The research site appeared slumped and haggard on the horizon, outlined by the last red dust of the setting sun. The T-car pulled into an empty parking lot, trees and creepers pushing through the tarmac. The Titans alighted, tense and ready.
"Right, BB did you find out anything about the site?" asked Robin.
"Not much unfortunately. Mostly from stock photos. Considering they did large animal testing I wouldn't be surprised if there is a basement or an entirely separate quarantine building."
"Okay, we'll split up. Everyone got their communicators? Call in every fifteen minuets to give the all clear. If you find our ritualists don't engage. If you find anything else we'll deal with it then. Titans, Go!"
They slipped into the night. Starfire and Raven taking to the sky, Beast Boy shifting to a wolf and trotting off with his nose to the ground, Cyborg dimming his bio-lights as much as possible before heading to the closest building and Robin swiftly taking the the scattered rooftops.
It was Beast Boy who found the site. His sharp nose picking up on a hint of blood and following the trail to a squat one-story building, windows high and covered. The ground under his paws was sodden and filthy. Wincing, Beast Boy backed off and shifted back in the murky shadows. Grateful for the small relief it brought his sense.
"Guys, I've found it" he muttered into his communicator. Slitted pupils reflecting the faint light it gave off. He pricked his ears, but everything was silent. Unnaturally so. It wouldn't be unusual for a place like this to have an active night life. Owls, foxes, voles, moles, not to mention the insects. But there was nothing. Just the night and the faintest swish of the breeze through the overgrown grass. Beast Boy could feel his hair standing on end in anticipation.
"Good work Beast Boy. Any signs of the ritualists?" asked Robin.
"Not that I can see, but I haven't scouted the inside yet. But-it's quiet. Too quiet, if you know what I mean. I don't like it."
"Right. We'll triangulate your location now. Stand by."
"Roger."
Beast Boy entertained himself by turning into a fox and taking a greater sniff of the area while he waited for the others to arrive. The ground formed a hollow depression, making a perfect catch for rainwater. From the smell BB wouldn't be surprised if the accumulated leaf-litter had caused the drains to overflow. There was a distinct scumminess to the stench. Underneath that, thick and seductive, lay the distinct rich smell of blood. It fell across his carnivorous senses like dark chocolate. Wetting his appetite and exciting his stomach even as his human mind recoiled.
He was grateful for the excuse to shift back when Raven arrived, swooping in on wings of black energy. "Beast Boy" she greeted, then crinkled her nose slightly at the surroundings. "Did you really have to bring us to a place that stinks so much?"
"How do you think I feel?! Enhanced senses, remember?" he said, tapping his nose. "The others?"
"Should be any minuet now. Star's on foot now with Robin, but Cy was close by."
She wasn't wrong, not a few moments later Cyborg slowly lumbered his way from the dark. Sinking slightly into the muddy ground.
"Great place they got here" he joked.
"Well, if they want to hide several bodies I can think of worse places. The standing water really covered the smell" replied Beast Boy.
"Please don't tell me we're going to have to search this place for corpses" complained Cyborg.
"I really hope not buddy. The smell of blood's bad enough but you don't want to know what else I'm picking up. I think the drainage system must be blocked up somewhere."
"Lovely" muttered Cyborg, shuffling away.
They waited in near silence until Robin and Star slipped in from the dark. "Beast Boy, you're sure this is the place?"
"It's covered in the smell of blood so I'm pretty darned sure. Want me to scout the building or are we going in?"
Robin frowned, thinking. "You said it's too quiet right? Do you think someone's here?"
Beast Boy shuffled, ears twitching. "I don't know man. But something scared away all the animals."
"It would be strange if the ritualists had arrived already. Unless the ritual they are using takes a long time to set up," interrupted Raven. "If we assume that my dreams have been happening in real time I don't usually wake until the early hours of the morning."
"That is many hours from now" pointed out Starfire.
"Which means if someone is here and setting up the ritual the sacrifice should still be alive. We can't miss this chance to get an innocent civilian out," said Robin.
"Assuming it is an innocent civilian and not a willing contender" said Raven dryly.
