Once again, this chapter's going to deal solely with BB and Raven! So if anyone was hoping to see any more of the other three Titans, you're out of luck. Don't get mad just yet, they'll be coming back in the next chapter! (Watch out, there's some fluff at the end. You have been warned.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 13: With You
Beast Boy twitched when he felt sunlight fall upon his closed eyelids. He and his mage companion were sleeping on the same sofa; Beast Boy on one end and Raven on the other. He recalled the events of last night. It had been both the worst and the best night he'd had since the Martians first landed. He finally found out their "food source" which frightened the daylights out of him. Right after that though, he felt he may have at last finally gotten Raven to open up to him. And on top of it all, he remembered how last night he had been closer to Raven than he'd ever been in his life... It made him smile just to think about it.
He turned his head so the sun wasn't falling directly on his eyes. He wondered if Raven was still asleep. It was morning, that much he guessed. The Martians had finally left the night before, finally allowing them to leave the house that had almost turned into their prison. Now they had a long day ahead of them. They'd finally set out and try to find help and, hopefully, find the rest of the Titans.
Beast Boy twitched again when he felt more light fall on his closed eyes. That was strange, since he had just turned away from the window. Finally deciding it'd be a good time to get up, Beast Boy opened his eyes, and to his surprise, found himself staring face-to-face at his own reflection! It took him only a split second to realize what it was and let out a terrified yell. It wasn't sunlight he had felt, after all.
"AAAAHHH! RAVEN! RAVEN!" the mage heard him shout at the top of his lungs, instantly waking her up. She sat up and whipped her head over to find Beast Boy being stared at by a Martian camera! Its eye-like lens turned from him toward her and its two spotlights practically blinded her.
Raven gritted her teeth and focused her energy on the camera. "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted loudly. A bolt of black energy darted forth and exploded the camera's head into shards of broken metal and glass. With the camera device destroyed, the long tube it was attached to slithered back and was pulled out of the basement. Beast Boy finally scrambled to his feet and rushed over to Raven's side.
As they listened, the unmistakable footsteps of a tripod could be heard outside. Raven cursed out loud. "They've found us! We gotta get out of here!" she shouted to Beast Boy. She was seething with both fear and anger. They came back, after all. All the hopes she had last night had now shattered in an instant.
Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak. "But what about-"
"There's no time!" she shouted back. "We gotta get out of here before it's too late!"
Before they could even attempt to escape, however, a loud crash came from above, and plaster fell down around them. They looked up to see a fresh, gaping hole in the ceiling and a metallic tentacle snaking its way through it and toward them.
"Quick!" Beast Boy yelled. He and Raven both leaped in opposite directions away from the tentacle before it could reach either of them. The long tendril reached the floor and felt around like a human trying to grab mice out of a hole. The appendage went in Beast Boy's direction, first. It darted across the floor, found one of his ankles, and wrapped itself around it. He yelled hysterically as he was dragged across the floor. He paused in mid-scream when he remembered that he could transform. "Duh, stupid," he thought to himself. In the blink of an eye, Beast Boy became a tiny green spider, and the tentacle gripped nothing but thin air.
But it wasn't over yet. Not to be beaten yet, the tentacle reached over to the other side where Raven was. It waved around furiously as it tried to find her. The half-demon flew up toward the ceiling away from it and over to Beast Boy. "Quick, hold on to me," she commanded. Not questioning her, Beast Boy held on to one of her arms while she pulled him close. "Hang on!" she said. She lifted off and flew straight toward the wall, carrying the changeling with her. Beast Boy closed his eyes and braced for impact.
"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven yelled. The wall before them burst open, creating a wide hole big enough for her to escape through. Unfortunately, right outside was a thick tangle of red vines. By the time Raven noticed them, she had flown right into them, entangling them both. Raven cursed again as she and Beast Boy both went tumbling along the ground through the forest of red vines. Both of them were thoroughly dumbfounded – they didn't think it was possible for any plant to grow this fast. Before they had arrived, the plants weren't even there.
"Perfect," Raven muttered to herself. Rolling along the ground had gotten her tangled in the red vines, making it very difficult to move. She knew they didn't have long before the tripod would spot them, so they had to do something, and quick. From the looks of things, the sun had barely started to rise and it was still rather dark out. Beast Boy was tangled up as well, and seemed more preoccupied at helping Raven get free than getting himself free.
"Here, I can help," he said to her. Raven watched as he turned into a green bear. Not hesitating for a moment, he bit through and ripped apartevery vine that was preventing her from escaping. When he was done, they leapt out of the thick and onto open ground. Beast Boy grimaced. "Man, that stuff tastes terrible!"
