I'm soooo sorry I took so long to update! I really am! There have been… difficulties lately. (wow, that was lame) I was in London for a week, and school's been a hassle with Spanish II and all! Anyhoo, I'd been working on one of my horror stories lately, Raven's Game 2, racing to get it finished. Now, this is the only story I'm working on right now. I promise to give a few parts all at once! Here I go! My love! My anger! And all of my sorrow! ((Yeah… G–Gundum rocks…o;))
And now… the song chapter! LOL! I'm using "Holding Out For a Hero!" If you don't know the song, that's okay. BUT! I've come to realize that there are several versions of this song. So, I'll tell you which version I'm using. I'm using the one from the movie "SHREK 2." It's the song that plays during the credits. Good song, and it fits perfectly!
BARCODE
PART 16: Showdown
As though to heighten the drama, lightning split the sky as dark clouds began gathering. Thunder rumbled and shook the entire forest as an icy wind passed through the clearing. They stared at each other for the longest time. It would all come down to this.
The mighty T-rex roared its challenge to the giant tree monster. More and more were emerging, as though the whole thing were made of those extremities. They charged! Birds flew away from the area at the first impact. Teeth found wood. Thorns tore flesh. Claws snapped branches. Vines left welts. The mighty T-rex skidded on its heels in the mud, and the two powerhouse changlings squared off again.
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Raven stirred in her restless sleep. How she'd found any at all was beyond her explanation. But, there was no telling how long she'd been there. As a deep stab of irony, a simple bed had popped out of yet ANOTHER hidden panel. She'd lay down on it, refusing to turn back the sheets as a small act of defiance. The turned in her sleep, her eyebrows bunching together with distress.
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Back at Titan's Tower, Beast Boy had accidentally left his radio on. Even through the storm, it was picking up a song. A song so fitting it was deeply ironic:
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Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day
Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day
Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day
Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day (yeah)
Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?
Where's my street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight, upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need…
The T-rex skidded again, receiving a had blow from a long branch. Trees toppled and fell, shaking the ground. Roaring again he charged with his head down to make a massive battering ram! Lightning struck just as he did, blinding both combatants as he struck. B-407's head slammed straight into the trunk of B-406. There was a rumbling roar from the tree monster and the whole thing shuddered.
Twisting hard, he made to bite into another set of branches. His teeth found air as the monster began transforming. B-407 resumed his human shape and leapt back, ready for whatever she might become.
B-406 became human again, a black skin-tight jumpsuit on. No purple stripe like his, but still almost the same. The rain soaked them both, and she tossed her hair back. The rain made both of their outfits practically see-through, and it dripped from their gently sculpted bodies.
B-407 glared at her with an animal's eyes, rain dripping from his nose and chin. She wouldn't walk away. Not after all the suffering she'd caused. Kidnapping Raven. Robbing a bank. Killing soldiers… hitting him in the crotch. His eyes glistened with anger and that was the signal. The pair charged each other again. When they were just about to meet they changed. He was a bear and she was a tiger. Claws and teeth were in a horrible frenzy of survival! She had the speed advantage, but he was way beyond her in strength.
B-406 was slammed into a tree by a hard bear claw swipe, and she shook her head to right herself. She snarled viciously, running straight forward to battle again! Lightning split the sky as claw and teeth met once more.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight!
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be soon and he's gotta be larger than life!
(larger than life…)
Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day
Dee doo dada doom dada doom dee day
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Raven turning in her sleep, her wrists sore because the bracelets were rubbing on her. The charrigan gem on her forehead glittered weakly, but was surpressed by the binding spell that had been placed on her wrists. She gave a soft moan, curling into her cloak. Harsh, fretful dreams haunted her sleep. She kept seeing a shadowy shape… it was familiar though. Someone coming to save her from the dark… reaching for her with soft hands… just beyond her reach……
Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasy,
Somewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for,
Racing on the counter, ( ? )
Rising with the heat,
Its gonna take a super man to sweep me off my feet!
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B-407 was in an aerial battle with B-406. A hawk versus a falcon. Lancing back and forth through the pouring rain they tore at each other with claw and beak! They countered each other perfectly, flying in unison and staging the same attacks at the exact same time. The result was a ricochet effect, and they only time either of them got hurt was in the recoil.
B-407 screeched as he landed hard, rolled and became a rhino. Charging headlong as his opponent landed, he came horn-to-tusk with an elephant! Taking a leaf out of his book she'd become something huge and powerful to overtake him. Counterbalancing hard, she threw him into the thicket. He transformed just before landing, and the plants cushioned his fall. Breathing hard and a slight line of blood escaping his mouth, he emerged to keep fighting. B-406 became human again, and she made a 'come on' motion with one hand. Her hair was disheveled with the rain and fighting. She'd gotten a fair number of blows, but so had she. How long would this drag on…? He became a lion, king of the jungle! Roaring he leapt at her, claws extended. She ducked out of the way, becoming a tiger again as she did so.
Huge teeth and even more claws went back and forth in the carnal heat of battle. Animal versus animal. Bear and tiger. T-rex and monster. Hawk and falcon. B-407 suddenly lost his footing in the mud and was slammed aside! He hit a tree with a yelp, turning human again. He groaned, holding his head as his temple bled. She became human again as well, wordlessly taunting him.
My will aligns with the heavens above,
Where the lightning splits the scene.
I swear I can feel someone, somewhere watching me.
Through the wind and the chill and the rain,
And the storm and the flood…
I swear I can feel his approach like fire, in my blood.
Both of their outfits had become torn. B-407 wordlessly removed his tights, feeling the cold air around him. The rain pounding on his ignited his animal senses, and she could see the steam erupting from his mouth. He was becoming… carnal. She stared at him and lightning struck the sky again. Thunder boomed as she pulled her hair back so she could see better. His shoulders were rising and falling with every breath, and only his eyes were visible in his shadow.
