Hey all. I still don't own Teen Titans. Bummer. Don't sue. This is for fun only. Might be a bit longer delay between this and the next chapter. All my essays have to be written by the 24th, and I can't afford to be late on them. But after that, I'm all yours.

Soteriophobia. Fear of dependence on others.

Beast Boy covered the speaker on his communicator, slipping out of the alley and across the street. Goddamn Boy Wonder nearly blew the whole thing.

"Beast Boy!"

Beast Boy snapped it open with a growl, "Geez, Rob, give me a minute, won't you?"

"Don't have a minute. Where's Raven?" he sounded flustered.

"She's fine. Still in position." Beast Boy looked at the condemned apartment building again, "Where I should be, if it weren't for your obnoxious-"

"You've got a lock on Light?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, we saw him heading in this building earlier and then leaving. We're staking out for when he comes back." He was annoyed by the implication, "We know how to do our job. You don't need to check in on-"

"Fall back. Get Raven and fall back. Do not go up against Doctor Light."

Beast Boy stared at the screen in shock, "What? But we've got him right where we want him. He won't expect Rae in there waiting for-"

"She's in there already?" Starfire's voice was panicked over the communicator.

He was starting to get concerned. Something must be really wrong to get Star and Robin spooked.

"Listen to him, changling. You've got to get to that girl and get the two of you out safely. Do not engage him." Beast Boy had never met the owner of that voice, but he would be stupid not to recognize it.

"Why is Bat- never mind." Robin was freaked, Star was scared out of her mind and Batman was involved. Questions later, get to Raven now. He glanced up and down the street, pressing himself against the wall as he saw a familiar figure approaching. He wasn't wearing his usual suit, but the trench-coat could have easily hidden it.

Whatever Robin yelled at him was missed as Beast Boy silenced the communicator and dropped it, followed by his sweatshirt. It was cold, but he dealt with it.

He couldn't get across the street before Light saw him. There weren't a ton of people around, but the few bystanders could get hurt if Light was wearing his suit. Beast Boy suspected he was. As much as he hated it, he had to let Light get inside before he went in after him.

He didn't know what Light did to make Robin and Star so scared. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He just knew that it was bad.

The second the edge of Light's coat whipped through the door, Beast Boy was moving. Not the front door, but the back. Raven was supposed to be hanging out by the back. Maybe he could get to her before Light even got there.

He skidded around the corner, changing form as his feet cleared the threshold. A tiny jungle owlet with clear vision and silent wings swooped through the halls. Raven should be around here somewhere. And it wasn't as if she couldn't guess who the little green owl was-

A scuff from up ahead made Beast Boy bank and cling to one of the walls. Luckily, the building had been ransacked by a lot of people during the time it had been condemned. There were hundreds of holes and wrecked walls for him to hide in.

He shifted slightly along the boards, not able to see who had made the noise. Dammit, he needed a better look.

Gliding down to the ground, he hopped a few more feet forward. Another noise up ahead. He stopped. He felt his wings spread and his beak open up with a hiss as a figure turned the corner up ahead.

"Beast Boy?" Raven whispered. "What are you doing?" She glanced behind her, "You're supposed to be out front."

He started his shift back to human when the world around them exploded.

There were two voices screaming – one cut off fairly quickly, while the other shifted between a screech and a yell.

Oh. That was him.

He hated being caught between shapes. The shift between one shape and another was natural. Easy. Smooth. But getting caught, when his attention was forced away from the shift entirely? God, it burned. His joints cried out, shifting between one bending one way or another. His coordination was off, half his bones still hollow. He couldn't see anything – one eye halfway to owl and the other almost completely human. His mouth was skin pulled over a beak, his feet bled as claws fought against toes for the space. He was some creature of nightmares, half feathers, half green skin. As soon as he hit the ground, the air pummeled out of him, he finished the shift back to his human form, blinking away the spots in his eyes.

