Arc 2 – "Homecoming" – Chapter 12: Swarm Break

A/N: Hey guys! :D

It's all good! Got my last two wisdom teeth removed the other day, and after over an hour of drooling and palate numbing work, they finally got them (seriously though, one root broke off in my gums and they had to get a whole 'nother dentist because he was left-handed and could get at the angle easier, and the other had a root that was wedged at a 45-degree angle). Now I'm cycling pain and swelling meds every 4 hours, but the coffee is good.

Review Responses:

- Annonmymous: Nope. No mistake. Raven hasn't caught the book. I love the research for the sciencey bits though!

That'll depend. Finding a solid basis for how the form is structured is difficult, especially from two different animals from different genera, and sometimes different familiae. The gorilla/rhino was one that I found a solid basis for. The giant spider with mantid arms was a spider with a partial morph (otherwise I would have changed most of the encounter), and his "Griffin" form is also considered a Hybrid. Hybridization is hard (for me, the author) because true hybridization isn't just cut, copy, and paste like a mythological Chimera; its evenly mixing all the traits of both species to give it reminiscent of both creatures, while also giving them something unique that is solely part of their evolution.

But like with most of Beast Boy's advancing abilities, there is a cost. Hybridization triggers "Transformation" instead of his basic "Morph", so it takes time and causes pain as his body orientates itself; and both of these are factors that can be taken advantage of. While Beast Boy is incredibly powerful in these Hybrid forms, he is still capable of being restrained (Sequence 1, "the Dome") and harmed (Sequence 3, Griffin crashed), so it gives them the standard fair of "if you hit it hard enough, long enough, and in just the right way, it will go down". But because it's still such a new ability, villains can still be caught up in the shock-and-awe factor.

And trust, there is still one more tier that I've come up with above Morph and Transformation, and it is sooo much worse ;)

- "derekctomlinson": Thanks.

- taping the stars: Thank you for the Review. I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far. (/o/w/o/)

Fun fact: The angler fish we usually see in basic media, they're all female. Males are several times smaller than the females with stunted digestive systems (generally), and have to attach to a female to survive and reproduce. This can sometimes cause both of them to fuse. Because of the rarity of others of their kind so deep in the ocean, this leads to a polyandrous method of reproducing as multiple males can attach to a single female. (The tie in with the story is that Beast Boy was literally living because Raven "Linked" them, and supported his continuing existence... like an Angler Fish, as only the resident green bean could understand)

The effects of merging were hinted at back in Sequence 1 - Chapter 13 as "...Being that close to someone physcially, closer than any form of physical intimacy can allow... let's just say it invited less than acceptable relationships...". I wanted to let the between-the-lines speak for itself, but I didn't think Beast Boy would catch on, so Raven had to spell it out for him with a four-lettered word.

*"Friendship Development" Intensifies*

- fanfictionkid6: Update uploaded!

- "Eris": Magic? Eh, if Beast Boy ever uses magic, it won't be from learned or derived from his tribe. While the idea is interesting, it presents a lot of problems (such as how he learned it; and I'm not going to TMNT (2014) my shtuff and say he learned about it from a book he found in the sewers). Though I will admit, you did give me an idea or two on a not-so unrelated note.

*End of Responses

Disclaimer: Cha-ching! Cashing that disclaimer right hear.

Read and Review if you have Questions, Comments, or Concerns (affectionately QCC)

Without further ado. *Que the dimming of the lights*

Magicks that Bind: Arc 2 – "Homecoming"

Chapter 12: Swarm Break

Ten minutes ago, back at the Tower…

Beast Boy had made his way through the Tower, eyeing what there was to eye, smelling what there was to smell. Reacquainting himself with a place that was, at best, half a memory anymore. It was… nostalgic… with a feeling of "almost home", but not quite.

He walked back through the halls until he was once more in the Commons. The scents of the morning were still fresh, only just barely beginning to recess: Starfire's weird-ass concoctions, Nightwing's pitifully branded coffee, Cyborg's… 'Elehhh'… bacon, Raven's tea. If he inhaled deeper, discerned and sifted a little longer, he'd pick up things that no human would ever notice. Things like the shift in Nightwing's sweat when Starfire walked into the room. Things like the synthetic lubricant that pumped between Cyborg's circuits. Things like the scent of his coffee lingering on Raven's breath.

He snorted sharply to clear his nose, pawing at his face as though he could wipe away the scents that tingled almost pleasantly in his nose, almost tangibly fogging around his brain. He groaned, half trying to forget. It caused a shiver to run up his neck at just how quickly his mind could revert, and how quickly he could begin seeking out the remnants that lingered in the air. 'Stupid puberty,' he cited ritualistically, despite being acutely aware that he was well past that phase.

"Reeeep!"

He bowled over as something plowed into his gut, barely catching it as he coughed. He looked down to see a pinkish larvae squirming in excitement, it's grubby little thorax wiggling like it had to go to the bathroom.

"Hey Silkie," he cooed, lifting the mutant grub up to look at it. "How are ~youuu~? Did'ja miss me?"

His mandibles chittered almost violently as he began rolling his body into Beast Boy's chest, snuggling closer. Beast Boy just chuckled softly, walking over to the couch to sit down. He chose the spot farthest from where he had seen Wing and Star making out, sighing as he began to stroke Silkie's segmented body.

"What do you think I should do?" he asked, not particularly expecting an answer, but hoping for an easy fix all the same. Silkie just rubbed his head into Beast Boy's stomach in response. "Yeah. That seems right." He groaned as he leaned his head over the back of the couch, absently continuing to pet the Tower's resident pet.

God, what was he doing? He felt like a daze would have been welcome, if only he wasn't so filled with clarity that it straight up sucked.

They were connected. Not just connected like a controller to a Game Station. Noooo! It had be connected on a level that bordered the ethereal, because why not? And not even just connected at that. They were bound, and it seemed like the most appropriate way to phrase it too. "Bound". Chained together. Why go for steel and irons when you could do it through thought and desperation? Shadow and blood? And the worst part was, he didn't know if he was okay with it or not.

On one hand, it was Raven. Ra-ven! Of all the people in this Universe or the next, he was mentally latched to her. He wasn't blind or stupid enough to believe that there wasn't some… physical attraction; because she looked gooood. He'd be a liar if he didn't think her new super suit wasn't an even bigger turn on than her old swimsuit – eh-hem – "leotard", and for all the right reasons. It accented all her better parts without annunciating or revealing a thing, which made her more of mystery in his eyes. She made chastity and modesty look good! And he wasn't even going to get started on the combat boots! The. Boots!

And her old cape and belt was just the icing on the dairy-free cake.

The exotic quality of her violet hair and indigo eyes, and the shimmering pallor that reminded Beast Boy of moonlight. And he could honestly say that having four eyes suited her.

And that was just physically. She was fierce, loyal, intelligent, hopeful. She was this wonderous mess of controlled and vying for control. She didn't take no guff, and she was protective of what was hers. And seeing her angry sometimes was also… kinda… well… … …hot. And then that smile. Even something as small as her lips twitching made her seem so… just so bright.

