Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans.
Chapter 5: Solidifying
Rain is falling down on me
Suddenly the sun comes out
Sometimes north or south of love
But never out.
So Emotional, Christina Aguilera
Cyborg glanced at Beastboy's shocked expression, amused. A Kodak moment, really. If only he had a camera...
Suddenly, the big control room computer screen flashed. Everyone looked up quickly into the sinister, leering face of Slade.
"Hello, Titans. Nice to see you again."
"Where's Raven?" Beastboy angrily demanded.
"Oh, you mean this useless cadaver?" Slade carelessly glanced to his left, and the camera turned slowly to reveal a flaccid figure on a concrete floor. Raven had her hood off, and her pale face was almost completely white, and her lips as red as blood. This gave the Titans a shock, as Raven normally had gray lips. Her delicate eyelids were down and her vibrant violet hair spread out on the floor around her. Her cloak was swelled out around her body. The cloak, boots, and leotard were pure white and matched her very pale skin.
They all thought she was dead.
Slade smirked (not that anyone could tell because of his mask, but still). "No, Titans, she is not dead, but she will be soon. As you can see, Happy has already been completely solidified. Soon, all her emotions will be solidified, and then Raven will be unable to put them back into her mind, thus making her emotionless. Then—"
"Please don't say world domination," Cyborg groaned.
"First Jump City, then the world," Slade assured him. The Titans couldn't see his face, but they could tell he was smiling a cold vampire smile.
"How did you survive my volcano anyway?" Terra irately said. Spots of red rose to her cheeks. How she loathed her former 'mentor'.
"That was merely a robot, my dear Terra," Slade's deep voice rumbled around the control room, filling every empty hole. "I'm not foolish enough to use my actual self, in case you were to lose control." Scorn littered his voice. Slade bent down to stroke Raven's cheek. Raven's eyelids fluttered and a small tendril of white energy snaked towards Slade.
Slade slapped her and the tendril disappeared, along with Raven's consciousness. The screen faded, focusing on Raven's limp body one more time before shutting off.
Beastboy hated seeing her so weak. It was like seeing someone you thought to be a pillar, strong, sturdy, and never falling slowly crumbling. Love leaned her head lightly on his shoulder.
"He lies," She said softly, her placid breath blowing tenderly across his neck. "It's still possible to put solidified emotions back in..."
Beastboy looked at her. He felt weak at the knees. "Solidified?"
Love nodded, her purple hair brushing against the edge of his face. She started to say something.
"What are you talking about?" Terra's face suddenly popped in between the two. Her eyes stared daggers at Love.
"Love says Rae can still put solidified emotions back into her mind, whatever that means," Beastboy said quietly. He edged away from Terra.
"How do you know?" Terra glared at Love. A strong hate, or was it jealousy, was burning in her heart.
Love's eyes looked steadily into Terra's. "I know a lot more about everything than you think." Love was a very complex emotion, really. She was wise and caring, but no one could ever completely figure her out. In fact, she acted like normal Raven, without the sarcasm and callousness.
Terra huffed and turned to Beastboy. "Do you believe her?"
Beastboy ran a hand through his green hair. "Sure."
The blonde glanced at the other Titans. They all nodded at her. Yes, they trusted Raven more than they had ever trusted Terra. Raven was wrong to be jealous. I should be the jealous one, Terra thought bitterly.
"Do you know where the real Raven is?" Robin asked Love kindly.
Love paused. Did she? In Slade's hideout somewhere, obviously. But Robin was probably referring to the exact location. She shook her head no.
"What is this 'solidified'?" Starfire floated over and asked her.
"It's—It's when Raven's emotions are taken out and...well...turned into humans, I guess. They still act like the emotions they are, but they might occasionally show glimpses of other emotions. Eventually, they'll turn into separate human beings after they're solidified." Love paused. "For example, Timid might turn happy for a moment, and in that moment, her cloak—or whatever she's wearing when she's solidified—would turn pink. That could happen before solidifying, too, when the emotions are out of Raven's mind. And after they're solidified, they can use their powers, except it comes out the color of their emotion instead of black. Before solidifying, they can use their powers, but only when they act as a different emotion, except it will be black. You can tell when an emotion is solidified because their outfits will probably change."
