Knock Knock.. (Krious, then open to HIVE)

''Do we have to do this?''

Emblem grumbled while stepping out of the darkness that always partnered with Krious' ability. While his voice has gotten more gritty, his appearance had changed entirely. One would suggest he had himself turned inside out, with the bleeding magma and all now present on the outside, Emblem looked like a walking vulcano. His partner did not say a word as he observed their surroundings. Emblem's complaint also seemed lost on him.

After all, this was not Krious' idea, but their idea together. In order to gain some solid ground on Jump City, one was to acquaint himself with the local evil cults, in this case the H.I.V.E. They might even be able to get more out of this then they thought at first. When Emblem found out the entire H.I.V.E. Was underwater however, he stopped liking the idea. His metamorphosis was an intricate ritual that cost him some notable resources, and it hardened his skin and endurance, but lowered his defense against water. Being underwater wouldn't help.

Seeing Krious would not respond, Emblem followed his lead and looked around. He imagined the entire place on fire, and his mind laughed at the idea. Who knew what kinds of mayhem he could perform under this guise? Instead of Emblem Trailblazer and Krious Alistair, they were now Dark Matter and Firebrand, the new teacher and groundskeeper. How quaint..

''Guess we need to wait for them to let us in, or do you have some key? I'm thinkin' they're gonna test us in some way or the other...''

Emblem did a few steps forward and cracked his knuckles. The fires on his rocky skin spat up for a second before calming down to their humanoid form again.

The sound of water softly colliding with the steel support legs of the huge platform spread through the air. Some said it was soothing, it annoyed Krious within half a minute after arriving. On the surface the H.I.V.E academy had just as much of an identity crisis as they did in their new guises, being disguised as an offshore oil rig. Emblem was now Firebrand, a walking mass of both liquid and hardened magma. Krious, now Dark Matter, wore an attire similar to the one he always had one, only finished by a white mask covering his face. Emblem was far more famous then him in this world, so taking on a new identity proved much more work for his companion.

"Let them test us, they merely waste time in doing so."

Krious had spotted several security installments on the platform, ranging from sensors to camera's. Someone had surely noticed them and was on their way, yet it felt like it was taking a long time. He had only been able to find a most basic outline of the facility, but what he saw was enough to make him impatient about seeing the inside. Apart from the technological wonders he was unsure what to expect of this new life. They presumed it was only temporary, but both of them were unsure of how long they would stay like this. Nonetheless he hoped they were free to leave the facility at their leisure, as long as they performed the duties given to them. Taking orders was never one of his good sides, but it was a necessary evil.

For now he focused his attention to the elevator doors they were said to be able enter through.

Firebrand looked around, trying to see if he could find any possibly threats. None presented itself. None at all. After some time, the walking vulcano got impatient and walked over to the elevator. Instead of moving the doors or anything logical, Firebrand kicked them in, the heat smoldering the metal, further bending it to his will.

''If it an impatient fire they want, it is one they will get. I'm not one for waiting...''

Firebrand looked down, and saw a dark shaft going on endlessly. He held up his hand and lava dripped into the darkness, shimmering until it was out of sight. Firebrand's breath intake echoed against the walls, but all seemed empty.

''Think they died in anticipation..Can you get us down there?''

Firebrand looked back at Dark Matter, seeing if he discovered something, or noticed anything activating.

Far below, a set of reinforced metal doors opened into a small lobby. Via a crazed decorator's motif they, like most things in the facility, bore the H.I.V.E insignia. The yellow 'H' could be found on everything, from the trio of guards standing sentinel at the lift, to the cafeteria waffle maker. Hugh didn't understand the excessive branding, but at least there was no school uniform. You sometimes felt sorry (or was that humour) for the insectoid dressed soldiers.

The young metahuman himself had only recently enrolled in classes here, and he supposed he was still the pick for menial tasks. Namely this time, a meet and greet of guests they had detected on the outside platform. Hugh didn't know whether he was acting as welcoming committee or some sort of evil bellhop. The confusion was understandable – secret hideouts didn't usually have visitors. Security hadn't even been clear on whether these guys were expected or not. This really was the most undesirable of tasks.

