Fandom Beast Boy and Raven (Closed)

[Beckspace]

"Becoming a Cthulhu won't curse you," Rachel rolled her eyes. She phased through the couch and sat down beside him, laying out the book between them. "Look, it's nothing you haven't been before. It's part octopus, part dragon, part human form," she explained, pointing out the features on the drawn image. "All of these you've done plenty of times before. Just...put them together."

Starfire waltzed into the living room, knees dirty from just tending to her garden outside Titan Tower. She was heading straight for the fridge to get something to eat when she heard Raven say, "Start out small, like your Mushu dragon, or maybe just start with an octopus head and work your way down." She changed course and moved to the couch to see what Raven was talking about.

She gasped loudly and took the book from them turning it around to see the picture upright. "Why would you ask Garfield to be a Zarbnoff?!"

"You've seen a Cthulhu before?" Rachel asked, immediately intrigued as she thought it was a made up creature from a human who had lived long ago.

"I do not know it by that name," Starfire replied. "They are vile creatures said to live deep within red seas of Tamaran. I have never seen one in person, but it is said that the Zarbnoff are to blame for the Gzarnian uprising. The Zarbnoff create anxiety and malevolence in the mind."

Raven took the book back from Starfire and read the page over again. "Fascinating," she mumbled. Starfire's Zarbnoffs sounded very similar to the Cthulhu written in the text of her book. Maybe Earth was visited by one or more of these creatures at some point, creating the legend.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield had attempted to make hybrids of certain animals but since they didn’t exist, he couldn’t control which powers he developed from them. For example if he wanted to be a flying horse he could just be a Pegasus but if he wanted to be a fire breathing penguin, he’d grow the wings of a dragon but wouldn’t know for certain he could actually breathe fire.

When Starfire flew over and finished her definition of said Zarbnoff he threw his hands up. “See? I told you this was crazy?” He rubbed his head and looked closer at the picture, Rachel telling him she believed in his ability to transform into the demonic thing.

“Start small…” Gar muttered to himself and closed his eyes. Within a couple of seconds he became a Mushu with the head of an octopus and actual wings as requested from Rae. “

“This feels…not cool. Does this mean I can breathe in space now?” Garfield’s little tentacles wiggled with every word that left his mouth. It was exciting to be something new but he didn’t know what powers he had gotten from the Cthulhu or if he was simple a octo-dragon.

Nightwing came in the living room through the elevator, wiping his face with a towel. “You know I forgot how nice our training facility is. I think Cyborg made a few-“ He saw the floating thing and stopped in his tracks. “What the- what’s this you turned into Beastie?”

Garfield could freely move his tentacles and wings separately so that was a good sign. He flew up a little and laughed, which came out as something garbled and demonic. “I’m a Cahtooloo, kinda. Wait let’s see if I can do stuff.” He turned to Starfire and his tentacles started to float at her ominously. “Ooooo scary thoughts and stuff.” He tried to do as she described as create anxiety within her.

 

[Beckspace]

"I've seen crazier. Just give it a shot," Raven urged, standing up from the couch to get a good look.

Starfire stepped back, expecting to see a gigantic Zarbnoff, but instead getting a little flying squid. Raven grinned at the little guy, "Not bad for a first try. Maybe you should test out the waters first before taking it out to space."

"Wonderful!" Starfire congratulated as Nightwing walked in.

"It's Cthulhu," Raven corrected, lifting up her book to show Nightwing.

Starfire did not seem at all anxious or malevolent due to the creature. She giggled and ruffled his tentacles. "It's so cute!"

"I don't think saying 'scary thoughts and stuff' is how a Cthulhu manipulates someone's mind," Raven said. She flipped her book around and reread a passage. "The Cthulhu is said to live in the bottom of the ocean somewhere in the South Pacific, asleep until the day he is awoken, a subconscious fear by all who walk the Earth. You'd be able to go down further than our sub ever could."

