Hello! Hehe. I'm happy, I got a chapter done and out within one week of the last update, thats a record!
I'd like to thank all my reviewers, you guys rock my world! And to answer your question BG-13, it would totally be weird -shifty eyes- and sure thing, 6kimiko6, I'll tell her you said that ;D
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"Please, don't!" The boy cried, but it was to no use. Slade only laughed or shook his head, as he continued to experiment. Raven could only watch in horror as she saw Slade Plunge the needle into Sean's arm.
"Ouch!" He winced. "Wheres my family?"
"Oh, rest assured they are in a safe place." Slade answered, before disappearing into the darkness. While Slade was gone, Sean desperately tried to tamper with the locks on his chair, the only ones that kept him anchored to his prison. He started to sweat. Whatever was in that shot, was starting to affect him now.
"Help me," He cried. "Someone help me!"
"Nobody will hear you, Sean, you are completely helpless. Work with me, and you can have your family back."
"Never! Where are they?" He shouted, shaking with anger. "Where... Arggg..."
"The 'toxin' I injected into your system allows me to kill you with ease. I suggest you work with me, if you ever want to see your family again."
"Ahh...arg.. what did you do to me?" He slurred. The room was starting to blur, not only for Sean but for Raven too.
"See, my boy. I have a city I want to take over, and all that's in my way are the titans."
"T-T-Titans?" He stuttered, unable to cope with the pain. Raven herself feel to her knees, she could feel everything he could feel. The toxin moved through their veins, spreading pain like a wildfire.
The pain was so intense that she couldn't even hear the conversation anymore, but barely made out their blurry forms.
"I won't, I can't, I-Agh!"
The empath doubled over with this instance of pain. With a grimace she realized Slade had punched the boy, and frankly, felt like he broke a few ribs.
"O-o-okay, I got it. K-Kill the titans."
"I thought you'd see it my way."
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Beast Boy watched guilty as Raven tossed and turned in her long slumber. She must have been having a nightmare, but she's been acting like this since last night. Numerous times she'd mumble something, and he'd try to awaken her, but she never came too. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed in the med-bay. He hated this room, but he hated it even more when she was in it. She mummered words softly in her restless sleep, and he strained to hear what she was saying.
"Mmmh.. no..leave me alone.." She gripped the sheets of the bed. "Leave me alone!"
"Raven, I'm here," Beast Boy answered, moving her frazzled purple hair out of her face. She frowned, but didn't open her eyes."Raven, its a dream, wake up!" No answer, and she went silent again.
He sat down with a sigh and started to wait again. He never left her side for a moment, except to use the restroom, and it was the longest five minutes he'd ever experienced. Laying a gloved hand on Raven's gray ones, Beast Boy let his head rest on the side of her bed, allowing himself a moment's rest.
Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Sure, it was cliché, and totally un-original, but he had to try. The old talking-to-someone-while-they're-in-comatose must have worked before, so it might now.
"Hey Raven.." Beast Boy started, feeling rather foolish for talking to someone who can't hear. "Uhm... so you're in the med-bay, huh?" Doh! That wasn't the right thing to say! The frustrated changeling smacked his head. "Er, uh, that's not what I meant. I mean, we're here again. Me and you, except its not like the last time, the others aren't here. But its still my fault..."
Raven felt as if she was going to gag from all the intense pain. Slade was ruthless with his experiments, poking and protruding Sean, injecting him with various fluids that burned or chilled, and 'punishing' the poor boy when he tried to escape. Now he stood over the boy with yet another needle. Sean was afraid, very afraid, Raven sensed.
"I've finally gotten the perfect formula." Slade hummed, wiping down the needle before using it. Who would have that a character like him cared about hygiene.
"W-What's going to happen now?" Sean cried.
Slade turned his mask slightly so that his eye glimmered in the darkness."Everything, my dear boy. This formula here is enough to turn you into a feral meta-human, with features and a mindset that closely resemble the Canis lupus. Why a wolf, you ask? Wolves are agile, smart, and very deadly creatures... and can easily be disregarded as a stray in the city."
"I'm sorry, Rae, I just – its hard for me to stay serious when... when I'm scared. I was scared for you, I guess. Scared of this. You getting hurt, that's not what I wanted.
"That's stupid! What point would that make!"
"Quiet!" Slade snarled, delivering a hard slap to the boys face. Raven gasped in pain as her cheek started to sting.
"I should have been on guard. I let my feelings come before my sense of duty, and look where it got you."
A voice floated through the room, muffling the scene and bringing Raven back from the haze she had currently been in.
"Beast Boy?" She called out. The scenario carried on without the slightest acknowledgment of Raven's presence. Thats right, Raven thought. I'm not supposed to be here. This is someone's memories, but not mine. I have to get out of here, but how?
"Yesterday, when we were on the roof. I wanted to say this, but Cyborg interrupted."
Slade laughed mercilessly. "This serum I'm going to give you is extremely contagious. I plan to use you as a host of sorts – you'll roam the inner city, biting and infecting as many as you can. The titans may arrive in time to stop you – but this serum is dormant and can be active at my command. People will spread the infection in doing normal, everyday things... and when the time comes, I'll flip the switch. I'll have the only antidote, and I will have the city to its knees easily. Oh, how powerful I will be, with the lives of millions in my grasp." Slade tightened his fist.
Raven's eyes grew wide at Slade's revelation. "No," She whispered. His plan was worse then she had hoped, he planned to takeover Jump City in the sickest way possible, turning the civiliations into savage carnivores and turning them against each other.. She had to get out, she had to tell someone.
