Once Raced, Twice Played

by Lady Black Mage

Cosmo Krank and Nathan Finch have very little in common. But when Brother Blood kidnaps the younger sisters of both men to manipulate them into doing his dirty work, Gearhead and the Toymaker have to put their heads together to figure out how to rescue their siblings...if, that is, they can manage to get along with one another.

A/N: Finally, after about eight months of on-and-off capricious muse and slow work, I am proud to present to you all this little novella. This story originally began as a concept between ItaZuran (android-zura on deviantArt) and myself, as a means of trying to figure out how the characters of Gearhead and The Toymaker would become dudebros, as Zura and I had both headcanoned that they were. For some reason, an idea had started to take root in my mind, and for a good few months, I didn't really pen anything down, as I was waiting for the idea to continue to sort of solidify. (It was something of a long, slow-process brainstorming?) Finally at some point late last year, I knew I wouldn't be able to ignore the idea any longer and started to work on the story.

A lot of credit for this must go to Zura, for having been both an inspiration for this fanfiction as well as a sounding board to bounce ideas off of. And just as much credit must go to the lovely Vitani (hlwar on deviantArt), who Beta-read the initial draft and gave me a lot of helpful feedback and advice for writing this! (I actually learned quite a bit, which made me extremely happy, as it's not often I get that opportunity.) So a huge thank-you to both of you! This story wouldn't exist without you both! And a huge thank-you as well to anyone who takes the time to R&R this monster.

---

Once Raced, Twice Played

Nathan Finch lived for very few things.

He lived for the race. He lived for the thrill. And he lived for himself. Not really shocking when looked at in the proper context; he was, after all, still young and had been the youngest up-and-coming racing champion in Gotham's underground racing circuit. If anything, it should have been expected.

But there was one other thing Nathan lived for, something that very few individuals knew about. And he preferred to keep it that way.

So this revelation was not something he was happy about when it was brought up in group therapy. His fair eyes narrowed as he tried to stare down Professor Strange. Not that that was going anywhere fast. Not when there were at least nine other sets of eyes now focusing on him as well.

"Why don't you share with us, Nathaniel?" Strange asked in that falsely amiable way of his. He wore a small, cold smile as he used Nathan's full first name, knowing it would irritate him.

"Yeah, come on, pretty boy!" one of the other inmates jeered. "We all gotta share here."

He wasn't one for patience—he never had been—and he brushed long strands of his blond hair out of his face irritably.

"Girls," he replied too quickly and evasively. It was a half-assed lie, and they could probably all see right through it. He knew Strange did. "Can you leave me alone now? Wouldn't want to hog the spotlight."

Typically this would have been another lie, as he loved the spotlight, and Strange knew it. Nathan saw that sadistic smile growing wider and wider and braced himself for the worst. Yet it never came; the psychiatrist merely turned to the next victim in line and began drilling them instead. And with that, the attention of the group shifted away from the young cyborg. For the most part, anyway.

He still had the feeling a set of eyes was on him. He glanced around, tuning out the rest of the group's conversation, yet he saw no one staring at him. Had he been normal, Nathan would have wondered if he was just imagining things. But the nanobot tech was prone to alerting him to potential danger, and they were already making a low buzz in the chip at the base of his skull. Something was up, and he wasn't about to relax until the sensation passed.

His mind wandered for the remaining time left, jumping from thought to thought as his attention constantly wavered. Ironically, Nathan had been transferred to Arkham for its "more extreme security measures"—which was a laughable excuse, as there were potentially more things here his nanobots could hack than there were at Blackgate—but he wondered if they would ever think to treat him for potential ADHD. That thought brought to mind a familiar face, mismatched eyes twinkling with mischief, and a teen's suggestion the ADHD might mean he was a demigod.

A demigod. He had snorted at the idea then and he snorted at it again now. What the heck has she been reading, anyway?

Strange called the group therapy to a halt. The inmates got to their feet slowly, collectively grumbling as guards and orderlies queued up to escort them back to their cells. Nathan hung back a little, hoping to catch a glimpse of his favorite orderly, when he heard a throat-clearing cough behind him. The nanobots automatically triggered the voice recognition algorithm, registering the offender as Strange. They hadn't needed to; he could have guessed who it was anyway. Reluctantly he glanced back at the shrink.

"If you please, Nathaniel?" he said, still with his nasty smile. "I should like you to follow me. You have a visitor."

He frowned. A visitor? He never had visitors. What was Strange playing at?

Maybe this is the reason for the eyes-on-my-back feeling?

Scowling a bit, he decided to comply, allowing a couple of guards to escort him as Professor Strange led the way from the room. They followed what appeared to be a back hall through the asylum, one most of the inmates probably didn't know existed; he certainly hadn't been here before. Whatever else was going to happen, this was a huge advantage for him. The nanobot chip in his skull acted as a secondary memory. Where his human memory couldn't remember small details here and there, ever since his… operation, the cluster node would pick up things he wasn't even aware he had seen or heard. These idiots were giving him a look into the back ways of Arkham, new knowledge to use against them, and they didn't even realize it!

He was thinking about how best to escape—at least one of the staff had to have a car that they didn't really need—when he was shown into a darkened room prepped for patient interviews.

"I have brought young Mister Finch," Strange announced to the room. "As per your request and the terms of our arrangement."

The lights flicked on, and Nathan found himself greeted with the sight of a man he had hoped never to see again in his life.

"Hello, Nathaniel," Brother Blood said in his charismatic, fake-paternal voice. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

A baton prodded him sharply in the back, forcing him to step further into the room. He tried to dig his heels in but it didn't matter; he had a feeling he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. Not of his own choosing, at least. Instead he scowled in resignation.

"Brother Blood." He spat out the name through clenched teeth.

"Now, now! Is that any way for a son to address his father?" the man said silkily. Stepping level to Nathan, he brushed the younger man's shoulder as though dusting it off.

"I'm not your son," Nathan shot back venomously.

"I am the closest thing you have to a father," was the calm response. "Not that I would expect you to understand my personal desire to become… closer to my students, in a familial way. Considering that you turned down my generous offer to give you a place at my school—"

The same throat-clearing cough as before sounded behind them. Brother Blood shifted his gaze and looked past Nathan, his mouth twisting down in a frown at Strange's interruption.

"Yes, yes, yes," he huffed impatiently, "my thanks to you, Hugo. As promised, your payment is waiting with my associates in the hall."

"To the contrary," Strange replied smoothly, "your generosity is appreciated, and as far as technicalities are concerned, I shall accept it. My personal preference would be an… extended conversation with you in the future. I am most curious to learn more of your school, and your role there."

"Whatever you want." Blood snapped dismissively. "If I may please have a word with Gearhead? Preferably uninterrupted."

The use of his rogue name gave Nathan a start. "What do you want?" he demanded, eager to get this visit over with.

"Your cooperation." was the swift reply. "I require your assistance on a particular matter, one for which your nanotech is well-suited."

"And if I'm not interested?"

"I'm afraid I'm not going to give you that option. You see, I've gone to some lengths and circumvented a good deal of red tape to get you released into my temporary care, Gearhead."

"Swell, but I'm not interested in having a baby-sitter, especially not you."

"As I said, you don't get much of an option, my young friend," Brother Blood replied. He looked the young rogue in the eye—

—and the world vanished in a haze of fog.

---

Cosmo Krank drummed his fingers against his upper arm, growing rather impatient as he was forced to wait. Rhythmic ticking of the kitchen clock filled the stretching silence. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly in an attempt to calm himself. It wasn't much of an effort on his part, and the method did little for him.

"Darned teenagers," he muttered, shaking his head and flinging himself out of the kitchen chair. Coffee would probably only make his anxiety and fidgeting worse, but Cosmo didn't drink tea or even keep it in the house on principle. So coffee would have to do.

The clock ticked on as the coffee brewed and burbled in the espresso machine. Cosmo watched it without really seeing it, his mind too preoccupied elsewhere. Trying to be a responsible guardian without being a controlling buzzkill was tough. He wasn't an actual parent, nor did he want to be one any time soon, but he still had to uphold his duty as a guardian nonetheless.

The espresso was dispensing in a mug when the phone rang. Cosmo froze, listening intently. There were three phones in the house, all with distinctive rings and purposes. One was the landline phone, which few people outside of friends and relatives knew. Another was Cosmo's everyday, personal cellphone, which very few people knew even existed. Finally, there was his business cellphone, which played the Krank Co. Toys jingle as its ringtone, and probably saw the most use. If he could just figure out—

Ba-ree ba-ree ba-ree! Ba-ree ba-ree ba-ree!

His personal cell was ringing. He relaxed somewhat, relieved that perhaps he would finally be getting the call explaining her whereabouts.

"It's about flippin' time," he muttered, switching off the espresso machine and leaving the coffee on the counter as he stomped out to the living room to find the phone.