"Ooh! We should see how far the little Zarbnoff can go," Starfire suggested, excited to get back outside in the sun. Summer had just begun at Jump City, today being one of the first nice Summer days of the year. Raven looked at Gar, her face expression asking if he wanted to try.

 

[QuickWords]

Nightwing looked at the picture and tried to think back to if he’s seen that thing or not. He remembered something about an urban legend or conspiracy that this thing was an interdimensional demon according to the web. Now that he was shown and after seeing Trigon it’s not very far fetched that these things were/are real.

Garfield felt his tentacles being touched and laughed, flying back away from Starfire. “Okay okay, stop.” His hysterical tone was playful but the gargled laughter made it seem more sinister.

Dick shuddered and pointed his thumb towards the window. “The bottom of the tower is pretty deep if you want to practice your doggy paddles. Rachel you think you can create an air pocket for you and Kory?” He suggested. None of the vehicles were readily accessible since that was more of a Cyborg thing and he certainly had everything under lock and key, Dick had already checked.

Garfield nodded his head “Yeah yeah let’s go! After this me and Star can go to space right?” He flew towards the elevator and Nightwing, who was not in costume, went into the kitchen. “You guys let me know if you need anything. Keep your communicators on.” Dick was in the process of making himself an after workout meal since he didn’t eat lunch with them before working out.

When the trio made it to the rooftop, Gar stood on his two feet and walked about shin level with the two women. “Alright so if I can’t say scary stuff then what can I do to be in peoples head? I wanna do more than just go deep in water, I can already do that.” He expressed, leaning against Rachel’s calf.

 

[Beckspace]

Raven's regular energy shield bubbles did not provide air, so even though it may not be filled with water, after a while they would suffocate for a lack of oxygen. However, she did recall a spell she had read about recently that outsourced air from a pocket dimension. She hadn't tested it yet, but what better time than in action? "I'll think of something," Rachel replied to Dick before they headed off to the roof.

The feeling of slimy tentacles hit Rachel's leg as she walked, which grossed her out a bit, but she wasn't going to say so. She was the one who suggested the Cthulhu in the first place. Instead, she focused on Gar's question. "I didn't say you couldn't manipulate people's minds. I was just saying you were doing it wrong."

They walked to the edge of Titan Tower, the summer sun blinding Raven's eyes. She brought up an energy shield to block the rays and looked down at the little green thing creature. "Do you ever here me saying out loud what I'm doing when I go into someone's mind? I chant my focus words, but everything else is up here," she explained pointing at her brain. "Don't say what you want to happen, will it to happen with your mind."

Rachel turned to Starfire and focused on the area around her mouth. She took a deep steadying breath and chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Her mind focused on the spell and in response, a black bubble wrapped around Starfire's mouth. Starfire's eyes widened in shock and poked at it.

"Don't pop it," Raven told her. "It's more sensitive than my other shields, but it should give us a steady flow of oxygen down there. Won't do much for the water pressure, though, so be careful."

"I will be extra careful," Starfire promised before cliff diving off the Titans tower. Raven shook her head, Starfire and her idea of careful was two completely different things. She looked back down at the creature of the deep. "Your turn. Try and manipulate me to make my own air bubble."

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield rubbed his head when Rae pointed towards her own. If he thought it won’t was saying it way worse? Probably because it’s a bad idea to shout out your attack before saying doing it. That’s why Deathstroke beat him before, the unknown factor.

“Whoa you can make air bubbles! That’s awesome!” He said flying up, overlooking the sea below them. Watching Starfire go made him eager to test this new thing in water and tried to figure out what it could do.

Rachel’s explanation was effective but could he really effect someone as strong as her as this little thing? That would easily be the motivation of figuring out how to become this thing. Of course he could mess up some how and things could end badly.

It was hard to clear his mind after thinking of all the possible failures that may take place but a minute or two later he closed his eyes. Garfield’s mind began to settle and he imagined the same black bubble he saw on Starfire’s mouth but for Rae.

