PHANTOMS
A storm rolled in over the sleeping city. Rain pelted the ground as thunder and lightning rumbled in the sky above. Roaring waves crashed against the island that nestled in the Jump City bay.
After a long day of fighting crime, saving cats in trees, and surviving Beast Boy's never-ending 'jokes', the Titans now rested for the night, sound asleep. However, as Beast Boy slept, his mind drifted into a nightmare of sorts. He tossed and turned in his bed, moaning as if he was trying to wake himself up.
"Rita," he muttered as his nightmare continued.
His eyes sprung open as his body jumped up right. He looked around and found himself lying in the middle of a road. He was no longer in his bed or his room, or even the tower for that matter. It was still nighttime, but instead of a ceiling overhead he saw a darkened sky lit up with gleaming stars and a bright, round moon.
"Where am I?" He thought out loud.
He appeared to be in a city as he was surrounded by tall buildings and parked cars in the streets, but he could hardly tell what city it was. Just then, as he got to his feet, a loud explosion came from behind him. He turned only to see a large mushroom cloud rising with fire burning all around it. The scene switched. Now he saw dozens of people running and screaming in all directions.
"What's going on?" He shouted, but no one answered.
"Rita!" An all too familiar voice shouted a few yards away. "Get those people to the ship, we'll have to transport them ourselves!" It had been a couple of years, but Beast Boy would always be able to identify the voice of his former team leader; Mento of the Doom Patrol.
"Steve, there won't be enough room," Rita objected.
"We have to try! We have to do whatever we can!" He ordered. "Negative Man, we need to evacuate that building before it collapses! Scout it out!"
"I'm on it," Negative Man said as his dark, astral body left his flesh and entered the crumbling structure.
"Robotman," Mento started.
"I'm on it!" He raced over to building whose supporting beam had snapped out and threatened to give way.
Mento began surveying the wreckage for an alternate escape plan. As he did, a woman in a red jumpsuit and thigh-high boots appeared from the ground behind him. Beast Boy had no chance to see her face, but he knew that ensemble from a mile away. What puzzled him was how she was outside of its frozen state from the underground base in Paris.
"Mento," her Russian accent was just as thick, "how did I know you'd be the v'one sitting back while the others did all the vork?" A smile crept along her red lipstick-covered lips.
He spun on his heels. "Madame Rouge?" He was petrified with disbelief. "This... this is impossible! The Titans defeated you and the Brotherhood! How did you possibly manage to escape?" It was as if he were seeing a ghost.
"That is for me to know, and for you to never find out!" She shouted as she then engaged Mento in combat.
He had the upper hand in the fight, landing jab and punch each time. She knew she needed some kind of leverage to weaken him. Her eyes then saw that a nearby pillar was on the verge of collapse: perfect. She jumped into the air and did a round-house kick that would suffice in bringing the pillar down.
"Some other time, perhaps," she sneered as she ran away.
Beast Boy could feel himself screaming for Mento to use his powers, but nothing was coming out. He tried to morph and help, but nothing was working. All he could really do was sit there and watch as a building began to fall onto his old mentor. Suddenly, a giant shadow overcame Mento seconds before he was crushed. He turned to see Elasti-Girl catching the falling debris.
"Go, Steve!" Elasti-Girl struggled under the pressure.
"Nice work!" He beamed as he then ran after Madame Rouge.
The scene changed once more. Beast Boy now found himself watching both Madame Rouge and Mento in a stand-off.
"You never fail to surprise me, Mento," Madame Rouge smiled.
"And I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve," he tapped his helmet. "Now tell me what you're doing here!"
"I tink not," she smirked as she lunged at Mento, but was then frozen in mid-air.
"I warned you," he walked over to her. "Are you gonna tell me or am I gonna have to force it out of you?"
She struggled to get free. "It vould seem that you're out of time," she spoke through unmoving lips.
"Time for what?"
The ground shook as an explosion could be seen and heard from off in the distance. Madame Rouge snarled in her throat as Mento looked in horror in the direction of the city. The scene then reverted back to where the Doom Patrol was, but no one was there, or at least Beast Boy was unable to see anyone through the smoke. Once it cleared, however, he had begun to wish it never did. There, lying motionless at his feet, was Elasti-Girl.
"Rita?" Beast Boy whispered as he bent down to take her hand, but all he could do was close his eyes and look away.
When he reopened them he found himself staring at a ceiling. There were no stars, no smoke, and no Doom Patrol. He could feel a tear rolling down the side of his face as he sat up in bed. His head was aching, but it hardly seemed to be the worst pain he was experiencing.
"Rita..."
[scene break]
The morning was bright and the sky was clear. The ground was still soaked from last night's storm, but the waters had calmed down by now. Beast Boy yawned and stretched as he walked into the living room.
