Chapter 2
Beast Boy watched sadly as his friends searched the room for whatever had made Raven scream. He had turned into a small fly when he had heard the knock at the door. They wouldn't be able to see him, now that he was small, and in the light. It was lucky that he was still able to transform.
Raven still hadn't said a word, and instead was just staring intently at the spot he had been sitting just seconds ago.
Eventually they gave up looking for something they would never find and turned back to Raven's bed.
Starfire put a warm hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven jumped and looked at Starfire, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Raven, what is wrong?" asked Starfire softly. Raven looked back at the spot and down at her hands.
"Nothing," she whispered sadly. "I thought I saw something, but it was nothing."
The others nodded sympathetically.
"You know Raven," Cyborg spoke after a moment of silence. "We know you miss him. We all do."
Starfire and Robin nodded in agreement. Raven looked at her friends blankly for a minute before looking away. When she looked back up, her features were hard and unreadable.
"I don't miss him."
Her friends looked at her in shock.
"I don't miss him… because I never cared about him," she insisted.
"You don't mean that," said Cyborg softly. Raven didn't reply, so they stood up and walked out of the room. Hopefully she would feel better later.
"I never cared about anyone," she said one more time before her door closed. "Because when you care about someone too much… you're bound to get hurt like I am right now."
No one heard her last statement.
---
Beast Boy followed the Titans out of Raven's room. Once he was safely in the brightly-lit common room, he transformed back.
Sighing, Beast Boy sat down. He was floating about three feet off the ground, much like Raven did whenever she meditated.
'Who am I kidding?' he wondered. 'How am I going to pull this off? Do I even want to anymore? Now that I know how Raven felt, I don't really see the point in coming back.'
His heart throbbed at Raven's words. She didn't care about him. Apparently, not even as a friend.
He felt tears burning the backs of his eyes, but refused to let them loose, even if no one would see them.
Beast Boy thought back to that night. The 'deal' was still fresh in his mind.
---
When Beast Boy opened his eyes, he was aware of a bright light shining into them.
"Ah! It that bright light everyone talks about!" he cried, sitting up abruptly.
A soft giggling from his right ceased his panic. Beast Boy's eyes widened, and an overwhelming joy took over him.
"Mom! Dad!" he cried, rushing at the man and woman sitting beside him.
They gratefully hugged him back.
Beast Boy smiled as he recognized the fresh scent that had always belonged to his mother, and the warm, musk scent of his father's. He still remembered even after all this time.
They weren't wearing the clothes Gar remembered them wearing on the day they died. In fact, they looked different, yet the same some how. They wore long pale robes, that didn't seem to end, and they glowed slightly, as if they were made of light. But he could feel them.
He could feel their warm embrace, the soft material they wore, even his mother's hair as if tickled the back of his neck.
The reunited family sat holding each other happily for a while before Beast Boy reluctantly pulled away.
"The last thing I remember is the back of a 4x4 coming towards me. So, I guess I really am dead then?" he asked, looking at them closely. His father smiled and his mother laughed at his blunt way of putting it.
Beast Boy smiled at her laugh. He had missed it so much. He remembered how he had loved to learn jokes just so he could tell them to her and she would laugh every time.
"Oh, Garfield," she said affectionately, running her hands through his unruly hair. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too," he told them both sincerely. "But I can't stay."
His parents exchanged shocked looked and looked at him in confusion.
"Gar, you died," said Mark, his father. "You can't go back."
"Why not?" Beast Boy asked, stubbornly.
"Well… you could stay on Earth, but you'd be a ghost. You don't want that," his mother spoke softly, still smoothing his hair out.
"No, I mean I can't be dead." Beast Boy clarified. His mother, Marie, sighed.
"My dear Beastie… it doesn't work that way. You've died. You can either be a ghost, or join us." his mother explained sadly. Beast Boy shook his head, refusing to give in.
"No, there has to be some way that I can return to my body, and my friends," he insisted. "I've saved people, with my friends, and I need to save more. I don't know how, I can just feel… I'm not supposed to go yet."
Mark shook his head, smiling.
"That's our Garfield. Stubborn as a mule… probably doesn't help that he can turn into one."
Beast Boy smiled, but didn't back down.
"You're sure you need to go back?" asked his mother, looking into his eyes. Beast Boy couldn't remember a time when he had felt so happy. He hadn't seen his parents in years, and now here they were. Waiting for him so he could join them forever. They would be a family again. He wanted to stay with them so badly.
"I'm sure," he answered, ignoring the longing he had to stay with his parents. "I want to stay, but something's telling me that I need to go back."
Silently, his mother gave him a warm hug. When she let go, Beast Boy's eyes widened. Magnificent white wings were now seamlessly attached to their backs. They floated above him, blocking the light he had seen before. The sight took his breath away.
