Shades of Grey
by Ironraven

Teen Titans, the Justice League, and related characters and settings are copywrite DC Comics. This work is based on the adaptation of those copyrights by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini. I make no claim to the characters or the setting.

This is set shortly after Cyborg infiltrated the Hive Academy.

---

Cyborg's footfalls echoed in the canyon of urban architecture. Chasing someone. Starfire had Mammoth pinned last he saw; Robin could manage Gizmo. That left him with-

"I think it looks like rain, Stone."

Cyborg had enough time to realize that the voice had come from the doorway he'd just passed. Then a pink lightening bolt stabbed from the sole cloud into the sky, into his back.

---

Cyborg awoke with a start.

He tried to move his arms and legs, then he realized he was looking at them. Each limb in it's own cage, detached from him.

He was trying to get them to respond remotely when a single, slim, graceful finger started to stroke his head. "Good morning, my pet. Don't bother trying to move those wonderful hands of your's- I took out the batteries."

"Jinx?" Cyborg felt a ball of fear filling the space where his stomach once was. "Jinx, what are you doing?"

"Shhhh." Jinx pressed her fingers to his lips, before hopping onto the table, straddling his torso. "Silly, silly Cyborg, there is no need to be afraid." The pink haired sorceress stroked her nails down his cheeks before kissing his lips, gently. She leaned back, her fingertips tracing over his chest, following the line of one the chain that was tight across his upper torso, holding him down.

"Jinx? I'm sorry, Jinx, it was part of the job. I didn't want to hurt you, you could have come with us."

The innocence and joy that had been on her face twisted, darkened. Jinx backhanded him, snapping Cyborg's head to one side. "You could have come with us, to. You enjoyed our company, you liked it with me. You liked being Stone, outside of the rules."

Cyborg turned his head, looking up at her. Into her tear filled eyes. "Jinxy, you could have come with me. You could have been one of us, I would have helped them understand. Or just us, you and I."

Jinx blinked and sniffed. "As Cyborg and Jinx, heroes, or Stone and Jinx, criminals? Or something in between?" Her face hardened as she threw herself off him. "No, you want to change me, make me 'better'. Like I'm sick. You don't love me, you don't even accept me!"

Lifting his head as far as the chains would allow, Cyborg watched her, terrified. This was a lot more volitile than he'd seen her before. She had a temper, yeah, but this was way outside her usual sociopathic self. "What, whoa, I do, I do love you. Please, Jinx, belive me."

She picked up a grinder. "No, you don't, Cyborg. But Stone does. Stone loves me, and he's inside you." She turned it on, the carbide cutting disk spinning, as she took a step closer to the table. "And I'm going to get him out."

Cyborg struggled as best he could with only a torso and head, pleading, as she walked back to the table. Her pace was slow, measured, almost hypnotized.

"DROP IT!" The words were nearly the scream of a bird of prey, piercing, powerful, and seemed to come from the very walls of the room. The shadows swirled as Raven emerged from them. The blackness stretched out, encasing the power tool, tearing it from Jinx's grasp and throwing it into the abyss that Raven had emerged from. "Get away from Cyborg, witch!"

Jinx hissed as left as the cutter left her hands, a loud feline sound. She snarled, her voice overlapping Raven's. "Stone's mine, witch!"

The two sorceresses lunged, kicking, punching, snarling. Locked in a primal combat, they crashed about the room. From his limited vantage point, Cyborg could only hear them except for when one was thrown or jumped over the table he was chained to.

"I'm going to gnaw on your bones for stealing my Stone, little birdie!"

"In your dreams, kitty! Cyborg is mine, and I'm leaving with him!"

Cyborg yelped as one his caged legs was flung across the room in a field of blackness, only to hit by a pink hex, every fastener and weld in the projectile separating. "Hey! Don't be hitting each other with my parts!"

""Shut up and let me save you. YOU SAVE HIM?""

The two of them crashed into Cyborg's table, clutching each other's throats. Neither would relinquish her grip on the other girl as they tried to gain the superior position. Jinx pushed against the table, turning, slamming Raven's spine into the edge. Cyborg could see their hands, knuckles white, fingertips digging into soft throats, as their faces began to redden. "Cut it out, both of you!"

Both girls reared thier heads back, then snapped them forward, the headbut dazing them both as they staggered away, hands rubbing at sore necks, sounding like a pair of animals. They closed, Jinx sidestepping to avoid the black bolt that cracked the wall behind her.

The pink haired young woman's hands shot out, taking Raven's cheeks in her palms and kissed her, hard, rough. Cyborg felt time stop as Raven blinked in surprise.When her eyes reopened, the four of them glared out redly. The blue haired young woman pushed Jinx back, hands on the bare flesh between collar and neck. "How dare you kiss me like that."

Raven's idea of a kiss was much softer, deeper, more passionate.

