Tissues
A soft, feminine voice echoed over a communicator. "Gar, do you see the target?"
Beast Boy paused, staring down the broken foundations to the stranded streets of dump city. Smoke billowed from a fire in the distance, making the view of what was left of an abandoned downtown even harder to look at. Sometimes, he would stare down streets he remembered as a child. HE would have flashbacks to the life that once thrived among the citizens, happy children that played at the parks, store lights and street cars that sped down asphalt. It was a bit of a disappointment he couldn't even catch a small glimpse of what it had been. One day, he was going to completely forget what life used to be like.
The smoke billowed some more, causing him to cough. He glanced down at himself and saw he was confirmed in black dust from the smoke and his eyes began to water. Beast Boy sighed and he took the little pack of tissues out of his pocket. He used one to wipe some ash out of his eyes. He recalled why he had a pack with him anyway. A nasty could was going around in Jump Limits, and it had put quite a few soldiers on bedrest for a few days. Rita had been worrying he would catch it, but Beast Boy hated getting sick because of how it clouded his acute senses. He avoided everyone who even cleared there throat. Still, Rita had made him take a pack of tissues. It was a nice, normal gesture that he appreciated in a world where there wasn't much of that left.
"BEAST BOY! DO YOU COPY?"
He rolled his eyes at the new voice. The billowing command vibrated to his ears and caused an annoying itch in his brain. They had seen the demon a few miles back, but it had disappeared among the city fire that it had started and the team decided to split other. A few moments earlier, Nightwing had asked for everyone to fall back. Beast Boy hadn't payed him any mind. Even the black tendrils of fog that circled him were less suffocating than his team leader.
He gripped his communicator in his gloved hand, covering it in more black dust. "Target not located. I'll meet up with you guys within the limits."
There was a pause, some static, and then a response. "You have five minutes or we are coming to get you."
He refrained form rolling his eyes again. "Copy."
Beast Boy put his communicator back, and glanced around one more time. The smoke was coming from the west, and Jump Limits were south. He could report that the fire most likely wouldn't reach them as the wind had been its calmest in a long time. But his curiosity was still peaked. And even though he couldn't use his nose, he was never one to back down from a challenge. If he had a hard time sensing his way through the smoke, so would the demons.
He jumped down the building and headed eastward, changing into a cat to keep low and light on broken debris. The asphalt beneath his feet was warm, but the farther he walked, the cooler it became under his dark green pads. The smoke also lessened slightly, and he attempted to blink his watery eyes so he could examine his surroundings.
Nothing around him but falling foundations. There's was a twinge in his heart when he glanced at one funny shaped red building.
Pizza World.
God, did he love that place. They were one of the few pizza places on the west coast that made a veggie's lover pizza. Suddenly, nostalgia overtook his body, and he found himself padding over to the husk of the restaurant.
I stop sign was partway through the front doing, and glass littered the ground. He trudged around to the side of the building, and noticed that upward two staircases was a bent up door with an opening at the corner just big enough for a small green cat full of curiosity to slip through.
If cats could smirk, he would have.
He entered the building, and to his disappointed, there wasn't even a hint of the smell of melted cheese or greasy cashier that it used to have. But he pressed forward. And found himself sitting on top of the front counter, or what was left of it. Mice that now occupied the building saw him and scurried off into their holes. He closed his eyes and stared and the broken glass above him. Behind it, there was still the Pizza World menu with its two-slice special with a large drink, the rest too faded too read. He squinted, still trying to conjure some memory that he could hold close tonight before he went to sleep. But nothing concrete came, and for a second, he thought his adventure fruitless, and his heart would leave just as empty as it had been when he entered.
"Achoo!"
Beast Boy jumped to his feet, startled and fur on end. He looked all around him, wondering where the noise came from, but the silence told him it might have all been in his head.
"Maybe its time to go, buddy," he thought to himself. Then, he heard it again.
"Achoo!"
And again.
"ACHOO!"
His eyes darted to a dor behind the counter, a faded red sign that said "EMPLOYEES ONLY" hangs limply. He got immediately nervous. Is it a civilian? There would be no reason for them to be outside the limits. Trigon and his minions were too dangerous to average people who couldn't defend themselves. But if it was someone outside the limits it could be someone rebelling against the order placed withing the lmits. People who were unhappy having their lives turned upside down and having superheroes put in top ranks of a new military regime banded together to fight back against them, and he had to admit they had become almost as dangerous as the demons. Even still, most humans stayed clear of this area of jump, but Beast Boy had never heard of a demon…
"Achoo. ACHOO!"
