A.N. Happy holidays, everyone! Glad you all are still enjoying my work!

Now then, answering some reviews:

To MrMaiki248: Yeah, it was a very…interesting idea that Kishimoto had to explain the origin of chakra, but a good fanfic writer uses even the most questionable lore material to their advantage.

To WindyCitySlayer1: Spoilers ;)

To Whatif-inator: Well guessed, my friend! They don't quite have that connection, but you're on the right track! By the way, I'm making a plot bunny farm, and because of reading your name, I'm torn between making it based on Marvel's What If series or having Dr. Doofenshmirtz make a Whatif-inator.

To iloveM.A.D.B: Thank you so much for your support! Your words are so encouraging to hear!

To proborderjumper: Honestly, I'm still up in the air about making it a harem story. It really depends on whether Raven's the sharing type.

To Jiggly Joe: Glad I made it so that Malchior's behavior didn't scare people off.

Also, I was hoping that I didn't shift Naruto's core personality too much, especially towards being edgy. One thing I've noticed in quite a few fics is that Naruto's personality and background get changed so much that he becomes a completely different person. At that point, it's just an OC in a Naruto skin. I don't know, it's just a little pet peeve of mine.

To everyone else, thank you for your reviews and support! I appreciate you all!

Now then, let's see Hydra and Raven interact some more! …oh, and Malchior too, I guess.

Let'sgetiton!

Disclaimer: OCMixmaster27 does not own any of the franchises represented in this story. This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.


"Hello there!": Speech.

'This is gonna be fun': Thoughts.

{My English can use some work.}: Foreign Language

[All systems are go!]: Mechanical/TV/Phone Speech

"How Dare You!": Monster/Demon Speech, Technique


Lonely Together

Chapter 4: Misunderstood


Location: Jump City Maritime History Museum

Time: Evening

A portly man can only let out muffled mutterings as he finds himself tied up, gagged, and carried through the darkened halls of the museum by Mammoth. The villain is accompanied by his fellow classmates in The Hive; Jinx, Gizmo, See-More, Kyd Wykkyd, and – Jump City's current hot topic – Hydra.

"We appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Curator," Hydra says with a polite smile.

Mammoth chuckles darkly. "Yeah. Wouldn't want you to end up like those other guys," he says while pointing behind him.

Behind the group are a number of groaning guards strewn about, with one shoved into a garbage can.

Jinx turns to Gizmo and asks, "How are we looking, Giz?"

Gizmo smirks as he looks at his console. "The silent alarm is down, and the cameras are all on a loop. We're in the clear."

"For now," Jinx points out. "Let's stay on our toes."

After some more walking, The Hive students and their captive arrive at a room containing a single exhibit. Sitting in a glass case cordoned off by rope barriers is a large shiny black pearl embedded in a golden ring.

"There it is," See-More says. "The Black Pearl."

"So, why did the Headmaster want this thing again?" Mammoth asks in confusion.

Jinx groans in frustration. "Honestly. You need to start paying more attention during briefings," she mutters. "Supposedly, it can control the seas and tides. A pirate named Madame Langrock used it in the 1700s to make whirlpools and tsunamis, making her the Pirate Queen of her time. According to legend, she and her fleet ended up getting destroyed by an attack from England and Atlantis, and her pearl was lost at sea until it was found by archaeologists a week ago."

The curator nods along to Jinx's explanation.

"Guess the Headmaster wants to become the Pirate King of Jump City," See-More quips.

"It would be useful in controlling the city's maritime shipping lanes and repelling any naval attacks," Hydra points out.

"Speaking from experience?" Jinx asks.

"Not us, personally," Hydra answers, "but there was this one nation on our home planet that was completely surrounded by ocean."

"We can all have a nice chat after we get the pearl," Gizmo interjects. "See-More. What have you got?"

See-More adjusts his monocular lens, revealing several red lines crisscrossing around the display.

"I got motion detector lasers all around the display," See-More reports.

"Not a problem," Gizmo says as he types on his console.

See-More watches the lasers disappear from his sight one by one.

"We're clear," See-More informs with a smile.

Gizmo grins. "Now we can get close and check for any pressure sensors," he says as he and See-More approach the display.

Mammoth smiles cheekily and leans towards Hydra. "Hey. Wanna see me tempt fate?"

Hydra smiles and nods. "Of course!"

Mammoth clears his throat before saying aloud, "This is gonna be the easiest heist ever."

Hydra laughs while the other Hive students whirl around and glare at their giant comrade.

"Seriously?!" Jinx yells.

Mammoth shrugs. "What? I did it ironically, so I think we're safe."

A giant clawed hand made of black magic suddenly grabs the bound curator, pulls him out of Mammoth's hands, and brings him next to a very familiar sorceress.

"Think again," Raven says as she's flanked by her fellow Titans.

The Hive villains (minus Hydra) are startled by the presence of the Teen Titans.

"What the hell?! I disabled the silent alarm!" Gizmo cries out.

Cyborg grins smugly. "You disabled the museum's silent alarm," he corrects as he holds up his blinking arm. "You missed the one I installed after Warp did his heist a while back ago."

"Grr! Scrud-munching crud-sucking…," Gizmo mutters annoyedly with his arms crossed. He then turns to Hydra. "Alright, Hydra. You're up."

Hydra turns to his comrades and asks, "Do any of you wish to join us? We feel bad for hogging all of the…well, we want to say 'fun', but Raven's the only fun one in the group."

Hydra's comment makes Raven blush, the other Titans angered, and Jinx annoyed.

"You kidding? If anything, we'd be in the way," See-More answers.

"Just keep those pit-sniffers off of us while we snag the pearl," Gizmo orders.

Hydra sighs and adjusts his cap. "Whatever you say, Oh Glorious Leader," he remarks as he approaches the Titans.

"Eat me, Whiskers!" Gizmo yells while flipping Hydra off.

Jinx smacks Gizmo. "Stop messing around! We've got a job to finish!" she commands, prompting the human Hive Students to focus on the Black Pearl.

Hydra greets the Titans with a smile. "So, what tricks do you have in store for us tonight?"

"Let's show you!" Robin responds. "Titans! Go!"

At that, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy charge forward to fight Hydra.

Meanwhile, Raven hangs back and takes the gag out of the curator's mouth. "Are you alright? Do you need any healing?"

"I-I'm alright," the curator answers shakily. "Thank you so much."

Raven quickly unties the curator and sets him down off to the side. "Just keep out of sight and keep quiet," she orders, getting a nod from the man.

The curator then watches as Raven's eyes glow with black magic while she weaves hand signs together.

"Signa Magicae…Liga Magicae…Catena Magicae…," Raven begins chanting, while the curator looks on with rapt attention.

Meanwhile, the other Titans begin their assault on Hydra. Beast Boy leaps up and shifts into an armadillo, which falls into Starfire's hands. Starfire then throws the armadillo like a softball right at Hydra, who simply catches the animal in his hand.

"Hmm. Interesting approach," Hydra notes as he gazes down at the armadillo in his grasp.

Said armadillo quickly shifts into a skunk, which hits Hydra in the face with a stink blast.

"GAAH!" Hydra yelps as he drops the skunk and gags with watery eyes. "Curse our sense of smell, y'know!"

Beast Boy shifts back into a human and grins. "That's for the migraine last time!"

Hydra's vision clears just in time to see Starfire above him. The alien girl yells as she swings her fists down at the villain, who just catches her arms in his hands, though the ground cracks underneath him.

Hydra grunts as he holds Starfire back. "Is this the part where you ask us politely to surrender?"

"I am well past politeness, evil doer," Starfire declares.

"Yo, Snaky!" Cyborg calls out, getting Hydra's attention.

Hydra turns to see Robin and Cyborg charging right at him through the hallway. The two heroes then run up each side of the hallway and cross each other on the ceiling. As they do, Robin throws an explosive disk while Cyborg fires his sonic cannon.

Starfire and Beast Boy get clear just before the combined shockwave hits Hydra, who only has a moment to bring his hands together before the wave envelops him.

As the wave dissipates, the four Titans watch with bated breath as they see a smoldering figure lying on the ground. Their hopes are dashed, however, as the figure turns out to be a smoking log.

Robin growls and looks around frantically. "Titans! Find him! Be prepared for anything!" he orders.

…Right before a gloved hand grabs his ankle and drags him neck-deep into the floor.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."

"Robin!" Cyborg calls out in alarm as he starts going to help his friend.

"Crystal Style: Sapphire Prison."

Cyborg doesn't get far, however, before he's encased in a thick pillar of orange sapphire.

Thinking quickly, Beast Boy shifts into a green hawk and flies up to join Starfire in the air. Both heroes scan the ground for their opponent.

Hydra quickly shoots up out of the floor and appears just below them while weaving through hand signs. "Sound Wave Jutsu!"

Beast Boy and Starfire are both hit by the screeching wave, making them both flinch as the sound pierces their ears. The wave continues past them and impacts the ceiling, making it break apart and fall on top of the two heroes. Hydra lands on the ground and easily moves out of the way of the crashing heroes and rubble.

Back at the exhibit, Gizmo and See-More continue working on the display while Jinx, Mammoth, and Kyd Wykkyd watch Hydra's fight.

Gizmo smiles as he finishes typing away on his console. "Alright! That takes care of the pressure sensor. Good thing, too, otherwise the sleeping gas would have gone off."

"All that's left is the display," See-More says as he fiddles with his helmet, making a laser shoot out of his eye and start cutting through the glass.

Nearby, Hydra watches as Robin struggles to dig himself out of the hole he's in while Cyborg stays frozen in the sapphire pillar. The villain also notes Starfire and Beast Boy both pulling themselves out of the pile of rubble with twin groans of pain.

"Not too bad of a trap, Titans," Hydra says appraisingly, "though it might have worked out better if Raven was with you." He then looks around. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"You are mistaken, Hydra," Starfire says with a smile. "We are not the trap."

Robin smirks despite his circumstances. "We're the distraction."

Hydra's eyes widen in alarm as his shadow suddenly grows into a massive circle that begins bubbling black magic.

Nearby, Raven continues chanting, "Signa Magicae…Liga Magicae…Catena Magicae…Signa!"

Multiple black chains abruptly erupt from the shadowy mass and wrap around Hydra's body, securing his limbs and neck. A couple of chains even wrap around his hands to secure his fingers.

The other Hive students gasp in shock as they watch their comrade get trapped by Raven's magic.

"Hydra!" Jinx yells out in concern.

Raven floats towards her prisoner, her magic keeping the chains tight around the villains body. Meanwhile, Starfire shatters Cyborg's prison, while Beast Boy turns into an elephant and pulls Robin out of the hole like a carrot.

Despite his predicament, Hydra is smiling proudly. "Amazing! We can feel our chakra being suppressed! Well done, Raven! You've more than impressed us tonight!"

Raven does her best to ignore the warmth from Hydra's praise. "Pride is the last thing you should be feeling right now, Hydra. Either you and the Hive surrender, or I finish the rest of the incantation, drag you into a void, and keep you there until I decide to let you out…or you go mad, whichever comes first."

"One can argue we're already mad," Hydra quips. "We'll take the third option."

Raven narrows her eyes at her rival. "There is no third option."

Suddenly, four orange chains appear from behind Raven and wrap around her body, completely immobilizing her. Immediately, her own chakra is sealed, and the spell trapping Hydra dissipates, allowing him to shake off any stiffness in his body.

As the Hive students' shock morphs into smugness at the turn of the tide, the other Titans watch as their comrade is pulled towards the source of the chains.

The curator.

"Are you sure about that, Raven?" the curator asks with a smile before his form disperses in a poof of smoke…revealing another Hydra.

"Shapeshifting?!" Cyborg cries out frustratedly. "You gotta be kidding me!"

"If that is the real Hydra, then…," Starfire says as she turns to the first Hydra the team encountered.

Only for that Hydra to disperse in a puff of smoke.

"You had a clone ready for us the whole time," Robin says through gritted teeth.

"Nice job, Mr. Detective!" Mammoth calls out mockingly.

Hydra turns to Jinx and goes, "Jinx! We'll be a little busy keeping Raven secured! Think you can wrap things up with the cannon fodder?!"

"Cannon fodder?! Did he just call us cannon fodder?!" Beast Boy yells. He then looks confused. "Also, what's cannon fodder?"

Jinx looks back towards the display. "Gizmo! Get out here! See-More can handle the display!"

Gizmo groans in annoyance. "Alright, alright," he says before flying out of the exhibit.

"Gamma Maneuver!" Jinx calls out as she, Mammoth, and Gizmo charge at Raven's teammates.

"Take them down, Titans!" Robin commands. "We need to free Raven!"

With that, The Hive Trio begin their battle against the Titans.

Nearby, Hydra watches the battle commence, with Raven still in the clutches of his chains.

"Does it take a lot of energy to hold me?" Raven asks out of curiosity.

Hydra shrugs. "Not really, but it gives us a chance to finally have a talk with you," he says with a warm smile as he lowers Raven down to his level.

"And what exactly do you want to talk about?" Raven asks suspiciously.

"Do you like snakes?" Hydra asks simply.

Raven blinks in surprise. "Pardon?"

Hydra scratches his cheek nervously. "Well, we don't know that much about you as a person, and we want to get to know you better."

"Why do you want to get to know me so badly?" Raven asks. "What's so special about me? Is it because of my power?"

"We certainly respect you for your power, that's for sure," Hydra answers. "We also admire your will to fight. Also, whenever you smile and pout, it's so adorable, it makes our heart ache. We'd love to hear your laughter someday."

The ease at which Hydra speaks makes Raven's cheeks heat up.

"…I like snakes, too," Raven admits quietly. "I wanted to own one, but there was a chance that it would eat Beast Boy." Raven smirks. "Not too bad of an issue, in my opinion."

Hydra chuckles. "Not too bad at all. We'd love to introduce you to Midoriya, Aoda, and the others."

"Maybe that can happen when we're not in the middle of a battle…or when I'm not tied up in your chains in this way," Raven suggests, showing off the fact that Hydra's chains have wrapped themselves around her neck, in between her breasts, and over her leotard-clad crotch.

"We wanted to make sure you had proper body support," Hydra says, before looking concerned. "Is it too tight?"

"Not really…but…," Raven mutters as she squirms in her bindings. 'I hate to admit it, but my body's enjoying the way the chains are rubbing me…especially down there.'

Hydra smiles again. "Well, we're more than happy to meet you outside of battle so we can get to know you better."

Raven's eyes widen. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"We suppose so," Hydra answers easily.

Raven's face goes beet-red at Hydra's invitation. 'First a wizard trapped in a book becomes my lover, and now a villain's asking me out on a date?! Three weeks ago, I never would have imagined being with anyone, and now two gorgeous guys want me! Unbelievable!'

The sorceress looks away nervously. "So…the thing is–"

"Hey, guys!" See-More suddenly calls out.

The Hive Trio and the other Titans pause their battle – Jinx on top of Cyborg, Mammoth wrestling with Starfire and a green tiger, and Gizmo stuck in Robin's headlock – to see See-More standing next to Kyd Wykkyd while holding up a certain ring.

"I got the pearl!" See-More declares.

