Author's Note: Here's chapter 9, but it is far from the last chapter, I can promise you that. Wow, I can't believe it took 2 chapters for Raven and Cyborg to finally get in. Sweetness.
Disclaimer: I don't own them
Poll: If you could change one thing about every Titan, what would it be?
Previous Poll:
Me: I would have to say The Beast Within. It personifies Beast Boy rather well, and there is a lot of RaeBB fluff
Raven's Secret: Titans Together. Beast Boy is kick-ass in that episode, and it shows his true skills
Chapter 9
Rescuers
"Quiet." Raven held out her hand, suspicious. "Did you hear that?"
Cyborg stopped in his tracks, listening carefully. The sound of rustling was just to their left, behind a large door that was locked. As he listened harder, the sound grew louder, and more like footsteps. He could place three specific people, headed right for them.
He turned to Raven, his sonic cannon ready to fire. He smirked, and she returned the look. Both watched the door carefully, waiting for the battle that was headed their way. With an explosive bang, the lock burst from the door, and three men charged in. They were clad in what seemed like Army attire, with camouflaged bullet proof vests and steel-toed boots. Their pants were a dark green mixed with a light brown, as were their shirts. All three simultaneously lifted their guns and opened fire. Raven let loose her energy, engulfing her and her friend in a small dome. She nodded towards Cyborg, and let down the shield long enough for him to return fire.
The man on the far right screamed, and was down, his gun draped over his chest and eyes closed. The remaining two narrowed their eyes and continued shooting, aiming at Cyborg's head. He felt his shoulder hit by a bullet, but didn't back off. With Raven by his side, he shot his cannon at the center man. The tall guard fell backwards, but immediately stood, cocking his gun. He smirked, obviously unaware of the large black hand coming up behind him. Both men were engulfed in Raven's powers, and when she released them, they were unconscious.
"Well, that was easier than expected." Cyborg joked.
"Did they really think three guards with guns would stop us?" Raven asked, seemingly bored.
Beast Boy sat still on his bed, half-listening to the conversation Galtry and Register were having in the room just outside of the mirror's range. They were mumbling things like "not enough guards", "I told you so", and "more firepower". He nearly laughed at their stupidity. Even if this were real, they still couldn't have beaten his friends. Especially Raven. She was far too strong for them to take on.
"So tell me what that serum was really for." Nicholas asked the scientist. Beast Boy was listening intently, now interested.
"What do you mean?" Register questioned, sounding partly confused, partly astounded.
"I saw you create that medication you gave the Logan boy. You didn't use any of the hallucinogens you did in the previous concoction." His voice was tense.
"Very keen eye, you have there." Register laughed a bit. "It was just a mild sedative, with a little bit of hallucinogen material in it."
"Why did you say it would make him hallucinate for a week, or two weeks, or however long?"
"For one, because I wanted to watch him squirm for awhile like he did before. And I also wanted to do a test on how his mind reacts when told it would hallucinate for two weeks when that wasn't true. I want to monitor his behavior for the next two weeks to see if he suffers any hallucinations."
Beast Boy shook his head a bit, trying to clear the conversation from his mind. He didn't care what they said…he wouldn't listen. They wanted to watch him squirm. He would give them no such pleasure. This had to be part of the hallucination, he was sure. Though it sounded like an honest test, Register wasn't daft enough to tell Galtry that within earshot of the green Titan.
Raven and Cyborg tread the staircase that had been behind the locked door. Surely those guards had come from wherever Beast Boy was. At first, the stairwell had been dark, but as they got lower, a small pinpoint of light at the end grew larger, lighting the area. It was dank and chilly, obviously a side effect of it being so deep underground. The final steps were walked down carefully and quietly, making sure not to alert the two men that were down here. Cyborg unlatched his right hand, and it crawled around the corner, its mini camera pointed upward. It returned moments later, and Cyborg started up his cannon.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yes." Raven answered.
The pair charged the two men in the room. Sparks flew as equipment was destroyed. Raven circled the brown-haired man in a sphere of dark energy, her eyes glowed a brilliant white. She demanded to know where Beast Boy was. He merely grinned devilishly at her. Furious, the empath began to make the sphere shrink, crushing him. He screamed for mercy, and pointed down the hallway.