"I know you can't really hear me now, but I'll say it. Raven, I.. I..."
"Don't worry, Sean. You and your family won't suffer long."
"You won't get away with this!" Sean screamed, furiously fighting his restraints as Slade advanced on him with the injection. "The titans will stop you!"
Raven, I love you.
Slade slipped the needle into Sean's neck, and pain invaded her body like no other. Her body felt like it was shrinking, her lungs were being steam-pressed and her bones felt as if they were twisting out of shape. She recognized this feeling, he was transforming! It started already... the plan was already in motion. The pain wrenched her throat something horrible, but she still managed to scream out one last thing before blacking out.
"Beast Boy!"
The green man let out another sigh. He had confessed his love, it felt great, but he really wished that she was conscious to hear it. Still, it felt great to get it off his chest.
His ears caught a sharp intake of breath, and he jumped out of his chair, flying next to her side
"Beast Boy..." She moaned. Her eyes fluttered open and landed on the green man beside her.
"Raven! You're awake," He started, a smile forming already. "I thought you'd never wake up. You really scared m-"
He was cut off by the sorceress grabbing him into a tight hug. She buried her face into his neck, and for a moment he was speechless. "Raven?" He finally gathered his thoughts into words.
"Did you mean it, Garfield?" She only replied, her voice cracking.
"Mean what?"
"What you said. I hear it, all of it."
Beast Boy pulled back from their embrace so that he could look her in the eyes. Beautiful, he thought. No, gorgeous. Her eyes are gorgeous.
"Every word." He promised, running a hand through her hair. She smiled and rested her head against his chest. Beast Boy felt a sensation in holding her that he never felt before, not even with Terra. It was more then happiness, more then affection even. Him and her, being there, was right, and he wanted to stay forever.
"I love you too, Gar." She finally said, her words humming against his chest. The vase on the table shattered, loudly, but the couple paid no heid.
A few minutes passed where neither moved, each deeply lost in their own thoughts, yet not lonely. Raven broke the embrace first, pulling back from Beast Boy. The changeling immediately saw the worry in her amethyst eyes, and he cocked his head as if to ask why.
"Its Slade – he was behind that attack. He's trying to take over the city, by using this serum..." She grunted, holding her head. She still had quite the headache. "Its turning people against each other."
"Wait, Raven – you're hurt. Lay down... I'll get you some tea. Then, I'll get Robin and the others and we'll tell them."
With a sigh, Raven laid back down in her bed. As much as she wanted to reveal Slade's plan, she really needed that tea. "Okay. Hurry, Gar."
"Yes, ma'am." He mock-saluted her before morphing into a cat, bounding out of the room. A smile threatened to emerge on Raven's face, but she kept it small. She was happy, but she wouldn't dare let that emotion show, lest she wanted to blow the east wing of the tower. So she waited silently, watching the night sky through the giant window in the medbay, wondering what will happen in the future, and what happened to Sean.
"Hey, Rae."
Raven did not need to see who that snobby voice belonged too, nor did she want too.
"Hello, Terra. What brings you here?"
"Oh, nothing." She answered, sweetly. She pulled up a chair and sat across the room, facing out the window. "I've learned some interesting things about you, Raven."
"I suppose everyone will eventually."
"Ha ha." She spat. The blond stood up and walked closer to the window, folding her hands behind he back. "I know what you are, witch."
Raven's felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as Terra turned to her and showed her Slade's remote.
"What -"
"I know how to flip you on and off, just like a switch." She all but sneered, lightly touching the remote.
"Terra, you traitor – you've been working for Slade the entire time!"
"Not necessarily." Terra chuckled, circling the bed. "Slade and I came to an agreement last night. He and I both don't want you to exist anymore – but don't worry. I won't kill you."
"Damn right you won't!" Raven growled, as her hands started glow a deadly black.
"Whoa, calm down dude. Let me finish." The geomancer continued, unfazed. "Stay away from Beast Boy. I'll let bygones be bygones. Follow that one rule, and we can forget this even happened."
Raven grated her teeth in anger. How dare she - !
"Hell, I'm sure you don't want your little secret to be out. How would your teammates think of you then? You lied to them, deceived them..."
"Then it makes two of us," Raven hissed. "You won't get away with this, they will find out about you working with Slade, and I won't stay away from Garfield!"
Her unchecked powers caused a machine burst behind the infuriated empath.
"Fine then. Have it your way." Terra chirped. "But since I'm the one pulling the strings – you'll be the only traitor in this tower."
"You -"
"Hey Rae? There was no more regular herbal, all I could find was the lemon herbal so I hope you'd be okay with – oh." Beast Boy almost dropped the tea as he spotted Terra and Raven in the same room together. "Is everything alright?" His mood changed to serious, and he inched closer to Raven.
"Oh, fine. I was just checking up on Raven." Behind her back, she fingered the trigger that Slade told her to flip when the time was right.
"That's fine, Gar. Thank you." Raven smiled as she took a sip of the tea. No reason in telling him what had went down – it was just extra stress.
"No problem. Anything for you, Rae." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Terra's mouth dropped. Did he just – no, no no! This isn't right! He can't be with her! Now Terra was the one growing angry.
"Aww. That's cute." Terra smiled disconcertingly. She went for the exit. Beast Boy sat lazily in his chair, now occupied himself with his game-boy – since Terra was leaving, now his only worry was boredom. Raven's eyes followed Terra as she exited.
Just before the earth-mover completely disappeared behind the sliding door, Raven watched in horror as she witnessed Terra flick the switch with a click.
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BAM! Thats a good cliff hanger, right? Am I right? … Anyone?
