Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Here it is! I really hope you think it's an improvement from the previous one, because I sure do. I changed up the interactions quite a bit, so I hope you don't mind. And I am seriously debating whether or not to make this an M rating in the future. Your input would be really nice :). I would also like to add that the relationships in this story (primarily BBRae, with hints of RobStar) will progress very slowly. I want it to give off a sense of 'real' and deep love, not just a 'love at first sight' sorta thing. Ya know?

Warning: Mild cursing

If you can, your reviews always brighten my day! And I may take a suggestion or two if left ;)

Enjoy


"Is this real?" The question hung idly in the air, without answer. Not that he had expected one, mind you, but he did have a habit of talking to himself.

Sighing, his eyes closed. It was quiet, the only sound being the light whir of his air conditioner. A serene blue light gleamed between his slightly parted curtains, casting a calm glow over his still figure. A myraid of emotions cluttered his frantic mind, because despite how tranquil the setting; a catastrophic event had already begun.

Mento was kicking him from the team. Well, not exactly, but that was pretty much what was happening. As crime lowered in Rhode Island, it was quickly becoming out of hand in the West. Specifically, in Jump City, home of the Teen Titans. They were a small group of heroes, from what he gathered, and in a few ways similar to the Doom Patrol.

For example, they ran on a sort of hierarchy system. Where as Mento led the Doom Patrol, Robin was the self-proclaimed leader of the Titans. Starfire came next, as the boy wonder's love interest. Cyborg and Raven seemed to share some sort of common ground, though Raven was ten times as powerful.

It was actually kind of basic. Beast Boy assumed nearly every, if not all, hero teams had a similar system. How else would anything ever be done? If everyone had equal standing, than whats to stop them from skipping training? Ignoring orders? These things were simply a necessity when dealing with powerful people, hero or not, they had to be kept in check.

Three knocks met his elven ears, and he groaned, reluctantly climbing from his lying position. Glaring harshly at the door, his irritation was evident as he barked out a response.

"Go away Cliff! I'm packing!" The metal man sighed, the sound rough and metallic ,staring intently at the door before him.

"Well we're leaving in three hours. You don't want to piss Mento off, kid, not today."

The changeling chuckled half-heartedly. "Who's to say I don't?"

Sigh, "Just trust me on this one. Despite what you may think, no one is happy you're leaving."

As the man's metal boots pounded down the hall, Beast Boy had to wonder if that were true.


They had parted ways on a dull note.

It wasn't a grand goodbye; wishes of good luck, some brief hugs, and a few tears on Rita's behalf. After his attempted escape years prior, his relationship with his adoptive family had become quite strained; more than before anyhow. A part of him loved finally leaving for something new, a fresh start. Because as much as he tried to deny it, the Doom Patrol just didn't respect him as a hero. He would always be Beast Boy: a disobedient smartass who didn't know when to shut his damn mouth.

He had taken Cliff's advice, deciding not to do anything all too drastic before their departure. Yet, despite his compliancy, his adoptive father seemed very gruff and uncaring. The man was practically born with a stick up his ass.

The green teen sighed, internaly debating whether or not to attend this stupid thing. For some reason, completely beyond his knowledge, Robin had deemed it fit to formally introduce him to the city. Formally, formally. As in black tie only, expensive colognes, and bathroom mints. He was lucky Rita had snuck a tux into his duffle bag, otherwise he would 've made a very poor first impression.

Running a hand through his pine green locks, he glanced at the doorway to the gala. He was currently partially hidden behind a large black GMC, leaning lightly against the glossy hood. Honestly, he felt kinda silly about the whole thing. He was seventeen fucking years old. Literally on the brim of adulthood and he suddenly couldn't handle being a little social. Him, of all people?!

Yeah, no. He wasn't about to let some dumb gala get him all twisted.

Pushing off the car, he adjusted his tie, glancing at his reflection in the glossed over windows. His tux was extremely uncomfortable, and he'd likely burn it afterwards, but he did look good. The shiny black material was akin to silk, and very nicely contrasted his emerald skin. Beneath he wore a bright white button up, tie loosely drawn around his neck. His pants were perhaps the most uncomfortable, and were a little too tight for his tastes, but he had to trust Rita's judgement.