"Hurry, let's go!" Raven said desperately. However, Beast Boy paused. She looked back to see what was keeping him, and noticed what he had been staring at. The entire landscape around them was now transformed. Instead of green, they saw red – everywhere. The trees all around seemed faded and dying. Out to the hills as far as they could see, the red weed had spread like wildfire and was slowly enveloping the green that had once been there.
A loud mechanical whir snapped them back into reality. They turned just in time to see the colossal tripod coming toward them. One of its mechanical legs lurched forward and through the house, affectively splitting what little of it was left in half. Raven and Beast Boy made an attempt to escape, but the tripod reacted first. The 'tail' laser fired its crimson beam at them, igniting the ground between them. The sheer heat and force of the beam caused them both to jump away and tumble in opposite directions. The tripod decided to switch tactics and use its tentacles instead. It brought its metal tendrils down on the heroes. One of them found Beast Boy, only instead of grabbing him, it swung at him and sent him sailing through the air.
"Beast Boy!" Raven called. Before she could do anything, she was struck from behind in a similar manner. The mage went sprawling forward and hit her head on the ground. After that, everything became a blur. Despite not being fully with it, she swore again on the inside. The last thing she needed in her state was another injury to the head. She tried to call upon her powers but it was almost impossible to concentrate from the sheer noise and the blow she had just received. She could do little except struggle when she felt a tendril wrap around her leg and hoist her into the air.
The hit Beast Boy received had knocked the wind out of him and hurled him a good distance. He hit the ground hard and rolled into a tree trunk. The changeling felt a pain in one of his legs and hoped he hadn't broken anything. Fearing for his life, he didn't waste any time in getting up. The first thing Beast Boy heard when he got to his feet was Raven shouting. Fearing the worst, he looked above to see what was happening.
He froze when his worst fears became reality in an instant. He stared in horror as the machine pick up the small, struggling mage. From the ground he could hear her frightened shouts. "Help!" she yelled. There was a word he didn't hear her say often. The tripod reached behind itself and placed her in one of its baskets as it walked away.
"NO NO NOOO!" Beast Boy screamed at the top of his lungs. This couldn't be happening… Not now. Not to her. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair! Not after they had come this far. This couldn't be the end. He wouldn't let this be the end.
His teeth gritted and his fists clenched as his fear slowly melted away into pure anger and hatred. This was it. He no longer cared if they had heat beams or poison gas or anything. His mind became dead set on rescuing his friend…and killing them.
Meanwhile, the tripod seemed to have forgotten about him and started stomping away. Beast Boy's mind raced. He couldn't let it get away. His mind had now worked itself into an almost feral rage. His eyes darted as he looked for something, anything he could use to get at that machine. The shape-shifter locked eyes on an armored humvee. It was burned and damaged. He guessed it had to have been left over from the battle that had happened there only days before.
He ran over to it as fast as he could while keeping track of how far the tripod had gone. Beast Boy opened one of the doors, and on the seat he spotted a grenade belt. Without thinking, he grabbed it and dashed blindly toward the tripod. As he ran, an idea suddenly came to his head. Regaining his sanity, he ran up behind the tripod as close as he could get.
"HEY!" he roared as loud as he could. With this he pulled out one of the grenades, pulled the pin, and hurled it at the tripod. The grenade hit and detonated off the tripod's shield. As Beast Boy hoped, this caused the tripod to stop dead in its tracks. Its head swiveled around, and its spotlight focused straight on Beast Boy.
The shape-shifter squinted to avoid being blinded by the light. "Please take me, please take me," he thought. His hopes were fulfilled when a tentacle came down and wrapped around his waste. Beast Boy gulped as he was lifted swiftly off the ground and rose higher and higher into the air. The tripod reached behind its head and dropped Beast Boy through some kind of port in the back. Beast Boy drew a deep breath as he was sucked down a tube, trying also not to drop the grenade belt he was carrying.
In a flash he found himself landing on top of a mass of people. He let out a clumsy "Oof!" when he landed hard on a web of thick metal bars. Beast Boy looked around and saw that he was in some kind of cage. The tripod's basket. Around he could see the faces of a bunch of frightened people, many of whom were staring at him. He could understand why - it wasn't every day you saw a boy with green skin and hair.
Beast Boy carefully got up to his feet, trying to avoid slipping through the openings in the criss-crossed metal bars. He was about to call Raven when he saw her dark form lying against the walls of the cage. He pushed his way through the frightened civilians, not even bothering to answer the questions he was being pelted with by them. Raven noticed him too, and looked up at him as he approached.
