32 Productions Presents…
A HIVE Team StoryThe HIVE Team In…
"Reality: You Break it You Buy It"
Chapter Four
Mammoth's Room
Mammoth groaned as he woke up, his stomach grumbling. Things seemed pretty normal. Maybe Gizmo had finally fixed everything. That hope was extinguished when he saw his reflection. To put it mildly…he was ugly. BUTT ugly. Warts, zits, and other thing adorned his face. And as he stared, he remembered why. He was an ogre. His sister had been an ogre too, but had been cursed. To an ogre, looking like an attractive human was considered hideous. Thus when Selinda was cursed to look like a beautiful red headed teenage girl, she didn't take it well. She offed herself by snake venom. They lived in the Australian outback you see. Their bodies made even tougher from it, they were stronger then any silly swamp based ogre. His stomach still grumbling, he headed for the kitchen. As he did, he began to remember more. He entered the main room to find Jinx attempting to cook breakfast.
Jinx: Morning Mammoth. You're looking particularly pus filled today.
Mammoth: Uh…thanks?
Jinx: You'll have to excuse my attitude. It seems being over two hundred years old has made me somewhat…bored with life. Hence why I'm trying to cook. Making pancakes is something I never did before.
Jinx didn't look her age at all. In fact, she looked the same as ever. The only difference was the costume, which was a long black dress with ragged ends. Jinx was a witch, a member of the magi to be precise. As she said, she was extremely bored with life until she met the HIVE. In fact, when she was found, she was in a drug induced stupor. She was so bored, she decided to try them. Unfortunately that was about a decade prior to being discovered. Since starting them, she had sunk deeper and deeper into her addiction. It took months of rehabilitation to get her off the junk. Since then Jinx found other ways to amuse herself, her favorite being turning the ghostly male banshee Sonic solid. She found his affections to be something that held her interests. Whether she loved him back was something only she could tell you and she never mentioned it to a soul. Despite this, Sonic truly seemed to adore her. Mammoth noticed a white and pink suit in the corner. It resembled Krystal's costume…but had a strange device on the stomach area.
Mammoth: Is Krystal running around naked or something?
Jinx: As amusing as that would be, no. You obviously don't remember yet. Not surprising. Ogres aren't known for intelligence.
Before he could ask what that meant, the light from the nearby lamp detached itself from the bulb and floated over to the suit, entering through the device. A body took shape composed of a faint glowing light. It was Krystal. Now Mammoth finally remembered. Krystal was a being of light and positive energy created when Raven made Shade. Raven's past had barely changed. The only difference was that her father had died before she was born. He had been dying when he impregnated her mother. Even in death, however, he was able to twist her mind, turning her into a wicked creature hell bent on taking over the world, slaughtering the useless, and keeping the rest as slaves. To do this, Raven wanted a creature that couldn't even THINK of turning on her by her side. Thus, Raven absorbed negative energy from certain areas of the world. Battle sites, crime scenes, the DMV, she took all she needed and formed a being out of the energy. This being was dubbed Shade and was bound to Raven in order to keep him in this world. She stole a collar and enchanted it, allowing Shade to alter his form at will. Shade was a solid shadow in appearance and without the necklace he'd turn into a formless blob, though still capable of creating other shadows to use as weapons the way he always could. Krystal formed from the remains of what Raven absorbed. The process wasn't perfect and a slight amount of the others energy wound up in each other. Not enough to affect their powers, but enough to make sure neither was pure evil or a saint. The dwarf (the fairy tale type dwarf) Gizmo made a suit that could serve the same purpose as Shade's collar. Without it, Krystal would revert into an orb of light within two hours. Krystal popped her neck.
Krystal: Hoo! Man, that was weird, waking up inside a lightbulb.
Jinx: Very cramped I'm sure.
Krystal: Nah. Actually it's pretty comfortable when you're nothing but a sphere of light. How you doing, Jinxy?
Jinx: Bored. I'm going to buy some bungee cord and jump off the roof. I've never bungee jumped before.
Krystal: Yes you have.
Jinx: …oh right. I forgot it. I fell asleep during it.
Krystal: No, you blacked out.
Jinx: Either way I don't remember the experience.
