A/N: Ctrl-c + ctrl-v the last disclaimer.
Claircrystal: I don't know either. But we see him eat A LOT in the Teen Titans show, and even in the animated movies when he's in the League we see him eating a pizza. My guess is he either has some sort of bio-fuel system that converts food into energy like a mechanical stomach, or simply has a refuse tank that can be emptied so he can still get the feeling of eating and tasting food despite not needing it.
Nivado111: It's fine. Everybody has their own things going on. And yes, I did miss you homie. And I'm happy that you think so.
Yeah, I was hoping someone would get a few laughs out of that. And I'll try to make it enjoyable. The trial itself may not be entertaining/interesting, but I have two possible outcomes that I'm trying to decide on as of writing this response.
And let me state for the Umpteenth time that I do not have a great understanding of prison sentencing and court trials, so most of this would probably be BS in real life because I'm too lazy to research.
Chapter 36:
On the top of the familiar capital "T" shaped tower, two figures could be seen from a distance. Both were sitting on the edge of the roof, dangling dangerously close to certain death by falling onto the jagged rocks below. Or at least they would be if neither of them had any way of flying.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?". There was no lack of concern in the half demon's voice. For almost a week her still-secret boyfriend had been preparing for the last thing any superhero would expect to face: the consequences of their own actions.
"Not really. But entirely. You know what I mean?" the changeling replied. Naturally, there was worry and anxiousness washing off of him, but nowhere near as much as Raven would have expected to feel from him.
"Maybe. And I'm sorry we can't come, but you know how the city is. The moment we all shift our attention away every criminal in Jump will be up and at it.". Strangely enough, it was Beast Boy himself who insisted that the other four Titans keep an eye on Jump City while he and Robin were gone. Maybe it was his hero habits speaking. Maybe he didn't want any viewers, especially the few he would feel most disappointed in being convicted in front of.
"It's fine." was all the changeling had to say. His curt response was somewhat unlike him, even given the topic of discussion. "It's about time Robin and I head out. If I don't return with him, you can probably guess what happened.". In silence the two walked to the door and descended into the commons room to be greeted by Robin and the others. The moment they entered the room Cyborg quickly made his way to Beast Boy with his arms outstretched.
"Good luck green bean." the metal man offered with a hug that rivaled those Starfire could produce.
"I'd thank you, but I can't afford to breathe out right now." Beast Boy quipped, but not completely sarcastically.
"Oh, sorry bud. Guess Star's been rubbing off on me huh?" Cyborg offered with a bashful tone.
"But I have not done the rubbing on you. I have not touched you in quite some time for that matter friend Cyborg." the alien girl confusedly stated.
"It's just another expression. He's making a note that his hug was rather strong." Robin explained for Starfire. Evidently there were still things she had yet to learn, despite being on Earth for so long.
"Guess we better head down. Ready?" Beast Boy addressed his leader.
"Sure. But I think I'll take the R-cycle. I haven't used it in a while and I should make sure it's in working order." Robin replied, seemingly off the top of his head.
"If you insist." was all the changeling responded. After a few minutes of departure prep he had returned to the roof and prepared to take flight. Down below he could make out the whine of Robin's motorcycle on the road. Taking that as his cue, his body changed into that of a peregrine falcon and dove off the roof. Spreading his wings resulted in a sudden jerk upwards and launched him in Robin's direction. From the sky he watched the Boy Wonder zigzag through traffic until he pulled into an alleyway close to the two's destination.
Once again folding his wings inwards, Beast Boy dove at speeds faster than people drove with his beaked head pointing towards the alley Robin had turned into. At the last second the green bird extended its appendages and slowed to a speed that allowed it to land on the ground gently.
"Sorry for leading you here, but I don't think the public needs to see us drive right up to the courthouse. I was thinking we could take the backdoor." Robin offered the bird that was reshaping into a human.
"Sounds good to me.".
Robin gave a curt nod, then led his teammate through the alleys and over a few gates. Hopping the third fence resulted in the two standing behind the giant building. The authority of the place almost felt tangible as Beast Boy ran through several possible outcomes in his mind.
A sigh grabbed Robin's attention, who hadn't noticed his teammate fall behind as he approached the rear entrance.
"I know this is a really dumb question, but are you good?" Robin inquired.
