Broken Spirit - Chapter 6

Broken Spirit

Chapter 6: Undos and Don’ts

The sun slowly rose in the distance, peeking over the horizon as light steadily began to creep into even the darkest corners of Raven’s chambers. Her room starting to fade from dreary, dismal darkness as golden rays of light seeped across the walls.

BeastBoy lay atop Raven’s bed rationing what little darkness there was to be had only by his eyes still closed in deep sleep. Despite his somewhat wavering mental state and events prior he’d found sleep to come more heavily than he feared it contrarily would. And truth be told he slept quite soundly, body or not. Still that was no guarantee that getting up would be any easier.

Bum-Bump

BeastBoy began to stir. His eyelids giving a slight twitch, closing tighter and an ear tuned upward. But still he lay. Content with the world around him shut out as if mentally hitting the snooze button.

Bum-Bump

He shifted his head a bit, but remained committed to drawing slumber a bit longer.

Bum-Bump

Bum-Bump

That sound. What was that sound?

His eyelids slowly raised, his pupils starting to focus. It was still dark. But he could just make out… what looked like…

Bum-Bump

BeastBoy’s eyes shot open to a heart beating right in front of his face.

“DWAAAAH!” he yelled, frantically pushing and kicking backwards in three large strides before tumbling off the bed and upside down onto the floor. Apparently at some point in the night he had rolled over in his sleep and in doing so, not bound by physical constraints, phased his head right into Raven’s chest.
Raven indeed had a heart, as BeastBoy had plainly observed. And just like the rest of her it was equally intimidating in the right circumstance.

Raven sat up in bed with a gasp, instantly awake, alarmed by the commotion as she scanned the room. She peered over the sides of the bed, finding BeastBoy shaken in a heap as she leaned over the far side. A sour frown drew on her face for such an extreme and unwelcome wake-up call.
“BeastBoy,” she began in a drowsily stern tone as she rubbed her eyes, “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

The faded green boy rolled his legs off the bed onto the floor as he propped himself up with a hand against his chest, catching his breath from the all too sudden start to the day. “Me too. But, not how ya might think.”

Raven sighed as she gave a stretch, pushing her arms above her head. Just as well that the day got started.
She pulled one of the books from her nightstand she’d previously set aside the night before, cracking it open and began sifting through the pages.

BeastBoy got to his feet, arching his back with a curious look at her. He didn’t think it was possible to be that serious this early. “And… good morning to you too.”

Raven paid him the faintest of glances as she gave a small yawn, skimming through another page.

He crooked his head at her. “Shouldn’t you at least get some breakfast first? I think reading, this early, and on an empty stomach is a wicked bad combo to start the day.”

Raven blinked, partially closing the book as she looked back at him. “Perhaps. I am a bit peckish.” She mildly rubbed her stomach. “I mean, it’s not as though it’s ‘MY’ body separated between the physical world and countless dimensional planes.” She leaned off to the side with a dry stare.

BeastBoy snapped to attention, coyly forcing a nervous chuckle as if visually retracting his statement. “W-Well, I… guess ya can never get too early a head start, can ya?”

Message received. Raven gave a small sigh of relief as she opened the book back to her place with a small sense of satisfaction. This made up for some of those missed disciplines to the head the day before. But she did intend to get some sustenance once she managed to establish a foothold on her research. “If you want to, go on ahead,” Raven lightened her tone as if to signal everything would be all right.

“Nah, that’s okay. No rush,” he waved off. “I’m on a… ‘light’ diet,” he phased his hand through his midsection. Food had little bearing on BeastBoy’s current status. “I go when you go.”

“Shortly,” she reassured him, not taking her eyes off the current paragraph she was on. “There’s a lot of ground to cover. Magic like this isn’t exactly textbook material. Buried under countless subcategories. Misleading incantation subject matter. Sometimes it’s a wonder things like this are even recorded properly as they’re so difficult to discern, let alone practice.”

“Uh…” BeastBoy let his mouth hang agape a second or two, lost amongst Raven’s higher syllable ratio. “So… stuff like this, not super basic?”

“Dematerialization, breaking down solid and or living matter…” she looked to BeastBoy, finding him somewhat lost. Raven mentally regrouped trying to break it down into simpler explanation.
She took a breath. “Making objects disappear, that’s common. Bringing them back? Less so.”

“Makin’ stuff go poof before ya know how to bring it back,” he nodded. “Yeah, sounds about the way I’d do it. I probably woulda’ made an okay magic guy.”

“Hmmph,” Raven lightly scoffed as she turned the page. “BeastBoy, the Not So Average enchanter. Has a nice ring to it.”

BeastBoy smiled. “Would I get a cape? And a pointy hat?”

“The pointiest.”

He smirked as if able to picture himself. But he just as quickly dismissed the joking image returning to a more serious expression as Raven continued to read. “So this isn’t just something you can snap your fingers and ‘magic’ me back from, huh?”

