Author's Notes: Yep, Red Witch pointed out a good point! This happens before "This Soap Opera Called Life" happened, so as a result, Evan is not a member of the Hellions! Remember, I'm deviating this after the fanfic "Tremors of the Past" so everything I write is completely unrelated to Red Witch's brilliant story-telling! Thanks, though, to Red Witch for letting me write the Misfit-verse this way! And a special shout-out to all my reviewers! That said, enjoy this second chapter!
CHAPTER 2: Of Re-Cons and Wrecks
At the same time, the day before the Teen Titans and the Titans East were attempting to celebrate Raven's birthday, things were generally back to some sense of normalcy over at Xavier's Institute of the Gifted…
KAAA-BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
"My room!" screamed Kitty shrilly.
"My clothes!" hollered Jean several seconds later in her room, "Oh my God! They used Claudius and Barney's diaper deposits in here! Oh my God! It's EVERYWHERE!"
"Woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo hoo hoo!" Pietro and Jamie were heard cackling like demented cousins of Daffy Duck as they ran for their lives with Ray, Wanda and Roberto pursuing them, the two male X-Men and one female Misfit now entirely drenched with what could only smell like dank seawater mixed with fish guts.
"Fry, you albino hummingbird reject! Fry!" yelled Ray as he let out a blast of electricity at Pietro, but unfortunately missed and caused yet another hole in the wall (and sadly enough had caused a water pipe to burst).
"I'll kill Multiple, and you two can kill my brother!" Wanda offered out loudly as she tried hexing the staircase in order to cut off their escape, but ingeniously, Jamie and Pietro managed to swing off the banister from the second story and slide down the railing.
"That's fine with me!" Roberto said as he took off in the air in his powered mode.
"COME BACK HERE WITH REMY'S PANTS, YOU LITTLE FUNGUSES!" one could hear Remy bellowing from a block away as he chased the Delgado Triplets who were cackling gleefully while running by with the article in question, waving haphazardly in their hands.
"Uh…shouldn't the correct term be 'fungi', Remy?" asked Forge idly as Trinity rushed by.
"Forge, shut up and help Remy get back his pants!" snapped the Cajun X-Man impatiently at the X-Man inventor on the sidelines as he pursued them, clad in a T-shirt and his briefs.
"Chuck!" bellowed Logan wrathfully from another room while chasing a familiar green-feather parrot who was clutching a bottle of fine whiskey, "You better get Shipwreck do something about that insane parrot of his! Polly raised the liquor cabinet again!"
…which wasn't apparently saying much considering that the Misfits and Joes, in their typical fashion, came to visit and/or annoy the X-Men at their school.
"Stormy!" Shipwreck yelled eagerly as he popped up around the corner to find Ororo trying to have a pleasant conversation with Hank over tea in the plush living room, "Didja miss me?"
Ororo's face darkened a bit but she decided to try another tactic as she gave no indication that she heard or noticed the G.I. Joe sailor as she asked Hank, "So what did you make of the abnormal readings of energy from the meteor shower last night, Hank? Quite odd considering that hardly any meteors were within the vicinity of the Sagittarius sector of space within this past year."
"I know. And I cannot explain their presence nor know what to make of the omega radiation and the unnatural traces of antimatter I detected from that quadrant," Hank sighed as he reached for a biscuit from the plate.
Shipwreck then tried again, hoping to get her attention, as he offered with wiggling eyebrows, "Hey, new Cineplex opened up in the next town over, Ororo. Wanna go see the newest horror movie? Popcorn, soda, maybe a little necking?"
There was only silence, with Hank and Ororo giving Shipwreck the cold shoulder as they silently enjoyed their tea. A bit put off, Shipwreck then tried a different tactic as he pulled up a chair.
"Mind if I join you? That brew's smelling mighty good…" he asked rhetorically as he reached for a tea cup and the teapot, but now irritated, Hank slammed one furry, gargantuan paw in front of the Joe's hands, cutting off his path to the jasmine tea and ginger cookies, his voice in a dangerous growl.
"Actually…we do mind." Shipwreck's eyes narrowed at the abrupt rudeness as he slowly rose from his chair, his muscles tense and ready to challenge the furry X-Man. But Storm's voice then cut the two men short before they could even start exchanging blows.
"Shipwreck, go away," the weather witch said coldly and shortly, "Hank and I were actually having a very intellectual and enchanting conversation before you decided to bother us with your presence. Please leave us alone and have us enjoy our tea in peace."
Shipwreck looked at her blankly before he left in a bit of a huff, muttering, "Fine, I can see when I'm not wanted."
"That would be a first," mumbled Beast under his breath as he seated himself back into the comfortable chair. Ororo, at the same time, looked as if she had won the grand jackpot of the lottery as she poured Hank some more tea quite jovially.
"Goddess, it worked! It actually worked! The silent treatment was enough to get that lunatic out of my hair for the rest of the day! Hank, you are a genius to encourage me to keep ignoring Shipwreck! I don't know why I never have tried it before!"
"Perhaps it was because you have always simply given in to your temper and would end up chasing our dear Hector throughout the X-Mansion with ball lightning and acid rain," her friend chuckled deeply.
