A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the long wait for an update. I've been working a lot. However, the great thing about waiting two hours to see the doctor is it gave me plenty of time to figure out the rest of this story, so hopefully updates won't be too long. I hope you guys like this next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think :) ~Ellivia22~

Disclaimer: if I owned Teen Titans I would've had Beast Boy go save Raven in "The End" trilogy instead of Robin

Just The Way You Are

Part III

Raven

It's practically silent the next morning at the battle course. No one is laughing or telling jokes. Instead we're just doing our stretching for practice. Though it would seem that I prefer the silence I actually found it unnerving. Unnerving because it isn't normal.

I glance over at the changeling who is off to the side, stretching his back. He hasn't said a word since we arrived at the battle field. He looks completely worn out. He has bags under his eyes and his green face is a little pale, making his black eye and the bruises on his face stand out considerably. I watch him grimace, clutching onto his ribs. I sigh to myself. I wish he would let me heal him.

I long to ask Beast Boy what he's really up to, but I don't. I can tell from his body language that he doesn't want to talk to me-or anyone else for that matter. My harsh words must still be affecting him. My heart sinks. This pretty much confirms that he hasn't forgiven me.

"All right team," Nightwing says, breaking into my troubling thoughts. "Let's get started. Starfire you're first."

Practice seems to drag longer than usual. Perhaps it's because no one is really talking much. The only thing that's being said is Nightwing telling the time it takes to complete the course. It seems like forever before it is my turn. I push through the course mechanically. I don't have the enthusiasm that I usually do, which is rare for me. While I'm hitting the targets at the end of the course with my powers I glance at Beast Boy from the corner of my eye. He's just standing to the side, away from the others. He seems to be lost in thought. I don't think I've ever seen him this serious before. I'm so concerned about him that it doesn't phase me that my time was slower than usual. 2 minutes 15 seconds. Nightwing gives me a concerned look.

"All right, Beast Boy," Nightwing says. "You're up."

Beast Boy walks towards the starting line. I stand by Cyborg, Starfire and Nightwing. I don't take my eyes off the green teen from under my hood. His face is hard and determined-an expression I rarely see on him.

3...2...1 GO!

Beast Boy doesn't hesitate. He goes through the course faster than I've ever seen him do it before. He sprints past the columns so fast he's like a green blur. Then he turns into a peregrine falcon to avoid the lasers being shot at him. I can't help but be impressed by the amount of strength he shows plowing through the panels as a large elephant then using the trunk to shoot water at each of the rocks about to shoot discs in his direction. The water causes the cannons to stop working instantly. For a final touch he turns into a gorilla and punches all the targets with his massive fists.

Beast Boy turns back into himself. I stare at him in awe. I've never seen him perform so well. It's clear to me that he's more successful when he's focused. I glance at the time on the monitor: 1 minute and 45 seconds. Not that this is a competition, but Beast Boy had the third best time-including beating me. I want to congratulate him, but can't seem to find the words.

"Great job, Beast Boy," Nightwing says, getting from behind the control panel. "I'm impressed."

I expect Beast Boy to gloat and say something egotistical like he usually does. Instead he looks at Nightwing seriously. "I promise I'll do better next time," he says dejectedly.

Nightwing looks taken aback-as does the rest of the team. Beast Boy has never spoken in such a self-hating tone before. Nightwing puts a reassuring hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "No, really. You did great."

"Yes!" adds Starfire. "You kicked the butt!"

"Agreed," Cyborg contributes, his metal hand on Beast Boy's other shoulder.

I struggle to add something with everyone else. I'm still in shock all I manage to utter is "Yeah."

"Well I'm starved," Cyborg booms energetically. "I think this calls for pizza for breakfast."

I shake my head. Only Cyborg would want pizza for breakfast. Beast Boy hesitates, then finally manages to smile. Am I the only one who can tell that the smile is forced? "All right," he says reluctantly.

