A few minutes after his teammates departure, Beastboy tentatively ventured from his bedroom, in search of company. He knew it was late- almost half past twelve, now- but he couldn't just stay in that room alone. He kept feeling as though someone were watching him, waiting for him to let down his guard and then... he shivered. 'Enough of that' he thought 'Gotta find someone. Anyone.'
He knew it was probably too late for that Alfred dude to be up, but maybe Rob had sent one of the girls back to keep him company. His sensitive nose detected the scent of tealeaves, and his ears picked up the sound of a kettle whistling. Tea meant Raven- Raven and him, all alone in the Tower…with a smile on his face he headed for the kitchen.
He was surprised to find Alfred sitting at the table nursing a cup of tea and looking at the clock. The butler wore an old red bathrobe over blue and white striped pajamas. His expression was unreadable, but his scent carried both worry and resignation. Not wishing to startle the elderly man, Beastboy knocked softly on the doorframe. "You're up too, huh Alfred? Mind if I join you?"
"Indeed not, young sir" \the Englishman replied "Would you care for some tea? I find it helps to pass the time"
"No thanks, I'll just have a soda" the green boy replied, as he took one from the refrigerator. "I guess you have a lot of experience with this, huh? Waiting for the others to come home from fighting?"
"I do indeed" Alfred said with a sigh "Twenty years and more. Incidentally, I wish to pass along Master Bruce's condolences, as well as my own, on your ordeal."
"thanks" the changeling said absently, as he fidgeted with his soda can. The room was silent for a moment, then Beastboy said "Does it ever get easier? Waiting for them to come back, I mean?"
Alfred sighed and sipped his tea "If you are asking if the worry ever lessens, then I'm afraid it does not. Not really. I fear for Master Bruce every bit as much now as I did on his first night as Batman. One simply adapts to the fear- in time, you will be able to function normally, although the fear will always be in the back of your mind. Although, in your case, I doubt such adaptation will prove necessary- Master Timothy informed me that you were undergoing a sort of therapy, correct?"
"Uh, yeah" Beastboy said, scratching his head. In truth, Ro bin had specifically told him not to reveal any details about his treatment to Alfred. The last thing the Titans needed was Batman- and the Justice League- looking over their shoulders as they healed their teammate. Looking up, the young hero could see Alfred readying himself to begin probing the issue and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out. In the brief time that he'd known him, Beastboy had been impressed with the Englishman's ability to get virtually anyone to open up. His only hope was to derail the questioning before it began. Luckily, he was the master of the nonsequitor. "So, uh, tell me…what's Europe like? I mean, I've been to all kinds of different places but I've never been there."
Alfred sensed that continuing to question the green boy would yield no useful results. It was, to his way of thinking a pity- though he had immense respect for the abilities of the Teen Titans the fact remained that they were young and inexperienced. It would have been good to know that this young man was receiving formal care, but Alfred knew when to abandon a cause. "Europe is comprised of many nations, Garfield, and I have only been to a handful of them. But I would be happy to share those experiences with you."
The ride to Jump City Medical College had been uncomfortable for both Robin and Cyborg. Both had been the victims of vicious pranks, tricks that had crossed the line between mere joking around and real, serious insults. Both were angry, and both were hurt, and neither had any idea of what to do to fix this. Both knew they were at least partially in the wrong- Cyborg knew he shouldn't have executed so vicious a prank, while Robin knew he was guilty of overreacting. Still, neither was willing to take the first step and apologize, and the drive was made in chilly silence.
Upon arrival, Robin leapt from the T-Car and surveyed the scene. Batgirl, Starfire and Raven all squatted amidst the debris caused by the initial explosion. Robin moved cautiously to where Starfire waited.
"What's the situation, Star" he asked.
"The College has been invaded by Adonis and Mumbo Jumbo" Starfire replied "They have placed some sort of automated weapons in the large chamber ahead. Whenever we attempt to approach, they open fire and we are driven back."
Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out a miniaturized pair of binoculars. Cautiously, he inched out of cover and peered into the gloom of the building, as his binoculars automatically compensated for the darkness. Sure enough, three guns mounted on tripods stood in the middle of the closest room- all positioned so that it was impossible to approach them without entering their field of fire. In the spirit of experimentation, Robin picked up a small rocked and tossed it into the chamber. Before it had flown more than ten feet, one of the guns spun and fired a blast of crimson energy, vaporizing the rock. Robin frowned; not only had the attack been too powerful for even Cyborg to withstand, it had been fast enough to ensure there was no chance of out running it.
