Fan Fiction ❯ Will D. Beest ❯ These Eyes of Mine ( Chapter 13 )

Note: This chapter ran long, so I had to split it up, which throws off the summary from last time. But don't worry, everything described there WILL happen, eventually.

Chapter 13: These Eyes of Mine

"Cyborg," Robin said slowly.

Cyborg grinned wickedly at him. "Hey, Rob. Nice day for a fight, huh?"

Robin whipped out his collapsible staff as the other Titans closed in around him. "Don't make us do this, Cyborg. You can't win. We know you too well."

Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon at them. "Funny. I was just thinkin' the same thing, man."

"Slade is controlling you, my friend!" Starfire cried. "You must defy his evil!"

"Nah. Kinda like it. But if you wanna join up with us, Star, I'll put in a good word for you."

"That's just Slade's programming talking, dude!" Beast Boy insisted. "We're your buds! Your pals! Your amigos!"

"Ex-amigos," Cyborg corrected as he fired.

The Titans were prepared to scatter, but instead of the usual blast, all that emerged from Cyborg's arm cannon was a small metal box.

"…so, Slade forget to arm you or something?" Beast Boy asked.

"Careful!" Robin warned as Starfire bent down to examine the box. "It could be a-"

"SURPRISE!!!" Livewire yelled as she burst from the box, hitting the Titans at point-blank range with thick bolts of electricity.

Starfire was the first one to recover, thanks mostly to her alien physiology. "You will not hurt my friends anymore!" she shouted, her eyes blazing with emerald fury as she talked Livewire from behind.

"Well, I guess that means you're volunteering to be Target # 1!" Livewire grinned, splitting her body into smaller bolts and slipping out of Starfire's grip.

Before Starfire could figure out where she'd gone, a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon caught her square in the back, sending her slamming into the wall.

"Sorry, Starry," Cyborg chuckled, "but you gotta watch your back."

"Speak for yourself, `Bot Boy!" Livewire snapped as she reformed herself. "You got company in a big way!"

Cyborg spun around in time to see a huge, green triceratops charging straight at him. "Ah, crap," he whispered just before it crashed into him.

* * * * *

"Jade, wake up!" Supergirl hissed. "The Titans need our help!"

Jade blinked as she slowly came to, shaking her head. "Ow. What hit me?"

"Cyborg's fist is my guess. Listen, I don't want to sound prejudiced or anything, but would any of your Shadowkahn happen to be good at lock picking?"

Jade smirked. "I am a master thief. Why WOULDN'T my guys know anything about that?"

"Well, I didn't want to assume," Supergirl replied as two Shadowkahn appeared and went to work on their manacles.

"Assume away; we'll be out of here in no time," Jade said confidently. "Which reminds me: how'd they get you?"

Supergirl looked away. "Well…Cyborg threatened to hurt you if I didn't surrender."

Jade blinked a few times. "I thought I wasn't your friend?"

"You're like a mold; you grew on me. And to be honest, I've got friends that are more annoying."

"So we're officially buds now?"

"Unofficially. I still can't associate with you in public. I mean, you're still a thief, and I am Supergirl."

"MASTER thief."

"Even more reason not to be seen with you. But I wouldn't be opposed to a sleepover or something."

Jade stared at her in disbelief. "A sleepover? Geez, you really ARE Superman's cousin…"

* * * * *

Even in his human form, Beast Boy had certain animal senses, and he was thankful for each and every one of them. For example, the hairs on the back of his neck tended to stand up when there was danger. Of course, they hadn't stopped standing up since he'd walked into the room, but they really stiffened all of a sudden.

So he was more than ready to dive aside when he heard Livewire's laughter behind him. But there was no need, as it turned out.

"Move, BB!" Raven shouted, forming a black barrier behind him.

Beast Boy dodged only seconds before a huge bolt of lightning cracked the barrier struck the other side of the room.

"HEY! Get your own pet to play with!" Livewire began tossing bolt after bolt at Raven, knowing a shield could only hold up for so long.

Raven knew it as well, since she was not a hundred percent and very much distracted at the moment. Though most of her attention was on the battle, it was also split between regularly checking on her teammates, and searching for a loophole in Cyborg's reprogramming. She was still hoping to seize the human part of Cyborg's mind and override Slade's brainwashing, but it wouldn't be easy.

