32 Productions Presents…
A HIVE Team StoryThe HIVE Team In…
"Reality: You Break it You Buy It"
Chapter Three
Gizmo's Room
Gizmo grumbled and rubbed his eyes. It had happened again. He looked around. Nothing seemed off this time. He jumped out of bed to check out the rest of the tower. Maybe this time they had finally returned to their own reality. Then all they would need to do is stay in one place until they confirmed how to stabilize things permanently and…
Sonic: (higher in pitch) Oh poop.
Gizmo blinked. Oh poop indeed. Sonic was almost Gizmo's size. Off hand, Gizmo would guess he was no older then ten years old.
Sonic: Great. Now I have to go through puberty all over again.
Gizmo: Sucks to be you.
Sonic: Shut up.
Deep voice: Now what are you two doing out of bed this early?
Sonic and Gizmo turned to see Slade standing over them, arms folded. He was in costume, save for his mask.
Slade: Need I remind you the penalty for sneaking out of bed?
Gizmo and Sonic shook their heads, looking like guilty children…which, at this point, they were. The penalty was to clean the bathrooms with tiny sponges. They had big bathrooms. They briefly considered explaining the situation to Slade, but realized that it would probably be considered a poorly constructed excuse for them being out of bed. They turned and headed back to their rooms.
Both: Sorry, Mr. Wilson.
Slade: I'll let you off with a warning this time…but don't try my generosity.
Cafeteria
The tower was now a school for gifted children. It seems in this reality, they were born at a later date and brought in for training so they could be superheroes some day at the same day they were when they had been teenagers. It was breakfast time and they only had twenty five minutes to eat and brush their teeth before training started. Brushing their teeth was a requirement (teaches good hygiene). Gizmo was disappointed to find out he too was a child. He couldn't tell since he was roughly the same size as everyone else now…well, not Mammoth. Mammoth was still huge…for a ten year old. There was one member of the HIVE that hadn't become a child. Red X sighed and leaned over the table.
Red X: This is a getting ridiculous.
Krystal: (lisping) You're telling usth? Listhen to me! I thound like a cartoon cat!
Krystal had braces. Her hair was in an odd pony tail, going to the left on the side of her head. What couldn't get held by the scrunchie was held down by a hair pin.
Blackfire: I'm just glad I'm not the sickly kid I was in our reality at this age. Must be because Starfire and I are twins in this reality…just with different hair color.
Blackfire flexed her arm.
Blackfire: Feels pretty good, actually.
Jinx just chewed her cereal, looking miserable. Why? Because when Jinx was ten, she had a bit of a problem. No matter how active she was…
Sonic: Holy crud, you're fat, Jinx.
Jinx slugged him, hard. She felt no real attraction to Sonic at this point. She LIKED him, but as a friend. At the age of ten, such feelings had yet be made possible beyond silly crushes. Sonic held his jaw, looking pissed. Red X picked Sonic up.
Red X: Don't even think about it. You sit over here.
Sonic: (whining) Red!
Red X: Sonic, this is for your own good.
Sonic: But I don't want to sit next to Mammoth! He smells funny.
Mammoth sniffed under his arm. PHEW! He did smell funny.
Mammoth: Hey, I got a glandular problem.
Red X: Technically speaking, he's right.
Sonic: That doesn't change the fact that he stinks….
Red X: Just eat before…
Too late. The other instructor and his students arrived. It was, of course, Robin and the Titans…who obviously were not teens. Rather then Cyborg, however, there was Kid Flash. Since he was still a kid at this time, he wouldn't have been in the lab when the accident that turned him into Cyborg occurred. Thus, in this reality, there WAS no Cyborg. Raven sat next to Sonic as soon as she got her food. Thankfully dressed in her leotard instead of the torn up bikini thing she wore back in the real reality, her cloak was nevertheless crimson. She cuddled up next to him, hood down.
Raven: (sweetly) Hi Sonic.
Sonic: (bored) Hey, Raven.
Yes, Raven had a crush on Sonic. It was a stupid, childish thing. It often resulted in Sonic getting injured, since that's how kids tend to show affection for some reason. Shade huffed and sat down next to her. Raven patted his head briefly before returning her focus to Sonic. Shade's ears flattened on his head as he became depressed. Raven never treated him as anything other then a pet. She even called him "doggie" at times. Shade's costume was a little different. He was made to wear a jumpsuit under his coat and shoes. It was school policy not to be barefoot during class. As soon as class was over, he took his shoes and socks off. Starfire sat as close to Robin as she could. Like Raven, she too had a crush. Her crush, however, was on her teenage instructor. Red X scowled at him from under her mask. The Red X of this reality didn't trust Robin…and since Red X was from a reality where Robin was a villain, she definitely didn't trust him now. The way he used Starfire's feelings…feigning ignorance of them while at the same time increasing the friction between the twin Tamaranian siblings…it was not the actions of a hero…or somebody who was supposed to train others to be heroes. Beast Boy…as he was called in this reality, was Terra's best friend. Whenever it was possible, the pair was together, causing trouble. The only real difference (except for the obvious difference in size and body development) was that Terra had short hair now. Beast Boy's costume was yellow and green, exactly like Shade's. Ugly colors, but it was the school colors. Kid Flash was the kid nobody liked very much. He liked to zip from person to person, bothering them any way he could think of. In short, he was a jerk. Red X stood next to Robin.
