Part 1

Chapter 8: Shattered Faces

"Elliot? Is it really you?"

Kyd turned away from Raven and placed his cowl back on his head, covering his dark hair and most of his face. "I'm not who you think I am. My name is Kyd Wykkyd."

Kyd felt his disguise being removed again by Raven's magic. "I haven't forgotten how you look, Elliot. It may have been years ago, but I still remember you. And I can see you remember me as well."

Kyd shook his head. "You're wrong! I'm not Elliot!" He fell onto his knees on the hard rock and looked down. "Not anymore," he whispered.

He heard Raven approach behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me!" Kyd screamed as he shook off her hand.

"Elliot…" Raven said in a soft voice, "Why are you doing this? Why are you denying your past?"

Kyd sighed and closed his eyes. "It's the only way I can live with it."

"You can't outrun your past, Elliot. You have to accept it. It's the only way to find peace. Believe me, I know that better than anyone else."

"I have lived with it in peace for years, Raven. Until now."

"Do you call this life 'peace'?" Raven asked Kyd as she walked around him to look at his face. "The life of a villain?"

"It's not the life I chose, but it's the life I was meant to live. The choice was never mine."

"There is always a choice, Elliot. You can do better than this. You could be a hero, with your powers."

"Easy to say if you weren't banished from Azarath."

"You're right, I wasn't. But I was born as the daughter of a demon overlord, haunted by a prophecy that I was going to destroy the world. For years I have ignored it, trying to outrun it by doing good, by becoming a hero. But I only found peace after I embraced it, after I stopped running from it, and only then I could use my powers to their full extent." She placed her hand on Kyd's shoulder again. "There is always a choice."

Kyd looked up at her. "It is too late for me. I'm a villain, and that's all I'll ever be." He teleported to the red portal Psimon had disappeared through as he put his cowl back on again. "Don't let the Brotherhood catch you," he said before leaving Raven's mind through the portal.

Kyd found himself on a rooftop in the city again. Psimon was starting to move again with small groans. Kyd looked up to the sky, where Raven looked down at him one more time before flying away into the night.

oo0O0oo

"She got away? Inconceivable!"

"Shut it, Mumbo. She got away from you while she was a rabbit, so let's not throw rocks."

A very grumpy Psimon hovered away to his room after reporting their defeat to Mumbo and Mad Mod. Kyd silently went his own way. Raven's words wouldn't leave his mind.

He walked into his room and shut the door behind him. He walked to the small mirror that hung above the sink and removed the clothing hiding his face. He stared into his own red eyes. He hated those eyes. They reminded him of what he really was. A demon. A monster.

With a frustrated groan, Kyd swung his cape at the mirror, cutting straight through the glass. The bottom part fell into the sink with a lot of noise. Kyd looked down. His eyes laid shattered in the sink. They looked like stains of blood on the sharp edges of the shards of his face.

Kyd ran out of his room. He didn't want to look in the mirror anymore. He ran through the castle-like tunnels of the base. He stopped to catch his breath. There is always a choice. No. For him there wasn't.

He sat down against the wall and placed his forehead against his knees. You can do better than this. Could he? No. He couldn't. He could only bring destruction.

"Kyd?"

He looked up. Angel looked down at him with her bright yellow eyes. "Oh… Hello, Angel. What are you doing here?"

"You're sitting in front of my room."

Kyd looked past her at the door that had her nametag on it. He cleared his throat. "Indeed, so I am."

"Are you okay, Kyd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I heard you got the honor to capture Raven," Angel said as she sat down next to him. "Did it work?" Kyd shook his head. "Too bad. Don't worry, Kyd, when Punk Rocket and I knocked out Bumblebee, we… kinda lost her in the clouds, so there's nothing to be ashamed of."

You can't outrun your past. It was time he told Angel the truth. The complete truth. "There is. I let her escape."

"You did what?"

Kyd looked Angel in the eyes. "I let Raven escape."

Angel's mouth stayed half-open for a while before she stood up and offered him her hand. "Let's discuss this in my room, before Adonis comes across us when going to his room."

oo0O0oo

"I don't understand… Raven is… your cousin?" Kyd nodded. "But… what… how?"

"I used to live in Azarath. My mother was the sister of Arella, Raven's mother. My father…" Kyd tried not to look at the reflection of his red eyes in Angel's mirror, identical to the one in his room (only this one was still in one piece). "My father was a demon under the command of Trigon. When he heard the story about how Trigon's freshly born daughter would help him conquer Earth, he wanted to try it himself. He… He disguised himself and used my mother." Angel gasped. "My mother died in childbirth. Apparently giving birth to a half-demon isn't that easy. Raven was the only friend I had growing up, and I was her only friend, because everyone else saw both of us as 'freaks' because of our powers. Of course, at the time, we didn't know both our fathers were demons but…"

"And the demon? Did he ever contact you for his plan?"

"No. But one day, I had a vision. A vision filled with rage. I could hear Trigon's voice. He talked about treason and mutiny, before the vision stopped." Kyd paused. "My guess is Trigon found out about his plan and killed him."

