Chapter 1: A Vengeful Mistake

A green humanoid stood in front of a mirror in his more-than-just-a-little-messy room, trying out a variety of poses. In the middle of a dashing bow, he stopped, and his eyes widened as a tingling sensation ran up his spine. Without hesitation, Beast Boy transformed into a dog and began walking about his room. There it was again! This time he knew where it had come from and what had caused it . . . BB sat down upon his hind haunches, leaned his upper body to the left, and began scratching furiously at his shoulder with his left leg, trying to rid his pelt of the nearly microscopic parasite that kept chewing his flesh. He yelped, bit, scratched, and itched in vain, unable to remove the flea from his green pelt. The flea refused to leave the warmth of BB's flesh, and would not be taken away from his new home. The changeling finally sat back on his haunches, lifted his cranium to the roof, and began a chorus of mournful and imploring howls.

Raven was enraptured in the book she held, eyes growing wide as the sudden twists and turns of the thriller caused her mind to sink deeper into its little black soldiers that marched across the page. She might as well have been a part of the story herself when the most unearthly racket nearly shattered her eardrums. Immediately Raven knew who the culprit was. She kicked the wall soundly and shouted, "Beast Boy! Knock it off!" Silence. Rae smiled and sighed slightly in relief before turning to her book. Again the wailing began. She growled and turned her back to the door of her own room, using her telekinetic powers to shut her cracked door the rest of the way shut . . . without slamming it. It was difficult, but she triumphed in not slamming the blasted thing, coming out of the little tantrum victorious. The cries were muffled, and she tried to tune them out, to no avail. They grew more desperate and Raven held the book open for a moment, eyes blazing as they stared straight ahead. Her arms lowered into her lap before she slammed the book shut with a growl. She stood and tossed the book angrily onto her bed before stomping towards her door. The book slid and fell open, face down, upon the ground. The slightest thing made her even more irritable, and she gritted her teeth before striding over to the book and placing it forcefully yet neatly upon her covers before going back to the door. A single finger pressed a button on the wall, opening her door, and she took deep breaths to soothe herself as she went next door to the changeling's room. "Find a happy place . . . find a happy place . . . " she muttered under her breath. She had enough going on today than to get in a fight with her annoying friend. Swallowing a little more of her fury at the interruption of her peaceful hour, Raven shoved open the door. "Beast Boy, wha-" she stopped there. BB was whimpering and scratching so hard at his side with his left hind leg that his claws were tearing out chunks of fur and causing small cuts on his flank. Rae's right hand glowed a swirling mist of black and she grabbed him up off the ground in a small ebony chamber before dropping him to get his full attention before finishing, "What is going on?"

BB yelped as he struck the floor when the chamber evaporated. He changed from green mutt to green human as he rubbed his shoulder. "Ow!" he whined. "A stupid . . . flea . . . on . . . shoulder . . . " he managed before warping back into a dog and started scratching once more. Raven could only stare in slight disbelief and shock as he turned from dog, to ostrich, to cat, anything that could get rid of the dratted insect. "Do just stand there, Rae!" he said, having just turned back to human and was rummaging through his 'organized mess' of a room to find something to scratch better with. "Do something!"

Raven muttered something inaudible before turning to leave Beast Boy in his agonizing state, heading towards the bathroom. She looked around for something in particular in the cabinets, but came out unsuccessful. She knocked on Robin's door, but no one answered. The caped girl sighed and did the same to Starfire's and Cyborg's, but still no response. Why me? she thought miserably before returning to BB's room. He was busy scavenging throughout a pile of clothes and had just found a rubber ducky that he'd hidden purposely. Sudden awkward silence overcame the room as Raven raised a single eyebrow and bit back a laugh. BB tittered nervously and threw it out the window, "I've told Cy to stay out of my room, but he just never listens . . . " he quipped. Rae obviously didn't buy it, because the other eyebrow raised as well in obvious unbelief. He dove back into the clothes and the purple-haired teenager grabbed him--a bit roughly--by his outfit collar and began dragging him out the door.

BB's arms flailed, having just found an old back scratcher and left it behind, in an attempt to get away from Raven's strong grasp, proving unable to do so. "What're you doing?" he demanded.

