Battle Of The Beasts (Part 1)
Last thing he could remember clearly was chasing the Suicide Squad through the sewer system back in Jump city. Then he was waking up inside Raven's head and if that wasn't weird enough, Beast Boy realised that he just woke up in his own mind. After Raven's visions had subsided, Beast Boy had woken up in his own dream.
His head hurt like hell and he was freezing. How his head hurt while he was in his own mindscape - He didn't want to know. He didn't recognise the cave he woke up in but he remembered the waterfall. Outside the entrance of the cave was the loud gushing waterfall he first saw when he arrived in his mindscape. The cave was tucked away behind it like a door of water.
He reached for his throbbing head, chains clanged and scraped the rock floors of the cave. Beast Boy was chained up by his wrists, ankles and neck. Panic kicked in. Why was he chained up, this was supposed to be his mind. What was happening? Standing to his feet, Beast Boy pulled at each of the chains with little sign of them breaking.
'Gorilla time,' he thought to himself but something was wrong. His powers felt distant, far away yet were a fingertip away, just out of reach. "What's happening to me?" He cried. The cave was dark and damp. He didn't like this. He hated it. He was trapped in his own mind. "Robin! Raven! Anybody?! Please... help me..." He began to whimper, fighting against the shackles.
"I thought I heard you crying for help." Echoed a voice through the cave.
The cave was so dark Beast Boy couldn't get a glimpse of who was walking toward him. "W-who's there?" He asked timidly.
"Who else dummy? We're in your mind. I belong here just as much as you do." Spoke the voice again. The source of the voice stepped right in front of Beast Boy for him to see. Beast Boy was looking at... Himself? Only his skin was grey and he had- Red eyes. "Dude. You're my evil clone Trigon made of me. I thought we beat you guys."
"No. I am you. Geez, didn't Raven tell you anything?"
"No? What was she meant to tell me?"
"That you're a loser for one. But mainly that she gave up on you. That there's no cure for what's happening to you blah blah blah. Melodramatic crud like that."
"No.. That's a lie. She'd never give up on me or any of the Titans."
"Do you see her here? I don't. You've been running wild as the Hybrid for hours now. No one's come to save you."
"No, you're wrong. I just saw her. They are here and they're looking for me."
"Dude, are you serious? You were dreaming. You think whatever you saw was real? Dude, how have you become more pathetic since our first fight?"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"I'm trying to help you! Look. You and I are the same. I'm just the guy that operates behind the scenes. Trigon sucked me out but I've always been here."
"I don't want your help. Let me out of this."
"Sorry, but you're only going to make an idiot out of yourself if I do. You want Raven, don't you? You want her to like you back? To not be seen as the laughing stock of the Teen Titans? I will take care of it."
"... Really?"
"Yeah man. I'm not trying to bring you down. I am you. I want the best for you. Look. I'll make you a pact right now." The Paramore offered, extending a hand to Beast Boy's cuffed one. "If you stay in this cave, promise never to leave here, I'll make your life along with everyone else's better."
Beast Boy's head hung sadly. Maybe it would be for the best if he stopped fighting. Just gave up. Let whatever this version of him was make his decisions for him. He shakily reached for the Paramore's hand. He wanted to shake it but Robin's words chimed in before he accepted the offer. 'Don't give up, Beast Boy.'
How was he supposed to do that? He tried so hard to fight what was happening and more people kept getting hurt. Hurt because of him. He remembered the crowd of people he stood in front of on stage. How they cursed and booed him. He fought for those people for years and now they hate him. They wanted him gone and now's the chance to give them what they wanted. Without thinking about it a second longer, Beast Boy went to shake his Paramore's hand.
"BEAST BOY DON'T!" Cried a voice from the darkness. A voice no one had heard in a long time. His eyes widened as he recognised who that was. "Terra?! I don't... How?" There she stood plain as day. No statue of stone, just regular blonde haired, goggle bearing Terra.
"Don't let go, Beast Boy. Take it from me, it doesn't solve anything."
"Ever heard of three's a crowd, traitor? You're not really gonna listen to her, are you?"
"What's the point, Terra? Everyone hates me now. Everyone I get close to I hurt... Just let me go..."
"Beast Boy. You told me when I was at my lowest that no one had the right to tell me how to live my life. I know how you feel but giving up isn't the answer. It's never too late to change. You taught me that. I've never met someone as strong you, Beast Boy. So I need you to stand up for yourself and fight this creep!"
