Sorry this took so long. School + job + multiple clubs = kicking my ass. Don't know how long it'll take me to get the next chapter up, but I promise I'm NOT dropping the story. I'm just horrible at updating. . . ^^; Anyway, thank you all for your support, and e-mails, and general awesomeness. 3 Much love.
Beast Boy looked up at the small troupe of people walking into his cage and his gaze immediately centered on Raven. Shifting his eyes to that of a hawk he could see them all clearly. His friend was crying, and although she was trying to hide it he could see she was terrified. Drawn out in the obvious mask, centered in the set of her jaw and small furrows in her brow, her chin lifted too high, and her mouth just a bit too tight. He clenched his hands and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and find his center.
The changeling watched as the Master's gecko-butler stepped up the Raven and muttered something in her ear. She didn't respond at all and he grabbed her about the shoulders, twisting her to face him, she turned to look him in the eyes and, with more mirth and savagery than the boy had ever seen his teammate display, she spat in his face. The butler stopped for a moment, letting the saliva drip slightly, his eyes dead on Raven, as though trying to turn her to stone.
Beast Boy watched intently, and time seemed to slow as Ronald lifted an arm as though to wipe his cheek on his sleeve. The changeling watched as his arm came up, his wrist bent as though to catch his sleeve, and his hand whipped back down, striking Raven across the cheek. Between one seemingly eternal heartbeat and the next Beast Boy felt sluggish whips of rage uncoil from between his lungs, striking his stomach, knees, elbows, and head. Cracking through his body, they twined around bone to prick and flex muscle, and before he even knew what was happening, he was three-quarters of the way across the cage and climbing trees to fling himself onto the balcony. As he ran through the trees he felt his features settle into the Beast completely, his take-off so fast his body had to make up the time it took to change.
When Ronald had slapped Raven she had been forced to whip her head to the left, so she was able to see Beast Boy when she opened her eyes, having blinked them close mid-smack. But even after years of training with the changeling nothing had prepared her for how fast he moved. Never had Raven seen him flit like he did, a first standing across the cage, then suddenly half that distance was closed in a breath. He hadn't left time for his body to change completely, and only when he bounded up one of the trees beneath the balcony did she see he was in his Beast form, only this time it was different. The last time she had seen him as the Beast, he had been big, but not huge, claws and teeth had been formidable, but not ferocious, and his face had some hint of cute humanity about it, not the look of a starving, crazed wolf intent on a kill. Now she looked at her teammate and hardly recognized him. This wasn't Beast Boy as the Beast, but rather, the Beast come out of Beast Boy.
The changeling flung himself off the trees just below the balcony and the jump brought him over the small group. A ferocious roar shook the walls, making the trees shiver and Raven's bones rattle. She watched the zookeeper slip into the hallway, trailing the Spindress, and felt Ronald drop her as he fell backwards through the opening just a beat too slow. The Beast dropped on the balcony, his claws flashing as he fell and four lines of blood appeared on Ronald's face and chest, quickly staining the suit he was in. Raven saw the Master's eyes, wide on his pet, as he closed the opening to the hall; at the same time Ms. Fantoccini fell on Ronald, quickly trying to stop the rapid blood-loss. Another roar shook the whole cage and made Raven's teeth clack together, and she watched as her green companion flung himself at the wall, his claws and teeth, fueled by his furious anger, making small dents in the surface of the cage.
Trying to be as silent as possible, the empath pushed herself to the edge of the balcony and stood up. Slowly placing her hands either side of her, Raven pushing herself onto the fencing around the lip and pulled one leg around. She let out a slow breath and quietly picked up her other foot, swinging it around the lip. Letting herself down until she was only hanging by her fingertips, she let herself fall and twisted to catch one of the branches beneath her.
She didn't land as well as she had hoped, her left slammed into a thick tree branch and she heard a distinctive crack as white-hot pain flooded her arm to her shoulder. She bit her teeth down on a scream and turned it into a grunt, catching the next branch with her right hand and letting her momentum swing her out and away from the tree. She did a flip and landed on her feet next to the tree, clutching her left arm close to her side. She stopped to catcher her breath and listened to Beast Boy's monster-truck growling start to slow and eventually stop. A shiver ran up her spine and she stopped moving as she heard the Beast snuffle around the out-cropping and start another growl, this one with a lighter, huskier tone. She felt her shoulders tighten as she looked up through the trees and saw her teammate looking down, directly at her.
Cyborg pushed the ship as fast as he could, feeling the strain he was put on her parts through the steering wheel. He clenched his teeth and prayed they would get there in time. The coordinates he had plugged into the ship had been blessedly close considering they literally could have been anywhere in the universe, but still too far away for his taste. The hours it would take them to get there could mean his friend's deaths, and that wasn't something he was willing to allow happen. He gritted his teeth and tried to add a bit more speed to the already breakneck pace.
"Come on, Baby, just a bit faster. You can do it."
Starfire looked at her team leader from where he was pacing, his attention on what he had seen, although he still watched to screen as the Weaver tried to staunch the gecko-like alien's blood flow. He was obviously agitated, and obviously trying not to let her know.
The young tameranian looked down at her hands as she twisted them in her lap. She felt a slight swelling in her chest, as though a blister had formed on her heart and she didn't know how to fix it.
"Friend-Robin," she whispered.
She could see him turn from the screen and look at her.
"Yeah, Starfire? What is it?" he asked, his voice soft as well.
"Will our friends be alright?" she asked, her nails cutting into her palms as she clenched her fist.
"Of course they will! Beast Boy is too strong a person, and too good a friend to loose control like that! And Raven is too determined to be kept in a cage that long! I'm sure it was just a trick . . . maybe an act to make the Master leave them alone for a little while, so they could make an escape."
His mask kept Starfire from seeing his eyes glance away from her gaze when he said this, but it did nothing to cover the lie. She just kept staring at her friend until his shoulders drooped. He sighed and looked down.
"I don't know."
Beast Boy could feel his muscles coil and spring as he leapt from the balcony and fell to the cage floor. His body seemed to sing with its own power as he followed his prey. The heady scent of the female was intoxicating, entering his system like a drug. Its light flavor covered his tongue, sending streamers of bubbles from his spine to his brain. Her fear produced small bursts of pleasure in his chest and he shivered with the feeling. She was hurt, reeking of desperation and pain, and her smell was delicious.
A small flicker of purple caught his attention and he sniffed the air again, almost giddy with the chase. He checked his speed and slowed a bit, letting his quarry gain a little distance. Mustn't let this end too quickly.
Raven almost couldn't feel each time her foot hit the ground she was running so quickly, concentrating so fully on getting to the pond. She glanced behind her again to see where the Beast was. She felt a flicker of hope kindle in her heart. He was falling behind. Just get to the pond and get rid of her scent, then hide until Beast Boy came back, that's all she needed to do.
Sending you all love!