I do not own Teen Titans, nor do I own Bizenghast. They belong to their respective owners, and all I can claim credit for are the concepts presented in this story. For future reference, all non DC Comics-verse scenarios depicted in the story are of my own invention.
CHAPTER WARNING: Graphic and descriptive violence; language
The Sunken Mausoleum - Ch. 10
Starfire could tell when she was not wanted. In fact, it was fairly easy for her to figure out that she really shouldn't be present in a moment such as this one, yet the blanket draped over her shoulders and Robin's firm hand keeping it there prevented her from getting up out of her seat in the Batcave and making her exit.
"She was a liability."
"No, she was doing just fine! We had everything under control, until you showed up and started ordering us around!"
"I know how the Joker fights, I know what moves he makes better than anyone. Her optimal positions were the ones I was advising her to take, Robin."
Starfire glanced nervously back and forth at the two arguing heroes; Batman and Robin were normally viewed as a team, not at one another's throats.
"She's used to taking orders from me, not you Bruce!" Robin spat. Batman's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"And what if I hadn't been there to save her today? Thankfully I thought to bring the antidote to the new Joker gas, or she'd have laughed herself to death! What would have happened, tell me, if I wasn't there?"
"She wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't confused her!"
"Are you really so keen on losing her? Really so keen in putting your loved one in the face of probably THE most dangerous villain in Gotham?"
Robin's hand tightened on Starfire's shoulder and the two briefly met each other's eyes. With a glance Robin was back to staring down his mentor and former boss.
"I never wanted her to get hurt, and I never want to see her that way" he said firmly but with a softness that caused Bruce's own eyes to lose some of that hardness he was known for maintaining.
"Then perhaps 'she' has something to say about it also, if you will permit me" Starfire spoke up from her spot in the chair. Batman and Robin's gazes shifted quickly to focus on the Tamaranian, and she blinked a few times before continuing.
"I am willing to do whatever it takes to best the Joker, but I believe if we are going to succeed in the kicking of the butt we must work as one. Robin, you always speak of us as a unit, a team... That is what we must become. We cannot spend time worrying about the bickering and the fighting."
Batman's eyebrows raised under his mask, and he let out a deep breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. "Well, Richard, let me put it this way... You couldn't have found a better girl if you'd tried."
Robin began to blush, and Starfire smiled up at him with love in her eyes.
x.x.x.x.x.x
"Yeah, it was a close one... Lucky Batman was there to save her butt."
Cyborg had been passing on an update on the goings on in Gotham to Beast Boy and Raven, who were currently enjoying a day off. Choosing to spend it in the Mausoleum was an odd one, but Beast Boy insisted on packing a picnic and bringing it to Edaniel (who had dragged Erzebet out to join them for the occasion, citing 'double dates are better dates!' as his reasons).
They were currently spread out on the grass to the side of the Hooded Angel, eating a packed meal of cold roast beef and green beans with rolls and apple pie for dessert. Beast Boy, of course, had packed a tofu patty on a wheat bun and was munching on it thoughtfully as he listened to their cybernetic teammate.
"So she's okay, though?" Raven asked worriedly.
"Yeah, you know, being an alien has its perks. She was much more resilient to the gas and it didn't have as violent an effect on her as it could have... A mistake the Joker probably won't make again if he gets the chance."
"And Robin still wants to put her out there? The Joker must know that Star's his weak spot... He'd probably want to do anything he could to hurt her in order to get to Robin" Beast Boy said seriously. As he spoke, he gave Raven a meaningful look that caused her spine to tingle a bit. He knew that if they were ever in a situation such as that, if anything had happened to Raven...
"Uh, well, it was Star's idea to keep at it in the first place. She talked some sense into them both I think... Not to mention that her presence as it is must be helping out... Mourning, and all that" Cyborg said sadly.
"Maybe Barbara can help them out some, I know she's been honing her skills as she's sent quite a few cases over to us that none of us would have even picked up on until they were much bigger"Raven mused, thinking of poor Barbara Gordon (now ex-Batgirl) confined to her wheelchair but brilliant as always.
