I do not own Teen Titans…
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Chapter 11: Darkness
All Titans View's
Beast Boy locked eyes with Robin, whose mask had fallen off, his bloodshot eyes staring at Beast Boy and showing a look of nothing but hate for the changeling. It was over, it was done. Beast Boy had messed up. He had come within inches of surviving and continuing on, and now the Boy Wonder was going to kill him. Robin grasped the knife in between his two hands, and brought it done at Beast Boy's chest.
"Yo, Bird Boy!" A voice yelled behind Beast Boy. The changeling and Robin both looked back, and saw Cyborg propped up against the wall of the stairs, rusty metal pole wrenched out of him and held tightly in his hand. "Take this!" Cyborg yelled, then hurled the pole in Robin's direction. The Boy Wonder's eyes widened as it sped at him, and he froze. Beast Boy looked back up just in time to see the pole crash into Robin's chest, throwing him off of Beast Boy and into a wall with a loud sound. Beast Boy got up slowly, and stared at the sight.
The pole had pierced Robin's chest, and gone out his back. He was hanging in the air, stuck against the wall. The knife fell from his hand and clattered to the floor. Beast Boy smiled for a brief moment, glad to be alive. He turned around at a shuffling, and saw that Cyborg had stood up and was hobbling his way over to Robin. Beast Boy let him go by. No matter what Robin said now, it wouldn't matter. Things were as good as finished now that he was dead.
Cyborg inched his way closer to Robin, nervous of a last breath attack. The Boy Wonder didn't move. Robin's chin was resting on his chest, blood dripping out of his mouth and mixing with the blood from his chest wound. A small puddle had leaked down to the ground, and Cyborg was standing in it. He started to back away, when Robin's swung up and grabbed onto his shoulder. Cyborg's mouth hung open wide as the Boy Wonder lifted his head.
"I didn-" He managed. Cyborg leaned closer. Robin was trying to tell him something, that much was clear. The half human put his ear near Robin's mouth, very aware that Beast Boy was watching him closely. Robin coughed quietly, and Cyborg felt the blood spit onto his face. He went to wipe it away, when Robin began to try and speak once again. "I didn't kil-" Then he stopped, and Cyborg couldn't feel him breathing anymore. He stood up straight, and felt Robin's hand fall off him. It hung limply at his side, ad Cyborg tried to figure out was Robin was going to tell him.
"Hey, um, Cyborg, we need to get you some help," Beast Boy suggested. Cyborg suddenly collapsed to the ground, his metal body clanging to the floor. The noise echoed throughout the quiet tower. Beast Boy stooped down, changing into a gorilla and helping Cyborg to his feet. He slowly dragged Cyborg up the stairs, leading him into the main room and around a corner. They reached the medical room after what seemed like forever, and Beast Boy helped Cyborg onto a nearby bed.
"What was he trying to tell you?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg shook his head weakly, turning onto his side. "I have no idea. It was probably just more whacko theories anyways," He answered. Cyborg reached an arm behind is back, tapping the panel that lead to his circuitry. "BB, open that," He said. Beast Boy opened the hatch and stared inside. "I'm gonna need you to do some work on me, you think that you'll be fine if I walk you through it?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy nodded, smiling. Good. Cyborg had some questions that he wanted answered.
"What was all that about, Beast Boy?" He asked the changeling. Beast Boy leaned on the wall next to him, shrugging his shoulders. "How would I know?" He asked. Cyborg eyed him suspiciously. Beast Boy was already jumping to conclusions about accusations. "Well, he seemed to think that you were the only Titan that wasn't on Slade's side. He was talking about fake emails and computer systems. What the hell was that all about?" Cyborg fired off. Beast Boy shrugged again. "I think Robin finally lost it, with the sightings in town of Slade and all," He replied.
