Memorabilia (Salsa)

With a hydraulic hiss the truck seemed to sink into the tarmac. Hugh applied the parking brake which took both his hands to shift. Having cased the multi-storey previously - he was able to send out pixels to cover the camera immediately facing his position. As expected, the second-to-last level of the carpark was almost empty. Still plenty of space on the floor below. And the less than savoury types had chosen the fresh air of the roof.

Removing his cap, he transformed; a computer sprite hopping out of the cabin. He checked his pixels on the front number plate. They'd held in place. It was a stolen vehicle. It had been necessary to change them to avoid unwanted attention. The government and Titans were pretty busy chasing each others' tails these days. But that didn't mean he could be lax.

Pix had deemed it an opportune time to shift some of his illicit wares. From that warehouse he'd raided, he was in possession of several laser rifles, stacks of drone armour, and boxes of high-end robot components. Nothing that he was interested in using. But he knew someone out there would be putting something together. Always better to be the middle man in these hair-brained schemes.

He'd presented his wares by proxy. Small pieces of the merchandise divvied out to professional fences for a fee, so that they could act as hooks. Somebody had bitten and he'd arranged to meet them in the multi-storey. Pix had naturally toyed with the idea of hiding his involvement entirely. Pay another go-between to act as face-man. But he wanted whichever one of his old HIVE colleagues to see that he was doing well. Making bank while they were trying to relive the glory days.

And if it came down to it, thwarting them if they tried to double-cross him. They weren't getting out of this carpark without his assent. (-__-)

When it came to finding his old family once more, Bark had to start thinking like a professional and less like a student. With all the chaos in the city between those that WERE heroes and those that were pretending to be (hard to tell in today's climate which is which), Bark saw an opportunity to send an... overt signal to those he was trying to contact, a message of sorts that would hopefully attract the attention he wanted. Bark sent out a request across the internet for H.I.V.E. equipment of any sort, that he was some sort of collector that was seeking to expand his stock. ...It wouldn't take an intelligent man to decipher what this meant... After all, being caught with such technology was a felony under the law...

Bark agreed to meet this mysterious stranger in an old parking garage at a very... inhospitable time of night, the cold scaring away the sensible and the desperate to better housing, the darkness hiding the shady-nature of this 'transaction.' Bark stood there among the dark, not a single other car but the Truck pulling in before him, it's high-pitch SCREAM as it came to a stop compelling Bark to clean out his ears with his finger.

...He'd never get used to that... Trucks were always so loud and messy...

Ah, but his discomfort would be quieted as the man he was looking for HOPPED out of the truck, an old 'friend' from his school-days shimmering in the light as pixels danced about him!

"Plx...? Heh... I knew you were still alive!" Bark laughed softly, his pale-white features aglow with relief! This... was not one of H.I.V.E.'s friendlier students... In fact, while they were in school, he saw him as the abusive brother-of-the-family, always out to make himself look great by putting others down... Even Bark had been subject to his... charms in the past but now...? When their mutual home was in ruins and their family scattered...? He couldn't have been happier to see his old class-mate!

"How have you been? I couldn't find you when the base collapsed! Did you... take out any of the Titans perhaps on your way out? ...Ah, never mind. Pixel... we have a lot to discuss... And you have technology we'll need."

Okay. He knew who he was working against now. Bark. One of the long term charity cases. Without HIVE he didn't really have a life. Or any future prospects. Wasn't like he was about to get on the property ladder any time soon. Pix hadn't known he was still in the State, otherwise he might have pushed him to the forefront of the most likely pile.

He was either the dog whisperer or the... oh yeah, the plant guy. Pix was pleased his choice in location by happenstance hindered his associate's threat. No soil to sow. But he also recalled Bark using some gadgetry. With any luck that was afforded him only by the grace of indulgent techy minded students he was friends with.

Threat prospects right now were low. Pix relaxed (^_^), "Heeey." He was glad they didn't get into the whole base collapse fiasco. He didn't exactly volunteer to stick his finger in the dam. His mind was on other things back then. Like his impending expulsion. Titans just moved a deadline really.

