Returning to Titan tower was a tense affair. Raven would normally fly along with Starfire, but with the both of them grounded the T-car was reaching max capacity. Instinct was far to large to fit to begin with and suggestions that he shift to a smaller size was met with resistance. In the end, they had to compromise.
Instinct would run alongside the T-car, with Serenity riding on top. Cyborg would lead them down the less populated streets, in the hope of avoiding an audience. The car ride was silent and tense. Raven spent it trying to regain her equilibrium and bring her energy levels up. Any slight bump had Starfire wincing in pain. Which in turn had Robin grinding his teeth, hands twitching towards his weapons.
Ahead of them Instinct ran effortlessly along, dark green fur blending in with the gloom of the night. The few stray streetlamps revealed Serenity, comfortably resting on the beasts back.
Eventually, in the early hours of what was no doubt going to become a very long day, they arrived at Titan tower. The garage door closing them off from the rest of the world with no small sense of relief.
Instinct huffed, crouching to let Serenity disembark. Huffing the great beast fell into a long stretch, claws spread and fangs displayed with a yawn. Licking its lips, it set to sniffing around the room, bumping into the various cars and vehicles. It started to nibble on a wheel.
"Hey! No! Leave that alone!" snapped Cyborg indigently. The short ears perked, head rising only to whine and slink its way back to Serenity's side at the scolding. Serenity gave it an absentminded scratch behind the ears. He got a tail wag in response.
Raven felt herself relax slightly at the sight. Instinct was clearly a dangerous animal, but as Serenity has said it was not a needlessly violent one. She couldn't condemn it for its previous actions.
Serenity regarded Instinct, tickling him under the chin, who squinted his eyes in bliss. "Just how are we gonna get you in the lift?" he muttered absentmindedly.
He got a rumbling purr in response and a tongue rasping across his wrist, demanding more scratches. Raven watched as Serenity sighed, fondness curving his lips into a smile, and complied.
"Titans! Intruders!" The sudden shout caused Raven to jolt with surprise. She whirled around to face Robin. Cyborg pausing where he was assisting Starfire from the car. "Someone in the tower. Two signatures."
"What? How? Why didn't the alarms go off?" question Cyborg.
"No sign of a break in. The alarms didn't trip."
"Then how the hell did they get in? I put the tower in lock down when we left."
Raven wondered closer, aware of Serenity doing so as well, wondering what was going on. Intruders? Now? On top of everything else? They couldn't afford to be under attack right now. Not with two of them heavily injured and a third out of commission and turned into several unpredictable, potentially lethally violent, variables.
"Perhaps-perhaps they are not intruders" everyone turned, looking towards Starfire as she bit her lip in thought. The alien princess already looked to be regaining some of her spirit. Her species natural toughness and recovery speed much greater than the average humans. "If friend Beast Boy has been turned into many different people across the city, perhaps some of them came here?"
Robin blinked, turning back to the data pad in the wall and inputting some key commends to bring up the access logs. There, maybe twenty minuets before their own entrance, Beast Boys name flashed in green. Then, not a few minuets later, it flashed again.
"Would you expect your Aspects to come here? I thought you said they were dangerous?" Cyborg asked the silent Serenity.
"Not all of them. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think the calmer Aspects decided to retreat here."
"We're not finding out anything standing around here" said Raven. "Star needs medical treatment. Staying here talking about it will get us nowhere."
Robin frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Raven, you and Star stay in the rear. Cyborg you take point. Be prepared in case of an attack once the lift opens."
"What about us?" inquired Serenity. "We can help."
"I don't want Instinct anywhere near this. We can't afford any more casualties, even if they are villains. You can stay with the girls. Help them if need be."
"Understood" Serenity turned to the distracted Instinct who snapped to attention at a silent signal.
There was a series of exchanges, low grunted sounds and facial expressions. Instinct himself sneered and huffed, pacing cantankerously around the room but eventually settled down belligerently. Crouched in readiness at one end of the garage, claws kneading deep gouges into the floor. Something cyborg was sure to throw a fit about later. The green eyes watched them with hawk like intensity as they got in the lift, but the beast heeded its orders and stayed.
