4/27/20

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Change For The Better

Chapter Seven: Confrontation

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May 20, 2014

Beast Boy yawned as he stepped off the bus. It felt nice to feel the rays of the sun once more as he walked past the crowded bus stop, walking side by side with M'yri'ah. Police sirens blared in the background, and pigeons fluttered around overhead. In the distance stood a tall skyscraper, topped by a large golden globe, signaling that they had finally made it to Metropolis.

"We're almost there," Beast Boy said, sighing in relief.

M'yri'ah smiled tensely. "I'm glad to hear it. Though I do wish your Earth vehicles were capable of traveling at faster speeds."

Beast Boy laughed. "They can go faster- just not without breaking speed limits and stuff. C'mon dude, lets walk around for a bit before we get on the next bus."

M'yri'ah frowned, but continued to walk with him anyways. "Wouldn't it be easier to wait at the bus stop?"

Beast Boy shrugged before stretching his arms a bit. "Probably. But it's kind of cramped on those things. I need to stretch, you know?"

Suddenly, M'yri'ah stopped in her tracks.

"What is i- oh."

Looking up, Beast Boy found himself face-to-face with one of the people he wanted to see the least at the moment.

"Hey Kon," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Funny seeing you here."

Superboy arched at eyebrow. "It's funny seeing me in the city I help protect?"

Beast Boy took a step back, wanting nothing more than to melt into the blazing hot sidewalk. That pain would be nothing compared to the embarrassment he felt in the moment. He watched as Superboy and M'yri'ah stared each other down, and even without being mentally linked to either of them at the moment he could still see the way they were silently criticizing each other.

"Can I have a word with you? Alone?"

Beast Boy looked back at M'yri'ah hesitantly. He could tell that she didn't want him to go, but there was a part of him that was genuinely curious to know what his old friend had to say.

"As long you finish your discussion quickly. We have a bus to catch," M'yri'ah reminded him.

Beast Boy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what she said."

Superboy lead him further down the street, behind the remnants of an old payphone booth. It was quieter, and less crowded than the area they were in previously. They both stared at each other awkwardly, waiting for the other to talk. Finally, Superboy broke the silence.

"You really should tell the Titans where you are. They're really worried about you."

Beast Boy released a deep breath he didn't know he was holding in. Superboy seemed to be more concerned that angry, and it sounded like the same could be said for the Titans as well.

"I um… I don't really need to. We'll be on our way back to Jump City soon. No need for them to come get me or anything, right?"

The silence returned for a moment, before Beast Boy added to his previous statement. "I talked to M'yri'ah the other day- about what happened to Mars. She was on the same escape pod as M'gann."

Superboy narrowed his eyes, staring at the ground. "Are you absolutely sure her name is M'yri'ah?"

"Um… yeah? Why?"

Superboy took a deep breath and looked Beast Boy in the eyes. "M'yri'ah was the name of M'gann's aunt. As in, Martian Manhunter's wife."

Beast Boy frowned, looking back at M'yri'ah from a distance. She was standing near the bus stop awkwardly, stepping out of the way of pedestrians as they passed by.

"It's probably just a coincidence. It has to be! When Robin asked her about Manhunter, she said she didn't want him getting involved-"

"I know," Superboy said, cutting him off. "Which is why this concerns me. I've seen the file you're looking for, and there were very few Martians whose bodies were never found. M'yri'ah wasn't the name of any of them. How do you know that this woman is who she claims to be?"

Beast Boy bit his lip, avoiding the older hero's gaze.

"Well, maybe-"

Superboy raised his voice.

"Maybe what? She's a phony running around impersonating J'onn's dead wife? Look, I get it. There's a reason we don't talk anymore. We both blamed each other for M'gann leaving because it was easier than blaming ourselves. But right now it doesn't matter whose fault it was, because I promised M'gann that I would keep you out of trouble!"

"Well, maybe it doesn't matter! Whatever's going on, I'm sure she has her reasons!" Beast Boy argued, clinching his fists. "Whoever M'yri'ah really is, I know M'gann would want me to help! Why can't you just see that!"

"I do see!" Superboy shouted, crossing his arms. "And I'm not trying to be the bad guy here! I'm just trying to make sure you make it back to the Titans in one piece instead of five!"

Beast Boy exhaled slowly, his nails digging through his gloves and into the palms of his hands.

"Look, I've gotta go. We can talk about this later. Just… please don't rat me out to the Titans. I'll be back soon anyways, I promise."

Superboy narrowed his eyes.

"If you knew you were doing the right thing, you wouldn't feel the need to hide it from the rest of your team," he warned.

Beast Boy sighed, trying not to think too deeply about what Superboy had told him.

"I know. But I have to do this. I'll be careful, I swear."

With that, he turned away and slowly made his way back to the bus stop. He could feel Superboy's gaze as well as M'yri'ah's, and in that moment he had never felt more unsure of his decisions. Yet at the same time, he knew that if he didn't help M'yri'ah (or whoever she really was), no one else would. And if she was really up to something, at least he would be there to stop it.

(At least, that was what he told himself.)

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Sorry about the year long hiatus. I got hit with writer's block for a while and had a difficult time deciding whether or not I needed to redo my outline for this story. I'm still not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but you guys have waited long enough. Hopefully updates will be more frequent now.

Quote of the day!

"Obama means family." -a typo on a Lilo and Stitch moodboard

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess