I'll keep my comments brief today. I'd like to say thanks
to everyone who's commented so far, as well as to all of my readers in
general. This chapter is a bit of a departure for me, but that
made it very interesting to write. I love the tone of this
chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.
Chapter 2: B.B. For Vendetta
Beast Boy sat in the small metal chair, body hunched forward, head in his hands, staring straight ahead. He had been doing this for almost seventeen hours now. He watched the respirator helping Raven breathe. With a sudden hiss (startling and unnatural every time), the air would rush into her lungs. After a pause, the air would rush out (Just as unnatural, and just as startling, too). It was artificial casual breathing. He couldn't stand it.
He listened to the beeps and the clicks of the machines in the room. He watched the dozens of flickering lights on the many devices which were monitoring all of her vital signs. He smelled the antiseptic and medicine odors that permeated the area. Gripping his chair tightly, he tried so hard no to cry from the overwhelming sensations. He was so tired, and his felt his eyes drooping, fighting him so hard to just give in and fall asleep. But he refused to let her go. After all, he was responsible for all of this. It was only ten hours ago that Cyborg had finally broken the news to everybody.
"She's alive, and I've got a good feeling she's going to make it." Their joy at that moment was curtailed when he raised his hand for silence. "Let's not celebrate just yet, okay. She's... she's in a coma."
Beast Boy remembered those words tearing a jagged hole somewhere inside of his chest. He felt guilt like he'd never experienced before. You're the reason your friend is in a coma, you know... You got captured, you were the bait... and now she's lying here, helpless. This is all your fault.
He remembered back to what Cyborg had said next. "There are no signs of brain damage, thank God. But there is no way of telling when she'll come out of this. I have no clue when she'll ever wake up." The metallic teen had looked through his friends as he spoke, his eyes glazed over. He had looked like someone had just forced him to shoot them all through the heart. He had been physically present, he had told them what they needed to know... But mentally, he had been a million miles away.
That was ten hours ago now. Jesus. It felt like ten seconds in the changeling's exhausted state. The door opened, and Starfire walked in.
"You are still awake, friend? It is going on four o'clock in the morning. Perhaps you should partake in a slumber?"
Beast Boy's eyes fell lazily on his friend's form. He could barely make her out through his haze. He shook his head, saying nothing.
"There is nothing more you can do right now, friend. We all must adjust to friend Raven's condition. She would not want us to let this disrupt our lives. You are aware of this fact." Her green friend avoided her eyes. "Come on, let us get you into bed. You may dream the Dreams of Beautiful Friendships. Take solace in your memories."
Taking his arm, she brought him to his feet. He grunted but offered no resistance as she led him from the room and into the hallway. They walked down the hall slowly, careful with each step forward, Starfire's grip tight on her friend as he began to fall asleep on his feet. They passed by Robin, who stopped to watch as they made their way down to the end of the hall and into the elevator. He shook his head as the doors closed and they continued on their way to Beast Boy's room. Continuing on his way, Robin walked into the infirmary to watch over his comatose friend. Grasping her hand he looked cautiously at her face. He absently brushed a stray lock of hair from her left cheek.
"I'm so sorry. I am so sorry I let this happen..." he whispered.
"Let what happen?" came the voice from behind him, startling him back to reality. He turned quickly to find Cyborg standing in the doorway.
"Jeez... you stopped my heart."
"Sorry, man. I couldn't help but eavesdrop."
There was an awkward silence as Robin let go of Raven's hand, turning completely to face his friend now. They looked at each other for a few seconds before the cybernetic hybrid finally spoke up.
"So... what were you apologising for? Last time I checked, you didn't put her in that... state."
Robin scratched his neck nervously. Finally he shook his head. "I can't lie to you. I... I feel completely responsible for this."
Cyborg raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You didn't teleport us away from each other. Me, you and Star were lucky enough to find one another so quickly. It was bad luck we couldn't find Raven or Beast Boy in time. What happened was terrible, but it was completely out of our hands. At least we're all still alive. It could have been worse."
