DAYEM! Took me long enough to update this didn't it. I mean by my standards anyway. I'm in a bit of hurry though so I won't be able to respond to any of your reviews until way later. But I thank your for those reviews; Guardian of Azarath, Maiden Samurai, 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe, Skyler-A-Teloiv, Linzheart92, Peninhand9, Realfanficts, Teen Freak, TTHPFan, Samanthe2121, Crazy Girl Person.


"That's not a door Cyborg."

"Not yet anyway." Cyborg and Raven's muffled voices passed through a wall within a pitch black room. Without warning Cyborg's strong fist collided with the smooth surface. He walked in through the new opening dusting off his hands. "See, new door." Raven eyed the ragged hole impassively as she glided in.

"Nice," her voice tinged with stoicism. She saw Cyborg's shoulder light come to life out of the corner of her eye. "Could you shine that over here?" Her area soon lit up but all they saw was old equipment layered with dust. "There's nothing here, nothing worth stealing anyway. Why would this place interest the HIVE?"

"Lookin' for new office space?"

"They sure did make a mess before they left," commented Raven. On that note she threw a dirty lab coat aside. Out of the silence that followed Robin's voice cut through.

"Raven, Cyborg report."

"We're in the building and we've searched this place from top to bottom and vice versa," said Cyborg speaking into his arm.

"And?"

"Nothing except enough dust to fill Beast Boy's head," said Raven.

"Hee hee, she doesn't know I'm in sitting next to you does she." Raven closed her eyes with slight dread as Beast Boy was indeed within earshot of her comment. "Ah I can take a joke-Wha!-Sorry jeeze, its all yours again." Robin obviously regained control of the comm. link. "They chose that place over everything else, stay as long as you need to but find out why."

"Hang on I've got something," called Cyborg.

"Hold that thought," said Raven to Robin. The guider counter within Cyborg's vision led him to a seemingly normal door. He tried to open it but it was locked tight. He quickly pulled it off its hinges and both were taken aback to see a solid steel vault-like entrance blocking their way. "Here." Raven took Cyborg by the arm in order to phase them both through the unmovable partition. Without surprise they found this room to be just as dark as the previous. Cyborg's night vision revealed a control console. A few clicks of some buttons and the lights came on. Both Titans shielded their eyes from the sudden bright lights above. When it was possible for Raven to look ahead her eyes widened at the sight ahead of them. They saw two stasistubes, both providing life to their occupants. Raven slowly walked up to one and upon wiping the foggy glass the face of a young girl.

"Raven?" asked Cyborg.

"They're in metabolic stasis; the cold is just a byproduct of keeping the system from overheating."

"So they're not actually frozen?"

"No most likely their heartbeats have been almost entirely stopped. This would mean their ageing is slowed considerably but not entirely."

"And that means they could be older than they look?" Raven nodded with raised brows.

"A lot older." Curiously Cyborg walked back to the console and brought up a read out their vitals. He frowned as he read something he found to be impossible.

"Wait a second this is bogus, Raven look at this." She joined him before the screen. "According to this they're showing zero brain activity.

"If we revive them we may be cutting them off from their life support," said Raven.

"Well whatever we do we better do it fast, this room isn't connected to the grid like the rest of the building and power levels are dropping fast. It looks like the Hive's attack sped up the power drain oh-"

"What's oh?" asked Raven warily.

"Wild guess, we've got about thirty seconds before

"We can't just revive them."

"We can't leave them either," countered Cyborg. In an effort to preserve the two absolute strangers Cyborg began running about looking for an alternate power source. "Whoever left them must've had some sort of backup or something." Raven joined him in the search and though they nearly tore the place apart looking for a way to prolong its survival found nothing.

"I-I don't see anything."

"We have to do something!" Exclaimed Cyborg.

"Cyborg…" Raven's troubled and worried voice called out his name.

"Come on, look at all this stuff, there has to be something here!" Unbeknownst to them a robotic arm descended from the ceiling. Before either noticed it two wires shot out and stuck in the backs of their necks. Raven and Cyborg tensed up from the sudden twinge and after the wires delivered a short jolt they fell to the floor. Soon after that the power drained entirely and the lights went dark.

"Cyborg? Raven?" Robin's words went unnoticed, all the while Cyborg and Raven lay unconscious.

--------

When there's trouble you know who to call
Teen Titans!
From their tower, they can see it all
Teen Titans!

