1.
Beast Boy darted through metal hallways as fast as he could. The only sound in his ears was his own booming heartbeat, and quick footsteps behind him. Don't look behind you, he closed his eyes and tried running faster. It seemed like this has been going on for ages. Shadows twisted through the hallways, forming demons faces. Their dark mouths opened to growl and laugh at Beast Boy as he passed. The Teen Titan once again tried to change to any animal; fast or not. But the result was a pain in the head and stomach. Through the pain that was aching inside of him, Beast Boy continued to run. He could hear behind him that the endless, running footsteps were closing in on him. Then what the teenager feared most happened. He couldn't run. It felt like there were weights tied unto his ankles. He eventually slowed down, and was forced to stand completely still.
Beast Boy shuddered, knowing he only had one more choice left. He turned to see what was chasing him, a sudden wave of coldness sweeping over him. There was a shadow in the form of a person chasing him. A sadistic grin was plastered on its face, and time seemed to slow as its black, gnarled hand came into view, revealing a knife. Beast Boy felt his heart skip and beat, and he gave himself one final nudge to change his shape to an animal. He would have begun dancing in happiness if his legs could move when he felt the attempt to transform. He closed his eyes as the shadow monster began edging closer. Then he opened them, realizing that he didn't even know what he was planning to change to. He looked down at his hands. They were normal. Beat Boy looked up from his hands to the rapidly approaching shadow person, and then looked at the metallic walls to see his reflection. He gasped, and brought his hands up to his face. He was human! Beast Boy ran his fingers through now black hair, not knowing how this was possible. Then he heard the sound on a knife cutting through air, and he turned to see the blade only inches away from his face.
"OH MY GOD!"
Beast Boy jolted up in bed with a cold sweat. His blurry eyes focused around him, and in relief, he saw that it was his room. His rapidly beating heart began to slow, and he collapsed backwards into his bed, holding both hands in front of him. They were still green. He lifted his legs to over the side of the bed and shuddered, not remembering such a bad dream before. A few nights ago, he began to have dreams similar to this, but not as realistic and frightening. Beast Boy sat in silence for a long time until his heart beat was entirely back to normal. Then he focused on what actually was real. Did he wake anyone up by screaming? He got to his feet, which were still a bit wobbly from waking up so quickly and from a scary dream and hobbled to the window. He pressed a button next to it, and the metal door covering it slowly opened. Light filtered in, and he shut his eyes in response.
"Beast Boy?"
Even the softly spoken words made him jump, and he whirled around expecting to see the shadow. Instead, it was Starfire with the door slightly cracked. Beast Boy exhaled. "Oh. Hi."
The alien lightly walked in and shut the door. "I heard you scream, and came to make sure you were okay."
Beast Boy smiled a bit. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"I was already awake with the others. It is most late for you to be waking up now," she answered, "But I am worried. Are you having bad dreams?"
Beast Boy nodded. "I guess so. I'll hurry up and see you guys in a while, okay?"
Starfire exited the room. "Alright."
Beast Boy was once again left alone in his room. It was good to know that Starfire was concerned for him not getting a lot of sleep, but it didn't remove that feeling that you always get after a nightmare. He looked down at his hands, just testing. He attempted to change to a regular person like in his dream, but the result was a gorilla. He changed back, relieved, and went to hunt for his Teen Titans uniform. He turned on his handheld CD player, playing the happiest CD that he had to make himself feel better and get back to be annoying and happy-go-lucky. He changed into his uniform and put on his headphones, pressed 'play' and headed outside. The hall was dark like always, and he tried to concentrate more on his music than on the hallway as he walked down it and into the elevator.
He went inside, chose what floor he needed to get to and waited as the elevator began to move downwards. When the doors opened, sunlight shone into the elevator, and Beast Boy stepped out. The brightness ebbed away as his eyes adjusted, and he first focused on where everyone was. Robin was trying to show Starfire how to make Earth recipes, in this case it was eggs, Cyborg was watching music videos on the TV, and Raven was reading another one of her collection of poetry books in the darkest corner of the room. Beast Boy inhaled the air hungrily and trotted over to Starfire and Robin.
They had destroyed eight eggs already, just trying to show Starfire how to crack them open. Beast Boy almost immediately took notice how Robin was holding unto Starfire's hands to show how she had to crack it right. She was completely oblivious to the fact he was just trying to get close to her. Beast Boy was beginning to get angry at how Robin just didn't ask her to go out or something. Instead, he poked his head between them. "I'm hungry!"
"What else is new?" Robin answered, not meaning it in a harsh way.
"Good morning again," Starfire chirped, and accidentally cracked the egg again, "Oops."
"I guess I'll just wait until you guys actually have something on the skillet," Beast Boy grinned at Robin, "But right now, I'm craving pizza."
"In the morning... that's gross," Robin stated, trying not to make it obvious he just wanted to be alone with Starfire.
Beast Boy knew that Robin was bad at hiding things he wanted, so he just nodded and walked off to the phone so he could order the pizza. Hopefully, Cyborg wouldn't hear him dialing and saying what he wanted. Beast Boy suspiciously looked over to Cyborg as he lifted the cordless phone from the charger and dialed the number he forced himself to memorize. The phone rang, and someone picked up the phone. As Beast Boy began to order, he realized that the TV was off. Cyborg knocked him over and grabbed the phone while it was in mid-air.