"Probably, I'm sure she's devoting all her time to that. Well, I gotta get back to work, you two just keep at it. Contact me if you get any other leads, but you're on the right track by calling Aqualad. He's your best bet for now." With that, Cyborg disconnected.
Raven closed her communicator and set it down next to her; reaching for her paper plate, she was about to take a bite of her roll when suddenly she felt an arm around her waist pulling her towards the smiling face of Beast Boy, who sidled up next to her so that she leaned against him.
"What's that for?" Raven asked, somewhat amused.
"Now I can cuddle on you and not have to worry about our little secret getting out!"he replied, kissing her cheek and causing her to blush profusely.
"Awww, you two are just the cutest bunch of caseworkers this joint has ever had!" Edaniel said, picking up a green bean, popping it in his mouth, and proceeding to suck on it in a rather indecent manner that caused Erzebet to giggle and Raven to roll her eyes.
"But, you two lead such dangerous lives as heroes! I can't imagine what that's like" Erzebet said meekly, poking at her roast beef.
"It's not too different from working the vaults, really" Beast Boy offered. "The only difference is that we're dealing with temperamental villains instead of ghosts."
"I still don't see the difference" Erzebet said, cocking her head to the side.
"Ghosts once were people, with real problems and real fears, hopes, dreams... Most of them average, some of them ambitious. But it all comes down to the human psyche when we go into the vaults... Villains are out to cause destruction of the public dreams and hopes that people like these ghosts once had. In many cases, the villains of their worlds are what they are tormented by, much as society is tormented by the villains in the real world. We fight villains no matter where we go" Raven offered sagely, effectively shutting down conversation as the others paused to let that sink in.
"Another reason why I love that you're my girlfriend... You're so damn smart" Beast Boy said, reaching over to pull her in for a kiss. Raven's heart leapt as the word 'love' left his lips, despite the fact that it was used in another way. Somewhere in the distance as their lips met, a large boulder was encased in black aura and promptly split in two.
When they pulled apart, Raven shook her head a little to clear it from the murky fuzzy feelings that were fogging up her mind, but smiled at him nevertheless.
"Okay, let's call Aqualad and get this over with" she said, a feeling of dread washing over her as she knew she would have to interact with Terra in a moment as a result.
She had never truly forgiven Terra for the stunt she had pulled all those years ago; the betrayal, the pain she caused the team was something that stung even now. Not to mention how Terra had affected Beast Boy, as she was his first real crush. Raven's jealousy during those times was apparent only to Robin, who said nothing. Their connection was something that sometimes Beast Boy himself envied, despite the knowledge that Robin was like a brother to Raven.
Terra had deliberately gone after Raven first when she attacked the Titans, savoring the feeling of destroying the 'other girl' in line for Beast Boy's heart, for even she had figured out that something was up between Raven and the changeling. She used this to exploit Raven's anger and to bait the empath during their battle, for bringing up Beast Boy at all was the trigger that set off Raven's Rage.
When Terra had returned, she had initially lied to Beast Boy and pretended to be an ordinary high school girl with no connection to her past, although this was completely untrue. Of all the Titans, Raven was the least enthused upon hearing the news from Beast Boy that she might have come back to life; deep down inside of her, Raven knew that it was her own doing and her own magic that had revived her when she had defeated her father. She kept silent, however, not wanting to reunite the green boy with his crush out of selfishness and a lingering grudge against Terra.
When she had finished high school, however, Terra came out of hiding and revealed herself to the team. Beast Boy by then had moved on, and had encouraged her return to the Titans, but instead to the East section of the organization. Raven had done a small victory dance in her head (or rather, Happy and Love grabbed each other and started jumping around like wild animals) when she had heard the words leave his lips, and simply expressed her contentment with the plan.
