Broken Spirit
Chapter 7: Brood Swing
Raven hovered a few inches in the air with her cloak hanging just above the floor, reading quietly four separate books occupying the space in front of her. One directly in front of her, another on each side, and a fourth hanging above, all of them levitating by the black glowing backings of their pages. Reading, comparing, and cross referencing between every other page. Her eyes moved seamlessly from one book to the next. How she was able to do so without her eyes tripping over one another was a wonder.
But her extensive research into BeastBoy's condition and a possible treatment was now in full swing.
A short distance away laid BeastBoy flat on his stomach, elbows up, holding his chin atop Raven's bed. Unmoving and ever watching. It was hard to say how much time had passed. More than an hour, but less than a lifetime. At least by his standard of time.
"Well… I suppose that's something."
Raven's previous statement seemed to replay itself time and time again in BeastBoy's head. The tone in her voice. The look in her eyes. It was gnawing at him.
Was she mad? No, Raven did anger so much more vividly. Almost passionately. Depressed? Nnngh… maybe. But honestly who wouldn't be fighting a little gloominess about now? Either way, hardly a bet he'd put money on. And Raven could do a far better job concealing both to the point where he wouldn't notice anyway. This was something else.
He'd wanted her to talk. About what was on her mind right from the start was a bit much to hope for. But at least an opening. Small talk. Ease into it. But she hadn't said a word since she started. Not even moving her lips when she read.
He just stared at her. Watching her. Watching her read. Which was almost the equivalent to watching paint dry. But he had to wait.
Getting the ball rolling in conversation with Raven was a skill even he hadn't quite mastered. And that was when she wasn't in one of her moods. Past experiences dictated the best thing to do was wait. Even Raven couldn't keep quiet forever. (At least that was the hope.)
BeastBoy shifted his head to the side leaning from both hands onto one, weighing down and tilting his arm slightly. He wasn't used to such prolonged silence. Even around Raven. Even her breathing was quieter than usual.
Or maybe it was the perpetual waiting that was starting to get to him. After all it'd been so quiet for so long he was starting to wonder if Raven was even aware he was still in the room.
"Uh…" he softly began, lifting his hand towards her.
But Raven remained focused solely on her books. Flipping pages in two of them and backtracking a chapter on the top book to review something. Totally oblivious to his meek attempt at interaction.
Slowly BeastBoy's mouth retracted shut, lowering his hand back onto the bed, somewhat sinking his head back between his shoulders.
BeastBoy had opened his mouth to speak a few times to try to pry the atmosphere open. But every time he did, no matter what he'd mentally debated as an opening statement, he was met with at least three separate negative scenarios in his mind that resulted in either Raven shutting back down, unintentional angry verbal backlash, or any combination of the two. Which in turn caused him to close his mouth and either wait for a better mental outcome or for Raven to initiate conversation on her own.
His eyes began to drift, climbing the walls. Looking all around Raven's room. Studying every dark corner, every cramped shelf. He knew the room was dreary but never fully realized to what extent until now.
No real view to be had as evidenced by the thick curtains blocking out natural light. Raven preferred as little outside distraction as possible when fully enveloped in her reading. And darkness was pretty much her element after all.
There was also an absence of pictures. No photographs, framed or otherwise.
No external communication aside from her communicator, which lay on the nightstand.
No television.
…
Okay, that last one was more of a personal preference of his. BUT the point was Raven's solitary lifestyle was starting to feel more and more like solitary confinement.
It was… depressing. More so than he ever thought it could be.
Still he continued to scrutinize his surroundings, trying to find something to take his mind off things. Or even still try to find a semblance of hope in this dreary dungeon. This was a big part of Raven's life and her room was a reflection of that. And if BeastBoy was going to continue as he had with Raven before, it was something he had to understand. And with nothing else to focus on and nothing but time on his hands now was as good a time as any.
A short while later Raven waved her hand forward, closing the four books as they gently drifted onto the floor, neatly stacking on top of one another in a pile.
She steadied herself onto her feet, shutting her eyes tight. Rubbing between her nose she gave a low sigh as her thumb and index finger pushed against the edges of her eyelids.
A little eyestrain was nothing new to her. But she'd been reading so much more prodigiously than she intended. And for all her efforts, she still had nothing to show for it. Every lead she'd come across was a dead end. Er… um… make that, ah… an unusable or non-feasible means of undoing BeastBoy's present condition.
Raven gave pause. On the subject of the former, she turned, somewhat distressed at the prolonged silence and a small sense of alarm if BeastBoy's was still present with her.
However her fears were soon put to rest as she found BeastBoy square in her sights with just a quarter turn of her head. To which she exhaled a soft sense of relief having almost forgotten about him completely amidst her in-depth literary endeavor.
There he lay, atop her bed, right where she left him.
Raven rested her hand on her chest as the last of the momentary tension vacated her lungs. She turned back to her bookshelf ready to try a new selection of reading material. But stopped after only a single step forward.
She looked back, as if unable to shake the notion she'd missed something.
She looked at BeastBoy. Still there, as she'd previously been relieved to notice, but upon closer examination he seemed a bit… off.
He was laying flat on his stomach, one arm tucked under his chin where he rested his head. His other arm rested on the bed, extended, with his hand outstretched in front of him.
SSHWOO
He dipped his hand, phasing his fingertips through the bed. Then a few seconds later lifted his hand back up, bringing his fingers back into plain view.
SSHWOO
He dipped his hand again, this time phasing down to the joints of his fingers, allowing half of his digits to briefly disappear from view. A few seconds later, he pulled them back up.
SSHWOO
He dipped his hand once more, now phasing his fingers entirely down to the knuckles. And then as before lifted his hand back up, making it whole within a few seconds.
He would then repeat this pattern.
Raven looked from his hand to his face, which wore a dull and somewhat disheartened look. Not all that dissimilar from her own.
"BeastBoy?" she called.
BeastBoy remained prone in position. Still watching his hand sink in and out of the bed.
"BeastBoy," Raven called a little louder.
The green boy shook for a split second, turning his head up with a quick blink of his eyes signaling he was brought out of whatever trance he'd been in.
Raven shifted her head to the side with a smaller sense of relief than before but still able to draw comfort that he was still in tune and responsive to her. "Just making sure you're still alive," she said as she turned back to the bookshelf.
BeastBoy shook his head. "Oh, ha ha," he feigned a weak chuckle to mask his broken train of thought.
"Stimulating as always, I see," Raven dryly responded as she plucked only a single book from the shelf deciding to slow her pace. Both to give her eyes a bit of a rest and to reinforce BeastBoy's current state.
He rolled his eyes in turn.
But just as quickly his eyes went wide. His pupils darted. The silence was broken. Raven was talking. This was what he'd been waiting for. Hoping for. He had to act before she fully absorbed herself into another book. And knowing Raven, that wouldn't take long.
He scratched the top of his head as if hoping to re-ignite a brain cell or two. His lips quivering as if ready to fire off the first syllable.
