I do NOT own Teen Titans
Notes and replies to comments:
Yeah, the Rage I'm trying to portray isn't a red-eyed demon out to destroy the world. I'm thinking the emoticlones are parts of Raven, and so aren't killers. They would be bound by her morals; Rage, outside of Trigon's influence, wouldn't be a monster. Just like Timid isn't always cowering in her maze, Brave doesn't jump off a cliff to show how courageous she is, Rude doesn't go around assaulting people just to be rude,... They might be Raven's emotions, but they aren't taken to such unrealistic extremes. While I've only watched the cartoons, on the Wiki for Teen Titans it shows that Rage hates Trigon. People don't generally want to be like the people they hate, rather they try not to be like them.
Cyborg's sonic cannon is a weapon. I doubt any insect could survive if it were fired at full power; it's designed to take down supervillains. Still, I'm sure Beast Boy will find some way to best that cannon. In the cartoons I can't recall seeing him turn into an insect, though in 'Beast Boy and Raven' I did have him often using the form of a gnat. Whether the writers of the show deliberately excluded the possibility, or just didn't bother showing him in such forms, I don't know. Insects are very versatile creatures. It would certainly add to his abilities.
I'm sure he'll be learning more animal forms, including alien ones. There will be drawbacks to the alien octopus form, as we will see. Can't just make him invulnerable. And I don't want him to just give up using earth animals. That just wouldn't be right.
Time: The next day.
The Morning,... Adonis,... Nevermore,... Rage,...
Raven, waking a bit earlier than usual, finished her meditations and headed down to get breakfast. When Cyborg cooked, which he would for the rest of week, she'd decided she would grab something quick from the kitchen. Too her surprise she found Beast Boy already up, and nearly finished his morning meal. It seemed he'd had cereal this morning.
"Morning." She intoned, glad to see him.
"Morning." He replied, not looking up.
A slight frown crossed her lips. "How're you feeling?" She asked. Starfire had rushed him into the clinic the day before, yelling something about him a Torkop. It seemed the stew she'd prepared had grown a bit, and nearly ate the shape shifter. Over two-thirds his body had been covered, to some degree, with acid burns. His teeth had been nearly shattered, and his fingernails had been torn out. Despite that, he'd smiled the whole time she'd worked to heal him.
"Good." He replied, briefly looking up to give her a small smile. "Thanks for fixing those burns for me. Talk about pain. I've never felt anything quite like it."
"Guess you'll be joining the rest of us in avoiding Tamaranian food." She intoned, just to make conversation.
"Actually, I got what I wanted." The shape shifter's smile broaden. "Rage really gave me some really useful advice there." He'd given the new form a short three second spin earlier. It required a bit more effort than an earth animal, but he could change into it.
"Rage?"
Beast Boy nodded. "Girl is smart as well as cute." He said, knowing it would get a rise out of her.
"She's not cute. She's the very embodiment of evil within me." The violet-haired girl intoned, sounding serious.
"If she's the evilest part of you, then you've got nothing to worry about. Miss goody-two-shoes." He taunted with a smile.
"Hrmph." She replied, suppressing a smile of her own. It felt good for him to treat her as he normally did. She pulled a whole grain muffin out of the fridge and set about boiling the kettle. "What advice did she give you?" She asked curious, as well as a bit worried.
Just two words, "Tamaranian stew." He shrugged. "If I ever see her again she's going to be angry it took me so long to figure it out. It was so obvious."
"Oh." Raven replied, spreading some cream on her muffin. It was strange that he spoke of her evil emoticlone so fondly given all the scars he'd ended up with while there. Guilt pushed its way through her control, and she swallowed.
"For something like that to evolve, I wonder what Tamaran used to be like." He pondered out loud.
"Not a place I would've wanted to visit." She stated impassively. "Every animal super strong, and deadly."
"I would've though." He mused thoughtfully. "It would've been fascinating."