Putting on a look aof complete and utter self confidence, he sauntered towards his destination, catching the faint sound of 'Please Forgive Me' by Bryan Adams. Well, at least they had a good taste in music.

He rolled his eyes as the doorman asked for a name, barely looking up from his clipboard. He wasn't sure wat exactly his name was put down as, so he went with his gut. "Garfield Logan." The man took a moment, eyes lazily scanning over the long list of fancy-schmancy names. This is what he got for screwing around in highschool...

"Right, here you are. Have a nice evening."

For some reason, him not looking up from that goddamn clipboard really irked Beast Boy. But, tonight wasn't the night to be getting angry at civilians. Everyone had their off days, after all.

But was it really so hard to look someone in the eye when they're talking to you? Isn't that just common decency?

With a light scoff, he brushed past the man, who remained stiff as a board, eyes glued to the paper before him. Whatever. If the guy wanted to burn a few names in his brain, it wasn't his problem.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the large room was how shockingly bright it was. There had to be a hundred shimmering chandeliers, the largest of which at least four feet in length and hovering in the room's center. Alabaster walls glimmered, the lights dancing nicely across it's smooth surface. The floors were a white granite, polished and free of even the smallest of blemishes.

A fair amount of people were inside, either socalizing among themselves or swaying to the music, which to Beast Boy's pleasure wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. It smelt fairly nice, bearable, at least, although he did wince at the amount of cologne a few men had decided to douse themselves in. Servants catered the guests with wines and small, healthy foods that would probably cost a small fortune had he been paying out of his own wallet. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Speaking of which, where was his new team? Cocking an eyebrow, he let his eyes search the room once more. To be honest, he wasn't positive what they looked like, but he was pretty sure he'd know when he saw them. After all, only one of them could really be considered completely human. And he would no doubt have a mask slapped on his face.

"Hmm.." After waiting another beat, he decided to sit at one of the many tables scattered about the dining area. If and when they showed up, he'd greet them. But as of the moment, he was really craving a fruit salad. A waiter seemed to take notice of his presence, stunned for a short moment at how green he was, before striding over with a polite smile.

"Hello sir, may I ask what drink you'd like?"


Meanwhile...

Raven groaned, tapping her fingers impatiently on the dashboard.

Cyborg hadn't sufficiently charged himself the night prior, and after a short tussle with some robbers, was left running dangerously low on energy. Thus, instead of arriving at their event on time, they were currently waiting for the half robot to finish charging. It would look bad if they showed up one Titan short, and look even worse if that Titan spontaneously collapsed.

It was another thirty minutes before her teammate deemed himself fit to leave, a disgruntled Robin and anxious Starfire following in tow. Their leader had all but chewed Cyborg's ear off when the man hesitantly mentioned 'needing a boost', and Raven couldn't blame him. The spotlight was down on them now more than ever and the press would have a field day if they appeared to ditch their own event.

And, even though Raven would never admit it, they did actually need the assist of a new teammate. It wasn't as bad as Gotham, sure, but it was bad. They were fighting criminals on a near constant basis, and it had utterly exhausted them. Even the B villains were becoming somewhat of a problem, and common criminals were starting to pop up more frequently. Needless to say, it was a tad overwhelming and no one had expected it.

It certainly didn't help that her emotions had been getting the best of her as of late. With so little time to meditate in between it all, they were becoming increasingly harder to veil. Sooner or later they would seriously start affecting her powers, and she had already made a few slips throughout the day. Even now she was just barely keeping her powers from acting out.

Sensing a spike of guilt, Raven glanced at her self proclaimed older brother. He was probably stressing hard over his blunder. 'You should probably do something about that, eh Rae-Rae?'

Raven winced as the bubbly voice pierced her thoughts, turning so as to not be noticed. 'What do you want, Happy? This isn't exactly your area of expertise.' She'd long since given up fighting the nickname. If only with her emotions.

