Chapter 2
It had been a year to the night when Raven and Beast Boy died. Robin and the titans made so many efforts to find the ones responsible for the deaths of their team's friends. Robin even had suspicions as to who they might be, but being a stickler about the law he couldn't point fingers without proof. Those fiends covered their tracks all too well. Even up to now anyone that might have seen what happened did not come forward.
"Maybe we'll just have to admit that no one saw anything," Cyborg once decided.
Robin refused to accept that for a long time, but eventually conceded to the possibility with reluctance. "Maybe we'll get lucky one day and whoever did this will still end up in jail, even if they aren't charged with murder."
In the year that had since passed, the titans had made a tough decision – replace Raven and Beast Boy. To have replaced them, the difficulty was not finding new members who were as good as them or better. Rather the difficulty came from actually replacing them – to admit that Raven and Beast Boy were no longer a part of the team. As long as Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire remember them though, they will never be truly gone because they were like a family. They always worked well as a team of five so all they intended to acquire were just two more members.
They took in Omen – a girl of incredible mental and mystical abilities… including teleportation. Such traits benefited the titans before thanks to Raven. There was no reason to doubt Omen's powers would be of great help. The titans also took interest in the abilities possessed by one who called herself Magenta. Her abilities of magnetic attraction and repulsion came to serve the team well.
Slade patiently paced around in his dimly lighted monitoring room. Periodically he would pause and look over toward the entrance to the space. Other times he would look at and observe city activity broadcasted on the many screens. Shortly the door slid open and Slade stopped pacing to turn and face the incoming visitor.
"Welcome back Brother Blood," he greeted smoothly. "Are they ready?" he asked referring to Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo.
"They are," replied Blood as he lowered the hood of his white headmaster's robe revealing his cybernetic features.
"Send them forth to release Killer Moth and Johnny Rancid. And… have them set the couch potato free. His tactics are bizarre, but he has potential. Soon we'll strike the titans again."
"So now you seek their final elimination?"
"Let's shake them up a bit before we do. During the prison break Killer Moth, Johnny Rancid, and the rest are likely to have a run in with the titans anyway. But after they've escaped we'll allow them to get some air and stretch their legs for a couple of days. Then summon everyone here for orders to finish the titans."
"Very well," Brother Blood complied. Then he turned and began walking out.
"Doesn't it impress you how they have all kept silent in the year since taking down Raven and Beast Boy?"
"It does a little," said Brother Blood from the other side of the doorway.
"Make sure it stays that way… for now."
"Of course," Blood complied. Then the door closed.
Slade walked over to a chair and sat down while looking over the monitors to observe the city.
The hour was approaching 10:00 p.m. Robin and Cyborg had been rummaging through some home movies and slide shows. They sat around in the Rec. Room watching and reminiscing over the days the team had with Raven and Beast Boy. The videos brought on bittersweet memories. Yet Robin and Cyborg kept happy as they continued to watch. Earlier they had been outside to pay their respects at the grave site set up on the island where Raven and Beast Boy were buried.
Omen and Magenta had long since departed for their rooms. Throughout the day they had allowed the others time to honor their deceased teammates. For all inside it had been a quiet and uneventful day.
Starfire was out in the dark standing before the markers again. Stars in the sky twinkled and the full moon glowed brightly. This had been Starfire's third time today at the graves. Even now her head was bowed and her eyes were closed in sadness. Her arms hung down with her hands clasped together.
"I really miss you my friends," she began without changing expression. "This grief I feel is very difficult to dismiss. You were both just beginning to find happiness with each other, as I have found much joy with Robin." Starfire brought her folded hands up to chest level and raised her head. She opened her eyes to face the markers. "He is such a wonderful person. Even Cyborg and Bumblebee have taken the next step – Robin taught me that phrase – and have since finally become boyfriend and girlfriend. How I ache knowing that fiends and death have denied you happiness.
"You should see how well Omen and Magenta perform as titans," Starfire continued. "They are good fighters and good friends and their powers are impressive. They respect that we still speak highly of you both. How great all would be if you could still be a part of the team."
Suddenly the alarm went off. In spite of hearing the muffled sound coming from within the tower, Starfire's communicator still went off. She activated it.
"Please come back inside Star," Robin requested. "There's been a jailbreak and I'll want everyone on it."
"Coming Robin," replied Starfire softly. She replaced her communicator and returned her attention to the graves. "I must go. I – or rather we – have hope that we will one day be victorious and your murderers will be brought to justice. Until next time… farewell." With that, Starfire turned and after thinking good thoughts levitated and drifted away.
Cyborg set the security to maximum, allowing the titans access back into the tower via only retinal identification and voice recognition. Then the titans departed the tower.
As Starfire was returning to the tower, a strong gust of wind blew across Titans Island. Clouds parted in a dark sky following a crash of thunder and a single flash of lighting. From the opening in the clouds flew a black bird – a raven. The bird descended upon the island and perched itself upon the headstone of Beast Boy. It squealed loudly.
In total darkness a pair of green eyes opened. There was a single, heavy gasp for breath. The air in here smelled very sour. In spite of feeling weak and disoriented, he attempted to sit up but bumped his head on something hard immediately above him.
"Ahhh!" he grunted. He went to place a hand on the bumped spot of his forehead and without thinking, bumped his hand on that same hard surface. His hoarse declaration was, "Ow!"
Momentarily after getting over his errors, did it occur to him he couldn't see. He tried moving around and found that his ability to do so was limited. "Where am I? Hello!" he cried weakly.
