*A/N* It was requested, and here it is. The semi-sequel to Blood Bonding. A word of warning to fans of the previous story, this will not be predominantly rom-com like the last one. I wanted to depart from the cutesy tone of the previous story and write a more serious, action-oriented story. But fear not, fans of the original, this is still a BBRae fic at heart, so expect some good old fluffy goodness woven into this new story. I hope you'll enjoy it just as much as the last one, as I'm pouring my all into this. Enjoy! *A/N*
Two months. Two long, humid, happy months. In May, Raven finally worked up the courage to do it. And the result was more than she could have ever anticipated. They went to see a double feature on a Friday night, just to see if they could work with each other. They wound up going every night that week, watching all fourteen movies shown, be they quality, average, or terrible. Of course, the films were simply a backdrop. They attended to spend time with one another.
Beast Boy was alarmed at how quickly he became attracted to Raven. Granted, he had sometimes bandied the idea of them together, but he always thought it laughable, since she was practically his polar opposite. But all of a sudden, there they were, sharing a kiss in the darkened common room. He began to really appreciate many things about her. Her razor sharp wit, her cool-headed sarcasm, the way the shadows of her hood illuminated her violet eyes, he grew to love it all.
Raven never hated Beast Boy, even if they got on each other's nerves at the drop of a hat. Granted, it took some time to realize that she was sweet on him, and she herself could never explain why it had happened all of a sudden. Given her emotional release after Trigon's downfall, she surmised that these feelings must have been lying dormant for a long time, because when they came, they hit her like a runaway train.
Two months came and went, and life at the Tower was fairly normal for everyone. The two of them kept most of their romantic banter reserved for private moments only, as to escape the heckling from Robin and Cyborg that was sure to follow. Starfire was overjoyed that such a relationship had appeared so suddenly, but under strict rules set by both Raven and Beast Boy, she kept most of this joy internal. The five teens functioned as well as they ever did, taking down every adversary that came their way with the same quality of teamwork.
But as the days grew hotter, the Titans grew more restless. One particularly sweltering afternoon, Starfire brought up the idea of heading somewhere to cool off as a group. After some deliberating, the five of them decided on Jump City Rapids, the local water park. Raven only agreed to go if she could do as she pleased without complaint from the others.
They got themselves dressed in appropriate swimwear, scraped together whatever poolside items they could find, and headed off on the highway in the T-Car. When they arrived, one of the managers, who happened to be a big fan of theirs, invited them to the front of the line and offered them the space that was usually reserved for parties. Despite Robin's insistence that such an offering wasn't necessary, they ended up staying there.
Cyborg, delighted that there was a barbeque available to use, excused himself to go grab some cutlets from the supermarket a few miles away from the park. Raven took her iPod and a lengthy novel she had been working on, and after putting on some suntan lotion, went over to one of the pool cots and sat herself down to read while the others took off to enjoy the water.
Raven couldn't help but grin slightly while watching Beast Boy play with a group of younger kids. They had managed to surround him and were attempting to shove him into the hot tub.
"No! Don't! That stuff's radioactive!" Beast Boy protested melodramatically before elaborately pratfalling into the bubbling water below. Staying underwater for a few moments, he burst into sight again and grabbed the nearest kid. "Boil with me!" he exclaimed with exaggerated villainy, dragging him into the water. The other kids squealed with delight and jumped into the water after their comrade.
Raven exhaled. He was way too good with little kids. She could hardly handle three at a time, and there he was with about nine. She returned to her novel, and briefly scanned the pages for her stopping place. Her iPod reached the next song, some alternative rock song she forgot she put on her playlist.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to see Starfire standing over her, holding an ice cream cone and wearing a pair of sunglasses.
"I believe this is your flavor of choice, yes?" she said, offering Raven the treat. Plain vanilla. Perfect.
"Thanks." She said, taking the cone. "Where'd you get those?"
Starfire beamed and took off her shades. "Friend Robin purchased them for me! Are they to your liking?"
"They look good on you." Raven stated shortly. That wasn't saying much. Starfire looked all but radiant in everything. Raven simply wore her one piece indigo swimsuit and black sandals.
"You should come join us in the water. We are playing 'Marco and Polo.'" Starfire knew Raven would say no, but she always at least invited her friend to participate, hoping one of these days she would actually put her book down and socialize.