"Getting your little problem out of the way so I can finish what I was doing!" the girl snapped in return, her tone obviously saying 'don't-mess-with-me-right-now,' and silencing the green figure who's arms were currently crossed in an indignant manner as Raven dragged him backwards out of the Titans' Tower. She levitated into the air, BB still hanging by his collar, and soared towards the mall. "There is a pet store at the mall, isn't there, Beast Boy?" she asked, calming down just a bit in the new light of the matter.

BB looked a tad confused. "Yeah . . . why?" His curious nature had gotten the best of him, but Raven didn't answer, so he didn't push her, especially when she was ticked enough as it was. When they reached the mall, Raven set the changeling down and led the way into the automatic doors. Beast Boy followed silently, and the two walked amongst the crowd, sticking out like two sore thumbs, and headed into the pet mart. Beast Boy's mouth dropped when he saw a little hutch of bunnies and he left Raven's side in a flash, going over to coo at the little rabbits while she ignored his presence completely, heading to the pet care aisle. She returned with a bottle of Flea & Tick shampoo, as well as a flea collar. Rae removed her hood and searched her cape's inner pockets for her wallet, before extracting the money to pay for the objects she had obtained. She took the receipt and, without a word further, popped the green boy lightly on the back of the head, summoning for him to follow her back. They started back the way they'd come, but it had gotten too crowded for Raven's tastes, and she turned to go out the opposite way. On display in the center of the mall, complete with pedestal and lights, was a dazzling moped that took Beast Boy's breath away. He forgot about Raven completely and ran over to it, barely refraining himself from running past the chains that were obviously meant to keep viewers within a certain distance of the sleek two-wheeled vehicle. Raven moaned slightly at this delay and, still carrying a bag in each hand, headed back to get the drooling humanoid. A sudden explosion, and the wall next to her caved in, sending a shower of rocks towards her. Rae dropped the bags and through out her arms, using her forces to halt the rocks and stopped their path, making them levitate for a moment before dropping to the ground. Beast Boy was completely unaware, in spite of the commotion -- he had eyes only for the little mobile device he longed for.

"Beast Boy! Look out!" Raven shouted, as a huge rock came flying out of the still-circulating dust, heading towards the boy. BB ducked just in time, but the cement slab knocked the moped to the ground, shattering it beneath the huge hunk of stone's weight. He gasped and transformed quickly into a leopard, leaping towards Raven and skidding to a halt beside her. Together, for a few moments that seemed like hours, they waited, poised and ready. Three shadows emerged from the midst of the smoke. One was tall, muscular, and hulkish in build. Mammoth was not exactly easy on the eyes, but it was wise to never take your eyes off him, because he was quick and ruthless in his attacks. The second was just a little midget of a kid, but Gizmo had enough weapons to make him deadly just the same. A tall, slender form with large ponytails that curved upwards in a way similar to the horns of a bull stepped out with them, arms folded smugly and a satisfied grin on her mocking, ashen face. With pink hair that matched the same color of her witchy powers, Jinx was able to cast strong hexes upon anyone who got in the way of her fun. The grin melted to a smirk as she said, "Well, well, well, what have we here? Are we interrupting something? To tell you the truth, Raven, I never would have thought you to stoop so low as to actually hang out with the green dork, more or less date him!" Mammoth and Gizmo snickered from where they stood behind and slightly to each side of her. Her hands slid down to rest on her hips as Raven's frown turned into a sinister grimace and her eyes began to glow a seering white. Jinx couldn't help but enjoy seeing her rival angry and chirped, "Didn't hit a sore spot, did I Ravey? Sticking up for the little dweeb?"

Raven wouldn't take any more. She, using her powers, grabbed a slab of granite and slammed it up against Mammoth's massive form, crumbling it with the great amount of force in which she had struck him with. He hadn't been prepared for this outburst, and therefore hadn't blocked it or even braced himself, so he went down, hard. This made the other two immediately angry, and play-time was over. Gizmo soared up into the air by use of his jet packs, and began firing his miniature machine guns at the changeling, who had warped into a fierce green eagle and was swirling about, pecking fiercely at Gizmo's gadgets, tearing them to shreds. A bullet finally hit BB, but it only knocked his tail feathers off (causing a fitful burst of laughter on Gizmo's part). Severely embarrassed, he turned into a pterodactyl and continued his onslaught. He was by far a much bigger target, however, and Gizmo took out his torpedoes. BB's eyes widened, and he quickly changed into a tiny hummingbird, flitting about and causing a lot of mischief for Gizmo, who could barely see him and kept firing off into thin air. When he ran out, BB began pecking his face and eyes, making him let go of the controls to shield his face with his arms. Gizmo realized his mistake a second too late, and he tumbled to the ground, crashing his machine and slightly electrocuting himself, as well as knocking him temporarily out of the fight.