Hydra sighs. "Why do our meetings always end so soon?" he mutters as he sets Raven on her feet. He reaches out and cups Raven's cheek, who surprises herself by not flinching away. "Until next time, Raven."

Raven only has a moment to lean into the touch before the hand leaves her face and the chains leave her body. She watches as Hydra leaps towards the paused battle and throws smoke pellets on the ground, making smoke envelop his friends and enemies. When the smoke clears, Hydra and the Hive Trio have joined See-More and Kyd Wykkyd, with the latter making a portal with his cloak.

"Thanks for the exercise, Titans!" Hydra calls out before he and his comrades are swallowed up by the portal and disappear from sight.

Beast Boy starts pulling at his hair angrily. "Dude! Does this guy have enough powers?!"

Raven hugs herself. 'I love Malchior, and I'm sure he loves me back…so why am I looking forward to seeing Hydra again?'


Location: Headmaster's Office, Hive Academy

"Another magical artifact to add to my collection," Brother Blood says cheerfully as he palms the Black Pearl. He turns to his students with a proud smile. "Well done, my students."

"It was a piece of cake!" Mammoth gloats, getting a jab in the side from Jinx.

"We made sure to cover all of our bases, Headmaster," Jinx says.

"So I've seen from your reports, Jinx," Brother Blood states before looking towards Hydra. "Good call on having your duplicate take your place, Hydra."

"You mentioned before about the Titans finding and exploiting our weakness," Hydra points out. "We took your wisdom seriously."

"Good. Make sure you take all of my teachings to heart, my boy," Brother Blood says to Hydra, before looking at his other students. "That goes for all of you, too."

"Yes, Brother." X5

"Now then, head on back to your rooms and get some rest," Brother Blood commands. "Tomorrow is an off day, but that doesn't mean you should be slacking. You never know when an impromptu lesson will occur."

Following his command, the Hive students all exit his office…except for Hydra, who lingers in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Brother Blood curiously notes this. "Mr. Hydra? Is there something you need?"

The other students pause their exit to look at Hydra, who's smiling disarmingly.

"With your permission, Headmaster, we wish to spend our off day exploring the city," Hydra requests, surprising everyone else.

"For what purpose, young man?" Brother Blood asks.

"Partly curiosity. We've been performing missions throughout Jump City for some time now, yet we haven't had the chance to get the lay of the land, so to speak," Hydra answers. "Also, once The Hive conquers Jump City, we'd like to have any potential territories staked out beforehand."

"Hey! Who said you could have first dibs on all of the fancy mansions?!" Gizmo yells indignantly.

"You misunderstand. We prefer territory that's more remote and in-tune with nature," Hydra clarifies. "You see, our Snake Summons still technically live in an area on our home planet. We hope to one day find a place for our summons to move to on this planet."

Brother Blood rubs his chin in thought. "I suppose a little reconnaissance wouldn't hurt. You're sure you can sneak around undetected?"

Hydra nods firmly. "With our shapeshifting and stealth, we'll be practically invisible."

Brother Blood smiles. "In that case, your request is approved. Just make sure you have your communicator handy in case I call you."

Hydra bows. "Thank you, Headmaster."

With that, Hydra joins his friends in exiting the room, leaving Brother Blood alone to marvel at his latest prize.

"Hm…perhaps I should call myself Pirate King Blood from now on," the headmaster jests, before laughing.


Location: Titans Tower

The five teenage heroes look downtrodden as they trudge towards the living room.

"Dude, I can't believe we spent hours practicing that trap just to get our butts kicked again," Beast Boy complains.

"I can't believe we wasted the Sonic Boom on a damn log," Cyborg gripes.

"I cannot believe that some humans believe Planet Earth is shaped like a flat disk," Starfire comments.

The other Titans give her strange looks.

"…Is it not a strange way of thinking?" Starfire asks innocently.

Raven sighs. "This is my fault. I should have known that Hydra would use a clone as a decoy."

"It's not your fault, Raven," Robin contradicts. "We all keep forgetting that Hydra isn't a typical teenage villain. He's likely spent years of his life avoiding traps like ours. If we're to beat him once and for all, we have to really think outside of the box."

"Great. I can already feel my brain aching," Beast Boy groans.

"Don't worry, Beast Boy. There's no need to have you involved in any planning," Raven quips.

"Thanks, Rae!" Beast Boy says cheerfully, before Raven's words fully register in his mind. "Hey!"

The other Titans laugh at the green changeling's expense as they all enter the living room.

"What's your problem, old guy!? I proved to you I'm a Titan!"

Where an argument appears to be taking place between a teenage boy and Malchior.

"I was ready to believe you when you showed the communicator," Malchior says in annoyance, "but then you spouted off that nonsense about being from Atlantis. Everyone knows that nation sank into the waves thousands of years ago."

"I told you; Atlantis is interacting with the surface world again! Don't you surface dwellers have the Internet?!" questions the handsome yet frustrated teenage boy with long slicked-back black hair and black eyes wearing a blue and black turtleneck unitard with white zigzag lines around it.

Next to the teenager is a bipedal amphibian creature with beige scaly skin, big yellow eyes, webbed hands and feet, gills, and fins. The creature wears blue shorts, a blue shirt, and a blue backpack.

The Teen Titans all perk up upon recognizing the two newcomers.

"Aqualad!" Robin calls out as he and the others approach the arguing duo.

Aqualad smiles at seeing the group. "Hey guys! Long time no see."

"Dude! How've you been?" Beast Boy asks excitedly as he and Aqualad bump elbows.

"Oh, you know, fighting whalers and pirates," Aqualad says nonchalantly. "The usual undersea stuff."

"Yo, Tramm! What's shakin', buddy?" Cyborg greets the creature enthusiastically as he holds his hand up.

Tramm mutters something in Atlantean before giving Cyborg a high-five.

Malchior looks confused. "Wait. He's really a Titan?"

"He is," Raven confirms. "He's an honorary member who lives in the sunken city of Atlantis. Tramm, too."

Malchior looks stunned by the last part. "You're telling me that Atlantis really has risen from the depths? I thought they hated humans."

"They're not literally risen from the depths, but they are interacting more with the surface world," Robin clarifies, "especially since their latest king, Arthur Curry, is a Justice League superhero called Aquaman."

Malchior's eyes widen. "The king of Atlantis is a superhero?"

"And my mentor," Aqualad states pointedly.

Malchior quickly bows. "A thousand apologies, Aqualad. I've been away from the world for nearly a millennia, and I'm still figuring things out."

Internally, Malchior is panicking.

'Fantastic! Yet another thing to be weary of! If Raven is friends with the student of the king of Atlantis, then killing her could bring upon the wrath of the seven seas on me! I have to be even more careful from now on! Tiamat dammit!'

"Apology accepted," Aqualad responds, before leaning towards Robin. "This guy seems to be a bit old to be a Teen Titan. Is he a housekeeper or something?"

A tic mark forms on Malchior's forehead.

"He's Raven's magical tutor…and boyfriend," Robin explains with a hint of skepticism at the last part.

Aqualad watches as Raven takes Malchior's hand with a smile, which Malchior mimics.

"Good for them," Aqualad states, before looking at the whole group. "As nice as it is catching up with you guys, I'm afraid this isn't a social visit. Tramm and I are on a mission from King Arthur himself, and we could use a hand."

Starfire suddenly flies close to Aqualad with hearts in her eyes. "We are more than happy to assist you, Aqualad!"

"What she said," Beast Boy says excitedly. "What's the mission?"

Aqualad scooches a bit away from Starfire before explaining, "Recently, surface world archaeologists discovered the remains of The Rogue Wave, a pirate vessel once captained by Madame Bertha Langrock. There, they discovered an ancient Atlantean artifact called the Black Pearl."

The other Titans immediately deflate upon mention of the pearl.

"Oh. That," Beast Boy groans.

Aqualad looks surprised. "You know of it?"

"We just came back from the Maritime History Museum," Robin explains. "We tried to stop the Hive from stealing the Black Pearl, but we failed."

Malchior and Aqualad are both shocked by this information.

"You failed again?!" Malchior asks incredulously, whipping his head to face Raven. "That imprisonment spell I taught you should have made Hydra powerless!"

"I did the spell right," Raven defends, "but he used one of his clones as a decoy."

Malchior rubs his head in frustration. "Great. Now I have to teach you a magical detection spell on top of everything."

"I'm confused," Aqualad interjects. "I thought the Hive were small fry compared to other villains."

"Things have changed since you last visited. The Hive Academy has increased the number of supervillains in its ranks," Robin explains.

"Especially their newest guy, Hydra," Cyborg adds. "Man, that guy's a pain in the ass."

"He's got like thirty different superpowers and magic tricks, and that's only the ones we've seen! He can even summon giant snakes and magic nukes!" Beast Boy continues, shocking Aqualad further.

"So far, our attempts to bring Hydra to justice have all been failures," Starfire says sadly.

"He's been able to counter all of my magic spells one way or another," Raven adds, getting a sidelong glare from her boyfriend.

"And now, they have the Black Pearl? That's really disturbing," Aqualad says apprehensively. "Still, that's surprisingly not the Worst-Case Scenario."

The other Titans and Malchior look surprised by Aqualad's statement.

"Dude! A school full of villains has a gem that can control the actual sea! What could be worse than that?!" Beast Boy asks incredulously.

Aqualad gives his comrades a grave look. "Black Manta."

The Teen Titans are stricken by those two words, while Tramm shudders.

Malchior looks confused. "Who?"

"Hold up!" Cyborg demands loudly. "Black Manta?! The hi-tech pirate archenemy of Aquaman that shoots lasers out of his helmet?!"

"That would be the one," Aqualad confirms.

"He's after the pearl too," Robin deduces.

Aqualad nods. "Madame Langrock stole the Black Pearl from Atlantis centuries ago and used it to terrorize the seven seas. Her actions forced Atlantis to work with colonizing surface dwellers in order to defeat her, with massive casualties on all sides," he explains. "Black Manta is already a powerful nemesis to King Arthur thanks to his technology and weapons. If he gets his hands on the same hydrokinetic power of the king, he can bring untold destruction to Atlantis and the surface world."

"We won't let that happen!" Robin declares. "We'll work together to stop Manta and The Hive!"

Aqualad smiles gratefully. "Thanks, guys. We appreciate the help."

Cyborg quickly picks up Tramm and puts him on his shoulders. "C'mon, buddy. I got some sweet ideas for the T-Ship."

Tramm mutters excitedly in Atlantean as he rubs his webbed hands together. The two gearheads then rush out of the living room towards the workshop.

Malchior clears his throat. "Well, in that case, Raven and I are going to be busy with magical studies. Let us know when you need us."

With that, Malchior leads Raven out of the room, with the sorceress waving at her teammates before she's gone.

"Those two have an…interesting dynamic," Aqualad comments.

"No kidding," Beast Boy says in annoyance.

Robin simply narrows his eyes in suspicion.


Location: Headmaster's Office, Hive Academy

Timeskip: The Next Morning

Brother Blood casually sips his tea as he begins his day. Today is a day for his students to hang out and relax, meaning no lessons from him or other faculty members. This gives him time to catch up on other matters, such as planning the eventual takeover of Jump City.

Gizmo has made great progress in assembling the ionic amplifier, and thanks to Overload's "assistance", the majority of Mad Mod's robotic minions have been reprogrammed to serve the Hive, giving Brother Blood a boost to his already considerable forces.

The headmaster smiles as he thinks on his master plan. First, he would lure the mayor, the police commissioner, and all the other high-ranking Jump City officials to a "special meeting", during which, he would take over their minds and establish himself as ruler of the city. After that, the newly repurposed police force would join his robotic army in establishing order across the city, while the Black Pearl would be used to defend any naval opposition. His loyal students would be his Inquisitors, stamping out any insurrections – especially from the Titans. And, of course, should the resistance be that great or the Justice League gets involved, his star student Hydra would destroy anyone who would oppose the will of Brother Blood!

Beep Beep!

Speaking of said student…

Brother Blood answers the call on his computer monitor, allowing Hydra's face to appear on screen.

[Headmaster, we'll be starting our exploration of the city right now,] Hydra informs. [We'll be back by around 3:00 pm.]

"Excellent," Brother Blood says. "Try not to have too much fun out there!"

Hydra smiles. [Of course, Headmaster. Hydra out.]

The screen shuts off, leaving Brother Blood alone to sip his tea.

'That boy has been a godsend to my evil schemes! Having such a powerful agent in my ranks has granted me so many resources, and him humiliating the Titans has done wonders in demoralizing the populace,' Brother Blood thinks to himself. He then frowns. 'Still, the fact that I can't control his mind does have me concerned. It's possible that he could try and leave the academy, or worse – kill me and take over. I'll feel much more comfortable once the ionic amplifier is complete. That should give my powers that much-needed boost.'

Beep beep!

Brother Blood is startled out of his thoughts by the unexpected call. Looking confused, he answers the call, revealing one of his priests.

"Yes?" Brother Blood asks.

[Apologies, Brother Blood, but an outside party wishes to communicate with you,] the priest informs. [He's…well, he claims to be Black Manta.]

Brother Blood looks surprised. 'Black Manta? The legendary pirate and bane of Aquaman himself? What could he possibly…?'

He then notices the pearl-clad ring resting on his desk.

Brother Blood smirks. "Put him through."

After a moment, the screen shifts, replacing the image of the priest to that of a large black helmet with two big red lenses on top of a black bodysuit.

"Black Manta. It's an honor to make your acquaintance," Brother Blood says pleasantly.

[Save your pleasantries, Brother Blood. You know what I want,] Black Manta says bluntly.

Brother Blood continues smirking as he grabs the pearl and holds it up to the screen. "You mean this?"

[I've been searching for that gem for a long time, and I'm willing to pay the right price to get it,] Black Manta states.

Brother Blood chuckles. "My good sir, I can control the seas themselves. That's 70% of the surface of the world that can bend to my will. What could you possibly offer me?"

[Half of Atlantis.]

Brother Blood blinks in shock at Black Manta's words, before his smirk returns. "I'm listening."


Location: Raven's Room

Timeskip: Two hours later

"Transfer Magicae…Transfer Magicae…Transfer Magicae!" Raven chants as she once again uses the Ritual of Harkness to empower her lover.

Magic flows out of the magical artifact – a glittering white spiral horn, this time – and into Malchior's body, making his eyes light up with power. After a few moments, the ritual ends with Malchior powered up further and the once glittering white horn now black and dull.

The disguised dragon takes a deep breath before examining his body. "Hm…I thought a unicorn horn would have more power in it. Raven, how do I look?"

Raven smiles. "As handsome as ever, Malchior."

"…I meant my magical power," Malchior clarifies evenly.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Raven says awkwardly. She then closes her eyes and forms a handsign. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

The sorceress opens her eyes, which glow blue with the effect of the Magical Detection spell. She sees what appears to be a decent-sized multi-colored flame burning inside Malchior's body.

"It's gotten bigger," Raven reports.

Malchior sighs. "Not big enough for my liking."

"Don't worry. You'll get your full strength back soon enough," Raven reassures her lover.

Malchior smiles. "Thank you, my sweet Raven."

