Chapter 1: Gone In A Flash
It was another day in Titans' Tower. Everyone was off doing their own thing, whether it was by themselves or with someone else. Starfire and Robin were training together in the workout room, Raven was in her room, either reading or meditating, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were busy raging and playing video games. It was another typical day of what the Titans do when they're waiting for a call to action. Other than a few petty crimes and robberies, nothing major has happened in the city, which was both good and bad. There were no lives in immediate danger but the Titans couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed by how easy it was to beat the criminals. At times like this, they almost wish something big to happen so that they could do something.
Beast Boy was probably feeling the most of this since he was practically getting his ass handed to him throughout this whole game with Cyborg. He was honestly ready to give up, but there was nothing else for him to do. He's had enough of Cyborg obviously, he didn't want to bother Robin and Starfire without getting another earful from them and Raven... well, it was Raven, what else would he expect from her?
At last, Beast Boy was beaten for the last time by Cyborg. He had practically melted into the couch with his constant slouching and sulking. He closed his eyes in annoyance from another roast from Cyborg. He felt like turning into a bug, just so he could disappear completely. Once Cyborg finished gloating, he sat up from couch and put the controller down.
"I'm done Cy." He said. "I'm leaving."
"Aw, what, you don't want to have another beat down by yours truly?" Cyborg replied. Beast Boy then stood up.
"As a matter of fact, no. I'm tired of you filling my ears with your crap talk." He said. Beast Boy then walked toward the door to the hallway while Cyborg was saying something else but he ignored him completely. He walked down the hall, originally making his way toward his room until he froze when he passed Raven's door. For some reason, Beast Boy felt like spending some time with Raven. He hardly ever did for obvious reasons but there was nothing else for him to do. Plus he's had enough of Cyborg's loudness that he honestly wouldn't mind Raven's quiet demeanor right now. He walked back to her door, took in a deep breath, and knocked. The door opened slightly, only revealing the left side of Raven's face.
"What?" She asked in her usual, cold, apathetic tone. Beast Boy rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"Um, hey Raven," He said. "Look, I don't mean to bother you but... do you mind if I just chill in your room for a while? I'm fed up with Cyborg and I've got nothing else to do." Beast Boy saw Raven's eyebrow raise ever so slightly but her face didn't change.
"You're not going to be able to do anything in here either. What's the difference?" She asked. Beast Boy didn't feel like pressing. If Raven didn't want to be bothered, he understood and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her. He quickly shook his head in response.
"Y'know what, you're right. I'll leave you alone now. Sorry for bothering you." He said. He quickly started walking away until he heard her whole door open behind him. He turned to see her standing outside.
"It was just question. I never said no." She said. Beast Boy was surprised by this. Raven never let anyone in her room, other than Starfire for occasional meditation sessions. Before he could respond, Robin and Starfire suddenly ran past him, with Robin turning back to the both of them.
"We've got trouble. Hurry!" He said, turning around to continue running. Beast Boy quickly looked over at Raven, who put on her coat hood and gave head nudge towards Robin's direction. Beast Boy nodded as they both ran to catch up. When they got to the living room, they were briefed by Robin about a villain causing trouble on the main corner of a busy street of Metropolis. Once everyone understood, they all made their way out of Titans' Tower, ready to fight.
One seemingly "good" thing about this villain was she wasn't the average criminal the Titans have been dealing with the past few days. Finally they could have a challenge. The villain was new and was going by the name Void. She had on a blue leotard with white gloves and boots. She had long, silver hair tied into a side braid and a simple blue eye mask. Her name seemed well-fitted as whatever her powers were, it was leaving people unconscious with whited-out, empty eyes. None of them seemed to be harmed, just in weird, trance-like states that they couldn't get out of. When they caught up to Void, she had another person in hand, doing something weird, touching their foreheads and staring directly at them. Robin threw a boomerang at her, which she quickly saw and jumped away from, landing on a nearby lamppost. Void stood up on the lamppost with one leg, gracefully balanced.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Teen Titans!" She said in happy tone. She cupped her hands together excitedly. "I feel so honored to meet you guys. I'm a huge fan!"