I follow behind the others to the T-Car. Cyborg, Nightwing, and Starfire are chatting energetically with each other. Beast Boy, however, remains silent. Something has changed in Beast Boy and I'm finding that I don't like it. It's just not like him to not be laughing and telling jokes. A part of me thought things would be better if he stopped telling jokes. Yet he's just not the same. He's not happy, that is quite clear. I swallow the large lump in my throat. I'm starting to regret my words more and more.

BBRae

"All right," Cyborg says energetically fifteen minutes later. "So we'll order a triple sized supreme pizza and BB will order his usual vegetarian." Cyborg shudders at the last word.

"Sounds delightful," Starfire says happily. Nightwing nods in agreement.

"Whatever," I mutter.

"What do you think, BB," Cyborg says, nudging the green boy next to him in the ribs. "Are you brave enough to try the all-meat experience this time? I guarantee that you'll enjoy it!"

Beast Boy rubs his chest. "No thanks, dude. I respect the fact that you like meat, but I prefer to stay a vegetarian."

The impassive tone of his voice makes us all stare at him. "Okay what's up with you?" Nightwing asks finally.

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asks, knowing full well what.

"You've been acting weird all morning," Cyborg says seriously.

"Yes and you have yet to tell us a joke." Starfire says in concern. "It is just not like you."

Another forced smile from the changeling. He shrugs his shoulders. "Sorry, guys. Guess I'm just tired from fighting Cinderblock yesterday and this morning's practice." He glances at his communicator briefly to check the time. "Oh, I've got to go. I'll catch you guys later."

"Where are you going?" I blurt out.

"Yeah we haven't even ordered yet," Cyborg protests.

"I'll get pizza with you guys another time," Beast Boy promises. "I'll be home later." He turns into a large falcon and flies off before we can say anything else.

"There is definitely something wrong with him," Nightwing says, staring in the direction Beast Boy went. "Maybe one of us should follow him."

"He probably went back to the comic book shop. I wouldn't worry about it," I say, trying to mask my own feelings of concern.

"You and I both know that's not what he was doing yesterday." Nightwing argues. "I just hope Beast Boy isn't getting into trouble. Did you apologize to him last night?"

"Yes." My eyes lower to my hands. The guilt is still strong on the inside. "But I don't think he forgave me. You guys were right. I crossed the line. I hurt him. If only I had an idea on how to show him that I really didn't mean it."

"Oh we must do something," Starfire moans. "Beast Boy is terrifying me acting like this."

Cyborg seems to be the only one not as concerned as the rest of us by Beast Boy's strange behavior. He brushes off our concerns with a wave of his hand. "He'll bounce back sooner or later. He always does."

"I hope so. We can't afford to lose him as a teammate," Nightwing comments.

We leave the pizza place without ordering anything. It seems that all of us have lost our appetites. Silently we head back to the tower. Whether Beast Boy knows it or not, his change in attitude has affected the whole team and not in a good way. Not only that something has been wrong with my emotions since he shut the door in my face last night. When I get home I'll have to go to Nevermore and find out what.

RaeBB

Once we get beck from the pizza parlor we all go in separate directions. Cyborg stays in the garage to work on his car some more. Starfire starts cooking some unknown concoction in the kitchen. Sadly her cooking hasn't improved over the years. She still thinks that mustard can be used on anything. Nightwing makes his way to the training room.

I go straight to my room. My chest has been extremely tight since Beast Boy left to go do who knows what. It just adds to the feeling that hit me last night when he closed the door in my face. Nothing feels right. The best way to find out what's going on is going directly to Nevermore and investigate. I close the door behind me and float in the air, my legs crossed.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Black aura surrounds me, making my body turn into the shape of a lightning bolt. Quickly the lighting bolt strikes, sending me into the hand mirror that is laying on my dresser. It continues, going down the vortex in a spiral pattern until I land feet first on the ground.

I brush the dust off my cloak. When I look around I realize that Nevermore is different. True I haven't been here in months, but there's something about it that sends chills up and down my spine. I haven't felt this way since Trigon got loose. Something's wrong.

