A Mirror for the Soul

And so my multi-chapter epic begins. This will probably be the only chapter I upload before my finals, so don't expect anything else until after May 18. It will be continued though!

Disclaimer Sketch

Dystant: Tell them Raven

Raven: Excuse me?

Dystant: Pleeeease? You were complaining of being left out?

Raven: ... (Stares menacingly at Dystant)

Dystant: eheh… any volunteers?

Beast Boy: Oh, Oh, Pick me!

Dystant: Go ahead Starfire.

Beast Boy: But…

Starfire: Friend Dystant does not own the Teen Titans, though he does try really hard.

Robin: Hey! I thought I told you to stay away from Starfire!

Dystant: Oh well, on with the story! (Legs it)

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Chapter 1: Persuaded by Fear

It's always hard to spot a beginning. Every story must have one, but it's often difficult to pinpoint the exact start, as indeed it's often difficult to spot individual stories. Causality is always weaving the multitude of narratives together: The Norns, Urd, Belldandy, and Skuld weaving the tapestry of fate through past, present and future, with everybody's life but a string in the infinite loom. Thus we can only speculate on the start of the string, and indeed how long it is.

This story may begin in a remote research laboratory in Africa, where a young boy with the terminal illness sakutia is being experimented on by his genealogist father.

It may begin in the death of his parents in an accident he feels he could have prevented.

Or perhaps it begins when, whilst wandering alone through the world, he received an invitation from a half demon to join a new team of meta-human crime fighters.

Indeed these are all places in which a story surrounding the life of Garfield Logan begins, but the Story of the Beast began with a fight against Adonis, and a genetically altering chemical. However most of you will already know most of this story.

Instead we pick up the threads 6 months after the Brotherhood of Evil is put on ice permanently, in a world where super villains are slowly beginning to appear again, and a certain leader is getting worried about his team's readiness…

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"I don't care if there's been nothing to do in 6 months Beast Boy, didn't you see what happened in Gotham last week? The Watchtower has already sent out an intelligence warning about groups looking to fill the underworld void," The teen leader raged, "There'll always be a battle Beast Boy. They'll always be a need to protect the people."

Robin, the leader of the teen titans, was always so cold, calculating, efficient, obsessive, and ever ready. Given his mentor, this was hardly surprising. Also like his mentor, there were definitely times when he wondered if it was better to go it alone, always pushing away those around him. This was not only because not everyone could live with his stratospheric demands, but also because of his fear of allowing people to get too close, his fear of getting hurt again. However despite this he was fiercely protective of those around him, always trying to make up for those he couldn't protect before.

"I didn't say there wasn't Robin, but 4 hours of training on a Sunday? Dude did no one ever tell you Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest!"

Beast Boy was in many ways the comic relief, in many ways opposite to Robin. He was disorganised, lazy, and often struggled with the higher level concepts of his leader. His upbringing had never really been academic though, and small gaps in his knowledge were understandable. However he was definitely an important member of the team, not only because of his battle prowess, but because of his ability to cheer up those around him. However, it was his similarities with Robin, his past, which caused this. Again, the humour was simply a way to keep people away from the real Beast Boy, a way of making sure he wasn't left heartbroken.

"Please Friends, no more mean talking!"

Starfire was the cute 'n' ditsy peacemaker of the Titans. She was a girl with her heart on her sleeve, and currently tears in her eyes, wishing her friends to stop their mean talking. Despite all the hardships she'd experienced, she was still strong enough to trust people and tried her very best to make sure all the other titans were ok. Of course, her best friend, and biggest concern, was always Robin. She'd felt a connection with Robin from the moment she'd set forth on the planet she'd crash landed on. Who better to share the ritual of exchanging languages but a cute boy with a kind heart?

"Hey, everyone just chill it, your making star cry here!"

Cyborg, the oldest of the teen titans, was a great friend to everyone. Throughout his life past the accident which caused his marked appearance change he had been treated like an outcast, hell even his girlfriend dumped him on sight, but in titan's tower he was surrounded by people who saw past this. Half of them were weirder than he was anyway.