"Can you blame me, though? Goddess, just like Wonder Woman, Cover Girl, and all the other Joes women…Shipwreck has the ability to turn away anything of the opposite gender! I'm surprised he even managed to find a wife!" Storm ranted with a smile as she dipped a piece of biscuit into her cup. Beast stared off a bit into space about that time, almost lost in her blue eyes. Secretly, Hank had been harboring feelings for Ororo for quite some time, about several months after he moved into the X-Mansion and was adjusting to his new life as an instructor. Though he was at first content to just be good friends, it was soon evident to Hank that the more time he spent with her, the more Ororo bewitched him. After all, Storm was intelligent, erudite, cultured, and well-mannered, almost exactly like Hank. And Hank would have told Storm sooner how he felt…except that the students' rampage and rowdiness had always prevented them from having a quiet moment, and throw in the Misfits and the Joes as well to completely obliterate anything regarding free time. And as much as Hank knew that Shipwreck was a honorable soldier and sincere in the fight for mutant-human peace, Beast also felt a resentment that Shipwreck was unknowingly competing with him for Ororo's affections. Granted, they had never been returned and Storm made it clear that everything about Shipwreck annoyed and infuriated her, but Hank really didn't want to risk it…
"Beast?" Ororo's voice cut in front of him, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Hank? Are you all right? You appeared to have just blanked out into space. Is everything OK?"
Beast looked at Ororo deeply, biting his lip a bit. Could he…could he tell her? It was as good as a time as any…
"Ororo?" Hank said gently in a compassionate murmur as he laid a paw on her slim, brown hand, "I…I have always wished to tell you this, and now that I daresay we have one of our few scant opportunities to be alone…I…I simply wish to say - "
"Hiya, Stormy! Miss me yet?" announced Shipwreck loudly as he popped over Storm's shoulder and startled both of the X-Elders.
"SHIPWRECK!" Ororo was immediately angry at the intrusion (yet she gracefully remained silent after her outburst) and so was Hank, but in a more cheated and extreme manner.
"Shipwreck! I thought you said you knew you weren't wanted here! We told you wanted to be left alone!" rumbled Hank, showing his canines in a snarl.
"You never said how long," Shipwreck pointed out, grinning like an idiot while holding something behind his back. Hank felt a vein throb in his temple as his hackles literally stood up, quivering with embittered indignation. Damn it to hell, he was going to get this chance to tell Ororo how he felt, even if he had to beat Shipwreck to a bloody pulp and bury his remains underneath her flower beds…
Ororo decided to just ignore Shipwreck, but then the G.I. Joe sailor presented her right in front of her face a bunch of white moon flowers, sweet smelling and with their very edges of their petals brushed with pink, bragging, "Aw, c'mon Stormy! Thought you could use some cheering up so I gotcha some flowers for ya'!"
Instead of seeing the smile on Storm's face, Shipwreck was a bit confused to see Ororo quivering with anger, one eye twitching ever so slightly, as she stared at the flowers Shipwreck had picked and cut with his knife.
"Shipwreck…" Storm asked, her teeth on edge as much as her voice was, "by any chance…did you get these flowers from the greenhouse? My greenhouse?"
Shipwreck suddenly felt tongue tied as he became incredibly reluctant to tell her the truth, stalling, "Er…"
"Because these look suspiciously like the rare African mountain moon-flowers I germinated from seed and raised for over eight months…" Storm hissed, her eyes so wide with building rage, you could see the white sclera all around her blue pupils.
"Um…" gulped Shipwreck, have a bad feeling of where this was headed.
"The very moon-flowers that I raised on a strict diet of bottled mineral water and specially made fertilizer of fish meat, washed sand, and grass clippings, separate from the rest of my plants…" Ororo growled, getting to her feet very slowly and in a very intimidating manner before she slowly faced the now very demoralized soldier.
"Uh, heh-heh…" chuckled Shipwreck weakly, hoping she'd find the whole thing funny (which she didn't in the slightest).
"The sporadic and fragile flora that I had to raise and incubate under specific temperature-controlled sun lamps due to the fact that they only bloom once every six months?" Ororo said, her voice now growing a bit shrill as her fingers kept twitching and begging to wrap themselves around her antagonist's throat.
"Uh-oh…" trailed off the bearded Joe to himself.
"The very African flowers that mean more to me than five of you?" Storm asked in a final death note, a slight vein popping off her left temple.
Shipwreck then decided to dig his proverbial grave even deeper.
"Would this be a bad time to also add that I chopped off some of your black roses as well?" Shipwreck said in a very meek and weak voice as he held up several hacked bunches of said blossoms in his other hand.
Crack! KABOOOOOMMMM!
"And right on cue," sighed Roadblock as he and Low Light lazily watched Shipwreck running for his life with Ororo flying after him, screaming without words, as she kept hurling red-colored ball-lightning, "Looks like Storm's giving Hector his dues. And with our weather-witch wanting Shipwreck's head more or less, I think it's best to stay out of this mess."
"You won't be hearing me saying otherwise. I know better than to get in the warpath of Storm when she's like this," Low Light agreed as he took a swig from his root beer bottle he raided from the X-Men refrigerator.
Meanwhile, Amara, Piotr, and Justin were conversing in the hallway when they heard the telltale sounds of thunder and noticed the bright flashes of lightning before Shipwreck came barreling down the hallway towards them in a mad panic, all the meanwhile ducking and avoiding the spheres of painful electricity. Amara and Piotr gasped before they flattened themselves against the wall and allowed Shipwreck and Storm to pass by them, avoiding being stampeded and trampled by the two adults. Justin was so taken aback, he remained frozen on the spot before he cringed at the last second.
"Yeow!" Justin yelled as he covered his head with his arms, awaiting the painful impact. To his surprise and Piotr and Amara's collective relief, Justin orbed away and the only thing Shipwreck dashed through was a fleeting cloud of white sparks. With a faint shimmering noise, Justin then reappeared in another bedroom of the X-Mansion within the opposite wing. Justin blinked as he looked up from his cowering position of his arms shielding his face, a bit confused considering he just orbed to a part of the mansion he had never seen before. Where was he?
