A/N: This is gonna be a long one, so feel free to skip to the story, but please note the disclaimer at the end.

I am super excited to start posting this story. I've been working on it for a while now, even with everything else getting in the way. The inspiration for it is a musical available on YouTube by Todrick Hall called Straight Outta Oz. I highly recommend it because it is amazing, but for some reason, this plot was the first thing I thought of when I listened to the songs for a second time. Each song became a chapter in my head and I drew as much from the themes of the songs as from the actual Wizard of Oz movie. While I will not be referencing lyrics of any kind in the story, I may use or reference songs in my titles. If you do watch it, you'll probably be able to pick them out (and you might even be able to guess where the story's going).

For the Teen Titans, this takes place after the events of my earlier story, A Masquerader's Ball (though it can also be read on its own). In Wizard of Oz terms, the Oz here is based only on the original movie (not the book) and does not include Wicked or any other adaptations.

A big thanks to all my readers and reviewers. I encourage everything you guys have to say on this one. It's taken up so much of my time that I'd love to know your thoughts. I really hope you enjoy it.

Lastly, I do not have any affiliation to or ownership of Straight Outta Oz or Todrick Hall's work. I'm just a fan. I gain no monetary compensation. I also have no ownership of Teen Titans or DC Comics and gain nothing but satisfaction from writing this.

Without further ado, on y va!

Chapter 1: Behind the Curtain

"Titans, go!"

Robin's battle cry echoed down Main Street, followed by a mad dash of shouts, claws, and glowing eyes. Starfire sent down a barrage of bright green starbolts onto a battle ready Adonis, easily leaving him open to a powerful sonic cannon blast from Cyborg.

"Is that all you got?!" Adonis cried out, barely perturbed by the assaults.

A lion's roar answered fiercely before Adonis was met with a set of emerald paws and sharp teeth. The force of Beast Boy's leap knocked the villain down onto his back and the two wrestled for a moment before Beast Boy was thrown forcefully into the side of Home Sweets Café, effectively destroying their daily specials display. Adonis had no smart remark this time as he began to lift himself up once more.

Far away in Titans Tower, a white fog floated in through the air vents, swirling and sifting its way into the basement and up the stairwell.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!"

Adonis raised his eyes at the sound of Raven's mantra, only to find himself face to face with a full trash dumpster, the bold yellow print of Jump Dump shining brightly through the all-encompassing black aura. It toppled him over once more and a broken garbage bag spilled its rancid contents over him and onto the street below.

Adonis pulled himself up with a furious cry, face twisted in a vengeful scowl.

"Still playin' hard to get then?" he choked out before ripping up a nearby fire hydrant and hurtling it towards Raven. She shot up a wall of black energy that blocked the projectile, which veered off towards Herb's Thrift Shop, splintering the building's front door. Her own nasty snarl answered Adonis's taunt and, with another wave of her hands, she began ripping up chunks of pavement to toss at him.

Robin took the opportunity to dash forward, tossing out a freeze disk at Adonis's feet while Starfire looped back with another round of starbolts.

The fog tumbled into the corridor and drifted its way across to the Main Ops room and its adjacent kitchen. It floated up into the cabinets and softly fell back down to the floor with a sigh.

Adonis grinned devilishly before pressing a shiny red button on his right wrist. The grin turned into a deep laugh as his armored suit expanded, shattering the ice at his feet and bulking his form like a fast acting steroid shot.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Adonis jested before lashing out at the Boy Wonder.

Robin dodged his swings with a practiced grace before countering with his bo staff in an attempt to drive the villain back. A swift finishing kick hit its mark, but the steel toed boot barely left a mark in Adonis's ruby red armor. Robin managed to avoid two angry fists with a backwards somersault before another one of Raven's projectiles knocked Adonis back.

Starfire dove in with a fierce tackle, knocking him down for a third time.

"I don't take advice from a guy who can't even stand on his own two feet," Robin quipped.

An emerald green mist rose up from the ground of Titan's Tower with a hiss, following the path of the white fog in a thick line.

"Looks like he's got a new upgrade," Cyborg said from behind Robin.