Meanwhile, Raven and Jinx were fighting like there was no tomorrow. Jinx had already angered Raven beyond measure when she had went into Raven's room, as well as taken her clothes, when the three had taken control of Titans' Tower. Every time the two girls met afterwards, Raven insisted that every hit was in revenge. Jinx had started the current fight by causing a slight earth tremor that targeted the area around Raven. Raven leapt into the air in levitation and fired a blast of black energy at Jinx, who blocked it easily with a field of green flames. The young sorceress countered swiftly with a mystical force bolt, even being so thingyy as to throw in a graceful twirl before doing so. It cost her the time Raven needed, and she sent a coiled energy blast around to the back of Jinx just in time. Jinx's bolt struck Raven and she went toppling to the ground, but Raven's blast struck down Jinx as well, prohibiting further damage to the two for the time being. The fumes caused Raven to cough, and she was unable to see Jinx get up. Jinx was now quite flustered and not in the least happy, and she sent a fierce wave of tremors towards Raven. Beast Boy noticed, however, and swooped down, transformed in mid-air into a pterodactyl once more, and picked up Raven, setting her down a good several yards away from danger so Rae's head could clear. Raven was indignant at his help and shrugged BB fiercely off before soaring upward into the air and grabbing a large cart of plants, throwing it at the pink-haired girl. Jinx ducked, but barely, and it skimmed the top of her head. The twinge of pain angered her still further, and her hands spouted a mound of hexes and blasts at Raven, who swerved and swivelled about in an attempt to dodge them. The last one struck her shoulder, and she went spinning to the ground. Jinx smirked arrogantly and pranced over to Raven's side, seeing that the other girl was unconscious. She held her left hand upward, and a fiery pink mist swirled about her hand, growing steadily in size. Before she could launch this final blow, however, Raven awoke, and used her force and remaining strength to grab the same slab of cement that she had saved Beast Boy from, and threw it up against Jinx, slamming the girl into the wall. Fiercely angered, Raven pulled the stone back, let Jinx fall to the ground, then crashed the stone ferociously upon the knocked out form.

When Raven threw BB off, hurt crossed over his face, but he was given no further time to contemplate her strange behavior. A shadow fell across him and he yelped, turning into a hare and streaking away from the path of the rock that came crashing down to where he had once been. Mammoth was awake and angrier than before, towering over BB and ready to squish him with his bare hands. Beast Boy was trapped and trying to concentrate on something to turn into that could get him out of this sticky situation. When Raven tumbled to the hard floor, it caught BB's attention and gave Mammoth just enough time to grab BB up in his rough hands, and the changeling's eyes bulged and his face turned blue as he gasped for breath while Mammoth's hands squeezed the boy's rabbit-like body. Thinking quickly, Beast Boy transformed into a Tyrannosaurus; and now he was towering over a very surprised genetically enhanced giant, who turned and ran towards the doors.

"Titans! Go!" came a familiar voice, that of Robin, as he, Cyborg, and Starfire blocked the entrance -- and Mammoth's escape route. With a single solar energy blast of her powerful hands, the golden-skinned alien girl knocked the ground out from under Mammoth's feet. Cyborg took it from there, catching the figure by the shirt before he toppled completely over. He grinned and said, "Let me help you!" before throwing him up against the wall. In two powerful strides he was in front of Mammoth once more, and threw a strong punch towards the H.I.V.E. student's jaw. Mammoth was prepared and caught Cyborg's fist, before using his other hand to throw a punch as well. Cy copied the tactic and caught Mammoth's fist, and they wrestled in that position for quite a while, each trying to overpower the other. Finally Cyborg knocked Mammoth to the ground and yelled, "Booyah!" just before an electrifying jolt caused static sparks to jolt from somewhere in his back. Gizmo had awoken and thrown some sort of gadget into Cyborg's back, short-circuiting his computer and causing the Titan to dysfunction. Gizmo laughed and jumped up and down before yelling "Booyah!" right back into Cyborg's face.