It lay in its usual spot on an end table next to a lamp, the screen flashing as it rang. Yes, the number on the LED display was the one he had been waiting to see. Snatching up the phone, he hit the button to accept the call, put the phone up to his ear, and said without preamble or ceremony, "You'd better have a good explanation for this, missy! Do you have a clue what time it is?"

There was a second of silence, then a cold, unfamiliar voice said, "I presume I am speaking to Cosmo Krank, owner of Krank Co. Toys, alias of The Toymaker?"

Goosebumps crept up the skin of his arms. What the hell?! Who was calling from her number? They shouldn't have gotten that phone! And how in the name of all things sacred did they know exactly who he was?

Keep it together, Cos, he told himself. If this is what I think it is, then I need to be a negotiating businessman.

"I see my reputation precedes me," he remarked, his voice falling into a steady, calm façade he had long since perfected for board meetings. "Might I also have the pleasure of learning who I am addressing?"

"I am calling on behalf of my superior, Brother Blood, the headmaster of H.I.V.E. Academy," the person responded. There was a strange pitch to the voice and Cosmo couldn't tell if they were male or female. It hardly mattered at the moment, though.

"The H.I.V.E.?" he echoed.

He knew of the H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young People, and while he had never personally interacted with them in any way, he always had some respect for the institution and its goals. Last he had heard, their school in Jump City had been destroyed, but there were rumors Brother Blood was trying to take up residence in Steel City on the East Coast.

"I have nothing against Brother Blood or the academy," he continued. "So why are you calling from my sister's phone?"

There was another pause, and this time when the voice spoke, it was with a distinct sneer in its tone.

"Your sister and her friend had the misfortune of being in the company of some Teen Titans we were attempting to… educate. Don't worry, they're quite safe; we have no reason to harm either of the girls. But we are holding them at a safe location. The headmaster realized you could be of use to his plans, and he felt some leverage to ensure your cooperation couldn't go amiss."

Oh, it can go very amiss, Cosmo thought dangerously, but he kept that particular notion quiet. Instead he responded with, "I'm not opposed to doing business if you just asked me. Where do I need to go to talk about this? I would like to discuss these plans with Brother Blood himself."

---

"Excellent. Everything is going according to plan."

It was difficult to say whether the students at H.I.V.E. Academy had ever seen their headmaster smile so gleefully. Ever since the traitor Cyborg had destroyed their first school and escaped the headmaster, Brother Blood's temper had become highly unpredictable and he was given to darker moods more often than not. To see him looking so elated could surely only be a good thing. However, most students had wisely decided to keep their distance as he passed through the halls. Of course, the tough-looking guy with the robotic arm and mask silently trailing behind him only helped to give them "keep-away" vibes.

A few of the students got a better glimpse of the man with the robotic arm, their eyes widening in recognition. Whispers rapidly began to spread through the halls. If that was who it looked like, then he was Gearhead of Gotham City, the nanotech cyborg and king of the underground racing circuit! But surely he was too old to be a student; he was already running with some of the scariest big shots, the rogues of Gotham and the Batman himself! So what was he doing there?

"People are staring, headmaster." Gearhead spoke in the toneless voice of a victim of mind-control as he walked along rigidly.

"No matter." Blood shrugged it off as he led the young cyborg to his office. His smile grew wider upon entering, seeing a seated figure waiting for them. Yes, everything was going quite according to plan.

"I see you received my message," he said to announce his presence.

The diminutive man looked up, his expression blank. "You could just ask next time, you know," he remarked. "There are easier ways of doing business."

"Quite," Brother Blood agreed. "But none of them are this fun. And I know you're all about 'fim-foobly-fun', aren't you, Cosmo Krank?"

The Toymaker said nothing, nor did his expression change. Slightly annoyed, the H.I.V.E.'s headmaster extended his mental grasp, reaching for Krank's mind—

And all he got was a low, static buzz his mental claws couldn't grab.

An irritated scowl crossed his face. So Krank was blocking him somehow! But if the look of puzzled confusion that came over the small man was any indication, he didn't even realize what had occurred. With a quiet huff, Blood released his mental grip on Gearhead and walked behind his desk as the adrenaline junkie came to his senses, quite shocked.

"What the—! Where am I?! What the hell did you do to me, old man?!" he snarled, metal claws extending on the tips of robotic fingers. The Toymaker glanced at Gearhead in surprise, but as before, he remained carefully neutral otherwise.

"Now don't try anything hasty, Nathaniel," Blood said, putting the most dangerously sweet edge to his voice possible. "You don't want to risk anything precious being damaged, do you?"

The snarl never left his face, but Gearhead quickly sheathed his claws, eyes blazing with rage.

"Much better," the headmaster said with a wicked smile, brushing off the front of his robes compulsively, "If you will please take a seat? There is no reason why we cannot all converse like rational, civilized men."

It was difficult to read Krank's expression, given his goggles obscuring his features, but he appeared to regard him with some skepticism. Gearhead took no notice of the shorter man but dropped himself into the seat next to him anyway, huffing and puffing.

"Pardon me for saying so," Krank spoke up, finally startling Nathan into looking at him, "but rational, civilized men are not prone to holding hostages when wishing to engage in a business transaction."

"And who the hell are you?!" Nathan squawked, though his outburst went ignored.

"Am I hearing a bit of an edge to your tone, Toymaker?" Blood asked, lifting his eyebrows and smiling.

"You have my baby sister," was the flat response. "Keeping her locked up as a bargaining chip is not going to make me happy, whether you want to do business or not."

Blood had no immediate response to that, but his smile broadened in a rather nasty way as he observed them both. The cyborg glanced between the two of them, his face becoming thunderous as the wheels in his head turned.

"Baby sister?" he echoed, baring his teeth. "You bastard! That's why you brought me here, isn't it?! You have Natalie!"

"Now, now, Nathaniel. I warned you about trying anything hasty."

"And here I was, thinking you meant you might damage me! What have you done to my sister, you old creep?!"

"He or his associates are holding our sisters at a safe location, apparently," Krank supplied, "to be used as leverage for our cooperation."

"Piss-poor way to do it," Nathan snarled, leaning forward to better bare his teeth at the headmaster.

"But effective," was Blood's swift reply. "Which brings us to why I have the two of you here before me. I require some outside assistance in obtaining something that was once mine. If you will help me reclaim it, I shall return the girls, unharmed."

Silence descended upon the office as he gave them both time to think. For the first time, the Toymaker seemed to show his irritation, though it was nothing quite as spectacular as the look of rage and loathing on Gearhead's face.

"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice," Krank finally said. "What do you want us to do?"

"You will assist Gearhead in doing what he does best, of course."

---

Barely an hour later, the two young men were seated in a cramped, sleek vehicle, idling down a side street. The Toymaker watched the cyborg admire his own handiwork, smiling appraisingly at the changes his nanotech wrought in the car. They had barely spoken a word to one another since their unofficial introduction in the H.I.V.E. office, and Cosmo took advantage of the relative silence to study his new reluctant partner. In spite of his obvious anger and rage at Brother Blood, Gearhead seemed almost… excited for the opportunity before them. What was going on in his head?

"You seem eager," Cosmo remarked, and he sensed rather than saw the other man scowl.

"Look, I didn't ask to have you along," Gearhead snapped. "And I know you don't want to be—"

"If you think you're going to convince me to get out of this ridiculous, fake high-end hot rod and give up my chance to save my baby sister," Cosmo snapped back in a dangerous tone, "forget it. No, I'm not happy about this, but Kranks don't turn our backs on our family! Especially not when they're all the family we have left!"

Mismatched eyes shifted to lock onto Cosmo, wary and skeptical as though he was trying to gauge the shorter man for something.

"Fine," he said evasively, "but you'd better hold on, Kranky."

And he shot into drive with his foot on the gas, not giving Cosmo time to even buckle his seatbelt.

---

The terrified screams of a passenger experiencing Nathan's driving was, he decided, absolutely hysterical. The young racer gave a wild laugh as the Toymaker screamed and clung to the upholstery for dear life. And it only got funnier when the J.C.P.D. finally got on their tail in high pursuit, lights flashing and sirens wailing.

"Sir!" a voice bellowed behind them over a loudspeaker. "Sir! Slow down and pull over to the side of the road! I repeat, slow down and pull over now!"

"Make me, skid mark," Nathan muttered under his breath, grinning wickedly as he brought his foot down even lower on the accelerator.

He took a turn so fast they slammed against a stationary vehicle, tearing off a side mirror and some of the paint, sparks flying. The other car screeched metallically in protest as they pulled away, swiftly and without a scratch. Nathan felt a surge of pride in his tech, accompanied by a smug burst of glee when he glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the cops had shot right past the turn.

"Whoo, YEAH! Eat my dust, 'wads! Gearhead's looking for a bigger fight!" he crowed, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Mother of God!" Krank screeched. "You're gonna kill us!"

