Poor Twisted Me Chapter 22

It had been two months since Raven defeated Trigon, thus ridding herself of the "impurity". With crime in a slump, and nothing left to do, the Titans have learned to focus on the much more important aspects of life: each other.

Upon defeating Trigon, the Titans searched the city for anything out of place. To their surprise, they found neither hide nor hair of Izevm. Seeing Raven's worried look, Beast Boy embraced her; whispered in her ear, and said, "Don't worry. He won't come back." Lyrim's body was found outside of Titans Tower, near a rock outcropping. The Titans could come up with no logical conclusion to this.

Fallen Cherub had grown a sizable fan base, thanks to a Gotham radio station that played an underground myriad of metal's darker side. Ben had also harnessed control of his abilities, and brought up the possibility of using them during a concert, if they ever got to play at one. Bobbo had dropped his juvenile nickname, and was now perfectly happy with Rob. Dave had apparently hooked up with a girl he met at a Six Feet Under concert, but was being very secretive about it, for some reason. And Beast Boy…was Beast Boy.

Carmen, tired of living in a poor shack next to bunch of rednecks, had moved into her friend Kate Anderson's house, whom lived on the outskirts of the city and had a fairly large home. To Cyborg's delight, it was only a few blocks from Titans Tower, a much bigger improvement from her previous residence. However, after busting up her chest pretty badly at a nearby skate park, nearly breaking a rib, she decided to quit skateboarding and look for a job. That wasn't going to well, since people didn't seem too eager to hire a person with nothing on her resume at all.

The curtains have closed on the first act. Let the second act commence.


Raven glanced at her alarm clock. The red neon numbers spelled out "7:45 AM".

She groaned and turned over in her sleep, fruitlessly trying to squeeze in a few extra minutes of slumber before her alarm went off. Just as she threw her covers over her head and began to shut her eyes, a huge blast of sound erupted from the room across the hall- Beast Boy's room.

Growling, she held her hands over her ears and jumped out of her bed. As she walked across the hallway towards Beast Boy's room, she could literally see the floor vibrating from the noise. She kicked the door open and saw Beast Boy sitting in front of two huge speakers, calmly reading a magazine. The stereo had a marquee across a small screen that read in bright green letter "ARTIST: THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER…SONG: FUNERAL THIRST…ALBUM…" and so on. The sound emanating from the speakers was kind of like a drunk cookie monster, the evil vocals compounded by an insanely fast double bass beat and a greatly detuned guitar riff that spewed out riffs that threatened to collapse by its first arpeggio.

And quite frankly, it was pissing her off.

Grasping her ears again, she yelled out, "Beast Boy! Could you turn that down!?"

Beast Boy turned around and yelled back, "What!?"

"Could you turn it down!?"

"What!?"

"BEAST BOY WILL YOU TURN THE GOD DAMN MUSIC DOWN!"

"Oh."

Beast Boy got up and lowered the volume. Raven sighed and sat down next to him on his bed. "Beast Boy, why do you feel the need to play this music before any of us are even up?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Love you too, Raven."

Raven was about to say something, when Starfire and Robin came bursting into the room, jolting Beast Boy from his bed.

Robin frantically looked around and withdrew his Bo-Staff. "What's going on!? Where's the problem?!"

Raven pointed at Beast Boy and said, "Music."

Robin relaxed. "Oh. I thought it was a bunch of Vietnamese people having their stomachs ripped out with a fork."

Beast Boy scoffed. "You people have no tolerance for death metal at all."

The green changeling looked at Robin for a moment, noticing he was in his outfit. "Robin? Why are you wearing your spandex? Do you sleep in it?"

Robin hesitated. "Well…I need to be ready, if something comes up…"

"Uh huh…" Beast Boy said, assuming an artificially presumptuous look. Robin rolled his eyes and left the room, Starfire following after him, leaving Raven and Beast Boy alone.

Raven yawned and stretched, still tired from her interruption of sleep. As she stretched her arms out, Beast Boy grabbed her by the stomach and playfully pulled her down, kissing her neck as they embraced. Raven giggled and said, "Beast Boy, stop…"

Beast Boy growled slightly and began nibbling her ear, when the phone went off in the distance. Beast Boy got up for a moment, but Raven pulled him back down, pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled from the living room. Beast Boy got back up again. 'Damn it…' he thought to himself.

"What is it?" he yelled back.

"Phone call! It's from Ben!"

Beast Boy groaned and got up, Raven walking behind him. When Beast Boy reached Robin, the masked leader handed the phone to Beast Boy.

"Hello?" Beast Boy said slightly irritably.

"B.B.?" came Ben's throaty voice.

"This better be good. I was," he said lowering his voice, "just about to score, you know."