The entire hallway was gone. Decimated. He had missed the main part of the explosion, which was damn lucky because anyone who had been standing directly in the way would have been-

"Raven?" he called out in a panic, looking for anything that looked like it could be her. He coughed and said again, louder, "Rae?"

He got to his feet, a little shaky. His limbs were still burning with the shades of the shift, but it was fading. Adrenaline and dread could do that to you.

"Raven? Come on, answer me." He coughed again, wiping his mouth. Debris and dust were still falling from what was left of the ceiling. "Look, I know you gave me the silent treatment for months, but how about breaking that rule, just for a second?"

A groan caught his attention and he scrambled over to it, shifting drywall and boards off of the general vicinity. "Rae?"

He smelled the burn before he finished moving the debris off of her. He moved the last bit aside and revealed her. It looked worse than he had anticipated.

Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. Short, shuddery breaths, but breathing nonetheless. The entire back of her sweatshirt was gone. It was only still clinging to her skin because it was…welded to it. Looked like a pretty severe second degree burn. One that was caused by-

"Light can be very dangerous. And yet people always seem to underestimate its potential."

Beast Boy didn't move from Raven side as Light approached form behind where she had been standing. He looked different. Much more confidant. And that probably wasn't good for him right now.

Light looked down at Raven, disinterested. "Lucky for you, my new suit should give me the ability to finish you off quickly."

"That's the…bright side?" Beast Boy asked. He shook Raven's arm, knowing it was probably hurting her burn, but having no other option.

"Funny," Light drawled. "But I'm not into the puns so much anymore."

"Yeah? What are you into? Scrap-booking? Basket-weaving? Glass-blowing?" He squeezed Raven's arm.

"All admirable pursuits. But I'm interested in a more…focused project."

"Squatting in destroyed apartment buildings?"

Light crossed his arms, "God, you're quite an irritating little mutant, aren't you?"

Hmm. He'd been called freak, monster, animal and creature. Mutant was a new one. "And you're a washed up geriatric who's still afraid of the dark. Don't see me pointing it out."

"Geriatric?" Light hissed. "I was the most feared villain in the country for some time. Until your precious Justice League stole my mind."

"Ignoring for a moment that stealing minds seems improbable, you're hardly a threat to the JLA. Barely even to the Titans." Beast Boy thought he saw Raven's eyes flicker, but didn't look. Couldn't call attention to her.

"Trust me, by the time I'm done with you and the Titans, the JLA will remember why they feared me so. And seeing as how you to so willingly walked to the slaughter, I'll start with you and the little half-demon." Light glanced down at Raven.

Beast Boy didn't know what it was. A scent, an instinct, a glimpse of something behind Light's eyes. All he knew is that he didn't like the implication of that little look. In fact, he damn well hated it.

There was a tiny press of pressure on his wrist. Raven was awake. Sort of.

"How about you, first?" Light asked Beast Boy.

"You know, that really doesn't fit into my schedule. How about another time?" Beast Boy asked, moving between Light and Raven.

"Oh, do shut up," Light told him, raising his fist to point it at Beast Boy's chest.

Hearing the system begin to power up, Beast Boy took a shot. Raven might be awake enough to teleport herself out of here. That would be best. The second before Light's systems got to full power, Beast Boy leapt and shifted.

Light screamed as the wolf bit deeply into his arm. Beast Boy held on as tightly as he could, snarling and grinding his teeth tighter. He felt something cold press against his ribs.

Oh. Light had another wrist blaster thingy. Awesome.

He let his snarl fade, though he didn't let go. At least Rae had enough time to get away. Light panted out, "Enjoy death, changling."

A lot of things happened in that moment.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven breathed.

Light shot the wrist blaster right against Beast Boy's chest.

A barrier of Raven's soul self came between him and Light.

And then Raven and Beast Boy were torn away from Light and landed back in their hotel room.

