Will of the Queen

Word had already reached him and Immortus was done. This was the second time that Ravager had failed the H.I.V.E. and his expectations. Then again, he knew what a poor specimen this failure was.

It shouldn't be this difficult. These were a group of off the teat adolescents. Not warriors. Not soldiers. Children. The first encounter should have littered the ground with bodies.

Perhaps it was past time to terminate this one and start with another…except that the plans for the true objective were well underway. Putting a halt to it now would be a waste of both time and resources. What other options were available to regain the investment?

The general considered this even as he supervised the technicians. While he understood little of what they were doing, from wiring and circuitry and coding to the construction, welding, and soldering, all he needed to know was that this was to fulfill H.I.V.E.'s ambitions. He would survey and ensure that the technicians completed their work; at least there would be one success.

"You've been making yourself scarce of late, General. I had to do a sweep before coming here." Immortus did not respond, though he recognized Psimon's voice. The subordinate metahuman had been successful in his endeavors; perhaps turning to him to entrust the success of eliminating the Titans had merit. Ravager was obviously not up to the task.

The taller metahuman came up to his side, a noncommittal smile on his face. His hands were behind his back while white, pupilless eyes surveyed the work before the two men.

"You are of fewer words this day, I see. Perhaps my next words will not improve your mood," Psimon remarked.

"Cease wasting time. What is it?" Immortus interrupted. Idle chitchat was a waste of time.

"The Queen wishes to have a word with you. Immediately."

The aged general expressed nothing. Not outwards and not inwards either. He should have expected the fallout of the repeated failures. He was the man who had authorized augmenting that pathetic man and so the responsibility fell onto his shoulders. There was nothing but to fulfill the Queen's wishes and accept his punishment. With such a long life as his, it was a shame it had to end this way.

"Was there anything else that I need to be aware of?" he asked point blank.

Psimon shook his head. "Only your presence and as soon as possible."

Some might consider that vague, others redundant, but when the Queen wanted to see you, it was simply that. Immortus turned on his heel and stalked down the labyrinthine hallways with little hesitation. There was little need to keep the Queen waiting. Testing her patience now would accomplish nothing even if it did buy him several minutes.

He knew the way through the yellow hallways. The cape he wore over his shoulder whipped in his wake while sure footsteps carried him forward. Through various intersections, past other servants of H.I.V.E., and deep into the bowels of this base where their Queen's sanctum lied, he trekked.

The entrance was unremarkable, black and dull like many of the doors that littered this facility. They slid open, and in he stepped, entering what may as well be a different world compared to the rest. This room, this sanctum, was alight in blue, and most of it came from various holographic monitors that hovered high up above.

In the midst of all the projected imagery, there hovered an egg-shaped throne. Sitting within was a lithe figure, one clad in grays that hugged the body tightly. Like a shell, armor protected the torso and the torso alone, a circle of glowing yellow emanating right where her heart would be. Shoulder mounts akin to honeycomb allowed yellow light to flow out much like honey itself.

Thin limbs raised and hands gestured to the various images, moving them about or changing them to a whim only known to the mind hidden by long golden locks of hair that flowed from atop that royal head. For royalty such as this, a crown was needed and thus she wore hers, one that wrapped around from behind her head and ended with two thick protrusions that resembled coils, symbolizing antenna if one were enamored by such imagery.

Two eyes that possessed the same yellow glow did not look down on him, not that Immortus was worthy of such a gaze. A face as smooth and as hard as marble complemented the beauty of H.I.V.E.'s Queen, its Queen Bee.

Her voice possessed strength, power, and above all else an inquiry. "What is the current status of your mission, my General?"

She already knew. The flawless pale yet gray skin did not wrinkle or mar. The Queen was fully in control and was extending a test of his honesty.

The aged man took a knee, holding in the grimace as joints protested and stretched muscles cramped. "The true objective continues without interference, my Queen. As for the secondary objective, we are far from a true success. I apologize for this incompetence."

