Poor Twisted Me Chapter 9

Okay, it seems like nobody likes that trivia I had. So, fuck that idea. I'll still give the answers.

But I still want to interact with my reviewers more! Well, I'll let you guys decide for me. Should I try a poll each chapter or something like that? Or should I just shut the hell up and write?

#1 Insomniac with Dave Attell #2 Fenrir is the name of a Norse mythological beast, spawn of the god of chaos, Loki. #3 two answers for this one. Prior to this story, I had two stories. But they really sucked ass, so I deleted them. So none was also an acceptable answer.

On a lighter note, I finally made it past 100 reviews! Ownage!

Okay, time to answer reviews now.

Kestrel- Yeah, it was a fun chapter, wasn't it? Glad I cheered you up! Being depressed sucks sometimes. The only time it doesn't suck is when the girl you like comes to cheer you up. That happened once to me. Then she ended up cheating on me. Moving on!

PrincessCat- Hella hella hella hella! Yay candy! You got one right, so I won't throw rocks at you.

Moezy-chan- hey, you're out of college? I'm still in eighth grade! Well, I'm graduating in June, but the point still stands. I don't know what the point is, but whatever it is, it still stands. As for the code, I did some research on cryptology for this story. I ended up learning a lot, and I just used what I knew. But the poem was a pain in the ass to come up with, so I just made Lyrim a bad poet

Guest- Patience, my friend. Beast Boy will get to kick Izevm's ass soon. But be patient until then!

Warprince2000- Yay!

Darkfire- I get more black roses!!! Hell yeah! I will bring on the BBRae goodness, but I need to catch up RobStar first. Bye!

ScarletAngel68- it's ok; I won't throw rocks at you, since nobody like it. Yeah, I love those cliffhangers and as for bribing with sandwiches, it would be funny, but I'm not one to sacrifice a well-developed plot for some humor. Thank you! They do belong together! I don't have a lighter though, so can I borrow yours? The cryptology was pretty hard to learn, but once I got it down, it came naturally. By the way, I'm declaring you my favorite reviewer, so you can go ahead and put that on your résumé.

By the way, I forgot to mention this in last chapter's preview. This chapter will also reveal startling facts about Ben, not to mention what happened between Izevm and Raven. I'll stop there, so I don't give too much away.


Ben took out a very large map of Jump City and moved his finger across, looking for the right spot. He stopped on an area in the middle of the forest, took out a black marker, and made a big 'X' where his finger had rested.

"This is where Robin and I think that Lyrim is hiding. Notice how the trees surround it. If we can attack during the night, we will have the element of surprise," he started, putting the cap on the marker. Izevm still had his doubts, however.

"Just hiding behind trees in the dark? The chances of just that working are slim to none," Izevm snorted.

Ben, apparently, was not done explaining.

"I'm not done, 'tard," he said, his patience with Izevm dwindling away. "As I was about to say before SOMEBODY interrupted me, this alone won't do. However, all we need to do is use guerilla tactics. Hit and run, hit him again while he's confused, then run again. Eventually he'll get fed up and try to blow up the whole city. However, we need to incapacitate Fenrir before we do anything else, because he can see in the dark. Gar, turn into a snake and bite him, perhaps. Something like that. Not enough to kill him, but to knock him out for a reasonable amount of time."

Beast Boy nodded. Izevm, evidently out of haughty rebuffs, was silent.

"So, once Fenrir is out of the picture, we can all focus our efforts on Lyrim. Like I said, just keep on hitting and running. Eventually, Lyrim's going to get really pissed, and he'll probably try to blow up the whole city or summon Orion again."

Since no one interrupted, Ben pressed on. "No matter what, we have to keep him from summoning Orion. If that thing gets free, we're all fucked. Period. Now, if we know the terrain..." he pointed to the area around the black 'X' and continued, "...we can stay on the offensive until he runs out of gas. Everyone got it?"

They all nodded, with the exception of Izevm, who jerked his head forward curtly.

Normally, Ben would have smiled. But under the grim circumstances, his lips stayed pressed into a thin line.

