Man I took way too long. Regardless, hope you're still in the mood for more teen titanic awesomeness from me, because here's the newest chapter! In this, with Beast Boy having been infected by the mysterious Primetia gas, he is promptly subjected to an examination. But the results gained soon prove reason for even further worries. And before long, Beast Boy finds himself making an especially daring decision. Sound worth the wait? I certainly hope so!

A/N: But first, let me remind you all (just in case the long wait time made you forget) that I do not own Teen Titans or anything else DC based. Also, some of the 'dialogue' in this chapter may have been inspired by elements of the works of Erin Hunter. All that out of the way, onward with the new chapter everyone!

Chapter 7:

Infected

"Can I take these off now?"

The Titans were currently back at Wildebeest's camp, and Cyborg was using his scanners to perform a health examination on a very annoyed Beast Boy, who was currently seated on a chair with multiple wires and other medical devices attached to him similarly to when he'd been twice used as a 'guinea pig' during the 'blood poison probes' incident from 5 years prior. His fellow founding Titans were all gathered around him in concern while Wildebeest was currently at work in scouting the 'border' around where his camp was located, and also contacting Wildebeest and Pantha to finally let them know he was indeed ok.

Cyborg took a deep breath, exhaled, and then briefly turned away from his scanners to look at his disgruntled friend. "BB," he stated. "I've already told you; I have to make absolutely certain that you're ok."

Beast Boy groaned. "But we've been at this all day! And you haven't even found anything wrong with me!"

"Technically, it's only been 2 hours since he started," said Raven.

Beast Boy turned his head slowly to face Raven, a rankled glare on his face. At the same time, he found himself feeling further annoyed at the sound of the minds of the various animals he could turn into snarling, growling, and similarly making a ruckus inside his mind. The fact that they'd already been doing as much since about 15 minutes after he'd been extracted from the gas didn't help his mood.

"Attack," roared the mind of his lion form.

"Escape," hooted the mind of his gorilla form.

"Kill," snarled the mind of his crocodile form.

"Quiet," Beast Boy mentally hissed. The animal voices in his head went quiet, but he nonetheless sensed the minds of his animal forms rolling their eyes. And then he briefly heard his reticulated python form hissing spitefully at him.

"You absolutely sure that you haven't found anything wrong with him yet?" Robin asked.

"So far, still nothing I can say for sure about," Cyborg admitted, once again taking another look at the images he was getting from his scans.

"Guys, I'm fine," Beast Boy snarled. "Really, I don't feel anything wrong with me. Just get this stuff off of me already!"

"That's more like it," his lion form snarled.

"Agreed," whinnied his horse form. "Let us run and be free!"

"Indeed," rumbled the deep voice of his African elephant form. "We've been caged and held back long enough, let us out!"

"No," Robin grunted in an even, but firm, tone. "Not until we're absolutely certain."

"But Robin," Starfire stated. "He has been at the mercy of the scanners for two hours. And another hour had already passed by the time friend Cyborg started scanning him. If nothing appears to be wrong with him, surely we can give him the releasing?"

"She speaks with the brain of a furfin," moaned Beast Boy's great white shark form. "Why do you still sit here and listen to all this stoneskin hearted drivel? Attack! Fight! Kill!"

"Shut up," Beast Boy mentally hissed, now quite annoyed at having heard his friend being compared in such insulting fashion to a seal and sea turtle.

"Make us longpaw," his grey wolf form howled scornfully.

"What he said," his crocodile form snarled in agreement.

"Star, did you not see that gas he got stuck in?" Robin asked pointedly. "I know you're immune to most Earth gases, but gas attacks like this are never to be taken lightly, regardless of species. And remember what the machine that released the gas said when Beast Boy triggered its trap? Chang clearly wanted him to get infected with this gas. And there's no way he would have gone to all that trouble just for the sake of a harmless gas prank; even if that kind of thing were his style."

"Hate to say this Star, but Rob's got a point," said Cyborg. He nodded his head. "Not to mention, considering how this gas was likely that 'Primetia' thing the machine mentioned, it's especially important we be as careful as possible here. After all, last time I checked, no such gas has ever been reported to be in existence in any books or similar scientific databases. In other words, we're completely blind on this subject. And contrary to what people on Earth commonly say, what you don't know can in fact hurt you."

"This is idiotic," growled Beast Boy's grizzly bear form. "All this bee brained claptrap is achieving nothing, and these flat faces keeping us idle are only prolonging us from any sense of relief. Stop sitting around like moss and doing nothing! Attack! Attack! Rage! Rage!"

"Agreed," snorted Beast Boy's rhino form. "Rage! Rage! Rage!"

Beast Boy took a deep breath, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in annoyance at both his friends' insistence on keeping him hooked up to Cyborg's scanners and the incessant ruckus his animal forms were making in his mind.

"But he's already said he feels the perfectly fine," Starfire insisted. "Surely you heard him?"

"I heard him perfectly clearly," Robin growled. "But again, we have to be absolutely certain. We can't take any chances with this Primetia stuff. Especially not if doing so could mean putting Beast Boy's life at risk."

It took all of Beast Boy's willpower not to slap his palm against his face and growl in irritation. "For the love of…" he thought to himself.

"Robin's right," said Raven. "We can't take any chances. Like he said, Chang appears to have deliberately wanted Beast Boy in particular to get exposed to this Primetia gas, whatever it is. And if he was willing to go all the trouble he went to for the sake of this current outcome, we have to be extra careful right now. Because like Cyborg said, we know next to nothing about Primetia."

"Exactly," Robin agreed. "We know nothing about Primetia outside of its name and it obviously being some sort of gas. And not only do we know barely anything about Primetia itself, we don't even know what else Chang could be planning to do with it. For all we know, he could very well be planning to use it as some kind of bioweapon or something. And trust me, those things are never to be taken lightly. Especially not when you consider that a lot of them are the result of genetically modified viruses."

