3/31/18
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Change For The Better
Chapter Two: The File
….
May 17, 2014
As the sun began to rise over Jump City, Beast Boy sat silently by the water. He watched as the water glistened in the sunlight, marking the dawn of a new day. None of the other Titans would be awake at this hour, as far as he knew. While Robin often woke up early to train, and Raven to meditate, on the occasion they did it was uncommon for them to leave the tower. Starfire usually took Silkie on his walks in the mornings, but she wouldn't wake up for another hour or so. As for Cyborg, he had stayed up later than usual the previous night to update the tower's security system, and he would probably want to sleep in. This left Beast Boy alone with his thoughts, which he needed.
He sighed, skipping a rock on the water. There wasn't any use denying it- he missed Terra. Her stories of the places she'd traveled to, the way her eyes would light up when she laughed at his jokes, the feeling of her hand brushing against his as they walked back to the T-Car after a fight… it was all gone now. Before he left to fight the Brotherhood of Evil, there was hope that he would see her again someday. Even after Raven tried every spell and Cyborg ran every test he could think of, Beast Boy knew that one day they would find some way to bring her back. The thought kept him going through the hardest of challenges, when nothing else could. But now Terra was back, and she never wanted to see him again.
His heart was broken. Even before he became a Titan, Beast Boy was no stranger to the feeling of losing someone you love. He had received news of the death of his parents only a day after he learned that his best friend was dead. While you would think he was used to the feeling of grief by now, the truth was that it didn't get any easier. With each loss, the ache in his heart only grew stronger. He tried to put on a brave face for the other Titans, tried to be the funny Titan who always made everyone laugh. But there was only so much pretending he could do before he hit the breaking point.
"Garfield? Would it be alright if I sat with you?"
He looked up and saw M'yri'ah looming over him, still in the human form he found her in. Martians were shapeshifters as well as telepaths, so they usually avoided their true forms. While Beast Boy didn't remember telling M'yri'ah his real name, he knew that Martians had the tendency to unintentionally learn things they shouldn't know thanks to their mind reading powers.
"Go ahead," he sighed.
Any other time, and he would've been thrilled to see a Martian again. But after what happened with Terra, M'ryi'ah's presence only served as a reminder of someone else he lost. However, in spite of his grief he still felt a sense of duty towards her. He couldn't help but feel that perhaps, if he could help her find her family, it would make up for what happened.
M'yri'ah sat next to him, staring at the edge of the water.
"I do not believe your friend likes me."
Beast Boy looked up. "Who, Robin? Nah, he's just like that sometimes. I think he's just stressed out."
M'yri'ah frowned, using her powers to levitate a rock in front of her face. She crushed it into a powder, which fell into the water.
"He mistrusts me."
It was a statement, rather than a question. While it was a relatively obvious guess, Beast Boy still couldn't help but feel concerned about how often she may have been using her powers. He brushed it off, noting that she probably wasn't that used to humanity's social boundaries yet.
"That doesn't mean he hates you," Beast Boy insisted. "He just has trust issues. Besides, you'll find your family some way or another. I'll make sure of it."
M'yri'ah sighed. "If this Robin is your leader, I don't see how you could be much assistance without his permission, which I doubt he'll give."
Beast Boy shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We can go without them if we need to."
"In that case, what are we waiting for?"
…..
As he and M'yri'ah walked through the streets of Star City, Beast Boy couldn't help but feel as though this was a bad idea. At the very least, he felt as though they should've waited until the other Titans were awake. Chances were, at least one of them would've been willing to go with them, if not the whole team. Besides, sneaking out like this just felt… wrong. However, it had been years since Mars was destroyed. If M'yri'ah was ever going to find her family, time wasn't something they could waste.
"We won't be away for very long anyways," M'yri'ah had insisted. "If all goes well, you will return home by sundown."
Beast Boy wasn't going to hold her to that. Even though he had been away from Jump City for so long, now the city only brought back painful memories. He needed some space. Alone time would've been nice, but having a mission to focus on was even better. However, getting his mind off Terra wasn't working as well as he hoped it would. With every step he took, he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing. Where was she staying? Were her new friends decent people? What if she was in trouble?
