Insaneiac: And so it hath come.
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Disclaimer: Blink and the plot are mine, nothing else is.
No one quite knows what exactly happened to Garfield that day. When he laid eyes on Robin holding Terra in that stranglehold, something snapped inside of him. Some barrier of mentality gave away, and something flowed into him. Some level of energy, of physical attribute suddenly fell upon him.
More than anything, something awoken within him. Something that had been kept asleep by a simple drug made by a now offline Cyborg. Something that fought and won against all the other Titans, minus himself. The only difference from then and now, was that his heightened abilities had all come to him as though he were in his Were-Beast form, but he had them all in human form.
To put it very, very basically, Beast Boy had every single one of his senses raised, his physical ability well beyond tripled, his reflexes raised to a new level of effectiveness, and his rage quadrupled. Beast Boy had become a vicious and nigh unstoppable fighter, a savage warrior, with incredibly lethal tendencies and one very basic objective.
An objective that was at this point and time, struggling to get up after colliding into a pillar inside an abandoned building. The initial blow had done a whole world more than just cause him to drop his hold on Terra. It had sent him careening into an abandoned building, and on a collision course with a rather large support pillar. He had left a fair shaped impression on the pillar behind him, and a nice hole in the wall in front of him. In one fell swoop, his confidence had been swiped away, and replaced with a mixture of fear and seriousness. He needed to make note of his surroundings, he needed to take what little time he had available, and use it to his advantage.
Large room, fairly dark and with multiple pillars. One light in the center of the room, though dim. Hole in the wall not to far from me, and I'm fairly certain that he's just entering now.'
"You killer her…" A voice muttered from beside him. Robin spun to his left, coming face to face with a green face. A green face with cruel white eyes and a pair of bestial like fangs, not more than two inches from his face. "You killed her…just after I got her back." Beast Boy growled again, his voice sounding more like a ravenous demon, and less like his innocent, and childish voice.
"And what are you going to do about it." Robin replied. He was scared, but to hell if he was going to let Beast Boy revel in that. He even put on a cocky grin to show that, despite his bad situation, he wasn't about to be scared by the single most useless member of his old team. However, his grin soon left his face, along with his confidence, when a hand grasped him by the neck with an iron like grip, and lifted him up off the ground. Instantly, Robin felt the grip tighten, as Beast Boy began to crush his throat.
"I'm going to kill you." Beast Boy replied, a deadly tone in his voice. "I am going to make you suffer more than you have ever suffered before." If there was any color left, it would have drained from Robin's face, as his grip tightened even more. "I will make you pay with your murderous blood."
Third Time's A Charm:
Finale
It had been settled, though on unsteady ground. Well, more or less, it was Slade utilizing his crafty sense of guile to lure Blink into a fight he could not possibly hope to win. Slade had years of martial arts behind him, with special training that would leave most fighters quivering and begging for death. The only thing Blink had that he didn't was, ironically, provided to him by Slade. Aside from his teleportation, it was Slade who gave Blink the ability to store and manipulate his energy in the different ways he could now.
Of course, with his headband gone, so were his other abilities. It left him a little more than perturbed when Blink came back, still capable of firing his blasts of energy, and creating weapons out of it. However, Blink had agreed to no powers in the fight, something that he would not live to regret.
"This time Damian, I'll be sure you watch you die."
"Mate, you talk to damned much." Blink growled, before charging. It was no secret that he was no kung-fu master. To be frank, the most fighting he had ever learned was usually from bad TV shows, and the very few fights he had gotten in against either rival thieves or the odd fight with Batman. To note, one of those fights had actually, by accident, ended up with Blink dropkicking Batman into a low hanging steel bar. Batman hit it hard, and went for a nap. That was all Blink ever truly had when he got into fights, his teleportation and his rather good luck.
This was different. There were no low hanging bars, and for this fight, Blink agreed to no powers. Slade had years of all kinds of melee combat training, while Blink had only lucky streaks and very low leveled hand to hand talent. His rather strained sense of luck was his only advantage, and even that looked rather weak compared to the masked man standing in front of him.
But that wouldn't stop him from finally killing the single most torturous individual to ever enter his life, even if it meant dying himself to do it. "Hey Slade, is your life flashing yet?"
"A fitting epitaph for someone like yourself." Slade replied. He had entered no battle stance, changing nothing about his current method of preparation. If anyone else did this, it could be considered idiocy. When Slade did it, you had better fight intelligently. Blink, however, didn't know anything about fighting intelligently. To be frank, Blink's ideas of fighting were charge in and hope for the best.
