I do NOT own Teen Titans


Leaving Nevermore,... Raven's Nightmare,... A Desperate Battle,... Assertive,... A Confession,...

"Oh drats." Rage sighed, pouting. "I get the frog and she gets the cute guy. So not fair." She glared across the room at her grinning sister.

"Grrrr." Raven growled. "Enough of this." She muttered, yanking the still stunned shape shifter to his feet with a hand formed of dark magic. "The sooner I get you out of here, the sooner my headache will go away."

"No." Timid cried. "If he leaves now I won't another until he come back tomorrow."

"He won't be back tomorrow." The emoticlone leader told the girl, as she pushed the still speechless boy ahead of her. "Or the next." She added.

"No fair." The gray-clad girl leapt to her feet. "Who am I going to kiss then?"

"And I gotta get an actual kiss." Rage yelled. "He's got to come back."

"No one, and not in this lifetime he won't." Raven told them. In her mind she had a vivid image of little Beast Boys and little Beast Girls running around; some had four red eyes, while others wore gray cloaks. Can an emoticlone even get pregnant? She wondered, gulping. Best not to find out. The girl decided, as she headed for the forbidden door.


Beast Boy settled down in his room, determined to do his best even if he no longer had a tutor. I'll still get that diploma. He told himself. It'll just a take a while longer. The green-skinned Titan paused in thought for a second. Okay, maybe a lot longer. He reluctantly admitted to himself.

Still, as he randomly doodled in his notebook, and frequently paced the floor, he couldn't tear his mind away from the day's events. There was still that incredible sensation of Timid's lips on his, as well as the dread he'd felt at Raven's confession. She could feel, but never the full range of emotions; the girl who he often dreamed about would never know true love. That hurt. Even if it wasn't him, he wanted her to be more than just content; he wanted her to love and be loved.

Back at his desk the boy opened his math book to the next chapter. The Fundamentals of Algebra. He read and, slapping himself a few times to clear his mind, started reading.


In her own room a certain blue-clad girl settled down to meditate, and eventually drifted off to sleep. In her dreams she saw the mob of little Beast Boys, and little Beast girls, become a small village as they settled down to live together. Then, as time passed, that village became a town, which became a city,...

"Gaaa." Raven screamed, waking up in a cold sweat. "Oh Azarath." She sobbed. "Why did the city have to be pink?" Gasping for breath, it took her a while to realize the alarm that warned of a villain was blasting through her head, aggravating her already agonizing headache.

Just a few second. She told herself, slumping back on her bed. Anyone would need a break after that ... nightmare. Blinking her eyes, trying to clear her mind of the image of that awful city with its pink roads, and pink houses, she shuddered. It'd had pink clouds around the towers, and even pink colored fountains filled with pink lemon-aid. It was, the still gasping girl thought, a nightmare that would've cause the most stout-hearted of Titans to cringe, and need a little breather to recuperate.


"Okay." Robin told the group, as he saw Raven teleport in just seconds after Beast Boy had raced in. "This is serious. Actually, it's beyond serious. It seems the Joker has decided to pay us a visit. I've sent the alarm to Titans East, but even with the T-ship we can't afford to wait. We have to act now!" Even if his voice remained confident and calm, there was a sense of panic in the way their leader moved.


As they rushed the warehouse where the psychotic madman had set up residence, all five Titan were a bit pale, yet focused on the task at hand; take down the Joker, and save Jump city.

"Welcome my feathered little friend." The voice of the supervillain taunted the leader of the Titans. "How nice of you to join us."

"Us?" Robin asked, looking around.

"Together we shall light up the night." Came a familiar voice.

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever." The Joker muttered under his breath.

"What's your plan?" Robin asked, twisting around to keep Dr. Light in sight as well.

"Why, to kill a little birdie." Came the reply from a face that smiled maniacally. "Once that's done there shall be nothing to stop us."

"No bombs? No chemicals? Nothing that can hurt the people of the city?" Boy Wonder asked as if shocked.

The Joker shrugged. "Well, there must always be a plot." He cackled. "But Harley is late with the supplies I need, so I thought I would get started."

"We would get started." Dr. Light put in, sounding offended. "Don't forget, I'm your partner."

"Yeah. Yeah." The annoyed psychopath muttered again. "Whatever."