B-406's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was this? What was he doing? What animal was he becoming now? She braced to see, ready to find the perfect animal to counter it with.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight!
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be soon and he's gotta be larger than life!
His breaths were becoming short, ragged. Almost like constant snarls. The single tooth that stuck out of his mouth started to curve, and another joined it. They jutted out of his mouth, growing until they were ridiculously long. His eyes started to white out. His muscles began growing, and his boxers shredded because of the heightened mass. A tail jutted out quickly, and a short muzzle grew to match the teeth. The whole thing finished off with a ton of wet, shaggy hair. B-406's nose wrinkled. She did not know this animal. What was this… beast? B-407 howled, sending a chill to the bones of all that heard. He was no longer B-407. He was no longer Garfield. He was no longer Beast Boy. He was just Beast. The Beast he held within.
The fear grew in her eyes as he advanced.
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Raven awoke with a gasp. What was that… feeling, she'd just gotten? That horrible, blood-stopping aura? Her powers might've been restrained, but she could still sense things. Something was happening above on the surface. Something bad. There was something up there… that shouldn't be.
She pulled back her hood, looking at the twin bracelets on her hands. If only she could get them off… but she couldn't. She would have to wait to be rescued, like a damn princess or something from a fairy tale.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight!
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light!
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be sure and he's gotta be larger than life!
Suddenly the roof caved in! There was a blast of plaster and metal, earth and rock. A green, broken body fell through, covered in blood. Raven cried out in shock, pressing herself to the corner as a mighty shadow cast itself into the hole it had just made. She ran to the limp form, thinking it to be Beast Boy. The gothic girl recoiled in shock as she found it to be B-406. She moaned softly, but she was bleeding badly. The blood was seeping into Raven's cloak. She let the dying changling down gently, and turned to see who had done it.
A massive, furry form dropped from the ceiling, cracking the floor as it landed on clawed feet. Raven took steps back as it loomed over her, her back against the wall. It emerged into the light, revealing green fur. "B… Beast Boy?" she whispered in disbelief, staring at him in total shock. "H-how… did you do this to… what is that thing?" she whispered. A mighty monster curled down to her eye level, glaring at her with an animal's eyes. "He's not himself…" she whispered, trying not to tremble before the huge beast. With her powers restrained… she was helpless. The tension was mounting, and –!
He licked her face.
There was a long silence as the slobber dripped down her face and jaw. "…Yuck." Raven said, highly annoyed. "You're still you, I guess." A loud purr emerged from the Beast's throat, and she tousled the hair on his head.
The door came open, and both of them poised for battle. It was Robin and Cyborg! "Hey! The grass stain beat us here… and he got bigger!" Cyborg marveled, looking at the green teen's latest transformation.
"How did you guys find me?" Raven said.
"Well, at first we got caught up in the fight with B-406. It caught us in its vines." Robin said, reaching into his utility belt. He gestured that she hold her hands out. She did so, and he pulled out a tiny bottle. "I was going to use this on B-406 to slow down her healing… but then, when it stopped being a tree monster, we slipped away to find you while Beast Boy fought it one on one." He opened the little bottle and poured a little bit of the contents onto each bracelet. Liquid nitrogen. The metal froze so hard it was brittle.
Raven struck the bracelets together when it had dried and they shattered into a million pieces! A devil-worthy grin emerged on Raven's face, and her powers vibrated the very air in the room. "Nice." She said in a low growl. She looked at the world from under her eyebrows, and the room came apart around them. All the hidden panels popped open, the door blasted off its hinges, and the bed snapped like a twig. The boys looked around in alarm, and Raven took a deep breath. The psychic energies seemed to suck back into her body, as though they'd been stretching from being cooped up for so long. Finally… she looked at the broken form of B-406.
"She's dead." Cyborg confirmed, checking her pulse. His scanners swept her body. "Severe internal bleeding, blood-flooded lungs, broken ribs, head trauma… the list goes on." He whispered, looking over at B-407. "You messed her up, man. She won't be coming back from this one." There was a heavy silence as they stared at her broken green body.
He'd killed her. B-406 was dead.
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Garfield Logan was shaking with rage. She was dead. They'd killed her. No. He'd killed her. He'd activated his auxiliary animal mode. The genetically altered Beast. Very similar to B-406's tree-creature. But, far more powerful. She'd left herself exposed in her human form, and no amount of slow healing would save her now. She was dead. He stood from his desk, the rolling chair retreating quickly. Pulling off his jacket and ripping away his tie, he began undoing the buttons of his shirt. In his breast pocket was the lighter. Reaching carefully –
He crushed it in one hand.
Gas leaked out between his fingers and he tossed the pieces aside. No more playing the puppeteer. He was done sitting on the sidelines. They would pay for what they'd done. He would pay. He created him, he would destroy him too. Garfield's shirt came away revealing a hard, almost freakishly sculpted body. And there, across his back in big bold letters/numbers was a serial number.
B-001
Using the back of one fist he smashed the window, and leapt out into the night. They would pay. Oh yes… they would pay. All of them. He wasn't the original Garfield Logan, but he was powerful enough to make up for it. They would pay…
Dum Dum DUUUUUUUM! PLOT TWIST! I bet nobody saw that one coming! Well, Raven is free, B-406 is dead… and we've come to find that Garfield is the real bad-ass around here! But wait, what about the fetus from earlier? Will it have a part to play in all this at all? Or is it just there in the background, an experiment with Raven's blood that will be stopped by the Titans? Maybe we'll find out in the next part of BARCODE! Next time its 'Coming Home." Time for a rest, Titans!