Fandom Beast Boy and Raven (Closed)

[Beckspace]

The living corpse man behind the counter nodded his head towards them upon hearing Gsr’s loud whisper, but neither responded nor welcomed them into his shop. It was hard to tell whether he was offended or had any emotion at all, Rachel sensed nothing.

Rachel rolled her eyes and pushed Garfield along. They ended up down a row of themed costumes stuffed tight into plastic bags. There was a cop, nurse, Viking, etc both in regular and “sexy” forms.

“Do people actually wear these?” Rachel wondered aloud as they walked further down the aisle. “None of this looks practical or anything like what they are trying to portray.”

The next aisle proved no more helpful than the first, being one organized with costume accessories. Big hats, dull swords and shields, canes, gloves, and more. “I may have chosen the wrong store,” she frowned. “None of this looks useful.”

The wall of the store was lined with face masks, which gave the eerie sensation of being watched by a thousand eyes. “I wonder if some of our old villains got their costumes here. I can see mumbo or Billy Numerous in here.”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield felt the hands against his back and understood the message immediately as they went down the aisles to look for a suitable costume. The costumes were certainly more revealing than what he would want to wear in battle especially. Maybe Starfire would like some of this compared to her other costume.

He put on one of the plastic Viking helmets on and grabbed the axe while they walked towards other outfits. “This stuff is kinda sweet.” He said. He swung the axe and hurried behind Rachel.

Garfield look at the magician’s costume and laughed remembering the old man they fought on occasion. “Dude imagine if that old guy was him in a disguise!” He thought about the way the man acted all weird and maybe that could be it.

Gar gasped and saw an outfit for Scarlet Witch and grabbed it holding it towards Rachel. “Look! It’s the Scarlet Witch! She’s kinda like you from the movies.” He explained very briefly.

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel raised an eye brow at the red witch costume. “Red is not really my color, and we’re looking for you, remember?”

She looked away to steal a glance at the employee. He was creepy, sure, but there was no way he was a villain in disguise. What are the odds of three criminal incidents in one day?

There was only one way to be sure. Rachel pulled the Viking helmet off of Gar’s head and went up to the old man.

“What’s the price on this helmet?” She asked him, holding up the helmet to show him. It took a minute for the man to slowly turn his head to look at the item.

“The price is on the tag,” the man said in a low raspy voice Rachel didn’t expect.

“What about red suits? Have anything here?” Rachel scrutinized his words.

“Aisle 6.” Once again the man answered slowly, not once making eye contact with her.

Rachel slowly made her way back to Gar. “I don’t know. Seems like an old man to me. He said the suits are in aisle 6. Maybe we’ll find something there,” she offered.

The employee wasn’t wrong about aisle 6, it was stocked with all kinds of suits, Italian mafia suit, athletic suits, birthday suits (a suit to make the wearer look naked), and more.

“Hmm, you need something durable in battle. Maybe some sort of athletic workout thing to start with?”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield chuckled nervously and tossed the costume over his shoulder, nodding. “Right right. I forgot.” He typically got off track easily but putting him in a place like this was almost as bad as a comic or video game store. Just a unfocused bomb waiting to drop.

He watched patiently as Rachel walked over to talk to the zombified worker, peering from behind one of the shelves in case things got out of hand. When she walked back he nodded “Yeah Mumbo was a old dude too.” Gar stated while they headed over to aisle six.

Immediately, as expected, Garfield picked up the birthday suit and laughed. “What if I wear this? All we gotta do is make it green.” He teased while flaunting the costume in front of his body. Upon seeing Rachel’s face he put it back on the shelf and cleared his throat with a chuckle. “What about this thing? It’s all white but you can like put red stuff on it right?”

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel was, of course, expecting the birthday suit comment. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers impatiently until he put it back down.

His next suggestion was a lot better. It reminded her of something maybe a biker would wear, a padded breathable leather all in white. Rachel cocker her head to the side and tried to imagine Gar’s quick sketch of a design on this suit.

“We can probably stain it with dye,” Rachel thought aloud. An idea came to her and she left the aisle momentarily before coming back with a packet of fake blood from the next aisle over.

