Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do NOT own teen titans even though I wish I did!

Slade sat in the moaning warehouse, his breathing the only sound in the room. The wind blew against the building as a storm gathered outside, until the warehouse was dimly lit. Slade was too absorbed in the object in front of him to notice. He just sat there and watched the machine's progress. Smirking, he thought to himself, you shall soon be mine Raven.

Titans Tower:

The infirmary bed held the sickly figure. Beast Boy sat next to Raven holding her hand, green face drawn and pale. Her condition was worsening. They all knew that. It had been two months; she had still not awoken from her slumber. Beast Boy was particularly bitter still, his heart aching. He couldn't bear to forgive himself for his love getting hurt. He was so lost in thought, staring at Raven's pale face, that he hardly noticed when the infirmary door opened to reveal a yawning robotic man. He stumbled in, clearly exhausted, and looked nearly as wan as Beast Boy did. He looked at the changeling holding Raven's hand, and then decided not to comment. It wasn't anything new, these days, to see Beast Boy holding Raven's hand, trying to tell her funny stories, anything that might make her wake up. Covering a second yawn, Cyborg walked over to check on her vitals. She hadn't had any seizures lately, but she had slightly increased brain activity. Cyborg walked over to the changeling, frowning. Beast Boy looked up at his face and knew that nothing vital had changed.

Robin was resting on the couch, eyes burning from the last of rest. He hadn't been able to sleep in his room so he had wandered down to the living room in the middle of the night. He woke up from his light doze to the sliding doors, which revealed Starfire. Like her friends, she didn't look as if she was getting as much rest as she should have been. She couldn't bear anything worse happening to her friend. Each day that she heard that Raven's condition wasn't improving, she felt more depressed. Robin practically flew up from his seat, running over to comfort Starfire, but as soon as he was about to hug her Starfire put up her hand to stop him and left in tears. Robin, unsure if it was the situation in general that was the cause for Starfire's tears or something that he'd done, followed her to her room. He was about to knock on her door when he heard her feet stomping around on the ground. He opened the door to find her looking all over her room, picking up furniture and looking at the contents underneath.

Robin, wondering what she would do next, asked "Starfire, what are you doing?" She looked up to find her friends face and ran over and squeezed him around the neck, the tears of just a moment ago still streaming down her face.

"Friend Robin, I was working on something for Raven when I lost a picture of her so I'm merely looking for it."

Robin, gasping for air from the bear hug, questioned, "What are you making for Raven?"

Starfire looked up from looking underneath her bed and answered, "Oh, I was creating a booklet for Raven to show her all the moments she missed. I had intended to see if you had anything that you wanted to add, but I could not find it."

Grateful for a reason for the tears that didn't involve something that he'd done, Robin nodded his understanding as Starfire continued to look under every piece of furniture again. Robin, after a moment of silence, said, "Let me help you look for it."

Back in the infirmary, Cyborg was looking at Raven's blood vessels on the monitor when he noticed a small white speck on all of them. He gasped, zooming in on them. Beast Boy, hearing this, jumped up and ran over. "What is it?" he yelled, hoping against hope that Cyborg had found the reason for Raven's illness.

Raven's Mind:

Raven wandered in Knowledge's realm looking through every book of her vast library. She had to have some way to get back to her body. She knew what Slade had done. When he shot her, he sent millions of miniscule probes that would attach to her cells and put her under his complete control. Her condition was worsening; she could feel her own body weakening. What she didn't know is why she didn't realize it sooner. He had pulled the same thing with them many years ago. He had the power to dispose of her whenever he wanted. Thinking of that she shuddered. Her mind had healed her cuts and bruises, but her body was in Slade's grasp, slave to whatever Slade liked. Timid peeked into Knowledge's realm, rethinking if she should go in or not. While thinking this, she was pulled in by Rude who had entered a few seconds earlier. Rude held Timid tightly around her wrist and dragged her over to where Raven and Knowledge sat. Timid, trying to escape Rude's embrace, started to cry. Rude walked confidently over to Raven and stood in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Rude questioned, then burped loudly. "Yum. Pizza."

Raven looked up from her book, ignoring Rude's second comment and answered, "Trying to figure out a way to my body."

Rude rolled her eyes, picking her nose as she said, "You know what Slade did, so why can't you leave?"

