Ch.1: Resurgence
It was just another ordinary day in Jump City for the Titans. They received a routine call of the Hive Five robbing the First National Jump Bank. With Robin's signature "Titans Go!" they all leapt into action with Beast Boy Raven and Cyborg taking the T-Car while Robin took the R-cycle and Starfire flew to the scene.
"You know, you'd think the Hive Five would eventually learn not to ya know, not rob banks and stuff considering we're just gonna show up and stop them." The changeling commented as Cyborg sped towards the scene.
"Well some people just don't know when to quit Beast Boy, like with you constantly trying to make me laugh even though your jokes aren't funny at all." Raven responded in her dull monotone.
"Ouch, she burned you good grass stain." Cy commented from the driver's seat as he swerved through traffic in his 'baby'.
"Hah, hah very funny Rea, you know there may actually come a day when I stop trying to make you laugh and be a part of our dysfunctional little family and just let you rot away in that black void you call a room." Beast Boy shot back slightly angry.
"I'll be counting down the days Beast Boy, I'll be counting down the days." She replied in that same monotone.
In response, the green titan huffed and looked out the window with his arms crossed and huffed "Whatever you know you secretly love my jokes even if you won't actually admit it."
"Keep telling yourself that." She told him staring out her own window.
"Alright you two enough bickering we're here." Cyborg said pulling up to the bank at the same time as Robin apparently finished speaking to the policeman in charge of the blockade surrounding the building.
"Alright team, listen up." He said after everyone had gathered around him "The Hive Five are inside the First National and according to the police, Gizmo and the others are heavily armed this time around. So Beast Boy you're going to go in and scout out the bank. Look for where they are keeping the hostages, how heavily armed they are and so forth and then report back understood?"
"Got it, wish me luck guys." He said before turning into a green mouse and making his way up a drainage pipe. He heard everyone on his team wish him the best...except for a certain empath.
It wasn't until he was long gone that Raven whispered to herself "Be safe, Garfield."
In the form of a green mouse, Beast Boy snuck through the buildings ventilation system, looking through the grates to locate the hostages. As he went Beast Boy couldn't help but think to himself 'Dude, what is Raven's problem? I mean I do everything in my power to get her to come out of her shell and she still treats me like crap. Well, maybe what I told her in the T-car will sink in, though I doubt it.' He thought gloomily as he looked down into another section of the bank.
What he saw was Gizmo the pint-sized villain walking around on giant mechanical spider legs and Mammoth, who unless the green shapeshifters' eyes were deceiving him was hauling around an M134 or as it was more commonly called a Minigun.
'Dude, where in the hell did the HIVE Five get ahold of a Minigun? I need to warn rob right now!' BB thought, and he began to scamper back down the ventilation shaft, until he realized that if Mammoth was armed that heavily then the rest of the Hive were likely as well armed if not more so.
'I can't let them walk into this.' He thought desperately fearing for his surrogate families lives 'No, I think it's time I used some good ole fashioned Doom Patrol tactics...' he thought before taking the form of a fly and heading into the bank...
Raven was becoming impatient. "What's taking Beast Boy so long to get back here? He'd better not be doing anything stupid, because I am not healing him if he is." She remarked.
"Do not worry about Friend Beast Boy Raven; I'm sure he is fine." Starfire said soothingly though anyone could tell by looking at her face that she too was worried about the changeling.
"I'm not worried about Beast Boy Starfire." The empath responded stoically.
"Yes, and I am a Tamaranean muck beetle." the Tamaranean princess responded which earned her an eyeroll from the demoness.
Suddenly they heard the sound of gunfire from inside the bank and fearing the worst the rest of the Titans sprang into action. They were not prepared for what they found upon entering the bank. They found See-More, Billy Numerous, Private Hive and Kyd Wykkyd were already unconscious. Each was sporting a black eye and in Kyd's case, what appeared to be an arm fracture at the elbow if the way his arm bent was any indication. Next to them lay a pile of various weapons and some spent brass.
The Titans heard some gunfire from further on in the bank and rushed to the source of the sound. What they found were Mammoth and Gizmo the former using a Minigun and the latter a high powered laser attached to his backpack, to fire at a small green hummingbird. But thankfully, they kept missing by minuscule amounts.
