Chapter 2: Playing Hero

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Teen Titans related.

Within the span of a few seconds all of the young men were crowded around the holographic list, except for Mammoth, who took it upon himself to clean up Billy's chicken out of the floor. Billy placed his hands on his hips angrily, "Hey! Nobody tells Billy what to do!" He turned and faced one of his clones, patting him on the shoulder, "- except for you, Billy." See-More's single eye grew wide, "Jinx is on here! Shouldn't we tell her about this?"

Gizmo angrily shut off the projection, "NO WAY! Jinx is with the Titans now. She'll get what's coming to her." Kyd Wykkyd expertly snatched the controller from Gizmo and turned the hologram back on so that he could also peruse the list. He gestured for See-More to come look, and pointed out the names of the Titans.

See-More stared thoughtfully, scratching his chin, "Yeah, he's right. All of the Titans are on here, too."

Kyd shook his head, and lifted up his cape, showing it to his friend. See-More's eye widened once more, and he snapped his fingers as he understood what his mute friend was telling him. "Raven's not on the list either, huh? That's really weird, Kyd."

Not that he wasn't grateful not to be a target, but Kyd Wykkyd couldn't help but wonder why Psimon didn't put his name on the list. Did it have some link to why Raven's name was also missing? Did he blame Kyd for Raven's escape when they worked with the Brotherhood of Evil a few months ago?

Gizmo waved his hand in dismissal, "Yeah, whatever. That's not important. Look, we need to make sure Psimon doesn't get the rest of the shipments he needs to build this device. If that crud-muncher gets ahold of this stuff, he'll be able to turn us all into zombies!"

Mammoth finally spoke up after polishing off the remaining chicken, "That sounds a whole lot like playing hero to me." Gizmo threw his head back in frustration, "Don't remind me."

Kyd Wykkyd stood on the ledge of yet another building, binoculars in hand, watching for the truck that would bring in the telepath's latest shipment of supplies for his invention. Gizmo had given his buddy the license plate number to look for, now all he had to do was wait.

When he spotted the number, See-More informed him that there was only one person in the truck, and he quickly executed a plan he had enacted so many times that seemed like clockwork to him now. In an instant, Kyd Wykkyd appeared in front of the truck, shocking the driver into slamming on brakes.

People often reacted multiple ways in this situation, and the man behind the wheel of this truck was much more level-headed than most; he seemed to see the danger in swerving to either side. Instead, he simply hoped and prayed that the truck would stop in time. Wykkyd smirked and teleported at the last second, planted a brick underneath the truck's tires, then teleported behind it. All of this took place in the breadth of a millisecond.

The transport truck screeched to a halt, and the frazzled driver emerged in a state of panic, running forward to inspect the front of the truck. He proceeded to peek underneath it, and then ran as fast as humanly possible to the back of the truck. The teenager who had appeared in front of his truck lay in a crumpled heap in the middle of the road.

"Oh God!", he exclaimed, and ran to the teen's side, placing a shaky hand on his shoulder. The caped teenager's head snapped up, and the man's terrified eyes met with a malevolent pair of blood red orbs. In a fluid motion, the heel of Kyd Wykkyd's foot connected with the driver's temple, knocking him out cold on contact.

Kyd was now in a standing position as he gave a thumbs-up to what looked like a glowing green circle in an alleyway. See-More emerged, using the laser setting of his eye to cut the locks on the back of the truck. Mammoth wrenched the doors open, while See-More and Wykkyd stood lookout on either side of the truck. The hulking teen retrieved the package, with the radio assistance of Gizmo, and threw it to Kyd, who teleported it to their designated weaponized warehouse for safekeeping.

Gizmo sat in front of his command center, watching the events of the night with approval, "One down, five to go."

–

To say that Robin was annoyed was a major understatement. In the time it had taken for his team to get dressed and arrive at the scene of the crime, the perpetrators had gotten away.