Cyborg shook his head and sighed, then turned onto his back. "I still can't believe that he killed nine heroes…" Cyborg mumbled. Beast Boy laughed quietly. Cyborg turned his head to look at him, but Beast Boy's back was to him. "Well, that's the thing Cyborg… he only killed eight. I killed Raven," The changeling said. Cyborg frowned. This had to be just some sick joke. Suddenly, Cyborg smiled. "Don't mess around, man," He said. Then Beast Boy turned to look at him, and Cyborg saw the look. There was no love in Beast Boy's eyes, only hate. He looked down at the scalpel in Beast Boy's hand. Cyborg tried to move quickly, but Beast Boy reacted first, swiping the scalpel into Cyborg circuits and cutting several wires. Cyborg came crashing back down onto the bed, immobile in his machine parts.
"Hey, man! What are you doing?" He asked urgently. Beast Boy dropped the scalpel to the ground, walking around to the other side of the bed where Cyborg's face was now looking. He kneeled down, getting to eye level with the half human. "I'm doing what I've been planning to do for quite some time now… get rid of all of you," Beast Boy said. Beast Boy stood up, walking out of the room, and Cyborg attempted to will his body into movement. It was no good, Beast Boy had cut the wires, he could only use his mouth. The changeling came back, sporting the axe that had killed Wildebeest.
"Don't talk Cyborg, it won't matter. I've been planning this for weeks. You see, I no longer wish to be one of the good guys, it's just not what I'm looking for in life," Beast Boy said quietly. Cyborg couldn't believe this, it made no sense. His best friend was really the one that was up to something? He thought back to the previous weeks. The extra time Beast Boy had spent with Robin, the party he had suggested, infecting the computer with virus's. And then tonight… the generator up on the girders, Robin and Beast Boy's argument, and then. "No," Cyborg whispered. 'I didn't kil-' Robin's last words flooded Cyborg's thoughts. Robin was trying to tell him that he didn't kill Raven! Beast Boy was the true evil one, not Robin.
"I don't understand it BB, why?" He asked, trying to stall. Beast Boy spun the axe around in his hand, scratching his head jokingly. "It's really complicated Cyborg, and I don't quite feel like getting into it," He said. Beast Boy was talking different, not like himself at all. He sounded smart, calm, and all together like a completely different person. Cyborg silently cursed himself for not seeing the truth before this had happened.
"I'd love to tell you, I really would… but I have a lot to do now. The storm is going to be completely cleared up soon, and I have places to go, and people to kill," Beast Boy spoke softly. Cyborg tried to move, tried to do anything but lay there and wait to die. The changeling walked forward slowly, gripping the axe in a swinging position. He stopped just a foot away from Cyborg, then raised the axe. Cyborg began to scream.
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Beast Boy walked out of the medical room, tossing his blood covered gloves to the ground. 'And that is why I was never a doctor' He joked in his head. Beast Boy hit himself. He didn't like to joke, not anymore. He walked into the living room, staring down at the body of Raven on the floor. She looked so beautiful, even in death. He leaned down, pulling a strand of hair out of her face, half expecting her eyes to snap open and glare at him one last time. No, she was dead. There was no changing that.
He strolled down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He reached the bottom and headed for the storage room on the first floor. Beast Boy tore through several boxes, until he found one labeled 'Gas'. He picked up the box, then dragged it upstairs once again. The changeling opened it, and stairs at several containers full of gasoline. He took the first one out, taking off the cap and preparing to pour it around. But something stopped him. "The voice," He whispered to himself. That stupid little voice that had been with him ever since his little "Beast Within" accident. 'You owe them an explanation' It told him. Beast Boy nodded angrily. "I know," He replied out loud. Beast Boy set the container down, then began to tell his story.
"I suppose I should really start a few weeks ago, back when I stopped feeling any form of good within me. I didn't intentionally go evil, just to say. You can't control your emotions sometimes. But if you're going to blame me, I suggest blaming Red X as well," Beast Boy said. It sounded like a good start to him. "Back a few weeks ago, out patrolling on Robin's orders at night, I ran into our old friend. Can you guess what he wanted? That's right, Red X wanted his belt back. He wanted to use the suit at full power once again, and he was demanding that I get the belt for him to power it. I told him no, and he attacked me. You see, even without the belt, he is still a really good fighter. We got into a struggle, and his mask came off. He went for it, I pounced, and his head smashed into a wall. He began to bleed and, when I checked his pulse… he was dead," Beast Boy said.
