"So, what is the manner in which we will escape this chamber of confinement?"

This was the question posed by Starfire as she drifted near the ceiling of the box. The Titans had been chasing the Hive Five out of a bank when Gizmo had thrown a small gadget at the group. It had exploded in a gaseous ball which knocked out them all. When they came to, they'd found themselves in a gigantic metal room. It seemed like the standard boxy 'hold the good guys' cell; it was only four walls, a door, a floor, and a ceiling, and the Titans hadn't been intimidated in the least. Well, until they'd thrown all of their firepower against every inch of the cell, coming up with no way to get out.

Starfire flew down to Robin, who was pacing restlessly in a corner. "Robin," she said, "what shall we do? I have already attempted an attack of star bolts, and I have failed!"

Robin scowled. "I know!" he said angrily. "Nothing we do is working in the least!" He turned to Cyborg, who was scanning the door. "Any readings yet?"

"Yeah, but you're not gonna like 'em." He pressed a few buttons on his mechanical arm. "It's fortified with every kind of security you can think of. Deadbolts everywhere. Too thick for anything we've got." He winced. "The Hive Five's probably dying from laughter by now."

Robin punched a wall. It did nothing, but it made him feel the tiniest bit better.

Beast Boy was on the other side of the huge room, duking it out with one of the walls. First he was a tyrannosaurus rex, pounding it with his massive skull. Then he was a wooly mammoth, slamming the wall with his sides. He became a pterodactyl and flew headfirst into the wall. He fell to the ground, reverting to his normal green teen form.

"Man," he muttered, rubbing his head, "that is one tough wall!"

Raven was still inspecting the door. She sent waves of her dark energy through it to see the insides. "I know I can break through this door," she said, "or even just move it some. I just need more power." She looked at her teammates. "All of you!" she barked. "Come here!" When they were gathered around, she said, "You all know that my powers come from my emotions, which I usually keep in check to keep from making anything explode. Well, I think I could move the door some if I had enough strength, which means I need to feel more. Is there anything any of you could tell me that would generate strong emotions?"

Cyborg reluctantly raised a hand. "Um, ya know that little statue you got last week? The one shaped like a dragon? I kinda broke it in a game of Stankball. Didn't want you to know, so I hid it in the sofa." He grimaced. "That good enough?"

Raven shot him the evil eye. "Maybe," she growled. She turned and shot a massive ball of black energy at the wall. It subsided a moment later, but the door had not budged. "Rage," she said. "Not good enough. Anything else?"

Robin stepped forward. "How about confidence?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you can do this. You're one of the strongest members of our team, and you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. If there's one person in this room who can open that door, it's you."

Starfire added, "Oh, friend Raven, you are wonderful! I believe in you!" She gave her comrade a quick squeeze.

Raven blinked. "Confidence? This might work." She let out another immense burst of energy, but the door still would not move. It sat there, taunting her.

Raven sighed and hung her head. "I couldn't do it. I failed. I've been hiding my emotions for too long, and now I can't feel enough to get out of a box."

Suddenly, Beast Boy spoke up. His voice was quiet. "You need more emotion?" he said. "I might have an idea, but like Cyborg said earlier, you're not gonna like it."

Raven shrugged. "Anything would be welcome at this point."

Beast Boy took a cautious step forward, and before anyone had time to react, he took her head in his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

For Raven, time nearly stopped. It seemed like her thoughts were simultaneously gone and running a million miles a minute. He's kissing me! one part of her brain shouted. Beast Boy is kissing me! How do I react to someone kissing me? Why is this happening? This feels so weird!

Oh, be quiet, another part of her mind replied, and she closed her eyes.

After what felt like an eternity, he broke off. They stared at one another without speaking. The eyes of the entire team were wide.

"So?" Beast Boy squeaked warily. "Anything?"

Breathlessly, Raven whispered, "Stand back." The Titans had barely enough time to duck when the room exploded. Raw, uncontained power erupted like water from a fountain. Energies clashed and split. The air was cold and warm and dry and wet and everything in between. The team was enveloped in darkness.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the air cleared. The Titans cautiously looked around. Raven was standing, though not exactly firmly, on a small pile of rubble. The door had been blasted off its hinges and pulverized into thousands of chunks of metal and wire. The walls of their prison had been dented severely. The once-smooth walls now looked like crepe paper.

They were snapped out of their stunned daze by a blaring alarm. "That'll be the system telling the Hive Five we're out," Cyborg said loudly. "Let's make sure we don't end up back in here."

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted, and they all ran for the door.

"Are you coming with us, Raven?" Starfire asked as she zipped by the wobbly empath. "You do not look completely well."

"I'm alright," Raven muttered. "Go ahead, I'll be there in a few minutes."

With that, the team rushed out to confront the baddies. Raven sat on the ground and tried to sort out her thoughts.

A second later, she heard a familiar voice. "You okay?" Beast Boy asked as he sat next to her. "Sorry about the, um, thing. I didn't think you would react like that."

"No, it's fine," Raven answered. "Without it, we'd still be stuck in this cell." She gave a weak smile. "I guess that was the perfect way to do it. Confusion, annoyance, surprise, and… yeah."

"Have you ever been kissed before?" Beast Boy asked. "I don't wanna intrude or anything, but I have a feeling it would be on the news if half a city exploded, but I've never really seen anything like this."

Raven's gray cheeks took on a tinge of red. "No, this was the first time ever. Probably why the emotional response was so violent."

Beast Boy winced. "Sorry I stole your first kiss. I know it's supposed to be important and magic and stuff, and in a big metal box doesn't exactly fit that." He gave her a half-smile. "If it makes you feel any better, it was my first, too."

They sat in silence for a while, both awkwardly attempting to continue the conversation and failing to make any sound whatsoever.

Cyborg stuck his head around the corner. "Are you two comin' or not?" he implored. "We're getting' creamed out here without you two! Come on!" He ran back out to rejoin the fight.

Beast Boy and Raven got to their feet. The latter looked at him and cleared her throat. "Just to clarify," she said, "that didn't mean anything, right?"

"Of course not!" he replied, blushing deeply. "Just, you know, superhero stuff. Gotta be done. You know."

"Right," she said. "Superhero stuff." With that, they looked at each other one more time before running out the door. However, one last thought crossed each of their minds simultaneously:

That was awesome.