Author Notes:

So, apologies all those who read this story for how long it's taken to do this chapter. Primarily, it's for two reasons.

Reason one is that I have other stuff to work on, such as my drawings, and the other storie I've currently got running. (A third story I was doing has been deleted, because I felt like it was rubbish and wasn't really going anywhere – and I didn't have the motivation to finish it because of that.) Reason two is that I've moved on from Teen Titans a little, primarily because the shows over, and I've discovered other shows which I have found excellent! The "Naruto" anime/manga is one, and more recently, "Neon Genesis Evangelion." (Trust me, that anime deserves it's title as one of the best!)

Don't worry though, unless I decide that it's total scrap, I always intend to finish my projects; my love of TT hasn't died, and this fanfic is still one of my priorities – though I've really gotten into my current Naruto fanfic, so it was a little tough to even get started on this chapter.

So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have fun reading.

P.S. ruler function isn't working for whatever reason, so I've had to mark out scene transition differently from what I normally do. They are still clear.

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It's Better When You're Not There

How long had he given it? He didn't know, but it was anywhere up to two days. An incredible amount of time, but something in his gut, head, heart, lungs, and liver; told him this wasn't going away. Maybe it was just insomnia. He'd stayed away from her, practically locking himself in the tower and his room unless they had to take down another super-villain... For all the good it had done... Welcome to the life of Beast Boy. He taunted himself. He couldn't help it really. Obsessive, green, lonely, stupid... the list goes on. Now though, he'd given up. He'd gone to the tower computer, found the address of Tara Markov, and was now walking to it in the early morning. The lucky thing? It was a weekend. No school, so her less than amiable friends wouldn't be the problem.

And now comes the inevitable thought processes of: 'Am I doing the right thing?' 'Does she feel the same?' 'I'm an idiot just to be doing this!' Not that it would stop the changeling, just slow him down. He'd decided that this would be the final straw! He knew that Terra's last answer of "We can't see each other again..." – or something along those lines – was shaky at best. She'd didn't seem to quite believe it herself. He just thought that if he followed along, then it would help both of them. The hell it has! Well, this would be the final decision. Either they decided to try and work things out, or part and try to forget one another. God knows he'd tried to do that for months since the whole volcano incident. And once again, it didn't do a whole lot of good. He still kept that butterfly locket or whatever kind of thing it was in his room.
Well, here it was. Her home. It was an urban area of town on the outskirts of the city, so all the skyscrapers were off in the distance. The streets were clean enough, and the houses seemed okay, with room enough for a four person family at most. Each had an upstairs and downstairs, and seemed in a good level of maintenance. A long row of houses all joined together No gardens of any sort, just one long chain of homes that looked more like one huge – admittedly huge length-wise – mansion. The door to the home he wanted was coloured a dull red, obviously with age.

"So this is how far she has to walk to school, eh?" Beast Boy mused to himself.

A deep breath to build up his courage reserves, which had suddenly managed to dump their load into the air, leaving the tanks empty. A hard exhale followed, as seemed to be the cliché of things. It was time.

He walked up to the door... hesitated for a moment, indecision hitting like a one tonne anvil on his head, as seemed to happen in so many cartoons. He shook it off, and gave two quick but hard knocks to the door.

A moment of silence.

The door opened, and their stood what he could only assume was Terra's foster mother, dressed in an apron dotted with pink flowers, and wearing a long green skirt and an orange t-shirt. She had brown eyes, and short black hair, with blue eyes and a small nose. Her lips were pink, and not full but not think either. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Her body wasn't thin, but it wasn't fat. It seemed to be perfectly healthy, though it was hardly the hourglass figure of Terra.

"Oh," the woman exclaimed, "you're one of those Teen Titans; Beast Boy. How can I help you?" She was polite, though it was hardly the kindly, sickeningly sweet voice women of this kind were often portrayed as in TV or comedy.

"I'm here to see Tara..."

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Raven had just woken up, and was walking down the corridor of the tower to the main room. She was wearing a leotard with no sleeves and nothing else.These served as he pyjamas. Rather than just buy something more or less proper, she decided that this would be best for sleepwear. All the Titans slept in nightwear that was near enough their usual uniforms, but with subtle changes to make them more comfortable. She was normally the first one up, and this was one of those rare occasions where she could get some peace. Even with Beast Boy much more... solemn than usual, the tower still proved very noisy. She didn't mind it, but she preferred things a little quieter.

At last! The door to the main room of the tower. Who decided that a building shaped like a 'T', that's large enough for over forty people to fit in, would be suitable for five regulars and the occasional visitor? The place seemed to big for its own good. She got close to the door, and it shimmied to the right, opening the room to her, and letting in the early morning sunlight, along with something extra.