“I could,” she rolled her head onto her shoulder. “But there are just too many unknowns. I could very well disrupt the flow of energy that’s anchoring you to our world.” Hence why she hadn’t made an effort to already. Even if it wasn’t magic per say that had affected him like this, using it to undo it was no simpler a matter. But then few things were when BeastBoy was involved.

“Has anything like this ever happened before?” BeastBoy turned back to Raven, trying not to pester her but unable to keep from posing a more relevant question.

Raven stopped, looking up from the book, straight ahead at the wall as if searching her memory. “Somewhat,” she started as she dipped her chin back into the book. “I’ve heard legends. Inklings of mages in similar predicaments. Ancient and powerful wizards wielding formidable power wishing to shed their physical form and become eternal beings of a higher form of existence. Transcending the mortal pitfalls of age, sickness, and pain. Becoming eternal spiritual beings composed of life force itself. Forever endowed to amass knowledge and power. However all such tales dictate that soon after their transcendence only then do they soon realize a being casting off one world is doomed between all worlds. With no focal point for their presence to remain aligned in. Gradually torn apart by the very energies they sought to control.”

BeastBoy blinked as if the only response he could muster to such ominous events. “…And these wizard dudes? They realized, ‘Oh well. Tomorrow’s another day’, and put themselves back together, right?”

“Actually, according to legend they were ripped apart at the very core of their being, burned up by their franticly unstable molecular instability from the inside out.” Raven flipped back a page double-checking a paragraph before turning ahead to another. “However the theory is sound.”

BeastBoy gave a vacant stare.

Raven looked up, spying a fleeting glance at BeastBoy upon her spontaneous realization of her downward spiral of a story. She shut her eyes as she slowly sank her head back down into the book for a split second before closing it and setting it to the side.
“On second thought,” she hopped off the bed, “Maybe a cup of herbal tea is in order.” Raven walked to the door opting to take up BeastBoy’s offer for breakfast and hopefully quell the verbal damage before it sank in.
Anyways those were far different scenarios than BeastBoy’s. His condition was a technological snafu. Not magically inclined in the least. On top of which, those stories couldn’t even be factually proven to be true. They were just mystic folklore. Urban myths. Arcane anecdotes.

Raven headed to the door with BeastBoy trailing behind her. The door swished open.

“Oh!” Starfire stood before her, somewhat startled as her hand was raised as if just about to knock before caught off guard by the door suddenly opening. “Pleasant of mornings to you.”

Raven reared her head back slightly. “Morning, Starfire.” She could not help but notice a visual dip in Starfire’s face. Her smile was half hearted. And her eyes lacked their usual bright luster of over exuberant energy. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, y-yes,” Starfire coyly looked off to the side. “Though, I must confess I did strike the hay all that well.”

Raven offered a small smile in sympathy. A restless slumber seemed to be the trend last night.

“Friend BeastBoy,” she began. “He is… the okay?”

“I’ll live,” he called from over Raven’s shoulder with a smile of his own. “Probably wouldn’t know by lookin’.”

“I… haven’t heard from him yet this morning. Most likely still asleep in his sty of a room,” Raven rolled her head to the side. “It’s nice to know some things transcend existence.”

BeastBoy looked at Raven funny. To which she only responded with a shift of her eyes at him before instantly darting back to Starfire. Was he missing something here?

“I was just about to go fix my morning tea and then check in on him,” Raven outlined.

“Oh, that is most thoughtful of you Raven. I wish to join you,” Starfire said giddily. “Come. We shall make the tea of herbs and then assure our friend of his imminent recovery.”

“Aw, I get it,” BeastBoy shrugged with a smirk. “Secret relationship. Hush hush”, he whispered slyly standing right in front of the both of them, plainly knowing it was still a one on one conversation with Starfire unable to hear or see him in the slightest. “Can’t let her know about us being in bed together.” He was somewhat proud to see her being sneaky, even if only for her own sake.

“You go on ahead, Star. I’ll be there in a moment,” Raven said, turning back inside her room. “I just need to check something.”

Starfire gave a nod before levitating a few inches into the air and zipping down the hall.

Raven started back inside, walking towards her nightstand.

SSHWOO

But not before letting her hand fly right through BeastBoy’s head, calm and blank faced as ever.
BeastBoy flinched, expectedly so. However a certain sense of exemption from Raven’s wrath was starting to set in. He looked back as she walked past. “Sorry, Raven. Still no corrective ouchies,” he grinned.

Raven retrieved her other book from the nightstand, heading back for the door. “Coming?”

“Um, actually… if it’s cool with you, mind if I hang here for a little longer?” he asked, twiddling his fingers.

She looked at him firmly.

He held up his hands disarmingly. “I just wanna grab a few more Zs. And I think the body-less me and the room are kinda startin’ to vibe.”

It wasn’t as though he could make a mess. And she was the one who offered the initial invitation to share quarters. And it would be one less distraction while engaging the others. Still, the notion of BeastBoy alone in her room gave her pause.
She glanced at the door before looking back, not wanting to keep Starfire waiting or give her any reason to grow suspicious. “Just stay out of trouble,” Raven conceded.