Raven stood up from her chair and calmly said, "I can't leave because Cyborg, Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire need to figure out what Slade did and cure me. I'm trapped here, even if I do know what happened." Raven, after much consideration, finally muttered in the utter silence, "I need them more than they need me." They will figure it out soon, they're smart enough, Raven hoped.

Rude burped again, but didn't say anything further. When Rude didn't continue the conversation, Raven studied her for a moment and then resumed reading. Before she got too interested in her book, however, Raven took a moment, listening to the undercurrent of whispering that filled the room. She'd thought, initially, that it was the whispering of her subconscious. Her subconscious, however, certainly didn't have Beast Boy's voice.

It was that voice which had kept her from going crazy. Beast Boy's stories and anecdotes reached her ears even if she didn't have control of her body. As a result, she knew one thing for certain: Beast Boy loved her.

Slade:

Slade sat in his rusted metal chair, tapping his finger impatiently. This machine better go faster before the Titans figure it out the thought made him snarl. He had planned this for months, with his control over Raven he could take over the whole town. I should have thought of this sooner he thought, basking in his own brilliance. He couldn't wait until this plan was complete. He, however didn't know what was going on in the tower which made him curious as to if they knew. This thought he brushed off several times, knowing his plan was too good to discover, basking in his own brilliance again, he went back to his own thoughts. Lightning and Thunder boomed outside sending shadows down the warehouse.

Infirmary:

The rain pounded against the infirmary windows. Thunder crackled along the sky and lightning streaked across the sky. "I found something!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy's heart skipped a beat, thinking his friend found the cure. Cyborg's face didn't seem to indicate that he was proud of his discovery, however. When Beast Boy made an inquiring noise, Cyborg explained the probes attached to Raven blood vessels and that soon Slade would have her under his complete control. If Slade couldn't handle her power she could die. Beast Boy sat back down into the chair and stared at Raven's face, and felt his own pale as he sat back weakly.

Seeing his friend's sadness, Cyborg murmured, "Hey, BB it isn't your fault, this happened when Slade shot her. You couldn't stop it, but we can always try." Cyborg finished in a more confident voice. The infirmary doors opened to reveal the team leader and his alien princess at his side. Robin asked what was happening and Cyborg explained what happened. Beast Boy been optimistic for her and knew she would get through this or she would die trying. With that, thunder boomed and lighting flew across the sky leaving a glimmer of hope on Beast Boy's determined face.

"Okay, thanks for calling, we will let her know" Robin answered. Robin hung up his communicator after talking to Aqualad. He was worried about Raven's condition. He cautioned them to be careful and hoped for the best. This was not the only call, Speedy, Hotspot, Argent, Bumble Bee, Minos and Menos (after a lot of translating), and Jinx had called hoping for the best. Raven was getting better after taking out a few probes. She woke up only once, but once was enough to let the Titans know there was hope. Cyborg was still trying to get the probes out, but these were far harder to get out. Cyborg could only get out five to ten per week. When he finally got enough out she opened her eyelids to a slit and whispered, "I'll g-go with you B-"That was all the green changeling heard before she fell back asleep.

Slade:

Slade's fist came down on his rusted chair sending silent booms echoing. "Damn it! I almost got away!" Slade yelled. After calming down, he went back to his narcissism. They are running out of time though. She will be mine next week. She still has enough that I can take her for my own.

Raven's Mind:

"They've found it!" Raven burst out, before she noticed sad looks in her emotions.

"Raven, I don't know if you've forgotten but it will take them forever to take them out and by that time you could be…" Knowledge claimed, after waking up from Raven's outburst.

"Yeah, and besides no one wants you back there anyways." Rude barked. Raven turned her back on Knowledge to face Rude. She crossed her arms and stared at Rude with piercing eyes. Rude glared back but eventually gave in and said sarcastically, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." Rude got up and walked into her own realm. Raven turned back to Knowledge only to realize Timid was there too.

"Oh, Timid, hello can you get L-Love for me while I get Rage?" Raven questioned, stuttering at the word 'love'. She'd rather not talk to either but it needed to be done before she's put of her coma. Timid agreed, looking a little shaken.

After she left, Knowledge looked at her and said, "Why do you want to talk to them? They are your least favorite!"

"Which is exactly why it needs to be done, Knowledge." Raven pointed out. She needed advice from everyone, even emotions that she didn't necessarily like.

