Back and hopefully better than ever this story is a direct sequel to one of my other stories, The Wicked One, so if you haven't already read it I would highly suggest you do so. Though a synopsis of the story can be posted upon request. But I digress. To new and old readers of Kyd Wykkyd's story alike I welcome you and hope very much you enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: Oh and I don't own Kyd, See-More, Jinx, Red-X, Fixit, the Titans, or anyone else in the Teen Titans universe.

The Cursed One

Chapter One: One Day

XXXXXX

The guards were taken out easily enough. He was honestly surprised about the lack of efficiency outside. Did they really believe they would be so unnoticed standing around a manhole in the back alleys of Jump City?

Well…maybe. But still, if they were guarding what he believed they were guarding shouldn't they at least have been slightly on guard?

Shrugging it off and blaming their inability on his superior skills the caped figure carefully dragged the two men into the shadows of a nearby alley before turning his attention back on the manhole they were supposed to be guarding. Pulling out a crowbar from behind his back the young man carefully and quietly lifted up one side of the heavy metal covering before taking it in both his hands and laying it back on the ground. With a small sigh of relief after releasing the weight the figure quickly checked his surroundings, making sure he was alone, before jumping straight into the hole.

He landed into the sewage water below with an echoing splash. The figure quickly jumped from the water and pressed himself against the slime covered walls, hiding away from the moonlight that now poured down from the missing manhole cover above. The concrete path he stood on against the wall was too small to be any sort of path for walking to and fro, but he wasn't that bad on his feet and having to balance the whole way was a lot better than splashing through dirty water.

So keeping one hand against the wall the nimble figure began to carefully, but quickly make his way down the sewage tunnel, keeping his ears open for any sounds of splashing. It quickly became pitch dark as he left the uncovered manhole behind but thanks to his trusty mask with night-vision installed into the eyeholes he could see just fine. It really never stopped being funny to him how a hero could help someone do so many bad things.

The large sewage pipe he traveled in quickly began to split off into many different pipes, those diverging pipes splitting into more themselves. The caped boy wondered for a moment why nobody ever tried to hide anything in sewers more often; it would save them the trouble of building their own security systems and defenses to keep them away. The maze-like pipes and the smell alone would drive off many would be thieves.

Unless a certain thief had a mask that kept scents away and a map he stole from one of the guards. The figure thought this as he pulled out the map in question. The number of lines that were supposed to represent the pipes in the system was mindboggling-it was like looking at some two year old's drawing of a bunch of squiggly lines. Thankfully the maker of this map was kind enough to draw out the correct pipe pathway's in red.

"It's always red…" The figure commented to himself as he began his way through the branching off pipes.

Seconds dragged into minutes which quickly began to drag into hours. The place was a maze in nearly every sense of the word. He knew that if he didn't have this map he would surely have been lost without any hopes of escape, even following the red lines on the paper was proving to be challenging. More than once he found himself back tracking when he realized he had taken the wrong pipeline.

"This damn thing better still be here…"

Not that he could imagine anyone have the determination or patience to actually come back down here and move it. Even if they suspected he would be on their trail, which they shouldn't. He was supposed to be running from them, not chasing them.

He shook his head as he lowered the map. He was entering the final pipe before he would reach his destination. If he really was having any doubts at this point it was too late now to go back.

After only walking down the pipe for several minutes he could already made out a dull blue glow somewhere far down the pipe he was walking. A few more minutes later and he was approaching the bend that the glow lay behind. When he got close enough he quickly jumped into the water before pressing himself against the wall right before it turned off into the glow. He waited until the noise of the splash died down before peering slowly around the corner.

It was a computer monitor. A rather large one that seemingly was built directly into the back wall of the dead end that the pipe eventually led into. All around it were wires and other expensive looking equipment that stuck into the wall. The glow itself came from the various lights that covered the equipment, the screen itself was black.

Quickly making sure that no one else was around the caped teen stepped back into the sewage water before making his way quickly over to the monitor. While he didn't see or discover any security monitors of any kind as he traveled through the pipes that didn't exactly mean his presence couldn't be found by some other matter. He would only give himself about a minute to do this. Folding the map and placing it in the pouch behind his back he then pulled out a simple computer chip that was glowing a dull red color. The caped teen quickly scanned the screen and equipment before finding a small slot in which to insert the chip.