Beast Boy surreptitiously rolled his eyes. "This is insane," he thought to himself. Unfortunately, this soon proved to be a big mistake.

"ENOUGH," roared the mind of his tiger form, clearly seizing initiative from its host's recent action. "I grow tired now of all this chatter between your pathetic thinpaw brethren. And clearly so do you. Let us act! Attack! Kill!"

"No, no, no, no, no…" Beast Boy hurriedly stammered under his breath, trying desperately to get his animal forms to calm down.

"RAGE!"

In a brief moment, the tiger mind took over, and Beast Boy unwillingly turned into a tiger and lunged a few feet forward towards Cyborg, snapping himself free of the wires and other devices before coming to a stop just an inch away from the now quite startled half robot Titan, a wild look of rage on his face as he snarled and growled.

"Hey! Woah!" Cyborg yelled, hurriedly snapping his hands up in a gesture of defense as he reflexively worked to back away and move aside.

Beast Boy roared, his teeth bared to the fullest and eyes seeming to briefly fill up with lightning as he briefly continued to act with his tiger mind in full control of his body.

"Beast Boy…"

The tiger mind reflexively allowed its body to turn its head in time to see Robin, Starfire, and Raven tensed up and seemingly ready to attack, with the former having his bo staff at the ready and the latter two having their respective energy attacks charged up and blazing around their hands. In that instant, the brief instinctive flash of fear that the tiger felt at the sight of the 'fire' around Starfire's hands proved just what Beast Boy needed to allow his own mind to seize back control. And no sooner had he reasserted control when he automatically reverted back to human form, collapsing on his stomach and flat on his face in the process.

"Ow."

Cyborg reflexively leaned towards Beast Boy, failing to notice Robin frantically gesturing for him to stay back. "You ok buddy?"

"I am now," Beast Boy grumbled. Then he seemed to wince, gritting his teeth as if suddenly undergoing a headache. "Hopefully."

Robin raised his eyebrow, narrowing his eyes in the process. "I'll say," he grumbled. He shook his head. "Care to explain what that craziness you just pulled as a tiger was all about?"

Beast Boy briefly heard his grizzly bear form growl abrasively at the accusing and commanding tone in Robin's voice, but Beast Boy managed with great effort to keep it in line. "Well I wasn't exactly planning on doing that thank you very much," he growled. He slowly moved onto his backside, placing his hand against his forehead as another flash of pain flared up in his head. "It's the tiger's own fault for taking control of my body."

Robin raised his eyebrow, clearly skeptical. Cyborg, however, was more open to the idea. "Take control? I thought only the Beast could do that."

"Usually that's the case."

Beast Boy sighed and shook his head side to side. "But apparently, the rest of my forms weren't content with just driving me crazy with incessant chattering."

Robin gaped, now more dumbfounded than anything else. "Chattering?"

"Friend, what are you talking about?" Starfire asked, similarly confused.

Beast Boy pointed his finger at his head. "My animal forms. Their minds are all inside my head; literally." He shook his head. "And right now, they just won't shut up; and that was already problematic enough before my tiger form decided to try to take a turn at the driver's seat."

"When did this start?" Raven asked, clearly concerned, but not without a slight twinge of anger in her voice.

Beast Boy sighed. "Might as well," he thought to himself. He looked at Raven. "About 15 minutes after you got me out of the gas."

Raven's eyes instantly narrowed, the sight proving considerably more intimidating with her hood raised over her head, but Robin was first to speak.

"And you tell us about this now?"

"I didn't think it would be that important."

Beast Boy shook his head side to side, now too tired to get irritated. "All the other times my animal forms have started making a commotion in my mind, it's only lasted for at least a few minutes, maybe even an hour tops." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But clearly, I've now been proven wrong again."

Robin groaned, pinching the bridge of his own in irritation. "Well isn't this just great," he grumbled under his breath.

"Friends," said Starfire. "Could this not perhaps have something to do with this Primetia?"

"Hard to say." Robin sighed, and then shook his head side to side. "I mean, all this hullabaloo Beast Boy's forms are apparently putting up in his head? That doesn't sound like a typical virus symptom."

"Well Beast Boy isn't exactly a typical human either," said Raven. She directed a blank glare, unphased by the annoyed look the Boy Wonder was now directing her way. "And considering how, from what I remember, Beast Boy is almost never sick, he could easily end up reacting in unconventional ways in the rare event he does get sick."

"Friend Raven does have the point," Starfire agreed. "After all, friend Beast Boy has demonstrated in the past the tendency to involuntarily transform whenever he sneezes. And he did have what you call the cold at the time."

"That still wouldn't explain why he hasn't shown or felt any physical or internal signs of sickness," Cyborg broke in. "Even during that time he had a cold when Robin was almost killed by an imaginary Slade, he actually felt sick."

Robin directed a withering glare at Cyborg, clearly not pleased with his friend's somewhat cavalier description of that one particular incident from three years prior, but Cyborg showed no sign of noticing as much.

"But right now? Well you heard what he said earlier. With the exception of all the ruckus going on in his head, he feels perfectly fine. And he's shown no visual or similarly tangible signs of illness. And before you ask Robin, no, my scanners still haven't registered any sign of anything out of the ordinary, internal or otherwise. Believe me, I've already scanned, rescanned, and looked over the results from each time at least a hundred times by now. If this Primetia thing is in fact a virus, then there really ought to have been some obvious sign of infection by now. Especially if it's something genetically modified for a bioweapon. After all, I'm sure you know how those kinds of viruses tend to act a heck of a lot faster than in their regular forms."

"Then obviously he's been infected with something he already got infected with once before but has since developed an immunity to."