Ben chuckled for a beat. "Beast Boy, some girl from Gotham is at my house saying you got her pregnant."

Beast Boy stopped dead. He stumbled with the phone, stammering, "Dude, but how…I never even…what the hell? It's…impossible…"

The sound of Ben laughing interrupted Beast Boy's faltering.

"I'm kidding, dude."

Beast Boy breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That wasn't funny. You scared the shit out of me."

Ben chuckled again. "You know it was funny."

"Alright, it was pretty good. But it wasn't funny."

"Yeah it was."

Beast Boy snorted and said, "Look, what did you want to call me about?"

"Alright, you know how you said the band would get together on the fourteenth?"

Beast Boy nodded and said, "Uh huh…"

"And you know how it's, like, the fourteenth?"

Beast Boy paused. "Oh."

Ben snorted and said, "Dave and Rob are already here. You want me to come pick you up, or would you rather fly over?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I'll fly."


Cyborg looked up from his cereal and watched from the kitchen table as Beast Boy morphed into a bird, jumped out the window and began flying away. Returning his focus on his now finished cereal, he turned the bowl up and drank the remaining milk from it. Robin sat down next to him and began reading the newspaper. Cyborg snorted as Robin opened up the paper and began reading the first section. Robin looked at him and said, "What?"

Cyborg jabbed his spoon at the paper. "You know that paper has a huge conservative bias, right?"

Robin shrugged and replied, "Since when did you become so interested in politics?"

Cyborg grinned. "Ever since NOFX went on the 'Rock the Vote' tour. Besides, if I don't, then P. Diddy will kill me."

Robin rolled his eyes and returned his glance back to the paper. As Cyborg got up from the table, he whispered in Robin's ear, "Capitalist pig."

As Cyborg set his bowl and spoon in the sink, the phone abruptly went off. Cyborg casually picked it up with a nonchalant "Hello?"

"Yes, I am a pollster from the Jump City Times. Is this the Titans residence?"

Cyborg snickered for a moment, and then said in a high-pitched voice, "No, this Emily's Whorehouse. For a couple hundred dollars we can make all your fantasies and pleasures come to life. We have a special this week- Latinos 20 off!"

Cyborg could hear Robin spiting out his milk, followed by a fit of laughter. Raven made some comment about immaturity and being juvenile.

"Oh. I am sorry, miss. I must have dialed the wrong number. Actually, now that you mention it…"

Cyborg couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing, dropping the phone in the process. He heard an indignant scoff from the other line, trailed by the sound of the other line hanging up. He and Robin exchanged hi-fives. They looked at each other, then burst out laughing again.

"Robin, what is this 'whorehouse' that Cyborg speaks of? And what is so funny?" Starfire asked from the opposite side of the room. Robin froze instantaneously as his face turned a bright red color. Cyborg tried to hold back more laughter, but failed. Raven promptly closed up the book she had been reading, and left the room, saying, "I'm staying out of this one."

Robin opened his mouth to speak, but Cyborg interrupted him. "Starfire, you know that girl Courtney Love that shows up on TV sometimes?"

Starfire nodded and asked, "Is she one of these 'whores'?"

Cyborg giggled and nodded exuberantly. Robin shoved Cyborg and said, "No, that's not true, Starfire."

Starfire looked at him quizzically. "It's not?"

Robin paused. "Well, it kind of is, but no."

Starfire scratched her head. "I am confused."

Cyborg butted in, saying, "Well, Starfire, a whore is someone you can pay for…certain services. Understand?"

Starfire looked confused for a moment, but then seemed to get it. "I understand, Cyborg."

Robin sighed a huge sigh of relief. It was short-lived, however, as Starfire soon interjected, "I believe that Beast Boy is one of these 'whores'."

Robin and Cyborg's mouths dropped as she said this. Robin snapped out of his trance and said, "Um…Star…can you tell me how Beast Boy is a whore?"

Starfire nodded a little too happily and said, "One time, I felt too tired to clean the dishes, so I paid Beast Boy five dollars to do it for me. That makes him a whore, no?"

Cyborg snickered. Robin turned around to face the hybrid, and said, "See what you did, Cyborg? You could have just said 'Jump City Morgue' or 'Jump City Penitentiary'. But nooooooo, you had to say 'Whorehouse', didn't you?"

Cyborg grinned innocently.


