#its just that one spot TTTTT

[sheseuph]

yall this was supposed to be a quick study but it took 2 months ..??? so heres me struggling the 2 months and im still not pleased with this lol

[thewhacko-blog]

Fractured: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 “Beast Boy, if you knew something terrible about me, would you still be my friend?” The question struck Beast Boy like a bullet. Something terrible? About Terra? Sure, she'd caused a lot of incidents before, but those weren't her fault. She hadn't had full control of her powers, plenty of people out there had that same problem. But she was better now. What could she possibly be talking about?

 She'd come to him around ten minutes ago, while he'd been trying to work up the courage to finally ask the question he'd been mulling over for over a week now. She was carrying her laptop, of all things, when he'd opened the door. She looked distressed, which caught him off guard again, and of course he'd let her in when she asked to talk to him. How could he say no to a girl like her?

 “Of course. You can tell me anything, Terra.” They were both seated on his bed now, and there was a long, awkward pause as she stared at her boots. Beast Boy slowly put a hand on hers, offering as comforting a look as he could. She smiled, if only for the briefest of moments, before she turned away from him, opening up the laptop. Beast Boy blinked as the screen flashed to life. It was....a chat log?

 “Terra? What is this?” He was genuinely confused now. Terra turned to look at him, her eyes looking on the verge of tears. He couldn't help but let his hand move to her cheek to try and brush them away. Finally, she spoke.

 “Its the chat log between me and Slade. I've been working for him since the first time I ran away.” She said it quickly, so she wouldn't regret it or change her mind.

 Beast Boy was sure that the look of stunned disbelief on his face told Terra more than any words could. His hand didn't move form her cheek, but he stared at her in shock now instead of offering that comforting gaze he had before. The young blonde before him was obviously torn up inside by those words, the actions she had just admitted to. It took him half a minute to find the words.

 “Slade? You've been working for Slade?” Was all he could say. Terra struggled to keep eye contact with him, the shame evident on her face. Her voice was strangled as she spoke.

 “He found me after I ran...back at the mine, he promised that he could teach me, help me. Make it so that I finally have some control over this.” She stared down at her gloved hands, turning away from Beast Boy as she felt the tears coming. “I was so stupid. I listened to him, and he taught me everything he knew about this stuff. And...he asked me to join you guys...get your trust, learn your secrets. I...I was supposed to send him the codes to shut off the tower's defense systems tonight.”

 “But you didn't.” Beast Boy said it lowly, moving closer to Terra. He could see the pain she was in. All the guilt that had built up over the last few weeks, it was all coming out now. He put an arm around her, and almost immediately she fell against him. She was crying hard, and all he could do was hold her.

 “I couldn't do it. You guys...you, Beast Boy...you're the best friends I've ever had. The only ones...the only ones that ever really cared about me, tried to really help me. And I was so ready to just throw it back in your face. I'm so sorry, Beast Boy.” She meant it. He felt it in her body, heard it in her choked voice as she cried against his shoulder. And he felt for her. Not just because he was pretty sure he was in love with her, but because he knew kind of pain she was going through. So he just held her, comforting her as best he could.

 “Its okay, Terra. We're here for you. I'm...I'm here for you.”

 Beast Boy woke up from the dream to the sight of Cyborg on one of the med-bay's beds. He was still out of it, most of his systems rebooting after the beating he'd taken from Electrocutioner. How long had  it been since they got back to the tower? A few hours now, at least. It was almost 2 A.M., so he figured everyone else had to be asleep by now. Terra was still beside him, sound asleep on the small couch against the wall. Raven was still there, too. She was wide awake, right at Cyborg's side.  Her hand was on his chest as she watched him. She looked ashamed, Beast Boy thought.

 “Hey, Raven. How's he doing?” He said softly, not wanting to wake Terra after the beating they'd all taken. Raven didn't look up, instead just looking at Cyborg's still frame.

