Hi Everyone! Z here!
So as promised here is Chapter 7! This one is definitely very shorter then most of my chapters because I wanted to give a breather before we reach Chapter 8 & 9. That being said enjoy and I'll see you guys at the end.
Chapter 7: Facing the Past
-Flashback-
-5 Years Ago-
Never let the enemy see your fear.
The unspoken rule of being a hero. Next to being mighty, colorful, and able to fight you had to have what it takes to carry on. You had to have nerves of steel and be willing to give up your life for what's right.
This was the moment that Beastboy and the others would lay down their lives for the planet. All for the single goal of stopping the man God known as Darkseid.
Darkness had ravaged the skies of Metropolis distorting the earth into a nightmarish version of the otherworld, the citizens of the planet fled for their very existence while swarms of ships and Parademons began to fill the space in between everything.
Heroes & Villains. Enemies by the natural order would never stand together unless the situation called for it. Knowing how Darkseid is, both sides did the unthinkable and prepared themselves for the greatest battle of their lives.
Superman, Lex Luthor, Batman, Joker, Wonder Woman, Cheetah, Robin, Stargirl, Vixen, Flash, Aquaman, Solomon Grundy, Black Adam, Jesse Quick, Gizmo, Supergirl, Hotspot, Gypsy, Green Lantern, Bane, Bizzaro, Captain Atom, Huntress, Green Arrow, and so much more were now one team.. Beastboy couldn't fathom seeing all these sworn foes in one place yet here they were. Both the League, Society and Suicide Squad had stationed themselves on the outskirts of Metropolis waiting for the perfected moment that they would strike.
"Everyone!" Superman shouted. "This is about to be the toughest fight of our lives, I know things look grim but we've got a job to do. Here and now for the good of the planet, we cannot let Darkseid win; he must be stopped!"
"For the good of the planet!" Lex mocked. "Speak for yourself alien, some of us just don't want to take orders from Darkseid!"
"HaHaHa, Lexy o'l boy don't look so serious, try putting a smile on that face it's not like it's the end of the world!" Joker laughed
"Get away from me clown!"
"To think we have to work alongside such heartless rouges!" DR Light commented as she moved a few inches away from Control Freak who was leering at her.
"For Earth & Atlantis!" Aquaman exclaimed
"Who does Darkseid think he is trying to take over my planet?" Cheetah hissed. "It was my hunting ground first and I'll be damned if I have to share it!"
"Watch yourself Cheetah!" Wonder Woman added.
"She's right, just stay in line and focus on fighting!" Batman said. "I'm watching all of you, so nothing will go above my notice, if any of you step outta line you're all going back to prison!"
"Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?" Beastboy asked. "I've seen friendlier people at a republican convention!"
"Friend Beastboy is right, can we really trust the Society?" Starfire also inquired
"Unfortunately we don't have much of a choice guys!" Robin answered. "I know things seem shaking but make no mistake, the society wants to get rid of Darkseid just as much as we do so this is the best way to do it!"
"Everyone up there!" Stargirl pointed upward to the skies as the mother Apokolyptian ship descended from the heavens and hovered above Metropolis.
The army took fighting stances as they instantly recognized the vessel as Darkseid's war ship. In no time the hatches on the ship opened, unleashing the forces of Apokolips down onto the soil of Metropolis. Darkseid, Granny Goodness, Kalibak, Steppenwolf, Dessad, Lashina, Guillotina, Mad Harriet, Stompa, Mantis, Kanto and Virman Vundabar now stood before their enemies, prepared to fight.
"Annihilate them!" Darkseid commanded. As he did this the Parademons in the sky began to swoop down in attack formation while his lieutenants charged into battle with their weapons drawn.
"Everyone, attack!" Superman cried
Those two combat cries were what set off the beginning of the Apokolips war. The Heroes, Villains and those in between scrambled to the farthest reaches of Metropolis, with each member going into combat. Some set off to destroy the ships that hovered in the skies, while others went at the parademons and higher ranking officers. For Beastboy, the Titans, and a few elite members of the league/society, their job was to go after Darkseid. Although there was so much unsureness floating around in everyone's hearts it didn't stop them, no matter what side anyone was on they all could agree on one thing.
Once and for all Darkseid had to die.