I grab the first emotion I see. Sloth is wandering around aimlessly with a bored expression on her face. I grab her by her tan cloak, trying to avoid the dried pizza stains. She is always too lazy to clean herself up. "Meeting. Now. Gather the others."

"Too tired" Sloth moans.

I glare at her and fly past her. I'm not in the mood to argue. In an instant I enter a large room in the middle of Nevermore. The room is like a sanctuary. The walls are all white and covered with everything that matters to me: things from Azarath, such as a portrait of Azar and another portrait of my mother, my friends...and Beast Boy. White stone ravens are etched all around the walls as well. A large marble table is in the middle, a tea set and my teas at the end of the head of the table.

Several emotions appear instantly. All the different Ravens are staring at me. "All right we're all here," Rude grumbles. "So let's get this over with."

It doesn't take me long to realize who is missing. I glare at Rude. "You guys are not all here. We're still missing Happy."

Rude glares at Sloth. "You didn't tell her?!"

"Why would I do that?" Sloth asks. "That's too much work."

"Tell me what?" I ask, my eyes narrowing.

Knowledge sighs, taking off her glasses. She rubs her face wearily. "We haven't been able to find her."

I stare at the yellow cloaked emotion. "What do you mean you can't find her?! Emotions don't just disappear."

"They do. They fade away if they're not strong enough. Or if another conflicting emotion becomes more powerful."

"More powerful?" I ask. "Like who?!"

Then I spot the emotion at the end of the table. Her cloak is light blue-an emotion I was hoping that I'd never see again. The emotion that resurfaced when Beast Boy shut the door in my face.

"Loneliness! Why are you here? I thought you were gone for good!"

Loneliness wipes her eyes with her cloak. More tears come from her eyes, making that action utterly pointless. "I-I'm here because Beast Boy doesn't want anything to d-do with us anymore. The longer he avoids us, the stronger I become."

"But why?" I ask. "Why would Beast Boy's avoidance do this? I mean I know I have a crush on him, but he doesn't have a bigger impact on my life than the other Titans do."

"Maybe he means more to you than you're willing to admit," Knowledge says.

I shake my head. "No, you're wrong. It's just a stupid crush-nothing more. He's nothing more than an idiotic joker who annoys the living hell out of me."

"And yet he's the one who pays the most attention to you; the one who protects you and tries to make you happy."

I stay quiet. Knowledge is wrong. She has to be. "Please, Raven," Loneliness begs to me. "Can I see Beast Boy again? I'm so lonely without him!"

I sigh. If that's what it takes to get rid of the blue emotion and get Happy back then that's what I'm going to do. As much as Happy annoys me, I'd rather have Happy around than the whiny, weepy Loneliness. Timid is bad enough. "I'll see what I can do."

I close my eyes and chant my mantra. When I open them again I'm back in my room. I've got to find Beast Boy and somehow convince him that he's important to me. But how am I going to get him to listen?

I pull out my communicator and float to the ground. Even though I've been in Nevermore for about an hour it seems that all the other Titans are still doing what they were doing before. Except...that's strange. I can't find Beast Boy's location at all. In fact his communicator is off line. What in the world is he doing? Worst of all, what did I do to him?

Beast Boy

I arrive at the Titan's East tower around noon, much earlier than planned. My chest is still tight. I can't stop thinking about the failed battle practice. I can't believe I only got the third best time. I was trying so hard. I guess it's because my muscles are still sore from practice with Titan's East yesterday. Breathing is difficult because of my bruised ribs. Still that's no excuse. I'm better than that. I should do better than that.

I feel guilty for leaving the team at the pizza parlor. I know that the were just trying to make me feel better, and I appreciate it. I just felt so out of place being there with group of skilled and successful friends. Not when I'm nothing but an emotional mess.

