(A/N) The penultimate chapter! If you're going to try and solve the code in chapter 3 you've only got till the next chapter is posted. Multiple character death, surprise pairings, suicide, zombies, and my brand new OC are all things you will not be seeing in this fic. If you do want those things, you might need to find a different fic author. And to answer FelynxTiger's question, yes.
Disclaimer – I have been a hockey league director, low-level IT tech, buyer, swing manager at a McDonalds, office clerk, receptionist, and a customer service representative. None of those implies even the slightest bit of ownership of a successful brand like the Teen Titans.
A Year In The Life – January – The dead of midnight is the noon of thought. (Anna Letitia Barbauld)
.. / -.. - -. .-. - / - .- -. / - ... . / - . . -. / - .. - .- -. ... .-.-.- / .. / - .- -. / .- / .-. .- .. .-. / - ..-. / ... ... - . ... .-.-.-
It was too cold. Not just normal cold, but way too freaking cold. Beast Boy kept having the urge to shift into something a little more suited to the winter weather. It wasn't fair; he thought to himself, it's not supposed to get this cold on the coast. He stuck his hands tightly under his arms in an attempt to get the blood in them a little less icy. His breath puffing out in miniature clouds in front of him was his only entertainment as he trudged in the rear of the Titans walking to some...thing…Robin had arranged.
It was the day after Christmas and Beast Boy was having trouble keeping up his usual frenzied excitement for the holiday season they were in the middle of. He was sure his Christmas spirit was as frozen as his fingers.
Having finally given up on dealing with his less than warm clothing, he morphed into a polar bear. This was unfortunately the same moment that Robin turned around from the head of their little parade and announced that they had arrived. Feeling only slightly disgruntled, Beast Boy slipped back into his normal self and stared up at a tall, impressive-looking building.
"Why didn't we just take the car?"
His question hung in the air before Cyborg offered his opinion. "No parking?"
"Then why didn't we all just fly? Starfire could've carried Robin and Raven or me would've carried you."
Cyborg smiled a little. "Maybe Robin just wanted an excuse to walk hand in hand with Star."
"Maybe he did." Robin said as he held the tall, glass door open for everyone.
They all filed into a room that was only marginally wider than it was tall, giving off an impression of importance and wealth as it stretched off into the distance. The walls and floor were all done in marble and the Titans' footsteps echoed sharply from all sides; excluding Starfire and Raven who were both gliding gently along as was their custom.
Robin walked up to a smartly dressed receptionist sitting behind a dark mahogany desk with an area that had obviously been set-aside for people to walk up to. Beast Boy yawned deeply as Robin announced that they had an appointment. Something clicked in Beast Boy's head and he leaned over to Cyborg as the receptionist asked Robin to wait while she made a call.
"Dude, I think we've been here before."
Cyborg looked around him. "Nah, man, I would've remembered something this styling."
Beast Boy stared up at the ceiling for a little. "I think we fought Slade on the roof or something."
"I remember that." Cyborg looked around again until he found something with the corporation's name on it. "Hey, it is. It's that Wayne Enterprises' building where Slade started talking about making Rob his apprentice."
"Wonder why we're here."
"Dunno."
They were saved from their inability to read Robin's mind as the receptionist announced that Mr. Wayne would see them now and that the gentleman in the security suit would escort them up to the board room.
Silence again dominated as they followed the guard, whose name turned out to be Stan. Beast Boy sighed as he watched the lighted numbers steadily climb higher until they reached their maximum and the doors slid open. Stan walked steadily forward down the corridor, passing a few imposing looking office doors with large name plates marking what important person worked behind them. After taking a turn or two they came to a double door marked as the East Conference Room.
Inside was a long and expensive looking solid oak table with several high backed over-stuffed leather chairs set comfortably apart from one another. The double doors had opened at one end of the table with a bay of windows running along one side while a number of video screens and white boards lined the wall on the other. In Beast Boy's mind it very clearly said 'Big business goes on in here, so don't expect anything fun to take away your boredom; and quit slouching.'
