Alright, here's the next chapter. So sorry for the long wait! You'd think that since it's summer I'd have more free time but I've actually been quite busy and whatnot. Anyway, this chapter has a little bit of Slade and some BBxRae. I know I said the Titans were going to appear in this chapter, but I have writer's block on what I should do with them, so I decided that instead of waiting for an idea, I'll just update the story with what I have already written.
And one last thing before I start the chapter, here's some recaps to refresh your memory of past events that had happened in the story.
-In Chapter 23 I left you guys off with a cliffhanger. Mento had finished his interview with the reporter about Cinderblock's mysterious attack and drove back to Titan's Tower. Rita was waiting for him to return. Instead of Mento, it was Slade who greeted her.
-And as for Beast Boy and Raven, well their story is continuing right on from the last chapter.
Hope I refreshed some memories. I even had to go back and read a bit to remember what happened exactly. xD
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"I-I don't know.." Raven finally answered. She put a hand to her head. It hurt, a lot, and she couldn't remember what happened. Wanting to soothe her headache, Raven closed her eyes and tried to avoid any light source. Beast Boy slowly stood up, still holding Raven in his arms. If she had felt the movement, she gave no indication.
"Uh, yoo hoo. Raven?" Upon hearing her name, Raven opened her eyes and looked up at Beast Boy.
"Where am I?" She quietly asked.
"We're still in your memories remember? And you uh passed out again.." Beast Boy tried to keep his description very vague. He didn't want to remind Raven about what had happened between her and Juris a long time ago.
"I passed out?"
"Yeah, you tend to do that every now and then."
"Oh." Raven looked down. "Sorry about that."
"I've already said it before, when you're sick, you don't have to apologize…unless you barf on someone's shoes. That deserves an apology." Beast Boy gave her his trademark grin.
"I'll remember that next time I feel sick to my stomach." Raven responded flatly, not in the mood for bad humor.
"You better stay away from my shoes!" Beast Boy chuckled. "But now you're awake, so welcome back to the land of the living!"
"The land of the living?" Raven cocked an eyebrow.
"It's an expression." He replied, still smiling. His happiness turned into curiosity when he noticed how Raven was so caught off guard with a simple comment. By the look on her face the green boy could tell that she was deep in thought.
'The land of the living?' Raven thought to herself. 'That's right, I thought I died because I went to Heaven. I was in Heaven with Arella. I remember now. She told me what was going on…' The empath's headache slightly worsened. 'My mind was transferred from Earth to Heaven. Now I'm back on Earth with Beast Boy. Back to the land of the living… Ugh Thinking hurts. I wonder if this is how Beast Boy feels 24/7..' Raven insulted the changeling in her mind. Even though Beast Boy didn't know it, he was right on the mark with that statement.
"Raven, you ok?" Even though he asked before, Beast Boy still hadn't received a straight answer from Raven. She looked back up at him. Beast Boy looked deep into her eyes. Raven's eyes weren't spacey anymore, but the violet hue in her them were still clouded over with sickness. Beast Boy couldn't help but feel bad for Raven. Even when they were both exchanging the worst of jokes or insults, there always seemed to be something that sparkled in Raven's eye during those times. Like happiness or something. Beast Boy wasn't sure why, but he knew that whenever Raven had that sparkle in her eye, she was content. For now, that sparkle was gone, replaced with a veil of sickness and overall discontent.
'Why is he staring at me?' Raven thought to herself for a moment as she continued to look at Beast Boy. 'Oh duh, he just asked me a question. Wow I really am out of it..' She felt his sympathy and worry as he looked down at her. It was uncomfortable for some reason. Raven decided to break eye contact with him as she finally decided to answer. Looking over his shoulder, Raven tried to focus on something behind Beast Boy other than his worry glares while she replied.
"Yeah I-" Raven's mouth froze in mid sentence when she got a glimpse of what was far off behind Beast Boy. There laid a large pool of blood laying on the dirt. Noticing the pause and odd stare, Beast Boy turned his head to see what Raven was looking at.
