Chapter Ten: Street Thief
Disclaimer: FOR THE LAST TIME I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS GRRRRRR! (I'm not in a good mood at the moment can ya tell?)
Raven's eyes flew open and she bit back a sob. After she got herself under control again she noticed that it was raining. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the sky. Raven trembled. The thunder reminded her of her father's hideous laugh
"I hate storms." she muttered drawing up her hood. The garment shielded any rain from falling on her but for extra protection she raised a black shield over herself. She clasped her hands together breathing deeply to calm her emotions. This would require concentration and a clear mind
"Azarath." her eyes burned white even though they were closed "Metrion." her cloak billowed out and turned black "ZINTHOS!" a white raven form flew out of the half demon's body and cried to the sky then flew off into the rain. Seconds later the door burst open and the three Titans ran out into the rain
"Raven!" Cyborg yelled. The girl did not respond and Starfire gasped
"Friends, Raven's cloak. It is black." Robin walked over to the girl's floating figure but was immediately pushed back roughly by an invisible force
"Raven, what's the matter?" he asked. No response
"Friend you must come inside before you become the sick." Starfire called trying to avoid being soaked. Robin was already chilled to the bone and his hair was flattened against his skull. Cyborg was standing in the doorway not wanting to get wet because of his metal body
"Raven, come on girl you gotta wake up. We heard a loud cry; you have to know who it was." the metal teenager was greeted only by silence
"I believe Raven will be alright. She has her magic over her head and she has told me that her cloak is protected with a spell to shield it from the elements."
"Ya let's go inside before ya'll get sick." Starfire sneezed again and a pillar of green light lit up the sky. It disappeared rapidly and then Robin had a sneezing fit of his own. Cyborg groaned
"Too late." he muttered ushering his teammates downstairs.
Raven's soul self flew faster then her body could ever had. In this form her senses were sharp and her powers were even sharper. She could sense Beast Boy's familiar presence from miles away. She could feel his anger and guilt radiating like a beacon through the sky.
After what seemed like a few minutes of flight she found where he was. She circled the area memorizing its look then headed back to Titan's Tower.
Cyborg grinned slightly to himself as the two teens sat on the couch together huddling under a single blanket side by side since he 'could only find one blanket in the closet'
"Alright ya'll the soups ready." he said carrying two bowls into the living room carefully. Robin and Starfire took them gratefully
"Thank you friend Cyborg."
"Ya thanks." Robin responded. His hair had dried and it stuck up slightly even without hair gel. Cyborg shook his head then started for the door
"I'm going to go check to see if Raven's awake. She might know where another blanket is." Robin glared at him. He knew that the mechanical teen had given them only one blanket one purpose
"Be careful." Starfire called. Cyborg nodded and left the room. Robin finished his soup and set the bowl down on the table. Starfire did the same and sighed
"I do not enjoy being the sick. It rarely happens on my planet."
"I don't think anyone likes being sick Star. I hate it because my head gets so stuffed up and when I talk I sound funny." Starfire giggled
"Yes you do." he gave her a half grin and she smiled before sneezing very lightly
"I do not like being the sick because I grow very cold and noises seem so much louder." Robin looked over at her
"Is that common in your people?"
"Oh yes. Usually it is just the being cold, sneezing, coughing and the making of loud noises." as she finished speaking there was a loud crack of thunder followed by a flash of lighting. Starfire squeaked loudly. She buried her head into the couch in fear
"It's okay Star. Calm down." Robin's voice murmured. His hand touched the top of her head hesitantly then began stroking her hair. Starfire sighed then noticed that the couch was moving up and down like it was breathing
"Robin, our sofa is doing the breathing." she whispered. Robin chuckled nervously
"That's me Star. Or rather my chest." Starfire blushed but made no move to leave her position.
Cyborg opened the door to the roof and peeked out. Raven was still sitting there. floating like normal. But her cloak was black with a purple sheen to it 'Like a raven's wings' Cyborg noted. Suddenly a large white raven flew into view. Cyborg gapped at it. He had seen one like this before but it was black outlined in white now it was white outlined in black. The bird dipped into Raven's body. The half demon gasped and her eyes flew open. She whirled around and faced Cyborg her hands encased in a black mist
"Yo Raven hold up! Don't flip out on me."
"I know where Beast Boy is." she said suddenly. Cyborg scratched his head
"Hold on rewind first. What was that bird thing I saw going into your head?" Raven sighed and floated into the hallway pulling her teammate after her
"It's my soul self. I'm able to leave my body and enter the minds of others. It can also let me track someone by their human aurora." Cyborg stopped talking and dug his heels into the floor. Raven was jerked back into him and they both sprawled onto the floor
"Now," Cyborg said sitting up and brushing himself off "if you're done dragging me around like a sack of potatoes; would you care to tell me what's going on?"
"I know where Beast Boy and Slade are." Raven replied.
