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The volcano was crumbling around them. Wing couldn’t remember why or when it happened, but HIVE was falling apart. He stared at Otto, who stood turned away from him. The smaller boy was dangerously close to the edge. One wrong step and he would be plummeting into the burning lava below. Somehow, though, the debris only landed close to him, not even a tiny rock touching him. Wing opened his mouth to call out for Otto, but there were no words. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move. He could only watch as Otto just stood there, his white hair and pale skin illuminated orange by the hot liquid flowing below. Finally, he spoke, “So odd, isn’t it? We should’ve been safe here.” he chuckled, “Now look at this place. Look what you’ve done.”
Wing still couldn’t speak. He could only stare, confused now. What had he done? Did he cause this? If so, how? He couldn’t remember what happened.
Otto turned, his face twisted into an angry snarl as golden electricity crackled around him, "Did you care?"
Wing tried to speak. He couldn't.
"Did you ever care?"
He couldn't speak. He wanted to speak.
"Of course you didn't." Otto scoffed. Suddenly, the ground around them caved in, sending both of them plummeting.
Though, he felt no impact. He wasn't in pain when he landed. He was able to slowly stand up.
There was nothing around him except for a pool of bubbling lava in front of him. He slowly stepped towards it. He didn't know why, but he did, as if he would find something in it. He knelt down next to it, staring at the glowing liquid. He looked up, now looking towards the other side. Maybe Otto was over there? He had to be.
He felt something burning wrapping around his arm. He looked down to see a charred hand grasping him, some of the burnt bone exposed.
He then looked towards the thing crawling out of the lava.
It was Otto. He was extremely burned, charred bones showing through the burning skin, his eyes glowing the same bright orange as the lava, and a mouth full of sharp teeth that resembled volcanic stalagmites.
Otto, no, that creature tightened its grip around his arm, burning him. He couldn’t scream. He wanted to. Oh god it hurt so much.
With a loud, shrill screech, the thing lunged at him and pinned him down. Wing screamed, attempting to get it off, but it didn't budge.
"Wake up." It said, its voice a twisted whisper. "Wake up, wake up, wake up. Wake up, Wing."
What was it doing? Was it taunting him?
He felt its claws pierce into his chest, tearing into him. It burned. He still couldn’t scream. Oh fuck it hurt so much. Why was Otto doing this? No, that wasn’t Otto. That monster wasn’t Otto. He tried to close his eyes, tried to look away from the thing that was mauling him.
But he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything.
It let out another screech, before lava started pouring from its mouth.
“WAKE UP!”
"WAKE UP!" Was the first thing Wing heard before he felt the cold water get splashed on him. He shot up with a gasp, trying to catch his breath. He looked around and saw Otto standing next to him, holding a small cup.
"Now the beast awakens. You were screaming again." Otto said with a sigh, "This is the fourth night you woke me up. What's going on, Big Guy?"
Wing shook his head, "nothing, Otto, I'm fine."
"You were screaming!" The smaller boy groaned, walking over to set the cup on one of the terminal desks. Wing tilted his head.
"Where did you get that?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"Don't change the subject." Otto snapped. He sat down next to Wing, setting his hand down on the wet blanket and immediately shaking the water off, "oh… that wasn't a good idea. Sorry."
"It's fine. Just go back to bed. I'll be fine."
"Wing." Otto said sternly, staring at the tall boy. He had that stubborn look in his eye. A look that said "I'll be here all night until I get information." That look always pissed Wing off. He hated when Otto pestered him, but never said anything about it. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“It’s not important.” Wing laid back down. The wet pillow made him feel extremely uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything, “Just go back to sleep.”
Otto didn't budge, "Not important? Wing, despite what Shelby says, I'm not stupid. Something's up, and I just want to be able to help you. You’re my best friend, no, you’re my brother, I want to help you, but you have to let me, Big Guy.”
