Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. some of the teammates
Chapter 02
Beast Boy woke up in a heap on a forest floor. His shoulder and back were in agony, and his hands looked as though they had been badly scratched from falling through the forest.
The air was quiet, but Beast Boy knew that this would be short lived as whoever had blasted Beast Boy, Nightwing and the others out of the sky were nearby and probably looking for them now.
Thinking about the others, he slowly sat up and rested against the tree. Nightwing and Raven were first to be dispatched, then it was Starfire and himself with Kitty in the box.
Kitty!
Beast Boy's head whipped back and forth as he looked for any sign of her. The odd call of a wild animal echoed all around, disorientating his senses. Holding his shoulder, Beast Boy stood up slowly, walking into a nearby tree to brace himself. As he rapidly made his way through the forest, hoping to come across one of the other supers.
Not to mention Black Canary was going to kill him if he didn't return with Kitty – ever since she and Green Arrow had a daughter, her maternal instincts had gone through the roof and she was very protective of the younger heroes.
"Oh man I am dead meat either way…" Beast Boy said, shifting into a butterfly and fluttered through the forest unsteadily, trying to weave seamlessly through the tall pine like trees.
Admittedly, he disliked being 'girly' animals like butterflies and fancy birds, but no one was around that would see him, and he liked being a butterfly deep down. After making some headway, he dropped down to the ground and shifted into a wolf – mostly for its tracking abilities. He sniffed the air and inhaled deeply, feeling his lungs fill with the scents that were mingling in the air.
He howled to the moon and whined at the fact that he was alone.
Then he heard a scream followed by a fireball explosion. It signalled exactly where Beast Boy needed to go – clearly it was related to the mission, or at least Beast Boy hoped it was. Why else would there be some massive explosion?
Beast Boy sprang into action, running in the direction of the explosion and smoke. The burning smell flared up in his nose.
He came to a sudden halt when he saw a group of bad guys dragging a girl away. The biggest guy had a grip on her thick ponytail as he pulled her away.
"Bring the weapon!" one guy called from the passenger side of a large jeep. "She's the final piece of our puzzle."
"Let me go!" the girl growled, grappling with the hand that was gripping her hair. "I'm not the one you want!"
The girl was thrown into the back of the jeep and the men piled into another vehicle that was waiting.
"Make sure that there's no evidence left behind, Pyro…" the boss ordered, before tapping the side of the jeep. "Let's move out and reconvene at base. Pyro, if we don't hear from you, we'll send in a dispatch team to get you."
"You got it, boss…" the guy who Beast Boy assumed to be Pyro said before turning towards a pile of wood and glass that must have once been a safe house for the girl – that must have been the mission.
To protect the girl.
Beast Boy instantly knew that Pyro meant he had fire powers – it didn't take a genius to work that one out.
"Yo Pyro!" Beast Boy called out, reverting to his true form. "What about us?"
Pyro smiled in a maniacal way before igniting his fists in flames. "Bring it on, little alien dude!" He swung his fist through the air, like he was punching it and a fireball was sent flying through the air.
Beast Boy somersaulted out of the way and landed unevenly, running around the forest in a loop. "Oh hell no!" He took a risk and shifted into a whale, spewing water out of the blowhole in Pyro's direction.
It was over in a matter of moments, the amount of water had knocked the wind out of Pyro, sending him slamming into a tree and knocked out.
In the moment, Beast Boy recalled being told by Black Canary to initiate a homing beacon that was built into the collar of his superhero suit, and that would send a notification to the team so that they could find one another.
Just as he was about to press the homing beacon tab, he heard coughing from within the safe house remains.
"Oh man…" he sighed, running back to the remains and started to throw some wood planks aside, before realising he needed the strength of a gorilla.
As a gorilla, the job was infinitely easier and I found the source of the coughing in seconds. It was the girl, the same girl he had seen getting dragged off by Pyro's boss.
"What the-?" Beast Boy gasped, gawping at the girl, struggling to figure out how this was all logically possible. "Hey… Hey you… Hello?" He reverted back to being a human and gently lifted her out of the rubble which is when she fought out at him. "Hey- ow!" Beast Boy crashed to the floor, nearly dropping the girl in the process.
Then she was holding a rock, as if she was about to throw it.
"No, no, no!" Beast Boy stammered, holding his hands up. "I'm a friend – I'm here to rescue you." He squinted at her. "Do you speak English?"
She screwed up her face and exhaled sharply. "Of course I speak English- you're not that far from Gotham City…" She stood up and started to walk away from the remains, kicking Pyro's unconscious body on the way. "Don't follow me, martian man…"
Beast Boy frowned at the girl, infuriated at the name calling and the fact that she was clearly a part of the mission where she had to be protected. Rather than face the wrath of Black Canary, Beast Boy shifted into a fly and nestled down into the hood of the girl's jacket as she strode through the woods.
"Hey there kitty, what are you doing out here in the woods all alone?" the girl asked before crouching down next to a clumsy tabby cat that appeared to be very weak. "You're hurt, come here, it's okay- I'm a friend I promise…"
Beast Boy watched through jewelled shaped bug vision as the girl bent down to pick the cat and could have sworn that it was Kitty. Now all she needed to do was find Nightwing, Raven and Starfire and it would all be sorted.
"There, you'll be all better now…" the girl said, smiling as she put the cat back down on the ground, but when the cat didn't disappear, she became nervous. "Go on, scram… Shoo!"
The girl Beast Boy was hitch-hiking on turned to walk away, crunching the vegetation under foot.