Angel sat back on her bed and stared into the distance. "Wow. What a story, Kyd." She let the dramatic backstory of her friend sink in. "But… How did you end up in this dimension? In the H.I.V.E. Academy?"

"I was banished from Azarath."

"Why? Because your father was a demon?"

"Because I killed three people."

Angel's mouth fell open. "You… K… Wh…" She tried to formulate something to say, but was completely speechless.

Kyd sighed and walked to the door. "I should go back to my room."

"Kyd!" Angel said before he could leave. "I know what you're thinking, but this doesn't change anything. I don't care what happened in your childhood. We've been friends for years. I won't let your past change our past."

They were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. "If you're in here, you should know they're about to flash-freeze Robin. You don't wanna miss that!" the voice of Billy Numerous sounded on the other side.

"Can we go now, Billy?"

"Sure thing, Billy."

Angel grabbed Kyd's arm. He looked at her, and she smiled. "Well? Are you going to teleport us or what?"

oo0O0oo

"Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!"

"Kviet! All of you!" Madame Rouge tried to calm down the crowd of supervillains.

"Let them cheer, Madame Rouge… for it is our time… to celebrate," the Brain told Rouge. He turned to the audience. "Victory is at hand. And for your part, a gift. I give you… Robin."

One of professor Chang's minions pulled a lever, setting in motion the conveyor belt. The freshly frozen Spanish speedster moved on from the freeze-ray and Robin was transported into the room, trapped inside a glass tube. There was a build-up in the cheering, and several villains raised their fists. Kyd joined them, though silently.

Robin glared at the Brotherhood leaders. "This isn't over!"

"For you, it most certainly is."

"You will lose, Brain! Evil always loses!"

"Ze boy talks too much, mastair," Mallah said to the Brain. "Perhaps we should put an end to all zis?"

"Agreed. Chang… proceed."

Chang pressed a button after which smoke poured down into Robin's cage, and he disappeared out of sight. The villains went quiet for a moment as the glass walls were lowered and the smoke rolled onto the conveyor belt, revealing a frozen statue of the Boy Wonder.

The crowd cheered and roared as the Titan was transported up and placed amongst the heroes that had previously been flash-frozen. "Our victory is ensured, my friends," the Brain said after they had calmed down. "Only a few heroes… are still on the run… but we shall take them out soon. In fact… five of them are in our base right now. How about… we give them… a warm welcome?"

The words had barely left his… speakers?... before the door of the main room burst open and Beast Boy, along with some other heroes, made their way in.

"All right, Brain! You're going… down?" Beast Boy went silent when a spotlight fell on their heads and he realized they had just walked into a room containing an army of villains. Said villains displayed a wide variety of evil laughter as they looked at the poor excuse for a team. "What's so funny?" the green boy asked.

"The five of you? Against all of them?" Madame Rouge scoffed. "Even I find that amusink." (Misspelling intended. Listen to it. She really says 'amusink'.)

"Tell me where our friends are!"

"Little green one… You always try so hard… and always fail so completely. This time will be no exception."

"Where are they?!"

"Vould you like to say hello?" Rouge waved in the direction of the hero-display. The heroes were visibly shocked at the sight of their frozen friends. "Oh, but it seems you are too late."

The Titans looked at the dozens of villains, ready for battle. "I think we can take 'em," Beast Boy bravely (and stupidly) said.

"I think you are correct," his teammate agreed.

The group of villains started to move, and Kyd Wykkyd was one of the first to attack. As he ran forward along with Control Freak, Mad Mod, Killer Moth, See-More, and many more, the Titans got ready for their counter attack.

"You ready for this, Kyd?" Angel asked him as she ran alongside him.

Kyd wanted to answer, but was a little preoccupied dodging a T-Rex jumping in the middle of the group. Kyd could barely avoid being crushed by its giant paws by rolling aside. "Angel!" he shouted, having lost her in all the confusion. He saw her lying on the floor and rushed towards her.

"I'm okay, Kyd. Let's just take this big lizard down."

"Remember our training?" See-More, who had walked up to them with XL Terrestrial, asked. "We fought things way harder than this."

"Right, lads and lovies," said Mad Mod, "Give 'em all ya've got!"

The villains stormed at the T-Rex, but after a strong swipe of its tail, they were all sent scattered across the floor. Multiple 'B of E' soldiers quickly joined the fight, and with their large numbers managed to take down the Tyrannosaur, but Kyd saw a new problem.

Control Freak seemed to be possessed, as he was attacking his own allies with his Warp Trek lasersaber. Kyd ran at him and swung his cape to attack, but Control Freak (or whoever was inside him) clashed his sword against it, and Kyd was knocked back. When he got back up, he could see the nerdy villain lying on the floor groggily, seemingly freed from his possessor.

Kyd looked around. All the heroes were being captured. Resistance was futile as they were brought before the Brain.