Before Raven made her predictable response, a shrill scream shook the air. Raven removed her ear-buds and looked towards the noise, and Starfire squinted in the sun before adorning her glasses a second time.
A girl a few years older than Raven had her arm rigidly pointed at one of the pool filters. Pitch black ooze had emerged from the opening, clouding the water. Nearby swimmers backpedaled away from the cloud, while one of the lifeguards grabbed his bullhorn and began shouting into it.
"Everyone out of the water, now! There's been a chemical spill! Everyone out of the water!"
"What kind of pool chemical is black?" Raven asked, more to herself than anyone else. The bathers obediently complied with the order and scrambled out of the water.
"Aaw, what the heck?" Beast Boy whined, climbing out of the water with his young fans.
Robin had dashed across the nearby field and appeared alongside Starfire. "What's going on?" he inquired urgently.
"Chemical spill." Raven said.
When the last bather had exited the water, the lifeguard who had ushered everybody out of the water previously turned towards Robin, and began staring at him directly. He was a young, well-built young man with very short blonde hair and a sinister look in his eye.
"Who is that?" Starfire asked.
The lifeguard raised his bullhorn again, and shouted one word with all his might, his amplified voice nearly making the water tremble.
"TITANS!"
Almost immediately, he removed his Jump City Rapids T-shirt and revealed a bizarre apparatus attached to his chest. A dial, seemingly molded into his skin, sat upon his sternum just above his ribcage. The dial was split vertically into two different colors, red on his right and blue on his left, and each side had an appropriately colored tube travelling outwards and ending at his shoulders.
"PUT UP YOUR DUKES!" he shouted into his bullhorn, before tossing it aside and cannonballing into the pool. The second he was submerged, the surface of the water froze solid. Beast Boy stumbled over to the group. "Who is this guy?!"
Robin narrowed his eyes. "Whoever he is, he's barking up the wrong tree. Titans! G-"
Robin couldn't even finish his order before part of the ice in front of them exploded outward as the lifeguard catapulted himself towards them. Reacting instantly, Robin aimed a heavy kick at their attacker, who countered by slamming his fist into Robin's femur and landing in front of them, crouched with his arms outstretched and his head bowed.
The others readied themselves as he assumed a standing position. He grinned smugly.
"I don't know who you are or why you're doing this, but you're in way over your head." Robin warned, cracking his knuckles.
"Who needs a reason nowadays?" the lifeguard replied. Robin gritted his teeth and threw a punch, which was blocked with startling precision by the lifeguard's left hand. Using his right, he seized Robin's fist. Robin exclaimed in pain as a sizzling sound became more audible, and wrenched himself from the grasp. Starfire gasped at the sight of Robin's newly burnt knuckles, bright red and shiny.
Beast Boy morphed into a mountain goat and head butted the villain's chest, who spiraled backwards and landed on the frozen pool, sliding a few paces before getting up again.
"Not bad." The lifeguard called out, steam rising from his right hand. "But it'll take more than that to beat me. You can call me Weatherman, by the way."
Starfire rose into the air, her eyes glowing menacingly. "Man or woman, you shall not harm my friends." She stated, before launching a starbolt in Weatherman's direction. Weatherman simply moved to the side and allowed the energy to whizz past him, slamming into the ice and leaving a nearly perfectly circular hole.
"Aim's a bit off, sweet cheeks." he jeered.
Robin sprinted onto the ice, Starfire rocketing after him and Raven cautiously following.
"Three of a kind, let's do this!" Weatherman exclaimed. He placed his right palm on the ice and melted the ice he was standing on, disappearing under the water. Beast Boy leapt into the water, turning himself into a sting ray.
Robin slid to a stop. "I can't see him." He said.
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven exclaimed, hoisting a lifeguard stand into the air and hurtling it into the ice, shattering all of it in one go and grabbing Robin under the armpits to make sure he wouldn't fall in.
Weatherman was revealed underneath the water, wrestling with the bright green sting ray underwater. Expertly, he seized Beast Boy's stinger, and managed to jab it into its owner's abdomen.
"GARFIELD!" Raven exclaimed.
Beast Boy changed back to his normal form, clutching at his stomach. Blood leaked out into chlorinated water, clouding up the blue with red.
Robin dived into the water, both fists outstretched, slamming into Weatherman's head as hard as he could. The villain winced, but swiftly created a steep column of ice beneath him, zooming upwards and taking care to have the ice collide with Robin's head.
