Author's note: Just in case you don't know, Mary Shelley wrote the book Frankenstein. There is also Swahili mentioned in this chapter. I looked some of it up on-line, so as far as I know, these terms are correct. I put the translation in italics, and parenthesis. The translations are a little stiff, simply because they are direct translation. This is a really long chapter, but for you BB/Rae fans, there is a little hinting in there toward the end. Fun Fact of the day: the name Zanta means "Beautiful Girl"
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 3 – Friends, Enemies, and Swahili
Beast Boy was feeling quite homesick as he made his way back to his room. 'Why now? I left Africa when I was 8. I was homesick for a while, but I really haven't felt homesick since I moved in here a year ago...I don't understand it. Why did I have to have that stupid dream?!' Up until last night, Beast Boy had really started to feel like he was fitting in here. He'd made pretty close friends with the rest of the titans. Robin, and Cyborg, were pretty fun to hang out with, Starfire laughed at most of his jokes, and he and Raven had actually started hitting it off last week, over a discussion about Mary Shelley. Everything had been fine, and now...
"Beast Boy! What's up? Why such the long face?" Cyborg said as Beast Boy walked by him in the hall. "...And why are you all wet?"
"I just got caught in the rain...I'm gonna go change" Beast Boy replied, not wanting to tell his friend about his homesickness. Cyborg looked a little confused, but before he could ask the changeling anymore questions, he heard a knock at the door. Cyborg went off to answer the door, while Beast Boy, relieved his friend left, went to his room to change.
The knocking became rapid. "I'm coming!" Cyborg yelled, but the knocking only became louder and more hurried. "Hold your horses, I'm coming!" As Cyborg walking into the living room, he noticed that Raven was there, reading. "Why didn't you get the door?" Cyborg asked. Raven, didn't even glance up from her book. A little annoyed at her, he knew better than to disturb her. Cyborg finally got to the door, and opened it. There stood the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her hair was in small braids that hung to her elbows, she had deep black eyes, and beautiful face. "He...he...hello?" Cyborg stuttered. "Can-can I help you?"
"I'm not sure," the girl replied. "Are you the 'Teen Titans?'"
"Yeah, I'm them-I mean, I'm me! I mean, I'm a Teen Titan. I-I'm Cyborg." Cyborg answered stumbling over all his words.
"Cyborg, you might want to close your mouth and stop drooling before she thinks you're rude." Raven said, suddenly beside him. Instinctively, he wiped his mouth, just incase Raven wasn't joking about the drool. Thankfully, she was.
"I suppose I should invite you in to come out of the rain." Raven said to the girl.
"Thank you" the girl said shyly, unsure of how to take this gothic-looking girl's attitude.
"Have a seat" Raven said, her words, seemingly courteous, had an edge to them. Raven wasn't comfortable with this intruder in her home, but she felt that she had to at least be nice to her until she found out what the girl wanted. 'At least Cyborg seems to like her.' Raven thought sarcastically. "Why were you looking for us?" she asked the girl.
"I needed some help finding someone, and I was told you were the best. I asked the police to help me, but since he's just a long lost friend, and not an actual missing person, they wouldn't help me."
"Who is it you need to find?" Starfire asked as she and Robin came into the living room.
"A friend. His name is Gar Logan." The girl replied.
"Gar? That's a weird name." Cyborg said
"Well, its short for Garfield. Can you help me find him?"
"I suppose," Robin said, "but finding missing people isn't usually our specialty. Can you describe, 'Gar'?"
"Well, the last time I saw him, I was 8, so I can only tell you what he looked like then." The girl said, slightly embarrassed. Robin nodded for her to continue. "Lets see, um...the last time I saw him, he had green eyes, pointy ears, green hair, and green skin." Suddenly the girl realized that they were all staring at her in shock. She didn't feel comfortable asking these people for help in the first place, and now they were all staring at her like she was an alien. "Did I say something wrong?" the girl asked.
"Who are you?!" Raven said, her annoyance showing. 'Who does she think she is? Coming in here thinking we're stupid, and saying, she's trying to find Beast Boy, when the whole city knows he lives here!'
"My name is-" the girl started
"Zanta" Beast Boy finished. Everyone jumped. No one had even seen him standing in the doorway of the living room.
"Gar!" the girl said in surprise as she jumped up and rushed over to him, and hugged him around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek and said "I've missed you so much! I can't believe you're here!" For a moment, Beast Boy looked almost as if he was happy to see her, but then he unexpectedly pushed her away hard.
"What are you doing her Zanta?" He asked angrily. "What do you think you're doing here?! Who do you think you are coming here like this?!"
"Gar? What's wrong? I...I thought you'd be happy to see me..."