"Sorry," he said while grinning down at Beast Boy, "Can you add a large meat lovers to that with extra cheese? Yeah. Okay, thanks. We're at the Teen Titans Tower, it isn't hard to miss. Yes, the Teen Titans. Discount? Awesome!"
There was a pause from Cyborg as Beast Boy got on his knees and looked sadly at his CD player. It wouldn't shut anymore from the fall. He grumpily turned to Cyborg, who was still talking to the person at the Pizza shop. "A boat... I don't know. Huh? Okay... I'll pick it up. I'm not that hard to miss, I wear a Teen Titans uniform and I have green skin and hair... Thanks."
He hung up as Beast Boy looked grumpily up at him. "You broke my CD player. And I guess I'm the one picking up the pizza?"
"Hey, I can't fly like you can! Pizza is best while it's hot!" Cyborg whined, and went back to friendly mode, picking up his CD player, "And by the time you get back, this will be fixed."
Beast Boy sighed and got to his feet. "Okay. I'll get it..."
Cyborg went off to his room to fix the CD player. Raven looked up at Beast Boy as he passed and closed her poetry book. "Where are you going?"
"To pick up a pizza," Beast Boy answered.
The girl floated up and landed on her feet. She pulled her hood over her head and set the book of poetry down on a table. "I'll go with you."
Beast Boy grinned slyly. "I see you just can resist any longer."
"...to go to the coffee shop," she finished.
He stuck out his tongue. "Nasty stuff. Coffee."
Raven began walking to the giant window and pressed the button to open it. Beast Boy squeaked and walked to the window, looking down. The small waves hit the rocks below, and he grinned, getting ready to do his thrill ride of the day. Raven could tell what he planning, sighed, and drifted out of the window slowly. Beast Boy jumped on the thick windowsill and gave Raven one last look before jumping. She just blinked as he began screaming from a rush of adrenaline. He flipped over so he was facing downward. The rocks were rushing up to him, and at the last second he changed to a crow and turned sharply. Sunlight hit his dark green feathers and face. Just the sights of the city in the morning made him feel better. He looked up and flapped to Raven. She paid him no attention as they both soared over the water.
In only another minute, they were above the city. She headed downwards to the coffee shop, and Beast Boy was all alone. Once by himself, that feeling came over him again that he was back in his dream. He looked around, and just realized there were storm clouds. He cursed in his head. He wasn't supposed to think of bad dreams! To take his mind off of them, he dived down and turned to his usual self a few feet above the pavement in midair. He hit it in his usual form and began to walk to the pizza shop. He passed by a scrolling sign in front of a car dealership and groaned. It was one in the afternoon. He didn't realize that he had slept so late.
He dropped his head to watch the pavement as he walked, trying to put his mind unto other things. He didn't know why something as little as a dream was bothering him so much. It was making him paranoid! Ten minutes later, he reached the pizza shop and opened the door in relief. The bell chimed as he entered, and the smell of the air made him crave the pizza even more. Almost immediately the person at the cash register turned with the two boxes. It wasn't very often that someone with green skin and darker green hair came in for a pizza. Beast Boy paid and grabbed the boxes hungrily. He turned and left the store happily, changing to a pterodactyl and grabbed each box in his talons. Once secured to the point where they wouldn't open, he spread his wings and flapped into the air as fast as possible. The thought of dreams were clouded by the thoughts of making Cyborg think he ate it all on the way to the tower.
Finally, he arrived at the tower and changed back to his form as he walked to the elevator outside. He lifted the lid to the pizza he ordered and took out a slice, waiting to get to his floor. As he chewed the greasy food, it just occurred to him how fat he would be if he didn't have a high metabolism rate and didn't work the fat off. The elevator door opened, and he entered the room. "Pizza!" Something wasn't right. Everyone didn't tackle him at once with the exception of Raven... He walked forward. "Hello? Guys?"
Curious. Beast Boy began walking further into the room, and finally went into the back room. He walked over to them. "I got the pizzas."
"Alright!" Cyborg leapt up and snatched his box and then went back to the table.
Then Beast Boy noticed that someone he had never met before was at the table. It was a girl, roughly around his age, maybe a year older, with shoulder-length black hair. The tips were spiked and looked sharp enough to cut her neck. Her skin was somewhat pale, and her eyes were light blue that almost looked transparent. Other than her eyes, she looked like any other girl her age. She wore a regular black tank-top and blue jeans. She looked up at him as she heard him announce the pizzas.
Robin coughed. "Uh, This is Bridget. Bridget, that would be Beast Boy."
She just gave him a small wave and then looked awkwardly back down at the table. Still confused, Beast Boy also walked to the table and sat in an empty seat between Cyborg and Starfire. "She and Raven met at the coffee shop," Robin continued, "She said she needs help from the Titans. We were just getting to that."
Raven looked at Beast Boy dryly, expecting an unneeded joke. There was none. Robin faced Bridget again. "So what do you need help with?"
She shifted in her seat, obviously not used to so much attention on her. "Well, in a way I was kind of wondering if you need help. It's hard to explain, but I can do some stuff that no one really knows about... but I guess that you guys can understand in a way. I can... kind of control the wind. And I really haven't told anyone, so I was wondering if it could be put to use around here."