Red X: Late again, I see.
Robin: Kid Flash hid everybody's shoes.
Red X: Remarkable…
Robin: What is?
Red X: The lack of control you have over your students.
Robin scowled at the remark. He didn't like Red X…she eyed him like a hawk. It was obvious the girl didn't trust her. Not that the distrust was unwarranted. He had his own plans for the students of this school…or at the very least his half. Still, he thought his acting was top notch. He didn't give anything away…it must just be some sort of intuition that Red X is going on. Oh well. It was no big deal. Robin could handle her. It was Slade that was a threat to his plans…but he didn't seem to suspect anything yet.
Red X: Raven, please let Sonic feed himself. He can do it much faster then you can.
Raven sighed and gave Sonic back his spoon. She had seen it in a movie once and thought she'd try feeding her Soni-poo. Shade made a gagging sound.
Mammoth: Tell me about it.
TV Room One: After School
After a busy day of school, the kids often found it difficult to do much more then crash around the TV. Both teams had their own miniature versions of the main rooms from the original reality. Unfortunately, Raven tended to go to whatever room Sonic was in and Robin forbade Shade from following her. It was all part of the big plan, you see. Already filled with dislike for the boy, Shade would now spend the time in the TV room brooding about how Raven was always spending time with Sonic and not him. The others didn't play with him much, but Raven did. Raven played him in checkers, various board games that may or may not require a trademark symbol so I won't list them and take a chance, and they even tried to learn chess together. Jinx huffed as she watched Raven's attempt to snuggle with Sonic. Oh she'd make that girl pay…sure THIS Jinx didn't like Sonic that way, but the original one did.
Gizmo: Hey! It's your turn!
Jinx: Huh? Oh. Oh yeah.
Jinx drew an X on the paper.
Jinx: I win again.
Gizmo: What the…? Oh come on!
Jinx: Face it, Gizmo. You're a genius inventor, but a lousy tic-tac-toe player.
Gizmo: I hate tic-tac-toe...
Krystal popped up behind him and shined his bald head.
Krystal: Thomebody's a thore lother.
Gizmo: Would you get off me?!
Raven couldn't let what she was witnessing slide. There were emotions to be gathered here and she was an expert on collecting them. Time for some psychology.
Raven: (singing) Gizmo and Krystal, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.
Mammoth: Nowadays the baby seems to come first…
Raven: Huh? What's that mean?
Blackfire clamped her hand over Mammoth's mouth. No sense in warping Raven's mind so early in life. Little did Blackfire know, Raven already was pretty twisted…just junior twisted. She picked the wings off of flies and that sort of thing. She'd graduate to killing humans later. It was for the same reason she was twisted in the other world. Her mother never loved her. However, the emergence of Trigon in Azarath came even earlier then in the other reality. Unlike that reality, the Elders came up with a better plan. If the world of Azarath was to fall, then the menace of Trigon would fall with them. They bond their souls together in a final attack and destroyed the demon lord. Raven was flung out of Azarath as a backlash and was found orphaned on the streets by Slade. Her past is a complete mystery to them…but she remembers. Raven just needs time before she can finish what her father started. Until then, she intends to enjoy herself.
Blackfire: Nothing. It means nothing.
Raven: …hmph.
Red X: Raven, don't tease people.
Raven stood up on the couch and turned to face her.
Raven: I'm not teasing. I'm singing. This is teasing.
Raven picked a cookie off the tray in front of the TV and threw it at Jinx.
Raven: Here! So you don't eat Gizmo, tubby!
Jinx: Raven you little…
Jinx threw the cookie back, hitting Raven in her forehead.
Raven: Ow!
Raven rubbed the spot, glaring at Jinx. Raising her hood up, she leapt at Jinx. Raven always put her hood up when she fought because of the way it made her voice sound.
Raven: How dare you hit me, you sow!? I'll tear you apart!
Jinx: Try it you little witch!
Red X sighed and pulled the pair apart. Jinx calmed down, glaring at Raven. Raven, however, struggled frantically in Red X's grip.