Wing stayed silent, turning away from Otto. He wouldn’t understand Wing’s worry. Ever since they returned from the HOPE base, Wing had worried about Otto’s lifespan. He loved Otto so much, viewed him as a brother even, but Otto’s impulsive tendencies pissed him off so much.
But, Wing knew that if he said anything, Otto would probably make one of his harmful remarks. Wing knew he wouldn’t mean it, but he didn’t want to deal with it.
His worries only got worse at the Glasshouse, when Otto faked his death and pretended to be his evil clone brother, Zero. That’s when the nightmares started. They had gotten so bad, that he hadn’t slept for a week at one point, and even when he did sleep, it wasn’t for long.
“If you’re not gonna talk at least come lay with me. A wet bed doesn’t seem too comfortable.” Otto said softly, as if Wing was a little kid who was scared of thunder booming outside. It irritated him. “Wing come on.”
“I’m fine.” Wing snapped.
“No you’re not.” Otto was so adamant about solving the issue. It was starting to make Wing angry.
“Otto, go to bed.” he said through his teeth.
“Not until-”
“Go. To. Bed.” Wing said, now sitting up and looking Otto in the eyes, trying to look intimidating. He knew the act worked when Otto let out a small squeak and scampered over to his own bed. The smaller boy sat there for a few seconds, just staring at wing with a worried look on his face before he eventually laid down, giving up for now.
He didn’t like scaring Otto, but sometimes it was the only way to get the little fucker away from him. Wing sighed and laid back down. The bed did feel uncomfortable, but Wing ignored it.
He didn’t fall asleep.
He was scared. He didn’t want to face that creature again.
Over the past few weeks, HIVEmind had noticed something strange. He had been keeping a close eye on Wing and Otto, and saw how odd they acted around each other. They were usually very close, hardly leaving each other's side. But now, it seemed as if they were avoiding each other, which unsettled HIVEmind. It was strange to see those two acting like that. These were the same boys that would sacrifice themselves for the other, that did basically everything together, that would go to great lengths to save the one that went missing. They were an inseparable duo, or at least used to be.
HIVEmind knew something was wrong, and he was going to get to the bottom of it no matter what.
“Hello Miss Brand.” HIVEmind said to the grumpy looking girl that entered the main core room. HIVEmind frowned when he noticed how angry she looked, “Are Wing and Otto irritating you?”
“Aye. You noticed too?” Laura said as she plopped onto the group, sitting down with her legs crossed, “It’s sad seeing them like this. Ever since HIVE came and saved all those kids from the Glasshouse, those two hardly talk to each other anymore.” she said quietly, looking sad now. She stared at the ground, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on her uniform. HIVEmind watched her for a bit. Wing and Otto’s behaviour could end up tearing the group apart. He didn’t want that to happen. The troublesome group of six have been close since first year. Seeing them fall apart was something he didn’t want. It seemed inevitable, though.
But that would only happen if no one did anything about it.
He had an idea.
“It’s very upsetting. But don’t worry, Laura. I have a plan.” HIVEmind said with a triumphant smile. Laura looked up at him, a look of hope in her eyes.
“You can get them to talk again?” she asked, now beaming.
“I can try, but I’m not certain on how successful I’ll be.” he said, still smiling. He was glad he got her to smile. He didn’t like seeing his friends so upset.
“I can get Shel to help! She likes to help out with things like this, and she’s pretty good at it.”
HIVEmind shook his head, “Thank you Miss Brand, but I can handle this. I’ll keep the offer in mind, though. Miss Trinity has great skills. I’m honestly surprised she hadn’t done anything yet.”
“She’s at the planning stage. I’ll tell her you’re handling this before she gets one of them killed.”
He tilted his head, now concerned, “that would be an accident, correct?”
Laura shrugged, “depends on her mood.” she said before she stood. She laughed when she saw the AIs worried expression, “I’m just kidding, Big Blue. Shel probably won’t get them killed, but best not to take any chances.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep an eye on her as well.” he responded. Laura shook her head with a smile, and that’s when he realized she was joking, “You humans and your sarcasm. It’s hard to understand sometimes.”
