32 Productions Presents…
A HIVE Team StoryThe HIVE Team In…
"Reality: You Break it You Buy It"
Chapter One
Video Game Store
Jinx: HIVE, TOGETHER!
The HIVE moved in to take down Control Freak (another person who's evil no matter what dimension he's in). In typical nerdy fashion, he has invented, not just a remote, but a SUIT with the buttons for a remote on it. …yes, he has no concept of how stupid he looks, but at least it's not a calculator. Most buttons were along the arms, allowing him to aim at what he wants to control. This made approaching him difficult…but not impossible. Red X had established the plan herself before they even began. The others would distract Control Freak while she came up from behind while cloaked and destroyed his suit. It was a sound and logical plan, especially since Gizmo would provide a hologram of her to make sure Control Freak didn't notice her missing.
Control Freak: Yes, come, HIVE! Come and meet your DOOM!
Sonic: Chill with the dramatics, loser.
Control Freak: Ah, come on! That was cool!
Sonic blasted at him with a louder version of his own "DOOM". Quickly, Control Freak hit the fast forward button on his chest and zipped out of the way. He turned it off afterward. It didn't give him the ability to move faster, rather it forced his body to move out of sync with time, thus making him LOOK faster. Prolonged usage would turn him into an old man. Hitting the play button while pointing at a nearby demo console caused it to break free from the case that prevented people from stealing it, the cords wrapping around Sonic like snakes. Mammoth charged toward him, so Control Freak hit the record button while pointed at him and then play. An exact copy of Mammoth charged out, ramming into the real Mammoth. Jinx attempted to cast her hex on him, but by pressing the rewind button, the spell came back at her instead. Finally Red X made her move, severing several wires that were exposed on the back of the suit.
Control Freak: What the…?! Oh no!
Red X: (decloaking) Oh yes. You've lost.
Control Freak: No, you don't understand! That's not the power supply, that's the control matrix! Without it…
There was a brilliant flash of light and suddenly nothing was as it used to be.
::CUE THEME::
Jinx's Room
Jinx awoke with a groan as her alarm went off. She groggily smacked the barking dog alarm clock Krystal bought her until it shut up. That was a pretty boring dream. Ended so abruptly too. Yawning, she shuffled down the hall to get breakfast. That's when she passed Raven.
Raven: Hey Jinx.
Jinx: Hey Ra…
Jinx's eyes widened as the ramifications of what she was seeing hit home. Raven stood there, confused by the expression on Jinx's face. She was dressed in white again, just like before.
Jinx: You! What are you doing here?!
Raven: Uh…going to get some breakfast and herbal tea. Is that okay with you or do I need to have a signed permission slip?
Jinx flung a pink bolt at Raven who dodged it. Raven put up a shield to block the next one.
Raven: Jinx! What are you doing?!
Jinx: Defending my home, damn it!
Raven: But I live here too, remember?
And suddenly she did remember. Jinx had cast the spell on Raven, wiping her evil self from her memories. They later told her what they had done and who she had been. After throwing a terrible fit, Raven calmed down and forgave them. However, their betrayal caused her to become very cynical and distrusting toward them. Any attraction to Mammoth she might have had vanished in the wind. Yet at the same time, Jinx remembered that spell failing and Raven reverting to her old self again. Jinx stopped in her attack.
Jinx: I…I was just testing you. Got to keep you on your toes.
Raven: Bull crap, you were out to hurt me! What's wrong with you?
Jinx didn't know what to say. What COULD she say? She had attacked a teammate…but Raven WASN'T a teammate, she was the enemy…Jinx's head was throbbing. Raven's face softened.
Raven: Hey…hey are you okay? You're pretty stressed out…I can feel your confusion and distress. Calm down.
Krystal appeared in a flash. Raven hissed and covered her eyes.
Raven: What is WITH you?! Is your life goal to "accidentally" blind someone?
Krystal stared at Raven with a similar look to what Jinx had a few seconds ago, making Raven tense. Krystal shook her head.
Krystal: Uh…Jinx…we got a problem.
Jinx: What?
