SKIP IT OR READ IT, YOUR CHOICE
Chapter Ten, alright, we're nearing the conclusion in chapter 12. It's going by so fast... so thank you all for reading this story. It means a lot to me!
Just like how the previous chapter landed 3 more people in the follow-section, 3 more people who added this to their favourite and 3 more people who commented (these last three being especially appreciated; JasonVUK, Guest & LightAngelHiroko) thank you so much for all of that all of you. It really is a nice sensation to get those mails and to read them. Thank you all so much.
It saddens me it will be over soon. But I hope the ride has proven to be fun, it has been for me in any case.
I made a mistake last update, it were two more scenes in the last chapter and then still the epilogue I'll probably do (which I think will be between 1500 and 2500 words). But I wrote one of the scenes and now really only have one left to go. So we are on schedule.
So, in an apology for not being able to update frequently throughout the creation of this story, I'd like to offer this chapter before another week had passed. Enjoy!
STORY STARTS HERE
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters (except those I invented myself).
Chapter 10: A pilgrim at his threshold
Alternate title: Transformers, more than meets the eye!
The exploding mechanical guard sent him flying backwards. A second had always seemed like a long time to him, but the few he spent mid-air awaiting to hit the moist, cold soil felt like hours. Kid Flash hated to admit it, but he was just about spend. He closed his eyes with a sigh. It had been a long hard night already, without an end in sight. For every drone he took out, a new one popped up. And for every entrance he thought he could find into the complex, a metal body would block him in the nick of time or a blast would knock him about.
You didn't mess with the brotherhood lightly. And definitely not when they were prepared for a final stand. His back made contact with the green patch of grass.
"¿Crees que está bien?" The voice of one of the twins was audible. The boy Flash was unable to tell which one it was.
Whoever it was, his brother replied. "Él tiene que ser, es Kid Flash! Vamos, en sus pies amigo." The tugging on his arm bothered him plenty.
"Just a second guys…" He replied and added with a little smile: "Be there in a flash." Begrudgingly he opened his eyes. The two tiny twins' faces made up most of the world.
"Haha, hombre divertido. ¿Vienes o no?" Menos asked, standing by his left.
From the limited Spanish he knew, he could reply with a sturdy: "Si."
"Bien, porque tenemos mucho más trabajo por hacer." Mas replied, friendly tapping him on the shoulder as he stood upright.
"Don't know about that…" Kid Flash replied. "but I think we're a long way from being done here."
"Estúpido ..." The twins replied in unison, hitting their face with the palm of their hand in sync.
"Could you guys move!?" He heard a familiar voice cry out.
The brightly colored superhero turned around to find his girlfriend doing backflips to avoid getting blasted herself, successfully occupying the enemy's attention.
"For being among the fasted men on the planet, you three boys are pretty damn slow!"
Just as she expressed her sentiments one of the robotic guards managed to grab her leg as it flew by. He spinned around in and threw her up in the air. The sudden change of direction and loss of control were enough to make anyone scream out in panic. The velocity of the throw was mere overkill.
The three boys moved in unison and together they managed to catch her, about 80 yards further down the line. One of the twins, standing on the shoulder of the other caught her by the right shoulder, Kid Flash grabbed her by the left.
"Thanks." She said as the trio helped her get steady. She seemed to shake of the shock rather quickly.
"You sure you're okay?" The young Flash asked, genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine." Her tone suggested it was not up for debate and he knew better than to ignore this.
The Flash knew his girlfriend. Nobody liked being bested in a match, but she took this personally. She hated the brotherhood more than most. And most didn't have much love for it in the first place. (Heck, most ex-members hated the group, which were a lot of baddies since the previous incident.)
"Damn it." She said bitterly, straightening out her clothes and hair. "We've fought bots before. Why can't we get passed these?"
The four teenagers stood in the middle of the green banks by the riverside, looking at the purifying plant. They knew their destination. They knew their goal. Yet each and every one of them felt lost in that moment of silence.
"Es que el comandante que los está llevando. Se puede predecir todos nuestros movimientos." Said Mas.
"Sí, él nos conoce de cabo a rabo. Tal vez podríamos intentar ser menos organizados en lugar de más." Agreed Menos.
"Did you get any of that?" Jinx asked, her brows in a quizzical frown.
He had to laugh at that, his Spanish never had been much good.
"Not at all. But I've been thinking…"
"No otra vez…" Mas replied.
