Here's the final chapter of this story. Yes, I know, you wish there were five thousand more chapters because it's so awesome, but I really need to update Jellicle Stories For Jellicle Cats too.
I'm sorry this chapter literally took five months to write (like, I upload this exactly five months after the last update), but first of all, it's really long, second of all, I had some trouble getting inspiration, and lastly, you can't say I haven't done any other writing in the meantime. I wrote a LOT. You probably thought I abandoned this story, so sorry for the wait.
This chapter is an alternate version of the Jellicle Ball we all know and love! (Except for those of you who don't know Cats (but then I don't know why you're reading this story (you probably love Teen Titans very much (like me (too many parenthesis (funny word, 'parenthesis' (okay, stop.).).).).).).) Sometimes, a cat is replaced by Beast Boy in the choreography.
Singing will be typed like this: "Have you been an alumnus of heaven and hell?"
oo0O0oo
"Okay, so… After the word 'dust', you flash the lights and you bang those metal pipes together, okay? Demeter will then probably scream my name, everyone will run away, and we'll see if we get a good opportunity to do 'it'."
The rats nodded. They may not be really clever, but that was exactly why Macavity used them to blindly follow his orders. If he told them to do something, they would do it. Or he would eat them.
The rats shuffled away to prepare their assault, when a black cat entered the Hidden Paw's lair. Cats were used for the more difficult tasks, like spying.
Macavity stopped reading his book 'How to be a criminal mastermind' (yes, he could read), and looked at his spy. "No bad news, I hope?"
"Strange activities in the city, sir. A masked boy, a half-man-half-robot, a semi-demon, an alien and a green guy were seen on some of your latest crime scenes."
Macavity closed his book and rose from his throne. "Who are they?"
"We did research, and some of miss Kyle's cats have identified them as the 'Teen Titans'. Their leader, the masked boy, known as Robin, once helped the police catch miss Kyle."
"Oh, poor Selina. Are they a threat?"
"It's hard to say. They might possess some superpowers, like lasers, shape-shifting and… 'azarath metrion zinthos'."
"Azar-…What?"
"Shall we deal with them?"
"No. They probably don't have a clue of who I am. Tomorrow, maybe, but tonight, I want everyone on the Junkyard. I have some family issues to take care of."
oo0O0oo
The music continued, and Beast Boy noticed even more glowing eyes. He started to get in some kind of trance, as the music started to repeat the same part, starting to get quicker, until the music reached a climax all of a sudden, and stopped at the same time the moon broke through the clouds and lighted the entire clearing. The shining eyes slowly faded away, and a golden queen Beast Boy remembered to have seen the last time he was there walked onto the 'stage'.
Suddenly, a car passed through a nearby street, and when it turned, its headlights shone directly onto the lonely cat. She hissed, and searched for cover in a concrete pipe.
"Who is that?" Beast Boy asked.
"Demeter," Tumblebrutus answered. "And look, there's her tomfriend."
While he said it, a silver tabby Beast Boy remembered as Munkustrap came out of the shadows and crawled onto the trunk of a car. He was quickly followed by an elegant brown queen, on the other side of the clearing. Cats appeared in all corners of the 'stage', and Beast Boy recognized Tumblebrutus' brother Pouncival on top of a rocking chair. There were also twins who moved creepily simultaneous, and at the end Demeter returned too. Munkustrap got off the car, and Beast Boy noticed music had started playing again.
Munkustrap rose to his hind paws and spread his arms. "Are you blind when you're born?" he said, and spread his eyes wide open.
"Can you see in the dark?" Demeter continued.
"Can you look at the king?" "Would you sit on his throne?" Those lines came from some older toms, an orange and a brown one.
"Can you say of your bite that it's worse then you bark?" an arrogant looking tom sang.
Dude, cats really like to ask questions, don't they? Beast Boy thought.
"Are you cock of the walk?" a black and white tom continued.
"When you're walking alone?"
Suddenly, Beast Boy felt the need to sing, and the words just rolled out of his mouth. "Because Jellicles are and Jellicles do," He realized he wasn't the only one singing that, but everyone was singing the exact same words. It freaked him out, but he couldn't stop: "Jellicles do and Jellicles would, Jellicles would and Jellicles can, Jellicles can and Jellicles do."
"Not bad for someone who has no idea what a Jellicle is," Tumblebrutus whispered next to Beast Boy.
An elder queen continued: "When you fall on your head, do you land on your feet?"
"Are you tense when you sense there's a storm in the air?" said the male part of the creepy twins.
"Can you find your way blind when you're lost in the street?" a cute, young queen sang.
"Do you know how to go to the Heaviside Lair?" a deep voice sounded.
Beast Boy felt the need to sing growing again, and: "Because Jellicles can and Jellicles do, Jellicles do and Jellicles can, Jellicles can and Jellicles do, Jellicles do and Jellicles can, Jellicles can and Jellicles do."
Now it was the female twin's turn: "Can you ride on a broomstick to places far distant?"
"Familiar with candle?"
"With book and with bell?"
"Were you Whittington's friend?" a red queen said.
"The Pied Piper's assistant?" a black and white tom Beast Boy also remembered to have seen the night before sang.
"Come on," Tumblebrutus whispered to Beast Boy as he got out of their hiding spot. Beast Boy quickly followed, and without even thinking about it, he did the same flips and rolls as Tumblebrutus, who said his line: "Have you been an alumnus of heaven and hell?"
Beast Boy was still wondering about how he managed to synchronize with cats he barely knew, while another twin continued: "Are you mean like a minx?" "Are you lean like a lynx?"
"Are you keen to be seen when you're smelling a rat?"
"Where you there when the pharaohs commissioned the sphynx?"
"If you were and you are, you're a Jellicle cat," everyone shouted. Beast Boy started to dance with everyone while chanting "Jellicle songs for Jellicle cat" for some reason. He somehow managed not to bump into anyone while everyone was walking around the clearing in a chaotic manner.
Suddenly there was someone swinging through the air, and before he knew what was happening, they all stood in a choir-like formation.
