Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

Heat In the Dark	By : shadowjack12345 Category: DC Verse Cartoons - Teen Titans > Het- Male/Female > Beast Boy/Raven Views: 18669 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans in any way, shape or form.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Heat In the Dark 4
Disclaimer: Jack owns nothing!
Odd last chapter: no fluff, no action... but Beast Boy got served a huge reality sandwich! No crusts.
The three male Titans all rushed to the girls' location in the T-Car. While focused, Raven's tone had suggested there was little to fear from the 'giant robot', so the boys were not especially anxious. Soon, it was obvious which way they were going: the mechanical behemoth was clearly visible above the surrounding buildings. Cyborg selected a spot to park the T-Car and the three heroes ascended to the rooftops, Nightwing with a grapnel and Cyborg lifted by a green pterosaur. Soon, they were as near to the battle as the rooftops would allow and they could see their enemy in its entirety. It was roughly 80 feet tall, humanoid in appearance, though its head looked more like a bike helmet than anything. Its structure was otherwise unremarkable: no obvious weapons, bland grey colour, no identifying marks. They then witnessed Starfire hurl a large star-bolt at the machine, and the space around it discoloured somehow, then resolved into a definite outline: a shield. The star-bolt fizzled out against the blue energy, which soon faded from sight again. Cyborg was already tapping away at his control panel, analysing the robot's shield. Raven had spotted the boys and descended to meet them. Her face looked even more irritated than earlier.
"It seems Starfire and I can't get through that blasted force field. This vexes me..." she said. Even in this situation, Beast Boy had to stifle a laugh. Raven opened her mouth to say something more to the changeling but was interrupted by a surprised Cyborg.
"What? Sending that here to face us is just... dumb!" he remarked. On seeing the nonplussed faces of his team-mates, he elaborated. "The shield is a sonic shell construct and is extremely vulnerable to sonic weaponry. Like this!" Cyborg's right hand shifted into the familiar sonic cannon and - almost carelessly - he fired a blast at the robot. The blue energy field reappeared, flickered and vanished with a bang. Nightwing pounded his fist into his other hand, already planning how to take the robot down.
"Okay team, first we need to-"
"X'HAAAAAAAAL!" Starfire, releasing her frustration as bright green energy, screamed toward the robot, accelerating and pointing her glowing green fists forward. She ducked her head at the moment of impact and tore right through the machine's chest, erupting from its back with another burst of emerald fire. The other Titans watched with open mouths (except Raven) as the alien girl turned in the air and began to approach them.
"Damn, Nightwing," Cyborg muttered. "You'd better treat her right."
"Or make sure you keep you will up to date..." added Beast Boy.
Nightwing only nodded mutely. They all knew that Starfire was strong but rarely did she demonstrate just how powerful she was. After another moment of astonishment, Beast Boy began hooting and clapping for the alien princess, Cyborg joining him soon after. Released from his stupor by their celebration, Nightwing stepped forward to meet Starfire as she alighted on the roof... but something was wrong. She was only a few feet from the roof when she fell the rest of the way, stumbling and falling to her knees, her shoulder meeting the roof shortly afterwards. The team ran forward, Nightwing grasping Starfire's shoulder and turning her onto her back. She was still breathing, still conscious in fact, but her eyes were puffy and she coughed into her hand, occasionally sneezing and shooting green sparks from her fingertips. Cyborg returned to his control panel...
"She's covered with particulate chromium!" he cried. On closer inspection, the others could see the glittering dust coating their comrade. They each moved to help any way they could: Raven used her powers to lift as much as she could but it was delicate work and slow going. Nightwing pulled a brush normally designed to apply fingerprint powder and began gently brushing the chromium from Starfire's face. Beast Boy, unsure how else he could assist, held Starfire's hands, making sure she didn't inadvertently transfer more of the substance to her eyes. Cyborg scanned her in more detail and directed Raven. After ten minutes work, Starfire was clear of the chromium and, while she had stopped sneezing, still felt weak and suffered a headache. Nightwing , now assured of Starfire's well-being, switched back to leader mode.
"I didn't see any chrome plating on the robot...Chromium is used in stainless steel but that wouldn't cause a reaction... Why would there be metallic chromium?" he thought, aloud. His eyes widened as the obvious answer screamed at him. "It's a-"
"Trap?" said a new voice, belonging to a shaded figure emerging from a fire escape ladder on a taller, neighbouring building. In the same moment, the figure aimed a curious contraption that resembled a large catapult and fired. The unusually large projectile hit Raven and knocked her down, her cloak falling over her. Beast Boy immediately ran to her, relieved to hear her complaining about grazing her knee. He helped her to a sitting position and stared, appalled at her left arm. Wrapped around it was a gauntlet, bearing magical symbols very similar to those used by Slade to imprison her months ago. That wasn't what upset Beast Boy, however. Affixed to the gauntlet was a nondescript grey package which, according to Beast Boy's nose and quickly confirmed by Cyborg's sensors, was plastic explosive. On the underside of the gauntlet was a time display that seemed to show 5 minutes, but wasn't counting. Horrified, Nightwing turned to face their attacker, lips curling in a savage scowl. It could only be...
"Slade!" Nightwing snarled, bracing himself to fight. The villain stepped into the light. The sight of him made all the Titans mildly nauseous. They fought many villains... Slade might be the only one they truly hated.