“This probably will come right off, but just to see…” Rachel opened the packet and started smearing the white suit in red with her hand, trying her best to make straight lines and colored in areas.

With one hand all red and bloody looking, Rachel finally took a step back and inspected her handiwork.

“It’s not perfect, but what do you think? Want to try it on?” She asked.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield looked at the outfit she had picked out and tilted his head. Honestly he expected the material to be much thicker beyond the padding, but then again this was just a cheap halloween store and not a tailor or something. Not like he was unfamiliar with skintight clothing.

He watched in slight confusion while Rachel smeared the blood over the suit in the making. It wasn’t that he was confused on the purpose of the blood but rather why she was just ripping it own with her hands and smearing it in. Not that he wouldn’t do the same but it was odd to see her do it.

Garfield grinned at the end result, pleased that she could’ve done it so quickly. “No way!” The blood was slightly runny but other than that it was awesome. He took the suit and headed off to the changing room. In under a minute he had the suit on and did his own turn around in front of Rachel. “It looks sweet doesn’t it?” He asked while the blood had quickly dried.

Garfield turned into a bird then back to himself, the costume completely intact. “I think this is the one Rae. We should go buy it!” He exclaimed while pulling her arm, not thinking that he couldn’t wear the costume outside the store since it would defeat the purpose of a costume.

 

[Beckspace]

While Gar was changing, Rachel looked for the fabric paints. She found it the next aisle over, a row filled with character paints and makeup. The red paint was right next to a dark blue, which gave Rachel pause. Maybe it was time she had a change as well. Ideas flowed through her mind as she went back to meet Gar.

With the costume on Garfield, the fake dripping blood really did look more like Gar sustained injuries and less like a design, but looking past that the suit looked great on him. She didn’t realized how much she’d missed him clad in a uniform. His demeanor changed as well, she could tell he felt more heroic just by wearing it. Hopefully the civilians will feel comforted by seeing him like this again as well.

She followed his lead back to the front desk. Along the way, Rachel noticed a long dark navy blue cloak leaning on the edge of an aisle, calling out to her. She swiped it as they passed and draped it over her arm.

The cashier still looked dead as ever and didn’t even seem to mind that the white suit was messed with. As he scanned the items and shoved them in a bag, Rachel took the opportunity to look at him again. He really looked familiar, but she couldn’t tell why. He had patches of white hair mostly on the sides of his head, a pale white skin, and his face was bony and skeletal. His eyes were glassy, although she could tell at least one of them could see. In other words, it looked like this guy had been through hell, and perhaps in his mind he might still be there. Maybe they had saved him at one point. Yeah, that must be it.

They paid for the items and left the shop, the descending sun greeting them. “Well, it’s official now,” Rachel said. “We’re doing the whole hero thing again.”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield watched as Rachel went through the aisles and towards the register while picking something up along the way. The green dude had a most excellent prank that came to his mind while she approached the cashier but unfortunately she was a little to fast for him.

Even if she wasn’t, it’s likely that the old man working wouldn’t have enjoyed the jest as much as Garfield would have. He followed next to Rachel and slipped his hand over her “bloodstained” one to hold it. “You don’t wanna be heroes? I missed being a real hero and stuff. Maybe people will like us more if they see us in hero clothes and stuff.” Garfield explained. It was for the first time in years that they could be an official team but was that really a bad thing?

Garfield began expressing himself while moving his hands around, not noticing he was moving Rachel’s along with him. “Like we’re gonna be the best thing in Jump City since the Titan’s! I bet everyone’s gonna see our costume and know we’re there to save them like before. This is awesome!” He said raising their hands before lowering them in realization. “My bad…” The excited Titan chuckled at his own antics.

“So whatcha wanna do now?” Gar asked the pale skinned woman. He looked down at hisself and touched the dried outfit with his free hand. She was totally right about it drying quickly but it was hard to believe regardless. Don’t we have a Cheetah to catch?
“Yeah what about cheetah?” He asked, the voice inside causing him to remember his past anger. It was evident that he answered something she didn’t ask out loud and it made him slightly angry, shown by the slight grip increase around her hand that he was truly prepared to go after the villain even still.

