Putting off papers so I can get this out to you. I don't own the Titans. But a girl can dream…

Philematophobia. Fear of kissing. (Not what you think, sorry).


Raven was still smiling as she used her magic to lift Beast Boy up. She held him in the air as she went into the bathroom, dampening a towel with some cool water and filling up one of the glasses. Her back was stiff, but she was managing. She just needed to do several small healings, rather than one big one. She could keep a hefty level of power if she did that, and even manage to heal up Beast Boy a bit more.

Despite her power, however, she wasn't about to stomp on tried and true remedies. Raven lowered Beast Boy to one of the beds gently, making sure he wasn't resting on his side at all. His face tightened in pain despite her best efforts.

"Shh," Raven murmured, putting the towel on the burn. His face eased a little, but not entirely. At this rate, he was going to wake up in just a few minutes. She put the glass of water on the nightstand and sat next to him. Taking a breath, she made sure her healing energy was focused and then ran her fingers along Beast Boy's forehead. He frowned and then his face smoothed out, calmer and pain free, if only for the moment.

She closed her eyes for a second, making sure she hadn't drained herself too much. In the time that her eyes were closed, Beast Boy's hand reached out, grabbing the hem of her sweatshirt.

She glanced at him; he was still sleeping. She starting to unclench his fingers from her shirt, "Let go, you stupid…"

Beast Boy mumbled in his sleep, whole sentences that she couldn't understand. Except one word – her name.

Raven stared at the shape-shifter for a few seconds longer. Something in his voice was making her reconsider her idea. Finally she sighed, and pulled his fingers off her shirt.

She stood, picking up another sweatshirt. The one she was wearing was beyond repair, so it went right into the trash. She winced as it tugged on the edges of her burn, but she bit her lip to keep from making any noise. Once she had finished putting the new sweatshirt back on, she glanced over at Beast Boy to make sure he was still sleeping. He didn't look too restful, but he was still sleeping, so that was a good sign.

Picking up her communicator, she opened it up and searched for Beast Boy's dot on the map. Though the changling was sleeping not three feet away from her, the dot was showing him outside the apartment building they had just left. Would Light still be there?

She chewed on the edge of her thumb, staring at the dot. It was across the street from the building, in an alleyway. The likelihood of Light being in that particular alley when she materialized was low. Even if he was still inside the building, he wouldn't be able to see her. He'd have to be standing out in the open, right in front. He was injured and angry, he'd probably be retreating to some hidey-hole somewhere to plan, not enjoying the scenery.

Besides, she rationalized, if Light managed to get the communicator, he would know everyone's positions and hear any plans they might be forming. Cyborg was working on a bio-recognition software to implant in all the devices to keep exactly that from happening, but it was still in the prototype stages and not at all ready. If Light was as dangerous as everyone thought, they couldn't take the risk of him getting that communicator.

Mind made up, Raven glanced at Beast Boy. Still sleeping. She'd be gone a total of five minutes, maximum. The spell she worked should make him sleep for another hour, at least. If she was going to go, it would have to be now.

Fixing the map in her mind, Raven vanished from the hotel room and reappeared a few dozen feet above the ground. She had never teleported into a light-pole or a trashcan and she wasn't going to take the risk in doing so today. There was a small family a black up on the other side of the street, so Raven lowered herself to the ground quickly, not wanting to be seen.

She found Beast Boy's things quickly; the alley was almost empty except for them. She walked over, keeping one eye on the family as they walked past the apartment building. They had just passed the front door and Raven bent to pick up the jacket and communicator.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Raven froze, staring across the street. Doctor Light's cold eyes met hers and he smiled, before looking back at the mother of the family who had been walking. She smiled, murmuring an agreement. Then they continued on their way.

Raven raised her hands, already glowing. She might get taken down, but she'd do her best to take him with her. He was watching the mother walk away and even from here Raven could feel that his emotions were more than monstrous. This was one of the rare times she hated her empathy. All she could feel rolling off of him was anger, lust and an urge to make everything around him hurt.