A vague acknowledgement to the guards as he passed, Hugh entered the lift. He hadn't exactly made haste in his walk down here, probably no one would mind the delay though. As if in rebuttal, a hefty thud collided with the elevator roof. Hugh looked up expecting an encore. There came a faint sizzle which sounded a lot like burning. He exited the lift.

“They're coming down. Guess we'll meet them here.” Unless someone got jumpy and activated the lift defences on them. Speaking of getting jumpy, Hugh transformed into his pixel form. He and the three guards faced the open entrance with tense patience. Pix only turned to push one of the soldiers' guns up a little higher.

((OOC: If you're waiting on someone else to be at the door, then just show me the door.))

(( Didn't notice a new reply. Sorry! ))

Emblem kicked in the elevator doors, leaving only the molten remains to smolder in the sea air. A loud bang echoed through the shaft only seconds later. That elevator would probably be broken for quite some time now... Krious brought his hand to his forehead and let out a sigh.

"Why do you always have to be like this? Let me guess, a side effect of that damn demon of yours."

He moved towards the opening and peered down. It was pitch black but not to his eyes. Far downwards the remnants of the door were now embedded into the elevator itself. The new groundskeeper most likely just created his first job himself. Emblem had joined him in peering down the shaft as he asked if he could get them down there. Offcourse he could, but this deserved a lesson, one Emblem would probably never learn but was fun to give from time to time. The machinery in his arms came to life as he struck at Emblem's back with enough force to make him topple over the edge. He'd probably like this in the end... Krious jumped in straight after his friend.

The elevator shaft was quite long with the facility being underwater. In freefall Krious caught up with Emblem and managed to grab onto him. He pulled back firmly in order to get to his side and as the dark cloud enveloped them like so many other times he spoke up.

"Remember, down there we are Firebrand and Dark Matter and you do most of the talking."

They appeared just above the elevator, landing on top of it with two soft thuds. Dark Matter straightened his mask and immediatly knelt down to open the top hatch, which was surprisingly intact considering the debris on the right side of the elevator. Then he motioned for his companion to go down before doing the same.

Firebrand ignored the remark about demonic side effects, although it wouldn't be very unrealistic that it was. In fact, it was possible Krious was as close to the truth as ever. Whilst Emblem always was impulsive, it was his now inner demon that pushed him on to become the violent force to be reckoned with that he was today.

''F'you you mechanised menaceeee!!''

It was all Firebrand said as he was surprisingly stricken and promptly fell down to the dark grounds below. Now, in the back of his mind he knew Krious would not let him fall, but hell, if he let him drop like this then he must have thought Firebrand deserved it. As Krious caught up with him, he whispered a last warning before darkness enveloped them, and they appeared where they would have fallen otherwise. Emblem nodded, he knew very well. Any other info would be passed on to Firebrand via that thing Krious made, that communicator. He had it built internally...and Firebrand's one was lodged deeply into his ear.

Firebrand stepped down the hatch Dark Matter opened and bent the now crooked and broken doors in front of him. Whilst he was still doing it aggressively, one would say it had a little more tact then he displayed on top of the elevator shaft. Maybe a lesson learned? ..Or not.

Again, Emblem kicked the door open. It hadn't budged easily, but compressed metal was always a pain to get to do what you want. Alas, now a large enough passageway was created as both men stepped out to face those who awaited them.

With a low, gritty voice, Firebrand spoke.

''Those weapons won't save you from the hell I can unleash, even if you're this far below sea level. We are Firebrand and Dark Matter, and from the looks of it, we are your Groundskeeper and your new teacher. Are you sure you want those guns pointed at me? I'll rip out your organs or circuits just as easy as I made the elevator work...sort of.''

