Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans.
Chapter 4: Love
I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why
And I don't know why
Why
I don't know
Everything You Want, Vertical Horizon
Terra didn't understand it.
Ever since she had been 'brought back to life', nothing had been the same as it had been when she was a Teen Titan. Granted, she had betrayed them all and that was bound to cause some tension, but that wasn't the main thing that was bothering the blonde. The main thing that bothered Terra was Beastboy.
Beastboy went out of his way to avoid her and every time she wanted to talk to him or do something with him, he made up an excuse.
"I have to go help Robin train," He would say, or, "Cy needs help with his car. Maybe later, k, Terra?"
There was also the fact that Terra was not a Teen Titan. She fought off villains with them and helped them look for real Raven and was just as annoyed as the other Titans were with Happy, but she had no uniform, no communicator, and no official membership card. She felt like a useful tool, dragged along for the ride but never considered as a part of the team. Before Terra had betrayed the Titans, Beastboy and Cyborg were always looking for her to play video games with or to play volleyball with. Starfire used to seek Terra for 'girl talks' and for explanations of terms that Beastboy, Cyborg, and Raven used when Robin wasn't around. Robin himself used to ask Terra for counsel on his team plans. And Raven...
Raven had always ignored her, had always hated her, and had always avoided her. She never went out of her way to be kind to Terra or helped her up when she fell. She had hated her as much as her father, Trigon. Even after their little venture with the giant green worm things, Raven still never talked to Terra much. The other Titans assured her that that was just how Raven was: secretive, mysterious, and antisocial. But Terra had observed Raven: Raven and Cyborg got along extremely well. Whenever Raven wasn't reading, meditating, or at a depressing café, she and Cyborg worked on the T-car. Robin and Raven had a special connection and trust and respect between them because they had started the Teen Titans and both had their own secrets (Robin and his mask). Starfire and Raven were obviously best friends. Beastboy and Raven.... Well, Beastboy used to tag along Raven all the time, trying to make her smile with his jokes, Terra had gathered. But after Terra joined, he scarcely took notice of Raven. He only had eyes for the newest recruit to the Titans. And Terra liked it that way. Now, he had gone back to his old ways with annoying Raven and wasn't about to switch to trying to impress Terra anytime soon. That is, until Raven disappeared and was replaced with a clone of Starfire in a pink cloak.
Terra sighed and looked around her room. It was empty except for a single small bed. After she had betrayed them, the room was completely emptied and used as a spare room for junk. There hadn't been time to redecorate it because every single second of the day, the Titans were looking for Raven. Terra had just excused herself with the excuse of needing to rest. The other Titans were out searching and Terra was left in the tower with the galling Happy Raven.
A cell phone on her bed started beeping the Teen Titans' theme song. The blond listened to the familiar beeping melody for a while before picking the small device up.
"Hello?"
Robin stood looking up at Slade's old hideout. Amazing the thing still stood, really, after all it had been through. The leader gazed at the hideout for quite a long time before entering.
The air inside was damp and cold, yet the air still seemed to be very thick at the same time. Robin took in a deep breath, musty air filling his lungs. How he hated this place. He looked around, taking quiet steps further into the abandoned building. Small puffs of dust flew from each step he took on the derelict floor. The teen strained his sharp ears, listening, looking for a movement, even the tiniest movement. He nearly jumped out of his skin as a large rat skittered by, large clouds of dust swelling around it. It screeched and disappeared into a large hole in one of the walls. Robin stepped in further and heard a sound to the left of him. He swirled around quickly but quietly, but it was a false alarm: a piece of junk slid down a pile of debris. Then the dark haired boy heard the first one of many: a small, quiet sniffle.
Robin stayed very still; trying to determine were the sound had originated from. He carefully walked inside more to the right, silent as the air itself. Another one came from the direction he was going in: this time, louder, with a hint of a sob in it. Robin peeked around a huge, towering pile of debris to find the limp figure of a crying girl in the shadows of another pile of debris. Further investigation revealed the girl to be Raven.
