I do not own anything relating to the Teen Titans.
Opening the Closet Door a Crack – Chapter 14
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"Cyborg, can you triangulate Beast Boy's location from his communicator?" Robin asked.
"Hmmm, oh. No, I'm, uh, I'm just getting a general signal." The cybernetic teen seemed hesitant, unsure of himself.
"Robin, why do we not just break in and rescue our friend?"
"Star, we don't know where he is. By the time we locate him it could be too late. Raven, can you track him down with your empathy?"
Raven concentrated for a moment. "I can't get a read on him. There's too many people."
"THAT'S IT! Raven, where everyone is located is probably where he is. Without going through it yourself, send one of your portals to that general vicinity. BB's the only one who would know what it's for. Hopefully, you'll be close enough to him that he can jump through. At the worst, we may get a cultist or two and we can overpower them." Switching to the communicator, Robin said, "BB, get ready to jump."
Raven began the process of creating one of her transportation portals, only this time, not going through it herself, but waiting. It was quite a bit more difficult when she didn't know the precise location. She attempted to keep it at a floor level and, with any luck, it wouldn't be inside any furniture or a wall.
Now was the truly difficult part, waiting.
The axe had done its work.
"Beast Boy, answer!" shouted Robin into his communicator. There was no response.
Although he heard the call over his communicator, Beast Boy was in no position to respond. The door had been chopped sufficiently so that the battered pieces had been shoved away. Eight of the cloaked figures had entered the room. Of the eight, six were completely hooded, two were the strange men with large, protruding, bulbous, unblinking eyes. Although the first figure was carrying the axe, all of the others had various forms of knives and blades. The light from the hurricane lamp threw distorted shadows along the wall. Between the darkness of the room, the green-blue walls and the shadows of the Order, the looming figures resembled large undersea amphibians that were intent on consuming the trapped teen. The blades were all shining with the light reflected from the lamp.
Most disturbing was what was revealed by the knives. In order to wield them, each of the order members had to push up the sleeves of their robes so that the blade was evident. Each hand holding a blade was smooth, webbed, resembling more of a flipper than a hand.
The oppressiveness, the menace of the room continued to intensify. In the large room where they had first met, Beast Boy had been able to keep his distaste for these individuals under control. When he had been in the Gilman House, the closeness of the desk clerk had set off his animal instincts. Now, in a room even smaller, with more of these….creatures….in a far more enclosed space, his instincts were shifting into overdrive.
The hair on Beast Boy's head began to rise up, not out of fear, but as with a canine or feline that makes itself appear bigger in the presence of an adversary. Involuntarily, he crouched over into a position of attack and began to snarl.
"NO, I've got to keep control. Can't let these things get my animal instincts to overcome me. Damn, wish there weren't so many of them. So hard. If their feet are anything like those hands, no wonder they don't move quickly, gives me a small advantage in mobility." The shapeshifter moved back towards the wall to put as much distance between them and him.
It didn't work, the aromas, the scents, the very presence of these things were overwhelming. The growling that Beast Boy emitted grew louder. A feral look came across his face and his eyes narrowed in readiness. Nevertheless, the members of the Order began to lumber towards the green teen, knives and an axe at the ready.
From the back of the mob, framed in the doorway, the tiared figure of the Order leader appeared.
"Get him." He croaked, his voice making a rasping, graveling sound. Obeying him, the order members slowly closed the distance between them and the shapshifter.
"OK, what now, I can fight, oh God do I want to fight these foul disgusting…NO, I've got to get out of here, got to get back to the titans. Need to tell them, need to get this page to them. Not sure if I can duck them. Might have to fight, I can take these unnatural horrors. NO! Can't let the fight instinct rule. Oh boy, I did NOT want to do this. Doesn't look like I'll have any choice but to morph to get out of here with my skin. I've no idea if I can keep myself together. Let's see, need large, armored, fast….rhino should do it."