The founding Titans all looked to the entrance of the makeshift fort that served as the main structure for their campsite. Just in time to see Wildebeest come walking in.

"Wildebeest?" Cyborg asked. "When did you get back here?"

"A short while ago. And before you ask, I overheard enough."

Wildebeest looked over at Robin. "And all that stuff you guys mentioned about viruses? Well that's gotten me thinking."

He walked over to what appeared to be a small filing cabinet, his five fellow Titans gazing silently at him as he moved. He opened the filing cabinet and started to rummage through it. "With Red Star acting as my adoptive father, he felt it necessary to include a variety of topics related to chemistry, medicine, and similar matters amongst my education. However, out of all the viruses and diseases he's taught me about, there's one particularly rare one that's really gotten my attention since I learned about it."

He drew out a manilla folder and opened it. "The especially interesting detail about this virus? All those infected by it are instantly recognizable as much by virtue of being turned green all over." He turned his head to face his friends, pointing his finger at Beast Boy. "And I do mean all over."

Wildebeest allowed about a minute's pause to unfold, just to allow is words to sink in. Then, right as all five of the founding Titans were starting to realize just where their humanoid bovine friend was getting at, Wildebeest nodded, drew out a small set of papers stapled together, and held them in position where Beast Boy in particular would be able to get a good look at it. "Beast Boy," he asked. "Have you ever, at any point in your life, been exposed to the virus Sakutia?"

Beast Boy looked at the papers in Wildebeest's hand, his eyes widening at the sight of the words making it clear that the 'file' he was now holding was indeed about the virus he'd just mentioned. Then he looked at his four fellow founders, all of whom were now looking curiously at him. For about a minute he silently debated on what to say. Then he sighed. "Yes," he stated, nodding his head up and down in the process. "I have."

Robin and the girls raised their eyebrows. Cyborg, however, was very quick to react in a completely different fashion. "You've what?!" He yelled, human eye widened and jaw gaping open. "And you're still alive?! How?!"

Beast Boy sighed. "Long story dude," he grumbled. It was now clear that, like it or not, he'd soon potentially find it necessary to talk about his past.

"And that's a story I'm sure can be talked about later," said Wildebeest, a look in his eyes directed at the changeling that indicated he understood that this was a sensitive matter. "Right now, the important thing to know is that, at some point in his life, he got infected with this virus, but was lucky enough to somehow gain immunity, likely through the same means he got his powers." He pointed back at Beast Boy. "And judging by current available evidence, it would appear that this Primetia you've all been talking about is indeed a bioweapon like Robin suspects; and more specifically, a genetically modified version of Sakutia."

"Interesting theory."

Robin folded his arms across his chest, a pokerfaced look on his face. Clearly, he was willing to consider this possibility, but still needed just a little bit of extra convincing. "Mind if I ask for a few extra details on how you reached this conclusion?"

"Gladly."

Wildebeest looked to Cyborg. "I notice you've still got the most recent scan results on that screen. Any chance you have any images from the last time you gave Beast Boy a medical checkup scanning before today?"

Cyborg thought to himself. "Maybe," he eventually stated before moving back to the computer he'd been using. "Hang on, let me take a look." He looked through several files and programs. Then he nodded. "Yep, here we are." He opened the file. "Now what?"

"Any chance you can allow both those results, and your most recent scans, to be on screen at the same time?"

"Taking care of that now…and…done." Cyborg looked back at Wildebeest. "Anything else?"

As the rest of the Titans watched, Wildebeest drew out a single photo sheet from his folder, placed the folder on top of the filing cabinet, and walked over to Cyborg. Upon reaching Cyborg, he beckoned for the four younger founders to join them. He pointed at the single photo sheet he'd just recently brought out, a photograph of a completely ordinary bloodstream. "For argument's sake, let's assume that this is indeed the way a perfectly healthy and ordinary human's bloodstream looks. Perfectly virus free."

He flipped the sheet of papers he'd previously drawn out to another blood stream photo, and then pointed at it. "This," he stated, "is how a human's blood stream has currently been best recorded to look when infected with Sakutia."

Beast Boy took a brief look at the photo in question, only to promptly look away, snapping his eyes closed and shuddering. "No," he thought firmly to himself. "I am not looking at that. I won't!"

Seemingly unaware of how Beast Boy was currently behaving, Wildebeest continued. "Compare these two images with the two currently on the computer screen, and you'll hopefully see what I mean. Granted, as Cyborg appears to have demonstrated, the differences can be a bit hard to see at first glance, but they're otherwise easy to find if you know just what to look for."

"And what exactly might that be?" Robin asked.

"Simple."

Wildebeest gestured at the three Sakutia-based images. "Just look closely enough at any of these three images of a Sakutia infected bloodstream, and you should be able to see what looks like a mixture of chlorophyll pigments and virus cells that look somewhat similar to the kind you'd find in something infected with rabies."

Starfire and Raven looked each other awkwardly in the eyes, completely uncertain just what they were supposed to be looking for. Beast Boy, meanwhile, just simply refused to look. Robin and Cyborg, however, had no such inhibitions, and they carefully examined the three appropriate images.

"Hmm," the boy wonder thought to himself. "I'll admit, I am starting to see what you mean." He nodded his head. "And come to think of it, I think I might also be able to identify a couple subtle differences between these three images."

"Me to," Cyborg agreed. He pointed at the 'healthy Beast Boy' image. "Take this one for instance. The chlorophyll's unchanged, but the virus cells themselves look weaker; or at least, the ones I can find look that way." He pointed at what was now apparently indeed an 'infected Beast Boy' image. "This, on the other hand, I can definitely see a serious difference in. I can still see some of the weaker virus cells. But I can also now see a massive amount of what look like those same cells, but on steroids."