And love. He never thought he'd see the day when she'd looked so bright as when she's said she was going to be a mom. That nervous bundle of mush was just oozing love. To Melvin, Timmy, and Teether no less. She looked so overwhelmed, yet so fulfilled, and so overflowing with hope and distress and… just woah.

'She is one hot mama,' he agreed with himself, before having to physically slap himself back into proper thoughts, earning a confused coo from Silkie.

The only reason he was taking so much notice now, was because now, he had a lot more to worry about now.

"The side-effect is unbridled lust."

That one statement had sent his whole body on alert, which meant he noticed the things he shouldn't. In an instant, he'd realized why she didn't want to tell him, and for once in his life, he wished he had listened and hadn't been an insistent little shit.

An itch had started at the back of his mind, as though it were the tether that was pulling him in her direction; but he dismissed it as his new awareness of their status making him paranoid. Still, it didn't stop the restless pacing in his head. …

'Was it even real?' he asked silently to anything that would answer. Not for the first time in his life, he felt lost, but this time, it was different; like being stuck underwater with no way to tell which way was up or down.

How much of what had happened was because of themselves? And how much was thanks to this… merging?

He sniveled, unable to keep the anger from swelling up just thinking about it. Something as simple as sharing coffee with Raven, or a brief upturn of her mouth at his jokes, or her making the jokes: were any of those real? Or just some biproduct of whatever had happened to them? Every small moment since then was turned over in his mind, analyzed, scrutinized. He hated it. Never mind the weird cascade of sexual tension! He hated second guessing everything!

Maybe… maybe because he wanted some of those experiences to mean something, even if it was trivial. Relationships were built on the trivial things after all. But if they were marred by the possibility that it wasn't completely her.

But it wasn't just her actions he was judging; he was tearing apart and nit-picking everything he'd said and done in the past few days. All to find some small tidbit that their actions weren't… well, them. The problem was that he wasn't sure. If he was acting differently, how would he know? It had been four months. He couldn't even remember what he ate for dinner a couple days ago (fish and plantain soup; but that was beside the point!).

Speaking of food, despite his protests to Star's cooking, that Pudding of Sadness was sounding mighty appetizing. It might spare him a few moments to ignore the weight of the giant crushing reality of this new status from finally squashing him.

He lifted up Silkie so he could look him in the eye. "I don't know what to do, bud. This stuff is beyond me."

"Krrrrrr," Silkie purred, giving a lopsided smile. Or an attempt at one. He was a grub after all.

Beast Boy just sighed, resting him back into his lap. "I wish it was that easy."

Before he could contemplate further, he remembered, "Right. Ro– I mean, Wing-a-ding wanted me to keep track of the news." It was a welcome distraction. He fumbled around the couch for a moment, looking for the remote, before finding it staring back at him from the coffee table. Not wanting to disturb the grub-baby, his finger shot out as a tentacle, summoning it to his hand.

"…Marsha, you know that I've always love you– …If you are a loved one are suffering from erectile dysfunction, then you need– …Coming to Washington D.C., billionaire industrialist and business tycoon, Lex Luthor, has expressed his desire to run for the presidential elections coming up two years from now– …And you work them gluts like you mean it! And squat! And squat! And squat! And– …Parker! PARKER! Get me pictures of Spider-Man, Parker!– …Duck Season. Wabbit Theason. Duck Season. Wabbit Theason! Duck Season. WABBIT THEASON!– …I'm the Doctor. So basically… run–"

"Come on," Beast Boy exasperated as he flipped through the channels. "It shouldn't be this hard to find the local news. What channel was it?"

He kept clicking the button, pausing briefly whenever he saw anything resembling news… well, "news". It only took him several moments of rapid channel-surfing before he finally found what he was looking for, the words "Local Bank Heist in-Progress". A little on the nose, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"…Thank you Bill." Beast Boy recognized the blonde on the screen. Mandy who's-it. Now if only his hackles didn't immediately raise just by looking at her. He wasn't sure why, but he was going to chalk it up to instinct. "I'm currently standing in front of the Jump City Community Bank, where the Titans are engaging with the bank robbers in question…."

Beast Boy couldn't help the snort that came out. Was there any question about who the bank robbers were?

"…We're expecting a quick wrap up before things can get out of h– BANG!"

Cyborg's pride-and-joy surround sound was two seconds away from becoming scrap as the gunshots echoed from the TV, causing a sudden spike in Beast Boy's heartrate. He could vaguely hear the sounds of panicking bystanders, but his eyes were glued on the bank in the background.

"I– There appears to be a series of gunshots," Mandy stated on the screen, looking back at the building. Beast Boy could almost see the excitement shivering through her body, barely concealed for the camera. "We don't know what's going on inside, but we can only hope that the trapped civilians make it out."

…

Beast Boy had a word or two he didn't want to bite back, but his thoughts went black before they were interrupted by strange flickering in his vision. He blinked and shook his head, only for his vision to start going white, just before a sharp ache began to form behind his eyes.

"Agh!"

He'd recognize that half-muted tone anywhere, his whole body immediately on alert.

"Raven?" he tried to turn in his seat, only to find himself floating in a realm of white, standing on nothingness. He could feel his hand cover his own eyes. No. Not his hand. Her hand. He could smell her hand soap so clearly… and yet not. And his hands weren't that softly calloused. So close, and yet, not there at all. Like he was occupying two spaces in the world at once. He could feel someone's arms catching them, before her own panic began to rise. They couldn't see. She couldn't see!

"Friend!" Starfire's voice. He shivered as he heard it, aware that he shouldn't have been able to hear it. But there was also in the vocal inflection that rang of worry and surprise in their Tamaranean teammate.

"Fire!" He didn't know that voice!

"BANG!" It was one gunshot among many, and yet it stood out. The moment it sounded, Beast Boy felt a shiver of magic roll through him as his hand cast out, the rebound of a shattering barrier, his entire shoulder erupt in pain, and in an instant, his vision went from white to black. The world was all but blasted away as he found himself in darkness. A familiar, aimless darkness, empty of all but himself.

He breathed, sweating even in his own head, his eyes wide as the sudden inflection of other events elsewhere settled on his mind.

Raven was in trouble. He didn't know how he knew. No! He knew exactly how he knew; they were connected. His shock and pain subsided, quickly replaced by anger as his instincts caught up with the rest of him.

'Someone shot Raven? Someone shot Raven. Someone. Shot! Raven!'

Something slid across his shoulder, causing him to perk an eyebrow in irritation at the misty wet sensation that drew his attention behind him. Mist was gathering; if it could be called mist. Rather than gray haze of a seaside fogbank, it was a vibrant, living red, like artery spray. It may very well have been blood, given that every beat of his own heart seemed to cause some pulse of movement.

The mist that had touched him was rapidly condensing, mist turning to droplets to flowing liquid to near-solid in the span of a few seconds. It shaped itself, becoming clearer and clearer as it formed.

