A Desperate Search
With their drink supplies restocked and their cups refilled, the Titans decided to take a small break before continuing on with their story. As the Titans sat silently and drank their beverages; Gordon was busy jotting down all that he'd heard, so far into a notepad. "So...let's recap what's been said here" the commissioner murmured, "your friend/teammate, Beast Boy suddenly vanished while on patrol and no one else had seen any sign of him since then?"
With a heavy heart, Robin let out a deep sigh and murmured one simple word; "yes." Upon seeing his former protégé in this state, Batman couldn't help but frown; not out of disappointment or anger...but in sadness. He knew how close he probably was to his team; thus, losing any of them was like the equivalent of being shot...it was all very painful.
"That's when he and his team decided to call upon me" muttered the Caped Crusader, "along with...a few others." After hearing the mention of others being involved, Gordon asked if they got assistance from the Justice League or Robin's old comrades from the Young Justice branch. "That was my first idea...but then, I realized something" Robin replied, "I felt that if we did contact them, whoever kidnapped Beast Boy would know we were onto them and finish him off before we could find him."
The moment this idea was brought up, the Titans collectively grimaced with disgust. "Dude...do not put that image in my head" Cyborg groaned, "I'm still havin' trouble with letting go of what we already saw!" Almost immediately, Robin realized his small error and apologized to everyone for it; before continuing.
"So...when I realized calling all of them would be too big of a risk, I chose to call on Batman" he stated, "but then, I had one other idea." His curiosity piqued, Gordon asked who else Robin was able to contact. "Because of their connection to Beast Boy, we felt they were the obvious choice" Raven explained, "it was his old superhero team...the Doom Patrol."
Admittedly, Batman had not met with this team of "heroes" face-to-face before. But he was rather familiar on the histories of every one of the current members. There was the former Hollywood actress (Rita Farr/Elasti-Girl,) the famous racer who suffered a severe accident (Cliff Steele/Robotman,) the military pilot who suffered severe radiation burns in space while piloting a test plane (Larry Trainor/Negative Man) and several others. In all the time he knew about Robin's group, he never realized that one of its members was part of another hero team beforehand.
When asked why Beast Boy defected from the group, the Titans suddenly tensed up. "He didn't 'defect' from the Doom Patrol, Batman" Robin answered bluntly, "he was kicked out due to the incredibly bull-headed leader, Mento favoring victory over the lives of his own team." Curious, Commissioner Gordon asked him to elaborate more on that.
"In a way, he's a lot like Batman" the Boy Wonder replied, "both of them are geniuses, they have tech that's far beyond anyone else's (with Mento's being his helmet,) they're rather...overly-serious and they have...connections with very rich people." From here; Robin explained that Mento had "connections" with one, Steve Dayton. Dayton was No.5 among the world's most wealthy individuals, which nearly put him on the same level as Bruce Wayne. "I'm familiar with him" murmured Batman, "I'm also familiar with him falling out with Ms. Farr, before Beast Boy's disappearance."
It took almost four minutes for the Titans to recover from this sudden "bombshell" of a reveal. During their moment of silence, the team felt thankful that Beast Boy wasn't present to hear this news. "Funny...when we got to the Patrol's HQ and saw that Mento wasn't there, we just thought he went on a solo mission" Cyborg blurted out, "we had no idea all that stuff happened."
At first, Batman felt like bringing the team up to speed on things. But he soon realized that the matter was far too complicated to discuss, at the moment. "We'll talk about that later" he said simply, "right now, we need to get back to business."
The Titans nodded silently in understanding and bade Robin to continue the story. "Sometime after I've contacted you, the team and I made our way up to New York" he explained, "it was here that we sought out Doom Manor, the home/headquarters of the Doom Patrol."
(Flashback to Doom Patrol Manor)
As we come back to our story; we find the Titans in the T-Car riding side-by-side with the Batmobile through East Hampton, New York. For almost two hours, both vehicles zoomed through street after street; searching for something. "The mansion should be around her someplace" Robin said through the communicator, "keep your eyes open, everyone."
