Chapter 13: Choice Beast Boy stared in utter disbelief at his leader. "What do you mean 'get out'?"
Robin turned to face the shape-shifter. "You know too well what I mean."
Raven stepped closer. "Hold on! What's going on?"
The Titan leader turned to the half-demon this time, his expression stone hard. "You should know what's going on, Raven."
"I might have missed out on some details. Mind filling me in?" she asked and looked over to Starfire and Cyborg but their expressions remained depressed. "So you won't talk?"
Starfire looked up at the half-demon. "Robin…and us have decided to act upon Beast Boy…neglecting the team and the missions we as heroes are supposed to take."
"And that means?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"That means…Beast Boy…either has to take things serious…or leave the team," Cyborg murmured, not even daring to look up.
Beast Boy and Raven looked at the half-robot in surprise, not believing that Robin would even consider something like this.
"And you just agreed to this?" Raven asked angrily but the two Titans on the couch remained silent. "You can't be serious, Robin! Sure, Beast Boy can be immature at times, but that's not a reason to-"
"Unless he makes a choice," Robin said, causing Beast Boy to narrow his eyes at him.
He's forcing him to make a choice again!
Raven placed a hand on her leader's shoulder, trying to make him think things over. "Robin, forcing someone to make a choice is not going to make anything better."
"But at least he will know where he stands and that is all that this team needs – certainty. If he can't be there to help when we need him…then what is the meaning of 'team'?" "Have you considered 'friendship'?" Raven asked but Robin remained unfazed.
"Look around you, Raven! Look at the past week and all that's happened to us! If this is how 'friendship' keeps the team together…then our team might…be better off without it," Robin said.
"How could you say that? Friendship is what brought us together in the first place."
"Then why is it tearing us apart now?"
"It's not friendship that tears us apart. It's…that girl," Raven said, walking over to Beast Boy and Robin looked surprised for a moment.
"A girl that Beast Boy chose over us."
"I never chose anyone over you! How could you even think that!?" Beast Boy shouted, his hands clenched to fists.
"Just look at you! We barely see you anymore! You're always hanging around that school and the only time we can spend time with you is when we have enemies to take care of. And whenever you come back from that school, you're either too depressed or too angry to talk to us."
"But I talked to him and he agreed that he made a mistake," Raven said, trying to change Robin's mind at all costs.
"And what if he does it again? He caused our security system to be shut down because of his carelessness."
"No Robin, it was because…of that girl. I've seen Beast Boy talking to her…and she seemed to try to isolate him from us," Raven said and Beast Boy turned to her.
"What? You got that all wrong, Raven!" he cried but before Raven could answer him, Robin stepped in between.
"And that's why he has to make a choice. Terra…or us."
Beast Boy remained silent.
"Robin, you're misunderstanding something-" Raven tried to reason. "I can't believe you're so caught up in your search for justice…that you forget why you wanted to work in a team in the first place," Beast Boy said sadly. "I guess it was teamwork, right?"
"And teamwork is what you failed to understand, Beast Boy. And that's why I'll ask you one last time: Terra or us?"
Beast Boy clenched his teeth angrily, his restrained anger slowly coming loose. "Neither…"
"'Neither' isn't a choice, Beast Boy," Robin said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So you want me to choose now?" the green teen asked carefully, his anger rising steadily.
"You don't have to choose-"
"Let him go, Raven," Robin interrupted her and Beast Boy scoffed at what used to be his leader.
"I would have never expected that from you – from none of you," he said and turned away.
"Beast Boy! Why won't you say anything?" Raven shouted at the two Titans on the couch.
"Because we don't want to see him hurt, Raven," Starfire murmured.
"Hurt? Don't you see that this is just nonsense?" Raven cried in disbelief.
"It's not nonsense, Raven. Look at him…" Cyborg joined in and Beast Boy glanced at the windowpane, his bruised face reflected in it. "…ever since he went after Terra, he's hurting himself and it gets worse each day."
"I told you that it's not he that's hurting himself. I told you that it's the girl! I don't know why she's doing this…but from the times I've seen her with him…she seems to try to separate him from us."
"How many times have you seen her?"
