A lone man in a small boat approached the abandoned oil rig that was the HIVE Academy. Truth be told, the man looked rather silly. He wore a motorcycle helmet, sunglasses under a mask, an unbuttoned blue Hawaiian shirt, and jet black undershirt and pants. Nun-chucks hung from his belt. The man was Mr. Pacific, and he was going to have a chat with the HIVE.

Pacific made sure to pull out a white flag, which he mounted on his little rental boat. He was coming in peace. Coming alone, he was certainly not a threat. He needed to inform the HIVE of something that would affect the entire city, including them.

He should have set off their proximity alarm by now. Pacific waited for some guards to show up.

From the rig three figures descended down to sea-level. Two of them were armed soldiers kitted in identical wasp-themed battle armour. The third was a boy who appeared to be some living computer sprite. Pix controlled the platforms they flew down on, each composed by a multitude of pixels. The airborne floats stopped stationary in front of the intruder.

Normally when a random vessel wandered too close and made the guards anxious, they would soon drift away without event. Today this brave soul had put up an obvious signal to gain their attention. The white flag could only have been for them. Unless the guy had been soundly beaten at fishing. But that was taking a hobby too far.

Almost exactly on cue, a head bobbed out of the water. One stern-faced Atlantean put a hand on their guest's hull, swaying the boat with his strength. He turned to the welcome committee, “He's not being followed.” Aquarius smiled but with no mirth. Always so sour, “You sought us out alone human. What do you want - to join?”

A fourth pixel platform lowered to the side of the boat for transport. Finally Hugh got his first good look at the trespasser. (0_0) “Err, M-Mr Pacific?” Pix had brushed up on his Nighthawks recently. It was safe to assume that their leader was not here to enroll in HIVE. It was also likely his presence was of direct consequence to that Lantern tracking device the other week.

Headmistress isn't going to like this one bit...

As expected, the HIVE had taken notice to his presence and had come to investigate. Pacific was met by two generic guards, a computer pixel man, and an Atlantean. He had no chance of fighting this out, but he had never had any intentions of fighting.

The Atlantean asked if he wanted to join. "In a manner of speaking."

The pixel man said his name. "I see you know who I am. If you know anything about me, then you know that I come in peace. I would like to speak to your superiors. There is a matter of importance that I must discuss with them."

“Of course there is. Just get on the damn pixels already.” They needed to put Pacific on the actual oil rig before deciding how to handle the situation. At least there he would be surrounded by high-tech security measures. It occurred to Pix now that he was unsure what this hero could actually do, and that lack of knowledge was dangerous.

Both guards dutifully trained their laser rifles on the Nighthawk and made demands for disarmament. Aquarius would take care of the boat and search it, though it did not look capable of harbouring surprises greater than a stubborn limpet. Hugh himself pulled out a communicator, allowing his tetris blocks to shift as necessary in the meanwhile.

“Welcome committee reporting in, HIVE command. Contact has been made. One lone hero. Positively identified as leader of the Nighthawks – Mr Pacific. No teammates following... by sea at least.” He was sceptical of Murkro's ability to notice potential security concerns approaching from the air, “Wishes an audience with someone in charge. Recommend giving him to Manslaughter instead. Or Rawhide after a bad night's sleep. Please advise.”

In waiting for instructions, Pix was overcome with an inquisitiveness. Coming here alone was a gutsy move, and not something someone would try unless they had no other choice. Right? Then surely there was hope yet that HIVE headquarters was not entirely compromised, “How many of you did that off-colour Lantern tell about here, anyway?”

Pacific stepped off of the boat and onto the pixelated platform. Jump City never seemed to run out of surprises for him.

The Atlantean would find nothing of interest in the boat. Pacific was here to talk. So far everything seemed to be going well. They hadn't shot him on sight. That was a good sign. Pacific heard the pixel man's conversation and hoped they didn't decide to torture him. If they did, it wouldn't be long before the Titans, Night Hawks, and HIVE were in deep trouble.

"I'm sure you know that I wouldn't come out here for any old errand. I carry vital information of great importance. As for the location of your base, only a few of my teammates know of its location. We do not plan on sharing that information with others, nor do we plan to challenge you."

Pacific didn't know who the true leader of the HIVE was. He knew who a few of the higher-ups might be, but he wasn't sure if he would actually get to talk to them right off the bat. He would settle for anyone of importance, really. Once they heard his message, they would inform the leader.

Dark matter made his way towards the upper deck after a rather rude interruption. Apparently on of their enemies had appeared at their doorstep. The recorded call-in mentioned a request for someone in charge. The HIVE elite wouldn’t risk exposing themselves so easily so instead they ordered him to do it. One of the hatches on the platform’s surface opened and Krious emerged from it. The elevator was still in ruins thanks to their entry and this was now the only way to get topside. He continued to make his way down the platform towards the surface of the water. The closer he got to the more he could make out, visually and audibly, until finally joining the group.

“Mr. Pacific. I hope you have some way of assuring us of that claim since it would be a shame to have to look you up again should anything suspicious happen. Now, what is so important for you to show your face here?”

The mask still hid his facial features and his monotonous voice didn’t exactly sound courteous either. He had heard of this man, and his team, and that could also be the case the other way around should he reveal his face. Whatever it was that was so important to come down here in person, and in doing so admitting to knowing too much and making yourself a target, would have to be dealt with here and now. In no way would he be allowed entry and they would have to take some measures of assuring their base would not be compromised.

A man of some obvious importance appeared. Pacific didn't know who this new HIVE member was, but he assumed he was someone relatively high-up on the command chain.

Pacific couldn't help but chuckle to himself when Krious asked why he had chosen to "show his face." Not even the other Night Hawks had seen Pacific's true face, and he intended to keep it that way.

"I'm here because we are on the same side," Pacific said. "A declaration of war has been issued against Jump City and all of its inhabitants. Our enemy is a powerful sorcerer who goes by 'Hades.' Hades thinks he's entitled to whatever he wants, which is power. He has no respect for the Night Hawks, the Titans, or the HIVE."

"In two days, Hades has threatened to destroy the Jump City. Such a bold threat cannot go unanswered, especially when made by someone so strong. However, any single team that attempts to fight Hades on their own will suffer heavy losses. I know that our organizations may not see eye to eye, but we all have assets that we want to protect within Jump City, including our the lives of our comrades."

Pacific held his arms out in a wide gesture. "That is why I am asking you to join a temporary alliance to defend Jump City. If all three factions work together, we can defeat Hades without difficulty. He will be overwhelmed and will be unable to match our force with his magic. I know the exact location and time when Hades will strike. If you want to punish this man who would challenge your lives in Jump City, then please join my alliance." Pacific brought his arms together again, symbolizing the unity of Jump City's factions. He waited for Krious to respond.

Hades, that was a name he had never heard before. Somehow that made it hard to believe this guy was as powerful as Pacific made it seem. Well he had been wrong in his assumptions before, better to prepare for the worst than take the easy for granted.

"An alliance? Preposterous."

Fighting alongside Titans and Nighthawks? The situation didn't look that dire, but unfortunately he had to look at this through a HIVE perspective. In that aspect Pacific did have a point. Jump city was vital for HIVE operations. Unlike Steel city it was relatively safe, provided for all their needs and most importantly, was packed with metahumans. None of the other nearby cities rivaled it and moving the HQ wasn't an easy task even if that were the case. In the end it didn't really matter what he thought, the headmistress would make this decision based on several factors. If this Hades was really that powerful that decision would be in Pacific's favor.

"This is not something to blindly agree on. I will convey this to my brethren, tell me this exact time and location and you will know our answer then."

Quite a few possibilities opened up should this alliance come to fruition. It might even serve to teach these students a thing or two. This may yet become the most significant event in recent HIVE history.

The host called the plan preposterous, but he didn't seem to be angry. Everyone had motives of some sort, and Pacific had never thought of villains as mindless. The HIVE needed this city just as much as the Titans did, and a lot more than the Night Hawks did. It was clear to Pacific that his host wasn't crazy: he wouldn't simply throw away this information.

Krious said that he would pass the message along. Pacific smiled. Good, the true leaders would soon know everything.

Pacific told Krious the exact time and place (a specific clearing in the woods) where Hades would make his attack. He hoped that they would agree with his plan in the end. If not, he always had a back-up plan.