Jazz had been against the Teen Villain Alliance.Â
As proud as she felt for Danny creating a safe place for meta teens to go, it⊠it was still villainy. These were still kids, broken, strong, powerful kids, and the fact that so many of them fall into lives of crime was a tragedy. So the fact that Danny was explicitly allowing and even teaching these children to commit crimes⊠Words had been said. Loud, angry words that shook the walls with their rage.
Words that their parents didnât hear all the way in the basement. As always too busy with their work to pay attention to their childrenâ
Well. At the very least she made her feelings known.Â
Armed with her best psychology textbooks and two years of Stanford classes, Jazz prepared for her greatest challenge yet: infiltrating a criminal organization. Run by her baby brother.Â
It hadnât been easy. After their argument, Danny had been keen to keep her away from his âproject.â And Jazz couldnât just suddenly pretend to be onboard with crime. Despite his low self-esteem, Danny was smart and definitely would figure out that she was faking. With Danny gray-rocking her and the mental health of all the children he could help at stake, Jazz did something drastic, something no one would ever expect of her and something that would horrify Danny.Â
She transferred to Amity Park Community College and moved back home.Â
Stanford hadnât understood. Her new friends didnât understand. Danny, spitting mad and accusing her of spying on him, didnât understand. But with her less strenuous classes, and extra income from online counseling sessions, Jazz was able to track down their meeting places and help set up the Teen Villain Alliance.Â
It had taken a long time to convince Danny that she wasnât going to turn them in to the Justice League. That was her fault; sheâd reacted viscerally to Dannyâs pitch for the TVA and broken his trust. For someone already as untrusting as Danny, the fact that she even had it was the result of years of being there for him instead of their parents.Â
Now, she was older. Sheâd gone back to Stanford after the TVA took off and started making a profit and gotten her degree. She spent days in the Ghost Zone looking after the kids that ran through the halls of her brotherâs haunt. She held regular individual and group therapy session and was in charge of a whole slew of children who didnât want to commit crimesâthere werenât many, but kids often took long breaks in between missions and she chose to count them among her number.Â
It wasnât an ideal life, nor was it one she could have prepared for, but it was hers.Â
Returning to her warm and inviting office in Phantomâs Haunt, Jazz checked her itinerary. She had an interview with a new teacher: Red Hood, set to teach riflery. She checked his file; there hadnât been many interactions between the Alliance and the rogue, but most of them were neutral, and his open desire to protect children made him a shoo in for the position. Damian had brought him to her attention when discussing potential allies with Danny, and Danny had handed the list off to her without a second thought.Â
Her office, designed to look like the old-timey library of her dreams, lit up red as the clock struck 3 (in the afternoon, she wasnât a heathen) and the automatic summoning circle flared to life. A rush of light spun around the interior of the circle, spinning and flickering until it fell back down, revealing⊠a normal man holding groceries. He promptly dropped them and pulled a gun on her, pointing it at Jazzâs head as he demanded to know where he was.
Jazz frowned. She suppose it made sense that Red Hood wouldnât be in uniform 24/7, but sheâd hoped to catch him while âon the clock.â Oh well. âYouâre in my office, Mr. Red Hood. Please donât try to shoot me; the ecto-barrier will hold, and Iâd rather not replace the carpet again.â
âThe fuck are you talking about!?â Red Hood barked. He didnât lower his weapon. Jazz made a note of it on her chart. âWho are you? How did you kidnap me!?â
âIâm Jasmine, human resources director of the Teen Villain Alliance. Iâve summoned you for an interview today.â
He looked out of his depth. Jazz could understand; most of the human instructors she hired were (and one had been enraged by the idea that a villain organization had a human resources department). âSummoned? Iâm not a fucking demon! What the hell are you even interviewing me for?â
âField teacher on projectile weapons and pyrotechnics, Mr. Al Ghul. We need more teachers who can take the kids out to the human world, andââ
âWhat did you just call me?â Now he looked disturbed.Â
âMr. Al Ghul? Your name?â Jazz checked her documentation again. Jason Al Ghul was listed at the top under Name. âYour younger brother, Damian Al Ghul has recently joined our organization and recommended you⊠Are you not the Red Hood?â She reached under her desk where she kept an ectogun charged.Â
The man tucked away his gun and held up his hands, eyes locked where Jazzâs hand held her pistol. â...Yeah, thatâs me. So this is where Damian ran off to?â Jazz relaxed and let go of the ectogun. Red Hood tried to walk out of the summoning circle, only to bounce off an invisible wall. âWhat the hell?â
âSorry, but Iâve had interviewees try to attack me before. Itâs safer to keep you in the circle until an agreement has been reached.â Jazz turned to her interview questions. âNow, before we begin, do you have any questions for me? Iâm sure this has been very confusing for you.â
âYeah. What does a villain organization need teachers for anyways?â His eyes narrowed. âThought all of your kids were already villains.â
âMost are, but most teens⊠well, they end up caught quickly unless an older villain teaches them. And those villains arenât exactly someone weâd trust not to hurt them in a training environment. Our schoolââ
âYou have a school? Why the fuck do you have a school!?â
She sighed. âMr. Al Ghul. If you label a child a villain and give them no way to prove otherwise, no way to grow or change, what do you think theyâll become?â
âLady, youâre literally trying to recruit me to teach kids to shoot people. Donât you fucking try to convince me youâre trying to help them.â
âI learned to shoot when I was 4, long before anyone called me a villain.â Admittingly, she wasnât, and still wasnât, a good shot, but he didnât need to know that. âMost of our students didnât wake up one day and decide, âI want to be a villain.â They were labeled that way by society, their families, even the heroes they tried to stand up to. Here, at least, they have a place to belong.â
âWhere theyâre committing crimes on Phantomâs orders!â
âLess than 10% of the Alliance actively commits crimes at any given moment.â Red Hood paused. âOf those, we only take volunteers, and only those who are physically and mentally capable end up in the field. Most of the teens just live here, go to school here, recover here. Itâs a safe place.â
â...Kids shouldnât be committing crimes.â
âKids also shouldnât be stopping them.â His fist clenched. âLabels like 'villain' and 'hero' are meaningless when youâre dealing with teenagers whoâve already been written off by society. The TVA isnât about teaching kids to rob banks or take over the world. Itâs about giving them a place where they can surviveâand maybe even thriveâwithout being hunted or killed for the circumstances they were born into.â
âAnd youâre putting âem in school.â He huffed a laugh. âYou really think algebra and english class are gonna help them? Fix them? Put âem back together after the heroes shat all over âem?â
She shook her head. âItâs not about fixing them. Itâs about giving them a second chance, and, for many? The first safe home theyâve ever had. Nowââ She straightened her papers. âIf youâll content to an interview, we can get started. But if youâve already decided to reject our job offerâŠâ
He studied her with his narrowed green eyes and scoffed. He sounded just like Damian. âAsk your questions,â he spat. âGet âem over with quick, I got perishables over here.â
Jazz smiled, fangs peeking out past her lower lip.
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