-End of Flashback-
"Ahh, my head!" As the dreams started to fade from his mindset, Garfield began to awaken back into reality. His brain had a hangover sensation upon him while his ears pulsated with uncomfortable pressure. As his eyes adjusted to the living once more, the teen came face to face with his friends Ryan & Lunar standing over him. Beyond the comforting sight, Garfield could see they were stationed inside a dark corridor complete with endless amounts of towels neatly folded on shelves.
"Oooh you're alive thank God!" Ryan wept. The Afro woman immediately attacked her bestie by bringing him forth into a vice grip of a hug.
"It's good to see you awake friend!" Lunar chirped. "We thought that meanie paragon hurt you."
"Not that I don't appreciate the lovin Ryan but what the hell's going on?"
"You mean you don't remember?"
"All I remember was the titans tower then this loud noise, kinda sounded like one of those fat ladies at hte opera!"
"Gar!" Ryan's facial expression turned deafening as she looked him dead in his eyes. This was not the most pleasant news she had to deliver, especially seeing how his PTSD affected him.
"What's wrong Ry?"
"Gar we were attacked by Raven!"
Garfield's expression was unreadable as his heart shattered into a million pieces. Deep down he felt a smidge of unspeakable joy realizing that Raven was alive, but on the other hand it pained him to know that his worst fears had been realized. When he first came in contact with Robin he knew that the same fate could have befallen the others but he didn't want to recognize that outcome as it possibly meant he would have to face her sooner or later.
"She tried to capture you and Lunar." Ryan said. "I stopped her and she ran after us. I didn't have time to plan out an escape route so I thought the landry room would hold us for now."
"Did she change a lot?"
"Huh?"
"How much did Darkseid twist her mind?"
"Gar I don't think-."
"Ryan please, just tell me!" He implored
Ryan sighed sadly as she turned away from Garfield. She knew how much he loved Raven, how much he would do for her, it truly pained her to have to tell him the entire truth.
"That bad huh?"
"Please don't make me say, just know she's paragon Black Siren now and getting her back is all that matters!"
As the two were conversating a loud alarming crash could be heard from outside. Lunar found himself jumping up on one of the shelves in response to see what was happening outside the window.
"What's happening out there Lunar?"
"The Parademons are crashing into the palace walls!" He responded. "There's a zillion of them out there!"
"Parademons!" A startled Garfield got to his feet in order to look out the window. As Lunar said the parademons were sworming in from unknown parts attacking all that could be seen. For Garfield such a sight was akin to the first time he had to battle in the war, at that time he still remember trying to swat those suckers out of the sky as they tried to protect their master from harm.
"Gar!" Ryan called out. "You have to become Moon Fang today!"
"Today, but I haven't even finished my training!"
"There is no time left Gar, you have to do it today or there might not be a tomorrow for any of us!"
-Elsewhere-
-Outside Highfather's Palace-
"This looks like the spot boys!" As Darkseid and his minions were causing trouble in the courtyard, another threat was looming on the south side of Highfather's palace. This threat however was not interested in doing battle with the Justice League, instead they were more concerned with doing the bidding of the mysterious man known as Black Mask.
The posh limo that was once parked outside of Star Labs to watch Paragon Black Siren was now stationed outside just a few meters away from Highfather's palace. From the limo's doors emerged the disguised woman with the floppy hat alongside a few man in hoodies whose identities were concealed thanks to animal masks. Each of the men carried semiautomatic weapons and were keeping watch as the woman surveyed the foundation of the building.
"The boss is going to be so pleased with us!" She murmured to herself while looking at a map of the Highfather's tower. "According to Liam's directions this should put us directly underneath the palace and away from all the fighting!"
"You mean we gotta dig all the way down there!" A goon questioned
"Of course not darling!" She answered. "I'll get us down there, all you guys have to do is watch my back and do the looting once we're inside."
"Um boss, watch your back, does that include giant fire breathing monsters!"
"Where the hell would a fire breathing monster come from?"
"Up There!" The man pointed. Descending from the sky a single parademon came crashing down spewing flames and hissing at the strange group.
"Awww man I knew I should have never joined up with this gang!" Another goon cried.
The sight of the Parademon was enough to cause an enormous fright for the men and in no time each of them were firing on the parademon with there semiautomatic weapons. Much to their dismay and embarrassment however the parademon breathed a small amount of flames that incinerated any bullets that came near it.
"It's not working!"