"Can you sing at the same time in more than one key," the queens sang, "duets by Rossini,"
"and waltzes by Strauss," the toms added. "And can you, as cats do, begin with a C" Beast Boy nearly got a heart attack when the queen next to him suddenly gave a big "AAAAAAAH!", but quickly picked up with the rest again: "That always triumphantly brings down the house; Jellicle cats are queens of the nights, singing at astronomical heights, handling pieces from the Messiah, Hallelujah, angelical chooooiiiir!"
That last note was rather out of tune, and they noticed that when someone just outside the Junkyard, who apparently heard them, threw an old shoe in their direction. It landed just in front of the 'angelical choir', and it became very quiet.
They then sang the same part again, only way louder and way more out of tune, like they wanted to irritate the person outside. "… ANGELICAL KWAAAAAAAAARRRR!"
The change to a quiet, church-like singing was completely unexpected, but Beast Boy could follow nonetheless, even though he had no idea what he was singing about. The Mystical Divinity? The Everlasting Cat? Others who do? That was why he couldn't help but whisper:"What?"
The choir exploded and the Jellicles spread over the entire clearing again, doing a complicated dance, with jumps and circles, before getting back together. They listed a whole bunch of different types of cats, with words the Titan in disguise didn't even know existed, like dyspeptical and delphicoracal, or something like that.
They finished by repeating the phrase 'Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats' a few more times, before suddenly stopping. It took a while for Beast Boy to realize he was standing in front of the entire tribe, who were giving him weird glances. The brown elder came forth. "There's a man over there with a look of surprise, as much as to say 'Well now, how about that?'."
Munkustrap came standing next to the brown cat. "Do I actually see with my own very eyes, a man who's not heard of a Jellicle Cat?"
Wait a minute, Beast Boy thought, I have heard that before.
"What's a Jellicle Cat?" the crowd repeated.
It was then he realized. Oh no.
"The naming of cats is a difficult matter, it isn't just one of your holiday games." Beast Boy tried to stop them. "Okay, look, I appreciate that you're trying to make me understand," "You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter," "but I already heard that one." "First of all there's the name," "So you can stop now." "Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill-Bailey," "Okay, that's enough." "There are fancier names, if you think they sound sweeter," "Yes, and then there's that third name." "But I tell you, a cat needs a name…" "Yes, particular, peculiar and more dignified. See? I already know!" "But above and beyond, there's still one name left over," "Yes, I see." "His mind is engaged in…" "DUDE, WILL YOU SHUT UP!" "name, name, name, name…"
Finally.
The Jellicles began to spread. Beast Boy wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, it was covered by Tumble's paw.
"Be quiet," he whispered, "It's Victoria's solo now. She's been practicing this for an entire year, so don't ruin it for her."
Beast Boy watched from the side of the clearing as a pure white queen danced a beautiful, but very painful looking ballet, in which she practically moved her legs 360 degrees.
She slowly laid down, and the black and white tom suddenly walked onto the stage and started singing. It sounded very much like an invitation to the ball. Munkustrap explained: it basically meant they would choose someone to go to that 'Heaviside Layer' he heard about before.
"So Jellicles ask because Jellicles dare: who will it be?" he concluded.
"Who will it be?" Beast Boy automatically repeated.
Everyone went their separate ways, and some cats greeted Munkustrap before he started singing once again.
"I have a Gumby Cat in mind…"
Beast Boy sat down next to Tumblebrutus, who leaned over to whisper into his ear: "This is my mom's song, so you better behave."
"What?"
"Well, she is a bit… peculiar, and she won't allow any mistakes in the dance."
"Dance? What dance?"
"Oh, the tap-dance we prepared."
"Wow, dude, wait a sec, I didn't prepare a tap-dance! I don't even know how to do that!"
"Relax, just follow your heart!"
"That's what makes a Gumby Cat!" Beast Boy focused on Munkustrap again, and noticed Mistoffelees had opened the rusty car's trunk. A very large, round queen stepped (or rolled) out, and three queens in the background started to sing.
"But… when the day's hustle and bustle is done, then the Gumby Cat's work is but hardly begun."
Apparently, the queen filled her days teaching mice all kinds of stuff. Beast Boy whispered: "You were right, she is kinda weird."
"Come on," Tumblebrutus said as he pulled Beast Boy with him, "Let's get prepared."
They walked away from the clearing to a place where a pile of costumes were lying on the floor. The orange tabby was standing next to it and was distributing them. When he noticed the two toms he waved his paw and motioned them to come closer. "Tumble, here you are. Here's your helmet… and here's you costume."
"Hey dad, are there any spare costumes Garfield here can use?" Tumblebrutus asked.
The orange tom, who apparently was Tumble's father, gave Beast Boy one flash from his glass green eyes, and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. We prepared two spare costumes, but we already had to use them when Mungo and Rumple broke theirs while fighting during the rehearsal."
"Well , that's too bad," Beast Boy said, secretly happy he didn't have to tap-dance. "Don't worry, I'll just watch from the sides."
"Okay then," Tumble said with a slightly disappointed look on his face.
"You can do it, son," his father said. "Oh, Pounce, over here! Where have you been? The dance starts in twenty seconds!" he said as Tumble's brother appeared, and the father checked his pocket watch. "Wait, you already have your costume? Don't tell me you already went up there and did something stupid!" Pouncival quickly shook his head, with an innocent smile.
"Good luck," Beast Boy said as all the costumed cats (who apparently represented cockroaches) walked onto the clearing. He silently watched as the cats performed. He was amazed by how well cats could dance. And sing.
When the dance was over, the 'Gumby Cat' went to greet some cats while the dancers left to take off their costumes. Beast Boy was about to go to Tumblebrutus, when he suddenly heard a loud guitar music. He looked around, and saw a poster being ripped off by the tom standing behind it.
"Meow," he said with an arrogant tone. He jumped down a few boxes and repeated: "Meow."
Beast Boy noticed Tumblebrutus next to him. "Who's that?" he asked.
"That's the Rum Tum Tugger," Tumblebrutus answered. "The biggest playtom in the entire tribe, and probably in the whole world."