"You are a fan of us? Then why do you do these things?" Starfire asks her. Void looks over at the scattered people she left in the street.
"Oh, this?" She asks. "Oh, don't worry yourselves, they're all fine. I mean no harm, honestly."
"Then what is it you're doing? Tell us now!" Robin said, readying some explosives. All Titans readied themselves for an attack. Void giggled as she sat down on the lamppost.
"Well, I'm sorry to say this, but all these civilians have something I crave, something I just have to get my hands on," She said. She gave them a small smile, which seemed mischievous. "Painful memories." The Titans all grew surprised by this, save for Raven, of course.
"What do you mean? What's with the painful memories?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, I'll put it in simple words," Void replied. She jumped down to the ground. The Titans kept their guards up. "I'm a scientist, my sweets, and I specialize in the human psyche. I'm interested in learning everything about the human brain. Right now, I'm running an experiment and I need painful memories for it."
"So what did you do to them?" Raven asked. Void again looked over at the people while also walking slowly towards the Titans.
"Well, I had to put them in a state where they could completely surrender themselves so I could extract those memories." She replied. "Don't worry, they'll be fine, just a few memories short."
"You think that it is fine? To be able to render these poor people like this and take away their memories?" Starfire asked. Void shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, they're painful. Wouldn't you want those memories gone, my sweets?" She asked. Something clicked in Beast Boy when she said that. He knew what she was talking about. A sudden memory he thought he buried a long time ago emerged, making him drop his guard slightly. For a second, he lost focus before hearing Void giggle again. He looked at her, seeing her looking directly at him.
"I see." She said. She shrugged her shoulders again. "Well, I'm out of time, my sweets." She pulled something out from her pocket. "I'll be see you again very soon though." She gave one more giggle before throwing the thing she pulled out to the ground, covering the area in smoke. The Titans coughed as the smoke covered their sight and lungs, making it hard breath.
"Titans, move!" Robin screamed in between coughs. Each Titan made their own way out of the smoke, with Starfire and Raven both flying out of it while Cyborg and Robin ran out. Beast Boy on the other hand, couldn't concentrate. His lungs filled with the smoke while his eyes were blinded by it. He tried to run but ended up tripping on something. He tried to turn into a bird so he could fly out but he couldn't focus on morphing as coughed.
"Beast Boy!" He heard someone yell. He suddenly felt something lift him up. It felt like magic and he then knew who it was. Soon enough, he found himself breathing fresh air again. He opened his eyes to see himself getting carried by Raven's black magic before it dropped him on the ground with a thud. He groaned as he rubbed the side he landed on.
"A softer landing would've been nice." He said.
"Next time, get yourself out." She replied. Beast Boy glared at her.
"Not now." Robin stepped in. "We need to get all these people off the street and somewhere safe until they regain consciousness." The Titans nodded in response and went to work, carrying the people to a nearby hospital. While they worked, Beast Boy couldn't help but glance over at the place where Void was standing every now and then. Every time he did, he'd remember what she said, about taking away painful memories. Could she really do that? Would it even be that bad? Is she even a real villain? Beast Boy shook his head at that. No matter what she was doing, it wasn't morally right and he shouldn't confuse that. He sighed as he made his way to another civilian. He took one last glance at the spot before turning into pterodactyl and flying the person to the hospital.
Once they gathered everyone, they checked with one of the doctors, who told them that none of the civilians were harmed, just unconscious and it was nothing serious. With that, the Titans returned to Titans' Tower, all with Void in mind. Each of them were making their own deductions and assumptions about her as they made their way there. When they got back, Cyborg started to make dinner while the Titans gathered at the table.
"This Void person," Starfire said, starting the conversation. "She is different from other villains we have fought in the past."