The smell of something burning permeated the air, signaling Blackfire's arrival. Blackfire was a ghost. She was the ghost of a teenage girl who died in a fire. As such she was constantly ablaze. Her sister had pyrokensis, the ability to light things on fire through the power of her will. Furthermore Starfire was a pyromaniac who never liked her sister and desperately wanted to see what a human looked like on fire. She got her wish. Now Blackfire couldn't even remember her real name. Since the flames were the same color as their hair, Blackfire literally was black fire.
Blackfire: What the hell kind of world is this? I'm dead! I'm a damn ghost! What kind of bull crap is this?!
Krystal took her hand. Since she was a being of light, heat had no affect on her. As it was, Blackfire could only reduce her heat enough for people to be near her, but never touch her. That still burned.
Krystal: It's no big deal. You and me are still together, right?
Blackfire: Yeah, but watch this.
Blackfire went over to the sink.
Blackfire: Jinx, could you get the water for me? I don't want to leave marks on the handles…or melt them.
Jinx sighed and snapped her fingers. The water came out of the faucet and sprayed Blackfire in the face. When it stopped, all that was left was a charred skull.
Blackfire: See? This is just freaky.
It didn't take long for her face to dry off and burst into flames again. Jinx held up her hand.
Jinx: Want me to hit you again?
Blackfire: No. You almost knocked my head off last time. My bones are brittle under this fire.
Jinx: Hmm. Ah. Pancakes are done.
Krystal leaned on the counter, curious.
Krystal: …why are they…
Jinx: Hexagons. I try to be different.
Krystal: I was going to say "green" but that's a good question too.
Jinx shrugged. Like it mattered to her. Strangely the feeling of relaxed boredom was rather…enjoyable to her. She always stressed herself about how the team was. It felt good to care so little. The team was Red X's responsibility in this world. Speaking of, Red X arrived, looking upset. This was probably due to the fact that her face was hideously burnt. The name Red X came from the two long slashes along her face. She had patches of hair on her head, but just a few. It was impossible to recognize her as anyone. She had a mask, but only wore it when she left the building as it aggravated her burns. The burns came from Starfire. The cuts were from Cyborg. In this world Cyborg was a common thief who was shot by security while attempting to rob a research lab. The machines caught his soul and came to life, fixing themselves to his now dead body. His body revived, he easily crushed the security and left. Raven found him and told him that if he aided her, she turn him to normal. It was a trick. Rather then restore his human form, she wiped the memory of being human from his head. Thus, in his mind, he was normal. Raven was rather proud of coming up with that one. Red X had faced all the Titans alone that day, her own team had yet to be formed. Raven had just finished recruiting Robin. Somehow or another, Terra had known she was there. Terra was a golem created by Jinx, once again, out of boredom. She didn't take the belittling of her existence so well. When you tell somebody you created them because you wanted to see if you could, that tends to hurt feelings. Terra left to find her purpose in life. Jinx gave her a fruit basket as a going-away present, furthering Terra's dislike for her creator. On her travels, she met Changeling. Changeling had been a mischievous child of two scientists living in Africa. They were studying a strange totem of unknown origin. It was roughly the size of a human hand and had the faces of all sorts of animals on it. He decided to mess around with it. The totem twisted in several spots, allowing the alignment of animals to change, like a puzzle cube. In a one and a million chance, young Garfield Logan managed to solve the puzzle. Before he even realized what he had done, the totem flew into his chest and buried itself in his flesh. His skin turned green and he grew a thin layer of fur all over his body. It wasn't long before his new animalistic urges got the better of him. For a few years he was completely feral. By the time Terra found him, he had calmed down a little and regained some rationality. They became fast friends. When Raven came to claim the possessor of the animal totem for her crew, he insisted that Terra come too. After hearing who had created her, Raven couldn't say no. As for Robin, it was a surprise to Raven to find the boy was completely human. Starfire, who was actually the second person Raven ever recruited (the first being Shade), was enamored, however, and begged Raven to ask Robin anyway. She was going to refuse…but during the fight that followed, it was Robin who defeated Red X. The masked girl…who at the time had no name…had prepared herself for the battle well. She had an answer for all of them in her costume. Extremely stretchy adhesive goo held Changeling down no matter what form he took. Starfire was beaten by fire extinguisher foam. Bollos and a gag kept Raven from doing much damage. Before she could do anymore, Robin attacked her. She was defeated, burned, cut, and tossed away. Somehow she managed to call her father and got taken back to her home to be treated. Her face never recovered.
Red X: This is the worst world yet.