"Raven!"
"Stop the ride, I want to get off," she muttered sarcastically.
He chuckled despite the situation. "Are you okay?" he asked as he stopped by her side
Raven put a hand to her forehead. "I'm fine. I just hit my head – again," she said with an expression that looked more annoyed than hurt.
"It's okay, Rae. I'm gonna get us out of here," he told her.
"How?" When she noticed the grenade belt he was carrying, she blinked in surprised. "Where did you get that?"
"Found it. I have an idea, but I need your help," he said. "I need to get inside the machine somehow."
Raven pointed at the top of the cage. Above them was a port covered by some kind of red membrane. "They pull them in through the opening," she explained. "I saw them do it right before you arrived."
Beast Boy gulped. He definitely didn't want to do this. But he wasn't about to go back on his plan. "You sure you're okay?" he asked her.
"I've been way better," she muttered. "But at least my head's stopped spinning."
"Don't worry, Rae. I'll get us out of here," he said again.
"Of course I'm not worried," she replied, but her expression turned sincere as she looked him straight in the eye. "I'm with you, Beast Boy."
The changeling froze when he heard those words come out of her. Only a few days ago he would have never expected to hear her say something like that in a million years. He gulped, trying to keep tears from filling his eyes.
The panicked shouts from the people behind him were what finally caused them to break contact. Both of them looked to see what was happening. From above, they saw the tip of a light-gray tentacle reaching through the opening in the top of the cage. Beast Boy quickly turned back to Raven. "Do you trust me?" he asked firmly.
She nodded. "Yes. Good luck."
"I'll be back! I promise!" he assured her as he left her side. He grabbed the belt and headed for the tentacle which was now making a grab for someone. He rushed forward and pushed the unfortunate person out of the way. "Take me! Take me!" he shouted. The tentacle found him and wrapped around him and pulled him up out of the cage.
"My god! What's he doing?" a woman asked.
"Is he insane?" a man asked.
Raven got to her feet. "Let him go! He knows what he's doing!" she told them. "I hope," she added in her mind.
Beast Boy suppressed a shiver as he was pulled toward the opening and through the slimy red film. The substance stretched around his body as he was drawn, allowing him to pass through. Raven watched as he was pulled through headfirst until he finally disappeared behind the red membrane. The mage's heart raced and sweat started to gather at her temples.
Seconds passed, but to her they felt like hours. She kept her eyes glued to the opening, looking for any sign of him to reappear. Raven concentrated with all her might to keep her emotions under control as she waited. "Where are you?" she muttered to herself. Finally, she spotted something pop out of the membrane's tiny opening. It was small and green – a green fly! In a flash the small fly became Beast Boy.
"Raven, I'm in!" he shouted as he fell to the basket's floor. Raven's eyes widened when she noticed he no longer had the grenade belt he had just been carrying.
"Everybody DOWN!" she shouted. With all her might, she threw up a black force-field around the entire cage.
Mere seconds after she did so, an explosion echoed from within the tripod. The boom caused the entire cage to rattle, followed by the shouts and screams of frightened people from around them. Another explosion sounded, then another. Raven looked and saw the tripod's head exploding from the inside out. The basket rattled and shook violently as it detached from the back of the tripod. The screams of the people got louder as they tumbled toward the ground.
Even despite this, Raven kept her concentration. She focused as hard as she could and slowed the cage's descent. In a matter of seconds, the basket's fall slowed more and more until finally it landed on the ground with little more than a thud. Right a loud boom sounded as the colossal tripod crashed into the ground. The head erupted into flames and some kind of yellow liquid was now streaming out of it.
But it wasn't over yet, they were still trapped in the cage. Raven extended her hand toward the cage's wall. "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted. The bars bent and split apart, finally allowing them to escape. One by one, the shaken civilians exited the basket. Beast Boy and Raven were the last to come out, and when they did they were greeted by the cheers of the people they had just saved.
"You-you saved us!" an older man said in awe to the two young heroes.
"Thank you," a woman said after him. She was followed by the 'thank yous' of everyone in the group. Beast Boy and Raven both glanced at each other nervously under the gaze of the mass of people.
"Who are you?" a middle-aged woman asked them.
Beast Boy straightened up and folded his arms over his chest in a heroic pose. "We're the Teen Titans, ma'am." Raven nodded in response.
The crowd cheered again. "Hey, I've heard of you!" a man shouted. "You're those heroes from Jump City. But where are the other guys?"
Raven was the first to answer. "Separated. We don't know where they are."
"But we hope to find 'em soon," Beast Boy added.