As she pulled out her communicator again with a sigh, a small part of her smirked as she realized that she in the end had won, and Beast Boy was hers... The vindictive side of her would love to dangle that in Terra's face. Yet her rational side glanced over at Beast Boy before she made the selection to Aqualad's communicator and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Gar, you're gonna have to scoot over a bit" she said. Beast Boy's eyes were pleading.
"Can't we at least tell them? Please?"
"Starfire first" Raven warned again, and that effectively scared Beast Boy enough to scoot over the barest minimum he had to.
"Raven calling Aqualad, come in Aqualad" she said in her monotone. Almost immediately the screen buzzed to life, and to Raven's dismay it was Terra who answered.
"Raven! Hey, sorry, Garth is kinda... H...hey, stop it Garth, I'm talking to Raven" she said, turning red a bit as Aqualad was doing... something, Raven could only imagine what (and she really didn't want to) off screen.
"Oh? Hey, Raven!" Aqualad pulled himself into view, his face a little flushed.
"Yeah, ok. I don't wanna know. I'm calling about some information you might be able to help us with for our current mission" Raven deadpanned in a businesslike tone.
"We? Who else is with you?" Aqualad asked with a raised eyebrow. Beast Boy sidled over into the screen's view, his arm draping 'casually' around Raven's shoulders.
"Green bean at your service!" he quipped.
Terra's smile grew just as Raven's insides twisted a little both from her elation at the physical contact (in front of Terra, take that!) and her displeasure at the wide smile her boyfriend received from the blonde.
"BB! Nice to see you!" she said, while Aqualad waved in greeting.
"Yeah, right back atcha!" he replied.
"If we're done with the shenanigans" Raven said, a little annoyed and wanting to end this call as soon as possible. "Aqualad, you're from Atlantis. We're on a mission where your knowledge of a place called Neptune's Gold may be helpful to us."
At the mention of the place, Aqualad's face turned serious and a little paler than usual, while his black eyes darkened and his lips thinned.
"Neptune's Gold is a place that I've only seen once in my lifetime. Specially trained Atlantean magicians live there, and the only actual 'magic' of our world goes in to keeping that place a fortress where nothing can get out. It's basically a portal into the deepest pits of Hell, some call it Tartarus itself. It's named after Neptune for a reason, it was said to have been created by the Sea God himself in order to send the worst of all the lost souls into a place fitting for the crimes they have committed, whether in life or after."
Raven's eyebrows knitted in frustration, taking in all that was being said. She glanced over at Edaniel, who also was listening intently while holding Erzebet's hand. The redhead's eyes were wide with fear as she took in another part of the lifestyle she was a member of.
"We've been contracted by one of the North American Guilds" Beast Boy finally said. "I've been contracted" he corrected softly. Raven gave him a look.
"We" she said, reaching up and grabbing his hand that was still draped over her shoulders. "We're sending all the lost souls in this Guild back to where they belong, only because the case we were working on back in Jump City led us here."
"Whoa, you're not in Jump? Where are you?" Terra asked, curious.
"In a town called Bizenghast, it was the only lead we had in the case. The monster who attacked us seemed interested in this place, specifically this Guild. We're worried it might have something to do with an Unbearable" Raven replied. Aqualad's eyes narrowed.
"Let's hope not" he said.
"I highly doubt it has anything to do with THAT particular Unbearable, she's gone for good kiddos!" Edaniel suddenly interjected.
"Who's that?" Terra asked.
"Edaniel, he's one of the Tower Guards working here at the Mausoleum that contracted us" Beast Boy replied, reaching to grab the communicator (and in doing so he grabbed Raven's other hand) to turn it to face the now grinning blonde.
"Whoa, he looks like Jericho!" Aqualad exclaimed.
"Just be glad he's not in his cat form"Raven deadpanned with a roll of her eyes, pulling the communicator back to focus on her.
"Anything you can tell us about Neptune's Gold would be useful" she asked again.
