Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, etc, etc, it all belongs to the many geniuses at DC, etc. You know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

Okay, this is the second to last chapter, hope you all enjoy.

Homecoming

Chapter Seven

High above the streets of Jump city the man in the golden armour waited. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail and fell down his back, almost to his waist. He had piercing blue eyes and a hard looking, aged face. His name was Ray Murdock, otherwise known as the Projector, and he was about to get his revenge on the Teen Titans.

Nightwing was the first to appear, swinging up and over to land in a crouch across from him, on the other side of the building. Starfire appeared next to him, floating down to join him. Beast Boy was next, morphing from the form of a peregrine falcon into his human form as he landed. Raven and Cyborg appeared beside him, emerging from a black orb in the ground as Raven teleported them onto the roof. Finally, Terra floated up behind the team, standing on a large rock.

The Projector smiled widely at them, showing his yellowing teeth. Beast Boy made a face and whispered 'Dude!' under his breath. The Projector turned fully to face them.

"Ah," he spread his arms in greeting. "Welcome Titans. So good to see you again."

"Again?" Cyborg asked. "I'm sorry but I don't remember kickin' your butt before."

"Hmm," the Projector murmured, his eyes taking on a maniacal look. "You wouldn't would you. To you this is nothing. To you I am nothing. Well, I was nothing. Now, I am your worst nightmare - your fears. I will make you suffer beyond comprehension and then I will kill you all!"

"Great." Raven muttered darkly. "Another psychopath with a grudge. Can we get this over with?"

"Raven," The Projector smiled widely again, and Raven had to admit it was quite a frightening sight. "So hasty to lose? Why I have many things planned for you all. But first, I have some information you might find…" he turned his eyes to Terra. "…Interesting."

"What do you mean?" Terra roared, glaring angrily at him.

"You are being lied too Titans." He declared, pointing his finger at Terra. "She is deceiving you!"

"What?" Beast Boy turned his attention to Terra, looking at her questioningly.

Terra shook her head. "I'm not! I have no idea what he's talking about! He's just trying to trick you."

"Oh I believe you are the tricky one Terra." The Projector grinned. "You say you are a clone of Terra but that is a lie. You say you come from the future. That is also a lie. You see Terra…you are Terra!"

Terra gasped. Beast Boy looked at her, trying to find out if she was lying or not. "I'm not! No! You're lying!"

"I am not." The Projector wagged a finger at her. "I am the one responsible for your resurrection. I implanted your future memories into your head so that you would believe you were a clone. Run a thorough DNA test and you will know the truth."

Terra shook her head once again, looking only at Beast Boy. "It's not true BB. It isn't!"

"We don't have time for this!" Nightwing growled. "I've had enough of you. Titans, go!"

Nightwing didn't waste anytime, extending his Bo staff and charging the Projector. He swung low, aiming to take out the man's legs. As expected the Projector jumped high into the air to avoid the attack. Nightwing removed an escrima stick (a new weapon he adopted to use in his guise as Nightwing) and threw it into the air after him. The Projector wasn't expecting this and fell foul to a shot to the chin, knocking him into a flip in mid air and coming to land in a crouch not too far away. He growled and wiped some blood from his lip with the back of his hand. Nightwing caught the escrima stick and attached it back to his suit, smirking at the Projector.

"Impressive." The Projector whispered. "But the Projector will not fall lightly."

"The Projector huh?" Cyborg came around on the other side of the Projector, locking him in his sights with his sonic cannon. "What's up with that? All the good names taken?"

The Projector laughed. "Very funny, but I can guarantee you will not be laughing when I am done with you!" He closed his eyes and in an instant the roof was swarming with masked thugs.

Starfire gasped and started spraying the rooftop with star bolts. The roof began to shake as it gave way under the powerful barrage.

"Starfire stop!" Nightwing yelled, and instantly the alien girl stopped her assault, turning to look questioningly at him. "It's not real, look!" He pointed to the unharmed masked thugs, who all glared at him behind hockey masks. "They don't even have a scratch. They're not real."

