Chapter 3: Clash

Smoke was trailing from the research center's windows, while a group of about six HIVE soldiers were marching something large, rectangular, and cloth-covered down the building's front steps, watched over by several more of their compatriots, who held their beam rifles at the ready. Cyborg took in the scene quickly as he pulled the T-car to a stop across the street, his mechanical systems kicking in and analyzing the deployment, weapons, and tactics of the criminal mercenaries. It all looked like standard HIVE stuff, with which Cyborg, who had spent time in the Academy while undercover, was quite familiar, but he was sure there was something he wasn't seeing. If there was one thing he'd learned during his time with the Titans, it was that bad guys never played fair.

As soon as the car had come to a halt, the doors flew open and the team piled out to face the enemy; Robin in the middle with his staff at the ready, with Cyborg on one side and Beast Boy (in the form of a gorilla) on the other, while Starfire and Raven hovered just behind them, preparing to unleash starbolts and magic. The HIVE soldiers backed up nervously at the sight of them and raised their weapons; the leader was tapping the side of his helmet with one hand, and Cyborg had a nasty suspicion that he was getting on the comlink with someone.

"There's no way you're going to win this," Robin said. "So how about you just put down the… whatever it is you've got there, and we'll go easy on you." The HIVE commander's only response was to level his weapon and fire, while his men followed suit. Before any of the energy beams could strike, however, a shield leaped up around the team and intercepted them, absorbing the bolts harmlessly into an inky void. The soldiers stepped back in shock, and Raven dismissed her magic with a wave of her hand.

"We won't give up, Titans!" the HIVE leader spat. "You may win this battle, but you won't win the war!"

"You bet we're going to win the battle and the war!" Cyborg shot back. "Man, you picked the wrong day to mess with the Teen Titans- and you can go back and tell your boss I said it. You can also tell him that if he's picking up Brother Blood's leftovers, we're not impressed."

"Brother Blood is irrelevant," the soldier replied. "The HIVE now serves its true Master, and he will destroy you and anyone else who opposes him."

"I don't much care for your attitude," Robin said. "And I also think it's time someone taught you that crime doesn't pay. Titans, go!"

The HIVE soldiers opened fire once again, but before the barrage could strike the team had already scattered. Starfire soared above their heads, blasting with starbolts from both hands and eyes and sending them scurrying backwards in a panic, looking for cover. Others backed up, firing at anything that came close, when the shadows shimmered behind them and Raven materialized, knocking them unconscious with a casual wave of one hand. Beast Boy had shifted again to the form of a giant python and was now wrapped tightly around two soldiers at once, who were trying frantically and failing to dislodge him, while Robin was dueling the leader, who had tossed his gun aside and now wielded a staff similar to the Titan leader's own, though it was obvious to even a casual observer that Robin was winning. Behind them, the soldiers holding the stolen object had placed it carefully down and aimed their beam weapons directly at the Boy Wonder's back, but before they could fire Cyborg leveled his sonic canon and the ground directly in front of them and unleashed a blast that knocked them all back to the ground.

"Let's let them sort it out, 'kay?" he said.

Turning back towards the battle, he saw that most of the soldiers were in retreat, and Robin had just disarmed the leader and now had him pinned back against the research center's wall, staff pointed at his throat. "All right," he said, "talk. Who are you really working for? What were you trying to steal?"

"See for yourself, kid," the soldier replied with a bitter chuckle. "But I'll warn you now- you may not like what you'll find."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin demanded, but the soldier only grinned without replying. Sighing, Robin smacked him aside the head with his staff, knocking him unconscious, and then turned to Cyborg, who was nearest to the covered object. "Take the cloth off," he said, "but be careful- we don't know what's in there."

"Got it," Cyborg said, nodding; he turned back towards the object and quickly jerked the cloth off, jumping back as he did so. No explosion or energy blast came from inside, however, so both he and the other Titans cautiously approached and looked down on what had just been revealed- a large, but apparently empty, wooden crate.

"There is nothing there," Starfire said, bafflement in her voice. "On certain planet, such a conveyance would be of great value, but I believe that on Earth it is worthless. What were they trying to do?"

"Maybe whatever's in there is cloaked," Cyborg said. "Let me scan it." Altering his artificial eye's settings, he ran his gaze over the crate again, and then studied sensor readings on his arm before shaking his head again. "Nothing. This is perfectly ordinary wood, and it's perfectly empty."

