The Roles we Play
The Road Darkens
Huge thanks to all of you who have spent time from your days to read, review, like, or favorite my story.
***Nope still don't own or make any $$***
"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." –Mark Twain
***TRwP***
"So what's the plan Rob? We walk into the guy's shop and say 'hey I heard that you dabble in dark sorcery and the mystic arts, could you tell us if you have any dealings with an interdimensional all powerful demon lord?' I'm sure that will go over well."
"No Cyborg we aren't going that route, I was thinking more along the lines of just arresting the jerk and offering him a deal for information."
"What if he is the one behind all this? Or even worse what if he is being watched by the real threats and we tip them off?" Raven inquired.
"She's right Robin, we can't just barge in there and start throwing around threats, especially if this guy hears about the takedown of Adonis, he will know we are coming and be ready for us. I don't know about everyone else but I would rather not walk into a magical trap set up by a sociopath."
"Jinx is on the right side perhaps we should do the setting of the traps of our own instead?"
"I like how you are thinking Starfire. Never charge into a cornered animals den, instead you make them come to you."
"Alright, what do you two have in mind?" The leader inquired, glancing over at his orange and green teammates.
Beast Boy's lips turned to a rather vicious smile as he looked towards his cybernetic teammate.
***TRwP***
"Hey who the hell owns this hole in the wall?"
"What the hell do you want?" The large man shouted from a back room as he walked into the waiting portion of his shop. The grizzled man glanced at the two figures standing at the counter, both he recognized from dealing with villains in the past.
The blonde hair and irritating attitude was an obvious give away for 'Kitten' while her father was always easy to spot.
"Did you two seriously walk in off the street? I am trying to keep a low profile here!" the owner grumbled as he glanced outside for any obvious police presence.
"Whatever, daddy here says that since my birthday is coming up I can have whatever I want, right daddy?"
The moth creature just grumbled in response before crossing his arms in an annoyed fashion.
"Listen toots I don't sell jewelry, perfume, stuffed animals, or whatever the hell else you teenagers are into so why don't you go find some nice store in the mall and have your 'daddy' here terrorize them into giving you something from there instead? I am a business man and I have real business to attend to."
"Daddy says he will pay top price for whatever I want."
"What can I do for you today you miss?"
The blonde smirked, "That's what I thought. Word on the street is that you make custom stuff for whoever can afford it. I was looking for something that might be able to deal with the annoying skanks who reside in that overgrown eyesore of a 'T' in Jump City. Once they are gone then Robbie-poo will be all mine!"
"Whatever you say miss, so what did you have in mind?"
"Something big and powerful, and don't forget destructive. Something that will make what that overgrown meathead Adonis had look like a kid's toy. It needs to be able to squash that orange skinned slut and deal with that gothic whore's magic as well."
"Well I have something I have been working on almost complete in the back if you and your 'daddy' would like to take a look."
The teenager jumped for joy before skipping after the man, with her father groaning and following along obediently.
"I call her the NG-1. She is top of the line robotics with a completely self automated and controlled system. Fully loaded with over thirty five different weapons she is nearly one hundred percent immune to dark sorcery and even if you are somehow separated from the suit, she will fight to reach you completely on her own."
"NG-1? That's a stupid name you should call her something cool like 'Destructor'."
"Well if you buy her you can name her whatever you want."
"How do I know what you say is true about the magic resistance?"
"Well between you and me I have been receiving some tutoring in the dark arts recently. Like I said she isn't completely immune but its close enough that it will negate about ninety five percent of the influence."
"How much?"
"Since you are a first time customer I will give you a discount for such a prized piece of technology. Only a million five for the whole thing, I'll even throw in a flower scented air freshener."
"Deal, pay him daddy and let's get her into the truck."
Killer Moth grumbled out what sounded like 'respecting your elders' before opening a large briefcase full of cash he had cuffed to his wrist. Upon counting out the money the mechanic nodded before activating the machine and opening up a nearby truck door that lead to a back alley.
"Bring your ride around back and we can load her up without raising any more attention than you already have."
The moth man nodded before leaving the store, and pulling around with a large truck a few minutes later.