"Alright Fixit, time to do your thing." The young man spoke under his breath as he forced the chip into the slot.

Static quickly began to spark throughout the wires and machinery but the caped figure simply waited. Soon enough the sparse bursts of electricity began to die down the blue glow from the lights almost instantly replaced with a shining red glow. The previously black screen then turned on filling the hallway in light when a white screen replaced the previous blackness. As he watched, a single sentence typed itself out on the screen.

What information do you seek?

"Number 36." The masked figure said almost immediately after reading the words.

Without another pause a document suddenly appeared. The teen's eyes immediately danced over the picture in the top left hand corner. It was of a boy, looking no older than eleven or twelve, with dark eyes and messy black hair. An unhappy frown decorated a very pale face.

"Found you." He whispered as he began to approach the screen.

It was just as he took his first few steps that he knew someone was behind him. On a hunch he jumped to the side. Immediately a sharp pain rung out from his shoulder as he felt something easily tear through the clothing and skin that protected it. The terrible burning sensation that came afterwards threw him off guard as he hit the slick side of the pipe with his back.

He didn't have time to register what had attacked him, for whatever had cut through his shoulder didn't stop its attack that, instead of cleaving through him, smashed into the screen. So even as the masked teen struggled to remain on his feet the sudden electrical surge from the damaged device brought his head up just in time to see a caped figure with bright red eyes before the electricity died and everything fell into darkness.

Well, it would have if not for the eye holes in the teen's mask allowing him to see in the dark. And while he wasn't exactly thrilled that he could still see the red eyed thing that attacked him he was grateful that it allowed him to be able to roll away from the black claw that was suddenly thrust towards him. He heard the ear popping sound of twisted metal as the claw easily tore through the metal pipe where the masked teen had originally been standing. He didn't allow himself to look back as he began running down the pipe again.

He ran as fast as he could. Ignoring the heavy splashes his feet made in the water. Ignoring his heavy bringing that echoed loudly in the sewer. There was no sense in hiding from that thing, somehow he knew that. Somehow he knew that he could only run if he wanted to survive.

He didn't slow down until he reached the part where the pipeline he was running down branched off into several new pipes. He reached into the pouch behind him, only slowing down enough so that he could properly read the map. He tried to steady his nerves as he continued to run, but he knew if he had to stop and read he would be dead.

Eyes quickly scanning over the paper he finally found the place he was at and the red line of the pipe he had to follow. He looked back up to see how close he was until the intersection, only to find bright red eyes staring back at him.

He jumped backwards in reflex. He was forced to cry out this time as something scraped across the arm that was still holding the map. He barely had enough time to register that the map was torn to shreds as he was forced to let it go in an attempt to pull his fingers away from the attack. He fell backwards into the water, gripping the burning fire that was his arm. It burned with a pain worse than any he had felt before but it was still there, it-.

His vision suddenly vanished as something slashed across his face as he tried to sit up. He heard the sounds of rushing water and air as he slid through the sewer water. He stood up and began running again as soon as he had stopped sliding. Thankfully the night vision came back and even though it was only in one eye, and it was hazy at best, it was still enough for him to dodge the claw that was aimed at his head again before he began running. He ran down the nearest pipe in the intersection, burning arm now flailing uselessly at his side.

Arm or no arm, map or no map, he had to get away. He had to keep running. If he let that thing catch up to him again, he knew he was going to die.

XXXXXX

I tucked the scarf further up my face as a breeze rolled in. Of course since it was the only hand I could use See-More turned his head a fraction in my direction when his wheelchair stopped moving.

"Everything alright Kyd?" He asked me. I nodded in reflex but quickly catching myself I was reduced to patting him gently on the shoulder.

See-More kept his head turned towards me for a few moments before smiling in acceptance and turning his head in the direction of the sidewalk we were walking down. I looked down it as well as I gripped a handle on his wheelchair and continued walking.

There were a lot of people out shopping today. Which meant a lot of people staring at the strange duo of two boys, dressed in jeans and jackets with hoods pulled up to hide their eyes. One sitting peacefully in a wheelchair while the other pushed him with one hand, the other heavily wrapped in a cast and sling. I had hoped that just their staring would be enough but a few overzealous people even tried offering to help push him, only to be quickly turned away by the shake of my head or See-More's 'thanks but no thanks' words of reassurance. I noticed a little girl clutch the hem of her mother's coat as we passed by, looking at me fearfully.

