A/N: Oh noes! I got carried away again! Was trying to keep the chapters short, but I couldn't help myself with this one! Enjoy!
Review Responses
Stormplains - Hope you enjoyed my other stories. Cliffhangers are indeed fun! Though some readers might not agree with me. If you do them right, you can get people excited for more. Unfortunately I have never seen bionicle, sorry.
MelonLord28 - Yeah the Hive are indeed resilient, I always make characters(btw don't own Teen Titans and all that) in my stories take some beatings. I must be a terrible person!
Monkeysuncle1 - Your hopes were not in vain! Here's the next chapter for you.
Emmagination - Glad you think my story is awesome! I worked hard on it to make it entertaining.
Moongrl088 - Unfortunately this story takes place in Season Two. After the episode "Betrayal" but before the Second Season's Finale. So the Beast hasn't made it's first appearance yet. However that doesn't mean all is lost! Read on to see!
Guest - Accidentally deleted the email that had your name on it, Sorry :( but thanks for the reviews! I try to make Beastboy more mature in my stories, but I'm glad that I can make his dialogue interesting. I'm always a little nervous with the action scenes, thinking that I don't describe them well enough. It's good to hear that I do though. Hopefully I can keep churning out awesome chapters(and stories.)
A big Thank You to everyone who reviewed and keeps reviewing!
Doom Patrol HQ Training Room. Two years ago.
Beastboy struggled to bring himself to his knees, but he just couldn't. His body felt so heavy and he was pretty sure every inch of his body was protesting in pain. He looked up to see Mento, his leader looking at him with a frown of disapproval.
"I can't...I can't get up anymore sir..." The thirteen year-old changeling said.
"Nonsense Beastboy you're just feeling sorry for yourself." Mento Replied, Beastboy took a few breaths, sweat was dripping from the tip of his nose onto the mat. The mask he used for missions laying in a chair in the corner of the room. The walls, made from grey brick, made the place seem more like a dungeon than a training room.
"My lungs are burning and my arms and legs feel like they weigh tons, I literally can't move. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME SIR!" The changeling shouted the last part. Mento's face remained stoic.
"So you don't have energy to stand, but you have energy to yell at me?" Mento asked.
"My mouth doesn't help me move in case you haven't noticed sir." Beastboy answered bitterly.
"But it does annoy your superior." Mento shot back. The changeling let out a frustrated sigh. "It's true, I can see you are at your limit, however the Doom Patrol can't afford to have limits. Millions of lives count on us to keep them safe, most don't even know it."
"That's good and all sir, but as awesome of a human being as I am, I'm still human. You've put me through the ringer, am I supposed to try and trick my brain into thinking my body isn't fatigued at all? Because let me tell you, it's not working." The youngest Doom Patrol member informed the elder man. Mento shook his head.
"No nothing like that, you need to have proper motivation." The Doom Patrol leader told him.
"Proper motivation? I'm pretty sure trying not to get my butt kicked by you is proper motivation for me to fight sir." Beastboy replied. Mento was silent for a few moments as he regarded the changeling. For a moment Beastboy thought he had won an argument for once and then Mento spoke once more.
"What is our motto?" He questioned, Beastboy sighed.
"Whatever it takes." The changeling droned.
"Do you know why that's our motto?" Mento asked. Beastboy rolled his eyes.
"To save the world duh." The young green superhero answered.
"That's only part of the reason. The other is that every member of this team has someone precious that they want to protect. Someone who would be negatively affected by the Brotherhood of Evil and other villains' schemes. For these people, these loved ones, the Doom Patrol will do whatever it takes to keep them safe." Mento explained, pointing his right index finger at Beastboy. "You are the exception, you don't have anything precious that you want to defend and in turn you are unable to go above and beyond and show your true strength."
"Everyone precious to me is gone." The changeling stated sadly, the unwelcome image of his parents in the doomed boat popped up in his head and he felt a pang of bitterness. Mento crossed his arms.
"As long as you don't have that desire to protect something important, you won't realize your true potential. Find that something Beastboy." The Doom Patrol leader said sternly. He turned and exited the training room, leaving the changeling to dwell on what he said.
Jump City, Present Day.
