Disclaimer: I don't own either show.

[◬]...chapter six...[◬]

Zuko hated it here.

The H.I.V.E. Tower was deep underground, with two tall vertical structures running parallel, connected by only one perpendicular hallway in the middle that was eight floors down from the top. The whole building was made fully of steel and metal, and Toph loved it with a passion, claiming she wanted a place just like this when they got back home. Zuko, on the other hand, disliked being so far under the Earth, unable to see the sunrise but thankfully still able to feel the warmth grow inside him; it uncomfortably reminded him of the Fire Nation bunker right before the solar eclipse.

He hated it here, but Toph was certain they were safe with the others and that they were certainly better off here than fighting the potential unknown dangers outside. For now, at least.

Their new allies (he was not going to go so far as to say friends) were tolerable, keeping to themselves more often than not, though they had kindly invited Toph and Zuko to join them for dinner after the group had returned from their fight at the pier. Warily, they had all sat around the round table built on top of a rock shelf, the flat surface filled with "Indian" takeout food, a cuisine that actually tasted really good, and not unlike the spicey and savory flavors he was used to in the Fire Nation.

Inside the dining room, the layout was similar to that of a cave, with jagged teeth formed at the top, and a few stalactites stabbing downward. Toph took her sweet time eating the food, and Zuko spent the whole dinner worried that every punctuated fist on the table from Mammoth would bring the rocks crashing down on them, never-mind Toph's mastery in the bending arts.

Yet, when Zuko asked where the kitchen was, they were led to the Main Room a couple levels up. Here, the floor layout was far more commercialized, with smooth metal tiles colored a honey-yellow on the floor and tall violet-grey walls covered with window-like screens. There were no more rough cave formations he'd need to keep an eye on, which Toph seemed greatly disappointed by when he'd mentioned it.

The two were offered their own rooms to sleep in, but both declined. Despite the strangers' generosity, Zuko and Toph refused to be separated in a place still relatively unexplored.

Now, as he felt the early sunrise swell over the land, Zuko meditated quietly. The candle in front of him gently ebbed and flowed, matching his steady breaths. They hadn't been given blankets last night, so Toph had ended up migrating next to Zuko over the course of the evening, unconsciously seeking out his warmth. Currently, she was snoring at his side, a pillow under head but both her bare feet kicked over his lap. The burned skin looked mostly healed, Zuko noted with relief, and it didn't look like it would scar.

He closed his eyes again. Breathing in, and out, in, and out, in, and out, in—

"They're back," Toph mumbled tiredly, and Zuko looked down at her. She had one foggy eye cracked open, and a firm hand splayed on the metal floor, palm down. She didn't remove her feet from his lap.

"Back?"

"They left an hour or so ago?" she guessed quietly.

Before sunrise, then, Zuko thought with a frown. Why?

He didn't have to wait long for the answer. The H.I.V.E. teenagers poured into the living room, bundles of trash bags at their back and flushed, cheery looks on their faces. Mammoth was wearing a gaudy yellow gemstone on his chest, and Jinx had on new earrings, sparkling pink in the florescent light. Kyd swept two bags away in a swirl of black, and then mutely returned to the living room next to the others, emptyhanded.

"Those snot-munchers," Gizmo cackled with glee, holding up the newest game console like a prize well deserved, "Just a second too late."

Billy and another one of his clones joined him, laughing. "Shame that we had to bolt, though, left the perrty smellin' soaps behind," he said with a dejected scowl. His twin continued with, "Was lookin' forward to usin' 'em."

"Lavender is supposed to ward off evil spirits," See-More joked, bumping a shoulder into Jinx's arm good-naturedly. "Probably for the best, then."

She smirked back at him, "You'd need more than some candles and soap to overpower me. Besides, I like rosemary better."

"Oh, hey, you're awake," See-More said instead of answering Jinx, the one eye on his helmet spotting Zuko and Toph sitting on the floor near the couches. He stepped in front of his trash bag with a shy smile, "Sorry for the noise. We were just doing some, uh, early morning shopping."

Jinx grinned, sharp and razor-thin. "We got you something, catch!"