"Any questions?" Ben asked. Bobbo raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, Gar, if you don't make it back, can I have your guitar?" he said. Beast Boy grinned and said, "Hell no! That guitar will be buried next to me!"

Dave laughed. It was nice to have the mood lightened for once.


Later...

Lyrim sat anticipatively on his chair, hands pressed together in a very perceptive way. Fenrir pawed lazily at the floor until he spied a mouse in the corner. He growled and pounced, claws outstretched. The poor mouse never knew what hit him.

Lyrim suddenly snapped out of his trance, as if something had disturbed him.

"They come, Fenrir," he said quietly. The demonic hound paused from his morbid desires and looked up at his master.

'Fenrir not see humans. Fenrir know humans here. But not see. Fenrir kill when see. Fenrir happy. Kill humans,' he thought to himself primitively.

Lyrim smirked and stood up. His lengthy beard unfolded from his lap and fell, almost touching the floor.

"I see Robin deciphered my enigma," Lyrim said to no one. He motioned for Fenrir to follow, and he began sprinting up the stairs that led to the outside realm.

Upon reaching the surface, he looked around. He saw nothing.

A rustling in the bushes averted his attention. He threw his hand out and a blast of fire erupted from his hands, incinerating whatever had been there.

False alarm. It was a mere raccoon, out searching for a meal.

Robin sat crouched in the tree branches, waiting for the right moment. Ben sat next to him. For some reason, he had insisted on coming. Why, Robin had no idea, but Ben was very...persuasive.

Raven hovered edgily above the tree next to them. Izevm waited patiently below her, dealing with the apprehension very well.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were positioned inside a bush. Not very comfortably, might I add. The hybrid's large size took up much of the space inside the bush, and the plethora of branches intensified the ache caused by Beast Boy's tattoos.

Robin stiffened reflexively as he saw Lyrim emerge, with Fenrir close by. Lyrim's sudden arson of a nearby bush caused his stomach to flare up, since Beast Boy and Cyborg could have been in that bush.

Robin sighed as he saw the lone inhabitant of the bush was just a raccoon. Beast Boy and Cyborg must have been in a different bush, escaping harm.

Ben tapped Robin's shoulder. "Now!" he whispered. Robin nodded and took a handful of smoke bombs. Taking careful aim, he threw them in the direction of Lyrim.

The apocalyptic mage caught sight of the airborne smoke bombs a little too late. An explosion blinded him and Fenrir, the smoke preventing any sort of perception.

"Now BB!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy gave a thumbs-up before bounding towards at Fenrir. Changing into a cobra mid-leap, he sunk his fangs into the leathery skin.

Fenrir roared in pain, and desperately tried to kill the attacking serpent. But his attempts failed, for his claws could not reach his back, nor could his monstrous fangs.

Fenrir began to shake wildly, struggling to eliminate his assailant. But Beast Boy just sunk his fangs in harder, emptying his poison sacs into the demonic hound.

Fenrir's movements slowed, and after a couple seconds he fell down, unconscious. Beast Boy detached himself from the cataleptic Fenrir, and disappeared into the foliage.

Lyrim, still sightless from the smoke bomb, was unable to help Fenrir. Once the smoke cleared, he saw Fenrir's comatose body and a green flash running into the foliage. Growling, he threw a sphere of black energy at the running Beast Boy, but missed.

Robin leapt down from his site in the canopy and withdrew his Bo-staff. Cyborg leapt from the bushes and aimed his sonic cannon, his primal instincts for survival having kicked in.

Lyrim dodged the quick hits of Robin, but became so wrapped up in his brawl with the masked leader that he failed to notice the blue beam combined with green starbolts flying towards him.

Robin leapt out of the way, allowing Cyborg and Starfire's combined attempts to hit Lyrim head-on. The dark mage staggered, but was unhurt.

"Shit, what does it take to hurt this guy?" Cyborg said. Aiming his cannon again, he fired round after round at his adversary.

Lyrim roared ferociously, and flew up to avoid Cyborg's blue volley. He flew past the veil of the treetops and hovered above the nighttime sky.