"We'll need. Yeah. We'll just need to have it paid for first. Because we'll need to buy gas to refill the truck and pay rent this month. Look, Bark. It's suuuper great to see you. But let's keep things professional. We'll have a school reunion in a decade or so and we can trade our almost-got-'ems then." He wasn't being sweet talked into a discount. Or at least Hugh told himself he wasn't. He'd keep referring back to that checklist to make sure he didn't forget.

"Aheh... Ah, sarcasm. Your most endearing quality..." Bark sighed softly, almost as if recalling a fond memory. "It's right up there with your smug superiority and bloated confidence... As much as I would love to trade barbs with you Pixel like the good-ol'-days, there are more important things to discuss...-"

...Apparently like getting paid. Bark was actually somewhat shocked by how... detached his former schoolmate was. After the decimation of H.I.V.E., he expected a reunion would be... well... emotion-invoking than THIS! Anger, frustration, relief... SOMETHING! He had always known Pixel to be somewhat of an smug, arrogant bastard and he was never one to make friends with anyone descended from lesser stock... but SURELY even someone like BARK would evoke a sense of comradery within him!

...If it did... it wasn't obvious. Pixel was as cold and lifeless as the data that he was made of, the man remarking how he wanted his money without the chit-chat as he needed to refuel his truck. It was in the best interest of them both to keep this professional, it seemed, and that they would have their official reunion later rather than sooner...

...Heh... He really didn't change after all this time... did he...?

"Ah, yes. The money." Bark withdrew a hand from his hoodie pocket, pulling out a large stack of hundreds, enough to reach what they had agreed upon... and even a little more Dishonestly obtained at the cost of a bank and it's entire haul... but that was a story for another, safer time. With a flick of his wrist, Bark would toss the stack at Pixel, fullfilling their arrangement generously. "Still the same person, hm...? Good. Because we need that guy. H.I.V.E. Is making a resurgence, buddy. It needs your help to make a comeback." Holding out the stack to Pixel, Bark would take a step forward, glancing at the truck... then back at the person who owned it. "Our 'reunion' may come sooner than you think, bud."

Pix didn't so much dispute the characterisations of himself as inwardly acknowledged them. No one was a perfect tulip. Bark himself was one of those nature enthusiasts - see, flaws in everyone. But he was right this wasn't the right topic on which to dwell.

When tossed the first stack, Hugh valiantly missed the catch. He turned away from the rolling bundle, folded his arms, and detached a hand to fetch the cash back to his person. All the while he was listening to what Bark was getting at. It was an astute observation that even his flaws made Pix a desireable asset. Farbeit for the Academy to notice, but he was damn good at some things. Just don't expect him to outperform Private H.I.V.E. in an bleep test.

Bark now at least had Pix's attention, "Of course my assistance would be a boon. But what resurgence are you speaking of? The HIVE Five are barely keeping ahead of DOMA. Are they backing this? There's no sign of Brother Blood, and the Headmistress is still on that extended gap year." Brother Blood used to encourage them to write her postcards.

"Is it Cheshire? No. Forget I speculated." (>_>) He moved to take the second stack of money.

There was that arrogance again... but he wasn't wrong. ANY help Bark could get would be more than welcome, especially if it came from HIVE directly. Up until now, he had been living a double-life this plant-guy, his identity being split between the student of the FAMOUS Brother Blood... and just some guy looking for honest work. Minor robberies and heists were all that sustained Bark's existence and barely even scratched his over-all plans, the money he was obtaining simply not being enough to POWER everything that he needed... Bark never considered himself a leader of men nor someone to aspire to be... There were better people than him in the H.I.V.E., smarter folks with bigger aspirations... but they were all gone now... Killed, captured or worse, that left only Bark... and the remnants he had to pull together in order to remake their home! Pixel brought of the most obvious about their situation, how the H.I.V.E's star students had become as the scum on the streets, fleeing from an authority they were trained to resist, that their head-master was gone and that the mistress was still away and FAR out of their communication's range! Things were obviously bleak. Nobody knew that more than Bark...

