven raised her hand and a shield of inky black absorbed the jinx bolt before it even came close.

Jinx scowled, “That’s not even fair!”

She barely had time to shout before she had to dodge again, cartwheeling away from the magical counterattack.

“That’s… kind of the point of an ambush,” came Raven’s dry response.

The dark energy suddenly enveloped the Teen Titan and she vanished inside the shape of a towering, white eyed raven. The demonic bird dove at Jinx, its wingspan threatening to fill the entire cargo bay.

The young villainess’s eyes widened and she threw herself forward, barely managing to find an opening beneath the magical construct. In her desperation to avoid the attack, she banged her shoulder and sprawled much less gracefully than she’d liked, tumbling over to land on her stomach with a grunt.

The raven hit the deck and flattened out in a pool of pitch darkness, leaving Raven herself standing in the center, disturbingly still and unruffled. Jinx tried to scramble to her feet, but before she could get her legs beneath her, a tendril shot out from that pool and slammed into her back.

“OOLF!” the blow rolled her over twice before she banged into what looked like a large robot arm under a tarp.

Once again, Raven didn’t pause to taunt or exchange barbs. Her dark power gripped the device Jinx had collided with and a metal claw lunged for the witchy villainess, tearing through the tarp.

Jinx squealed in fright and rolled out of the way. The claw punched into the shuttle’s deck with a shriek of metal on metal, closing around the space she’d been a moment before.

Desperate and running out of options, Jinx threw a bolt at the ceiling and caught a long wire that ran the length of the shuttle’s roof. A few running lights blew out and the wire snapped free, swinging down to crack at Raven like a sparking whip.

The attack was only a half-measure. Raven floated to the side and easily avoided the swinging wire, but it gave Jinx time to flip back up to her feet, hands raised and glowing pink.

This time Raven didn’t immediately counterattack and the girls faced each other across the bay. The broken chord swung lazily between them, occasionally sparking, the disruption of the shuttle’s electrics making the lights flicker.

“What’s the matter, Raving?” Jynx grinned, “Ambush not going like you wanted?”

Raven narrowed her eyes, but otherwise her expression remained calm, disciplined. She was in many ways the opposite side of Jinx’s coin, smooth-faced and pretty, but with big dark eyes that were haunted rather than mischievous. She was eerie, a demon hidden inside her curving body, solemnly accepting her role in the occult rather than relishing it like her rival.

“More like thinking how I can beat you without crashing this thing,” she replied.

“Good luck,” Jinx let the power in her hands flare out, “It’s not my first choice, but I’ll bring the whole shuttle down if it will keep me from getting caught.”

It was a bluff. If there was a way she could ditch and leave Raven onboard to blow up, she’d take it, but she would never go down with this ship. Right now she didn’t see a way to disable the ship and get off safely before the other girl could pin her to the floor.

Raven stared with that cool gaze of hers, not even blinking.

“You should run along now, Raven,” Jinx continued, “With all this stuff on board, we don’t want to crash into the suburbs, do we? Would make an awful mess.”

Eyes lidded, the young heroine stared for a moment before a smile quirked up one side of her lips. It made Jinx’s own grin falter. Raven hardly ever smiled, but when she did there was usually cause to feel uneasy.

“Riiiiiight…” Raven drawled, “I’ll do that.”

She closed her eyes.

Blinking, Jinx was too surprised by the sudden moment of vulnerability to take advantage of it.

It wouldn’t matter if she had reacted immediately, though. Raven had barely closed her eyes before she started her chant.

“Azerath… metrion… ZINTHOS!”

She threw back her head and her eyes snapped wide, pupils vanishing as they glowed white. She threw out her arms, chest thrusting forward as she called on her power and that strange, inky black flowed out from her in all directions. Everything it touched was painted in dark energy, glowing like it had become a construct of Raven’s eldritch power.

Jinx backed away, watching as the darkness spread across the bay.

“H-hey!” she protested, “What are you…?”

The energy enveloped a wall of the ship and several devices like it was a spreading infection. It moved outward in a wave, a spreading shadow assimilating everything it touched. The ship creaked around them, metal groaning, before a sudden jolt rattled the cargo in its containers.

Jinx stumbled, catching herself against a wall, eyes wide.