"Well, best of luck to you," the man replied. "We all owe you our lives. Thanks."
"Anytime!" Beast Boy said proudly. Raven rolled her eyes but grinned at the same time.
More sounds from off in the distance caused everyone to turn. At first they were afraid it was more Martians, but their hearts leapt when they saw what was coming down the road.
"Look! A convoy!" Beast Boy shouted ecstatically. Military tanks, trucks, and humvees rumbled down the road and came to a halt near them. Turns out, it was the sight of the downed tripod that caused them to stop in the first place. Everyone including the two Titans ran over to the welcome sight. They could see the shocked expressions of every soldier in the convoy as they noticed the dead tripod. Outside the lead truck stepped several surprised-looking soldiers.
"Holy crap!" one of them said as they approached. His surprised expression only increased when he saw the mage and the green changeling approaching him. "Geez, did you guys take that down?" he asked them.
"Well, sort of," Beast Boy said sheepishly.
"Really? Dang, you must be the first to ever do that! How didja do it?"
"We couldn't get through its force field, if that's what you're asking," Raven explained. "We had to do it from the inside out." She explained to the soldiers just how they'd managed to take it down.
The soldiers looked slightly disappointed, but still excited just the same. "Oh well. That was genius, though. Genius." He stopped and looked at the civilians that had gathered around. "You're in luck, by the way. We were just sent through hear to pick up any straggling civilians." At this every person in the crowd cheered again.
"Alright, calm down!" the leading officer shouted. "Everyone board the truck in an organized manner and we'll get you out as soon as possible." They were only too happy to do so, and eagerly boarded the vehicles as directed. Only Raven and Beast Boy stayed behind.
"You coming?" he asked them.
The two of them glanced at each other than back at the officer. "No, we need to do something else," Raven replied.
"You sure?"
"We'll be fine," Raven assured him. "But thanks anyway." Beast Boy smiled up at her.
The officer shrugged. He didn't even bother to ask what they needed to do. "Oh well. But thanks again. Good luck to ya. Alright everyone, let's move out!"
Moments later, everyone boarded and the military convoy rolled down the road and out of sight, leaving the two heroes alone. Without saying anything, they walked over to the smoldering wreck of the alien machine. The two sat against the tree trunk and for the longest time, simply sat and stared at the fiery heap. The tentacles all lay motionless. The laser cannons all were lifeless, and its spotlight was now cracked and dark.
They sat their together and simply stared at it, unable to believe what they had just done. Neither of them could believe their luck. They had gone from seemingly having only bad luck to having the best luck in the world.
Beast Boy was the first to look from the wreckage to his friend. Truthfully, they both weren't a very pretty sight. They were both dirty and beat up. Their clothes were torn in several places and were smeared with dirt, mud, and grass stains. Even their hair was messed up. Even still, the sun had now started to rise, and it was reflecting off her skin and lavender hair in the most amazing way. She looked so beautiful…
Noticing he was staring at her, Raven turned and stared back. To his surprise, she was grinning. Her expression caused Beast Boy to giggle. When he started, Raven was unable to keep herself from giggling as well. Their giggling soon grew into a chuckle, and then the two of them soon erupted in all out laughter. It was probably the first time in days they'd truly laughed at all.
Raven felt more relaxed than she had been in a while, even more so than last night. She got up and motioned for Beast Boy to follow her. He happily did so, and they walked over to the tripod's now lifeless head. They stopped right next to it, and even on the ground it looked huge. Raven didn't even need to use her powers to know the occupants inside were all dead. Beast Boy, despite being a very compassionate person, felt nothing but satisfaction at seeing the dead wreck.
The two turned from the wreckage to each other. Without even knowing it, they were holding each other's hands.
"You did it, Beast Boy," she said warmly.
Beast Boy blushed shyly. "Nah. We did it, Rae."
Raven couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from moving upward. Not a moment passed before she pulled him toward her in a tight hug, to which he responded by hugging her back. They remained in that position for what seemed like hours, neither of them letting go.
Eventually, Raven was the first to pull away. Beast Boy wondered how she'd respond, if she'd blush or walk away nervously as she had done on previous occasions. To his surprise, she continued to gaze at him with nothing but affection in her eyes. Truthfully, it actually made him nervous. This was not the typical Raven he knew. Maybe one of her positive emotions had taken over her body again. Something in was different, maybe for the better. He couldn't say he was sad about.
Now was the moment. If he was going to say what he'd been wanting to say for a long time, he might as well do it now. But it wouldn't be easy.
