Guidance for the lost
First story
Beast boy closed his eyes. He could still see the image he wanted to block out. Still see the horrible testament to what he is. He lost control. Almost too much. A horrible monster hiding behind some simple façade. Looking at his hands he can still see the slight reddish stains on his hands. Hands that helped bring down his foe. Hands that have brought upon to the owner so much pain and anguish. Hands that curled into a fist and demanded something or someone to further its vendetta against anyone close. Gloves protected his palm from nails that wanted to slash. Grinding his teeth to stop them from biting. Glaring at nothing in particular Beast boy made his way back where he came from. The skyscrapers loomed overhead silent sentential statues, accusing eyes boring into his soul. Streetlights flicker off and on seemingly at random times. It would appear on but then it seemed every time that Beast boy traveled thorough it would turn off as if it were teasing him. 'No lights for the likes of you!' the lights seem to yell at him. It starting to snow then. Cold snowflakes drifted from the heavens to fall gently on the jungle he called hair. Brushing it off his head he looked at his slightly red hand and forlorn smile went on his lips.
"Hey is that you? Beast boy?"
The one in question turned his head and saw just random man.
"Hey it really is! I know the Titan's have been disbanded for a while, but I really wanted to know why? Could you give answers to the Jump Times?"
Beast boy saw it was then just a reporter hoping to get more information on what happened all those months ago. It wasn't that Beast boy minded, but Robin told him not to tell the press. He just smiled.
"No not really…" Beast boy said beginning to walk off.
"Could it be because the leader and the alien got together?" The reporter ventured.
But Beast boy was already walking off.
"Hey you over there!"
Beast boy looked over at the noise and saw it was the man he had to fight. And he brought some friends.
'The man should have known when to give up,' Beast boy thought 'He should not have made those jokes…but I guess I should have had more control but I gave him a fair fight, right? I didn't change form so I think yes.'
He rose up his hands and was about to yell back at them when a shot went right by his ears. Instinct told him to duck and roll to the right. Shots went off in rapid succession to the place he was at. Screams insured as people ran for their lives. Using the momentum of the roll he pushed off the ground and took some long strides backwards. Gravel was pushed up slightly as the shoots hit the ground and uprooted the ground and itself. His features then started to collapse on themselves and before anyone could register he had turned into a small bird with constant beating wings. Their pistol shots moved slowly to Beast boy who assumed the role of a humming bird. Even as the shots approached he was up and a little to the left. Then up a little more and to the right, then up and to the left, and by then he was out of sight. Beast boy went to the rooftop and transformed back into Beast boy. The snow was really falling now and it covered most of the roof. His feet made a slight crunching noise as he made his way to something he could lean on. A slight cloud appeared before him as he breathed out. Rubbing his two hands together he generated as much heat as he could. Breathing in he brought his hands to his face and breathed out into his hands. Those hands started to rub his arms.
"I wonder how things would have turned out," Beast boy muttered to no one but himself. He had been thinking a lot on that question. Those eight words seemed to plague his mind as he strolled around with no where to go. Finding a pole to lean against he connected his back to it and almost repelled himself because of its coolness. But he prevailed and he slowly slid down it with his spine, to where he was sitting down leaning against it. His sigh made a big hot cloud to appear before him and slowly disappear into the increasing storm. Snow quickened its pace from a slow dragging walk to a full marathon. Flurry of snow picked up with the wind and Beast boy was slowly being covered completely.
'What if…' Beast boy thought. And then he suddenly laughed. It started out small, a chuckle, and before he knew it a laugh. A full-blown laugh, how he wished for those again. He missed those days, but it was only about a year or two ago. Though to him it felt even longer, decades to him. He missed just hanging out with his friends. How he missed just arguing over who gets the last slice of pizza, or how they could be arguing one moment and all would be forgiven in another moment. Shaking his head to dislodge any snow, Beast boy stood up. No use in thinking of the past. Ever since Starfire and Robin got together it was never the same. They would leave Cyborg, him, and Raven together, but it was never the same. Never was it again like the past. Looking straight ahead he took a few steps forward and leaned his upper body against the building guard. What he saw was beautiful. All the lights intermingled and seemed to blur together to make one giant mural. Contrasts of dark and light the occasional flicking on and off lights went through the buildings. Beast boy looked down and saw cars driving by. He could only see the gray outlining but he enjoyed himself immensely. Turning his head up again he looked out to the snow covered buildings.
