Chapter 10:
A/N: So... close... to finishing the story. Agh! I can practically taste it. Had a bout of writer's nitro (what's the opposite of writer's block?) this last week and flew through the writing.
Review Responses:
-Mr. Ursine: Perhaps. Read, find out, let me know what you think.
-TheAlienHeart: Welp, here's what's next...
-"Guest" #1: We'll see... or, I guess you guys will.
*End of Responses
Disclaimer: I'm several disclaimers shy of a full snicker salad.
Without further ado. *Que the dimming of the lights*
The Proposition:
Chapter 10:
"You'd think it would be brighter," Raven commented, already several yards in the hollow. As it stood, she had an advantage, her altered eyes dilating wide open as she continued forward, stepping over exposed rocks and roots that would otherwise prove hazardous; it didn't hurt that she could see in diluted color as well. The hollow was larger than anticipated, giving her head a couple of feet clearance after she had passed the initial entrance. The musty, earthy scent was strong, but far from overpowering. The only sounds that graced her ears was the brisk sound of wind at the hollow entrance. Raven half-smiled to herself, surprised but not complaining about how at ease her new senses felt.
"Despite the implications of a mental plane, the consistency with more realistic circumstances is rather odd," Martian Manhunter replied, following after her without any more trouble than she was having. "Typically, the imagination creates fantastical and impossible occurrences. I suppose it would be a compliment to note that both you and the changeling are very grounded in your outlooks for your link to bear such a striking similarity to reality."
Raven's eyes narrowed slightly at that, even as she stepped over a precarious looking root. "I don't claim to understand what you mean, but it was my understanding that Ga- Beast Boy wasn't someone who adhered to reality. A made-up world would be far more appealing to him than realism. In fact, I second that."
"People can surprise you," the Martian commented, as if speaking from experience. "Sometimes the most grounded people you are acquainted with are the most vivid dreamers you will ever meet. And "vice versa" as I believe it is said. Sometimes it is a good thing. Other times, it clouds their judgement."
A stray chill blew up Raven's cloak, causing her spine to stiffen as she shivered. Her teeth clenching to keep from chattering, her ears suddenly perked, catching some faint sound that… that was lost on her. It was consistent, steady even, keeping a rapid pace and tempo that pulsed near soundlessly in Raven's chest, as if the air itself had become the conduit.
"Do you hear that?" she asked, her voice quieting reflexively, as if attempting not to disturb the sound.
"Are those… drums?" J'onn asked, turning his head slightly in every direction, trying to discern the origin of the sound. "Nine senses, and still all of mine are baffled."
Raven didn't designate that with a response as she tried listening closer, attempting to answer the Martian's inquiry, only to feel the hair on the back of her neck stiffen reflexively. What started off as a rapid but deep, steady beat with a softer resonating echo, was suddenly joined by the sounds of whispers. The whispers were soft, but repetitive, creating an almost ethereal sense of chanting unlike any Raven had heard in her study of Earths cultures. Almost wild, tribal; but with a harmony that ebbed and flowed like the wind. Like a chorus of ghosts.
The shadows along the walls seemed to writhe in conjunction, swimming with the chanting. What made it more eerie were the shapes that seemed to suddenly darken across the tunnel sides, as if watching the shadow of something vague move across the walls. In some instances, Raven almost swore a story was playing out, a living depiction of events that flowed in sync with the music; though it felt almost basic… primitive even, like something one would crudely paint on the sides of a cave.
"Raven." J'onn's voice roused her from her listening, turning back to look at him. His face was set as he pointed further inward.
The dirt underfoot was fading away to solid stone, though that wasn't what he was gesturing to. Pulsing light drew Raven's attention, or more specifically, the source of the light in question. Deeper in, root-like appendages grasped along the floor, walls, and ceiling; and like neural pathways, pulsed to some unknown stimuli in measured beats, each wave of glow buzzing like ambient electricity. A mist also seemed to emanate from around the tunnel, billowing of its own accord in conjunction with the light pulses, as if it were churning from the breath of something living.
"What is it?" she asked, moving closer, as if lured in by the light. On closer inspection, she noticed that the light and mist were swaying with the chanting, both given form by the annunciations in the seemingly meaningless chant, as if a single sharp syllable were the verbal activation in a phrase of magic. The light, the mist, the drums, the chant; all together, it held an almost hypnotic quality.
"The entrance to his conscious mind I hope," the Martian responded warily, gently closing his eyes as he touched the walls in analysis, the dancing shadows almost bending away from his hand. "Whatever aspects of his mind went into forming this end of the link, it's… ancient."
"What do you mean ancient?" Raven asked, her brow furrowing in confusion as she turned back toward her companion.
The Martian's scowl deepened as he focused harder. "It is something I don't quite understand. It's so… basic. Rest…." A shadow jumped across the wall, causing Raven to start slightly. "…Survive…." The shadow deepened, seeming to crawl toward the alien's hand. "…Evolve…."
Raven watched as the shadows seemed to take shape off the wall, creating a tangible shape of darkness as if it were alive. "J'onn."
"…Protect…," he whispered, the shadows fading to their normal dancing, the drum and chant unaffected. The Martian opened his eyes, removing his hand with some dejection. "…Instinct. Your friend's part of the link has an abnormally active and developed spontaneity of thought. It's fluid. Reactive. That would explain the primal nature of the drums and chanting. Though I don't understand how a baser part of his mind sustains his end of the link." He pressed forward as though he had lost interest in the present sight, though Raven was hesitant to continue.
Raven didn't know how one would define Garfield's instincts, but she had an idea why his end of the link was so… primal. Still….
'Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos,' she whispered to herself, jogging slightly to catch up to the Martian.