The violet-haired girl nibbled on her muffin, admitting to herself she liked his company at breakfast; perhaps even his company just in general. It had just taken the danger of losing it to make her realize it. Recalling what he'd seen her do, she blushed. "Can you use that form now?" She asked, pushing the memory from her mind.
"Yeah." He smiled.
"Is it really that powerful?" She'd only seen it dead, and it hadn't looked like much. But then, few things did in that state.
"It is, though I will need to experiment more before I know just how useful it is. Unlike earth animals I can't just read up on it." Beast Boy shrugged. "Maybe Starfire will be able to tell me more." Placing his empty bowl in the sink, he set about washing it.
"Think it'll help you beat Cyborg's sonic cannon?" She asked apathetically.
"Don't think so. I'll need to test it, and see how well that bone armor it has stands up to sound. It's strong, but that cannon can bring down a wall. As for the acid, it's too dangerous to use in a sparring match. It would damage even the titanium covering his cybernetic parts, and unlike the cannon it can't be toned down. It's either I use it and dissolve a part of him, or I don't."
"Oh." It seemed he'd given it some thought.
"I can't even determine just how well it can tolerate sound without his help." The boy mused sadly. "And I don't feel like asking for it."
"He would be more than happy to help." Raven insisted.
The shape shifter shrugged. "Maybe." He placed the bowl back in the cupboards. "I'm heading up to the roof." He told her. "Got a few things I want to do before practice."
She watched him leave, and nibbled on her muffin. When she finished dark energy wrapped around her, and she vanished up through the floors to join him. Not speaking, she sat in a lotus position, and started to meditate. She was tempted to recite her mantra, but decided not to break the silence. Most of her efforts were put into pushing the images of his scars, after being with Rage, to one side. She really hated that red-clad emoticlone, and that required more meditation.
After a while something disturbed her, and she opened her eyes. Beast Boy was rolling around in the form of a cheetah, acting like he was in pain. "You okay?" she asked without feeling.
The shape shifter reverted to his human shape. "Yeah. Just working on something."
"Oh?" She inquired, curious. He had the laptop that was usually kept in the commons room for general use with him, and she'd assumed he'd just taken it to play games. But on the screen she could see what looked to like a human skeleton going through the motions of throwing a baseball. Beside it, in another window, there was a picture of a cheetah skeleton. Or what she assumed to be a cheetah skeleton anyway.
He reverted back to the form a cheetah, stretched, and then returned to being human before he sat down. "I have no long range attacks." He explained. "Robin got explosive discs, Starfire can throw starbolts, Cyborg has his sonic cannon, and you got telekinesis."
"And?" She prompted, wondering how that involved the strange contortions he'd been putting himself through.
"A baseball player can throw a ball at around a hundred miles per hour." He shrugged. "It might not be as good as what the rest of you got, but it would work at a distance." He looked down at the roof, realizing just how stupid it sounded. Sighing, he continued. "A lot of animals got better reflexes than a human, even if they don't have hands. I was trying to see if a cheetah could flip a stone hard enough to do damage."
"Try throwing something as a giant ape?" She suggested. "You've done that before."
The shape shifter shook his head. "When a human throws a ball, they put their whole body in it. An ape can't do that. I can make up for it by throwing heavier stuff, but only at a short distance. A cheetah, while it can't hold anything, has really good reflexes. And its spine is more flexible than most other animals. It can bend and twist, so I can put my entire body into flipping something."
"How's it going?"
"I'll know when I actually try it. Right now I'm just seeing what's the best way to try and throw something. Or rather flip it off the ground." He looked out across the blue ocean. "How's the meditating going?" He asked. "For someone who's acting so calm, you're putting out a lot of pheromones and stuff."
"I am?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know more; bad enough he could hear so well.
Beast Boy nodded. "A slight trace of adrenaline. Not enough for fear, so I would say angry."
"A little." She admitted.
"At me?" He asked.
"No." She intoned. "So you can sense emotions like that all the time?"
"Just when I in a form that has a good sense of smell. Right now my sense of smell is little better than human, so I get nothing."
"Oh." That's a relief. She thought.