Especially when Livewire deserved all of her attention, she realized as the bolts finally broke through and hit Raven all at once. The impact knocked her backwards, where she hit the wall with a thud. Before she could fully recover, Livewire appeared in front of her, grinning merrily.

"Bet you wish you were Static right now, huh?" she asked.

"No, I think I can safely say I'd never want to be a boy, even one that runs on electricity."

"Well, this probably wouldn't hurt as much if you were," Livewire responded, driving a supercharged foot into Raven's ribs.

Raven grunted, absorbing the hit as best she could, which wasn't all that well. But it was enough that she was able to grab Livewire's ankle a few seconds later. "I don't suppose being electric makes up explosion-proof?"

Livewire's eyes widened as Raven poured dark energy into her foot. "Stop that! What are you-"

Her words were lost as both their powers mixed and instantly rejected each other in a very violent way. The blast sent Livewire sailing clear, and Raven was forced completely through the wall, wear something broke her fall.

"You know, I can think of a hundred less painful ways to get close to you," said a voice in her ear.

"Static!" Raven cried as she rolled off of him.

"Actually, it's just Virgil now," the boy corrected. "But I know a surefire way to stop Livewire, if you're interested."

"Kinda busy here, Virgil," Raven pointed out.

"I know, but you don't look like you should take another hit like that. Even if it doesn't work, I'm the only one still on your side that can absorb her attacks."

Raven considered that, and then formed a few lock picks to set him free. "Okay. But it better work." With Static free, she'd be able to focus on getting Cyborg back. And the sooner the Titans had one less person mopping the floor with them, the better off they'd all be.

* * * * *

Blackfire dropped Mammoth heavily to the ground, adding him to the growing pile of teammates she'd dragged from Slade's base. Terra lay a few feet from the pile for obvious reasons, but everyone else would probably wake up fairly soon. Slade's operations had a nasty way of exploding prematurely, and Blackfire didn't want the death of another friend on her mind. It was too bad about Terra; she'd been a neat person to hang with, when she wasn't completely psychotic.

For a moment, Blackfire even considered going back for the Titans' pet. But then, she hadn't liked the look of it, even when it was out cold. And for all she knew, it was out cold for a very good reason.

Had it been a few months earlier, or even just a few days, Blackfire probably would've flown off into the night right then. But it wasn't, so she couldn't. With a heavy sigh, the Tamaranean girl flew back into the base, with no clue that this night would change her life forever.

* * * * *

"Think fast!" Cyborg shouted, tossing the green bull straight at Robin.

Thankfully, the bull reverted to Beast Boy in plenty of time, but was still unable to stop himself from slamming into Robin and sending them both sprawling on the floor. Before they could untangle themselves, they found Cyborg standing over them, readying his sonic cannon.

"Well, it was fun, guys. But I think it's time to end this little game."

"Haven't you ever heard of overtime?" Jade asked as she dropped in front of him and spat a fireball into Cyborg's face.

Cyborg blinked and wiped away some soot with his fist. "Jade. How'd you get out?"

"Not important. What IS important," she said as her three Shadowkhan appeared behind her, "is that you're outnumbered."

"That didn't work the last time, but I guess you can't be blamed for forgetting. I did hit you pretty hard."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I do owe you one, don't I?"

There was a thunderous crack as Cyborg's head was rocked by Supergirl's fist. The force of the blow sent him flying across the room, where he slammed into the wall and dropped to the floor, leaving a Cyborg-shaped dent in the wall.

"Cool," Beast Boy said dazedly as Jade pulled him to his feet. "Are we making snow angels, Mommy?"

"Uh…sure, why not." Jade waved a hand in front of his face. "How many fingers?"

"A jillion?"

"…close enough." Jade turned to Supergirl. "I think he needs a time-out."

"I wish we could afford to take a break," Robin gasped as he stood up, "but I don't think we can risk it…or that Cyborg and Livewire will let us."

"Where's Raven?" Jade asked, her eyes scanning the room. "And Livewire, for that matter?"

"Don't know. I saw them fighting a while ago, but then there was an explosion and I lost track of them."

Jade frowned. "I'm going after them."

Robin scowled at her. "No. You're going to undo whatever you did to Wildy first. He nearly killed Starfire."

"And what do you think Livewire's gonna do to Raven?!"

"Nothing that Raven can't handle. She's survived tougher fights than this. If you're that worried about her, all the more reason for you to fix Wildy so you can go check on her. It won't do you any good to save her if Wildy just comes in afterwards and flattens you both."