"Keep firing, it has to go down!"
But the parademon stood against the bullets that tried to harm it and in no time each of the soldiers were clicking with the sounds of empty guns.
"My guns' empty!"
"Mine too!"
"That things still there, what are we going to do now?"
"Ma'am please save us!" Like a bunch of scared children hiding behind their mothers apron, the goons took solace next to the woman as she would be the only one that can save them.
"As always I have to do everything myself!" The woman groaned in disgust. What good was having bodyguards if she always had to fix their messes?
Seeing no opposition in place the Paragon lunged at the group in an attempt to slaughter them. The woman was quicker however and suddenly reached into her robes before throwing something at the Paragon. The beast was taken back as it suddenly noticed a green rose was pinned to it's chest.
"And with that the problem is solved!" The woman snapped her fingers and on contact the flower exploded into nothingness, taking the parademon alongside it. The goons backed away as acid was spilled all over the ground, alongside the destroyed body parts of the beast. As if that weren't enough the acid started to eat away at the area around them leaving a gigantic hole that led downward into the sewers.
"Whew, that was a close one!"
"The fun's not over yet!" The woman exclaimed as she pointed into the new entryway. "Let's go boys, we've got a vault to loot!"
-Highfather's Palace-
"Good Evening citizens of New Metropolis, I'm Tina minmen and we bring you breaking news!
"This is Tina minmen live with breaking news, hundreds of Parademons have swarmed into New Metropolis and are currently destroying everything in sight!" While she was no Lois Lane, Tina minmen was just as good at getting close to the story. The best dressed female reporter for 3 years running was standing at downtown New Metropolis while chaos erupted all around here.
Like their master commanded them to do the parademons were attacking every square inch of the city while in the background Catwoman, Harley, Ice, Elasti-Girl and new Genesis soldiers were fighting against them. Citizens fled for their life, buildings were set ablaze and bodies lay out in the streets as echoes of the previous war were now becoming reality once again.
"As you can see behind me the Justice League are fighting endlessly to end this threat before it begins. While there is no world from Highfather, local authorities are urging citizens to take shelter until further notice, I repeat take shelter unt-." Tina minmen's broadcast would soon be cut off as a parademon flew straight at her, knocking her body directly into the camera.
"Damnit!" Ryan cursed as she turned off the television before her. She was hoping that they would get the upper hand but so far it looked like they were in for a long brutal fight.
"This can't be happening!" Garfield murmured to himself. He thought he had more time to train or at least more time to become stronger yet fate seemed to be catching him off guard. He knew in his heart that he wasn't ready for combat but if he didn't act soon more people would perish just like they perished in the first war.
"What do we do Ryan?" Lunar asked sadly.
But Ryan did not answer the tiger cub; she merely looked at her friend Garfield who was currently off in his own little world, no doubt thinking about his destiny as Paragon Moon Fang. She knew Garfield had been through much these past five years but even he had to see that there was no option left. Paragon Sparrow & Siren couldn't be stopped unless someone of equal power challenged them. Garfield just had to overcome his doubts, he just had too, or who knows what could have happened.
"Testing, testing, one, two, three, testing, can anyone hear me?"
Garfield, Ryan & Lunar stopped what they were doing as a voice came through the loudspeakers. Much to there chargin it was the voice of their enemy Black Siren.
"This is the lovely Black Siren, reporting to you from the head nurses station!" She replied. "I have a message for Nurse Ryan J. Wilder."
"Oh no!"
"I don't know where you're hiding Ryan and I'm tired of searching for you so here's the deal!" She began. "You have exactly five minutes to hand over yourself, Garfield and that flea bitten mutt over to me. If you don't for every minute you're late I kill everyone that I see, that includes your precious coworkers and patients."
"She wouldn't!" Ryan stated
"Five minutes Wilder or else you'll be responsible for every body that you find!"
With the threat still fresh in the air Black Siren logged off the loudspeakers leaving Garfield and Ryan to assess the situation. Garfield buried his head deeper into the wall no doubt disturbed by Raven's murderous behavior while Lunar brushed up against him for comfort.
Ryan was left by her lonesome to figure out the next part of her plan. Sadly for her she knew that this situation called for an obvious and deadly answer. Soon without warning she reached into her nurses uniform bringing forth the manila envelope that she took from out of the vault earlier. Going up to Garfield she shoved the object into his hand before heading toward the door.
