A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, everyone! Here's your reward...a new chapter!

Hour Two

The building itself was inconspicuous, no outward signs of being a haven for the teenage underworld. It was a brick warehouse near the docks; actually it wasn't even that far from Titans Tower. That, of course, was the very reason why the Teen Titans hadn't discovered it before. Hiding in plain sight, and all that.

Robin pulled up to a discreet car-sized door, the only one evident in the building. From an architectural stand-point, he knew there were other doors, but this was the only one easily seen. Before the truck even came to a complete stop, a small intercom was rising from the ground, kept on a lever that only came from its hidden compartment when a car came to the door. Robin rolled down his window and leaned out, waiting for the person on the other end to speak.

"Password?" Asked a disembodied voice from the box, sounding suspiciously like Mammoth.

"The Slab," Robin replied alto voice, purposely lightening his voice so that it wouldn't be recognize. He looked at his two companions, shrugging when they grinned at him in amusement. "I suggest you do the same."

Kid Flash leaned over the front seat, watching through the windows as they slowly slid into the Devil's Den, so to speak. "None of these villains know me. Why would I have to disguise my voice?"

Robin smacked Kid in the head with the back of his hand, sending the teen sprawling on the back seat laughing. "You don't know that. We've no idea who'll all be here."

Speedy studied the variety of vehicles that filled the warehouse as Robin sought a parking place. There were easily dozens, and all different kinds. Several rockets, a couple genuine cars, and even a unicycle over in the corner. "What's with the password?"

Robin shrugged. "They like to use the names of meta-prisons for their passwords."

"Meta-prisons?"

"Prisons specially designed to hold criminals with extraordinary abilities. The Slab is in Antarctica, maximum security, almost impossible to break out of. There are dampeners in place, guards on every inch. Even if they do escape, it's impossible to get off the continent."

"Why do use those names?"

Robin grinned, shutting off the Jeep now that they'd found an opening in the line of vehicles. "It's a reminder."

"Of what?" Kid asked, sliding out of the Jeep and stretching in place in a dozen different ways. He hated having to sit/stand still for so long. Always gave him cramps.

"To not get caught."

Speedy grinned. "Good reminder."

Robin agreed. "The actual rooms are below. Less easily detected that way."

The trio set off through the warehouse, heading for the doors that were being guarded by two monstrosities that seemed to be human in origin. Their eyes moved, following the boys who came closer with each step. Almost seven feet tall, buzzed black hair, and muscles coming out of every orifice on their bodies, they looked like gargoyles without wings. Stopping in front of them, Robin tilted his head back...and back...and back until he could see their faces. "Let us pass."

"Who are you?"

Robin sneered. "That's our business, not your's." The key to pulling off the villain-role is to remember that villains think they are tops. They take no shit from anyone, step on the down-trodden, and steal from the poor. Robin had only to act like the scum of the Earth, and he would be believed to be one of them.

The Human Gargoyle bent down...and down...and down until he could look into Robin's unmasked eyes. "We're making it our business."

Robin stepped closer, his forehead against his opponent. "Then let's do business."

"Men are so stupid," a voice carried over from not far away. Unfortunately for Robin and Speedy's nerves, it was a voice they recognized. This encounter right here was going to be the "final exam" of sorts for whether or not the Titans' non-disguises would fool the people who fought them most often.

It was Jinx.

She wasn't looking like her villain self, Robin noted as he turned to stare at the rapidly approaching witch. For one, her pink hair was down and flat as a board. It swung around her face on jagged edges, looking fashionably dishabille. She wore an off-shoulder-blouse the color of the midnight sky tucked into jeans that seemed to be spray-painted onto her long legs.

She also wasn't grey. Instead, her skin was a healthy dark tan, more Indian than Beach Babe.

In fact, if not for the bright pink hair and the voice, Robin might not have recognized her at all. Steeling himself, he watched as she stepped through Kid and Speedy (whose mouth was hanging open in shock). "Excuse me?"

Jinx grinned and pushed past Robin, facing down the two goons that still blocked the double-doors. "I said men are stupid, and they are. Here you two boys are about to start a fight when the party of the century is going on downstairs!" Jinx pressed one finger into Goon #1's stomach, the one who'd been teasing Robin. With a flash of pink energy, the man started to float, rising into the air as if he was filled with Helium. When he was about ten feet into the air, Jinx turned to Goon #2. "You want to join him?"

