Personal Problems. (Titans and HIVE)

Finn was just on the phone with his dad. His father didn't agree with him trying to be all bad and stuff.

"It's my own choice! And I've made my own decision!"

Finn hangs up the phone and runs down to the general store. The store owner is the only one in the store and he is managing the money in the cash register. Finn points both his hands toward the owner and oil slams the owner into the wall and sticks him there. He walks over to the owner and cocks back his fist. The owner flinches and Finn is already loading cash from the register into a big brown bag. He gets in the owner's face.

"Do you remember me?"

Owner: "Y-Yeah...your that little boy from the home where I killed those 2 adults."

Finn grabs the cash register and cocks it back as if to hit him.

"Yeah, that was my aunt and uncle!"

Finn launches it forward toward the owner's face.

It should have been harder to maintain a secret identity. When John Doe puts on a mask - he just looks like John Doe, wearing a mask. The elaborate outfits both heroes and villains wear shouldn't work at all. But a psychologist, according to the newspaper Hugh was outside reading, had identified a phenomenon he'd dubbed 'The Supers Effect'. It stated that the average psyche is so apt at assigning identities to strangers that this works against people when faced with a mask. Having erroneously assigned the masked form its separate identity, it was harder to make the link between superhero and mundane janitor.

So Hugh had psychology to thank. No one except HIVE knew he was the supervillain Pix. And he wanted to keep it that way. Because he still liked to walk down Jump City's retail centre on a day off. It was as if he'd never robbed the joints.

However, there were still certain precautions he had to take. If he bumped into a fellow student whilst pretending to be all civiliany, he couldn't greet them. Or - if he didn't know that classmate well enough - he needed to actively avoid them. Couldn't trust people who didn't exactly know not to blow his cover. And for that exact reason, Hugh had a newspaper in front of his face as Oil Boy raced passed.

A few doors down the guy entered a convenience store, Where's he off to in such a hurry? It would be a good distraction, butting in on a fellow student's business. Hugh hurried into a public restroom, dropping his newspaper into the bin. He exited a moment later as the blocky supervillain Pix - knocking said litter bin over.

Pix crashed through the entrance, intending to scare Finn, "Halt! Police!" This didn't look like a routine robbery, "Oil Boy. Is there money in that guy's face? What are you doing?"

Finn was about to smash the guy's face in with the cash register when he had heard his codename and somebody speak. It sounded like Pix's voice and this seemed to calm Finn down a little bit but not by much. He was still holding the guy up against the wall by one hand and the cash register was close to his face.

"It's personal. This dirtbag is the guy who killed my aunt and uncle. I hate him and I want him to suffer. Killing him will make it too easy for him. I want him to suffer and be tortured. HIVE style."

Finn dropped the register and smashed his fist into the guy's pressure point in his neck. It paralyzed him from the chest down but the guy could still talk and move his head so basically everything above his chest. He was about to put him in an oil-cocoon when he still remembered that Pix was there.

"Ahem...HIVE style?"

Tex walked around the corner, she wasn't wearing her armor so, like Pix, she was completely incognito. It didn't make too much sense that she saw the kid seemingly everywhere she went but...she heard HIVE's name and had to take a look.

"Mkay kid, so you're going to kill him HIVE style. You slap our name on something and think we won't notice? What the hell is that? What's your plan after that? You kill him AND THEN WHAT?" The 25 year old woman put her face in her hand and grumbled in anger. "That's the issue with HIVE. Half of you go around aimlessly doing whatever you see fit with no one to bail you out."

Looking at the guy that the kid paralyzed, she didn't see any reason not to kill him, but like this? It'd be stupid, people would be attracted to the HIVE...unwanted people. "I'm not saying let him go. Hell, he deserves the opposite. I'm telling you it's time the hive gets smart about their moves, so be smart about this one.

Suddenly, two batarangs would fly at Finn. They activated in midair, splitting into two batarangs each, with a wire spanned between them. This was Terry's equivalent of bolas, and if Finn didn't react quickly enough, he would find himself bound by the batarangs as they wrapped their wires around him, restraining and effectively arresting him. These were bolas used to restrain criminals in the future of Neo-Gotham, and so weren't easily broken.

I agree, but now it's too late.

Terry appeared in the middle of the room, seemingly from nowhere, and of course, in costume.

So you're all HIVE students? That's bad for your name. You were just talking about being smarter with your actions, so take the smart route: Leave, now, since you haven't done anything wrong. I'll be taking that guy with me.