When there's evil on the attack
You can rest knowing they got your back
Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol
Teen Titans GO!

With their superpowers they unite
Teen Titans!
Never met a villain that they liked
Teen Titans!

They've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop 'till the job gets done
Cuz when the world is losin' all control
Teen Titans GO!

1,2,3,4 GO!

Teen Titans

--------

Learning Curve

Starfire held her arms nervously as she looked at her two friends. They both lay on beds in sickbay, the equipment monitoring them beeped endlessly. Beast Boy sat beside Cyborg holding a palm pilot connected to Cyborg's arm. She heard the swish of the door opening.

"Star, how're they doing?" She glanced at Robin.

"Their condition is unchanged; Beast Boy has nearly completed the download."

"Correction…I have completed it," said Beast Boy with a wink. Robin and Starfire sent each other tiresome looks. Beast Boy plopped down in a chair before a screen. After plugging the miniature computer into the system Beast Boy had scrolling information displayed before them. "Oookay, this is everything Cyborg made a note of before he went lights out."
"How long before you can make any sense of it?" posed Robin.

"Well I've never made sense of anything Cyborg says." Robin grew irksome. "But-But I can give a shot," he added hastily. Robin left him and joined Starfire at Raven's beside.

"What do you think?" Starfire tilted her head in wonder.

"It is difficult to say; normally if Raven was injured she would have already started healing herself. Although as you can she is not floating in mid air."

"Yeah, I don't suppose a few of our Hive buddies were still hanging around." Starfire however shook her head as she examined Raven more closely.

"There do not appear to be any signs of battle."

"We'll let the doc look her over, maybe there's something he see we can't-"

"AHHhuuuuh!" They jumped as a prolonged gasp escaped Raven. Beast Boy quickly left his spot by the computer and settled beside Raven. Robin and Starfire stood on the other with equal eagerness.

"Raven…hey Raven..rise-n-shine." The two eyelids slowly opened and the blurry vision soon refocused on the green face looking over her. Instead of being told to get out her face Beast Boy received short smack. Raven jumped off the bed and ran about until she found herself stuck in a corner.

"Raven?" Robin looked at her strangely. Raven darted back and forth from her corner knocking over a tray of instruments in the process.

"W-What's going on? Where am I? What is this place? Who are you people?!"

"We are your friends Raven," said Starfire holding a hand to her chest. "Do you not remember us?"

"Raven what's gotten into you?" asked Beast Boy stepping forward. She recoiled as far as she could go.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"Dude calm down," said Beast Boy holding his hand out. But Raven didn't listen; she instead grew more and more agitated. Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy looked about the sickbay nervously as various objects began moving about. Soon the room itself was steadily shaking. "Okay Raven now we're serious, calm down." Her panicking eyes darted between each of them. Beast Boy steadily inched forward. "Just…" Her eyes followed his hand. "Stay calm." He wasn't an inch away from taking hold of her arm when a strong force of dark energy threw him backwards. Her attention went to Robin and Starfire thus they were soon hitting the opposite wall. Her path clear Raven darted out of sickbay and made a mad dash down the halls. Starfire was first to rise back to her feet. She bent down to assist Robin upwards.

"Forget about me just find Raven." Starfire nodded quickly then took off down the hall. Beast Boy raggedly pulled himself back over the hospital bed he'd been thrown over.

"Not cool."

Raven meanwhile ran like there was no tomorrow desperately looking for a way out. Twice she sprinted in someone's room then ran back out as it was all but a dead end. It wasn't long before Raven burst into the common room. She turned about in place, there didn't seem to be any way out.

"Raven." Her eyes snapped onto Starfire. Starfire's feet touched down with a soft click. "Please just listen-"

"Why do you keep calling me that!"

"It is your name."

"No it ISN'T!" She began backing away from Starfire toward the main window.

"Stop walking Raven."

"Leave me alone!" But Starfire's words were not without merit for Raven was hardly paying any attention to anything around her. As Raven tried to inch further and further away she tripped over her feet and fell backwards. Unfortunately she was close enough to the window for her weight to crash on through it. Her powers failed her, she soared down to the ground faster and faster. With the end sure to come she shut her eyes tight. In the next second she felt something take hold of her ankle bringing her fall to a stop. Starfire looked down at Raven with a small smirk.

"Perhaps now you will listen?"

"S-Sure."


A SHORT TIME LATER………..