At least, that was what Slade thought.
Blink charged in, running in no particular fashion, dodging Slade's intended grab at the last moment. "You've done that one before, Slade." Blink taunted, before kicking at his unprotected stomach. The blow connected, and Slade stumbled back slightly. He had not been expecting that.
Slade gave a slight growl of displeasure, before he was forced to dodge a pair of quick jabs. Upon dodging the second, Slade delivered a strong elbow to Blink's stomach, taking Blink down to a knee. Like it or not, Slade was still much stronger than himself. Blink looked up long enough to see the fist flying towards his face. He rolled to the side, just as the fist swiped through. He could feel it by the hairs on his head just how close it was. However, he could not avoid the following kick, which sent him sprawling across the roof.
"Pathetic really." Slade taunted, as Blink grinned.
"Yes mate, it truly is."
Blink rolled backwards, pushing up and vaulting himself to his feet. This time, he full out charged, blocking Slade's first blow, and delivering a jab to his ribs. Slade didn't even flinch, as he delivered a hammer fist blow to the back of Blink's head, driving it into the ground. Blink pushed to his hands and knees when he felt a hard foot drive into his spine, pushing him back into the roof. Blink gave an aggravated growl as he felt the foot lift off his back, and another send him rolling across the roof again.
"Is this all Damian Grace can offer? Pathetic." Slade taunted, walking towards the prone Blink.
"Don't fret mate. I'm not even close to being done!"
Blink planted one hand into the ground, sweeping the legs out from under Slade. Slade fell hard onto his back, and quickly rolled back to his feet, only to take a well aimed jumping side kick to the left shoulder. The blow sent him twisting to the left, and gave Blink enough time to loose another sweep, tripping Slade back to the ground. Before he could kick up this time, Blink slammed his elbow into Slade's face, driving his head back into the ground.
Blink quickly jumped back to his feet, dodging a pair of roundhouse kicks, and rolling to Slade's back. Before he could do anything, Blink unleashed another sidekick into the back of Slade's head, sending him stumbling forward. Blink quickly planted his feet, and leapt at the back of Slade, dropkicking him as best as he could, and successfully sending Slade to the ground again. Slade pushed himself back to his feet, just in time to grab a sidekick from Blink. However, he did not see Blink toss himself into the air, using his hold on his foot to give him clean access to deliver a second sidekick to his unprotected face. The blow took Slade off his feet, and the fall took Blink to the ground.
Once again, Blink and Slade struggled to get to their feet. Slade dodged a pair of consecutive roundhouse kicks, delivering a sharp and lethally accurate jab to Blink's unprotected ribs. The blow connected, and before Blink could even gag, a hard jab connected with his stomach, forcing him to keel over. Slade was quick in following up, smashing his heel into the back of Blink's head, and driving it into the roof.
Blink rolled to his left, pushed himself to his feet, just in time to take a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. The blow caught him completely off guard, and Blink found himself stumbling towards the edge of the building, the right side of his face numbed. Blink barely dodged the second attack, but was hit by a well placed elbow to the back of Blink's head, driving him once again into the ground.
"I thought you could fight Damian. I must say, I am unimpressed so far." Slade taunted, standing over a downed Blink.
"Don't worry, mate. This Aussie's just getting started!"
Before Slade could even blink, never mind move, Blink planted both hands into the ground, and rolled back, his shoulders touching the ground, his feet aimed at Slade's jaw. Slade didn't even have enough time to grunt as the feet shot up, slamming straight into his jaw, and taking him off the ground. A sickening crack could be heard, as the blow forced Slade's neck to stretch to a dangerous length, before he fell on the ground with a rather plain thud.
Blink pushed to his feet, and stared. He was sure he heard Slade's neck broke, and he was just as sure that, like any other man, a broken neck meant either death or paralysis, and not matter how strong Slade was, no one stands up from a broken neck. Walking up to the motionless man, Blink stood over his face, and smiled. To make the scene all the more rewarding, his one eye was shut. His unblinking, all seeing eye had been shut.
"Tch. I'm disappointed, but who knows mate. Maybe you're better off this way." Blink taunted, waving his hand above Slade's face, and walking away.
"So am I Damian. I'm disappointed in you." Blink couldn't have spun around fast enough, as Slade slowly stood back up. With a severe twist of his own neck, and a set of sickening cracks, Blink watched as Slade put his broken neck together. His once confident eyes were replaced with pure horror, as he watched a man that should all together be dead stand back up.
