kkori: heh, yeah, I've had quite a few sad chapters in this story, ironically, those happen to be my favorite chapters...simply because i had the most fun writing them. Anyway, I hope you like how this story ends, cause I've worked long and hard to get to this point.

NOTES: not much to say here, I hope you like it...this is the final chapter

Chapter Eighteen: Beast Boy No More

Twenty years passed, and despite her best efforts, Terra had long since given up her search for Beast Boy. After she received the news of Changeling's death, Terra seemed far less determined to find the fallen hero. Nightwing had finallystepped down as leader of the Justice League, and command had passed to Terra and Warlock as the League made the transition into the next generation. The new League members vowed there would never be another Beast Boy among their ranks. His name had become a curse; synonymous with treachery and murder.

Although Nightwing had formally given command to Terra and Warlock, they shared the responsibility with the other surviving members of the New Teen Titans. In the early stages, the League Council led with an iron fist. After what happened to Beast Boy, they refused to tolerate any form of insubordination. For a first offense, heroes were locked in a holding cell for varying amounts of time. On a second offense, they were discharged from the League. Thanks to some counseling from Nightwing, however, they repealed the zero-tolerance policy. They realized that the Council didn't always have the answers, and often times, their way wasn't the only way.

At first, people were afraid of the new League. They had heard all about the infamous Beast Boy and how he went dark and killed both his parents, and two of his former teammates. Many of the younger members even left the team when they learned the former Titans would be taking over. But before long, their fears were settled when the people saw that the new Justice League meant business. Even their toughest critics agreed that after what they went through with Beast Boy, this new generation of heroes was unimaginably stronger than he two that had gone before. Life was good and the world was safe. The Justice League was in control.

It would be a long time before the new League would encounter any real threat, so for the moment, they were more a symbol of safety than an actual form of protection. Nano spent most of her days locked in a laboratory on earth with the leading scientists from the Watchtower. She refused to tell anyone what she was working on, but promised that it would change the world. Almost two years after they first arrived in the Watchtower, Nano approached Terra and Warlock about the progress of her work.

"Time travel," Warlock asked. He was clearly skeptical. Nano nodded, "Yes. It's been tested countless times. There is no doubt in my mind that this will work." She smiled enthusiastically, "We can save Beast Boy. Not to mention everyone else." Terra shook her head, "There's too much of a risk involved." Warlock smirked, "Yeah. I do not want monkeys taking over the world." Nano glared at him, "The only problem is that right now, we haven't developed a way to return." Terra stared at Nano with a confused look on her face, "What does that mean?" Nano sighed, "The time-machine itself is built into the computers in the lab, so if we send someone through time, they will basically be stranded." She paused slightly and rubber her chin, "Of course, we could always go forward in time and find the solution to the problem Then we…" She trailed off as she turned and walked away. Terra and Warlock exchanged an awkward glance. "She said she knows what she's doing," Warlock said finally. Terra shrugged, "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

A week later, Nano brought her proposition up again, only with a bit more enthusiasm. "We were able to fix the problem and create a sort of round trip portal for the machine." She pulled up a diagram that looked like complete gibberish to Terra and Warlock, and her explanation made even less sense. Terra stared wide eyed at the diagram, "Well, if you think it will work…" Nano jumped in, "It will." She sighed, "As long as I'm the one to go back." Terra sat up in her chair, "Why?" Nano shook her head, "It's easy enough to travel in one direction, but to come back, the machine needs to be reproduced. In theory we could send a team of people, as long as I go along too." Terra shrugged and glanced over at Warlock. "Well, Im convinced." Warlock nodded, "Yeah. Let's rewrite history."

The room was nearly pitch-black. The only visible light radiated from the flickering TV screen against the wall. The reporter's voice filtered through the speakers and gave off a fake enthusiastic tone. "The world of science is about to change forever as Justice League member, Nano unveils her groundbreaking time machine. The League Council claims this event will not only change science, but the world as we know it. With the new invention, the League hopes…" The reporter's voice was cut short as the TV shut off. A haunting voice cut through the dark and silent room, "Perfect. Everything is falling into place."
A week passed, and Nano spent most of her time making the final preparations for her journey. Terra insisted that Frostbyte and Vortex went with her to make sure the plan went smoothly. She still had her doubts, but after all these years, if there was even the slightest chance of saving Beast Boy, she had to take it. It was about 9:30 the night before the big day. Nano ran one last system check before shutting down the machines in her lab. The steady hum slowly faded away, and she sighed with satisfaction as she left the room. As she neared the front door, she thought she saw a shadow run past the window.

