I AM SO SORRY.
The extremely long delay was unintentional, and I have no real excuse. I'm so sorry, you guys. Here, please take the chapter! Take it!
One Year Later
"I bet you twenty bucks that you couldn't eat Starfire's entire dish without puking."
Cyborg quirked his eyebrow at the green shape-shifter crouched beside him on the sofa, and pressed the pad of his metal thumb to his index finger. "Twenty bucks? Make that fifty, BB. If I'm gonna eat her alien food, it's gotta be for a really good reason," he declared, pointing at the purple glop that was in a bowl between the two Titans. Cyborg smirked, holding the dish out to Beast Boy. "Unless you would like to do it instead?"
Beast Boy considered it. "Well, fifty bucks could get me a lot of new video games and comics." He frowned. "But I don't think it would be enough to pay for another visit to the hospital. Up your offer to one hundred dollars and I'll do it." Cyborg grimaced at the amount Beast Boy was suggesting, but pulled his wallet out anyway, counting the bills that were snug in their case. No matter how high the price was, the robotic man couldn't wait to see the look on Beast Boy's face when he poured into his mouth whatever it was that was bubbling in Starfire's bowl.
"Well…," Cyborg deliberated, pulling out a hundred dollar bill and waving it about. "Maybe…" Beast Boy smirked, stopping Cyborg. "Hang on. Do you even have one hundred dollars?" he accused.
"Uh," Beast Boy said, rubbing the back of his head, and Cyborg crossed his arms. "Well… I will when I win the bet!"
Cyborg stuffed his money back into his wallet. "Nice try, BB, but not gonna happen."
"Aw," Beast Boy huffed, shoving the bowl away from him. The two sat in silence for a moment until Beast Boy glanced over at his friend, green eyes glinting. "I dare you to do it."
Before Cyborg could respond, the main doors opened and Starfire glided in, Robin following behind her. "Glorious greetings, friends!" she hailed the Titans. "How are you enjoying your morning?" Beast Boy shunted the bowl underneath the couch and sat straight up beside Cyborg, both grinning innocently.
"Uh, yeah, Star," Beast Boy replied, hands held behind his back like a child who had eaten a whole box of chocolates without permission. "This is a great morning."
"That we are having," Cyborg added.
"Together," Beast Boy nodded.
"Right now," Cyborg smiled.
"Not doing anything suspicious at all," the shape-shifter finished. Cyborg elbowed him in the gut. Robin smirked at the two, well aware of their activities, and had walked over to the refrigerator to fetch some breakfast when Starfire suddenly let out a cry of alarm. The team was on alert at once.
"What's the matter?" Robin asked, grasping her arm.
Starfire pushed past him, digging through the fridge at a frantic pace. "Oh, I cannot seem to find the dish that I have prepared for our meal tonight! I worked so very diligently on it!" she cried, throwing a jug of milk over her shoulder. Cyborg dove forward, managing to catch it before the liquid spilled all over the floor. Beast Boy tried to keep up with the barrage of food being tossed in his direction, but once a container filled with eggs cracked against his head, he gave up and just stood still as food piled all around him. "Perhaps it is in the cupboards?!" Starfire moved into the cabinets, flinging those contents out as well. She'd cleared out three when Robin finally got a hold on her.
"Starfire, calm down!" he exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders. "It's okay," the leader assured. "We'll just order pizza or something else instead."
Starfire fixed her big sad eyes on him. "But I had worked many of the hours on a meal that I was certain you and friends Cyborg and Beast Boy would enjoy." Her head drooped, and Robin glared at the guilty party standing behind her. Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged glances, and then looked back with pleading expressions. Neither of them wanted to reveal the location of the alien food, for Starfire surely would make them eat it later. Robin pointed at them, scowling. Cyborg gave in, despite Beast Boy's silent begging, and pulled the bowl out from under the couch.
"Hey, would ya look at that! Here it is!" he laughed nervously, holding the dish out to the alien girl. "I guess you musta thrown it while you were diggin' through… uh, all of our stuff…," he mumbled. Starfire clapped her hands together in excitement and swooped over to him, snatching up the bowl. She cradled it to her chest.
