The Last Laugh
After taking some time to calm down, the Titans were composed enough to continue with the remainder of their story. But at the same time, they couldn't help but tense up slightly; as if their minds and bodies were begging for them not to say anything else. It took every ounce of strength each of them had left to continue on.
"Once Joker had been...dealt with, we took Beast Boy back to the Tower" Robin murmured, "we hoped that being at home again would help ease his mind...boy, were we wrong."
(Flashback to Titans Tower)
After bringing him back to Jump City, the Titans' ship landed on the roof of their "T" shaped home. Normally, the team would be buzzing with joy after a successful mission. But in this case, there was very little to celebrate over. Not only had they come dangerously close to losing Beast Boy but the Joker's demise still left them feeling quite dirty.
Speaking of whom; after all the tears he'd shed back at Arkham, the little guy became exhausted and fell asleep in Elasti-Girl's arms. As much as he didn't want to tear the two apart, Robin softly pleaded for her permission to take him home. He thought that being back in more familiar surroundings would help Beast Boy forget about what he went through.
In that moment, Elasti-Girl found herself horribly conflicted. On one hand; she didn't want to leave her surrogate son's side, after everything that happened. But on the other, she realized that he didn't have quite as many pleasant memories at Dayton Manor like he did with the Titans. So, after going against every single maternal instinct she had; Elasti-Girl consented.
"Hold up there, Rita" Robotman interjected, "we'll let the kid go back with you...on the condition that we come and visit periodically." Before any of the Titans had the chance to object, Dr. Caulder gave them a sullen look; which immediately silenced them. "Please, he's our teammate...our family" he begged, "I fear we won't be able to sleep at night without knowing he's improving even slightly."
At first, the Doom Patrol believed their wishes would be swiftly denied. But after only a half minute's consideration, the Titans agreed; realizing that Beast Boy was just as important to them as he was to their team. Satisfied with this decision, Elasti-Girl gave her sleeping ward one final kiss upon his cheek before gently placing him into the ship.
"Have a safe trip home, sweetheart" she whispered, "we'll see you real soon...I love you." While still too tired to speak clearly; in response to her words, Beast Boy suddenly let out a soft yet gentle moan (like a dog does in his sleep.) Then, everyone looked down and saw a smile creep over on his face.
But this wasn't the twisted Joker smile he had before, much to their relief. Though small; this was one of Beast Boy's true, genuine grins. Seeing this brought a tear to not only Elasti-Girl's eyes but some of the Titans as well.
"That's right, B...dream those sweet dreams" Cyborg whispered, "you've more than earned it." With that done; both hero teams said their goodbyes, climbed aboard their ships and headed off for home.
(Back to Reality)
By this point in the story, Commissioner Gordon was beginning to appear more relaxed; as if he were expecting an eventual happy ending to it. "So, what happened after you got back to the city" he asked, "did everything return to normal, in time?" As much as it pained them to do so, the team responded with a collective and sullen shake of their heads; which greatly confused the officer.
"Almost three weeks passed by since we brought Beast Boy home" Raven murmured, "but he barely showed signs of his old self, if at all." From here, she explained every attempt she and the team made to help cheer Beast Boy up. These ideas included but were not limited to Robin offering to play video games alongside him, Starfire offering to take him to the comic shop on her next venture to the "Mall of Shopping," Cyborg offering to cook up a vegan-friendly meal for him and Raven doing her attempt at one of his corniest jokes.
But much to their shock and disappointment, each of these ideas was met with the same result; silence. More than that; Beast Boy seemed to spend every day sitting in the Common Room, staring blankly out into space. On the rare occasion the team did hear him make any noises, Beast Boy would only let out a soft laugh or two.
This was odd for two specific reasons, the first one being that this particular laugh sounded like a softer version of his Joker-style laugh; which made even Raven's blood run cold. The second reason this alarmed the team was due to the fact he would let out this laugh at the strangest of times. This would occur during briefing sessions, meal times even when Raven was in the middle of meditation.