Raven was speaking to driver, who couldn't seem to remember much at the moment, while Cyborg was scanning the scene for clues. Beast Boy sniffed around in the form of a hound, and Starfire searched aerially, hoping to find some clue as to who committed the crime.

Robin ran simulations in his mind, trying to figure out how to make his team's dressing routine more efficient. So far, the only solution he had come up with was to make his whole team sleep in their costumes, much like he did most nights. Cyborg interrupted his reverie, "Hey Rob, someone disabled the truck's communication systems remotely."

Robin rubbed his chin with this forefingers, "So it was someone tech-savvy." Robin walked over to the back doors of the truck, which had been pried off of their hinges. Cyborg furrowed his brow, "Must have been somebody pretty strong. They left imprints of their hands on the doors." Robin nodded thoughtfully as he traced the raised and bubbled scars left on one of the locks, obviously by a laser beam. "Hm... Why rip the doors off the hinges after cutting through the locks with a laser?" Cyborg shrugged, knowing that Robin would continue regardless of whether he answered, "Unless there were multiple people involved. One who cut through the locks, and another who ripped the doors off in a show of brute strength."

Raven approached, her face completely devoid of emotion, "I was able to help the driver recover some of his memories. He says that he hit a teenage boy wearing a cape and cowl that reminded him of Batman. He got out to check on the kid right before he blacked out." Robin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Kyd Wykkyd?" Raven responded in her signature monotone, "No doubt". Cyborg crossed his arms, "So we're dealing with the Hive 5. This was probably Mammoth, See-More, and Wykkyd."

Suddenly, Robin's communicator chimed, revealing the coordinates of yet another robbery of a similar nature. His eyes widened in shock, as an additional set of coordinates popped up. "If these are all the Hive, they're gettin' better, man," Cyborg commented. Robin grunted, then quickly dispatched Starfire and Raven to deal with the first set of coordinates, and Cyborg and Beast Boy to address the second problem. He stayed behind to quickly take inventory of what had been taken from the first crime scene, before he left to join Cyborg and Beast Boy.

When Raven and Starfire arrived on the scene, they were greeted with a sight similar to the last call they responded to, though quite a bit less messy. The truck driver sat in the back of the truck amongst the packages he was delivering, staring aimlessly at the wall. Starfire walked to the door of the truck, calling out to ask the man if he was okay. He simply said, "There were too many of them. I couldn't stop them."

Raven stepped forward, speaking softly, "It's okay, no one blames you." Starfire nodded assuringly, "Yes, please inform us of who did this." The guy sighed, "The weirdo dressed in red who multiplies. Called himself Billy Numerous. He ambushed me, and snatched me out of the truck. After he forced me to unlock the door, this kid that looked kinda like you", he pointed to Raven, "- showed up and disappeared with the package. Then the other kid left." Starfire looked to her teammate, "The Hive 5." Raven nodded, "Let's meet up with the others."

Starfire gasped upon opening her communicator, "Raven, another crime is being committed!" The sorceress checked her own communicator, hoping against hope that it was a glitch. Sure enough, there were two red dots on her screen.

That made four different truck robberies by the Hive 5 in one night.

She locked eyes with the fiery red-head, "Let's try to intercept the new one." The Tamaranean nodded in return, and they took off for the fresh set of coordinates at a blinding speed. Raven was not quite as fast as her alien friend, but she wasn't about to fall behind.

They arrived in time to spot See-More cutting through the locks of an overturned truck. He was about to swing the doors open when Starfire barreled into him at full speed, knocking him into a brick wall before he was able to turn his laser on her. They then engaged in a rather perilous game of laser tag.

Raven spotted Kyd Wykkyd, who materialized in front of the doors and yanked them open. Raven allowed gravity to take hold of her, and delivered a devastating kick...to the wall of the truck. The flimsy metal caved under her boot, and a nice imprint of her daintily sized foot was left in the side of the truck.

Kyd Wykkyd pulled her arm behind her, and shoved her into the wall of the truck, planting her face in the exact spot that her footprint was. She then proceeded to pelt him in the back with random packages, which forced him to release her arm in order to protect the back of his head. Kyd Wykkyd grabbed his package and reached for his cape, but was prevented from teleporting away when Raven proceeded to tackle him and pin him to the ground.

