Author's Note: Revised & Reposted.
-Bert the Nomad
Forty-Five seconds later, chest heaving, communicator still wedged in a shaking hand, Beast Boy stood outside Terra's house. It was a standard run of the mill structure; single story, square windows, with a God awful paint job. It was located in a middle-class Suburbia with the skyskrapers of the major districts of Jump City outlined on the horizon. A white-washed picket fence and a line of neglected bushes separated neighboring houses with lawns covered in lawn ornaments and children's toys. Christ, it all looked so normal.
Beast Boy swallowed hard and over to a window at the far end of the house, next to a small row of ferns with what looked like an apple pie sitting on the sill. For a brow-furrowing moment, he was tempted to go through there. Slip in soundlessly, take this bastard by surprise and beat him into four months at the hospital with tubes in every hole in his body. Out think the bastard, use his powers to his advantage…just like he did with every other wanna-be villain with a hostage he'd overtaken.
He took two steps though, then stopped.
This wasn't some wanna-be villain, and there wasn't some scared faceless civilian in there as his hostage. It was Terra…and if he messed up, even once, she could wind up dead…only nothing would be able to bring her back.
He'll have to forget the gun's blazing approach until later. For now, he needed to follow his instructions. Go right through the front door nice and easy like, playing his game as he saw fit.
Hands trembling, Beast Boy ran towards the house, dodging around several garden gnomes and one persistent plastic flamingo before finally tearing open the front door.
Instantly, Beast Boy's eyes swept over the room. The door opened up into a hallway, two rooms on either side. There was an overturned table in the middle of the floor, along with an upturned rug and several broken frames of pictures that apparently had been knocked from the wall. What unsettled Beast Boy the most, though, was how unusually dark the house was, even though it was 3:00 in the afternoon, he couldn't even see what was at the end of the hallway.
"I'm here!" He yelled into the darkness. "I'm right here and I'm alone!"
Silence.
Beast glanced around the room again, took a cautions step forwards, teeth gritting. "You let Terra go now! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Neither…do you."
Beast Boy felt a good shiver run down his body as he heard the voice. It was definitely the same one from over the communicator, but somehow it felt…familiar. The way he slurred his words, a particular grain that scratched his tone…he could have sworn he had heard it before. Jesus, that unsettled him.
"What do you want?"
"Shut the door."
"I need proof that Terra's okay! Let me speak to her!"
Another pause…then a sharprip of duct tape being torn from flesh. Moments later, he heard Terra shouting. "RUN BEAST BOY! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! HE'S GONNA KILL Y-"
There was another rip of duct tape and her voice was muffled again. The voice spoke, utterly indifferent. "You have your proof. Shut the door."
Taking in a hissing breath, Beast Boy complied, slamming the door shut and casting the house into complete darkness. Probably not the smartest move…but this guy had Terra. Beast Boy was going to play by his rules until he made a mistake. Even though it was dark…Beast Boy just knew that this guy was still watching him. Somehow.
"Ten feet down the hall there is a lights switch to your left. Go to it."
Beast Boy did, his feet taking slow, long shuffles along the mangled carpet, his hand sweeping up and down the wall. He was tensed, ears straining in the dark. At the first hint of footfalls, the first possible sign that he'd separated himself from Terra…Beast Boy would be on him and the super-hero code of conduct be damned. He'd beat him within two inches of dismemberment.
As soon as he saw him…
He reached his tenth step just as his hands ran over the light switch. He took one last swallow, sounds like he's in the far end of the house. Probably barricaded behind a door. He bit his tongue and flicked the switch. The hallway lights blinked on in an instant and Beast Boy suddenly realized that the voice was no longer at the far end of the house. It belonged to the man standing at the end of the hall.
Less than seven feet away.
Staring at him
Despite the fact that Beast Boy had been prepping himself for something exactly like this…he jumped. He jumped hard. His back collided with the edge of a small table, knocking off an expensive looking vase of flowers which promptly shattered on the floor. Beast Boy swore and steadied himself, his eyes never leaving the figure at the end of the hall.