"Wh-h… uhm… ga" he mouthed, tripping over his own tongue. His train of thought was clearly derailed. That feeling you get when you want to say something but your brain backs up at that one critical moment you want to say it? BeastBoy was there. And with the mother of all brain farts.
He squeezed and strained every last neuron in his cranium, just trying to get his thoughts rolling again. Trying to think of what to say to keep Raven talking.
"Erregg…aaaghhh," he dropped his head back down onto the bed.
He had nothing. Helpless to watch as Raven turned the page, taking up reading position above the floor once again. It may as well have been a time lock on a bank vault door, sealing Raven's mouth and any chance to talk with it.
BeastBoy sighed.
He slumped back into prone position, letting his arm hang off the bed. He lifted it briefly, casting his eyes down at his palm, flexing his fingers. His thoughts drifting like before. Almost able to feel the dark emptiness of the room bear down on him.
"Was…"
Raven looked up.
BeastBoy just stared at his hand.
"Yes?" Raven replied.
BeastBoy looked up, bewildered. Completely unaware he'd started to talk out loud, thinking he was musing to himself in his head. He quickly looked back down.
"Go on," she encouraged him, holding her hand over the page she was on, keeping her place.
A moment passed. But still Raven kept her eyes on BeastBoy as he kept his eyes downwardly focused on his hand, waiting patiently.
"Was… it always like this?" he traced his eyes across the ceiling before looking back at her. "For you, I mean? Before. Before… me… and you… were…?"
Raven's eyes slowly shifted from one side of the room to the other as she softly closed her book and rested it on her lap. She had an idea where he was going with this. Her room. Her isolation.
"Comfortable?" she ad-libbed.
"Us?" He interjected.
Raven just stared.
"In here, by yourself, nothin' but books and smelly candles." He sat up, spreading his arms wide as if presenting the atmosphere from his point of view. "I-I don't mean that to sound like it's depressing." He held up his hands as if not wanting to offend her or her sensibilities.
"It wasn't. But… it was as lonely as you make it out to be." She hung her head off to the side, casting her eyes to the floor.
BeastBoy leaned back, pulling in his legs, holding his knees. "I get that space is one of your things. Private time, and all. But, didn't ya ever… I don't know… wanna' reach out a little? Maybe? Maybe not me, but… somebody?"
"At times. Then I just took a hard look in the mirror. It sounds off-putting but there is a logic to it," Raven replied.
"So what else is new," BeastBoy shrugged off the abundance of logic, which at this point seemed almost toxic.
Her eyes never once came up from the floor. As if convinced of her own certainty.
BeastBoy had to think fast. The door for conversation was open, but he wasn't keen on where this talk was turning. It was time to 180 this trip to lonely town.
"Uh, B-But hey! Look on the bright side. Ya got me, now. Which means either logic is on vacation or you realized how wrong you were." He beamed with pride as if she could overcome anything if she let herself think a little less. "Either way, sweet."
Raven pulled her eyes up from the floor, crooking a frown alongside her brow.
BeastBoy maintained a healthy grin, but could feel himself starting to sweat.
Slowly, her frown bent just enough to signal the most miniscule smirk. Just enough charm and lowbrow idiocy to trigger a mood reset. Slightly above passive to hopeful.
"Maybe I'm just stuck with you," she shut her eyes as she exhaled, glancing back down through the pages of her book.
He smiled. "Well, I mean… yeah. That makes sense. You bein' drawn to me and all." He half joked in the playful sense with a waggle of his eyebrows, but also plainly referring to the fact that she was still the only one who could see him.
"Actually, it would probably be the other way around. My powers might just be the only thing linking us together." She skimmed a few more pages.
BeastBoy leaned back scratching his chin. "Maybe cause of how many smacks ya give me all the time. Your powers are a little piece of you, right? So maybe every time ya hit me, a little bit of that rubbed off on me. And… now that one part of me is gone, all those smacks and all those built up bits of power have, like… pulled me to you."
Raven looked up, staring into the distance. She couldn't believe that actually sounded feasible.
As strange as it sounded, in a way it made sense. Raven did have to put a little bit of herself into guiding her powers. And as cold as it sounded all those telekinetic disciplinary (INTENTIONALLY NONFATAL) and otherwise low level strikes might very well have saturated his being both physically and spiritually right down to his essence and served as a means of keeping him in tune to her senses.
"Let's… put a pin in that theory. For now let's just agree that my powers are the most probable factor." Raven shook her head with a smile, turning away.
She wanted to keep BeastBoy's head from getting too big from 'one' admittedly well thought and presented idea. Even a broken clock was right twice a day. And as much as she enjoyed nurturing his under utilized intelligence and critical thinking skills, at this point it would be an invitation for who knew what kind of playful and otherwise suggestive interpretations he could or couldn't disprove regarding their situation.
"Powers. Yeah. Right." he nodded just happy to be given any kind of credit at all. "I mean… that makes sense. They did kinda' zap me and…"
THUNK!
Raven's book dropped to the ground, causing BeastBoy to jump back a few inches on the bed.
BeastBoy slowly looked up from the fallen book to Raven with her back to him. Stiff and unmoving save for a slight tremble in her shoulders.
It took a minute for his brain to process but…
Powers…
Zap me…
"Well… I suppose that's something."
Oh.
. . .
OH!
He got to his feet, holding out both hands. "NO! NOT POWERS! Well, yes powers. BUT NOT YOURS… well yes, yours obviousl- NO-NO! CONTROL FREAK! CONTROL FREAK zapped me! All Control Freak! NONE YOU, ALL HIM!" he franticly contested every notion that might be going through her head.
But it was too late. The damage was done. Raven blamed herself for what happened to him. And BeastBoy figuring it out didn't ease the burden any. In fact it just made her feel worse. Not only was he without physical form. He could now piece together the circumstances in their entirety.
Silence.
"Raven?"
She remained still.
BeastBoy got up, cautiously moving beside her. "Rae?"
She bent down, picking up her book from the floor. Opening and sifting through a few pages she walked to the far corner of the room, nose deep in print. And not so much as a word in response. After all, what was there to say?
"Raven, I didn't mean it like that. C'mon." He pleaded.
But she remained silent.
"Please?"
No response.
He peered over her shoulder. "Puh-leeze?" BeastBoy made an apologetic baby face at her, allowing his lower lip to quiver and his eyes going wide.
Raven turned the page. Unable to concentrate on reading, but trying to bluff that she'd shut him out.
SHWOO
BeastBoy phased his face right through the back of the book, eye to eye. "Raven?" he gently whispered.
BLAM!
Raven slammed the book shut right on BeastBoy's face. Though with the exception of a minor flinch, he remained still and unfazed. Glued to the spot, standing in the center of the room, watching as Raven marched back to the bookshelf.
"Ya can't shut yourself in your room, not this time. I mean, you really can't. You're already there."
She dragged her finger across a few thick volumes as if trying to find a particular book. But BeastBoy knew better. She was ignoring him. Not content to argue, and keep on blaming herself.
"What?" he began. "Do ya want me to agree with you? Get mad? Tell you it's your fault?"