***TRwP***
Alright then, just put your finger into this scanner and it will lock onto your DNA then she will follow your commands.
The girl nodded before happily doing so, and squealed in delight as the machine turned towards her.
"Soooo cool, thank you daddy! Alright then let's get this loaded up and back to smash some brats."
The mechanic nodded, before his eyes opened wide in shock as he was blasted from behind by a green bolt of energy, and fell unconscious.
"Well that was easier than expected, nice work team." Robin praised, as he jumped down from a nearby building.
"What else were you expecting 'Robbie-poo?"
The boy wonder shuddered in discomfort as he turned towards the blonde.
"Alright Jinx that's enough, I think I could go another couple of years without having to see that image ever again."
"Awww but I was having soooooo much fun. Blonde's do have the most fun after all, right daddy?"
Cyborg had deactivated his holoring as quickly as possible, before turning to glare at his girlfriend.
"I am never doing something like that again Robin, and for the record you owe me big time for this one. And for the love of all that is right in this world would you take that disguise off Jinx!"
"B-but what do you mean daddy I thought we could have some fun tonight. I bet you would like pulling my blonde hair…"
The dark skinned man's eyes shot wide open, as a bit of drool ran down from his mouth.
"Well when you put it like that…"
"Robin, could you explain please? Is this what is called 'the playing of the roles?"
Robin merely face palmed at having to explain another uncomfortable situation to the alien princess.
***TRwP***
The man responsible for Adonis's rampage was now sitting in an interrogation cell in the Titan Tower. Gathered in the observation room were the six members of the team.
"So what now Robin?" The Tamaranean inquired.
"I don't really care as long as the dude talks, besides me and Jinx have some…. issues to sort out so let's figure this out quick and then break for the rest of the day." The cybernetic man replied, but his eyes were busy focusing on the still disguised pinkette.
"That is so wrong on so many levels…. Regardless we need him to give up whoever has been teaching him this stuff and we sure as hell are not letting him go so I think a good old fashioned interrogation is in order. Cyborg, good cop bad cop?"
"Robin does it look like I'm interested in…"
"Too bad Vic, I always loved a big strong man who could…."
Before Jinx could even finish her statement Cyborg had grabbed his leader's arm and practically drug him out of the room and into the room where their prisoner was being held.
"ALRIGHT SCUM BAG YOU ARE GONNA TELL US WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW!" The mechanical man roared out, as he slammed his fists down on the table, cracking it in the process.
Robin just let out a mental sigh before switching to the role he was trained in as Batman's apprentice.
"Look man my friend here has had a very long day, he missed out on getting laid last night and we all know how that feels like. So my suggestion would be to just deal with him as quickly as possible before he starts really losing it."
"I don't care what you little twerps want, I aint afraid of some kid who hasn't gotten sex in a few days."
"OH YOU DAMN SURE BETTER BE AFRAID MAGGOT! I'M GONNA REACH DOWN YOUR THROAT AND USE YOUR INTESTINES FOR A JUMP ROPE!"
Robin's eye twitched. Did Cyborg seriously think this was going to work? He was seriously hoping that Raven or Beast Boy would intervene, hell any other Titan would be more effective than whatever the hell he was trying to do.
"Listen I understand that you are a business man, and I can see where you are coming from. As the leader I am sort of a business man myself. You don't want to betray any of your clients or get a bad reputation, understandable. All we are asking is that you give us the name of who has been teaching you these magical arts, that's all. We will keep your involvement strictly confidential and we can even put in a good word with you with the warden. Heck you could get parole years earlier than normal if your record says that you cooperated."
The man just laughed in response.
"Do you seriously think I would last in prison if I told you who had helped me? These people don't have limits or boundaries. Once you go after them, and they rip you and your precious little team to pieces they will come after me, and I have no intention of being magically ripped apart thank you very much. So you can tell your half boyfriend half car over here that he can stop with the tough guy act. I'm not afraid of him or any of your other joke of a team. Your two witches don't scare me, your princess doesn't scare me, and your vegetable mascot sure as hell doesn't scare me boy blunder. The fact of the matter is that all of you super heroes have one major flaw and we all know about it. You have to follow the rules. The bad guys don't."
