(short for Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is a series of young adult novels by Mark Walden.
Only children who have exhibited a villainous skill are accepted at the school, which has four streams: Alpha, Henchman, Technical, and Political/Financial.
Each stream has a color, which is visible on the uniforms: Alpha is black, Henchman is blue, Technical is white, and Political/Financial is grey.
Jack Heath, author of Money Run, said that "if you can suspend your disbelief far enough, you will find it a rewarding read ...
The dialogue is witty, the plot twists deft, and the setting inventive, with plenty of knowing nods to the comic books and Bond films which pioneered the super villain tropes.
"[7] The first book received a score of 4/5 on ABC, where it was described as having "adventure, sacrifice, mystery, surprises and evil doings.
"[8] After realising that government funding which keeps the orphanage from closing is being cut, Otto Malpense creates a remotely-controlled device that can hack a teleprompter and cause it to hypnotize whoever looks into it.
After achieving his objective, he is ambushed and stunned by Raven (an assassin who works for H.I.V.E) and awakens to find himself in a helicopter across from a stranger.
Dr. Nero, H.I.V.E's headmaster, is interested to know that it took more than two shots from Sleepers (knock-out weapons designed to replace tranquilizer darts) to capture Wing – enough to send a normal boy into a weeks-long coma.
He has no intention of staying in this new prison, but becomes friends with others who have been brought to H.I.V.E., including Laura Brand, Shelby Trinity, Nigel Darkdoom, and Franz Argentblum.
They travel through the hidden parts of the school, but as they nearly reach their freedom Dr. Nero reveals that they have been on an impossible mission.
Nigel stirs up trouble when an enormous, flesh-eating plant (named Violet) he has accidentally bred escapes from the hydroponics lab.
Wing is found alive, shot by a tranquilizer disguised as a bullet, and joins his friends to save the school.
They win the battle; Cypher is wounded, and Nero insists that he appear dead to everyone but himself and the doctor who treated him.
Nero is kidnapped by H.O.P.E,, the Hostile Operative Prosecution Executive (a new anti-terrorist organisation), and the Contessa becomes headmistress of H.I.V.E.
Nero, Raven and the students narrowly escape, but Diabolus Darkdoom is left behind and enemy agents are sent after them.
They try to rescue Diabolus and foil a plan to use American weaponry, controlled by Air Force One, to erupt a supervolcano and destroy civilization.
During a private meeting with Nero, Raven sees a sniper (Ghost) and barely saves Darkdoom from assassination.
medical center, Professor Pike and Laura Brand try to fix the school's technical problems.
Amidst chaos at H.I.V.E., Nero brings in another expert on artificial intelligence (the newly-freed Cypher) to help investigate.
Organic supercomputers repair themselves as seed programs and, when they reach the self-awareness stage, they can exert control.
Because Darkdoom believes that his old idea of ruling with respect was not good enough and his injuries need more time to recover, he suggested that Nero take over G.L.O.V.E.
Furan then tells Dr. Creed (whom he saved from the rainforest) to perform an autopsy on Trent, who has been dead for two weeks.
It is believed that the Animus would be inert, but it emerges and consumes Dr. Creed; the Overlord-Animus combination survives in the doctor.
Otto secretly installs a destroy code for Echelon, which they accessed through the prime minister (one of Nero's former students).
council, angry at Nero's decision to replace them, join the Disciples in the Hunt (a plot to sabotage the H.I.V.E.
Anastasia Furan, the new leader of the Disciples and a ghostly character from Raven's past, bring them to the Glasshouse (an assassin-training facility).
have given the Artemis Section (an elite American intelligence division which reports only to the president) an opportunity to locate him.
She can control a person with her voice (characteristic of the Sinistre family) and shares Otto's ability to interface electronics.
Otto is questioned by the president, who initially thinks he is responsible for Anna's hacking of the global surveillance programs (which causes a Russian ship to disappear).