"But… your neck… it…" A strong left jab to his jaw silenced Blink, knocking him off his feet. Before he could even hit the ground, and hand wrapped around his throat, and drove him into the ceiling, driving the air from his lungs. Just as quick as he had been slammed, Slade lifted Blink off the ground, and tossed him off the roof, and to the street below.
"Damian, I thought I taught you that it was rude to stutter." Slade muttered in his usual tone, as he watched Blink fall.
------ Robin and Beast Boy ------
Robin had managed to get free of Beast Boy's death grip, delivering a good kick to the side of his face. Beast Boy had let go, but countered quickly with a quick set of jabs, and a pair of roundhouses. The jabs were blocked, but the two kicks hit their target with vicious accuracy. Robin stumbled backwards, bleeding from his lip, as he watched Beast Boy charge again.
Robin rolled to the left, dodging a sidekick that sent cracks screaming through the pillar behind him. Robin didn't waste his chance, delivering the strongest kick he could muster, driving his heel into the side of Beast Boy's head, and knocking him to the side. Beast Boy stumbled, and Robin followed up quickly, delivering a right hook to Beast Boy's face.
Another pair of well placed punches pushed Beast Boy back further, and Robin was just about to deliver a final haymaker, when Beast Boy interrupted his combo with a head butt. Robin stumbled backwards, caught off guard, giving Beast Boy a chance to attack. He leapt at Robin, and grabbed onto his shoulders, flipping over him and using his momentum to toss Robin into the pillar he had just kick prior.
The impact shattered the pillar, as Robin flew through it with relative ease before landing on the ground with a thud. This time, he wasn't as quick to get up. His back was screaming in pain, and he was beginning to have problems seeing straight. Just when he was about to push to his feet, a foot caught him in the ribs, and sent him sprawling. Robin felt another impact, and heard something crack as he landed. 'Probably a rib.'
This time, Robin forced himself to his feet, and took a look around. It wasn't a bone that cracked, it was a bo-staff. It had been split in half now, but with any luck, he could use the pieces as weapons. Picking them up, he spun the two pieces in his hands, before turning back to attack Beast Boy. He didn't even have enough time to blink before a hand grabbed him by the cuff of his outfit, and pulled him with deadly force. Robin had no time to counter before a fist slammed into his skull. Robin stumbled backwards, long enough for him to see the next blow coming. Robin dodged to the left, before delivering a pair of jabs with his rods, catching Beast Boy in the throat and the shoulder.
The blows did their job, and Beast Boy staggered backwards, as Robin loosed a jumping side kick into Beast Boy's face, knocking him off his feet, and onto the ground. Robin kept up the attack, stomping on Beast Boy's chest with sever anger and as much force as he could apply.
Finally, a pair of hands grabbed his foot, and pushed him backwards, knocking Robin off his feet. Beast Boy rolled backwards, pushing up off the ground and onto his feet, as Robin kicked back up. Robin was bleeding from the arm, and his back was screaming bloody murder. Beast Boy still looked as though he had mountains of energy behind him.
"I'm going to make you pay in your blood Robin! You'll wish you never killed her!"
"Just shut up and…" 'Look what you've done…' "Bring it on you useless waste…" 'You killed his love. For Slade, you did exactly what he did to Starfire.' "I've still got a lot left…" Robin finished, his confidence getting weaker and weaker. 'You wanted blood for what Slade did, and then you go and do it yourself. The only difference is, Starfire is alive, and Terra isn't.'
"Not when I'm done you won't."
"SHE'S DEAD! I WATCHED BLINK KILL HER!" Robin yelled, gripping his forehead in agony. 'No she's not! Starfire is still alive. You are the only one to have killed. Blink never killed her, but you killed Beast Boy's.' "I know I saw her die!" 'Then why is she out there. Why was she there…'
Robin fell to his knees, gripping his head as though it were trying to explode. "NO! IT'S A TRICK!" 'DAMMIT! WHAT WOULD YOUR PARENTS THINK! WHAT WOULD THEY SAY!'
Robin's hands fell from his head. His masked eyes softened considerably, and from his knees he fell to his hands. Emotion washed over him in waves, and within a heartbeat, he began to see things differently. 'She is not dead Robin. You did precisely what Slade wanted you to, like the perfect little servant would.'
"Who are you?"
'I'm you. At least, I'm you to a point. You still have a chance to make amends. It's not too late…Richard.'
"Beast Boy…" Silence. He could speak, he could even breathe properly. What could he possibly say to him, what could he possibly do, that would warrant him any forgiveness, any understanding. "What have I done?" Robin finally said, looking up at his old teammate.