"Control of the wind?" Starfire blinked, "Like tornadoes?"
"Tornadoes, sometimes. Most of the time they're unintentional," Bridget answered, "I have no idea where it came from. But I ran away, and I was living in one of the abandoned factories on the east side of the city until the demolition teams destroyed it. I need a place to stay, and I just want to put my power to use now."
Robin glanced at everyone's expressions. Beast Boy also looked at Robin, wondering what he was going to say. Robin nodded in thought. "A lot of people are members of the Teen Titans. And it sounds like you need support. If you did run away, it would be best if we knew a bit of your past. Is it anything you don't want to talk about?"
She shook her hand. "I can talk. It's nothing special, really. Well, about two years ago I kind of noticed that when I started thinking about what I wanted to happen with the wind, it would. Like when I wanted school to be closed I wanted there to be a snow day or something. The wind turned strong, but only around me. Then I got mad over a fight with my parents, and that's when I didn't mean to, but I made a tornado. It came so close to our house I thought it would kill everyone inside. It didn't, but I realized I was too dangerous to be around them. So I just left... I could make the wind strong enough to carry me. So I got around like that. I heard of this city, and came here. Then I found out that you guys were here. Then I met Raven by good luck."
Robin listened intently. It was a good thing she ran away, because if she could make tornadoes unintentionally, that could be dangerous. But it was also bad being away from your parents like that. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," Bridget answered.
Beast Boy grabbed his Hawaiian slice of pizza and bit in hungrily. Once again, he didn't really have anything to put in. His first reaction was: new member. He could get used to anyone easily. Then the worst happened. Bridget leaned over and actually took a piece of his pizza! Beast Boy growled satanically. She didn't even ask! Then she saw his expression and looked over. "Oh. Sorry... I'm not the best with manners."
"No problem," Beast Boy growled and took a huge bite out of his pizza and tried to make it look very disgusting and unpleasant.
"Well, a new Titan is good for everyone, I guess," Robin concluded, deciding by the looks on everyone's faces, "But we do need to know if you can control your powers. We don't want things to get dangerous around innocent people. So we'll have a course for you to run. One of us can do the first example then you could go."
Bridget seemed to sink back into her seat. "Uh... okay. When?"
He shrugged. "Whenever you feel ready. Is today too early?"
"No, not at all!" She answered quickly, as if saying 'yes' would make them all angry.
There was a silence. Cyborg coughed. "I'll do the example... like always."
Robin nodded. "Okay. I can go and set the course level for you. It will be finished in an hour or so. Who wants to volunteer for the course test?"
Starfire floated up from her seat. "I will be much obliged if you would allow me to!"
Bridget watched as Starfire floated from the room with an expression like she had just found a new idol. Beast Boy, Raven and the future recruit were all who were left at the table. "What am I going to do for an hour?" Bridget asked.
Beast Boy stood, cradling his pizza box next to his chest. "I would give you a tour," he snorted, "But I'm eating. Raven, I guess you're the one who'll be giving a tour to the PIZZA THEIF!"
Bridget laughed. "You're funny..."
'If only it was meant to be,' Beast Boy thought growling. Raven just blinked, not showing any emotion and just stood up stoically. "I guess I will be giving you the tour."
-
Beast Boy sat in his room alone, deciding that he didn't like today very much. Music was playing on his CD player and he could still hear the sound of the training course being set up. The whirs of machines penetrated the covered window noisily. Finally, he turned off the music angrily, opened the window and peered down. Cyborg, Starfire and Robin were all working together. Beast Boy almost never eaves dropped on people, but couldn't help it now. He changed to a small sparrow and flitted down. He landed on a single tree limb that grew through the crack of two rocks.
Cyborg was at the one of the two panels that controlled the course, setting which machines worked and which didn't in what order. At the other panel Starfire and Robin also set up the machines. It was quiet as Starfire hovered in the air and Robin flipped switches on and off. He finally stopped and coughed. "Hey, Starfire?" He asked, "I need to ask you something."
Beast Boy chirped happily and triumphantly, even though he really did not accomplish anything special. It was about time he asked her! He flew even closer and landed on the elevator frame. Robin continued, "Do you think that Beast Boy is acting different?"
The small sparrow almost fell from its perch is disbelief. One was because he thought that it would seriously be the right time to ask her out, and two, making things worse, Robin was asking about the person who was hoping it would be the right time. Beast Boy postured himself again and angrily listened. Did they normally talk about him behind his back like this? Starfire blinked. "How?"
"I don't know... he doesn't seem himself. I mean, he isn't cracking jokes that aren't funny as much," Robin scratched the back of his head, "He actually seems more mature. And in a way, I don't think that's very healthy for him."
"I'm worried about his sleeping," Starfire agreed, "He has nightmares almost every resting time."
Beast Boy finally got angry enough to fly away. In the air, he processed what they had said, and a feeling of sadness came over him. Was he really changing that much to have people talk about him like that? He circled the entire tower and then changed back to his original form when he arrived at the course again. Now Starfire was ready to test it. Robin greeted Beast Boy liked he hadn't just been taking about him behind his back. "Hey!" Robin walked over to Beast Boy.