"Oh, many thanks, friend Cyborg! You have found tonight's meal!" She blinked at him, her expression bright. "Perhaps you would like to try a sample?" With hopeful eyes, she held the bubbling dish out to Cyborg. If the robotic man had had a collar, he would have been pulling at it.
"U-uh-I-," he stammered, but his excuse was interrupted by the buzz of Robin's communicator. Starfire flew to her leader's side as he answered, and Cyborg wiped his brow.
"Saved by the bell, dude," Beast Boy grinned, crawling out from the food mountain that surrounded him. "Ow." He winced as an object tumbled down from somewhere in the mess and hit him on the nose. Shaking his head, Beast Boy's gaze fell to the guilty item now resting on the ground in front of him, and a familiar pain touched his chest. He rose to his feet slowly. No one in the tower drank tea anymore, not since… her departure. He'd tried putting the memory of her in the back of his head, tried to remind himself that it had been her decision and that she'd come back if she wanted to, just like Robin kept telling him, but it was… difficult. He stood up, nudging the box of tea bags away with his foot. He found himself thinking about her more than he meant to, and whenever he succeeded in forgetting, Beast Boy would see something to remind him of her again. He still blamed himself for her absence, and he was well aware that today marked a full year since the disappearance of the missed Titan.
As Beast Boy tried to recover before anyone noticed his unusual silence, Robin snapped his communicator shut. "We've got trouble. Plasmus is attacking downtown." He and the three other Titans turned to the door. "Let's go!"
"Dude, is it just me or did Plasmus get uglier since the last time we fought him?" Beast Boy asked, crouched in a battle position beside his teammates. Plasmus had smashed his slime hand through a main road in the center of downtown to find a drainage pipe underneath, and was now indulging himself in the sewage pouring out of the tube. Beast Boy wrinkled his nose. "Dude, gross."
"I agree, friend Beast Boy!" Starfire nodded from where she flew above him, conjuring two starbolts into her hands. "It is quite disturbing. I propose that we do the taking down!"
Robin smirked, twirling the staff in his hand. "Funny; that's exactly what I was thinking."
"Then come on, y'all!" Cyborg angled his hand cannon and let a shot fly. The blue beam exploded against the monster's gooey chest, forcing Plasmus to drop the sewage pipe with a roar.
"Titans, go!" Robin cried, leaping forward. He stabbed his pole into Plasmus's center, but it did nothing except serve to make the monster angrier. Plasmus inhaled deeply, and then, jerking his shoulders back, his stomach exploded outwards, catching Robin in the blast. He flew backwards through the air, his painful landing prevented by Starfire's quick reaction time. She caught him under the arms, swooping up as she grabbed him. Cyborg's shoulder pads unhooked, revealing miniature missiles hidden beneath that shot forward immediately, contacting with Plasmus's head. The monster was deterred for only a moment, responding with a blast of goo that pinned Cyborg to the street. Before Plasmus could launch another attack, Beast Boy jumped in between the two, baring sharp lion fangs and a wild green mane. Roaring, he sprang onto Plasmus, swinging with his sharp claws, but Plasmus caught him in an elongated arm. Jerking to one side, the creature smashed the Titan into a building, and then, spinning around, released. Once more in his human form, Beast Boy ricocheted off of the side of a store and sailed into an alleyway. He crashed into a dumpster and blacked out.
Beast Boy blinked his eyes open minutes later as a warm, floating sensation drifted away with his unconsciousness. Wincing, he removed an old newspaper that had fallen onto his face. His vision was slightly blurry, but from where he lay he could see his teammates still battling Plasmus in the street. The green Titan attempted to rise, but a sharp pain in his leg prevented the action, and he fell back with a groan.
"Well, that can't be good," he sighed, leaning his head against the back of the dumpster. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to think. It was difficult to concentrate with the harsh throbbing that swelled around his lower ankle. Squeezing his eyes shut, Beast Boy muttered to himself, "Come on, Beast Boy, think. What do I do with a possible broken leg?" He bit his lip as the fist of pain clutched his injury. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."
