Chapter 7: Wild Boys

3:15 A.M. Three Days Later

Beast Boy rolled over in bed, sleeping soundlessly with a smile on his face. He awoke abruptly, hearing the sound of footsteps distantly down the hallway.

'Who could be up at this time of night?' He thought as he sat up and crawled out of bed. He put on his shoes and quietly walked towards the door, placing his ear to it to listen. The footsteps got louder as they passed by his door, and quickly became quieter as they moved further away. Beast Boy quietly opened the door and stuck his head out. He towards the source of the noise and noticed a figure dressed in dark clothing disappear into the elevator.

'Who was that!?' As the elevator closed, Beast Boy left the room and moved closer to it. The blue-lit numbers indicated the lift was headed to the roof. Beast Boy couldn't help but feel the need to follow. He went back into his room and opened the window, and flew out in the morph of a hawk towards the roof. He perched himself on top of the elevator while taking on the inconspicuous shape of a fly.

The elevator dinged and Predator stepped out, catching Beast Boy by surprise. He silently watched as Predator walked towards the edge of the rooftop and stared into the open view of the city.

However, Predator's attire was so much different. His outfit was the same color and design from before - however, the colors were reversed, where black was the primary color and red was the secondary. There was also a thick red and black hood on the neck of his torso.

'What's he doing up so late? Is he having trouble sleeping? Is there something on his mind?' Beast Boy wondered. Either way, he felt something was up.

Predator pulled the hood over his head and suddenly jumped off the roof - moving through the air at a pretty good distance. Beast Boy gasped in surprise as he morphed back to normal form. At this point, it was official that something was up with Predator.

After what felt like a whole hour of following Predator through the city—while watching him jump from roof-to-roof—Beast Boy eventually found himself growing increasingly tired from flying, though he strived to catch up with Predator's speed.

Meanwhile, Predator didn't seem to be affected by any of the activity. Wherever he was going, it was really far away. Beast Boy debated internally whether following him was really worth it.

Another 5 minutes passed and Beast Boy soon found them at the city's border. He then realized they were heading right into:

'Gotham City?' Beast Boy thought, taking view of the bright city before him. It's been a while since Beast Boy's last visit to Gotham and as far as he could tell, it looked completely the same. Something told him Predator was having a case of homesickness.

Speaking of which, Beast Boy looked down and watched as Predator pounced on a wall and jumped on a roof. He walked towards the edge and stared out into the open, taking a moment to catch his breath. Beast Boy carefully descended down on a building behind him and took the opportunity to relax his wings. Unfortunately it was not to last when he saw Predator suddenly jump from the rooftop and landed on a smaller building ahead of him.

Beast Boy groaned in frustration as he took back into the air, keeping his eye on Predator as best as he could.

After what felt like another fifteen minutes, Beast Boy found himself following Predator into the suburbs. He felt his wings giving up on him. His forehead started to sweat profusely as he slowly descended down until he fell flat on a nearby tree. He morphed back into his normal form, panting heavily as his arms pumped like rapid heartbeats.

"How...how does he do it?" He said to himself, gasping for air. "How is he still on the move? I can't keep up with that guy."

He slowly sat up and took hold of his surroundings. For some people, the first thing that came to mind in regards to Counties, they'd think of wide open fields with a bit more cleansed environments. But when it came to Gotham County, you'd have thought wrong. The environment in Gotham County was almost an exact replica of Gotham City: trash on the streets, graffiti on some of the walls and the corrupted roaming the area. The only thing that looked remotely clean were the homes.

There was a path of six houses with badly carved wooden fences blocking each side. At the end was a rather dark, creepy-looking woodland area. Other than that, there was a large view of the city's skyline.

Beast Boy crawled on the tree branch monkey-like and was surprised to spot Predator standing in front of one of the houses. He raised an eyebrow as Predator approached the house then hopped on the tree next to it. Next thing he knew, Predator jumped up and was out of sight.

Beast Boy jumped down and ran to house he went in. It was a rather decent-looking, medium-sized home.

'Million-dollar question: what's he doing here?' Beast Boy morphed into a finch and flew towards the same window Predator went into.

Taking a look inside, he saw a gray carpeted bedroom with blue-painted walls decorated with a few Rock 'N' Roll posters, a queen-sized bed with red sheets, a laptop on the other side of the room next to a 15" flat screen TV and four different pairs of tennis shoes sprawled all over the floor. Needless to say the room looked like it belonged to a teenager. At the very end of the room, he could see a halfway closed door, indicating Predator was now somewhere roaming around the house.

