Chapter 2

Beastboy's POV

It was windy on the roof. Cold. Dark. I liked it when it was cold. It reminded me that I was still alive. At least for now. The night also meant it was quite in the city, with just the lights shining and the occasional honk or siren from escaping the city. I looked at my phone for any new news. Nothing. Ever since Robin's death, things have gone downhill. That day changed everyone. It showed us how short life was and how it could be cut even shorter by someone who decides to. I stared at my phone again. Nothing. Ever since that day something did not add up. After our encounter with The Dagger we went back to search for Robins body and he wasn't there. Weeks later his costume washed up on the beach, but no body. Ever since then I have been searching for that answer to that question. Following every lead I find, but the deeper I get into this question. The harder the choices I have to make. And with every choice made I deprive someone else of the option to live. The more people die, the more a piece of me dies. The more a piece of me dies something else is born to replace it. Something darker, something inhuman, something that makes those choices easier to make. My phone rang. Private number. I let it go to voicemail. I was in no mood to talk right now. It rang again. Same person. I looked at it again. Voicemail again. It rang for the third time. At this point I could either answer it or throw my phone of the roof. I answered it.

"Who is it, what do you want and why now?"

'It's Alfred, I need you to come down to Master Wayne's place it's quite urgent. " his voice was slightly shaky.

I sighed. I wanted to protest it but I had nothing else to do.

"I will be there in 30 minutes."

Nearly everyone had gone their separate ways after the death of Robin. So it was only me and Starfire left in the building. I looked over the roof. I wondered what would happen if I fell over. Would the wind stop or maybe my powers or would I just plummet to my death. I had to get those thoughts out of my head. I doubt they were healthy. I looked over the roof again. Was I in the perfect mind state for this? There was only one way to find out. I jumped. I felt the wind rushing through my hair, the blood pumping through my veins and the thoughts leaving my mind. Replacing them with focus and letting the darkness take over. This was one of the few instances where I called to it. Where I invited it to not only join me, but become me for it to take over and become me. My soul then changed to that of an eagle. Then instead of flying straight down, I started heading towards the city.

Months ago, as I was training blindly with no focus or clear direction, I began looking for something I felt I needed, something that disappeared with Robin, something that defined who I was. Purpose. I looked to someone who had known loss. I went to Bruce Wayne aka Batman. He trained me to become a better fighter. To direct my anger at something else other than myself. There more I trained the more things I learned about myself and my powers. For example Bruce Wayne helped me realise that abilities of the animals inside me could be accessed without transforming physically, but rather by accessing the soul of these animals. He taught me that if you want to see the true capabilities of someone or something, go straight to the core. Beyond even what they can feel or see in themselves. He told me that's where true power lies. After that he told me that. I began learning how to access this power within me, but every time I got close I would lose focus. That's where the darkness helped. It didn't reside in my mind or heart, but rather in my soul. So it was perfect for this kind of thing. It didn't require direction, because it knew what it wanted and never deviated from its purpose. However with this kind of darkness there was a downside to it. Whenever I remove it from my soul, it would take a piece with it and every time it came back it would replace what it took with a piece of itself. Slowly it was becoming me and it was getting harder to fight it. I knew that someday it would consume what is left, leaving only it. When that day comes I fear it will be too late to do anything about it, because I fear it will have twisted everything I am. Leaving only darkness where a soul was.

I was getting closer to the Wayne Manor. I was also getting angrier the closer got to the mansion. It was evil in me doing its job. I began flying faster. I arrived at the gates and decided it would be better to walk the rest of the way. I arrived at the front door and Alfred was waiting.

"I'm glad you could as fast as you did, Master Wayne requests to speak to you. He is upstairs in the master bedroom."

I went upstairs to see what the problem was. When I reached the door to the bedroom I noticed cracks in it. I opened the door and there was a creek. I looked around, the place was a mess. I looked around and heard groaning. I went around the bed and found Bruce Wayne lying on the floor, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. I picked him up and laid him against the bed.

"What happened to you?"

He let out a light cough accompanied by a blood.

"I was in the Batcave when I got an alert of a perimeter breach. Before I could do anything about it I was attacked. I did not see his face. He attacked with such ferocity and skill that I could not keep up. I eventually gathered myself enough to hold my ground, but his aggression increased. His skill increased. He reached a point where he nearly killed me, but he stopped and looked at me. What he said next is what got. "

"What did he say?"

"He said the day of being a joke was over. I'll show you all what I can do without your limits dragging me down and keeping me grounded when I have the capability to fly."

"Why did that get you?"

"Years ago when I was still training Robin he said those same exact words to me. It's why he started the Titans. To create an unstoppable force, where he was the leader. Where he could shape them to never contradict him, but there was one thing he lacked. Patience. Reshaping someone's values takes time, time he was not willing to wait for. "

"But Robin died that night, we all remember that day."

"You better hope his really dead, because him being alive would spell trouble for this city. Robin can be very dangerous when he puts his mind to it."