Spider-Man Dimensional Lost
Hey everyone, sorry for the long LONGGGGGG UPDATE. A lot of things happened. Thesis finally caught up to me so I'm in the middle of that. However, I decided to finish this chapter that was almost ready. The next one will come soon enough now that we are entering the Christmas season. and now to answer some questions:
CydrickSpider: You'll find out in this chapter. And yeah, kind of xD
CRUDEN: Great I could surprise you! Hope you like this chapter too
Chapter 17: New Perspectives
The city streets went on display through the window of a fast-moving T-Car, driven by an annoyed Cyborg who was wondering why he had accepted to help the green bean to solve his problems. As much as the discussion in the back of his car was not welcome by him, Cyborg knew that Beast Boy was going through a rough moment right now and he had to have his back. Besides, where they were going, it was better if he wasn't late. Also, there was the possibility of getting some good material to blackmail the green hero later down the road, so, a win-win situation.
On the passenger's seat was a euphoric Beast Boy (now in Peter's body) dumping information into Peter's brain (Who was in Beast Boy's body. Ready it again if you need to, I know I do xD).
Having exchanged bodies with the green-skinned hero was not something Peter had planned for. Yet again, nothing that he ever planned came to fruition that easily. Right now, he was just trying to memorize everything that the changeling was telling him about his children, and let me tell you, there was a lot. Favorite snacks, favorite movies, favorite games, favorite animals, the list was endless! Thank goodness his memory had not been affected by the body swap or Peter would be in even bigger troubles.
Their destination came upon view at last, and Beast Boy finally stopped talking. The first sign of relaxation on his face ever since they left Titan Tower.
Cyborg slowed down and stopped the T-Car in front of an aged building with see-through doors and a stone ramp that led to them. Old as it might have been, the building clearly had stood the test time. Its 6 floors allowed the passive bystander to have an idea of how big the place really was. Maybe a new work of paint could help contrast the walls with the red cross that stood prominently on the sides.
The trio stood outside the building, happy that they had arrived but also worried about what came next. Both Peter and Cyborg looked at Beast Boy, who for all intents and purposes, was the one most familiar with the place.
After hearing all the information the green bean had dumped into his brains, there was still a question going on in the arachnid's mind.
"So, why did you decide to start working on a hospital, Beast Boy?''
The green bean adjusted his spider costume and mask, sighed, and walked forward.
"I'll tell you in the way in''.
Cyborg and Peter looked at each other and decided to follow.
The band marched forward, listening to Beast Boy's tale. Well, mostly Peter, Cyborg already knew the story.
6 months or so ago, the green bean enrolled as a volunteer to work in that hospital. The criminal activity had been at an all-time low during that year, and though Robin always found a way to keep their training going and the team still went on their patrols, the lack of criminals was giving each member more and more free time. On one particular night, the team found the hospital they were currently in. The place was in less-than-optimal conditions and the team decided to help them up by doing some fixing and with some donations. After that, Beast would visit the place every some often, especially the children that lived there. They apparently loved his goofy attitude and he loved bringing them smiles. So when he found out that they needed some extra help, he enrolled.
Of course, it wasn't easy convincing Robin but they finally reached an agreement and every Saturday, Beast Boy would go to the hospital to help around and see the children again. Or his children as he called them.
Imagining Robin and Beast Boy getting into an agreement like that, especially after seeing them discussing back at the tower, was a bit difficult for the arachnid hero to believe. Maybe Robin wasn't such a hardhead as he initially thought. Peter was so focused on Beast Boy's tale that he didn't notice someone approaching until they collided with one another. They both landed on their butts
"Oh, crap'' groaned whoever hit him.
Peter groaned as well. -Ow….Wait a minute- Though Peter -why didn't I notice someone was coming? My spider-sense usually wou…Oh yeah, no spider-sense in my new body. Ok, this suck even more now-
Peter shook his head as he and the person he hit started to get back up. The voice he heard was definitely female so he looked back and saw a young woman around his height with long red hair, sitting on the floor a couple of inches from him. She also wore glasses, which didn't hide the many freckles adorning her cheeks. Lastly, Peter saw she was wearing a nurse uniform with a white jacket on top.