'Oh crap.' Beast Boy thought to himself. He had tried to keep her from remembering Juris for the time being but he failed. Right now, Raven didn't need this strain of guilt on her mind during her weakened state.
"Hey hey, Rae!!" Beast Boy quickly exclaimed while turning around with Raven still in his arms so he could use his body to block her view. He yelled out the most idiotic thing he could, trying to catch Raven off guard again. This was one time where he wouldn't mind if she got pissed at him for using such a moronic nickname for her. Beast Boy's quick movements made Raven's stomach lurch.
"Don't call me Rae." Raven stated quickly as she put her hand to her mouth and the other over her stomach to calm the nausea. Even though she put on a fake act of annoyance, she knew what her friend was trying to accomplish. 'Nice try Beast Boy, but I remember what happened. I remember Juris.…' Raven sadly thought to herself.
"Sorry about the nickname." Beast Boy gave a little apologetic laugh. Raven just returned a miffed look at him. 'Success!' Beast Boy thought.
"Move like that again and I'll aim for your shoes." Raven growled.
"Heh, we're in your mind. You can't ruin my shoes right now." Beast Boy replied with a cocky know-it-all attitude. Raven just looked away, and let out a big sigh of irritation. An awkward silence passed. The two just stood there for a moment...well Beast Boy stood, Raven hung. Feeling more uncomfortable by the second, Raven motioned that she wanted to be put down. "Hey can you stand?" Beast Boy asked as Raven put her feet on the ground, still keeping a hold of the changeling's shoulders.
"Of course I can.." The empath stated while looking down at her feet, as if that was a stupid question. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she felt like she was standing on a ship caught in a storm, while her knees were made of jelly. Beast Boy knew how difficult Raven was when it came to her insecurities of giving the impression she was dependent. He didn't acknowledge the fact that her right arm was still wrapped over his shoulders and she was leaning into him. He was supporting most of her weight, but, he didn't mind of course.
Once Raven felt content with her stability on the ground, (minus the fact she was still holding onto Beast Boy), she looked upwards and saw four people that she hadn't noticed before. It was her mother, her nursemaid Gayla, an unidentified man in a cloak, and Azar. Azar was holding her bloody younger memory self in her arms. One thing Raven took notice of right away was that her mother's robe was covered in blood and she was crying. Gayla was trying to console her. 'This was what happened right after I killed Juris.' Even though Raven felt a great sadness build up inside of her, she was just to tired to do anything about it. Once more, Raven let out a sad sigh at experiencing this scene for the second time in her life.
Beast Boy had heard Raven's sigh and he looked over at the group of people. He looked back towards Raven and noticed that she looked much more exasperated than she did five minutes ago.
"Beast Boy.." Raven started to say quietly.
"Yeah?" He replied in the same careful tone.
"I'm sorry for what I've done. I really hadn't meant to.." Raven shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Beast Boy just stood there dumbfounded, not sure what she was referring to.
"Raven, what are you talking about?"
"I…I killed someone. Beast Boy, I'm a murderer." Raven still hadn't opened her eyes. Beast Boy paused for a second to think before replying. He couldn't fumble up his words this time.
"Raven..he was going to kill you. It was either you or him. And frankly, you deserve to live much more than that…that trash." Beast Boy spat. Raven stayed quiet, thinking about what he said. Finally she spoke.
"Do you think less of me?" Raven whispered.
"Huh? Think less of you? Raven, do you think I'm going to look down upon you, or treat you different or something because you killed someone?" Raven just replied by opening her eyes and looking at him with an unsure look. "Of course I won't. You didn't kill him for pleasure or something psychotic like that. You had to defend yourself. That's justifiable homicide." Raven gave the changeling an odd look.
"Justifiable homicide?"
"I watch a lot of Law and Order." Beast Boy stated with a small smile.
'Lightening the mood...Beast Boy always was good for that..' Raven returned a sad smile before letting the smile fade.
