These Black Eyes

by P0ST

The ongoing adventures and experiences of the Teen Titans, as witnessed through the eyes of a silent newcomer.

151. Double Jinx part 8

151. Double Jinx part 8

……..

"Today…………"

………

"Today……we begin the age of The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination, the strongest vessel for organized freedom fighting and insurgent interests world wide. All of us—as united sisters and brothers of the modern Earth—shall work to produce the most elite mercenaries and intellectuals in the field of political activism that this World has ever seen or ever will see. In an age when hypocrites and bureaucrats wield futile strengths of social standing, it will be up to us to truly act upon the interests of the downtrodden and oppresses masses in every nation and on every Continent. And we…the Headmistresses…we shall be your guiding light. Your pillars of strength. Lean on us for strength, and we shall commune to equally share the courage and fervor that has been granted us by years of strife and hardship. This is the turning point, sisters and brothers. This is the birth of a new regime. The future is ours. The future is now. The future has been paved already in our past. In our origins. In our will. May all evil opposition tremble at the wave of fury that the Hierarchy shall unleash on those pathetic enough to maintain the wretched status quo. Revolution is nigh. All those who agree……pledge with me!"

"Long live The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination!"

"Long live The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination!"

"Know in your hearts……Know in your mind……you are part of a grand whole. A supporting body in a colony. A colony that shall rebuild the world from the deep recesses of the abandoned Terra Firma and outward."

"Long Live H.I.V.E.!"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I've often wondered if life would have been an easier thing lived blind than with my black eyes open.

Even when halfway unconscious, I could feel things with my spatial sense. I felt the shadowy figures rushing into the exploded playground. I felt the limbs dragging Jinx and I out from the smoldering crater left by the hidden explosives that ambushed. My mind registered the bumpy ride in a stuffy vehicle that turned left, right, right, left, left, left, right, and left again before descending somewhere beneath the earth's surface. I felt the cold rocking motion of an invisible platform leading us down partially ventilated tunnels. I heard creaking sounds as the two of us were carried somewhere parallel to each other with the handcuffs between us rattling. I felt the air get colder and muttering voices part ways as clumping boots of marching guards led us into a small interior. Then the cold metal. The even colder metal clamping around our arms. Clamping around our feet. Clamping around our waists. Pivoting. Whurring. Holding us up vertically……

It felt strangely familiar……

As I legitimately woke up, all of those sensations rushed up at my heel and screamed at the back of my head in fifteen seconds flat. I winced, stirred, and opened my black eyes….only to have my shades missing.

And the light stabbed my optics, so I immediately shut them again without so much as registering the bright reality in front of me.

I clenched my teeth and squirmed from where I was hung. I felt about and realized that my limbs were still in tact. I couldn't tell if I was burned anywhere. All my nerves seemed to be working. I felt the cold metal pressing up against my back through my black tanktop and up against my legs through my lower fatigues. My long black hair was loose around my shoulders. My bandanna must have fallen loose from the explosion or something…..

I flexed my left wrist. Beyond the metal clamp that held it to the table, I felt the handcuffs still there. I stretched my metal fingers out and felt a pair of petite fingers hanging against them. I concentrated and extended a thin stream of smoke across Jinx's limb. I felt the handcuffs attached to her wrist still.

Why hadn't they severed us??

I felt down further. Her limb seemed in tact. As did her body. From the heavy way in which she was hanging against her own metal slab, I assumed she was either asleep or just waking up. There didn't seem to be any major damage to her skin or flesh. Her clothes stolen from the rusted truck way back when were still on.

I was a little surprised with my relief at learning of her 'safety'.

"Must you feel her up so? Be a gentleman for once, Titan…."

"……"

I dropped my curtain of shape-shifting smoke off of Jinx's form. I crept the murk across the floor and felt for feet.

There were five pairs. Two pairs were in one corner of the room in line with each other. Another two in an opposite corner.

Guards……

The sides of the walls were solid and glossy-surfaced, save for a few shelves at waist level in the rear. In a corner besides a door, there was a conspicuous….'shape'. I couldn't make out what it was…except for something very still and dead. I spread my spatial sense outwards and away from it.

In the center—facing us—was a smaller pair of feet. They were connected to nimble legs and an even nimbler torso of a man leaning his hand casually on his hip. A wry smile. Thin lips.

"Fascinating how you do that. I'm surprised the Titans found your type before we did."

My eyes narrow.

Who's this guy?

I gave in. I slowly opened my eyes a tiny crack. It stabbed me deeply, but I did manage to get a sliver of a glance at the figure in front of me. And I instantly recognized him as the fake cop with the laser targeting weapon back in Blue Pine…

"Unfortunately….I'm not the one who performs recruitment for the Headmistress," Damien Darhk's voice said. "That's her own department. And—I have to admit—she's done a good job…."

A beat.

His head pivoted to grin at Jinx's figure.

"….for the most part."

"………"

"Oh….you do know you're both in the latest H.I.V.E. Academy, right?"

I had no damn clue. Thanks.

"We had to hurry to get you here. The Headmistress is very paranoid of a certain telepath following dangerously on Jinx's heels. That telepath has a rather……unstable friend. Ever bullied a sissy kid only to find out he has a really bigass, burly brother? Believe me….the Headmistress isn't in the mood of pissing off some of those who are ambulance-chasing that witch you're attached to."

"………"

"I bet you're seeing all of this as a rather unfortunate series of laughable events," the feet of the man paced across the room. "…assuming you're capable of laughing without a voice box. 'Noir', is it? I hear you've been quite a bad boy in the past. Sent the Titans for a run….supposedly to 'protect them' against Slade….whom you killed, I might add. Tsk tsk….quite a sour situation for you to be in now. Especially considering that you're stuck in the paws of the one girl who fought against you across the legendary battlefield of your City one turbulent week during July Fourth." A beat. "Intrigued? I always do my research."

Everyone's got the Internet these days……

"Care to open your eyes? It's rude not to look at a man's face when he's talking to you.

Ha ha……

Silence.

His feet shifted to a stop. He faced me.

"……"

"……"

"You're rather comfortable, Mr. Titan."

"……"

"You do realize that H.I.V.E. only has interests in Jinx, right?"

"……."

"What happens to you matters very little," his feet shuffled over. "But we can't just toss you away as it is. You see…," his fingers traced the metal links of the handcuffs. "….there is still a liability here. Not that the sensor to these things are any threat to us…but rather we can exploit this liability. Whenever there's a dramatic explosive lying around just ready to go off in some purely terrorist fashion….H.I.V.E. loves to leap on it. Looks like we got a double-prize with this witch here. Two peas in a pod. A double jinx….though you're hardly half of it."

Thanks. You're the first smartass I've met all day.

"Want to say something?"

Yeah. Where's my sword………?

I shifted some from where I hung.

Darhk exhaled. He let go of the handcuffs' links and sauntered over towards the far side of the room. There was a rummaging…then a light, sparking sound. He walked back, and as he did so I sensed a blue light stabbing into my optics through my eyelids. And a heated dance in the air.

I felt around his torso with spatial sense, ran up his arm, and felt a small, cold object between his fingers. From the end of the object there was a dancing pulse….of something.

SWIIIIISH-ZAAAAP!!!!

A sharp, fiery pain exploded outward from my right shoulder.

I gritted my teeth and hissed out in pain. My body arched against the restraints. My head throbbed down to my burnt shoulder and up again and—

ZAAAAAAP!!! Across my right shoulder blade.

My upper body jerked.

The smell of burnt skin wafted up into my nostrils.

I exhaled and slammed my head back into the metal with a silent howl.

Then….

Panted….

Panted……..

Panted………..

…………………until the second wave of pain hit.

My teeth clenched again. My eyes popped open momentarily (STAB!!) as my head thrashed once…...twice….then hung in a huge exhale of numbness drenching over me like a sheet of ice.

"So….you do feel pain….," Darhk's humored voice uttered close to my face as he waved the electric dagger up and down above my exposed arm's hairs. "That's something for me to take note of. You too…if you even so much as consider any tricks while in our humble abode."

I hissed through my teeth, sweating.