"You speak of our Ravager," the Queen remarked. An almost delicate hand waved two fingers and one holographic image disappeared from existence. "His performance is entirely within projected parameters. Is not the reason for gathering data on my enemies part of my design? Their power and skills have grown, more so than the last encounter of my HIVE Five last placed them. Even with the augmentation, Ravager has not disappointed me."

Immortus' surprise nearly broke through his stoicism. She was not disappointed? But why? Ravager's sole purpose was the termination of her enemies!

As if reading his mind—no, no she was—the Queen said, "You place more importance on this puppet than he deserves. He still serves my purpose, and that is all that is needed."

The general bowed his head and kept his mind quiet. The Queen knew what she was doing and who was he to question her? What grand design was she weaving and when would he be illuminated? Perhaps soon, perhaps at another time, whenever she choose, he would be.

"During Ravager's latest encounter, my eyes within the Titans was in position to grant to me a most interesting curiosity," the Queen resumed. "Answers elude me and I wish to correct that. Will you not aid me with this correction?"

"I live to serve your will, my Queen," he answered.

In response, a hologram opened before the general, and Immortus raised his eyes to peer at the image. What he saw was a close up of one of the self-named Titans, the one he recognized as Raven. The hood draped over her head, shadowing the face within, and the dark colors she preferred made her stand out amongst the rest of her ilk.

"This Titan exhibited a singular ability, one that allowed the Titans to triumph once more against us. I wish to learn more and the most efficient means of doing so will involve her capture," the Queen explained. "If her powers can be brought under the heel of H.I.V.E., she may allow us opportunities that were unavailable to us before."

Immortus considered the reasoning. "Do you wish to bring her here? Would that not potentially endanger the operation?"

The yellow light of the Queen's eyes grew in intensity. "I am supreme here in my domain, my General. No matter how much power this girl possesses, she will not be able to resist my will. Bring her to me so that I may assess her use."

Her word was final and Immortus had to obey. However, there was one more matter…

"What of the others?" he asked.

"Their fates are already sealed. They possess no value to my H.I.V.E."

Bowing his head once more, Immortus uttered, "Your will will be done."


Electricity crackled from the ravaged body of the drone, its metal body dented and warped. Once it had been a machine of destruction, but now it was nothing but scraps. Its fate was the same as several others and a booted foot kicked it over to join the growing pile.

It was the sixth one that Pantha had destroyed, a lethal training dummy that she used to further develop her speed, strength, and skills. Sweat trickled down tanned skin, trying to cool down the heated body and soaked into the fabric of her uniform. The odor that wafted from her form would push others away, but she was far too used to it.

She needed to be stronger, more powerful. She had to match and defeat the orange alien and she would not be shown up again. To meet a fellow warrior was a rare occasion and the chance for a rematch was too valuable. Such a thing did not happen, not here, and not under the watchful eyes of her taskmasters.

The longer the alien remained afield, the greater the chance that she would be allowed to return to it, yes? This meant training until that moment, and she was brought back to prayer, praying that the alien would continue to live. This was something she had not done in a long time, a very long time.

The next drone. She needed to defeat the next drone, increased difficulty, so that she could push against her limits and exceed them. The drone was not forthcoming, not yet. Did she need make another request? How bothersome.

As the thought of taking a step began to conceive itself, it was interrupted by soft buzzing. Pantha stood still, frowning. The buzzing indicated an insect was nearby but the H.I.V.E.'s taskmasters were very keen in keeping them out. There should be no pests here…unless…

Pantha's hand snapped out, grabbing into the air and catching nothing. Her gesture, though, was not entirely useless.

"Damn, you almost had me there that time! Care to try again? I'll go slower this time!"

The masked female growled in annoyance. "I am not in the mood for your games."

"Aw, don't be like that!"

Not bothering to continue this inane dialogue, Pantha turned away only to find the source of her annoyance appearing out of thin air. She did not mind the attitude thought the voice could wear away her patience. Perhaps what made the grappler the most hostile was the choice in uniform.

It was a reminder, with the yellows and blacks, of this prison and the tasks forced upon her. The combination of colors patterned itself like that of a bee. Of course it stood to reason that there would be one person within H.I.V.E. using a bee motif.