"There's not much to tell. All the souls that get sent there from around the world only remain contained for a fortnight, and then the magicians dispose of them. There's no way back out, just a way in. Maybe it's that very reason your perp is curious... Maybe it wants to know how to avoid getting sent there for the rest of eternity?" Aqualad offered. Raven thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.
"It could be a million reasons, but what you've told me might be of use. It seemed distinctly interested in this very Guild."
"Maybe it wants something from here, before it gets sent to the big one in Atlantis?" Beast Boy said. Raven's eyes widened.
"Beast Boy, you may be on to something. Edaniel, how many Unbearables are stored here right now?"
"Just three, as you remember Maphohetka managed to get out. The others stayed put, we're waiting to fill up the rest of the containment cells before sending them out to Neptune."
"What if it wants to unleash the Unbearables?" Terra spoke up. Raven gave her a look that clearly said much about what she thought of the geokinetic's comment.
"If it did, we'd be in deep trouble."
x.x.x.x.x.x
"Raven, come on! Can't we please just..."
"No. We've got to keep moving."
Beast Boy sighed but followed after his steadfast girlfriend. They had finished talking to Aqualad and Terra, packed up their picnic and returned to St. Lyman's for a post-lunch 'nap' which turned into an experimental make-out session where Raven began testing her emotional limits (and Beast Boy experienced this same issue, as it turned out, though in a completely different way).
"But it was so nice! Edaniel would have let us have the night off, right?"
"Nope, sorry my little beanpole. Can't control the rules, and we wouldn't want to see a green cleaner anytime soon would we?" Edaniel, back in his cat form, trotted alongside Beast Boy with a shit-eating grin that the changeling simply wanted to wipe off his face.
"Grrrr, fine. Let's get this finished quick, I wanna go back to bed!" he said with a wink towards his girlfriend (he could say that now! He finally could call someone his girlfriend!), who blushed and pulled up her hood.
"The center of this dream is where we'll find her, based on what the riddle said..." Raven said, clearing her throat as they continued to press on. The landscape in that night's vault was odd, somewhat linear. The trees were all very spindly and bare, dead with vert few limbs. They were scattered in an almost perfect pattern, perfect in the sense that they interwove between one another in straight or diagonal lines that looked simply unnatural.
"Yeah, what did it say? Uhh...
Unravel my web
Enter my head
Do this all before you are dead?" Beast Boy recited from memory. "Shortest riddle yet."
"I just love the cheery ones like this!" Edaniel said, leaping up to land on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Now carry me, handsome, I'm tired."
"From what, too much flirting with Erzebet?" he snapped back.
"Yeah, looking this good has a price" Edaniel replied, batting his eyes.
"Will you two shut up? I think we're here" Raven said, as they had reached the center of the strange lines of dead trees where a much larger one rested. More lines of trees spun out from this center in a circle, completing the forest.
"I think something's up there?" Beast Boy said curiously, approaching the tree slowly.
"Careful!" Raven hissed, catching up with him. Her senses were alerted, as suddenly it seemed that the trees around them were watching them. Their few limbs creaked slowly and almost seemed to move.
Upon reaching the center, Beast Boy looked up into the dark depths of the branches trying to figure out what was up there. Suddenly, it moved.
"EEEEE!" he shrieked, grabbing Edaniel from his shoulder and using him as a shield.
"Hey! I'm too important and sexy to be used as a shield!" Edaniel said, squirming.
The thing in the tree suddenly leapt down, landing in front of them. It was a girl, her long black hair hiding most of her face. She wore a dress of long silky black fabric that looked as thin as cobwebs, and the sleeves were so long that they covered her arms completely. She seemed to be quite beautiful, in a gothic and mysterious way.
"Who... Who're you?" Beast Boy said cautiously. The girl suddenly looked up from under her curtain of hair and Beast Boy's blood ran cold.
"I am Arachne" she hissed; her eyes were completely black, beady like an insect's, and she had two long fangs that glinted razor sharp. With a snarl, her arms became long and spindly and her dress gave way to six more legs, and she towered over the green boy, poised to strike.