"But still-"
"Raven, please don't let this whole Juris thing get to you. I mean, I saw what happened, I was there, er sort of. You really don't need to feel as guilty as you do right now. You're a great person, a great hero. You made one mistake in the past. That shouldn't erase every heroic thing you've done since then. Do you know how many people's lives you saved? A lot. And I know it's not really fair to say a couple of lives are more important than someone else's, but damn it Raven, it sure helps. You have the power to be able to kill any one you want to, but you don't, and that's what's so commendable about you. You have the opportunity to go out and do whatever you desire yet you know, in your heart, what's truly right and take the harder path. Not a lot of people would sacrifice their own happiness for the safety of others...their own emotions. You keep control over yourself, and if I was put in your place, I don't think I could of ever handled something as amazing as that."
'Keep control over myself? I'm loosing control over myself with every passing minute..' Raven thought about what Arella had told her up in Heaven. Her mother told her she had to keep a clear head about the situation and not let emotions get in the way of the safety of her friends. For now, Raven had to forget about Juris and not let that guilt cloud her common sense, and with Beast Boy there to help, Raven felt she had the strength to do that. "Beast Boy.. thank you." Raven sincerely responded. That speech was the exact thing she needed right now.
"No problem." Beast Boy exclaimed with a huge smile, while giving her a thumbs up with his free hand. For once, Raven felt it alright to think that the changeling looked cute right now, without feeling embarassed of her own thoughts.
'Clearly spending this much time with him is having an affect on me..' Raven thought to herself. '...and it isn't so bad.' Raven started to smile just out of pure happiness until she remembered what she just told herself. She had to keep her emotions under control. Even the positive ones.
"Beast Boy, I have something to tell you. When I passed out I had a conversation with my mother." Beast Boy's eyebrows turned upwards in confusion. He was about to say something about her mother being dead, but decided against it. It just didn't seem like the right thing to say or mention. Instead, the changeling chose a general statement to respond.
"Uh Raven, you feeling ok?" Beast Boy wondered if that was the tenth time he had to ask her that today.
"No, but that's beside the point. I know this sounds crazy and yes my mother isn't alive anymore, but I have some idea as to what's going on with me. Arella contacted me spiritually."
"Normally, hearing something like this from any other person would convince me that they're a wackadoo, but since it's you and you're in tune with the spirits and whatnot, I believe ya! So what did she say?" Beast Boy's trust in Raven's sanity really helped clear her own doubts.
'Good, he doesn't think I'm crazy. I wasn't even sure what to think of it myself.' Raven thought to herself before continuing. "Arella told me that because we defeated Trigon, my body is reacting weirdly to the situation."
"Huh?"
"You see, all my life I've been trained to keep Trigon's influence away from my mind and body. Now that he's gone, I don't have that specific demonic pressure on me anymore."
"I see. So you're free from him. What's the problem? Isn't that a good thing?"
"At first that's what I thought, but as much as I loathe it, Trigon is my father and he did create me. My own flesh and power is a part of his. And since I had only trained to deal with his power and not my own, I'm loosing control."
"Oh, I uh sort of get it. You're half demon." Beast Boy paused to get confirmation from Raven. She nodded and Beast Boy continued. "So that means there's two parts to you already, the good part, and the sort of scary bad part heh."
"Uh huh.." Raven slowly replied, making sure her tone told Beast Boy he was on a thin line. Beast Boy sweat dropped.
"So not only do you have those two parts to your body, but on top of that you had Trigon. So in a way there were three parts to you. Your human side, your demon side, and your father's demon side." Beast Boy held up a finger for each side, totaling in three fingers. "And since your father's side is gone." Beast Boy put down one of his fingers, now only holding up two. "Your own demon side is going crazy and overtaking your human side." Beast Boy pointed to the finger that was supposedly Raven's bad side and crossed it over the one representing her good side.