"We go?" it breathed warmly down his neck. He recognized the shape, the aura it gave off, the way its form matched every subtle movement he himself had made while in it.

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed, annoyed at this "Apex" as his team had called it. Some amalgamic cross between wolf, gorilla, lion, and bear that would be pointless to once again describe it, save for the blood red of its fur and it's slightly shifting liquid-like composition.

The "Apex" hmmed deeply in annoyance, its eyes narrowing. "The female is in trouble, again. Beat the shooters."

"Patience," another voice purred firmly. Another cloud of "blood" clotted into a large feline; closer in appearance to a slender, maneless tiger the size of a truck, with saber-like canines poking out from underneath his lips. Ears twice the length of its head were laid back with a mixture of lazy and anxious. Between the fur of its back and along its 'elbows' and 'knees' were quilled spines that flexed and smacked together with a series of hollow Clack!s. Three tails trailed behind it, more than twice its body length that lead into spaded tips that squelched open, revealing erect stingers that flexed in and out, glimmering slightly with venom. It too was the same blood red color, with the same partially liquid constitution. "We are anxious enough without you goading him. Beat the shooters, yes. But protect the female too."

"Hmmmm," the "Apex" agreed with a heavy nod.

"We are in agreement then," the cat-thing purred happily.

They turned to see Beast Boy breathing evenly, but deeply as he glared at them. "Both of you, shut up, we're going."

His "instincts" nodded under his authority, even as they began to lose shape, slowly returning to mist, even as he commanded.

…

He opened his eyes, laying back as though he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Barely a moment had passed, and the news on the TV showed. He remembered that feeling whenever he Transformed. Always touching somewhere in his conscious. Now it had been almost tangible, and yet, he wasn't afraid of it. It was… natural?

'Maybe this is one of those side-effects Raven and Cy were talking about,' he contemplated, before his eyes snapped open. "Right! Raven!" He didn't have time to question his mental state!

He looked down to see Silkie looking up at him with his large grub eyes.

"Well, Nightwing did mention "desperate" as a condition." Beast Boy was already up and setting the worm down on a couch cushion the next instant, looking intently at the window. "Alright, you stay here Silkie. Papa's gotta go kick some ass."

He was already bolting off, eyes closed in preparation for his head-first impact aiming straight for the window. He'd apologize to Cyborg and Nightwing for the repair costs later about shattering it later but right now, he had bigger things to worry about. Like dudes with guns, and his teammates getting shot at. Like Raven actually getting shot!

Pangggggg!

Beast Boy blinked in surprise, his mind doing a sudden blank, even as his head slid back into the foot of the couch. He blinked again. What just happened? He could have sworn…

"Krrrr?" Silkie asked, looking over the edge of the couch at him, cocking his body slightly.

His brows furrowed as he looked back up at the windows. He jumped up, feeling somewhat chastised as he reapproached it. 'Maybe I hit one of the frames?' He ran again, closing his eyes to prevent glass shards from entering his eyes, and lowering his head with all the gumption of a charging bull.

Pangggggg!

"Oh c'mon!" He jumped back up, approaching the window more analytically now. It should have broke, easily! After a few moments of observing, he fumed, already running out of the Commons.

"Damnit Cy!" he raged. "The one! Time! I try to go through that window willingly! And you reinforce it!" He'd wasted precious seconds trying to break the glass for an easy access to the sky, and now, he had to find the fastest way out that wasn't a reinforced window! No sense trying to charge through it while morphed; he couldn't afford to spend more time throwing himself at it while trying to figure out which form would actually go through without trampling the Commons.

He hit the stairwell so fast, he almost slid over the railing toward the downstairs, but quickly corrected by grabbing the handrails to send himself launching upward. Mid-step, he was morphed into a green hummingbird to rapidly correct his path, his wings buzzing to push him upwards as he bypassed the few landings between him, and the door to the roof.

He didn't hesitate to slam through the door, the end smacking against the door stop with a thud! The moment the sea air hit his face, he was already homing in on the city skyline, bolting for the Tower edge. He could feel the air currents against the hair on the back of his neck and arms as he pulled off his jacket, leaving him bare-chested to the coastal winds and his mane getting caught up in his rush. His legs began to spark as he moved toward the edge, each consecutive step becoming stronger and harder with the added bioelectricity contracting his muscles.

Just as he hit the edge, he partially morphed, his body taking the characteristics of a tree frog as he met the end of his run, his toes almost wrapping around the ledge. He launched – "jump" too simple a word to describe how hard he blasted – off the Tower, trailing an arc of over a thousand feet before he began to fall below the Tower roofline.

He morphed again, coasting the momentum in the form of a flying squirrel… if flying squirrels could coast-glide at over sixty miles-an-hour, the wind paragliding through his cheeks. He didn't know exactly which direction he was going, save for that it was in Old Town, which shouldn't have changed places in the last four months. It took less than a minute to cross over the Pier below and into the concrete jungle. Before he could further lose his momentum, the squirrel became a swift, speeding even faster with the crackle and pop of electricity between its feathers.

From a sky view, it was faster to travel to his destination, which was easily marked by the flash of police lights down below. He wasn't sure what the situation was now, but he could already feel a restless pacing in the back of his mind. Unlike most forms of anxiety, his didn't prickle across his body, it just paced like an animal in a cage. Or in this case, in a cage of flesh.

But they were his instincts. They could rampage and fit all they liked, but he was in charge. And he'd decide if they got let out, no matter how much power they could offer.

Without further ado, he folded in his wings, and dived, the flesh under his feathers bubbling, and a flash of red in his eye.

The Bank…

This was bad. Nightwing knew it was bad. But it was bad!

Raven was down with a dislocated shoulder that had a bleeding bullet hole in it, and temporary blindness courtesy of a flashbang that had ripped through her shadows like it was wet paper. Not for her lack of trying though; she could still "see" with her empathy, and she was more than willing to call out their enemies for them whenever she felt them moving. And she was doing her best to keep a barrier erected, despite the obvious effort it was causing her. And she was doing it blindly; did he forget that part?

He was acquisitioning some down time for her after this.

"On your left!" she called out.

"Got it!" Cyborg called back, his sonic cannon recalibrated for non-destructive quakes that did very little save jar the ever-living shit out of their skulls. He opened fire, vibrating the air at a frequency that caused the kiting law-breaker to suddenly go dizzy and fall to the ground. But that was it. The effects wouldn't last long, and he was already being covered by one of his fellow criminals.

'It was never this hard!' Nightwing complained, just before realizing, 'That was because they would usually give up by now. These guys are being needlessly persistent.' It was basically a war of attrition. Who would outlast the other side. 'And we can't do unnecessary damage to the building.'

Starfire was doing basic first-aid on Raven's shoulder from behind her shield. Whenever his girlfriend-slash-fiancé tried rejoining the fight, that asshat with the AP rounds would begin targeting her. And only her. She already had a number of welts and bruises, and it infuriated him that he couldn't do more right now. He could only watch powerless as the love of life either got shot, or stood back restlessly.