"Good." The leader of the Titans sighed. "We can take you down without worrying about hurting the people of Jump City." He smiled, the relief evident on his face.

"A little overconfident, is our little robin." The Joker grinned, and his face distorted into a look that radiated pure madness. "Do your part." He ordered, turning to Dr. Light.

"Of course." The elderly man in the futuristic suit smiled, and a machine in the center of the warehouse suddenly flashed with an intense blue light, almost looking as if it'd exploded.

The five blinded Titans panicked for a few seconds, believing it was a trick to leave them open for attack. Yet, even as their sight slowly returned, and after images of the blue light faded, they saw that the Joker and Dr. Light had yet to move. The machine was once again dark, though the smell of ozone now filled the building.

"What was that?" Robin demanded, as the other Titans prepared to rush the two villains.

"Why, my fine little feathered friend, it's just a little gift I had this fine gentleman cook up while I was waiting on Harley." The pale-faced maniac pleasantly spoke before turning to one side. "When she gets back I'll teach her to be late again." He muttered angrily, with pure madness in his voice.

"Titans! Go!" The leader yelled, as he took two electric discs from a pouch. He sent them flying at the madman who stood before him, yet the Joker didn't even flinch.

"Your toys won't do you much good here." Came the amused voice that sounded as if it came from the darkest depths of hell. The psychopath called the Joker had caught one of the discs, even as he'd let the other bounce harmlessly off his chest.

"Waaa." Robin was stunned.

"Let me show you a new trick I've learned." The Joker laughed, sounding even more demonic than Rage. He took a step forward, and before Boy Wonder could move, pulled him close. To the shock of all present, the crazed villain inhaled, and then kissed their leader on the lips.

"Waaa." The violated boy yelped again, struggling free to put some distance between him and their deranged foe.

"I call it the Kiss of Death." The Lord Prince of Crime spoke as his eyes glowed malevolently. "You see, my lungs always holds enough Joker's venom to slowly drive a person insane. Then it kills them." The unstable lunatic cackled in madness. "One little birdie playing nicely with its friends. Chirp! Chirp! Said the little birdie. Then it took a gun to shoot its friends dead."

The five Titans all gulped, knowing it was a prediction of what would happen. That their leader would go insane, and kill his friends.

"I know what that blue light was." Cyborg suddenly spoke. "It was an electromagnetic pulse. It fried half my systems, and it's probably why your discs don't work." He gulped, looking pale. "I can't use my sonic cannon." He added.

"What about the rest of your systems?" Boy Wonder asked, equally pale.

"The ones that keep me alive are buried pretty deep inside." Came the reply that caused the Titans to sigh in relief. "That's why I didn't get any immediate warnings. But I can barely move."

"We take them down, and worry about the poison later. You'll have plenty of time to do repairs then." The voice of their leader was still filled with confidence. He pulled out a bo staff, and flicked it. It failed to extend to its full length.

"That uses electronics too." Cyborg pointed out.

"Oh... Right." Boy Wonder returned it to the loop on his belt, and looked around. "What are you waiting for? I said, Titans, Go!" He crouched down in a fighting stance, and marched on the grinning madman in front of him.

Oh Right. Beast Boy thought, becoming an elephant that charged Dr. Light. Starfire, he saw, had rushed to aid Robin. There was a loud thunk as the seven-ton beast hit the force field that rose to surround his foe.

Raven winced when she saw Beast Boy bounce off the barrier their foe had created; then she turned to face that same foe. "Poor little man." She intoned, as she reached out to crush the forced field. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, calling on all her power. Dark magic reached out from her to meet the light that sought to protect her enemy.

Becoming a giant crocodile, Beast Boy whipped his tail around several times to smash against that shield of light. Useless. He muttered, with a quick glance around the room to check how his friends were doing. What he saw wasn't good. "Robin?" He called out in panic. "Starfire?"

Boy Wonder had charged his foe only to find himself inhaling more of the Joker's Venom in the form of a gas grenade. Becoming dizzy, he'd staggered back.

"Robin." Starfire had cried out in fear, and had flown into that field of gas. Her skin now sported red bumps, and had started to peel in places.