Lyrim growled brutally, and spiraled to the side, avoiding a giant tree enshrouded in dark energy. Raven and Izevm flew past the tree line after him, and unleashed a torrent of dark energy at the antagonist. Lyrim dodged each one, and began fighting back.

The antagonistic killer threw his hand out towards the attacking pair. A huge stream of ice rocketed towards the two Azareths, forming a line of ice as it went. Raven nimbly dodged it, but Izevm barely avoided it. His right hand was briefly caught in the crossfire, and it shattered like glass.

"Fuck!" Izevm yelled, having just become left-handed.

He lingered in the air a little too long, for Lyrim flew after him with sickening speed. Lyrim couldn't move in time, and Lyrim began unleashed infuriated blows at the Azareth. A green eagle raking his head with its talons cut him short, however. He roared in pain as black blood began flowing from the deep wounds, trickling onto his face. Izevm used the distraction to fly out of the way. He fell onto a tree branch and coughed up some blood. Fortunately for him, Lyrim's ire shifted to the airborne eagle flying away.

Lyrim raced after Beast Boy, catching up to him in mere seconds. The green shape shifter had enough hindsight, however, to dive down at the last second, thus avoiding Lyrim's would-be assault.

Starfire, a couple seconds too late, flew upwards into the night sky, seeking the dark mage. Lyrim caught sight of her before she did of him, and aimed his hand towards her.

"Flames of woe, flames of desire, to me bestow, bestowed with the fire!" he bellowed maliciously. A huge inferno, a hundredfold thicker than a grown man erupted overwhelmingly, aimed at the hovering Tamaran. Starfire caught sight of the firestorm just in time to fend it off with a green ray of energy. But she couldn't match the awesome strength of the conflagration. She undoubtedly would have been overwhelmed, had it not been for Cyborg's good aim.

A bright blue beam hit Lyrim head-on, knocking him off-balance. The tower dissipated, leaving Starfire unharmed. Very tired, but not hurt.

Lyrim regained his balance instantly, but was knocked out of it again by a large green condor ramming into his side. He instinctively lashed out, but the condor glided gracefully out of his reach.

A combined effort of Raven and Starfire collided with Lyrim, and their mutual endeavors overpowered him, and he crashed into the ground, leaving a good-sized crater.

Robin leapt towards the crater to attack, but a huge explosion from within the hole hammered him back. He flew impetuously into a tree, leaving him dazed but conscious.

Lyrim emerged from the crater absolutely livid. He had veins popping out of his head and he was growling sadistically. He roared out, "Orion! Co..." before a green bull yelling "No!" tackled him with full force. He screamed in agony, and recklessly threw a horde of dark energy blasts.

Lyrim's blind assault caused a chain of explosions to rock the forest. Beast Boy flew back, taking one of the blasts head-on. Cyborg dived behind a rock, which shielded him from the flare. Izevm conjured a shield of energy to protect him, too weak to simply dodge. Raven flew upwards gracefully, easily dodging Lyrim's attacks, carrying Ben with her. Robin, however, was still too dazed to dodge. Starfire noticed this, and rushed to his aid without hesitation.

"Robin!" she yelled, and flew with all her strength towards her masked aficionado. She picked him up by his waist and zoomed out of the way of the impending explosion.

In the ensuing confusion, Lyrim managed to regain his composure. He grinned evilly, and raised his hand.

"Orion! Come forth!"

A strident rumbling erupted, and the earth began to shake wildly. Beast Boy, just now regaining his senses, gasped.

"No! This can't happen!" the green changeling yelled. Lyrim grinned menacingly at him and replied, "Oh, but it can and is, my friend. You should have taken my advice while you had the chance, you inane fool!"

The rumbling intensified, and a giant, blood red shape formed in the ground. It began growing, forcing all the Titans, Ben, and Izevm to move far back.

A red cloud appeared in the sky, and a rusty, sinister looking anchor zoomed quickly, landing in the blood red shape in the ground. It kept going, and then stopped, like it had caught something. It slowly began pulling up, and the demonic head of Orion, hooked by the chin to the anchor, pulled out of the portal into this plane of existence.