As she stepped into the mist, she felt an oddly familiar sensation. As if the entire world had suddenly been blotted out. To her anxiety, the sounds of drums and chanting had abruptly ceased, leaving a ringing drone of emptiness. The only thing that remained was the mist, though it was thicker formed; creating random unstable shapes for a moment before fading away.
"That was odd," the Martian commented. "We made it through his end of the link, so this should be his mind." He brushed his hand through the vapors with a worried glance. "The structure is malleable here… and unstable. Too unstable."
Raven didn't hear him, her breath slowly increasing as she looked around. 'No, no. Not here.' She took a deep breath as she tried not to think of the last time she had seen the likeness of this realm; when she had seen some of Beast Boy's memories. She didn't get the sense of being sucked into a black hole, but that didn't stop the arising dread she felt as she looked around.
"Are we deep enough in for you to find him?" Raven asked quickly, glancing every which way nervously, as if at any moment the ground might drop out from under them. Her ribs were suddenly remembering falling onto tree limbs in a conjured African jungle as she spared him a glance, "Do we need to go any further?"
"If this is his conscious mind, then I should be able to get a reading on his location," the Martian answered, bending down to make contact with the "ground". As soon as he did, his deep-red eyes began to glow as a sign of his powers reaching out. Being in a mental space, the alien's aura seemed manifest as such, a gentle cloudy hue of bright red that matched his eyes. His eyes shone brighter as he dug deeper, calling out to the object of his search. "I sense your name," he said with command. "Garfield Mark Logan, I request you show me your whereabouts."
'Oh my Azar! I know his full name now! I know his full name!' Happy exclaimed with several air somersaults, her outburst as inopportune as most others.
A wave emanated with the Martian as the epicenter, a strange chill washing over Raven as the mists around them began to shade and solidify rapidly. The ground grew somewhat soft as green heads of grass sprouted in minute and vivid detail; trees shot from the ground, their pine foliage flexing like a thousand tiny feathers as they budded; brick, mortar, and wood seemed to fall together from nowhere as the small, homey castle took form. The last thing to fill in were the figures, which were moving at a strangely rapid speed. They filled in the slowest, as if one were watching a pencil sketch gradually being filled in with detail.
Raven recognized them almost instantly: six wolf pups, moving around and attacking something, only to leap back in fright as a still-filling-in large shape swiped at them. They were spread out, constantly harassing the creature in question with swift nips and occasionally yips to alternate its attention. She couldn't help the small smile that crawled awkwardly to her face. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recognized it as a pack technique used to tire out larger, heavier, and more dangerous solo prey.
A shriek-like roar interrupted her observations as the creature in question filled-in. Its large mass accentuated with an acute strength and agility; a strange culmination of raptor bird and a terrible feline. An oddly thin and lithe frame that spoke of its avian construct, its hind legs complimented that of it's feline-counterpart, with back paws that flexed open and shut like one would expect the talons of a bird to. Where it's front legs would be, instead maneuvered enormous feathered wings, talons aligning with the in-bent joint of its wing in a fashion that replicated a bat's fore-claw while also allowing it to pad on all fours with a surprising mobile and fluid gait. Its neck muscles were thick, in a manner that seemed to stretch the head from the body in an almost grotesque manner similar to an owl, but granting it larger potential range of vision. Darker feather barbs coarsed over its neck and chest in a darkened mane, and along with tail ends, flexed as though it were part of a bird's ruffled plumage. Worse yet were the wide, slit eyes that seemed almost unable to blink, and the crooked vulture-like beak that opened in a throaty shriek that sounded more like a gut-retching craw.
Overall, it was far from the romanticized version found on coats-of-arms, or in novels and fairy tales, though, no depiction of them were probably any assortment of green to begin with. A blend of dark spinach green that made up the feathered fur of its mane and tail tips, and the tips of its feathery wings, or the familiar hue of the leaf green fur and feather that took up the larger portion of its body, the lighter pistachio colored spots just above the eyes or along his wing edges, or the venomously lime-green of its enlarged iris's.
For some reason, the dapples of green suited the forest background, as if it could suddenly fade away at will like a chameleon. Such a creature, in the right environment, would be down right terrifying… especially in the dark, when it's vision would allow it to hunt and fly among the forests while camouflaged in utmost stealth.
Like the few hybrid forms she had seen from him before, it was a hunter that could dominated the top of any ecological chain with little-to-no resistance, or in the case of the gorilla-rhino, a behemoth that embodied the Jungle Law. He was an apex predator, with all the grace, power, and terror that titled endowed. In a world that was largely unobserved and unseen by man, he was lord of the wild, king of the jungle.
"That's… a griffin," Raven breathed in recognition from her collection of assorted bestiaries. Her gaze was mostly in disgust at how ugly the creature was in-person – or as close to in-person as could be expected – but also in awe at its speed and ferocity, how dexterous its size was as it dodged and half-jumped half-flapped in such a cramped space among the small pack of pups and the clearing trees, while only gently rolling them over with its clawed wings in play like a kitten with yarn. It wasn't a magical creature by any means, but from the experience of seeing it, it might as well have been.
But what bothered her most was that despite the clear indication of hybridization, it was an impeccable replication of a true griffin, lacking all the characterization of mainstream nobility that griffins represented. And many of her books were sealed with magic to prevent a certain someone, *cough, cough*, from tampering with them. So Beast Boy had no way of knowing what a griffin's appearance truly was; and yet, there he was, in all the hideousness its exact form could muster. "Beast Boy turned into a griffin."
"It would appear so," the Martian reciprocated, frowning at the rendition of the world in general. He waved his hand through the grass, plucking up a sprig of the cultivated weed as he observed it. "It's detailed," he commented to himself, a note of worry in his voice. "Too detailed."