The young woman touched her nose, as it was the thing that hit Peter, and decided to yell back at her supposed aggressor without opening his eyes first.
"Hey watch out where you are-!" she then opened her eyes and found Beast Boy's green emeralds eyes looking at her.
The nurse spotted her ranting
"G-Ga-Gar-Garflied! W-What are you- No, forget that. Where were you?! I was starting to get worried!" She paused for a moment "I-I mean, the children were getting worried you wouldn't come!" she said, trying to arrange her glasses and regain some of that lost composure.
She relaxed after a second. The nurse looked at Peter's again, this time with a smile. She looked around for a moment and failed to notice Cyborg and Beast standing a few feet behind the green-furred hero.
"Anyway….. I'm so happy to see you again!" said the nurse just to lock Peter into a hug around his neck.
The arachnid was taken aback by this. Exactly how close were Beast Boy and this nurse?
Peter was going to disengage immediately but suddenly he….. didn't want to. He felt something. His nostrils opened up and got a scent. The aroma that emanated from her was….. like a perfume but different at the same time, like nothing he had ever perceived before. He liked it. It was….intoxicating almost. Then, Peter heard a voice in his head.
-MATE, MUST MATE-
He then felt an urge deep inside. His hands went around the nurse's hip in less than a second. Peter heard, or more like felt, the words again and again in his mind. His heart beat faster and he felt a heat overcome his body.
-MATE, MUST MATE-
"Gar….Garfield?" The voice from the nurse came again to Peter's ears, it sounded weak and timid and Peter couldn't help but feel aroused by it.
Unconsciously or maybe consciously, Peter had pushed the nurse towards him, deepening their hug. Her whole body was pressed against his so much that Peter could feel her heartbeat on her chest.
Her cheeks were deep red and her eyes were starting to close.
"AHEM" came Beast Boy's voice from behind them.
This single gesture brought Peter back to reality and made him disengaged. The nurse did the same, noticing that they were other people beside them. She nervously tried to fix her uniform and her hair trying to play dumb.
-What the hell was that?!- Peter screamed in his head trying to process what had just happened.
He and the nurse just stared at each other, looking and avoiding their gaze at the same time.
Seeing how none of them were uttering any words, Beast Boys went and talked first.
"So Beast Boy, this is the friend you were telling us about, right?"
Peter, who was still in a bit of a shock from everything he had felt, took a moment or two to respond.
"Ye-Yes! This is totally the friend I was telling on our way here. Head nurse Maria Vargas of the Santa Catalina's hospital. A woman of strong attitude but lovely smile'' Said Peter repeating some of the information Beast Boy had told him
"Did...Did you really tell them about me, Garfield?'' Said Maria with a sparkle in her eyes though she tried to hide it.
"You bet I did'' answered Beast Boy immediately. It seemed he didn't remember he was in another body.
Cyborg, who had been awfully quiet the whole time, elbowed him.
"I-I mean, you bet he told us'' he said rubbing one of his ribs.
Maria just looked at him for a moment. There was a certain mistrust in her eyes toward the hero in the spider costume which all and all, was a complete stranger to her.
"New member of the team, Garfield?" Said Maria, turning around and looking straight to Peter who understood by her voice that he had to give an answer quickly.
"Yes! I mean, no no. I mean, he's not technically a new member but uhh Wh-Where are my manners? let me introduce him. Maria, Spider-man. Spider-Man, Maria''.
"Hello..." said Beast Boy lifting his hand a bit unsure.
