Agh!! Please don't kill me!!! hides I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry one thousand times over!
Ok, I think we've established that I'm sorry for the REALLY long wait on this chapter. There's been a lot going down in my life lately, and I just couldn't find the time to work on it, but it's here now, so hopefully you guys don't hate me too much...
Thanks once again to everybody, I really appreciate that you take the time out of your lives to read You Save Me!! Much love to all! Hope you enjoy chapter ten!
So...yeah, I don't own Teen Titans any more than I did last chapter...
-Liss
Chapter Ten. All Our Yesterdays.
"I've been here before," Raven said grimly, looking over the torn landscape stretched out before them, "But it wasn't anything like this. It was...beautiful." The rest of the Titans gazed doubtfully at the smog blackened city below.
"How long ago were you here Raven?" Cyborg squinted as a beam of sunlight pierced the smog, illuminating a grimy and decrepit Cape Town.
"Beast Boy showed it to me," she replied softly, "When I was in his mind."
"But what has that got to do with what's going on now?" Robin pondered quietly, frowning in concentration.
"What happened to this place?" Raven murmered, ignoring his question. It was almost physically painful being there, seeing the once dream-like city of Beast Boy's memories so utterly desolate and forlorn. The last time she'd been there (But I've never really been here, she felt the need to remind herself) she'd been laughing with Beast Boy, joking with him. She couldn't remember the last time she'd really let go like that, and couldn't help but remember what else Beast Boy had shown her in his mind, and what she'd shown him.
"Oil," Cyborg tore her from her reverie, pointing out the rigs that blotted the skyline, "Somebody went digging."
"These machines bring fossilized fuels to the surface of the earth?" Starfire asked the group, "What person benifits from this procedure?"
"One million dollars and the Batmobile says it's the same guy who's got Beast Boy," Robin said stoically, and began to descend the slope towards the city.
"Go Beast Boy," Steve Dayton ordered over his shoulder as he fought off one of dozens of opponents, "Just GO, you're getting in the way!"
"No, I'm not leaving you guys alone here alone," Garfield Logan shouted, angry tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. He'd worked so hard to be here, to prove himself. To leave now would be...well, it was unthinkable.
"Then do something," Dayton roared at the young hero-in-training. Taking in a quick gulp of air, Beast Boy jumped into the fray, switching between human form and that of a small sparrow rapidly, fighting hand to hand and then swiftly flying out of harm's way. He'd fought many times before, but never like this, never when his life and the lives of others depended on what he did. He'd been a child prodigy, beating every challenger who came to King Tawaba seeking to prove themselves against the young genius, but this was different. There were so many enemies at once, and defeating him wasn't enough for them. They wouldn't stop until he and the rest of the Doom Patrol were dead.
Ten years old and less than a year from his escape from Register's lab, Garfield froze. He couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. These people were going to kill him, or worse, capture him. All he could think of was to hide, to change into the smallest creature he knew, but he couldn't. His mind wasn't working. They closed in on him, brought him down with the force of dozens of blows. He could feel his own tiny ribs cracking under the pressure, breaking like twigs. Just when his vision started to become blurred with his own blood, he saw his tormentors being swept away by a giant hand. The same hand, as gentle with him as it had been vicious with his attackers, picked him up and lifted him above the battle. Confused, Garfield looked up into the enormous eyes of Rita Farr, and even as he did so, she shrank down and was holding his battered body in her arms.
"Steve, we have to go," she screamed over the noise, ducking quickly to avoid a punch to the face. Through hazy eyes Beast Boy saw that Mento was ignoring them, continuing to push through wave after wave of attackers. To their left he saw that Cliff and Larry had noticed them and were making their way towards where Rita had now put him softly on the floor and was staving off the oncoming enemies.
Lying on cold concrete, Gar watced as Cliff sent three people flying with one blow. He was having trouble breathing, each inhalation sending sharp pains through his body. There was blood gurgling in the back of his throat, and pooling beneath his body. Curling up in a ball he tried to take deep breaths, but they came out as short, rattling gasps. Cliff glanced over his shoulder at him quickly, and Beast Boy could see the concern in the mechanical eyes.
