Chapter Fourteen: Part I: The Beginning and the End
Beast boy couldn't help but smile to himself at the situation. As he felt the hands of his friend and leader clutching tightly to him, tried to not acknowledge the burning sensation of his wound he took in the noise and bright lashes of the fire coming at them, looking up and to the shock of Robin he started to chuckle.
Suddenly for that moment Beast boy remembered his first fourth of July, there were brilliant flashes everywhere and a huge festival went on around him.
The world around him seemed to dim, he felt something within him grow, a feeling rising in his chest that began to fill him, seemed to pour out of him he felt as if he was going to explode from it.
This was one of the few times in his life Robin was nearly frozen. In his own mind he was kicking himself for falling for Slade's trap.
They crashed through the glass on the roof and quickly wrestled the shocked Slade to the ground. Only...it wasn't him!
As they turned him over one of the eyes grew red and a sudden high pitched whine went through the air. Beast boy began to feel disoriented and Robin sensing what was coming next quickly ushered him towards a window and as they both started to leap through it an explosion scorched their backs and propelled them well through it. They landed roughly on the pavement and a shrapnel of glass tore into them making tiny cuts on them. However just as Robin was about to stand up and take in the situation Beast boy heard several metallic steps nearby and looking around he realized they landed in a parking lot, there were various vehicles scattered about and quickly Beast boy grabbed Robin and thrust him towards one, Robin rolled with it and Beast boy followed after, before Robin could demand an explanation the area they were just at was violently lit up by gunfire.
"Beast boy we've gotta get out of this area!" Robin said over the din of the fire coming at them.
"No way! Slade already took Terra from me, I'm not going to leave him free to do anything to us again!" Beast boy screamed, pain blazing powerfully in his eyes.
Another one of Beast boy's screams brought Robin back to the present.
He watched feeling helpless as little scarlet streams pumped out of the wound on Beast boy's shoulder.
The green titan locked eyes with him and valiantly he screamed "Not like this!" understanding his meaning Robin took out his staff and Beast boy after a moment's struggle gets to his feet and in that instant they charge at the incoming Slade bots. Beast boy become a Rhino and tears through the initial onslaught of Bots as they crumble beneath him.
A larger one punched the Rhino roughly in it's wounded shoulder and it ground to a halt and Beast boy lost his concentration and reverted back to his normal form, Robin was there in an instant and slammed his staff into the Robot's head smashing all the complex components and it collapsed before them.
"Thanks...dude." Beast boy said in struggling voice.
They ran and took cover behind an overturned truck while more of the slade bot started to stream out of the building and surrounding area.
"It's like they're endless, why all this what's Slade's goal?" Robin wondered.
They prepared for another onslaught as they heard the clunky footsteps get closer. There were so many of them the steps seemed thunderous.
Just as they leapt out of the cover there was a violent crash and the bots in front of them were thrown and crushed as a jeep tore through them.
As it ground to a halt Cyborg leapt out and immediatly began blasting away into the onslaught. As they began to overcrowd and grab Cyborg Starfire quickly lifted the jeep and threw it into them.
soon robin was also joining the fray.
Raven however went straight for Beast boy.
Without a word she took hold of him and chanted something and before he knew it they were on the roof of the factory.
"Do you have some kind of death wish!"
she yelled as he placed her hands over his wound and tried to undo the damage.
"Over the last week you've done nothing but destroy yourself, charging headlong into death itself why!" she demanded her voice tense with anger, and an undertone of fear.
Beast boy looked into her eyes with fury but before he could scream back he noted the deep pain in them and softened.
"Rae, I...don't know, it's just this feeling inside me, I can't stop it, it craves revenge, since Slade first shot me I haven't been able to stop it, I just brely keep it in check because of you Rae." he admitted.
Before she could respond Beast boy noticed a lot of movement from the hills around the factory and saw the resistance fighters coming in full force towards the factory.
"Rae, I'll do anything to keep you safe...even if it's from me." he said before kissing her.
It was a moment between them of near perfection, despite the chaos around them and the urgency of the kiss neither of them couldn't imagine a better bliss.
As Beast boy pulled away he and Raven held each other.
"It's just not fair." he said in a low whisper, she could feel his shoulders start to tremble. She clutched him tighter and whispered in his ear.
"Another time. Another life. None of it's fair. But we do have each other."
They stood in silence for a moment and ignored the battle around them as it flared up. Beast boy guessed the rebels had made it in.
However the sound of clapping shook them out of each other's grasp and Raven was immediatly in front of Beast boy her hands protectively stretching out.
Before them stood Slade himself.
"Bravo Titans, I do believe I nearly cried there myself. he mocked.
"Why are you doing all this?" Beast boy raged.
"you my little Beast boy. That feeling within you, that Beast is very useful, but with your current...'entourage' you'd never reach your full potential, whether by will or force we will unlock your true potential!" he said.