In a show of childish rebellion, Beast Boy slouched farther. He almost didn't notice the calm, grey haired man standing by another pair of double doors at the far end of the room, his hands held neatly behind him. Robin obviously had and walked over to shake the man's hand, both of them talking low and smiling.
Starfire glided over and was much easier to hear as she asked for an introduction.
"This is Alfred Pennyworth, Star. Alfred, this is Starfire. She's the one from another planet."
"A delight to meet you, miss Starfire. Master Robin has always been most warm in his remarks concerning you."
Starfire looked a little confused, but must have figured out that what the older gentleman had said was probably a compliment. Her hesitant speech gave her away even more though. "I…thank you?"
Robin smiled as only one who is completely taken with another can. "He means I always say nice things about you."
Beast Boy started to tune out as Starfire blushed softly and thanked Alfred a little more demurely. Sure, it was nice that Robin and Star doing good, but it stopped being fun to watch when he and Cyborg realized that Robin wouldn't blush about it anymore. Now it was just kind of awkward when they got…mushy.
He was saved from having to turn his back on the situation when a tall man in a dark blue suit came through one of the doors near Robin. He seemed to command attention, though his kind smile tried to make them feel at ease. Only Robin and the butler, as he had told Starfire he was, seemed unaffected by it.
Beast Boy let go of his apprehension for what the room was asking him to do and straightened up. He watched as Starfire landed gently somewhat behind Robin, while Cyborg and Raven took on dignified poses. He almost let out a laugh as he realized that Raven was looking more imposing because she was rising a little higher in the air. Another help to keep him from laughing came when she turned to glare at him at the slight peep of noise.
"Please, everyone take a seat." The man's voice sounded different than Beast Boy had guessed it would. It was a pleasing tone with an accepting, yet dignified resonance. The kind of tone you'd wish all overly-wealthy people conveyed. After everyone had found seats close to the head of the table, he spoke again. "Welcome. I'd like to thank you all for coming, and to explain, Robin and I are well acquainted through a mutual friend of ours. I called in a favor, and Robin was kind enough to agree to it and to even bring the rest of you here to see if you would help me as well."
"This doesn't sound like something we normally do."
"You would be correct in assuming that, miss…"
"Just Raven would be fine."
"Yes, I thought that was your name, but it would have been impolite to presume." He nodded his head lightly in what was probably an apology. "Now, what I would like to ask of all of you is to attend a charity ball on New Year's Eve."
"Pretty straight to the point, but us going to your dance is doing you a favor?"
He smiled at Beast Boy, and Beast Boy got the distinct impression that he had expected it…maybe even planned on him saying that. "It is when what I need you to do there is explained."
"So far it sounds all right, but shouldn't you at least tell us your name first? You are Bruce Wayne, aren't you?"
Another smile came; this one seemed similar to the one Beast Boy received, though it looked like he was trying to look a little embarrassed. "Yes, please excuse me, my name is Bruce Wayne, and I'd prefer if you'd all call me Bruce."
Beast Boy couldn't help himself. "Dude, you've, like, gotta be richer than Bill Gates!"
Bruce laughed in a deep and heartfelt chuckle. "I'm afraid that Bill's earnings far outstrip mine, but I do alright for myself."
"You're on a first name basis with Bill Gates? That's pretty sick." Cyborg said smiling appreciatively.
"Come on, guys, we didn't come here to talk about Bruce's money."
Bruce laughed silently to himself. "It's quite alright, Robin, but you're right. We should get back to the charity ball. The reason it would be a favor for me for the five of you to come is how we're raising money this year. It's a costume party and the only attendees will be celebrities of one kind or another. We have a number of charities that will benefit this year, and it's all built around a game."
"What kind of game?"
"A costume contest of course, but with a twist. The idea is to not be discovered. Everyone in attendance will have a number of tags, equal to the number of people at the ball. If you figure out who someone is, you quietly whisper to them who you think they are, and if you're right, you get one of their tags. Everyone pledges so much money for each tag before they come and at the end of the evening, everyone pays out."
Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, we don't really have that kind of money, as cool as it all sounds."
Bruce smiled at Beast Boy. "Which is exactly why I'm sponsoring all of you. It's a way for me to offer more without it looking like a publicity stunt."
