1) I had one hive start building from the back, one from the middle, and one split roughly in half and started building in front/back then came together. The goal is straight, centered combs. The combs built on either side will mimic the shape of the combs they are next to and if the queen cage is causing strangly shaped combs, the others drawn will be crooked as well.
2) You need to cut the queen cage out and get the combs straight, they'll repair the damage.