And today's one word prompt is:
. . .
Cruelty
. . .
An uncomfortable tension had settled upon the tower. No one had accused him out loud yet, but Beast Boy knew that they suspected him. It wasn't fair, but he honestly couldn't blame them. He would've suspected himself too, if he were them. Hell, he wished he was guilty. He'd thought hard about doing it and probably would have if someone hadn't beaten him to the punch.
It had happened two weeks ago. A big scandal had taken over the news when an ex-employee blew the whistle on a nonprofit Big Name so-called animal rights group, detailing exactly how anti-animal the company actually was. Reporters were calling it Petgate. Apparently only five percent of the animals the organization picked up were actually adopted out, and the vast majority were euthanized, no matter the age or health of the animal. That level of cruelty was obviously unforgivable and it was a media landslide from the get go, an absolute hell riot from the moment the story was picked up. It hadn't even begun to taper off when the unthinkable happened. Someone broke in and made off with all the animals, effectively saving their lives. Every. Single. Animal.
So, yeah. Beast Boy was a suspect.
Not officially. There was virtually no evidence left behind. The locks on the cages weren't even broken. The police were "looking" for the perpetrator but it was evident they really would prefer to pat whoever did it on the back. Sure, it was technically theft. Sure, it was breaking and entering. Sure they'd committed a crime, but no one seemed too torn up over it, least of all the police.
The tower, meanwhile, had been woefully quiet ever since the break-in hit the headlines. Just because a crime saved lives didn't make it less of a crime. Beast Boy could practically hear the lecture now. You are not above the law, Beast Boy, plain as day in Robin's voice.
Robin had been staring at Beast Boy for days, like cats and dogs were gonna start leaping out of his sleeves any moment. He wanted to scream. Cyborg had that constant "about to ask you something personal" look on his face, but managed never to ask. Starfire had been the least subtle about it and had spent the entire last week searching the tower top the bottom; under the couch and behind the fridge and in every closet and air duct. Beast Boy kept asking what she was looking for and she would just say something like, "Silkie." He wanted to scream!
The only one who didn't seem to suspect him was Raven. On Sunday night after a particularly infuriating dinner in which Starfire swore she heard something meowing, Beast Boy sought out Raven, who hadn't made it to the dinner table. He was desperate to talk to someone who didn't look at him like he was a criminal.
She would only open her door a crack, but that was enough for him to ask, "You don't think I did it, do you?"
Raven stared at him for a moment before opening the door a few inches more. "You didn't."
Beast Boy pressed a hand to his forehead in relief. "Right! Exactly. Dude, thank you! Do you think maybe you could talk to Robin or… Wait. You sound so sure." He furrowed his eyebrows at her, uncertain what to make of her impassive face. "Why are you so sure that I didn't do it?"
She glanced at something behind her door. "I just know. Goodnight, Beast Boy." But before her door clicked shut he heard it. Distinctly. Meow.
He rudely shouldered her door open and there it was. A little black cat. A little black cat with a kink in its tail and missing a little chunk of its right ear, but otherwise whole and happy as it drank from a little bowl by Raven's bed. "Is that a-"
Raven slammed the door closed, looking more uneasy than he'd ever seen her in his life. "Okay," she seethed. "I did it. It was me. I couldn't just do nothing while they euthanized hundreds of healthy animals. I had the capability, so it would have been wrong not to free them."
"But how did you-"
"I opened up portals directly into their cages."
"And where did-"
"To humane shelters outside of the city."
"But what about-!"
"I liked her, okay?" Raven stepped between Beast Boy and the frizzy cat to scoop her up. She was a tiny little thing, but she purred like a motorbike in Raven's arms. "Sue me."
"They might!" Beast Boy whispered a bit manically. "If they find out you did this you're dead, Raven."
"There is no way on Earth they will find out. I left no evidence behind and the police aren't exactly putting forth their best effort to find the animals. Police officers are dog lovers by trade. Besides," she added wanly, "I knew if I didn't do something about it then you were definitely going to. I could see it on your face every time the news was on. And you would have gotten caught," she added decisively, "so you're welcome."
"God I love you," he laughed wistfully, and pulled the cat from her arms. "You know that, right?"
Raven pressed her lips together, a bit miffed at how quickly her new cat took to Beast Boy. "I love you too," she joked back, wrongfully assuming that he'd meant it in a platonic, friendly way. "But you can't have this cat. I already named her. Tell him, Poe."
"Dammit," he complained when Poe started meowing.