"Beast Boy, I really should give you more credit. That's exactly what I mean." Raven responded, hope apparent in her voice. Raven was glad that Beast Boy understood the situation. That was a step in the right direction to solving it.
"See, I have my smart moments! Now how're we gonna control your demon side? You gonna have to meditate more?"
"I also thought that at first but no. Meditation won't soothe my anger anymore. Arella told me I need a much more aggressive way of controlling it."
"Oh crap, does that mean I'm going to become your personal punching bag? I mean I want to help you and all but my scars from the last beating hadn't healed yet!" Beast Boy jokingly whined. Even though he pretended to act unwillingly, if Raven had to use him as a punching bag to keep herself in check, he would gladly comply.
Raven gave him a smirk. "No that's not how I'll be able to keep control of my powers, but that does sound fun."
"Heh heh.." Beast Boy gave a nervous laugh.
"Arella told me how I should train to keep control. You know our training sessions?" Beast Boy nodded. "Well instead of us pairing off with one other person for the day, I might have to pair off with each of you every other day."
"So you mean.."
"Yeah. I'm going to have to fight all of you guys. Like for example Robin would be first, then Starfire, then you, and then Cyborg or something. I'll have to do that every other day, that is if you and the other's are willing. I wouldn't force you to do anything you didn't want to." Raven made sure to add the last part. She didn't want the Titans to feel like they had an obligation to her.
"Duh of course we'll help you! And believe me, I speak for everyone when I say that. Raven, you're our friend, and if you need to beat the crap out of us to remain healthy and sane then we'll be there for you, first aid kit and all." Beast Boy revealed his fang in a huge smile.
"Well I wouldn't go as far as to actually beat the crap out of you guys, as you so plainly put it. Just a training session. That's all. And thank you Beast Boy." Raven gave him a smile. Beast Boy couldn't help but feel his insides grow warm. He had gotten a couple of smiles from Raven in the past ten minutes. And not only that, but it seemed as though she had no problem talking to him openly about the situation she was in. She just chatted with him about her heritage without once stuttering or looking at the ground shamefully. She was finally opening up!
"Well I guess we've got our work cut out for us!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Yeah, guess so." Raven replied. "We still have to get out of here though."
"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Man... we have to find the exit before we can accomplish anything. That's going to be hard. I just wish we were back home. Mento and Elasti-Girl are relaxing in the Tower watching over our bodies. They have it easy." Beast Boy ironically commented.
Pan over to Titan's Tower where Slade has just arrived at the medical bay, surprising an unsuspecting Rita.
"Let me introduce myself. The name's Slade." The villain in the orange and black mask spoke.
"How did you get in here? There's supposed to be a security system set up." Rita demanded to know before the possible fight. She knew she heard the name Slade before but couldn't fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Rita already knew that he was one of their enemies, but which one? Was this one of the Titan's enemies that she could bring down with one hit or would he be a challenge? The Doom Patrol member had to figure that out before she charged blindly into battle with an unfamiliar opponent.
"Oh the security system? You see…there's this cycle about technology. It never stops advancing. When a new security program is made, a new hacking system will be found out. It's all just a circle of improvement. When you think one security system is at the best level of efficiency it can be, a new program, a better program, is created. This time with less glitches. But that's the key word. Less glitches. There will still be mistakes and glitches encrypted in the system. Glitches that people can hack through. Now Cyborg's security system is very complex. A tough one to crack I must admit. But apparently, even his had it's faults. Now of course I won't reveal these faults to you or the Titans. That would ruin the fun. They'll just have to figure them out and correct the glitches themselves and hope I don't hack through the next security system put up. It's kind of like a game." The way Slade talked made Rita shiver. This villain was scary, and not in the usual way a villain is scary like with big tentacles and slime. He was more scary in a way that he could come and kill you in the middle of the night any time he pleases.
'Slade…who is Slade..' Rita thought to herself. All of her instincts were telling her to attack the man right then and there, but for some reason, she froze as he spoke. The name Slade had finally rung a bell in her mind.
