*A/N* Hello again! Back for more, I see? Excellent, because I really had fun with this chapter. I also took a bit of a break from dark themes and focused more on fluff about halfway through. Don't want this to be a total downer, right? Enjoy? *A/N*
"Thank you for letting us meet with you, Dr. Scissors."
Gustavos Scissors was a man about a head shorter than Cyborg, middle aged with a full head of snow white hair and a small beard of matching color. He wore a crisp white lab coat over a cornflower blue button-up shirt, and had small half-moon spectacles.
"It's exciting to finally meet you and your team in person, Mr. Grayson." Scissors said, shaking Robin's hand. "I greatly appreciate what the five of you have done for our city. Please, have a seat."
The Titans moved to sit down in some of the rolling chairs set up around the large, expensive looking meeting room table.
"I hope that it comes as no surprise to you why we've come to speak to you today." Robin said gravely.
"I'm well aware of Anton's misdeeds." Dr. Scissors said, nodding. "It pains me, not only as a family member, but as a citizen, to hear of his suicide. The poor boy was always-"
"Uh… hate to break it to you, Doc, but Anton isn't exactly dead." Beast Boy replied, awkwardly tapping a finger on the table.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Logan?" Gustavos said, poorly hiding the disbelieving tone in his voice.
"I'm afraid Beast Boy's right, Dr. Scissors. We received a threatening phone call from your nephew less than fifteen minutes ago. That's what we've come to speak with you about."
"Threatening? What do you mean? Please explain."
"We were suspicious that your nephew had faked his suicide, and our suspicions were unfortunately confirmed when Weatherman called me on my cell phone. We attempted to trace the call, but he was on a payphone. The nature of his call related to this device."
Robin placed the dial on the table.
"You managed to retrieve the LTAS-I?!" Gustavos exclaimed, scooping up his precious device and examining it for damages.
"Would you mind explaining what this device is meant for?" Cyborg inquired. "It might help us take down Anton."
"Of course. You see, the PIAS has been working on a possible method for personalized manual control of temperature."
"Why?" Raven asked.
"It could be a way to allow the citizens to alter the atmosphere around them without being a detriment to others. A farmer could water his crops by simply condensing the air above them into water instead of using precious water that the city needs. A family could warm their home without the need of air conditioning. It's essentially a project that could conserve resources in the future."
Dr. Scissors removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "We've developed an imperfect prototype biochemical for such a project called Liquid Temperature Alteration Serum, or LTAS. It works, but there are two glaring problems. The first is that it's far too potent; lowering the temperature of the air around you almost instantly freezes the moisture, and creates scalding temperatures when the temperature is raised. The second is the most dangerous. You see, a small amount of LTAS injected into the bloodstream is enough to last a lifetime, it converts a miniscule amount of the blood's hemoglobin into LTAS. But the problem is that the formula is changing too much hemoglobin into itself. So much so, that the user will die from septicemia within 24 hours of first contact. That's why we developed this device, the LTAS inhibitor dial. So far, it has kept all people affected by the imperfect biochemical alive."
"So, you're saying that if Anton doesn't get the dial back in 24 hours, he'll die?" Beast Boy asked.
"Maybe less, with the destructive way he's been using his powers."
"No wonder he's willing to take such extreme measures to get it back." Raven said.
Dr. Scissors looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
"In his phone call, he warned us that if he didn't receive the stolen dial within the hour, he would begin assaulting civilians with a rifle." Robin said.
Dr. Scissors' eyes widened in horror. His mouth briefly opened before it was clapped shut again. He stared vacantly into the distance for a few moments before shaking his head slowly.
"Oh, Anton…"
"We understand that this is upsetting to hear, Dr. Scissors." Robin said quickly.
"No, it's my fault. I should have seen this coming, I should have watched him more carefully."
Starfire, after remaining quiet for so long, spoke up when she saw that the Doctor needed comforting.
"Doctor, it is nightmarish for any guardian to hear that one of their own has done wrong. But this is not your fault. You never encouraged him to do such things."
Scissors grasped his head.
"You don't understand. Anton had always shown signs of being mentally unwell. When he was in secondary school, he took revenge on an ex-girlfriend by burning her eye with a lit marijuana joint. His parents never took good care of him, his father… my brother, Maxwell, disappeared when he was still in diapers, and his mother Alice often forgot to feed him. Her boyfriend, Trent, was no help either. Anton tried to light his house on fire… I should have put him in a halfway house as soon as he was released from prison, but I didn't read the signs. It was my fault he figured out about LTAS, he was kept in my custody."
Scissors hid his face from view. Robin placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Doctor, we need your help. We can't risk any innocent lives, so we're going to let Weatherman have the dial. But please, you have to tell us if there's any weakness to the LTAS, anything that will impede its effectiveness or turn it against the user? It could help us bring your nephew to justice and get him the help he needs."
