Prologue:

A/N: This is my first fanfic, and well over a decade overdue in my opinion. Now that I'm older, wiser, and still a huge fan of the Teen Titans series; I felt this was necessary. That and I've heard rumors circulating the web that someone was casting for a Titans live-action TV series. I won't say it's true just yet, as I've been hearing this (much to my chagrin) for years with only broken dreams to count for it, and I have yet to see a plausible trailer. But hearing this rekindled my heart for the show I used to watch as a kid, so I watched it, and immediately saw things my immature brain had failed to pick up on the first six times I watched through the series (thank God for adulthood).

Personal thanks to my friends for supporting my go-ahead with this (whose names shall remain anonymous, if you know me, then you know who you are) as well as all the fanfiction writers I got to spend months reading into. You guys inspire me more than you know.

I believe this is about where a disclaimer goes; along with my admission that I do not own the Teen Titans franchise, but I figure it's like the government with taxes: I supported the show for years, so in a way, I own a peace of it in my heart; contrary to my dedication and unwilling donation to my country gaining me acclaimed ownership of the police car that pulled me over three months ago. No one was happy that day.

Without further adieu. *Que the dimming of the lights*

Falling Apart:

Prologue-

"Dudes," Beast Boy drawled out, "do we have to fight all the time? Couldn't we just…I dunno…have a peaceful evening?"

His whining was dutifully registered, and ignored by all present, as per the norm.

Barely a few steps in the door of the Operations Room, and the Teen Titans were already glared down on by the flashing of red lights as the 'ALERT!' blinked repeatedly on the main hub computer.

"Hey man! When did he break out?" Cyborg interjected with a half-pointed finger, following the pop-up icon of a rather unflattering profile picture, displaying the cause of the alert.

A redheaded, unshaven man dressed in prison black-and-white was posed one hand behind his head and the other stuck out with a prominent 'peace' sign made with his fingers, one eye set in a wink and his tongue sticking to one side.

"Ugh!" Raven huffed in a clearly irritated monotone, having had a date with a mug of steaming tea in mind to finish her evening. "They couldn't use a different picture."

"Control Freak! How'd he escape?" Robin demanded rhetorically, his fists clenched in frustration.

"Correct me if I'm wrong friends, but did we not put thee Control Freak in a block of ice with the rest of the villains, along with the Evil that is Brotherhood?" Starfire asked, glancing around as if waiting to be proven wrong.

Four pairs of eyes glanced back at her, more than a few mouths drawn out as brows rose. Robin was the first to speak.

"Uh, Starfire…I think you mean the Brotherhood of Evil."

"Oh…yes…forgive me," she beamed nervously, gently rubbing behind her head.

All at once, the red lights stopped, and the alert sirens ceased. They glanced around, half expecting an enemy attack. But the silence persisted. Before any of them could manage to get a word out, the screen suddenly changed.

"GREETINGS, TITANS!"

A squeaky screech exited Beast Boy's mouth as he shifted bridle style into Cyborg's arms. The larger Titan barely glanced at the shapeshifter before holding his hands up, letting the now sheepish Titan fall to the ground with a bleat.

"IT IS I…YOUR NUMBER ONE NEMESIS, THE MASTER OF – " the sound suddenly cut out as the screen continued to play. The team glancing back, watching as Raven held a remote encased in a black aura floating in front of her.

The rambling villain went onward, seemingly unaware of his plight, allowing the Titans to gather themselves from the initial shock. The how's and when's of Control Freak's escape could come later.

After a few moments of silent rambling, the overweight villain glanced at them through the screen inquisitively, seeming to poke the screen from the other side of reality. Suddenly aware of their lack of response, he silently began pounding on the "screen", clearly yelling furiously at them to un-Mute him.

"What do you guys think?" Raven asked. "Should I let him talk?"

"Nah!" Beast Boy waved as he shifted back, "let him ramble. It's a lot better when he keeps the…volume…down." A moment passed, then two.

"At least we can mute someone around here," she jabbed passively, causing Beast Boy to glare at her as the other Titans snickered among themselves.

On the screen, Control Freak, clearly irritated, pulled out his signature remote, pressing a button as he materialized in front of them.