As Weatherman rose, Raven advanced towards him, eyes aglow and her hands swirling with dark energy.
"Well, well, look at you, Gothika." Weatherman mused. "You should wear less more often."
"Save it." Raven barked, surrounding Weatherman's hands with black energy and hoisting him into the air. Starfire, seeing her chance, sent a starbolt in his direction. Almost perfectly on target, the bolt struck the immobilized villain directly in his sweet spot: the dial on his chest. Weatherman bellowed in pain, his suspended legs briefly flailing about. His eyes appeared to flood with chemicals, his right with a scarlet fluid, his left with an indigo. He gnashed his teeth and, surprisingly, grinned at Starfire, the brightly-colored fluid leaking from his eyes like tears.
"Not a bad shot, but you just made a mistake." He grunted.
Nearly instantly, the air above Raven crystallized, forming an umbrella of ice which heavily fell upon her, forcing her out of the air. She plummeted several feet into the water below beneath the freezing weight.
Weatherman used Starfire's brief moment of shock to his advantage, landing back on his altar of ice and extending his right hand in the Tamaranian's direction. Starfire yelped as she felt a scalding heat on her belly. A perfect imprint of a human hand had begun burning itself into her skin.
"See, the more fluid I have in my bloodstream, the further my powers extend. And you just knocked a lot of fluid free, sweet cheeks." Weatherman's victory was short lived, because a bird-a-rang struck him on the side of the head, causing him to stumble, breaking his concentration.
"Starfire, now!" Robin ordered, standing on the side of the pool, more weapons in hand.
Starfire nodded and turned her attention towards Weatherman. Before he had time to react, she swooped towards him, tackling him off of his perch. He went into free-fall, Starfire chasing him through the air. Gathering green energy upon her fist, she slugged him in the stomach, forcibly turning him upside down in the middle of falling. He made a short noise of pain before colliding with the surface of the water.
Raven, trapped beneath her prison of ice, dimly perceived someone else falling into the water with her. She struggled to throw the freezing mass off of her, unable to speak her mantra due to being underwater. All at once, a green narwhal head-butted the ice off of her, she swam to the top of the water. Her head burst into the open air, and she gratefully inhaled before being reduced to a coughing fit. Beast Boy reverted back to his human form and grabbed her shoulders.
"You alright?!" he exclaimed.
Raven took a moment to stop coughing then nodded gratefully. "Yeah, thanks." She said. Then she noticed the wound Weatherman left behind on Beast Boy's stomach. "Are YOU alright? You're bleeding."
"I'll be fine. Right now, we've gotta stop Frosty the Snowman up there."
On cue, the pillar of ice Weatherman created crumbled into diamond dust, the tiny particles of ice glittering in the air as they floated to the ground.
"Snow in July." Raven stated.
"Watch it!" Robin exclaimed suddenly.
Raven seized Beast Boy's head and dragged him below the surface of the water just as an out of control Starfire hurtled through the space they once occupied. Finding her center of balance, she looked down with disdain at her arms, now covered in hand-shaped burns, her skin beginning to blister.
Weatherman rose from the water on a platform of ice.
"How's that for a tan?" he goaded, giving an oily grin. He turned to Robin and raised his eyebrow.
"You guys ain't half bad. I was honestly expecting a shut-out on my part."
"Why are you doing this?" Robin demanded.
"Like I said, I don't need a reason. I guess I just wanted to work up a sweat today."
Robin gritted his teeth. "I hope you know that you're going to go to prison for this."
"Hey, you swung first." Came the curt reply.
Robin moved to attack, but a green shark beat him to the punch. Careening out of the water, Beast Boy, now a full sized tiger shark, sank his teeth into the villain's leg. Weatherman howled in pain and readied himself for an assault.
"Azarath, Metrion, LAQUEUM!" A wave of black energy surrounded Weatherman and cocooned around his body, swaddling him and hoisting him into the air.
Raven held her prey aloft as her eyes glowed with ancient power.
"You stabbed my boyfriend. Time to return the favor." She hissed. Weatherman, in spite of the danger he was in, laughed spitefully.
"My aim was off, actually. I was going for his heart."
Raven's anger flared up like an explosion inside of her. Twisting her fingers, Weatherman's body began to be bent out of proportion. His arms, forced backwards, became in danger of snapping.
"Raven, DON'T!" Robin called out. "He isn't worth it!"