"Raven?" Robin tentatively approached her, trying to keep his shock out of his voice. "Are you okay?"
The sound of Raven's crying grew louder and it echoed all over the vacant building.
The boy wonder stepped closer and was able to see that Raven's cloak was gray. Her leotard, from what he could see of it, was completely black, instead of the usual dark indigo. Robin, trained by the best detective in the world, put two and two together: This wasn't Raven. It was one of her emotions.
"He doesn't like me," Raven's emotion sniffed. Clear, sparkling tears rolled down her porcelain cheeks. The only time Robin had seen Raven cry was after the Malchior incident...
"Who doesn't like you, um..." Robin tried to put together a name for this emotion. She was very sad, but she also seemed shy, very insecure... "Timid?"
"Him. Big and scary, with an ugly mask," Timid wept. "He banished me here..."
"Why did he banish you?" Robin asked gently, kneeling down. He pulled out a mini pack of tissues, non-scented, Kleenex, from his ever-resourceful utility belt. He assumed the big scary man was Slade. Robin pulled out a couple of tissues and handed them to Timid.
"Thank you," She wiped her eyes and blew her nose softly. "He threw me here after he found out I wasn't her." Timid broke into more sobs, her violet hair swishing in front of her face.
"Who's her?" Robin asked. I'm going to have nightmares about this, he thought grimly. I'm glad Raven doesn't show this emotion much. "And you don't need him to like you, anyway. He's a criminal."
Timid just shook her head and didn't say anything.
Robin sighed and pulled out his communicator. "Beastboy, Star, Cyborg—I found another of Raven's emotions, Timid."
Beastboy raised an eyebrow. "Have fun trying to convince her that we don't hate her." His sarcastic tone surprised the other Titans as much as it surprised Robin. Sarcasm was Raven's sort of thing.
"BB? Anything wrong over in your corner?" Cyborg turned around in his tiny frame and reached over to Beastboy's frame, poking him.
"Nothing. I found Jinx, though."
"Jinx? Where did you find her?" Starfire asked.
"She was hanging around Raven's favorite depressing café," Beastboy shrugged. "She was let out for good behavior, but she has a curfew and everything. Plus community service and one of those weird metal bracelets that you can't take off and have tracking thingies on it. Apparently, Jinx is still considered juvenile. Mammoth and Gizmo caused some trouble, though, so they're still in jail."
The other Titans stared at him.
The shape-shifter shrugged. "I was talking to her. She says hi to Cyborg." Beastboy smirked.
Cyborg blushed.
"Anyway," Robin continued, "someone call Terra and tell her the news. Meet you back at the Tower in ten minutes." He shut his communicator and glanced at Timid.
"Beastboy said he doesn't like me, didn't he?" Timid dropped two more tears on the cold stone floor. They splashed onto the dust and evaporated quickly.
"No, Beastboy likes you," Robin assured her. "We all do. Now, let's go back to the Tower, okay? And you can tell us all about the big, ugly man who banished you..."
"I give up!" Cyborg stalked out of Raven's room in impatience. He and the other Titans had been taking turns during the past two hours trying to get an inkling of information out of Timid. Even Happy had tried, but Timid reacted to her in huge floods of tears. Starfire was befuddled and no matter how many times anyone explained the situation to her, she still kept asking why Raven/Timid was acting so coy.
"And I thought Happy was bad..." Terra muttered. She and the Titans (minus Happy and Timid, who were in Raven's room) were gathered in the common room, sitting on the sofa.
"Beastboy, Cyborg," Robin asked, "do you know why Raven's, er, Happy and Timid's powers aren't acting up?"
Cyborg tapped his mechanic fingers on the edge of the sofa. "Probably because that's how they act all the time: Timid is always timid and Happy is always happy. If Happy started acting sad, maybe then her powers would start losing control."
"Or maybe..." Beastboy gazed at the waters yonder the windows. "Maybe they can't lose control, because they're emotions, and not considered a whole organism, just part of Raven."