Robin paused but nodded. Admitting that might be the case. "Either way, we need to use this opportunity. Beast Boy do you think you could get into the building, scout it out?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. Hang tight, I'll be back. Try not to step in the mud."
Quickly shifting into an owl Beast Boy scouted the building from above on silent wings. Quickly he spotted an opening, a portion of the roof was missing, possibly for the eventual addition f a ventilation shaft that never got installed. Seeing his target Beast Boy swooped down, transforming as he did so into a much smaller bat. Navigating the dark chambers of the ventilation system proved quick work and he soon emerged into the building itself. So as not to draw attention to himself by flapping around he quickly shifted into a large spider and scurried across the ceiling, dropping down to the floor silently on a thread and shifting once again into a rat.
The smell hit him first, his fur standing on end. Blood and viscera and death all mixed together with the heavy musk of incense. He recognized the Phitzer company logo across the far wall, paint chipped and scuffed in places.
Shuffling around with heavy robes the ritualists moved about in a strange quiet. Gathering quickly with nervous anticipation of something. Several were drawing on the ground, a dark mixture dripping from their fingers like tar. Another stood with an open book, multiple layered robes hanging around him and occasionally barking out an order with a course cracked voice.
Hi instincts having been proved true Beast Boy briefly panicked, looking around for a potential victim to the upcoming ritual. He failed to find any. A quick scurry around revealed that there was little in the way of side rooms for anyone to hide in, the shadowed corners distinctly empty.
The activity of those inside increased and Beast Boy was distressed to see just how many cultists there were. Aware that they were running out of time for whatever was about to take place Beast Boy quickly exited the building, flying swiftly to shift back into his human form next to his teammates.
"Dudes, I was right. The place is packed in there. Looks like everyone's arrived for the party and its about to kick off."
"Then there is no time to lose. How many are we talking BB?" asked Robin.
"I think I counted twenty-three. It's hard to keep track with them all wearing the same robes. You can tell the head honcho though; his robes have got more writing on them."
"The writing is probably scripture. It could be to amplify their powers or protect them from whatever they are hoping to call forth" said Raven.
"Well it creeped me out thats for sure. But I couldn't see any potential victim. No one in civvies or tied up anywhere."
"It's still early. If friend Raven is right, it is still several hours until the time of sacrifice. They could be yet waiting for someone" said Star.
"Yeah, I guess…but I don't know. If our victim is coming then they better arrive soon cause it looks like they are preparing for something and their in a rush."
"Which means we don't have a moment to spare. We cannot let someone else be sacrificed. But we're outnumbered and we don't know what they're capable of so we need a plan," finished Robin, glancing around at the others. Everyone stared back, brows furrowed, stances ready.
"Our first priority should be to stop them commencing the ritual. Many rituals begin by securing the protection of the caster. We may not be able to do anything once it has begun."
"Right, thanks Raven. Beast Boy do you think it's possible for Raven and Star to enter the building from above?"
"It might be a bit of a tight fit but you should be able to fly in. There's a gap in the roof where a vent shaft was probably meant to be. You'll have to go in one at a time."
"That's not ideal. Any chance we could pick them off instead?" said Robin.
"Not likely, the whole place is just one big open room. As soon as one goes down the others are going to know."
"Damn, okay. Looks like we are just going to have hit them hard and fast with the element of surprise. Raven, you understand magic better than any of us, so target the person in charge. Star go behind her. We'll use your shots as the signal to enter. Don't let them start that ritual. Cy and I will secure the exits on the ground and play interference. BB, you get in there and be prepared to ambush them with one of your biggest forms. We need to take out as many as possible in the first attack. Everyone ready?"
They all nodded their affirmative, faces grim in determination.
"Then, Titans Go!"
They split up. Robin and Cyborg circling to the doors of the building. Beast Boy and Raven taking to the air with Star following a little way behind, trying to keep her emerald light to a minimum. Transforming into a mouse Beast Boy let Raven fly him into the building first before turning into a moth and taking up a position on the ceiling. Ready to transform himself into a whale and crush as many people as possible. Raven remained just inside the vent, Star close behind.
Beast Boy took in the room again and didn't like what he saw. The cultists had finished preparing, a large circle with pentagrams and runes pulsed on the floor. Incense and red flickering lights burnt the air. The ritualists stood poised around the circle, the one in charge standing just off the centre, a large parchment open in his hands. The writing on it made BB's mind dizzy.
