Heyhey!
Yeah so, Wimbledon, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 mix and 'How To Train Your Dragon' fics are mainly responsible for the delay. I won't apologize.
I will apologize for...well you'll find out I guess.
Thank you people who favorite, follow and review! You guys are the lifeblood of fanfiction!
Review Responses:
The Flying Frog - Fantastic! Great to know you're enjoying it. Even better to know the breakdancing thing didn't just make sense in my head :)
kronk95 - Hmm, interesting stuff mate. Thanks for that. May incorporate some of that into BB's past. Cheers.
Sperance - Not really a people person no. Maybe not even a person person at all :) And yes, I thought 'Bats' was hilarious and so Beastboy!
Was Cassie flirting? I like to think of it as accidental innuendo ;)
Nightmare Sired Muse - Lurve yu.
jimmy1201 - Breakdancing instruction makes sense? Yeesssss!
McDiggity - Holy crap, it's McDiggity! Dude, 'Titans Return'=Megatastic. Glad you're enjoying this :)
newboy - Thank you so much for such detailed theories and analysis. Helps me get everything straight in my own head!
And as to your third (you rock) review, I agree with you. Ain't the best thing to hear to be honest, but I'm glad some people understand :)
ExNativo - I'd say "You're insane!" and "There's no possible way!" and then get happy somebody is on a similar wavelength. I do so enjoy your reviews man, you remind me of one of my best friends in real life :)
Wampeman - Thank you for your very kind complements. They are received with only a slightly swollen head. I will keep it up! Just for you Wampeman. Well and everyone else. And me. Actually that was a blatant lie. Sorry.
Off we go.
Chapter 26: You Don't Know My Mind.
"How has Kid Flash been settling into the team?"
"Fine."
"Any conflict in the tower with a new hero aboard?"
"No."
"What about on the combat side? Teamwork has always been a big part of the Titan's success."
"No problems at all."
Seth Sharpe, more commonly know as 'The Jump City Jock' frowned at Cyborg through his sandy fringe. He was getting nowhere. It had taken weeks to secure this private interview and he was getting absolutely nothing out of it. He had expected an hour long chat over coffee in the tower itself, not one word answers at the door. Flicking his ninety dollar haircut from his eyes, he resolved to fall back on his usual modus operandi; useful for both getting the most out of celebrities and bringing down any rival reporters hoping to steal his gossip tv crown.
'Get personal.'
"So how have you been coping with the loss of Beastboy, Cyborg? It was well known that you two are the best of friends. Some are even under the impression that you two are more than that."
Cyborg stared at the reporter and silently sent a prayer to the heavens requesting help in resisting the temptation to shot this guy in his skinny-jeaned crotch. He took a deep breath to calm himself and answered in a dull voice.
"Of course I miss him, but I'm happy he's doin' what he's doin'."
'Avoiding the gay insinuation. That's the makings of a headline.' Sharpe thought as he scribbled in shorthand on a notepad. The Titans annoyingly allowed no recording devices on the island for security purposes.
"What about the rest of the Titans? Surely it's affecting everyone not having him here."
'You have no idea, dude.'
"It's definitely had an effect on all of us. We've been fighting and living together in this tower for years. It was always going to be strange when something changed in the team lineup, but we're adjusting fine."
Sharpe was eager to press the point. "Both Starfire's and Raven's powers are emotional in nature. Has the loss of a team mate affected their performance at all?"
'Getting a bit too personal there, man.'
"Raven and Star are professional heroes who put the job first. They've probably had it a bit tougher than me but it's not had a serious impact on their abilities."
Sharpe's plucked eyebrows squashed down. "And Robin?"
'Shit. Can't let personal feelings affect the public image.'
"Robin was very aware of the loss of Beastboy's abilities within the team and made sure to get us back to full strength by recruiting Kid Flash." He forced the next words out. "He may not show it much, but we all know he's missing Beastboy as much as any of us."
That seemed to placate Sharpe, who scribbled briefly before moving on.
"Any update on how Beastboy's doing? Or what he's doing? The city misses her hero."
Cyborg leaned against the steel doorframe and folded his arms. Looked like he'd be here for a while.