Robin scowled, but before Cyborg could try and more physical intimidation the door to the room opened up, and the resident changeling poked his head in.
"Hey Robin and Cyborg, you guys should take a break, this isn't working."
Robin's jaw dropped.
Did Beast Boy seriously just take all of the tension and pressure in the room out of the equation by blatantly admitting what they were doing?
"Beast Boy…" The leader growled out, as the two men approached their other teammate, and noticed that the girls were standing behind him, looking confused as well.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Robin angrily whispered, trying to move the conversation into the hallway, but was unsuccessful with the man standing in the doorway.
"Look you two go take a break, that way Cyborg can get laid and cool off a bit and you can go 'relax' with Starfire. Afterwards you will be rested and feeling fresh again and can retry this whole 'good cop, bad cop' thing." The boy had apparently forgotten what discretion was as their captive merely chuckled in response.
"Tell you what, I'll take the first shift watching him if you are really worried about any escape attempts, how does that sound?"
"We are going to have a long talk about this Beast Boy…" Robin managed to respond without yelling as he pushed past the teenager and stormed off, Starfire following closely behind.
A dumbfounded Cyborg merely followed the disguised blonde, as she pulled on his hand towards their living quarters, hoping to avoid any more stress.
The changeling merely sighed and looked up at the man, his eyes portraying a sense of boredom.
Walking in the green teenager sat down across from the man, before noticing that Raven had joined him as well.
"Really kid? You do this big speech and 'tell off' your boss only to do the same thing? Let me guess you are going to be the one who 'tries' to keep your witch girlfriend from going berserk on me right? Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it aint gonna work, I already told your leader that she doesn't scare me."
"Oh I know, actually I was just about to tell her to go and relax as well, no sense in wasting her time sitting in a silent room after all."
"Beast Boy I am not going to leave you alone with him, what if…"
"What if we sit in here and we stare at each other until the others get back? That means a few hours for Cyborg and about one hour for Robin, assuming they cuddle for fifty-five minutes afterwards."
The man choked out a snorting laugh, earning a grin from the changeling.
"Ha told you I'm funny Raven."
The girl just rolled her eyes and moved towards the door, after opening it she glanced back, hesitation obvious in her eyes, but received a nonchalant wave from her teammate and left.
***TRwP***
"What the hell was he thinking? Didn't I explain to him what the rules were? Rule number one, never interrupt an interrogation!" The boy wonder heatedly exclaimed, as he held a private conversation with himself.
Meanwhile Starfire watched on nervously, while sitting on his bed. She had seen him act this way before, usually towards Slade, and the outcome was never positive.
"Robin, perhaps Beast Boy is just looking out for everyone's interests of the best? You have been stressed lately and perhaps…"
"Perhaps nothing Starfire! This is serious business and Beast Boy is screwing around like he always has."
"Is it not the round of screwing that has helped us before? Is that not what his job is on the team, to relieve the tension?"
"Not when it endangers the mission Starfire, this time he has gone too far. He needs to be serious on a mission, we all need to be. We need to act more like…"
"Like The Patrol of Doom? You would rather us act more like soldiers than like a family that can talk and get along? Is that what you mean?"
"What? No! Starfire I didn't mean…"
"What did you not do the meaning of Robin? It seems that you have not changed at all from the last year. Perhaps we are not ready to come back from the break like I had thought." The girl gave a 'humph' before leaving the room.
"Great… can this get any worse?" Robin turned toward a mannequin that was clothed in what he had eventually chosen to be his 'Nightwing' costume.
"Well? What are you looking at?"
Unsurprisingly the plastic figure did not respond, and the Titan leader rubbed his forehead in irritation.
"And now I am talking to a mannequin…
***TRwP***
Cyborg… well the large man had almost made it into his room before practically attacking his girlfriend, and throwing her onto the bed… before slamming the door shut behind him.
It was going to be a long, hard, and sweaty afternoon for the two lovers.
***TRwP***
"We shouldn't have left him in there all by himself, what if that bad man attacks BB? What if BB get's lonely?"
"Timid for the twelfth time he will be fine. Beast Boy is more than capable of handling himself."