Raven suddenly looks apprehensive as she saunters over to her boyfriend. "So, I know that you want me to stay here all day and continue with my magic studies–"

"To destroy Hydra once and for all, as well as securing our peaceful future together," Malchior emphasizes.

"…Right," Raven agrees as she cuddles up to the disguised dragon, making him shudder slightly, "but I was hoping that I could go out into the city today–"

"Raven," Malchior interjects sternly while grabbing her shoulders, "we agreed that there would be no distractions until Hydra was dealt with, remember?"

"I'm not trying to distract myself," Raven defends. "There's a bookstore in the downtown area where I've regularly gone to that might have some information that we're missing. There are also some antique stores that occasionally have magical items for sale. We can use them for the ritual."

Malchior narrows his eyes at Raven, making the girl nervous, before releasing her.

"Two hours," Malchior states. "You have two hours maximum to explore, then you come right back here. Understood?"

Raven nods. "I understand."

"Good," Malchior says before walking away to look through an open tome.

Raven rubs her shoulder anxiously. "…You want me to get you anything besides artifacts?"

"…Anything with meat in it," Malchior answers, not even looking back to address her.

Raven nods quietly before leaving the room through a black portal.


Location: Downtown Jump City

Timeskip: 1 hour 45 minutes later

Raven sighs as she walks the streets of Jump City by herself. Her current appearance makes her unrecognizable thanks to her Disguise Spell, with her red forehead gem missing and her outfit being a royal-blue blouse, a black leather jacket, a navy-blue mini skirt, black boots, and black fingerless gloves. Of course, a few teenage guys turn their heads at the sight of her, but that's about as much attention as she gets, which she's thankful for.

Thus far, her search has been less successful than she hoped. Her favorite bookstore didn't have any direct information about how to weaken or subdue a magical being like Hydra. She did, however, find a tome that contained information on special clans of ninjas that existed in ancient Asia, such as the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu, that supposedly gained powers from supernatural sources. It caught Raven's attention due to how Hydra sometimes called his techniques "Jutsu".

As for magical artifacts, the only one she could find today was a wristwatch that was magically enchanted to be damage resistant. Not exactly a powerful artifact, but it was better than nothing. Maybe she could find some more another time, if – when! – Malchior is in a better mood.

The thought of her boyfriend makes her frown more. 'Malchior used to be such a joy to be around, but lately he's been in such a bad mood, and we don't hug or kiss as much anymore. He must be under so much stress, what with his magic being drained and him helping me take down Hydra. I'm sure once I defeat that villain and put him in a magical prison, Malchior and I can go back to being the lovers we were meant to be,' Raven reasons to herself. 'In the meantime, I could go for some tea right now.'

With that thought, Raven enters her favorite small tea shop. She smiles as she takes in the general atmosphere of the shop, that being the wide assortment of plants decorating the interior and the few other customers already inside. Only two people appear to be ahead of her in line.

Raven smiles. 'Good. I can have a quick cup of tea and grab Malchior his snack. Hopefully, I'll be able to cheer him up.'

The disguised sorceress gets in line just as the customer at the front concludes their order, allowing the teenage boy in front of her to step up to the counter.

"Hello there, handsome!" the female tea brewer greets enthusiastically. "What can I get you?"

"Well, I'm rather new to the area. How good is your matcha?" the teenage boy asks with a voice that rings some bells in Raven's mind.

Raven takes a moment to look over the guy in front of her as he listens to the brewer. She notes the black and orange hoodie, the baggy blue jeans, and the red tennis shoes. She also drinks in the spiky blonde hair, the sapphire-blue eyes, the sun-kissed skin, and the warm friendly smile. It's the face, however, that strikes something deep inside her mind.

'This guy looks so familiar, but how?' Raven wonders. 'The only thing that comes to mind is…'

So wrapped up in her thoughts, she doesn't notice that the guy in front of her has finished his order and has begun to find a table…until he accidentally bumps her shoulder.

Raven is startled out of her thoughts by the contact. She blinks and focuses her sight on the now apologetic looking blonde.

"Sorry about that, miss," the boy says with a sheepish smile as he scratches his head with one hand and raises the other one disarmingly.

"No, it's my fault," Raven says as she raises her own hand. "I wasn't–"

A bolt of black energy suddenly arcs between both raised hands, startling the two teenagers.

Raven looks at her own hand wide-eyed. "How…?"

The blond boy, meanwhile, looks up-and-down the goth beauty in front of him before a spark of recognition lights up his eyes. He puts his hands in his pockets and smirks.

"Looks like we get to have that date with you after all, Raven," the boy says quietly, making Raven quickly look up to his face…

…and see that his once human blue eyes have turned yellow and serpentine.

Raven's grey skin pales further. "H-Hydra," she mutters in shock.

With a blink, Hydra's eyes turn blue again as he addresses the brewer with a cheerful smile. "Pardon me, miss. I'll be paying for her order as well."

The once cheerful brewer looks crestfallen. "Fine."

With that, the disguised villain moves to an open table for two, leaving the disguised heroine standing frozen at the front counter.

"Well?" the now irritated brewer asks Raven, startling the girl out of her stupor.

Raven composes herself and says, "I-I'll have a blackberry ginseng…a-and three sausages to go."

"You got it, miss," the brewer says as she writes down the order.

Raven quickly goes to join Hydra, while the brewer mutters, "Lucky girl."

The sorceress quickly takes the seat opposite to the smiling Shinobian, all while glaring suspiciously at him.

"What are you doing here, Hydra?" Raven questions.

"Trying some of the tea they serve here in Jump City," Hydra answers nonchalantly. "We've found the tea they serve at the Hive to be…lacking."

"I meant what are you doing in the city itself," Raven clarifies. "You pulling another heist?"

"Not at the moment. Today's an off day for everyone," Hydra explains, before grumbling, "although, we half expect the Headmaster to call us any moment and ruin our time off."

Raven's glare lessens. "So, you're just exploring the city for the hell of it?"

Hydra nods. "That's right. We never got the chance to tour the place we've now called home beforehand. Now's the perfect opportunity to do so without having to focus on fighting or thievery. Also, we're curious to see what would change should the Headmaster's Grand Plan succeed."

The last part catches Raven's attention. "What exactly is this Grand Plan?" she asks, hoping for an explanation.

Hydra smirks. "Now, why would we reveal that? It wouldn't be a real challenge if you and your team knew the scheme, would it?"

Raven scowls in irritation. "You've been enough of a challenge already. You've beaten me and my team in every battle so far. The least you could do is give us some kind of hint."

At this time, the brewer arrives at the table with Hydra's matcha and Raven's blackberry ginseng, along with a to-go container. The civilian girl sets the items down on the table and gives a flirty wave to Hydra. This further irritates Raven for some reason, who glares at the brewer hard enough to make the girl quickly scurry away.

Hydra's smile grows. "Even your glares are beautiful, Raven."

Raven snaps out of her irritation and blushes. "S-Shut up," she mutters quietly before taking a sip of her tea, calming herself down.

Hydra chuckles before saying, "Well, the basic plan is for the Headmaster to gather an army big enough to take over the city, which, in our opinion, has a moderate success rate."

Raven quirks an eyebrow. "Moderate?"

"Well, the army itself seems strong enough, and the Headmaster does have some magical artifacts and devices that would boost his power a good amount," Hydra explains. "However, he's going to have difficulty maintaining order across the city, as well as defending it from enemies such as the United States government, the superhero community, and other supervillains. We believe that he wants us to be his secret weapon against such enemies, but that's assuming we'll stay with the Hive once the takeover is complete. Of course, he could try and force us into submission with his power, but that would be bad for the Headmaster's health and plans."

"You've got a problem with authority?" Raven guesses.

Hydra sips his own tea, enjoying the taste, before answering. "But of course. There's a reason we left our home world, after all."

Raven's interest is piqued again. "Where is your home world?" She then looks away shyly. "S-Sorry if that's too personal." 'Why am I getting flustered again?'

Hydra smiles calmly as he reaches forward and clasps Raven's hand. Raven looks startled by the gesture, but doesn't move to pull her hand away.

"There's no need to apologize, Raven," Hydra says. "We want to get to know you better. It's only fair that you should know us better."

Hydra's fingertips glide over Raven's hand, making the girl shiver at the light touches.

'I should be fighting him. I should be swatting his hand away and blasting him with my magic,' Raven thinks to herself, 'so why am I enjoying his touch?'

Hydra pulls his hand away, making Raven sigh longingly, before taking another sip of his tea.

"Our home world is called Shinobu," Hydra explains. "From what we've gathered, it's a planet located in a completely different galaxy than this one. We suppose you can call us an alien."

"An alien? That's certainly unexpected," Raven says in surprise. "Is that why you say we all the time?"

Hydra chuckles again. "No, that's just us, and before you ask, we're not non-binary. You see, there are literally two entities living inside this body."

Raven blinks a bit in confusion before she gasps in realization. "Of course! That's where your patron lives!"

Now Hydra blinks in confusion. "Patron?" he asks before humming in thought. "We suppose he can be called that."

"What do you call him?" Raven asks.

Hydra's smile is fond. "Brother."

"Aw. How sweet," Kurama says sarcastically.

'Oh, please. We both know you enjoy the title,' Hydra thinks knowingly, getting a grumble from his friend.

Even Raven smiles at the fondness in Hydra's voice and the warm feelings she senses.

She tucks some hair behind her ear, making Hydra blush. "So, Shinobu, huh? What was it like?"

Hydra's smile falls. "It was…much different than Earth, and not in a good way," he responds, making Raven's smile fall as well. "The nations of our world were constantly at war with one another. Hot wars, cold wars, world wars, and everything in between. Children were trained as early as four to use chakra as a weapon to fight these wars. Teenagers were tasked with everything from assassinations, espionage, open conflict…even prostitution. Chakra was used as a tool for nations to try and conquer one another, which meant those who used chakra were tools themselves."

Raven feels the somberness emanating from Hydra. She asks, "Were you one of those children?"

"In a manner," Hydra answers. "We were hated by the residents of our home village since the day of our birth due to our association with our…patron. For the first four years of our life, we were shunned and cursed at for just existing, with no one to call us family." Hydra smiles. "Then he came around. Orochimaru. A former soldier of the village who struck out on his own. He found us and saw our true potential. He took us on as his student. He understood us so well. He taught us everything he knew – not just Jutsu, but how to fight, how to get inside our enemy's minds, how to navigate unfamiliar worlds. He made us into the being who would one day become Hydra."

Raven smiles warmly at Hydra's description of his mentor. 'It's a lot like how I got together with Malchior. Maybe we have more in common than I thought.'

"He sounds like a wonderful person," Raven says before taking another sip of her tea.

Hydra's smile strains. "We hated him."

Raven nearly chokes on her tea. She takes a moment to compose herself before asking, "Come again?"

Hydra looks straight into Raven's eyes with a stony expression. "We hated Orochimaru with a passion. After all, it's hard to love someone after they spend years stabbing you, burning you, pumping you full of poison, and dissecting you on a regular basis. He made us into his ultimate weapon, at the cost of our childhood. That's why we killed him," Hydra states evenly before drinking his tea.

"Wait a minute! You said he was understanding of you," Raven recalls.

Hydra clenches his hands around his mug. "Oh, he understood us all right. He understood just how much we wanted to belong somewhere and have a family. That's how he was able to manipulate us into going along with his sick twisted experiments. It took us a decade of torture to learn a valuable lesson."

Raven feels uneasy. "Which is?"

Hydra smiles sadly. "Just becomes someone understands you doesn't mean they care for you."

Raven stares into her own mug with trepidation. 'Malchior's nothing like this Orochimaru guy! He loves me! He cares for me! I'm sure of it!'

"W-What happened after you…you know…," Raven asks nervously.

Hydra sighs. "Well, we wandered around Shinobu trying to find a new home, with no success. In fact, the more we interacted with the world at large, the more people wanted to use us for their own means. Whenever we defended ourselves, the number of enemies increased until we became Public Enemy Number One. Eventually, we said 'to hell with this' and left for a new planet altogether, which just so happened to be this one. We then encountered the Hive who allowed us into their ranks, and the rest is history."

"I bet you're having fun now that you're here on Earth," Raven guesses.

Hydra's happy smile returns. "Absolutely! We've made quite a few friends in the Hive, and met an amazing girl," he says with a wink at the end.

Raven finds herself smiling at the praise before giving Hydra a curious look. "And you're okay with being a villain?"

"Well, it's certainly a new experience, that's for sure," Hydra answers. "We didn't have heroes or villains like on Earth. Everyone considered each other to be villains in their points of view. As for heroes…only the ones who died protecting their comrades were given such titles. Everyone else lived in one massive grey area."

Raven takes another sip before asking, "Have you ever considered being a hero here on Earth?"

"Honestly, a part of us is curious about whether we would be a good fit for that role, but the rest of us is skeptical," Hydra replies. "The Headmaster taught us that the heroes of Earth were narcissistic fools who used their powers to appease the masses and become popular all while touting a façade of strong moral values. Then again, he probably has a biased point-of-view due to his status as a villain."

"It's not a façade, or it's not supposed to be at least," Raven explains. "The idea of being a hero is to use our powers to help the people around us and protect them from those people who use their powers to harm others and get what they want. The goal is that if enough superpowered people do enough good deeds on a regular basis, the whole world would be a better place. That's why groups like the Justice League and the Teen Titans were formed."

"Curious," Hydra comments. "Is it rewarding for the heroes?"

"I mean, the world slowly becomes friendlier and more peaceful, so I suppose so," Raven answers. "We don't really get paid if that's what you're wondering…though, now that I think about it, Robin mentioned something about a monthly commission we get from the city to pay for any expenses. I think the Justice League also gets yearly funding from the United Nations."

"Interesting. It sounds an awful lot like the Hidden Village system on Shinobu," Hydra muses. "The villages were mostly occupied by chakra wielders, and they worked for their countries' lords, who paid them to defend their lands."

"We're not mercenaries," Raven defends. "We don't do anything illegal, especially murder."

"Hm. We suppose we'd be rejected from being a hero due to our…actions," Hydra deduces.

"If you were really repentant, you'd have a chance, though I guess it would be a longshot," Raven says bluntly. "Honestly, I'm rather surprised I was allowed to join the Titans, all things considered."

"What do you mean?" Hydra asks, his interest peaked.

Raven looks away, unsure of whether she wants to continue this discussion with someone who should be her enemy. She then quietly gasps as Hydra places his hand on hers again, the slight sparks from the contact making her shiver once more.

"We understand that you may not trust us with everything yet," Hydra says calmly. "However, we hope you can trust that whatever you tell us will not be used to hurt you."

Raven takes a moment to read the emotions of the person in front of her. Sensing no deceit (and secretly enjoying the contact), Raven sighs and nods.

"…I was born in a place called Azarath," Raven begins. "It's not another planet like Shinobu, but more like another plane of existence."

'Another reality altogether? This place is full of surprises,' Hydra thinks.

"It all started with my mother, Arella," Raven continues. "She was rebellious and heavy on mysticism as a teenager, so of course she joined a cult. They were trying to summon Lucifer into the material world. Instead, they got Trigon the Terrible, an intergalactic demon who turned planets into firepits. He took my mother as his bride, and then…"

"And then made you," Hydra finishes.

