Here's round three! I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed or followed/ favorited any of my stories and I sincerely hope this chapter is review worthy like my last. I'm sorry for the sluggish updates, but I promise you, this shall be completed!
Okay I'll stop talking now. Happy reading!
The man clenched his gloved hand into a large fist, the leather material squeaking with it. He stood beside his window, watching the streets below. His large body left a tall, dark silhouette against the window and along the floor of his office.
Below him he saw insignificant human beings trudge along the sidewalks and drive their vehicles over and over. It was a never ending pattern. Men would leave their dwellings to mindlessly work for hours on end while their wives tended to their offspring. At night they would not return home until gorging themselves with liquor, their only escape from their dull lives. But when they got home their wives would be angry at them for enjoying themselves for once and more conflict would arise.
Woman. Weak, purposeless beings unworthy of being citizens as far as he was concerned. Their only job in life was to produce children and care for their husband's home. Apparently some thought otherwise in this area. Some women spoke out and lead their own work forces. The thought of a female controlling and giving orders to a man was unthinkable. It was an abomination.
Of course it wasnt the only one. This world was diseased by Muslims, Aethiests, Homosexuality, and so many other plagues that would surely send everyone to hell. God would be revolted by what humans have become if he saw what he could see. That's why he needed to cleanse it, make this world free of all the dirty creatures and non believers out there. And he was going to start with Jump City.
"Mr. Spiegleman? May I enter?" Called a man with a small voice and a Russian accent.
"You may." The man bellowed.
The other man cautiously opened the door then entered. "Um, sir. I have a...um..." The small man stuttered.
"A what?! What do you have?!" Spiegleman demanded, irritated by this mumbling fool.
"I have...something I believe is worthy of your attention, sir..." He said, holding hus shaking hand up. In his hand was a roll of newspaper.
Spiegleman snatched it from him, glaring down at the man and a unrolled the newspaper. He read the front cover, humming lowly to himself. His eyebrows furrowed as though he were glaring at he page as he read. After a few moments his dark eyes shot open and he gasped. A menacing glare overtook his expression. "No..." He whispered. With that he threw the newspaper down on the ground and squashed it into the ground with his foot.
"This shall not interfere! Never!" He hollered, stomping out of the room. The small man watched in fear as his angry boss stomped out if the room, hollering in Russian. He picked up the newspaper and read it himself. In bolded letters it read: Teen Titans: Saviors of Jump City- and the World!
"Good morning Beast Boy!" Starfire squealed as bubbly as ever. Her not-so-cheery friend smiled at her, hoping if he did she wouldn't ask questions.
"Hey B. Look who's finally eating something for once?" Cyborg asked, smirking at the changeling. Underneath his smile he was serious. Beast Boy hadn't been eating breakfast recently. Or much lunch or dinner. Occasionally he'd see him binging on chips or tofu, but never an actual meal. It was pretty confusing as to why someone with such a high metabolism as Beast Boy hardly touched his pizza when the ordered take out.
"Yeah. Just some stir fry." He said, digging through the fridge. Cyborg noted he hadn't joined the team for Chinese last night saying he didn't like fried rice. But right now he was shoveling fried rice stir fry down his throat as though life depended on it. He'd have to investigate later, when the team wasn't around.
Cyborg wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden change in interest. "Uh, Beast Boy? I thought you hated that stuff?" Robin asked, looking at Beast Boy oddly.
Beast Boy stopped eating and looked as though he'd been caught red handed in a crime. "Uh...just wasn't in the mood for it last night, dude." He said, giving him a Beast Boy smile.
Cyborg and Robin looked at each other suspiciously then back at Beast Boy who had continued eating his stir fry. Robin shook his head and went back to his Newspaper.
It's like that guy doesn't care. Cyborg thought, looking at Robin's passive gesture. If it were him or Starfire acting weird all of the sudden, he'd be all over it. But with Beast Boy he just shook his head and went on like it never happened. Has everyone gone topsy turvy? He wondered.
There was a loud siren heard all over the Tower. "Time for action. Let's move." Robin stated, now in his leader mode.
"Good. I needed a workout." Cyborg said, stretching his robotic arm. The familiar glow of Raven's powers appeared in the room and out of it came the sorceress herself. This was the only time Cyborg had seen the cloaked girl all this week. Her cloak hid her body from his view, so he couldn't tell if there were any physical changes on her. Her emotionless facade hid him from any sign of what was going on in her head, so he couldn't tell is she was feeling anything emotionally painful either. Raven, you are a woman if mysteries. He thought.
The team made their way to the garage to get on their seperate vehicles. Normally it was Robin and Starfire on the R-cycle with Cyborg in the T-car and Raven and Beast Boy in the air. Starfire and Robin went in their usual means of transportation while Beast Boy took off as a bird the second the door open. Cyborg stepped into his car. He was about to put the key in when the passenger door opened.