The larger teen ignored him. "I think it's because they're being guided by that General Immortus."
"Maldita sea…" Mas said as he shook his head disapprovingly.
Menos smiled and punched his twin in the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Sólo déjalo ir hermano."
"Yeah, good thinking Flash. That must be it."
"Maldita sea." Mas opted. Menos just laughed.
"Maybe we should try to be more random in the way we attack. He's probably planned around how we usually organize ourselves."
"Oh no, no lo hiciste!" Said Menos, this time it was Mas' turn to laugh.
"So the strategy is no strategy?" Kid Flash asked. His girlfriend nodded. "Fine by me.'
"Checkmate." Beast Boy heard the brain proclaim. "You. Fought. Ferociously. And. Admittedly. Valiantly. But. Victory. Takes. More. Than. That."
Only a few seconds ago everything had seemed to be going well. Monsieur Mallah had been taken down by Boy Wonder. Cyborg and he himself (without superpowers none the les) had taken care of Madame Rouge. The Titans combined effort had removed all remaining robotic guards. And Starfire had been successfully holding up the Brain.
But that clever heap of grey matter was ever calculating and ever clever. And everything now seemed to be headed the way of the Dodo. Raven was still trapped. His remaining friends were caught in an inescapable deathtrap and the great ape, to Garfield's horror, was actually clambering up again. Slowly, aye, but surely.
"Oh, my head." He heard it moan in it's usual thick French accent.
Garfield had never been a genius, though he might have been the last to admit this, but even he realized that if he didn't do something soon, he wouldn't be able to do anything at all. He couldn't take down the goliath, free his friends and save the damsel from her tower all together. That would have been possible only if he could turn into an ox or a bear or whatever. How much he would give for 5 minutes of his powers right now.
Quick to his feet, he sidestepped a few passes to the left so the vat wasn't between him and the brain anymore and took his shot. He reasoned, after all, that the most important thing was to get more of his players on the field. (Dodge-ball can be quite educational, kids.) The Brain didn't even attempt to block the shot but merely kept his two arms focused straight. His beam stayed in continued full collision with the faltering shield.
"Is. That. The. Best. You. Can. Do?" he asked mockingly, seemingly unfazed by the blast that hit him right in his mechanical shoulder.
Logan blasted again, this time aiming at the brain's cannons themselves. But the again the impact did not leave as much as a mark. It was to no avail.
"It. Is. A. Good. Laserbeam. I. Will. Grant. You. That. Much." The Brain replied, seemingly amused. His voice might have been artificial, but Garfield had gotten to know it well of the years. "But. This. Armor. Is. The. Best. Of. Three. Superior. Minds. Combined. One. Of. Which. Is. Mine. I. Might. Add. Give. It. Up. Little. One. Your. Friends. Will. Perish. And. I. Will. Enjoy. Watching. Them. Die. I Will. Enjoy. Watching. You. Watch. Them. Die. And. Then. When. Your. Last. Friend. Up. There. Is. Completely. Depleted. Of. All. Her. Power. And. We. Have. All. The. Chemicals. She. Can. Provide. I. Will. Let. Her. Watch. You. Die. Slowly. And. Painfully. But. When. You. Do. My. Little. Friend. Realize. That. Every. Ounce. Of. Pain. I. Do. To. You. I. Will. Do. To. Her. Tenfold. And. I. Do. That. Not. Because. I. Hate. Her. But. Because. You. Little. One. Have. Thwarted. My. Plans. Too. Often. And. I. Long. To. Make. You. Pay. For. That."
"You bastard!" The previously green superhero screamed. He pulled the trigger again and again and again. Yet the blasts were as useless as his words. The Brain, in reply, just laughed a cybernetic yet evil laugh.
Sweat formed at the powerless boy's forehead as his best friend screamed in frustration and pain. The way this was going, it was clear he wouldn't hold out much longer. And not only that, but the great gorilla was already up on three of its limbs.
"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled loudly. "Just go! Get the other Titans! Call them all! Get everyone!"
"I can't just leave you guys!" He yelled back. Garfield was well aware of the tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
There had to be something he could do. He just couldn't see it. But there had to be something, the world couldn't be this unfair. It just wasn't right.
"We'll be fine B!" Cyborg screamed between grunts. "You can't let these monsters win!"
"You're right." Garfield exclaimed so softly under his breath. "I can't."