"I had no idea how my venom would affect the lovely young lady." The grinning lunatic spoke as if pleased. "So I did some research, and added some chromium powder to the mix." The madness showed through his eyes as he laughed dementedly. "I must say, it does seem to be effective." He stepped forward, pulled a baseball bat from somewhere, and hit the orange-skinned girl who was shivering and scratching at her skin even as she tried to hold her boyfriend.

To the shock of everyone looking on, red blood spurted from the girl while there was the sound of bones breaking.

"Ah." The Joker sighed happily. "Sometimes the simple solution is the best. You see, the bat is made of chromium too."

"Starfire?" Whispered Robin as he struggled to stand, only to have the bat, wielded by the cackling madman, leave a bloody wound on his skull. The leader of the Titans fell unconscious.

"Game time is over." The Lord Prince of Crime spoke, grabbing a sack. Throwing the bag, more than two dozen gas grenades rolled out and exploded.

"No." Beast Boy yelled, seeing the deadly objects that spelled doom for him and his friend. He glanced first at Raven to see if she was okay; then a barrier of dark energy rose to surround him, and flung him out through a window.

He looked first to me. The violet-eyed girl sighed with a sense of happiness. I wish ... She pushed the thought from her mind, and turned to see what else could be done, though she knew it was too late to save the others; the warehouse had already filled with the deadly gas, and they would've inhaled it. Maybe Starfire is immune. She hoped, and reached out to move her best friend with her dark magic.

Raven. Thought Beast Boy in desperation, knowing she'd chosen to save him over herself. In a daze he stooped to check Starfire as she too was tossed from the warehouse. Able to think only of the violet-eyed girl who was still inside, he finally decided the Tamarean would be okay, assuming she was indeed immune to the Joker's Venom.

Unacceptable. Came a deep primal cry from within. Unacceptable. Rising, the boy marched back into the warehouse. If the girl who ruled his dreams were to die, then what did it matter if he lived.

"The gas." Gasped Dr. Light who was on his knees. "You said my suit would protect me."

"Oops." Came an amused voice that said it didn't care. "It seems I was wrong." The pale-skinned psychopath was watching with glee.

"Beast Boy." Raven cried, seeing him enter again. "Why?"

"This is my place, it's where I should be." He simply answered, looking at her. By your side. He thought, even now not daring to speak those words aloud.

"My my." Laughed the Joker in a voice that sent madness echoing through the warehouse. "Now you will all go mad, and red will flow in your fine city." He grinned.

"We take him down." Beast Boy said, looking at Raven. "We protect the city."

"Agreed." She smiled at him, heart racing before she managed to calm it. He chose to remain with me. Both sadness and joy came with that knowledge. Reluctantly, she turned her gaze away from the green-skinned Titan. The madness that came from the Joker's Venom wasn't upon them yet. They would have time to take down one last villain together.

"No, no, no, ..." Spoke Dr. Light, who stared in fear at the floor. Obviously he was out of the fight.

"I'll handle him. You get the others outside." The boy told the girl. "Maybe they've made some breakthroughs in Gotham City. Maybe it isn't too late.

"Okay." She let a hint of a smile linger on her lips. Then she reached for Cyborg to move him outside as well. His brain is party cybernetic. She recalled. Maybe that'll help protect him. That done, she turned and reached for Robin.

Viciously, knowing this was his last fight, Beast Boy charged the Joker. Quick as thought, he was in the form of an elephant. Out massing his foe by quite a bit, it should've been an easy victory, yet the accursed demon who'd killed him and his friends nimbly danced around the great beast with ease.

"Slow." The Joker cackled. "But what a great trick. When the madness comes, I'm sure the people of this fair city will know such delicious fear." Without obvious effort, the villain twirled around the enraged elephant whose fury only grew.

Unacceptable. Roared the voice in the shape shifter's head again. Unacceptable. He became a gorilla, smaller, yet more agile, and marched on his hated foe once again.

"Wonderful. Wonderful." Screamed the villain, prancing around. "Oh what fun it will be to see what form you will use to ravage this beautiful city." The eyes of the psychopath glowed with evil as he laughed.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Raven chanted, turning her attention to the confident criminal mastermind. Suddenly, the villain glanced at her, and something streaked from his hand. It wrapped around her mouth, and she fell from the air as her power was sealed.

