Birthday Reflection

Chapter 7: Bravery and the Beast

BeastBoy continued to pass through the doorway. Everything around him was dark. He could barely see his hands in front of his own face. Farther and farther he walked, down what seemed like an endless passage. But then there seemed to be light ahead of him, in the shape of an open double doorway.

"The only thing I need now is a voice saying "Head towards the light" he joked in a spooky voice, wiggling his fingers in the air.

As he came closer, he was able to see more clearly. There were now walls along both sides of him, with slight cracks, seeming like a long hallway. The walls were a dark shade of green.

BeastBoy ran his hand along one side of the hallway. " Looks like this place is starting to show some class" he smirked complimenting the green walls.

BeastBoy tried to predict where he was. His first guess would've been that perhaps he'd entered the maze from last time. The enclosed walls would've confirmed his suspicion. But he wasn't ready to make any definite conclusions. After seeing the changes in Raven's mind so far, he wasn't sure what to think. Besides, something felt different.

BeastBoy arrived at the doorway, standing closely against the wall. He wasn't about to jump out into the open of who knows what kind of place. His back to the wall, he slowly leaned to the side to peer around the doorway.

BeastBoy looked to find a large, wide-open room. Like the hallway, the room was a dark shade of green, with several light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and attached to the walls. The room was filled with treadmills, dumb bells, and numerous kinds of exercise equipment. A rack of jump ropes hung from one wall, a rack of free weights hung from another. In the center of the room, there was a large boxing ring. It looked like some kind of gym.

From the other side of the room, he could make out what sounded like a low grunting noise. BeastBoy tiptoed from the doorway, ducking behind exercise equipment as he went. Weaving and ducking from place to place, he got along side the boxing ring, believing to be unseen. He peeked from behind the ring to see Raven. A particularly aggressive Raven unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks on a full sized punching bag. She laid into the bag with a series of jabs, powerful lefts and rights, her cloak flowing gracefully. A shot from her knee, an uppercut, followed by a crack from her elbow. And then, lifting off the ground brought a thunderous roundhouse kick down upon it.

Raven turned, taking three steps away, slowly inhaling. She turned again, facing the bag, and gently exhaled. The moment the air escaped her mouth, the bag tore open, sand spilling to the ground.

"This is the first time I've ever realized how lucky I am Raven just uses her POWERS when I annoy her." he whispered. "Hand to hand… she'd kill me" he gulped.

BeastBoy decided it might be best to slink away. This Raven was obviously more forceful and would not hesitate to discipline him for any wrongdoing he may have done while in Raven's mind, accidental or not.

He tiptoed again, back the way he came. BeastBoy looked behind him to see if she was still unaware of his presence. He turned his head, unaware of a rack of small weights in front of him. BeastBoy's foot struck the rack, causing a thirty-pound weight to land on his foot with a clang.

BeastBoy came to a stop, gritting his teeth, and his eyes wide. He jumped into the air.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled hoping on one foot.

BeastBoy dropped to the ground, removing his shoe, revealing a super deformed throbbing green foot. He blew on his foot, rubbing it steadily, trying to relieve the pain. After a few seconds, the pain subsided. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahem" came a voice from behind him.

BeastBoy looked up to see Raven standing over him.

He crawled backwards an inch or two, desperately trying to think of what to do. Should he apologize for sneaking around? Make a break for it? Or accept that she was most likely going to pummel him senseless?

Raven took a step towards him. But BeastBoy was frozen. He looked back to see the doorway was gone. His only means of escape had vanished. There was nowhere to run. He closed his eyes, knowing for sure she'd probably find some excuse to render him the same fate as the punching bag.

"Well?" she asked.

BeastBoy looked to see that she was bent down, offering him her hand.

"You gonna just lay there with all the other dumb bells?" she mocked with a smile.

Slightly annoyed, but sensing no anger in her tone, BeastBoy took her hand pulling himself to his feet.

"Uh…thanks," he said dusting himself off. "So, I guess this means…you're not gonna hit me?" he smiled weakly.

"Hit you? For what?" she said looking puzzled.

