A friendly warning from behind

"Peekaboo!"

You will swear to your dying day that you did not, and you quote "scream like a chicken shit little girl" when Jinx shouted that directly behind you. You will also deny having flinched hard enough that your head left a decent sized hole in the ceiling.

You just...needed to cough at the same time. And you happened to trip then too...

Perfectly legit...

Regardless, your...reaction, is enough that Jinx is laughing her pretty little ass off on the ground, holding her sides from how much it hurts laughing. Being the gentleman of the situation, you allow her to finish laughing and collect herself.

By that, you of course mean tried to make her to stop without success.

Regardless, eventually she can't laugh anymore and you offer her a hand up. With a grin still on her face, and tears glistening from her eyes, she accepts the offer and you pull her to her feet.

Despite feeling rather irked at the situation, you do admit that seeing Jinx smiling like that and hearing her laugh almost makes it worth it.

If it had happened the way she said it did. Which it didn't!

Still, it's nice.

"So Box Head, you actually showed up? Didn't think you would to be honest."

"Bad practice to lie or not follow through on your word when you expect to be payed by heroes or villains at any given moment."

"Still seems odd to me, a career choice like that. Honestly, I think you sound indecisive."

"A little, sure. But I don't really buy into the whole Law vs Order, Good vs Evil, Black and White mentality most people think of. Life's messy, unclean. Sure, it sounds nice to keep things all neat and easy to understand, but its generally an all-or-nothing bit on both ends. At least I'm honest about my affiliations."

"Speaking of your affiliations, earlier it sounded like you wanted to join up with the Titans?" she questions, looking a touch hesitant at what your response will be.

"Never worked with or against a group of heroes before. Figured it would be a good experience either way. Generally speaking, most of my travels take me to places that only need one or two heroes per area, if even that."

"What made you decide to come to Jump City?"

"Coincidence, mostly. I don't generally plan my trips: I just do with whatever works. As it so happened, my last stop had a special on tickets for Jump City. Helped me leave early so I was glad to take the chance. Last guy I worked with was a real ass."

"Anyone I'm familiar with?"

"Just a wannabe supervillain who can hypnotize small insects to do his bidding. That might have been useful: if he could control more than a dozen individual insects at a time and he could do so without focusing on the task hard enough to give him an aneurysm."

"Sounds pathetic."

"It is. But he still thinks of himself as a significant threat. All he really has going for him is that his old man was filthy loaded, and even though he's been arrested dozens of times he can afford the bail every time. The court can't touch his money either, so jail's pretty much just a token formality. It's no better than a literal revolving door."

"Hope the pay was good."

"The bastard was cheap as hell. I told him repeatedly that if he expected me to do the kind of grunt work he needed, then he needed to triple his payments. At minimum. He could literally use $100 bills as toilet paper, live with diarrhea his entire life, and he's never run out of bills to wipe his ass with. A couple of grand barely qualified as candy store money for him. Stingy bastard."

"If he's as rich as you say, Id've taken him for all he was worth. Not like he's using that money very well."

"He had the money tucked away somewhere. Even if I wanted to jeopardize my 'gray area' standing to get it, I'd probably never find even a fraction of his wealth. He might not be all that smart when it comes to supervillainy, but he's not dumb enough to keep his money somewhere just anyone can get to it. So I cut my loses, bought a ticket, and here I am."

Jinx gives your story a thoughtful pause before resuming her questions.

"You never actually answered my question: do you want to work with the Titans?"

"If they'll hire me, sure. If not, I'm open for anyone willing to buy my services."

Jinx gives you a playful smile.

"Remember our deal?"

It takes you a moment to remember your earlier interaction with her.

"The one where I'd work for you if you beat me?"

"Yep. Since you stayed out of our fight with the Titans, I have no clue what you're capable of. Another body is always helpful to have, even if you are garbage in a fight. Still, if you're strong enough I can put you to good use for the H.I.V.E."

"If you want to get specific, the deal was that I'd 'be your plaything', emphasis on YOURS," you feel the need to point out. No telling what freaky shit might happen if you aren't clear on that part.

She purrs before moving towards you, a small but noticeable sway in her hips as she moves one leg in front of the other.

"If you want me to make a mess out of you, you gotta prove you're worth it first," she says, her breath foging up the screen on your helmet. She traces her finger so the shape of a heart is outlined in the fog. You gently, but firmly, grasp her hand in yours.

"Just remember, this deal goes both ways: I win, and I get to do whatever I want to or with you."

She gives a small, erotic moan before pressing her body into yours.

"Well then," she places her other hand on your chest and lightly glides it downward, "we should probably get started with our wager."

And with that, she blasts you with the hand on your abdomen, launching you out of the hideout and into the open.

Fuck that hurt. But still, you gotta give that sexy little minx credit. You let yourself get too caught up in the foreplay. Honestly, taking advantage of it was a smart move.

But all its done is make you want to claim her even more.