Bō
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Robin was now certain that New York City had no need for a Titans branch, because it had skilled mutant ninja Turtles guarding it already. (Meanwhile, Beast Boy finds a kindred spirit within this new team, and enemies team up to bring them all down...)
Katarou had not been raised by the code of Bushido, but he still thought he was honorable.
Oh, who was he kidding. He did things not really for honor, but for his reputation, and his own personal gain.
So when he was approached by a man known as the Shredder and was offered a large sum of money to take down his enemies and any of his enemies' allies, he seriously considered it. There was a lot of money up for grabs. The trouble was, he didn't want to be bested by teenagers like Robin again; that had been his greatest embarrassment.
But perhaps this would be a way for retribution...
He found the contact information left with him and decided to keep a close hold on it. He might need it soon.
Beast Boy was relentless, Robin noticed.
The changeling had been trying to snatch his communicator ever since he returned from New York, determined to find out who these new heroes the leader had met really were. The former protégé of Batman was forced to resort to drastic measures to keep the youngest Titan out of his hair and away from his friends, including sealing his communicator in a near-impossible-to-open case.
It wasn't going to be enough, he realized. A month later, when he left the room to respond to a call from Donnie, he had noticed a little green spider following him (and really, he wouldn't have noticed if not for Batman's training). After a quick threat to squash the arachnid, Beast Boy had scuttled away - that time.
The saying 'curiosity killed the cat' was going to come true if Beast Boy didn't watch it.
Well, maybe it wouldn't. Beast Boy was not only relentless, but he could also be quite cunning and inventive.
Even the most high-tech security was penetrable - to anything microscopic. (Well, at least, he thought so - Beast Boy was fairly certain Robin didn't have access to the crazy tech that hospitals and labs used to keep viruses and bacteria away from the human populous.)
So finally, the changeling gave it a try - and was rewarded. Now a rat sat in the briefcase next to the communicator, quickly and surely flipping through the different locations that had been called.
The most recent was New York City. Of course. Now to see if Robin had any pictures of the mysterious heroes...
Oh. Beast Boy blinked at the picture that greeted him, a bit startled. The green, Turtle-like creature was most certainly not what he had been expecting...
Yet Beast Boy still wanted to meet these people, no matter what. He was headed to New York.
"Where's Beast Boy?"
The blank looks that greeted Robin made the leader sigh. "Has anyone seen him recently?"
Cyborg shook his head. "I haven't seen the grass stain since yesterday..."
"Nor have I, Robin," Starfire added. Raven frowned.
"I thought I heard him this morning, but when I checked his room he wasn't there. He's gone."
Robin growled under his breath. "Well, where could he have...?"
Then it dawned on him. "Crap."
These ninjas were not the most attentive. Then again, they probably didn't know the spider spying on them was really a person.
Beast Boy was intrigued. He had never seen anything like these Turtles - or their father figure, a humanoid Rat. In all honesty, he just wanted to meet them even more now that he had seen them with his own eyes.
Oh, sure, Robin was probably going to kill him for this, but it was going to be worth it...he hoped.
Though, judging on how tense the group was, even when their female human friend was in their home, it would not be wise to reveal himself in their home - or to all four at once. Best to wait and meet one or two at a time.
Ah, and there went the orange and purple masked one. The purple one he recognized from the one picture Robin had - he was, in fact, the only one fully visible in the picture, and that was all Beast Boy had been expecting to meet at first. Well, maybe those two would be welcoming...
The fact that they liked pizza made Beast Boy respect them even more. They were quite good at getting it without revealing themselves, too. Beast Boy had to admire them - though he wasn't sure about how he felt about them getting the meat lover's special.
"You know, the vegetarian special is so much better."
When the two heads turned to him, Beast Boy had to ask himself what he was thinking. This was so stupid. For all he knew, the two were going to kill him.
But it was obvious that while the purple one was wary, the orange one was intrigued about him. "You're...green. Are you a mutant?"
Purple snorted. "Way to be subtle."
Orange shrugged. "What? He's green - it's a valid question."
Beast Boy chuckled - he liked Orange already. "Um, sorta? I'm not fully human, though I started out that way."
"Oh, so you're like - mmph!" The rest of Orange's question was cut off when Purple slapped a hand over his mouth.
"If you're not 'fully human'," Purple muttered, turning his glare from Orange to Beast Boy, "but you're only 'sorta' a mutant, then what are you?"
"Well, I'm Beast Boy, of the Teen Titans," the changeling said, as if it explained everything. At the still slightly confused looks, he added, "I can change into different animals - see?" He promptly turned into a mewling kitten, then morphed into a snarling tiger, and back again to human.
Purple let his hand fall from Orange's mouth, saying, "Oh, so you're the one Robin mentioned..."
Ah, now they were getting somewhere! "So you do know Robin? Ha! Awesome! Ever since he came back from New York I'd been wondering who he met here that could convince him to leave the city alone! OK, so you know who I am, so now who are you guys?"
Purple opened his mouth, but Orange interrupted him. "I'm Michelangelo, but call me Mikey. This is my brother Donatello."
"Just call me Donnie, or Don," Donatello said, a small smile on his face.
Beast Boy grinned, his fangs gleaming. "No problemo, dude. You can just call me BB, or B, or whatever floats your boat."
Mikey grinned at this, waltzing over and slinging the arm that wasn't carrying pizza around Beast Boy's shoulder. "So, what makes you say the vegetarian special is better than this baby right here?"
"Well, I guess I'm a bit biased - I'm a vegetarian, you know? I've been most of the animals you eat."
As the two continued to walk and talk, trailed after them, sighing. "Oh, these two are going to be best friends forever, and I'm never going to get any peace and quiet."
While Beast Boy didn't meet the other two Turtles that day, he had handed Mikey his own Titans communicator after a heated argument between the Turtle brothers so that he could keep in touch with Beast Boy, too. (Donnie was against it, saying that Mikey broke or lost almost everything, but Mikey restated that it wasn't fair that Donnie was the only one with a communicator. The Turtle relented, but told Mikey to keep quiet about it so that Splinter didn't kill them and so that Raph and Leo didn't get jealous.) It was indeed the start of a beautiful friendship.
Assuming Robin let Beast Boy live. The changeling was in for quite a treat when he got home.
"BEAST BOY! You are SO DEAD!"
"Aw, c'mon, dude, they're totally awesome! I mean, Donnie and Mikey are, I didn't meet Leo or Raph..."
"Beast Boy...!"
As Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah and ran for his life, Raven sighed. "These people Robin met in New York must be something special."
Cyborg snorted. "No kidding. It's obvious they want to be kept a secret for a reason, too."
"Perhaps we should go and meet them, too!" Starfire suggested. Her two teammates looked at her, somewhat startled.
"Star, I really don't want Robin trying to kill me, either."
"Oh."
Cyborg chuckled. "Well, sooner or later bird boy is gonna have to introduce us..."
It was most likely going to be sooner than later.
Katarou knelt before the man in the impressive armor. "I accept your request, Oroku Saki."
Though the assassin could not see it behind the helmet, the man was smirking. "Excellent. Splinter and his pupils do not stand a chance."