"Is it okay if I ride with you?" Asked a shy voice. He turned to see Raven outside his car, her hooded face looking slightly nervous.
"Uh, sure Rae. Come on in." He said, kind of excited yet confused she wanted to ride with him. The robotic half of his brain was listing possible reasons as to why she would need a lift to get to the crime scene. They were: exhaustion, weakness, inability to use ability of flight, lack of strength, and wanting to talk. He consudered all of them, minus the last one. Raven only wanted to talk-talk to him on rarer and rarer occasions to the point when she spoke to him in a normal way was rare.
They drove in silence, Raven seeming lost in thought. He'd kill to have those telepathic abilities right now to see what was on her mind and maybe find some answers to whatever was going on with her. He considered just asking her what was wrong, but knowing Raven she'd tell him she was fine and keep bottling her emotions up till she burst.
They arrived at the crime scene the same time the super couple and Beast Boy did. The police were there too, but not prepared to fight like the Titans were. They, rather, were tied down in chains agains a street lamp. Must be one of the real criminals. Cyborg thought. No stupid bank robber had the means to tie up the police with heavy chsins like that. Still, most "real" criminals didn't attack in the middle of the day unless they wanted to be seen. Something big was likely to go down.
Robin knelt down beside one police officer and tore off the duct tape from his mouth. "What happened." The detective demanded.
"A man...huge guy...Russian accent...he and some guys...took as out..." The officer panted.
"Where are they now?" He asked.
"Last I saw they were in building. I dunno how long ago that was..." The man replied.
Robin stood up and looked over to Cyborg. Over his eyes he wore heat detecting goggles to see inside the building. "The whole building's evacuated besides five people all armed and three injured. If we want to get them out alive, we gotta get in there." He stated, taking off the goggles.
"Um...friends? Look." Starfire pointed at a large screen used for advertising above a Forever 21 store. But rather than displaying the latest fashion trend, the face of a brooding man wearing a military cap glared at the people before him, or rather at tge camera he faced.
"Greetings, people of Jump City." He bellowed in a thick Russian accent. "I have three of your valued members of society." He stepped away from the screen to reveal three people, their faces covered by bags. Several men with guns stood behind him, their rifles aimed at the captives' heads.
The people on the street gasped and screamed in terror, cars collided, and everyone all over Jump City was watching, for this screen was not the only one playing the video. Every screen in Jump City was besides the Titans' communicators. Stores, houses, and schools all played the video on every television, computer, and phone available. The people could do nothing but watch.
"Titans!" Robin hollered. The team faced their leader. "We need to get inside and stop those men from killing those hostages. Cyborg, you work on figuring out what's wrong with all these screens and fix it. Starfire, you and I will get the hostages out. Beast Boy and Raven, you two take out the henchmen and the big guy. Remember, they've got all the weapons you can count. Taje them out before they do the same to you." He ordered.
The team nodded, though not all of them were pleased with the arrangements. "Sure. He was to pair me with the witch." He mumbled, folding his arms. Unknown to him, Raven heard him.
Focus, Raven. Don't let him get to you. Just...do what Robin says and take those guys down! Said a nervous voice in Nevermore. Raven new that wasn't Wisdom, so who was it? She couldn't think of it now. Beast Boy was already running into the building as a cheeta.
Raven flew in after him and struggled to keep up as they went up the stairs and through the long hallways. But Beast Boy wasn't running out of ergency to get inside to save those people. He was trying to beat Raven in there. He wanted to prove he was better, that he was just fine without her.
"Beast Boy! Slow down!" She hissed, growing tired fast. She had hardly eaten or slept in several days. She had on energy to race him up all these staircases and hallways. She wasn't sure what came over Beast Boy, but when she finally caught up to him, he growled at her. She could feel the hate and betrayal radiating off of him. Raven knew where he was coming from and knew she was responsible for it. She felt that same sinking feeling of guilt and regret that she'd felt all this past week. Raven wanted to curl into ball and hide from him, but that same trembling voice in her mind told her she had to keep moving. Otherwise all three people would be dead.
Raven channeled her powers to locate the hostages. They were close, behind the wall they were next to. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She said. She realized that using her usual spell was harder than it had ever been. She had to conserve her energy during this fight if she were to get out alive.
With the wall busted down both Titans leapt into the room where the hostages, who were thoroughly beaten now, and the criminals were. Beast Boy turned into a tiger and leapt onto the Russian man in the hat. Raven used her powers to make the guns of the hit men malfunction and their bullets disappear. What she hadn't realized was the leader still had his rifle ready.