"What if it had been worse? I lead us to that building, I should have known it was a trap. The bastard mentioned Slade, he knows all of these deceptive tricks. After all these years battling villains, I can't believe I let us walk right into that. I feel so stupid. So what if it had been worse, Cyborg? What if Raven had been killed? Or Beast Boy, or both? What if he'd killed us all?" Robin's hands tightly gripped his own face at this point. "What if he'd killed us all because I fucked up?"
Cyborg grabbed his leader by the shoulders and began to shake him. "Get a grip on yourself, man! You're sounding like Beast Boy! Look... what happened, happened. We did the best job we could do at the time. It's the past. Let's focus on bringing this fucker down. We're all behind you. A hundred percent."
"But..."
"But nothing. It could have happened to anybody. Any one of us could have said, 'This looks like a trap.' But we didn't, because none of us thought it either."
"Yes, but none of you are the leader. You are all my responsibility. And I failed you. All of you."
Cyborg grunted in frustration. "You want to know what a great leader would have done?" He asked through grit teeth.
"What's that?"
"He would have accepted responsibility for what happened, recognized his mistakes--all minor, and many of them out of his control in the first place--and learned from them. Stop getting stuck up on the past, man. We need you to focus on the present. Gemini is still out there. The city is still in danger."
Robin slapped his forehead, taking deep breaths. Cyborg let go of the spiky-haired teen, taking a step backward. They looked at each other for almost a minute before the Titans' leader finally let his thoughts out.
"You're right. You're absolutely right. This is not the time to obsess. We have to figure out a battle plan for the next time Gemini strikes. Especially since we're down a team member. Geez, I know that sounds callous... This isn't her fault or anything..." He began to speak faster now, sounding more manic.
"It's okay, man. I know what you mean." soothed Cyborg, trying to bring his leader back to reality.
"Right. Right." He paused, looking at Raven. He looked back at his metallic ally. "How's Beast Boy doing? I saw him and Starfire getting on the elevator. I hope to God they were taking him to get some sleep. He's been awake for almost twenty-four hours by now."
Cyborg nodded. "I know. He's taking this incredibly hard. He feels even more to blame than you do. He keeps calling himself 'the Worm,' or 'the Bait.' And every now and again, he gets this weird look in his eye... and he says something about revenge."
Robin tilted his head, worried. "Revenge? Beast Boy?"
"I know, it sounds weird. But this must have really gotten to him for him to start talking like... that."
"That's for sure. Beast Boy... Jesus. I can hardly imagine what must be going through his head. To witness all of that... Christ..."
The two teens nodded in understanding, turning once again to look at Raven in silence. Only the hissing of the respirator and the blips of the machinery provided any sort of soundtrack. Robin turned quickly back to his friend. "How are you doing, by the way? In all of this mess, I forgot to ask. I'm very sorry."
"Hey, it's okay, man. Trying times and all. I'm doing alright, I guess. As good as I can be. It was incredibly hard operating on my friend, especially for a traumatic head wound. It was even harder to tell all of my other friends that she's in a coma. But I just kinda... go numb. I try not to feel anything. It's one of the benefits of being partially machine." He offered a hollow smile, and Robin tried to smile back, faltering. "I only want two things right now. I want Raven to wake up and be okay. And I want Gemini's ass in a cold steel jail until he's old enough to require diapers again." He offered a bitter laugh, and Robin's smile broadened.
"I couldn't agree more." came the reply from the masked teen. Checking his watch, Robin shook his head. "Jesus, look at the time. I should be getting some sleep as well. And you should, too. I want to go over some things tomorrow when everybody's rested."
"I'm gonna sit with Rae for a bit, but I'll go to bed soon. I promise. You have a good rest, okay?" offered Cyborg as he grabbed a chair nearby and sat by his injured friend's bedside.
