Teen Titans: One of Four Elements

by NeoNazo356

Five teenagers, never meant to meet, are inevitably brought together when a wayward girl from another world crashes down in Jump. After fending off an alien invasion, not fighting as six heroes, but as one team, an ex-sidekick, an extraterrestrial, a changeling, a cyborg, a mage, and a vagabond inexplicably find what they didn't know they were even looking for: Family.

21. The HIVE Academy Deception

Yo, sorry about not updating in so long, but thing's have been busy on my end, what with finals, and of course there's the holidays coming up and my new XBOX Elite that I'll only be able to play for so long. But anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. This one's a bit of a doozie, and I mean a DOOOOOOOOOOZIE, so I hope it's well worth the wait. I've got the next chapter lined up as well, so I hope you enjoy my dual-update. Enjoy!

---

It was late at night, and the Bank of Pérez was quiet, as all the workers had left. Being one of the premier banking agencies in the city, Pérez not only held the city's gold reserve, but also a portion of the safety deposit boxes and saving accounts for people from all across the city. That used to not be a problem, since they had the best security money could buy, and had 24/7 guard. Or should I say had 24/7 guard, since the place was currently empty. Or so you'd think.

"Move it, slug-crunchers! We're running outta time!" Gizmo cried out as Jinx eyed a rather large jewel in one hand.

"I could use a hand here!" Mammoth cried as he tried to lift an entire rack of gold bars. Yeah… not really one of his smartest moves, given the thing weighed several metric tons, and only a guy like Superman could actually lift the damn thing.

"How 'bout a foot?" someone asked, the oversized thief looking toward the vault door, only for a metal foot to paste itself across his chin, propelling him across the full length of the room and crashing into the far wall, Gizmo and Jinx looking up to see the Teen Titans standing at the vault door.

Damn. We must've tripped one of the silent alarms or something, Jinx huffed as she stuffed the chain around her neck into her pocket. No use in giving that up just because it got yanked off in a fight. And really, only someone stupid wouldyank it off and discard it for no reason.

"Titans! Go!" Robin shouted as the six charged, Jinx and Mammoth charging forward. Off to the side, Gizmo pressed a button on his chest control panel before several holographic doppelgangers appeared all around him, which began flying in all directions like insects and dodging attacks from Robin, Starfire, and Ventus. As Robin swung his staff at one and Hawk-BB flew after another one, Mammoth suddenly somersaulted in to throw a killer punch at Robin, who flipped out of the way in the nick of time. However, the impact on the concrete floor sent a shockwave towards Raven, who put up a shield to defend herself. When she took it down however, she got caught by one of Jinx's hexbolts and was sent flying. Intercepting her in mid-air, Vent caught her, a grin pulling at his face before more hexbolts were sent at the ceiling, the brunette blasting the bulk of the debris back into the air for a few moments before flying off, Cy firing his sonic cannon to back them up.

"Three raids in one week? Man, this is seriously getting old!" Cy shouted as he ran to avoid getting brained by a falling stone.

"The HIVE Academy's new leader must be up to something," Robin said smashing some debris with his staff before dodging a punch from Mammoth.

"And wouldn't you like to know?" Jinx asked as she prepared a new hex, a starbolt to the back laying her out.

"Yes, we would!" Star said strongly, eyes and hands ablaze as she began hurling Tamaranean knuckle balls, the pinkette nimbly skipping away. At the same time on a balcony up above, Gizmo was digging through safety deposit boxes as the others fought, having escaped notice with the use of his holo-clones.

"Sweet! This crud should be worth a mint!" the tiny terror cackled.

"Yo. Mind if I borrow these?" Vent asked from over Gizmo's shoulders before he began grabbing at the front of his jumpsuit.

"Ah! Hey! Quit it you gaz-muncher!" Gizmo cried as he flailed around, finding his chest bare a few seconds later, and his suit'scontrollers in the hands of the wind-spewing scum-licker. Feeling twin jets of hot air on the back of his head later, he warily turned around to see a green and black velociraptor staring at- "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" "CRUUUUUUUUUUD!" the tiny terror cried as he made a break for it, finding it considerably difficult without the use of his tech. I really need to come up with a better system, he thought, this being the second time this has happened.

Thankfully, or at least not for Beast Boy, a section of the balcony railing blew up in his face, the dust clearing to show him dazed and drooling amid the wreckage, Mammoth idly tossing a small stone in his hand. A moment later however, he was rammed away by Cyborg and slid toward the vault door. Before he could do more however, a powerful magnetic force exerted itself on Cyborg, pulling him up to the ceiling to show a large horseshoe magnet attached to the ceiling.

"Oh, you did not just do WHAT I THINK YOU DID!-!" Cy roared out, face bright red and veins throbbing all around him.

"Check it out! The world's dumbest magnet!" Gizmo cackled from his place on Mammoth's shoulder.

"Says the guy who got control-jacked twice! Hahahahaha!" Vent cackled swinging the controllers over his head like a bolo before letting them fly, the hardware twirling through the air before it wrapped Gizmo up, Mammoth catching him and tucking him under his arm like a Christmas ham before he ran off.

"Yo!" Cyborg roared as he got back to the floor, magnet still on his back as the three of them ran off. "Nobody pulls a science fair on me and gets away with it!"

"It's okay, Cyborg," Robin said holding them back, the HIVE getting away with nothing of real value that night. "We'll see them again, sooner then they think," he said pulling out his Comm., showing that the bug he planted on Jinx was doing its job. Really, I'd think by now people would actually check themselves for those kind of things. Of course I didn't so… Robin trailed off to himself.

---

The following morning back in the Tower, after everyone had gotten a good night's sleep –something Robin was secretly thankful to Vent for after "disposing" of Puppet King-, the group was huddled in front of the main monitor in the Ops Center, a close-up on the map showing a HIVE insignia flashing on the screen.

"Tracking device?" Beast Boy asked, as though that weren't already implied. "Veeeery sneaky. Looks like the HIVE's secret headquarters isn't secret anymore."

"So, what's our next move?" Raven asked boredly. If three HIVE kids were bad, even after the advances they'd made since their first defeat, she knew a whole school of them would be worse. Going in as they were, with no intell, would be like trying to peel an onion with a chainsaw. To bring the place down, they needed a surgeon's precision.

"We need to know what they're planning first. Otherwise we could walk right into a trap," Robin said lacing his fingers together.

"Do I hear an undercover assignment coming on?" Beast Boy asked with ears a-burning. "Lucky for you guys, I happen to be a master of disguise," he said as he transformed into a monkey, kangaroo, and then a mongoose. All of which were-

"Green," Raven said plainly.

"Yeah, a green mongoos will really blend in," Vent said with a voice laced in sarcasm.

"Sorry, Beast Boy. I was thinking of someone with a slightly better disguise," Robin stated.

"What're you gonna do?" Beast Boy asked. "Dress Cyborg up like a washing machine?" he asked thumping Cyborg's shoulder, the titanium teen falling backward to the floor a moment later stiff as a board, causing Beast Boy to scream and leap straight up, clinging to it in the form of a small lizard.

"That isn't me," Cy said as he came into the room, standing next to the Cyborg laid out on the floor. "That's my fully robotic replacement," he said as he made it stand, a wireless XBOX 360 controller with an attached screen at the top in his hands. "Not nearly as charming, but he can bench-press a bus."

"With or without people in it?" Vent saw fit to ask.

"A normal afternoon's payload, give or take the heavy-set tourist," Cyborg answered.

"Boo-yah!" Robot Cyborg suddenly boo-yad'd before his head popped off on a spring. If it were a semi-serrated length of metal, it would've been like a Rock'em Sock'em Robot.

"He… still has a few bugs to work out," Cy said rubbing the back of his head.

"No fair! I may be all green, but he's half metal! How come he gets to go?" Beast Boy asked after coming down from the ceiling.

"Because I have a new toy," Cy answered, practically beaming before he brought out two chrome-plated rings, blue stones in each one. He then pulled his arms apart before banging his fists together knuckle to knuckle, a great flash fo light issuing from the rings, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Once the glare cleared away, they all saw a largely-built brown-skinned teen with blue shorts clad in a white muscle shirt, topped with a bald scalp. It only took a few seconds, but the rings on the figure's fingers confirmed that it was-

"Cyborg?" Beast Boy gaped.

"A holographic generator!" Star awed.

"Woah. You look-"

"-unplugged," Raven said finishing Vent's sentence, honestly quite surprised by the change.

"Nice work. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were just normal," Robin said in awe.

"Um… thanks," Cy said a bit surprised, Vent tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose at Robin's lack of tact before something dawned on him. Dashing to the kitchen, he grabbed a refrigerator magnet and tossed it in his hand a few times before chucking it through the air. "Think fast!" he called out, Cy raising his arms before the green monkey magnet found home on his arm with a low -clang-. "Just like I thought. You look human, but magnets will still get to you," the brunette noted, the magnet eating away at the holographic field on the teen's arm, revealing what lay underneath.

"It isn't perfect, but it still works," Robin said with crossed arms. "Cy just needs to stay away from anything that'll disrupt the cloaking field, and he'll be good to go."

"Maybe, but somehow that isn't good enough," Vent said crossing his arms and closing his eyes, adopting a thinking pose before his eyes snapped open, a ! mark appearing above his head before he said- "I'm going to HIVE Academy too!" he suddenly declared catching everyone off-guard. "If Cy here gets caught, he'll need someone to back him up, and even if it doesn't come to that, networking will still be important if this infiltration mission is going to work. It means the difference between success and failure in these kind of things."

"Um, while I'm glad you're showing this much enthusiasm, you don't really have that much of a disguise you can use," Robin stated. "Plus your powers would be too recognizable."

"Hey, throwing wind around isn't the only thing I'm good for," Vent returned as he pulled out a short staff, extending into a full-length bo staff a second later.

"Hey! That's my bo-UWAGH!" Robin said looking to his belt, only to be cut off as the length of metal literally knocked his feet out from under him, the end pointed at his nose a moment later as he lay flat on his back.

"Now then, you were saying?" Vent asked, an unfamiliar edge in his voice, almost like he'd "shifted" personalities again. This one was a snide, scathing, but skilled and rightfully-confident. Sort of like an Anti-Robin if you will. Like from one of Beast Boy's crackpot theories.

"I was still saying your features are too recognizable. And Cyborg doesn't have another pair of those rings for you to use," the Boy Wonder returned as he got to his feet. I didn't even feel him reach for my belt. How'd he get to my short staff? he asked feeling the empty slot on his belt.

"And who says we need technology to solve all our problems?" the wind-manipulater asked lacing his fingers behind his head. "I was thinking more along… the arcane," he said as his eyes drifted to Raven, a smile on his face as all eyes landed on her, the purplette looked to the sides before saying-

"Who, me?" she asked pointing to herself, seeing as how she was the one he was referring to.

---

"You want me to change the color of your eyes and hair?" Raven asked. "With magic?"

"If you can," Vent returned as he and Raven walked towards the latter's room. "Those holographic generators may be useful, but one EMP burst or even a fridge magnet and he's hosed. Magic on the other hand is something out of technology's hands to manipulate or cancel, so this will be a better solution. If there is one there is."

"I suppose that's true," Raven returned. The only way to effectively fight magic was with other magic, or to directly affect the magic's medium, be it a person or object. Jinx's magic was the only confirmed factor at the moment that could cancel out whatever changes were made, but since it was a school, it was unlikely one student would actually attack another. Maybe get in a scuffle, but as long as the brunette didn't do anything to earn her ire, that wouldn't be a problem. "I have something in an old grimoire of mine. Something to change a person's appearance short to long-term. At the least, it'll be that way for a week. Give or take a few days."

"Any longer in HIVE and Cy and I may become actual students," the brunette chuckled as he now stood before Raven's opened door. "Are you letting me in your room?" he asked, since no one went into her room.

"It's fine, and besides, this is where I keep my ingredients," Raven said simply, the brunette following her into the room, door closing behind her as Raven leafed through her shelves until finding a book with what looked like an alchemic circle on it. "Take a seat. I'll have to brush up on this otherwise the effects could be disastrous," she then said, the brunette sitting on her bed as she walked over to her desk and grabbed a few pieces of chalk, her mind absorbing the formulas in the grimoire as she willed the chalk to form a perfect circle on the floor. After reading through the pages for a few seconds, a satisfied smirk graced her lips as she closed the book, adding designs into the center of the circle, these being plant-based. "Alright. This spell is partially alchemic. The circle shouldn't be disturbed, so why don't you lay on your back and wait until I return. I need to get a few fresh ingredients," she said as she vanished into the shadows, Vent nodding as he tentatively walked over to the circle before laying down on his back.

