A/N: The Teen Titans have yet to become my possession.
Reviews! Yummy!
Ginngersnapps: Whew, what a relief. No I can feel better the next time I accidentally end on a cliffhanger. Once again, I appreciate your words of praise. And you're welcome.
Cheers,
Annonm.
Nivado111: Like I said, that'll probably end up being an exaggeration, but I do have a good idea as to where this will go closer to the end. Just getting there will take a while though.
Annnnd the pressure is back on. Thank you SO MUCH. Just kidding, and I will take as much time as I feel necessary to finish each chapter and do a bare minimum grammar check.
Eris: Thank you for your input. I did want to have a more human and less hero scene in this chapter. I have a few possibilities debating what his punishment will be.
He might make a trip to Africa, and possibly solo missions.
SpiderGwen2004: Well, I think you could have been a little more productive that day, but to each their own. Luckily, this chapter is mostly BBRae, and I try to make their relationship believable, but I've never been in a relationship myself, so I'm mostly shooting in the dark. And I think I might like BBRae just a little too much for my own good as well. You are welcome, and I hope you have a good day as well.
Whelp, the show, ah...story, must go on.
Chapter 31:
The speed was exhilarating. The only other times he had reached anywhere near this speed on his own was when he used that mite trick. But this was different. There was something about flying that had always appealed to the green teen. Maybe it was the incredible freedom that came with being able to escape almost any situation. Maybe it was the danger that came with the risk of failing to keep flying. Maybe it was something completely different. Whatever the reason, Beast Boy savored every moment.
He changed his direction to soar even higher and broke through the cloud layers. The Tamaranean physiology had a high resistance to the effects of his altitude, but he didn't plan on sticking around long enough to take advantage of the fact. Without a moments hesitation, the green teen cut off his flight and let himself fall back to Earth. With swiftness that suggested practice, Beast Boy angled himself in a face down position and did a few barrel rolls, a loud "Woo hoo!" echoing through the darkness of night. He continued to gain velocity with no sign of stopping himself.
Faster and faster the ocean surface got closer. With just a few hundred feet left the falling teen used his ability of flight to pull up and turn back upwards with enough g-force to black out even the most experienced pilots. Now hovering more than a hundred feet above the surface, the changeling looked around and relocated the tower. Finding the direction of his home, he flew back and gracefully landed back on the roof. The sun had yet to rise, so he at least knew it was before six in the morning.
When he got inside, there was a lack of surprise from seeing nothing changed. Of course, it was still before two in the morning. But then again, he had spent a whole hour flying. With nothing better to do, Beast Boy walked to the elevator and pressed the button to descend to the workout and arena rooms. All that was missing was the typical elevator music. Several seconds later, a quiet ding alerted his arrival accompanied by the doors opening. He still had his night vision, so he didn't bother to turn on any lights when he walked into the workout room.
The last time he had come down here on his own accord was when he was changing during the Beast incident. There were even dents and signs of damage on the walls from when he literally tossed the exercise machines around. "What to do, what to do." he spoke to the darkness only he saw through. A good run would be a good warm-up. The treadmills were specially designed to allow for faster speeds and more weight than your average treadmill could manage.
With a small hop he stepped onto the nearest running machine and browsed the settings. There were the usual settings, but there were more intense settings like high speed sprints and changing angles and speeds. Deciding to pass on the harder options, Beast Boy set the speed to a brisk jog and went with the flow. As minutes passed, the timing between his footfalls got shorter and shorter until he was "jogging" at a full twenty seven miles per hour with no sign of tiring or slowing down. After a full half hour had passed, the running teen pressed the shut off button on the treadmill and came to a rest.
For the next hour and a half he worked his way through squats, deadlifts, martial arts practice, and was bench pressing well over two hundred pounds when Robin walked in. Beast Boy had heard the footsteps of his leader, so he let his eyes revert to normal vision before Robin turned on the lights. Beast Boy could have sworn the Boy Wonder had seen a ghost from the look on his face. "Beast Boy?" the masked teen asked with doubt.
"That's my name. Don't wear it out." the changeling replied as he pushed up the bar to finish the set and sat up.
"How long have you been down here?" Robin questioned as he started working on the uneven parallel bars. He pulled himself up and did several exercises, demonstrating flexibility beyond a normal human.
"Somewhere around two hours." the green teen offered while grabbing a cup and filling it with water from a dispenser. The green teen watched Robin's performances on the various gymnastic equipment for several minutes before returning to his own workout. Soon enough, both found themselves assaulting punching bags.