Krystal: Shimmer's in the main room.
Jinx: …Shimmer?
Raven: What's so wrong with that? Have you guys lost your minds or something?
Jinx's head was really pounding now. Conflicting memories were building in her mind. One set was the ones she was most familiar with. Shimmer had perished during a battle with Jericho. Huge memorial statue was built of her, tearful funeral and all that. Now she had a different memory. She remembered Gremlin setting off a flash charge, causing Shimmer to go blind. Her blind eyes couldn't be used as an entry point by Jericho and he was repelled back. As a result he chose to enter the first person to come around…
Jinx: (whisper) Oh god, no…
Raven: What? What's wrong?
Jinx ran down the hall. She had to be wrong. It couldn't be true. It was just the fragments of a nightmare, it had to be. She found the room she was searching for and opened the door. She sank to her knees in front of the statue.
Jinx: No…no, it didn't happen that way…
FLASHBACK
Sonic groaned as he stood up. He had just managed to deflect the explosion with its own sound. It created a backlash that knocked him out, but it could have been much worse. Blood trickled down the side of his face. He glanced up and saw a boy that wasn't there before. Blonde with the most piercing green eyes Sonic had ever se… Jericho jumped into his body.
END FLASHBACK
Jinx closed her eyes, tears forming. Jericho caused the sound waves in his body to build to dangerous levels before leaping out. The result was the total destruction of Sonic's entire skeleton…it was a terrible mess and one that haunted Jinx's nightmares. Krystal and Raven came in to find Jinx on the ground.
Krystal: …oh…oh god, that's right…
Raven: I never met Sonic…at least, not that I can remember. …bit of a perv from what I hear, but his heart was in the right place.
Jinx: It's not right…this didn't happen…
Raven: What?
Jinx: Why do I remember WHAT Sonic did to save himself from the explosion? I couldn't have known.
Raven tilted her head before throwing her hands up and sighing.
Raven: I give up. You've obviously lost your mind. I'm going to get Red X. If you have any sense left, stay here.
Raven flew through one of her vortexes. Krystal huffed as she watched her go.
Krystal: What a bitch…I think I liked her better when she was evil.
Jinx: Krystal, what's going on? You remember don't you? This was supposed to be…
Krystal: Shimmer's statue. I know. Something kooky is going down.
Jinx wiped her eyes. At least it wasn't just her. Red X arrived with Raven. Red X shuddered as she stepped out of the vortex.
Red X: I'm never going to get used to that.
Raven: Here she is. She's acting weird. First she attacks me, and then she runs off here and acts like she's never seen this room before. Wasn't it her idea to build this thing?
Jinx wiped her eyes again. Yes, it was her idea…at least that's what the other memories told her. Red X sighed.
Red X: Whatever is bothering her seems to have started upon seeing you. Maybe you should leave, Raven.
Raven: Fine with me. I need my damn tea anyway.
Raven turned and left to make her damn tea. Red X sighed.
Red X: You remember too?
Jinx: Yes…
Red X: This is just a theory…but it seems that messing with Control Freak's suit has caused a terrible backlash. We've either been thrown into another universe and replaced the counterparts…or reality itself has been altered.
Krystal: So why doesn't Raven remember being a psychopath?
Red X: She wasn't there. We all were present when the accident occurred. Despite this, we do have the other set of memories…we just know them to be the new ones and not the ones of our reality.
Jinx was silent.
Jinx: Shimmer wanted to make up for Sonic's death by joining us, despite being blind. Gizmo created something for her eyes that allows her to not only see, but to see in ways no human can, even allowing her to read the chemical composition of objects and improving the use of her powers.
Krystal: Plus they look really neat.
Jinx glared at Krystal, not in the mood for her comments. Krystal rubbed the back of her head nervously.
Krystal: Sorry. Slipped out.
Red X: The question becomes, how can we return things to their proper state?
Jinx: …no. The question becomes, if we find a way…will Mammoth let us?