Hmmm… The coloring of my eyes is pretty rare. I guess that'll have to change first, Vent thought to himself. I'll also have to change out my hair, just for good measure. The less relatable I am to… me, the better.

"Hi there!" a voice suddenly said, causing the brunette to jump up and see… Raven in pink.

"Um… Hello Raven. Why the pink all of a sudden?" the brunette asked.

"Cause, it's my favorite color," the girl said happily.

"Wait… You're Raven's happiness aren't you?" he asked, the pink-clad girl nodding. "How about I just call you Joy. Better than the name of a winged cat, am I right?"

"Aye!" the pink-clad mage returned, making Vent wonder if that was coincidence or not.

"So um… Aren't you supposed to… I don't know… be in Raven's head or something?" he asked, since Raven had just left to get ingredients for... whatever it was she'd be doing to him.

"Raven Prime subconsciously releases a constant stream of magic from her body. With this place saturated in it, it is possible for us to gain corporeal form, if only for a time," another voice said, Vent turning around to see a yellow-clad Raven with glasses. "Hello, I am Raven's knowledge. We haven't met before."

"Yeah. Only ones I met were Joy, Lonely, and Brave," Vent returned. "Speaking of which, how are they?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself, hahaha," Brave said coming out of nowhere, wrapping and arm around his neck and giving him a noogie.

"Okay where are you all coming from?" he then asked.

"We all… come from the mirror," the grey-clad mage then said, though with a ghost of a smile on her features as she held up the demonic mirror, glowing red with black concentric rings. "It's only for a time, but we'd like to talk to you about something."

"Of course. What is it?" Vent asked.

"Well, Raven Prime won't admit it, but she's genuinely worried about you," Lonely stated. "You've always been there for her, and aside from Star, you might be the best friend she's ever had. So please, come back safely," she explained, feeling the brunette's hand on her head ruffling her hair a moment later, causing her to flush pink for a half-second.

"Hey, don't worry you guys. I'm not going anywhere," Vent said with a smile. "So, is that all you needed to say?"

"For the most part, yes," Knowledge stated adjusting her glasses. "Also, try not to tell Raven about us being able to gain corporeal form, otherwise she may try to suppress her emotions further."

"You know, all of you guys fused with Raven when that big troll guy was running around her mindscape. Why not be like that all the time?" he asked. "I mean, you're all parts of a greater whole. If you're all together, wouldn't that mean she could feel emotion without fear of a magical runoff? Or something?"

Knowledge was about to say something against that, but shut her mouth when she realized the brunette had a point there.

"I will have to think on it," Knowledge said. "But you have to understand, the mindscape and the real world are run by different rules. In there was only a representation."

"But you could fuse with her in increments couldn't you?" he asked. "You know, Joy and Raven Prime could merge for a bit so she could laugh when she wants to, and Brave could join in when she needs a little courage."

"Heck yeah!" the dark green-clad mage whooped.

"Raven Prime is coming back," Knowledge stated as the four Emoticlones headed for the mirror. "Remember, do not tell her about us just yet. We will try and work something out on our own."

"Okay you guys. Take care," Vent said as the four vanished into the mirror, Raven coming into the room a moment later from another portal.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked, carrying a box in her hands.

"Myself," he answered plainly. "So, what ingredients did you get?"

"I picked up a few roses for you to choose from. The book said either a rose or any other flower would work, but I went with the roses for the best results," Raven stated, a little nervous about using magic to change a person's appearance.

"Well let me see," Vent said as Raven handed him the box, the brunette opening it up to see the tops of differently-colored roses within. There were varying shades of red, white, pink, yellow, orange, black, and blue. "Maybe yellow for my hair, blue for the eyes," he said after looking them over.

"Alright," she said pulling out a two vials of water from her cloak, along with a basin. Taking the blue rose, she plucked the petals before grinding them up with her magic, funneling them into one vial before capping it and shaking it, the mixture glowing white for a moment as she chanted before the mixture turned a cerulean color. "Here. Drink," she said holding it out to him, the brunette nodding as he uncapped the mixture and downed it all in a single gulp. For a moment nothing happened, but then his eyes suddenly clamped shut, a slight burning sensation taking place before they opened, crimson eyes turning purple before the red bled out in the form of tears and his eyes cerulean. "Are you alright," she asked as she wiped the reddened tears from his eyes, which closely resembled blood. She didn't want to have hurt him with her "magical makeover" as Star would so aptly put it were she there.

"Yeah… Just a little stinging I guess. Must mean it worked," he answered blinking his eyes a few times. "Now, how do I change the hair?"

"Place your head in the basin," she said placing the grey basin on the floor at the top of the circle, Vent adjusting himself so his head touched the bottom of the basin, circle beneath him glowing as Raven poured the second vial into it before she began plucking the yellow rose petals and began tossing them into the water around him, a serene look gracing his features as he allowed his eyes to close. Chanting some more, the circle beneath him began to glow, and the rose petals dissolving into the water turning it golden. After a few seconds, the water had become clear once again, and Ventus' hair, now spread out beneath him, was colored a bright yellow like the sun. "There, it's done," she said waking him up. When the now-blond turned to face her, it was as though she were looking at an entirely different person. Must've been the reason he wanted to use magic for his disguise instead of science. After all, an EMP blast may fry Cy's rings, if not all of him, but magic was mostly unaffected by tech weapons.

"How do I look?" he asked running his fingers through his hair.

"You look… nice," Raven answered, feeling her cheeks heat up for a few seconds.

"Alright," he said getting up and looking in the mirror, taking note of the changes present. "Hmmm… Raven, do you think you could cut my hair too?"

"You want me to cut your hair?" Raven asked quizzically.

"Yeah. If I go in blond with shoulder-length hair, I may still be recognized despite my eyes being cerulean. That's why I'm going the whole 9 yards," Vent stated with crossed legs. "Besides, I trust you completely. I know whatever style you cut it in will be fine."

"Very well then. I'll do my best," Raven stated, a little proud that the brunette had placed this much trust in her. Maybe it was because of their bonding during the Red X incident, or maybe their time together in her mind. With the Azar monks, she had been taught not only about the arcane, but stuff like cutting one's own hair with a degree of accuracy due to their lifestyle. To cut Ventus' would be simple, and as she cut the blond lochs off, she noticed them turn back to brown, showing how effective the magic actually was, yet at the same time wasn't. "Vent… Be careful," she said as she chopped away at the hair around his ears.

"Don't worry Raven. I'll come back. I promise," he said with a grin, the mage nodding as she continued to cut his hair.

---

Undercover – Day 1

The following morning, HIVE Academy-students of various forms were carrying lunch trays and eating lunch. The school was mostly yellow hexagonal panels with black outlines, the HIVE Academy emblem presented proudly on the wall. Cyborg, currently incognito, was now donned in a dark gray T-shirt and black pants, as well as steel wrist bracelets and belt, a matching headband that angled down to touch the bridge of his nose on his head. At the moment Cy was carrying a lunch tray and trying to act incognito, only to suddenly find everyone there –a Bee-themed girl who he thought may've been the school mascot included- staring at him. Hoping to salvage the situation and hopefully blend in, he quickly plastered a big friendly smile across his face before inhaling the food's aroma.

"Ahh, sloppy joes. Just like the mad scientist who created me used to make!" he said, the other HIVE students giving him another funny look before turning back to their own conversations. Sighing to himself at now having bowled himself out on day one, he found an empty table and sat down. He was about to lift the sandwich to his mouth, however-

"You're in my seat," a deep voice said, the dark-skinned teen turning up to see none other than Mammoth and Gizmo standing around him. He hoped his disguise was effective as he thought it was, otherwise they would likely be the first ones to bust him.

"Hey, newbie. This is our table. What do you think you're doing here?" Gizmo asked, giving off no indicator he saw through the disguise.

"He looks familiar," Jinx said coming into the conversation, Cy fearing the worst before she said- "Did you go to Darkway Prep?"

"What's your name, punk?" Mammoth asked.

"Probably something lame," Gizmo chuckled. "Oh, let me guess. Snot Man? No, wait. Captain Nose Picker."

"Do you even have any powers?" Jinx asked.

"I'm hungry," Mammoth said taking the sandwich out of the disguised Cy's hand before downing it in one bite. "Get lost!"

"Yeah, scum. Take a hike," Gizmo said as he slid a silver disk with his insignia on it under his chair, the disguised teen blinking in surprise as it began to beep, suddenly launching him toward the ceiling by a spring-loaded boxing clove. Crashing down onto a table, he slid along its edge until he fell off the end, everyone else laughing themselves silly over the prank, Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx the most so of all. Getting to his feet, the disguised Cy's face showed all the emotion of a plate of cream corn –which was ironic since that was what was for lunch that day-, a soft snarl and throbbing forehead vein bringing that stoicism to a very quick end before he brought his rings together. In a roving flash of light, his flesh began to rapidly turn to stone, the rings and steel accessories remaining in place, as did his black pants and blue boots. Before anyone could gawk, his fist came down onto the end of the three's apparent table, shaking it like a tidal wave and causing the whole thing, as well as the chairs, to topple. However, the shockwave didn't stop there, but continued across the ground past the table's end after it met the floor, blowing out a piece of the column in one corner of the room. Seeing as how they were all struck dumbfounded, the disguised Cy decided to introduce himself, his voice with a new and menacing edge to it.

"My name is Stone, and it looks like you need to find a new table," the now-known Stone said coldly, Gizmo laughing nervously since he'd pretty much just cheesed off a guy who could match Mammoth in terms of strength.

"Not bad," Mammoth said crossing his arms, cementing Gizmo's worries.

"Let's just see how he does in combat practice," Jinx said rolling her shoulders as she placed her hands on her hips, the left side of her mouth curled up in a smile.

"Yo, rock head. I was about to sit there," a voice said from behind him. Turning around, the stone-bodied Teen then asked-

"Who're you?" Stone asked with a cocky grin

"The name's Tempest, and I do believe you'd smashed the table I was about to sit at," the other teen spoke dryly. He had short spiky blond hair jutting out in all directions with a few lochs hanging over his deep cerulean eyes. He had slightly-tanned skin and an athletic, well-muscled figure. He wore black baggy pants bound below the knees with white socks that laced beneath the instep of the black open-toed heelless sandals on his feet, and a trio of rounded triangular black-armored plates with round bolts on his hips. He had a black shirt that hugged his body tightly with likewise armor plates down the sides of his biceps, the shirt tightening around his forearms but hanging loosely off his biceps, and completely black gloves on his hands. Around his neck and flowing down his back was a dark green scarf hanging down to the backs of his knees. Put a few whisker marks on him and he could pass himself off as Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto Uzumaki wearing pre-Akatsuki Tobi's clothing, hitae-ate absent.

"Oh? And whatcha goin' to do about it tough guy?" Cy goaded, the now-blond smirking before he casually tossed his lunch tray into the air. Looking up, Stone felt his opponent grab his shoulder with his right hand, kicked his foot out from under him with his left foot, and threw him up and over his shoulder. Before his head could hit the ground like he suspected, the blond-haired teen suddenly delivered a spinning kick to his sternum, sending him flying across the room.

"That," he answered plainly as his opponent crashed into the wall, extending his hand and catching the tray he tossed in the air, then catching the falling contents as Stone fell flat on his face like Spider-Man did when hegot his superpowers.

"Maybe I'll recant that last statement and redirect it to this new guy," Jinx stated with crossed arms. Whoever the guy was, was wicked strong, and it was most likely that his muscle mass was toned down through stretching to keep his frame from bulking out.

"Impressive moves. Who was your teacher?" another figure asked as he came up to the group, the others turning to a third mysterious teen who stepped out from the shadows.

"Great, it's the teacher's pet," Gizmo groaned. "What do you want scum-licker?"

"Just introducing myself to the new muscle," the next teen stated evenly. "By the way my name's Grant. No supervillain name just yet. What's yours?" he asked extending his hand. He was between Stone and Tempest in terms of height, and while he sounded a bit green, his outfit showed he may've been taking his lifestyle choice seriously. He was wearing a black jumpsuit over his upper body, but his head, chest, and left arm were all covered in a chainmail-like mesh that was smooth around his head and scaly around his chest and arm, the lower half of his face revealed showing strong yet smooth features, red lenses over his eyes. He had chainmail-mesh shorts over the rest of his black jumpsuit, and gold-colored boots on his feet that stopped just above his knees. Around his waist was a matching belt that would make most think of Batman's, gloves with segmented armor on his forearms, and a bullet magazine with a currently unidentifiable caliber strapped across his chest.