Zuko snatched it before it could hit Toph in the face. He glared at the pink-haired girl; her aim had been flawless, and no doubt she knew exactly what she was doing. He looked down. In his hand was one of their yellow hexagon devices that he had heard them speaking into some time over the course of the night. As he looked it over, See-More and the Billys headed into the hallway, disappearing from view as they talked quietly about their trip to the mall.

Toph frowned, her head tilted in their direction.

"It's a H.I.V.E. Communicator," Gizmo explained, his voice pitched, like they were the ultimate form of idiots and he was hard-pressed to even say that much.

"So you can call us if you need help," Jinx continued, waving a lazy hand in the air.

Mammoth finished, his voice grumbly, "And if we find your friend, we'll also be able to call you."

Zuko stared down at the device. It appeared to run on some form of electricity, like lightening in a bottle. Zuko's thumb found an indent, and then the communicator snapped open with a single click. He grimaced down at it—this was too weird. He jumped when Toph's cold hands wrapped around his arm, and she leaned over him, loudly saying to the group, "Thanks so much! We'll treasure it forever."

Jinx scowled at her, trying to decipher if it was sarcasm or not, but then shrugged. "Whatever."

Toph took the communicator from Zuko, running her fingers along the smooth screen and bumpy keys. The flame in front of Zuko disappeared, leaving only a faintest trial of smoke. He wasn't going to be able to finish meditating anytime soon anyway.

"Alright, well," Mammoth said, lifting a hand in farewell. Kyd silently swept out of the room with the rest of the boys, nodding when Gizmo and Mammoth asked him if he wanted to play the newest racing game with them.

Jinx rolled her eyes, following them with a hissed, "Just keep it down. I'm going back to sleep and you better not wake me up before noon, at the earliest!"

When they were alone again, Toph handed Zuko back the H.I.V.E. communicator. She rubbed the heel of her hand into her eyes, blinking, but when she faced him she was alert. "I heard them mention Slade again. Their beneficiary," she remembered back. "Those two, See-More and Billy, I think, said they didn't know why he had asked them to go to the shopping mall."

Okay. Good. They'd check this mall first, then. Both benders knew that the H.I.V.E. teenagers didn't welcome them into their home for purely altruistic reasons. There was an ulterior motive here that they didn't know yet—but that was fine, because they had their own goals in mind, and they could take care of themselves if it came to that.

"I think we should take a look around," Zuko said. They'd search the Tower first and then try the mall. There had to be another clue to finding Aang somewhere.

Toph took her feet out of his lap as she stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "Ah! The floor's so cold," she complained.

Zuko considered her, and then said quietly, "I can try and.." he trailed off, not sure if she'd want him firebending next to her after what had happened a week ago. She had been the only one on his side, and he'd burned her for it. He was an idiot.

She faced him, unseeing, but there was a playful quirk to her lips. "If it means my toes won't have to keep freezing, do it."

So, with only a brief hesitation, he did. Breathing in deeply, he used the old, useless firebending technique he'd taught himself when he was travelling on his cold, metal ship and trying to warm up Uncle's tea without burning the leaves again—making heat but without the flames. Toph made a soft noise in the back of her throat, and Zuko's eyes widened in panic.

"Oma and Shu," she exhaled blissfully, "when we get back, you're sleeping next to me."

"Uh..."

"My own heater," she said, already imagining nights where she didn't have to curl up in Appa's fur to get warm. "I can't believe you were selfishly keeping this all to yourself!"

"Um, sorry?"

Toph smirked, punching his shoulder. "I think I can forgive you just this once. As long as you don't let Aang steal you away—I get you first, you hear?"

"Okay," Zuko agreed, feeling lost.

Nice and toasty in the underground lair, the two made plans to search the H.I.V.E. Tower, dividing the the building up between them and making up a quick cover story if they were stopped. "I'm blind," Toph claimed with melodrama, laying it on thicker than the Ember Island Players. "What could I possibly be looking for? Little, ol' blind me?"

Zuko shook his head. It would have to do. With soundless footsteps, he followed the empty hallways further into the Tower, going down, down, down.

"Alright, this is what we know," Sokka started off, pacing back and forth with his fingers held up as he listed, "Zuko has either gone crazy, which is possible but unlikely, or..."