So that is what Happy did, Starfire thought.
They trooped back in silence, Cyborg and Robin laughing noiselessly in their heads at Beastboy and Love's awkwardness around each other. They both made mental notes to make fun of him later.
Starfire opened the door and peeked in. The bright pink room was now a mild yellow, not quite the bright yellow of the mustard containers Starfire worshipped, and not quite the muddy yellow of the mustard inside. It was a soft yellow, the sort in a baby's nursery, except not somewhat so pale. The carpet was that yellow color and the walls white. Bookshelves with dark pinewood lined the walls and were filled with dozens of books, all with ancient bindings and a foreign language on the spine. The bed was no longer a pink canopy bed and was now a simple twin bed, with plain yellow covers and white pillows and sheets. The headboard and footboard were also made of dark pinewood and there were two small night tables on either side of the bed, covered with books and a lamp on each. A mug of steaming herbal tea was on one night table. The night tables also had drawers, for putting Raven's most treasured possessions, maybe, or perhaps for more books. Large lights hung from the ceiling. A small wardrobe and mirror was crammed into an empty space between two bookshelves. Intelligence sat cross-legged on the bed, reading a black covered book. Happy was grinning and laughing out loud occasionally, reading a Teen Titans comic book. Brave was reading a war story, Jealousy a romance book, Sarcasm a humor book, Gross a book that had a cover with disgusting things that were better off unnamed, and Timid a random book (she didn't want to object to the book Intelligence had handed her, which was a story about bravery and how a timid girl had achieved it).
"You've tamed the herd!" Beastboy exclaimed in amazement.
Intelligence looked up and smiled, a small bit of yellow energy turning the page of her book for her. Yellow! That meant she had been solidified. That was already two of the Ravens.
Beastboy was hit with a sudden realization. If Raven managed to get out of this alive, she wouldn't have any intelligence or happiness! Beastboy shuddered at the thought of a stupid and a 24/7 unhappy Raven.
"Don't worry," Robin laid a hand on his distressed teammate. He seemed to know what Beastboy was thinking. He had to feel sorry for him: if he lost Raven, that'd be two gone almost-girlfriends, even if Terra had come back. "We'll find a way. Love said there was a way, remember?"
Beastboy nodded, unconvinced.
"Chill, dude," Cyborg clapped a hand on Beastboy's other shoulder and BB's knees buckled from the weight. He had realized what the changeling was thinking, too. "Heh, oops, sorry. But Robin's right, we will find a way."
"Find a way for what, friends?" Starfire floated over. She looked fascinated at the serene scene in front of her.
"Nothing, Star," Robin smiled at her. He didn't want to worry Starfire.
Intelligence floated over and nodded at Happy. "Did you notice her new outfit?" She said quietly.
They all glanced at Happy, who was lying on the floor with the book in front of her and her belly on the ground, legs flopping back in forth in the air. It was a good thing her legs were against a bookshelf, because she was wearing a pink ruffled miniskirt that would've given the Titans a nice view of her behind if her legs had been facing them. She had a tight hot pink spaghetti strap top and a light pink threaded shawl over her shoulders. High pink flip-flops adorned her feet and her violet hair was pulled up in a ponytail.
"Interesting," Terra grumbled. She didn't like the way Beastboy was gawking at her.
"Very," Intelligence looked at Terra coldly and thrust a book into Terra's hands. It was the third Harry Potter book.
Terra raised her eyebrows.
"Maybe you should reread the part where Rowling tells you about Wormtail's betrayal," Intelligence said coolly. Suddenly, Intelligence's body was enveloped with yellow energy and a long black skirt ending slightly after the end of her knees. Her top was now a pale yellow off-the-shoulder fleece sweater, the really soft and fuzzy kind. Small, dangling amber earrings were revealed when her hair magically got put up in a loose ponytail. Her yellow slippers were replaced by the same color shoes.
The thing that shocked the Titans most was not the change, but Raven's legs.
She was wearing pantyhose.
Robin, Cyborg, and Beastboy tried to suppress their laughter as best as possible.
