Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (they all belong to the genius of Mark Walden) except Lilya and Maxim, who are my own OCs.

-II-

Lilya and Maxim looked around the mess hall in dismay. They did know what to do, but they had never done it alone. One of their parents had always been with them. Raven's aura of menace had acted as protection from any students who felt the need to pick on the two, and Nero's status as headmaster had done the same. Now they were on their own in the middle of breakfast, surrounded by students at least three years older than they, some of them twice the twins' age, and some with some rather… ruthless personalities.

"I'm not hungry anymore." It was true. Lilya's face was slightly green as she took in the awesome sight of the school, and as she considered that there was no one to protect her if the school suddenly decided it didn't want her there.

The same thoughts were running through Maxim's head. He was turning paler and paler as each new scenario occurred to him. "Neither am I. I don't want to eat now. Let's go find Mummy."

"Why Mummy? She's the one who left us here. Let's go find Daddy." Lilya was indignant despite the fact that she was about the run from the mess hall, screaming.

Maxim considered her logic. "You're right!" He said with an accompanying stomp. "Let's go find Daddy and ask him to play with us."

The duo left the hall in search of Nero, who was currently teaching a Villainy Studies class to the new Alphas, trying to make a good impression.

-Villainy Studies classroom-

"With this in mind, I intend to start today by looking at the illustrious career of one of our past alumni, Diabolus Darkdoom. He was one of the greatest villains the world has ever known. His exploits upon graduating from H.I.V.E. have become the stuff of le…"

"DADDY, PLAY WITH US!" Maxim burst in the door, Lilya hot on his heels. The twins ran up to the front of the room and latched onto Nero's legs tightly. The headmaster looked down at them in consternation. He attempted shaking them off, but was disappointed with the results. The two just clung tighter.

"Daddy, play!" Maxim looked up at Nero with imploring eyes.

"Why me?" Nero muttered, looking up at the ceiling.

Lilya explained with an offended voice. "Mummy was mean, and then she left. We want you to play!"

Nero continued staring at the roof, giving no sign that he had heard Lilya. "And why now?"

"Because we want you to play. Now!" Lilya and Maxim provided this answer in together.

Nero's eyes remained fixed upwards like his life depended on it.

Maxim released Nero's leg and looked skyward, curious about what H.I.V.E.'s leader was so fascinated by. It had to be interesting. When he saw nothing, he turned his attention back to his father. "Play games with us! We're bored! And Mummy left us all by ourselves in the mess hall."

"Please?" Lilya did likewise and gazed up at Nero with cold blue eyes inherited from Raven that could never look cute. Nero finally stopped glaring a hole in the roof and answered.

"No, no, no, and no again. I am not going to play with you. Go ask Uncle Otto or Aunt Laura or Uncle Wing, or someone. Not me. Can't you see that I have a class?" Nero gestured around the room at the gaping Alphas. Then it suddenly hit him. "I have a class…" He mumbled.

"NATALYA!"

When Nero had called, Raven had been going to the mess hall to collect the twins. She came running; sure he was about to be assassinated. Instead, she found Lilya and Maxim seemingly scolding Nero. He had been looking at them with a dazed expression on his face as they berated him for calling Raven and ending their fun. She had quietly walked in the door and through the Alphas intently watching the drama at the front of the room. Her arrival went unnoticed by the two troublemakers, but Nero had seen and was frantically gesturing for her to come quickly. She had obliged, and increased her speed.

"Bad Daddy. You didn't need to call Mummy." Lilya didn't notice that Raven was quietly coming up behind her.

"Yeah, and now you have to play with us." Maxim said loftily.

Nero's eyes widened as they attached themselves to his legs once again. He looked at the advancing Raven imploringly. "Please… get them off."

Suddenly, Maxim and Lilya found their grasp on Nero's legs weakening. Raven, disregarding their best efforts to cling to Nero for as long as possible, pulled them off of him and marched them out of the door. Nero audibly sighed with relief when they were gone, and turned back to his class, only to find that the Alphas were choking on barely suppressed laughter. Nero said two words to himself. "Oh, no."

"Perhaps you shouldn't have a birthday party." Raven's voice was deadly calm, a demonstration of how furious she was. "Perhaps you shouldn't have a birthday party, or better yet, perhaps you should sit in your rooms while we have a birthday party without you."