“Shel can teach ya’. Anyways, I should get going. I wish you luck on your great plan!” she said cheerfully before running out.
He was certain he could get those two to be friends again.
They probably just needed to talk, that’s all.
HIVEmind may have been extremely complex and good at prediction, but he wasn’t able to predict just how difficult this personal mission of his would be.
“Good morning, Mister Malpense.” The friendly AI said. He had sent an alert to Otto’s blackbox telling him to go to the core room after lessons. He was glad to see that the boy had listened. His plan was going smoothly.
“Hey HIVEmind, you rang?” the white haired boy said with a tired grin. HIVEmind was about to speak when Otto frowned and cut him off, “Is this about me and Wing?”
“You’re very clever, Otto. How did you know?” HIVEmind asked with genuine curiosity. How did Otto know?
“Laura told me you were planning something. Listen, Big Blue, we’re fine.”
“You two are drifting apart.” HIVEmind frowned. Otto shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking anxious and uncomfortable now. “You two used to be so close. What’s going on, and can I help?”
Otto mumbled something, but HIVEmind couldn’t hear him. He still seemed anxious. What was going on with those two?
“Can you repeat that?”
“I said that he’s being a stubborn bitch and won’t tell me why he wakes up at three in the fucking morning screaming.” Otto snapped. HIVEmind flinched. He wasn’t expecting Otto to get so angry. “I just want to help but he won’t let me, so I stopped caring, and you should too. If he doesn’t want help I won’t give it to him.”
The AI stayed silent, thinking carefully about what to say next. He didn’t want to tick Otto off any further. He stared at the boy for a few seconds, studying his body language, noticing his clenched fists and heavy breathing. HIVEmind decided there was no point in angering Otto anymore. The silence seemed to have sent the wrong signal, though, “Are you going to say something to me or are you just going to float there!? Are you even listening!?”
“I’m listening, Otto,” HIVEmind said calmly, “and I’m sorry. I didn’t realize just how bad the situation was. You can go.”
Otto quickly turned around and stormed out of the room. Operation Reunion was going to be harder than HIVEmind thought, but he wasn’t going to give up.
Wing hadn't slept. He couldn't. He was afraid of that nightmare coming back.
So instead, he sat at his terminal, looking over the work he had to do. He was pretty good at getting it done on time, but it wouldn't hurt to get some things done early.
There wasn't a lot to do on the computer, though, so he used it as a light source to do what he had on paper.
After a while, his mind started to wander. He started thinking about Otto, and how his friend had been so avoidant the past few weeks. Why was he acting like that? Did Wing do something wrong? He shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. He had to focus on his schoolwork, he was doing it as a distraction from those thoughts anyways.
Suddenly, a cheery voice startled him. "Hello Mister Fanchu! It's quite late." The familiar blue form of HIVEmind appeared on the computer screen, nearly making Wing fall out of his chair. "You should be asleep. It's four fifty-six in the morning."
"I know, HIVEmind. I just can't sleep." Wing responded, scooting his chair back up to the desk and propping his head up with his hand. He was glad the friendly AI had shown up. He needed a better distraction from his thoughts, "I've been having a terrible nightmare."
"Is that so?" HIVEmind tilted his head, seeming curious yet worried. "What happened?"
"I'd rather not go into detail about it."
"That's understandable. I will not force you to explain. But I just have one thing to ask you."
Wing raised an eyebrow, lifting his head a bit, "what is it?"
"Will you let him help you?" HIVEmind motioned towards where Otto was. Wing turned around and looked.
The smaller boy was sprawled out on his bed, a foot dangling over the edge, a missing sock, and his blanket on the floor. His soft, even breathing made Wing feel… angry. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because Otto wasn't the one plagued with nightmares.