Raven sat on the couch shifting her gaze about nervously. Though Starfire's rescue did wonders for her trust she still regarded the Titans with apprehension. Robin shook his head at the broken glass, disapproving of the fact that it gets shattered seemingly on a daily basis.

"Where's my brother?" Robin and Beast Boy looked at each other oddly.

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, the other one you probably have locked up in your hospital."

"You are not a prisoner," assured Starfire. Raven folded her arms and looked away defiantly. Robin cleared his throat audibly and after catching Starfire and Beast Boy attention gestured to join him in a huddle.

"I don't think this your normal everyday amnesia. It's like she never met any of us at all."

"So what are you saying?" asked Beast Boy. "That she's someone else?" Robin sent back a possible look. "Fine." They left the privacy of their cluster. Once they were sitting around Raven, Robin paused before asking the question of the day.

"What's your name?" 'Finally.' She thought.

"Eliza," she with a smile. "Nice to meet you." But they didn't return her greeting. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"So you're not Raven?"

"No, say you haven't seen my new "Yes" cassette have you? There music is so good. Bye for now, I'm gonna go see my brother."

"Wait," said Robin. She stopped and turned back around with an annoyed look on her face.

"Whaaat?"

"Did you say 'Yes'?" She nodded as though Robin's question was plainly obvious to everyone else. "That's a band from the eighties."

"Well yeah, its 1981." Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy all looked at each other at these words. Eliza considered them peculiarly. "What?" The three Titans whispered to one another in a huddle again then upon it breaking Robin stepped toward her.

"Eliza, I uhh….ahhh-" His words were broken as he found it hard to tell her. "Eliza the year is not 1981…..its 2006." Eliza, using Raven's face, laughed satirically at Robin's news. "I'm not kidding."

"You're crazy." But their prolonged silence and uneasy stares made her feel just as awkward. She looked around until she spotted a calendar on the fridge. "Look its on your own calendar, see its…." Eliza's voice trailed off as she drew closer to the calendar and realized that she was very much wrong. "…November 8, 2006." Her voice confirmed the date with a faraway tone. Robin walked up behind her and took her shoulder.

"Look I'm sorry-"

"I have to go see my brother." With a hushed sniffle Eliza ran out of the common room towards sickbay. Starfire watched after her with folded hands.

"She seems quite distressed."

"Ya think," said Beast Boy. "So what now?" Robin pondered just than with a pensive finger below his chin. Finally his leaderly mind concocted a plan of action.

"Starfire, you and Beast Boy head back to the lab and see if you can find anything that can explain what's going on around here. If you do find something bring it on back." Starfire glanced to her side as Beast Boy already made his way toward the elevator. She called after her leader with folded hands.

"Should we not proceed with caution?" He smiled back at her and nodded.

"Yeah I think that's a given." Matching his grin Starfire joined Beast Boy in the elevator.

--------

Robin entered sickbay and was immediately met with the anxious face of their holographic physician.

"Robin do you think you can tell me why Cyborg is causing disarray in this facility?" Confused, Robin peeked around a corner and found Cyborg sitting on the floor rolling a container of morphine around. Robin instantly reached down and took it away.

"Cyborg! What do you think you're doing?" But Cyborg looked up at him with a grumpy and pouting face.

"Hey! Give that back! I had it first!" Robin shook his head out of pure bewilderment. He was so absorbed in his shock he didn't noticed Eliza approaching until she walked by, taking the jar with her. She gave it back to Cyborg who then promptly went back to playing with it. Robin looked once again at Cyborg with a worried frown then gestured for Eliza to join him out of earshot.

"Okay, who are you?"

"My name's Eliza Wells, that's my brother Alex." Robin glanced at Cyborg for a fleeting moment.

"How old are you guys?"

"I'm twelve and Alex is five." Once again Robin found himself the victim of surprise. No wonder they acted the way they did. Eliza walked away from him and stood before a mirror. She ran a hand through the lilac hair. "That's not me, is it?" Robin hung his head and sighed.

"No, its not." Eliza turned back her tearing eyes to Robin. Before he knew it she was crushing her body to his. He hesitated before hugging her back.

"What happened to us?" He patted her back.

"I don't know, but don't worry we're gonna find out."


THE HIVE…………..

Brother Blood sat in his self-styled throne sitting precariously at the top of a small flight of stairs. The group of students known as the Hive Five entered looking apprehensive. Blood noticed they carried no hostages or stolen pieces of technology. He eyed them irritably.

