~RavensMind~
For the Excluded
Chapter 18: Critical Jokes
"The tower looms over the manor, but neither eclipse the other. Dwellings that hold everything together for two birds. Flying as one, they will save whoever they can, and fight what foes dare come. To those who threaten to tear apart their family of friends, they are far more dangerous than even they could know. We can see the outcome before they do. We know their enemy, we can see their friends, and the score is anything but even. Nobody though, has seen the full power of either side's deadly ringers. Fear is compelled, but there's an interceptor, someone has had enough, and someone must have the last laugh."
Drill. Drill. Drill. A gear turned. Someone flashed a bright light back and forth. Pain. Beast Boy groaned and struggled to lift his eyelids. Poor choice. The light was nearly blinding, making him slam his eyelids back down. He could only hear. Someone walked away with the light and someone else slowly made their way across the cement floor to him. His head was heavy, and he was sluggish to respond. He tried to move and was immediately gripped by two hands, keeping him in place.
"Listen good, kid. You move, or change, and you'll be all over the place…well, several places, but let's not get technical, hahaha," the Joker said as he laughed.
Beast Boy froze and stayed silent as dread seeped through him. Caught by the Joker. He may as well be dead, but he probably would be soon enough. There had to be a reason he was still breathing. Probably just leverage to use against Batman. To top it off, it sounded like Joker had him in a trap.
"Get it?! Hello?! Are you awake? Speak! Don't make me poke you with a knife," Joker threatened.
"I got it," Beast Boy groaned, "move and I'm a grass stain."
"Mmhahaha, a joke too! Lucky, I caught a funny one. The other two looked sooo boorrriing. The girl stopping to pet every…single… kitten in the city, the robot just beeped and booped in the arcade every outing. I almost made an exploding kitten and could have put some real pyro on that Rock Champion game!" Joker chuckled.
"They wouldn't fall for that," Beast Boy said.
"No? Oh well, only needed one of you. I think birdbrain got the message," Joker said.
"What message?"
"Didn't I say? Right! You were out cold on the ground. I nearly forgot. I told him that if he and your other friend came to Gotham, I'd kill you…so I'm sure he's on his way."
"But what do you want with him?"
"Here's the thing…if you opened your eyes, you'd see that you're sitting on enough explosives to send you to the moon and if you move, you and anyone close will get that one-way ticket into space…or just explode into a million tiny bits, not sure - I admit, I haven't used this many explosives for one person before."
Beast Boy opened his eyes and met the Joker's grinning face. He looked around to try and discern where he was. Aside from the gears turning on the wall behind Joker, the painted "HA-HA-HA" plastered across the walls, and a sliding metal door, there weren't many identifying features. He looked down. Beneath the chair he sat upon was a large, box-shaped device with several multi-colored blinking lights. It was attached to a metal plate that was fused beneath the cushion in his seat. He returned his focus to Joker.
"So uhh, what if I need to pee?" Beast Boy asked.
"Ahaha! Funny you should ask. You will, once we get that pesky changeling power of yours under control, the device should be ready soon. So, hold it! Not leaving without that hall pass," Joker replied.
"Man…and what do you do? Watch me?" Beast Boy asked.
"No, I have someone else for that. I'm in charge of entertainment for this gig of Scarecrow's, gotta make sure it's a real hit! A car bomb here, a library collapses there, a few café explosions, a captive and captive audience, the usual party favors!" Joker exclaimed.
"Who else you got working for you? The cowardly lion?" Beast Boy mocked.
"Ha! No such luck. Stuck with the old band, I'm afraid, but you'll find out soon enough. Or you'll explode and learn nothing, both possible, but I know what I'm rooting for!" Joker cackled.
"Not gonna happen, my friends will save me, and we'll kick your butt!" Beast Boy challenged.
"Hmm, that would settle round one, but what about round two, where I bust out and do something new, or this all over again?! Bats should kill me, but he won't, so it doesn't matter to me if you escape or explode, kid! Just trying to break my record, most chaos caused in a single break out. One of these days, I might not be able to top myself!"
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After several hectic hours of searching fruitlessly for Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire returned to the small, secured place that Batman had given them to use while they were staying in Gotham. It appeared abandoned until they had entered the security codes and went inside. It had enough rooms for more than six of them to sleep comfortably in their own beds, fully stocked kitchen, training room, living area with a large-screen TV and plenty of couches, a high-tech briefing room, and infirmary.