Cyborg pounded at the smaller, clean-cut man, also demanding their friend's location. His sonic cannon fired, missing by a purposeful mere couple of inches. The blonde he was battling pulled out a gun, and Cyborg couldn't help but laugh. The tin man raised his cannon and charged it, but didn't fire. He didn't need to. The shorter man dropped his gun and ran. He charged up the steps, screaming like a girl. Shrugging, Cyborg turned back to Raven.
"Know where the grass stain is?" He asked, his voice hopeful. Raven nodded and flew down the corridor.
Cyborg followed quickly after, turning his head to see the staircase as they ran by. The blonde man he had been combating was struggling to thrust open the door, glaring at the Titans with a ruined malevolence. The half-robot clenched his fists, silently promising to get back at the man and throw him in jail for life. Same with the brown-haired guy Raven had been fighting. The pair passed a giant glass window and Cyborg took a quick view through the glass. There was Beast Boy, in plain view. The top half of his uniform had been cut off, and what remained was shredded and burned. What scared the teen the most was, however, that he wasn't moving, and couldn't detect any breathing.
Raven apparently had noticed the same thing, for the glass was encased in a dark glow and shattered almost instantly. Cyborg took cover, and once all shrapnel had ceased its fall, jumped through the gap. Raven was far ahead of him, already at Beast Boy's side. He could hear her whispering to Beast Boy as she attempted to heal him.
Swoosh back in time to Beast Boy's perspective
Through the vent, he could hear Galtry and Register groan and complain about the failure of their guards. With a final "shit" from Samuel, he knew the battle was over. That was fast. Footsteps echoed through the room, the sound of something large coming down the stone stairs. Cyborg, certainly. Beast Boy wished the sound had been a real one, but he was comforted nonetheless. Sometime, hopefully soon, that sound would be real. He would be saved from this torturous paradise of a hallucination, and from this chamber of Hell all together. It was only a matter of time.
Though he couldn't see the figures on the stairwell, he could hear Cyborg grow closer, then fade. The sounds of clattering, sparks, and another scream reached the changeling, and he smiled a bit. Real or not, hearing his captivators have their butts kicked by his closest friends would always be amusing. As he closed his eyes to fall back asleep, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room. One eye peaked open, seeing Raven setting down next to him. She looked terrified, but there was a bit of relief in her eyes. As her hands hovered over him, encased in a blue aura, she whispered encouragements.
"We're going to get you out, okay?" She told him.
He didn't answer.
"Don't worry, we're here now. I'm here now." Her voice was soft and radiant, and he missed it. But still he did not listen. He closed his eyes, and turned his head away.
"How is he, Raven?" Cyborg asked as he reached them.
Beast Boy listened to the conversation, but dare not respond to any of it.
"I'm surprised he's not dead." She admitted.
"Let me look at him." After Raven had done what she could, she stepped aside.
"Hey, grass stain. Can you hear me?" No response. "Come on, man. I need you to talk to me here."
Coax all you want. Beast Boy thought to himself. You'll never convince me. Though, the alleviation of pain seemed to be doing that on its own. Though in his last hallucination, the pain had all but vanished, it had still been there. There had been a dull reminder that it was lurking in his body, and he was just ignoring it. But there was none of that this time. This time, there wasn't a shred of promise that the pain that had once been would return. Sure, he was still in a Hell of a lot of agony, but the reduction seemed more real than the injuries themselves.
"God, Rae. Look how they kept him restrained. It's a wonder he didn't bleed to death."
Beast Boy could feel the wire straps being pulled from his skin, and he couldn't help but scream. His skin had started to heal itself with the wire inside, and as Cyborg tried his best to remove it painlessly, the flesh tore and fresh blood washed over his wrists. The green Titan shook with the sparks of anguish, tears streaming. He had been in worse, obviously, but it still hurt. And you never get used to pain.
His suffering quickly subsided, however, when Raven again healed his wounds. She cast a smile in his direction, but he didn't respond. Raven…smiled? Well, if nothing else was an obvious enough sign he was seeing things, that definitely proved it. He turned his head away, his eyes no longer containing their characteristic gleam. With a final sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted again into a painful sleep.
"We've got to get him out of here." Raven demanded.
"Want me to have Star and Rob come down here?" Cyborg offered.