"Come on," the hybrid changeling said in a deep, throaty rasp from his bestial form, wings crawling along the ground. "Is that the best you guys got?" He lifted his bird-like head, exposing his neck as he released a guttural chitter that resembled a broken chuckle, taunting the pups in play.
"It's no fair!" the smallest of the straw-colored wolves whined. Raven recognized this one as Therrisa from her previous encounter. "You're bigger, stronger, and faster!"
"But I'm bigger, and therefore easier to hit," the changeling countered with enlarged sniff. "And there are more of you. So how is it a big mean beasty like me is knocking around a coordinated pack of wolf children."
The smallest of them, the black and white the runt of the litter, Winter, answered shyly. "But you're not just an animal. You have experience, and you're dominant. Any pack fighting you would have a hard time, so the best course would have been to avoid a fight in the first place."
The griffin changeling made a clicking sound in his throat, as if he were snapping his fingers in confirmation. "And that kids, is today's lesson: Sometimes, no matter how strong you think you are, it's best to avoid fighting."
"Then what was the point!" the brown alpha, Darien, growled angrily.
"You mean besides giving me a workout?" Beast Boy teased with a deep chuckle. He gently crouched lower, and the transformation began. Muscle shifted and ripped, bones broke and crackled! A groan of discomfort and pain escaped his clenched beak as he slowly began to reduce in size. It was almost painstaking to watch as bit-by-bit, he agonizingly reverted back into his human form, the audible sound of him changing causing Raven to subconsciously cringe. Currently being in his mind, she only felt a phantom of how much pain it was causing him to not just morph, but consciously transform.
Once he had attained his original human shape – clothes shredded, but otherwise present – he looked at his students attentively, masterfully hiding the lingering stabbing his nerves felt. "The point was, there are some things that even a pack of wolves won't attack," he said in his normal voice, crossing his arms in a bout of seriousness that took Raven aback. "You need to gauge your potential prey's strength." He turned toward Winter appraisingly. "You knew I was dangerous to your pack, yet you didn't voice that aloud. Why?"
"Yeah! Why?!" Darien demanded. The alpha lowered his head when Beast Boy shot him a glare.
"No one listens to the runt," she muttered, fidgeting slightly on all-fours as she looked at the ground.
"But that is a wolf's strongest asset. Communication," Beast Boy pointed out, stating the obvious as though it were transparent. "And you're not normal wolves. You're human too," he continued. "You can plan, strategize, reason. As such, even the runt's input into a situation can save the pack a load of trouble. Brute force and ruthlessness doesn't make you better; it's about working with your team. Picking and choosing your battles takes knowledge, wisdom, instinct, and trust. You need to find a balance between the human and the animal. Once you can utilize all of those together, you can hunt like pros.
"Darien," he said, causing the alpha pup to stiffen slightly as he raised his eyes. "Believe it or not bud, you're gonna have to trust the "runt". She has keen instincts and good head on her little shoulders, and you can't always bull-rush your way through a fight. If I had been a serious threat, there wouldn't be a pack for you to lead."
The alpha nodded in shame, his pride not just wounded, but bashed.
Raven felt a huge blush move through her emotions. 'What's going on?' she demanded internally.
'I think Knowledge has the hots for teacher Beast Boy,' Passion purred dreamily. 'He's so stern and ferocious, but he gets his point across so well when he teaches.'
'I do not,' Knowledge denied too quickly, pushing up her glasses in a huff. 'Although… he would look really good in a suit and tie… with a pair of half-rimmed rectangular glasses.' Her comment caused a round of blushes.
'Dear Azar,' Raven thought, gently palming her face to her hand. 'Is that all it takes for me to–?' She paused in thought. She had to admit, that image did have a certain… appeal.
"Alright dudes," Beast Boy proclaimed, Raven's attention returning forward as his body reverting into the putty of his normal shapeshifting as he assumed the form of a green "regular" tiger. "Attack me now," he ordered deeply, his voice having converted to fit the creature he had become.
The pups seemed hesitant, looking to their alpha as he lowered himself, his back bristling with an agitated growl. One-by-one, the pups followed suit, even little Winter, and they began to surround the lone beast in a fashion that would allow them the most coverage.
The green tiger's whiskers twitched slightly, a small guttural growl releasing from his maw as he turned this way and that in anticipation for the first strike.
The larger of the straw-colored wolves, Ambrose, attempted to charge first. But the farthest he got was the first step. As soon as his paw had touched the ground, the tiger's ear twitched, and a threatening roar burst from the changeling's maw, causing the pups to stumble over their own feet when their forward moving bodies tried to backpedal in shock.
"Come on," the changeling growled, his nose sniffling, causing his features to tense slightly, exposing his teeth. "I'm just a bad ol' putty tat with a big roar. In a real fight, you can't back out just because something startles you. Once you're prepared to pounce, you commit."
"Then how do you jump into fights?!" Darien demanded, stomping his paw in frustration.
"Dude, I'm a superhero," Beast Boy said as he morphed back into himself, pointing a thumb at himself. "My job description literally states that I have to jump into fights where I can get my butt whooped… which sort of happens on a regular basis." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "The point is, you guys don't have that commitment. You're still kids. But if your going to hunt like wolves, you need to know if the enemy is worth the effort, and once you commit, you can't back down. Hesitation can get one or more of you hurt. Do we need to start over with chasing the rabbit?"
A collective groan of whiny "Nooohooo!" arose in tandem from the pups.
'Yeah, I agree with Passion,' Envy commented with an almost serpentine lick to her lips. 'Teacher Beast Boy is a Hunk of Grade A-One shoulder cut steak that I'd love to sink my teeth into.'
'No-no, if you're going Grade A-One, you have to go a little more bold,' Brave stated with an eye wiggle, drawing a fork and a bowie knife the size of her forearm for dramatic effect. 'I prefer a tenderloin myself. Or maybe… some of dat round steak.'
