Chapter 7: Breakin' A Sweat

Beastboy reverted back to half Beast state on all fours on the main floor of the batcave, before taking in his surroundings. A large, open space with lots of metal and stone. Not so bad. But it was still a prison and he needed to escape. Shifting quickly into bloodhound, he took a long deep breath and immediately transformed back.

He was not alone.

Among the aromas of stale air, bat droppings, metal and stone, he had distinguished several other more threatening scents. Namely, sweat and other body liquids – one found only in males, another solely in females. Together they came from somewhere in the darkness above him. With his enhanced sight, he scanned the rocky ceiling of the cave, the area he was searching narrowing as his nose zoned in on the other animal.

A tiny movement vanishing behind a stalactite caught his eye.

Batman hung by his grappling hook behind the stalactite and quickly removed his radio, hoping to get in touch with Batgirl. She wasn't responding. Not a good sign. A glance from behind the pillar afforded the Dark Knight a view of his opponent for the first time.

A tall, green, animalistic humanoid on all fours wan mimicking the stalking crouch of a tiger in front of the destroyed hospital wall. Giving him a once over, Batman retreated back behind the rock to analyse his opponent, going into detective mode.

'Green skin. Martian Manhunter, Beastboy, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc. Obviously Beastboy. Animal shape shifter, heightened senses, decent martial artist. Part of Robin's Teen Titans. Current state indicates partial animal transformation induced by rage judging by unique pupils, facial expression and tensed muscles. Threat: probable.'

Batman's analysis was cut short by the appearance of a small green bat before him.

'Impressive,' noted the Caped Crusader as he released his grapple, missing the newly formed Sasquatch fist by inches. Hitting the ground, he immediately dove to the side narrowly avoiding fruit being crushed by the large elephant that struck the ground behind him, denting the reinforced steel. 'A Sasquatch? Interesting.'

Rolling to dispel the impact of his dive then rising quickly, Batman watched as the emerald elephant shrunk down to its original form.

'Tightening of the trunk and sagging in rear legs indicates pain and previous leg damage. Right hand forward, right handed. No trace of human intelligence present. Communication not an option. Drop of foreign translucent liquid on left thigh, not perspiration, blood, or saliva, semen unlikely.' Glancing through the ruined hospital front, The World's Greatest Detective observed a nearly empty syringe lying on the floor near a female hand. His mind eased as a finger twitched. 'Batgirl administered sedative, draw fight out, eventually take toll.'

His plan formed, Batman loosened into a combat stance, mildly interested in seeing what a team mate of his former apprentice and partner could do. The creature's eyes narrowed in anger at the sight and without hesitation, charged.

'Fast,' noted the Dark Knight as he flipped over the top of the charging beast, landing lightly on his feet, before ducking beneath a feral, clawed left hook. 'Very fast, ambidextrous' he reflected jumping away from an uppercut. 'Pay more attention.'

The creature was circling him now, appearing to plan its next move. The vivid green eyes never left his. Suddenly a full grown rhino was charging at him, moving far faster than its bulk would suggest it could. As the rhino took to the air (something else you wouldn't think it could do), Batman dove the side again, just in time to catch a jagged mace to his chest. Beastboy had transformed into an ankylosaurus mid-air, rotating to smash his opponent with its long, clubbed tail. Gotham's Protector was thrown back with the force of the strike sliding along the floor before hitting the cold, rock wall.

'Powerful, innovative, effective. I wonder what the limitations of his shifting are.' Grimacing, he got to his feet in time in time to see a seven meter long cobra lung for his throat. With perfect timing and reflexes, Batman threw out a hand and caught the snake behind the back of the head in a flawless grip. However, the snake quickly shrunk to a fly, escaping his grasp, flying a short way up and then morphed to a 700 pound tiger which flew towards him, claws outstretched.

Acting quickly, Batman rolled underneath the flying beast, which twisted in the air to land facing him before reverting back to its more human form. Placing a hand to his chest, Batman frowned. That had hurt and he wasn't exactly in the best fighting condition at the moment. Best to end this.

Standing straight and placing both hands on his utility belt, Batman breathed deeply ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest and prepared to make his move. Beastboy waited for the forthcoming attack.

With a sudden flick, several batarangs were airborne traveling at high speed towards their intended target. The beast shrunk to the floor in the form of a fox on the perforated steel floor, just in time to receive a smoke bomb to the face. Firing his grappling hook towards the ceiling, Batman shot upwards into the darkness, then turned in time to the see the creature back in its original form stalk from the cloud of smoke, its sense of smell and sight partially obscured.

Batman released the line and threw himself down in a front flip executing an axe kick to the middle of Beastboy's back. Howling, he collapsed to the floor before turning and throwing himself at the Dark Knight, 'durable,' to engage in prolonged close combat.

Batman had been in many, many fistfights before, but never one quite like this. The green titan in front of him moved seamlessly from form to form as he needed to. Instead of blocking a punch, he would simply shift shape. If a kick was about to impact, he morphed into something smaller, causing Batman to hit nothing but air, leaving him off balance and prone to a counter attack.

Twisting into a crouching leg sweep aimed at a bears lower paws, he missed completely as the limbs shrunk upwards into hummingbird, before that shifted into the form of a midair kangaroo to deliver a double straight leg kick which Batman barely managed to block.

As the minutes wore on, however, Beastboy's movements slowed. His transformations took longer, leaving him vulnerable. Batman recognised this and held back, realising that he didn't need to hurt the titan to win. Eventually, back in his original half-humanoid form, Beastboy stumbled forward to deliver a clumsy and weak straight right. Batman easily caught the fist and watched as the lids of the titan's eyes slowly shut. His whole body relaxed, before dropping to the floor out cold.

Batman watched as the huge, muscled form slowly shrunk down to reveal a naked, lanky, green teen. He started producing a loud snoring in his deep, dreamless sleep.

'Fascinating.' The Caped Crusader thought as he picked up the light body and walked towards the partially destroyed hospital wing, making a mental note to check if he had been restrained.

This was actually a lot of fun to write. I liked doing Batman's deductions and observations, thought it worked well, you?

For anyone wondering about what road the romantic plot will take, all you need to do is view my 'favourite stories' list to know where this is going to go. However, if you want to enjoy the mystery and scheme that I'll hopefully bring to life, I would recommend the 'wait and see' approach.

Review Responses:
EX3451 – I'm glad you liked the more relaxed tone, because things are going to slow down for a while now as I try to develop the characters a bit more. Really appreciate your faith in me and happy that someone is taking enjoyment from this. As long as I've got great reviewers like yourself keeping me straight, I think I'll be able to pull it off :) Loving the inspiring and stirring poetic exclamation at the end by the way, haha!

FF8cerberus – Catwoman isn't going to be playing much of a role in this, except for maybe some comedy later on. You don't need to worry about seeing much of her. Yeah, I quite liked how I portrayed it, pleased you approve. Haha, you want me to just send you all the plot lines I've written?

LiumD – Inspiration for using that character all goes to Jarec, check out his stuff if you haven't already.

thettbiggestfan – Thanks dude, stay tuned!

kronk95 – I aim to please :)

shugokage – I actually find it difficult to try to capture his 'half and half' mindset. I'm happy you thought it was well done.

HereForTitans – Yeah, I'm on a roll at the moment aren't I?

I appreciate the reviews!
Take it easy,
CJB