Chapter 2, heavily edited, coming right up! I feel so much better about this than the original, and feel like I started to find my writing style again here. I hope you enjoy it!

Warning: This chapter gets quite a bit more graphic with descriptions of violence. Read at your own risk! It's rated M for a reason.

Chapter 2

Garfield's hands trembled as he scrolled through his contact list. Who was he supposed to call? How did he even begin to explain this? He released a shaky breath as the page slowed to a stop, highlighting Victor S. Before he knew it, he was lifting the phone to his ear and listening to the rings with bated breath.

One...

Two...

Three, four, five...

"Hi, you've reached Victor Stone. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your-"

Gar grunted and jabbed at the bright red 'end call' button. He roughly mussed his green hair with a groan as he contemplated calling Dick or Kori- it had been even longer since he'd spoken with either of them. The screen went black and he set it in his lap; perhaps if he sat here long enough, the universe would take pity on him and imbue the courage to place another call. Or better yet, maybe Vic would just call back.

His eyes jumped up as the entrance to the surgery corridor hissed open, allowing a groggy-looking nurse to pass through. She smiled gently at him as she passed, and he returned it before glaring back at the frosted glass with a huff. Ten times that had happened already, yet he was still getting his hopes up with every slide of those damn doors. His patience wore thin. Sitting around had never been his forte, and he began to pace as that nagging feeling that he should be doing something, anything, continued to pester his conscience relentlessly.

When they'd first rushed into the frigid hospital with Raven, Garfield had still been pressing onto her massive leg would diligently as he chased alongside the gurney. As the ER staff took over, he'd immediately tried to follow Raven back, but Pamela had managed to catch him by the arm to convince him that it was a lousy idea. He may have raised his voice uncharacteristically at his long-time coworker, all the while trying to pry her off before those treacherous doors closed. Eventually, however, she was finally able to assure him that his being back there would be more of a distraction than anything else. Another frustrated puff of air escaped his lips.

This was killing him. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, make sure she was okay, ask her a few of the million questions swirling around in his head...

... Okay, Pam was probably right. All he could do was keep telling himself that she was in the best hands possible, and try not to rip his hair out in the meantime. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her all over again. An unexpected reprieve from this train of thought arrived in the form of the hospital's intercom blaring to life.

"ALL STAFF, SEE YOUR DEVICES FOR EMERGENCY ALERT INFORMATION," the speaker declared loudly above him. "I REPEAT, ALL STAFF CHECK DEVICES FOR EMERGENCY ALERT."

That was weird. Garfield had decided to clock out at the recommendation of his supervisor, who had caught wind of his brief tailspin when they'd arrived. This meant he no longer had his work phone with him, and had no way of checking what was going on. It was rare that they put out these types of alerts, though, so it must be pretty serious... He contemplated for only a moment before once again heaving himself from the uncomfortable waiting room chair and making his way toward the security office. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but Garfield was sure that sitting here waiting would do him in a whole lot quicker.

Garfield couldn't keep his mind from wandering to the past as he trekked down a particularly quiet hall, but the corner of his eye caught something unusual and he came to an abrupt halt. Garfield retreated back a couple of steps, his mouth falling agape at the sight in front of him. He stepped into the doorway of a patient room cloaked in complete calamity- flickering flourescent lights dangled from the ceiling precariously, the cot was overturned with its sheets strewn about the room, and the pictures and posters that normally adorned the walls now littered the floor in shreds. Two security guards inhabited the space, all but scratching their heads with a look of utter confusion upon their faces.

"COMMENCE LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL. ALL STAFF, COMMENCE LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL."

All three men jumped and peered at the dented speaker box above them, surprised to hear that it was still in working condition. Garfield spun out of the room and jogged to the security office down the hall.

"Oh, Gar, boy am I glad to see you," he was greeted by John, the burly man who led the security squad. Five more guards were scattered about the room, all sporting a similar look of unease.

"What the hell happened?" Gar inquired as he strode toward John.