"Racing isn't fun if there's no risk, geekbrain!" he retorted. "Besides, we've got to get their attention."

He sped through three red lights before slamming on the breaks and bringing the car to a grinding halt in the middle of a four-way stop sign intersection. Five figures stood opposite them, waiting in the intersection, a mish-mash of the most unlikely possible group of adolescents. Nathan lowered the window on the passenger side, eager to make certain they did this right. Luckily there was at least one familiar masked face among the teens, and Nathan tossed him a leering grin.

"Gearhead?" Robin's jaw dropped as he stared dumbfounded. "Toymaker?!"

"Catch us if you can, Boy Wonder!" he shouted, slamming on the gas again and shooting down the left-hand road.

In moments, the Titans were after them too, three of them airborne, the other two on wheels.

Now this, Nathan said to himself, is more like it!

"I'd say we've got their attention," Krank grumbled. "Do you even have a clue where you're taking us?"

"GPS bionic," Nathan answered casually. "It's pretty sweet."

"You have a bionic eye. Of course you have a bionic eye. So when are we going to actually do whatever it is Brother Blood wants us to do?"

"You can crack security codes, right? To break into someplace?"

Krank turned in the seat, giving him a significant look.

"If by 'crack security codes', you mean my upgraded Cosmo airsoft pistols shooting through the doors, yeah I can."

Nathan made a sharp right, temporarily shaking off Robin and Cyborg, and a capsule popped free of his right shoulder with a hiss.

"Good. You get into the brats' tower and plant this someplace inconspicuous. That's what Blood wants."

---

A grainy, shaky camera image played on a small computer screen, the playback of the motions slightly delayed. Two figures were talking, and then the picture glitched a moment. One of the figures took something from the other, and in the blink of an eye, vanished from view. Only the driver was left.

Dark eyes darted to a second screen. The passenger from the car had leapt onto a flying disc and was being pursued by the Titans Starfire and Beast Boy, who were gaining on him. There was no sign of the object the passenger had taken from the driver, but Brother Blood wasn't concerned. After all, what reason had he to be concerned? Everything was going according to plan.

---

The thing about teenage heroes was they were teenagers. They were subject to the same overconfidence and cockiness that all teenagers dealt with. Perhaps even more so. That was the theory anyway. But the smokescreen proved it.

Several big-time rogues had told him adding a smokescreen device to any getaway vehicle was pointless. Batman could easily move through a smokescreen, his mask had filters in it. But Batman wasn't the only do-gooder in Gotham City, so Cosmo had the smokescreen generator added to his upgraded, personal Cosmo Flier.

And apparently it was coming in handy, more so than he thought. There was no time to waste on glancing back; he had to shake off the two chasing him. As they faltered, coughing in the smoke, he steered the flier toward a nearby rooftop, ducking behind the storage unit there and kicking the flier off to mask the hum of the motor.

Every second was marked by anxious heartbeats as he waited, hoping they had lost his trail. Fighting to control his breathing, he counted the seconds, keeping his eyes on the sky. A minute passed… two… three. He inched a little more into the open, looking around for Starfire and Beast Boy.

They were flying away, growing more and more distant in the skyline with each passing second. Cosmo let out a ragged exhale. Luck was with him… for the moment. Kicking the flying disc back on, he hopped onto it once more, keeping his trajectory lower this time as he took off in the direction of the oversized island tower. He had no idea what the device he was told to plant did, but it hardly mattered.

Cass needed him, and he'd do anything to save his sister.

---

Natalie is counting on me.

It was difficult for Nathan to keep such thoughts in mind when the thrill of a race and the adrenaline rush set in. The thrill was everything, and it demanded the fullness of oneself to be given over to it. It made you drunk, gave you a wild high, and when it was over, you would crash and burn back into sobriety. It was the crashing and burning Nathan hated, and it was for that reason he was an adrenaline junkie.

But Natalie is counting on me.

It was strange: he still felt the rush of the high-speed chase, but it was detached and distant, like he was just some spectator at the Indy 500 or something. His mind felt oddly clear, felt alert and sober as he eyed the Titans in the rearview mirror. This wasn't about him; this was about the only family he had left in the world.

The nanobots squeaked and the car transmitted the message to him that Robin was shouting, even as the sensors picked it up.

"Give it up, Gearhead!" the Boy Wonder said over the roar of his bike. "Surrender now and maybe they'll shorten your jail time!"

They sped through an intersection when the traffic lights were turning from yellow to red. Car horns wailed and rapidly faded as he left them behind, their owners doubtless irate.

"Not a chance, Boy Wonder!" He chuckled, mostly to himself. It was cute, how the capes always thought someone like him would just up and surrender if they were told to. They really didn't get how this worked, did they?

The nanobots chirped an alert at him. His breath caught for a second as he swerved onto an overpass, until he realized the alert wasn't for danger but an update. The probe Brother Blood had given to him had automatically transmitted a new location; the Toymaker had managed to get into Titans Tower.

He wasn't the only one to get an alert, either. The other Titans abruptly broke away from the chase, leaving only Robin on Nathan's tail. If he had a guess, their cybernetic joke had an alarm set into their stupid-looking tower, or some security system in place.

Another chirp and a whirr from the nanobots; Blood's device was online.

Cars blurred on either side of him, but he couldn't seem to shake off the mini-cape on his rearview mirror. The kid was freaking determined. But now that Toymaker had done his part, so had Nathan. It was time to see if the Bat's brat was half as good as guano-man himself.

---

The probe came online, and in moments the waiting computer monitor filled with cascading lines of code, flickering as the virus started to set in. A slow smile spread over Blood's face as the lines of code began to vanish. He was getting in again, and there was nothing Cyborg and his pathetic friends could do to stop him this time. Soon he would have the young heroes on their knees, and Cyborg would never disobey his commands again.

And soon Nathan Finch wouldn't either.

He spun in his high-backed chair to face a separate monitor, displaying feed from a security camera. The young females were still unconscious, his insurance still assured. Nathan's younger sister could prove useful in time. Nathan himself would probably object… assuming Blood felt like leaving him a remnant of willpower by that point in time.

Blood's dark eyes darted from Natalie Finch to her little friend, and frowned uncertainly.

Cosmo Krank was an anomaly. He wasn't a student but a businessman. Not quite an equal, but formidable enough in a different sort of way to make the headmaster slightly unsettled. And he couldn't make contact with Krank's mind, either. That unsettled him more so. He wouldn't be able to dictate or predict the Toymaker's actions, which put everything at risk.

It doesn't matter, he reminded himself after a moment's worry. Once I have Gearhead and Cyborg both back within the palm of my hand, Krank's independence will be of small consequence. Not even a clever little tinkerer can match up to my students, nor has he a hope of resisting the might of my power.

Slowly, he leaned back in the chair and began to chuckle.

---

The chase had been more than worth it, side perk or no. He could only imagine the look of shock and fury that probably crossed Robin's face after he had evaded the kid and vanished. Stupid brat was no match for his horsepower. He had ditched the old two-door and snuck aboard a tram car, only to hop off ten minutes later. It hadn't taken long before he spotted the telltale silhouette and flagged down the Toymaker.

"Nice to see you took your dear sweet time, goggles."

"I took my time?" Krank grumbled, crossing his arms as his flying disc hovered at waist height. "So what are you running around and doing? Because it looks like diddly-squat."

"You need your eyes checked, short guy. And we both need to head back and meet up with His Royal Headmastership."

"I'm not sure why you didn't just ditch me and head back yourself."

"Yeah, a high-tech yellow car? Easily recognizable. I need a ride."

The shorter man surveyed him behind his goggles, his expression unreadable. He glanced down at the disc and then back up to Nathan.

"The Cosmo Flier usually only fits one rider," he said evenly. "I suppose if you were to let your nanobots tinker with it a bit…"

Nathan didn't need much more invitation than that. Grabbing the edge of the disc, he clambered onto it behind the Toymaker, who flailed wildly as the Flier lurched back and forth a second. Then the nanobots widened the circumference of the flying disc just enough they could both stand on it.

Krank glanced down, whistling loudly. "Party-size," he remarked, evidently impressed.

"Yeah, yeah, real great," Nathan said impatiently, "How do you make this thing go?"

The Toymaker turned and smiled slowly over his shoulder. "Hold on," he said in a light tone.

"To what?"

Krank braced himself into a crouch, and Nathan could hear the grin in his voice as he answered, "Oh… whatever's still in your stomach."

The flying disc shot forward so fast Nathan lost his balance and fell. It was thanks only to the quick reflexes and strength of his cybernetic arm he was able to reach out and seize the edge of the Cosmo Flier, hanging on.

"HOW ARE YOU STEERING THIS THING?!" he screamed as the wind rushed past him, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know!" Krank chuckled over his shoulder.