I let out a silent sigh as I turned away. This really was a bad idea. I could understand Jinx's desire for fresh food, the canned food Red-X had left them was beginning to get a little bland after a few months, but she really was better suited for shopping.

But no. She had some 'pressing engagements' but 'would promise to make them something great for dinner' if I would go shopping for her. And while that in itself wasn't the problem there was still…

I glanced at the back of See-More's head. I half expected to see it whirling around in every which direction until I quickly remembered why he wasn't. My friend simply sat still and unmoving, almost as though he was trying to absorb his surroundings.

He insisted that he would tag along as soon as he heard that I was going out into the city. Of course Jinx refused as soon as she heard that he had heard. But See-More always had a way with her and while he managed to convince her he had become healthy enough that he could go outside she insisted that he remain in a wheelchair. See-More had attempted to back down from the original idea of going, knowing that being in a wheelchair would only be a hassle to me, but I let him know it was fine.

So really I shouldn't be complaining since this whole circumstance was my fault. And while See-More couldn't look it he did seem happy that he was out in the city again. Even if the atmosphere of the woods and greenery that surrounded the mansion was nice it really didn't compare to the city we had both lived in for years. I too found myself fighting back a nostalgic smile as I looked around at all the buildings and concrete, even the bustling crowds had a nice feel to it.

"Hey Kyd…" See-More spoke up, drawing my attention away from our surroundings, "Do you think…do you think we could see the guys sometime?"

I could only stare at the back of his head.

"I mean they gotta be worried about us right? So like…we should let them know that we're alright…and Jinx is on our side again now! So…we could even get the whole gang back together…if we wanted…"

See-More trailed off and silence filled the space around us. I know he knew how dumb it sounded, without me thinking of some way to tell him. He was in no condition right now to do any of the stuff he used to do. And even if Jinx might be helping us right now there was no way for sure that he or I could fully trust her again, and I knew the same would go for the Gizmo and Mammoth who had been closer to her than any of us. Even Billy would hold a big grudge against her for what she did, even if he might seem like a clueless moron he definitely had a strong belief in trust. And I…

I felt something move in the cast as I thought.

I had my own problems.

"Sorry...I guess that was a pretty dumb idea huh?" He said softly, chuckling a little to try and break the tension, "It's just like…for all the trouble we went through to bust them out…we can't even see them to rub it in their faces…you know?...it sucks…"

I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me. I knew it sucked. I could only watch from the shadows when they got freed. From what I heard their memory must have gotten a little hazy after spending so long frozen in those cells, even to the point where they didn't seem to notice that See-More, Jinx, nor I were with them. I guess that had its benefits, but how long would that last? And would they even bother to look for See-More or I if they remembered? Would they try and look for Jinx for revenge?

That second question I highly doubted. It wasn't like See-More or I was really close to the others when we were all a team. To be honest with myself I really only decided to help free them because I was afraid of being alone again…that and Number 26 threatening my life with that collar of hers should I have refused to help her. But getting revenge on Jinx? Gizmo and Mammoth didn't really seem the type, and while Billy has trust issues I don't think he really cared about Jinx enough to go out of his way to get her back.

So really, as long as we didn't run into them randomly we would probably never see or hear from them again-.

The high pitched ringing of a security alarm suddenly broke through my train of thought. See-More and I, as well as many of the people who were around us, all turned our heads in the direction of the sound.

It was a food market, actually the very same market I was directing See-More towards. The once sliding glass doors had been just recently blown open and while we all looked on people were running frantically out of the store. Hot on their heels was a small, bald child zooming through the air with the use of his jet back, a bag of groceries clutched in his little hands. After him came out a large, hairy teen who was clutching at least ten bags of groceries in his massive arms. And after him came a succession of identical looking teens in red suits, each one caring two bags of groceries in their arms.

At least they were considerate enough to bag the food before they stole it.

Wait.

I froze then, why I hadn't stopped before was a question for the ages, but I stopped then.