Raven continued to feign her browsing of the shelves. Though her movements slowed.
"Raven, I don't blame you for this. I never did. And even if I had, I woulda' forgiven ya for it WAY before now," he let his arms fall flat against his sides.
Silence.
"Is beatin' yourself up really gonna' make you feel all that better?" he leaned to the side. "Even I know that ain't right, and 'I' tried to play a video game on a microwave in Cyborg's workshop just cause it looked like a supped up Game Station."
Still nothing.
"C'mon, Raven. Please talk to me. You should at least be tellin' me to shut up by now. Tell me that I don't know what I'm talkin' about." He perked up slightly as if a light turned on in his head. "Yeah! Call me an idiot. Call me brainless. Call me anything. Just don't shut me out like this."
Raven remained unresponsive.
"Okay, I'll get ya started. I'M AN IDIOT! I'M BRAINLESS! I AM THE MOST CLUELESS, EMPTY HEADED, DUNDERBRAINED, tragically good-looking, AND ALL AROUND DUMBEST NOT SMART PERSON EVER!"
Raven pulled a new book from the shelf, turning and walking right towards BeastBoy.
SHWOO
She walked right through him, moving to seat herself on the edge of her bed. She opened the book and seemingly began to read.
BeastBoy spun around to face her, a mildly irritated look on his face. How many times had Raven talked down to him about his lack of maturity and here she was blowing him off like a pouting child.
He raised an accusatory finger, reeling back, drawing breath to give her a piece of his mind.
. . .
But no more than a thought later, his posture sunk, letting out whatever air he'd collected in a cleansing sigh. It wasn't the answer. All a stern talking to was going to accomplish was exacerbate the situation. Raven would either keep stewing or verbally retaliate. Before long, it'd be a full-blown verbal ping-pong match, volleying insults. And the last thing either of them needed is more negative influence weighing either of them down.
This had to be handled delicately.
BeastBoy took a deep breath, pushing the momentary unpleasant feelings of stubbornness and irrationality out of his head. "Just… take a break for a sec. You probably got too much BB on the brain. Not that I could blame ya." He turned with a half smile, making for the door. "I'll go check on the others. Ya know, not too many flowers for my incredibly intricate memorial statue."
SHWOO
PLAP!
A hardbound book sailed right through BeastBoy, less than four steps from his exit striking the door.
Caught off guard but otherwise unharmed he turned back.
Raven was now opposite of him, turned around, sitting atop the bed with her back to him. No doubt trying to play off that she was reading. Though without a book presently in hand.
Under normal circumstances, this would be cause for concern. At the very least grounds for pressing an argument or persisting a petty squabble. But BeastBoy just smiled to himself.
She plainly knew she couldn't hurt him. Not that way anyway. And for her to throw something like that, without warning or verbal remark afterward? He knew Raven well enough to know that was her silent, timid way of saying, 'thank you'.
SHWOO
BeastBoy walked through the door and out into the hallway.
Raven sat up for just a minute longer after she was certain he'd left before sinking forward, pulling her knees in. She rested her forehead against her knees, cradling her arms around the top of her head, almost curling into a ball. Raven steadied her breathing, shutting her eyes, biting down on her lip. Waiting quietly for the warm dampness in her eye to dry itself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
SHWOO
BeastBoy's head phased through the door, looking left and right before cautiously entering the room.
It was a smaller room just off the main hall on the upper level. Originally used as a backup ready room and later for storage. But ever since the team's encounters with Slade way back when, Robin had unofficially made it his own private think tank. A depravation chamber of sorts to filter out the distractions of the rest of the tower to ponder and analyze the more intensive cases they were faced with.
The walls were lined with mug shots and coordinating maps with markings and push pins trailing discernable patterns. Large file cabinets lined the wall. And against the far wall, a computer terminal tied into the main server of the tower's mainframe. Four flat screen monitors mounted in grid formation were illuminated, displaying spreadsheets and established facts relevant to their present ongoing investigation. Control Freak, as evidenced by the few scattered photos littered around the various screens.
In front of the terminal sat Robin, leaning forward, elbows up on a desk, tapping his fingers lightly as his eyes scanned from screen to screen. He'd been focusing a deeper look into Control Freak's past. Preferred targets of opportunity, known associates, hobbies, the works. Trying to find something he might have missed. Trying to find that angle he needed to make Freak more… agreeable to their terms and enlist his cooperation with returning BeastBoy.
But so far, no such luck.
Besides Raven he hadn't spent much time around the others and needed to double-check to make sure they still were unaffected to his presence.
BeastBoy leaned in right beside Robin, looking from the screens to the side of his face. Unable to help from waving a hand in front of him, followed shortly after by snapping his fingers a few times just a few inches from his nose. But Robin didn't so much as flinch.
The atmosphere was tense. He was almost choking on the intensity.
"There has to be something here. Something I'm missing," Robin hunched over the keyboard, widening a search on Control Freak's file.
"Oh, something's missin' all right," BeastBoy shook his head. "You're totally obsessin' over a demented fan boy's profile page, checkin' out his preferred hang outs and hot spots, and learning everything about him but his shoe size. You tryin' to interrogate'em or date'em?"
BeastBoy was certainly grateful for the boy wonder's efforts. But sometimes Robin was too serious for his own good.
"Ease back a little, dude." He attempted to pat him on the back, only for his hand to phase through the young detective. "It'll come to ya."
Robin scratched his chin. "Maybe I need to go back farther," he said confidently to himself as he tapped a few keys on the keyboard. "Complete background history on previous encounters, cross check all altercations involving his remote. Maybe I can find something on how the technology evolved into what it is now and the materials he used to make it from surveillance footage. Did he make it on his own? Did he have help? Maybe double check his school records for possible influences and accomplices."
BeastBoy shook his head with a low sigh. No point getting his hopes up on Robin de-boarding the serious express. But hey, if it worked for him, may as well run with it.
"Well, I'll just leave you two alone," he walked back to the door with a small smile. If nothing else, it was good to know that someone besides Raven hadn't given up on him.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
BeastBoy entered the kitchen finding Starfire diligently at work behind the stove. Atop the burners sat three large pots on high heat and a saucepan brought to a simmer. Various size bowls and platters were scattered about the countertop amidst a wide assortment of freshly chopped fruits and vegetables. Not to mention a slew of other ingredients he couldn't identify. No doubt of alien origin, emphasis on the alien. And almost the entire spice rack was deployed and at the ready. From a glance it looked as though Starfire was preparing a feast.
She stirred the saucepan with a wooden spoon, reducing down a light orange colored liquid, presumably a sauce of some kind. Starfire lifted the spoon from the sauce, sampling the tip of the spoon with a lick of her tongue, smacking her lips softly.
"Hmm…" she pondered, trying to deduce how to properly heighten the flavor. She snapped her fingers just before seizing a shaker of pepper to give a few vigorous shakes over the pan.
She then picked up a nearby onion holding it up in front of her. She narrowed her eyes, glowing bright green just before…
PEW!