Beast Boy was about to change when something caught his eye. As the order moved closer, though the dark figures blending into the back ground threw odd, distorted shadows everywhere, he noticed a section of the dark room that looked even darker. "Hey, if I didn't know better, I'd swear that was one of Rae's portals." He sized it up in an instant. It WAS Raven's portal. There was only one problem.
The Order was between him and the portal.
"Wonderful. Now how do I get over there?" If it were simply evading one or two, it wouldn't be much of a difficulty. The members walked in a lurching, uncertain pace. It was evident that they could not travel fast. The problem was that there were more than two and they fanned out to contain him. Furthermore, he was hindered by holding the journal in his left hand. It meant that he had to maneuver with one hand
Although Robin was obsessive, obnoxious and secretive, his insistence on continuous training and his demand that the titans be able to operate in any number of situations did come in useful at times. Like this one. Considering his options, Beast Boy realized he could make use of his advantage in agility. While he couldn't evade all of them, he only had to get around three to get to the portal. His further advantage was that the Order would probably expect him to make for the doorway. Consequently, the leader remained in the frame, effectively sealing him in. But the portal was not near the door.
The problem was the Order members between him and the portal, one of which held an axe. He would not have more than one try at this. If he missed, there was a distinct possibility this would end unpleasantly, in pieces.
Continuing to hold the journal in his left hand, Beast Boy made a running leap for the table and with his one free hand, somersaulting over it. Although the Order members were startled at his initial movement, they regrouped quickly. The individual with the axe swing it in a downward arc towards the boy over the desk. As Beast Boy continued his movement, flying off the desk, the axe landed where his hand had been a moment before and stuck in the table. Now there were only two facing him, each with knives. The portal, still unseen by the Order, hovered behind the one on the right.
Dodging to his far right, as if heading towards the wall, Beast Boy again evaded the knife blade that had been swung at him. After its passing, the green teen put his shoulder down and shoved against the order member, pushing him into the other hooded figure in the vicinity. With the path to freedom clear, the changeling made for the portal.
Leaping for the dark circle, Beast Boy shouted as he broke the plane of the portal,
"CLOSE IT, CLOSE IT, CLOSE IT!"
In the street outside, the four other titans looked expectantly at the dark passage that Raven had opened up. While not a lot of time had passed since Raven had opened it up, every second that passed added to the worry and concern. Had they guessed right that Beast Boy was where the others were? Was Beast Boy all right? Was Beast Boy still alive?
Only Cyborg seemed curiously unconcerned. Maybe not unconcerned, but distracted. He continued to look around him, twitching as if he were worried about being observed.
"What is with you?" asked Robin.
"Hmmm, nothing, nothing…." Cyborg replied. "Just…..uh…..do you hear anything?"
That phrase got Starfire's attention as well. Raven was concentrating on the portal and did not concern herself with anything other than maintaining its integrity. Starfire and Robin looked at one another.
"Friend Cyborg, what is it that we should be hearing?"
Cyborg looked around furtively, as if expecting to be attacked at any minute. Then he focused again on his teammates, "Nothing..nothing. Just…..curious."
Robin was about to question the cybernetic teen when there was a shout from behind him.
"SE IT. CLOSE IT!"
Flying from the portal was the green form of their missing comrade. Landing on all fours in the dirt of the road before them, Beast Boy had his head bowed and his entire body was trembling. Raven did not wait any longer for further instructions and dissolved her black portal before anything else could come through.
The titans looked at the figure in the dirt before them; he was continuing to growl and the hair on his head had risen substantially, giving him a wild look. However, it was when the changeling raised his head and stared at them that caused them to back off a step.
The wild, feral madness that had been evident days ago when Dr. Phillips had visited the Tower was back. He was breathing heavily, snarling. Before their eyes, they watched the teen master himself. He began to breathe deeply, not heavily, slowing his pace. The hair on his head began to slowly flatten, he stopped crouching and began to straighten his body. His eyes began to clear, losing their ferocity. Finally, he stood up and rubbed his hands over his eyes.