Intelligence frowned at them in a librarian sort of way. "We need to find a way to reverse this," She gestured at herself and Happy. Intelligence had been listening to the events in the control room. "Start searching." Intelligence conjured up two laptops for Cyborg and Robin and a Tamaranian book about Azarath for Starfire. For Terra she gave nothing and Terra was stuck with the Harry Potter book. She handed Beastboy The Book of Azar.
"Haven't you read this a million times over?" Beastboy asked.
"The book changes every time you read it, according to who's reading it," Intelligence informed him. "You might find something useful in it." She handed Love a thick romance novel and sat back down on her bed.
Beastboy opened the book to the first page and read:
Dear (there was a scribbled out word that Beastboy could barely make out: fucking. What a little ray of sunshine.) Diary,
This is a ridiculous thing to do. It's not as if the diary could respond, so why labeling it Dear Diary? This Diary is certainly not very dear to me, though I should prefer to keep it out of other's clutches. However, Azar wishes me to keep a Diary, and so I will.
The changeling stopped in surprise. This was Raven's diary! Her handwriting was a neat script, small and clear. He decided that if the book decided to show him her diary, then so be it. He wasn't about to argue. He read on.
Today, Azar has trained me particularly hard in controlling my emotions. If Rage were to escape, it would be disastrous. She gave me a small hand mirror. It was quite ugly, but I didn't tell her. She told me to meditate with it, for it was a portal to my mind. That is how I met Rage. I am really somewhat shocked at the lack of emotions in me. There is Happy, whom I think I admire, yet loath at the same time. Then there is Timid. Sad thing she is, really. There is also Brave, but she's really not that brave at all. I suppose I have to work on my bravery. Last there is Intelligence and Love. They are both very strong. Oh, wait, I have almost forgotten—there is Innocence, who wears a blue dress like mine, except the blue is much, much lighter. Azar told me that I would be lose Innocence as soon as I had my first real kiss.
Beastboy twitched. There was certainly no Innocence in the room. He thought about Malchior and scowled. There was also something else strange in the entry—dress. He supposed that in Azarath, while Raven was training with Azar, she wore a dress instead of a cape. That didn't surprise him, but it was still weird. Beastboy also wondered how Raven had gained the other emotions—Gross, Sarcasm, and Jealousy. He wondered if she had gained those traits on Earth.
The land that my mind is like is very much like Azarath. It is barren and dark, with small ravens all over. It is comforting, yet disturbing, to have such a similar setting.
The rest of the entry described Raven's day training. Beastboy skimmed over that before he realized how old she was when she wrote this—thirteen. That meant she was coming to Earth to form the Teen Titans very soon...her birthday was tomorrow, the entry said. So Raven would be leaving in the next entry...
Dear Diary,
Azar has perished, and so has Love. She is not in my mind anymore. I will miss her.
Today, I have wandered far in the universe. I have found refuge in a small planet called Earth. It is very queer and pleasant, but the people are quite rude. They keep staring at the traveling cloak, leotard, and slippers I have adorned for the journey.
I fear that Trigon is getting closer. He has escaped from Rage and is ravaging Azarath, free. I must find help to destroy him. I have spotted two young people my age—one is made half of what humans call Machinery. He has a sort of blaster in his arm that would come in very useful for destroying Trigon. The people call him Cyborg. The other is a rather small boy, with green skin, hair, and eyes. This was very unusual on Earth. He could also shape into any animal form at all—quite impressive. He is Beastboy. Perhaps these two heroes could aid me.
Beastboy nearly choked. He remembered how the Titans had formed—they had joined together with Raven to fight off some huge dinosaur thing with red skin. Had that been Trigon? Raven had called it the monster back then. And how did Rae get Love back?
I have also discovered Batman of the Justice League's apprentice, Robin. He is also quite imposing and could be an asset. His spiky hair stinks, though.
The changeling sniggered. She could say that again.
There is also a strange alien girl—Koriand'r. She seems lost and I have taken her under my wing, renaming her Starfire. Starfire is quite powerful, though very naive and she speaks in Tamaranian. I don't understand her language at all.
Beastboy skimmed forward near the very end of the book, which was a few weeks ago.