His entire body was swathed in a gigantic black coat, a very cheap looking black coat. Both cufflinks missing, a long tear running down the collar, and four buttons that'd appeared to have come from four different shirts. Long, fine black hair hung down to his shoulders, his face hidden beneath the brim of a very large black hat. His coat was unbuttoned and hung open to reveal an unequally unimpressive tank-top underneath, speckled with mud and dirt. Despite this though, the frame beneath these clothes looked sleek as a razor. This guy didn't look the type to hit the gym everyday, but he was definitely defined…like wrought iron cables lay bound beneath his icy-white skin.
A small stream of smoke trailed lazily from underneath his hat.
"Hello." He finally said in a reserved, quiet voice. It was a tone that Beast Boy couldn't decide was restrictedly angry...or just slack-jawed tired. Either way, he didn't waste time with words. This guy wasn't near Terra anymore. Bullshit time was over.
The man took two steps forwards, holding out his hands. "I'd first like to state that my actions are solely because of a contract. I don't want to do any of this. I can assure you that bec-"
He stopped as he suddenly ducked under the small table that Beast Boy had bumped against as it went soaring over his head, exploding against the far wall and knocking several pictures off the wall. From the other side of the hall, a green gorilla savagely beat his chest and charged. From under hat, the man smirked, spitting out his cigarette and bracing himself.
"Looks like you get the idea." He said quietly, and rolled out of the way as two large fists smashed against the floor where'd he'd been crouching moments before. He was on his feet in a moment, moving to take of his gloves but being forced to dive out of the way again as the twin horns of a bull impaled the rose-flower wall paper.
He landed less gracefully this time, rolling like a hula-hoop down the hall until his back finally collided with the door, rattling the hinges.
Beast Boy freed himself from the wall, turning back into human form. He stood defiantly between the man and the rest of the house, his expression absolute.
The man slowly stood up, righting himself and flinging his hair back over his head. His hat was off. Beast Boy could get a clear view of his face.
He stopped.
This 'man' wasn't a man at all. He was the same age as Beast Boy. He was a teenager. A boy.
His face was proud, angular, with a defined chin and a pair of large, thoughtful eyes as dark and undefined as ink splotches. The coloration of his face was a perfect unbroken contrast between the grey of his skin and the deep, dark ebony of his eyes and hair, interrupted only by two identical scars under each eyelid. They were prominent scars alright. Running from his eye to the bottom of his jaw line like a pair of crimson parenthesis. The skin around these scars were puckered. They looked like they'd been painful. Beast Boy glimpsed back into the boy's eyes and particular knowing gleam told him that the boy had been carrying them for most of his life. He glimpsed up past his eyes…and saw the diamond embedded in his forehead, glaring red in the bright light of the hallway.
Again, he stopped to stare. Jesus, that looks just like-
"You're staring." The boy said flatly.
Beast Boy snapped out of his stupor and almost openly apologized if he hadn't caught himself at the last minute. Composing himself, he huffed and cracked his knuckles. "Sorry, chum." He said. "I'll continue where I left off. Kicking your ass."
The boy straightened and removed his gloves, his eyes never leaving Beast Boy's. "If you insist." He muttered and struck a pose.
A guy who knows Kung Fu. Beast Boy thought grimly. This just gets better and better.
Moments later, the boy was coming at him again, his face remained perfectly calm as he swept an open palmed hand towards Beast Boy's face, as if to slap him. Beast Boy threw his head back and cart wheeled back down the hall, turning into a bird in the middle of it and coming around in an arc. The boy's hand collided with the wall where Beast Boy's face had been moments before. Then, to Beast Boy's shock, the section of wall that he had touched exploded. Bits of plaster, wood, and insulation sprayed into the hallway, leaving a ragged two foot by two foot hole in the wall that went clean through into the other room, like the path of a cannonball. Beast Boy flittered over his head, swerving this way and that like a World War II fighter plane. Without even losing his momentum, the boy spun around and made another lunge at the little olive bird with his other hand. Beast Boy narrowly flipped out of the way and the boy's hand slapped against the door, which promptly was blasted clean of the hinges and sent flipping into the yard, crushing the plastic flamingo and catching the attention of several cars passing by.