Raven had a level of power that meant she didn’t need to get to the cockpit to stop the ship. She could wrap the whole thing in her shadowy grasp and pluck out of the sky like a toy.

As if to confirm this hypothesis, the ship jolted again, and Jinx felt it begin to slow down. The engines made strange sounds as they found themselves fighting against another force pulling while they pushed. They’d probably break loose and take the wings with them if this went on for too long.

While the ship rattled and shook, the dark energy continued to spread, now covering the majority of the cargo bay. Jinx sprang back as it approached her feet, looking around as she struggled to come up with a way to stop Raven from assimilating her ship.

She tossed a pink bolt at the oncoming pool of black, but the energy dissipated harmlessly, just like it had against Raven’s shield. She would have loved to run up and kick the Titan in the face, but it was too far a jump over the dark energy and there wasn’t even anything to swing off. Raven had even enfolded herself in her power, making her just as immune.

Once again, Jinx couldn’t overcome her problems with raw power, she had to use her skills and wits. To beat Raven, she’d have to use the environment indirectly to at least distract her and stop whatever spell she was casting. It had to be something she couldn’t easily dodge, that would force her attention entirely off what she was trying to do, hopefully even take her out in the process.

Jinx’s cat-like eyes darted about furiously as she looked for the right commodity, something that would turn the tide, if such a thing even existed.

And it did. Jinx’s gaze fixed upon it, the most elegant instrument of her salvation, and grinned.

Looking around again for the next part of her plan, she spotted it and cartwheeled towards the wall. She landed right next to a small panel on the side of the shuttle, with a skull and crossbones symbol painted across it. She opened the panel, making sure it contained what she knew it should, then turned back to her rival.

“Sorry, Raven, you taking over my shuttle isn’t going to work for me,” she winked, “I’ve got a fun alternative though. Even you’ll get a giggle out of it.”

Leveling her hand, she pinched one eye closed, took careful aim down her arm, and snapped her fingers. A tiny jinx bolt, no bigger than a spark, shot past Raven towards the wall.

Jinx immediately lunged into the panel to grab what was inside.

Raven didn’t even notice the pink spark that went past her, striking the top of one the gas canisters. With the wind still whistling through the open ramp, she didn’t hear the squeak of the gas valve spinning open. She was just raising her voice, about to repeat her chant, when the valve shot a stream of gas directly into her face.

The Titan recoiled but was already coughing before she could stop herself. A good deal of the gas was being sucked out the open ramp, but it didn’t take much for it to do its work. In seconds, she was hacking and staggering, trying to cover her mouth and nose.

“KOFF KOFF KAAFF KAAF KOFF!”

The daughter of Trigon reached out and a ball of black energy closed around the top of the canister, sealing it shut, but even without directly breathing the gas she couldn’t stop coughing. It had gotten into her lungs and her body knew it was toxic; it was trying desperately to dispel the foul fumes.

“Az… KAFF KOFF KOFF…” she tried to call out her chant, “Azer KOFF KAFF KAFF KOFF!”

Her coughs were deep and hearty, wracking her entire body into a rictus. Then, just when her retching was at its worst, something strange happened: she began giggling. It was gentle and bubbly, enough to shake her shoulders and bring a grin to her face.

Her eyes widened with surprise. She so rarely laughed that the sound was strange, and stranger still it wasn’t stopping. Still grinning, she shook herself, trying to force it away.

“Azerath metri—hee hee hee!”

She barely got halfway before she found herself giggling again. It was shrill and girlish, splitting her face with a broad smile, and it wasn’t stopping. On the contrary, it was growing more intense, bouncing her helplessly, weakening her knees.

Raven put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle it, but she only laughed into her palm. She started to double over but forced herself upright, which served to display her bouncing breasts beneath her seal-slick leotard.

Jinx leaned against a wall, wearing the oxygen mask she’d taken from the wall panel, watching the show. The creeping darkness Raven had been spreading over the ship was retreating now, vanishing as its mistress’ concentration evaporated. The engines rattled once, the hull creaking as it was released, and the ship smoothly resumed its previous course.