He studied the violet-haired girl. If I was more like Aqualad or Robin,... He pushed the thought aside. He wasn't, and never would be. He was short and green, with fangs.
"Yesterday you said you can sense a lie?" She asked, looking back at him.
He nodded. "If the form has good enough senses, I usually can. It's not a hundred percent foolproof. Some people are natural born liars. There's nothing to give them away."
"Become a bear." She instructed.
He did so, curious.
"I'm sorry for being so mean to you over the last few months." She stated clearly, abandoning her facade of emotionlessness. "We do appreciate you, and would miss you if you left. We acted without thinking."
He returned to his human form, stunned the impassive girl would state something so clearing without trying to hide the way she felt. He was even more stunned when she gave him a small hug. "Okay." He replied, trying to keep her closeness from getting to him. It was making him a bit giddy.
She sat back, puzzling over what her own empathic senses had told her during the brief hug. He'd fully accepted her apology, but there'd been a sense of something like ... ecstasy. Why? Shock ran through her. He likes me. She realized. As in like like, not just like as a friend.
"Time for practice." He stated, not looking at her. "I'm going to return the laptop first."
"Okay." She intoned automatically, watching him leave. I've hugged him a few time before. She recalled, thinking. Was it like that the other times? She decided it had been, though not quite that strong. Since she usually tried to block her empathic senses when touching people, it was hard to tell. His outward appearances hadn't even given her a hint about it. Sitting back, she gave the situation some thought. After a while she decided it didn't matter. She wasn't interested in him, at least not in that way. Better to just let it go. But it did make her feel good; someone did like her despite her violet hair and eyes, and her weird skin color. And if he could then maybe Robin could. And where would that leave Starfire? She asked herself. It was obvious she was head over heels over Robin; not to mention he seemed to like her back. She frowned, thinking.
"Friend Raven. It is time to practice." Spoke the orange-skin woman, who'd just landed on the roof.
Raven jumped, startled. She'd been so deep in thought that she'd lost track of the time. "Okay." She replied in a monotone, feeling guilty. It wasn't as if she was trying to steal her boyfriend, she just liked him. Still, there was a tinge of guilt.
"Hey B." Cyborg greet, Beast Boy.
"Cy." Came the response.
"Okay team." Robin spoke, commanding attention. "Today we'll be ..." An alarm interrupted him. "Skipping practice it seems." He added, running for the tower's control room.
Fifteen minutes later they were facing Adonis in one of the city's many banks.
"Hey weaklings." He greeted them. "Come to adore the great Adonis?"
"Not really." Cyborg replied, pressing several buttons that controlled his Maximum-7 chip. He rushed forward, only to have his fist grabbed by the supervillain. He ended up flying through the air. Rising, he aimed his sonic cannon, and fired. To everyone's astonishment, it had no affect.
"New upgrade." The ego-crazed criminal smirked. "Absorbs vibrations." He marched forward, lifted the cybernetic Titan, and tossed him through a wall. He then flexed his suit muscles. "The rest of you better give up." He said in a mocking tone. "Or you'll get hurt along with that obsolete pile of nuts and bolts."
Robin tossed several explosive discs that had no affect. A multi-ton banking machine slammed into Starfire, while the door from the bank vault nearly flatten Raven. They hadn't been the only ones upgrading their skills and equipment. The battle suit Adonis wore had increased in size and complexity. It now towered over twelve feet high, and was protected all around by six inches of pure titanium.
"Hey." The villain said, looking at Beast Boy. "Turn into a dog and beg. Maybe I'll let you leave in one piece."
"Not interested." The shape shifter replied. The last several times they'd faced Adonis, the villain had beaten him badly. The battle suit had been more than a match for any animal he'd tried; half a foot of titanium was too much even for his T-rex form to get through.
"Guess you need to be taught a lesson, little doggy." The speech was interrupted as Starfire tried to rain starbolts on him. Obviously annoyed, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. A second later she was sent flying through a wall. A furious looking Robin came in for another attack, and got kicked out through the front door. The supercharged villain went to take a swing at Raven. Three tentacles wrapped around his arm stopped him.