Raven ignored her leader's order, beginning to twist her victim's torso backwards while keeping his legs towards her. This elicited another cry of pain from Weatherman, and Raven grinned evilly.
"Like breaking a twig…" she crooned, awaiting the sharp crack that signified a broken spine.
"STOP IT, RAVEN!" Beast Boy screamed. Raven's sadistic trance was broken when she saw Beast Boy staring at her pleadingly.
"You're going to murder him! You know you don't want that!"
Raven looked back to the villain, frozen in a rictus of pain, then back to Beast Boy. Her telekinetic grip loosened, and she brought Weatherman back to a proportional position, still keeping him trapped in her tomb of energy.
Bringing herself down to the ground along with Weatherman, she allowed Robin to extract his handcuffs and pacify him. She then released her psychic bond, hanging her head and sighing.
Beast Boy hurried over to her. "Raven, what were you thinking?!" he snapped, grabbing her shoulders.
"I'm sorry… I just…" Raven uttered weakly.
"Why? Why did you do it? WHY?!" Beast Boy demanded.
"He…hurt you, I couldn't stop myself."
Beast Boy's expression softened as his eyes became wide. "Raven…" he began, but could find no words suitable to follow. Raven pulled him into a desperate hug, and he slowly put his arms around her too.
"I didn't mean it." Raven said, in an uncharacteristically frail tone of voice.
"Ssshhh, it's alright. You did stop yourself." Beast Boy whispered comfortingly, hiding his surprise to the best of his abilities.
Weatherman, hands forced cuffed behind his back and lying on his stomach, looked up at the embraced couple.
"Ain't that cute?" he called out, with the same slimy grin he used previously. Robin grabbed him by the hair.
"You're lucky to be alive. Don't push it any further." He whispered dangerously.
Starfire landed beside Robin.
"What are we to do with this miscreant?" she said, giving a disgusted look towards the apprehended Weatherman.
"We'll leave him here for the cops. I'm sure somebody's called them by now."
Starfire looked towards Beast Boy and Raven, still in each other's arms.
"Are they well?"
Robin gave her a grave look. "I hope so. We'll check on them later."
"Not bad for a first round." Weatherman uttered. "Too bad there weren't five of you."
Starfire clenched her fists. "Clorbag valblernelk!" she spat.
"If I spoke Martian, I'd be insulted." Robin seized their assailant's hair again.
"Don't make me drop you in the deep end, you sociopath."
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but first…" Weatherman bellowed the last of his sentence at the top of his lungs. "YOU'VE GOTTA THROW 'EM!"
Robin dropped Weatherman at that. "He's crazy, leave him for the judge." Robin and Starfire began walking towards their other teammates before Weatherman called out again.
"Hey, you know this isn't over, right?"
The two kept walking.
"Keep on your guard. I'll be back. And I ain't giving a warning."
Ignored once more, Weatherman chuckled hoarsely and rested his chin on the ground.
"Oh, man, this is gonna be fun."
Cyborg screeched to a halt in front of the entrance to the park. Five police cars, lights blazing, stood parked in front of the entrance, along with a swarm of paparazzi and a few news trucks.
"I leave for a minute, and of course, something happens…" he grumbled, parking the T-Car and stepping out into the muggy summer air.
One female newscaster noticed the approaching teen and feverishly signaled for her cameraman to follow her.
"Oh, here's the absent team member now. Cyborg, a few questions, please?"
Cyborg stopped and allowed the newscaster to stand next to him. She was a fairly short woman, so he could look down at her easily.
"Cyborg, are you aware of the events that unfolded at Jump City Rapids this afternoon?"
"I am now." He replied.
"If you don't mind, where were you when the pool was overtaken?"
"I needed to go pick up some groceries. Is everyone all right?"
"We were wondering the same thing, but from the look of things, the other Titans seem to be alright, and the police have a young man in custody."
"Okay, thanks." Cyborg hurried away into the crowd, despite the newscaster's request for a few more inquiries. Cyborg shoved his way through the crowd, dismissing the rude remarks or demands he received. He eventually found Robin, now fully dressed in his uniform and clutching a two colored device in one hand, speaking with a police lieutenant with a heavy grey moustache.
"We found the remnants of an ink bomb in the pool filter where the supposed chemical spill took place." Robin said, the lieutenant nodding and scratching something on his notepad. "This dial was held in his chest cavity by a crude organic socket. It seems to give him the ability to briefly create extreme temperatures. Without it, he should be powerless."