Beast Boy hopped off the counter and quietly slinked toward the employee door. He held his breath as his used his shoulder to push it open ever so slightly. The back room had obviously been raided, as a few toppled over shelves were the only other thing than the debris. He looks past a few thrown over bins and to the end of the room. There, under skylight that streamed through an opening in the foundation overhead, was a small, human like figure hunched over near a metal shelf. Long, thick strands of purple hair and a white cloak that was immaculately clean was all he could see.
Recognition suddenly hit him. He leaned in closer for a better view hidden by the shadows. He had seen that cloak before, billowing among the debris and chaos of Trigon very often. It wasn't one of the human followers, because it had shown it had strange immortal powers no one had ever seen before. The thing he and the others had assumed was another one of Trigon's demon minions had never been see close up, and they could only make suggestions on what it might be or what powers it may possess. He flexed his claws and licked his lips. What was she doing, huddled in that corner? Could this be a trap? Should he contact back-up?
"Achoo!" Suddenly, in one swift motion the body moved a one-eighty, suddenly a profile clear as day under the skylight.
Beast Boy paused, his jaw dropping. For the first time, the face of the cloaked figure revealing itself to him. She had eyes that matched the color of her hair, very pale skin and soft features of someone around his age. He saw the cherub cheeks that were red with sickness and a bit of sweat trickle down her forehead.
All he could do was stare at her. She hung her head low, not noticing him while she attempted to hold back another sneeze. His heart beat hard against the small cage of his feline chest. Why, it wasn't fear that kept him there. But something else. Something that drew him near her quivering form without him even realizing it. There was no turning back. He had to know.
Who was she?
Raven sighed, shoving down another sneeze. The tears that forced their way down her cheeks burned the rims of her eyes and her head felt warm with fever. Irritation struck a loud chord with her. She hated her life, hated her mortal body, and hated the germs the humans carried and spread on this filthy sphere.
"Get away," her father had bellowed earlier, recently setting his sites on another place to ravage with his fire and fists. "Your mortality disgusts me. Do not return until you are of worth to be in my sight."
She had morphed away, fuming a bit, but not entirely upset from being given a break from her duties as her father's pet. She was nothing but access to the human world, with the ability to sense their presence and their weakness, and Trigon and her brothers gleefully caused the destruction and domination of this planet.
It was strange to her. She had only ever seen humans from a distance, never daring approach one for fear of what her powers might do. Now look where she was, causing all the torment and pain anyway. She had only held of the inevitable chaos she was created to make.
And as inevitable was her chaos, so was catching a cold.
Raven shook her head, wishing the virus away. But viruses had to run their course, and this was wasn't taking to her self-healing abilities as fast as she wanted it. She sneezed again, and again, wiping her mucus on her cloak, and wondered if she was going to die from a mere cold.
Clink.
She glanced up, immediately tense. It was possible her father was in need and sent her brother's to fetch her, or maybe a human who had followed her, maybe believing they could catch her in a weak moment. She stared into the darkness with weary eyes, her black powers glistened, ready to defend, always prepared for a bloody outcome, always…
And ever so quietly, a cat, with short green fur padded its way cautiously from behind debris. She stared, confused by its funny colored coat and its presence.
She sighed and coughed, letting her powers fall flat. She kicked herself slightly for not picking up its presence earlier, but, animals have always been a point of contention for her empathy. She, undesirabley, understood humans, their language, and emotions, but animals had a very different and complicated way of expressing language and emotions, and their presence was hard to pick up because of it. And to top it all off, she was dying of what had to be the cold that killed Napoleon.
"Meow." The cat cocked its head and swished its tail, staring at her without moving. It was a strange stare, one that had held curiosity and something she'd almost describe as intelligence.
This cat was strange.
"What?" she hissed. "Never seen a sick half-demon before?'
The cat stared back, as if to say, nope. Well, shoot, she hadn't either.
"Geez, just go and let me be in peace," she grumbled. She sneezed a few more times, her brain felt like it shook every single jerk she made. She watched as the cat stepped back, then dart into the shadows.
"Good riddance," she mumbled, turning to her side and hugging her knees. She shivered but her body felt so warm, burning up, but her insides felt ice cold. Maybe this is dying in its purest form…
She heard the soft patterns of paws on linoleum coming closer and she sighed. This cat must be hungry and waiting for her to die to eat her insides. Ironic way to go, but wouldn't be one of the worst she'd seen, or minded.
Though strangely, she felt a paw on her thigh. When she looked towards the small feline owner, their it sat, only inches from her face, with a little plastic pack in between its teeth.
"Is that… tissue?"
The cat craned its neck, as if to be obvious what it was. She took the tissues, greatly, and blew her nose. The relief was small, but the kind gesture was so… good?