"You killed her, you bastard." Beast Boy growled, walking towards the former hero, down on his hands and knees. "You killed the one person in the world that ever really cared for me." Slowly, he lowered his head to glare down at Robin.
"Beast Boy… I'm so…" Robin started, unsure how to put the sentence together. "I'm so…" The words felt so foreign to him, so utterly and totally unreal. He couldn't even begin to understand what it was he was saying, or even what it was he wanted to say. "I'm so… sorry."
"Sorry?" Beast Boy replied, kneeling down to look him in the eyes. Robin gazed into those white eyes, and saw absolutely no emotion in them. Only a burning rage left completely and utterly uncontrolled. "You're sorry?" Beast Boy growled, his voice irate, his eyes even more so.
"Yes. I know it doesn't mean much, but I am…" A glass shattering slap to his face ended his line of speech, before a hand whipped out, and grabbed Robin by the throat. Robin's current trail of thought had been broken in a split second, and before he could do any more, Beast Boy lifted him off the floor, and into the air.
"I don't give a damn what you are! You killed my Tara, and now I'm going to kill you." Beast Boy growled, squeezing Robin's throat, and watching him kick and squeal.
------ Starfire ------
The young alien girl slowly began to come to. An average person hit with a knockout blow like that would have stayed out for a couple of hours, but nothing about Starfire was average. Slowly, she pushed to her feet. Her mind was alive with truck loads of different thoughts, but they slowly disappeared when she laid eyes on Terra, lying on the ground. Lying motionless on the ground, as though she were dead. However she looked past it and saw something else.
She was, but just barely, breathing.
------ Slade and Blink ------
Blink felt the air smacking into his back as he fell, barely aware of what was happening, when he slammed into a car. The car buckled, and the roof of the automobile was sent straight to the floor when Blink landed. Blink felt like a bus had just hit him, and he began to see his world going black. The impact had done more than just damage him; it had left him almost out of energy.
With whatever energy he had left, Blink rolled himself off of the car, and onto the street. He tried to ignore the blinding pain, and he tried to hide his concern when he coughed up a rather unfriendly amount of blood. Blink forced himself back to his feet, using the reserves of his "blink" energy to do a haphazard job of healing any internal injury. He could barely stand, let alone walk, and was grateful for the moment in time he was given to rest.
A moment abruptly ended by a strong punch to the back of his head. Blink fell forward, and deadly close towards the edge of the city, where the only thing below was a long fall to a painful death. Something he avoided once, and he was damned sure he wouldn't be able to avoid again.
"I thought we agreed to no powers Damian." Slade muttered, pulling a bo-staff from his belt. The sound of it extending was enough to freeze Blink's blood, had it not been flowing freely from his arm. "I suppose I should have expect you to not hold up a bargain."
"Mate, shut the hell up and kill me already." Blink growled, turning around to look at Slade. Slade gave a small grunt, before swinging his staff at Blink's ribs. It hit, and Blink just as quickly wrapped his left arm over the staff, and grabbed the staff with his right. Before Slade could do anything, Blink yanked it from his grip, using surprise to his advantage.
Pouring all of his available strength into overdrive, Blink forced himself up, and delivered a stab with Slade's staff, striking his mask, striking just below his one good eye. A large chunk of the mask exploded into debris, revealing a part of his real face, his one eye included. The surprise left just as soon as it had come, and was replaced with a furious anger.
"Hey Slade, I can see your face, mate."
There was no smooth tone in his voice. Slade was now angry. Very Angry. "You won't live long enough to regret that action Damian!" Slade yelled, charging the barely standing Blink. Blink dropped to his stomach, and watched as Slade stumbled over him, and off the side of the ledge, off the ledge of the city. At the last moment available, Slade grabbed the ledge with one hand.
A hand separated him from the air, and the eventual ground. Blink slowly walked over to where Slade was hanging, smiling. "Looks like a bit of a fall Slade." Blink replied, staring into his eye. He could see all the emotion in his eye. There was anger, hatred, frustration and something else. 'Huh, confidence…'
Slade threw his other hand up, and grabbed Blink by his left leg, letting go of the ledge, and dragging Blink with him off the cliff.
"SHI…" Blink yelled, before he felt himself fall of the side of the city. Just as fast as the hand had grabbed him, the floating chunk of land was further away than it had ever seemed to him. Slade still had a hand on his foot, and a Blink could see a deadly smile from what little of his face he could see. With a sharp pull, Blink felt himself brought to Slade's face, and a hand wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him in as close as possible.
