The team of six strolled towards the indoor training arena. Beast Boy, glad to have his girl safe and sound once again, and Aria, glad that her boy was back to normal and there to stay, walked hand in hand. Beast Boy wasn't about to let her go again without a fight and Aria wasn't about to leave again anytime soon. Not if she could help it, at least.
Aria raised her free hand to her neck and gently traced the triangle with her index finger. She let her eyelids drift shut and let Beast Boy guide her as her thoughts raced.
'I'm not like them.' She silently told herself. 'I am good. Different. T-There's no way I can be...' Aria inhaled through her nose and reopened her eyes. She grabbed some of her hair and nonchalantly pulled it over her shoulder, to conceal the mark.
"Everything chill, girl?" Cyborg asked, noticing Aria's odd behavior. Aria blinked then smiled.
"You bet, Cy." She said with fake happiness. "Nothing to worry about, man."
"We're here." Robin said, breaking up the brief conversation.
They entered the large room, going towards the targets Aria was working on before. The damaged equipment was still on display as a trophy, to show Aria's work. When the group finally did stop, Aria was in front of them, a whole new kind of determination in her heart. She was going to prove something to everyone. She was not weak. She did not need pity.
Aria tilted her head to the right. Crack. Then to the left. Crack. She meant business. Aria narrowed her eyes at the artificial prey in the center before her and stuck out her right hand, palm up. She cleared her throat before swinging her arm, sending a huge wave of air currents that sliced through all the remaining targets, cutting them all in half.
Aria didn't break position or even wait for a reaction from her teammates. She immediately swung her arm again, slicing the half of the target that still remained into a fourth. Then an eighth. Until they were too small to cut anymore. When she was done, Aria didn't have a single drop of sweat on the brow and her breathing was even, as if she'd done nothing.
"Wow." Was the only comment that dare come from the audience.
"Good job, Aria." Robin complimented after an awkward silence. Aria didn't acknowledge him, she only stared, more like glared, at her work. "How are your wrists? Do they hurt at all?"
Aria shook her head, silent for the moment. She inhaled deeply as her hair started to curl, as if there was a wind that was only hitting her, but that was very, very possible. Aria pushed her long sleeves up to her elbows and saw something that wasn't there before. It was another small, black triangle. Aria's eyes widened as her scrambled to pull her sleeves back down.
"Are you alright?" Starfire asked, floating towards Aria.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Aria answered quickly. "I think I need some air." She flew out of the room, not waiting for any response.
She flew at her top speed down the hallway, until she reached a door. The same door she used that morning. She swung the door open and soared up the stairs. When she made it outside, on the roof, Aria gasped for oxygen. She felt as though a ton of bricks were lifted off of her.
"I'm not like you." She whispered, still panting. "I. Am. Not. Like. You!" She cried.
She grabbed wads of her hair, not sure what she was doing. She wanted out. She wanted out of everything. She wished she was never born and she wished she could run away. She couldn't. She knew she couldn't. It was too late for her. She had bonds, friends, family, love. There was no going back for her.
"Not like who?" A voice asked. Aria spun around and saw someone she never wanted to see. "Not like me?" Red X asked, sounding hurt.
"W-What are you doing here?" Aria gasped, backing away. "You b-better get out of here b-before-"
"Before what?" Diamond asked, swooping in next to Red X. "Before your little boyfriend comes in and saves the day?" Another voice laughed maniacally.
"In case you haven't noticed, sweetheart, there's no one up here, but us." Silhouette snickered. "And nobody even knows where you are."
Aria sprinted for the door, only to have it blocked off by the silent partner, Sonic Boom. Aria couldn't stop herself and collided right into the strong frame of his body. Aria fell back, scooting away from the man she had just run into.
"Aria, Aria, Aria." Red X sighed. "When are you going to learn that we can always find you? That we know where you are? That we never give up?"
Aria stood up and turned around to see her current situation. She was surrounded by four people who were trying to get her to join their group. She could stand and fight, but she wouldn't win. Their skills are too many and she is badly outnumbered. She could try to fly away, but her capture would be inevitable. All she could do was stand still.
"Listen, doll, things would be a lot simpler if you seal your fate." Diamond said, sifting bright pink glitter in her hands. "So, let's just wrap things up and turn bad, huh? Right? Everyone good with that plan? Great!"
"You don't understand." Aria shook her head. "None of you get it! I'm not bad! I'm not even close! I-"
"We know, we know." Silhouette interrupted, annoyed. "You're still sticking to your little good girl character. I respect that... Okay, I don't. I think it's a ridiculous waste of time. Be bad! What's the harm? Aside from the obvious harm to others, I mean. We all know that's your true color. You weren't cut out for the good life."
