Switched, Swapped, and Flip-Flopped
Chapter One

)O(

The other team members kept unusually silent as Robin paced their living room floor. Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy were sitting on the couch, waiting for one of the other members to make the first move. Beast Boy had a bowl of popcorn, muttering about how this soap opera was way better than the ones on day time TV. He said it almost ranked up there with the telenovelas on the Spanish channel, at which point Cyborg smacked him upside the head.

"Stop being stupid, BB. This is serious."

"Ouch." He rubbed the back of his head and glared at his friend. "I'm just saying, if this were in Spanish, the awesome factor would be upped to eleven." Beast Boy rolled his eyes and returned to his bowl of popcorn, frowning. Cyborg hit him again.

"Beast Boy, stop." Raven crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her team mate. Beast Boy looked over at her, still frowning. Raven tried not to hit him herself, he was asking for it at this point. "This, in spite of what you may think, is very serious. I am completely without any of my powers, meanwhile overzealous, emotional Wonder Boy over there has the ability to bring down this entire city with one of his famed temper tantrums."

"There were so many insults in that sentence, that I'm not even sure how to respond." Robin had stopped pacing and glared at her. There was a loud, groaning noise from overhead, and Raven was pretty sure that his emotions were starting to compromise the support structure of the tower. Of course her personal jabs didn't help, but if he hadn't been such a blockhead, this wouldn't be a problem. Stupid boy. "Are you saying I can't handle your powers?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Raven hissed a breath of irritated air from her lips, and continued to glare at her leader. "You can think that it's easy controlling emotions, but you'd be wrong. It's difficult for me, and I've been forced to do it all my life." She shoved a few strands of hair out of her face and sighed. "We need to reverse this as soon as possible."

"You think?" Robin snarled back at her. Cyborg winced audibly as he heard the "pop" of something technical explode in one of the computers. Robin took a step toward Raven, closing space between them. Everyone could feel the electricity arc between them, and Beast Boy was bouncing on the edge of his seat, waiting for something to explode. Robin grabbed Raven's shoulders roughly, to the point of bruising, and gave her a small shake. Somewhere in the distance, a steel I-beam groaned. "I don't want this! It's a curse, and it's a curse I shouldn't have to bear."

"Well, now you know how I feel!" Raven pushed his arms off her, feeling her emotions rise into her throat like bile. He didn't have to be so rude about the situation. It wasn't her fault. She wasn't the one who made a stupid decision in trying to save her from a renegade rocket. She was just a victim in this whole, stupid mess. "I've only been carrying this curse around for all of my life! You've had it for thirty minutes, and you can't even control your simpler emotions. Calm down, or you're going to destroy the tower!"

Robin pointed a finger at her and growled. "Don't push your 'Daddy Issues' on me, Raven. I don't want to hear it."

Raven shoved his hand out of the way and stepped closer, readying for a fight. If he wanted to pick at her, she'd be more than happy to rise up to his challenge. "Daddy Issues! What in all of the nine hells are you talking about? I don't have Daddy Issues! I've got a problem with you and your egotistical, stuffed shirt, holier-than-thou attitude!"

"What are you talking about? I don't have an attitude!" He pushed at her shoulders, but Raven just shoved right back. "All you've been doing is picking fights with me since Tokyo!"

Raven felt her heart fall into her stomach at the mention of Tokyo. Did he have to hit that nerve now? And in front of all their team mates? She shoved at his shoulders again, trying to hide her shocked expression from everyone. She didn't want them to know. She didn't even want them to guess. Guessing usually led to the truth with her friends, and she couldn't take that kind of stress right now. "Don't you dare bring up Tokyo! I don't want to hear it! And it has nothing to do with this situation right now!"

"It has everything to do with this fight, which you started." Robin snarled at her, and Raven finally stepped back and gave him a few centimeters of space. He was getting too intense. "What is your problem? You're being a bitch!"

SMACK

The room fell eerily silent, and the only sound was the tinkling of a few glasses that had exploded in the kitchen. Robin stood there with his hand pressed to the red spot on his cheek, staring at Raven as if she'd grown another head. Good. At least he now knew that she wasn't going to take this abuse without some kind of fight. "Shut up, Robin. Right now."