"Stay. For. The. Party. Beast. Boy. It. Will. Be. Fun. Well. For. Me. It. Will. Be. In. Any. Case."
"Do not listen to him, friend Beast Boy!" Called out Starfire. Garfield could still see her clutching the wounded Robin. "You have to make the run for it. There is no other available route to take!"
The cogs turned inside the would-be hero's head and in a moment of clarity, he had an epiphany. He laughed a madman's chuckle.
"Well, that's not true." He said, smirking for reasons unknown to him. Yes, he realized how to save his friends, but it would not be pretty.
As Monsieur Mallah still struggled to stand upright and held his head to sooth the concussion, Beast Boy quickly changed his aim left and then up. He knew he had to take the shot quickly, preferably in one go, if this plan was to succeed. If the ape caught him before he could finish, it would all be over.
Luckily his aim was true and the blast hit the side of the orb containing the fifth Titan. It cracked slightly but did not break. He fired again. The crack grew bigger.
"What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"
"What does it look like Brainiac?" He replied. The kid fired again, but missed slightly to the left.
"It. Will. Kill. Her. Besides. We. Actually. Already. Have. Enough. What. You. Do. Is. Pointless."
In the back he could hear his other friends screaming madly at him. But there was no time to sooth their worries. Shooting the Brain had been plan A, this was plan B
"Then why are you so focussed on stopping me?" Garfield smiled. His finger twitched. Again a hit. The orb was close to shattering now.
"Fine. But. I. Will. Not. Remove. My. Focus. From. These. Free. Her. Fine. It. Is. Useless. She. Is. Too. Weakened. To. Be. Of. Any. Assistance. To. You. And. I. Really. Mean. It. I. Have. More. Than. Enough. To. Build. My. Army. As. Soon. As. You. Are. All. Disposed. Off. We. Will. Fabricate. More. Thought. Controlling. Collars. And. Our. Slaves. Will. Destroy. All. Of. This. City. And. From. There. On. Out. The. Entire. World."
"Brain…" The normal boy replied. "You talk too much."
Garfield pulled the trigger once more. The breaking of the glasslike material was the most beautiful sound he'd heard all night. His calculations were correct. Rather than falling to the ground. The unconscious body of Raven fell onto the automatic assembly line, high up. It slowly dragged her towards the incinerator.
Plan B had obviously failed. He'd hoped she'd be strong enough to fly and fight. But he was prepared for this turn-out. It just was something he'd been hoping to avoid. But given no other option, he had to be brave and go through with plan C.
"And don't worry about her not being strong enough to fight. She won't have to." He answered, turning to face the Brain.
He hoped his voice sounded more intimidating and sure of himself than he felt.
"Friend Raven no!" The alien girl screamed in horror.
"Are you out of your mind?!" The Titan-leader shouted, clearly appalled. "She'll be burned alive!"
"Raaagh!" Was all Cyborg could utter at this point, his strength about to leave him.
"Fine. We. Will. Watch. Her. Burn. Together." The brain sounded pleased with himself. "It. Is. Not. Quite. As. Painful. A. Death. As. I. Had. Hoped. For. But. I. Am. Nothing. If. Not. Lenient."
To his astonishment, Kid Flash found himself a few feet inside the complex water-purifying station. Admittedly the situation they found themselves in right now was a bit off, but still it was great news. The long corridor ahead, even though it was filled with electronic guards, was a sight for sore eyes.
"Can we now switch back to a plan? I'm not sure how much more of this utter randomness I can take." His girlfriend called out to him as she took the rear and bottlenecked any robot's trying to enter through their newly found point of entry.
"Sí, estoy de acuerdo." Said a voice to his right.
The twins were just out of his line of sight, leaving him in the mist on which one had said it. But truth be told he was too busy moving randomly to confuse the robot right in front of him to care all that much.
"En efecto. Este lugar es un laberinto. Necesitamos un plan." He heard the other say.
"Oh, quit your complaining you guys." He replied back. "This randomness is working like a charm! We've tried it for a few minutes and we're already in. Give me one good reason?" The fast kid said as he totally arbitrarily defended himself.
"I've got two! You're wearing pink rollerblades and you are also carrying a duck." Jynx pointed out.
Well, those were some solid points he couldn't get away from.
"Where did you even get a duck? When? And why?" She asked bewildered.