"Well, we've got new tricks, too," Beast Boy came up to join them, glaring at Adonis with a golden glint in his emerald eyes.

"Careful, B. I don't think it's that simple."

Adonis had risen up once more to battle Starfire, who now danced above his hulking form, trading starbolts for punches. Raven continued to toss chunks of concrete and a couple street signs, waiting for him to trip up, but the blows he took only seemed to push him harder.

"His suit's just storing power from our attacks. Every hit is like a fuel boost."

"Dude, how's that even fair?" Beast Boy asked.

"It doesn't matter. I've got a plan," Robin stated before starting forward. "Keep him distracted and don't hold back."

"He'll just keep getting bigger," Cyborg called after a quickly retreating Robin.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Beast Boy stated with a smirk before following.

The green mist rushed in much faster than its white counterpart, winding and twisting its way rapidly down the halls of Titan's Tower. The two colors clashed in the elevator, the white leaping up and out to escape its predator while the green continued to drag it down. Both rushed out into the top floor, spilling over into the Boy Wonder's room.

Robin dashed behind Adonis and kept going until he reached the massive Jump City Federal Reserve Bank just behind the battle. With the help of his grappling hook, he lifted himself up to the stone gargoyle at the top of one of the bank's ornate side columns and worked quickly to wrap the line securely around the base of the statue.

Cyborg had run out in front to assault Adonis with a few carefully aimed sonic blasts, some of which grazed the suit with a metal clang.

The dueling fogs fell, writhing, under the door into Cyborg's room, causing the computer screens to turn to static. The keyboard sparked as the white fog raced out once more and doubled back, green hot on its trail.

Beast Boy quickly morphed into a pterodactyl and flew up to assist Starfire. He effortlessly joined the aerial ballet above Adonis with a series of twists and dives, savoring the ability to taunt his opponent once more.

Starfire let out a war cry as her eyes glowed a fierce green and shot out two beams at Adonis. He stumbled back for a moment, barely able to stand the blast before another press of the red button made him even larger. He grinned before striking back.

A crackling snap rang through the halls as the green mist launched itself into its prey and both colors tumbled into Starfire's room, kicking up white flecks like dust to scatter across her bed. Still, a tendril of white leapt out and rounded the corridor to the other end of the tower.

Robin leaped off his stone perch and made his way back down the column in a spiral, wrapping the line around the structure as he went. Once he reached the bottom, he ran for the other side of the street.

Starfire, vigilant as always to Robin's whereabouts, dodged Adonis's counterstrike with ease and dove down to assist her beau, whose precarious position behind Adonis's currently massive feet made her worry.

Beast Boy took the form of an eagle and picked up speed to fly circles around Adonis's head. Raven continued to launch trash cans and other debris, hoping to keep the narcissistic villain from landing a hit on the green bird.

The white and green mists filled up the corridor and stretched on, dueling for dominance the whole way. The walls of the tower trembled in their wake.

Tameranean met Boy Wonder eagerly, reaching out to lift him up. Robin held the grappling hook taught in one hand and lunged for Starfire with the other.

Adonis, however, had one less opponent to worry about and eagerly slammed a fist towards Beast Boy as he swooped in for a close attack. The force of the unexpected blow knocked the boy into Cyborg down below, tossing the metal man straight into the brick wall of a nearby Wonder-Mart while Beast Boy tumbled into the side of a yellow corvette.

Adonis leaped forward to swing at Raven, almost tripping up Robin and Starfire on their return trip from the flag pole across the street. Raven ducked down, narrowly missing the hit.

She summoned a black barrier to guard herself as she moved to draw Adonis back the other way. He followed, but his right fist hit her shield as he swung back around and the jolt was too much for Raven to sustain it. The black energy dissipated and she fell back rapidly towards the street, only to be caught by a large red hand.

"See? You're already falling for me," Adonis noted, smirk donning his features. He closed his left hand tightly around her, intentionally restricting her lung capacity.

He didn't see the green triceratops running straight for his legs.

The mists swirled up and around each other like twisting wires until finally bursting at the top with a whimper. The green foe broke apart and scattered, falling through the small opening underneath Raven's door. The white mist curled into itself before sliding into Beast Boy's room.

