Chapter 3: Cleanup
The storm passed the city leaving brilliant sunshine in its wake. The power was out and communications were down across most of the city. The city's dock area was a mess and officials needed some help with cleanup. Robin decided to split the team up. His primary motive was to keep as much distance between Beast Boy and Raven as he could. His second motive was to see if he could figure out what had happened to Raven. Cyborg and Beast Boy would work on clearing the harbor while Raven, Starfire and himself would work downtown.
By late afternoon Cyborg wished he had never been born. Keeping Beast Boy focused was like trying to herd cats through a fish factory. It had gone well for about an hour in the morning but by the afternoon progress had ground to a halt. Cyborg sat in the T-car hovering in the middle of the harbor looking for any sign of Beast Boy. In the rear view mirror he got a glimpse of him reclined on a sofa that was floating several yards behind him.
"Come on Beast Boy, get a move on will ya!" Cyborg screamed out the window in frustration.
Beast Boy looked up from his seat. "Relax Cy." Beast Boy changed into a seal and jumped into the water. He surfaced next to the T-car's open window balancing a red ball on his nose.
Cyborg glanced out his window and put his hand on his chin. "How did I get stuck with you", he said with a slight tinge of annoyance. With that Beast Boy launched his ball smacking Cyborg in the face with a sharp ping.
"Why you little…" Before Cyborg could finish his sentence a light ringing came from the T-car's consul. It was Robin. Cyborg and Beast Boy turned their attention to the consul.
"Hey guys, how goes the harbor cleanup?"
"I would have been finished hours ago if I had some real help." Cyborg turned his head towards BB-seal and shot a disapproving look at him. Beast Boy looked up and let out a large belch directly in his face. The smell of stale tofu overwhelmed Cyborg as he began to cough and wave his hands in a vain attempt to drive the stench away.
"Never mind that guys", Robin interrupted, "Sal's started the ovens and promised us all of the pizza we can eat. How soon can you get here?"
Cyborg's spirits lifted immediately. If there was anything that could do that it was food. "We're on our way Robin." He signed off and quickly put the T-car in gear. "Race you to the shore BB." Cyborg gunned the engine leaving Beast Boy floundering in the T-car's large wake. Beast Boy struggled to right himself and began a vain attempt to get to shore. After several seconds of struggling he realized the race was hopeless. He changed into a duck and slowly paddled to shore. If he was going to loose he'd lose in style.
Beast Boy slowly pulled himself on shore. Cyborg slyly leaned on his car with his arms folded. "What took ya so long?"
"Very funny." As Beast Boy walked up the beach something in the sand caught his attention. "What's this?" He leaned down and pulled a long piece of leather out of the sand. It appeared to be a belt of some type. The face was made up of small pieces of black and white shells. Tassels of leather dangled from the ends. Beast Boy shook the object to get the sand off.
"Hey Cyborg look what I found."
"Real nice, come on I'm hungry and dinner's waiting." Cyborg had had enough distractions for the day. He quickly jumped in the car and sped off towards Pizza World. Besides, he didn't really relish the thought of a wet Beast Boy in the T-car.
Beast Boy stood transfixed holding the belt in his hands. The sound of the T-car's engine pulling away roused him from his obsession. "Hey wait." Beast Boy screamed. His shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh. He placed the belt in his mouth, changed into a horse and galloped after Cyborg.
Robin, Starfire and Raven took a seat in one of the bigger booths. A middle-aged man quickly placed several drinks in front of them. "Thanks Sal." Pizza World was one of the group's favorite hangouts. The food was good, the owner was cool and the video game assortment was always up to date. This meal was free, an added bonus.
"Where are my two best customers?" Sal inquired.
"I just called Cyborg and Beast Boy. They should be here soon." Robin replied.
Sal frowned, wiped his brow with the back of his hand and turned to the back of the store. "Put ten more pizzas in the oven guys, the big guns will be here soon." Sal turned back to the table, "Thanks again for your help, let me know if you need anything else."
Robin nodded and smiled as Sal turned to go back to the ovens. A good days pay for a good days work he thought. Him and Starfire were physically exhausted. Robin suspected Raven's exhaustion was more mental after using her powers all day. No complaints came from any of them. While they were each spent they all possessed a feeling of accomplishment that came with a good days work.