A narrow beam of green energy burst from her eyes striking the core of the onion. The onion fell apart into smaller pieces with a waft of rising steam, instantly sautéed, as she tilted her hand dumping the now prepared seasoning into a pot.
Starfire then stirred the contents with a long ladle in between a few generous squirts from a mustard bottle. "Ooh, that shall add the richness," she giddily remarked with a sniff.
She then turned her attention to another pot, now coming to a boil.
"Oh! Forgetfulness abounds," she playfully palmed the side of her head. "Friend BeastBoy also enjoys the delectable flavoring of the tofu."
Starfire opened the refrigerator removing a large square container before closing the fridge door behind her. She opened the container, turning it upside down, allowing the large gelatinous cube of soy to slowly slide into her palm as she discarded the empty container over her shoulder.
BeastBoy couldn't help but feel somewhat nostalgic finding his thoughts centered on food. In his present state sensations such as hunger were somewhat foreign to him. But that didn't mean he'd forgotten the simple joys of stuffing his face.
"Aww, Star," he smiled warmly. "I can't think of wanting to eat anything more than 'your' cookin' right now. And THAT's sayin' something."
She returned to her position at the stove in front of the largest pot on the front burner. No sooner than which had the pot began to shiver and shake.
"Huh?" BeastBoy queried, leaning over as if trying to look within the bubbling stew that filled just to an inch from the top of the pot.
A large purple tentacle surfaced from the broth, glistening in the steam with a large yellow eyeball staring straight at the young tamaranian girl.
Starfire merely gave a merry smile as it blinked at her. She tossed the tofu into the air, just above the pot before turning to make ready the next course.
The base of the tentacle sprung open revealing a row of razor sharp teeth, snapping the tofu into its mouth with an audible gulp. Then descending back down into the murky depths of the stew.
BeastBoy remained still, wide-eyed, and speechless. "Uh… maybe it's a little undercooked. Or… overcooked. I can never tell with Star." He scratched his head.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
BeastBoy rounded the hallway, making his way for the main room, peering through the occasional wall as he went. He'd been to the ops center, the workshop, the garage, the med lab, and personal quarters. But his search was proving fruitless.
The only Titan left unaccounted for was Cyborg. But it'd been some time since last he saw his friend and he'd already explored most of the tower already. He'd been searching thoroughly for the last twenty minutes or so. Yet still, no trace.
"C'mon, Cy," he called out, though plainly aware he was more or less talking to himself. "Where'd ya go?" He phased through the door, coming to a stop in the center of the main room verifying it to be empty. The tv was off, the couch was vacant, not even a butt imprint in the cushions. Empty, just like every other location he'd previously visited.
"Maybe he's out," he shrugged. "Maybe overhaulin' the T-car on a road test. Yeah. Tinkering always helps him think. Maybe he's stockin' up on gear to supe up the gamestation. Maybe he's raidin' the junkyards for spare parts. Maybe… he needs a girlfriend." He gave serious thought to some of Cyborg's recreational activities.
He started back towards the hall, about to start from the top of the tower on the roof and work his way downward.
A sudden flash caught his eye just as he passed the window, stopping him mid step and backing up to peer out the window at the ground below. Squinting, he leaned forward, phasing his head through the glass just outside the window.
Below, on the rocky coast near the base of the tower, Cyborg had set up a small steel workbench. Atop which sat a few tools and a couple pages worth of notes and diagrams. About thirty feet away were scattered bits of metal scrap, as if something had recently been aggressively disassembled. Or rather blown up, judging by the seared markings and traces of soot and smoke.
Cyborg held a clipboard in his hand making a few notations.
BeastBoy jogged up beside him. "Dude, I been lookin' all over for you," he called with a sense of relief and enthusiasm.
Cyborg pressed a button on his forearm, giving an audible beep.
A metal shutter built into the ground slid open as a small, scale model, aluminum human mannequin popped up with a support holding it up from the back a few inches from the ground.
Cyborg pressed another button, this time causing a mechanical arm to rise up from the opening beneath the mannequin. In its hand it held what appeared to be a can of spray paint.
It shook the can vigorously before spritzing a cloud of green paint sloppily all over the life-size figure.
"Is… that supposed to be me?" BeastBoy asked curiously, tilting his head at the figure.
The mechanical hand disappeared back down into the opening, its job seemingly finished.
Cyborg set down the clipboard onto the workbench as his chest compartment opened. Reaching inside, he pulled a remote control from within, similar in appearance to Control Freak's. Though this one had more of his own unique style and craftsmanship as evidenced by the white metal casing, which mirrored his outer housing and blue glowing circuitry.
Cyborg had been tinkering with Control Freak's design. And while the odds of making the original remote function properly without Control Freak's assistance were slim, the chances of reproducing the technology via his own more streamlined construction and design were just high enough to warrant a trial run.
That was precisely what this seemed to be. A makeshift testing range.
A small microphone extended beneath Cyborg's jaw. Tapping the tip to verify it was picking up audio. "Prototype remote, function test thirteen," he spoke, lifting his arm and taking aim at the green mannequin. "Commencing now."
Cyborg pressed his thumb firmly to one of the remote's buttons, discharging a bright blue beam of energy.
The beam hit the mannequin, energy surging through it causing its limbs to flail and its body to shake. The mannequin grew brighter, irradiating a faint blue glow.
BeastBoy jumped behind Cyborg for cover, but instinctively peered out just enough to watch, shielding his eyes as the glow was becoming brighter.
Cyborg too brought up his arm to shield his face.
The light faded.
Cyborg cautiously lowered his arm.
BeastBoy phased his head through Cyborg's chest, eager to see.
The mannequin was knocked off its support, lying on the ground. It's parts completely rearranged. The left leg sticking out of the right arm socket, the right arming sticking straight out of the neck. The other leg poked out of the chest, upside down. The left hand was joined just below the waist where one of the legs was meant to go. Where as the left arm, from the forearm to the shoulder, were bent upwards connected to the pelvis, with the head where the hand previously had been.
Cyborg took a moment to process this… development. "Testing complete," he resumed his recording. "Results… um… 'mixed'."
"Ya think?" BeastBoy said modestly.
"Further testing required," he picked up the clipboard, turning to mark the results of that particular function. "On a positive note, test subject remains in one piece and absent of damage, fire or electrically induced to the point of combust…"
A single spark surged between the right hand's fingers with a low crackle right before-
BA-BLAM!
The mannequin detonated with the equivalent of a small backyard fireworks display, scattering its parts and pieces.
Cyborg turned slowly, peering over his shoulder with a bitter scowl, tossing the clipboard over his shoulder.
The mannequin's green head rolled along the ground, stopping short of Cyborg's feet.
He leaned down, picking up the severed metal cranium. "Attempt at digital molecular deconstruction… failed," he sighed with a softened look on his face. "Function deemed non-viable for physical restoration and/or reconstruction purposes."
BeastBoy rubbed his head, trying to think of how to respond. "Uh… well, ya… took'em apart. That's the first step before ya can put somethin' back together. Right?" BeastBoy forced a smile.