"We don't need Robin." Raven said firmly.
Cyborg merely shrugged. He turned back to Beast Boy, and carefully lifted him up. A small groan emitted from the half-dead Titan. His body had already been reduced to skin and bones. He had only been gone for four days, yet it seemed he had lost twenty pounds. Two pairs of pitiful eyes were cast down at the boy in the metal man's arms as they walked up the stairwell. Beast Boy shuddered with the pressure of the titanium on his sides, but no other retaliations were made.
Still at the top of the steps, too surprised to move, sat Nicholas Galtry. His blue eyes were wide with shock, but upon sight of the green boy, they narrowed in anger. He stood, his white shirt now smeared with dirt. Fists clenched as he walked towards the teenagers with a newfound strength.
"That boy is mine." He growled.
"You won't touch him." Cyborg hissed, his voice deep with rage.
"I will get him back." Galtry grinned.
"You'll have to pry him from my dead fingers." The metal man left out the "cold" part because…well…they already were cold.
"Is that a challenge?"
"It's a promise. As long as I am alive, you won't get near him."
Raven watched the confrontation silently. She fidgeted. Beast Boy didn't have much time. As the two spat curses at each other, she carefully lifted the changeling from the cybernetic teen's hands. As the transference was made, Galtry eyed the boy greedily. Raven glared at him, and her eyes glowed a fiery red. The lawyer, who just minutes before had trembled in his boots at the mere sight of the Titans straightened his back and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes drifted behind them, and Cyborg turned around to see what he was looking at. There was a flash of light, and he fell to the ground, the sections of his body that normally glowed now dark.
"I've heard rumors of someone named Brother Blood wanting this friend of yours." The man holding the gun informed the girl.
Rolling her eyes at their pathetic attempt at another kidnapping, Raven chanted her mantra, encasing the weapon in her aura. She tore it apart, piece by piece, and smirked. Once the gun was disposed of, the half-demon set her friend on the ground daintily, being careful of his fragile body that felt as if it would shatter any moment. He moaned, but still did not awaken.
Raven spread her hands in front of her, eyes gleaming a dark black. A raven created from her powers burst from behind her, swooping down on the taller man. He tried to jump out of the way, but was met with the wall of the staircase. He turned to charge down the stairs, but was covered in the black figure before he could take a single step. Keeping the man hidden in between its wings, the raven aimed for the lawyer blocking the doorway. He did not attempt an escape, and was quickly subdued. The now unconscious kidnappers were dropped unceremoniously on the floor at the foot of the steps, and Raven cocked her head.
"That was too easy." She muttered.
Picking up the two boys with her powers, she ascended the last of the steps and opened the door. A bright light shone in her eyes, obviously from the sun. It had been dark downstairs, and was now too bright upstairs. Shielding her eyes, Raven picked her way through the ruble of the ground floor, barking her shin on more than one object. As she reached the halfway point, Cyborg's lights flickered back on, and Raven set him down.
"It's about time you woke up. I've been carrying the two of you for almost fifteen minutes." Raven complained.
Cyborg muttered an apology, his focus set on the unconscious one of the trio. Holding out his hands, Raven rested the green teen in his arms. Through his ribs, Cyborg could feel his heartbeat, slow and unsteady.
"We've got to get him to the Tower." Cyborg stated.
"I know. I don't want to wait much longer. Once we get to the surface, I'll take him and you can follow in your car."
Cyborg nodded at the arrangement. The two pressed onward, headed for the door that would be their escape. At the pace they were going, it didn't take long to reach it. Cyborg typed a code into his arm, and the sound of what seemed like a humming bird's wings filled the room.
"Shield's down." Cyborg informed Raven.
She nodded and reached for the door. The passage was dented and rusty, and fell over when they opened it. But they had no time to notice. Raven immediately teleported Beast Boy and herself to the Tower as Cyborg ran around the corner to meet up with Starfire and Robin.
"Why didn't you tell us you put the shield down?" Robin demanded.
"I just now got rid of it." Cyborg defended himself angrily.
Starfire was about to ask a question, but she wasn't given the chance. Cyborg hopped into his car, started the engine, and was gone.
"Come on." Robin motioned to his bike, and the pair hopped on. The Boy Wonder revved the engine, grinned at Starfire, and took off.