...But there was too much at stake to be wallowing in their own delusions or their own self-pity!

"The resurgence starts here." Bark stated flatly, refusing to lie to his former (or would be, if he could help it) comrade-on-arms! "You are right... What's left of us are scattered and pursued by government agents and hypocrites that call themselves 'heroes', but it's not beyond my ability to find them, save them, and bring them back, let alone out of YOUR ability, Pixel." Bark watched his former classmate closely as he approached, seemingly demanding another stack of cash without even counting the one he'd gotten... Unfortunately for him, Bark made no move to give him a treat... not yet anyway.

"The objective... is to obtain as much capital... and as many resources as we can while growing our numbers, bud. We have to find what's left of us before the Titans or the government takes too much notice. We will not be smugglers..." Bark nodded at Pixel. "...Or thieves any longer. We have to think bigger than that or... you know... It's behind bars or the electric chair."

Bark offered a smile, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming Pixel to the crew.

"So what do you say, buddo? Want to help me? You won't be disappointed in the results... or the rewards."

The sprite's emoticons flashed through several eye positions when Bark admitted that this was where they were starting. Knew it. Everything hinged on HIVE for Bark. He really needed someone to teach him some life coping mechanisms. Pix knew how to steal, but he wasn't reliant on it. The necessity did, however, hyperfocus Bark to his task.

It was certainly true they could do better than small time. Pix had been pacing himself. Get a degree first. Something he could fall back on. His lectures were far less interesting than those at the Academy though. His classmates were something of a trope - drunk culture, liberty starved, quick to label the foulest among them 'legend'.

Alright. Pix would bite at the proposed problem, "Let's say, for the hell of it, that I turned my vast attentions to reversing the setbacks HIVE has suffered. Do you quite realise the scope of what you're suggesting? Because I do." The sprite would walk them back to the cab of his truck where he jumped onto the step and reached into the glove compartment. He pulled out a money scanner which he began to use an adaptor to plug in.

"We're talking rebuilding an international network of recruiters, fundraisers, launderers, and lobbyists. State-of-the-art industrial-grade site construction on large parcels of owned land. Their own research division and factory-level manufacturing capabilities. Paramilitary formation, upkeep, and training. To say nothing of the intelligence wing that set up half our missions, and the division of janitors we had to coordinate the squeegeeing of the water base. And then! There's everything to do with the school itself. I'm not writing a cirriculum. Are you? If all these things are not done, you've not rebuilt HIVE as you know it. It'll be something different."

Pixel's thought-process was as plain as the emotes that were his face, Bark analyzing each one and formulating possible internal dialog that could've been taking place inside his compatriot's head. Assessing the variables, determining risk, contemplating and sifting through his emotions... Bark knew what he was doing, playing to the egotistical personality of his friend, trying to push all the right buttons to get him to do what he wanted... Insidious... Just as Brother Blood taught him... Just the same, Bark's motives were pure, however, an olive-branch of sorts that would bring Pixel back to the correct path, the the light where a welcoming home and family would be waiting for him. While his rich, powerful and catered upbringing wouldn't leave him to desire such things as much as Bark did (if at all), the promises of riches uncountable very well might. H.I.V.E's network of spies and contacts were legendary among the underworld if the rumors within the academy were true, their reach unlimited and their effectiveness incomparable.

Since the fall of Headquarters, these VITAL individuals had fallen off the map, most likely finding the darkest shadow they could and hiding in it, fearful and weak now that the center-piece of their organization was now in shambles. Bark sought to find them too... Not all, though he hoped he could... but enough... Enough to be both strong enough to create formal missions and jobs, as well as begin recruiting once more.