"I'm afraid we can't say anything more than we already have. He's on an indefinite training sabbatical."
"It's been four weeks already. How much longer can it take?"
"It would probably be more accurate to measure his time away in months rather than weeks."
"So a long while then?"
"Like I said, indefinite."
'Christ, next time send some hot chick. Not this idiot.'
"So is Kid Flash looking like a permanent addition for the foreseeable future?"
Cyborg reflected on the question, not entirely sure of how to phrase the answer in a way that didn't cast the atmosphere in the tower in bad light. "I can't speak for him but I think his city is missing him and he's beginning to miss it."
'Booya, Nailed it.'
"Would that have anything to do with his rocky relationship with Raven?"
Cyborg thought very carefully about what he was going to say. The last time he had answered a question about Raven without thinking, she had taken all of his legs for two days.
Beastboy still called him 'Lieutenant Dan' sometimes.
"Ah, something funny about them two? Maybe it's a front for a tower romance? He'd be a first for Raven, wouldn't he?"
'Oh, hell no! Have to shut that down now.'
"It is true that Raven and Kid have had some problems adjusting to each other, but they've sorted out their differences now. I can safely say on behalf of both of them that they are definitively not in a relationship.
Sharpe smirked as he scribbled and Cyborg realized his mistake.
In his eagerness to nip that romance suggestion in the bud, he had given Sharpe what he had been looking for in the first place. It was a standard journalist probe. Claim a lie and a rumor and they'll confirm the rumor to deny the lie.
The hero mentally sighed. He just didn't give a damn at that moment. He had enough problems in dealing with a Hitler-esque leader, an emotional alien and a half-demon hermit.
"So there has been some conflict on the team then?"
Yep, this interview was over.
"No, just some adjusting personalities. Anything else?"
"Of course! Can you confirm that-"
An electronic alarm on Cyborg's wrist cut him off. Cyborg examined it intently.
"Sorry dude, gonna have to cut this short. Something's come up. Let's reschedule!"
"No, wait I-"
But Cyborg had already closed the entrance door in his face. He rested his forehead against the reinforced steel and sighed. He felt no guilt at the muffled cursing.
'Been a while since I've had to fake an alarm. Never fails though. Uhhh... can't believe I screwed that up. How the hell did I end up with the PR job again?"
He already knew the answer. Robin claimed he didn't have time to maintain their public image. Starfire would have no idea what she was agreeing to half the time. Raven would most likely curse any reporters after twenty seconds and Beastboy was far too trusting to play the public image game well.
'And that just leaves little old me. Leaves me some time though, I should really go check on-'
"Faking an alert. I'll have to remember that one."
Cyborg reluctantly turned his head against the door to see Kid Flash leaning against the wall next to him. 'God, I don't need this now.'
"It's not actually a fake. Computer's picked something up."
He turned and walked away from the door and the hero.
"I'm not an idiot you know."
Cyborg stopped and sighed deeply through his nose. "Okay, yeah you're right it was a fake. Just wanted to see if it would work twice."
"I'm not talking about the damn alarm."
That surprised Cyborg enough for him to turn and face the unusually serious teen. The Kid pushed off the wall and slowly made his way forward, eyes tensed and steps deliberate.
"I know something's going on here with all of you. I know that this isn't the same team I used to work with. Something has changed. Something big."
"Well yeah man, Beastboy-"
"Beastboy leaving wouldn't have changed the team's attitude to Robin so much."
Cyborg froze and Kid Flash stalked closer. The speedster had been unusually quiet recently. Cyborg had assumed Raven had put him in his place and he'd settled in. But it appeared he'd been watching more than just Starfire's morning solar charge. It looked like he'd seen and heard enough of the forced normality of the tower relationships to reach some kind of conclusion. And he wasn't far off.
"I'm not blind." He continued, watching Cyborg closely. "You and the girls have given me the cold shoulder since I got here. I guessed it was because you were still sore about me replacing Beastboy. At least that's what Robin told me. But the attitudes in this place have only gotten worse, and not towards me." He came to a stop just in front of Cyborg, tilting his head upwards slightly to maintain eye contact.