Unbeknownst to the HIVE students, Terry was also broadcasting that message to Metamorphi, who was waiting right outside in case anything went wrong.

Finn had been wrapped with some strong string and this just made him pissed. Some batman-wannabee just appeared out of nowhere, and he seemed to be trying to arrest him. He transformed into black oil which made the string go off of him and then went back into his human form, letting go off the owner who then ran out behind Terry.

"Back off. This is personal. Nothing that concerns you. All of you."

Finn had a deadly look in his eye because he wanted the store owner to get tortured until he begged for mercy. Taking one step towards Terry, he made an angry face and his hands clenched into fists. This dude had no idea who he was messing with.

"I'm going nowhere. If I'm going anywhere, it'll be back with my friends."

I highly doubt that a seemingly invisible figure said, for he could not of been Terry because of the sound of his voice, he stepped out of the shadows, into the light and revealed himself to be a man made out of the same material as the wall, which is why he blended into it perfectly You have one chance to surrender without a fight, otherwise it will be a fight, and you will lose he then turned to the girl You can leave if you want, but you leave alone and without him

Tex had a point. The academy students had a habit of using the H.I.V.E. name to justify and/or back personal vendettas. Revenge was petty and certainly in lieu of a larger goal that could benefit the villainous community. But this behavior shouldn't be condoned entirely. If only Oil Boy had asked for assistance, they would have helped him figure out what next. It could have served as a bonding exercise for the community.

Thanks to this Titan's intervention, it still might.

Lately the Titans had begun to wake up and take a stand against HIVE actions. It was about time. They were harder to destroy when they were a no-show. Oil Boy chose to defy the Titan, and Pix was eager to back up his compatriot, "It's like, three against one, Beyond." () The sprite crossed his arms confidently.

"H.I.V.E. will settle this matter between ourselves, on our own time. Hand over the murderer." It was then that a second Titan made himself know. Hugh suddenly showed greater concern (0_0), now that their advantage wasn't so overwhelming. The address Meta made Tex caused Pix to cringe knowingly, "Yes, you wouldn't want to get caught up in a fight now, would you?" Tex could be more than a decent match for these Titans by herself. Especially if insulted.

Tex groaned and clenched her fists. She didn't have her armor, which meant Theta and Omega didn't do much for her. Nodding to the Ttans, she took off around the corner, taking the offer they had given her to escape and ran up the fire escape of the building. Pressing a few buttons on a panel, her armor appeared in the ventilation shaft of the building, which she hastily stepped into and allowed to close around her. Suddenly, the Titans' chances were far more bleak.

Leaping off the side of the building, she landed and created a crater in the street, modifying her voice with her helmet just in case the Titans weren't smart enough to make the connection without a voice match. "Beyond, you have no idea...what kind of trouble you're in." She said in a voice that was very masculine, cracking her fists and neck. She knew she'd be more than a match for beyond in strength. His strikes? They'd do nothing to her armor, which would likely deal with most of his gadgets too.

The perp got free of the cables/bolas, which actually surprised Terry, as he lifted an eyebrow. He had done it by transforming into a black substance, which looked like oil, and then just reformed. Bad memories of Inque clouded Terry's mind, before he dispelled them, getting back to the matter at hand. The oil guy said that he wasn't going to come quietly, saying that if he was going anywhere, that it would be back with his friends.

Terry gave him the Batman look, as Pix remarked that it was three-on-one, and Metamorphi revealed himself. Pix's expression already told him he wasn't liking the odds, even with the numbers advantage. Pix said that the Titans wouldn't want to be caught up in a fight.

Of course not. We never do. But because of people like you, we have to. And that's why we're so good at it.

Terry was really mastering the Batman voice these days, as the woman apparently took Meta's offer and took a break for it. However, a few moments later, a man in a suit appeared in the street, addressing Terry directly (As Beyond), and saying he had no idea what kind of trouble he was in. He chuckled, grinning.

That's funny, coming from you. He turned to Pix and the oil guy. This is your last chance. Call off your buddy over there, and leave your friend in our custody. If you stay here, it will be taken as you trying to stop us.

Terry pressed a button in the palm of his hand, unbeknownst to everyone around him. He also made a quiet broadcast to Meta.

Should we call in a third guy? Or do you think we can handle them?

The button readied a special batarang to be fired, as he waited for the trio's decision.

Finn turned his head toward the Batman wannabee, his anger bubbling from these Titan's trying to butt in on his business. Finally, he had enough and he gave the wannabee an angry look that said, "Alright, you just made me mad."

"Then I guess we're trying to stop you. And since you already tried to wrap me up, you made the first move which means...I didn't start the fight."