"Hey..." Beast Boy answered glumly.
"What's wrong?" The unofficial leader questioned, sensing a sudden mood change in his friend.
"I don't know. I just don't know who I am all of the sudden," Beast Boy admitted, sighing, "Or some of the people around me."
Robin patted him on the back. "Right now, you're going to be the one make sure that us little people don't mess up the course."
He nodded, that statement not cheering him up. Yes, he concluded. The worst day. He watched as Starfire floated over to where the course began. Cyborg grabbed unto the microphone. "Ready?"
"Yes, sir!" She answered cheerfully, and got ready.
"Go!" Cyborg pressed the 'begin' button.
As soon as the button was pressed, tall metal rods jutted from the ground beneath her. Starfire flew quickly out of the way of danger and then glided downwards to resume the course. Next, to machines that resembled catapults emerged from the ground through metal, sliding doors. They centered on the flying Starfire and a red beam came from each, both focusing on Starfire. She stopped as a flying disc came from both. The razors cut through the air quickly and easily. Starfire sped up as a bright green light encircled her hands. She twisted in midair and hurled a blast at one of the discs. It exploded on contact. The other came close to hitting her, but she dodged. The blades retracted as it was set to do as it neared her, and she whirled around, firing the other blast at it. It, too, exploded.
Starfire continued to follow the course. No matter what part she went through, she always remained victorious. She finally reached the end of the course in less than three minutes and twirled around in the air happily. Cyborg growled at them time and muttered into the microphone, "New record."
Starfire squealed. "I beat you?"
"...Yes." Cyborg sighed. "Now there's no point in me going out there for the example."
Starfire did another twirl and then floated quickly to Robin, trapping him in a bear hug. "I have the record! Is that not the most wonderful news? Oh, and my apologies Cyborg."
Robin laughed as he was knocked over by the force of her speed. "Yes, it is."
Beast Boy just blinked at them, not knowing why he wasn't also tackling Robin and starting a dog pile. The elevator opened behind him, and he turned to see Bridget and Raven come out. Bridget took a glance at all of the machines and gulped nervously. Cyborg began to make all of the machinery go back to hiding again. "This will take another ten minutes until it's ready again."
Beast Boy looked back out into the distance. The storm clouds that he had noticed earlier were gradually approaching. In a way, he wanted it to rain. He heard a conversation strike up with Bridget and Starfire. It turned out that Bridget now did see Starfire as an idol. "Is it hard?" She asked, glancing at the slowly retracting machinery.
Starfire shook her head happily. "No. Flying is quite easy..."
Bridget blinked and looked at Raven. She wasn't paying Bridget any attention. Cyborg finally called Bridget over, and she stood next to him. The small and fragile looking girl tried not to take notice of the height difference between them. Cyborg pointed out at the course. "You see those small poles with the red light blinking?"
She squinted. "Yeah..."
"You need to follow them. They show which order the course goes in and will change to green," Cyborg continued, "The one with the yellow light is the one you start at. You mind waiting over there for a few seconds?"
Bridget nodded and walked to the pole Cyborg pointed her to. Robin walked to the panel and flicked a single switch. The red lights on the poles turned green, and Cyborg grabbed the microphone. "Ready?"
Bridget closed her eyes and floated into the air. Her black hair flowed around her slowly, as if she was underwater. Dust from the wind blown around her. She reopened her eyes once she was a foot off of the ground and then faced Cyborg and nodded. Cyborg rested his hand on the single switch that activated the course. Then he pulled it. "Go!"
Bridget flew forward. It took six minutes for her to complete the entire course. That was a bit worse than average, but she had a few excuses. Once the course was finished, she flew very swiftly to where the others stood and hit the ground, wind scattering the dust for one last time. She looked at the ground. "It was too long, wasn't it?"
"No," Robin answered, "That was fine. I think we have a new member."
Bridget looked back up sharply, and grinned the largest grin that Beast Boy had ever witnessed. She jumped up happily, gave Robin a giant hug and then ran over to where Cyborg was to hug him too. Robin cracked his back. "Ouch... maybe she has a power of strength, too."
Beast Boy couldn't believe his pointed ears. Now there was going to be a new Teen Titan member? He watched wryly as Bridget was hugging Cyborg, who was trying to act like he didn't care. Robin looked over at Beast Boy. "Are you okay? You don't seem like your self today. In fact, you've been acting differently for days now."
Beast Boy didn't respond at first. "I can't tell if I'm being someone else or myself."
He turned and walked back into the elevator. Raven also watched him go and then looked back at Robin. "What's his problem?"
"Nightmares," Robin answered, "He's been having them almost every night for the past week."
This seemed to grab her attention. "I think I might now what he has if it keeps happening. Especially if he wakes with scratches."
The elevator came back empty, and Raven stepped into it. Before Robin had the chance to ask her what she meant, Raven was gone. Starfire drifted over after a hug from Bridget and took notice of Robin's confused expression. She stopped floating and stood on the ground. "What is wrong?"
He shrugged. "I don't know... It just feels like the Teen Titans is beginning to change."
Starfire cocked her head to the side. "I don't understand."
Robin turned around into the elevator, Starfire following. "I don't either."
