Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

X

Face to Face

The room was dark, damp and musky. Occasionally the water that dripped down onto the ground from the ceiling reflected some sliver of light that had stumbled upon this blackness, and it was at those times that the sudden glint caught the surface of the breathtakingly beautiful jewel that stood in the middle of the room. Were the shop keeper of the recently robbed jewelry store 'Gems and Dimes' in the room, he would have recognized it immediately as 'The Mind's Eye'- the diamond that had been stolen from the shop.

It was not called 'The Mind's Eye' for nothing.

Another weak ray of light chanced upon the gleaming surface of the jewel and was reflected into a thousand tiny glittering beads that revolved around the walls. In that one moment, the diamond had known everything in the light ray- known enough to transform it into something different.

A transformation so complete that they would never tell the difference.

There was no hint of a breeze in the room, but still the hem of the black cape seemed to move out of its own accord, as though hiding place to a mass of unimaginable evils within its folds.

He will be unstoppable.

The dark wooden box with the golden clasp rose from the ground and into the air. It was a box that Inspector Howard might have found familiar after seeing numerous pictures of it in the case file for the robbery at 'Odds and Ends'. This box, so said the catalogue, was impenetrable by any force on Earth (and beyond it).

As smooth black leather gloves plucked the box from the air, something above the room shifted and plunged it back into the darkness.

"The time is now."

Beast Boy slammed the door shut and, with his back pressed hard against it, slumped to the floor in a daze.

He'd remembered everything. If anyone asked him now, he felt perfectly capable of reciting the exact sequence of actions he'd carried out the night before when he robbed the antique store. Only none of the other Titans had even considered the possibility that the robber could have been him- they'd all convened at the Operations Center upon reaching the Tower. Beast Boy had escaped to his room knowing that it was he who had crept out of the Tower when the others weren't aware. It was he who had made his way, as though following some sort of magnetic pull, to the store- and he'd known exactly what he'd wanted.

It was a box of some sort, made of dark polished wood (he recalled how the box had gleamed under a burst of moonlight that night) and had an elaborately made golden clasp. And there was something else about the box… Something special.

Nothing could penetrate it.

Despair was suddenly pushed aside as Beast Boy stood up in a flash of inspiration. If he'd stolen the jewel and the box, surely he would still be in possession of them? Beast Boy searched his room in seconds and came up with absolutely nothing.

Figures, he thought, if I stole things I wouldn't hide them in my room.

Then where had he put them?

It was a question Beast Boy did not have the answer to, just like the question of why he stole them in the first place.

Rubbing his tired eyes, he exhaled exasperatedly and plopped onto the edge of the lower bunk of his bed. Somehow he couldn't shake off the feeling that both times he'd been told what to do.

Beast Boy didn't know why, but he had stolen those items.

"If it isn't Beast Boy, then who could it be?"

It was a question that neither Cyborg, Starfire, Robin or Raven could answer.

"Somehow I think this is all connected to that villain we fought with in the research facility that day," Robin mused as he stared into the distance. If not for his mask, his eyes would most probably have the look of someone who was doing some intense thinking.

"The man in white? That leads us back to square one!" Cyborg threw up his hands in frustration. He brought them back down onto the coffee table and sent the entire table shuddering. Robin grabbed the edges of the table in an attempt to stop the shaking.

"How can you be sure?" Raven asked, her dark eyes flashing.

"I'm not- but I think we're about to find out," Robin said as the Titans alarm suddenly burst into life. The entire Tower was filled with the siren. Seconds later, Beast Boy dashed into the Operations Center to find the other Titans gathered around one of the computer panels.

"The research facility," Cyborg said.

"Titans, GO!"

The moment Beast Boy stepped into the threshold of the research facility, he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. Nausea welled up in the pit of his stomach and he fought to keep the queasiness under control. He had to pull himself together if the Titans were to face the man in white again. And he had to be strong enough to find out the truth about everything. Most importantly, he had to make sure that he did not let the Beast out, because if he did, all would be lost.

He felt the fabric of Raven's dark blue cloak brush against his calves, and for a moment he slowed down his pace just so he could hold the moment- her closeness was comforting, somehow it made him feel safe. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire were in front of Beast Boy, and each of the three pairs of eyes was trained on different parts of the research facility.

"Be careful," Robin warned them.

Beast Boy looked around. The research facility seemed empty.

The team moved further into the spacious hall of the research facility and all around them the silence followed their every move. They stopped in the middle of the space and stood quite still. The silence rang in their ears. Beast Boy shifted his feet and his shoes made a sound as they scuffed against the cement flooring.

"There's no one here," he said, "maybe it's a false alarm." There was a mix of doubt and hope in his voice.

Cyborg took a glance at the panel on his arm where the sonic analyzer was and, to Beast Boy's surprise, concurred with his teammate. "Beast Boy's right. I'm not registering any heartbeat on my monitor."