 “I shouldn't have let Electrocutioner get close to him. I knew exactly what he could do to Cyborg and I let it happen.” She droned, her hand unmoving as she watched over the unconscious young man. She'd been right in that spot when Beast Boy had gone to sleep. She really had some dedication to keep watch that long. He gave the empath a soft look.

 “Dude, you were there. You saw how things went down, none of us could keep up. Shade had you beat the second you tried helping Cy, pretty sure it wouldn't have been much different if you'd tried hitting Electrocutioner a couple seconds earlier.” Raven didn't respond, or show any sign that she'd heard him. “Its like you always say, you can't dwell on the past. Just gotta look forward. We'll kick their butts next time. We always do.”

 This time Raven did look up, though it didn't look like she found much relief in those words.

 “This is different, Beast Boy. We underestimated them, and look how we paid for that. There aren't some punk teenagers with fancy training from a supervillain academy, or some D-lister that moved here because he can't hack it in Gotham or Metropolis. These are real hardcases, most of them have killed before. We can't afford to do that again or assume that things will go as usual.” Her tone wasn't quite harsh, but it wasn't her usual stoic drone either. It made Beast Boy a bit nervous seeing her like that. Maybe getting knocked around like they had affected her more than he thought.

 He felt Terra stir against him, and those baby blues opened slowly. He looked down at her and smiled softly.

 “Heya, sleepy-head.” She smiled back at him, nuzzling his chest once before she rose up to look at Cyborg. “He's still out of it. Not sure how long it'll be til he wakes up.”

 “Heh...not totally, BB.” It was Cyborg, and everyone looked up sharply. His eye was open now, and he rose up slowly with a pained groan. Raven moved to help him immediately, her hands on his chest and shoulder to help him up. “About 89% done. Should be movin' again in a half hour.”

 “Knew you'd be back up soon, Cy. Nothing that can keep you down for long.” Terra said with a yawn, then a wince as she felt one of the sore spots become irritated. Even with the Wayne Enterprises stuff they had in the med bay, they could only take away so much of the hurt after a fight like this. Terra blinked once, then looked around the room, fully awake now. “Where's Robin? He's usually here when one of us gets hurt bad.”

 “He left an hour ago. Said he was going to do some snooping. Starfire's in bed, before you ask.” Raven responded, starting to finally relax a bit as she saw Cyborg start to sit up, trying to make himself a little more comfortable. The geomancer didn't seem to like that answer, a concerned look on her face.

 “Should he really be out with his ribs banged up like that? Sportsmaster got him pretty good.” Beast Boy shrugged a bit, moving his arm to give Terra room to sit up.

 “Hey, you know him, Terra. If he decides he's gonna do something, not much anyone can do to stop him.” Everyone seemed to agree with that, though they didn't look too thrilled at the idea of their friend going out to find trouble while he was still injured. Terra sighed deeply.

 “Well, let's hope he doesn't get into too much action.”

 TTTTT

 Slade smiled under his mask as he watched the goons rolling in the barrels of 1174/AA, Sportsmaster barking orders at them as he supervised the unloading. The operation had been a complete success, with every last drop of the material taken from the lab, and not a single casualty. He could see that his team was money well-spent, even with the disappointment of knowing the Titans had been left there at the scene. He'd hoped that the changeling could have been taken, so that he could start to exact his blood toll from his wayward apprentice. He'd have to take his time with the boy, when the time came, and make sure that Terra got plenty of pictures of the aftermath, maybe and ear or fingers as well, before he'd move on to her.

 He'd have to remember to give the men the order to secure Beast Boy at the next opportunity. Parasite or Sportsmaster would have to be chosen specifically for that job, though. Some of his team still had something resembling a conscience, but not those two. Throw enough money at them, and they'd happily kill their own mother.

 “Sir, got word from Metropolis.” A gravelly, ugly voice came from behind him. Slade turned so that his eye was fixed on Deych, who stood as straight as he could before his new boss, still looking rather pleased himself for the raid on the HIVE Five. “Last of the tanks are on their way now. Should be here in a couple hours, Hangar 12 like ya said.”