"That's enough out of you!" The Paramore threatened, marching over to Terra.
Beast Boy was still unsure of himself. Yes, he was in his mindscape so she probably wasn't real, but it sounded just like her. Did she have a point?
"I still believe in you. Your friends are still fighting for you. You deserve to be given a damn about whether you believe that or not, Garfield!" Raw emotion could be felt around the cave. Maybe he didn't believe in himself. But his friends do. That's all the belief he needs to keep fighting.
The Paramore struck Terra across the face, knocking her to the floor. He had been emotionless for a long time. Even before his physical self made the trip to Gotham, he had felt cold and unresponsive to most things. But that - That snapped him out of whatever was keeping him depressed. "TERRA! Don't touch her!"
"Oh shut up and forfeit your body already." The Paramore ordered, looking back at Beast Boy as he stood over Terra.
"This whole time I've been hating myself over the things I've done and it was you making me feel like I deserved it all. Well you know what dude? I've had it with you! You and me? We're done and I'm definitely not letting you take my body!"
"Oh yeah? What are you going to do to stop me?"
"I'm gonna kick your grey butt! Gorilla style!" No longer restricted to his powers, Beast Boy was free to morph. The shackles around him snapped as he expanded into the larger silverback gorilla and launched at the grey copy. Tackling the Paramore out of the cave, the pair dove through the waterfall - drenching the pair as they fell toward the trees below.
Crashing through the branches as they fell through the trees, a large tree branch knocked loose the hold Beast Boy had on the Paramore when they collided. The two fell down separately towards the jungle floor. Beast Boy lost sight of the demon. Grabbing hold of a branch, Beast Boy swung across into another tree.
Climbing around the tree toward where the Paramore would have landed, Beast Boy found it rubbing his head looking rather annoyed. Seeing Beast Boy hanging above him, the Paramore took off running as an ostrich. Roaring at the bird, Beast Boy gave chase, switching to an orangutan. Beast Boy swung through the trees giving chase. The two darted past and around trees, trying to make and gain distance between them. Beast Boy got close a few times. Even when the Paramore changed into something small like a mouse, Beast Boy was countering with a hawk. Both were equally equipped to be the chased and the chaser.
Finally the Paramore breached the tree line and morphed back into his regular form, waiting for Beast Boy. Diving at the demon as a sugar glider, Beast Boy morphed back into himself and tackled into the clone. Tumbling across the dirt, they wrestled more while switching forms. Cobra against honey badger, wolf versus dingo, tiger and lion.
Beast Boy was too focused on the fight to notice where the two had ended up. They fought beside the top of the waterfall they burst out of only a minute earlier. Oddly, the pair hadn't ran up any hill to get to the top. Clearly Beast Boy had some learning to do with how his mindscape worked as he couldn't explain it.
The Paramore broke the tussle and dove into the water. Beast Boy went to run after it when the Paramore spoke back to him. "Lovely day for a boat ride, huh?"
What an odd thing to say in the middle of a fight. Why would it say that? Beast Boy thought to himself before he saw the waterfall again. The image clicked in his mind about what this was. This was... That day. Up stream he began to hear the cries of his parents. He instinctively went to rush toward them but he knew that even though it felt real, nothing would ever bring them back.
"I know what you're thinking. I am you and all. You could save them."
"My mom and dad are gone. You can't trick me."
"This is our mind we're in. They're a physical presence in this place. Might be your only chance to talk to them again. And hey. What have you got to lose?" The Paramore shrugged.
Looking back at his parents, Beast pondered on whether he should help. They're dead and gone but... So is Terra and she was here. Maybe his parents could belong in this plane of existence inside his mind. He hadn't even begun learning what was possible throughout his mindscape and if he passed on this chance to save them, they could be lost forever. Looking back at where the Paramore was standing in the water, the demon was nowhere to be seen.
His parents tried steering their row boat away from the stream but the waters were too strong for their ores to make a difference. The boat floated closer to the waterfall and the waters turned dangerous. Solid rocks knocked the boat across the stream away from Beast Boy. No problem, he thought as he went to shift into a wolf, only to still be human when his eyes opened again. 'No no not again!', he thought. Where had his powers gone now?
None of this was making sense. He wasn't clouded by negative thoughts so what was the issue? The answer quickly became apparent to him. His hands and arms were no longer green nor was he the same height as when he had closed his eyes. Running to the water Beast Boy realised what had happened. He was a kid again. The same age as the day his parents had died. He was just Garfield.