Light turned his dark eyes towards Raven, smirking as he saw her stance. Slowly he raised his hand, waggling one finger at her in a clear "Don't do that" sort of way. Blood was dripping down his forearm and off his elbow. That must have been Beast Boy's work. Light nodded towards the family that was on the sidewalk a few meters away from them. The mother had knelt in front of her daughter's stroller, retying her shoe as the little girl laughed. The other child, too bundled up to be clear if it was a boy or a girl, was pulling on the mother's arm, trying to tell a story. Light's threat was clear.

Raven lowered her hands, but didn't move. Light kept his hands at his sides, nothing aimed at her as far as she could tell. Raven wished the family would hurry up. She couldn't leave while they were still out in the open. Not after what she had felt from him.

She wasn't sure if he had done his research on her, or if he was truly this loud in broadcasting his emotions. Everything that she had felt when he had been staring at the woman was increased tenfold as he stared at her. Adding to that hatred and a thirst for vengeance, Raven was surprised the man wasn't glowing with the strength of his emotions. Still, she could deal with that. It wasn't the first time she had to deal with a pervert. Adonis had been almost as bad and she had put him behind bars. Light was no different, she told herself.

Despite those thoughts, she couldn't help but shudder as his gaze traveled lower and his emotions got much more specific. He had no qualms that his reputation was known. In fact, he seemed to be trying to make it more obvious. She flinched as she caught a glimpse of one of Light's memories – "P-please," a brunette woman cried beneath him – Raven stepped back, realizing she had witnessed a second of Sue Dibny's horror, the same thing Light had planned for any female superhero he could get his hands on.

Bile rose up in her throat as she knelt down. She kept her head raised, never losing eye contact with Light as she grabbed Beast Boy's sweatshirt and communicator. She wouldn't be intimidated by the memories of a monster. Keeping them bundled in one arm, Raven glanced at the family as the mother finally stood and continued on her walk, oblivious to how close she had walked to death.

Light was still smiling at her when she looked back. Raven took a step backwards into the alley, ready to teleport away from him as soon as the family turned the corner.

Following her with a step in her direction, Light raised his hand to his mouth. Raven nearly dropped the sweatshirt and communicator as she tensed, her free hand glowing as she crouched, ready to move.

He laughed, just loudly enough that she could hear it. Raven glared at him, but he wasn't finished. Disconcertingly, Light kissed the tips of his fingers and blew it towards her. A promise. Raven glanced at the family just as the mother's feet disappeared around the corner, vanishing into her shadow as Light started striding across the street.

She arrived back in the hotel room, feeling unnerved and shaken by what had happened, though it had been nothing. She dropped Beast Boy's things on the ground, intent on getting a glass of water.

"Where the hell have you been?"

She looked up, seeing Beast Boy exiting the bathroom. He was holding onto the doorframe, exhausted, but keeping his eyes open by sheer will.

"Geez," she tried to smile, "you must have a metabolism almost as fast as Kid Flash's to wear off my sleep spell so quickly."

He stalked towards her, fury radiating off of him, "Don't joke. Where have you been?"

"I was-"

Beast Boy finally noticed the sweatshirt and communicator and his eyes snapped up towards her, fury replaced by obvious terror. "You went back there?"

"I didn't go inside, I was just getting your-"

"Are you nuts? Was he still there?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven had to either take a step back or have Beast Boy directly in her face. Well, she hadn't backed down from him ever before, it wouldn't happen now. "Yes, but he didn't get near me. Didn't touch me. Didn't attack me."

"Did he see you? What did he do?"

"He just," Raven shrugged, "watched me? I don't know."

He stared at her, "That's it?"

"Yes," she said firmly. The emotions she had felt weren't done to her by Light, she had just felt them. And the kiss…nothing. A futile action from an impotent man.

"Fine." He took a breath and Raven made to move past him, "What were you thinking, going back there without me?"

Apparently this wasn't over. "You were sleeping."

"Because you made me."

"You were being unreasonable."

"And you're just the picture of reason, huh?" he asked, a short back of laughter making it out before he got serious again, "You could have gotten hurt."

"I'm fine," she brushed past him. "Don't worry about me."

Beast Boy grabbed her arm as she walked past, stopping her without looking at her. "I always worry about you. Please…just, don't do anything like that ever again, okay? If you have to, promise that you'll take me with you."

She didn't want to. She didn't want to rely on someone as heavily as he was asking her to. She didn't want to be responsible if something happened to him because of her actions.