Aria snapped her head in Silhouette's direction. Silhouette staggered backwards from what she saw. Aria's grey eyes were now black, entirely. The air around them was thrashing wildly. Aria turned her body towards the dark angel.
"You didn't let me finish. I'm not bad. Really, I'm not." Aria said. She turned to the rest of the group.
She spread her arms open, accepting the unavoidable. The sleeves on her shirt ripped from the seam and her shirt slowly began to fade into black. Her acid washed jeans began to turn into a dark grey shade as the denim began to rip off her body until they became very short shorts. Aria's blue sneakers became black and they grew up to her knee. That wasn't the final transformation. Aria now had ink sleeves of black characters on her arms.
"You don't know the half of it!" Aria screamed over the now howling wind. "I'm not bad, but I'm not good! I am EVIL!"
Aria ripped the mask off of her face to reveal a shocking sight. Aria's black eyes had black rings around them. With this new image, Aria looked almost demonic. She threw the mask on the ground and laughed.
"Surprised?" She mused like a lunatic. "I'm sure you are! If only you'd listened to me! Fools! I come from an evil family, I was bred to destroy! I had to leave my family because I refused to be one of them. A killer. I tried to tell you, but no one listens!" Aria laughed again as the wind picked up.
"Aria?" Red X sounded genuinely concerned for once in his life. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Aria laughed. "I've never felt better in my entire existence! You can't feel the power, but would you like to see it?"
Aria didn't wait for an answer as she raised her arms above her head and held her palms up. In her small, pale hands, she commanded the winds to swirl around as a mini cyclone in her hands. Aria smiled at the little thing.
"Isn't it wonderful?" She asked herself more than anyone else. She watched as the small twister ran up and down the length of her arm. "And to think, I can control them. I can make them as big or as small as I please and no one can have any say in it."
Aria fell silent and the wind died down slightly. Only slightly. Diamond began to walked towards Aria, but when Aria caught a glimpse of her, she smacked Diamond with a bolt of air, making her skid across the rooftop.
"But it's not enough." Aria went on as if she'd done nothing at all. "It's one thing to be known, but it's another to be feared."
Aria widened her hands, which expanded the size of the tornado. She let it loose on the roof as she jumped on top of it, willing it around like a chariot.
"Some ask whether it's better to be feared or loved." Aria called down to the terrified four. "I say feared! Would anyone care to disagree with me!?"
"Aria! Stop!" None of the cowering wrong doers said this. Aria turned around to face her own team. "That's enough!" Raven was shouting.
"Enough is never enough in this world today!" Aria screamed at her. "Leave me alone and stay out of my way!"
Aria turned her back on the group. Raven attempted to get a hold of Aria with her magic, but all she managed to do was get thrown back from the force of the wind. The team gasped at Aria's mercilessness. Robin looked around the rooftop and found the Trio and Red X cowering in fear. Robin sprinted over to them as fast as he could. When he got there, the group was prepared for all hell.
"What did you do to her!?" Robin demanded to know. "Before you all showed up, she was...nothing like this! What did you-"
"They didn't do anything to me." Aria's voiced called. Robin turned around, mouth agape. "This is me. My true colors. I thought about joining them and being bad, just like they wanted me to. But then, I remembered something...I'm in a whole other league of bad."
"Aria! Friend! Please, stop this!" Starfire pleaded, flying up and hovering next to the girl she thought was her friend. "We can help you, friend."
"Friend?" Aria growled. "I never had any."
"Titans! GO!" Robin called, making the first attack before Aria could.
Starfire hesitated, thinking she saw something different in Aria's black eyes. That was a fatal mistake. Aria raised her hand and used air currents to force Starfire away from her. The size of the tornado she was on top of increased as she did this. Cyborg drew out his laser cannon and aimed, only to be confronted face-to-face with Aria. She placed her face directly in front of the cannon, ensuring that if he fired, she would die on the spot.
"C'mon, girl. Don't make me do this." Cyborg begged. Aria remained silent as a smirk grew across her face.
Aria grabbed Cyborg's arm and threw him across the roof and through the funnel. The next person to confront her was Robin, who used a combination of jabs and kicks to try to subdue her, but they were all thwarted by Aria's speed and agility. Robin eventually landed himself in a stalemate, where both of his fists were trapped in Aria's grasp. Her strength was greater than that of Robin's, but she was merely humoring him at this point.
"Why are you doing this, Aria?" Robin asked.
"Why not?" Aria chuckled.
"This isn't good."