Jinx: You're just saying that because it looks like you stuck your face into the fireplace before a confused individual went Zorro on you.
Red X clenched her fists.
Red X: Yes, that's exactly why I say that! That and Blackfire and Sonic are ghosts, Krystal is a being of light, Mammoth is a drooling ogre…!
Mammoth: (drooling) …uh…sorry.
Red X: This just plain sucks!
Jinx: …whose turn is it to clean up after Mammoth?
Blackfire: Gizmo's.
Krystal: I'll go get him. Last time we waited too long it ruined the carpet.
Titan H.Q.: Main Room
Raven hummed softly to herself as she flipped through the ancient tome. After so long, she had found (and stolen) the tome she had been looking for.
Starfire: Can I burn that book now?
Raven: No. This is the one.
Starfire huffed, disappointed. Her body seemed to be filling with her power and she needed to use it. This was just in her mind, of course. Her addiction made her attempt to rationalize her compulsion. In time she began to think if she didn't burn things, she'd explode.
Starfire: But I need to burn something, Raven…please? Just a page?
Raven scowled, annoyed at the interruption. Didn't the girl see she was busy? Of course not. All Starfire ever saw was firewood…usually not made of wood either.
Raven: (turning the page) There are trees outside. Don't burn the ones near our base or you'll give us away.
Starfire: Yes!
Starfire flew out, propelled by her powers. Raven grumbled. Now it was hot in the room. Raven threw her cloak back to cool off, revealing the burns on her arms and legs. She had more on the rest of her. In order to magnify her mystic power, she burned the symbols into her skin. They glowed whenever she used a powerful spell. Hearing a soft noise, she stood up and smirked.
Raven: Changeling, you naughty little boy. If I hadn't adjusted my cloak, I might not have noticed you.
The small green mouse shifted back into the long haired green boy, smirking back at her.
Changeling: What are you going to do now that you caught me?
Raven leaned close so that her face was inches from his. She flicked a strand of green hair from his face.
Raven: I guess I'm going to have to…"punish" you, hmm?
Changeling knew what that meant and grinned. Their little…romps, shall we say…had been going on for a week now. Raven made no effort to hide it from Shade. She truly didn't care. Shade was her creation, to use and abuse as she saw fit. Most of the time she treated him well. Maybe somewhere inside she DID love the living shadow creature...but Shade's cold shadow body wasn't nearly as enticing as Changeling's warm flesh and blood. Terra, however, was a problem. While incapable of physically feeling anything, she was very possessive of Changeling, as he was the first person to treat her…like a person. Jinx pretty much disregarded her after her creation. So saying, even as they made out on the couch, Raven was keeping her mind open for the presence of the golem girl. Instead of Terra, however, Shade arrived, appearing perched on the couch. His arrival interrupted the pair. Raven stopped with an annoyed sigh.
Raven: What?! Can't you see I'm busy?
Shade lowered his head at her angry shout. Raven's eyes widened and she pushed Changeling away.
Raven: You don't say…well done, Shade. Once we retrieve the artifact, I'll have enough power to reshape this world in my image.
Changeling: Hey! What about me?
Raven raised an eyebrow.
Raven: What ABOUT you? I've just been told where the item that can make my long waited dream come true is located and you think I've time to fool around with you?
Changeling: Damn it…
Raven: Calm yourself. Once the world is mine, I'll get you a harem.
Changeling: SWEET!
Shade growled. He despised the green shape changer. He'd have killed the fool already, but Raven forbade it the day she started flirting with him. Knowing him well enough, Raven was sure he'd become jealous. Raven poked his head, causing him to fall back off the couch.
Raven: Bite your tongue, Shade. I'll have none of that talk. I organized this team, and as long as I require its services, I will NOT allow for petty squabbles to tear it apart.
Robin stuck his head into the room.
Robin: Starfire is burning down the forest again.
Raven: ...ugh. I told her to burn ONE tree. Just one. Shade, go stop her. If she resists, knock her out and drag her in. And put out the flames before she burns a hole right around the entrance to the base.
Shade disappeared.
Raven: Robin, I have good news.
Changeling: You saved…
Raven grabbed Changeling's lips and held them together.
Raven: No. I hate that joke. You use it all the time. Don't say it. Anyway, Shade has found it. The artifact is within our grasp.
Robin: Where is it?
Raven: The home of a rare art collector who lives in a secluded house down in the Louisiana marsh lands.