But even though his friend couldn't hear him, couldn't see him, Cyborg's reaction felt as genuine as if it were the contrary. Like he was just trying to block it out to fully absorb the disappointment bearing down on him.
Cyborg gently set the head back onto the ground, taking care not to smudge the few charred chips in the green paint. He slumped in his posture, closing his eyes, as if taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Hey, c'mon Cy," BeastBoy leaned down, trying to peer up into his face, desperate to snap him out of it. "That ain't me. I'da made a way cooler explosi… uh… I mean, don't take it so personal."
But the cybernetic teen was unresponsive.
"I'm still here, dude."
BeastBoy looked back, up at the tower. He was glad that his friends hadn't given up hope. Hadn't given up on him. All the more reason he had to keep it together. And on the subject of 'keeping together'…
"Take a break, bro," he tried to put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Grab a snack, a quick game of Bubble Bots, change your oil, and then? Totally own this stupid remote," he grinned.
He started back towards the tower. "I gotta' see a girl about a magic trick."
A moment passed.
Cyborg took a deep breath. Then walked over a few steps behind him, leaning down to pick up the clipboard, dusting it off.
"Prototype remote, function test fourteen," he pressed a button on his forearm, dispatching a new mannequin to the range.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
Raven sat in the center of her bed, lotus position, with a book in her lap. She stared down at the pages more intensely than necessary. It was clear she was struggling to focus. But still she pressed on, shaking her head lightly as if trying to realign her thoughts.
She turned the page. But her eyes remained unmoving. The words were just one big blur to her.
"Ugh!" she slammed the book shut, falling onto her back, kicking out her legs, and holding the book over mouth. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose.
"Still mad?"
Raven opened her eyes, sitting up, briefly alarmed but instantly reminded that doors and walls were of little consequence to some people. Quickly she steadied herself.
She could hear BeastBoy's voice, but as she looked around the room, there was no sign of him.
Did she imagine it? Well, if she was in fact crazy, might as well roll with it.
"I wasn't mad," she said. "I was upset."
There was a brief silence.
"Still upset?"
"A little. Justifiably so." She punctuated with a downward flex of her eyebrows.
"I didn't mean it."
"I know," she gave a small nod, softening her expression. "But the fact remains…"
"Don't say it!"
"… You're an idiot," she finished bluntly.
. . .
Raven's eyes scanned the room following no immediate reply.
"I'm entitled to that," came a surprisingly chipper retort.
"Of course you are," she crossed her arms. "For all intensive purposes anyone else who talks without thinking the amount of times you have would've been locked up, committed, or wound up de…"
There she went almost tempting fate again.
"Guess I'm lucky like that," he said softly.
Raven gave a sigh of relief, dodging another verbal bullet. She panned the room, now certain she wasn't hearing things as a result of her mental state. No hallucination could make her this tense in record time.
"You can come out now."
"Only once I'm sure you're not gonna' hit me."
Raven rolled her eyes as if it should be painfully obvious by now. "I couldn't even if I wanted to."
"Trust me, Raven. I know you. If you really wanted to, you could hit me. Any time, anywhere, anyhow."
"Perhaps," she paused. "But I'm not anxious to make the situation worse than it already is. Even at the expense of a little gratification."
Raven had considered the possibility of astral projection. Using her soul self to make contact and possibly use it as a means of retrieving him. But the risk of interfering with and disrupting the flow of whatever energies were keeping BeastBoy in place was too great a concern.
"Chalk this up to the 'I'm so gonna' hurt BeastBoy later' category," he dismally remarked.
"I would never willingly hurt you to any kind of serious degree," she assured. "But it's the thought that counts." Raven gave a small smirk.
"That… makes me feel kinda' good actually," he perked up somewhat.
It was the first time he'd ever looked forward to her getting mad at him. Either that or he was becoming a masochist.
SHWOO
BeastBoy popped up right beside Raven, materializing up through the bed. Raven turned to her side, meeting eyes with him. If he had startled her she didn't show it aside from the quick turn of her head.
His face was pointed down, his torso still half beneath the bed, taking a breath before slowly looking up to meet eyes with her. "I'm sorry."
She held her sights on him. Not so much as blinking and straight faced as ever. Raven had known BeastBoy long enough to know a bluff from sincerity. Well, ninety percent certain. This was BeastBoy after all and assumption could be a dangerous thing where he was concerned.
Her poker face folded. Her eyelids lowering to casual stare as her lips gently loosened. "Me too. This… whole experience is a bit much for me." She gave a light shake of her head.
"Hey, how do ya think I feel?" he placed his hands on his chest, the tips of his fingers passing right through his own body. "In case ya haven't noticed, normal and me ain't exactly on speaking terms."
She crooked her head to the side. "Body or not, normal has been indisposed on you for some time."
"Oh, ha ha," he dryly laughed. "Figures you pick now to grow a sense of humor."
"I'm just trying to relieve the tension in a manner to which would ease your natural state and cease any undue stress in your enhanced spiritual form," she explained, clearly pushing well outside BeastBoy's word power.
"Aaaand, NOW you're back to bein' you," he gestured to her with an open palm.
Raven rolled her head away as if keeping a small smile from being plainly visible.
BeastBoy folded his arms. "Ya know you seem to be takin' this whole thing of me without a body pretty lightly. Especially considerin' how… ya know… close we were gettin'." He pointed a mildly accusatory finger at her, as he painted a neutral look on his face.
Raven leaned in closer, allowing his finger to pass right through her, firmly meeting eyes with him. "That's because you're not going anywhere. I won't let that happen. None of us will."
He just stared for what felt like a minute or two.
Briefly stunned, BeastBoy gradually shook off the overwhelming loss of brain activity, lost in her eyes. He'd forgotten Raven could do that. "Y-Yeah," he lightly stammered. "Sorry. I don't mid telling ya I'm just a 'little' worried about all this." He rubbed the back of his head, shyly looking away just long enough to let his thoughts back into his head.
Raven followed his example, leaning back to upright position, running her hand through her hair.
"Is there even a way to do something like this?" BeastBoy asked, looking down at his hands before looking back at her. Clearly he was casually fishing for any progress she'd made, if any.
"Well sure there are 'ways'," she pulled her book against her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling. "Assuming we find your physical form in tact I could forcibly pull and tear you back into the proper domain. Drag you across a few vast empty voids, risking your form to be ripped asunder by trans-dimensional cosmic imbalances."
BeastBoy blinked twice in rapid succession, the signal he was balancing the scales in his mind between regarding that statement as good or bad. "And… that would bring me back here?"
"Here, there. Maybe spattering some of you on the wall perhaps." Raven's expression went deadpan as she looked back his way.
BeastBoy gave an audible gulp. "Um, maybe you could learn to sugar coat things just a smidge?" He pinched his fingers together as he forced a grin.
"I just want you to understand how delicate something like this is. How many possible missteps and errors we can't afford." She opened the book and began skimming pages. "It is your body after all."
"Oh, I know you'll be careful. After all, its obvious ya don't keep around me for my mind," he rolled his eyes at her.
