A/N: I do not own the Teen Titans or any of the characters. Lets give a round of applause to DC comics and Warner Bros. Great job guys. Keep it up.
Chapter twelve: Part 3- It's the eye of the Tiger
Hands flew apart as a line of black energy smeared into a wide force field, stopping the rock on impact. Raven spun a hand in an under throw, her palms illuminating with black energy that pooled and flew forward in a ball. The other girl jumped out of the way. Terra fell on her knees and tumbled over forward before pushing from the ground. The rock mover started to run as black energy erupted against the ground, right on her heels. Terra grabbed one of the mining ropes and swung around herself in a half circle, starting to run towards the empath. She lifted a hand and yellow pulsed as a rock nearby did the same before flying from its spot.
Raven jumped up into the air as the rock exploded where she had once been, rubble flying. The blue cape flared around her person as she spun in a circle and let the black balls of energy go flying. The rock mover stopped running in her tracks and let out a grunt, throwing arms up as the earth shifted slightly in front of her. Seconds later rock shot up to block the balls of dark energy, pebbles flying past the blonde's face from the impact.
"You think you're so much better than me!" Rocks started to shoot one at a time from the wall of stone in front of the blonde teen, flying at the levitating empath. Quickly Raven started to fly downwards in a dive, avoiding the rocks as they hit against the wall behind her. "I don't know why! I don't know why he ever liked you more than me! I was better! Smarter! Everyone loved me more! Everyone!"
Raven could feel her anger start to grow and she tried hard to force it down. She had to keep her mind in the battle or else she would slip up, or else it would be her downfall all over again. She had been humiliated by Terra one too many times to let it happen again. It would never happen again. The empath circled the giant cavern as rocks circled behind her, trying to pin her down but only colliding into the wall where she had once hovered before.
"I know I'm better than you!" Screamed the empath, still being careful to avoid the flying stones. "I was born to an evil father and I'm still better than you! Because I did not choose to walk down that evil path where as you did!" The violet haired girl grunted and stopped herself mid-flight, arching her upper body backwards. Violet strands of hair fluttered as the rock went flying inches from her face, hitting the wall beside her. She turned blue-violet eyes to the blue ones watching her. Terra had ceased assaulting for now and Raven pressed on, floating just above the ground.
"I was fooled as well as everyone else! We trusted you! Each one of us! They liked you more than me and you were nothing but a traitor!" For a moment Terra only stood there and listened, her blonde hair starting to glow yellow. Raven was far from over with voicing her opinion about the rock mover. "You'll never be anything but a failure Terra, because you aren't and never will be woman enough to face your mistakes or correct them. You'll always be nothing more than a child and a traitor."
The blonde girl yelled and ran towards the empath but she was ready. Raven landed on the ground and her fingers twitched, blue-violet eyes watching the other girl the whole time. When the earth mover leapt at her the empath raised both hands and black energy shot from her palms. Terra only had time to let her eyes widen as she was hit in the chest and sent back on the ground, sliding halfway across the cavern. Raven did not lower her hands and kept her eyes focused on the girl in front of her, trying her hardest not to listen to the young men that were not too far off from them.
"You'll pay for hurting my family, traitor. You'll pay for hurting me and above all…you will pay for hurting Garfield." Terra growled and her eyes glowed yellow as once more she was on her feet and charging at the empath. Raven stood her ground again and let her hands fill up with dark energy.
Not far away a green tiger pressed its paws off of the wall and leapt at the white haired teen whose hands glowed with white. The wizard flung the energy at the green tiger but before it could collide the animal had shifted and now soared at the wizard as a giant green eagle. Rorek brought his hand up and shot another energy ball at the green animal. The green eagle bobbed and weaved as it easily avoided the attacks one after the other. Just within range Beastboy shifted into a green python, wrapping around the wizard's arms. The white haired teen growled and flinched, trying to wiggle free from the entanglement of the snake.
"You are really starting to annoy me!" Rorek screamed as he jumped backwards and fell to the ground, slamming the body of the snake on impact. The shape shifter changed back into his elfin formed and let out a scream of pain but never took his arms from around the white haired teen. Green fingers grabbed the long strands of white and pulled as he started to slam his fist over and over again into Rorek's face. The wizard winced and grunted back a scream as he rolled onto his hands and knees, elbowing the green teen in the nose.
Beastboy let go with a small grunt, stumbling backwards to wipe the blood away. Panting slightly emerald eyes met with cerulean, watching as the wizard breathed just as hard and coughed a few times. They sized one another up for a moment before both gnashed teeth and charged once more at each other. Hands flew and punches tried to find where they were direct to, other hands blocking legs when kicks were tempted. Beastboy ducked and swung his own blows matching for blows until they both decided close contact was enough.
Jumping back the wizard sent another ball of energy and the green teen knew exactly what it was. The wizard was trying to paralyze him. Beastboy would not be set in place so easily. Shrinking down to a mouse Beastboy started to run back over, jumping out of the way as the ground exploded with each impact of the white energy. He could hear the wizard yelling from frustration and the green mouse jumped down the nearby hole, going underground.
