Well, here I am, skipping school 'cuz my dad's having a surgery (a minor one, so it's not a big deal) and I have to watch my three-year-old sister. So I was like, hey, I'll update my story…and that led to this exact moment in time. I actually got to watch Teen Titans this morning (for the first time in MONTHS), and at first I was like, hey, I'm seventeen and obsessing over a cartoon…but about two seconds later I was all, oh well, and dug out my notebook. There's nothing like watching Slade wipe the floor with BB to perk up my mood and motivate an update.
Ehem…just warning you, there's a little blood in this chapter… (YES!). No, I am not overly excited about that tiny fact…at least not in front of all of you. And there's at least one part that I consider gross, and another that some of you might find gross as well. But remember that thing about Kool-Aid that I mentioned back in Silver Wing? If blood bothers you, pretend you're reading about red Kool-Aid. I was gonna mention guts and all kinds of other supposed-to-be-internal stuff as well, but then I realized I wouldn't be able to rate this teen anymore. So…just blood. And it's not TOO bad. Well, not for you, anyway.
DISCLAIMER – Why do I bother? I quite obviously don't own the poem Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning, nor do I own Teen Titans – if I did, you can bet it wouldn't be rated Y7. I do own James, and a bunch of spiffy Pilates stuff that I got for Easter. Man, Pilates is like, one of my new favorite things. But that has absolutely nothing to do with this story, so now I've officially wasted your time.
Porphyria
Chapter Ten – Destroying
Slade had known, without a doubt, that his plan would succeed. First, he would weaken the Titans internally, crippling and eventually taking one of their own. He'd keep his captive occupied and safely out of the way, and unleash his new pet on the city. The Titans would fight valiantly, but the city would crumple around them, and one by one their team would fall, until finally, they'd be defeated. It was all very simple, and required little effort on Slade's part.
But to be honest, he was more than a little disappointed. He'd expected more of the Titans, thought that they would hold out for longer, and fight harder. Obviously that wasn't true. Perhaps he'd shattered their resolve more completely than he'd anticipated, or maybe Raven was so powerful that they couldn't keep up without her powers, let alone stand a chance when said powers were used against them. Or could it be that the Titans were, in reality, a group of children, struggling to make a difference, who were doomed to be overwhelmed and ultimately fail?
And as far as Raven was concerned, it was surprising how easily she'd succumbed to pills and an exceptionally skilled liar. Her role had been the weak point of the plan, as Slade had assumed she would kick, fight, and scream rather than quietly take some unidentified medication. But according to Terra's reports, Raven, or Lucy, had settled into her new life, and was actually quite content to take up this new persona without question. Once again, Slade had overestimated the Titans.
None of that really mattered, though. Yes, things had been much easier than he'd foreseen, but why did that have to be negative? The Titans were falling apart, a powerful beast obeyed his every command, and Jump City would soon be the first in a long line of conquests.
Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
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It only took a month for the city to fall.
After the creature's first attack, the Titans had gone home puzzled, and maybe a little worried, but now they were running scared.
The first week had been quiet after the first attack, and the only casualties were a few abandoned buildings – it didn't even make the evening news.
The second week it began to escalate – there were two attacks, both downtown – and the second left Starfire unconscious for hours.
In the third week, the creature made its first kill. A girl -- brunette and no older than the Titans themselves – unaware of the chaos outside, had strolled out of a coffee shop and into the creature's path. Upon sighting the writhing, dark mass she'd frozen in the street, screaming as an inky black tentacle wrapped around her.
Her body had been shredded, utterly torn to bits, her blood running down to the sewer grates and staining the streets a deep, crimson red. And worse, it had happened right in front of the Titans, and they couldn't do a thing to stop it.
Nor could they stop the rampage that followed. The creature had taken to attacking every day since then, killing everyone it could reach. That had started a week ago, and the citizens had begun fleeing the city. Aside from the extremely brave, or extremely foolish, the Titans were all that remained. They'd called for backup, and the Titans East were due to arrive the following morning.