Raven paused, holding her head up a bit. "True," she conceded with a small nod, "I'm not crazy about your mind and the one track it operates on." She stared down at the pages for an instant. "But it does have its moments. On occasion."
"So I guess relationships don't make ya smarter," he shrugged. "Just make ya realize how stupider ya coulda' been." BeastBoy looked at her with an appreciative smile. It was reassuring that they could still grow from even these troubling circumstances.
"I'm grateful. Really. Especially all those times ya threatened to throw me into another dimension," BeastBoy leaned to the side, "There's no one else I'd rather have drag me back."
Raven smiled into her book.
BeastBoy leaned forward trying to peer over her shoulder. "So, ya find anything?"
Raven's posture stiffened, pulling back sharply. "NO! I-I mean… no."
BeastBoy reeled back momentarily, her reaction giving him pause. "Um… ok. I mean, obviously, no instant fix but…" BeastBoy lowered his sights off of Raven to the book in her lap. "…Any kinda' clues or hints to…"
Raven swiveled to the right, rotating her whole body on the bed, swinging her legs over the corner of the mattress.
BeastBoy crawled around her.
But Raven spun back around the other way.
He shot a curious look at her. Raven avoiding conversation was one thing. Maintaining silence another. Now she was just acting weird. Unless…
BeastBoy inched closer.
Raven stood up from the bed about to walk away.
But BeastBoy was quick to cut around in front of her. "Raven, is something wrong?" he looked at her sideways.
"Fine," she responded in casual deadpan tone. Or at least trying to. There was a slight undertone of concern in the back of her throat. Like she was trying to tiptoe around something. Trying to hide something.
That's when BeastBoy happened to look down at the book in Raven's hands. The one held tight in both hands, held close, trying to be tucked away from view under her cloak.
"Sooo," he smirked, coyly holding his hands behind his back, swaying to and fro, "What DID ya find? Anything good?"
"Nothing useful," Raven took a step back, eyes darting to the side.
"Really?" his smirk began to grow. "Nothin', huh? Hmm. Ya know, ya been readin' an awful lot. Ya coulda' maybe missed somethin'. Why don't you ah… set it down, and I'll look it over while you try another book."
"No," she calmly but somewhat nervously took another step back.
She turned left, but BeastBoy was there at the ready. She sidestepped to make for a dash right, but he was there to cut her off once more.
"C'mon, Rae," he teased. "Whatcha' got?"
Raven turned her back to BeastBoy, holding the book close to her chest.
SHWOO
BeastBoy phased his head right through her, and right into the book.
Raven narrowed her eyes in the most un-amused expression amidst a sigh in defeat. "I really should've seen that one coming," she muttered to herself.
BeastBoy slowly pulled back. Silent, almost in a state of shock.
"Dude," he said in mild disbelief, "Is… that…?"
The book in Raven's hands, now begrudgingly held out in plain view as there was no way to hide it anymore, held a familiar title on the cover: 'All Kinds of Love'
It was the same relationship self help book BeastBoy had been caught with and somewhat cautioned about at the bookstore only a day or two ago.
Raven cast her eyes off to the side, unable to look at him.
"So," BeastBoy began.
"Here it comes," Raven sank her head between her shoulders.
"All that super secret and 'discreet' talk? About 'not adding to problems'? How'd you put it?" he mused out loud, tapping his chin as if pretending to recall when it was clearly already locked in his memory. "Oh yeah, 'putting a strain on things'." It figured BeastBoy's memory was sharp as a tack when it came to rubbing it in over something. And he was pretty much quoting word for word her opening diatribe regarding relationships in general.
Raven's head sank back as if trying to bury it under the collar of her cloak like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
And then?
Nothing.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Raven braved a glance back at the translucent green boy before her.
BeastBoy's smile was barley at a quarter strength than she had predicted. She thought for certain he'd be ear to ear with teasing remarks and chuckles rattling off like automatic weapon fire. However that didn't seem to be the fitting description. He was still clearly amused by this, as no doubt she figured he would be. But not in a mocking or conceited sense. Rather in a more… pleased way. Glad.
Raven relaxed her posture, still keeping the book in plain view before setting it down on the bed. She looked to BeastBoy again who still wore a content smile, but beginning to gleam with a sly and somewhat devious underscore to it.
"Well?" She asked.
"Well what?" he smirked, the innocence of his demeanor starting to fade.
Raven gave a somewhat impatient look to him. The only thing worse than BeastBoy having something up his sleeve was him dragging it out.
"Oh, come on," she said dryly. "No sarcasm? No 'too good for you' literary remarks?"
He just closed his eyes as he shook his head.
Raven quirked an eyebrow.
"I admit, it's… surprising," he rolled with a step to the side. "Flattering, a little sweet, and… kinda' cute."
BeastBoy was clearly making the most of his intangibility and zero effect to physical repercussions, as he turned to slyly smile.
A black aura of seething embers seemed to rise off of her. Raven's eyes narrowed, somehow taking umbrage of the word cute to classify the present situation and her demeanor.
BeastBoy got the message with a single flare of her nostrils, straightening his posture and clearing his throat. "Anyways, whaddya' say we just kinda' 'overlook' this whole thing?"
Raven down shifted her expression to second gear, lowering her outward energy aura. "So, you're not going to hold… that," gesturing her head to the side at the book while still keeping BeastBoy locked in view, "Over my head? Now or in the immediate future."
"Nah," he waved off, turning to place his hand on the book's cover. "Compromise, Raven." He smiled. "Relationships are all about compromise."
Raven stared with an unconvinced look of suspicion.
. . .
Raven was once again seated in mid air, reading intently from another of her spell books. While BeastBoy paced back and forth a short distance from her, arms held behind his back as he appeared deep in thought of his own. Back and forth he walked, staring at the floor as it crossed under his feet.
"Okay," he announced, standing up straight turning to face her.
Raven retained her book in place, only lifting her eyes just enough to display her redirected attention.
"What's your favorite tv show?" he asked.
Raven lowered her eyes back down into the book. "I don't watch tv," she answered discreetly.
BeastBoy leaned off to the side, rubbing his head in mild disappointment. "Well, that cuts down on the small talk."
Rather than hold the book over Raven, BeastBoy had instead opted for a little interpersonal information in exchange. A few questions and key personal knowledge he had made note of from his own brief interpretation of the book in question.
Despite some early objection Raven eventually conceded. It was the quickest way to keep him quiet and otherwise occupied. And she was a little curious what BeastBoy might deem as privileged information about her. He learns about her, she learns about him.
Compromise.
"What's your favorite food?" he asked with an eager smile.
"The edible kind," again she answered without having to look away from the book, as if hardly giving it any thought.
"Aw, c'mon Rae. Remember what the book said? Common interests. This isn't gonna work if ya don't take it seriously." BeastBoy crossed his arms, lightly pouting.
"No, I'm not taking it seriously 'because' it doesn't work." Raven was still adamant about how having similar interests of any kind was not a pivotal factor.