In the past, Beast Boy had sent emails to her just to keep in touch ever since he left the Doom Patrol. Emailing seemed to be the only way they could communicate since the Doom Patrol traveled the world. Usually the shape shifter's emails consisted of what happened during the day, like if he bought a new video game or beat Cyborg at an old one. He even updated her on how the Titan's missions went. If any little detail was missed in an email, Beast Boy would write it in the next one. Rita loved getting emails from him. Mento had once told her that Beast Boy should stop sending those frivolous messages and that he was wasting her time. Of course Rita didn't listen to him. Whenever given the chance, she would reply to her favorite little changeling. One time though, Beast Boy's email had been a very serious one. It was about his team leader, Robin. Apparently Robin had been manipulated into being this, Slade's apprentice. Rita remembered that there were no jokes in that email. But before she could reply and ask if he needed assistance, she received another email, a happier one, stating how they won and got Robin back. Even though the email had a positive tone to it, Rita was worried about the part where Beast Boy had written that he and his teammates had been infected with some kind of nano robots that destroyed their bodies from the inside out. Ever since that email, Rita had a new level of worry for Beast Boy. He was like a son to her, and she couldn't protect him from threats like Slade anymore.
"Slade…" Rita spoke slowly. It was apparent that she was none too pleased with him. She now remembered who this villain was, according to Beast Boy's emails. He was the one who had almost killed one of her teammates. One of her family.
"I don't believe we've met before, yet you sound as though you have a grudge with me." Even though his tone of voice didn't show it, Slade was quite curious of the reasoning behind Rita's reaction to his presence.
"You attempted to kill Garfield."
"Garfield?"
"You know him as Beast Boy." Rita answered with a harsh tone as she kept her eyes locked on Slade.
"Oh, you mean the green one. The one lying over there in that bed." Slade pointed over to the medical bed where Raven and Beast Boy lay. Upon seeing him look over at the two Titans, Rita balled up her fists, not letting her Slade leave her sight. "Yes I've attempted to kill him. I've attempted to kill all of the Titans many times before. They're such a thorn in my side. If I could just get rid of them, I could carry out my plans." Rita stood there calmly but defensively as she listened. She wanted to keep the inevitable fight to a halt until Mento came back. "Maybe I'll keep one of them alive, as an apprentice. But who?" Slade took a hand to his chin and looked back at Rita. He already had an idea of which Titan he wanted, but seeing the female Doom Patrol member before him getting angrier and angrier by the second was far too amusing for him. "Maybe I'll take Beast Boy. He would make a fine apprentice no? His skills are extraordinary. I bet he can steal any item he wants without triggering so much as one silent alarm. That mouse form of his would come in handy." Rita gritted her teeth. Slade knew he was getting to her. "Oh and if he ever fails to comply to my commands, I could just crush him under my foot like the little cockroach he is. Yes, he would make a fine apprentice." That was it. Rita had had enough.
"You have no right!" Rita yelled as she charged towards Slade. Beneath his mask, the villain smiled. He had finally reached her boiling point, and she fell right into his trap. She was just about to punch him. Using his much more refined fighting skills, Slade had no problem avoiding the enraged woman's punch. He ducked under her arm, spun around and jumped backwards. Now he was behind her. Rita's fist had collided with the wall and left a dent in it. Even Slade was mildly surprised at her strength. Rita turned around and glared at Slade. Even though her face didn't show it, the pain in her fist was excruciating. She had let her emotions get the best of her and it resulted in bad judgment. She especially realized her mistake when she noticed that she was now the one by the door and that Slade was the one standing in front of the two Titans. He had broken her defenses with simple tactics. Rita wanted to kick herself for letting Slade get into her mind like that. She now had to get Slade away from the Titans. But how? She could use her powers, but not to their full extent considering she was still in Titan's Tower. For one split second, Rita took her eyes off of Slade and looked at the ceiling to calculate the height. That was a mistake. Slade saw the flicker of her eyes go upwards and within that split second, he charged towards her. Because she was not expecting such a fast attack, Rita did not look back fast enough and didn't have the time to block whatever attack he was going to unleash. All within that one second, Slade pulled out a metal device that looked like a collar and had attached it to Rita's neck. He snapped it on with a click. She gasped at the feeling of the cool metal touching her skin. Once the collar was on, Slade did a back flip away from her. He landed gracefully on his feet and dangerously close to the Titans.