"He's projecting things into our heads." Raven clarified.

"Indeed." The Projector said and stepped to the side, instantly disappearing. "But the question is, what is real? And what is not?"

"Damn." Cyborg barked. "What now?"

"Spread out." Nightwing ordered. "Find him!"

(----)

Meanwhile, Terra was still hovering in the air, standing on her empowered rock and trying to get the Projectors words out of her head. He was lying. He had to be. She couldn't be the original - it was impossible. She clearly remembered her time in the future. It just couldn't be false. It couldn't!

"Terra?" Beast Boy's voice cut into her thoughts and she turned to look down at him. He was watching her intensely. "Tell me the truth. Is he telling the truth?"

"No!" She protested. "I mean, I don't think so. I can't be her. I don't want to be. I remember my life…growing up…with my family. It just can't be false."

"You really believe that don't you?" Beast Boy asked, although it really wasn't a question. Terra nodded. "Then forget about it Tara. Let's just concentrate on kicking this guys golden ass, right?"

Terra smiled and nodded, although secretly she was still worried about the Projectors words. Beast Boy and Terra joined the fight.

(----)

Nightwing found himself inside a circus tent, looking around wildly. He knew what was going on. The Projector was making him re-live his parent's death. Nightwing growled low in his throat and closed his eyes. It didn't help. He could see it happening all around him, replaying over and over in his mind.

"Projector!" he roared. "You want to fight come out and fight like a man!"

"Oh my but why Nightwing?" the Projectors voice echoed around him. "Why would I do that when I can have so much fun this way?"

Nightwing forced himself to relax. He looked back in his own mind and tried to recall his mind blocking lessons with Batman. He found them and concentrated, focusing on creating a mental shield around his mind. He did it, and with a snap he was back on the building on the outskirts of Jump City. He looked around.

Starfire was on the floor, struggling with some unseen force, her eyes glowing a fierce green. Cyborg was on his knees, hands clasped over his head, shaking it violently and muttering harsh words under his breath that Nightwing could not make out. Raven was also on her knees, seemingly comatose, frozen in place. Beast Boy was staring out at the horizon, his hands clutching the guardrail around the building and almost turning his forest green skin white. Terra was seemingly fighting an invisible force, growling and shouting inaudibly.

A gasp from Raven startled him and he turned to see her looking up at him from underneath her hood. She quickly stood up, taking in her surrounding like he had done.

"Raven?" he asked.

"Dick," she was still looking around at the rest of the Titans. "I felt someone invading my mind. Before they were able to get fully inside I closed them off and erected a mental shield. You did the same?"

"Yeah." Nightwing motioned to the others. "It looks like they're reliving their worst fears or something."

"Indeed." Raven agreed. "I might be able to project myself into their visions and help them out, but I would need you to distract the Projector."

"You got it." Nightwing waved his arm around in the general direction of the others. "Get to it. I'll handle this guy."

"Right." Raven closed her eyes and floated up into the air, coming to rest in her usual meditative position. "Good luck."

"Ditto." Nightwing dropped into a crouch and unhooked both escrima sticks, holding them at his side. "Come on out Projector."

"If you insist!" a familiar voice called out from behind him and he turned just in time to see a fist come flying at his nose, knocking him backwards and skidding along the floor. He looked up and was greeted by the powerful figure of Slade. He snarled.

(----)

Raven found herself lost in an African jungle. She could hear running water coming through the bush but couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from. There were too many noises in the jungle, confusing her. She looked around wildly. Beast Boy must be nearby. This is his vision. His nightmare. She started in the direction she thought the water was coming from, calling out his name:

"Garfield!"

Nothing. She hopped over a log that was blocking her path and continued to tear through the bush. She tried to use her empathic abilities to search the green skinned metamorph out but found herself collapsing onto her knees as the panic, anger, helplessness and sadness bombarded her. It was like this whole place was one big emotional cesspool. Of course, this was all in Beast Boys head. He wasn't really anywhere in this world and therefore he was everywhere. Raven cursed and continued her trek through the rain forest. He had to be somewhere.

