Disclaimer: Teen Titans is owned by DC Comics
Chapter Four
Craig woke up hungry, tired, and alone. Slowly he began searching for a way out of the sewers for food. His stomach grumbled deeply and he whimpered to himself as he crawled for the stench pit and into the dark city.
Soon into his search he smelt meat. Cold and raw, but it was food nonetheless. Quickly he crashed through the window and into the butcher shop. Craig started grabbing hunks of beef, pork, and venison into his arms, trying to get enough for a while. He heard a noise above him and footsteps. He dove out of the broken window and into the night.
The shop owner rushed down with a meat cleaver, looking around. "Dammit. Rob was right, this part of town ain't safe."
Slade had some of his weaker machines sweep through the city for any and all traces of the local pack. He had no desire to see them run through Jump like it was theirs. They were beasts to him. Worthy of nothing more than extermination.
"Find them, track them." He ordered his robotic minions. "Find their den if you can." He glared at the sole wolf on the monitor. "One of them is running around. Kill him."
The Titans were patrolling the city when Beast Boy called the others.
"Slade's bots are running around here!" He whispered to them frantically. "A lot of 'em too!"
"Just hang tight Beast Boy and stay hidden. We'll be there soon." Robin replied. "Titans, go!"
Craig was cornered. He turned around and looked at the robots moving in closer. He whimpered, dropping the meats. "Please don't hurt me." He whimpered, his ears folding against his head and his tail moving between his legs.
Slade's robots raised their weapons and powered them up, aiming right at Craig.
"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, tossing a couple bird-a-rangs at the bots.
Though under attack by the Titans, the robots had their orders and were now firing at Craig. A few blasts got the werewolf in the left knee. Craig yelped and started climbing up the wall behind him quickly. Slade's robots kept firing, but were soon destroyed by the Titans.
"After him!" Robin shouted as Craig escaped.
The werewolf was limping and blood dribbled out of his injury. Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy went after him via flight while Robin and Cyborg went back to their vehicles.
Despite his wound, Craig was still giving the Titans a good chase. He didn't recognize his surroundings, but he knew that running was his only choice.
"Please stop!" Starfire said to him. "We will not hurt you!"
"His wounded Star, I don't think he's going to stop for us to help him." Raven replied.
"But why?" The Tamaranian asked.
"He's more animal than human. His instincts tell him to find a safe place to hide. But if we let him go, we'll lose him." Raven said. "His injury looks bad if it was on a human."
Craig kept running until he reached a manhole. He tossed it off and started into the sewers.
Beast Boy landed and grimaced. "Dude, I'm not going in there!" He said. "It stinks like Star's meatloaf!"
The others got there shortly, Cybrog grabbing Beast Boy by the collar and dragging him in. "You ain't backing out now!"
They reached an intersection in the sewers and looked at all the other directions.
"Split up and find that thing." Robin said, walking forward. "Try to incapacitate him and contact everyone else when you have him."
They nodded and started moving into separate directions.
Raven floated by, alert of her surroundings. Every trickle of sewer water, every scurrying rat, all the little noises she kept track of. Any normal human wouldn't be able to track all the noises, but Raven could. She could even hear the light clacking above her...
Craig pushed off the top of the sewers and towards Raven. He thought that by taking one of them down that if confronted by the rest he might stand a chance. His claws reached out, slashing at her.
Raven dodged the attack, but part of her cloak was torn away. She instantly sent a distress message to the others via communicator, before preparing her own move. Her hands sent out small daggers of dark energy to Craig.
He turned, crouched, and propelled himself onto the concrete walls of the sewers. The werewolf scurried along quickly, trying to find a flaw in Raven's defenses. He saw her move her hands toward him, and he leaped at her again.
She raised a shield to deflect his strikes, but knew she couldn't hold it up for long. Raven saw that he wasn't limping as badly, but it was still there. Suddenly she blasted him in his knee.
Craig howled in pain as he fell onto his good knee, licking the wound slowly. Raven kept her hands up, ready to strike. He noticed her slowly moving closer. Quickly, Craig's head snapped up and his fangs clenched around her wrist. Raven gave a cry of pain and smacked him in the head. Craig let go as soon as she hit and started running away.
In the infirmary Cyborg was busy wrapping Raven's wrist in gauze. She winced everytime it was wrapped around the bite she received.
"So it bit you and ran off." Robin said.
Raven nodded. "Yeah. I thought I was far enough from him. Guess I was wrong." She said. "This'll heal in a day or two if it's left alone."
Robin nodded. "All right. I'll give you three days just to make sure."
"Thanks."
Lyle looked at Raven oddly as she started panting in the doorway. "I'm going to guess you have something I should know?"
She nodded and lifted her bandaged wrist. "I was bitten."
He blinked for a few moments and just stared at her.
"I. Was. Bitten." She repeated, slower and a bit louder.
"I heard you child! I'm old, but not deaf!" He said with some indignance. "Show me the wound."
Raven did so. She looked at it in shock. "It's healing already." She said. Indeed it was. What was once a bloody mess, her wounds were now much smaller.
Lyle nodded. "The lycanthropy's spreading faster than normal." He said. "It must be the demon half of you."
"So when will I get fur and a tail?" She asked dryly.
"Your first full moon. Of course, you'll have no memory of what happens. And you may be violent. Or lustful. Most likely both." He said, preparing some coffee.
"Me, lustful?" Raven asked in disbelief. "I seriously doubt it."
"Half of you is now werewolf Raven." He said, looking at her. "Instincts and emotions will be harder to control."
"Well that sounds great." She muttered.
Lyle started sipping his hot drink. "It depends on your willpower. A natural werewolf doesn't see any need to control themselves. They let nature dictate how they act. With a small mix of reason of course, they're not just large two legged wolves after all."
She looked down at her feet until Lyle put two books in front of her.
"Surviving Lycanthropy and The Night Wars. This'll tell you what you need to know about being a lycanthrope, along with the sentiments that other therianthropes have about werewolves. This is the one you were looking at the other day. It will tell you of how the werewolves helped lead the destruction of the vampires."
Raven nodded slowly. "So, werewolves killed all the vampires?"
"Werewolves, werebears, werefoxes, and most of the other therian breeds were involved. Most of the chapters are really bits and pieces of diary entries of warriors on both sides. Of course, the vampires aren't painted in a pretty picture. Even their own soldiers write about doing acts of great cruelty and tyranny with glee." He tilted his head before chuckling. "You as a werewolf. Quite honestly I find that highly amusing. The ever stoic Raven, howling at the moon."
She glared. "I might come and visit you just to piss on your rug." She said in a low growl.
Lyle laughed and kept laughing as Raven walked out, a little aggravated.