To Cyborg's credit, the cells in question that he'd just pointed out did indeed look quite nightmarish, especially in comparison to the ones in the Sakutia image that was on paper instead of on a screen. Even Starfire and Raven couldn't help but agree with Cyborg and Robin's assessment.

"I will admit," Starfire said nervously. "This virus of which we speak does not sound like something I'd wish to risk suffering from." Raven nodded her head, her face blank, but privately feeling that she'd perhaps be wise not to test her natural demonic resilience to most illnesses to the test with this particular virus.

Beast Boy, however, was now finally looking at the images, gaping at them in a mixture of shock, horror, but most of all despair. "I…" he thought to himself. "I thought it was…gone." And indeed, he had thought the Sakutia virus, the same one he'd first gotten infected with so long ago, had been completely eradicated from his body. Then he took another look at the images, taking particular note of the chlorophyll pigments, and he promptly felt angry at himself for being stupid. "Of course, it wasn't," he thought bitterly to himself. "If it were, I wouldn't have stayed green."

But at the same time, he couldn't help now but feel suddenly rather sad. "All that effort," he thought to himself. "It was all…all for…" Then he steeled himself, clenching his fist and shutting his eyes. "NO," he thought to himself. "It was not all for nothing. I'm alive right now, aren't I?! That amounts to something right?!"

He felt the animals in his mind put up another ruckus, this time with even the extinct ones joining in. They were now attempting once more to fight each other for control over his mind and body while he was in this moment of emotionally compromised 'weakness'. But he kept his hold firm. He was not letting them take over his mind again, not as long as he had anything to say about it.

"There is one other thing I can mention about Sakutia."

All the founders, Beast Boy included, looked at Wildebeest once more. The mutated child looked straight at Beast Boy. "The minds of your animal forms," he stated bluntly. "You said something about them making a ruckus inside your head. Tell me, are the thoughts and words they have aggressive or violent in nature?"

Beast Boy briefly raised his eyebrows. He was pretty sure that the answer would have to be pretty obvious if Wildebeest had been around to overhear the moment where his tiger form had briefly taken control of him. But then he decided it was probably best to humor him for the sake of the explanation. "Yes," he answered. "A large number of them are, and the ones that aren't violent are still at least angry or restless."

Wildebeest nodded his head, clearly not at all surprised. "Just as I thought."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

Wildebeest was just about to answer when Beast Boy spoke up. At this point, he figured it was probably about time he faced reality. "Sakutia is a lot like rabies. Granted, there isn't any hydrophobia or frothing at the mouth involved. But one important symptom that Sakutia has in common with rabies is heightened aggression in animals that are infected with it."

"Which would explain the current apparent aggressive state of the minds of your animal forms," Raven noted, quickly catching on.

"Exactly," Wildebeest agreed. He nodded his head. "As I said, Primetia appears to indeed be a genetically modified form of Sakutia. And judging by the current timing, clearly very powerful."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

Wildebeest looked to Beast Boy, silently asking if he wanted to explain, yet still willing to do it himself. Beast Boy gestured for Wildebeest to go ahead and have another turn, and the elementary school aged Titan continued. "The heightened aggression that comes with Sakutia? From what's currently been recorded to science, that phase of the virus usually takes at least three days to start taking affect, maybe even a full week for those who are especially lucky. But as Beast Boy has very clearly told us and demonstrated, the aggression started showing signs of beginning within 15 minutes of infection, and it's only getting stronger as the hours go by." Beast Boy nodded his head, all too aware of the truth in Wildebeest's words.

"But I do not understand," said Starfire. "If the Professor Chang wishes to have this be used a weapon of biological nature, why use a virus that only results in green coloration and heightened aggression?"

"Because the targets that would react in such a way to this virus aren't the ones that would be targeted by people using Primetia."

The younger Titans all looked to Cyborg. The half robot pointed at Beast Boy. "You know how surprised I was about Beast Boy even being alive right now after learning about him having gotten infected with Sakutia before? I wasn't overreacting."

"He's right."

The Titans all looked to Beast Boy, who nodded his head grimly. "Aside from turning green and developing unnatural levels of aggression, all non-human animals known to have been infected by Sakutia are otherwise unaffected. Humans on the other hand…"

He sighed, shaking his head side to side before looking glumly at his friends. "So far, humans are the only known beings that Sakutia has currently been proven lethal towards. No one yet knows why, but for some reason the virus just affects people in ways it either can't or won't affect any other species infected. And furthermore, there's no officially known antidote or cure in existence yet. So, suffice it to say, you're looking at the only known person to have ever been infected by Sakutia and lived to tell the tale."

In the seemingly impossibly long silence that followed the changeling's statement, one could have easily heard a pin drop. But as stunned as Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were, Raven in particular couldn't help but feel a strong mixture of curiosity and concern mixed in with her own shock. She surreptitiously focused her gaze on Beast Boy as much as she could. At this point, she couldn't help but wonder just what sort of terrible things might have perhaps unfolded in Beast Boy's life prior to joining the Titans, if not perhaps even before joining the Doom Patrol. "Could this have anything to do with that nightmare we caught him in earlier this week?" She thought to herself. "And if not this, what else could have happened to him to cause such bad dreams?"

Robin, meanwhile, was starting to have similar thoughts. For a brief moment, Raven saw a look come on the boy wonder's face that she was certain indicated that he was now very strongly considering having Beast Boy tell everything about his past from before his life as a Titan that could perhaps prove relevant to the current situation. Fortunately, Wildebeest was able to bring focus back to one of the more immediate concerns before Robin had the chance to make it necessary for either Beast Boy to be forced into an uncomfortable discussion or Raven herself to have to resort to diverting Robin's focus herself.

"And that's not all."

The founding Titans all looked to Wildebeest once more, and he pointed at the photo sheet with the Sakutia image. "Take just a close enough look and you'll notice a certain detail that isn't present in the images on the computer screen."