Cerulean eyes scanned the area and looked everywhere for where the green teen might come out of. This was annoying. The stupid boy wouldn't stay in one form longer than a minute. He was trained to fight people his size, wolves, bears, and dragons. Not all of them in mere seconds apart! At this rate he was going to lose and the thought of never seeing the empath again caused his stomach to cringe but not as much as losing to a green man that could turn into any beast.
He was so lost in thought he never saw the green mouse sneak back out of the hole it had hide in and scamper over to him. Rorek did however feel a pair of strong gorilla hands slam against the back of his head, sending him down to the ground. The dirt filled his lungs and nose as the white haired wizard started to cough. He pushed off from his left hand and rolled to the right just in time. Mere seconds later the gorilla hands came smashing down on the spot he once laid. The wizard unsheathed the sword and spun upwards, slicing the back of the green gorilla's hand. The green gorilla shifted back into the green teen as he stumbled backwards slightly.
Beastboy screamed in pain and could feel his animal instincts taking over. He could feel the beast trying to come out, pressing against the cage of his sanity. The green teen forced with all his might to keep the beast down as emerald eyes narrowed at the wizard in front of him.
"Give it up green one! She needs a man! Not an animal! There is no way you can defeat me. She would never be good with a creature like you when she could have a real man like me!"
"Dude… Shut. Up!" He lounged forward and started to throw punches but the white haired teen was back on his feet now. Back in his element and he easily dodged each kick, easily avoided each punch, and now laughter was in his eyes.
"You won't have her." Taunted Rorek as he avoided another punch from the increasingly angry Beastboy.
"You don't even know her! You don't even know what we've been through! What she's done for me and what I've done for her!" Beastboy threw another punch and felt himself growing more and more frustrated. The wizard actually laughed and the green teen felt the strain of his sanity start to break. Rorek did not stop laughing and instead started to taunt the green teen again.
"It doesn't matter. All your efforts. Everything you've done until now was only so I could come and show her what a real man is. But do not fear Beastie boy." Rorek tossed the punch of the green teen to the side and quickly sidestepped as the green teen stumble by him. As Beastboy stumbled by the wizard caught the green teen by the arm and pinned it to his back. Quickly Rorek grabbed the green teen's other arm and spun in a semi circle before he hurled Beastboy across the cavern. Cerulean eyes watched as the green teen bounced before he rolled across the ground to land on his side, his back to the wizard. "I will love her more than you ever could."
"No…" The wizard blinked at the sound of the voice and even though he had once been confident something in the voice made his very stomach churn. Cerulean eyes watched as the green teen slowly got on all fours, emerald eyes glancing from the corner of his eyes as the forest green strands shaded them. "No one will ever love her more than me… and if you want proof of how far I'll go to keep her… SO BE IT!"
Cerulean eyes could only widen as he stood in fear as the once normal height teen charged at him. It was not the charge that had him frozen in spot. It was what he was seeing. The green teen moved and with each step closer he got something would change. He became taller, muscles bounding and ripping the stretchy material of the purple and black outfit. His hands grew until they were nothing but large paws with nails the size of cutting knives. The once emerald eyes were nothing more but the deep pools of white. Beastboy's once green skin now nothing more than green fur. It was all of this that had stunned Rorek but what kept him from moving were the teeth. He watched how the jaw seemed to lengthen. Watched as the once small fangs were no longer short but grew longer than the already sharp nails. Rorek watched as the creature closed the distance and the only thought that crossed his mind was. This is why they call him Beastboy. Then the white haired wizard felt himself flying backwards and hitting the wall, gasping on impact.
Rorek slide down to the ground and coughed, holding a hand to his head. His eyes widen again as the large hands smashed against the side of his face and sent him flying. The white haired teen landed on the ground and pulled his training skills back into focus. He could defeat a dragon; he could take down a teen with a bad hair disorder. At least he hoped. The wizard pushed off of his feet as nails raked the ground where he once was. However when he landed a few feet back it was not long enough for the new length of the green arm and the wizard went flying once more. He felt his body hit against a pillar of stone. Rorek winced and fell down onto the ground, dust flying up. Slowly the white haired teen started to get up onto his hands and knees, panting slightly as he looked at the green beast. Cerulean eyes narrowed as he felt the cut on his forehead and the blood start to trickle down the side of his face. Things had just become very serious. Rorek got ready to let a spell lose however the sudden whirling of rocks and stone had him glancing over at the two girls.
That was a mistake. The Beast charged and rammed the wizard once more. This time though the Beast did not break away and kept running the distance to slam Rorek into the wall. The white haired teen grunted and forced himself to bare the impact, chips of stone flying. The Beast gave another push of his shoulder before stepping back.
The wizard hit the ground on his knees and started panting for air, watching the green creature through dirty white strands. He watched as it charged again, rocks still flying out of control and slamming randomly all around them. He forced himself to focus and as the green monster flew near he raised a hand.