"This time, I'll watch you die." Slade growled as they fell from the city, and towards unforgiving ground.
Blink, one hand hidden at his side, put his fingers into the shape a child makes to represent a gun, and aimed it at Slade's chest.. This time, Slade saw Blink's threatening smile. For a brief moment, Slade was confused. Then it all washed away in anger. Slade had just given Blink the opportunity of a life time, the one chance he needed. Like a short sighted fool, Slade had just given Blink the one weapon he needed to win.
An opening.
"Naw mate. I think I'll skip this one." Blink taunted, before firing off a blink blast, the last of his energy he had available, right into Slade's chest. Slade felt his grip slide, and he watched as Blink pushed himself away from Slade. In an instance, Slade had him. Now Slade had nothing, and Blink was completely free. "And Slade, when you get to hell, tell them to keep my seat warm!"
"NO!" Slade yelled, his voice burning with rage. He watched as Blink disappeared, blinking away. "NOOOOO!" He yelled, as he fell the thousands of feet towards the ground. He yelled again, but no one heard him, as he plummeted like a stone towards the most unforgiving thing in the world, the ground.
------ Robin and Beast Boy. ------
"Beast Boy…" Robin choked out, struggling to breathe what little he could. "If you do this, what good will come?"
"I don't care about goodness Robin. I don't care about doing good, or being good, OR ANY OF THAT CRAP! All I care about is watching you die!"
Robin had to admit, he wanted nothing more than to pay for what he did. He ended the life of someone who had been special to Beast Boy. He had ended another's life in his confusion, and he did it in Slade's name. He did exactly what Slade had demanded of him. Robin felt like he deserved this, and by all means he did. He just didn't want to see Beast Boy's innocence tarnished permanently. He deserved death, but Beast Boy didn't deserve being forced to live with blood on his hands forever.
"Beast Boy… You don't want to do this."
Beast Boy gave a primal growl, as he spun around and hurled him as hard as he could into the wall. The impact had been enough to send cracks tearing through the wall, and left Robin gasping in pain he could no begin to express. Once again, he felt a hand wrap around his neck, and a hard punch to his stomach, before he was lifted back into the air.
"On the contrary Robin. I want to do this more than anything I've ever wanted to do."
"WAIT!" A woman screamed. Robin turned with a start, and so did Beast Boy, as Starfire flew into the abandoned building. "DO NOT DO IT!"
"Why Starfire? He killed her." Beast Boy growled, tightening his hold. Robin began to choke, feeling his throat, his lungs, cut off from the air. Slowly, Beast Boy turned his head back to Robin. "He killed her. He deserves death!"
"Beast Boy please, do not do this. You are going to kill Robin." She repeated.
"I know." Beast Boy replied, angrily. "I know and I want it!"
"Beast Boy. If you do this, you will never forget it. It will stay with you for life." Robin replied, as best as he could. "You'll be just as bad as me…" He never felt so hurt saying something so true. He had killed her, he was a killer. But if he could, and with whatever was left in him to fight with, he would stop Beast Boy from making the same mistake. "You'll never live it down."
"I DON'T CARE!" Beast Boy screamed, delivering another punch to Robin's stomach. "I won't let you go for killing Terra! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY ROBIN!"
"But Beast Boy, Terra is not dead." Starfire replied. For a minute, there was nothing but silence. Beast Boy's grip loosened greatly, but not enough to drop Robin. "Terra is still alive Beast Boy."
"But, I saw her. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing." He said, in a softer voice. His eyes, still white, soften for a brief second, before becoming even more demonic than they had been, as his voice turned back to a voice of fury and hatred. "ROBIN KILLED HER!"
"Beast Boy, you are going to make a very big mistake." Starfire pleaded, watching Robin struggle furiously. Robin wouldn't last much longer, she knew it. "Please Beast Boy…"
Beast Boy tightened his grip, watching Robin's face contort into a mask of suffering and agony. All it took, all it would need to take, was a quick sharp turn of the neck, and Terra would have been avenged. "Goodbye Robin."
"NO BEAST BOY!" Another woman yelled. This time, Beast Boy felt his hand lose all strength. Robin fell to the ground. Slowly, Beast Boy turned his head. He saw Starfire, on her knees, her head turned. But it wasn't her that his eyes were interested in, but rather at what she was staring at. They were focused on someone behind her.
