"That's quite the prize you've got there," Red-X remarked as soon as See-More and I stepped into the kitchen. His masked head tilted towards the small green figured tied up in a chair centered in the middle of the room. "Not even I have managed to steal a Titan before."

"Yeah, they didn't even see it coming!" See-More answered with a laugh, slapping me on the back. "Kyd Wykkyd just swooped in and grabbed him right underneath all of their noses!"

I glanced over at my teammate. While there was now a familiar smile on his face, I couldn't help but hear an undertone of something beneath his cheerful tone.

"A commendable feat, to be sure," a stoic voice commended as Fixit and Blackfire's orb both floated into the room. Fixit regarded me with a blank expression.

"I see you managed to steal a hostage for me after all... And a very good one at that," Blackfire's voice hummed from the robot as the red lens examined the green teen. "Am I to assume the rest of his little team is still in the city as well? And what of the honorary Titans?"

"The other Titans are still at their tower," Fixit answered, still looking me dead in the eyes. I found myself almost compelled to look back into his blank stare. "And the honorary Titan, Kid Flash, along with Jinx remains within the city as well."

"Jinx. She was a member of your team once before. Your leader, if I'm not mistaken?" Blackfire quipped.

"Yeah, she was our leader," See-More replied, the dark undertone even more evident now. I broke my shared look with Fixit to see my teammate now gazing at the floor, his hands clenched into fists. "But not anymore."

"See-More, your disguise is gone. Did you and Kyd Wykkyd happen to run into any trouble?" Fixit asked, his gaze now focused on the dark skinned teen.

The one-eyed criminal kept his gaze at the ground, refusing to answer.

"See-More, look at me."

While it sounded more like a request than a demand, See-More immediately looked up into Fixit's gaze. The two shared a look for several seconds before the mechanic let out a weary sigh.

"It would seem See-More fired upon Kid Flash and Jinx," Fixit said in a soft breath.

"He what?!" Red-X exclaimed, standing up fully from his previously relaxed position against the wall. "Are you insane? You could have ruined this entire operation with that stunt, kid."

"We got away before anyone saw us!" See-More shot back. "They've got no idea who did that!"

"That isn't the problem," Red-X retorted, squeezing where the bridge of his nose lay behind the mask. "The problem is that they know that someone shot at them. They are going to be on high alert now and, now that green skin over here is with us, the Teen Titans have probably already rounded up those two to try and hunt us down."

"That isn't necessarily true," Fixit spoke up, causing See-More and Red-X to look over at him. I already had my gaze almost forcibly fixed with his once again as the villain continued. "From what I can gather, Kid Flash works mostly alone, and not only that but he has quite the superiority complex. One could assume that he believes he can handle us on his own and, for the most part, he can."

"Well, that's reassuring." Red-X sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"But Kid Flash has changed since the last time your team has fought him, hasn't he?" Fixit continued, and it almost felt like he was speaking directly to me the way his eyes seemed trained on my own. "He is not just one man running solo anymore. He has a love. He has a weakness."

"He has Jinx," See-More finished.

"Correct." Fixit broke his transfixing gaze from me to look over to the floating orb beside him. "You have been unusually quiet, Blackfire. You are the leader in all of this, our planning means nothing without your consent."

"Sounds to me like you all are doing quite well without any consent from me. I must say I'm quite moved to hear you all so eager to break me out of my prison."

"We all have our reasons for helping you," Fixit returned, looking away from the robotic orb now.

"Yes, yes and I have not forgotten." The orb then turned to Red-X. "My dearest thief, you have been so loyal and worked so hard for me for quite awhile now with next to no reward. How would you like to have some of your precious Zinothium right here, right now?"

Red-X's head immediately snapped up at that. "That all depends..." The thief answered, now walking over to join the rest of us standing in the center of the room, "...is this charity, or reward?"

"Consider it an incentive," Blackfire clarified as another flap opened up from beneath the orb's red eye, a vial of a bright red liquid clenched in its extending claw. "One vial now, and the rest when you have taken care of Jinx and Kid Flash."