Beast Boy flew around the house and searched around until he eventually spotted him in a room across from the previous one. To his confusion, Predator wasn't doing anything at all. He was just standing at the entrance, blankly staring at two people—a man and a woman, both looked to be in their late 30s—sleeping soundly.

Predator suddenly stepped out of the room without even a breath. The door slowly closed itself but Beast Boy could see him walking down the stairs. He quickly flew down to the front of the house and peaked through the window, morphing back to human.

So many questions roamed through Beast Boy's head. 'Why was Predator here? Who were those people in that bedroom? Why didn't he tell the others he was leaving in the first place? Did this mean he was quitting the team, already? Or was Predator secretly a criminal the whole time?' Whatever the case, Predator was clearly here for a reason. He just needed to find out why.

He watched as Predator dropped his hood and stood over a line of photos. Predator lifted it up and stared at it. Beast Boy squinted to see if he could get a better look of the photo until he suddenly felt his nose twitch. He gasped a few times until he smacked his hands against his nose. Unfortunately, the strain in his nose was too intense and he let out a loud sneeze.

Predator's ears twitched and he looked back. Beast Boy's eyes widened as he quickly crouched down on the ground. The window suddenly opened, indicating it was Predator looking outside. Beast Boy covered his mouth as he felt a drop of sweat falling from his forehead. His body trembled from hearing Predator's breathing right above him. To Beast Boy, the following ten seconds which felt like an hour, he heard his footsteps moving away from him and he let out a sigh of relief.

'Whew, that was close.' He thought, standing back on his feet. He turned and was met with a very unhappy Predator. His eyes went wide as he was forcefully tackled to the ground. Predator pinned him to the ground and angrily growled at him.

"What're you doing here?" Predator growled. "Why'd you follow me?"

"What are you doing here?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm working here, String-bean." Predator retorted, angrily. "Why're you following me!?"

"Leaving in the middle of the night and sneaking into someone's house? What kind of work is that, other than the illegal kind?"

"What're ya...? Oh, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking." Predator groaned, standing up.

"I just watched you break into this house. That doesn't leave a lot of explanations. How could you do this to us?" Beast Boy said, angrily.

"Kid..." Predator tried to interject.

"We trusted you, dude. After all we've done for you, you choose now to leave the team and show your true side!"

"Kid..." Predator said again, this time a little more aggravated.

"How long were you gonna plan on doing this? Do you have any idea how-"

Predator interrupted him by forcefully grabbing his shirt and pulling him to his feet. He glared at him angrily and said:

"Stop talkin' and listen closely: I'm. Not. A. Freakin'. Criminal. And I'm not quittin' the team, neither. So before ya start making accusations, get your facts straight first, got me?" He growled sternly. Beast Boy nodded nervously and Predator let him go, dropping him flat on the ground.

"Well then, what are you doing here?" Beast Boy asked, standing back on his feet. "Why did you sneak out in the middle of the night? And where'd you get the new suit?"

"I made it...it's my night-suit. And...I can't explain, alright?" Predator said. "I thought I could step out for a bit, then be back before anyone noticed."

"Why can't you explain, dude? We're your friends, don't you trust us?"

"Yeah, man but...it's...complicated." Predator said.

"But you can tell me." Beast Boy said, giving a reassuring smile. Predator narrowed his eyebrows and sighed.

"Alright, look...the reason I came here is because I know these people. They used to help me out when things were crazy. The room I snuck into belonged to their son and... well, I guess you saw the rest. He was a good kid, really."

"What happened to him?"

"He died." Predator answered, bluntly. "He got caught in the line of fire during a gang shootout; they hadn't been the same since. S'why I come by here every once in a while to check up on 'em.

"Dude, I...I didn't know." Beast Boy's tone changed to apologetic.

"Yeah, well now ya do. Look, just don't worry about it; it ain't even your fault. But hey, there's somethin' I still gotta do. Stay right here and don't make a sound, I'll be back." Predator turned and jumped through the window, leaving Beast Boy alone.

A few minutes went by until Predator returned with a ball of paper in his hands. Beast Boy sat up from the ground and looked at the ball.

"What's that?" Beast Boy pointed at it.

"Nothin'. Just...nothin'." Predator said, dropping the paper ball and stomping it in the dirt. "Come on, let's go." Predator started to walk the other direction, lifting his hood back up while Beast Boy looked at the now crumpled paper for a moment then quickly followed him.

Predator and Beast Boy were back in the city traversing the rooftops. Predator knew they'd get home faster above ground. The streets weren't exactly safe at this time of night, anyway.