Beast Boy remained a bird, flittering into the living room. The boy following, clearing overturned furniture and other obstacles without even checking his stride. Beast Boy dropped onto the sofa, becoming an emerald fox and darting out of the way moments before the boy's hands snatched the couch cushions, missing his tail by inches. The couch split in half, like a 2x4 being broken in a karate class, both ends lifting up and sending an explosion of feathers and bright yellow sponge into the room.
Beast Boy wheeled around and came at the man full on, leaping into the air as a swarthy bull-frog. The man stopped as the green amphibian went flying at him, then widened his eyes as the frog suddenly morphed into a kangaroo in mid-jump, both legs bucking out at him like a spring loaded punching-glove. The boy bent backwards, his spine bending like a contortionist, until his head almost touched the floor. Beast Boy sailed over without even grazing him, becoming a bird once again and flittering into the next room. The boy straightened himself, shaking his head.
"They said you were unpredictable."
Beast Boy turned back into his normal self, landing in the kitchen on the other side of the hallway. He leaned heavily against the wall, his eyes trained on the door leading into the living room where the boy's voice was coming from.
Note to self He thought grimly. Don't let him touch you.
He was about to turn back into the fight when he suddenly heard a weeping sound, muffled and scared.
Terra…
He whipped his gaze in the other direction. Sitting at the table, nose bleeding, hands tied, and a good sized welt appearing on her cheek, Terra sat; her eyes star ridden with tears. A large piece of Duct Tape was stretched over her mouth but Beast Boy could still get an idea of what she was saying.
Get out. Run away. Save yourself.
Jesus, she was wanting him to leave her. Why the hell would-
Then Beast Boy noticed the two other people seated at the table. A middle aged man and woman; Terra's foster parents, both with equally sized holes in their stomachs, as if they had each swallowed a landmine. They lay sprawled in their seats, their chairs, the table and even the walls and ceilings had blood splattered on them, among other things that had erupted from their guts.
Over their faces, were two black handkerchiefs.
Beast Boy made one step for them, then caught a glimpse of something black from the corner of his eye.
He turned just in time to block a full round-house kick with his forearms as the boy made a wide sweep with his leg. The contact rattled both his arms like a plastic pipe and sent him stumbling back against the counter. He winced and glanced down at his arms, feeling them throbbing already. Jeez, this guy hit hard.
The boy's expression remained strangely resolved, almost sad even as he straightened from his kick and delivered a punch that split the overhead cabinet boards in half as Beast Boy ducked his out the way. He landed on the floor as a squirrel that charged between the strangers legs, morphing back into human form on the other end of the room, throwing himself to his feet and-
FWAANG!
A butcher's knife that'd been inserted in its block a moment before suddenly made contact with the wall less than an inch from Beast Boy's ear, sticking a good inch into the wall-paper and vibrating like a freshly plucked guitar string. Beast Boy let out a surprised shout and backpedaled a few steps, turning and glimpsing up to see the boy had already removed another knife from the block. A steak knife this time, with his other hand pulling more from the counter. His expression still mellow.
You've gotta be kidding me…
Beast Boy ducked again as the tip of a knife skewered a family picture of the new Markov family. He rolled along the floor, the hollow thumps of knives sticking into walls sounding just a couple inches above him. He found cover behind a fallen chair, waited a moment as yet another knife thwacked against the backside of the seat, and jumped up into the air again, turning into a jade eagle. He got two flaps in and suddenly fell back to earth again, quickly turning back into a human and barking in pain. Something hot dribbled down his sleeve.
