Chapter 6: Mate?

"Okay, let's get this thing rolling." Robin's voice sounded over the intercom in the corner of the interview room. Beast Boy stood at one end, ready to talk to Starfire. Taking a deep breath, Beast Boy gave himself over to the primal voice in his head, and the change began.

He suppressed a scream as he felt his bones stretch and his ligaments tear and his muscles inflate like balloons. It always hurt like this when he changed, but the shift into the Beast was so much slower than his other changes. However, he forced himself to hold his tongue. He had smelled Starfire's fear when she had walked into the Common Room at breakfast, and the sound of him screaming in unimaginable agony wouldn't help her mental state much. After a few eternal moments, the fire died, and the Beast emerged.

However, this time, something had changed. Normally, his conscious mind would be switched off when the Beast was out, and he would have to work out what happened later, from comments the Beast would make, or sometimes through particularly vivid dreams. Now, however, he was still conscious, but nothing but a passenger in his own mind. Still, it was an interesting development. His ears twitched as Starfire entered, accompanied by Raven.

Traitor. Weak.

The Beast padded towards the Tameranean, his lips curled back, growling low in his throat. Starfire stared back, her face carefully blank.

"Greetings."

The Beast shook his head. What was the Pack-Runner saying? Her body language was worrying, her muscles tensed. Fight or flight. But she had elected neither. Odd.

She wants to talk.

The Beast's ears twitched. It was her again. The Mate, talking in her No-Sounds-No-Pictures-No-Scent way. It was strange, but calming.

Mate? ...Oh.

"What do you wish to say to me?"

Why are you angry with her?

Why was he angry? The Beast snorted. It was obvious; she was weak; she always gave the pack away to the prey, and she had sided with the usurper.

"Well, apparently, he thinks you don't pull your weight on the team. No surprises, he said that to Cyborg too. He also -I think- takes exception to your habit of alerting criminals to your presence before you hit them."

"But is seems dishonourable to attack them while they have no chance to defend themselves."

Starfire waited as Raven explained this to the Beast, and took the time to assess her situation. Well, she hadn't been shredded yet, so she could take that as a good sign, she presumed.

Raven looked back at Starfire. "I think the problem here is different codes of combat. You want a fair fight, with the enemy given a chance to defend themselves. The Beast, however, seems to follow the idea that the point of combat is to defeat the other guy before they can defeat you, by any means necessary." Raven didn't say it, but this seemed to make more sense than Starfire's modus operandi, which consisted of tapping the opponent on the shoulder before hitting them from behind.

The Beast observed the debate on the rules of engagement dispassionately. The Mate was making sounds, and the Pack-Runner was twittering, in her manner which the Beast thought reminded him of birds. The sounds made no sense to him, but he could smell the uncertainty radiating from the Pack-Runner. The Mate suddenly pulled out a book, and the Beast's eyes narrowed as he observed the shapes on the front. They looked like "The Queensbury Rules for the Sport of Boxing". This made no sense to him, but the shapes were not important to him. He looked, confused, as the Mate pointed at the strange shapes, and he could hear the irritation growing in her call. Involuntarily, he flattened his ears against the side of his head and ducked.

"…and that is why so many people got stabbed in the 1860s."

"Because they read the rules this 'John Chambers' wrote and fought people that had not read them?"

"Exactly. The rules are fine if both parties follow them, but are a liability if they don't."

"So, you are saying that I should only be merciful to enemies if they act the same way to us?"

"Exactly." Raven breathed a sigh of relief. Well that only took about half an hour. Now for the other outstanding issues. You also need to accept that he wants you to work harder in battle. You don't need to use lethal force or anything like that, but you need to be stronger."

"I believe that will be possible, Raven." Starfire was becoming calmer as the conversation went on, and she felt that this interview idea may not have been such a bad idea after all.

She accepts your commands for battle. Raven spoke directly to the Beast's mind, wary of how she worded her message; the Beast needed to see he was in control, or he would seek to prove his dominance, not something she wanted under any circumstances. Broken bones took a lot out of her to heal. Seeing the smug look on the Beast's face, she turned to Starfire. This was going to be hard.

"Alright, Star, only one thing left to do. You need to prove your submission to the Beast."

"What would that entail?" Starfire's voice was full of concern.

"You have to kneel."

"Why? Can I not simply offer my apologies?"

"The Beast doesn't understand English, Star. You need to show through body language that you're in charge."

"…Very well." Starfire slowly knelt down in front of the Beast, shaking slightly as he brought his head level with hers. She began to look up, but was stopped by a thought that was not her own.

Keep your head down. Eye contact is as good as issuing a challenge for leadership.

Needless to say, Starfire suddenly found the steel floor unaccountably fascinating. After a few more uncomfortable moments of the Beast's heavy breathing in her ear, he gave a sharp huff, stepped back, and shifted into Beast Boy, who looked drained and shaken by the experience.

Raven opened her mouth, but Beast Boy cut her off. "I know how that one went, Rae. I was awake to see it."

Raven was surprised, but hid it well. "You were in control?"

"No, but it was like I was the voice in the Beast's head, rather than the other way around."

"Hmm, in that case, our plan for Robin might just be viable."

Starfire noticed that at the mention of this plan, Beast Boy paled. "I don't see how there's any other way. Doesn't mean I like it, though."

They were interrupted by a squawk of static form the intercom, and Robin's voice sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

"What's your plan for my interview?"

"An interview isn't going to cut it, Robin. You're the leader, and if you wish to keep this position, you need to prove to the Beast that you're capable."

This worried Robin a whole lot more than he allowed his voice to show. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

Beast Boy interjected. "You need to fight him, Robin, and you need to win."

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AN: Writing from the Beast's POV is hard.