"It's that nutjob, Adonis," John replied. "He somehow escaped- did you see his room? We're trying to recover footage now, but something's up with the cameras," John sighed, glancing at the monitors beside him nervously. "We had eyes on him until just a couple minutes ago, so now the whole place is in lockdown. He was just stumbling around aimlessly, didn't seem like much of a threat, but seems he just disappeared into thin air." John proceeded to shoot a glare toward two of the nearby guards, who looked away sheepishly. Garfield stifled a chuckle, remembering that he was an adult and this was a serious situation.

"I'm glad you're here," John continued. "You've dealt with him before, right? What was he like? We were getting him ready for a psych eval before this happened."

"Uh..." Gar blinked in bewilderment, unused to people acknowledging his past so casually. "I mean, he's a dick, but he didn't seem this unhinged before. Was there anything-" John's walkie-talkie screeched to life, a roughened voice coming through to cut him off mid-question.

"The escaped patient is attempting to breach surgical services in the east wing! I need backup!"

Garfield and John shared a look, then wordlessly took off in a sprint toward the east wing of the hospital. As they ran, Gar fumbled through his jacket pocket to pull out his phone and, disregarding the newly missed call from Victor, dialed 911. He quickly requested police assistance, then hung up to keep pace with the lead security guard. As the pair rapidly approached the surgical wing, Gar glanced back behind him, but the hall was deserted. He rolled his eyes. The other guards hadn't followed them? This wasn't even his job, yet he was running toward the danger regardless. 'I guess old habits die hard,' he mused to himself.

They rounded the corner into the waiting area Garfield had occupied not ten minutes ago and, panting, came to an abrupt stop. They found themselves face to face with the crazed man, perched atop one of the few chairs that was still upright in the dismantled room. He did not move, did not make a sound, opting to simply watched them intently with expressionless features. The soft, eerie buzz of a disfigured alarm was the only sound present, the area awash with a calm that felt like it didn't belong. Under the red glow of emergency lights, the bodies of several security guards were strewn amongst the various dark crimson puddles that dotted the floor. Gar's stomach dropped as he came to the realization that the others must have gone a different route and beaten them here. Guilt briefly washed over the changeling for believing that they had run away from the danger, but the feeling was swiftly replaced with an icy spike of fear as he made eye contact with Adonis. His eyes were wholly engulfed in blackness, and Garfield couldn't push away the encroaching thought that this Adonis was not entirely human.

Suddenly and without an ounce of hesitation, John sprinted past Garfield in an attempt to tackle Adonis, but he had the foe's attention in an instant and was easily swiped aside. He flew across the tile, the sickening squeal of his body sliding through pools of blood sending a shudder up Gar's spine before the man finally crashed into a pillar, crumpling to the floor in a heap. Garfield tentatively placed a foot in front of him, hoping to go check on his acquaintance, but froze again when Adonis's bruised face snapped back to his. He cocked his head, still appearing completely apathetic, and yet... terrifying. Something was very, very wrong.

Gar took a moment to really observe the man in front of him. He'd caught a glimpse in the room before, but in this setting, Adonis didn't remotely resemble the small-time villain he'd fought against all those years ago. His eyes were deeply sunken, surrounded by incredibly dark circles and shadowy lines that seemed to somehow pulse just beneath the crepey skin of his face. Short brown hair existed in patches upon his head, and the odor emanating from him was disturbingly reminiscient of rotting flesh. Even in the dim lighting, his skin was so pale it appeared almost transluscent, stretched over bulging muscles that looked oddly misshapen. He wasn't just buff- he was grotesque. While Garfield was certainly no longer the scrawny boy he used to be, dread filled his chest at the thought of having to compete with this.

"Adonis," Gar spoke slowly, raising his hands in front of him as he took a step back. "What are you doing, dude? I don't do this anymore, okay? I don't want to fight, just let them take you, don't get yourself in any more trouble..."