Beast Boy watched as the cats sang. "The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat." The tom in question was very curious indeed. He kept flirting with all the queens. "He looks like a complete clorbag."
"A what?"
"Jerk."
"Oh. Well, he kinda is, but every tom admires him," Tumble said. "Some more than others," he added with a grin as they watched the black and white tuxedo sing: "The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore."
"What do you mean?" Beast Boy wondered.
"Oh, everyone knows Misto has a crush on Tugger even more than Etcetera, he just won't admit it."
Suddenly, Tugger came walking in their direction, as if he wanted to high-five them. "I'm always on the wrong side…" Beast Boy looked at Tumble, who nodded. They both walked towards Tugger and raised their paws, but instead of touching Tugger's paws, they touched nothing but air. "… of every door." Beast Boy lost his balance and could just stretch out his paws in front of him to prevent his face from hitting the Junkyard floor. He looked to his left, and saw Tumble had fallen over too. As the Titan tried to stand up, though, he suddenly felta heavy weight on his lower back. He looked over his shoulder to see Tugger sitting on top of him. "And as soon as I get home, then I like to get about." With a final pat on Beast Boy's butt, he stood up again. Beast Boy was relieved, thinking he could finally stand up again. However, he suddenly felt his paws being kicked from underneath his body, making him fall flat on the floor again. He just gritted his teeth and crawled away backwards with Tumblebrutus.
"I told you he was a clorbag," he said to his friend as soon as they were on their paws again. Tumblebrutus just nodded as he wiped the dust out of his fur.
For the rest of the song, the Rum Tum Tugger just kept being a clorbag, but every Jellicle still cheered and applauded while he showed off his dance moves. Suddenly, he stopped dancing and pointed at the other end of the clearing, with a not so pleased expression on his face. Beast Boy followed everyone's gaze, and noticed a black and silver, scruffy looking cat he hadn't seen before. She came limping onto the clearing, and the Jellicles automatically stepped back. She looked at them with a sad, painful look, but the Jellicles just continued evading her and refused to look her in the eye. He saw several elder cats grabbing ahold of their kittens.
"Now who is that?" Beast Boy asked. He was starting to fear he would ask that question at the start of every song.
"Grizabella, the glamour cat," Tumble answered. "Wanna see a prank?"
"Dude, yeah, I love pranks!"
"Watch," Tumble said as he pointed at Pouncival, who approached Grizabella. He reached out with his paw, and she hesitantly came closer. She started to reach out too. Then, his paw suddenly darted forwards and scratched her paw. Tumblebrutus and some other toms giggled and Pouncival quickly ran away from Grizabella. Beast Boy didn't really know what to say. Normally, he would've found that hilarious, but there was something about that cat that made him feel bad for her.
"Remark the cat who hesitates towards you," she sang as she looked around the tribe, searching for someone who was pleased to see her. "In the light of the door which opens on her like grin." Two small queens wanted to go to her, but they were stopped by an elder queen, who protectively pulled them back. "You see the border of her coat is torn, and stained with sand," Grizabella almost yelled at the elder queen. She then looked around to see a brown queen, who tried to sneak away without her noticing. "And you see the corner of her eye twist like a crooked pin." The Jellicles just continued to look at her in disgust, not saying anything. She slowly started to walk away.
"Why is everyone treating her like that?" Beast Boy whispered.
Tumblebrutus didn't say anything for a while. "I… I don't really know, but the adults always tell us to stay away from her."
"She haunted many a low resort," the golden queen Beast Boy remembered to be Demeter began to sing, "near the grimy road of Tottenham court." She continued to list different places that sounded like night clubs, where Grizabella apparently had been a lot. However, the queen in question just continued to walk away. "And who would ever suppose that thát," When she sang 'that', the Glamour Cat suddenly stopped, as if it hurt her to be referred to as a thing. "was Grizabella, the Glamour Cat."
"Grizabella, the Glamour Cat," a red queen repeated. "Grizabella the Glamour Cat," they both sang.
"Who would ever suppose that that…" Beast Boy repeated with the rest, even though he didn't know what she had done wrong, "was Grizabella, the Glamour Cat." The queen disappeared between the junk, and the tribe seemed to relax.
Beast Boy just wanted to say something, when music suddenly started playing, and a particularly large cat appeared. Beast Boy was about to ask the traditional question, but was interrupted when Tumble's mother began singing: "Bustopher Jones is not skin and bones." Never mind, he thought.
"In fact, he's remarkably… fat," the red queen continued.
"He doesn't haunt pubs," "he had eight or nine clubs," "for he's the St. James Street cat." Beast Boy watched as the round cat walked around with small steps. He was wearing a fancy coat and held a silver spoon in his paw.
"In the whole of St. James's the smartest of names is the name of Brummell of cats," the whole tribe sang. "And we're all of us proud to be nodded or bowed to by Bustopher Jones in white spats." Bustopher Jones sat down on a top hat, but not before making sure it was completely clean. He proceeded to list his favorite restaurants and foods, and it became clear to Beast Boy how he had gotten that large.
"It must and it shall be spring in Pall Mall," they sang when the end of the song approached, "while Bustopher Jones wears white, Bustopher Jones wears white, Bustopher Jones wears white spats."
"Toodlepip!" Bustopher said as he greeted all of them.
A loud thunderbolt made everyone jump in fear, and Beast Boy looked around, frightened. The sound of a police car approached, and Bustopher Jones quickly ran away. The police car passed the Junkyard, and the sound faded away.
"Macavity," Demeter said. Macavity?, Beast Boy thought. The cats started to leave the clearing and hide, but Beast Boy looked around, looking for a flash of ginger fur. Suddenly, he saw a figure sneaking away in the shadows. He leapt towards it and looked around: it was gone.
Beast Boy inspected the ground and saw prints leading in the direction of an old train container. He crouched down and slowly approached it. He peeked his head around the half-open door, but it was too dark to see. He retrieved his head and transformed into a bat, and flew into the dark hole. He used his echolocation to echolocate the cat, and swiftly plummeted towards its head. He grabbed ahold of what felt like its ear, and flew up again, roughly pulling it. The cat screamed and pulled itself out of Beast Boy's grip, quickly running out of the metal box. Beast Boy changed back into a cat and followed the cat. He walked around a pile of bricks and found the cat he had been chasing.