Raven nods. "And then he abandoned her while she was pregnant. She was about to commit suicide before she was found by the monks of Azarath. They took her to their home, gave her sanctuary, and helped her bring me into the world. As I grew up, she and I became their students in the ways of magic. I became a prodigy due to my power over chakra, and eventually became the student of Azar herself." Raven smiles. "She was kind to me, and treated me like a granddaughter." Raven then frowns. "Unfortunately, a lot of the other monks weren't so compassionate. Because of my…father, they were suspicious of me becoming a monster like him. It was bearable, though, and if things were different, I could have stayed forever in Azarath."

"What happened?" Hydra asks.

Raven takes a moment to steel herself before saying, "There was a prophecy that said that Trigon would use me to travel to whatever world I was in and lay waste to everyone on that world. The monks became even more paranoid, fearing that Azarath would be destroyed if I was still around. After a talk with Azar, it was decided that I should leave for Earth. When I arrived on this world, I learned about the existence of superheroes, including the Justice League. I knew I wasn't strong enough to fend off Trigon on my own. I needed allies. So, I went to the League and told them everything about me, pleading for their help in stopping my father."

Hydra senses Raven's sadness grow. "They refused, didn't they?"

"Some of them wanted to help, Superman and The Flash especially. The others though…," Raven answers glumly. "Zatanna sensed my demonic heritage, and Doctor Fate said that my presence could bring chaos upon the world. Between that and Batman's paranoia, the League ended up seeing me as the bigger threat. When I overheard mentions of imprisoning me in a pocket dimension called the Phantom Zone, I escaped as soon as I could."

"Well, that's it, then. The Justice League is no ally of us," Kurama decides.

'Agreed,' Hydra thinks.

"I wandered the world for about a year or so until I found myself in Jump City and met the other Titans. I was hesitant to trust any heroes after what happened with the League, but I found myself becoming friends with them," Raven concludes, before snorting, "even Beast Boy."

Hydra smiles. "Well, we're happy that you were able to find a new home, and that circumstances allowed us to eventually enjoy some tea with you today."

Raven blushes once again. "Y-yeah," she says shyly. "It's strange. I haven't even told Malchior about my full past."

Hydra looks confused. "Malchior?"

Raven's eyes widen and she looks away awkwardly. "Right. So, I wanted to tell you back at the museum, but…before I met you, I met this wizard named Malchior. He's…my boyfriend."

Silence falls between the two teenagers as Raven allows Hydra to fully absorb her words. After a moment, she looks up, expecting to see either a crestfallen expression or a look of rage and betrayal.

She doesn't expect a grin of determination.

"Interesting," Hydra mutters before chuckling evilly.

Raven gulps. "You're not angry?"

"We're upset by Malchior's presence, but not undeterred," Hydra says as his fingers trace circles on Raven's hand. "On the contrary, we're more determined than ever to claim you."

Raven finds herself oddly pleased by the declaration. "You're going to try and steal me from my boyfriend?"

"We're the villain, remember?" Hydra points out. "We steal from others for a living, and you, Raven, are the greatest treasure we've ever laid eyes on."

Raven's long since given up on counting how many times the boy before her has made her face go red.

'How is this guy able to say the right things to make my heart soar?!' Raven thinks. 'Not even Malchior has said this many sweet things to me lately. I–'

The sorceress suddenly gasps and shoots up off her chair. "Oh, shit!"

Hydra is startled by the shout. "What is it?"

Raven looks at a nearby clock. "I was supposed to be back ten minutes ago! Shit!" she exclaims as she grabs her to-go box. "I have to go. S-Sorry."

Hydra groans. "Seriously? Our meetings always end so soon, y'know."

Despite her need to hurry, Raven takes time to smirk at the boy. "We'll meet again. Guaranteed."

Hydra perks up at Raven's words before smiling as he watches the girl exit the tea shop, his eyes trailing on her shapely skirt-clad rear.

"You hate to see her go, but you love watching her leave, eh kit?" Kurama remarks knowingly.

'No doubt,' Hydra thinks affirmatively.

The brewer arrives at the table and hands Hydra a slip of paper. "Your bill, sir."

The disguised villain nods in thanks before looking out the bill.

"So, we killing Malchior or what?" Kurama asks.

'If we do that before we've claimed Raven, we'll only make her resent us. We need to earn her,' Hydra states internally. 'Besides, he's just an obstacle. He hasn't done anything to enrage us.'

A sudden beeping gets Hydra's attention. He quickly puts the payment and a sizable tip in cash on the table before vanishing from the shop in a burst of speed.

On the rooftop of the shop, Hydra answers the communicator, revealing Brother Blood.

[Hydra, my boy! I do hope I haven't caught you at a bad time,] Brother Blood says cheerfully. [How's your little excursion going?]

Hydra smiles. "Even better than we hoped. We just got done with a rather enjoyable tea break."

[That's good to hear, because I need you to come back to campus as soon as possible,] Brother Blood states. [The Hive's about to make the deal of a lifetime, and I need my best operative to help me close it!]

The Shinobian snaps his fingers, and in a puff of smoke, the blond hoodie-wearing civilian is replaced by the infamous white-haired leather-clad villain.

"We're ready for your instructions, Brother," Hydra declares.


Location: Raven's Room

Raven takes a deep breath as she stands in front of the door to her room. She's holding the magical wristwatch and the container of sausages, the latter of which has been heated up using her magic.

'I haven't been gone for too long. I'm sure he won't be too upset,' Raven tries to assure herself as she enters her room.

Her hopes are dashed, however, as she sees Malchior standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed and his eyes glaring right at her.

'Guess I was wrong,' Raven laments. "Malchior, I can–"

"What were my exact words to you before you left, Raven?" Malchior interjects sharply. "'Two hours maximum' is what I said. Not two hours ten minutes. Not two hours five minutes. Two. Hours. Maximum."

"I'm sorry, Malchior. Everything took longer than expected," Raven explains. "I managed to find some information about some ninja clans in Japan that apparently use a type of magic similar to Hydra's. We can use that information to learn more about how to counter his techniques." She presents the items in her hands to her mentor. "I also got a magical wristwatch for the ritual, and some sausages for you to enjoy."

Malchior grabs the container of sausages and the wristwatch and sets them on top of a nearby table. "So, this is your appeasement? Some sausages and a watch?"

"The brewers at the tea shop said they were homemade," Raven says. "I know how much you loved the hot dogs from Fourth of July, so I'd thought I'd get you something more authentic."

Instead of expressing appreciation, Malchior scoffs. "Tea shop? Of course. That explains it."

"Excuse me?" Raven asks with a frown.

"Oh, nothing. I just find it interesting that I'm slaving away at my books while you're out enjoying yourself with some tea," Malchior says indignantly. "You know, I'm starting to think you're not taking this whole 'destroy Hydra' matter seriously."

Raven glares as her anger rises. "I am taking this seriously, Malchior! I've been learning every bit of magic so I can defeat Hydra! I've been the one fighting him every time! Do you know how much I've sacrificed to–"

POW!

Raven's already on the ground by the time she's registered the fact that she's been hit. The flames of anger inside her are quickly dampened by shock as she nurses her injured eye with her hand.

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me, girl," Malchior growls, "and don't you ever have the gall to talk to me about sacrifice!"

"…Y-You hit me," Raven mutters as tears start swelling in her eyes.

Malchior roughly grabs her and brings her to her feet before shouting, "I have sacrificed more than you can possibly imagine! I risked my life in that battle with Rorek, only to find myself trapped in a damn book! I spent almost a thousand years literally existing on paper, trying to free myself, and when I do, I become just a powerless human! Now, I am spending every waking moment trying to build the life I've always wanted, and the one being who can ruin all of my hard work is just waltzing around the city while you're wasting time DRINKING TEA!"

Between the pain on her face and the amount of sheer rage being projected towards her, Raven quickly folds in misery and shame. "I'm sorry, Malchior! I'm so sorry!" she cries out while sobbing, as her cloak flickers from white to indigo blue then back to white.

Noticing the shifting clothes, Malchior stops glaring.

'Shit!' he panics internally before taking a deep breath and embracing the girl. "You think I want to do this? You think I want to hurt you like this?" he asks with faux despair in his voice. "Oh, my sweet Raven, if only you would just listen to me."

"I do! I do listen!" Raven pleads. "Please! Just tell me what to do to make this right!"

The only sounds in the room for the next few moments are Raven's sobs and whimpers.

"…The Black Pearl," Malchior finally answers.

Raven looks up at Malchior in confusion, showing her bruised and now swelling eye. "W-What?"

"The Black Pearl can control the seas and tides. That requires a substantial amount of magical energy," Malchior explains. "Bring me the pearl for the ritual, and all will be forgiven."

Raven blinks in surprise. 'Does he want me to…steal the pearl?' "B-But Malchior…the other Titans and I promised Aqualad that we'd help him get the pearl back to Atlantis."

"Or you can make sure that the pearl is destroyed so that it won't fall into the wrong hands all while helping your lover return to his full strength," Malchior argues. "I believe people this day and age call it a 'win win.'"

"B-But…," Raven trails off, her mind reeling with the idea that Malchior wants her to lie to her friends.

Seeing her conflicted face, Malchior grips Raven's chin and tilts it up so he can look directly into her eyes.

"You have a choice to make, my sweet Raven; your conscience or my forgiveness," Malchior states evenly.

The silence is profound as Raven registers the full weight of Malchior's ultimatum.


Location: Living Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Hours later

EEERP! EEERP! EEERP!

The sun is beginning its descent as alarms blare through the tower. Robin is looking intensely at the computer in the living room as the other Titans, including Aqualad and Tramm, rush into the room.

"What's the trouble, Robin?" Starfire asks.

"Hydra's on the move. He's been located at the Timon Sea Caves twenty-five miles south of the city," Robin reports as the map on the computer screen shows a blinking red dot.

"You can track him now?" Cyborg asks in surprise.

Robin nods with a proud smile. "I remembered how Hydra mentioned that he and Raven both use chakra for their magic. I've reconfigured an orbiting satellite – don't ask me who's – to track chakra signatures across the city using some data I've gathered on Raven's magic. I've also developed this," Robin states, presenting a remote-control device at the end.

Beast Boy looks at the device with confused recognition. "That looks a bit like Control Freak's remote."

"It's based off his design, though instead of bringing inanimate objects to life, it'll disrupt a person's chakra," Robin explains. "All I need is one solid hit, and boom! Hydra's down."

Raven curiously regards the chakra disruptor. "Did you just make this?"

Robin rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, I've been working on it for a while now. I just haven't been able to use it until tonight. Sorry I haven't brought it out beforehand."

"You have it ready now. That's all that matters," Aqualad says. "I'm guessing wherever Hydra is right now, he'll have the Black Pearl with him."

Robin nods with determination. "Exactly! Tonight's the night we bring Hydra to justice once and for all! TITANS! GO!"

With that, all of the Titans rush out of the living room…except for Raven, who stays put while she's lost in thought.

Robin, who was at the back of the group, spots Raven not moving and stops his exit. "Raven! Let's go!"

Raven stops her train of thought. "I-I'm coming," she stutters out as she too starts exiting the living room.

Just before she passes by Robin, the Boy Wonder spots her bruised eye and halts her. "What happened to your eye?" he asks with concern.

Raven pulls up her hood to conceal her face. "Training accident," she says before quickly floating past Robin.

The young detective narrows his eyes in suspicion before following after her.


Location: Timon Sea Caves, South of Jump City

Location: Thirty minutes later

The Teen Titans sneak their way through the caverns, with Robin leading the group while holding up his communicator like a compass.

"We're getting close. Stay quiet, everyone," Robin orders with a hushed voice.

Eventually, the heroes arrive at the entrance to the colossal expanse of coastal caverns, with a massive pool of salt water that connects underwater to the ocean. The Titans quickly hide behind a cluster of stalagmites as they see three individuals standing in the room.

The one they spot immediately is Hydra, who's walking atop the surface of the water nearby while admiring the craggy stalactite-covered ceiling. A distance away is Gizmo, who's sitting down while tinkering with some gadgets of his. They then focus on the third individual, an older gentlemen in priestly robes who's currently picking his nails boredly while waiting for something.

"Who's the old guy with the cult outfit?" Cyborg asks quietly.

"Doesn't look like he's a typical henchman," Robin notes. "I can't confirm anything, but we might be looking at The Hive Academy's headmaster."

"When will we do the rushing in?" Starfire asks.

"Sit tight, Titans," Robin orders. "We need to know what's going on first."

With that, the Titans hunker down and watch as Brother Blood regards Hydra with a curious expression.

"You best be careful when showing that particular power in public, my student," Brother Blood comments with a smirk. "Certain groups may mistake you for a divine being."

Hydra chuckles. "Oh, yes. Heaven forbid people accidentally worship us," he quips, getting some laughter from the headmaster.

Brother Blood then rubs his chin in thought. "You know, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, Hydra. With all of your incredible power, I imagine you could have been worshipped like a god back on Shinobu. So, why did you leave it all behind for a fresh start on Earth?"

Hydra sighs. "Gods only get worshipped for so long. Sooner or later, the ones praising your name become the ones cursing your existence."

Some bubbling from the water's surface gets everyone's attention.

"Places, my students!" Brother Blood calls out enthusiastically.

Hydra appears to teleport over to Brother Blood's side, while Gizmo puts away his gadgets and hovers over to the other side.

After a few moments, a large black manta-shaped submarine slowly emerges out of the water and moves to the edge of the pool. A ramp opens at the front of the craft, allowing several soldiers wearing black armor with clear vizors to exit the submarine, two of them carrying a large chest and the others carrying hi-tech blasters. Behind them, a teenage boy with dark skin and short blonde hair wearing black armor walks down the ramp with authority before stopping in front of the soldiers.

Then, he walks out.

Aqualad narrows his eyes in anger. "Manta."

The infamous pirate – Black Manta – joins the armored blond teenager, his glowing red eyes staring right at the Hive villains.

Brother Blood steps forward and says, "Black Manta, I – Brother Blood – hereby welcome you to Jump City."

Robin mutters, "At least we've got a name now."

"I see you came in person to handle this deal, Blood," Black Manta notes.

"But of course. This is a monumental moment, after all," Brother Blood says with a smile. "I even brought two of my students." He gestures to Gizmo. "This is Gizmo, the young technological genius responsible for assembling a good portion of my army."

Gizmo whistles in appreciation of the submarine. "Cool sub!"

Black Manta points at the tiny teen. "No touching."

Gizmo groans in disappointment.

Brother Blood gestures to Hydra and proudly says, "And this is my top pupil, Hydra. I'm sure you've heard of his exploits on the news."

Hydra tips his hat with a smile. "It's a pleasure."

Black Manta appears to give the leather-clad teen a once-over. "Hmm. So, you're the one who tore a hole in the sky. I wonder how much damage you can do to a city like Poseidonis."

Aqualad grits his teeth at Manta's threat to his home.

Brother Blood takes note of the young man next to Manta. "And who's this young gentleman?"

Black Manta gestures to the teen. "My son and heir, Tempest."

"Greetings," Tempest says.