"God, thank God I got out of there!" He seemed to realize where he was, a startled look upon his face. Then a look of joy.
"RAVEN! YOU SAVED ME! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" He rushed over to his purple-haired teammate and enveloped her in a massive hug. Although she stiffened, Raven permitted this outburst, it was obvious that the ordeal he had been through was well beyond her comprehension, well beyond what any of them expected.
After a few moments, Starfire spoke. "Friend Beast Boy, we are glad that you are back and unharmed. However, I am curious. What has happened to the top half of your uniform?"
While hugging Raven, Beast Boy's eyes had been closed, as he tried to convey the joy, the relief he felt from being extricated from a situation which he had not expected to get out of. When the words Starfire said penetrated his consciousness, his eyes snapped open. He remembered that he put his tunic under the door to hide the light. Here he was, hugging Raven tightly with his bare chest against her body. All of her body. Including the parts that he shouldn't be near. He very suddenly let go and stepped back several paces, looking down at himself as if hoping that his shirt would magically reappear.
"Umm, I, umm, you see…uhhhh…sorry Raven, I didn't realize. I, umm, well..ummm, sorry." And he began to blush, looking down and only casting a furtive glance at his teammate's face.
However, the look on Raven's face held nothing of anger or embarrassment. Instead, there was a questioning, concerned look. As if the events that had driven him to this situation were of far more concern that any momentary discomfort she might feel.
"It's ok Beast Boy, what happened?"
Before he could answer the sorceress, Robin spoke up. "Beast Boy, what's this?" He reached down into the dirt where the teen had emerged moments ago and picked up a book that had been left there.
Rather than address the question that Raven had asked, along with all the accompanying issues, Beast Boy turned to the Boy Wonder. "Oh, I found that in the room I was trapped in, along with a bunch of maps and books. It's somebody's notes. The writing looks familiar but I can't tell. It looked important so I brought it with me. Thought maybe you could figure it out."
Robin opened the journal. His eyebrows knit together as he began to read the opening entries. Then his eyes widened in shock.
"BEAST BOY! This is Carter's journal. This is fantastic! Now we have some idea of what's going on. Great job."
The revelation that the missing Randolph Carter's journal had been discovered hit the titans like a thunderclap. They all huddled around Robin, eager to find out the secrets that had caused his disappearance. After a moment or so, Beast Boy piped up.
"Guys, we really should NOT be standing out in the street. There were eight guys with knives and axes after me in there and they are probably not happy that I got out. While they don't move fast," and with that Beast Boy shuddered as he remembered the webbed members holding knives and lurching towards him, "they're going to start looking for me REALLY soon."
At that, he turned towards the entrance to the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Letting out a gasp, the green hero stiffened. The other titans turned. In the doorway stood a tiared figure staring at them. While they couldn't see his eyes because of his hood, they could tell he was looking at them. An aura of menace emanated from him, a promise of vengeance for violating the sanctity of their sanctuary.
"Guys," spoke Robin, "we are completely in the wrong here. I think we should get out now and head back to the T-Jet. If he decides to come after us, he has every right to pursue us with force."
"But Robin," asked Raven, "they have Carter."
"We've no proof of that. As far as the law is concerned, we've broken into a private club and stolen (sorry BB) something from their premises."
"But it's Carter's journal!" Raven continued.
"Doesn't matter, he could have left it there. They could have picked it up from the hotel. There's still NO TRACE OF CARTER. There's no proof that they have him. We need this book and we need to get out of here without delay."
For Robin to suggest a retreat was unheard of. Yet, what could the titans do? He was the leader and his knowledge of law and legalities was greater than all of them combined. If he said they were in the wrong, they were. Turning as one, they hurried away from the Esoteric Order of Dagon, back down New Church Green and back to the T-Jet.
Well, all of them turned saved one. Cyborg still looked befuddled, confused. He continued to stare at the building, then up to the heavens and all around him. As he ran, Robin looked back and saw that the mechanical teen was still standing there.