"Necronom Hezberek Mortix!"The words erupted from his mouth and the white energy shot forth to slam into the beast's green chest, sending him flying backwards. The wizard let out shaky breaths of air and growled as he slowly got to his feet. "I'm done with games…You want a fight to the finish green one…" He watched how the green beast growled and shook the attack off as if it were nothing, the white eyes watching Rorek. It only took the beast two seconds to answer what both knew was not a question. The giant jaws opened as a roar sounded over the rocks that exploded and crashed into the walls. "So be it."
The archer jumped and landed a few feet backwards, the stingers exploding when they hit the ground. Speedy didn't know why the girl was even upset. She had said some mean things and he had shrugged it off but no, not her. She had to cling to every little insult and then lash out. Women.
He winced when her fist smashed into his nose, forcing him to stumble backwards. He let out a loud curse and brought his hands up to cover his nose. Speedy's eyes closed and opened as the pain shot through his face. He let his hands drop to check for blood, his eyes widen as he saw a few drops. Drawing in a big breath he growled and let his eyes glare at Bumblebee who stood there with a large proud smirk across her face. That was a mistake.
"No one hits my face…"
"Not no one hun, someone and that someone was me." She pointed to herself and Speedy could feel his anger blazing to life. He let out a battle cry and flew for the leader of Titans East. She was ready for him and easy dodged it when he sent his foot flying at her head. Bumblebee didn't so well the second time. As his foot missed her head he used the momentum to swing his other leg, kicking her in the side. She spun a few times in the air before crashing into the ground.
The girl with the insect wings blinked a few times from the ground and looked up into the face of the archer. He had actually hit her. He had never hit her before. In fact she didn't even know the archer had it in him. Speedy smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow when she glared at him.
"Nobody hits me!" She hissed out through clenched teeth but the archer did not seem intimidated in the least. Instead he only winked and raised his pointer finger to her.
"Not nobody sweets. Someone and that someone was me." Bumblebee growled at being mocked and leapt at the archer. Though she was smarter she was not the better fighter in hand to hand combat. He easily avoided any attack now that he was watching her and taken her a bit more seriously. It was starting to annoy her.
"What are you two doing?!" They stepped mid punch and glanced over at Aqualad who seemed to be shocked. Quickly they broke apart, the girl letting go of the archer's hair and bow. The archer let his arms drop away from around the girl's stomach and straightened up, immediately fixing his hair. After Speedy had fixed his hair and Bumblebee made sure she looked presentable they got back to the point at hand. Quickly she pointed at Speedy and Speedy pointed at Bumblebee.
"He/She started it." They gasped shocked more out of being accused than saying the same thing. "I did not! You did!" They yelled in frustration and the archer simply shut his mouth, allowing her to go first.
"He called me bossy!"
"She said I was a second rate hero!" Aqualad blinked and glanced down at Más and Menos who only shrugged. The water bender sighed and rubbed his face, pinching the brim of his nose with his fingers.
"You guys are fighting over that? How petty! Bee you're bossy because you're the leader! You're suppose to be! Speedy you aren't second rate, I mean come on no one can fight or shoot like you. Stop acting like children." The Altanian held up a hand at his words and shook his head, pointing with his whole hand down at the twins beside him.
"No I am sorry. As we all can see, children are better behaved." Más and Menos smiled proudly. It wasn't often they were compared to when it came to being set as good examples.
Bumblebee and Speedy only glanced down at the ground looking slightly ashamed. Aqualad sighed and rubbed his temples. His jaw was still hurting and now he had to play the parent and hold everyone's hands. It was enough to give anyone a headache. He made a mental note not to argue with Speedy so much, imagining this was how Bumblebee felt most of the time.
"You know… that is so like you waterman." Aqualad lifted an eyebrow and Speedy humphed and plucked the string on his bow to make sure it was still tight enough.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh look at me, I'm Aqualad! I'm good at everything because I can swim really fast. Ooooo. Look at me talk to a goldfish." Bumblebee couldn't help but snort, trying not to chuckle. Aqualad didn't find it funny. In fact he stood there with his arms folded across his chest, looking anything but amused.
"You aren't funny." The arched smirked and continued on. Rolling his eyes about he started to wiggle his fingers.
"Oooo I'm so scared. Water boy is mad! He's going to get the little fishie wishies to attack me! Oh wait no he's not. I already ate them in my fish taco." Aqualad marched over to the archer and poked a finger into his chest, ignoring how Bumblebee still tried not to laugh.
"Well at least I'm more handsome than you!" Speedy arched an eyebrow before laughing and started to walk away, running a hand through his red hair.
"Wow and here I said you had no sense of humor. Nice one fishboy. You really taught me something." Aqualad started to follow behind, waving his arms about. Bumblebee only smiled and followed the two boys, glancing down at the two twins at her sides.
"¿Son usted bien echan de menos al abejorro?" The female leader only smiled and nodded ruffling up the twin's hair as they spoke in unison to ask about her well being.
"I'm alright. Speedy hits like a girl."
"I heard that!"Shouted back the archer to the insect winged girl and she only stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm still talking here! I am better looking than you! Ask anyone! The girls flock to me!"