Robin: I guess we're heading South then.
Raven sighed. She hated Louisiana…the mosquitoes in the bayous ate her alive.
Robin: Bring your bug repellent.
Raven: There isn't enough in the world to save my blood…
Changeling: Maybe it'll cause another riot.
Raven's blood would act like a disease in a mosquito. It would have no effect on the bug itself, but those it bit afterward would become VERY prone to emotional outbursts. Therefore, riots were bound to happen.
Raven: Now you're just trying to cheer me up…
HIVE Tower: Storage Room
Sonic hated it when Jinx got REALLY bored. She was usually bored, now she was REALLY bored. When she got this bored, she liked to make him…do things before she would solidify him. Right now…she was making him do a thing. …and the thing was peeling potatoes. …well, Jinx wasn't going to do it, that was for sure. She'd sooner slit her wrists with the peeler in any reality. Then again, this was the first time they had an actual dwarf on the team (dwarfs only eat potatoes. No. Shut up. They only eat potatoes. I don't care what you read or saw in a movie). Of course, Sonic couldn't pick up a peeler…so... He took a deep breath…not that he breathed…and screamed. Sonic had been made to train his voice well. The potato skins flew off like sheets of paper blown in the wind. Jinx clapped from the door way, cotton balls in her ears.
Sonic: Am I done now?
Jinx: Did you get ALL the potatoes?
Sonic: Yes…
Jinx tapped her foot impatiently. Sonic turned back and screamed again. The potatoes swelled, almost exploding.
Sonic: There! ALL of them.
Jinx: Great. Now you can go clean the bathrooms. You can scream the dirt into nonexistence, right?
Sonic: Am I doing all your chores today?
Jinx's eyes brightened.
Jinx: That's a great idea, Sonic. You should get started on that right away.
Sonic: Oh no…no, no, no. I'm am NOT…
Jinx: And after that…then we can…play.
Sonic: …okay, and what are your chores again?
After writing up a list and making it ghostly so Sonic could hold it, Jinx went off to find something to do in the mean time. If there was one person who always seemed to have something interesting going on, it was Gizmo. The dwarf was constantly inventing things (because that and eating potatoes is really all a dwarf does in their spare time). Sometimes she helped…other times she deliberately messed it up. Naturally, if he was working on something to fix reality, she'd leave it alone…maybe.
Gizmo's Workshop
Gizmo grumbled. What a sick joke. Of all the things he could have become in this reality, why was it a dwarf? He couldn't WAIT to get out of this reality. He was busy welding as Jinx crept into the room. Due to her previous activities, Gizmo had stopped answering knocks on the door. He also locked it, but that couldn't keep out a witch.
Jinx: What are you working on?
Gizmo jumped at the sudden voice next to him. The blow torch moved, lighting the end of his beard on fire. Jinx watched him dance around a moment, wondering if she should help him or laugh. Finally she pointed at the ceiling and, with a spark of magic, set off the fire sprinklers. Jinx had to bite back a giggle at the sight of the dwarf standing there, his beard smoldering.
Jinx: I'm tempted to make a "hot under the collar" joke, but I think I'll let it lie.
Gizmo: What is WRONG with you?
Jinx: I'm a two hundred plus year old witch who's bored with life in general. What are you working on?
Gizmo: A way to get us home of course!
Jinx: Good. I don't know why, but this reality seems to be affecting my behavior more then the others.
The alarm went off and they all headed for the main room.
Louisiana: Mansion Near the Marshlands, the study
The charred corpse of one Daniel Patterson fell to the floor. Starfire giggled and spun around like a dancer, falling back into Robin's arms.
Starfire: I do so love it when they run around.
The pair kissed while Raven reached into the vault and pulled out the glowing red stone. Her burns began to glow on contact with it, making her smile wickedly.
Raven: Yes…yes, this is exactly what we were looking for. Good boy, Shade. I knew I could count on you to sniff it out.
Raven stroked Shade's head as she stared into the translucent rock in her hands. She could almost hear it throbbing with power. Power which, very soon, would belong to her and her alone. She turned to Terra.
Raven: Terra, the book, if you please.
Terra put an old red tome into Raven's outstretched hands. Inside was a collection of dark magic spells that Raven had discovered and written down herself.
Terra: You'll make me human with this power, right? You promised me you'd make me human.
Raven put the book down on the nearby desk and patted Terra on her stone head.