"Raven is right, if that guy tries anything BB will tear him apart, heck he tied with Starfire in a raw fight so I highly doubt that the mechanic can even get the drop on him." Brave agreed.
"Indeed, maybe after this little incident has resolved itself Beast Boy would be able to handle us as well…" Affection mumbled out, her eyes glazing over in a lust filled haze.
"Haven't I already made it clear enough that I am not going to seduce him?"
"You can 'make it clear enough' all you want Raven. The fact of the matter is that we are way to tense right now, and quite frankly that man is looking more like a meal every day we see him. Imagine it Raven… you and Beast Boy, alone in a hotel room on some stupid stakeout mission with nothing to do. Your assigned roles to be as a boyfriend and girlfriend to avoid suspicion, which means just one bed…" Rage begins, before Happy takes over the fantasy.
"BB walks out from the bathroom, having just taken a shower, nothing but a towel around his waist. His emerald green skin is covered in small water droplets, each one slowly traveling down his skin, as if kissing it, doing what you secretly want to…"
"He looks deep into your eyes there is an unspoken moment between the two of you. It has been too long since either of you received any 'relief' too long 'pretending' to be lovers with none of the intimacy that comes as a reward, you slowly stand and walk towards him…" Knowledge was next to get in on the story, before passing it over to Brave.
"His beautiful eyes focus on you, in that one moment it feels like it's just you and him, alone in the world. And you wouldn't have it any other way. His gaze drags over you, admiring your curves as you reach forward to the flimsy knot that holds the one barrier preventing you from seeing all of him up… his towel falls…"
At this point all of the emotions were lost in the fantasy, before Raven manages to snap herself out of it and teleport back to her room.
"That…."
The empath found she could find no words for what it was that she had just experienced, but one thing was for certain. Her hormones were certainly running wild and if she didn't find some relief for the situation soon…
***TRwP***
A few minutes had ticked by before Beast Boy had gotten up and left the room, only to return around five minutes later with a large duffle bag.
Strangely enough the boy was softly whistling a tune while doing so.
The captive had found it surprisingly unsettling, though for reasons he couldn't quite figure out.
"So what's in the bag, some comic books or video games?"
The boy merely smiled, showing off his fangs a bit, before taking his chair and dragging it to the door. With a dabble of theatrics the hero spun the chair around on its back legs before placing the back rest underneath the door handle, essentially preventing it from opening from the outside.
Now the man was beginning to sweat, but surely there was nothing to worry about right? Heroes had to fall their own 'code' and one of them was that they couldn't just hurt criminals in jail. Self defense yes, but even Batman never assaulted criminals needlessly.
The bag slammed down on the table loudly, ripping the man from his thoughts as the whistling resumed, and the changeling slowly unzipped the bag halfway, keeping its contents unknown.
After a moment of searching the teenager pulled out what looked to be a small box, and set it on the table, then slowly opened it up, revealing a large assortment of objects, ranging from a scalpel to what looked to be pliers, and even a metal pear looking device. Then he pulled out a roll of duct tape.
Now the man was getting nervous, and stood to put some distance between himself and the green skinned freak, or go on the defensive if need be.
He never made it a step from his chair.
A fist slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from him and pushing him, and the chair, across the room.
Before he had caught his breath his wrists had been wrapped to the armrests and his ankles to the legs of the chair.
Then he had been pushed back to the table.
The whistling had never ceased, even for a moment.
"You know, I didn't actually ask them to leave for some sort of silly competition or interrogation game that you seem to be so familiar with. I just didn't want them to be here to interrupt the fun."
"Wh-wha?" the man gasped out, struggling to get his breathing under control.
"Ah still not getting it? Well that's okay, you don't really need to understand why, all you need to understand is what happens next. See you insulted my family, and through your efforts you caused them harm. So we are going to play a game of sorts."
"Uh…"
Finally the man had recovered his ability to take normal breaths and begin to figure out what was happening.