"Girl, you really do need to learn when to relax," the dark-skinned girl who went by the name Bumblebee chided. "Haven't you ever heard that all work and—"

It was simple enough to shove the bee-themed girl out of her path now that size was not obscured. Pantha did not care right now about old sayings. How would it help her in matching herself against the alien? None.

"Rude!" Bumblebee complained. "Why'd ya gotta be like that? You're always so serious."

"And what's so fun about being here?" Ridge was here. While her teammate was one to use the training facilities, it was not often that their paths crossed…unless she had been here longer than she thought.

"Ey. I know it sucks. It's called making the best out of a bad situation." Bumblebee crossed her arms, looking away from Pantha's reptilian teammate. "A good chunk of us would rather be anywhere else but here. But you know, the General who ain't from Christmas Past got us all tagged. No one could leave even if they wanted to. And the Queen! Always keepin' an eye out, or at least her mind."

"Then you shouldn't be worried. It's not like you think in the first place," Ridge grunted as he stepped around Bumblebee.

The dark-skinned girl glared, then without hesitation pulled out one of her stingers, a handheld weapon that resembled a spiked brass knuckle. Unlike the knuckle, this gave the added sting in the form of electricity. Ridge jumped, then spun his head around, glaring at the smaller bee girl who glared back defiantly.

"Maybe your teammates take your lip, but I ain't one to," Bumblebee snarked. "If you got a problem with me, then say it."

Ridge did not speak and he looked away from the dark-skinned girl, stomping off. Pantha watched but did not speak. The lizard man's mind was none of her concern. She instead resumed her chore of locating another drone. This talk was of no interest to her nor did it help in improving her prowess.

"Oh, you gonna ignore me too? Come one, somebody has to have our backs here. All of this stoic, edgelord wannabe crap is lame enough as it is. If we don't try to work togeth—"

"Perhaps you should listen to Ridge," Pantha interrupted. "There is no way to free ourselves nor is anyone going to save us. This is our lot and we have no choice but to live it."

This was a truth she had learned long ago and the only escape was through training. It was the one activity that their taskmasters accepted without question. The perfecting of strength and skill was the only means of control they were offered.

Except for recently. Her new purpose to find the strength to best the orange alien was all she had to motivate herself now. One rematch, a battle to determine supremacy, that was all she had to live for now. It was the only motivation she had until she found another.

There was no need for camaraderie. Alliances within H.I.V.E. were next to worthless. When they were watched constantly. When not even their own minds were safe from scrutiny. Bumblebee may be willing to speak of more, of throwing off the yoke and seeing salvation, but it was only a matter of time unless the consequences fell on her head. Did the girl truly think that she was going unnoticed?

Maybe. Maybe not. Before she could fulfill her desire to continue her training, someone else entered. It was a male, another one with dark skin and dressed in various shades of blue. A tunic, hood, and cape were of the traditional color while sleeves and leggings were of a darker hue. Upon his chest, a symbol that took the form of a simplistic trumpet featured prominent with a horn of a similar shape peeking from around his waist and nearly hidden by the cape.

The only part of the ensemble that was not blue was a gray facepiece, one that covered the upper part of his face and left the lower bare. White lens made up the eyes and hid away that window into the soul. Hmm, that was a bit more poetic than she had intended.

"We're being called," Herald stated.

Bumblebee grimaced. "We are? What do they want us doing now?"

"No clue. We'll find out at the briefing," Herald answered, his tone of voice even and calm in contrast to the bee girl. Then the white lens eyes fell on Pantha. "You as well. Find your teammates and report for briefing."

So her training would have to wait…

A mission. Out into the field. Another opportunity for a rematch? Perhaps so. Then she need not delay. While she had not had an extensive amount of time to train, perhaps she would be able to see how far she had come along or bear witness to a triumph.

It took more strength than her body possessed to prevent a smirk from betraying her eagerness.


Every news station in the city was covering the terrorist attack on the anti-Titan protest. Everyone had an opinion, many were trying to push an agenda, others were still in shock, but everyone was clamoring for details.