Dear Diary,
I went into Beastboy's room today.
The changeling reminded himself to lock his room when he wasn't around.
He keeps two photographs under his pillow: one with all the Titans, even Terra, and one of him and his parents. It's odd seeing Beastboy, or rather, Garfield Logan, with peach skin and blond-brown hair. No wonder he's so stupid—he's blonde like Terra.
The last line was written forcefully and spots of ink were around the page, as if Raven had been stabbing it with her pen.
His eyes are still green, though. Interesting color.
After that, I went to meditate. Rage has been unusually quiet—she must be planning some vicious plan to get solidified or something.
Beastboy gave a small gasp when he read this. The others looked up, questions in their eyes, but he ignored them and read on.
Not that she could. The only way Rage and Trigon could get solidified is if someone from the outside helped them, and no one even knows about solidification here. Though if she did somehow get solidified, there would be no way to get back into my mind.
Gar leaned back, sighing. He nearly closed the book, but decided to read on.
The only way emotions can get back into my mind after being solidified is if they desire to come back and also use the Alucinor Mortis, which stands for something in Latin that I don't remember. All the emotion would have to do is hold the stone and desire to be back in my mind and then they would be in. But it's not as if they could get out and be solidified, anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
Beastboy let out a loud whoop and jumped up to his feet. "GUYS, I FOUND IT!"
Robin leapt to his feet. "Found what?" His laptop toppled onto the floor.
"I found the way for the Ravens to get back into Raven's mind!"
"How?" Cyborg and Starfire peered over Beastboy's shoulder.
"Um...the emotions have to find this thing called the Aluck...alook...ulucky..." Beastboy squinted at the page.
Cyborg sighed and snatched the book from him. "The Alucinor Mortis."
"Never heard of it," Robin commented.
"Yea, and they have to desire to get back in and they hold the stone thing in their hands and they get back in Raven's mind," Cyborg finished.
"Let us go fetch this Alucinor Mortis stone immediately!" Starfire squealed, full of vigor.
Robin tried peering over Cyborg's shoulder, but couldn't, as Cyborg was about eighteen feet taller than him. "Does it say where it is?"
"Nope, but I can look it up in the library or online..."
Intelligence tapped her slim fingers on her book. "What if the sentiment does not want to return? I do, of course, but Rage might not wish to."
"She'll be better off without Rage, anyway," Terra said darkly.
"No," Intelligence snapped at Terra, surprising the others. They thought that Intelligence could only be smart, not annoyed. The solidification thing was changing her, they figured. "Then if an adversary or someone infuriating, such as you, could completely annihilate the Teen Titans and Raven would not be able to become livid enough to fight back. She could be completely controlled."
"Well then, how is Rage going to get back?" Terra had to bite her lip in order not to retaliate.
"We'll figure out something," Robin said quickly. "First, let's find out where to get the stone. Cyborg, you search the Internet. I'll go to the library, Starfire will check the other emotions and the books in this room, Beastboy, you keep reading the diary in case there's something else, and Terra—you can...um..." Robin didn't trust her with any of the Titans Tower advanced computers, and he didn't want her at the library with him. "You can...help Starfire."
Cyborg left for his room and Robin for the library. Beastboy continued reading.
"Sarcasm, do you perhaps know anything about this stone?" Starfire asked Sarcasm.
"Yes, I know loads and loads about it. I'm just abundant with information," Sarcasm said (what else?) sarcastically.
Terra selected a book from the shelves and started skimming.
Half an hour later, Robin and Cyborg burst into the room.
"It's in Upper Lamumba, Africa," Robin said breathlessly. "In a temple, but it collapsed years ago. No one ever went through the ruins, though, so it could still be there, buried."
Beastboy suddenly turned pale, or light green, if you want to put it that way.
"Joyous!" Starfire exclaimed, relieved because she wouldn't have to interview any of the other emotions anymore. The redhead then noticed Beastboy's expression. "What is wrong, friend Beastboy?"
"Nothing," Beastboy muttered. "Nothing..."
"That's where you turned into a changeling and your parents died, right?" Intelligence said quietly to him. He nodded.