"Do as he says, Jade," Supergirl said. "And take Beast Boy with you. Once he's got his senses back, he can help you track Wildy."

Robin nodded. "Plus you'll need him, if Wildy's little nap is over."

Jade sighed in frustration. "Fine. But if anything happens to Ray-"

"You know Raven's a telepath. If she needed help, she'd let us know."

Jade shook her head as she stormed off, dragging Beast Boy with her. "You obviously don't know Ray like I do, Robin. She'd NEVER admit that she needed help."

* * * * *

"I could reeeally use some help right now," Raven muttered.

Livewire paused in her advance. "Are you begging already?"

"No. I was talking to him, actually."

Livewire risked a glance behind her, and a wide grin appeared on her face. "Hey, Sparky! I don't know how you got loose, but you're about to wish you'd stayed where I left you!"

Virgil shook his head. "The only thing I wish is that I had the old Livewire back. The one that wasn't ashamed to grab my butt in public and moon me when she got bored."

"Reminisce all you want, Sparky. I'm not switching sides again."

"Yeah, I know. Because I don't think you ever really switched in the first place." With that, Virgil stepped up to Livewire, grabbed her face, and kissed her hard.

It was probably the stupidest plan Raven had ever seen. But, she realized as she looked on, it was just stupid enough to work. Not only was Virgil absorbing the energy Livewire had stolen from him, but he was also causing some kind of internal struggle in her. Raven could see Livewire's face twitching in discomfort, and suddenly, she could sense two minds where there had only been one before.

Raven sent her spirit-self forward, and the black bird shape sank its talons into Livewire's head, pulling the extra entity away from her. "I don't know who you are, but it's time you went back to your own body."

Livewire sank to her knees, her body surrounded by her usual blue glow. Before her, Static stood renewed, grinning at his own violet aura. And not too far from them, the entity forced Raven's spirit-self away, curling in the fetal position as its green aura shimmered dimly.

"Told you it would work," Static said to Raven.

"So I owe you ten bucks. Make sure she's still on our side, would you?"

Static offered his hand to Livewire, who slowly looked up at him. "Hey, beautiful. You with us or what?"

"…Sparky? What…happened to me?" Livewire asked as she took his hand. "It felt like…someone was in my skin."

"Dirty girl," Static said playfully. "Even now, all you can think about is-"

"-that kiss," Livewire interrupted, shooting him a look. "Where did THAT come from, huh?"

"Oh. That," Static murmured, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, um, I figured out that it wasn't really you in there. You didn't quite sound like you. Or walk like you."

"Walk…like me?"

Aware that Raven was standing not too far from them, Static lowered his voice. "As we say in Dakota, you didn't have enough `junk in yo trunk'. So to speak."

Livewire grinned at him, giving him a light shove. "I KNEW you were checking out my butt!"

Static blushed. "Well, be glad I was, or I might not have figured out that whoever was controlling you wasn't a girl. So I thought kissing you might make him want to find a new body."

"And you did that for purely unselfish reasons, gaining no personal pleasure whatsoever in the process?" Livewire asked suspiciously.

"Of course!" Static replied at once.

"Really? Then you need a reward." And before he could protest (not that he really would've, anyway), Livewire grabbed Static's face and kissed him.

It was times like this that Raven hated being a telepath. Even though she turned away in time, the thoughts of her two electric partners were certainly not censored. She focused her attention on the green entity before her. "So. You're a body-jumper. A neat trick, but it won't work anymore."

The entity turned its eyes on her. "Don't be too sure."

She could sense that something was wrong, but before she knew it, the entity was rushing at her with frightening speed. Just before it reached her, however, something white flashed before her eyes, and the entity was hurled away from her.

"Beware his eyes, Seedling," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. "He jumps through the eyes…"

Raven smiled faintly. Already she could sense the presence fading, but it had done enough. "Thanks for protecting me again, Sylvan," she said softly. "But for someone who wants me to stand on my own, you're making a pretty good bodyguard."

It was then that she noticed that the entity that had possessed Livewire was long gone.

* * * * *

"You're wasting your time, Supergirl," Cyborg grunted as he straightened his jaw for what had to be the sixth time in three minutes. "Even if you did have the power to put me down for good, you wouldn't do it. You're on the wrong side for that."