It dawned on him once again that this wasn't Raven, only one of her emotional counterparts. BeastBoy had a habit of loosing his train of thought when he felt like he was going to die.

He took this opportunity to get a better look at her. This Raven, like Timid, was a perfect likeness of Raven. Her cloak was a dark shade of green, matching the room. This was yet another one of Raven's emotions he'd met during his last visit. This was Brave, almost the complete opposite of Timid. She knew no fear, representing Raven's courage and strength of will. A being of absolute determination.

"Um…well…uh…I figured since Raven sent me here, she was mad at me. And seeing as how you're…you…" he trailed off scratching the back of his head.

"Aw! Come on!" she chuckled slapping him on the back, causing BeastBoy to wobble almost loosing his balance. "Have you ever known her to lash out like that?"

"Yes." he said plainly thinking back to all the times Raven had blown up food in his face, picked him up and dropped him with her powers, and so on.

"Oh please. That was all harmless bickering. Let me rephrase that. Has she ever SERIOUSLY hurt you?"

BeastBoy thought for a moment.

"N-No" he said hesitantly.

"Has she ever lost her temper with you to the point where she inflicted bodily harm to you?"

"No" beginning to rethink all the times Raven was mad.

"There ya go" she shrugged.

"So…she's never been tempted to do something like that?" he asked beginning to perk up.

"Tempted…is another story" she smiled.

BeastBoy's smile faded again. Had he really ever annoyed her that much?

"Just kiddin'!" she lightly elbowed his shoulder. "She's not afraid to fight. But, she's not the kind of person to do that kinda thing, let alone to you."

Raven never did seem like the violent type. She'd defend herself, but that sort of behavior went against everything she stood for. But what did she mean by that? She wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone him?

"So…I don't suppose you know why she sent me here? Do ya?" he asked hopefully.

"That depends" she folded her arms.

"Depends on what?"

Brave turned, getting a running start, and leapt into the center of the ring. She unfastened her cloak, tossing it off to the side. Brave placed her hands on her hips, stretching, arching her back.

It took a minute for BeastBoy's eyes to catch up with his mind. He wasn't used to seeing Raven without her cloak on.

"How about we have a little fun first?" she asked cracking her knuckles.

BeastBoy blushed, accidentally thinking she was giving THAT kind of idea. Brave picked up on it, seeing the redness in his cheeks.

"Oh, somebody's got a dirty mind." she said playfully.

BeastBoy shook his head, regaining his focus. He ran towards the ring and jumped, grabbing a hold of the ropes. He flipped over the ropes, landing gracefully on the matte.

"You should talk."

Brave just smiled.

"How about sparring with me? I haven't a good fight in a while" she asked stretching her arms over her head.

It would make sense she'd want to do something of that nature.

"Uh…" he stuttered. BeastBoy didn't want to fight her, nor was he prepared.

"Come on. It's just some good clean fun. It's not like it's a battle to the death or anything. Besides, I'll go easy on ya" she said confidently.

"You really think you're that good, huh?"

Again, Brave just smiled.

"Stupid question" he said to himself.

This was a being of pure emotion. Why wouldn't she be confident?

BeastBoy lowered his stance, visibly accepting Brave's challenge. Brave got into a fighting stance as well. They were about five feet apart, both waiting for the other to make the first move. BeastBoy had only seen her fight once. He was unsure of what to expect, but he didn't want to underestimate her.

He and Brave locked eyes, neither one so much as blinking.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the other Titans sped towards downtown. Cyborg and Raven were in the T-Car, Robin drove along side in his R-Cycle. Cyborg was in the drivers seat, Raven beside him. She occasionally glanced out the window, looking back at the tower. She was still reluctant to have just left BeastBoy in her mind. But the potential embarrassment of the whole thing kept her from speaking up against going.

"Just try not to think about it." she whispered to herself. "You'll be back before you know it. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

A visual appeared in her head of her sitting in the car beside Cyborg, when all of a sudden her head exploded.

Raven's eyes went wide. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit. Never the less, BeastBoy was alone inside her head. She couldn't completely dismiss the possibility that he'd find a way to make something like that happen.

"On second thought, I don't want to know."