“Uh oh,” the pink-haired villainess grinned, “You can’t use your powers if you can’t focus, can you? Oopsies…”

Raven looked at her, eyes still wide with shock even as her giggle became a louder cackle, her pale cheeks turning pink. She moved the hand from her mouth to reach towards her smirking enemy and the shadows momentarily stopped their retreat. Her power wavered in place as she pitted the full force of her formidable will into the effort, but her laughter only grew louder, her posture buckling.

“A-az… azer… a-ha-azera-hahahaha!”

Inevitably, her laughter only grew louder and her concentration weaker. The dark energy retreated once again, slowly at first, but then all at once as Raven doubled over and hugged her arms across her stomach. The wave of darkness receded, vanishing altogether, leaving just a helplessly cackling teenager, her laughter shrill and desperate.

“Az-az HA HA HA HAAAHAHAHA!” Raven cried, almost pleading, “Met-HAHAHAHA-METRI-AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Even the bubble surrounding the cannister’s valve popped and vanished, a cloud of green gas bursting free and quickly being sucked out the back of the shuttle. Raven staggered away, bent at the waist, forced to squint as she laughed herself breathless, unable to stop.

Jinx watched with idle fascination as Raven’s face reddened, the girl laughing so hard it sounded like she was in pain. Tilting her head, cat-like eyes staring, she approached, hips swaying, wearing a small grin. It was interesting hearing Raven laugh like this. It was surprisingly girlish and even cute, no hint of the roughness that was usually in her tone. She stopped beside the helpless thing, tilting her head the other way, wondering what was going through the Titan’s mind.

Body clenching, sucking in deep breaths between bursts of laughter, Raven tottered back, then forward as if drunk. She shook and sagged at the same time, tears coming to her eyes, miserable but still laughing through a wide, open grin. It was all she could do to stay on her feet.

Jinx pursed her lips and looked her rival up and down. Raven was harmless now, just a silly, giggling wretch.

“Hm!” she nodded once, satisfied, then turned to deal with more immediate issues.

Strolling to the gas canister, she wiggled the valve, realigning it, then turned it to stop the flow of gas. It was perfectly good Joker venom; now that her pursuer had been dealt with, there was no point in letting it go to waste.

While the wheel of the valve squeaked and the hissing of the gas slowed, Raven sagged until she almost crumpled to the floor. She staggered forward on unsteady legs, almost tripping herself as her bubbly laughter ravaged her, desperate to find something to grab onto or lean against. She took a meandering, skewed path, tottering one direction, then the other, clearly not able to see where she was going until she collided with a large crate. She clutched it, grasping at it as if the crate was her salvation, the laughter destroying her strength bit by bit.

Jinx turned the valve until it was locked tight, then looked around to see if anything else needed her attention. She considered closing the ramp, but decided it was best to let any remnants of the gas air out before they landed. The autopilot was still functioning, everything was in its place, and there was no sign of any of the other Titans.

She heaved a sigh of relief. Her idiot teammates had almost ruined everything, but she’d made her escape with everything they’d come for. Now all she had to do was sit back and wait for the shuttle to take her to the academy.

Well, after she took care of one helplessly cackling loose end, of course.

Turning around, Jinx swaggered towards Raven as the Titan slumped against the crate, wheezing between squeaky giggles.

No matter how hard she tried to stay up, Raven was slowly sinking down, slipping down the side of the crate. She clawed at the wood, nails dragging down as she wilted, her laughter starting to sound similar to hysterical weeping.

“It looks like we finally found your sense of humor, Raving!” she said over the other girl’s laughter, “And such a cute little giggle you have!”

Even with her back to Jinx, Raven reacted when she heard the other girl’s voice. She pawed at the crate, managing to lift her head, legs trembling as she tried to stand up straight, but she didn’t get far before she wilted back down, bouncing with mirth.

Jinx paused to regard the helpless figure for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin as she considered her options. Raven couldn’t even turn to face her. Should she kick the Titan in the head? Maybe grab her by the hood and bash her face into the crate a couple of times?

She tilted her head as she considered, then decided to simply help Raven to the floor. A kick to the back of the knee and the young heroine crumpled, banging her to the floor, kneeling.

The laughter didn’t even pause.

“That’s better,” Jinx grinned, “You look good on your knees. Like you belong there.”

Raven grasped at the crate with one hand, hanging from it even as she knelt, her other arm dangling with exhaustion. Her head bowed, body crumpling, defeated and dying.

