Into the Past
Chapter 2
The long flight to Africa had been fairly quiet between the titans, not quite sure what they were going up against. The transmission came from somewhere in the
Upper Lumumba area and that's where they were headed. From what Cyborg could get translated from the choppy message they were up against some Voodoo
Man who was attacking what little resources the villages in the area had. How they got through to the titans was unknown-save for one individual. For the most
part the trip over was nice. The sky was clear, the view was great, and everyone seemed to be happy with the out of the country mission since Jump had been
rather slow lately, If anything happened while they were away Titans East would be there to take care of it.
Upon arrival to the large jungled area the titans began to make a game plan. But Beast Boy wasn't paying attention, His mind was elsewhere. It had been almost
fifteen years since he had laid eyes on his birthplace. Thoughts came rushing back as he remembered how the landscape went on for ages, the way the trees smelt
after a long drought, the first time he heard a lion roar over the savannah. He was home. After years and years, he was back in Africa. He took a deep breath,
breathing in the jungle smells. "Titans, Let's move out." Robin said before heading in an eastern direction. Still stuck in thought Beast Boy clumsily made his way after
their leader. Robin had grown accustom to the jokester falling behind and it slightly irritated him. "Beast Boy, keep up! We don't have all day and the sun is already
going down." Robin told him in a stern voice, Beast Boy just snorted, "We're going the wrong direction" as he pointed to the west "That's where we need to be going".
Confused Robin looked at the map, Realizing his mistake he just grunted, "Out of my way" and pushed past. Robin was confused as to how Beast Boy knew which
direction to go without a map but figured it was his animal senses kicking in. Beast Boy smiled to himself, "It's good to be back". The sun had begun setting and the
titans continued on for a few more miles before Robin brought the team to a halt. "We'll camp here for the night, Each will take turns guarding camp until morning,
Got it?" They nodded in unison.
As the titans began to setup camp Raven took notice of how Beast Boys attitude had changed. He was much more at ease, yet there was still something concerning
him. All the hostility he had shown before was gone and replaced with anxiousness. She couldn't tell if it was the mission affecting him or the fact that he was in
one of the wildest places on earth-and enjoyed it. She would've rather of stayed home and finished her book or even enjoyed the peace and quite but the sounds of
the distress mission sounded urgent enough for Robin to believe they all needed to be there. Beast Boy had climbed up a tree, "Hey guys, you should really not
sleep on the ground. There's some nasty snakes and bugs that live here not to mention some bigger animals that aren't afraid to have you for a snack!" He
announced. The titans just shrugged, earning a sigh from Beast Boy, "YOU GUYS! Seriously! You didn't even bring anything to protect yourselves with, do you
KNOW you're in a JUNGLE?" Shaking his head in disgust he jumped from the tree and ran to his backpack. The others had laughed at him for having something so
huge to carry around but he just ignored them. "You guys'll be thankin' me now!" he stated while pulling out some mosquito net coverings for the team, "The
mosquitos here are deadly, one bite and you'll probably get maleria!". While the green titan passed around the covers Robin began to actually think it was a good
idea that BB had brought along the giant sack. The realization that Beast Boy knew more about the animals they would most likely encounter made Robin believe
he should've drilled him before they left. It seemed that every time they needed something or had to figure out how to do something here Beast Boy knew the
exact way to do it, as if he was a wild jungle man.
Cyborg and Raven began to setup a fire, Starfire and Robin were figuring out their next move, and Beast Boy went exploring. When he came back he had some
different fruits that they could eat alongside what food they had brought. "Friend Beast Boy, These fruits are most delicious" Starfire told him while chowing down
on some fruit, "Please what type of fruit is this you bring to us?" Beast Boy just grinned, "Oh just something I sniffed out, They're called cloud berries... but around
he-" he stopped, realizing he almost just blew his cover, "Yea Gar, real smart! give em your past all up over some fruit!" he thought to himself, luckily the others
were too busy enjoying their "dinner from the jungle" as Beast Boy had put it to realize what he was saying.
Robin announced it was time to start the first nights shift. While he was trying to figure out who would go first Beast Boy volunteered to watch the whole night
"My powers will be more useful at night here because you guys wouldn't know what to do if something happened-as far as animals go, it's cool I'll watch" he said
before morphing into a lion. As the others settled BB let out a loud roar and perked his ears, When he realized the puzzled and annoyed look on his teammates faces
he turned back to a human "ummm.. you can hear a lions roar for five miles out here so I figured I'd let the other lions know to leave us alone, heh" he said,
looking nervous. "Out here?" "uh oh, Raven heard" he though, "Uhhh yea, I read it in a book... lions are from Africa ya know Rae!" he smiled, trying to save
himself. A nod was all he got in response.
Darkness fell and Beast Boy sat high up in a tree, watching the stars and listening to the sounds of the jungle. "fifteen years, fifteen long years" he said quietly to
himself. The others had fallen asleep and after much convincing from Beast Boy they had ended up in the trees as well. He knew it was safer not only from the
animals that lived on the ground, but because he used to go on trips like this with his parents. He sighed, he hadn't been back to Africa since their deaths. "I miss
both of you every day" he said, this time a little louder as if the African landscape could hear him. He looked up at the stars, knowing his parents were watching him
from above. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and sadden to be in the same jungle they used to camp in. The real mission they had came for seemed less of
an importance to him-He had a real mission he needed to figure out while he was here. Who was he?
Raven couldn't sleep, try as she might the jungle was no place to rest with it being filled with noises at night. From her makeshift hammock she could see strange
animals below "for once he was right" she thought. She had faced away from Beast Boy so she could escape his "sleep checks". Although she knew he would try to
protect them at all costs there was a chance he could fall asleep on duty, she wasn't willing to let him do that. After all, over the years the green titan had gotten
them into some trouble. It was odd though, he seemed prepared, knew they were going the wrong directions, and knew exactly how to camp in the jungle. Her
mind started to wonder what exactly the green nussiance had done in his previous years before the titans, that's when he started talking.
"There are tons of stars out here, you would've loved this" he sighed, Raven began to think he was talking to Terra. "How pathetic" she though in disgust as she
tried to ignore his squeaky voice, "you should be way over her by now..." she thought as she bitterly remembered the betrayal and hurt she had brought upon not
only the team but Beast Boy as well. "I remember that one time he told you he was gonna tape your eyes closed so you would rest!" BB laughed. This was
different, Raven let curosity get the better of her and continued to listen, all the while Beast Boy oblivious to her prying ears. "I remember when I first climbed that
giant tree and you both freaked out because I was so small and I had climbed so high and you couldn't get me down..." his small voice cracking with a hint of
sadness, "Those were the days...". It was all he said for the rest of the night.
We'll see how this goes :) excited for the next chapter? What does Beast Boy's past have to do with any of this? Stay tuned for the next chapter of Into the Past
please remember to rate and review :) thanks to those of you who already have! :D