"When I show you that night i sent nanomachines into your blood and have been closely studying your DNA structure, I think I'm well versed in every one of your attributes...and weaknesses." he said sinisterly.
Beast boy let out a snarl and tore past Raven and charged at Slade.
"Yes that's it, unleash the beast!" Slade screamed as Beast boy pounced on him.
He effortlessly flipped the titan and took hold of his left arm driving him into the ground, before Beast boy could recover Slade violently dug his heel into Beast boy's wound.
A scream of pure agony came from Beast boy, before Slade could further the damage he felt himself being lifted and thrown into the side of the helicopter.
Beast boy made his way back to his feet and gave Raven a look of thanks as Slade once more came at him.
Slade dodged an onslaught of stones Raven's powers sent hurling his way before he and Beast boy collided.
It was a shocking scene, although Slade towered over Beast boy and was more muscular he could not find the strength to overpower Beast boy.
Beast boy felt another surge in him, before he knew what was going on he was lifting Slade and slammed him to the ground, before he could follow up with a punch Slade rolled out of the way, there was a deep crater in the concrete roof where Beast boy had punched.
However despite Beast boy's new found strength Slade had managed to get one step ahead of him and when he looked back up the last thing he saw was Slade's boot careening towards his head, as he was sent sailing through the air over the edge of the roof.
"Beast boy!" Raven screamed immediatly grabbing him and struggling to pull him up, he was fading in and out of counscoisness.
There was a loud whirring going on as she finally pulled him up and over onto the roof. Slade had managed to start the helicopter and was just getting it to take off, this snapped Beast boy to attention.
He's getting away! No! Not again not after Terra!
On the ground Robin and the others were just finishing of the last of the slade bots, the rebels were cheering and Robin went off to find their leader.
"Have you seen Beast boy?" he asked urgently finding the man talking into a radio.
"No, I thought he might have fled."
"Never." Robin said offended. Suddenly they saw the green boy in question fly over the precipice of the roof and then be caught and pulled over by Raven.
"We've gotta get up there!" Cyborg yelled, however before they could even begin to advance they heard the noise of a helicopter starting up.
"Slade!" Robin said vehemently.
"You mean the mask man is here?" the leader said urgently, Robin nodded yes.
There was a quick exchange between the leader and someone on the other side of the radio before he hung up with a smile.
They had missiles incoming to take down the helicopter.
As the helicopter began to pull off Beast boy once more and stronger than ever felt that surge within him, he quickly stood up and transformed.
From the ground everyone saw the helicopter pull away from the roof and just before it lifted clear into the sky a green leopard cleared the roof and tumbled in.
"Ah my dear Beast boy back for more?" Slade said placing the helicopter on autopilot.
Once more they battled it out, Beast boy manged to once more stun Slade with a devestating Slam and became a tiger, he placed his sharp fangs on Slade's throat. For once the masked man was cornered, any movement by him and the fangs would split open his throat.
"Do it Beast boy, you know you want to, you don't believe that little pathetic bit of humanity you cling to is worth all this pain right? Finish your opponent!" Slade commanded.
Beast boy had to admit atleast to himself that Slade was right, he wanted nothing more than to clamp down right now and wring the villain's throat.
Listen to him! a voice in his mind commanded. It was dark and familiar.
"No Beat boy release!" Raven said appearing in the helicopter door.
The look of pure savagery in the Tiger's eyes shocked her but she refused to let it show, she knew she needed everything to make this appeal.
"Right now you need to fight everything in you Beast boy. The minute you kill a defenseless man...no matter how conniving and evil, you become one of the villains Beast boy." she plead getting closer, placing a gentle hand atop the tiger's head.
There was a long moment of hesitation before Beast boy reverted and relented to her.
They stood together holding each other's hands and looking into each other's eyes.
Beast boy could tell how relieved Raven was, it gave him a little bit of peace.
Suddenly however a very familiar and deadly noise sounded from the control panel, Slade was up in an instant, Beast boy took a moment and then remembered where the noise was familiar from.
Quickly he clutched Raven close and whispered to her,
"In my room, taped beneath the desk." was all he said before he shoved her out of the helicopter.
Beast boy quickly turned around in time to catch one of Slade's fists.
"Looks like we've got one last fight left in us Slade!" Beast boy said shoving him back.
"For once you're right Beast boy. En Guarde Titan." Slade yelled as he once more came at him.
The beeping from the front grew more urgent and before even a few more seconds had passed a missile hit the tail of the helicopter.
The Titans on the ground scrambled to catch Raven as she was thrown from the helicopter.
Before anyone could move the loud smash of the missile hitting the helicopter and the shower of debris stunned them into a silence as they watched it spin wildly towards the forested hills before dropping somewhere with a violent explosion.
The Titans were all dead silent, Starfire slid down to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Beast...boy." she said weakly.