"Haven't they, Cyborg?" He repeated.
Cyborg crossed his arms again, meeting the incoming gaze solidly. "I don't follow."
"Oh don't you? Well maybe I should ask directly then. What happened with Robin?"
The two stared each other down. Cyborg covertly began accessing the tower cameras to search for Robin's location.
"He's in the evidence room with a dozen smoke grenades set to go off when he opens the door. Friendly prank of course."
Cyborg looked upon Kid Flash with new appreciation. "Ya know, you're a lot more intelligent that people think."
"I don't like being kept in the dark. Something happened. Robin is starting to turn into a mini Batman and you guys can't stand being in the same room with him. What happened?"
Cyborg said nothing.
"Was it something to do with why Beastboy left? I don't believe that training crap for a minute. Robin wouldn't have let him leave without finding at least half a dozen replacements first. Wouldn't have needed to call in a personal favor from me. Am I right?"
No response.
Kid Flash narrowed his eyes, feeling frustration in his gut.
"I am not at liberty to disclose that information."
'Ah, now we're getting somewhere.'
"So there is information to answer my question, isn't there?"
"I am not at lib-"
"Yeah I heard you the first time. Look," Kid Flash took a step closer still and dropped his voice, "he and I go back a ways, you never knew him before the Titans. I did. I know what he can be like. I know when he screws up, he screws up big time and never admits it. But stonewalling him won't do anything."
Cyborg glared. "If you think he's lied to you about Beastboy, why don't you find out why?"
And with that, he turned and walked off.
"You know, I think I will."
The room was consumed with flickering shadows; cast by the light of a dozen strategically placed candles. Throwing the single largest dark silhouette on the floor was a large stuffed chicken that sat in the exact center of the room.
'Connect.'
The shadow of the carnival prize shuddered. Then it started to creep slowly away, growing in size, fluctuating in shape, fighting off the light of the flames.
'Energy.'
The shadow, ever so slowly, began rising from the ground; breaking its two dimensional constraints and becoming a pitch black 3D object, still tied to the ground and the shadow of the chicken. It rotated, flowed, hung like a suspended ball of blackest paint, appearing to consume the light out of the very air surrounding it.
'Control.'
The airborne ball began to move, become more defined, flow into more distinguishable shapes. A cube of darkness, a pyramid, a ring. The shapes became more complex. A 'T' shaped tower, the T-Car, an intricate flower never seen on Earth, a humanoid shape that gradually gained more detail. Male, short, long arms, defined chin, messy hair, big eyes, pointed ears-
The blackness was suddenly sucked back down into the shadow of the chicken that fluttered gently in the candle movement, before stilling.
Raven stared at the ghost of the stuffed animal on her floor, trying desperately to ignore what had just happened.
'Control is getting much better.' She thought, just to have something to fill her mind.
She had been training day and night in shadow manipulation for the past month and had come a long way. At the pace she was setting, it wouldn't be long before she mastered the somewhat obscure facet of sorcery. It would go a long way towards aiding her combat abilities as manipulating darkness required far less energy than manifesting and controlling her soulself. It would open up other options as well when combined with her demonic capabilities.
More than that though, it kept her mind occupied each passing day. It kept Robin off of her back. It gave her an reason to isolate herself even more so than usual.
It was an excuse for the bags under her eyes.
Raven released a jaw cracking yawn and tiredly opened her communicator.
02:46am.
'Should be late enough.'
She hadn't been sleeping well recently. Couldn't sleep well. Not without being completely exhausted, which was what she was aiming for now.
Exhaustion, she had found, allowed for dreamless sleep.
And that meant a night without waking up to a cold sweat on her forehead and a sickness in her gut.
It was always the same.
The same blood-soaked, tear-stained, bestial form of her friend, roaring his agony in her face.
'Which is just a bad memory. Nothing more. Just one of the negative psychological side effects of the job. Nothing to do with him or the fact he's gone. Nothing...nothing...'
Raven opened her eyes slowly, up and moving already. Don't stop, just move, sleep now, train later, keep moving, keep...