"Oh, what's up, Pounce."
"I don't know, something just attacked me! I think it was a bat," Pouncival said as he rubbed his ear. "Is my ear bleeding?"
"No, it's okay," Beast Boy said, glad he didn't wound him. "What are you doing around here?"
"I was hiding, in case Macavity was here."
But Macavity wasn't there, Beast Boy thought. He mentally slapped his forehead and turned around to walk away.
"Wait!" Pouncival exclaimed. Beast Boy turned back around to look at the young tom questioningly. "Don't leave me alone," he said with a small voice.
"Calm down, dude," Beast Boy said. "That bat's not going to return. You know what, just come with me."
The two cats walked around through the garbage for a while. "Where are we going?" Pouncival asked.
"Uh…" Beast Boy had no idea where they currently were or where he planned to go. All these piles of junk looked exactly the same. "Where does it like we're going?"
Pouncival opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again after hearing the sound of a metal pipe falling to the ground just around the corner. Beast Boy stopped and Pouncival softly bumped into him. Beast Boy made clear they had to be silent, and Pounce nodded to make clear he understood. Beast Boy jumped around the corner and Tumblebrutus bumped into him.
"Ouch! Oh, Garfield, is Pounce with you?" he asked.
"Yes," Beast Boy answered with a groan as he rubbed his nose.
"Thank the Everlasting," Tumble said with a sigh of relief.
"What's going on?" Pounce asked as he came around the corner too.
"It turns out the entire Macavity-alarm was just Mungo and Rumple," Tumble told them. "And Old Deuteronomy will arrive any moment now. Come back to the clearing."
When they got back to the rest of the tribe, Munkustrap and the Rum Tum Tugger were singing. "… Well, of all things, can it be really? Yes, no, oh hi oh, my eye! My mind may be wandering, but I confess: I believe it is Old Deuteronomy." With that, Tugger pointed in the direction of a large shadow slowly approaching the clearing. As the tribe repeated the line, a large brown cat stepped onto the clearing. "My mind may be wandering, but I confess: I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!" Old Deuteronomy greeted several cats, and some kittens hugged him. He looked at Tugger (who was too lazy to leave his spot on the other side of the clearing), who made a theatrical bow. "Well of all things, can it be really? Yes, no, oh hi oh, my eye!"
"My legs may be tottery, I must go slow," Old Deuteronomy continued, "and be careful of Old Deuteronomy."
"Jellicle Cats meet once a year on the night we make the Jellicle Choice," Munkustrap said with a happy smile, "And now that the Jellicle Leader is here, Jellicle Cats can all… rejoice!" The Jellicles cheered in enthusiasm. Munkustrap gave some sort of signal, and the cats scattered. Beast Boy just stood there, not sure what to do, when he was pulled aside by Tumblebrutus.
"Come with me, we have a problem."
Beast Boy followed Tumble, just as Munkustrap began to speak: "Of the awful battle…" He didn't hear the rest, because they arrived on the same spot as where Tumble's father had been distributing the cockroach-costumes. Now, some brown elder tom was standing there with other costumes.
"So basically, Mungojerrie tried to escape the lecture about how it isn't very nice to steal or break things, and now we can't find him anymore. Problem is, we need him to play 'the Pollicle'," Tumble explained. Beast Boy had a bad feeling about where this was going. "So, you are about the only tom who's free."
"And you want me to play that thing?"
"Yes, but it's not so hard! You just have to say 'bark' a few times. And the 'thing' is called a Pollicle."
Beast Boy sighed. "Sure, whatever."
"So you'll do it?"
"Yup."
"Then hurry, you almost have to go up!" Tumble took an old shoe, and placed it on Beast Boy's head.
The brown elder was arguing with an orange and white queen. "No way! I awnly wanna do it with Jerrie!"
"Look, Rumple, we can't find Jerrie, so you'll have to do it without him," the brown tom tried to reason with her.
"Then I'll run away too!"
"You will stay right here. We need you to play 'the Peke'."
"Bu' I don' wanna do it with that green weirdo!"
"Well, then see it as your punishment for what you did earlier this evening! You, and you," he said as he pointed at Rumple and Beast Boy, "go to the clearing right now."
Beast Boy did as he was told, followed by 'the Peke', who was still muttering complaints. "And no one at all was about on the street," Munkustrap narrated, "when a Peke," Rumple jumped onto the clearing, "and a Pollicle," Beast Boy realized that was his que, so he jumped onto the clearing as well, "happened to meet." The Peke made a small turn on one paw, and the Pollicle followed her example. After that, he shuffled forwards a bit, because he thought there was too much distance between them. "They did not advance," Munkustrap said as he looked at the Pollicle as if he was saying 'yes, I'm looking at you!', so said Pollicle shuffled backwards. "… or exactly retreat," the narrator continued as he moved his paws in a 'get back here' manner. "… but they glared at each other," he then said, emphasizing the 'glared'. The two dogs (at least, that's what Beast Boy assumed they were) followed his orders and showed their fangs. "… and scraped their hind feet." Again, they obeyed. "And started to…"
"Bark!" the Peke barked.
Beast Boy realized this was where he had bark too. "Bark!"
"Bark!"
"Bark! Bark!" Beast Boy had no idea why he barked two times, but Tumble always said 'trust your feelings and you'll know what to sing', so yeah.
"Bark?" the Peke answered, clearly confused.
"Bark…" the Pollicle added, hesitantly.
"Bark?"
"Until you could hear them all over the park," Munkustrap continued. Apparently, he wasn't pleased and wanted to it again: "And they…" He now stood next to the Pollicles, holding his shoulder, and pointed at the Peke, who 'Bark!'ed, and then pointed at the Pollicle, who nodded in understanding.
"Bark!"
He pointed back at the Peke: "Bark!"
At the Pollicle: "Bark!"
The Peke: "B…"
"Bark!" the Pollicle barked, again, before the Peke could. Munkustrap looked at him questioningly.
"Bark!" the Peke said, clearly angry her lines had been stolen.