Cyborg closed his eye, focusing on any thing other than what was happening. This is so very, very wrong. He thought about the transmission on the T-car, taking it apart in his mind. There had to be space for two more gears, some where. He forced himself to debate the value of putting in a second, higher speed reverse gear when Raven's cloak fell across his face. It was hard to concentrate. The soft, horrifying sounds weren't blocked by the blue fabric. Something else landed on him, and he recognized Jinx's scent. No, wake up Cyborg, wake up now! This isn't happening.

Jinx's voice had a soft, purring quality when she spoke. "Raven, I've wanted this ever since we took over the Tower. I read your diary, and learned who you were."

"Ever since I read what you wrote in my diary I've wanted this, to." Raven's voice was throaty, then she meeped as Jinx found a ticklish spot.

Jinx giggled playfully, her tone teasing. "Should we let him watch?"

Cyborg's eye flew open. "No, no watch! I don't want to watch!" Slender grey fingers slid under the cape, lifting it from his head. Two smiling, glowing grey faces looked down at him. "I don't, no, you can't make me!"

---

Cyborg woke with a spasm, throwing himself from the metal slab that served as his bed. And promptly tripped over the cable that connected him to his recharging unit.

He pushed himself to his hand and knees, gasping for air. OK, Cy, no more fried jalepeno cheese bacon bombs just before bed. He pulled the charger from the socket on his chest and give it a tug, letting the cord retract on it's spool. He wiped the back of his hand across his lips, before pushing himself to his feet.

He looked at his bunk, and shuddered. The dream had been way too vivid.

Staggering to his window, he thumbed the panel that controlled it's opacity, depolarizing it to total transparency. He looked across the water to the still wide awake city. "It was just a nightmare, man, get a grip."

His fingers clutched at the window frame.

"It went too far with Jinx while I was undercover, that's all. She is an evil person. She steals, she lies, and enjoys scaring people." Cyborg spoke softly, trying to convince himself. "She'd cut out my heart in a second."

A soft voice spoke in his head. Can you blame her? She trusted you, she told you about herself, she told you everything. She cried in your arms, becuase it was the first time she felt safe in her life. And you betrayed her. Abandoned her, just like everyone else.

"She's the bad girl; she's made her choices. What I liked in her was what I like Raven." Cyborg studied the red and white lights of the cars on the distant bridge. Coming and going dependent on your perspective, with Cyborg in the middle. "There, I said it. I've got a thing for Rea."

Raven, the good girl with the dark, mysterious past. What are those secrets? You know about Raven's evil side, how can she be that good? Maybe she had to make the same choices as Jinx. Maybe Raven could have been the bad girl, and Jinx the good one.

Cyborg flinched, "But she isn't."

You wanted to save Jinx, to make her a good girl, just like Raven. So alike, but just a little different. Just like you, Cyborg, the good guy, the hero. Who liked being the bad guy. You liked being Stone. You like the borderline. Good guys get the girl; bad guys get them all. Admit it.

"No." Cyborg shook his head, pushing off from the wall. His fingers left thier imprint in the wall. "I need to stop thinking about this, or I'll go crazy. I need to talk a walk."

He tapped the tab next to his door, ordering the panel to slide aside. He was trying to be silent, so as not to disturb the others, when he realized that there was a light on in the main room. No one should have been awake at this time; even the Too Late Movie was done. The only ways out of the Tower were through the main room, or the stairs next to Raven's room.

He crept towards the light, until he was on it's edges.

Raven looked up from the steaming cup she was stirring, her relaxed and at peace. "Hey... Cyborg, what are you doing up?"

He made his way to the counter, and sat carefully on one of the stools. "I couldn't sleep."

Raven set her mug down next to the one she'd been stirring. "Are you ok? You look pale."

Cyborg nodded, taking a deep breath, before shaking his head. His sensors and senses were instantly awake. He looked down at the mugs. One, the one in Raven's hand, was red tea mixed with herbs, a hint of lemon and raw sugar. A clean, soothing scent. The other cup, the other one was coffee. Soft, rich, aromatic. Mellow beans mixed with a cinnamon and honey and just a dash of cream. Just the way...

"Cyborg? What's wrong?" Raven leaned closer, studying his face.

His eyes focused on Raven. Her hair was mussed, it was never mussed. There was a hint of a shadow on the side of her throat, almost covered by her collar. And a hair, on her shoulder. Long, a soft pink. He felt his voice crack. "Rae?"

There were footsteps behind him, cat like in their softness. "Hmmm... that smells heavenly." The foot steps stopped suddenly, as if surprised. A familiar voice. "Cyborg, what are you doing up? Were we too noisy?"

Cyborg slowly turned, and saw Jinx, blushing as she pushed her tousled hair back.

---

Every resident of Titan's Tower, including Raven, was jolted awake by the high pitched, wordless shriek of pure terror from Cyborg's room.

---

Author's notes:
To want and not only not be able to have, but not be able to choose.

I swear, I'm trying to get Chimera unstuck. Really and truly. But I ran over a very well done (ie tasteful, ie not trashy) Raven/Jinx yuri picture that had a very depressed looking Cyborg in the background, and I just needed to get this out of my system.