 

[Beckspace]

"It's not that I'm against being a hero again, Jump City obviously needs us," Rachel exclaimed. The worry of being ostracized by the citizens hadn't gone away, but if the last few weeks have proven anything, it's that she can no longer afford to stand idly by. "I guess the costume update just made it real. And yeah, I suppose it is pretty awesome." She grinned.

What wasn't awesome was the change in subject. It seemed he still had the vendetta against Cheetah, even after their discussion on the roof i regards to his dragon outburst. The mood changed quickly, and Rachel felt his hand tense up. She had to defuse the situation.

"You turned into a gigantic dragon twice today. And you saved my life. The police have both Cheetah and Mr. Freeze in custody. Shouldn't we, you know, celebrate? Do something fun?" Rachel questioned, looking straight ahead but focusing completely on Gar's feelings. "We can go to the arcade, you and Cyborg did that, right? Or we can test out our abilities, Robin would want us to train."

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield got a little giddy when Rachel mentioned the arcade. He groaned audibly when Robin’s after mission training was brought up. “No way, let’s go to the arcade instead!” Gar bumped his shoulder with Rachel’s before looking down at himself. “Shouldn’t we like, change clothes first?” He stepped away from their original path, pulling Rachel along with him towards the house.

“So is it gonna look like this forever or is this a protocon(prototype) or whatever?” Garfield referred to his rough new suit. He interrupted Rachel again but with good intentions. “Well I really like and stuff, it’s super awesome. But I was just wondering.” He explained. It was easy to see that the green hero was growing more and more impatient the longer it took to get home and to the arcade.

Suddenly Garfield let go of Rachel’s hand and flew into the air as a green pigeon. “C’mon Negasonic Teenage Warhead!” He teased before homing his animal brain in on their house. She’s trying to distract you. Cheetah will not reside in the prison you sent her to. Do not trust the dark one…

As they landed in front of the house he tried to shake the voice from his mind before asking Rachel a question pertaining to what the voice told him. “Hey Rae, you wouldn’t like trick me or nothing right?” He asked while changing into snake to slither underneath the door. It was an out of the blue question for sure but he hated having this conflicting psyche and much preferred not thinking much at all.

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel gave a tiny sigh of relief, glad he changed his tune. When he looked down at his clothes, she looked down at her bloody-looking hand. “Uhm, yeah. Probably shouldn’t walk around looking like this.”

She opened her mouth to answer his question, but it turned into a grin when he backpedaled to say his costume looked good as a bloody mess. “I don’t think the people will take too kindly to a blood-stained hero. I’ll throw it in the laundry and when it’s clean we’ll paint it properly.”

As she spoke, Rachel noticed Gar was getting more antsy. Suddenly he bolted into the air as a little green bird and flew away, taunting her with what she assumed was a reference of some kind.

“I don’t know what that means.” She called after him as she lifted up into the sky as well, forgetting to look both ways. If she did, she might have seen the employee of the store they just left watching them.

Rachel lowered herself to the ground in front of their house right beside Gar, confused once again by his sudden switch back to thinking about his vendetta again Cheetah. She didn’t like it.

“I don’t do tricks.” She replied evenly as she walked through the closed door. Kory had given them a key when they bought the house, but it was rarely used.

She eyed him curiously. He had been acting very strange today, a lot of emotions all over the place. From murderous dragon to happy little pigeon. “Are you feeling ok, Gar?” She asked in the lightest tone she could muster. “It’s been a busy day. We don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want.”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield popped back into himself from the snake on the floor as he went towards their rooms upstairs. “Sweet sweet, just checking.” He chuckled nervously before he was at the top of the stairs. When she asked about his well-being again he glided to the bottom of the stairs as a flying squirrel before becoming hisself once again.