Finn sent both of his hands forward toward Terry and made oil come out of them but the oil came out in the shapes of fists. He had a strategy because Terry looked like Batman and seemed physically active so he might be more challenging to beat than he looked. The idea was that if Terry dodged the fists, Finn would make them explode an oily trap able to stick Terry to any platform.

"You should have backed off."

Metamorphi awnsered the silent broadcast with a whisper I think we should, just in case, but your the freaking Bat, so it's your choice he then stepped back into the shadows, blending to become the same material as the wall. He came up behind Pix and wrapped his arms around his shoulders (I believe the hold is called a full Nelson, or something like that), then attempted to bring him to his knees with a kick to the back of them, if he succeded in this he would take out some power-binding handcuffs and try to put them on. All of his movements depended on whether or not Pix escaped or whether or nor Tex helped Pix.

((OOC: Could you explain to me how these miraculous cuffs work, Pika? Or some background? They sound like they should be in everybody's arsenal if they existed. =P ))

As the battle got underway Pix began to consider his strategy. Like before, these Titans could be holding back reinforcements. He wasn't willing to acknowledge that Metamorphi had blown the advantage of surprise by announcing his presence back there. Also, both the shifter and Beyond were flexibility fighters. No one had chosen this battlefield, and therefore the advantage fell to them. Despite Tex's combat prowess, Pix would have liked to retreat. Yet their comrade Oil Boy wasn't in the mindset to back down. Perhaps if Hugh extracted the shop-keeper, their vengeance motived pal would abandon this foolhardy battle.

Looking around, Hugh saw a CCTV display monitor above the till and peeled off its pixel-load for his own purposes. It wasn't nearly enough. Another reason to withdraw in this situation. Or send for back-up. The sprite drew his HIVE communicator. The binding of his arms caused Hugh to drop said device.

Metamorphi had doubled-round behind. Pix felt a pang of idiocy that he'd been standing with his back to a wall. The Titan quickly subdued the student with a kick, forcing Pix to one knee, and drew a pair of handcuffs. As the bindings clicked into place, Hugh's hands separated at the wrist.

"Bad strategy." Pix's arms now broke off at the shoulders, releasing the hold Meta had on him. The student tumbled forward and twisted back round on the floor to deliver a sweeping kick. Meanwhile his free-floating hands would stab their thumbs at the Titan's eyes for distraction.

Terry watched as the kid decided to make a bad decision and resist arrest, saying they were going to try and stop them. Terry cast a look to Meta.

Why don't they ever make the smart decision, even after talking about it?

The problem with Finn's logic was that he didn't see a very important thing. And that was that Terry, like his mentor, was pretty intelligent. While they had been talking with each other, Terry had been, just like Bruce would have, coming up with a plan in case Finn attempted this very thing. The fact was that whatever substance Finn was using was a liquid, and liquids will evaporate under intense heat. It would be even more up Terry's alley if it was flammable.

So when Finn launched his oily fists at him, Terry jumped back, firing an explosive batarang at the fists. When it was directly in front of them, it would explode. If Finn's oil was flammable, it would ignite, but even if it wasn't, it would disperse it towards Finn's direction instead of his own because of the shockwave. This would give Terry enough time to assess a future attack if he needed to dodge, at the very least. In addition, it turned the general store's sprinklers on. Finn said that he made the wrong decision.

Why do you guys keep stealing my lines?

((Gee, thanks for skipping me. I really don't want to post right now but I don't want to be skipped again.))

Tex didn't quite care whether or not the oil would disperse, nor did it matter as Beyond threw the explosive batarang, she made her move to attack. Using her enhanced speed, she shot in faster than most humans would think possible, aiming a clothesline right into Beyond's neck. Using Theta and Omega, she already had a clear understanding of her surroundings and she knew there were...barely any pixelated screens nearby, if there were any.

The holographic forms of Theta and Omega would appear in front of Pix as he detached his arms and Theta would smile up at him. "Hello! We're here to help!" He said, giving a goofy little salute. Omega would just groan and shake his head. "We can both grow and generate pixels as needed while assisting Agent Texas...use them as you see fit." He growled, crossing his arms.

Tex would be busy unleashing a barrage of strikes at Beyond whether the clothesline hit or not, the only difference would be if he were on the ground or dodging the strikes on his feet. She'd be busy using her Theta State to unleash her onslaught, watching her motion trackers for backup and any sudden moves from Beyond toward that stupid belt of his, or gauntlets or anything else he'd have up his sleeve.