 

[Beckspace]

Of course she wasn't expecting Gar to actually manipulate her mind to do anything, Raven wouldn't be very good at her craft if he could. She wanted to see if she could sense anything coming from him, any sort of indication that he was a tiny Cthulhu and not just a creature hybrid. Suddenly she felt an irritation like a small itch in her mind. Like a fly, it flew around trying to reach the light. There you are, she thought, and squashed the bug easily.

"Nice try," Rachel said with a grin. "You were hesitating though, and you didn't want it hard enough." She stepped up to the ledge and took her cloak off, not wanting it to get wet. "Now come on, I'm going to melt if we stay up here any longer."

She did not dive in like Starfire, resorting to flying herself down and sinking gently into the water. Once dipping beneath the surface, she found Starfire waiting for her, her eyes glowing green in an attempt to see better underwater. That, unfortunately, Raven couldn't help out with. She swam over to her friend and reached out to touch her air bubble. The bubble reacted to her touch, duplicated, and was placed over her mouth.

"It is working! I can breathe as well here as in space," Starfire said excitedly. Raven was having a more difficult time adjusting. The air inside was thick and heavy, making it initially hard to breathe. "Remind me...never to fly...in space," Raven responded, forcing herself to take slow deep breaths to get rid of the lightheadedness.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield frowned a little, not feeling as if he accomplished anything, but trusted her regardless. “I can be confident easy peasy!” He watched her step off the edge of the tower and quickly grabbed her cloak, running it into the elevator so that it wouldn’t get dirty or blown away.

Gar then flew to where Rachel was floating down at and dive bombed into the sea, hitting the water before she did. He swam around her, his tentacles floating around his face freely like Starfire’s hair.

“This feels awesome! It’s so cool and I can see a lot better than a normal octopus.” Garfield had become an octopus countless times and he knew their vision underwater was far inferior to that of this partial Cthulhu.

“Let’s see how deep this baby can go!” Without hesitation his wings acted as propulsion devices which allowed him to gain speed. He folded his webbed wings in and began speeding down like a torpedo ahead of his friends. “Hey guys, is there a new type of red glowing fish? I can see one down there!” He called out to them. Whatever it was emitted a light that wasn’t constant, more like blinking every other second.

 

[Beckspace]

“At least ….one of us ….can see well,” Raven said, her eyes stinging a little from the salt water. Forcing herself to keep her eyes opened, she watched the green blob swim sink deeper into the ocean.

“I want to see the glowing fish!” Starfire called, swimming down after the Cthulhu. Raven was a little more suspicious, but followed Starfire.

The red glow in mention slowly came into view. Raven squinted her eyes, trying to see it. It wasn’t a glow so much as a flashing red light. She stopped in her tracks, sensing the danger of the light.

“Gar, get away from it!” She yelled. Holding her hands out, she creating a bubble around the light just in time to feel it explode inside of it. When she knew it was safe, the bubble was released, detritus replacing the bomb.

Starfire arrived at the explosion sight first, inspecting the area. She noticed that it damaged part of the island that held the T tower up.

“This was no glowing fish,” Starfire said, pulling her communicator out.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield felt like he was in a race to meet the fish before Starfire and he was winning. Though he could see clearly, Gar anticipated this to possibly be an anglerfish of some sorts but it was much to spherical and not deep enough.

Did they discover a new species? Maybe they could name it Awesomus Logannum. When Rachel shouted out to him his wings spread then with as much force as possible Gar launched himself as if he was taking off from the ground to fly.

He could feel the bubble shake all the way behind Rachel as he hid behind her, hands on her shoulders. “Why the heck was there a bomb near the bottom of the ocean!?”

Dick had just finished cooking his meal and was swallowing the first few bites when Kory called him on his communicator. He answered and raised a brow. “A bomb? Hold on I’ll be right there.” He stuffed a bunch of his food in his mouth and ran off to put his suit on and headed to the base of the tower.

