A Hunch
In the confines of her room, Raven centered herself and meditated. The words Azarath, Metrion, and Zinthos slipped through her lips, one at a time, a verbal rhythm that she did automatically and without thought. Without power backing them, they were merely nonsense words, or at least to the rest of the world they were.
It was late, but the empathic girl found that she needed to work through some strong emotions. Primarily, frustration was the strongest, and to keep herself from acting on it, she had to process it much like a computer downloading a file.
The source of her frustration was no secret; Red Robin was making token efforts at leadership but he hadn't quite taken charge as she was expecting. Any team required leadership. What was a team but a mixed match group of individuals with conflicting personalities but having the same goal? It took skill to hold a group like that together.
Red Robin was, unfortunately, doing his best, but it was still falling short. Once you have seen a real leader in action, their performance became the new baseline of which all others would be measured. In her opinion, it was a minor miracle that this team was still staying together. However, you could chalk that down to external forces. Internal was another matter.
Speaking of internal, she had recently discovered a new source of frustration, and this time it wasn't Red Robin. In retrospect, it shouldn't have been too surprising, but Wonder Girl's lack of curiosity towards her own abilities had rubbed Raven the wrong way.
Why didn't Cassie want to know the extent of her powers? Did she not know how dangerous she was? At the most basic level, she possessed superhuman strength. How much of it would it take to break a bone? To cause organ damage? To kill? The source of her power was that armor, something that Raven herself had once dismissed and accepted at face value.
In her experience, not knowing the limits of your power was dangerous. She knew her own limits, had to learn of them, and from there learn to control them. In her case, her powers had the potential to be limitless, and after one horrific incident, she understood what could happen. The meditation was a means for that control. To remain in control.
Cassie didn't understand. A part of Raven desired for the blonde to never understand or have to learn, but it was not strong enough to withstand the side that demanded her teammate know everything.
Say what you will about the morons on this team, but Garfield was limited by his imagination, Bart by his own good nature which he himself knew, and Victor by the limits of technological advancement. As she recalled, it had been from a prompt by none other than Garfield that Victor had even begun his own private exploration of his robotic capabilities, and that was at least one thing she could give the shapeshifter credit for. The only thing she would voluntarily give him.
Kori was the one she respected the most. A warrior in every sense, and that extended to the Tamaranean's knowledge of herself. The Starbolts, the combat experience, flight and strength, Kori understood her abilities better than everyone else. Her only flaw was momentary lapses of forgetfulness and the naivete that had clash with Earth-based culture.
Even for those used to living in a world of cardboard, they could forget about the cardboard now and again.
Which made Cassie stand out. She was uninterested in learning the extent of her abilities, and Raven knew that it was only a matter of time until someone seriously got hurt. In fact, it had already happened once, and had required the intervention of Batman himself. And yet, no self-reflection and no exploration. It was infuriating.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Azarath. Breathe in. Metrion. Breathe out. Zinthos. Breathe in.
She had been patient so far. Patience could only last so long. If Tim would not rise to the occasion and become the leader this team needed and if Cassie was not going to investigate her capabilities, then someone would have to.
Raven had no illusions, it could not be her. She did not have the clout, so to speak, especially since she kept to herself and chose isolation more often than not. Kori and Victor might be up to the task, though. It was not a secret to her that Kori was training herself for an inevitable confrontation with her elder sister for the future of the remaining Tamaraneans. Fighting skills would only take her so far; to maintain power, she would need to beef up her own leadership skills. Victor, meanwhile, had nothing else but this. Due to his circumstances, the dreams of normal people would always be beyond him, and unless he desired a life as a guinea pig, then the team was where he could truly live. That could possibly mean stepping up and taking charge. At the end of the day, he still had a good head on his shoulders, and he did lead the team during their trip to Las Vegas.
Hold on, that was odd.
It had brushed up against her consciousness and thus interrupted her. Raven's eyes blinked open, and her gaze focused on the door to her room. What had that been?