"What am I doing here?" Rage barked in a matter-of-factly tone. She was clearly pissed by being interrupted in her realm. Raven was furious at Rage; she had had enough from her.

"You are here because I have something to discuss with you and Love," Raven muttered. She was trying to keep her temper down because if she got angry, Rage would consume her on the spot.

"You're kidding me right?" Rage growled. "Seriously? Love? She is the most narcissistic person I've ever met!" Rage hoped she died on the spot; Love was an over-her-head little emotion that should be crushed by her own heart.

"Yes, Love is coming because I need to discuss my feelings for Beast Boy." Raven stated back.

"Then why do I need to be here?" Rage screamed back.

"Because how can we discuss love without hate?" Raven said back. After saying this, Rage had nothing to say. Shortly after, Love jumped into the realm. As soon as she saw Raven her eyes widened.

"RAVEN!" Love jumped onto Raven and started kissing her cheeks.

"L-love, g-get off me!" Raven ordered Love. She disliked this emotion in principle, but it was nice to get some attention occasionally, Raven had to admit.

"Oh, sorry Rae- Rae, I was just excited to see you babe." Love commented. She enjoyed seeing Raven and if she called the meeting then it must be about that cute little changeling.

"Love, you know why we're here right?" Raven had the urge to ask because Love tended to get off focus…a lot.

"Of course, sweetie!" Love bellowed, she hoped for the details on her new "lovey". She had had feelings for him for a while but ever since that, thing, Terra came along they have been distant. The thought put a scowl on Love's face.

"Okay, let's begin then," Raven stated. She wanted to get it over with, quickly and painless. Rage and Love gathered a few seats into a circle, half- expectantly hoping that a few others would join them.

"So, BB is your love now, huh?" Rage questioned. She didn't like the thought, he was a complete dunce.

"Yes, I guess so." Raven muttered, although she wasn't entirely sure.

"Of course you are!" Love claimed. She had waited long enough, she wasn't that patient.

"Though you hate him for his stupidity and ignorance sometimes." Rage added in after Love.

"So, do I love him enough I can depend on him?"Raven asked. She knew where this was going.

"Yes!" Love screamed, she wanted them together, for Pete's sake.

"Yeah, whatever." Rage muttered, he was an idiot, she didn't understand what Raven saw in that kid.

"I can make a connection with him!" Raven yelled as she jumped out of her seat. "I will be able to tell him everything!" Raven pointed out as she blushed on her cheeks.

"Yay, I knew you loved him enough!" Love blurted out. She was quite happy with Raven.

"Yeah, yeah everyone's lovey-dovey." Rage muttered to herself though no one seemed to mind.

It seemed the meeting was over so Rage got up and left. Raven saw her leave and decided to do the same. She had been staying in Knowledge's realm and wanted to go there right away. She had to make contact with Beast Boy. After hugging Love, she headed off. She waved her hand and a portal opened and showed a blurry image of a library, being Knowledge's realm. She put her leg in and then shimmered and was gone. She wanted to tell Knowledge everything because she was the most reliable of all her emotions. However, when she got there, Knowledge was gone she really didn't wonder because each emotion had their own realm and could travel to each other's if they wanted. If Knowledge wasn't here then she was probably with Courage. They liked to talk battle together because Knowledge liked the books with battles and pirates. Whereas, Courage liked being in battles. Knowledge was more of a favorite between all emotions but Courage and Knowledge liked each other best. She knew she should favor all her emotions being that they were part of her but she tried to keep them blocked out. For now, she had other matters to attend to.

Titans Tower:

The green changeling sat next to Raven patting her freezing hand. Slade was getting closer to taking control over her. His eyes were red from crying and hadn't changed his clothes in weeks. Cyborg was in the infirmary checking her blood checking to see if the probes were coming out. She had lost many, but it still wasn't enough Slade was going to take her in 5 days. They were losing time, fast.

Robin was sitting in Starfire's room as she was cutting out pictures of memories they made. The two of them at the carnival on the Ferris wheel. Cyborg giving Beast Boy a noogie, and Raven blowing up Beast Boy, he made sure Starfire didn't put in any pictures of Terra even though she wanted to. She was cutting out a picture Cyborg had secretly taken of Raven and Beast Boy hugging. Robin started blushing when she picked up the next picture of himself and Starfire holding hands in the main room. They were inching closer to going out, he knew it. Starfire looked up from cutting with a smile on her face and looked at Robin.