Red-X stared at the vial, almost tenderly, before reaching out and taking it from the floating robot with careful and gentle hands. "Consider it done," the thief stated, placing the vial within the belt he had around his waist.

"What...What is this? What's going on?" A low mumble rose amongst us.

Immediately, all of our heads looked down at the Titan strapped in the chair.

"It would seem Beastboy is awakening," Fixit stated.

The green Titan's head slowly raised, his green eyes, hazy at first, fixed on us one by one. "Not supposed to be...anymore bad guys...Froze them all up..." the Titan mumbled, his body swaying ever so slightly.

"Looks like you missed a few, kid," Red-X spoke up, an obvious smugness in his voice.

"That collar must have had more juice in it then I thought," Blackfire mused before the robot turned its red lens on me. "Or you're more unforgiving than I had first assumed, Kyd Wykkyd."

I stared at the droid for a moment before shrugging. He was a Titan. I was a H.I.V.E F.I.V.E member. Simple as that.

"S-Starfire?" the green boy called softly at the sound of Blackfire's voice.

"Close..." Blackfire cooed, the orb floating in closer so that its red eye took in all of the green Titan's face. "Think reeeeal hard, Beastboy. I'll give you a few moments, seeing as it isn't your strong suit."

For his credit, the green Titan squinted as he stared at the robot, as if trying to remember if he recognized it from somewhere.

"When we first met, I lied to you. I told you that your jokes were funny."

At that moment, the Titan's eyes widened and he struggled in his restrains for the first time since awakening. "Blackfire!" Beastboy cried out with a tad bit more strength than before. He looked around at all of us with more life and panic in his eyes. "You guys made a big mistake. You think I'm just gonna sit here and-!"

But, as soon as he tried to break free, as soon as he tried to form into an animal that could escape, the collar around his neck activated. Beastboy screamed in pain as the electricity surged through his body and it was only a second before he was doubled over in the chair, breathing heavy in his still human form.

"If my sources are correct, you should recognize that collar around your neck," Blackfire continued to speak in her soft, almost lustrous voice. "A very unique invention. The collar shocks its captive into doing whatever the master desires you to do. But, while my friend enjoyed seeing you change into your many different animal forms, I find I like you staying just the way you really are. Weak and susceptible."

"The others will come rescue me," Beastboy growled, giving the floating robot a death stare unlike which I have seen on his usual obliviously joyful face. "None of you will get away with whatever you're planning."

"Oooh, so serious," Blackfire taunted, laughter in her voice. "Is my little green Titan actually starting to grow up? Not to worry, however, your friends won't have to waste their time searching for you. We are planning to bring you straight to them."

The green boy's eyes narrowed. "What are you—"

The Titan was interrupted when the room started to flash a bright red color, sirens blasting through the entire base, instantly causing everyone but Fixit to flinch. Instead, the mechanic's eyes began to flash red.

"What's the problem?" Blackfire demanded, turning to face Fixit.

"Someone is trying to access the front doors," he answered. His gaze then turned to the giant TV in the connecting living room. "I shall pull up the monitors."

Instantly, the TV flashed on, revealing multiple screens of security cameras inside and outside the base. A screen of a figure outside the main doors was selected and instantly increased in size, revealing a slender girl with pink hair trying to use the access panel; her frustration could be seen from here.

"Ahh, well, isn't this a surprise," Blackfire mused as the orb floated closer to the screen. "It seems our next target has brought herself to us."

I looked over at See-More again to see him staring silently at the screen. The fists clenched at his sides were now trembling.

"Red-X," Blackfire stated simply as the orb turned to face him.

"Consider it done," Red-X repeated but, before he could even make a move to leave, See-More suddenly stepped forward.

"Blackfire, ah, ma'am, I would like to take care of Jinx," my fellow H.I.V.E member spoke up, his eye still on the screen.

