Hello, all you H.I.V.E addicts like me in the world. ENJOY!

A white-haired boy with blue eyes stared into the huge crater of the dormant volcano that stood before him. He had heard from one of his secret sources that within the volcano lay one of the most high tech facilities that had ever been built. He had reasoned that the most accomplished also meant that it had the most secure systems and he had come to test that theory. Checking his scaling harnesses again, to assure that no unwanted injuries were gotten, he jumped into the gaping abyss without the slightest hesitation. H.I.V.E, meet Otto Malpense.

xxx

Dr Maximilian Nero sat at his desk sifting through the daily reports of his school. Today was one incredibly busy day. Three new students had just joined and two were to be delivered that day. He eyed the newcomers' profiles with a critical eye. Only the best were acknowledged into H.I.V.E.

Shelby Trinity

Highly achieved jewel thief known as The Wraith

Never been caught in any of her heists

Excellent pick-locker

Wing Fanchu

Exceptional martial arts skills

Ability to learn numerous forms of self defense

Laura Brand

Able to hack most systems

Outstanding code-breaker

Nigel Darkdoom

Talent for Science

Son of Diabolus Darkdoom

Franz Argentblum

Son of a criminal mastermind

Impressive size

Nero allowed himself a small satisfied smile at his students' special talents. He settled back into his seat and heaved a long, heavy sigh. But, this also meant that more trouble makers. As much as he loved his job, there were some disadvantages. And sometimes, they outweighed the advantages. Nero buried his face in his hands and massaged his temples. He had allowed his mind to wander to a recent incident amongst his pupils that had resulted in one broken leg, a fractured arm and three black eyes. In other words, it hadn't been pleasant. His hand reached for his forgotten cup of coffee at his desk. He took a calming sip and straightened up. No matter. As long as he was paid, he could put up with it.

xxx

Wing stared out of the tiny window to watch the trees and the town he had lived in for the past 5 years pass by rapidly. He had no idea where he was being taken nor why. The lady who had kidnapped him had not said a word during his capture. He sneaked a peek at her working the controls. She was fully clothed in black. Black twin katanas were sticking out of the two sheaths on her back and the way they were fully displayed was definitely a silent threat. Wing sighed mentally and made himself comfy, or as much as he could, on his small, hard, dingy seat. Just as he was about to doze off, which was hardly short of a miracle considering the condition of the seat, the helicopter's engines stuttered to a stop and the woman out front stood up. Putting a finger to her mouth, she jumped out of the cockpit and ran off to who knows where. Wing stared at the controls for a moment, silently debating whether he should stage a prison break but deciding against it. Letting out breath that he didn't know was bated; he settled back down and closed his eyes.

xxx

The door to the jewelry shop hissed open and a 12-year-old girl wearing black exited. A duffel bag was slung over her shoulder and with careful scrutiny; one would notice the sides bulging out a bit. The girl quickened her pace and went around a corner. Making sure that no one was looking, she took off her bag and rummaged in it as discreetly as he could. A red glimmer caught her eye and she picked up the wrapped item victoriously. The smooth exterior of the item felt familiar in her hands. Bundling it up again, she placed it back into her bag. Another job well done for Shelby Trinity or what she preferred to be called, The Wraith, she most renowned jewel thief in the state maybe even the world. Keeping a smile of her face, Shelby hurried down the street in the direction of her home. She did not notice the fully black clothed figure stalking her every move nor did she notice the sparkling twin swords on her back.

xxx

The figure pulled out a small compact radio from her belt.

"Raven to Nero, I've got her in my sights."

A crackling voice sounded, "Good, get her back here as soon as you can. Have you acquired the boy?"

"Positive. He's now in the copter knocked out with some sleeping doses in his drink."

"Alright. I trust you will be able to get here in time. And before I log out, you would be happy to know that students Brand, Argentblum and Darkdoom have already arrived."

Raven nodded and slipped the radio back into its place.

"Will do, sir."