'I'm right though, right? C'mon Raven, you've been such a grouch to all our friends lately.' Raven sighed, feeling the first signs of a headache. With the rate they were speeding through the city, it wouldn't be long before they arrived. Add in a few hours of politics, which Robin would primarily handle, and she could phase back to the tower. The thought of meditation was like a distant dream at this point, but she would be damned if she didn't get her emotions in line. Soon.

'That is none of your concern. Not that it would matter anyway; by the end of tonight you and the other emotions will be mute.'

Was it cruel for her to deny them as much as she did? They were her emotions. Theoretically, they were incapable of feeling denied, unless they were that said emotion, specifically. They were just manifestations of her inner feelings, hardly individuals. Still, Raven tried to stay away from those thoughts.

Soon enough, they had indeed reached the gala. Raven tuning any pestering emotions out, and the mood shifting for a more familiar tone. Apologies were exchanged on all fronts, and Starfire had provoked a friendly conversation about how 'wondrous' their new teammate was bound to be. It was all good and dandy until she realized, with complete and utter dread, that she was without her cloak.

It was a formal event, so of course she couldn't march in like she was expecting a fight (not that it would be odd to think so), but it was just now that she was realizing the situation. She donned a simple, royal blue dress, and a pair of white wedge heels. It was elegant enough that she would look presentable in the situation, and simple enough that she didn't feel trapped in her own self-consciousness. Really, it was perfect for her.

Starfire had, of course, gone all out. With a long and flowing green dress, silvery heels, and perfectly curled locks, she was the center focus of the press. This was well suited for Raven; she never had been very good with people, afterall.

Robin was wearing a traditional tuxedo, hair slicked back and mask in place, while Cyborg wore nothing more than a light grey vest and tie. He couldn't holo out as the 'Titans' were expected, not Victor Stone. That being said, the vest alone seemed enough to appease the press.

It was loud. In every sense, deafening. A million different emotions slammed against Raven's psyche; awe, excitement, joy, boredom, envy. She nearly stumbled on her way to the door, desperately trying to fend off the intruding emotions, even as her barrier crumbled.

She was faintly aware of questions being thrown her way, but decidedly remained silent. With luck, she might be able to cut her time there to an hour. People would be more focused on the rookie anyway, she reasoned. Who'd notice the poor little empath?

A warmth tickled her shoulder uncomfortably, and she quickly glanced to see Starfire, concern etched across the girl's features. Shrugging the hand off, Raven strained a smile towards her friend. It didn't work, but Starfire relented, even if only for the moment.

After finally entering the building, Raven was relieved at the much calmer atmosphere, the thick walls curbing the backlash somewhat. A few scarce claps were heard as other attendees took notice of their entering.

"Please, where is new friend Beast Boy?" Turning her attentions to her teammates, Raven noticed the looks of mild frustration they each seemed to bore. Quirking a brow, she turned to look at the sea of people before them. Nothing. Barely suppressing a groan, Raven scanned the room. How hard could it be to find him? He was literally green for Azar's sake.

A few moments passed and, "Found him." Cyborg grinned, oddly prideful at his discovery. Raven rolled her eyes.

Robin perked up. "Well? We don't have all night, Cy. And don't point!" He quickly smacked the metal man's hand, disapproving.

Exasperated, Cyborg shook his head. "I don't gotta man; he saw us first."

Raven stiffened a little at that. Indeed, a green teen was slowly sauntering towards them. She couldn't accurately size him up at the distance, but he reeked of both confidence and nervousness. Raven prayed this guy wasn't bipolar.

The distance closed fairly quickly, and soon enough he stood before them, a lopsided smile curbing his lips. His skin was mint green, with much darker hair mussily strewn about, and a pair of smoldering emerald orbs.

"Uh, hey there. Guess your my new team?"


This feels shorter than intended? And longer than it should of taken? Lol, I'm so sorry.

Bit of a cliffy? I hope it is, that was what I was going for xD

Till next time.

L