I do NOT own Teen Titans

Time: A week later.


The Morning Begins,... Villains,... Trigon,... Pizza,...

The violet-haired girl levitated, and began reciting her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She repeatedly intoned until she felt calm. A knock at the door interrupted her. Reaching out, she infused a part of her soul with it, and opened it.

"Morning." Beast Boy said, entering.

"Morning." She replied, peering at him from the corner of her eye. He looked okay. Three days after he'd seen Terra at the dance hall he'd started leaving his room again, and going about his normal routine. Personally, she though it was his sense of responsibility that had forced him to leave. Doctor Light had broken out of prison, and began robbing banks to fund his next scheme. The shape shifter had been needed, and so had put his personal pain aside to help his friends. It seemed he wasn't as immature as she'd once believed. And the last few weeks of tutoring him in magic had removed any doubts about his intelligence. It was as he'd once said, he had a brain, he just didn't use it much. Though the idea he wasn't immature, or brainless, was still pretty hard to believe when she watched him and Cyborg play video games.

Placing her breakfast on her desk, he sat down and started his own meditating.

While still levitating, she grabbed a piece of bacon, something he always included in her breakfast, and nibbled at it. "Sorry." She said. "Seems teleporting isn't going so well."

"It's okay." He replied. "Was fun trying."

She raised an eyebrow at that. Did that mean he found it fun to be around her? Or just that he liked pushing himself to accomplish a task, even if he failed it? She pondered the question and decided it could be either. "Your changes allows you to astral project pretty easy." She explained. "But you can't do something if it requires a large amount of power." She shrugged. "I'm half demon, so tons of power there."

"It's okay." He answered, not opening his eyes. "I can enter a healing trance, which is useful. And it allows me to control the beast."

"How does it do that?" She dared to ask. "She'd spent a lot of time in his room during the three days he'd remained there, but she'd mostly sat and mediated. She hadn't known what to do, and had had to settle for not leaving him alone."

"Its mind is very powerful. I can't think if I'm in it." He explained. "But if I remove my consciousness from it, by astral projecting, I can influence it." Opening one eye, he glanced at her. "Very useful. It means I don't have to be afraid of it anymore."

"Good." She replied, wondering what else they could do. He kept the loneliness at bay. Without something to teach him, he would just leave, and she didn't want that. Nibbling on another strip of bacon she pondered the situation.

He watched her chew and swallow the bacon he'd cooked. Why am I still doing that, he wondered. Terra and I will never be a couple. I will never make a picnic for us. Sighing, he turned away.

"What's wrong." Raven asked, looking at him.

"Nothing." He hummed, seeking peace.

The violet-haired girl found herself frowning, and started her mantra again. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She intoned. A minute later she opened her eyes. "You can still join me in the morning to meditate." She said. "If you want to." She added.

"That would be nice." He replied, not looking at her. "Boring alone. Makes it harder."

"Okay." She gave him a brief smile that he couldn't see. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She intoned, relaxation refused to come. Once she'd thought the darkness in him was the beast, but now she knew that was wrong. The beast was a primal creature. Nothing more, nothing less. It was neither good nor evil. So what was causing the darkness? She recited her mantra, but she was still worried. "You know." She said, opening one eye to look at him. "My emoticlones are calling you BB now."

"Cool." The shape shifter exclaimed. He paused. "Wait. It does stand for Beast Boy and not something like Booger Boy?"

"I'm pretty sure it stands for Beast Boy." She said, suppressing a slight smile.

"Cool." He said again.


Shrieking alarms, and flashing lights, sent them all running to the tower's central room. They found Robin leaning over a console, muttering to himself. To his left was Cyborg, punching keys and trying to help their leader.

"Glorious morning friends. What has brought us here so early?" Starfire asked, sounding cheerful.

"Not sure yet." Robin replied, eyes focused on the screen in front of him.

"It's Gizmo." Cyborg finally exclaimed. "The pint sized nuisance is hacking several dozen bank security systems and sending them fake images."

"They must be breaking into one of them." Robin said, his tone demanding answers.

"Yeah. But I have no idea which one." The cybernetic man replied. "All the alarm systems are going off, and there's video feed at all of them showing the H.I.V.E Five members to be there."

"Narrow it down." Their leader demanded.

"I'm trying." Came the reply. "Ah." He finally said. "They're hitting two different places. I can't tell which of them is hitting which place, but its the East Street Bank and the Crown Rivers Bank."