"Uh…kitten? Do you mind explaining what in hellkats are you doing here?" a hoarse voice said in a bit of an aloof and stiffened tone from behind. Justin made a noise of surprise as he whirled around to see a frowning Jake who was sitting at the head of his bed, holding a photo-frame in one paw. Jake was scowling at Justin, and Justin could see that the kat's eyes were red from breaking down. It was then that the Misfit realized that he orbed in during a very private time for Jake, and the instructor wasn't the least bit pleased.
"Um…I'll…I'll just leave," murmured Justin as he made for the door, but then he and Jake heard general explosions outside, causing the wooden slab to quake and smoke a bit, as if in flames, as they heard Trinity laughing along with Kitty, Jean, Remy, and Rina screaming as the three X-Men chased the eleven-year old mutant geniuses.
"Like die, you little monsters!" screamed Kitty on the other side as Jake could discern the general noises of Kitty firing missiles from her glovatrix.
"Get 'em! Get 'em!" Jean shrieked as she was heard stomping by in a mad rush to grab the Delgado Triplets and wring their necks.
"You three insane rejects from Hell's laboratory can't run from us forever!" roared Rina as she flew by in hot pursuit, but damned if the three girls weren't incredibly quick sprinters. Justin winced as he slightly backed away from the door, realizing that now was not the best time to step outside.
Jake sighed wearily as he eyed Justin.
"Considering what's going on outside, Justin, I don't blame you if you wanted to avoid the general chaos. You're welcome to stay here until the explosions die down," the brown kat mumbled, though it was apparent that he still wanted to be left alone and that he had just said that sentence for politeness' sake. After all, one normally didn't want to want an audience when you're crying your eyes out. Though Justin could have orbed out to a safer area such as the garden or the kitchen and respected Jake's privacy…the Misfit was a bit curious and pained to see Razor like this. Justin then could glimpse the photo Jake was holding in his paw; it was a photo of Jake being held in a headlock, laughing along with a bigger and more muscular kat with yellow fur, tawny stripes and a mischievous yet playful smirk as wide as New York. Justin then remembered what Fred and Todd told him of the SWAT Kat TV series.
"So…this is Chance?" Justin asked as he looked at the picture of the unfamiliar kat in Jake's paws, almost looking over the SWAT Kat's shoulders obtrusively. Jake rolled his eyes, unenthusiastically exhaling through his nose, at Justin, making it clear he wasn't in any mood to talk during his breakdown times. Justin blushed as he hurriedly scooted to the other end of the bed as he apologized, extremely shamefaced.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I shouldn't be so nosy…" the teenager murmured quickly, almost scared that he made the instructor mad, but Jake then managed to keep a lid on his irritation as he decided talking was better than having an uncomfortable and tense silence. And if anything, Jake didn't want to cause ill feelings and uncomfortable resentfulness between himself and anyone for that matter. He handed the picture to Justin so that the young adolescent could have a better view of Chance.
Jake said in a tired voice, "No, Justin, you were just inquisitive. It's nothing for me to get mad at, especially since all of the X-Men and some of your Misfits know the details of what happened. Yeah, this was Chance and me, my partner and best friend since we were teenagers. And he was the other SWAT Kat known as T-Bone, and the both of us were the infamous yet noble vigilante team that protected Megakat City for a good number of years until…until he got killed by Feral when we were fighting Dark Kat. And though the X-Men helped me and my friends defeat Dark Kat…I didn't want to stay there, stay in my world anymore. It would have been too painful to me."
"Wow," Justin murmured dumbly, not sure what to say, as he looked at the picture before he turned to Jake who was leaning heavily forward with his arms lifelessly resting on his knees, "And…and you were all alone?"
"Yeah, very much so."
"And even afterwards, after you fought the battle with Dark Kat, didn't…um, well, didn't you have any friends or any family?"
Jake then raised his head to look at Justin as he emphasized, "I do now, Justin, and that's all that matters. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Megakat City and how I still wish Chance didn't die, but that's not going to happen realistically. I couldn't stay in Megakat City anymore, and I wanted to start a new life, one that didn't require me to take up being a SWAT Kat again without Chance. So I left…and now I can say I'm better off because of it. And I've found a little happiness with the X-Men, having them be my friends and little brothers and sisters in a way, and that's all that I really need right now."
There was a pause between the X-Man and the Misfit before Justin, though he had no idea why, laid a tentative hand on Jake's shoulder.
"I'm sorry you went through that…"
Jake gave the slightest hint of a resigned smile from the corner of his mouth as he said simply, "Don't be."
Meanwhile, in another section of the mansion, Fred was walking with Tabitha towards Forge's laboratory, chatting animatedly…
"Thanks for doing this for me, Tabby," Fred said as he held the door open for Tabitha to enter. The blond-haired bomb-maker waved off the thanks indifferently.
"Ah, no need, Freddy! But I am a little curious as to why couldn't you just keep the ice cream back at Misfit Manor? Or as to why you and Lina couldn't share a little alone time over at the Pit?"
"TOAD! XI!" screamed Rogue in the background loudly enough to cause the walls to slightly shake, "You two yahoos better give us back our ice cream, or else I'll do things to you so gruesomely and excessively violent, even Quentin Tarantino would consider them disgusting!"
"You know Rogue, you should really learn to share, yo!" Toad sneered, sticking out his tongue and giving the gothic X-Girl a big raspberry as he and Xi dashed off, gulping huge spoonfuls of Häagen-Dazs from stolen pints as a furious Rogue chased after the two Misfits, brandishing with a rolling pin. Tabitha rolled her eyes back at Blob.
"Never mind, stupid question," Tabitha giggled.
Fred added, "Plus, with Pietro and Trinity being so nosy, I couldn't have a quiet time with Lina without them spying on us even if I paid them to leave us alone! At least here, with Jean and Scott and Kitty being easy targets, Pietro and the Triplets will be too busy trying to play pranks on everyone and annoy the hardcore X-Men to bother me and Lina! Thus, it'll give me a chance to have a quiet ice cream date with her in the Mansion without needing to worry about the guys intruding in on us!"