"Rae, I-" he choked. He blushed shyly and looked down, unable to keep eye contact. "I just wanted to say that…well, I…" He repeatedly tripped and stumbled over his words. He'd had the courage to take down a tripod and yet still was almost too scared to speak to one of his best friends. "You, I mean, I…"
"Yes?" she said teasingly.
"I, um…I've always…" he mumbled. Finally, he choked out, "I love you, Raven." His blush deepened when he finished saying the words he'd wanted to say for so long, yet never knew until recently.
He wasn't sure how she'd take it, whether she'd be happy, angry, or whatever. He glanced up nervously to see how she'd reacted. She was blushing as well and looking at him with shock. "Oh…" she gasped.
"I, I…" Beast Boy began, but couldn't finish and dropped his head again. He froze when he felt her cup his chin and raise his head so their eyes met again. She was still blushing, but to his surprise, a wide smile had spread across her face. Her expression made Beast Boy return the grin.
Raven pulled him into another tight hug. "I…I love you, too."
Beast Boy couldn't believe it. It was like a dream come true. He had to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He didn't have to ask her if she meant it, the look in her eyes told him everything. "Rae…" stammered, but she put a finger to his lips to stop him.
Raven almost couldn't believe herself. She would never have dreamt in a million years she'd say that to anyone, least of all the boy who was standing right in front of her. The same boy that had got on her nerves so often. The same boy whom she'd had the desire to strangle more than once. The irony was almost storybook, in a way. Yet, she wasn't afraid or nervous about it. It seemed right, like it was supposed to be this way.
She leaned in even closer, making Beast Boy even more nervous. Her lips were now almost brushing against his cheek. He had a suspicion she was now doing this to tease him. He lost almost all thought completely when Raven's lips finally connected with his. He instantly responded by pressing in closer and returning her kiss. It seemed to last forever, almost too good to be true. Neither one stopped until a nearby explosion startled Beast Boy out of it. He turned to see what it was, but Raven stopped him.
"Sorry. My fault," she said. They both laughed.
After a while, they finally decided they'd return to what little was left of the house they had been staying in. By this time, the sun had risen and daylight had finally come. It was still cloudy overhead, but not as overcast as it was the day before.
They walked along, chatting as they went. Beast Boy felt like he was walking on air, he was so happy. "I have a question," he asked. "How is it you didn't make anything happen last night, like an explosion or something?"
"Beast Boy, I just made something explode just a few minutes ago by accident," she reminded.
"Yeah, I know. But I just was wondering why you didn't accidentally do something the other times. I mean, normally stuff kind of happens when you get worked up, no offense."
Raven shrugged. "Actually, I don't know. Strangely, I think ever since hitting my head I've had an easier time controlling my powers. Don't ask me why, though."
"Oh, okay. Just curious, that's all."
When they reached the house, they searched through it and gathered whatever supplies they could find – food, water, medical supplies, etc. Raven even took the opportunity to replace the bandages on her head. Luckily, the cut had finally stopped hurting, though it was still just a little sensitive. When all was done, they placed all their supplies in garbage and stepped outside. It was enough to last them a couple days, but not too much for them to carry. Unfortunately, the one thing they couldn't find was a map.
"So, where now?" Beast Boy asked while taking time to enjoy the morning air.
Raven pondered. "I don't know. There's no telling where the others are." She paused. "But something tells me," she pointed west down the road. "We should go that way."
Beast Boy shrugged. "Whatever you want. I'm just following you."
"How about this, we'll go down the road until we reach a town and find a map, then we'll decide what to do then. Okay?"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" he agreed. "Just as long as we don't run into any more Martians."
Raven grinned at him. "Well, we can't stay here. Let's move on, shall we?"
"Yeah. Let's go!"
"Alright then. How about if we fly instead? I'm kind of tired of walking."
"Sure," he replied.
"Great! Come on, I'll race you to those trees." Before Beast Boy could respond, she lifted off the ground, with Beast Boy chasing after her.
"Hey Raven, wait up! That's no fair, you got a head start! Rae!"
"Come on, slowpoke!" she called out to him while smiling teasingly.
Beast Boy smiled, both at Raven's attitude and at the challenge. "Watch out, I'm coming at ya!" he warned. He turned into a green pterodactyl, picked up his bags in his talons, and flew off after her.
Only a couple more chapters to go! I really hope the Beast Boy/Raven scene turned out fine, I didn't want it to sound forced. And I hope it was satisfying enough. Please let me know what you think. Opinions are always welcome. This chapter was actually very easy to write. The hardest part was actually coming up with the title! Still not sure if it fits...oh well. Again, please read and review. Thanks.
