Broken Mask
Once Robin announced that dinner was ready, the rest of the Titans began to seat themselves at the table. Cyborg and Beast Boy sat on one end while Raven and Starfire sat on the other leaving Robin with the head of the table. Everyone sat patiently as Robin began filling each member's plate with a fajita… well, everyone except Beast Boy that is. Fork and knife in hand, even though they were unnecessary, the green teen was near drooling over his upcoming meal. When he finally got his food, he began cramming it into his mouth at Kid Flash speed.
"Uggh you're such a pig." said Raven, with a disgusted look on her face.
"Hey! Pigs are actually very clean animals! Humans are much dirtier than pigs!" He then proceeded to belch loudly.
"I can see that" Mumbled Raven.
Beast Boy ignored her last comment, and got up to get another fajita.
Robin sat, slowly eating his fajita with brows furrowed. He hadn't heard any of his two teammate's comments. He had been too busy thinking about his earlier confrontation with Beast Boy outside the facility. He had so many questions he wanted answered from the green teen, but he had to find the right one to ask.
"Beast Boy…" Robin began, slowing coming out of his contemplative state. "What did they do to you… at S.T.A.R. Labs?" He slowly turned his head to the teen, just in time to see his fajita laden plate hit the floor with a crash. Starfire gasped, everyone turned to see the green teen's reaction, except Raven, who was glaring at Robin. Robin however, wasn't paying attention to any of them… Only to Beast Boy, who still had his back turned from them, hands gripping the counter tightly. An uneasy tension filled the room.
It was a long time before Beast Boy finally spoke, his voice sounding much deeper and raspier from choking back his emotion. "They… did terrible things to me…. Things I can only describe as pure and utter torture!" He said in a quiet scream. He paused again, trying to piece together his jumbled thoughts. "They wanted me for my power. They wanted to harness it and wield it for "the good of humanity"." He said in a spiteful, sarcastic tone followed by a short chuckle. His laughter startled his friends. It wasn't HIS laugh, the one that could be heard after a joke was told or when he pulled a prank on one of them. No, this laugh sounded alien. Not a word was said for a minute, but it felt like hours.
"Once they harnessed my power, they planned to sell it to several different countries around the world, whether they were friendly towards each other or not. By doing so, they would be creating a third World War. A war that would show the true and absolute cruel nature of the human race. And all the while, S.T.A.R. labs would be making billions of dollars off of the deaths of so many."
"But in order to start this war, they needed to find out how my abilities worked, my genetic makeup, and of course, the source of my power from which they could take it, copy it, and ship it around the world in little vials. So, they began testing on me. They took my blood and skin cells for DNA analysis. And when they wanted to see me change they would use these poles with two, electrified prongs at the end." There was another brief pause. "Then they wanted to test things like my pain level and how certain substances would affect me. So… they would tie me down to a table… and use a sharp scalpel to slice me open… and a lighter to-"
"Please, Beast Boy! No more!" Robin interrupted. The soft sound of crying could be heard as Beast Boy slowly turned around towards the group. Starfire was a mess. Her tears had caused her eye-makeup to pool under her eyes making her look very pitiful. Beast Boy then looked at Robin who was rubbing her back, eyes wide beneath his mask, staring at Beast Boy. He then looked at Raven who had slow, silent tears crawling down her pale face, completely forgetting about her hood for the moment. And finally he looked at Cyborg, his best friend in the world. He always looked up to him, strived to be as strong as him, both physically and emotionally. But at the moment, the unshakable tough guy Beast Boy always believed him to be had tears falling from his one dark brown eye.
He couldn't take anymore. He knew he couldn't just go to bed, seeing as he was sleeping on the couch in the living room. He decided a long hot shower would be best for now. He quietly walked out, leaving the rest to ponder what just happened.
When he was finished almost an hour later, he peeked out from the bathroom door. All the lights were out and he breathed a sigh of relief. He made his way to the couch where a couple of pillows and a large blanket were already laid out for him. He quickly made himself comfortable and soon fell into a restless sleep.
I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I got sick twice, sprained my ankle, had to make up finals, had 5 Christmas parties, and just when I thought it was over with all 3 of my college level classes gave me projects in the same week! I shouldn't make escuses though. I had half of the chapter written in December, but I go writer's block on how to end it. But now it is finally completed! Hope it was worth the wait!