"Whatever you say, fishboy." Bumblebee smiled slightly and strolled along behind her teammates, her hands locking behind her back. It had started off rough but once they were all together things were never that bad. It was almost as if they were a real family.
The rock hit her from the side and sent her flying backwards onto the ground. The empath winced and quickly rolled over as the small boulder came crushing down where she had once been. Raven's hand flew up and black encased the stone being thrown at her, stopping it in midair. She winced and kept the hold on the floating stone strong, shifting to try and get to her feet. Sometimes the rock would push back and sometimes it would inch forward. The empath could hear the grunt of frustration and determination on the other side of the cavern, a curse sounding every now and again. She couldn't keep it up for long, her energy was already started to run low and she knew she had to conserve some of it. Finally the empath let the black energy fall and flew up towards the sky, the rock whirling underneath her feet.
When yellow eyes opened again they turned blue at what they saw, the foot kicking her full in the face. Terra flew backwards to hit the ground on her back the feelings of frustration and humiliation growing. She use to better than this. She use to be able to defeat each of them one by one. Had she grown weaker in her absence? No, that was not it. Someone had just grown stronger and the thought pissed her off. The blonde watched as the empath stormed over to her, barely on the verge of controlling her own powers.
"Give up Terra. You threw away your key to the tower along time ago without as much as a second glance. Go home and be what we could never be. Normal." Both girls knew it wasn't an insult. If anything it was the closet thing the young empath would come to compassion for the other girl. Still it sounded like an insult to her. It had sounded like she had never belonged anywhere but with the ordinary people of Jump City. It sounded like she was never good enough for anything. That she was never good enough to be one of their friends, to be with the green teen. And that pissed her off.
"I'm so sick of your judgments! Who are you to judge what I am and what I can give!" The cavern started to shake and bits of stone started to fall down from the ceiling. Rocks shifted nearby and a few of the many entrances started to crumble. Stone started to fly and the cavern shook again. Raven knew this was not good. Blue-violet eyes did not look around however. They stayed focus on the problem right in front of her.
"I'm the one you tried to kill and failed at even doing that! I'm the one in love with the green teen's heart you broke and tried to destroy!" Raven's eyes widen at her own words. Terra however was not shocked and let out a loud scream, flying from her spot on the ground. Raven barely had time to put her hands up as the shorter girl's hand punched at her. The empath would grab and let go of the tossing punches of the shorter girl, diverting the attacks anywhere other than her person.
"You think you could have him?! You can't even feel! You can't even be human! You'll always be a witch! Always!" Terra glowed with the yellow power and Raven wondered if this was how she looked when she was losing control. She watched with both fascination and an eerie sense of déjà vu as the yellow energy pulsed to life. Blue-violet eyes glanced around as the dust started to kick up, rocks exploding to start whirling around in a tornado around the two girls. Both sets of blonde and violet hair started to whip around their faces, rocks moving to whirl in the whirlwind. She heard the wind pick up, heard the rocks flying randomly all about the cavern. She could feel pebbles falling on her and hear them hitting the ground when stone met wall. She had to stop Terra and she had to do it fast.
"You have to calm down! You're anger will be the death of all us! Control yourself!" The words landed on deaf eyes as the shorter girl kept punching, kept screaming, lost in her own fury. Raven growled and ducked another punch, her body jumping backwards as the rock went whirling inches in front of her. The empath did not block the next hit as the blonde punched her in the face. Raven stumbled and ducked the next punch, listening as rocks hit every few seconds against the walls of the caverns.
"Shutup! You don't control me! You don't! You don't deserve him! Even if he loves you more you don't deserve him! You can't even feel! You can't even love!" Raven growled and kept her temper in check. The empath winced as another rock flew from the whirlwind and collided with her arm.
"Terra! Stop! Now!" The words fell on deaf ears again as the shorter girl sent a kick to the empath and Raven went stumbling backwards. The violet haired girl felt the rock hit against her back to send her forward and into the ready punch of the earth mover's hand. Terra punched the other girl in the face and Raven twirled in a half circle from the impact. Quickly she caught her footing and ducked as another punch went for her face.
"He shouldn't love you more than me! He shouldn't! He just shouldn't! Why can't he see! Why?! Why am I always second to someone like you?! Why does he love a no feeling hussy like you?!" Terra screamed and Raven blinked at the tears she saw in the other girl's eyes. For a moment she felt her heart reach out to her. However that moment of compassion was her downfall. Terra brought her foot up and sent it flying into the stomach of the empath, sending Raven flying down to the ground. Blue-violet eyes watched as the earth mover raised a hand and the large boulder came swinging down at the empath.
"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!" Her hands shot up and black energy shot like a rocket from her palm. The energy hit the boulder dead on and shot through, splitting the rock in half. Raven covered her face with her blue cape as each side of the rock went flying by each side, hitting the ground and sending dirt flying. The energy did not stop with the boulder however as it found it's next target and the blonde could only gasp as she was hit. Terra spun in circles in the air a few times before landing in a heap on the ground, not moving.
