The extracts from Beast Boy's past are different to what the comic says. This is to help in my plot. This chapter will see some more interaction between the characters, so review to tell me what you think of it.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.
A series of loud explosions rocked down town Jump City, sending a cascade of shattered glass everywhere. Frightened citizens made a dash for safety to nearby buildings, fearing to stay out in the open. Three beings stormed down the street, heading to where the explosions took place.
The largest member of the three reached the building first, knocking down the remainder of the broken wall. Grunting, he pushed aside the bricks that blocked the path for the other two assailants. Coming up behind him, the other two members searched the debris for a survivor. Spotting the store clerk, a petit girl smiled and alerted her comrades.
"Hey, there's a clerk" she said softly, pointing him out.
The other two boys made their way over, trying to look as threatening as they could. The clerk wasn't used to this type of situation and fear soon gripped him. Laughing, the largest man lifted him up and ignored the frightened clerks coughing and wheezing.
"Tell us where the diamond's are, and you won't get hurt…too much" he grinned sadistically. The scared clerk pointed to a small safe hidden under what used to be a counter. The combination lock was broken so only brute force could open it now.
"Hey Mammoth, looks like your up" a small boy said, eyeing up the lock. The large boy known as Mammoth approached the safe, smiling at the challenge. Lifting it up easily, he squeezed the door of it until it bent out of shape. Then with one mighty tug he ripped the door clean off it's hinges, exposing the contents. Trays of sparkling diamonds fell to the floor. The other two crooks scooped up the trays greedily and placed them a brown burlap bag. Throwing aside the safe, Mammoth grabbed the bag and waited for the small girls' signal.
"Come on Jinx, it's been long enough…those creeps aren't gonna show up" the bald boy spoke, irritated at the long wait.
"Relax Gizmo, they will show up any minute now" Jinx replied to the smaller boy called Gizmo. They heard the deep throttle of a car approach, cutting off their argument.
"Ok boys, this is the cue. Let's go welcome the Titans" Jinx said smiling and heading for the collapsed wall leading to the street.
¨ ¨ ¨
Beast Boy sat in the T-Car nursing his swollen hands. He nervously glanced down the road, silently praying that these won't be too much of a threat. Knowing that they probably will be a threat, he began sweating. I hope I can pull through this, he thought, they will need me and I can't let them down. Looking out the window he saw the debris scattered across the road.
"There they are guys, it's the HIVE again" said Robin, their leader. The T-Car pulled up about thirty yards away. Getting out, the Titans glanced at their leader for the cue for action. Robin turned to them, and shouted in his usual determined voice.
"Titans Go!"
The Titans jumped into action, covering the distance between them and the HIVE in a matter of seconds. Beast Boy lagged behind however, still sporting those broken knuckles.
Starfire instantly met Jinx, each exchanging laser blasts between them. Cyborg and Robin teamed up against Gizmo while Raven led a full on assault on Mammoth. Raven turned around in an effort to spot Beast Boy. She saw him panting in his usual form still making his way over to the battlefield.
Starfire flew up high and launched her starbolts on an expectant Jinx. Dodging them easily she threw hexes at Starfire. Seeing this, Starfire flew higher in an attempt to avoid getting hit. She nose dived at Jinx and struck her with her eye lasers, a new trick which Jinx had yet to see. Flying back, Jinx landed gracefully on the sidewalk and prepared for another attack. She aimed a couple of more hexes at Starfire, but Starfire was too quick. Dodging these she grabbed Jinx and pinned her down to the floor, her strength far out ceding the strength of the pink haired witch.
Robin lunged at Gizmo with his boa staff, narrowly missing the smaller teen. Cyborg transformed his right arm into his cannon, preparing to fire. Gizmo used his rocket pack to escape Cyborg's laser shots before taking the offensive himself. Landing behind Cyborg, he jammed a metal device in the lower back of the metal teen.
"Hey man, get off me!" Cyborg cried, trying to shake off Gizmo. Robin jumped over Cyborg and connected his boa staff with Gizmo's cranium. Falling back, Gizmo stumbled before hitting the sidewalk in a daze. Pulling out the device Gizmo had implanted on Cyborg's back, Robin turned to the smaller crook and pinned him by the neck with his boa staff.
Raven chanted her magic words and levitated before Mammoth, her eyes glowing white. She threw an arc of black energy at him, connecting and sending him backwards. After recovering from this attack, Mammoth looked up to see a green Tyrannosaurus Rex charge at him. Taking the initiative Mammoth lunged at an unsuspecting Beast Boy, punching his jaw. Morphing into a gorilla, Beast Boy brought his fists down on Mammoth. After hitting the teen, Beast Boy cried out after the sudden shock of pain ran through his hands. Hearing this, Raven turned to Beast Boy holding his hands gingerly. Sensing the distraction, Mammoth grabbed Beast Boy and threw him into Raven, dazing them both.
Starfire heard the cries of her friends, momentarily releasing her grip on Jinx. Blasting Starfire with her energy, Jinx got up and looked at the unconscious girl in front of her. Smiling, she and Mammoth turned to the last two remaining Titans standing over Gizmo who was fully awake by now.
Robin and Cyborg saw their fallen friends lay around them. Not wanting to give up, they met Jinx and Mammoth and exchanged blows. Without the other three, Robin and Cyborg were losing fast and both failed to notice Gizmo sneak up behind them. Hacking into Cyborg, Gizmo brought one half of the reaming titans down. Soon after, Robin fell before Mammoth and Jinx, both too much to handle on his own.