"Titan's Go!" Robin yelled intending to provide backup for their green friend.
Instead the all too familiar battle cry halted the bird in midair for just a moment, which was just long enough for a certain pin-sized evil genius to blast the bird full on with his laser cannon.
"Eat that, snot-muncher." Gizmo gloated before he was promptly blasted into a wall by a combination of Cyborgs Sonic Cannon and a hail of Starbolts courtesy of Starfire.
"You shall pay for what you have done to Friend Beast Boy! So I swear by X'hall!" she shouted, enraged at her friends treatment.
"Raven, do what you can for Beast Boy, I'll hold off Mammoth!" Robin ordered though it was moot, as the empath immediately ran to the downed shapeshifters side the moment she saw him get hit and she did not like what she saw.
'Please be ok Beast Boy, you have to be ok.' She thought as she rushed to his side, once she got there she was that his body was covered in third degree burns and his breathing was ragged and shallow.
'He's burnt pretty badly; I don't know if I can heal him completely...no he's going to make it! He has to!' She thought fiercely as she knelt on the ground before gently placing his severely burnt face in her lap and chanting her mantra and allowing a healing white light to encompass his body.
Little did she or any of the Titans know that, that laser would awaken something in Beast Boy. Long forgotten memories of blood, death, and pain...
We never saw it coming; we were supposed to be safe, traveling down the river in our little boat, dad at the helm with my mother holding me tightly in her lap. Then we rounded the bend in the river and saw groups of men shooting at each other from either side. Dad tried to steer the boat away from the conflict, but the current of the river was just too strong. Upon noticing us, both groups opened fire on our craft. My mother, god rest her soul, used herself as a human shield to protect me from the gunfire.
"Mommy what...happened?" I remember asking.
"Garfield sweetie, I need you to do a big thing for mommy ok? I need you to take the box with the big Red Cross on it and the duffle bag next to it and I need you to turn into the biggest thing you can think of and fly away with them ok?" She said as, though he didn't know it at the time, her voice was in pain as she was dying from multiple bullet wounds to the back.
"But; what about you and daddy, mommy?" I remember asking.
"Don't worry about us Gar, we'll catch up I promise." She said her voice growing weaker with every word.
She then rolled off of him and he did as she asked and collected the items in question before turning into a condor. Before he took off he mother said one final thing to him "Gar remember this, no matter what happens your father and I will always love you and always be proud of you."
I nodded though I was confused and took off after that I remember looking back, just in time to see my families' boat explode. It was then that I let out a cry of anguish as I knew two things. One that my mother had lied to me they would in fact not be coming for me, and two I was all alone in the world now...
I slept in the jungle for the next six days surviving off of the cans of food that were in the duffle bag. Suddenly I heard a rustling in the underbrush and thinking it might be a jungle cat, scurried up into the giant tree I'd been using as a makeshift camp of sorts. But what came out of the underbrush was not a jaguar or leopard but a man. He was tall, pale, and he was wearing one of those black vest things that his daddy told him were supposed to stop bullets once, except his had a giant white skull painted on it and dirty black jeans and boots. I watched as he looked around before he walked up to my fire and the small cooking pot full of baked beans and taking a corkscrew out of his pocket, and flicked out a spork before he reached in and began to eat my food.
This mad me angry of course and so I hopped down from the tree and said "Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's not nice to eat other peoples food wit'out asking?"
This caused the man to turn around swiftly and I saw his eyes widen in shock as he stared at me. I knew why, I was completely green and had pointed ears and fangs but that still didn't make it right.
"It's also not nice to stare." I pointed out to the man before I crossed my tiny arms over my chest and glared at him.
The man just chuckled in response before he took a knee and said "You're right, sorry about that little guy but you startled me. Also, your right I shouldn't have eaten your food without asking but you're so good at hiding I thought the camp was abandoned. My names Frank, what's yours?" he asked.
"Garfield, but my parents called me Gar." I responded.
"What happened to your parents Gar, if you don't mind my asking?" Frank asked.
"They died. Some men with guns shot our boat and it..." I trailed off with a sniffle.