Slowly Raven's arm lowered and she watched as the brown wind tornado died down from around her. She watched as the rocks that hovered now fell down to the ground, pebbles doing the same. Panting a bit she moved over to the fallen form of the earth mover and kneeled down beside her. Raven could see her breathing and noticed the wound was not too bad, simply stunned her enough to knock her out. With a sigh of breath Raven wiped the back of her hand against her cheek, trying to remove the dirt. It only made it worse as she smeared the dirt further along her pale cheeks.
"You're wrong Terra… I feel more than anyone will ever know." The sound of a loud scream echoed off the walls and she swung her head around. Her eyes widen at what she saw, her heart stopping for a moment. "No…"
The eyes behind the mask narrowed and he never let his eyes leave the older teen's in front of him. He had done this. He had hurt the sweetest girl in the world. He had caused him to hurt her. Robin did not do this. He was not capable of it and his whole heart and mind told him so. His one good arm hugged the girl closer to him and he could hear her sniffle, his heart breaking.
"Yes your fault! How could you make me do this?!"
"Yo man! You threw that stupid disc all on your own! Ain't nobody put a gun to your head!"
"You were asking for it!" Robin replied from his spot on the ground, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. It was too much. It was just too much and it needed to be ended now. So the alien princess did the first thing that came to her mind. Starfire let out a loud scream and both males fell quiet, glancing down at the alien princess.
It was enough; could they not see it was enough? That they were drifting apart for nothing but petty squabbling. Could they not see that they were breaking the family, team, and her heart apart for no reason? It was enough to actually make her feel ashamed to be part of this family. It almost shamed her to be in love with the leader who had lashed out at friend Cyborg for no reason. Slowly lime-green eyes glanced up and tears shinned in her eyes.
"I-I am hurt friends… both physically and emotionally. You have both hurt me. Can we not stop? Must we fall to Rekmas? Is there no hope for our once happy family?" Robin frowned and Cyborg could only drop his eyes to the ground, too mortified to say anything. To frightened of the answers that might leave his mouth. Starfire watched them and her eyes narrowed. They would not break apart. She would not allow it.
"You are both Zolworg Tuback Plxing Zardbarkers! This behavior is most unacceptable and I will not allow it. Am I making of the crystal?" The two teens only nodded their heads like children in trouble with their mother. The alien princess went to stand but fell over and it was Cyborg who caught her with his good arm.
"Starfire!" Both males called but she held up a hand to keep them from talking more than they had to. The alien princess was no longer taking any more chances with them speaking.
"I am just weak from the attack. It shall pass in a few hours. Till then friend Cyborg, you must lend me the support, along with boyfriend Robin. He is incapable of movement at this latest hour." Both males stiffened and went to open their mouths but the glare she sent them caused them both to close their mouths instantly. Even though she could not do much now when she was healed she could do unspeakable damage to them. Besides they agreed with her. They had indeed said enough.
Seeing them go quiet and seem to agree and cooperate with her she nodded her head. The alien princess was rather pleased with the turn of events now. The more they listened and agreed, the more time she could think of fixing this. First she was going to have to bring her whole family together and get to the bottom of things.
"I am glad we agree. Boyfriend Robin you have hurt your arm and hurt your ankle. I will do of the piggy backing of friend Cyborg and you will do of the leaning. We must find out what is going on, to do so we must regroup with everyone. I will call friend Raven and friend Beastboy and we, as the Teen Titans will once more defeat the foe at the back of this."
The two males said nothing and watched as the alien princess carefully jumped onto Cyborg's back. The half robotic teen shifted a bit and helped her to stay leveled as the boy wonder leaned against the other side. Starfire pulled out her T-communicator and started to make the call. All Robin could do was stare up at the half robotic teen who could only stare back in silence.
Okay Poison Ivy was not expecting that. Still maybe things would still work out the way she was hoping. After all she was always prepared. In this line of business you must always have a backup plan for your original plan and sometimes even a backup for your backup. If things turned out the way she had ultimately planned it would still all work out.
She stroked the petals again and her vision started to blur as she went to see how her favorite couple was holding up.
Beastboy was trapped. He couldn't break free and he was not sure he wanted to just yet. It was like watching a movie in his head and he had to admit, he was doing very well. Who said he had no passion or great skill? He was better than Bruce Lee! Okay maybe that was a bit much but he was still kicking ass. The white haired wizard looked far worse than he did, but again he couldn't really see how he was doing. He could feel it though and he hadn't felt pain since he had been thrown against the ground a few punches back. The fact he was wailing on the wizard only caused him to beam with pride. Pretty boy wasn't going to be as pretty when he was done with him that was for sure. He grunted when the white energy hit against his stomach. Okay that one had hurt.
Rorek stood all the way across the cavern, panting heavily. Even with his spells he was getting tossed around like a rag doll. His hair was all over the place, there were cuts and bruises all over his body, and he was pretty sure he was getting a black eye. There were gashes in his armor from where the claws had raked against so much that holes were embedded into the steel, cutting even the black shirt underneath. He ran a tongue over his lips and tasted the blood, spitting it out to the side. This was worse than training with his father. At least the old man had gone easy on him from the request of his mother. Rorek was starting to regret that now. Cerulean eyes watched as the white pools stared at him, a growl sounding from its throat. Rorek started to run forward but stopped as a large rock went whirling in front of him. Stumbling backwards he cursed at himself, watching the green beast only inches away from him now. However luck was on his side as another boulder came whirling and hit the green beast from the side.