"Well, if you're anything like you're father, you would make a wonderful student at the Hive," Brother Blood offers.

"The offer is appreciated, Brother Blood, but I have all of the education I need from my father," Tempest replies politely.

"Disappointing, yet respectful," Brother Blood says. "Well then, to business. We'll be handing the Black Pearl over to you, and the Hive will assist you in your attack on Poseidonis."

"With our combined forces, the capital of Atlantis will be mine," Black Manta declares, "and with the pearl at my command, I will have the power necessary to take Aquaman's head."

"And in exchange for our services, the Hive will take half of Atlantis's treasures for ourselves," Brother Blood says with an evil chuckle. He turns to both his students. "Just imagine it, boys! All of that Atlantean technology, all of those gold-stuffed lost wrecks, and we get first dibs!"

"Sweet!" Gizmo cries out with a grin while rubbing his hands greedily.

Hydra gives Black Manta a friendly smile. "That's rather generous of our new partner."

"Killing Aquaman and providing a kingdom for my family will be my reward," Black Manta states. "Everything else will be secondary."

Nearby, Aqualad is restraining himself from just jumping in. "That fiend," he murmurs.

"Easy, Aqualad," Robin whispers.

Brother Blood turns back to Manta. "First thing's first, though; the down payment, please."

Black Manta waves at his group of soldiers. The two chest-carriers walk ahead of their boss. The soldiers set down the chest and open it, revealing an assortment of golden artifacts and jewels.

"The spoils of our most recent raid on an Atlantean transport," Black Manta states. "Try not to spend it all at once."

Brother Blood turns to the shorter Hive student. "Gizmo, if you please."

Gizmo flies over to the chest, pulls out a scanner, and scans the treasure. After a moment, a green light flashes on the screen, getting a smile from the genius.

"It's legit!" Gizmo calls out.

Brother Blood nods to Gizmo, who brings the chest over to the Headmaster, before turning to his other student. "Hydra."

Hydra takes off his glove, bites his thumb, and smears blood on his storage seal. "Seal Release."

In a puff of smoke, the jewel-clad ring appears in Hydra's hand.

Black Manta turns to his son. "Tempest."

"Yes, father," Tempest replies with a nod before approaching the Shinobian.

The Teen Titans watch as Tempest holds Hydra's hand with his own, while the young pirate's other hand hovers over the pearl. Tempest then closes his eyes and lets light-blue magical energy travel from his hand and into the gem.

Aqualad goes wide-eyed in recognition and nearly exclaims. Fortunately, Raven spots it just in time and uses her black magic to cover his mouth.

Unfortunately, she's not completely unnoticed, as Hydra discreetly glances over at the Titans' hiding spot before smirking.

Raven releases her magic and glares in annoyance at Aqualad. "We're trying to be unnoticed here."

"That was Atlantean magic," Aqualad reveals in a whisper, surprising the other Titans. "That boy is an Atlantean!"

After a moment, Tempest ceases his magic. "It's real, father," he reports as he takes the pearl.

Hydra notices that Tempest is still holding his hand. "Is there an issue?"

Tempest looks startled slightly. "No. It's just…," Tempest turns away. "…you have a very warm hand."

Hydra blinks in surprise before friendly smiling. "Why, thank you."

Raven's good eye twitches in annoyance.

"Tempest! The pearl," Black Manta calls out, getting his son's attention.

Hearing the command, Tempest quickly releases Hydra's hand and nods to him before walking over to join his father.

Tempest presents the ring and goes, "For you, the new ruler of Atlantis."

"At last. Now my revenge can truly begin," Black Manta declares as he reaches for the artifact.

Only for a birdarang to knock the jewel-clad ring out of Tempest's fingers.

All of the villains are on full alert as they turn and watch the Teen Titans jump out of their hiding spot.

"Maybe you should quit while you're ahead," Robin offers as he pulls out a staff.

"The Titans?!" Brother Blood cries out. "How?! I was so careful!"

"Clearly, not careful enough," Black Manta states as he regards Aqualad. "So, the coward Aquaman sends his lapdog to face me. Not unexpected of him, but insulting nonetheless."

"In the name of King Orin of Atlantis, I will bring you to justice!" Aqualad proclaims.

"I'll be happy to present your head to your master, right before I take off his," Black Manta says eerily as his soldiers point their weapons at the heroes.

"That's not going to happen," Aqualad refutes with narrowed eyes.

Cyborg taps a button on his arm. "Tramm! Now!"

All of a sudden, the T-Ship bursts out of the pool behind the Manta Sub, with Tramm at the helm. Tramm cries out something in Atlantean before pushing some buttons, making some gun turrets pop out from underneath the ship and fire on the sub.

"Bring that ship down, and bring me my pearl!" Black Manta commands before firing his optic lasers at the heroes, who barely avoid the blasts.

"TEEN TITANS, GO!" Robin cries out as he and his comrades rush into battle.

Starfire is the first to reach her opponent, Black Manta, who runs to avoid her starbolts. The pirate pops twin blasters out of his shoulders and fires upon Starfire. The alien girl flies around to avoid the blasts, only to get his by Manta's optic lasers, sending her crashing down to the ground.

Black Manta glances to his right and sees Aqualad standing on a pillar of water. The aquatic hero summons a sizable wave from the pool and unleashes it on Manta. The pirate's salvation comes from Tempest, who jumps in front of his father, pulls out two handles from a pack on his back, and swings them to his sides, making the wave crash harmlessly around them.

Tempest glares at the stunned Aqualad before looking at Black Manta. "Allow me, father."

Black Manta nods before turning to face the now-recovered Starfire.

Aqualad lets loose a battle-cry before rushing in on his water pillar. In response, Tempest gathers the surrounding water with his handles and launches it as a water serpent. Aqualad jumps off his pillar, allowing it to crash into the serpent, before sliding down the serpent and throwing a kick at Tempest. Tempest blocks the attack with his water-bearers, but not the second kick that sends him stumbling back.

Both fighters recover and size each other up.

"You're an Atlantean! How could you betray your own people?!" Aqualad interrogates.

"You think I would have any loyalty to Atlantis after what they did to my grandfather?" Tempest fires back. "To my father? To my mother?!"

Aqualad looks confused at the last part. Aquaman told him much about his history with Black Manta and his father, the infamous pirate Jesse Hyde. However, "Your mother? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play the fool, Aqualad," Tempest demands. "Your king sent assassins to murder my mother for revenge!"

Aqualad is shocked by the accusation. "You're lying! King Orin would never do such a thing!"

"Believe whatever fantasies you want, but know this; Aquaman will never destroy my bloodline!" Tempest declares as his water-bearers form maces out of water. "I am a pirate, like my father before me!"

Aqualad narrows his eyes. "So be it," he says before rushing to face his adversary.

Meanwhile, Tramm continues firing on the Manta Sub, though it's not long before he's fired upon by Manta soldiers. Fortunately, Beast Boy comes to his rescue by turning into a rhino and charging through them, knocking the soldiers down like bowling pins. Beast Boy shifts back into a human, who smiles at the groaning soldiers before giving Tramm a thumbs-up. His smile drops, however, as Tramm frantically points behind him. Beast Boy quickly turns around–

Paff!

–only to get hit in the face with a red ball that explodes into powder.

"GAAH!" Beast Boy cries out as his red eyes tear up and he coughs violently. "Chili powder!"

"That's for the stink bomb last time!" Hydra calls out before knocking the green hero away with a kick.

Tramm rambles angrily seeing this and fires upon Hydra, who disappears right before the blasts hit him. Tramm looks around frantically for his target, unaware that the villain is standing on the ceiling weaving handsigns.

"Earth Style: Rock Collapse."

Rumbling above Tramm gets his attention, though he only has a moment to look up before a massive rockslide crashes into the T-Ship from above, sending the vessel plummeting into the water below.

Cyborg sees this a distance away and yells, "Hey! That's my ship, asshole!"

"Focus, Cyborg! We need to get that pearl!" Robin calls out as he and Cyborg rush to grab the Black Pearl off the ground in front of them.

A blast of red magic suddenly hits Cyborg and knocks him away. Robin turns to the source and sees Brother Blood standing nearby with red magic crackling in his hands.

"One way or another, the Black Pearl's power is mine to use," Brother Blood declares.

"This city will never be yours, Blood," Robin proclaims as he points his staff at the headmaster.

Brother Blood smirks. "Let's agree to disagree," he says as he throws off his robes, revealing a red and black outfit that's more freeing for combat.

Robin charges at Brother Blood and swings his staff at the villain, who easily avoids each strike before catching the staff in his hand.

Brother Blood smiles at the surprised Robin. "You didn't think I was all magic, did you?" he asks before striking Robin's chest and knocking him away. "If one is to be a proper teacher for future villains, one must be experienced in many fields."

Robin gets on his feet and wipes off his chest. "Let's see just how experienced you are," he challenges before leaping at the headmaster.

Meanwhile, Cyborg gets back on his feet before running for the pearl, only for someone to fly by and snatch it off the ground.

"Haha! Finders keepers!" Gizmo taunts as he flies up with the pearl in his hand.

Cyborg growls and fires his sonic cannon at the pint-sized genius, who flies around blowing raspberries while avoiding the attack. Cyborg's robotic eye flickers as a missile pops out of his arm and fires at Gizmo. Gizmo tries flying around to lose the missile, but it's locked onto his form. The villain then tries firing at the missile, but it suddenly splits into many miniature missiles that quickly swarm the surprised genius before exploding, sending Gizmo crashing down and making him lose the pearl. Seeing an opportunity, Cyborg rushes for the pearl, only to get zapped by a gadget in Gizmo's hands, making the robotic hero crumple to his knees in agony as electricity arcs across his body.

A distance away, Tempest is swinging his maces at Aqualad, who narrowly avoids the weapons. Tempest then goes for an overhead strike, but Aqualad surprises the young pirate by catching the water in his hands, his eyes glowing with blue magic. Tempest grits his teeth as he tries overpowering his opponent, but Aqualad's water manipulation is too strong.

"Your hydrokinesis isn't too shabby, pirate, but you're a long way away from my league," Aqualad says with a smug smile.

"That's where you're wrong," Tempest grunts out.

Electricity suddenly shoots out of Tempest's arms, travels out of his water-bearers, and surges through Aqualad, making the hero cry out in pain. With his weapons now free, Tempest wastes no time in striking the stunned hero with his water maces, getting several good strikes at Aqualad's face before hitting him with a twin uppercut, sending the hero flying back and crashing to the ground.

Aqualad groans as he needs a few moments to get on his seat and nurse his aching head. He then gasps when he sees Tempest standing over him with a spear of water and a grim expression.

"For my family," Tempest declares right before he raises his spear.

Only for a burst of black magic to send him tumbling away.

Tempest quickly gets back on his feet and glares at Raven, who stands protectively in front of a now-standing Aqualad.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cries out as a colossal raven made of black magic flies out of her shadow straight towards Tempest, who braces himself for the attack.

Suddenly, Hydra appears in front of Tempest with his hand out, his eyes purple and ringed.

"Almighty Push."

The raven crashes into what appears to be an invisible wall right in front of Hydra. Tempest watches in amazement as waves of black magic pass harmlessly around him and Hydra. When the waves end, the ground around them is scorched black.

Tempest regards the Shinobian with a smile. "A thousand thanks, my friend."

"Not a problem," Hydra replies, his gaze firmly on Raven. "Now, go get your father's prize."

Tempest nods and rushes for the pearl.

Raven turns to Aqualad. "Go! I've got this!"

Aqualad wastes no time in following after Tempest, leaving the two chakra-wielders facing off with each other.

Hydra smirks. "You know that attack of yours would have incinerated him. You had that prepared for us, didn't you?"

"Let's just say it wouldn't have been healthy for you to absorb it," Raven replies.

Hydra smiles fondly. "Every time we meet, you only impress us more."

Raven rolls her eyes. "It's annoying how much fun you're having, you know that?"

Hydra chuckles as he adjusts his hat. "Come now, Raven. How long are you going to pretend you don't enjoy our dances?"

Despite the surroundings, Raven finds herself smiling as green fire lights up in her hands. Hydra responds with ethereal blue flames in his hands. Both chakra wielders launch their fire at each other, with a green raven colliding with a blue fox.

Meanwhile, Gizmo grins evilly as he approaches Cyborg, who's on his knees convulsing from the pain throughout his body.

"You really thought I wouldn't have something to crash your system, clug-head?" Gizmo mocks as he holds his device up.

"Urgh! Wish I'd…thought of that," Cyborg grunts out. He then smirks as his chest opens and a small orb lands in his hand. "Oh, wait…I did."

Cyborg presses a button on the orb and quickly tosses it towards Gizmo. Gizmo watches in shock as the orb releases a pulse that causes all of Gizmo's tech to spark up and fry.

Gizmo frantically shakes and bangs his device as Cyborg gets back on his feet and stretches himself out. With the realization that all of his tech is now useless, Gizmo slowly turns and see Cyborg backing up two paces before taking two steps to his left.

"Hey! Hang on!" Gizmo pleads. "Let's talk about–"

POW!

"HYAAAAAH!" Gizmo screams as he's punted across the cavern.

"There's the kick from Stone…" Cyborg says excitedly as Gizmo flies in between two massive stalagmites, "AND IT'S GOOD!"

"Uuuuugh…"

Cyborg turns around and see Beast Boy shambling around with watery eyes, a runny nose, and a hand on his aching stomach. The robotic hero quickly pulls out a squirt bottle, sprays Beast Boy's face, and then wipes it down with a handkerchief.

Now recovered, Beast Boy shakes his head and goes, "Dude, if we ever catch Hydra, I'm giving him the mother of all wedgies!"

Cyborg pats Beast Boy on the back. "Good luck with that, buddy."

Nearby, Robin is continuing his fist fight with Brother Blood, who's matching him move-for-move.

"The Batman trained you well, Robin," Brother Blood compliments as strikes at Robin, who blocks the hits. "You'd go far as a member of the Hive."

"You really think I'd become a villain, Blood?" Robin questions as he swings his leg for a kick that's quickly blocked.

"Why not? You did before under Slade, didn't you?" Brother Blood points out with a smirk.

Robin growls at this, throwing some punches in retaliation. Brother Blood amusedly avoids the punches before grabbing Robin's arm, striking the boy's stomach to knock the wind out of him, and wrapping his arms around the hero's body from behind.

"Don't lie to me, Boy Wonder. Deep down, you enjoyed shrugging off the shackles of the do-gooder and reveled in the life of a villain. Let me show you your true potential, Robin," Brother Blood offers as his eyes start glowing red.

Robin grunts as his mind gets assaulted by Brother Blood's brainwashing. Luckily, Batman's lessons on mental fortitude help him keep control long enough to pull a taser stick out of his utility belt.

"Anyone tell you…you talk too much," Robin says right before hitting Brother Blood in the neck with the taser, making Blood convulse and breaking the holds on Robin's body and mind.

Seizing the moment, Robin kicks Brother Blood away while throwing a flashbang down. Blinded and deafened, Brother Blood is unprepared for the twin chops to his throat, making him choke up. The headmaster's vision clears just in time to see the cluster of explosives under his feet.

"…Shit."

KABOOM!