"Yeah, you too. Night." Robin began to exit, but stopped and turned back. "Thank you, Cyborg. Honestly. I needed... I needed to hear what you told me. All of it."
Cyborg craned his neck to face his leader, smiling. "Hey, whenever you need a good kick in the ass to right yourself, I'm your man." He chuckled, and Robin allowed himself a real smile this time.
"I'll keep that in mind. Good night."
"Good night, man."
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It was almost noon when the Titans finally woke up. The previous day's events had taken such a harsh toll on them they still seemed exhausted when they took their places on the couch at around one in the afternoon. Starfire sat at the far left, yawning, with a stonefaced Beast Boy to her right. Cyborg rounded out the sitting group, his hands cradled behind his head as he stared at the wall, expressionless. Robin stood before them, his arms folded on his chest.
"Okay, well... I know we're all still rattled from what happened yesterday..." he began.
"Gee, observant much?" mumbled Beast Boy under his breath. Robin ignored him and continued.
"Like I said, we're all a little rattled. But we have to soldier on. So I've got a new battle plan designed for when Gemini strikes again."
Beast Boy raised his hand. "What do you mean 'when Gemini strikes again?' That implies we'll just be sitting on our asses waiting for something to happen. Shouldn't we be doing something active?"
"Well, I was going to suggest we launch a mission this afternoon to search for him. I figured we could try that weird hotel downtown again..."
"That's not good enough. The city is just too big. And he can teleport. If he wants to stay hidden, he can do it. The only way we'd find him is when we wanted to be found."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"I think we should set a trap for him."
Robin recoiled, perplexed. "A trap? How would we do that?"
"Well, I mean, I haven't worked out the details yet. It would be downtown, and..."
"No, no, no. The concept is too risky. Civilians might get hurt. Somebody might get killed."
The changeling stood up, shaking his head. "If we do this properly, nobody's going to get killed. Except the asshole in the red belt."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"He did something unthinkable, Robin. He's committed a heinous crime. One I will never forgive. And he deserves to be punished accordingly. He almost killed Raven. He let me know he intends to destroy us. And he's openly told us he's going to torture us before he annihilates us. If we kill him, we won't have to worry about him ever again."
Robin's eyes were wide. "I... I can't believe you're saying this. We're not going to kill anybody. That's not justice..."
"You're right. It's revenge. And I think it's owed to us."
The group sat and stood in complete silence for a few minutes. Beast Boy and Robin stared into each other's eyes, their looks as cold as ice. Cyborg continued to stare at the wall blankly while Starfire looked nervously between her leader and her friend.
"Please... we can't behave this way... Not now..." pleaded Starfire quietly. The duo turned to look at her.
Beast Boy gave her a soft look. "I'm sorry, Star. But after what I saw yesterday, my mind is made up. We have to do this."
"We have to do something, yes, but nothing this dangerous..." began the caped teen.
"I wasn't talking to you, Robin!"
"I don't care. I didn't want to have to play this card, Beast Boy, but... I'm your leader..."
"That's also a mystery to me."
Robin recoiled in horror. "Beast Boy! I don't like your tone. And I definitely don't like your behaviour. Listen, once and for all: we're not going to set a trap. We're not going to kill anybody. That is an order."
The shapeshifter sniffed, crossing his arms. "Tell you what, why don't we vote on it? I'll make you a deal: if I'm completely alone on this one, I'll go along with whatever you say."
Robin stared at his ally long and hard. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. Let's do it now. Who votes we do a search and formulate a battle plan?"
The Boy Wonder raised his hand, and Starfire's hand slowly lifted into the air. The trio looked at the cybernetic hybrid sitting on the far right, still staring straight ahead, almost as if he was in a trance.
"Well, Cyborg? What's it going to be?"
Shaking his head to bring himself back to reality, the hybrid teen looked from his leader to his green friend and back again. Cyborg then looked at the ground, sighing before he spoke. "I don't want to kill anybody." Robin gave Beast Boy a smug look. "But I don't want to just wait around or leave us vulnerable out in the open, either. I think we should set a trap." Beast Boy returned Robin's look with a grin of his own.