"I see, I'm sorry to hear that." He said pausing a moment before asking "Do you mind if I ask why you look the way you do exactly?"
I explained to him about the disease I got from the green monkey and the cure and how I could turn into animals now.
"Animals, really? Can you show me Gar? Can you turn into an animal for me?" he asked inquisitively.
I nodded shyly before turning into a mongoose which was the first animal I'd ever become. Frank looked shocked when I changed back to my human form. Then he asked more questions like what it felt like to change, was I or the animal in control, did I have animal instincts, and could I change into bigger more dangerous animals.
I answered all of his questions honestly and he seemed impressed with what I told him. I offered him to stay for lunch which he accepted and I was glad for the company. It sucked being all alone and I told him as much.
"I'll bet it does." He responded as he ate another sporkful of beans.
"Mr. Frank, can I ask a question?"
"Sure kid, go right ahead."
"What are you doing out here all by yourself? I mean, you know why I'm out here but why are you?"
Frank sighed before he put down the small hard plastic plate that had been provided for him and said "I'm hunting a- a very bad man. He is technically the one that got your parents killed in the first place as he started this war. I want to stop him before anyone else gets hurt."
"Mr. Frank" I said my tone becoming serious which probably sounded odd for someone who was only eight years old, as I looked him in the eye and said "Let me help you."
He looked into my eyes for a while before he said the last thing I thought he would.
"Ok."
A thousands of memories flashed past Beast Boy's mind after that each one faster than the last until it was just a blur of emotion and color. Raven felt something odd was going on in the changelings mind as she felt a tidal wave of emotion pass though his mind, primarily consisting of hatred, sadness, and loneliness so deep, Raven felt it cut her like a knife before it all settled down into what she could only define as acceptance.
'What's going on with you Garfield?' she thought as she worriedly stroked his grass green hair.
As if that were a signal of some kind, Beast Boys eyes suddenly shot wide open. But they were not the bright cheerful eyes she was used to seeing. The eyes of her friend were always warm, optimistic and shining with childlike glee. But these eyes...the eyes Raven stared into now were cold, lacking all semblances of warmth and kindness they previously possessed. Raven was no longer looking into the eyes Garfield "Beast Boy" Logan, the boy who now matter what she did to him, always bounced back with a funny joke and kept trying to get her to open up, She was no longer looking into the eyes of the boy she secretly had a crush on, she was now looking directly into the eyes of a predator.
"Beast Boy?" she asked, a bit of worry seeping into her monotone.
Instead of answering, he reached up and gently stroked her face with his gloved hand as a wicked grin spread across his face. Then he sat up turning to her, he spoke "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I have a feeling you did me a favor my little Gothic Lolita, and I was taught that a man always repays his debts. So, after I take care of this little skirmish how bout I take you out to lunch?"
Raven blinked twice in response. 'What the Trigon? Did he just call me a Gothic Lolita...Wait! Did he just call me his and invite me out to lunch?!'
"Umm, can we talk about this later? Our friends are kinda in danger at the moment." Raven said nodding to the fight that was still taking place.
"Friends?" Beast Boy said confused before he looked around and noticed the fight going on. "And who the fuck are they?" He then looked down at himself "And what, in the fuck, am I wearing?"
Now Raven was getting worried. At first she assumed he was joking with her now she realized "You don't know who we are, do you?"
He shook his head in response "No, can't say I do Lolita, but hey, if we make it outta this scrap alive I sure as hell wouldn't mind getting to know you better." He finished with a wink.
Thankfully Ravens' cowl was up which allowed her to hide her blush in the shadows of her hood. Then, without warning Beast Boy stood up and calmly walked towards the fight slowly gaining momentum as he headed on a collision course with Mammoth, who was currently occupied keeping both Starfire and Cyborg pinned down by suppressive fire behind the teller counter while Gizmo and Robin dueled with their various gadgets'.
The brawn of the Hive Five never saw his end coming. Beast Boy quickly ran up behind him, jumped up his back, and wrapping his thighs around his neck, torqued his body hard to the left breaking Mammoths neck. Before his corpse could even begin its decent to the ground, Beast Boy snatched the Minigun from his limp grip and spun on his heel, aiming directly at the still occupied midget genius.