As the shoulders and wings of Orion followed suit, a taught set of chains, binding Orion by the arms, ripped upwards out of the ground, tearing dirt and plants as they moved. Within a matter of seconds, Orion's full form had surfaced.

"No...I thought I had it all planned...but he still came," Ben said with a tone of finality, reminiscent of a criminal walking down the green mile.

Raven shook her head. "Ben, we're not finished yet."

Ben smirked, knowing she was wrong.

Orion roared deafeningly, its scream filled with the anguish of a million funerals. The roar shook the Titans down to their very souls, scaring them more deeply than any exorcist or poltergeist ever could.

Lyrim pointed towards the petrified Titans. "Orion! Destroy!"

Orion roared back and said, "I want a cheese sandwich this time! Last time you gave me peanut butter!"

Lyrim groaned and conjured up a cheese sandwich. He threw it at the hellish demon, which swallowed it with one gulp.

A ghastly roar reverberated throughout the forest, and Orion averted his gaze to his soon-to-be victims.

Izevm tried to fly away, but the excruciating pain in his stomach from Lyrim's malicious beatings kept him from going anywhere. None of the others tried to escape; deep down, they knew this was the end. And they would fight until that end came. It was a hero's duty.

Beast Boy changed into a gorilla, ignoring the morbid feeling lingering about them all. Orion broke the tension, sending a blast from his blood-red eye at the green shape shifter. Beast Boy jumped out of the way, changing into a rabbit for more maneuverability.

Starfire threw a torrent of starbolts aimed at Orion's body. Each made direct contact. But instead of hurting him, the scales covering him shook, and fell off. They fallen scales sprouted wings and legs, and flew in a swarm after the Tamaran.

Robin threw a bird-a-rang at the demonic creature, but Lyrim tackled him, ramming him headlong into a rock. Robin shook his head, regaining his vision just in time to see Lyrim charging straight after him. Robin was too dazed to dodge, and thus became a human punching bag for the evil mage. Blow after blow registered, each more agonizing than the last. As Robin's consciousness fell away from him, he knew the truth.

Lyrim had won.

Starfire painfully watched Lyrim's horrid assault on Robin, yet could not do anything. She could only fly away as fast as she could, for the swarm of creatures that came from Orion was gaining on her. Aenimae; that's what they were called, she remembered. But that was of no use to her now.

"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled, sending a flurry of dark energy at the pursuing swarm. Her attack hit the aenimae; but instead of hurting them, they appeared to feed off the energy. They turned, and began chasing her. She yelped, and flew downwards in zigzags. But they still managed to gain.

"No! Raven!" Beast Boy yelled. He sprinted as fast as he could, and changed into a pterodactyl. Flying towards the Azareth, he covered her completely in his large wings. The green headbanger flew downwards and landed, acting as a makeshift shelter for Raven.

The aenimae made no effort to distinguish different targets; to them, any kill is a good kill.

The aenimae furiously attacked Beast Boy, but he still held his ground. Raven whimpered slightly, both scared and worried. But the attacking swarm did not let up; and it wasn't long until Beast Boy lost consciousness. Raven gasped, and tried to heal him. For some reason, however, her powers had no effect.

"Come on! Heal, you son of a bitch! No!" she yelled with a sense of futility. Despite her efforts, Beast Boy did not wake. Raven had used all her strength to try and heal him; and now, as her vision slowly turned black, she took a small bit of comfort in the fact that she had done her duty.

Cyborg fired round after round at Orion, none of them making a single dent or scratch. Orion averted his fiendish glare to the hybrid, his stare reaching down into the depths of his very soul.

The apocalyptic demon roared horrifically, and his eye began to distortedly turn a deeper shade of red. A grisly screech escaped his mouth, and a huge blast erupted from his eye, aimed for Cyborg.

Cyborg tried to dodge, but his reflexes were not quick enough. He fell down, although conscious. Instinctively, he tried to get up, when a small voice in the back of his head told him to stay down. For some reason, he did. Squinting his eyes, he was able to make it look like he was dead, but was still able to see what was going on.