Scissors remained in the same position, and kept silent for a few moments before speaking, his face still turned towards the table.
"Dehydration. If the subject lacks water in their body or is in a highly dry environment, the alteration effects of the chemical are almost completely cancelled out."
The Titans looked at each other, each understanding that the Doctor was in considerable distress and needed to be left to his own devices.
"Thank you for your help, Gustavos. You can count on us. We'll make sure that no harm will come to your nephew or any of the city's citizens. Let's roll, guys."
Robin ushered his teammates out the door. Cyborg gave the Doctor a friendly pat on the back as he left, Beast Boy smiled and left him with a "Don't worry, Dude." Raven said nothing, simply pausing by his side before making her exit. Starfire knelt down to his level and placed her arm around him sympathetically.
"Do not blame yourself, Doctor. You live to make others' lives better. You should not allow the misdeeds of another to define your successes."
And with that, she stood and left. Gustavos Scissors remained seated at that table for another half-hour, before breathing shakily and exiting the meeting room to resume his studies.
The Titans did what Weatherman specified, and left the inhibitor dial at the foot of the lighthouse, tucked neatly into a box Robin surreptitiously attached a micro-camera to. Returning to the tower, Cyborg streamed a live feed of the camera onto the Television, and the five teens agreed to always have somebody monitoring the screen, drawing straws as to the order of camera duty, to be switched every half hour.
Cyborg was given first watch, and it came and went uneventfully. Beast Boy was up next, and he narrowly managed to avoid nodding off from boredom long enough to make it through the half hour, quickly retired to his room to "grab a power nap" after his shift was done.
Starfire's shift was a touch more exciting for the Titans. About ten minutes into it, Starfire gasped and began pointing to the screen.
"Movement!" she yelled repeatedly. The other Titans hurried into the room, including the half asleep Beast Boy, who nearly fell down the stairs in his daze.
The camera was indeed rattling, as someone appeared to be jostling the box. Before Robin could give the order to move out, the camera was obstructed by a white blur.
"What the heck is that thing?" Cyborg inquired.
A seagull peered curiously at the camera. Blinking unintelligently, it pecked the box a few more times before it flew off to look for something else.
"You know, I love animals, but birds are freaking stupid." Beast Boy said, irately turning around and stomping back to his quarters.
Before he could even reach his door, he heard shouting coming from the common room.
"Beast Boy! Get back here!"
Reluctantly prying himself from the door handle, he went back into the common room.
"What did I do?" he grumbled. He immediately shut his mouth when he saw what was happening on screen.
Staring directly at the screen was an uncomfortable close-up of Anton Scissors' face. He had appeared to have picked up the box, and was now examining it.
"It's him!" Starfire exclaimed, pointing at the screen feverishly.
"Titans! Go! On the double!" Robin barked.
The teens scrambled to the lighthouse as quickly as possible, but by the time they reached the spot where they had dropped off the dial, the only thing there to greet them was the empty box, the unused rifle and several boxes of ammo, and a message seared into the concrete.
GOOD MOVE
C U SOON
XOXO
Robin ordered an extensive search of the entire surrounding area within a five mile radius. After six hours of searching, viewing security camera footage, questioning passerby, and checking out a deserted oil rig three miles off of the coast, their efforts came up dry. Weatherman had disappeared.
"Robin, I think it's time to call it a night." Cyborg said after they regrouped for the eleventh time.
"I must agree with Friend Cyborg, Robin. I believe the Weatherman does not intend to reveal himself until a later time." Starfire added.
Robin shook his head. "Unbelievable. We had him!" he yelled. "He slipped through our fingers!"
"He'll show up again." Raven said. "At least we made sure no one else got hurt."
Robin growled softly through closed lips, but he nodded in agreement afterword.
"You're right. But when he does show up again, we need to be the first ones there to greet him. We'll head back to the Tower for now, but the police are on high alert, so we need to be too. Everyone be ready to drop what you're doing and go if this guy's spotted again. And we're getting up at eight tomorrow to search again. Got me?"
Despite a few groans of protest, the others agreed, and the teens made their exit.
Raven sat up in her bed, her back propped up by a few pillows, wearing some plain grey sweatpants and a black shirt made of soft material she didn't care to identify. Reading her novel, she allowed it to work its magic and wear her eyes out like it always did. It was a typical bedtime routine for Raven; shower, make herself some chamomile tea, then read until she felt sleepy enough to turn in for the night.
Strangely, sleep seemed to evade her this evening. She had even tried cutting the light off and closing her eyes, only for them to repeatedly open. She had wondered if she had accidently drunk the wrong kind of tea, caffeine wasn't exactly helpful in speeding up the sleep process. Was she nervous about something? She didn't feel particularly upset about anything. Was it about what happened at the pool earlier today? That had been disconcerting. But looking back, that wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. And besides, she vented all of her stress that afternoon.