Her eyes fell on the stuffed chicken and suddenly she was very much stopping.
'It was just the closest thing to hand, I didn't...'
It hit her.
All in one moment.
The severity of her condition.
Slowly, Raven slid down the door to her room, ending up peering at the stuffed toy between her bare knees.
"Azar," a whisper sounded aloud, "I'm actually lying to myself...what's happening to me...?"
But she already knew. Had always known.
She missed him.
It was obvious. It had always been obvious. She had just worked hard to ignore it and bury the ramifications of that one small fact.
And this was the result. Justifying herself to a stuffed animal.
But she had always known. Known that the corner of her life he had set up shop in was suddenly gone. She was well aware the tower was a darker place without his stupid, bright smile. His unending energy and lust for life. The reliability of his unreliability. His wild, chaotic nature that was so necessary in a place of order and discipline. The timid knocking at her door...
Azar, she missed him.
'Yes! Alright? I miss him! Happy?'
Her head dropped into her hands.
'And now I'm internally yelling at myself. Great. Last time my mind was this illogical-nope, let's not even-and since when do I use the word 'nope?' And in my own head! Ahh!'
She ground the palms of her hands into her forehead, as if trying to reach inside and yank the stupid thoughts out of her stupid mind. Wouldn't it just shut up already?!
She knew she should meditate, cage each thought and kick it out of her mind.
But she was so tired...so weary...
But then nightmares.
Raven snapped her eyes wide open as tendril of her damned power sliced into the wall beside her.
That was it.
She was at her limit. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. It needed to end. Whatever the Trigon this all was. She needed some form of closure. Otherwise who knew how long her tender sanity would last?
Her bloodshot eyes tiredly traced the new scar on her room as a heavy weight slid into her stomach.
'Only one way to get it. Unfortunately.'
Raven breathed deeply and squared her shoulders as resolve settled firmly into her heart.
"I have to see him."
It was convenient that the new powers Raven had been working on so diligently would come in so useful in this particular mission.
Almost as if it had been subconsciously planned for some time.
By infusing her soulself into shadows, Raven was able to perform the same feats of supernatural ability with much, much less energy exertion. Using her soulself alone, she was able to comfortably create a 300 mile portal jump. But by merging her power into shadow and teleporting via darkness instead of her soulself, she was able to quadruple that distance.
More than enough to make it to Gotham.
'Batman will not be pleased.'
She meditated intently, levitating gently in the middle of her room. Door locked, curtains drawn, candles lit. Now that her mind was made up, it was time to address the immediate concern. She did not want to tangle with Batman.
Again.
It had been roughly four days after she had forced her way into Robin's mind during his chemical induced psychotic breakdown over Slade.
'Should have paid more attention to that particular warning sign. The drugs caused hallucinations but his actions were his own. How did we miss that?'
Mentally shaking herself from the unproductive train of thought, Raven returned to the issue at hand. During her brief time in his mind, Raven had been exposed to quite a number of intensely personal memories and experiences.
And secrets.
She had never told Robin she had learned of his and the Batman's identity. And Robin had never raised the issue.
Batman had.
The sleek laptop Cyborg had given her for a birthday a few years ago had starting vibrating in the middle of the night. After locating it and blowing off the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the top, she had wisely decided to see why the damn thing was acting up before tossing it out her window.
She still remembered the shock she had gotten when she opened it to reveal the hard face of the one and only Batman.
"Beastboy..." Raven cursed softly, convinced it was another idiotic prank of his.
"Batman actually, Ms. Raven."
Her bed ripped cleanly in two at her surprise and sudden mind shot from thought to thought, but one stood out. 'He knows.'
Raven's eyes tensed over her closed eyelids at the memory. She had been younger then. More susceptible to manipulation, to fear. He had played her like a fiddle.
"What do you want? And how did you do this?" She remember clearly speaking, keeping any stutter or nervousness from her voice. She had heard every rumor there was to hear about the infamous Dark Knight and had assumed they were all exaggerations.
But just the look on his face, the deadness of it, was enough to strike a deep chord in her usually impervious heart.