The supersized Adonis tumbled forward across Robin's makeshift trip wire, Raven still clutched in his palm. Starfire held onto Robin as the two zipped around Adonis's feet once more, deftly avoiding the scattered rocks that kicked up as their foe tumbled. Once they passed through safely, the two headed back to the bank columns

"Raven!" Beast Boy called out.

A sigh and a snarl wrapped its way through the remainder of the tower as the green mist dissipated altogether, at last leaving its prey behind.

Raven's eyes glowed white as Adonis held on, too surprised to release her. The red suit became fully encased in black energy before it began to shrink, caving in on the villain until he cried out in desperation. He released her just before hitting the pavement, hard.

Still, Raven hung suspended in the air just above Adonis, lips curled upward as the black aura continued to crush him like a python killing its prey. The villain's feet lay suspended in the air, caught up in Robin's trick and making him look more like a fly caught in a spider web than a threat.

"Raven, we got him! Stop!" Beast Boy called out, dashing over in a frantic attempt to reach her.

Raven's eyes flashed red for a moment before suddenly returning to their bright violet color. The black energy vanished instantly and Adonis let out a pained sigh of relief, letting his head droop forward in defeat.

The white mist, alone at last, reached out to every room and corner of the tower and settled deep into the floors to wait in silence.

"Raven! What was that?" Robin stormed over as she floated down a few feet away from the trapped villain. Anger and concern bled off him like an open wound.

Raven failed to answer him. She felt his harsh terror just as strongly as Adonis' strong mixture of fear and relief. Or was that her own?

Beast Boy reached out to grab her arm. "Rae? Are you okay?" His voice sounded muffled until she turned to face him. Astonishingly, his fear trumped her own, despite its softness.

Adonis groaned in the background and Starfire flew down to stand only a few feet away, perhaps to keep an eye on both of them. Raven could feel the alien's crisp anxiety already and was relieved that she made no move to approach.

"Raven!" Robin repeated. "What happened?"

She turned to face him then, prepared to match his own level of frustration. "He wouldn't let go," she explained flatly.

"So, why didn't you stop afterwards?"

"C'mon, Rob" Beast Boy chimed in, to the dismay of both Robin and Raven, "chill out. He's fine now."

"He seems fine, but I need to make sure this isn't going to happen again," Robin offered, still looking at Raven.

"It won't," Raven confirmed.

"Yeah, it won't," Beast Boy added. "Besides, it's Adonis. He always kinda has it comin' the way he talks to her."

Raven turned to glare at the green boy until he could feel her eyes on him. Nervously, he raised a hand to ruffle the hair on the back of his head, then pointed towards Cyborg in answer, who had just joined Starfire in her guard duty, before stepping away.

Raven turned back to Robin as Beast Boy walked off, defeated. She made a mental note to deal with him later "I…" She sighed. "I know I shouldn't let him get to me. I usually don't pay any attention to it."

Robin nodded his understanding. "I get it, but just remember that we're supposed to be better than that. You're better than that."

Raven responded with a curt nod that left her head hanging down.

Robin tentatively reached a hand out to grasp her shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

Raven looked up, eyebrow raised. "If you're trying for a clinical approach, lose the physical contact. Otherwise, your mother hen routine needs some work."

"Raven."

"It's nothing I can't handle. I apologize for the outburst. Honestly, some meditation when we get back should do."

Apparently satisfied, Robin withdrew his hand and a reassuring smile crossed his face before he left to join the others.

Raven let her eyes shut for a moment, gathering her wits about her. From behind, Adonis let out another miserable groan, probably from the blood rushing to his head. If she held out long enough, she could avoid him until the police showed up. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure how long she could ignore Beast Boy. Even more unfortunately, she didn't entirely want him to stay away.

"Rae."

She took a large breath, then let it out again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired," she lied.

Beast Boy didn't call her out on it, choosing instead to pull slightly on her shoulder until she turned to face him.

"Is this about—"

"I don't want to talk about that here."

He watched her with wide eyes for a moment before nodding. For once in his life, he stayed silent and the two waited quietly until the police sirens sounded their approach.