"Raven, I've been going out of my mind since I woke up, not knowing where you were or if you were okay. Your communicator was here and you were gone. No one at the front saw you leave and had no idea where you'd gone. Don't do that to me again," he was downright pleading with her.

She looked around, finally noticing signs of what he had been saying. His clothes had been strewn about, her communicator sitting on top of the bed. He was dressed, though it was clear that his burn made it uncomfortable. She could see the faint lines of worry all over his face, along with a fair amount of fear. He had been about to run out and look for her, though he had no idea where to start, just to make sure she was okay. She wasn't sure how to feel.

"Okay," she finally said quietly. "I won't do that again. I'm sorry."

He stared at her, still holding on to her arm.

"Really, Beast Boy. I'm sorry."

He let go of her arm nodding, "Okay."

As he sat down on the bed with a wince, she watched him. "Why don't you get some sleep?" she asked him.

He looked up at her, disbelief in his face.

"I promise I won't go anywhere. But sleeping is what you need to feel better. Plus, you're fighting the spell, which is just a waste of energy on both our parts," she walked over towards him. "I can help you feel better, but you shouldn't be risking an infection or fever by running around."

She touched his forehead, he was starting to get warm. "You're already getting sick."

The glass on the nightstand was still untouched. She picked it up and handed it over to him, "Drink this. I'll get you another one."

"No," he said, taking the glass in one hand and her wrist in the other. "Just…"

He never finished his sentence, but she got the gist. She sat down next to him, feeling her own burn tug uncomfortably. Sleep probably wasn't a bad idea for her, either. But with Light on the loose, maybe they should take it in turns.

"What was Light doing?" he asked quietly, not looking at her.

She answered, "Just standing outside the complex."

"And why didn't you leave the second you saw him?" There was still a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"There was a family walking past. He...looked at them funny, so I wanted to make sure they got far enough away before I left."

Beast Boy yawned, "And he didn't make any move to attack you?"

"At the very end he started walking towards me, but the family was gone so I just teleported back here," she said.

"I still wish you hadn't gone," he said quietly. Raven could see him finally looking at her, but she didn't turn her head, "What if he had gotten a hold of you?"

Raven swallowed hard as Light's memories of Sue resurfaced. That poor woman. And Beast Boy was right, what if Light had been fast enough to catch her? She shuddered at the thought.

"What's wrong?" Beast Boy asked, "He didn't, did he?"

"No. Of course not," Raven said shakily.

Beast Boy shifted on the bed, looking at her closely, "What happened?"

"Noth-"

"Liar," he interrupted. Her mouth closed with a snap and he cajoled, "You can tell me, Rae. It won't leave this room."

She rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes. "I could hear what he was feeling. What he thought when he looked at the woman on the street and when he looked at me. It was…depraved. All he wanted to hurt others and get revenge. But not all for just revenge's sake. He liked hurting women. He remembered what happened to Sue with…pride. He enjoyed it." She opened her eyes, staring at her hands in her lap. "I caught a glimpse of what happened to Sue. Just a second of it. More than I wanted."

Beast Boy covered her hands, squeezing them beneath his.

"It's like he knew what I could do," Raven admitted. "Like he knew who I was and of my empathy. That he purposefully sent those thoughts and emotions to me to make me uncomfortable."

"Maybe he did," Beast Boy said, less than reassuringly. "We don't know exactly when he got his memories back. Maybe he did research on all the Titans before coming after us. Or just the ones who had come up against him before. You've gone against him a couple times, Rae. And you certainly got him good when he was muzzled."

She remembered that night with a mix of vindictive pleasure and embarrassment. That had been one of the first times she had lost control in front of her friends. But she had trampled Light pretty well, and that had almost been worth it.

Raven said, "Do you think-"

She was interrupted as both of their communicators went off at the same time. Beast Boy grabbed his from the floor with a wince, holding it up so both of them could see it. It was Robin, sending out a world-wide message.

Raven's heart stopped, Dear Azar, please not another death.

Beast Boy muttered under his breath, "Come on, not another Argent…" He flipped it open, seeing Robin on the other end, his face completely serious.

