CHAPTER TWO
"Put him on this bed." Robin directed Cyborg. Cyborg gently laid his green skinned teammate down on a bed in the med. bay, then stepped back to preform a med. scan. After a moment he looked up at them and sighed.
"His DNA is still normal. It hasn't started shifting again. I think that now that the Beast has been unlocked, it's always going to be there."
"Other than that, how is he?" Robin asked.
"Physically, he's fine except for a broken arm. But mentally . . . " He trailed off then shrugged. "Well, we won't know till he wakes up."
"Why is he still asleep?" Raven asked suddenly. Cyborg shrugged.
"He's been through a lot. His body finally ran out of steam. He's sleeping to try and regain strength and heal. He'll be fine in the morning."
Robin nodded, obviously relieved. "The rest of us should get some sleep too." He told his team. They all nodded and followed him from the room, except Raven, who moved to sit by Beast Boy's bed.
"Raven? Aren't you coming?" Robin asked, stopping in the doorway. Raven shook her head.
"No. You guys go ahead. I'll stay with him."
"Are you sure?" Robin asked. The purple haired Goth nodded her head without looking at Robin.
"Yes. I'm going to sit and try some meditation, see if it helps."
"For you or Beast Boy?"
"Both." Raven said with the barest ghost of a smile. Robin nodded and left, closing the door behind him.
Raven sat quietly, gathering her thoughts and her strength, then reached out and touched Beast Boy's arm. She quietly began to chant, and she and Beast Boy were both encased in her black psychic energy and began to float. Raven closed her eyes and reached out for Beast Boy with her mind, going slowly and gently, making sure to use the barest touches of her mind. She had never done this to Beast Boy, and she didn't want to scare him. If she startled him into retreating from her psychic probe, she might hurt him, permanently. If she did that, she would never forgive herself.
So she reached out to him gently, sending out soothing waves, like she would if she was extending her hand to a frightened and injured animal. Finally, she sensed Beast Boy's mind relax, and she was in.
It was nothing like she would have ever expected. The Beast Boy she knew was so light hearted and fun loving, always ready to crack a joke, pull a prank, go dancing, or spend time with anyone, doing anything. But the inside of his mind was nothing like that. It was dark and lonely. Raven almost retreated back into her mind when she felt the sadness and pain coming from Beast Boy's, but forced herself to calm down. If she pulled back to fast, she might injure Beast Boy. Raven didn't know if it was the recent development brought on by the emergence of the beast, but she doubted it. It felt too . . . old. The feelings of loneliness, sadness and pain felt too powerful, too deep to be a recent development. Raven suddenly felt very guilty. She could have been a little nicer to Beast Boy, at least pretended to find his jokes amusing, or not put him down so much. He had never seemed to mind, had always bounced back with another joke, or insulted her back. But Raven knew exactly what it was like to have a facade, to be pretending to feel something when the feelings beneath were completely different then what was on the surface. How could she have not seen it?
Just then, she heard someone sobbing somewhere nearby. Looking around, Raven saw Beast Boy curled up in a ball and shaking violently. A loud roar suddenly echoed all around, causing him to curl up even tighter, if that was possible.
"Oh please . . . somebody help me . . . don't let it get me . . . I wanna go home . . . " Beast Boy sobbed. Ravens' heart nearly shattered at the sight of her teammate crying piteously, his clothing in bloody tatters and covered from head to toe in deep scratches and other wounds, all of them bleeding. Raven was the veteran of enough mental battle herself to know that the wounds weren't on Beast Boy's body, but on his mental image, a result of his mental battle with the beast. A battle he had lost.
"B-Beast Boy?" Raven asked, unable to hide the waver in her voice as she stepped closer to him. Beast Boys head snapped up and looked at her with eyes wide in terror and scurried several feet away.
"Beast Boy? It's okay, it's me. It's Raven." Raven tried to approach him, but another loud, seemingly closer, roar caused Beast Boy to curl back up into a ball and put his hands tightly over his ears.
"NO! Please don't let it take me! Somebody, help me! Please . . . anybody . . . help me!" Beast Boy sobbed desperately. Raven tried to approaching Beast Boy again when a soft white glow started forming near him. Raven froze and stood mesmerized as a pretty woman, glowing white like an angel, formed and then knelt down next to Beast Boy and placed a hand upon his head. After a moment she pulled him up to her and began to rock the teenage boy like he was a small child once again. Raven realized with a start that Beast Boy did look younger than she ever remembered him being. Then she felt her eyes fill with tears when she realized why. In his terror and pain from the beast, Beast Boy had retreated mentally into the body of a young boy.