Eventually, the T-Car's scanners found the address at the edge of town and pulled into the driveway. Truthfully, this was the team's first time visiting the estate since they've met the Doom Patrol. Needless to say, Cyborg was quite awestruck by the size of it and presumed Beast Boy had been "holding out on them."
"How come grass stain never told us his old team was rich" he exclaimed, "makes me wonder why he begged me so much for cash." After rolling her eyes slightly; Raven suggested that after he parted ways with them, it was possible that he didn't want their money. "Still, I can't believe this is the patrol's HQ" Cyborg stated, "I always thought they had an underground base or something."
At first, the other Titans were prepared to shoot down their cyber-teen friend's idea; believing it sounded too preposterous to be real. But then, they realized two things; the first one being that Batman himself had an underground HQ (of sorts.) Therefore, the idea didn't seem too out there. The second matter was that Cyborg's statement reminded them of something Beast Boy would say; which made them feel quite sad.
"This is Dayton Manor, a mansion built by Steve Dayton himself" Batman deduced, "or as you all probably know him...Mento." To say that the Caped Crusader's words surprised the Titans would be an understatement. "How'd you know Mento and this...'Steve Dayton' are the same person" questioned Starfire, "none of us mentioned anything."
In response to her inquiry; Robin explained that as the "World's Greatest Detective," Batman had his way of figuring these things out. "So, what do we do now" questioned Raven, "do we knock or just...barge in?" No sooner had she said this, an alarm suddenly rang out and a series of weapons appeared out of the grass and around the house; ready to fire."
(Back to reality)
Back in the Interrogation Room; Gordon found himself struggling to hold back a laugh, which caused Batman to shake his head slightly. "C'mon, Jim; it's not that funny" he murmured, "none of us knew they had a security system, even me." After taking a moment to calm down, Commissioner Gordon cleared his throat and urged everyone to continue."
"Right...so; once the system was activated, we were all prepared to defend ourselves" Robin explained, "Raven even considered using her powers to short everything out." When asked if she went along with the idea, the young empath shook her head in reply. "Didn't need to" she stated, "just as we were ready to defend ourselves, all the guns and the alarm suddenly shut off."
As Robin took over the story again, he explained that they were all turned off from inside the mansion. "That was when the Doom Patrol came outside" he stated, "and they didn't look too keen on seeing us, at first."
(Flashback: Outside Doom Manor)
As the array of guns took aim, the Titans and Batman took defensive positions; expecting an attack. But just as quickly as they appeared, the alarm slowly died down and the guns all simultaneously deactivated themselves. "Huh...What's going on" questioned Robin confusedly, "Batman, did you...have anything to do with this?"
The Dark Knight shook his head and assumed someone inside the house must've seen their arrival and deactivated the security system. Surely enough, his assumption was correct; as the front doors of the mansion suddenly burst open. Not long after, everyone soon spotted a large metal man marching towards them.
"I thought we told you idiots last time" he grumbled bitterly, "we don't want what you're selling!" Naturally, this outburst confused Starfire a little and she asked Robin if Robotman had them confused with someone else. "He's probably mistaking us for sales people, Star" murmured Raven, "you know...those obnoxious guys that always come around trying to sell hair brushes, vacuum cleaners and stuff to people?"
The young Tamaranean gasped softly in understanding and did her best to politely inform Robotman that he was mistaken. "C'mon, dude...look at us" Cyborg exclaimed, "don't you remember, we're Beast Boy's friends!" Upon hearing this, Robotman stared at the four teens intently while also passing a brief glance onto Batman as well.
Finally, it all came together for him and his demeanor began to soften a little (which was weird; considering his robot face didn't quite emote that much.) "Sorry, kids; force of habit" sighed Robotman, "you'd be surprise how many people come here wanting money from this place." After that was settled, everyone got the chance to get a good look at their robot comrade.