Driven by curiosity and a need to know, the empath stood onto her feet and nearly glided her way to the door. It slid open with barely a hiss, and she peaked out, looking to her left, then her right. There was no sign of anything or anyone but…
Taking a second, she turned to her mind's eye instead, then searched. The various auras that were unique to her teammates gave away their present locations—and one was moving. That was…Terra? On facial features that were normally so controlled she gave off the impression of being made of stone, a slight frown formed.
Focusing more of her attention on her other senses, Raven left the sanctity of her room, and followed after the moving aura. Her empathy stretched out and sought to find out what was the meaning of this. She brushed against Terra's mind just as she was turning a corner and found the geokinetic further down the intersecting hallway. She came to an abrupt stop, now watching the thin blonde intently.
Was this her imagination? If so, then there was either something wrong with her or…
There Terra was, rubbing at her face while trudging her way in the direction of her room. Now why wasn't Terra in her room, sleeping the night away? And why was she detecting a hollowness within the earthmover?
It was bizarre, and she had never sensed it before. She could feel Terra's emotions, could feel irritation, and then there was what felt like a void that was central in the blonde's mind. That couldn't be possible, and yet, the longer she felt, the more she detected how Terra's emotions were filling that impossible void.
What was happening here and how was Terra capable of such a thing? Garfield's little girlfriend did not have telekinetic or mind-based powers that were not involved with shaking the very earth they lived on. So hollowing out her mind was something that should be beyond her.
It made no sense whatsoever.
With narrowing eyes, Raven watched as Terra turned a corner and left her sight. She stood there, staring and waiting, and when there was no further sight of the geokinetic and the girl's aura came to a stop, only then did the empath pull back and head towards her own room.
It seemed like there was another teammate of theirs she was going to need to keep an eye on.
He knew what he had told the others, what to do, what he was going to do, but he hadn't mentioned the detour.
The detour took Red Robin back to Highland Mall. The damaged building was cordoned off, but that didn't really mean much if you thought about it. Even with yellow police tape blocking doors, if someone was determined, they would get in. Plus, it wasn't as if the mall was seeing its best days. No matter what Elizabeth Alderman claimed, Highland was dead in all but name.
Until plans were finalized on what to do with it, people were going to be breaking into it, whether to do a little looting, or find a safe place to get high. Others would use it for shelter for the night, because Jump did have a little problem with homelessness that it didn't like talking about.
As for why the teen vigilante was here, well, call it a hunch but he felt like he needed to take one more look at this place and see if there was something that was missing. The debriefing at the tower had given him a lot of food for thought, more than what you would expect out of him given his history. There was still a part of him that wanted to play detective now and again, and this was a great time to indulge it.
His entry was through the roof. No amount of police tape was going to block that off. So long as there was no rain tonight, there was still the possibility of finding some clues. Those tech thieves changing their M.O. was very discerning, but the one thing that had yet to be confirmed was if there was someone else involved. The thieves worked for others, which meant going out on their own was out of character.
Now, planning an ambush out of the need for revenge? Bit of a stretch, but in Gotham, revenge was one of the more common motivations to do anything. It was the presence of a second group of metahumans that put the whole revenge plot into question.
What was the real purpose for this ambush? For the hostages? For the backup group of metahumans?
Those were the questions on his mind and that was why he was stepping through the rubble, looking around for anything that was out of place. Thanks to Raven's intervention, much of the rooftop debris was on the second floor, and so that was where he was starting his search.
"You know what I don't get? Why didn't you let the others know you were coming here? You know at least B—Kid Flash would want to come with."
"You don't need to be here either," he replied, not looking up to where Wonder Girl hovered in the air. Clad in the most basic version of her armor, the blonde was taking looks around, keeping an eye out for anyone who might stumble upon them.
"If anyone needs their backs watched, it's you," she retorted, no real barbs in her voice.
Shifting some of the rubble and lifting one piece up to look under it, Red Robin said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence." Lowering the piece of sheetrock back down, he continued his search, though what he was looking for, he had absolutely no clue.