The changeling sighed, wondering where the Red X suit that Robin had used for all the murders had gone. It didn't matter, he wouldn't need it. "I panicked. I thought, what will the others think of me? I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed the body and brought it here, then hid it in the freezer. That body in the basement is his, it's Red X, or whatever his real name is. He was my first ever victim." The green teen paused for a moment, reflecting on his first kill. It seemed bad at the time, but it soon became good.
"I spent that entire night awake, thinking about what to do. It only took a few hours before I realized what I truly wanted. Killing Red X… it felt good. Real good. For the first time ever, I truly felt in control of something. I had control over his life. It is an amazing feeling to know that you can end someone's life at any given moment, it really is. Soon, I was beginning to wonder why I had spent all these years as a hero. I understood why people like Slade and Brother Blood wished to dominate and destroy. It feels good. You're truly accomplishing something when you kill someone, and you gain something that everyone wants… control. By morning, I decided that I needed to kill again, and soon. I waited until the next night, and then I started it all."
"I spent a good hour making my own suit, a suit just like Slade's. He became something of an idol for me. Funny, isn't it? Our worst enemy became the one person that I wanted to be like. I finished the suit, then went into the basement. I grabbed an old mask of his, and put it on. I was now free to kill without being noticed. Then, with everyone asleep, I snuck out. The first person I found, I killed. Then another, and another! Soon, I had killed a dozen people in one night, and it felt good…" Beast Boy smiled, the looks on his victims faces still fresh in his mind, even though it was weeks later.
"I did this for three nights, and soon the thrill was fading. There was no challenge, and that was the real problem. No one could take me, no one could hurt me. I wanted someone, anyone, to just be able to fight back. But where was there a person like that? The answer I came as I got home. It was you guys!" Beast Boy yelled, his voice shooting through the tower, the dead bodies of the Titans unresponsive. He didn't care though. "Who better to fight a villain than a hero? But there was a problem. I couldn't just leave the team, and then start to fight you guys. It wouldn't be that easy. You would recognize me, and you would know my weaknesses. So I began to formulate a plan, all the while training my body and mind. Soon, I became a completely different person. You wouldn't know by talking to me though, I kept it hidden from you all. I'm a great actor," Beast Boy said with a smile.
"I wanted to just kill you all, but it wouldn't be that easy. You were all very good fighters, and one of you might be able to beat me. Especially Robin, he was the key. How does one get around the Boy Wonder? That was easy… you get him to join you. Slade had that idea down as well, trying to get Robin as his apprentice instead of trying to beat him. So, I started my master plan, and it wasn't easy. First things first, I had to get Robin a little on edge, and it started with a simple task: Get sighted in my Slade suit." Beast Boy walked over to where Robin was, pulling the pole out. Robin slumped down to the ground.
"I let a civilian live, and she went straight to the authorities. She told them it was Slade. I swear, this must have been the dumbest woman alive. Compared to Slade, I'm not anywhere near his height or bulk, but she thought I was him. I walked into the kitchen one morning, and there was Robin, reading the paper and frowning. I knew exactly what story he was one. It was the one about "Slade." My plan had gotten off to a good start, as Robin began to patrol all night long. Sometimes we all went with him, and I would switch into my Slade suit. Someone would sight me killing, and call it in. robin would get the alert, and head off to find Slade, or should I say me? Then I would change back, and pretend like I had just missed him. Robin started to make theories, that much I knew," Beast Boy spoke.
"One late night, I went on patrol with Robin alone, and got his thoughts. Sure enough, he told me everything that I needed to hear. He claimed to know that Slade was alive, and then he said something that I was hoping to hear… Robin thought that there was a Titan working against him. He thought there was another Terra situation going on. We went back to the tower and talked all night, coming up with new ideas. By early morning, Robin was sure that someone was against him, but who? He didn't think it was me, but he wanted to know who. I promised to help him," He said with a chuckle.