"Yeah. Let's get this over with." the green teen muttered. Unusually heavy footsteps clomp-ed up the stairs and slowly faded as they echoed deeper and deeper from inside the structure.
Back at the tower, some hours later
One mechanical and one organic eye followed a shape that silently stalked in front of him over to the kitchen. Once there, the being turned around and just as quietly returned to where it came from before repeating the motion as it had been for an hour and a half.
"Aren't your legs tired?" the mechanical man finally asked the pacing half demon.
"No. I'm just anxious." Raven replied without missing a step.
"Yeah, we all are. Maybe you could join Star and Jinx or brew some tea or something." Cyborg offered for the second time that day.
"Maybe that'll help." the pale skinned girl thought aloud. It was worth a shot, so give it a shot she did. Minutes of non-pacing action lead to the empath sitting on the couch with a fresh cup of tea. The beverage did alleviate some of her stress, but not all of it.
"Hey Raven, how ya feeling?" a new voice asked from the entrance to the room. The voice's owner , accompanied by Starfire, made her way to the fridge and pulled out an apple.
"Better.". Another sip, another small amount of tension gone.
The room went silent as the four turned to a noise.
Footsteps. Heading their way.
But only one set.
The four knew it was going to be Robin a long time before he entered through the automatic doors. He was alone, and while he didn't appear to be thoroughly depressed, something was clearly upsetting him. Something the others already knew.
"Guilty.". His voice was somber, almost gravely. "They gave him two months in a place called 'Belle Reve'." Robin explained before he could be asked.
"But why there? Why not here in Jump?" Cyborg demanded not from Robin, but from the people who Robin was reciting.
"Naturally, he had a lot of enemies in Jump City Prison. It just wasn't safe to put him there with all those criminals. However, Belle Reve was designed for 'metahumans', which Beast Boy qualified as. He'll be getting the same treatment in a place where he'll be safe from anyone we've put away.".
"Still, is it not unfair to have friend Beast Boy placed into a this Belle Reve? After all, he is a hero nonetheless. Is he not?" Starfire questioned.
"Actually, the jury was willing to give him a much more reduced sentence for his years of work for the city, maybe even let him off the hook with nothing more than a serious scolding, fines, and some community service here and there. But B requested he not be given too much special treatment, then he said a few things Kaldur mentioned when they were here.".
"So what do we do now?" Raven asked as if any of them actually knew.
"I guess we make do until he's out. It'll only be a little while. And we know he's actually coming back." Cyborg replied with a friendly hand on her shoulder.
That was the last thing any of them said for several minutes, silence once again taking over the five heroes.
A truck on the highway, not too much later
There was nobody else in the prison transport, save an armed guard who looked to be only partially attentive to the green prisoner. Most of his instincts were telling him to either fight or run, while a few were telling him a mixture of both. Apparently the inhibitor collar he was wearing just disabled his genetic shifting.
"So, how long is this trip supposed to take?" the single prisoner asked the guard.
"Few hours. Not be quiet or I'll have to make you." the man demanded.
So that's exactly what Beast Boy did. For every minute of the trip. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do other than study the design of the binds encasing his hands and lower forearms. That, and straighten out, ruffle up, and straighten out his orange jumpsuit again and again.
A loud whine came from the truck as it came to a halt. "This is our stop. Stand up and don't make any sudden moves." the guard ordered as he raised his rifle.
Once again, there was nothing to do other than obey the orders given to him, so Beast Boy walked down the ramp and out of the transport. Two large men approached the changeling and his holder, neither of whom looked to be in the mood for fun and games.
"We'll take him from here. Just need the usual." the one on the left stated.
"Of course, of course." the guard muttered. A small electronic device was pulled from his pocket and handed to the man, who scrolled through it much like a kid would scroll through Facebook.
"All clear." the man stated as he returned the device to the guard. Beast Boy was then roughly grabbed by the arm and turned to face the gigantic structure.
"C'mon greeny, we ain't got all day." the other man ordered in a low, threatening voice. The large, toothed doors separated and allowed the two men to push the changeling into the first room, where an observatory room looked down to. A woman Beast Boy had seen once before glared downwards with a stare of disgust and superiority.
"As you already know, this is Belle Reve. This is not your new home, it is your new housing. Likewise, I am not your mommy you can come running to. I am your warden, and that's all I want to be. Before you try anything stupid, let me give you a demonstration." the woman known as Amanda said. A small remote was raised, and the push of a single button almost floored the green teen as an electrical current ran through the neckpiece.