"A pleasure" said Maria with an unreadable face. Still, it wasn't disrespectful. She then turned to Peter again. "You know you have to inform me of whoever you bring to the hospital Garfield"
"Ye-Yes, I of course know this'' Said Peter glaring at Beast Boy "However, I don't know if you heard about yesterday's battle near the bank''
"Of course, I did'' Maria's rigid look changed to worried "Are you ok? You need me to check something?'' She said taking a step forward
"No no, I'm alright'' Peter dismissed with his hand "Spider-man here helped us out a lot, and given how he didn't have anything to do today, I thought maybe the kids could be happy seeing another face?''
Maria once again stared at Peter with an unchanging expression. After what felt like an hour, Maria took a deep breath and let it go. Her expression softened and she smiled. "Alright, just because it's you… Garfield. But you owe me one."
"Thanks a lot, Maria''. Said Peter scratching the back of his head. -So Beast Boy's name is Garfield huh?-
The nurse nodded. "Now'' she checked a watch on her right hand "If we wait any longer, the children will get sad. Cyborg, Spider-man, please follow Garfield and I'' Maria said, looking at the aforementioned heroes just then turn around and start walking.
The three heroes looked at each other not really knowing how to react but followed nonetheless.
Peter, who at first followed Maria closed by, slowly backed down and went to where Beast Boy was.
"So, you are a big fan of lasagna?'' he whispered to the green hero.
"Yeah, yeah ha ha'' the green hero responded
"So I have to ask, are you really a cat in human form or''
"Very funny. Forget that dude, what was there back there? It looked like you were about to kiss Maria''.
"Yeah…. Sorry about that. I don't know what came up to me, I'll talk to you about it later''
And with that Peter went back to Maria's side.
Beast Boy just kept walking with a thought forming in his head.
-….. shit. I better keep an eye on him-
The changeling just look at the pair for a moment but his mind came back to his children. So, he focused on getting to them for the time being.
Behind him was Cyborg, who was walking without uttering a single word. His left eye, however, had recorded everything.
-This is why I love technology baby!-
Back at Titan Tower, the word lonely could very well be applied to the center of operations, given its current state. Make no mistake, this didn't mean the tower was defenseless. Anyone foolish enough to even touch the tower with suspicious intentions would receive a paralyzing shock, all thanks to Cyborg's security system.
However, our focus is not on the outside of the tower but rather on the inside of it.
If there was one place that was off-limits to anyone who didn't want to be thrown out of the tower, it was Raven's room.
The half-demon's living space wasn't really as horrible as popular opinion would let you believe. Yes, the internet was full of farfetched ideas of what was concealed inside but the truth was nothing like that.
At least not too much like that.
Inside Raven's room, there were indeed one or two strange trinkets and plenty of books written in confusing languages and yes, there was a dominant color purple all over, but all and all, it was almost a common room.
On the bed at the far end, floating undisturbed above her sheets, was Raven with folded legs in a meditative position.
It was not strange to find Raven like this, especially on Saturdays. For some reason she didn't really understand, Saturdays seemed to be the quietest days of the week, so she took them for her longest meditation session. The half-demon never really stopped to think about why it was as such until she got her answer this morning.
After Beast Boy, Spider-man, and Cyborg's departure from the tower, Raven was left alone with spilled tea on the floor and a thousand ideas going through her mind. He called Robin and Starfire and demanded an explanation on how Beast Boy had become a father and who was the woman stupid enough to procreate with him.
The answer came from the mouth of a confused Starfire who asked how was Raven not aware of Beast Boy's employment at the Santa Catalina's hospital.
That particular name did ring a bell on Raven's mind but the mere thought of Beast Boy working didn't register well on her brain, so Robin stepped in to give her a more factual answer. However, the Boy Wonder and the alien couldn't stay for long to answer more questions as they had businesses elsewhere, so they went on their way and left Raven alone in the tower.
Honestly, it took Raven a minute or two to process everything that she had heard, and given how her schedule was free, she floated back to her room. On the way there, many thoughts popped into her head.