"The next step involved the computers. I purposely contracted virus's into the main system, and it easily messed it up. Cyborg had to keep fixing it, but he couldn't always get it right. The system was weakening, to a point where anyone with hacking capabilities would be able to get onto it. Of course, I didn't need to hack, I knew all the passwords. That was the advantage of being me, I could go into insect mode and just watch. I continued messing with the system, and at the same time setting up an idea to make it look as if Cyborg was contacting Slade. I made a fake email address, and sent emails from Cyborg's account to them. Cyborg never used his email, so it seemed logical. But one day, he caught me, and I thought that this was it. He was going to tell Robin about my messing with the computer. If Robin found out that I was screwing up our system, he would think I was against him too. I had to stop Cyborg," Beast Boy said, pounding a fist into his palm.
"I transformed, getting ahead of Cyborg and rushing into Robin's room. I explained that I caught Cyborg on the computers, messing with the security, and that he was going to say that I had done it! Robin believed me, and Cyborg backed up my story. He came to the door and said exactly what I told Robin that Cyborg would say. Cyborg left the room, and Robin was sure of it. Cyborg was the one against us. He went to check the security cameras." Beast Boy eyed the camera in the corner. Those wouldn't matter now. "I transformed and beat him to the camera room, then disposed of any tapes and evidence. There was no way that he could see it as me on the computers. Robin was enraged, but he had another way of finding out what was going on."
"We went on the computer one night, and Robin hacked into Cyborg's account. I guess my virus's really had weakened the security on the computer, since Cyborg was supposed to be the only one who could get onto his own account. We read his emails, and Robin found the last one sent by me, or sent by Cyborg, as he saw it. Now Robin as truly paranoid… as the last email was sent to "Slade", and it said that the entire team was ready to attack within weeks. It even mentioned the Titans East and Thunder and Lightning. I thought it was a stretch to write all that, but Robin ate it all up. He thought that everyone was against him," Beast Boy said.
"The way Robin looked at things, the Titans were the evil now. He was debating what to do, especially since the last email mentioned killing him. Everyone but me was avoiding him, and Robin assumed it was guilt, but it wasn't. They were avoiding him because of how often he lashed out at them. Things were going good, though of course not always. Sometimes Robin would calm, and I had to do some drastic actions. I occasionally drugged his water, and it put him even more on edge than usual. With the drugs, things were always on my side. Now alls I needed to do was get Robin to help me dispose of everybody, including Thunder, Lightning, and the Titans East. They weren't necessary for me to kill, but I decided why not? They knew me as well, and I couldn't risk letting anyone recognize me once I started my new life. So, one day, a week before the part, Robin said it… He wanted to kill, not capture the Titans." Beast Boy had made his way to the exit room, where Aqualad's body was. He frowned at his old friend.
"I played the role of the concerned good guy, pretending that I cared if they lived. I told him that heroes shouldn't kill, not even if the person they want to kill is evil. But Robin gave a good argument that they were going to kill us, and that they were working for a greater evil. He was sure that they needed to die. I decided to let the good old Boy Wonder do everything for me, and I would stay out of the way. Robin agreed, and now alls we needed was a way to get everyone in one spot. I suggested a party for everyone, and Robin gladly agreed. Cyborg was too slow, so I made sure that everyone would be there. Thunder, Lightning, the Titans East… everyone was willing to go. Then came the final issue at hand: How could Robin kill without being suspected? I already had that covered," Beast Boy said. He had back upstairs, and looking out the window. Starfire lay dead on the ground, and he grinned again.
"Weeks earlier, I decided to save myself from suspicion. Not wanting to be questioned too much about the Red X suit being returned, I had dropped it off in Starfire's room. Then I waited for her to take it and go to Robin. When she came out of the room, I acted like it was a surprise, but told he that I would handle it. Then I mentioned to her to not tell anyone else about it. Being the naïve girl that she is, Starfire agreed, and forgot about it moments later I'm sure. When Robin asked what he could do, I told him about the Red X suit being returned, and told him to use it for cover. He thought it was a good idea, and took me up on it."