"Why you little-" Cy started, but Mammoth had regained his footing and grabbed the robotic human across the building complex and into the wall. Robin and Starfire leapt into action. Robin's birdarang sang as it whipped into the air, flying way over Mammoth's head.

"Ha! Missed!" he roared, raising his hands to pound in the earth along with the Titan leader.

"Not quite!" rang out Starfire's gleeful voice as the birdarang came swinging back, striking a pole that had been erected and covered in streamers. It sliced through the wires that held it up, and the bar fell onto Mammoth's head. Crunching up in pain, Mammoth didn't give the alien girl a thought as she soared upward in a spiral of flashing green. Star's hands began absorbing the solar energy and transformed them into powerful starbolts, and began hurling them at Mammoth with amazing and breath-taking speed, all the while giving Robin enough time to leap about, gathering fallen banner and streamers that were still attached to the pole, and wrap them about Mammoth's towering figure. The mass of muscle was unable to move, and the banners were so thickly and sturdily constructed, that he may have very well been a fish in the net. Mammoth stumbled backwards before toppling over, unable to get free.

Meanwhile BB was having a heck of a time fighting Gizmo again, who had seemed to have been able to salvage a few of his toys, upon which the green changeling was taking the brunt of. Having already lost so much energy, Beast Boy was tiring. "A little help here guys?" he whimpered. He finally turned into a crocodile and whipped his tail about, knocking the feet out from under a grounded Gizmo, who fell to the ground on his seat. "Agh!" yelled the green humanoid, not from injury, but because of the sudden weakness that had overwhelmed him in the form of a terrible itch. The flea had lain dormant for a while but the ruckus had caused it to feed eagerly again, and Beast Boy was unable to fight the unbearable itching. He transformed quickly into a rottweiler, forgetting all about the bald boy in front of him, and began scratching fiercely at his sides. He turned about on his rump, paws slipping on the sleek floor, trying to gnaw at the itch. Instead he only served to make the skin raw. Now it didn't just itch; now it burned terribly. Beast Boy was in obvious agony, so Gizmo couldn't help but have some fun and taunt him. "Ew, nast!" he yelled. "The freak has fleas! Here, maybe this'll take care of it!" He threw a mini bomb at BB's feet, and the green dog's eyes widened in terror before he leapt backwards and as far away as possible.

Jinx awoke, moaning softly. Her head, shoulders, and arms protruded from beneath the slab of rock, and she couldn't feel her legs. She whimpered weakly in fear, and tried to use her powers to get the slab off her. Her hands shook and her head was dizzy, and she was unable to do anything about it except to collapse once more upon the floor while the battle raged on about her.

Raven refused to help Beast Boy for some reason unknown to the others, and instead guarded Mammoth while the other two finally got Gizmo apprehended. Police showed up, and the two were taken away. Raven was too angry to help Jinx out from under the stone, so Starfire, with her race's unnatural abundance of strength, lifted the giant chunk of wall easily and set it down next to the figure. She gasped, her soft heart nearly melting at the terrible condition Jinx was in. The pink-haired witch's body was scratched and torn considerably, and she was unable to rise or feel anything. Starfire and the others brought her to the hospital, where it was found that the young villainess had been paralyzed.

Raven's breathing nearly stopped when the news was told and everyone looked her way. Immediately shamed, she could only duck her head and stare emotionlessly at the ground. Now that such extensive damage had been caused by her own anger, Raven felt guilty about the extreme measures she had taken. Just a feeling that someone was still watching her made Rae glance up at Beast Boy. The hurt was still there, deep in his eyes, as he looked away, acting as though he did not even know her. This was one of the few times Raven had ever seen the inside of a hospital, and she hated the sorrow and awkward silence that had overcome the entire room. The team finally left Jinx in the hospital's care, until it could be found out what the doctors could do for her and where she could stay. Prison was obviously no longer an option.