A/N: It's been established I don't own the Teen Titans and Nightstar, just most of the second generation. Enjoy the story!
Teen Titans: The Second Generation
Chapter Seven: The HIVE Strikes Again!
In the days that followed Azara's accident, the people of Jump City became skeptical of the heroes that protected them. The Teen Titans assured the press that the situation was being taken care of and that the search for the HIVE would continue.
In the HIVE secret headquarters, Queen Bee was at her desk going through paperwork and typing on her computer. Every once and a while, she glanced at a newspaper article titled "Gravity Temporarily Stops! New Super on Horizon?". A blurred image of the scene where Azara's accident happened was on the front cover. She sipped her coffee and pressed a button on her intercom. "Gizmo, any word on the child that caused the phenomenon?"
"No, my queen," Gizmo's voice came in. "My drones are still searching. Those crud-munching Titans must have gotten a hold of them first."
"Keep searching," she replied. "We could use an asset like that." She continued to go through files on her computer when a frown came to her face. She saw a bank balance was lower than she had expected it would be. After doing some calculations, she muttered angrily and pressed another button on her intercom. "Shimmer, get me team alpha."
"Yes, my queen!" Shimmer replied over the intercom.
Within minutes, Monumenta, Glint, Benny Various, Nyte Flyer, and Gadget stood in the queen's office. The five teens kneeled before her. "I need you to steal from the First National Bank of Jump City."
"Woo-hoo! Finally, a mission!" exclaimed Benny. Gadget nudged him with her elbow for him to be quiet.
"Get some sleep. You strike tonight," Queen Bee told them.
"Yes, my queen," the teens said in unison."
That night the Teen Titans were out on patrol. Channeler let out a yawn. "Can we go back to the Tower? I'm getting tired."
Nightstar pulled out her communicator and looked at the time. "It is getting late. Just ten more minutes and we'll head back." The others nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, the HIVE team crept through the shadows of the city as they headed for the bank. Once there, Gadget sent several drones to disarm the security system. Nyte Flyer then gathered his teammates and released them into the bank. The group crept through the darkness as they searched for the vault. When they found it, Monumenta forced it open.
Monumenta and Glint began to hand money to Nyte Flyer as he held a bag while Gadget and Benny Various stood guard.
Benny let out a yawn. "This is way more boring than I thought it'd be," Benny complained. "I thought there'd be more excitement."
"This mission isn't for your amusement, crud-muncher," Gadget snapped. "We were told to retrieve the money for Queen Bee."
Benny glanced at the vault. "Think she'd mind if we stole a little extra?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "I want to get something for this girl I'm seeing."
Nyte Flyer glared at Benny. "You'd better not be referring to my sister," he warned.
"Why not?" Benny asked defensively. "Glyder's cute and she can date whoever she wants."
"I'd rather her not date a hillbilly like you,"Nyte Flyer growled.
"I'm not a hillbilly!" Benny snapped back. "And you're just saying that because she's your sister!"
"Both of you be quiet before we get caught!" Glint scolded.
"Just stay away from her," Nyte Flyer warned. "You don't want to mess with the Wykkyd family."
"Oh, I'm so scared!" Benny mocked. "Well I've got some news for you, Nyte Flyer, I like your sister and she can date any guy in the HIVE. But if she's going to date someone the HIVE, it's going to be me!" He slammed his fist against a wall only to hit an alarm. "Uh-oh," he winced as the alarm began to blare in their ears.
Glint glared knives at his teammate. "Benny," he growled.
"What do we do?" Monumenta asked in a panic.
"Run!" Glint shouted.
The young criminals bolted as fast as they could out of the bank, tripping and knocking over anything in their way. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get far before the Teen Titans found them.
"We were wondering when you'd show your faces again," Nightstar smirked.
"We were doing way better at this ten minutes ago, I swear!" Benny squeaked out in panic.
"Nyte Flyer, get us out of here!" Glint snapped.
"Any chance we can leave Various behind," Nyte Flyer snapped as he glared at his teammate.
"Titans, go!" Nightstar exclaimed. The Titans charged at the villains as the HIVE students fought back.
"Nyte Flyer, get to the HIVE! Pick us up after you drop off the goods!" Glint shouted. Nyte Flyer nodded as he teleported away just before Beast Girl as a lioness lunged at him.
"What did you steal?" Nightstar asked as she shot a starbolt at Glint.
Glint smirked as he dodged it. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Yeah, we would! That'd be great!" said Channeler as she shot electricity at him.
Glint groaned as he fell to his hands and knees. Just then, Nyte Flyer returned. "Get us out of here!" he demanded.
"You never answered my question if we could leave Various," Nyte Flyer replied dryly.
"Hey!" Benny Various shouted as he blocked a punch from Burrower.
"Just do it!" Glint shouted.
"Titans, don't let them get away!" Nightstar exclaimed. But Benny Various created hundreds of copies of himself to restrain and distract the Titans while Nyte Flyer teleported each of his teammates one by one. "You won't get away with this!" Nightstar shouted.
"You heroes are so cliche," Glint smirked before he was teleported away. Once Nyte Flyer took each of his teammates, the copies of Various disappeared.
"What do we do now?" Beast Girl asked nervously.
Nightstar turned to her teammates, trying to hide her discouragement. "Sorry, guys, but we're going to have to pull an all-nighter."
"I'd better get some energy drinks," sighed Channeler.
In the HIVE secret headquarters, the battered villains stood before Queen Bee and emptied the bag of money onto the floor.
Queen Bee glared at the pile with disapproval. "This is all you retrieved?" she asked.
"It's all we could get away with before the Titans showed up," said Glint.
Queen Bee slammed her fists on her desk. "What do you mean before the Titans showed up?!" she exclaimed.
"Benny tripped an alarm," Monumenta grunted.
"It wasn't me, it was the other me!" Benny exclaimed in a panic.
"No it wasn't! It was you and you know it!" a Benny clone snapped back as it popped out of the original Benny's body.
"ENOUGH!" Queen Bee roared. The teens cringed in fear. Queen Bee cleared her throat and looked sternly at the team. "You will try again and you will not fail me." She paused for a moment. "The Teen Titans will be expecting you to strike again. You will need to go to another city."
"Yes, my queen!" the team said in unison as they bowed before her.
To be continued...
A/N: This was a slightly short chapter, but we get to see more of the HIVE and see the Titans becoming full-time Titans.