"Yeah, no kidding." Cyborg said as he was cooking. "She didn't really do anything bad or harmful to anyone and she wasn't much of a fighter."
"But she's somehow taking memories from the people. Whether she's harming anyone or not, she needs to be stopped." Robin said. Beast Boy looked away when he said that. He felt conflicted with this. It was true, Void was taking away people's memories for her own gain but these are painful memories. Maybe these are memories people don't even want to remember and might even better without. He just didn't know what to do or feel about this situation.
"Are we... sure about that?" He asked hesitantly. He saw everyone look at him with a weird look. "I mean, she's not really hurting anybody. All she's doing is taking away people's painful memories. Is that really a bad thing?"
"What are you saying, B?" Cyborg asked. "She's making people go into these weird, creepy trances and taking something of theirs, whether they like or not. That's like stealing."
"Yes, and even if she's not hurting them physically, she might be hurting them in another way." Starfire added.
"But guys, what if this for the better? People can live without these memories." Beast Boy argued.
"Are you serious, Beast Boy?" Robin said. "Are you really siding with a villain right now?"
"I'm not siding with her! I'm just saying that what she's doing may not be all that bad." Beast Boy replied.
"You're wrong." Raven, who has been quiet throughout the whole conversation, finally spoke up. "The memories she takes might be painful and they may be better to forget, but it's still not a good thing. Those memories shape us for who we are now. Forgetting them completely will actually do more harm than good."
"Couldn't have said better myself." Cyborg commented. "Seriously B, get your head straight. What this girl is doing is still bad, no matter how it looks." Beast Boy felt himself clench his fist in frustration. He stood up from the table and quickly walked away.
"I'm not hungry." He said. "And don't bother me! I'm not in a mood." He walked toward the hallway, making his way to the workout room. When the door opened, he stood there in anger. He didn't walk in for a full minute, still mad at how insensitive the others were being. How could they know what he's talking about? Have any of them ever felt a loss as big as he did? Have they been through the amount of pain he went through? He felt himself scream as he ran toward the punching bag and started punching. His frustration turned into anger and adrenaline as he punched the bag with all of his might. As he started tiring himself out, he kept trying to punch the bag, feeling himself weary and suddenly feeling sad. As he kept punching, bits of memories flashed through his mind. A hospital bed. A beautiful woman. A cliff. A waterfall. A car at the bottom of it. He let out another scream as he gave the bag one more punch, sending it flying to the side. He panted heavily as stood there, tired and emotional. He felt tears building up in his eyes and he felt his legs give away as he collapsed on the floor.
"Why?" He mumbled to himself. He tried to fight off the tears, even though they were already falling. "Why did this happen? Why did..." He trailed off as his words turned into uncontrollable sobs. He covered his mouth, trying to stifle them but he couldn't. He hugged his head as crouched into a fetal position on the floor. He heard the door open but he didn't want to see who it was. He continued to hug himself, almost hoping again he could disappear from their sight. He heard them walk towards him slowly. He heard movement behind and then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately rolled away and turned to see who it was. It was Raven, who still had an apathetic look on her face, but not completely. There was a slight hint of concern in her eyes as she looked at Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy, it's just me." She said. Beast Boy wiped his face and looked away from her.
"I said I wanted to be alone." He replied. He heard Raven sigh.
"Look, if you don't want to talk about it, fine." She said. "But just know that we're here for you when you want to. Whatever's going on with you, you need to tell us when you can because if we end up facing Void again, we need to know you can be on the same page as we are, ok?" Beast Boy let out a sigh as he finally looked over at her. Her face was now sincere, showing him that she meant what she said. Beast Boy gulped as he slowly nodded his head.
"Ok." He replied. Raven nodded and stood up.