"It's so beautiful…" he said out loud barely able to contain himself. Smiling to himself he took a closer look at all the buildings' they lost all the looming sensation and just looked like memorials then mere statues. Giant colossal things that had no equal within eye sight. He would notice occasional a person walking by in the windows and wondered who they were. Businessmen with deadlines that preventing them from going back to their homes? Or are they all in there to 'crunch' numbers so they can have off for the holidays? The situations were endless. Rubbing his arms back to life he went back to his spot on the road. He noticed a motorcycle passing by, but his hopes died when he saw it wasn't the R-Cycle. Sighing, his breath in front of him he decided to do something brash and daring.
"Oh yes daring and brash, oh the fun," Beast boy said silently to himself running to the other side of the building "ok you can do this Beast boy…bring it."
Beast boy then went into a full sprint to the other edge of the building and with a slight jump was air borne. Wind whipped by him creating a howling into his ears and rushing past his smiling face. Crossing his arms over his chest and angling his body down became a silent missile. This was game time now traveling at this speed he had two choices. Squish, splat, koblyee on the ground or turn into a bird. He choose the later a couple of moments before becoming a pancake changed into a bird and flew harmlessly away to the awe of the crowd developing. Putting a little distance from the crowd he turned back to regular old Beast boy.
"Tada!" Beast boy whispered to himself. That got the snow off. Now in a little better mood from the sheer exhilaration of falling, he moved with an extra spring in his step. Glancing to his left and right he saw he was in the shopping district of the town. He stood in front of a store where a lot of kids were gathered. Toys and trinkets walked, made noises, or moved fluidly through a track. A small smile fell on his face again as he heard the kids complaining how they wanted them.
"Please mommy?" a kid whined in front of Beast boy.
"Maybe Timmy if you've been a good boy."
"But I promised I've been good, honest!"
The mother was smiling, "Come along now we still have to shop for your papa."
"But mom…" the kid whined the last word.
The mom gave a little tug on his hand and the kid grudgingly followed her all the while looking at the toys.
Beast boy smile could not have been brighter or more saddened as he heard the chat and moving of the family. Hands in his pockets, Beast boy made his way to each other shop that held other goods, smiling all the way.
"STOP THIEF!" Was the yell in front of Beast boy compelling him to move. Beast boy made his way and saw a woman yelling at a man with a purse. Running his way towards the thief Beast boy's decided to transform into something child appropriate.
'A tiger should suffice,' Beast boy thought willing himself to become a tiger. The four paws appeared out of him and the transformation was perfect. He then started his stalk of the thief. Feline claws easily catching the slick sidewalk. Four long strides later and he had caught up with the would-be thief. A powerful pounce brought him atop the criminal and as he slammed on to the ground, Beast boy just decided to lie on him. His incredible bulk on the crook quickly made the offender surrender. Features quickly collapsing on themselves and out came Beast boy. The police appeared a few moments later and took the mugger away. Beast boy picked up the purse and made his way back to the woman and gave it back to her.
"Here you go ma'am no trouble," Beast boy said flashing his most citizen related smile.
She hugged him and said thank you many times before leaving.
Beast boy had not had that physical contact in a while, not since Star gave him a good bye hug, and he was not use to it. He stayed glued to the spot he was at while people passed him banging into him rudely.
"What's your problem?"
"Can't you see I'm walking?"
All these lame excuses flew at Beast boy, but if he heard he gave no sign that he did. He just stood there in quiet speculation while the snow flew all over him.
A tingly feeling started at his thigh and he could hear a slight ringing. Confused he reached into his pocket and found it was his cell-phone.
"Beast boy here."
"I found us a mark," the teen on the other side said.
"Who is he?" Beast boy said noticing his new friend's voice.
"Come over to HQ and I'll brief you."
"Over and out," Beast boy said hanging up. Sighing he started walking his way to his base.