Garfield, Rachel, and Starfire all were waiting for Nightwing at the bottom of the tower, trying to figure out the issue. “Did you guys see the bomb before it exploded? Any symbols or markings?” Their leader asked.

Since Gar was the one who could see the best he answered for them. “It was just some blinking light, BUT I did saw two other big red lights moving closer to the bottom but when the bomb exploded the lights were gone.”

Dick rubbed his chin trying to sort out exactly their foe could be. Underwater warfare, two big red lights that can move…. Anything related to water was immediately directed to Aquaman and there was only one villain he could relate to the sea king. “I’m thinking it could’ve been Black Manta.”

 

[Beckspace]

“I do not know of a Black Manta. Why would he want to attack our home?” Starfire asked.

Raven stared at the impact site. She had felt the energy of that bomb within her power it wasn’t strong. Anyone close by might have gotten hurt, but the tower itself would have been fine.

“If it was Black Manta, he’s not very good at his job. I doubt we would have felt more than a small tremor if we weren’t down here,” She said with a frown. “Unless-“

“That was just to get you down here,” a unrecognizable voice said. Behind them stood/swam a black costume and black helmet with giant red eyes. Beside him and slowly surrounding the heroes and tower were other swimmers, also in black, holding what looked like guns.

“Don’t worry,” Black Manta assured. “We’ve got more firepower. And just so you know, it’s nothing personal, you’re just in my way.”

The swimmers all lifted up their guns and directed it at the heroes in the middle. Raven felt terribly exposed and vulnerable without her robe, but now was not the time to care about looks. She lifted her hands up, focusing her power.

“Fire!”

Raven quick created a circular shield around her friends, leaving an opening at the bottom and top. Starfire lit up her hands, preparing to fight as well as giving them light.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield watched the source of the twin red lights pop up in front of them as he gathered them all together. The villain made the bold assumption that gathering them together to take them out was a smart plan but it had quite the opposite effect.

Dick was glad to be correct on his assumption on their attacker but even more grateful for the shield Rachel manifested from her magic to protect them. “Alright Titans, let’s show Manta how we handle things on land.” He pulled his batons from his back and ran towards the nearest henchmen.

The villain pointed his gun at Nightwing but the hero didn’t falter as he had some help from a friendly feline. Garfield had been practicing his mythical creatures and the one he found could be most helpful in hand to hand combat was a lion.

Not just any Lion! This was the legendary Nemean Lion defeated by Hercules, or so the book he read said. The green beast rose up on its hind legs to block the bullets that harmlessly bounced off his fur, protecting Nightwing in the process.

Garfield laughed and tried to stay serious but failed miserably. “Ahh, ooh! Ahh! That tickles!” He snickered while the henchmen looked at each other confused.

Beast Boy dropped to all fours and Nightwing used his sturdy body as a springboard, throwing his batons at two henchmen that were reloading. The hit to the head knocked them over before Garfield used his impossibly sharp claws to rip their armor effortlessly with an added growl as a warning to stay down, careful not to pierce their skin in the process.

 

[Beckspace]

“Land sounds wonderful,” Raven said, relieved to be getting out of the water. She enclosed the shield and brought it up to the surface, placing the whole team on dry land. Black Manta and his team followed quickly, leaving them little time to get ready. Raven was just about to reach into her pocket dimension for a cloak when the first firing shot from the opposing team zoomed passed her head.

Nightwing was the first to soar into action, followed by a giant green lion. Starfire popped the bubble still on her mouth and rammed into to Black Manta. Raven tried to ignore the vulnerability of being without her robe and instead focused on the henchmen firing at her. She reflected the blasts, trying to aim it back at them. Her aim was not the best, but one managed to hit its target, knocking one swimmer down.

Black Manta brought out a blade and slashed it towards Starfire. Unfortunately for him, Starfire had been practicing fighting against blades with Nightwing after their encounter with Deathstroke. She dodged left and right, then shot back with starbolts out of her eyes.