"Don't worry, you won't be bothered, I'll make sure of it." She said. She turned to leave but stopped to face him again. "If you want to talk to only one person, you can talk to me. I won't judge." She then left after that. Beast Boy sighed again as laid back on the floor. He knew he had to tell the team eventually but just thinking about it made him feel weak like before. He knew he couldn't do it right now, at least not to the whole team. Maybe Raven, but not yet. He had to be ready for this and right now was not the time.
The night was long as Beast Boy couldn't sleep. All the events that occured that day just ran through his head and his emotions were at an all-time high. He tossed and turned and did whatever to try to help but nothing worked. He sat up from his bed in frustration, giving up. He decided to get a snack since he didn't eat dinner and was hungry. He quietly made his way to the kitchen, careful not to wake up any of the other Titans. When he was there, he saw someone's silhouette on the living room window. He froze, wondering if they had seen him. They made no movements, which didn't help. He quickly turned into a rat and scurried toward the couch. He paused as he waited for any sound of movement, which there weren't.
"You can morph back." He heard a familiar voice say. "I've been waiting for you." It wasn't any of the Titans' voices. It was a voice he didn't expect to be hearing. His loss of concentration caused him to morph back to human form as he peered over the couch.
"Void?" He said. He couldn't make out her face because of the lighting, but he saw her make a motion with her finger.
"Not too loud, sweetie." She said. "We don't want to wake the others." Beast Boy quickly stood up.
"Why not? You broke in and you're a villain. Why should'nt I wake them up?" He said.
"Reason one," She said. "I didn't break in, I'm not even here." Beast Boy looked confused. "I hacked into your computers and created a hologram to speak with you. It was hassle, by the way. Your security system is a bitch. Reason two, I'm not going to do anything bad, I just want to talk." Beast Boy softened his stance as he couldn't do anything.
"What do you want?" He asked. Void pointed at the couch.
"Sit." She said. "I might be a while." Beast Boy slowly and hesitantly sat down on the couch. He was finally starting to see her better but she was still hazy because she was a hologram. He noticed she was wearing what appeared to be blue scrubs and a lab coat. Her face was hidden but he saw that her hair was brown instead of silver. It's like she was a whole other person.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Listen Beast Boy," She said. "Despite what all of you saw a few hours ago, I'm not a bad person. Sure, what I'm doing isn't morally right but I mean no harm. I'm just a curious soul who just wishes to understand the human brain as much as I can."
"Even if means stealing people's memories for it?" Beast Boy asked.
"'Stealing' is such an awful word for it." She said. "I prefer the word 'borrowing.'"
"Are you planning on giving them back?"
"I'm not sure. If my experiment goes wrong, those memories will be lost forever. That's why I need so many so that when an error happens, I can just try again." Beast Boy was getting fed up by her at this point.
"Is this all you came here for? To negotiate or something?" He asked. He saw her shake her head.
"No, not at all." She replied. "I came here to talk to you about your memories." Beast Boy gasped silently. "I noticed your change in stance when we met back there and I knew that you must've been through something very traumatic." Beast Boy looked down as the memory came to mind again. "It seems like I was right." Void walked over to Beast Boy and leaned closer to him. "I would like to make you an offer." Beast Boy looked up at her.
"What?" He asked.
"I will be by in a few days, just to meet with you." She said. "If you are willing to share that painful memory with me, I swear on my life, I will leave Metropolis and you will never hear of me again." Beast Boy sat up with interest.
"How do I know you mean what you say?" He asked.
"Please, Beast Boy." She replied. "I've said so before, I mean no harm." She took a few steps back. "Just think about it. I'll be back." She made a wave of her hand and just like that, she was gone. Beast Boy let out the gasp he was holding in as he remained seated, soaking in everything that had just happened. As much as he thought, he just couldn't believe what had just occured. Never in all the years that he's been a Teen Titan has he ever faced a villain like Void. No matter what she was doing, she genuinely seemed to not want to cause violence or problems. Even though her actions were clearly immoral, there was just something about her that just didn't paint her as a villain.