"Hey midget!" He called getting Gizmo's attention "Eat lead motherfucker!"
"Crud!" was all Gizmo could say before he was pelted by no less than sixty .22 rounds, most of which managed to hit his backpack as he tried to avoid the barrage but a few managed to strike true, hitting the pint sized inventor several times in both legs and his right arm.
"Beast Boy, what the hells' the matter with you?! We don't kill!" A kid dressed in spandex in the colors of a traffic light screeched as he stalked towards him shouted.
'Who the fuck is that clown, is he late for a fairy convention or sumthin? Wait...' the Green Changeling thought.
"And just who are you supposed to be exactly Mr. Traffic light?" He asked aiming the Minigun in direction "And by the way, you're welcome, considering I just saved your ass and all." BB drawled.
"Grass stain, you ok man?" a voice called from behind making Beast Boy glance behind himself briefly to see a giant mostly mechanical black man and what looked to be a red headed stripper with bright green eyes looking at him with concern.
Suddenly his gun was encased in a black aura and ripped out of his hands, only to settle at the feet of the Goth from earlier.
"I think that's quite enough Beast Boy." She said in her monotone, as she cautiously walked forward.
"Cyborg, put Beast Boy under arrest for murder and attempted murder and read him his rights." The Traffic light commanded.
"It's not that simple Robin, Beast Boy is suffering from Amnesia at the moment. He doesn't remember any of us." The Goth told the Traffic Light.
"Friend Beast Boy, is this true? Do you not remember me? I am your friend Starfire. Please tell me you remember our time as friends and our numerous battles against evil?" The redhead asked as tears began to fill her emerald colored eyes.
"Are you a stripper or something?" he asked her straight-faced in response, which caused Cyborg to look at him in slack-jawed amazement.
Starfire looked confused "Friend Beast Boy, what is a stripper?"
"It's-"He began, only to have his mouth covered by black energy and the Goth to say "Not. Another. Word. Understood?"
Beast Boy nodded and the energy disappeared and he then turned to the spandex traffic light behind him who was now glaring daggers at him from behind his mask.
"Of course I know who you are. You need no real introduction...you're the Bats little Choir Boy aren't you? Tell me, does your ass still hurt, or has he moved on to younger pastures?" he asked.
Raven just barely managed to cover the green Titan in a protective dome in time to shield him from his leaders' assault. Robin smashed his Bo staff against the barrier till it broke, then he turned to the empath and barked "Raven, lower the barrier now!"
Raven shook her head "Not until you calm down, and realize that Beast Boy isn't in his right mind at the moment. When he took that laser to the face-"
She then glared at her leader pointedly "-which was your fault by the way, he passed out and I felt something change in him." She responded coolly.
Robin's anger slowly left him as Raven swiftly reminded him that he was at least partly to blame for him teammates actions. Robin sighed in confusion and frustration scratching his gelled back hair in annoyance with the entire situation. Finally coming to a decision, he turned back to the demoness and said "Take him back to the Tower and watch him carefully till we get there, understood?"
The empath nodded and stepped inside the black sphere before it shrank and both of them disappeared, leaving the other Titans to sort out how they were going to explain this to the police.
A black silhouette of a raven appeared in the Tower living room, depositing a purple and black clothed changeling before taking the shape of Raven. The two stared silently at each other for a moment, before the Changeling looked around the room.
"Nice pad ya got here." He commented trying to break the ice.
"You live here too you know." Raven responded stoically.
"If you say so." He commented as he made his way towards the kitchen with Raven following closely behind.
Beast Boy started rummaging through the fridge, looking for something to eat. He came back out carrying some uncooked bacon, lettuce, tomato and condiments. "Where's the bread at Lolita?"
"Top cupboard on the left, and its Raven." She responded.
"Right, sorry about that." He said reaching for the bread only for it to be encased in black energy and float down to the counter.
"Neat trick, can you pull a rabbit out of a hat too?" He asked.
Raven smiled wanly "No, afraid not."
"Ah, such a shame; if you could pull that off, I bet you'd be a hit at children's parties." Beast Boy commented as he began cooking the bacon in a skillet.