None of those stations were being broadcasted in the Tower. From the holographic display that emerged from the floor in the rec room, the couch curving around it, everyone had multiple views of the attack itself from different periods of time, different vantages, and even different angles. There was even an image of the aftermath to help take in the enormity of what had happened.

"We did a good job running Ravager off, but he's still on the loose and we're nowhere near closer to figuring out what he's up to and why he's trying to kill us," Red Robin said, beginning the debriefing.

"Is it not enough to call him crazy and leave it at that?" Terra asked, wide-eyed as she stared at the display.

Red Robin shook his head. "Even crazy people have reasons for what they do, they just don't make sense to us. If we can find out his reasons, it might give us an edge."

"If I may speak?" Starfire, but why ask in the first place? Regardless, he nodded towards her. "I noticed a more improved performance during this last encounter. Ravager was faster both in his movements and his reactions."

"Yeah. My jaw's still feeling it," Kid Flash agreed, and matched actions to words by rubbing that part of his face. It didn't stop him from talking, though.

"He was faster? How could you tell?" Wonder Girl asked, looking pointedly at the Tamaranean.

Starfire turned her green eyes to the armored blonde. "I did combat him two separate times. I noticed the subtle differences. His improvement in a short period of time cannot be accounted for with standard training and practice. The competency is too great."

Going by her word, Ravager was improving. That could mean their next encounter might not go in their favor. However, was this a side effect of exhaustion more than improvement? This latest attack had come right after Raven's powers had gone haywire. There simply hadn't been enough time for anyone to get decent rest. Perhaps timing was more significant.

"We can't discount that we weren't at our best," he said, drawing attention to himself. "Don't forget, we all had a long night. The timing of this attack was just bad for us. At least for today, I want everyone here to take the day off and recuperate. We'll need our A game for the next time because there will be a next time. He's not going to give up."

He got several nods from that. They were probably feeling it all right now. Cyborg looked thoughtful for a second then added his piece. "What about our old friends? There's been no hide nor hair of mummy man's goon squad. They went after us at the mall and then busted themselves out of custody. What do you think they're doing?"

"They're connected," Red Robin stated. "I don't think it's a coincidence that the first time we met Ravager, it was when Jinx's crew was attacking the transport. They were recording, or someone else involved recorded our throwdown at Highland. My best guess here is that whoever is truly pulling the strings wanted to see what we could do and is also the one who's siccing Ravager on us."

"Someone wants us out of the way and are throwing some golden oldies at us," Cyborg summed up, crossing his arms. "But who and what do they want?"

No one answered here because it was obvious none of them had a clue. Occam's Razor or not, someone wanted to stop them from interfering but without a clue as to what it was, they were for all intents and purposes stumbling around in the dark. With Cyborg's reference to Jinx and her crew's last boss, it made him wonder what the connecting pieces were. It had been rare tech that was being stolen, and when put together created a radiation emitter. There hadn't been any thefts that they knew about, and every encounter had been a deliberate attack.

Was it a smokescreen? Was this hiding something else? It reminded him of his time back in Gotham; a few of the big bads there used diversion tactics to get one over Batman. Then, as well as could be now, those diversions ended up with huge things happening. They might as well be on the same path here and now.

"There is one other thing." Raven was speaking up now and she had the floor as a result. "During my incapacitation of Ravager, I was…exposed to some contamination...and mergeance. Much of it I will need time to reflect on, but there was something that concerns Ravager here. I detected impurity within him."

"Well, he is a bad guy," Beast Boy remarked, reclining back into the couch with both of his arms resting on top of the couch's backrest.

"This wasn't a natural impurity. This one was foreign," Raven refuted, not even bothering to look in the shapeshifter's direction. "It wasn't a natural part of him, and I could feel it growing even as he was resisting me."

"And…what does this mean?" Cyborg asked, frowning.

"I can't give you every specific, but if I were to hazard a guess, we may not have to worry about Ravager for much longer," the cloak and hooded girl answered. "I sensed that the impurity possessed toxicity. It's poisoning him. In time, with its current rate of growth, it may very well kill him. I would not be surprised if this was deliberate."