"Doggy's learned a few new tricks." The mechanically enhanced villain smiled, looking back. He merely smirked as Raven lifted the bank vault door, and slammed it down on his head, driving him two feet into the ground. His battle suit was built to take punishment.
In the form of a Torkop, Beast Boy watched as the three tentacles he'd wrapped around his foe's arm were unpeeled by the super strength of the massive suit. Strong as the appendages were, the armor of the battle suit was pure titanium, and even alien flesh wasn't a match. Still he had six arms, and his opponent only had two; one tentacle was removed by force, only to be replaced by another.
"Get off me, you flea infested mutt." The villain in the red battle suit demanded.
The shape shifter wrapped three of his appendages around the right arm of the loudmouth criminal, and squirted some acid on it. There was a hissing sound as it ate through the metal. Soon the three tentacles tore the super-strong armor off of his struggling foe's arm. That done, he latched onto the left arm. Bit by bit, Adonis was peeled from his armor. As pieces of it dropped around him Beast Boy realized just why the villain needed to rob so many banks. Buying the titanium for such a large suit must cost a fortune; maybe even several fortunes. The gigantic suit required at least half a dozen tons of the expensive metal.
When he ran out of acid, Raven was more than willing to step in and continue the process. He returned to his human formed, and watched as the annoyed violet-haired girl finished derobing the mad villain of his no longer functional red battle suit. Unlike the last few times facing Adonis, this time he'd been useful, and it made him feel pretty good. Idly he calculated the raw material cost of the suit to be around sixty million dollars. Definitely the reason the supervillain hit so many banks. Sitting calmly, he watched as the violet-haired girl wrapped the villain up in restraints of dark energy. Her confident was appealing. He swallowed, and looked away.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." The half demon intoned, seeking the tranquility that refused to come. At the back of her mind there was the unnerving premonition of something evil approaching. It made her shudder at times, and she couldn't resist looking behind her. Given her demonic heritage, such feelings weren't to be taken lightly. Picking up a small mirror, she looked into it.
She found several of her emoticlones gathered together in the forest that was Happy's domain. Given the pleasant setting she could see why they preferred the place. Looking, she noted with relief, that Rude wasn't one of the ones present. On the other hand the purple-clad emoticlone called Love was. She would have preferred Rude.
"Good evening." Knowledge said politely, looking up.
"Any idea what I'm sensing?" She asked.
The yellow-clad emoticlone took off her spectacles and polished them, obviously deep in thought. "That's what we were just talking about." She finally said. "There's three schools of thought. One is that Rage is up to something. Brave thinks this might be the case, and wants to form a team to beat her up. Love agrees with her, except for the part about beating her up. Then there's the theory that your obsession over the Obsessor is going to end bad. Timid and Happy agree on that one."
"And the third school of thought?" Raven inquired, wondering if it could be called a school of though when only one or two fragments of a person's mind held the view.
"I agree that it might be Rage, or something about to go wrong between you and the rest of the Titans. Such as maybe a misunderstanding over the Obsessor. Or even something to do with BB that causes you guilt and releases Rage. The two might not be separate." The yellow-clad emoticlone paused.
"And?" Raven prompted.
"To me the sense of foreboding seems too malicious. I think a third probability is Trigon at work again."
The violet-haired girl paled. "He was defeated." She simply stated.
"Which isn't the same as dead, or gone forever." Knowledge pointed out. "It's only a possibility."
"She's making a mistake in her love life." Happy interrupted. "And that's going to end badly. Unfortunately Love is too stupid to see it." The normally cheerful emoticlone glared at the purple-clad one.
"I admit there are two possible outcome for her love life." Came the reply. "I just don't see it having that sort of affect. Besides there's nothing wrong with her liking Robin."
"Except they aren't a good pair." Knowledge said, taking off her spectacles to clean them again.
"I disagree." Love said, not sounding quite sure. "Though I admit I could be wrong. I'm drawn both ways"
"Both ways?" Raven interrupted.