Beast Boy darted through metal hallways as fast as he could. The only sound in his ears was his own booming heartbeat, and quick footsteps behind him. Don't look behind you, he closed his eyes and tried running faster. It seemed like this has been going on for ages. Shadows twisted through the hallways, forming demons faces. Their dark mouths opened to growl and laugh at Beast Boy as he passed. The Teen Titan once again tried to change to any animal; fast or not. But the result was a pain in the head and stomach. Through the pain that was aching inside of him, Beast Boy continued to run. He could hear behind him that the endless, running footsteps were closing in on him. Then what the teenager feared most happened. He couldn't run. It felt like there were weights tied unto his ankles. He eventually slowed down, and was forced to stand completely still.
Beast Boy shuddered, knowing he only had one more choice left. He turned to see what was chasing him, a sudden wave of coldness sweeping over him. There was a shadow in the form of a person chasing him. A sadistic grin was plastered on its face, and time seemed to slow as its black, gnarled hand came into view, revealing a knife. Beast Boy felt his heart skip and beat, and he gave himself one final nudge to change his shape to an animal. He would have begun dancing in happiness if his legs could move when he felt the attempt to transform. He closed his eyes as the shadow monster began edging closer. Then he opened them, realizing that he didn't even know what he was planning to change to. He looked down at his hands. They were normal. Beat Boy looked up from his hands to the rapidly approaching shadow person, and then looked at the metallic walls to see his reflection. He gasped, and brought his hands up to his face. He was human! Beast Boy ran his fingers through now black hair, not knowing how this was possible. Then he heard the sound on a knife cutting through air, and he turned to see the blade only inches away from his face.
"OH MY GOD!"
Beast Boy jolted up in bed with a cold sweat. His blurry eyes focused around him, and in relief, he saw that it was his room. His rapidly beating heart began to slow, and he collapsed backwards into his bed, holding both hands in front of him. They were still green. He lifted his legs to over the side of the bed and shuddered, not remembering such a bad dream before. A few nights ago, he began to have dreams similar to this, but not as realistic and frightening. Beast Boy sat in silence for a long time until his heart beat was entirely back to normal. Then he focused on what actually was real. Did he wake anyone up by screaming? He got to his feet, which were still a bit wobbly from waking up so quickly and from a scary dream and hobbled to the window. He pressed a button next to it, and the metal door covering it slowly opened. Light filtered in, and he shut his eyes in response.
"Beast Boy?"
Even the softly spoken words made him jump, and he whirled around expecting to see the shadow. Instead, it was Starfire with the door slightly cracked. Beast Boy exhaled. "Oh. Hi."
The alien lightly walked in and shut the door. "I heard you scream, and came to make sure you were okay."
Beast Boy smiled a bit. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"I was already awake with the others. It is most late for you to be waking up now," she answered, "But I am worried. Are you having bad dreams?"
Beast Boy nodded. "I guess so. I'll hurry up and see you guys in a while, okay?"
Starfire exited the room. "Alright."
Beast Boy was once again left alone in his room. It was good to know that Starfire was concerned for him not getting a lot of sleep, but it didn't remove that feeling that you always get after a nightmare. He looked down at his hands, just testing. He attempted to change to a regular person like in his dream, but the result was a gorilla. He changed back, relieved, and went to hunt for his Teen Titans uniform. He turned on his handheld CD player, playing the happiest CD that he had to make himself feel better and get back to be annoying and happy-go-lucky. He changed into his uniform and put on his headphones, pressed 'play' and headed outside. The hall was dark like always, and he tried to concentrate more on his music than on the hallway as he walked down it and into the elevator.
He went inside, chose what floor he needed to get to and waited as the elevator began to move downwards. When the doors opened, sunlight shone into the elevator, and Beast Boy stepped out. The brightness ebbed away as his eyes adjusted, and he first focused on where everyone was. Robin was trying to show Starfire how to make Earth recipes, in this case it was eggs, Cyborg was watching music videos on the TV, and Raven was reading another one of her collection of poetry books in the darkest corner of the room. Beast Boy inhaled the air hungrily and trotted over to Starfire and Robin.
They had destroyed eight eggs already, just trying to show Starfire how to crack them open. Beast Boy almost immediately took notice how Robin was holding unto Starfire's hands to show how she had to crack it right. She was completely oblivious to the fact he was just trying to get close to her. Beast Boy was beginning to get angry at how Robin just didn't ask her to go out or something. Instead, he poked his head between them. "I'm hungry!"
"What else is new?" Robin answered, not meaning it in a harsh way.
"Good morning again," Starfire chirped, and accidentally cracked the egg again, "Oops."
"I guess I'll just wait until you guys actually have something on the skillet," Beast Boy grinned at Robin, "But right now, I'm craving pizza."
"In the morning... that's gross," Robin stated, trying not to make it obvious he just wanted to be alone with Starfire.
Beast Boy knew that Robin was bad at hiding things he wanted, so he just nodded and walked off to the phone so he could order the pizza. Hopefully, Cyborg wouldn't hear him dialing and saying what he wanted. Beast Boy suspiciously looked over to Cyborg as he lifted the cordless phone from the charger and dialed the number he forced himself to memorize. The phone rang, and someone picked up the phone. As Beast Boy began to order, he realized that the TV was off. Cyborg knocked him over and grabbed the phone while it was in mid-air.
