The office was dimly lit and the digital clock on wall chimed twice, its seven segment LED display announcing that it was now 2AM. A single banker's lamp illuminated Robin's office, casting long shadows on his desk, which was cluttered with what appeared to be random objects. There was a charred high density brick which had some scraping marks where a sample had been scratched off with a scalpel. There was a ziplock bag that contained a small piece of a circuit board, also blackened. Another bag contained so soil samples and there was a plaster cast taken of a foot print.
The samples had yielded no useful clues. The burned brick yielded the explosive type, a generic plastique from Europe. The circuit board, from the detonator, appeared to be made in a small shop as it was clearly a custom job, but the truth was that it could have been made anywhere. The soil contained burned jet fuel and the foot print was made from boots that had no brand markings on the sole and judging from the depth of the imprints the individual who owned the foot weighed between 200 and 250 lbs.
The only other clue was a blurry picture of the dark jet, which appeared to have some sort of cloaking technology, but beyond that there were no other clues regarding the identity of the mysterious escape vehicle.
The door to his office slid open and Starfire entered, cradling a mug of hot chocolate between her hands.
"There has not been any progress?" She asked.
He shook his head.
It was now three days since they returned. They went straight to the prison to inspect the scene and found next to nothing. They spent a few hours combing the cell, desperately searching for anything that might help them figure out who or what had kidnapped their friend. Just as they were about to leave, they were summoned by a guard to the Warden's office. When they arrived at the office they found the Warden, plus Commissioner Bermudez along with several heavily armed and armored officers.
"Is there a problem?" The Boy Wonder asked.
"I was going to ask you that same question." Bermudez replied.
"Why don't you get to the point?" Raven growled. "We're busy, in case you don't know. We have to find Beast Boy."
Bermudez glared at the sorceress.
"As you wish … Robin … where were the Teen Titans last night?"
"You know where we were … in Africa."
"I see … do you have anyone who can corroborate that?"
Cyborg became indignant. "We were in the jungle! Are you accusing us of busting BB out of prison!?"
"Should I?"
"No, you shouldn't." Raven snapped at him.
Bermudez drummed his fingers impatiently on the desktop while the Warden sat next to him, his arms crossed over his chest.
"The only reason I'm not arresting you is because I haven't found any proof …"
The Commissioner leaned forward and frowned at the four superheroes.
"… but I'll be watching you, closely. And don't go searching for the changeling, we'll find him, so stay out of our way, I don't want any vigilantes interfering with my police, understood?"
Raven and Cyborg had to hold Starfire back, as she lunged at Bermudez. The guards cocked their laser rifles and aimed them at the Titans. The Princess was released by her teammates and she conjured her star bolts while Cyborg armed his sonic cannon. Raven diffused the situation by raising a dark energy barrier.
"Stop acting like idiots!" She snarled in her gravelly voice.
Both sides backed down and Raven dropped her barrier.
"Raven, take us home. I know we're not welcome here." Robin barked.
"I thought you'd never ask." She replied as she raised her arms, summoning her signature black hemisphere, which sank into the ground, taking the Titans with it.
The Titans remained holed up in the Tower since the incident with the police. Bermudez sent them a certified letter the next day, warning them to not engage in 'vigilante' activities, and that if they did they would be arrested.
Back in the office, Starfire handed Robin the mug of chocolate, from which he took a sip. She sat down on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.
"How's Raven doing?" He asked.
"I was just with her before going to the kitchen to prepare you the hot chocolate. She seems to be impatient and was saying that we are wasting our time waiting in the Tower and that we should go and search for Beast Boy."
"I think this is affecting her more than anyone else."
Starfire nodded her agreement.
"People think that Raven is cold and uncaring, but she cares a great deal for all of us, and especially for Beast Boy."
"I know, it's not like her to become angry or impatient … but I agree with her … we're not going to find any clues in the samples we have … we need to get out and start looking for new clues … find informants who might know something."
"But Commissioner Bermudez said …"
"We aren't going out as vigilantes, just as private investigators, which we have every right to do. Plus we'll disguise ourselves. And if Bermudez wants to arrest us, he's welcome to try."
"It's about time we do something." A voice came from the door, which was still open.
Starfire and Robin rose from the chair as Raven entered the office.
"Raven … are you OK?"
She shook her head.
"I … I can sense him, Robin. He's here in town, somewhere."
"And?"
"That's all, I think he's unharmed, I haven't sensed any physical pain from him, but he's distressed."
"You can sense him? Could you follow that and find him?"
She shook her head.
"I can only sense him sporadically and it isn't directional ... this is so … frustrating, I feel powerless."
Robin pulled the sorceress into a hug.
"Well, that's good news, we know he's alive and unharmed, and he's nearby. We'll start investigating first thing in the morning. Now let's all get some sleep."
Raven nodded weakly and her normally expressionless face briefly betrayed a glimpse of sorrow. She hugged Robin back.
"This is all my fault, Raven. And I swear that we will find him and bring him home. That's a promise."
-( scene break )-
About a week had passed since Beast Boy woke up in his new cell. There was no sign of his captors, except for the trays of food that mysteriously appeared when he least expected them. He spent the first day shouting, demanding that they show themselves. He calls went unheeded and he paced around in his cell like a caged animal. After three days he fell silent and stopped shouting. He was beginning to feel bored and began to do exercises to have something to do, but it didn't help. His nights were ones of restless sleep as he kept waking up. He tried being patient, hoping that eventually they would contact him. That didn't work either.