"Steve, we've gotta get out of here, now. The kid's hurt pretty bad," Cliff called across a sea of attackers, then said quietly to Rita, "Take the kid and go Rita. Larry and I'll cover you." As the four of them made their way towards the exit and the team's jet, Mento noticed their retreat. Swearing violently, he followed and jumped into the pilot's seat. As they took off, Rita lay Garfield gently across three of the seats, Larry and Cliff watching from a few paces back.
"Damnit Rita, I told you this was a bad idea," Steve shouted from the cockpit, "We had them, we could have beat them. The kid's not only useless-"
"Shut up Steve," Larry spoke mildly. Rita was using scissors from the on-board medical kit to cut Garfield's shirt away from his bruised torso. The green skin was almost black now, every square inch covered in vivid bruises. Beast Boy looked up to see tears threatening to spill over onto Rita's face.
"I...I'm sorry," he whispered raggedly, hot tears of shame streaming over his cheeks, "I r-ruin everything." Rita's eyes narrowed and flickered towards Steve, almost imperceptibly.
"No sweetie," she ran a cool hand through his hair, reminding the small boy of his dead mother, her expression softened, "No, it wasn't your fault. Everything's fine. You're going to be ok." She began to address the worst of his injuries, bandaging the cuts and applying ice packs to the worst of the bruises.
"He's right," Steve began maliciously, "He only gets in the way."
"That ain't true Steve," Cliff growled, then spoke to Garfield, "I saw ya before ya froze up kid, you were fightin' like a pro."
"Even so, if he's just going to freeze like a deer in the headlights, he's not much good to-"
"Stop it," Rita spoke quietly, fury seething though her voice, "We'll talk about this later. Right now we've just got to get Garfield to the Chief." The remainder of the trip was spent in silence, broken only by the occasional sharp intake of breath whenever Rita pressed too hard on one of Beast Boy's many injuries.
"Ok, we're here," Cyborg scuffed his foot against the grimy street, "Now what?" He and Robin had climbed down the mountainside, the girls helping them over the most treacherous points of the path. They now stood on the edge of the city, coughing as the thickly polluted air caught in their throats.
"We know he's being kept somewhere here," Robin replied, glancing around as though Beast Boy might jump out from behind one of the many garbage bins strewn along the side of the road, "Any ideas as to exactly where Raven?" The other three Titans looked at her expectantly.
"I can't tell," she shrugged, furious with herself for her inability to locate Beast Boy, "It's like there's something blocking me. I can't even still feel that he's here in Cape Town."
"How are we to know that he is still within this town of capes?" Starfire asked, politely pointing out the obvious. The only proof they had that Beast Boy was here was the brief, desperate cry for help that Raven had felt from him the previous day.
"I just...he is," Raven snapped. He has to be, she added silently to herself. They had no way of knowing where he was if he'd been moved since yesterday, and this town was their only lead. She didn't know what they'd do if they couldn't find him here. Didn't even want to think abou t it.
"Guess we'll just have to look the old fashioned way," Cyborg quipped, and began to walk further into the city. The others stared after him for a few seconds, then hastily followed him, taking long strides to catch up.
After hours of wandering the streets, they'd found nothing. There wasn't a trace of Beast Boy, Register, or the organization that currently had thier friend. Frustrated by the lack of evidence, Robin stopped suddenly and kicked the nearest garbage can as hard as he could, sending it clattering across the alley they were in.
"Where the hell is he?" he raged, kicking another can, "I know we're close, I can feel it. Agh, I hate this." Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire stared at him blankly, surprised by his sudden outburst.
"Calm down Robin," Raven said in her dull monotone, trying hard not to betray her own frustration with the situation, "Wrecking things isn't going to help us find the people who have Beast Boy." Robin opened his mouth to reply, but they never found out what he was going to say. Before any of them could react, they'd all been grabbed from behind, bound, and had bags thrown over their heads. Raven had been gagged, and Starfire's eyes were covered with a reflective metal that she wisely chose not to test her starbolts against.
"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that they just found us," came Cyborg's muffled voice.
"Three broken ribs, mild concussion, lacerations, severe bruising, and internal bleeding in several locations," Dr. Niles Caulder, better known to the Doom Patrol as simply the Chief, informed Beast Boy after he woke from surgery, "I had to operate to stop the bleeding, but you'll be fine."
