A/N: I don't own the original Teen Titans, the original HIVE members, Queen Bee, Damien Darhk, or Nightstar. I own everyone else in this chapter. Enjoy!
Teen Titans: The Next Generation
Chapter Eight: The HIVE vs Star City
In the HIVE's secret headquarters, Glint sat in the cafeteria as he ate his lunch while he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming mission. His teammates were at the end of the table where Monumenta was arm-wrestling multiple Benny clones and Benny was clearly losing. Glint tried his best to ignore his friends' chanting, groans, and jeers. Unlike him, they didn't have the weight of the expectations of Queen Bee and Shimmer on their shoulders.
From the time he was a small child, his mother Shimmer pushed him to be the best HIVE operative that the organization had ever seen. This led to everyone believing that he was the favorite of her children. But Glint hated the attention. He couldn't goof off with friends, sleep in on the weekend, or pursue his love of art. Glint had to hide his drawings from his mother and suppress any dreams of becoming something other than a high-ranking member of the HIVE.
Glint looked up and noticed his older brother Deathwish walk by with a tray of food. He had black hair kept in a pony-tail, a mask covering his face, a black leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, a dark blue shirt, denim jeans, and black boots.
"Hey, bro, come sit with us!" Glint called out to him. "We've got plenty of room." Deathwish looked from his brother to his teammates. Glint's friends had quietly filled the extra seats at the table.
"No thanks. I'm good," Deathwish replied.
Glint frowned as he watched his brother walk away, unaware of what his friends had done. "Don't bother. He's a loser anyway," Benny commented. Glint shot a glare at him and used his powers to make Benny's chair turn to mud. A majority of the Benny clones fell as the chair supporting them was transmuted. Suddenly, Gadget turned and noticed someone else walking towards their table.
"Uh, don't look now, but Glimmer's coming this way," she whispered.
Glint's face only grew more sour as the young teenaged girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair approached him. She wore a dark blue and black uniform and had a cocky smile on her face. Once the girl approached, she rested her arm on Glint's shoulder. "Hey, Glint. Heard you failed your mission last night. Bet Mom gave you an earful," she said, her smirk growing bigger. "Hope you guys don't screw up tonight or Mom's gonna be-"
Glint turned sharply to look at her, forcing her to take her arm off his shoulder. His eyes shot daggers at her with his glare. "Buzz off, Glimmer! Why don't you go bug Mom or your dad?"
Glimmer sneered at him. "I don't know why you're Mom's favorite." With that, she walked away.
Glint pushed his food away. "I'm not hungry." He got up from the table and headed towards his room. Monumenta slowly pulled Glint's tray closer to her and ate what was left on his plate.
As Glint got closer to his room, fellow students and staff smiled and greeted him. He was the son of Queen Bee's second in command, so most of the students and staff treated him with respect whether they liked him or not. This made Glint only more upset as it just added to the number of eyes watching him. He felt like everyone around him was watching and recording his every move and reporting it back to Shimmer which only made her push him harder.
Glint once asked his uncle Mammoth why he got so much attention from his mother to the point his siblings referred to him as "the favorite". According to Mammoth, Glint and Deathwish's father was a reckless, handsome young man who found the HIVE and wanted to join. Shimmer was smitten from day one even though Mammoth warned her that the guy might be bad news. She ignored her brother's advice and the two started having a romantic relationship. Not long after Deathwish and Glint were born, their father got bored and began to make risky decisions and commit crimes without Queen Bee's knowledge, which was frowned upon since it could lead to the HIVE being discovered. When Shimmer spoke to him about it, the discussion turned into an argument and the argument turned violent to the point where Mammoth had to step in. They took the rogue to Queen Bee and she sent him away, his whereabouts unknown to the HIVE. Shimmer began to ignore Deathwish due to his close resemblance to his father.
Some time later, a man named Damien Darhk found the HIVE seeking refuge from Vandal Savage who he had been spying on until he got caught. Damien was welcomed into the HIVE and eventually, he and Shimmer became a couple. Damien didn't get involved in the boys's lives and left Shimmer and the rest of the HIVE to raise them which Shimmer didn't seem to mind. Some time later, they had Glimmer. When Glimmer discovered she had powers like their mother, Glint thought the pressure would be taken off him, but it never happened. When Glint asked Mammoth why this was so, Mammoth said 'you're older and she's already been training you. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed her hot-headed attitude.' It was true, Glimmer often acted as though she knew more than her brother despite being younger than him which got her into trouble sometimes.
Glint flopped onto his bed and sighed, wishing he were someone else. He wished that he didn't have an overbearing mother, a step-father that ignored both him and his brother, and an arrogant, annoying half-sister. However, he knew there was nothing he could do to change his situation. He spent the rest of his lunch hour in his room until it was time to go back to class. Toward the end of the day, Shimmer had Glint and his teammates dismissed from their remaining classes to rest and prepare for their mission.