For the longest time they remained silent, not speaking to each other. Beast Boy held his head down in guilt. Sure he was in the right in making sure he wasn't getting into any trouble but at the same time, he felt he had made a big mistake. He looked up at Predator, who continued to walk forward.

"Uh...Predator." He spoke up. Predator stopped and looked back at him. "About earlier I...I just wanna say I'm-"

"Look, kid, just forget about it." Predator interrupted in a low but calm tone. "I'm not the best at tellin' people my business so, it's not on you; but the last thing I need is you gettin' the wrong idea about me, so...my bad."

"I still feel kinda bad for following you, though. So, whatever the case, I'm sorry too." Beast Boy said with a smile. "We're still cool, right?"

"Yeah, sure." He said, blankly then taking a look at the city below them.

"Why did you move out of Gotham?" Beast Boy asked also looking down at it.

"I had to get out of here the first chance I got, man. The memories here - they just weighed in on me every day and I just couldn't take it no more. I've got my limits too, y'know?"

"Believe me, dude, I know." Beast Boy sighed.

"But to be honest, now that I'm here again, I kinda miss it. I've been feelin' off-edge since I left."

"Maybe because this is your home?"

"Nah, man I think it's because Jump City's a bit too quiet for me."

"Yeah...um, quick question: in Gotham, do ice-cream trucks usually come by this time of night?" Beast Boy asked.

"What? No it's the middle of Fall, why?" Predator asked, confused.

"Well, don't look now, but…" Beast Boy pointed towards the street.

Predator ran to him and looked down. A white ice-cream truck was driving wildly through the streets. In the middle of the street was a homeless looking man who was rolling an empty shopping cart around. He took notice to the incoming truck—which made no attempt to slow down or move—and quickly jumped out of the way. The truck collided into the shopping cart, smashing it into pieces.

"Geez, dude." Beast Boy said. "I know some people wanna get home before it melts, but…"

"I'm pretty sure this fool's up to no good. I don't even smell anything in the truck."

"Maybe all the ice cream melted?" Beast Boy said.

"I'd still be able to smell it, man." Predator said, annoyed. "Even if that was the case, the guy's drivin' like a freakin' maniac. Come on."

"Say what?" Beast Boy asked, surprised.

"We gotta stop that guy before he hurts somebody." Predator stood and jumped down from the roof.

"Don't you think we should let the cops handle this?" Beast Boy called as he followed him.

"The cops!? Are ya serious? Did ya leave ya hero license at the tower or somethin'?" Predator asked, sarcastically as the truck started to turn a corner. "Look, forget the cops, alright, cause right now that guy's gettin' away and we're the only ones who can stop him! So ya comin' or not?"

Predator jumped off the roof and landed feet first on the pavement. His eyes shifted blood red and he immediately gave chase on all fours. Beast Boy sighed in defeat and morphed into an eagle.

The driver had a very blithe expression on his face as he showed no remorse for his reckless driving. He was a very scrawny individual with long blonde hair, gray eyes with stumbles on his face. His outfit consisted of a jean jacket and black khakis. We'll call him Jeff the Driver. He shouted something landed on the roof making the truck shake. A series of loud thuds followed along until he saw Predator land on the hood.

"Yo, Grave-Digger, stop the truck!" Predator shouted at him, receiving an angry glare. "You're gonna kill somebody!"

"Oh, I'll kill somebody alright." Jeff muttered. He pulled a revolver from his jacket and pointed it at Predator.

"Ah, crud." He groaned.

Predator's quickly jumped up as Jeff unloaded a series of gunshots at him through the glass. Jeff immediately stopped firing but kept his gun raised in case something else would happen. A few seconds went by and so far there was no sign of him. Jeff started to sit back until Predator, from out of nowhere, punched through the glass of the driver's seat and yanked the door off its hinges.

Jeff raised the gun only for Predator to punch it out of his hand. Predator kept a firm grip on the truck as he delivered a series of punches to Jeff's face. The truck swayed side to side until it suddenly bounced off the ground, forcing Predator to lose his grip. Predator quickly grabbed hold of the doorway with one hand before he could fall off.

Jeff sat up and rubbed some blood off his lip. He watched as Predator struggled to hold himself steady. Jeff picked his gun up and pointed it at him once more.

"Go ahead, shoot me!" Predator yelled. "It'll just-" The truck suddenly ran over a speed bump, causing Predator to lose his grip and send him flying through the air. Jeff let out a cheeky smirk and quickly steadied the truck. His radiance was replaced with confusion as he felt a constant rumble from behind.