"Kyd? Hey man, what's going on? Sounds like a place is gettin' robbed…" See-More spoke, his eyeless face turned slightly to look at me so I could see the playful grin, "Were you plannin' on surprising me with our first heist together since we saved our friends?"

I quickly shook my head only to rub a hand over my face in frustration of the situation and my continual stupidity. The people around us were beginning to run off in random directions. I looked back in the direction of the shop to see why. The trio of idiots were making their getaway right in our direction.

Crap.

In reflex I reached down for the cape safely hidden underneath the coat I was wearing. I paused though. Right now they were clearly looking in our direction. But to them we just looked like another couple of pedestrians…but if I used my cape to get us to safety…they will definitely know something is up.

Seeing no other option I gripped one of the handle's on See-More's wheelchair tightly before spinning us around and running back down the sidewalk.

"Whoa man! What's going on? Are you making your getaway now!"

I continued to run, looking around for any alleyway or store we could make a quick escape into. Though as luck would have it all store owners have mysteriously closed down for the day and somehow positioned their stores close enough that every little alleyway we passed was not wide enough to be wheelchair accessible.

I didn't try and let it trouble me, however. As long as I kept running I could at least remain out of their way until I reach another street or something to veer off into-.

"Move it or lose it bub!" Gizmo suddenly shot at me as he flew past. Almost immediately afterwards I could hear heavy footsteps approaching from behind.

Guess not.

"Out of the way!" I heard Mammoth shout from behind, close enough to feel the vibrations from his booming voice.

Down to one option yet again I led See-More and I off the sidewalk and into the streets, grateful of the mysterious lack of cars. Not a second later Mammoth bounded past us down the sidewalk, his huge feet sending tremors out from the ground as he ran.

I let out a silent sight of relief, stopping in the street for a second to catch my breath.

"Hey Kyd…" See-More spoke up, his head looking down the street at the back of me, "I feel…shaking…"

It was just then that I felt it as well. Not wanting to but doing so anyways I looked to where See-More was looking. There I saw a sea of red. More Billy's than I could count. In their arms were enough bags of food to empty out that entire shop. The stampede they were causing as they approached us felt like an earthquake.

I gripped my cape this time. There were enough Billy's that both the street and sidewalk were blocked off as they approached.

"Gang way for the Billy-pede!" Many of them were shouting.

I went to pull the cape over both See-More and I only to find that See-More was no longer right beside me. Instead he was slowly pushing the wheels on his wheelchair towards the avalanche of Billy's.

"I think that's Billy, man!" See-More called out to me before raising and arm and waving to them, "Hey Billy! It's me! It's-!"

I ran up to See-More and wrapped a hand over his mouth just as the Billy's descended upon us. I couldn't see anything but red as they past us. I couldn't hear anything but a sea of Billy voices talking all at once. I felt some brush past me. I could feel their eyes on us.

Without another pause I threw off the coat, the piece of clothing immediately torn away and lost in the wave of teens. I gripped my now free cape and without looking I pulled it over See-More and I.

The brief window of darkness drowned out all the sounds of Billy voices and feet. And when we appeared back into the world it remained quiet, save for the gentle breeze and rustling of the numerous trees.

I stepped back away from See-More. I had been nervous that I wouldn't be able to fit both us and the wheelchair so it was a relief to see him still sitting in it. He remained facing away from me, his head at first was unmoving, but soon it began looking around.

"We're back at the mansion…aren't we?" He asked quietly. I just looked at him and after a few seconds he let out a defeated sigh. "Ah man…I guess…I guess that was too much to ask for…"

Did he mean trying to get Billy's attention?

"But hey…" See-More sounded marginally happier when he spoke again, and as I watched him his arms slowly rose above his head, revealing a single grocery bag clutched in his hands, "He gave us a gift!...Or dropped us a gift anyways."

He then looked back to me, a happy smile on his face, and even though I knew he couldn't see it I couldn't help but smile back.

XXXXXX

"This is a bag of candy…" Jinx said, a very obvious hint of disappointment in her voice as she looked into the contents of the bag.

She looked back at us across the expansive dining room table, the disappointment even more evident in her face. I opted to look away, instead looking over at See-More who was giving her a sheepish grin.

"Well hey, it's not our fault! You see-!"