"We've been tricked," Raven said. "That's the only explanation that makes sense."

"That's right," a cold, female voice said just as a bolt of pure white energy lanced from the research center's door and struck the crate, shattering it into flaming splinters. The team jumped or flew back and turned to face the direction both voice and beam had come from; there in the door stood (no- hovered a few inches off the ground) a short, slender woman in blue-purple armor, cloak, and cloth mask, her eyes- the only part of her that was visible- narrowed dangerously.

"You the one who these creeps were working for?" Cyborg asked. "Thought they said their boss was a man."

"He is," the armored woman replied. "I am merely his representative- the Third Director of the Inner Circle, once the Master's equal, now his lieutenant. And you are the Teen Titans- I must admit, I'm not impressed."

"Yeah, well, we're not impressed with you either," Cyborg said, "so let's just get this over with now, before anyone else gets hurt." Leveling his sonic cannon directly at her, he opened fire- only for her to casually reach up one hand and bat the blast away harmlessly.

"Force field technology," Third said with a coldly smug note in her voice. "I'm sure you're familiar with the basics, Cyborg. I'm quite resistant to anything you can throw at me."

"Man," Beast Boy groaned. "Why do the bad guys always get the cool gadgets? Why don't we have force fields?"

"It doesn't matter," Robin said. "Nobody's invincible- so it looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Titans, take her!" Barely were the words out of his mouth when the team exploded into motion, charging directly towards Third with everything they had at the ready. Unfortunately, however, neither brute strength nor starbolts nor magic was sufficient to batter down the Director's energy shields; she simply hovered in place as their attacks were reflected, idly tapping keys on the back of one of her gauntlets and studying what appeared to be sensor readouts.

"Who makes this tech, anyway?" Cyborg demanded as one of his bunches bounced harmlessly off the shield. "'Cause I'm not sure whether I want to shake his hand or knock him out!"

"The base technology is mine," Third said casually. "I've always been gifted with shields. However, my Master- a man of many talents- helped improve the design. I'm quite safe from anything you can throw at me." Though her face was hidden by her mask, Cyborg couldn't help but get the impression she was smiling viciously. "Now, it's my turn." Raising both hands, she began to fire blasts of burning white energy from her gloves, which left smoking holes in the concrete where they struck the street and forced the Titans to retreat. Cyborg winced as one struck near the T-car's parking place- if she hit his car with one of those, then shield or no shield he was going to…

Suddenly, Third staggered as a bolt of pale purple energy struck her shield, followed closely by another. For a moment, the shield flickered around her, and then collapsed completely. "No!" she hissed. "This can't be happening…"

"Oh, but it can," a mocking voice said. "See, you can shield against a lot of things, but you can't run or hide from some really bad luck." Almost as one, the Titans and the Director turned towards the sound and saw a girl with grey skin, wild pink hair, and glowing eyes standing against a street sign, another hex forming between her hands- Jinx.

"And for the record," a jaunty voice rang out, "this is happening too!" A sudden yellow blur slammed into Third and knocked her off her feet, leaving her sprawling on the pavement. The blur quickly skidded to a halt and resolved into Kid Flash, who looked down at the fallen criminal with a look of mild distaste. "Huh. Expected that to be harder."

Third scrambled to her feet and looked around to see the Titans, Jinx, and Kid Flash closing in. "So I see that unanticipated elements have been added to the equation," she mused. "Don't think your victory here earns you anything but a brief rest, Titans. The HIVE has far more resources than just me to throw at you, after all, and soon, you will be buried beneath them." She tapped a device on the back of one of her gauntlets lightly; there was a brilliant flash of light, and she was gone without a trace.

"Don't you just hate it when the bad guys do that?" Kid Flash said, looking around at the others.

Beast Boy looked at the empty space where Third had been, then to Kid Flash and Jinx, and then back. "Dude!" he said. "Can somebody please explain to me what on Earth is going on here?"

"I'd like to know too," Robin said, "and it seems a bit unlikely that you two would show up here just at the same time as these guys if it was coincidence. I'm guessing you all have met."

"Yeah," Jinx said, "there's definitely some history here. And there's a lot more going on than just some HIVE soldiers and a mad scientist lady with an attitude problem. We think something big is about to go down, and it's going down here." She sighed and rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Let me start at the beginning…"