"Feels like I got run over by a moving truck," the small green form moaned theatrically, tenderly prodding the stitches where the incision had been made.
"Which isn't all that unexpected," Caulder laughed good-naturedly, looking down at the boy from his wheel chair, "You took a sound beating back there. At least we know now that you can take a hit, if nothing else." Beast Boy was silent for several minutes after that, eyes downcast, avoiding looking at the Chief. He'd suffered far worse injuries than this under Register's care, Caulder knew, so the pain couldn't be what was really bothering him.
"What's on your mind son?" he asked kindly, wheeling his chair closer to the young changeling's bed. Garfield shrugged noncommitally, and was silent for another moment. When he finally did look up at him, Caulder was surprised to see that the boy was fighting back tears.
"I-I'm useless," he sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and turning his eyes upwards, determined not to cry in front of the Chief.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" the older man chuckled. Beast Boy looked at him disbelievingly.
"You saw what happened back there," he sat up to meet the Chief's eyes, moving too quickly for his recovering body, and winced in pain, "I froze. I-"
"It happens to everybody from time to time, I imagine," the Chief interuppted, now staring intently at the boy. When the Doom Patrol had found him on the street begging for money, he'd been on the run, hiding from one Samuel Register. He'd still been healing from the most recent experiments done on him, and remnants of horrible torture remained scarred permanently onto his body. Timid at first, and then bitter and hateful towards everybody, it had taken a long time to coax out the boy's story. Rita's heart had gone out the the child, and she'd taken it upon herself to bring him out of his shell. Now, less than a year later, the Beast Boy they all knew and loved was a funny, bright, engaging boy, full of laughter and a better fighter than any they had seen before. Still only able to transform into small animals, Beast Boy worked on his hand to hand combat daily, practicing for hours on end. This had been his first mission, and he'd performed admirably, especially for a boy his age.
"I shouldn't even be here," Garfield said now, his voice cracking as he put to words his greatest fear, "You-you probably don't even w-want me on the team anymore."
"Listen to me Garfield," the Chief became stern, "You have an incredible gift. You were born with the ability to fight, to fight like nobody I've ever seen in my life. Then, nature blessed you with this power, the power to turn into any animal you want." He put a hand up to stop Beast Boy, who'd been about to point out that he could only change into small creatures.
"I know what you're about to say, but I believe that you will grow stronger over time," Caulder smiled at the young boy, "Garfield Logan, you are the most important and vital member of my Doom Patrol." Beast Boy stared at the doctor, flabbergasted, unable to say anything more than a single word.
"Why?"
"Because you are perfect Garfield," Niles Caulder stood tall above Beast Boy's bed, a demented grin spreading across his face, so different from the smile he'd given the ten-year-old Garfield so long ago, "I have...so much to learn from you." Beast Boy stared up at him, completely stupefied by the sight of the man before him. He knew that the Chief had left the Doom Patrol some time ago, but hadn't heard where he'd taken up residence. The last time he'd seen Caulder the man had been wheelchair bound, but now he stood tall at the foot of the bed.
"Ooookay then," Beast Boy swung his legs over the side of the bed, supressing the gasp of pain that threatened to escape him at the sudden movement, "Congratulations on...you know, walking and all. I'm just gonna-" he moved to stand, but stopped dead at the look on Caulder's face. The twisted grin was still plastered across his face, and his eyes glinted greedily.
"Walking. Yes Garfield, that was a feat," the Chief laughed maniacally, "Rita Farr's regenerative tendencies came in handy in helping me towards that particular goal." Beast Boy's heart skipped a beat.
"What did you do to her?" he asked softly, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
"Not a thing Garfield. She's still with the rest of the Doom Patrol, saving the world one villain at a time," Caulder replied, "I learned all I needed to learn from her during my time as the leader of the Doom Patrol." Beast Boy let out a breath of relief.
"So what do you want with me?" he shut his eyes, willing the throbbing in his temples to cease.
"You are the perfect specimen Garfield," the doctor answered, eyes flashing, "I suspected it from the first time I saw you. I watched you grow, watched you flourish. I was right, you were incredible. As time went on you were able to manipulate your DNA further and further, until you could change into even long extinct species. With your powers I will finally finish my project, and the world will thank me for it."