"Rae, do something!" he screamed, hoping for his girlfriend's dark powers to uproot the tree and squash this bug, but nothing came. "Raven?" he squeaked, and turned around to see that the lines of trees had morphed into a sticky, black web-like substance that had entrapped Raven in it's clutches.
"Gar! Run!" she managed to get out before the black silk wrapped around her lips and stifled her. Beast Boy turned around to meet the smiling face of Arachne, who hissed violently before raising her front legs to hit him.
He dodged her, sending Edaniel flying as a result. The little green cat landed on one of the tree-structures and thus also became trapped within the sticky goop. Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and flew, not wanting to touch any of it. Arachne was following him quite closely, spitting out more of the black spider-silk from her mouth in attempt to trap him. He landed on a small patch of ground that had no black stuff on it and morphed back.
"What's your problem, girl? Stop that, that's definitely not good for you" he shouted at her, taking flight this time as a hawk and heading back towards Raven as he needed to free her. The spider-lady noted this, and began climbing her web much faster than he was in order to reach the empath, who was struggling against her bonds. The stuff over her mouth prevented her from casting any spells, and it was strong enough to feel like metal holding her back despite it being made of black sticky silk.
Just as Beast Boy dove downwards to try and reach Raven, Arachne appeared out of nowhere and spat at him in his hawk form, catching him full-on and pushing him far back enough to get him stuck in the center tree of the entire web, where they had found her initially.
"I'll enjoy you later, but first... Let me partake in your lovely friends" she hissed gleefully, making her way back to Raven. Beast Boy struggled and struggled, turning into various animals before realizing just how stuck he was. He couldn't let that monster eat Raven!
He turned into a bloodhound and barked, the black restraints keeping him from escaping the hold of the web. Suddenly, however, his more sensitive nose caught the smell of something... rotting. He turned back into a human and turned in his bonds a bit, looking for the source. When he found it, he screamed.
The decaying corpse of a woman's body was nestled in the tree, also restrained by the silk. Her eyes were hollowed out, her flesh rotting clean off and her bones protruding from some areas where they had been broken... Upon closer inspection Beast Boy discerned that they had broken in her attempts to free herself. As he looked more closely, he saw a photograph of what he assumed to be the woman and Arachne in life, smiling and looking happy together.
After swallowing down the bile that rose in his throat, he morphed into an eagle and used his superior vision to look at the other trees, and nearly threw up again as he saw parts of other bodies nestled in them.
'She must have been some sort of serial killer... And this must be her mother right here! Something must have happened to her, maybe she would Entice her prey with her looks, since she was quite beautiful, and then weaving a web of deception and lies that all led back to her... her mom must have found out or something' he deduced. He looked back over to where the monster was using her sharp teeth and legs to cut through Raven's bonds, to get better access to the meat. Beast Boy suddenly realized how to free himself, and nearly smacked himself at his own stupidity.
He morphed into a brown recluse (or rather, green recluse) spider and began jumping from bits of the web to others until he reached Raven. Arachne was poised to sink her fangs, dripping poison, into Raven's flesh; Beast Boy morphed into a kangaroo and kicked the spider-lady off of Raven and far back into the web. He then turned back into a human and freed Raven's lips and the rest of her, pulling her towards the big tree.
Raven floated up beside him and he pulled an old photo out from the clutches of what seemed to be a decaying body of a woman.
"Rae, you need to disguise yourself as this woman! Do it quick, she was Arachne's mom and I think she might be the only one that can stop her!"
"Disguise myse... Beast Boy, that's magic I might not be able to..." Raven said nervously, but suddenly they heard the shriek of Arachne who seemed to be coming back and more rageful than ever.
"Ugh, fine, I'll try" Raven muttered. She took the photo in her hand and began to chant something in a language Beast Boy couldn't understand, and all of a sudden she grew silent. Her eyes began to glow black, and she reached up with her now black energy encased hands to cover her face. She pushed her hands back, and where they left there was now pale cream colored skin and dark brown hair. Raven's hands continued to pass along her scalp, the hair growing longer as she pushed back with the magic.