"Good morning my fellow crime fighters, what's for-" he stopped once he noticed that there was no one around. "Hello?" He called out with no answer. "Raven? Robin?" Nothing. "Cyborg? Star?" Zilch. "Where is everyone?"
In a sudden surge of darkness he was brought to his knees. He looked around as the darkness swirled around him. In one direction, far off in the distance, he could see Rita Farr, Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol. Her eyes were filled with hurt as she then reached out for him. She was on the ground as rocks then started to fall around her, but she still reached out to her former teammate.
"Rita!" He lunged for her, but within an instant that it seemed as though a rock would crush her, the darkness faded and he found himself back in the living room of Titans Tower.
"Happy Birthday!" The other four titans belted out in unison.
Beast Boy could remember the nightmare so vividly that it seemed as though if he reached a little further he would have been able to save his teammate. He looked around and saw that the space was now decorated for a birthday party, his birthday party.
"Oh! Happy day of your birth, Beast Boy!" Starfire bum-rushed him with an alien-strength induced hug. "What a joyous occasion to celebrate with us, your friends!" The words stung as he remembered the people who first stood in their place.
"Whoa," he finally exhaled after taking in a deep breath, "you guys remembered my birthday?" He almost sounded amazed.
"Of course we did," Cyborg walked over to him and tussled his hair.
"It's not like we could forget after having you parade around here for the past few weeks to remind us." Raven added dryly.
"Happy birthday, Beast Boy," Robin chimed in.
"Dudes, this is awesome!" He exclaimed as he walked over to a table lined with some of his favorite breakfast foods like soy waffles, soy milk, tofu sausage and bacon, and orange juice along with a cake that said 'Happy Birthday Beast Boy'.
"I hope all of the foods are meatless and to your liking." Starfire said. "It took some time to determine what kind of meat to get for someone who does not eat meat."
"We all even pitched in to-" Cyborg started, but was interrupted by the blaring sound of the trouble alarm.
"We'll have to finish this when we get back," Robin instructed. "Titans, go!"
[scene break]
Smoke filled the sky as the sirens appeared to be coming from the Bank of Pérez. Someone was clearly trying their hand at robbing it, but this should be a minuscule issue for the team. It was probably another one of Dr. Light's elaborate, but no good plans to make some quick cash.
"Can you tell who it is?" Raven asked from the sky.
"Nothing yet," Starfire answered.
"I can't get a clear visual either," Cyborg reported back.
"Stay on alert," Robin ordered.
They all met up just outside of the bank. The front window had been shattered by more than one smoke bomb, which would explain the large amounts of smoke without a source of fire.
"I cannot tell who is in there," Starfire concluded.
"I should be able to get a read on how many there are," Cyborg began pressing buttons along his arm.
"How many?" Robin asked.
"I'm only getting a read on," he paused as he scanned the bank through the smoke.
In the blink of an eye a cinderblock came barreling out and smashed into Cyborg's chest, sending him flying back.
"V'one," a woman in a red jumpsuit and black thigh-high boots stepped through the shattered window. Her accent was thick and heavy in Russian.
"No!" Starfire exclaimed in disbelief.
"It can't be!" Raven was just as shocked.
"Impossible!" Robin was more angry than shocked.
"Madame Rouge!" Beast Boy growled.
"So, you do remember," the words came out with a twinge of resentment. "Good. Very good."
"How did you escape?" Robin demanded.
"Who said anything about escape?" She sneered. "Rouge and the rest of the Brotherhood are still very much frozen in Paris," her accent changed to one that was not as thick as compared to the real Madame Rouge's. "I needed to see that fear in your eyes," she continued. "I needed your undivided attention, and now that I have it, you can call me Gemini," her body then contorted back to a much younger body and face, as well as a blue jumpsuit with knee-high boots.
"Gemini?" Robin questioned. "I've never heard of you,"
"I wouldn't doubt it," she danced around the rubble, "I'm kind of new in town."
"Who are you?" He asked as Starfire and Raven tended to Cyborg.
"You can say I'm a friend... or not," she giggled.
"Some friend," Beast Boy said with both anger and curiosity.
"I didn't say I was your friend," she smiled. "Beast Boy, right? " Gemini said his name as if she finally remembered that she knew him from somewhere. "I've been told great things about you."
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh yes,"
"What kind of 'great things'?"
"There was so much to remember, but Rita did seem to just go on and on about you, really."
Beast Boy's eyes widened in fury. "Where's Rita? What have you done to her?" His tone grew angrier in an instant.
"I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't," she smiled.
"Tell me, now!"
"Or what?"
Beast Boy morphed into a green gorilla as he charged for the girl.
"Beast Boy! Wait!" Robin tried to stop him, but to no avail.
"Come get me," she snickered under her breath.