"Well?" The group put the burden of explanation on Gizmo by shoving him forward.

"Scrum buffin' cowards," he muttered.

"Speak!" Gizmo instantly straightened up.

"Okay look it went like this; we found the building, we spent a lot of time trying to find the one room we couldn't find on our sensors and just before we could bust it in the Titans showed up. They forced us out so we torched the placed as we left."

"YOU WHAT!" His eyes turned bright red and his voice boomed throughout the hall. They staggered back shaking from head to toe. "Idiots! You were given a simple task; bring me two children alive. Leave it to you to spoil a perfectly simple mission of this nature. The Titans undoubtedly have them locked up in the tower-"

"We've gotten in there once we can do it again," jumped in Mammoth.

"DO NOT INTERUPT ME!" They once again moved backwards. Blood calmed himself as he gathered his thoughts. "It is very possible the Titans have no idea who it is they are paying host to. Very well infiltrate the tower and bring me the children."

"Got it boss!" responded Seemore enthusiastically.

"However…" He grabbed their attention. "You are all treading on very thin ice; if you fail me once more do not even bother returning." With this brooding thought in mind the Hive Five left Blood's presence and set to formulating a plan.


BACK AT THE RUINED LAB…………..

Starfire and Beast Boy rummaged through the ruined mess that had become the laboratory they discovered their comrades in. While Beast Boy turned a number of drawers inside out Starfire found herself staring at the occupants of the stasistubes. Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder then focused on her at the sight of her interest. Starfire looked at the face of the young girl with intrigue.

"It is strange, knowing this girl's consciousness has somehow been transferred to Raven."

"And I'd be willing to bet big bucks this boy right here is walking around in Cyborg's metal stomach." He had to bend down somewhat in order to be eyelevel with the boy.

"Perhaps we should bring these back to the tower," suggested Starfire.

"Why? Do you know how to send them back to their bodies?" Starfire sent a slightly irked look to him.

"No, but perhaps they will be able to provide some amount of insight. Also bring whatever printed materials you can find." Beast Boy shrugged and began looking around as Starfire carefully removed the stasistubes from the wall.


TITANS TOWER…………..

Robin poked his head in every room he came across, nothing. He began to get worried. At entering the common room he found Eliza facing the wall and muttering to herself.

"Hey uhhh, I've looked everywhere and can't find Cyborg." She looked at him with a broad smile.

"Well that's the point silly! You're not supposed to in hide and seek. READY OR NOT HERE I COME!" She called out with a resounding screech. She ran about the common room looking in arbitrary spots someone with Cyborg's physique could not possibly be.

"Now hold on a second you're playing hide and seek? You know there are some sensitive areas you guys don't need to be playing around in."

"We won't break anything," assured Eliza almost ignoring him completely. She passed her head through a wall then pulled it back in disappointment. Robin voiced his astonishment.

"You learned how to use Raven's powers?!"

"Yeah it's not that hard." She put her hands to her head trying to physically locate him. Robin recognized the gesture and scolded her somewhat.

"Hey isn't that cheating." Eliza hung her head somewhat, then raised it back up with a grin.

"He could be messing around in one of those 'sensitive areas'." Robin felt he had to agree.

"Fine, but after you find him no more hide and seek."

"Awww!"

"Ah! That's the rule, no more." As Eliza walked away with a grin Starfire and Beast Boy returned with a few pieces of equipment in tow. "How'd it go?" asked Robin as he greeted them.

"We retrieved the stasistubes and a number of documents," reported Starfire.

"Nice," replied Robin. "Cyborg woke up awhile ago, though it's not Cyborg it's actually her little five year old brother." Starfire and Beast Boy exchanged glances. "Show me what you've got." Beast Boy whipped up a few pieces of paper and after stretching it melodramatically read aloud.

"Our mystery lab was once the proud property of one Dr. Owen Wells. His jobs arrange from a variety of task but his major areas of expertise were robotics, genetic manipulation, and oh what a surprise…cryogenics."

"So they were put into stasis by their father?" asked Starfire. "For what purpose?" Robin beckoned Beast Boy to continue.

"Well these papers don't really say much but one thing that seems to come up a bit too frequently is E.S.U." Both Robin and Starfire grew mystified.

"What's that stand for?" Beast Boy glanced back down at the page and shrugged.