But that wasn't helping them now. In what used to be an industrial complex, the Titans were facing off against the creature once again, and running on their last legs. Everyone sported an injury of some sorts – from cracked ribs to cuts and sprains, they were in less than mint condition, to say the very least. None the less, they were still standing, so they still fought.
An inky tentacle shot out, and Robin dove right, evading it by mere inches. He rolled and tossed a bomb, which was followed by a barrage of sonic blasts and starbolts. Beast Boy shifted to an elephant, and effortlessly tossed debris in the creature's direction.
By now this was all routine, and completely ineffective. Although their attacks may have startled the creature at first, they had yet to do any damage, and as far as they could see, their enemy was only getting stronger. It had gotten to the point where'd they just dance around, creating a distraction until the creature grew bored and shot off into the sky, with a sound like the heavens were being torn in half. And with each day that passed, they were loosing ground.
And Beast Boy was sick of it. No matter how hard they tried, they weren't getting anywhere – the story of his life, at least as it had been the last six months. He was tired of feeling useless – but he'd been unable to shake the feeling. First he'd lost his arm, then Raven, and now the city. His entire life was coming apart at the seams, and he was powerless to stop it, just like he'd been powerless to prevent the deaths brought about by the creature.
But not anymore. One way or another, all of it was going to end today.
They'd tried every attack imaginable, and there'd been no effect. But they'd never tried attacking it from the inside -- probably because the chances of coming back out were slim to none.
Still, Beast Boy's mind was made up. He took in the scene -- Cyborg was shooting off blasts from his sonic cannon, near the base of the last remaining building in the area, and Starfire had pulled Robin into the sky for an aerial assault – not that they expected any results.
An inky tendril shot out towards him, and Beast Boy morphed to his green and silver hawk, barely dodging five more as he rose. That was all it took for him to loose his bearings and he spun off course, and crashed into the stone wall, feeling bones splinter at the impact. Stars exploded before his eyes and he fought to retain consciousness as he slid down the wall, landing at Cyborg's feet, shifting back to human form on instinct.
As he did his best to banish the pain and the haze clouding his eyesight, Beast Boy realized someone – Cyborg, to be exact – was pulling him to the back of the building, and out of the creature's sight.
"Beast Boy!"
Finally clearing his head, Beast Boy caught his friend's worried gaze and nodded.
"Y-yeah. I'm okay."
With that he rose, albeit shakily, and with a great deal of help from Cyborg.
"BB, are you sure--"
"I'm fine," Beast Boy cut him off, finally steadying himself.
Cyborg narrowed his eyes. "Nobody's 'fine.'"
It was true, but Beast Boy chose to ignore him all the same.
"Tell the others to pull back," he said instead, turning back towards the battle.
"What?"
"Look, just get them out of here." Beast Boy met Cyborg's skeptical look with an equally determined one.
"Wait, what are you--"
Cyborg fell silent as the ground shook – the pair looked up, only to realize that the building above them was finally collapsing, and they were directly in its path. Both bolted from the looming shadow, but only Beast Boy, recently shifted to a tiger, was able to completely escape, and the force sent Cyborg sprawling to the ground. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Starfire and Robin fell from the sky, just barely escaping a storm of black tentacles.
With nothing else in his way, Beast Boy headed straight for the creature, pausing only a few feet from its jet black form. He snarled, efficiently catching its attention, and the creature swiveled to face him. For a moment, both were utterly still, each waiting for the other's move.
Leaning back on his hind feet, Beast Boy pounced, sailing through the air towards the inky mass. He seemed to hang in the air just long enough to hope this would actually work, that it wouldn't all be in vain, before he was enveloped by the black mass.
An instant later he found himself drowning in darkness.
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Everything changed in a matter of moments. One minute, Beast Boy was beside him, and then he was pouncing towards the creature, and consequently swallowed up. Cyborg thought it was all over then, for all of them, but the creature reacted quite differently than he expected.
Instead of launching off into another killing rampage, the creature panicked. Roaring in fury, the dark creature released its victim -- Beast Boy fell to ground limply and lay there, twitching spasmodically. Still howling, the creature shifted and shot into the air, leaving the havoc and destruction behind.