Soon all four were driving through the rain following Raven's directions. Robin and Starfire were sneezing in the backseat making Cyborg nervous. Suddenly the T-car's built in alarm went off and they headed to a large electronics facility
"What about Beast Boy?" Starfire asked sniffing loudly
"We'll find him after we deal with these punks." Robin growled. They pulled up and after a conversation with the police entered the building and headed into the basement/storage area
"Alright team spilt up and search for anyone who's not supposed to be here." the Titans immediately took off.
Raven flew down the long aisle lined with computers and other mechanical devices. She felt as if someone was watching her but she brushed it aside.
Robin walked down the row of shelves warily. He didn't like how quiet the area was. Then he could hear rain poring down. Strange the whole building was sound proofed. Then he saw a large gapping hole in the wall
"Titans I found a large hole in the outer wall. Be on the lookout." he said in his link.
A dark figure slipped from the top of the shelves following Robin's path. After the Boy Wonder headed down another aisle the figure dropped to the ground and started jogging silently to his destination. He couldn't do this. They were here. They would find him. She would find him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and the figure ran down another aisle before smacking straight into a large wall. Or so he thought.
Cyborg looked down to find a small person sprawled on the floor from the impact of hitting him dead on. There was a bright flash from the figure's mouth. A fang?
"BB?" he questioned. The figure leaped to their feet and took off down the aisle. Cyborg headed after whoever it was
"Guys I found someone. They're running now. We gotta cut them off."
"As you say Cyborg. No worries." Starfire replied. Suddenly she came into view and threw starbolts at the figure who flipped over backwards then ran through the smoke they created
"Freeze!" Robin yelled throwing an ice disk at the floor. The person skidded across it and continued running. Suddenly there was a sharp cry and whoever it was dropped down holding its neck
"Stop!" that voice sent a chill down everyone's spine. It WAS Beast Boy. Why was he robbing this place?
"Friend we have been searching for you! It is glorious that we have found you!" Starfire yelled flying over to the changeling.
Beast Boy saw the cheerful girl heading for him and tried to run but another shock riddled his body and he sprang at her morphing into a tiger along the way. The red head screamed and threw him off her with her alien strength
"Friend what has happened to you? Why do you attack me?" Beast Boy didn't reply just ran. He ran for all he was worth. At least she hadn't come. He was wrong.
At the end of the aisle Raven was floating calmly, one hand thrust out encased in a dark vapor. Beast Boy noted that all the boxes and crates around him were also black with her magic
"Don't make me do it." she said slowly. Beast Boy glanced behind him. The other Titans were advancing and if he tried to morph Raven would crush him. After a moment he let his shoulders droop and Raven released the boxes from her hold
"What is going on?" she asked
"Raven I-." another shock pierced through him. He leapt at the girl but at the last moment stopped himself and rolled away. In those few seconds starbolts rained down on him, a blue wave was shot and he could hear the familiar whistling of Robin's bird-a-rangs. He grit his teeth ready for the attacks to hit. But they never did. He opened his eyes and saw a black bubble surrounding him
"Apprentice get out of there." Slade ordered through the ear piece
"I can't. Raven-." another shock was sent rippling through him. He clutched his sides and fell to the floor
"Do not talk back. I said escape." Beast Boy tried to think. What animal could possibly get through the demon girl's magic? He could only think of one
"Do it." Slade ordered. The collar around Beast Boy's neck allowed him access to some of the changeling's thoughts concerning his powers
"I can't."
"You will or I'll come there and get rid of you and your little friends."
Outside the bubble the Titans were watching their friend not knowing the argument that was going on. Raven could feel pain coming off him in great amounts. Both physical and emotional. Then the changeling fell down holding his sides. Raven pressed one hand to her ribs. It felt like something was ripping through them
"Raven, what's going on?" Robin asked as she grit her teeth
"Slade's using something to force Beast Boy to do this." she looked at the teenager sadly "He's not doing this on purpose."
Suddenly there was a loud shrill howl that sent a jolt of fear down all the Titan's spines. The Beast was rapidly growing inside Raven's shield. She raised her hands and tried her best to contain the powerful animal but it was no use. Her magic erupted and flew back to her so fast it knocked her over into a pile of boxes. The others had no chance to help her since the Beast was attacking them
"You will not continue this!" Starfire yelled spinning around and letting large starbolts flew from her hands and eyes. They met together and bowled into the Beast but he still stood. The animal growled then looked at Robin
"Star give me a lift!" Robin yelled as the animal charged. Starfire grabbed the boy's had and lifted him to the top of a large shelf. To their surprise the Beast kept going
"Hey big and ugly." Cyborg yelled kneeling down and aiming his cannon "Try this on for size." he shot his sonic wave but the Beast simply ignored him and continued on his way.
Raven groaned and tried to sit up but there was a small cave of boxes preventing the action
"Well this seems familiar." she grumbled remembering the incident in Slade's lair. She could hear the voice of her teammates then silence
"Hey guys!" she called nervously. "Some help would be nice." still nothing then there was grunting and a few of the boxes shifted. The next thing she knew she was looking into the green, tired and worn face of Beast Boy
"BB? Is that really you?" she asked hesitantly
"Ya it's me. You okay?" she nodded and levitated herself up. When her eyes fell on the sight outside of her prison she screamed and fainted…