"I don't know."

"We also recovered several USB jump drives," piped up Starfire. "Perhaps there is an answer there."

"Let's hope," agreed Robin. At that moment the door opened and in came Cyborg/Alex running and laughing like a madman. After him floated in Eliza. She looked about until she spotted him and smiled.

"There you are! I'm gonna et ya!" She and Alex then ran around the couch several times. He let out a surprised laugh when Eliza suddenly floated over the couch and cut him off. Over by the table the other three Titans watched with a mixture of oddity and amusement.

"Ohh! They are so cute!" Exclaimed Starfire with her hands laced together.

Beast Boy casually pointed down at the pair. "You know a few years ago in a Doom Patrol far far away, this would've looked very strange to me."

"Yeeah, you think there's anyway to send them back to their original bodies?" asked Robin. Eliza and Alex stopped dead in mid run. Starfire saw them staring at Robin fearfully and alerted him to it. "Something wrong?"

"Y-You want to send us back?" she asked fretfully.

"Well, there's no real eloquent way of putting this but you are inhabiting already occupied space. Sooner or later Raven and Cyborg need their own bodies back." But Alex, in Cyborg's large form dove behind Eliza.

"No! We can never go back!"

"Why?"

"We just can't! Y-You can't make us!" Beast Boy braved Eliza's unstable emotions for a second time that day.

"No one wants make you do anything." As he drew nearer to Eliza they found the floor beneath their feet rumbling slightly. "And keep that temper of yours calm, we don't want to have to rebuild half the tower."

"You promise you won't make us leave these bodies?"

Starfire stepped forward. "But what about our friends? Do they not have as much to life as you do?" Eliza darted her eyes about. She noted her struggle to keep Raven's powers in check. "Please, no one present wishes for things to escalate into chaos." She then smiled warmly and held out her hand. "Will you join me for walk outside? We can purchase the delicious cream of ice." Alex raised his head from behind Eliza.

"Ice cream?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes indeed, come…" Starfire's warm smile, soothing voice, and cherry disposition was more than enough to win over the two children and with slight apprehension from Eliza followed her outside. As she passed by Robin he mouthed a quiet 'Thank you'. Robin and Beast Boy watched them leave with their arms crossed.

"Well that could've ended pretty ugly," said Beast Boy. Robin nodded in agreement.

"Let's take advantage of the peace and quiet while we still can here…" He handed Beast Boy a short stack of papers. "You go through those and I'll search the jump drives."

"Well why do you get the jump drives and I'm stuck with the papers?"

"Fine I'll take the papers."

"No no no, I'm good." Robin rolled his eyes and planted himself before a computer terminal.


Out among many other people in the city park Starfire strolled on the sidewalk with Eliza and Alex. Starfire periodically stole a glance at her now and then. After she was certain that Eliza began to notice she spoke.

"I feel I must apologize for not long ago."

"Its okay," mumbled Eliza.

"Ice cream!" Shouted Alex before Starfire could respond. They had to run to catch up with him. The proprietor of the small cart nearly vaulted over it at the sight of Cyborg sprinting up to him. As if his feet were anti-lock brakes Alex came to a sudden halt just inches from the cart. Starfire and Eliza caught up with him seconds later.

"Which flavor do you desire?"

"He likes chocolate," said Eliza as it were Raven herself speaking. Starfire paid for Alex's cone, some vanilla for herself but upon asking Eliza what she wanted she only got back in return; "I don't want any." Eliza found a bench nearby and rooted her butt to it. Alex held his ice cream in one hand while using Cyborg's enhanced arms to throw rocks far into the ocean. Starfire sat down beside Eliza.

"It is a nice day outside yes?"

"I don't want to talk to you." Starfire shifted her eyes toward Eliza. She looked away halfheartedly.

"I was not talking to you."

"Then who were you talking to?" asked Eliza with a confused frown.

"Not you," said Starfire with a small smile. "You do not wish to be engaged in a conversation, so I am not talking to you."

"Fine!" Eliza sat hunched over with her arms crossed in a pout. Starfire sat humming to herself and enjoying her ice cream. Although she knew she only had to wait for her humming to either get on Eliza's nerves or coax her into saying something. Starfire hummed louder and took fewer licks of her ice cream so as not to interrupt the rhythm. Finally Eliza sighed and sat back against the bench. "I should've run away when I had the chance." Starfire gazed down at her with a questioning look.

