Here is the second chapter for everyone. I also wanted to let you know that I have not given up on the story idea from lunar silver. I still intend to write and post that idea but it will be a draft first. If lunar silver likes it I will keep it up. Then I will work on the sequel draft. They are good ideas for a Beast Boy and Raven story, if I may say so, and I am kind of looking forward to hearing what people say about them. Without further ado here is chapter 23! Please enjoy or tell me what you think.
Chapter 23: Rescue on its Way
"What were you two doing discussing the national debt?" Cyborg yelled as Beast Boy and Raven landed next to him behind a car. A large crowd of people, business people going to work, the elderly woman who owned the bakery, an aunt and nephew team who were in charge of the fresh vegetable market, and the owner of the local shooting range Thomas were gathered in the crowd. At the bottom of the stairs stood none other than Ramon and his younger sister Rachel with the Chief of Police.
The Chief was doing her best to keep the crowd calm, but the discovery of who had taken over City Hall coupled with Jump City's Boarding School's teachers reporting two missing students she had her hands full. Various men of different heights, body builds, and most striking of all- the identical clown make-up, surrounded the building and held up the police.
Cyborg and Starfire had taken up a position in the "Zapple-berry" Bakery listening to the cops explaining the situation. Cyborg was thinking of a way to sneak around the crowd and pass the clown guards armed with machine guns and some form of knock gas that made victims have uncontrollable fits of laughter. Starfire had flown around City Hall looking for weak spots or other places to enter. So far she had not found any entrances.
"I will grill you two for why you were so late but not now. Does anyone have any idea how to get either inside that building or into the basement without getting shot at?"
Cyborg's question was met with silence. Beast Boy scanned the crowd and surrounding buildings. The police had set up a barricade in front of City Hall. The clown guards would fire into the crowd whenever the police came too close. Ramon was surprisingly calm as he addressed the gun-slinging clowns. He told them they were all basically in a stalemate and no one needed to be hurt. He also wanted to know who was behind all of this. The clowns' answer to his question was throwing brightly colored eggs at people. At first no one moved, but then a teeth-shattering rumble shook the ground.
When the "eggs" exploded covering everyone with rainbow smoke the crowd ran for cover. The Chief shouted out orders to fall back, get people to safety, and to make certain all the officers had their gasmasks while the frightened people scrambled for cover.
"Look at the top of the building, across from the Hall. Does it not look like stick figures running on the roof" Starfire asked. Beast Boy shifted into a hawk to follow the figures. He lost them in the colorful smoke.
"Cyborg do you not hear the rumbling noise again" Starfire asked.
"I think whoever is in there wants to make some fireworks" Cyborg said.
"This is not time for shooting of color filled rockets into the air. And who would be able to see them in the middle of the day?"
"It's a figure of speech Starfire. I'm sorry I lost the things on the roof. But we have a bigger problem" Beast Boy said. He wanted to say more but then the wind shifted. Bringing a scent he would rather forget as long as he lived.
"What could be a bigger problem than," Raven stopped asking her question as sections of City Hall crumbled away in large chunks. The clowns had all moved into the building, but they had also opened fire at the officers. A long slender metal pole stuck out of the Hall for a brief moment and Raven had a sinking suspicion of what it could be.
No one else noticed Beast Boy's mood change. A shadow stepped through the fog of bright blue and green smoke. It appeared hunched over and walked with a strange loping gait. As the figure turned to the side, to snap at the nephew who works with his aunt at the market, it let out a bear-like growl. Starfire began to shiver. Cyborg kept aiming his scanners on his arms at the figure so he could know what he was up against.
Raven got a better idea when she felt coarse dark green fur brush pass her arm. She turned to him to see a snarling, furious tiger standing next to her right arm. Or was it a tiger? It did not appear to have stripes, and its K-9 teeth were much longer.
"Since when can Beast Boy do that", Cyborg asked turning to look at his long-time friend. Starfire and Raven were left speechless. Beast Boy had somehow phased, not into a tiger or even a lion or jaguar, but into a saber tooth tiger. His paws were black but the rest of his fur was sleek, green, and it was easy to see he was agitated. Raven could see his muscles tensed, poised for a serious fight.
Starfire was about to ask why Beast Boy was acting like this when Raven gasped in shock. That burly figure from the fog was no tiger, or polar bear, in fact it was not any animal at all. A red furred version of Beast had leaped out of the fog headed for Cyborg. Cyborg raised his arm to chop the red one on the back of the neck, but he swerved at the last second to crash into Beast Boy. A grueling, bloody slashing tumble of razor sharp claws, dagger-like fangs, and brute muscle collided over and over again.
Raven watched in mute horror and a growing need to protect her…mate. She had no idea where that thought came from. It did not take much to figure out who the red furred male was or why he was here. Raven could only hope and pray Beast Boy, no Garfield, would be the victor. The thought of having to be connected forever to that hotshot, over-confident, cocky, boy… made Raven sick. The worst part was he thought he could charm any girl he wanted. To top it all off he thought he was the strongest man alive. At this moment if she had to choose between that red idiot and say, Red X, she would take Red X.
"Raven what can we do? Adonis will hurt Beast Boy badly."