Standing two feet in front of her, his back turned, was a red-haired boy with bandages wrapped around his chest and right arm, and wearing only a pair of red boxer shorts. It was all she could do to keep from giving him a once over. He turned around and glared at her, his expression not changing whatsoever from a hard faced, stern look. What's more, in his right hand he held a cup of what smelled like... herbal tea!

"Can I help you?" He asked in a bored way.

Shaking off her anger and shock with a mental shudder, and thoughts of how she would annihilate him for touching her herbal tea, Raven began in a monotonous, and scathingly sarcastic voice. "Yeah, you can. First off, why are you here in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and bandages?"

"I slept in these." Nexus said in an irritated tone.

"Secondly, that's my herbal tea!" She pointed to the cup in his hand, which he glanced at.

"I forgot to pack my own herbs."

"Finally, why is it that you always have to bother me? Intentionally or unintentionally."

Nexus shrugged in response. "It's fun."

She noticed Nexus' eyes give her a once over. Yes, it irritated her more, but that was a 'natural' reaction. He was a teenage male. After all, she was struggling to do the same for him in his state of near undress.

"If we're done here..." Nexus didn't finished his sentence. He simply turned to his left and walked over to the kitchen counter, laid his cup upon the top, sat down on one of the stools, and picked up a book that was apparently on there on it. Luckily, it wasn't one of her books.

Raven walked behind the counter and bent down to find her herbs, and check which ones he'd pilfered. She was sure not to give him a 'nice view.'

"Look..." came Nexus' voice, causing Raven to stand upright and glare at him. He was still reading his book. "We got off on a bad foot, I know. I have trouble trusting new people; but I already told you that. What I'm trying to say is..." He looked at her with a slightly softer expression, "I'd appreciate if we could start from the beginning." Raven raised an eyebrow. First he purposely annoys her, and now he wants to be friends? "I can tell you aren't bad people but... you know, I needed a while to figure it out."

Raven shrugged, "I suppose I can sympathise, I don't trust new people easy either."

"Could've fooled me." Raven glared at him again. "I said we'd start fresh, not that I wouldn't keep messing with you."

"Then expect the same from me."

He lowly chuckled. "I look forward to it!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, fiery brown meeting deep purple in a momentary staring contest. Silence filled the room besides for the silent sound of steam rising from the cup held in Nexus' right hand.

"Have any ramen?" Nexus suddenly blurted out.

"Ra-what?"

"Didn't think so..." He sighed. "Guess I've got some more shopping to do then."

"And you're getting the money... where?" Raven asked, assuming that she would not like the answer.

"Your purse." Nexus answered with a silly grin.

"... I don't have a purse!"

"You don't? Huh... weird girl." Nexus said absently, almost like he was stupid.

Was this guy for real? One moment he's all edgy and "Mr. Tough Guy", and now he's acting all 'friendly.' It had to be a half-alien thing! Guess this was his way of a 'fresh start,' though it hardly seemed different from when he was really trying to irritate her. Guess this really was him being friendly. Maybe this sarcasm was just how he defended himself in a way... She really doubted he'd go into her money and run off to buy ramen... Whatever that was.

"You have no idea..." Raven retorted as an answer to Nexus' previous statement. "You're absolutely certain we've started fresh?"

"Positive."

Nexus began thinking to himself. Perhaps these guys aren't so bad. They haven't exactly attacked yet, and they have helped me. At the moment he silently cursed his life and what it had made him into.

"Hey."

"Hm? What?"

"You spaced out." Raven told him as if it was common knowledge.

He sighed. "Sorry... for just about everything I've done to, well, tick you guys off."

"I don't blame you. You've got the same look in your eyes I do." Nexus looked at Raven with a puzzled face. "Put simply, you don't trust easy. As I've said, I can understand that."

"I'm guessing you had a hard life too, eh?"

"When you've had a father for a demon, who forced himself on your mother, then find out it's your destiny to destroy the world... yeah, you do have a hard life." Her tone was once again sarcastic, almost stupidly so.

"Huh... Sensei never did tell me what the hell happened when I lost my memory of that day."

Raven looked at him with her puzzled look. He seems like he been on Earth for a few years, but how long has he been in America? He probably wouldn't tell anyway, him being him. He'd probably say, 'I don't trust you enough yet.' Still, this conversation was proving... interesting. Despite initial problems, they didn't seem all too different. Hard lives, hard to trust... weird looks, frequent use of sarcasm. The thing was: she was good at being sarcastic.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Raven asked half-sarcastically.