“Huh? No way, I wanna go to the arcade!” Garfield expressed quite adamantly. He hadn’t done something like that in a while and plus he did want to have some fun with Rachel. “And yeah I’m fine, same old Beast Boy….Well same since we met again.” He explained as there was small backlash in his mind. Lies…You are supposed to be honest with your loved ones Garfield… The voice teased before Garfield muttered something to himself along the lines of “Shut up…”

He quickly turned and went up the stairs before Rachel could say anything else to him pertaining to the matter. It wasn’t like he was use to the whole splitting minds thing like Rachel was. Gar quickly changed into his civilian clothing and jogged his way back down. “You ready? I wanna get there before something bad happens and we gotta save the day.” He smiled.

 

[Beckspace]

The state of Gar’s mind was confusing her. He jumped so quickly back and forth between on edge and carefree. But muttering under his breath was not the “same old Beast Boy.”

Rachel squinted her eyes as she watched him climb back up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, she pulled out her phone. It was a new smartphone that Kory had forced her to get. Rachel still rarely used it, but she kept it with her on Kory’s instructions for instances like this.

She pulled up her contact list, which was only three contacts long; Gar, Kory, and the bookstore, and sent a message to Kory.

Gar is acting strange. We’re going to the arcade. Stay close by if able.

Finishing the text, Rachel noticed the fake blood on her hands rubbing off on her phone. She moved to go clean her phone, and herself, up before Gar came back. She was just switching out her jacket when she heard his voice and nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Yeah,” she replied, steadying herself. “I’m sure the time in which we get to the arcade will determine when the city will be attacked.”

Before they left, she quick tossed the costume into the wash and added bleach so it wouldn’t come out pink. As she went back to join Gar, she felt a buzz from her phone in her pocket, but didn’t risk looking at it. He knew she never used her phone, so using it now would be suspicious.

“All right, let’s go,” Rachel said finally. She created a portal for them to step through.

The Arcade rested on the boardwalk of jump city, which was relatively empty due to the season. Few stores were open and the nearby beaches were empty, but the arcade was lively and loud as ever. Like flies to the light civilians headed towards the building, the only reason anyone would brave the cold weather and fierce winds from the sea.

Rachel wrapped her arms across her chest and hoped inside the arcade would be warmer. “This is supposed to be fun, right?”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield waited impatiently while Rachel walked back to put his items into the washing machine. Obviously he wasn’t going to say anything in fear he would have to do laundry. After all, he was just really excited to go do something like play video games and stuff at an arcade. “C’moooon you know what I mean.” He smiled as he took her hand in his.

Garfield heard the vibration and was slightly confused but ultimately forgot the entire sound when they walked through the portal to the boardwalk. Remember that sound…
He looked around and felt even better when the place seemed empty, giving them even more opportunity to try the games they wanted to.

Gar rushed in front of Rachel in a brisk walk, getting to the door before her. He opened it and held it for her and motioned for her to go in before him with a slight bow. “After you m’lady.” Garfield couldn’t help but laugh at himself and follow in behind Rachel.

The Arcade held a dozen kids with an equal amount of teens inside, a few people their age as well. He put his hands on Rachel’s lower back and rushed her towards the counter. “Let’s go let’s go let’s go.” When they arrived, Garfield stepped up and talked for them. “Uhhh can we get…” Don’t let your mind stray from the truth. There are many people who require OUR help…

Garfield’s face was a bit blank then confused. “Um…I dunno.” He panicked and turned to Rachel. “Wait I forgot what we’re we gonna do first!?” He whispered to her with his back tot the employee that his brain failed to properly acknowledge.

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel rolled her eyes at the gentlemanly gesture. “Weirdo.”

The arcade was loud and colorful, designed to reel in game enthusiasts. Big box-like machines each advertised their purpose with Character portraits on its side, flashing lights, and theme music blasting. The music of all the machines mixed together for an overall carnival-like effect. None of this seemed to bother the civilians eagerly running around and surrounding different players as they attempted to break records.

Rachel allowed Gar to guide the way as she got her bearings, but it became obvious that he wasn’t thinking straight enough to do so. She glanced at Gar and then at the employee who was obviously waiting for something.

“Uhm, we’re here to play games,” Rachel said lamely.

