"Why?" she remembered begging the towering dark figure over her. A figure that had caused and continued to cause her so much pain.

She had never even dreamed herself a target. She was little, she was cute, and she was, she admitted, weak. It had been years since she'd discarded all ambitions of usurping her older brother's position. Since she though him stupid and reckless… well, actually he kind of still was, but she had learned to respect his strength and tactical thinking.

Haley Long was no threat. There was no reason for her to be targeted. When magical creatures had a bone to pick with someone, they went after her brother, the American Dragon. Most didn't even know she existed.

So why? Why? Why?

She was small and cute and sweet. She was only eight years old! Her color was pink, for goodness' sake!

Why?

She cradled her broken foreclaw, tears pouring down her face. Why? Why her? Why in the world would anyone want to hurt her?

Her bruises ached from her last beating. Her head was fuzzy, her prodigious mind fogged with pain, confusion, and disbelief. Her busted foreclaw was bent at a weird angle that she wasn't brave enough to try fix. The slashes she'd received in her initial fight with her captors still ripped open every time she shifted and were absolutely filthy and certainly infected. The yellow puss and green veins were more than enough a hint, even without considering her fever and the stench.

It hurt. She wanted her mommy. Daddy. Grampa. Big brother.

The tears fell harder, her breathing starting to stutter into sobs.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Ung…"

"Honey?"

Something was happening. The Dark Dragon's shadows chained her to the wall. She was half aware of Jake's friends, Trixie and Spud, looking terrible themselves, being dragged in and also chained to the wall. Though quite a long ways from her…

Jake was coming.

The tension was palpable in the air. Her captors, tormentors, had been waiting for this. It was a trap. It had to be. For her brother.

But, even knowing that, her heart soared with hope. Her big brother was coming! Maybe even here!

And big brother never lost! No matter the odds! Malfunctioning powers, being trapped in his human form, chained to a bunch of losers, nothing stopped her big brother from saving the day.

Right? Right!

"Honey? Oh, baby, are you okay?" whispered her mother's voice, so close, breaking through the nightmare as the memories turned to the terror and pain as she and Jake's friends were tortured anew. As her beloved brother was swiftly beaten and blackmailed into whimpering submission.

"Haley. Haley, baby girl, it's okay. Please, honey, it's time to wake up."

A beeping, buzzing, soft blankets, a warm hand clutching hers. The smell of medicine and chemicals irritating her dragon senses.

A hospital?

Haley blinked open her eyes, hearing her mother's whispered "thank you," before she was smothered in a tight hug by her crying mommy.

"Mom?"

It was real. It had all been real. Her hand was tightly bound in bandages and still ached, though the pain was muffled with drugs. And she recognized the contents of the bag connected to her IV. For infection and replacements.

She'd been out for a long time.

She felt tears falling. Her mom helped her take a drink of water before she could talk.

"I was hurt, mommy," she confessed, the tears turning to sobs.

"Baby, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was! I was helpless! And weak! If it wasn't for me…" She choked, her eyes desperately searching the room for the person she knew would not be there. Her dad was there, sleeping in a chair, but big brother was absent.

"He's gone," she whimpered. "He was taken by the Dark Dragon and it's all my fault. If I hadn't been captured, if I'd escaped, if… But… but…"

Her mom wrapped her arms around her little girl comfortingly, though her mom's inability to argue spoke volumes. Jake was gone. Maybe forever.

"He hurt me, mommy…"

"We know, sweetheart."

"He hurt me in front of Jake, and Jake couldn't stop him, and he was begging, and he did what the Dark Dragon said and drank of the sacred chalice to stop him and …"

"Shh, shh," her mom tried to calm her, though her own voice was trembling with emotion. "You're alive, Haley, baby. Your brother saved your life. That's all we need to know."

"What now, mommy?"

"Just focus on getting better, love."

"What about Jake?"

"Grampa will take care of Jake, okay honey? You just get better."

Haley frowned through her tears and her eyes flicked around the room to the clipboard with her info. She couldn't read it from here, but she vowed to do so later. Her mom sounded strange. Why was she so much worried about Haley than Jake, when Jake was… Oh.

"Did I almost die, mommy?"

Susan Long burst into tears, hugging her daughter tight.

She had.

That part had been really fuzzy. She just remembered pain and screaming and her brother's shouts and pleas before giving in.

Her brother had lost. To save his baby sister's life.

With a bell-like chime, a fairy appeared before them, hefting a large scroll. It startled her mother out of her sobs and forced Haley out of her own dark thoughts.

"Haley Long?" queried the tiny, winged woman in a postman's outfit. "From the Dragon Council." She dropped the scroll in Haley's lap and disappeared as fast as she had arrived.

Haley and her mom stared at it for a long moment before Haley took a deep breath and reached for the scroll. She opened it to reveal a message in mystical glowing script, bearing the magical seal of approval from the Dragon Council.

'This scroll serves as proof of appointment for Haley Kay Long to the position of American Dragon. …'

Haley read no further, her pretty face twisting in rage as she transformed her claws and shredded the scroll even though the magical protections on the ink and seal burned.

"I REFUSE!" she screamed.


Jinx was late.