Raven turned with a surprised look towards Beast Boy. "Does it matter? All that matters is that…she has to get out of your life," Raven said.
"Trust is something that matters to me and I guess she is more trustworthy than you guys are…if you won't even let me decide for myself," he said, hurt obvious in his voice before he dashed out of the room.
Her words proved that Raven had been keeping an eye on the shape-shifter but her words of trusting him only if he complied with their decisions caused him to try to distance himself from people who were not worth his trust.
And he was devastated that it turned out that his own teammates seemed to be those people.
"Robin…did you realize what you just did?" Raven asked after Beast Boy had run away from the team.
But Robin turned away from the half-demon.
"You just managed to break a team apart," she said before she floated out of the common room, Starfire and Cyborg looking after her in worry.
Beast Boy felt the wind blow against his face as he flew through the city in hawk form, drying a tear that somehow managed to spill. He dropped in front of Terra's school, having no other place he'd rather be.
He race-walked impatiently through the hallway, his eyes scanning his surrounding as best as he could. He went to Terra's class first, then checked the library and then the locker room.
But Tezumi was nowhere in sight. "Maybe she's in some other place," Beast Boy wondered aloud and searched the rest of the school, gym and yard included.
After a bit less than an hour, Beast Boy dropped tiredly onto the stairs to the upper floor and give out a sigh. "She was here today. Where could she have gone in an hour?" the shape-shifter wondered.
And then a thought struck him and a smile spread on his face before he jumped up, his energy returning to him suddenly.
And with hope in his heart, he dashed towards the principal's office. He stopped in front of the door and swallowed nervously. Was the principal a scary dude?
He shook his nervousness from him.
He had to face that principal if he wanted to see Tezumi.
The shape-shifter knocked lightly on the door and waited for an answer.
But there was no answer and he knocked harder this time before a voice urged him inside.
Unknown to him, a certain half-demon watched him from around the corner and her eyes wandered around, hoping that nobody would be catching her sneaking around in school.
And her eyes opened wide when catching sight of someone standing opposite of the door of the Principal's office, pretending to read a bulletin board – a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Are you here to sign up for next year?" the slim man with a thick brown mustache asked, his eyes scanning some papers on his desk.
"Not really – I mean I've been looking for someone," Beast Boy said nervously, and he cursed himself mentally for being so edgy today.
The man behind the table arched an eyebrow at the green teen and Beast Boy shifted his glance to his name plate on the desk.
"Did you get in trouble, my friend?" the man asked and the Titan covered his face before the man smiled at him.
"No, sir," he mumbled and removed his hand when he received an understanding glance.
"Who are you looking for?"
"A friend. She apparently goes to this school and I have seen her today…but when I came back after an hour or so, she wasn't here anymore," Beast Boy explained himself.
"You know, I can't really give out any sensitive information about students of this school but it is rather strange to hear that," the man said, nodding in understanding.
"I've been worried about her and I just want to make sure that she's ok," Beast Boy said, his voice rising slightly.
Could…Slade have taken her?
If he did…what did he want from her?
"I understand your concern…but I think a simple phone call to our office would have been sufficient."
"I-I didn't have your number," Beast Boy mumbled embarrassed.
"That explains itself…but I have to tell you that wandering through the school won't help you find her except bring you into trouble," the man said sternly.
Beast Boy lowered his gaze, not wanting to give up on her. "Could you at least please tell me if you have seen her leave the school or where you have seen her last?" Beast Boy cried, not caring anymore if he was almost begging in front of the principal.
"I'm sorry but I can only tell you if she's in school right now…unless she decided to really leave without permission."
"Ok, I just want to see if she's alright," he smiled weakly, glad for any information he could get about her.
"But you have to promise me that you won't come looking for her on school property."
"You won't see me anywhere near this place, Mr. Murakami," Beast Boy placed a hand on his heart as he read his name plate.
"Who is the young lady?" the man asked with a smile.
"She's Tezumi…Miko," Beast Boy thought for the last name a bit. "I can't thank you enough-"
"Beast Boy," the man said, remembering that in front of him stood one of the city's heroes.
The green teen looked up hopefully but was faced with a look of confusion.