Robin's eyes flared red for a moment and he stepped right up to her. "You need to calm down."

"I'm not the one with incredible powers, and no good sense to control them." Without another word, she turned around and walked out of the living room. Raven stormed down the hallway to her room, pretending not to hear the loud cursing from her leader. He deserved a good slap to the face, as well as numerous other forms of pain. He had no right to throw what he did in her face. What did he know about her powers? What did he know about Tokyo?

Raven punched the code to her door and it hissed open. She locked it shut before falling on to her bed to stare at her ceiling. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the faint sound of an explosion, but that wasn't her problem. If Robin didn't want to treat her with respect, she wouldn't offer her help. Raven felt her lips turn down into a frown. Of course, her snide provoking wasn't helping their situation a whole lot either. Raven pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to stop a headache before it started. What was she doing?

There was no reason for her to act the way she was, especially towards her leader. There was no reason for her to take personal jabs at Robin every time there was an opening. There was no reason to start fights. There was no reason for her to behave the way she was. But she did, and Raven hated herself for it. He didn't deserve what she was doing, but she couldn't help herself. After Tokyo…

Raven tried to squash a groan. This whole situation should have never happened. It was ridiculous, something torn out of the pages of a cheesy romance novel, not something that Raven should have to deal with in real life: Raven had somehow developed feelings for Robin. Raven rolled over on her stomach and buried her face into her pillow.

It really shouldn't have been such a surprise to her, after all he did to protect her from harm, especially from Trigon. And day by day, Raven felt herself grow closer and closer to that dangerous, sharp edge of unrequited love. Tokyo had been the final nail in her heart, watching Robin and Starfire share a kiss. Raven didn't even have a glimmer of a chance, next to the wide-eyed innocence of her best friend.

"It's fine." Raven whispered under her breath, trying to ignore the ache in her chest. "It's better this way. It never would have worked out anyway. I'll get over it and be done with this nonsense." But Raven wasn't sure if she believed her own promises. They felt empty and stupid compared to what her feelings were for Robin. Raven let out a shaky breath, trying to calm her trembling nerves. This whole situation wasn't helping at all.

"Raven." Robin's cool voice was muffled by the thick quiet in the room.

Raven rolled over and sat up, watching his figure in the doorway. Of course locks and codes wouldn't keep her leader out. If he wanted to find her, he'd destroy every barrier in his way. Raven glared at him for a long minute before she turned away, pretending to be uninterested. "What? Come back to tell me all about my Daddy Issues?"

Robin squirmed. Good, he deserved to be uncomfortable, after all he did to her. There was a long pause as he took a deep breath. "That was uncalled for, and I'm sorry. I had no right to bring that up, especially because…" Robin stopped and looked away, ashamed. "Look, I'm really sorry, Raven. You're my friend and I had no right to throw that at you."

"Apology taken." Raven felt her heart tighten at the word "friend" and she glanced away. She was beginning to loathe that word. Robin fidgeted a little more, looking uncomfortable in that awkward space between her room and the hallway. He glanced at her, silently asking her to keep going with the conversation. Raven tucked her legs under herself and patted the empty spot next to her. "What brings you here?"

"I need help." Robin moved into her room, but still stood in front of her. There was another long, pause before he managed to snag a few words. "I… blew up the TV. I thought Beast Boy and Cyborg were going to throttle me."

Raven smirked. "It happens. Just take a deep breath and let it out slowly, it does help a little."

Robin did as he was told, and Raven would feel the power radiating off him slowly dissipate. He looked at her and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I didn't think that this would be difficult. I just… I don't know what I was thinking, but I can see I wasn't taking this as seriously as I should have been. I need to figure out how to control this… until we can fix it."

"Yes you do." Raven tilted her head to one side and watched him shifting his weight, still uncomfortable. "Calm down, Robin, you're only going to make the situation worse if you keep stressing out the way you are. You have enough power inside you to destroy the world, always remember that. Always remember that emotions make you into a ticking time bomb. One wrong emotion, one obsessive behavior, and everything will come tumbling down like a house of cards. No matter how bad the situation is, you must always stay objective and balanced."