As expected, Robotman still possessed his copper chassis; as well as what looked like a communicator device on his chest. But now; he appeared to be dressed in a black leather jacket, a t-shirt that read "Gabba Gabba Hey" on the front, jeans with tears on the knees and had a pair of specially made rubber boots over his robot feet. "Wow! Diggin' the new look, man" Cyborg complimented, "makes ya look real tough."
Robotman smiled (or lack thereof) at the teen and said it was a miracle his clothes were able to fit him at all. "Had this jacket of mine since my racing days" he said fondly, "happy to see it survived my crash." After that, he took another look at Batman and tilted his head in confusion.
"I know you, you're that vigilante from Gotham" he surmised, "what are you doing with these kids?" In response, Robin said that he and Batman had history together; which Robotman remembered quite vividly. "So, what brings you to the mansion" he asked, "I don't remember anybody giving you guys a call...do we even know your number?"
The Titans politely disregarded the question and asked if they could come inside. "You should get the rest of the team together as well" Robin suggested, "there's something important we need to tell you all." While the request seemed rather odd to him, Robotman still conceded to it and led everyone inside the mansion.
(Line Break)
Within moments, everyone had gathered within the parlor and had taken their respective seats. Upon looking over the rest of the team; the Titans discovered that, like Robotman, the remaining members of the Doom Patrol have also changed since last they've seen them. Elasti-Girl was dressed in a 1950's-style semi-formal dress, black high-heels and had a gold strap necklace on.
As for Negative Man, the only thing that remained the same was the bandages he wore around his head and hands. The rest of his look however, had a few upgrades. He had a pair of plastic sunglasses on his head, a shearling trench coat, a green sweatshirt underneath it, slim-fit jeans and long black boots.
In all honestly, it felt odd seeing the team "out of uniform." But Robin guessed that after Elasti-Girl's supposed falling out with Mento, they did away with their team look; deciding to appear a bit more casual from then on. The last one to enter the room was a fellow that seemed relatively new to the team.
He was a dapper-looking gentleman with a full-faced red beard and a head of matching red hair. He wore a brown dress jacket, a yellowish-white undershirt and a black tie. But the most noticeable feature about the man was the fact he was confined to a wheelchair; which led Robin to presume that he was a paraplegic.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I speak for us all when I bid you welcome to 'Doom Manor'" the man said politely, "I am Dr. Niles Caulder...but the team here knows me best as Chief." Upon hearing the man's name, Batman's eyes grew wide beneath his cowl. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor" he said in greeting while shaking Niles' hand, "I wasn't aware that you were affiliated with these heroes."
Without hesitation, Robotman admitted that Dr. Caulder had been a big help for each of them; after their accidents. "Doc here was the one who put my brain in this body" he said while patting his chest lightly, "it ain't pretty...but I'm still kickin'." Just as the rest of the Patrol was prepared to discuss their own histories with Caulder, Raven raised her hand to silence them.
"We can deal with these pleasantries later" she murmured bluntly, "right now, we've got serious business to discuss." With that statement, the Doom Patrol's collective demeanor immediately went into "Business Mode." "Yes, of course; my apologies for almost getting off-track" Caulder muttered apologetically, "what can we all do to help you?"
For a moment or two, the Titans sat in silence; unsure of what to say or how they should say it. Even Batman felt wary on how to break the news to all of them. Upon sensing the group's silence, Elasti-Girl begged for someone to speak up.
"We...uh...We don't know how to tell you this, Ma'am" murmured Cyborg, "but...recently, we were on patrol and...and..." Unable to continue on further, Cyborg turned towards Robin; hoping that he would be more successful. Alas, even the normally firm Boy Wonder found it difficult to tell the truth.
"GODDAMMIT, WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TALK ALREADY" roared Robotman, "all this waiting is giving me a headache!" With that, the Titans were given just the push they needed to speak up. "Everyone...during our patrol, Beast Boy...he's disappeared and we don't know where he might've gone" Robin muttered hesitantly, "I'm...I'm sorry."
Upon hearing that their teammate and youngest member of their surrogate family had suddenly vanished, the Doom Patrol tensed up with shock. For what felt like ages, no one on either side had spoken a word. Then, everyone could see Rita's hands clenching at the armrests of her chair tightly; which was definitely not a good sign.