Adonis crouched lower and bared his teeth menacingly, prompting goosebumps to rise on Garfield's arms, the hair on the back of his neck joining them as every muscle in his body tensed, animal senses kicking in. The beast that had been suppressed for so long snarled defensively in the back of his mind. He shook his head, as though the sensations engrained into his very being would simply fall away and forget why they'd returned in the first place. A thousand questions swirled around his mind. This wasn't right. Adonis was only a human now, how could he be anything else? Why were his senses reacting in such a primal way? Where were the police? How long ago had he called them? Were any of the men on the floor still alive?

For what felt like an eternity, they remained unmoving, anticipating the results of the age-old battle of fight versus flight. The human side of Garfield was screaming at him to flee, to get the hell away from the obvious danger lurking here and let someone else deal with it. But the animal side, that pesky beast within, kept his feet pinned to the ground, growing louder and louder in his mind as he bit down the growl making its way up the back of his throat. With those pitch black eyes, Adonis stared... and stared... and then, smiled.

Garfield blinked at the unexpected expression, and all at once Adonis was leaping from the chair and pouncing on him, without ever having touched the 15 feet of ground between them. He tried to raise his fists in self defense, but with a fraction of a moment to react, Gar found himself immediately tackled to the floor, the tile cracking sharply as his body made contact. He found himself inches from a snarling Adonis, the sinister grin still plastered to his face. Gar gagged at the stench seeping from the abnormally heavy man, and wriggled uselessly when a drop of frothy saliva dripped from a pointed canine onto his shoulder. How was Adonis this heavy? Sure, he'd packed on muscle, but not enough to mimic the feeling of being crushed beneath a freight train.

Adonis leaned down to Gar's ear, putrid breath assaulting his senses as a single whispered word made his blood run cold:

"Raaaaveeeen..."

Gar pressed his cheek to the tile in a vain attempt to create distance, watching from the periphery of his vision as Adonis raised his massive arm into the air behind him, revealing long, protruding claw-like nails. He willed himself to transform into something, anything, that might give him a chance at escape, but the pulsing pain in his head and accompanying lightheadedness prevented him from focusing on the ability he rarely used anymore. He braced himself as the hand swung back down, but before the blow could connect, Adonis was torn off with a shriek when a neon green orb hit him squarely in the shoulder.

The changeling leapt to his feet, stumbling for balance as the world spun around him. The backup generators finally kicked on, and he rubbed the spots from his eyes to find the hospital now cast in dim flourescent lights that were nevertheless an improvement from the spooky red glow that had been present before. Across the room, Adonis was back to his feet, and had taken on the form of his werebeast from years prior. This version, however, was noticeably larger, sporting a much darker coat and eyes so abysmal they rivaled a starless sky. The monster reached down and gripped the abdomen of a guard at his feet, squeezing his colossal paw into a fist and drawing it back up with a handful of entrails as he let loose an angry, piercing howl. Nausea washed over Garfield and he fought back the bile threatening to make its way to the surface, stiffening as their gazes met. Heinous, blacked-out eyes bore into vivid green ones, and Gar clenched his fists and snarled, readying himself for another attack from the creature. Before the start of another unwinnable fight, however, the beast's ears pricked back as though he'd heard something no one else was capable of, and suddenly he was scampering through the double doors and into the night.

Garfield gaped at the shattered remnants of the exit, shivers beginning to wrack his body as shock set in. He tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling, wheeling around to find himself gawking at none other than his old teammates, flanked by several police officers who were now taking off after Adonis. Kori, clad in a plaid pencil skirt and button-up blouse, let her glowing eyes and fists dissipate before rushing forward and enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. Looking over her shoulder, he smiled back at Victor, who donned a black athletic jacket and jeans; then to Richard, dressed in a simple gray polo shirt and slacks, who crossed his arms and flashed a smile at his old friend before returning to his signature stern expression. Kori released him from her clutches, and he turned to observe the bodies littering the lobby, his stomach plunging to unimaginable depths.