"Sorry," he said while grinning down at Beast Boy, "Can you add a large meat lovers to that with extra cheese? Yeah. Okay, thanks. We're at the Teen Titans Tower, it isn't hard to miss. Yes, the Teen Titans. Discount? Awesome!"
There was a pause from Cyborg as Beast Boy got on his knees and looked sadly at his CD player. It wouldn't shut anymore from the fall. He grumpily turned to Cyborg, who was still talking to the person at the Pizza shop. "A boat... I don't know. Huh? Okay... I'll pick it up. I'm not that hard to miss, I wear a Teen Titans uniform and I have green skin and hair... Thanks."
He hung up as Beast Boy looked grumpily up at him. "You broke my CD player. And I guess I'm the one picking up the pizza?"
"Hey, I can't fly like you can! Pizza is best while it's hot!" Cyborg whined, and went back to friendly mode, picking up his CD player, "And by the time you get back, this will be fixed."
Beast Boy sighed and got to his feet. "Okay. I'll get it..."
Cyborg went off to his room to fix the CD player. Raven looked up at Beast Boy as he passed and closed her poetry book. "Where are you going?"
"To pick up a pizza," Beast Boy answered.
The girl floated up and landed on her feet. She pulled her hood over her head and set the book of poetry down on a table. "I'll go with you."
Beast Boy grinned slyly. "I see you just can resist any longer."
"...to go to the coffee shop," she finished.
He stuck out his tongue. "Nasty stuff. Coffee."
Raven began walking to the giant window and pressed the button to open it. Beast Boy squeaked and walked to the window, looking down. The small waves hit the rocks below, and he grinned, getting ready to do his thrill ride of the day. Raven could tell what he planning, sighed, and drifted out of the window slowly. Beast Boy jumped on the thick windowsill and gave Raven one last look before jumping. She just blinked as he began screaming from a rush of adrenaline. He flipped over so he was facing downward. The rocks were rushing up to him, and at the last second he changed to a crow and turned sharply. Sunlight hit his dark green feathers and face. Just the sights of the city in the morning made him feel better. He looked up and flapped to Raven. She paid him no attention as they both soared over the water.
In only another minute, they were above the city. She headed downwards to the coffee shop, and Beast Boy was all alone. Once by himself, that feeling came over him again that he was back in his dream. He looked around, and just realized there were storm clouds. He cursed in his head. He wasn't supposed to think of bad dreams! To take his mind off of them, he dived down and turned to his usual self a few feet above the pavement in midair. He hit it in his usual form and began to walk to the pizza shop. He passed by a scrolling sign in front of a car dealership and groaned. It was one in the afternoon. He didn't realize that he had slept so late.
He dropped his head to watch the pavement as he walked, trying to put his mind unto other things. He didn't know why something as little as a dream was bothering him so much. It was making him paranoid! Ten minutes later, he reached the pizza shop and opened the door in relief. The bell chimed as he entered, and the smell of the air made him crave the pizza even more. Almost immediately the person at the cash register turned with the two boxes. It wasn't very often that someone with green skin and darker green hair came in for a pizza. Beast Boy paid and grabbed the boxes hungrily. He turned and left the store happily, changing to a pterodactyl and grabbed each box in his talons. Once secured to the point where they wouldn't open, he spread his wings and flapped into the air as fast as possible. The thought of dreams were clouded by the thoughts of making Cyborg think he ate it all on the way to the tower.
Finally, he arrived at the tower and changed back to his form as he walked to the elevator outside. He lifted the lid to the pizza he ordered and took out a slice, waiting to get to his floor. As he chewed the greasy food, it just occurred to him how fat he would be if he didn't have a high metabolism rate and didn't work the fat off. The elevator door opened, and he entered the room. "Pizza!" Something wasn't right. Everyone didn't tackle him at once with the exception of Raven... He walked forward. "Hello? Guys?"
Curious. Beast Boy began walking further into the room, and finally went into the back room. He walked over to them. "I got the pizzas."
"Alright!" Cyborg leapt up and snatched his box and then went back to the table.
Then Beast Boy noticed that someone he had never met before was at the table. It was a girl, roughly around his age, maybe a year older, with shoulder-length black hair. The tips were spiked and looked sharp enough to cut her neck. Her skin was somewhat pale, and her eyes were light blue that almost looked transparent. Other than her eyes, she looked like any other girl her age. She wore a regular black tank-top and blue jeans. She looked up at him as she heard him announce the pizzas.
Robin coughed. "Uh, This is Bridget. Bridget, that would be Beast Boy."
She just gave him a small wave and then looked awkwardly back down at the table. Still confused, Beast Boy also walked to the table and sat in an empty seat between Cyborg and Starfire. "She and Raven met at the coffee shop," Robin continued, "She said she needs help from the Titans. We were just getting to that."
Raven looked at Beast Boy dryly, expecting an unneeded joke. There was none. Robin faced Bridget again. "So what do you need help with?"
She shifted in her seat, obviously not used to so much attention on her. "Well, in a way I was kind of wondering if you need help. It's hard to explain, but I can do some stuff that no one really knows about... but I guess that you guys can understand in a way. I can... kind of control the wind. And I really haven't told anyone, so I was wondering if it could be put to use around here."