The founders all did as Wildebeest instructed. And after a minute, their eyes widened upon catching sight of another specific type of cell that, true to Wildebeest's word, was completely absent from both of the images on the computer screen. But while the girl were both surprised that they hadn't noticed them before, all three of the male founders were able to recognize just how unnervingly similar this newly noticed virus cell resembled the kind found in malaria.

"As Beast Boy has just recently stated," Wildebeest began. "The exact reason why is currently unknown. But whatever it is, humans the only known species to fall victim to Sakutia that have proven to suffer from the Sakutia symptoms related to malaria. All other species that have currently ever been known to get infected with Sakutia have suffered from the symptoms related to rabies instead. And with that in mind, the phase in which all known non-human animal victims have started to display rabies-like levels of unnatural aggression is the phase where all human victims apart from Beast Boy end up dying."

He pointed at the computer screen. "With a close enough look, you can see that, judging by the evidence on display in the images on the left, whatever it was that allowed Beast Boy to survive was able to both eradicate all of the malarial cells and significantly weaken the rabies cells while leaving the chlorophyll pigments untouched. Whereas in the image on the right, you can see that the malarial cells are once again absent, as well as the fact that the previously weakened rabies cells have now also started sharing living space with the likely stronger and faster acting rabies cells of the Primetia." He lifted a finger as if about to indicate something else important to make note of. "Now, while it is somewhat possible that the specific strand of Primetia used to infect Beast Boy may have already had its malarial cells removed or similarly dealt with prior to its placement in the trap, I also wouldn't be surprised if those same cells were allowed to stay and ended up dying upon entry to Beast Boy's blood stream."

"Well if that latter explanation is true, why infect BB?" Cyborg asked.

"Could Chang have perhaps not been the aware?" Starfire asked. "Or perhaps hoped that this Primetia would be strong enough to override Beast Boy's apparent pre-existing immunity to its virus of origin?"

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that," Raven stated.

"I won't ignore either of those possibilities," Wildebeest admitted. "But I also have to agree with Raven. And that in mind, I do have a theory that I'm reasonably certain is the more likely explanation." He looked to Robin. "And something tells me that you're probably already thinking along similar lines."

Sure enough, the boy wonder was already nodding his head in agreement. "More likely than not, there's something else that Chang has in mind to go alongside his creation and possible attempted sale of the Primetia that he specifically needs Beast Boy for. And if it's not Chang himself who wants Beast Boy, then perhaps someone else that Chang may very well be working for."

"Well even if that is true, why infect him?" Cyborg asked. "I mean, sorry if I sound redundant asking. But seriously ya'll, how would that help? I mean, even if he's capable of getting infected without dying, I doubt that the potential ultra-rage issues he could soon end up having wouldn't be very useful for anyone who wants him alive while infected with this stuff."

The Titans all looked back to Robin, who thought to himself. "I'll admit, I can't say I know for sure." He slammed his right fist on top of his left palm. "But right now, my best guess is to perhaps give Beast Boy and the rest of us extra motivation to reach that lab."

"And in doing so, let Beast Boy come right into their grasp for whatever secondary objective Chang or whoever else might be involved wants to use him for," said Raven.

"Exactly," Robin agreed. "And even in the event that there turns out to be some other important factor involved that we've missed while looking through all these images, I also get the feeling that, regardless of just what sort of plans might be in mind for Beast Boy, it would be wise not to ignore the possibility that Chang may very well have created an antidote to use as extra bait that we don't yet know about."

Raven seemed unconvinced. "I wouldn't get our hopes up about that," she said cautiously. "You heard what Beast Boy said. No known antidote or cure has ever been found for Sakutia." Beast Boy nodded his head. Truth be told, he was feeling just as skeptical right now over the possibility as Raven herself currently appeared to be, if not more so.

"That doesn't mean there isn't one," Starfire stated optimistically.

"Agreed."

The founders looked back to Wildebeest, who was already nodding his head. "Like Robin said, we shouldn't ignore the possibility. And honestly, when you think about it long enough, it's not entirely illogical. I mean, from what Red Star tells me, these was a Chang amongst the scientists who gave him the serum that allowed him to gain his powers. And from what he's learned from you guys since joining the Titans about the Chang we're currently talking about, plus what little exposure he got during our big battle at the Brotherhood of Evil's headquarters…"

"You think they might be one and the same?" Beast Boy asked, his eyebrow raised in half curiosity and half hope.

"Forgive me if I sound redundant," Wildebeest stated, a grin on his face. "But we certainly can't ignore the possibility."

"And even if they're not the same person," Cyborg began. "For all the mistakes and occasional bad decisions he's made in our experiences with him, he certainly can be plenty smart when he needs to be. And if this is the same Chang that helped Red Star gain his powers, then he'd probably have to be extra smart."

"I can certainly believe that," Robin agreed. "And even without the especially good reason I have to say as much, there's also timing to consider. For all we know, he's probably spent at least several months working on this. Depending on just how much time he's been working with Sakutia samples for the sake of this Primetia project since his defrosting, he could very well have perhaps had the time, knowledge, and resources to at least make an antidote for Primetia."

The Titans all thought to themselves, carefully weighing all the information, theoretical or otherwise, that they'd currently gone over. Beast Boy, however, couldn't help but place particularly strong mental focus on one particular detail that even now still continued to weigh heavily on him despite the conversation having long since passed by that particular topic. And at the exact same time he thought extra-long and hard about this one specific detail that even now refused to allow itself to be forgotten, he also felt the minds of his animal forms continuing to restlessly whisper amongst each other in his mind while simultaneously keeping themselves ready for the chance to attempt a takeover in a moment of weakness. Before long, the words of his friends completely failed to reach his ears as both the whispers of his now increasingly rage addled animal forms and his own thoughts about that one ever so persistently worrisome detail took the full brunt of all his focus and attention. And even as he continued to devote his attention to these two specific matters, he found himself adding a third worrisome thought to his focus.