"Terra?" Beast Boy muttered, lowering his hand from the air, where he had just had Robin struggling. "Terra you're…" Beast Boy stuttered. The first thing that happened was the white eyes fading away. Beast Boy felt himself calm, he felt his body relax, the anger and the hatred recede into himself. Where there had been anger, and cruelty, there was now a mix of confusion, and joy.
"Beast Boy…"
"But I saw you… you weren't breathing…"
"I'm still alive Beast Boy…" Terra replied, not sure what to say.
For the longest time, there was nothing but complete silence. Terra and Beast Boy locked eyes, never speaking. Starfire had gone to help Robin, who was now struggling to his feet. What seemed to take an eternity, Terra and Beast Boy finally made it to each other, and the two embraced. Beast Boy thought he had lost her again, and nearly killed over it. Terra had almost watched Beast Boy kill, destroying his purity forever.
And then, there was a cough from nearby. Starfire and Robin turned quickly to see Blink, standing at the door. Terra and Beast Boy could be broken apart right now if you had the Jaws of Life.
"Blink…" Robin growled.
"The one and only, mate." Blink replied, looking at Robin. It really didn't take long for Robin to force himself over towards him, and when he did, Blink just grinned. "Lemme guess mate. We're not cool?"
A very loud punch to the side of his face answered the question with a resounding response. Blink fell to the ground, his face throbbing red, as he looked at Robin standing there, huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. "This…is all…your fault!"
"Common mate. Slade was using me too!"
"You're the reason I almost killed Terra…" Something Robin would greatly regret saying. Blink's eyes shifted from playful, to dangerous, as he launched himself back to his feet, and grabbed Robin by the cuff of his outfit.
"YOU WHAT?"
"Blink…calm down. We do not need to fight amongst ourselves here!" Starfire called, Blink turning to her, as Robin did as well. "Terra already told me the facts of importance Robin."
Blink looked back at Robin, before tossing him backwards and walking towards another part of the room. "So then, do we still need to fight, or can we bring this bird back to the earth." He muttered, stomping on the ground. His teeth were grinding against each other, as he ignored the unbelievable amount of pain still running through his body. He had not come out of his fight without a few very painful injuries.
There were so many things Robin could have possibly said. He could have growled and told Blink to shut up. He could have asked Starfire to punch his lights out. He could have made a comparison to Blink and Slade. There were many different things he could have said. However, one shining question remained burning brighter than any other statement or question.
"Where's Slade?" Robin growled, angrily. He would make him pay for this. Pay dearly. He nearly turned Robin into a murderer, and in turn, he almost turned Beast Boy into one.
"Right now, catching up with the ground." Blink replied, a smile pasted across his face. "That wanker's about to get real intimate with the earth mate." Blink found himself almost frightened when Robin's face frowned. "Lemme guess. You wanted to kill him yourself mate?" Slowly, Blink's eyes shifted to his best friend and his sister, embraced in the middle of the room. He could even see the tears in Beast Boy's eyes. "Aww, ain't it just the cutest thing you ever did see."
"Blink, shut up." Beast Boy replied, on instinct.
"And for the matter, how the hell are you walking mate. That leg should be a decoration if anything."
"I had some…help…" Beast Boy replied, a tinge of depression in his voice.
"Alright, enough chit chat! Are you saying you beat Slade? You?" It was more disbelief in Robin's voice than anything else. He had beat Blink to crap the last they fought, and now he had single handedly killed the only person that never seemed to die. "How?"
"Thaz'right mate. Saw him falling towards ground last I remember. Not enough beer in the world to make you forget that kind of fall mate."
There would have been more time for comments, more time for growls from Robin, and more jokes from Blink, had the entire city not start shaking.
Shaking in the worst manner possible.
Than it just stopped. It took them a very short amount of time to realize that the city was falling back towards the earth.
"DAMMIT!" Blink yelled, turning around. "Terra, slow us down! I've got to disable that generator!"
Terra nodded, as she and Beast Boy finally broke their hug. Just as Blink was about to leave, a hand grabbed him on the shoulder. "Now now BB, I'll be back."
"Wrong person Blink." Robin replied, gripping tighter. "If you're going to stop that bomb, I'm coming."
"No offense, Hero, but this is not something that I need help with."
"I don't care. I'm either going with you, or going alone. Your choice."
A long sigh escaped Blink's lips, as he looked at the ground. He did not have time for this. "Fine bird boy, but we won't be getting any cookies on the way mate." Before anything else could be said, Blink teleported, with Robin still holding on, into the depths of the monolith. The battle wasn't over yet. They still had to do the absolutely impossible.