"Raven." Robin spoke in a commanding tone. "Pick someone and check the East Street Bank. The rest of us will head to the Crown Rivers Bank." He was already running for the garage where his motorcycle was.

"Beast Boy." The violet-haired girl said automatically, turning and racing for the door.


They found Gizmo and Mammoth leaving the bank. Both were carrying huge sacks of money. Well Mammoth was, Gizmo was having trouble with a bag that was nearly twice his size. They stopped when Raven floated down on a disc.

"If it isn't the witch girl." Gizmo taunted. "I have a few surprises for you today." He held out a device and pointed it at the violet-haired girl. It was ripped from his fingers when a peregrine falcon flashed down from the sky. The pint sized villain was left staring at his empty hand, startled. "Stupid shape shifter." He cried.

Raven send her own powers out in an attempt to bind the tiny genius. To her surprise they met a barrier just a foot from him. She took to the air when Mammoth ran at her. "BB, handle the giant." She shouted.

BB, wondered the falcon. Dropping down, he switched to an elephant and charged. Mammoth nimbly slipped to one side, and Beast Boy felt something slam into his skull. He shook his head and changed into a gorilla. Engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the villain he found himself hard pressed to hold his own. Jumping back, he switched to a panther and faced the man.

"Keep that form." Mammoth smiled. "The skin will make a nice trophy

Beast Boy frowned. The villain was easily holding his own. He launched himself at his foe, only to be caught midair and tossed to one side.

"Is that all the little pussy cat got?" The huge man asked, smirking.

Raven called on more of her power. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She intoned, and sent her dark magic at Gizmo. The black wave flooded over him and held him. Then it started to fade until there was nothing left of the blackness.

"Poor little witch." Gizmo taunted. "Always the same spells." He laughed. "Nothing technology can't match." He pressed a button on his harness and a ray struck out at the violet-haired girl.

Having no time to dodge, she raised a barrier. It pierced through without effort, nullifying the shield. She pondered what it had been, keeping her shock from her face.

"Wondering what it is?" The genius taunted. "I analyzed your powers and developed an attack it's weak to. You can't touch me, but I can touch you." He pulled out another device, a sphere, and pressed a button on it. "This will be interesting to see." The villain said, mocking her. He dropped it and nothing happened.

She floated on her disc, waiting to see what the sphere would do. Then she fell from the air.

"It creates a field where your powers won't work." The mad genius laughed. "I will be the first one to defeat the Titans.

Standing she tried to call on her powers. Inside they answered, but as soon as they left her body they vanished into some sort of field. Not good, she thought to herself. Her foe aimed another device at her, and she dodged, rolling to one side.

Mammoth charged at him and he ran, trying to figure out which animal could beat the super strong villain. He didn't have much that was stronger than an elephant, or faster than a cat. He twisted around, trying to take his opponent by surprise, only to meet a fist that sent him flying. Being a cat, he turned in midair, and landed on his feet. It still hurt though.

"Pretty kitty." The giant taunted. "I just want to play a little."

Then lets play, Beast Boy thought. He ran a short distance from the man, and turned around. He raced forward as a cheetah, enhanced by the beast's primal power. He hit seventy miles per hour and launched himself at the man. In midair he changed into an eight ton elephant. An elephant could only run at fifteen miles per hour. But he'd used the form of a cheetah to get to seventy miles per hour. He slammed into his startled foe, sending him flying. He immediately switched back to being a cheetah, and landed on his feet. Turning, he prepared to charge again.

Using her considerable agility, Raven dodged the attacks of the pint sized genius.

"Stay still." Gizmo screamed, throwing a tantrum. "Stay still, stay still, stay still." He yelled, pressing button after button.

Looking at the sphere that was nullifying her powers, she dashed in and grabbed it. A sizzling sound filled the air as she turned and threw it. Immediately dark energy flickered around her body. Her hand was in agony. The object had been hot, and she could smell burning flesh.

"That was stupid." She said. "Leaving it where I could get at it." Furious, she sent her magic at the irritating kid once again. It washed over him, and once more, it faded.

"That sphere was over a thousand degrees." Gizmo said, staring. "That's why I dropped it on the ground. How could you throw it?" He looked into the distance where his toy had disappeared.