Cyborg readied his cannon, primed to fire as the lift slowed to a stop. Serenity shifted, placing himself between her and the doors. Raven looked up, once again taken aback by the strange shift the Aspect was under. Beast Boy as he normally was stood about equal in height to her. This taller, more refined silhouette of a man brought muddled feelings.
The doors slid open, they tensed.
"Finally!" broke in a familiar voice. "I was starting to think we would have to come and find you."
The group relaxed, shuffling forward into the common room as they were greeted by a strange, but ultimately un-daunting, sight. They were greeted by the worried and relived faces of two Beast Boys.
A bright turquoise Beast Boy was the one to cry out, coming forward to meet them eagerly. He stood taller than Beast Boy would normally, but there was a lanky skinniness about him. A yearning, fervid look in his unusually large eyes. Patterned skin spread across their face, ringing their eyes like glasses.
The other Beast Boy was less enthusiastic but gave them a welcoming nod. They were a drab beige in colour, mottled with various hues of brown, dark greens and blues, like bruises littered across his skin. In direct contrast to the other Beast Boy he stood thickset, scruffy beard lining their square jaw. His face was weather beaten, small scars and nicks clear in his pointed ears and brows. Strangely he was by far older than the other Aspects, looking to be more in his middle age, fine crows feet at the corner of his thoughtful eyes.
"Good of you to make it" he gruffed out when Serenity returned his greeting.
"Nice of you to greet us. I assume you know what's going on?" said Serenity.
"Some of it. The basics anyway."
"We've been brainstorming!" Cut in the turquoise Beast Boy, looking eager to be of use. "But, err, without more data there really isn't many conclusions we can draw. But we have determined that we are all physical manifestations with our own will, that we are capable of shifting-though the instinctual ability to do so is somewhat lacking-and that there is some kind of unconscious shift mirror effect changing our outward appearance. Most notably our coloring."
"The lack of shifting is probably because we no longer have instincts. He's down in the garage."
"He appeared where you did?" asked the beige Beast Boy sharply. The rest of the Titans hovered around, watching everything unfold. The Beast Boys had formed a loose circle, close but distinctly not touching each other. Even as she looked Raven noticed a deference the other two had towards Serenity. The way they sought out his approval, fell silent at his words.
"Yes, back where the ritual first took place. Bloodlust was also there, but Instinct took care of it."
At the word Bloodlust the turquoise Beast Boy flinched and the beige one sucked in a sharp breath, eyes tightening.
"Err, not to break in or anything but who the hell are you two?" asked Cyborg in the brief silence.
The Beast Boys looked up, blinking at the interruption. "Oh, right. We should introduce ourselves" stated the turquoise Beast Boy. "Well, err, I guess if we are naming ourselves after our representations I would be Knowledge! Nice to meet you!" He gave a short wave.
"Wisdom" introduced the other, keeping it short.
"Aren't they the same thing?" asked Starfire, looking between the rather youthful turquoise Beast Boy and his haggard beige counterpart.
"Nope! I, Knowledge, am a representation of, well, knowledge acquired through seeking. Structured learning."
"While I am the Wisdom born of experience."
"That's one expensive teacher" muttered Raven without thought. Wisdom cut her a amused look, huffing in agreement.
"Well, you're not wrong there. Explains why I look like this, don't it? We've taken rather more knocks in our time than our years suggest." He gestured to the chunks missing from his ears, the scars twisting his lips.
"Yep! And had rather less time for structured learning. Or indeed, the motivation for structured learning." Knowledge shrugged, indicating his rather thin frame, "here I am lacking in muscle power, while this brute crushes concreter."
"I wouldn't go that far. But it further shows that there is some kind of mirroring of our representations occurring through our shifting that's not just limited to aesthetics."
"We've hypothesized that stronger-or more dominant-aspects will likely have stronger, larger and older representations. While those which are not key parts of our collective whole are likely to be younger and weaker. Of course, this is just a theory and may change depending on the aspect itself. We really need more data."
