Chapter 4: Attraction Beast Boy woke up inside his room to the sound of the crime alert when his door swung open.
"It's Cinderblock! He's at the Theme Park!" Robin shouted before he continued rushing through the hallway.
The changeling's headache doubled as images of his date with a certain blonde-haired girl flashed before his eyes – and so did his anger.
But for the sake of the mission…and his nerves, he swallowed his anger and got up.
He might have swallowed it but it didn't vanish and his anger showed itself during the fight with the stone giant. A green bull charged at the stone giant that was getting up, his back facing the animal. And just a few meters far, Cinderblock suddenly turned around and a bumper car hit him at high speed.
The bull was sent flying and landed with a few rolls and bounces next to a bench. The bull vanished and the shape-shifter struggled to get up.
"I've heard of not turning your back on the enemy but I guess in your case it should be 'don't charge while your enemy's back is facing you'," Raven mocked and lifted a hot dog stand, letting it fly towards the stony hulk.
"Let's see how you do it then, 'Ms. I'm-so-perfect'," Beast Boy mocked back, managing to get back onto his legs and let out a chuckle, seeing that Cinderblock shattered the stand with a punch.
Cinderblock charged at the half-demon who formed a shield but the force of the attack sent Raven tumbling to the ground after her shield failed to withstand the weight of him.
Raven recovered quickly only to see Beast Boy jumping over her. "I guess today's not your day," Beast Boy called and Raven narrowed her eyes before they turned white.
Robin fired his grappling hook towards the stone giant but instead going for Cinderblock, the wire suddenly was covered in dark energy and flew towards the charging green titan.
Beast Boy realized too late that his last comment set Raven off and the wire wrapped around him and with a flick of her hand, Raven sent him with the aid of her magic towards Cinderblock.
"I bet you know how to bring him down," Raven smirked, setting off the changeling this time.
The green teen morphed into a T-Rex, snapping the wire and collided with Cinderblock and sending him tumbling through some rides.
The T-Rex managed to land on his feet and turned around and let out an angry but victorious roar towards the half-demon, causing her hood to fly off.
"I'm…impressed," Raven said indifferently. The T-Rex vanished and was replaced with a steaming shape-shifter.
"I've had it with your jokes, Raven," he said angrily, stepping over to her.
"Weren't you the one to crack the jokes?" she retorted, not moving from her spot as Beast Boy stepped in front of her.
"At least I don't hurt people with my jokes," Beast Boy retorted back.
"Yeah, but you hurt them physically," she said and was taken by surprise when he grabbed her cloak, pulling her close to his face.
"You haven't seen my other side yet," he growled but Raven remained unfazed.
"If this is what your good side is, then I don't even want to know what your bad side looks like," Raven said sarcastically.
Her hands glowed dark when her eyes widened in surprise.
Beast Boy saw her confused look and looked back of him to see Cinderblock standing over them, his foot looming closer as he was about to crush them.
A green ball of energy shot him in the back, successfully distracting him as he looked back. And a blue beam shot at him, causing him to topple over.
The half-demon and changeling jumped out of the way, as Cinderblock fell onto his back.
A net suddenly fell from above, preventing the stone giant from getting up and Robin joined Raven and Beast Boy.
"What were you doing?" he asked angrily.
"That was her fault," Beast Boy protested before Raven told her point of view.
"He attacked me without any warning."
"You tied me up!" the changeling shouted.
"Because you wouldn't stop making fun of me," she replied in a calmly manner.
"So? You do that all the time. But when I want to turn the tables, suddenly you have hurt feelings?" he cried in disbelief.
"Stop!" Robin interrupted, causing both to look at him. "You both made a mistake! What if Starfire didn't shoot Cinderblock, huh? Then you both would be kissing the ground."
"She started it! If she didn't-"
"Maybe…it's better if we just forget about this, ok? Just try to fight together, not each other," Robin replied and turned away. "You talk like that's not what I had intended from the start," Raven said as Starfire and Cyborg joined her.