"I'm a half-alien, half-human, whose lived on another planet for the first ten years of his life." Nexus retorted in his own sarcastic way. "So no."

"What I mean is," Raven grumbled, telling herself she probably asked for that, "how long have you been in America?"

"Two to three months." He took a sip from his tea. "I've been... travelling for the past six years."

"Don't tell me, you'll tell me when I gain your trust?"

"Yep." Nexus replied dryly. "But you're on your way." He took another sip of his tea. "Oh, by the way, I used your computer."

"... Why do you constantly try to infuriate me?" Raven asked in a scathingly sarcastic manner.

"I don't, but when I do, it's to lighten you up."

"My world doesn't need lightening up." Raven narrowed her eyes, and put her face close to his, so that their noses were barely a three millimetres apart. "My world is bleak and dark, with lot's of rain, dark literature, and closed curtains."

"... No wonder your so pale." Nexus replied with a cocky smirk.

Raven just stared at him, eyes narrowed to the point of slits, a harsh death glare washing over him. All of sudden, the boy in front of her felt very nervous.

"Err... S-See...? We're getting along better already."

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Beast Boy was sat at a circular table in the kitchen. The kitchen itself had a wallpaper decorated in a pattern of flowers, while the table and chairs were wooden. The chairs themselves had plain white cushions for a little added comfort. It was still early, so he wasn't expecting for Terra to be up yet; and yet here he was, early in the morning, sat in her kitchen, leaning both arms of the table, waiting for her to wake up. Sometimes he felt like he was in a sitcom, his pain providing humour for a shallow audience that could only laugh at his misfortune.

Terra's adopted mother was working at the sink, apparently cleaning cutlery and plates for the mornings breakfast, and humming some tune that he recognised as not some seventies or eighties music. If he wasn't so wrapped up in his twisting stomach, he could this woman a 'cool-momma.' He began tapping the wood of the table with his right index finger. A clock ticking away in the background suddenly became more prominent.

'Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... ti-'

"Mornin' mom!" That was the voice of someone he recognised instantly. He flinched at it.

The mother didn't turn from her work. "Mornin' Tara. You have a visitor."

She glanced around the kitchen. Visitor? Let's see... There's mother at the sink, some dude with green hair sat at the table, dad isn't up yet so... Wait... 'dude with green hair...'? Oh no. Oh no.

"Mornin' Tara." Beast Boy said without looking away from the wooden table he was sat at.

"Yeah..." She replied monotonously. "Mom, me and my friend are going to my room. We need to talk in private."

"Of course."

Beast Boy promptly stood up, pushing the chair away with his legs, and followed the blind geomancer up the stairs to her room. The stairs and upper floor were carpeted with grey matting, with the walls around around free of wallpaper, leaving a dull yellow about. Hardly an appropriate colour for right now. When they entered Terra's room – or Tara as she was called at the moment – in was simple enough. Walls painted a deep gold, a single bed with a plain blue cover and pillow, a wooden desk in the corner and a chair to go with it, along with a few different perfumes and make-up items about. He assumed the mirrror was in one of the draws of the desk.

Terra motioned for him to sit on the bed, and he did so, sitting down quietly compared to what he would normally do: jump on it without a care in the world. Oh how times had changed. Terra sat on his left, and it was only now he took notice of what she was wearing. Black trainers with white trim, jeans in the usual blue colour, and a plain grey, loose-fitting t-shirt. Her hair looked to her been recently combed, and was neat. When he met her eyes with his own, he saw them sad, but with a hard edge to them.

"I had a feeling you'd show up sooner or later." She told him quietly.

"I did too." He said that as a joke to try to lighten the mood at least a little. No luck. "I guess you know what I want to talk about too."

She sighed and allowed herself a small chuckle, looking down tot he floor as she did. "It's all we've been talking for days on end."

"Hm..." This was going well. "Terra, the last answer you gave me was... Well, it was-"

"Stupid?" She asked, looking back at his face as he shot to meet her gaze once again.

"I was going to say shaky; but if you want to put it like that..." He shrugged. "What I mean is, we can't keep doing this."

"No duh, Sherlock." She mocked half-heartedly, looking down to the floor once again. "But I know what you mean, and the answer is still... no."

It was still there. She'd hesitated. "Terra... that's a load of bull!" He said that in a deceptively quiet tone, causing her to look at him with a shocked look. "You and I both know this isn't going to go away unless you're absolutely certain about it, and you're not."