"Well, Instinct and Bloodlust certainly followed your theory but with them being more animal centred aspects it's hard to tell. They're not exactly complicated or nuanced emotions" said Serenity.
"So, what you're saying is we need to be on the lookout for BBs of all colors and ages?" asked Cyborg.
Wisdom shrugged, "pretty much. Though I don't imagine it will be too hard to identify us. We still share distinctive features and with our coloring being all encompassing it shouldn't be too hard to pick us out of a crowd. Not many humans waking around with brightly colored skin."
"You keep mentioning more aspects. Do you know how many of you we could be dealing with here?" asked Robin.
The three Beast Boys paused, frowning. Each of them glanced at the other, exchanging silent thoughts. Eventually Wisdom shook their head. "We can't tell. Not right now. We're not-there's too much missing to tell, if that makes sense."
"Would you be able to tell if more of you were here?" said Robin.
Wisdom frowned, worrying their lip. "Possibly. It's hard to describe, we can all…feel each other. At least, when we're close like this. It's how Knowledge and I met up."
"But, if you're asking us what's missing then the only answer we can give at the moment is 'most of it'" finished Knowledge. "It;s like asking how many pieces of a puzzle are missing when you've only done one corner. You won't see the gaps until you've gathered more of the pieces."
"Which should be our priority" broke in Serenity. "The sooner we gather the aspects the sooner we can work to naturalize those that might be more dangerous. There's a number of emotions that won't do well roaming the city without check from their more moderate counter parts."
"There's another issue" said Raven, gaining everyone's attention. "I may not know the details of the ritual that split you but having a soul split up like this is not good. With you all having your own autonomous bodies and feelings there's a change of fracture if you stay apart for too long."
"Fracture?" asked Cyborg.
"It can occur when parts of a soul deform and will no longer fit into the whole. You may be a single emotional aspect now, but you've got enough autonomy to be influenced and grow from your surroundings and actions. If individual ids and souls start to form, putting a singular one back together will no longer work," Raven tried to explain. The Beast Boys seemed to understand, perhaps intuitively due to their situation, but her fellow Titans still looked blank with confusion. "Um, to borrow the puzzle analogue. If the pieces are left scattered long enough some can become damaged or bent, or even form new bits. If you try and place the puzzle back together like that you will simply damage everything else. Permanently."
"…you're saying we could lose BB if we don't get all his aspects together soon enough?" mutter Cyborg, looking alarmed.
Raven bit her lip, nodding. "It's possible. Instinct eating Bloodlust could have already irrevocably split him." She turned to the Beast Boys, specifically Serenity. Even she found herself strangely drawn to his elegant charisma. "Do you feel any different? Weaker?"
"Not that I've noticed," said Serenity. "As far as I can tell I am as I always was."
Raven fiddled with her cloak, thinking. "Maybe because Instinct, err, consumed Bloodlust, he might have absorbed him as an aspect. Or Bloodlust was simply not a powerful enough aspect of your psyche for its loss to affect you. But that might not be the same for others."
"So if any of the aspects get hurt, that could also stop us merging BB" asked Robin, frown saver.
"Possibly. Even if we can get them all together, we still need to find a way to fuse them. Trying to fuse a soul, even parts of the same soul, is dangerous. Best case scenario, it just wouldn't work."
"And the worst-case scenario?" asked Cyborg.
"…Beast Boys soul could become so weak as to fade from existence."
"That's not acceptable" stated Robin, Knowledge fervently nodding in agreement behind him. "Assuming we gather all the aspects would you be able to fuse him together again Raven?"
"I…maybe. I need more information on the ritual that split him. The more I understand about how this happened-what the ritual was actually meant to achieve-and how the power was constructed, the better chance I have of accomplishing it and not causing his soul to fracture. I will need to do some research and preparation."
"Oh, me! I'll help, I love research!" shouted Knowledge gleefully, hurrying to her side. Raven started back from his enthusiastic grin. The pupils of his large eyes blown wide, a bottomless well of black.