She stood there as he got closer and closer until he was mere feet away. She then leapt into the air performing a summersault that landed her foot across his face, causing him to go flying off to the side and landing on a mailbox. She was obviously not to be underestimated, as it was clear that, even though she had a small frame, she packed a punch.
"That all you got?" She taunted.
A flash of heat suddenly crossed her back sending her flying to the ground with a great deal of force. She then looked up to see a speeding Starfire flying straight for her. Her hands morphed into a spiked club that she then used to swat the Tamaranean princess to the side.
"Is that all?" She stood over a fallen Starfire as Cyborg then blasted her away with his sonic canon.
"Not even close!"
"Impressive," she admitted. "My turn," her eyes glared as she then morphed her hands into a gigantic whip, and returned with enough force to send Cyborg crashing into a nearby building.
She smiled as the ground beneath her then disappeared and she fell through one of Raven's portals.
"Where'd you send her?" Robin asked.
"Nowhere," Raven said, "but the experience should be enough to knock her out." The portal then reopened a few feet above them, and Gemini fell to the ground with a thud, seemingly unconscious.
"Did it work?" Robin asked as he and Raven walked over to the girl, who appeared to be no older than them.
Her short, black hair was splashed across her face and her eyes were closed. In a quick surprise attack, Gemini jumped to her feet and grabbed Raven by the hood and threw her against Robin, knocking their heads together and sending them crashing to the ground. She picked up a cinderblock and prepared to finish them off.
"What a shame," she spoke aloud, "I was really looking forward to a challenge." She just about let the block of cement fall onto Robin and Raven, but a green ram smashed into her back and sent her flying off back into the bank.
"Then you just found one," Beast Boy morphed back to his human self.
"You'll pay for that," she snarled as she then charged him.
However, before she could even reach him a barrage of green starbolts intercepted her and flung her body to the ground. She got up just in time for Cyborg to blast her back into the wall of a nearby grocery store.
She stammered to her feet to see all the Titans now facing her, "How cute," she said with disdain, "the band of piggy's all ready to take out the big bad wolf!"
"This is the last time I'm gonna ask," Beast Boy said sternly, "what did you do to Elasti-Girl?"
Gemini stood up, "I don't know what you're talking about," she struggled to say.
"That's it!" He charged her.
"Beast Boy!" Robin called after him once more, but he couldn't be stopped.
Gemini threw smokescreen bombs at the remaining Titans as she and Beast Boy disappeared behind the veil of gray smoke. Beast Boy only had one intention and one thought: to find out what this Gemini girl knew about the Doom Patrol. He could see her extend her legs like rubber bands and take giant steps at a time.
Her shifting abilities were just like those of Madame Rouge's, but it seemed as though she was younger and less-experienced with them. Then in a swift instant she had disappeared behind a cluster of trees.
"No!" Beast Boy shouted as he fell to his knees in his human form. "Come back!" He shouted in anger.
"It always amazes me," Gemini said from behind him, "how weak you 'heroes' can be." He could hear a smirk in her voice.
His fist clenched around a nearby rock as anger began to flood over him. His movement was quick as he jumped to his feet and flung the rock at the girl, but she was much quicker and spun on her heels in a total 360; the rock missing her face by mere inches.
"You'll have to do better than-" she smirked as she turned, but she soon found herself pinned against a tree with her neck under the grip of a gorilla. The beast snarled at her and baring its teeth. "Let me go!"
"Tell me!" Beast Boy reverted back to human while his hands remained as that of gorillas.
"Nothing!" She shouted.
"Have it your way," his grip tightened.
"No!" She struggled. "Nothing's wrong with the Doom Patrol!"
"Then why come here?" She didn't answer. "Answer me!"
"Revenge," she spat out the word.
"Revenge for what?"
At this point Beast Boy was distracted enough for Gemini to use her limbs and grab a nearby rock and smash it into the side of Beast Boy's face. He fell over as his grip released her and she, too, fell to the ground coughing.
"Beast Boy?" Gemini could hear the other Titans closing in.
"Some other time, perhaps," she sneered as she ran away.
Beast Boy heard this and immediately thought of the same thing Madame Rouge said in his nightmare from the night prior.
"Beast Boy?" Raven called out as she found him lying on the ground. "Raven to Titans, I just found Beast Boy." She said into her communicator. "Beast Boy? Are you all right?"
He let out a groan. "How did I not see that one coming?"
"I'm sure Cyborg is asking himself the same thing," she mused as she placed a healing hand over his throbbing head.
"Some birthday, huh?"
"It could've been worse,"
"How?"
"Well, you could've been the portal to the end of the world."
"Guess so," he sighed as he turned back to Raven. "You didn't happen to grab any of those soy waffles, did you?"
"I can't say that I did."
He turned back to the sky. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of,"