"...Or?" Katara prompted, her arms crossed in front of her. With a stinging tone, she pushed on, "He's always wanted to capture Aang before, and now he's saying Avatar-this, Avatar-that. Maybe he's just evil again."

All of the Titans were sitting on the couch in the living room, with Aang sandwiched between Raven and Cyborg, looking small and disoriented. They were all watching the other boy try to come up with a good reason for his friend's strange behavior, all except Robin. The Titans' leader was leaning against the window, looking between both the otherworlders and the distant city.

"You can't be serious," Sokka said in huff, "Zuko sounds nothing like that! That guy was smiling and laughing. When have you heard Zuko laugh, even when he was chasing us across the world? Hm? Oh, that's right, never."

"Well, what's your excuse then?" she shot back.

"Guys," Aang said softly, pained, but it went mostly unheard. He tried again, louder, "Maybe there was a good reason? Maybe he was being.. controlled.. somehow. Like Jet."

Raven shook her head, taking a guess at what he was getting at, "If he was being mind-controlled, I would have sensed it."

"Maybe someone's impersonating your friend," Cyborg offered weakly.

The three were already shaking their heads. The one they had fought, he looked exactly like the Fire Nation prince, exactly—from the clothes, to the voice, to the scar. If it was an actor, he would have had to have been Zuko's twin for how similar they looked and sounded.

"Was he," Beast Boy started, but then seemed to get cold feet, shrinking down when everyone turned to him. Robin nodded at him, approaching the group but stopping a little ways off. Beast Boy continued unsurely, "Was he not always your friend? Now you're saying he's evil, that he chased you across the world?"

"It's complicated," Sokka started but Katara butted in, explaining frostily, "Zuko is Prince of the Fire Nation, a nation that has waged a century long war on the world and wiped out all of the airbenders. He personally attacked our village, and then stopped at nothing for months to get his greedy hands on Aang so his evil dad could finish off what his family had started."

She got up off the couch, glaring at nothing in particular. Sokka said, "Katara," and reached out a hand, but she ducked around it. "And now," she said, her voice wavering, the blue of her eyes turning misty, "He's attacked us again. How many chances are we going to give him?"

Starfire quietly set the platter of tea and crackers on the coffee table before them, but no one reached for a cup. She opened her mouth, but stopped, taking a step back and walking over to Robin, as she did not have the cheer for flight right now. This was not her battle to fight, no matter how similar the parallels were to the time they had lost Robin to Slade's cruel grip. He smiled nicely at her, and she delicately smiled back.

"Zuko's my firebending teacher, he wouldn't..." Aang tried to argue, but then stopped, slumping. Zuko was his teacher, and his friend. They needed to find him and figure out what was happening, because he was absolutely certain there was still good in Zuko, no matter what had happened this morning.

In the momentary quiet, Robin stepped forward, resting a hand on Sokka's shoulder for a brief second before he faced the group. Katara sniffled, staring back at him, but was not yet leaving despite the volatile emotion on her face. "I understand we're all confused right now. But we can figure this out, together."

"Together," Aang echoed, looking at Katara and Sokka pleadingly.

"Your friend," Robin continued, but then corrected quickly, "Your Prince Zuko, does he have superpowered abilities? Like, incredibly fast healing, or super durability?"

"Not anymore than we do," Sokka answered when it looked like no one else was going to. "Which is to say, not at all. He's just your usual firebender, making flames with his hands and blowing things up."

"What are you getting at?" Katara demanded of the teenage hero, and then blushed, saying quieter, "Sorry. Why do you ask?"

"We fought him," Robin said, making a sweeping gesture to encapsulate his whole team's hard work, "And he didn't even get a scratch. We gave it our all, but he would get back up without even a wince—completely fine."

Aang slanted his head. "You're right," he realized. "He only stopped when I firebent at him."

"And he didn't firebend back," Sokka recalled, thinking back to the details that had gotten lost when they were in the heat of battle, "That's also unlike him. He didn't bend, neither to attack nor defend himself."

"I may not know your Zuko," Robin stated with confidence, "But I suspect there is more at play here than a simple betrayal."

