H.I.V.E., Part One:
“Culture Shock”
Three Months Later Loren Jupiter looked up from the file on his desk. Mr. Smith sat opposite him, his features as inscrutable as always. “Is this accurate?” he asked. “As far as we can tell,” Smith replied. “This is incredible,” Jupiter said. “These power levels… His strength would rival Ms. Troy or Mr. Curry.” “Indeed,” Smith said. Jupiter closed the file. “I believe that this bears further investigation. I think that the team should check this out. How is your Russian?” Smith smiled slightly. “I’m sure it will all come back to me.” ”I’m sure.” Jupiter slid the file across the desk to Smith. “Prepare the meeting room and I’ll call a meeting.” “Of course,” Smith said as he accepted the file. “Should we include Aquagirl on the mission?” Jupiter thought a moment. “I don’t think she’s ready just yet. Give her another week or so and I think she will be.” Garfield Logan landed on a roof in Seattle. He shifted out of his sparrow form and returned to normal human form. He pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and compared the address to his current location. “This is it,” he said with a smile. He hurried down the fire escape and ran to the door. He knocked and a woman opened it. ”Hello?” she asked. “Garfield?” ”It’s me, Mom,” Logan said as tears filled his eyes. “It’s me.” He stepped inside and the door slammed behind him. Before he could react, the room began filling with gas. Choking, Logan fell to the ground. Within seconds he was unconscious. The robot disguised as a woman was unaffected by the gas. Less than a minute later, ventilation fans whirred into service, clearing the gas from the room. A blond woman walked inside and knelt down beside him. She touched her fingers to his throat and took his pulse. She pulled out a radio. “He’s alive,” she reported. “Bringing him in now.” ”Excellent work,” the man who’d killed Nicholas Galtry replied. “It’s good to have our first recruit.” Smiling, the woman tossed Logan over her shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes and walked out of the room. Incendiaries would shortly deal with any evidence. “That is the situation,” Loren Jupiter explained as he finished his briefing. He stood at the head of the long table with the Titans seated around it. Smith sat at the far end. “Russia,” Robin said. “Does it matter that none of us speak the language?” “I do,” Smith replied. “I will be serving as your guide. In addition, I understand that the person we are seeking does speak English.” “So why are we going after him?” Aqualad asked. “Did somebody appoint us the superhero police or something?” ”We are not `after’ him,” Jupiter explained. “You are simply going to meet with him and extend an invitation for him to join us here for training.” He paused a moment for any more questions. There were none. “All right,” Jupiter said. “Get a good night’s sleep. You’ve got a long flight ahead of you tomorrow.” He turned and walked out of the room, signifying that the meeting was over. “So,” Donna Troy said as she and Roy Harper stood. “Do you think we’ll get a chance to do any shopping?” Roy smiled. “You know it, doll. You want one of those fuzzy hats?” ”You never know,” Donna said as she drew close and gave Roy a peck on the lips. “We might have to get a matching set.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Garth look away as he left with Tula. Inwardly she smiled. Perfect. Garth and Tula returned to the simulation chamber and reactivated a program Tula had spent days creating with Mal’s help. They entered a room filled with water that looked like the interior of a castle’s tower. Tula walked to a table and placed a large leather-bound book down. She opened it to a specific page. Garth sat down before it and closed his eyes. Tula raised her hands behind his head. “Remember,” she said softly as her hands began to glow. “Remember your place. Remember your title. Remember your home.” Over and over she chanted as Garth’s hands caressed the pages of the book. Locked in the bathroom, Roy grunted as he pulled the rubber tube tightly around his upper arm. He shuddered as he slid the needle in and pushed the plunger. Then, as always, he just sat back on the toilet and watched the ceiling. Donna Troy looked down from where she was working out on the rings. Dick Grayson had just stormed into the gym. “I’m almost done if you want these,” Donna offered. “Don’t bother,” Dick snapped. Donna dropped down from the rings and lightly landed beside Dick. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Dick scowled at her as he pushed open the door to the men’s locker room. “Your boyfriend needs to hurry up in the bathroom. Having to come all the way down here every time I need to take a leak is getting real old.” Dick closed the door in her face. The jet lifted off the next morning promptly on schedule. It would take hours to arrive in Moscow, their destination. When the jet finally touched down, the team disembarked. “We are in luck,” Smith said. “He is nearby.” ”How do you know?” Aqualad asked. “Because I just overheard a conversation where someone had seen him fighting a fire,” Smith replied. “Come.” The team followed Smith through the bustling terminal. The team stopped beside a young, red-haired man who stood beside a fire engine. “Leonid Kovar?” Smith asked. «Who wants to know?» Kovar asked in Russian. «We have come from America to meet with you,» Smith replied in the same language. Kovar scowled. «There are people in this building!» he yelled. «I will not meet with you while they are in danger. Help or get out of my way.» With that, Kovar ran into the burning building. Smith didn’t even take a second to think. “Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Robin and Speedy, perform civilian rescues. Don’t worry about the language barrier, just go like you have in the simulator. Remain in contact at all times. Aqualad, remain here and assist the firemen. I will coordinate.” The Titans raced into action. Not long thereafter, the ambulances had departed with the wounded and the fire was out. The Titans were seated in a restaurant with Kovar at the head of the table. «Thank you for taking time out to meet with us,» Smith said. «I feel I owe it to you as thanks for your assistance with the fire,» Kovar replied. «We are from America. My name is Smith. I work with Loren Jupiter to run a training area for teenaged superheroes,» Smith continued. “Any idea what they’re saying?” Wonder Girl whispered. ”No idea,” Robin replied. “I think I heard Mr. J’s name in there, but that’s all I’ve made out.” “I thought you knew everything,” Speedy said sarcastically. Robin opened his mouth to reply, but Aqualad leaned over the table before he could say anything. “Excuse me, guys,” he said, “But since we’re trying to convince this guy to train with us, shouldn’t we play nice while Smith tries to sell him on this?” “Good point,” Robin said, shooting Speedy a hard glance. “Let’s try and get along, okay?” ”Okay,” Kid Flash said. He was seated down the table, downing a bowl of borscht. “Do you know what that is?” Wonder Girl asked. “Good!” Kid Flash held up a spoon. “Want some?” ”Pass,” Wonder Girl said. Kid Flash shrugged and kept eating. Kovar sat silently through Smith’s presentation, simply taking it in. Finally he spoke. «I cannot say yes or no,> he explained. «For me to leave the country like this – I must consult with the government. Without their approval, it would be impossible.> «I understand,» Smith replied. «Please take this.» He handed Kovar a business card. «That is Mr. Jupiter’s phone number. Please contact us if you receive approval from your government and we will arrange transport.» Kovar accepted the card. “We are leaving,” Smith said. He handed a wad of rubles to the waitress. The Titans stood and followed him out. As the jet flew back to Metropolis, Robin stepped up to Mr. Smith. “So he said no?” he asked. “He was unable to say. He felt that he needed to contact his government first,” Smith explained. “We shall be awaiting word from-“ He looked back at Kid Flash. “Mr. West, are you all right?” Wally was turning several interesting colors. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think that something I ate didn’t agree with me.” ”What did he eat?” Smith asked. “About seven or eight bowls of that red soup,” Donna supplied. “Borscht?” Smith asked. “You ate seven bowls of beet soup?” ”Beets?” Wally asked. “I think I need to…” He ran to the bathroom and slammed the door. Horrible retching noises came from the room moments later. “It’s going to be a long ride home,” Garth unnecessarily added. Kovar strode into the regional governor’s office. «Kovar,» the governor greeted. «I see that you have received my request,» Leonid said, seeing the paper lying on the man’s desk. «Indeed I have,» the governor said. «Your request is denied.» «Sir?» Kovar asked. «Surely better training in the use of my powers would only help the country.» «I quite agree,» the governor replied. «That is why we have contacted a friend of our country. He is also working with young superhumans and is forming a team of his own. Meet Steve Dayton.» Dayton stepped forward. «It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kovar,» he said in flawless Russian as he shook the young man’s hand. «I have great plans for you.» Next Issue: The team continues their recruiting drive as they meet the young superheroine Kole! Previous Issue | Next Issue |