The purple-clad emoticlone looked at her and sighed. "Whether BB or Robin would be best for you. Robin is more mature, but it might be as Knowledge thinks and BB would be better in the long run."
"Beast Boy and me? That's insane." Raven took a step back.
"Hardly." Knowledge said. "His personality is a good match for yours. Plus ,with his acute sense of hearing and smell, he's able determine your mood even when you try to hide it. He would be an excellent match."
"No." She insisted.
"The Obsessor, on the other hand, wouldn't be." The yellow-clad emoticlone added, staring at Love who'd been about to interrupt. "He's too focused." She continued. "Starfire can handle that, since she's quite willing to keep herself busy with her hobbies and her friends during those times. You however would just draw within yourself with meditation and reading." She paused. "I'm all for reading, but even I know there can be too much of a good thing." She looked down at the book she always carried.
"BB and I are never going to happen. Not that way." Raven insisted.
Knowledge shrugged. "Time will tell. Love is the only one who disagrees, and even she admits there are two roads open to you. I don't think this could be the cause of your premonition however."
"Then one of the other two possibilities?" Raven asked, glad to get off the topic of her love life.
Knowledge nodded. "It's either Rage or Trigon. And while Rage has caused problems in the past, they were always triggered by Trigon. This premonition has a feeling to it that is too malicious."
"Rage is plenty bad." Brave insisted. "Lets teach her a lesson."
"We could just talk to her." Love pointed out. "Explain that she's not doing anyone any good by causing trouble."
"Hrmph. The only kind of talking she understands is that done by fists." Brave insisted, taking a couple of punches at the empty air.
"We have two possibilities." Knowledge pointed out. "We can determine which is the case by investigating Rage." She looked at Brave. "Without fighting unless she starts it."
Raven nodded. While she'd placed the seal on Rage's domain to keep her in, the emoticlone had not replaced her own seal to keep anyone out. "We can talk to her." She said. Focusing she started chanting. Soon a portal opened.
"Yay! Fight!" Brave yelled, and courageously charged through.
Raven felt a chill run through her as the dark portal wavered and vanished. As soon as Brave had entered her domain, Rage had replaced the seal. To have done it so quick implied she'd been waiting and had been prepared. "This isn't good." She said without feeling, staring at where the gateway had been.
"No." Knowledge agreed, looking thoughtful.
Rage smiled. So Brave thinks she's going to have fun, does she? Well one of us is. The emoticlone smiled, and prepared to fight.
"Hey. Trouble maker. I'm here to teach you a lesson." Brave yelled down from her position in the air.
"Are you? Then teach away oh courageous one." The red-clad emoticlone replied, smiling calmly..
"Hrmph. I will fix that cocky attitude of yours." The green-clad emoticlone soared down to launch an attack.
Rage, having studied her fight with Beast Boy, used her dark magic to toss dust into the air, creating a minor dust storm. She faded back several steps, and watched as Brave waded into it, determined to teach her a lesson. Standing right in front of the courageous emoticlone, just several steps back, Rage knew that Brave would think she was just in front of her. The dust would hide her sight, but her empathic senses would insist her target was there.
Standing still, smiling, she went to work. She lifted a large boulder, wrapped in her dark magic, and moved it into the dust. She could feel Brave start to hit it, thinking it was her. This is fun. Rage decided, sensing the other emoticlone pound the boulder with her bare fists. Eventually it broke, and she found another one for her foe to use as a punching bag. Once in a while she stirred up more dust, and dropped rocks on top of Brave. The emoticlone tried to toss some back, but they were all aimed at the fake target.
After a while even the stamina of the green-clad emoticlone faded. She kept up the fight to the last minute, but eventually collapsed to the ground.
Rage let the dust storm fade, and walked to stand above Brave. "Pathetic." She simply said to the emoticlone who stared up, seeking any sign of damage on the red-clad one. There were none. Her looked expressed disbelief. Rage turned her back on her downed foe, and walked a short distance away, letting the seal fade.