"I'm going to see about contacting him now, while there is a bit of a lull," the Martian stated as he stood to his feet from his observations, causing Raven to jump slightly further into her cloak to hide the blush that was moving across her face. She had forgotten that the alien was there, and her emoticlones hadn't been talking about the most appropriate of things using terminology she had picked up from Cyborg.
'Azar, that was embarrassing,' she thought quietly.
"Garfield," the Martian called out in a resonant voice, his eyes glowing in response as he projected mentally. "What is your specified location? We wish to locate you."
The world distorted for a moment like static, Beast Boy clutching his head with his hand, his smile fading.
"Mister Garfield? Are you okay?" the red wolf pup, Blossom, asked.
"Changeling," the Martian pressed carefully, "I am a friend. Your friends wish to know your location. Please tell us."
"Kids, get your dad," Beast Boy commanded, wrapping both hands around his head as his teeth grit in effort, his eyes slitting instantly. It was clear now that he heard the Martian.
"Get out of my head!" a voice yelled back, echoing around the mindscape, the world distorting once again until it faded away, returning it to a misty void almost instantly.
The Martian glanced around in shock, before turning to Raven. "This shouldn't be possible. The construct mechanisms of his mind are too sophisticated. He created and removed a scene as though it were nothing."
"But this is normal for him," Raven said in confusion. "His mind has an eye for details, and I've seen him shift entire scenes without so much as batting an eye." Once he had grown lucid from his nightmares, he was basically a… master… of his… own… mind. 'Uh-oh.'
"For how long?" the Martian asked, glancing around as though he were searching for an exit.
"It was this way before the link formed," she answered, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Why?"
"Has he had any sort mental training? Any direct mental trauma that could prompt a mental reaction?" J'onn demanded hastily, watching as the mists began to curl repulsively, thickening as they gathered.
"Um, his adoptive father could read minds. He was probably trained there," she answered quickly. "And he…."
""And he" what?" the Martian questioned, noting she had paused.
"He was hypnotized while unconscious," she whispered, clutching her forearm underneath her cloak. "He… may have hurt someone."
"Get out," a voice whispered warningly, barely a breath, as though the mist were given a voice.
"Get out." "Get out." "Get out of my head." "Leave." The whispers insisted, steadily growing angrier.
A thick bubbling sound took precedence with the voice, like a tar pit. Slowly the mists began to change, their gray haze taking color as the mental air itself grew tangibly hostile.
"Raven, we need to leave," he stated hastily. "Find an exit back through the link. We need to go now!"
"What?! Why?" she asked, feeling the Martian's growing worry, but not understanding it in the slightest. "This may be the quickest chance we have of finding him."
"He has mastery over the manipulation of his own mind, Raven," the Martian explained. "Everything in here is formed and dissolved at his whim. Every nightmare vivid, every fantasy made whole within the confines of his mind. If it were just a dream, it would be one thing, but he has absolute lucid control over the framework of his mind. It doesn't matter that we mean him no harm. Once traumatized, a mind this malleable sub-consciously creates failsafes to prevent it from happening again. If he did hurt someone while acting outside his will, he will lash out and stone wall any notice of intrusion.
"He won't care who is making contact, because he's acting out of reflex to prevent from harming someone again. He doesn't even know you, his teammate, are here, and he isn't going to listen to anything we have to say," the Martian finished, sternly grabbing her shoulders. "So we need to leave. Now!"
Raven quickly lifted her hand, calling the four-eyed raven that had lead them here, trying to find the pathway to the link in question. Her breath deepened, as the mist closed in, the bubbling thick and gargled.
"I won't let you take me." Beast Boy's voice echoed angrily. Desperately. "I won't let you take control again."
"The ticking," a deep voice hissed frantically. "The ticking whispers vile words."
"The bad man speaks sweet words while I sleep," a soft childish voice whimpered. Raven recognized this voice, she had heard it before, but couldn't place where. "He tells me to obey."
"The swirl. Light dark light dark. Mesmerizing. Can't happen again! Won't let it!" Beast Boy strained.
"Blood fills the mouth. Sweet tasting. Ashes, ashes, the world falls down," the deep voice growls. The mist around them fulfills its color, a deep crimson, like blood, floating around the Martian and sorceress.
"Bit her. Tasted her. Bitter-sweet," the child voice cries.
"I won't let you hurt her," Beast Boy's voice proclaimed. "I won't let you in my head again."
Raven swallowed as the familiar scene played out in her mind. Her right forearm trembled as a growl echoed through the void and red mist, as if haunted by a strange creature that remained hidden by its folds. She waited, frantically waited for her power to find them, but it was nowhere to be found. She couldn't find the link. She was… scared.
"Raven," the J'onn stated, remaining as calm and collected as he could. "If you can't find the way out, then I have no choice but to force our way out."
"GET OUT!" they all screamed. The blood mist buckled away, amassing quickly as the vapor rapidly condensated to liquid, swirling like a maelstrom of gore. The primal sound of drum and chanting enveloped the air in its song once again, a sign of the primal mind awakening. The void shot away as the liquid took shape, a pack of blood red wolves forming as the mindscape cropped up massive stone walls on every side, entrapping the two heroes with the wolves.
The Martian's eyes glowed as he began to telekinetically attack the blood wolves, throwing up the mindscapes stony ground to create a barricade against the mentally spawned creatures. "Raven, his defenses are active. Can you find the way out?!" he asked. "If I have to force our way out, I could do irreparable damages to his mind. Raven?"
Raven wasn't listening, a strangely foreign feeling provoked the hairs of her neck. The glare in the liquid-shaped wolves eyes', their movements, their sloshed dancing forms. She couldn't explain what it was, but it felt primordial. Powerful. And yet, all too familiar. Protective.