They had to stop a city from falling.
------ Monolith ------
The two came out inside the lair, just a few feet from the machine. They were going to need to work faster than they had ever done so before, if they were to stop the seismic eruption. Even if Terra couldn't stop the city, at least the rest of the world would be safe. The entire remaining population of Jump City, along with the Titans, would die, and the likely tidal wave would destroy Steel City, but the rest of the world would be safe.
"So, how do we deactivate it?" Robin growled, looking at the large machine.
"Slade had me steal a special power source once. It was an ionic generator, and it was powered by… oh what the hell was it, a xinth…xinthon…something with an X.
Robin grinned. He knew exactly what it was. "Xenothium." Robin answered, looking at the machine. "It's a xenothium core."
"That's it mate. That's the one."
"Do you know where he put it?" Robin replied, as the color drained from Blink's face. That was before he worked for Slade, officially. That was the first time he had ever met the Titans, and for all he knew, it was more or less a distraction from the original prize, which was Robin.
"Actually mate… I don't. You don't happen to have X-ray vision do you?"
"Do I look like Superman?"
"Well, if we can't pull the plug on this blasted thing, perhaps we can take it out from underground." Blink replied, before running towards the machine. It was much larger than he originally remembered it being, but it didn't matter. The thing was much too dangerous to be left underground, and he could only hope that if it was air born, it would be able to do its intended job.
"WAIT A MINUTE!" Robin yelled, getting nothing but a sigh.
"Listen Robin, this is no time for stalling. It's either we act now, or everyone dies. Which sounds better?" Blink replied, before turning to the machine. He knew what to do, and how to do it. He just didn't know if it would work. "Just trust me for once mate."
"I don't."
"Listen, if this works, I'll buy the beers. If not, I'll say something nice to you from hell."
"I don't drink."
"Listen mate, I'll say this once. If I don't do this, everyone on the planet dies. Is that what you want mate?"
Silence was Robin's reply, as he just stared towards the large machine. "Do it, but listen to me closely. I don't trust you Blink."
"I wouldn't either." Blink replied, before charging the energy he had stored to his hands. He could feel his hands start to tingle as the energy piled up, and almost start to burn his hands. Alas, the drain began to take its toll on Blink, as he stumbled and began to fall. A pair of arms caught him before he could his the ground, and much to his surprise, he found Robin holding him up.
"Just hurry up and save the day already."
"Let me guess, mate. I'm going to jail after this?"
"I'll give you a head start before I come after you, provided we survive."
Blink gave a slight chuckle, before he placed his hands on the machine. The energy had peaked, and it began to burn away the gloves on his hands. Slowly, Blink closed his eyes, and pictured a place, anyplace, in his head. A heartbeat later, the energy surrounded the machine, and another heartbeat later, the machine disappeared. Robin let go, surprised, and Blink staggered backwards, stumbling and landing on his back. "And now, I sleep." Blink replied, breathing heavily.
"What did you do?"
"Shut up and grab the book. Terra needs to do her part now." Blink replied, smiling. "And if anyone dives in the Great Barrier Reef, they are going to find one large piece of waterlogged machinery."
------ Terra ------
Compared to herself, Blink had the easiest part of all. He needed to stop a bomb. Terra had to do something that she had never even come close to doing before. Sure, she may have stopped Titan Tower from falling to it's destruction, but that was nothing compared to what she needed to do now.
And her confidence was waning.
"EERRGH!" She grunted, desperately focusing her powers as best as she could. But, again, it was to no avail. She still felt the city falling completely out of her control, and hopelessness was beginning to set in. "I just can't do it…" Terra moaned, looking back towards Beast Boy and Starfire.
"Yes you can Terra!" Beast Boy yelled, running up to her. "If you can stop a volcano from erupting, you can stop a city from falling."
"No I can't. I've tried. I…"
"YES YOU CAN! I've seen what you can do Terra. If anyone could do it, you could.
"But I've tried Beast Boy…" She started again, Beast Boy wrapping his arms around her.
"You can Terra. You just need to believe you can."
Her eyes darted to Beast Boy's eyes, then away. "I can't… I know I can't. It's just too…" Once again, she was interrupted by Beast Boy. However this time it was not with words, but with something else, something completely different. Her eyes shot open, as wide as they could, as her mind slowly began to register just what was happening. One moment she was moaning about how she couldn't do it, the next…
The next Beast Boy was kissing her. In a heartbeat, Terra's worries had disappeared completely, replaced with an astounding sense of confusion and enjoyment. She couldn't even believe what was happening, even though she was looking right into Beast Boy's eyes, and feeling his lips on hers. 'His lips are so soft…' She felt her mind wandering and calming, and felt her eyes lock onto Beast Boy's, who looked just as confused as she must have looked. But beneath his confusion, she could see something else. Something completely and utterly inspiring, to the very depths of her soul.