 “Good. Send four to make sure that it arrives safely. This operation is too delicate to take any chances.” He said, turning and starting toward the door to his office while Deych simply nodded, trying not to look insulted at being dismissed so abruptly. Slade imagined the paycheck that he gave the aging thug helped to heal his wounded pride. His smile grew under the mask, and he couldn't help chuckling as he mulled the news over in his head. One step closer to the fulfillment of his plans, and the satisfaction of the revenge he would take on the Titans only made the feeling of warmth in his chest all the better.

 TTTTT

 Frank Worowski liked Jump City, he thought as he took a slow drag on the San Francisco Sunlight between his lips, exhaling a pungent tobacco cloud. He liked the warm, sunny days and the cool nights, the short drive to the beach on his off days, the decent high school his son went to (The only one in the state that hadn't gone nuts with the liberal horseshit as far as he could tell), and the half-dozen smoke shops within walking distance of his apartment.

 He also liked the constant supply of work for a man of his trade. Organized crime in Jump City hadn't left when those kids moved in; it had just gotten more organized.  Sure, the Titans made life hard for the supers in the city, and busted plenty of big jobs from the regular crooks, but guys like him went pretty much unnoticed. He was just an enforcer, after all, and a gunman now and then when the pay was good enough. Why would they waste time on small-fry like him when they had all kinds of other crazy to keep them busy?

 At least, that had been his thinking until he answer the call for muscle from Slade. He was still small-fry, but now he was working for something bigger than the families, and that meant he had to be more careful on his evening walks. He'd heard from the Gotham boys that Robin liked to hit up the muscle for information, and he'd heard about a few of the locals getting pinched when the super-crime was really slow. So he played it safe; sticking to bright, populated areas with plenty of witnesses, and never took shortcuts into alleys or some such jackassery. That was part of his reasoning for picking the complex he lived in, right next to the entertainment district. The noise he dealt with at night was worth the security it provided.

 He made his last turn of the night, flicking the butt of his smoke into the road as he approached his complex with one hand dipping into his pocket for his keys. Philly would be asleep by now, probably slumped over a textbook, and he'd just smirk and shake his head as he got ready for bed himself. Always making dad proud, that one. He'd make something more of himself than his crook of an old man, that was for sure. As Frank started to slip the key inside the slot, he noticed that the handle was loose. Unlocked. Philly never left the door unlocked this late.

 He was a big man, 6'2” and nearly 300 pounds, bald and bearded, and he'd been told before that he looked like frigging Bill Goldberg. If someone was in his apartment, they were in for a hell of a surprise. Scowling, Frank reached into his suit jacket for the .45 in his shoulder holster, starting to open the door as slowly and quietly as he could. The kitchen and living room were clear. He stepped inside, his piece drawn as he walked in with surprisingly little noise for a man of his size.

 “You're good at keeping a low profile, Frank.” The voice was young, hard, and instantly recognizable with how often he'd heard it on the news. The giant gangster turned sharply, Colt raised and his finger moving to the trigger. Robin was faster, however, and the boomerang caught his gun hand before he could fire. Frank swore as he clutched his hand, scowling down at the scrawny Titan before him.

 “Where's Philly? Swear to fuckin' Christ if you hurt my son-”

 “Don't worry about him. I only gave him a light tranquilizer. Worry about yourself right now.” Robin didn't sound the least bit worried, even when he was looking at a man that over twice his size. That more than anything, even more than the stories he'd heard from the Gotham boys and the news, frightened him. He'd seen more than enough of the aftermath of this kid's fights to know exactly how this was going to end if he decided to put up a struggle. Taking a deep breath, Frank relaxed his muscles, kicking his piece aside and putting his hands in the air.

 “How the hell'd you find me?” He rumbled, looking around the appartment toward Philly's room. He could see his son slumped on the bed, unmoving, but breathing, thank God. At least that was one less worry.

 “Your fingerprint was on one of the shell casings at the HIVE hit. Now talk. What's Slade's game here?” Robin said, his expression as hard as could be, and his tone made it perfectly clear how much it was going to hurt if he decided to play stupid here. Fuck it. He knew this day was coming sooner or later.