"Don't worry, my sweet little demon." The Lord Prince of Crime told her with a smile that came from the depths of hell. "It will come off, but by then you'll be quite mad." He giggled at his own pun, as he danced around the girl who was indeed quite mad.

"Grrr." Screamed Beast Boy, as once again something inside screamed it was unacceptable.

"You can't match me." The Joker suddenly froze. "My venom wasn't the only gas in those grenades. There were others that will wear off by the time the madness comes, but for now they make you slow and weak. Only I, the one and only Joker, am immune." He grinned maniacally. "And that my dear friend, means I win."

"No." Growled the last standing Titan. Always before his ability to shift had grown only when he pushed it. At first he'd only been able to change into small animals, like squirrels. But then, as he's pushed at that power, it'd grown until in the Doom Patrol the size of the shape had ceased to matter. Now, he felt something inside say it was time to push it further.

The boy, knowing he alone could avenge the one he loved, and save the city, stepped forward. His hand reached out into the mist that was the Joker's Venom, and he shifted.

"What trick is this?" The madman asked, stepping back as he stared into a face identical to his own, just green.

"If you're immune, then so am I now." The shape shifter replied, having for the first time in his life changed into another intelligent form. "Now we can fight as equals." He grinned with a madness in his eyes that promised vengeance, and stepped forward.

"No fair." The annoyed villain cried. "The venom is mine and mine alone, I won't share." He stepped forward to fight the foe he now seemed to loath. With blinding speed his fist lashed out.

The form had cleared the toxins from his body, allowing Beast Boy to think. Titans would never try to harm a villain, but he no longer cared. As that fist came at him, he became a porcupine with as many quills as he could muster aimed forward. Hundreds of those sharp needles pierced the flesh of the madman's fingers and hand.

"Owe. No fair." The Joke pouted as he backed off. "You said you would fight me in my own form."

"I said no such thing." Beast Boy answered. Once again in the form of that demented sociopath, he allowed it to clear his body of the toxins, and moved in.

"Blast you." The savage master criminal yelled, reaching for the chromium bat. With it in his left hand, he swung.

Beast Boy became a spitting cobra, allowing the bat to pass overhead. Then he spat. The venom wouldn't affect the accursed monster he faced, but the fluid would blind him for a while.

"No fair. Choose one form and keep it." The Joker screamed in fury and madness, wiping at his eyes as he backed away.

"Okay." The shape shifter replied. In the form of the Joker he picked up the dropped bat, and went to work. He didn't kill, but the Joker wouldn't be up causing more trouble for a long time.

Turning, Beast Boy picked up Raven, and carried the girl who, was still struggling with the tape wrapped around her mouth, outside.

As luck would have it, there was a cure for the Joker's Venom. It was just impractical since it requires large amounts of the venom to make, and before only the Joker could've provided it. But Beast Boy, in the form of the Joker, had allowed as much blood as was needed to be drawn from him. With his ability to heal quickly, along with a helping hand from Raven who'd speeded the process, enough of the serum had been made for all the stricken Titans, as well as Dr. Light.

Despite how dire the situation had been, they'd quickly gotten sick of the words their fearless leader kept repeating. "Ack! Mouthwash. Please! Someone get me more mouthwash!" He'd been on his ninety-fourth bottle before the anti-venom had been administered, allowing them to rush away from the boy who feared the Kiss of Death more for the 'kiss' part than the 'death' part.


Timid watched with Rage as the other emoticlones sat in a circle amidst the pink fields of Nevermore.

"They're afraid." She whispered, looking sadly at the children who huddled together a short distance away.

"I know." Came the dark, yet sad reply. "But I don't know what to do. I only know how to make them push their limits; to be angry at me, and strive to beat me."

"I wonder..." Timid spoke, and her newfound confidence wavered.

"They're a part of us, and a part of Raven." Rage spoke. "A part of what he loves. If you can help them, then how can you not?"

The gray-clad girl gulped and, with a deep breath, stepped forward.

"Hello." Said the girl whose cloak was a greyish silver.

"Who're you?" Brave jumped up with her fists clenched. She was clearly frightened, and ready for a fight.

"I'm Assertive." She answered. "I'm just like you, one of Hope's aspects."

"Oh." The emoticlone of courage stepped back. "You're new?" She asked.

"I guess you could say that. I'm both old, and yet new." Assertive smiled.