Something in his gut told Nathan this was a case of bad karma coming back way too fast to bite him in the butt. With a tremendous effort, he pulled himself back onto the Cosmo Flier and clung to its sides for dear life.

---

Something didn't feel right, Cosmo reflected as they drew near to the location of Blood's hidden school. It had been too easy. All they had had to do was plant some bug in the kids' tower, and they would be getting their sisters back. Most people probably wouldn't think twice about it, but living in Gotham taught you a thing or two about dealing with criminals and megalomaniacs.

There's a catch somewhere, he thought, forcing his face to remain expressionless as they entered the building. A catch or a double-cross or something.

Perhaps the businessman in him had something to do with his suspicions as well, but one didn't survive long in Gotham if they were willing to give criminals the benefit of the doubt… even criminals themselves.

Gearhead practically flung himself onto the floor once they were in the halls. They were soon met by purple-robed escorts. Cosmo let his gaze slide a fraction behind his goggles, sparing his unwilling partner-in-crime a glance.

Finch knows Brother Blood better than I do. The two of them have some kind of history; surely he doesn't expect this is just something to take at face value? I can't be the only suspicious one…

"If you will please follow us, sirs?" one of the robed acolytes said. "The Headmaster is busy at the current moment, but if you wait in one of our lounges, we shall inform him of your return."

"What, is he too busy preening or something to greet us himself?" Gearhead demanded, scowling and flipping his hair out of his face in irritation. The acolytes had already started walking, and none of them bothered to look back or respond to his remark.

Silently they were led to a room certainly resembling a teacher's lounge, complete with easy chairs, foosball, a galley kitchen, and a flat-screen television mounted on the wall. The acolytes insisted they help themselves to anything they wanted before slipping eerily from the room. Cosmo seated himself in one of the chairs, leaning forward and folding his hands under his chin as he thought.

This wouldn't be a bad time to put a double-cross into motion. Unless he's just going to draw this out and have us do more of his dirty work for him? But if he does double-cross us…

Heavy, pacing footfalls distracted him from his thoughts. He glanced up in time to see Gearhead power-walking over to one of the other chairs, an open can of soda in one hand.

"This is freakin' stupid." he snarled. Without waiting for a response, he tossed back half the can with one swallow. Cosmo raised an eyebrow.

"Should you really be drinking Mountain Dew?"

"This is bull." He apparently was talking as much to himself as he was to Cosmo, swirling the can of soda between two mechanical fingers. "Come on, Krank, you know it is. Why's Blood doing this? Why's he making us sweat?"

Cosmo gave a slow shrug, watching the other man carefully.

"Dunno," he replied. "You tell me. You're more familiar with Brother Blood than I am. Why do you think he'd make us wait?"

The blond cyborg studied the table for a few moments, his mechanical fingers clicking rhythmically as he drummed them against the aluminum can. Silence stretched on, its thick tendrils tense as ropes pulled taut.

"He's gotta be up to something else. Something he doesn't want us to know about," Nathan said at last, turning and fixing his mismatched eyes on the shorter man. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Double-cross?" Cosmo's voice came out surprisingly light in spite of how tense his body was getting.

"Wouldn't shock me too much. The old man has some kind of O.C.D. god-complex gone psycho. You ever wonder why you never hear much about H.A.E.Y.P. students being delinquents, or anything but good, respectful, model students?" Nathan's eyes narrowed as his mouth twisted bitterly. "Because the old man won't let them be anything else. One of them puts a toe out of line or upsets him at all, then—" he waved a hand in front of his face, making a noise similar to a computer losing power, "—no more free will until you get back in line with all the other good little puppets."

The words hit Cosmo one right after the other, like harsh, white-knuckled blows, and he reeled back in his seat in shock.

"You aren't seriously suggesting what I think you are?" he said hoarsely, even as the implication crashed down on his shoulders.

"Mind control," Nathan replied, leaning forward with a scowl. "Don't ask me how he does it. My best guess is he's Meta."

"Then our sisters could both be in even more danger!" Cosmo launched himself out of the armchair and seized the front of the other man's racing shirt. "What if he's planning to use them to attack us? Worse still, he might send them out as cannon fodder against those Titan Teen Headaches. They'd barely stand a chance by themselves."

"Those brats? They wouldn't hurt innocent civilians."

"Somehow I doubt your sister or my sister come across as 'innocent civvies', but even so, if those mini-heroes had to fight them off, even if they hold back, our sisters could still wind up being hurt. And still that means Blood is jerking us all around by his strings. We've got to do something, Finch!"

"I like the sound of that idea," Nathan chuckled as he got to his feet, flexing his mechanical fingers until they extended into lethal-looking spiked claws.

"Wait, wait, hold on," Cosmo said, grabbing the taller man's wrist before he could dart for the door. "We've gotta be smart about this. We don't have any advantage yet; the last thing we want to do is tip Blood off that we're suspicious before we even have a plan worked out."

"So what are you suggesting?" Nathan asked, sheathing his claws with a visible reluctance.

"That we be stealthy, of course! Let's see if we can't sneak around and try to learn something that way."

"Right, and if we get caught?"

"Let's not. And if we do, then we go for your 'guns akimbo' plan."

The two exchanged a long look and a sort of understanding passed between them, establishing hesitant trust. They shared a quick, grim nod, and slipped from the room, their senses on high alert.

The corridors weren't completely empty, but they were hardly bustling or busy. Nathan instantly tensed, his head swerving from side to side, like a mountain lion threatened. Cosmo took quick strides and was soon in the lead.

"Would you chillax a little? If you keep lurching like something out of Alien vs. Predator, you're just going to draw more attention to us," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "Act casual while we're in the open."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Confidence. You're a businessman; you've got the cool, placid exterior thing down to a science. If anything, you're going to draw attention with that stupid costume of yours! At least my outfit camouflages naturally with H.I.V.E. colors."

They slowed their walk long enough to share a hard look, then resumed their pace without a word. The urge to continue bickering was still there, but the unspoken threat against their siblings loomed even darker ahead, and lent speed to their aim. Nathan's feet carried him automatically toward the office, his nanobots having stored the directional information on their own, while Cosmo's own visit remained fresh in his mind. Side by side the two strode, shoulders squared, eyes open. They passed mostly students, many of whom turned to goggle openly at them in awe; there seemed to be very few of Blood's acolytes.

"I feel more and more like I entered the secret sanctum of a cult than a school," Cosmo muttered as they turned down a hall. "This place seriously gives me the heebie-jeebies."

"That's kind of scary accurate in some ways, short stop. And it creeps me out too," Nathan muttered. "That's why I turned the old freak down when he kept trying to talk me into joining this school."

Cosmo turned to look at him in shock, but Nathan ignored him, slowing his footsteps as they approached the door to the headmaster's office, which was left slightly ajar. He put a metal finger to his lips to shush his companion, and the two pressed close to the wall to listen.

"—have little concern for how many of the androids get damaged, we can always build more. That's not the issue; Cyborg and his friends are. I will not have disobedience in any of my students! My word here is law, and I will have nothing elude or defy it! Do you hear me? NOTHING!" Brother Blood was raging, practically on the verge of hysteria.

"What about the girls, master?" a voice asked. "What do you want done with them?"

Nathan and Cosmo darted each other a wild-eyed look and there was a pause inside the office.

"For the time being, keep them under," Blood finally answered, and a soft swishing of robes indicated he was pacing. "They will make fine students in all due time. It is their brothers who pose a problem."

Cosmo tensed, expecting to bolt in a heartbeat, but Nathan forced himself to remain still, with some effort. Finally the sneaking would pay off.

"But Nathaniel Finch was always going to be a discipline problem; that's why the virus is already in place. Once Cyborg is back under my control, Nathaniel will be too. It's of little consequence in the end, though I don't doubt he could be quite irksome in the interim. No, it is Cosmo Krank that worries me. He's a known businessman, not without influence. He could be a powerful ally, a strong game piece in the long run under my thrall, but somehow I cannot reach his mind. He is blocking my power, and I can't allow that."

Nathan glanced at Cosmo again. Trying their best to move quietly without panicking and drawing unwanted attention, they slipped away from the door, hurrying back through the halls. Nathan could feel his thoughts spiraling out of control, a chaotic whirlwind, and he wasn't even sure if he knew where he was going. He had been suckered like an idiot; Blood had planted a virus in his tech and he hadn't even considered the possibility! How much more had he done to Natalie in all this time? Did they even have a hope of getting out of this anymore?

He was suddenly jolted back to his senses by a hand gripping his arm.

"Don't," Cosmo said sharply. "We're getting out of here, now."

"We're what?" he blurted out. "We can't leave Natalie!"

"And I don't want to leave Cassie, but I think we can both admit now risking a direct attack will be suicide. We need to fall back and make a temporary strategic retreat," the smaller man whispered sharply, slipping back inside the lounge long enough to retrieve his unguarded Cosmo Flier.