"I'm sorry but we have no student registered under that name."
Robin turned to face the shape-shifter. "You know too well what I mean."
Raven stepped closer. "Hold on! What's going on?"
The Titan leader turned to the half-demon this time, his expression stone hard. "You should know what's going on, Raven."
"I might have missed out on some details. Mind filling me in?" she asked and looked over to Starfire and Cyborg but their expressions remained depressed. "So you won't talk?"
Starfire looked up at the half-demon. "Robin…and us have decided to act upon Beast Boy…neglecting the team and the missions we as heroes are supposed to take."
"And that means?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"That means…Beast Boy…either has to take things serious…or leave the team," Cyborg murmured, not even daring to look up.
Beast Boy and Raven looked at the half-robot in surprise, not believing that Robin would even consider something like this.
"And you just agreed to this?" Raven asked angrily but the two Titans on the couch remained silent. "You can't be serious, Robin! Sure, Beast Boy can be immature at times, but that's not a reason to-"
"Unless he makes a choice," Robin said, causing Beast Boy to narrow his eyes at him.
He's forcing him to make a choice again!
Raven placed a hand on her leader's shoulder, trying to make him think things over. "Robin, forcing someone to make a choice is not going to make anything better."
"But at least he will know where he stands and that is all that this team needs – certainty. If he can't be there to help when we need him…then what is the meaning of 'team'?" "Have you considered 'friendship'?" Raven asked but Robin remained unfazed.
"Look around you, Raven! Look at the past week and all that's happened to us! If this is how 'friendship' keeps the team together…then our team might…be better off without it," Robin said.
"How could you say that? Friendship is what brought us together in the first place."
"Then why is it tearing us apart now?"
"It's not friendship that tears us apart. It's…that girl," Raven said, walking over to Beast Boy and Robin looked surprised for a moment.
"A girl that Beast Boy chose over us."
"I never chose anyone over you! How could you even think that!?" Beast Boy shouted, his hands clenched to fists.
"Just look at you! We barely see you anymore! You're always hanging around that school and the only time we can spend time with you is when we have enemies to take care of. And whenever you come back from that school, you're either too depressed or too angry to talk to us."
"But I talked to him and he agreed that he made a mistake," Raven said, trying to change Robin's mind at all costs.
"And what if he does it again? He caused our security system to be shut down because of his carelessness."
"No Robin, it was because…of that girl. I've seen Beast Boy talking to her…and she seemed to try to isolate him from us," Raven said and Beast Boy turned to her.
"What? You got that all wrong, Raven!" he cried but before Raven could answer him, Robin stepped in between.
"And that's why he has to make a choice. Terra…or us."
Beast Boy remained silent.
"Robin, you're misunderstanding something-" Raven tried to reason. "I can't believe you're so caught up in your search for justice…that you forget why you wanted to work in a team in the first place," Beast Boy said sadly. "I guess it was teamwork, right?"
"And teamwork is what you failed to understand, Beast Boy. And that's why I'll ask you one last time: Terra or us?"
Beast Boy clenched his teeth angrily, his restrained anger slowly coming loose. "Neither…"
"'Neither' isn't a choice, Beast Boy," Robin said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So you want me to choose now?" the green teen asked carefully, his anger rising steadily.
"You don't have to choose-"
"Let him go, Raven," Robin interrupted her and Beast Boy scoffed at what used to be his leader.
"I would have never expected that from you – from none of you," he said and turned away.
"Beast Boy! Why won't you say anything?" Raven shouted at the two Titans on the couch.
"Because we don't want to see him hurt, Raven," Starfire murmured.
"Hurt? Don't you see that this is just nonsense?" Raven cried in disbelief.
"It's not nonsense, Raven. Look at him…" Cyborg joined in and Beast Boy glanced at the windowpane, his bruised face reflected in it. "…ever since he went after Terra, he's hurting himself and it gets worse each day."
"I told you that it's not he that's hurting himself. I told you that it's the girl! I don't know why she's doing this…but from the times I've seen her with him…she seems to try to separate him from us."
"How many times have you seen her?"
Raven turned with a surprised look towards Beast Boy. "Does it matter? All that matters is that…she has to get out of your life," Raven said.