"I don't know what to do Star."
"Can you at least tell us what he wants" Cyborg asked while jumping away from flying bricks.
"I know what he wants. It's me." Raven said. She winced in pain as Adonis tore into Beast Boy's shoulder and then flung him into the bakery across the street. Raven was unable to look away as Adonis stalked her almost-boyfriend with a hunger, a desire for blood that she had never seen before. He looked like something out of a nightmare. She could not and would not stand by and allow this beast to claim the life of her friend, her comedic teammate, her mate (there was that mate thought again!).
Starfire called her name as she sprinted past Adonis into the broken store. Half the door was off its hinges, display cakes were scattered on the floor, and broken glass was everywhere. Raven hovered over the glass to find Beast Boy in a bundle of more shattered glass, cake frosting and buttery pastries clinging in clumps to his fur. A gentle hand wiped the blood from his torn shoulder and cleared away the glass and cakes. She heard Starfire's bolts and Cyborg's sonic cannon outside along with Adonis' yelps of pain, but she could not bring her-self to care.
She placed his head on her lap. At first he snarled and tried to adjust his body so he was on his feet yet Raven refused to move. He took deep shaking breaths and realized it was his mate he let out a broken purr. Raven stroked his fur allowing warm healing tongues of her power to flow through him. Beast Boy's breathing became more relaxed. She hugged his saber tooth tiger's head around his neck sniffling in an attempt to not break down in tears.
The peaceful moment did not last as a loud roar filled the bakery. Raven could almost hear Adonis' fury as he bellowed in outrage. She could almost hear him shouting in defiance, "she is mine!" Beast Boy's answering roar while not as loud, it was just as effective. It screamed, "No she is mine and you cannot have her."
Raven kept her hand on the back of Beast Boy's neck. She clung to his fur as if he was her only lifeline to reality. That was when she felt the scorching whips of heat. She looked around them to see if anything was on fire. Nothing was on fire yet she could still feel the heat. Raven took a chance and glanced at Beast Boy's body. The mark on his left forearm was glowing violet, as a matter of fact; it was the same color as her eyes.
"Hello my mate it has been too long."
"Garfield is that you?"
"Again with the Garfield enough about him I can't stand it. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have a mate, so close I can smell her, taste her, and hear her soothing angelic voice anytime I want and yet I have to share her? I don't care if I sound proud. You are my mate Raven. I refuse to let anyone harm you that will include the tofu-lover and this upstart."
"How do I convince Garfield, I mean Beast Boy to work with you? The only way you can beat him is to join forces. Beast, please, I can't lose you. I feel like my life has been slowly going out of control. We lost Robin, we almost lost against the Brotherhood of Evil, Slade is still out there doing who knows what, and to top it off my fa-…Anyway, you need each other. I don't want to hear another letter from you about not cooperating, do you understand me?"
"Keh I guess I have no choice. Fine I will consider cooperating. But on one condition my mate."
"What is that?"
Adonis had been stalking into the destroyed bakery as they continued talking. Now he froze in anticipation of her answer. He could not hear Beast talking to Raven but he could infer what he asked based on her responses. Raven ignored Adonis' hunger-filled gaze that made her feel like a raw steak in front of a starved lion. Instead she stared into Beast Boy's eyes, filled with understanding, anxiety, underlying fury and need to dominate this challenger, and somehow amidst all of this- she saw love.
"What condition is that?"
"It is quite simple really. Ask your mate to help you. I am not stupid enough to say something like defend you. It makes you sound like a damsel in distress, which we both know you are anything but that. If you truly wish to be ours, and you want us to cooperate, then treat as such. Yes it is true that he is me; the opposite is true- I am him. If you want your mate's help then ask for it."
In hindsight this conversation would weight on Raven, Garfield and Beast, and all of their friends' thoughts for a while. But right now, Beast and Garfield needed an answer. This answer would change everything they knew. Raven felt Beast's emotions through this whole conversation. They couldn't have been clearer than if he had shouted them from the roof top. Raven had no idea how this not-so-normal relationship would work out. Then again if her life was normal she would never have met these fabulous people- her best friends.
"My mate will you help me?"
"Yes of course my mate." Garfield's body began to ripple and shiver. Raven actually wondered if it was possible for him to explode. She did not want to think about that. Adonis was getting more and more annoyed and anxious. Adonis knew that the wimpy green one did not deserve someone as beautiful and powerful as Raven. He was so much better than the weakling Beast Boy. All Adonis had to do was convince Raven of this and there would not be any problems.
The last thing Garfield wanted was to see Raven mated to Adonis. He would rather see Red X or a younger Slade mated with Raven than this overconfident jerk. With a wild snarl of anger and renewed strength together, in Beast's original form, they charged pushing Adonis out of the bakery and into a parked car. In a great display of strength Beast and Garfield turned the car over while pushing Adonis over it.
Adonis was too dazed to recover and ended up with his vulnerable belly slashed. Adonis howled with pain. Garfield allowed Beast to act on most of his instincts, but Beast also allowed Garfield to plan ahead and not just think on his feet. Cyborg and Starfire helped Raven out of the bakery as they watched the two animals bite, tear, kick and roll over each other.