Robin, Cyborg, and Terra goggled at him. Organism was an eight-letter word and was four syllables long.
"Dude!" Beastboy flushed at their awed looks. "I'm not that stupid! I did go to school for part of my life!"
"What is this...school...Beastboy speaks of?" Starfire let the word roll off her tongue, as if savoring the taste of saying it.
"It's a hellhole," The changeling helpfully informed Starfire. "They torture you and—"
"Ignore him, Star," Robin sighed. "A school is where you go to learn for twelve years."
"But why—"
"Anyway," Cyborg said loudly, "BB's got a point. They might not even be able to use their powers at all outside of Raven's mind. Maybe we should ask them."
"I shall ask!" Starfire clasped her hands. "Please, Robin, shall I go ask the Ravens if they can use their powers!"
Robin shrugged. "Okay."
Starfire flew off, stopping in front of Raven's room, which had an open door. "Friend Ravens!"
Happy looked up from her spot near the window. "HI STARFIRE!"
"Greetings!" Starfire exclaimed, and the two gave each other bone-crushing hugs. "I have been sent by the others to ask you and Timid if..." Starfire trailed off, frowning. "Who is that? Is that another Raven?"
Standing next to Timid, who was behind Happy, was another Raven, this time purple, with her hood up.
"No, I'm another Beastboy," The Raven said sarcastically.
"But Beastboy—"
"Hates me!" Timid wailed.
Starfire blinked. "I am sure that friend Beastboy—"
"Hates me!" Timid interrupted again.
"But friend Beastboy does—"
"Hate me!"
Half an hour later...
"For the last time, friend Timid Raven, friend Beastboy—"
"Hates me!"
"Starfire?" Robin's familiar voice came from the hall. She could hear him getting closer. "Why are you taking so long?" He arrived at Raven's room at saw the new Raven and sighed. "Which Raven are you?"
"I wonder," The new Raven rolled her purple eyes. "I bet you can't tell from my words."
"Sarcasm," Robin groaned. No wonder Raven was so sarcastic—she had a whole emotion dedicated to cynicism. "Where did you come from?"
"The sky," Sarcasm said sardonically.
Robin sighed again. He could already tell he was getting no information out of Sarcasm, or out of Timid or Happy.
Beastboy, Cyborg, and Terra appeared at the doorway suddenly, looking a little concerned.
"We decided to check up on you guys," Terra explained.
"Yea, well, another Raven appeared," Robin said glumly. He was curious about Raven's hidden emotions, but he would still prefer the original Raven, and he knew the others did, too. Even Terra. "Sarcasm."
"No, I'm Happy in disguise," Sarcasm said, rolling her eyes.
Beastboy glanced at Happy. She was unusually quiet, her eyes glassy.
"Happy?"
"What do you want?" Happy snapped. Her cloak, leotard, and shoes turned dark blue.
The Titans, plus Terra, stared at her in shock. You could practically hear their jaws dropping and hitting the floor, and then rolling away out the door.
Happy gasped as she saw the color of her clothes. Her violet eyes turned from glassy to terrified as she clapped her hands over her mouth and slowly backed away.
"Raven?" Beastboy stepped forward, reaching out with one hand.
Happy looked petrified a few more short seconds and dark swirls of black energy swirled around in a tornado around her. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and her clothes turned pink again. Happy reopened her eyes and gave out a loud giggle that sounded unreal. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Um, Happy...What just happened?" Robin stared at her.
She just giggled and did a little twirl in the air. "What are you talking about?" Black energy flowed from Happy's hands.
"We're talking about how you just turned into the original Raven!" Cyborg said.
"You're being silly," Happy giggled. "I could never do that!" The black energy suddenly turned bright pink. Raven's room suddenly turned bright and cheerful. Murals of rainbows and butterflies painted themselves on the wall, and a large pink canopy bed swirled out of nowhere. Plush pale pink carpeting rose from the floor and several beanbags shaped as different cute animals dropped from the ceiling to the floor. A heart-shaped desk appeared right in between Happy and the other Titans (plus Terra, Timid, and Sarcasm), and stickers of rainbows plastered themselves onto the desk. Several bright pink lamps popped up everywhere, and the ceiling suddenly had large spotlights with pink glass. Wind chimes (pink, of course), dropped from the ceiling and dozens of stuffed animals popped up in random places. A pink wardrobe also plopped itself inside the room.