“You came to the right place,” The employee replied with a sarcastic tone before giving what was obviously a rehearsed response. “Welcome to the arcade. Since it’s your first time here I’ll explain how it works. The games take tokens or quarters. If you don’t have quarters, you can purchase tokens here at the counter. We have three different types of games here, games just for fun or creating high scores, games that give you tickets based on your score, and chance games where you can possibly get enormous amounts of tickets based on how lucky you are. Tickets can redeem prizes at the prize corner. The more tickets you gave, the better the prize. Now, would you like to purchase some tokens?”

“Yeah. Sure,” Rachel said, knowing she didn’t have any quarters in her wallet. She handed the employee some bills and received in return a black bag of bronze tokens.

“Have fun, and don’t break the machines,” the employee ended the conversation and started scrolling on her phone. Rachel held one of the coins in her hand and twiddled it through her fingers.

“Seems like a lot of steps to play a game to me,” she commented, and took a look around the room. There was an air hockey game right to the side of the customer service counter that was currently being used by a group of guys. On the wall was a row of basketball shooting games. There were racecar games, first-person shooters, and a dance dance revolution platform. The rest of the games Rachel didn’t recognize, save for a few with cartooned drawings of super heroes on them.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield scratched his head, turning his attention to the employee with Rachel. What the heck was that? He wondered as most of what the employee said went in one ear and out the other for him. Why was his brain acting like it spent an hour in a microwave. His eyes focused on the bag that Rachel was given, once again losing focus on why he lost focus in the first place.

“Thanks dude!” Garfield turned towards the sea of machines designed to keep his attention , staying next to Rachel best he could. There was one machine that caught his eyes and it was a two player, driving game that he knew Rachel would at least like somewhat. Without another word he sort of drifted towards said machine, ignoring all else besides it.

Gar pointed to to it, turning to Rachel with a smile. “Bet I can beat you in another racing game.” He knew she would have at least some interest due to their time spent playing Mario Kart together a couple weeks back. The machine read ‘Drifting Mania Deluxe’ which was more than enough to get Garfield to want to play. He inserted his token gifted by Rachel and sat in the seat, getting nice and comfortable.

Gar selected the two player option and loaded in the car selection. Of course he went with the green sports car as he waited on Rachel’s choice in order to start the race. “Oh you’re totally going down Rae.” He held a smile on his face, a big font countdown began. On one he pressed the pedal down on the floor and they took off, lined up with some CPUs next to them.

“This time there’s only one lap and no stupid shells.” He laughed while easily obtaining first place. Garfield looked at the mini map and they were about half way through with the race. He and Rachel were the only true players as they were far ahead of the simulated competition given to them. “Get ready to eat those words!”

You believe a hero would let villains break out over and over? A true hero would stop them…Once and for all…

Garfield shook his head as they came up on a sharp turn right before the finish line. Instead of turning he slammed right into causing his car to explode in game and wait to red pawn. Meanwhile he was contemplating if they had treated the situations with their villains correctly. Once and for all?…

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel watched Gar head to the machines connected to what looked like car seats. As she approached, she realized it must be some sort of racing game. She grinned back at him and replied, "Watch that ego, Garfield. Don't let it get the best of you."

She sat down at the machine beside him and familiarized herself with the controls. The steering wheel was the equivalent of the controller they had played Mariokart with. Rachel did not have a drivers license, not needed with her living in the city on top of her abilities, but she has used a steering wheel before. With the wheel, she chose the dark blue car and hit start.

"We'll see about that," Rachel said as the countdown began. She used the opportunity to quick look over at Gar. He seemed fine once again. Happy, eager and determined to win the race. How could he be fine one second and emotionally all over the place the next?

Her observations caused her to miss the initial burst of speed at the start of the race, but luckily the computer competitors also didn't use the advantage. The start was a bit rough as she gained control of her car, but slowly her car began to surpass the racers. He explained that stupid shells were not used in this game, to which she replied, "I don't know, I still see one stupid shell, ninja turtle."