"May I?" Raven asked, already turning to look at Aang. Robin nodded from the corner of her eye, giving the go-ahead she knew he would. "You have strong spiritual energy, Aang, and with my soul-self projection, I think we can find him again, if we work together."

"To fight?" Aang asked with obvious apprehension.

"To talk," she clarified.

He looked over to Katara, and then Sokka, and when there were no objections, he nodded. "I would like that very much." He stood up and bowed deeply before all of the Titans, his palms together with his fingers pointed to the sky, as was the Air Nomad tradition. "Thank you."

"Don't thank us yet," Robin cautioned, but he had politely bowed his head back too. "You should wait until tomorrow, after we've all gotten some food and rest. We'll take the time to come up with a plan."

Raven nodded, and then Aang did too.

"Please, may you join us for a late breakfast, or, perhaps an early lunch?" Starfire asked, looking over the bedraggled group with soft green eyes. "I would be much appreciative of your company."

Katara was the first to answer, her cheeks a little splotchy but the smile on her face was genuine. "How can we help?"

"Wonderous," Starfire said, beaming.

Cyborg smiled at the waterbender from behind the alien girl's back, "I could use some help with grilling the steak."

"Meat," they heard Sokka moan happily.

Aang rubbed the back of his head. "Do you have anything vegetarian?" he asked self-consciously.

"No way?" the green changeling burst out, easily having overheard their conversation, and Aang turned to him worriedly. "You're vegetarian too? That is awesome, dude!"

Aang's dejected look shifted, brightening at the other's words. Starfire giggled, floating around the two and sharing her favorite meal (an alien word that neither boy understood, but they nodded amiably as she described it anyway). As the Water Tribe teens helped Cyborg with the meat, Robin and Raven worked on setting out plates and silverware for the table.

Raven hummed lightly under her breath, not smiling, not really, but there was a soft look in her eyes.

One of the plates in his hand was cracked through the middle, though, so Robin walked back to the counter to replace it. The oni mask from the pier was still sitting there, untouched, with the same break down the middle. Robin took a closer look at the splintered fissure. The branching shape kind of reminded him of the injury he'd given Zuko at the shopping mall parking lot...

"Wow, that smells delicious," he heard someone say, and then another one was adding, "It's so nice to have friends over."

He smiled, putting the theater mask back on the counter. He'd put it in the evidence room later tonight. Right now, he was going to eat a nice meal with his team. Robin pulled out another plate, and joined Raven at the table.

At H.I.V.E. Tower, Zuko adeptly moved in the shadows, darting from room to room. At one point, he ducked behind a plush chair, barely able to see over all the cushions stacked on top of each other. In this room, Kyd, Gizmo, and Mammoth were smashing buttons on their hand-held devices, the latter two yelling and pushing at each other. Kyd Wykkyd, forever quiet, sat a little ways off on the couch, an intense look of concentration of his face.

"Crud," Gizmo yelled, shooting a dirty look at their mute teammate as something happened on their moving picture screen, "You stinkin' lint licker."

"Grrrr," Mammoth added importantly.

Zuko crept back out of the room, cautiously keeping his shoes along the edge of the floor to avoid any warped steel boards. He went down another flight of stairs, but urgently shifted behind an open door, leaning his back against the wall as See-More and one Billy walked the opposite way, continuing down the hallway. He waited for a half a second, and then followed them, trailing their steps silently, yet clearly visible if they were to look behind them.

"Madame Rouge is in France right now?" See-More repeated in surprise, "Then who was that we saw on morning news?"

Billy shrugged, "Maybe there's another 'shifter in town."

"That stuff creeps me out," the dark-skinned boy replied, shivering. "That's some horror movie stuff right there. You can never know who to trust."

Zuko spotted something red in the corner of his eye, and he scanned for a place to hide. There was another open room a foot away, and he ran for it, not bothering to stay near the wall. He peered through the crack in the door.

"Billy!" another Billy greeted with spritely cheer, "What a fine morning. How are you doin' today?"

"Why, I'm dashin', Billy."

"That's great to hear, Billy."

"Okay," See-More said, waving a hand through their miasmic self-flattery, "we get it, you both had a good day. Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk, Numerous?"