Once it was time, the team teleported to Star City. They crept through the city until they found the bank. The team quietly approached and Gadget began to work on disarming the security system of the building.
"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Glint growled quietly. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed looking restless.
"You can't rush these things," Gadget snapped in a hushed tone.
Once they got into the building, Gadget began to work on the safe while the others kept watch. As they walked around, Benny Various bumped into a desk. Glint glared at him. "Don't. Touch. Anything." he warned.
"All right, all right! Sheesh, somebody's cranky," groaned Benny. He rubbed his side where he had bumped into the desk and grabbed a handful of candy from a bowl sitting on the desk.
"All right, I'm in!" said Gadget. The team grabbed the money and ran out of the building.
Just as the team was about to teleport, a gas bomb landed at their feet. The gas bomb exploded and the team ran to get away from the gas, they were stopped by a teenaged boy. "You guys have a lot of nerve coming into our city," he said.
"More like lack of sense," remarked a teenaged girl with blue skin.
A pair of twins cornered the villains in. "You'd think they'd know better than to try to mess with Star City," said the first twin.
"Especially when we're the ones protecting it," said the second twin.
The HIVE team had come face to face with the Star City Teen Titans. The first was Phoenix, the son of Flamebird and Blue Beetle. He had spiked, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and a black mask that covered his eyes. Phoenix wore a dark red leotard with a golden phoenix on it, a black utility belt, a long cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside with flame-like edges, and gloves and boots that resembled flames.
Then there were Hex and Charm, daughters of the Flash and Jinx. They both had Jinx's pale grey skin and Flash's red hair. Hex wore a dark red uniform with long sleeves, a skirt, and an opening in the front with a lightning bolt pattern that exposed her belly button. She also wore dark red boots with black heels and lightning bolt pattered trim. Around her neck was a black choker with a lightning bolt charm. Charm wore a dark blue uniform similar to Hex's, but it had holes on the shoulders and in the back with a light blue trim. She also wore pale blue leggings with the same light blue trimmed holes as well as dark blue boots with light blue heels and rims. Around her neck was a black choker with a blue gem charm.
Beside them was Megawatt, daughter of Kilowatt and Mirage. She had pale blue skin, white eyes, and bright pink hair. Her uniform consisted of black crop top, boy shorts, arm guards, and knee-high boots all with bright pink lightning bolt trim.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Glint yelled angrily.
"If you put the money down and come quietly, we won't have to hurt you," Phoenix said. "But if you don't, it'll get messy."
"Fat chance! HIVE Five, attack!" Glint shouted.
The villains began to fight their way out of being cornered. "Monumenta, hit the ground!" Glint ordered.
Monumenta raised her fists and smashed the floor, causing it to shake and crack and cause the heroes to lose balance.
"HIVE Five, split up!" Glint snapped at his teammates. They nodded and ran in different directions.
"Titans, don't let them escape!" Phoenix called.
As the Titans chased after the villains, Hex spotted Glint and gave chase. "I've got this one!"
Glint ran as fast as he could, using anything he could find and turn it into an obstacle for his pursuer. He knocked over trash cans, ran , used his powers to change the elements of different objects. At last, he found himself at a dead end. He muttered curse words to himself as he heard footsteps behind him.
"What are you doing in Star City?" Hex asked as she slowly approached him. "You should know that if we arrest you, you'll be sent straight to Jump City where you'll be charged for your crimes and thrown into the Mega-Security Prison." She frowned sadly. "You're too young to throw your life away."
Glint looked at her with a mixture of flattery and determination while his stance showed he was ready to fight. "I have no intention to go to jail."
"Then you need to stop committing these crimes," said Hex earnestly. "What are you even doing this for? Wealth? Fame? Power?" she asked. "The HIVE has been inactive for years. So why show up now?"
Glint let out a laugh. "The HIVE has been active. You haven't been looking under the right rocks."
Hex continued to frown. "So why commit a crime in Star City?"
"The HIVE has a new leader. They tell us when and where to commit crimes. The rest of the time we train and attend classes," said Glint.
"That doesn't sound like much of a life," Hex replied.
Glint opened his mouth to reply, but closed it, knowing he'd be lying if he disagreed with Hex's statement. He looked down, angry at the situation. "There's nothing else for me," he growled. "I'm the son of criminals, in a family of criminals, and I've been raised in a criminal organization all my life- what else is there for me?!" he asked, practically demanding Hex to rebuttal.
