"Holy-!"

Robin and I fell through the hole Vegeta...I mean Flaar...made with his fiery green entrance. Robin flipped and landed with a soft grunt in a graceful crouch. I feel much less ceremony.

THUMP!

I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and spit out dust. I stood and looked back up at the hole above us. Star bolts, lasers and electricity arced over it so quickly it looked liked some insane battle from Star Wars...not that I liked Star Wars.

I brushed myself off.

"I reckon we ain't got time for a time out, huh?" I bent my knees slightly, ready to hum the wind song.

"Wait a minute." Robin raised his gloved hand. "This is the opportunity we've been looking for to go deeper into the facility."

"But..." I mulled it over. "What about Static and Starfire? Don't they need our help?"

"They'll be fine." When he saw I was unconvinced, he added: "Don't you want to find Noir?"

I folded my arms across my chest.

"...This team thing is complicated."

"No it isn't." Robin disagreed. "You just make it that way. Come on."

He gestured and started off down the pipe-lined hallway. I glanced up at the hole above one last time before falling in behind him. Steam seeped from some of the pipes, making the hallway hazy in the distance, but Robin walked on confidently.

"Where do you think Noir is?"

"He was fighting Kyd Wikkyd. A teleporter. I'm sure he took him somewhere else for their fight. I doubt they've left the facility, though."

"Kyd Wikkyd..." My mind wrapped around the chaotic memories of the fight above. "The guy that looks like you in a Batman outfit?"

Robin glanced at me from the corner of his eye mask.

"I'm not that skinny...but yes. He's a member of the HIVE Five, along with Mammoth. It seems they've aligned themselves with Neo HIVE. Strange."

I blinked.

"It ain't that strange. HIVE Five. Neo HIVE. I ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I see just a bit of a connection there."

"It's complicated." Robin shook his head. "The HIVE Mammoth and Kyd Wikkyd originated from isn't the HIVE that exists now."

"Huh...I'll take you word for it."

"I'll give you the reports to read over when we get back to the tower."

I made a sour face. I drawled:

"...Woo doggy."

"I thought your line would be 'yee-haw'."

"I only used that for special occasions."

We continued down the hallway.

ZZZZZZZZZZ

The trembling of my body slowed and the electricity dancing inside me started to dissipate. The pain began to subside and I felt my strength starting to return. I weakly pushed myself up to my knees and raised my head.

Gizmo cursed infantly, hovering backwards with his jet pack and returning fire as he dodged Amy's...Fraust's blasts of ice.

Even more dangerous was Booker and Mister Freeze, both in mechanical suits, grappling powerfully. Mister Freeze had Booker pinned against the control panel and smashed down at him with his fist, but he only succeeded in destroying the device below him. Electricity sparked and and sparks flared up as they grappled again.

Further up in the facility, I could hear explosions that shook the walls.

Everything was chaos.

Everything was going to hell.

I stood and stumbled deeper into the complex, away from the fighting.

"Zillah!" Booker thundered. He reached for me, but Mister Freeze grabbed him in a neck vice from behind.

"We are not yet finished."

I stared deadpan at Booker...before releasing my best dimpled smile. I waved and, with a charming flit of my robe, turned my back on his and walked away. Booker snarled like a crazed animal, but Victor Freeze held tight.

I suddenly stopped and looked up at the ceiling. I jumped to the side just as two figures plummeted out of a black teleporting hole.

FWOOSH!

Kyd Wikkyd and Jo-...Bard's friend descended in a blur of smoke, limbs, cape and sword. Noir, falling from above, gather smoke into his blade and aimed it like a projectile.

FWOMB!

A funnel of smoke shot down from the sword's tip. Kyd Wikkyd dodged barely and the attack shook the ground and left a large crater. I stumbled backwards.

Both of them landed on the ground. Noir held his sword up at eye level while Kyd Wikkyd stood calmly with his hands clasped under his cape. They charged each other.

THRIMPFT!

Kyd Wikkyd teleported behind his opponent and charged at his back.

FWOOSH!

Noir turned to smoke and Kyd Wikkyd ran right through him. Noir slashed at him with his sword, but he jumped back out of range. They squared off again.

"Wikkyd!" I called. "There no time for this!"

Kyd Wikkyd turned to me just as Noir was blurring in. He leaped and reared back his sword for a massive blow.

ZH-ZHHHT!

The weapon cut nothing but air.