Not that he was fairing any better. There was virtually no cover, and they needed Cyborg to get to work on Raven, but they were the only ones who weren't being targeted with the Armor Piercing rounds, and it was a forgone conclusion that the criminals would have to use them to get any traction against them. But it was clear that they were saving it for Starfire, which meant that they had a limited supply.

So to get them to use their supply, he had to send in his girlfriend, but by the time she had exhausted their supply of AP rounds, she'd be covered in bruises and there was no guarantee that she'd hold up against the regular bullets after tanking the AP rounds. And she was the only one of them that was bulletproof. 'There's a grim line of thoughts.

'C'mon!' he complained to himself, even as he dived and rolled away from another hail of metal. 'C'mon! Use that big brain you're so proud of! How do we take these guys down?!' No matter what plan he came up with, there was going to be a sacrifice involved, and even then, it wouldn't guarantee victory, only open the chance to improve their odds. As much as he'd love to wear down their supply of bullets, he was running low on steam to do the wearing down.

Finally! Something came to him! He flicked his wrist, a series of small boomerang-like blunts appearing between his fingers. He messed with a few of the gizmo-doodits before he tossed them in a measured arc, watching their curved path as they met their targets perfectly, smacking three of them over the head. It gave them some breathing room.

"Cyborg! Aim for the Birdarangs!" he called out.

"They need a new name now that you're no longer Robin!" Cyborg called back, aiming to fulfill the request. A single pulse later, and Nightwing just about dropped. The pulse that triggered blasted with a high-pitched frequency that just about floored them all, Nightwing and Cyborg included.

"Aaaghhh!" Raven all but screamed out, her hands clenching at her ears, her shields dropping. Four eyes glared at his general direction, not quite seeing anything just yet. "I swear to Azar, Wing, I will dismem– Ow!" Her demonic tone gave way to a yelp as Starfire put a little pressure on her wound.

"Friend, you must not struggle while I am trying to do the ceasing of your bleeding," Starfire stated, basically unaffected by the pulse. "Doing the bodily harm to my friend who is a boy while in this state would be most counter-productive."

"Fine," Raven snipped, reestablishing her fallen barrier.

Nightwing winced at the apology he owed his teammate despite feeling a little miffed at his girlfriend for suggesting any other state would be fine, but he was mostly occupied trying to shake his own hearing clear. They had some breathing room now, and those closest to the blast were going to be more affected. Ergo, the crooks wouldn't be on their A-game once they recovered. If only they could get in there without risking getting shot. Because seriously! They still had their guns! If these guys weren't downright criminal, he'd find their tenacity admirable.

…

Morgan carefully held the sorceress as she massaged her ears with her one good hand, her nervousness growing more and more as the fight continued. She really didn't want to use magic. Like… really… didn't want to use it. The moment she did, she'd be exposed, and worse yet, even if she managed to do it subtly, Raven (thee Raven!) would sense it. She'd never be able to come back from that.

And there was Starfire (thee Stafire!) right next to her, doing her best not to aggravate Raven's shoulder while she staunched the bleeding. She couldn't help but stare at the dark bruises that had formed on her once illustrious skin.

"I thank you for your assistance."

Morgan had to blink and look both ways before realizing that no one was directly around her anymore. Evidently, they had scooted back away the moment she had caught the sorceress after that flashbang. Most people's reaction to "Grenade!" was to crouch down and cover their face. Not Raven's evidently; so catching her had been more an impromptu exercise in sudden decision making. Which was fine! It was cool! But that also meant Starfire (thee Starfire!) was talking to her. Her!

"Oh. Um… no problem," she somehow managed, wincing at how pathetic it sounded. "I-I-I-I mean, you're welcome!" 'Gahhhh! Morgan! Shut! UP!'

That sweet tangerine smile made Morgan feel all bubbly, like she'd actually done something worth a damn. It was a rare feeling for her. "It is very much appreciated," Starfire stated. "In case there has been an escape of notice, we are very much up a stream without the oar." She put a pondering finger to her chin. "We are also without the canoe."

Morgan winced at the superhero admitting how bad it was to the hostage. "Soooo, why not use your eyebeam thingies?" she asked, trying to make pew-pew motions with her fingers.

"We are not permitted to do damage to the structure," Starfire stated, looking adorably agitated… at least she looked that way to Morgan. "It would have saved much time and aggravation if I were permitted to use such measures. Alas, I am not. We have been made to restrict our abilities in some cases, or otherwise suffer consequences."

'Well that sucks,' Morgan thought simply. 'So they have it rough too, huh?' Still, she patted the sorceress on the head gently, trying very hard not to think that she had a superhero on her lap. Granted, it wasn't Aqualad – now Tempest (commence mental-image drooling) – or anything resembling a hunk of superhero, but still, Raven was her number one most favoritest superhero. Like, come on! She used magic and hated the public eye; and she made cloaks look good! That made her alright in Morgan's book. So far, this was chalking up to be the best-worst day of her life. She wasn't ever washing these jeans again. Not really, but still.

She hadn't heard anything from Rorek though, but she figured that was because Raven would know if they just started telepathically communicating from this close. Speaking of which, she was gonna have to figure out how to shut him out. 'Eh. It's on my to-do list.' Current priorities entailed living through this. Still, she could use someone to talk to about the stuff she couldn't talk to anyone else about. Like magic.

Morgan wiggled her head over the back of her neck slightly, trying to smooth down a sudden prickling sensation that made her hair tingle annoyingly. It itched. A lot. And it had cropped up suddenly. 'Huh. Weird.' Judging by the way her fellow hostages were shifting, they were feeling something similar.

Raven suddenly began shifting slightly, before her eyes blinked open wide, still slightly glazed with her pupils contracted super tightly. There was no way she could see anything clearly yet. "B-Beast Boy?"

"Huh?" Morgan asked intelligently. What was this?! Was Morgan witness to the long-debated relationship status of Raven and Beast Boy, that had long since been restricted to online forums?! Was this Ship sailing?! She was so excited, she could cry.

Just before her entire scalp prickled in warning. She blinked as felt something drop onto her shoulder.

She turned, only to see a large bee the size of her pinky sitting on her shoulder. Most people would be freaking out, but hostage situation. And Morgan was just wondering if she could get her shoe off carefully enough to smack it.

"Bzz," it buzzed softly, wings vibrating as it's two large and three ocelli eyes turning with its body to look directly at her. She shivered at the almost imperceivable red glint that reflected off those eyes, only to notice that the coloration was off. It was green.

"'Sup?" Raven groaned.

It buzzed a little more before flitting carefully along Morgan's arms and down to her hands. It was just a couple hand-lengths from the sorceress when it started jittering. Its segmented head wiggled back and forth as it approached the blood on her hands from staunching the bullet wound. A small, intangible mirage-like haze began to form just around its wings, and Morgan's whole body went ridged.

"Beast Boy, don–" Raven tried, but was cut off.

Bzzzzzzzzz-ZZZZZZZZZ!

CRASH!