He shuddered, eyes closed, and grasped the sides of the dumpster, hoping the pain would fade. A warm tingling washed over his lower leg, and, to his surprise, the discomfort diminished. Releasing the rims of the garbage bin, Beast Boy looked down in confusion. Carefully shifting, he tested his leg's movement again, and was shocked when not a twinge of pain followed. He swung his legs over the side of the dumpster and jumped down to the ground without a problem. Feeling like a trick was somehow being played on him, Beast Boy glanced around the alleyway, seeing no one, and frowned. His ears twitched, detecting the sound of faint footsteps from the back of the building. He hesitated, looking over his shoulder at the battle that was playing out in the road, and then turned and ran out of the alleyway to help the Titans fight Plasmus. He could always come back later to find out who occupied the back street.
His teammates were just finishing up. Starfire and Cyborg had distracted Plasmus long enough for while Robin put him on ice with several round disks. Beast Boy approached them as the authorities arrived, and Cyborg caught sight of him. "Yo, man where'd you go?" he asked. "I was gettin' worried!"
Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head. "Plasmus sent me flying on a little joy ride into a dumpster, but I turned out okay." He hesitated, looking off to the side. "Although…," he murmured, recalling the strange instances with his leg.
"Are you okay, Beast Boy?" Robin interrupted, noticing Beast Boy's pause.
Beast Boy lifted his head. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine! Not a scratch on me." It was true. Despite his harsh landing in the trash bin, not to mention his rough contact with the side of the building, Beast Boy lacked even a single scratch.
Robin nodded. "Well, it seems you fared better than the rest of us then. Now I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. Ready to head back to the tower?" Receiving nods, the leader trekked down in the direction where the T-car was parked. Beast Boy cast a fleeting look at the alleyway behind them, and then followed his teammates back to the vehicle that would take them home.
Driving back, Beast Boy was once again reminded of a certain Titan's absence by the lack of squished space in the backseat of the T-car. With a sigh, he propped his elbow on the base of the window. Cyborg glanced up at the shape-shifter with the use of the car's mirror. "You sure you're alright, BB?" he asked, navigating the road.
"Huh?" Beast Boy turned his head. "O-oh, yeah. I was just thinking about other fights we've had with Plasmus." The Titans nodded, recalling their past encounters they had involving the gooey slime monster.
"Yeah, he's always been a tough baddie to go up against," Cyborg replied, tapping his chin with one finger. "I remember one of the worst times was when that guy swallowed me! Star had to fly through him to get me out!"
Starfire shuddered, clutching her arms. "I have chosen to suppress the memory."
Beast Boy smirked. "He sneezed on me that fight. It was so gross."
"How did we defeat him that time again?" Robin pondered, searching his memory. "Oh… right." The car fell silent. That particular battle had been ended with Raven sending her soul-self into Plasmus and rendering him unconscious. Plasmus had gotten a lot more difficult to fight without Raven's help. In fact, all the villains had become more challenging without contribution from the girl's magic. Furthermore, now whenever someone on the team was wounded, Raven wasn't there to heal the injury. Beast Boy tried to convince Robin that they search for her, but he refused, saying that Raven would come back if she wanted to. The leader actually felt quite guilty for Raven's departure, but he was certain there was nothing he could do now. Ever since Raven had left, The Beast hadn't made an appearance, so in a way the empath's plan had worked. Robin just wished it hadn't come at such a high price.
"Well, we're back," Cyborg announced to the now-somber car, pulling into the garage. The team exited, and each went their own ways, trying to suppress their thoughts until supper which was a long ways away, where they would then try to suppress their distaste for Starfire's alien food.
After dinner Beast Boy headed to his bedroom, pacing about the space in there, or lack therefore of. Beast Boy hadn't tried cleaning his room for the past five years or so, and he saw no reason to do so now. He glanced at his bed. He knew he should try to get some sleep, but something kept him awake, and for once it wasn't aftereffects from Starfire's dish. Her meal hadn't been as bad as everyone expected, and Beast Boy actually managed to keep it all down for once. However, much to his disappointment, Cyborg refused to give the shape-shifter any money for his accomplishment. Beast Boy's thoughts didn't linger on dinner for long though. His mind kept falling back to the strange events that had followed his waking up in the dumpster. One minute he had a broken leg, and then the next he was up and running out of the alleyway. Things like that didn't just happen. He recalled the soft sensation that had warmed his head and leg when he'd woken up. Beast Boy swallowed. An idea was forming but didn't want to pin his hopes on it. Biting his lip, he resolved the struggling conflict in his head and exited his room.