“Nice eyes,” Black Manta said, the starbolts not penetrating his suit but bruising within. “But I like mine better.” The giant red eyes of his suit charged up, glowing brighter than before, before a giant laser blast shot out of them, the pressure throwing her back and colliding with the side of Titan tower.

Raven had seen out of the corner of her eye, a machine on Black Manta’s back that was activated to charge and power the laser. She teleported behind him and grabbed hold of the machine. She did not manage to break it before Manta turned around and swung his blade at her.

 

[QuickWords]

Garfield gave Nightwing a careful paw bump as they worked their way through the henchmen with ease. Who knew the Nemean Lion would posses such power and durability all at once? Well, he knew since he read about it, but this was just insane!

A few of the henchmen ran after the downed Starfire after she hit the tower, hoping to catch her off guard. Nightwing wasn’t going to let his teammate be overwhelmed as he rushed after them, meeting up with her as he tagged the villains.

“Starfire are you alright?” He asked blocking melee attacks from the enemies with his batons. It wasn’t getting easier as about 4 henchmen began surrounding the duo.

Beast Boy leaped over the unconscious men on the ground dashed to Raven, covering her as the blade came down. He had expected to be completely unharmed but there was a scratch that ran down his back about two feet long.

“Guess I got to put another cat down this week.” Black Manta was certain of this animal’s the moment his blade scraped its fur. Beast Boy rolled off of Raven and stood his ground over the villain. “Another?! What kinda crazy dude are you?” He questioned.

Luckily for Black Manta his blade was Atlantean steel which was capable of hurting the Lion if he got a hard swing in. “How’s about I show you instead?” The deep diver ran at Garfield and the two collided, Beast Boy trying not to use his claws in case he severely hurt their opponent.

Black Manta wasn’t connecting with any slashes thanks to Raven and the cat’s agility so he gave a punch to the large feline’s chest but it was only enough to send the beast sliding back but not actually hurt him.

 

[Beckspace]

Starfire rubbed her head and sat herself up, one eye open in case she needed to defend herself. Her arms were burnt from the blast, but she was more tolerant of burns than most.

“I do not like his eyes,” she replied to Nightwing, pulling herself back onto her feet. Just as she did so, one of the 4 henchmen surrounding them decided to be brave and come at Starfire. She raised her hand up and easily blasted him away.

Raven felt herself being shoved to the ground by a giant fur ball, just missing the slash by the blade. She sat up and conjured shields to block some of Black Manta’s attack as well as give Beast Boy room to attack. The gash on the lion’s back gave her cause to keep a close watch on the battle. That thing can hurt him…but that laser could do more. She brought her attention back to the glowing red device on his back, determined to deactivate it.

With Manta’s attention on the giant lion, Raven easily crept up behind him, once again reaching for the device. Upon touching the device, a jolt of electricity coerced through her, a defense mechanism. She jumped back at the sudden shock, shaking her hand off just as Black Manta kicked the lion, sending it back. Raven saw the laser charging from the back. He was going to blast Gar!

“Oh no you don’t,” Raven’s eye glowed white and giant black claws reached out and pulled on the device. Whatever this thing was made of, it was too strong gif her to break, but she was able to wretch it off Black Manta’s back, falling back on her butt at the impact of pulling it off.

Black Manta’s glowing eyes faded, the laser no longer charging. He roared in frustration. “He said you were children!”

Raven frowned. Who was he? Why was this random villain attacking their home directly? It was time to get answers. She released the laser device and wrapped her claws around Black Manta in an attempt to capture him.

 

[QuickWords]

Nightwing was connecting baton to helmets and ribs as Starfire came back to her senses. He watched the remaining three henchmen be blasted away one by one with ease and nodded his head, relieved from fighting. “Yours are definitely number one in my heart” He smiled while the other two heroes combated the main villain.