Even now the memory of that one brief moment from not too long ago in which he'd lost control and found himself totally subservient under the will of his tiger form, helpless to do anything but watch as it had first taken absolute control of his mind before then allowing itself to take physical form with his body and engaging in a brief show of aggression against his friends. And he would not forget it in a hurry. And though he had been lucky enough to reassert his own control before anyone had gotten hurt, what would have happened if he hadn't? And worse, what if he did end up hurting one of his friends the next time such a slipup occurred? He already had precious little reason to believe that this would be the only time in which one of his forms would briefly take control of his mind and body while they were all in the state they were currently in. And when that happened, what would he be able to do, or even think, if he ended up hurting one of his friends in the process? Killing one of them? If Raven were the victim? And what if, despite the current hope passing between his friends on the matter, there in fact wasn't an antidote? Or there was but it didn't get to him in time…?"

In that instant, he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes. He steeled his mind to the absolute best of his current ability. He now knew exactly what he was going to do. In fact, if he was to keep his friends safe right now, it was what he had to do.

"If there is an antidote," Beast Boy began. The other Titans all looked to him. He sighed, steeling himself up once again as best as he could. "Now or never," he thought to himself. He looked straight at his five friends. At this point, he needed to speak his current decision aloud as soon as possible. If he didn't get it done and over with soon, he'd almost definitely lose his nerve. "If there is an antidote…I…I wish you the best of luck finding it and getting it to me dudes."

For a single brief moment, there was complete silence between the six young heroes. The seconds passed, each of them seeming impossibly long. But as this happened, all four of Beast Boy's fellow founders found themselves slowly starting to realize, if not outright suspect, just what it was Beast Boy was implying in his current words. Wildebeest, young as he was, similarly started to have a strong feeling about the same. Eventually, Starfire was the first to finally break the silence. "Friend," she stated, a look of half concern and half despair on her eyes as she stared at her green friend who even now felt to her like just as much of a younger brother as her actual blood related brother. "What are you saying?"

Beast Boy sighed, desperate to keep his resolve. "I'm sorry Star, but what I'm saying is that I think you guys may need to continue on to that lab without me."

In that instant, with Beast Boy's words having explicitly confirmed what they were all starting to suspect, Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg tensed up, clearly seconds away from yelling out how bad an idea they considered this to be while Wildebeest merely stared at the changeling in confusion. Beast Boy had even gone ahead and braced himself for the yelling when Raven suddenly spoke before it even had a chance to begin.

"May I ask why?"

The Titans all looked to Raven.

"Say what now?" Cyborg asked.

The sorceress looked to Cyborg. "I'm asking Beast Boy to explain why he wants to stay here and have us go to the lab without him."

"Well what good reason for that could he possibly have?" Robin asked.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him. "Well we're not going to find that out if we don't let him try to explain as much. Are we?"

There was a pause. Then Starfire looked to her boyfriend. "I have to admit," she stated. "Raven does have the point."

Robin nodded, now looking suitably chastened. Then he turned to face Beast Boy once more. "Very well then," he began. "Out of respect for you and Raven, we shall allow you to state your case. Why exactly do you think we should leave to take care of this business as Chang's lab without you?"

Beast Boy took a deep breath, closed his eyes in the process, and then exhaled. He opened his eyes. "Well for starters, it's partially to keep you guys safe."

"Clarify," said Robin.

"That incident with my tiger form? That's probably not going to be my last incident as long as I'm infected with this gas."

The shapeshifter hung his head. "You guys were lucky. The presence of the starbolts were able to scare the tiger just enough for me to take back control before it could cause you guys any harm. But what if I hadn't been able to regain control so quickly? What if I had managed to hurt you guys then? What if I manage to hurt you next time one of my forms takes control of me? What if I kill you guys?" He sighed, and directed a half exhausted and half angry glare at Robin. "I already got read the riot act when I circumstantially framed myself for Adonis's attack on Raven the night I first turned into the Beast, not to mention for almost every single screwup I've ever made. Last thing I need is to vindicate the initially intended existence of those Beast Busters you tried to design, right?"

Wildebeest raised his eyebrows, completely confused as to what Beast Boy was referring to. Raven and Cyborg, however, promptly glared at Robin and Starfire, who both winced as they remembered all too well what the changeling had just now brought up.

"And the crazy thing?" Beast Boy continued. "Right now, the Beast is currently one of the few forms I have that isn't currently acting the way most of my other forms are currently acting; but I can't really guarantee that he'll stay that way. And with how most of my other forms are now starting to prove just as unstable and difficult to control as the Beast himself usually is, well then that's just extra danger I could be putting you guys in if I stay while infected with this stuff."

The rest of the Titans all looked in each other's eyes. "I'll admit," said Cyborg. "Surprisingly mature reasoning."

"There's more."

The other Titans all looked back to Beast Boy.

"Remember how we were just talking about Professor Chang or someone else possibly wanting me for something else they've got planned? Well if that's true, why make the job easier for them by bringing me right where they want me? I mean, I already ended up doing exactly that just by allowing me into that gas trap. If whoever it is that has something planned with me in mind wants me that badly, he can come after me himself. I'm not doing his work for him; not if I can help it."

At this, Robin found himself nodding his head. He had to admit, Beast Boy had brought up yet another very valid point. Clearly, the changeling really had thought this through.

"One last thing."