The green beast hit the wall and fell down, a loud howl of pain falling from his snout. Rorek took this moment and jumped at the beast. The green head turned in time to snap back to the side as the white haired teen kneed him in the cheek. Once more the beast hit the wall, leaving a crater from the impact. Rorek did a back flip to put some distance between them. Once more the wizard spit out the blood from his mouth and the laughter was back in his cerulean eyes. It looked as if the green beast was growing tired from being in his form too long.
"Tired already Beastie boy? Why don't you just lie down like a good little monster?" The green beast roared and pushed from the wall to run back at the wizard. Rorek watched and started to avoid the swinging of the claws. The long claws hit the ground to send gravel flying. Rorek ducked as another paw swung for his head and only slashed at air. However the white haired teen didn't dodge it when the green beast used its head to ram into the wizard's stomach, knocking the wind from him.
Rorek flew backwards several feet and rolled on the ground, fingers digging into the dirt as he shot back up to his feet. The dirt and pebbles went soaring past the dirty white hair and cerulean eyes narrowed. The green beast growled and watched the wizard, its long green claws twitching. As if a silent shot rung out they both ran to each other again. The beast roared and ducked when the wizard kicked at him, his jaws snapping shut on the leg. The green beast whirled in a circle and let the wizard fly. Rorek contorted his body and let his feet hit the cavern wall, cerulean eyes locking with the green beast as a smirk slide across his face. The white pools for eyes widen in realization as the hand came up and an all too familiar manta left the wizard's mouth.
"Necronom Hezberek Mortix!"The white energy shot from his hand and hit the green beast in the chest. The green beast stumbled back but the wizard was not done. His hand flew up and he let attack after attack of white hit the green beast over and over again. He pushed from the wall now and started to soar in the air. He contorted his body in a twist as his hands kept throwing energy ball after energy ball. The white energy hit the beast, hit the dirt around him, and caused him to fall down onto his knees. Finally the assault stopped with the wizard landing on one foot and a knee with a large gap of distance between them. The green beast weaved for a moment as he tried to fight the feel of dizziness. For a moment he stumbled but soon his strength flew from him and the green beast fell over. The beast hit the ground and let out a soft growl, trying to get back up. White pools for eyes watched as the wizard slowly stood to his full height and raised a hand. Their eyes never left each others.
"Sorry Beastie Boy. I really did like you. I just won't lose to someone like you. Maybe in another life…We can be friends." The white energy started to crackle to life in his palm and the green beast could do nothing but watch as the white energy shot forth. He only had two thoughts. One was a simple 'yeah right' to the wizard's words and the other was the smile of a violet haired empath who had stolen his heart from the moment he first saw her.
Slade scanned every inch of the computer screen and looked for any sign of her. He hated to admit it, but she had been smart. While he had been out fighting the titans she had locked the cameras on the last screens she had put them on. She cut off all the others and removed the past tapes that might have any trace of where she was. She even took all the other cameras offline. It was enough to drive a sane man crazy looking for her.
He yelled and slammed a fist against the wall, hitting it over and over again to try and dwindle some of his frustration. Minutes past and he finally stopped the attack on the wall. Closing his eye he started to run over any small detail he could remember. Any little hint that she might have left for him to find. The wheels in his head turned and creaked as he tried to think. Something snapped and his head shot up, a large smirk sliding across his face.
"Got you…"
Black energy swirled to life in front of the green beast on the ground. White clashed with black and they danced in a yin and yang before erupting in the air. Rorek's eyebrows lifted in surprise as the young empath stood a mere foot in front of the green beast. Slowly her hands fell a few inches to show the look in her blue-violet eyes and they were anything but happy. The wizard blinked and took a step backwards from both surprise and a little bit of fear. He had never seen such hatred in someone's eyes before.
"Lady Raven I-"
"You've crossed the line Rorek… nobody but me… beats on Garfield." Though the words were a whisper, her actions were anything but. The black energy swirled around her like a fire. The black aura started shifting and twisting before it flung upwards in the shape of a large black raven, a silent cry coming from the black energy. The white haired wizard idly took a step backwards as Raven's eyes began to glow with an eerie white. Rorek could only look on in shock before he realized what was going on and he either had to fight or flee. He only had a moment to turn his body to the side as the black raven soared past him.
"Lady Raven! Let me explain!"
"There is nothing to explain." The empath tugged her hands backwards and the black raven turned sharply just before impact on a wall. The energy soared upwards and twisted to once more start on a track for the wizard. Rorek bounded into the air in a back flip, the black raven soaring underneath him. The white haired teen landed and for good measure took a few hops away from the raging empath. This was not good. He had to try again to talk to her and straighten the whole thing out.