 “Look, kid, I'm jus' muscle. All I know is he's been flyin' in a lot of cargo from back East. Metropolis an' Gotham.” He paused for a moment, gauging Robin's reaction. He wasn't satisfied. Frank sighed deeply. “I dunno what's in the crates, but the last bunch he had flown in had Lex Corp logos all over it. An' they were friggin' huge.”

 “Where's the cargo being delivered?” Robin shot, looking ready to pull that staff of his and give him a good one across the kneecaps. The enforcer swore again, trying to keep as far away from Robin as he dared.

 “He alternates. Always some dummy corporation's hangar. Sometimes he has 'em flown straight here, sometimes up from Los Angeles or San Francisco. One he's got here is Hangar 12. All I know, I swear.” There was a long pause, the Titan leader frowning at him as he tried his best to look nonthreatening and compliant. Finally, Robin nodded.

 “Don't bother running. The police will be here in about ten minutes. Your son will be awake soon, too. I'd say whatever you have to to him now.” Was all he said as he started toward the window, onto the fire escape and then out of sight.

 Frank could only sigh, swearing and slumping back against the wall. From his seated position, he saw Philly start to stir and murmur. A moment later his son began to rise, groaning and rubbing at the back of his neck, where Robin had no doubt stuck him with the knock-out juice.

 “D-Dad? Is that you? Was....was that really Robin that....”

 “Yeah....yeah, it was, kiddo.” Frank's voice was soft now, subdued. “C'mere....sum'n I gotta tell ya....”

[thewhacko-blog]

Fractured: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 That could have gone better. Beast Boy sighed as he made his way down the hall slowly, head hung low and his eyes on his feet. The briefing with Robin about the names Terra'd heard had gone about as well as they'd expected. None of the names were familiar to him, save for Lester Buchinsky, who turned out was another of those costumed crooks, going under the name Electrocutioner. One of his old baddies from Gotham, a mercenary type that got most of his work from heists, hits and the odd bout in the Meta Brawl arena. None of them had taken it as a good sign. It meant that Slade probably wasn't going to be using local muscle any more, not that they were all that surprised considering how much of a joke those HIVE guys were getting to be. He dreaded finding out who else Slade was bringing in if he was willing to hire people from all the way in Gotham City.

 “I'll try calling the Justice League. Maybe they can put some more....names to these names.” Robin had said before he dismissed them. Cyborg had gone up to his room to do some research of his own, Raven to do some meditating, Starfire....to do Starefire-y things. Terra'd gone back to her room, where he was going. There were some things that needed to be said.

 He knew that he wasn't always good with words, wasn't all that bright, but he tried. He tried every day to do his best for Jump City, for the world, for his friends. Now for Terra too, especially here. Right now he was going to do his best to be the greatest...he really, really hoped...boyfriend ever. He took a deep breath as he stopped in front of Terra's room, hesitating before he knocked twice on the door. There was a pause, and then he heard her voice clear as day.

 “Come on in.” Her voice was friendly, sounding a whole lot better than last night when she'd come to him. He took another breath before he opened the door, doing his best to look confident. Terra was on her bed, CNN on in the background. They were still going on about Vandal Savage's trial after his attempted coup in Kasnia, which most of the interviewees were assuming would end in nothing short of a life sentence (For all the good that did in this crazy world.). She smiled at him warmly, then patted a spot on the bed beside her. Beast Boy blushed a dark green shade as he sat down, aware of how close she was to him. He stuttered as he spoke, but he managed to get the words out.

 “I'm glad you stuck with us, Terra. I know...Slade probably fed you some really, really good lies, but it wouldn't have been worth it.” He put his hand over hers for emphasis, squeezing it gently as he offered a warm smile. She smiled back, and squeezed his hand tightly. “I promise, Terra, I'll make sure you know this was the right choice.”