"Come ON Cyborg! Let's MOVE!"
Shaking his head, Cyborg replied, "Yeah, sure. I'm coming."
And so the titans made their way back to the T-Jet. Surprisingly, without incident. It seemed that five teenagers in top physical condition, including two that could fly (Raven and Starfire, Beast Boy wouldn't change into a bird in that malevolent town), could outrun however many of those….things….that inhabited the town.
Reaching the safety of the T-Jet, Robin turned towards the others. "Well titans, do we pitch camp here?"
The other four looked at him incredulously.
"BIRDBOY, ARE YOU NUTS?" shouted Beast Boy. "These guys mean business. This town is driving me crazy. Get us out of here."
"Robin," echoed Starfire, "if this town is so terrible for humans, perhaps it would be better to make a tactical retreat until we gather more information." In her concern for the others, Starfire had retreated to the military lingo that characterized a warrior race, her race.
"That's probably for the best," said Raven. "Without the threat of the townspeople hovering over us, and possibly attacking, we would have a better chance of going through Carter's journal."
Where the other arguments did not have much influence on Robin, this last one cut to his core. The potential for solving the case, discovering the reasons behind the disappearance of Randolph Carter, threw the entire situation into another mode.
"You're right Raven. We need to find out what's going on. And the only way to do so is to look through this journal uninterrupted. Titans, prepare for take off."
The preparations for lift off were handled, mostly, with little difficulty. The only flaw was the continued problem that Cyborg would lose his concentration at various moments and have to be reminded to fulfill his duties. Nevertheless, the titans were able to lift off before any of the residents of the shadowed town of Innsmouth reappeared. As they flew away from Innsmouth, none of the teens looked back at the cursed town. Each, for their own reason, was glad to be away from this malevolent patch of earth.
None of them realizing that, one way or another, none would ever see shadowed Innsmouth again.
And somewhere, three hags were laughing.
Hi folks, I'm back. A week's vacation, a week with my computer down with a virus and NOW I'm able to continue the story. Hope you are all enjoying it. I noticed that the hits have improved so either more folks are reading (hi!) or there are people who are rereading it (wow, didn't realize it was that enjoyable).
Now that Innsmouth is in the distance. There will be a short, ok, several chapter, interlude before we go to our next destination in the world of HP Lovecraft. By the way, the clues are all there as to where the Titans go next. The clues will get more….obvious?...over the next several chapters.
Meanwhile, my continued thanks and appreciation to my readers and most especially, my reviewers. Onwards.
TheForceIsStrong – This from the master of cliffhangers. OK, no cliffies here, just loose threads everywhere. Yeah, it was fun having Raven beat up Robin. Here the focus was almost exclusively on BB. By the way, anyone reading this GO TO JOKER'S SHADOW and read it. WOW!
KenzieCat – Killing? Who said anything about killing? Just because most Lovecraft protagonists end up either dead or mad, why should anyone be killed. OK, seriously, in my story summary, I mention survival is uncertain. I wasn't joking.
Novus Ordo Seclorum – Hi NOS, I'm back. Actually, if you notice, Robin is working WITHOUT complete knowledge of the situation. Not that I want to give him an out, but fair is fair. Raven knew what BB was going through, but Robin didn't. Would that have changed Robin's decisions? I refuse to answer.
DownwardSpiral1 – Well, as you can see, BB made it out alive (although I tried to make it a near thing). You know, if it wasn't for the fact that I am NOT Robin's biggest fan, I would wonder why EVERYONE is happy to see Robin beaten to a pulp.
Emotionalpoemgirl – Welcome aboard for this rollercoaster through Lovecraft. You hit the nail on the head. I had Raven planned to be the savior (at least here) by teleportation. Maybe not quite the way you expected though. Glad you're enjoying the story.
The vacation was good. It's good to be back.
Until next my friends, sleep well.