"You know, for someone who me and my friends are meant to be protecting, you're actually pretty rude!" Kitty was now standing firm behind them, despite being significantly shorter and younger than the other girl. "And you realise you've got a green fly on your shoulder- that's Beast Boy."
The girl flipped out, swatting at the green fly, before yelping as Beast Boy took form. "You have got to be kidding me! A shapeshifting alien and a cat girl. You're who they sent to protect me? Have you any idea what you're up against!? You don't have a clue and I don't want you to either. Leave me alone or you'll only get hurt."
Beast Boy continued to follow the girl alongside Kitty. "As much as I would really love to leave you to fend for yourself, those guys kidnapped someone who looked identical to you so there's obviously something special about you…"
"They kidnapped the martian girl, Miss Martian- what? Is she like your big sister or something Martian Boy?" She scoffed, quickening her pace a little.
"Stop calling me that, it's Beast Boy!" Beast Boy shouted, getting angry and not even caring about how loud he was being. "Now you will stop walking away from us and come with us! We are here to protect you and you are obviously in demand- and I can't see why… You're obnoxious, rude and so isolated!"
"Well call me Boxham then," the girl taunted bluntly.
What kind of a name is Boxham? Beast Boy thought, rolling his eyes dramatically.
Kitty pinched the back of my arm and I flinched, nearly striking her. "Stop being mean, you're going to hurt her feelings." She walked ahead, whispering over her shoulder. "Now I know why Raven dumped you."
Beast Boy's nostrils flared up at the mentioning of the downfall of his relationship with Raven. That was a private matter and of all people, to have Kitty poke fun at it was demeaning. The green skinned guy checked his homing device, which was working and obviously sending some kind of signal, hopefully! That's when he started to get the feeling that they were being followed. Like every time he turned around, someone was darting behind a tree – a group perhaps?
"Guys…" he said cautiously, stopping in his tracks.
From where BB had last seen someone hiding, came a pulsating red ring fly towards him. He only just managed to get out of the way himself as he clattered into the ground, trying to avoid getting dirt in his mouth. The youngster opened his mouth to warn the girls, but it was too late.
Kitty was paralysed on the floor, convulsing as the red rings bound her arms to her side.
The girl darted off, running quickly in a zig zag pattern, much to the dismay of Beast Boy who was forced to pick up Kitty and lift her planked body up over his shoulder. He was reminded of the first time she came to the headquarters and she refused to go anywhere with them, so he gave up and threw her over his shoulder into the headquarters – ever since then, she was like his annoying little sister. Beast Boy felt like he had to look out for Kitty, just like Miss Martian had done for him when he was younger. The cycle continued.
He shifted into an albatross and awkwardly tried to navigate the tall, thin trees in pursuit of Boxham girl. The high pitched call nearly made her fall to the floor. What Boxham saw absolutely terrified her, the green toned albatross was her ticket out of the spot of bother she was in, but she was terrified of the thought of flying on an albatross' back.
"Are you insane?" Boxham squealed, ducking out of the way of another red ring pulse.
Beast Boy shrieked again, the bird call echoing in the woods. He tilted at a near vertical angle and felt relieved when Boxham girl gave in and clung to him. As he straightened his wings, he caught the updraft and soared up above the forest into the night sky.
Once they were a safe distance away, Beast Boy landed near another of the Justice League's safehouses. It was a cute little log cabin that was on the outskirt of a campsite for young kids. What better place to hide a kid than in amongst a load of them?
Beast Boy insisted that Boxham help him and Kitty, feeling bad for the way that he had behaved and spoken to Boxham not moments ago. He watched Boxham open the door with a key that was hidden in amongst a beautiful flower arrangement and began to wonder what it was that those bad guys were after.
"I'm sorry Kitty," he mumbled, setting Kitty down on the bed in the side room. When he moved back into the main room, Boxham was standing by the kettle. "I'm sorry, about everything that's happened to you… You can call me Garfield, if you like."
Boxham seemed shocked by Beast Boy's sudden change of heart. "I'd like that, Garfield. But you shouldn't apologise, because it's not your fault that I am what I am." She glanced out of the window. "Do you want a drink?"
Beast Boy shook his head. "I've never been one for hot drinks… So what can I call you?"
"Me neither- I just thought you might want one… Water works for me, and you can call me Carrie. Not that I'll be around long enough to- never mind." Carrie checked on Kitty who was still motionless. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Hopefully…" Beast Boy lifted a floorboard section to reveal a computer tablet that scanned his face as Carrie switched on the old television in the corner. "I'm going to get an extraction for us and then get you back to safety. Wait, why are you crying?"
Carrie sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper. "I'm not crying, but you don't understand. Because of what I am-" She paused like she didn't know if she really wanted to say what she was about to say. "I am never going to be free because of what I am- because of what I can do… I have to show you, but don't freak…" Without even taking a moment, she pulled out a pen knife from her jacket and dragged the blade over her palm.
"Carrie!" Beast Boy shouted, slapping the pen knife out of her hand and then staring at her palm.
The cut was gone – there was no sign of the fact that Carrie had cut herself in the first place.
She smiled nervously. "You can freak out now- Oh my god… Garfield, look!" Carrie exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "That can't be…"
On the screen was an appeal for their whereabouts. For the whereabouts of two teenagers who were caught stealing things, robbing a bank, trashing a prestigious science lab and a series of other uncanny things. Carrie Boxham and Garfield Logan were criminals on the run – and it didn't even look like the Justice League could help him out of this one when he saw the video footage that clearly showed two figures that looked identical to them doing what the news claimed they had done.
"Any bright ideas, Martian Man?"
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Well I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and review what you thought because I'm intrigued to see where this story goes because I have no idea!