Jabs aside, with only one lap, Rachel knew she had to catch up quick. She was getting closer to Gar's lead, but with the halfway mark already passed, she was running out of time.

The finish line was just coming up, and Rachel knew there was know way he's pass Gar now, which even she would admit was a bit frustrating seeing as his car was a mere feet ahead of hers. Suddenly, though, the green car in front of her swerved to the right and crashed. Rachel swiveled away from it and luckily kept control. The blue car rolled over the finished line and a giant golden won showed up on the screen.

"Well, would you look at that? My words were not eaten," Rachel said, turning to him to gloat in the win. The gloat caught in her throat; Gar was sitting in the chair just lost in thought. His car had respawned, but stayed idle as the other cars passed it one by one.

She frowned, reached out and touched his shoulder. "Gar, what's wrong?"

 

[QuickWords]

The more he thought of it the more a clearer idea of Once and for all exactly meant. But wasn’t that for the bad guys? Killing was wrong but was killing for good still as bad? Soldiers killed and they were considered heroes to some. Garfield remembered what Rachel said but didn’t she do that same thing to her dad all those years back?

When Rachel touched his shoulder he was pulled from his thoughts to see that his car was stationary and Rachel had already won. Garfield looked at her and nodded his head, eyes brightening at the sight of her face. “Huh? Yeah just had to let you win is all.” He laughed the situation off trying to avoid even talking about it.

Gar quickly got up and motioned Rachel over to a game even she had to at least know about. Skeeball! “Listen that time I decided to go easy but if I win this one you gotta do the dishes for a week.” There was no way he could lose focus this time. He put a token into the machine and it released a select number of balls for them to toss in.

Garfield nudged Rachel and chuckled. “Bet I can make it in like a baseball!” Against all warnings he playfully wound up his arm as there was a whisper in his ear. Maybe it’s because you’re too weak… His eyes furrowed and he launched the ball with all his might. “No I’m not!” The ball left his hand with frightening strength, tearing a hole through the back of the machine itself, right where the largest point hole would have been. The only thing he could hear was deep laughter, drowning out even Rae for a few seconds as his attention was on the hole he made.

 

[Beckspace]

The facade of going along with this celebration of sorts did not return to Rachel's face. She was done hiding just how concerned she was. Gar didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he avoided it with his topic change of going to the skeeball machine. Rachel quick glanced at her phone while he put the coin in the machine. Kory had texted her back saying she was with a client but will end it and come as soon as possible. That was about 20 minutes ago.

She quickly shoved her phone back in her pocket just as Gar turned to make a joke about his Skeeball skills. "I don't think that's a good idea," Rachel started to say, but was cut off by his outburst and the loud cracking sound of the ball lodging itself into the back of the machine. The sound shattered the playful noise of the arcade, and now all eyes were on them, including the employee on the far side of the room. She was now headed their way.

"You've lost control," Rachel said sternly. She was going to chastise him more, but noticed that he wasn't listening...or couldn't listen. He was so angry, she could feel it, and yet she felt something else too. Enjoyment?

"What's going on over here?" The employee asked, finally making it over to them and glaring daggers at Gar. Rachel used the attention shift to bump the ball out of the back of the machine with her magic.

"Sorry. He got the ball in the 1000 point hole and got excited," Rachel said, drawing the employee's attention to her. "He accidentally kicked the side of the machine. Won't happen again."

The employee frowned at her. "If he dented the machine, he's buying it. I'm not losing my job for this." She inspected the side of the machine where Rachel pointed out was the kick impact. There was, of course, no dent to be seen on that part of the machine.

"Actually, I think we should be going now anyway," Rachel said as the employee finished her inspection. She took Gar's hand and pulled on it, hoping to wake him out of his trance and leave with her.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield moved his hand away from Rachel’s and ran his hands through his hair, grabbing his head in the process. That’s right. With me you will be strong enough to do whatever you need to. He looked around like a crazed animal as the kids, teens, and adults gathered around them. She means to distract you but do not listen. She plans to trick you Garfield…

Gar broke from the crowd and darted out the Arcade’s doors. He could feel exactly where his mind was telling him to go. Go and get her. Do the right thing. “The Jump City Prison…” Garfield turned into a familiar enlarged Tiger, only this time it’s prehistoric counterpart the sabertooth.