"Bark!"
"Bark!"
"Until you could hear them all over the park," Munkustrap said with an 'I give up'-sigh, as he tapped against the side of the Pollicle-head. "Now the Peke, although people may say what they please…"
Beast Boy left the clearing, and met Tumble and Pounce at the side. "Hey! You did… great!" Tumble said, not sounding very convincing.
"I blew it," Beast Boy sighed. He sat down on a metal barrel.
"Don't say that, you just… improvised."
"Hey, Tumble," Pouncival's voice sounded, "We have to go up."
"Are you coming with us?" Tumble asked.
"No, I'll stay here," Beast Boy muttered.
As the other Pollicles left, Beast Boy thought about everything that had happened so far. The answer was: almost nothing. One Macavity-alert, which turned out to be false. He hoped the other Titans weren't looking for him.
He noticed the singing on the clearing had turned into all the 'dogs' barking and screaming together, when suddenly Munkustrap shouted "NO!" They all turned silent, and he continued: "When these bold heroes together assembled, the traffic all stopped, the underground trembled."
Beast Boy noticed Tumble crawling in his direction. "If it helps," he whispered, "Pounce messed up too. He managed to fall over for the tenth time."
"THE GREAT RUMPUS CAT!" everyone suddenly sang. Beast Boy realized he perhaps should've paid more attention to the story, because when a cat who looked like a parody of Superman suddenly flew through the air, he had no idea what was going on. He tried to listen to the story, but was distracted by a strange smell. A sharp, burnt smell. He turned his head to look for the source of the smell, and saw something moving in the shadowy background. He wanted to ask Tumblebrutus if he smelled it too, but the tom already went back to the center of the clearing with the other cats. "All hail and all bow to the Great Rumpus Cat!" The cats bowed, and then crawled closer to their leader to hear what he thought about their little play.
"Jellicle Cats, and dogs, all must…" Beast Boy crawled to Old Deuteronomy too. The scent was way less strong here. "Pollicle Dogs, and cats, all must…" He noticed the Great Rumpus Cat was sneaking away. He looked around, and saw Demeter sniffing the air. He noticed the scent had gotten stronger again. "Like undertakers…" Beast Boy saw Demeter stir and her eyes widened. "… come to dust!" Beast Boy stood up to warn the tribe, but then the sky exploded. Thunder and lightning, mixed with the sound of large crashes filled the air. The Jellicles jumped in fear and Munkustrap spread his paws to protect his leader. Then, Demeter confirmed Beast Boy's suspicions.
"MACAVITY!" she screamed.
The cats scattered, fleeing from the feared Hidden Paw. Beast Boy saw a flash of red fur, and when he turned his head to see it better, he looked right into the green eyes of the Napoleon of Crime. Beast Boy became paralyzed with fear at sight of the scarred face with red, black and white striped, and the large fangs that decorated his evil grin. Of course, he had seen scarier things (angry Raven, for example), but something about those eyes was just so scary he couldn't move a muscle.
Suddenly, the Hidden Paw turned away and left. Beast Boy stood there, dumbfounded, for a while, and then shook his head. "Oh no, you finally showed up, you're not just running away now!" With that, he jumped up to the spot where Macavity had been, and followed his scent. He chased the smell for a while, until it started to get stronger. He ran faster, he was getting closer, he turned around a corner…
He was in a dead end between a toppled car and a cracked piece of concrete. The scent was very strong, but Macavity wasn't there. There were pawprints, but they suddenly ended.
"Boo."
Beast Boy yelped at the voice that came from behind him. He turned around and saw none other than Macavity trapping him in the dead end.
"Well, well, I don't know you. You must be new to the tribe, I didn't know there were green Jellicles." He approached, and Beast Boy stepped back unwillingly. He chuckled. "Following me was unwise, kitten. You will now face the wrath of the Hidden Paw."
Beast Boy had been in the superhero-business for long enough that that kind of talk came straight out of the book 'How to be a criminal mastermind', but he still didn't really like the sound of his wrath. Or just the word 'wrath'. 'Wrath'. Ugh. Dreadful word.
"Yeah, I'd love to stay, but I have to get back to the party."
"Sure, whenever you want," Macavity said, much to Beast Boy's surprise. However, he still stayed right where he was, blocking the Titan's path.
There was an awkward silence. Beast Boy searched escape routes, but the surrounding walls of steel and concrete were too high and steep to get over before Macavity could get to him.
"Well, aren't you going back to the Ball?" the criminal asked. Beast Boy took a step to the side to walk around him, but the Mystery Cat simply copied his movements. Beast Boy tried the other side, but again, Macavity stayed in his way.
"Could you… step aside… for a while…" the green cat silently muttered.
"What did you say?"
"If you could step aside," he repeated, louder.
"Give me one good reason," Macavity said with a sadistic smirk on his face.
Beast Boy grinned. "Oh, I get it now," he said, after which Macavity looked at him questioningly. "So you're not a criminal mastermind, you're just a bully with megalomania." Beast Boy didn't even know he knew that word.
Macavity glared at him angrily and pointed a sharp claw at the smaller tom's face. "How dare you! Do you not know who you're speaking to?" Again, straight from 'How to be a criminal mastermind'.
"I certainly do," he answered, "but apparently you don't."
"Indeed, I don't, because I've never seen you and I find that very suspicious!"
"I am the one," Beast Boy dramatically spoke. "I was sent by the Everlasting Cat to end your reign of terror! Be gone!" Macavity stared at him, one eyebrow lifted and his mouth hanging open. "Magic!" Beast Boy concluded, throwing his paws up in the air.
In the far distance, the sounds of the Ball sounded, as Macavity didn't speak, but just stared at the green tom, who still had his paws in the air. Then, finally, he threw his head back and laughed. It wasn't even the maniacal-bad-guy-laugh from 'How to be a criminal mastermind', he seemed genuinely amused. When he was done laughing, he looked back at… nothing. In the place the strange cat had been standing, there was only air and junkyard.
