Disclaimer -I don't own Teen Titans...that is...unti...I saw this awesome Beast Boy costume at the mall...

Guy in BB costume: Can I leave now? I'm not Beast Boy...my name is--

Me: Shut up, BB. You know who you are.

Guy in BB costume: But my mom is at home, making cookies. And I want one. And I need this costume for Halloween--

Me: SHUT UP BB!

Chapter 18: The Undergrounds

She had transformed, against her will. She didn't know how, or why. It was her nature, her burning desire to become what she was; blood thirsty and mysterious, elemantle and deadly. Her element, water, was with her. Her power had returned. And though she did not know it quite yet, she knew that it was dangerous for her to do something without control. To become whas she was inside. Jet watched as she shrunk, her arms getting shorter, her fingers growing closer together to form pincers. She felt small spikes escape her spine and pierce her skin, creating a long line of pointed bumps down her back; her mark disappearing. It no longer needed to be there, she was what she was. He had tried to stop her, but nothing would be able to. The chains rattled as her body grew smaller, finally, until she was what she was meant to be: a scorpion.

The Sagittarius Root had worn off, thankfully. Her element returned to her, filling her blood with the pride and joy, the happiness she longed for. Her clothes outgrew her as she shrunk and she climb over them, scattering out of the lowest grid of the cellar before Jet could stop her.

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"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled back, leaving the local he had been talking to. "Beast Boy!" He ran after him as quikly as possible. Beast Boy had not went into the water yet. He was waiting by the water, waiting for Robin and the others to follow. He turned to Cyborg who had just arrived with Robin. Starfire swooped down as well.

"There's a really high frequency down there, Cy," Beast Boy explained, hope lifting his voice. "I think there might be a hide out down there! Really!"

Cyborg lifted his arm and a small satellite popped out from his finger, circling in a round motion and beeping. Cyborg kneeled down next to the water and the beeping instantly started to get faster and louder. "Man!" Cyborg complained. "There is high frequency. We should probably go get the T-sub and--"

"NO!" Beast Boy yelled. "No...I mean...I can just go down there and check..."

Starfire jumped up. "But Beast Boy, it is...dangerous in the water. And with Slade..."

"Star's right," Robin continued. "It is dangerous. It's better if we all go down together."

"But...but...they're expecting the T-sub! They aren't expecting a green fish," Beast Boy complained. Cyborg smirked, lifting his left brow.

"Aww...'ain't that cute, Robin?" He asked, nudging Robin with his elbow. "BB wants to save his little--"

"Shut up!" Beast Boy yelled, scarlet faced and starting to sweat. "I'm worried about her," he said, calming down. His heart stung. There was his chance to save her, to be her hero, and Cyborg was shooting him down.

"It's dangerous, Beast Boy. If you do go down there, you'll need weaponry. You don't know what you are up against," Robin told him.

Robin, always telling them what to do. No, he would save her, no matter what it would take from him. He would. But at the same time, he wanted to read the parts of the journal that Raven would let him. If he saved her and she returned, he would never be able to. But he wanted to save Scorpio more.

"No," he said seriously, turning to the water. "I'm not going with you in the T-sub, I'm going to find her. I miss her. And I'm worried." His voice was as serious as it had ever been. He jumped into the harbor, transforming into a fish and swimming into the depths before anyone else said anything.

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She ran quikly, scattering fast before anyone could stop her. Part of her mind remained human, the part that she could not control, the part that controled her most of the time. Her talents, her emotions, her life...it was not of animal, but of human. And right now it was driving her to the exit. The exit that she could not find.

The hallways were covered in red carpetry, ram hair dyed red of course. But there were no windows, not from where she could see. She kept running, hearing Jet's fading voice behind her. Wait, stop, your clothes...she could not go back to get them. Not now. She didn't care if everyone was to see her naked, as long as she would escape.