She checked her bedside clock. Half past midnight. If she didn't fall asleep soon, she would be a zombie in the morning. She placed her book on her lap and moved to turn the light off. She started when she heard the soft chime from her cell phone that signaled a text message. Picking up her phone, she read the message.
From Beast Boy:
(Hey u up?)
Raven frowned at the poor spelling, but was honestly relieved that somebody else was awake.
(Trying out for a Pulitzer Prize, B?) she sent back.
(So yes. I cant sleep.)
(Join the club.)
She could have sworn she misread the following text the first time through, but indeed, it said what it said.
(Can I come see you?)
(Why?)
(Just to check on you, maybe itll help me sleep)
(If you're worried about this afternoon, you needn't be.)
The reply took some time to reach her, so much so that Raven actually began to feel a twinge of suspense in the air, even then, his reply caught her off guard.
(Could I lie down with u for a little bit?)
(Where did that come from?)
(Please?)
(Will you make it through the night if I refuse?)
There was no reply for a good couple of minutes, so Raven took it upon herself to send another, more comforting message.
(I might consider it if you told me why.)
Raven was surprised to find herself blushing a little while this exchange took place.
(Forget it, night.)
(Wait. Could you tell me why?)
(Its not important)
(Garfield, if I let you come in here for a few minutes, will you please talk with me?)
(For real?)
(Do you need a written invitation? Come.)
The texts stopped after that, because Raven heard rustling from the room down the hall, a door open and shut, and a soft knocking on her own door.
Raven didn't feel the need to tell him to come in, besides, she didn't want to wake the others. Thankfully, he took the hint and opened the door himself.
He took a step back when he saw Raven seated on her bed, her legs beneath her covers and her novel seated on her lap.
He wore slick athletic shorts and a shirt that read "No Meat is So Neat!" and a nervous grin.
"Evening." Raven greeted.
"Hey." came the response.
"Well, you can come in."
Beast Boy took a quick look about himself before he stepped inside Raven's room. It was so much cooler in there than in his room. The sole light in the room was a reading lamp, and it illuminated Raven's face with an almost ghostly cream-colored glow. He took a few steps up to the foot of her bed, eliciting a gentle patting of the bedspread from the seated sorceress, a signal that he was welcome to sit down. He came over, and she quietly shifted over so he could be seated comfortably. Once he did, she knit her fingers together and seated her chin on them.
"So, what's bothering you?" she said plainly.
"Well, I know it's gonna sound kind of dumb… but, what Robin said on the elevator kind of freaked me out."
Raven raised her eyebrow. "You honestly think he'd try breaking us up? He just had his tights in a wad because we left without telling him again."
"Well, it's not just that… he said that us being together is a problem to our teamwork…"
"Like I said, he was just riled up."
Beast Boy looked down at the floor.
"Garfield, let me put this bluntly. If you hadn't been there at the water park today, I think I would've killed a man in cold blood. If that wasn't enough, you saved me from crawling back into my shell afterword. How many guys can make me comfortable enough to cry my eyes out? In public, no less."
Beast Boy's cheeks flushed. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that big of a deal." He murmured timorously.
"No, it really was. You keep me sane, Garfield. Don't ever think that our relationship is harmful." Raven's eyes briefly glowed white. "Or else."
Beast Boy chuckled, but he felt a weight come off of his shoulders.
"I guess you're right. Now for the other hard question…"
Raven leaned forward slightly. "Go on."
"Could I sleep in your bed tonight? With you?"
Damn it, she was blushing again. It really was an unpleasant sensation, and it was essentially a big banner that told the entire room 'Hello World! I'm embarrassed!' But she got over herself quickly and looked her boyfriend straight in the eye with a serious expression.
"Have you showered and brushed your teeth?"
"Uh huh."
"Do you swear to not try anything crass or vulgar?"
"Of course."
"Do you accept that I have the right to kick you in the shin if you snore, sleep talk, or hog the mattress?"
"I don't do any of that."
"And do you promise to keep this as a secret of the highest priority?"
"Yup."
"Make yourself at home." She said finally, pulling the sheets back and giving him license to slip inside. She reached across his chest to turn the lamp off and flicked the switch, bathing the room in darkness. He affectionately put an arm about her slim shoulders, and, since she was already there, she draped her arm across him and nestled her head against his chest. He couldn't help but play with her hair for a few moments before he rested his palm on her shoulder.
"Can I say something?"
"Make it quick."
"You smell nice."
"Thanks, weirdo. Now shut up and get to bed."
*A/N* Rock-a-bye Beast Boy, on the tree top... Wait, what? Anyway, hope that made you feel a little mushy after the last chapter, I'll be back with more soon enough. Away! *A/N*