He glanced over at his arm, gritting his teeth.
Just a knick.
He sighed. A lucky shot. Nothing too serious.
He looked back at the boy as he made another reach for the knife block. He felt around for a minute, then frowned.
"Out already?" Beast Boy smirked, standing up. "Well I guess you're out of things to throw at-"
PANG!
Beast Boy's back collided with the wall as a large frying pan bounced off his forehead. He blinked twice and stuck a palm to his brow, wincing. "Me and my big mouth…" He sighed, shaking stars from his vision.
For the first time, the boy actually smiled and came at him again, bringing an arm sweeping towards Beast Boy's chin. The changeling blocked with his forearm again before lunging his head forward, suddenly sprouting the horns of a ram and making contact with the boy's face. He grunted, stumbled back, and leapt out of the way as the ram charged again, breaking into the oven and rattling several pots, pans, and cooking gloves from their racks.
Beast Boy righted himself, head throbbing, just in time to see an open palm flying towards his face. Beast Boy gasped and threw open the lid to the upper oven of the kitchen just in time. The boy's hand made contact with the glass with a loud thwack, that rattled the window. He glimpsed at Beast Boy for a second, the smirked. Beast Boy turned his gaze back to the hand just in time to see something surge out of the ivory palm, like small little bolts of black electricity. They crackled from his fingertips into the surface of the glass like a hundred individual lighting strikes before the entire glass window to the oven suddenly exploded and Beast Boy was once again backing up madly backwards as a multiple shards of glass hissed by his face.
The boy removed his hand and ran forward, delivering a very powerful kick towards Beast Boy's chest.
Beast Boy shook his vision clear and jumped, becoming an emerald gecko and crawled up the wall. The boy's blow hit nothing but the kitchen wall, blowing right through it like Styrofoam and burying his leg up to the knee.
He jerked once, twice, but couldn't budge. He sighed.
"Damned embarrassing." He muttered, giving another jerk.
Beast Boy crawled along the ceiling to the corner, where a large food cabinet stood. The boy followed him with his eyes as Beast Boy landed atop the large, heavy storage compartment and stared at him with large, gecko eyes. He realized his intention and let out a long heavy sigh.
"They also said you were resourceful."
Beast Boy turned back into himself, seated on the very edge of the six foot tall food cabinet. He rocked himself forward. The cabinet tipped.
"You bet your ass I am." He grinned triumphantly and gave one last push, carrying the cabinet forward with a loud creak. Beast Boy leaped off at the last moment as the cabinet fell on the boy with a resounding crash that shook the overhead lamp and sent a box of strawberries rolling across the floor. Beast Boy straightened and glimpsed back at the wreckage.
"Down for the count." He smiled and turned, running over to Terra, who was sobbing hysterically, her chest heaving.
His smile quickly faded into a grimace as he tore off the tape and wrapped a hand around her shoulder. She didn't seem to be able to speak, her head lolled to the side as he shook her. She was gasping for air, her nose clogged with mucus.
"Terra!" He whispered. "C'mon, we have to get out of here!"
"Beast Boy?" She whispered. "He's…he's…"
"Don't worry." He smirked, glancing back to the cabinet. "He's taken care of. I'd be surprised if any man could shake off a blow like that any time soon." He grabbed her hands and was about to pull her from her seat when suddenly he felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. It wasn't powerful or uncomfortable; in fact, he didn't hurt it at all. It almost felt like a reassuring shoulder squeeze. Assuring, congratulating. But as Terra's eyes suddenly widened and her hands began to shake, Beast Boy knew what it was.
Impossible…
He suddenly felt a presence behind him, as the stranger's head was lowered next to his.
"I'm afraid…I'm not just any man."
Beast Boy felt his teeth grit, whirling around. The boy stood promptly in front of him, his dusty coat swinging restlessly from his shoulders. He was smiling.
Instantly, Beast Boy threw the boy's hand away and sent an enclosed fist flying directly at his nose.