What remained of the bank's glass windows imploded as scores of insects beat mercilessly into the building, streaming in as a cloud of dotted black that quickly swarmed around the bank robbers. The droning buzz of their wingbeats seemed to reverb loudly as they converged. Cries and screams flew as they bit and stung, the gunmen near overwhelmed. Some dropped their weapons. Others tried swiping them away. Others fired aimlessly, jolting the other Titans into action.

Nightwing shot into the middle of it like a bolt of lightning, taking advantage of the chaos, now able to use his weapons to full-effect with heart-felt abandon as he ruptured the palmer veins and simultaneously broke one criminal's wrist by jabbing the end of his Eskrima sideways into the appendage. The man suffered a rib-bruising kick and twisting back-swing of the sticks to his jaw before he crumpled, barely conscious enough to sob.

The swarm bent around him as he ran and double flying kicked another one that was being stung in any exposed spots, sending him crashing through a desk before he fell limply. He landed with a roll on his back, handlessly and agilely flipping back to his feet. He met a gun barrel in his face, half-frozen before the gun was suddenly thrown upward with a BANG! that rang in his ears. Looking down, he saw the bees had formed a vaguely humanoid buzzing mass that had shoved the barrel away, just before it redispersed. He quickly snapped the gun sideways, earning a shriek as the trigger-guard broke the man's finger. He shut him up quickly with a spring-knee to his chin.

He would have smirked if he wasn't so damned angry. They hurt his girlfriend and the love of his life, shot at him and his bro, actually shot one of his friends, threatened civilian lives, and continuously put them in a disadvantageous situation that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Richard Grayson, A.K.A. Nightwing, wasn't mad. Oh no.

He was livid.

He was fully prepared to unleash his inner Batman. All that anger was ripe for the taking. He sooo wanted to. But his thought cut off as soon as he heard the silence. All at once, the bees that had been flying around stopped, frozen in a hovering position before they began rapidly converging together, almost melting mid-air into a greenish goop that slushed and swirled like a smoothie in a blender.

"YOU!"

'Oh boy,' Nightwing thought as his mind suddenly dropped from his anger-high, taking an Eskrima to the back of another criminal's knee, before popping the taser feature into his side. He jolted for a few seconds before collapsing.

CRACK!

He turned back around, only to gag on his breakfast. The most grotesque scene of breaking bones, ripping flesh, and blood emerging from a humanoid form rolled his stomach as three tendril-like features stabbed out, impaling one of the criminals in the shoulder on one arm, through the palm on the other, and in the hamstrings with the last. It held him suspended as the mass of green flesh broke and reformed. Eventually, something emerged painfully from it.

A large green feline, easily the size of truck became prominent, back and tails (plural) covered in quills, with abnormally large ears, canines, and tail length. A strange haze lifting from its back like desert heat. The criminal remained suspended from the tails' opened spaded tips, dagger-like stingers having done the impaling.

It was only a moment later that Nightwing recognized him as the one who had shot Raven and Starfire. Well, he didn't have his weapon of choice now.

"Give me one good reason, I shouldn't rip you to pieces," the strange creature hissed.

"Ahhhhh!" One of the gunmen charged the changeling, his face red and dotted with bee stings and bites, evidently out of ammo as he wielded his gun like a club as he brought it down on the shapeshifter's flank. On impact, several of the quills rustled from the point of impact, making a clacking rattle, but otherwise undisturbed.

The changeling turned to look back at him, eyebrow raising. "Really?"

The tail stabbed into his prey's ham pulled away, stinger retreating before the spade opened up and snatched the gunman by the arm, and without any ceremony, whipped him through a window. He landed with a pff outside on the pavement.

"Now, where was I before we were… interrupted?" Only whimpers answered him as his iridescent green eyes focused with all the intensity that an animal had to offer. He would fear. Because he was prey. Only prey. It built, a deep rumbling that masked just how massively angry he was. Nature held no bars, drew no quarter. And yet this creature was still man. They had laws. They a perception of "justice". There was no jungle law here.

He wouldn't maim or maul the pathetic morsel, but he could and would scare the ever-living illusion of power out of him. This was power. This was strength. This is why you don't shoot his best friend. This is why you don't shoot his family.

His chest inhaled deeply and sharply, his mouth widening, even as the quivering messes eyes grew to the size of saucers.

rrrrrrrRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The scream that had encompassed the gunman's throat died as he was flooded with a sense of all-encompassing dread, all biochemical courage dying in an instant. His heart forgot how to beat, his skull rattled in his head, his face was whipped by the trails of saliva that smacked into his face, and his hair trying to flee behind him. The pain of being stabbed meant very little as he squinted into that open maw. Before long it stopped, and his heart remembered to beat, but it didn't matter. Pathetic tears streamed down his face as the helplessness set in. He just hung there limply, hoping it would end quickly; that he wouldn't die toyed with like a mouse.

The last guy aimed his shotgun at the Beast-creature like he was some big-game hunter, one eye swollen shut from bee stings and his hands trembling at the roar, only to see a large hand crunch around the barrel like a crumpled soda can and bend it upward like this was some sort of cartoon. He followed it up into a large cybernetic body and a single red eye scowling down at him. Cyborg shook his head lightly. "Nuh-uh." He pretty much gave up after that, but Cyborg still left him a shiner on his shiner to remember him by. Chrome-Dome did not like getting shot at. He already had some exposed wires in one of his legs where a bullet had struck a little too close; and he wasn't in the mood to be hopping on one foot.

"Cyborg." Man! Wing looked Piii-iiissed. With a capitol 'P'. "Check on Raven and Starfire. Arrange transport back to the Tower ASAP. The sooner Star can recharge and we can get that bullet out of Raven, the better."

"And you?" He winced when B finally dropped the guy he'd all but crucified with a limp thud. He sniffed the guy before snorting loudly, but the guy didn't do anything. No wincing or whimpering. Just from a preliminary analysis, the guy would never have full rotation in his shoulder or use his trigger finger ever again. Psychologically... ~weeeell~... the prognosis wasn't looking good; five-years of therapy at minimum. But, good riddance. The former gunman had probably wet himself too; but the carpet was thin though, so it might come out. The blood? Eh, a little harder to clean up.

Nightwing didn't even give the move a second glance. "I'll take care of the police work and ensuring the civilians get checked out. Since Beast Boy's here, we can take care of his reinstatement too.

"And I have a very large bone to pick with City Council," he added in after-thought.

Cyborg nodded, his servos only easing up when Wing straightened his posture, interlocked his fingers together in front of him, and took a deep breath. "Sorry. That whole thing was just…," he fumbled for the words, even as he gave up on finding them, opting instead for a shuddered exhale.

"I gotcha fam," Cyborg reassured, patting him on the shoulder with his own tired look. "We're all gonna need some R&R after this."

Beast Boy watched them for a moment before turning to look at the girls, as he wasn't particularly fond of the civilians cowering behind them, especially in this form. Starfire looked especially cautious of him, but he wasn't going to complain about it. After what he just did, he'd prefer that she remain cautious. He began walking over, remaining in the form of this particular Beast, and the civilians cowered further at his approach. He glanced at the mere morsels, releasing another snort. "What are you waiting for? Move," he ordered, his slit eyes glaring.