"What did you-?" Rita asked as she tugged on the metal collar. It wouldn't snap off.
"For being one of the legendary Doom Patrol members, you seem to be making a lot of mistakes." Between his pointer and his thumb, Slade held out a small black metal box with one red button on it, his thumb lightly resting on it. Before Rita could even realize what was happening, Slade pressed the button on his controller and the metal collar sent out blue sparks of energy that traveled along her body.
"AHHH!" Rita yelled as her whole body was engulfed in pain. Every nerve ending seemed to scream. She dropped to her knees. Whatever the collar was emanating, it hurt like hell. The Doom Patrol member pulled at the collar in vain. It would not come off. After three more seconds of torture, the blue sparks died down, as well as the horrible feeling. She looked up at Slade with a mixture of hatred, pain, and a little bit of fear in her eyes. He could tell she wanted an explanation.
"The collar negates your powers. Those blue sparks of energy traveled throughout your body and blocked off your abilities. Any and every cell in your body has been shut off from accessing the part of your DNA that expands. You're powerless." Slade just looked down at Rita, who was still kneeling on the floor. He watched as she picked up one of her arms and closed her eyes tight. He assumed she was testing her powers to see if what he said was true or not. From the look on her face when she opened her eyes, he knew that she realized what he said was true.
'How did he…what is he?' Rita asked to herself as she looked at Slade, her eyes wide. She had never fought this villain before, yet he knew exactly what it took to take her down. Rita had severely underestimated his skills as an opponent. Even though the Teen Titans were basically a group of teenagers, their villains weren't any less difficult than the Doom Patrol's. Rita knew she had to tell Mento that later on, but for now she just wished he would show up. Luckily her wish was answered. The medical bay's door slid open and Mento quickly ran in. He almost tripped over her.
"Rita!" Mento yelled in surprise, skidding to a halt, not expecting her to be kneeling on the ground. He bent down and helped her up. When the two were standing, that was when Mento finally took notice of the intruder on the other side of the room.
"Another member of the Doom Patrol has arrived. Will you be as easy to take down as your teammate?" Slade asked Mento. The mind reader looked at Rita as if to ask what was going on.
"Steve, this person, he's very dangerous. You have to watch out. I don't know how, but he used this device that blocks my powers." Rita pointed to the collar. "He might have something for yours." Mento looked at the collar and then at Slade.
"What do you mean blocks your powers?" Mento asked, keeping an eye on Slade, who seemed to be waiting for them to finish talking.
"This collar is releasing some kind of weird energy that is disrupting my powers. I can't use them." Rita looked at her leader with an ashamed look.
"What? Are you serious?" Mento asked incredulously. Rita nodded. 'Damn, I'm gone for a little while and already Rita's been attacked.' Mento thought to himself. Not letting Slade from his sight, Mento realized that the two Titans were in danger's way.
"Rita, you have to get over to the kids." Mento sent a message to her through brainwaves. That way Slade couldn't hear what he was telling his teammate since they were talking through their minds. "I'll distract him. When I get him away from the bed, you go protect Beast Boy and Raven."
"Alright." Rita silently replied.
Even through the very short moment of silence, Slade knew that from their expressions they were talking to each other. He waited patiently though because he wanted to fight Mento one on one without any distractions. The idea of fighting the leader of the Doom Patrol had somewhat excited him. In battle, Slade loved to manipulate the minds of others while fighting hand to hand combat. Fighting a mind reader would be an interesting challenge.