"What's your game?", she snarled. Wykkyd simply huffed what would have been a sigh, had he a voice. Her eyes widened as she realized that Kyd Wykkyd wasn't simply the 'strong silent type'. He was actually mute.

The little bit of her face that was visible beneath the shadow of her hood suddenly became tinged with red; a reflection of her embarrassment. She clamored back to her feet, offering a hand to help him up – her version of an apology. Wykkyd lifted a hand as if to take hers, and swiftly proceeded to snatch his cape around himself and disappear from sight, along with his stolen goods. Raven slapped her hand to her forehead, cursing her own stupidity.

Kyd Wykkyd teleported to another safe-house, which was a good distance away from the first one. He stashed the package in an underground steel-reinforced bunker, went back to rescue See-More from a barrage of starbolts, and then did the same for Mammoth and Billy Numerous. His group of friends were now back at home again.

Gizmo stood in the middle of their common room, a delighted smirk on his face, "Good job guys! How's that for an organized theft?" Billy Numerous guffawed, "Them Titans didn't even know what hit 'em!" See-More smiled, throwing an arm around his silent friend, "We should do that more often. Kyd, you were awesome!" Kyd Wykkyd shrugged mildly, as if to say that it wasn't a big deal.

See-More shook his head quickly, "No, it was a big deal! We couldn't have pulled it off without you." Gizmo waved his hand in dismissal, "Yeah, yeah. You're forgetting about the brains of the operation. I was pretty awesome too!" See-More chuckled to himself before trying to diffuse the bomb, "I guess we were all pretty awesome! Don't ya think, Kyd?" The mute boy nodded, a small smile adorning his pale lips.

Cyborg and Robin sat together on the Common Room couch, looking over the list of the stolen objects. "Yo, Robin. I just can't find a link here. It doesn't look like anything valuable was in those boxes," Cyborg asserted. Robin's eyes narrowed beneath his mask, "So it's not their style. The question is, whose is it?"

The boy wonder looked up the supposed recipients of the packages. All were addressed to different names and places. Robin pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefingers, "Nothing helpful there." The African-American teen sighed in resignation, "Maybe we should take a pizza break, and come back to it." Robin chuckled under his breath, "The solution to everything."

Gizmo and See-More sat on the couch in their own common room, looking over their checklist while their other teammates rummaged through the fridge for food. Gizmo suddenly stood up, demanding his team's attention. The other teens turned to face him, and he began his announcement, "We've taken out four of six shipments, but the other two are going to be more spread out. Psimon has to know that somebody's targeting his stuff, so he's gonna make sure it's heavily guarded this time. He can go without some of the crap we nabbed, but these next two packages are going to be super important to him. We're gonna have to time this right."

Billy began to hoot, "Go big, or go home!" Gizmo grunted his displeasure at being interrupted, "Next shipment arrives in Central City, instead of the other side of Jump, like it said on the original list." Kyd Wykkyd raised an eyebrow, and See-More seemed to catch on quickly, "He's right, that's where Jinx is!" Gizmo shrugged, "We'll be gone before those pit-sniffers even know we're there." Mammoth cracked his giant knuckles with a smirk, "And if not...we'll get to kick that sorry traitor's can before we leave."

Billy's stomach growled loudly, drawing the attention of his teammates. He chuckled nervously, "Fridge is empty." Mammoth grinned mischievously, "Then let's fill it up." Kyd Wykkyd shook his head rapidly at See-More, who spoke for them both, "Hey guys, we think that's a bad idea. We should lay low for a little bit!"

Billy Numerous guffawed and slapped his knee, "We got nothin' to worry about! Those Titans ain't no match for us!" The other boys erupted in a chorus of assent. When See-More noticed that he and his partner were outnumbered, his eye darted back and forth, betraying his uncertainty, "Well, we didn't get caught the last four times..." Gizmo took that statement as a go-ahead, and charged forward, "Come on, Hive 5! We're going shopping."