"So how long have you been up?" Robin asked between blows. A few thuds came from beside him before the teen in question responded. "Since midnight. Jet lag is a real pain.".
Both of the heroes resumed throwing punches and kicks at their bags, but Robin couldn't help but notice something in his teammate's style was off. He looked a bit rusty, but there was something else in the way he acted and reacted. It was almost as if he had made his own changes to well known forms like karate and Tae Kwon Do. While he couldn't exactly describe the alterations, they seemed to work for the green teen.
The masked teen took another break and watched the changeling for another few minutes before he too was finished. "What was that style?" the Boy Wonder nonchalantly asked. Beast Boy grabbed a towel from a shelf nearby and wrapped it around his neck. "It's sort of a personalized form. It's supposed to take advantage of my instincts and animalistic qualities." the green teen explained.
Robin looked at a clock and realized what time it was. "I'm going to go get breakfast. Have you eaten?". A loud stomach rumble was all the answer he needed. The two entered the kitchen where they ran into Raven.
"Morning Rae." the green teen offered. "Thanks for the tea." the empath replied. Beast Boy just flashed her one of those one sided smiles before preparing his breakfast. Luckily for him, no one noticed him slip half a slice of Cyborg's ham into his vegan mix. Soon Robin and Beast Boy were chowing down on their meals. Both were half finished when Cyborg walked in.
"Morning...guys." he said with a pause in the middle. "Let me guess. Time zone issues?" he questioned as he walked to the fridge. "And do I smell cooked ham?" the cybernetic teen asked with a few sniffs. Both of the other teens immediately snapped to attention at the remark.
"Yes and yes. Don't make a big deal. It's something I had to get used to in Africa." Beast Boy responded between swallows.
"Yeah, I'm going to make a big deal. WHAT THE HELL?" the metal man screamed. Beast Boy, Robin, and even Raven, who was across the room, had to cover their ears from the sheer volume.
"If it helps, I don't necessarily like eating meat. But I think it had some effects on my physical structure back in Africa, so I'm just conducting a little experiment for a few days." the green teen explained. "Besides, you always did try to get me to eat meat." the changeling added.
"Jeez, what happened in here?" a female asked from the entrance. The four Titans looked over to see Jinx and Starfire walking in, both obviously awoken by Cyborg's exclamation.
"BB's eating meat!" Cyborg replied a bit calmer than before, but still surprised nonetheless.
"Friend Beast Boy, are you the okay?" Starfire worriedly asked after flying right in front of the teen in question.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just told the others eating meat was something I had to get used to back in Africa." Beast Boy explained for the second time within five minutes. As if to prove a point he scooped a forkful of his vegan meal with bits of the ham and ate it.
"Was he one of those hardcore vegans or something?" the sorceress asked while browsing the fridge. She pulled out some yogurt and a few eggs that were cracked into a pan.
"You better believe he was." Robin answered. Too many memories of the old "Meat vs. Tofu" arguments started replaying in his mind.
"Friends, may we go to the mall today? It has been a most long time since our last visit." the alien girl asked from the cupboards.
"I wouldn't mind a trip. I could use a few changes of clothes. And maybe some other things as well." Jinx added. "I'm down if nothing big happens today." Robin offered. "Count me in." the cybernetic teen responded. Luckily for the team he had been able to retrieve the T-car shortly after the fight and re-encrypt the systems.
"I'll pass today." Raven said from the couch. She had started a good book and would prefer to keep reading it. Beast Boy finished the last of his breakfast and gave his response. "I don't think I should be seen in public just yet, so I'll stay behind.".
"Okay then. We can go once we're all finished breakfast and ready." the leader stated. Starfire seemed to be in a rush to finish her meal, and even Jinx looked a bit eager as well.
Little over an hour later three of the Titans headed down to the garage while Cyborg finished putting the dishes away. Beast Boy was on the couch playing his video games and Raven was seated with a book next to him.
"I'm trusting you kids not to get too wild while the grown ups are gone." Cyborg teased. A red tick mark formed on Raven's forehead but Beast Boy took the jab in stride.
"Ah man, and I just sent out party invites to all of our fans." he sarcastically complained. Raven snorted without looking up from the book.
"Funny. Just hold the fort." Cyborg requested before joining the waiting Titans.
Half an hour of gaming and reading went by. The green teen had been playing against bots for most of the time, and he was quickly getting tired of the easy wins. He shut off the Gamestation and looked over at his teammate, who was still deeply invested in the book.
"Rae, I'm bored." he moaned. "I'm sure you can find something to do." she replied while turning a page. Her eyes continued to skim the pages even as the changeling inched himself closer.