Supergirl shook her head. "It's been my experience that people who accuse others of being on the wrong side are usually on the wrong side themselves. Especially when those people were on the right side a day before. Now, are you going to give up, or do I have to set you straight with a few more love taps?"

Cyborg grinned at her. "Guess I just have a thick skull, `cuz I wanna fight some more."

"HIIIII-YAAAA!!!" Robin screamed as he leaped onto Cyborg's shoulders and brought his staff down on the metal half of Cyborg's head.

"Rob, please," Cyborg sighed, grabbing his foot and holding him upside down. "If Supergirl hits like a girl, what chance do you have of doing any damage?"

"I wasn't trying to damage," Robin said patiently, crossing his arms and looking amazingly confident for someone hanging upside down. "I was trying to distract."

Cyborg only had time to blink before there was a loud crunching sound behind him. He looked back to see most of Supergirl's arm buried in his back.

"Sorry about this, Cy," she apologized, "but I figure once you're good again, you can fix yourself up in no time. For now, though, you're in our way." She yanked her arm out, watching closely as Cyborg dropped Robin and fell to his knees, electricity dancing wildly across his back just before all of his internal systerms shut down.

"Wish I'd thought of that," Robin commented after a long moment.

"You did," Supergirl insisted. "But you were too good a friend to consider it. Me, I just got annoyed. Tends to happen when the bad guys won't stay down." Her eyes instantly shifted directly behind him and narrowed. "Crap. I knew we forgot something."

"How decidedly un-super of you," said a calm voice behind them. "And you dare to call yourselves superheroes."

Robin's grip on his staff tightened. "Slade," he growled.

Slade stood before them in full battle gear. However, he made no move to attack. "Robin. You don't sound happy to see me."

"I never am. You're nothing but trouble, Slade."

"I would hardly be a worthy supervillain if I wasn't, Robin. Now, I think you want to put that staff down."

Robin smirked. "And why would I want to do something like that?"

"Because I don't think your friend Starfire would appreciate being hit with it very much," he replied, stepping aside.

Robin's jaw dropped, as did the staff from his hands. "Starfire…not you, too…"

"She had taken so much damage from Cyborg, that I decided, for once, to be merciful. Personally, I think the new wardrobe suits her. What do you think, Robin?"

Robin stared at the tight, black version of Starfire's uniform with the slim, silver S on the chest. "I think that's the last friend of mine you tamper with."

"On that much we agree, then. Because after my new apprentice is done with you, you won't have any friends to tamper with. Starfire, destroy them."

With that, Starfire launched herself at her former friends, her eyes and hands glowing a malevolent emerald that promised this would be their longest fight yet.

* * * * *

"Well, this is weird," Jade muttered to herself.

"What is?" Beast Boy asked, peering over her shoulder at Wildy's unconscious form.

"My spell is gone. Someone must've taken it off him."

"Say what?"

"It's just gone. Robin told me to undo it, but it's already been undone!"

"But how is that possible? I thought only you could take it off?"

Jade shook her head. "I guess I made the mistake of assuming I was the only one, other than Ray, that used magic spells around here. I mean, because I just KNOW the Titans would've informed me if there was another spellcaster involved, RIGHT?!"

"Hey, I just MET you," Best Boy said defensively, holding up his hands. "And before that, I was a prisoner! All I saw was the back of Terra's hand!" His face clouded for a moment, as if trying to remember something, but then it cleared. "So someone else just came along and lifted the spell?"

"Yeah, since it wouldn't have worn off by itself. And whoever did it was probably really good, too. I don't even think Ray could've taken it off."

"So if the spell made him big, why is he still big?" Beast Boy asked.

"In theory, as soon as he wakes up, he'll have a reserve growth spurt and be about the size of a big watermelon again." Jade leaned down to examine Wildy's paw, but in that moment, something sharp closed around her throat.

"Don't move," said a voice in her ear. "You, I don't know."

Beast Boy's eyes widened as he took in the slimmer, smaller, all-white version of someone he knew all too well (and had little desire to know, period). "Dude! I thought you were trapped in Raven's mirror! And you were red last time! And giant!"

"I am my father's son," Sylvan said with some regret, "but be thankful I am not my father. You must be Raven's friend. But this one, I do not know." He moved his face closer to Jade's and sniffed. At once, he released her and backed away. "I apologize," he said simply, before vanishing into the shadows.

"Who the heck was THAT?!" Jade cried, rubbing her throat carefully.