A quick flight later, Beast Boy landed in the alley that he'd unintentionally visited earlier. It was now dark outside, and the lone light he had was provided by the moon. Long dark shadows from junk piled along the sides of the passage stretched over the ground, like demons reaching out for an innocent victim to torment. A victim named Beast Boy. Beast Boy smacked his forehead; he always was letting his imagination get the better of him.
"Hello?" he whispered. There was a clatter around the corner ahead of him. He turned it, and was met with the unexpected sight of an assembly of masked men clustering around a flat block of wood, green bills clutched in their hands. Burlap bags were set on the slab next to large piles of cash. The men caught sight of Beast Boy and froze.
Beast Boy grinned nervously, taking a step back. "Um, I think I took a wrong turn here," he laughed, holding his hands up. He jerked his thumb to the side. "I'll be leaving now." The thieves exchanged glances, and then got to their feet, picking up pipes and withdrawing black glossy guns from their belts and pockets. The Titan crouched down into a fighting stance, the hair on his neck standing on end.
The men were standing just a few feet from him when a large figure emerged from the shadows of a nearby trash bin. It grew in size, towering above the humans below, and everyone froze stock-still, immobilized with surprise and fear. The figure was tall and wearing a dark hood, its cape billowed out to create the convincing illusion that they were ten feet in height. Two crimson slits appeared in the blackness.
"You don't want to do that," a deep growling voice advised, menace dripping from their words. The glowing red eyes flashed.
The thieves scattered in an instant, forgetting that they were trying to hide from any officers who might be around, and instead just trying to escape with their lives from this demon that vaporized into existence not five feet from them. One cried out something along the lines of, "It's the she-devil!" as they sprinted away. They cleared out of the alleyway in less than a minute, leaving behind their bags of money as well as their wits.
Now all alone with the dark shadow, Beast Boy swallowed as it turned to face him. A sound of air rushing, like someone was exhaling, came from the figure, and the crimson slits vanished. The shadowed form shrank down to the size of a normal human being wearing a purple cloak. Two violet eyes opened, shining at the shape-shifter from within the depths of the robe.
"Raven?" Beast Boy whispered.
"You get into trouble more than anyone I know," the figure sighed, lowering their hood. Brushing back her purple hair with a familiar pale hand, Raven frowned at him and then crossed her arms. "How come I always have to save you, Beast Boy?"
"Raven!" Beast Boy rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the girl tightly. Raven stiffened, still not one who enjoyed hugs, but then relaxed a moment later and returned the embrace. Beast Boy pressed his head to her shoulder. "I missed you," he mumbled, embarrassed.
"I hate to say it, but the feeling is mutual," Raven sighed, at last stepping away from him. She scanned over his body. "You're alright?" Smiling, Beast Boy nodded. Raven turned around. "Good. I suppose you'll want to catch up with me, so come on. I'll show you where I've been staying." Snatching up the thieves' bags, she glided over a fence close by, and Beast Boy, even now unable to believe he'd located Raven so close to home after a year of her absence, and even more so shocked that she was so easily showing him her place of dwelling, followed quickly, not wanting to lose sight of her moments after finding his friend.
The voyage was just ten minutes, detoured by a quick stop at the bank where Raven left the thieves' bags on the front step. She took a few more turns after that, leading to an empty part of town filled with abandoned buildings. Beast Boy found himself led to a house that was still in decent shape -save for a few rotting holes in the wall and roof- and into the dwelling's basement. Below the main floor was Raven's home. Beast Boy looked around the space with curiosity, spotting the familiar bookshelves and eerie decorations lining the walls. Raven had positioned a small table in the center of the room, and on the floor beside it was a bag filled with dishes. In one corner, a small cot was pressed against the wall, and closer to the table just in front of the stairs a rounded couch was facing outwards. Beast Boy could see candles and a mat placed underneath the stairs, probably for meditation. Next to a sink at the back, a microwave was plugged in an outlet, as was a small stove beside it.
