A/N: Holidays are still kicking me around, but I did get some spare time to write this short mini-chapter. Once the holidays are over I should be able to resume a relatively normal schedule.
Many thanks for the people who review and those that keep reviewing.
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Beneath the pitch-black sky was a jungle, green and lush. Rivers coursed through this jungle like veins and the soil was rich to allow room for such a concentration of vegetation to grow. However there was something off about this particular jungle, maybe it was the fact that there was no wildlife at all dwelling within.
Or maybe it was the fact that two green beings were wrecking havoc on it as they waged war on each other. One was a giant lycanthrope easily towering over what would be considered tall for a human being. The other was a small man, barely over five feet with green skin from head to toe. The two opponents were littered with cuts and bruises, but they battled on, savagely landing fierce blows upon one another.
One such blow knocked the smaller man, a superhero known as Beastboy to most and Garfield to his closest friends, spine-first into the trunk of a tree. The green changeling grit his teeth in pain, saw the emerald-furred Lycanthrope known as the Beast charging at him, and quickly twisted around one hundred eighty degrees to face the trunk he just crashed into. Jumping into the air, Beastboy planted his feet on the trunk and kicked off of it, catapulting himself through the air and over the head of the Beast. The werewolf sliced cleanly through the tree trunk with its claws half a second later.
Beastboy landed and morphed into a triceratops, slamming right into his opponent's torso as it twisted around to face him once more. The Beast was knocked a good distance away, landing in some foliage that concealed it from the changeling's eyes. Beastboy resumed his normal form, cautiously waiting for the lycanthrope to reemerge again, while he could morph fast, he didn't trust being able to dodge the counterattack quickly enough morphing from a large form to a smaller, more agile one. At least in normal form he had the versatility to morph into either a larger or smaller form relatively quickly.
The Beast did reemerge, leaping out of the foliage like a bat out of hell. Beastboy's eyes widened in surprise, his opponent was moving faster than he had anticipated. Swiftly the changeling leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the Beast's claws as the werewolf dove for him, digging its hands into the dirt instead of his skull. Beastboy morphed into a pterodactyl, wanting to get some distance from the lycanthrope, but the Beast dug its hands deeper into the ground and used them to catapult itself towards the changeling. Tucking itself into a ball, the werewolf rammed right into the green pterodactyl causing it to tumble into the ground.
Beastboy continued to bounce and roll across the ground in pterodactyl form, pain shooting through him each time he impacted the earth. He morphed into an armadillo and rolled into a ball, killing his backwards momentum. The changeling then morphed into a tiger and dove at the Beast, who was charging in for another attack. It was the lycanthrope's turn to be surprised this time and Beastboy lashed out with his right forepaw, drawing three angry lines across the Beast's right pectoral as he dove by. The werewolf grunted in pain and turned to face the emerald-skinned tiger, but Beastboy was already diving again, this time striking out with his left forepaw and drawing blood from the Beast's left hip.
The lycanthrope fell to his knees, presenting its right flank to Beastboy in an attempt to protect its more vital areas from his onslaught. Feeling heartened, the emerald Titan tried a third dive, this time opening his feline jaw wide and seeking the Beast's throat so he could wrestle it to the ground and maybe end this neverending battle. Unfortunately, he was caught in mid-air when the Beast grabbed him by his neck with its right hand, raised him over its head and then slammed him down hard onto his back. Beastboy's brain received the message of pain loud and clear and another message was sent soon after when the Beast rammed its left fist into his ribs, causing the ground to crack beneath him and a roar of pain to escape from his mouth.
In desperation, Beastboy morphed from a tiger to a cobra and spit venom right into the lycanthrope's eyes. The beast howled in agony, releasing the changeling from its grip as it rubbed its eyes frantically in a vain attempt to get the poison out. Beastboy quickly slithered away to a safe distance before resuming his normal form. He was bent forward, on his knees and bracing himself with his left hand, his right was holding his abdomen. The changeling could taste the coppery liquid of his own blood as it trickled down his lips.
The two combatants stayed like that, each nursing their own wounds. Neither was sure how long they had actually been fighting, but both could tell something was off about them in this jungle. It was a product of Beastboy's subconscious, a battlefield generated just for them. When they had first arrived here they had tried to settle their differences through discussion, but it quickly grew out of hand. The result was a long struggle that seemed like it was going to be longer still when they both recovered enough to fight again. Beastboy let a sigh escape from him.
"It doesn't have to be like this." The changeling stated, the Beast turned its head towards the sound of his voice. Its eyes still clenched shut because of the venom.
"It does, you deny me what's rightfully mine!" The lycanthrope replied.
Beastboy frowned, "It's not rightfully yours if you're stealing it from me!"
"It is only fitting with the way you've treated me." The Beast hissed, Beastboy's frown turned into a scowl.
"This is my mind! My body! I was here first dude!" The changeling yelled, jabbing his right thumb into his chest for emphasis.
The Beast opened its left eye to glare at him. "Tell me, what have you done with your freedom?"
Beastboy's face betrayed his shock. "What?"
"You've had freedom all this time and what have you done with it?" The lycanthrope's hands clenched into fists. "You've wasted it on weak fools who don't deserve to be protected. You squander it putting your enemies away in useless prisons which they break free of time and time again." A primal growl rumbled deep in the Beast's throat. "Worst of all…you constantly hold yourself back, turning yourself into some sort of disgraceful clown!"
The changeling broke the glaring contest with the werewolf, a shadow seemed to creep over his eyes as he stared into the ground. "So just because people are weak they don't deserve protection?" A deep frown etched itself on Beastboy's face and the air around them seemed to grow colder. "How callous of you, I'm ashamed we even share the same body. Little children are weak, should I not defend them as well?" The Beast remained silent and so the emerald-skinned Titan continued. "What do you suggest we do with the criminals we catch? kill them? Not all criminals are like Slade or the Brotherhood, should we kill a man who is down on his luck and resorts to stealing as a misguided way to feed his family?" Again, there was no answer from the lycanthrope. "As for me holding back, I don't like to be serious, that's for Robin to do, not me." A sad expression crossed Beastboy's features, "For more than half of my life I've had to be sad, angry, scared."
The sad expression turned weary and the changeling suddenly looked older beyond his years. "I'm tired of it, I want to laugh, smile, be happy. There's plenty to be mad about in this world, but there's not enough joy." He fixed a steely gaze upon the Beast. "That's why I do what I do." For a long time the werewolf stayed quiet, its expression unreadable as it silently glared at Beastboy. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity it turned its head and spat in disgust.
"A pathetic jokester, that's all you are." The Beast told him. Beastboy's right eye twitched in irritation.
"This is why I kept you in check." The changeling replied, shaking his head. "You're like a wild animal, reacting on nothing, but instinct. It can't work like that out there in the real world."
"That's not for you to judge!" The Beast roared, charging at the changeling. Beastboy took a deep breath and morphed into a sasquatch, the two large beings clashed and the jungle trembled once more from the impact. Their never ending battle continued with no resolution in sight.
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A/N: Next chapter I should have out by January 7, 2014. That'll give me time to get something done after New Year's.