"Eliza, is there something you are not telling us?" The young girl in Raven's body looked up at Starfire. "Something you wish to us?"

"No, no nothing." Starfire could tell she lying but chose for the time being not to press the matter further.

--------

From a short distance away a pair of eyes observed the three of them through a pair of binoculars. The binoculars retracted back into Gizmo's backpack.

"Cram it; those two kids are inside two of the Titans?"

"What do we do?" grunted Mammoth. Gizmo considered the situation. Starfire was the only other Titan around them, and they were not bound to be able to use Raven or Cyborg's abilities easily. Gizmo smirked an evil one and motioned forward.

"We take em' anyway. Come on!"

--------

Alex begged his sister to play with him for a while, thus even in her troubled state Eliza gave in. Starfire took this opportunity and signaled Robin on her communicator.

"What's going on Star?"

"They seem to be fine for the moment. Eliza is undoubtedly harboring some sort of secret, but for now she refuses to discuss it."

"Keep it at but be careful, the last thing we need is for them to go on a rampage or something."

"Understood," replied Starfire.

BOOOM!!

"Huh?" Starfire's attention was grabbed by a loud bang close by. Within seconds people were running away in a panic scooping up their children as they went. Starfire vaguely heard Robin say something before closing her comm. link and rising into the air. She hovered toward the area from where she heard the sound. At once she was met with four members of the Hive Five advancing on Eliza and Alex. She gasped but promptly sent a few starbolts at their enemy's feet. They stopped in their advance as Starfire landed in front of the two children defensively.

"You will stay away from them!"

"And what are you gonna do about it?" sneered Gizmo. Starfire then realized she'd only counted four of them. Where was the last one? A black shroud suddenly encased her and she sank beneath the ground.

"Starfire!" Shouted Eliza. The alien rose back from the earth, unconscious and lying at Kyd Wykkyd's feet. On instinct alone Alex swung out his arm and in so doing produced a quick burst of sonic energy. Eliza raised her hands trying to make a show of what she might be able to do. Gizmo, Mammoth, Seamore, and Private Hive hesitated. Seamore's eye zoomed in on her and noticed a bead of sweat running down her head.

"It's all a bluff guys, we can take em!" Gizmo cackled manically and zoomed around to Alex's back. He did what was necessary to immobilize him then sent an electric current through Eliza.

"AH!" She hit the ground and blurrily made out Starfire's sleeping form before surrendering to it herself.


THE HIVE……………

Starfire lay blacked out and with her mouth ajar. A faint groan escaped her lips from the effort of moving her head about. She sat up and was quick to realize that she was within a holding cell. She stood up, approached the bars, and eyes them suspiciously. With a steady hand she slowly inched her index finger toward the lock. But her suspicions were confirmed when her hand recoiled from the electrified bars.

"Do be careful," said Brother Blood. He entered followed by two Hive soldiers. "There are several thousand volts running through those bars, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Where are they?!" demanded Starfire.

"Oh they're just fine, but it's them you should be concerned about." He stepped up to the bars. "It's you my dear, because I've been aching for a new student for a long time." Starfire backed away. The cell door opened allowing the guards to enter. "A radioactive isotope was placed just under your skin; you'll find your powers very much useless." It was all Starfire could do to struggle against the grip of the soldiers pulling her out.

"Let go of me please!" Blood smiled and followed them as they went.

"Oh how I do admire your politeness. Certainly it is behavior befitting a princess." He mocked her all the way to a room that looked much if not the same as the laboratory they found Eliza and Alex in. Starfire saw them gagged and restrained.

"Friends!" But they were both powerless to help one another. They tied Starfire upright against the wall. Blood walked up to her with his sinister grin still shining. "You efforts to force me into your power will be for not, I will never betray my friends!" Blood placed a pad connected to a thin wire on one of Starfire's temples.

"Not yet." Brother Blood brought the red glow to his eyes and began focusing his thoughts on the alien girl. Starfire shut her eyes tight and began her trying quest of resistance. Eliza and Alex watched with growing anger as Starfire fought back against the Hive headmaster. Unbeknownst to even himself Alex, in his heightened stress, activated a certain part of Cyborg's inner workings.


TITANS TOWER………..

Robin sat on the couch rather stiffly. He looked up at the clock then gazed out at the darkening sky. He sat up forcing a sigh to escape him. Beast Boy sat at one of the computer terminals.