Speedy wasn't exaggerating when he said their battle course is intense. It has the similar set up as ours, except twice the size. This course also contains tasks that are like they are straight from a military obstacle course. There is a large steel swing set like structure with various tires in the middle hanging a little bit from the ground, which is covered in mud. There are large slabs made of metal in the middle of the course with a rope ladder as the way to get up to the top. Then connected to the top is a pole where a you have to get on a zipline to take you back to the bottom. Once you reach the ground you have to crawl under some barb wire, hop through some hurdles to the finish line. The last thing you have to do before crossing the finish line is destroy the targets around-just like ours. And you have to do this while avoiding lasers, discs, and other items randomly coming at you.

"And you can't use your powers during those parts," Aqualad says, pointing to the military parts of the course. "Cyborg built it where your powers won't work once you reach the tire swings. He made it that way so that we could keep our strength up and also tests how fast we can react."

I try not to let all this intimidate me. Secretly I'm plotting to destroy Cy's car as payback. "I can handle it."

"Nice shiner," Bumblebee greets me when she reaches the course. "You look dangerous."

"Don't worry," I say with as much confidence as I can muster. "I'll get you back next time."

We don't say anything else as we watch Speedy go through the course. I'm impressed seeing him tackle the course with such ease. Granted, he's had a lot of time to practice. I struggle to stay calm. I hope that I can do just as well.

Speedy finishes the course in under three minutes. Since this course is longer it makes sense that that his time is a little longer. He wipes the sweat off his forehead. "Piece of cake."

I swallow hard. My turn is next. I fall into a ready stance and wait for the buzzer. One thought repeats over and over again in my head like a broken record.

Don't fail

BEEEEP!

I quickly turn into a cheetah so that I can run past the steel columns just like at the other course. I always use the cheetah, because it's the form I trust the most to keep my speed up. The stone panels are up next so I turn into a rhino without second thought, ramming them as hard as I can then the last animal I change into before reaching the tires is a bird to avoid the lasers from shooting me.

Once I reach the tires I turn back into myself. I hesitate for a split second. I'm not as strong or as physically fit as the others. C'mon BB you can do this. I stumble a bit as I hop onto the tires. I wobble, then force myself to remain steady as I hop from tire to tire. This would be so much easier if I was in frog form.

I run towards the large metal slab. My sides ache, the muscles in my legs throb. I don't know why. I'm not that out of shape. I grab the coarse rope and make my way up the ladder. Halfway up I twist my body to the side slightly to avoid a disc from taking my head off. When I reach the top I'm feeling winded, almost lethargic. I struggle to keep my breathing normal, but am finding that difficult. What in the hell is wrong with me?!

I grab the handlebars hanging from the zip line and push myself off the metal slab. Cold air rushes through my hair as I pick up speed. I twist my body some more to avoid being hit by other objects coming at me. I can see that I'm getting close to the end. I can't give up now.

BAM!

As I near the ground something hard hits me on the side of my head. Stars start winking in my eyes and I let go of the handlebars. Then everything goes black...

BBRae

"Garfield...Garfield look at me."

I uncovered my eyes, the world was spinning. I felt different, younger. Everything and everyone that I knew before was gone from my mind. When I looked around I recognized the purple and black walls of the training room in the Doom Patrol Headquarters. Once everything was back in focus I stared at the young woman in front of me. Rita was smiling, her long hair past her waist, though she still wore her black headband. She looked younger too. "Garfield, you can do this."

"But Rita," I heard my ten year old self saying. "W-what if I can't do it? W-what if I mess up again?"

She gave me a reassuring smile. "Then we'll try again. I believe in you. Just focus, think of the animal you want to change into."

I closed my eyes tight and thought about the animal I wanted to turn into. A dog. Not just a small dog, but a big one-ferocious. I thought about a wolf; a wolf that is twice the size of me. With a thick fur coat, teeth so sharp it could tear through anything. I thought about the wolf's howl: high pitched, yet so loud it was piercing. Large paws and a big bushy tail. I felt strange on the inside like I was stretching so far it hurt. Then all I could think about was finding my pack and going for a hunt for dinner. I licked my lips and felt a wet nose.

"Garfield, look. You did it!"