“Nah, nothing like that. Maybe just peek through a few locked drawers. Find out where you hide your diary. Try on some of your clothes…”

Her stare remained trained on BeastBoy.

“Kidding,” he waved off. “C’mon, Rae. You’re worryin’ about nothin’. I can’t touch anything. I can’t do anything. No one can hear me. What could I possibly…”

Raven’s stare was unchanged. Only crooking an eyebrow as if putting the exclamation point on her previous warning.

BeastBoy shrank back slightly. Hanging his head, tracing his foot across the floor. “I’ll be good.”

Even if physically unable to correct him Raven could always count on her ability to mentally pacify the young changeling.

Raven exited the room, the door closing behind her.

BeastBoy gave a stretch followed by a small yawn. He was typically the kind to sleep in.  Sleeping in Raven’s room, in her bed? Now, that was something to savor. Who knew if or when this opportunity would present itself ever again. Best to get his fill while he could.
He hopped onto the top of the bed, standing up straight before bounding up and down like the inner child he was. As if breaking the mattress in to his own specifications. Of course it was all for not. Without his physical body he couldn’t gauge the springiness of the mattress or how soft it was. He couldn’t hear the squeak of the springs or feel his feet sink into the pillow top. He may as well have been jumping up and down on a piece of concrete for all it mattered. BeastBoy let out a sigh in defeat, falling back into the bed. He rolled over onto his side, closing his eyes to nap for however long he could spare until Raven came back.

Truthfully, he really was somewhat tired. He’d always been a late sleeper, sure. But he didn’t think he’d still be this tired.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Raven sat at the table with her book opened. Reading a few paragraphs in between looking up at Starfire who’d offered to prepare her tea. Given the opportunity to absorb more research she accepted, if only for the fact that this time she could observe her make the tea under more careful supervision.

Starfire stood at the stove, placing the kettle on the burner. Her hands began to glow green, amassing a charge of star bolt energy. She pressed her palms to the kettle, the intense heat from her hands beginning to heat the kettle as evidenced by the metal surface beginning to glow.

“No, Star,” Raven called in as calm and concerned a manner as she was able without hurting her feelings. “The water needs to come to a boil. Not evaporate.” To say nothing of the structural integrity of the kettle which might very well be prone to melt if she built a powerful enough charge.

Star gave a nod as she ceased the charge in her hands, turning on the stove’s burner to medium heat.

Letting out a small breath of relief Raven turned back to her book. All that was left was to wait for the water to boil.

That left a particularly quiet and awkward tension. And while Raven was familiar and adept at coping with silence, Starfire was less so. And she could feel a wave of inquisitiveness about her.

“It is most perplexing,” Starfire began.

“What is?” Raven gave a second glance at the previous page in her book before turning to the next one.

“Your extraordinary… circumstances with BeastBoy.”

Raven stopped cold. Her eyes freezing on the page, as if every single muscle in her body had gone stiff. Was Starfire wise to their relationship? Had she somehow caught on?
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “W-What… uh… how do you mean?”

“Quite obvious.” Stafire leaned against the table, peering down at Raven, her head dipping between her shoulders. “You and BeastBoy. It is quite plain to see.”

Raven discreetly bit the corner of her lip, keeping her face aimed squarely at her book. Doing everything she could to retain her neutral expression. She couldn’t give herself away. She couldn’t let Starfire see her sweat. “Plain?” she softly coughed.

“Well, perhaps plain is not the word. Truly a more extraordinary word befits the bond that the two of you share,” Starfire tapped her chin as she gazed up at the ceiling, seeking a better description.

“Starfire, I… I think you’re reading too much into this,” Raven pressed her hands against the page, attempting to smooth the creases on the paper that weren’t there.

“Oh, but I am not,” she waved her hands in front of her as if dispelling any offense she might have incurred. “It is a wondrous, albeit tragic occurrence.

“Well, perhaps there w…” Raven cocked an eyebrow. “Tragic?”

This was unexpected. Her relationship had been discovered and it was… sad? Was this a Tameranian thing?

“Yes. The bond that you and BeastBoy share,” Starfire professed with a luster of optimism sparkling in her pure, innocent eyes. “You can see and hear him, where we cannot.”

Raven’s facade grimaced, her face divided between relieved smile and bitter scowl. As if all she could do to ease the mental bludgeoning she was experiencing. A face palm to the brain. These were the ‘circumstances’ Starfire had been referring to.

“How is it that you can perceive him, even without his body, while we can not?” she followed up innocently.

Raven’s expression reverted back to a more focused but still somewhat baffled scope. She had a theory or two, but had been so concentrated on the situation at hand and how to undo it she’d rarely visited a potential answer.
She rested her head on her hands, now propped up on her elbows on the table. “I’m not sure. Maybe my empathic abilities are just capable of naturally registering BeastBoy in his current state. A dimensional abnormality, synced consciousness, it could be a number of things.” Raven lightly shook her head, overwhelmed. After a moment of intense thought she looked up. “When Control Freak’s remote blast struck my barrier, it is possible that perhaps the frequency of the blast counteracted and modified itself to the same polarity as my powers,” she looked at the palms of her hands. “Then when the reversed flux of the blast rebounded off the barrier and hit Bea…” Raven curled her fingers in tight, squeezing her fists. She gave a deep sigh.