"That's it," said the boy wonder. "It's been three hours, we're gonna go look for them." Beast Boy glanced at the screen and thus stayed seated.

"I don't think we really have to."

"What?" asked Robin turning back irately. "Yes we do, they've been gone too long." Beast Boy shook his head dismissively.

"No dude, I meant we don't have to look for them. Check it out." He pointed at his screen to show Robin a pulsing dot on a map. "Its signal matches the emergency beacon Cyborg installed in himself a few days ago." Robin gazed down at the blinking dot then nodded with a growing smile. "It doesn't look too far away we could be there pretty soon if we left now."

"Atta boy Alex, lets go."


THE HIVE…………..

Starfire skidded against the floor as she was tossed back into her previous cell. Eliza and Alex were soon made to join her. Starfire roughly sat up against the wall. She noticed out of the corner of her eye Eliza trying to settle Alex down. Once he was, finally, Eliza crawled her way over to Starfire.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be," replied Starfire softly. She reached up to rub some fatigue out of her eyes. "Eliza, it is time for you to cease avoiding me….please tell me why the Brother Blood has gone to this extent to have you and your brother." Eliza paused but knew Starfire was right.

"My father was under a lot of pressure to finish his experiments, but he wasn't doing well. He never did well under pressure."

"What was he experimenting with?" Eliza tried to gather everything she needed for a good explanation.

"Do you know what the Cold War was?"

"Vaguely…" Starfire's grasp on Terran history was still in the making.

"Even though they had no way of knowing it would soon end they wanted an advantage over the Russians." She spoke through Raven's voice slowly and quietly, the way a young child would while trying to explain something in great detail. "My father worked as fast as he could but was running out of time, so he asked me and Alex to help him." Starfire concentrated on her words. "He was trying to make me be able to use both sides of my brain." At this Starfire grew more interested, not even Tamaranians came close to being able to do that. "Mom didn't know what was going because Dad swore me to secrecy and he was sure she wouldn't take anything Alex said seriously."

"What happened?"

"It worked," Eliza said simply. "For a while I could do amazing things; I could read entire books in minuets, move things with my mind, I could even hear the thoughts of others."

"But," prompted Starfire. Eliza hung her head, a morose feeling tugged at her eyes.

"But then the pains came, my head began to hurt. A little at first, but then it get worse and worse. They tried everything to make it go away but worked. Soon I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't hardly sit still it hurt so badly. Then Alex began to hurt too. Dad had us transferred from the hospital to the lab because was afraid Mom was gong to start asking questions."

"That is why you did not want to go back to your bodies, because your minds were beginning to fail and you knew you would not survive for much longer." Eliza confirmed Starfire's summary with a nod.

"He prepared the tubes; he said he was going to put us in a deep dreamless sleep until he could find a way to help us. Poor Alex hurt so badly he couldn't stand still so Dad had to give him a medicine to make him sleep before putting him in his tube." Starfire began to wonder. 'That is probably why Alex too longer to awaken then Eliza'. "He told me not to be scared, that if anything went wrong something he called a 'failsafe' would keep us alive." More and more it became clear to Starfire, Cyborg and Raven were just the victims of this failsafe. "I stepped inside and made myself ignore the pain for just a little while longer. The next thing I knew Beast Boy was standing over me."

"And this is the reason the Brother Blood has taken you."

"What he doesn't know though is that now I've left my old brain behind. I can't do anything now that I could then."

"But he will not stop until he has what he wants," said Starfire. It was clear Brother Blood would not be happy once he eventually found out that Eliza and Alex were no longer superhumans.

"I don't want to be here."

"Neither do I," replied Starfire. Eliza shook her head.

"No! I mean I don't want to be in this time. I want to go home!" But even as she said so Eliza knew that was impossible. "I never wanted this, I never wanted to be super smart or-or powerful. I just wanted to stay with them." Her voice was now a teary sob.

"Them?" And Starfire saw something rare, tears moving down Raven's face.

"Mom and Dad!" Starfire placed an arm around her shoulder and Eliza reflexively sank down to Starfire's lap. Her steady sobs became muffled and Starfire suddenly considered anything troubles of her own insignificant. She felt Eliza grip the fabric of her clothes the way a scared child clings to her parent.