He waved his arms frantically, his mouth continuing to move with silent insistence, but no words exiting. He finally slouched with an exasperated look and pointed his own remote at himself, clicking a button.

"Seriously!" he exclaimed, "I had a whole speech planned out to celebrate my escape from the cryo-freeze. This is just like when you left the Titans East here. Like…like…like I did all of this preparation for nothing. Like the entire last page of this story should never have happened. And when did you guys look so old? How long was I under?"

He started walking around the Titans, fumbling for what he perceived as 'different'. "Robin: your taller, more muscular, your hair is longer, and the colors on your suit are…darker; but you're still dressed like a traffic light. That's good."

'I do not look like a traffic light,' Robin thought as he clenched his teeth, before suddenly wondering just how long his hair was.

"Cyborg: you've clearly pulled some upgrades. What is it? New weapons systems? Processor chip? What ever it is, it's made your circuits look…bluer."

Cyborg shrugged to the rest of the group, mouthing 'bluer'. Although he supposed he had upgraded since the last time they'd seen the televised goof. At least he didn't look like a traffic light. He hid a smirk behind a clenched fist as he began clearing his throat.

"Starfire," Control Freak whispered almost dreamily. "Hmm?" He tapped his foot for a moment, his hand to his stubbled chin in thought. "Your hair has gained some wave too it, and has a lovely new sheen. New conditioner? And your clothes? The purple, it's leaning slightly more toward the red side of things. It really brings out your eyes. And I bet your abilities have matured, but not as much as that glorious figure has." He added the last part with a less than subtle wink.

She cringed at his comment before she responded. "At least someone has done the noticing," she said with an agitated pout, glancing at a now awkward Robin, who stood torn between his girlfriend's scrutiny and Control Freak's comment.

"Raven?" he took half a look at the floating sorceress before his eyes widened. "You're less…hostile? Relaxed? What's the term here?"

She sighed, half-bored with his clumsy attempts at grasping what's changed about her; not that he would be able to tell with her cloak draped about her. The other half just wanted to throw him out the window and call it a night. He was already taking up time she could spend drinking tea. She let the irritant growl leave her mouth, her teeth mildly clenched.

Seeing he wasn't making progress, the villainous nerd's eyes moved to the last Titan. "Beast Boy," he said professionally.

"Control Freak," the Green One acknowledged, addressing him nerd to nerd.

He moved closer, spotting the differences almost instantly. "You're taller," he stated, moving his hand up and down in a sign of measurement. "And do my ears detect a lower audible to your voice? And your insufferable pitch is almost gone. Fascinating."

"Ouch," Beast Boy grumbled, his nose cringing as he sniffed. "At least I had the decency to change after two years. When was the last time you did anything that involved soap?"

"Two years?!" the villain cried. "I've been frozen for two years? How could this happen?"

"Uh, dude, Brotherhood of Evil. Cryogenic freeze. Hauled off to prison," he replied, counting off of his gloved green fingers, just to name a few.

"Ah, yes," Control Freak confirmed, walking back up the middle of the Titans with his hands behind his back, as a General marches past his troops. "I have returned my nemesai, to extract my vengeance and release my treacherous televised terrors upon you." He turned around, pointing his remote at them. "Now, any last words?"

A green tentacle lashed out, snatching the remote out of Control Freak's hand. All eyes followed its retreat back into Beast Boy's hand.

"Dude, ever heard of monologue? And how many of these remotes do you have?" Beast Boy stated, holding it out in demonstration. "Do you know how many of these we've taken from you?"

"You've taken twelve if I'm not mistaken," Control Freak replied in thought, suddenly aware that he had repeated a past blunder and was now currently without his weapon of choice in front of his enemies. "Oh…make that thirteen."

All five Titans had no problem accumulating their glares toward their current adversary. With a smug smile, Beast Boy dropped the remote to the ground, crushing it under his sneakered foot into several pieces.

"Well…this is…embarrassing," Control Freak muttered. "PSYCH!"

A strange device was pulled from behind his back, shooting a blaster beam toward the floating Tamaranian.

"Starfire!" Robin shouted as she was thrown back to the ground with a trail of smoke and an oomph as she landed. "Titans, GO!"

"Your too easily distracted, Robeen!" Control Freak teased, taking aim with his newly drawn weapon. "I may have awoken from my icy slumber, but I still wield all weapons and power that television has to offer. My return was long overdue!"

The boy wonder dodged out of the way of the blast, Cyborg quickly taking his place as his hand opened up into his Sonic Cannon.

"Oh, hell nah! Not in my house!" was Cyborg's war cry as he charged, thrusting his arm out with a line of pulsing blue energy erupted from his arm.

Control Freak dodged, crouching down in a strange stance before thrusting an open palm upward with an emphasized 'Wha-twa!', squaring Cyborg directly under the chin.

"Mind your language Cyborg," Control Freak demanded with a wink, "the viewers are reading. Do you want to increase our rating to T?"

Robin drew up an arm, releasing several flying discs as he unsheathed his bo staff. Behind him, Raven chanted her mantra, her hands forming some arcane movement as dark energy formed from her hands.

Cyborg still in play, Control Freak threw the massive Titan at the oncoming projectiles, only a near miss as Raven's power was redirected to create a barrier between them. The room filled with a bright flash as the discs detonated, a charging green leopard suddenly dazed as it ran past the villain and into the computer system.

"Woah," Beast Boy drawled as he shifted to his human form, his eyes spotted and blurry. "A little heads up next time."

With a villainous laugh, Control Freak sheathed his blaster weapon, pulling out a familiar quad-bladed, multi-colored laser sword, its glowing auras humming and crackling as he brought it up to meet Robin's bo staff. He pushed back and dodged as several green starbolts landed where he once stood. He double flipped over the two sets of dark matter claws that attempted to grab him, ducking under a sonic blast, and kicking off of a nine-hundred pound gorilla. He landed with the grace of a martial arts master, sticking his fiery weapon into the floor, forming a series strange signs with his two hands together.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Is that Baku's Dragon Breath Jutsu from Ninja Village: Supreme?"

"Oh, so you've heard of it?" Control Freak asked, almost mildly surprised. "I've been catching up recently."

"I've seen every episode like…." He counted off his fingers silently as he mouthed his simple mathematics. "...Three times," he showed proudly. "Including all the extra special edition episodes."

With a smug smile Control Freak said, "Eight times."

"And you guys thought I had no life," Beast Boy grumbled to his teammates, yelping as a blast of fire exhaled from the villains mouth. A black barrier stretched out in front of him, holding back the burning tide.

"Nerd out on your own time," Raven reprimanded flatly, stepping forward with a frill of her cloak.

As the flames desisted, the barrier lowered, revealing a still smiling Control Freak. "Come now Titans, is that the best you can do? Even after all this time?"

"You do not know what 'best' is," Starfire stated, her body almost heaving as she released a rapid fire of starbolts from her conjoined hands. "And you have not changed with the freeze I see. You are still the 'Dork'."

Pulling his weapon out of the floor with Arthurian splendour, Control Freak began deflecting the bolts one-by-one in rapid succession, his blade crackling with each strike. The Titan's had to dodge to avoid the deflected blasts, a smoulder of smoke and scorch marks left in their wake.

"Oh, please," Control Freak said with the flip of his hand, already looking bored. "The last time you called me 'Dork', I was in a shipping phase. I'm so over you Starfire. I had a-lot of catching up to do on the internet recently and every fandom and forum on the internet already hitched you with the bird-boy, especially since Japan. The news practically caught the scandal on video. Add in the media tabloids and photos of your dates, they might as well make it thee One True Pairing. And suddenly my resurfacing threads are a buzz kill? Psh!"

The Tamaranian had the decency to blush as her eyes and hands ceased to glow. "The photos are good…yes?"

"Ugh!" he groaned in disgust, "don't get me started." He side-stepped a swiping bear. "You should see the other stuff that is discussed." He did a crouching swipe on Cyborg, slicing a leg clean off with his blades, causing the half-robot to wobble for a few moments before falling forward.

"Man! My leg!" he shouted, turning around to fire his sonic cannon.

Stubby fingers grabbed the hand before it could retract, pulling and throwing him at the floating sorceress with enough force to knock her down.

"Oh the things people write of forums," he proclaimed, swiping away a bird-a-rang and locking blows with Robin. "Cyborg is evidently labelled 'Forever Alone'." He drew out the 'Alone', making sure he was heard as he once again parried the bo staff's multiple blows.