“Friend BeastBoy,” Starfire began, breaking Raven from her concentration, looking up from her visible despair. “He… will be alright.”

Raven gave a small reassuring smile. “I know, Star. I would expect nothing less,” she consented. “Believe me, if there is anyone who could defy the odds of certain death as many times as he has…” she trailed off with a shake of her head. “I’ve practically made it a hobby posing threats of dumping him in other dimensional planes. It’s only fitting that I get to bring him back from one.”

Starfire walked back, leaning against the stove. “He is very important to you.”

“To ‘us’, Star,” she lightly corrected. “He’s very important to ‘us’.”

Starfire pulled a mug from a nearby cabinet, placing the tea bag inside as she set it down on the counter beside the stove. “Forgive me if I am misleading the conversation, and that my intuition may be flawed but… I believe I was more accurate the first time.” Starfire gave a genuinely sweet smile.

Raven stared at her blankly, momentarily lost but finding her way back to her book, resuming her reading.

The kettle gave a whistle.

Starfire turned off the burner as she poured the hot water into the mug with a waft of steam rising as she poured. She then placed the kettle back onto the burner as she walked to the table setting the cup down in front of Raven just before seating herself across from her at the table.

Raven looked up, darting her eyes from Starfire to the mug. Clearing her throat she reached out, taking the cup by the handle. “BeastBoy and I are just good friends.”

Starfire laid both her arms on the table, leaning her head to the side on her forearms. “No. You and I are the good friends,” she mused. “I believe that this is something more?”

Raven just stared in silence, keeping her emotional poker face.

“But, perhaps I assume too much.” Starfire pondered out loud. “Yes, it is merely the increased gravity of the situation at hand. Please excuse my inquisitiveness and enjoy your tea.”

She looked down at her mug in hand and the healthier looking, non gelatinous by comparison tea from before. Slowly, Raven took a sip.

Starfire just stared back in quiet elation and joy as her efforts for Raven’s tea were seemingly well met.

Raven exhaled in satisfaction as she set the cup down. She looked around the room, all too aware of the lack of activity given the current circumstances. “So… any progress?” she inquired as to Cyborg’s late night efforts. “Where are the others?”


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Robin and Cyborg walked side by side down a long metal hallway. Detention cells on either side of them. Overhead sensors and cameras trained on every single one. Thick reinforced steel and laser grid barriers isolating numerous inmates in closed quarters.
The two teens strode past, their vision focused straight ahead, never wavering. Paying no mind to the occasional hard look and murmurs as they passed. They were none to welcome. A given considering they were in part responsible for many of the incarcerations and arrivals now staring them down.

They came to a stop in front of a thick security barrier.

Slowly the gateway pulled itself apart with a beep and a low hiss of the hydraulic locks dislodging. The two walked inside as the barrier resealed itself behind them, leaving them in between the two thick gates, separating the individual wings of the facility in the event of an escape.
Another beep and hiss sounded as the secondary isolation barrier opened, allowing them passage inside past the checkpoint. Down another long corridor they proceeded. More thick walls and barriers, however there were less visible cells. Whereas the previous area was primarily for central holding, this section was designated for more interpersonal measures between the detainees and inquiring visitors.
There was a lack of noticeable staff as most guards were occupied either in the upper control rooms or perimeter patrols. Save for a few sentries and additional security personnel. Like the one standing watch outside the door the two Titans were approaching.

The guard stood at attention with a rifle in hands.

“Is he ready to talk?” Robin asked as they came to a stop in front of the posted guard.

“He’s inside,” the guard shrugged. “Talking is up to you.” He shouldered his weapon as he stepped beside the door, punching in a five-digit security code into the console embedded in the wall. With two harmonious beeps the door slid open with a clunk. “Though personally, I’d prefer him quiet.”

Robin gave a nod as he and Cyborg walked inside, the guard resuming his watch just beside the door controls.

The two stepped inside an interrogation room. Its walls composed of the same dense metal alloy as the detention cells. A wide one-way mirror across the back where all activity was no doubt monitored discreetly. In the center of the room was a plexiglass table with two metal chairs.
And there, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the table, was Control Freak. Tightly secured in a straight jacket with numerous buckles and latches restraining his hands and arms folded across his midsection. And a tightly fastened brown hard plastic face mask restricting from his nose to his chin with only a small slit for his mouth to be visibly barred. He looked up at his two visitors in wide-eyed enthusiasm, almost happily, eerily content at their arrival. “Good evening,” he welcomed them in Hannibal Lecter fashion, completing the ensemble.

Robin quirked his brow. Freak was bad, but this seemed a bit excessive. “Were the extra restraints really necessary?” he looked back at the entryway to the guard.

