CH. 2

Beast Boy awoke, slowly opening his eyes to see a blurred ceiling. He blinked once, twice, thrice, and then could see clearly again. He groaned as he tried to sit up but pain attacked him and threw him back to the bed where his entire body was tortured for a mere few seconds. Then he gasped for breath. What had hit him so bad that this happened? Raven walked through the door and glanced at him with barely any emotion. He thought he saw a flicker of pained worry flash in her eyes but it was gone so fast it couldn't have been real. She sat beside him and stared for a few seconds before speaking.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Beast Boy nodded lightly in case it brought on another seizure.

"Good. Robin says we need to know everything about J.C. as soon as you can walk again. Right now you still have an electrical current. Your nerve responses are stronger than normal so moving too much or to fast can either kill you or hurt you badly. Give it a few days to wear off," Raven said. Beast Boy nodded again and stared at the ceiling.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Raven asked, slight concern breaking through her defenses and merging with her words. Beast Boy groaned. His entire body was sore and tensed up.

"Not really," he muttered, "My body is tensed up and it's uncomfortable." Raven frowned. She lifted her arms and Beast Boy was encased in dark energy. His muscles relaxed and Beast Boy sighed with relief.

"Thanks Rae," he chirped happily.

"It's Raven," she muttered as she raised her hood to hide a blush. She walked to the window where she looked out over Jump City.

"Ever wonder how humans can build such magnificent structures?" she asked as she gazed at the skyscrapers.

"Yea. It's mind blowing huh?" Beast Boy replied. Raven smiled lightly. There was a tiny sliver of movement in the city. She closed her eyes and muttered her familiar words. She was suddenly looking over the city and there she saw J.C. standing in the middle of the street. Cars honked loudly and drivers yelled profane words and showed rude gestures. He was tensed up and growling. His growls got louder and louder. She then noticed that he was powering up. Fear clenched at her stomach as her heart flew to her throat. J.C.'s eyes rolled in the back of his head as he threw his head back and opened his mouth wide.

He became encased in a fireball and before Raven knew what was happening he was yelling; yelling so loud that you could not hear it. The sound in the world cut off as sound waves carried the fire encasing him. He began to brighten and Raven knew she had mere seconds. She opened her eyes and leapt for Beast Boy. Time seemed to slow down as she saw through her peripheral vision an atomic explosion. She landed on Beast Boy and the fireball of sound was already upon the Tower. She quickly yelled her three word mantra and her and Beast Boy vanished.

Raven awoke on the hard concrete of a dark alley. She had not controlled the transportation, so she had no idea where they were. She just knew they had to get away. She hoped to God that the others had survived. There had been no time for a warning or to grab the others. Tears welled in her eyes as she sobbed. Beast Boy gasped a shuddering breath next to her. He looked towards her slowly.

"Raven? What the hell happened?" he asked. Raven fell upon him sobbing. Beast Boy slowly brought his hand up and placed it on the back of her head and made gentle shushing sounds. When she finally stopped crying she told Beast Boy with many a sniffle and hiccup what she had seen. His eyes closed as he tried not to cry. So many people were now dead. Thousands, maybe millions or billions snuffed out in a mere second.

"He has a lot to answer for," Beast Boy said in a wavering voice.

"You have to tell me about him," Raven said, "So we can be better prepared next time." Beast Boy took a deep shuddering breath.

"It's a long story," he replied. Raven gestured around them.

"Not like we're going anywhere anytime soon," she replied. Beast Boy took another deep breath and began.

J.C.'s history

It begins somewhere at the beginning of the medieval times that a young boy named Jonathan Crass Thomas was born. He was not of any special blood like a duke or a knight or a king. No, he was a peasant boy. He was carefree and happy and dreamed of becoming a squire to his favorite knight Sir Herondaley De Linginston. He became a mason's apprentice to get close to the knights and learn their ways and to observe the other squires. By now he is somewhere around the age of fourteen. He is no longer carefree but a cunning and mischievous fox. He has no mercy or feels any kindness to any person or thing. His family is dead thanks to a raid from the kingdom's old enemy.

After seeing his mother, father, two older brothers, and pet dog slaughtered before his eyes, his heart died to be replaced by an ice sculpture of a heart. There is no longer a heart. One night, he was skulking through the huts, keeping to the darkness. He had a plan to become a squire. And it involved much foul play. He had woven pretty words to get the attention of a homosexual squire. He asked him to meet alone under the guard's walkway. They would be hidden from any prying eyes. He walked up to see the young boy who beamed.

Before the boy could get out his greeting, J.C. unsheathed a knife and pinned the boy to the brick wall and covered his mouth. Then he jabbed the blade into his stomach, twisting and ripping it. Finally, the boy stopped his muffled screams of agony and slumped to the ground, eyes blank. J.C. had never felt so alive. He buried the corpse under the wall. He dug all night, and he knew no one would find him. No one walked through this area. The next day, he was a squire to his once favorite knight. Over the years he grew older and soon reached the age that he could take his master's place as knight.

At nineteen, he defeated his master in mock battle to prove his worthiness. He was now a knight and he planned on changing the world forever. One day while he was out riding, he came across an old crone who begged him of food and water. Still having no compassion for anyone he scorned her and sneered. As he rode on past, she transformed into a beautiful enchantress.