"Man, that's just wrong," Cyborg chimed, barely held up by Raven.

"Oh-ho, it gets better," he stated with excitement, blocking Robin's blows with apparent ease. "Get this, you're also branded the 'Ruin of Moments'." He air quoted the prior label, then suddenly looked to the side in confusion, still parrying. "Though I'm not sure how that applies."

"Whose moments do I ruin?" Cyborg demanded, clearly offended. "I know to leave Star and Rob alone."

"It's RobStar these days, and I dunno," Control Freak shrugged, "that's just what it says on the internet."

"And you can always trust the internet," Raven growled sarcastically, supporting Cyborg's weight as best as she could. "Don't listen to him Cyborg, he's just messing with your head."

Control Freak parried another flurry of blows from Robin, finally striking overhead with enough force that the bo staff sizzled in half. Kicking him away with his Astrojutsu, the nerd-supreme stood tall. "Speaking of messing with your heads, what's more unbelievable is the fan-base for you and the green kid getting together. The shippers love it."

The green bull tripped over itself mid-charge as the computer's control panel behind it exploded in wave of black lightning, regressing to his human form as he slid to a stop just short of his target, his face braking his momentum.

Still carrying Cyborg, Raven's mouth half opened and closed silently as her emotions were hastily brought back under control. Trying to formulate a response that clearly wasn't emerging, she opted to shut her mouth and looked down at the ground, her grey cheeks flushing slightly pink.

"Uh, say what now?" Beast Boy questioned bemused, looking up at the villain.

"Yeah, I know right? Evidently the fandom's like to ship you and the grey girl together. Of course, all the stories and polls say she's the domineering one, and you're just the whipped dog." Control Freak laughed, clutching his belly. "The witch…and her beast…getting together. Some ship, right?"

He heaved between breaths as he wiped away a tear. He suddenly stopped laughing, glancing down at the Green One at his feet.

"Dude," he seethed, "it's not that funny." All at once, he swiped bare-pawed at a surprised Control Freak, growling between his lunges.

"Even if… I'm… a beast…, she… most certainly… isn't… a… witch!"

Raising his laser swords in defense, Control Freak was met with surprising resistance as the green teen adjusted his body, clamping his mouth onto the handle with a sharp growl, feeling the shapeshifters cheeks between his hands as he bit down.

Almost like liquid Beast Boy changed, his eyes slitting as he stretched and elongated, wrapping himself swiftly around the villain. In but the moment it took to change, a large green serpent now held Control Freak captive in its coils, the pressure of its squeezing forcing the villain to release his weapon into the fanged maw, binding his arms awkwardly to his sides.

"Okay, okay!" Control Freak said nervously, "so I went overboard on the whole domineering and you being a whipped dog. I was just talking, nerd to nerd…hehe."

The serpent's thin forked tongue wrapped around the weapon, finding the panel that sheathed the space blades before dropping it harmlessly to the ground. The coils didn't let up. If anything, they got tighter. Its mouth opened slowly, but a few inches from the villain's face. Two primary fangs glistened, backed by a couple sets of other teeth both in its lower and bottom jaw. Two slit pupils kept keen focus on the terrified eyes of its prey.

"I'm sorry I called her a 'witch'," Control Freak screamed, trying to wiggle out, but in so doing, only bound himself tighter. "Okay, I get it! You can stop now!"

A deep hiss left its mouth, almost like a sharp exhale. The muscles of its coils groaned as it flexed just a little tighter. A single drop of liquid dripped from one of its fangs. Its arrow shaped head reared back, its mouth opening wider.

"I surrender! I surrender!" he cried, tears of fear pooling down his face. "I'll do anything. Anything! Just don't hurt me."

"Beast Boy!"

The serpent turned to see the staring glances of his teammates. Robin stood forthright with his bo staff at his side but clearly readied. Starfire floated in the near back, her hands held worriedly to her chest and her eyes pleading. Cyborg was still held upright, watching with near unbelieving eyes at the scene before him. And Raven looked as passive as ever, if not for the insistent gravity of her amethyst irises.

The changeling reverted back to his original form, standing just behind what was once his prisoner. The hefty nerd still stood there unblinking, unmoving, his legs stiff but supporting him.