"Oh, you do, do you?" the Tamaranian responded, a faint hint of a smile in her voice. "And why is that, if I might ask?"

"I want to know why she abandoned us," See-More answered without pause, without breaking his gaze from the screen. "I want to know why she betrayed us and left us to rot before we do anything else to her."

"Sounds like a good enough reason to me," Blackfire answered, the smile no longer just a hint. "Red-X, you're on hold for now."

"As long as I still get to keep the Zinothium," the thief said with a shrug before resting back against the wall.

"You coming with me?" See-More asked, now facing me.

I stared back into his face, seeing no smile, no cheerful jesting in his expression. Just serious determination. It was like looking into a mirror.

I nodded once.

"Good, then while you two take care of Jinx, Fixit and I will proceed with our little green Titan here."

"You won't get anything out of me!" Beastboy swore, his green eyes aflame as he glared at the floating orb.

In response, Blackfire let out a bubbly laugh, so light and carefree that even I felt a shiver run down my spine. "You misunderstand, my little Titan..." the Tamaranian said as Fixit moved towards his tied up body."But, thankfully, my good friend is here to rectify that..."

Without a word, the mechanic placed both hands on the sides of the green Titan's face and his eyes bore into the teen's green ones. Beastboy stared back into them, looks of struggle draining away to mindlessness.

"Kyd Wykkyd, See-More," Blackfire called, breaking me and my companion from our gazing. I looked up to see her hovering near the screen, Jinx still standing, impatiently trying to access the front doors. "Your former leader awaits."

I stared at the screen. I stared into the projected face of Jinx, of our fallen leader. Her face was still decorated in pink, my least favorite color. It had always been a struggle for me even to look at her, so vibrant was her hair and face. Now, somewhere deep inside, I regretted not looking at her face more. It was not unpleasant, and, in a few ways, in reminded me of my mother.

A sudden hand clasping on my shoulder broke me from my gazing. I glanced over it to see the hand connecting to See-More, his face a permanent stain of grimness and grit.

"Come on, Kyd, let's see this done," he said in a voice not his own. He then grabbed my cloak, his grip strong— determined. "Can you take us both through your cape? It'll be faster that way."

I looked into his eye then. Searching, for some reason, for some glimpse of a smile. For some bit of humor that still remained trapped in his solemn stare.

I found none.

I nodded in response to his question and, gently pulling the cape from his hand, held it up like a curtain. I indicated with my head for him to walk through.

See-More looked from me to the extended cloak, hesitating only for a moment before taking a deep sigh and proceeding into it. With a quick move, I followed closely behind him, pulling my cloak around us and pulling us into the cold dark.

...

A moment later, we reappeared outside into the cold night air. Its bitter wind was a comfort from the sinking, icy feeling of teleportation.

Instantly, my eyes turned towards our base, and the small, pink girl who stood before his doors.

"There she is!" See-More hissed, taking an instant step forward, hand on his dial. Though, even before I could hold up a hand, he halted. I looked up to his face to see his hand trembling, still clenching the dial. "What do we do? What do we do? Do we talk to her first or do we just attack? What..."

His pondering ended however and I watched as his single pupil widened in surprise. Slowly, I turned my own head to see our base again, the pink girl now much larger as she walked closer towards the two of us.

"Kyd Wykkyd...? See-More? Is that really you? Both of you?"

"Jinx..." See-More whispered, weakness in his voice. His shaking hand remained on the dial.

"How in the world are you two here?" Jinx asked us, stepping ever closer, curiosity flickering off those cat like eyes. "How did you two make it after...After..."

"After you betrayed us?!" See-More shouted, stepping forward right when Jinx stopped, seemingly stunned.

"I..."

"Why did you betray us? I thought we were friends...I thought we were your family!" See-More continued, his voice rising as he shouted.

I had never seen my companion so torn, so distraught. And by the horrid look on Jinx's face, I don't suppose she had either.

"See-More...I...I didn't mean for...this to happen..."