"Tempest," the blond said not taking the hand, a bit of an edge to his voice. "As for who taught me, that's personal information," he said crossing his arms, seemingly taking offense to being expected to answer a second time.

"Easy, easy, no need to get dramatic," Grant said waving his hands in an easing motion after awkwardly retracting the handshake he extended. "I was just curious is all."

"Didn't curiosity kill the cat?" Mammoth then asked.

"A smart cat knows how to not get killed," Grant returned.

"Maybe, but no matter how smart something is, they still leave a mess on the ground when you kill them," Tempest said with a dark grin. True, threats were thrown around HIVE all the time, but with the way he was smiling, it almost looked like the blond would carry though on his word.

Man… Who knew Vent was so strong… Oooogh, Stone/Cy groaned as he got to his feet. Oh well. At least no one busted us.

---

A half-hour later, Stone found himself in a large gymnasium that was themed like the rest of the school. At the top of the chamber was a large honeycomb-decorated hemisphere of semi-clear glass, a few columns standing here and there, with a balcony running around the perimeter. Several panels had been removed behind it to created a dark recess, and while Tempest was up in the bleachers with the other students, he himself was at ground level with Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx, apparently having been singled out by the three.

Alright, so far so good, Cy thought to himself. Vent and I got in here without any complications, and while he seems to be taking this mission a little too seriously for my tastes, at least he's networking.

His thoughts however were soon interrupted as a buzzer went off, the floor rumbling as the floor section he and the others were standing on suddenly ground upward.

"Gamma Maneuver!" Jinx said as she suddenly leapt down, followed by Gizmo on his metal wings.

"Hold on! I don't know that-"

"Then get out of the way!" Mammoth said cutting Stone off after shoving him aside, leaping down before the newest student –or at least one of- shook the confusion off his face and joined in the charge, suddenly stopping shorts as four black-and-white HIVE robots –the same model as from when Robin was unmasked as Red X- rose from beneath the floor.

And from there the training exercise went on. Stone got held up by the Sladebot drones, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo counting him out of the race as they pushed forward, only to be captured by mechanical tentacles moments later. To the other's surprise, Stone managed to beat back the robots, slice the tentacles, and knock out the turrets before getting them to their feet, heading off to the finish line at the other end of the gym on a raised platform. After the buzzers went off, Stone cheered exhuberantly, but was cut off by Gizmo saying-

"Zip it, gravel-brain!"

"You! Stone!" a regal-looking man with slicked back gray hair wearing a white robe with gold and black accents resembling a skull bellowed as he came down to them on a floating platform. "Sneaking into my school. Destroying my drones. Making my top students look like amateur pickpockets! You must think you're very clever," he said getting in Stone's face. "But you're not clever," he said causing Stone to back up into the wall, fearing the worst fate possible before the man's expression suddenly brightened. "You're brilliant! Well done, Mr. Stone, well done. I see a bright future ahead of you," he said with a smile, causing Stone to sigh before speaking up.

"Thanks. Uh… great school you have here, Mr., uh…"

"Blood. Brother Blood," he introduced with a handshake. "At your service," he said before his smile evaporated, the man turning over his shoulder at Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth. "As for you three… FAILURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!" he bellowed as his eyes glowed bright red. Whether that was because he was livid or not had yet to be determined. "YOU WERE ALREADY SENT BACK AFTER GRADUATING ONCE! FAIL ME AGAIN, AND I'LL HAVE YOU SENT TO YOUR DOOM!" he bellowed before composing himself. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked, the three's eyes glowing before they plainly answered-

"Yes, Brother."

"Outstanding," he said before turning to the bleachers. "As for you, and you know who you are, don't think I didn't notice your little stunt in the cafeteria this morning," he said to the blond teen in the stands as everyone scooched away from him.

"Who? Me?" he asked feigning innocence.

"Deny all you want, but I know you snuck in as well. Suppose it just means I'll have to get security updated if not one, but two students can enter this academy without my immediate knowledge," he stated in a tone that said he was more disappointed in himself and the school than he was in the blond. "Now,Mr. Tempest, I do believe a more… individual test is in order," the man said before turning to the far side of the bleachers. "Cheshire, step down to the floor. I want to see if his skill in the cafeteria was a fluke or not."

"Hai, Blood-sensei," a lithe girl in kunoichi garb said hopping down before somersaulting back into the middle of the gymnasium, all platforms and obstacles lowered so the space was completely flat. Her attire consisted of a green kimono with light green trim along the edges, her sleeves long enough to cover her hands, while the bottom was cut short enough it could be considered a skirt, showing off a well-developed set of legs. Wrapped tightly around her waist was a light-green obi showing off a near-hourglass figure, she had black boots with green trim that stopped just below her knees, her long ebony hair was tied down in two long ponytails tied at the bottom with light green ribbons. Most interesting though was the white cat-like mask that covered all of her face, light green diamond-shaped eyes lined with black lines and pink highlights to the sides, black and pink highlights above serving as eyebrows, a pair of pointed cat ears jutting upward, and a large Cheshire cat smile on her face denoting her name.

"Eh, looks like I'm busted," Tempest said with a shrug of his shoulders before he hunched down, leaping twenty feet in the air before landing in the center of the stage, clearly surprising both Cheshire and Blood with the feat, though they quickly hid it. "Very well then, Neko-chan. Let us have a good fight," the blond said with a bow as he faced his opponent, the girl assuming a crouched stance as he assumed a martial arts stance of his own.

"Heh, Blood pitted him against Cheshire. He's going to get creamed," Gizmo chuckled darkly as he and the others got back to the bleachers.

"What makes you say that?" Stoneasked with a raised brow.

"Cheshire's the best fighter in the school, period. No way will she lose to this guy," a black girl with her hair done up in buns wearing a bee-themed outfit said with crossed arms.

"Hiya!" Cheshire cried as she leapt at her opponent in a flying kung fu kick, only for the blond to catch her ankle, swing her over his head, and slam her into the yellow-tiled floor. Wrenching her ankle free, she flipped away from her blond opponent to see him actually yawn, almost as if he was dismissing her.

"Ooh. You know he's dead," Jinx said flinching.

"Why's that?" Stone asked.

"Cheshire hates it when anyone dismisses her. Especially men, and the fact that Temp's dressed like a ninja is only adding insult to injury," the pinkette returned.

"Ever consider maybe he really is a ninja?" Stone asked.

"Eh, villains dress up in all sorts of weird crap," Gizmo huffed. "Really, spikes and capes? That stuff's just stupid."

And with that the two fought, varying acrobatics exchanged between them as they struck out at one another, blows being deflected away from one another as to not take the full brunt. It was after maybe five to ten minutes that the two separated, catching their breaths before they spoke up.

"Hmhm. You're good, but this cat has claws," Cheshire said as her sleeves fell back, a set of gleaming silver claws set onto her forearms and gleaming menacingly.

"Dude! She just brought her claws out. Wicked!" Gizmo cackled.

"Do they really make that much of a difference?" Stone asked.

"You kidding? She only uses those things on someone with real skill, and so far she's only used them against Brother Blood. Almost won a few times too," Jinx noted.

"Heh, you're not the only one with a trick up your sleeve," Tempest said with a grin as he flicked his wrist, a silver-colored disc sliding into the palm of his hand just above his thumb. Cheshire regarded the hidden weapon for a moment, but quickly rushed at the unmoving Tempest as he stared lazily at her. However to hers and everyone else's shock, she was suddenly sent flying backwards as the blond flicked his thumb, a streak of silver shooting through the air before impacting her forehead, sending her reeling backwards and rolling across the ground. Coming to a stop with her claws, a low metallic sound like –shri-i-i-i-i-i-ing- echoed from just in front of her, her green eyes landing on-

"A nickel?" Blood pondered aloud as he observed the five-cent piece of currency come to a stop on the floor, noticing the slight dent in Cheshire's mask. Were she not wearing it, that could've very well given her a concussion.

"You've got your tricks, I've got mine," Tempest said with a grin as he flicked his wrist again, another nickel sliding into his palm before he primed it just above his thumb. Growling to herself, Cheshire rushed forward, the blond flicking another nickel at her. This time however she deflected it with her claws, one student ducking underneath its trajectory before it impacted into the wall behind him, cracks spreading from the point of impact. Beginning to back up, Tempest continued to launch nickels off his thumb as Cheshire both deflected and weaved between the projectiles, nearly upon him before he flicked his wrist once more, a quarter falling into his palm this time. "Say hello to Mr. Washington," he said before flicking his thumb again, a loud -BOOM- ringing through the air before the quarter impacted Cheshire's sternum, actually knocking her out of the air and to the ground, clutching her chest before she got to her feet.

"Rakansen… Chinese art of hidden-weapon coin-throwing," Cheshire huffed out as she rubbed the sore spot forming just above her chest, ignoring the guys in the audience drooling at the sight. She'd punish them for their insolence later. "Tell me… Where'd you learn it?"

"Saw it in a manga, thought I'd give it a try," the blond answered plainly, everyone giving him exasperated looks before the kunoichi only said-

" . . . Nani?" she asked tilting her head to the side slightly, wondering if she'd heard that correctly or not.

"You heard me right," he said as he began untying his scarf. "Of course that isn't the only thing from a manga that's actually useful in real life," he said before suddenly throwing the end of his scarf forward, the dark green cloth shooting through the air before the end wrapped tightly around her ankle, the kunoichi looking up at him in shock before he gave the article a jerk, dropping her to her back with a -thud-. Before she could cut it however, the blond gave it another tug as she leaned forward, dropping her on her butt once more and taking away her leverage. Seeing how he wasn't going to give her the chance to cut it with her claws, her hand retreated into her sleeve before she whipped out a dulled kunai and flung it through the air, aiming for the teen's right shoulder. To her surprise however the teen whipped his scarf around the weapon, twirling it around behind him before sending it back at her, the blunted weapon bouncing off the ground just after she somersaulted out of the way. "The infamous Cloth Spear technique. Oh-so satisfying to implement in real life," he said running his fingers through his hair.

I must say, Mr. Tempest puts a bit of an… artistic flair in his fighting. Just the thing to upset the typical uptight superhero, Blood thought as he watched the fight with interest. He didn't get to where he was without spotting talent, and both Tempest and Stone had that in spades. As for potential, that was yet to be seen.

"By the way, not to criticize on your attire, but…" Tempest trailed off before the end of his scarf shot through the air and wrapped around Cheshire's waist. "You should consider something more practical in lieu of an obi," he said after jerking it back, the girl spinning a few times before her light green sash was in his hand, her own immediately going to cover her decency, though a few got a glimpse of her bandage-bound chest and white panties.

"E-E-E-E-Ero b-baka!" she cried as she got into a flawed fighting style with one hand, her other keeping her robe closed. Normally she'd be far more composed by this, but her opponent getting under her skin and the "Take it off!" from the crowd weren't doing wonders for her concentration.

"Maybe, but this ero baka is still winning," Tempest said with a cheeky grin before he held out some of the obi, waving it about like one would to a cat. This of course seemed to raise the girl's ire, as she rushed at him with the clear attempts to claw his face off. During the scuffle, of which Tempest had yet to get a scratch on him, he had let the obi slip out of his hand, Cheshire plucking it out of the air before it could touch the ground, wrapping it tightly around her waist. "What? No thank you?" the blond then asked.

"Jeez he just does not know when to quit does he?" Jinx asked as the kunoichi was fuming, no, fuming! Rushing at him, the blond's eyes suddenly grew cold before he twirled around on his left foot, and just as Cheshire was about to go past him, his left elbow suddenly found home in her stomach with a low -thud-, his right elbow then going into her back with a low -crack- as she was sent into the ground with another -thud-, the other students going- "Ooooooooooooh!" –as they visibly cringed once the girl hit the ground.

"Alright… you've got to admit… that was pretty cool," Mammoth said while the others had slack jaws. Here was the top fighter in the school, and she was getting her butt handed to her by one of the new guys.

"While this has been entertaining and all, I don't feel comfortable fighting you any longer," Tempest said as he began walking away, Cheshire groaning as she held her aching stomach, though her mask's eyes seemed to narrow upon his retreating back.

"Well, seeing as how Mr. Tempest has won," Blood began.