"Who, me?" one of the clones replied, and the other pointed at himself, asking the same. See-More sighed heavily, mumbling indistinctly under his breath.

Zuko followed the new group of three, seeing that they were headed for the hallway linking up both the parallel structures. He wondered if Toph had found anything.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Tower...

"And so then I told them, H.I.V.E. Five, rob 'em blind!" Jinx laughed, only to quickly quiet, "Well, no, it's funny because it rhymes... no, no, yeah, I get that it didn't... alright, you don't care. Great. Fine... dick."

Toph heard the girl's bedsprings squeak as she threw herself onto the mattress with a loud groan. Even though Toph hadn't really found anything out about this odd group of teenagers who liked to steal stuff and live underground (her kind of people, if she was being honest), keeping tabs on Jinx's sad love life was like listening to a bad, soppy Earth Kingdom play. It was so bad, it was good.

She should probably make another sweep of the Tower, but all her feet could detect was a whole lot of junk. There were really only boxes that weren't heavy enough to be holding much in the basement, and all the boys were on Zuko's side of the building, either yelling at each other or just walking around like a pair of old people getting their cardio exercise routine in.

Jinx was much more interesting. She had cool powers that could make things explode... Toph wished she could explode some stuff with just earthbending.

There was a single beeeeeep, muffled through the teen's door, and then Jinx was suddenly rustling around. There was an edge of panic in her voice when she said, "Hi! Mr. Slade, sir!"

Toph perked up, her ear turned closer to the door. The mystery man who had Aang's staff... and had ordered the thieving teens to the mall, for some unknown reason.

"Tomorrow?" Jinx clarified, and then her voice shook when she said, "Of course, no, no, it's no problem, no problem at all... hah." Toph heard her throw something on the floor, something small and light, and then the other girl was screaming into a pillow, the sound blanketed by the surplus of feathers.

"God," she sighed, quiet, and Toph strained to hear the rest. "Should have just..mfth..shut."

Toph stood up. She sensed a group of three coming this way, and another following them from a distance, the footsteps graceful and quick—Zuko. Alright. Now it was her time to shine.

She quickly hurried further from Jinx's room so it wouldn't suspicious when she suddenly went, "Zuko? Please, help me. I'm lost in this big, metal tower. Zuko? Hello? Anyone?" She was nailing this, the years playing up her helplessness with her parents was finally paying off.

Billy said, "Ms. Toph?" and another Billy added helpfully, "Sure looks like the lil' missy."

"Oh, Toph," See-More said, and she smirked at the unenthused tone, "You're pretty far from the Main Room, how'd you get all the way—?"

Jinx's door opened right when Zuko exclaimed dramatically from behind everyone, "Toph! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh, you've found me," Toph cried, channeling the tragic lover who was about to be killed off in the next fight scene. "Zuko!"

"Yeah, uh, I found you," Zuko replied stiffly.

Jinx's door slammed shut, and Toph smirked as she walked back with the others, not listening as See-More lectured them about not wandering around because it wasn't safe... When they returned to the Main Room, Toph waited patiently for the others to leave, but See-More and the Billys wanted to apparently watch something called a "movie," but to her it just sounded like a theater play with louder sound effects.

From her spot on the couch, Zuko tapped her shoulder, and she turned to face him. He took her hand instead of saying anything at first, and she wondered what was happening until she smelled it, the wafting aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg spices. One of her fondest moments was having tea with Uncle. It was only fitting that she'd share a cup with his nephew as well.

"Tea?" he asked.

"Please," she answered, and held out her hand.

Some time later, when the boys had left to join their friends or get into whatever mayhem they so desired, Toph told Zuko, "Slade ordered Jinx to do something tomorrow. She didn't repeat what it was."

Zuko nodded, and though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was looking at her with fiery determination. "Tomorrow, then."

Tomorrow they'd find Aang. Or Slade. Whichever comes first. Either way, they were getting their friend back and going back home. Whoever this Slade was, he wouldn't be able to stop them—and if it comes to a fight, they'll just have to win.

[◬|◬]

Author's Note: Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: this was updated 1/11/23. The chapters from around here on out are being scrapped more heavily than the previous ones, as there was a lot of junky OC content that I no longer like.