"Heh…..behind every badass there's a back to be broken," Darhk extinguished the pulsing spark of the 'dagger' and walked back across the room to put it on the shelf where he got it. "A little torture never did anybody bad. It grows character, ya know?"

I panted. I swallowed.

Don't talk to me about 'torture'…………

It was then and there that a stirring took place to my left. Jinx was finally coming to.

"Nnnngh…."

"Whoop…..showtime," Darhk's body shuffled over to a corner. His hand picked pressed into something and he spoke into the wall….perhaps an intercom. "Summon the Headmistress. Jenkins is coming to."

"Aye, sir."

-click-

He shuffled over again.

"The Headmistress is rather….queasy of watching people in pain," Darhk said…facing me, I guess. "You and I will talk later."

I took a deep breath.

I bet we will.

"Where…..where are we?" Jinx's head tilted up. A beat. "Oh…..naturally."

"Been a long time, witch."

"Damien Darhk. Are you the Headmistress' errand boy now?"

"Proud of it."

"I thought you had to be older than that to grovel before the old coot."

"I've earned my age, Miss. Jenkins. And I assure you….it wasn't through groveling."

I flinched my right arm where the searing pain was still slowly fading….

"Ghost Boy…..you okay??"

I glared over at her through closed eyes.

What do you care?

She was silent.

I wanted to open my eyes….but I decided not to.

"Cat got your tongue, Jinx? Don't mind the pun. I just didn't expect two mutes to look over today is all."

"I'm not here to talk to you…," the girl grumbled.

"Then what are you here for?"

"I'll wait till the Headmistress is here. I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh, certainly you have plenty to say to me. I must say….you were rather loud when you fell into the 'net'."

"………"

"Honestly….I don't know what importance such a putrid apartment complex in the middle of the shitty surface City has….but it was enough to make you pause for our concussion mines to deal their blow."

"………"

"It's interesting. You are worth so much to H.I.V.E. You were once worth so much to Slade. Both Psimon and Dagger sought to control you. And now the Titans and half of the police department from their shiny bright City are chasing your heels. But why? For such valuable blood….you're nothing but a shadow, Jinx. An accidental twist of fate. Does that ever dawn on you?"

"…….," Jinx stirred and I sensed a familiar, dangling object from her neck. "Why didn't you take it away from me?"

"Take what?"

"When you took the Titan and I in. Why didn't you confiscate my damn pendant? It's not like it's my sisters on the thing!"

"For the love of god, girl….why didn't you toss it away yourself?"

"……"

"Heh…..always an enigma."

"I won't let you dictate to me who or what I am," Jinx spat.

"Girl…..not even you know that."

"…….."

I bit my lip.

Schwissh!

Overtly proper footsteps marched into the small room.

Jinx caught her breath.

Darhk's feet turned to face the side next to two of the guards.

"Alas…alas…..," an elderly, female voice uttered.

Jinx grumbled. "Don't 'alas' me, you walking fossil!"

"Hmmm……the same Jinx as ever."

Footsteps.

Schwissh!

Darhk stepped back.

The headmistress' presence came forward to the center of the room and stopped uncomfortably close to us two.

"I see you captured them in one piece, Damien," the woman said. A pause. "Or two pieces."

"Forgive the rocker-haired 'twin' joined at Jinx's hip. But I do believe you ordered me not to sever the handcuffs. So…he's alive at the moment."

"I see……….he is mute, correct?"

"You have first access to the research database, not me."

"Hmmm."

"He's done nothing….," Jinx grumbled. "You don't need the Titan."

"On the contrary, he's done a lot," the woman's voice said. "He's protected you…given you flight…helped you escape countless obstacles…and practically saved you from a ravenous gang in the mean streets of Bludhaven above. Now how could such a selfless, unwitting hero have done all that while attached to you by handcuffs without your prior knowledge of the possibility?"

"……."

"The truth is, I know you, Jinx. I trained you. I breathed in you life when you were part of H.I.V.E. I know the way you work. I knew that you would be coming here….and I knew that you would be using him. But I guess it's only typical. Life lately has taught you that exploitation is the better half of fate."

"You don't know anything about fate…," Jinx's voice murmured. "Or life. The only thing you breathed into me was hatred."

"For what? For H.I.V.E.? What did you come back here for, Jinx? Do you possibly have any idea what you could be inviting into this place? Don't you know that Psimon desires the ruination of not only the Academy but all your former classmates and the Headmistresses and Headmasters themselves?"

"You tell me why I'm here. You 'know me', right?"

"…….at least I thought I did."

"I've changed. I'm not the little terrorist you trained."

"Is that so? What have you become now, Jinx? You were once a rogue. Then you were an Apprentice of Slade and an accomplice of Dagger. Then you were a prisoner. And now…what are you? An ambiguous crusader?"

"What does it matter who or what I am?"

"It does to H.I.V.E. and it does to me!"

"Why?!?! Why did you try so much to capture me?! Why not just kill me?! Is it the handcuffs? You gonna use me for one more little job?"

"Dear Jinx….you have no idea……no inclination as to what you are or who you are……"

"How in the Hell can I?"

"……."

"How can you expect me to know anything after what you and Psimon did to me? What does it matter anyways? Here I am. You got me. Now stop lingering around the subject matter and tell me what you're going to do!"

"…….."

Silence.

The feet of the headmistress shifted. An arm waved through the air.

"The boy. His shades….."

Feet of a guard clomped over. I sensed him picking something up off the shelf not far from the torture device. It was handed to the headmistress. Her frail fingers drifted over along with her tapping feet. I felt the cold plastic of the shades sliding up and over my face and between my ear lobes.

I clenched my jaw and slowly fluttered my black eyes open.

Things came into comfortable focus. And thus I saw the uncomfortable situation. The metal table stretched my legs out like a medieval rack at rest. The room was claustrophobically small with plated hexagons of gold criss-crossing to form the walls. Two guards in bright yellow armor and dark helmet visors held laser rifles at ready. Damien Darhk, the young miscreant of a H.I.V.E. executive, stood casually in the corner looking too handsome for his own good. The headmistress—a surprisingly tight-skinned old thing of graying hair, graying eyes, and graying fingers stood in the center looking at us both….but mainly me.

"I thought you may want to have your black eyes back, Mr. Titan," she said.

My gaze narrowed.

Jinx stammered: "Wh-What for?"

She nonchalantly snapped at the guards while speaking: "So he could withstand the last thing he ever sees."

Kl-Klack!

The guards' rifles locked.

Four separate laser pointers converged on the left part of my chest.

The guards' fingers curled around the triggers.

I suddenly realized then and there that I had gone for twenty-four hours on the run without a restroom break.

I struggled in vain inside my restraints. I gritted my teeth and sweat. I thought of teleporting out of the rack, but I wasn't so sure I could do it in time or without causing Jinx and the handcuffs to separate…

"Fire on my mark…"

Jinx gasped. "N-No! Wait!"

"Ready….."

"P-Please….I…I-I…."

"Aim…."

I panted. I glanced at Myrkblade on the table across the room. With my last waking thought I considered shooting a carpet of murk out to engulf it and--

"Fi—"

"NO!!!!" Jinx shouted, her whole body aglow in pink fury.

The Headmistress raised her hand.

The guards lowered their weapons.

I held my breath.

Darhk smirked.

"…….," Jinx took a deep breath. "Don't kill him. Don't kill him, please….."

"What use is he to you? He's certainly no use to us. That makes him twice as pointless an existence," the Headmistress spoke. "Is it the bomb? Do you not want it to go off somewhere without your personal provocation?"

"No….wh-who cares about the bomb. I never started caring about the bomb," Jinx panted. "Just….don't kill him…please…."

"Because….," the Headmistress raised an eyebrow. "……..he is your friend?"

"No!!!" Jinx growled. Her voice reached a high-pitch that rang in my ears. "Because he is my nemesis!!"

"……….," I slowly started breathing again. My head tilted her ways a bit. My eyes were round under the shades.