Well, not really. She was actually all ready to go, just hiding from a distance to observe the young dragon she now knew as Jake Long, a teenager basically kidnapped from his friends and family and forced to work for the dark side. Not just a dragon, but a normal teenager whose life had been ripped from him.

The boy, the dragon, Jake, was angry. He paced back and forth impatiently, occasionally yanking at his hair, clenching and unclenching his hands. She could've even sworn she heard a growl a couple of times.

Finally he plopped down into the grass, arms folded, face stiff in anger and irritation. Another minute and he had unfolded his arms, staring at his hands with a look of disgust on his face.

He frowned, opening and closing his hands as he stared at them.

He was going to try something. She just knew it. All her instincts and honed senses from her years at the Hive Academy and since as a thief and mercenary were screaming at her.

Don't move. Wait. Watch. Something important is about to happen.

She watched, holding her breath as his ears transformed and eyes glowed red as he looked around, verifying to his own satisfaction that he was still all alone. Not seeing her, he returned his attention to his hands, staring at them.

They erupted in evil dark flames, flickering in malice. Jinx nearly screamed and had to physically clamp her hands over her mouth.

"No," growled the boy to himself, through gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.

The flames flickered and wavered.

"No!" growled the boy again, a hint of a roar deepening his voice, sending a chill of raw fear down Jinx's spine. The boy was sweating as he glared fiercely at his flames, the effort from whatever he was trying to do clear in every muscle.

With a sudden whoosh, the dark flames were swallowed up by enormous, billowing red flames. The menacing aura disappeared, replaced with a purity, a sort of coziness and comfort. Still crackling with power, but subdued, as if in a fireplace or oven.

With obvious concentration, but a big smile on his face, Jake shrank the flames into a fiercely bright red fireball hovering and flickering over his right hand.

He collapsed backward, still holding and staring at the red flame, relief clear on his face, though his eyes were sad.

"Take that, you monster," he chuckled weakly to himself. "I'm not dead yet."


"A dragon," stated Raven dryly, raising an eyebrow as she examined the new information in the file on Jake Long.

The five friends and teammates again sat around a table to discuss their latest mission. Robin had filled the others in on the latest findings, and played both Cyborg and Jinx's recordings for their benefit, bringing everyone up to speed.

"Well, so much for him being some normal dude from Gotham," chuckled Beastboy, trying to play down the seriousness of the situation. "Dang, I always wanted to be a dragon, but I can never seem to get the wings right." He held up one of Cyborg's photos in front of him, tilting it this way and that appraisingly.

"We are still attempting the rescue, yes?" queried Starfire, worriedly. "He is like us, after all."

"Like us?" cut in Raven's voice, though whether she was angry or being sarcastic, the others weren't sure. "A dragon is nothing like any of us."

"Normal kid by day, magical shapeshifter by night, sounds like any other superhero to me," laughed Beastboy.

"He's scared, out of his league," commented Cyborg. "Even with my normal eye I could see that. He desperately needs help, and I wouldn't count on the Justice League jumping in for the rescue, considering they're the ones that wanted us to find him in the first place. There must be a reason they didn't themselves."

"He's bound to this Dark Dragon. Rescuing him, even speaking to him, could be harder than we could even guess," continued Robin.

"Have you all forgotten Malchior?" Raven almost growled, and now they were sure it was anger leaking through. "Dragons are monsters. Even the five of us together could not defeat him. If not for the ancient spell on Rorek's spellbook that trapped him once again, we'd all be dead. Just because they take human form…"

"Many would say the same of you," interrupted Robin coldly.

Raven froze, then her eyes multiplied, blazing red, and she seemed to double in size for a second, before quickly shrinking back to normal.

"I will be in my room meditating," she announced, once again emotionlessly, as she turned and left the room.

"Friend Raven is still not over the 'thing' with the evil dragon from her book," commented Starfire sadly.

"Well, the jerk did trick her into releasing him by pretending to be an awesome ancient wizard that had fallen in love with her. That's just cruel," said Beastboy, sounding a little jealous but mostly angry on his friend's behalf.

"Malchior has no bearing on our current mission," announced Robin coldly. "And I will not permit any prejudice in this team. Jake Long is a dragon. So now we know why he was kidnapped and what he is being forced to participate in. Honestly, I'm more worried about Batman's comment to expect a guest, and that we'd know him when we see him."

"A guest? Who could it be?" queried Starfire, excited at the sound of a guest.

"I'll give ya'll one guess," said Cyborg, pointing out the large window. Everyone turned to look the way he was pointing.

An absolutely enormous purple Chinese-style dragon with long white whiskers and short limbs was flying through the sky, heading straight for Titans Tower.


Author's Note: Yes, for the sake of this story, Raven is prejudiced against dragons. Yes, this is extremely hypocritical of her considering her heritage, but please put yourself in her shoes and remember the only dragon the Teen Titans EVER met was Malchior, who honestly humiliated and overpowered them. Don't worry, she'll come around.

According to references, Beastboy cannot transform into magical creatures, including Unicorns and Dragons. Besides, even if he could use the shape, there's no way he'd be able to duplicate the powers since his ability isn't magical.