I could go on and tell you many excuses as to why I took so long to update, but you don't want to hear it. What you want is Chapter 12, and so you have Chapter 12.
The first person to come out of their stupor was Starfire. She flew up from her seat, her motions clearly etched on her face.
"Nightwing, we must call back! What if something of the terrible has happened to Raven and Arsenal?"
"Yea, man!" Cyborg stood up and made his way to their leader, Starfire floating right behind him. "We gotta check and make sure everything is okay with them."
They both stopped just behind their leader and watched as he just stood there and stared at the screen.
"Dude, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Call 'em back!"
"Yes! Please call them and make sure they all the alright."
"No."
When the changeling heard Nightwing negative reply to his teammates' pleas, he had to grip his claws into the couch cushion as the Beast growled from within. Now was not the time for him to leap at their leader. That would pull his teammates attention into him and his victim. No, they had to stay focus on Raven.
He watched as Starfire flew just behind Nightwing's left as Cyborg scrambled to the right, each talking at a mile a minute about how much Nightwing's ruling. Both agreeing on disagreeing with their leader's choices. Both of them trying to change their leader's mind.
As if Nightwing's decision was the worse decision.
Nightwing clinched his fist before turning to face his worried teammates.
"No, I will not immediately call them back." His voice was stern and he held eye contact with his immediate teammates.
Cyborg looked baffled, in a mixture between confused and angered. It seemed he chose to go with anger because he began yelling at Nightwing,. As Cyborg argued with the stubborn wall that was their leader, Starfire's ears were able to pick up on the faint rumble of a growl from behind her. Discreetly, as not to attract the attention of her arguing friends, she turned her head to peek over her shoulder.
She took a close look at the changeling and watched his body.
He was tensed, his muscles taunt and his jaw clenched. His claws were elongated and while one of his nails was digging into the couch, the other hand was scratching at his arm. There was only a slight tear within his uniform sleeve but with another scratch a trickle of blood was starting to pool out.
He was worried about Raven and Starfire could see that Nightwing's refusal was only making him angrier. The more he clawed into his arm, the angrier he got. It was painful for her to watch. She knew what she had to do.
She squared her shoulders and turned to her leader. They were going to call Raven back. She did not want to see any more of her friends in pain than what she's already seen.
"I demand a reason as to why we can not call back our friends who are clearly in distress."
Nightwing turned all of his attention to Starfire, noticing how her body was demanding authority. In return, he crossed his arms and set his eyes on her.
"We are not going to call them back, Starfire."
Her eyes held a slight glow and her fingers crackled with power.
"I demand to know why not and I demand to know right now."
"Because the last time we called them while they were on a coopt mission, one of them either got hurt or badly injured. This literally happened a couple of minutes ago. We weren't supposed to call them in the first place and because we did we probably jeopardized their mission, or worse."
"Which is all the more reason we should hop on the T-ship and go help them. It sounded like Arsenal was hit, badly, and Raven is still in the mist of battle. Did you not see that weapon that was being fired at her through the communicator? Dude, for all we know Arsenal could be dead and Raven could be close behind."
At Cyborg's proclaim, Changeling's grip tightened around the couch cushion and his nostrils flared as he breathed out. No, he didn't need to think about that. Raven was okay. She had to be. He wasn't sure what would happen if it turned out she was dead. Even worse, how the Beast would react.
"And what if everything is alright and we rush down there for nothing? Then it would seem as if we don't have faith in them, as if we expected them to screw up and if I know one thing from working with them, it's that they would absolutely hate that."
Nightwing sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Look guys, I'm just as worried for them as you are. Raven is our family and I've been friends with Arsenal since my sidekick time with Batman. When the communicator disconnected, I wanted no more than to jump into the T-ship and track them down than you guys. But we have to remember something very important:.. "
He looked the two standing teammates in the eyes, took a brief yet detailed notice of Changeling's lack of participation, then looked back into the awaiting teammates' eyes and answered them.
"They are Titans."
He squared his body and fixed his posture to give off confidence as he did whenever he gave speeches.
"We've known them for years. We've seen them in battle. We know their skills, and we also know they can handle anything that's thrown at them. If Arsenal is hurt, Raven should be able to heal him with her healing ability. If the battle got too intense, she should be able to teleport the both of them out of harm's way, and for all we know they could have won that battle and we're just overreacting."
He watched as Cyborg's resolved seemed to calm. Starfire's determined will and hard stance seemed hesitant to change, almost as if she was unsure whether or not she should believe his words.
And Changeling's demeanor hadn't changed at all.
"We'll give them three days. In three days, if they haven't called in to us, I'll call the Titan East and we'll both give them a call. If they answer, we'll ask if everything is okay and for details on their mission. If they don't answer, we'll send in a team to find and help them in any way possible. Is everybody okay with that?"
As Cyborg and Starfire hesitated on answering their leader, Changeling stood from his seat, a big smile on his face and the tension from before gone.
"Nightwing's right, guy. Raven is one of the strongest person we know and Arsenal is like a red headed Nightwing with a bow and arrow. We have nothing to worry about."
There was another pause before Cyborg's body seemed to relax and he nodded his head.
"You're right. They're strong members. We can wait three days."
Starfire was more reluctant to release her hold on what she believed, but she took another look at her changeling friend before she gave a single yet solid nod.
"Fine. It is agreed that we shall wait to call upon them in three days, but on the third day, we must immediately call them and make sure they are the okay."
Just as Starfire finished her speech, the alarm went off. Nightwing turned back to the computer.
"It's Adonis and he's causing disruption downtown. Let's go stop him."
All of the titans ran out of the living room, except for Changeling.
He stood back, if only for a few minutes, but he had to wait. The Beast was trying to take control, roaring in his ears and clawing at his mind. All he could hear from the Beast were growls, snarls, and snaps to let it free and the constant repeat of Raven's name. And all that was doing was giving him a worse headache and cause him to get frustrated. He needed a way to release his pent up frustration.
"Changeling!"
His name being called reminded him of where he was supposed to be and he felt a bit of the Beast being released as he growled before he ran out of the living room and out of the tower.
He really hoped that Adonis had done something to deserve the unrelenting beating he was about to get. Otherwise, it was going to be an unfair massacre.
And there is Chapter 12. Chapter 13 should be shall be more exciting with the Titan West calling Titan East and then the impending call to our two mission goers. I apologize for the late chapter and for any mistakes. I shall begin working on the next chapter really soon. Please, read and review!