"Happy?! Happy to see a traitor? You betrayed me! You let them take me! You promised! A promise is a promise, and I don't break mine!" Beast Boy yelled at her. The other titans had never seen him this angry. He'd always been so easy-going.
"You're still mad about that? Gar, it's been 8 years!" She said, completely taken back.
"It doesn't matter how long it's been. What happened, happened. You can't change it. Nilikudhani dhahabu kumbe adhabu." (I regarded you as the most precious thing I have ever had, but you have proved to do nothing but hurt me)
The girl was speechless. She stood to look at her friend for a moment. Finally, she regained her voice and said, "I made a mistake. I shouldn't have promised you I wouldn't tell. I thought I was doing what was best. I'm sorry-"
"Sorry?! Sorry won't change things. Zanta, those guys weren't from DSS, and you just stood there while they took me away! You told them where I was!"
"We didn't know that then! They had the papers, they looked like professionals!" She said, making excuses
"They were professionals! Professional criminals! I spent 3 years of my life being forced to steal for them!" Beast Boy shouted at her. From the corner of his eye, he could see Raven's face. She had a frightened look on her face. She was looking at him like she didn't know him. She looked scared. He'd never told any of the others about his past. It was too shameful. If they'd known he was a criminal, who'd let his parents die, they would have never accepted him. And now, Zanta was here to ruin it all. Because of her, he'd accidentally revealed a piece of his past. So angered at one of his secrets coming out, he said "Get. Out." Zanta didn't move, still trying to process the information. "I said GET OUT!" he screamed as he suddenly changed into a cheetah and growled at her. Lighting cracked overhead, and impulsively, the rain fell harder.
"Beast Boy, no." Cyborg said as he stepped in between the cheetah and the girl. "She can't leave. If she were to leave in this storm, she'd never make it across the bay alive." Switching quickly back to human form, Beast Boy replied, "Good. Let the fishes have her." The rest of the titans gawked at him, how could he be so cruel? What was it really that this girl had done to him? Beast Boy looked at his friends' faces. They were going to take her side. They wouldn't push her out in the cold because they didn't know the whole story. "If she doesn't leave" Beast Boy said, "Then I will." The changeling, went to the door quickly, and went outside. Raven was the first to follow him. She ran to the door, but before she could even call out to him to come back, he'd already changed into a raven, and flown away. "He's gone." Raven said. As she said it, she directed her anger toward the intruder, Zanta.
"I want the story, the whole story." Raven said as she quickly crossed the room, never taking her eyes off Zanta. "You're tell me what you two were arguing about just now and you're going to tell me now.." Raven said, her anger at full boil.
"I can't believe he's still mad," Zanta said as she sat down.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 3 – Friends, Enemies, and Swahili
Beast Boy was feeling quite homesick as he made his way back to his room. 'Why now? I left Africa when I was 8. I was homesick for a while, but I really haven't felt homesick since I moved in here a year ago...I don't understand it. Why did I have to have that stupid dream?!' Up until last night, Beast Boy had really started to feel like he was fitting in here. He'd made pretty close friends with the rest of the titans. Robin, and Cyborg, were pretty fun to hang out with, Starfire laughed at most of his jokes, and he and Raven had actually started hitting it off last week, over a discussion about Mary Shelley. Everything had been fine, and now...
"Beast Boy! What's up? Why such the long face?" Cyborg said as Beast Boy walked by him in the hall. "...And why are you all wet?"
"I just got caught in the rain...I'm gonna go change" Beast Boy replied, not wanting to tell his friend about his homesickness. Cyborg looked a little confused, but before he could ask the changeling anymore questions, he heard a knock at the door. Cyborg went off to answer the door, while Beast Boy, relieved his friend left, went to his room to change.
The knocking became rapid. "I'm coming!" Cyborg yelled, but the knocking only became louder and more hurried. "Hold your horses, I'm coming!" As Cyborg walking into the living room, he noticed that Raven was there, reading. "Why didn't you get the door?" Cyborg asked. Raven, didn't even glance up from her book. A little annoyed at her, he knew better than to disturb her. Cyborg finally got to the door, and opened it. There stood the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her hair was in small braids that hung to her elbows, she had deep black eyes, and beautiful face. "He...he...hello?" Cyborg stuttered. "Can-can I help you?"
"I'm not sure," the girl replied. "Are you the 'Teen Titans?'"
"Yeah, I'm them-I mean, I'm me! I mean, I'm a Teen Titan. I-I'm Cyborg." Cyborg answered stumbling over all his words.
"Cyborg, you might want to close your mouth and stop drooling before she thinks you're rude." Raven said, suddenly beside him. Instinctively, he wiped his mouth, just incase Raven wasn't joking about the drool. Thankfully, she was.
"I suppose I should invite you in to come out of the rain." Raven said to the girl.