“Are you kiddin’? It was the only way to shut him up.” The guard hung his head as the door shut securely.

Robin and Cyborg shared a look of dry disbelief before stepping further inside the room.


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The door swished open as Raven stepped inside her room with Starfire following her inside but remaining near the doorway.

“I shall note to use only the marked bags of herbs delegated specifically for tea making in the future,” Starfire reflected on her earlier lesson in the kitchen.

“And?” Raven paused, looking back over her shoulder.

Starfire went blank faced for only a second before the other half of her lesson dawning on her. “OH! And to heat the water only to the point of boiling using traditional methods grounded in the realm of Earth kitchen appliances.” She smiled with a nod.

Raven rolled her eyes. It was a work in progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Star wasn’t kitchen prone in an hour.
She walked toward her nightstand to set down her book which was tucked under her arm, quietly glancing at BeastBoy snoozing atop her bed in a rather amusing if not uncomfortable looking sleep position.

He was lying with his face planted to the side, shoulders flat to the mattress, knees tucked in with his rear in the air, aimed to the ceiling.

“Mm-hmm,” Raven cleared her throat as she rounded the bed, attempting to nonchalantly wake him. Even if Starfire couldn’t see him was no reason for him to remain in this state in plain view.

However BeastBoy remained unresponsive.

Raven bumped against the bed as she approached the nightstand, trying to look as if she’d tripped.

BeastBoy nuzzled his cheek a bit more into the bed.

Still nothing.

Raven looked back quickly making certain that Star was still patiently waiting by the door and not wise to her attempts to wake BeastBoy.
She lifted the book high above the nightstand just before dropping it hard onto the surface.

BLAM!

The book hit the wooden surface like a small crack of thunder.

“GAH!” BeastBoy shot up straight, rolling back onto his knees, “IT WAS LIKE THAT WHEN I GOT HERE! WAAGH!” his backward momentum spilling him over onto the floor.

“Raven?” Starfire shouted in concern, alerted almost as severely as BeastBoy.

“Sorry, Star. Slipped,” she said casually as she walked back around and passing right through BeastBoy gathering himself. To which she cast a small, unseen smirk.

“Ya couldn’t maybe tip over a whole bookcase?” he cracked in heavy sarcasm.

“No corrective ouchies, remember?” she whispered. “Just like I can’t kiss it and make it better.”

“Oh, you can kiss something alright,” he followed up with a razz of the tongue.

Starfire walked inside a few steps to meet Raven halfway, ceasing her previous remarks with the formless green individual in the room.
“Shall we go and fetch friend BeastBoy?”

Raven gave a look towards the door, holding for a believable look of mild surprise. “No need. Look who finally decided to join us.”

Starfire followed Raven’s view to the door, as did BeastBoy.

But neither of them could see anyone there.

“Friend BeastBoy?” Star called out, taking a step back towards the doorway.

BeastBoy got to his feet, rubbing his neck as he stepped beside Raven. “Ya know, you’re gettin’ pretty good at this whole seeing me where you wanna see me thing.” He walked past her to the doorway and taking position in front of Starfire so as not to be impolite or insensitive to his friend and teammate who was genuinely concerned for him.

Star reached out with her hand, slowly waving from side to side. “You are certain he is here?” she asked, feeling no difference or inclination of his presence.

“He’s there, Star,” Raven reassured her.

Starfire squinted, trying to look even harder to see some semblance of her friend beyond ordinary sight. “BEASTBOY!” she shouted. “ARE YOU THERE?”

BeastBoy shuddered, her voice booming, almost bleeding from his ear canal. He dug his pinky finger into his ear, trying to quell the ringing echoing though his skull. “Raven? Could you maybe tell her I’m not deaf? Yet.”

Raven came up beside Star, placing a hand on her shoulder before she could let loose another thunderous bellow. “Star, he can hear you just fine.”

Starfire blinked. “Oh,” she blinked with a sheepish smile, attempting to conceal her embarrassment.
She looked back towards the seemingly still vacant space, reaching out once more. “It is just somewhat… peculiar.”  

Her hand phased right through him with every motion. To which BeastBoy just watched, completely unresponsive to her touch. “Uh, what should I say to her? Or… what should I tell you to tell her?”
It wasn’t like she could hear him any more than she could see him.

“Whatever you want to tell her,” Raven answered.

“Pardon?” Star looked back.

“BeastBoy,” she looked at Starfire. “He seems to be at a loss for words. For once.” Raven folded her arms. He’s asking what he should say to you.

Starfire looked once more at the empty space. “Please, merely have him tell us that is the okay.”
She looked at Raven as if to convey the message, even though she didn’t need to. BeastBoy was right in front of her.

He smiled. “Totally,” he answered simply.

“Totally,” Raven repeated.

Starfire smiled, clasping her hands together, unable to hold back the enormous swelling of relief and joy emanating from her heart.
“Oh, friend BeastBoy!” she cried in jubilation, leaning forward, throwing out her arms before seizing the air around her as if trying to hug the air in front of her that she was now assuredly convinced her dear friend now occupied.