Wing shook his head and looked back at the computer, "He just avoids me now. If I try to go up to him he just walks away or ignores me." He seemed sad now, "Besides, I can't just tell him what's going on. I'm supposed to be the big tough guy, you know?"
HIVEmind gave a soft, comforting smile, "It's ok to be vulnerable. From what I've seen, every human is weak in some way, and they all need help. It's not too late to accept the help that Otto offers." Wing sat there for a bit, staying silent. HIVEmind had a point, but he couldn't just tell Otto what was wrong. "He cares about you a lot, you know? He just wants to help."
"It's fine, HIVEmind. I'll be fine."
Before the AI could respond, Wing turned the computer off. He leaned back in his chair, staring into the darkness around him, and letting his thoughts consume him.
Meanwhile, back at the core, HIVEmind floated in his place.
The plan was difficult, but he had one more idea in mind.
He didn’t want it to get to that, but seems he had no choice.
He got into the controls for the door that go into the students rooms, and located room 4.7 in block 7, and put in a code that would keep it locked. That’ll keep them locked in for a while, and give them time to talk.
It could easily be passed as a malfunction. The only issue was Otto opening the door with his strange abilities, but HIVEmind will figure out what to do about that when it gets to that point.
“Dammit!” Otto yelled as he punched the door, “OW FUCK!”
The door to Wing and Otto’s room hadn’t been working the whole morning, and neither knew why. Wing assumed it was a malfunction, but he did find it odd that Otto’s abilities weren’t working on it. Wing sat on his bed, watching as Otto attacked the door like some sort of rabid animal.
“Give it a rest, Otto, you’re going to hurt yourself” Wing said. Of course, Otto didn’t listen. He was kicking the door now, before he suddenly screamed in pain.
“FUCK!” he held his foot, hopping on the other, “DAMMIT IT WON”T OPEN.”
Wing gave a tired, disappointed sigh, “Sit down and let it get handled before you seriously injure yourself.” he might as well have been walking to a brick wall, as Otto walked back over to the door and closed his eyes. “Otto.”
Silence.
“Otto!”
Still nothing. Wing finally had enough. He was sick of Otto ignoring him.
He stood up and stormed over to Otto, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back, “Dammit Otto listen to me!”
“Go away, Wing. I’ll get this open and you can go back to avoiding me.”
“You’re the one avoiding me!” Wing was extremely angry at this point. Why the hell was Otto so stubborn?
“Me?! I’m the one avoiding you!? Bullshit!” Otto yelled. He shoved Wing away and went back to focusing on the door. Wing stood there, filled with rage. He just wanted Otto to listen to him. He just wanted Otto to be safe. He didn’t want to see Otto get hurt again.
“I’m trying to help you! You’re going to get yourself hurt!” Wing pleaded.
Otto whirled around, looking pissed, “you’re not accepting my help, so why should I accept yours!?” he screamed, causing Wing to slink back, now terrified, “Just shut the fuck up and let me get this door open.”
“Otto-’
“I said shut up!” Otto snapped.
Usually, Wing would listen. He would shut his mouth and just leave Otto alone. But not this time.
"You really want to know what's going on?! It's your reckless attitude! The fact that you almost get killed every time we leave the school!" He shouted, not even caring that his voice was being choked up by the tears, "Do you know how stressful it is?! I never know if I'm going to return to HIVE with you or not! Otto, you are my brother, and I love you so much, but I just can’t handle it! Please… please just listen.”
Otto didn’t look at him. He just stood there, staring at the door. Wing wanted to punch him. Why the hell wouldn’t Otto listen? He wanted an explanation, right? So why wasn’t he listening now?
“I knew you wouldn’t listen. I’ll leave you alone now.” And with that, Wing walked over to the bathroom and locked the door, leaving Otto alone.
He was listening. He stood there, in shock. He never realized just how reckless he could be. He never realized just how much stress he was putting on Wing.