He silently shook his head.

"Good, then open the doors for a lady."

Again, with silence, he did as she bade. Sweeping through the doors, she paused long enough to look over her shoulder flirtatiously. "You coming?"

Robin nodded mutely, a bit shocked by this entire encounter but not sure why. Was it the fact that Jinx had taken up for him, a stranger? Was it that Jinx had solved a situation with something other than violence? Robin didn't know, but he would have to wait to think it out.

Kid sped ahead, almost colliding with wall when his burst of speed had to be cut short. Just inside the door was a long set of stairs, leading into inky darkness. Jinx's hair was a bright flame that was already halfway down. She paused and looked up at him, a look on her face that he couldn't decipher. "Hey, wait up!"

Robin hissed at Kid, anxious to tell him that they shouldn't separate but he was already gone. With a sigh, he turned to Speedy. "I hate going in without a plan."

"That's cause you're a control freak."

"I am not a control freak."

"Okay, you're anal retentive."

"I am not anal retentive."

Speedy sighed and glared. "You're damn well something."

Robin punched Speedy in the arm, moving ahead of him down the stairs. "If you're going to be obstinate I'm not going to talk to you."

Speedy gapes. "If I'm going to be obstinate?"

Robin laughed and rounded the corner at the bottom of the steps, freezing as he comprehended the sight before him.

There were easily a hundred teenagers down here, many of them recognizable from their H.I.V.E. days. Rock, Paper, and Scissors were in a corner on the far side of the room playing (what else?) Rock, Paper, Scissors. Mammoth was behind a small desk near the stairs, watching a bank of cameras. Jinx and Kid Flash had plunged headlong into the crowd and even now were fading from sight. On a large cylindrical dais in the middle of what seemed to be a dance floor, Gizmo was spinning records, using his spider legs to work five machines at once. The result was an odd mixture of rap, classical, pop, and if Robin wasn't mistake, a bit of jazz.

"What now?" Speedy asked of Robin, having to yell into his ear to be heard.

"We find out when the Brotherhood gets her and grab a table. Don't mingle if you don't have to."

Speedy watched as a masked villainess in a green kimono wove her way through the crowd with effortless movements, eluding any touch and attempt to start a conversation with seeming ease. He was instantly bewitched and could only nod absently as Robin continued to speak.

"We're just here to note who goes and who stays, nothing else."

Speedy turned to Robin. "I'm thirsty; I'm gonna go find something to drink." Within seconds of that little announcement, Speedy too was gone.

Robin swore aloud in a nice salty way. Dr. Light was walking by at right that instant and heard, turning to his nemesis-in-hiding with a grin and a pat on the shoulder. "That's the spirit, young man."

Robin almost swallowed his tongue as he fought to hold back a snort of derision, instead also trying to lose himself in the crowd. This was not going to be an easy night.

She knew he was following her but she could guess why. Jinx was no fool, she was aware of just how attractive she was. Villains of every make and model had sought her at H.I.V.E. Academy and she'd long learned to keep her feelings and attachments to herself. No one respected a whore, and Jinx was nowhere near one.

Waving at Gizmo as she passed by she laughed as he twisted her favorite record onto the main chord. Nina Simone, Blues Goddess, singing "Feeling Good" and Jinx almost felt like she was in Heaven.

She let her hips sway as she moved, tossing her head to and fro sending her hair shifting in the wind. She turned, walking backwards a few steps as she studied her stalker.

He was cute, surprisingly so. Most villains were either egotistically well-looking or meanly-twisted ugly. He had spiky reddish orange hair that stood on end in more places than not. It contrasted with his pale-tan skin, creating an interesting milk-maid effect...except it was on a boy and not a maid at all.

And he was very much a boy.

Tall and lanky, a body clearly all muscle. Jinx's fingers twitched from the urge to find out if there was any fat on his body. His arms were shown to perfection in the wife-beater he wore, his tan darkening in comparison. He grinned at her, clearly aware of her study, and followed more closely.

Jinx turned from him, an unwilling smile at her lips as she slid onto a seat near the "bar" part of the room. They didn't serve liquor here after a certain drunken naked Mammoth incident a few years ago. It also helped that most teenage villains knew better than to let their heads go fuzzy around others of their own kind who were not above taking advantage.