"How nice," Macavity said, trying to sound cool, but failing to hide the slight wave of fear that overcame him. "So, what is it? Invisibility or teleportation?" he asked, poking his claw into the empty space, not noticing a green ant walking away between his paws. "If it is invisibility," he said, a thoughtful look on his face, "you probably would've attacked me by now, since you were sent to 'end my reign of terror'. So if it is teleportation, that means I'm talking to nobody and I probably look ridiculous!" He angrily kicked against an empty can, clearly irritated. "Oh, but I will get you!" he screamed at the sky. "I will be back, and I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you!"
That wasn't from 'How to be a criminal mastermind'.
That was from 'Taken'.
oo0O0oo
Beast Boy stayed in his ant-form for almost the entire trip back to the clearing, in case Macavity saw him. Because of that, he travelled for quite a long time. It was only when he could hear the singing of the Ball perfectly, that he changed back to his cat-form.
Wow. He had missed a lot. Who was that old cat sitting there? Why did everyone look like they had been dancing for half an hour?
"… But if someone will give him a toothful of gin, he will tell how he once played a part in East Lyn."
Tumblebrutus saw Beast Boy and rushed towards him. "Where have you been? I was starting to worry about you!"
"No need to worry, I just had a chat with our friend Macavity."
"You did what?"
"I followed him, and I was like: 'Dude, stop being evil!' and he was like 'Never!' so we had this epic battle, and I had him pinned to the ground, but I was merciful and when I had my back turned, he ran away."
"Of course he did. Such a shame I wasn't there to see your epic battle. Another thing that is a shame is that you missed the midnight dance."
"Wait, it's already past midnight?"
"Of course! It must be about 2 A.M. or something."
Wow. The other Titans were going to be mad at him when he got back. Actually, how was he going to explain this?
"Hey, Tumblebrutus?"
"Huh?"
"Do humans know about the Jellicles?"
"No."
"And would it be bad if they did?"
"Yes. I mean, just the fact that cats can talk would freak them out so much we would never get any rest again."
Hm. How was he going to explain an entire night of absence? And if he managed to catch Macavity, how would they know they could stop looking for the 'Hidden Paw'?
"These modern productions are all very well, but there's nothing to equal from what I here tell. That moment of mystery, when I made history, as Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell." Beast Boy watched as the old tom reached out for something invisible. His bottom lip trembled, he appeared to be on the verge of crying. "These modern… productions… are all… very well," he said with a shaky voice, "but there's nothing to equal… from what I here tell… That moment of mystery…. W-… when I… ma-…" As his voice fell away, the elder queen placed her paw around his shoulder and guided him away. Beast Boy didn't know exactly why he was sad, or who he was, but he felt bad for him anyway.
"Skimbleshanks," "The railway cat," "The cat of the railway train!" it sounded. Beast Boy was glad it was cheerful song again. "There's a whisper down the line at 11.39, when the Night Mail's ready to depart, saying 'Skimble, where is Skimble?'" With that, an orange tabby who Beast Boy recognized as Tumblebrutus' father woke up from his nap and hurried his way down the garbage pile he had been sleeping on. " 'Has he gone to hunt the thimble? We must find him or the train can't start!'"
Skimbleshanks sang about how important he was for the train, and Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at the sight of all the happy Jellicles. He took a deep breath a sniffed the air. It actually smelled pretty good here, considering it was a junkyard full of cats. There just was a slightly burnt smell.
Wait.
Beast Boy sniffed again, but the smell was gone. He looked around to see if anyone noticed anything, but they just went on with the song. He cautiously checked the junk surrounding the clearing for suspicious activities, but saw nothing. Perhaps he was just imagining things.
But while the Jellicles were happily singing in a train-formation, Beast Boy smelled it again. When he once more didn't see anything, he presumed it was the smoke coming from the train's chimney.
The third time, however, the scent was stronger and lasted longer. "In the watches of the night, I was always fresh and bright, every now and then I'd have a cup of tea," Beast Boy looked around again. The smell got less strong, but it was still there. "with perhaps a drop of Scotch when I was keeping on the watch, only stopping here and there to catch a flea." He looked at Tumblebrutus, who was controlling the train's light. A brown queen just picked a flea out of his fur. Munkustrap was handling one of the large wheels. There was no one he could talk to without causing panic. "When they got to Gallowgate, there they did have to wait, for Skimbleshanks would help them to get out!" The train fell apart, and Beast Boy rushed towards Tumblebrutus who was lying on the floor.
"Tumble, I think…"
"Shush. Whatever you think, it can wait until my father's song is finished," he responded as he crawled back up.
"No, it can't!" Beast Boy cried out, but Tumblebrutus was already gone.
"And he gives you wave of his long, brown tail which says: 'I'll see you again!' You will meet without fail, on the Midnight Mail, the cat of the railway train!"
Deuteronomy came onto the clearing again and danced with the rest, as far as that went with his tottery legs. This was not good. Their leader was out in the open, vulnerable. Beast Boy inhaled the scent one more time.
He was near.
"The cat…"
He spotted Demeter, her eyes wide as she probably smelled it too.
"of the Railway…"
Beast Boy wanted to yell and warn the tribe, but his voice got lost in the choir's "Traaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiin!"
BANG!
A similar storm of lightning bolts and crashes erupted just as the choir finished. Then there was panic. Some cats fled, some grouped together. Skimbleshanks took two younger queens into his protection. Then, they heard chapter four of 'How to be a criminal mastermind'.
"Mwahahahaha!"
Beast Boy glared at the source of the laugh, grinning at them from high on a junk pile. Another crash sounded, and he was gone.
"Macavity!" Demeter hissed.
"Mwahahahaha!" they heard again, but now from behind them. His white teeth now shone on the other side of the clearing.
Another crash, followed by another laugh, from another different place. It then stayed silent for a while, but the suspense was still reaching a peak. Then, suddenly…
"MWAHAHAHAHA!" Macavity jumped out from behind the car. The Jellicles immediately backed away, and Munkustrap rushed to his leader. Before he could reach him, however, Macavity stretched out a paw, and Munkustrap instantly froze. The Hidden Paw moved his paw and pointed his palm at the tribe. Everyone stirred. Beast Boy could just see four dark figures appearing, holding what looked like a net, before everything turned black.
oo0O0oo
"Do you think he can hear us?"