"Strange that it should be located there," Intelligence murmured, tapping her pale fingers on a desk. "Perhaps Azar situated it there to keep it away from Trigon...since the temple is sacrosanct and no malevolence may enter..." She trailed off.
"There's going to be a dead body in there, just so you know," Beastboy put down the diary. "Maybe more than one. And...bring lots of bug repellant, poison, clothes that cover all of your body, those weird sunhat things that have nets, and..." His face clouded over. "Make sure you know how to swim. Really well."
Cyborg looked at his best friend sympathetically. He knew that Beastboy's parents had died in a boating accident, and he also knew what it was like to lose a loved one. Or two.
"Oh, and by the way, my name isn't Beastboy or Garfield Logan, and I'll need your holograph thing," Beastboy continued. He looked very serious.
Creepy seeing him serious, Robin thought and shuddered to himself. Almost as bad as seeing Raven timid.
"Why?" Starfire asked.
"Dude, I can't tell you or you'll take me to some crap child care thing," Beastboy glanced at Robin. Maybe Robin hadn't remembered, but Beastboy remembered when Robin had told him he would drag him to jail if Beastboy couldn't remember what he had done to Raven during the Man-Beast episode. The changeling's trust in Robin had diminished completely after that. He still couldn't believe Robin thought he was trying to kill Raven. After all, the Titans had stood after him even when he was working for Slade.
"Don't you...trust us not to tell?" Terra asked hesitantly. Trust was a touchy subject with her.
Beastboy paused. No, he didn't trust Terra or Robin. Cyborg he could trust with a few things, and Raven with everything. But he couldn't just say that..."Um...well...it's illegal, and we're superheroes, and you would sort of have to tell..."
Terra looked dubious.
Beastboy threw up his hands. "Fine! This evil loser named Galtry is my guardian and he's been trying to murder me ever since I was five to gain my immense fortune, just like in The Series of Unfortunate Events. My life is a soap opera. I've been kidnapped by two criminals and been forced to steal things, but I ran away. Happy now?"
His sudden explosion took Terra aback. She vowed to never ever mention Beastboy's past around him ever again.
Cyborg was also surprised. Beastboy actually read a book that was more than fifty pages long? Shocking. And Beastboy was also rich...that was an interesting, but not unforeseen fact. After all, Robin had lived with Bruce Wayne, one of the richest people in the world, Cyborg had a very wealthy mother and father, Starfire was a princess, and Raven had stayed in a palace with Azar when she was younger. It wasn't shocking to find out Beastboy was rich, too.
"What is this opera of soap?" Starfire imagined lots of fat ladies with horned hats on their heads singing and dancing with bars of pink soap.
"It's the Earth equivalent of a Deglorg Glrrgledidm," Intelligence quietly informed the extraterrestrial.
"You sure you want to go, Beastboy?" Robin tried to be extra-kind to Beastboy. He knew that Beastboy was still mad about Robin's accusation when Beastboy turned into a Man-Beast. Things had never really been the same after that.
The changeling fiddled his gloved thumbs. Sure, he wanted to rescue Raven, of course, but...what if Galtry recognized him? What if the other Titans got the same disease Beastboy had gotten? He had a sudden flashback.
Beastboy sighed and looked far into the horizon. The waves lapped gently around the rock he was sitting on. A slight warm breeze softly blew to the east. The night sky glittered with stars tossed like diamonds into dark blue velvet. Though the others didn't know, Beastboy often walked outside to that very spot whenever he was feeling down or needed a break from his role as the optimist Titan. He felt the spot was special—Terra had thought so, too, as she had told him once.
Abruptly, a shadow fell over the mixed square of moonlight and light from the Tower that had before been illuminating the waters. The changeling glanced up and saw Raven, her cloak ruffling slightly in the zephyr. Beastboy shifted uncomfortably. It had only been moments before that they had dragged themselves home after Beastboy's fight with the other Man-Beast. He felt confused, ashamed, and scared. Confused at what was going on, ashamed that he had attacked his friends, and scared. Scared of himself, and scared of the Man-Beast inside of him.