"You will only get one warning, and that is what it will be. If you do not immediately stop whatever you are doing, the next shock will knock you out faster than a golf club to the back of your head. Any questions?".
"Yeah." Beast Boy groaned as he stood up straight. "Well, not so much a question as a statement.".
"And that would be?" Waller demanded through the intercom.
"You must have been a real treat in high school." Beast Boy offered with more snark than even Amanda expected from someone with a weakened electric chair around their neck.
"So you're a smartass. Normally I'd give you another shock, but I'll let the other inmates deal with your attitude. Take him away." Amanda ordered.
From above, she watched the green human as he was escorted out of the room and eventually towards his cell. Once he was gone, she shifted her attention to a computer and clicked on his file. All in all, not a lot was known about him, especially compared to the other prisoners. What they did know was he was currently a member of the Teen Titans, which was led by Batman's former Robin. Each of the members had their own files, as each was just as dangerous as the next. But they weren't her concern right now.
He was.
The first thing that was known about him was he was taken away from his abusive guardian, a man named Nicholas Galtry, at a young age. From there he was adopted by Steve and Rita Dayton. Given his powers, it was clear he had a long stint with the Doom Patrol, which placed him on Amanda's radar at much younger age than most other metas. Then there was the Titans, and now he was here for killing a pesky magician followed by a month long disappearance.
But it was the recent change in his powers that made him noteworthy. Just being able to turn into any present or former animal on the planet gave him the ability to adapt to most scenarios, but his recent use of genetic recombination just furthered his potential. He had already demonstrated an extent of his abilities in Jump and in Kenya, where he also proved himself to be versed in battleplans. And just now he showed that he was ballsy. Or stupid.
Either way, if the hero gig didn't work out, he would make a valuable addition to Task Force X.
In the main prison area
"This here is your cell. You'll be cellmates with this guy." the man explained while removing the arm bindings. "Dinner's in an hour. Until then..." he started before shoving Beast Boy into the cell and slamming the door shut.
It didn't take a long look to realize the next few months would be less than entertaining. The small room just had a bunkbed with a latrine and a basic sink in the corner.
"I wouldn't use those if I were you. They have better facilities to use during meals and whenever we're not supposed to be in these cells. My name's Icicle Junior, and you would be?" the resident of the top bunk asked without looking at his new cellmate.
"Shiftling.".
"Hey, I've heard that name before." the blue skinned teen thought to himself while sitting up in the bunk. "Have we...". His question stopped dead when he got a good look at the green skinned person who had given him so much trouble back in Africa.
"You!" Junior shouted after jumping to the ground.
"Me?" Beast Boy asked with a 'play dumb' tone.
"Yeah you. Who else would I be talking to?" the icy villain demanded with a point to the changeling's chest.
"Beats me. I assume you took the top bunk." Shiftling stated as he laid himself back on the bottom bunk.
If words could describe Icicle's confusion, it would have been a very descriptive sentence. But here was the one who had beat Psimon in a mental battle and wiped the floor with Shimmer, Bulldozer and him. Not even the slightest aggression was aimed at the icy being, despite his expectation of a fight.
"So we're not going to fight? After everything that happened back in Kenya?" Junior suspiciously questioned his roommate of sorts.
"We can go a few rounds if you want, but I'd rather make a decent first impression. You know, try not to piss off the others, not get on anyone's bad side, stuff like that." Shiftling explained.
"Huh. Well, good luck with that. The big ones are always out for fresh meat. And not any meat, small slices like you and me. Luckily, I've been here a while so I don't get too much trouble from the others.".
"Thanks for the tip. Anything else I should know?". "Might as well get notes on what I can and learn what I have to." the green teen thought to himself.
"Yeah, when we're not in the cell, I'm not your friend. If Psimon or Devastation orders me to, I won't be the 'Mister Nice Guy' I am right now.".
"Understandable. What's for dinner?" Shiftling requested.
"Today's Tuesday, so probably mush.". That would be true if "mush" wasn't such an understatement. "But don't worry, the food's actually good here more often then not. Once a week they have decent steak and mashed potatoes, sometimes they have cheap burgers. Heck, once they had a bunch of tilapia and trout. But I think they do that just to keep us content enough to not revolt.".