Jinx stared. She’d wanted to see Raven kneeling for a while, though she hadn’t thought the girl would be laughing. In some ways she liked it better, though. Little miss spooky laughing as she lost, unable to be defiant, finding her own defeat unbearably hilarious. Aware of what was happening, but unable to stop Jinx from doing whatever she wanted.

She reached out to pluck the edge of Raven’s cape, rubbing the fabric between thumb and forefinger. She slowly smiled.

“Hm. she mused, “I’ll admit it: I like the cloak.”

Raven continued to cackle shrilly.

“I think I’ll take it.” Jinx grinned, “You don’t mind, do you?”

Taking Raven’s giggling for assent, she reached around the girl’s shoulders and began undoing the clasp on her chest. The round jewel wasn’t the most intuitive snap to undo, but she had plenty of time to fiddle, feeling around on the little thing to figure out what connected where.

Raven made no concerted attempt to stop her. As she felt her cloak come unclicked, she managed to reach back and to hold onto the cape with her fallen hand, but her continued laughter made her grip absurdly weak. Jinx drew the cloak off of her and it slipped right between Raven’s fingers, the villainess not even noticing her attempt to stop it.

“Thanks!” Jinx patted her on the head, “So generous!”

Jinx threw the cloak across her own shoulders with a big grin, reconnecting the clasp before looking down to see how it fit. Gripping the hem of the cape, she turned side to side, seeing how it looked from different angles, then abruptly twirled on her toe and let it swirl around in a flourish. It was just the right color, the dark blue going well with her black skirt. She didn’t need the hood, but the jewel clasp was perfect.

She couldn’t help but giggle herself, “Sweet! Maybe I’ll have it redone in purple! Ooh, or pink!” she twirled again, “What do you think?”

Of course, Raven thought it was hilarious. She was so drained from her continued laughter that she had mostly drooped to the floor, both arms hanging and now just leaning against the crate. She looked much less mysterious without the cloak, just a fit teenaged girl with purple hair and a black leotard. Jinx even noticed that the eerie daughter of Trigon had a cute little butt, the perky shape pressing out from her slumped position.

“Oh, come here, Raven,” Jinx sighed, bending down to help her up, “Honestly, I think you need a teensy bit more self-control. Playing around on the floor. Dust shows up really well off black, you know.”

The helpless Titan was dead, limp weight, other than the jiggling of her continued laughter. Jinx took her under the shoulders and had to heave her upright, Raven slumping back against the villainess’s chest. It took some effort to turn the giggling teenager around to face her, get her in a position where Jinx could keep her upright.

“Silly… dumb… superhero,” Jinx sighed as she hugged the other girl around the waist, squeezing her tight to keep her upright.

Raven drooped backwards over the arm holding her waist, head hanging back and shoulders pulled down. If the position weren’t enough to draw the eye to her pert breasts, her laughter made them heave and bounce, the black spandex holding them tightly but unable to keep them entirely still. One might expect a pale, occult-obsessed bookworm to be shriveled, but Raven had an hourglass figure with bell-shaped hips and breasts that were ripe and round as oranges. It must have been somewhat frustrating for the scary, mysterious young sorceress to have the body of a cheerleader.

Jinx smirked behind her clear oxygen mask, “Aw. It’s pretty funny, isn’t it, Raven? Big, scary monster girl, supposed to end the world or something, but instead you go down giggling like a schoolgirl. How embarrassing!”

With her free hand she cupped behind the girl’s head and lifted it up to look her in the face.

Raven’s cool, porcelain beauty was replaced by flushed cheeks and a broad, open grin, her eyes lidded with exhaustion to add a sense of dopiness to her expression. She had a tall forehead, her purple hair parted in a widow’s peak and cut straight at her jawline, a red diamond fixed in the middle of her brow. Her smooth, delicate features lent her a child-like look that would have been off-putting on a powerful sorceress, but in her current state she just looked very cute.

“I like your belt too,” Jinx said, “Maybe I should just take all your clothes! Poor little Ray Ray, dead as a door nail and naked as a jay bird, with a big, silly grin on her face! That would be SO funny!”