"The electricity works here?" Beast Boy asked Raven.
Raven nodded, lighting several candles with a flick of her hand and illuminating the basement in an orange glow. "This is the single decent house in the neighborhood with working electricity. It's an older part of Jump City, with ancient buildings. No one wants homes like these anymore, so no one bought them. The weather tore them down after some time, which is why they are all in such terrible shape now. Of course, I surprised a few people by asking for a place to stay here, even when I told them I'd pay." She exhaled. "No one comes around thankfully, so I have my peace and quiet. And there aren't any curious neighbors dropping by to see why an ex-Titan isn't with the team anymore," she added hesitantly. "The landlord doesn't actually know me as 'Raven', so he doesn't ask questions either." She glanced toward the corner of her room, falling silent again. Beast Boy hadn't heard her talk so much in… well, forever.
"Don't you get lonely?" He looked at her. Raven just shrugged, igniting another candle. She sat down on the couch, and Beast Boy joined her. He smirked. "Well, home sweet home, huh?" Raven glowered at him with that famous glare of hers. Beast Boy had never missed it so much.
She leaned back against the sofa, facing Beast Boy. "How is the tower?" she asked.
It was Beast Boy's turn to shrug. "I dunno; kinda the same. It's not like you were loud or anything." Raven nodded, ignoring the small sadness that had sparked in her chest. Beast Boy continued, oblivious. "But we all really miss you, Rae. Robin feels bad about the whole thing, even though he won't admit it. I've got no one to argue with anymore except Cyborg, and our fights are always over the same video games and stuff. You would make it more interesting. Oh, and Starfire's been asking the rest of us to join her in 'the female activities of bonding' since she's the only girl in the tower now." Raven lifted an amused eyebrow.
"I suppose I dodged a bullet when it comes to that then," she smirked, the sadness dispersing. "But everyone's been safe?"
Beast Boy nodded his head. "Yeah. The usual stuff has gone down, you know, with bad guys and all, but that's about it. We... haven't seen any of The Beast either," he added softly. Hearing him, Raven dropped her gaze to the ground.
"That means my plan works," she answered, focusing on her boots, "which is good."
Beast Boy grimaced, looking at her. "But it's not fair, Rae! You shouldn't have had to leave just because of me! You need to come back! I don't know… Maybe living in a cage wouldn't be so bad?" The words rang with the echo of someone who'd thought that same line numerous times.
Raven turned on him, her mouth in a thin, determined line. "No. That's not going to happen. You've done nothing to deserve such horrible treatment."
"But," Beast Boy said, keeping her eye contact, "you haven't done anything wrong either." He gestured around. "This isn't your home. It's not where you belong. You belong with us, with the team, Raven! We're part of your family, and you're part of ours!"
Raven closed her eyes for a brief moment. She'd missed him, but she hadn't brought him here so he could convince her to go back. "Everyone has gone a year without me. This arrangement is how it's going to stay." She opened her eyes, and her sights set on his knee, which was crossed on the couch. "How is your leg feeling?"
"What?" Beast Boy looked down. "Uh, it's fine. Why?"
"You did a good job of fracturing the bone when you crashed into the dumpster. I wasn't sure if I had healed it all the way through."
Beast Boy's ears perked up. "That was you?! I knew it!"
"You also banged up your head rather well," Raven stated, hiding a smile. "Where would you be without me, Beast Boy?"
"In a hospital, probably," he grinned, his canine tooth glinting. "Hey, how were you able to heal me so fast without me seeing you? You couldn't do that a year ago."
"Teleportation and magic." A smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth. Raven hid it by pointing to her meditation station under the stairs where her candles glowed. "I've grown in the strength of my abilities, being left alone all the time without any distractions. Along with an increase in my healing skills, I can lift heavier things with my powers now. I can also control my emotions with more ease. But that's why I could heal your leg," Raven explained, touching his knee. Her eyes glowed for a brief moment before returning to normal. "Although it wasn't broken, just fractured."
Beast Boy ran a hand through his hair. "Amazing what you can do when I'm not around to bug you, huh?" Raven looked at him, relaxing when she realized he wasn't offended. She smiled a little, nodding, and then put a finger to her chin.
