CHAPTER 7
"You want Beast Boy to be the team leader?" Robin's voice was incredulous. "You're joking, right?"
"Uhh, what he said," Beast Boy mumbled from his spot beneath Cyborg's chin. "Also, way to boost my self-esteem, Rob."
"Think about it," Victor insisted. "Who led a team made up of people he'd barely even met before into a fight with basically every bad guy we've ever faced, and won?"
"Sheer dumb luck," Robin grated. "Emphasis on the dumb."
"Hold up," Gar said, face going hard, "You know exactly squat about that mission; you were an ice cube, in case you forgot. Do you really think I could spend years as part of the Doom Patrol and not learn a thing or two? I know how to lead a team, Robin." He sighed. "And more importantly, I know that there's no way I want that kind of responsibility on my shoulders."
Cyborg began waving his hands in the air, gesticulating wildly. "And that's precisely why you'd be a better leader than a power-mad traffic light!"
Starfire's eyes glowed with fury. "Robin has always done what is best for the team! You have no right to accuse him of—"
"Red X." Raven's comment was quiet, but it drew silence and four stares. Shrugging, she crossed her arms. "If we're going to have this discussion, we might as well have all the facts out there. I'll agree that Robin is a good leader in most circumstances, but when he thinks he knows better, he keeps us in the dark and sabotages the team. Apparently he has yet to learn his lesson, and at this point I'm not certain he ever will."
Robin looked down, chewing on his lip. Raven's words had struck home for more reasons than she might have suspected.
Turning toward Garfield, the spellcaster continued. "Beast Boy is inexperienced as a leader. He's often immature—"
"Hey now—"
"What's the medical name for the tailbone?" she asked.
The green boy giggled. "Coccyx."
"My point exactly." Robin thought he saw the hint of a smile in the empath's eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure. "As I was saying, he's often immature, but when it counts, he takes this job just as seriously as any of us. I have no doubt he'd be a good leader. A better leader than Robin? That's hard to say, but it's possible."
The uncomfortable silence stretched until Beast Boy chose to break it. "Hey, uh, don't I get a vote as to whether or not I'm gonna be the leader?"
"Yes." Robin's face was set in a grim line. "Each of us does." He unzipped a compartment on his suitcase and produced five pens and notepads. "I was going to use these in an observational training exercise for the team, but now it looks like they'll serve another purpose. Each of us will write down who we think should lead this team, and then we'll show them once everyone is done. No chance for the initial trend to influence the final results."
Beast Boy scratched his head. "Uh, shouldn't we be, y'know, putting them in a hat or something? Isn't that how this goes?"
"We all know each other's handwriting anyway, even if we try to disguise it," Cyborg said. "Besides, I'm interested in knowing the reasoning behind each person's vote."
Pen and paper was distributed in somber silence, which was then broken only by the scratching of ball points.
Coughing, Beast Boy passed his notepad face-down to Raven. "Here y'go, Rae..." His eyes darted around. "...Ven. I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick. Too much excitement. No need to wait up for me; just tell me who's the boss when I get back."
Robin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the shapeshifter left the room.
"All right," Cyborg said after a small eternity of silence. "Moment of truth. Let's read 'em. We'll do Beast Boy's last so he can explain his thinking when he's done." He laid his notepad on the bed for everyone to see. "No secret here: Beast Boy's my choice. You already heard my reasons."
Starfire followed suit. "Robin is our leader, and I still believe he acts with the best intentions of the team in mind. On Tamaran, a leader who is still capable of performing his duties can be removed only in circumstances of extreme and deliberate betrayal of those under his command. Do not think that because you saw my sister lose the throne without bloodshed, Tamaran views its rulers as interchangeable; that was the first time in five generations that a coup has been successfully conducted, and even then, only because her treachery was immediately made public. Friend Beast Boy might do well if given the opportunity, but I believe that until the day that Robin truly and willingly betrays us, he should remain in command."