Blending into the shadows, she trailed after the unsuspecting Shelby. She watched as she opened the door to her house and dash in clutching her bag close to her. She may have been the best jewel thief but she wasn't an actor. Raven examined her house. It wasn't anything fancy. Just an average flat. Though, she doubted that the interior would be the same as the exterior. Picking the window beside Shelby's, she pulled out her grappler unit, attached it to her wrist and aimed it at the window sill. A bolt shot across the gap between her and the window, trailing mono-filament wire. It struck the sill and pierced the concrete pinning it firmly in place. Raven gave at a strong tug and deemed it stable. She held onto the grappler firmly and swung her way across the street and onto the window. Balancing on the sill, she pulled out a customized pen. She pushed a stud on its body and a small, concentrated line of red appeared. Deftly, she carved a circle of red big enough for her to enter on the glass. She carefully knocked the glass out of the way and crawled inside. She allowed herself a small smile as she straightened up and retracted her grappler. Time to get the girl.

xxx

Otto huddled behind a group of crates, keeping well away from sight from the guards pacing the hangar. His harnesses lay on a mound behind him. Moving deeper into the confines of the crates, Otto tried to calm his beating heart. It wasn't that he was anxious or scared. Quite the opposite in fact. He was having an adrenaline rush. He developed a sitting stance and took calming breaths. His eyes fluttered shut and all the surrounding sounds died away. His eyes fluttered close and the glowing network of pulsing lights in his mind became clearer. He felt himself drifting closer to the grid, subconsciously analyzing it. This was the most unique systems he had ever seen and he wanted to be able to replicate it later. He sank slowly towards it, looking for the pathways that would take him beyond the security barriers that cut off the many tracks before him. He saw the path he needed and slowly moved toward it.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The voice behind him wasn't something he had heard before in his subconscious state of mind before and it caused him to jump. Otto turned quickly to find himself face to face with a floating head with a wireframe body glowing blue as he hung in the air, his arms folded.

"Who are you?" he asked finally finding his voice.

The figure tapped his foot in the air impatiently, "Excuse me, young man, but I asked the question first. You have no authorization here in the H.I.V.E network whatsoever. Now, would you please answer me?"

Otto debated on whether or not to tell him. He decided on the latter. His lips pressed into a thin line and he shook his head.

"So it will be," the head said in a suddenly angry voice. It suddenly disappeared and Otto was shaken out of his sub consciousness by alarm klaxons blaring.

Shooting up onto his feet, Otto cursed, grabbed his equipment and ran into the facility while the guards were preoccupied.

xxx

The well-known blue face of H.I.V.E mind appeared at Nero's desk, causing Nero to jump and scattering his papers on his desk.

"H.I.V.E mind! What are you doing here?"

The A1 had been created by Professor Pike, one of the teachers of H.I.V.E. It was a first generation artificially intelligent entity and the school's omnipresent super-computer. It was the smartest computer on the planet. It even had the ability to feel emotions. The purpose of H.I.V.E mind was to serve and ensure uninterrupted functioning of the school.

Right now, it looked a bit put out.

"Dr. Nero, there is an unidentified hacker in the H.I.V.E Mainframe."

Nero frowned and typed a command on his computer. His frown only deepened.

"H.I.V.E mind, nobody has hacked the Mainframe recently."

H.I.V.E mind sighed exasperatedly and Nero knew its impatience had increased.

"Dr. Nero, this intruder has a different way of accessing the computer. He is able to interface with the machines directly and he is now in the school's network!" H.I.V.E mind's voice increased an octave.

Nero stared at the A1 uncomprehendingly.

"He what?"

"Interfaced with the machines!"

Nero snapped out of his shock induced trance and glared at him.

"There is no need to shout H.I.V.E mind Activate the alarms now."

The floating head bowed.

"Yes, sir." The hologram flickered once then disappeared.

Nero took a sip of coffee to mull things over in his head. Interfacing with machines? That was not physically possible. Who was this boy and where had he come from?

He pressed a button on his desk and a long screen appeared. The man projected on the screen looked surprised for a moment before he caught himself and mock saluted.

"At ease, Chief. There is an intruder in the Shroud hangar. Assemble your troops and capture him immediately. I want him to be brought to me. Understood?"

The man nodded. "Sir yes sir."

xxx

Chief Lewis was not having a good day. In the space of an hour, two fights had broken out and Block and Tackle, two students from the henchman stream, had taken part in both. The two blockheads may have been in the henchman stream but that didn't mean that they had to incessantly cause trouble. Lewis glared at the quivering students from across his desk.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked.