Tabitha had to nod, impressed. It was a good idea, and she would have never guessed that Fred would be able to think of it. Tabitha then said as she led Fred to the refrigerator in Forge's laboratory where he stored Petri-dish cell samples.
"Hid it right here, away from everybody else so that none of the other X-Men might accidentally get it, and since Forge was busy working with Beast and Razor on the Velocity, he didn't go to his lab for the past three days which leaves your stuff safe. That pistachio walnut caramel ice cream is as safe as -"
Tabitha then trailed off, stunned, as she and Fred looked in the freeze unit to find that the quart of ice cream she carefully harbored for Fred to give to Lina…was gone.
"Hey!" cried out Blob as he peered in the freezer, "What happened to the ice cream I got?"
"I don't get it!" protested Tabitha, "I hid it right here! And I knew that you wanted to use it to cheer up Lina as a surprise so I didn't eat it! And I didn't tell anyone else that it was here!"
"Well, where else could it have gone? It couldn't have walked away!"
At the same time, in the study of the Institute, Lina was moping, a bit down, by herself on one of the mahogany tables when a dish of ice cream slid gently in front of her. She looked up to see the X-Teen, Iceman, looking concerned as he held another bowl of ice cream in his hands.
"Here," Bobby said in as sincere of a voice as he could play out. Lina looked pleasantly surprised as she took the small bowl, her eyes crinkled in shock.
"Oh, wow! My favorite ice cream! Pistachio walnut with caramel! How…why?" the insect-girl asked, a bit muddled. Bobby gave a wide grin that made him look mischievous and cute at the same time (Lina was a bit ashamed to consciously realize this).
"You looked a little down, Lina, so I thought since you're visiting along with the rest of the Misfits, I thought maybe you could use some cheering up. And hey, ice cream always cheers me up!" Bobby said amiably as he dug in eagerly. Of course, Lina would never really guess how Bobby got the ice cream. Bobby had to pat himself on the back for his genius, especially since it was easy to eavesdrop on Tabitha on the phone as Fred pleaded several days ago with her to hide a pint of Lina's favorite ice cream at the mansion so that he could use it to cheer her up next time the Misfits visited the X-Men. And when Bobby found out, he decided it would be in his best interests if Lina spent some time sharing ice cream with someone else more worthy other than Blob…
Lina looked a bit wary as she asked, "But…but how did you know this was my favorite ice cream?"
Bobby gave a warm smile while lying skillfully through his teeth, "You told us. Remember? When you and Justin came to visit us in the Mansion before the Furies from Apokolips attacked. We all got to talking and that was one of the things were talked about when we were talking about our favorite shows and stuff. Remember?"
"I'm surprised you remember that," Lina commented, feeling a bit shifty. She got the feeling that there was a romantic string attached to this gesture of kindness, but Bobby then proficiently countered that suspicion.
"Nah, not really. After all, we're friends and supposed to mend things back between the Misfits and X-Men again like the Professor and Hawk wanted. And besides, when I was going out with Jubilee when she stayed with us, she liked it when I did little things to cheer her up while we were dating, showed her how much I cared. And I like doing this for all my friends, to make them laugh. Heck, Jubes always told me people need pranksters and jokers to make some humor when everyone's depressed. She and I still contact each other through e-mail when we can…"
Lina felt herself relax. So Bobby wasn't interested in her and only wanted to be friendly. She suddenly felt ashamed for thinking so badly of such a good soul. Bobby smiled upon seeing Lina lower her defenses, inwardly cheering that she bought it (and hoping she wouldn't spend time to check his story on if he and Jubilee did date in the past). Hell, this was worthy of winning an Oscar for "Best Actor". After a couple of bites, Lina smiled at the X-Man.
"You know, Bobby…" and with that, Lina paused a bit, not sure if she wanted to say anything in fear of offending Bobby, especially since he was so nice to her.
"Yeah?" Bobby said, trying his best to keep his voice nonchalant, but budding with a twinge of excited interest.
"You know, when I first came with the Misfits and when I talked with your other teammates, I…well, I was told a lot of things about you, how you broke up Lance and Kitty by exposing his past, how you got the other New Mutants drunk, and how you were always a thoughtless jerk…"
Bobby made a very big show of having his eyes being troubled as he made a sorrowful and regretful expression and said, "And I am sorry about that, about everything that led to the blowout. Really, I am. Believe me, I know it wasn't an excuse to expose Lance like that and cause the breakup between him and Kitty, but I was hurting because my parents disowned me and I was really going through a low point at that time. I know I said sorry to Lance, but I also know it isn't going to bring things back to the way they were before. I just…when you've been hurt, you just want to hurt someone else to feel better, you know?"
The thing was that Bobby wasn't lying when he said this. He truly did feel bad and guilty for what he did to Lance. He regretted that day ever since (especially since he was still being targeted by various members of the Misfits for revenge), but of course, being overly dramatic about his guilt could gain him a few points in Dragonfly's eyes.
At the same time, Dragonfly was still pondering what Bobby just told her. She did understand; she herself tried to commit suicide on her first day with G.I. Joe when her parents disowned her and she was adopted into the Misfits. And she felt her heart go out to Bobby even more for being vulnerable enough to trust her with his feelings and secrets. Shy and slightly hesitant, the female Misfit continued.
"Well, I was about to say…to be honest, when I first met you, I thought you were crude and obnoxious and a senseless creep. But, after spending some time with you…I guess I was wrong. You're a really nice guy, really sweet. And…and I'm sorry, for what it's worth, that some of my friends and family are still holding big grudges against you. And, now that I remember it, I'm sorry I slapped you when the X-Men and Misfits had that big fight before we split up with Supergirl and Batgirl to go find Apokolips."