"Please! I fear-"
"Oh you no nothing of fear! Wait till I'm done with you!" Her voice rose in a yell and she could feel her eyes begin to divide. She could feel the anger washing off of her and the control slipping away. For a moment she tried to reign in, tried to keep herself under control but a part of her would not allow it. He had tried to hurt the one person she had truly loved and who loved her back and that would not be forgiven. So for once she gave in to the anger. She allowed it to soothe the worry and pain she felt in her chest at the thought of being too late. At the thought of what life would be like without the green teen to stand beside her, to make her laugh, to care about her. The very thought caused her heart to break.
"Nobody! Nobody will ever take him from me! Not even you!"
The wizard frowned and felt his heart breaking and his pride deflate. It was one thing to be denied it was another to be told you weren't as good as a goofy green teen. He could not let it end like this. He had to keep trying. Rorek let out a small growl and started to run toward Raven. If he could only calm her, if he could only get her to see how he felt. It would all be fine. She would see that she was making a mistake and he was the right choice. It would be perfect. Everything would be okay. At least he hoped so.
"Lady Raven! You must calm down! I did this for us!" Once more the black raven roared to life and headed straight for the white haired wizard. Rorek stopped running and his hand shot up, white energy pouring from his palm. The white energy blared to life and collided with the energy of the black raven. For a moment the white seemed to be winning but only for a moment. The black raven shimmered and then the black energy flew to life, devouring the white. Rorek winced as his shield shattered and he went flying backwards, using the rest of the energy he had. He hit the ground and rolled a few feet before stumbling back onto his feet. For a moment he let his body feel the wary of the attack and then he started to run towards her once more.
"There isn't an us! There will never be an 'us'! I love Gar!" She didn't even notice what she had said as the black energy whirled to life once more. This time it pulsed and surrounded her in a whirlwind, rocks and pebbles starting to fly around. The white haired teen could only growl and let the denial stay in his mind. She was probably just mad at him. That was all. She couldn't have meant what she had just said. His eyes widen as the empath sent wave after wave of black energy at where he stood.
Rorek jumped to the side but not fast enough as one wave of black energy hit his leg. A loud scream filled the cavern and the white haired teen fell down to the ground, wincing. She moved closer to him and he could feel his fear taking over. She was more than mad; she was going to kill him. The first person he had ever felt for was going to kill him and all over a green man. He had to try and talk to her.
Pushing on his hands Rorek sat up and tried to stand. He stumbled a bit and could only kneel on his knees and hands. Cerulean eyes looked up at the form of the empath moving closer to him. He had to calm her down, had to do something or this might be his last minute on earth. Still he could not bring himself to hit a girl, especially not one he was falling in love with.
"Please! Lady Raven!"
"No!" A gasp of air left his lips as the black energy swirled to life in the form of a giant hand. Oh yeah, this was going to hurt. He felt the hand wrap around him and squeeze him from every angle. Rorek let out another scream and started to thrash about, trying to escape. "You will-"
"Rae…" The familiar sound of his voice instantly caused her red eyes to flee as they were replaced with the well-known blue-violet. The whirlwind died down and everything collapse back down onto the ground, including the white haired wizard. Quickly she turned around to the see Beastboy standing not too far away, watching her. His emerald eyes shinned with something and it took her a moment to realize it was not fear. It was affection. She could feel something wet in the corner of her eyes and she went to talk but nothing came out. Closing her mouth she took the moment to try and recompose herself, dark eyes never leaving emerald.
"I… I thought he… you were laying there and he almost…" Her words choked in the back of her throat as she felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. The green teen smiled and closed the distance between them. He gently stroked a finger against the tears, watching as the salt water mixed in with the dirt.
"I'm fine… it's okay Rae. Really… hearing what you said was enough to make it all fine…" She blinked and he couldn't help but laugh. The sound caused her heart to light up. Still she wasn't sure what he had meant so her eyes only watched him until his laughter died down.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." The green changeling only smiled and idly started to play with the tips of her hair. The empath lowered her eyebrows slightly and watched as he did.
"You said you loved me." She started to blush and went to deny it. She would never say something like that in the middle of battle. It wasn't who she was and it was a rather bad joke on the changeling's part. However her eyes widen slightly as she realized the slip she had indeed said. Her face lit up and she instantly went to deny it anyway. However all she could manage to get out was one word.
"…What." Beastboy laughed and she glanced down at the ground, trying again. "I mean… I was just angry. I always say things when I'm angry. We both know that. It doesn't mean I-"
Blue-violet eyes widen in shock as she felt the gentle lips of the green teen against her own. For a moment she went to pull away but as if he could hear her thoughts, his arms wrapped tighter around her. He tugged her close and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her emotions all voicing what she should do. Anger said to get back to the fight. Happy said to go for it and use tongue. Knowledge and Wisdom said nothing for once. However the emotion she rarely heard silenced all others and she could hear the soft encouragement from Affection. So slowly her arms moved and wrapped around the green teen's neck. Gradually she leaned on her toes and leaned in to press her lips back to his, fingers curling against the back of his neck.