"I think you've gotten taller than me," she observed abruptly. She and Beast Boy had always been around the same height, Raven pulling ahead of her teammate by just an inch or so, but now it seemed that he'd surpassed her at last.
"Really?" Beast Boy lit up. "Let's see!" He turned around on the couch with his back facing her. Raven rolled her eyes, knowing that wasn't the way they were supposed to measure height, but complied anyway and mirrored him, pressing her back up against his. Beast Boy ran a hand over their heads. "Wow, you're right! Like by an inch and a half!"
"Feel accomplished?" Raven asked, not yet moving away.
Beast Boy smirked. "Kind of!" Raven smiled. For the past year she'd lacked the stupidly charismatic way that he got excited about everything in life, and now it was hard to believe she was sitting here on her couch with him talking about trivial things like who was taller. Raven had missed Beast Boy, as she missed the rest of her friends, but she was willing to make the sacrifice if it meant keeping Beast Boy out of a cage for the rest of his life.
Beast Boy exhaled, and Raven felt the gentle rise and fall of his warm back against hers. "You never did say goodbye, you know," he murmured, and a pang of guilt touched the girl.
"I know," she sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "but it would have made things harder on everyone."
"But I wanted to say goodbye," Beast Boy said, rubbing his arm. "For me, you left without any warning. I went into your room, and it was so empty. You were just gone. I just wanted… to… to talk to you."
"I'm sorry," Raven apologized, and she meant it. She swallowed. "I couldn't bring myself to do it. You might have convinced me to stay if I had."
"I wanted to."
"It wasn't right what Robin wanted to do. It still isn't if he feels that way now." She leaned her head toward him, touching the back of his hair with hers. He had saved her life, and now she was saving his. "You have to see where I'm coming from, Beast Boy."
Beast Boy was quiet, and then he sighed. "Yeah, I do, but I don't like it."
She smiled a little. "You don't have to like it. You only have to understand it." She turned around, and he did too.
He looked at her with sad green eyes. "I feel like you just vanished though. If you need anything, you know you could stop by the tower. I know no one would be mad about that."
"It would be too awkward and uncomfortable," Raven replied, shaking her head. "And I don't need anything. I have electricity, a bed, and the bathroom upstairs is in one piece, so I get along fine." Beast Boy frowned, searching his mind for a reason to have her to come back to the tower when she stood. "It's getting late." The antiquated clock on the wall marked ten minutes after midnight. Raven looked at Beast Boy. "You should go before you're missed."
Beast Boy got to his feet as well, watching her. "I guess, but…"
"What?"
He sighed. "You're not going to disappear, right? If I come back, you'll be here?"
After a pause, Raven nodded. "I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon. But are you sure it would be a good idea for you to come back?" She shifted, fixing her gaze on a candle close by. "I left so The Beast wouldn't come out of you, and if we spend more time together, there is more of a chance of that happening."
"The Beast's not going to come out just by us talking," Beast Boy promised, walking toward the stairs that would lead him out. "I mean, unless you say something that makes me mad." He grinned. Raven frowned at him, crossing her arms, and Beast Boy laughed lightly. "Come on, I only want to know what you've been up to, and I have a feeling that's kinda why you brought me to your house. Why else would you have shown me where you live?"
Raven shifted her position, glancing around before meeting his eyes. "I imagine the aspect of seeing a friend again was too tempting to resist."
Beast Boy grinned at her. "Rae, is it too much to ask to hang out with this friend?"
Raven exhaled and shook her head. "I suppose not; but you shouldn't tell the others, especially Robin. For everyone's sake."
"Great! I'll come back tomorrow then!" Before Raven could reply, Beast Boy waved, transforming into a pigeon, and flew out of the basement in the direction of the tower, his chest feeling lighter than it had for a year.
Quick notes: Time skips; I hate, hate, hate doing them in stories, but in this case it was necessary. You'll find out eventually why. And one thing people were mentioning in comments was that the plot seemed similar to a lot of overused fanfictions. I have realized that, and I've read enough of those fanfictions that I think I'll be able to avoid the cliches that come with them.
Again, I'm so sorry for the delay. The next update will come much sooner next time, I promise.