"Ugh, I can't take any more of this. If anyone needs me I'll be in my room."

Raven, the resident empath (though most of the time you'd hardly notice) was a girl with a serious case of split personality, and most of her time was spent controlling herself and her powers. A life without emotion had left her cold and hard, yet now the main reason behind this, her Demon-god father Trigon the Terrible, was gone after being defeated in an epic struggle, she had the freedom to feel a little. She just didn't feel like doing it yet.

The dark cape barely made it to the door of the common room before the room began flashing an ominous shade of red and was filled with the screeching of the titan's alarm. Not that Robin cared in the slightest about the rupturing of his eardrums, finally after 6 months he had some action. He'd been getting so bored recently.

"OK Titans, there's been a break in at the Jump City Museum of Antiquities" The boy wonder announced, a hint of excitement present in his voice.

"Dude, not again!" Replied Beast Boy

"I'm afraid so. Titans, Go!"

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The Jump City Museum of Antiquities was a dark and solemn place even during the day, bright light kept away as to protect the various exhibits. During the night however the place was dropped into sinister darkness, with only a few red emergency and security lights around to highlight the shadows.

A lone figure was walking around inside the gloomy building, not even bothering to keep to the darkest areas. Not that the guard could make it out. He was too busy forcing himself inside a large vase which according to the little plaque next to it was made in the Yuán Dynasty. The guard wasn't bothered about this either.

"Got t-t-to ge-get away!"

His mind was in the grips of a terror he'd never experienced before. All he was sure of was that he needed to hide from the lone figure.

"What i-is that thing!" he murmured to himself.

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He placed his fingers on the carotid artery in the neck of the last poor guard to cross his path, checking for a pulse. He was pleased to find nothing.

"Ah! Isn't fear a wonderful thing. Such power over the weak minds of men."

Tonight was a good night for Dr Jonathan Crane. The escape from Arkham had been surprisingly easy, as had the use of the Riddler as a diversion. You couldn't get much better a diversion than the Riddler, poor Edward was so far gone you sometimes wondered if his brain could think in a straight line any more. Unfortunately this made him immune to the fear as well; the man saw too many things anyway. It was a shame; he could have been so useful if controlled in the right way.

'Oh well back to the task at hand.'

He'd heard of the mask from Dr Quinn during her last visit. Apparently it had been used in Rituals of Fear by some Central American civilisation, in which it had been used in combination with the consumption of a hallucinogen derived from Cactuses. Of course such a device needed researching. He could think of many uses for it.

It had been at Gotham's World History Museum the week previous, but he'd had enough of Gotham, its underworld, and its great defender. It was time to see how the protégé was doing. So after hearing about the move of the mask to Jump City he decided to take a chance. Enough people had broken out of Arkham before it couldn't be that difficult? In the end the guards had simply given him the key after a little persuasion. He didn't like having to use the violent dancing, but he would if the situation required.

The guards here had been little different, though the being persuasion used was so much harder to resist.

'Ah here's another one.' He said spotting the hat sticking out from the top of the large vase, 'and he's chipped the priceless Yuán Dynasty Vase, such crimes can not be left unpunished.'

He giggled with sinister delight as he skipped forward.

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"What the hell is he doing in Jump City?" Questioned Robin rhetorically as the team watched the recently accessed security cameras on their communicators.

"Robin, why is there a man dressed like the Scarer of Crows walking around the museum? Perhaps he is looking for a brain?" Asked a mildly confused Starfire.

"That's a scarecrow Star, but this one doesn't sing. I've seen him dance though, and it's not pretty," replied Robin.

"Gotham police announced him missing from Arkham yesterday. Obviously there's something he wants here," announced Cyborg, not looking up from the readouts on his arm.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good. We've got to stop him before he finds whatever it is he's looking for." Robin knew scarecrow was an exceptionally dangerous villain. His main worry was how the team would cope with the psychological assault they would be in for.

"How dangerous can a man made of straw be anyway? Why don't we just go in there and knock the stuffing out of him?" Asked Beast Boy, winking at Raven in reference to the joke. Raven just rolled her eyes.