"And can you identify this man?" The policeman asked.
"We don't have a definite identity, but the preconception that he was an employee here is entirely false, he acquired a uniform from a lifeguard we found tied up in a sprinkler riser room."
Seeing that Robin was busy, Cyborg turned to look for the others. Spotting a mane of blazing red hair, he hurried over to Starfire, still wearing her new shades and speaking to a different newscaster, a male with glasses.
"I am afraid I do not know that." She said patiently, regarding a question about the nature of Weatherman's device. "But it is capable of making the air around the user very cold or hot, as you can see." She revealed her burnt arms, and the newscaster winced.
"I'm very sorry, that looks painful. Do you know if-" The newscaster was cut off when Cyborg stepped in between them.
"Sorry, no more questions." He said gruffly, taking Starfire aside. After they were out of sight, Cyborg gave Starfire a look of utter confusion.
"What's going on? Why didn't anyone contact me?"
"There was a miscreant who attacked us, it all happened very suddenly." Starfire explained. "He is now under the arrest."
"Did he do that to your arms?"
"Yes. He was a violent adversary."
Cyborg growled. "He better hope he doesn't get paroled while I'm around."
Starfire looked about, ignoring the flash of cameras and chatter from onlookers. "I have not seen Friend Beast Boy or Friend Raven since the arrival of the crew of cameras." She fretted.
"You know Raven hates all the attention, Beastie probably just went to keep her company."
Starfire shook her head. "I fear that is not the reason. Friend Raven grew very dark with our opponent today. There was a near casualty."
Cyborg's eyes widened. "What? Why did she...?"
"The answer escapes me as well. But for now, they are a wall."
"AWOL, Star."
"As I said, a wall."
Robin noticed the two chatting and beckoned them over urgently. As they approached, a few more reporters tried to grab their attention, and one brave shutterbug stepped directly in front of them to snap a close-up shot. He backed away when Cyborg drew too close, quickly apologizing.
"What'd I miss?" Cyborg quipped, attempting to lighten the mood, but withdrew when Robin kept up his grim expression.
"We've got a solid identification of Weatherman." He said, turning to the moustache-d lieutenant.
"His name is Anton Scissors. He's the 24 year old nephew of physicist Gustavos Scissors. He spent four years in Cedar Grove Correctional for attempted arson. Apparently, the boy's very intelligent, but has been under psychiatric evaluation since middle school."
"And is there any clue as to where he got this temperature device?" Robin inquired.
"The PIAS recently reported a break in with many experimental parts stolen."
"PIAS?" Cyborg questioned.
"The Pembrook Institution of Atmospheric Study." The lieutenant said. "That's the institute where Gustavos Scissors works."
"Sounds like a reasonable connection to me." Robin said. "Thank you for your cooperation, Lt. Wynorski."
"It's been a pleasure as always, Mr. Grayson." Wynorski said, tucking his pen and pad into his pockets. He then hurried over to a few other officers, who were doing their best to keep the crowd at bay.
"Why didn't y'all contact me?" Cyborg demanded.
"I'm sorry, Cyborg, but it all happened so suddenly. There wouldn't have been much you could have done to help even if we had, it was over in the blink of an eye."
Cyborg sighed. "Alright, fine, but have you seen BB or Rae anywhere?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing, I need to have a word with them."
"Have you tried their communicators?" Starfire inquired.
Robin flipped his communicator open. "Calling Beast Boy or Raven." He said.
A few moments of static, and Beast Boy's face appeared on-screen.
"Hey, Robin." He greeted, a hollow look in his eye.
"Where are you two? You can't just vanish like that." Robin said sternly.
"Look, we'll meet you back at the tower in a little while, okay? We have some stuff to work out."
"You didn't answer my question." Robin said.
"Just… look… I know we're in trouble, just give us some time. We'll face the music later. Out."
Robin couldn't get another word out before the image cut to static.
"Damn it!" he cursed, clapping the device shut.
"Robin, I think this is the best choice." Starfire said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Raven was quite shaken after her… outburst."
"Yeah, dude. Just leave them be for now. We'll talk about it as a team later.'
Robin tucked his communicator away. "Fine. But we have to approach this candidly. If Beast Boy was a second too late, Scissors would have been a corkscrew. That's inexcusable."
*A/N* Already a bit different, ain't it? But again, fret not, shippers. There's some tenderness coming up. Hang on to your hats! *A/N*