"And what good will that do for us?" the cyborg demanded angrily as they darted down a side corridor. "You heard what the old man said! Whatever he had us plant in the mini-capes' base, he's somehow spiked my nanotech with it!"

Cosmo didn't answer at first, keeping a suspicious eye out as they made their way back to the arrival hangar. For a moment Nathan worried security would be onto them sooner or later, but no one appeared to pay them any mind at all. Did they not see them as a threat, or think they were acting shadily? Or was it because they knew of Blood's plans for the two men?

"Are you just suggesting we give up?"

The abrupt question surprised the younger rogue, and he glanced down at the other. Even hidden behind his goggles, Krank's eyes seemed to radiate impatience and accusation. Something about it was utterly irritating, and it reignited a spark of defiance in Gearhead again.

"The HELL I'm saying that, short stop!" he snapped, bending down to get in the Toymaker's face. "I'm not going to just let that freakin' crypt-keeper brainwash my little sister! We can't give this up without a fight!"

"But a direct attack right now will gain us nothing. It will just make matters worse," Krank repeated firmly.

"Right," Nathan conceded grudgingly, "but that's why I'm asking what good your little 'temporary strategic retreat' will do if the old man's just going to hack me with some virus whenever he wants."

"It gives us a head-start to come up with a plan of action. If we hurry, Brother Blood won't notice our absence right away. And it so happens I've got an expert hacker among my friends; we can negate the effects of this virus," was the patient reply. "The only question that remains, Gearhead, is… are you with me on this?"

To punctuate the words, he quickly offered out his hand. Nathan glanced at him for a moment, conflicting feelings warring in him. But really in the end, what choice did they have? And wasn't it said "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?

With a deep breath, he shook his hand, and Nathan quickly snatched the flying disc. He felt his nanobots swarm to it again and it expanded in his metal fingers, morphing once more into a size that could fit two riders.

"Coast clear?" he asked, glancing out from their shadowy alcove around the hangar. Krank didn't answer right away, but proceeded to pull a small object from an inside pocket of his shirt and set it on the ground. "Dude, what is that?"

"Nobody else is in the hangar, but there are four security cameras in here," was the tense response as Cosmo started fiddling with a second object, "We can't risk the possibility someone won't be watching those feeds."

There was a small click, a tiny whooshing sound. Then Nathan's nanobots picked up four small, static-filled crackling noises in quick succession, echoing off the cavernous walls.

"There," Cosmo remarked, replacing both objects into his shirt. "No more eyes on us, but no fishy camera explosions. We should still move fast though." He leaned over, switched on the Flier, and leveled it so they could both climb on.

"Yeah, but what was that?"

"New action figure prototype I've been working on. Mini-Ninja, with real throwing stars and karate poses."

Nathan clutched the sides of the disc as they took off, Cosmo in a crouch as he steered through an open hangar door. "Dude, why? Don't you think your toys are a bit… lethal?"

"What's your point?" the Toymaker shot back over his shoulder. "They're printed with recommended age ranges. And besides, I keep the best for myself."

They sped off into the open air, the wind whipping at them, chilling their skin. Nathan kept glancing behind them, waiting for signs of pursuit. Yet despite the fear that waited to pounce in the back of his thoughts, he kept glancing down at the nano-boosted Flier, thinking.

"You ever think about teaming up a bit more, Krank? No offense, the disc still rattles me a bit, but have you ever thought about teaming up on a project like it or something?" he called over the rushing of the wind.

"What do you mean?"

"Some of these little toy-gadget designs of yours coupled with my nanobots could be pretty sick, man!"

"I'll think about it," he replied after a pause, "but for now let's put a pin in the idea of a business proposition-partnership, Finch. We've got to get you some anti-virus juice first, then we've got an academy to storm."

They spoke no more as they headed into the city, and within the hour they found a Krank Co. Toys warehouse to hide out in. Nathan dismounted from the Flier once they were inside, grateful again to have his feet back on the ground. Cosmo made a beeline for the upper landing of a rickety staircase, intent on getting to a computer upstairs.

"Try not to rip into too many of the boxes," he remarked as he darted upstairs. "Those are still Krank Co. products."

"Hadn't been planning on it, Kranky, but that almost sounds like an invitation to go nuts." Nathan chuckled.

"It isn't," came the impatient huff, nearly drowned out by the sound of a computer starting up. "Besides, you'll need to get your butt up here in a moment anyway."

Nathan ignored him, wandering around through all the crates and boxes and glancing idly at them. He hated waiting, hated the anxiety, but could do little else to burn off some of his pent-up energy. His mind struggled to focus as his fears and anger warred together, and he needed a distraction; reading the box labels helped. There were boxes of Krank-Bots and a wide variety of Cosmo airsoft guns, crates of Cosmo Fliers marked for recall and repair… but the most numerous seemed to be crates the size of an average man, labeled 'Zoom-Pets'.

"Zoom-Pets?" he said aloud, phrasing the name as a question, poking the crate.

"Careful with those," Cosmo's voice called over the clacking of a keyboard.

"What the hell are Zoom-Pets?"

There was a hesitant pause before he heard, spoken softly, the words, "I made them for Cass. They were inspired by an idea she'd had. She wanted a toy-pet that was as big as she was. After the cancer got Mom a couple years ago, I was willing to try anything to make her happy again."

Nathan let his hand fall away from the crate. That was the second time Krank had brought up his own little sister by name, and something about it made him sound vulnerable. Brother Blood would have remarked that family makes everyone vulnerable, if Nathan had a guess. But wasn't that why the two of them were in the same boat? Wordlessly, he climbed the stairs and walked up behind the shorter man, his eyes flicking only briefly to the computer screen.

"She's the only family you've got left too, huh?" he said quietly, feeling a bit forlorn. His words gave Cosmo pause again, and the Toymaker slowly turned in his chair, looking up.

"Yeah. The last thing I want to do is let Cassie down. I promised I'd look out for her," he replied, before adding, not unkindly, "It's the same for you and your sister, isn't it?"

Nathan gave a slow nod, answering, "Yeah. I feel like a lot of the crap that's happened to Natalie has been entirely my fault. That's why I can't let this happen. The last thing I want is to like, suffocate her or something. The kid needs some freedom; she's gotta get out all that wild inner teen stuff, gotta enjoy it and have fun while she's still young. And the hell if I'm going to let anything like this happen to her, and especially not at the hands of that old creep! We're their big brothers, right? Protecting the baby sibs is our… our…"

"Prerogative?" Cosmo suggested.

"That's the one, yeah, that P-word."

"Well, what do you know! Guess we've got something in common after all, road-hog." Cosmo chuckled with a bit of a cheeky smile. "So, you ready to get installed with some anti-virus coding?"

He turned back to the screen, inputting several levels of passwords into a webpage. Nathan watched with a slight frown as Cosmo started scrolling through what looked like multiple file folders with bizarre names.

"You sure this is going to work?" he asked.

Cosmo shrugged. "Not like, a thousand percent sure, no. But it's the first thing I thought of and the best chance we've got. Gary and Kyle's net-cloud is known only to a select few people, myself included. They keep some of their best program codes in the cloud for those they count among their friends, and I know one is their 'anti-virus-virus'."

"Their what?"

"The misnomer is meant to be funny, and easier to say than the actual program name. It's a code design based off the way the human immune system functions; it detects viruses and isolates and attacks them until the virus is wiped out. Think of it like an antibiotic or an immune system booster, just for your nanotech."

"Look dude, I don't care what you call it so long as it works," Nathan remarked, feeling anxious. Was this really going to help him? Neither of them had a clue what this virus Blood had infected him with was even supposed to do. What if he accidentally transferred the virus to the computer when he tried to upload this code to his nanobots? And if he somehow transferred the virus, would the old man know?

"Anxiety issues?" Cosmo asked abruptly.

"What?" Nathan blurted out, surprised. "Why do you say that?"

"You're breathing kind of weird, you keep leaning forward, and I think I can hear you breaking my chair," was the dry response. "It's just a guess."

"Sorry," Nathan mumbled as he pulled back and straightened up.

Cosmo leaned back in the chair and looked at the other man. He was quiet for a moment before he pushed his goggles up, revealing light brown eyes. "I don't blame you for having second thoughts," he declared, "but I'm asking you to just trust me on this. We haven't known each other long but we're in this together. We can help each other get through this; you've just got to trust me."

Nathan watched him for what felt like ages, studying the sincerity and determination in the other's gaze. Cosmo Krank was an odd man, not the sort of person Nathan would normally hang with or even talk to. Yet he was a genuinely cool person in his own way, and really, hadn't the two already trusted each other since being thrown together on a job thanks to Brother Blood? Nathan relaxed, exhaling and extending a mechanical hand.