"Oh the Scarecrow is very dangerous Beast Boy. He uses chemicals to induce a sense of terror whilst also creating hallucinations and raising adrenaline levels to critical limits, before literally scaring his victims to death," Robin replied, narrowing his eyes to slits for dramatic effect.

"That is so cool!"

"That is not cool Beast Boy!" Raged Robin, "We can't afford to take this lightly, I want everyone to keep their distance. We'll have a much better chance against him attacking from afar. He may be clever but he's only human. Titan's Go!"

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"Ok, according to the guide book the mask should just be around the corner… ah yes! Here we are." Scarecrows eyes lit up as he laid eyes on the mask, "Such a wonderfully simplistic design, letting the imagination turn in on itself without interfering. Oh well, I'll just have to take it away for testing."

"I don't think so," stated Robin, moving in from the shadows, "If you want to steal in this town, you're going to have to go through us."

"Such a noble challenge Robin, I'll enjoy making you scream"

"Titan's attack!"

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The Titans started on the offence, with star bolts, sonic canons, batarangs, and black aura surrounded floor tiles being thrown from afar.

"Tisk, Tisk, Titans, think of the damage you could cause to these priceless artefacts," shouted the Scarecrow as he danced around the shots, "I'll have to stop this madness."

Scarecrow grabbed three small vials from a pouch in his suit and flung them towards the titans. In a blink of an eye the room was filled with a light green haze.

"Don't breathe it in! Cover your mouth!" Shouted Robin.

"Dude, it's a little too late for that!" came Beast Boys worried reply.

Within seconds, four of the titans were on the floor overwhelmed by the images before there eyes.

"Err, guys? You ok?" asked Cyborg, the only one left standing.

"Computer… brain… not… affected. Need to… give antidote. Neural Inhibitor… Quickly… so dark… so dark…" muttered an intoxicated Robin, as the shadows quickly turned against him.

"Neural Inhibitor? Right, I'll get right on it, I know I have it here somewhere…"

"Oh no you don't!"

SMACK!

Cyborg was sent flying from a stiff kick to the face. Scarecrow chased after him, leaving the four incapacitated titans to fend against their own fears. The sound of a fierce close range battle was not helping.

Starfire was really struggling. Tears were flowing down the Tameranian princess's face as she pressed herself into a corner.

"Robin, where are you? I need assistance! Robin…"

Robin was not fairing much better, the boy wonder was flinging his Bo staff at random shadows whilst trying desperately to find the correct antidote in his utility belt.

"Aza… Az… Metri… Azzzz…" Raven was struggling too. The chemicals had obliterated her focus. Suddenly items began floating and exploding around the room. It was too much. With a final effort she screamed, shattering every object left unbroken in the room, before falling to the ground unconscious.

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"AAAAHHH!"

"Ah I see one of you little friends has had a little too much fear," stated the Scarecrow glancing back towards the mask room.

"Oh I am so gonna kick your ass!" shouted Cyborg, before launching another offensive

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"AAAAHHH!"

'Mate in trouble. Not move. Need to save.'

"RAAAOOOOWWWLLL!"

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Robin finally found the small sonic syringe he was looking for. With shaky hands he quickly administered the neural inhibitor, lessening the effects of scarecrows drugs until he could create a proper antidote back at the lab.

Glancing around, he took stock of the quickly deteriorating situation. Raven was passed out on the floor, shaking slightly as the toxins attacked her subconscious. Starfire was pressed tightly into a corner, eyes wide, pupils dilated, and tears streaming down her cheeks. What really worried him was the large green beast trying to get its bearings in the centre of the room.

'Oh no, scarecrows chemicals must have been enough to bring the beast back,' he thought, 'but I can't deal with that yet, I've got to help the girls first.'

On distinctly unsteady legs he made his way over to Raven. The green beast made a low growl as he approached the empath, so Robin quickly administered the shot and moved away towards Starfire.

'I get the feeling Beast Boy doesn't want me near Raven. I wonder why? Hopefully he won't stop me from getting to Star.'

As Robin got closer to Starfire the Beast seemed not to be interested, instead slowly lumbering towards the blue cloaked girl and sniffing at her.