Robin watches as Brother Blood is blown off his feet and sent crashing into a nearby wall.

Robin smirks at the groaning headmaster. "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach," he quips before running to help his friends, leaving a growling Brother Blood behind.

Meanwhile, Tempest has just reached the pearl when he uses his water bearers to grab the gem. Tempest smiles as he manipulates the water tendrils to bring the pearl to him, only to look startled as the water tendrils get pulled away from him. He sees Aqualad controlling the tendrils and tries using his own hydrokinesis to pull the water his way. This starts a tug-of-war between the two for the pearl.

The tug-of-war quickly ends thanks to some optic blasts courtesy of Black Manta. Tempest glances over to his father, and both pirates nod at each other.

Unfortunately, this leaves Tempest unprepared for the disc that impacts his body and quickly covers him in a thick sheet of ice.

"Jackson!" Black Manta cries out in alarm as he goes to help his son, only to be knocked away by Starfire.

"Our fight has not concluded, villain!" Starfire declares as her hands and eyes glow bright green.

Black Manta growls in his helmet as a sword pops out of each of his arms. Letting out a battle cry, Manta charges at Starfire and starts swinging his swords at the alien girl.

Back with Tempest, the young pirate can only look around in his frozen state, while Robin takes a moment to admire his own handiwork. The Boy Wonder then turns his attention to Raven and Hydra, both of whom are locked in a magical duel with one another. Seeing the Shinobian occupied, Robin carefully pulls out the chakra disruptor.

Meanwhile, Hydra continues grinning as he and Raven continue their dance, with the latter blocking a burst of blue fire with a wall of black magic. As smoke billows from the fire attack, Raven suddenly hears footsteps rapidly approaching and goes on alert. Feeling something bursting through the smoke on her right, Raven fires a black bolt at her right side…only to hit a kunai tied to a small parachute.

"Crap!" Raven cries out as orange chains suddenly appear from her left and wrap around her body. The girl can only struggle as Hydra once again brings the two of them face-to-face.

"Gotcha," Hydra says cheekily while watching the girl flail about in his chains. 'This is oddly appealing. We should do this more–'

All of Hydra's thoughts stop, however, as he spots a particular injury on Raven's face, one he's sure wasn't inflicted during this fight. Raven, meanwhile, stops flailing and watches with trepidation as the air around the now glaring Hydra goes colder.

"…Who did that?" Hydra demands as he points at Raven's face, making the girl freeze up.

A bolt of energy suddenly hits Hydra from behind, making him cry out in pain and crumple to his knees, while the chains around Raven dissipate.

Robin grins as the chakra disruptor in his hand powers down. "Bullseye!"

"Sweet! You got him!" Cyborg cries out as he and Beast Boy run towards the Boy Wonder and sorceress.

Brother Blood, having recovered from Robin's tricks, sees his star pupil on the ground and prepares himself to assist the boy.

Robin smiles smugly as Hydra shakingly gets back on his feet. "Don't bother with your magic, Hydra. That disruptor will keep you out of commission long after we arrest you."

Robin's smile falls, however, when he hears laughter coming from the villain.

"Kukukukuku…hahahahaha…AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hydra erupts with laughter, making the four surrounding heroes shudder. "The Hyuuga of Shinobu tried disrupting our chakra once. They failed." He then glares at Robin with blood-red fox eyes. "Let us show you why."

Hydra lets out a mighty inhuman roar as a shockwave bursts from his body, one that makes the four heroes around him stumble away from him and makes the surrounding cave walls crack. The shockwave also cracks the ice around Tempest, who uses his own strength to break free from his prison. The roar gets the attention of Starfire and Black Manta – who pause their duel – along with the recovering Aqualad and Gizmo.

Everyone in the cave, especially Brother Blood and Raven, watches with rapt attention as thick crimson chakra appears to ooze out of Hydra's body before enveloping his form, creating a cloak of bubbling red energy with three tails popping out of his back. Above him, a vision of a snarling fox head appears to glare at everyone around him.

Hydra turns to Raven with a mad grin, his fangs elongated, his whiskers thicker, and what appears to be black eyeliner around his piercing red eyes. Despite the menacing aura around Hydra, Raven can't help but find the wild-looking guy…incredibly hot.

"Raven, meet our…patron, Kurama," Hydra introduces as the fox apparition roars above him.

The roar forces a terrified Beast Boy to shift into a shih tzu that hides behind the leg of Cyborg, who's frozen in fear. Robin is forced to summon all of his Bat-Training to keep himself on his feet from the pressure. A distance away, Starfire feels the boundless confidence that fuels her super strength drain away. Next to her, Black Manta – who has bravely faced off against gods and monsters of the sea – feels a massive chill crawl up his spine. Back with the stalagmites, Gizmo fares no better as his teeth chatter and his body shakes in fear. Aqualad shudders as the descriptions of Hydra from his comrades appear to have not done him justice. Tempest feels as if he's been frozen once again in ice. Brother Blood, meanwhile, stretches his collar nervously as he suddenly finds himself suffocated by the power displayed by his student.

The only one fairing decently in the face of this demonic power is Raven. While fear does course through every part of her body and mind, a primal and dark portion of her feels like it's singing at the strength displayed.

Cyborg quickly turns to Robin and goes, "Hit him again!"

Robin snaps out of his own fearful state and starts fiddling with the device. "It's out of juice right now! I just need a few moments to–GAAH!"

The cry from Robin is due to a red-cloaked hand suddenly grabbing his own, coming from Hydra who's suddenly right in front of him. Robin only has a moment to register the burning sensation from the grip before Hydra's fist crushes both Robin's hand and the device, making the Boy Wonder scream in pain. The scream lasts only for a couple of seconds before he's backhanded into the air. Before Robin can fly too far, Hydra grabs his ankle and tosses him into a cave wall back-first, making the rock crack slightly from the impact.

'Thank God for the extra padding!' Robin thinks to himself before falling off the wall with a groan.

"ROBIN!" Starfire shouts in fear as she starts flying towards her comrade, only to stop as her bicep gets sliced by a sword. Starfire stops and holds her bleeding bicep while gazing at the blade that now has her blood on it.

"Atlantean steel. Sharp enough for him. Sharp enough for you," Black Manta says coldly before charging at Starfire once more.

Meanwhile, Cyborg looks at his fallen leader in shock before pointing his sonic cannon at Hydra.

Hydra's face is stony as he takes a step towards Cyborg – and silently vanishes.

Cyborg only has a second to register the disappearing villain, and another second to register the red-cloaked fist literally embedded into his armor-shattered gut.

"AAAGH!" Cyborg shouts as his internal systems go haywire from the damage before a punch square into his face sends his body flying backwards and his mind into unconsciousness.

Hydra dusts off his hands before looking down at the trembling green shih tzu that now has no cover whatsoever.

"Pathetic," Kurama says in disgust.

Hydra voices no disagreements as he jerks his head to the side with a "Tsk" sound, watching as the green dog quickly scurries over to Cyborg.

Nearby, Brother Blood watches in amazement as his top student once again overpowers his way out of a dangerous situation.

"Magnificent," Brother Blood mutters in astonishment before his eyes narrow. 'Yet, troubling at the same time. That ionic amplifier can't come soon enough.'

Raven, meanwhile, finds herself frozen as she watches her rival effortlessly defeat her teammates moments after his own power was crippled.

'This is his patron's power,' Raven realizes. 'He had this kind of strength this whole time? Is this even his full strength? How much power do Malchior and I need to beat him? …Can we even beat him?'

Raven's thoughts pause as Hydra glances her way. He takes a step towards her – and suddenly, he's right in front of her. Raven backpedals away to give herself some space, only to find her back meeting the cave wall behind her. Hydra slowly closes the gap between them before placing his right hand on the wall next to her head, the stone sizzling somewhat from the corrosive chakra. Seeing this, Hydra wills his cloak back into his body, though his feral facial features still remain.

"Now then, where were we?" Hydra says with a slight growl in his voice as his left hand reaches for Raven's face.

Raven's heart quickens with a mixture of fear and excitement. 'It's pointless to fight back. I can't beat him. I never could. He's going to steal me away, and I can't stop him…in fact, part of me doesn't want to.'

Starfire is unaware of her fellow Titaness's predicament as she's too busy keeping her body parts from being sliced off by Black Manta's blades. It's thanks to her years of combat training with the Warlords of Okaara that she's able to avoid the blades and parry them with her gauntlets.

Manta, meanwhile, is frustrated that he's been consistently stymied by this teenage girl this whole fight. Shouting out in rage, he leaps up and brings both his swords down upon Starfire's head, only for her to grab both of his arms and keep the swords at a safe distance. Manta grunts in surprise and exertion as Starfire appears to steadily overpower his suit's strength enhancements.

"Insolent child!" Black Manta yells as his red optics power up with energy.

Starfire glares with determination as her own green eyes also build up with power.

After several moments of accumulation, both combatants fire their optic blasts point-blank at each other. Red meets green in a swirling ball of energy, which quickly grows in size before–

KABOOOM!

The explosion draws everyone else's attention. The conscious occupants in the cave all watch as Starfire flies back towards the group before crashing right next to the recovering Robin. Black Manta, meanwhile, flies headfirst into the cave wall behind him, his already cracked helm shattering upon impact.

"FATHER!" Tempest shouts in horror as he goes to help his downed parent, only for him and everyone else to stop and steady themselves due to a sudden shaking throughout the cavern.

Robin quickly gets back on his feet and looks around at the falling rocks. "The cave's collapsing! We have to get out of here!"

"Guys!" Aqualad calls out as points to the pool. "This way!"

Beast Boy shifts into a gorilla and arm carries Cyborg over to his comrades as most of the Titans head for the pool.

Nearby, Tempest finally reaches Black Manta and carries the unconscious man on his shoulder.

"Hang on, Father! I've got you!" Tempest says, getting no response from the partially exposed face of the older pirate. Tempest then looks over at the now rising and panicking soldiers. "Don't just stand there! Ready the sub!"

The soldiers obey the command and hurry into the submarine, with Tempest using a water pillar to take him and his father onto the ramp.

Meanwhile, Gizmo hastily flies over to the headmaster, having to dodge falling rocks that would easily crush someone his side. Once Gizmo reaches Brother Blood, the older villain conjures a red force field over the two of them.

Blood then looks at his other student a distance away. "Hydra! Time to go!"

With Hydra hearing the call and Raven seeing her comrades leaving, both chakra-wielders move to join their respective groups…only for a glint at their feet to catch their eyes.

"The pearl!"X2 The two of them cry out before diving for the gem. Their hands clasp around each other's with the pearl between them…just as a large cluster of rocks fall towards the two.

"Watch out!" Robin shouts in warning.

Hydra and Raven quickly look up, and – their eyes glowing purple and black respectively – throw their free hands up towards the falling rocks.

The Titans and Hive watch in horror as the avalanche appears to bury their comrades.

"RAVEN!" HYDRA!" Robin and Brother Blood shout out respectively.

The headmaster and his remaining student don't have much time to worry about Hydra as they too have to deal with an avalanche. Blood's shield protects them from getting crushed, though not buried.

"Raven!" Starfire shouts as she moves to rescue her friend, only to be held back by Robin. "We must assist!"

"We're about to be buried, Starfire! There's no time!" Robin responds before turning to Aqualad. "Aqualad! Do it!"

Aqualad nods before summoning a giant water hand that scoops up the remaining Titans and pulls them into the water, with him following right behind. Once underwater, Aqualad has just a moment to glare at the retreating Manta-Sub before propelling his comrades – who all have air bubbles to breath – through the sea tunnel to safety.


Location: Remains of Timon Sea Caves

Utter darkness has enveloped the two trapped chakra-wielders.

"Ugh. That was unpleasant," Hydra comments with a groan.

"No arguments here," Raven agrees. "You wouldn't happen to have a light, would you?"

"Of course. Crystal Style: Glowstone Jutsu."

A large cube of yellow crystal appears in Hydra's hands, illuminating the surroundings. He and Raven look around and find themselves in a rather spacious opening with a ceiling made of compacted rock.

Hydra smiles. "Looks like our combined powers did well in saving us."

Raven smiles as well. "Looks like it," she says as she and Hydra look at each other…only for both of them to be startled as they find themselves kneeling a foot away from one another.

The two teens look away with blushes on their faces as Hydra sets the cube down.

"Um, the stone should last for an hour," Hydra awkwardly informs as he and Raven get on their feet.

"That's one problem taken care of," Raven says before clapping her hands. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

A gust of air expels from her hands and travels across the makeshift room.

At Hydra's curious look, Raven explains, "It's an oxygen enriching spell. I learned it right before I came here. I figured it would be useful for being underwater or underground."

Hydra smiles proudly. "Ingenious. Well done, Raven."

Raven looks away with a shy smile as she tucks some hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

Hydra's smile falls as he spots the bruise over Raven's eye. He raises his hand towards Raven, who worryingly flinches away from the appendage.

Hydra pauses. "May we?" he asks, gesturing to her eye.

Raven tentatively nods, allowing Hydra to touch her face with a hand that's now glowing with aqua-green chakra. The sorceress sighs at the warm soothing energy travelling across her eye. After a few moments, Hydra pulls his hand back, revealing a completely unblemished face.

"…Thank you," Raven says softly.

"You're welcome," Hydra calmly replies. "So, who did it?"

Raven suddenly looks away nervously. "I-It was a training accident," she lies, getting a skeptical look from the boy. "Seriously! I was practicing a spell, and…and a book went flying…and, um…"

Hydra chuckles. "Raven, we've killed people with books, and we've killed people with our fists. We know what both injuries look like." Hydra's face then goes stony. "So, you tell us who dies."

Hearing the seriousness in Hydra's voice, Raven panics. "Wait! Don't! Please! It wasn't his fault!" she says frantically before quickly covering her mouth.

It doesn't take long for Hydra to connect the dots, as Raven can see from the blood-red aura and killing intent emanating from his body.

Hydra growls, "Malchior."


Location: Raven's Room, Titans Tower

Malchior is once again perusing through one of his tomes for a secret weapon against Hydra when, all of a sudden, his body freezes and his breath hitches as an icy chill travels throughout his entire body.

'It feels like I've royally pissed off someone extremely powerful and dangerous! Last time this happened was when I got too close to Fafnir's hoard!' Malchior muses in panic. 'It must be that wretched warlock, Hydra! Does he know I exist now?! Has my power grown enough that he can sense me?! Tiamat damn it! I need to regain my strength fast…which means I still must rely on her. Perhaps I was a bit too harsh on her earlier today. I'll have to apologize to her once she gets back. Maybe some flowers. That should be enough to keep her loyal to me, that pitiful love-starved girl.'


Location: Remains of Timon Sea Caves

"Hydra, stop! You're scaring me!" Raven pleads desperately.

Hydra quickly snaps out of his rage and forces down his aura. "We're sorry, Raven. It's just…the fact that anyone would hurt you like that – especially your 'boyfriend' – pisses us off."

"I understand, but it really isn't his fault. He's just under a lot of stress lately, what with him teaching me magic to try and stop you, which I've been failing spectacularly at," Raven laments.