Jinx summoned strength to add: "You don't kill my nemesis! The nemesis is all I have left! After all these years….th-this kid has been the only person who truly respected me in b-battle. Everyone else simply used me! Like y-you use me. Like Psimon used me. Like Slade and Dagger used me. But Ghost Boy here…..he fights me simply for what he believes in. And though I-I may not know what it is, what he b-believes in has got to be enough for the two of us. B-Because I lost all that I believed in long ago…"

Silence.

I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed against the metal rack.

Kl-Klack!

"….," I opened my eyes.

The guards were aiming again.

"So…..you would cooperate with your former Headmistress……if I were to guarantee his sudden and painful death otherwise?"

A beat.

Jinx swallowed.

I looked at her.

My eyes were thin.

Don't……

The pink witch took a deep breath.

Don't do it……whatever it is……

"I w-will cooperate……"

I hung my head.

"……..," the Headmistress nodded. A wave of her hand, and the guards stepped back to their posts by the wall. "Then you will cooperate….by telling me….," she leaned her graying face forward with stern eyes. "………what did you come here for?"

Jinx's cat eyes thinned.

"Red….Aviary…."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"HIYAAA!!!" Robin flew at Charger with a jump kick.

Charger pivoted and raised his forearm to meet the Boy Wonder's boot with a pulse of electricity.

ZAAAAAAP!!!!

"RRRRRAAAUGH!!" Charger twirled and unleashed a steady stream of pearly-blue destruction.

Robin landed, ducked, and backflipped to avoid the stream. He slid across the gravel of the Bludhaven rooftop and ran in a huge circle as Charger unleashed zap after zap of electrical wrath at the Titan leader's heels.

SWIIIIIISH!!!

A four-inch tall Bumblebee fluttered overhead, spun around, and aimed two tiny zappers at a pursuing, full-sized Raven in mid-air. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall!!!" ZZTTT!! ZTTT!!!

Raven blocked the electrical pulses with two wrists of streaking, black energy. She clenched her teeth as her eyes glowed a bright gray. "Who are you calling 'big'??" She flicked her wrists. Two A/C units lifted off of the rooftop, ripped free of their foundations, and soared collectively at the size transfiguring Academy Student. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!!!"

SWIIIIISH!!!

Bumblebee performed a barrel roll in the air, twirling through the volley in a nimble dive. She bulleted towards Raven with both zappers pointed outward. But instead of firing, she shrunk down to the size of four centimeters and ripped through the fabric of Raven's hood. On the other side, she returned to a four-inch form and back-kicked the dark girl in the back of the head. "HIYA!!!"

THWAP!!!

"OW!!!" Raven stumbled forward.

Bumblebee spun, slammed her two zappers together, and produced a huge bolt that she launched at the sorceress' feet.

BLAM!!!

"!!!!" Raven fell down hard on her butt. THUMP!!!

"HA!!" Bumblebee fluttered overhead with her tiny arms folded. "Get a broom, sweetheart!"

Raven snarled from where she lie. "Get a casket…."

FWOOOOOOM!!!!

Two huge fountains of telekinetically congealed gravel shot up and converged on the villainous pixie. CRSSSSHKKK!!!

"NNNGH!!" Bumblebee groaned as she was surrounded by a gray-black mold.

With her cloak billowing, Raven floated up and over towards the floating sphere of chaos. She stuck her hand in, grabbed the doll-sized Bumblebee, and yanked her out. The gravel flew to the ground as Raven held the tiny villain before her and uttered: "I should have brought a glass jar instead of handcuffs."

Suddenly, a frowning Bumblebee looked up at her giant captor. "You should have brought your foot up here so I could shove it into your mouth for you!!!"

FLASH!!!! Bumblebee transformed back into her full-sized body. FWUMP!!! Her sudden weight forced Raven to the ground.

"Ugh!!" Raven stumbled.

"HA!!" Bumblebee nimbly leapt off Raven like a springboard and flipped into a perfect landing, upon which she aimed at Raven in half-reverse with her zappers.

ZZZZZZT!!!

CLANG!!! Robin dove in suddenly, deflecting the energy discharge with his twirling staff. He ran straight towards the yellow and black outfitted student.

"Hey!" Bumblebee blinked. "I thought you were fighting---"

Robin took a breath and leapt straight up, revealing to Bumblebee's vision the form of Charger across the way stupidly launching a bright stream of electricity that was meant for Robin but was instead throttling down upon her.

ZAAAAAAAP!!!!

"NNNGH!!!" Bumblebee shook and convulsed from the waves of electricity throbbing full her. She dropped down to her knees, smoking and groaning.

Charger winced. "Dammit, Bee!! Look where I'm not looking, will ya?!?!"

"HIYAAA!!" Robin somehow had circled around and was diving at him again.

"YOU!!! SUFFER A HEART ATTACK ALREADY!!!" Charger produced a pure whip of electrical bolts which he lashed up and down, left and right, forward and back at the incoming Boy Wonder.

Robin nimbly dodged the chain-link-electrical pulses. Impacted spots on the rooftop and metal antennae around him smoldered from Charger's wrath. At the last second, the Boy Wonder dove forward with his staff lunging. "RRRGH!!!"

THWUMP!!

"Oof!!" Charger backed up from being struck in the gut.

Robin swiftly uppercutted with the outstretched end of his metal rod.

Charger shot his head to the left and dodged at the last second.

"!!!!" Robin struck nothing but air.

"This'll boil your blood," Charger smirked and gripped the tip of Robin's staff.

ZAAAAAAP!!!

Hot electrical juices ran through the metal weapon down into Robin's gloved hands.

"Rggghhh!!" Robin convulsed and dropped the rod. CL-CLANK!!! He stumbled back, waving smoking gloves. The rubber insulation had protected him some, but now he was missing his trademark weapon of choice.

"Sorry to emasculate you…," Charger smirked from behind his helmet.

Robin's eyemask narrowed. "You are so going to die."

"Oooh…feisty….," Charger flexed his suited muscles and danced forth electrical sparks down his arms. He stomped menacingly towards Robin. "….you have a lot of gall for some punk nobody inside a clown suit. Do you realize what I am? I'm a god compared to you. I'll be melting your intestines to mush with hot electricity while you fling flimsy knuckles at me!"

"Keep giving the lecture….," Robin began pacing himself in a bouncing, fight-ready stance. Back and forth. "I'm used to it."

"Are you now? HA!" Charger grinned and produced a huge throb of heated electricity. "The only way you could possibly touch me is if you were faster than electrons themsel—"

THWOOOSH—WHAP!! "WA-TAAA!" WHAM!!! "HAAA!!" TH-TH-TH-THAP!! "WAAA-HAAAAIII!!" THUNK!!!!

A fist to Charger's stomach, an uppercut to his chin, four forward lunges into his ribs, and a backhand to his right cheek sent the Academy student falling hard to the rooftop five feet away in three and a half seconds.

Robin stood frozen in his backhanded strike just long enough for his mind to catch up with his body. Knuckles and joints cracked as he rested at the end of a two meter long ravine formed by his shifting feet in the gravel.

"Nnnnngh….," Charger was out like a lightbulb. The sparks danced around his torso a few last times and died out.

"……..," Robin glared down at him. "Get a higher voltage."

"Hey!!!"

Robin flinched. He spun around.

Bumblebee was back up again, despite the singed ends of her hair. She hovered above the edge of the buildingside a few feet away and aimed her zappers at the Boy Wonder.

"You do realize that I'm going to have to beat you up twice as bad for doing that to my classmate, right?!?!"

"Yeah….," Robin produced a fan of throwing discs between his gloved fingers. "…you do that."

Bumblebee snarled. She aimed. She---ZZZZT!! ZZZZT!! ZZZT!!

Robin started running. He streaked across the length of the building, jumping and leaping the explosive energy bolts at his feet.

Bumblebee flew parallel to him, firing shot after shot from her zappers. ZZZZT!!! ZZZZT!!

Robin returned fire with expertly swung discs. FWIIISH! FWIIISH! FWIIISH!

Discs and energy pulses flew between the two streaking combatants, a few of the projectiles exploding in contact between them and creating a wall of explosive chaos. Pieces of the rooftop were burned and ripped apart in a solid line down the middle. The air filled with miniature thunder.