Raven: Let me go! Let me go, the sow must burn!
Sonic: If you calm down, Raven, I'll…ugh…play a game with you.
Raven immediately stopped struggling and lowered her hood. Red X sighed and let the girl go. She skipped over to Sonic and tugged his arm.
Raven: Yay! We're going to play a game I saw on one of Mr. Robin's videos.
Sonic: Uh…what videos?
Raven pulled Sonic away without answering, leaving the room. There was a silence that filled the place.
Red X: …you don't suppose she meant…
Mammoth: No…no way. She's way too young.
Red X: Too young to understand…not to young to imitate.
Krystal: Shouldn't we sthop them?
Red X: …no. If Sonic can't get out of this, he probably shouldn't be in this school. Raven is childish and barely in control of her powers.
TV Room 2
Beast Boy and Terra watched TV, laughing uproariously at the cartoon antics displayed before them. Starfire was drawing pictures of her and Robin, all aglow. Robin had said he liked it…which was true, because Blackfire was lying dead on the floor in it, Xs over her eyes to prove the point. His plan was working perfectly. The only problem factor was Kid Flash. He just pissed everybody off. He was currently running around Shade, poking him. Shade growled and put himself in a shadow bubble to keep him out. If Raven was there, she'd stop him. Finally Starfire turned and flung a starbolt. Kid Flash yelped and stopped short, just before the blast could hit him.
Starfire: Cease your pestering. Can you not see he is not in the mood for your taunting? Do you wish him to bite you like last time?
Kid Flash rubbed his arm where Shade had bit him last time.
Kid Flash: …no…
Starfire: Then go pester one who deserves it. Bother my sister or something.
Kid Flash zipped off. Shade lowered the bubble. Mute due to damage to his throat, he couldn't verbally thank Starfire. So he did the only thing he could think of. He jumped on her and licked her face. Starfire's eye twitched and she threw him off.
Starfire: Never touch me again, you filthy being!
Robin: I think he was trying to thank you.
Starfire sneered.
Starfire: Then he should make me a card. Honestly, is it not Raven's duty to make sure the simpleton remains at peace?
Beast Boy: Raven's not here.
Starfire: I can see that. I am curious as to her location.
Raven's Room
Raven giggled as Sonic tried to get out of the chair he was tied to. Raven turned on the music and pulled out the razor. She started dancing around the room (c'mon. Guess what movie she saw). Sonic tried to say something, but the cloth in his mouth stopped her.
Raven: Don't worry. You've got two of them.
…she meant ears, people. Ears.
Nurse's Office: Fifteen minutes later
Red X pinched the bridge of her nose as Sonic held his bleeding ear. Raven sat in the corner of the room staring at the blood on her hand. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Almost against her will, her hand rose closer to her face. Her tongue extended hesitantly. She was almost there when…
Red X: Raven, wash up. We're going to have a talk about reenacting violent movie scenes.
Raven ran to the sink and washed her hands off. Raven hadn't been able to cut his ear off. She got started, but he finally remembered he had sonic powers and broke free, running from the room. Raven chased him, tackling him and continuing her act of violence. Thankfully Slade found them and separated them. Raven seemed shocked to find out what she was doing was wrong.
Red X: How could you let her do this to you?
Sonic: I panicked. I'm just a kid, get off my back.
Red X: Uh huh. Okay…I'm going to need to stitch this. I'll numb it down a little and get started.
Sonic: Thanks a lot, Raven.
Raven didn't reply. She was angry. Sonic got her in trouble over a little cut? It was nothing Raven couldn't heal. He didn't need to tell on her. Well, that was it. Raven had no time for the likes of him…spineless…weak…afraid of pain. No time for his kind at all. Sonic was sent back to the TV room when Red X was finished. When Red X turned she noticed that Raven's appearance had changed. The apologetic look was gone, replaced with one of boredom and distain.
Raven: Can I go now?
Red X: Did we talk yet?
Raven huffed and sat down.
Red X: What were you thinking? You know enough about the human body to realize how dangerous that was! You're not some ignorant brat toying with a handgun. You toyed him to a chair and tried to cut off his ear!
Raven: What's a little suffering now and then? Isn't that what molds a hero? Suffering?
Red X: Suffering will come on its own. It doesn't need your help.
Raven: Feh. What do you know about suffering, Red X?
Red X felt a chill. Nobody knew much of Raven's past…it as assumed that because she came here without being…all…red and demonic looking that she had a different origin all together…but…
Red X: I know enough. I've been betrayed. I've been injured.
Raven: Have you been loved? Ever? By anyone? In anyway?
Red X: …yes.