Raven entered Rage's domain cautiously. She knew one or the other of her emoticlone had been hurt, though not too badly. Basically worn to exhaustion, with a few cuts and bruises. Given Brave's stamina she figured it had to Rage who was hurt, but she was used to fighting, and knew better than to make assumptions. Knowledge, along with Love and Happy, were with her.
"Well look who decided to show up." The red-clad emoticlone said, sitting peacefully on a rock. She pointed at Brave who way lying on the ground. "Thanks for the fight, but next time send someone better. She was just pathetic. I'm ashamed to even call her a fellow emoticlone." She cocked her head. "Actually, next time just send BB. He's fun."
Raven stared at Brave and then back at Rage. Okay, I knew better than to take chances, but just how did she beat Brave without even getting a single scratch? She wondered what to do. "He's never coming back in here again." She told Rage with conviction. "And since when do you call him BB?"
"He will." Came the calm response. Rage smiled at her. "And since that's what the others call him." She added. "Now if you don't mind, take the trash and leave." She pointed at Brave again, who was struggling to get up and carry on the fight.
"Why're you stirring up trouble?" Raven demanded, staring unflinchingly at the emoticlone.
"Who? Me? Stir up trouble?" The tone expressed shock.
"Yes you." Raven stated.
"I wish it was me." Rage answered solemnly. "Sorry to tell you, but what you're sensing isn't me. I don't think I need to tell you who it is."
With her face pale, Raven grabbed Brave and started to carry her back through the portal.
"Anyone get the number of that truck?" The dazed emoticlone muttered.
"Yeah. It's R. A. G. E." Raven told her. She paused, tensing for a fight, when a black barrier appeared around Knowledge, preventing her from leaving.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt her too badly." Rage smiled.
"Let her go." Raven stated.
"Nay." Came the confident response.
"In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered five to one."
"More like four to one." Rage replied nonchalantly, looking at Brave. She vanished from the spot where she was, and reappeared inside the barrier she'd placed around Knowledge. Leaning close, she whispered to the emoticlone. "Tell me Knowledge, having you given any consideration on what it means for Raven to be half demon?" Then she faded back to her original spot, and let the barrier around the emoticlone fade. "Get out!" She ordered.
Raven, still carrying Brave, let the others leave first, and then followed them. Turning, she banished the portal and replaced the seal on Rage's domain.
"Well?" She asked Knowledge, who looked puzzled.
"I don't think she's the one behind the premonition." The yellow-clad emoticlone said. "That leaves Trigon." She went pale as she said the words.
Raven went pale too, as did Happy and Love. Only Brave, who was sleeping, remained totally calm. Which was an unusual state for her.
"What did she whisper to you?" Raven asked, knowing she would be doing a lot of meditating once she left Nevermore.
Knowledge shrugged. "Something I'll think about. Not sure what she meant by it yet." She sat down and started cleaning her spectacles.
"You really think it's Trigon." Raven asked.
Knowledge nodded. "It wouldn't be your interest in BB or the Obsessor. That wouldn't cause the sort of malice that's in the premonition. And I do believe Rage when she says it isn't her. Other than when she's been possessed by Trigon, she hasn't caused all that much trouble."
Raven closed her eyes. "So what do we do?"
"I'll think on the it." Knowledge replied, obviously not having a clue. She looked at Brave. "When she wakes up she's going to be insufferable. Wonder how Rage beat her? She's your warrior side, and Rage should have found her pretty tough."
"Ask her when she wakes up."
"As if she's going to admit being defeated." Knowledge replied. She looked down at the sleeping emoticlone fondly. Love, Happy, and Timid had made her comfortable, with a pile of leaves for a pillow. They'd even used their own cloaks for blankets.
End of Chapter.
To sum it up: Love thinks Robin is the best choice, but admits she might be wrong and it could be Beast Boy. Knowledge, Happy, and Timid are all in favor of Beast Boy.
And Raven now knows Beast Boy likes her, but doesn't see him in that light yet. Though from the attitude of her emoticlones, some part of her must.
Thanks to those who read and review. Reviews == Motivation.