Chapter Twelve: Anger Management
See Beast Boy run.
Run, Beast Boy, run.
See Beast Boy run wildly through the streets of Jump City.
See Beast Boy too distressed to even think about changing into an animal form.
See beast Boy pick up his communicator once or twice, only to place it back on his belt.
He is not having fun.
Run, Beast Boy, run.
See Beast Boy run.
See Beast Boy slow down for a few moments now and then.
See that it is not fatigue, but fear that causes him to do this.
See the terror in his eyes.
See him pick up speed again.
Run, Beast Boy, run.
See Beast Boy run.
It wasn't my fault, Raven- I mean, she followed me, it wasn't my fault, I wasn't going to listen to him anyway…
See Beast Boy smirk in disbelief.
See Beast Boy experience the first coherent thought to enter his mind since Blackfire was taken.
He doesn't believe that, and he doesn't think Raven would either.
He darts in and out of what sparse traffic there is at this time of night; it is actually more dangerous now- even in the city, danger fills empty roads.
Animal instincts, not coherent thought, are all that keeps Beast Boy alive as he runs to the Tower.
His feet feel as heavy as lead bricks, but he runs.
His mind is a senseless fog, but he runs.
Run Beast Boy, run.
See Beast Boy run.
Beast Boy fell to his knees, panting, at the doors of the Tower. Adrenalin and desperation had done their work; now as they receded, it was as if the green boy's lungs had been set afire, and the ice running through his veins and chilling his heart weren't doing anything to remedy the situation either.
He raised a hand to open the doors of the Tower, only to reach into darkness, as it opened before him.
"Beast Boy?" Starfire whispered.
Beast Boy hesitated. Even in his distracted state he could sense the distress in Starfire's voice. "Starfire? What's wrong?"
"It is not safe for you to be here, Beast Boy," Starfire said.
"What? Why?"
"Robin and Cyborg went out to look for you," Starfire said, ignoring the question. "You must find them-"
"Starfire, what's wrong?" Beast Boy asked insistedly.
"Isn't it obvious?" a voice said from the darkness of the stairwell behind Starfire.
"Raven?" Beast Boy asked, his voice trembling. Now that he thought of it, the stairwell was a little too dark to be natural-
"How could you, Beast Boy?" she said angrily, emerging from the shadows. Although her raised hood covered her upper face, Beast Boy could see that tears were running down her cheeks.
"You… you know?" Beast Boy asked dumbly.
"The whole Tower knows," Raven replied, advancing. "I know."
"It is not his fault, Raven!" Starfire protested, placing herself between the Azerath and Beast Boy.
"Out of the way, Starfire," Raven threatened.
"You cannot do this, Raven! Did you not hear what I said? What happened was not his fault!"
"It is his fault! It's all his fault!" Raven shouted, small pieces of rock and dust falling from the ceiling as the Tower shook. Then Starfire and Beast Boy saw something neither of them wanted to ever see again.
In the depths of Raven's hood, four narrow eyes glowed red, as red as the glow that started to surround her.
"Starfire, don't do this," Beast Boy whispered, as a small part of his mind begged him not to say it. "It's me she-"
"No, Beast Boy," Starfire replied, and perhaps even she was surprised at the steel in her voice. "What she is doing is not right. You have done nothing wrong. Besides," she added, "you are my friend."
" 'Your friend'," Raven (if that was who she still was) mocked. "You listen to him because he's your 'friend'. What about me, Starfire? I'm not one of your 'friends'?"
"Are you?" Starfire whispered.
Perhaps it was the look she gave Raven. Perhaps it was how much she resembled her older sister in that moment of quiet defiance.
Or perhaps it was simply the question…
Suddenly, the darkness seemed to recede around her, and the glow both within and without disappeared as suddenly as they came. "I… I just want her back," Raven said softly. She looked up with distressed eyes towards Starfire and Beast Boy. "I just want her back."
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Beast Boy looking back. "We'll get her back, Raven," he said. There was no mistaking the guilt-driven determination in his voice.
Or the uncharacteristic desire for bloody-
(scene change)
"Vengeance," Legion finally said, massaging his knuckles as he stood over Blackfire, "is very therapeutic, isn't it? Quite catharitic, actually, if I might say so myself."
Droplets of Blackfire's blood, dripping from her mouth, splattered lightly across the floor of her prison. Her most recent memory was waking up after she felt a stinging pain on her cheek, only to find herself in a huge, power-draining 'cage' similar to the one used by the Puppet King to imprison the Titans, set into the rockface of what seemed to be a sheer cliff.
Before she could say anything, before Legion said anything, he simply let loose with a barrage of punches and kicks that left Blackfire reeling. The fact that her arms and legs were chained together with the same material as the cage was made of proved to be the deciding factor in her resistance efforts, i.e. none.
Despite the beating she endured, however, she turned her bruised and battered face upwards to Legion and smiled. "So that's why you haven't killed me yet. You're going soft," she mocked.