"You don't say? Isn't that the point?"
"People are going to get hurt!"
"Tell me how I care."
"I know you're just saying that. Think about us! Your friends! Your team! Beast Boy!"
"Who?" Aria mocked. "What friends? What team? What Beast Boy? All these things are dead to me."
Aria, having quite enough of all the chatter, push Robin back until he hit a wall and fell to his knees. Aria smirked at her handy work, when she was pounced on from behind. After rolling over twice, Aria saw that she was pinned to the ground by a green bear. Although, momentarily stunned, Aria was still able to comprehend who was on top of her. He quickly phased into his regular form. Beast Boy had her pinned, al the while, the typhoon was growing by the second.
"Aria, cut it out!" Beast Boy yelled at her. "This is messed up! Why are you acting like such a jerk!?"
"I'm not a jerk, you idiot!" Aria screamed at him. She could have gotten up at any moment, but something in her body told her not to move. "Haven't you been listening!? I was born this way! Evil! Rotten to the core! I was lying to myself when I said I was a good girl! There is nothing that can change-" Aria was cut off when Beast Boy smacked her lips right onto hers.
Aria's muscles tightened, but immediately relaxed and she found herself kissing him back, with a passion. Beast Boy rested his entire body on Aria's and she wrapped her arms around him.
"Beast Boy?" She asked when she pushed him away. "What's happening?" Beast Boy looked into Aria's eyes and found that they were back to their beautiful shade of grey.
"Aria! You're back!" Beast Boy nestled into her for a brief moment. "Don't scared me like that!" He was grinning from ear to pointy ear.
"Uh, guys! We have a bigger problem on our hands!" Cyborg called, bringing the lovebirds back to Earth.
Grinding noises filled the air. A metal on metal, earsplitting type of sound. The monster of a storm was almost double the size of the entire Titans' tower. Aria gasped at her creation, knowing she lost control of herself. Beast Boy stood up and helped Aria to her feet as well. The two ran to catch up with Raven.
"Can you stop it?" Beast Boy asked, panicked. Raven shook her head.
"I think I broke my wrist." She informed them. "I can't help at all." Aria looked at Raven's arm and gasped. It was black and blue from severe bruising.
"I am so sorry! This is all my fault!" Aria wailed over the noise.
"We need to evacuate the city." Robin said. "Live are at stake, here! We need to get moving!"
Everyone nodded and the started heading off in the direction of the city. All of them but one girl with curly, pearl white hair.
"Not if I can help it." She said to no one in particular.
Aria calmly walked into the eye of the storm- the center. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She clapped her hands together and reopened her eyes. They started fogging up, just like they did when Sonic Boom was toying with the group's minds.
"Aria!? What are you doing!?" Beast Boy shouted. "We have to get out of here!"
Aria ignored him as she tilted her head up, until she was looking at the sky. Aria touched the part of her wrist where the triangle was- her family's sacred crest- and applied pressure to it. She gasped as the entire tornado began to cave in on her, the air sneaking its way back into the palm of her hands. Bottom line- she was absorbing what she created so it wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cyclone, Beast Boy was flipping out.
"Raven! What's going on in there!?" He demanded. "What is she doing!?"
"I think she's..." Raven narrowed her eyes. "Reversing the damage she's caused." Beast Boy blinked.
"Is that possible?" Robin asked and Raven nodded.
"It's like the opposite of a self destruct button. She is using the opposite technique that she used in creating it so she can destroy it." Raven quickly explained.
"Will it hurt her? Is she going to be okay?"
Raven looked at him, then at Beast Boy, then her eyes landed back on where Aria was. She didn't know what would happen to Aria in the long run, but these type of things usually came with a price.
Back inside the funnel, Aria was having an awful time. It burned her hands as she absorbed all that she created and it took a lot out of her. She didn't stop, though. No matter how painful or tiring it was. If she was getting out of this world, she wanted to be known for something good. Something life-saving. Not evil. Not life-threatening.
Aria let out a scream of agony as the last bit of the tornado slipped its way into her palm, leaving the rooftop clear of any sign of storm. The sky had dark clouds, something that Aria didn't do and had no control over. It was supposed to rain today. Aria was panting as she looked down at her hands. They were blistered from the friction. She looked up at her team and made a small smile before collapsing to the ground.
"Aria!" Beast Boy was at her side in an instant. "Aria! Talk to me!"
"Beat..." Aria wasn't even able to finish her thought. She coughed and red liquid came spewing out. Blood.
"No! No!" Beast Boy looked up at Raven. "Do something!"