Main Room
Gizmo gulped. This was extremely uncomfortable. After all, it's not everyday you're cuddled by a dead girl…or at least one who's supposed to be dead. From his second set of memories, he recalled that Shimmer and he became close after he installed her new "eyes". These "eyes" were actually surgical implants in her head. As a result, her eyes were now two glowing red orbs with metal around them. They made slight clicking sounds when she blinked. Mammoth was staring at them in such a way that Gizmo was worried for his safety. Blackfire tried to eat, but found herself unnerved by Raven sitting across from her. The girl had a miserable look on her face, as if she didn't want to be there. Her second memory told her this was because Raven still wasn't sure what to believe about her friends…if they could even be called such. After all, they wiped her old self out of existence. Who knows what else they did? Blackfire cleared her throat.
Blackfire: So, Raven…uh…what's new?
Raven stared at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she should even dignify that question with an answer. Finally she sighed.
Raven: Shade sent me
another package. His handwriting is atrocious, but I think he said it
was a dried up human heart from my "collection". I was pretty
sick, wasn't I?
Blackfire: …
Raven: …doesn't he understand I'm not the same person anymore? That nothing he does will ever bring that Raven back? …why can't he just stop HAUNTING ME!?
The table lurched upward slightly, spilling Blackfire's orange juice. Raven covered her mouth.
Raven: Oh damn, I'm sorry. I'll clean that up and get you a new glass.
Blackfire: Thanks. …I guess it's because he doesn't want to understand.
Raven: I feel for him, I really do. It can't be easy to have to fight somebody you love and know that they have no idea what you once had.
Shimmer: Don't know why the bloke even DOES fight us anymore. His "mates" kicked him to the curb.
Raven sighed, looking more miserable then before.
Raven: I wish he'd listen to me…I tried to get him to commit himself, but he just screams in my head that I'm not Raven.
Krystal, Jinx, and Red X entered. Jinx was now in costume, which now included Sonic's leather gloves. Raven leaned back in her chair.
Raven: Feeling better now, Jinx?
Jinx: Yeah…swell.
Krystal: She's just had one of those nightmares where you think everything is different when you wake up.
Raven: …never had one of those.
Shimmer: I have. I always wake up forgetting about my eyes.
Everybody winced. Nobody liked to talk about her eyes. Shimmer squeezed Gizmo.
Shimmer: What's wrong with you, love? You're usually more affectionate. You feelin' okay?
Gizmo: (squeaky) Sure. Doing great.
Shimmer: Hmph. And you, why are you glarin' at him that way? C'mon Baran, you know he did the best he could with my eyes. He's a genius not a sorcerer. I'm glad to be able to see and I have somebody who accepts them.
Shimmer kissed Gizmo and he promptly fainted. Apparently he was overwhelmed by the conflicting memories and emotions. Shimmer shook him.
Shimmer: Damn…that's never happened before. Maybe he's sick…
Raven: …Shimmer, can I talk to you somewhere…private?
Shimmer raised an eyebrow but shrugged and got up. Raven opened a vortex.
Shimmer: Aw, not the vortex again. It's so freaky…
Raven shoved her inside and followed her.
Blackfire: …okay, when did she learn how to do that?
Red X: Six days after we told her who she really was.
Blackfire: You all remember too? I thought I was losing my mind for a minute.
Mammoth: She's alive…
Jinx: And Sonic isn't. This isn't the way things should be.
Mammoth: Yeah, but maybe it's better this way.
Jinx's eyes widened and pink energy crackled from her finger tips.
Jinx: Better?! Sonic died a horrible disgusting death, and you have the balls to say that to me?! I understand where you're coming from, Mammoth, but this is wrong!
Red X: Furthermore there's no telling if there will be other problems from this. For all we know, reality is collapsing and there will be singing flowers and a grinning sun in the sky by tomorrow morning.
Krystal: That would rule!
Everyone glared at Krystal. She cleared her throat.
Krystal: I mean…oh no.
Training Room
The vortex opened and Shimmer fell to the floor.
Shimmer: Oi, I hate that.
Raven: Get over it.
Shimmer: What crawled up your bum this mornin'?
Raven rolled her eyes at Shimmer's dialect. Sometimes she swore the girl was forcing it.