Pixel had his doubts, challenging Bark's ambition by laying out the seemingly monumental task ahead of them! Fundraisers, recruiters, spies, mechanics, technology... These were things they had NONE of and required in abundance... And all Bark could say was:

"It's quite a challenge, isn't it?" He said with toothy smile. "Think of it, Pixel... From nothing, we will bring the most powerful educational system for the not-strictly-legal meta-humans the world has ever seen! We WERE trained for this, many classes preparing us with skills and knowledge that will help us rebuild the H.I.V.E! Think back to our required courses: 'Intro into Organization Essentials' and 'Criminology: Obtaining Resources'... We know what we have to do. YOU know what we have to do. Pixel... And with your skills, knowledge, and superiority, H.I.V.E. will grow larger than the world has EVER seen!"

"So, what do you say, pally? Are you with me?" Bark extended a hand towards his friend before flicking his wrist, a single hundred-dollar bill slipping out of his sleeve and onto his palm. He offered the dollar out to Pixel, knowing what he needed. Without saying a word about it, he made his true offer.

"I can't do it without you."

Sometimes shrugging insurmountable odds wasn't admirable, it was a sign you hadn't understood them. Hugh was havering over whether to put Bark into that camp. It was all well and good him summarising, but if his cohort couldn't visualise the struggle, they were wasted words.

And it would be a struggle. That much was true. International enterprises were that much more vulnerable to discovery and collapse. Just ask Brother Blood. It would have been easier to try for something local.

So why not? They had to start somewhere. And who's to say by the time their beginning had concluded, Pix couldn't take things in a different direction? A direction with less risk, less bravado. Sacrificing HIVE's combative character for something more stable and prolonged.

Bark would have to go along with it by then. After all, he couldn't do it without Pix. The sprite extended his hand off his wrist and shook Bark's, "Then I guess we're now HIVE. Our entire organisation is under one camera. All our resources are located in one vehicle. One well placed starbolt could spell the end of us." The hand shattered into a hundred specs and reformed gradually on Hugh's wrist. Meanwhile he was fiddling with the GPS.

"HIVE cheerleader like you, bet you kept your communicator. So did I. Outdated. But I think you can dip back down to the older frequencies. We'll say 255.06 MHz. I've put on here some locations you can flick through. They'll probably come up. Cept for the Arby's." Pix would passed the GPS over.

Sarcasm aside (if Pixel was capable of such a monumental task), he spoke the truth. Bark was WELL aware that a good bit of their older, material H.I.V.E supplies now rested in the truck that his friend drove... but that was merely the old gear. He wondered if Pixel honestly believed that Bark, someone who paid attention in class and did EVERYTHING in his power to make himself an asset to the school... would leave all his resources in one place... No... While he only had his old suit and a small arsenal of explosives, there was much more in terms of their organization than just materials... What wasn't in that truck were small stashes of goodies Bark had taken the liberty of accumulating since the downfall of their home, small places booby-trapped with explosives that they could retrieve when they needed them. Money he had "appropriated", machinery... things salvaged from H.I.V.E like old consoles and paneling, things taken from the rubble. Bark intended to use them as... a template for what this new place would become. Bark and Pixel must have been apart for longer than it had first seemed... because back in school, they could read each other like a pair of books... It was often why they always matched each other to-the-punch in Single-Combat exercises.

"Always the pessimist, aren't ya bud...?" Bark remarked with a quick... if slightly sharp laugh. "We have an advantage that nobody EVER thinks of... for some reason: They think we're dead. They think H.I.V.E is dead. They only know of the Five and they're off doing their own thing... drawing attention away from us. There's not going to BE any star-bolts, bro. They're not looking for us." With hands shook in agreement, Bark and Pixel began talking shop.

"Heh... Guilty as charged." Bark smirked. "I have my old mask. it comes with a communicator. Older frequencies are identifiable to H.I.V.E agents turned rogue... like Jinx and Cyborg. As soon as we can, we should modify the frequency so that it blends in with typical background noise..... but you probably knew that huh?" Pixel held out the GPS for Bark to take. Accepting the machine, Bark would look over the various coordinates to spread out their resources. Indeed, much like how Bark already scattered his stuff, they would need to keep their important materials apart until they had the strength to keep them together. Lightly tapping on each of the locations, Bark would mark 3 potential sites they could use as bases... and MANY MORE to serve as resupply/safe-houses.