Red Robin was still getting a grasp of Raven's powers, but he suspected this was a use of the empathetic abilities she had. She had picked up on something else, perhaps another clue to the bigger puzzle, but so far there were no other connecting pieces that could make sense of it.

It sounded like something was killing Ravager from within…but why? It didn't make any sense. Speaking of connecting pieces, though, there was one such piece that might merit more attention.

"I know we're still missing a big part of the picture, but we do have one piece of it," he said. "There is a connection between Jinx's gang and the men that showed up at Miguel's village." Now he turned to the Hispanic male who had been quiet throughout the debriefing, watching as they were puzzling out the situation. "Both from Gizmo and those men are those communication devices. The same brand, same make and design, so there might be clues back in El Chilar that we might be able to find."

Beast Boy sat up straighter. "We taking a field trip to Mexico?" he asked excitedly.

Pausing, the masked teen shot a look at the shapeshifter. "Not we. So long as Ravager and whoever is behind him are out there, we have to keep an eye out here in Jump."

"So what's the plan?" Wonder Girl cut in, simultaneously interrupting before any complaints could be made. "Do we need to do regular patrols or wait until there's another attack?"

While thankful for the interruption, the armored blonde did raise a good point. Patrol would mean they were actively looking around, but normally they divided into smaller groups which could put them in vulnerable positions for being outnumbered. Plus, with the increase in skill Ravager had shown, he might be able to handle groups of two and three at this point. Sticking as one group would mean not being able to cover as much ground though they would be safer.

His eyes flickered back to the hologram and studied the various images on it, images of a location just across the bay and could be seen just from looking out of the windows. There were no qualms with putting innocent bystanders in the crosshairs, and the ambush in Highland Mall was proof enough of that. This could get so much worse before it got better.

But they needed to also know what was going on in Miguel's part of the world. Something was important in that village and it was connected to the attacks so far. How many could truly be spared?

Now he looked to the others, weighing what they brought to the table, who could they stand to lose, and who needed to stay. This was not going to be an easy choice, doubly so with the revelations that Raven had confided to him. This was just a horrible time and whatever choice was made would not be perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

A choice, though, had to be made.

"Cyborg, do we have a way to get to Mexico that's quick? The faster the better." First, see what they had available.

Cyborg shifted in his seat on the couch, getting a little comfy. Odd for the fact that most of him was robot, so the normal discomforts that went along with a flesh body was probably unconscious on the cybernetic teen's part. "After what happened and didn't stay in Vegas, I thought about that. My baby's been number one, but I have been making a plane. Prototype, not a lot of space in it, but it should be good for a short flight. Once I get that one right, I'm looking at something bigger for the rest of the team."

"Is it operational now?" Red Robin pressed.

"Should be," Cyborg shrugged his shoulders.

Having Cyborg along would be a good thing, first to fly this plane of his and the second to have access to multiple databases on the planet. They would also need a guide of the area, but then again Miguel's presence was necessary by default.

"Then you, I, and Miguel will head to El Chilar and get a look at what went down there," the teen vigilante decided. "The rest will stay here and make sure nothing goes too crazy. Cyborg, get your plane up and running, we leave as soon as possible."

Now, this left one last question. Who to put in charge? Right off the bat, there were three he could scratch off the list. Obviously, that was Kid Flash—for obvious reasons—Beast Boy—for other obvious reasons—and Terra—because he still didn't know enough or how she would respond in a leadership position. Raven came next for elimination, one for her reluctance for being a leader and also because he doubted the stress from that role would be good right now until she got a better handle on her powers. It was still too early to say if she had that grasp right now. That left Wonder Girl and Starfire.

Wonder Girl wouldn't put up with BS and she did have the ability to take charge. Whether anyone would listen to her was a good question. Starfire was another choice and he knew about her constant training. Who knew how powerful she had become by now? In a fight, she understood the ebb and flow, but could she command it? She would need those skills if she were to take the crown away from her sister. This could be an opportunity to gain those skills. However, that would mean Wonder Girl would be deprived of that opportunity to. Cyborg tended to fall into second in command; he had the experience with leading football teams and had shown it before in Las Vegas. He could get people to work together but he was coming with.

