HIVE MIND

Part Four

"Brother Blood has been the AGU's main objective for nearly five years. His malfeasance has spread through out this side of the country, taking control of anxious and gifted children, building them into his expendable weapons. Three years ago… his trail went cold."

The Titans sat arranged in the common room. Cyborg stood uncomfortably close to Celine as she displayed images and figures across a holo-projector. The spinning image of Brother Blood made his circuits fry.

"The AGU knew that Blood was lying low, creating a plan that would involve the lives of many and the wars of many more. We just didn't know what… but we knew how…"

"The HIVE academy." Cyborg posited.

"Exactly. Blood has an exceptional mind, he can control the strong and brave as well as the weak and the vulnerable. He prefers the vulnerable ones… and there isn't anything more fragile than the mind of a child… The HIVE academy was the perfect base for his operations… if we could get in… we could get Blood."

The holo-projector's display changed. Two girls stood on display. One was Bumble Bee. The other was Red Hawk.

"The AGU wanted to implant agents into the HIVE academy and scout any activity that could be traced to Brother Blood's next plan. Bumble Bee and I were assigned… Bumble Bee went as herself… I needed a disguise."

The holo-projector's red alternative light flickered across Beast Boy's face as he stared closely at the display. "So you made Red Hawk to catch a bad guy." He said, waving his fingers across the image. The image split, leaving just Red Hawk on display.

"I made Red Hawk to be boisterous and powerful, someone that Brother Blood would notice and draw into his web… but I did too well it seems… he drew me in and found me out."

"So your cover was blown and you left… And Bee stayed behind? When I was in the HIVE… I saw Bee but didn't know who she was."

"And neither did she until after you made a move against Blood. She reported back to the AGU and stayed with you, hoping that you'd some how draw Blood out again… but until recently… there hasn't been any activity to tie to him… nothing to go on."

"That explains the past… but what about now?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out." Celine rested her cheek in her hand, standing toe to toe with her display unit.

"Red Hawk and Red X are working together to get that disk. Whatever was on it was worth a lot of money if X wanted it… who do you think was buying it?" Cyborg asked.

"Someone who knows a lot about me and what I've done… to create Red Hawk…"

"Celine… what did you mean when you said that Red Hawk was you?" Beast Boy asked.

"Doppelganger."

In the silence a sharp ringing pulled their gazes to Celine's console. It was a call from Bumble Bee.

"You were right… it's gone. The trove's totally empty. All the weapons and the armor…"

"Just like I thought."

"Celine, what are you talking about? What did you mean by Doppelganger?" Robin asked.

"A perfect mimic of me… she has my skills, my talents, even my chemical signature." Celine replied.¹

"So we're dealing with a clone?" Aqualad asked.

Celine sighed and turned off the holo-projector. "With a unique personality… you can't engineer that, there's no way to program irrationality so you can't get a perfect character. But, I think she was perfectly engineered. She was created and expedited, a generation born from a present state… we're dealing with creation science, which is illegal…she was given my talents by someone who knew enough about me…"

Robin stepped closer to Celine and turned the holo-projector back on. He turned his masked eyes to the taller titan. "Just like someone did with me and Red X."

The Titans stepped back in surprise. The origin of Red X became clear… but they were no closer to understanding where either of them came from.

"Robin… when you stored your X suit, you stored it in an AGU bank right?"

"Of course. I filed my report with the Armed Guards about the entire incident. Why?"

"And you secured the suit using the AGU's universal code didn't you?" Robin nodded. "Just like I did." Celine continued. "Getting my DNA is easy… getting my armor isn't. Whoever got the suits for the Doppelgangers would have to know that code."

"That means a member of the AGU… past or present." Robin posited.

"It would make sense that whoever took the suits has a big role in the doppelgangers." Cyborg added.

"And then only someone very smart and not against breaking rules…" A lighting bulb blinked to life above Robin's head. "Titans… I think its time we paid Professor Chang another visit."

In the medic room, Raven frowned at the unconscious girl lying before her. The fight hadn't been too taxing on anyone other than Celine who had seemed to recover rather well. But Sakura wasn't waking up. Raven had tried to using her powers to induce reanimation, but Sakura's Holy power arched and flared when she tried. The Holy power was keeping her out.

"I guess that's the draw back of countering powers… we can't help each other."

Raven stared at the other girl as if her concentration would inspire consciousness. It had been nearly three hours and Sakura hadn't moved a muscle. Raven leaned over the older girl, wiping the tiny sweat beads from her brow. Behind her, Beast Boy and Aqualad crossed the hall, carrying on a conversation.

"Yeah, I saw him a few minutes in the training room. Speedy's got the best timing, he comes back right when the action is about to start."