"I should probably..." he began, glancing back at his old friends to see Victor shaking his head grimly.

"They're gone, man," he said solemnly.

"Right, yeah," Gar breathed, another wave of nausea racking his body. He turned back to the group, trying to move on from the torrent of emotions making their way to the forefront. "What are you guys doing here?" he finally asked, smiling softly. Despite the circumstances, it was impossible to hide the eager undertone at seeing their familiar faces for the first time in over a year.

"Well, when I was trying to return your call earlier, Kori actually reached out in the middle of it," Victor began explaining. "She told me her station had just received breaking news of the attack of a former Titan..." he trailed off.

"We made a few calls, and, well, here we are," Richard finished for him, scanning the room. "Didn't know anything was ongoing though... mind filling in the blanks?" He shot a pointed expression at Garfield.

"Oh, uh... well, you guys remember Adonis, right?" he said, eliciting a gasp from Kori. "I know, right? There's something really wrong with him, worse than before. Dude must have gotten his hands on some black market steroids or something."

"That was Adonis? He was bigger in human form than he used to be as a beast!" Victor exclaimed.

"Yeah. I think he might be the one who attacked Rav- I mean, Rachel," Gar caught himself, wincing slightly at the unfamiliarity. "That's what she goes by now. He said her name while he was on top of me," he shuddered as he recalled the unpleasant position he'd endured just a few short minutes ago.

"Last I heard, she was in surgery. She was pretty banged up, guys, but she seemed stable when we handed her off," he finished, deciding to leave out the part where he had acted just shy of professionally during said hand-off.

Kori held her hands over her mouth, looking to be on the verge of tears as Richard softly placed an arm over her shoulders.

"I can't believe this is how we finally find her, after all this time..." Victor said softly. Sure, they'd all been bad at keeping in touch, but none had gone complete radio silence like Raven did. It had become a sore subject when they did manage to get together, though someone always made sure to mention her once in a while to check if anyone had seen or heard anything new. Her absence from their rare meetups glared harshly, creating an invisible tension that maybe, definitely played a role in their hesitance to continue hanging out. It was a constant reminder that one of their own was missing, and they truly hadn't known if they'd ever see her again.

"Well," Kori sniffled. "What are we to do now?"

Instinctively, they all looked to Richard, who raised an eyebrow at the familiar role he was being placed in. Just like old times.

"Technically speaking, the right thing to do would probably be to help track down Adonis," he began. "But... I can keep up to date with the patrols from here, and I think Raven- er, Rachel- needs us the most right now. Beas-" Richard dragged his free hand down his face as he slipped up twice in a row. "Sorry. Garfield, do you think you can find out if she's still in surgery?"

Gar nodded and went to pick his cell phone up from the floor, but hesitated as blood dripped onto the tile when he bent over. He stood slowly, feeling a little woozy as he dusted off the device with the edge of his shirt, which he now noticed was also smeared with crimson. Where had that come from? His vision blurred as he scrolled through his contact list, searching for the elusive front desk number, but no matter how much he blinked he couldn't will his eyes to focus on the names. He looked up, confused, and realized that Richard's mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out.

"Guys..." he muttered as the three continued talking amongst themselves. Feeling a tickle at the base of his neck, he reached back and found that the neckline of his scrub top was soaking wet. He pulled his hand away and, with increasingly faltered vision, observed the bright red stain upon it.

"G-guys," he attempted again. The trio looked up just as his cell phone clattered to the floor. "I don't feel so good..." His legs finally gave out and he tumbled back, catching a momentary glimpse of the still-too-bright overhead lights before another spike of pain erupted through his head, and everything went dark.

Well, there's that. I like it. I think. I'm too tired to care anymore, so I hope you liked it! If not, well... chapter 3 is coming anyways, so buckle up. Goodnight, sweet dreams, all that jazz

P.S. sorry if there are typos, I did my best but my brain is effectively oatmeal right now