"Control of the wind?" Starfire blinked, "Like tornadoes?"
"Tornadoes, sometimes. Most of the time they're unintentional," Bridget answered, "I have no idea where it came from. But I ran away, and I was living in one of the abandoned factories on the east side of the city until the demolition teams destroyed it. I need a place to stay, and I just want to put my power to use now."
Robin glanced at everyone's expressions. Beast Boy also looked at Robin, wondering what he was going to say. Robin nodded in thought. "A lot of people are members of the Teen Titans. And it sounds like you need support. If you did run away, it would be best if we knew a bit of your past. Is it anything you don't want to talk about?"
She shook her hand. "I can talk. It's nothing special, really. Well, about two years ago I kind of noticed that when I started thinking about what I wanted to happen with the wind, it would. Like when I wanted school to be closed I wanted there to be a snow day or something. The wind turned strong, but only around me. Then I got mad over a fight with my parents, and that's when I didn't mean to, but I made a tornado. It came so close to our house I thought it would kill everyone inside. It didn't, but I realized I was too dangerous to be around them. So I just left... I could make the wind strong enough to carry me. So I got around like that. I heard of this city, and came here. Then I found out that you guys were here. Then I met Raven by good luck."
Robin listened intently. It was a good thing she ran away, because if she could make tornadoes unintentionally, that could be dangerous. But it was also bad being away from your parents like that. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," Bridget answered.
Beast Boy grabbed his Hawaiian slice of pizza and bit in hungrily. Once again, he didn't really have anything to put in. His first reaction was: new member. He could get used to anyone easily. Then the worst happened. Bridget leaned over and actually took a piece of his pizza! Beast Boy growled satanically. She didn't even ask! Then she saw his expression and looked over. "Oh. Sorry... I'm not the best with manners."
"No problem," Beast Boy growled and took a huge bite out of his pizza and tried to make it look very disgusting and unpleasant.
"Well, a new Titan is good for everyone, I guess," Robin concluded, deciding by the looks on everyone's faces, "But we do need to know if you can control your powers. We don't want things to get dangerous around innocent people. So we'll have a course for you to run. One of us can do the first example then you could go."
Bridget seemed to sink back into her seat. "Uh... okay. When?"
He shrugged. "Whenever you feel ready. Is today too early?"
"No, not at all!" She answered quickly, as if saying 'yes' would make them all angry.
There was a silence. Cyborg coughed. "I'll do the example... like always."
Robin nodded. "Okay. I can go and set the course level for you. It will be finished in an hour or so. Who wants to volunteer for the course test?"
Starfire floated up from her seat. "I will be much obliged if you would allow me to!"
Bridget watched as Starfire floated from the room with an expression like she had just found a new idol. Beast Boy, Raven and the future recruit were all who were left at the table. "What am I going to do for an hour?" Bridget asked.
Beast Boy stood, cradling his pizza box next to his chest. "I would give you a tour," he snorted, "But I'm eating. Raven, I guess you're the one who'll be giving a tour to the PIZZA THEIF!"
Bridget laughed. "You're funny..."
'If only it was meant to be,' Beast Boy thought growling. Raven just blinked, not showing any emotion and just stood up stoically. "I guess I will be giving you the tour."
-
Beast Boy sat in his room alone, deciding that he didn't like today very much. Music was playing on his CD player and he could still hear the sound of the training course being set up. The whirs of machines penetrated the covered window noisily. Finally, he turned off the music angrily, opened the window and peered down. Cyborg, Starfire and Robin were all working together. Beast Boy almost never eaves dropped on people, but couldn't help it now. He changed to a small sparrow and flitted down. He landed on a single tree limb that grew through the crack of two rocks.
Cyborg was at the one of the two panels that controlled the course, setting which machines worked and which didn't in what order. At the other panel Starfire and Robin also set up the machines. It was quiet as Starfire hovered in the air and Robin flipped switches on and off. He finally stopped and coughed. "Hey, Starfire?" He asked, "I need to ask you something."
Beast Boy chirped happily and triumphantly, even though he really did not accomplish anything special. It was about time he asked her! He flew even closer and landed on the elevator frame. Robin continued, "Do you think that Beast Boy is acting different?"
The small sparrow almost fell from its perch is disbelief. One was because he thought that it would seriously be the right time to ask her out, and two, making things worse, Robin was asking about the person who was hoping it would be the right time. Beast Boy postured himself again and angrily listened. Did they normally talk about him behind his back like this? Starfire blinked. "How?"
"I don't know... he doesn't seem himself. I mean, he isn't cracking jokes that aren't funny as much," Robin scratched the back of his head, "He actually seems more mature. And in a way, I don't think that's very healthy for him."
"I'm worried about his sleeping," Starfire agreed, "He has nightmares almost every resting time."
Beast Boy finally got angry enough to fly away. In the air, he processed what they had said, and a feeling of sadness came over him. Was he really changing that much to have people talk about him like that? He circled the entire tower and then changed back to his original form when he arrived at the course again. Now Starfire was ready to test it. Robin greeted Beast Boy liked he hadn't just been taking about him behind his back. "Hey!" Robin walked over to Beast Boy.