Starfire was dead-tired from begin chased by the aenimae, so when they came for her a second time, she was unable to escape. They brutally attacked her, and she lost consciousness soon after.


"Robin...wake up...Robin...wake up, dude...Robin..." a far-off voice called, echoing throughout his head.

Robin's eyes slowly fluttered open, and upon fully awakening, he yawned. But once his surroundings registered, he was deeply shocked.

The whole forest was completely burned down; only ashes and the burnt remnants remained. All the Titans and Izevm had congregated around him. Starfire was at his side, grasping his hand tightly, tears in her eyes. Beast Boy stood in front of him, looking like he had just relived Vietnam and World War 2 all in one day. Raven was grasping his hand solemnly, as if this was a funeral. Cyborg was sitting a little off to the side, crouching on a log. He was performing a system scan, making sure the fight had not one any serious damage. Izevm was kneeling directly to his right, massaging the stump at the end of his arm that used to have a hand.

Ben, however, was seated on a wooden stump a lot farther away. He was grasping his head and swearing silently under his breath.

Lyrim was nowhere in sight, nor were Orion and Fenrir. Robin sat up silently, then groaned from the pain in his stomach.

"Robin! You are alright!" Starfire shouted gleefully, and embraced him tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder, as if he had died and come back.

"Star...what the hell happened?" Robin asked confusedly. Starfire let go, and gravely looked down at the ground. Robin looked around and said, "Anybody want to tell me what happened?"

Silence. Robin cautiously said, "We did win...right?"

"We won...but..." Raven began to say, but the last word trailed off. Robin raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

Cyborg got up from his place on the log, but said nothing. The silence lingered, but was interrupted by Ben.

"I'll tell you what happened, Robin," the metalhead said grimly. He sighed, and walked over.

"There's a reason I was nicknamed 'Pyro', Robin," Ben said softly. Robin raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant.

"I don't understand..." Robin began to say, but he stopped once he saw that Ben's hand had become engulfed in flames. They crackled, but did not spread. Ben showed no sign of pain, and his skin showed no sign of burn. Robin gasped, the truth beginning to dawn on him.

"No way...why didn't you tell us?" he asked. Ben sneered, and the fire on his hand disappeared.

"Just because I have special gifts doesn't mean I have to flaunt them around like some kind of circus freak."

Robin was surprised at Ben's harsh words. He was about to ask more, when Ben continued.

"All my life, my powers caused me nothing but pain and isolation. Early in my childhood, I accidentally set fire to millions of things because I couldn't control my powers. But I was labeled an arsonist, and everybody just thought I was a messed up kid. My parents tried to send me to a therapeutic school, but after the first week I lost control again and burned the school down."

The masked leader had nothing to say. Ben sighed and continued, "I ended up running away from home. Eventually, I learned to control my powers. I went to a military camp, and liked it there. But it wasn't long before the officials found out I had no identity, and they booted me out. Then I met Dave, and I stayed with him, got a job, and here I am."

Robin wanted to ask what had happened, but he decided that now wasn't a good time.

"I suppose you want to know what happened?" Ben said. Robin hesitated, and then nodded.

Ben sighed.

"It went like this..."


Begin Flashback (from Ben's POV)

After the aenimae began chasing Raven, I hurried into the forest to hide. I could still see everything, however. I watched each of you fall, one by one. I couldn't handle it. I yelled in anger, not caring who or what heard me.

After my outburst, I soon found Lyrim right behind me, smirking like the fucking, stupid ass jerk he is. He laughed out loud, and asked me if I wanted to be killed by him or be killed by Orion. Then he started laughing his ass off, like he was the funniest guy in the world.

I got pissed right then. Who wouldn't have? The guy was being a fucking asshole. I lost focus, and started blindly throwing punches at him. He simply dodged them all, that fucking smirk never leaving his retarded little face.