"You know that's not what I mean," Wonder Girl grumbled. After a few moments, the masked teen continuing to look about while the armored blonde kept watch, she broke the silence once again. "What are you looking for?"
"There's a lot that doesn't make sense. Usually, people have patterns, they keep to them, and when it comes to revenge, they're usually very vocal about it," Red Robin explained, making his way towards a corner of the mess. "Only exception is when that's what they start off doing. The last time we met these guys, they chose escape over making it known they were going to get even. When they show back up, it's with backup. Where did the backup come from? These guys were tough the last time. Why would they need backup?"
"I noticed that. Gizmo wasn't doing a good job. It was…easy," Wonder Girl admitted. "I was expecting a tougher fight."
Behind his mask, Red Robin blinked, and took a second from his search to think about it. He considered what their circumstances were when they first met Jinx and her crew, then thought about everything that took place after the last time they had met. It was the better part of a year, now that he thought about it. What had taken place between now and then?
T.I.T.A.N. Initiative, training with Kori, and all the fighting with Blackfire, Luthor, and the Kalanorians. There was some stuff missing there, of course, but those were the highlights. There had been a lot that had taken place, a lot of challenges that really took them all to their limits then forced them to go further.
"I think we just got good," he found himself saying.
"As opposed to what?" Ah, a little bit of the Wonder Girl challenge. Hadn't seen a lot of it lately.
"Think about it. We were bumbling around the first time we met. We've gone through Kori's training from Hell. Or Okaara as she would put it. Everything we fought against, those were some really big bads right there. World ending events. How does any of that compare to some basic tech heists? If you think about it all as training, we've getting better by facing threats that are more powerful than these guys."
"So when we meet up, they're still around the level we last left off, but we aren't. We got…good," Wonder Girl finished off, and you could hear some of her wonder in her voice, excuse the pun.
"We can't let it get to our heads though," Red Robin said, starting up his search once more. "There was something, or someone, else involved with today. Call it a hunch, but I do think there were some other reasons for the change in tactics. We might be facing some old faces, but that doesn't mean there aren't new tricks. We've got to be ready."
"Because when we aren't, we get our asses handed to us. What would be different about that?" Nice way to sum that up, but wasn't that the truth? It wouldn't be the first time they picked off more than they could chew.
Shifting through some more rubble, whether it was tilting some of it up, or pushing some to a side, so far nothing. Was he overthinking this? Trying to see something where there was nothing? No, no, experience was telling him there was something here, he just wasn't seeing it, either from the right angle or if it was hidden in plain sight.
He looked to his right, over the second story railing, and down to the ground floor where all of the fighting had taken place. It was very open from where he was standing. He could spot where he had fought the teleporter, Wykkyd. Mmm, he could tell there were Y's instead of I's and he had no idea why. Over there, he could see some scorch marks and based on initial scrutiny, it looked like Cyborg's handiwork.
And right there, that was in the vicinity where he had first seen Jinx. Looking further up, there was the fallen escalator, just around the area Starfire rematched with Mammoth. Somewhere near there, Raven faced off again with Shimmer…huh, didn't quite remember how that one went. All he knew was how it ended…kinda. The girl in leather was captured and in the fetal position, so it went horribly wrong for her and really right for Raven. No huge flares of black power…was it power? Magic, psychic, he wasn't entirely sure what Raven's powers were.
However, from this angle, you could see a lot of the action. His eyes moved upwards thoughtfully, going up to what remained of the ceiling but stopping short. He tilted his head and his eyelids narrowed. Was he seeing things?
"Hey, do you see that?" When he received a questioning look, he stretched out an arm and pointed. That directed Wonder Girl to look the same way. Her head tilted to a side as well, much like his had.
"What am I looking for?" Maybe she was at a bad angle.
Slipping out a birdarang—a normal one, not explosive or anything else—'he threw the projectile out and trusted in his aim. Distantly, he saw it strike the far, far wall, close to where a portion of the ceiling remained. "Check that area. I thought I saw something." In the back of his mind, he hoped that it was sheetrock which the birdarang sliced into and not something that might be important.