Raven: Listen to me. I'm beginning to think those guys are imposters.
Shimmer: Huh?
Raven: Jinx attacked me like she had never seen me here before. She was crying in front of the statue of Sonic like she didn't know he was dead.
Shimmer: And Gizmo never faints on me.
Raven: Ugh. I'm never going to get that image out of my mind. Why couldn't I have knocked that day? Anyway…something is seriously wrong.
Shimmer rubbed her chin.
Shimmer: I don't know…my eyes didn't alert me to any changes in them.
Raven: Your eyes are difficult to fool, but not impossible.
Shimmer sighed.
Shimmer: Don't their minds tell you anythin'?
Raven: …yes, but it says they are who they pretend to be. I don't understand it. You agree that something is amiss, right?
Shimmer: Yeah.
Raven: But what could it be?
The alarm went off. Shimmer sighed.
Shimmer: Put the suspicions on hold, mate.
Raven: Damn it all…
Bookstore
Shade tore through the books, shoving the shelves over in a rage. Books. They reminded him of HER. He hated his life. He hated everything. Nothing was fair. Shade had been happy. Content. His life consisted of causing death and mayhem, then unwinding on the couch with Raven stroking his head as she read her book. It was bliss…and like a poorly done magic trick, it was all yanked out from under him, spilling his life on the floor. Raven had been taken from him, replaced by a girl who faked sympathy for him…pretended to be his beloved. But it was a lie…a trick. She had Raven's body, but not her mind. More then once Shade had tried to free his Raven from the imposter, but each time was a failure. Not so much as a glimmer of the woman he knew showed itself. It was hopeless. It wasn't long after she reappeared on the HIVE's side that he had been forced to leave the Titan base under penalty of death. His constant state of mourning was hurting the team, they had said. Only their past together kept the Titan's from killing him on the spot. He took some of Raven's things and left. Cold and hungry, he fed on stray animals and hobos for a time. Now he couldn't contain it anymore. His rage was too much and soon everyone would know it.
Krystal: Shade!
Shade stiffened at the sound of his sister's voice. The HIVE entered the store. Despite the futility, Raven still felt the need to try.
Raven: (soothing) Shade, please stop this. It doesn't have to be this way.
She had to clutch her head at the volume of his telepathic response. Obviously it wasn't what she wanted to hear.
Raven: Okay…he's not giving up.
Jinx: Fine then. HIVE, toge…!
Jinx trailed off as Shade transformed before their eyes. Judging from the shocked looks on Raven and Shimmer, this was NOT something the team had dealt with before. It wasn't a transformation so much as a suit up. The shadows formed parts on him. Wings sprouted on his back, shadows formed six inch talons with large hands and feet to match, his body gained several feet in height, a long whipping tail sprouted, and his head was covered, resembling a enraged wolf's.
Gizmo: Okay, I think he's mad.
Shade pounced toward them. They dove out of the way and Shimmer turned the carpet that Shade was about to land on into a slick oily substance. He slid on it, crashing through the door and into the street. Mammoth leapt onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck in a sleeper hold.
Mammoth: C'mon, man! Just give up! You don't need to do this crap anymore.
Shade's response was to roll around on the ground. This only gave Mammoth some place to place his feet and he lifted Shade up. Shade's wings wrapped around him like a cocoon. Righting himself back up, Shade kept Mammoth trapped, slowly suffocating him.
Krystal: Aw, poo-poo nuggets…Blackfire, help me out here!
Blackfire: Right.
The two flew up above Shade.
Krystal: Eye beams. Constant stream. We need to burn him until he can't maintain that form anymore.
Blackfire: Listen to you. Taking charge and acting tough.
Krystal winked.
Krystal: You like it, don't you?
Blackfire: (blushing) Uh…if we could focus here…?
Krystal: Right. Since Mammoth is in his wings, we don't need to worry about him…
Shade moved the cocoon further down his back, allowing two more wings to sprout, these ones larger then before. His legs and arms tensed as he prepared to launch himself upward.
Krystal: …flying?
Blackfire: …crap.
Krystal: Let'im have it!