"Beast Boy, its me," she whispered, attempting to reach out mentally to the creatures. She felt the brush of something whispering into her, as her own attempts to reach out was met with something returning the favor. Her head swam in shock as she felt it slip flawlessly past her mental barriers as if she had opened the door and let it in herself, touching into her immediate thoughts. When it found whatever it was searching for, it retracted. She couldn't respond. There was something she had recognized in the presence as it scouted her mind. It was vague, but she felt a spark of recognition from it. It knew her, and she knew it. The blood wolves formless eyes' softened, looking at her with something she couldn't read.
A wolf the Martian had pulverized was reforming, its brethren liquidizing around it as they became one mass once again. It was taking a new shape, this one several times larger as its body began to grow to size, crawling in and around itself like insects as it amassed into a single entity. A large feline-like structure was forming, animated by the liquid red as it stood taller than the Martian at its shoulder, its head lifted a deep scream toward the upper-limits of the mindscape, it's multiple tails whipping angrily. Behind him he heard a low moan, turning to see another fashioned creature; some predatorial amalgamation of animals; a beast, sniffing at a strangely calm Raven with another deep bellow, baring its blood-liquid teeth slightly.
J'onn had no choice now. His eyes glowed as he telepathically began ripping into the dimensional space of the changeling's mindscape, attempting to drill or bombard a way out. He clutched his head in massive recoil as his attempt was repelled, deflected, his own power brushed aside in a wave of tangible disgust.
"You were warned," the creature in front of him growled. "I warned you. No one will play with my head again! If you won't leave, I'll make you." It's back bristled threateningly, as claws Slurch!ed from its paws.
Before he could respond with another attempt, a Caw! answered through the conjured walls, the four-eyed raven's coming a sign of promise as all eyes glanced at the noise. With it came something else, two vastly different energy forms, as if following Raven's search: a pink cat and a white bird. The energies spiraled around, colliding together in between the Martian and the creature, providing the way out he had failed to create.
"J'onn, what is that?" Raven asked, turning back to her beast as it stepped forward, sniffing not at her, but at the portal that had formed.
The world visibly recoiled as the tear formed in the mindscape, a black hole that was all to familiar as it attempted to pull in all things not set in their place. The gateway in the mind forced open. The Martian turned to his companion, observing her baffled face. "It's a way out. Raven, we need to leave. These constructs won't reveal the changelings location. They are only here to defend his mind and remove us."
She didn't respond, staring ahead numbly. "But… if I can-" Her creature behind her growled, suddenly lifting her by the cloak with its teeth. Her yelp of surprise was quickly suppressed as it walked past the Martian, heaving its head and letting go as it tossed her through the portal. It turned toward the Martian, exposing its constructed teeth.
He spun around as he felt the induced portal begin to gather as the red liquid of his creature began to wrap around its edges, igniting the portal further as it expanded its entrance. 'Impossible!' Before he could attempt to follow however, the creature that had been focused on her roughly head-butted him. This unsteadied the Martian, allowing him to fall through the portal before it fizzled, and was roughly slammed closed.
The liquid creatures didn't react. It had done what it had been tasked to do: dispel the attackers. Remove them. Although it had felt a familiar presence… something it couldn't truly harm, so was gently removed. The gateway that had been forcibly created was diminished, and therefore did not present a threat to his mind, and the nasty mind-talker was gone. With no other command to guide it, the red liquid slowly returned to a gentle mist across the empty mindscape. But this time, it remained the color of blood as it swept along lightly to an imagined gentle breeze.
And eventually, it's wielder would return to consciousness; with only a faint recognition of events. Eventually, a spark would ignite into flame; but until then, it would wait until its primal nature was called on again.
Raven's eyes shot open with gasp so deep, it sounded like she had been suffocated. Her eyes widened as she looked around, an unfamiliar environment meeting her. She tried to move, only to feel something holding her down, and in a moment of terror, her powers lashed out.
"Ow! God!"
She turned to see Kid Flash suspended upside-down on a wall before he slid to the ground, Oof!ing as he hit the floor. The person holding her was two people, Jinx and Zatanna, their eyes and hands glowing only for a moment more before they ceased, returning their visions to normal.
"Mlac," Zatanna whispered soothingly, the air almost smelling of tea as she spoke, cradling Raven's head. "Mlac."
"Holy shit!" Jinx moaned as she leaned back in exhaustion. "That was something I never want to feel again."
Whether from Zatanna's enchantments, or from realizing that she was fine, Raven began to slowly calm down. Enough, at least, to notice the small crowd that had gathered around. Before any protest could be met, she felt something tackle into her.
"Wa-aven!" she heard Tyler cry, rubbing his face, and his buggers, into her cloak.
"R-r-raven, f-fell athleep, an-and wouldn't w-wake up!" Timmy bawled, latching onto her arm.
Melvin stood just in front of her, her face contorted as if she was attempting rather unsuccessfully to prevent herself from join her siblings in crying. When Raven nodded to her, she rushed forward, nailing Raven in the stomach a little too hard as she too began to cry.
Raven turned to the other sorceress and magician, opting to ignore the greater part of the crowd for now as she patted her kids on the head. "Wha-what happened?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Jinx protested, her fingers counting off in frustration. "First, you and Martian Manhunter are doing some mind thingy. Second, you both start emitting some super crazy aura shit! Third, Zatanna and I practically get forced to help when your energy starts emitting a distress beacon! Fourth, we feel you guys wrestling with some massive force of energy that ATE! our energy, then practically pushed you into us. Overall, I'd say a thank you was in order…. And maybe an explanation!"
Raven's eyes widened in realization as she remembered something. "Martian Manhunter? Is he–?"