The memory of that time came out of nowhere for Beastboy as he continued glaring helplessly at Jinx. The pink-haired sorceress was powering up an attack that would finish him and Raven off for sure. With his left leg injured and Raven fast approaching critical condition, they were out of options. Their fate was in Mammoth and Jinx's hands.
"You superheroes are so lame. Sitting in your little Tower and defending these pathetic wretches that inhabit the city." Jinx said to the changeling.
"Lame huh?" Beastboy responded, matching her glare. "And what about you? What are you trying to be? Some great supervillain? The kind that would give the Justice League pause?" He laughed bitterly, causing Jinx to frown.
"What's so funny?" She demanded, Beastboy continued chuckling for a few moments before answering.
"Where do you think that will lead? Are you going to skulk around in hidden hideouts with the darkness as your only companion like Slade? Is that what you really want in life?" The changeling questioned. Causing Jinx to pause, his words stopping her as a new perspective was laid out in her brain. Was this really what she wanted?
Jinx was interrupted by Mammoth swooping in and grabbing the injured Beastboy by his throat with his left hand. He lifted the changeling high until his feet were dangling uselessly in the air. Beastboy glared coldly at the solidly built villain, who grinned in response.
"Say good night chump." Mammoth told him and then slammed his right fist into Beastboy's face. The blow was so powerful that it knocked the changeling over one hundred feet back. He crashed spine-first onto the trunk of a car and spilled onto the street, lying facedown and sporting a nasty gash on his forehead. Blood began to spill onto the road, forming a small pool of blood. The changeling's eyes were closed and his body was unmoving.
"Beastboy! Beastboy get up!" Raven screamed, trying to drag herself to her fallen companion, but she was in too much pain. Mammoth smiled and turned towards Jinx.
"Don't listen to him boss." The large villain said to her. "He's just saying a bunch of junk to distract you."
"Yeah." Jinx replied simply. Pushing the conflicting thoughts from her mind, the pink-haired sorceress began charging up her attack once more. She had lost concentration when Mammoth jumped in and had to start all over, a little frustrating, but the job was about to be completed all the same. Raven meanwhile had stopped calling out to Beastboy, she turned a fiery glare at the two supervillains.
"You two will pay for this!" The dark Titan vowed. Jinx allowed herself a small smile.
"Maybe, but you won't live to see it." The Hive leader replied coldly.
He could see nothing, Beastboy was surrounded in nothing but darkness. The changeling rose to his knees, looking around frantically for something, anything but the blackness.
"Hello? Somebody? Anybody?" He called out, his voice echoed and then there was silence. After a long pause, his pointy ears picked up footsteps, they were coming from right in front of him. The veil of darkness parted to reveal a very familiar looking blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. "Terra?" He asked, confused. She glared at him.
"You said you'd be my friend no matter what remember?" She said in an accusatory tone. Very different from when he had heard it that night at the abandoned amusement park. Before the changeling could formulate a reply in his head, Terra turned so that her back was facing him and walked back into the darkness. She let it engulf her.
"Wait Terra!" He yelled, reaching out with his right hand, but it was useless, Terra was already gone. Something clicked in Beastboy's mind then.
She was gone. Terra was gone and she wasn't coming back.
These words sunk into his brain.
As long as you don't have that desire to protect something important, you won't realize your true potential.
He recalled Mento's words that day two years ago. He had thought Terra was the important person that he was supposed to protect, but she had betrayed him. She had chosen to ally herself with their arch-nemesis Slade. So who was it? if it wasn't Terra, then who was the person he considered the most important to him?
"Beastboy." A raspy voice said from behind him, he stood up and turned to see none other than Raven emerge from the shadows. Her hood was down and she was staring intently at him with her violet eyes.
"Raven?" He asked, surprised at the turn of events.
"You mean a lot to me, the thought of losing that bond with you is..." She started to say, but stopped. Beastboy noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears. It was that same look she had at Bixby's he realized. Right before the Hive ambushed them.
The ground suddenly began to shake violently and the green Titan was forced to struggle to keep his balance. Raven wasn't as lucky, she fell onto her knees, her palms touching the "Floor" of the darkness that surrounded them. From out of the darkness four red eyes suddenly began to glow. The eyes were directly behind the cloaked girl. Beastboy saw them and his face paled.