"So here's how this works, it is really quite simple so you should pick up on the rules pretty fast. At least I hope so for your sake. First rule is don't lie to me, if you do…. well we can get to that later, as for the rest of the rules… well let's just say I hope you are a fast learner. Now the way we play is like this. I am going to torture you, for a very long time. Then I will ask a question. If you do not give me an answer, then I will continue torturing you until I get bored. Then I will ask again. So really the best option for you is to tell me what I want to know when I ask."
"Your bluffing, I bet your entire stupid team is sitting behind that pane of glass right now, smugly looking at me, expecting me to be intimidated by this little charade. You just want me to start…"
But before he could continue on, a piece of cloth was tied around his head and into his mouth.
"Don't want you getting any bright ideas like swallowing your own tongue or something like that right? Besides I already told you, torture first, questions later. And if you are so certain about help…"
The boy walked to the glass, and removed one of his gloves to reveal claws adorning each finger, and then he sliced a large rectangle into the mirror, effortlessly cutting through the glass and revealing… an empty room behind it.
"There's no one here to do so. But you did remind me to lock this door as well, thanks. I knew I had forgotten something when I switched off all the cameras and recordings in here." The boy chuckled, before leaping into the observation room and jamming that door as well.
"Now where were we…."
***TRwP***
After taking a few hours to unwind and to unload some anger on a punching bag, Robin was feeling quite relieved. Ironically enough Beast Boy's intervention had indeed proved helpful. His mind was clear and it had been obvious that what they had been trying was not working, but during this time he had come up with a few new ideas to try. If intimidation wasn't working then perhaps offering the man a refuge from his friends would.
The team leader strolled back into the common room, intent on starting another tactical discussion with the other Titans, and almost walked back out.
Cyborg was sitting at the table, next to a very cuddly Jinx, and was grinning his head off.
"There is not enough alcohol in the world to deal with you two." The boy wonder groaned as he sat down across from the love birds.
"I don't know what you're talking about man, plus I figure this is kinda paybacks for the way you treated BB."
"I lost both girlfriends, everyone is practically flirting with Beast Boy, and your getting laid more than ever… haven't I suffered enough?"
"No"
Astonishingly enough it was the orange skinned princess who had answered the question as she walked into the room, otherwise ignoring her former boyfriend.
"You two have a fight?"
"Robin has made his priorities quite clear so I am merely respecting of the wishes."
"You go girl." The pinkette applauded, earning another groan from the gel haired wonder.
"Did I miss something?" Raven inquired, as she fazed through the door.
"Hey Raven, looks like we are all here but BB, you want me to give him a call and have him come down?"
"Actually I was thinking that maybe…." Robin had started to form one of his old school plans, which often left the changeling out of the situation, but quickly changed his mind at the four way glare he was now receiving.
"That maybe…. We should go find him instead, that way he doesn't have to waste his time and effort walking up here."
"Good call bird boy." Jinx nodded, before the team started walking towards the door, only to be interrupted by the green skinned man himself walking through it instead.
"Hey guys, wow finished already Cy? You must be losing your touch."
"Ha as if! If the lady is pleased it doesn't matter how long you go."
"Here here!" the cybernetic man's girlfriend chimed in with a grin.
"Not to be the mood killer here but shouldn't you be watching the prisoner Beast Boy?" Robin inquired, trying to get the team back on track.
"Nah he's fine, I was getting a bit hungry though, anyone up for a pizza?"
"Most joyful Beast Boy, perhaps we can get the chocolate syrup and the whip cream as well?"
"Oh my Starfire, I never pictured you as 'that kind of girl'." The changeling chuckled out, earning a smile from the Tamaranean.
"Oh yes I do enjoy the whip cream, it is quite delectable."
"Starfire Beast Boy doesn't mean on the pizza…." Robin attempted, before mentally berating himself for starting another innuendo explanation for the girl.
"Nor did I."
Beast Boy grinned, while the other Titan's jaws dropped, had Starfire just flirted with their green teammate?
"Uh….. right so how about we work on a strategy while we eat pizza…. together." The boy wonder compromised, putting as much emphasis on the last word as possible.
"I agree with Robin." Raven quickly added, unsure as to why she was so upset with the idea of Starfire and Beast Boy spending time together.
"No need Robin, I already got the information."