BeastBoy stood, looking down as Starfire’s arms held firm around him, passing right through his torso and her face phasing through much of his neck and chin.
He smiled at her gesture of care and concern, attempting to pat her on the head despite his hand passing right through her hair. It was the most he’d ever been able to enjoy Starfire’s unbridled affection without the accompanying physical pain that followed her boundless, unrestrained emotionally charged strength.

Raven shared in BeastBoy’s grateful smile, crossing her arms as she soaked in the outpouring of hope that seemed to be gushing from every fiber of Starfire’s being.

Truly a heartfelt and touching moment.

BeastBoy looked up somewhat curiously at Raven. “I wonder if she thinks she can’t suffocate me like this?”

“BeastBoy!” Raven exclaimed at such an inane remark.

Starfire instantly released her hug and took a step back, alarmed at Raven’s call, believing it to be directed at her. “OH! Most sincere apologies. Did I embrace too hard?” she looked between the space and Raven, trying to gauge how seriously she’d hurt him. “Forgive me, friend. I did not mean to deprive you of oxygen, or crush you most thoughtlessly beneath my grasp. I was, as they say lost in the moment.” She lightly dusted off the air in front of her as if all she could do to attempt to feel for injury.

Raven waved off. “No, no Star. I was…”

“I shall excuse myself. I must prepare the celebratory feast for BeastBoy’s return.” Starfire turned, sidestepping around where she had briefly power hugged, allowing him to recuperate. “Forgiveness, BeastBoy. But know that you shall be back in none of the time at all.”
And with that Starfire flew eagerly back down the hall towards the kitchen.

The door closed, leaving BeastBoy and Raven alone once more.

BeastBoy turned to Raven who had an intensely un-amused stare locked on the transparent boy.
“Hey, I didn’t say anything!” he rushed to his own defense, holding up his hands in front of him. “Nothing she could hear anyway. YOU put the idea in her head.”

Raven raised an accusatory finger, about to speak. But no counter argument followed. He was correct. Starfire interpreted her actions, unable to perceive any of BeastBoy’s. Her finger just hung in the air, wavering slightly for a moment before dropping back to her side.
“Ugh!” she huffed. Raven pulled back her arm and gave a light swing across BeastBoy’s cheek. And expectedly, as before, it passed straight through without the slightest resistance. And this time with hardly any reaction from BeastBoy at all.

“Um…” BeastBoy looked off to the side in an apologetic tone.

“I know, I know,” she turned on her heel making for the bookcase, anticipating the causal remark of physical exemption. “But I still had to get the impulse out of my system.”

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged.

Raven pulled another book from the shelf, before moving to the center of the room and taking up lotus position, levitating a foot or two from the floor.

“But it also kinda’ makes me feel like ya still think of me like I’m here,” he faintly smiled.

Raven paused before peering over her shoulder. Then just as quickly looked back down at her book. “Well… I suppose that’s something.”

BeastBoy gave a confusing look. Clearly not the response he was looking for. He’d been hoping for something more reassuring. More uplifting. Something like, ‘you are here’ or ‘you will be’ followed by an ominously playful ‘and then you’ll wish you weren’t’. But that? Far too bitter a response for Raven even in her most foul of moods. Something was bothering her. And whatever it was, BeastBoy had hit the nail on the head.
He quietly walked back to the bed, jumping onto the mattress and laying flat on his stomach, watching her as she read. Wouldn’t be the first time he said something to make Raven act funny. Just had to wait for her to cool down or whatever it was to coax just enough of a reason to talk, whichever came first.

But she plainly wasn’t going anywhere.

Which meant neither was he.


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o


“Oof!” Control Freak spilled into the chair at the opposite side of the table.

Cyborg discarded the straight jacket, tossing it over his shoulder onto the floor along with the protective mask. The whole thing was simply excessive as it only fed Control Freak’s already inflated ego. Plus it was far easier to interrogate someone without spoon-feeding them their own superiority complex.
Cyborg stood off to the side of the middle of the table, arms folded in waiting.

Robin sat at the other side of the table opposite of Control Freak. Elbows propped on the table, leaning his chin onto his hands, straight faced. Watching. Waiting.

Control Freak adjusted his posture upright into the chair, leaning in with both hands squarely on the table. Letting just enough of a silence hang in the air as he curved a wicked grin.
“I knew you would come,” he said maliciously. “Only a matter of time really.”

Robin narrowed his gaze. “Then you can guess why we’re here,” he responded in steadfast manner, clearly not in the mood for any games.

Control Freak pulled his arms in, shuffling his fingers. “Lament over the loss of a fallen comrade. Letting off your pent up anger and frustration that there was nothing you could do to save him. But ultimately, at a loss to the vanquisher of heroes. CONTROL FREAK!” He threw out his hands for dramatic effect.

Robin and Cyborg shared doubtful looks. As if mentally concurring that if not for the fact that BeastBoy was not departed from them, this conversation would be going a completely different and potentially violently compelling route.