Beast Boy did his best to jump from Better to barrie, hiding behind the constructs Raven created for him before he and Black Mantra finally separated. The outburst shocked Beastie but with his attention on Raven, he pounced on the villain.

Black Manta turned and sliced at the green lion’s stomach only to give another paper thin scratch on his skin, being pinned to the ground. Nightwing and Starfire ran over after defeating their set of henchmen while Manta struggled beneath Beast Boy’s paws.

Nightwing grabbed Manta’s weapons from out of his reach and decided to analyze them before giving them up to the Justice League when they returned. If they were able to even scratch the Nemean Lion then they must have some special properties to them. “Who’s he? I figured someone must be gathering these villains to fight us.” Dick questioned.

Beast Boy on the other hand merely laid down on Black Manta’s body, being so heavy the villain was unable to move. “Yeah and plus you said he called us kids. If we’re kids then how come he ain’t come fight us?” He questioned with a bit of sass in his voice.

Nightwing has silently notified the authorities while the villain spoke. “You think I’d talk so easily? You may have beat me but I’ll be back stronger and better than ever.” Beast Boy yawned in his face and stood up, paws still holding down the villain. “Can’t you like read his mind or something or is that bad?” He asked Rachel

 

[Beckspace]

Raven's claws disappeared as the much more solid paws of the giant lion took over, pinning Black Manta down. The battle seemingly over with, she took a moment to quick transport herself inside the tower to get her robe and come back. She hadn't realized just how exposed she felt until the comforting sense of being hidden was back. Appearing once again beside the lion, Raven crouched over Black Manta.

"I don't particularly enjoy it," Raven replied. She preferred reading emotions over thoughts, less invasion of privacy and it was a whole lot easier to decipher. "But I can make an exception." Usually at that point, fear takes over anger, but Black Manta was nothing but rage, not scared at all by Raven's threat. She rolled her eyes, annoyed that she would have to work for this.

"Ugh, fine," She closed her eyes and expanded her senses. The mind doesn't think in complete sentences, especially when the mind is trying not to think of anything incriminating. Thoughts remind her of the stars in the night sky, sporadic, some brighter than others drawing your attention to it. The anger Raven sensed in Black Manta's mind before was now coupled with words, the brighter sparks in the mind reaching her first, which were mostly curses which always are the loudest in angry minds. Pushing passed the profanity, she began to hear other words. Don't think. Water is wet. T building. This stupid piece of... Raven swatted the false thoughts aside, failed attempts at distracting himself from what was really in the forefront of his mind, she focused on those brightest stars.

Not paid enough. So tough. Just wait. Lucky shot. Luthor owes big. Thinks he's so smart. Better than those assholes. Who would want to work with those lousy. Justice League Wannabes.

Raven opened her eyes. "Lex Luthor paid him to come here," she said. She looked over at Gar. "Cheetah, Sinestro, Deathstroke, and now Black Manta. I think Luthor is hiring them all."

 

[QuickWords]

Black Manta writhed in a useless attempt to escape the lion’s paws but Beast Boy wasn’t budging. “Get the hell off me and I’m not afraid of your magic little girl!” He said. Before the group had rekindled, Nightwing would’ve disagreed with Beast Boy about Raven reading the mind of a villain but it seemed her powers had improved vastly since he last knew of.

Nightwing watched as Raven’s powers went to work and Beast Boy felt Black Manta struggle less and less the longer she was inside. When the name was revealed the lion gasped. “It was the bald dude after all!” Nightwing knew about Lex but usually his matters took place in Metropolis, why come to Jump City.

“Wait a minute, you’re telling me Lex has been following you two around longer than this past month?” Nightwing asked. Garfield stood up and took one paw off of the villains chest as to not crush him. “Uh huh, and we beat their butts every time! We gotta find him and beat his butt next!” Gar exclaimed as helicopters and boats were heard around the tower.