He cut himself off as I kicked him gently under the table. I wasn't sure just yet why I should be hiding the fact that we ran into the other FIVE members but I felt confident that we should. See-More coughed awkwardly as Jinx's eyes flashed from him to me and back again.

"Well…it wasn't my fault…"

I let out a silent groan as Jinx's accusing glare fixed back on me. Great cover See-More.

I switched my focus to the shiny and expensive looking china that decorated the table as Jinx continued her glaring at my face. Finally she let out a hopeless sigh before standing up from the table. I looked back in her direction to see that she was making her way towards the kitchen.

"Honestly Kyd, I would have never guessed you had such a big sweet tooth," She commented, peering back into the bag as she continued to walk, "Looks like we'll be having canned chicken, beans, and twizzlers for dinner tonight."

I let my heavy head face plant into the table, ignoring the stinging pain in my forehead. Even though it wasn't exactly my fault I couldn't help but feel that I failed tonight.

"Yo man, sorry about that." See-More whispered to me despite Jinx being well out of ear shot by now, "It was all I could think of at the moment…" Knowing that I couldn't respond he quickly moved on, "So why'd you wanna keep it a secret about what happened today? You afraid that she might go after them or somethin'?"

Silence. See-More's mouth formed a confused frown for a second before letting out a gasp before slapping his head. I observed this from my continual position of head against table.

"Ah man I can't even see you nod or shake your head anymore! Man this is annoying…okay okay, let's do this…tap my arm once for yes and two for no…and er three for maybe or I don't know…got it?"

I prepared to nod my head but quickly caught myself. Instead I reached over with my good hand and tapped him once on the arm. A beam quickly filled the un-bandaged part of his face.

"Alright, awesome! At least now I can ask you stuff still!"

I nodded this time, silently wondering why this sort of issue for communication hadn't come up already. Then again this was probably the most talkative he had been since waking up months ago. In fact I couldn't even remember the last time I had seen him smile as much as he had been today. For the past two months he had acted more like some lifeless doll. It was worse when I still had to bathe him and give him injections every day but even when he began to move around again on his own he still seemed lifeless.

"Okay uh… was that really Billy, Gizmo and Mammoth out there?"

See-More was still whispering to me. I could faintly hear the sounds of the oven far down the hall from where we were sitting. Unless Jinx was really intent on hearing what we were saying I figured he could speak normally to me…but, better safe than sorry I suppose.

I tapped him once on the arm as a response. He instantly beamed a thousand watt smile.

"Wow! What are the odds huh? Wait…so were they the ones that was causin' all that commotion today?"

I nodded while tapping him once on the arm again.

"And they were stealin' food right? Right." See-More chuckled, "Man, it's only been a few months and they're already back at it again, you think they'd be worried about getting' caught or something, right?"

I shrugged, understanding the question to be rhetorical. Something about the incident kind of bugged me. We've stolen food before when we were a team, but it was mostly for fun. The money we made off of the more high valued things we stole was more than enough to cover for food we could just pay for. But Gizmo and the other guys stole a lot of food, a whole lot. And when I thought back to it they didn't look or sound like I remembered them when we used to rob places together. They sounded scared…and desperate.

I looked back at See-More to see him still grinning to himself, probably thinking about the guys and our history together. Even if I could tell him what I was thinking I knew I didn't have the heart to. It was best to leave him to his thoughts of the past. In the future I would need to take more care to avoid anymore run-ins like that should we find ourselves out in the city again.

"Hey Kyd, do you think we can talk to Fixit for a bit while Jinx is makin' dinner?" See-More asked me out of the blue.

I broke from my daydreaming to look back at him. He was looking back at me, expectant smile on his face. Without giving him a poke as an answer I simply rose from the table, the sound of the chair scraping across the wood floor causing See-More to perk up.

"Awesome!" He grinned, slowly rising from the table as well.

I placed a steadying hand at his back as he rose. See-More was not incapable of moving around on his own, but he was still weak from having to stay in a bed for over a month. He also still had frequent dizzy spells that were serious enough to prevent him from standing. Over the last few weeks they have been less frequent but one could never be too careful.

"I'm good, man, I'm good," He said to me with a reassuring smile as he stood up straight, my hand still at his back, "Lead on!"