Their headquarters consisted nothing but what appeared to be an empty warehouse. And mostly it was but a computer and other necessities. Like a TV, video game console, and a refrigerator full with coke and Tofu. When he left the Titan's months ago he really didn't know what to do. He would fight criminals like the one he just did earlier this night but he was making no real progress. That's when he met Charles. Charles was a very interesting teen. They had fought briefly but then it was because of mistaken identity. Both worked together grudgingly to catch the real culprit. After giving them to the police they asked if they were new bounty hunters and both looked at each other and smiled.
'Yes we are,' his new friend answered looking at the officer.
Since then Beast boy's life was mostly catching the latest troublesome bounty and hands them to the police. And its no problem he takes a little money from it does it? It had taken awhile for the two new partners to really trust each other but they had done it. Beast boy learned that his friend was a talented psionicist. Many a people took advantage of his mental power, even the government at one time, but he survived somehow. He didn't really talk much of the past, said it was a wasted effort, but that didn't matter now.
They had a job.
"So who's our mark?" Beast boy said approaching his brown hair friend.
Charles looked over at him with his blue eyes and said, "Where we're you?"
"Does it matter," Beast boy said huffing up "You already know."
That brought a smile to his friend's face, "I'm getting information now but from what I have heard the price on her is quite high."
"How many digit's," Beast boy asked.
"You won't believe this but four," Charles then went to a machine that was ringing and spewing out paper "Apparently she just escaped from a double max security prison."
"Description?"
Charles quickly scanned over the document, "She is 5'6, pink hair in some sort of weird fashion, pink eyes, Caucasian, a former member of an organization once bent on destroying," he then stopped and looked at Beast boy.
"What?" Beast boy asked, confused.
"Destroying the Teen Titan's," he said simply.
Beast boy looked at his friend square in the eye and rose his eyebrow. Then it came to him.
"Jinx," he said innocuously.
Charles nodded.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time," Beast boy said forcing a smile on his face.
Shaking his head and reaching for a pouch, Charles took out a cigarette and after lighting it took a long drag.
Beast boy held his nose and coughed, "Shouldn't you not have this habit? You are underage."
He smiled, "Not in my home country, maybe here but who is going to stop me?"
Smoke came out of his nostrils and then he took another shorter drag. Breathing it into his lungs he felt a little better.
Beast boy saw that it made his friend a little bit more relaxed and said nothing more about it. Just for now though.
"So how are we going to approach her? She is a clever strategist right?" Charles said reading Beast boy's mind of who Jinx is.
"But that's when she had other powerful accomplices I think she'll be more vulnerable," Beast boy countered.
"She escaped from jail, no? So she must have had someone backing her up on the outside," Charles deftly said.
"Let's see where she's heading to, do we have a read on her?" Beast boy asked after thinking for a few moments.
Charles picked up his phone and dialed a number. After a quick conversation he hung up the phone.
"She's at the marina," Charles said, "Waiting for a boat."
"Let's move then!" Beast boy said getting up.
"I hope we don't have to use this," Charles said showing his dagger.
"No we can beat with just our fists. We don't have to do bodily harm to her to get her to stop," Beast boy said waving off the dagger.
"Roger that."
Beast boy took out of the warehouse morphing into a bird and flying away. Merely a moment later Charles was flying beside them.
They flew in silence before Beast boy heard a voice in his head, "I've set up the mental connection just think and I'll hear."
Beast boy thought aloud after a few moments of contemplation, "You know what I knew someone that was like you…powers' wise."
"Raven," Charles said flatly.
"Yeah her," Beast boy said quickly.
Charles gave him a sideward glance but said nothing until, "Who do you think is stronger?"
Beast boy had to think real hard at that question. On one hand Charles was in a lot more control of his power's and probably pushed his mind and body past the breaking point. He trained his body for about a day. Then the next two day's trains nothing but his mind. But get Raven mad and you were doomed. Then again he never saw Charles mad. Depressed but never mad.
"Hard choice and it wouldn't be complete because I haven't seen Raven in about…" Beast boy thought for a second "A year…has it really been that long?"
Beast boy then grew quiet till they got to the marina. They landed in front of the mangled heap of metal that was the gate.
"After you," Beast boy said.
Charles looked at him and then went through the gate with Beast boy following. They moved in-between the warehouses when Charles suddenly stopped.
"What," Beast boy whispered in his mind.
"I hear something," Charles said talking in Beast boy's brain.