Gizmo, Mammoth, and about ten Billys exited the base; See-More looked to Wykkyd, who stood with his arms defiantly crossed over his chest, "You coming?" The mute teen shook his head, his chin set in determination. His friend placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well somebody's gotta look after 'em, Kyd. They need you!" With a narrowing of blood red eyes as his only response, the cyclops turned to other methods of persuasion. "Pretty please with a cherry on top? C'mon Kyd! Please?" The cowled teen's glare wavered, as he sighed in frustration, shrugged stiffly, and stormed out the door.

–

The Teen Titans sat atop their favorite pizza parlour, staring down at the hustle and bustle of Jump City from their moderately comfortable plastic seats. Raven sighed, repositioning herself once again on the chair in which she sat, "Does it bother anyone else that these seats don't have backs on them?" Robin cocked an eyebrow at her, "Never noticed." Starfire frowned, "It does not bother me at all. I find it quite beneficial to my posture." Beast Boy chuckled once before responding, "Posture-smoshure. I'd rather be able to lean backwards than have to slump forward to get comfortable."

Cyborg waved his arms giddily before pointing toward the door, "Yo! Pizza's ready!" The news yielded a cheer from the Titan table, and the waitress smiled in spite of herself, "Two meat lovers, one dessert, and a veggie," She glanced knowingly at the alien princess, "- and I brought you a bottle of mustard." Starfire squealed with joy and showered the kind waitress in gratitude. Cyborg pretended to crack his knuckles, "Let's dig in, y'all!"

Their celebration was interrupted by the cacophonous sound of an explosion down the street. All five Teen Titans and a blonde waitress watched the members of the Hive 5 exit the supermarket; most of Billy's clones pushed grocery carts full of food, while Gizmo and Mammoth led the charge. See-More took up the rear, looking a lot more nervous than usual. Cyborg's face fell, "Aw man." Robin was already on his feet, an air of authority surrounded him as his brain clicked into leader-mode, "Titans, go!"

Kyd Wykkyd refused to participate in a plan so obviously doomed to failure. He instead opted to wait in an alley across the street, in order to jump in and help them when it became necessary. There was little question in his mind that the robbery would go awry, and he was not disappointed.

Almost as if on cue, the Teen Titans descended upon his team like a hawk upon a mouse. He shook his head in frustration before teleporting into the midst of the fray. His heavy black boot collided with the side of a green gorrilla's face; the blow was a powerful one, but it failed to knock the creature off of its feet. It did stagger backward a few steps, dazed. Wykkyd laughed silently and teleported away, crashing into the alien princess and knocking her out of the sky. He teleported before hitting the ground, and reappeared on the back of a green tiger, which he placed in a tight stranglehold.

It instantly became an elephant, effectively breaking his grip with the change in size. The cowled teen leaped from its back, and suddenly the elephant was flying through the air, courtesy of Mammoth. Upon making impact with the brick wall, Beast Boy reverted back into his human form. In an instant, Kyd Wykkyd was before him, lifting him up by the collar of his shirt. Beast Boy glared into his ruby red eyes with an intensity few would have expected from the jokester.

Suddenly, Kyd Wykkyd's head snapped to the right in response to the fist that had smashed into the left side of his face with blinding force. He paused for a second, and then dropped Beast Boy on his rump, turning to face his assailant. His eyes landed on a pair of angry violet orbs, and he rubbed his left cheek absentmindedly. Raven's hands were on her hips as if she were reprimanding a child, "Leave him alone."

Wykkyd tilted his head to the side, effectively communicating his confusion and disdain simultaneously. She let loose a well aimed kick at the side of his head, which connected with nothing but air. As the sorceress huffed her frustration, Beast Boy leaped to his feet with a teasing smile in place, "Didn't know ya cared, Rae." She shot him a glare that could make a grown man cry before she turned and walked back into the fray without a word.