"Didn't mean for it to happen?" See-More echoed, his voice dripping with disbelief. "You pushed us into joining the Brotherhood. We didn't want any of what they were after, but you insisted. You insisted. And what happened? You betrayed us."

The dials cranked on his eye until See-More's shone with a bright red. He took another step forward then as Jinx took a step back, her hands raised.

"Please, See-More..." Jinx said, her eyes solely on him. "You don't want to do this."

"Why did you betray us, Jinx?" See-More almost pleaded, his hand now tightly pressed against his dial. "Mammoth, Gizmo, and Billy Numerous are frozen. Frozen forever because of you. Don't you care? Don't you care at all that your friends are gone?"

At this, Jinx stopped moving back. Instead, she stood taller, hands still outstretched, her gaze locking with See-More's.

"Those guys...were not my friends," Jinx countered, a fiery certainty in her words. "We were accomplices and we used each other to steal and to hurt others. They did it for fun, I did it because I thought it was the only thing I could do. I wasn't given any choice, ever since I was born. I was raised with these powers. I was raised to be cursed and to curse others. And I lived my life believing all I could be was a villain."

"So you pretended to have fun with us?" See-More pressed, his voice shaking, his resolve breaking. "You pretended to enjoy hanging out with us...hanging out with me...?"

His last few words came out in a whisper, a voice so low that only I could hear it.

"Like I said, I did it because I thought I didn't have a choice," Jinx replied with so much conviction I couldn't help but notice See-More flinch. "I tried my best to accept it, to make something good out of it, but all I ever— All we ever ended up with was failure and disappointment. I wanted something more than that."

"That isn't true..." See-More hissed, his voice now soft and shaking. "That isn't true...We still had fun...We still were a team...Despite the failures, despite the mistakes...we stuck it out together...We..."

"It held nothing for me, See-More," Jinx said softly, her arms lowering to her sides. "I was living a lie. I was fighting through a nightmare that I needed to wake up from. This is who I am now. I am with the Titan's. I am fighting for a purpose that actually has meaning now."

"So, that's all we were to you then..." See-More whispered, his single red eye trained at his leader. Our leader. "We were just second rates, nobodies, people you had to endure because you had no other choice."

"I'm sorry, See-More." Jinx raised up her arms to us again, and I saw the fire return to her eyes as pink energy danced off her fingers.

"And now you're going to erase the only two who remain...You are going to stick us in that freezer and forget about us..."

See-More realized just as I did.

In a flash, I gripped my cloak. I made to grab at See-More's arm, but I was too slow. We always were with him.

A great force struck me in the back before I even had time to react, sending me off my feet and into the air. Time seemed to slow down as I floated in mid-air, and I watched as Jinx and See-More stood against each other.

"I'm sorry, See-More," Jinx whispered again, a single tear freeing itself from her pink eyes.

In response, See-More let out a howl of rage, hand still on the dial. "I WON'T LET YOU FORGET ABOUT ME!" my companion roared at the top of his lungs, but even before he could launch an attack, the pink energy pulsed through the ground around him. An instant later, the earth itself was torn up from its roots.

I watched as See-More disappeared amongst the destruction as time sped up again.

I tried gripping my cloak as I rolled like a rag doll against the ground, but the force of it was too much and I couldn't even make sense of where the sky was. Let alone have enough bearings to grab anything.

The world continued to spin even when I stopped moving. I watched as a blurred red and yellow shape walkws towards me, a pink one following him.

"Did you have to be so rough?" I heard Jinx's voice ask as the red and yellow figure leaned in closer.

"They weren't going to be gentle with you," Kid Flash's voice answered, strangely morbid and even. "I was in their base. They've got Beastboy and they planned to make you their next hostage."

"We have to warn Robin and the others then!" Jinx exclaimed. I felt a strong grip take hold of my metallic collar, lifting me up slightly.

"First, we need to take these two back to the Brotherhood's trophy room."

In a hasty move, I reached to grab my cloak once again, only to hear it tear as I tried to pull it up.