"Sweet."
"There is one catch though. None of you are allowed to use your powers to figure out who anyone else is, well, except for Robin since deduction is what everyone else is using." Bruce leaned a little bit back into his chair. "There's also a prize for the person who collects the most tags from other people and another for the person with the most tags left."
"I like it, but what do you guys think?" Robin said, smiling at them from the chair closest to Bruce.
Beast Boy found himself, and everyone else he noticed, looking to Raven. It seemed that if she said yes, it was easy to know that they all did. She caught the meaning of it and muttered out a simple "Fine." before fading even farther back into her hood.
"Wonderful, Alfred has your invitations as well as the contest rules. There's a list of the charities if you're interested as well. Ah, yes, one other thing. Don't forget to keep your costumes secret from each other."
.. / -.. - -. .-. - / - .- -. / - ... . / - . . -. / - .. - .- -. ... .-.-.- / .. / - .- -. / .- / .-. .- .. .-. / - ..-. / ... ... - . ... .-.-.-
The next few days were filled with a lot of secrecy and hiding in rooms as they all prepared for the ball. Raven took a small bit of pleasure listening to the others complain about how difficult it was proving to be. New Year's was just another silly holiday to her, but doing something fun for charity was good enough. Plus, she knew she had the perfect costume. No one would guess who she was except for maybe Robin.
She had gone over what she would do as soon as they had finished the meeting with Wayne. The items she'd needed were simple to gather, but she'd had to practice how she was going to act, move, and talk for at least an hour each day to get everything right. And nobody had a better hiding spot than she did when she wanted to go unheard. Sometimes being able to step inside your own mind had its benefits.
Between her conviction that her costume would be impenetrable and the shrewd belief that Robin, who probably already had dossiers on all the guests, would correctly guess nearly everyone Raven was sure the Titans would be coming home with both of the special prizes – a secret getaway for two and a complete collection of first edition Sherlock Holmes books. She would just trade the trip to Robin for the books.
Checking the clock on her nightstand she quickly donned her costume and teleported into the city where she could catch a taxi. Each of the Titans had agreed to leave at different times to avoid seeing each other's costumes – she'd drawn the shortest straw and had to leave first.
After waiting around till it was time to get to the party itself Raven's cab arrived and made the short ride to the posh hotel the ball was at. There was an honest to goodness red carpet with reporters and photographers crammed in on both sides that asked tons of questions she couldn't quite hear while flashbulbs half blinded her. But she had been prepared for this – she'd already started playing her role while waiting for the cab. She simply smiled as large as she could, laughed giddily at the attention and strode past everyone saying she'd answer questions after.
The ballroom wasn't far beyond the main lobby, with its leather armchairs and unnecessary televisions. The ballroom itself had been done up in that overly gaudy Louis the XIV style – everything extremely ornate with red, gold leafing, and marble everywhere. It wasn't an unpleasant look, merely much too showy for Raven's sedate tastes.
Raven was glad to see that she wasn't the first to arrive, though there did appear to be quite a number of people still to come. Not wanting to wait until the press of people would be at its maximum, she decided to start trying to figure out who was who. She was sure Cyborg would be easy, as would Beast Boy – they both stuck out too much to really hide without it being obvious that they would be the ones who had done quite a lot of covering up.
In fact…
Raven walked calmly up to the person in the overly large gorilla suit and started chatting with them. She kept her voice in that overly bubbly tone that she'd worked so hard to get down pat and smiled broadly as she heard a voice that was so obviously Cyborg that she made sure to let the conversation go on longer just to hide how quickly she'd figured him out. A few minutes later she leaned in with a sly grin and whispered out, "Say, um, are you that Cyborg guy from the Teen Titans?"
His laughing reply of "Caught." as he pulled a ticket stub out of his pocket was met with another giggle from Raven. She gave him a little wink as she started to walk away when he called out "Wait!" and whispered his guess about who she was. She shook her head and walked back off into the crowd. He'd guessed a little starlet that was known for some romantic movie that had come out last year.