Robin threw his down, taking a moment to enjoy the surprised looks his choice garnered before he steeled himself for a difficult confession. "Look, I know I get... carried away sometimes. Starfire's right that I really do have the team's best interests in mind, but my intentions don't matter as much as the results. And no matter how hard I try to avoid it, I guess I'll always think I know best... just like Batman always did." Bringing his eyes to meet each of his teammates' in turn, he continued. "Beyond that, though... I'm scared, guys. Despite our falling out, I still consider Batman my father, and most of the core members of the Justice League have been like family to me since before there was a Justice League." He swallowed hard, supporting his heavy head on the knuckles of a clenched fist. "I lost my whole family once before Batman... I can't let that happen ever again." With a deep breath, he looked back up, glad that the lenses of his mask hid how close he was to tears. "So now you know why I've been going off the deep end, making dumb mistakes, saying things I don't really mean. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I've been unfair to all of you, especially Beast Boy. He's got the potential to be a great leader, and if you guys think he's better for the team, I'll stand behind him and give him any support I can."
With no fanfare, Raven placed her notepad alongside the others. "This team has a delicate balance: each of us serves a purpose, not only in combat, but in our day to day life. Beast Boy keeps us smiling, even when it's the last thing we want to do... and as a leader, he can't do that as effectively. Beyond that, though, I know that if Beast Boy really thought he was the best choice for the team, he would sacrifice his own happiness for us. But despite everything," she said, "He believes in Robin." She tossed the shapeshifter's pad onto the bed. The messy scrawl was unmistakable. "Before you ask, yes, I peeked to be sure I was siding with Beast Boy. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hunt him down and let him know he can relax. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two to talk him into coming back."
Cyborg cocked his head to the side. "From the bathroom?"
An arched eyebrow from the empath corrected his assumption. "You really thought he was going to the bathroom? He left the hotel as fast as he could."
—
Beast Boy wasn't exactly sure where he was, but he knew it was fairly far off from their hotel, which was precisely his goal at the moment. Trotting along the alleyways of Barcelona's Old City as a cat, he attracted very little attention from the passerby; his unusual hue went unnoticed as long as he kept to the shadows.
Just as he was about to round another corner, the fur on his scruff stood straight up as his body began to tingle. There was magic nearby, which meant...
"Get lost on the way to the bathroom?" a smoky voice called out from behind him.
With a squawk of distress, he took off as fast as his feline legs would carry him... which wasn't very fast, given the black energy that encased them and bound them together.
"Gar," Raven said as he floated back towards her, hanging upside down like a hog destined for the fire pit, "You should know by now that there's no use in running from your responsibilities... and especially not from me."
The changeling reverted to his normal form and gulped. "Speaking of responsibilities..." he managed to croak. The blood rushing to his head was giving him the beginnings of a headache, but his heart was pounding for more reasons than that.
"They haven't changed," she said with a gentle smile. "Madness, bad puns, general mayhem, pranking Robin when he deserves it... and pulling me out of my room every now and then."
Beast Boy let out a sigh of relief, not caring for the moment that he was still hanging upside down. Although... "Uh, Raven? Why are you still holding me like this?"
"Because I seem to remember a conversation in the restaurant we didn't get to finish," she said with a determined glint in her eye. "Either you agree that we'll talk about it right now, or I keep you dangling there until the issue is resolved."
"As far as I know, it's pretty simple, Rae," he said, patience wearing thin from the stress and the gravity-induced headache. "I like you, and you don't like me like that. Guess which one wins?"
He was caught unawares when the world turned upright again in a split second, and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.
"You're giving up, just like that?" Raven's voice was full of tones that confused him. "Never once in the entire time I've known you have you given up that easily on anything, Gar." From his vantage point, the petite girl made for an intimidating figure as she shoved her finger in his face. "I told you, I don't know how I feel about you. I'm an emotionally constipated half-demon with a huge problem differentiating between my own feelings and everyone else's. All I know is that you make me feel something that's coming entirely from me, and I—"
Raven's words were cut short with a sharp, gurgling gasp as the blade of a katana exploded out of her chest. It was withdrawn with a vicious twist, and the empath dropped wide-eyed to the ground. In the space where she had once stood, a familiar figure in a two-toned mask loomed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?"
AN: I warned you. There's not going to be another pretty picture at the end of a chapter till we're done or mostly done... also, I have yet to finish writing this story.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, but most especially to RabulaTasa, who reminded me that Robin was being dense even in light of Slade. I've done a bit more digging into his motivations here; hopefully this helps to balance things a bit.