"Ha, those pit-sniffers never knew what hit them" scoffed Gizmo, looking around to see the scattered Titans.
"Yeah, let's go guy's" said Jinx, before they all silently slinked away into the alleyways of Jump City to their new hideout.
¨ ¨ ¨
After a short while Beast Boy awoke. Sitting up he looked around sleepily to take in his surroundings. He saw the green forest in where he hid and slept all night. It was dawn and he needed to be on his way before the men caught him again. Yawning, he quickly looked out for any movement around him. Not hearing or seeing anything, he slowly made his way down the tree. His keen hearing picked up the occasional birdcall now and then.
He carefully made his way through the undergrowth, anxious not to make a sound. He didn't know what direction he was heading in, but he knew it was the same one he was traveling in last night. He had made sure of that, he didn't want to return to that place ever again. The trees around began to become less dense, the forest finally thinning. He finally reached the end of the tree's, staying still and silent. He was only young but his animal senses kept him on his toes. Realizing that going out in the open could mean capture, he decided against it.
He made his way down the edge of the forest, alert to everything occurring around him. After a few hours, he collapsed to the floor. Panting heavily, he sat up against a tree, basking in the shadow. After a few failed attempts of trying to get up, he let himself fall freely into sleep.
¨ ¨ ¨
Beast Boy could hear voices calling his name. He tried to move but he couldn't, his body wouldn't let him. Am I okay? he asked himself. He tried to move again this time he could feel his arms twitching.
"I think he's coming to" said a voice.
Willing himself to open his eyes, he woke up to find a pair of violet eyes looking down at him.
"He's awake" a voice said, this time a different one.
Now fully awake, Beast Boy saw all his companions kneeling down around him. They all looked pretty banged up to him.
"What happened?" he asked, sitting up on one elbow. Four sets of eyes glared at him.
"We were hoping you could tell us" said Robin, their leader.
Beast Boy looked stunned at this. I was hit early in the fight, he thought. Still trying to work this puzzle out, Raven continued Robin's line of questioning.
"He means, why did you scream in pain and let yourself get distracted. It was dangerous and it cost us the fight"
Beast Boy sighed and took off his gloves. They all gasped when they saw his bloodied bandages, clinging to his hands. Not wanting to look them in the eyes, he turned away.
"When did this happen?" asked Cyborg, gazing at Beast Boy's hands.
"During training earlier, I think they might be broken" he said uncertainly, still looking away.
"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Robin. Starfire stayed out of this conversation, not wanting to anger anyone. Everyone could see Robin was trying to hold his temper in. He was angry at losing the fight, and even angrier that he thought Slade could have a big part in this.
"I wanted to help" he replied, looking up at the boy wonder. He sifted nervously in Robin's glance, not wanting to anger him.
"You should have told us, you just cost us the fight" Robin said through his teeth, trying to hold his anger in.
"Sorry" Beast Boy replied meekly, looking at his teammates. Raven looked unconcerned, Starfire looked nervously at Robin while Cyborg inspected Beast Boy's knuckles.
"Come on guys, we need to get home an patch BB up" announced Cyborg.
They all got up while Cyborg helped up Beast Boy. The drive home was completely silent, nobody could find anything to fill it with. Beast Boy looked out of his window, gazing intently at the passing scenery. I really messed up today…I hope they can forgive me, thought Beast Boy sadly.
Eventually they arrived at their home, entering the dark confines of the garage. Nobody said a word to each other as they filed out of the car. Starfire and Cyborg left for the main room while Robin announced he was going to do some research. Raven and Beast Boy stayed in the garage, standing around awkwardly in the uncomfortable silence around them.
"Come on Beast Boy, I need to fix your knuckles" said Raven, breaking the silence.
Beast Boy simply nodded and followed Raven to the medical wing of the tower. They walked down the cold grey corridors, their footsteps slightly echoing. Finally reaching the medical room, they were surrounded by harsh white walls.
Raven headed for a small cabinet bolted to the wall, searching for supplies to fix Beast Boys hands. Beast Boy hated this place, it reminded him of his past. One he wanted to forget. He couldn't hear Raven speaking to him. Finally she lost her patience and tapped him on the side of his head. Breaking out of his trance, Beast Boy looked up at her as she motioned for him to sit on the bed. He walked over and sat down, still gazing at the white walls.
"Beast Boy, hold out your hands" Raven commanded. Beast Boy held them out while Raven gently undid his bandages. She soon went to work on his hands, while Beast Boy grimaced at the pan.
"Why aren't you healing me with your powers Raven?" Beast Boy asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.
"I'm tired after the battle" she replied simply, her voice never changing or showing the slightest bit of emotion. Beast Boy worked up the courage to ask his next question, unsure what the answer would be.
"Do you blame me?" he asked, looking down at the grey floor.
Raven sighed through her nose and stopped her work on Beast Boys broken hands.
"I know you just wanted to help so I don't really blame you. Just next time tell us no matter what, okay?" she replied, looking at the green boy.
"Okay Raven" answered Beast Boy, still looking at the floor.
The rest of the work was done in silence while Raven and Beast Boy thought about their defeat, not wanting to mention it anymore. Once again Beast Boy felt unwanted and blamed for trying to help. Some things never change, he thought to himself.