"Robin." the villain said, mockingly. "Before we get into it, I should set the rules." He waved a small device above his head. "This is the detonator... when I hit the trigger, the timer will start. When the timer runs out, it will explode, killing anyone near it... even the alien, given her current condition." Nightwing growled at him. "I should probably also tell you it has a proximity sensor: if any of you get more than 10 feet from Raven, the timer will start automatically... with only 30 seconds on the clock. Or, more specifically, any of you but 'Robin', here. He is free to follow me all he likes!" With that, the villain leapt from the fire escape to a drain pipe, sliding all the way down to the ground. Nightwing was already in pursuit, shouting back up at his teammates.
"Stay together! I'll be back." Very soon, the chase was out of view for the other Titans. Nightwing sprinted after the retreating Slade, through alleys, down into the sewer, back up to the street, up to the rooftops, back down again... Slade eventually turned to face his pursuer in an empty parking lot, surrounded by warehouses. Without speaking, he triggered the detonator. Nightwing attacked.
Back on the roof, the Titans fell deadly silent as the bomb beeped and began counting down. After starting numbly for a few moments, Raven broke the silence first.
"You all need to get away from here! Away from me!" Cyborg shook his head.
"That'll only set it off early. We need to give Nightwing as much time as possible. Raven relented. The gauntlet was suppressing her powers as well, just like the last time. She had confiscated that charm, which was very rare and prohibitively expensive. She had no idea how or where Slade had acquired another. She looked at Beast Boy... his eyes were wild and fearful, boring into her own. Now that she was paying attention, she could feel the terror rolling from him. Starfire's eyes had begun to water again, but not from her allergy. Cyborg's jaw was clenched and his hands shook. Raven herself wasn't sure what to think... she believed in Nightwing, perhaps even more than Starfire did. His rescue of her young self during Trigon's attack had cemented that belief. He would save them. He would save her. Unbidden, a recollection came to her of Nightwing speaking to her after Beast Boy's kidnapping.
'I'll save him, Raven. I'll save him.' She had believed him that time as well... but he had failed. A chill ran up her spine as she glanced at her arm - 4 minutes, thirty seconds.
"It'll be alright. We'll be alright," Raven found herself saying, no longer sure if she believed it. The time passed uneasily, each Titan feeling their hearts sink further and further as the clock ticked. Raven's left hand was in Beast Boy's, her right in Starfire's. Cyborg continually examined the gauntlet but had yet to find a way to unlock it. The time just kept slipping away... 2 minutes remaining. Starfire began to whimper.
"R-Raven..." she sobbed. Raven only squeezed her hand. They were heroes. They all faced death in the name of justice. This was not how Raven had wanted to die... but she was determined her friends would live.
"Listen... you have to be ready. When... if the clock reaches thirty seconds, it won't make a difference if you set off the proximity trigger. I want you to run." Starfire sobbed again, Cyborg made an unidentifiable sound in his throat. Beast Boy only stared, the occasional tear slipping from his eyes. He couldn't quite believe what was happening. Less than an hour ago, sitting at home, he had even started to imagine a life with Raven. A future. He hadn't even thought what he might do if, for one or both of them, that life was cut short. That was a mistake, he knew now... they faced danger every day, they should have at least thought about consequences.
'Stupid...STUPID!' he thought. After that, his thoughts dissolved into a mess, images of Raven's smile mixed with what he saw right now and, cruelly, his imagination spat out an imagined funeral for the demoness. He kissed her hand then, closing his eyes and trying desperately to wish it all away. The four friends waited, now feeling that their hearts had reversed direction and headed for their throats.
45 seconds.
Starfire squeezed Raven's hand, sobbing louder now.
"Friend Raven... I love you very much and I shall never forget you." The alien girl, with a final, wailing cry, released Raven's hand. Cyborg took it and leaned in close.
40 seconds.
"I'm sorry, Rae-Rae... I'll miss you." Raven nodded her farewell to her adoptive brother. Then Cyborg picked up the still weakened Starfire, headed to the edge of the roof and leapt all the way to the ground, running for cover. Beast Boy stared after them helplessly. He looked at Raven again... she looked brave but he could smell the fear... the sadness.
"Garfield... you have to go," Raven whispered, voice cracking.
30 seconds.
Beast Boy began to tug at the gauntlet, trying to get his fingers under the straps around Raven's forearm. It was useless. Raven winced and yelped as he inadvertently wrenched her arm and nipped her flesh.
"Garfield." ...nothing. "Garfield!" He ignored her. "Garfield! You have to-" she stopped when she heard a low growl from the man which quickly grew into a roar.
"NnnnnnnnnNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, inches from her face, his eyes furious. The anger left his eyes, immediately replaced with regret and sorrow. There was another moment of silence.
"Garfield," Raven whimpered. "Garfield, please..." He stared at her, only now realising he had his hands on her shoulders. He relaxed his grip... Raven sighed in relief... he was going. Beast Boy looked down at the clock.
10 seconds.
He looked back at Raven, who was panicking again. Why was he still here? His breathing quickened.
5 seconds.
Raven was trying to physically push Beast Boy away now but, without her powers, he was far too strong. He took her head in his hands, placed a brief but passionate kiss on her lips and then wrapped his arms around her. Unable to resist now, she held him just as firmly. They both squeezed their eyes shut and whispered their love to each other over and over...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Whoa! Things got pretty intense there, right? Wait a minute... what's this? Jack doesn't do cliffhangers, does he?! Apparently, he does. Don't worry, though, the next part is on the way as well. Seriously, I'm writing it right now!
-Jack
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Heat In the Dark