"Then why doesn't he answer?"
"I don't know, maybe he's paralyzed."
"Then try to wake him!"
"You can't wake someone from being paralyzed."
"How do you de-paralyze someone, then?"
"I… I don't know. Should I ask Misto?"
"Nah. He's probably planning to stop Macavity by trapping him in a cloud of pink sparkles."
"Hahahaha! Dude, that would be hilarious! Can you imagine his face?"
Pouncival and Tumblebrutus looked at Beast Boy, just as wide-eyed as he had been for the last couple of minutes. As Beast Boy calmed down from his laughter, he noticed the two toms staring at him and the drool hanging on his chin. "Oh man! Why did he have to hypnotize me!" He looked around to see where he was, and heard queens singing in the background.
"Why are you suddenly de-paralyzed?" Pouncival asked.
"Where is Macavity?" Beast Boy asked, ignoring Pounce's question.
"Not there," Tumblebrutus answered. "He abducted Old Deuteronomy, and now Munkustrap, Alonzo and most of the other toms went after him. I don't think they'll be able to find him, though, and I don't want to think about what could happen if they do…" Tumble's face darkened. He then smiled again. "Anyway, they left us here to look after you, because we're 'too young to fight a dangerous cat like Macavity'."
"I have to find him," Beast Boy said as he climbed onto his paws.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Wherever Macavity is!" Beast Boy yelled over his shoulder. "Oh, and if you find me hypnotized ever again, just make me laugh! 'Boogers' should do the trick!"
oo0O0oo
Beast Boy followed Macavity's trail. The scent was mixed with Old Deuteronomy's, and from time to time Munkustrap's. He ran faster. He went left. Left again. Right. Left. Left again. He jumped between the spokes of an old bicycle, and… ended up on the clearing again.
He looked around in confusion, and saw Munkustrap was here too. He probably followed the trail back to this place as well. Then, the feared laughter was heard again. The Hidden Paw stared at them from the side of the clearing, his head tilted slightly.
"Macavity," Munkustrap spoke, "Let our leader go, or I swear to the Everlasting Cat I will make you pay!"
Macavity was clearly surprised by the fact that someone actually had the courage to talk to him. His gaze fell upon Beast Boy, and his eyes shot wide open. Could it be? Was that fear on the Napoleon of Crime's face?
"Very well," he said, as he turned around and disappeared in the shadows. Immediately after that, four rats crawled onto the clearing, holding familiar grey and brown cat. They gave him a soft push and quickly scurried away. Multiple Jellicles instantly ran to their leader. They hugged and supported him.
Beast Boy was on his way, when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. Demeter was shaking. Her eyes were spitting fire and her teeth shone as she pulled her lips and hissed. In the far distance, thunder rolled over the rooftops. She jumped towards the kittens that were crawling behind him and pushed them away. Deuteronomy looked confused as she pushed away all the cats around him. Beast Boy was wondering what got into her, when he suddenly smelled it.
No!
She leaped onto 'Old Deuteronomy's back and clawed at his face. He grabbed her with paws far stronger than they looked, and started to spin around. Demeter was thrown of his back and landed on the Junkyard floor. After one final spin, the brown figure suddenly changed into a red one, and Macavity threw his paws in the air.
"Boo."
Several cats ran away in fear. Macavity enjoyed himself for a while, scaring some cats here and there. Beast Boy bolted out of the shadows, ready to attack the criminal, but was stopped when Macavity suddenly turned around and held out his paw. Beast Boy froze, and Macavity slowly swayed his paw from side to side. Beast Boy tried to look away, but he just couldn't. Everything started to fade…
Macavity grinned as the green cat fell over with emotionless eyes. He turned around to face the golden queen who was still lying on the floor. "You missed me, didn't you?" he asked as he came closer. She stared at him in terror as she crawled back until her back hit a dishwasher. "As soon as I got here, you wanted to hug me!" he said, and took her head between his paws. "You know what, why don't you just come with me?" With that, he grabbed two of her paws and started to drag her away. She yelled.
"No!" Munkustrap screamed and grabbed Demeter's other two paws. "You won't be taking her with you again!"
"Well, little brother," Macavity grinned, "Have you grown attached to this fair queen?"
"I won't let you hurt her again!"
"So you're saying I'll have to get past you first?"
"Exactly."
"I was hoping you would say that," Macavity laughed, and attacked.
oo0O0oo
Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing…
"Say it!"
"What?"
"The thing!"
"Oh yeah! Wait, what was it again… boogers?"
"Hahaha! 'Boogers'! Hahaha!" Beast Boy looked around. "Oh no, not again!"
"Quick," Tumblebrutus said as he helped the Titan stand up. "Munkustrap is fighting Macavity, but I'm not sure how it will turn out! This is your chance!"
Beast Boy saw the silver tabby, who was rather busy getting thrown around. Suddenly, he received a hard blow to his head by his opponent, and was cast aside. Several cats gasped and crawled forward to see if their Protector was alright. Beast Boy took a deep breath. Here… we… g-
"Yaah!"
"Huh?" Beast Boy was confused when a white and black tom suddenly jumped on top of Macavity. "Dude! I was just about to attack him!"
Macavity looked up from his fighting, holding the other tom trapped between his paws. Beast Boy gulped. Maybe he should have been a bit more quiet. "Very well, kitten." With that, he threw the poor white and black tom away, and quickly hypnotized him. "Show me what you've got."
He spread out his paws, inviting the smaller tom to attack him. He waited for a green cat running towards him, but spread his eyes wide open when there suddenly was a giant green bull coming his way. "What in the name of the Everl…" He jumped aside just in time to avoid being obliterated into tiny pieces by the bull's powerful horns. When he looked around, he saw his confusion and fear was being reflected on the faces of the Jellicles. He turned around, but instead of a bull, there now was a large green tiger, getting ready to jump. Macavity tried to hold in a scream (he didn't want to make a fool out of himself), and when the tiger jumped, he slid across the floor so that the tiger passed over his head and landed on the empty ground. Macavity got back up and gave a hard whistle.