A minute or so later they had company. At first the entrance sounded almost delicate, but then molten hands began tearing their way through to greet the concerned party; or at least that's what Hugh hoped. Most establishments in Winter got Santa down their chimney. The academy got a gargantuan man of magma. Nobody expected presents.

Along with him was a second shadier gentleman. Tensions couldn't have been higher, but their fears were quelled by the monster of all people. Seems you could talk with a tongue of flame. He explained their reasons for being there in short order. That was the groundskeeper? Could he even hold a broom without it burning up?

Hugh wasn't comfortable dropping his guard just yet, but the soldiers made his choice easy. They each took a hand off their weapons, clearly satisfied that the facility was not under attack. One even took the time to insert an entry log on the terminal, and possibly fill out a maintenance form for the destruction that had just ensued. The other two sort of stood to attention, observing. What? Was he expected to do conversation now? While that was the reason for his presence, it felt as if the situation had escalated once the visitors decided to break things.

Out of his hands, yes. Yes? No? Fine, “Firebrand and Dark Matter. Which one's whi-” Pix stopped short of what was undoubtedly going to be the most stupid question he'd ever asked, and hurried along speaking, “The Headmistress isn't going to be happy that you broke our lift. The non-flyers are trapped down here without it.” That was without taking the Hanger Bay into account, though this was hardly the time to nit-pick his words.

“She and Headmaster are gonna already know you've arrived, so they'll have people preparing things for you. Can I take you to our guest rooms for now? Doors are optional...” As much as the overused H.I.V.E insignia annoyed Hugh, that was not a reason to wreck every entranceway that had them on. Especially when he was associated enough to be held accountable.

Firebrand went down the hatch and Dark Matter followed suit while closing the hatch behind him. His fiery friend had already begun prying open the elevator doors, at first showing a bit more delicacy but after seeing that didn’t work out as he wanted he went back to brute force. Like the doors above these were soon enough out of order, if they weren’t already, and way through was made. A few men in uniform greeted them along with one who looked like a student, probably an errand boy for the higher-ups. Firebrand greeted them in his usual unfriendly manner, whether to show his superiority or just that he thought highly of himself was something he was unsure about. Dark Matter kept his mouth shut in any case.

Their welcoming committee spoke up, more specifically the errand boy, and immediately brought up the elevator subject. Dark Matter let out a low grunt directed at his companion along with a distasteful glare which could not be perceived through the mask. The conversation then moved on to the subject of guest rooms. He didn’t really care where they could make themselves at home but it would be good to observe some things along the way over. Dark Matter nodded and motioned for the student to take the lead with his left hand.

Ignore his door comment and let him complete his task, you will have something to do soon enough.

He spoke through his subdermal implant. Most probably repairing the elevator. He might not like it but at least it would give Firebrand something to do, and he was much less of a hassle once he got something to do.

''I do not believe this is your only way in or out, student. It would be an ill strategy. Next time you keep me waiting however, there will be more to fix then just an elevator.''

Firebrand made a fist out of his right hand at the student's comment. Was he truly this dense to provoke once such as Firebrand? However, as Dark Matter spoke to him through their communication device, firebrand stood there passively. He wouldn't admit it, but the dark teleporter was right. It was time to move on before things would get worse.

''Well? Lead on then pixelated meatbag. Show us our quarters, so we can make due.''

Firebrand tried to calm down a little, and followed Pix into the H.I.V.E academy. He made sure to look around, as this was going to be his playground, his workbench on which he crafted the world's end, just for fun.

Deciding that it was perhaps best if he led them to the outlying dorms, so they were as far away from his room as possible, Pix turned to go. He opened the main entranceway, leaving the soldiers in relative peace once more. To head left at the first fork provided a less busy thoroughfare, but it also took them passed the hangers and Hugh loathed to contradict himself this early on. So instead they went right, right into the heart of academy life.