It wasn’t immediately clear as to where he was going at first but his run throughout the city was nearly elegant. Garfield didn’t know what was happening but his body was almost changing instinctually to fit the hazards he was meeting. First the large cat found itself head on with an eighteen wheeler only for it to disappear, a Falcon taking its place while swiftly circling the length of the screeching vehicle. He immediately dropped back to the ground as the sabertooth to deter anyone from trying to stop him as the intimidating animal he was.

 

[Beckspace]

The chaos of the arcade separated Rachel from Gar as he sprinted off to who knows where. She pushed the people aside, trying to get through quickly, but by the time she was outside, Gar was nowhere to be seen. Rachel rose up into the air to get a better view point.

“Rachel!” A familiar voice called out to her, and Rachel turned to see Kory floating in the air not to far from her. She was still wearing a business suit, although Rachel did notice she wasn’t wearing any shoes. “He went this way!” Rachel flew over to her snd together they darted off to search for their friend.

“Sorry to bring you into this, Kory. I know you didn’t want to be involved in this stuff,” Rachel said quickly.

“I want to be involved in stuff like this. Gar is my friend, whether he thinks so or not,” Kory said with a sad smile. “There!” She suddenly spotted him and dove lower to the ground where a tiger ran alongside traffic.

Rachel followed and pulled up a barrier to block the tiger from moving forward, but his reflexes were quick to get around it. He’s never seen him maneuver so effortlessly around obstacles.

“Beast Boy, stop!” Kory called out. “I don’t think he’ll listen. We have to get him off the road,” Rachel said to her.

Black pillars rose on the side of the road, trying to lead the tiger aside. Kory flew on ahead and stopped in front of the tiger to block his path, her hands glowing green aimed at him. “Stop running, please.”

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield could sense there was people nearby, but not just any people. His friends. Do not lose focus. I will aid you as you avoid contact with them. Deal? Well, he didn’t want to hurt his friends so that was something Gar could agree with. As the black barrier came up to block him his body moved within inches of the obstacle. See? You have my word I will keep us safe…

Garfield was met with Starfire who was fast enough away for him to pick up speed luckily. She was another distraction just like his brain told him. She blasted the ground in front of him but he used the dust to his advantage. Garfield broke from the smoke screen and jumped over Starfire only to bounce from the black pillars that Rachel rose and land safely on top of the buildings they stood next to.

If his senses were correct then he was only a few miles from his destination. Even though he took a little detour due to his friends trailing him. The closer he got the more ravenous he became, losing hisself slowly. Suddenly Garfield was surrounded on a rooftop by black bars, trapping him with an equally dark ceiling.

His eyes were quickly to locate Rachel who was floating next to Starfire, talking but the words were drowned out for some reason. Garfield roared loudly, nearby glass shattering on command. He gnawed at the bars and swiped his pillow sized paws at them as well. Garfield’s eyes were milky white, shifting from his pupiled eyes to such. “Deceiver! You said you weren’t gonna trick me!!“ His voice distorted.

 

[Beckspace]

The plan worked and the tiger escaped to the rooftops, away from civilians. The heroines met up again in the sky and then followed their target.

Rachel realized where he must be going as from up high the building just came into view. He was going to the prison, and if he broke in and did what she thought he was wanting to do…how could a city trust a hero that goes beyond the law?

Rachel raised her hands and crafted a cage around the tiger. The tiger looked over at her and Rachel did not see Gar there, or rather not just him. “I won’t let you do this, Gar,” she said. “You’re not in your right mind.”

It didn’t seem like Gar understood her, but he roared an ear-shattering roar in reply. Both Kory and Rachel grabbed their ears, and Rachel floated to the ground so she can put her full focus on the bars.

“What do we do?” Kory asked, landing to Rachel’s right.

“I need to get closer to him. I think I did something to his mind when I was in there, unleashed something. If I can just get in there, I can help him gain control again,” Rachel explained.