The Titans stared at their laid back teammate, as he walked to the container for the takeout pizza menus.
"What do you mean Beast Boy?" The empathy asked, feeling a strange sense of foreboding in her stomach.
"Exactly what I said, I already got the guy to tell us everything we would want to know. Apparently he was recruited by a cult that calls themselves 'The Heralds of Shaitan'. They taught him to inscribe the magical runes and eventual immortality for designing weapons for them as well as keeping us preoccupied. They are already located in Jump City and are recruiting slowly through the underworld. Their numbers are estimated to be around one hundred or so but they all follow the commands of their leader, who goes by the title 'Baphomet'. He never met the leader but only dealt with his commanders directly. He isn't sure exactly what their end goal is but it does involve demons in some form or another."
"That's… impressive Beast Boy, how did you get him to tell you all of that?" Robin inquired.
Beast Boy's expression turned serious for an instant, as he turned toward his leader, "Are you sure you want to know?"
Robin's eyes grew wide before narrowing a bit.
"Beast Boy… is he still alive?"
"Of course he is, but I wouldn't suggest putting him in jail in his current state, he wouldn't be able to defend himself if anyone decided to pick a fight."
***TRwP***
"Remind me again why I am the one who has to do this?"
"Because Raven you are the expert on demonology, so it is either your or Jinx, and after Cyborg threatened to smash my head in if I let her go…. well I'm sorry but he scares me more than you do right now."
The empathy let out a groan as she glanced over the assembled information on the cult she would soon be infiltrating.
"I understand that but…"
"If it makes you feel any better I am putting you in charge of this operation, which means you are allowed to choose your backup. I don't want you going in there alone." Robin said, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.
Moments later the other Titans joined the two in the mission briefing room and took their seats.
"Alright Titans, as I just explained Raven is in charge of this plan, we need to infiltrate this cult and find out what their endgame is, and stop it before we run into any more magically powered super villains. I am allowing Raven to choose one person for her backup since this will be too dangerous to do solo."
The other Titans looked at the girl in question as Robin stepped back.
'I hate to say it but it will be nice to get out of the tower for a bit, Starfire has been acting a bit cold to me lately and it would be nice to have some alone time with Raven…' the masked boy confidently thought as he awaited Raven to announce him as the obvious choice.
"I choose Beast Boy."
Cyborg valiantly held in his laughter as Robin's arrogant smirk fell from his face. While Beast Boy just quirked his eyebrow in surprise.
"Perhaps Jinx would be the better for the backup, after all she also knows much about the magic does she not?" The orange skinned princess chimed in, hoping that Raven would change her mind and perhaps allow her to spend some time with the green hero, especially after how Robin had been acting.
"True, but we might need some more physical force rather than just mental abilities, plus Jinx would be hard pressed to defend herself without giving our identities away, no offense."
"None taken gives me more time with Vic."
"B-but why Beast Boy?" The once proud leader muttered out, sounding almost like he was whining.
"Beast Boy is the obvious choice for infiltration. He doesn't come off as a highly trained superhero or detective, he knows about demons and magic, at least enough to convince others, and he can adapt to any situation if need be. Plus his physical abilities can help him match Starfire."
The changeling just shrugged and nodded in acceptance.
"Alright well I'll get your holorings ready, I am curious though Rae, what was your plan for getting into their ranks?" The mechanical man inquired, and noticed the slight blush on the girl's face as she covered herself up with her hood.
"Since they are recruiting young people I figured it would be best to do something they wouldn't attribute with heroes or cops, so a romantic couple."
Robin nearly passed out.
***A/N***
The 'pear' device mentioned is called the 'Pear of Anguish'. Word of the wise, do not look this up if you are squeamish.
In order to keep the story rated 'T' I am not going to include the actual scenes from BB's little interrogation. If there are enough requests, for whatever reasoning, I will upload the scene elsewhere, along with any future 'Lemon' content that might be requested.
This was actually supposed to be a very short chapter, and include the actual cult themselves, but I got off on a bit of a tangent with the villain, who apparently I shall not name, and the various team interactions, overall though I think the chapter turned out well.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading my work I had a lot of fun making it.