"Ie… mada…" Cheshire spoke getting up as she warily got to her feet, not wanting to step out of this room without causing some form of damage to the brunette, evident by her bringing out three shuriken in each hand, bringing her arms back before launching them at the blond. He looked over his shoulder as they came at him, the teen whirling around on his foot before he delivered a palm strike towards the incoming projectiles, a gust of compressed air veering them all off course. Cheshire seemed to have accepted her defeat, and while everyone was shocked at the display, someone saw fit to speak up.

"You! You're that windbag Titan Ventus!" Gizmo screeched out of nowhere, causing a few in the audience to raise their eyebrows.

"Come again?" Tempest asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, come to think of it how many other guys can throw wind around?" a one-eyed kid in a white jumpsuit with an eye painted on his chest asked.

Oh man, not even one day and he's already been found out, Cy said to himself. Of course, I thought it'd be me, but this is still bad, he added to himself.

"Let me think…" Tempest said adopting a mock-thinking pose, tapping his chin for a few seconds before answering. "Red Tornado, Mr. Twister, Wind Dragon, the Wind Dragon clones, Silver Cyclone, the wolf from Three Little Pigs."

"Ha. Good one," Mammoth chuckled, only for the looks he was getting from the others to shut him up.

"And I'm sure there are other air-movers I haven't even heard of that are still out there," Tempest went on to say.

"Alright smart guy, you wanna prove you're not a Titan? Do something one of those goody-goodies would never do," Jinx goaded. The hero types would almost never do something immoral, lest it be held against them later and ruin their oh-so precious reputations with the public. Heroes lived for that kinda thing, even if they weren't willing to admit it.

"Alright pinky, you asked for it," he said snapping his fingers. The next moment an updraft swept the room around him, causing the skirts of Jinx, Angel, and Cheshire to flutter upwards for a few seconds, the girls all trying to hold their skirts down until the winds died down. The winds continued for a full minute, most of the girls screeching as they tried to hold their skirts down, only to end up giving every guy in the gym a free show.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You perv! Turn it off! Turn it off!" Jinx screeched trying to keep her skirt from flying up, and failing miserably if the passed out Cyclops was anything to go by.

"Whatever you say," the blond said lowering his arm, the winds stopping, some of the guys moaning, and the girls absolutely livid. "By the way, black, what's the occasion?" he asked in the pinkette's direction, causing her to visibly fume. She was about to hexbolt him into next month only for a stoic Blood from up above to glare down at her, the girl calming down somewhat.

"Just you wait, Tempest. Perverts don't last long around supervillainesses," Jinx said with crossed arms.

"Hey how do you think I feel? 90% of the student body are nothing but dudes. It's like a sausage fest in here," he said pointing out how few of the fairer sex there were.

"Just watch your back boy," Bee huffed, resisting the urge to sting him into next month.

"E-Ero-Kaze!" Cheshire quipped as she walked off keeping her kimono down. Turning around, you could see her blush reaching up to her ears.

"Well…" Blood said as he got up and dusted off the knees of his robe. "I think we've all seen enough. Now move along, it's about time for your next classes," he said leaving the room, everyone gathering their things before heading off in their own groups, leaving a few to converse before heading out.

"Dude, you just pissed off every girl in school," Gizmo muttered in amazement as the blond walked up to them, the door being in their general direction.

"Paaanties," Mammoth drooled quite openly. After all, he was a guy.

"Still think I'm a Titan?" Tempest asked with a raised eyebrow as he raised his fingers in preparation to snap them again.

"Nu-uh," Gizmo and Mammoth answered simultaneously, the now-blond chuckling while the disguised Cy tried to get those images out of his head. While they were tempted to ask again for the fringe benefits, the fury of the school's –admittedly low in comparison- female population would extend up on them as a result.

---

Undercover – Day 2

It was the next morning at the Tower, and Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Robot Cyborg were gathered in front of the TV monitoring all of Cy's communications. Off to the side, BB was screwing with Robo Cy, making him stand one-legged with the other swung out to the side, arms position as if dong the dance in the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" video, a yellow feather boa around the neck with a floppy white hat atop his head.

"Cyborg's communication relay has been deactivated," Starfire said worriedly.

"Could be interference. Let's just give him a minute," Robin stated with crossed arms.

"Besides, who needs him? This Cybogr is way more fun. Hahahahaha," Beast Boy giggled as he messed with the controls, Robo Cy letting out a- "Boo-yah!" –before Raven scowled angrily at him, Robin so mad his face and hair had turned bright red with a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Any chance we could replace Beast Boy with a robot too?" Raven asked darkly. She knew that this undercover mission was going to be anything but short, and with Vent gone, she had no one to blindside Beast Boy for her while she read. Makes me wish Beast Boy had gone. Maybe then I'd be able to have Vent all to myself, she thought to herself before pausing. Wait… Where did that come from?

"Cut it out. I don't think Cyborg would appreciate-" Robin said before.

"Appreciate what?" Stone/Cy suddenly asked from the screen. "The fact that he's already the top butt-kicker in his class?" he asked, though he was leaving out that there were a couple students above him in that regard.

"Cyborg!" Beast Boy cried as he whipped everything off the robot and hid it all behind his back.

"Your infiltration is successful, yes?" Star asked happily.

"You bet. Had a few close calls, though."

"What have you learned?" Robin asked.

"They're working on some kinda class project. Sounds heavy, but no details yet."

"Well, find out and get out," Robin ordered. "The longer you're there, the more dangerous it gets. And be sure to get Vent out of there too."

"Believe me. I don't plan on sticking around," he said before the screen suddenly shifted to the back of his shirt.

---

At the same time back at the Academy, Stone had whipped his forearm behind his back as the doorway opened suddenly, Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth moving towards him.

"Well, what do you know. It's the headmaster's scrum-buffing pet," he said as Stone began to back away. "Get him!"

"Don't bother trying to run," Jinx said with a mirthful grin.

"You won't get far. The whole school is in on it," Mammoth added.

"In on what?" Cy asked.

"What do you think, pie-for-brains?" Gizmo asked before two jointed arms from the unit on his back extended. "Your initiation," he said as Stone saw one held a pink dress, the other a unicycle.

"Ha! That's it?" he asked with a laugh.

"Don't laugh. You have to eat the unicycle," Mammoth said with a grin, Stone's jaw falling slack as a big sweat drop rolled down his temple.

---

Five minutes later, after Stone had been made to eat the unicycle –and he still had no cognitive idea how anyone pulled that off-, he was following Jinx down the hall with textbooks in hand, students and staff alike laughing at him as he passed by. After stewing in his own juices for a few minutes, he suddenly realized something was off.

"Hey! How come Temp isn't wearing this getup?" Stone grumbled as he carried Jinx's books. "I mean, isn't he just as new as I am?"

"Oh we tried to do this to him, but…" the chaos mage trailed off.

Mini-Flashback

"Bring those articles near me again, and I'll siphon the oxygen out of your lungs so fast you won't even know you're brain dead until they've already pulled the plug," the blue-eyed blond threatened menacingly as he released a small wave of killing intent towards them.

Mini-Flashback End

"I'm not gonna mess with a guy who could follow through," Jinx finished with a shudder. That look in his eyes showed her he easily could follow through on that threat.

"Aw blondie doesn't seem so tough," Stone said offhandedly before a blur of bronze impacted his forehead, sending him to the floor and Jinx's books into the air, the last thing he saw being the tail of a dark green scarf fluttering around the corner and disappearing from sight.

"It's a good thing you're cute," Jinx huffed as she collected her books, then sighing as the penny used landed on his forehead. Really, if Temp weren't such a perv, he would've been the ideal boyfriend material, but perverts tended to never stop, and it wasn't like Stone wasn't good-looking per say.

---

Later on in the day was weapon's training, dealing in varying weapons from guns, rifles, beams, lasers, etc. Cy wasn't able to work a stone-shooting cloaking field to cover his sonic cannon, so he had to do this part of his education the old-fashioned way; by hand. It took a while getting used to, but the recoil from the weapons wasn't that much of a problem for him. Or at least not for the weapons that were too big anyhow. His skills with a weapon not built into his arm were mediocre, but mainly because he didn't have the benefit of a whole slew of hardware that could calculate the aiming for him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Tempest wielding a basic energy pistol, showing quite a bit of proficiency with it. He supposed the only reason he wasn't using his Air Bullet/Gun technique was because it would draw too much attention to him. Besides that, the now-blond's shot group was pretty consistent, staying within two to three inches of the intended target.

Looking past him, he saw that Jinx and the kunoichi known as Cheshire –her name truly fitting- were glaring holes in the side of the blond's head while they released their own respective projectiles at their own targets. Jinx was launching hexbolts with less-than-accurate accuracy, while Cheshire threw shuriken and kunai at her own with near-pinpoint accuracy. Given how they were glaring at him, it was obvious they had an axe to grind with him. This axe just happened to have barbed wire wrapped around it. Then again he did cause their skirts to fly up for everyone to see, so that was to be expected. Looking to his left, the red white and blue-clad girl with wings on her back appeared more tempered than the others, though the bumble bee-themed girl named Bumble Bee was giving him nasty looks too.

Still, it is kinda weird that there are only four girls in this whole school, Cy thought to himself as he shot up his target some more, another cardboard target coming down into view. Shooting it up some more, he noticed that the booth to his immediate left was currently empty. Of course there was still a gun there so that must've meant someone was bound to use it.

On note of the whole dress thing, everyone got kinda bored of that after an hour or so, so he just had to weather it out. "For the mission," he told himself. Hopefully the initiation thing would be over and done with by the end of the day.

"Hey Bee. Teacher notice I'm gone yet?" a voice asked from behind her, Bee looking over her shoulder as the doors slid open.

"Nope. Still just as lucky as you were yesterday," Bee chuckled over her shoulder. "How do you do it, man?"

"Just lucky I guess. Hahahahaha!" the new figure said before chuckling madly out of nowhere as he took his position at the shooting range. The guy was literally covered head to toe in white spandex, the only thing not covered being his mouth, his wide gleaming smile making him eerily similar to Truth from both Fullmetal Alchemist series. His white outfit oddly enough looked like it had a hazy black outline all around it no matter what angle you were looking at, though that was accredited to an optical illusion. The only real accessories he had was a set of off-white leather belts on his person; one was sinched tightly around his waist, a few were crisscrossing his forearms, and a thinner one was around his neck acting like a choker. All of them had off-silver studs to them, and appeared to be made of the bulletproof material that "wore" like leather, a common element in the hero and villain worlds. "Hey new guy!" he said suddenly turning to Cy, or rather, Stone.

"Uh, hi," he returned. "So… What's your name?" he hazarded.

"I am what you call the world," the white-clad figure answered in a sagely voice. "Or perhaps the universe, or perhaps god, or perhaps truth, or perhaps all, or perhaps one, and I am also… you," he said pointing at him after a dramatic pause.

"Uh . . . Bee, this guy for real?" Stone asked pointing at the white-clad figure who, quite frankly, seemed a little on the crazy side.

"Don't mind him, he's just playin' with you," Bee answered as she shot at her target with her Stingers, which humorously-enough were shaped like Bs. The letter, not the insect.

"Awwwww, you're no fun Bee-Bee," the white-clad person pouted.

"Don't give me lip, Insanity. Maybe if you had a more creative costume, this wouldn't keep happening," Bee argued, showing the two were at least familiar with one another. "And don't call me Bee-Bee," she chided.

"Ugh. Yes. Mom," he said before chuckling under his breath, Bee glaring at him with a scowl on her face before she got back to what she was doing.

This guy's probably the HIVE version of Beast Boy, Cy thought to himself. "So you're Insanity huh?" Stone asked, making sure that wasn't just a nickname.

"Yeah. Insanity's good for the soul," the Truth-esque teen replied.

"O…kay then," Stone returned. Not really what I asked… but alright then, he thought to himself. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the posture that Insanity was using was absolutely atrocious. Looking at the target to see how poorly he messed up however, his eyes widened and his jaw fell slack when he saw that the energy blasts were passing through the same spot in the center of the target over and over and over again.

"Yeah. I did that when I first met him too," Bee said stepping over and putting his jaw back up.

"How'd he doing that?" Stone asked.

"Guy is crazy lucky," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

---

Undercover – Day 3

It was currently hand-to-hand combat practice, and after watching some old Meta-Brawl clips, most of the guys in school were just trying to recreate what it was they saw. Some did it to impress the –rather limited- female populous in the school, but others were taking it seriously. For example…

"Tag me out! Tag me out!" Mammoth found himself pleading as he slammed his palm floor, Tempest shocking everyone through his use of a Rolling Knee Bar as he held the larger teen's leg out at an odd angle. Mammoth thought he had the apparent-shinobi in terms of strength, but after throwing him onto his back, Mammoth found himself powerless against the blond's hold on his leg, even with his genetically-given superstrength.