"You-" Beast Boy stopped, snorting with laughter, "You're insane. Completely mental." He continued to shake with uncontrollable laughter, wishing he could stop because it hurt like hell. "The only reason I am the way I am is because of a fatal disease. Nobody's going to thank you for infecting them with Sakutia. They'll be way too dead."
"I know that boy," Caulder snapped, angry for the first time, "That's why I hired Register. His experiments are crucial to the success of this project."
"What project?" Beast Boy had stopped laughing now, eager to discover what Caulder was doing at the facility.
"It doesn't matter. You'll be...how did you so eloquently put it? Ah yes, way too dead to see the finished product," Caulder sneered viciously, "But I can give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are one of the final pieces of the puzzle. Soon. Soon it will be ready."
"Fine, don't tell me," Beast Boy leaned back against the wall in an attempt to appear unfazed, then muttered lowly, "You and Register are perfect for each other. You're both total head cases."
"Yes," Caulder spoke thoughtfully, "Register's involvement is regrettable but necessary. He knows more about you than anybody in the world."
"That's not true," Beast Boy stood so fast that Caulder stepped back, surprised. Ignoring the dull pain that was throbbing through his veins, the small green Titan advanced on the bigger man, "My friends know more about me than any of you ever will. They're probably on their way here to kick your ass right now." Beast Boy didn't know how he'd expected Caulder to react to this statement, but he certainly hadn't expected the man to burst into laughter.
"Why, my dear boy, they're here already," the doctor lauged jovially, "We've got them comfortably waiting in the living quarters of the facility."
"No," Beast Boy spoke through clenched teeth. Forgetting the Inhibitor material around his wrist and knee, he swiftly transformed into a tiger, ready to attack Caulder, for the first time in his life wanting to kill somebody.
"Ah ah ah Garfield," Caulder tutted, pressing a button on a small remote he'd concealed in his palm, "Stupid you are not. So why did you transform knowing that I can kill you in an instant?" Beast Boy couldn't answer, couldn't change back to human form. The familiar feeling of the Inhibitor material running through his veins made him sluggish, stupid. It wasn't as much as when Register'd used it. Only a small portion of the band around his wrist had gone into his bloodstream, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks and cause him to collapse to the ground.
"Let's go see your friends," came Caulder's voice from somewhere far above him.
What Wrongs We Suffer.
Raven winced when the bag was torn away from her face, eyes unaccustomed to the bright fluorescent light that illuminated the room they were in. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it seemed to be an observation room. The wall in front of them was made of glass. Through it, she saw a circular operating room, bare except for one table in the middle which was surrounded by medical equipment. Looking to her right, she saw that the bags had been removed from Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire as well. She noticed that the other people in the room made no move to take off her gag or Star's blindfold.
"Welcome Titans," boomed the voice of Dr. Samuel Register over an intercom. They all straightened their backs without noticing, ears perked.
"Where's Beast Boy?" Robin shouted, straining against his bonds. The other three began to do the same.
"Easy children, you'll see him soon enough," Register said scornfully. The Titans looked at eachother incredulously.
"We...we will?" Cyborg asked, hardly daring to believe that it could be so easy.
"Certainly," Register drawled arrogantly, "But for his sake I suggest that you do not struggle.It would end...badly." The Titans stopped trying to free themselves instantaneously, terrified at the thought of causing Beast Boy to be hurt.
"But how am I to see my friend if I cannot see anything at all?" Starfire asked, on the verge of tears.
"How about a peace offering?" Register's voice came after a moment, "We'll take the blindfold off of the alien. But if she so much as shoots an ant, that freak friend of yours dies." Anger flared up inside of Raven like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf her. Calm down, calm down, you're no good to anybody like that, she told herself as Star's blindfold was ripped away from her eyes. Register wasn't a complete idiot though, and Raven's gag remained where it was.
They heard the sound of a door opening in the operating room below them and saw Register enter the room, prepped for surgery. Moments later, five assistants came in after him dragging, to the Titan's horror, the prone form of a huge green tiger.
