Oy. All of the chapters for this fic are super short. My apologies. At least it's written out already, right? I won't bore you with a long authors note...Just thought I'd tell you not to chew my ears off if you see "mispelings". Thanks in advance.Please feel free to critique; I'd like to get better. This is an older one though. ...Even so. Alright, without further preambling, here ismy first fic ever written - possibly my only complete one. Pfft. Whatever. Enjoy if you can. I'll try to update weekly. - bAnGmYhEaRt
Chapter One
Name: Garfield Logan
Age: 16
First Contact: 04.22.06
Acceptance: Yes
- - - - -
"Tell me why I shouldn't smash your face." Mammouth could hardly get the words out. His teeth were clenched like a mousetrap that had snapped just short of its prey. Beast Boy felt like the mouse. He knew he should call for help. Rob and Star were just inside the warehouse.
"I think we could be friends if you just-" His back made contact with the brick wall. He looked to his right, toward the massive arm that blocked escape.
Mammouth swung. Odd how someone so huge could move so quickly. Beast Boy could move faster though. Assuming a rat morph, he ran, only just avoiding stomping feet. After putting a safe enough distance between himself and Mammouth – and the warehouse – he melted into something a lot faster. A cheetah at full run should be able to escape this danger. At least until Beast Boy got somewhere that Starfire and Robin wouldn't hear him kicking bad guy butt.
He ran down a hill toward a brownish waterway that bordered town. The river had a name but not even people that lived on this side of the city remembered it. Pollution from the factory had ruined the water here ages ago. Nowadays, the factories and warehouses stood empty and abandoned, but the look and stench of the river remained. Just before the river was a chain-link fence. He clawed his way over it, heading toward another empty building.
The sun made black holes of alleyways that snaked between the old brick buildings. Beast Boy glanced once behind him but his sharp cheetah sight spotted no one. He shifted back to his body, trying to ignore the wary eyes that glared at him as he passed makeshift shelters of old planks and cardboard boxes piled against the walls at the edges of the streetlight.
Where was it?
There was a door here that would take him on a round-about underground path back to Star and Rob's building. He had come here to spy on them, after all. For weeks now, the two had been sneaking out of the tower. The only explanation they would give if questioned was: "We're researching." At least, that's what Robin would say. Starfire would start to giggle after that. If they were doing actual research, Beast Boy would eat his socks. He wished he had remembered to bring a camera. He needed blackmail.
He had scoped out passageways already but he hadn't been to this particular building for a few days. It was this building that made him nervous. There was no explanation for it. The brick walls everywhere else were just as crumbly, the windows just as dark, stairwells and hobo's hiding places just as nerve-wracking. Still, this one was worst. The Turning-AmarJit Building, it was labeled with a faded old sign.
As he rounded a corner he spotted the familiar rotting truck dock. The grimy, graffiti covered tan-brick wall. The door was locked. He raced around to the east side of the building. In the deepening darkness, he ducked into a basement stairwell.
Something rustled from below. A small shadow scampered over the stairs and into the night. Beast Boy jumped and stifled a scream. He head banged against a cement overhang. For a moment, everything went black. He only just kept himself from falling before staggering down the steps.
At the bottom, near a grime-caked basement window, he crouched and waited until his head stopped spinning.
"TITAN I'M GOING TO GET YOU."
Mammouth. Near. Maybe 30 yards.
"Was that you, Beast?" Beast Boy could hear a rat squeal. Just stay put, he told himself. A moment later, footsteps retreated into silence. Now the only sounds were rustling leaves and Beast Boy's dry, raspy breaths. Safe and also still hidden from his teammates. For now at least.
He felt the top of his head. It ached badly. He would get a bad bruise later, most likely. He stood, bracing himself against the sides of the stairwell.
The bump was worse than he thought.
His head felt strange. As if it were expanding, as if he had to hold on to it, just to keep it intact. Recently, he'd been having headaches like this one. Bad ones but not usually this bad. He would catch Robin and Starfire. He climbed the stairs again, determined to reach the door this time. A sudden throb pushed against the inside of his skull. His knees buckled. He clutched the rusted banister.
This was a bad one. A migraine maybe. He must have really smacked that overhang hard. Grimacing, he took another step.
The darkness gave way to a volcano of white, green, and red. As if the world had ignited. He didn't think he'd make it back to the tower. Not by himself. Not even to the top of the stairs. He started to reach for his communicator.
"Help me…"
Beast Boy froze. For a moment the pain retracted. The voice had come from below him, from the basement window.