Finally at his wits end he began to shout again.
"What do you want from me!?"
Again, there was no response. The day dragged on and before lunch arrived he hopped out of this bunk and began to pound on the door.
"My friends are gonna figure out where you took me, and when they do, you're gonna be sorry!"
Two minutes later his lunch tray was slid under the door. This time, there was a note printed on heavy stock on the tray. Ignoring the food, he scooped up the note and read it.
They aren't your friends, and they never were your friends.
He crumpled the note and threw it down on the floor.
"What would you know?" He screamed at the top of his lungs, before exploding into a tirade of expletives, which lasted almost five minutes.
Exhausted from his outburst he sat down and ate his lunch. Just as he finished eating another note was slid under the door.
They betrayed you. They aren't coming to rescue you. They abandoned you in the prison and stopped visiting you after just a few weeks.
Tears formed in the changeling's eyes. He ripped the card up and yelled a primal scream.
"What do you want from me!?"
Beast Boy sat down in front of the door, staring at the slot, as if daring it to produce another note. It didn't.
-( scene break )-
It was lunch time and four teenagers met at the wedge shaped pizzeria.
The first one to arrive was a red headed boy, dressed in shorts, sandals and a tank top. He wore a pair of Ray-Bans over his eyes. He asked the waitress for a table on the upper outdoor balcony. He sat down and hid behind the large menu the waitress left on the table.
The next one to arrive was a tall Goth girl. She was led to the balcony and joined the first boy, taking his hand in her own.
The next one was a tall, black youth. He was muscular, and wore a tight pair of jeans and a Gotham Dragons T-shirt.
Finally, a short blond girl, dressed in baggy jeans and wearing a tube top, also wearing sunglasses joined the other three. The waitress appeared, took their orders and quickly disappeared.
"So, did anyone find anything?"
"I asked my usual informants, Rob. Either they don't know anything or someone is paying them to keep their mouths shut." Cyborg replied.
Robin nodded.
"I was afraid of that … Star ... what about you?"
"I went to the depressing café and listened. People talked about Beast Boy, but many believed that he broke out and was not kidnapped. Many believe as the Commissioner does, that we are responsible."
"Anything else?"
"The boy Raven met many years ago, when Blackfire took us to the dance club, he was at the café."
"And?"
"He asked me out on a date."
"He did?
"I declined his offer. I do not believe that he recognized me."
Robin shook his head.
"I don't like this; we're turning up empty handed ... Raven, what did you find?"
"Nothing, not surprising as most pool halls were still mostly empty in the morning … I did receive an indecent proposition …"
Robin's face betrayed his concern.
"What did you do to him?"
"Nothing, I wasn't going to blow my cover, though I was tempted when the jerk said 'shake it, don't break it, baby'. I thought guys only said that in the movies … however … I did sense Beast Boy just a few minutes ago … he was very angry … but it was over in a few minutes."
"Angry? Could you tell why he was angry?" Robin asked.
She shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid not."
The team fell silent as the waitress showed up with their pizzas and drinks, which they began to consume.
"Eat up and we'll go home and rest. Take a nap if you can … we're gonna be out late tonight … someone out there has to know something, there has to be some sleazeball who knows where Beast Boy is."
The other three nodded and resumed eating in an eerie silence.
-( scene break )-
After about an hour Beast Boy gave up staring at the slot and ate his lunch, which was now cold. After finishing it he stuck the tray into the ground level slot and kicked it. With a satisfied grin he heard it crash into the wall out in the hallway, its dishes shattering against the floor.
He waited patiently as he lay in his bunk. He closed his eyes and tried to do the elementary meditation techniques Raven taught him a few months earlier. He even used her mantra, which he whispered silently. Time quickly slipped by and his light trance was only interrupted by the sound of his dinner tray sliding under the door. As expected there was a note, which he calmly ignored. He ate his dinner first, slowly and deliberately. Once he was done he picked up the note and read it.
The Titans have forsaken you, the Police are the only ones looking for you, and only because they want to throw you back in jail.
Beast Boy calmly tossed the card aside.
"You're lying." He calmly replied.
As if on cue, the front page of the Jump City Journal was slid under the door. He snatched it and read the headline.
"Police Searching for Fugitive Beast Boy, Titans not Participating."
Beast Boy's jaw trembled as he read the article, where the Commissioner was quoted as saying that the Titans would not be involved in the search for the missing changeling, as they had better things to do. He stared at the newspaper for several minutes before tossing it aside. Another note appeared under the door.
Your friends are no longer your friends and they betrayed you. You were innocent and they still turned you in, even though they knew it wasn't you in that video ... you're nothing more than a clown to them, an expendable fool. Robin's never taken you seriously, Cyborg just sees you as his little green sidekick, to Starfire you are just a little child and as far as Raven is concerned … you're a brainless moron.
As he finished reading the card another appeared.
You're alone, Beast Boy, and you don't have any friends … but it doesn't have to be that way.
-( scene break )-
Another cliffhanger! Am I stinker, or what?