"He's here."

o o o

Although her eyes were fixed on the Titans, Raven was seeing, with her mind, something quite different from the four figures in front of her. A chillingly familiar sensation gripped her, and for a split second an image of a large, round mass of pulsating black with red around the edges flashed into her eye, and as soon as it had appeared it disappeared, leaving her feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked. He had been observing her.

"It's that–"

"Look out!" Starfire yelled, before Raven could say anything more. In a burst of energy the alien girl took flight and aimed a starbolt at something large that was whizzing through the air towards the team. There was a splash of sparks as the Titans brought their hands up to shield their faces. The remains of a charred metal barrel crashed to the floor near Robin.

o o o

"Titans, GO!"

Something white came hurtling out from the second floor of the research facility, and landed neatly on both white feet as the Titans scattered into five different directions. The man in white had just a few seconds to an empty space before a green tiger burst out from the sides, deadly paws outstretched and ready to slash. But before Beast Boy in tiger form could get anywhere near the villain, his opponent raised a hand and with a casual, almost nonchalant flick, Beast Boy was thrown past his target and into the shadows on the other side of the hall.

But it was not over yet, because Starfire had risen into the air carrying Robin and with an expertly taken throw, the Boy Wonder was sent whizzing through the air and straight at the man in white, who had but a split second to react. Robin sent a few punches, the first of which hit the target, but the subsequent few were blocked. The man grabbed hold of Robin's hands and in a whirl of red, green and yellow, the boy soared through the air and went crashing into Starfire. The impact carried both of them into the railing of the upper landing.

Then Raven appeared in front of the man and swept open her cloak to reveal Cyborg, who burst out with his sonic cannon trained on the man in white. Just as Cyborg was about to shoot, the man in white melted into the floor and reappeared behind Raven. Someone called out her name and she whirled around – too late – the man raised a white fist and got barreled away by a green ram that appeared in front of Raven just in time to head-butt the man away.

The ram turned into Beast Boy, had just enough time to say: "You okay?" to the dark-haired girl before the man in white returned and, with a stunningly powerful kick, sent the Titan spinning away, and landing, fortunately, in the safe grip of his Tamaranean teammate. Back at ground level, Raven was on the defence, holding up a shield of dark energy against the attacks of the man in white. His blows got stronger and stronger, however, and as her shield began to break up he delivered the last crushing blow that sent her flying straight into Cyborg. The two of them landed with a crash on the floor.

As the man in white advanced towards the fallen Titans, Robin dropped down in front of them from out of nowhere and the two began an intense fight. The man in white aimed a punch at Robin, who ducked and lashed out a leg, hoping to trip his opponent. But the man in white was quick to react with a series of back flips that took him well out of the range of Robin. Robin was not one to give up easily – he took a flying leap at the man and it was hard to see what was happening because the two were so close…

Then Robin fell to the floor and the man in white dashed into the shadows, heading deeper into the research facility.

"After him!" Robin shouted, and the Titans followed suit.

Starfire and Raven flew through the air while on the ground Beast Boy as a cheetah outran the sprinting Robin and Cyborg. The man in white was headed towards the two large back doors of the research facility- his escape route. Just as the man reached the doors, a shiny silver birdarang sliced through the air and embedded itself in the rusty metal of the facility's doors.

"Stop right there!" Robin shouted as the rest of the team came up behind him.

The man in white slowly peeled his gaze away from the door and turned to face the Teen Titans. His face was its usual mask of blankness. As he turned around, he came face to face with the glowing green of Starfire's starbolt in her hands; the dark energy ball that Raven held in a fist; Cyborg's sonic cannon lock and loaded; Robin's fighting staff and a growling green tiger that was Beast Boy.

"Tell us who you are," Robin said, never taking his eyes of the silent man.

The thing that happened next was nothing that any of them expected. The first thing they heard was a voice, a low voice as smooth as caramel yet nowhere as sweet.

"I see you've met my assistant."

It came from the shadows somewhere to their left, and the moment the voice spoke, Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon in that direction.

"Who are you?" Robin shouted into the dark.

Then the man in white dissolved into what could only be described as a cloud of white particles, which made their way across the cement floor and into the shadow where the voice had come from.

The Teen Titans watched as a figure disengaged itself from the shadows and stepped forward. From the wide-brimmed hat all the way down to the very tips of glossy boots that were just visible beneath a magnificent cape, the figure was entirely black.

"I am something you wish you'd never set eyes on."

A/N: Wow. "Titans, GO!" is said twice in this chapter. A record! Anyway, in case you may not know, this figure in black is the villain who was mentioned in Chapter I and also in the beginning of this chapter. Just thought I'd clarify that, in case some people don't get the link.

I'd like to thank all reviewers, especially the ones who have been following the story but have never really reviewed. Thanks to:

BrokenNevermore

Balkoth

Overactive Mind

AureliusXsoul

secondrate

Chrosis

Jake

VeelaChic

acosta perez jose ramiro

I don't have time to reply your reviews but generally the feeling is I'm glad they're coming in and I'll do my best to work on the feedback. For plot-related questions, the only thing I'll say is: read on!

Next Update: August 4