"No way man! You're on your own!" Seemore said waving his hands from the sidelines. No way did he want to find himself in that situation. Even though the ligaments and tendons around the knee could sustain seventeen hundred Newtons of force, the Knee Bar could load a lot more than that; enough to completely destroy the joint.

This of course was clearly evident by the cracking sounds that rung through the air as the blond used his hips as a fulcrum to pull on Mammoth's leg, which in this case was the lever.

"I surrender! I surre-he-he-hen-deeer!" Mammoth cried pitiably. If his sister were here to see this, she'd never let him hear the end of it. Good thing she was back in Australia.

"Alright, alright. I'm letting you off the hook," Tempest said letting the larger teen's leg go, the big guy hugging his knees to his chest as he kicked the one that was almost bent backwards.

At the same time behind the shadows of the bleachers, Cy was contacting Robin through his arm communicator. After modifying the rings a bit, he found he only had to remove the cloaking field around the part of his arm around the communicator, instead of the arm as a whole. Wouldn't do any good to the mission if someone found out his right arm was nothing but hardware would it?

"Cyborg: Status report. What's been happening on your end?" Robin asked.

"I haven't been discovered yet, and no one suspects our friend of being a Double. If that even is him I mean," Cy returned.

"What do you mean by that?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if the kid's method acting or not, but ever since we got here, the guy's pulled a total 180 and held it consistently. I'm not even sure if this is Vent out here, or just another aerokinetic," Cy stated. "He hasn't even talked to me regarding the mission, so I'm kinda worried about that too."

"Raven briefed me on the disguise Vent took after you left, so we know that's him," Robin stated. "As for him not talking to you, maybe that's for the better. His primary mission is backing you up if you're discovered, and if the two of you are seen talking, even with your disguises connections could still be drawn if anyone thinks too deeply into it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that," Cy found himself admitting. Heh, for a while there, I thought maybe Vent hadn't found his way in here. Heh, wouldn't it be something else if that was the real Naruto Uzumaki out there? he thought to himself. A moment later the gym behind him was suddenly abuzz, the large teen looking around the corner of the bleachers to see that all the students and faculty were clearing a path for… "Robin, you are not going to believe what I'm seeing right now," Cyborg said into his comm. link.

"Why? What is it?" the Boy Wonder returned.

"Why don't you see for yourself," he said turning his camera towards the fight, the Boy Wonder's eyes widening at what he saw before they narrowed dangerously.

"Slade…" the Boy Wonder growled as he saw the dual-colored masked man enter the gym. "What the hell is he doing there?"

---

"Hello, my former apprentice," the dual-colored masked man stated evenly after stepping onto the gym floor, now standing before the residential aerokinetic, whom at the moment was staring the man down while everyone gave the two a wide berth. Visitors weren't necessarily unheard of, and even if they were rare, they almost never got supervillains for visitors down at HIVE Academy.

"Hello… ex-master," Tempest returned with crossed arms.

"EX-MASTER?" nearly everyone gaped, the one-eyed man paying them a glance which shut all of them up. After a few moments, the man turned his eyes back to the blond.

"I'm surprised I found you here of all places," Slade spoke to Tempest with what one would describe as… familiarity. "If you wanted the whole 'high school experience', you could've just asked. I would've sent you here if that's what you wanted," he said with an almost humorous edge to his voice.

"I think you and I both know that isn't why I quit training," Tempest said with crossed arms, everyone in the gymnasium stepping back when they saw just how he was talking to Slade, AKA Deathstroke the Terminator. One wrong move and he'd be terminated. "I'll ask you this once. Why are you here?"

"What? Can't a man visit his student every once in a while?" the man asked with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Not when it's been three years. Truthfully, I thought you'd moved onto greener pastures," the blond said in return.

"Doesn't mean I can't check the progress of one of my former assets," the man returned.

"Uh, Temp," Mammoth said from off to the side. "Do you and Slade know one another?" he asked, the same question being on everyone else's mind since the man walked through the gymnasium doors.

"Butt out. You don't have a dog in this fight," Tempest said leveling a glare at the rest of the students, causing them to scatter like cockroaches when the light came on. "Anyway, Slade, I doubt you're here for a friendly hello," he said turning back to the one-eyed man.

"I see you're still as perceptive as before," Slade said with crossed arms. "As you can see I'm not here for formalities. I'm here to see if you've improved any since we've last sparred."

"So then Brother Blood knows you're here?" Tempest asked. "We've recently had problems with break-ins, and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for it," he said with a bit of an edge in his tone.

"My reputation precedes me," Slade said simply as he assumed a fighting stance. "Now come. Show me just how far you've come," he challenged as everyone high-tailed it to the bleachers, giving one of the school's top dogs and Deathstroke the Terminator some elbow room.

For a full minute, everyone was silent and everyone waited on baited breath, both Temp and Slade shifting slightly on the heels of their feet, circling around one another millimeter by millimeter. Finally after what felt like an eternity, the two charged. Just as quickly as they met, Slade whirled around, his body acting like a crowbar as his leg turned into the lever with his hip as the fulcrum, throwing the blond over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground with a mighty -THUD-; and if that hadn't turned his spine into gravel, it'd certainly bruise the next morning.

The next moment Slade leapt at Tempest, his hands immediately going in for the chokehold, superior strength showing as the blond slightly gasped for breath. However, despite the difference in power between the two, the strength of his back and shoulder muscles superceded that of the man's outstretched arms, evident in how the blond tore the man's arms away from his neck, then delivered a shin-kick to the man's groin, causing him to stagger for a few seconds.

"Hm… I see you've improved," Slade returned, somehow giving off no indicator that he'd just been shin'ed in the groin.

"Not improved. Evolved," the blond answered plainly before Slade moved in with a kick aimed at his kidney from the left side. Catching the offending leg, he then kicked up with his left leg, catching Slade in the thigh throwing him into the air before he landed roughly on the ground, the man rolling back to his feet seemingly undaunted by the force of the takedown.

From that point, the two continued to exchange fierce blows that most would associate with a kung fu movie, the sounds of fist and feet meeting flesh ringing through the air for a full fifteen minutes non-stop as the two continued to beat one another. While the blond was bleeding slightly from a busted lip from a fierce elbow blow to the face, Slade seemed no worse for ware. It was at this point that the brunette's foot found home on the man's thigh, and, grabbing his collar, leaned backwards before throwing him five feet over his head and back, the wind-user panting heavily as he wiped the blood off his lip.

I have to finish this quick. After the beating I've taken, I don't think I can fight him off much longer. Even if he's toying with me, Vent thought as he rushed at the man for one final charge. Confusing him with a spin, he brought his left foot into the side of the man's head right at where the hinge of the jaw would be, a crack spreading across the man's mask and causing him to stagger back before he fell onto his back. With the momentum generated by his bodyweight rotating freely, combined with a powerful hip thrust, the devastating blow holding over 700 pounds of force was more than enough to permanently damage the high-lying cartilidge that protected the larynx and spinal cord.

Of course if that was all it took to bring Deathstroke down, then he wouldn't have really become known as the Terminator would he?

"Excellent work… You've improved since leaving my tutelage," Slade said from his position on the ground, the crack across his mask slowly spreading, with everyone almost out of their seats as Slade AKA Deathstroke was about to be unmasked. When it fell however, all they got was a now-blank monitor counting down from 3-

2

1

"Oh shit!" Tempest cursed as he crossed his arms in front of his face and closed his eyes, the Sladebot going off a moment later and blanketing the training room in a massive cloud of smoke. As debris bounced past the explosion, those gathered could only stare in shock, wondering what kind of man would set a bomb off in his own apprentice's face, ex or otherwise. Even for a guy of his reputation, Deathstroke couldn't be that brutal.

"Dude…" Cyborg said with his jaw dropped, the remaining Titans silent on the other end of the line, Robin's eyes narrowed at the kind of man who would set a bomb off in his apprentice's face, even if he did run away.

"Fucking *cough cough cough* robot!" a voice cursed from inside the smoke ball as the black cloud was slowly sucked out of the room through the debris ducts. "Setting off a *hack* bomb in my face. *hock* I may've run off, but to set a bomb off in my face? *blech* What is wrong with him?" Tempest screeched irately as the smoke cleared around him. What shocked most was that even though he was right in front of the explosion, it was that aside from a few singed hairs and a few pieces of shrapnel on him and a few scorch marks, he was relatively okay. For all intents and purposes, he should've been a bloody smear across the ground, and yet he was still breathing. Cursing, but still breathing.

"Dude. Slade just set off a bomb. And in his apprentice's face too," Mammoth said completely slack-jawed.

"Ex-apprentice," Gizmo interjected.

"I knew Slade could be cold, but I didn't think he could be that cold," Jinx huffed. What was this about him running off though? And if so, why's he still running around? she asked herself.

"How'd the guy even survive that anyway?" Seemore questioned.

"The bloody snot rag must've formed a shell of compressed air around himself right before the blast hit him," Gizmo stated with crossed arms. "Since the shockwave of the blast wasn't able to reach him, the most that did was the fire and shrapnel, but given how the explosion was more designed to destroy the construct and prevent back-tracking rather than dealing with live targets, it's understandable he's still alive from that standpoint."

"Can he really do that?" Mammoth asked. He'd only seen the guy make a tornado after all.

"Hell if I know," Gizmo muttered, just wanting this day to end. At least now he knew who taught the guy when he was threatening them after they tried to make him put on the dress and eat the unicycle.

"Bravo Mr. Tempest. Bravo," Blood said coming into the room with a bit of applause accompanying him. "While it may not've been the real Deathstroke, you still put up an impressive fight. Normally not even the seniors could take on someone of his level, and yet you did so without any crippling injuries," he said, considering the blond was still on his feet and conscious at the same time.

"Had that been the real deal and he weren't holding back I may as well have been a smear on the fucking wall," Tempest huffed as he picked a piece of shrapnel out of his suit. "I swear to god, if his daughter's as bad as he is now, then I can only imagine the terror she'll become when she's his age," he grunted with crossed arms.

"Daughter? I didn't think Deathstroke was a family man," Blood said rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Truthfully this was news to him, especially since up until just now, no one knew that Slade had fathered children, and two of them no less.

"Don't give the guy too much credit. That's why I left in the first place. To finally get out of that damned shadow of his," he grunted.

"All that aside Mr. Tempest, had I known who your teacher was, I'm sure I would've been able to get you one of the more premier rooms here at HIVE Academy. Free of charge of course," Blood said smoothly.

"I didn't tell you who my… teacher was, because I wanted to be my own person. Not 'Deathstroke's Apprentice'," Tempest returned as he walked out, only for a pair of orange-gloved hands to suddenly throw him up against the wall. Come to think of it the guy hadn't done anything to stand out in the past couple days, so Temp was beginning to wonder if the guy had graduated or quit or what.

"You! How dare you talk about Deathstroke that way!" Grant demanded. "I wanted to be his apprentice my entire life, and you treat it like it's nothing!"

"Slade's nothing more than a merc who will do or kill whatever or whoever is asked of him for the highest bidder," Tempest returned with narrowed eyes. "Now unless you let go of my shirt, I'm going to show you exactly what Deathstroke taught me. And trust me, it ain't how to massage a person's neck."

"Oh yeah? Bring it you Naruto-wannabe!" Grant spat back.

"Oh you did not just say WHAT I THINK YOU JUST DID!" Tempest growled in return, the killing intent he was leaking becoming palpable as the air around him turned red. Off to the side, Blood was tempted to put Temp on some of the fast-track classes for future advancement, given that most weren't capable of manifesting their ill intentions outside their bodies unless they were telepaths.

"And what if I did tough guy?" Grant asked back. "I bet you just ran out on Slade because you couldn't take the heat."

"Your mouth's writing a check your ass can't pay. You really think you can pay the price?" Temp asked back.

"We've got an empty gym floor and twenty minutes left of class. I'm game if you are," Grant said back. It was obvious he had an axe to grind, and this one had barbed wire wrapped around the axehead.

"Bring it. I'll only need five," Tempest returned as the two got onto the main floor, a pair of robed figures having cleared away the last of the Sladebot remains. Despite the beating he'd taken, apparently he could still fight back.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" the students in the room began to cheer with pumped fists, Blood deciding to sit back and watch. Wrath could be a powerful motivator, or one's greatest weakness, and that Naruto comment Grant threw out seemed to really get under Tempest's skin.