His arm never got there.
Two inches from its target, his arm twitched in a suddenly painful spasm. Then, a deep set pain began to seep its way down his arm until it reached his fingertips. Tried to move…he really did, but his arm responded as much as a bag full of sand and glass.
Beast Boy winced and snatched at his shoulder. The pain began throbbing deep and rhythmic. Like an overheating shower, it became unbearable. The pain pulsed through his entire body, once…twice…thrice before he fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder as Terra began screaming. Tears stung the corners of Beast Boy's eyes, blurring his vision. He tried to shout…but he couldn't even talk. It hurt too damn much…
The boy was standing over him with that same, sad tired look. He removed a lighter and casually lit a cigarette. He slipped his gloves slowly back on and was about to apparently retrieve his hat when he noticed Beast Boy's gaze. With another sigh, he crouched down next to him, taking a long, thoughtful drag from his cigarette.
"You interrupted me earlier, you know." He whispered in his ear, small rivers of smoke slyly weaving between his lips. Beast Boy tried to move but the pain was too great, it held him fast like a hot iron cast. The boy continued, his voice as dead-pan as ever. "I said that I was only doing all this because I had to. I would never do that otherwise. I go out of my way to tell that to whoever I have to kill."
He stopped to take another drag.
"I told it to them" He said, removing his cigarette and using it to point to the still, dead forms of Terra's foster parents.
"I told it to her." He motioned to Terra who was now struggling vainly against her remaining bonds. "And now…" He said, placing the cigarette carefully back into his mouth. "I've mentioned it to you. You know what that means, right?"
Suddenly, Beast Boy's shoulder began to swell, puffing outwards like every single animal in his arsenal was trying to bust their way free from inside him. His expanding shoulder pressed against the side of his face, forcing it over.
Now…he could scream.
The boy stood up, walking over to the cabinet underneath the sink and pulling out some gauze. On his way back over he noticed one of the many strawberries scattered on the floor. He tilted his head, uttered a reasonable 'Hmmm' and picked it up. "Y'know." He sighed. "I absolutely love these things."
Beast Boy blanked out.
…
…
…
…
…
…
When he awoke, he was sitting in a chair.
His eyes rolled around the room and winced at the light overhead.
Bright as the sun. He looked away.
He tried to move…but every part of his body felt four times too heavy. He had trouble keeping his eyes open. He felt numb.
He let his gaze roll to the floor.
There was something lying in front of him, bent, like the letter "L". There was a pool of red around it.
He wasn't tied up but he felt too weak to move. He tried to run his hand over his face, try to clear his vision…but his arm was numb…he couldn't find it. Everything was numb.
He slowly lifted his other hand and felt for his other arm. Instead…he felt nothing but his waist.
The initial panic didn't set in at first. He trailed his hand up and down his side, trying to find his arm. Instead…everything just felt wet. Wet and cold.
Then…he remembered where he was.
He remembered everything. Terra, the boy, his arm…
…his arm…
He shook his head madly, his hand becoming desperate now, feeling all over the right side of his body, searching madly for what should be there. What had been there all of his life…
His hand finally enclosed around his shoulder. It had been bandaged…and slowly, he recognized the feel of gauze and duct tape. But no arm.
His vision finally cleared enough to see the object that was lying on the floor. It was an arm, with green skin, splattered with red droplets of blood. His eyes slowly trailed up it, but where the arm should have connected with the shoulder, was an ugly oval of tattered, ruined flesh.
Beast Boy's arm was gone.
"You're awake." The voice said. "I can only hope that the drugs are working. You shouldn't be feeling anything right now."
Beast Boy couldn't scream, he felt too weak. Moving hurt. Breathing hurt.
The boy was sitting across from him at the table, tilting his head and puffing on cigarette. Terra was seated in his lap, coughing feebly. The boy had one hand around her waist, the other covering her mouth.
"Now." He stated simply. "We talk."
Ending Author's Note: Review if you like it!