"Shh . . . it's okay. I won't let it take you. You're safe here with me. I'll protect you. Shh . . . I won't ever let it have you. I'll always protect you." The woman whispered.
To accentuate her point another roar echoed throughout, but this time softer and seemingly further away. Studying her, Raven guessed that she looked to be about twenty-five, and seemed vaguely familiar. Her voice, her face, her eyes, and that long hair . . . where did she know her from? Raven continued to watch, feeling like an intruder but unable to look away. Ignoring her own tears, the woman tried to wipe his away.
"Shh, it's okay." She whispered again, stroking his hair gently. Beast Boy uncurled just enough to wrap his arms around her in a vise like grip. The lady began to sing softly while she continued to gently rock him.
Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
Dream-of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore
Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls cry
Across the seas
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home
And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass
While singing, Beast Boy's mother began to pass her fingers gently across his innumerable scratches and other wounds, leaving smooth unbroken skin in their wake. Raven continued to watch as her soft gentle voice and soothing caresses calmed Beast Boy, bringing an end to his tears and loosening his hold. The roars were now faint and far way, and Beast Boy had fallen asleep in her arms. Smiling, Beast Boy's mother continued to sing to him softly.
Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time
Don't say
We have come now to the end
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home
And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the West
Beast Boy's mother finished singing and kissed her son's forehead once more.
"Whenever the beast comes for you, you will always find it safe here and remember nothing of your fear and pain." She whispered, gently setting him down and caressing his cheek. "May my love protect you here always my son. Just like your love shelters and holds me close."
Raven started at that. His mother? The healing spirit was Beast Boy's mother? Suddenly, she knew why Beast Boy had reverted to a younger form in his mind. He had been so scared and in so much pain that he had automatically gone back to a simpler time, when he was younger, and his mother was always there to soothe his pain away and make his forget his fear.
She looked up at Raven and smiled. "He needs your help too Raven. You may be the only one who will be able to help him, now that I have to go."
"Go? Go where?" Raven asked in panic. Without his mother's healing touch and song, how could Beast Boy survive another encounter with the beast? "And how do you know who I am?" She asked suspiciously. The woman laughed gently. "My son thinks very highly of you. I can only come here to help and heal him until he could find someone else who could help him in the physical world as well as here in his mind. You are that person Raven. He trusts you and respects you. You have the power to help and heal him."
She gently crossed to Raven and gave the surprised young Goth psychic a warm hug. Then she gently kissed Raven on the forehead. When she pulled away, Raven was surprised to find she now knew the song that she had used to heal Beast Boy.
"It's an old family song, used to heal wounds of the mind and spirit." Beast Boy's mother said softly. She smiled and left Raven to kneel at Beast Boy's side once more. She cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled at him.
"It's time for me to go my son. Your friend will protect and heal you now. Please be careful my love, my darling Garfield."
Raven watched in a mixture of awe and wonder when she then disappeared in a bright flash of white that spread outwards into the darkness, erasing most of the, but not all of the pain. But she had healed so much that Raven and Beast Boy were now in the middle of a brilliant, peaceful green meadow. The roars of the beast were silent now, replaced with the sounds of a nearby bubbling brook and singing birds in a bright blue sky. It looked just like the park, where Beast Boy loved to hang out with the rest of the Teen Titans. All though she had enjoyed the outings in her own way, Raven had never understood why Beast Boy loved the park so much. Now she did. The park was a physical manifestation of his calm mental state after a healing visit from his mother, which he never remembered.
Raven finally allowed a very small smile to cross her face as she crossed to Beast Boy's side. Kneeling, she took the mental form of the young Beast Boy and pulled him into her lap. Holding the young boy close, Raven bent over him and slowly began to sing as she drew herself and Beast Boy back to consciousness, using the song as Beast Boy's anchor to draw him along and keep him from being too scared.
Raven returned to consciousness first, and discovered, to her surprise, that her physical body had mimicked what her mental representation had done, joining Beast Boy on the bed and cradling him close. Beast Boy was now sleeping peacefully, his mental wounds soothed for now. Raven felt herself giving him a small smile before exhaustion took over and she fell asleep with Beast Boy still cradled in her arms.
Authors Note: For anyone who's wondering, the song Beast Boy's mother sings to him is 'Into The West' by Annie Lennox from The Return of the King soundtrack.