This will surely be a fight to remember, Blood thought to himself.

"Don't think I'll hold back because you're injured," Grant said with a sneer.

"That the only reason you chose to fight me today? Cause Slade already put me through the meat-grinder?" he asked smugly, causing the silver-wearing teen to growl in his throat before rushing at the blond. Blocking a right swing with his arm at an oblique angle, the blond for a full two minutes deflected every attack down the angle of his forearms, his body constantly in motion as he stopped all of Grant's method of attack from reaching him.

"Damn! It! Why! Won't! It! Hit!" the teen cursed as all his attacks were deflected.

"I outclass you. Simple as that," Tempest said in return as he leapt into the air in a short hop, his right foot impacting his opponent's chest and sending him harshly to the ground. With no opposing object to push against, all of the move's energy was delivered straight to Grant's chest, the kick reaching impact speeds of up to 20 mph, up to 400 lbs of force delivered.

"You do not outclass me!" Grant roared as he rushed at the blond, anger clearly clouding his judgment as he sent a right punch at his opponent's face, only for his wrist to be captured and the blond's right elbow driven harshly across his chin as he was pulled forward. Less than a third of a second later however, the blond's elbow came back, the bony tip of the elbow actually leaving a cut across the right side of his opponent's chin.

"You aren't even worth striking down," Tempest said coldly as the masked teen fell to the ground, face broken and bleeding. "Get out of my sight," he finished as he turned on his heel and left, walking away from the downed Grant as he wiped the blood off his busted lip.

"No one… talks to me like that.. and gets AWAY WITH IT!" Grant roared as he suddenly pulled a large knife out of his boot and lunged at the blond.

"Look out!" Bee called out as the knife descended towards his back. The guy may've been a perv, but he didn't deserve to be stabbed for it.

Grant opened up with a slash surprisingly, Temp nailing him in the face with a left jab, then decking him in the kidney as he spun around. Grant quickly aimed for the blond's throat with a slash, but all he got was right knee to the gut and a left fist upside the head. The masked teen quickly aimed a stab at his face, but the blond caught his arm and pulled it up, twirling around before kicking him in the back of the knee and bringing him to the ground, twisting his wrist painfully. Before he could feel that for too long however, the blond's left foot suddenly found home across his face, a powerful kick sending rolling across the ground.

"Whoa. Did you see that?" Mammoth gaped at how awesome that finisher was.

"How would I have missed that?" Gizmo asked.

Back on the gym floor, Grant looked like he was about to get up to continue fighting, his teeth gnashing as the blond stabbed the knife through the floor before kicking the thing in two, but a powerful presence looming over him stopped the fight before it could escalate any further, a shadow looming over the masked teen causing him to look up in sheer terror.

"Grant Wilson…" Blood growled in the direction of the downed student as he made his way over to him, the masked teen looking up at the principal in fear. "It had been made abundantlyclear that lethal force is absolutely prohibited on school grounds when you enrolled, and yet you attempt to inflict permanent harm upon another student, in MY PRESENCE!"

"We-We're villains! We're supposed to hurt people!" Grant argued, albeit a bit weakly.

"Hurting people is by choice. To do that is to surrender control of a situation. However what you just did was out of bounds. This is an educational facility, and while I can't control what it is you do once you graduate, while you're under my roof, you'll follow my rules, the most important one of which you broke," Blood said with narrowed eyes. He may've been a mind-controlling supervillain, but he never put his students in a situation where any permanent harm could be caused, and for that reason he had some of the best medical facilities money could buy under his belt. "You were such a promising student, with such a bright future ahead of you, but if you cannot even follow one of our most basic rules, then I think you should seek academic advancement elsewhere," he said as a group of cloaked figures appeared around him, grabbing the downed teen's limbs and carrying him off.

"Wha- Hey! You can't do this to me!" Grant cried in protest as he was taken way. "You'll live to regret this Blood! I'll get you for this Tempest! I swear it!" he shouted before the door closed in his face, cutting off his rant.

"Damn. What a drama queen," Gizmo muttered under his breath, giggles breaking out all around.

"Mr. Tempest, I apologize that you were put in such a precarious position. I don't even know how he brought that knife through customs, but I assure you, something like this won't happen again," Blood took the time to apologize. After all, the safety of the students was his responsibility.

"No big deal. The guy was no more than an amateur, and even if I haven't trained with Slade for three years, I'm still more skilled than him," Tempest said as he walked out, visibly favoring his right leg. I need to head by the tailors and get my costume fixed. No use in it getting too ragged.

At the same time off in the corner, Cy hunched back into the corner and turned his attention back to the communicator.

"Robin, did you catch all that?"

"Yeah. Vent was Slade's apprentice and never told us about it," the Boy Wonder scowled. "For the time being, stay away from him. I'll be sure to bring this up at our next team meeting. Robin out," he said reaching to cut off the line.

"But Vent wasn't Slade's apprentice, he was this-" Cy said before the ling was furiously cut. "Ex… Apprentice," he finished. Still, him being Slade's ex-apprentice was a pretty big detail he overlooked in telling them, especially after Slade had probed him. Maybe for the time being I will stay a few steps back from him. It's better for the mission anyway.

---

Undercover – Night 4

It was the day after Grant had been booted out of HIVE Academy, and things were starting to wind down. While the news that Tempest –unknowingly being Ventus- had been trained by Slade AKA Deathstroke the Terminator had hit all of them like a freight train, none of them saw fit to ask into it seeing as how he broke one of the top fighters in the school down to their bare basics. Cheshire was the best fighter in school no questions asked, but Grant was pretty high up in the rankings along Bee, Jinx, and recently Stone. It was as the guys were heading to their next classes, discussing the plans for the following Friday that the group stopped cold, Cheshire walking towards the troup, a finger point singling Tempest out from the group of guys as they were hanging out, her words being-

"Ero-Kaze…" Cheshire stated with crossed arms as she faced him. "Anata wa watashi to Sadihoukinsu Odori ni iku ka?"

"Uh, do any of you speak Japanese," Mammoth asked, Gizmo and Seemore shrugging their shoulders, though their eyebrows rose –in Seemore's case only one- when Tempest stepped up to the kunoichi before saying-

"Mochiron, watashi wa anata to Saidihoukinsu no Odori ni iku yo," the blond returned, everyone recoiling in shock at how he'd been able to respond to Cheshire in her native tongue. Of course, she was the first to recover from the initial shock, clearing her throat before returning-

"Osokute wa ikenai," she said before turning around, walking away before she looked over her shoulder adding a- "Matawa to no," to her statement before walking off, leaving a shocked group of guys before Stone asked-

"You can speak Japanese?" Stone asked in shock.

"Was I speaking French?" he asked sarcastically.

"Alright, I guess I walked right into that one," the teen grumbled.

"I thought the girl hated you. Why'd she ask you to the dance?" Mammoth wondered.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be the only one without a date?" Temp questioned.

"Speaking of which…" Seemore trailed off as Jinx headed towards the group, books clutched in her hands before she stood in front of Stone.

"Hey," the pinkette opened.

"Um… Hi," Stone returned nervously.

"So… The Sadie Hawkins dance is coming up, and I don't have a date. You wanna go with me?" she asked, causing the larger teen to blush slightly before answering- "Ah… Sure." –in the voice he first used to address Blood. "Alright, I'll see you then," she said with a smile as she walked off, the majority of the group sulking.

"What's wrong with you guys. You're acting like your grandma just died," Temp stated plainly.

"You and Stone already got Cheshire and Jinx," Seemore sighed. "Bee's taking Insanity because they're friends, so that only leaves Angel."

"Actually she already asked someone," the blond stated.

"What? Who?" Gizmo demanded.

"That Batman lookalike. What was his name? Kyd Wykkid?" the blond pondered.

"Great. Everyone's taken then," Mammoth sighed.

"Ah I'm sure it won't be that bad," Temp said patting the big guy's shoulder. "I'm sure you and all the other guys in this school can find something else to do," he said with a smile as he walked off.

"Was that guy patronizing us? I can't really tell with him," Gizmo stated with crossed arms.

"Heck if I know," Mammoth sighed.

Now I see why no one's suspecting him. The guy's pulled such a 180 no one can tell who he is, Cy thought to himself. Come again, I can't tell who he is.

---

And so the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance came. With only a few girls in the whole school, 80 people at the most, 40 at the least, the dance floor was pretty clear since it had been held in the gym. There was music playing, snacks and drinks scattered off to the side, and "couples" off in their own parts of the gym doing their own thing. Stone and Jinx were off dancing, the latter dancing circles around the prior while he acted like he had lead feet. Bee and Insanity were just chatting with one another, Bee apparently trying to get her friend to wear something different for a costume that wasn't so strange, even by villain standards. Kyd Wykkid and Angel were off in one part of the gym sipping punch and tal… enjoying one another's company. Tempest and Cheshire on the other hand…

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

They were merely tolerating one another's existence. Cheshire respected Tempest as a fighter, but as a person he was a perv, and a sexist to boot. The only reason she'd asked him at all was because Jinx and Bee wouldn't let her hear the end of it if she was the only girl not to have a date. And of course, being a girl, she wanted the best the school had to offer, Temp being her only real choice since no other man could match her.

"Want some punch?" the blond asked with a genuine smile on his face.

Maybe he isn't that bad, she sighed to herself, though she doubted a relationship at the present would work out. She was still upset for how he nearly stripped

---

Later that evening, Stone was huddled over his desk in his room, the desk lamp on and the room lights on as he crammed through his subjects. His thoughts also wondered to how Jinx had made him "one of them" by handing him a HIVE-issued communicator. He didn't get to finish high school due to… so finding a clique in which to hang out with was a bit of an enlightening experience for him. As he got through the halfway point of his Theory of Mayhem notes, his arm-mounted communicator suddenly went off.

"Cyborg! Do you copy? Cyborg, come in!"

"This isn't a good time, guys," Cy said back. "We've got a Theory of Mayhem test tomorrow, and I'm totally gonna bomb."

"Please tell me you're joking," the Boy Wonder deadpanned.

"Yeah, um… look, sorry I haven't checked in since… you know," he said in reference to Slade's appearance. "I've been learning their combat technique, weapons, armor, and we had a dance-"

"A dance?-!-?" Robin cried out. "Cyborg, you're there to find out what the HIVE is planning, not learn to tango!"

"I know. This hasn't exactly been a tea party, okay?" he asked. "I just need a little more time."

"Or, maybe it's time we went on the offensive," Robin stated, Cy sighing as he got up, about to shut off his arm communicator before the Boy Wonder spoke up again. "Oh, and Cyborg."

"What?"

"Stay away from Vent until we come to get you. We can't be sure of his loyalties," he said before shutting his end of the line off.

But he's our friend, Cy said thinking back to how the then-brunette had saved 'his baby'. I can't just leave him hanging.

---

Ten minutes later, Stone/Cy had snuck through the empty, silent halls to one of the school's computer rooms, tapping keys onto the terminal as he peeled away the security walls bit by bit, hoping not to set off any alarms. Thinking back on it, he should've suspected Vent had been trained by someone in the past, otherwise he would've had no idea how to disarm that Chronoton Detonator. While him being the ex-apprentice to Slade was a bit of a shock, that could've very well been years ago, and the fact that he got probed as well and nearly died on a number of occasions since then proved they weren't on speaking terms any more. That was also pretty evident by how the two of them were wailing on one another, even if one of them was a robot.

"I'm in, and I've found the mainframe," he said after peling away the last of the security. As he looked over the screen, his eyes widened as they landed on a particular file. "Whoa! Think I just found the class project," he said looking at the schematic for something that looked like a short, thick piece of pipe with other conduits tracing around its circumference. "They're building something called-"

"-an ion amplifier," a familiar voice suddenly said out of nowhere. Looking up from the screen, Cy pulled his exposed forearm behind his back as none other than Brother Blood walked towards him from the shadows. Robin had gotten two words in, and even though Cy cut him out, he was sure Blood had heard him anyway.

"Well, this is a surprise, Mr. Stone. Or should I say… Cyborg?" the man asked, Cy immediately dropping his camouflage and brought out his sonic cannon. However, Blood didn't even flinch at the weapon being pulled on him, showing his position in a school full of superpowered teens was well-earned. "Relax. I don't want to fight. It's a remarkable weapon, really. Compact… elegant… devastating in its power," he said examining the device from the schematics, colored black and gold with red accents. "But it's nothing compared to you," he said as his eyes then fell onto Cyborg.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, waiting for any sign as to whether or not Vent's identity had been compromised.