"You can't be both." Knowledge insisted.

"Of course I can." Assertive shrugged. "Want me to fix those for you?" She asked, pointing at the still broken glasses.

"Only Raven can do that." The girl replied. "But she left before I could ask her. I hate it when they break."

"Here." She reached across to take the mangled remains from the girl who cringed a little. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, holding the spectacles in her hands. It took all she had, but the broken frames straightened out while the few shard of glasses that remained grew into two whole lenses. "Here." She passed them back to the yellow-clad emoticlone who took them eagerly.

"How did you do that?" Knowledge asked, wondering if she could learn.

"As I said, I'm both old, and yet new." Said the mysterious girl. She looked around. "You're afraid? But Raven is okay now. And so is BB. It's okay."

"I'm never afraid." Brave yelled, standing again.

"We nearly died." Affection sobbed. "I don't want to die. I wish BB were here."

"Me too." Happy cried. "I feel better with my Beastie around."

"He's always looking out for Raven, so he's always with her." Assertive pointed out. "Just because he's not in Nevermore doesn't mean he isn't with us. When he's with her, he is with us."

The girl in the silver and gray cloak looked at her fellow emoticlones. Today Raven had admitted things to herself, and in the process had unleashed all of her other aspects. They'd felt her incredible happiness, but had also felt her fear. They'd believed they were going to die.

"I know. Let's have a treat." She suggested.

"A treat?" Asked Knowledge. "What do you mean?"

"How does strawberry ice cream sound?" Assertive asked.

"Wow! I would love some." Happy started to bounce.

"But we don't have any." Knowledge countered confidently, but then she remembered her glasses. "Do you?" She asked.

Assertive stretched forth her hands and focused. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted once, and then a second and third time. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." Black energy glowed around her hands, as she focused. She recalled what the cool treat looked and tasted like. The smell of strawberries, the coolness... Slowly, eight bowls formed beneath her hands.

"Whew." She said with a smile. "That was tough. One bowl each." She said, watching as eager hands reached out.

"Who's the last bowl for?" Brave asked. "Should we fight for it?"

"It's for Rage, of course." She looked up as her friend appeared from behind a tree.

"Argh." Brave jumped to her feet, fists clenched.

"She's not here to cause trouble today." Assertive assured them. She looked up at the red-clad girl. "Are you." It wasn't a question.

"Not today. I think." The half-demon sat down. "A truce, just for today." She added.

"We can't find Timid." Affection suddenly spoke up, eyes going wide in fear. "We looked and looked but ..." She looked down at the cool bowl she held in her hand. "We should find her. She can have my share then. She'll need it more than I do."

"That's right." Happy stood, leaving her bowl on the ground. "We've got to look again. That maze of hers is pretty hard to search though. Can you help us?"

"She's okay." Assertive told them. "As I said, I'm old, yet I'm new."

Then, as one, the eyes of the five children went wide as they screamed. "Cooties."


"Beast Boy." Raven wearily spoke as they headed for their rooms.

"Raven." The boy turned to look at the violet-eyed girl. His sharp eyes told him she was focusing on her emotions, that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry." She said, eyes not meeting his.

"What? Why?" He was confused.

The blue-clad girl thought of the way his eyes had first sought her out today when they'd been on the edge of defeat, and recalled that it'd always been that way. "I know you love me." She said sadly. "I wish I could return it. I want to so much. But love isn't always bright and cheerful, and people aren't perfect. I can never allow myself to feel that depth of emotion." A single tear escaped her left eye, and with a quick movement she leaned forward to gently brush his lips with her own. "I wish." She sighed, and vanished as she seemed to fade into the floor.

Beast Boy stared at the empty spot she'd disappeared in shock. Then, slowly, his hand rose to touch his lips where she'd kissed him. He needed to talk to her, to say they could make it work; yet from her room he heard the sound of small explosions, and thumps as energy washed over walls. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't. That it would be dangerous to both her and him. Tears of how own started flowing down his green cheeks from his emerald-green eyes.

End of Chapter.


For some reason, when I write Robin in a fight he seems to get the bad end of the deal.

Starfire's people, I do believe, are allergic to metallic chromium. Hence the use of it in this chapter.

The fight scene was a bit longer than I had planned, yet it never seemed to want to end.

Many thanks to those who read and review