They didn't need to be told twice, half-tripping over themselves to get away from him. His ear perked at the occasional muttering under their breath that included the word "monster", but he just rolled his eyes. He really didn't care what they thought.

It was odd. His form was clearly derived from his second "instinct", but he wasn't exactly sure where it came from, only what it wanted: "His family safe and happy". An odd thing for an instinct, but he wasn't going to complain considering all the hardware it boasted.

"Friend, are you… of sound mind?" Starfire asked slowly, a number of very slowly shrinking bruises visible on her skin, but otherwise looking alright. She'd heal up nicely once she could sit down in direct sunlight.

"Sound enough," he answered in his purr-ish voice, a soft chuffing in his under-tone. Starfire calmed at this and allowed his further approach unimpeded as she continued to watch over Raven even as her barrier dropped for him.

"Very well."

Speaking of whom, was watching him blankly, at least some clarity in her eyes. She took special note of the red mist that had been writhing from his back while he fought, or how it had seemed to concentrate around his mouth as he roared, but was now diminishing gradually before fading altogether. No one else noticed at least, since even her perceptions had only applied after reestablishing their connection. He sat on his haunches directly in front of her, staring passively at her. And her at him. His tails swished behind him, the deadly instruments now looking rather tame after displaying their ferocity.

It was awkward.

"Does it hurt?" he finally asked, not sure what else to say, even if he knew it was a stupid question. Of course it hurt. It was a bullet wound that had dislocated her shoulder. The mere scent of her blood seeping through the impromptu rag and sling Star had fashioned was prickling at his senses; like the ashes of a fruit tree. It was so pungent, he could almost taste it. Again.

"Only when it rains," she quipped just under her breath, but his ears still flicked in acceptance. It was quiet again, still awkward. There was too much to say and talk about, but all of it better left for safer quarters, and away from prying ears. "So… a Malkarasha?"

He blinked at her, pupils suddenly wide in confusion. "Malkarasha? Aren't those the size of a house cat or something? Arii'nok was."

The mention of her once familiar sent a painful pang to Raven's mind. It had been a long time, four months, since she thought about her first friend. She had to take a couple short breaths to ensure none of her powers would leak out, before she answered. "He was a cub," she stated lowly, wincing as she moved to readjust her arm. She could feel the bullet shifting against her shoulder bone. "You're what a full-grown Malkarasha would look like."

Starfire just looked between her two friends with interest. There was very much of "the tension" as she had noted in the car, even without friend Beast Boy present; it would appear that it persisted even now. Friend Raven was antsy, shifting slightly whenever friend Beast Boy spoke; and while Star would not equate her knowledge of animals to friend Beast Boy's, she could tell by his flicking ears that this was uncomfortable for him as well. Whatever had happened in the Med-Bay was clearly affecting them; and they had seemed to have become closer. She sincerely hoped that whatever was doing the blocking could be traversed soon, but she was no fool to think that it wasn't anything serious. They were not so easily made at odds before, so whatever was happening now must be of seriousness in nature.

"That… is a biiig cat." All three Titan's looked at the redhead that was still holding Raven. "Like… a really big cat." Gray eyes glimmered with stars as she looked between the changeling, the sorceress, and the princess. And they were staring back at her. "Eh, sorry," she chuckled nervously, "I'm a little starstruck right now. First hostage crisis and superhero rescue. Yay me." The last part was just as nervous as the rest of it, accompanied by a half-hearted cheer with her hand.

The changeling cocked his head slightly. "Who's your friend?"

"Yes, this is Miss Morgan Lassiter," Starfire answered, gesturing to the girl in question.

"She caught me when the flashbang hit," Raven answered his silent inquiry of "how" they met her.

Morgan yelped as he stood up, sticking his nose directly in her face. He didn't even bother to ask before he started sniffing, exhaling a throaty rasp for every inhale. "Hmm," he hummed in appraisal. A shadowy muzzle snapped around his nose, pushing him back a foot or two.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Raven demanded, a greater part of her acting in shock as her good hand inverting black. "That's borderline sexual harassment."

His green eyes narrowed at her before looking back at Morgan. "Making sure she's safe."

Raven felt a roil of uncertainty and protectiveness come off the changeling, and it showed through his agitated tails. It didn't help that it came with his form's mentality, and she knew it.

"It's okay," Morgan waved off, trying to follow all three tails at once as they swished. She'd already seen the damage that one of those could do. "I'd be protective too if one of my friends was shot. Even if the research methods are… unconventional."

The changeling just snorted, half prepared to continue his assessment before Cy showed up.

"Alrighty kiddies, that's enough of that," Cyborg interrupted as he walked over. "B, I gotta get the girls back to the Tower so they can rest, and I gotta dig a bullet out of Raven's arm. You're staying here with Wing. Got it?"

The Malkarasha glanced over at Raven for a second too long before he turned away. "'Kay."

Cyborg raised a questioning brow toward Starfire, who only shook her head solemnly. "Well alrighty then."

"Ready when you guys are," Raven stated, preparing to push herself up with her good hand. She winced and hissed when she felt something poke her bad arm. "Ahhh-www!" One of the changeling's tails had pricked her with the needle end, right at the entrance of the bullet wound. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"Was that even sanitary?!" Cyborg demanded in a high squeak. "People bled on that."

"It'll numb the pain," the changeling stated. "Minor paralytic in the venom. Lower tier neuro-toxin. I only used enough to ease the nerves a little. Might make taking the bullet out easier too without Raven ripping apart the room…."

That earned a stout "thank you" from the tin man.

"…Plus, my stingers shed a high peptide mucus. So it's constantly being cleaned." As if to demonstrate, he flicked his tail, resulting in a soft splat.

Raven looked at her misshapen shoulder, her top eyes doing most of the expressing since they could see the clearest. "Gross."

He just shrugged as best as he could as a quadrupedal animal. It was a biological process, like sweating. Or earwax. Or that slimy stuff that fish were covered in. No biggie.

Starfire began to guide Raven to her feet, careful not to jostle her slinged arm. "Perhaps it will be best, friend Cyborg, if you could do the bringing around of your most precious child. I do not believe the civilians need to see us in such… straightened direness."

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, I'll get the car. B…." He gave him a single look, to which the changeling nodded. And with that, the half-robot took off to bring the vehicle around.

"Sooo…." The three remaining Titan's turned to see the sole remaining civilian rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet now that they were all standing. "…Am I free to go? Not that being threatened with life and brain-matter isn't great and all." She blinked for a second before cursing. "Shit! I was supposed to pick up checks today!" Her hands clutched at her face in frustration.

"Do you perhaps need the lift?" Starfire asked.

"No, no," Morgan rejected with a heavy sigh. "I'll figure something out. I don't suppose the bank is going to open back up any time soon."

"Within a week at least," the changeling answered.

"Double shit!"