Bobby shrugged easily as he said, "It's OK. I deserved it, and it was mean of me to say that to Freddy, especially since he saved my life when we fought those demon-things at Apokolips."
"Still…" and Lina touched Bobby's hand in hers, sending shivers of pleasure and joy into Iceman's spine, "You're a really great guy, and deep down, you're nicer and more considerate than a lot of people give you credit for. I think that someday, if things between you and Jubilee don't work out, you'll make some other girl really happy."
But I really want that girl to be you, Lina, Bobby thought to himself, but he didn't dare voice that one out loud.
"Thanks, that means a lot, coming from you," Bobby answered, dreamily feeling like he was on Cloud Nine, even conveniently forgetting that he stepped on Fred's chance just to get his chance to bond with Lina (and raise himself a few notches in her opinion and respect). Of course, if Bobby was even listening to his conscience right now, his morality spirit would be angrily screaming into Iceman's right ear that he was a monster and that he was going straight to hell. And even if he had been listening, Bobby couldn't have cared less. Being with Lina made him happy and all the more worthwhile.
However, the tender moment was broken when Bobby, Lina, and all the other Misfits, X-Men and Joes heard Professor X's voice sound gently in all their minds through a telepathic connection.
X-Men, Misfits, G.I. Joe…report to my office. There is a matter that may require our help and expertise. Repeat, students, faculty, and G.I. Joe, please come to my office…and Wanda, please stop before you cause Pietro to bleed to death. I just had the carpet shampooed…
In a few minutes, all the X-Men and Joes and Misfits gathered in the grand and spacious office of Xavier (including a singed Shipwreck and a heavily bruised Pietro, now sporting a swollen lip) to find a pleasant if not unexpected surprise. There, standing next to General Hawk and Professor Xavier, was Green Lantern, one of the members of the Justice League.
"Green Lantern?" Spirit asked, a bit shocked, "Why are you here? I thought you and the rest of the members of the Justice League wished to maintain their distance from the X-Men and Misfits after the fiasco with the Watchtower."
John Stewart gave Spirit a dry look as he said, "Despite that, the Justice League still stands on the belief that the X-Men and Misfits and Joes will be a great help of assistance to us when the time comes. And considering what I have to show you all, it is a matter that may require your skills and experience, especially considering that not even Superman and Wonder Woman are used to dealing with mutants."
"Mutants? Where?" Kurt piped up, his brow crinkling. John then managed to take out a small metallic instrument that looked remarkably like a CD player before it projected a holographic image large enough for all the teenagers and adults to see. It was a view of Jump City.
Green Lantern then announced, "A little while ago, when Batman and Hawkgirl were investigating the incidents with Batgirl and Supergirl and the Phoenix Force, they managed to trace several of the ties with H.A.T.E. with Cobra, Shaw Enterprises, Fisk Industries, Oscorp, and Lexcorp, most of the general businesses with lucrative finances and holdings, but nothing really suspicious. After all, it was public knowledge that many corporations were willing to lend their funds and sources as noticeable tax breaks and ways to support the anti-alien movement while it was being led by Kanto. Yet we were able to discover that there was a strange amount of money disappearing from these holdings with H.A.T.E., though we couldn't detect the sources of these embezzlements. All the assets trickled to dummy investments and accounts without any clear path, but Batman was able to conjecture that this money was being financed to a prestigious academy called H.I.V.E., especially since it suspiciously managed to escape bankruptcy after being led by a ruthless headmaster called Brother Blood."
The X-Men and the Misfits then could see a picture of the yellow and black designed building before John then switched the picture to a screenshot of several teenagers wandering around the H.I.V.E. grounds, emphasizing, "Yet what really interested us what this satellite picture we took of several new students that suddenly enrolled into H.I.V.E. We were disconcerted, to say the least, when we discovered the identities of these teenagers. Take a look, all of you. Do you remember them?"
It only took an instant for most of the X-Men and Misfits to recognize the seven youths.
"The Hellions!" gasped Jean upon distinguish the seven teenagers and protégés of Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club.
"You know them?" Lina asked, curious.
"We had a run in with them when Jean, Scott, Ray, and Tabby tried going to a relaxation camp in the woods, and me and Bazooka fought with them when they tried to take away Howie the sea serpent on our fishing trip," Jamie provided.
Rina's eyes crinkled with doubt and disbelief as she asked, "A sea serpent? Is this supposedly some term that is used as a part of a slang language that I do not know about yet?"
Fred patiently explained, "Trust me, Rina, Jamie is not kidding. There really was a sea serpent…"
"Anyway, getting back to what's actually important…so if the Hellions are in Jump City, then that must mean that Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club aren't far behind," Ray thought aloud.
Lance then explained to Lina and Rina, "The Hellions are kind of like the X-Men and the Misfits, but they're evil and they don't mind playing dirty. They're a faction of students trained by the Hellfire Club, this huge nasty organization that tried working with Magneto to take over the world before the Joes and us could stop them."
"And it's probably of no coincidence, either," frowned Cover Girl as she pieced it together, "Think about it: H.A.T.E. is funded by Shaw Enterprises, a business that has direct ties to Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire Club, and yet when it is suddenly exposed as an underhanded backing by Darkseid and Apokolips, the Hellions then suddenly show up to a place like H.I.V.E. out on a whim? Fat chance. Whatever the Hellfire Club is planning, they have some kind of interest in H.I.V.E. and they're probably planning to use it like Darkseid used H.A.T.E. as a cover to kidnap some of our teammates to harness to Phoenix Force."
"But, like, what exactly is H.I.V.E.?" Kitty asked.