After a brief pause, she decided her eyes were just playing tricks on her. "I really need to get some sleep," she thought as she opened the door. Then, a dark figure leapt from the shadows and grabbed Nano's arm. She reacted instinctively and swung her free hand at the attacker's head. He dodged the punch and threw Nano to the ground. "You'll have to do better than that," he said tauntingly. Nano mumbled something under her breath before climbing to her feet. "Calling for help already?" Nano glared at the shadow and tried to squeeze her way back inside the laboratory. It was no use. He slid through the door along side her and pinned Nano to the wall. "Enough joking around. Let's see your time machine."

Nano led the way into the laboratory hoping that help would arrive soon. As the door opened, a small rock flew through the opening and cracked against the intruder's skull. He stumbled back and lost his grip on Nano. He rubbed his head gently and stepped into the room. "That was almost painful…" he said quietly. He sighed heavily as he moved to the center of the room. "Ok," he said plainly, "let's get this over with." As if following orders the waiting League members charged forward to teach the mysterious crook a lesson. However, they found this to be no easy task. He managed to avoid everything they threw at him. Warlock ran forward and pulled out his electrified staff. He took at swing at his opponent's leg, but it was no use. The dark figure leapt out of the way and planted a heavy kick in Warlock's stomach on the way down. Warlock grunted and fell to the ground losing the grip on his staff.

On the far side of the room Nano turned on the lights to give the League members a better look at their attacker. As the fluorescent glow filled the room, Terra caught a flash of green skin holding onto Warlock's weapon. "Best Boy?" He didn't respond. Frostbyte shook his head, "What's with the costume?" Beast Boy shrugged. "I was weak. The only way I became strong was by changing my form into something else. It may have been...convenient, but it wasn't good enough. So I trained in martial arts, and found a friend to build this strength enhancing body armor. With this suit, my natural strength is more than doubled."

Beast Boy ran at Terra and slammed Warlock's staff into her stomach. She felt an electric surge run through her body, and lost the feeling in her legs as she crumpled to the ground in a helpless mess. Beast Boy smiled eerily, "That should wear off in a few hours." He turned around when he felt something cold grab his arm. Frostbyte smirked, "This one's for Falcon!" He punched Beast Boy square in the face and knocked him to the ground. Beast Boy growled and kicked his foot out as Frostbyte stepped closer. His legs were swept out from under him, and he landed hard on the ground. Before he could get up, Beast Boy kicked Frostbyte hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Nano came charging at Beast Boy as her hand changed into a large metallic hammer. When he heard Vortex running at him from the other direction, he jumped out of the way, and Nano slammed head on with Vortex. Best Boy landed gracefully on his feet next to them and jabbed them in the back with Warlock's staff, rendering them helpless. "I expected a lot more from you after all these years. You disappoint me." Terra glared at him, "What do you want?" Beast Boy smirked, "With you? Nothing. I want your time machine." Terra did her bet to remain calm, "Why?" Beast Boy's eyes narowed, "For revenge." He smiled triumphantly, "I'm going to make them pay for what they've done to me…" Warlock groaned in the corner, "Who?" The smile faded from Beast Boy's face as he spoke, "The Titans."

Beast Boy reached down and pulled Nano to her feet. He dragged her over to the time machine and held her face in front of the monitor. "Power it up," he said firmly." Nano reluctantly lifted her hands to the keyboard and started the machine. Beast Boy sighed with satisfaction, "Send me back fifty-five years." Nano glanced back at him, "Why?" Beast Boy grabbed her head and turned it back to the monitor, "I am going to take the Titans apart from the inside out. Nightwing will become my apprentice, and with him, I will destroy the Titans before they ever get the chance to destroy me." He glared at Terra, "And if that doesn't work, I'll just use you."

Seconds later, a swirling vortex appeared in the center of the room. Beast Boy sighed as he stared into the light radiating from the hole that had been torn through time. He stood before the portal and turned to face the helpless League members lying bruised and beaten on the floor of the laboratory. "There's one more thing," he said quietly. "Beast Boy does not exist anymore." He paused to make sure they were all paying attention. "My name is Slade." Then, he covered his face in a familiar mask of orange and black, leaving one violet eye visible. The same violet as the long departed Raven and the only remaining connection to who Slade used to be. Then, he turned his back on his former friends and stepped through the portal.

THE END

Well, it was such a blast to write this story. I've put my heart and soul into writing this, and after more than three months, it is finally finished. I really hope you liked it...