"In time, the Doom Patrol came to visit the tower and we explained to them what was going on" murmured the empath, "that's when Dr. Caulder asked me to help examine Beast Boy." Intrigued by her words, Batman asked what was done to perform the examination. "Nothing invasive, if that's what you're thinking" Cyborg stated, "truth is, they used a combination of Raven's powers and those from Mento's...helmet thing."
Upon mentioning this, Commissioner Gordon asked how the team gained possession of their former leader's helm. "You already know of Rita's divorce from Steve Dayton/Mento, correct" Robin asked, "well, much like in any divorce; she gained possession of a good chunk of her former husband's goods." This bit of news caused Jim to tense up; due to him experiencing such circumstances himself, long ago.
"Among the things Elasti-Girl took ownership of were the Mansion, her share of the Dayton Industries funds and of course, Mento's helmet" Robin listed, "she especially wanted to keep the third example away from his hands." Both Gordon and Batman nodded slightly in understanding and gestured for him to continue. "With Dr. Caulder using Mento's helmet and Raven using her telepathy, they were able to peer into Beast Boy's mind" Robin stated, "what they found was...utterly nightmarish."
Though they both already had a good idea on the answer, Batman and Commissioner Gordon asked Raven what it was she saw. "To put it in a word...everything" murmured the empath, "not just the torture Joker put him through but every other tragedy he suffered." From here, she told them of every atrocity Beast Boy had been subjected to.
These ranged from how he gained his powers, the death of his parents, losing a guardian to a horrific civil war in Africa, being forced to steal for crooks the moment he arrived in the U.S., almost dying from abuse at the hands of a man named Nicholas Galtry...the list seemed aimless. "The worst part was discovering the reason behind B's die-hard vegetarianism" Cyborg muttered while clutching at his gut, "apparently, those crooks forced him into eating meat; including a human hand!" To say that this reveal disgusted everyone would be an understatement.
Regardless; after taking a moment to calm down, Commissioner Gordon confessed how Beast Boy was able to appear so happy every day. "I surmised that this part of him was a sort of...coping mechanism" Raven stated, "kind of like with me and how I often appear rather deadpan around others." Upon saying this out loud, Raven suddenly shivered; realizing too late just how much alike she and Beast Boy truly were.
"Anyway...Once we were finished, Dr. Caulder gave us the 411" she murmured, "apparently, due to all the torture he endured; Beast Boy was left with severe mental and emotional damage." Before either Gordon or Batman could comment on her stating the obvious, Raven immediately stopped them, demanding that they let her finish. "As part of this trauma, Niles told us that Beast Boy was experiencing what medical science classified as the Pseudobulbar Affect" she explained, "or to put it simply, he was developing a sort of laughing disorder."
With this reveal, the police commissioner had a full understanding of what happened. Due to his psychological trauma and being subjected to Joker's toxins, poor Beast Boy now laughed at any random time of the day; even if he didn't want to. "With this information; our team and the Doom Patrol agreed to work together, once more" Starfire stated, "we hoped that our combined efforts would help ease friend Beast Boy's suffering."
When asked what steps were taken to try and help the young hero, the Titans answered with "basic things." These basic things included meditation sessions with Raven, walks around the tower's island with Starfire, going out to the arcade with Cyborg; anything that might help calm him down. Alas, whenever BB did laugh; it didn't feel genuine and it troubled everyone.
"When this was brought to my attention, I simply told the team 'just keep doing what you're doing...he'll recover, someday" Robin murmured bitterly, "boy, was I wrong in the end...and I paid the price for my ignorance."
(Flashback to Titans Tower)
One night, Cyborg and Robin decided to head out to the city and pick up a pizza for dinner. This left Raven and Starfire in charge at the tower for the time being. "B's upstairs in his room, chillin' out" the half-robot teen explained, "he should be okay until we get back."
Though Robin sided with his friend on his assumption, he still encouraged the girls to check on him every once in a while. "He's taking a much needed nap, right now" he whispered, "but don't be afraid to drop by his door and ask if he's okay." With that said, Robin followed Cyborg into the garage and got into the T-Car.