She shook out her new hair, her eyes losing the glow but now appearing dark brown. With another wave of magic, her clothes morphed into the ones the dead woman was wearing.
"I will enjoy all of you, whether you run from me or not!" Arachne hissed, turning the corner to find them. Her black eyes widened and she stopped in her charge.
"Mother!"
"Yes." Raven said, using a voice that did not belong to her.
"I.. I thought..."
"You thought wrong. Now leave this place, leave your web-weaving ways behind once and for all" Raven continued.
"I can't believe you're okay... I thought I had..."
"You did. I forgive you" Raven said.
"Oh... Oh, mother!" Arachne's legs suddenly retreated back into her dress, which began to lighten until it was white and glowing; her black hair fanned around her in a halo, and her smiling face was covered in tears as she ascended into the beyond.
"Rae?" Beast Boy said cautiously, addressing the still-floating body of his girlfriend who did not look like her at the moment. Her back was to him, and her head hung tiredly. The landscape around them had begun to fade.
"Uhnn..." she groaned, her voice returning to her own as she literally shook the magic off of her and her clothes reverted back to her uniform. The hair shot back into her skull and as she shook out the color it became violet again, her eyes turning into amethysts once more.
"Rae, you ok?" Beast Boy asked, the mist surrounding them and the tree disintegrating as they began to be transported back to the Mausoleum.
"HEY! Guys, you forget someone?" Edaniel whimpered from the distance. Raven's arm reached out automatically and a wave of her black magic crackled and grabbed Edaniel from the disappearing tree.
As they reached the entrance to the vault and pulled themselves out of it, Beast Boy turned once more to look at his girlfriend.
"Raven, talk to me" he said, turning her around to take her by the shoulders and force her to look at him. She brought her eyes to his, a little tiredly.
"I've never successfully managed a glamour like that before" she offered. "It's some dark magic, especially if you're masking yourself as someone who's dead. Witchcraft, even" she continued. "Beast Boy, you asked me to do that and it was the only thing I could think of to save us... To save you" she said, a hint of fear in her voice.
"Rae, you're not a witch!" Beast Boy replied.
"I beg to differ" Edaniel muttered, and Beast Boy promptly kicked him.
"Listen, what you did back there was awesome! You used your magic to keep a crazy ghost who had morphed into something horrible from devouring us, which I am extremely grateful for. And you know what else I'd be grateful for right about now?"
"Hm?"
"A kiss" he said, and before she could so much as protest, he had joined their lips in a tender sign of affection that had all her worries melting away.
"Ok, let's go home and sleep now, please?" he begged after parting for air.
"Whatever you say, Beast Boy" she replied. "Just remember that we have work tomorrow so don't get all pissy if I wake you up too early."
"Awww, Rae! But I wanted to stay up late... Y'know, with you! Also, how did you know what to say to Arachne when she thought you were her mom?"
"Intuition. I just guessed" Raven shrugged.
"Ahhh, my girlfriend's a fuckin' genius!" Beast Boy said, picking her up and twirling her around before she transported them back to St. Lyman's with a small wave to Edaniel.
Yep, here's a normal length chapter for you guys! I'm hoping to perhaps get another one or two out before I leave the country for a month and a half on Tuesday, but if I can't please don't hate me. I'll be doing my best to update, maybe I'll get a chapter or two out in the next month but I can't promise anything. So until this weekend's over, we're still in game... But once July rolls around, this story (and myself) will be on summer break until I get back!
I also have planned out a lovely little surprise for you guys, so perhaps with the next posting of the following chapter I may release it before I leave... Yet if I can't I'll work on that some more before putting it out there. It's something I've always wanted to do with a story, and not may people I think have done similar things, so I'm hopeful that my readers will take advantage of and partake in this mysterious surprise... :)
Without further ado, I salute my reviewers Kayla and assassin x 007 for reviewing the previous chapter!