"I'll have to heal myself first. It could take some time." Raven said, already fearing the end.
"Just hurry!" Beast Boy yelled. He looked back at Aria, tears stinging his eyes. "Aria, stay with me. Please."
"It's okay..." She whispered, her eyelids growing heavy.
"No! Don't you dare close those eyes on me! Don't you dare!" Beast Boy begged. "Don't leave me."
Aria's head was in his lap and Beast Boy was gripping her shoulders.
"To right what's wrong, in a time of pain,
One must leave, never to come back again.
To fix what's broken and stop the hit,
One must cease to exist." Aria quoted, in a voice that sounded different from what it was a moment ago.
"No... Please, no." Beast Boy wept. "This can't be it for us." Aria open her eyes, tired, and smiled.
"The end is never final. It just seems that way, my love." Aria whispered with all the strength she had left. "Grant a dying girl her last wish."
Beast Boy, tears streaming freely down his cheeks, leaned down and gave Aria a final kiss. A token of their love. Beast Boy pulled away and saw the Aria's face was relaxed and her chest was still. She was gone. Beast Boy sobbed and collapsed on top of her, refusing to let her go, even if she was already gone.
"Beast Boy." Robin put a hand on his shoulder. "She's gone. Let her go."
Thunder cracked and the sky began to release water in the form of a drizzle. Beast Boy sat up, looking at Aria's face. A face he'll never feel the warmth of again. The face he'll never kiss again. The face he loved. Beast Boy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and stood up, carrying Aria's lifeless body in his arms.
**One Week Later**
The funeral was today. It had only bee a week since Aria died, since the Trio and Red X disappeared for good, since hundreds of lives were spared in exchange for another. Aria made the ultimate sacrifice to save countless others. Would a truly evil person do that? Would a truly evil person even consider sparing the lives of the innocent? That's doubtful.
Beast Boy was standing on the roof, looking at the sunset. He had spent the last week sleeping in Aria's bed, trying so very hard not to let go of her. Trying hard not to forget her. He breathed in the salt water air, unsure if he was really ready to finally say goodbye. A slight breeze combed through his hair, the way Aria used to when they were lying in bed together. He sighed and turned around to head back when something caught his eye.
Something that was bright in the light and looked very familiar. He walked over to it, wind gently hitting against his black suit. When he finally made his way across the rooftop, he gasped when he realized what it was. They hadn't even thought about looking for it in the past week- they were too busy making arrangements. It was her mask. Beast Boy picked up it and stared at it, eyes welling up all over again.
"Hey now." A voice called. Beast Boy started and looked over his shoulder. "Enough of that, BB."
"Who's there?" He asked, the voice was familiar, but it was impossible.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten what I sound like already." Beast Boy looked dead ahead and saw her. Aria, in her new state, was floating right in front of him.
"A-Aria?" He asked. She smiled at him.
"The end is never final." She repeated. "It just seems that way, my love."
"Aria." Beast Boy smiled. Hope was building up in his chest. "You're here. But you're-"
"Dead. I'm not alive, I'm just here. I'll always be with you, Beast Boy."
Beast Boy reached out to touch her, but his hand fell through her body. His eyes gained a glint of sadness.
"Now, now." Aria said, picking up on his emotions. "Don't be like that. I'm always going to be around. I'll watch over you, protect you. I will always be here. Whenever the winds blows, that's me, letting you know I'm here."
"So you were the one..." He ran his fingers through his hair and she nodded.
"Yes. But just because I'm here, doesn't mean you can give up on love entirely. You'll fall in love again, no matter what and I'll still have you in my heart." Aria said sweetly.
"But I don't want you to go." Beast Boy sniffled.
"I'm not gone." Aria said. "Remember me whenever you see this."
Aria pointed at the mask that was still in Beast Boy's hand. He looked at it and tightened his grip around it.
"It's your to keep. I don't need it anymore." Aria was right. The rings around her eyes were gone and the grey eyes were shining. "Remember me, Beast Boy. I love you, for forever and always."
Aria leaned down and kissed the center of Beast Boy's forehead before disappearing into the light, leaving nothing behind but the sweet breeze. Beast Boy blinked, deciding whether or not what he just saw was real, when the wind weaved its way through his hair again. He smiled and looked down at the white mask in his grasp.
"I love you too, Aria." He said as he headed for the door. "For forever and always."
Alright, who was expecting that? No one? Awesome! If you are extremely mad at me, sorry!
Listen, there may or may not be a sequel, so bear with me, guys! In the long run, I hope you all enjoyed the story while it last and thank you so much for all your support!
This is the final chapter of The Girl In The Mask.