The magic-wielders looked over, prompting Raven to join them as well. The Martian in question was still on the floor, his eyes squinted closed, and his brow slick with fevered sweat (if Martian's could sweat); his breaths labored. Unlike before, he was no longer human-like in appearance; his head having elongated into a crest, his body thinner and covered in scale-like plates, and his arms and legs longer. His niece knelt next to him along with Red Tornado and Cyborg, who both seemed to be doing a series of biological scans to determine what was wrong.
"Friend! You are mostly unharmed!" Starfire proclaimed, wrapping her arms around Raven's neck and pulling her in for a surprisingly gentle hug. "We were the worried."
"Thanks Star," Raven said, gently peeling off her friend and the kids as she attempted to get up.
"Raven, you need to lay down," Zatanna stated. "We still don't know what it was that attacked you."
"It wasn't attacking," she insisted. "It was trying to corral us out." She didn't bother with an explanation, because she didn't have one. Having that creature's thoughts amassed in her head told her exactly what it wanted. She knew what it was, who it was, and she wasn't afraid of it in the slightest. It was still him in there. The wilder side of Beast Boy's heart and mind had recognized her, but that didn't mean he would remember her when he awoke once again. Quietly, she began moving over to the Martian… who actually looked like a Martian now.
"Stay. Away," M'gann warned, her eyes glowing angrily. "Whatever you two found, J'onn couldn't maintain his body. He reverted to his Martian form. Nothing can make him do that!"
"M'gann," Cyborg shot back from his analysis, "cool your jets. Raven, any idea what got the jump on you two."
"I'll fill you in later," Raven stated, receiving an oddly knowing look from her friend as she knelt next to the Martian with her hands reaching over his head and chest. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Her eyes glowed white as crackling ice-blue energy curled from her fingertips, finding the anomaly she was looking for almost instantly. "Gotcha!"
Her hands contorted as her energy pressed deeper, filtering out the mental backlash the Martian had received from being forcibly removed. They had traveled into Beast Boy's mind on his powers, so it was he who received the strain that came from being repelled, especially where under normal circumstances, the Martian would have easily overcome such a mind. It was not the case this time.
It was several moments before the Martian's breathing evened out, and it was almost two minutes later that the glow faded from Raven's hands. "Vital signs are confirmed to have stabled," Red Tornado droned. "Recovery is eminent. Rest is non-negotiable. Please, make way." The android quickly but gently lifted the Justice Leaguer in his arms before the crowd parted to let them through as he walked toward the Watchtower's infirmary, followed closely by the other Martian.
Raven tried to stand again, only to feel a wave of nausea hit her as she slipped forward, quickly caught by the half-robot she called friend and brother. "Alright y'all, nothin' to see here," Cyborg declared dismissively. Most of the crowd reluctantly vacated, whispers already starting among the young adult and teen heroes. Most, being the operating word.
Her kids, Starfire, Zatanna, Jinx, and Robin – having finally been able to move forward from behind the dispersing crowd – stood with a concerned Superman and Batman observing her critically.
"Raven, you okay?" Robin asked, only to get an exhausted glare from her in return. "What happened?"
She looked down at her hand, her arms still shaking uncontrollably as she felt her power slowly dissipated, and the weight of just how much of the Martians own powers had been repulsed, and it was taking its toll on her. She assumed that the majority of the backlash came from the Martian's attempt to force his way out of the changelings mind, only to meet his rather terrifying mental fortifications…. Fortifications she didn't know he was capable of erecting. Still, she had felt his primal thoughts in her head, but it was… gentle all the same, and familiar enough to slip past her defenses.
"Garfield," she whispered tiredly, still looking at her shaking hand as her eyes fluttered open and closed. "Almost… found."
"You have found friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked in wonder. "Where is he? Let us see to his retrieving."
Raven shook her head. "Lost him. H-h-he-"
"Hey, Raven, don't talk. You look paler than… well normal," Cyborg commanded hesitantly, especially after the comment about her natural complexion. He quickly did a quick biometric sweep. "Your readings are fine. What's wrong?"
"And what was it that you healed J'onn of?" Zatanna asked. "What did that to him?" The other remaining two Justice Leaguers silently agreed on the line of questioning.
"Power… recoil," she answered, breathing in slowly. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She just felt so exhausted, like she hadn't slept in days. And something felt… off. "B-block-d m-min-d s-some-th-ing b-b-" The rest of her words felt like a jumbled mess of broken syllables.
"Raven, slow down, okay," Robin stated. "We need to let you rest. Whatever that was, we have to make sure it doesn't effect you like it did J'onn."
She smiled slightly to herself, already knowing that it wouldn't, though that still left her to worry about the Martian, and more to the point, what exactly had surrounded them.
But rest, rest sounded good too. Really good. Maybe she would see Beast Boy in her dreams again. Maybe she could actually connect with him this time, and explain what happened. She still had her spell at the– She felt it now. It hit her like a ton of bricks when she went searching for it. She knew what had felt off. The link! Something was wrong with the link! It was still there, but it was different. Like two radios; whenever she sent a signal, all she got back was static. Static meant that the other end was still active; but now, there was no reply.
The panic must have shown on her face, because Melvin was the one who spoke up. "Raven, what's wrong?"
"I-I can't f-feel h-him," Raven gritted out, forcing herself to keep awake. The link was still there, but it was non-responsive. She reached for it insistently, still felt it in the back of her mind.
She closed her eyes, focusing on what she wanted to see; what she wanted to witness. In her minds-eye, she could see it so clearly; the birches, the maples, the oak forests that made up the mindscape of her and Garfield's link. Their mutual minds had made it, and to her relief, it was still there. Still thriving, still drawing on mental energies. She sighed in relief. It would have sucked if she hadn't actually gotten to explore it, at least, that's what she tried and failed to tell herself. She still had the link, she still felt it growing. Maybe, once she had rested, she could find out what was "jamming the signal" so to speak.