"Alright. I trust you, Krank."

Cosmo's face lit up and he grasped Nathan's hand, giving it a firm shake. "Likewise, Finch! Now let's get you an immunity boost."

The cyborg nodded, taking another ragged breath and looking at the computer. He dropped the handshake and extended both his hands, fingers morphing into high-tech cords that latched onto the computer tower. In seconds the cords were pulsing with a low light. The nanobots raced through him, doing what they could and assimilating the anti-virus code.

"Is it working?" Cosmo hissed, watching anxiously.

"Chill man, I need a second. They're still working through it." Nathan muttered back, trying to focus on what the tiny robots were processing.

" 'They'?"

"Nanites." His fingers detached from the tower with a hiss and the microscopic bots swarmed back to the cluster node, working overtime to implement the code into his systems. After a chirp of affirmation, they had finished. He sighed in relief. "I think it's going to do the trick. Thanks, Kranky."

"Right," the other took to pacing again, tapping his fingers against his chin in thought. "Now we have a different dilemma. We have to figure out a plan in order to save our sisters and let Blood know we're not puppets whose strings he can pull."

Nathan looked away from him, eyes scanning the warehouse. He wasn't really one for elaborate planning. He wasn't one for any sort of planning, really; he usually just flew by the seat of his pants. A sense of guilt advised him against leaving all the planning to Cosmo, but what could he contribute? As he wondered, his eyes fell upon the Zoom-Pet crates and a sudden idea occurred to him.

"Cos! Can your Zoom-Pet toys be programmed?" he asked, spinning to look at the toymaker, who blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, they're usually programmed to follow a basic action sequence. The original ones were recalled because they had some design flaws, but if you know coding…"

His voice trailed off as his eyes fell upon Nathan's hands and widened with comprehension.

"I think," Nathan said with a grin, "I've got an idea."

---

The headmaster felt anxious. He rarely allowed any unease to show in his actions, and such emotions were usually masked by his volatile temper. However at that moment his careful resolve was threatening to fray.

On the bright side of things, the Teen Titans had fallen into his trap and were secured in H.I.V.E. holding cells, ready whenever he decided to begin their 'reprogramming'. On the other hand, this victory was punctured by the fact Gearhead and the Toymaker had both vanished. This had only recently been brought to his attention, and at first he wasn't worried or suspicious. After all, with the virus sitting dormant in Nathan's circuitry, a press of a button would ensure the arrogant hotshot never balked under Blood's orders again. He had waited a few minutes before pressing the button—let the young fools savor their supposed freedom—and kept his eyes on a monitor displaying Natalie Finch and Cassadi Krank in their holding cell across from the Titans. Soon Natalie and her brother would be reunited and re-initiated as loyal, obedient members of the H.I.V.E. Young Cassadi, with all her potential would soon be enrolled as a new student.

Yet then there had been no response, no indication the virus had been activated. Initially he assumed this was a mistake; perhaps the monitor was malfunctioning, or perhaps he'd misunderstood something in the way the stupid virus was supposed to work. But the more minutes ticked by, the more he was certain something had gone wrong. The virus hadn't activated.

Stop. You're being paranoid, Sebastian, he told himself. It may take Nathaniel a moment, but he'll undoubtedly subdue the Toymaker and then come back here. Yes, that'll be the trouble. That's what is causing this hold-up. Nathaniel will return soon. I have nothing to worry about.

Still, even with this self-assurance, he needed to focus on something else and redirect his energy to prevent dwelling on the matter. In any case, the more pressing issue at hand was to make sure those blasted Titans weren't about to break free. He left the control room and strode with his back straight and his head held high as he made his way to the holding cells. He deserved the chance to gloat. He received salutes and congratulations from his acolytes as he passed them by, which served to reinforce this. Brother Blood moved with a sense of purpose and self-importance, and by the time he reached the honeycombed holding cells, the confident arrogance was present in his demeanor once more.

As he entered, he was delighted to find Cyborg was already looking at him with complete and utter fury in his expression.

"Brother Blood," he said in a low snarl.

"It's good to see you too, Cyborg," the headmaster replied fluidly with a thin smile. "It's been a while."

"Not long enough, you slime!" another voice interjected, and Blood turned his thin smile upon the Titans' short-tempered leader. Robin looked ready to breathe fire, something Brother Blood found amusing given he had no personal quarrel with the brightly-costumed acrobat. The masked boy gnashed his teeth as he pressed his hands against the cell barrier and glared. "What's the meaning of this?! What do you want?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Cyborg spoke up again, his tone cold and austere, "He wants order."

"What's that got to do with Gamer and Hotwire?" Beast Boy's shrill voice demanded angrily from another cell as he pointed to the one where Natalie and Cassadi looked out in worry and despair. The headmaster lifted his eyebrows slightly. So the Titans cared about the two juvenile miscreants, did they? What a delight that was; it would be knowledge sure to come in handy in the future! His smile widened.

"Miss Krank and Miss Finch are here to join us in a little re-education." He answered smoothly, striding slowly up and down the length of floor to stay in sight of them all. "As our dear friend Cyborg so bluntly put it, I wish to have order among my students. I do not tolerate a single one of you stepping out of line, ever."

"We are not your students!" the alien girl, Starfire declared in an openly defiant tone.

"Oh, you soon will be, my dear." Blood said with a small click of his tongue. "Not everyone comes around at first, but I have confidence I can…change your mind."

"You're a sick, twisted, old freak!"

He looked to the cell where the two girls were, not entirely shocked to see Cassadi Krank had been the one to spit the words at him. He lifted his eyebrows again, his smile dissolving into a thin-lipped line. From behind Cassadi, Natalie Finch stepped forward, her eyes narrowing.

"We're not your puppets," she growled. "Just you wait, old man. My brother won't let you do this. You're gonna regret you ever messed with the Finch family!"

The corners of his mouth stretched taut in irritation. "Bold words, Natalie. Considering after all, that you and your brother wouldn't be alive if not for me."

Her glare only got uglier. He was waiting for her to deny it, to deny the stark truth behind the statement. The two Finch siblings tended to be completely stubborn that way. But to the shock and surprise of everyone watching, Natalie spun on her heel, bent forward, and looked back over her shoulder as she began to rapidly smack her backside.

"Yeah? Kiss my cyber-metal can, pal. You don't run our lives!"

"Nat!" Cassadi groaned, burying her face in a hand.

"When the virus has completely run its course and your brother returns," Blood said through gritted teeth, "your disrespectful, truant attitude will be the first thing I correct, child."

"Virus?" Robin spoke up, "Are you talking about the virus you planted in our Tower's security system?"

"Precisely the same," the headmaster confirmed, nodding as he turned to Robin. "The code for the virus infected the disc where it was stored, and has already infiltrated Gearhead's nanotechnology. Before I came down here, I activated it. Once Gearhead has subdued his opponent, he will return and be the first to undergo a few, ah, remedial lessons."

"His opponent?" The cloaked Titan, Raven, spoke up for the first time. The other Titans didn't seem to pick up on her dubious question, but the two girls in their cell looked up with widening eyes.

"Wait, you don't mean—" Natalie began, but her words were cut off by Cassadi, who was starting to blink back angry tears.

"You dragged my brother into this too?!" the petite brunette screeched, looking utterly furious. "How could you?! Cos never did anything to you!"

"No," a new voice chimed in, "but he's about to."

Brother Blood froze for a second, his spine going completely rigid. It couldn't be! He spun, and his jaw dropped as he found he was staring down a veritable army of what appeared to be giant, brightly-colored toy animals. The toys were all leering at with too-wide grins as they stared at him, sending shivers down his spine. As he watched, they moved slightly to the sides and parted to admit the Toymaker, who was gliding forward on his hovering disc with a smirk of smug triumph.

"Surprise, Blood!"

"You?!"

"Me," the Toymaker confirmed. "You were maybe expecting someone a little…taller?"

Before the headmaster had enough time to react, a lanky shape vaulted over the short man and flew at Brother Blood. Cold, mechanical hands closed over his shoulders and pulled, twisting him painfully. His legs tangled together and a second later he was slammed viciously into the floor.

Gearhead sprang away from the fallen telepath, twisting about in midair to face his partner again. The two men exchanged a quick grin.

"Nate!" Natalie exclaimed, "It's about time!"

"Cosmo!" Cassadi was on the verge of tears, her face lighting up with happy relief. Neither brother had time to respond to their siblings as Brother Blood began to push himself back up with a groan.

"You cretins… you arrogant little men." He got to his knees with a bit of a growl. "You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"Actually I know that a bit more than I care to," Nathan retorted, "but you're not my priority right now."

Red energy pulsed from both of Blood's eyes as he shot to his feet and made to grab the adrenaline junkie, his grasping, clawing hands reaching for the younger man's face. "You don't know your own priorities, boy!" he snarled, "You should be grateful I made you what you are! You will obey me! I'll have no prodigal sons in my school!"