"Uh…sure. But first I should return to the ritual site. If I can get a good enough idea of the specific runes and scriptures used I will at least have a starting point."
"Not right now you're not" said Serenity, stepping in close and pulling Knowledge away slightly.
Raven frowned, bristling against the commanding tone. "What do you mean? You said it yourself, we need to act quickly. I should head back. If I had been thinking right I would never have left in the first place."
"But you weren't thinking right and that's because your exhausted. Your powers are spent and after being invaded with energy like that your control has got to be shot. Both you and Star need to rest before doing anything."
"But we could be losing valuable time! Something could happen to the ritual site!"
"The cultists are dead or have fled. I doubt anything will disturb the scene. And I'm sure we can last a few hours without harm. Better than you or Star suffering further because we rushed in."
Raven fumed, hands clenching but Serenity stared her down. His familiar emerald eyes held a clear and unwavering will. He would broke no argument from her. It was not a sight she was used to seeing from Beast Boy.
"The dudes right Raven. Rest a bit. Star needs medical and we need a plan. Just running around the city looking for the aspects won't get us anywhere quickly" said Robin soothingly. Raven looked from Serenity to her leader, glancing at Star and Cyborg but getting no support. Instead, she just got more concerned and worried glances.
She tried feeling them out, letting herself become aware of their emotions. Dizziness overtook her the moment she did. It was just so strange. Robin, Cyborg and Star were obviously worried, tired, tense, anxious-as expected. A great kaleidoscope of emotions in which she had to work to pick out any one individual piece and puzzle together. The tune of their feelings and thoughts interwove and harmonized.
The aspects, however, were discordant notes ringing loudly in the chaos. There was no subtly, no quiet nebulous melody tying it all together. Instead, they rang with one feeling and one feeling only. Knowledge was a wanting, yearning, hording thing. Not something she had the words for. Wisdom was weary but still, settled, ready but not impatient. Serenity was by far the strangest, he dominated the room. A press of thought and feeling so great she furled back into herself hurriedly.
A cold sweat broke on her brow. Raven loosened her fists, shoulders dropping. They were right, she didn't have the energy to fight. Not right now.
"Fine. I'll stay for a few hours. Knowledge can help me start to research while I meditate. But I'm moving out to the ritual site as soon as I can fly."
"Good enough" Serenity smiled at her, looking relived. Raven turned away, not wanting to see the proof of his worry for her. The guilt weighed heavy enough already.
"Right. Raven, you go rest up. Cyborg, help Star with her shoulder. Get back here as soon as you're done. We need to figure out how we're going to track down these aspects."
"And quickly," said Wisdom. "Without morals and logic to guide them certain emotions can be very destructive. Anger for example. I don't imagine they're going to be taking it easy."
"We're lucky this has happened so late and night life is sparse. It should hopefully limit most of the damage until we can find and contain them" Serenity followed on.
"Here's hoping" said Wisdom. "If we're lucky some of our more benevolent aspects might take it into their own hands to help out. Especially those of an opposite nature."
"Right, so we need to plan. And figure out a way of keeping them all under control once we do have them" finished Robin. Already turning to the computers to bring up a map of the city. "Titans, get moving. It's going to be a long night. You three, stay here with me where I can see you. I still don't trust you."
"Do you really think it wise we leave Instinct by himself in the garage?" said Serenity blithely. "Or will you let me out of your sights long enough to fetch him so he doesn't chew up the car?"
"Hay! Nobody touches the car!" cried Cyborg, genuinely panicked as he and Star stood up to head to the medical bay.
Robin hummed in thought, "can you even get him up here?"
"Should be possible if we climb the building and come in through the window. I won't be a moment." So saying Serenity glided his way out of the room, heading back to the lift. Raven watched him go, attention caught on the way he prowled away on his long legs. She wondered if Beast Boy would ever grow into legs like that.
Then she shook herself firmly. This wasn't the time for those types of useless thoughts.
"You, Knowledge, come on. If you're going to help me research, there's some books I'm going to need you to read." Grabbing the lanky boy by the crock of his arm Raven stomped her own way out of the common room. Determined not to waste a second.