Chapter 3: Break-In
"The HIVE?" Kid Flash asked confusedly as he looked over Jinx's shoulder at the symbol on the robot's head. "The supervillain school you and the rest of the HIVE Five went to? I thought you said that place was destroyed."
"It was," Jinx said. "I told you what happened there- Cyborg used a hologram emitter to disguise himself and sneak in, win Brother Blood's trust, and steal the superweapon he was working on." What she hadn't told Kid Flash was that she and Cyborg had something of a mutual crush going on at the time; that was filed distinctly under information he didn't need to know. "The rest of his team showed up and attacked, and that's when he revealed who he was and used the weapon to blow the whole place up. Most of the students got away, and Blood ran out. I heard that he tried to establish another HIVE academy in Steel City, but he got put away before that ever got off the ground."
"So, do think it was Blood who sent this overgrown tin can?"
"Last I heard he was still in prison," Jinx told him, shaking her head. "And he was never too fond of robots anyway. Sure, he used dumb ones for training, but he hated things that could think but couldn't be controlled by his powers. Well, I did hear that after he got fixated on Cyborg he made a whole army of second-rate copies, but this tech doesn't look the same."
"Well, then, I'm stumped," Kid Flash said. "Is there anyone else at the HIVE who'd go through all the effort to build a giant killer robot and send it after you?"
"Not that I know about, but unless this is someone who's just using the HIVE symbol because they think it's cool, there's more to the HIVE than I ever knew about." Jinx put one foot in front of the other carefully, testing her weight on it. "I think I can walk now, if we take it slow."
Kid Flash stepped aside and Jinx began to walk down the tunnel, taking small steps as feeling returned to her legs. They were tingling unpleasantly, like they'd just been asleep, and her head was beginning to pound. I definitely need to lie down after tonight, Jinx thought to herself.
"It'll be alright," Kid Flash said from beside her. "We'll find out whoever's after you and we'll get him. I promise you."
Jinx opened her mouth to reply, when suddenly the pain in her head spiked so sharply that it drowned out all of her thoughts. She sank to her knees, clutching her skull, barely aware of Kid Flash getting down beside her and asking what was wrong. Then the pain built to a climax and she was distantly aware of throwing back her head and screaming as pipes lining the tunnel wall exploded and the world vanished in a haze of pinkish-purple light.
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"And stay out!" Completely satisfied with himself, Gizmo stuck out his tongue at his departing teammates as the metal door of the HIVE Five's base slammed shut behind them. Who did those scumscucking morons think they were, anyway- it had clearly been his brains and his robot drones that gotten them into the bank vault and his experimental teleporter that let them get away with the loot before the Titans showed up. It was obvious that he should get the biggest take. It was only fair, but those idiots still thought they could take his cut. Well, now they'd be sorry they ever tried to cross him- see how well they'd make it out there without him! Gizmo knew they'd be back in a few days, tails between their legs. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.
In the meantime, he was going to enjoy himself. Ransacking the kitchen for anything remotely edible, he hurried to the living room with his arms (both real and mechanical) full of all the food they could carry. The next several hours were spent gorging himself without bothering to clean up while watching several of his favorite sci-fi horror movies in succession. Finally, a completely satisfied Gizmo passed out halfway through Invasion of the Flesh-Eating Martians, Part II.
Several hours later, he was awakened by the sound of a loud bang. Shooting upright, Gizmo activated his various weapons and looked around wildly for the source of the disturbance. "Whozzere?" he demanded in a slurred voice. "You can't come in!"
The bang sounded again, this time clearly coming from the direction of the front door. Activating his mechanical limbs, Gizmo rose into the air and stalked towards the sound, figuring that it was probably Mammoth gotten lonely early and trying to bash the door in. Well he wasn't getting back in, not until he was ready to grovel and kiss Gizmo's butt…
The lights suddenly flickered and went out. Gizmo looked around wildly, eyes wide- Mammoth couldn't do that; none of the HIVE Five could. "Oh, jeeze," he muttered under his breath. "It's probably those snot-eating Titans. Well, they'll never take me alive!" Pressing a series of buttons on his belt, he activated his force-field, holograms, and remote drones. If the Titans wanted a fight, they were going to get it!