Raven: Of course I will, child. A promise is a promise and I always reward those who aid me. When the sun comes up tomorrow, you will feel the warmth of its rays on your skin.
Terra couldn't even imagine what that was like, but nodded in agreement. Raven flipped through the book and began chanting the spell, holding the stone in both hands over her head. It was glowing brighter and brighter. Suddenly a cable wrapped around her arms and she dropped the stone.
Raven: NO! I was so close! The spell…!
Red X: That's enough, Raven. This ends now.
Raven: Damn you…I have waited for this moment since I was a little girl and I will not be denied any longer! Keep them away from me while I complete the spell!
The fight began. Shade severed the cable, setting Raven's arms free. Krystal blasted him before he could make another move. Raven reached for the stone but Jinx put her foot down on it.
Jinx: Sorry, child. You're still several decades too young to control this much power.
Raven: Back off, old hag!
Jinx's hands crackled with power. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called old. Before she could act on Raven's insult, Terra attacked, swinging toward her creators head. Jinx was forced to dodge, letting the stone out from under her foot.
Jinx: Why didn't I depose of you when I got bored, you ancient pile of rubble?
Terra: That shortsightedness will be your down fall, bitch!
Raven's grin of triumph was cut off as she was hit with a painful burst of flame. Expecting Blackfire, Raven was stunned to see Starfire standing nearby, smoke coming from her hands. Raven looked at her arm and nearly screamed. The burns were terrible! Was that BONE she was seeing?!
Raven: Starfire…why?
Starfire: Don't be so dramatic.
Starfire picked up the stone and tossed it at Robin who caught it. Starfire created a barrier of flame, keeping everyone away as Robin finished the incantation. Shade wrapped his formed around Raven's arm, cooling the burn slightly and filling her with relief. The flames disappeared as Robin began to grow. His skin turned red and he grew an extra set of eyes. Soon he looked very much like Trigon, save for his hair and facial features. A giant R was tattooed on his chest and burning like one of Raven's birthmarks. He had burst through the house already, the HIVE and Titans running out before it could collapse on them. Shade carried Raven. They all stared up at him in shock. Raven was the first to recover.
Raven: No…NO! That's my power! MINE! My father left that for ME!
Starfire: And now it belongs to Robin. Finders keepers, right…LORD Robin?
Robin looked down at Starfire, a nasty smile on his face.
Robin: THANK YOU FOR BETRAYING RAVEN, STARFIRE. I COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU.
Starfire beamed. Of course she would have betrayed Raven for him. She loved the boy with all her flame addicted heart. Terra stood up. She was no fool and knew a good opportunity when she saw it.
Terra: Robin! If I pledge myself to you, will you turn me into a human?
Raven: I'm surrounded by traitors!
Terra: No offense, Raven, but he DOES have the power now. Why both…
Terra was cut off as a beam from Robin's finger struck her. She froze in place, now a normal statue. Starfire gasped. This wasn't part of the plan. Backstabbing Raven was one thing, but KILLING her friends wasn't right…and it was about to get worse.
Changeling: Terra! Terra, say something!
Jinx: …she can't. Robin destroyed the magic I put into her…and cursed her body so I can't put more in. He killed her.
Sonic: This is very bad…
Changeling let out a feral howl and attacked Robin in a blind rage. Robin smirked and blasted him too. He was forcibly turned into a rat and frozen that way. He squeaked and ran back to his friends in a panic.
Starfire: R…Robin…what are you doing? You never said anything about killing them. I thought they were going to help us rule the world.
Robin: YOU THOUGHT WRONG…AND ANOTHER THING…
Robin stomped on Starfire, reducing her to a smear. Blackfire screamed at the sight of her sister's sudden demise.
Robin: …THERE IS NO "US" IN THIS EQUATION.
Gizmo: What do we do?
Raven: Just wait it out. It won't be much longer.
Robin: WHAT ARE YO…
Robin's body began to bulge in random places. His features twisted in agony.
Robin: WHAT…WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!
Raven: Fool! You are neither half demon or magi! Did you really think your pitiful human body could hold such power? Even I required these symbols burned into my skin to channel that much energy! Now die, you ungrateful bastard! I would have given you a country to rule! Maybe a whole planet! Instead you will burn in hell fire!
Robin's body exploded in a wave of white light.
Raven: …that's not supposed to hap…
END PART FOUR