"Oh, it's not what I want that matters," he said coming around the desk. "It's what you want- and I can give you," he said as his eyes glowed red like before, Cy's own human eye glowing as he began to fall under its power. As he groaned and clasped his free hand to his head, Blood placed his hand on the end of Cy's cannon. Stumbling back, he raised his right arm, stunned to find that it had become a fully organic, flesh-and-blood limb.

"My hand. I can feel it. It's real," he said with joy as he looked at his hand. A few moments later however, Blood's eyes ceased to glow red, his arm returning normal, or rather abnormal moments later. "No!" he cried as he dropped to his knees, cradling the appendage that had been so briefly restored, or at least in his own mind.

"Serve me, and I can make you what you once were. I can give you back your life," Blood offered. He waited for a few moments, Cy looking up with a defeated look in his eyes.

"I'll do whatever you ask."

"Good," Blood said as his eyes began to glow red. "Then I think it's time for the other students to see our little class project."

---

Undercover – Day 5

The halls of HIVE were silent. Eerily silent. On one spot of the floor, a black spot grew across the floor before a black raven-like silhouette rose, the bird-like form collapsing revealing none other than Raven of the Teen Titans, the mage looking around before giving off a- "Clear."

Nearby the door hissed open, Robin and Starfire surveying the area. Looking around for a moment, Robin looked over his shoulder before grunting-

"Beast Boy! Hurry up!" he ordered, the sound of screeching metal reaching his ears as BB pushed Robo-Cy into the hall, the changeling pushing it forward with considerable effort.

"Next time Cyborg builds a robot, he better leave instructions," the changeling sighed.

"Boo-yah!" Robo-Cy suddenly said raising a fist, Robin and the girls panicking at the sudden outburst. "Boo-yah!" the thing cried out again, Starfish-BB latching across the construct's face, muffling the loud noise that, most likely, ruined the element of surprise for them. After taking a moment to make sure no one heard them, the group sighed before Robin pulled out his T-Comm., tracking Cy's signal through the school, having received a map of the academy from their cybernetic compatriot. As for the brunette-now-blond… he just repressed any and all memories pertaining to him.

At the same time, Raven's thoughts went out to her friend who'd gone into HIVE, hoping Vent hadn't gotten himself too deep. It was then that one of the voices in her head spoke to her.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" an intelligent-sounding tone asked.

Are you… talking to me right now? the mage thought back, seeing as how talking would be kinda redundant.

"I'm a part of your subconscious, so it only makes sense we'd be able to communicate with one another," Knowledge returned. "But on a previous note, you're worried about Ventus aren't you?"

Well… Maybe a little, she thought thinking back on how pissed Robin was when he found out that Vent used to be Slade's apprentice. It was obvious the man had known about their little mission, otherwise he wouldn't have been there, and as to why he didn't say anything, it was most likely because it wouldn't really benefit him in any way. Slade was the kind of guy who didn't do anything for a reason.

"Hey, this is V-Man we're talkin' about here!" Brave suddenly piped in. "When that alien chick was blowing up the city, who calmed her down before getting those braces off?"

Vent did, Raven answered.

"When we were getting our butts kicked and BB had a busted leg, who covered us while we got back to the Tower?" she then asked.

Vent did… the mage repeated.

"When those Lightning Bros. were shocking the crap out of us, who kicked the skinny one's ass because he used him for target practice?"

Vent did… Raven returned, seeing where this speech was going.

"When that Chrono-mowhitzer was primed to go off, who disarmed it with seconds to spare?"

Vent did…

"When Cy's car was taken over by that overgrown floppy disc, who saved his baby?"

Vent.

"And who put up with that cat-girl so she wouldn't turn the city into a moth-eaten wasteland?"

Vent, Raven said again with a twitching eyebrow, her cloak flashing light green for a brief moment, though no one notices.

"And who's got the cutest little ass on the team?"

Ve- BRAVE! Raven shrieked into her head.

"It wasn't me. It was Pervert Raven," Brave replied.

Pervert… Raven…? the mage thought as she felt her face heating up.

"Yeah, but I call her Ero-Kara!" Happy squealed. "That's Pervert Raven in Japanese."

"Yes, and it appears the guys have begun to rub off on us," Knowledge stated as she readjusted her glasses.

Should I even ask what color she's wearing? Raven sighed to herself. Envy was light green, and she didn't particularly enjoy having her inner ramblings thrown in her face when she first saw that emoticlone.

"Bright neon pink," Knowledge stated. "I believe it's due to the fact that people in anime and such blush that color when something perverted happens."

And Vent says he has problems. My mental issues have issues, Raven sighed to herself, really needing a hug right about now. Lonely… are you influencing me right now? she asked after realizing the convulsion that just went across her psyche.

" . . . What?" the grey-clad emoticlone asked nervously. "Vents hugs are… nice… and I miss him," she said meekly.

If it'll make you feel any better, I'll get a hug out of him later, Raven sighed as they headed down the hall, trying to ignore the new voice in her head telling her to "get a feel of that sweet ass" when they eventually met up.

This mental conversation of course took a lot less time than it would've been read, were it in print –nudge nudge wink wink-, and at that time, Robin had locked onto Cyborg's signal.

"I'm picking up Cyborg's signal… directly below us?" he said in confusion. The next moment without any warning, the floor panel below them pivoted like a trapdoor and dumped them out of sight, their yelling ringing before they landed on a light panel within a dark chamber. Afer a few seconds, all the lights flickered on at once, revealing a room resembling a gymnasium, styled like the rest of the school.

"Not good," Beast Boy said as the manb known as Blood came down on a floating panel.

"The Teen Titans. So nice to make your acquaintance. I'd introduce you to my students…" he trailed off as one of the panels rose up. "But I'm fairly certain you've already met," he said as five figures emerged, Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo, Tempest, and Stone.

"Attack Pattern Alpha!" Stone suddenly called out as he leapt off from his perch, the others joining in as the Titans looked on in shock. Raven spotted a smile coming from the brunette-now-blond, and while it was reassuring, she couldn't be sure if whether or not this was the Vent she knew, or one of his "Persona".

"No mercy! NO MERCY!" Blood bellowed as his students charged. Starfire went into an aerial charge loosing a string of starbolts as she went, Jinx swerving back and forth across the floor while Mammoth barreled straight ahead, not stopping even when one hit the floor in front of him. The mammoth teen then rammed his shoulder into a tall column, sending it toppling towards Starfire, who managed to avoid it in time to avoid being crushed. Jinx then somersaulted and threw a few spells up at Raven, whose fast flying –trained by a program Vent had programmed with Dr. Slim for her- kept her out of harm's way. With her face showing some level of annoyance, though mainly because she'd lost sight of the brunette-now-blond, she levitated several columns into the air before sending them at her opponent like massive javelins. Smirking, Jinx stood her ground before running along the first javelin's length, leaping from one to the other before coming out on the other side completely unharmed. At the same time, Robin was racing out from below a lower pedestal, skidding to a stop when Gizmo came at him with his spider legs. The Boy Wonder was quick to use a birdarang to sever two of them, sending the mechanically-minded maniac to the floor with a loud -crash-. Looking around for the "traitor", he had to dodge out of the way as Stone came down at him, the spiky-haired teen dodging out of the way, trying a string of kick sonly for them to be blocked by a granite forearm. As they continued to spar, the two quickly ended up face to face.

"Cyborg! Take it easy!" he cried before his eyes popped, Stone clamping a free hand onto the back of his head before flinging him across the arena. At the same time elsewhere, Beast Boy was huddled behind Robo-Cy, fumbling madly with the controller.

"Come on, come on, how do you make this thing-" Beast Boy said as he went through the options "Booyah", "Attack", and "Options" before landing on- "Attack mode!"

"Teen Titans! Go!" Robo-Cy said as he charged, only to pull a U-turn and crash into the wall, dust clearing to reveal that he'd smashed straight through the paneling and into the hall surrounding the ground floor.

"Yo," a familiar voice suddenly said, the changeling looking over his shoulder to see the disguised brunette sitting on his haunches beside him, a smile on his face and a hand held up in a partial wave.

"Hey, did anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like Naru-" the changeling began to say, a tick mark appearing on the now-blond's forehead before his left arm suddenly snaked around BB's neck, the inside of his elbow going right around his trachea and pinning him before the now-blond's right fist began punching him repetitively. "Ow! Hey! Cut it out!"

Elsewhere, Gizmo and a bunch of holograms of himself were incessantly taunting Starfire via surround sound, the girl firing off starbolts and stargrenades before suddenly releasing an intense burst of energy that consumed the area around her, the doppelgangers gone an Gizmo dazed from the temporary overload. Star was about to shoot him down, but Mammoth suddenly came in with a flying tackle and brought them both into a pedestal completely destroying it. When the dust cleared, Mammoth headed back into the fight, though Star was left dazed and embedded into the floor.

"Enough, Cyborg!" Robin said as he fought Stone off with two shortstaffs. "It's time to drop the act!"

"This isn't an act," he said with an edge in his tone before rushing at the Boy Wonder with a roar,Stone landing a blow that sent Robin and his staffs flying in three different directions, the leader sliding across the floor on his back and ending up next to Starfire, who at the moment had at least been able to peel herself up from the floor panels. Before Stone could land the finishing blow right as they got up, Robo-Cy came out of nowhere and slammed into him, pushing the disguised original all the way into the wall. As the dust cleared, both fighters were revealed to have vanished, but moments later on the balcony level, Robo-Cy was sent flying out through the masonry, Stone perching himself on the broken edge and ready to jump as the unknown-double landed atop a column.

At the same time, Robin had helped Starfire to her feet to steady herself as the others seemed to be preoccupied watching Stone fight Cyborg. Moments later their attention turned to the disguised blond, who was holding Beast Boy in a headlock and currently giving him an atomic noogie, the changeling's limbs flailing about. As Raven was forced towards her friends by Jinx's barrage, Beast Boy was suddenly thrown through the air, landing at the group's feet before Gizmo launched a metal globe-like device at them, three smaller balls attached to the underside. The next moment a force field was projected around them, the four Titans imprisoned. Raven looked up to her friend through the translucent orange glass, seeing Vent step behind Mammoth. A part of her felt elated when the now-blond gave a wink and a discrete thumbs up, but Robin didn't share the same sentiment.

As the team fought their way through the force field yielding no results, Stone and Cyborg were wailing on one another, blows being driven to both sides. After a few minutes however, Stone seemed to get the upper hand, beating the robot-double's face in. This however had the affect of destroying the holo-rings on his fingers, his disguise flickering on and off before it faded completely.

"I knew it!" Gizmo shrieked. "The stinking gack-bag is one of them!"

"No," Blood said as he floated down. "He's one of us now."

"And I'm ready to prove it," the now-revealed Cy said, eyes glowing red.

I'm surprised they don't realize I'm fake too, Vent thought to himself, seeing as how no one questioned him. Blood probably let him in on this because of his first impression against Cheshire, then his fight with Slade.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Blood said stepping off of the panel, then holding up the Ion Amplifier. "This will amplify your power by magnitudes unimagined," he said as Cy held out his right arm, clamping it on like a giant bracelet before the teen activated his sonic cannon. "Destroy them for me, and you'll have your reward."

"Cyborg! No!" Robin called out.

"Please!" Starfire pleaded.

"Come on, buddy!" Beast Boy said rubbing the soreness off his scalp. "We're your friends!"

"Sorry, but I have new friends," Cy said coldly. Looking up, Raven's eyes landed on Vent's, the smile on his face seeming to tell her everything would be alright. This was proven true a few moments later when Cy suddenly let out a loud- "Psych!" as he rounded his sonic cannon on Blood, the man caught off guard for a moment as his mind-control powers were broken, bringing up a crimson shield at the last second to block the shot. Said shot ricocheted straight up and blew a hole in the ceiling, the students scattering as pieces of the school began to fall, the attack apparently haven hit one of the school's overhead support structures.

"A foolish choice, my friend. Very foolish," Blood growled under his breath as Cy lowered his cannon.

"You could've been one of us," Jinx said reproachfully.

"I could've been a lot of things," Cy answered, Jinx mulling over his words before her attention turned to the blond off to the side.

"Tempest…" Jinx trailed off turning to the blond. Sure the guy was a perv and he terrified everyone with his mere presence, but…

"Yeah… About that…" he trailed off before a trio of pennies found their way into his palm, thumb launching them through the air and shredding through the force field generator a moment later. "I just happened to have a really good makeup artist," he said standing next to Raven after walking over to her, the girl handing him a small vial with a smile on her face, which he drank. Moments later blue tears leaked from his eyes and his hair reverted to brown from the root to the tip, his eyes once more crimson as he wiped the blue liquid from his face. "Sorry 'bout misleading you. Hope you can forgive me," he pleaded, apparently returning to the "Default" setting.