Beast Boy flew over the suburbs of Jump City towards Ben's house. Upon arriving, he regressed to his original form and knocked on the door. A tall, busty girl, who looked like she could have been a Maxim centerfold, answered the door and stood in the doorway. Her hair was a straight, blonde color with black and blue highlights, and fell just below her shoulders. She had a moderately tan complexion, reminiscent of Carmen's. Her left ear had been pierced twice, and her right once. One ear sported the Playboy bunny, and the other was clad in a pentacle and an upside-down cross. She wore a tight, white Fender T-shirt that exposed her bellybutton and strong abdominal muscles. Around her bellybutton, the biohazard symbol was tattooed in black and red. Her left wrist carried a spiked black wristband, while her right wrist had nothing. She wore loose-fitting black cargo pants, with a chain extending from a belt loop to her back pocket. Her pants nearly covered her white running shoes, which had been doodled upon in red and black ink.

She blew a bubble from the gum she had been chewing, and through the bubble you could see the bolt she had in her tongue. She popped the bubble, and in a vague Bostonian accent she said, "Can I help you?"

Beast Boy nodded and said, "Yeah, is Ben there?"

The girl turned around and yelled, "Ben! Someone's here to see you!"

A soft rustling could be heard from inside the house. Ben emerged into the hallway, and upon seeing Beast Boy, he said, "Gar! Come on in!"

The girl stepped out of the way, granting Beast Boy passage into the house. Beast Boy smiled and walked in. Exchanging shoulder punches with Ben, he pointed to the girl and asked, "Who's she?"

Ben smiled and said, "That's my new girlfriend, Lisa Crowley. She moved in with me after her landlord evicted her."

Ben looked at Lisa and motioned for her to come over. She smiled and walked up next to him, asking, "Who's your friend?"

Ben nodded and said, "Lisa, this is Gar Logan. He plays lead guitar for the band."

Lisa smiled again, this time more warmly, and extended her hand. Beast Boy smiled back and shook her hand. Ben leaned next to Gar and whispered in his ear, "She's kind of wacky, so be careful."

Ben motioned for the two to follow him into the living room. Dave and Rob were already there, Dave sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table and Rob lethargically situated on a recliner with his feet resting on an Ottoman. The coffee table had a slew of unorganized piles strewn around, with a pile of dirty magazines in a pile underneath it. Beast Boy looked around, and noticed Ben had made some additions since he had last been there. Posters still polluted the walls and even the ceiling, with pictures ranging from bands to centerfolds to guitars. Ben's guitar and bass collection now hung from pegs on the wall, whereas before they loitered in his basement. He had replaced his wooden floor with an azure, velvety wall-to-wall rug that still sported that new carpet smell. A large TV sat in the back of the room, near a concrete fireplace.

Lisa sighed, sat down next to Dave, and began reading one of the girly mags. Dave and Rob looked at each other, then grinned.

Beast Boy sat on the far end of the sofa, next to Lisa. Ben, having no place to sit, pulled the Ottoman out from under Rob's feet, moved it right on front of the coffee table, and sat down. A small, orange, tiger-striped cat darted from the kitchen and into Ben's lap. Beast Boy looked over and asked, "Since when did you have a cat?"

Ben scratched the cat behind its ears while answering, "I've had him for a while. He just tends to laze around the house and sleep all day, which is why you've never seen him. His name is Silenoz."

"Why Silenoz?" Rob asked.

"Cause that was my dad's last name. Mine too, before, you know, I ran away."

"Ah."

Ben picked out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil from the pile and said, "How many songs do we have now?"

Rob looked over and said, "We've got 'Lack of Comprehension', 'Death in Fire', 'Masters of War', 'Enchanted Nightmare', 'Demon's Night'…am I forgetting any?"

Dave perked up and said, "There's also 'Coming Home' and 'Morbid Tales', too."

Beast Boy thought for a moment before saying, "What about 'The Silence'?"

Ben hurriedly scribbled down the list of songs. "That makes eight songs…not enough for a normal album, too much for an EP or a demo."

"No, eight songs could be enough for an album," Dave said, "and if we want to make a demo or an EP, we can always pick which ones we want on it."

Ben nodded and scribbled some more on the paper.

Dave began digging through his pocket, saying, "Hold on, I just remembered, I wrote a song last night." Picking a folded up piece of paper from his pocket, he handed it to Ben.

"It's called 'Decades of Despair'," Dave said as Ben promptly began unfolding it. It read:

I'm drifting through life without any goals
Blindfolded fool, in my heart there's a hole
I've looked everywhere but I can't find the real me
The righteous one, the one I always wanted to be

In my dreams I'm all covered in blood
Beaten to death, lying in the mud
If I died tonight it would be such a relief
My soul would finally be free

To a blood-filled sky or down below, that's where I belong
For I have lied, and I have sinned and I have killed your dream

Sleepless nights turn into years
Decades of despair
All hope is gone since years ago
Almighty god bring me home

Unconscious for the last time in my life
I hate it! Time to lie down and die
Let the darkness take me home
A beautiful end of my totally wasted life

To a blood-filled sky or down below, that's where I belong
For I have lied, and I have sinned and I have killed your dream

Sleepless nights turn into years
Decades of despair
All hope is gone since years ago
Almighty god bring me home

Ben nodded approvingly. "This is real good. I like it." He passed it around the group, so each of the members could take a look at it. When it came to Lisa, she poked Dave in she shoulder and said, "You last name sounds like a car."