Something about the whole situation bothered him. Neither Mumbo nor Adonis would normally attack this place, nor would they have shown enough forethought to set up such a defense. Even more suspicious was the way the defense was rigged- it would have been no challenge for the Titans under normal circumstances. Ordinarily, he would have ordered Beastboy to slip past the guns as a mouse or a fly, then take them out from behind. The whole thing was worthless in the face of a shapeshifter, which lead to one disturbing conclusion: Whoever had planned this KNEW that the changeling would not be on this mission. Robin didn't like what that implied.
Right now, though, he had a job to do. Ducking back into cover, he waved his teammates over. "I think the guns are linked to motion detectors" he said "Which means we can't just rush them. Raven, I need you to teleport us directly behind the guns. They're probably programmed with that in mind, though, so Starfire be ready to attack the second we arrive. Now, we'll have lost all element of surprise after this, so I want everyone to move as quickly as they can in the direction of the labs- that's the only place here with anything worth taking. Everyone ready? TITANS GO!"
Adonis was not a patient person. He had never been one, and he knew it. Normally, he would never even contemplate spending an entire night watching a blue skinned magician wannabe stuff pills and blood packs into a top hat. However, someone had offered him ninety grand to do just that, and ninety grand bought a lot of patience even from him. Right now, he checked over the systems on his new armor as he waited for the Titans to arrive.
In the far corner of the lab, Mumbo Jumbo was finishing up his end of the job. He placed another four pints of plasma into his hat and tapped the side with his wand. "Mumbo Jumbo!" he cried and a puff of smoke burst from the opening as another load was sent to their mysterious employer. It was an odd heist to be sure, Mumbo reflected. Normally, people hired supercriminals to steal weapons, plutonium, dangerous and forbidden tomes of arcane knowledge… not plasma and medicine. Still, he needed money badly- white rabbits didn't come free after all. So he'd agreed to the job, even if it meant working with the weird kid in the tin suit.
A series of explosions echoed through the building, and inside of his armor Adonis smirked. He'd known that the guns wouldn't hold his enemies for long, but as their boss had said, they'd held them long enough. "Hey, freak" he called "Time to fight!"
"Fight?" Mumbo said, a puzzled expression "Dear boy, I'm an ENTERTAINER not a fighter! Besides, I'm only getting paid for the robbery. Now that the Titan's are here, it's time to exit stage left! MUMBO JUMBO!" The irritating illusionist, defying several laws of physics, hopped into his hat, which then collapsed in on itself until it, too, vanished with a pop.
"FINE!" Adonis roared, his fury rising "I don't need you, you two-bit David Copperfield wannabe! I fought the Titans alone before, and this time they don't have the green freak to save them!"
"Wow. You're just making friends all over aren't you?" came a monotone voice from behind him. The Titans stood in the entrance to the lab, their faces angry. Immediately, he noticed that the green boy was indeed absent, just as his new boss had assured him. The next thing he noticed was that the freak had been replaced by a hot girl in a tight outfit which- to his mind- was a pretty good trade. The gray chick stepped forward, her eyes glowing blood red "Oh, and calling my boyfriend a freak? NOT the smartest move."
Inside his armor, Adonis smirked with the arrogance of the woefully uninformed. 'Ooo, so the goth thinks her glowy eyes can scare me?'
Raven was looking forward to this. Not only had Adonis humiliated her team in the past, not only had he rendered her unconscious for several days, but he had also been responsible for the creation of the Beast. She knew well how her boyfriend suffered from the monster's presence in his psyche- and here was the jerk responsible. She smiled a cold smile, eagerly anticipating vengeance…when a large hand landed gently on her shoulder. She looked up to see Cyborg with a pleading look on his face.
"Raven, I need to ask a favor from you. I can't explain right now, but I want first crack at this jerk. I need it more than you do. Please?"
Raven considered for a moment. On the one hand, she had a hard time imagining how anyone could need to beat Adonis worse than she did. He'd hurt her, hurt her team, and hurt her love. But she knew that Cyborg already knew all that. If he felt he had a greater claim to vengeance than she did, then she would just have to trust him. She stepped back and bowed from the waist, right arm extended. "All yours"
Cyborg chuckled nastily and advanced on the armored oaf, smacking his left fist into his right palm. "Oh, yeah. This is gonna be sweet"
A/N
Sorry about the delays. I'm starting my Masters Program and time is a little scarce right now.
Next up: Cyborg whups some canned ass. Is it just me or does the Tinman not get enough combat time in most stories?