"While your tower mainframe has mediocre security, all personal devices have laughable protection from simple internet access. I could have gotten into your computer from a public library."
Raven hadn't doubted him.
"As to what I want, your expression tells me you already know."
That had seriously rattled her. No one could read her face. No one.
It had only occurred to her later that he had probably been bluffing.
"Robin is recovering fine, the drug-"
"Don't." There was danger in that word.
She opted instead to just stare, meeting his gaze. It was actually easy enough on her computer screen.
"I read the mission report. You were in Robin's mind. You know our identities."
She had stayed calm. Played for time.
"That wasn't in the mission report."
"It didn't need to be. Robin may be blind, but I am not."
'There's a 'blind as a bat' joke there somewhere.' The thought had sprung into her head without warning. 'Azar...Been around Beastboy too much.'
"Alright, I know. What now?"
"Can you perform the unbreakable vow?"
"How do you know about that?"
"I have made it my directive to study all manner of subject. Demonology is but one."
"...Yes, I know it."
"Do it. Swear you will never reveal either identity and I will be satisfied. Don't, and more extreme measures will have to be taken."
She had done it, in the end.
The world was going to be ending soon anyway, she had justified. There was no point in trying to fight him on it. And he had never contacted her again.
But now...
Now she was going to attempt to make use of her knowledge for the first time.
'And Batman will hardly be pleased.'
She wasn't afraid of him. But she had no desire to cross him either.
She needed a plan...
"...Stupid...Batman...and his...stup-huh!...stupid...training..."
A fat drop of sweat slipped down Beastboy's upper lip into his left nostril.
"PHHH! Oh God! I can taste it in my throat! Goddamn!"
Training under Batman hadn't done much for his language.
"Come on, One...more...lap."
Beastboy had been delighted several hours earlier when Batman had led him out of the batcave to the 400 acre estate at the rear of the manor. He had been starting to go a little stir crazy indoors. No running, flying or swimming made for a very unhappy Beastboy.
After being forcibly calmed down, he'd been told to do 30 laps of the mile long trail through the forested part of the estate.
On his hands.
He'd been out there all day, enjoying the crisp air during the short breaks between laps he allowed himself. The rest of the time was spent thinking up increasingly dastardly plots to pay his accursed mentor back.
The sun was dropping low in the sky at this point, not that he could tell. The waning rays of sunlight were no longer strong enough to pierce the thick canopy of branches above him. He was forced to peer through the twilight gloom as he wearily powered on.
Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand.
His legs swayed gently above him, naturally counterbalancing his every movement. The handstand wasn't the part he struggled with. It was supporting his entire weight on his arms for hours on end that was the real burden.
With a mumbled curse, Beastboy moved another hand forward, blotting out the signals his muscles were sending to his brain. He'd gotten better at ignoring pain. You had to when training under Batman.
But there was a different sensation that had been with him for the past 3 hours or so that he had been unable to shake off. It was some...touch that raised the hairs on the back of his neck and set his teeth on edge. Some instinct that said something wasn't right.
Beastboy had learned a long time ago that ignoring his instincts inevitably led to trouble. So he had kept his eyes open and his ears pricked up, silently scanning his surroundings.
'Swear something's out there.' He thought raggedly, trying to focus through his fatigue. 'Batman ambush? Bambush? Hehe...God this hurts.'
He was about halfway through the trail, in the deepest part of the forest when it happened.
One moment the dark ground was beneath him. The next, it was simply not there and he was falling head first downwards into nothingness. So sudden was the event that Beastboy didn't even have time to open his mouth, he just sank straight down into the darkness.
And the forest was silent.
So not the time skip everybody was expecting. Don't know where anyone would get that idea from anyway...
But no, I wanted to do this. So I did. ... That's about it.
Feel free to be angry or whateves, I don't blame ya.
Just one note - most of the authors I've read here hate the whole 'Update soon!' type reviews. I'm not one of them.
I mean granted, I like critiquing feedback - Bad word choice here, great characterization here, loved/hated this line. But small reminders that people actual like this thing and are eager for more is great incentive to get off my arse and get writing again. So yeah. Thanks.
Can't think of a parting line.
CJB