Spirit provided, "H.I.V.E. is an academy of gifted children, similar to how the Institute is for mutants, except that this school trains the kids to be future villains and bad guys. Think of them as a breeding ground for the future Magnetos and Cobra Commanders of the world."
"That's a pleasant thought," grimaced Sam, "But then why would the Hellions be there? I thought the Hellfire Club would be teaching those greenhorns themselves, and Frost doesn't seem like the type to just entrust the Hellions to train somewhere else, especially when it seems like she would rather do the schooling and raising."
"You're right on that one, Cannonball," broke in Green Lantern, "Whatever the Hellions are doing there, it may be for a more sinister purpose, especially since the Hellfire Club may have been directly behind the reasons why Darkseid suddenly targeted you for the Phoenix Force. It's entirely possible that the Hellfire Club was the one who supplied Darkseid the M'Kraan Crystal in the first place."
"What? Are you kidding? But…but why would they do that?" Piotr asked, flabbergasted.
"Keep in mind, Colossus, it's only a theory, but it's the most likely one we have so far, even though we don't have proof. And the reason the Justice League is asking for your help is because we have never experienced the Hellions or the Hellfire Club before. We have never fought them and mutant threats are one of the few things we have rarely dealt with directly. Plus, since the Teen Titans are in Jump City and are direct enemies of H.I.V.E., it may be in our best interests if you can help the Teen Titans deal with the Hellions and give them much needed assistance."
"You have a point, Mr. Stewart," murmured Xavier, "The Hellfire Club is a very dangerous opponent and from what we have heard of the Teen Titans, they may be seriously outnumbered, especially if the Hellions try to fight them."
"And you think that the Hellfire Club and the Hellions are going to try something against the Teen Titans?" Roberto asked Green Lantern.
"Yes, and after the conspiracy activity behind the Furies and the Phoenix Force, we would rather play it safe this time. It would greatly help us if the Misfits, the X-Men, and the Joes could help the Teen Titans and Titans East combat this alliance, especially since we felt that the best way to deal with mutant threats is to request the help of mutant heroes."
"But why would the Hellfire Club be interested in the Teen Titans, yo? They never even fought with them before and I don't think any of their members are interested in joining them," Todd pointed out.
"I guess we'll find out when we get to Jump City and start investigating, starting with H.I.V.E. headquarters," Forge offered.
"And it would be nice to meet the Teen Titans," mused Remy, "Merde! Those five will be an interesting bunch to get along with, especially that red-haired femme named Starfire. Oui! She has both the beauty and thorns of a rose, that chere!"
"Swamp rat…" growled Rogue warningly, and Remy quickly gulped as he threw Rogue an apologetic smile.
"We'll leave for Jump City immediately then," finished Althea on a final note, "We can use the Mass Device to teleport everyone there as soon as we're ready."
"We're all going, right?" Jamie asked with wide eyes. Beast chuckled as he fatherly tussled the adolescent's hair. He could understand that Jamie didn't want to be left behind, especially since he was so eager to prove himself and go into the thick of all the excitement and battle.
"Of course, Multiple. Kitty can even take Lockheed with her on this mission if she would wish to. I'm sure our resident dragon would love meeting new people."
"Like totally, Beast!" Kitty piped up happily as Lockheed roared appreciatively in the background, "That would be so excellent!"
"Hey, Mr. Green Lantern, why did you come by yourself? Didn't the rest of the Justice League want to brief us as well?" Tabitha asked. John frowned slightly, as if suddenly dawning on something, as he looked around the room.
"Actually, I was supposed to brief you all with the Flash, but come to think of it, he left for a bathroom break right before you kids came here when Xavier called you," Green Lantern said slowly. Wanda then looked around the room to notice another worry.
"Oh no," she moaned, "Pietro's gone too…"
"Oh no…" echoed Althea, wincing, suddenly having a good idea of how this was going to end.
Suddenly, there was a series of crashing rang from the kitchen as Quicksilver and the Flash could be heard arguing while the faint rumbling of the mansion indicated that Wally and Pietro were having a speed-fight.
"It's mine!" yelled Pietro.
"Hey, you've hogged it long enough so hand it over!" snapped the Flash.
"You're one to talk!"
"Let go! I want this coffee more than you!" Wally shouted.
"You let go! It's mine!" Pietro shot back heatedly as the winds started to pick up in the nearby hallway, highlighting that the brawl between the two speedsters was starting to get ugly.
"No, it's mine!"
"Mine!" Quicksilver yelled.
"No, it's MINE!" yelled the Flash in equal vehemence and volume.
"Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…!" hollered Pietro in his super-speed.
"Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…!" hollered Wally at the same time in his super-speed.
"Dare I ask what's happening?" Roadblock quipped, deadpanned, though he knew the answer was going to be painful. Daria, Quinn, and Brittany then gave identical evil smiles.
Daria provided, "Let's just say Pietro managed to sneak another thermos of B.A.'s coffee with him before we left the Pit to visit the X-Men…"
"And of course, Wally would be desperate to get his hands on some more of that stuff," moaned John Stewart as he held his head in his hands to soothe the pounding migraine, "Not again! It took us a day and a half to detoxify that brew out of his bloodstream after Pietro gave it to him that last time you kids went to visit us at the Watchtower! And just our luck, he's still addicted to it! Batman and Superman are going to kill Wally if he doesn't drive them nuts first! Oh God, and I just had to draw one of the short sticks!"
"The short stick? You mean as in drawing straws or something of the like?" Xi asked, a bit confused.
"Why do you think only two of the members of the Justice League was sent to come brief you?" the man griped wryly.
"Um…Mr. Green Lantern, if you keep clutching your head like that, you're most likely going to cause your fingers to burrow into your skull," Amara pointed out hesitantly.