About fifteen minutes later, the Hive Five sat around in their common room nursing their many bruises, a single grocery cart as their consolation prize. Billy sighed disappointedly, "I knew this was a bad idea." Kyd Wykkyd shot him a look that immediately silenced him. See-More spoke up in an effort to diffuse the tension, "Well, at least none of us got sent to jail, right?"

His teammates looked only at their shoes, and responded in a dejected chorus of agreement. Kyd Wykkyd seldom felt the need to speak, which is why all members of his team were shocked when his telepathic voice echoed through their minds, 'I'm going to bed.' With that, he unceremoniously exited the room, leaving his teammates staring after him long after he disappeared. Mammoth broke the silence, "Well somebody's grumpy."

–

Psimon sent a mental shockwave that shook the rocky foundations of his underground base. He was furious. He was missing four shipments that contained the unique pieces he needed to build his amplifier. They had all been custom made by ceramics artists from around the world, who thought they were creating an exotic sculpture for some eccentric billionaire buyer.

Since they were made of glass, no one in the post office would bat an eye at the shipments. His only mistake was involving that sniveling child, Gizmo, in his plan. He should have planned more thoroughly for the possibility that the boy would become curious as to why he was building satellites and launching them into orbit.

Psimon consoled himself with the fact that, though it would take a while for him to have the missing four pieces made again, it would not affect the second phase of his master plan. The metahuman army was devised as an afterthought; the robots that the boy genius had provided him were attending to his original intention.

The machines worked on an assembly line, creating the true army of mechanical insects that resembled the common gnat. "The remaining shipments should arrive on schedule", Psimon chuckled to himself with a malevolent glint in his eye as he oversaw the process. "Yes, right on schedule."

–

Jinx nervously tugged on the hem of her sky blue dress, which was oddly formal considering her usual wardrobe choices. Her bright pink hair softly curled around her face, and she glanced at the silver watch on her wrist for the fifth time that evening. She frowned, and leaned against the window of the fancy restaurant she was standing outside of. A few seconds later, a blur of black and white flashed in front of her, and suddenly she found her arms full of roses. Her boyfriend stood beside her, dressed in a suit and tie.

She narrowed her eyes, "The fastest boy alive is late." He chuckled, and attempted to lay on the charm, "You look absolutely gorgeous, I mean, that blue really makes your eyes pop." Jinx's voice took on a warning tone, "Wally-" In an instant, the pink-haired girl found herself inside the restaurant, sitting in a very comfortable chair across from Kid Flash. She tried to stop the goofy smile from forming on her face, but was rather unsuccessful.

The redhead smiled at his girlfriend, "I had to throw some goons in jail on the way here. I ordered our food in advance, cause I figured something might happen." Jinx relaxed into her chair, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the calming environment. She didn't flinch when the waiter placed her drink before her, and sighed in contentment. She did, however, open her eyes when the food arrived. She gasped as she looked upon the layout in front of her. Wally smiled nervously, "I got us sparkling grape juice, since we can't really have wine yet..." She beamed at him, "It's perfect!"

Wally began to eat at a blinding speed, while Jinx ate at a polite human pace. She shook her head at him, deciding that his crazy metabolism was only a minor annoyance most of the time. By the time Jinx had finished her appetizer, he had already started on dessert. He paused, deciding that he should probably talk to his date, "So... How was your day?"

She finished the food she had in her mouth before responding, "Still hungry. Talk about yours." He laughed before launching into a theatrical story about how he captured the crooks who had made him late for their reservation. This allowed Jinx plenty of time to finish her main course. She was about to start on her cheesecake, when both of their T-communicators went off.

Jinx's smile was instantly replaced by a pout, "And I was having so much fun." Wally shrugged sadly, "It's part of the job description."

A/N: And now you have a basic idea of what's going on. It gets much more complicated from here. I'm thinking Monday updates, but you can let me know if you think another day is better. :)

I have been on hiatus for the last four years, so I am very rusty! Please be brutal with the reviews.

Later Days!

~Rosallind