Block raised one trembling hand.

"Yes?"

"It wasn't our fault sir! He was asking for it!"

The Chief slammed his fists against the table. "Enough! I have heard excuses more believable than yours. I will be seeing both of you in detention for the next two weeks."

Tackle groaned and Lewis gave him the evil eye. He turned and gestured to the door. "You may go now."

The students nodded and trudged out of his office. When Lewis was sure that they had gone, he collapsed in his seat and massaged his nose bridge. A sudden beeping sounded from his desk and Francisco straightened up and pressed the glowing red button. The face of Dr. Nero appeared in front of him and a look of surprise flitted across his face before he caught himself and saluted.

"At ease, Chief. There is an intruder in the Shroud hangar. Assemble your troops and capture him immediately. I want him to be brought to me. Understood?"

Lewis's mind was racing at a hundred per minute. Intruder? In H.I.V.E? How did he manage to bypass the security?

Lewis nodded and relaxed his position. "Sir yes sir."

Nero's face disappeared and the lights brightened.

Lewis wasted no time in grabbing his radio and alerting his troops.

"Proceed to the Shroud hangar immediately. There is an intruder on the loose."

"Roger that. Moving out."

xxx

Otto emerged from the janitor's closet wearing a new set of orange overalls. He picked a piece of lint of it wrinkling his nose in disdain. The guard that he had knocked out was propped up in the closet, stripped of everything that he wore except his boxers. His climbing equipment was on the shelf hidden from view by the other items on the shelf.

Otto tiptoed up and removed a stunner from the many hung behind the door. He loaded it and smiled evilly to himself. This was proving a difficult but fun challenge indeed.

Holstering the weapon, he strolled casually through the hallways, which he memorized subconsciously. It was so easy to keep up the deception that he belonged there. These people were as stupid as they were dense. Otto went round the corner and wasn't surprised when she found more guards at this end too. He smiled and drew his stunner. Aiming it squarely at the leading man's chest, he set the dial on high and shot.

ZAP!

The guard collapsed immediately not even able to make a strangled yell. The two guards behind him whipped out their radios but Otto knocked them out deftly before they had the chance to alert Nero. Stepping over the unconscious bodies, Otto smirked to himself and continued down the hall.

xxx

Lewis and a whole flank of guards ran down the hallways, earning confused and anxious looks from the students. They were heading towards the area where they had lost communication with three of their guards. Up ahead, he could see the fallen bodies of their allies. Lewis cursed under his breath. They were too late. Lewis nudged one of the guards with the toe of his foot. He groaned but otherwise didn't move. He sighed and pulled out his radio.

"We need medics here, A.S.A.P. Three of our guards have just gotten hit by a level one stunner."

He slipped the radio back onto his belt, still fuming mad. He turned to face his group. "This is our last chance to capture the intruder before he reaches the Mainframe. Spread out and trap him. Remember, he is armed."

The flank nodded and sprinted down the hallway holding their rifles at the ready. Lewis was just about to follow when he caught a small movement from the corner of his eye.

"What the hell?" he muttered as he cautiously walked in the direction. He only had time to give a loud yell before a strong kick to his head brought him down. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a spiky white-haired boy with blue eyes staring down at him with disappointed but amused eyes.

xxx

Otto stared at the unconscious man at his feet. He shook his head and tsked.

"I thought the security was supposed to be much better than this. You disappoint me Chief."

Otto sighed before grabbing one leg and lugging it toward a room that was marked 'Authorized Personnel Only' He painstakingly dragged the unconscious man the remaining distance then let go of his leg quickly.

"You're a heavy man, aren't you?" he murmured as he propped him up on the door.

He held his eyelids open for the retinal scanner to get a proper view of his eye. The light on the scanner beeped then turned green. Next, Otto took the man's finger and placed in on the fingerprint OCR. It beeped twice and turned green as well. Otto smiled to himself as he laid the body down and swept through the items in the man's pockets. He pulled out a rectangular identity card and smirked victoriously as he held it to the card reader. The name 'Chief Lewis' flashed on the screen and the door opened. Otto looked in and his eyes twinkled.

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