The bright yellow corridors were soon loud with the distant chatter of students. Another door, proudly proclaiming itself H.I.V.E property, hissed apart, revealing an open walk-through clearly visible to the next three floors above them. Each tier had a population of teens who began to peer over the railings at the unfamiliar men passing below. Directly above them were mostly classrooms, but some of the rooms had been reserved for unspecified research projects. Hugh had heard enough peculiar noises to know you didn't want to walk into one of those by accident.

Ignoring the lift shaft, he continued down another constricting corridor that passed by a guard station. The soldiers' garrison hall was kept elsewhere, as separate from the students as possible. It was obvious to anyone that the powerless contingent of security lackeys held a mixture of fear and resentment for the metahumans. Well, the kids anyhow; they appeared nothing but efficient when before the schoolmasters. Like automatons in fact.

Pix almost headed down a wrong turn into their cafeteria, but the smell alerted him to this mistake in time. Instead he cut back across a crowd arriving from the combat facilities, hair all towel-dried from hasty showers. When not otherwise in use, the combat room doubled as a gym. It was perhaps the most popular pastime down here, surrounded by the water as they were. No wonder many of them were eager to take up assignment.

At one point Hugh stopped and addressed the map in his mind, “Ah, yes. Can't go down that way. I gather that it's main operations. Off limits.” He turned to look at one of the cameras. They would be watching them right now. There was precious little you could get away with in the academy, “It's just round here then.” Finally, the living quarters.

The student led them through the facility as best a newcomer could. At least that's what Krious gathered from a couple of hasty corrections in his movement. Not that it mattered, it actually gave them more time to look around. The facility itself was far bigger than he had imagined from the 3D blueprint he had managed to get a hold on. Security was everywhere, not just at the entrance, and while they looked like regular humans there were enough of them to keep the students in check and threaten any intruder. No effort was spared to show this was the H.I.V.E academy either, it's emblem shown just about everywhere.

They passed through a large room, probably somewhere in the center, consiting of multiple floors with mostly classrooms. As with any school it was riddled with students at this time of day and all of them noticed the two newcomers that were being guided through the facility. He never did like being the center of attention, Firebrand played that part a lot better on his own. Luckily the mask did it's part, concealing his face and making him able to look without reprisal. Relieved that they left the room, free of stares, the trio moved on deeper into the facility.

They arrived in the living quarters not long after. In the meantime he had taken note of the strength of security, popular locations among the students, a couple of teacher-only or otherwise highly off-limit rooms. The number of students here was impressive, but most probably left for other parts of the world once done here. Only the best would stay to take on the local Titans. Why they didn't simply overrun the tower was beyond him. Still, he wasn't here to further the H.I.V.E itself, at least not yet.

A set of door passes were given along with the instructions they received. Each on had a room number and was needed to open said room. Student rooms merely had simple locks, teacher's rooms were a tad more secure. They could take it from here on out, no need to waste the student's time any longer then necessary. He picked the passes out his pocket and held one out to Firebrand before staring straight at their guide.

"We can manage from here. Tell me, what do they call you?"

With his task suitably achieved, Hugh glanced back up at the cameras as if daring them to ask him for more. He'd played the gracious host to a facility he himself wasn't entirely privy too. Whatever the headmistress or headmaster had planned for these new arrivals would have to be at the hands of someone else. Dark Matter suddenly spoke and Pix realised that the man hadn't until now. Content to let the magma-monster phrase everything. Another mask-faced reticent. Why couldn't they ever be open and friendly?

The genial high ground was not Hugh's to take either. Seems he had not introduced himself while the new staff had. In fact if this hadn't been a direct question he purposefully wouldn't have bothered, “Oh. My codename's Pix. For obvious reasons.” He gestured to the mass of pixels that made up his body. Then transformed back into his regular form. A flesh and blood (meta)human once more.

“Good luck with settling in.” He offered half heartedly, “We may be 'villains', but we're not necessarily bad students.” A sense of community had been established here. Honour among thieves was prevalent. How these two abnormals fit into that was up to them. Still, Hugh found himself wishing he didn't have to associate with either much in the future.

[character exit]