Gearhead seized his arms by the wrists, struggling to push Blood back, and after a second of fighting the headmaster's mental influence, he began to push him back. A look of astonishment registered on the other man's face.

"How many times," Gearhead snarled through gritted teeth, "do I have to say it. Before it gets. Through. Your. Thick SKULL?!" The last word came out in a shout of frustration as he rammed his forehead into Blood's. The older man let out a cry of pain as he lost his balance and fell back.

"I'm not your son." Nathan said coldly.

"Zoom-Pets!" the Toymaker barked abruptly, his hands flying over a remote control gamepad, "Start clearing a path for us to escape!"

All but a handful of the toys spun mechanically in response to the command and lumbered away, no longer looking so cute or harmless as their commercials made them out to be. Gearhead took the moment to spring up the side of the honeycombed wall to the holding cell where their younger sisters waited anxiously to be rescued. With a snarl, he drew back his left arm and punched his fist through the barrier, his nanobots fighting to weaken the structure.

"C'mon Nat, a little help would be appreciated," he grunted as the barrier began to crumble. Wordlessly his sister slammed an armored shoulder into the barrier and it vanished completely. With a yelp Natalie fell, but automatically the two siblings seized each other's forearms and her fall turned into a low swing.

"Thanks, Nate! Drop me, I got this!" she called, and the moment their hands released, she hit the floor running. Brother Blood had barely finished recovering from the head-butt when she charged at him, vaulting off his shoulders and using the top of his head as a springboard to kick off.

"Thanks for the step up, sir!" she said cheekily as she leaped into the air to reach Starfire's holding cell. Promptly she began to batter the barrier with a fist.

Gearhead's jaw dropped. "What are you doing?!"

"Well, we can't just leave them here!" Cassadi suddenly spoke up, and he turned to find the brunette looking at him expectantly. "The Titans are cool, and it's kind of our fault they're in this mess, so we might as well help get them out of it!"

He had no clue how to respond to this incredible statement, but luckily he was spared from trying.

"Gearhead, catch!" The Toymaker was hovering higher into the air as he flung a large object in their direction, and Nathan caught it with his free hand, digging the claws of his hand opposite into the wall to avoid falling. He fumbled the object slightly, trying to figure out what its awkward shape was, when Cass let out a shriek of delight.

"My Rock Guitar controller! Cos, you fixed it!"

"I improved it," he called back to her, "Zoom-Pets are now available with the all-new dance function."

"Oh, I am so trying that out next!" Natalie shouted as Starfire burst out of her cell. "You better let me have a turn, Cassie!"

"Cassie?" The Toymaker echoed in surprise, looking to the cyborg-girl as she moved to another cell. "You and my sister are friends?"

"Duh!" she snorted, pummeling the barrier to free Robin. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No actually, it wasn't," Gearhead remarked dryly, before he caught sight of movement below and shouted a warning, "Krank, look out!"

The Toymaker caught sight of Brother Blood rushing him and twisted, his Cosmo Flier spinning high out of reach. Cassadi let out an indignant squawk as she saw her brother's rapid ascent.

"Hey! Keep your slimy, bony hands off of my big brother, you old creep!" she yelled, seizing the plastic guitar and rapidly button-mashing. The Zoom-Pets responded, springing forward to tackle Brother Blood, who let out a yell as he vanished beneath the dog-pile.

Natalie let out a whoop of excitement. "Yeah, go Cass! You rock! You know when we're hangin' it's bangin'!"

Cosmo, having been on the verge of praising his sister, visibly swallowed whatever he had been about to say and turned to fix the blonde girl with a carefully neutral face. "Please," he asked in a way that indicated he was choosing his words very cautiously, "don't ever let me hear you say that in reference to my baby sister again."

She met his gaze levelly and the two stared at each other awkwardly for a long moment, neither one saying a word.

"Come on, we've gotta move!" Gearhead yelled, pulling Cass onto his back and hopping down from his perch. They hit the floor and he started running as fast as he could, the various Titans already guiding the way out. Natalie jumped and seized the edge of the Cosmo Flier, and the disc lurched worryingly before righting itself.

"Be a boss and gimme a lift, huh?" she asked with a grin.

Cosmo fixed her with a flat look. "I'm just going to have to build a two-person glider at this point," he grumbled. "Hang on, Miss Finch!"

"You miscreants!" Brother Blood's angry shout was left behind as everyone finally vacated the room with the holding cells, and a desperate charge through the H.I.V.E. ensued.

Acolytes had appeared to fight off the Zoom-Pets, though it didn't appear they were handling the menacing toys very well. On the other hand, multiple H.I.V.E. students had also decided to begin barring their path, all eager to get a shot at the escaped Teen Titans. Between fighting on all sides, the place was turning into a madhouse. Gearhead was rapidly losing his patience as he wove in and out of the fighting, trying to avoid letting anything happen to Krank's sister. They didn't have time for this bullcrap!

"Hope you don't mind, kid," he said loudly as he turned down an empty passage to the left, "but I think the mini-capes can handle themselves from here!"

"Okay," Cass said uneasily, "but where are Natalie and Cosmo?"

He barely had time to think about her question before his nanobots gave a ping! and the vision in his cybernetic eye overlapped for a moment with a map and a blinking beacon.

"My sister's nano-signature isn't too far behind us, and it's moving fast," he answered. "My guess is she's with your brother, hitched a ride on that freaky flying disc of his."

He made a sharp turn to the right, still running at top speed. As they rounded the corner he nearly barreled into a couple of students, who stumbled back to avoid being hit. He spared them a passing glance and they both seemed to recover, looking ready to give chase. Thankfully the tiny brunette on Nathan's back still had a solid grip on her gaming guitar, and she squeezed a few of its buttons. Several jumbled electronic notes mashed together in his ears, and the students let out sudden yelps as more Zoom-Pets charged down the hall at them.

"Thanks for the save," he said with a grin. "You're not half-bad, short-stop!"

"Don't thank me yet," she answered, "Look!"

There was an exit up ahead, but already more purple-robed acolytes were rushing in to block it off. Just as Nathan was starting to wonder if Blood ever ran out of these losers, his nano-bots sounded a quick warning at him. He jumped to the side just in time to avoid being hit as something rushed past him accompanied by his sister's voice yelling, "COMIN' THROUGH!"

The younger Finch let out a wild laugh as Cosmo Krank flew them straight toward the robed men. In seconds, the Cosmo Flier began to spin like a top until it visibly blurred, a wild tornado of color. There were yells and screams as Blood's underlings fell under the assault, unable to defend themselves as the disc spun into them with Natalie rabbit-kicking at anything she could hit.

"Coming from Krank Co. this fall," Cosmo's voice could clearly be heard in the maelstrom, "new robo-fighter Hotwire with unstoppable combat moves!"

In moments the path was clear, the acolytes that hadn't been knocked out having fled. The Flier stopped spinning and as Nathan darted forward with Cassadi, the Toymaker was rubbing his chin in thought.

"Patent pending," he added absentmindedly.

"Whoa, that's a head rush!" Natalie gasped. She dropped to the floor and Cosmo offered her a quick high-five before looking to Nathan.

"There should be a staff parking lot not too far outside these doors!" Nathan bolted forward, Cass still clinging to his back like a baby koala.

"Are you serious?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Natalie threw in for her brother as the four of them made it outside, "A lot of the kids here have parents on the staff. They gotta get here and keep their rides somewhere, right?"

Nathan caught sight of the rows of cars and made a beeline for them, the others keeping close by. He could sense the younger Krank sibling's skepticism and cut her off before she could make a remark. "I say we don't question if it's smart or not," he declared, nanobots doing a rapid-fire scan as she looked from car to car, "Their stupidity is our ticket out of here!"

"Nate, we can bot-jack any of these cars!" his sister protested. "What the heck are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a very specific ride," he replied. A second later his sensors blinked rapidly, zooming in on one car. "Aha."

He slowed to a halt next to it, grinning like a shot fox. Cass slid off his back for a better look as Natalie and Cosmo came up on either side of him, leaning forward curiously. The Toymaker let out a low whistle after a moment.

"Alright," he said, "I'll admit it; I'm impressed."

Blood-red, sleek, with a convertible top and twice the horsepower for any normal sports car, it was a beautiful work of art. Much as he hated the headmaster, Nathan could appreciate Brother Blood's taste in cars at the very least.

Which meant turnabout was fair play, and besides, the old rat-bastard didn't need or deserve nice things anyhow.

"Get in, losers," he said with a grin, "we're goin' driving."