At the end of the dash, Robin was out of discs.

Bumblebee however---

ZZZTT!! ZZZT!! ZZZT!! Bumblebee gritted her teeth as she fired volley after volley.

Robin dodged left, dodged right, ran up a metal smoke stack, backflipped off it, and fired a grappling hook at Bumblebee while upside down.

THWIIIIISH-TH-TH-TH-THWAP!!! The cord looped about and wrapped around Bumblebee tightly.

"NNNGH!!" she had but a moment to struggle--

Robin flipped, landed in a crouch while holding the grappling hook launcher, and tugged down hard on the device.

YANK!!!

The cord pulled taut, vibrated, and--

"AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!" Bumblebee arched downward over Robin's head and slammed into the wall of a metal A/C unit on the far side. CLANG!!

Robin took a breath…and yanked again.

SWOOOSH-THWAP!!!

Bumblebee was jerked down hard onto the gravel of the rooftop.

"Nnnghh," she moaned and got up on her feet dizzily.

Robin stood up, panting, and marched towards her with fists clenched. "We can end this….this fight. You can just tell us where the Academy is. We'll arrest you…and take you to a jail outside of Bludhaven. Do you understand me?"

Bumblebee winced and struggled to hold up her zappers. "I am….the Headmistress'…..most valuable student!!"

FWOOSH!! Raven touched down behind Robin, her eyes glowing. "Then maybe you've learned when is the time to hand in your assignment and call it quits."

Bumblebee frowned. Her zappers glowed stronger as did her fragile resolve. "Or maybe….I should know better than to be intimidated by punk vigilantes such as yourselves!!" She flew up into the air with a growl and menacing flutter of her 'wings'.

Robin sweatdropped. "Raven?"

"Hmmm?"

"Keep your mouth shut from now on."

"Yes sir."

"RAAAAUGH!" Bumblebee slammed her two zappers together and prepared a huge, burning pulse of energy to launch at the two Titans. "My training has prepared me for twice the likes of you!!!!"

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!!!!

Robin shoved Raven out of the way and barely twirled out of the energy's stream himself.

ZZZZZT!! ZZZZT!! ZZZZT!!

Raven backed off with a shield of black energy protecting herself while Robin dodged and dodged and dodged.

"This is my test….," Bumblebee rambled while firing. ZZZTTT!! ZZZT!! "This is my grade!!!" ZZZZT!! ZZZZZTT!!! "And this is your freakin' head on a platter!!" ZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!!

A steady stream of zappage flew at Robin's feet.

The Boy Wonder dove forward and slid on his chest. "Ooof!!!"

Bumblebee twirled one zapper and aimed down. ZZZZT!!

Robin rolled to the side as the energy pulse flew down at him. In one swift motion he flew his right hand down to his utility belt, produced a gray pellet, and flew it up at the villain.

FWIIIIISH-POW!!!!

FLASH!!!!

A huge strobe went off in Bumblebee's eyes.

"Nnngh!!!" she shook her head and saw stars. She dangled in mid air as if on the end of a weakening string.

Robin was jumping up onto his feet in an instant. "Raven!!" he shouted to the dark girl as he sprinted towards Bumblebee. "Jacob's Ladder!!"

Raven lowered her shield, meditated, stretched her fingers into a few poses, and flicked her wrists.

Flash!! A black 'block' appeared beneath Bumblebee.

"!!!" Robin grunted as he leapt up.

He bounced off the 'block'.

Raven flicked her other wrist.

Flash!! Another block higher up.

Robin bounced off it, upwards.

Flash!!

Up another.

Fl-Flash!!

Up two more.

"NNNNNGH!!!" Robin spun in mid-air once he was at Bumblebee's level, stretched his metal-tipped boot out, and--

WHAP!!!

Bumblebee literally twirled three times in the air from her cheek's impact with Robin's foot. With a groan she plummeted hard to the rooftop below. THWAP!!!!

A beat.

Plop!!

Robin landed in an agile manner beside Bumblebee's unconscious figure.

And everything was quiet.

"…………," Robin exhaled. He relaxed. He turned to face Raven.

"………….," Raven stared.

"………….," Robin blinked under his eyemask. "You can talk now."

"Think she'll get extra credit?"

Robin smirked. "Not according to my curriculum." He produced a pair of handcuffs and tossed them at Raven.

Raven caught them. She wandered over and took care of Charger's unconscious wrists.

In the meantime, Robin took care of adequately binding up the silent Bumblebee. "Well done, Raven. We could make good use out of these two."

"They're a little too unconscious to face an interrogation, Robin."

"In time, they'll be awake for questioning."

Raven stared at him across the rooftop. "But do we have 'time'?"

"………..," Robin stared back at her.

Silence.

Both of their communicators went off. Chiming at the same time.

The Titans looked down.

Hands rummaged.

Fingers flexed.

Dual Star Trek sounds.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I've got some important news for you, Raven."

"…….it's Robin."

"Huh?? Dammit! Only one of you answer at a time!"

Robin shook it off. "What's your update, Cyborg?"

"Well……it's potentially an update."

Robin lifted an eyebrow above his mask.

"More like a peculiarity, really……"

"Cyborg, we have no time to waste. Raven and I just got through risking our necks to bag two H.I.V.E. suspects and—"

"Titan's Tower has been hacked into."

Raven craned her neck.

Robin's lips parted. "E-Excuse me?"

"Just what I said, dawg."

"How do you mean 'HACKED'?!?!""

"Now calm down, Robin—"

"Don't tell me to be calm!! Raven and I are stuck here in the filthy navel of Bludhaven, Noir's in the clutches of both an evil witch and god-knows-what-else, and there's a potential of a terrible bomb threat on top of all that!!"

"Yeah, but Robin! This is helpful!!"

"How is learning that our computer resources have been torn apart a helpful thing???"

"That's just it!! There's been no tearing apart!!"

"…..," Robin's eyemask narrowed. "What??"

Raven walked over and leaned in towards the communicator in his gloved grasp.

"We're dealing with an expert hacker here, man. In order for him to have pierced through all of my firewalls and protocols, he had to have been dealing some serious punch!! Nobody short of an electronic god could possibly break into the Tower's mainframe following the security beefing I've produced since Terra's betrayal and Slade's framing of Noir! If there was any intent to damage our systems…it'd be more than done by now, man. I'd be talking to you through a tin can at the end of a long, dangling string!"

Robin slurred: "How do you know there still isn't a threat?"

"Cuz he's been talking to us."

"Talking to you??" Raven blurted.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Tempest stood huddled around the Main Computer of the Tower. Cyborg was at the seat. The others formed a half halo around his back. The computer monitor displayed a DOS prompt with blinking, green text against the blackness.

"Yeah….he calls himself 'J'. He seems pretty cool."

"Pretty cool?!?! Cyborg, he's a hacker!!"

"Robin….hear me out some," Cyborg spoke into the communicator. "Is it true that you've lost track of Noir and Jinx?"

"…………"

"Robin??"

"How did you know that???"

"I didn't. 'J' did."

"Then……that means—"

"He's been following the chase," Cyborg said. "Perhaps even closer than you and 'yours cutie'."

"Drop dead."

"Raven, please……"

Beast Boy and Starfire giggled.

Tempest rolled his eyes.

"This sounds too strange to me, Cyborg. I mean……aren't you concerned in the least? This guy has pierced through your firewalls and—"

"Shhh! Hang on, dawg! He's typing something!"

"What??"

The four Titans leaned in.

The green text splashed across the black prompt.

'Tell Robin that some hives are built in the ground.'

"……….," Cyborg blinked. "Uhm….hey Robin….didja know that some hives are built in the ground?"

"Excuse me??"

The text splashed some more: 'I know where in the ground your friend is. Let me help you, and you can find him.'

"I….uh…..I think he can help us get Noir back," Cyborg said.

"Why? Who is he? What does he want?"

Cyborg typed a string of letters.

A pause.

The Titans waited anxiously.

Then…..

'I want an end.'

"He says he wants the beginning of an end."

"An end to what, exactly?"

Cyborg typed.

Cyborg waited.

The computer replied.