"You two must be the Titans." The Russuan man said to Beast Boy, pinning him down in his human form. "I cannot say I am impressed. Rather than being attacked I was ambushed by a scrawny runt and a feeble housewife." He mocked. Beast Boy's temper rose at being called scrawny and tried to focus on changing into something stronger.
"Let him go!" Both men turned to see Raven, her magic aura around her hands with all five men unconscious behind her. Beast Boy noticed that her legs seemed to be quivering, struggling to support the rest of her. On different circumstances he'd say she looked like an elephant on stilts, but now wasn't the time.
The Russian cackled. "Do you really think you can face me, woman? You are inferior! You are weaker than-!" He was cut off by a lion jumping on him, clawing into his shoulders. The man pushed him off with great force, sending Beast Boy into a nearby wall as a human. Clearly pissed off with the interuption, the man lifted his rifle and aimed it at Beast Boy.
Beast Boy, still in a daze from hitting the wall, couldn't really see what was going on since he was seeing two of everything. There was a loud bang from a gun being fired. He tried to jump out of the way but was to slow. He should have been hit by the bullet by now. That's when he heard it, a scream, Raven's scream. He saw blue cloak fall in front of him, then hit the ground as it became red.
His chest ached as he tried to deny what just happened, but knew he couldn't change it now. He crawled to her, tears in his eyes as he saw her beautiful, lifeless face against the metal floor. "No..." He whispered, fighting back tears. Before him lay Raven, his Raven, with a bullet in her chest that should've been in his. This wasn't right. It could be real. Not after all that had happened. Not after he... That brought him over the edge. He burst into tears, sobbing with her in his arms.
"Beast Boy! What-" Robin and Starfire entered the room. They had been waiting to be told it was alright to escort the hostages out. But that call never came. Now that saw why.
"Raven!" Starfire screamed, flying to the girl's side. She was already crying at the scene as her crestfallen boyfriend followed, his jaw slack.
"Rob! Yo Rob! I think I fixed whatever those guys did to the screens..." Cyborg said through his communicator.
Robin lifted the yellow device to his mouth, never taking his eyes off of Raven. "Cyborg. We need to get Raven to the Tower, now."
-/-/-/-/-/-
Raven's heart rate was, as expected, low, but still there when the team brought her back to the medical bay. They all wanted to help, but were asked to leave so Cyborg could remove the bullet. He reported later on that if Raven hadn't been wearing bullet protection her lungs would have collapsed. The bullet had broken many of her ribs and punctured the skin and muscle, but not her lungs. Still, it caused her to lose lots of blood which Cyborg had to induce with an IV.
The robotic doctor was currently stitching just below her breast where the bullet had hit. Next he wrapped her chest to help her ribs heal. Her heart rate was improving with with the blood transfusion, but she still wasn't healing herself. Normally she would be putting her ribs back in place subconsciously by now. Cyborg started putting his surgical equipment away in hopes that while he was doing it she would start to hover.
Someone knocked on the door to the Medical Bay. "Um... Cyborg? Can I...we...see her now?" Asked Starfire from behind the door.
Cyborg sighed, debating on whether to let her in or not. Raven was still weak and was unlikely to wake up any time soon if she didn't start healing herself. But maybe Starfire's optimistic attitude would rub off on Raven's emotions and kickstart her healing process. "Alright. Just be real gentle. She hasn't woken up yet." He said.
Starfire swung the door open followed by Robin. They had both clearly been anxious to see Raven. What surprised him was that there was no Beast Boy. He had yet to know what went down in that building with the Russian man and how Raven got hit like that while Beast Boy came out clean. He knew pretty soon Robin would be thinking the same thing and start questioning the changeling.
"She has begun healing herself, yes?" Starfire asked, looming over Raven.
"That's the thing. She hasn't. I put her under lots of painkillers and knockout gas so tge surgery would go well. I think she's still on those and it's still working on her." Cyborg explained. It was true, with the amount of medication she was on, going into her healing trance might be harder for her. At least he hoped that was the problem.
Robin still looked suspicious, but didn't say anything on the matter. "When will they wear off?" He asked.
"I'd give her an hour at the longest. Otherwise I might have to put her on something else to try and wake her up." Cyborg explained.
Robin nodded and continued watching Raven. "You'll tell us when she's up, right?" He asked.
"Of course. Say, where's BB? I figured he'd be waiting by the door by the way he reacted." Cyborg said, referring to how Beast Boy was sobbing when Robin and Starfire found him.
"He is in his room. He has been there since we had arrived." Starfire explained.
Cyborg gave a discouraged look. "What is his problem? Why's he suddenly locking himself in his room like that? Doesn't he think Raven might want to see him like the rest of us?" He exclaimed.
"But Raven is always mean to Beast Boy. Perhaps he feels she would not care." Starfire suggested.
Cyborg shook his head. "That can't be right. Even if Rae's mean to him sometimes he wouldn't just leave her alone like this. That's not the Beast Boy I know." He stated.