"No keep away!" Starfire could make out a small demonic shadow making its way towards her. Maybe this was the thing she had heard growl? Surely it was going to eat her!

"No! Stay back! I d-do not wish to be eaten!" She tried charging her star bolts, but was in no condition to feel righteous fury. Instead she tried to force herself further into the corner, making noticeable Starfire shaped dents in the plaster.

"Star, it's me calm down, I'm going to help you"

"Robin? No you can not be Robin! Robin does not have such big teeth!"

Robin quickly administered the shot to Starfire before pulling her into a tight hug. He really hated seeing her upset, and seeing her like this was breaking his heart.

"It's ok Star, I'm here, nothing will hurt you."

Starfire resisted for a few seconds whilst the drug took effect, but slowly sunk into the hug before wrapping her arms around the Boy Wonder in return. Fresh tears began making there way down her checks in relief.

"Oh Robin, I was so scared."

The hug continued for a good minute, the teens content in their own little world, until a small growl brought their attention back to the world around them.

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"OOOOWWWW"

The Scarecrow was rolling around on the floor holding his right knee in apparent agony as Cyborg nursed his most important of organs.

"Well that's what you get for trying to play dirty," the mechanoid stated, doing some not so discrete rearranging, "thank god for steal…"

"Yes, yes, very funny, but you haven't won yet!" shouted a manic Scarecrow, hopping menacingly towards the titan. Cyborg took one look at him, struggled to keep from breaking out into giggles and shot out Scarecrow's left leg with his sonic canon.

"I'll go quietly!" squeaked a small voice from the floor.

"Thought so."

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"What is Beast Boy doing Robin?"

"I'm not sure Star; he just seems to be checking her for injuries."

The beast was still sniffing around Raven. Every now and then it would nudge the unconscious girl with its nose and let out a low growl, seemingly trying to wake her.

"I hate to say it star, but we can't leave Beast Boy like this, we've got to get Raven to the infirmary and I doubt the beast will understand."

"Hey guys I've…"

"SHHHH!"

Cyborg strode in confidently after defeating the Scarecrow, but was quickly silenced and pulled to the side. The beast observed the spectacle with a suspicious expression.

"I see BB's gone primal on us again," whispered the mechanoid.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to use the batarang we developed just in case," replied Robin, "I just need Raven out the way first, and we're in no condition to distract that thing."

"Yeah, I don't think Raven would react well to whale strength tranquilizer," acknowledged Cyborg.

"Ok, here's the plan…"

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Cyborg readied his sonic cannon and aimed about a foot over the top of the beast before firing off a low energy shot.

"Yo! BB over here!"

The Beast quickly jumped between Raven and Cyborg, growling out a clear warning.

With his back turned, Starfire quickly flew in grabbing Raven and quickly heading out the nearest window. The beast noticed immediately, and its muscles bunched preparing to leap after the Tameranian. This was until it was hit by a batarang from robin and quickly enveloped by a dense fog.

"RRRAAAOOOOWWWWLLLLL"

The beast let out a loud howl, staggered forward towards the window through which Starfire had disappeared, before slowly collapsing to the floor.

A few seconds later a young green teenage boy could be seen sleeping peacefully.

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Author Note: The norns, apart from being taken from Norse Mythology, are also part of a manga series 'Oh My Goddess' by Kosuke Fujishima sensei. I recommend it to everyone!

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Dystant: And so it continues…

Beast Boy: Dude, I was like so cool!

Dystant: A pervert more like! I saw where you were sniffing!

Raven: BEAST BOY! PREPARE TO DIE!

Beast Boy: YAAAAAAA! (Runs away screaming like a girl)

Dystant: Um, see you in about a month. If Beast Boy is still alive that is. Starfire?

Starfire: Please send us your reviews! Without them friend Dystant will never improve!

Dystant: And now a bonus omake, courtesy of my rather ecchi imagination!

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OMAKE!

"What is Beast Boy doing Robin? And why are you covering my eyes?"

"You don't wanna know Star. Trust me."

Cue Bloodhound gang!