"Thank you" the girl said shyly, unsure of how to take this gothic-looking girl's attitude.
"Have a seat" Raven said, her words, seemingly courteous, had an edge to them. Raven wasn't comfortable with this intruder in her home, but she felt that she had to at least be nice to her until she found out what the girl wanted. 'At least Cyborg seems to like her.' Raven thought sarcastically. "Why were you looking for us?" she asked the girl.
"I needed some help finding someone, and I was told you were the best. I asked the police to help me, but since he's just a long lost friend, and not an actual missing person, they wouldn't help me."
"Who is it you need to find?" Starfire asked as she and Robin came into the living room.
"A friend. His name is Gar Logan." The girl replied.
"Gar? That's a weird name." Cyborg said
"Well, its short for Garfield. Can you help me find him?"
"I suppose," Robin said, "but finding missing people isn't usually our specialty. Can you describe, 'Gar'?"
"Well, the last time I saw him, I was 8, so I can only tell you what he looked like then." The girl said, slightly embarrassed. Robin nodded for her to continue. "Lets see, um...the last time I saw him, he had green eyes, pointy ears, green hair, and green skin." Suddenly the girl realized that they were all staring at her in shock. She didn't feel comfortable asking these people for help in the first place, and now they were all staring at her like she was an alien. "Did I say something wrong?" the girl asked.
"Who are you?!" Raven said, her annoyance showing. 'Who does she think she is? Coming in here thinking we're stupid, and saying, she's trying to find Beast Boy, when the whole city knows he lives here!'
"My name is-" the girl started
"Zanta" Beast Boy finished. Everyone jumped. No one had even seen him standing in the doorway of the living room.
"Gar!" the girl said in surprise as she jumped up and rushed over to him, and hugged him around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek and said "I've missed you so much! I can't believe you're here!" For a moment, Beast Boy looked almost as if he was happy to see her, but then he unexpectedly pushed her away hard.
"What are you doing her Zanta?" He asked angrily. "What do you think you're doing here?! Who do you think you are coming here like this?!"
"Gar? What's wrong? I...I thought you'd be happy to see me..."
"Happy?! Happy to see a traitor? You betrayed me! You let them take me! You promised! A promise is a promise, and I don't break mine!" Beast Boy yelled at her. The other titans had never seen him this angry. He'd always been so easy-going.
"You're still mad about that? Gar, it's been 8 years!" She said, completely taken back.
"It doesn't matter how long it's been. What happened, happened. You can't change it. Nilikudhani dhahabu kumbe adhabu." (I regarded you as the most precious thing I have ever had, but you have proved to do nothing but hurt me)
The girl was speechless. She stood to look at her friend for a moment. Finally, she regained her voice and said, "I made a mistake. I shouldn't have promised you I wouldn't tell. I thought I was doing what was best. I'm sorry-"
"Sorry?! Sorry won't change things. Zanta, those guys weren't from DSS, and you just stood there while they took me away! You told them where I was!"
"We didn't know that then! They had the papers, they looked like professionals!" She said, making excuses
"They were professionals! Professional criminals! I spent 3 years of my life being forced to steal for them!" Beast Boy shouted at her. From the corner of his eye, he could see Raven's face. She had a frightened look on her face. She was looking at him like she didn't know him. She looked scared. He'd never told any of the others about his past. It was too shameful. If they'd known he was a criminal, who'd let his parents die, they would have never accepted him. And now, Zanta was here to ruin it all. Because of her, he'd accidentally revealed a piece of his past. So angered at one of his secrets coming out, he said "Get. Out." Zanta didn't move, still trying to process the information. "I said GET OUT!" he screamed as he suddenly changed into a cheetah and growled at her. Lighting cracked overhead, and impulsively, the rain fell harder.
"Beast Boy, no." Cyborg said as he stepped in between the cheetah and the girl. "She can't leave. If she were to leave in this storm, she'd never make it across the bay alive." Switching quickly back to human form, Beast Boy replied, "Good. Let the fishes have her." The rest of the titans gawked at him, how could he be so cruel? What was it really that this girl had done to him? Beast Boy looked at his friends' faces. They were going to take her side. They wouldn't push her out in the cold because they didn't know the whole story. "If she doesn't leave" Beast Boy said, "Then I will." The changeling, went to the door quickly, and went outside. Raven was the first to follow him. She ran to the door, but before she could even call out to him to come back, he'd already changed into a raven, and flown away. "He's gone." Raven said. As she said it, she directed her anger toward the intruder, Zanta.
"I want the story, the whole story." Raven said as she quickly crossed the room, never taking her eyes off Zanta. "You're tell me what you two were arguing about just now and you're going to tell me now.." Raven said, her anger at full boil.
"I can't believe he's still mad," Zanta said as she sat down.