'Red Aviary.'

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"The explosion in the prison….the supplication of the escaped villains' weapons and props back to them….the calamitous turn in events that have suddenly made me public enemy number one…," Jinx rambled from where she lay stretched against the metal rack to my left, "……it is all part of a huge pattern. A pattern in which all of fate is tipping in Evil's favor. And Evil in this case desires Destruction. Destruction is aligned with the color Red. Red is splashing across the sky that forms our world's illusionary integrity. Everything that was once considered orderly is about to be turned upside down. For Death is turning into a living being…and it will stroke across the land a finger of hate the likes of which this globe's restless spirits has never seen or felt before. This is something that threatens me as much as every other thing that clings to 'Life'….in that 'Life' is the last of our fleeting desires in this cratered world."

Silence.

I felt a never-ending chill running up my metal left arm. A sensation like marching ants in my ear canal or throbbing blood in my brain echoed through my cranium.

Red Aviary……

Red Aviary………

I clenched my metal fingers into a titanium fist.

I pressed myself back into the metal rack, sighing. Trying to keep from shivering….

"I brought myself here…..I-I brought myself and Ghost Boy here….," Jinx spoke with a bowed head, "….to find answers. To understand why this shift in fate is going on. To find out what Red Aviary is." She tilted her gaze up…a frowning gaze. It fell on the Headmistress' face. "And hopefully then…how to stop it."

Silence.

Damien Darhk yawned. He shook it off and looked at the Headmistress.

The Headmistress stared at Jinx. After a pause, she paced across the room and folded her hands together as she gazed into the walls.

"So this has all been a quest. You and three accomplices."

"????" Jinx leaned her short-pink-head to the side.

"Pulsade….'J'….and Noir of the Titans here…."

Oh, I'm not really here. Thanks.

I exhaled.

The Headmistress continued: "The four of you….mysterious individuals….half of you total enigmas to us….working together to come to this point. To reach this point in which you've completely and utterly fallen into the Academy's grasp. Regardless of whether or not the Fearsome Five is a threat."

A beat.

She glanced over. "You come looking for answers about Red Aviary……..and I must say……I don't have any," the Headmistress glared.

"……………," Jinx bit her lip.

I fought the shivers more…..and more…..

"But I do know some things," she suddenly smiled at the pink-headed witch. "I know who bombed your cell in the prison."

Jinx's eyes lit up slightly….and at the same time her lips looked weak and apprehensive.

"And I assure you….it isn't who you think it is. It isn't at all….."

Jinx gritted her teeth and hissed: "You have no intention of telling me anything….do you?"

"Is it of no surprise to you, Jinx?" the Headmistress pointed. "All we ever told you is all you ever were. We crafted you with our very will. Even though Psimon had planted seeds of subversion in you from the beginning, you were made to do only what we wanted and be that which we wanted you to be. I do not know what you expected to get from us by coming here….but all you can be guaranteed of is a true return to your roots. For now we have acquired the power to reconstruct fragile young minds without Psimon's mutant strength."

"Really now…..?"

"Indeed," Damien Darhk suddenly spoke up with a smirk and a folding of his arms. "My specialty, actually. A little bit of pain…a little bit of more pain…….and….oh yeah……pain." He winked. "Just about anyone can be conditioned into pledging full and utter allegiance to The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination. How else do you think we got Bumblebee to convert toward our cause?"

Jinx made a strange face.

So did I.

Bumblebee??

"Who's Bumblebee??"

"A spy…," the Headmistress quietly grumbled. "Sent in by some unknown force to undermine H.I.V.E. operations worldwide. The same person who bombed the prison tipped us in on the new girl's loyalties. I gave Bumblebee then to Damien here….and soon we had a model student on our hands."

"Gee….you must be proud," Jinx sneered.

"We always are," the Headmistress half bowed. "And….you know….there was a time when you were too."

"Sorry if I have a different one-track-mind," Jinx said.

"One Track Mind indeed," the Headmistress folded her arms. "Didn't you ever give it a thought that your suicidal mission into Bludhaven would end up only in your capture at our hands?"

"……."

"Didn't it dawn upon you that desperate measures would need to be taken to assure you of acquiring whatever ludicrous information you desire?"

"……."

"Jinx….," the Headmistress sighed. "You disappoint me. I never thought I'd have to recondition you again…..but now it seems twice as necessary. If it isn't necessary to hammer out your personality and memories….then maybe your resolve should take some tweaking too."

Suddenly….a Cheshire cat grin lit the air.

Damien did a double take.

The guards shifted nervously.

Headmistress' eyes narrowed.

My shivers left me as I felt a shift in the room. Like a cloud descending. My breath left me.

Jinx continued smiling. Jinx said….: "Nothing needs tweaking, Hagmistress. For your information, I did have a backup plan for getting the information I wanted."

"Oh?" the old woman leaned her head to the side. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"By kicking the ever-living fecal matter out of every brain-carrying bag of meat in this stuffy school!!" She giggled with a pink kiss blown across the room. Then, with her head tilted back, she dramatically cackled: "Pulsade!!! Now!!!"

There was a hauntingly familiar shimmer of light in a column across the room. It was for a split second, but it made me gasp and do the wise thing. And the wise thing was closing my eyes shut underneath my shades as soon as humanly or inhumanly possible—

FLASH!!!!!!!!!

"Augh!!"

"Nnngh!!"

"Rgggg!!"

"What the—"

All four guards struggled as they were blinded by what felt like to me—even under my secure eyelids—to be a reasonably large explosion of light. With my spatial sense I felt the conspicuous, 'dead shape' hidden in the corner of the room suddenly become animated. And in becoming animated, it threw itself upon the guards with nimble ferocity. There were flinging arms, spinning feet, a pivoting torso, and long, silky hair trailing behind two tight shoulder blades.

FWOOSH!!! WHAP!!! THWACK!!! SMACK!!

"Ugh!!"

"Argh!!"

"Ooof!!"

I peaked out from under my eyelids. Sure enough, I saw the blonde assassin acrobatically at work. Pulsade was twirling herself between armed guards like a homicidal ballet dancer, smashing her limbs into each man's gut and removing their weapons through crushing blows to their wrists and upper arms. No single bullet had a chance of being launched by the time she was practically rolling over one thug at a time and slamming her ferocious palm into many an unsuspecting face, complete with a finger-charged pulse of light to further blind the victims.

FLASH!! FL-FLASH!!!

Her hand smashed through two of the helmet visors as she leveled the thugs to the ground. Once all four had collapsed, she spun around, pulled a shotgun out of a holster hanging against her back, twirled the weapon, pumped it, and aimed it at the forehead of the Headmistress, who had collapsed dizzily in Damien Darhk's arms.

I panted.

Jinx was smiling.

Damien somehow managed to fight off some of the stars in his eyes, and now he was reaching into his pocket for something—

Plunk!

The cold shotgun barrel rested against his forehead.

"That'll be enough pissing around for one day, smart arse," her blue eyes coolly thinned over a deadly smirk. "Don't move a bloomin' muscle."

Damien sweated.

The Headmistress dizzily panted in his grasp. "Pulsade….you…….you were there the whole time!!!"

"????" I glanced confusedly between Jinx and the blonde assassin.

The Headmistress continued to sneer: "You damnable spectre!! You were tagging along the two rogues invisibly the entire time!!"

"Don't mind me for throwing a spanner in the works," the shotgun toting Pulsade winked. "But Jinx the minx here was only bound to get her pretty head captured, Titan or no Titan. In fact…getting captured was the essential plan of getting here to begin with. So we had yours truly tag along so that I might make my introduction just as soon as you showed that—blast it all—you do know a bit about Red Aviary! Well, this should lead to some fancy chatter after all, shouldn't it?"

The Headmistress clenched her teeth.

Damien couldn't help but smirk. "Bravo….'lass'."

WHAM!!! Pulsade kicked him in the neck.

"Oof!!" He fell back.

The Headmistress was left alone, seething on her knees.

"All of my children….all of my best students….why must you turn against me?!?! I made you who you all are!!!"

"Maybe because you're a daft pillock of a bird!!"