"Isn't it dreadfully dreary in here?" Sarcasm deadpanned in the silence that followed.
Timid sniffed. "That was scary." She flew over to Beastboy and buried her pale head into his shoulder. His eyes widened for a moment, then awkwardly placed his arms around her, muttering soothing words.
Terra fumed.
Starfire looked like she was in heaven. "This is a most wondrous redecoration of the room, friend Happy Raven!" She squealed, her bright green eyes glowing with glee.
"Thanks!" Happy laughed. She unfastened her cloak and cast it aside. "That cloak made me look too unhappy!" Her eyes sparkled.
Cyborg and Robin glanced at each other. What had just happened?
"Dude, I never knew you could create furniture," Beastboy commented over Timid's trembling figure. Happy looked really good without her cloak, he thought.
"Poof!" Happy chortled. A light pink daisy appeared on each of the Titan's heads, including Terra.
Robin shook his head to toss the daisy off his treasured spiked hair. "Happy, no more fooling around, how did you just do that?" Robin was beginning to get a suspicion about something...
"I'm not fooling around!" Happy said with a laugh. She made a swirling pink portal with her powers and Beastboy's pet worm popped out of it. "You're so cute," She cooed, tickling it. It wriggled with delight.
Five shadows fell over the people in the room. Everyone turned around slowly.
Five different color Ravens stood in the doorway.
"Oh, shit," Cyborg muttered, his eye widening.
"I do not understand," Starfire tugged on one strand of her amber hair. "Why are there more Ravens?"
"Gross...Jealousy...Intelligence...Brave...and you I don't know," Beastboy counted off each Raven in his hand. The last Raven had a dark pink outfit. It was unmistakably pink, yet very different from Happy's pink. It was dark, but not red. The changeling racked his mind for Crayola crayon colors. Magenta, salmon pink, tickle-me-pink, red-violet, violet-red...he had never gotten the difference between red-violet and violet-red.
"Where's Rage?" Cyborg looked vexed.
"Is Rage scary Raven with four red eyes?" Starfire asked anxiously. A chorus of nods answered her. She squeaked in fright.
"Oh, who cares, she was too grumpy anyway!" Happy giggled.
The new emotion shyly stood at Beastboy's side and Timid finally stopped crying to shuffle next to Brave. She had always admired Brave's...um...bravery.
"Dude, how did you know that?" Cyborg looked at BB, smirking.
"Um, lucky guess?" Beastboy sweat dropped.
Gross burped.
"I never knew Raven had a gross side," Robin commented.
"Shouldn't there be, like, a dark or gothic Raven emotion thing, too?" Terra wondered.
Beastboy shrugged.
Jealousy glared at Terra and moved away from her.
"Why are Raven's emotions running free?" Robin muttered to himself. To Beastboy, he said, "Where did you put Raven's mirror?"
The changeling smacked his forehead with one hand. "Oh, I forgot to tell you! Last night, it dissipated on my desk."
The Titans goggled at him again. Another four-syllable word, this time ten letters!
"You shouldn't gawk at Beastboy like you're shocked that he knows words that are more than ten letters long," Intelligence remarked. "He was top in his class when he attended school. His parents were scientists."
"How do you know so much about me, dude?" Beastboy stared at Intelligence.
"Because she's obviously not an empath," Sarcastic deadpanned.
Gross gave Brave a wet willy and Brave jumped on her. "I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!" She screamed. Brave and Gross started fighting.
The others ignored them.
"Where are your parents, BB?" Terra tried to squeeze herself in the space between Beastboy and the new emotion unsuccessfully.
"Gone," Beastboy said shortly.