"So it's deadlocked. Fine. Whatever." spat Robin. The group was left in silence yet again. Nobody looked at each other this time, nobody dared say anything.
"Friends, this is getting us nowhere positive. What if we were to take a break and discuss this again later? Perhaps in an hour? I think stepping outside to breathe in the fresh air might do us all a wonder." put forward Starfire cautiously. She eyed the two stubborn teens standing before her.
"I'm not going to change my mind. But I'll do it anyway. I could use a breather." explained Beast Boy, turning quickly and storming off into the hallway and disappearing.
Cyborg stood up slowly, his lips pursed. "No, uh, hard feelings, right man?" he asked the Boy Wonder with an apologetic look.
Robin snorted and just looked at him. "Yeah. Right. Whatever." he mumbled, shaking his head. Cyborg sighed and walked off in the same direction as Beast Boy. Starfire stood up and put an arm around her love.
"I know you feel terrible about yesterday, but you should not be taking such emotions out on your teamates. Especially since they are also your friends." she chastised, giving him a squeeze.
"I know, I know. This isn't the time to be divided, though. We should be presenting a unified front."
"Sometimes unification can come through compromise."
"Yeah, I thought about that, too. But what they're suggesting is way too dangerous. We can't trust the Gemini at all. Not after we've seen what he's willing to do to us." He coughed, clearing his throat after speaking those words. Starfire thought she heard him stifle a sob. "If we're going to deal with him, it has to be in a safe environment. I'm not talking about recklessly wandering the streets, I'm talking about a careful and coordinated search, done with the utmost secrecy. We have to find him, surprise him, and strike. Not lure him. There are too many uncertainties."
"There will always be uncertainties, my friend. You cannot expect to have a plan for everything." She gave him another squeeze, looking into his face and grinning. She kissed his forehead lightly and blushed, looking into his eyes. Robin nodded, and returned the alien's embrace silently.
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"I can't believe him. This is so typical. He's obsessed and he won't listen to any of us! Especially not me. 'Ohhh, Beast Boy's funny, he's just a joke, he can't have any good ideas.' Fucker. I can't believe him." The changeling was pacing back and forth outside in a nearby garden. With his frantic speed, his cybernetic friend was surprised he hadn't worn a groove into the soft dirt beneath his feet.
"Chill out, man. I agree, he's acting blindly. But we gotta be level headed about this. If we're gonna set a trap, it's gonna have to be completely planned out. One wrong move, and somebody's dead." Cyborg explained while sitting on a nearby bench, turning his communicator over in his hands thoughtfully.
"For the last time, I know that! So I don't have a plan yet. Big deal. Together, we can come up with something completely kickass. We'll lure that teleporting bastard out into the open and BAM!" Beast Boy brought a fist hard into his palm, a devilish grin on his face. Cyborg frowned.
"Look, man. I'm all for the plan. But the way you're talking, the way you keep saying you want him dead. I don't want any blood on my hands, dude."
The shapeshifter raised his hands in surrender, his face completely serious. "Fine, hey, that's fine. I'm just saying, whatever happens, happens."
A worried expression came over the older teen's face. "You feelin' okay, man? You're... you're not quite yourself. Usually this kinda intensity comes from Robin, not you."
Doing a cartwheel in front his friend, Beast Boy jumped up and struck a pose. "I've never felt more level-headed in my life, dude. Everything now seems clearer than ever. I've learned a great lesson, and I plan to take it to heart. He who sows misery, reaps fury."
Cyborg paused, eyeing the green teen cautiously. "That's... a remarkably grim quote coming from you."
"Get used to it. Until this bastard is finished, things're gonna be pretty grim." Beast Boy broke the mood by blushing and offering a smile. "Also, I, uh, got it from an episode of Clash of the Planets." he confessed.