This whole time, he was ignoring his friend for the wrong reason. He believed Wing was angry with him, didn’t want anything to do with him. He sighed and leaned against the door, “Malpense you idiot.” he muttered.
He knew it would be best to let Wing calm down before talking to him. He never saw Wing get pushed too far and he wasn’t planning on it anytime soon. For now, all he could do was try to get the door open. He had no idea why his abilities didn’t work on it. The door wasn’t that advanced.
He closed his eyes again, focusing on the lock and reaching out. When he though he had it, his connection was disrupted.
His connection was disrupted…
It dawned on him. Something was stopping him from opening the door. There was only one person, no, thing in the school that could disrupt his powers.
HIVEmind.
He remembered the conversation he had with Laura that morning.
“He wants to help you two. Just let him.”
“We don’t need help, Laura. Me and Wing are fine.”
“Otto, you guys aren’t.”
“Just drop it, Laura.”
He looked towards the bathroom door. He figured HIVEmind wouldn’t let them out until they made up and became friends again. He took in a breath, gathering up his courage, and walked over to the bathroom door. He hesitated a bit, before he knocked on the door.
Nothing. Otto expected that.
“Hey Big Guy, I figured out what’s wrong with the door.”
Still nothing.
“It’s HIVEmind. I guess he had some plan to get us to talk.”
Wing still said nothing. Otto wondered if some of Shelby’s stubbornness rubbed off on him.
“The longer you stay silent, the longer we stay locked in here. You don’t have to come out, but at least talk to me, alright?”
He still got no response. Otto sighed. They were going to be there for awhile. He walked over to the door. Maybe he could try again. He closed his eyes and reached out. Suddenly, a horrible pain shot through him. He let out a pained scream as he collapsed to the floor.
He didn’t realize that he had been overusing his abilities. He was too focused on leaving the room.
On getting away from Wing.
God he was so stupid.
His head hurt like hell and he could feel the blood pouring out of his nose. He just laid there, curled up, hoping HIVEmind would see this and finally open the door.
He heard something open and looked up at the door. It was still closed. What opened? Did he just imagine it. Maybe he did. He would have to wait longer. HIVEmind sure was stubborn.
He felt someone carefully pick him up, and heard a muffled voice, but made out no words. His head hurt too much. His vision was blurry. He could hardly see who the person was, but he knew. There was no one else in the room.
He felt Wing carefully set him down on one of the beds, but he didn’t know which. His sense of direction was limited at that moment. He could hear muffled banging and shouting. Wing was trying to get the door open. Hopefully HIVEmind would listen.
Fuck it hurt. It hurt so bad. He could feel his consciousness slowly slipping away, and the last thing he saw was Wing blurry figure rushing over to him and picking him back up before the darkness consumed him.
He could’ve swore he heard the door open, though.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize just how far he would push himself.” HIVEmind said, his form projected on Wings blackbox unit. “I wouldn’t have done that if I knew.”
Wing, Laura, Shelby, Nigel, and Franz sat on one of the couches in block 7. It was a break between classes, and Wing had decided to confront HIVEmind about that morning.
“I know you meant well, HIVEmind, but sometimes you really have to think about just how stubborn someone can be.” Wing said calmly. He sat on the couch with his legs slightly tucked under him. He was a little ticked off at the AI, but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry. HIVEmind had just wanted to help them.
“I did go and check on him earlier.” HIVEmind responded, “He’s awake now, but was being told to rest for the day.”
“Well, that’s good.” Shelby chimed in. she was next to Wing, laying upside down with her legs dangling over the back. “He looked like shit this morning. Man, you guys should’ve saw how fast Big Guy here was running down to the infirmary.”
Wing glared at her. Either she didn’t see it or she ignored it. Wing knew it was most likely the latter.
Franz, who stood behind Wing and was looking over his shoulder to see the Blackbox, soon spoke, “It is being a good thing that Otto is okay. He sure is stubborn.”