He could read the uncertainty in her body language, but after years of sticking close, Wonder Girl followed his lead and flew to where his birdarang had struck. Red Robin, meanwhile, remained where he stood and waited for her to return. There was no sense in moving around if it meant the armored blonde wasted time looking for him too.
A few minutes passed by, and then he caught gold and red moving in his direction. "You know, it does get a little irritating when you're right," Wonder Girl commented as she touched down beside him. In her hands she held a metal orb, one the side of a volleyball, and in dead center was a lens.
The teen vigilante took it and made sure that the lens was angled away from the two of them. His hands moved against the orb, as if searching for any flaw or indent. Something that might open it up. The presence of the lens hinted that it might be used for watching, or recording.
One thing was for sure, this didn't look like it belonged in a mall.
"Can you look around and see if you find more of these?" he asked, looking Wonder Girl dead in the end. She seemed to understand what he was implying, and instead of making a remark, snide or otherwise, she flew off. This left him to continue looking through the rubble.
By the time Wonder Girl returned, she held two more of these orbs, one held under each arm. For his effort, he found a damaged one that was indeed hidden by debris. He was able to peer into gaps exposed in dented metal, and some of the circuitry confirmed his suspicions. Oh yeah, this was not something you would find in a place like this.
"Alright, Sherlock, getting any creepy vibes? What are these things?" his blonde teammate asked. The agitation gave away that she was not liking this.
"I don't know for sure, but I have a few ideas," he answered. Continuing, "These look like camera lens, so that make me think this is some kind of camera or recording device. Until we get it further examined, there's no real way to be sure. Since these were put up so high, someone didn't want them found immediately."
"How does putting them high up mean that?" Wonder Girl asked.
"How often does anyone look up?" Red Robin asked in lieu of an answer. "Whoever set this up, they were banking on no one finding them. Maybe they intend on coming back later. But judging where one of them was placed, I'm willing to bet they all had a good view of the ground floor."
"And Gizmo's a tech guy," Wonder Girl added, blue eyes giving funny looks to the orbs. "What are the odds he set these up?"
Pretty damn good. Meaning there was more to this than they had thought. The hostage situation had to be a ruse.
"Let's get these back to the tower. Cyborg will need to check these out and find out what they actually do," the masked teen concluded. "We can pay Gizmo a visit later once we have a better idea."
"I really don't like this," the armored blonde muttered, not as quiet as she hoped, but he was willing to pretend he heard nothing. "Alright, fine, we get these to Cyborg. Then what?"
There was only one real answer to that. "Head on back home and check in. Let the folks know we're still alive. Maybe get a good night's sleep. Then regroup at the tower tomorrow."
"How about you head that way. I'll drop these off," Wonder Girl offered. Noticing the look he was giving her, she blatantly looked away and said, "I can fly. The trip back won't take too long. You gotta head to the suburbs and you're halfway there as it is. It'll take too long for you to go back to the tower then go home. I'm just trying to save time."
Red Robin gave a small nod. While he'd rather go back to the tower, she did have a point. Sure, he could glide with his cape, but that wasn't as fast as someone who could deny the might of gravity with a thought. Plus, sometimes you had to let someone else feel like they were contributing or in control. For Wonder Girl, when confronted with the unknown, she tended to get a little cranky. It was best to make these easier for her in any way he could.
Handing her the other two suspected cameras, he said, "Be careful."
"I'm a lot more careful than you. Try not to run into anyone and get them to try and kill you. It's annoying pulling your butt out of the fire," she replied.
It was just that one time…
No, no point in poking the bear. Let her have this one too and do what you need to.
Still, he himself didn't like what this was pointing to. Secret cameras set up to watch where all the fighting was? What was the point in that? What had today really been about?
What was heading their way this time?