"Are you sure you want me to?" he asked. The empath looked from her book and saw a sly smile on his face. It was either a really good sign or a really bad sign.
"What are you planning?" the half demon demanded. Without a word, the green teen quickly snaked his hands between her body and arms and pulled her so she was leaning back into his chest. Okay, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Watcha reading?" he asked as he peered over her shoulder. His arms wrapped around her ribs and securely held her in place. Not that she was planning on leaving any time soon.
"It's called Carrie. It's a book by Stephen King about this girl who develops telepathic powers." the goth girl explained as she looked away in an attempt to hide a blush.
"Cool! I loved Dreamcatcher and The Shining. I haven't read It yet, but I will soon." the green teen replied as he skimmed the paged Raven was on.
"How long have you been reading Stephen King?" Raven asked in awe. She had seen a few books in his room, but none had jumped out as the mentioned author's works.
"I'm not a dedicated reader, but I have a digital books app on my phone and every now and then he will appear in my recommended." Beast Boy answered. He then leaned his head back and closed his eyes, allowing Raven to continue reading.
Ten minutes had gone by before the snuggling green teen got playful. The empath saw one of his hands reach up and gently tap her nose. "Boop." he said with a cheerful tone. Raven just caressed his hand for a few seconds before leading it back down and refocusing on her book. Fifteen seconds later his hand rose again and tapped her nose, another "Boop." coming from the changeling.
"Beast Boy." the half demon said in request for him to stop. It wasn't that she was annoyed by the attention; in fact, a few certain emotions in Nevermore were loving it. But she wanted to read in peace. His warmth was relaxing and he made the perfect pillow to lean into with a good book. But alas, he had different plans.
His hand reached up for a third time, prompting Raven to grab him by the wrist. "You'll have to do better than that." she claimed with a partly teasing and partly challenging tone. Another devious smile spread onto his face and an equally playful look glinted in his eyes.
"Is that a challenge?" he rhetorically asked. The empath wasn't given time to answer as the green teen used one arm to hook under Raven's underarms before lifting them straight above her head and locking his forearm around her upper arms. She dropped her book and tried to squirm out of her predicament, but to no avail. His free hand gently tapped Raven's nose again, and a victorious "Boop." followed. Despite his victory, he didn't seem to plan on releasing Raven's arms from the in-line stabilization position.
"Fine, you win. You can let me go now." Raven groaned as she continued wriggling in an attempt to free herself.
"Nah." Beast Boy replied with a dismissive attitude. He lowered his available hand and gently pinched her side, causing her to jump away from his fingers with a quick yelp. He chuckled as she jumped away from a few more pinches before letting her go.
"You're a jerk." she said with a glare. It wasn't a hateful or despising voice she used, but more of a slightly annoyed tone. Despite it all, she was quick to lean back into him once she grabbed her book and found the page she had been cut off at.
"I could be your jerk." he joking replied. "That you could." the empath agreed, taking even herself by surprise with her response.
There were a few too many seconds of uncomfortable silence as both tried to figure how to continue from that point. "Do you want me to?" the changeling nervously asked.
Raven bit her lip and thought for a few seconds. She had only barely expected Beast Boy to give that kind of response, and her guard was already down as it was.
"It...It would be nice." the empath admitted. As if waiting for her reply, Beast Boy slightly tightened his grip around his now girlfriend and leaned a little farther back. With the new angle he was able playfully to rub the bottom of his chin on the top of her head while she read.
"I take it you would rather wait to let the others and the public know?" the green teen smartly deduced. Even with the progress the half demon had made when it came to being more open and showing emotion, he knew she had a desire for privacy, especially when it came to things like this.
"Yes. I hope you don't mind." Raven offered. Much like Beast Boy, she had come to know the green teen rather well recently. And one thing she was almost certain about was his appreciation for approval and praise from the citizens they protected on a daily basis.
"I don't mind. Just gives me more time to plan on retaliation from Cyborg's inevitable teasing." her boyfriend replied.
"Well, you can always mess with his 'baby' again." Raven offered. But then again, he probably already had half a dozen plans with the T-car alone.
"I might. Or I could just hide all of his meat." the green teen though out loud. Raven could almost hear the gears in his head churning as he came up with possible pranks and retribution for the jokes the metal teammate would most likely make. But she could live with his antics for now.
After all, she was comfortable and the story was starting to get interesting.
A/N: How's THAT for a development? I apologize for the wait, but I did not have as much free time these last two weeks, and whatever free time I had mostly went to watching YouTube. I hope this chapter was enough to make up for it though. Leave a review and have an awesome day!