Legion snorted. "The thought of killing you in as bloody a fashion as I could imagine was tempting, make no mistake," he said, as he started to pace around the cell. "But, surely you of all people should understand the pleasures of a slow, painful death. Not to mention the fact that to simply end it here and now, especially after all we've been through," he added sarcastically, "would have been hardly appropriate."
Blackfire pushed herself against the bars of her cage so she could sit. "Never knew you respected me so mu-"
Her words were cut off as Legion suddenly lunged with surprising speed at her throat. "Respect you?" he said in a voice cold with anger. "How dare you," he snarled, as his eyes narrowed to reptilian slits, "how dare you even think I would stoop so low as to consider you and the rest of your worthless mortal kind equals, worthy of my respect! I am Legion, most favoured servant of Trigon! And you are nothing more than a worthless mortal!"
"You keep telling yourself that," Blackfire sputtered defiantly, the words escaping her mouth before the brain (or the heart) could catch up.
Legion's face darkened with rage, and as Blackfire watched, he pulled out one of his long knives, pulled it back for the killing blow-
"Stop."
Legion didn't even see Blackfire's eyes widen; he was already swinging his black blade behind him with blinding speed at-
"Now, now, Legion," the red-cloaked Madness said, as Legion's blade cut through the ethereal form it had taken, "don't be hasty."
"Raven!" a shocked Legion exclaimed.
"Raven? Pfft! 'Trigon's finest', yeah right," Madness teased it waved its hand.
Blackfire felt an involuntary sense of relief sweep over her as she managed to catch her breath; Legion being apparently too preoccupied with falling to his knees and clutching his head.
Then, two black blades fell to the cell floor, as Legion, contrite, prostrated himself in front of the shade. "Mistress…" he said hoarsely.
"Mistress?" she laughed. "No, not yet, Legion. For now, I'm what you would call an Aspect of Raven's personality. Blackfire knows me," it finished with an unkind smirk, as it saw the look on Blackfire's face. "Can't figure it out yourself, Blackfire? Poor little Raven is sooo heartbroken over you that she can't even keep her thoughts in line." It sneered at the captive Tameranian. "I'll let you figure the rest out yourself."
"Oh, I wasn't wondering about that," Blackfire retorted, her voice coming back to her. "I just thought you finally figured things out."
"What are you talking about?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Backfire retorted witheringly. "No matter how powerful you become, or should I say, think you become, Raven still manages to push you around, doesn't she? I'll let you figure the rest out yourself."
Madness walked in front of Blackfire, its four eyes narrowing to angered slits. "Do you know why I'm keeping you alive, Blackfire?"
Blackfire didn't, but she'll be damned if she let Madness gain the upper hand. "To torture me with monologue?" She glanced over at Legion. "Successfully?"
Madness knelt down and leaned forward until its face was just a few inches away from Blackfire's, then, unexpectedly, broke into a huge smile. "I can see why Raven likes you so much," it said, as it caressed Blackfire's cheek lightly with a ghostly hand. Even though she didn't feel anything solid touch her, Blackfire still drew back in revulsion.
"For- forgive me, Mistress," Legion said, his usual cold, arrogant tone replaced by one of fawning servility. "But I- I was under the impression that Blackfire would have been too dangerous to keep alive."
"Let me guess," Madness replied, its eyes still on Blackfire. "You thought of using Blackfire simply as bait, didn't you? You'd bring her here, kill her, and then wait for the Titans to come get her, right? I see she's still got her communicator."
"It is not simply that, Mistress," Legion explained ingratiatingly. "Upon sight of her lover's body, Raven will no doubtedly give in to her anger, and considering where we are-"
"She'd direct it at you, and anything in her way, including this city," Madness said disgustedly, as it turned to face Legion with a piercing gaze. "You have no idea of the kind of person she is, do you?"
"Mistress?" Legion asked fearfully.
"Didn't think so," Madness replied. "Let me explain: Kill Blackfire, and you give her more reason to fight you- and more importantly, fight me," it said. "Then, her friends, being such wonderful people, will do everything they can to fight you, and bring you down."
Legion seemed to straighten up. Even through his air of sycophancy, it was obvious his feathers were ruffled. "The Titans? They are but mere children, Mistress, I am sure I can-"
"Get your butt kicked again," Madness stated flatly, as Legion cringed with shame. "Trust me, Legion," it added, sarcasm dripping from every word, "I know how it goes." It turned back to Blackfire. "See what I have to work with?"
"Yeah, I can definitely see your problem- and Legion's not too good at his job, either."
Madness fixed Blackfire with a flat stare that lasted just a few seconds too long to be considered comfortable, then turned back to Legion. "I can feel Raven regaining control over herself," it whispered harshly. "Don't worry, I won't be gone long, but before I go, I want you to remember these instructions."
"Of- of course, Mistress," Legion said contritely as he fell to his knees again. "My life for you."