I nodded before carefully leading him out of the room. The room with the computer was just in one of the adjourning rooms to the dining room but it still took us a little over a minute to get there.

Jinx had been talking about getting See-More a walking stick so that he could start learning how to walk on his own, but that would have to be after he could walk around without having somebody to watch over him. I didn't like the sound of a walking stick. It sounded too…permanent.

While she and I could never really talk about it I knew we were both thinking of ways to try and fix his vision. See-More told us that he was blind before the eye device he built allowed him to see. Jinx had once asked how he had built it if he was blind but he refused to answer her, which was strange considering he was usually so open about everything. But still, that information alone proved that even…even if he no longer had eyes anymore…if he could rebuild his mechanical eye…he could see again.

"I got it from here." See-More spoke to me, once again interrupting my train of thought.

Looking around I see we had already reached our destination. It was a small room, well, small compared to the majority of the other rooms in this mansion. It was sparsely decorated, a few expensive looking paintings, a couple uncomfortably fancy looking chairs and a desk. A large window that made up almost an entire wall looked out into the front yard of the mansion. The long, over a mile long, road that lead through the woods and out towards the city stretched out before the window. The path that was closest to the front gates was wide enough to fit at least five or six city buses but I knew from experience that it narrowed down to barely fit a single car once it led out of the woods.

I released my hand from See-More's back as he sat at a simple chair that was situated before an even simpler table. The table itself sat right beside the window, which would normally allow the person sitting there to have a pretty nice view if it wasn't for the rather large laptop that was resting directly in the center of the table.

The laptop was already open and revealing a blank white screen with a blinking, black, vertical line waiting to have texts appear from it. I thought it was strange that it was already open like this, had Jinx been talking with Fixit earlier? While I couldn't say whether or not the two got along I wouldn't imagine her being all that interested in talking with him, especially alone.

"Hey man, are you gonna pull up a chair to? Don't forget I need you to help type for me…" See-More spoke up, looking somewhat over at me with a sheepish smile.

I went to shake my head in response to sitting but quickly caught myself before tapping him twice on the shoulder. The smile on his face immediately switched to a confused smile.

"Huh? What is it Ky-Oh yeah! Ummm, was that a no to the chair part or the helping me part?"

I could only stand there while I waited for him realize something, thankfully it didn't take long.

"Oh! Um, do you want to sit down to?"

One tap on the shoulder.

"Are you going to help me type?"

Two taps.

"Woo! Awesome!" See-More exclaimed, letting out a relieved sigh before turning his attention back to the screen. "Alright, alright, say…'Hey man, what's up!'"

Leaning over See-More I type out the words for him. It was a little awkward having to do so with only one hand but before long I had finished and pressed enter. Almost immediately a new sentence appeared under mine that read:

Hello. Who is this?

Just as the words appeared Fixit's monotone voice spoke through the speakers, reading them aloud to us. I was quick to notice the smile that appeared on See-More's face as soon as he heard it.

"Pfft, he knows who it is. Say: 'It's See-More man! Who else!'"

I lean over again and type out the words and press the enter key.

It is good to hear from you again See-More. How are you?

"Whoa! He's never asked me how I was before, that's awesome! Okay Kyd, say: 'I'm great! How 'bout you?'"

This went on for the next half hour or so. See-More and Fixit mainly talked about small every day things, most of that consisting of what See-More did that day. I couldn't imagine Fixit enjoying these types of conversations all that much but there was no way I could tell how he actually felt.

At one point See-More asked me if there was anything I wanted to say to him. I could only shrug my shoulders before tapping him twice on the shoulder. There was actually a lot I wanted to say. I wanted to thank him for protecting See-More, I wanted to ask him if he could tell us anything about how See-More's old eye device worked, I wanted to know how See-More managed to teach him how to be human. But those were all questions for the Fixit that wasn't around any longer. The Fixit that was left behind wasn't the one that I learned to admire and respect.

Soon enough we could both hear the faint sounds of Jinx calling us to dinner. After See-More had me exchange good-byes with him and Fixit I closed the laptop and helped him off his seat.

"So I couldn't help but notice that the computer was open when we got there." See-More spoke to me in that hushed, secretive tone as we made our way out of the room, "Do ya think Jinx was using it earlier?"