“Of course, why else would you come? You wish to avenge your former teammate. BUT… do you dare cross that line between selfless hero and hell-bent vigilante? Knowing all too well that once it is crossed you can never return.” He gritted his teeth in a sadistic way as if trying to bait either of the two heroes.

Cyborg rolled his eyes, tilting his head back up at the ceiling. “Where does he get this stuff?”

“Ahem,” Freak composed himself. “It’s called portrayal of classic mainstream media. Comic books. Big budget summer blockbusters. Fully realized television series. Even the occasional animated feature. THESE are my domains.” He proudly yet humbly explained. “Kinda’ my thing.”

“Might wanna make a more regular thing of soap and water,” Cyborg waved a hand in front of his face as clearly the heavier restraints had done little to subdue his odor.

Control Freak turned his chin up to the side swiftly at the brazen insult. Though quickly gave an obligatory sniff all the same.

“We’re here to get our friend back. And you’re going to tell us how,” Robin interjected.

“Hmmph!” Freak snorted as if much mort curt than a mere chuckle at their expense. “You perceive much to speak in such a tone to me. You forget yourself to my awesome…” he paused. “Uh… wait, what?”

Robin retained him in his sights, hardening his stare, making his seriousness known. “Our friend. BeastBoy. To bring him back.” He all but spelled out for the villain.

Control Freak blinked as if his mental reasoning hit a pothole. “Um… this isn’t some kinda’ freaky clone experiment in the works or Indian burial ground revival to go horribly wrong kinda’ thing is it? Cause, look those were just screenplays I…”

“Ya didn’t waste him. He’s still alive,” Cyborg cut in. High time someone rained on Control Freak’s parade. And he was in the mood to bring the storm.

Perplexed, Control Freak looked up at the teen hero before quickly shooting a glance at the boy detective to verify.

Robin nodded solemnly. “All your remote did was separate his physical form and spiritual essence. He’s still here with us, alive, and waiting to be returned to normal.”

Control Freak slowly sat back in his chair, arms resting at his sides. The wheels in his mind began to turn.

Thinking.

Processing.

Realizing.

“GHEH!” he pouted with an empty swing into the air. “Do you have any idea what this is gonna’ do to my credibility? My status? Do you know how many friend invites I’ve already gotten? The web traffic on my blog alone just… AGH! They were even talking guest speaker status at next month’s comic con.” Control Freak slumped to the side, holding his cheek in his palm.

“Yeah, yeah. Fame is fleeting,” Cyborg summarized with a lack of enthusiasm or care. “Now start talkin’.”

Control Freak puffed out his cheeks. But gradually that sinister sneer found its way back onto his face as he sat back up and leaned in. “Doesn’t change the fact that you need me.”

Robin and Cyborg remained silent. They had a hunch this was coming once his bubble burst.

“A simple bargain,” Control Freak surmised. “I assist you in the return of the green one and in exchange…?” He trailed off leaving the floor open for bids, making it sound like he had the two heroes over a barrel.

Robin pressed his fingers together in quiet assessment. “I will put in a good word on your behalf, on the condition you provide forthcoming information AND BeastBoy is returned safely.”

Control Freak playfully kicked back into the chair, putting his feet up on the table, reclining with his hands behind his head as if half-heartedly mulling over the bargain.
“Hmm… tempting. But no.”

“You attempted to obliterate a member of my team. There is no way I’m holding the door for you to just walk out of here.” Robin explained firmly, managing to keep his cool.

Control Freak smirked with a wag of his finger. “Attempted is the key word. You just said it yourself. He’s not gone, and I’m not holding him prisoner. Look around,” he spread his arms out wide. “Do bad guys typically get this kind of treatment for ‘allegedly’ vaporizing somebody?” Clearly trying to poke holes in his legal stance for incarceration.

“And your ‘alleged’ attack on the museum?” Robin countered.

“All that ‘alleged’ destruction, in front of all those ‘alleged’ witnesses, leadin’ to them havin’ to sweep up all that ‘alleged’ debris?” Cyborg chimed in.

Control Freak grimaced. “Okay, okay. The point is I don’t got’em any more than I supposedly wasted him. So ya can’t lock me up for something I didn’t do and then negotiate over something I did. Accidents do happen ya know. If anything he just got lost along the way. You want my help? Sweeten the deal. Otherwise, HE CAN FIND HIS OWN WAY BACK.” He swatted his hand across the table, grinning once more.
Either way the name of the game was ‘Make Control Freak Happy’. A get out of jail free card the grand reward. But one less Titan was also a fabulous consolation prize. It was a win-win scenario.

Robin maintained eye contact, but otherwise without response. He anticipated such resistance. It was to be expected. After all, it was the smart play. When the advantage is yours, take it for all its worth.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t open to compromise. Hence where the contingency plan came into effect.

Robin turned to Cyborg, signaling him with a small nod.

Not unnoticed by Control Freak who quickly looked up beside him at the smiling cybernetic teen just as he opened a side compartment off his chest.
Cyborg reached inside as he narrowed his view on Control Freak who was visually starting to sweat.