"Be at ease," cooed Starfire. She gently rubbed her back. "I am here." Without warning Starfire felt her body double over as Alex brought Cyborg's weight upon her in a hug. "Oomph!" Starfire uttered a short gasp at the surprise. But luckily her natural strength kept her upright. The moment was brought to screeching halt as Mammoth and Kyd Wykkyd came in and pulled Starfire up by each arm. Eliza and Alex quickly looked at each other then at the two Hive students.

"Wait! What are you going to do to Starfire!"

"Quiet and sit back down!" Barked Mammoth. Alex, growling somewhat, rose up from behind Eliza.

"Leab Starfyer alone!" His rage produced two rockets from each of Cyborg's shoulders. Starfire ducked with a high pitched squeak but the two villains weren't that quick. The mini rockets blew up at their feet sending them flying into the electrified bars. Mammoth and Kyd Wykkyd sank to floor with their hand standing firmly on end. Starfire looked back at Alex excitedly.

"I am in your debt friend." He smiled humbly. At that moment they heard a distant but definite explosion. Their eyes instinctively flew upwards then back down to one another. "Come, we should leave now." As they ran out of the open cell Starfire held back Eliza. "Eliza, could you remove the node under my skin."

"Y-You..what?"

"I am certain it is just below my elbow, concentrate on it and think about moving it. You have done this before yes?"

"Not like this."

"I trust you," assured Starfire. Eliza wanted to argue about it but another set of explosions forced her into action. She brought Raven's signature glow to her eyes and after waving her hand past Starfire's forearm forced the node to phase through Starfire. The alien girl winced slightly but that was the end of it. "Wonderful, I thank you. We must go." They ran through the halls knocking away any Hive soldiers that foolishly chose to stand in their way. They rounded a corner and jumped as they ran into Robin and Beast Boy. Beast Boy reverted back from a gorilla.

"There you guys are!"

"Robin."

"Come on, we've got them distracted but it won't last long." Robin led the way out with Beast Boy making sure everyone got out by taking up the rear.


LATER AT TITANS TOWER……………..

Raven and Cyborg lay side by side in sickbay with the failsafe device between them. It gave off a steady hum ever since the Titans activated it. Once it was finished the hum died away and it switched off. Raven came to with a groan and slowly reached up to her head.

"Ooyyy, what a headache."

"How do we know that's Raven?" asked Robin quietly. Beast Boy thought for a moment then walked to her bedside.

"Rise-n-shine beautiful." Raven looked up at him with a tired gaze.

"Do you want me to hurt you?" He looked back at Starfire and Robin.

"That's Raven." Soon Cyborg was sitting up over the edge of his bed. "Take it easy Cy, you've been renting out your head don't you know."

"Yeah I know," grunted Cyborg. They looked surprised.

"You guys remember everything?"

"Pretty much," said Raven slowly getting to her feet. "Where's Eliza? Is she okay?" Beast Boy took a completely clear cube out of the device and handed it to her.

"Here she is." Raven and Cyborg gawked at it.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Cyborg in disbelief. "She's really in there?"

"Her and Alex," said Robin. "We still don't know how their father was able to come across the technology he needed to do something like this. He could have acquired it through extraterrestrial means or…" His voice trailed off as the answer truly was an unknown.

"What will happen to them?" asked Raven.

"There was an automobile accident on Interstate 30," said Starfire. "The parents did not survive but their children did to some extent. The trauma caused a complete cessation of their brain activity, they live now only on life support."

"So they're gonna download Eliza and Alex into those two kid's bodies?" asked Cyborg.

"That's the plan," said Beast Boy. "As long as nothing goes wrong our two kids should go back to growin' up." Raven and Cyborg returned their gaze to the clear cube. "You guys okay?" The two paused but assured Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy that they were.

"Yeah we're good." With assured nods Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy walked out of sickbay. Raven set the data cube aside. "By the way Raven." She stopped as she was walking out herself. "You make a pretty good big sister." She grinned back at him.

"Considering it wasn't even me, I'll take that as a compliment." Cyborg chuckled to himself and was last to leave sickbay. He whistled as he made his way to his room but it died instantly and his mouth fell open when he entered. Organized and clean were the last words that could describe it. Everything was positively torn asunder. "Aww Man! Who trashed my room?" His mouth sank into an aggravated frown as it came back to him. "Oh yeah."

The End


Well alright! Finally I updated this long un-updated piece of TT season! Damn that's a mouthful. Alright, next up is the season finale. Hope you'll all stick around for it. Laters!