Raven: I was once. For a brief moment, I knew what it was to have a father. And he was killed right before my eyes.
Red X: …how?
Raven closed her eyes, a single tear running down her face.
Raven: It doesn't matter how. He died. He died screaming.
Red X: …I had no idea.
Raven: Can I go now?
Red X: You do see why I'm upset, don't you?
Raven: Yes. I hurt Sonic. I am his friend and I hurt him. That's wrong.
Red X: Exactly. …we'll discuss punishment later. Go on back to Robin before he sends somebody to look for you.
Raven: Yes, ma'am.
Raven walked out of the room. Red X thought about what she had learned. So Raven was still half demon after all. How was it that Trigon had been killed so early? Very curious indeed.
TV Room 2
Raven practically forced the door off its hinges as she used her powers to open it before she reached it.
Robin: Something wrong?
Raven: No.
Raven walked over to Shade, grabbed his jacket, and dragged him over to the couch.
Raven: I'm getting on this couch. You're going to do it too. Then you're going to let me scratch your head until I choose to stop.
Beast Boy: Uh…why are you making him…?
Raven: Because I want to! Shut up, Garfield!
Terra: Hey, don't tell him to…
Raven: You too, dirt girl.
Raven sat on the couch, pulling Shade up with her. As she started to scratch his head, she felt better. It's actually a known fact that petting an animal can be quite…therapeutic.
Raven: You'll be happy to know, Shade, that I won't be foolishly crushing on Sonic anymore. The coward showed me what he's really like.
Shade seemed to relax even more. That was good news to him. He HATED Sonic.
Beast Boy: What he do?
Raven: Oh, I tried to cut his ear off and he ratted me out.
Terra: …why?
Raven: That's what I wanted to know.
Terra: No, why did you try to cut his ear off?
Raven: Why not?
Starfire: Why not his fingers?
Raven: I only had a razor.
Starfire: Ah.
Auditorium: The Next Day
It was time for show and tell, something they did twice a month. Unlike most schools, however, show and tell isn't about bringing something from home. It's about showing off a skill only you can do and telling how you do it. For example, if one of the Tamaranian twins discovered how to shoot eye beams (which they won't for a few years) that's what they'd show. Simple, yes? It was one of the few things Slade always attended. He had to make sure his students were making progress after all. If they showed the same thing more then once, they needed work. Raven finished demonstrating her ability to sink into the floor and remerge elsewhere. As she walked past Jinx, she turned and whispered.
Raven: (whisper) Beat that, tubby.
Jinx: (whisper) Watch me, witch.
Jinx got on stage and cast her hex. Everyone around her saw her split off into numerous duplicates.
Jinx: This hex attacks the eyes, forcing them to see more then one of me. It works well for confusing the enemy. It will even affect machines.
Slade: I…see. How long does it last?
Jinx: Until I do this.
Jinx cast another hex, fixing what she had just done.
Slade: Very good. But what if the person is wearing heat vision goggles?
Jinx: It affects all visual spectrums. Only somebody talented in magic could tell the difference.
Slade was slightly surprised at the use of the term "visual spectrums" from a ten year old, but let it slide. Jinx had always been exceptionally bright.
Slade: Very useful indeed, Jinx.
Jinx walked back to her seat, sticking her tongue out at Raven. Raven snapped her pencil in her grip. Why that little…
Slade: Gizmo, I believe you had a new invention for us.
Gizmo: Yeah. Hey, Mammoth, help me out here.
Mammoth helped Gizmo lug the device onto the stage. Afterward, he returned to his seat.
Gizmo: Okay. This device monitors certain alterations in time and space. From what I've read, sometimes thing happen that affect the memories of everyone on the planet, save for like, one or two people who are then thought crazy. But with this device, if something like that happens, even if we don't remember the changes, we know it occurred.
Jinx smirked and nodded. Gizmo had done it. He was obviously on his way to inventing a way to fix reality. Thank god, she didn't want to be a tubby ten year old anymore and Krystal's braces whistled in her sleep. She was right next door and it kept Jinx up. Slade seemed a little disappointed.
Slade: I see…and how will we be able to tell if it's working?
Gizmo: I'll show you.
Gizmo turned the device on. It let out a piercing beep.
Slade: Is it supposed to do that?
Gizmo: No…I…
Gizmo's eyes widened as he recalled a gust of wind hitting him when he was working. He assumed he had left the window open…but…
Gizmo: Kid Flash, what did you do?!
Kid Flash: I took out the thingie that looks like a soup can.
Gizmo: …that…was…the…STABILIZER!
Kid Flash: …is that bad?
Gizmo: Let me put it to you this way. You better hope reality resets itself after this, otherwise we're all going to cease to exist.
FLASH.
END PART THREE