Raven laughed in complete agreement, a faraway look in her eyes. All she could see of Jinx was a blurred face and her tall, bubble-gum pink hair, not even fully comprehending what her rival was saying.

“Everyone at the HIVE is just going to die laughing,” Jinx giggled, “Not literally, like you, of course. The joker venom is going to just keep you laughing and laughing until you faint, and then you’ll laugh some more! It’s going to be so funny! You’ll laugh and laugh until your body can’t take it! Your little heart will give out, your lungs will collapse, brain will shut down…”

She smiled at her helpless foe for a moment, then looked to the open cargo ramp.

“You won’t have to worry about that, though,” she grinned, “Before that happens, you’re going to have an itty bitty accident…”

Letting Raven’s head flop back, she looped both arms around the girl’s waist and dragged her towards the ramp, shuffling sideways while Raven’s boot scraped across the deck.

“Once I bring… back all this stuff…” Jinx grunted as she worked, “AND show the instructors… I took you out in the process… I’m going to the next level. So, I appreciate you losing so… easily… it’s going to be a great day for me!”

By the time the girls reached the ramp, Raven’s laughter was hoarse and wheezing, her eyes rolling back into her head. Even if she knew of her approaching fate, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop it.

Jinx looked over the edge, the ground so distant it looked almost fake, like a very intricate model of a landscape.

“I bet you’ll laugh all the way down!” she called over the roar of the wind, “Someone down there is in for a gross surprise!”

Raven just continued laughing, bouncing gently in the villainess’s arms.

“Aw, you’re fun this way!” Jinx cooed, “It’s almost a shame you have to die. If you were more like this all the time, I think we could have been good friends!”

Grinning, she playfully dragged a finger down the other girl’s ribs.

Raven’s reaction was immediate. She arched and squealed, eyes going wide before she began giggling with renewed intensity.

Jinx’s grin widened with delight, “And ticklish?! Freaky, spooky Raven is ticklish?!”

Testing her hypothesis, she dug her fingers into Raven’s ribs and the Titan squealed once more, laughing with shrill desperation. She managed to flap her arms, squirming and twisting in the other girl’s grasp, her eyes and mouth gaping as she cackled without pausing to catch her breath. It wasn’t a conscious attempt to stop the tickles, just spasmic flailing, a helpless reaction.

Jinx couldn’t help but laugh with her, watching the girl’s falsely delighted expression, her pale face growing red.

But Raven couldn’t take it for long. In a few seconds her eyes rolled back, her throat clenching tight so she couldn’t make a sound. Even then she continued to laugh silently, bouncing gently against her rival’s chest. Consciousness was fading from her, her lungs and heart simply unable to keep up with the intense, constant laughter.

Jinx gave her an encouraging jiggle, watching as she slowly fainted.

The daughter of trigon sagged back over Jinx’s arm, a toy that ran out of batteries, her eyelids sinking down to reveal white slits. When she finally went still, her mouth was yawning open and turned up in the wisp of a grin. Her breasts heaved and she occasionally jerked with the mirth that still wracked her even as she was unconscious, but there was no intelligence in her left in her expression. It was dumb, silly, vacant.

Jinx laughed at the goofy expression, “Awww! So cute!”

She ran her fingers through Raven’s straight, silky hair, smiling fondly. She had really enjoyed having the Titan so completely at her mercy. Beating her had always been an ambition but toying with her was more fun than she’d thought it would be. It was too bad it had to end.

“Well…” Jinx sighed, “Time to say bye bye, Raven.”

She looked over the edge once more, considering the best way to do it. She didn’t want to lean over and push her, for fear Raven might grab her at the last second and they’d both go. Maybe the best thing to do was to drop her and give her a boot to the rump. Even if it took a couple of kicks, Raven would roll over the edge and be gone for good.

But just as she’d devised a course of action, Jinx hesitated. Did she really want to just kill the helpless Titan? It would be the simplest way to get her out of the way, but once the others found out they’d want revenge in a big way. She would enjoy the notoriety, but at that point all the Teen Titans, and maybe even the Justice League, would be gunning for her. Not for the HIVE academy or for her team, only her.

Jinx stroked Raven’s hair thoughtfully, watching the girl shudder and hiccup with giggles, even while as she slept.