Kid Flash allowed himself a split-second to look back and sad the look on her face as the mechanical droids fell to pieces behind her at the snap of her finger.
"Long story." Was all he could muster.
"It's been five minutes since we started this approach!"
"Yeah well," He replied. "Five minutes is a long time to someone like me. Besides, in all fairness, I don't remember your hair being green. And… Is that a tattoo I see on your neck?"
"It's just henna." She answered back, right before cartwheeling through a bunch of guards.
Slowly, though everything always seemed slow to Kid Flash, but surely the foursome made their way deeper into the hallway. The dismembered parts started to pile up.
"But…" It was his turn to be flabbergasted.
"This is what I'm talking about Flash!" She said as she stopped jumping and backflipping right in front of him. "I don't even know! I can't explain it. This entire randomness is getting out of hand. We need to stop while we're still ahead."
A well-aimed blast forced him to take the duck under the cover of one arm and grab his green-haired girlfriend with the other and, ironically, duck for cover.
"Don't exaggerate. It's not that bad." The Boy-flash tried his best to sound assuring.
In a white flash a familiar duo appeared before his eyes in a very unfamiliar fashion. He stared up at the duo, Mas standing on top of Menos' shoulders. The strange part was that Menos was wearing a wedding dress and Mas was covered in garbage.
They looked angry and demanding. "Hemos terminado con la aleatoriedad!" They cried out in unison.
For some reason blue smoke was coming out of their mouth as they talked.
"Okay…" Flash agreed. "This is getting too weird. Let's get back to structure."
Somewhere between the land of the conscious and the land of dead a lost raven was to be found. A messenger of ill will to some, a sign of wisdom to others.
The past few hours seemed like eons in Hell. A place she knew well, being the daughter of an ancient and horrible evil remnant to our limited collective representation of a devil.
Hell would be the correct term. The relentless drainage of her powers had hurt and left her weak as her life had flashed before her eyes, continually being forced to relive and reevaluate her poorest of choices and judgment. For the first time since before her training in Azarath, her emotions had been fully free and she'd understood them. And some had hurt, and others had been... interesting. But she hadn't been given much time to understand them, just to feel them and then to be used like a battery. Yet now, slowly, the understanding that had come to her right before orb had started to leech her strength was making it back to her rebooting brain. But along with it came confusion and a sense of fatigue.
All trials must come to an end and hers was approaching rapidly. Unable to feel or hear or think properly, let alone open her eyes, the bird with the broken wings slowly but surely was dragged to her certain doom. The end was neigh, one way or the other.
It was the other.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, trading one hallucination of Hell for another.
And though her mind was not clear as the fragmented memories tried to clasp together and desperately did their best to form in line by trampling each other, she came to realize one important idea. Even before her brain could fully reboot, and perhaps exactly because it hadn't yet completed this task, she realized she had three words to say before her time was up.
Even if she didn't want too.
"Starfire!" The former superhero's voice was loud and clear. "Get ready to drop one Titan and catch another!"
"What do you…" Was all the alien girl could utter before being cut off by him.
"No time to explain. Just be ready!" He shouted.
Garfield Logan ran a few feet back and jumped in the slightly lower pit where the vat was stored. He wished he had more time for this. He wished he had more time to say some things to his friends. He even wished, despite her clear hatred towards him, that Raven would have been conscious to see him. He had never wanted something more than to talk to her one last time and not leave all things unspoken between them. How he longed for one last chance to set things right.
But there wasn't time, a truth very clear to him as the rolling assembly line dragged the Titan closer and closer to the flames.
The ex-changeling figured the note on her bed would have to do. All he could do now, was save her. And he realized there was nothing he wanted to do more than that.
He stopped right in front of the vat. From the corner of his eyes he could see clearly that the gorilla was regaining much of it's posture, though it still seemed a bit dazed.
From the other corner he could see Raven, as she still lay unconscious. Well, he hoped in heart that was all she was and not worse.
But the main focus of his vision had to be the vat of green liquid right in front of him. The bane of his existence and the salvation for his friends. He found himself swallowing for no reason. The unease and uncertainty slowly crawling up his skin. It was risky, but what was there to lose?
"Beastboy! No!" Robin screamed from the temporarily safe bubble. Of course he had to be the first of his friends to realize his plans. When it came to plans on the battlefield, Boy Wonder usually did. "Don't do it! You can't!"