Raven nearly had a heart attack when Sakura sat straight up from her bed. Her brown eyes widened and a smile took up nearly her entire face. She leapt from the bed gracefully and took off in a frantic run… straight for the training room. Raven pulled herself up from the floor, a twitch jerking the corner of her mouth towards her ear. And she teased me about having a crush!

…

Finding Professor Chang wasn't hard. But the mad scientists rarely were. Professor Chang continued his work as eleven Titans circled around him, keeping him in their sights. Robin stepped forward, Bo-staff drawn. The cool metal tapped the side of Chang's glasses, the sharp pang of metal on metal echoed through the cold air.

"You have turned into quite the botheration." Professor Chang said, pushing the rounded metal from his face. He turned his body to face the group, eyes traveling past Robin to the brown skinned girl behind him and to the giant beam cannon hanging from her side. He nodded as if finally answering a question in his mind.

"Professor Yildindan Chang, AGU member 87093." Celine said, looking Chang into his hidden eyes.

"Congratulations, you're capable of reading history. I would reward you but I am thoroughly unimpressed."

"You were a member of the AGU for thirty seven years as a leader in biotechnology… but your funding was cancelled when you stepped into the arena of human research: you made clones and the Council of Ethics in Scientific Practice said it was against all regulations…"

"Fools all of them. All of them afraid of the greatest potential being expressed in mankind."

"You made doppelgangers… you performed a creation science... which is forbidden." Robin said, spinning his staff before tucking it under Professor Chang's chin.

"But I'm mad²… Why would I listen to the rules that keep me from doing whatever I want?"

"You're the only person in the world with the resources and scientific knowledge to do it. So we know you created the doppelgangers…" Cyborg said. "Why did you do it?"

Professor Chang pushed Robin's weapon from across his neck. His lab coat rustled stiffly as he approached Celine. Cyborg extracted his beam cannon, halting the mad scientist in his place. Celine tilted her head at the display before turning a determined eye to Chang. "I'd answer the question if I were you… Why did you make the doppelgangers?"

"I made both at the requests of very important men. They seemed very eager to have you both in their possessions."

Celine narrowed her eyes. Robin crossed his arms over his chest.

"Names." Robin demanded.

"I can't tell you what I don't know. You would know better than I would." Professor Chang replied, turning both his arms behind his back.

"How many people know about Red Hawk?"

"More specifically, how many important people with the resources to create another human being know about Red Hawk?" Raven added.

Cyborg knew the answer. "Blood."

"That would explain the HIVE strike… Blood did want us to encounter Red Hawk." Celine replied, turning to face the mechanical Titan.

"So we know why the Red Hawk… but why was the Red X there?" Starfire asked.

"I suppose the same question applies. Who would want Red X? Who's so concerned with Robin?"

"Slade."

"Slade and Brother Blood are working together? Oh man! This is not good!" Beast Boy collapsed to the floor in panic.

"But to what ends?" Aqualad asked.

"They both want the same thing." Sakura suggested.

"That disk… What do you think is on it?" Terra asked.

"Don't know. But we need to find it… we need to find Hawk and X and get the disk back from them before they give it to Blood or Slade." Robin replied.

It was then that the Titans realized that Professor Chang had escaped their notice and escaped their trap.

Speedy kicked up a small stone. "Chang's probably long gone by now. So much for getting a place to start our search…"

"That's not true." Cyborg said. He reached into Celine's jacket and removed Red Hawk's Bowie Knife. "This is a pretty useful tool… Red Hawk is probably going to either get it back or replace it… lets make sure that we're ready when she decides which." Celine nodded.

The Titans exited the building, circling around the T-car.

"That guy is really sketchy… can we trust him?" Terra asked.

"Professor Chang isn't the kind to lie… with the bad blood he has with Red X, I'm sure he'd love to get revenge."

"There is something I do not understand." Starfire began. "If Professor Chang created the Red X, why did they try to destroy each other?"³

Robin turned to the pretty alien. "Chang made something he couldn't control."

Raven stepped to Robin's side. "As for Red X… who doesn't come to hate their creator?"

Cyborg opened the driver's side door to the T-car. "Come on ya'll. Lets head back to the tower… the sooner we find Red Hawk… the sooner we can find Blood." He looked over the car and caught eyes with Celine. After a few seconds, she nodded.

End of Part Four

¹I know that's not the correct definition of a doppelganger, but I really like the word… and I so rarely get the opportunity to use it in a sentence.

²Mad as in crazy.

³So yeah, in the cartoon that never happened. But when I wrote it I swore it had… I swore Chang mentioned it in passing… I guess I was just imposing my will on the show.