-Why is that idiot working in a hospital?-
-Is that why the tower is so peaceful on Saturdays?-
-How hasn't he gotten fired yet? Don't they have any hygiene protocols? I'm sure he is breaking all of them!-
-Who thought it was a good idea to give Beast Boy the responsibility of taking care of another human being? Even more a group of children! Just look at his room!-
-How didn't I notice it?!-
-I mean, Saturdays were very quiet, I just thought he was just annoying somebody else!-
-Is not like I hate him, but come on, it's Beast Boy! He is just a doofus laughing at the same jokes over and over-
-Why didn't he tell me?!... wait what?-
The more Raven thought about the topic, the more a little piercing pain started growing in her chest.
Without noticing, she had entered her room.
Raven blinked once or twice before coming back to reality. She shook her head and sat on her bed.
First, she calmed down. Breathing in and out, in and out.
Many ideas were coming to her at once so this could only mean one thing; her emotions were getting out of hand and though the side effects had lessened considerably whenever she expressed emotions, it was still hard for her to know how to express them properly. So, the best she could do was to meditate and talk to her emotions face to face. Literally. She closed her eyes and started her meditation.
In her trance, Raven found herself in a rather curious space. She was inside a dark room. No walls, no ceiling, nothing was at sight except for one thing, a central table with nine chairs.
Raven was about to open her mouth and question what was going on but the answer came to her.
From the shadows, a cloaked figure appeared. One that Raven knew too well. The figure was Raven herself wearing a pink version of her cloak. This was one of Raven's emotions, Happiness.
"Raven! I'm so happy to see you again!'' Said the manifestation of joy, launching herself to Raven and giving her a big, rib-crushing hug
"Nice to see….. you too, happiness'' said Raven trying to pull herself out of the killing show of affection.
Happiness eventually let her go seeing how Raven was turning paler than usual.
"Hehe sorry''
"Yeah right'' responded Raven. She looked around for a moment "Where are we?''
"Oh, well, we have a super fun meeting today. There is much to discuss, right everyone!?''
From the shadows of the room, more clones of Raven came out.
Bravery was the first to come, wearing a green cloak with arms around her waist, ready for action. "Hi everyone. Ready to rock this?!''
Behind her was another figure trying to hide and not get noticed by the others. Her arms were on Bravery's shoulder. Her graphite cloak covered most of her face. This was Timidity. "H-H-Hi''
Another pair of figures showed up as well
One was dressed in orange. Though, you couldn't tell if this was because of the many stains on it or if this was its natural color. This Raven just went straight to one of the chairs and put her legs above the table. This was Rudeness. "Sup Bitches''
Then, came another version of Raven. Covered in a violet cloak and with a loving smile and red lipstick, this version of Raven, was Love. She waved at all the others greeting them one by one. She then pulled out a rose and started to deflower it.
"He loves me, I love him'' she repeated to herself again and again.
The last Raven to appear was a yellow-cloaked Raven, Knowledge, who sat at the edge of the table. She adjusted the glasses on her face and began the meeting.
"Very well everyone, it seems the majority of us are here so I think we can start'' Said the emotion taking a big notebook and writing something on it. "Come one Raven, Happiness, take a seat''
The pink-cloaked emotion took Raven by the arm and guided them to the table where all the other emotions were already sitting. They sat next to Love.
Raven, the original, couldn't help but notice how two seats were empty.
"What about those?'' she asked
"Sloth is too fucking lazy to come, you know it'' responded Rudeness
"Rudeness, please behave'' said Knowledge glaring at her after finishing with her book
"Yes, mom''.
Raven looked at the other seat, imagining who that was for. "Anger?''
"Yes'' answered Knowledge
"She…. She's-'' tried to speak Timidity. "Please, don't tell her I said anything but… she is been in… in time out for… trying to hurt Be…..'' finished the embodiment of shininess mumbling something just to hide her face even more with her cloak.
"What?'' said Raven
"She tried to hurt our beloved BB!'' Shouted Love.
"BB?... Wait… you mean Beast Boy?''
"Well done, Sherlock'' chuckled Rudeness.