Dick held the weapons away from the eyes of the authorities and shook his head. “First we need to figure out where this bald dude is at, then we can kick his butt.” He said, the officers rushing over to detain Black Manta who struggled in the cuffs, cursing as he was taken. Beast Boy of course stepped out of the way in order to make things quick.

 

[Beckspace]

Raven stepped back and crossed her arms, thinking it through. "I don't think we were his initial target," She stated loudly, trying to be heard over the hum of the helicopters. "We also didn't know he was behind all these villain attacks back then, but now it's clear that's the case." She knew it was too much of a coincidence that these powerful villains who never before were in Jump City were making appearances. The first few villains who attacked, Cheetah, Penguin, they had a crime to commit. But Sinestro? Slade? The only goal Raven saw was to wreak havoc on the city. That doesn't seem like something Luthor would necessarily want, but maybe the damage was to get their attention, bring them out of hiding. If Luthor wanted her and Gar out of the way so badly, why didn't he just come do it himself, or hire villains from the area who may know more about the Titans of old?

Black Manta was detained and shoved into a helicopter, but no one was paying any more attention to him, having way bigger fish to fry. "We have checked Lexcorp locations before including the Brotherhood headquarters, that didn't help, but that was weeks ago. We could...try again." Raven suggested doubtfully.

"I do not think it will be difficult to find Lex Luthor," Starfire said, joining in on the conversation. "I have been keeping a close watch on Lexcorp activity. It is on the television all the time now. We could perhaps learn his location simply by watching."

"Luthor does seem like someone who hides in plain sight," Raven shrugged.

"But if he truly is the one bringing all these villains here, should we not call for some help of our own?" Starfire asked. "Other titans? The Justice League?"

Justice League Wannabes. That's what Black Manta was thinking. He must be thinking of the Titans, right? But maybe the real Justice League is Luthor's real target. "I don't think we should contact the Justice League. Something Blank Manta thought. I think that might be what Luthor really wants."

 

[QuickWords]

Nightwing took into consideration his teammates conversation after returning with a word to the officers. Garfield on the other hand shrugged his shoulders at the denial of bringing the Justice League into their problem. “We don’t need Superman to beat up some old rich dude, we can take them out, piece of cake!”

That and partially because he remembered what Black Lightning told him and Raven before. This was their city to protect now, they weren’t kids anymore and they were capable enough to handle it.

“Beast Boy is kind of right.” Nightwing interjected. “I am? I mean, of course I am!”
Dick walked with the team towards the tower as he spoke. “We can handle this on our own but we should be smart about it. It seems Lex has enough resources to reach out to other cities and even lanterns. We have to be stealthy when attacking him, we need to map out every detail so we can catch him at his most vulnerable.”

Garfield liked the idea of being ninjas and sneaking over to wherever Lex resided and beating the snot out of him. “Does that mean we have to catch him while he’s taking a whiz or something? And how are we s’posed to know exactly what he’s doing and stuff?”

The quartet entered the elevator and Nightwing shook his head, suppressing a smirk. “No we’re not that desperate. I’m thinking we could confront him while in a meeting or something where he’s notably without his villain buddies.” He suggested.

 

[Beckspace]

Raven crossed her arms, not so sure if she agreed. If Luthor could reach out to villains from other cities, shouldn’t they expand their scope of assistance as well? Ultimately she decided against saying anything more about it.

The elevator took the team up the tower and back to the living room as they discussed their next move.

“We have to be careful with this guy. He’s a well-known public figure in Jump City’s good graces. Mess this up and we’re seen as the villains, not him,” Raven reminded. The city liked them for now, but their past mistakes could always come back to haunt them if they weren’t careful.

“So we need proof that he is hiring these villains,” Starfire said, flying over to the tv to turn on the news. The weather was on, nothing about Lexcorp. That would have been extremely convenient, but she was hoping for it anyway.

Raven moved over to the window, looking outside as if she’d be able to see the answers floating in the wind.