Raven continued this pattern of pulling back from the crowd as she looked for somebody she might know before chatting them up to try and confirm her suspicion. Starfire had been a little tricky because she was acting with all the royal pomp that her upbringing had taught her and in doing so had made a very convincing foreign princess, but there were times when her steps took a little too long to touch back onto solid ground again.
Robin had been a little easier because he just couldn't keep himself away from Starfire. His Chips costume was perfect, and the bullet proof vest under the shirt did a good job hiding his body shape, but once she'd known who Starfire was dressed as, the officer asking her to dance over and over again was too much of a giveaway.
Beast Boy hardly looked like he'd tried at all but, as Raven got closer to him, she had started second guessing herself. The face looked right, except there was green makeup rubbing off to reveal a normal fleshy tone along most of the clothes' lines and close to his hair. And his hair was different too – it was heavily styled into a very regular spiked pattern instead of his normal messy top; clearly a wig. The uniform was wrong too. It looked homemade and the pattern of purple and green parts was much more simplistic. It wasn't until she'd sidled up right next to him that she realized it really was him. There was no hiding that voice.
Looking closer as she started in with her giggly opening she saw that it was the flesh tone that was the makeup and that the uniform was probably something he'd made himself. It really wasn't a bad costume when it came right down to it. People would think he was Beast Boy, then get close and change their minds. But Raven smiled triumphantly when she whispered it in his ear in as vapid a voice as she could manage. Letting him think that she'd just been too stupid to notice his tricks got a defeated little nod as he handed over a ticket stub.
The hardest thing to do with her costume was the dancing. Luckily, Wayne had tried to keep withn the ball concept and had kept the music in that range where more traditional dances were the norm. Acting so engaging the whole night meant that plenty asked her onto the floor. She'd go along with it, because it was important that she not break character and give away who she really was. Not one single person had even come close, and most kept guessing the same actress Cyborg had. It was extremely satisfying for her knowing that she'd even fooled Robin so far. She really doubted it would last – process of elimination would get her caught in the end, but at least he'd keep it a secret if she asked him to so that no one else would know what she'd been acting like all evening.
It was starting to get towards the end of the night when he finally guessed. And, as expected, he'd guessed right, but admitted it was because there weren't any other female guests left to figure out. She was getting a bottle of water when she saw Beast Boy finishing up a dance and making his way over to the beverages. He was smiling as he drank half the bottle in one go before pointing out how he'd forgotten to make his guess about who she was. Raven made a surprised smile and said, "Hey, that's right! So, who am I?" and she made yet another giggle as she struck a pose.
Beast Boy gave her face a scrutinizing look with a "Hmm…" and asked for a dance instead saying he'd guess at the end. She agreed, glad that she'd seen him dance first so that she knew he wouldn't tread on her dress. Raven didn't let the surprise of hearing a low waltz start up throw her off and kept her face as interested and upbeat as she could.
He took a very traditional ballroom dancing pose and off they went. Beast Boy was surprisingly good at this and Raven found herself not having to try so hard at maintaining her smile.
"You know what? I think I do recognize you."
"Really? A lot of people keep thinking that." She gave off another of her fake giggles.
"Yeah, but I think I got this one. I watch a lot of TV and movies."
Her smile widened. "You've seen me in movies?"
A smile started to curl up one side of his mouth. "Not in movies, but I've seen you on TV lots of times."
"Lots, huh? So, I'm on a show you like?"
"Not really." His smile was sliding up the other side of his face.
Raven tried to look confused in character rather than her normal confused. "Is it a show your girlfriend makes you watch or something?"
Beast Boy's smile burst into full form. "Don't got a girlfriend."
"Then why…"
Raven found herself interrupted by the sound of the crowd counting down to midnight together. She joined in with a strange apprehension in the back of her mind that only intensified into the forefront of her thoughts when she remembered what traditionally happened at midnight.
Beast Boy was just staring ahead with his fun-loving smile on. Raven found herself staring at him as they drew to the finish and he turned just as he shouted out 'one' with everyone else.
He was leaning forward and Raven found herself copying him. It was just a quick peck on the lips, but her eyes took a little longer to open than she realized they should have.