"The night of the party, a storm hit. I was counting on the weather to be right for once, and it was. Everyone would be stuck inside, unless they wanted to get thrashed by the weather. Things started out well. Robin went to shut down backup power and security, while I made sure that no one noticed his absence. He came back, the power went out, and Wildebeest was dead. The mayhem started, and never stopped. After Aqualad ditched me, I started to morph and follow Robin. Of course, I first moved the generator, so it couldn't be manually fixed up again. Robin was a surprisingly good killer for being a hero…" Beast Boy trailed off.
"Then he was spotted by Cyborg, and had to use the suit's power to escape. People automatically suspected him. We knew that we had to throw everyone off, so I put on the suit, and made sure that Speedy found us fighting. I got away from Speedy unharmed, due to my new fighting skills that I had been training for weeks. Robin was amazed that I did so good, but I just waved it off, even though I was glad to see him impressed. Anyways, Robin killed and killed and killed, and things were almost over. That is, until Raven almost ruined everything," Beast Boy said, leaning down over Raven again.
"She read my mind, because I touched her. I had to kill her, or she would tell Cyborg. She put up a small fight, but I got her. I don't think she suspected me in a million years, but I got her. Then Robin and I ran into Cyborg, and Cy thought it was me. Robin was gonna kill him, but I decided that the time came to put Robin down. I fought well, but I would have lost had it not been for Cyborg. If Cy had just waited a minute, Robin would have finished me off, and he could have killed Robin. He could have been the only survivor. Well, he messed up… so thank you Cyborg!" Beast Boy yelled down the hall. Then he stood up again, stretching.
"Now I'm the only one left. There's no one who will remember me, no one who will recognize me on sight. Everything went just as I planned, thanks to the Boy Wonder. I used to spend a lot of time wondering how different things would have been if Terra didn't leave us, or if Raven didn't constantly make fun of me, or if I never discovered this Beast Within me. It doesn't matter, all of this had happened for a reason, and it's not time for me to go," Beast Boy finished. He picked the gasoline containers back up, and then began to spread it all over the tower. He finished next to Raven's body, then went to the basement. Beast Boy dragged Red X's corpse up to the top floor, then hacked off his head. He grabbed a garbage bag, then put in some heavy metal. He tossed the head inside, and threw it over the tower side and into the water. It sunk quickly.
Beast Boy found a box of matches, wondering if the final stage of his plan would work,. He was hoping it would. Beast Boy gazed at the nearby bodies, then smiled. They were his friends, at one time. Now they were nothing but useless bodies. He was better than them all, and his being alive proved it. Beast Boy lit a match, and tossed it into the puddle of gasoline in front of him. The flames spread quickly, traveling in many directions. Beast Boy jumped out of the window, turning into a bird and flying over the water. He was heading for a certain city, to start his new life.
The residents watched as the tower burned to the ground, a green bird soaring from the disaster…
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He sat at the small table alone, reading the newspaper. He really couldn't believe that this was such a big deal. Looking up, he saw that a few customers were eying him nervously. For a moment he wondered why, but he knew. It was the black cloak he wore. It was the way that no one ever saw his face. He brought fear to each and every person in that bar, and he took pride in that. He reached down to his hip flask, then took a swig from it. Everyone in the room assumed that there was alcohol in it, but that wasn't true. It was actually filled with… soy milk.
Yes, the Titan formerly known as Beast Boy was sitting in this grungy bar, alone and thoughtful. After leaving the tower, much had changed. He took a new, more mature look. Dressing differently was once step, changing his color was another. It was difficult, and he didn't like to talk about it, but he had actually managed to change the color of his skin to a very pale white, kind of like Raven's color, though his fur was always green when he changed, no matter what. He had gotten fake ID's, a place to live… His name now was Logan Roth, but that's not what truly considered his name. the one formerly known as Beast Boy considered his real name to be… Darkness.