"My mom was a criminal." Her tone was cold at first, but then it softened. "She didn't think she had any better options until she met my dad. It took a lot of work, but soon she had a place to live, a job to support her, and friends that supported her and became like family. You don't have to be a criminal. You can be better than that. And you'd be able to do more with your life. You could end up doing something you enjoy." She gave him a hopeful smile.
"You really think so?" Glint asked.
"Absolutely," said Hex.
He looked down again. "I'd have to betray the HIVE, wouldn't I?"
Hex bit her lip. "Unfortunately, yes. They'd be arrested and put in jail."
Glint sighed. "But I wouldn't have to go to jail."
"Not if you help us," she replied. She took a step forward and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know it's not an easy decision, but you wouldn't have to do it alone. And who knows? The ones that don't have criminal records yet might not go to jail. They could even join us." She smiled a little brighter.
Before Glint could reply, Gadget came up behind them and hit Hex in the back of the head, knocking her out. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here," said Gadget in a panicked voice.
Glint followed his teammate. "Where are the others?"
"Hiding," replied Gadget.
"Were we able to get the money?" Glint asked. His voice held a hint of hope.
"No," grumbled Gadget. "They literally beat it out of us." Glint growled in frustration. "Queen Bee's gonna be mad when we tell her what happened," Gadget said nervously.
"You think she's scary, you should see my mom," replied Glint.
Meanwhile, Charm was looking for her sister when she found her in the alley. "Hex! Sis, what happened?" she asked as she helped her sister onto her feet.
"I had him cornered," said Hex as she rubbed the back of her head. "I was trying to talk some sense into him, but one of his teammates must have knocked me out. Did they get away?"
"Yeah," Charm sighed with frustration before she smiled slightly, "but we got the money back!"
Hex gave a half-smile. "That's good."
As the Teen Titans returned to their Tower, Hex couldn't help but wonder if she was able to get through to Glint and help him see there was more to life than just villainy. Back at HIVE headquarters, the team filed into Queen Bee's office where they stood in front of Queen Bee and Shimmer empty handed.
Queen Bee slammed her fists on the desk which caused the group to tremble. "You are some of my best students. So how is it that you with all your years of training you are defeated twice?! I demand an explanation!"
There was a moment of silence before Glint stepped forward. "It was my fault, my queen. The Star City Titans found us and we fought. I felt it would be easier to lose them if we split up, and I ordered the team to do so. It was my judgment call, so it's my fault."
Queen Bee stood up and let out a frustrated sigh. "We can't afford to send you out there again. The Teen Titans will do whatever it takes to capture you and we can't allow that to happen. We'll have to take alternative action. You're dismissed."
As the group left Queen Bee's office, Shimmer followed them. "Glint, a word."
Glint looked back at his teammates before he turned to Shimmer. "Yes, Mother?"
"What was that back there?" she demanded. "Why did you take the blame for your teammates?"
Glint avoided eye contact with her. "It was my judgment call. I'm the leader of the team."
"They are weak and because of that, you failed your mission!" Shimmer snapped. "I'm cutting down your team's homework and down time. They need to focus on training. You will be working with me from now on." She put her hands on his shoulders. "No son of mine will be weak. You're going to be second in command after me. You will not fail me, understand?"
"Yes, Mother," Glint sighed.
"Look at me when you say that," Shimmer replied.
Glint looked up at her. "Yes... Mother."
"Good. You're dismissed," she replied with a smirk.
Glint returned to his room and flopped onto his bed. He then flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his mind abuzz with everything that had happened. The thing that seemed to stick out the most in his mind was what Hex had said.
'You don't have to be a criminal. You'd be able to do more with your life. You could end up doing something you enjoy.'
He got off his bed and went to his desk where he pulled out his sketch books from one of the drawers and looked them over. Drawing had been a passion of his from the time he was young, but nobody in the HIVE ever supported him, especially his mother. He looked at the detailed drawings he had created and thought about making a career with his art. Just the thought of doing something that he enjoyed made him smile. It was in that moment that he had made up his mind. He packed a duffle bag full of clothes and belongings.
Suddenly, it hit him that he had no way to get to Star City on his own. His teammate Nyte Flyer had always teleported him when they were sent on missions and he had no money of his own seeing as how the HIVE had provided everything for him all his life. He let out a frustrated sigh. The only way he could get to Star City would be in approaching the Jump City Teen Titans, explaining the situation, and praying that they believe him and help him get there.
Glint swallowed hard before he threw his duffle bag onto his back, left his room, and stealthily made his way through the HIVE headquarters and out into the streets of Jump City. Once he made it to the beach, he used his powers to turn the water into solid material as he ran across.
As he walked up to the Tower, he didn't stop to think about the Titans' security system or if he might trigger it by getting close to the Tower. Sure enough, he triggered an alarm that awoke the Titans. By the time he made it to the front door, the Titans opened it and were braced to attack. They were surprised to see Glint standing there, duffle bag in tow.