Beast Boy took a deep breath and then exhaled. Now was the potentially most negative reason behind his current decision, and the one he really didn't like thinking about. "As much as you all appear to be hoping that there does in fact turn out to be an antidote available at this lab for Primetia…well…we still can't ignore the possibility that there isn't one." He sighed again. "And if that is in fact the case…well…there's no other way to put it; I'm not going to be able to keep the effects of it at bay forever. And regardless of how many times I do manage to successfully regain control from one of my forms, once this virus has progressed far enough…"

He hung his head, shaking it side to side in the process. He sighed again. Then he looked back at his friends once more, a sad and weary look on his face. "Even if by some miracle I do manage to win out over all my animal forms and retain my human form, I certainly won't be in any mental condition to act like myself, let alone any ordinary human."

"He's right."

The founding Titans all looked to Wildebeest, who nodded his head. "Sakutia may not be fatal to nonhuman animals the way rabies is, but rabies at least eventually kills all its victims on its own. Sakutia? It just leaves animal victims doomed to spend the rest of their lives as mindless raging monsters that have to rely on some other factor coming along to put them out of their misery." He then looked at Wildebeest. "Though considering one particular unique factor that applies to you, even that could honestly be one of the better case scenarios."

The founders all raised their eyebrows. "What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"Yes friend," said Starfire. "What do you mean?"

Wildebeest sighed and shook his head side to side. "Well as we've all established by now, Beast Boy's got the minds of all his countless animal forms warring with each other against his natural human mind. And while it's entirely possible that one of the myriad minds inside his head will prove strong enough to stand triumphant over all the others and assume permanent control if it comes to as much, there's still another, arguably even less pleasant, possibility we have to consider." He looked to Raven. "What if none of the minds win? What if they all end up destroying each other over the course of the war the virus is manipulating them into fighting?"

Starfire and the boy founders briefly remained confused. Raven, however, instantly found her eyes widening in clear understanding of what Wildebeest was going. Beast Boy was the first to notice, and he looked to her. "Ok, I know what that look means. What's Wildebeest saying could happen?"

The rest of the founders all looked to Raven as well. The half demoness sighed, and then hung her head. "He's saying," she began, "that if neither your mind, nor any of the various animal minds inside you prove strong enough to stand triumphant as the overall victor, then they'll all end up destroying each other. And if that happens, your mind will snap and…"

She briefly paused, letting silence hang in the air for an entire minute as she seemed to struggle to finish what she was trying to say. All four of her fellow founders were starting to get very worried indeed before she finally mustered up the strength to say what Wildebeest had already been getting at. The sorceress looked at Beast Boy. "And if that happens, you'd be reduced to a catatonic drooling shell."

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg's eyes instantly widened in shock and horror. Beast Boy's own eyes briefly did the same, but only took a few seconds to take on a somber and grimly accepting expression. He nodded his head, sighing exhaustedly as if resigning himself to this potential fate. "I'll admit, that's definitely a lot worse than being a mindless raging animal."

"Oh screw that!"

The other Titans all looked to Cyborg, who was now rigorously shaking his head side to side. "Good God man! How on Earth is this supposed to be a good reason for us to head off to Chang's lab here without you?!"

"I must agree," said Starfire. She looked to Beast Boy. "This does not at all sound like an example of the proof that we should leave this area without you."

Robin nodded his head, clearly in agreement with his girlfriend and second in command. "I hate to say this, but they both have a point. If anything, the possibility of you devolving into a mindless animal or drooling vegetable sounds more like a reason for us to keep you with us."

For about a minute, all the other Titans kept their gaze on Beast Boy, waiting to see how he'd respond. Then the changeling sighed, and nodded his head in understanding. "I understand perfectly." He took a deep breath, and then exhaled once more. "But I figured, if there turned out not to be an antidote available, then it would perhaps be easier for all of us if we'd already said goodbye before hand and I'd left so that you wouldn't have to subsequently watch the inevitable."

At the sound of this, the rest of the founding Titans all looked each other in the eyes, all sharing the exact same look of discomfort and fear. And for good reason. After all, very rarely, if ever, had they ever seen or heard Beast Boy acting so grim and fatalistic as he currently was. Truth be told, seeing their jolly green changeling friend behave like this was especially unsettling to see indeed considering how at times quite annoyingly irreverent, carefree, and out of control he usually tended to act. And as much as he tended to get on their nerves with the way he usually behaved, they also had to admit that this deflated and metaphorically lifeless being that he was now seemingly turning into was not something they were willing to trade the occasionally irritating, yet still endearing, friend they all knew and loved. They hadn't wanted him back to being his usual self after ending up in a state similar to his current depressed after Terra's betrayal, and very briefly had a relapse of that after an unfortunate encounter with her at Murakami High in which Terra had tried to pull a 'break his heart to save him' ploy by tricking him into thinking that she'd completely forgotten about him and her entire past life as a Titan before her betrayal and later petrification. And they certainly weren't going to let him revert to yet another such state now, not without a fight.

In that instant, Robin slammed his right fist on his left palm. Already he'd thought up an idea on just what he was going to say. He looked back to Beast Boy, a firm and determined look on his face. "Well that may be what you think Beast Boy," he stated, his tone indicating no room for argument. "But with the knowledge of just what could end up befalling you if this virus progresses far enough without you getting cured, we're not letting you stay here on your own."

Beast Boy's eyes widened, and he briefly tensed up as if about to try to protest.

"However," Robin then stated, lifting his finger to forestall Beast Boy's response. "We are also not going to force you to come to Chang's lab with us."

At this, Beast Boy and the other Titans all gaped at Robin in confusion. Robin nodded his head, understanding perfectly why his teammates were currently confused. "More specifically, here's a compromise I've currently thought up on how to handle this situation." He looked to Beast Boy. "While I'm admittedly still not fully comfortable with the idea of you not coming with us, I can nonetheless respect your maturity in wanting to both keep us safe and make it difficult for Chang or whoever else might be planning something for you to get ahold of you. And for those reasons, I will allow you to abstain from the expedition to the lab at this current time."