“We know he’s after us, so what if we use that to our advantage?” She suggested. “Contact him publicly and ask to meet. Some of us could meet with him, while the other finds the proof we need?”

 

[QuickWords]

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders and walked out the elevator. “I mean who cares? We was famous too! Then….y’know. I’m saying all we gotta do is make him look bad and Booyah! We got a reason to get him, right?”

Nightwing walked towards the living room table and put Black Manta’s swords down. “As much as I want to agree beastie it’s just there’s nothing we can prove yet. Yeah we could say he sent people after us but it would be his word versus ours and as you said…I don’t think we’re back in the graces of the city yet.”

Garfield was becoming frustrated with another villain that seemed nigh untouchable because no one trusted them. “What if a couple of us meet him and he has like a hundred bad dudes waiting? There’s no way we could win that! We should just wait and get some of that sweet evidence orrrrrr we can run in there and beat him up!”

Dick stood in front of team and put his hands up. “Let’s just relax a little guys. We just got done fighting so I know we’re still pumped. Let’s take some time before we make a sound decision.” He suggested as Gar popped down on the couch next to Rachel with his arms crossed.

 

[Beckspace]

Raven raised an eyebrow at Nightwing, “Never thought I’d hear you tell us to relax.” It wasn’t out of character for the new and improved Dick Grayson they’ve been living with the past weeks, but it was still something she hadn’t gotten used to, knowing the Robin of old who never relaxed.

He did, however, have a point. They didn’t need to rush into this, especially now knowing that they are Luthor’s target, not innocent civilians. Raven wasn’t so sure they should wait too long though, and was finding it a bit difficult to just let it go.

She turned her attention to Gar who had just landed next to her, remembering that he had took a blade attack for her. “Hey, are you ok? That sword nicked you pretty good.”

“I thought your large lion form could not be hurt by such things,” Starfire added. “Is that not the case?”

 

[QuickWords]

Nightwing nodded his head as he began pulling up information on Aquaman and the Atlanteans in order to find out about these weapons. “You know, you’re not the only one who’s allowed to switch it up.” He teased.

Garfield remembered exactly what she was talking about and his eyes widened. “Oh yeah! He scratched my stomach and it kinda stung. Like a paper cut!” He explained.

Nightwing held the blades up and turned back to his team. “I was thinking the same thing and I remember reading up on the Nemean Lion. Apparently magic and specially crafted weapons can harm it.” He tapped the two daggers and placed them on the table. “These have Atlantean steel inside of them.” He finished his long winded explanation.

Garfield looked at the blades and then at his chest as if the wound had remained. “How come it didn’t, y’know, actually hurt?” Dick was walking towards the elevator in order to properly store the villains tools. “That’s because they aren’t 100 percent Atlantean steel.” He said as the doors opened.

When Nightwing left the room Garfield scratched his head. “Soooo does that mean special metal can hurt me? What other metal is special like that?” He couldn’t remember every mythological weapon material off the top of his head so he turned to Rachel.

 

[Beckspace]

Rachel frowned as she watched Dick leave with those blades, not at all pleased that they were only partially Atlantean steel and still able to do damage on a powerful Nemean Lion. If it were 100%, it could have seriously injured Gar, and there were plenty other strong metals that could do the same.

"Nth Metal, Promethium, Quantum Steel," Rachel listed off, counting on her fingers. "If Atalantean Steel can harm you, they probably can too. And more."

"This metal can hurt most people, not just giant lions," Kory acknowledged. "I don't believe there is any one of us that can withstand it, except for maybe a Kryptonian."

Rachel's eyes lifted up and she looked over at Starfire. "Star, Superman can handle Nth metal?"

Starfire did not understand Rachel's sudden excitement, but she matched it. "Only Kryptonite can weaken a kryptonian, or so I've heard."

Rachel was trying to figure it out in her head, if it were possible. "So if someone were to say, transform into a Kryptonian..."