Raven was about to shout something but Knowledge's book hit the table, making everybody go silent "I think that's far enough Rudeness. However, she does bring a good point, recent developments make us think it is important to have a discussion about our teammate Beast Boy''
"What do you mean by developments? asked Raven making air quotations.
"Beast Boy getting in front of a killing beam and discovering that he had a job and the fact that we were unaware of it'' answered the yellow cloaked Raven matter-of-factly.
"Wait, I don't understand, what's the problem with those things?'' asked Raven
"We'll we all felt pretty bad went Beast Boy was on the ground'' said happiness
"And when he wasn't waking up? I could feel my heart breaking just thinking I would never see those emerald eyes of him'' said love
"… Ok, you two calm down'' Responded Raven "Ok yes, I admitted, I was worried about him. He took a nasty hit and he wasn't waking up. I just got nervous as anyone else would''
"Yeah, because you didn't wish to have been hit by the beam instead of him'' commented Bravery with a grin.
Raven just glared at the emotion but took a deep breath. Then she looked at the others "What about the job thing?''
"Jesus, do we need to spell it out?!'' intervened Rudeness "What do you think that piercing pain in your chest was for? I felt my heart being chopped up in half just thinking about him fucking another woman and having children.''
"… you can't be serious''
All the emotion turns towards her like saying We are all serious
"Raven'' Intervened Bravery, her usual grin fading into a more neutral expression. "The truth is that we don't know Beast Boy enough and that's hurting us all''
"Oh, come on! What is there to know about Beast Boy? He is a green furred dwarf who-"
"He is 5'9'' said Knowledge
"What?''
"Beast Boy is 5'9''
"Bullshit, that's taller me!''
"Raven, you checked out that sexy ass of his when bug-man was on his body, you know how tall Beast Boy is'' Said Rudeness
"Ok stop that!'' Shouted Raven with crimson on her cheeks. "And coming back to the matter at hand, I know Beast Boy, I do! The fact that he got a job doesn't change anything. We know everything we need to know about him. He makes obnoxious jokes, he has an addiction to movies and video games, he never cleans his room. What could I possibly DON'T know about him?!''
Everybody in the room got quiet for a moment.
"Where…. Does he…..'' mumbled Timidity
Raven just glared at yellow emotion "Speak up''
Timidity grabbed his cloak and took a deep breath "Where… does he come from? Where…. Where was Beast Boy born?''
"Well…. Ummmm he was with the Doom Patrol when he started being a superhero so I imagine somewhere near them?''
"Where are his parents?'' asked Bravery
"What do you mean by that?''
"He has never mentioned his parents. Not to us, not to anyone, so, where are they?''
Raven was going to answer but more and more questions started to come up.
"Why does he never talk about his past?''
"How did he get his powers?''
"Why is he working? Is it for money?''
"Does he plan to stay with us forever?
"Did he forget Terra or does he still love her?''
That last question brought back the piercing pain in Raven's heart.
"ENOUGH!'' Raven shouted "I… I know him. I do! I care about him I just….. I just….. '' Raven lowered her face, unable to look at anyone. Then, she felt someone hugging her. It was Love. With sadness in her eyes, Raven hugged the emotion back. One by one, the other emotions went to Raven and hugged her as well.
"Don't worry, we all know''.
The walk through the hospital was a bit long. At least longer than anyone had expected.
In his normal visits, Beast Boy would just take the elevator with Maria to the sixth floor where his children were but currently the metal box wasn't working, so they all had to take the long way there. Still, the green-furred hero knew his way around the hospital. He probably could even walk around it blindfolded by now. However, he had to play dumb. He stood behind Peter and Maria, smiling from ear to ear just thinking about seeing his children again. Yeah, he was in a different body and he didn't have his power but who cared? He was going to bring smiles to those little faces one more time and that was enough for him.