"Alright, but let us know if we can help," Raven offered, doing her best not to jostle her sling. She didn't need it jerking and breaking worse. She was already feeling whatever Beast Boy had injected her with… or was losing feeling. "You might need to check with the police though. Give a statement and all that."

"Thanks," Morgan said with a force cheerfulness, as she checked her shoulder bag. "Got my books? Got my books," she muttered to herself even as she scooped up the last of her things from the floor. She was hurried and gone almost as fast as Cyborg.

"Do you think we scared her?" Beast Boy asked, stalking carefully, his tails trailing at odd swishing motions behind him.

Raven didn't even have a sarcastic jab to reply with.

The police were just now starting to stream in, lead by Nightwing as he pointed out their quarry one-by-one. The gunmen looked like shit. Not one of them was without over a dozen stings and up to five times more outright bites – not life-threatening, just irritating in the long-run – and most of them would require at least a month in the prison hospital from escalated wounds.

The moment Nightwing finished his directions, he looked up, smiling in relief as he moved toward them. Starfire quickly flitted just off the ground, surging toward him as well. They met in the middle, kissing hard amidst the upturning of dust, insulation, and the innards of whatever had been strewn with bullets. Like a meteorite impact.

Raven could tangibly feel their relief as they kept their intimacy just barely rated PG, kissing and whispering softly to each other. It was… sweet. But gross. They couldn't keep their emotions to themselves, and if they kept it up, Raven was sure it was going to escalate splendidly once they got back to the Tower. Just what she needed: another headache.

She felt something shiver right next to her, and turned to see the changeling making the best grossed out face a Malkarasha could, his tongue half rolled out with a sniveled nose and narrowed eyes. "Groooss."

Beep-Beep!

"Sounds like Cy got through the crowd," Nightwing stated reluctantly, kissing his princess on the inside of her wrist.

"Indeed," Starfire agreed, returning his kiss on the brow.

"Alright," he said with a deep breath to reestablish himself. He turned into his usual serious self in an instant. "Starfire, Raven, you'll be heading back to the Tower with Cyborg. You'll both undergo his medical evaluation before you clock off. Beast Boy, you and I are escorting them to the car to keep the media hounds off. After that, we'll take care of the police reports and your reinstatement. Any questions?"

"Wait, we can clock off now?" the changeling asked with a teasing purr. "Does that mean I put it some time for free?"

"Anyone with a serious question?" he clarified with an exhausted huff.

No one questioned him.

Starfire quickly took the initiative to interlace her fingers with Nightwing's as they walked toward the exit, leaving the sorceress and changeling wandering awkwardly behind them through the mess. They did their best not to look at each other, despite the changeling's large paws lagging a couple feet behind her. Without the high of adrenaline and impending damage, it was harder to talk with everything hanging between them. Not that not talking wasn't normal for them, but it just felt… like they should be talking.

But how did you talk to someone after that? Raven could tangibly feel the mental and somewhat physical distance the changeling put up, but at the same time… wasn't that what she should want as well? She wanted… 'Deep breaths,' she reminded herself… she wanted to be able to at least comfort him in this development. A hand on the shoulder? A barely noticeable smile? A raised eyebrow? A glare? Just… something; as long as it acknowledged there was something. It was better than nothing... right?

And it didn't help at all that he had chosen the one form that could make this all the more confusing.

"Titans!"

Any train of thought was interrupted before they had even left the bank. Between them and the car – narrow as that space was – was a news crew, microphone half-readied to be shoved down their gullets by the business-dressed anchor and her camera man in tow.

The changeling's ears perked at the sudden increase in heartrates from his teammates, their scents tangibly altering in an instant; where not even impending gunfire had done that. It might not have bothered him, if it wasn't for him visibly seeing the back of Raven's neck prickle. He was falling into step beside her before he even knew what he was combatting. While the news lady greeted them with a smile, he still got the same sense as when he saw her on TV, his hackles and quills bristling in warning. Sure she smiled, but it was cold, not even spilling past her lips; animals also barred their teeth to show their ferocity. His feline eyes narrowed into slits. It was just a theory, but this woman wouldn't hesitate to burn them.

"Can this wait?" Beast Boy blinked at the tone Nightwing used. He was normally so calm and collected with the media. His instincts immediately went from "aggressive negotiations" to "DEFCON-1", their prowling increasing in his head.

"Why? Something to hide?" she asked back without mincing words or hesitating.

His body moved before his mind could think, stepping between them and her, naturally blocking off her view of them.

"Oh, and look who it is," she commented easily. "Jump City's own Beast Boy is back on the roster. At this rate, we were afraid you had died, and the Titans were just trying to delay the news getting out." It was a prod. He was used to those. He'd encountered those as long as he'd been green. It was okay. No biggie. But that microphone she was holding was waaay too close to his face. "Care to comment? Or are we going to be asking your team for all the answers?"

He raised a single feline eyebrow at her mocking tone, stifling a glare. "And who is this?" he demanded with a low growl. He couldn't help the smirk that twitched at his whiskers at the expressions of the news lady and her loyal camera man when they heard him speak. After all, animals weren't supposed to do that.

"This is Mandy Valanski," Nightwing answered. "Local news, and our biggest critic." It was subtle, but Beast Boy could hear the barest inflection in that "biggest" part. "She had some… opinions about your fight with Adonis."

This made "Mandy" recover faster than her co-worker, quickly straightening up at an impressive speed. "Since you brought it up, do you have any comments as to your excessive means of dealing with Adonis?" Again, she shoved that microphone too close, as if she were demanding as much as insisting on an answer. His tail flicked in agitation at the proximity, but she did not just say that.

'Excessive? Excessive?!'

His paw stomped forward, his mouth – and saber-teeth – flashing past the microphone until his slit eyes were level with hers. "In fact, I do," he breathed.

"Beast Boy." Raven. He ignored the attempt to get his attention as he focused on his "oh so wonderful" critic. He could sense the woman's fear. That oh so delicate superiority complex that she had woven from inferiority. Unfortunately, his attempt to ignore Raven only made it that much harder to do so, and he was already calming down before he knew what had happened.

"If you want a comment, you can find out about it like everyone else: On the news," he spat, his mouth opening just wide enough to let a warm, dangerous breath wash over her.

"That's enough!"

Beast Boy kept his eyes on his prey, only breaking when he was sure he had gotten his point across. He looked over at the fast approaching speaker, only to see a familiar face.

"Commissioner Stevens," Nightwing greeted.

The older man looked somewhere between relieved, angry, and exhausted. His ire turned on the news woman quick enough. "Valanski! You're bordering on harassment right now! Beast Boy gave you his statement, now leave!"

She grew rigid all at once. "The people have a right to know what is going on, and what happened! You can't repress the press! I demand an answer!"

"The moment you made the demands, I stopped caring," the Commissioner stated. "Now, if you don't mind, some of us have jobs to get back to." He looked over at the changeling for a brief, throat-gulping moment before walking past him. "Nightwing, what's going on?"