Hydra gives the girl a concerned look. "No amount of stress is an excuse to hurt someone you claim to love, Raven." He then smiles brightly. "Besides, you haven't been failing spectacularly at all. In fact, we think you're rather impressive."

Raven crosses her arms and looks away with a frown. "Yeah. Sure. Right."

Hydra's smile falls as he senses the anger emanating from Raven. "Are you…upset with us?"

"No, I'm pissed!" Raven yells, glaring at the surprised Shinobian. "First, you use your chains to contain me in my enraged state! Then, you counter my strongest attack and redirect the energy to make a fireworks display – twice! Then, when I have the perfect magical ritual spell to contain you, you make me use it on a decoy before chaining me up – again! And now, it turns out that cutting you off from your chakra is pointless because you can call upon the power of your patron, who apparently is a kitsune with fathomless destructive power!"

"I'm liking her more and more, kit," Kurama says with pride in his voice.

"And I bet it's not his full power either!" Raven continues heatedly. "How many tails does the kitsune have?! How many?!"

Hydra scratches his head nervously and looks away. "…Nine."

Raven's eyes widen. "So, he's ascended?! He essentially has the strength to rival the gods – is that what you're telling me?!"

"Now, I'm falling in love with her," Kurama comments, getting a mental shush from Hydra.

Hydra then notices that Raven's eyes are glistening with unshed tears. He approaches her and goes, "Raven–"

"Don't!" Raven shouts, halting the boy. "…Did you know? Did you know ahead of time that you'd always be stronger than me? That no matter how much I train or learn, I could never beat you? Was this part of your plan? To slowly break down my will piece by piece before you steal me away and ravage me until I'm yours?"

Hydra's face quickly heats up at the last part. "W-Wait a minute! That wasn't our intent at all!"

"It doesn't matter," Raven mutters as she opens her cloak and lets it fall to her elbows, revealing her body to the teenage boy in front of her.

Hydra gulps with a full blush as his gaze unconsciously travels across the girl's body. His red eyes automatically shift to have black commas in the red irises, allowing him to memorize every part of the leotard-clad body. He memorizes the way her DD breasts look restrained under her spandex, how her lean stomach leads to her curvy shapely waist, how her thicc thighs are completely bare for him to see, and…

'Is she not wearing underwear?' Hydra can't help but ask himself as he notes how the leotard appears to dig right into her nether region.

His lustful gazing stops, however, as he notes the tears finally falling from her closed eyes.

"I give up. You win, Hydra," Raven says in a hopeless tone. "Take me away. Make me your trophy or pet or toy or whatever. I don't care anymore. Just…please, be gen–"

Raven stops talking as Hydra suddenly approaches her, wraps her cloak back around her body, and embraces her in a hug.

"H-Hydra?" Raven asks in confusion.

"Not like this," Hydra says firmly, giving Raven a serious look. "If we are to make you ours, it's because we earned you, and that can only happen once you willingly and happily choose to be ours."

Raven looks surprised by the declaration. "B-But you…you're…"

"And may we say, if you think that we think you're weak, then you're dead wrong," Hydra continues. "You're one of the strongest beings we've ever met. You work hard to improve yourself on a regular basis, and even when you lose a battle, you motivate yourself to be better for the next one. And you're so full of surprises. An oxygen enrichment spell? Why didn't we ever think of something like that?" He smiles proudly. "That's why you always impress us. That's why we want you so badly."

Hearing the sincerity in Hydra's voice, Raven's eyes tear up again as she rests her forehead on the boy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Raven says quietly.

Hydra rubs Raven's head comfortingly. "It's alright, Raven."

Raven asks, "You're the villain, and I'm the hero. We're supposed to be enemies, even despise each other…so, why are you so kind all the time?"

"Funny. We don't recall hearing a rule on Earth about adversaries needing to hate each other," Hydra says cheekily. "Back on Shinobu, a few of our opponents became our friends."

Raven looks up with interest. "Really?"

"That's right," Hydra affirms. "One in particular was a fighter named Rock Lee. He declared us his 'Eternal Rival', a title we gladly accepted. He was one of the few people we left behind on good terms."

Raven has a hesitant expression. "So…what about me? What am I to you?"

Hydra smiles lovingly as he cups Raven's cheek, making the girl lean into his touch.

"You, Raven, are our greatest treasure," Hydra declares. "Seeing your smile makes it seem like our heart has been replaced by the sun. Watching your tears fall feels like a hundred swords piercing our body. When you're angry, we're willing to brave whatever storm necessary to make you happy again. When you're hurt, we will muster all of our power to avenge you. Gods, the thought of meeting you in battle again and again motivates us to train until our bones crack. We personally volunteer for missions that draw the attention of the Titans just for the opportunity to see you, and we want to savor every single moment with you." He then shudders. "Honestly, it's taking every fiber of our being to not devour you right now." He smirks. "We were never taught the proper meaning of 'love', but we believe this is pretty close, don't you?"

Raven's too stunned to answer. Her face, which has gotten steadily redder with each sentence Hydra spoke, is now beet colored. 'Not even Malchior was this affectionate when he was in the book.'

Curiosity compels her to ask, "When you say 'devour', what exactly do you me–MMPH!"

The sudden kiss from Hydra makes Raven go wide-eyed in shock. As she slowly registers being kissed by her rival, Hydra quickly hugs her body to his. The closeness of their bodies makes Raven gasp, which Hydra exploits by pushing his abnormally long tongue into Raven's mouth. Any amount of resistance by Raven is short-lived as she allows Hydra to take control of the kiss, his tongue wrapping completely around hers.

Raven's eyes are half-lidded and hazy as her strength leaves her body. 'Oh, Azar! He's plundering my mouth and swallowing my saliva! Is this what it means to be devoured?! I've never been kissed this way before! It feels so good!'

Hydra's hand on Raven's lower back travels down to her ass before grabbing a cheek and massaging it. The strong possessive grip makes Raven mewl in delight. She summons what little of her strength remains to grab onto Hydra's sides, only to pull the boy in closer as she kisses him back. Their lips disconnect for a brief moment before coming back together, allowing Raven to take a much-needed breath of air. That's the only one she's allowed to take, however, as Hydra's tongue release's Raven's before plunging itself directly down Raven's throat, making a noticeable bulge. Rather than be repulsed by the sudden intrusion, Raven welcomes it, as seen by her eyes rolling back into her head, her arms going limp by her side, and her pussy wetting under her leotard.

'Fuck! He's literally throat-fucking me with his tongue! I can't believe how much I love it!' Raven thinks, her lust taking full control. 'Imagine what his tongue can do to my pussy, nevermind his dick! If he were to go all the way, I'd never recover! I'd belong to him forever!'

Mercifully, Hydra breaks off the lip-lock, though he takes his time pulling his tongue out of Raven's throat. When the organ exits her windpipe, Raven gasps desperately to regain her breath. She looks at her rival and finds herself getting wetter at the sight of Hydra licking his lips and wriggling his tongue in his mouth, as if he's savoring the flavor.

"Forgive us, Raven. We had to have a taste," Hydra says unapologetically.

Raven's lust is still in control as she says, "You…you don't have to stop. You can keep going. You can steal me away, just like you said before."

Hydra rubs his thumb across Raven's cheek. "We can."

Raven reaches up and grabs Hydra's arm with both hands. Instead of pushing away, however, she nuzzles her face into Hydra's palm.

"How?" Raven asks.

Hydra smirks. "Well, we'd either put a chakra suppression seal on you, or wrap you up in our chains."

"I…I prefer the chains," Raven admits while blushing.

Hydra chuckles. "We'll make sure to wrap them around your body just the way you like them."

Raven shivers in arousal as she recalls how the chains felt against her body the last time around. She rubs her thighs together, which have some of her juices dripping down them.

"W-Would you take me back to the Hive?" Raven asks, fearful (yet a tiny bit thrilled) at the thought of Hydra claiming her in front of the other villains.

"Nope," Hydra answers, relieving the girl. "We found an excellent little spot outside the city. Remote and secluded. No one around for miles. That's where we'd take you."

"You'd keep me there, right?" Raven asks breathlessly. "You'd probably chain me to the bed, wouldn't you? That way, you'd fuck me as much as you wanted until I broke."

Hydra rubs his thumb across Raven's lips. "Day and night, as much as we need to until there's not a shred of doubt that you are ours." He grins dangerously. "And then, we'd keep going."

Raven gasps at the mental images, allowing Hydra to insert his thumb into her mouth. She wastes no time wrapping her lips around the digit and slowly sucking on it with a moan. The sounds of her arousal and the feeling of her tongue swirling around the thumb makes Hydra growl hungrily.

"You want this so badly, don't you Raven?" Hydra asks knowingly.

"Mhm," Raven confirms as if in a trance.

The thumb is pulled out of her mouth, and Raven sees Hydra leaning in once again. She closes her eyes and parts her lips, eagerly preparing herself to be devoured again…

Only for a finger to touch her lips haltingly. She opens her eyes in confusion and sees Hydra giving her a strained smile.

"But not completely," Hydra says. "Not yet, anyways."

"Oh, come on!" Kurama complains in the mindscape.

To Raven, it's comparable to Beast Boy drenching her one time for the Ice Bucket Challenge. Once the cold feeling washes away her arousal, her face heats up once again as her mind fully registers what just happened.

'Holy shit! He did–and I did–and he said–and I said–and I–I–I–!'

A metaphorical plume of smoke erupts from the top of Raven's head like an overheated computer before her body begins wobbling side-to-side. Hydra chuckles at the scene, earning a death glare from the mortified girl pulling her hood up.

"Sorry, sorry," Hydra apologizes. "You're just so adorable, y'know."

"Sh-Shut up!" Raven yelps, getting another round of laughter from her…rival?

Hydra's laughter dies down, and a serious look forms. "In all seriousness, though, as much as we want to just take you away and make you ours, there's still the matter of…him."

The angry way Hydra says the last part makes Raven tremble.

"I-I really do love him. Malchior," Raven says.

Hydra looks unconvinced. "Perhaps, but does he love you back? Does he treasure you like we do? Did he even apologize for hitting you?"

"…Kind of," Raven says lamely.

Hydra shakes his head. "We would never have even lifted a finger towards you, Raven. Despite our…shared kinks, we would never truly harm you. That is our promise to you."

The seriousness in Hydra's promise warms Raven's heart. Still…

"How can I trust it?" Raven asks tentatively. "I know how much you care for me now, but how can I trust that you won't abandon me some day?"

Hydra smiles sympathetically and calmly offers his hand. Raven looks at the appendage warily before placing her own hand on top of his.

"We understand how difficult it is to take a chance with someone, to give them an opportunity to earn your trust, knowing full well that they can betray that trust anytime," Hydra says as he puts something in Raven's hand. "Rest assured, we will not fail you, Raven."

Hydra takes a step back as Raven opens her hand…revealing a familiar jewel-clad ring.

"The Black Pearl?" Raven asks in surprise.

"Consider it our first step in earning your trust," Hydra states.

"But what about Brother Blood?" Raven questions.

Hydra waves off her concern. "We'll worry about him. As for you, if your friends took the underwater tunnel system to escape, they most likely popped out at Mason's Cove."

Raven nods. "I know the place. We fought the alien Soto there a while back ago."

"Then you better get going back to your friends before they get too worried," Hydra says.

Raven nods. "Thank you," she says before opening a black portal next to her.

"Raven," Hydra calls out, getting her attention. "Should we ever meet Malchior in person, we make no guarantees."

"…Noted," Raven says as she turns to the portal. She then smiles before rushing to Hydra and surprising him with a kiss on his whiskered cheek.

Hydra blushes as he touches his cheek.

"I have to admit, Hydra, you're the sweetest villain I know," she confesses with a wink.

Hydra smiles and bows his head with a hand over his heart. He looks up just in time to see Raven exit through the portal.

"Seriously?! Why didn't you just grab her and get it over with?!" Kurama yells in the mindscape.

'Because as long as Malchior has a hold on her heart, she'll be second guessing herself no matter what we do,' Hydra explains mentally. 'We need to shatter her faith in him. Then, we claim her.'

"Before or after we tear him limb from limb?" Kurama asks with bloodlust.

'Meh. We'll play it by ear,' Hydra responds as he weaves through handsigns. "Now then, Crystal Style: Crystal Sword Jutsu."

Almost immediately, a small crystal sword made of pure orange sapphire appears in Hydra's hand. He grasps the sword in both hands, pointing the tip towards him. He then takes a deep breath…

Squelch!

And plunges the sword into his stomach.

"GAH!" Hydra cries out as blood starts coming out of his mouth.

Despite his injured state, the sound of his communicator going off makes him smirk.

"Perfect timing," Hydra mutters as he answers the communicator.

[HYDRA! Can you hear me!] Gizmo cries out. [I finally got a connection to your HOLY SHIT YOU'RE BLEEDING! What happened?!]

Hydra chuckles painfully before spitting out some blood. "As much as we'd love to tell you the story, if you can send Kyd Wykkyd to our position, that would be great."

[Uh, right!] Gizmo responds nervously. [I'm giving him your coordinates now! Hang on! Oh, Jinx is so gonna kill me!]

"The things we do for love, eh kit?" Kurama asks, a smile present in his voice.

Hydra chuckles internally. 'No kidding.'


Location: Mason's Cove

A notification pops up in Cyborg's computerized mind. [Emergency Power Mode activated. Torso is currently under repair. All weapons systems offline.]

"Ugh. What happened?" Cyborg mutters as his eyes open. The first thing he sees is Tramm hands deep in Cyborg's exposed mechanical innards. "Aw man! How bad did I get hit?"

Tramm responds in fast-paced Atlantean gibberish.

Cyborg groans in frustration. "Dammit. I'm gonna go broke having to replace my armor all the time."

"Cyborg!" Robin calls out, making the mechanical teen turn to see most of his teammates hanging out around the damaged T-Ship on the rocky beach. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm gonna use Hydra as a punching bag after what he did to my body and my ship!" Cyborg yells angrily.

"Join the club, dude," Beast Boy says with an unusual frown on his face.

Cyborg notices the upset looks on everyone's faces and the absence of a particular Titan. "Where's Raven?"

"The caverns collapsed right after you got knocked out," Robin explains. "Aqualad got most of us out alright, but Raven's still trapped in there…with Hydra."

Cyborg looks horrified. "Oh man." He raises his arm and a screen lights up. "I'll see if my scanners can pick up her communicator from here."

"You must hurry!" insists Starfire, who has bandages around her bicep. "I am afraid for Friend Raven being down there with that villain!"

"It'll be okay, Starfire," Robin assures the girl. "From what we've seen, Raven's the one Titan Hydra hasn't tried to hurt."

"That is why I am afraid, Robin," Starfire states in worry. "Hydra has attempted to romance Raven since he has made his debut, and Raven never made any overt objections to his advances. Now, they are isolated together in the underground. This is the ideal opportunity for Hydra to court Friend Raven with his strength and magical prowess!"

All the other Titans sweatdrop.

"Uh, you sure about that, Star?" Robin asks in confusion.

Starfire nods. "There are many cultures throughout the galaxy – including my home world, Tamaran – where males show off their strength and resilience to attract potential mates. Even here on Earth, I have seen how certain species use the displaying of feathers and locking of horns to win over females. What if Hydra succeeds in turning Raven over to the Dark Side?!" she says while imagining Hydra flexing his muscles to Raven who has hearts for eyes.