Booted feet clinked against the metal floor, Immortus' gait carrying him through the long hallway. Various operatives moved out of his way, knowing better than to be in it. It did not matter if they were warrior, scientist, or technician, none stood in his path and did not suffer consequences for the offense.
His destination was a set of yellow-colored doors, ones that slid open at his arrival and granted him access. Within were luxurious quarters, ones reserved for the highest ranking members of H.I.V.E. The best furnishings, whether for lounging, entertaining guests, or enjoying, decorated these rooms. The best comfort, the best quality, all rewards for dedicated and fruitful service.
The only other individuals who would be granted such luxury were those who they were courting for alliance.
For now, these belonged to a new recruit. Aforementioned recruit was reclined on a couch, one arm resting over the furniture's back. Legs were raised with feet crossed on top of a coffee table. Everything about the recruit screamed relaxed. This had included the female researcher who sat next to him, but she had recognized him on arrival and tensed.
Immortus examined the recruit and noted the changes. The last time he had seen the young man, he had been on a medical table and was being administered a unique serum. This man had been fit, but nothing too spectacular at the time. With the serum administered, and testing enacted, the general could already see the results.
The youthful body had more mass to it, definition concealed by the black and silver bodysuit. Muscle bulged under the skintight fabric, hinting at strength might just be waiting to be unleashed. Despite his arrival, the young man remained relaxed, and did not bother to show any sign of intimidation. He would need to go over the results of the testing.
"General Immortus," the researcher greeted. "We—"
"You are dismissed," Immortus cut in. "Leave us."
"She doesn't need to go anywhere," the young man stated, an arm placing itself on the researcher's shoulders. "And I want her here. Are we gonna have a problem?"
That was a much different tone compared to the last time he had seen this particular guinea pig. Then, there had been uncertainty and inferiority. Stumbling on words, easily cowed by authority, and hardly a fraction of the current specimen he was. Now, there was confidence, ego, and some aggression. It didn't take the general long to figure out what was happening here.
This was the behavior of a young man who had found power and it was going straight to his head.
It was not the first time he had encountered such individuals and it would not be the last. He had long since learned how to deal with such people.
"I am here to brief you on your upcoming assignment," Immortus said, looking over the cockiness and downright rudeness that had been expressed to him. Arrogance spread the young man's lips into a smirk, one of triumph that reveled in the small victory. "She is not necessary for this and would not be able to contribute any more than she already has. There are other duties that require her attention and must be addressed as soon as possible."
"And I would like it if she stayed. Are we going to have a problem?" the young man reiterated, bringing the young female closer to himself.
Youth. There were times it was more trouble than it was worth. Instead of answering, the general chose instead to go straight into the briefing without even acknowledging the challenge issued. Turning away from the new recruit and future agent, the older man approached the wall-hanging monitor, or television as people now called it. Below it was a hollowed-out section for other entertainment based gadgets, such as a Blu-ray player, stereo control, and disgustingly a video game console.
Ignoring that last commodity, Immortus slipped out a thin, square case and opened it, simultaneously booting up the Blu-ray player and the television. Removing the disk from its case, he placed it into the extending tray and with a slight push, injected it into the Blu-ray.
Seconds of loading took place, and the monitor came up with a menu. Turning back to the new operative and the researcher, the general approached the coffee table and swiped up the remote that had laid on it. Pushing buttons, he highlighted one of the menu selections and the screen abruptly changed to show a picture, specifically one of a skirmish.
One of the H.I.V.E. Five, Gizmo to be specific, was engaged in battle with the armored female, Wonder Girl. "This is one of your targets," he stated, projecting his voice. "Your current objective is to study the footage we have obtained. All data is current and up to date. Observe then dismantle their various fighting styles and abilities. Come tomorrow night, you will be engaging them for the purposes of terminating them."
Casually tossing the remote onto the coffee table, ignoring how the device clattered against the flat surface until it stopped against the recruit's foot, Immortus returned his gaze onto the monitor where he could see the self-named girl of wonder dominate Gizmo. All of his devices and tech were being torn apart, and any damage she sustained was nullified by armor suddenly shielding the affected parts. How it was able to do that was a curiosity, and one he himself would love to learn.