"Ryan what are you doing!?" A startled Garfield inquired as Ryan was going to leave their safe haven. "You can't go out there?"
"You heard her Gar if I don't go out there she'll kill everyone, I can't let that happen!"
"No!" Garfield screamed. Bringing himself away from the wall Garfield stared down Ryan in an attempt to get through to her. "I won't lose you, not to them, I can't lose anyone else to them again!"
"Don't you get it, I don't have a choice, none of us have a choice!" She shot back. "Gar were outta time, we have to take a stand or this time we won't win. We have to fight back or else everyone would have died in vain!"
"Ryan, she'll kill you!"
"I k-k-now that!" She shouted as her voice started to break. "But I can't let her win, I have to show her that I'm not afraid, just like you, you have to show them you're not afraid!"
"But!"
"No but's Gar, I know your still hurting but the world needs you! This may be the only chance we have to delay Darkseid, please Gar If you don't become Moon Fang were all doomed!"
"I don't know Ryan. I'm not sure If I can!"
Hearing him still arguing with her made the tears in Ryan's eyes spill more than they have before. As much as she wanted to make him the hero that he was again she couldn't push him, even with their backs against the wall all she could do was love him unconditionally.
"Ryan please I'm begging you don't do this!"
But Ryan stood defiant against her friends wishes. Even as the tears leaked from her eyes and stained her nurses jacket all she could do was go up to him and pull him into the biggest hug that she's ever gave him. "I love you big brother!"
With those final parting words Ryan pushed Garfield back before rushing out of the doors and into the hallways of the medical wing. Garfield screamed Ryan's name one last time as she saw her seemingly vanish out of his life forever.
From the moment that Ryan had left him, Garfield was inconsolable. He couldn't believe that he let his sister, his best friend, the only person who's been there for him go out to cosign herself to death. A feeling of dread settled into Garfield's heart making him realize that he was indeed the coward that Darkseid had made him. Everything was starting to make sense now, why he couldn't fight back in training, why he was still having nightmares, why he was unsure about becoming Paragon Moon Fang, it was all because he was afraid.
He was afraid to face the darkness of his past. He was too afraid to face the fact that he might have to kill his friends, but more importantly he was too afraid of letting the world down as Paragon Moon Fang. Despite all the talk, encouragement and power at his disposal he still felt helpless to really do something.
"Garfield, please we have to help those people!" Lunar nestled against his pal, trying his best to get him to not be afraid anymore.
"I can't do it Lunar, he's too powerful I-I just can't face him!"
Lunar was set to open his mouth with encouraging words but thought against it seeing the defeated look on Garfield's face. Telling Garfield that he was the right person for the job wasn't going to do it, he needed something that would for sure break him off his fright of Darkseid, he needed something that would make the pain go away once and for all.
Then it hit Lunar. The manila envelope that Ryan had, the so-called 'present' she had been creating for Garfield. While Lunar wasn't sure what was inside the envelope he had no choice but to take a risk. Like Ryan said if Garfield didn't become Paragon Moon Fang then they were all doomed, at this point he was willing to try anything.
Scurrying over to the envelope, Lunar used a quick swipe of his claws to open it's contents before putting his head inside. With his little tiger teeth the cub brought forth the item that was inside the envelope. The project that Ryan was working on was a pair of high tech goggles with microscopic buttons on it.
"These look so cool!" Lunar purred in delight as he saw the futuristic design on them. "Gar put these on!"
"Huh?" He temporarily snapped out of his depression to notice Lunar with the goggles. "What are those?"
"Just try them on, trust me!"
Despite not being in the mood to do much of anything, Garfield humored the piparoid by putting the goggles directly over his eyes. At first equipping them nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, it was only until he pressed a random button that the googles real purposes started to come to life. The scene of the laundry room was lost as Garfield's vision became entangled into a memory from his past life as a titan.
-Memory #1-
"Titans Together!" Beastboy's voice was one of pride as he called out the teams famous mantra. Like the natural born leader that he was, Beastboy led Jericho, Pantha, Bumblebee, Kole, Gnarck, Melvin, Timmy, Teether, Bobby, Red Star, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Hearld into battle against the enemy. Madam Rouge and the other members of the brotherhood panicked for their lives as they once again underestimated the green bean, instead of damning his teammates to defeat he was leading them to shining victory.