"Why won't you just listen to me for once?" Beast Boy shouted and Robin turned back to him with a confused look.
"I told you that you both put all of us at risk. What's there more to talk about?"
"Then why do I have the feeling you just seem to be talking to me?" "Because…you decided to drag this on after Raven stopped," Robin said and Beast Boy looked at his leader in disbelief.
Beast Boy walked past his leader and Raven took a step forward before she was stopped by Robin.
"Let him go! I think you wouldn't really want to walk back home with him after what happened with you two," Robin said, looking at Raven.
"You just read my mind," Raven replied in a monotone.
"So should we take Mr. Stone Age back to jail?" Cyborg asked, pointing back at the struggling Cinderblock.
Their leader gave them an approving nod.
Meanwhile Beast Boy was flying in hawk form towards Titan Tower, passing crossroads, homes and trees.
Why did Robin think that everything seemed to be his fault?
Why didn't he believe that Terra was alive – that she couldn't remember him?
The thought of the blonde-haired girl caused him to stop in his tracks, landing onto the sidewalk.
His sharp eyes took in his surrounding – where was he?
What time was it?
His eyes spotted a digital clock in a jewelry store to his right.
11:30.
He still had time. So Beast Boy took off and flew into the air again and after a few confusing rounds through streets and alleyways, he was flying in familiar terrain again and in a few moments landed on a tree branch across from Terra's school.
He morphed back and jumped off after seeing that the yard was empty.
He proceeded to enter the building and it was just as empty as the yard and soon Beast Boy found himself standing in front of Terra's classroom, stealing a look through the window pane.
But it was empty.
Where was she?
Should he wait until she came back?
No, he couldn't stand the ticking of the clock and continued his search for the blonde-haired beauty.
He had only taken a few steps when suddenly the bell rang and classroom doors sprang open as a variety of teens rushed out. "Hey, watch it!" he said angrily after one of the students had pushed him out of the way to get to his friends. "They just remind me of a herd of sheep," he mumbled as he got out of the way of another one that hurried to get to the yard.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a door open in the distance and Terra's friends walked out of it.
But where was Terra?
He rushed to the door and peeked inside.
His heart sped up, seeing Terra's back facing him. And he immediately searched his mind for ways of convincing her to come back.
But what could he try?
What could he say?
What…did he have to do to make her want to come back?
Terra looked into the mirror and the shape-shifter quickly took cover behind the open door.
But his determination wavered for a moment when seeing Terra's smile inside the mirror and he realized that the last time he saw her smiling like that…was when she had sacrificed herself.
Ever since her restoration…she seemed always…troubled like she was hiding something. She turned around and swung her bag over her shoulder and went out of the door and Beast Boy made sure she didn't see him by morphing into a fly.
"And was he there?"
Beast Boy morphed back, still behind the door.
"No! And I haven't seen him the whole day," Terra murmured with a lowered head.
"So, could it be he has finally given up?" her red-haired friend wondered aloud and Beast Boy realized that they were talking about him before he felt a tap on his shoulder.
But he didn't turn around in fear of missing out on the conversation.
Tezumi stepped in his field of vision with a confused expression on her face.
But right now Terra was more important than Tezumi. And the next words broke a large part of his being.
"I hope he did," Terra said in a low voice and Beast Boy turned away but the shock of those words was still visible in his expression.
So all this time…his pursuit of Terra was…for nothing?
Were…his friends right?
Did Terra really change – did she never want to see him again?
And the silence behind him only confirmed his doubts and he hung his head in sadness and closed his eyes that threatened to spill tears.
"Beast Boy-kun?" the Asian girl in front of him murmured, seeing the sad expression on his face. "Daijobu…desu ka?" she asked confused.
But the shock of Terra's words had paralyzed him.
Only when he felt gentle arms wrap around his shoulders, did he feel some of his senses come back to life and he opened his eyes. A blush crept onto his face, realizing that Tezumi had just hugged him.
"Doshimashita ka?" she said in a low voice – a voice that showed concern, still holding him close.
But right now he didn't feel like talking.