BeastBoy just shook his head deciding not to press the argument further lest he risk losing the opportunity to learn while he could.
"Okay, okay. Um… favorite kind of movie?" he aimed for a more generic question. Raven wasn't big on tv, so movies were an equal long shot. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Horror," she answered.
"Really?" BeastBoy was mildly surprised, crooking his head at her.
Raven hadn't fared well with Hollywood engineered fear in the past so this was somewhat of a shock. If she was being sincere that is.
"The ignorant immature ones always die first. Poetic justice in a sense," she shrugged with a turn of the page.
BeastBoy slumped in his posture. "Gee… that's comforting."
Raven looked up, seeking to clarify that last remark. "You're not dead," she reminded him. "You're just between dimensional planes. Your spiritual essence is merely free to wander without an anchor."
"Way to raise my spirit," he remarked unenthusiastically. By now he was far less sensitive on the D word, at least not directly pertaining to him. Still…
Raven closed the book, setting down onto the ground to walk softly towards the bookshelf.
"Another one?!" he asked, somewhat shocked, almost annoyed at her dedication to the written word.
"I'm still not getting anywhere," she sighed. "Most of what's available is conjecture. Guess work at best. Every chapter dealing with something associated with this kind of magic is either flawed by lore or simply trails off without any explanation." She plucked another book from the shelf. "I'm guessing there's a reason magic like this isn't well documented. Hardly seems deserving of existence." Raven began to skim the first few pages as she lifted herself back into the air.
BeastBoy's mind clicked, as if Raven's words had tripped something on his mind. "That kinda' reminds me…"
Raven glanced briefly at him before turning back to her book having located the passage she was looking for.
He shyly lowered his head a bit, twiddling his fingers. "Remember how… when you asked why I was with you?"
Raven's pupils stopped cold, frozen to the word of the current sentence she was reading.
"Well…"
"BeastBoy, you don't have to." She cut him off, lowering the book. "It was the tension of the moment, brought on by exhaustion and… other factors," she conceded, intentionally leaving out guilt, before raising the book back up to reading level.
A wave of relief washed over him as he sank a little lower in his posture. But he quickly shook it off, standing back at attention puffing out his chest slightly. This felt too personal to ignore.
"Well, I know but… I feel like it deserves an answer. But at the same time, I can't really pin one down."
"It's fine BeastB…"
"No," he calmly protested. "I really wanna' answer this. It's just I don't wanna' say something to end this when I'm trying to explain it. I mean, you do kinda' deserve to know, don't you?"
Raven was silent, trying to retain focus to her book. But it was obvious reading was no longer of interest as her eyes had stopped flowing across the page.
She wanted to protest, but deep down she was semi curious. She did want some degree of closure.
He began pacing a few steps. "I mean, i-is it because you're honest with me? Because you don't force yourself around me? You say what's on your mind or you only sugar coat stuff when ya absolutely have to? There's just so many reasons, but none of them seem like that one good reason I'm… ya know… 'with' you." He ceased his back and forth pacing and jumped up onto the bed. Seating himself on the edge of the mattress he took a small breath before looking up at her. "But I gave it a lotta' thought and it's a little hard to explain. So… just kinda go with it."
"You're asking me to bear with you in how you explain yourself? Oh, there's a stretch." She held her head with one hand.
"No really," he offered sincerely.
Raven stared, somewhat caught off guard by the sudden seriousness in his eyes. She leaned forward, listening intently.
BeastBoy gave a small nod acknowledging her attention. "Okay. Ya know all those times ya hit me, and look at me hard, and talk down to me?"
"Yes," she answered simply.
"Why do you do that?" he tilted his head to the side feigning almost childlike curiosity to make her give it serious thought.
Raven reared her head back as if surprised he'd even have to ask. "Because… it feels right and its what you deserve most of the time."
"Exactly," he pointed to her with a smile. "Well, that's kinda' the same way I feel about you. It feels right and you deserve it."
Raven blinked, taking a second to mentally digest, clearly confused. "You're saying… you're with me because… I deserve you?"
"Are you saying you don't?"
"You, possibly. The headaches that come with you, that's another story," she dipped her head onto her shoulder.
"But it does feel right."
Raven stopped, lingering a few seconds before looking back to meet eyes with him. It took a moment to let it all sink in before she found herself shyly nodding, finding some measure of truth to it.
BeastBoy smiled.
Raven softly exhaled as if holding her breath for the last five minutes of the conversation.
"Okay. Now, how about me?" he reinstated the topic the topic at hand, leaning forward unable to hide his anticipation.
"What about you?" She quickly took up proper reading posture as if anxious to delve back into her research.
"Why are you with me?"
Raven hung her head off to the side. "I do not think…"
"No, no," he waved both hands in front of him, not willing to accept a refusal. Not after all the stress that question had put on him at the time. "Fair's fair. And I don't think it's too much to ask."
Raven sighed. Speaking under heavy emotional influence had this nasty habit of catching up with her when she wanted to deal with it at the least desirable time.
BeastBoy nervously scratched the back of his head, leaning one hand back on the bed. "Not to rip off old band-aids but… the ways things kinda' clicked with me and you. Isn't that kinda' the same as… uh… what's his face? Two faced dude. Half toothpick with old mop hair, half spooky dragon?"
Raven hung her head in shameful remembrance. "Wolf in sheep's clothing." She responded, unwilling to speak his name, knowing full well whom he was referring to.
"For real!? I gotta compete with other animals now?"
Raven shook off a sigh with a soft smile, unable to tell if he was serious or charmingly idiotic.
"It… is kinda' the same," he stared down at the floor before peeking back up at her.
"No," she began solemnly, "It's not."
Raven had long since more carefully rationalized and re-thought her fleeting encounter with Malchior. The dragon disguised as a charming male wizard, bound to one of Raven's spell books until she unwittingly unleashed him through his tactful manipulation. And even at its peak, she never fully associated the connection she had with him as one of affection. It was more of an overwhelming acceptance and at a time where she had felt more isolated than usual. Which made it all the easier for him to prey on her as he had. It was a few things. But it was not like it was with BeastBoy, then or now.
"It's not how it was with Malchior," she concluded.
BeastBoy gave a visual double take. "Wait, I thought Malchior was the prince dude and Rorek was the dragon who impersonated the prince dude."
"That's what I said," she affirmed.
"No, you said it wasn't how it was with Malchior, but it wasn't Malchior. It was mostly Rorek as Malchior. Or was it more like Malchior as Rorek?" BeastBoy's hands were pointing every which way; crisscrossing around one another, almost tangling his own hands if not for the fact they could pass through each other.
"Well he w-… I mean it was more lik-… Ugh! Even just the essence of you gives me a headache." She shut her eyes, rubbing her forehead. Raven was on the verge of giving herself a migraine. She leaned forward burying her face in her book once more.
BeastBoy clammed up for a moment to give her time to calm down. It was clear he'd unintentionally worked her up. He was increasingly more aware and surprisingly sensitive to Raven's emotional learning curve. Like playing Operation. Except instead of worrying about touching the sides and making the nose glow, he was more worried about touching a nerve and having her eyes glow.