Raven was quiet for a moment, before she decided to go out on a limb and ask "Beast Boy?"
"Garfield." He responded.
"Huh?"
Beast boy sighed, turning to her and saying "My name is Garfield. So if I have to call you Raven, then you need to call me Garfield." He told her.
Raven nodded in acceptance "Alright Garfield then, could you tell me why you killed Mammoth and attempted to kill Gizmo?"
He chuckled mirthlessly "Simple really, they were trying to kill innocent people and take what wasn't theirs, I have little tolerance for those kinds of people. I find the easiest way to deal with them and make sure they can't hurt anyone else is to simply make sure they can't anymore." He finished with a shrug.
Raven nodded, in a way, his logic made sense to her. She had long since noticed that they seemed to be trapped in a never ending cycle where masks they put away never seemed to reform like Robin always hoped, but merely became meaner and were often consumed by thoughts of vengeance against her and her friends. But that brought her to her next question "Don't you think that makes you no better than the very people you kill?"
Garfield, who had by now finished making two BLT sandwiches, placed them on plates before handing one to his hostess while shaking his head in the negative. "I don't see it like that I look at it like this. In order to save one life another must be sacrificed in the process to save a hundred ten may need to die, to save thousands hundreds may need to perish, and to save billions millions may need fall."
"I see, so you're looking at the bigger picture, by killing one person you save dozens more, quite the philosophy you have there." Raven commented as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"Thanks it helps me sleep at night and makes me feel more like I'm doing a public service than anything." He said doing his best to keep the conversation casual.
Both were then caught up in another awkward silence, and silently agreed it would be best to finish their lunch in peace.
After they had finished they both returned to the living room and sat on the half circle couch. Garfield cleared his throat preparing to say something, when the door to the living room opened to reveal a very annoyed Titan leader followed by the rest of his team.
"But Friend Cyborg, I merely wish to know what a stripper is." Starfire said as she floated her way into the living room.
"And I'm telling you Star, it's not important." The mechanical titan responded.
Starfire merely crossed her arms and pouted in response. "Fine, if you will not tell me then I will ask Friend Beast Boy!" she said flying over the couch till she was looking at him upside down, smiling at him sweetly she inquired "Friend Beast Boy, what is a stripper?"
"A stripper is someone who takes off their clothes for money." He responded bluntly, before raven could stop him.
The effect was instantaneous, as Beast Boy suddenly found the life being choked out of him by an angry green eyed alien.
"I am not a prostitute! I am a proud warrior princess of Tamaran and you would do well to remember this, friend or not, understood?!" she hissed out angrily.
"Yeah I got ya." Gar managed to choke out before he was dropped on the couch as the princess turned angrily away.
"Hey Princess, here some free advice? Gar said getting her attention "If you don't want people to mistake you for a lady of the night, stop dressing like one, and start dressing like a warrior princess."
"Friend Raven, do I truly come off as looking like an earth Prostitute?" she asked.
"I don't think it would kill you to cover up some Starfire, you know? Leave something to the imagination?" the empath suggested.
Starfire nodded then turned a harsh gaze back to the changeling "I thank you for your honesty, and I will endeavor to dress as a proper warrior in the future so as not to tarnish the reputation of my people and myself."
"No problem, glad I could help, I think." He said.
The sound of Robin clearing his throat loudly got everyone's attention. Gar simply raised an eyebrow and said "What do you want Choir Boy?"
Grinding his teeth in annoyance; Robin ground out "What exactly happened inside the bank?"
"I remembered." Garfield responded simply.
This caught everyone's attention. Starfire her anger temporarily forgotten floated closer and asked "Remembered what Friend Beast Boy?"
Sighing he said "First off, let's get some shit straight. My name is Garfield, not Beast Boy damn it!" He said shooting everyone else in the room a glare before continuing "Secondly, what I remembered or is it forgot? I'm not sure. Anyway, I recalled that I had a...less than stellar childhood."
"Oh Friend Bea-I mean, Friend Garfield!" Starfire said giving him one of her bone breaking hugs as Raven placed her hand on his arm for support.
"What exactly does this have to do with you committing murder?" Robin asked trying to keep the conversation on track.