He didn't know why…but right now he just wanted her to keep hugging him.
"It's Cinderblock! He's at the Theme Park!" Robin shouted before he continued rushing through the hallway.
The changeling's headache doubled as images of his date with a certain blonde-haired girl flashed before his eyes – and so did his anger.
But for the sake of the mission…and his nerves, he swallowed his anger and got up.
He might have swallowed it but it didn't vanish and his anger showed itself during the fight with the stone giant. A green bull charged at the stone giant that was getting up, his back facing the animal. And just a few meters far, Cinderblock suddenly turned around and a bumper car hit him at high speed.
The bull was sent flying and landed with a few rolls and bounces next to a bench. The bull vanished and the shape-shifter struggled to get up.
"I've heard of not turning your back on the enemy but I guess in your case it should be 'don't charge while your enemy's back is facing you'," Raven mocked and lifted a hot dog stand, letting it fly towards the stony hulk.
"Let's see how you do it then, 'Ms. I'm-so-perfect'," Beast Boy mocked back, managing to get back onto his legs and let out a chuckle, seeing that Cinderblock shattered the stand with a punch.
Cinderblock charged at the half-demon who formed a shield but the force of the attack sent Raven tumbling to the ground after her shield failed to withstand the weight of him.
Raven recovered quickly only to see Beast Boy jumping over her. "I guess today's not your day," Beast Boy called and Raven narrowed her eyes before they turned white.
Robin fired his grappling hook towards the stone giant but instead going for Cinderblock, the wire suddenly was covered in dark energy and flew towards the charging green titan.
Beast Boy realized too late that his last comment set Raven off and the wire wrapped around him and with a flick of her hand, Raven sent him with the aid of her magic towards Cinderblock.
"I bet you know how to bring him down," Raven smirked, setting off the changeling this time.
The green teen morphed into a T-Rex, snapping the wire and collided with Cinderblock and sending him tumbling through some rides.
The T-Rex managed to land on his feet and turned around and let out an angry but victorious roar towards the half-demon, causing her hood to fly off.
"I'm…impressed," Raven said indifferently. The T-Rex vanished and was replaced with a steaming shape-shifter.
"I've had it with your jokes, Raven," he said angrily, stepping over to her.
"Weren't you the one to crack the jokes?" she retorted, not moving from her spot as Beast Boy stepped in front of her.
"At least I don't hurt people with my jokes," Beast Boy retorted back.
"Yeah, but you hurt them physically," she said and was taken by surprise when he grabbed her cloak, pulling her close to his face.
"You haven't seen my other side yet," he growled but Raven remained unfazed.
"If this is what your good side is, then I don't even want to know what your bad side looks like," Raven said sarcastically.
Her hands glowed dark when her eyes widened in surprise.
Beast Boy saw her confused look and looked back of him to see Cinderblock standing over them, his foot looming closer as he was about to crush them.
A green ball of energy shot him in the back, successfully distracting him as he looked back. And a blue beam shot at him, causing him to topple over.
The half-demon and changeling jumped out of the way, as Cinderblock fell onto his back.
A net suddenly fell from above, preventing the stone giant from getting up and Robin joined Raven and Beast Boy.
"What were you doing?" he asked angrily.
"That was her fault," Beast Boy protested before Raven told her point of view.
"He attacked me without any warning."
"You tied me up!" the changeling shouted.
"Because you wouldn't stop making fun of me," she replied in a calmly manner.
"So? You do that all the time. But when I want to turn the tables, suddenly you have hurt feelings?" he cried in disbelief.
"Stop!" Robin interrupted, causing both to look at him. "You both made a mistake! What if Starfire didn't shoot Cinderblock, huh? Then you both would be kissing the ground."
"She started it! If she didn't-"
"Maybe…it's better if we just forget about this, ok? Just try to fight together, not each other," Robin replied and turned away. "You talk like that's not what I had intended from the start," Raven said as Starfire and Cyborg joined her.
"Why won't you just listen to me for once?" Beast Boy shouted and Robin turned back to him with a confused look.