"Beast Boy?" Starfire whispered, a tear slipping down her face.
"Hey wait," Cyborg brightened suddenly, "Does that mean that the Sakutia's better? If he can change?" His happiness ended quickly as the tiger was thrown unceremoniously onto the floor, landing with a sickening thud. Raven felt the anger welling up once more, but didn't move.
"What is wrong with him?" Star asked, confused by their friend's behaiviour. They could see that the tiger was awake, but his movements were jerky and slow, as though he was fighting sleep. Raven stared at Beast Boy, watched as he struggled to lift his head, rage threatening to consume her.
"Beast Boy," Starfire cried out to him loudly. He gave no sign of hearing them.
"I don't think he can see or hear us Starfire," Robin gazed intently at the window separating them from Beast Boy, "Soundproof walls. We can hear him through the intercom, but he can't hear us. One way glass. All he can see is a bunch of shadows."
Gar, we're here, Raven projected desperately, hoping against hope that he'd somehow hear her.
Beast Boy tried to growl at Register as he paced around him, but no sound came out. After a few minutes, Register leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"Your friends are here. Behind the glass. We will kill them for interfering. And then we'll kill you," Register paused for a moment, "After we're finished with you." Something inside him snapped then. He was more angry than he'd ever been in his life. Years of torture came flooding back to him, the years he missed with his parents burned inside of him with an ache that was so bad it physically hurt him. Register had taken years of his life, had ripped the only family he had away from him. There was no way he was going to let the sick bastard touch his friends, the new family he'd made for himself. Calling upon a strength he didn't know he had, Beast Boy began to change.
It was painfully slow, it was arduous, completely unlike the swift transformations he usually made, but he was changing. Fur melted back into smooth green skin, claws retracted into scarred hands, spinal cord shortened as the tail disappeared. Through the fog of the Inhibitor, he could hear Caulder shouting something.
"-alone Register, see if he can complete the transformation." Beast Boy saw Register nod curtly towards the Chief. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he was himself again. He tried to call out to his friends, tell them to run, to get away, leave him, but found that he couldn't make a sound. Register saw him trying to speak and grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth with a hand. Beast Boy didn't put up a fight as Register dragged him roughly to the operating table and strapped him in.
"Don't say a word," Register hissed softly, "Or they all die."
"Are you ready for the show Titans?" he called to the shadowy figures behind the glass. Was that red light-could it be Cyborg's mechanical eye? Or was it just some machine behind the window? Beast Boy stared at the point of light, comforted by the fact that it may have been his best friend.
The four bound Titans watched in horror as Beast Boy completed his agonizingly slow transformation, powerless to help him. As he resumed human form, they saw what had already been done to him. He remained sprawled out on the floor, seemingly unable to stand, or even to lift his head after the tremendous effort of reverting to his human form. Raven noted the small cuts that covered his skin, wondering what had caused them. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark rings around them, and his hair was plastered with sweat. A long line of blood stained the bandages that were wrapped around his torso, and he was wearing a black wristband and knee brace.
"What are those?" Robin muttered, speaking of the wristband and knee brace. Starfire was completely silent, tears streaming unabashedly down her cheeks, as Register strapped an unresisting Beast Boy to the operating table.
"He's got some kind of remote," Cyborg said, squinting to see better, "But what's he going to use it for?" Not wanting to wait and find out, the large metal Titan began doing what scans he could from such a distance on the small device.
"Are you ready for the show Titans?" Register called out suddenly, holding up the remote. Cyborg kept his gaze steadily fixed on the remote, until something else caught his eye.
"Guys," he whispered urgently, not taking his eyes off of his friend, "B can see me...or at least my one eye. He knows where-" he was cut short by the terrible sight of their small green teammate writhing in pain on the table. Register had pushed one of the buttons on the remote, and was now watching the process with glee.
"What's going on?" Robin asked urgently, turning to Cyborg. His question was answered by Register.
"I suppose you are wondering what's happening," he turned towards the window, indicating the small black specks that were working their way out of Beast Boy's body, causing him so much pain, "This black material on Garfield's wrist and knee is...well, you wouldn't understand. Let's just say that there's enough of that on him to stop him from running away...or to stop his organs from functioning completely. That was the removal process of the Inhibitor material, as I like to call it." Beast Boy lay still now, shaking, soaked completely in sweat.