As if in reply, the Beast called out to her. “The only one playing tricks here is you,” Rachel replied. She glanced over at Kory and nodded before phasing down into the roof and disappearing.

Kory walked up to the cage. “Friend Garfield, I do not like seeing you in a cage. But it is for your own good. As is this!”

At once the cage disappeared and Kory darted forward and wrapped her arms the tiger’s neck, holding him down. Rachel phased out of the roof in front of the tiger and quick placed her hands on the sides of its face.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” her eyes turned white before her soul was released from her body and transported into the tiger.

Rachel gasped and sat up, quickly looking around her. Based on the familiar surroundings, she knew her plan had worked. She was back in Garfield’s mind.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield wasn’t unsure as to what the two Titans had planned for him but being caged was not something he enjoyed. We must get free if you want to achieve your goal hero. An opportunity will arise Garfield. He bared his teeth at Starfire he was in front of him and crouched down, prepared to pounce at the bars. He could break them, right? He had to if he wanted to succeed.

When the bars came down it shocked the beast momentarily, enough time to be held by the strong Tamaranian. Garfield immediately thought to become a much larger creature she could not take ahold of so easily but Rachel was fast enough to enter his mind, causing the tiger to go limp onto the rooftop.

The mind of Garfield was the same, more or less, but the entire sky was a deep purple with the sun nowhere to be seen. As she walked along buildings that held the emoticlones were damaged, even the distant Titan Tower. There were plenty of indicators that told the location of The Beast and it wasn’t good. The clones of Bravery, Slothfulness, Compassion, Intelligence, and Happiness, all battles Garfield’s ambassador of rage. The Beast.

The real Garfield sat on a couch playing a video game behind them, oblivious to the fight that the Beast was clearly winning. “Just gotta beat this stupid side mission and then I get to fight Cheetah again!” He said as The Beast slung Orange away from the couch. “Rachel! We have to touch Garfield to wake him from the trance but he’s in the way! You have to help save him!” Intelligence told her. Bravery went to roll between the legs of Beast but was quickly grabbed by his blue hair and thrown into Compassion.

“Stay out of this demon! I’ve been caged for too long to let this chance slip away!” The Beast was prepared to fight for all eternity if he needed to.

 

[Beckspace]

The last time Rachel was in Gar's mind, it was up to him to bring all of his selves together to take down her demon side. It will be different this time, because this is a side of Gar that he lost control of, and based on the scene in front of her, he doesn't even realize it. The Beast was free once again.

"Gar!" Rachel called out to him. He didn't turn from the video game, and timidity hid behind Rachel and said as much. "We already tried that. The Beast is blocking everything we try. It's hopeless!"

Intelligence had said she just needs to touch him to give him back the reigns, but that would only be temporary, wouldn't it? There was a reason why Gar switched back and forth from primal to normal, and it was because the two personalities weren't jiving together. But if there was one thing she learned from her last altercation with the Beast, it's that it was still Beast Boy. He wouldn't hurt her.

"You don't scare me," Rachel glared into the Beasts eyes. "And you will never be free so long as Gar is human." She phased into the ground and appeared up beside Gar on the couch. Her hand reached out to touch him when a sharp pain hit her shoulder. Before she could see what it was, her body was tossed feet first away from the couch back up against a tree.

She rolled back up on her feet and rubbed her head. Looking over at her shoulder, she saw a huge claw mark sliced from her shoulder down her arm, blood trickling down to her finger tips.

"You hurt me," she whispered, shocked. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she understood something that had been bothering her for a long time.

Rachel realized this must have been why her demon side was so willing to be captured by the gem, it was because Red had released this Beast that didn't think, just attacked. That chaos and destruction, if it isn't controlled, Rachel would do anything to stop it, just like she did everything she could to save Gar from dying. This is how she planned to gain control. This is how the almost forgotten vision of her nightmare is fulfilled.

"I will put you back in your cage," Rachel said to the Beast. She lifted her hands to once more attempt to surround the beast in bars. Maybe if she did this, one of the Beast Boys can get to Gar.