"Hey..." Beast Boy answered glumly.
"What's wrong?" The unofficial leader questioned, sensing a sudden mood change in his friend.
"I don't know. I just don't know who I am all of the sudden," Beast Boy admitted, sighing, "Or some of the people around me."
Robin patted him on the back. "Right now, you're going to be the one make sure that us little people don't mess up the course."
He nodded, that statement not cheering him up. Yes, he concluded. The worst day. He watched as Starfire floated over to where the course began. Cyborg grabbed unto the microphone. "Ready?"
"Yes, sir!" She answered cheerfully, and got ready.
"Go!" Cyborg pressed the 'begin' button.
As soon as the button was pressed, tall metal rods jutted from the ground beneath her. Starfire flew quickly out of the way of danger and then glided downwards to resume the course. Next, to machines that resembled catapults emerged from the ground through metal, sliding doors. They centered on the flying Starfire and a red beam came from each, both focusing on Starfire. She stopped as a flying disc came from both. The razors cut through the air quickly and easily. Starfire sped up as a bright green light encircled her hands. She twisted in midair and hurled a blast at one of the discs. It exploded on contact. The other came close to hitting her, but she dodged. The blades retracted as it was set to do as it neared her, and she whirled around, firing the other blast at it. It, too, exploded.
Starfire continued to follow the course. No matter what part she went through, she always remained victorious. She finally reached the end of the course in less than three minutes and twirled around in the air happily. Cyborg growled at them time and muttered into the microphone, "New record."
Starfire squealed. "I beat you?"
"...Yes." Cyborg sighed. "Now there's no point in me going out there for the example."
Starfire did another twirl and then floated quickly to Robin, trapping him in a bear hug. "I have the record! Is that not the most wonderful news? Oh, and my apologies Cyborg."
Robin laughed as he was knocked over by the force of her speed. "Yes, it is."
Beast Boy just blinked at them, not knowing why he wasn't also tackling Robin and starting a dog pile. The elevator opened behind him, and he turned to see Bridget and Raven come out. Bridget took a glance at all of the machines and gulped nervously. Cyborg began to make all of the machinery go back to hiding again. "This will take another ten minutes until it's ready again."
Beast Boy looked back out into the distance. The storm clouds that he had noticed earlier were gradually approaching. In a way, he wanted it to rain. He heard a conversation strike up with Bridget and Starfire. It turned out that Bridget now did see Starfire as an idol. "Is it hard?" She asked, glancing at the slowly retracting machinery.
Starfire shook her head happily. "No. Flying is quite easy..."
Bridget blinked and looked at Raven. She wasn't paying Bridget any attention. Cyborg finally called Bridget over, and she stood next to him. The small and fragile looking girl tried not to take notice of the height difference between them. Cyborg pointed out at the course. "You see those small poles with the red light blinking?"
She squinted. "Yeah..."
"You need to follow them. They show which order the course goes in and will change to green," Cyborg continued, "The one with the yellow light is the one you start at. You mind waiting over there for a few seconds?"
Bridget nodded and walked to the pole Cyborg pointed her to. Robin walked to the panel and flicked a single switch. The red lights on the poles turned green, and Cyborg grabbed the microphone. "Ready?"
Bridget closed her eyes and floated into the air. Her black hair flowed around her slowly, as if she was underwater. Dust from the wind blown around her. She reopened her eyes once she was a foot off of the ground and then faced Cyborg and nodded. Cyborg rested his hand on the single switch that activated the course. Then he pulled it. "Go!"
Bridget flew forward. It took six minutes for her to complete the entire course. That was a bit worse than average, but she had a few excuses. Once the course was finished, she flew very swiftly to where the others stood and hit the ground, wind scattering the dust for one last time. She looked at the ground. "It was too long, wasn't it?"
"No," Robin answered, "That was fine. I think we have a new member."
Bridget looked back up sharply, and grinned the largest grin that Beast Boy had ever witnessed. She jumped up happily, gave Robin a giant hug and then ran over to where Cyborg was to hug him too. Robin cracked his back. "Ouch... maybe she has a power of strength, too."
Beast Boy couldn't believe his pointed ears. Now there was going to be a new Teen Titan member? He watched wryly as Bridget was hugging Cyborg, who was trying to act like he didn't care. Robin looked over at Beast Boy. "Are you okay? You don't seem like your self today. In fact, you've been acting differently for days now."
Beast Boy didn't respond at first. "I can't tell if I'm being someone else or myself."
He turned and walked back into the elevator. Raven also watched him go and then looked back at Robin. "What's his problem?"
"Nightmares," Robin answered, "He's been having them almost every night for the past week."
This seemed to grab her attention. "I think I might now what he has if it keeps happening. Especially if he wakes with scratches."
The elevator came back empty, and Raven stepped into it. Before Robin had the chance to ask her what she meant, Raven was gone. Starfire drifted over after a hug from Bridget and took notice of Robin's confused expression. She stopped floating and stood on the ground. "What is wrong?"
He shrugged. "I don't know... It just feels like the Teen Titans is beginning to change."
Starfire cocked her head to the side. "I don't understand."
Robin turned around into the elevator, Starfire following. "I don't either."