In his eyes she could se faith. She could see his faith in herself.
Hey eyes blinked once, then lit up as bright as could be, as bright as they could become. They were brighter than they were when she stopped the volcano, and brighter than they ever had been. Once again, her eyes lock with Beast Boy, whose eyes just stared back, same determined faith that was there before.
"Hold on…" Terra muttered, still rather winded from the surprise kiss. Raising her arms into the air, her hair following suit, Terra unleashed the fullest extent of her power, and everyone felt it. The falling city shook violently, as though it were being ripped through by a massive earthquake. Beast Boy held on to Terra tighter than he had ever held on before, while Starfire kept the debris from falling onto Terra.
A massive chunk of earth broke away from the city, flying off in the distance and disappearing. The city whipped into the clouds, direly close to the earth now. The clouds began to swirl around, forming a shield like surrounding torrent of ether. A elongated growl came from Terra's mouth, as raised her arms higher, the quakes getting harder. But the one thing they could all notice quite well was the city slowing down.
Terra was winning.
"HOLD ON!" Terra yelled, predicting the coming impact. Pouring the last ounces of energy out into the city, Terra felt the city slow even more. The city, still falling at a grand pace, hit the crater hole where it had once rested with the least amount of impact she could provide. The city shook as though it were bombarded by the gods, and buildings fell all around them. Streets shattered like glass, cars bounced into the air hundreds of feet.
And Terra had succeeded in stopping the city from being destroyed on impact, killing everyone. She stopped the falling city from creating a massive tidal wave that would destroy Steel and Gotham city. She had single handedly managed to save hundreds of thousands of lives by conquering a feat she had believed to be impossible.
'Well, maybe not single handedly.' Was the last thought to run through her mind, before she passed out in Beast Boy's arms. Beast Boy, for all the comments he ever cracked, jokes he made, and silences he broke, was rendered utterly speechless as she slipped to the ground, resting Terra on his lap. Her eyes were closed, and as Beast Boy silently rubbed her hair, smiling, he could only imagine how serene everything was to her.
"You did it Terra. I knew you could… I told you that you could. You…did…it." Beast Boy whispered exhaustedly, as the city around them settled. They had beaten the single most threatening person to ever enter their lives, and stopped a city from destroying the world. They had fought against all the odds, against fate itself, and emerged victorious.
And Terra earned this rest.
Insaneiac: Holy crap! Alright already. Expect an epilogue, then Third Time's a Charm is officially over. God this was hard to write. Hope it stood up to the standards you all had, I tried my best. Now then, for reviewer recognition.
Reviews
The Ubermann: Hey man, all the luck with the Beast Boy story… the secret is to have it all make real good sense. I wish I could tell you more… but I really am no magician when it comes to help. If you ever want my opinion on something, email it to me and I'll help out as best as I can.
Insanity 101: Well, did it all wind up like you hoped, or did you want to see more blood spread? Well, someone died. Someone who no one ever thought could die. Bet you he's going to be a little more than pissed. And Blink faired better than you thought he would. Of course, he didn't really stick to the preset rules, but then again since when do thieves listen to rules. Beast Boy didn't do that to Slade because Beast Boy never watched Slade kill one of his loved ones… his most loved one. Sorry, I'm a real pusher when it comes to Beast Boy/Terra.
Asilla: Ahh yah. Beast Boy should scare you right now, he's angry. He's super angry. But it all turned out for the better in the end.
Rebel-Aquarius: Well, just an epilogue left now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it was incredibly hard to write. It also now tops as the longest thing I've ever written. So the ending is big and well earned.
Tasermon's Partner: Mas Y Menos… Yikes… they are with Raven and Aqualad. I completely let them slip my mind…wow. Ouchers… must go and correct stuff. –Pulls out big marker- And thank you for the compliments. I'm glad my character interaction is up to par. Hope you enjoy this.
Infamous One: A fellow Beast Boy and Slade lover, I feel less lonely today. And dude, if you love the idea of Beast Boy having the big main role, and lots of Slade, check out Master of Beasts (Unless you already have, in which case, ignore this selfless push.)
So, expect an epilogue real soon, and the Third Time's a Charm is –sniffle- done… I would have actually completed my first real story.