As if sensing her rage, Negative Man cleared his throat and asked the team if they had any idea on who might've taken Beast Boy captive. "At the moment, no" Batman replied, "but before Robin called me for help, something else was going on in my neck of the woods." With a sarcastic grunt, Robotman proclaimed that the Caped Crusader's issues were completely irrelevant to the situation.
"On the contrary, Cliff" murmured the Chief, "the fact that Batman's business seemed to have happened just as Beast Boy went missing seems like a rather odd coincidence." With this in mind, Dr. Caulder asked Batman to reveal his findings to everyone; hoping it would help in their situation.
"To make a long story short, Gotham City has not seen much from one of its most notorious felons" muttered the Caped Crusader, "he's someone whom both Robin and I have had many encounters with...Joker." The moment this name was mentioned, there was a mixed response of confused and disturbed murmurs. While Star wasn't fully familiar with Joker's history with Robin; from the look she saw on his face, she presumed he was a "Slade-level threat."
Meanwhile, the Doom Patrol claimed they only heard small tidbits about him; mostly about the sort of weapons he used. Lastly, Raven felt like they weren't in too much danger. "Think about it, how dangerous could someone called 'Joker' be" she asked sarcastically, "what will he do, put a whoopee cushion in the T-Car...spray us with a squirting flower?"
There were times, in the past where Robin didn't pay much mind to Raven's sarcastic attitude like the others did. But in this situation, her comments felt rather disrespectful and he was prepared to let her know that. "Laugh now, Raven" challenged the Boy Wonder, "but when you find yourself sprayed with toxic laughing gas, being gnawed at by chattering teeth or electrocuted by a joy buzzer that generates 50,000 volts...don't come crying to me!"
Both teams were taken aback by his words, shocked to hear him speak so viciously to a friend. But Batman on the other hand, remained indifferent on the matter; knowing full well the severity of the matter. "Robin speaks the truth" he stated, "I've dealt with Joker many times and despite his namesake, he is not one to be underestimated."
With that in mind, all the pieces started to fall into place. At the moment, it seemed possible that the reason why Joker hadn't been seen in Gotham that much could've been due to him spreading his chaos to another city. He recalled a similar incident where he tried to help one Lex Luthor kill Superman in Metropolis, long ago.
"Well, if this 'Joker' is the one holding my Garfield hostage; we've gotta find him before it's too late" Elasti-Girl decreed, "I failed him once before after Mento kicked him off the team...I will not fail him again!" With that said, the Doom Patrol agreed to join the Titans and Batman in their search; which they happily welcomed.
(Back to Reality)
After this point in the story, the Titans decided to take a brief pause and calm their nerves with some cocoa. In the meantime, Commissioner Gordon was writing down the last bits of what he'd just been told. "Okay...there we go" he murmured, "so, did having some extra eyes and ears help in your search?"
Sadly, the Titans shook their heads in sorrow; proclaiming that upon returning to Gotham, they immediately began to search every part of the city. Yet even with so many people helping, they didn't find any clues to where Beast Boy or the Joker could be. "We've looked for any possible leads, grilled every small-time crook that seemed remotely connected to Joker" Robin grumbled, "Rita came close to losing her cool on several occasions."
When asked what the woman did, during these specific moments; Raven confessed that she attempted to use her powers on them. "With her abilities to stretch and grow her body in numerous ways, she already had a few ideas on how to intimidate these criminals" she explained, "at one point, she grew up to giant-size and almost crushed someone to death in her hands." Upon bringing up this particular moment, the Titans collectively shivered with fear; wondering what might've happened, if Batman didn't intervene.
"I can honestly say I don't blame Ms. Farr for her actions" Gordon sighed, "according to records; by taking in your friend as part of their team, Beast Boy seemed to be the closest thing she had to a son." Upon hearing these words, Robin and Raven's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. All this time, they never realized just how deep Beast Boy's connection was with certain members of his old team.