As he traveled the hospital, Beast Boy noticed how close Maria was walking to Peter. It wasn't good. Beast Boy had hoped Peter wouldn't feel what he usually felt but all the signs pointed towards it. The green-furred hero would have to have a chat with the arachnid when they went back to the tower.
The group finally reached their destination moments after. They entered a room without any doors. Maybe room was not the best term to describe the space, maybe hall was better. It was wide, very wide, and very spacious, with many beds in it. There were also many children playing around. Some of them on beds and some on the floor. Some were even drawing with crayons on a little table. They all stopped almost in synchrony once they noticed someone was at the entrance.
They all just stared at Peter.
"MR BEAST BOY!'' They all screamed as they began to run towards what they thought was Beast Boy.
The children, who were around 3 or 4 years old, just piled on top of Peter, who was of course caught off guard.
"We thaght you wouln't come!''
"I made a wraging I have to sho you!''
"Do you have more super awesome stories to tell us?!''
"Please tun into a biggy big bear again Mr Beast Boy!''
While this was going on, the real Beast Boy had wisely prevented Cyborg and himself from entering the room, knowing his children all too well. Besides, they weren't that dangerous so there was no risk of his body being damaged. The pair just watched, making fun of the arachnid's predicament.
Then a loud whistle came from Maria, making all the children look up to her.
"Everyone, stop!'' She commanded.
The children stop dead in their tracks.
"It's that how we greet Mr. Beast Boy when comes to visit?''
"No Ms. Vargas'' responded all the children. One by one, they walked to the center of the room. All of them looking down at the floor.
Peter finally free, got up. "Thanks, Maria''. He said dusting himself a bit.
"And how do we greet Mr. Beast Boy when he comes to visit?'' came Maria's voice again
"Hello Mr. Beast Boy, How was your day?'' said the children with puppy eyes
Peter's heart could melt at that moment and just looked back at Maria. "Don't be too hard on them, please? Just look at them!''
Maria sighed ''….. Alright. Come one but don't pile up on top of him''
"Yes!" All the kids screamed in excitement as they went and try to hug Peter. The kids surrounded him and spoke at the same time.
''Please Mr. Beast Boy, turn into an animal!''
The spider hero began to sweat cold. How the hell he was going to that? -Oh no, think Parker Think! You've escaped murderous traps; you can get out of this one right?!-
''Well.. you see kids… I am… not feeling well and….''
Peter started to see their little smiles dwindle and his guilt starting to grow. Then he thought of something
"B-but, don't worry. I got you a surprise! I brought two friends along so we can all play! Cyborg and Be- I mean, Spider-man, come in!"
The kids turn their eyes towards the entrance where Maria was guiding the two heroes to enter.
There was a small moment where all the kids were just looking in awe as the newcomers came in.
''So….'' Peter began ''This is Spider-man! He can do everything a spider can!''
The kids just look at him with big eyes expecting something to happen.
Beast Boy took a moment to breathe and then backflip into the air, just to shoot a web from his web-shooter and attach it to the ceiling, hanging from the line upside down.
-Thank goodness Spider-man told me how to use his wrist things-Though Beast Boy upside down
The kids just cheer on with excitement.
Peter thumped up Beast Boy -Well done!-
Then he turned to the other guest ''And this is Cyborg! He is well…. A cyborg!''
The kids just looked at him.
Cyborg, who was usually cool all the time, hadn't expected to actually engage with the kids. He was there just thinking as fast as he could about something cool to do but Peter had his back
"Detach your hand" Peter whispered next to him
"What?" Cyborg responded
"Trust me, kids love it"
Cyborg, still unsure if that was a good idea, did it.
The kids looked in awe though they were still silent
"Can you…like" said one of the kids in the crowd. All the others looked at him
"Can you like…. Throw it, like a rocket punch?"
All the kids smile at the idea
"ROCKET PUNCH, ROCKET PUNCH" the whole crowd repeated again and again as they got close to the new heroes. All the kids were now playing around. Beast Boy was doing acrobatics and Cyborg was making his fist fly all over the place.