"Well what do you propose we do?" She retorted in an exasperated voice, glaring daggers at him.. "Pronounce to the world I'm back and we're a couple? You know every single bad guy out there would try to get to us! It's the perfect cliché!"

"Terra!" He shouted back in her face, his own eyes intense. He sighed once, calming himself, and speaking in a milder tone. "I might be the clown of the team, but I've matured a lot. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself... so stop telling me you're trying to protect me; because I can do that myself!"

Terra could only stare at him n utter awe. "Beast Boy... I-"

"No Terra!" He shouted back at her. "Not another word of that! Just..." He trailed off, his expression suddenly solemn and sad. "Just... We can work this out... can't we?" She didn't respond. "I mean, it's not like you have to go back to your old life. Just say that you're Tara, and you're dating Beast Boy." He shrugged, putting on a half-hearted, hopefully smile.

"... BB... you know that if we were ever discovered..."

"So, I'd just have to save you, wouldn't I?" He put on a goofy smile, and closed his eyes. He didn't here a sound from her, so he opened his eyes.

When he did, he was confused. Terra was smiling at him, her eyes lidded slightly. It was the smile that got him; it was... mischievous, playful and... All of a sudden, Terra had pulled his by his arms into a kiss. This wasn't the sweet kiss they'd shared last time around; it was rough, hard, passionate, and full of complete adore.

He rather liked this.

Terra pulled off him suddenly when her mothers voice was heard from downstairs. "Tara, you two okay up there? I can bring drinks up if you want."

"No thanks mom!" She called back as politely as she could, since she was panting hard. "We're fine."

"Well," Beast Boy began, "your mother certainly killed the mood there."

In another rush of unknowns, he found himself lying backwards on the bed, shoved up so that his head was on the pillow, and Terra sprawled across his body, straddling his hips with her legs. Her face was so close to his that he could only see into her eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes. Suddenly, he found Terra's body delicious and irresistible, like he always had... but there was something more this time. The only problem was, Terra pinning him down by using both her arms across his chest, and her hips as extra weight, he found he could do little more than shift his legs.

"Who said that she killed the mood?" Terra asked him impishly.

"Terra... erm... you..." He didn't need to say anything else, nor could he. He felt like his windpipe was choking him.

"Don't worry, you've made your point. And technically, we've known each other for a longer time than since I popped back into the world..." Beast Boy suddenly felt a single fingertip tracing lines through his one-piece costume, and saw Terra pulled back enough so that he could see her entire face. "So we know just about everything we're willing to share about each other at the moment; and... I missed you."

"So... we're on...?" Beast Boy couldn't help but ask that, his grin becoming almost wolf-like.

"We're definitely on." She whispered in an incredibly seductive manner.

Beast Boy made a small 'rawr' sound to her as she leaned back into him, pressing herself onto his body as if he were a puzzle box, and she was the missing piece. That would become truer in the moments to follow.

He felt her began suckling on the right side of his neck, biting gently as well. Damn it felt good! Terra probably tasted delicious, so he decided to try her neck in the same manner. Indeed she was delicious, tasting like... Terra, basically... a taste he relished. How he'd missed her – he would've been happy just to have ended that with another kiss. This, however, was much better, and he wasn't about to complain; especially since Terra's little moan onto his neck felt extremely nice.

This had proved – and was proving – to be a very interesting morning.

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"Sir!" A solider saluted to his commander, who was sat at a desk with his hands cupped in front of his face. The entire room was not lit, and only the light from the outside corridor provided any illumination. It made the shadowed officer seem like a shadow himself. "We've found his location."

"Where?" The commander asked simply.

"Jump City, Titans Tower. It appears that the Titans are providing him with shelter."

"So the Hive Five failed." The commander mused to himself, his face lowering just a little to signal this. "No matter, they have weakened him. Prepare an attack."

The soldier was taken aback, but did not show it. "Sir?" He questioned. "The Titans are heroes; we'll need a good reason if we are to attack."

"They are harbouring a fugitive; that is reason enough." The commander said spitefully. "Any other information?"

"Sir... One of the Titans is currently not in the tower. Beast Boy. He appears to have visited the residence of a... Tara Markov, sir."

"... I see." The solider could swear he heard the commander chuckle, though he was not certain. "He is of no concern to us on his own. What is the nearest force?"

"Two groups are close sir. Fleet flotilla six, which if fifty miles off the coast, and Task Force Claw sir, which are outside the city on routine training, in the nearby desert, sir." The soldier's memory had a sudden jolt. "Oh, and err... Operative Two-Fifteen, sir."

"The mercenary eh... Order them to attack. Immediately!" The commander told him in a cold, low tone.