Dave looked at her confusingly. Lisa made a comparative gesture with her hands, saying, "Come on, Mustaine, Mustang…don't you see the resemblance?"

Dave shrugged. "I guess so…"

Lisa smiled. "Good. Don't argue with me."

Rob lit up. "That's right? I forgot, I wrote a song too. I call it 'Absolution of the Soul'." The bassist fished out a piece of paper; this one unfolded, yet crumpled up, and handed it to Ben. Ben read the lyrics out loud, while at the same time trying to figure out how to put vocals over it.

"Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow for me
End this misery!
Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow
Alleviate the suffering!
Suffering

Abominate absolution of the soul,
Accommodate the noose tied
Around my throat

Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow for me
End this misery!
Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow
Alleviate the suffering!
Suffering

Desecrated, compensated!
Dissolution drawing nearer
Verdict in, judgment down
Sentenced, Revolution
Revolution

Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow for me
End this misery!
Endless sorrow,
No tomorrow
Alleviate the suffering!
Suffering

Reward my soul
Denial…"

Beast Boy grabbed the paper from Ben, reading it over. "That's pretty good. Usually your songs suck ass, Rob."

Rob threw a crumpled up piece of paper at Beast Boy, making contact with Beast Boy's head. Beast Boy in turn stuck his tongue out.

Ben sat up and kicked Beast Boy in the foot. "Knock it off."

Lisa smirked and said, "The coffee maker broke, so he's had to go three days without his beloved coffee."

Beast Boy smiled. Dave perked up again and said, "Then why are you having band practice at 8 in the morning?"

Ben shrugged. "I usually get up at 6 anyway."

Rob raised an eyebrow. "Why are you up at six in the morning?"

"Um…stuff."

Ben made a gesture with his hand that implied they should forget about it. Attempting to get back on track, he said, "Alright, he have all the songs?"

His comrades nodded. Ben walked over to the phone and said, "Alright, I'll call the recording studio to see when we can come in."


Starfire stared blankly at Robin.

"You mean to tell me that humans let others do that to themselves for money!?" Starfire said incredulously. Cyborg snorted for a moment, and then said, "Just wait until she sees what Britney Spears does to herself."

Robin pushed Cyborg away and said, "Shut up! The last thing I want to do right now is explain more stuff to Starfire she doesn't need to know."

Cyborg playfully pushed Robin and said, "Well, she was going to have to find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I suppose so, but I really, really would have preferred later rather than sooner."


Woohoo! The second act has begun! My apologies if I took a while to update, but as I told Bold Achilles before, I've been having some…ahem…"self-esteem issues". Also, sorry if this chapter seemed unfulfilling, but I'm trying really hard to keep it all in sequence. Oh, and don't be fooled by the upbeat attitude of this chapter; the next few chapters I intend to be a lot darker.

Review answering time!

MoonWinged-Faerie- Hey, I haven't seen you before. You really think I deserve more praise? Thanks, but I think my story still leaves a lot to be desired. Anyways. Thanks a lot! You're a very complimentary person.

HpRaven89- You think I'm brilliant? Gracias, mi amiga!

ScarletAngel68- Yeah, a soccer-playing Trigon did strike me as a funny sight. m/ m/!!!!! Thanks for the birthday present!

Daeren Ryft- My act got an 11 out of 10? Why not a 12? I'm so terrible…hah, just kidding.

Snea- You want 4 acts? Might be kinda hard, since it tentatively is gone deal with tme and time travel…and you know how complicated that is. If for some reason you don't, try learning about the space-time continuum.

Cd lover- No, Poor Twisted Me lives on! I am unstoppable!

Kestrel- Squee, I loved Spellbound.

Bold Achilles- You saw Shaun of the Dead? Awesome! I wanted to see that movie, along with a million others, but I never got around to it. Peace out, mi compadre.

Living Impaired- I didn't forget you this time! Sorry, sometimes I leave out people in my hurry to update. Judging by the length of this last act, I'd say at least 40 more chapters to go. Hey, you have the same name as one of my friends! Only she's a grade above me.

Soraoathkeeper- Uh huh…well, I'm sure it looks good in your head, since I have this weird thing where I can never imagine stuff if I didn't think about it. To tell you the truth, I'm still not entirely sure how the second act's gonna play out. I mean, I have a bunch of ideas for different plot arcs, but I don't know which ones to put. I'll probably just play it by ear.