"Mom! Dad!" He yelled toward the boat but got no reply. He couldn't save them back then with his powers. How was he supposed to save them now without them? No matter the odds, he had to try. He may be a kid again, but he knew the consequences that come with failing to stop that boat and damn it he wasn't going to let it happen again.
Rushing into the water, Garfield waded into the current. His small frame could hardly move through it. Grabbing onto a rock he pulled himself up onto it and out of the water. The boat was nearing the water's edge. He jumped across the rocks, banging his knees on each island of rocks as he landed after his jumps. His parents were crying out to their son to save them. "Hang on!" He yelled back as he ran across the rocks hanging precariously on the edge of the waterfall.
Garfield was panicking now. He didn't care whether they were real or not at that moment. He owed it to them to save them this time. He owed it to himself more than that. But he wasn't going to make it to them in time. "No no no!" The row boat slammed hard into a set of rocks, completely shattering the side of the boat and knocking his parents out into the water.
The adults fought against the current to little effect, both swept away too fast to grab a hold of a nearby rock. Garfield's father grabbed his wife as they were quickly swept away toward the waterfall. Garfield was desperate to make it. His parents cried out to him to help them as they edged closer to the water's edge. Leaping onto a final rock, with no other rocks in front of him, this was as close as he was going to come to them. Reaching his hand out to them, they reached back toward their son.
"Grab my hand!" He called out to them over the rapids. Garfield thought he did enough to save them. He made it to the rocks before them, he was ready to grab them. Despite all that, his parents went by him merely fingertips - Much to his dismay.
Garfield's heart stopped as he relived the worst moment of his life. His mother and father both reaching out to their son as they plummet to their watery grave. Garfield was frozen stiff on the edge of the waterfall. His mother and father disappeared into the mist, never to be seen again. No one could be heard at the bottom of the waterfall either.
The boy knelt by the waters edge in disbelief. He failed them again. He tried shutting his eyes tightly, hoping it would all go away, but nothing was taking away the pain. It hurt as badly as it did when he was a child. Clenching his fist, he slammed it against the rock. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...". Opening his eyes back up, Garfield was back as Beast Boy. Everything that had happened just now was exactly how it happened in the past. He was reliving his memories.
"This was where I began you know." The Paramore spoke from behind Beast Boy. "You've been holding onto that pain as much as you did back then."
"...So what?"
"It makes you weak and because of that, I'm strong. Your friends Cyborg and Starfire. Yeah, their Paramores were tough but they got nothing on me. They aren't stubborn enough to guilt themselves over their past mistakes like you do and MAN do you have a lot of mistakes! Like seriously dude. You just plain suck!"
Beast Boy hadn't bothered to look back at his demon. He didn't have the strength for it anymore. He was tired of fighting with himself.
"You let your mom and dad fall off a cliff."
"No I-"
"Accidentally caused your kidnappers to murder each other."
"That wasn't my-"
"Nearly broke up the Doom patrol."
"You caused Terra to turn to Slade AND couldn't save her from it."
"Nearly murdered a bunch of people the other day because you couldn't stop a criminal"
"Just stop..."
"And now you've ruined your relationship with Raven. Which, let's face it, is going to cause the Titans to eventually split because of it."
"That- That's not going to happen, is it?"
"Afraid so kid. All of those past mistakes... Lead to me." The Paramore was now standing behind Beast Boy but not as Beast Boy's grey counterpart - As Hybrid, red eyes and all. The monster grabbed Beast Boy by the neck. Gasping briefly at the hold, it didn't take much before Beast Boy was already accepting whatever it was Hybrid was about to do to him. Hybrid stared at his victim, half expecting at least a little fight from Beast Boy. It was almost disappointing it was coming to such a bleak end.
"Say hi to mommy and daddy for me." With a light throw, Beast Boy was tossed off the side of the waterfall into the white mist below.
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"Hit that thing with everything you got!" Deadshot ordered his task force. Letting his rifle rip, Deadshot was spitting lead across the shipyard. Hybrid was fast. Crazy fast. The animal was at top speed in nearly half a second. Hybrid's skin was tough and while their last encounter had Deadshot's firearms lacking effectiveness against his skin, Deadshot had a much more powerful gun in hand this time. The few shots that connected with him dug into his arms that covered his skull.