“He is.” said Nigel, who was the only one other than Wing who actually sat on the couch. He was curled up against the arm of the couch that Laura was perched on. He looked up at her, “I’m going to be honest with you Laura, you were unlucky with your choice.”
Laura threw her head back and laughed, nearly falling off the arm, “Shel tells me the same thing!”
“You had all the fish in the ocean, Brand, but you went for a dying goldfish.” Shelby sneered. The group erupted into laughter, even HIVEmind gave a small chuckle.
Wing looked back at the blackbox, trying to suppress his laughter, “We should- we should get going soon.”
“Good idea, Mister Fanchu.” HIVEmind said with a smile, “Can I just ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Will you go check on his after classes?” HIVEmind asked with a tilt of his head.
Wing grinned, “Of course I will.”
“Want us to come with?” Shelby asked, attempting to roll into a sitting position but ended up knocking herself onto the floor instead.
Wing shook his head, “No. I need to talk to him alone.”
“Probably a good idea.” Nigel said, “You two need to finally make up.”
“Ja.”
“Aye, he has a point.”
“Well, I’ll talk to you all later. I wish you luck, Wing.” HIVEmind said before disappearing.
Otto was getting bored. He was told to stay in the infirmary all day, with nothing to do but just lay in bed. He would’ve just gotten up and left if his head didn’t hurt so much.
He didn’t get visitors all day except for HIVEmind. Though, the AI didn’t stick around for long. He just appeared, apologized for Otto’s current state, and then left. So, he just laid there all alone, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the events from that morning.
He wondered if Wing took him down to the infirmary just because he felt he had to. Was Wing even the one who picked him up when the door finally opened? Everything was so blurry.
He thought about what Wing said to him before hiding in the bathroom.
"Do you know how stressful it is?! I never know if I'm going to return to HIVE with you or not!”
Otto had wanted to respond, but he just didn’t know how. He didn’t know if he could.
He closed his eyes. Maybe he could just fall asleep for a bit. That’s all he could do at that moment.
He heard someone walking towards him, but he didn’t open his eyes.
But he knew it wasn’t another doctor coming to check on him. He recognized those slow, heavy footsteps coming towards him.
He kept his eyes closed and breathed softly, pretending to be asleep.
“I know your faking it, Otto. usually when you sleep, you’re not completely still.” the familiar voice of Wing said. Otto opened his eyes and looked over at the taller boy standing over him, looking worried. Otto was surprised to see him, especially after what happened that morning.
“You came to see me?” Otto asked, trying to keep the shock out of his voice.
Wing chuckled a bit and sat down on the bed next to Otto, “Of course I did.”
“Why? Aren’t you still mad at me?” Otto carefully sat up.
Wing shook his head, frowning now. He put his hand on Otto’s, “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself. I should’ve told you what was going on sooner. You had every right to be upset with me.” Wing gently squeezed Otto’s hand. “I just want to apologize.”
“No, Wing, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t of assumed you were angry.” Otto said, “I’m also sorry for everything I put you through. I never realized just how reckless I could be.” he chuckled, “Also sorry for being stubborn this morning.”
Wing smiled again, “I should also apologize for being stubborn.”
“Yea I was wondering about that. Have you been hanging out with Shelby too much?” Otto joked, and Wing laughed. It was a loud, booming laugh, one that always startled Otto even when he expected it. It was a sound Otto missed.
After the laughter died down, Wing spoke, “How long do you think you’ll be here?”
Otto gave one of his mischievous grins, one that said “I have a plan”. Wing frowned, giving Otto a “don’t you dare” look.
“Probably for the rest of the day.” Otto started, “Unless-”
“I’m not carrying you back to the room.” Wing cut him off, “You need to stay for as long as the doctors want you too.”
“You’re no fun.”
“What did i tell you about being reckless?”
Otto cackled, “Oh come ON! You can’t just keep me from being me!”
Wing slung his arm around Otto’s shoulder, “I can if I never let go of you!”