The two began blasting Shade as he flew up toward them. The others came out of the bookstore, watching in awe as the two flew around him as fast as they could, avoiding his talons and shadow tendrils and blasting away.
Gizmo: Are they winning?
Red X: I can't tell. They just seem to be making him mad.
Raven: …
Raven flew up, despite the others telling her to stay out of it. She flew up to Shade's level. Shade prepared to smack her out of the way when she did the unthinkable. She hugged him. Shade froze, his eyes wide. The shadows slid off him, dropping Mammoth who gasped and coughed as oxygen was once again provided to his lungs. Blackfire caught him as he began to fall and lowered him to the ground. Shade hung in the air, the only part of the shadows still on him was his wings out of pure survival instinct. Raven stroked his head as he began to cry. It wasn't fair at all. He couldn't do it. Not to her. He let out a soft whine.
Raven: It's okay…everything is going to be okay. I'm going to get you help. Your sister wants you to get help too. If we do this…if we can find a way to cure you...I promise I'll get you into the tower with me. You'd like that, wouldn't you?
Sniffling, Shade nodded. They lowered to the ground. The others approached, but Raven turned and held up her arm.
Raven: Stay away. He's confused and hurting as it is. Crowding around him will only aggravate him.
The HIVE respected her wishes and stayed back. Though she had no memory of their past, somehow it felt right that Shade was holding onto her this way. It was that same feeling that made her start stroking his head in the first place. Shade rested his head on her shoulder, eyes closed.
Raven: That's a great idea, Shade.
She turned her head slightly, not wanting to disturb him.
Raven: He says he'll tell us where the Titans are if I attend his therapy with him.
Jinx: Do it. We can finally…
It was sudden. Both Shade and Raven jumped, eyes wide. They hit the ground together.
Raven: I…wh…what hap…?
Raven coughed up blood. Red X ran over to them.
Red X: They've been shot…
Raven: R…rooftop…
Raven lifted a shaking hand and pointed. Red X flipped out of the way of another bullet.
Red X: Sniper! Move it! Out of the way!
Shimmer: But Raven is…
Red X: MOVE!
The HIVE ran for the alleys. Up on the rooftops, Hit sighed and stood up straight. She didn't have much time before the HIVE regrouped and came looking for her. The sewers were her nearest route to safety. It was a shame really. Raven had been the one who cured her of her brainwashing. Alas, if she wanted to join the Titans herself (and she did) then they both had to die. It was her…initiation, they called it. Hit repelled herself off the roof with her grapple line and silently entered the nearest manhole that she had opened before even climbing the building. Killing the other HIVE would have been a nice bonus, but Raven clued them in to her location. She must have seen the glint of the sun on her scope. Hit pressed against the device in her ear.
Hit: Vic. I did it. Raven and Shade are dead. You said his heart was on the right, didn't you? Then he's dead. I know she can heal herself. That's why I coated the bullet. If she doesn't drown in her own blood, the poison will kill her. I want my room ready by the time I get home. I've got to pick up a few…toys before I return as well as make sure I'm not being followed. Uh huh. I will. See you soon. …I'm not saying it. No.
Hit stopped trudging through the sewage and sighed.
Hit: (disgusted) Fine. (monotone) I love you. Kiss, kiss. Yeah, I'd laugh at you too.
Streets
Raven coughed. She was having trouble breathing. It wasn't fair. Just when she got through to him. None of this would have happened if they hadn't wiped her mind! It was their fault! Raven's cloak turned red and her eyes glowed crimson. Somehow she found the strength to stand.
Raven: (weakly) You…you ruined…ruined my life. Al…all of you. Th…there's nobody left…that I…that I deem worthy of life. Th…The Titans…HIVE…all of you...
Raven spread her arms, her powers kicking into overdrive.
Raven: You can all burn in hell!
Raven collapsed as the ground split open and all manner of four red eyed creatures spilled out. Twisted crows, disfigured rats, and other such beings filled the streets and air.
Gizmo: Okay…this is bad…
The HIVE was swarmed with demonic creatures and everything went black.
END PART ONE