I opened my eyes and looked at full-length mirror by the wall next to me. A large green wolf stared back at me-looking exactly as I pictured. I turned back into myself. I hugged Rita tightly. "Rita you were right! I did it!"

She hugged me back warmly. "I knew you could."

"What's going on here?"

Mento entered the room. He looked exactly the same, except younger. I ran up to him excitedly. "Mento I did it! I turned into something bigger!" I turned back into the wolf. It was easier the second time.

Mento didn't look impressed. His face stayed emotionless. "I'd be more impressed if you looked more intimidating. You're just wasting time."

I turned back into myself. I hung my head. No matter how hard I tried, I could never please him. "I'm sorry," I said in a small voice. "I-I'll try harder next time."

"Steve he's been working really hard," Rita said, placing her hands protectively on my shoulders. "I think he's ready."

"Are you crazy, Rita?! He can't control this power. We can't afford any mistakes on this team."

"Please, just give him a chance."

Mento gave me a measuring look. I looked back pleadingly. "Please, Mento. I won't let you down! I promise!"

"All right," Mento reluctantly allowed. "But if you are to join this team I expect you to do your very best. Failure is not an option."

"I will sir," I agreed eagerly. I was excited for this opportunity that Mento was giving me. It had to be better than anything that had happened in my life so far.

"Good. Now let's get you a uniform. From this day forward you are not Garfield Logan. Instead you will be known as "Beast Boy"

"Hey guys I think he's coming around," a voice says, the volume so loud it gives me a headache.

"BB, man, are you okay?"

I moan wearily as I struggle to open my eyes. The Titan's East are all leaning over me, their faces full of concern. They look all blurry to me. "He doesn't look so good," Aqualad says worriedly. "Maybe we should call Nightwing."

Every part of my body aches. I feel as though I've been run over by Cyborg's car. Once the world stops spinning I realize that I'm lying on the Titan's East couch in the common room. I struggle to sit up. Even that is too much at the moment.

"Rest," Bumblebee says gently. "You took quite a hit."

"Hit by what?" I whisper weakly. It must've been something heavy. My head is killing me. I'm still having a hard time figuring out where I am or what I had been doing before I passed out.

"One of the large rocks being shot directly at the course." Speedy answers.

I slump against the couch as I remember sliding down the zip line before everything went black. "Please tell me I at least finished the course," I ask desperately even though I already know the answer.

"I'm sorry, man," Aqualad says. "You were close though."

I cover my face in my hands. I sigh in defeat. It takes too much strength to do anything else. Mas and Menos rush to my side, an ice pack in their hands. "Para tu cabeza." they say.

I don't understand what they're saying but I get the message. I take the ice pack and place it on my throbbing head. "I'll try harder next time."

Bumblebee sits next to me on the couch. "Look Beast Boy I admire your determination and dedication, but this is getting dangerous. I don't think we should do this anymore."

I sit up quickly, ignoring the spasms of pain that shoot through me. I feel like my head is being split open. "No! We just started. I can't quit now. I-I'm just tired, but I swear I'll get better" I look at my friends desperately, my heart rate accelerated. "Please guys. Don't give up on me now."

"You don't get it," Speedy says. "You could've died."

"I don't care. I can't fail, I won't fail you guys." I force myself to my feet. I don't have much strength in my legs and it's hard to stay upright. I almost fall to my knees but I force myself to stay strong. "I'll be back tomorrow."

Without another word I turn into a bird and fly unsteadily out of the open window. Once I'm far enough away I land on the pathway leading to the Titan's East Tower. I turn back into myself. The last of my strength is gone. I fall to my knees. The ache in my head is so painful it's almost blinding. I close my eyes tightly, trying desperately to get rid of one repeating word out of my head.

Failure

I can't keep doing this. I can't let Mento have this control over me. I'm no longer on the Doom Patrol. I'm a Titan. It's about time I started acting like one. The first thing I need to do is get rid of anything that connects me to the Doom Patrol. I know exactly where to start.

To be continued...