Still there was no sign of a sacrifice. No one standing out of place. No poor soul quivering in confusion and fear. Beast Boy had another of his Bad Feelings. Something was going on here, something they didn't understand.
The cultists started chanting, taking Beast Boy by surprise and causing him to start cursing internally. Didn't Raven say they had to act before the start of the ritual? And there was still no sacrifice! Just what the hell was going on?
In the space of a few heartbeats the chanting rose sharply to a low guttural hum. Shaking Beast Boy to his core. His small delicate wings shook as a sudden migraine cut through his brain like a knife. Beast Boy tried to push through the pain. He couldn't change back now and let himself be discovered. Concentrating on preventing himself shifting he could feel his human mind slipping back, animal instincts moving forward. The pain lessoned, enough for him to hear the screaming.
Starfire let out a blood curdling cry as she crashed down from the ceiling, clutching at her head. Lost in the pain she lashed out erratically with her star bolts, emerald light splashing against the wall. Hair streaming behind her in a crimson trail she fell heavily upon the ground, clawing at her ears with blunt nails. The cultists paid her no mind.
With the green light still flashing in his eyes Beast Boy was too shocked to react. Taking the lights as the signal to attack Robin and Cyborg burst through the doors. Both of them rushed into the room only taking a few steps before crashing to their knees, screaming in chorus.
The chanting started to grow in volume. Building to a crescendo.
Through instinct born of doing it a million times Beast Boy shifted from moth to bird. Flying down to try and help his friends, fluttering around them uselessly as their agonized flailing threatened to hit him. Beast Boy tried to think but doing so had the migraine and the sound ripping through his mind and thoughts. Scattering them and sending him back into the animal. Stubbornly he held on, forcing a shift. Something bigger and more predatory. Something more protective.
The wolf slowly morphed into place, whining and licking over Starfire's face to try and appease her. With little of his human mind left Beast Boy ran over to Robin to give him the same treatment, with just as little effect. He tried barking at his pack mates to flee but they didn't listen.
His sensitive nose was filled with the smell of blood and death, danger and madness. Urging him to flee and get his pack to safety. But none of them were listening!
A breeze brought a change in the air, a new smell stealing the wolfs attention. Vanilla incense, herbal tea and old books. A welcoming, familiar and cherished scent. Its presence was enough to clear his mind ever so slightly. Three of the Titans lay on the ground before him, but of the fourth there was no sight nor sound. No black energy swooping down to save them. Beast Boy looked up, dreading what he would see.
Raven hung suspended and mute, dark sickly red energy swirling around her. The runes and scripture on the ground writhered its way towards her in time with the rise and fall of the chanting. Searing into her legs as it crept upwards towards her open mouth. A silent scream twisted Raven's face, flesh smoking from the touch. The chanting climbing to its peak. The red energy drawing ever closer to consuming her whole. The lead ritualist opened his arms in rapture. As if to welcome something.
Beast Boy had no human mind left with which to think. All he could smell was Raven's pain. He could feel the call to move, to save her, in every cell of his body. He shifted without thought, already moving. Size rapidly expanding, teeth and claws extending, a mane of fur sprouting forth, back hunched and arms lengthening to reach the floor with heavy swinging knuckles. The Beast, apex omnivore, leapt. He cleared the ritual in one great bound, reached Raven just as the chanting reached its guttural agonizing climax and with all his considerable strength ripped her from the clinging, burning energy.
The living, throbbing runes closed around him. Reaching and searching, tearing and rendering as they did so. His mind went white, his flesh ripped, his soul wavered. The pain had him shifting back into his human form. The magic sinking its teeth into his mind, again and again as its hunger grew. Gluttonous, insatiable. Calling, calling, calling.
Empty.
The world exploded into light. The Titans were pushed back against the walls from the pressure. The cultists suffered much worse. Blinded and crushed by the shock wave the inner circle of ritualists knew no more while the outer ring was thrown with the force, left screaming as they clawed at the floor.
The next instant the light disappeared, the sound ceased. In the following silence a body, bleached of green and bone white, remained.