Raven looked at her hand. The flesh was badly burned, but she'd only held the sphere for a second. It wasn't anything some time in a healing trance wouldn't fix. She sent another wave of energy at the annoying brat. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She intoned, focusing as much power as she could in the attack. She could feel her emoticlones helping her keep the dark magic under control.

He had knocked the giant down several times now, and each time the incredibly powerful man had stood back up. The villain was no longer laughing though. Instead he was livid with rage, and his punches showed it. Time to change strategy just a little, Beast Boy thought. As a cheetah he charged again, but rather than an elephant he became a porcupine. Barely missing the enraged giant's fist, he left a trail of quills the whole length of his foe's arm. Landing as a cheetah again, he heard a scream of pain and fury.

Not relenting, he turned and charged once more as a cheetah. At the last second he became an elephant again. The blow that came at him was poorly aimed. Being full of quills it must hurt quite a bit. He impacted with the villain and knocked him down once again. Landing on his feet as a cheetah, he turned and began to repeat the process. Mammoth was incredibly durable for a human, and it took a lot to take him down.

The next time he gave up the elephant trick, and charged as a T-rex. The villain backed off, unable to fight effectively with his primary arm injured.

She levitated a bus and dropped it on the pint sized villain. It bounced off, causing the little brat to laugh at her.

"Your powers can't touch me." He mocked her. "Technology always triumphs."

Getting the message she lifted a car above the boy and let it drop. This time she withdrew her power from it. It struck and went through the brat's barrier with ease. Sparks flew from his harness as he was knocked to the ground. Reaching out with her power again she found no resistance. She bound him tightly, and gagged him as well to silence his tantrum. Looking around she saw Beast Boy had Mammoth backing away. Reaching out she bound him too. He tried to resist, and might have succeeded a few weeks ago, but not now with her emoticlones helping.

"You okay?" Beast Boy asked, looking at her hand.

She nodded. "Nothing a few hours in a trance won't fix." She smiled at him.

He blinked. Since when does Raven smile, he wondered. "You sure you're okay?" He asked again.

"I'm sure. It's nothing major." She insisted.

The police picked up the two villain, and they heard the rest of the team had made their own captures. She created a disc and took to the air. He sat beside her as usual.


"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She intoned, trying to free herself of emotion. It wasn't going too well. Why was Beast Boy so full of darkness, she wondered. Something inside her stirred, sending forth a summons. Frowning, she reached for her mirror and peered into it. Soon she was in Nevermore, amidst a forest with yellow skies. Seeing Knowledge she started to speak. She halted when she noticed all her emoticlones were present. Even Sloth. "What's wrong?" She finally asked.

"What's always wrong." Rage answered, her voice full of fury. "That bastard father of ours."

Raven frowned. "He's in that prison dimension." She replied. "What can he possibly do now?" Worry started to build in her. "He's been defeated. The prophecy is over." She declared in a shaky voice.

"Follow us." Knowledge said. She rose and traced a path through the forest, into the stone maze where Timid had once stayed.

Timid then took the lead, looking nervous. "It's not my fault." She said. "But if it is, I'm sorry." She continued to walk through the maze, keeping her head down.

"It's not your fault." Knowledge said.

"You did good." Rage told the timid emoticlone. "I bet he expected you to run and hide when you saw it. Not come to us."

"Real good." Knowledge said, agreeing with Rage.

Timid whimpered a little, and kept walking.

The half demon didn't like this. Lately Timid had been a lot less timid. But now she was acting like her old self. She was terrified. But then all her emoticlones were. Even Rage.

She followed them, and the maze led to a spot she'd never been to before. Given it was her mind, that should have been impossible. She'd created this place. A sense of evil filled the air, and a fiery heat came from the distance. The land was blasted and ruined. Not even Rage, she decided, would want to live here. "What's going on?" She asked.

"From what we can tell." Knowledge answered. "Our father is trying to get loose again."

Dread struck her, and she sat on the ground. "How?" She asked, eyes closed, voice without emotion.

"We're guessing that, for some reason, he gets three tries." Rage answered, fuming, eyes blazing. "As if once wasn't enough." She muttered angrily. "The first was when he possessed me. I was the easiest route, since a part of me comes from him. If you hadn't defeated me, he would have corrupted us, and ultimately destroyed you. You would have become the portal, even without needing to go to that blasted temple."