He suddenly heard the door open, making him lose his train of thought and immediately reacted by turning into a bug, trying not to get caught. He flew up high so that they wouldn't hear him buzz away as he tried to see who it was. Because of the darkness, all he could see were two silhouettes walking towards the fridge. Beast Boy made his way somewhere close but hidden as he turned himself into a small cat to see them. His night vision quickly helped him see it was Starfire and Robin. Beast Boy felt himself roll his eyes. Who else in the Teen Titans would come in together?
"Robin, I'm worried about Beast Boy." He heard Starfire say, making his ears perk up with interest.
"I know Star, I am too, but whatever it is he's thinking, he needs to know that no matter what Void is doing, she's a villain." Robin replied as he reached into the fridge.
"Yes, I know," Starfire said. Beast Boy glared at their insensitivity. "But even I must admit, Void isn't like other villains we have fought before."
"How do you mean?" Robin asked.
"Well, she didn't try to threaten or fight us, she caused no harm to the civilians, she even admitted her motives as to why she's doing this."
"Yeah, it's all just a simple experiment to her." Robin took out a tray of some sort and closed the fridge. They both then sat down at the table and began to eat whatever was in the tray. Robin also took out a device that provided a small light for them. Beast Boy turned back into a fly as he tried to stay hidden.
"Even so, I was just thinking, perhaps there is a way for us to come to an agreement." Starfire stated.
"Like what? That she could only have a certain amount of bad memories?" Robin retorted.
"No, not like that." Starfire replied. "I'm still not entirely sure. It's just a thought, but she seems to be a diplomatic woman. Maybe we can come to a consensus if we could talk to her." Robin looked deep in thought for a minute. Beast Boy was honestly surprised at what Starfire was suggesting. He kind of hoped Robin would say yes but he knew him better. To Robin, the world is just black and white, no grey. There is right and wrong and whoever does anything wrong, no matter for what reason, is wrong regardless.
"Maybe." He heard him say. Beast Boy was again surprised by this. "But if we do, I'd say we should talk to the real Void, whoever she may be."
"Could that even be possible?" Starfire asked.
"We'll never know unless we try." Robin took a bite of the food. "Plus, if this works, maybe it could also help Beast Boy with whatever he's going through." Starfire sighed.
"I do wish he would just tell us what is wrong. I don't like to see him like that." She said.
"Just give him some time, Star." Robin replied. "He got through with what happened with Terra. I know he'll be able to get himself through this." The mention of Terra's name sent another painful memory into Beast Boy's head. It's been a while since they've mentioned her and he hasn't thought of her much either. He almost couldn't believe he didn't think about her sooner. His loss of concentration suddenly made him realize he was starting to morph back.
Crap! He thought to himself. He quickly darted behind the kitchen counter, doing his best to not morph back yet to not make any noise. He felt himself become human again as he held his breath in slight fear. He wondered if they had seen or heard him, almost expecting either of them to come over and discover him. He heard nothing though. Instead, he heard Starfire let out a groan.
"I'm tired now." She said. "Let us go back."
"Good idea. We never know what could happen in the morning." Robin replied. He heard footsteps coming towards him and he quickly turned into a fly and flew away. He watched their silhouettes as they put the tray back into fridge and made their way out the door. Beast Boy flew over to the ground and morphed back into a human, letting out a sigh of relief.
"That was close." He whispered. He stood up and started to slowly walk towards door. "I should head back and try to get some sleep. It's the least I can do right now." He walked to his room shortly afterwards. Even though he still had trouble, he was eventually able to fall asleep, thinking about what Void said and what she was planning.
*hey guys! hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter of this fic. I know the way these guys act and talk may be different from the animation, but one, I haven't seen it in forever and two, I was kinda wanting to make them a little more mature (hence the slight cursing). also, I might as well say a warning for some touchy subjects this might talk about. it won't go too heavy (hopefully, still not sure), but just in case. thx for reading this first chapter and stick around for the next coming up. see u soon! =D*