"Happy New Year, Raven." She heard him whisper as her eyes shot open. He was grinning like the cat that caught the canary as she shook her head smiling to grab a ticket stub from her purse.
.. / -.. - -. .-. - / - .- -. / - ... . / - . . -. / - .. - .- -. ... .-.-.- / .. / - .- -. / .- / .-. .- .. .-. / - ..-. / ... ... - . ... .-.-.-
Bruce Wayne was striding up to the bandstand with a microphone in his hand, waving to the applause of the crowd. His nutcracker prince costume didn't even have a mask. "Ladies and gentlemen, friends, it's time to see who our two winners for the evening are. First up is the Top Sleuth prize of a complete set of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works, all first editions. Okay, folks, can anybody beat my seven?"
"Fifteen!" Called out one guest. "Twenty-seven!" Called out another. "One hundred forty-six." Called out someone dressed as a highway patrol officer. The crowd went fairly silent after that. Robin strode forward fighting against a bit of a smug smile.
Bruce was laughing gently into the microphone. "I think we have our winner. Come on up and claim your prize." There was a general smattering of applause as Robin was handed a case with a number of different size books inside. "So, who is our super sleuth?"
Robin leaned over to the microphone. "I'm Robin, from the Teen Titans." Another round of applause as he shook Bruce's hand and left the stage.
"Moving along, we now have our Best Disguise prize, a secret getaway for two. I'm really out of contention here as every one of my tags was claimed. So, who thinks they've got this won?"
Raven strode forward calling out that she'd only given up two tickets. Beast Boy called out from behind her saying he'd only lost one. He gave her a boyish grin as he finished walking up to Bruce.
"Congratulations! I don't think I've ever been to one of these events where one guest has dressed up like another. Before we give you your prize, I've got to know who you are."
Beast Boy gave an appreciative giggle and pulled off his wig to reveal hair that was the same color underneath. "I'm Beast Boy."
"You dressed up as yourself?" Bruce looked shocked. "Well then, here you are." He said as he handed Beast Boy a sealed manila envelope. "Inside you'll find the details for your getaway. Everything about the trip has been kept secret to try and match your own skill at hiding, though I must say, I doubt the trip will be to Jump City." His small joke got a mild laugh from the rest of the crowd and a brief applause.
Beast Boy gave a wave as he went to stand next to Raven. She eyed him with a small smile that was half annoyed and half impressed.
"Robin didn't figure you out?"
He let a triumphant smile beam out. "He kept over thinking it. I dressed like this just to fool him. I didn't think it'd work on everybody else."
"What was all that about seeing me on TV?"
"I was talking about the news, of course. You did pretty good too. You almost fooled me."
"What tipped you off?" Raven's face was tired and a little sore from all the smiling she'd done the whole evening, but she couldn't stop herself.
"You kept laughing and smiling. The way you're dressed and that wig and everything had me thinking you were some actress from that romance movie Star was watching last week, but something about the way you laughed and smiled made me think I was wrong."
"But I don't laugh or smile like that."
"I know, but…there's just something about your smile that clicks in my head. You're not miserable or anything, but you don't really smile a lot. So, when you do, I pay attention. I guess I know when it's you smiling even if it doesn't really look like you. It's the same thing with your laugh, and that's even more rare, so I pay extra attention with that."
Raven was glad the makeup she was wearing would hide her blush. "That's very flattering."
"Does that mean I can steal another kiss?"
Her breath caught for a moment. "No, but I'll give you a small one if you don't tell Cyborg or Starfire I dressed like this."
"Deal."
"Close your eyes." He did as he was told and she kissed his cheek.
He opened his eyes grinning at her. "It's a start."
.. / -.. - -. .-. - / - .- -. / - ... . / - . . -. / - .. - .- -. ... .-.-.- / .. / - .- -. / .- / .-. .- .. .-. / - ..-. / ... ... - . ... .-.-.-
(A/N) Before any of you ask, of course Bruce Wayne wasn't surprised that he was Beast Boy. The Batman knew who everyone was within fifteen minutes of them entering the room.