"For the sin of being proud and scorning me, you shall live forever. That is your curse!" And with that she was gone. But to J.C., this was no curse but a blessing. It fueled his desire for power and control. Most other men would have despised living past 100, but J.C. saw it as an opportunity to rule the kingdom forever. He rode back into the kingdom to test what the enchantress had said. He drew his sword, threw down hi shield and ran at the first guard, yelling like a madman. Every mark that they put upon him healed instantly and everyone fell before his blade.

When the guards and knights saw the attempt futile they fled. Blood still dripping from his sword and armor, lust for death in his eyes, and his breath heavy with excitement, he climbed the castle steps to the king's throne room. They tried to hold the doors closed but he hacked through with a stolen battle ax. Arrows pierced his armor and flesh but he ripped them from his body and laughed long and loud. He was exhilarated. Nothing stopped him! Nothing! He leapt in, hacking at the armor and ripping it from the men who tried to stop him. He gutted one standing in his way and beheaded an archer. Finally, no one stood between him and the king.

His wife strung her bow and nocked an arrow. She fired at his face. The arrow struck him in the eye. J.C. screamed in agony and ripping it out, his eye coming with it. But his body grew another eye in its place. J.C. laughed high and maniacally. He ran forward and parried the king's sword and sank his blade into his gut. The king fell onto him, pain radiating from his face. J.C. nudged him with his shoulder and he fell off the blade and onto his throne dead. He approached the wife, a sneer on his lips as he jabbed the arrow she shot him with into her chest.

She crumpled to the floor dead. He threw his sword down and roared to the ceiling. He was alive! He was invincible! His tyranny reigned for centuries till the medieval days just died out. He found himself alone in the desert, his rusted, dull, and chipped sword dragging behind him. The sun was unbearable but he did not die. He collapsed with exhaustion and passed out. He awoke in a cave to see an old hermit cooking three rabbits over a fire.

"You're awake," the man said in his hoarse voice.

"Yes," J.C. replied in his ice cold voice. He was already plotting to kill this man and rob him.

"It's not a good idea to kill your host," the man rasped. He turned to J.C. with an amused smile on his bearded face. His skin was black and head shiny and bald.

"You read my thoughts old man?" he demanded in shock.

"Yes. Your talents are not the only ones in this world. There exists the supernatural and the superhuman. I know your past. You have lived a hard and evil filled life. I myself have had my evil filled days. I grew weary of the murder, backstabbing, and unrelenting life I have lived. I myself am immortal. I was cursed when I reached the age of forty. I raped and killed an enchantress and she cursed me before her death. But I have found a weak spot in her magic. Nothing can exist without a brain. I will give you a gift if you end my existence," the old man replied. J.C. stood up and dragged his sword with him. Its grinding filled the cave loudly. J.C. raised his blade, his evil smile in place.

"Your wish is my command," he whispered with his evil crazed smile. He brought the sword down and bashed the old man's head in. He hacked and hacked, blood spewing over him and the cave. Finally, the old man was nothing but a headless corpse. J.C. looked at his sword and threw it aside with a snort of disgust. He was about to chomp into a rabbit when a violet sphere no bigger than a baseball appeared on top of the old man's back. J.C. picked it up and it dissolved, flying into his nostrils. He sneezed violently three times and felt his head explode with images, thoughts, and memories.

When he finally controlled them he breathed. He realized the old man had more than the psychic ability. He could steal or duplicate other abilities and keep them for himself. His smile returned as he began plotting his takeover. This time, the sky was the limit. The world would be his. It took centuries to take abilities. Store them up so he could use them all at once to bring the world to its knees.

He took a British man's fire, an Australian girl's scream, a young boy's earth, a transsexual stripper's ice, and a school boy's speed. He took so many talents and killed every single person. He didn't copy them, he stole all their power. Once every drop was taken, they died. Then one day after a bad run in with a lion pride during his training, he was saved by two scientists who had a little green boy. He planned on taking his power but after his parents dieing in a boat accident, the child disappeared. Now after millennia of stealing and hoarding his abilities, he has finally taken over.

Present time

Beast Boy finished his story with a sigh. It had grown dark and Raven had to move them to a more secure location.

"How do you know all this?" she asked in astonishment.

"He and I once touched minds. I found out his entire history. Not very bright is it?" Beast boy asked gravelly. Raven didn't reply. Now her friends were dead and possibly the whole world. But what good is a world where there's no one to rule? No, he left people alive so they could forever worship him. She was sure of it. Maybe the others survived to. For days, she left at night to get herself and Beast Boy some food. Occasionally, Beast Boy had to eat meat since most of the vegetation of the whole city including in the stores was nothing but ash. During the daytime, Raven would shoot through the shadows, searching for survivors.

But she found not a single trace. The damage to Jump City was nearly unfathomable. Buildings gone or cut in half by the explosion, cars with their tires melted to the road, burnt skeletons in cars, melted glass on the roads and sidewalks. It was a horrible sight and it enraged Raven. If she ever caught J.C., she'd obliterate him. All it would take was a hit to the head hard enough to crack it open and dissolve the brain to mush. As she was flitting down the street through shadows she came upon a body. She stopped and appeared before it. She nudged it lightly and the girl sprang to her feet faster than Raven could fallow and had a dagger to her throat.