Update on the original "Prankster" and "Phoenix": the writer had contacted me and said that after finishing the sequel, all the grammatical errors will be fixed. This is my own original take and will focus on Beast boy and the Joker extensively as an unlikely and dysfunctional duo. So you will see through Beast boy's POV while with the Joker, unlike the last story, when that only occurred with his past. Please review and/or provide ideas.


It wasn't like I had much of a choice.

It was either allow him to kill my teammates, my family, or join him to the hip just so that I could keep them alive. Any good friend, any loyal person would choose to save his family. That's all I desired.

He used that to his advantage.

After the electric shock, I'd drift on and off consciousness. There were blacks and whites, spots in my vision. There were gloved purple hands. His blood lips. His smile. There were more electric shocks because I tried morphing and I'd black out. I couldn't really see beyond to know where we were, what he was doing, what he wanted.

God, what did the Joker even want?

Guess it made sense to him and him alone.

I saw the leash. Like twine. As green as my skin and my hair and my eyes. As his eyes. As cruel and calculating as his eyes. They scared me more than his smile.

You know, the eyes are the mirror to the soul, right? They are etched with a bit of a window of who that person really is. With Raven, there's mystery. With Cyborg, there's determination. With Robin, there's masking. With Starfire, there's joy. And with me? Guilt. If you really stare through, just guilt.

There's no guilt in people like the Joker. He may have the same eyes as I do, but he is unscrupulous. There's no love, no kindness, no sadness. There's nothing. And when there's nothing, you have nothing to fear.

And when I'm trapped with him, I have everything to be afraid of.


Raven opens her eyes and starts to look around. The noonday sun had long since faded. There's the last residues of the sunset. The stars are out. Evening has arrived.

Suddenly, she recalls Beast boy. She frantically shoots upwards and looks around.

He's gone.

"Robin!" She shakes him awake gently but firmly. Robin groaned; there's still pain in his midsection.

"Raven?" He asked groggily. "Wha-what happened?"

A voice caused them both to jump.

"Beast boy's gone."

Batman is attempting to stand. His caped back is facing them. His shoulders are hunched and whilst they can't see it, there's a mournful edge into his eyes. The capture of Beast boy brought back painful memories for him, regarding another sidekick he lost, so senselessly.

Robin's mask widens and he hurriedly wakes Starfire up. Cyborg is jolted awake by Raven. They get up, pain still lingering amongst them.

"Boyfriend Robin? Sir Batman? What has occurred? Please?"

Starfire was desperate for answers.

Batman stood to his full height and walked up to them. "Beast boy has been recaptured by the Joker. We couldn't stop them even if we tried."

"How?" Robin gasped out. He was horribly shaken and guilt-ridden, both from the pain and from not being able to save Beast boy from this madman.

"Joker Tech," Cyborg said, almost snarling the word out. "I don't know how it happened but it's in us, now."

"And he can use it to his advantage by making sure Beast boy stays on his side." Batman added while investigating the broken door, caused by Beast boy pummeling Joker into it in a rage.

Raven is paralyzed. She could not believe this. Beast boy is in dire straits, trapped with a lunatic and if he doesn't cooperate, the Teen Titans will suffer. She will suffer. The guilt was enough to almost break her.

"And if he doesn't make his choice quick enough, we all die from... whatever is inside us now."

Robin paced back and forth, unable to comprehend this anymore. He wants to scream and pounce and kill but he can't. Beast boy and the Joker are long gone and there's nothing else to do.

Except...

"Wait!" Robin said. He immediately ran to the end of the alley. The Titans and Batman followed. Robin pointed to a nearby streetlight. A security camera is well in line of sight to the alley.

"Police installed it after civilians found Beast boy..." he trailed off. He needn't explained the terrible incident of Beast boy killing and eating a dog for his survival.

"It can be of some use, Robin," Batman said, "But it can only show so much."

"It can show his motivations," Robin said. He'd seen enough Slade sightings and video footage to know how villains can give away so much with their body language. "It can give us a hint, a clue of what the Joker wants."

"Robin, please. You know what he wants," Batman said grimly. "Stop deluding yourself. He wants complete anarchy and destruction."

"Then why can't he do it himself?!" Robin asked exasperated. "Why does he need Beast boy? He is perfectly capable of bringing you and me down now. Why take him in?"

"For the fun of it, maybe?" Cyborg asked.

"It's more than that," Batman said. "He wants complete and total destruction of him."

Robin mistakenly thought Batman signaled to him.

"Me?"

Batman shook his head.

"Beast boy."

The silence was palpable. They all looked at the camera, contemplating what else to do.

They all jumped, startled, when Cyborg leaped in the air happily and shrieked, "Boo-yah! I got it!"

Everyone looked at him quizzically.

Raven said emotionlessly, "Guess now he'd really lost it."

Robin ignored her and asked, "What is it Cyborg?"

He asked, "Remember when you had to work for Slade or else something like what happened today would happen to us?"

Robin nodded, grimacing within himself. He still beat himself up over what he'd done to his teammates, especially Starfire.

"Remember them probes, guys?"

They all nodded. Then, they understood entirely. The Joker is using a similar type of tech against the the Titans in order to keep Beast boy in control.

"Well, Cyborg. Do you know how to purge us of these probes?" Batman asked.

"I did it once! I can damn sure do it again!" He said, pumped.

"Alright, Team," Robin commanded, "Let's move!"

Batman started behind and said, "I'll get the tapes from Jump City police."

Robin nodded. In spite of Batman's heroic efforts, he had limits to his power. One of them was jurisdictional boundaries; Jump City officials were more reluctant with the Dark Knight's presence.

"Let's get back to the Tower. Get rid of these probes. I promise you we will find Beast boy."