The rest of the Titans all found themselves nodding in approval of the maturity Robin himself was showing in so clearly proving himself willing to respect Beast Boy's wishes.

"However," the Boy Wonder then continued. "What I now wish to suggest is that, just to be on the safe side, one of us stay with you to keep you company while the rest of us head over to take care of business at the lab."

Beast Boy started thinking to himself, carefully considering Robin's suggestion. But before he could finish his thought process, Wildebeest suddenly straightened up to full height. "I volunteer."

The older Titans all looked at the mutated child. "You sure?" Robin asked.

Wildebeest nodded. "Positive."

"It's going to be dangerous," said Cyborg.

Wildebeest chuckled. "Story of our lives."

He lifted a finger as if to forestall further comments. "And yes, I know I'm still elementary school aged, but last time I checked, so are those three other kids on the team that Raven likes to take care of."

"True enough," Raven agreed.

"And all that aside, I'm arguably one of the best qualified to handle Beast Boy in his current condition."

Robin raised his eyebrow. "And how might that be the case?"

"Simple." Wildebeest nodded his head. "Much like him, I have animal instincts and an animalistic side of my mind. Granted, it's not exactly the same as what he's got. But compared to you guys, it's the closest we've got. And it should be just enough for me to have an idea of when things are about to get dangerous and have time to prepare."

"But what about your vengeance against the society of the wildebeests?" Starfire asked.

Wildebeest sighed. "I'll admit, I'm plenty tempted to go after them. But let's be real. All I even know so far is that this lab might have ties to them. I don't know for sure if the Wildebeest Society is even directly involved in what's currently going on with Chang and this Primetia virus. And regardless of whether they are, revenge can wait. Especially if I'm putting it on hold for the sake of a friend."

The founding Titans all looked each other in the eyes, carefully considering what Wildebeest had said. Then everyone looked to Beast Boy.

"What do you say Beast Boy?" Robin asked.

The changeling thought to himself. Then he nodded. "If it will make you guys feel comfortable, then consider me sold." He looked to Wildebeest, giving the mutated child a thumbs up with a small grin starting to form on his face. "Looks like I'm on babysitting duty dude!"

Wildebeest narrowed his eyes. "Babysitting? I'll have you know I can care for myself just fine! If anything, I'd say you're the one getting babysat by me!"

Cyborg chuckled. "Well this ought to be fun."

"Well if that's settled, I suppose it's time we get back down to business."

Robin looked to the two beastly Titans. "About how much time do you think there is before the virus reaches the point of no cure?"

Beast Boy shrugged. He honestly had no idea what to say. Wildebeest, on the other hand…

"At best, maybe 2 or 3 days, counting today."

"No time like the present then," said Cyborg.

"Agreed," said Starfire.

Robin nodded his head. "We'd best start on our way to the lab very soon then."

Raven nodded in agreement. Then she levitated over to Beast Boy.

The two chromatically challenged heroes stared each other face to face. "You sure you're ok with all this?"

The changeling nodded. "I am."

"Very well."

The sorceress placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "But know this, if there is an antidote available at that lab, we will make sure we get it to you. I promise you that."

She levitated over to the entrance to the fort before Beast Boy even had a chance to respond, Cyborg walking up to where she'd been standing. The half robot Titan placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "What she said buddy." Cyborg nodded. "You and Wildebeest take care of yourselves now."

"Can do dude," said Beast Boy. Wildebeest chuckled.

Cyborg joined up with Raven, Starfire taking her turn next. For a few seconds, she stared half happily and half sadly at Beast Boy, her eyes showing that she clearly couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't either sound redundant or cause her to break down in tears. Then she wordlessly gave him a crushing bearhug. Beast Boy braced himself as best as he could, not daring to complain about the immensely tight embrace. After all, he didn't want to risk hurting her feelings when she already seemed very reluctant in her acceptance of his choice.

When Starfire finally finished and flew over to join Cyborg and Raven, Robin walked calmly over. "Well Beast Boy," the Boy Wonder managed to say, "I'm still not fully comfortable with what we're about to do. But out of respect for your wishes and surprising maturity in your thought process, I shall still allow this current plan to unfold. And like Raven and Cyborg said, we will make sure you get the antidote if there is one."

Beast Boy nodded. "I understand."

"However." The Boy Wonder raised a finger as if to emphasize importance. "I want you to promise me one thing."

"I'm listening."

"In the event something happens to us, I want you to promise me that, if you are able, you will come along over to help us."

Beast Boy thought to himself. For a brief moment, he considered saying no. For now he'd thought of another unpleasant possibility. What if the active Primetia cells managed to revive and reactivate the deadened Sakutia cells still inside him? He had a bad feeling that, if that happened, then the amount of time available for his friends to find an antidote, assuming it even existed, would no doubt be even shorter than Wildebeest had estimated. But then he nodded. After all, as good as his reasons for staying behind were, he knew that his friends were more important, and there was no way he could say otherwise in good conscience. He'd have no problem coming to save them if they got in trouble, as long as the Primetia didn't rob him of the ability to do so of course. His mind made up, he extended his right arm and shook the Boy Wonder's hand.

"Consider it done."

And just like that, I've finally posted a new chapter! Happy new year everyone! And here's to hoping I continue to try my absolute best to keep my stories updated at a reasonably timely pace. And here's me also hoping you enjoy, read, and review (remember, an exact minimum of one review is required for this new chapter before I allow the next completed chapter to be posted). All in all, have fun everybody!

Coming up Next: Beast Boy and Wildebeest find themselves on a wild trek through the jungle while the rest of the Titans set out for Chang's lab. In the process, they find themselves dealing with some unique new obstacles...but also potentially meet a pair of unique new allies.