Both the female Titans glared at their leader in response and Raven added archly "Why don't you be quiet and let him finish Choir Boy?"
Robin's mouth became a thin line, but he remained silent, which Garfield took as a sign to continue. "Well anyway, I remembered things. Things I forgot, terrible awful things."
"C'mon B, how bad could it have been?" Cy asked speaking for the first time.
"I remember planting C4 on a convoy of jeeps, then when the soldiers mobilized after I caused a big enough ruckus, I blew them all to hell...I was only eight at the time, and I mercilessly killed more than a dozen that day, for the sake, the hope, of saving even more." He said in a deadpan voice worthy of the resident empath.
"BB, man I didn't mean to-"Cyborg began to apologize only for the green teen to raise his hand to call for silence.
"It's fine. To be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around being teammates with you guys. We sure are an odd bunch huh?"
"You got that right, grass stain."
"Grass stain?" Beast Boy then pulled off one of his gloves revealing his hand which was covered in old scar tissue which he ignored he did get annoyed over the fact that his skin was green however. With a look of slight annoyance he closed his eyes and concentrated and the remaining titans were shocked, as slowly, his skin changed from green to a pale white, his hair became a messy bright blonde, and when he opened his eyes they were now a deep blue sapphire color.
"Ah, much better." He said he then noticed everyone staring at him wide eyed and asked "What?"
"How-how did you do that?" Raven asked.
"Sorry Rae, trade secret. Now, is there somewhere I can make a long distance phone call around here?" he asked.
"Beast Boy, as leader of this team, I order you to tell me how you did that!" Robin demanded.
Beast Boy followed Cyborg out of the living room yelling over his shoulder "Why don't you go preach your shit to Roman Catholic Priest of the JLA, because I'm not listening Choir Boy."
"Ok B, you're all set." Cy said as he finished piecing together a cellphone from some random parts he had laying around in his room.
"Thanks Tin Man, are you sure calls from this thing can't be tracked?" he asked looking at the chrome colored device dubiously.
"Positive string bean, no one would be able to trace any calls made on that phone. Heck, I doubt even the Batman himself could pull it off." Cy boasted.
"Alright then." Beast Boy then headed towards the door, only to stop and turn back to ask "Why are you all so damn trusting of me even after you saw me kill someone? For all you know, I could be calling in a hit on all of you right now." He said holding up the phone for emphasis.
"True, but then again I have a feeling that if you wanted us dead we'd all be dead already; or am I wrong?" Cyborg asked.
The blondes' icy blue eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise was all the confirmation Cyborg needed.
Nodding to himself Cy continued "Believe it or not B, you areour friend and I think a part of you remembers that on some base level, which is why we are all still breathing albeit with our pride wounded. That's why I have a feeling you would never hurt us, physically at least." Cy ended with a chuckle.
Garfield stared at the mechanical man who for the past two hours built him a cellphone from scratch and did his best to fill him in on his so called family. At last he said "Thank you for having so much faith in me Cyborg. I'll do my best to prove that, that faith isn't misplaced...What?" He asked seeing the bewildered look on the Titans face.
"Noting dude, that was just rather 'eloquent' for you is all." Cy commented framing the word with quotation marks using his fingers.
Gar just smiled slightly "Good night Cy."
Cyborg yawned before responding "Night grass stain, seeya in the morning." He said as his younger brother left his room.
As Garfield made his way down the hall towards his room, he bumped into something he was so lost in his thoughts.
"Friend Garfield, you are undamaged?" Starfire asked concerned that he had hurt himself bumping into her.
"Ah, hello Starfire and no I'm fine thank you." He responded accepting her offered hand to stand up.
"I am glad friend." The redheaded alien said smiling at the boy who had just recently called her a prostitute.
'I am gonna feel awkward till I do this so I may as well get it out of the way.' He thought sighing internally.
"Star?" he said getting her attention "Umm, look, I'm really sorry about the whole stripper comment thing."
"It is no problem Garfield." She said but he could tell she was still upset as she dropped the 'Friend' moniker from his name and she became suddenly distant with him, slightly less joyful and bright.