"Sir!" The solider saluted and walked out, closing the door behind him, and leaving the commander of these forces in darkness.

Being a general did have it's perks; even if it was in this pathetic army. All brawn and no brains, nether really questioning orders. The truly strong we're not even allowed to advance. How disgusting that the leaders should have to sit behind desks! Still, if it suited his purposes, it would be bearable. He would catch this fugitive! What's more, he could remove the nuisance of the Titans in this attack with a single, swift, stroke; finally having an excuse to remove them. The city would be under his protection.

How well things had fallen into place.

The general chuckled to himself as a single dim light flicked on in the room. "You are so predictable."

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Nexus and Raven had each since got dressed into their usual clothing and returned to the living area. Nexus was once again sat at the bar, while Raven sat on the couch, reading a book and with a fresh cup of herbal tea to replace the recently finished book. Nexus was deep in thought, staring at his hands, which rested on the bar top. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Raven expected that like her, it was best to leave him too them.

They seemed nice enough, as he'd thought before. Perhaps... just maybe, he had a future here. Then, he immediately quashed that thought. He was a nomad because he had to be. Something would soon come along to crush a slowly building hope. Something always did. It was the way of things. While he hardly believed in fate, destiny, and any other such stuff, something always happened to drive him away. Any time now... Any time now... Just give it a few minutes. He waited, and waited, and waited, for what seemed like hours; days even. Just watching his hands and the invisible atoms that made up air dance about. Not that he could watch the atoms – but he could imagine... imagine that he seemed like an atom, always bumping into other things and flying off in some other random direction. It was the way of things.

... Ah... here we go.

Nexus stood up and walked to the row of windows, calmly, as if expecting a storm. Raven paid him no heed; her book was far more interesting than the – admittedly – interesting character in this room with her.

"Raven?"

"Yes?" She did not look up from her book.

"Do military copters always come to the tower in a morning?" Nexus' voice was sarcastic, but seemed serious at the same time.

Raven looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow. "No... Why? Have they started?"

"Yes..." Raven put her book onto the couch and walked up to the windows, standing on nexus' left side. He was right. Flying towards her were twenty silhouettes – a couple of minutes away still – that definitely seemed like helicopters, military grade. "They're after me."

"Did you annoy them?"

"Must have." Nexus turned about and began walking for the door. "I'll be leaving. If I stay here, you're home will be bombed into rubble – I wouldn't want that." When Nexus reached the door to the corridor, which would eventually lead to the roof, he stopped and looked back to an impassive Raven, who was watching him leave. "Tell Star I'm sorry ... and... thanks. All of you." He then turned and walked away.

Something always happened... It was the way of things.

Still, he always made the best of it – like the daredevils that sought enjoyment, he seemed to have unimaginable luck when it came to coming out from superior odds. Often scathed, scarred, and perhaps hurt... but still alive. Surviving was what he did best. He found the door and walked up to the roof. The early morning breeze was refreshing, a small and welcome respite from the chase about to begin. The sun's light was nice too.

He walked to the edge of the roof, looking over and into the streets of the city. Besides of a small army dressed in green camouflage uniforms for a city full of grey skyscrapers, the streets were empty. He saw men, a few tanks coloured green too, and... wait... It couldn't be him, could it? Among the stupid green clothing and colouration of the men and tanks, stood a separate entity. His black hair, metallic grey chest – armour – and knee plates, light black mid-section, pants which were a colour of black with an undertone of light blue, and pure white skin, made him stand out in the crowd; even though from his vantage point, the men seemed like little more than large dots.

It was him! There was only one person in the world he knew with skin that was ghost white – as if he'd spent so long out of the sun he'd been turned into a phantom... which suited him, him being who he was. He must be on a job with them. Wonderful... Joy of joys. Well... Nexus always knew this particular person liked him. And to have tracked him here, to this city... must be desperate.

With that, he ran to the other side of the roof, dived off, and took off across the sea.

"Blackout..."

It was the way of things.

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Author Notes: Again, I must apologise for how long this has taken; but with all the things I do/currently am doing, the time I take on these will most likely decrease very little.

Shorter than my other chapters, I know, but I felt it was good to leave it at that point.

To explain Terra's actions; as you know, she's been resisting for some time in the fic now, denying her feelings and such – that is the reason for her suddenness. Hope you guys don't mind.

As for the Blackout character – yes, he is an OC – I shall say no more.

P.S. I'm going to University in around two weeks, so I won't be starting on the next chapter till then, purely because it is more convenient for me to start on it when I set up my new computer in Uni, rather than have it e-mailed from my current home. Sorry.