The story on the front page of the paper was on the Titans. Even if Darkness had traveled to a different city, the story of the eleven dead bodies found in Titans tower was huge. It was a world wide type of thing. The police only had one suspect, and they had positive ID on ten of the eleven corpses. Of course, things went exactly as Darkness had planned. He truly was a new man. 'Let's read this' A voice in his head said. He grumbled for a moment before looking down at the story:
Heroes Deaths Still A Mystery- The death of ten super heroes is still under investigation by the Jump City police. One month ago today, the tower burned to the ground with eleven heroes inside. The known victims are as follows: Speedy, Aqualad, Bumblebee, Wildebeest, Thunder, Lightning, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin. The bodies, only charred skeletons when found by police, were identified by dental records, which were taken years ago just in case of something like this were to happen. The one unidentified body is presumed to be the hero known as Beast Boy, whose had was missing. As of now, the only suspect of the crime is HotSpot, the violently tempered hero from Heat City. He has not been sighted since the disaster, but was known to be attending the party. Police will be…
Darkness smiled. It had gone perfectly. Really, he hadn't thought of how he was going to fake his death along with everyone else's. It didn't come to him until the end. Using Red X's body s a substitute for his own, he got rid of the hid so they wouldn't be able to do dental records. Darkness shuddered uncontrollably, remembering the so called "mandatory" dental records that the Justice League had forced them to do. It made no sense to him at the time, but Darkness had to admit that these records did have their uses. He was believed dead and HotSpot was thought to be the killer. 'Most likely because of the huge fire' The voice in his head said. Darkness had to agree.
He stood up, smiling in the darkness of his cloak as he walked by the other people in the bar. He could feel their eyes on them. Oh, how he wanted to kill him. But no, they were not his prey, not right now. Darkness walked out the doors, then walked down the side of the building and into an alley. He shifted his eyes around, then turned into a bird to get onto the roof. He morphed back quickly, then searched the area. Darkness saw the people walking below, and he hungered to kill them. But they wouldn't satisfy his tastes. No, he needed big prey. When he had gotten here, he started to kill right away, and after each kill, he wanted more. Soon however, he found someone worthy of his time.
Looking over the edge of the building, Darkness searched for his prey. He looked from building to building, starting at Fred's Restaurant, and ending on the Gotham City mall. 'Gotham… What a horrible place' He thought to himself. But he wasn't there for the sights, he was there for another reason. For ever since he had killed Red X, he wanted to do one thing… He wanted to be a hero killer, because only a hero could provide such a challenge.
There! Darkness's heart sped up as he saw the bat across town a bit, on top of a building. His animal eyes honed in on him, and Batman, Robin's mentor, jumped to another roof. Licking his lips, Darkness ran a finger along the sword on his belt. He smiled for a moment, then jumped to a lengthy building. He ran the length of it, never losing sight of Batman. It was almost pitch black outside now, and he only hunted in the dark. Always in darkness…
End
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That took me forever and a half to write, Honestly, I'm talking a good three hours about, but it's finally done. What did you think? Be honest. I'm hoping I covered everything in Beast Boy's explanation. The emails, the motive, Red X, Slade, the computer virus's… I think I got it all to a point where it makes sense if you really look at it. How many of you are disappointed by it? I know, it's a far stretch for Beast Boy and Robin to ever do anything like that… but it's a story, anything can happen. As for during Beast Boy's explanation, I know he sounded a bit smart for, well, Beast Boy, but you have to realize that he has completely changed with his new murderous attitude. Well, I'm done. I hope you all enjoyed. Thank you so much for reviewing all this time. I hope that the ending didn't make anyone too angry. You have to admit though… it was very original. Chapter after this is the Acknowledgments. Some thank yous, a song, upcoming stories, and just some words by me. I'd appreciate it if you all said something in there as well. Adios.
Next Chapter: A section dedicated to some thanks, upcoming stories, a few comments, and not to mention my traditional end of story song. Will you read and review it?
"I killed him as good as I killed anyone…"
-SinFire