"Bullshit Star your still pissed at me, I can tell. Now, this is what's going to happen. You are going to wake up early tomorrow and you and I are going to whatever passes for the mall around these parts and then, then we are going to find you a wardrobe befitting of an alien warrior princess, and I am going to buy everything and not take no for an answer, ok?" He said giving her a look as if daring her to contradict him.
Starfire was quite for a moment as in truth she was quite taken in by the changeling's boldness and willingness to right a wrong. When she spoke next a small kind smile very much unlike the ones she usually wore graced her features.
"Your terms are agreeable Friend Garfield, I accept." She said with a hint of the regal diginity she possessed by very rarely displayed.
"Then it's a date. Till tomorrow my princess, may I keep your dreams bright and cheerful." He said taking the back of her hand and kissing it gently.
"Pleasant night visions to you as well Friend Garfield." She responded giving him a hug that was much gentler than normal before she disappeared into her room.
Garfield managed to make it all the way around the corner before he was stopped once again, this time by an amethyst-eyed empath.
"Hey Rae...did you need something?" he asked.
Raven was quiet for a moment before she said "That was kind of you, to do that for Starfire."
"I just felt it was the right thing to do, and don't think I've forgotten my promise to you either I still owe you a lunch date."
A look of surprise crossed her features for a moment, before being brutally crushed back into place. "You were serious?" she asked.
Garfield looked at her strangely "Yeah, why wouldn't I have been? In fact, why don't you come to the mall with me and Starfire tomorrow? I'm sure she would appreciate a woman's input more than a man's and we'll be their early before any crowds show up. It'll be perfect! What do ya say Lolita?"
A small smirk appeared on Ravens face. She was impressed by the fact that Beast Boy of all people managed to give her a compelling argument to go to the mall of all places. Such displays from him were rare.
'But then again, today was full of surprises. Plus, I wouldn't mind learning more about this Beast Boy. ' She reasoned.
"Alright, I'll go but on two conditions." She responded holding up two fingers for emphasis.
"Name them."
"One, you pay for anything I ask you to pay for same as Starfire, and two no calling me Lolita in public." She said 'Once we're alone however...' her emotion Lust or was it Love murmured in the back of her mind.
"Done and done babe." Garfield said with a smirk, prompting the empath to roll her eyes and turn throwing a "Goodnight." over her shoulder.
"Rea?" he called making her turn.
"Wha-" she never finished as she was suddenly shocked as Garfield planted a firm but chaste kiss on her lips whispering "Good night" Before jetting down the hall and into his room.
Raven just stood there in shock in the hallway as her mind processed this one simple fact.
'Beast Boy...Kissed me...On the lips.' She thought over and over.
"Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh! He kissed us he kissed us!" Happy was screaming from inside Nevermore as she did cartwheels all across her meadow.
"It would seem that this new Garfield is not afraid of showing his affection." Knowledge surmised with a happy tone in her voice.
"It would be wise to figure out just what he feels for us, for all we know, that was meant to be purely platonic." Wisdom advised.
"It's too bad he didn't try going for more than just a kiss." Lust said a sultry pout in her voice.
"True but it took guts for him to kiss us at all! Go BB Go!" Brave hollered.
"He couldn't have done something with his tongue? Is that too much to ask?" Anger replied hotly.
'Enough!' Raven mentally yelled at her emotions before she made towards her room intending to enter Nevermore via her mirror as she needed her rest if she was going to the mall tomorrow, early or no.
While Raven was having an internal debate, Garfield sat on bottom bunk of his bunk bed, tossing the cellphone Cyborg made him from hand to hand absentmindedly as his thoughts raced rampantly.
'What if they are mad? What if they don't want me back? What if they moved on and forgot all about me?' he thought before he took a deep breath to calm and collect his nerves.
"There really is only one way to find out." He muttered to himself as he dialed a number he knew by heart.
He waited with baited breath as the phone rang once, and the twice, before being answered on the third ring by a gruff sounding man on the other end "Hello?"
"Hello, Uncle Frank? It's me Garfield."
"..." There was only silence on the other end of the line.
It went on so long that Beast Boy thought the call had dropped he was about to ask if Frank was still there when his voice came back through the phone so loud, he needed to hold it at arm's length just to keep from going deaf.
"WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN BOY?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED THAT DAMN IDIOT AND I HAVE BEEN ABOUT YOU?! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD AND NOW YOU CALL OUTTA THE BLUE LIKE-"
"Uncle Frank, Uncle Frank...Frank, calm the fuck down!" Garfield eventually yelled into the phone.
After he received nothing more than the sound of heavy breathing on the other end of the line Garfield decided to continue "Look, I have no clue what happened but I recently 'woke up' in the middle of a bank heist in a place called Jump City in California. Apparently I'm now a part of a superhero team called the 'Teen Titans' or sum such nonsense. What's more I have no memory of my so called 'friends' or anything else before our last job together but what I really need right now are my things. I'd feel a lot better with a fully loaded pistol on my hip than just my fists."
Again the line was silent for a moment before Frank spoke again "You don't remember anything? Then where are you right now?"
"I'm still in the Titan Tower in Jump City...What? They were very persistent!" Gar argued feeling his uncle's disapproval from over the line.
"Do you trust them?" He finally asked.
"Most of them, there's just one that rubs me the wrong way, Robin the 'Team Leader' and the Batman's former choir boy."
Frank chuckled on the other end of the line before becoming pensive. "As long as you have numbers on your side, you should be fine for a while. Just sit tight in Jump till the idiot and I arrive with your gear ok?" Frank told him.
Garfield suddenly became alarmed "What, you're coming here personally? Isn't that kinda, I dunno, stupid! I mean your both wanted by the feds for murder and you'll be walking into a building full of super powered teenagers!"
"Eh, we've beat worse odds besides, there you're friends right? So they won't attack us if you ask."
"Yeah, I hope so anyway. No promises about the Choir Boy though."
"We can handle him easily enough; it's the other three that have me concerned."
"I'll handle it, don't worry." Gar promised.
"Alright then, get some sleep kid you sound beat." Frank advised.
"I am tired, plus I'm taking both Raven and Starfire to the mall early tomorrow."
Franks tone suddenly became fleck with humor. "Raven and Starfire; they wouldn't happen to be the two female members on the Teen Titans would they?" he asked.
"They would be, what of it?" Gar asked becoming defensive.
Gar heard chuckling from the other end of the line "Not even back from the grave for twenty-four hours and already on the prowl huh?"
"Good bye Uncle Frank." Garfield said sourly.
"Just remember to wear protection kiddo; I don't want to become a grandpa anytime soon."
"GOODBY FRANK!" Gar yelled into the phone before hanging it up and tossing it onto his desk.
Frank Castle couldn't help but chuckle as he heard the line go dead on the other end of his cellphone call. Just moments after the call ended the door to the three bedroom condo he was renting in the Bahamas was kicked open and a man clad in a crimson outfit, numerous guns and two katana strapped across his back walked through the door, his face covered by a red hood with white eye holes.
"I'm a little pistol short and stout, here is my grip and...When Deadpool gets all pissed off, here people shout, as he blows their damn brains out!"
"Wade, I've got good news." Frank said getting the madman's attention.
"You bought chimichangas for lunch?"
Frank sighed in annoyance. "No even better than Mexican food.
"What, what could be better than Chimichangas?!" ("Burritos?")
"I got a call from Garfield." Frank responded.
"Is she that one hooker who tied you to a bed and almost raped you with a-"(I didn't even know you could do that with vegetables.)
"NO!" Frank yelled before adding "and we promised never to speak of that again!"
"Hey man, it's not your fault you almost took a cucumber up the ass." The Merc with a Mouth said comfortingly.
"I know, that cause it was your fault you dumbass!"
"Well excuse me for thinking you could use some loosening up partner." Deadpool drawled.
"Anyway, we are getting off topic. The person I was talking about was Garfield you know, Red Eye?"
Deadpool let out a gasp of recognition "Jr? You got a call from Little Deadpool Jr? Well why didn't you say so in the first place partner?"
Franks response was to facepalm and say "Wade, just get ready. We're getting on the next available flight to California, and Gar wants us to bring him his things."
"What's our destination compadre?" Wade asked clearing out all the drawers as well as a china cabinet into his suitcase.
"Jump City, California."
Chapter End