Meanwhile, in another area of the Tower; Beast Boy was sitting up at the edge of his bed, rubbing his face in anguish. He truly did try and take a nap, upon their return home; just like Robin said. But each time he tried, the image of Joker's face laughing at him kept haunting his subconscious.
To add insult to injury, there were periods where Beast Boy found himself involuntarily laughing in his sleep. Sometimes, these were soft giggles; the kind one makes when they hear a good joke or when they get tickled. But on his third attempt at sleep; Beast Boy suddenly bellowed out a mad sort of crazed laugh that was so loud, he had to cover his face with a pillow to muffle out the noise.
After failing to sleep soundly on his fourth attempt, he finally gave up and curled himself into a fetal position. "I...I c-c-ca-HA-HA-HA-an't take it anymore" he cackled painfully, "I've...I've...HA-HA-HA-HA...gotta d-d-do something to...m-m-make it s-s-stop!" As Beast Boy rocked himself back and forth on his bed, he desperately tried to think of some way to cease his mad laughter and feel at peace again.
Alas, the only things that ran through his mind were the sounds of himself screaming from the torture or Joker laughing maliciously at his pain. "Get a hold of yourself, dude" Beast Boy murmured while shaking his head, "maybe...maybe a hot shower will help you relax." With that in mind, he collected his casual clothes and made his way towards the bathroom
After almost an hour of scrubbing, washing and soaking himself; Beast Boy turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Normally, a warm soak is just the trick to help a person relax. But alas, it did little to help ease his troubled mind.
With trembling hands and a groan in his throat, Beast Boy made his way over towards the mirror to brush his hair. As he swiped his hand across the glass, Beast Boy took a good look at his reflection and frowned. His eyes appeared bloodshot (presumably from lack of sleep or crying,) he had bags hanging beneath them and he swore he spotted what were known as "smile lines" on his cheeks.
Needless to say, he looked like he'd been through Hell and back; which was not too far from the truth. Then, as he stared at his reflection; Beast Boy let out a soft yet sudden chuckle. At first, it didn't seem like nothing; until he let out a few more chuckles.
Before long, Beast Boy soon went into a full fit of painful laughter. Once or twice, he tried to compose himself enough to breathe properly but to no avail. Then, as he slowly began to lose himself to the laughter; Beast Boy saw that his reflection now resembled his "Lil J" likeness.
This sight horrified him so much, he smashed his fist against the glass; shattering it. Yet, in spite of the pain throbbing through his hand; poor Beast Boy continued to laugh like a madman. His madness only grew higher, as he gazed down at his reflection on each of the shattered glass pieces.
"I c-c-can't...I c-ca-HA-HA-HA...can't take it...anymore" he groaned through his laughter, "I've gotta make this stop!" In that moment, Beast Boy tried any conceivable option he could think of to stop himself from laughing. He tried splashing himself with the hot shower water, breathing exercises (like Raven taught him) even went as far as to punch himself in the face...but nothing worked.
When Beast Boy took another look at what remained of the mirror, he still saw the face of Lil' J staring back at him. To make matters worse; when he laughed, it now sounded more like Joker's iconic cackle. As he stood staring blankly at his reflection, tears of sorrow began to trickle down Beast Boy's cheeks.
"I can't stand it anymore" he cried mentally while still outwardly cackling, "this has to stop!" With this thought in mind, Beast Boy began to desperately search around the bathroom for anything that could help him calm down...but found nothing. In time, his eyes soon fell upon a large piece of mirror glass lying on the floor rug.
The sight of this object caused a Cheshire-Cat grin to slowly form upon his face, in spite the tears still flowing from his eyes.
(Line Break)
Deep in the tower's lower levels, the T-Car came rolling into the basement garage. Once it was neatly parked away, Cyborg and Robin stepped out of the vehicle, each carrying a stack of three pizza boxes. "I still think we bought one too many pizzas, Cyborg" Robin said firmly, "you and Star may be big eaters...but the rest of us aren't."