Then they started to talk. They even had a sentimental moment that was fortuitously ruined by Beastboy's comment about the Titans calling him Beastman. The two Titans had continued to talk deep into the night, until Cyborg yelled out the window for them to stop flirting or he'd blast the rock they were sitting on apart. Raven and Beastboy had blushed, quickly turning away from each other and walking back in.
"Of course I'll go!" Beastboy replied, with sudden fervor. Love, who was listening silently, beamed at him. She had been afraid he would refuse.
"Alright, now, Beastboy, we'll need to know what we have to bring..."
The rescue attempt was underway.
Note: I am not an idiot. I looked up Yin and Yang on all sorts of websites--Yin is evil, Yang is good. Yin is pronounced YING but spelled YIN. Disagree? Look it up yourself.
JulesRules: Heh, ty. xP I added another reason for Raven leaving at the end, just 'cause you and someone else complained about it. -grins happily-
10920: Feh, afraid not. However, they probably will in the sequal...:) Thanks.
Ravyn: I used to think that, too, till I looked it up. :P
Jade-Monsoons: Rob/Rav? Rob/Cy? BB/Star?! -gags- EWW...xD Waitwaitwait, you forgot Rob/BB and Star/Rav. -giggle- Do you think that I should make them kiss in the second chapter of the sequal or is that too fast?
Pain and Tears: I adore long reviews. -smiles and uses this instead of a smiley because GUESS WHAT fanfiction doesn't let you use smilies cuz they block them out automatically grr- Yah. -repeats question- Do you think that I should make them kiss in the second chapter of the sequal or is that too fast?
CHEENAMI Danny: Thought about it. Decided it would be too awkward for poor BB. xP
Zeldagurli: -hugs- -chews on muffin- -gains 300,000 pounds-
Moonlight-is-Innocence: I personally think that Robin is Dick Grayson--I've always assumed that, straight from the beginning. Plus there are all those clues--the flying Graysons in Haunted, the bat in Apprentice (1 or 2...I forgot) when he says, "I already have a father." and that thing you just mentioned (didn't notice that -smiles-).... But on on the animated site, they say that since it's not stated, it could be either Dick or Tim...-grumblegrumble- What kind of stupid reason is that?! Of course it's Grayson; he turned into Nightwing! -rants on and on-
Wildfire Wolf: Mmhm. -noddnodd-
Haruko-sama: I think your English sounds fine. :) Rage is planning something ebil and -cough- I mean, uh, read to find out! ;)
IAmImmortal: I'll probably do that. Iunno whether to just kill off Terra or not in the sequal, though. -giggles nervously-
Frith: Lmao, no. I mean, yes. Or, well, no. Yes and no. xD I have something similar planned, without the flowery and mushy words and Beastboy kissing her to shut her up. xP But sorta. Yea. -grins-
Reveric Tigeress: I probably won't kill Terra...it gives me the creeps to kill off someone. :P But I might. -blinks- Yea, I did some research, but I edited it a little so that it fits the story, but it's basically the same. The only difference is the Galtry thing and how he's alive and the fact about BB being kidnapped--he was kidnapped, but in the comics he really just ran away and became a child actor. I took that out cuz that was dumb. xD
Amscray: In my original chapter, she had like, fifty emotions. xD But then I looked at some screencaps of Nevermore, and in that episode she only had 8 emotions, so I was just like, whatever. Make it simpler. -chuckle- In the comics, Dick Grayson almost marries Starfire. They had a wedding and everything, but Raven interrupts it and they end up drifting apart, so I think it's Dick. :)
NevermorePsychicSorceror, Sabishii Onna no ko, X37, Zee, Ettare, Raniatlw, angelzsweet90, and dancingirl3--THANKS!!!! -glomps all- :D
AHAHAHAHAHA LOOK THERE'S ANOTHER NOTE YOU BETTER READ THIS OR YOU WON'T HAVE A CLUE...NO, WAIT, THAT'S NOT TRUE, BUT STILL!!!!!
Note: If any of you guys have ideas for the sequal, please include them in your reviews or email me. :) Also, I don't think I did a wonderful job explaining, so if you're confused about the emotion/solidifying stuff, just email me and I'll try to explain better. -smiles nervously- TY!!
I LOVE YOU,
Lily