Cyborg had found Beast Boy's communicator and took it into the briefing room to see if he could get anything from it. Starfire, meanwhile, went to the kitchen to get food for both of them and check her own communicator. She was expecting Batman or Robin to call soon. They had enough experience dealing with the Joker to advise she and Cyborg on where they should look. Batman had done his best to impress upon them the danger that the Joker posed, but they needed more insight to get an idea as to where he may have taken Best Boy. She already wanted to kick herself for not checking in on Beast Boy, but there was little she or Cyborg could've done, since they been miles apart in different areas of Gotham.
The city was much larger than Jump, dirtier than Jump, and had more crime than she thought possible. She had stopped seven robberies herself that day, and Cyborg had dealt with five robberies and twelve muggings. Over the course of their trip to Gotham, she wouldn't be surprised if they had stopped a hundred criminals between the three of them. Batman had dealt with far more crime, though she didn't know how many criminals he had put away just in the few days they had been there. How he dealt with this much crime daily seemed crazy to her. She was happy to help and wondered why Robin had not stayed to help, or why this had been the first time they had been able to help. Robin clearly knew more than he had let on about the criminals here, and Batman as well.
Beast Boy's capture helped her understand his apprehension better. Though, they had all been captured at one point or another before, yet it unsettled her. Slade had taken months to study them before going after any of them, other criminals had temporarily bound them by means of technology or power. From what she knew of Joker, he had no powers, tech, or augments, and he had snatched Beast Boy within a week, under Batman's nose. If Batman couldn't ensure they were protected in some way, who else could? Starfire pulled a couple sandwiches and sodas from the fridge and took them into the briefing room, where Cyborg sat, taking apart Beast Boy's communicator.
"Thanks. Heard from Rob or Batman?" Cyborg asked hopefully.
"Nothing yet, I am concerned that they may not know how to find Beast Boy either. This Joker is more awful than usual, yes?" Starfire asked.
"They've fought him before, they'll have an idea, Star," Cyborg responded, before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Gotham is more troubled than Jump City. Why do you think Robin left? Surely this city requires all the aid it can receive?" she asked.
"Don't know. Maybe it's something between him and Batman. You saw how angry he was when we were brought here without him to work on something that he started," he pointed out.
"Perhaps. They were partners, correct?" she asked as she picked up her own sandwich.
"Something like that. He never talks about it. Batman hasn't said anything either. Was a joke the other day…" he said, his voice trailing off as he looked to an empty seat at the table.
"What?" she asked.
"Was just something BB said…'how does a bat teach a bird? Blindly.'"
"It is…one of Beast Boy's jokes," she said softly.
"Yeah," he chuckled, "I didn't laugh either."
They ate in silence as Cyborg took small breaks to remove a few parts from the communicator, taking a small card out of its case. Starfire placed her own communicator on the table and took a sip of her soda.
"There must be something we could be doing to assist," she said.
"I'm doing it. Besides, Batman told us to stay here until he calls us," he reminded her.
"I do not want to 'stay here,' we must find Beast Boy," she snapped.
"We will. He just doesn't want us to get caught like Beast Boy if its part of Joker's plan," he explained.
"When did he say that?" she asked.
"He didn't, I'm just guessing," he replied.
"At least Robin would have explained that or allowed us to assist in a more productive manner," she complained.
"I'll give Rob that, it's good that he didn't learn 'everything' from Batman," he added.
"I hope he and Raven arrive soon," she said.
"Yeah, could really use their help. Wish they hadn't left the tower with someone else in charge."
"Do you know what was wrong with Raven?"
"No idea. Guess she's better."
"This is…concerning. If it involves her powers, would that not mean that she would be dangerous…and what would 'better' mean?"
They both exchanged looks as they recalled the few times that Raven lost control and what it took for her to recover and regain control. If they had to rescue Beast Boy from the Joker's madness and contain Raven if her emotions overpowered her, they wondered if they would be capable of doing both. Batman went over what they could expect from Scarecrow earlier, how obsessed with fear he was, and what he did to bring it out in others. It was unsettling for them, but with Raven on the way and this threat looming, it felt like being stuck in front of an oncoming truck down a narrow street, unavoidable, imminent, and deadly. Her fear had gotten them all in trouble once before, it was not difficult to imagine it happening again.
Another thought occurred to Starfire, what fears might she and the others have, and would it make them as dangerous?