"Get ready." Mento told Rita once more through brainwaves. The two turned away from each other and looked towards their opponent. Slade knew they were about to launch their attack. The villain readied his defensive stance. Mento put one finger up to his right temple and shot out one blue burst of his brainwaves. At first it looked as though the mind reader missed, since the brainwave went crashing into the wall a couple of feet away from Slade, but as soon as the blast made contact with the wall, part of it blew up and smoke went everywhere.
'Hmm, a smoke screen. Not bad.' Slade thought to himself. He knew Rita was going to attempt to save the Titans, but for now, he was only interested in fighting Mento. The Titans could wait for a little while longer. After one more second of thinking to himself, Slade saw a silhouette appear through the smoke. It was Mento. It was apparent that he was going to try and punch Slade, since his arm was in that position. 'Another blind punch? They give me too little credit.' Slade simply stated to himself as he whipped out his metal staff and smacked it into Mento's fist, seconds before it made contact with his mask.
While the fight between Mento and Slade raged on, Rita had made her way through the smoke towards the Titans. She looked at their faces. Raven's was still twisted in an uncomfortable pain, and Beast Boy still had his look of silent worry on. Even though those two were far from ok, nothing had changed between them since Slade's arrival, and for the time being, Rita considered that to be ok for now.
The smoke had finally started to clear and Mento was still standing in front of Slade.
"Attempting a rescue I see?" Slade asked, motioning towards Rita. Mento wasn't sure if Slade was going to attack her or not. He had to make a decision.
"Rita, you have to take the kids and get out of here." Mento told her sternly, blocking a blow from Slade's staff.
"But Steve I.."
"I SAID GO!" Mento yelled as he blocked another one of Slade's metal staff hits.
"Alright." Rita replied. She didn't want to leave Mento on his own but their first priority was getting Beast Boy and Raven out of harm's way, especially in the condition the two were in. When Rita got to their bedside, she took Beast Boy and flipped him over so he was now laying on his stomach, his head at the end of the bed. She gently pulled the changeling's upper torso forward off the edge. Beast Boy's head and arms dangled as they hung off the side, his fists laying on the floor. Rita then walked over to Raven and picked her up. Being as gentle as she could, Rita hoisted the dark Titan over her left shoulder, keeping a firm grasp around the girl's waist to keep her from slipping. Once Raven was secure, Rita slowly walked back over to Beast Boy and crouched down under the boy's unconscious body. The Doom Patrol member slowly slid her right shoulder under Beast Boy's chest, and wrapped her arm up and around his upper body. Slowly she pulled him forward until the green boy slid completely off the bed, and hung over her right shoulder. Steadying herself, Rita stood up with Raven slumped over her left shoulder, and Beast Boy over her right. She was surprised at how light the two Titans were. She knew that Beast Boy had a small frame and was easy to carry, but Raven was only slightly heavier than the changeling. Rita was thankful that the two combined weights weren't too heavy for her to carry. Her powers were out of commission due to the collar, and having to drag the two Titans on the floor would of seemed somewhat disrespectful. With that thought, Rita started for the door until she heard Mento scream.
"ARG!" Mento yelled as Slade caught one of the his helmet's antennae with his metal bo staff. The shock and vibrations from the combination of metal hitting the sensitive antennae on Mento's helmet had hurt the mind reader immensely. The purple antennae broke off upon impact and went flying across the room. It hit the far wall and fell to the floor with a click. 'Great, that's another helmet I have to fix..' Mento thought as he saw an opening and landed a punch to Slade's chest. Mento then increased the intensity of his hit by blasting his attacker with an invisible brain wave a spilt second after the punch. Slade, not expecting such a powerful attack right after, was thrown backwards into a wall, leaving a dent in it as he fell to the floor.
"Mento!" Rita started to walk back towards Mento until he halted her by putting his hand up.