Raven was thankful the day had been both busy and exhausting. It had given her a focus other than the mysterious vision she had experienced yesterday. She was convinced that the object in her vision had great power and would somehow lead to her demise. A sobering thought, but she still didn't know how or when this would happen or if this would lead to something more cataclysmic.
"Cyborg has arrived!" Starfire announced. She was always genuinely thrilled to see others in the group. Robin turned as Cyborg pushed the doors open and strode wearily towards the table.
"Tough day at the office?" Robin couldn't help but snicker.
"Don't get me started" Cyborg retorted. "Slide over and make room." Cyborg slumped heavily in the booth causing Starfire and Robin to rise up slightly from their seats. He grabbed a drink and quickly gulped it down.
"Where is Beast Boy?" Starfire asked.
"There he is." Cyborg nodded his head pointing towards the store's front windows. A green horse galloped towards the door, slid to a stop, morphed into Beast Boy and quickly pushed the front door open.
"What took you so long?" Cyborg prodded.
Beast Boy held a long piece of leather in his mouth and mumbled incoherently before he realized he'd forgotten to take it out. He quickly removed it from his mouth and shot a disapproving glare at Cyborg. "Very funny, I ran three miles in my bare hooves because of you."
"Up and down hills, in driving rain and snow?" Robin added. He couldn't resist chiding his friend.
"Ok has everyone had a chance to harass Beast Boy?" Beast boy threw his arms up and gave the group an angry stare.
"Maybe Starfire would like to get in on the act." Cyborg replied. Starfire giggled but did not remark on Beast Boy's plight. Beast Boy trudged over to the table and wearily took a seat in the booth next to Raven. She hadn't really noticed his entrance and continued mulling over her plight.
"What cha got?" Robin inquired.
"Huh, oh this thing? I almost forgot about it. I found it on the beach." He handed it across the table to Robin to look at. "What do you think it is?" Robin inspected it. It looked like some kind of belt but nothing like he had ever seen before. "Not sure. Hey Cyborg what do you make of this?" Cyborg looked over at the object in Robin's hands. "Not sure either. It looks like an old native Indian design." Robin nodded and turned to Raven. "What do you think Raven? It looks like an old Indian artifact, doesn't it?"
Raven was consumed in her own thoughts and had not really been paying attention. She turned to see what Robin was holding. When she looked over at Robin's hands her heart sank and a sudden feeling of dread washed over her. She recoiled slightly from the table when she realized it was the belt she had seen in her vision the previous night. All she could offer Robin was a blank stare.
"We could take it down to the university and let them check it out" Cyborg interrupted. "They've got a good group of Profs interested in local Indian artifacts."
"That sounds like a plan." Robin replied. "We've done enough hero work for today. I'll find an officer to run it over to the University for us." Cyborg slid out of the booth and Robin got up and made his way to the front door. Raven focused on the belt wondering when she would see it again.
"Here you go guys, fresh out of the oven." Sal brought over the first two pies from the oven and slid them across the table. "Enjoy. I'll be back with a couple more in a few minutes." Sal quickly glided back towards the ovens.
"All right! Pizza, my favorite fruit!" Beast Boy interjected. After a brief survey he cocked his head towards the back and shouted "Hey Sal, where the fries?"
"Race ya Beast Boy" Cyborg said. He quickly claimed one of the pies and began shoving slices in his face.
"You're on." Beast Boy responded as he quickly claimed the other pie. Starfire conceded Sal's initial offerings realizing one risks their fingers if they are not careful with these two at the table. Cyborg took the early lead but at the last minute Beast Boy's head morphed into a hippo and he quickly stuffed the remains of his pizza into his overextended mouth. Cyborg held his last slices and looked on in utter shock.
"Beast Boy is the winner!" Starfire announced.
"No fair changing into something with a bigger mouth," Cyborg protested. "Best two out of three."
Beast boy folded his arms and looked at Cyborg in triumph. "I did it once and I'll do it again. Sal more pizza please." Sal quickly obliged and Starfire watched round two contented. Raven took little notice as she continued to go over last night's vision in her head.