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It hadn't been an hour after they got settled in before Alfred summoned Robin and Raven downstairs to meet Batman. All three of them went back through the bookcase, into the elevator, Robin put his mask back on, and they went down into the batcave. It was fully illuminated now, revealing things that Raven had not seen upon her arrival. A large, black, stealth plane that was heavily modified sat on a runway that led out of the cave next to the osprey they had taken. A long, sleek, black car with small wings and a jet engine on the back sat on its own platform near the plane. There were several catwalks and a series of stairs that branched off and led to a medical area, an area with a series of dark, man-sized cases, a section with a large assortment of gear and equipment, and finally a table and desk with an ungodly number of computers and screens.
Alfred led them down the steps to the large, shadowed figure sitting before the biggest screen. On approach, the figure rose, and his cape swept behind him as he turned, revealing his masked face and the bat symbol emblazoned across the armor of his chest piece. He loomed over them as he closed the gap and looked down on all of them.
"I told you to stay in Jump," Batman stated, addressing Robin.
"And I told you to take care of my team," Robin replied coolly, "I guess we both messed up."
"He didn't listen, he wasn't being careful, and he didn't focus. What's the basic principle?" Batman asked.
"'Never let your guard down,'" Robin replied, "he knows that."
"If he had, Joker wouldn't have caught him," Batman said, before turning his attention to Raven.
A long silence stretched between them, as Robin held his ground and Batman's gaze pierced Raven, studying her for a time. Her stoic expression was eerily similar to Batman's, and he was having difficulty getting a read on her. She felt as though she was being analyzed, molecule by molecule as the silence dragged.
"You know more than you should, which is why you're here and the rest of your team isn't," Batman told her first, "how did that happen?"
"I helped Dick once, he was seeing things that we couldn't, so he let me see through his eyes, and let me into his mind…I couldn't choose what I saw once that happened. We've shared a mental bond since, and it's been useful more than once," Raven explained.
"His trust in you is enough for me, but I'll say it once: While you're both here, you'll do as I say, you'll act when I do, and you, Raven, will keep every secret of mine just as you've kept his. Are we clear?" Batman explained.
"Of course," she replied.
"Good. We can focus on Beast Boy now, there wasn't much to find aside from his communicator, but I'm tracing a few things-," Batman began.
"Uhhh, Bruce? We still need to talk," Flash interjected as he walked up from a lower balcony from behind them.
"Later, Barry, this is more important than-," Batman started again, turning around to face him.
"You've pointed half our surveillance at Gotham, and we're short on that enough as it is. And Alfred says you do it whenever Joker is involved," Flash replied.
"The surveillance systems in question were designed by my company, and I never use more than I need. Joker usually puts the entire city at risk and Gotham is one of the largest and most crime-infested cities in the world. Let me do my job and you can do yours. If you need help, ask, I'll push the tech your way," Batman explained.
"I would ask, but you haven't been answering us."
"I've been busy," Batman stated, indicating Robin and Raven.
"So, everything's cool? Nothing we can do to help?" Flash asked.
"I'd let you know. I'm still working on the full picture here," Batman replied.
"And, what's it look like?" Barry asked.
"Not good," was all Batman said, "Alfred can keep you posted, if you insist."
"Guess I'll hang out with the other Titans for a while, just in case. You'll know where to find me and I'll tell you if I need to dash."
"Good. You can help them while you're there," Batman said as he went back over to his chair and sat down.
"Yeah, see you Bruce," Flash said, before he took a few steps and tore out of the Batcave on foot, mimicking the noise of the batmobile with his mouth as he went.
Batman looked toward the cave exit for a moment and then turned back to the monitors.
"Bruce hates it when he does that," Robin said quietly to Raven.
"Can't say I'm a fan either," Raven replied dryly.
Alfred, Raven, and Robin joined Batman in front of the monitors, looking from one screen to the other. At least Alfred and Robin seemed to be used to it, this much information in front of her at once was more than enough for Raven, though she had been used to the Titans computer. The rest seemed to be focused on a screen with the map of the city and profiles of various locations.
"Going to widen the area, see if there's something in the outskirts," Batman said as he pressed a few buttons. The map gradually expanded to show more of the surrounding area, enclosing Gotham.
"Any unusual activity lately?" Robin asked.
"Plenty. That's part of our problem. Whatever Joker and Scarecrow have planned, its big, and they're not using old locations, but its hard to hide anything in the city. We would have found it by now," Batman replied.
"Maybe it's underground?" Raven suggested.
"I had thought so, but I've checked the sewer networks and subways, and Beast Boy swept the other underground areas. Cyborg was looking for places at ground level, and Starfire was canvasing the higher places in the city. There was only one window where we were out of contact for longer than fifteen minutes, and that's when Joker captured Beast Boy," Batman explained.
"Have Slade's weapons made it here yet?" Robin asked.