The threat of no birthday party quieted the twins' constant questions for the time being. Raven knew that it couldn't last, though. Nothing could keep the two silent for any length of time, not even the threat of immediate and total destruction. Sure enough, they soon resumed talking.

"Mummy, why can't we have a birthday party? Why didn't Daddy want to play? Can we have breakfast? Where are we going?"

"Because you don't deserve it. Because he has a class. No. To my rooms. And behave." Raven replied to the questions just to get them to be quiet. The answers were not satisfactory to Lilya, however, and she kept on asking.

"Why don't we deserve it? What class? Why can't we have breakfast? Why your room? What about ours?"

Raven reached the white door of her quarters, and stood in front of the retina scanner. "Access granted, Raven," H.I.V.'s quiet, electronic voice stated. Raven walked inside, pulling her children along. They gaped in wonder at the walls around them. Raven's bed was not a grand affair, but its surroundings were.

Multiple weapons were hanging on three walls, and the remaining wall was split between a map of the school and a map of the world. A door led out of the bedroom to a place likely filled with more weapons and miscellaneous items. For once, the two were at a loss for words for a full minute.

"Wha… what… why… huh?" Maxim stammered out.

You could hear the smile in Raven's voice. "Yes, this is where I live. Didn't you know? I am the deadliest assassin in the world. I'm obviously going to have weapons."

Lilya gazed around her with awe, and not without some fear. "I tho… thought your roo… room would be like mi…"

"Yours? All pink and frilly? No." Raven was laughing. What limited imaginations these two had. Even living in H.I.V.E., and with her for eight years, they still could not imagine what wonders she could work with her katanas, or any weapons, for that matter. They had never seen her deadly accuracy with a shuriken or gun alike. They had never seen her knock assailants unconscious using nothing but her hands and feet. Raven sobered. She hoped they would never have to.

Raven exited the room after instructing H.I.V. not to allow the two out unless a fatal accident occurred. Lilya and Maxim were left alone in her weaponry-filled accommodations. The items on the walls fascinated them. A section of the room to the left of Raven's bed was devoted to an assortment of throwing stars. Shurikens and chakras of all different types covered the tables and walls. Knives were consigned to another portion of Raven's lodgings. Different sizes and lengths were hanging neatly on the partition. There was some miscellaneous weaponry lying around the room where Raven had put them. And, of course, there was a large collection of swords. Raven had tested and collected many swords throughout her career. Her favourites, the katanas, were the most numerous, but she also had longswords, falchions, and some sabers. In short, it was an impressive display.

"Wow…" Maxim's mouth was open as he circled the room looking at the décor. "What does Mummy do with this?"

Lilya's condescending tone told Maxim exactly what she thought of his intelligence. "Duh, she practices."

"But what for?" Maxim was nonplussed by her patronizing attitude.

"What do you think sharp things are for?" Exasperated by his apparent inability to grasp the purpose of weapons, Lilya walked over to the knives and pulled a dagger from its sheath. "See, this is what you do. You stick things with them. Like this." With that, she attempted to jab the knife into the wall. It stuck for a second, and then fell to the floor.

Maxim scoffed. "That? They're supposed to actually stay there. Not fall as soon as you let go of them. See, you do it like this." He turned, searching for a convenient item to demonstrate with. He hit upon one of Raven's katanas, and picked it up. Turning, he stabbed it into the floor. It stuck there between the twins.

"Oh." Lilya was disappointed. Embarrassed that he had succeeded when she hadn't, Lilya located a shuriken and threw it at the wall. "There. Beat that."

Maxim's fighting spirit surfaced with the last words. "Really? I can do sooo much better."

"Oh no, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"Prove it."

"Fine." Maxim opted for another katana.

"Cheater. That's what I did." Lilya picked up a practice sword and poked Maxim with it. Maxim let out a yell of anger and grabbed it from her hands.

"Meanie! Don't poke me! Mummy!" When no Raven appeared, Lilya smirked. "Don't laugh!" Maxim frowned and waved the captured item under Lilya's nose to emphasize the point. Lilya didn't take kindly to being threatened by her brother. She told him so, in no uncertain terms.

"Mummy doesn't like you."

"Yes, she does. More than you." Maxim was cross that Raven hadn't answered his call.

This insult was too much for Lilya, and she charged. "WAR!"