"What the-?" He looked into the side mirror and his eyes went wide. An unscathed Predator was riding on the back of a large, green pterodactyl. The dinosaur let out a load squawk as it started to gain on him. Jeff pressed his foot down on the accelerator but he couldn't outrun them.

Up ahead a civilian was leaned against the wall holding a bottle of beer. He brought the drink up to his lip until he heard the sound of a speeding truck engine and an unworldly screeching sound. An ice cream truck came speeding down the road, followed by a green flying dinosaur with a teenager on his back. The man's eyes widened as he did a double-take at the scene. He looked down at his bottle and dropped it on the ground.

Beast Boy and Predator closed in on the truck, with Predator jumping off of BB and onto the roof. He swung around back to the front of the car to face Jeff.

"Last chance, ya bum!" Predator threatened. "Stop the truck, cooperate peacefully, and I won't break ya neck."

"Go away, you circus freak." Jeff protested, raising an obscene finger gesture at him.

"Oh, this guy's hilarious. Drop 'em, Beast Boy!" Predator shouted before skillfully jumping off the car and landing on the ground.

Jeff turned around to see Predator land, just a split-second before the whole truck suddenly flipped over on its side, throwing Jeff around as it skidded for several hundred meters before losing speed and grinding to a halt.

Jeff grunted and crawled his way out of the door. He looked up, hearing the sound and thud of enormous footsteps, and looked up to see a giant green T-rex approach him. Jeff shouted in alarm and fell back into the truck.

Predator caught back up with Beast Boy and the truck soon enough. He jumped on top of the truck and reached in, grabbing Jeff by the jacket and lifting him straight out of it. He tossed him to the ground in front of the dinosaur BB. Jeff screamed hysterically as he crawled away, walling himself against the underside of the truck. Beast Boy turned back to human form as Predator stepped down and grabbed him by the collar, throwing him to the ground and stomping on his right cheek.

"Okay, dipstick, what's the big idea?" Predator growled, and sharpening his teeth. He pulled his hood back down.

"I ain't telling you jack." Jeff resentfully choked, struggling to remove Predator's foot from his face.

Predator listened carefully to his heartbeat, which was working rapidly.

"I didn't ask about no Jack!" Predator snarled. "I know a tool like you doesn't deliver ice cream for a livin'. You're up to somethin' big, so you better start talkin'!"

"You aren't him. You've got nothin' on me, you hear? Nothin'!"

"Check the truck." He directed to Beast Boy, keeping his eye on Jeff.

"You got it." Beast Boy ran to the truck and opened the back door. He shouted as an unbelievable number of weapons—more specifically guns and ammunition—slid out from inside. However these guns were more overly-advanced military guns. There were machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, you name it. Predator glared back at Jeff who began to sweat in fear. He grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up close.

"Remember how I said I'd break ya neck?" Predator reminded to Jeff. "Well it's gonna be ya entire face unless ya tell me what the game is!"

"Okay, okay." Jeff gave in. "I-I've been hired to smuggle weapons into the city for my boss. But it's not just me; there's others too. I'm only doing it to make a quick buck."

"How many others are there? Tell me where they're coming from!" Predator lifted him in the air with one hand.

"Th-th-the trucks are being deployed from Jump City; the boss has undercover moles with access to the armories. They unload what they can into the trucks, then after that I just deliver everything to my boss. I don't know how many there are, man."

Beast Boy looked at him in shock, while Predator grew more furious.

"Who's the boss?!"

"I don't know, I-I've never seen him. Honest!" Jeff yelled. Predator clenched his teeth and threw him in front of Beast Boy. Predator stomped on his chest again, pinning him to the ground while taking a knee. Beast Boy morphed back into a T-Rex and viciously roared at him. Jeff let out a terrified scream until he let up.

"AAAAGH! I don't know, I don't know, I SWEAR!" He screamed.

Predator narrowed his eyebrows even more when he noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of his pants pocket. He reached down and grabbed a small card, which he quickly examined. A sly smile spread in his cheeks.

"Beast Boy, you can stop now!" Predator slammed his knee against his skull, knocking him unconscious. Beast Boy morphed back to normal with a look of disbelief.

"What'd you do that for? Was he telling the truth?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nah, he was lying, but we've got the answer right here." Predator ripped the card in half and threw it away. "Come on, let's go."

"Where're we going?"

"To visit an old 'friend' of mine."

To Be Continued...

Sorry it took me a while. I've been busy. Anyway, questions, concerns or comments, leave it a review. Until then, thank you and goodnight.