"I told you that you both put all of us at risk. What's there more to talk about?"
"Then why do I have the feeling you just seem to be talking to me?" "Because…you decided to drag this on after Raven stopped," Robin said and Beast Boy looked at his leader in disbelief.
Beast Boy walked past his leader and Raven took a step forward before she was stopped by Robin.
"Let him go! I think you wouldn't really want to walk back home with him after what happened with you two," Robin said, looking at Raven.
"You just read my mind," Raven replied in a monotone.
"So should we take Mr. Stone Age back to jail?" Cyborg asked, pointing back at the struggling Cinderblock.
Their leader gave them an approving nod.
Meanwhile Beast Boy was flying in hawk form towards Titan Tower, passing crossroads, homes and trees.
Why did Robin think that everything seemed to be his fault?
Why didn't he believe that Terra was alive – that she couldn't remember him?
The thought of the blonde-haired girl caused him to stop in his tracks, landing onto the sidewalk.
His sharp eyes took in his surrounding – where was he?
What time was it?
His eyes spotted a digital clock in a jewelry store to his right.
11:30.
He still had time. So Beast Boy took off and flew into the air again and after a few confusing rounds through streets and alleyways, he was flying in familiar terrain again and in a few moments landed on a tree branch across from Terra's school.
He morphed back and jumped off after seeing that the yard was empty.
He proceeded to enter the building and it was just as empty as the yard and soon Beast Boy found himself standing in front of Terra's classroom, stealing a look through the window pane.
But it was empty.
Where was she?
Should he wait until she came back?
No, he couldn't stand the ticking of the clock and continued his search for the blonde-haired beauty.
He had only taken a few steps when suddenly the bell rang and classroom doors sprang open as a variety of teens rushed out. "Hey, watch it!" he said angrily after one of the students had pushed him out of the way to get to his friends. "They just remind me of a herd of sheep," he mumbled as he got out of the way of another one that hurried to get to the yard.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a door open in the distance and Terra's friends walked out of it.
But where was Terra?
He rushed to the door and peeked inside.
His heart sped up, seeing Terra's back facing him. And he immediately searched his mind for ways of convincing her to come back.
But what could he try?
What could he say?
What…did he have to do to make her want to come back?
Terra looked into the mirror and the shape-shifter quickly took cover behind the open door.
But his determination wavered for a moment when seeing Terra's smile inside the mirror and he realized that the last time he saw her smiling like that…was when she had sacrificed herself.
Ever since her restoration…she seemed always…troubled like she was hiding something. She turned around and swung her bag over her shoulder and went out of the door and Beast Boy made sure she didn't see him by morphing into a fly.
"And was he there?"
Beast Boy morphed back, still behind the door.
"No! And I haven't seen him the whole day," Terra murmured with a lowered head.
"So, could it be he has finally given up?" her red-haired friend wondered aloud and Beast Boy realized that they were talking about him before he felt a tap on his shoulder.
But he didn't turn around in fear of missing out on the conversation.
Tezumi stepped in his field of vision with a confused expression on her face.
But right now Terra was more important than Tezumi. And the next words broke a large part of his being.
"I hope he did," Terra said in a low voice and Beast Boy turned away but the shock of those words was still visible in his expression.
So all this time…his pursuit of Terra was…for nothing?
Were…his friends right?
Did Terra really change – did she never want to see him again?
And the silence behind him only confirmed his doubts and he hung his head in sadness and closed his eyes that threatened to spill tears.
"Beast Boy-kun?" the Asian girl in front of him murmured, seeing the sad expression on his face. "Daijobu…desu ka?" she asked confused.
But the shock of Terra's words had paralyzed him.
Only when he felt gentle arms wrap around his shoulders, did he feel some of his senses come back to life and he opened his eyes. A blush crept onto his face, realizing that Tezumi had just hugged him.
"Doshimashita ka?" she said in a low voice – a voice that showed concern, still holding him close.
But right now he didn't feel like talking.
He didn't know why…but right now he just wanted her to keep hugging him.