Cyborg swiftly pulled his hand from the compartment.

“DEEGH!” Control Freak turned his head, both arms guarding over his head with a quiver as if hoping to offer some protection from whatever torture device had been trained on him.

A few seconds passed.

None of which contained sharp, stinging, or tingling notions of pain. Nor burning or aching. No crunching or breaking. All bones remained intact. All blood levels remained at optimum capacity.
Slowly, Control Freak lowered one hand. Peeking ever so slightly from under one eyelid.

He let out a long-winded, savory gasp in shock. Almost choking on his own oxygen seizing up in his throat in pure unadulterated wonder and awe.

In Cyborg’s hand, pinched ever so gently between his metallic fingertips, was a comic book. Not just any comic book. No, no. THE comic book. A book so rare, so ultra collectible, so sought after, a fan boy of Control Freak’s caliber could only lick his chops in longing anticipation.
Cyborg had taken the liberty of obtaining it from BeastBoy’s personal collection in his absence as a bargaining chip. The only lingering detail remained whether to let him know before or after he was back.

“I-Is that…” Control Freak paused, wiping his mouth to holster his saliva, “An ultra rare… first printing… of Manic Monkey Ninja Zombie Fighters? The alternative canon storyline that ignited the animated series and direct to DVD movie collection? With the subscription only variant cover?”

Cyborg merely nodded with a teasing smile.

Control Freak’s fingers flexed and squeezed as if longing to hold it, cradle it in his arms. He trembled, attempting, but failing to quiet the giddy giggles and nonsensical jabbering at the back of his throat. He began to reach for it at a snail’s pace.
But just as instantly he shook his head vigorously. Regaining his senses about him once more with a swift slap across his face. “NO! The carrot on a stick routine, just like from the fifth episode of ‘Judge, Jury, and Jail Time’ won’t work on me.” He crossed his arms in defiance. He wouldn’t be bought.

Which only meant more drastic measures were necessary.

Cyborg held out his other hand directly underneath the comic, flipping his thumb back, revealing a small lighter socket inside. Igniting a small flame inside.

Control Freak stirred in his chair. His eyes shrinking back in terror, his lower lip starting to quiver. “n-no,” he whispered. “No, you wouldn’t.”

Cyborg lifted his thumb only a quarter of an inch.

The thin paper of the comic book drank in the gentle fire, enveloping it from cover to cover in less than a minute. From bottom to top the ink began to bubble and burn. The smell of the pages turning to smoldering kindling choked the air of such a small confined space.

A single tear welled up in Control Freak’s twitching eye.
“NNNOOOOOOOO!” He leapt from the chair. But Cyborg pinned him to the top of the table with his one free hand, anchoring him arm’s length away. Forced to watch it smolder. To burn and fade into charred, black nothingness. Still he continued to squirm and reach for it in vain.
“I-It… I-I-t was only a mini-series,” he wept. He hung his head in a moment of silence.

“Ready to help?” Robin asked heedlessly.

Control Freak took a deep breath as reared his head up at the do-gooder who’d watched so callously. His wicked smile returning in full force as he got to his feet, shaking off Cyborg’s now lessened grip. “Pfft! As if. You think I’d roll over to the will of you Titans over the loss of a mere graphic novel? Even one of… admittedly rare and… super desirability to- NO! Not a chance!” He turned his back to the both of them.

Robin watched him carefully.

Silence.

Robin spread his hands onto the table, pushing off as he rose from his chair. Cyborg followed behind him as he made his way back the way they’d come. He knocked on the door. “We’ll be back,” he informed over his shoulder.

The door opened, allowing the two teens to exit the room.

Control Freak peeked over his shoulder at the sound of the door closing, verifying they were gone.
“YAH! Instantly he leapt onto the floor seizing up what remnants of the departed comic that he could. Blowing out the heat and brushing off the soot and pieces too charred to be read or salvageable. He held the charred scraps in his arms, pressing them tightly against his chest. He could still feel the warmth of the smoldering embers and smell the ashes. He cradled them as he curled into the fetal position, shushing them like lulling a small child. “Sshhhh, shhh, shhh,” he attempted to soothe its pain as if it were his own. “There, there. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

One of the unseen embers crackled and popped just enough to latch onto a portion of his prison outfit. Beginning to ignite a small spark. That grew.

And grew. And spread. Until…

“WWAAAAGGGHHH!! AAAHHH-YAAAHAHAAAAA!” He threw out his arms and the remaining comic fragments as a small portion of the chest section of his uniform had become aglow in flames. He rolled and tumbled around franticly. Kicking and wailing, slapping and punching himself like mad, trying to smother the fire before it consumed him any farther.

Finally after minutes of ceaseless smothering, hitting, and flailing the fire was out. Control Freak panted and huffed trying to catch his breath as he let his head drop hard against the floor as the smoke began to fade.

At least he and his beloved comic were now a matching set.

And you know how much that means to collectors.


To Be Continued…