"How do you deal with it?" Robin finally sat next to her on the bed, his shoulders tense with strain. "How do you deal with knowing that if you slipped just once, you might hurt something or some one?"

"One situation at a time. That's all you can do at this point, is try to deal with everything one step at a time." Raven pulled her legs up to her chest, frowning. "How do you handle being so… normal? I feel a little empty without my powers."

"Ha. I'm anything but normal." He shoved some hair out of his face, grimacing. Silence surrounded them yet again before Robin glanced over at her. "Will you help me, Raven? Get this… issue under control? I don't want to be a liability to the team. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Raven blinked. "Are you asking for my help?"

"Yes." Robin took another deep breath, trying to calm the ribbons of power. Raven watched him shift uncomfortably. "I need your help. I know I can't figure this out on my own, and even if this is temporary, I'm still dangerous and I'm not sure how to control that danger. I need you to teach me how to keep all of this in check."

"It's not going to be easy." Raven's voice was calm.

"I know, nothing ever is." Robin's eyes brightened and he looked over at Raven, as if a light bulb went off in his head. "If you help me control this, I'll help teach you how to fight hand-to-hand."

Raven raised an eyebrow, and tried not to scoff at the idea. Fight hand-to-hand? Was he serious? She was about as coordinated as a one-legged kangaroo. Robin had no idea what he was getting himself into if that was his grand idea to keep her safe. "Do you really think I should know?"

"If you don't I'll have you locked up here until we get back from each mission."

"You drive a hard bargain." Raven rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "If that's how you see it. Fine."

There was an awkward pause as Robin stared at the floor. "I'd feel better knowing you could at least defend yourself."

"I already said yes." Raven rolled her eyes.

"I know." Robin fidgeted for a second before turning to look at her. Behind the mask Raven could see the emotions starting to boil and swirl, and it took every ounce of her control not to make some indication of surprise. He felt intense, like he wasn't sure what to do with himself. "I just… I worry sometimes. Even with your powers, sometimes you're so… vulnerable and unprotected, and I get scared that we might lose you. That some one might make a poor decision and you'll be on the receiving end of it."

Raven blinked and tried to laugh, but it came out uncomfortable and forced. She hoped he didn't notice. "I'm a big girl, Robin. I tie my own shoes and everything. I can handle myself in a fight, and I'm not a china doll you can put on a shelf and stare at." She shook her head. "I'll be fine, stop worrying."

"It's part of my job as a leader to worry about you."

Raven actually laughed this time. "Worry about me, Robin? I'm flattered, but I'm fine."

Robin was about to say something, but the alarm went off. He frowned and stood up. "C'mon, let's go."

Raven opened her mouth to say it wasn't a good idea for him to go out in the state he was, but she decided against protesting. If she knew anything about Robin, it was that he was about as hard headed and as stubborn as a two ton boulder. Even if she mentioned his current state of emotional dysfunction, it wasn't going to help anything or anyone at all, least of all himself. Raven just rubbed her forehead and followed him into the hall, trying to think of all the ways she could to stay out of the way and not get herself killed.

)O(

"Are you for real?" Cyborg was trying not to roll his eyes as he stared at the three punks in front of him. Of course, Raven couldn't blame him. They had just left this same scene less than two hours ago, and now they were back where they started. Cyborg rubbed his face and groaned. "Seriously? We left you two hours ago, and you're at it again? What the hell for? I'm tried of it, and you've got to be tired of it."

"We didn't actually finish." Jinx said cocking her hip to one side, as a smirk appeared on her lips. It took Raven every ounce of control she had not to walk up and punch her in the mouth. She needed to learn a good lesson about manners, and Raven was only too happy to help. "You five ran away with your tails between your legs."

"Because of what you did." Raven snapped at her and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What I did? It wasn't my fault your little leader couldn't stay out of the way."

"You cast a malicious spell, Jinx."