There was no response to his call. Wanting to see where he was Beast Boy morphed his eyes to see as an owl, he could barely make out the decaying material around him. His space was quite narrow. Beast Boy tried pushing on the sides and found them to be immobile. Then he tried the surface above him and found that just as impossible. Although he found it difficult to change his form, Beast Boy finally managed to morph into a rat. Realizing something was blanketing him he crawled carefully around until he felt nothing around him. He crawled over to one side and began chewing.
Above, on the surface, Cyborg had just finished setting the security to the tower. Then the titans departed from the tower to stop the jailbreak.
Less than ten minutes after their departure there was a hole large enough for Beast Boy to feel that the rat could get through, until his nose ran into something moist and cool – soil? So he morphed into a gopher and began digging through the soil. Beast Boy surfaced nearly seven minutes later and the rodent found itself on the island facing the shore, breathing fresher air.
Morphing back into human form he felt the cool night air all over him. Changing was a bit easier this time, so his strength was slowly coming back. It was then Beast Boy looked down and found out he was not wearing his favorite jump suit. In fact he was not wearing anything. The shape-shifter crouched down in embarrassment.
"Why am I naked? Where is my uniform?" he wondered. It now occurred to him that after he morphed into the rat, he must have been crawling around to get out from under whatever clothes he was wearing in that dark space underground.
He looked around for the tower so that he could go in and put on something to wear. Beast Boy then realized more than just the tower. He noticed the two headstones that puzzled him. On one of them sat a black bird, doing nothing but watching him. The raven squawked lightly. Beast Boy crept closer to the headstones and noticed his name – Garfield Logan – on the one nearest to him.
Beast Boy's eyes went wide with shock. "I died?" he exclaimed out loud. That night had apparently been forgotten. "Nooo!" he cried in disbelief as he fell backward onto the sandy ground and scrambled back away from the graves.
His left hand fell upon a footprint where Starfire had stood a short time ago. An image of her flashed through his mind. "I really miss you my friends." She looked very sad.
Beast Boy jerked away from that spot. But his hands fell upon two more sets of footprints. A vision of a sad Cyborg appeared. "It's just not the same without you guys." Then a vision of an upset Robin appeared immediately following Cyborg. "We really tried for so long. I'm sorry we didn't get them."
Beast Boy moved away from that spot. He shook his head as if to clear his mind of what he saw and was bewildered. After recovering a bit, something occurred to the shape-shifter. "If that's mine… is the other marker-?" Forgetting that he was naked, Beast Boy crept around to the other grave. He read the name, "Raven Roth." Beast Boy fell back on his rear and shook his head sadly. "Why?"
The black raven still perched on his headstone, squawked and flapped its wings, leaping about on the stone. Beast Boy looked up. "What do you want?" he asked in frustration. The raven continued its little rant. Then Beast Boy morphed into his own raven form.
"What?" he demanded.
"Enough sitting around!" it replied harshly. "You have work to do."
"Work – what kind of work?"
"They are still out there – those who did this to you and her. You need to make them pay for that. This is why you have been restored."
"How long have I been dead?"
"One year."
"I've been separated from Raven that long?" he screeched in disbelief. "How come it doesn't seem like it has been that long?"
"In death time has no meaning."
Recalling the images, Beast Boy was curious. "I saw some very weird images of my friends. How did I do that?"
"It is a skill given to you as an aid. You had visions of friends mourning your deaths. Such visions are links to emotional moments, both good and bad – happy times and sad times. There are visions that can make you smile and other moments that could make you angry. The visions which you will come to experience… use them to drive you to your revenge."
"So I really have to destroy those who did this to us? What happens after I've finished?"
"Then you can be reunited with she who was taken from you. Now go back inside and get ready. We will be working together to find them. I will be your eyes. What I see you will see."
Beast Boy morphed back into a human and stood up. The tower seemed rather quiet, which could only mean the titans were likely out somewhere. His guess was they were on a mission – a mission that would not result in the capture of his and Raven's murderers since he was resurrected. Justice had to be delivered by him. So the tower would be set at maximum security. He knew the tower's cameras were scanning the whole island and it occurred to him that he's likely already been recorded.
Beast Boy had had no time to be concerned with being naked and that the cameras were recording him like this. He turned and hurried up the beach toward the tower with the raven flying nearby. The motion sensors detected his presence but the tower's security measures were set to identify titans without going into alert.
Beast Boy approached the tower door. The raven perched itself on his left shoulder. The panel on the right blinked in a familiar fashion indicating he must identify himself. Beast Boy set his eyes before the reader. After a couple of beeps, a small monitor came on with a recorded image of Cyborg. "Retinal scan accepted. Voice recognition is now required. Identify yourself."
Beast Boy stepped back. "Beast Boy's my name. Funny stuff is my game."
"Welcome back B.B. The door's open." Cyborg's image disappeared. A low hum sounded off for a few seconds then stopped. A heavy click from the door meant it was accessible and maximum security was temporarily disengaged. Beast Boy opened the door and went inside with the raven flying nearby. The door then closed by itself and maximum security was reestablished in the tower.
Beast Boy walked through the tower passages toward his room with the raven still close to him. He was grateful Cyborg had created that titan recognition program. With that in effect there was no intrusion detection while Beast Boy roamed the tower. For the moment all he wanted to do was to get something to wear.
Here's hoping you readers respect my using a raven rather than a crow. R&R.