"Cy," Robin whispered next to Cyborg, "Can you jam the signal from that remote? We can fight our way out of here with Beast Boy, we just have to make sure they can't use that thing on him."
"I'm on it," Cyborg had already began analyzing the radio waves coming from the device.
"Hurry," Robin kept his voice low so only Cy could hear him, "I don't know what they'll do to him next." Stafire, completely unaware of the on between the two, stared at Beast Boy. As she watched, memories she'd tried so hard to suppress came flooding back to her, causing her hands to shake, the very blood in her veins to boil with irrepressable fury. She saw one of the assistants hand Register a small knife. She could feel her eyes beginning to glow and closed them for fear of one of the scientists seeing her anger and bringing harm to Beast Boy. Raven could see her out of the corner of her eye, but she had her own problems to worry about. Beast Boy's life depended on them being calm as they watched him being experimented upon. It wasn't easy.
As another assistant unwound the bandages around Beast Boy's torso, revealing a long incision that had been made recently, Raven felt another surge of rage. The things she wanted to do the man who had harmed Beast Boy...
The things I will do, she added to herself, then pushed the thought away. She couldn't let that out...I'll kill him. And he will suffer before he dies. Mortified, Raven took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to let go of her anger. He will beg to die...he will wish he did not exist before the end...he will-
"Raven," Robin hissed at her quietly so the two guards wouldn't hear and she opened her eyes, grateful that nobody could read her mind, "Can you use your powers?" Raven nodded. It was easier to focus her powers when she chanted her mantra, but she could use them almost as effectively without speaking a word.
"Ok...alright, on my signal, use them to free the four of us," seeing the look on Raven's face, Robin continued, "Don't worry, we have a plan. Just trust me. These guards shouldn't be a problem. Cyborg and Star can take them out." Raven arched her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, hoping that Robin would be able to decipher her unspoken question.
"Then, you break the window, grab Beast Boy, and we high-tail it out of here," Robin grinned, answering her easily, "When I say go?" Raven nodded, ready to do something to get Beast Boy away from that terrible place. Through the window, they could see that Register was preparing to cut into the green Titan's chest, right above the heart.
"Go!" Robin cried suddenly, unwilling to wait until the incision was made. Raven didn't hesitate and dark energy surrounded their bonds, shattering them. Starfire and Cyborg turned around quickly and made short work of the guards as Raven ripped off her gag.
"The window," Robin reminded her unnecissarily. Before the words were out of his mouth, the window had crumbled into dust, crushed beyond repair by dark energy. Register and his assistants looked up, shocked. As soon as the doctor realized what was going on, an expression of pure hatred distorted his features.
"Run," Beast Boy paled at the sight of them, his throat wrenching as he shouted, "Get the hell outta here!"
"Stand down," Register screamed, flecks of saliva flying out of his mouth, and raised the remote that controlled the Inhibitor, "I'll kill him, I swear!"
"Not this time pal," Cyborg shouted, blasting the doctor with his sonic canon and sending him flying backwards. Raven rushed to the operating table, shoving aside the assistants with a wave of her hand.
"Rae?" Beast Boy muttered, grinning up at her, "You-"
"Yeah," she smiled slightly as she loosened his straps, "I heard you call."
"What about-"
"Escape now, talk later," Raven said as he sat up gingerly. More people were streaming into the room, surrounding them. Cyborg, Robin, and Star were managing to hold them off, but they could only do that for so long because of the sheer number of opponents. "Can you walk?"
"Of course I can walk," Beast Boy grumbled, irritated at the thought of being an invalid. Swinging his feet off of the bed, he jumped down, stumbling head first to the floor as he landed. Moving quickly, Raven put a hand out to catch him, then eased him down to the ground.
"As much as I'm enjoying this," Cyborg shouted to them as he knocked out a guy who'd been about to shoot Robin with a tranquilizer, "I think we've worn out our invitation."
"Come to me," Raven shouted over the din. The other three heard and hastily retreated to the operating table, fighting back attackers the whole time.
"Azarath Metreon Zinthos," Raven cried, and they were gone.