"So did you, Raven. And it just… went haywire." Jinx batted her eyelashes and tried to look innocent. Raven thought she looked about as sweet as an angry porcupine, but that was her own opinion. "It's not my fault."

The air grew thick and metallic as Raven felt a sudden surge of power, and she looked over at Robin. His lips were pressed tight, and his were shaking. Damnit. He was one stray emotion away from turning the pleasant park into a crater. She grabbed his arm and gave him a tug, pulling him close to her. "Calm down, Robin. Remember what I told you about your emotions. Be objective."

"It's a little too hard." Robin hissed a long breath between his teeth.

"Don't think with your feelings, Wonder Boy." Raven's fingers dug deeper into his skin. "Think with your brain."

"Thanks for the support." His sarcasm dripped like verbal venom, and it took Raven every ounce of her self-control not to punch him in the face as well. He was pulling at every single one of her nerves, and he knew it. It seemed everyone wanted to get on her bad side today. Was it "Annoy the Hell Out of Raven" day and no one told her?

"I can't help you control your emotions, I can only teach you how." Raven shoved him away and rolled her eyes. "Calm down, and think, Robin." She glanced back at Jinx, who was watching the scene with a smirk on her face. "You keep your nasty remarks to yourself. I need to know if we can fix this."

"We?" Jinx scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you were asking for my help."

"I'm not." Raven growled and took a step forward. "I'm asking if you know of anyway to reverse this."

"It's not my spell." Jinx looked at her finger nails, and rolled her eyes. "I didn't cast anything more than simple confusion incantation. And even if it was my spell that hit your precious leader, I would have been the one affected, not you." She looked Robin up and down, chewing on her lip. Raven began to feel her cool truth start to sink into her bones. Jinx made a valid point. "You cast a pretty nasty spell didn't you?"

Raven felt Robin's shocked eyes and she looked away, slightly ashamed. "I… maybe."

"Raven?"

"Look, I cast a spell to cancel out her powers for a period of time, but you pushed me and got hit by both… and it created… this." Raven motioned to her leader.

"So, I have your powers because of you?"

"Well, no. Yes. I don't know." Raven threw up her hands and growled, turning from Jinx to Robin. "My magic and Jinx's is very different, when mixed it creates a volatile spell that neither of us know how to work with. Which is why you should have stayed out of our way, because I don't know how it turned into whatever this is now." Raven sighed and turned away from his accusing stare. Did he have to look at her like that? Like she disappointed him? Let him down? It was starting to eat at her. "It's not solely my fault, you know. And don't tell me that you would have done any differently."

"But…" Robin rubbed his head and let out a small growl. "Damnit."

"Now you know the truth, Robin." Jinx grinned, exposing a set of white teeth that looked like fangs. Raven wondered what would happen if she plucked every tooth from the witch's mouth. What sort of beautiful, tortured screams would she hear? Jinx turned and looked right at Robin. "It's all Raven's fault."

That was it. Raven was able to hold herself in check because she thought maybe Jinx would be mature enough to help them for once. But Cotton-Candy-For-Brains just crossed the line. Raven stomped right up to Jinx, who was still grinning like a Cheshire cat, and nailed her right in the mouth. There was the delightful sound of flesh and flesh meeting, and Raven was sure she could hear a few of her teeth wiggle free from her gums. Blood started to dribble from her split lips as Raven watched her tumble to the ground. She moved to stand over the witch's body. "It's not my fault. So, shut up."

Raven turned and started walking back to the car, ignoring the empty threats coming from Jinx's friends. She grabbed Cyborg's arm, who cringed a little under the touch, but followed her anyway. She glanced up at him, surprise still on his face. Raven growled and let him go. "Let's just go home. I'm tired, hungry, and I don't want to deal with this anymore."

"Yes ma'am."

)O(

Okay, so I know that this was a little bit of filler. I was just trying to get the ball rolling for the rest of the story. I promise the next chapter will be much more interesting! Well, leave a review and let me know what you think, what you don't like, what could possibly be changed. I love to hear opinions, concerns, comments, any thing at all from you!