Slowly his lips left hers and he placed his forehead to her own, feeling her chakra against his skin. Emerald eyes glanced down into the dark pool of blue-violet eyes and he smiled sweetly. Raven found herself blushing and Beastboy chuckled as he felt his own cheeks flush.
"I've always loved you Rae…"
"I-I… that is…" The green teen smiled at her hesitance and leaned his head back, wiping a strand of violet behind her ear. The softness of his touch caused her to shiver slightly and when she looked up into his emerald eyes full of love, it was enough. Slowly she let a soft smile grace her lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close. Sometimes all you can do is let yourself fall and for once she decided maybe it would be the best fall she ever took.
"I love you too Gar. From your cheesy jokes, to your immature behavior. To your horrid taste in food, to your silly little obsession with video games…" He laughed and ran a hand through her hair. Raven closed her eyes and buried her face against the green changeling's chest, simply enjoying the warmth he gave to her.
Someone cleared their throat and slowly they both glanced over at the white haired teen. He watched them and said nothing before looking into the eyes of the empath. Though he didn't want to the green teen let his arms slip away from the violet haired beauty. That didn't mean he didn't take her hand in his, just to prove the point of who had won here.
"Rorek… I don't know where your feelings came from… I do not mean to hurt your feelings but I do not return them…" The wizard could only nod his head slightly and glance down.
"I guess… somewhere in the past few days I fell for you… I love you Lady Raven… but I know when I am beaten. I will not cause anymore trouble for you. I apologize…" Raven frowned a bit and started to walk towards the wizard. She could feel the green teen's hands tighten slightly on her own but when she sent him a look he let go. She moved over to the wizard and placed a hand on his shoulder. Cerulean eyes looked up at her.
"Your first love may be the first… but that does not mean it is the best. You will meet someone Rorek and that girl will be very lucky to have someone like you." He watched her and let the words slowly sink into his head. Though it hurt, he knew she was probably right and though he hated to admit it the green changeling had indeed showed him that he loved her in a way the wizard could only ever dream of. The wizard knew when he was bested and though it hurt, he would be the man he was raised to be. So Rorek let a small smile grace his face and gave a nod of understanding. The beep from her communicator came to life and she blinked to answer it. "Hello?"
"Friend Raven. I need the assistance of you and friend Beastboy. Meet us in downtown jump city."
"Alright Starfire. I'll be right there." She hung up the yellow device in her magical belt and turned back around to face the amount of people. There were more people than she had figured and the fact three of them were unconscious was not making it better. She frowned a bit and Beastboy did the same. He could tell that the empath was already beyond tired and that her magic was almost to the point of nonexistence.
"Kinda beat up?" She snorted as if that were an understatement. Beastboy nodded and rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a solution. "Can you make it? I mean I'm sure that when we get there we'll have more than enough people to help so you could rest." She thought this over for a moment and remembered all the numbers. Still she didn't like being a burden and she wanted to help the best she could. She would just have to make the jump and hope for the best. They were all Titans though so what the green teen had said only made sense. It seemed like it could work. She went to talk but her eye caught the way Beastboy was holding his arm. The empath lowered her eyebrows in worry and took the green arm into both of her hands. Beastboy blinked for a moment and went to tell her not to waste her energy but the look she gave him caused him to shut his mouth. Seeing that he was not going to object she nodded her head and places a hand to the large gash and let the black energy pool around it. Emerald eyes watched her as she simply closed the wound and then let go of his arm, the green teen smiling a thank you. Raven smiled slightly in return and gave a nod of her head before getting back to business.
"Alright… Gather everyone up. This jump will drain the last of my energy." The two males nodded and started to gather up the villains and the still unconscious earth mover. The empath could only let out a small breath of air. Hoping that the others were alright and for once that the green teen's plans would be accurate. Not that she had much choice anyway. She walked to the center of the cavern and glanced around as the two male teens piled everyone up. Raven lifted her arms and in a wave of black energy they were all gone.
A/N: Dun dun dun! Stay tune to see the confrontation between Poison Ivy, Slade, and the Teen Titans!
Wolvmbm: Did I ever say thank you for being such a faithful reader and reviewer? I mean seriously, thank you! You've reviewed every chapter and you let me know what you're thinking! Thank you so much!
ChicoMagnifico: Yay! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I hope this one was as good cause that fight scene was so hard. I hope I did okay updating on time! I don't want to lose a reviewer! Hehe thanks for reading!
acosta perez jose ramiro: I know! She's so smart, lol. Thanks for the review.
sinomin: lol glad you liked it! She so had it coming for awhile now. Thanks for the review!
Spiritedheart4ever: lol sorry! But hey at least I updated pretty quickly, right? And look! Things worked out slightly. Thanks for the reviews! They made me laugh. ^^;
So there you have it! Part three, one more chapter to go! Read and review and let me know what you thought of the battle! I felt a bit bad for Rorek. I liked him so much and then I just had to make him mean but at least he admitted he wasn't the better man! That's a step in the right direction. Leave a review! I love reading them! Good or bad!