"Garfield!"

(----)

Nightwing flipped to his feet and charged at Slade. Slade blocked everything he threw at him, eventually twisting his arm up around his back and snarling into his ear:

"You cannot beat me Robin!"

Nightwing growled and elbowed Slade in the head, making the armour clad man gasp and release him. Nightwing twirled around and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head, sending him further back, coming to land in a crouch.

"It's Nightwing!" he shouted. "And you're not Slade!"

Slade – or rather the Projector – chuckled. "What makes you so sure?"

"Slade would never have tried that move on me." Nightwing answered. "Besides, Slade is in jail, and has been for the last year. He couldn't be here."

"Hmm." The Projector murmured, resuming his own form. "But I happen to know a little secret. Something that might change your opinion on that matter."

"Oh yeah?" Nightwing drew his escrima sticks again and charged the Projector. "And what would that be!" Nightwing threw the first escrima stick straight at the Projector, who batted it away with his armoured arm. He deflected the next escrima strike but was caught of guard as Nightwing dropped low and swept his legs out from under him.

The Projector rolled to the side to avoid Nightwing's follow up attack and got to his feet, charging Nightwing with his own volley of attack, which he easily blocked. Nightwing glared at the Projector and head butted him in the nose, knocking the armour wearing man backwards. The Projector growled at him and raised his arm, just as Nightwing's hand dropped down to his waist. The Projector's arm morphed into a sick organic looking tentacle and flew towards Nightwing.

Nightwing stood his ground and calmly raised a gun, loaded with a tranquilliser dart before him. The tentacle went right through him as if he wasn't even there - or rather it wasn't there. Nightwing fired. The Projector gasped as the dart sunk into his neck and his body almost instantly went numb and he fell to the ground. Nightwing stepped up to him and looked down at the villain.

"He's free." The Projector rasped, his eyes drooping. "He's free."

(----)

A young eight-year-old Beast Boy watched as his parents boat began to explode before him. He was stuck on the shore of the river, stuck on the ground, watching. Helpless. The explosions rocked the boat from side to side and he could hear his mother's screams even from his position on the shore. This was his worst fear, his worst memory. He hated being helpless. He hated himself for letting them die. He couldn't ever forgive himself for not doing something, anything.

"Garfield?" A quiet, slightly rough voice that didn't belong asked. He turned, and in that instance resumed his teenaged form. Raven was standing just behind him, watching with wide eyes as the boat continued to explode.

"Raven?"

"What is this?" She asked.

Beast Boy turned back to face the boat. "My parents are…were…on that boat. I couldn't save them. I should have, but I didn't. I was too scared. They died because I'm a coward."

Raven was silent. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. She couldn't let this cloud her judgement though. They needed to get out of here and rescue the others.

"Garfield," she said as he turned to look at her once again. "We have to get out of here. This isn't real. It's just the Projector."

"I know." Beast Boy turned fully and approached her.

"Then come on," Raven held out her hand. "I can get us out of here."

As he reached out for her hand the world around them vanished and they found themselves on the rooftop once again, standing before each other, hands out stretched, almost touching. Beast Boy withdrew at once. Raven let her own hand drop and looked around.

Starfire was sitting up, looking around curiously. Cyborg was standing, doing the same. Terra was on her knees, crying silently. She saw Beast Boy approaching the crying girl. Nightwing was standing over an unconscious Projector, frowning. He eventually looked up and caught her eye.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing…" Nightwing trailed off. "I'll tell you later. Let's get this idiot locked up and get back to the tower."

Raven nodded.

(----)

There you go, hope you liked it. Final Chapter will be up soon; I already have it finished, just going to keep you all waiting because I'm evil. Muahahaha. After this fic is finished I'll be posting the sequel, which I already have started, and that'll be the real start of my series of Teen Titans fictions. This was just a short warm up story. Well then, until next time, be safe, and review please.

Piccolo999