As the tiger turned back around for another attack, a dozen of rats suddenly appeared from the side of the clearing. He changed into a gorilla and tried to keep them off his body, but there were too many of them. About five rats were now crawling across his back and biting in his shoulders. He screamed in pain, and transformed into an octopus. The slippery skin made the rats fall off, and the eight tentacles took out the rats one by one, throwing them around like Starfire would cast around laser beams.
Macavity stood dumbfounded. He got himself back together and spoke. "So, you possess the power of transformation. Come, and fight honorably!"
The octopus pulled up one eyebrow (oh wait, do octopuses have eyebrows?), and made his way towards the ginger cat. He stopped a few feet away from him, after which he changed into a T-rex. "ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!"
Macavity wondered if he should sit still (their vision is based on movement, isn't it?), but decided to throw away all cautiousness and ran away. He climbed onto the car, and grabbed two ends of an electric wire. He held them up in the air, ready to slam them together. "You haven't seen the last of m-"
He was cut off by a large green tail that smacked against his face, making him fly through the air into a pile of garbage. Beast Boy watched as Macavity tried to climb out for a few seconds, before falling unconscious. The T-rex smiled ( for as far as that is possible) and gave one final roar. The only thing that could make this more epic is a 'When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth'-banner, Beast Boy thought.
He then realized all the Jellicles were staring at him in terror from the sides of the clearing. He quickly changed back to his cat-form. Tumblebrutus was the first to step forward.
"What are you?" he asked.
Beast Boy sighed and changed to his normal, human form. "I'm a human," he said. A few Jellicles gasped. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but I had to if I wanted to catch Macavity."
"But, wait…" Tumblebrutus said with a confused look, "You're green and you have pointy ears…"
"Well, yeah, origin stories and stuff…"
"A bucket of paint, huh?" Tumblebrutus teasingly asked with a smile.
Skimbleshanks stepped forward and grabbed his son. "Tumble, you brought a human to our home! Imagine what could have happened!"
"Please, sir," Beast Boy said, "don't blame him. And I promise I won't tell anyone about anything I saw here."
"So…" Tumble said, "Can you give me a clear answer now, if I ask you what your name is?"
"Beast Boy."
Munkustrap joined the forward-steppers. "Beast Boy, we are grateful of what you have done for us."
"Now get back to your cat-form," Tumble said with a grin. "It looks way better and my neck is starting to hurt."
oo0O0oo
After Macavity had been imprisoned in an old oven, Mr. Mistoffelees magically sealed it to make sure he couldn't escape. He also casually brought Old Deuteronomy back as if it was no big deal.
Old Deuteronomy invited him to stay for the rest of the Ball, but Beast Boy declined the offer, explaining he had to go back to his companions. Deuteronomy nodded in understanding. "If there is anything we could do for you, just ask."
Beast Boy thought for a while. "Actually, I can only think of one thing…"
oo0O0oo
Tumblebrutus watched as Beast Boy walked away. The Titan had said goodbye, promising he would come back one day. Tumble smiled. Human or not, he had grown to like that green cat.
"Hey Tumble."
"Woah! Dude! Don't sneak up on me like that, Pounce!"
"Wait, what was that?"
"What?"
"Did you just say 'dude'?"
"… Yeah, so what?"
oo0O0oo
"It's almost dawn, and there's still no sign of Beast Boy." Robin walked around in circles nervously.
"If we're lucky, the Hidden Paw got him," Raven said.
"I still don't understand why he just sneaked away like that," Cyborg said. "I mean, we were just…"
"Friends, look!" Starfire interrupted him.
Beast Boy came walking out of a small alley, followed by a pale, raven-haired man in a black tuxedo, with a white shirt and a black bow tie.
"Beast Boy, do you have an explanation?" Robin asked, crossing his arms.
"Excuse me," the man said, "I am inspector Christof Felice of the London Police Department. Your companion Beast Boy had picked up the trail of your target, The Hidden Paw, and followed it. That explains his disappearance. Now, he was a bit reckless to go out all by himself, but he claims that is because the four of you never believe him when he says he is capable of catching criminals by himself." The other Titans didn't know what to say. Beast Boy was grinning all the while. "I would suggest you take that back, because thanks to him, we were able to locate the Hidden Paw at a jewelry store and catch him red-handed. I am thrilled to say that the Hidden Paw has successfully been apprehended, and I have my best men on it to make him pay for his crimes. On behalf of all of London, I would like to thank you for your efforts and wish you a safe trip back home. Goodbye." With that, he turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Cyborg said. The man stopped and turned to face him. "That's it? We go home now? We don't even get to see the criminal we've been seeking for the last couple of days?"
"I'm afraid not. His identity is to remain secret for several reasons. I can't give you any classified information. As for your friend, it is of no use to try and make him talk about it, for he has never seen the Hidden Paw's face. The Hidden Paw used the mask of a cat as a disguise, and that is all the information I will be giving you. Thank you." He looked at Beast Boy one more time. "Thank you," he repeated, but this time, it sounded like it actually came straight from the heart.
Beast Boy nodded. "See ya."
The man walked away, leaving one satisfied and four confused Teen Titans behind.
"So, what a crazy adventure, huh?" Beast Boy asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, we get it, you're the hero," Cyborg said with an annoyed look.
Robin sighed. "Well, I guess that's it. Let's get back home then."
As they climbed back into the T-sub, Beast Boy said: "You know, I actually quite like London."
A beeping sound came from the cockpit screen. As Robin answered the video call, they saw a familiar red-haired man with sunglasses, a cane and a very, very ugly suit.
"'Ello my duckies," he said, "Where 'ave you been? I 'ope you don' mind that I felt so free to take care of your city while you were gone, eh?"
Great. As if one ginger, British, hypnotizing supervillain wasn't enough, Beast Boy thought. "I take back what I said."
oo0O0oo
A/N: And there we go. Wow. First of all, this is the longest chapter of Fanfiction I have ever written (it is longer than all the previous chapters of this story combined), but this also is the first multi-chapter story I ever finished!
If you liked this story, feel free to let me know!