While holding his stack carefully, the metal teen faced his leader and said he "couldn't be too careful with everyone's orders." "You know how picky BB is" he stated, "not to mention that Star's the only one of us who eats chocolate dipped mustard pizza." Robin couldn't help but shudder in disgust at the pizza order, wondering how his girlfriend/teammate could stomach such odd concoctions.
"Besides; none of it will go to waste, if we don't eat it all" Cyborg assured, "I'll eat the leftovers myself." Just as Robin was about to lecture his teammate on his eating habits, Starfire suddenly burst through the door (quite literally.) Naturally, the boys were taken aback by this and tossed their pizza boxes into the air.
Thankfully, Star was able to catch them all and place them safely onto the ground; before continuing. "FRIENDS, YOU MUST COME WITH ME UPSTAIRS" she begged, "SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED!" Feeling both confused yet concerned at the same time, Robin asked her what happened while they were away.
"We cannot waste time talking, my friends" Starfire said frantically, "something heinous has happened to friend Beast Boy in the resting room!" After about ten seconds, the boys quickly realized that their friend was referring to the tower's bathroom. Then; when they put the words "Beast Boy," "bathroom" and "trouble" together in the same sentence; they couldn't help but roll their eyes slightly.
"What happened, Star; did B put hide a Cherry Bomb in the toilet" groaned Cyborg, "because if he did, he's the one paying for the repair bills!" Robin quickly seconded his friend's notion, while also adding his disdain for Beast Boy's bathroom pranks. "THIS IS NOT A PRANK, FOR X'HAL'S SAKE" Starfire shrieked, "OUR FRIEND IS IN A MOST DIRE STATE AND WE MUST HELP HIM!"
Before either of the boys had the chance to speak up, the Tamaranean princess grabbed them both by their arms and flew them up the stairs at lightning speed. When they arrived at the bathroom door, Robin swore he could hear the sounds of someone weeping inside. "That sounds like Raven crying in there" Robin thought to himself, "if his stupid prank hurt her in any way, I'm going too..."
With this notion in mind, the Boy Wonder reared himself back slightly and delivered a powerful kick to the bathroom door; knocking it open. What he and the others saw next however, would cause them to immediately regret their impatience. Lying sprawl in the bathtub with Raven crying at the side was Beast Boy, who bore a large bleeding slash across his throat.
A split second later, Robin also noticed that the bathroom mirror had been smashed; along with a blood-covered shard of it resting by Raven's feet. Both he and Cyborg simply stared down at their green comrade, utterly baffled by what they saw. "What the...WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE" demanded the robo-teen, "what kind of prank did B pull that would make you want to do this, Rave!?"
Feeling both shocked and offended by these accusations, the empath told everyone that she had no part in what happened. "I was just coming in to wash my hands for dinner" she croaked out while crying, "and when I came in, I just found Beast Boy lying here with his throat bleeding!" Before anyone else could speak, a soft yet painful cough suddenly rang out.
The other Titans looked down and saw Beast Boy breathing weakly in the tub. "B...dude, of all the stuff you did; this has to be among the dumbest ones" Cyborg murmured while shaking his head, "why the hell would you do this to yourself?" In spite of his pain, Beast Boy still managed to shed a few tears; as if he was feeling equally ashamed of his actions.
"I'm s-s-sorry, guys" he croaked out, "I c-c-couldn't help it, I just had to...had to make...the laughing...stop." With that final word; everyone watched in horror, as their friend and comrade closed his eyes forever.
(Back to Reality)
Back in the briefing room, everything was as silent as the grave. The Titans, after having finished their story, spent the next five minutes drying away their tears. At the same time; Commissioner Gordon came close to breaking the pencil he was currently writing notes with, he was so furious.
"Damn that fucking clown" he grumbled, "even after the kid killed him; in the end, he still managed to get the last laugh on you Titans." As much as they hated to admit it, Gordon's words rung true. They had never suffered a tragedy this terrible since Terra's sacrifice, ages ago.