Perhaps it could be learned from a corpse.
"You mean I get to have some fun?" the young man asked, and there was eagerness there. While the general wasn't looking at him, the shifting of the skintight fabric against the couch gave away that the man was sitting straighter.
"This will be your first assignment," Immortus confirmed. "Like the Terminator you aspire to be, study your marks to ensure your success. Do not estimate them. Even with your enhanced abilities, know that some of our best agents have been defeated by these Teen Titans. Do not leave yourself vulnerable to them. Discover their weaknesses and use them with extreme prejudice. You—"
"Ravager."
The general stopped mid-sentence, enraged at the interruption. How dare… No, keep it professional. Still, he was unable to resist looking over his uniformed shoulder and giving the insubordinate young man a look.
With no sign of intimidation, the young man reiterated boldly, "Call me Ravager. Whatever and whoever these Teen Titans are, I'm going to destroy them. I'll bring you back their heads on a platter. I just hope they'll be worth the challenge."
Bravado. That serum had to be affecting the young man…Ravager's mind. A little bit of power, that's all it was, but it was already going to his head. Very well. As long as this pawn accomplished his objectives, that was all that truly mattered. If all tasks were completed, he could find it in himself to overlook the arrogance and insubordination.
"Earn your name then," the general said, turning back to the monitor. "Show the world why you should be called Ravager. You can start with the assassination of the Teen Titans."
She felt sore all over, but it was a feeling that was of a comfort to her. She felt it after pushing her body to its limits, whether through a strenuous workout, a hard-won spar, or obtaining an achievement that took everything she had in order to accomplish.
Pantha was returning to her quarters having made use of the facility's exercise and training room. There were expectations placed on all of them, and one of them was to remain in peak physical condition. Regular training and exercise was a requirement, but for Pantha it was an escape. It meant full control over herself as she chose what parts of her body to strengthen.
It was the only control she had over her life.
Strength embodied her past. There were not a lot of memories of it other than the yellow halls, the H-shaped symbols, and Immortus. Fight, grow strong, and serve. It was a mantra forced into her. She saw so many chant it, so many speak it casually, so many remind her of it, it was nearly meaningless to her with the sole exception of acting as a defense to protect her.
To say it was to reaffirm loyalty into the minds of others. For what unknown reason, it had never truly settled with her. Gaining strength was necessary, of that she could agree. Strength meant a lessening of suffering. Strength meant having a fraction of control in a life defined by not having it.
It had become a part of her to see challenge and to overcome. She would not question whatever task was given to her, would not complain about the ease of it, yet would hope that she would be tested somehow.
The current mission had certainly provided it. It was an effort of will that she kept from smiling about it. The orange alien was an unexpected challenge, but one that was most welcome. Overwhelming strength did not work, the alien's versatility when using flight, and then the hand-to-hand combat! It made her heart beat that much faster at the thought of a rematch.
She had underestimated the alien, but that was her fault. She would do better next time. To meet someone who could match her strength for strength…
Her thoughts continued even as her body moved, no real destination in mind because it was always the same. Muscle memory carried back to her quarters, one which she shared communally with those assigned to her team.
Only two were present, and both were quiet. The monstrous Ridge kept to one side of their living space, back leaning onto the wall with muscular arms crossed. He said nothing, not even a greeting which was to be expected. Ridge chose not to speak with others unless spoken to. In that event, a reply was not always forthcoming.
Seated on a mattress was the other team member, codenamed Hotspot. When his powers were active, his skin was as fiery as lava. When not active, who he really was was exposed. He was a dark-skinned youth, approaching late adolescence with short dark hair that hinted on being curly. Dark eyes peered downward, not making any advance to look up. He was quite sullen when not fiery.
Pantha noted all of this, then proceeded to say, "Where is Private? Has he not returned?"