Raven shifted her glance to Cyborg, trying to take her mind off things. But he didn't seem like his normal self. He was slumped over at eye level with the steering wheel. He had a depressing look on his face. He knew Starfire could take care of herself, and this wasn't a look of concern.

"Anything wrong?" she asked.

Cyborg stared straight ahead, not answering.

"I'll take that as a yes." she commented leaning against the window. "Let me guess. Something happened with your plan?"

He still didn't speak. However his eyes moved to side looking at her, then back at the road. The closest to an answer she could get for the time being.

"That would explain why you needed some assembly required before we left." she thought back to him re-attaching the last of his parts before they got in the car.

"I thought I had him." he said grimly.

"There'll be other chances." she offered sympathetically.

"But not like THIS!" he exclaimed. "This was gonna be perfect."

Raven just watched his expression fall once again.

"And the worst part? He's gonna start rubbing it in how I "ALMOST" got'em."

"Why are you so obsessed over this?"

"Look, me and BB, we've pulled a lotta pranks. Ever since we became Titans, we've been looking for a way to get the last laugh on Robin. We've never even gotten close."

"Robin's not exactly the kind of person to be caught with his guard down." she said.

"Exactly! That's why this was so important."

"But you did get him"

"It doesn't feel like it. I wanted to get him on a grand scale. This was gonna be a part of BeastBoy's birthday present."

Raven gave a small smile. Cyborg and BeastBoy had always been like brothers. It was a nice gesture, even if it was immature.

"I guess…I gambled and lost." he said returning his focus to the road.

"Maybe." she said putting a hand out in front of her. "But there's still one last hand to play."

Raven waved her hand in front of her.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" she chanted.

One of the T-car's tires became encased in a black aura of energy. The tire popped, as air began to leak out. Cyborg, caught off guard, swerved slightly before pulling over to the side of the road.

Robin skidded to a halt.

"You guys alright?" he called to them.

Raven was the first to get out of the car.

"You go on ahead. Make sure Starfire's all right. We'll follow as soon as we change the tire." she replied.

Robin nodded, speeding off towards downtown.

Cyborg got out of the car. He watched as Robin drove off, and then turned his attention to Raven.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Start changing the tire. I'll be right back."

Raven pulled her hood over head, and lifted off the ground, flying overhead. Cyborg was confused to say the least. What was she up to? Deciding it was pointless to try and second guess Raven, he hustled to the trunk, removing the spare tire.

Raven touched down near a mailbox, not far from where they were stopped. She removed a small envelope from her cloak. She examined it closely, making sure the address was correct. She slipped the envelope into the mailbox. She turned, becoming air born once again, and headed back towards Cyborg. She had been tempted to go back to the tower, but she didn't want to risk anything happening to Starfire or the others. And somehow Raven got the feeling, deep down, that he wasn't really alone.

Back inside Raven's mind, BeastBoy and Brave were still squaring off.

Suddenly, Brave hurled herself at BeastBoy, attempting to land a flying kick. She swung her foot, but hit nothing but air, as he disappeared from view. Brave landed, quickly scanning the ring for BeastBoy. Hearing a squeaking noise, she looked down to see a small green mouse.

BeastBoy ran between her legs, transforming into a large grizzly bear. With a growl he made a grab for Brave from behind, but she quickly ducked out of his reach, throwing her shoulder into his mid section. The bear teetered backwards, leaning against the ropes.

Brave charged, intending to land another hit. BeastBoy quickly changed into a bull, rebounding off the ropes, charging her. She quickly vaulted over him, using his horns like a balance beam, and landed behind him, resuming her stance.

Quickly recovering, he morphed into a gorilla. He leapt for Brave. She quickly dropped to the ground on her back, and used feet to launch him over her with his own momentum. He skidded on the matte face first, slightly dazed. Taking advantage, she jumped onto his back grabbing his legs. In a sitting position, she leaned back with his legs under her arms, pulling in an attempt to make him submit by hyper extending his back.

"Come…on…BB! Say…uncle!" she said with a grunt, putting all her strength into the pull. She wasn't trying to hurt him. But no way was she going to hold back.