"No. They're due in the harbor tomorrow night, if the ship stays on course," Batman replied, "which it won't."
"Right, but they wouldn't take it while it was still out in the open sea, so…where will they bring it?" Robin asked.
"Most likely the old, abandoned docks just outside Gotham. Your tracker on the weapons should lead us to their location, unless Slade interferes," Batman replied.
"What if Beast Boy isn't at the same place the guns are going?" Raven asked.
"It's possible," Batman said.
"I can find him," she informed him.
"How?" he asked.
"I can sense things, if I'm close enough," she responded.
"You can start your search tomorrow night. After what happened, no one is going to be in the open during the day, so we're sticking to stealth," Batman said, "we'll split into two groups, one will look for Beast Boy, the second will follow the weapons."
"Were they searching during the day while you were going around as Bruce Wayne?" Robin asked.
"Appearances have to be maintained. You know that. Oh, and you're not going back up into the manor with those on," Batman replied, referring to Robin and Raven's uniforms.
"Quite so, Master Wayne. I have taken the liberty of bringing some of your clothes down earlier, Master Grayson, and I have some clothes for you as well, Miss Roth," Alfred said.
Batman stood once more with a final glance at the monitors, then looked at Robin and Raven.
"There's something else I need to do tonight, but you two can change and go back upstairs for dinner," Batman said, as he started walking toward the stairs that led to the batmobile, "I'll be back later."
"Bruce," Robin began, "there's something else."
"What is it?" Batman asked, stopping on the stairs.
A sudden wave of anxiety struck Robin as he looked from Raven to Alfred. He wasn't sure why he was having trouble saying it, but his nerves were stealing his voice. He felt Raven move an inch closer to him. Not finding the words, he just looked from her to Batman's back. Alfred spoke for him, in a suitably gentle voice.
"Miss Roth is sharing Master Grayson's room," Alfred started.
Batman said nothing and didn't move.
"She's my girlfriend," Robin managed to add.
No one moved for several moments. Eventually, slowly, Batman turned around and walked back over to Robin and put a hand on his shoulder, then a hand on Raven's and looked between them, his expression still stoic, and unreadable.
"Never tell anyone beyond your team. Never show affection in public. It can be used against you by our enemies," Batman warned.
Robin looked at Raven and Alfred took a step forward, but Batman stopped him, then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I am happy for you, Dick. Look after each other, and don't take it for granted…it's rare in our line of work," Batman said, "you can tell me more later, but I need to get moving."
Again, Batman turned and headed for the batmobile while Alfred showed Robin and Raven over to a small area up on the landing with the man-sized cases where two bags of clothes sat. Alfred passed one to Raven and the other to Robin. All three looked down over the railing as the sound of the batmobile roared to life in the cave, the platform turned and connected to the runway, then it shot out of the cave like a rocket from a tube.
"You may change here, I shall wait for you by the elevator," Alfred said, leaving Robin and Raven alone.
Reaching into the bag, Robin pulled out some black khakis and a white dress shirt, with black dress shoes, while Raven retrieved a lengthy blue skirt and light blue blouse with a pair of dark blue heels. She smiled at the color choice but groaned upon finding the heels. Robin shrugged and they both undressed. Putting on the new clothes, Raven was surprised at how well they fit. Robin's were a little tight but fit all the same.
"What do you think?" Raven asked, turning around in front of Robin.
"Looks great. Surprised to see you in anything else but your uniform," Robin replied, "how do I look?"
"Very nice," she said.
"You look better without anything on," he said quietly as he put his uniform in the bag.
"Giving you ideas?" she asked as she did the same with her uniform.
"A few," he replied with a smirk.
"Shame you can't act on them until we're back at the tower," she observed as she picked up the bag and stumbled forward, unused to her heels.
"We'll see about that," he chuckled as he grabbed his own bag and helped her down the stairs and they walked to the elevator where Alfred stood waiting for them.
"Much better," Alfred approved, looking from one to the other, "shall we?"
"Let's," Raven said, as they all stepped into the elevator.
"Alfred?" Robin asked.
"Yes, Master Grayson?" Alfred responded.
"Did Bruce tell you what he was doing tonight?" Robin asked.
"I'm afraid not. However, it would not surprise me if he had been summoned by Gordon," Alfred said.
"Bad sign," Robin said to Raven.
"His sign, sir. The bat signal is never used to summon him for good news," Alfred said, the second statement more for Raven than Robin.
As they rode the elevator up to the ground level, Robin wondered what new tragedy had struck, and hoped with all his heart that it was not related to Beast Boy.