Beast Boy yelled as he hit the ground, shocked back into his human form. He could feel his skin smoking from where the blaster had hit him. He shuddered in pain, god it felt like he was on fire! He tried to look at it, but a dark curtain was suddenly between his eyes and his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Raven whispered, holding her hands above the burn. She was shaking and moving stiffly, the burn on her back had to be worse than his. But she ignored it, kneeling next to him and concentrating on healing his wounds.

"No, do yours first," Beast Boy told her, his words muffled through his clenched teeth.

"No. Yours is…it's…" She trailed off.

Beast Boy felt his skin getting cold and he tried to look at it. Raven pushed him back down, one hand glowing blue as she concentrated, "Don't look. Please. It's bad."

"You need it, too. You're hurt," he tried to tell her, but he threw his head back as the pain racked through him again. How much damage had that blaster done to him?

"I'm fine," she denied it, but the sweat on her face and her still shaking hands told him otherwise.

"What about Light?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven shook her head, "We didn't get him."

Raven's hand brushed Beast Boy's side and he gasped.

"I'm sorry," she told him again.

"He got us pretty good, huh?" he mumbled.

"Yeah. I've never seen Light like that before. He was…"

"Bad-ass?" he suggested. The pain was fading enough so that he could breathe almost normally. "Stop."

"What's wrong?" Raven asked, looking worried.

He forced himself up and noticed the obvious, "Okay, first, I need some pants."

Raven flushed and moved to get them, but winced and fell back on her knees.

"And you need to take care of yourself. Right now." Beast Boy found pants and pulled them on. "I'm okay now. Heal up yourself a little."

She wanted to argue, it was obvious. But she was in a lot of pain. Raven closed her eyes and Beast Boy saw her back begin to glow blue.

He examined his own wounds, wincing at the sight. From his chest to his hip had been burned, the skin shiny and blistered. It must have looked even worse before Raven healed it up, so he imagined he hadn't gotten off easy. But, it wasn't bleeding and he could breathe, mostly. He could deal.

His communicator was still in that alley. So he walked to Raven, bending over and tugging hers off of her waistband. Her eyes opened sluggishly as she looked at him; the pain dulled the amethyst color. On a whim, Beast Boy smiled tiredly and touched her face. She didn't jump back or frown. The corner of her mouth quirked up and then her eyes slid shut. The blue glow on her back intensified.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, taking care not to jostle his injuries too much, Beast Boy flipped open the communicator and dialed his leader's number.

"Raven?" Robin's voice was panicked. "Are you and Beast Boy all right? What happened?"

"It's me." Wow, did his voice really sound that dull?

"B?" Cyborg and Starfire crowded around the little screen. It looked like they had pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. "You okay, man?"

"You need to tell me everything you know about Light. Right now," Beast Boy said, staring at them. He wasn't angry, not really. But he knew he sounded that way.

"All I know is what Batman told us, just a few minutes ago. And what happened with the other Titans," Robin said.

"Start with the Titans."

Robin closed his eyes, clearly thinking. "Red Star was first. Almost blinded by him. Raven came by him around that time, but she was too concerned with Red Star to pursue. Next was Star. He blasted her out of the sky and she was injured, but he didn't continue the attack. Then…"

"Me," Cyborg put in. "Twice. Lost my arm the first time, Light walked away. Half blinded the second time, he walked away again."

"Then Speedy. Light…seared his bow to his skin. Had to have it surgically cut off. Suffered some second degree burns," Robin said. "Then Cy again, but Light blasted him, welding his metal arms to his torso."

Beast Boy stared at the screen. "And you never warned us?" He glanced up as Raven stood stiffly, looking up at him. She walked over, sitting next to him on the bed as Robin noticed her arrival.

"After Cyborg," Robin hesitated, "I tried to warn the other Titans away, but…"

"I pursued him anyway," Raven finished quietly. "It's all right. Go ahead, Robin."

He nodded, "Raven followed him to the third floor of a corporate building. The fight was…"

"Not a fight. A beating. I could barely touch him," Raven said quietly. "When I was down, he threw me out the window. Had it not been for my powers, I would have died."