It wasn't long before I lost control completely. Lyrim had no idea what was happening when I began to erupt into fire. The asshole thought I was a normal human. My fire spread to the forest, and as my anger escalated, I just exploded. Literally. There was a huge explosion, and it engulfed the whole forest. Lyrim screamed with pain. His aversion to heat stopped somewhere around a thousand degrees Fahrenheit, evidently. My explosion burned his stupid ass to a crisp, but he was still alive. He ran off, yelling that this wasn't over. He and Fenrir's body disappeared, then Orion sort of...went away. The anchor shot back up, but pulled him down instead...it was weird.

It was only then I realized that the forest was completely destroyed. How, I don't know, but you guys were unharmed.

End Flashback


"That was me," Izevm said from off to the side. "I had enough strength in me to shield everybody. You guys should all be thanking your asses off."

"How about we leave it at 'thanks'?" Raven said curtly. Izevm frowned at her rudeness.

Ben, now finished, walked off. Beast Boy started after him and said, "Wait! Where are you going?"

Ben looked at him glumly. "I can't stay. I've lost control of my powers. I don't want to hurt you guys. Tell the guys I'm sorry."

Beast Boy moved directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"No."

"Gar, I have to."

"Ben, we can help you control your powers. We've done it before. And besides," he said with a grin, "the Jump City Battle of the Bands is coming up. We can't miss that, now, can we?"

Ben smiled slightly. "Battle of the Bands?"

"You bet your ass. $10,000 first place prize."

"Well, if it's that important for you to win a couple bucks, then I guess I can stay."

Beast Boy grinned even wider. "Alright!"

"On one condition, though," Ben said.

Beast Boy's grin lessened. "What?"

"Don't call me Pyro anymore."


"Gar! Ben! You guys are all okay!" Dave yelled from his spot on the couch. He and Bobbo had obviously been very worried.

Beast Boy laughed. "Yeah, we're all in one piece. Except for Izevm, who's in two pieces. Hey Izevm, did you ever find your hand?"

Izevm growled and said, "No, I didn't. And thank you very much for reminding me of that."

"Anytime."

Izevm growled again and stormed off. Ben, Dave, and Bobbo all headed towards the basement to get their gear. After they had all exchanged goodbyes, Beast Boy turned to Raven.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What really happened between you and Izevm?" Beast Boy asked. Raven didn't answer.

"Raven?"

She sighed and said, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked."

Raven walked over to the couch and sat down. Beast Boy followed and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Back when I lived in Azareth, me and Izevm were...good friends. In fact, we were more than good friends. Way more. But then he began doing...strange things. Like summoning demons from other realms. None of them were that powerful, so none of them caused any real harm. But one day he summoned a really powerful one. As a matter of fact, it was Fenrir. It killed almost my whole village before the elders managed to banish it to another plane of existence. I did what any girl in my position would do. I dumped Izevm. He was plain heartbroken. I guess it's kind of my fault he's such an ass now. But he still hasn't moved on..."

Beast Boy said, "I see..." and folded his hands together like therapists usually do. "Now tell me about your childhood..."

Raven rolled her eyes and shoved him. Beast Boy laughed and grabbed her by the arm, making her fall down on top of him. Raven smiled and pressed her lips to his. Beast Boy embraced her tightly and kissed her back, moving tongue deeper.

Raven broke the kiss after a couple of minutes and said, "Whoo, I need to breathe."

Beast Boy held her waist and hugged her tightly from behind. Raven grasped his hand and yawned.

"You know, Lyrim is still out there plotting," Raven said casually. Beast Boy pecked her on the cheek and said, "You're probably right. But let him plot all he wants. He can't beat us."


Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! First plot arc done! So, what'd you guys think? And trust me, this story is waaaaaaaaaay far from being over. This is going to be a really long fic, people. I just keep getting more and more ideas.

Next chapter:

Fallen Cherub enters the Battle of the Bands! Beast Boy invites the rest of the team, but Starfire, who has no place in a crowd of headbangers and metalheads, declines. So, Robin takes her out on their first official date! Cyborg brings Carmen, and everyone has fun! But while the Titans are off enjoying themselves, a new, mysterious villain, dubbed "Deep Throat" has allied himself with Lyrim! Sheeeit, this won't be good...

This is Mud signing out.