"Robin, do you remember when we were at the Games of Carnival?" Starfire questioned. Robin found it funny how she mispronounced things. She was still learning the English language but it was cute to see her try.

"Yes, it was fun and remember when we had the birthday party for Raven?" Robin wanted to bring up some happy moments so Starfire could laugh and enjoy herself.

"Oh, yes that was most joyful!" Starfire exclaimed. She enjoyed Raven most and was happy that she had found someone she liked. So many people had come to see her; they had mounds of flowers and cards to give to her when she woke up. They continued to talk about moments as they were finishing the memory book for Raven. Suddenly, Robin's alarm went off. Trouble, with the first person Robin wanted to mess with.

The group all met together for the pre-fight talk. Robin and Starfire appeared together and Beats Boy and Cyborg. Cyborg having no good news about Raven's condition.

"All right guys, we all know it's…Slade." Robin muttered the last part under his breath. He hated him, he had hurt one of his friends and he was going down.

"Yes, and we will catch him," Starfire claimed. She knew they would catch him.

Beast Boy slowly picked up his head. He had mixed emotions, sadness, anger, hatred."For Raven." He finally stated. He looked at his friends and screamed "FOR RAVEN!"

"Titans GO!" Robin bellowed. They headed down to the abandoned warehouse, where Slade awaited their presence. Knowing exactly what he would do.

The abandoned warehouse stood still as Slade sat in his rusty garbage chair. The only sound was the humming of the machine causing a future death. Then, the door blasted open. Beast Boy thought to himself how similar the fight was with Slade, to the fight when Raven got hurt. Slade dodged most of their blows and outmaneuvered them. That's when he reached his secret weapon. He had leaded them right into a room with a giant machine humming in the back. It had a giant glass dome on top of a huge black looking box. It had about a million buttons on it all leading to Raven's probes, Beast Boy was sure. Slade jumped onto the top of the machine.

"Ah, now you see my pride and glory," Slade stated, quite confident in himself, "isn't it magnificent? It holds your little powerful friend." Slade knew what he was getting into and he knew exactly what fight he wanted to pick. Beast Boy balled his fists. He couldn't let him talk about his glory when he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Let her go Slade!" The changeling screamed. Slade smirked beneath his mask. So, the changeling decided to play, he thought.

"Little changeling, do you think I will give up so easily?"Slade questioned.

"Damn it, Slade! Give her back to me!" Beast Boy was getting uncontrollable. Someone needed to hold him back and soon.

"Ah, if you want her so badly why don't you come fight for her?" Slade bargained. He knew Beast Boy wouldn't give up the offer. Little did Beast Boy knew, that Slade had half of Raven's power in his control.

"I'll fight you on one condition," Beast Boy stated. Slade nodded as if to agree. "That you make Raven better." Beast Boy said. Slade agreed and he knew that there was already a loophole. He concentrated for a moment and black orbs came out of his hands. The green changeling turned into a tortoise to defend the attack.

His friends watched in horror and tried to interfere but Beast Boy denied them. He needed to fight his own battles. Slade kept coming and Beast Boy couldn't last much longer. Beast Boy charged at Slade and Slade did a back flip out of the way. Slade jumped through a broken window and ran across the city and out of sight for the titans.

"Damn it!" Robin screamed. He knew the machine was a fake if Slade left it here. He banged against the machine. Beast Boy slid down from the machine and stumbled over words trying to apologize.

"Man, its okay." Cyborg confirmed his friend. "It's not your fault; you're just trying to fight for your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Beast Boy said. "She's my life." And with that, the Titans left the scene to try to find Slade.

Raven's Mind:

Raven tried everything she could to get into Beast Boy's mind. She had attempted so many times she passed out for a while. When she woke up she had an ice pack on her head and Knowledge was drinking tea next to her reading the dictionary

"W-What happened?"Raven asked, her head was still a little fuzzy.

"You tried so hard to contact the changeling you passed out." Knowledge answered without looking up from her book. Raven thought about it and realized it was true. She looked at Knowledge and knew she had to trust in Beast Boy, she would still try to make an empathy link with her beloved. But for now she had to rest and leaver her health in her family's hands. She knew she could trust them and she knew she would be back. But for know she needed rest and with that she passed out.