"…………….," the Headmistress' eyes narrowed.

Jinx cackled from where she was shackled: "She means you're a stupid bitch!!!"

Damien laughed…then coughed and wheezed on the floor.

The Headmistress frowned.

Jinx glanced over at me….suddenly realizing the look of astonishment on my face.

"Sorry…," she blushed cutely. "But after getting out of prison so soon….you think I'd give up on hanging around with my girlfriend for even a second?"

I simpered.

"Yeah….so I guess it was a 'triple jinx'," she shrugged. "Face it. If you knew Pulsade was there the whole time….would you have fought so hard to help me get here?"

"…………"

"We needed you, Ghost Boy," Jinx said. She looked at Pulsade with a smile. "We needed him!"

"Off your bike, love," Pulsade grunted. With a pivot of her hips she agilely kicked her left foot high and smashed the computer console on our metal rack. C-CRUNCH!! "Let's just interrogate this gray-haired dip stick for now."

The shackles holding Jinx and I to the beds unlocked. The two of us slumped to our knees, rubbing our wrists. We stood up dizzily…gaining our balance and strength. Jinx paced us over so that we were behind Pulsade while facing the humiliated H.I.V.E. leader and cohort. I reached a flesh hand over and gathered Myrkblade and its sheathe off of the shelf. I slid it over my shoulder and glanced anxiously over at the two girls who….well…still had me captive.

At least I'm not doubly captive anymore……

I exhaled.

My right hand clenched.

When will they free me already??

Pulsade resumed aiming her shotgun at the gray lady's skull.

My black eyes narrowed.

And what can I do to prevent a total slaughter here……?

"Do you know what death is, Headmistress?" Pulsade asked. "And I don't mean the mass-produced kind like that which you so love to proliferate across the globe. I mean actual…true….death."

"…………"

Pulsade went on: "It is the exact opposite of light. The complete absence of warmth and energy. When you die…you become nothing more than Nothing itself. You are but a dream that some invisible figment woke up from and sighed itself into oblivion."

Kl-Klack!

She pressed the shotgun to the Headmistress' chin with emphasis.

"And you will bear witness to exactly that in thirty seconds if you don't start talking."

"What is there to talk about?" the Headmistress glared. "You were here to listen to what I had to say to Jinx."

"And that is--?"

"There is nothing to say," the Headmistress spoke. "I'm surprised you don't know more about Red Aviary than I do. Things are horrifically obvious in this world. You don't need a secret organization to understand it all."

"I know what Jinx said…," Pulsade uttered. "And I believe in her whole heartedly. But I still have one thing bothering me." The assassin's blue eyes narrowed. "Red Aviary….it is not made manifest in an idea, a spirit, or an element. But rather…it centers around a person, doesn't it?"

"…….."

"Red Aviary has a name. An identity. And a motive," Pulsade spoke. "Red Aviary has a lot of hate. And she or he is on a mission of blood to quench such hate. But what I need to know is….who? Who is the person? Just like you said….the answer must be obvious. But you must forgive my pink-haired mate and I. It's been a long time since we've……attended class."

The Headmistress smirked. "I can't tell you who Red Aviary is embodied by….but I can tell you who must suffer the quenching of the hate."

"Who??"

A beat.

The Headmistress' eyes wandered over…..and settled on me.

I blinked.

"Him….," she breathed. "Him and the five or six others…."

Pulsade's eyes narrowed in suspicious confusion.

But Jinx's cat eyes were wide. She murmured: "The T-Titans??"

The Headmistress slowly nodded.

I got at touch of the chills again.

"Why the Titans?" Jinx stammered.

"Because they were always the only birds in the cage."

"……….."

Pulsade flinched a bit as I walked forward and stood between the two girls and the grounded H.I.V.E. leaders. I knelt down, forcing Jinx to lean halfway with her right hand outstretched. Staring firmly, I reached my flesh hand out and forced the Headmistress to stare me through the shades. I frowned and mouthed: 'When?'

"………"

'When??'

The Headmistress took a deep breath and said: "Soon, Mr. Titan. Soon. Your friends will face their past. And your friends' past will face you with such….such wrath. It's not a real concern of mine what happens to the Titans…as long as it happens to the Titans only." Her gaze lifted up. "H.I.V.E. needed protection from Red Aviary. That's why we had a good ally of ours bomb the Prison. So we could free Jinx. So that she could come back here. So we hopefully have a chance to reach out to her. Or else reprogram her."

Jinx frowned.

The Headmistress looked at me again. "But I can see that's only a folly, now. Everyone is subject to Destruction, Mr. Titan. But you, sir….you are on the front lines."

I clenched my jaw.

"Soon, Titan…," the Headmistress hissed. "The bird cage shall be bathed in crimson. But not all the pieces of the puzzle are complete yet." She smiled. "After all….In order for the Sky to turn red, the Earth must bleed."

"……," I raised an eyebrow.

Jinx and Pulsade were silent.

And then……a chuckling sound.

"Heheheheheheheh!!"

I stood up and glanced over.

Jinx and Pulsade turned.

The Headmistress groaned.

"Heheheheheheheheheheheh!!" Damien Darhk was convulsing hysterically on the cold floor.

Pulsade frowned. "Okay, wanker….," she aimed the shotgun at him. "Off with your bloody head—"

Jinx held her left hand up. She walked over, dragging me. "What's so funny?"

"Heheheheheheh!!!"

"What do you know??"

Damien coughed, sat up against a wall, wheezed, and looked up at the three of us….smirking. "You're all so full of shit. 'Red Aviary'. 'Red Sky'. 'Bleeding Earth'. How insane are you people?? Life is too complex as it is! Stop throwing in useless, prophetic garbage and iconography!!" He coughed and hacked some more.

"You know nothing of the threat here….," Jinx grumbled. Her eyes were a hot pink as she growled and gestured: "Something dangerous is looming on the horizon. Yes, it's something we can't quite put our finger on. But it's real! As an agent of fate, I can feel and taste it! As an expert assassin of the street, Pulsade here has heard of it!!"

I ran my flesh finger up and down my metal arm. The shivers were gone at the moment.

The dream………

I bit my lip.

What is fate trying to tell me??

"And I tell you what….Red Aviary is the least of your problems….," Damien smiled.

"And just what is, Mr. Darhk??" Pulsade glared.

He winked. "Try the Fearsome Five for one."

"……….."

"………."

"………."

And on cue….

BOOOOM!!!!

RUMMMMMMBLE!!!!

The entire underground facility shook.

Jinx gasped and fell off balance, taking me down to the ground with her.

Pulsade steadied herself, but had to lower her shotgun to do so.

The Headmistress toppled over, but was caught by Damien—who among all of us was the only one on steady feet.

As if he expected this…..

RUMMMMMBLE!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

RUMMMMMBLE!!!!

Random students, guards, and headmasters in the upper tier hallways of the Academy gasped and looked around fearfully. As the shock kicked in, they were powerless to do anything about the strong vibrations ricocheting through the domain. They were also powerless to counteract---

CRASH!!!!

A huge grenade explosion shattered downward through the yellow-metal ceiling. A few guards flew from the concussion and impacting debris.

A beat.

SWIIIIISH!!!!!

Gizmo floated down on a swift jetpack. He smiled through goofy goggles and readied a salvo of miniature grenade launchers out from the back of his hovering contraption.

"Gather around the flagpole, you scum-munchers!!!"

THWOMP!!!

Mammoth landed beside him and cracked his knuckles. "Sorry if we forgot our tardy slips…"

Guards shouted, pointed at the intruders, and gathered in a strong phalanx of six gun-toting defenders. They lined up in the far side of the hallway and aimed their laser rifles at the two--

"RAAAAAAUGH!!!!"

STOMP!!!!!!

Neutron leapt down from the hole and landed barely a few feet in front of the line of guards.

Three men fell at once from the vibration of the nuclear villain's impact with the floor.

"RGHHHH!!!" Neutron glowed a bright red aura and swung his fists straight through the guards, smashing them up against the walls and down the hallway like pathetic ragdolls.

Shimmer leapt down nimbly behind Neutron and leaned against his radioactive body in a feminine pose. "Enjoy the new exchange program while you can!"