Killing a superhero would be a big deal, but what if she brought Raven back alive and helpless? That would be worth even more than just a story about how she threw the Titan out the back of the shuttle. There were lots of things she could do with Raven’s power, with the time to examine her thoroughly. Plus all the information they could get out of her, the demoralizing effect on the rest of the Titans when they saw their most powerful team member a helpless prisoner of the HIVE.

Cupping the girl’s flushed, warm cheek, Jinx smoothed her thumb over the little bone there, smiling to herself.

And, she admitted to herself, she had lots of fun ideas for how to enjoy a helpless Raven…

Jinx nodded to herself and made up her mind.

She had to move fast. She bent down, let Raven fall over her shoulder then picked her up and carried her back into the shuttle. Although the girl weighed about as much as she did, Jinx was plenty strong enough to carry her and she didn’t have time to clumsily drag her along the deck. On the way she reached over to jam a button beside the ramp and the ramp began to close. It clanked shut by the time Jinx reached the end of the cargo bay.

Raven continued with a faint, almost whimpering titter as she slumped across Jinx’s shoulders, her arms swinging limply and being carried into the cockpit.

When they reached their destination, Jinx gave her captive’s bottom a playful smack then spun the pilot’s chair towards them with a kick and dropped Raven into it. The Titan bounced into the seat and immediately slipped down, almost falling out altogether while Jinx turned to look for a particular item.

With the oxygen mask no longer necessary, Jinx yanked it off her face and tossed it aside before opening a lockbox beside the control console. Now that she had decide to keep Raven alive, the villainess had to hurry before the Joker venom finished her off. She tossed several items across the cockpit, including an emergency light and a weird blaster pistol, before she found what she needed.

Moving with trained haste and precision, she popped the end off what looked like a large green pen and pressed it to Raven’s thigh. She punched a red button on the back of the pen and there was a sharp hiss as part anti-toxin part sedative shot into the Titan’s system.

Raven grunted and tensed, her eyes shooting open in shock. Her faint laughter continued for another few moments, sounding confused, then grew intermittent, broken up by deep breaths.

Jinx tossed the pen aside and watched carefully, unsure if she’d made it in time. Joker venom was essentially a nerve toxin and stimulant, the only way to save one of its victims being to nullify the toxin and slow the body back down before something vital overloaded. She’d insisted these custom epi pens be brought along when they’d be handling the infamous killer gas, but the question was whether the serum could do its work before Raven’s nervous system was irreparably fried.

Raven’s laughter became even weaker and the surprised expression melted from her face. Her eyelids sank slowly down as she relaxed, her lips turning down, smile fading.

“Nhh…” she mewled with relief as she stopped laughing altogether, her breasts rising and falling with heavy breaths.

She drew in one deep breath, then released it with a long sigh and fell into a deep sleep, her face smooth and peaceful. After that she continued to breathe deep, even breaths, exhausted and finally getting to rest.

Jinx put her fingertips to her rival’s neck, checking the pulse. It was still a bit fast but slowing down, becoming steady. She’d be fine. A nice, healthy, helpless captive.

Letting out her own sigh of relief, Jinx let her hand glide down Raven’s throat to rest on her chest, grinning crookedly.

“Congratulations,” she cooed, “You’ve just been promoted from collateral damage to prisoner.”

She leaned close to nuzzle Raven’s cheek with her nose, then gave her a soft kiss. The kiss lingered for a moment, then she turned to the sleeping girl’s mouth and added another. She pressed gently, just enough to taste the soft lips, ajar and unresisting. She captured Raven’s bottom lip with her own, sucked tenderly, then drew back with a pop.

“You can thank me later,” she whispered, “But for right now, let’s get you tucked in, sleepy girl. We want you to be presentable when I show you to the headmaster.”

With that she gathered Raven up and took her to some restraints.

Once Raven was neatly secured, she placed an oxygen mask over her face, the oxygen filtered with a bit of sedative; the Titan would need both to help her recover from the Joker venom. After that, she tucked the sleeping heroine under the cockpit’s instrument panel where she could rest, legs tucked to her chest and forehead against her knees.

With that last bit of work done, she gave her captive one last look, stroked her hair, then settled into the captain’s chair. Putting her feet up, she closed her eyes and smiled.

The rest of the trip was peaceful and relaxing.