The past was still no easier to look back on. And especially not all the jarred emotions that came with it. Raven sighed, her eyes drooping deeper into her book. "Sometimes I just want to shut myself away."
SHWOO
BeastBoy phased his head through the book.
"Guh," Raven lightly huffed, reeling back still in air, arms fully outstretched as she instantaneously had pushed the book away, caught off guard. She looked briefly to the vacant spot on the bed no longer occupied by BeastBoy, making certain this wasn't some new spiritual ability. He'd merely crept out in front of her.
He kneeled on the floor just below her, his face still looking up at her through the book. "You don't ever have to hide from me."
She looked right at him.
He looked right back. "I so wanna' try for a kiss right now," he said dreamily.
Raven replied with a lighter frown and a semi-serious demeanor. "And I so want to throw you out the window and into the bay. But there's not a lot we can do about that, now can we?"
Gradually Raven eased back into upright reading position. Catching her breath she released one side of the book to run her fingers through her hair and brush a single bead of sweat from her brow, steadying her breathing and dispersing the creeping redness in her cheeks. With a small cough clearing her throat she returned to her hand to the book.
BeastBoy phased out of the pages, taking a few steps back. "I know you'll do your best Raven."
She sighed once more. "And if my best isn't enough?" she asked drearily.
"Sheesh, no pressure or nothin'," he attempted the ease the tension. "See, this is what happens when ya read too much. All those big words start weighin' down your chill. It's not like I'm already gone." He held out his arms around him as if punctuating that he was still present to some capacity.
She shook her head. While it was nice to know he could adapt under the most extreme circumstances she couldn't put this off any longer. "BeastBoy, as hard as this might be to even think about there is a distinct possibility that there might not be a way to reverse this."
"Not like I'm gone," he shrugged. "Exclusive, but not gone. Might take some gettin' used to though. Ya know, the whole no body thing."
"No!" Raven exclaimed, starting to get worked up again. "I can't accept that!" She stared daggers at him, making him almost jump back.
"How co…?"
"Because I like you the way you are. Were… Are… Am? Ugh, I don't even know any more!" She threw out her hands, dropping the book the ground, holding her face in her palms.
Quiet.
No counter remarks, no desperate apology for upsetting her, nothing. Just the stillness of the room.
Raven peeked through her fingers.
BeastBoy just looked at her. And with the warmest smile she could ever recall.
Slowly she pulled her head back up and fixing her hair back into place. "What?" she asked in a firm tone.
He looked down, shyly tracing circles on the floor with his foot before looking back up at her, his smile never once faltering. "That's the first time you ever said you like me."
Raven's eyes widened, momentarily at a standstill, having blurted it out without thinking. But it was true. Since this whole thing began she had never told him straight up and to his face the one thing that seemed to make this whole thing work. She liked him. Granted, it wasn't love. But it was above tolerable too. A step in the right direction. And for BeastBoy that was like a reaching a whole new level.
"I-I…um, that is…" she stammered. Her chakra stone sparked, dropping her onto the floor flat on her bottom. "Ugh," she groaned with a thud onto the floor.
"Yeah, yeah," he waved off, allowing the deniability to sink in. "Ya never said anything. Now, it's gettin' late. I'm just gonna' walk outside, go to my room so you can get your feels in order, blow something up, and then we can start fresh tomorrow. Cool?"
Raven could tell it was already late in the day. And from the lack of light at the back of the curtains the sun had probably already set. It was nighttime. And a little shuteye might not be such a bad idea right about now. She had a lot to process.
BeastBoy started for the door.
Raven reached out, about to tell him to stay. He did still have a 'condition' after all. But under the circumstances maybe a little break would be good for her.
She drew her hand back, still trembling somewhat as if trying to figure out how to make her mouth work. Fighting hard to hold back her embarrassment, rubbing her backside briefly before starting to pick herself up.
"Oh, and Raven?" he called, halfway through the door.
She looked back up, doing her best to project a neutral stare. But her eyes were far from convincing, a look of subtle bewitchment about them.
He smiled. "I like you too." And with that phased the rest of the way out the door and into the hall.
He took two steps away from the door, before stopping abruptly. He looked back as he leaned in back towards the door, his ear perked up, listening intently. "Three… two… one, and…?"
A small tremor shook the wall.
BeastBoy smiled bigger as he walked down the hall towards his room.
Raven sat up from the floor, dissipating a black energy barrier she'd thrown up around her. Every book blown off the shelf, scattered across the room and her bed as she exhaled deeply. Her powers had vented momentarily due to such a strong emotional spike.
"File this under the 'I'm going to hurt BeastBoy later' category." She whispered to herself clutching her chest, red in the face. Though, which kind of red remained to be seen.
She could really learn to hate him. If she wasn't working on openly loving him.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
SHWOO
BeastBoy walked through the door to his room, trudging inside the dark dimly lit confines of his room. Dragging his feet forward he passed his small mounds of disheveled and wrinkled clothes, past the teetering stacks of comics, and right up to his bed.
He stopped short to briefly glance out the window, verifying the starry sky outside and the gentle moonlight glistening off the bay. He rubbed his eyes as he turned to begin leaning forward and drop face first into bed.
SHWOO
"WAH!"
WOOMP!
BeastBoy passed right through the bed and onto the floor. Slowly he crawled out from under the bed, getting to his feet. "What the heck?" he rubbed his jaw. He held out his hand pressing down onto the bed, to which he was able to keep it from passing through this time. "Weird."
Cautiously, BeastBoy climbed into bed lying down on his back. After a minute or so of remaining situated without further vertical incursions with the floor below he relaxed his shoulders, rolling onto his side.
He chalked it up as a fluke. Got in too fast. Yeah, that was it. Being able to will just enough bearing on what to and not pass through was a subtle ability not suited for BeastBoy's typical spur of the moment life style.
It was strange though. He didn't know why but he felt… different. Not achy or painful different. Not 'special time in a young boy's life' different. Just different. Like his whole body felt lighter and heavier at the same time. Tingly almost, like when your foot falls asleep only without the pins and needles sensation that came with it.
He rolled over onto his other side, closing his eyes. At least sleep was a notion that seemed somewhat easier.
The first night after this whole incident occurred he practically had to force himself to nod off. Maybe it was the tension of sharing Raven's room. Or maybe just taking in everything that'd happened.
But now it seemed much more natural. Almost like his body was adjusting maybe. Adjusting his senses accordingly. Whatever the case, he took it as a positive. He felt tired, just like he had been before. Who knew, by this time tomorrow, he might be hungry too.
Maybe this whole thing was temporary and starting to wear off.
He snuggled deeper into sleep, curling his arm around his head to support himself as a makeshift pillow.
Maybe he was getting better.
. . .
BeastBoy's ear twitched in the night. His eyes squeezed tight, tossing and turning back onto the other side of the bed. He mumbled a low groan in his sleep.
Fade out.
Fade in.
His body flickered.
To Be Continued…