Now the girl with orange skin seemed to understand too. "Beastboy! The change is not of the temporary kind!"
"I know…" Garfield whispered, the fear settling in his heart."
"Mallah." The brain urged. "Get. Him."
"You said it yourself!" Robin, you lose yourself! It's like being dead!"
The bird with the broken wings was too close to hell for comfort now. He'd have to act soon, even if it scared him.
"I know." Garfield replied, a tad louder this time.
"Get. Him. Now."
The ape spured in action. His speed was a variable to be reckoned with and soon he leapt through the air, straight at the little boy.
"Raaagh!" Both the gorilla and Cyborg screamed for completely different reasons.
The young man aimed his rifle quickly and hit the target mid air, straight in the chest. The ape fell on his back. And with a grunt he passed out once more, the hairs on his chest still singing.
"I know!" Garfield yelled, partly scared and partly infuriated."But there's no other way!"
He turned the gun to the vat and pulled the trigger.
"Noooooo!" His friends screamed in unison. Even the brain joined them.
But there was no shattering of glass. There was no wave of the green ooze. There was no transformation into an eternal beast.
Because there was no blast.
All there was, was a robotic voice telling him: "Ammo depleted."
Raven was but a few meters away from the fire. And she didn't slow down.
The loud cry snapped her back to reality. Though it came to her in a hazy, foggy way. It had been real? Hadn't it? Or was that cry of 'no' just another figment of her sorrowful imagination.
Her head hurt tremendously and she felt like vomiting. Where she got the strength from to hold her upper body up with arm while the other's hand rubbed her eyes was a mystery to her. But she was grateful for it.
She would have sworn she had a fever, for she was burning up.
At least, until she realized she was on a moving assembly line. Her surviver's instinct made her turn her head back instantaneously, to see where she was headed.
Raven was quick to realize she didn't have a fever. But she really wished that that would have been the case. It was another happy mystery where she got if from, but in any case she found the strength to drag herself slowly away.
But too slowly.
"So. Close. And. Yet. You. Fail." The brain spoke mockingly.
For a second the lad stood frozen in pure shock and agony as he clutched the rifle that seemed as useless as he himself felt at that moment.
Movement caught his eye, however, and he cocked his head up. A smile formed on his face like a long lost friend returned home. She was alive, and there was still time. She was crawling away, if he acted fast it could still be okay.
He flipped the gun and grabbed it by it's barrel.
"Don't worry Brain." He replied in the cocky voice of his former self. "You should be used to that by now!"
"You. Can. Not. Break. It." The robotic voice replied.
"Ask Cy." Garfield bit back. "if there's anything i can't break!"
"It. Is. Foolproof."
"Yeah well, like, I'll be the judge of that!"
He swung the gun as hard as he could. Where it made contact with the vat a small crack appeared. Yet the vessel held steady, like it had when Robin had cracked it first.
"Stop. That. Now. Little. One."
Bewildered and out of breath the huffing and puffing Raven knew she had to keep on pushing herself away from the ever nearing flames. Were she to drop herself from this height, she knew she would not make it. Levitating and flying were not an option when dragging didn't even go fast enough.
And even in this frantic state of continued despair, the sound of a certain voice made her take in her surroundings.
For what felt like the first time in years she looked on the old factory. And for all she knew it could have been years. The devastation and decay was enormous.
However, there was no sign of him.
She could see, way down there, what seemed like Adonis' suit after it's appearance on 'pimp-my-ride'. But that did not make any sense, for at the far side of the room Adonis was clearly behind bars. His eyes intensly focused on the battle at hand. Her friends were cornered in a small energy bubble, and this of course concerned her greatly, but they were alive for now at least.
She wanted to call out to them. But her throat was too weak to carry the words.
However, one of her teammates seemed to notice her as well.
"Keep the moving Raven!" the orange girl advised her loudly from the little bubble.
And she did. But all the while her eyes looked for the person who that voice had belonged to, yet she could not find him.
Furthermore in the room there were muffled screams coming from a giant piece of machinery, there lay an unconscious gorilla and an idiot smacking a vat.
But she could not find the idiot she needed.
"How are we going to fight all these bots? They just keep coming!" The previously pink-haired and now mysteriously green-haired honorary Titan asked.
Her question was by all means justified. In the narrow halls they were fighting the neverending stream of mechanized guards, they were sitting ducks. Quite like the one that had up untill recently been in her boyfriends' arms.