He was quiet for a minute, clearly waiting for the rest of the Titans to pick up. He nodded, "Good, I'm glad to have caught almost all of you. I hope everyone has gotten back to their Towers, or are on their way as we speak. Unfortunately, I do have some troubling news.

"I've been contacted by the Justice League with regards to Doctor Arthur Light. It seems that due to past fights with the JLA, the Doctor Light we've known has been but a weaker, lobotomized version. And somehow, Light has regained his faculties and memories, along with a hatred for the Justice League, the Titans, and anyone associated with either.

"You all now have strict orders to not engage Light by yourselves. If you must go after him, please do it in groups of no fewer than four. He is completely different than any of us remember. He's smart, he's cunning, and he's completely merciless.

"Additionally, no female heroes are to go anywhere alone, especially when within Light's vicinity. Always take someone else with you, preferably one of the male Titans. Females should not approach or engage Light, no matter what."

Raven could almost hear the outrage from the girls on the line. She got a vague sense of annoyance, but only because Robin's precautions were necessary.

Robin addressed those who were upset, "I am in no way underestimating your strength or your abilities. There's not one among you who isn't capable of defending herself. But Light has a reputation for taking advantage of every woman he can. You girls run a much greater risk than just being unmasked. Let's not take that risk by having you out there alone."

Beast Boy hands tightened reflexively on Raven's. She had forgotten that he was still holding her hands.

"My team will be regrouping and going after Light within the next few days. However, all of you should be on your guard. We may need those who are close enough to lend a hand, or he might move faster than we anticipated. Please, don't take risks and do not engage him. Good luck."

The message shut off. Robin was probably being pelted by calls from other Titans, wanting more information. Raven knew that he had shared everything with them already. There was no need for them to call him just yet. They could wait until he caught his breath and gave them a call to let them know what the next move was.

"Guess it's all official now," Beast Boy said, shutting the communicator and putting it on the nightstand.

"Guess so," Raven said. "Sounds like we're going to be here for a while, if Robin and the others are going to join us."

"Fantastic," Beast Boy muttered.

"Don't you want to bring down Light?" Raven asked.

"Of course," he said, "I just don't want to sit around until they get here."

Raven sat quietly for a minute. Then, "Well, he never said anything about tracking Light. We'll need to know where he is in order to go after him once they get here."

"True," Beast Boy smiled. "But we go together."

"I already promised you that we would," she reminded him.

"Just make sure you keep that promise," he said, standing up and letting go of her to move over to the other bed. Raven stared at her hands, confused as to why they suddenly felt so cold. "But I think I'll follow your advice and get some sleep. Like you should."

"One of us should keep an eye out for Light," she argued, rubbing her hands together.

He shrugged, leaning back carefully, "I figure, if he does manage to find us here, he'll make an entrance that we'll hear long before he can make it up to the room. No use wasting energy on him just yet."

He wasn't wrong. Light wasn't known for being subtle. Besides, who knew that they were there, other than Robin? The apartment had been miles away from their hotel, so there was really nothing for Light to go off of. And she was tired.

"I'll stay up for just a bit, then I'll go to sleep." When Beast Boy gave her a look, she couldn't help but smile and add, "I promise."

"Good," he said, settling more comfortably on the bed. "I pretty much just got you back, I'm not losing you to a jerk like Light."

She stared at him from her seat, indignant, "Beast Boy, you have not got me."

"Don't worry about it, you've got me, too," he grinned at her from his position.

"You're delirious. Go to sleep." Raven smiled, standing up.

He chuckled, "If I'm delirious, you're in denial."

"Whatever," she told him, walking over to the bathroom. When she came out a few minutes later, he was still awake, but barely. She shook her head, "Go to sleep."

"Just making sure you weren't abseiling out the window," he mumbled, his eyes slipping closed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." she covered her mouth as she yawned. It was only three or so in the afternoon, but she felt like it was past midnight.

"Sleep," Beast Boy told her.

She crawled into her own bed, sliding beneath the covers and lying on her stomach. Her burn was managing fine, but she wouldn't bother it anymore than necessary. She closed her eyes, Beast Boy a few steps ahead of her if his gentle snores were any indication. Despite everything that happened today, she felt…comfortable now. She wouldn't examine too closely just what made her so comfortable. Not yet. Raven yawned again, sleep taking pity on her and coming quickly.