"Yeah! Ha ha! Good one, sis!" Mammoth cackled.

Neutron grumbled.

Shimmer rolled her eyes. "Shut up, oaf."

"Yes'm."

Gizmo looked up. "Coast is clear. I'm sorely disappointed!"

"You will have your fun, young ones….," Psimon shuffled gracefully down into the crater from the Bludhaven surface. He held his robed arms together and smiled. The flickering, damaged lights of the underground corridor glared off of his glass cranium. "….go forth. Go forth and bring ruin to the Academy!!!" He grinned evilly.

"OOOH-RAH!!!" Mammoth proceeded to charge through four sets of walls, shattering classrooms apart. SMASH!!! SMASH!!! SMASH!!!

Gizmo flew down a hallway, approached a fresh recruitment of guards, and sent them all running with explosive salvos of grenades. BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

Shimmer twirled and danced her way down another corridor where she found guards aiming and shooting at her. She expertly dodged the ballistics and flung metal pellets at the defenders which—after application of a magically red-orange glow—turned into puffs of flame into mid air and sent the yellow-armored guards running.

Neutron stood still. Seething. Glowing a hot radioactive light while hissing forth steam. He glared over at Psimon through his helmet.

Psimon stood over towards him, concentrated, and manipulated the nuclear fiend through direct telepathy. "You….," he uttered menacingly…but not without a trace of pride. "….take me to the Headmistress."

STOMP!! STOMP!!! STOMP!!!! Neutron smashed his way down the hallway.

Psimon shuffled casually behind him in his robe.

"Burn and melt all in your way…."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

WRIIII!!! WRIIII!! WRIIII!!

In the small interrogation room that we were in, an annoying loud alarm went off that was accompanied by an equally annoying pulse of bright-red light.

I couldn't choose between covering my ears or covering my eyes. But I couldn't do either because I was sprawled out on the floor with the weight of a handcuffed Jinx….sprawled out on top of me.

"Leslie! Do something!!" she struggled, entangled with me.

Pulsade gritted her teeth as she tried to maintain her balance. "For the last time….don't call me Leslie in the fiel—"

"Hey girls!!!"

All three of us—er….two of us looked across the room plus myself.

Damien was dragging the Headmistress out through a side door. He smirked and held a remote in a free hand.

"Have yourselves a happy Hell!"

-click-

He pressed the remote.

Schwiish!!

He and the Headmistress were out of the room.

WHURRRR-CLANG!!

WHURRR-CLANG!!!

Two yellow-metal gun turrets lowered down from the ceiling and aimed uncomfortably close at us with huge caliber bullets on ammo chains.

Jinx sweatdropped. "Did he just do that?"

"STOP STATING THE BLOODY OBVIOUS!!!" Pulsade shrieked.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!

P-P-P-P-PING!!! Bullets exploded off the floor in four chaotic lines toward us.

"EEK!!" Jinx twitched.

I gritted my teeth, grabbed her, and teleported us on a curtain of murk behind the metal rack.

Pulsade dove and rolled safely behind the rack alongside.

We were pinned up behind the structure as bullets flew all around us.

CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANG!!!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SWOOOSH!!

Robin swung down onto a buildingtop via grappling hook. He stepped onto the edge and peered down into a fresh, smoldering crater in the center of the old, historic downtown of Bludhaven. Instead of a sewer beneath the ruined street, there was an interior paved with golden, hexagonal wall panels.

Robin scratched his head. He turned and looked behind him.

Raven floated down, flanked by two unconscious bodies encased in black energy talons. She gently lowered Bumblebee and Charger down on the rooftop before stepping over and peering into the Fearsome Five's entrance alongside the Boy Wonder.

A beat.

A blink.

"Right where 'J' said it would be," Raven said. "Though I must say, we're a little late."

"We've been late this entire freakin' chase," Robin gritted his teeth. He whipped out another grappling hook. "Let's go in."

Raven glanced at him. "Do you have any clue what's in there?"

"I'm guessing someone who's a real enemy of H.I.V.E."

"Or perhaps someone after Jinx?"

Robin nodded silently.

Raven folded her arms. "We should proceed with caution."

"Undoubtedly."

"Seriously, Robin," Raven gestured. "There is a telepath invading the Academy."

"A telepath?"

"A very strong telepath," Raven droned. "And in case you've forgotten, whenever you go into battle with a nest of villains possessing a telepath—"

"—always take the telepath down first," Robin nodded. He got his grappling hook ready. "It can't be too impossible a task before us."

'What makes you say that?"

Robin's eyemask narrowed. "Cuz I'm through with worrying about this mission once and for all."

Raven smirked ever so slightly.

"Leave the two students here. We'll get them after we're back from infiltrating the Academy."

"You mean after we're back and we have Noir," Raven emphasized.

"Exactly."

POW-CLANK!!!

Robin swung.

Raven flew.

They converged on the hole.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The hallways were full of rushing, scampering, panicked H.I.V.E. members. Most were running to their battlestations. Guards trucked weapons and grenades and other threatening equipment to take on the split members of the invading, Fearsome Five. Students rushed into classrooms designated as emergency rendezvous points. Headmasters went to the central command center of the Academy.

Throughout this chaos, a limping Headmistress leaned on Damien Darhk's shoulder as he half-carried her down the hallway at a sluggish pace that undermined the adrenaline around them.

"I m-must….get to…..the command post….," the elderly woman panted.

"I'm taking you to where you belong, Headmistress," Damien uttered. "Don't worry…."

"Have our top students ready to defend the interior of the base!" she continued to hoarsely command. "We must not let them pierce into our secure archives!"

"Disruptor and Deuce are already leading a contingent defense squad, ma'am."

"I don't understand it…," the Headmistress muttered through clenched teeth. "You and the rest of the team! Y-You organized the 'netting' project perfectly!! Bumblebee and Charger flushed the two rogues into your hands and you whisked Jinx and Noir away before anyone MUCH LESS Psimon could possibly follow you!! What could possibly have gone wrong?!?!"

"A couple of things, actually," Damien uttered as he lead the Headmistress down the alarm-shrieking hallway.

"???" she looked at him in mid-lip.

"Bumblebee and Charger never made it back to the Academy," Damien slurred.

The Headmistress' jaw dropped.

"They were intercepted by two of the Titans on Jinx's heels. Robin and Raven."

"What?!?!?" the woman gasped.

Damien smirked somewhat. "And furthermore….those two have just entered the H.I.V.E. right after the Fearsome Five. We have seven enemies to deal with now!!"

"How….H-How could you possibly know all this???"

He smiled at her. Teeth showing. "Because Psimon has been telling me for the past hour…"

THWOMP!!!

Damien shoved the Headmistress into a sudden laboratory corridor to her side.

Clamp!!! His fist jammed over a wall panel.

SCHWIIISH!!

A glass door slid down and locked the Headmistress inside the laboratory chamber.

"Damien!!!" she howled. Getting up dizzily on her feet, she pounded on the door and shouted out at him in a muffled voice. "Damien!! Let me out!! What are you doing?!?!"

Damien leaned forward against the glass and smiled at her through the transparency. "Look around you, Ma'am. The H.I.V.E. is a weak and vulnerable entity. It has no chance to stand up against Psimon, against the Titans, against Red Aviary, and least of all against those who so often desire to betray it. The Hierarchy is a dream of old coots that are either dead or dying like yourself. It's time for a revolution….a blood transfusion of the central order, if you will. To put it ever so succinctly, your time is over."

The Headmistress shook, her gray face being touched with a slight hue of red. "How long, Damien? How long was your heart bent on deceiving me?? I should have known. I should have seen it in your rebellious, young eyes! You wanted this from all along, didn't you?!?! YOU WANTED ME CAGED LIKE A DYING ANIMAL!!"

"On the contrary, Ma'am….," Damien half-bowed. "The 'animal' died a long time ago. It took but a decade of H.I.V.E.'s lame history for the beast to slay itself. The Founders were spiritually disillusioned spinsters…and like all good religious fanatics, those women created nothing but a bureaucratic quagmire just waiting to crunch into a sinkhole. You were right about your fanciful Red Aviary dreams, Headmistress. For the Sky to turn red, the earth must bleed. And every H.I.V.E. hidden in the worldly underground shall suffer the inevitable drowning of cleansing blood. I'll see to it."