She slowly closed her eyes. Yes, sleep sounded wonderful. She was only conscious enough to feel her eyes roll in the back of her head, and then her breathing evened out.
Several hours later, back at Wayne Manor…
"How's she doing?" Robin asked as Cyborg closed the door to Raven's room behind him. He and Starfire had been waiting patiently outside the room, and by patiently, he had been walking a hole back-and-forth into the antique carpet.
"She'll be fine," Cyborg reassured with a relieved smile of his own, prompting sighs of relief all around. "It was just exhaustion."
"Thank X'hal," Starfire whispered in relief, cradling her Bumgorf to her chest for reassurance. "I would make the Pudding of Most Joyful News, but I am afraid that Alfred does not possess the ingredients I would require."
Robin and Cyborg did their best to disguise the nervous sweat that had been building up on the backs of their necks at the mention of one of Starfire's puddings. Thankfully, that reaction at least felt normal, considering the abnormal circumstances that had arisen quite suddenly, and in great number.
"So Cyborg?" Robin inquired carefully. "Did you get what happened?"
Cyborg's features narrowed in a confused frown. "I didn't understand much of it. It was still mostly half-lucid mutterings, but I did manage to get a full diagnostic scan, and she checks out. I don't know what happened to her, but it seems like the worst of it has passed."
After she had fallen asleep, she had immediately gone into a Healing Trance. The only viable option then, was to move her to a safe and comfortable location when she woke up. Returning to the Manor had been the most logical option, even if they had only been at the Watchtower for a few hours. The health of a teammate mattered more than a ceremonial promotion. Unlike previous times she had entered into her regenerative state, she had murmured softly, with only a handful of words being legible; among those, "Garfield" and "Beast Boy" being the most recognizable, with additional mutterings including "tigers", "wolves", and "griffins" (oh my!), though none knew their significance or connection.
"Do you think she almost truly found friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, her voice hiding knowledge that she knew the members of her team were not ready to hear. She was more literal than most, but she wasn't "the blind" as Earthlings were so fond of saying. Friend Raven cared for friend Beast Boy. It was a simple deduction based in keen observation: she had been doing the stress-eating that was not in fact the stress-eating, thee accidental usage of his birth name when she thought no one did the noticing, shining confidence (or at least, shining for Raven) that their friend would return to them, tirelessly searching for him, and even whatever risk she had endured with the Manhunting Martian (though what this Martian had against males was beyond the Tamaranian's understanding). Truly, if Raven did not care for friend Beast Boy, as she claimed so often, then she would not go to such lengths to search for him. At least that was what the princess deduced. She would do more of the asking and pestering her friend when they could do more "girl-talk"; discreetly of course.
"I believe it," Cyborg answered simply. "If there was one of us that was bound to find him sooner, it was Raven." He wasn't about to break confidence that he knew the means she was utilizing, but it made him curious just how much the two of them had exchanged during their hush-hush merging; unfortunately, the most he could measure were one-sided physiological changes. Any psychological or mental changes that took place could only be observed over time; preferably with both of them present. "Still, if I'm honest, I'm surprised she hasn't collapsed sooner. She's really burned the candle three ways south of Sunday."
"There's something I don't get," Robin said with a hand to his chin, a sign that Detective Mode had been activated. "Abnormal eating habits, exhaustive searching, new aggressive combat style, strange and new developments surrounding the two of them specifically. There's a pattern here."
Both Starfire and Cyborg swallowed nervously, though for different reasons regarding Robin's emerging "patterns".
"Hmm. I'll have to sleep on it," he said, something else seeming to bother him, prompting subtle relieved sighs from the other two teammates. "I'll go find out about J'onn. It's not everyday you find out something took down the mind of one of the world's top telepaths. And if that thing is still out there, we need to be ready for it." Robin's hand-in-fist determined style of pep talk got him slightly pumped as he headed off in his own direction.
Cyborg also began walking away, clearly something on his mind. "Hey Star, I'm gonna see about using some of the Wayne Tech satellites, okay?"
"For what purpose?" she asked, holding Silkie close.
"It's just…," he scratched the back of his head softly, one her friends many nervous ticks she had noticed, "…Raven really put herself through the grinder for this. And she's been going about it solo, and it's exhausted her. So, I'm gonna see if I can't find any traces of B while I have the resources at my disposal."
Starfire gently floated up to her friend's eye-level, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Victor," she said softly, gaining his attention in the fullest. "It is not your fault that friend Raven has pushed herself so. She has many motivations for discovering his whereabouts, just as you do. The means at her disposal just far out-weigh what any of us are capable of doing." She smiled again, cupping his cheek affectionately. "Just do the making sure you recharge at least a couple of your Earth hours. You do not want to dig yourself the same hole of exhaustion friend Raven has."
"Yes mom," Cyborg said with a half-mocking, but nostalgic smile, gently pulling away as he went about to his self-assigned work.
Starfire simply smiled. While she was very much worried about her sister, their traveling to meet the Justice League had indeed bore fruit… at least, in her opinion. She cuddled her Silkie closer as she thought about her talk with the Kryptonian. Things would be different between her and her family; she was sure of it. Especially with Robin. She could barely contain her excitement; she was so giddy!
Now, all they were required to do was find their friend. It might take days, it might take weeks, it might take months, it might take– She suddenly frowned as she thought about it, lifting her Bumgorf up so they could look eye-to-eye. "If friend Beast Boy takes too long to do the returning, perhaps I shall install a penalty of grievance for the much sadness he has caused we and our friends. Especially friend Raven. What do you think my little Bumgorf?"
Silkie just cocked his whole segmented wormed body to the side, half-held, half-laying on her arm.