"Sadly, no matter what we did; we were still no closer to finding our friend" Starfire said with a sad sniffle, "this went on for a month and a half...until at last, we found something."
(Gotham City: Rooftops)
After almost two months of nothing but dead ends, Batman and the Titans were beginning to fear the worst; that Beast Boy may truly be gone. But then, the former got a message from one of his partners (a young lady named Oracle) about a strange object being seen on one of the rooftops downtown. At first, Starfire believed it could've been Beast Boy.
But Robin believed they still needed to be careful, thinking that this was one of Joker's tricks. "Enough talk, let's get moving" Elasti-Girl shouted, "every minute we waste standing here means another instant where Garfield could be suffering...so, GET MOVING!" Not needing to be told twice, everyone hurried off to the location revealed in Oracle's message.
As they approached the building in question, the Titans and Doom Patrol suddenly spotted something on the center spot of the roof. From their current position; they couldn't clearly make out what it was, unfortunately. But it looked to be like some kind of giant box.
"Maybe the kid's trapped inside of it" Negative Man suggested, "we better get him out right quick." With that said, everyone hurried over to the next rooftop and found...what looked like a giant-sized Jack-in-the-Box. While Raven, Cyborg and Starfire stared at this object in utter confusion; Batman and Robin suddenly tensed up.
Then, before anyone could say a word; the duo took out a throwing weapon (a Batarang for Batman and a Birdarang for Robin) and threw it at the box's latch. The combined projectiles struck it dead center, causing the lid to suddenly fly open. What popped out, much to their surprise, was what looked like a paper jester made in the likeness of Beast Boy.
Around its neck was what looked like some sort of scarf and it let out an eerie recorded version of Beast Boy's trademarked laugh. For a moment or two; the heroes didn't know whether to be confused, angry, annoyed...or some combination of the three. But before anyone could think anymore on the matter, the jester's head suddenly split apart; revealing what looked like a grenade.
"It's a trap" Batman exclaimed, "EVERYBODY, TAKE COVER!" Without needing to be told twice, Raven gathered everyone close to her and summoned up a magic shield barrier with her powers. Then, mere seconds later; the grenade exploded and the Jack-in-the-Box was destroyed.
Though relatively unharmed, the Titans and Doom Patrol felt hugely displeased with themselves; ashamed that they fell for such an obvious trick. But then, they noticed the scarf floating down towards them and it appeared to still be in one piece; despite a few minor tears from the explosion. When it finally landed, Batman took the thing in hand and saw that it wasn't a scarf...it was a tattered straightjacket.
Upon inspecting the garment, seconds later; he came across something that made his blood run cold. With the aid of her powers, Raven could sense Batman's sudden change in emotion and asked what was wrong. "Everyone...I know where Joker's taken your friend" muttered the Dark Knight, "he's gone to Arkham!"
(First AN: Ooh boy...just when things seem to be looking up, Fate comes along and rips the carpet from under your feet; tripping you up in the process. What will our heroes find at Arkham Asylum, what is Joker plotting on doing with our green hero and will everyone be able to save him in time? Tune in next time, to find out!)
(Second AN: The Doom Patrol's looks in this chapter are a blend of elements from both the comics and the Live-Action DC Universe Online Series, Doom Patrol. Even though they didn't look as I've described within the Titans Cartoon. I thought it would be a nice touch to give them each a new look, considering how long it's been since they last saw the Titans.)
(Third AN: The "falling out" between Mento and Elasti-Girl is in reference to something that happened within the comics. To make a long story short, it seems that Steve had used his helmet's powers on Rita's mind on numerous occasions. Understandably; she divorced him, the moment she found out about all this.
To be honest, I always knew he was a jerk.)
(Fourth AN: Though Niles hasn't appeared within the Titans cartoon series, I felt that he needed to hear what happened to BB. I'm also aware of some...shady parts of his record. But such things won't be mentioned within this story...at least, not right away.)
(Final AN: The Joker teaming up with Luthor thing is a light reference to the Batman/Superman Adventures episode, World's Finest.)