Her eyes widened. "You will?"

"Who's second in command once everyone in this filthy site dies, Ma'am?" Damien smiled.

"……," the Headmistress seethed.

"I must congratulate you on your fate, ma'am," Damien gestured, turned, and walked away. "Your training….more than any headmistress before—the founders even—has produced perfect traitors. And now it shall produce a perfect era. Be proud."

And he was gone.

"Damien…..," she pounded on the transparent door in vain. "DAMIEN!!!!!!"

A haunting chuckle floated back towards her through the hallways.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

More yellow corridors.

More rushing guards.

More chaos.

Smiling, Damien walked casually, slowly through it. He came to a stop in a corner, closed his eyes, and rested two fingers against his temple.

He sought out the voice…..

The voice….

"Psimon? Oh Psiiiiiiimon."

"Greetings, Mr. Darhk. I must congratulate you on your ruthlessness."

Damien's face smiled. His eyes were still closed. Relaxed.

"If only you knew how good it feels to be complimented by a gentleman for once."

"My team and I did not come here to throw down a matriarchy. We came to seek answers from H.I.V.E. and eradicate all that's left of this Academy behind us."

"Do whatever you want to the Academy. Kill all you need to. But H.I.V.E. stays alive. It stays alive to be reborn."

"In your hands, I presume."

"Yes. A lovely venture, that."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"RRRRAUGH!!!" Neutron ran straight into a volley of lasers that either bounced off his metal body or were absorbed into his radiation field. He held his arms wide and grabbed the huge, metal shields that guardsmen were hiding behind. He 'hugged' the shields, crumpling them into metal wads of mangled metal, and flung them straight at the retreating H.I.V.E. defenders. "NNNGH!!!"

CL-CLANG!!!!

The guards shouted, ran backwards from the nuclear juggernaut, and fired volley after volley of retreat fire.

Neutron growled low and stepped after them.

STOMP!! STOMP!! STOMP!!

Psimon shuffled smoothly behind the scene—practically floating. His hands were held together and his face was purely serene as the mental conversation continued.

"I must say, Mr. Darhk. I'm glad that you are still in the same selfish state of mind as when we first negotiated over a year ago. It was far easier than I imagined to hone in on your mental signal once Jinx led us in proximity of you and the Academy."

"I know, I know. It all worked out perfectly. Blah blah blah. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Tell me where the Headmistress is."

"Sure thing……you intend to rough her up some?"

"I INTEND to speak to her first……"

"……………ohhhhhh. By all means."

And Psimon smiled.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!

Pulsade, Jinx, and I hid behind the rack as the bullets ate into the room around us.

It would only be a matter of time before the metal 'beds' gave way and we become swiss cheese.

I winced, glancing at Jinx.

She glanced at Pulsade.

Pulsade nodded. She whipped out her shotgun.

Jinx held a hand of pink.

I clenched my eyes shut….

Fwooosh!!

Pulsade leapt to the far side of the room. BL-BLAM!! She fired her shotgun.

POW!!! One gun turret exploded.

The other aimed at her.

Fwooosh!!

Jinx dove to the other side, dragging me with her. "HAAAA!!" She unleashed a bolt of pink hex.

CRUNCH!!!

The second turret sizzled and died.

Pulsade jumped up and walked across the room over mountains of deflected bullets. She swam her way to the wall console and tried opening the door. An annoying buzzing sound emanated from the automatic door.

"Shite!" she hissed. She used the butt of the shotgun as a crowbar and popped the console open, upon which she attempted to perform an electrical dissection. "There's a terrible row going on outside and we're not privy to it!!"

Jinx stumbled up to her feet, tugging me up with her. "Take your time. Keep cool. Fix it."

"Blasted twists and turns all around us…," Pulsade grumbled as she fiddled further with the wiring. "…I swear….Red Aviary just doesn't WANT to get solved!"

"Fate is inevitable, Leslie," Jinx muttered. She tilted the neck of her jacket out and dropped her dangling pendant down it. She then straightened her nonexistent hair and smoothed her baggy outfit before adding: "…time is but a lazy excuse to lose hope."

"Listen to who's all high and philosophical," Leslie muttered. She nodded her head at me blindly. "I bet you enjoyed talking to a brick wall for the last twenty-four hours and hearing your voice. I know. I was there to hear it."

I shook my head subconsciously.

I couldn't believe it.

The Highway.

The forests.

The rapids.

The diner.

The tunnel.

Bludhaven……

"………."

Pulsade was there the entire time?

"Bloody Titan runs like The Flash," Leslie continued to gripe in the middle of her re-wiring job. "Why couldn't you have handcuffed yourself to Cyborg or Beast Boy or some other slow bloke for the love of beans?!"

"Leslie……"

"Yes, Yes, I know. Chatter on. Chatter on." A beat. "Oh by the way…" She pivoted and kicked Jinx in the shins.

Whap!

"Owwwwie!!" Jinx limped with a pout. "What was that for?"

"Calling Wyldecarde here by my name in the middle of your sleep," she murmured. One edge of her lips curved ever so slightly. "And thenceforth cuddling him overnight."

Jinx's jaw fell. "I SOOOO did not do that!!"

"………"

Jinx glanced at me.

"………," I glanced away.

"!!!!!" Jinx gasped with both hands over her mouth. "Omigod! Omigod! I did do that, didn't I???"

I simpered.

Pulsade yanked a wire out. Crkkk!! "And to think that habit of yours once annoyed the Hell out of me."

"Eeep….," Jinx blushed a firestorm. "I…uh….ahem….l-l-let's focus right now on our quest and worry about amending other th-things later."

"Yes…let's….," Pulsade grumbled.

ZAP!!

The console sparked against her fingers.

"Nngh!! Bugger!!!" she clenched her teeth. She whipped out her shotgun and aimed point blanc at the console. "YAAAUGH!!!"

Kl-Klak!

BLAM!!!!!

Sparks flew.

A whirring sound….

SCHWIISH!!!

The automatic door to the thunderous corridor beyond flew open.

Jinx and I finished flinching.

Pulsade took a breath and pumped her shotgun again. "Well…there's more than one way to eat a cat."

"Great!" Jinx beamed. "Ghost Boy and I will chase down the Headmistress. We'll kidnap her if we need to. I'm convinced she's still got the information we need to get on a good foot with things!"

"That makes the two of us…," Pulsade said. She glanced at me. "Well…two and a half."

I glared at her.

"Want to lend a hand, Leslie?"

"You're the best at tracking the Headmistress down at this point," Pulsade pointed. She motioned out the doorway with her head. "Right now, the Fearsome Five and the Headmistress' gun-carrying eunuchs are running amok. I should go slow them down and hopefully buy you the time you need to catch up with the old hag."

Pulsade's cat eyes were round and pleading. "You will be…..o-okay on your own, Leslie?"

"Truly, love," the white-clad assassin smirked some. "Besides…there's more who are giving the Fearsome Five a sore foot as we speak."

"Like….."

"A few of the Titans," Pulsade droned.

My lips parted.

Jinx glanced at me. He glanced at Pulsade again. "They're after him?"

"Naturally. But that's not why they're here. They were tipped off."

"Yeah? By who?"

"Our precious little 'J'."

A beat.

Jinx smiled. "He's not just a computer slob after all."

"Hell no. Now let's make like the wind."

Jinx pounced forward and hugged Pulsade close.

Pulsade rolled her blue eyes and hugged the pink girl back.

I groaned inwardly—my left arm leaning into the embrace. I looked off towards the golden walls.

"Keep safe, girl."

"You too, love. Now less sapping and more hexing."

"Right on! COME, GHOST BOY!!!"

My middle finger was halfway through its extensi--

YANK!!!

Jinx giggled as she tugged me down the corridor and into action.

Pulsade shook her head. "I swear…I'm never buying her a pet." And she ducked out and ran the other side of the hallway.