-Memory #2-
"What's the matter wuss, dont'cha know how to fight like a man?" Adonis gloated over Beastboy who was trapped under several layers of concrete and steel.
"I'm not a man, I'm an animal!" With his anger fully heightened Beastboy shape shifted into Bigfoot before using his strength to break free of the binds. Without warning the titan changed into a fierce rhino before headbutting him into a nearby structure. Adonis tried to get up from the attack but was powerless as Beastboy morphed into a stegosaurus. With his sturdy dino tail Beastboy whipped the body part across Adoni's head knocking him clean to the ground.
"No, stay away!" Even with Adoni's armor, he was no match for Beastboy's savage power. For his last transformation Beastboy assumed the guise of a lion before leaping at his target. With a powerful kingdom roar and single claw, Beastboy teared away at Adonis's armor. The rest of the Titans cheered their teammate on as he destroyed the villaines armor leaving him the weak man that he originally was.
-Memory #3-
While Deathstroke was one of the strongest assassins in the universe, even he couldn't withstand the blind rage of Beastboy's powers. Turning into a T-Rex the hero ran full speed at him knocking him through several mirrors and outside to where the rest of the fairgrounds were waiting for him.
-Memory #4-
"You think you're alone Raven but you're not!" Beastboy talked to the door that led into Raven's room. He knew that Malchior's betrayal hurt, but he wanted her to know the he cared, he wanted her to know that no matter what happened he would always be there for her.
His good nature would pay off as Raven did the unexpected. Coming out of her room Raven embraced Beastboy by bringing him into a hug. The changeling blushed, unsure of what was to happen, but at least he made the woman of his dreams feel much better.
-End of Memory #4-
After the four memories back to back, Garfield's eyes became flooded with dozens more clips and pictures. Some of the clips were of him fighting crime as a Titan while others conveyed his more simple life around the tower. If there was one thing that these clips all had it was the fact that they showed the real Garfield. Brave, courageous, funny, protective, caring and most of all heroic.
He finally understood what Ryan's special project was. She created these goggles because she wanted him to see what Darkseid had taken from him. She wanted to see that he could very much become this hero again if he just let go of the fear. Seeing himself on video with his friends suddenly reminded Garfield of how much was at stake.
Although Starfire may have been gone, there were people that still needed him. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Ryan and the others needed someone willing to fight against the darkness. The world needed someone to keep them from the terror that was to come, if anything it was Darkseid that should fear him not the other way around. Even without his powers or even with PTSD he was still a hero, he just had to remember what he was fighting for.
As he took off the goggles from his face, Garfield turned his attention to Lunar who was vialantly sitting next to him with a big smile upon his face. The tiger cub had also been watching the videos and enjoyed seeing Garfield in his prime as a superhero.
He suddenly laughed. "Looks like we got our work cut out for us Lunar!"
"We do?"
"Yup we not only got to save Ryan, but we've got to kick Darkseid's ass!"
"Does this mean what I think it means friend?"
"Yup, I'm your Moon Fang!"
"Awesome!" Lunar cheered as he jumped into Garfield's arms. "When do we get started?"
"Right now little buddy, let's get a move on!"
With his purpose redefined, Garfield found himself putting Lunar down so he can follow him. In no time the duo could be seen leaving the laundry room and heading down the corridors to the nearest flight of stairs. With their destination being the courtyard both Garfield & Lunar mentally prepared themselves as they both knew this was going to be the toughest battle they either one has ever fought.
End of Chapter 7
So guys, a few things I want to point out before I end this session. For starters the reason I put this chapter in is because I wanted to break the action and focus on Garfield overcoming his PTSD while also focusing on his friendship with Ryan. I realize my fictions can get 'Action Heavy' at times but I always want to make sure I establish friendship, romance and drama. Ya know the things that can make afic more believable.
So Chapter 8 and 9 will be up in a few weeks, maybe 2 or possibly 3, I need time to work on my other fictions plus I need a mental health day (got alot going on in my life currently).
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and will hopefully enjoy what is to come. I have literally so many ideas with Garfield VS the Paragons that's its sure to keep you glued to your screens.
As always please leave me a kudo, a nice review or a bookmark. Any of those will be appreciated.
With that being said, love ya guys and see ya when Chapter 8 hits!
Arigato!
Z