"You are right. I do not know what form of punishment this should take," she nodded solemnly. "There are so many to do the choosing from." She began walking back down the hall to their room. "We must of course remove all forms of deadly, and torturous methods that involve bodily harm. However, the warfare of psychology is still open to our interpretation of what is thee okay to use…."
Meanwhile…
Robin found his ex-mentor in one of the only places that Bruce Wayne took off his mask; just inside one of the Manor's balconies overlooking the ground's gardens, nursing a scotch of bourbon. Even a man as obsessive as Batman needed to get some air every now and then that didn't involve knocking the wind out of crooks. Dressed casually for the late afternoon, the Dark Knight was gazing distantly in thought, almost looking the part of the billionaire that he was if it wasn't for the dark and thoughtful brooding air that hung about him, as if the cowl and cape where spectral extensions of him. He didn't acknowledge Robin's approach, though Robin knew that he was aware of his presence.
He waited patiently behind him, looking out at the familiar, almost mystically cloudy Gotham sky. Instead of growing bored or impatient with his mentor as he would have when younger, he closed his eyes, steadying his breath as fierce and calm thoughts flowed through his mind like a kata. His body already began relaxing, allowing him to gradually focus his thoughts inward, gaining a sense of introspective as he thought over the events of the morning.
John Stewart, Starfire, Bruce, the offer he had received, Raven, and all of those things smack dab in the middle of the on-and-off search for Beast Boy. He knew he was right though, there was something strange going on involving the sorceress, even if he still only felt a blank from their connection. And the changeling was somehow involved. But he was missing something, some vital piece to the puzzle that would converge all the dots into an understandable format. Rather than become frustrated by his lack of knowledge, he decided it was better to compartmentalize those thoughts for later analysis. Eventually, his mind would make the connection.
"Have you decided?"
Robin opened his eyes slowly, not quite ready to welcome back the world. There was so much to think about, to ponder. Still, duty calls.
"I haven't," he answered honestly. "But that's not why I'm here. I came to ask about J'onn."
Bruce frown seemed to deepen, even though his back was to Robin. "J'onn is still resting, but whatever he and the sorceress encountered, if it was psychic in nature, it far exceeds anything that we can combat."
"What is the alternative?" Robin asked, not liking the sounds of that. But he knew that Batman had a Plan B through G. He always had one.
"Magic," Batman stated simply. "The simple fact is, unless one has some affinity for it, there is no resistance. J'onn is one of the strongest telepaths on Earth, enough so that psychic senses ping off of him. If something could affect him like that, I wouldn't put it out of the equation." He paused for a moment, weighing his next words carefully. "This happened while they were searching for the changeling. Is there any chance–?"
"That Beast Boy knows magic?" Robin almost snorted. "Beast Boy is a lot of things Bruce, but if he had known magic, he would have used it much sooner in our careers. While we're on that line of thinking, he doesn't possess psychic affinity either. Raven would have noticed both."
"What about Trigon?" he asked, turning to watch the stunned look on Robin's face. "Raven was mentally with J'onn. Could Trigon have attack them through her?"
Robin put a hand to his chin. "Highly unlikely. When we banished Trigon, his influence was removed from Raven. If something like that ran the risk of happening again, she would tell us."
Bruce scrutinized him carefully. "You have too much faith in your friends."
Rather than get angry about it, Robin just shrugged indifferently, his mind still pondering other matters. "I'm learning to trust them, Bruce. They have my back even when I don't have theirs. I'd say I have every reason to have faith in them."
Bruce nodded in acceptance, though his face said he didn't like it. Turning back to look outside, he said, "It will still be a little while before the League is ready to move on the idea of a young Justice. We're still sorting through candidates, but we've settled on Kara, Donna, Billy, and M'gann being part of the main team. They've already accepted. I can give you until then to make your decision."
"How long?" Robin asked for clarification.
"A few months out still," he replied, looking back at Robin. "Will that be enough time?"
Robin's eyes widened slightly in shock. He was used to time crunches and making tough decisions, but being asked about his personal input, even if it was a very direct-round-about way to ask it, was foreign to him. Maybe… maybe Batman had changed.
"Yeah, I'll think about it," he answered softly. He couldn't help but feel a weight settle in his chest. And sadly, he knew the only way to remove it.
A/N: Don't forget to READ and REVIEW! :)
Still debating whether or not to add a sort of bonus chapter before the Epilogue... I'll ponder for a little while.
Once again, this is a Rough Draft, so if there is anything that needs edited, or is connecting in a weird way for you guys, let me know and I'll try to clean up the text. I do accept grammar and spelling errors too. (A Copy 'n Paste, brought to you from the roller chair of SteinMon1920518)
As always (and I'll just keep posting this because its true), keep posting your constructive criticisms, as they will help me know what to look for in my future writings, and for the days I decide to do a hard edit. A writer should never stop growing, and I have no intention of stopping now.
How was that for surprising? One of the main reasons for not instigating the big "everything turns out alright for everyone" that many of you wanted is because this is a transition story (as I think I've mentioned a couple times). This story is meant to fill in some gaps that I wouldn't be covering in Sequence 3 (priorly the original Sequence 2), and to kind of hint at some of the things that would happen. I'm still seeing how much more there is to cover, but for what it was worth, I liked the dynamic that the story took. As there may yet be another chapter before the Epilogue, I'm not going to officially move on to the end just quite yet.
Manhunter and Raven's delve into Beast Boy's mind was a bit harder to write than I anticipated. Elements of what transferred from Sequence 1 were the easy part, but incorporating implied changes and finding the blend between the two was both a challenging and fun way to cover the changeling. Bu-ut, I'm not going to talk about it too much. You know? Spoilers!
Please indulge my curiosity, and let me know what parts you liked, what parts need work, and overall what you guys think about it :D
It's a mild cliff-hangar. Stuff is bound to happen. Until next time on The Proposition - Chapter 10