Sure, they were probably the three fasted kids in the universe and she could give even Robin a run for his money in acrobatic ventures, but it was only a matter of time before one of the bots got lucky and blasted them into smithereens. Especially in a confined space like these corridors tended to be.
"Saque la cabeza y… " Menos offered as he grabbed the arm of a robot on the front line, while standing on his brothers shoulders. He bended so that the gun was pressed to it's robotic chin.
"el cuerpo muere." Mas finished as he forced the beam to go off. The head evaporated.
"I don't know what you just said, but that gave me an idea!" Kid Flash said. Quick as ever he turned up out of nowhere and grabbed his girlfriend by the arm.
"¿Puedo pegarle, hermano? Menos asked his brother as they appeared by Jinx's other arm. Mas grabbed her hand and Menos grabbed her shoulder.
"We only have to take down the head of this army, and then we might be able to force the others into submission." The fast teenager explained.
"Si." Mas replied.
The palm of Menos hand made contact with the back of Kid Flash's head.
"Ouch! What was that for?!"
"Don't care!" Jinx yelled as one of the bots in front of her took aim and she found herself held down, unable to dodge, by the three speedsters. "Move!"
And so they did. They ran up the wall, unto the ceiling, across the hostiles, unto the opposing wall and back on the floor. All the bots saw was dust.
"Do. You. Even. Know. What. You. Are. Doing?" The brain asked, still maintaining his focus on the three Titans.
Garfield tried not to let it bother him. Every smack with the rifle brought him a bit closer to his goal. And he was so close now, he wouldn't let himself fail. He kept hitting it madly and with glee he saw the crack spread and spread.
"If. You. Are. Trying. To. Make. Me. Direct. This. Beam. To. You. You. Should. Know. It. Will. Not. Happen. I. Can. Not. Your. Friends. Would. Be. Free. And. They. Would. Not. Let. Me. Reach. An. Angle. In. Which. I. Could. Properly. Hit. You. Anyway. So. This. Bluff. Of. Yours. Serves. No. Purpose."
"It's not a bluff!" The boy grunted between blows. "Tell me, does that scare you?!" It was close now. It scared him, but he was not going to let that show.
"What. Will. It. Accomplish? There. You. Will. Become. Envelloped. In. Rage. You. Will. Cut. Down. Foes. And. Friends. Alike."
"I can control it! I have done it before!"
Oh so close now.
"You. Can. Not. This. Formula. Is. Stronger. More. Prone. To. Violence. And. Bloodlust. It. Will. Consume. Even. You. In. Time. It. Will. Drive. You. Insane. With. A. Need. To. Rip. Appart. All. You. See. And. Once. I. Put. A. Collar. On. You. You. Will. Be. My. Violent. Slave. For. As. Long. As. You. Live. I. Will. Make. You. Murder. Your. Friends. And. You. Will. Have. No. Choice. But. To. Obey. Actually. I. Quite. Like. The. Sound. Of. That. Carry. On. Green. One. And. Sign. Your. Own. Demise."
The metal and glass made contact once more. The vat seemed about ready burst. Doubt overflowed his heart and mind for the briefest moment. His gaze fell to the floor as the negative thoughts ran ramped in his brain. He wanted to stop and to think it over. But there was no time for that, he knew. If he looked back, he was lost. Pushing forward was all that remained. Pulling his head up took more effort than all of the previous swings combined. And as he saw the expression of absolute fear and dread on his friends faces, as they were concerned about him more than the impending doom of the laserbeam, he knew he was making the right decision. For he cared more for them than he did for his own wellbeing too.
Fighting alongside eachother… Arguing with eachother… Sharing a pizza… Sharing a home… Sharing a family… These things tend to do that.
"If I want to harm others..." He said unto them. "I won't be me anymore. If I can't hold it, I'm dead already. When I lose it, I'll be counting on my friends to be there and do the right thing and make sure I can't kill anyone." He resumed his stance. "Don't worry about it! It won't be me anymore!"
Garfield lifted the makeshift club high and brought it down with full force for one last strike.
His comrades screamed out his teamname. The tenacity with which they did this was impressive but could not change a thing.
As the wave of green chemicals washed over him he tilted his head up high, proud and sad at the same time. His last conscious image was that of Raven looking him in the eyes.
And he was happy. For she was worried.
Worried for his sake.