 “I already know it is, BB. You're the best friend I've ever had. You and all the Titans.” Another squeeze of his hand, and the blonde leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, turning his cheeks an even darker shade. “I can't believe I even considered what he said. Everything he promised...it was so obvious he was just using me, but...I was just so desperate. So...so damn stupid.” He felt her shudder against him, and he felt a new wave of hate for that one-eyed bastard flow through him. He calmed himself when he looked down at Terra. He hesitated for a moment, but eventual leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She seemed to like it, if the nuzzle against his neck was any indication. That helped to alleviate some of the uncertainty in his gut.

 “....Garfield.” He said it quickly, blushing as dark as he could as he looked Terra in the eye. She blinked, looking right back at him. “My name's Garfield.”

 She stared at him for a moment, then, softly at first, she let out a giggle. It was the happiest sound he'd heard out for her since her confession, and it made him smile to hear it. They stared at eachother for a long moment, eyes locked as Beast Boy began to wrap his arms around Terra. When she spoke again, it was soft, but warm and sweet as honey, making his heart skip a beat.

 “I think I'm in love with you, Garfield.”

 Then the geomancer closed the distance between their lips, and Beast Boy became the happiest teenager in the world.

 TTTTT

 They were an impressive bunch, Slade had to admit, as he looked over the conference table and the gathered men seated on both sides of the California Redwood. Six of them in total, all in their costumes, and all looking as intimidating and professional as they did in the newspaper clippings and CNN, Al-Jazeera and Fox newsreels. The armed men he'd posted at the door and at each corner of the room, all dressed in cheap suits and sporting MP5s or Ithaca 37s, were more for show than anything else at this moment. More men flown in from Gotham to replace the incompetent drones he usually employed.

  “Atomic Skull,”

 “Electrocutioner,”

 “Parasite,”

 “Captain Cold,”

 “Shade,”

 “..and Sportsmaster.”

 He droned off the names of all the men, each nodding toward him as he spoke. All flown in from out of state that night, all costing a million and a half, but all so very worth it for the plans he had waiting. The Titans would never know what hit them, even the little traitor. She, he decided, he would finish himself. No...too easy. He'd take the changeling first. Make her watch while he did his bloody work.

 Then he'd deliver the traitor's reward.

 “Each of you is among the best in your field. All accomplished in tending to the superpowered flies in the ointment of  men such as myself. Mr. Luthor himself recommended you personally, Mr. Martin and Mr. Jones.” He nodded to Parasite and Atomic Skull. Both looked pleased to hear it, while he noted Sportsmaster rolling his eyes. “I've spent a great deal of money bringing you all here to Jump City.”

 “Yeah, we know. What's the initial bill? Nine million for jus' us showin' up for the first job?” Electrocutioner. Less tactful than others he'd met, but with the skill to make his involvement worthwhile. Slade turned to the black-and-red-clad mercenary, his good eye narrowed slightly.

 “Correct. Considering the nature of the operation, there was no room to spare on expenditures. You all are here for one single purpose.” At that, the mastermind leaned forward in his chair, bringing his full frame into the light. “The destruction of the Teen Titans, and the securing of the West Coast.”

 That earned a collective mutter from the gathered supers. Parasite was obviously intrigued, but the more conservative of the bunch, Sportsmaster and Electrocutioner especially, seemed hesitant. Shade was the first to speak.

 “So its another frigging world-domination/revenge scheme. I've been there before, Slade. What makes you think you'll do any better than Luthor?” Slade had expected this sort of skepticism, it was why he'd chosen these men for this operation. He had no use for blind idiots anymore. “And even if pull a fast one on the Titans, beat those kids stupid and knock them out of the game forever, what's going to stop the League from coming in and saving the day as usual? Hell, they got Batman's old sidekick calling the shots with those kids. You think he's gonna just stand around and let us beat on him?”

 “The Justice League will not be a concern. As I speak, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Flash, and the Martian Manhunter are deployed in another sector of the galaxy. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are still occupied with the remnants of the civil war in Kasnia. They will not be in any position to assist the Titans for some time. And when this operation is complete...neither will they be able to rescue the West Cost without endangering the entire population.”