Peter, decided to take a step back and just smile as he so their interaction. He turned around and saw Maria a bit concern
"Hey Maria, don't worry. They know what they are doing I promise."
Maria looked back at him a little less concerned "…. If you say so, But hey didn't you say you were alright?"
"Almost 100% just being careful not to transform too much"
"Hmmmm alright". At that moment Maria's expression changed, something seemed to have come to her mind "Hey Garfield, now that we have a moment, do you mind if we talk privately?"
"Yeah yeah, no problem" Said Peter following her to the entrance of the room. Maria still had a field of vision of the whole place but at least they were out of earshot.
"Garfield, you remember Reilly, right?" Maria began
-Who? Beast Boy never mentioned that name!- "Of course, why?"
"Well, she hasn't come on in the last three days and I was wondering if maybe you could check on her"
"Ye-Yeah, not problem, just uhh leave to me!"
"Thank you, Garfield, I know I can always rely on you" Said Maria just to give him a quick hug a little kiss on the cheek. She turned around and went back into the hall with the children.
The arachnid just stood there for a moment-This is going to be a long day- Peter thought.
The rest of the day went on by with the trio of heroes doing everything in their power to entertain the kids and distract them from the fact that their favorite hero couldn't turn into any animals. Beast Boy carried the kids through the walls and the ceiling, of course, with Peter, Cyborg, and Maria ready to catch them if something happened. Cyborg was dismantled and put back together by the kids, though sometimes Peter and Beast Boy would intentionally get him wrong just so all of them could laugh. And Peter well, trapped in Beast Boy's body, would always come with an excuse. Trying to rely on tales and stories of his previous adventures to entertain the kids.
The clock marked 4:30 pm and that meant the heroes had to return homes.
"What do we say kids when our guests are leaving?" Came Maria's voice.
"Thank you very much for coming Mr. Beast Boy, Mr. Spider-man and Mr. Cyborg" said all the children smiling and laughing just before running towards the heroes and hugging them.
The heroes returned the hugs and then proceeded to leave the building accompanied by Maria
Before leaving the hall though, a small girl approached the green-furred hero, believing again this was Beast Boy.
"Mista Beast Boy, can I ask you somethin?"
Peter took a look at the other seeing how they were about to leave. "Don't worry I'll catch up to you".
The rest of the group nodded and continue their way, though Maria seemed to be a little hesitant.
The arachnid hero posing as Garfield then turned to the chocolate girl, with her innocent eyes and maddening hair. He recognized her from Beast Boy's description.
"Tell me little Ana, what can I do for you?"
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Ye-Yes, why do you ask?"
"Because you didn't turn into any animal today… we thought you were sick.."
"Awww don't worry sweetheart. I'm just… a bit tired, don't worry"
"Oh… ok…. Hey, can I ask you for something else Mr. Beast Boy?"
"Yes, yes"
"Are you going to stay with us during the meteor shower?"
"The meteor shower?"
"Yes, it's in a couple of days! You promised you would come!"
"Oh… oh! Yes, Yes, I definitely said that and uh… I definitely will!"
"Great! Then uhh…. Can you… bring all your other hero friends with you?"
"Uh… what again?"
"I mean…. I've always wanted to meet Starfire and the rest of your friends so..….Please?"
"Ana… I'm not sure I-"
The little girl then gave Peter the biggest and most adorable Puppy Eyes Peter had ever seen
"Please please please please please?"
Peter just sighed hard in defeat "Alright….I'll bring them"
"YES! Don't forget to bring a present to Maria she told me she'd really like that!" And with that, the little girl went back to her group of friends running.
Peter just stood there for a few minutes sighing. He had been tricked by a five-year-old, good thing nobody saw that. He then went back to the group. He would have to have a long chat with Beast Boy and Robin later that day.
The arachnid met the others midway through. The others asked about what had happened but Peter said he would tell them on the way home.