"I presume he is doing what you're doing, and training." To her surprise, it was Ridge who spoke. When he noticed her looking at him, he returned with a blank expression and said, "He was humiliated by a girl. He did not take it well."
Pantha snorted. Private Hive was a prideful one, and he loved to wield his perceived superiority over others. She was not interested in leadership, and neither were the others. It left the only one person who had both the pride and the desire to take it. When it came to strength and might, Hive was very lacking in both.
"These opponents were much stronger than we were informed," she said.
Uncharacteristically, Ridge responded with a snort. "Speak for yourself. Fighting a zoo wasn't that big of a deal."
A difference of experience? Which one had the large lizard man battled? What did a zoo have to do with them?
Glancing back to Hotspot, she found her curiosity needed satisfaction. "What of you? Did you find challenge or disappointment?"
Hotspot did not immediately answer. His body tensed, and she read it with ease. The dark-skinned male was a quiet one who did not like interacting with them. Yet, he had been assigned to this team, and she was in no position to question why. There was no point or purpose to doing so.
Eventually, "What would it matter? You know by now how I feel about this."
"Oh, here we go," Ridge groaned.
Hotspot's head jerked up, dark eyes were alit with the fire of anger. "What do you mean by that?"
"You complain about the same thing over and over again. It's bullocks." Ridge did not favor the dark-skinned youth with a sneer. He never did.
"And I suppose you like it?" Hotspot spat.
"Who ever said I did?" Ridge grunted. "Nobody has a choice here. Get that through your thick head and get over yourself. You might not like it, but you can find some way to live with it."
Instead of calming their fiery teammate, he only became more heated, the air around him wavering from the heat he was starting to emit. "I never wanted to fight. I just want to go home. I never asked for this, any of this, and I didn't ask to be taken!"
"No one asks to be taken. No one asks to have a thingamajig put in their heads. But what are you going to do about it?" The lizard-like male pushed away from his wall and stood tall, glaring down at Hotspot. "If you wanted, you could burn the whole place down. Us too. Everybody in here. You think they'll let you? You think they won't stop you? You think complaining about it will change it?"
"Don't pretend to know me," Hotspot growled.
"Who said I was? I don't know you. I don't care to know you. I only deal with you because some dick from the blimmy 1800s said to. Didn't give me a choice either. So here we are, listening to you whine and complain and not doing anything. If you got time to complain, you got time to do something stupid that will get you killed. I don't care which you choose, but keep it to yourself because no one here cares."
Pantha listened to Ridge, then looked to Hotspot for his response. His dark skin was starting to shift, reddening while the air shimmered. He was keeping control, but barely. She did not step in to stop them. She had no need to. It was not often Ridge spoke, but when he did, it did angered the younger male who rarely acted on his fury. There was no history that there would be a turn to violence, and so she did nothing.
No sooner had this doomed standoff began, that it was ended.
"Attention! Rise for a superior officer!"
The voice boomed, ordering attention instead of commanding it. Pantha merely turned to look, already expecting and finding Private Hive in the doorway. She was not wrong as the muscular male stood there, rigid posture and stern eyes behind the yellow-colored, hood-like mask.
She did not straighten or tense up her body. She did not need to look behind her to know that neither Ridge nor Hotspot did the same. It was an ongoing feud with their so called team leader about respect. It was a matter that she had little care for as it was.
However, accepting the response he was given, Private Hive unexpectedly moved to a side and behind him, entering into their quarters, was a very tall and thin man. He was clad in a dark green duster coat, the front buttoned up. Beneath, one could see a purple dress shirt and purple tie, while below was black-colored slacks and dress shoes. This was the chosen armor of this man, flimsy as it was.
However, the most striking feature of this man was the top of his head. Skin seemed to stretch over a transparent dome of unknown material. From within it, it was easy to see a human brain peer out. It was a sight that made her uncomfortable. It was unnatural; no one should see a brain like that. This very vision did give away the man's name and identity.
Psimon.