Their leaders voice lowered significantly, just scant enough for those in a couple feet and with enhanced hearing to hear. "Girls took the brunt of the damage. I'm sending them home with Cyborg for treatment. Beast Boy and I are staying," he paraphrased.

The Commissioner peered over at the girls without moving his head, taking special note of the improvised sling and jutted shoulder Raven sported, and the numerous bruises Starfire had. It took him back a second, causing his eyes to turn grave. He'd been Commissioner longer than these kids had been called Teen Titans; because let's face it, compared to him, they were still kids. Damage like that wasn't common, and usually took a falling building to come even close. He then peered at the changeling, and the alien form that held familiarity in some of its strands on the appearance level, walling off his team from anyone's – specifically Valanski's – scrutinizing gaze.

'I'm getting too old for this job,' he groaned to himself, even as a shiver of worry and rational fear echoed through his bones. 'But someone's gotta do it.'

"Alright," he whispered back, patting Wing on the shoulder. "You do what you need to do." He turned to open the T-car door, Mandy Valanski and her crew still in the way. "I'd appreciate it if you moved."

"And if I don't?" she pushed.

She shrieked as she was suddenly lifted up, each of the changeling's spades holding her, the camera, and the dude who wielded it. "Best day of my life bro," the camera guy muttered, shivering with excitement even from ten feet off the ground.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Valanski shrieked louder, staring with wide-eyed horror at the strange appendage that held her between the shoulder blades, mucus leaking through her clothes.

"If I do that, you'll just hurt yourself," the changeling stated with a smirk, "gently" setting her and her cohort on their feet.

Commissioner Stevens ignored them, continuing with his original mission as he opened the T-car door, peering at half-robot strumming on his wheel. He looked up at the Commissioner, raising an eyebrow. "No detours, and keep us posted how they heal up."

"Yessir," Cyborg said with only a half-mock salute. It seemed this whole thing had sobered the team up a little bit. Probably a good thing.

He guided the ladies into the car before taking a step back. Raven, of all people, paused in her seat to turn and look at him. "Just remember: He may be docile, but he isn't tame. Guide him; don't' collar him. And don't dumb it down. He's smarter than people credit him for." Her indigo eyes bored into his, hoping he understood. And he did, nodding slightly before closing the door behind them.

The changeling prepared to tap the top of the car with his enlarged paw, when the window suddenly rolled down. "B, you scratch up my car, your ass is grass. I am not re-buffing my baby!"

The changeling just hissed good-naturedly. "Fine." And they were already taking off.

They waited until the car was already past the police barricade, before Beast Boy turned, still taller than the Commissioner. "So what now?"

"We take care of this incident, get statements and reports, and see how much we're gonna get our asses chewed out," Stevens stated, before looking over at the still snooping reporter. "Walk away Valanski." She huffed in annoyance, but otherwise didn't protest. Not like she wasn't going to fill in the blanks with whatever made the tabloids squeal.

Breathing out his annoyance, Stevens continued. "After all that, I'll be needing a report for both Adonis' case and for the attack on the Tower from four months ago. As it stands, it's still an open case."

"Why?" the changeling asked, frowning at the thought of Adonis.

"Both cases sparked a lot of… controversy," Nightwing explained, looking as agitated as Beast Boy felt. "And it also redefined what counted as "excessive force"."

"Am I looking at charges?" the changeling asked, cocking his head at the Commissioner, his back bristling. "Because I'm technically seventeen."

"Given your bout with sickness," Stevens stated pointedly, a knowing eyebrow raised, "we can write some of it off as just that. However, you popped up rather unexpectedly back in the public eye, so now we're playing catch up. And we need to get ahead of whatever the politics are gonna play at."

He huffed. "Was it always this complicated?"

"Welcome to the world of adults," Nightwing stated. It would have been nice if they could take even a moment to pause, but duty calls.

"We better get that done," the Commission sighed. "Alright Beast Boy, you can change back now."

"Ummm… do you guys happen to have an extra-large blanket?"

Authors Note: Don't forget to Read & Review! :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, the struggle!

I did a little emphasis on the "instincts". They were brought up near the end of Sequence 2, so I swear, I'm not just pulling this out of my ass.

From what I understand, Cyborg's sonic cannon's can be made non-repulsive, but given that they function on sonic frequency versus intensity, the best I could come up with was that frequency harmonics can be used to disrupt the fluid in the ear canal that helps humans deal with balance. It's temporary, and non-destructive. His combo with Nightwing's Birdarangs is the equivocal of a massive high-pitched sonic feedback, sort of like the Sonic Boom from the Episode "Divide and Conquer". As has been proven, people can still fire weapons aimlessly under the effects of flashbangs and feedback bursts, and the closer you are too it, the worse off you are.

I didn't want to leave the whole Chapter to about Beast Boy. Granted, he's powerful, and I do believe he could take those gunmen by himself, but I don't believe that they'd just sit back and watch while he has all the "fun". There are multiple reasons why Nightwing got so mad, and there is a reason why Cyborg suggested R&R. Character psychology.

The Return of the Malkarasha! MuAhahAaHahAHahAhA! I'm killing it with the angst.

While Morgan is still a fan-girl, as we've seen so far, she's still very level-headed (sorta) with her eyes on her priorities.

Raven thus far is the only person who has noticed the red mist (just FYI). Everyone else sees a slight mirage-like effect (just clearing it up ahead of time). This is brought up in Chapter 5 "Law of the Beast".

And once more, the return of Mandy Valanski. Yes she will come up at least semi-frequently.

I tried to base as many of my reasonings in logic and reality as I could. If doesn't make sense, feel free to let me know.

In Other News:

Next chapter will officially be the last chapter of this Arc, and I'll be picking up Arc 3 after a hiatus. So far, I'm confirming that it will be called "Family Matters", and within at least the first couple chapters, we'll be getting the kids. It will also cover Beast Boy's reintroduction into society as well as that "news coverage" he goaded Valanski with, as well as some external forces with interests in the Titans. I think (emphasis on "think") there will be less action in this Arc, but I want to promote that the action that comes up will be worth it (confidence SteinMon! Maximum Effort!).

Tamaranean Translations (Original Translation):

None this time :(

*End of Translations

Once again, this is a Rough Draft, so if there is anything that needs, or is connecting in a weird way for you guys, let me know and I'll try to clean up the text. I do accept grammar and spelling errors too. (*A copy and paste, but hey, some things are worth repeating for you fine folk*)

As always (and I'll just keep posting this because its true), keep posting your constructive criticisms, as they will help me know what to look for in my future writings, and for the days I decide to do a hard edit. A writer should never stop growing, and I have no intention of stopping now.

Please Read and Review, and Private Message if you're shy or prefer your inquiries to be... well, private. Please indulge my curiosity, and let me know what parts you liked, what parts need work, and overall what you guys think about it :D I love questions as much as I love constructive criticism! If I don't have an answer to one or the other, it's something for me to contemplate and ask myself.

Upcoming:

Magicks That Bind - Arc 2: "Homecoming" – Chapter 13: Just Getting Started (Don't have a title yet, but hopefully I'll come up with one as I continue writing)