 Most of them seemed placated, though obviously Shade was still looking a bit hesitant. Understandable, given his history.

 “In addition to a hefty deposit into an account of your choosing, you will all be granted comfortable positions of power upon completion of your contracts. Do I still have your interest, gentlemen?”

 There was a long pause. Then, from the far left side of the table, Parasite spoke, a grin on his purple face.

 “I'm in, long as I get a shot at Supes after. Sure you can arrange that.” One by one, the other men added their agreement to Slade's offer. He smiled under his mask.

 This was the start on his road to victory, and the fulfillment of all his dreams.

 TTTTT

 “I can't freakin' believe it!” Gizmo shouted as loudly as he possibly could, hurling something that looked like a miniature car engine at Kid Wykkyd's head. The dark-clothed teen ducked just in time, and the engine dug a rather large hole in the drywall instead. See-More was still trying placate the little turd, as he had been for the last fifteen minutes. It was putting Mammoth on his last straw, and the thought of the burger waiting for him in the fridge was the only thing keeping him from breaking the midget's neck in two right then and there.

 “A year of paying dues to that one-eyed prick and what does he do!? He cuts us loose, just like that!! Says we ain't good enough for him anymore!!!!”

 Things had been going....poorly for the HIVE Five (Four now, who was he kidding), lately. There was the obvious slight from Slade that Gizmo was screaming about, as well as the fact they hadn't had a decent-paying score in months. Hell, they were down to sticking up yayo deals just to pay the landlord. Billy'd gotten pinched  last week, too, and it didn't look like there'd be any getting him out if the rumors about him being transferred to Blackgate were true. Worst of all, Jynx was gone. She'd seen how far south they were going, and she'd quit while she still had some dignity. Last he heard she'd moved East, maybe even as far as Central City to find better work. The giant was convinced now she had the right idea. If they didn't get a decent score in soon, he'd quit and go find her, see if she needed some muscle.

 “Well screw him! We don't need him for work!” Another tirade from Gizmo.

 “Dude, we get it! You're angry, we all are! But you're jus' making the stress worse! We can't focus on a heist if we're all ready to have a stroke over this!” See-More was a nice guy, really, but he had no idea how to deal with Gizmo. There was no reasoning with him when he got like that. Not that Mammoth was in much mood to try and reason with the bald brat anyway. He shook his head in disgust as he opened up the fridge, feeling his mouth begin to water as he eyed the double-cheeseburger. A quick-reheat, and he'd be able to forget his troubles for a couple of minutes...

 The door to their hideout opened, and something rolled into the room. Small, tubular, silver. The others were too engrossed in their argument to notice it roll along toward their feet, stopping a yard away from them. But Mammoth saw it, and he felt a surge of adrenaline course through him.

 “FLASHBANG!”

 Too late.

 No matter how many times he'd been through it in training, how tightly he shut his eyes or cupped his hands over his ears, it still caused him agony and spots to appear before him. Still, he fared better than the others. They were all down, covering their eyes and screaming in pain, if his blurred vision  and half-deafness were to be believed. He turned to the door in time to see the armed men storm in, rifles raised. The first salvo hit Kid Wykkyd square in the chest, sending him into a stuttering dance before he fell to the ground. He didn't move again. Mammoth didn't see any more as he felt a terribly sharp pain rip into his guts, followed by a thunderous boom.

 The giant fell to the ground, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the linoleum. He was on his knees when he heard the footsteps, his hearing coming back in time to hear the screams and gunfire. He looked up into the face a balding, silver-haired middle-aged man in a black duster coat, an  enormous rifle in his hand. Elephant gun. That was how they'd take him down with all his herculean strength and endurance. Professionals.

 “Sorry, kid. Ain't nothin' personal. Boss decided you're a liability after that sour note ya left on. Can't leave nothin' to chance, eh?” He barely heard the thick Gotham accent, his vision starting to fill with blood as he gurgled on the mouthful of coppery liquid.

 Ten seconds later, Mammoth and the HIVE Five were history.