"Should I say thanks?" The only response she got was a twitch of a green ear. Such a strange animal. It must have been someone's pet long ago or it wouldn't be so calm so close and bring her tissues.
On an impulse, Raven scooped the feline into her arms. It stiffened a bit but didn't run away from her. It was so different from the cats in Azarath. They had sensed the demon blood in her and ran away from her and stayed their distance, just as did the people as the people of Azeroth did, just as everyone did.
"How are you not afraid of me," she mumbled to the cat. "I'm… I'm a monster."
The cat just stared at her. She knew it was silly, but she felt like it was listening. Whether be fever or the little loneliness that settled in her heart she continued.
"I deserve being sick. I honestly deserve a lot worse." She imagined all the people that died or suffered because what she helped her father do. "I know what I am, and I try not to feel. I've always tried not to feel, but it doesn't work. I'm not, all like him, but in a way, I still am."
Her life had been nothing but a lot of anger, and disappointment, and between that, a lot of nothing. Her mother had abandoned her, the monks had forced her to leave, Earth had been unwelcoming. The only place it seemed like she belonged was by Trigon's side, and she thought maybe she wouldn't feel so alone anymore, she'd fulfill some purpose, but here she was, wishing she had she floated off into nothingness of space. But now she was bound by Trigon's side, and she felt as alone as ever.
"I wish I could've just… I don't know. Maybe I came to Earth hoping I'd find where I belonged." She hugged the cat even closer, soaking in its warmth and heartbeat. "I'm sure you know how that feels, being a green cat and all. Do beings like us ever find a home?"
She pulled back and cuffed the feline's cheek with her hand. It's big green eyes stared in to hers. And she knew she must be losing her mind from the cold, but she swore she could see some semblance of understanding. Like it cared, and had love and acceptance for her. And she knew it was impossible, not because it was a cat, but because she was who she was. It was her curse to only have others show fear and anger towards her.
"I wish I had seen your eyes years ago. Maybe I wouldn't have gone to Trigon. Maybe I would have left, knowing that just once, someone listened, someone cared… Maybe you could have saved me."
The cat glanced up, and so did she, noticing the room darken slightly. Smoke clouds began to billow through the opening and she could hear the cackling of a fire in the near distance.
She sighed. "Sorry, I talked your ears off, and you probably don't care, or even understand but," she glanced at the tissues in her lap, "thanks, for the tissues, and listening."
Before she moved, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on the cats muzzle. She could've sworn it turned a shade of red, but she chalked it up to the fever. She sat the cat back on the floor and stood. "You should go so you don't get caught in a blaze. Stay safe, alright."
The cat gave her one more long look, one she desperately wished she could understand, if only to return him the favor. But the barrier would always be there, and it was probably for the best. Then, the cat darted off, hopefully to a safe place.
Raven smiled and clutched what was left of the pack of tissues in her hand like it was the greatest treasure she'd ever been given. Before she disappeared completely from the building, one more thought crossed her mind.
I wonder if cats can catch colds…
*** 2 Days Later***
"ACHOO!"
An automatic door to the control room slid open and a loud laugh came through,
"DUDE, is that a cold I hear?"
Beast Boy slouched as far into the chair as he could, hoping it would eat him alive. No Luck.
Cyborg and Speedy both hopped into the chairs next to him. He had come to the control room of the Justice Co. building to hide and wither away in peace, but these two were like hounds on the prowl and there was no real escape.
Cyborg chuckled. "So, how did the mighty Germ Warrior of Jump Limits catch a cold?"
"No, idea," he mumbled, blowing his nose for probably the hundredth time that day. "Probably caught something in the wind."
"Lame answer."
Speedy smirked. "Bet it was some civilian girl that gave it to him. You disappeared for a while the other day."
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Don't start rumors." But it was to no avail. They started making kissy faces and hugging movements with their arms. "Seriously, leave or I'll sneeze all over you two."
"Sure, dude, whatever. You'll tell us eventually who it was." Speedy told him, standing up. Cyborg followed.
"Yeah, no way you got even close to someone sick unless she was hot. You're giving us details later, Green Bean."
To the changeling's blessing, they both exited the room, leaving him to his lonesome with only a bunch of computer screens and a new pack of tissues Rita had provided him after hearing he had 'lost' the other on the table to keep him company. Staring at it, he sighed, remembering her face as she poured her heart out to him in an abandoned Pizza World. Seeing how broken she was, he had never felt as much of a failure as a hero as he did in that moment.
Maybe you could have saved me.
"I wish I could have saved you, too."
Tissues: END
Hey everyone! I know I said this one would be on the lighter side, I tried! Maybe next one? Or my next one might be a little MA, not sure. It felt good to get some creativity flowing though.
Thanks For reading!