"If my plan works out, that won't be necessary," Madness said. Something in its tone added the words "for now," at the end, and made sure both Legion and Blackfire heard it. It then placed two ghostly hands on each side of Legion's head.
After a moment, she drew them back. "Do you understand now?" it asked.
"Yes… yes, Mistress," Legion whispered. A look of savage victory darkened his face. "Yes, I do understand."
"Good," Madness said, the smile on its face just as cruel. It then turned to Blackfire. "Be seeing you," it said, winking.
Then, it disappeared from sight, its ghostly form dissipating to reveal Legion advancing toward Blackfire. "Don't worry, your Highness," he said, "my Mistress has ordered me not to harm you in any way for now," he said in a sadistic whisper, picking up her communicator. "In fact," he continued, as he plunged a knife through the delicate machinery, "I hope you enjoy your stay here."
He looked at her and grinned, his suddenly reptilian eyes and fanged mouth all too close for comfort. "In fact, it would be nice to have some company while I work."
(scene change)
"Thanks guys," Beast Boy said quietly, as he sat despondently on a chair in the main room, "but you really didn't have to." A cup of hot chocolate lay cooling on the table next to him. It wasn't much, but Starfire could not think of any other way to cheer her friend up.
As he placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, Robin felt it was a miracle that Starfire had managed to do something as pedestrian as make a hot drink, considering what she had just been through. At the moment, she was in the kitchen making something for herself, while Robin and Cyborg talked to beast Boy.
As for Raven the last anyone saw of her was when Starfire took her back to her room, just a few minutes before Robin and Cyborg came back.
"Hey, what else were we supposed to do?" Cyborg asked in return, as he stood, arms folded. "Raven was angry, she was blaming you, you telling me it was wrong me and Robin going out and trying to find you before she did?"
"Starfire didn't."
"That was because I thought that Raven needed a friend," Starfire replied, coming back with a steaming cup of… something that smelled good, meaning it was probably unsafe for human consumption.
"Yeah, a friend," Beast Boy said despondently, picking up his cup and gazing into it blankly.
Starfire gasped. "That is not what I had meant, Beast Boy," she said, distressed.
Beast Boy nodded in reply as he buried his face in his hands, his entire body hunched over in tired defeat. "Yeah, Star, I know," he sighed, his voice shaky.
"Besides, all of us knew that someone had to keep Raven here," Cyborg said, voicing out an unpleasant truth. He smiled. "Guess we shoulda known you ain't the kind of guy who'd run away from trouble."
Despite himself, Beast Boy gave Cyborg a lopsided grin. "Thanks, man," he said, as he finally took a sip of his drink. "So, uh, what do we do now?"
"Robin said that he was- what is it, Robin?" Starfire asked, when Robin took hold of her arm.
"Well, since it's obvious Raven is in no shape to find Blackfire the same way she found us, I was planning to trace Blackfire using her communicator's signal," Robin explained, "but it cut off suddenly-"
"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, fear and shock in his voice, "you don't mean-"
"Calm down, Beast Boy; just because the signal's cut off doesn't mean anything's happened to her," Robin said firmly, and only the most skilled of listeners would have been able to detect the lack of conviction in his voice.
"So what do we do, Robin?" Starfire asked. "I do not wish to lose my sister again."
"Hold on," Robin answered as he walked over to the main computer. Turning it on, he uploaded data from his T-Cycle into the main database, and a map appeared on the viewscreen. "This is where I managed to trace the communicator's signal to before it was cut off," he explained, indicating a small area off the coast of Japan outlined within a red square.
"Er, Rob?" Cyborg said, "I'm not too good at geography, but that little square covers a few hundred square miles- it'd take us too long to get there, never mind search for Blackfire."
"I know," Robin said, "but look here."
And with that, he pressed a few more buttons, and suddenly everything on the map turned green as Robin called up another filter. A green dot, brighter than the dull emerald colour that enveloped the map, stood out in its position next to the red square. "See that? That's an Atlantean research station."
Even with all that was happening, Beast Boy couldn't control his natural curiosity. "What're Atlanteans doing there?"
"They're with an international project to study underwater earthquakes," Robin explained. "The reason they're so near Japan is because it's right on top of several fault lines in the Earth's crust." He turned to his friends, the geography lesson over. "The thing is, it's also a refueling and resupply area for Atlantean fleets in that part of the Pacific."
"And there's a fleet there now?" Cyborg asked.
Robin nodded. "It's a small one, just came back from helping the Japanese and the Russians with pirate problems in the Tsushima Strait. I've asked Aqualad about it, and he's agreed to talk to his father about extending that fleet's mission."
He turned back to the screen, the greenish-red square seeming to become more and more ominous the longer he looked at it. "I just hope I'm doing the right thing."
"What do you mean, Robin?" Starfire asked.
Robin sighed. "I just hope I'm not sending more people into danger."
Author's note: Sorry this took so long. December was a whole lot more hectic than I had planned. That, and Star Control 2.