Jealousy snorted. "I can't believe you like him and you don't even know about his parents!" The covetousness was clear in her voice.
"Well," Terra sputtered. "I bet you don't even know his real first name!"
"Garfield, and his last name is Logan," Jealousy replied, without missing a beat.
Terra blinked.
"Ha! Garfield!" Gross sniggered.
"Anyway," Robin cut in before Terra could slit Gross's throat, "Intelligence, how did you and the other Ravens get here?"
"Well," Intelligence paused, shoving her glasses up her nose, "we were in Raven's mind, as usual, and then we just found ourselves in Titans Tower. It really is quite remarkable..." Intelligence gazed around the room. "I have never been outside of the mind before and it is a sensational thing to be able to feel, touch, see for myself..." She ran a slim finger down a nearby wall. "You might want to inspect the security cameras..."
Robin snapped his fingers. "Thanks, Intelligence. We'll do that right away. Can you make sure the other Ravens don't hurt themselves? You seem the only reasonable one here..." He looked at Brave, who was chasing a giggling Happy around the room, intent on murdering her. "Who is she, anyway?" The leader nodded at the new emotion.
Intelligence looked away from him, a slight smile playing across her small gray lips. "That is not for me to tell."
Robin shrugged and led the Titans, plus Terra, to the main control room, where the security cameras. He noticed that the new emotion tagged along, but he had no problem with that as long as she didn't cause too much trouble.
Robin bent over the keyboard, typing in codes and selecting a video from fifteen minutes ago, when the other four emotions had arrived in the Tower.
Everyone gazed at the large screen in front of them, showing the front hall. The door hissed open and four small, round marble-like balls rolled into the hall. The door closed. The balls had five colors: orange, purple, yellow, green, and that odd pink-red color the new emotion had. Then the balls began to disorientate—they stretched longer upwards, extending themselves. Small bumps of noses and arms began to form, then legs and facial features. Soon, five Ravens stood were the marble balls had been.
"I don't understand..." Robin said slowly, in a low voice. "Did Slade do this? How did he get past our security system and...why?"
"And where's Rage?" Cyborg added.
"And how did Slade get friend Raven's emotions out of her mind?" Starfire finally seemed to understand what was happening.
"Something to do with that mirror thing, right, BB?" Terra glanced at him.
Beastboy shrugged. "I don't know. When the mirror dissipated, it just started smoking and falling apart, and then it disappeared completely. No little marbles there."
"Why don't we look at the security cameras in BB's room?" Cyborg suggested.
"There are security cameras in our ROOMS?!" Terra exclaimed. She changed in her room!
Robin flipped a tiny button camera from out of nowhere. "Cyborg and I planted them. For security measures. We hardly ever look at them, because everyone needs their privacy." He started typing on the keyboard again.
"Um," Beastboy looked sheepish.
"What?" Cyborg smiled cockily. "Did you pick your nose in there or something?"
"No," Beastboy shot back. "It's just that I smashed that button camera."
Robin and Cyborg ogled at him.
"How did you find it?" Robin asked, daunted. No one EVER discovered HIS button cameras. They were hidden very well.
"Um, well, I found it and I saw the little R on the back and I thought Robin was spying on me because he was mad because I tried to hang his boxers on a flag pole in front of Titans Tower and I sort of just destroyed it."
"But that was the first day that you joined the Titans! You hardly even knew how to use a computer, never mind identify surveillance equipment!" Robin flapped his arms in dismay. He prided himself in his button camera hiding skills.
"Perhaps friend Beastboy is cleverer than he looks," Starfire mused.
No-emotion-name Raven spoke up. Her voice was clear as a bell and was higher than any of the other Ravens and somehow much more caring, in a way. "Beastboy can sense any machine because of his sensitive animal DNA."
Five pairs of curious eyes turned towards her.
"And you know this because...?" Cyborg squinted at her.
"I know more about all of you than any of you think I do."
Beastboy looked at her questioningly. "Which emotion are you, anyway?"
"I am Love."