Only this time, they felt even more emotionally devastated because BB was like the heart of their team. With him gone, not one of them believed they could recover. "I shouldn't have sent him off on his own" grumbled Robin, "if me or Cyborg...or even Raven teamed up with him for patrol, he'd still be here!"
Upon seeing his former protégé's grim demeanor, Batman did something he hardly ever did (least of all, in public.) He rose up from his seat, cautiously approached Robin from the front...and hugged him. Mind you, it wasn't a full one or anything like one of Star's bone-crushing embraces.
Rather, this was the sort of hug that one would give a friend or loved one; as if to say "don't be sad." "What happened to Beast Boy wasn't your fault, Dick" Batman stated, "no one could've known where Joker would strike or who would get caught in his crosshairs." In spite of the apparent truth in his former mentor's words, Robin still upheld his self-loathing behavior.
"But I'm the leader" he shouted, "no one is supposed to get hurt on my watch!" Batman shook his head at Robin and reminded him that high stakes were always part of hero life. "As for psychological damage...I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done to fully fix it" Commissioner Gordon added, "at least, you were able to help make his final moments meaningful."
Despite the genuine kindness in the two gentlemen's words, it did little to help ease Robin's guilt. Nor unfortunately, were they able to help lift the spirits of the other Titans. At the very least, all their emotional baggage was now laid out on the table; which meant that none of them would be held down by it from then on...hopefully.
"Well...if we're all done here, we best be going" Robin murmured, "we've got some calls to make, when we get back home." It didn't take someone with Batman's detective skills to understand why such calls were necessary but neither he nor Gordon said anything. Instead, they offered to give them an escort back home and help spread the word on their upcoming "get-together."
"Thank you...Thank you so much, Sirs" murmured Raven with a soft grin, "for both the escort thing, listening to us prattle on with our story and...everything else." Batman gave the young empath a genuine smile and nodded in response, as if to tell her "you're very welcome." With all that said and done, everyone stood up from their chairs and headed out towards the GCPD's main exit.
Now that their story was over, all the Titans had left to do was pick up the pieces of their broken hearts and prepare their final goodbyes.
(First AN: And so, our favorite green teen's suffering has come to an end. Hopefully, he will be more at peace in the next life. Now, all that remains is to prepare for the funeral; something that even Raven wouldn't want to see.
There is one chapter left, everyone and once it's over; we can finally let loose our tears. See you then)
(Second AN: Sorry if Beast Boy slitting his throat or his descent into madness seemed off to you all. I'm no expert on suffering psychological trauma, truth be told. But regardless, I wanted to try and make Beast Boy's situation all the more distressful as best as I could.
For example; I got the idea of Beast Boy suffering with the Pseudobulbar Affect/Pathological Laughing Disorder from the film, Joker. After seeing how much Joaquin Phoenix's character of Arthur Fleck suffered from his variation of the disorder, I thought it would fit perfectly if Beast Boy suffered the same thing; especially after what Joker did to him)
(Third AN: In regards to Elasti-Girl gaining ownership of Mento's helmet, Dayton Manor/the Doom Patrol Mansion and half of the money from Mento's company; considering what he did to her in canon with the comics, it's more than what that jerk deserved. For those of you who may seem confused; long story short, Steve Dayton used the powers from his helmet to manipulate Rita/Elasti-Girl into loving him.
When she broke free, Rita cut him out of her life like a bad habit. Furthermore, all the tragedies listed in this chapter that BB suffered are also canon within the DC universe. For clarification, I suggest reading up on the comics themselves or look up the info on Wikipedia)
(Final AN: Sorry if this chapter's title felt like I was simply copying and pasting it with the fic's title. I thought it would be a fitting one, in an ironic sense. What I mean is not only did Beast Boy have his own last laugh, before passing away.
But I like to think of this as Joker getting the last laugh as well, in a way. Even though the Titans "saved" their friend, what the clown did to BB was so scarring that hardly anyone could recover; hence the title "The Last Laugh")