Beast Boy was livid now. "All right. Now what did Batman tell you?"

Raven glanced at him, he saw it out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't look at her just yet. He was too angry at Light and what he had done to his friends. He couldn't look at Rae and see more evidence of Light's work.

Robin's summary was short on details. Light had been this dangerous at one point, up to the day he had raped Sue Dibny. Immediately after that, Light had become the man the Titans had known. Weak, a pushover, wielding little more than cheesy puns. But something had happened since then, changing Light back into the monster he had been. And according to Batman's report on the fight between Green Arrow and Light, Light was threatening the Titans and the loved ones of the JLA. Wives, girlfriends, daughters, mothers. Females only. Any of them who were civilians and were able had left town, disappearing into protection. Robin never said it, but Beast Boy read the implications of the words.

"So any girl that Light gets a hold of, provided they're connected to the JLA or to the Titans, is in danger," Beast Boy summed up. Rage had built up in him steadily during Robin's words. It was burning beneath his skin.

Robin hesitated, "While we're all at risk, yes, it seems that the girls would have more to lose."

"And Light is still walking around," he added.

Raven was watching him, not the screen as Robin answered.

"Yes, but when you and Raven return," Robin said slowly, "we'll regroup, form a plan and go after him as a team."

"And between now and our 'regrouping'," Beast Boy was standing, "how many are going to pay Light's price?"

Robin tried to calm him, "I know how you feel, but you two can't go on alone. You need a team. We're not giving up on catching Light. But it's going to be a bigger fight than we're used to."

He was right. Beast Boy knew that it was logical. But all he could think about was the way Doctor Light had looked at Raven when she was unconscious. How many other people were on the receiving end of that look right at this second? How many people were at risk, just because of who they loved? This wasn't right.

"Fine. Regroup and plan," Beast Boy said, putting the communicator in Raven's hands, "I'll be out." He grabbed a shirt and headed towards the door.

"Beast Boy, stop, you can't-"

Robin's voice was cut off as Raven shut the communicator. She ran after him, putting her hand on the door and the other on his shoulder. "You're hurt."

"So's he," Beast Boy didn't move. He couldn't push her out of the way. She was injured and he'd pain her more if he did.

"You're still in worse condition than him. You go after him now, you'll die," Raven's voice was flat as she stared into his eyes.

"And if I don't, someone else could end up as Light's revenge."

"Yeah. You!" Raven snapped at him.

Beast Boy gave up talking with her, and spun on his heel towards the window. He had nearly made it when a shield of black magic covered the window. He had to physically restrain himself from growling when he turned back towards Raven.

"Let me out."

She stood in front of the door, "No."

"I'm trying to save people!"

"No! You're trying to get Light!" Raven shouted back.

He threw up his hands, ignoring the shot of pain through his side, "Same difference!"

"No, Beast Boy, it isn't," she told him, no longer yelling. "Protecting people focuses on the possible victims. Going after Light means only focusing on him, no matter who gets hurt in the process."

"I'll only risk myself."

She stared at him, "And if you don't come back? How am I supposed to get out of this city safely, wounded and alone? Especially when Light is focusing on female heroes."

Oh, that was a low blow and she knew it. "You don't need my help."

"Trust me, it hurts to admit it," Raven said scathingly. "I haven't needed help in months. I hate the fact that I can't go after Light myself. But we can't, not in our condition and not alone."

Beast Boy turned away from her to stare at the blacked out window. As he watched, the shadow leeched away, returning to its owner.

"I want to be out there," he said quietly.

"I know."

He flinched when her hand touched the back of his neck. Suddenly his eyes seemed too tired to stay open. He could barely keep his feet.

"Rae…what're you…?" he mumbled.

Her voice sounded far away, "You need to sleep. And I'm too tired and sore to keep arguing with you."

"…damn you…" he faded away, not really meaning it.

A quiet laugh chased him into unconsciousness, "Little late."