"Ah. I should have guessed."
"It's a good one, too. It's the one where the rebels..."
"That's, uh, that's okay, man. What do you say we go back and try to talk some sense into Robin?"
"What would you say if I told you we didn't have to go back?"
Cyborg scratched his head. "What are you talking about? I'm not sure I like where this is headed..."
"What if I told you we were going to do all of this on our own..."
"What? Are you crazy?"
"Forget Robin! You know him, he's not going to bend. We're plenty capable of taking care of ourselves. Hell, you've left the team over lesser circumstances."
Cyborg's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"Hey, sorry, dude. I just seem to recall you've quit our team... twice, is it?"
"This is a different context completely."
"Still, you've done it before. What's the big deal if we both leave this time?"
"Because... well... Well, we need the other two if we're going to execute the plan properly."
"But they're not even going to go for the plan in the first place. Look, what do we have to lose? We've got a friend near-death in a coma and a madman loose in the city. I know we can do this together, just the two of us. With the right plan, we won't need Starfire or Robin at all!"
Cyborg took a deep breath, looking away from his friend. He turned to look up at the Tower, lost in thought. Beast Boy stared at him eagerly, waiting for a response with bated breath.
"Well?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Cyborg sighed again. "Look, if we're going to do this, I want you to promise me that it'll be us working together. I don't want you springing some scheme on me at the last minute and everything going to hell as a result. I trust you, man. That's why I'll do it. But you gotta promise me it's going to be an equal partnership. That's the only way I will do it."
Beast Boy raised his right hand, three fingers pointed skyward. "Scout's honour."
"You were never a scout."
"Alright, alright. BB's honour."
"That'll do. I guess." The duo shook hands. "One last thing to remember: we're doing this for Raven."
The green lad nodded, his features completely serious. "Of course. Just thinking about what that piece of shit did to her..."
Not wanting to be disturbed by his friend again, Cyborg interrupted him. "I understand, man. There's just one other thing I want that I should have mentioned earlier. The second this guy is behind bars, we're going back to the Titans." A worried look came over his face. "If they'll, uh, take us back..."
"Hey, we let you back before, right? OW! Don't squeeze my hand so hard!" Beast Boy's face twisted with the pain. Cyborg let go of his hand.
"Sorry, man. Guess my hand slipped." Cyborg said, his tone lacking emotion.
Beast Boy sighed. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean it. I was just trying to lighten the mood..."
"I appreciate it. But that was cold."
"I said I was sorry."
"I know. I accept the apology. Now come on, if we're going to go ahead and do this, we'd better go tell Robin and Starfire now."
"What? No! We've got to just leave!"
"'Just leave?' We can't just go!"
"Why not?"
"Because our friends might want to know what we're doing."
"They'll just try and stop us, dude. Why don't we just leave them a note instead?"
Cyborg held his head in his hands, groaning. "I can't believe I'm even doing this, but... fine. You write the note, I'll leave it for them. Then let's get moving. We've got to figure something out before he strikes again and we're stuck fighting him on his terms again." The changeling nodded, then went inside to find a pad and pencil.
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"Those two have been gone for over an hour by now. Think we should check up on them?" queried Robin, concerned. The Tamaranian girl nodded, and they left the main room to check outside. Finding nobody, they returned to the interior of the Tower, displeased.
"I can't believe them! They're off goofing around and... Fuck, this is serious!" ranted Robin, stopping when he noticed a note pinned to his door. He removed it and read it quickly, then dropped it, the sheet floating slowly to the ground. A dumbstruck expression had been slapped on the Boy Wonder's face. Starfire's eyes went wide, and she picked up the tiny scrap of paper from the floor, reading the words aloud.
"Dear friends. I'm sorry that it has to come to this, but Cyborg and I believe that making things right depends on working in a less rigid environment. With the stakes so high, and a very good friend already wounded, we cannot afford to take anymore risks. We must fight our enemy on our terms, not his. We know that Robin's obsessive nature will not allow for compromise. Therefore, we are taking it upon ourselves to take the battle to our enemy. We are taking a..." She paused, squinting.
