A/N: Wow, two chapters of the same story in a single evening, that is most unusual for me. Hope you enjoy.

Mind Trap

Chapter 14

Raven woke. She lay a moment in her rooms silence, trying to determine exactly what had woken her up. After a fruitless few minutes, she attempted to push back her sheet, but found herself unable to move. She bit back panic as she attempted to move first one arm than the other, but neither responded to her commands. She also found, to her growing dismay, that she could not speak.

She closed her eyes and focused on her power, attempting to find the source of her sudden paralysis. It immediately became evident that some sort of power was holding her down, it was not a natural paralysis. She attempted to sense the spell holding her, but could not feel a structure to the spell, felt only raw power holding her down.

Raven snapped fully back into reality when she heard a noise in her room. A hiss, seemingly of pain, followed by shuffling footsteps coming toward her from her door. She strained against the invisible force pinning her to the bed, and managed to turn her head a fraction of an inch to see a form walking toward her.

Because of the darkness, she could make out no features of the intruder. She could only see a silhouette walking to her, and a knife. She tried to speak once again, but could only managed to let out a small moan, not enough to summon the full force of her power. The voice that she heard respond to her surprised her, "Don't worry, Raven. It's going to be over soon." Beastboy's voice called out to her, trying to sooth her, though the knife he held dispelled any relief that she should have felt.

Beastboy walked to her bedside and knelt next to her. He gently grasped her hand and lifted it, the force holding her allowing her hand to raise up off the bed. The hand that held her's was slick with a warm sticky liquid, blood.

Raven made another attempt to speak, but was still unable to make more than a small sound. Beastboy brought the point of the knife to Raven's palm, "It won't hurt much, Raven, I promise."

Raven felt a sharp sting as he drew the razor sharp blade, she recognized it now as one of her own, across her palm, drawing blood. He let the knife fall to the ground and transferred her hand his other hand. He allowed her blood to drip from her bleeding hand onto his forearm for several minutes before letting drop back to the bed.

As soon as her hand hit the bed, Raven felt the weight pressing her into the bed vanish. Now in full command of her body and power, she stood and flicked the switch across the room. She turned to Beastboy, preparing to rip into him for whatever stupidity had caused him to do this, but froze.

Beastboy was still on his knees, but had now curled up further, his hands clutched to his temples. His eyes pulsed a dull red glow, fading back into his usual green, then the glow grew once again. "I am in control. I am in control." He chanted through clenched teeth, obviously in no little pain.

Any anger that Raven felt towards Beastboy melted, "Beastboy, what's wrong?" She knelt next to him and pulled one hand away from his temple and gasped, a deep cut ran up his forearm and bled profusely.

Raven grabbed her communicator off her bed table and hit the call button, "Cyborg, get down to my room now." She spoke calmly, but was desperately trying to bring her raging emotions under check.

Beastboy had fallen silent, though he was now rocking back and forth, his hands still clutching at his temples. Raven pressed her hands to either side of his face, ignoring the sting of pain in her palm, and forced him to look up at her, "Beastboy, look at me." His eyes traveled up, frighteningly slow, until he met her eyes. "Beastboy, what's going on?"

"I am in control." was her only response, a mantra that he didn't seem to be able to escape, "I am in control."

--------------------

Raven stared at Beastboy's gaunt form on the thin mattress of the infirmary bed. Cyborg stood near the bed, checking readouts, and adjusting an IV. Robin stood next to her, showing no signs of having been pulled out of bed only minutes before, and next to him was Starfire, still in flannel pajamas and forcing back a yawn. "What happened, Raven?" Robin's words were clipped, a sign that he was nervous.

"I don't know. I woke up and couldn't move. I don't want to call it magic, it didn't feel like magic, but I don't know anything that could have held me down so perfectly. I couldn't even touch it though, it's so far beyond me…" She shook her head.

"What happened to him though," He gestured at her hand, now healed, "And to you?"

"Beastboy did it. I don't know why. When I could move again I turned on the light, and he was just rocking back and forth and chanting about being in control. His eyes glowed a couple of times to, I hate to say it, but he looked possessed."

"Possessed?"

"Yeah. Evil spirit takes over a person's body and uses. People can't usually fight a possession though, and if that's what it was, why did it just cut my hand."

"Maybe Beastboy was able to stop it from doing what it wanted to do, maybe that's why he was cut too."

"You mean he tried to kill himself rather than hurt us?"

"Yeah."

"I guess we'll find out when he wakes up."

Cyborg stepped out of Beastboy's room, and into the viewing room. "He's stable. I was a little worried for a few minutes."

Robin was the first to respond, "What's wrong with him?"

"Not much, near as I can tell. He exhausted, though. Whatever happened wiped out all of his bodies resources, and the blood loss didn't help at all. I expect him to be out until tomorrow at least."

Robin nodded. "I want someone with him at all times. I'll take first…"

"No." Raven interrupted him, "I'll take first watch."

"I don't know, Raven, it was you he went after first."

"And if he attacks me, I'll be the most capable of hurting whatever's controlling him without hurting Beastboy himself."

Robin considered this, "Alright. If anything happens, call for help. Even if he just wakes up."

"Alright."

Starfire and Cyborg both left to their respective rooms, leaving Robin and Raven alone. "Raven, do you think this has anything to do with him disappearing earlier?"

"I don't know. He was pretty despondent when I found him, but I don't think he would do anything stupid."

"Has his behavior had anything to do with what happened in that computer?"

"Yeah. After we got out, he pretty much promised me he would find a way to let me feel emotion."

"Is there a way?"

"No, earlier he told me was giving up."

Robin shook his head, "For the last five years, Beastboy has been trying to get Cyborg give up meat, he's been trying to get me to lighten up, and he's been trying to get you to crack a smile. You really think that he would have given up on you after a week?"

"I guess it was wishful thinking. That kind of quest can destroy a person."

"Keep an eye on him, one of us will be down to relieve you tomorrow."

"Alright."