-smiles happily- 49 reviews! I just want you guys to know...I've finished writing the story. It's 69 pages long on size 12 on trebuchet ms. There are 4 more chapters for me to post. I'll probably update next on...-thinks- Monday or Sunday or sometime near then. Should I write a sequal? If so, any ideas? -is having birthday party on Saturday and is gleeful-
CHEENAMI Danny-- 49! Yay! -glomps-
Frith-- Thanks! I have those little line things inbetween, but in one chapter (chapter 1, I think), I forgot to insert a line thing. o0 Feh. I'll try to edit it so it's clearer, okay?
Haruko-sama-- That asterick (I can't type an asterick here because automatically takes it out -pissed-) face is SO COOL!!! -hugs little face- No, sorry, Happy doesn't tell him...Heh. I figured that Love would more likely tell him (though she doesn't...) instead of Happy, since Happy's just...happy and Love is...love...so, yea.
Brittany-- Duh. That's my goal. I've already written a lot of stories...just not posted them. xx
Audie-- Yay! And there's 4 more chapters. -grins-
Soldier of Darkness-- Lol, I will. What's a Necronomicon? o0
Jefepato-- WOOHOO! A beta reviewer! -glomps- Anyway, those are good points, and after I read your review, I changed it around a bit. I hope it's better...but anyway, Beastboy's not about to go kissing Raven in this fic. Maybe in the sequal or not at all...but he does tell her that he likes her. Is that too rushed? It's in the last scene of the last chapter. o9 And you'll find out later on that that's not the only reason she walks out...even though I don't really mention it in these first 4 chapters. In fact, I don't at all. But...yea. Heh.
IAmImmortal-- I agree. Terra sucks. xD I'd really like to kill her off, but I won't.
Pain and Tears-- COOKIE!! -jumps on cookie and gulps down- Yummah. Yah, you got my attention. HEY! HEY! OVER HERE! READ THIS!! Hi.
Zeldagurli-- MUFFINS!! -chews away contendedly (sp?)- Once I saw this huge muffin in England (I was on vacation ) and it was like...the size of my head and there were blueberries in it and I wanted to get it but my mum wouldn't let me. xx Oh well. -munches on muffins-
Kat097-- -pats back and smiles- Calm down now...xP
10920-- Hmm...what do the numbers stand for? o.o Thanks!
Amscray-- Maybe in the sequal, 'cause Slade just -CENSORED- in this fanfic.
Zee-- Duckies!! I put that in just for you. -hugs-
spAybaraSimonslit-- Good point. Yesh, of course it's BB who finds her. Angst and all. -grins-
Antora, HeRe CoMeS Da pAiN, angelzsweet90, X37, and dana1313--thanks!
HEY! HEY!! YOU READERS!!! YOOHOO!!!! READ THIS, IT'S WORTHWHILE!!!!!!!!!!! DOWN HEEEERE!!!! READ THE WHOLE NOTE 'CAUSE IT ACTUALLY HAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN IT!!!
Note: For future reference, if you guys don't know--Beastboy's real name is Garfield Logan, Cyborg's is Victor Stone, Starfire's is Koriand'r (or something like that), Robin's is Richard (Dick) Grayson (or Tim Drake; they don't specify in the series, but it's most probably Dick Grayson), and Raven's is...Raven. Beastboy's parents were scientists who died in a boating accident in Upper Lamumba, Africa, and Beastboy got a disease that only animals could survive, so his parents split his DNA and a side effect was that he turned green and could turn into animals. He then was taken in by Nicholas Galtry (who in the comic books got killed, but in my fanfic, he's still alive) and ran away from him but was hunted down by two American looters. The American looters were going to rob a temple in Upper Lamumba, but it collapsed on them and they died. Then BB (poor guy!) got kidnapped again to the US and was forced to commit crimes, but he ran away (again) and met Cyborg and they became low-time crime fighters. Then they met Raven and Raven formed the Teen Titans and Robin became the leader and -rambles on- Yeah. You'll need to know that for future chapters.
I love you reviewers ,
Lily