The four superheroes back at the waterpurifying station reached a fork in the road. Having left a substantial part of the host behind them, they were given the choice of either going left or right. This left two of them in a heated argument. It is after all easy and not unknown for a couple to use any opportunity to vent recent fights through running discussions. And this couple, happy though they were, had some issues.
"And I'm telling you: let's not go there!" Kid Flash said, turning to his girlfriend and gesturing to the narrow hall on the right. "Don't you see all the guards down that way?"
"That's the point dumbo!" Jinx yelled, moving her face right in front of his. "Guards guard things!"
"Oh, and you don't think we could be dealing with a decoy here? This is the greatest evil strategist ever, of course he's going to suspect we go there. We need to explore the base first. I say we're going left and that's final."
"We don't have time to explore the damn base! And you're not the boss of me!"
"I never said I was! When did I ever say I was?!"
"Now you listen to me you little…"
"Hey, ¿crees que esto va a pasar mucho tiempo?" Mas asked his brother.
The two twins were seated to a bare wall, overlooking the arguing couple. Both sported a worried yet fascinated look on their face. In addition; Menos was holding a pack of popcorn.
"Yo no lo conozco, pero espero que no." Menos replied. The little guy turned to his sibling and added: "Palomitas de maíz?" as he offered the pack.
"No importa si lo hago!" His twin replied as his little hands grabbed some of the popcorn. Both stuffed their face for a few seconds, never losing sight of the fighting couple.
"Parejas." Mas smirked. "Cómo Glad no tenemos ese problema, ¿verdad?"
"Si."
"No entiendo por qué se pelean sin embargo. ¿No está claro dónde debemos ir?"
"Si."
"¿Puedo tener un poco más?"
"Si."
Mas grabbed some more popcorn and continued between bites. "Quiero decir, es obvio que está mal aquí."
"Si."
"Y es ella."
"No."
"¿¡Qué!"
"Está claro que tenemos que acabar con los guardias y ver lo que se avecina."
"Podemos explorar mucho más y mucho más rápido sin que la demora. El general podría estar en cualquier lugar!"
"Lo estás sobreestimando!" Menos replied rising to the extreme volume of his brother.
"No le está sobreestimando suficiente!"
And it was in this moment, with the four heroes screaming at eachother, that they suddenly stopped. For their howling was nothing compared to that they suddenly heard. Jinx and Kid Flash jumped in eachothers arms, as did the twins. The sound seemed to go on for an eternity. All four felt the hairs on their skin rise and the breath in their lungs freeze.
When it finally ended, Kid Flash spoke out, looking his girlfriend in the eyes.
"That... was ominous. Something's telling me we've got no time to lose." He proclaimed.
"So…" She said in an asking tone of voice.
The speedy teen grinned comfortingly. "Your way is best." He replied.
"It usually is." She said, returning his grin.
The scene developed before her eyes and she was powerless to stop it.
At first Raven blamed it on the trauma she'd just gone through in the orb and the delirious state of mind it had left her in.
She had wanted to hear his voice, and that explained why the kid down there sounded exactly like him. She wanted to hear and see him so badly that he sounded and looked like him. But it could not be. It simply could not be. Sure he had the same height, the same scraggly hair. But he wasn't green and his teeth weren't sharp.
But then again, why was he wearing that outfit?
It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. Unless she had a concussion of sorts. But no, it couldn't be.
She didn't understand what was going on below her. Though she did sense that something grave and important was about to happen. She hoped that whatever it was, it would get her friends and herself out of this nasty predicament.
The flames were so close now. She could feel the blisters form on her feet. Soon she'd have no choice but to perform a hail marry and drop from the assembly line, all for a few more seconds and perhaps a quicker, more painless death.
And still her eyes shifted back and forth, desperately trying to find the one face she needed to see more than any other in the world.
She heard a loud crash.
And then she saw him.
There was no more denying it. She didn't even need her friends to scream 'Beast Boy' to know it was him.
There was only one person in the world who could smile like that. And she looked him dead in the eye as he stared back.
Garfield smiled miserably at her as the chemicals washed over him. There was so much left unsaid, but all he could manage in his final moments, was a smile. Because through it all, he was Beast Boy and Beast Boy lived for smiles.
It was, however, traumatic for her and their friends to see that smile turn into a grin as his teeth grew and his form along with it. To see his human eyes turn so feral and to hear a howl answered by every single dog in Jump City was a complete and utter horror.