Robin pats Starfire's shoulder. "Star, you don't have to worry about Raven going bad. She's too strong to ever be tempted by evil. Given her magic, if she wanted to be a villain, she would have done it long before she met us."

"Besides, she's got that 'oh so perfect boyfriend' Malchior," Beast Boy says in a surprisingly bitter tone.

"Raven's been getting pretty popular lately, huh?" Aqualad comments.

Cyborg's arm suddenly beeps. "I've got a signal!" he reports. "She's…right over there?"

The other Titans turn to where Cyborg is pointing. Their faces light up as they see Raven emerging out of a black portal just a few yards away.

Raven surveys her surroundings before smiling as she spots her teammates.

"Raven! You're okay!" Starfire cries out as Raven flies over to the group.

"A little shaken up, but I'm good," Raven says. "Let me take care of that for you."

Starfire smiles brightly as Raven heals her arm. "Oh, I am overjoyed that you had not succumbed to Hydra's attempts to seduce you to darkness!"

Raven blushes as a tic mark appears on her forehead. "Don't know why that keeps being brought up, but I'm glad you're happy."

"What happened down there?" Robin asks. "I saw the rocks about to crush you both."

"We combined our powers to protect us from the collapse," Raven explains. "After that we had a little…back-and-forth between us. I was able to find an opening and escape. I'm sure he did as well."

"What about the pearl? Did you recover it?" Aqualad asks urgently.

Raven looks nervous. "Well…," she trails off, knowing exactly where the pearl is, but not quite knowing how to proceed. 'Should I give it to Aqualad, or…'

'You have a choice to make, my sweet Raven; your conscience or my forgiveness.'

'Does he love you back? Does he treasure you like we do? Did he even apologize for hitting you?'

The words of Malchior and Hydra echo in Raven's mind, making her pause and the other Titans sweat.

Aqualad assumes the worst. "No! If a villain like Hydra has the pearl, who knows what destruction he and The Hive can cause! And if they do go through with the deal with Black Manta…"

It's Aqualad's despair that seals the deal.

Raven smiles. "You won't have to worry about that," she states proudly as he holds out her hand, presenting the Black Pearl to her now ecstatic teammates.

"The pearl! You did it, Raven!" Aqualad cries out happily as he quickly snatches the pearl out of her hand, making her smile waver for a moment.

"Well, alright!" Cyborg says with a proud smile.

"Glorious!" Starfire shouts gleefully.

Raven looks away with a blush. "I was able to snatch it from Hydra while he was distracted. I couldn't fully defeat him, unfortunately."

"Are you kidding? This is the first time we've been able to recover something Hydra's stolen," Robin says excitedly. "Without the Black Pearl, The Hive's deal with Black Manta is dead in the water. Well done, Raven!"

Raven feels pride swell within her.

"About time, if you ask me," Beast Boy says. "That guy's such a pain in the ass."

"Our mission's accomplished, Tramm! King Orin will be so proud!" Aqualad declares to Tramm, who mumbles happily.

Raven suddenly pipes up, "Before you take the pearl back, I have a spell that can drain the magical power out of it, in case you're interested. Just a precaution to make sure the power doesn't fall into the wrong hands again."

Aqualad rubs his chin in thought. "I appreciate the offer, Raven, but the king wanted the pearl back intact. After all, it's a relic that belongs to Queen Mera's home kingdom of Xebel. I can pitch the offer to the king and queen when I return, but I doubt they'd accept it."

"Oh, d-don't worry about it. It's fine," Raven says with a strained smile.

Only Robin notices the trepidation in Raven's voice.

"Well, think you guys can stay for a little celebration?" Cyborg asks Aqualad and Tramm. "Because I got some barbecue that's just begging to be cooked!"

Aqualad smirks. "Like you even need to ask," he answers while Tramm licks his lips hungrily.

"What about you, Raven? You finally gonna spend some time out of your little cave to join us?" Beast Boy asks the sorceress.

"…Just for a little while. I still need to tell Malchior about my…success," Raven replies with a tight smile.

"How wonderful!" Starfire exclaims as she embraces Raven. "It has been ages since we celebrated with you!"

"…You're hugging me," Raven says uncomfortably, which goes ignored as Starfire continues her hug while the other Titans cheer in celebration.

Except for Robin, who narrows his eyes in suspicion while more pieces connect in his brain.


Location: Medical Center, Hive Academy

Timeskip: Thirty minutes later

Jinx rushes into the room, with Mammoth right behind her. She had just gotten the message that Hydra had been taken in for surgery, and she feared the worst.

"Hydra! Are you okay?! What–" Jinx calls out, only to gasp in horror.

Sitting on an examination table is a patiently smiling Hydra, who has an orange sapphire sword through his body. Behind him, Gizmo is hard at work with a laser saw.

Hydra spots Jinx and Mammoth, giving them a friendly wave. "Hey, you guys."

"DON'T 'HEY, YOU GUYS' ME, HYDRA!" Jinx bellows in rage.

"Pipe down, Jinx! I need to focus!" Gizmo calls out. "And hold still, Hydra. You're squirming too much."

"Our sincerest apologies. It's just a bit painful to be run through by a crystal blade," Hydra snarks.

"Just be glad that it ain't a diamond blade, otherwise it'd take a whole hour to cut through," Gizmo states before successfully cutting through the crystal, making the half sticking out the back fall to the table. "There. Mammoth!"

Mammoth nods and approaches Hydra before grabbing the handle of the sword.

"On three," Mammoth says, getting a nod from Hydra. "One."

Squelch!

"Unf!" Hydra grunts as Mammoth quickly pulls the sword out, revealing a gaping hole in Hydra's guts. "G-Good call."

A red aura emanates from Hydra's body, and his comrades watch as his organs regrow and reform before being covered by fresh layers of muscle and skin. Gizmo sticks his tongue out in disgust while Jinx feels faint.

"Jeez. What does it feel like?" Mammoth asks a panting Hydra.

Hydra chuckles. "Tingly," he says as he scratches the now fully healed wound, "and will be very itchy for a while."

"Hydra, what the hell happened?!" Jinx demands.

Hydra scratches his head sheepishly. "We were battling Raven for the Black Pearl when she used one of her portals to redirect our sword into us. She used our injured state to escape with the jewel."

Jinx growls with fire in her eyes. "Raven! That little bitch! I'm gonna rip her FUCKING LUNGS OUT!"

Hydra waves his hands placatingly. "Easy, Jinx. It was just the heat of battle, y'know."

Jinx gives Hydra an incredulous look. "Hydra, that sword went right through your body! Without your healing factor, you'd be dead! How are you not bothered by that?!"

Hydra shrugs. "We've had worse," he answers simply, getting an annoyed look from the girl. "Besides, we're more upset that we lost the pearl."

"Well, I'm glad that makes two of us."

All four students turn to see Brother Blood walk into the room with an angry scowl and veins bulging in his forehead.

Jinx is about to speak, but Hydra stops her as he jumps off the table and stands.

"I've just received this message from Black Manta's son, Tempest," Brother Blood informs before pulling up his smartphone, revealing Tempest on the screen, and hitting play.

[I speak on behalf of Black Manta, who is still in recovery,] Tempest says seriously. [Given the circumstances, we have decided that our business with The Hive will be put on hold until you give us the Black Pearl we paid for. Should the pearl be lost or in the hands of Atlantis, that hold will be indefinite.] Tempest then smiles. [On a more personal note, I have words for Hydra; should you have survived the cave collapsing, I wish you good fortune on the wars to come.]

Hydra smiles at the message. "How wonderful. We made a new friend."

"Yes, very wonderful indeed," Brother Blood says with no joy, "and all it cost us was ATLANTIS!"

Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth all hide behind Hydra, who takes the shout in stride.

"You couldn't have just held on to the ring for a few more moments?!" Brother Blood complains. "I had the perfect scheme! We'd team up with Black Manta and conquer Poseidonis! Then, you'd kill the pirate while I mind control his son! All the kingdoms of Atlantis – three-quarters of the globe – would have been under my rule! I hope you understand the gravity of your failure, young man!"

"Perhaps it's not a total failure, Headmaster. If we were to reclaim the pearl…," Hydra offers.

"Oh, sure! Let's just waltz right into the capital of the most powerful nation on the planet and nab the pearl! Hey! While we're at it, let's just kill Aquaman!" Brother Blood says with a sarcastic smile.

"We're just trying to find a positive," Hydra defends himself. "What's the Earth saying? 'When life gives you lemons–'"

"I COMPLAIN ABOUT THE LEMONS!" Brother Blood yells angrily.

"It would be so easy to kill this guy," Kurama comments.

Hydra sighs tiredly before getting on one knee and kneeling before the huffing headmaster.

"We completely understand our failure, Brother Blood, and we accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate," Hydra states evenly.

The other three students look worryingly between the kneeling Shinobian and the headmaster who's forcing his own anger back.

Brother Blood takes a deep breath and looks down at his student, who – until recently – had a perfect record.

"…There's another Earth saying. 'There is a single lesson learned in victory, but a thousand learned in defeat'," Brother Blood says. "I expect all of the one thousand lessons you learned from this failure in writing and on my desk by Tuesday evening."

Hydra groans in his mind. "Understood, Brother."

"Furthermore," Brother Blood continues, "I will personally be overseeing all of your combat lessons from now on, to make sure that your injury doesn't happen again."

"Yes, Brother," Hydra acknowledges, before seeing an open hand in front of him. He grabs it and allows Brother Blood to pull him back on his feet.

"Hydra, you and I will be working much more closely from now on," Brother Blood declares. "You are one month away from your graduation, after which, you'll be working with the greatest villains in the world – besides me, of course. You can't afford any more failures, my boy."

Hydra nods seriously. "We completely understand what's at stake, Headmaster."

"Good. Now rest up. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow," Brother Blood commands before exiting the room.

Once he's gone, Jinx huffs. "'Hey, Hydra. Sorry that you nearly got killed'," she mocks. "Douchebag."

Hydra, meanwhile, narrows his eyes in thought. 'So, we have our deadline now. The seal should be ready a week before that.'

"And then, we graduate our way," Kurama says with a sinister laugh.


Location: Raven's Room

Raven wipes off some streamers on her cloak as she stands in front of her own door. She has just come from the party thrown by her friends to celebrate the recovery of the Black Pearl, as well as giving Aqualad and Tramm a proper sendoff. She herself had a bit of fun, though the constant attempts by Beast Boy to have her sing some karaoke were extremely annoying.

And now, she's here…to face the music.

'I did a good thing giving the pearl back to Atlantis,' Raven thinks to herself. 'I kept my honor and conscience…but, at what cost?'

Taking a breath to steel herself, Raven opens the door and enters the room…to find Malchior standing there with a bouquet of roses and a warm smile.

'This is unexpected,' Raven thinks in surprise. "Are those…"

"For you, my sweet Raven," Malchior answers cheerfully before handing the bouquet to her.

Raven smiles and accepts the flowers, enjoying the scent. "Thank you, Malchior."

"They're a token of my appreciation for all that you've done for me, as well as an apology for my…past behavior," Malchior explains, sounding regretful. "While I'm grateful that I'm finally free from that wretched book, I've been upset by the fact that I've become so weak. I've been stuck in this room slowly regaining my strength while you go out and fight for our happiness. My frustration has been building for so long, and today, I…I lashed out at you. I'm so sorry, Raven. Please forgive me for my mistake."

Hearing what sounds like guilt in Malchior's apology, Raven's heart swells with hope.

'I knew it! He really does love me!' Raven cheers in her mind. "I-It's okay, Malchior. I completely understand. I forgive you."

Malchior smiles brightly. "That's wonderful!" he exclaims as he grasps Raven's hands. "Things will be better for the two of us. I swear it."

Raven smiles optimistically.

"So, I couldn't help but notice the streamers on the floor. Is there a celebration going on? Has Hydra been vanquished once and for all?" Malchior asks in a hopeful tone.

Raven's smile falls. She sighs and sets down the roses.

"Hydra hasn't been defeated yet," Raven answers nervously. "The celebration is because I was able to take back the Black Pearl…which I gave to Aqualad."

Malchior's smile quickly drops. "…Is that so?"

Hearing the upset tone, Raven flinches. "I-I had no choice. Everyone was right there. I knew I couldn't sneak it past Robin and Cyborg. If the others found out I kept it from Aqualad…I'm so sorry."

Raven hangs her head, bracing herself for whatever Malchior's reaction could be. After some tense moments of silence, Malchior takes a deep breath and places his hand on Raven's shoulder, earning another flinch and a flickering of her cloak's colors.

"Raven…You are not in trouble," Malchior states evenly, making the girl look up in surprise. "You made the best decision given the circumstances."

Raven begins smiling again. "Thank y–"

"That being said," Malchior interjects, "We have a lot of work ahead of us to make up for this failure. I'll be teaching you some new spells in order to sneak magical items past your teammates more easily. Whenever you go out in town to find magical items, you will not loiter around in tea shops anymore. Finally, the next time I request a powerful magical item, I expect you to deliver it straight to me, no matter what the situation is with your fellow Titans. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

Hearing the seriousness, Raven nods. "I understa–AAAGH!"

The shout is from the sudden charge of lightning that hits her body, causing her to drop to her knees in agony. The burst lasts for just a moment, though there's some lingering lightning that arcs across her trembling body, and her face expresses surprise, alarm, and pain.

Malchior leans down with a stoney face and electricity dancing between his fingers. "That, my sweet Raven, is so you remember my instructions. You won't forget, will you?"

Raven looks up wide-eyed, quickly understanding the implication. "Y-Yes."

Malchior's next smile doesn't seem to reach his eyes. "Very good," he says as he pulls Raven up onto her feet and kisses her.

Raven's emotions are a mess as she kisses back, generally happy to finally receive some loving attention from her teacher/boyfriend.

Even if an ever-growing part of her yearns for another.


Chapter End

AN: Holy crap! This was a monster to write! Let's unpack, shall we?

First off, words cannot describe how sorry I am for what I did to Raven this chapter! By that I mean what I made Malchior do to her. Raven was always best girl for me in this show, so it was like sitting on daggers for me to write.

On the plus side, we have Raven and Hydra getting extremely closer together. Nothing like a nice chat in a tea shop followed by some alone time in an enclosed underground room to let some true feelings out!

By the way, for those of you thinking that Hydra was moving too fast with Raven, this guy has been taught less about the concept of love than his canon counterpart, yet they both tend to go for the direct approach when it comes to getting that special someone. This variant, however, has had more training in the art of seduction – before you ask, it wasn't from Orochimaru.

Lastly, Hydra has experienced his first "failure" as a Hive Student, which looks poorly for his school record. Between that and Brother Blood witnessing a portion of the boy's true power, there are definitely a few cracks forming in their relationship. Time will tell how that will affect both of their plans for Hydra's future.

Next chapter, an accident during a fight with a random villain results in Beast Boy getting more aggressive with his fellow Titans. How will his new behavior affect the team's current dynamic, and how will Hydra and another infamous thief factor into this?

Thanks for reading!

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