"Oh shit!" He exclaimed. The four eyes moved forward and from the shadows emerged the giant red demon they had fought in Raven's mind just one year ago. The giant demon roared in rage, it thrust it's right fist forward, seeking to crush the dark girl with it. Raven wasn't even aware that something was behind her, she was still trying to pick herself up from the ground.
"NOOO!" Beastboy screamed, dashing forward as fast as he could. He clenched his teeth, would he make it in time? Could he make it in time? His eyebrows furrowed in determination. He had to make it in time, he WOULD make it in time!
Beastboy barely made it in time, diving in front of Raven's back, the fist hit less than half a second later, striking him right in the torso. The blow was so powerful it felt to the changeling like he was being crushed. What was even more powerful though was the realization that dawned on him as soon as the demon's fist connected.
The changeling's eyes snapped open suddenly, the giant red demon's fist had hit him so hard it had jarred him awake. He carried the realization from that dream to the waking world with him though. Beastboy mentally berated himself for not realizing it sooner. Dragging himself to his knees, his right hand accidentally touched the small pool of blood from the gash on his forehead. Smearing it on the concrete and the dented trunk of the car as he used the same hand to brace himself against the vehicle.
Raven had become the thing he wanted to protect the most.
It should have been obvious to him. The way he was fighting so hard to keep her safe from the Hive. The way he had pushed himself. Even if she didn't feel the same way, Raven was the most important person to him now. Peeking out from behind the car he saw that Jinx was powering up a huge blast of energy. A blast that would surely obliterate the cloaked girl.
Beastboy quickly took inventory of his condition, his left leg protested almost any kind of movement. Everything hurt, and blood from the gash on his forehead was starting to trail down his nose and lips, dripping down from his chin. His body could probably handle one or two more morphs at this point, but after that he would be spent.
The changeling growled, none of the forms he had available would be enough to defeat the remaining two Hive members. Oh sure, he could prolong the battle, but in the end the result would be the same. Raven and him would be dead. There was only one chance, Beastboy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on the transformation as much as possible.
Last time he had attempted this was when he was still with the Doom Patrol. He was hospitalized for a week. Elasti-Girl had forbidden him from ever trying to do it again, fearing for his safety. Safety was the least of his concerns at the moment though.
Beastboy took another deep breath and concentrated on morphing into a dragon.
While his body could morph into any known animal that had lived on the planet. Including extinct ones, morphing into mythic creatures was something entirely different. His body didn't like trying to readjust his DNA into something that wasn't technically there. It causes a huge strain on his body to even try it. The changeling was determined however, he knew he could do it, he just had to trial and error it more.
As soon as he felt his body start to change, Beastboy felt a sudden jolt of pain permeate through his entire body. He toppled over, bracing himself with his hands on the floor to hold himself up. He then proceeded to vomit out blood which joined the small pool that was already there. Once he finished his vomiting spell, Beastboy slammed his fists into the ground in frustration, cracks formed in the concrete where his fists hit.
"Damn it!" He cursed. "Come on you stupid body! You can do this!" Despite being wracked with pain, Beastboy closed his eyes and tried to morph once again. The pain was excruciating, but he fought through it. "Come on! COME ON!" Standing slowly to his feet, he began to feel himself morphing although his body fought him every step of the way. He roared in defiance of his own body and morphed further. His right leg began to grow scales and his foot stretched out into talons, His left arm bulged, and became more muscular, his fingers sharpening into claws. His right eye's sclera became black and the iris became slitted, like a snakes.
Even his voice changed, becoming more distorted and deeper. Beastboy continued to roar into the skies in a mixture of agony and triumph.
Jinx couldn't finish the witch girl off, every time she thought she was going to bring her hands forward to reduce the cloaked bitch to ashes she hesitated, why was she hesitating? Mammoth noticed her hesitation, he frowned at the pink-haired sorceress.
"What's wrong boss?" He asked her. Jinx didn't answer him, instead she snarled in frustration. The changeling's earlier words played through her head, the question that formed in her head was quiet, but it was persistent. It kept asking her if this was what she really wanted, what a stupid question, of course this was what she wanted! Wasn't it?
"Nothing." Jinx replied to her teammate, "Just savoring the moment." Raven had managed to bring herself to a sitting position, using her left hand to hold herself upright.
"Looks like you're getting cold feet to me." The dark Titan said in her trademark monotone. Mentally she was anything, but calm. She was much too weak to defend herself from the two supervillains. Jinx sneered at her.