Chuckling evilly to himself, Gizmo began to back deeper into the base, when one of his mechanical legs hit something and stumbled. Cursing, he spun around- and then stopped, eyes wide. What he'd tripped over hadn't been something, but rather someone- a man in golden armor, with a helmet designed to resemble an insect's head. The man had a beam rifle pointed straight at Gizmo, and several more in similar uniforms stood behind him.
Screaming in surprise, fear, and anger, the pre-teen science whiz drew his own beam pistol and began firing indiscriminately, shouting insults and anatomically-impossible threats all the while. The invading soldiers dropped and rolled beneath the lasers, bringing up their own weapons and firing a series of quick, clinical shots. Gizmo himself was protected by his personal force-field- a newer invention he'd been finding very handy- but his mechanical legs were still vulnerable. Each gave way, and the young criminal was sent sprawling to the floor.
Getting up on his hands and knees, Gizmo keyed on his invisibility cloaker and began to crawl across the floor, determined now just to get away. Dodging between the legs of the mystified attackers- who he now recognized as HIVE soldiers, though why anyone would dress up their henchmen like that with the HIVE belly-up was beyond him- he made his way slowly towards the door, only to find his path blocked. A tall man stood there, wrapped in a dark-purple cloak he wore above what looked like glossy body armor of the same color. His face was hidden behind a hood and a cloth mask that left visible only a pair of eyes that studied his surroundings with calculating interest. He held a tall metal staff in one hand; apparently hearing Gizmo's approach, he pressed a switch on one side and a pulse of energy shot from its top. The cloaker failed, just as the base's other tech had earlier.
Instantly Gizmo found the base of the staff pointed directly at his throat, a small blade of energy extending from it that stopped only inches from his skin. Looking up at the ominous, silent figure, he gulped audibly. "Whatever it was, it wasn't what you think! I didn't do it- it must have been Mammoth, or Billy, or, or…" Frozen by terror, Gizmo found the names of his teammates escaped him, so he just settled on whimpering pitifully.
"You're not making a good showing for yourself, boy," the man behind the mask said, his tone aristocratic and his accent cultured- faintly British. "But don't worry- I'm not really here for you."
That voice sounded somewhat familiar. "Brother Blood?" Gizmo asked hesitantly. "Is that you? I kept some of the HIVE together- you can have them all when they get back,- just don't hurt me!"
The man shook his head. "I'm not Brother Blood, though he is an… acquaintance of mine. I am the Fifth Director of the Inner Circle- you may simply call me Director. And didn't I just say this isn't about you? I'm here for one reason and one reason only, boy- I want information, and I want you to give it to me."
"Information?" Gizmo asked, brightening. "Yeah, I'll tell you anything you want- anything! Just get that sludge-oozing staff away from me. Err, Director."
"As you wish." The Director pulled the staff away and Gizmo sank to the floor, panting in relief. "Now then, I want you to tell me everything you know about the girl named Jinx."
"Jinx!" Gizmo shrieked. "That… that stinking, puke-brained… she turned on us, got us all frozen by the stinking Titans. I was stiff for a week after that!" He looked up hopefully. "You're going to do something really bad to her, aren't you? I'll help!"
The Director's eyes narrowed coldly, and Gizmo was suddenly reminded not so much of Brother Blood as of Slade. "My business with Jinx is my own, and I don't require your assistance. Just tell me everything you know about her- where she came from, what her powers can do, how she fights, and above all how she can be beaten. I have much information already, but I feel someone with a… personal stake might pick up on something I've missed, and for all your flaws you're far and away the most intelligent of that den of ineptitude that calls itself the HIVE Five. Now talk."
Looking up at the Director's masked face and cold eyes, Gizmo gulped, nodded, and began to speak.