Hybrid realised this fight wouldn't play out the same as last time. His prey had a pack and a way of hurting him. Shielding his face from the gun fire, Hybrid ran across the wall of a container over the top of Killer Croc who had lashed at him with razor sharp teeth. Frost's ice rose from the ground, making a barricade of sharp icicles between Hybrid and her. With the ice wall shielding Hybrid from his sight, Deadshot couldn't get a clear shot. "Digger, boost me up!" He ordered. Boomer took a hold of Deadshot's foot and pushed him up onto the container beside them.
Shifting forms, Hybrid was now his Dragon form, flying at the ice wall before shooting fire out of his mouth. The creature busted through the ice wall, shattering pieces everywhere as they scattered across the ground. Boomerang and Harley were showered in ice and were forced to shield their eyes from the shards. Hybrid barged through them to where Deadshot was standing, knocking the two aside into the asphalt. Deadshot was missing but no sooner had he noticed his disappearance, his head was hit by a shot breaking away a couple of scales.
Deadshot fired shots repeatedly, hitting Hybrid in the side of the head and upper body but to his dismay even his stronger rifle was doing little to hurt this thing. He was going to need something with a bit more... Boom.
Hybrid dashed at Deadshot who narrowly avoided getting slashed by Hybrid's talons. The Dragon glided up into the air before beginning to circle back around for another go. "Boomer! Throw one of your Bangarangs!"
"At him?! You're jokin?"
"No. Me! Aim for me!"
" *Pffffft* Whateva." Shrugging his shoulders, Boomer pulled out his final Bangarang out of his coat. Tossing the explosive into the air it spun rapidly, coming back around toward Deadshot. Hybrid was coming in fast and so was the Bangarang. Leaving it as late as he dared, Deadshot dove backwards off the top of the container, shooting the Bangarang out of the air beside Hybrid. A massive explosion rocked the animal, blasting him across the yard.
The beast tumbled across the floor but caught his feet and skidded back onto two legs. Growling in annoyance, the grey animal seemed only mildly annoyed.
Deadshot dusted himself off and stared Hybrid down. Damn thing took a bomb to the face, what was he supposed to do to bring it down? "We're going to need back up." He thought aloud.
"Mate I thought we were the back up." Boomer responded.
"It's five on one and we just got torn a new one." Said Croc.
"Waller's got men on standby, but in the meantime. Frost, your ice is our best way of slowing him down at least for a while. If we can hold him-"
*BANG* Gunfire echoed around the cargo yard. Deadshot immediately drew aim toward the sound of the shot. With the years of training and experience he had, he located Deathstroke making a run for it across the yard almost immediately. *BANG* Deadshot returned fire and miraculously he hit his mark. Deathstroke grasped his shoulder and fell from the container he ran across. No kill shot but damn that felt good.
"Holy shit! No!" Boomer cried, his hands on his head.
"What? I got him, what's-" Confused at the reaction of his group, he realised why. Deadshot had returned fire so quickly that he was able to look back in time for Killer Frost's lifeless frame to fall limp on the ground beside him, bullet holes through the side of her head.
"NOOOOO!" Killer Croc cried, running to his late partner's side.
"Frosty!" Harley gasped, sinking to her knees.
Well away from the fighting, Amanda Waller sat in a helicopter staring at a laptop. Her laptop displayed any and all camera feeds available. Waller watched as one of her Task Force X members was put to rest. Displayed in the corner of her screen was the heart rates of each convict, confirming what she saw in the feed. Killer Frost was most certainly gone with her heartbeat flatlining the moment she hit the ground. "Son of a bitch!" She cried, head in her hand.
In a second. The Suicide Squad were down to four.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXMany many months later and I've got an update for you. You've probably seen it but I broke this chapter into parts aswell as I intended to have this fight carry on much longer but it's been months already and I owe those who have been waiting patiently some new content.Still working the 11 hour days along with running a Karate Dojo now so updates aren't getting faster any time soon which suuuucks.I'm looking forward to what you think if this chapter. The whole mindscape thing might be a little confusing now but I'll be explaining the main details of it in a following chapter so just barr with that for a bit. But if you're confused about anything I'm more than happy to answer any questions.Daniele583 - Yeah I couldn't help but be disappointed when it was revealed the scene was just a promo for another movie with the GO! Style but oh well. My Season 6 excited has been replaced by 'The Batman' and 'The Suicide Squad'. Man those were some awesome trailers.Thanks again for Rose who has been proof reading all the chapters since like chapter 10 which is quite a lot of work just to make the story that little bit better to read.All constructive feedback is welcome. Even for earlier chapters if you have something. (I know there's stuff I regret writing in earlier chapters / )Until next chapter.DansaCharm