"The word is 'temporary.' It doesn't look like it. But that's what he means." mumbled Robin, still in awe.
"Thank you. A temporary leave of..." she winced before speaking. "...of absence until our current enemy is defeated. We don't wish to work against you. But we currently see no other options." She frowned. "Please try to understand. Again, we're sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but the past 24 hours have made us realize that there is no other way, and there is no more time left to waste. Your friend, Beast Boy." Starfire raised her head to look at her friend and leader, who was rubbing his temples and sighing.
"I can't believe them. Selfish bastards."
"Well, perhaps if we go and talk to them, they will reconsider."
"No. They made their bed, let them lie in it. This is what they want, fine. If they're so confident, if they're so sure that is the 'only way,' then fine." The masked teen's voice dripped with a bitter venom.
The red-headed alien bit her lip before pushing further. "Friend Robin... you and I both know they mean us no ill will. We are also quite aware that we need them for this mission."
"No, we don't. I don't need anybody. We don't need anybody. They'd just get in the way." Robin turned swiftly and began to storm off towards the exercise room, shaking his head.
"You know that is not true! You value this team just as much as anybody else. You know that justice cannot be served with such limited resources!" called Starfire after the stubborn leader. His pace slowed for just a moment before he continued on his way, his stride picking up the closer he got to the elevator.
It was Star's turn to sigh now, and she slouched, crossing her arms. "It should not be like this." She looked to her left, further down the hall to the infirmary where her friend was currently laying in a coma, and held back tears. "Friend Raven, by X'hal, please wake up... I do not know how much more of this I can take."
With that, she made the way to her room, seeking to drown her sorrows. How, she did not know.
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Miles away, a dark figure was sitting in a battered steel chair in the middle of a dimly lit room. Before him sat a small desk with a black box on it, and a cord led from the box to a headset on the figure's scalp. Sitting hunched forward in a ghoulish posture, headphones pressed firmly against his ears, the Gemini was laughing to himself as he processed the incoming information. Finally, he reached forward and flipped a switch on the black box, removing his headset shortly afterward and standing up. He stretched, still chuckling.
"Oh, it all sounds like showtunes to my ears. It's like a wonderfully disjointed comedy of errors, every scene nothing but choreographed chaos and confusion! Everyone is playing their roles to perfection. The cast is being eaten by the play." mumbled Gemini to himself, smiling. "I never thought things would go this well. I feel like I should pat myself on the back or give myself an Oscar. I'm such a great director."
Pulling off his mask and removing his mirrored goggles, the figure made his way across the shaded room towards five practice dummies tucked away in the far corner.
"Of course, I would never actually accept any awards. Accepting something from an established institution would just make me a hypocrite. No, I'll step back from society and enjoy my guerrilla theatre, thank you very much, dancing with glee as the stage collapses and everything around me falls apart."
Grabbing a dummy dressed immaculately like Starfire, he proceeded to tear its head off. Holding the head in his hands like a quarterback, he spun around quickly and hurled it across the room like a football. His eyes followed it with a grim determination, his right hand caressing his knuckles as he tracked the hunk of gnarled plastic. It bounced several times before it finally rolled to a stop by the door. The piece lay still for several seconds before he snapped out of his trance and launched a small black disk towards the severed head, slicing it neatly in half. He rubbed his chin for a second, then proceeded to tear the head off of the figured patterned after Robin, throwing it again across the room. This time, he quickly launched three disks as the head was drifting in midair. Three neatly spliced pieces of plastic plopped to the ground seconds later. He nodded, clearly pleased. Gemini let out a pleased noise before he finally spoke.
"But despite everything that's happened today, the time for fun is over. Now it is time to go on the offensive again."
TO BE CONTINUED... Stay tuned for the excitement of Chapter 3... "A Visitor!"