"Trust is something that matters to me and I guess she is more trustworthy than you guys are…if you won't even let me decide for myself," he said, hurt obvious in his voice before he dashed out of the room.
Her words proved that Raven had been keeping an eye on the shape-shifter but her words of trusting him only if he complied with their decisions caused him to try to distance himself from people who were not worth his trust.
And he was devastated that it turned out that his own teammates seemed to be those people.
"Robin…did you realize what you just did?" Raven asked after Beast Boy had run away from the team.
But Robin turned away from the half-demon.
"You just managed to break a team apart," she said before she floated out of the common room, Starfire and Cyborg looking after her in worry.
Beast Boy felt the wind blow against his face as he flew through the city in hawk form, drying a tear that somehow managed to spill. He dropped in front of Terra's school, having no other place he'd rather be.
He race-walked impatiently through the hallway, his eyes scanning his surrounding as best as he could. He went to Terra's class first, then checked the library and then the locker room.
But Tezumi was nowhere in sight. "Maybe she's in some other place," Beast Boy wondered aloud and searched the rest of the school, gym and yard included.
After a bit less than an hour, Beast Boy dropped tiredly onto the stairs to the upper floor and give out a sigh. "She was here today. Where could she have gone in an hour?" the shape-shifter wondered.
And then a thought struck him and a smile spread on his face before he jumped up, his energy returning to him suddenly.
And with hope in his heart, he dashed towards the principal's office. He stopped in front of the door and swallowed nervously. Was the principal a scary dude?
He shook his nervousness from him.
He had to face that principal if he wanted to see Tezumi.
The shape-shifter knocked lightly on the door and waited for an answer.
But there was no answer and he knocked harder this time before a voice urged him inside.
Unknown to him, a certain half-demon watched him from around the corner and her eyes wandered around, hoping that nobody would be catching her sneaking around in school.
And her eyes opened wide when catching sight of someone standing opposite of the door of the Principal's office, pretending to read a bulletin board – a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Are you here to sign up for next year?" the slim man with a thick brown mustache asked, his eyes scanning some papers on his desk.
"Not really – I mean I've been looking for someone," Beast Boy said nervously, and he cursed himself mentally for being so edgy today.
The man behind the table arched an eyebrow at the green teen and Beast Boy shifted his glance to his name plate on the desk.
"Did you get in trouble, my friend?" the man asked and the Titan covered his face before the man smiled at him.
"No, sir," he mumbled and removed his hand when he received an understanding glance.
"Who are you looking for?"
"A friend. She apparently goes to this school and I have seen her today…but when I came back after an hour or so, she wasn't here anymore," Beast Boy explained himself.
"You know, I can't really give out any sensitive information about students of this school but it is rather strange to hear that," the man said, nodding in understanding.
"I've been worried about her and I just want to make sure that she's ok," Beast Boy said, his voice rising slightly.
Could…Slade have taken her?
If he did…what did he want from her?
"I understand your concern…but I think a simple phone call to our office would have been sufficient."
"I-I didn't have your number," Beast Boy mumbled embarrassed.
"That explains itself…but I have to tell you that wandering through the school won't help you find her except bring you into trouble," the man said sternly.
Beast Boy lowered his gaze, not wanting to give up on her. "Could you at least please tell me if you have seen her leave the school or where you have seen her last?" Beast Boy cried, not caring anymore if he was almost begging in front of the principal.
"I'm sorry but I can only tell you if she's in school right now…unless she decided to really leave without permission."
"Ok, I just want to see if she's alright," he smiled weakly, glad for any information he could get about her.
"But you have to promise me that you won't come looking for her on school property."
"You won't see me anywhere near this place, Mr. Murakami," Beast Boy placed a hand on his heart as he read his name plate.
"Who is the young lady?" the man asked with a smile.
"She's Tezumi…Miko," Beast Boy thought for the last name a bit. "I can't thank you enough-"
"Beast Boy," the man said, remembering that in front of him stood one of the city's heroes.
The green teen looked up hopefully but was faced with a look of confusion.
"I'm sorry but we have no student registered under that name."