"I'm sensing a lot of anger in here," the thin Psimon remarked as he took a step further into their quarters. "No doubt for your missing teammate. I bring happy tidings then, as you lot will soon be reunited." Thin, colorless lips curled back, stretchy a face that could be described as bony, much like the skin atop his rounded head. Dead eyes looked up thoughtfully. "What was his name again?"
His name was See-more. He was a youth with a talent for energy projection. Pantha had tested her strength against that unyielding barrier many a time, always vowing to break through it one day. He had not returned from their mission, captured by their opponents no doubt. His absence was a source of anger for their leader, the most current one to date.
Psimon tapped his chin, trying to recall See-more's name, but Pantha knew better. This was an act, another mind game that this man preferred. "Not worth remembering, I suppose." Exactly what she was expecting. "But he will have some explaining to do once you return with him."
"Permission to speak, sir!" Private Hive said, his voice needlessly loud.
Psimon rolled his eyes. "Permission granted."
"When are we to set out on our next mission?"
Without hesitation, "Tomorrow night. We shall allow our little failures to stew in it for a while. Hopefully that will teach them a lesson from all this. I do have it on good authority that the Jump City Police Department has plans to transfer them to more capable facilities, so this will be the only chance for extraction. This will also be your only chance for redemption. That your betters need your aid in the previous mission speaks more about their performance than yours, and that is why your punishment will be significantly less. Immortus wanted a harsher penalty, but I argued for your leniency. I hope you appreciate my efforts."
Kindness. Psimon was incapable of it. This was a familiar tactic, to draw on guilt and offer hope. The man had several plans to crush that hope, and all for his amusement. Pantha cared not for any of it. No, the opportunity to meet the orange alien once more was right here. Another chance to test her strength. She could not wait.
One of Psimon's eyes slid over to her. "I do believe I sense some eagerness here. Very good. You'll need it."
Damn, she needed to keep her emotions controlled. Psimon could sense them. He could sense a lot of things. There were times she felt he could even read her mind. He had power, but even after all this time, she did not understand its depths and capabilities. Maybe that was why he was an overseer, one for all of the teams such as the one she was on.
A long, bony hand slipped beneath the dark green coat and from it removed a large envelope. Without looking to Private Hive, Psimon handed it to the team leader. "The details are in there. Memorize and prepare. You know the drill. While you do that, I'll be briefing your reinforcements. Do try to play nice with one another."
Private Hive took the envelope, but Pantha could tell he did not like the latest addition to their orders. "With all due respect, we don't need—"
"You don't need to question your orders, just follow them," Psimon interrupted sharply, dead eyes brightening with life. "Unless we have a…misunderstanding?"
Private Hive stilled, and his body odor gave away the fear he was experiencing. Pantha remained quiet, letting it play out. There would be no love lost should their leader here overstep his authority. Finally, Hive shrank in on himself and said, "No sir, there is no misunderstanding."
"Excellent," Psimon praised, clapping a hand on Hive's shoulder as if they were companions. "Brief your team while I do mine. There is only success in our future. Even if we have to lay down our lives to do it. Oh, and remember, leniency does not strike twice so don't do anything, such as fail, to incur our superiors' wrath. They won't be half as understanding as I."
His movements became swift as he took his leave, but the dread Psimon left in his wake remained. Pantha felt she was handling it best, but now she turned to Private Hive and awaited further orders. They were but soldiers here, were they not? And soldiers required leadership.
As if sensing he was being watched, Private Hive turned on them, glaring. "You heard him," practically throwing the envelope to them, which no one acted to catch and thus allowed to land on the floor, "Read that and know it by heart. I'll be testing you later." Without further waiting, their leader stomped out, leaving only what remained of this team behind.
A funny word, team. They were not that, though they were able to join forces for short periods of time. No one truly wanted to be here. In that, perhaps, they were united. But that unity was not enough to bring them to combine strength.
So, their mission was approaching. With that another chance to meet the orange alien…no, to meet Starfire. To another who truly understood combat and might. This time she would give her opponent all the respect she deserved.
Then she would defeat her and prove her might once again.