"I'll have to talk to him. One of us will at least." Robin said.
"Not now. Maybe the little guy just needs some time to think." Cyborg replied.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Garfield curled himself into a ball, surrounded by his trashed room. The window was broken, his wallpaper was torn, his trinkets lay smashed on the ground, and shards of his old broken toys and glass littered the floor.
Just a few hours ago Garfield nearly hated Raven. He hated her insults, her attitude, and how much he liked her despite those things. A few hours ago he wished he had never met her, that she was just go away and let him suffer in peace. It seemed he had almost gotten his wish. He knew from being on the Doom Patrol that a bullet to the stomach would either kill you or leave you unable to function for a while. Raven probably knew that, and yet when that gun was aimed at his heart, she took the bullet. Why? He didn't know. What had he done to make her risk her own life to save his? Besides his kindness to her in the early years, what had he done to make her give her life for him?
It's not like you've been showing that kindness lately. A voice in his head grumbled.
Gar didn't bother telling it to shut up this time, reluctantly admitting it was true. But still, she had insulted him many times before as well as physically abused him. He was just evening out the odds. So was giving her life for you not evening those odds? The voice sneered.
"Shut up." He whispered. Despite his bitterness towards her, he did feel guilty she had gone to such trouble to save him. He didn't deserve to be saved as far as he was concerned. He deserved the pain she must be in right now after all he'd done. Not to her, but in general. He was an ugly, green, mutant, who was incapable of saving the people who mattered. He didn't deserve to be called a hero. He belonged in a zoo. It was one of the many reasons he couldn't be with Raven, especially after what he said.
When he saw her lying on the ground, her blood on the floor, he didn't hate her. He didn't wish he hadn't met her. His only wish in that moment was for her to be okay. He wished and hoped that there was still a chance she would get better and somehow forgive him. Then maybe, just maybe, she would eventually feel the same way he did. It was a hopeless wish, he knew, but despite everything he wanted it to come true.
I think my highest hope should be that she doesn't hate me after this. He confirmed. Even that was a high hope in his point of view. If she had treated him the same way he had treated her that night, he wouldn't want to approach her out of mere fear. The last thing he wanted was for her to fear him like so many others had. But it seemed she probably did. If she were so scared then why jump for that bullet for you? The voice asked him.
"For the last time I don't know!" He growled. Some voice of reason it was.
"Um...friend Beast Boy?" A Starfire squeaked from behind the door. If was clear she had been crying by the shakiness in her voice.
He didn't respond, not sure if he had the strength to say anything.
"Cyborg has some information on Raven's condition that he thought you'd like to hear." She said.
That caught his attention.
"She is progressing so far. Her heart rate stable and her wounds treated. Our only concern is that she has not begun healing herself."
Wait...what?
"Nor has she woken up yet. We all fear for her safety and her health, Beast Boy. Perhaps... some information on what had happened before Robin and I arrived would give us a better idea on how to help her."
Sure, that's why you need the info.
"That and I feel that standing together as a team, a family through this would help each other during this time. So please, Beast Boy. All I ask is you come out to at least see her. Your relationship may be complicated but she needs you as she needs the ready of us. Please, Garfield. I know you can hear me." She almost begged. Garfield was shocked to hear his real name coming from her. But wasn't sure if she was saying this to get information out of him or was being honest.
Does it matter? The voice asked.
What do you mean? He asked.
You should see her whether she tells you to or not. Don't be a coward and hide from this if you ever want her to look at you again. The voice snapped.
Garfield sighed and slowly stood up. Hid legs shook as he made his way to the door, but he made it. Slowly, as though his wrist would break if he turned it to fast, he turned the nob and pulled the door open. Garfield stared at the ground at first, then finally looked into her's, his eyes watering as they made eye contact. Her eyes were watery too, her cheeks red and glimmering with past tears. After a few seconds they both wrapped their arms around each other, sobbing in the other's shoulder. Gar had cried over this before, but this was different, being in someone's arms like a mother soothing a child. It felt different, it felt nice. That only made him hold her tighter, never wanting to let this comfort go.
"It is alright, friend Beast Boy. Raven shall be well again. Then you and her can be friends again." She comforted him, stroking his hair. He wanted to believe her more than anything. So just for that moment he did; He let her stroke his hair and tell him it was alright. Just for now, he promised himself.
First off I just wanna say I DO NOT believe that women are inferior to men in any way, shape, or form. As a woman and a feminist the first part was hard for me to write without getting pissed of or laughing from the ridiculousness. I hope no one thinks badly of me for writing my villain the way I did, but he's supposed to be like that, given his prejudice is the reason for his villainy.
Now that we've gotten that cleared up, thank you for reading and I hope you stick around for the next chapter!
Themadzlove