With no more questions to ask, the now named "Shiftling" figured the most entertaining thing to do would be to wait until dinner. A little over half an hour later several groups of guards came down the halls. Two would stop at each cell and escort the inmates down the stairs to what was presumably the dining area. Sure enough, two men stopped in front of Shiftling's and Icicle's cell.
"Because you're new I'll give you a free warning. Any sudden moves or anything suspicious will result in a shock. I'm sure Amanda gave you the basic run through though." the man stated.
For a maximum security prison, the dining area was rather spacious and almost lacked any means of security if you forgot about the collars around everyone's neck. The two grabbed a tray and waited in line for whatever they would have to shove down their throats. Just like Icicle said, a scoop of brown mush was slammed onto the green teen's tray, followed by a water bottle
"Like I said earlier, when we're not in the cell, I'm not your friend. Keep what I told you in mind and don't do anything stupid." Icicle Junior restated. Without another word he left the changeling to find his own place to sit. Even if he hadn't been warned, he had enough common sense to keep his eyes peeled for trouble. That, and his instincts and senses would have tipped him off.
As Shiftling walked down the tables, he finally found an empty section and sat down. A metal fork and spoon had been provided with the meal, the ladder of which Shiftling used to dig into the mush that was beginning to remind him of Plasmus. Unfortunately for him, eating in peace wasn't going to be all too likely today.
"So, looks like we got a new kid on the block." a man with a silver and yellow helmet mocked. He was accompanied by a large man with red, clay like skin and white hair, and another man who was probably middle-aged with long, black hair.
"That we do Ojo. And he's in our spot." the red man replied. However, it seemed more like a warning to Shiftling than a response to his partner.
Without a word, Shiftling simply scooted over half a dozen seats and resumed his meal despite the footsteps of the three coming towards him again.
"He's still in our spot Shade." the red man said with a very unpleasant smile.
"Dude, there's plenty of spots. Just pick three. Or maybe four, if you can't fit your fat ass into one." the green teen shot back, earning a surprised gasp from the three antagonizers.
"Shoulda watched your mouth. Brick don't like jokes like that." Shade warned a little too late.
Unperturbed by the threat, Shiftling just scooped another spoonful of his meal into his mouth while slowly reaching for something with his other hand.
The man with the oversized visor hopped the table so he could face the green teen and leaned in uncomfortably close, using his hands to balance himself just above the tray.
"So, you gonna apologize, or too scared to talk big now?" Ojo confidently mocked, still unnoticing to the silent changeling's actions. However, the scene was drawing a lot of attention, and several inmates were starting to circle around, eager to see something happen.
One more spoonful slid into Shiftling's mouth, but this time he slightly choked on the sludge.
"This crap tastes awful..." the green teen started just before his other arm rapidly raised and came down, a loud thud and a sickly, wet squishing noise mixed and echoed within the room. Ojo's pained screams screams quickly became the loudest sound in the room, but was cut off when the offender wrapped a hand around his mouth and spoke again.
"..But I hear flesh is pretty good." the green teen added with a bloodthirsty tone. Carelessly ripping out the fork he had stabbed into Ojo's hand, Shiftling pointed the three prongs at the quivering man and gently scrapped them down the side of his neck disregarding the man's sounds of fear.
"Tell me, do you have any meat you're not using right now? For instance, I'll take that brain off your hands if you don't mind. Or should I say out of your skull?". Helpless in his situation, Ojo could only hope for the best as his partners looked for an opportunity to jump the green teen. However, no matter when they got ready, his gaze would quickly advert to one of them and set them off.
But just as quickly as he had started it, the collar around Shiftling's neck sent a shock coursing through his system. And judging by the reactions of the inmates around him, they were also getting shocked.
"Everyone separate. Now!" a guard commanded. Several of the men who had escorted the prisoners into the dining area walked over to the man with the visor and took him away, presumably to a medical room to get his hand fixed. Per order, the villains dispersed from the scene, except Brick and Shade.
"Keep an eye on your back kid. You just made a huge mistake." the red skinned man warned. He and his remaining partner left Shiftling, but both could have sworn they heard him reply: "I was about to tell you that.".
So much for the first impressions thing.
A/N: So, I'm sorry that I completely skipped over the decision, but I really didn't know if I could pull it off. I hope what I did is okay with those of you reading this. Let me know what you thought, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a great day, and don't forget your masks!
