((A/n: Alrighty numero cinco is coming your way! Thanks to all who reviewed and read the story.

Yes, the masked woman is a villain I came up with. She's a minor character in this story, and as of right now she is referred to as 'The Doll Maker' in my outlines. She'll get a full name later, but Doll will only show up one to two more times in this story. She'll make her full entry during the second story and you'll get to know her more along with two others. =D

I'm irritated at myself because I feel like this is moving too quickly. ack, too late now. On with the show!))

Chapter 5

Kid Flash, or Wally as some knew him as, found Jinx purely by luck.

He had been watching her closely, as he always did when he had a spare moment, and, when distracted by a rather tasty looking sandwich, he lost her. Wally could still recall the panic that had ravished his insides and the fear that now ate at his stomach. Jinx was in bad shape, not dead, but that wasn't necessarily good either.

Once Kid realized that he had lost his pink haired girl he ran around the city in a frenzy. Rain continued to come down in sheets, the drops pounded into him only to be dried up from the wind that rushed around him. It felt like he had run around the whole city four times before crossing the ally.

At first he wasn't even going to stop. But it was the large broken wall decoration that caught his interest. Hadn't that been on top of the building just a few hours before? There was something else that bothered him. The statue was stained lightly with blood and a small body curled up like a lost child a few feet away.

Jinx.

He recalled the flutter of thoughts that went through him, the pain of thinking she was dead, but the unspeakable relief that came with realizing she was going to be ok.

Quickly scooping her up, he disregarded all of her past threats and wanting to be on her own, he had listened to them once and now this had happened because of it. The soft void of relief that he had previously felt was now filled with guilt.

He should have insisted, he shouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer. Maybe he shouldn't have even convinced her to leave the HIVE, let her stay with what was familiar. But Wally knew better, that would have made him more upset than he was now. She wasn't happy, and anyone could tell that just by looking at her.

At first he headed towards his apartment, then he stopped, no he had to go elsewhere. Kid Flash's residence was nothing compared to the facilities the Titan Tower had to offer. With a quick change in direction he soon found himself at the tower.

He would have just used the tower in the first place, but he didn't want to intrude. It always made him feel weird to stay at someone else's house. This was a value that his father and his aunt had raised him on. The titans understood, gave him the access key if he need it for emergencies, and he was able to land a deal at a tenement for a six month lease.

His arms still grasped her almost as if he didn't hold on to her tightly she would disappear forever. Wally subconsciously cradled her head underneath his chin as he walked into the medical room. Though her hair was slightly greasy from a lack of a shower at her disposal, he still found her scent intoxicating.

It was a bitter sweet moment as he laid her down on the bed that you would see in a hospital. He finally got to embrace her like his body had been longing for since the day they met. If only he was only affectionately tucking her in because she fallen asleep, not putting her in a safe place because she was heavily injured.

Red eyebrows furrowed, if only he hadn't taken his eyes off her. Never again. Never again would he neglect her and let this happen.

As Kid Flash bent down to brush away a pink lock of hair from her face he made a promise. A pact he would always keep, but also one he would never utter a word of to anyone else.

"I'll never let anything hurt you. I promise."

***

It was the sickening pain in her chest that woke Jinx up. She had drifted in and out before that and could only recall a few things. Rain. Someone picking her up. Warmth. Arms around her tight. But it was the sharp shock from her side that finally made her awaken from her slumber.

Being awoken so fast and painful caused Jinx to let out a stream of curses. As her pink eyes opened after wincing from what she had felt, she was hit with disorientation. Where was she? The room was full of metallic colors and blank walls. A machine beeped ever so faintly elsewhere in this strange place. It seemed familiar in a strange way? Was this the Titan Tower?

"Ah! So you're finally up!" A too perky voice answered her question before it was verbally asked.

The voice had come from Kid Flash, whom had already raced through the door to check on his swearing 'damsel in distress'. His eagerness and glow of joy gave him the attributes of a puppy. It was oddly cute in a way, but this wasn't something Jinx was going to admit. At least she now knew that she was for sure at the Tower.

At first she didn't recognize him, but then she realized it was only because he was out of costume. Instead of being clad in tight spandex and stupid looking mask, he wore a red and blue plaid shirt with a white undershirt along with a pair of ordinary blue jeans.

"Great so I got the crap beaten out of me then I'm kidnapped by a stalker." She let out a shuttering pain filled cough. Jinx wondered for a moment how he knew she was up, but then remembered this was the Titan Tower. The place was full of cameras installed by an OCD and insanely paranoid Robin.

Wally gave a false look of offense. "Is that anyway to thank me--Oh hey!" He excitedly left the room in a flash only to come back a split second later. Goofy smile plastered on his face and plate of food in one hand. "Made you breakfast!"

Jinx gave the dish a fleeting look. "I'm ok, it hurts too much to eat and I know I'll hurt more after I eat that."

"Awww, but I made it just for you!" Her comment didn't seem to dim the happiness that was Kid Flash. "I'll leave it for you then." With a soft clank he placed it on the bed side table. "You were out for a while. Slept from when I picked you up to all day yesterday to this morning."

"Figures," Jinx carefully slid back down into the bed her jaw hurt a bit, but she figured it wasn't broken. She ached all over, she may have slept for a whole day, but right now that felt just like what she wanted to do. "You would sleep a lot too if you were in my shoes."

Wally bold smile dimmed slightly, but he still kept that cheerful aura around him. "Jinx, what happened?"

Jinx shrugged, "Some blond masked girl attacked me." She gritted her teeth, memories of the fight stirred up annoyance in her. "I would have beaten her too if it weren't for the poison needles."

The pink haired girl looked at Kid Flash and for the first time she noticed something odd. It wasn't that he wasn't wearing his mask, it was actually easy to recognize him with out it, it was that there were graying circles under his eyes. They weren't obvious, but at this angle Jinx could see them clearly. Was this silly boy up not sleeping at night?

Kid Flash's grin couldn't be contained as it spread back on to his face. "Playing dirty. That's the disadvantage of being a hero. Villains don't play by the rules."

Her pink eyes narrowed, "For the last time I'm not a hero. I'm not like you." She would have hexed him to get her point across, but it hurt too much to move at that moment. Instead Jinx shifted around in the bed, making her side release a sharp pain, but it let her back be towards him. "Why do you care so much anyways? Hauling me off to jail would have been an easier task, right?"

There was a long, tension filled pause within the room. At first Jinx wondered if he had left, but after a while he broke the silence.

"Ehdunno." Wally slurred the words together as he shrugged his shoulders. He knew the answer, but he couldn't find the words in his mind to properly say it. Anxious fingers fiddled with the hem of his cotton shirt.

What was he supposed to say? That from the first moment he laid eyes on her photo in the files he couldn't take his mind off of her? Or better yet, that he hadn't been so infatuated with anyone this much sense god knew when? He was a flirt, yes that was a fact, but he never in the past wanted to try this hard to be with a girl.

"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same." He leaned against the railing of the bed. "You're different, you are a good person. I thought you needed someone to show you that."

Jinx let out a frustrated sigh, "Your optimism is annoy-" She had stopped in mid sentence from the throb in her head. Letting out a weary groan she flopped back into the medical bed.

Kid Flash quickly said something about getting pain killers and then dashed off. Jinx sighed. Why was he so enthusiastic?

She closed her eyes wearily, but sleep did not claim her. Perhaps, this wasn't so bad. She had grown a bit lonely on the road and though Kid Flash annoyed her at times, he was more intelligent than her other crew.

Maybe she would stay, yes, just for a little while.