Which one, then? It could go very right or very wrong either way. So he took the gamble and chose.

"Starfire, you'll lead the team until we get back."

Red Robin paid close attention here. He saw how Starfire's shoulders straightened and the nod of understanding. Wonder Girl made no reaction, just remained where she stood and gave no sign that she disagreed. Just because there was no reaction didn't mean there wouldn't be.

That would have to be for later. Right now, trouble was at the proverbial gates and this needed to be treated with the seriousness that it demanded. There was only one more thing he needed to say.

"Everyone else, get some rest while you can. Everyone needs to be in top shape for what comes next."


It was black all over. There were no signs to say where she was. No sky, no ground, no anything. Yet, it felt like something was solid under her feet but there was no way to tell. There was no heat, no cold, no anything. However, there was a heaviness.

Terra could only wonder what this was. This was like the tenth or twentieth or the hundredth whatever time that she found herself having this dream, again. Any time she blinked, it would make everything so confusing and the void would…would…would…she supposed it was just very confusing.

Sometimes she was walking in this place that she knew not even though it was beginning to feel like she had been here a million times. If there was nothing else she was aware of, then the sensation of movement was one other constant. She always knew if she was walking or…or…anything else really.

Right now she felt like she was still. It happened sometimes. Was she still? She wasn't walking even though it felt like her feet were pressed against a hard surface, one she could not see. Standing? Sitting? Could not tell. Her back felt straight, at least.

Then there was the hollowness, the one in her chest. Every time there was a breath, it felt as if it filled up to the point of feeling painful. Pressure mounted then slowly went away. This was breathing, right? Hard to tell because normally she did not think about breathing.

There was sudden tension all over her body. Everything to the smallest molecule felt stressed. There was a build up, a promise of…something, a tightening around her lower arm.

Suddenly all of her attention was drawn to what felt like pressure that came from somewhere else. Eyes blinked, the confusing void stopped being confusing and the dimmed room that looked like someone lived in it—wait, she'd been in here before. The messiness on any available surface and random crap that littered the floor identified it was Garfield's room. When did she—why was she sitting up—oh, right.

Red Robin had taken Cyborg and Miguel and the three of them had left to Mexico. The rest of them were doing what they needed to to rest up and get ready. For her and Gar, the two of them had wandered off to get some shut eye and had come here. Wow, she must have been really tired if she voluntarily walked in here with a sleep deprived mind. If you weren't careful, you'd step in something and you might not want to know what it was.

The softness of the mattress was pressed against her rear, her feet were just about to touch a clear space of carpeting, so she was sitting up. Wouldn't she be laying down? She was tired, after all. And…there was a green hand gripping her lower left arm and that led to a sleepy Gar who was rubbing his eyes with his other hand.

"...y…get…up?" the green boy muttered in garbled speech. Through heavy, half-lidded eyes he peered up at her, a glaze over them that indicated the shapeshifter was half-asleep but would become more and more awake the longer he kept at it.

Somehow, somehow, she understood that mess of words. Shaking her head, Terra lifted her feet up and away from the floor, her body turning to lay back down. Ah, that was nice and then Gar was pulling her close to him. Wow, they must be really tired since neither of them had removed yesterday's uniforms or tucked themselves under the covers. Must have just flopped down and off to dreamland.

The grip on her arm lightened then removed itself only for a lengthening, wiry arm to slither over her body, bringing her in to a cuddle. Gar's head bumped into hers, the only then that might make her wake up a little more, and then—

A pressing of something soft against her forehead, a fluttering in her chest, and then soft even breathing washed down her face. The boy who had been her closest friend during one of the worst times of their lives and slipped back into slumber while leaving her feeling…

Feeling…

Feeling like something was watching her but it was so distant too. It wasn't the same like someone standing beside the bed, watching with physical eyes. It was like…like…something something brain or…

Her eyes shut once more and she wrapped herself into the embrace of sleep.


Author's Note: For those wondering about the reference to Vegas, check out Trinity Salvation on my coauthor ShadowMajin's account.