"I KNEW IT!" Gizmo then shrieked.

"No you didn't. I had you all fooled from day one," the brunette replied.

"Cheshire is going to be pissed," Mammoth said before running off.

"Raven, get us out of here," Robin said after he and Cy fist bumped.

"Thought you'd never ask," Raven said with a smile as a large black bubble encompassed all of them, the raven-like silhouette shooting up through the academy before breaking through the skyline.

---

A few minutes later, Raven's "soul self" had landed on the Titans Tower roof, the group getting their bearing back. After letting the adrenaline rush from being in a collapsing building go away, Robin turned to Cyborg before asking-

"So… Mind telling us what that bit with you and Blood was about?" the Boy Wonder asked.

"Sorry I had to play rough with you guys," he said before removing the amplifier. "But when I found out what this thing could do, I had to make Brother Blood trust me."

"But if all those HIVE kids were brainwashed, why not you?" Raven then asked.

"Because half my brain is electronic. He may have been able to fool the man, but he couldn't fool the machine," he said pointing to the left side of his head.

"Which means the next time we face him, we have our own secret weapon," Robin said with a smile as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, the sentiment lasting for a few moments before he rounded on the used-to-be-bruneette-now-blond-but-is-back-to-being-brunette. "As for you," he said rounding on Vent as he shed out of his clothing, revealing him to be in a white T-shirt and grey sweat pants underneath. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were Slade's apprentice!-?"

"Ex-apprentice! EX! And until a few months ago, you didn't even know who Slade was!" Vent growled back as he swapped out his sandals and in-step socks for a pair of blue sandals that came from… who knows where.

"I did know about him! Just not that he changed his name from Deathstroke!" Robing growled back.

"Oh! Well what did you want me to say? Hi guys, my name's Ventus. I like flying, munching on in-flight snacks which are just regular snacks only I eat them while flying, oh, and I'm the ex-apprentice of the supervillain Deathstroke?" he shouted back as he stood over the other teen, sparks flying between their eyes and their teeth grinding against themselves.

"A little info would've been nice. For all I know, all that stuff about you running away was nothing more than a ploy so you could get into the Tower! Infiltrate our group and turn on us!" Robin growled back, things growing deathly quiet on the roof as Vent's expression suddenly turned flat in half a second, looking down at Robin before walking right past him and stepping onto the edge of the roof. "Hey, we're not done here!"

"If this is how you're going to treat me, after everything we've been through, the battles we've fought together," Vent said facing the team, his back to the open air at the front of the tower. "Then we are done here," he said with a sigh. Letting himself slowly fall backwards with arms spread, he then fell over the edge of the roof, causing the others to gasp out in shock.

"Vent!" Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven cried out as they ran to the edge of the roof, the latter causing one of the lights to blow before they all looked down. For a few seconds Vent continued to fall with his arms spread, his clothes whipping in the wind as he neared the unforgiving ground below. However, at the last possible moment, his body suddenly released a shockwave as he flew off, barely a foot from the pavement below as he shot off towards the setting sun in the distance.

---

"Lousy… Traffic Light… Boy Blundeeer…" Vent hissed to himself a few minutes later on the bridge that connected one end of Jump City to the other. "I don't know why Slade would want someone like him to be his apprentice. Seems far too inflexible for that kind of lifestyle to me," he noted, remembering how if Robin didn't have a plan he couldn't act. Yeah. Totally inflexible.

"Friend Ventus, there you are!" a voice suddenly called out, causing the brunette to look over his shoulder and see the orange-skinned Starfire flying towards him before landing behind him. "Ventus, we were so worried for you? Why did you do that just then?" she asked worriedly as she clasped her hands together.

"We?" he asked as a green pigeon dropped down beside her before transforming into Beast Boy. "Hmph. If you're here to chew me out like your friend Robin did, then I'm not interested," he said as he hopped off the top of the bridge and got ready to fly away, only for an orange-skinned hand to grab his wrist and stop him from leaving. Looking over his shoulder to them, he was surprised to see that they didn't have scathing looks on their faces like Robin had before, but more like that of understanding.

"Dude, we're not here to chew you out. We're only worried about you," Beast Boy stated, Starfire letting go and letting the teen drop back onto the platform.

"Even though I'm Slade's ex-apprentice and I put you in a chokehold before giving you that noogie?" the teen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll admit, you caught me off guard with that one, and the noogie was kinda harsh," Beast Boy stated scratching the back of his head. "But, at the end, you helped us out of that forcefield. You're cool with us," he said extending his fist, which Vent respectfully bumped with his own.

"Alright, fine… I'll stay," Vent sighed. Truth be told he would most likely follow the reports of earth-related disasters hoping he could hang out with Terra for a while, but he supposed it would be easier for her to find him in Jump than him find her in the middle of nowhere. Without any real means of communication, the two could end up going right past one another without ever meeting up again.

"That is most glorious!" Starfire cheered as she pulled the teen into a bone-crushing hug, Beast Boy winching before the brunette was released. "Come friend, let us go home."

"Alright… but… think we could take the long way home?" the brunette asked looking toward the tower nervously, where he could swore he heard Robin griping from even there. "I think Mr. 10% Hair Gel needs some time to simmer down."

"Yeah. If that isn't the understatement of the year," Beast Boy said crossing his arms, transforming into a pterodactyl and flying off after Vent and Starfire on the "long way home", which was pretty much flying over the city from one end to the other before heading back to the Tower.

---

"Damn…" Vent cursed hours later with the rays of the setting sun at his back. Dinner that evening was hell if there ever was one. "I knew from the get go that Slade would blab the moment we met up again. I just didn't think he'd let me twist in the wind for so long before exposing me."

"While I can at least understand Robin being surprised by who you were once a student to, I can also say with confidence that you didn't deserve that verbal lashing earlier," a voice said from behind him, the brunette looking over his shoulder to see that it was Raven, her hood currently down. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked motioning to the edge of the roof beside him.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you," Vent sighed as he rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. Nodding at that, Raven took a seat a yard or so away from him. The two were silent as the sun began to set against their back, and it was after a short while that Raven saw fit to speak up.

"So… You were Slade's apprentice once. How'd that happen?" she asked. She was qenuinely curious. Not critical about it in the least.

"I'll give you the abridged version. I… had a falling out with my own family, Slade found me, gave me a purpose, I looked up to the man like a father and hoped he'd reciprocate those feelings, but after a while I just gave up on that false dream and left," the brunette sighed. "Despite it only being one-way, I once did think of Slade as my father, even if only vaguely. And even then if only for a time. I don't anymore, but that's a part of my life I guess I can never leave behind."

"Well, you're not the only one with father issues," Raven sighed as she took a seat beside Vent, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

"Hmph. Well, I bet your father isn't the Anti-Christ," the brunette huffed. However, when a light bulb shattered beside him, he whirled around to see the saddened expression on Raven's face before she squashed it back down. "Oh man… Your dad is the Anti-Christ isn't he?"

" . . . What gave it away?" Raven asked sadly, her cloak flashing grey for a few seconds, though it went unnoticed in the poor lighting.

" . . . Lucky guess," Vent said looking at the shattered remains of the light bulb that shattered. "Look Rae, I swear, I didn't know. And even if I did, I wouldn't think any less of you for it. Honest."

" . . . Do you really want to know about my father?" she asked, the brunette nodding. "Well… Then you'll have to tell me about what happened between you and your family."

"That's fair, though I don't think Robin will be able to tolerate me around here for a while," the brunette said as he scratched his head, then snapped his fingers a moment later. "Hey Raven, I have an idea! Let's run away together," he said extending his hand to her as he got up, the girl blushing crimson, causing a lighting fixture on the roof to melt. "Um, let me rephrase that," he said scratching his head at the melted lighting fixture. "I've got father issues. You've got father issues. Since we both have father issues, why don't the two of us step out of the city for a while. Get away from everything and just talk. You know, like a vacation," he suggested.

" . . . I suppose a vacation would be a good idea," Raven sighed. "Besides, if Robin's going to have a conniption over you being Slade's former apprentice, then I can only imagine how much he'll flip out when he learns who my father is. What I'm destined to do."

" . . . You don't have to tell me if you aren't ready. I'll still tell you about me, my family, and Slade's falling out if you ask," the brunette stated.

"No, it's fine. This is something I'd like to at least practice getting off my chest," Raven said getting up. "Plus, a vacation with you sounds… nice," she eventually said, a hint of a smile on her face, her coat flashing to pink for a brief second. Just long enough so nothing on the roof would melt.

"Hmmm… If we're really going to go, then I think I may know a good place for us to let off some steam. Cool off for a while," Vent said as he got up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Best part is, Robin won't have any choice but to let us leave, since he can't leave half of the Teen Titans absent from Jump if he decides go after us himself."

"But you and I being gone will have taken out a third," Raven reminded.

"If things really do get bad, we'll come back," Vent stated lacing his fingers behind his head. "At the most, we'll be gone for a three-day weekend. Otherwise, we'll head back home before we even get to where I had in mind," he said heading to the stairs.

"Where do you have in mind for our… impromptu vacation?" Raven asked.

"A nice little place on the opposite end of the US that I hung out a while back," the brunette responded. "Just focus on packing light. Later we'll meet up at my room and decide how to let Boy Wonder know that we're leaving for a little… sabbatical."

"Maybe… We should meet in my room," Raven suggested, catching the brunette slightly off guard since no one went into her room. "I mean, he won't expect it, and thinking about it, I guess I need to get out of Jump for a few days too. You moving through the halls will be less suspicious than me doing so after all."

"Oh… Well alright then. I'll meet up in your room after packing, and head out before anyone even knows we're gone," Vent said with a kind smile. "Oh, and Raven, thanks for understanding," the brunette said as he ran to his room. After a few seconds, a soft smile graced Raven's features that didn't cause anything to melt or blow up, and she disappeared into the shadows.

---

Disclaimer:
Ventus' change in appearance and being called Tempest is a brief reference to 26-Lord-Pain's NU: RedX Rising fanfic, where Naruto (the inspiration for Ventus' changed appearance and name for his stint at HIVE, with permission used by the author of course) goes by that alias. The being dressed in pre-Akatsuki attire was based on an idea I had for a Naruto/Teen Titans XOver story that never got past the initial creation stages. The fight between Ventus and the Slade Robot took moves from Human Weapon, though had some random moves mixed into it as well. I added something from Red vs Blue into his fight with Grant as well, and any RvB veterans will know what I'm talking about.

As for the "twisting in the wind" line, that was taken from Justice League Unlimited Season 2 Episode 8 when Gorilla Grodd was confronting the Flash in Lex Luthor's body. The situation is different, but the context still applies.

Also, the Rakansen and Cloth Spear techniques are both taken from Mana Tatsumiya and Ku Fei from Mahou Sensei Negima respectively, both of which are within Vent's abilities to perform. I had originally thought of having him use some of Lee's taijutsu, but that'll be saved for later since he has yet to learn the Goken/Strong Fist.

Also (again), the character Insanity was an OC offered by Gui, and mainly used because he seemed interesting enough to add since I was using Grant Wilson already.

Author's Note:
The Grant that appears in this story is roughly based on the Grant Wilson from Teen Titans (New Earth), and will be making an appearance later on in the story. Him appearing wasn't a one-time thing.

On note of the allusions made in Ch 16 and how things are different in the here-and-now (or from that perspective there-and-then), the reason for the evident change was because of the change in circumstance. You can change the past, but not the future. To try will only create alternate timelines, and given that everything I know about Time Travel comes from TV Specials on the science channel and the Back to the Future series, I like to think I know what I'm talking about in this instance. The further from the futre that a time-traveling method has on the past, the greater the changes caused.

As for their vacation, you could call it a mini-arc between Raven and Ventus, sorta like the episodes that cater to the friendship between two characters in the Teen Titans series. You're free to guess where they're going, but for the time being you won't be able to find out until the next chapter. Or the one after depending on how it's been written out.

P.S.
As for Cheshire and "Tempest's" conversation in Japanese, it was pretty much her asking him to the Sadie Hawkins dance, him saying he'd be happy to go with her, and then her threatening him not to be late "or else" before walking off. You can reverse-translate it if you want, but for the mostpart it's up to you to interpret what it is they're saying.