The three bases were:

A ruined warehouse in Lowtown where the homeless and the desperate sleep... large and spacious, their operations there being easily concealable within a hoard of people society refuses to see.

A pawnshop that Bark knew and often dealt-with back when H.I.V.E still existed, located in Midtown. Small, space-wise but with a loyal owner that is not suspected by the law, it might not be comfortable... but it would give them a reliable place to sleep and a potential ally.

A Hub of Black-Market Dealers in Uptown. Hidden in the shadowy corners of high-society, the location of the Hub changes every day, a nomadic group that peruses Uptown in search of the addicted and the crazy. These people were ruthless when Bark was with them, making him pay a "residence fee" to merely stand among them, but they would protect you, hiding you with information rather than residence. You had to go where they did, dealt with whom they chose to... but the money they brought in couldn't be ignored.

"I'm looking at these three... Like any of them...?"

The rhetorical question nevertheless solicited a response, "Ha-doi." Being ex-HIVE, he'd listened in to old channels himself from time to time. Never caught anyone. Couldn't wait for some better equipment though.

The sprite had merely expected his new partner to take the GPS and ask about the data. Instead he started entering his own which gave Pix pause (0_0). The distant sounds of another vehicle entering the lower levels reverberated off the concrete walls. When Birch had finished Pix confirmed he was looking at a very useful set of information. Something which blew his initial offerings out of the water.

He didn't like that. Hugh realised Bark had been thinking on this for a while. It put him on the back foot with proceedings. The sprite accepted the GPS and perused its locations, listening dumbly to the potential of each. He should have been the one presenting the options.

"Hmm. So. You've memorised a scrap-book of all your favourite places to do evil. That's very normal. But if I had to choose..." And he had to choose. Nothing else struck him as particularly fitting from memory. He was stuck relying on another for logistical help. Pix zoomed in on Uptown, "The Black-Market Dealers. Can't trust the homeless. I'd expect a bunch of merchants to always make the best deal. Where as a hobo has a record of not doing so. Costs us. But there's more we can do from that position. Thoughts?" (^_^)

Ah, there was that condescension again. Bark was considering using some of his money to create an A.I. that could monitor and record each and every time Pixel decided to take his rampant and obvious insecurities out on people. And then, each and every ten (or so) times he was recorded, Bark would BLAST the entire interaction in his ears for 10 (or so) nights when he slept. Ah, it was a dream, a fantasy that would keep Bark's patience afloat for the days when such things were luxuries... As much as he saw Pixel as part of his family and for as cool-headed as Bark was naturally... there was a point when the taste of smug superiority being sprinkled into every sentence his brother-in-H.I.V.E. spoke would grow old. Still, they had worked together for a few years well enough so what was a few more? There would come a time when these two would have to hash out a definition of "Respect" that would work for them... But until then, it seemed that Bark was going to have to be the older brother... SIGH and he so LOATHED being the one people looked too...

"I think that your logic is as impeccable as you are superior, my friend." Bark remarked with a very slight (almost non-identifiable) accent of sarcasm mixed in. The smile he wore was one well practiced, measured and forbearing, almost like a parent having to deal with their demanding, spoiled child. Still, much like that parent, there was always a gleam of affection in his gaze, an affection that came with the knowledge that they were family and that one day, Pixel would grow out of this callow, smug shell he purposefully enveloped himself in and would truly realize his potential as one of the re-founders of H.I.V.E.

"Then that's where we're headed. Just remember, be mindful of the midgets and GIANTS. One will steal your wallet before you know it's gone... and the other will box you in with all their friends... Just can't remember who does what..."

With a short laugh, Bark would make his way towards the truck, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, his face practically aglow... with a dark smile. Now... all his mind could focus on... was throttling the Teen Titans...