John made the best of an effort to grimly smile (although it looked like he was rather wincing in extreme pain) as he groaned, "Trust me, Amara. Right now, that is the preferable option…"
---
"This bites! I didn't even get a chance to tell them what I could do!" whined Selinda as she and Jinx commiserated together in Jinx's room over at H.I.V.E. academy. The pink-haired witch stayed silent, but one could tell she was contemplating the same thing her friend was. It wasn't much of surprise, considering that ever since they were declared as the "disgraced graduates of H.I.V.E." ever since their loss to the Teen Titans when they first fought them, Jinx knew that deep down, the Headmistress would be less eager to send her, Mammoth, and Gizmo along with the Hellions to go on a mission tonight. Heck, ever since she was bailed from prison, Jinx had to endure taunts and insults and jeers from fellow classmates on how she was a failure because she and her friends were easily defeated by the Teen Titans. And when Brother Blood arrived to lead H.I.V.E., he was even less sympathetic, much to Jinx's disappointment, calling them all useless examples of future villains and never missing an opportunity to display the three of them as examples of what not to become as a villain. Yet Selinda was one of the few who didn't follow suit. She still loved Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth deeply and stood by them fiercely when her classmates and even Brother Blood told her to not lower herself to the "H.I.V.E. rejects". That was one of the reasons why Jinx was very appreciative of Shimmer and how she always was loyally open and welcoming, even though such deeds and conduct was looked down upon as traits for wickedness and wrongdoing.
Yet what stung was that a day after the Hellions arrived into H.I.V.E., Mammoth and Gizmo were chosen along with Private HIVE and See-More to accompany the Hellions for a special mission. Jinx was not chosen, and as such, she too was left behind. Selinda was understandable since she had no real training and was still incredibly too young for any strenuous battle, but Jinx was a top-graduate. Shimmer than noticed the look on her friend's face and immediately felt remorseful.
"I'm sorry. I must have really been thoughtless to put my foot in my mouth, especially since you probably wanted to go out to fight the Titans instead of stay with me," Selinda said a little sadly.
Jinx popped her head up, shocked. She then said insistently and sincerely, "What? No, Selinda, don't ever think that! Yeah, I'm sad I couldn't go, but I'm never willing to put you over anything! You've been there for me as a really great friend and your Mammoth's sister! Of course I'm glad that if I'm going to stay behind and do nothing, at least I can do it with you!"
"Think Gizmo and Mammoth went to go fight the Titans?" Selinda asked, suddenly veering off-topic.
"I wouldn't be surprised, but either way, I wouldn't be exactly looking forward to fighting them again, especially since we keep losing to them," muttered Jinx in a resentful tone, "As well as other things…"
"Like because you still have feelings for Cyborg when he was disguised as Stone?"
Jinx looked down on her bedspread as she idly picked at the fabric, exhaling through her nose loudly. It was no secret that when Cyborg went undercover as the student Stone, Jinx had become incredibly infatuated with him, and upon finding out that she exposed her feelings all for a traitor and an enemy, she was hurt. And it didn't help that the other H.I.V.E. students, when they got wind of it, jabbed at her mercilessly for it. Though she shrugged it off underneath a façade of indifference and hostility at the mention of the Titans…she could secretly admit to herself that it was pretty painful still. Funnily enough, Shimmer could see that. Shimmer smiled as she took Jinx's hands in hers eagerly.
"Well, it's his loss, that Cyborg! And we'll get the chance to beat him and the Titans soon enough! With all the stuff the Hellions are teaching us and with all the medical check-ups and supplements and stuff we're going through, we'll finally be able to show those goody-goodies that H.I.V.E. is number one!" Selinda said with undying faith, yet Jinx looked at her younger friend worriedly, immediately alarmed.
"Wait! Selinda, what did you just say?" she gasped as she held Selinda's hand tightly.
Confused, the small redhead then explained, "Well, the Headmistress said that all of us should start going to the medical wards at least twice or three times a week to go through some procedures and stuff to improve our physical capabilities and lessen our chances to get sick and stuff. Remember, in study hall? The teachers all discussed it, and everyone's already doing it! I mean, if the Hellions go through it, then it must be good! Remember how all seven of them just breezed through our training exercises? I mean, it was set to Level 50, the highest ever and one that no one at H.I.V.E. could ever complete, yet all the Hellions were able to pass through it with flying colors! So if we wanna be as strong as the Hellions, then we should go through all the stuff they go through. It didn't hurt much. So far, it's just a couple of shots and stuff…"
Jinx was immediately bothered and upset. The H.I.V.E. villainess did remember. She, Gizmo, and Mammoth all decided to not go through the procedures, partly due to suspicion but also due to the arrogant feelings that they were good enough to battle enemies and opponents without needing performance supplements. Yet if Selinda was going through it along with the rest of the H.I.V.E. students…
"Selinda," breathed Jinx heavily as she took the girl's hands, "Promise me you'll stop going to those medical check-ups, all right? Just promise me and your brother that you won't do the same things the Hellions are doing, OK?"
"But…why?" Selinda was incredibly puzzled.
"I…I just have a bad feeling," Jinx truthfully confessed, "I mean…something about all this, it just doesn't seem right. This just…feels wrong somehow."
Selinda laughed at her friend's worry, thinking it was sweet concern, as she giggled, "Aw, but Jinx, it's safe! I mean, the Hellions are doing it, so it must be a good thing! And besides, the Headmistress says it's OK too! She wouldn't let anything bad happen to us!"
"I…I just…it's complicated. I just have a feeling, that's all," sighed Jinx. Selinda's face fell upon seeing her friend so sad and apprehensive, so she decided to do a little teasing.
"Are you sure you're not jealous?" she ribbed playfully, "Maybe you don't like the idea that someone else will be able to become the next top-graduate of H.I.V.E.?"