"No, Go! Get them to safety. I'll be fine." He lied. Right now for the time being he was ok, but if this battle continued much longer, the throbbing that had begun in his head would increase to the point where he couldn't blast a single brain wave. If his own powers failed, they would be in a lot of danger. At least with Rita gone, Mento could fight without the distraction of his teammate's safety. He had to get her out of there. "Rita, go now! Take the Titan's car!" After seeing the determination in his eyes, Rita reluctantly nodded and turned around and walked to the door. She took one look back.
"Be careful.." She whispered before exiting the medical bay. Mento watched as she left. Once satisfied that Rita was out of danger, Mento returned his full attention on the battle he was taking part in, and just in time too. Slade had wasted no time in getting back up. Once again, Slade prepared his staff for another attempt at a hit as he charged towards the Doom Patrol leader. Mento blocked the staff with his arms in the nick of time by criss crossing them in front of him. The two stayed locked in that position for a while, each pushing on each other trying to make the other break their hold. Still pushing the metal staff against Mento's arms, Slade inched his face/mask close up to the mind reader's.
"With only fifty percent of your power remaining, how do you expect to win?" Slade mockingly spoke. Mento's only reply was a look of confusion, until he realized what the crazed villain meant. Slade had broken off one of the mind reader's antennae. The ability to project brainwaves and convert them into destructive beams through that side of his helmet had been lost, thus decreasing his power to fifty percent. With one antennae gone, Mento could only use the other one to shoot at Slade, a big limiting setback considering the situation.
'How does he know all of these details about us?' Mento angrily thought to himself. The mere idea of there being a villain whom the Doom Patrol had never fought before, knowing all these details about them was rather… chilling. 'First the collar negating Rita's powers, and now the details about my helmet. I wonder if he knows about Cliff and Larry's powers..'
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Finally Rita reached the T-Car parked outside where Mento had left it in his rush to get into Titan's Tower. She walked up to the right side of the automobile and carefully bent down and slid the changeling off her shoulder until he was lying on the ground on his stomach. Once his weight was removed, Rita took her now free arm and put it on Raven's back. Slowly she took Raven from the slung over position she was in and bent her backwards until the Titan was being held bridal style. Rita crouched down and opened the back car door with one of her hands. The Doom Patrol member had decided to let Raven have the whole backseat. Rita slid her arm out from under Raven's legs, but kept a firm grasp underneath the girl's arms. She then started to pull Raven's limp form into the backseat. Once the two were in the car, Rita checked to make sure the ailing Titan was completely in. Once satisfied that Raven was completely in, the Doom Patrol member got out of the car and closed the door. Beast Boy was getting shot gun. She then opened the right door in the front of the car.
'I have to make sure I drive carefully, there's no seatbelt securing Raven in the backseat…' Rita gave a mental note to herself as she bent down to pick up the unconscious boy. She rolled Beast Boy over and picked him up bridal style as well. Once he was in her arms, she walked over to the open door and slid him in. At first he wouldn't sit upright on his own , so the Doom Patrol member had to find the lever that would recline the seat. After finding it and pulling on it slightly, Beast Boy stayed propped up in his seat. She found the seatbelt and pulled it across his chest and clicked him in. Too bad the changeling was out of it. He always wanted to get shot gun and rarely received it because of Robin. Rita shut the door and then walked around the front of the car and got into the driver's seat, buckling her own seatbelt.
"I better not get pulled over.." Rita quietly spoke to herself remembering that she had forgotten to take her license with her. Driving a car with two unconscious teens wouldn't look good either. Especially considering one wasn't buckled in. Shaking her thoughts away, Rita saw that Mento had left the key in the ignition in his haste. She turned the car on, put it in drive, and drove off.
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I've finally thought of an idea of what memory I want the other Titans to travel to, so I'll be working on that ASAP and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Sorry for delaying the other Titans an appearance in my story once more. I know it's been a while since they've been in it. Once again, sorry bout that folks!
Also,remember, a full inbox makes an author very happy. (Unless it's around 40 random usernames adding my story to their favorites/alert without so much as a review like with the last chapter. That's just not as satisfying xP)