BeastBoy's concentration broken, he reverted back to his human form. He wasn't in a terrible amount of pain, but it was extremely uncomfortable.

"Now I know what a pretzel feels like." he muttered trying to break free.

BeastBoy wasn't really trying that hard though. Brave sat on his upper back, her bottom fairly close to his neck, so it wasn't entirely unpleasant for him. BeastBoy shook his head, getting rid of the thought. He didn't want her to think he'd given up or give her the impression that he wasn't trying.

He changed into a kangaroo, using his lower body strength to hurl Brave, spinning her wildly into the air. She landed gingerly on her rear, rubbing her side. Getting her bearings, she got to one knee, turning to face BeastBoy.

The second she turned, something large wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly. She looked to see a large snake hissing, looming over her. She struggled, but his hold was too strong. Brave had to think of something, anything to get him to loosen his grip. Then it hit her, a small grin appearing on her face.

"Aren't we the bold one?" she said looking into his eyes.

The snake tilted its head, slightly puzzled. Brave gestured him to glance downward. He looked, seeing his body tightly coiled around her arms, waist, and her "lower body". The snakes green face went red. Exactly what she was hoping for.

Distracted, he unknowingly loosened his grip, just enough for Brave to get an arm free. Grabbing the end of the snake, she closed her eyes and began to spin. Spinning faster and faster, she uncoiled him from around her, and was now swinging him, like a giant hammer throw. BeastBoy was starting to get dizzy.

Suddenly, she felt his tail sprout fur. She opened her eyes, finding he had turned into a skunk.

"Uh oh." she said knowing what was coming next.

He sprayed a noxious cloud of foul odor in her face. Temporarily blinded, she let go of him, sending him flying. In mid air he returned to human form, bouncing off the ropes, heading back towards Brave at top speed.

"Heads up!" he shouted.

Brave rubbed her eyes, restoring her sight, just in time to be walloped by BeastBoy. The two tumbled to the ground, both fairly sore.

BeastBoy was laid out, across Brave.

"Had enough?" he asked.

"Nah!" she said triumphantly. But as she got to her feet, her body told a different story. She had broken a sweat, was a little tired, and most of her body was sore. It was invigorating, but it had really taken it out of her. The strain finally overtook her, as her knees buckled, falling backwards.

BeastBoy reacted, quickly catching her from behind.

"But…I think we'll just call it a draw for now." she said with a smug smile, as he helped her back to her feet.

"Good call." he agreed

The two got out of the ring, Brave leading him, walking to the far side of the gym.

"So…you gonna tell me why Raven brought me here, now?" he asked.

"I could." she said.

"But…?" he asked, suspecting she wasn't going to tell him.

"But, that'd ruin the surprise."

BeastBoy frowned.

"Besides, I'm sure its better Raven tells you herself."

And with those words, another doorway appeared behind her.

"Well, it's been fun. So…see ya later?" he said nervously.

"Count on it!" she said proudly. "I want a rematch. And now that I know I can count on you for a good fight, I won't hold back next time."

"Right." he said rolling his eyes with a smile.

BeastBoy began to walk towards the doorway.

"WHAAAAAAA!" he screamed, jumping in the air. It felt as though something grabbed him.

He looked over his shoulder, rubbing his bottom, and then turned to see Brave with a small grin. She was waving good-bye, her hand making a squeezing gesture.

"Now we're even." she smirked.

BeastBoy blushed, recalling the events from their match. He gave a nervous chuckle, waving back, and stepped through the doorway.

In the real world, Cyborg and Raven were back on the road, heading for downtown to meet up with Robin and Starfire. Cyborg glanced at Raven.

"Hey, Rae? You all right?" he asked.

Raven's cheeks were a shade of red.

"I'm fine." she replied pulling her hood farther over her head, shaking off the blush.

'Strange' she thought to herself. 'What brought that on?'

She looked down at her hand.

'And how come my hand is tingling?'

Next Chapter: Things are proving to be interesting for BeastBoy's return to Raven's mind. Walking hand in hand with Timid, and now a sparring match with Brave. What emotion awaits him next? And what was in the letter Raven sent?