They all said their goodbyes, not before Maria said her thanks to the heroes for coming. She gave Peter a small kiss on the cheek and smiled at him before entering the building. Peter couldn't help but blush with a silly smile.
This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by the others.
"Man, seems like you are getting the hang of this impersonating-Beast-Boy thing, Bug-man. Would you mind staying in his body for a little longer? I think the kids like you more" commented Cyborg
Peter turned around just to see the annoying look on Beast Boy's face and decided to play along "You know what tin man? That might not be a bad idea. I mean, the female reception yesterday was impressive too, so…."
"Yeah, and nurse Maria seemed to be digging some of that green fur of yours"
"Are you two jokers gonna leave me in peace or I'm gonna have to drive the T-car myself and let you walk back to the tower?" said Beast Boy
"Oh Hell no! You do not get to touch my car!" responded Cyborg entering the vehicle.
With his objective achieved, Beast Boy entered the car. After a few moments more of laughing, Peter did too.
By the time the trio got to the tower, it was already 5:30 pm. The traffic had been quite high for the hour. On their way there, the jokes about Beast Boy and Maria were nonstop. Almost to the point of having Beast Boy leap out of the room and walk his way to the tower. However, it eventually came Cyborg and Peter's turn to be in the spotlight but in the end, everyone was just laughing.
Once they entered the common room, Cyborg excuse himself saying he was going to recharge.
Peter looked at Beast Boy confused as Cyborg exited.
"He has to plug himself in to charge his batteries" responded Beast Boy
"Oh… ok" said Peter. Without Cyborg, the two heroes were completely alone, just surrounded by sofas, the kitchen which the changeling was currently in, and the giant TV. Maybe this was the best time for both of them to speak.
"Hey Garfield, do you think we can talk a bit? You know, hero to hero? There is something I need to tell you"
Beast Boy poked his head out of the fridge "Actually I was thinking the same thing. Let's go to my room, I recently cleaned it. Do you want some snacks? I'm working an appetite here"
"I'll take that invitation" Peter said
"Cool. Do you want something to drink?"
"Yeah, but just a glass of water" responded Peter sitting at a table close by.
Soon after, Beast Boy started bringing all sorts of sweets, cookies, and chips to the table, though most were vegan.
"Chose whatever you want. It's my special reserve, so don't worry about the others" said Beast Boy to Peter while bringing him his glass of water.
"Thanks" said the arachnid taking the glass "Hey, by the way, Maria told me something about a Reilly? She wanted to see if you could check out on her. Apparently, she hasn't been coming to work lately" In the pile of snacks, Peter managed to see a package of chocolate cookies, and of course, grabbed them.
Upon hearing about Reilly, Beast Boy let out a long sigh. He sat opposite to Peter.
"Reilly…. Yeah, I know her. She is sometimes like that. She is a worker in the hospital. Kind of like me but she usually comes every day.
"… what happened to her?"
"She and her husband got separated after an accident. It was I think… 5 or 6 months ago. An attempted robbery. We weren't around at the time".
"…You know it wasn't your fault, right?"
"I know….. still… I wish I could have done sometimes for them. They weren't the same after their nephew died" Beast Boy then just took a moment to pause "I guess I'll go talk to her after we sort all of this Freaky Friday thing.
Peter pulled off a weak smile "Yeah…. I hope you can help her"
"Me too…" Beast Boy sighed again. "Poor May"
"Wait, ….May?"
"Oh yeah sorry, her name May Parker, Reilly is just a nickname"
CRASH
Peter's glass dropped to the ground
Beast Boy looked up to see Peter just to find a horrifying expression on his face. Fear, anguish, doubt, all of it showing in his face at once. And then he transformed.
A bear, a wolf, a tiger, a horse even an elephant, one by one all of them growling and howling in pain as their bodies changed, and their muscle structure compressed and expanded. Every bone breaking and every cell separating violently. Peter couldn't register what was going on. He just felt pain as never before. Each of his animal forms was just convoluted on the floor, kicking the sofas around until finally, he passed out of exhaustion.