Jinx had a wicked, good-humored gleam in her eye as she responded in the only way she could. She smacked Selinda over the head with her pillow with a soft pap. That was all the prodding Selinda needed as she grabbed another pillow and returned the blow with enthusiasm. Jinx was in complete hysterics as she let Shimmer have it with a good whack, but Selinda then waved her hand before the pillow could hit her. Thanks to Selinda's powers, instead of cotton cloth and feathers striking her, the material transformed into…soap bubbles? And all that struck the young girl was a mess of soap and air, leaving Jinx weaponless.
"Ha ha!" bragged Shimmer as she wiped the soap bubbles off her face.
"Hey, no fair, Selinda!" giggled Jinx as she got another pillow to wallop Shimmer with. The red-haired adolescent just screeched with laughter as they continued their pillow fight.
"Hey, you should know better than to wage a pillow war against a matter-transmuter!" she crowed as the feathers and cotton started flying.
---
Meanwhile, on that very night, just an hour later after the disastrous result of the Titans and Titans East throwing Raven a surprise party…
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" the gray skinned witch chanted in a monotone voice, deep in her meditation, feeling that familiar stoic sensation of empty thoughts, empty feelings, nothing. She was in her room, hovering a foot or two above her bed, the power caressing her hair and causing it to lazily waft around her face. Yet she took no notice of it. Calm, still, dead to the world…
Raven was in her element here. And she needed it badly.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azara-"
Suddenly, Raven felt very hot as she suddenly had trouble breathing, the air quickly turning thick and heavy. She gave a cough, hoping to clear her lungs, but she could almost taste the smoky flavor of…ash?
Raven gasped in fear, true, paralyzing fear, as her room was suddenly engulfed in flames and red heat, threatening to swallow her whole.
A deep voice then echoed all around her, "What you have concealed, you shall become. You have no other choice. Your destiny will be fulfilled."
Raven felt her world crumble beneath her. No, it couldn't be! It couldn't! She could never do such a thing! She didn't want to! Surely she had a choice? Surely it can be averted! Desperately, Raven tried to escape, but then to her dismay, several snakes of fire meandered quickly over the covers of her bed before she saw, to her horror and dread, the fire formed a symbol, a strange and stylized letter "S" with two separate dashes. The symbol…
"The portal must be opened!"
It was then that Raven lost it completely, her soul now frozen to ice due to her self-revulsion and loss of will and courage as she screamed shrilly from the nightmares of her past, present, and possible future, "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
With a flash…Raven was back in her bed, in her room. The fire was gone. It was a mere illusion of her powers…but it was enough to cause her to gasp deeply, trying to greatly and distraughtly inhale precious cold air into her terrified lungs and pounding heart as sweat trickled down her neck and forehead. Then her bedroom door opened to reveal a confused and incredibly concerned Bumblebee and Robin.
"You OK, Raven?" Bumblebee asked, anxious.
Robin added, "We heard you scream."
Raven felt numb. No, she couldn't tell them. She couldn't let them know. It would kill her if she did. Yet by the grace of fate and any benevolent being from above, the alarms of the Titans Tower rang loudly in a siren as the rooms in the structure all flashed the warning signs of the crimson color of red.
"Titans! Trouble!" yelled Robin and Bumblebee together in sync on their communicators. Raven had never been so glad to hear the alarm in her life as it gave her something to focus on to push the disturbing images out of her head as she concentrated on the current task at hand. Robin then turned to Bumblebee as the Titans and Titans East converged into the operations center in the heart of the Titans Tower, temporarily forgetting about Raven.
"As long as you guys are staying as our guests, think it won't be much trouble if we ask you and the other members of Titans East to help out?" Robin asked. The feisty African-American teenager smiled.
"Like we'd ever turn down an invitation to kick some ass!"
Yet as the Titans and Titans East immediately sped out of the main hangar bay of the Titans Tower into the night of Jump City…
The mysterious visitor with the sword just narrowed his eyes and rumbled softly in a purring growl as he looked upon the ten teenage warriors flying by with their powers or with their vehicles, rushing past his position atop one of the turrets of Jump City's Mainway Bridge that crossed across the city's bay area. In their rush to scurry to the compound downtown of the metropolis, not a single one of the soldiers noticed that they were being watched, so for now, the figure was safe and undetected.
Yet he could sense what was about to happen, and should it be necessary…
The figure scrutinized upon the figure of Raven, flying by with her black cloak billowing softly behind her in the wind, like a dark shroud of wings. The hulking being then murmured, "So she is the one…"
And the "swordsman" was not the only being eying Raven and the other Titans with growing interest…
The Hellion, Jetstream, was hovering in the dark, night sky as he looked through his binoculars before he spotted the Titans coming their way. He then reported through his H.I.V.E. communicator, "This is Jetstream. I have spotted the Titans, approaching from north-northeast of our location. They're approaching our vicinity…"
"Finally! Now's the chance to give those fuzz-chewers some payback, big time!" crowed Gizmo eagerly as he, Mammoth, See-More and Private HIVE got into their assigned positions along with the rest of the Hellions.
"Patience, young Gizmo…" chastised Slade sternly as his good eye narrowed with cunning thought, gleaming with anxiety, "After all, the day has only just begun…"
Author's Notes: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next Friday, check back when the Teen Titans and Titans East finally encounter the Hellions and a completely restructured H.I.V.E. for the first time! And of course, the X-Men and Misfits will finally arrive to give them a helping hand, yet what will the Titans, the Joes, the X-Men, and the Misfits do when Slade finally tells Raven the last thing she ever wished to hear? And who exactly is the mysterious figure who is also appearing to be after Raven? Find out next Friday in the chapter "Unwanted Message" but until then, read, enjoy, and review!