"Hardly." The Hive leader replied, "The only thing that's going to get cold around here..." She growled, bringing her hands forward to deliver the fatal blast, "...Is your CORPSE!" She finished. However, before she could fire the blast an ungodly roar was heard by the three super-powered beings. Losing concentration, Jinx's spell once again fizzled out.
"What...was that?" Mammoth questioned, looking quite nervous. He got his answer a few moments later when a green blur suddenly sped towards them.
"Raven...DUCK!" The blur spoke in the voice of Beastboy, although the voice was so distorted that the dark Titan could barely recognize it. Nonetheless she heeded her teammate's advice and quickly moved into a prone position, a moment later the green blur sped past her, heading straight for Jinx and Mammoth.
The pair of supervillains were caught completely by surprise. A green scaly arm, rippling with muscle swiped at them in a wide horizontal arc. Mammoth took the brunt of the swipe, the claws of the arm opening up three large diagonal gashes across his chest. The claws continued on and cut into Jinx's stomach. Fortunately for the pink-haired sorceress the cuts weren't too deep. Unfortunately for both of them, the slash was so strong it created a shockwave that sent the pair of villains flying back. They landed back on the street over two hundred feet back, kicking up a huge cloud of dust upon their landing.
Raven stood there in complete astonishment as the blur faded back into a not-so-familiar form of her green friend. Half of Beastboy's limbs were green and scaly, he looked like he was in the middle of a morph, he looked like a monster.
"Beastboy?" She called out tentatively. The half-morphed Beastboy, who's back was turned to the dark girl turned his head so he could look at her with his slitted right eye. Raven nearly recoiled.
"Stay back!" He yelled, she was about to reply when she noticed movement from the cloud of smoke where the Hive impacted. The thin figure of Jinx stepped through the cloud, clutching her stomach with her left arm. Her left eye was still shut and a thin stream of blood dribbled down the right side of her mouth.
"Just couldn't stay down could you? You stupid green freak!" She yelled at him, her eyes glowing an angry pink. Beastboy saw that she was gathering energy, he had to complete his transformation now.
Once more he concentrated and was instantly assaulted with pain from his body. He cried out and fell to his knees, digging his hands into the ground. Every single cell felt like it was on fire, but he ruthlessly pushed on. His vision was starting to blur and he felt himself starting to get lightheaded, but through it all he persisted. Finally he could feel the telltale signs of a transformation taking hold. He looked up at Jinx, his eyes burning with determination.
"I won't let you TOUCH HER!" He shouted and with that he began to grow. His growth easily making him dwarf the pink-haired sorceress. Wings sprouted from his back and his face elongated into a maw filled with razor sharp teeth. His remaining limbs and torso grew scales and muscle to match his new size. Finally, a long tail sprouted from his back.
The transformation was finally complete. Beastboy had successfully morphed into a dragon.
As the green dragon roared to the heavens, Raven could only stand there in awe. For once she was rendered speechless.
"Beautiful." Was the only way the dark girl could describe the majestic creature before her. Jinx was also in awe, but for a very different reason.
"Holy shit..." The pink-haired villain managed to breathe out. The green dragon fixed it's eyes on her, reared it's head back and opened it's mouth wide. Jinx's eyes widened, she knew what was coming next. The dragon suddenly threw it's head forward and shot a huge fireball from it's mouth.
Jinx shouted out a curse and waved her right hand, creating a horizontal pink energy wave that struck the giant fireball before it could reach her. Her intention was to detonate the fireball prematurely and lessen the damage, but she underestimated how powerful a dragon's fireball could be.
The Hive leader did indeed detonate the fireball prematurely, but the resulting explosion was so powerful it rocketed Jinx back like she'd been hit by Superman. She ended up crashing onto the hood of a car over three hundred feet away, denting it heavily. There she lay, her unconscious form splayed out, her clothes charred from the close proximity of the flames.
The emerald dragon let out a roar of triumph before shrinking back into the familiar form of Beastboy. The changeling fell to his knees, his arms limply hanging at his sides. He stared at the area that Jinx had landed and let a weary smile cross his lips.
"And stay down..." He said quietly before faceplanting into the street. He dimly heard the sound of Raven calling his name before the last shreds of his consciousness were ripped from him.
A/N: Only one or two chapters left!