I thought about how to answer the question before tapping him three times on the back with the hand that was helping keep him steady. See-More appeared to be in deep concentration for a moment before remembering what three taps meant.

"Don't know huh? But who else could it be…unless your havin' 'private alone time secret talk sessions' with him behind my back?"

I was quick to give him two definite taps on the back as See-More glanced in my direction with a teasing grin. He quickly went back into deep thought mode however.

"So then if it wasn't you…maybe Red-X? But that dude hasn't been around for months…and if he just snuck in or somethin' why would he just talk to Fixit? That doesn't really make sense…you know?"

I agreed with a single tap against his back.

"Then…it has to be Jinx man!"

"What has to be Jinx?" Jinx questioned as we entered the dining room.

Both See-More and I froze on the spot. See-More's mouth clamped shut while my eyes looked everywhere but at Jinx. Of course See-More couldn't see that we had entered the room right when he said that and I had been so engrossed in his thought process that I had unfortunately tuned out our surroundings.

"Well?" Jinx pressed. I watched out of the corner of my eyes as she placed the last of the plates down on the table before crossing her arms, giving us a fierce glare.

"Er…we were just sayin'…that it had to be you…who was the prettiest girl back at the HIVE academy!"

He said the last part so fast I had to give it a second to let it register in my head, before giving my hopeless friend a dumbfounded look.

Really? That's your cover?

I, very slowly, looked back to Jinx who had all but lost her angry glare, she now look just as confused and surprised as I felt. Strangely though, that confusion melted away to a smile that I knew was only there because See-More couldn't see it. Then, just as quickly, it was gone as Jinx let out a very amused chuckle.

"Like either of you two would know," Jinx spoke as she spooned beans from a can onto our plates, "You both spent more time staring at textbooks then at girls."

"Hey cut me some slack the teachers had me pegged as some class clown like the first day! If I didn't look like I was always studying the teachers always had me doing drills!" See-More retorted as I led him to our seats.

I let out a silent sigh of relief, grateful that the suspicion and awkward air had both been dropped.

"Right. Did you even have a girlfriend back at the academy?" Jinx questioned See-More as we both sat down.

"O-Of course I had a girlfriend! I had lots of girlfriends! Hundreds of girlfriends!" He quickly replied, already locating a fork and digging into the beans. "Mmm, good beans Jinx, great beans!"

"Thanks. It's an old family recipe." She said sarcastically with a grin before sitting down herself. She then turned to me. "So what about you Kyd? Any past lovers from school?"

I swallowed a spoonful of beans before shaking my head. I wasn't about to get in any details with that Angel girl, even if I could.

"What are you talkin' about man? No girlfriends, really? But the ladies were all over you! Especially that one chick…whats the one…blonde hair…bird wings…"

"Angel?" Jinx spoke out loud, looking incredulously from See-More to me, "Angel had a thing for Kyd?"

"Angel that's it! Yeah she had the hots big time for him! And if I remember I'm pretty sure Kyd had it pretty bad for her to…"

"You don't say…"

See-More and Jinx then both looked over at me with very suggestive smiles. I pretended not to notice them as I continued eating. Though I did wish this stupid button up shirt I was wearing had a collar big enough to hide my face.

Their conversation continued in much the same way. While the first few weeks of us living together were…awkward to say the least it didn't seem to take long for us to warm up to each other again. Hell, I might even go as far as to say that we're closer now then we were when we were all still a team of criminals. At the very least we certainly never talked like this together before now

And despite the embarrassing stories of the past I had to admit it was kind of…nice. It was nice being like this. Having a warm place to stay, warm food to eat. But there was always that nagging thought in the back of my mind.

That little voice saying that this couldn't last forever.

Things this nice could never last forever.

I have been trying to ignore that voice for the last month. But each new day that ticks by feels like a day closer to the inevitable. I'm not sure what exactly the inevitable entails but I did know one thing:

The twitching of the thing wrapped in bandages was growing worse by the day.

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To Be Continued…

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Like? Don't like? Do not be shy to leave your opinion in the reviews or even a personal message should you so choose. Nothing much happened but this is the prologue after all! I promise you there shall be many twists, turns, and action in between in the next few chapters. Until then I hope you all continue to enjoy reading!