"Run into some bad luck, Kyd Wykkyd?" I heard Jinx ask sweetly. I glared up at her as my vision finally began to clear.

"Your leader made a dumb mistake sending you two after us," Kid Flash piped up, grinning at me. "Jinx and I know every little trick your team has."

"How about this trick?" Red-X asked.

With a surprised gasp, Jinx tried to turn to face him. With deadly grace, Red-X had her by the arm and planted a palm to her back. Red electricity surged through her body and, with a cry, Jinx fell to the ground.

'"Jinx!" Kid Flash cried out.

I felt his grip lessen, but before he let go, I gripped him by his own collar. As he turned to face me, I launched my head against his. A great surge of pain hit me as soon as we connected, sending me swimming back through haziness. As I fell back, I watched as Kid Flash tried to remain standing on shaky legs, but Red-X was upon him in an instant.

"Not so fast now, are ya, kid?" the thief taunted as he struggled with the speedster.

My dizziness quickly faded as I stood back up. Red-X still sat over Kid Flash, only now the Honorary Titan sported two large X shaped bindings that went around both his legs and his torso.

"Blackfire told me you're able to vibrate through solid matter," Red-X said to Kid Flash, standing up to admire his handiwork. "Good thing that sicko Robin developed these bindings to tighten up at any sign of struggle..."

Kid Flash froze on the ground, face drenched in sweat. His cold, determined eyes trained on Red-X until a small smile finally broke on his face.

"It's good to see some of you low-lifes are still around. I was beginning to get bored."

"Can't have that, can we?" Red-X replied with a chuckle of his own. He then gripped Kid Flash by the shoulders and began to drag him towards the base. "You grab Jinx and find where your little one-eyed friend disappeared to."

I nodded once before glancing over at Jinx. Her body still lay where it had fallen and, aside from the occasional twitch, she wasn't moving. I quickly walked over to the destroyed ground, searching for any sign of See-More, and found none. Regardless, I carefully stepped into the destroyed rubble and began shifting through the rocks.

As I pushed through the larger hunks of earth, I couldn't help but glance over in Jinx's direction. She still hadn't moved from her spot and, from my angle, I was unable to see her face. Probably for the best.

"Hey, Kyd, what happened to your cape?" See-More's voice asked from somewhere behind me. Genuinely surprised, I quickly turned to see my companion standing there, dirt now decorating his clothes but other than that looking completely unharmed.

I followed his eye to my torn cape, the fabric almost ripped completely in half horizontally. I shrugged in reply to his comment. This kind of thing happened all the time, the cape always mended itself after some time.

"Well, it looks like you managed to deal with Jinx," See-More noted, looking over at the fallen girl. I stepped down from the fallen rubble and began making my way towards her, See-More's footsteps close behind me.

...

"You have all served me very well these past few days," Blackfire announced as the floating droid hovered around the three captured prisoners. "And, while I know each of you are doing this for your own personal gain, still, you have my thanks. And now comes a defining moment in my plan— in our plan. We have with us Kid Flash and Jinx, the only two Honorary Titans still within the city who could warn our do-gooding team of the impending danger. And with them, Beastboy himself, the mindless fool who will be key in our next phase succeeding."

I carefully watched the prisoners in question. Jinx remained unconscious, her pink face calm and peaceful. Kid Flash glared at all of us, his face fixed in an uncharacteristically serious expression. And then there was Beastboy, his eyes open yet empty, face alive yet expressionless.

"For, you see, our next plan will take us into the Titan's base itself."

There were immediate gasps at that. The thought of going back inside that tower sent familiar chills down my spine.

"Blackfire..." Fixit spoke up, a look of worry breaking through his usual calmness. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"Very," the Tamaranian replied. "In case you have forgotten, my prison won't be found in some mere jail down the street. It's in deep space, galaxies away from this little blot you all call home."

"So, that's it then...We're..."

"Yes," Blackfire broke in, the red orb reflecting the four of us in its wide gaze. "We are going to steal the Titan's T-ship."