“You’re evil.”
“Thats the point. We’re villains!”
“Oh a joke! Good job!”
The two boys laughed and laughed, like friends once again. Otto missed these moments. He was glad to have Wing back again.
HIVEmind watched over the security footage, smiling.
His plan, even if it had gone wrong, still worked. The two boys were talking again. They still seemed awkward around each other, but HIVEmind was glad to see they were getting the situation resolved.
None of the technicians found out the real reason the door stayed lock. Though, Pike and Nero seemed to know that HIVEmind had to do with it, but they never said anything directly to him.
Right now, he saw Wing, Otto, and the two girls sitting on a couch.
Wing was the only one sitting somewhat normally. Shelby was upside down again, her legs being tugged by the two who were perched on the back of the couch. She was squirming and trying to kick at the two in an attempt to fend them off. HIVEmind could hear the three shouting at each other, but he didn’t know what was being said.
Wing was just ignoring them, seeming used to the chaos that unfolded next to him. He had his blackbox open, possibly trying to block out Shelby’s screams of rage.
Whatever Wing was looking at was soon replaced by HIVEmind, the AI’s sudden appearance startling the boy.
“Gah! Oh! HIVEmind!” Wing said, surprised.
“Sorry to startle you, Wing. I see you four are back to normal.” He motioned towards the loud yelling coming from the other three. Shelby had successfully knocked Otto off the couch, leaving Laura alone in the battle against the angry american.
“If only our normal was a bit more… quiet.” Wing said with his usual emotionless expression.
“Oh you love this Big Guy!” Otto said cheerily as he attempted to climb back to his spot, which was difficult with Shelby already kicking at him.
HIVEmind tilted his head, concerned, “What are those three doing.”
“Otto wanted to see how long both of us could stay on the back of the couch after pissing Shelby off.” Laura responded before getting kicked square in the chest.
“I WON!” Shelby announced as she threw herself off the couch and just laid there on the floor.
“Not fairly! You kicked me in the face! WHEN I WAS DISTRACTED!”
“No such thing as a fair game in the villain world, Pipsqueak.”
HIVEmind smiled, “How are you two getting along, Wing and Otto?”
“I don’t have to kill them!” Shelby exclaimed from where she laid. HIVEmind had a feeling she would’ve gotten to that point if he hadn’t locked the two in their room.
“Yea we’re doing better.” Otto leaned over the back of the couch, resting his arm on Wing’s head. The taller boy seemed slightly annoyed by it. “Big Guy here isn’t waking me up at three in the morning anymore.”
“Nightmares are getting less frequent.” Wing spoke as he pushed Otto’s arm off of him.
“That’s great news! I’m glad you two are getting along again.”
Otto looked at Shelby and then down at Laura, who was laying next to him, “You guys gonna get up?”
“No.” Shelby answered.
“I think she broke my ribs.” Laura groaned.
Wing gave a small nod, “that was a pretty hard kick.”
Soon, laura shakily stood up, using the couch as support, “I’m just being dramatic, Wing. But I’m definitely going to be bruised.”
HIVEmind gave a small chuckle, “I don’t think anyone else should be sent to the infirmary at the moment, with Otto over using his abilities last week and then Shelby getting her hand caught on fire yesterday. I don’t think they’d be pleased to see another one of you down there.”
“I still have the scar on my hand!” Shelby announced as she stood up and put her hand in front of the blackbox.
“Not really something to be proud of, Miss Trinity.”
“It’s a cool scar!” Shelby pleaded.
HIVEmind was a bit concerned by the fact that she seemed proud of that injury, but Shelby was an odd one, all of them were.
“Well, I’ll be going now. You four have fun with whatever it was you were doing.” HIVEmind said, and with that, the screen went black.
He was happy knowing he helped save the group, even if his method wasn’t the most ethical.
It wouldn’t of been the same without those four going around causing chaos whenever they could.