"Boo."

With an undignified shriek, the villain known as Control Freak fell forward onto the ground, panting erratically as he curled into a ball.

Robin and Starfire rushed past the changeling; the alien hovering just off the ground curiously while their leader checked his condition.

"He's still breathing," Beast Boy stated coldly, "he's just in shock."

"What were you thinking?" Robin asked, more concerned about the villains welfare than expecting an answer.

"I just made sure he'll keep his mouth shut next time," Beast Boy stated, walking away. He stopped just next to Raven, turning to meet her cloaked violet eyes as he laid a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. "Don't listen to him, he's just being a jerk."

"Thanks," she muttered, shifting her weight slightly.

"For what?" he asked, looking at her funny as he removed his hand.

"For…you know…saying I'm not a witch."

"But you're not," he stated simply, completely straight-faced. "You're you."

She didn't know how to respond to that. She tried to find the words that would express how much that meant to her but, it was…difficult.

"Y–"

"Ummm, I hate to interrupt, but could I get to my room already. I need a new leg," Cyborg stated pointing down, drawing both attentions down to his missing appendage.

"Sure," Raven stated not unkindly, just as monotone as before the fight, whatever had been on her mind immediately forgotten. Dark energy enveloped the tin-man, and she began guiding him to his room.

Beast Boy stared after them for a moment after the door had closed before returning his attention to a now recovering villain. Tromping over and pushing Robin out of the way (much to his irritation and alert), Beast Boy grabbed his fellow nerd by the chin till the met eye to eye again. There was fear in those eyes, and he could feel the villain tremble before him like a terrified dog, smell the adrenaline through his sweat as his fight-flight-or-fail responses ultimately chose 'Fail'.

"You ever call Raven a witch again, I'll test whether or not a little venom goes a long way. 'Cause you and our fans don't know shit about her." He felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder, looking up to see the narrowed eyes of his leader.

"Maybe you should head to bed. You must be tired," Robin insisted, an order just underneath his tone.

He roughly let the cowering villain collapse back down, walking away.

As the automated door hissed open, he turned back around. "How's that for a T rating?"

Once Beast Boy was gone, Robin looked down at Control Freak, still trembling something fierce. He hadn't seen someone this terrified since Raven's darker emotions had attempted to consume Doctor Light just a few years ago. The stark difference was that it was Beast Boy's actions this time, and they had seen this kind of behaviour from him before... sort of.

"What is it Robin?" Starfire asked, her feet hovering just inches off the ground, a worried look on her face.

"I'm not entirely sure…yet," he answered, glancing at one of their more or less frequently occurring villains.

Control Freak didn't say a thing. His eyes had grown wide, and his body made a scarce attempt to tremble. Any sound that came from his lips was muttered; the only indication he was still alive.

*Que Theme Song

A/N: This is just a draft, until I can gain some more experience and edits, and then I'll send it off with a proverbial bang! I want to enjoy the experience as well as the writing, and sharing some of my own ideas.

I must be poetic on my view of the "Flames" I have heard so much about. I believe this to be akin to "Criticism" particularly directed at a story (correct me if I'm wrong). As I have made this the ideal of what I believe "Flames" to mean, I shall explain my preferred direction of these "Flames".

I welcome "Flames" to the same extent I would roast a marshmallow. Too little "Flames" (criticism) and the mallow is undercooked, and raw, and personally tastes weird. Too much "Flames" and the mallow is burnt to cinder as not but an offering to the campfire. I would prefer the "Flames" of Constructive Criticism, so that when this story is well cooked and decently edited, I can make it into a lovely S'more (sorry if you can't eat s'mores)

That being said, Review as you see fit, but also let me know what you like best about it (I live off of the affirmation of others, but I want to write this story whether I get it or not). Also please understand that any fan-fiction jargon that gets thrown my way will either have to be explained, or I will have to look it up (either way) as I am still fairly new to this. Suggestions for future ideas are welcome, but I do have a general direction planned out for the story (as well as any sequels depending on how this first one does).

And on that note, enjoy the story. There are several more chapters to come, and I don't think I'll be stopping until it gets out of my brain (although it does make for some sweet dreams)

Hard Edit Update 4-14-2018

Final Edit Update 9-29-2018