"But he was stopped then." Knowledge added. "And he was given his second chance. To use your energy to create a portal directly to this dimension."

"And as we all know." Rage said, trembling with fury. "He succeeded, even if only for a short time. That was his second chance. He froze time and turned the world to stone. But you returned to fight, driven by the courage of your friends. His reign was stopped almost before it began." She smiled a little. "It felt good to see him get kicked down like that. If only he'd stayed down."

"But you're saying he gets a third try?" Raven asked.

Knowledge nodded. "First through Rage, the one closest to him. Then through a ritual in that dark place. But failing those he can still force a portal open through the last place he's still connected to, you. It's his last chance."

"So the prophecy will still come true." She uttered weakly.

"No. It came true, and it's over with." Knowledge answered. "What happens now isn't driven by any prophecy. Nothing is preordained."

"He's going to get his butt kicked again." Rage firmly stated, her demonic voiced filling the air with fury. "It's been done twice, and it can be done again."

"Right." Raven answered sarcastically. She felt weak and sick. Leaning over, she threw up.


Frenetically hitting the buttons, Beast Boy saw his car take a hit and go smashing into an obstacle. It had been clever maneuvering on Cyborg's part that had caused the event. "Cheater." He said, giving his best friend a gentle shove.

"Who needs to cheat. When you've got the moves, you've got the moves." The cybernetic man replied, shoving back. "Maybe if you had more brains you would win sometimes."

"Hey I've got a brain. One of the largest ones on the planet, when I'm a whale." The shape shifter exclaimed.

"Sure. Maybe if you played as a fish then you would have a chance, fish boy." Cyborg threw back.

"Whales aren't fish. Chrome Dome." The green-skinned Titan tossed back.

"Friend Beast Boy, friend Cyborg. It's time for the movie." Starfire entered, beaming at them. "Tonight it's another romance story."

"Wasn't it Robin's turn to pick the movie?" The shape shifter asked, feeling sick at the thought of watching another romance.

"It was, and he picked a wonderful story. A cartoon about a princess who falls madly in love with a prince." The alien replied.

"Hrm. And did you by any chance help him pick out this story." He asked.

The alien blushed a deep, pretty, orange. "A little." She admitted, smiling.

"Better drag down your girlfriend, Beast Boy." Cyborg said, "I'm sure she'll love the movie."

The shape shifter frowned, a savage look appearing in his eyes. "What are you talking about?" He asked, growling the words. "Terra isn't here and will never be my girlfriend. She doesn't even remember me." He was poised to attack.

Cyborg gulped. "I meant Raven, dude. The way you two have been spending so much time together." He shrugged. "Don't take it so serious."

"Oh." Beast Boy said, backing off. "If she heard you say that, she would've kicked your sorry behind halfway to Tamaran by now."

"Please, friend Beast Boy, call her down for the movie." Starfire interrupted the two.

"She's not watching tonight's movie, Starfire." The boy answered. "Sorry, but I already talked to her and she said she needs to meditate." He stood up. "And I'm not feeling up to it either actually. I'm just going to grab some pizza for her and then head to my own room."


A few minutes later he sat cross legged on his bed, chewing on a piece of chunky vegetable, vegetarian supreme pizza. He'd deliver a couple of slices of the meat lover's special to Raven. She'd looked a bit pale, but had claimed she was okay, and that she wished to be alone. His ears told him the wanting to be alone part was true. Maybe too much strain from healing the team, he decided. She'd had her own hand to heal, and Cyborg had taken a few hits. He was glad his own wounds had been minor, and easily handled by the trance she'd taught him to use.

He looked at the window. He could still see the image of Terra there. But it wasn't as vivid. When he dreamed, she was still there. But less often, and not in the way she used to be. There was no kiss, with a promise of a future together, anymore. It sadden him, but it was for the best. At least he thought it was. His heart aching, he sat on his bed and meditated, trying to clear his mind. To think I once used to poke fun at Raven for doing this so much, he thought, with a slight grin. And to think Cyborg would say something so insane. He must have a few screws loose. The shape shifter thought about the violet-haired girl a little bit more. She was certainly interesting. And for some reason he felt comfortable around her. Not quite like the way he'd felt around Terra, but still he was able to relax more with her than he could with the others. He shook his head and started to hum. The image of her smiling came, unbidden, to his mind.


End of Chapter.

Many thanks to those who read & review.