"Uh…I think he was Raven's…brother?" Beast Boy said slowly. "I guess he was protecting Wildy, but after he smelled you…" He paused and looked at her. "What, did you eat garlic for lunch?"

Jade frowned. "It was a mung bean wrap, thank you very much. But I don't think that's what made him back off." She blinked a few times. "Although it wouldn't be the first time that eating that stuff has saved me from baddies with sensitive noses."

"So what could he have smelled that-" Beast Boy stopped and took a step toward her, sniffing loudly.

"WHAT?!" Jade shouted indignantly.

"I'm trying to pick up your scent. I still don't see what spooked him."

"Does it matter?!"

"I think so. What if he's got friends that need convincing, too?"

"Okay, you have a point. But if you don't smell anything, that gets us nowhere."

The two stared at each other for several minutes.

"Hey," Beast Boy said after a moment. "I just had a wild idea."

"Oh, joy," Jade muttered.

"No, really! I saw this movie once where vampires marked their prey."

"And this has WHAT to do with me?! I mean, I've fought a few vamps, but I never got bitten!"

"Just hear me out! They would leave a certain kind of bite mark, so that other vampires would know not to mess with them."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Again, what does this-"

"When I asked Starfire who you were," Beast Boy interrupted, "she said you were Raven's friend. But she paused right before `friend,' which makes me think that maybe you're not exactly Raven's friend."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning, maybe you're more than a friend," Beast Boy concluded with a certain gleam in his eye. "I know it's a personal question, but have you ever kissed Raven?"

Jade froze as she stared at him. After several seconds, she finally answered, "Maybe."

Beast Boy smirked. "Has she ever kissed you?"

"Is there a point to this?!"

"Yeah, there is. Did you give each other hickeys?"

"You are TWO seconds away from some major dragon breath, buddy!"

"I'm serious!"

Jade scowled at him. "There was the one time…"

Beast Boy shook his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't want the details just now. Hickeys, yes or no?"

"…yeah."

"Did it hurt? More than you expected it to, I mean?"

"Depends. I expected pinpricks. It felt more like multiple stab wounds."

"And that didn't strike you as odd?!"

"Hello! Why do you think we only did it once?!" Jade shouted.

"So maybe Raven was marking you as hers," Beast Boy concluded.

Jade shook her head. "The scar healed. Eventually."

"But maybe it left a mark only people like Raven can see. You know, people with…four eyes."

"Why would she do that? She ditched me right after."

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't smile at her right after."

Jade looked away. "I was kinda busy shouting. And, um, bleeding. And it probably didn't help that I'd given her some sake right before."

"So let me get this straight. You got Raven drunk and then made a pass at her?"

"Can you honestly see her kissing anyone while she was sober?"

"No, but then I always imagined her kissing me." At Jade's glance, he quickly added, "I mean a guy like me."

"Right. So assuming there is a mark, what does it mean?"

"`This mine, back off.'"

"Funny."

"I'm assuming she only bit you once, so it's not like it'd be a whole paragraph's worth!"

Jade fingered her shoulder thoughtfully. "I guess I should thank her. You stay with Wildy while I go do that."

Beast Boy sighed and sat down next to Wildy as Jade ran off. "Man, I'm glad you're not a girl, Wildy. Turns out I understood them even less than I thought I did…"

* * * * *

Next Chapter: Fade to Crimson

Oh, will the endless body-jumping never end?! (one can only hope) Can Robin & Supergirl survive against the true power of Starfire? (probably) Will Wildy go back to normal? (maybe) Did Livewire and Static's kiss include any tongue? (almost definitely) Will Jade and Raven get back together? (wouldn't count on it)

What nasty little surprise is Slade literally hiding up his sleeve? (wouldn't you like to know)

Review!

Alan

Am I the only one wondering if Livewire and Cyborg can pull the "Flash Light" trick?

"Cyborg makes a hand" So either one of the ones he's already got gets destroyed then replaced or (barring time constraints) we're talking about something twice Wildy's size with enough firepower to level Metropolis...

Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I guess that's what I get for typing at 4 AM…

I actually never had any intention of Livewire and Cyborg working together that way. (is it me or do you somehow suggest combining something in every fic I do?) But it's an interesting thought.

That hand won't be for Cyborg, he'll just make it. It will definitely have some firepower, though not THAT much. With any luck, you (and everyone else) will be surprised who the hand ends up with.