"Did you think your pathetic resistance could actually stop what I have created? Once again, Beast Boy, you fail. Madame Rouge, add them to the collection."

Rouge grabbed the shapeshifter and grinned at him sadistically. "Any final vords?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't stand there if I were you."

Just after that, a blue beam blasted Rouge away as the floor exploded. The villains looked at the hole in the floor in anticipation, until Cyborg stepped out with his own team of heroes.

"Lesson number one: never throw me down a hole unless you make sure I stay there!" the half-machine human said.

A sudden blast made the room shake, and more villains descended into the base through a hole in the ceiling. Among them was Starfire. "The lesson two: we never give up!"

Kyd then noticed a patch of dark energy forming on the floor, before the hero he knew so well flew out. "Lesson three:" Kyd's relative said, "Your secret lair isn't very secret!"

The presence of all the heroes made the villains a bit less certain about their victory, as the Titans gathered up to fight. "Titans, together!" Beast Boy shouted.

oo0O0oo

Kyd Wykkyd looked around cautiously. The fight was getting out of hand. The frozen heroes had been unfrozen, and the Spanish twins were freezing the villains in return.

Kyd had reunited himself with his fellow H.I.V.E. Five members. In the chaos he had lost track of Angel, and the Five had decided they had the biggest chance of not getting their butts kicked if they stuck together.

"Kyd Wykkyd, look out!" See-More said.

Kyd turned around and saw a fiery figure jump his way. It was Hot Spot, the hero who had been frozen second. He hurled fireballs at Kyd, but he teleported away, causing the fireballs to hit numerous Numerouses.

"Hey, man! Watch what you're doin'!" another Billy said angrily.

Kyd raised his hands in apology. Hot Spot leaped at him, his hands transformed into fiery spikes, but Kyd defended himself with his fire-resistant cape.

The red and yellow hero was surprised by an eyeball hitting his head, and he was knocked away from Kyd. "You're welcome," See-More said.

Kyd smiled, but his smile fell when he saw a blonde hero approach See-More from behind. "What is it?" See-More asked, turning around. Wykkyd wanted to stop him, but it was too late. As he turned around, he looked straight into the young Titan's eyes. The boy disappeared, and See-More turned back to his teammates.

"Uh… See-More, are you okay?" Mammoth asked.

See-More didn't answer but instead shot a laser at Gizmo, who barely managed to dodge it. Mammoth ran forward and swung his fist at the cyclops, realizing too late that the Titan had already left his body. See-More flew back, while the Titan stayed unharmed.

"Oops, sorry See-More," Mammoth apologized.

Kyd wanted to go help his friend, but a blast a thunder and lightning worked him back. Gizmo finally decided they had seen and done enough, and suggested their retreat.

Kyd didn't want to leave See-More and Angel in the fight, but realized he probably couldn't help them anyway. The battle was a lost cause. As he turned around to leave with the others, they were stopped by the hero they hoped they'd never see again; Kid Flash. He blocked their way to the exit with an arrogant smile.

"Now's the time when you're probably thinking: 'I shouldn't have hooked up with these Brotherhood guys'. Hate to say it, I told ya!"

Cyborg, who was fighting Control Freak, landed on the stairs with a loud smack. "Sorry I'm late," Kid Flash said to him, "I had to pick up a friend."

And then, Jinx appeared. The boys gasped. "You're with him?" Gizmo angrily asked. "Traitor!"

"You probably have some catching up to do," Flash said before speeding away.

Jinx shrugged and smiled at her ex-allies. "Nothing personal." She snapped her fingers and they were swept away by a magic blast.

Kyd barely had the time to recover before he felt himself being picked up. Kid Flash carried him across the room at light speed and placed him on top of Mammoth, placing Billy and Gizmo on the pile after. Kyd saw the Spanish brothers say something, ready to press the button, and Kyd realized they were lying underneath the freeze-ray.

Kyd teleported just in time, reappearing a few feet further. He turned around, and saw a mountain of ice in the shape of his teammates. But when he looked up, his heart skipped a beat.

There she was. Angel. She stood motionless, like an action figure on a shelf. Her skin blue. Her eyes having lost their glow.

Kyd closed his eyes. He had lost her again.

He heard the sound of a machine. The floor underneath him moved. He felt smoke pouring down onto his head. It felt cold. The cold engulfed his head. His entire body. He couldn't open his eyes anymore. He couldn't speak anymore, even if he wanted to. The world was black.

The cold made its way to his heart. The world was no longer black. It was simply… gone.

Everything was gone.

oo0O0oo

A/N: Don't worry, everything will turn out fine… or will it? Also, I hope I didn't shock you too much with Kyd's backstory. I will dive further into it in the future.

Yes, I over-analyzed every shot from the fight to see where Kyd was and with whom he was fighting. And it was an excuse to re-watch the episode, because damn… the part after Robin says 'Let's finish this' and you have the epic orchestra version of the theme song… It has literally made me cry on multiple occasions. Just an epicness overload.

Reviews are appreciated!