Yay, an update! As a side note, very little planning went into this story. I'm basically making it up as I go. So feel free to suggest things! (Translated as: "Give me a good idea now or I will stuff your socks with dead ferrets and make you eat them.") More suggestions means quicker updates, too. Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge shove.

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Beast Boy slunk through the dark corridors of Slade's hideout as a silent cat. This was it, the last chance. If this didn't work, then the plan was lost, and the Titans… They'd be as good as dead. Finally he reached the computer room, and the green cat limped forward, smelling the air for any signs of Slade. Beast Boy quietly morphed into human form, biting back the pain from many complaining injuries, and sat in front of the enormous computer.

Good thing it's still on. He quickly typed in the password and opened the program running the cages. Gingerly, he scrolled through the list of commands for each one, reading carefully. Here… and here .You had better be as predictable as I think you are, Raven. Within moments, one or two words and numbers in each program were just slightly different. The program was closed, the screen was blank, and just on the edge of hearing were the receding footsteps of a small cat.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The park was cold. The sky echoed darkly black and cavernous, except for a faint ribbon of vital, glowing indigo on the far horizon, which strained upward in an attempt to overpower the weak and failing stars. Four Titans stood in silence, watching their breaths materialize in clouds of whitish haze. Robin checked his watch: 3:56 a.m. Four minutes to go. The digital glow winked softly in the pre-dawn chill, and still the only sound was of breathing, horribly exposed in the empty night.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

And then one hoarse whisper of, "Now."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Beast Boy simply wandered into the clearing. Not as though he was coming back from the dead. More like he was coming back from the grocery store.

"Hey, guys."

Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin stood in complete shock for the merest second. But that was all Slade needed. Just as they began to rush forward, curious, relieved, and excited, the ground exploded. Four huge silver petals slammed upward to form a sphere around Raven just as strange black ribbons of rough material wove themselves around Robin in a hopeless entanglement. Starfire and Cyborg found themselves in their own spheres, locked in by the solid metal.

Beast Boy slumped down against a tree, no longer casual and nonchalant. He listened to the muffled yells coming from inside the cages with a tired, drained expression. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm really sorry. Don't hate me, guys. I'm sorry." He didn't bother to shake the dew off that was forming all over his body, but just let it form little beads that chilled him to the bone. He closed his eyes, without even the energy left to shiver.

The sound of a footfall crushing the dewy grass sent Beast Boy staggering to his feet, using the tree as support.

"Well done, well done indeed. I must say I had my doubts, but this was… marvelous." Slade surveyed the four cages. "Constructing them as solid sphere turned out well. Now they are unable to aid each other or themselves. I'm eager for the next part of this little drama, aren't you? After all, what could be better than the one moment of true betrayal?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Raven bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. Hours ago she had given up on trying to escape. She'd found out soon enough that trying would be worse than just staying still. Every time Raven touched the silver, it stung her hands. When she stuck her burning fingers in her mouth to quench the pain, she found them bleeding and blistered. Her agitated emotions were bringing her demon side into more prominence than usual, and the holy silver scorched any evil that dared touch it. Every bolt of black magic that Raven shot at it was simply absorbed. So she floated, touching nothing, frozen suspended in the velvet darkness. Thinking.

Slade. How did Slade know? And why was Beast Boy so relaxed back at the park? It couldn't be…No. He wouldn't. Not this. Not to me. I thought… I thought he loved me.

Raven floated in anguished silence, waiting for some release from her prison.

What came instead was light.

Beast Boy looked around at the four now-transparent spheres, one at each corner of the huge arena. He squinted against the too-bright light, feeling naked and exposed. His friends stared from inside their cages, not only at Beast Boy, but around the giant, cavernous space as though expecting something more. Expecting Slade.

Slade didn't come. It was just Beast Boy, standing awkwardly in the center of the floor. His uniform was ragged and rent in places, exposing dark bruises and cuts on his green skin. One abnormally pointed ear was torn and caked with blood, and a swollen scrape on his cheekbone oozed infection. Everything that the indistinct twilight of the park had hidden was now laid bare in the stark light.

Geez, he thought, I didn't know I looked this crappy. Whadda sight. Beast Boy felt a particularly intent gaze on his back and turned to see Raven staring at him through her clear globe with an indecipherable expression. Disappointment? Sadness? Hate? He turned away uncomfortably. Good. I guess it's working. But I wish it wasn't so real.

"Beast Boy!" An echoing shout snapped him to attention. "Please, what is going on?" Starfire's voice, though muffled, was clear, and full of nervous, anxious, worry.

Beast Boy opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, the sound of grinding machinery reverberated through the room. High up on one wall, doors slid back for an extending balcony, and finally the Titans stood before the enemy.

All five waited for Slade to move, to speak, but he did nothing. Just loomed in silence over the trapped heroes below him. A feeling of barely controlled panic began to rise in Beast Boy.

Oh no. Oh no. I bet he found out. He found out. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap. Oh God, we're all gonna die.

Finally Slade spoke. "Tell them. They deserve to know you for the true animal you are."

"What?" Robin turned to Beast Boy. "What's this supposed to mean?" Raven remained silent, staring at the lonely figure in the center of the room, scanning Beast Boy's beaten face. Cyborg hardly reacted: he looked semi-concious. The electric charge in the copper must have messed with his circuits.

Beast Boy remained silent. Wait for it… Wait for it… Slade jumped from the balcony, landing with an assassin's silence, and began to circle Beast Boy.

"Why don't you explain what it means, Beast? Explain to your friends."

Now. Beast Boy turned and met Raven's eyes directly. Loud and clear, sneering at the trapped girl, he announced, "I sold you out. I betrayed you all to Slade."

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Sorry my chapters are so short. I would make this longer, but… It's a cliffhanger too good to resist. Not to mention I'm on a deadline for choosing which high school I'll be attending for sophomore year, and that's a bit more pressing than this fanfic. Not much more, I'll grant you, but it is. Lo siento, gomen, sorry. I've got a bit more of an idea about what's happening in the immediate future, so the next chapter will come out pretty quick, I hope. And the next chapter will be a nice long battle sequence, too. Joy! (not)

Thanks to all reviewers, by the way!