Natalie took this as a cue and ushered Cass forward into the backseat with her. While the two girls were "oohing" and "ahhing", Cosmo leaned forward to examine the license plate. Nathan waited for a remark, probably something about the risk of being noticed or getting pursued for driving a stolen vehicle, but Cosmo said nothing and hopped into the front passenger seat. He fiddled with his controller for a second and the Cosmo Flier took off on its own, presumably running on auto-pilot to some pre-programmed destination. Excited, his adrenaline building, Nathan ran to the front and flung himself into the driver's seat. The moment his hands touched the steering wheel his nanobots went wild, and the car morphed, growing roomier as it changed to fit Nathan's tech and personality.

"Blood is probably going to have a conniption if he sees what you've done to his car," Cosmo remarked in a light, conversational tone.

Nathan grinned wider than ever. "I know. That's the point."

There was a smirk of approval in Cosmo's voice. "That's some poetic justice if ever there was any."

The engine let out a rumbling purr as Nathan started the car and backed out of the parking space.

And then something flung itself across the hood and smacked into the windshield. The girls screamed in terror and their brothers jumped as a familiar, furious face glared in at them.

"And just where do you think you're going with my car?" Brother Blood snarled viciously, gloved fingers scratching at the windshield as though he could somehow claw his way inside. Nathan fought down his rising panic. Keeping one foot solidly on the brake pedal, he revved the gas in threat. Blood sneered in at him.

"You hardly intimidate me, Nathaniel," he chuckled. "You're nothing but an overgrown child and you—"

Thwunk!

Nathan blinked.

Thwunk-thwunk-thwunk!

Even Brother Blood managed to look surprised as the windshield wiper blades smacked him repeatedly in the face. The girls started giggling uncontrollably from the backseat and Nathan looked at Cosmo, who gave a light shrug.

"He was getting on my nerves," he said innocently. Nathan struggled to keep a straight face. Giving the telepath no time to recover, he shot the car backward. Brother Blood was flung forward, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few feet. Relieved, Nathan shifted gears to drive and stomped on the gas, swerving to avoid hitting the older man as they took off.

"I'm surprised you didn't just run him down, save yourself some trouble," Cosmo remarked.

"Eh, not really my style," Nathan answered as he glanced in the rearview mirror. "Besides, it looks like Mini-Bat and the gang've got him from here."

"Not all of them," Cosmo said grimly, his gaze fixed on one of the side mirrors. "We've got a tail, Finch."

Nathan followed his gaze. They had left all the Titans behind with Blood but one. Beast Boy was still after them, having taken the form of a cheetah, and was running to catch up with them. The cyborg revved the acceleration again, and the emerald shapeshifter started falling behind.

"Not for long we don't," Nathan promised.

---

A handful of hours and two cars later, Nathan had taken to cruising steadily through back roads and small towns. Natalie and Cassadi had drifted off, dozing peacefully in the backseat. Cosmo had been quiet for some time after both guys had agreed returning to Gotham and lying low for a while was probably their best bet. The silence was making Nathan antsy, and he had to constantly stop himself from messing with the radio stations for fear of waking the girls. Finally, Cosmo spoke up.

"What did he mean?"

"What?" Nathan asked, startled.

"Brother Blood implied you and your sister both practically owe him your lives," the other went on, "Why is that?"

The cyborg bit his lower lip as he tensed. He hated thinking about that, no matter who brought it up. It was a part of his past that, in his opinion, needed to stay dead. Yet it wasn't a judgmental question. The more time Nathan spent in Cosmo's company, the more he felt the older man was the least judgmental person he'd ever met. Furthermore, the two of them had just been on the most hectic wild-ride either had ever had in their lives. What was more, they had teamed up to completely thwart and humiliate Brother Blood and rescue their sisters… and they had succeeded.

Nathan had never really had many friends growing up, and even now, he didn't really make friends. They would just slow him down. But somehow against all odds, he realized he'd befriended the man sitting next to him. Cosmo Krank had become his first best friend. If anyone deserved to know the truth of the matter, it was him.

"A while back," Nathan started slowly, "I started to get into the underground racing circuit in Gotham. I was underage, still hadn't officially gotten my license. My parents didn't know, and I was determined to keep them from finding out. I wasn't racing for the cash, I was racing for the rush it gave me. And I had a feeling if they found that out, my butt would've been in therapy in seconds."

On the edge of his vision he caught sight of Cosmo nodding in an understanding way. He went on with the story, the words falling out of his mouth so naturally it was as though they had been waiting forever to be spoken.

"I was stupid and one day I crashed on the circuit. Blacked out completely. When I woke up I was like this and lying in a hospital bed, with Nat in the bed next to mine. A man was sitting near me, waiting for me to wake up. He introduced himself as Sebastian Blood, founder and headmaster of the H.I.V.E. Academy. He said he'd watched me race on the circuit and that he paid for my surgery after the crash. Apparently my parents had found out and were on their way to the hospital to come see me when they got into an accident, too. Natalie had been with them."

"They didn't survive the accident, did they?" Cosmo asked quietly.

Nathan shook his head. "Nat and I were both lucky to have lived, and at the time I could only thank the gods of racing there was somebody out there rich enough to have paid the money needed to make sure we survived. So when Blood offered us a place to stay at his school, I didn't think much of it at first. We were suddenly orphans and we needed a roof and food. I never stopped to consider it was too good to be true."

"So what happened?"

"I figured out before long why all the others at the H.I.V.E. were such model students: they were being brainwashed, literally. Blood was somehow able to get into everyone's heads and exert authority that way. Practically all the students were puppets to him, though he had trouble with me and Nat. Most of his 'influence' seemed to slide right off, like the nanites were some kind of second brain filter. And that's how I wound up overhearing the truth."

He turned down a residential street as he clenched his jaw. Even now the bitter anger welled up strongly, as though the wound was still fresh.

"Blood caused the accidents. He'd mind-controlled the other driver on the circuit I'd crashed into, and he'd controlled the drivers who caused my family's accident. The whole thing had been set up! All of it was just so he could get to me and my sister, to turn us into good little brainwashed puppets!" He ended with a frustrated growl, slamming a hand against the steering wheel.

"Hey there, just relax," Cosmo said soothingly, "you have a right to be pissed. I would be too, in your shoes."

A long silence passed between them as Nathan struggled to get his emotions back under control. It wasn't easy; he was breathing hard and wanted desperately to smash something, anything, to express his rage and frustration. But the presence of his passengers helped to sober him, and after a few tense minutes he calmed down enough to talk again.

"That's why I can't stand it when he calls me his son," he explained, his voice still rough. "It's a sick and twisted joke. He belongs in Arkham with the rest of the other looney toons if he honestly thinks Nat and I owe him anything, especially our lives."

There was a heavy pause and Cosmo glanced into the backseat. The girls had stirred slightly but neither had woken. He looked back to Nathan.

"Well, for what it's worth, you're a pretty good big brother," he said.

"Why do you say that?" the other asked.

"Well, you're trying to do what you think is best for your sister, right? Even if you look back on it now and it makes you sick, you still accepted the offer to join the H.I.V.E. for Natalie's sake more than your own."

"Y-yeah."

"And when you left, you took her with you instead of just leaving her there."

"Well, duh."

"And you were willing to do just about anything to rescue her this time," Cosmo finished, folding his arms. "I don't know what anyone else might say, but that makes you a fairly great older brother in my personal opinion."

The words took a little bit to sink in but when they did, Nathan felt bolstered and validated. He wanted to thank his friend, to tell him that he thought Cosmo was also a great older brother. But all that came out of his mouth was, "So how did you block out the old man's mind-control?"

The question seemed to surprise him but after a moment Cosmo started to chuckle.

"You're going to think I'm a paranoid nutcase, but the answer is tinfoil," he replied.

"Tinfoil?" Nathan's eyebrows shot up. "Are you serious?"

"You bet I am! I did my homework before I got anywhere near the school." He took off his goggles and the crazy-looking jester hat for emphasis, and the inside of the two objects flashed brightly as they passed beneath the street lamps outside. "Little bit of tinfoil duct-taped to the inner lining, that's all it took."

"Tinfoil," Nathan muttered, "Freaking tinfoil. I feel like you kinda just validated most of the planet's half-baked conspiracy theorists."

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it, Finch."

"Dude, I will not be caught dead wearing tinfoil on my cranium," he retorted. After a moment or two, he asked, "Cos… are we friends?"

The other seemed to think about this before finally answering, "Yeah, I think we are. I mean, our sisters are already pretty tight with each other, and we royally brought down the house together."

"Thought any more about what I said earlier?"

"About an official team-up? Yeah I have, actually. I think it's a pretty solid idea. We've already worked well together. Between our different skills, your nanotech, and my toys, I think we could easily be a formidable pair, even for Gotham City."

Nathan grinned. "Think we could take down the Batman?"

Cosmo let out a snort. "I think we have a snowball's chance in you-know-where of that ever happening."

Nathan let out a laugh and stepped on the gas again.

"I like those odds!"