Cyborg was the first to reach their fallen teammate. Beast Boy was covered in cuts and gashes, some mild and others bleeding freely. His left leg and wrist were both twisted at odd angles and obviously broken -- his eyes were unfocused and a trail of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Every few seconds his entire body would convulse, and with growing dread Cyborg's eyes flew to the tangled remains of Beast Boy's right arm. The metal was twisted and mangled, and Cyborg quickly realized that the arm was sending shocks throughout his body, causing the spasms.
"Get the car!" Cyborg shouted urgently, not caring who actually obeyed him, as long as someone did – and fast. Judging by the amount of blood already spreading across the ground, Beast Boy didn't have much time left.
He reached out and felt for a pulse, and was startled when Beast Boy spoke, his voice a ragged whisper.
"I saw…I saw…"
"Hang on, BB," Cyborg ordered, glancing over his shoulder. Robin was climbing into the T-Car, and Starfire was flying towards him. "Just keep still."
"…saw…"
Whatever it was Beast Boy was trying to say, it was obviously important to him. Cyborg leaned in closer.
"What? What did you see?"
Beast Boy's breathing was harsh and erratic, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open, let alone focused. Still, he did his best to look his friend in the eye as he delivered a message that shocked his friend into a stunned silence.
"It's her, Cyborg. It's Raven."
By the time Cyborg had regained enough composure to question further, Beast Boy had passed out, and the T-Car had pulled up beside them. After that moment, he didn't even have to time to consider what Beast Boy had said. He simply placed his friend in the back seat and took the wheel, stubbornly refusing to obey the speed limit. Starfire sat with Beast Boy, doing what she could to stop the bleeding, without any luck. Robin was silent, alternating between watching the road and Beast Boy's uneven breaths. The ride back to the tower had never seemed so agonizingly long.
By the time Cyborg laid Beast Boy out on the table, he was fading fast. The blood loss was severe, as the gashes covering his body were unrelenting, and the bleeding hadn't even slowed. His ribs were broken, along with his left wrist, and twisted left leg. Not to mention the tangled mess of his right arm, that was still sending shocks throughout his nerves.
It only took a moment for Cyborg to realize that his friend was going to die.
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Lucy was sick and tired of waking up screaming. It had happened again – this time, it was a flash of green swallowed in black, then a howl of fury that still rang in her ears. The nightmares had been filled with blood for a week now, and Lucy felt like she was drowning in it. Blood covered her hands, staining her skin and burying itself beneath her fingernails. And no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't come clean.
James couldn't understand – he wouldn't even try. He brushed off the dreams as some representation of the terrors from her past. Inwardly she scoffed at his claims – no matter how many pills he forced into her hands, she never felt she could truly trust him – she couldn't even remember him. How was she supposed to believe that he was who he claimed to be, when he only offered those mind-numbing, orange pills?
And as James tried to calm her with cocoa, and her medication, it clicked. Some piece of the puzzle that she'd been missing all along fell into place, and suddenly her path was laid out before her. Feigning a smile, Lucy thanked James, who left her with a mug in one hand and a pill in the other. She waited until she could hear footsteps echoing across the floor above her, then crossed the kitchen to the sink and turned the faucet, letting the stream of cool water run for a moment.
Nothing could compare to the feeling of liberation as she washed away the cocoa and the little orange pill, smiling as they swirled across the stainless steel sink and trickled down the drain.
TBC
Okay, so maybe I'm purely and utterly evil, because I spend days off tormenting innocent superheroes. But hey, you're reading it, so in a twisted sort of way, you're encouraging my bad behavior. But you should still review, since it makes me happy, and I'm super nice and updated in just over a week. Nice to you guys, anyway.
And I was nicer to Lucy/Raven in this chapter, too. So, I'm only kinda pure evil, and not purely pure evil. Hooray!
I'm also officially out of time, at least if I want to copy edit this, so buh-bye, and please review!
Child of a Pineapple