Epilogue: The Invisible Hand

Within a few hours of the Mistress's defeat, the HIVE headquarters was swarming with soldiers and government law enforcement agents, following a few phone calls by Kid Flash. The remaining HIVE soldiers and techs were taken into custody, as were the captured Directors and the Mistress herself, while agents scoured the organization's computer databases looking for information on its activities across the nation and beyond. Within days, it seemed, the HIVE would be crippled, perhaps even shut down for good.

"Well," Kid Flash said to Jinx as they stood in the middle of headquarters, ignoring the chaos going on around them, "we won."

"Yeah, we did," Jinx replied. "But somehow, I don't think we were the only ones who did. Fifth and a couple of the other Directors got away, and if that robot you fought is any indication, he knew what was going to happen. Not to mention those soldiers you told me about- the ones who helped you find this place? I know criminals, and they talked too quick, too soon."

"You're saying somebody set this up," Kid Flash said. "I'm starting to think so too- I heard some of the government hackers talking just a little bit ago, and they said that someone had wiped out a lot of the HIVE's database. Whatever it had, they can't get to it."

"Great," Jinx muttered. "Just great. Looks like someone wanted the HIVE put down, and something tells me they weren't the good guys. Fifth was definitely part of it, but we don't know where he is now, or anything that he was really up to. Looks like all we've done is trade one bad guy for another."

Kid Flash shook his head. "Maybe, but we still did some good here. The HIVE was one of the most powerful criminal groups in the world, and we took them down. They're not going to be able to hurt anyone else, or try and take over the world or get whatever kind of "power" the Mistress really wanted." He looked over at Jinx and grinned. "And they're not going to be chasing us anymore, and now that you've got a better grip on what your powers can do, you probably won't be having any more of those attacks. That's a plus."

Jinx smiled at him. "That's you- always looking on the bright side. But what if there is something out there bigger than the HIVE, or Fifth manages to rebuild it?"

Kid Flash put his hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll find out about it, and take them down. That's what we do, isn't it?"

Her smile came back, broader this time. "I guess you're right."

He watched the government helicopters swarming about the HIVE's mountain from the monitor aboard his jet, gazing upon what he had wrought and finding it good.

All of the high ranking members of the HIVE had been ambitious- it was what brought the Directors together in the first place- but the others had all had some trait that diluted the purity of that ambition, be it Second's sadism or First's fanatical loyalty. The Mistress had seen clearly, recognizing that power alone had value, and anything that could be done to take it should be done. He himself had seen as well, and he had known that he could not coexist as equal with the others forever.

When the chance came, he took it. He had been given the duty of capturing the experimental subject Jinx, but when he learned from the fool Gizmo about her oh-so-loyal companion, he had recognized his opportunity. He'd left the boy behind and alive when he took her, and allowed to be captured certain soldiers he knew were motivated more by self-preservation than loyalty. He knew Kid Flash wouldn't rest until he'd found Jinx, and that it would be easy for him to get the information he needed from those particular soldiers.

When the boy had come to the headquarters, it had been the Director who had weakened the security systems to allow him easy entry, and had suggested that two of his colleagues he knew couldn't handle the job be sent to apprehend the intruder. In so doing he had introduced the enemy to the very heart of the HIVE, knowing that once he'd freed Jinx, there would be little that could stand against their combined powers. A robot double, dressed in a copy of his own cloak and armor, ensured that he himself would not be at risk, whatever happened. If the HIVE won, he still had his position- if the teenagers won, then his chief rivals would have been removed. When the dust had settled and the other directors had fallen, he'd hastily wiped the bulk of the information from the HIVE computers and slipped away to where his jet waited for him.

That the HIVE had been smashed didn't concern him. All the information about his own network of contacts, informants, and pawns had been the first information he'd wiped- the government would not be able to undo him. Third and Sixth had managed to escape as well, and he knew he'd be able to bend them to his cause. What remained of the HIVE was now his absolutely, and would become the foundation on which his power would grow.

"Set your course for my safe house," the man who had once been merely the Fifth Director but was now Master of the HIVE ordered his pilot. "I have work to do."

AN: For anyone who is wondering, this is the end of this fic, but not the end of the storyline- my next Titans fic will focus again on a member of the core team, but when I'm done with that one, we'll pick up with the second and final installment of this story. I've still got stuff I'd like to do with Jinx and Kid Flash, and something tells me they and Fifth (the Master?) are going to have things to settle before everything is said and done.

In the meantime, check out my other Teen Titans stories, if you haven't already (see my profile for more info if you're interested). Thanks a lot to all my readers and reviewers, and I hope to see you all again in a few months when I'm ready to start on the sequel!