He tried not to worry, but he couldn't help it. Even though he and M'yri'ah had been walking for hours now, instead of feeling farther away from his problems he only felt closer to them. It was as though he took his troubles with him instead of leaving them behind.
"Maybe we should've took the T-Car," Beast Boy sighed. His legs were starting to ache from all the walking. He had switched to flying a few times, but it didn't really help conserve energy. It just changed which muscles would get tired.
M'yri'ah shook her head. "Your vehicles are merely an inconvenience. I attempted to use one myself, in the earlier days of my search. I found it too difficult to remember all the laws pertaining to its use."
"Oh, okay then," Beast Boy said weakly. "We're almost there, right?"
M'yri'ah smiled sadly. "Yes, of course. Unfortunately, I fear that this is my only lead now. The police station in this city owns a file that contains the locations where the other escape pods crashed. If I can remember which one my husband and daughter were on, we may be able to search the general area for more information."
"Why didn't you look at the file earlier?" Beast Boy asked. "Did you just learn about it or something?"
M'yri'ah shook her head. "No, I've known of its existence for a long time now. However, the last time I tried to see it, they denied me access to it. I believe that since you are a Titan, however, they may feel more confident about your intentions."
As if right on que, the police station appeared in the distance. Beast Boy smiled in relief. Finally, their efforts would pay off.
"I won't let you down!" he promised, walking through the door.
The woman at the reception desk looked up from her computer. She seemed a little surprised, yet held her composure.
"May I help you?" she asked.
Beast Boy realized that he forgot to ask M'yri'ah for more details about the file.
"Um," he began nervously. "I'm looking for a file? About the locations of the Martian escape pods?"
"I'll look for it," she said, walking away from the desk. "Just wait right here."
Beast Boy sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs in the lobby. It was weirdly empty. The receptionist was the only person he saw. Before he could overthink things too much, his communicator began to ring.
"Oh crap," he sighed. His ears drooped, and he answered the call. "Hello?"
Much to his surprise, the hero on the other side of the screen wasn't a Titan.
"Superboy?" he asked. "How did you get a communicator?"
"The League communicators can link to the Titan communicators in emergencies," Superboy explained. "I got a call from Robin last night. He said I should check on you."
Well, that would've been nice to know during the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco.
"What did Robin say?" he asked, growing suspicious.
Superboy frowned. "He said enough. Are you sure your friend is who she says she is?"
In an instant, Beast Boy went from suspicious to annoyed. "Of course she is! And I'm tired of everyone accusing her of lying!"
Superboy matched his tone. "I'm not trying to! I want it to be true as much as you do, but it doesn't add up!"
The receptionist walked back in the room, empty handed.
"Look, it's been a nice talk, but I need to put you on hold."
"Gar-"
"Bye Kon."
He ended the call.
The receptionist sighed, sitting back down at her desk. "I'm sorry, but the contents of the file were moved to Gotham City last week."
Beast Boy frowned. This was turning into something a bit longer than a one day trip. He did the math. If memory served, it would take at least half a week to go from Star to Gotham, and that wasn't even on foot! On the other hand, maybe they could rent a car or take the bus. And surely the Titans could survive without him for a few days. Especially since it was to help a friend…
"That's okay! Thanks anyways!" he said, walking out the door.
"Wait!" the receptionist yelled.
Beast Boy turned around to face her. She seemed nervous, as though she was debating on whether or not to say anything.
"Before I even started working here, we switched over to a digital filing system for most of our records. If whatever was in that file was sensitive enough to warrant keeping a physical copy..."
Beast Boy felt his face pale. He nodded his head, biting his lip.
"I know that you probably know what you're doing, but please. Be careful."
"I will," he promised.
….
Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't update last week. I was dealing with stress/anxiety issues and I had to take a step back. I'm feeling a lot better now, so things should be back to normal. I plan to double up on updates at some point to get back on track.
Thank you everyone who followed and added this story to your favorites!
Quote of the day:
"If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice: 'Well, this isn't too bad. I don't have my left arm anymore, but at least nobody will ask whether I am right-handed or left-handed.' However, most of us would say something more along the lines of: 'Aaaaaah! My arm! My arm!'" -Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events
May the odds be ever in your favor,
Spectrobes Princess