Naked! Damn it. She had been so stupid, so angry, her nature. "You are talented, Rella. You will go far..." The voices continued in a string of thought across her mind. She needed to escape!

The hallways turned and twisted, many had corners and many had dead ends, but none had windows. Everything was dark, only illuminated by light bulb or candle. She could no longer hear Jet's voice any more. She had lost him; her red color on the red carpet. Yes!

Only one problem remained. Her postion, her emotions afterward. When she had opened her journal after Raven had given it to her, she had tried as much as possible to stay in her room after transformation; afterward, when her Scorpion soul really did control her, when she wanted nothing but everything of the 8th house. Everything...everything...everything that she did not want but somehow needed...passion, love, control, intimacy, family, secrets...

She climb onto a wall, her body small and shivering. The air was cold and damp, and the vomit smell was still about her. She needed a higher place to see, to fly. Why hadn't she had transformed into a phoenix? Was that not of the 8th house? Why not a phoenix, or an eagle, or a serpant? They were all of the 8th house...

She knew why. She had transformed into a phoennix only once, once when she had felt so angry and distracted. She had burned all of her clothes, and most of her mother's old house. She had transformed into a serpant once when she was embarrassed, so embarrassed that she had transformed without controlling it. Only to be embarrassed far more when she transformed back into a human against her control, in her room infront of Nem. And an eagle, once, with control, when she wanted to soar above the clouds and escape on her 14th birthday. But she had done those all only once, and the only time in her absentmindedness. Now, though she could control her scorpion self, and though it took a lot of power to transform, she had. She needed clothes...

Her hopes lifted when she saw one of Torin's cloaks on the wall, hanging from a loose hook. It was orange and had yellow sleeves, not her favorite 2 colors in the world but they would have to do. She jumped from the wall right under the cloak...listening for Jet's voice or foot steps. Nothing. None. She had to think...control...human...

When she opened her eyes again she was a lot taller, her hair damped and spilled about her shoulders, her body shivering and pricking with goose bumbs, her legs numb. She waited another second for her tail to disappear, and when it did she sighed in relief, only to be shook by reality. She was naked, she needed the cloak.

She slipped on over her shoulders and pulled it down. It went well beyond her feet, and it smelled like birch wine. Egh... Torin was such a drunk. She needed to get out, to find a window.

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He had to go down deep, deeper and deeper into colder water. He had heard the frequency, they were down there. All of them. And if they hadn't had killed Scorpio yet--

Killed. Death. Gone. They wouldn't. Not now, not when he was about to save her. Not when he was about to be her hero. No...

There it was, at least...what he thought it was. A large, tin box, much like a house with no roof. No windows, only about 50 tanks of oxygen attached with pipes to the tin house. It was giving off bubbles, small but there. Beast Boy shrunk into a smaller fish, wondering how he was going to get into the house without busting something open. He could break one of the tanks and cut through the pipes, but it would be too obvious. He needed to think big...

Or did he? There were cracks, there had to be. Something that poorly put togther had to have a flaw, but where? And when he found that, where would Scorpio be? Did he even want to find out?

He came closer, shrinking even smaller and smaller, until he was about a milimeter long. Good. He looked about the large area before him. There it was, a crack! Awesome. He squeezed through and looked about him before transforming to normal size.

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Robin burst into the main room doors, calling Raven's name. She looked up from the journal, frightened but calm. She pulled her cloak on and met him in the main room.

She raised an eye brow.

"Beast Boy found something in the harbor, high frequency. He dove in before we could tell him not to," Robin said with dissappointment. "We came to get the T-sub, and you."

She raised her eye brow again. "Something in the harbor?"

Starfire nodded solemly. "He went in before we could convince him."

"That dude's crazy about Scorpio," Cyborg added, grinning inside. "It has to be that curse."

"It's not," Raven said in defence. No. It wasn't. He was not of Saphiria, it should not have affected him at all. But her missed her. He worried about her. Not her mark. "Let's go then."

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