"Wait here, we'll be back soon," Mark informed him. Before Gar could say another word, they turned away and flew straight for the light.
He couldn't say how long he had been waiting. As soon as they had disappeared into the light, his eyes had closed, and he fell into a peaceful slumber.
When he woke again, his parents were smiling over him.
"It's done Gar," said his father, smiling. "You can go back."
"But," Marie interrupted his celebration. "It won't be easy."
Questions filled Beast Boy's head, but before he could ask any of them, his father spoke again.
"You'll go back, and you'll be a ghost. But-" Mark continued, sensing Gar's protests. "You can become fully human again, if you complete three tasks.
"The first task is to save a child. The second, to make a good person, from one who is taking the wrong path, and the third is to make the person you love most, happy."
"That's easy enough," replied Gar, smiling.
"It won't be as easy as you think," warned Marie. "You will only be seen in the dark, in the light you'll only be a flicker of energy."
"And you can't tell anyone about the tasks," added Mark.
Beast Boy was beginning to see how it might be hard.
"You only have a month," continued his mother. "If you don't complete all three tasks by then…" she trailed off, eyes filling with tears for her son.
"What will happen if I don't finish in a month?" he asked. He kept his voice calm for his mother, even though inside he was panicking.
"You'll be a ghost, forever," finished his father grimly. Beast Boy shuddered. To be a ghost forever. Seeing his friends grow, and move on with their lives. Never truly being there. It was a horrible thought.
"I'll do it," he told them confidently, hiding the quiver in his voice. "I will complete the tasks in less than a month, and I will see you again some day."
His mother was still crying, but was calm enough to accept his decision.
As Beast Boy watched them, they began to slowly fade.
"What's going on?" he asked, grabbing his mother's hand. Still solid… that was a good sign.
"We have to go," his father told him, placing a warm hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.
Gar pulled them into a hug, burying his face in his mother's robes.
"No, please. I don't want to leave you yet," he cried, holding them both tightly.
"We're always there for you Gar…" as his mother's voice faded away, so did their warmth.
Beast Boy looked up, but found he was no longer in the mysterious place he had been. He was back in the tower, in the main room. His friends were planning his funeral.
---
Beast Boy sighed, standing up. He had watched them planning his funeral. He had been at his own funeral. It wasn't natural.
He tried to ignore the pain he was still feeling, after watching his parents disappear, going to his own funeral, and hearing Raven say she didn't care about him, but he couldn't. The only thing he could think of, was his last thought before he died. He had seen his friends, but Raven had been up in front. That was when Beast Boy had realized the depths of his feelings for her… right before he died.
"Cut it out Beast Boy," he told himself, shaking his head. "Stop thinking about the bad times, and start thinking about how you're going to complete the tasks."
He looked up as he heard the sound of the door opening. His first reaction was to wave at Cyborg, who had just entered. As he was lifting his hand though, he remembered that he was in the light, and his friend couldn't see him.
Beast Boy watched silently as Cyborg opened the fridge door. Beast Boy could almost feel his stomach turn at the thought of what meaty creation Cyborg would eat, now that he wasn't around to stop him.
As he watched Cyborg pull a plate out of the fridge though, Beast Boy's jaw dropped. Cyborg was eating TOFU!
Beast Boy walked over, jokes flying through his mind, but stopped when he saw his friends up close.
Cyborg's human eye had bags under it, and was slightly red, as a tear fell from it and landed on the plate of tofu.
Beast Boy watched as Cyborg ate the meat substitute slowly, chewing thoughtfully.
"Not bad," the robot man murmured sadly, picking up the empty plate.
Beast Boy felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he watched Cyborg leave the room.
His friends were so sad. Over him! He hated to see them upset just because he was gone.
As Beast Boy looked at the empty plate in the sink, his resolve strengthened. He would complete the tasks… not for himself, but for his friends. He knew they would get over his death eventually, but he knew things would be different. If he came back, things would return to normal. Things would be the way they were supposed to be.
---
Raven walked slowly across her room. Her heart was beating wildly, but she didn't know why. Eventually she reached her window. Grasping the dark material of her blinds, she flung them open. Light spilled into her room.
Seeing Beast Boy sitting on the corner of her bed had scared her. The sight of him had filled her with overwhelming hope. Then she had been filled with sadness, as her mind reminded her that he was dead, he couldn't be there.
Now, with her blinds open and her room bright, she was filled with a strange numbness. She wasn't sure which she preferred.
Okay, so there's the second chapter of Trasperent Tasks. I hope you like it. I had a hard time writing this chapter for some reason, but I think it turned out pretty well. Of course, I'd rather hear what you think of it, so leave a review!
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. I love getting reviews, theymotivate me to write.