"What are you doing here?!" Nightstar demanded, ready to fire a starbolt at his face.
Glint raised his hands in the air. "I'm here because I need your help!" he said in a panic. "I quit the HIVE and I want to join the Titans in Star City."
"Come again?" Falcon asked.
"He's abandoning the dark side, which makes perfect sense," Channeler added. "They have cookies, but we have waffles."
"My team and I were sent to steal money from a bank in Star City, but the Titans there stopped us," Glint explained.
"We know." said Nightstar.
Glint continued. "During the fight, my team split up and I was cornered by Hex. She told me I didn't have to be a criminal and I could do more with my life. So, here I am. I can't get to Star City on my own, so I need your help."
"Why Star City?" Burrower asked.
"I need to get away from the HIVE. As soon as they realize I left, they'll be after me." He let out a sigh. "Hex said I could do more with my life. I want to see if that's true."
"And we're just supposed to believe that you've turned away from a life of crime after one inspirational speech?" Nightstar asked.
"It's happened before," said Channeler with a shrug. "A lot, actually. Inspirational speeches are truly the greatest weapon of all."
Glint sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but I need your help. If it makes you feel better, I've stopped committing crimes as of..." he looked at his watch, "three hours ago."
"Well that's comforting," Falcon said dryly.
"Okay. We'll call the Star City Titans," said Nightstar. "But you're sitting in the interrogation room and, if you do become a Titan, you have to help us take down the HIVE."
While Nightstar called the Star City Titans, Falcon, Burrower, Channeler, Hallie, and Beast Girl sat in the interrogation room with Glint. "So, what's in the bag?" Burrower asked.
"My clothes," Glint replied dryly. They suddenly heard scratching on the door. "What's that?"
Channeler opened the door to find Snicker-Doodle looking very lonely. "Awww, we left poor Snicker-Doodle outside and it feels left out!" Channeler said as she scooped up their pet and brought it into the room.
"What is that thing?" Glint asked as he stared skeptically at the creature.
"It's Snicker-Doodle!" said Channeler in a matter-of-fact way. "Hallie accidentally created it while practicing magic and now it's our pet."
Snicker-Doodle began to wiggle its way out of Channeler's arms and hopped onto the table where it began to sniff Glint with its trunk. Then it began to butt its head against Glint's hand as if asking to be pet.
"Looks like he has Snicker-Doodle's approval," said Hallie.
Meanwhile, in the main room, Nightstar was talking to Hex on the com. "Yeah, I told him that he didn't need to be a criminal and that he could do something he enjoyed rather than serving a criminal organization," said Hex as she spoke to Nightstar. "He said their new leader is the one who sends them on missions and chooses when and where to strike. While the rest of the time, they're training and attending classes. It sounded..."
"Drone-like?" Nightstar asked, trying to finish the sentence.
"Yeah. Like the leader is a queen bee telling her bees what to do and when to do it. And when they aren't following those orders, they're training and being educated in who-knows-what and doing nothing else." said Hex.
"If what he's saying is true, he could be the key to us taking down the HIVE for good. Are you sure you're up to it?" Nightstar asked.
Hex smiled and nodded. "Phoenix and Megawatt are a bit skeptical, but we'll keep an eye on him and let you know what he tells us." A half-hour later, the Star City Titans arrived at the Tower to pick up Glint. Hex approached Glint with a smile. "I'm glad you listened to what I had to say."
Glint gave her a half smile. "Let's just hope that what you said is true."
"Okay, before we go any further with this," said Phoenix as he turned to Megawatt, "Megawatt, search him," he ordered.
Before Glint had a chance to react, Megawatt lifted a hand full of electricity as she waved it around his body and duffle bag, barely touching him. Needless to say he was terrified. "What are you doing?" he asked nervously.
"Checking you for electronic devices," Megawatt replied in a monotone. Once she finished, she took a step back and the electricity in her hand disappeared. "He's clear."
"So, ready to be a Teen Titan?" Charm asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," said Glint. He turned to the Jump City Titans. "Thanks for listening."
The team smiled and nodded. "Just don't let us down," said Nightstar.
Glint smiled. "I won't." With that, he hopped into the Star City Titans' T-Ship and they flew home.
To be continued...
A/N: Wow! It's been almost a full year since my last chapter! I need to kick my butt into high gear and not allow myself to take this long. There was a lot of writer's block and procrastination on this chapter and I apologize for that. Hopefully you'll enjoy it none the less! I put Phoenix in the Star City team because it made more sense than Boiler. You'll see why in later chapters.
Special thanks to my husband for beta reading this story.