Behind the bar Psimon moved with alarming speed, doling out colas, waters, and juice to those daring enough to ask for it. Jinx knew that Psimon, Dr. Light, and Madame Rouge were here as the first wave, making sure the building was secure for the arrival of Monsieur Mallah and Brain. Psimon and Dr. Light were easily spotted and even now several bold villains were sweet-talking both, trying to get in good with the Brotherhood to smooth their own admittance.

Jinx wasn't going to bother. She'd get into the Brotherhood on merit, not flattery. They'd accept her and the H.I.V.E. Five because they'd earned the spot.

She signaled Psimon and waited for him to make his way to her end; Kid slid into the seat next to her and grinned. "Hi."

She glanced at him before continuing to ignore him. He still grinned, looking a bit idiotic now. People around them snickered, muttering about Jinx's "new lapdog" and wondering aloud just what her current beau would think of this development.

Psimon finally made his way down and stood waiting patiently for her to speak. Jinx was one of few H.I.V.E. students that the older villain had true respect for, and she was the only he had fear of. "Give me an unopened bottle of water," she said softly but with clear threat. In here, every step, every gesture, every food or beverage intake had to be watched. Brawls were a regular occurrence here, and given that no one was stupid enough to call the cops or an ambulance, injuries had to be taken care of personally and privately.

In a way, this place was the only place villains could be themselves. Yes, they were ruthless. Yes, they were selfish. Yes, most of them had nowhere else to go. They might not trust each other, but a common sense of chivalry kept true rivalry on the outside. They all might snipe, snark, and boss each other around but it was mostly in good fun.

Jinx smiled her thanks when her water arrived and she spun her chair around to face the dance floor. Couples twined their limbs together, jumping and spasming in many different directions in what was oddly artful dancing. It was wild, feral, and completely true to the spirit of this place.

It was nicknamed "Hell" for nothing. Only demons and devils were truly comfortable here, innocents be damned lest they enter.

"So you just gonna keep ignoring me?"

"Most likely."

Kid just couldn't get that shit-eating grin off his face and Jinx looked ready to wipe it off with her fist. "You just spoke so I guess you're not ignoring me now."

Jinx glared out of the side of her eye. "Go find some nice wallflower to flirt with. You couldn't handle me."

"You haven't given me the chance. I think you'd like my hands on you very much."

Jinx's hand was around his throat within seconds. "Innuendo aside, little boy. You keep playing with fire," she used her free hand to form a sizzling ball of pink energy, "and I'll burn you."

She grabbed her water and stalked off into the crowd, leaving Kid both shocked and intrigued. He stood, shaking off imaginary dust off his clothes and pretending the laughter around him wasn't aimed at him, and grinned. "What a woman."

Robin sidled up to Mammoth's security center, avoiding the giant teen's direct gaze and sticking to the shadows. "So, uh...how long until the Brotherhood get here?"

Mammoth looked at the little teen. "Why do you want to know?"

"I came here to listen to them talk, not to mingle."

The large boy laughed, reaching over with psychotically long arms to slap Robin on the back, almost casually breaking his spine. Robin leaned back, cracking several bones back into place and resisted the urge to groan.

"Do not worry, little one. They'll be here in an hour or two," Mammoth explained as he typed quickly and competently on a small laptop. "Your anticipation has been noted."

Robin stared for a second before slowly walking away, no sudden moves. He studied the walls of the crowd, looking for an empty table to seclude himself in.

Robin had never liked crowds, never liked the over-whelming energy of them.

Not since his parents' deaths.

Not since he'd become Robin.

Even as he became distracted by thoughts of such dark and morose origins, someone slid their arm through his and started to pull him toward the table. Robin jerked himself back to the present and cursed his lapse in concentration. The stress of trying to pre-empt any attacks by the Brotherhood was getting to him more and more lately, but Robin had a plan. A great plan, if he did say so himself, but again, this was not the time or the place.

Staring at the boy beside him, identical in height, weight, and body type, Robin fought not to sneer. "I should've figured it'd be you."

Red X didn't restrain his own sneer, though it wasn't visible through his mask, Robin could still hear it. "Don't worry, Little Bird, I won't tell if you won't."

Hour Two and a Half coming up next...