Above on the buildings to the left of City Hall and overlooking the street two figures could be seen watching the Hall. They had little interest in the fight for dominance on the street below. Their biggest concern was getting inside the Hall. Someone important to one of the figures; one who wore a familiar half orange half black metal suit, was determined to find his kidnapped puppet-loving partner no matter what. The other boy also in a black suit with a black cloak and a gray underside was tagging along for the thrill.
"Remind me again why you are following me? I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't even know who I'm trying to save, let alone the other two girls who need help. The cops won't make it in time. When I find that…Clown Prince…I will make him wish he was never born."
"Uh-oh that sounds pretty dark coming from you. I like it! We should hang out more. You know I thought I heard about a string of robberies from tech companies over the last two months or so, they all seemed to involve a girl with pink curly hair and mocha skin and someone who looked a lot like you. Care to elaborate my friend?"
"Listen to me X," the boy said. "You and I are not friends. I don't think we ever will be. My master wants to help me find my partner and you just happened to tag along for the ride. So no I do not feel like elaborating."
Red X sighed, "You are no fun, Bird Boy- I mean…" Red X did not finish his sentence as the other boy just glared at him. X had to resist the urge to shudder in fear. With the cops in a standoff with clown guards and since none of them were watching the four teen superheroes stuck in their own world, no one else was going to notice them sneaking into City Hall.
The tall slender poll sticking out of the hole in City Hall provided great cover for the two boys to enter. He gasped in shock.
"Are you so sure a bunch of clowns made this?" Red X asked.
Connected to the poll was the skeleton of what looked like a metal cylinder, covered in an array of buttons, circuits, levers and a host of other gadgets they could only guess at their purpose. At the base of the cylinder appeared to be a control panel for one person. Red X pointed across from the Mojo Jojo looking destruction ray at the hollowed out elevator in the main lobby. The gun-slinging clowns had retreated into the lobby after firing at the police. What exactly was this laser-look-a-like and how were a gang of clowns with guns supposed to use it against a city as large as Jump City?
"I heard from the radio static from that loud officer with the megaphone outside, that two of the girls on the field trip went to the bathroom and never came out. Do you think they might be trapped in the basement?"
"If I was a hero again I would say swing down to the unused elevator and investigate."
"But correct me if I am wrong you are not a hero anymore. You're not even supposed to be looking for lost school girls. You are looking for a lost partner who I would love to meet. Can you even tell me her name?"
"Oh you have no idea how much I would appreciate if you can stay on topic."
"Yeah I am getting to that. Stop interrupting me little bird. Anyway, I was going to say let's check out the basement anyway. You may find your partner and I may get a date once this is all over."
"You know X I can hear you."
"Yes I do little bird. Why do you think I said it?" Red X heard the other boy groan in defeat as they jumped onto the "laser" while crossing their hands, like climbing on monkey bars at a playground. The boys stopped near the base. Clowns with guns at their sides in various colored uniforms walked to around the lobby. One of the boys was glad that there did not appear to be any hostages or unconscious workers in the lobby. Red X swung around on top of the laser despite his companion's whispered protests and jumped into the air.
A clown glanced at the laser but did not see him. Red X shimmered back into visibility in the corner of the lobby with a thumb up to the other boy dangling on the laser. He just knew X was wearing the biggest grin under that mask. X just had to rub in that a special chemical powering his suit allowed him to phase in and out of the air like a ghost. It was not fair! Red X threw some grenades across the room towards a hallway to distract the clowns.
There were about ten clown guards in the lobby and five of them left to investigate. Three clowns used the elevator and went to who knows where- probably the basement or maybe even the mayor's office. The other boy dropped from the laser and ran to Red X's side hiding on the corner of the hallway. The last two guards stood like sentries walking back and forth waiting for the others to return.
"I have an idea" Red X said as he sprinted for the hollowed out elevator. The boy ran after him trying to look at every shadow in the room that might be concealing an armed clown.
Red X laughed at his partner who just glared at him. They turned to look at the dark hollow vertical tunnel that is an elevator shaft. Just how far down did it go? What would they do if the clowns tried to bring materials up as they were going down? Would they even find the two school girls supposedly trapped in the basement?
"Well ladies first" Red X chuckled.
"Age before beauty my friend."
"We don't even know if anyone is down there. What if it is a trap?"
The boy opened his mouth to say something else when all the clown guards came sprinting back into the lobby. They took a quick glance at each other and jumped into the shaft. Shouts and loud growls pierced the air. It sounded like a grizzly bear and a polar bear were fighting in the lobby. The gunshots ricocheting around the walls did not help them hear any better. Not to mention the giant Mojo Jojo looking laser beam of destruction did not help them see any better either.
"Why do those giant furry things look like Christmas decorations?" Red X took a shaky breath as he tried to ignore the teeth shattering snarls and crunching of bones.
"I don't intend to stick around and find out. Last one down the shaft is a rotten egg."
"Just so you know, if we get blasted, creamed, or turn into clowns I am blaming you for all of it!" Red X shouted as he followed his partner down the shaft, sliding on the cables heading for… the unknown…