BARCODE has been really successful for me, you guys! I'm not one for long author notes, but I'd like to thank everyone who's been staying with me to find out how the story goes as I do it! B-407 is slowly being tamed by Raven, but like I said earlier, what happened to Garfield Logan, the guy with the lighter? We'll find out today! I don't own Teen Titans! On with the show!

BARCODE

Chapter 6: Lighter

A man sat in a jail cell with one other. They hadn't spoken in the past hour or so, but had merely been laying on their bunks without a word. The night was so quiet it seemed to smother them both like a blanket. Even the moon didn't dare look in through the prison-barred window. It was nothing but clouds out there that night. The cell was dark, and the patrolling guard had long since retired to the guardhouse for the night.

Slowly, slowly, the man began to reach into the back pocket of his neon orange pants. Gently putting his hand in, he drew out a lighter. Click… pang. Click… pang. Suddenly, a tiny little panel on one side came open, and a green grid glowed to life. "Sir." He said, barely above a whisper. "Are… you… there?" He waited five minutes for a reply as he slowly typed the words into a tiny keypad. Ten. Fif –! The green lines waved slightly, and there was a text message displayed on the tiny screen.

I am here. B-407 still alive.

The man gasped almost too loudly, and clamped a hand over his mouth. B-407 had survived the blast! The Teen Titans hadn't destroyed him along with B-406! Looking back and forth in the darkness, he desperately typed back. Where? How?

Tracker embedded in hand. Heartrate steady.

A life-tracker embedded in his skin? When on Earth had THAT been done? The man lay there and wondered, unable to figure out if he should type anymore. Or what there was to say. He was in prison now, there wasn't much he could do. His boss was on the outside, though. All he could do was be patient, and wait… Finally, he typed back on the matchbox-sized keypad. Where is he now?

Location unknown. Terrian disrupting search.

The man sighed at the answering message. The boy was still alive, but he was lost in the forest, no doubt. Living off of the plentiful fruits and plants, he was willing to bet. Well, if he could survive so long on his own, it would only be a matter of time before Mr. Logan found him again, right? Being the ultimate project was all well and good, but being of the B-class and having limited programming, he couldn't last forever with his limited intelligence. Basic reading skills wouldn't take him very far in the jungle, anyway… His instincts would take over if he wasn't intellectually stimulated somehow. God forbid a hiker or someone would stumble across him, out in the middle of the unforgiving forest…

"That one's pretty good too, I guess." Raven said, sounding bored. B-407 had been showing her he could turn into animals for the past half an hour. All kinds of animals. Beasts, insects, lizards… everything she could think of. She'd have to bring him an animal book later so he could think of new things to turn into… He changed back into his humanoid form, still smiling, his shorts reappearing.

Raven had finally wrestled him into some shorts on her next 'visit.' He didn't look like he cared whether he wore them or not, for he was too busy chatting with her. And, for some reason, whenever he turned into an animal they would disappear. Raven puzzled over this for the longest time, but finally decided it didn't matter. As long as they reappeared when he changed back, which they always did. "Aaaaand a paaartrrridge innnn aaa peeeeear treeee!" he sang, spinning about gallantly as Raven walked down the path, shaking her head. "We g-g-got the beeeeat! Yeaaaheah! We got the beeeeat!" He had listened to the radio almost nonstop for three days, and was showing off what he had been learning while Raven had been away.

"It's a good thing we're in the middle of nowhere. You're getting quite a pair of lungs." She muttered, watching him dance about. "At least he's not wearing them on his head anymore…"

"Raven, we're leaving for the day." Robin's voice came over the com.

"Coming." She said flatly, pocketing her communicator. B-407 was upset that she was leaving so soon, and he made a whining noise in his throat. He knew whenever he heard that voice it was time for her to leave. "Oh, don't be a big baby." Raven said, turning and hovering into the air. He followed her back down out of the trees, to the ground. "You know I'll be back soon." He whined again and much to her surprise, grabbed her leg. "Let go!" she snapped, halfway in the air. He flew back and forth as she tried to shake him off, but remained firmly rooted. "Let go!" Leaves fell all around them because of her powers, and he released her out of fear. Feeling guilty for scaring him she let herself come back to the ground to say, "I'll be back later with more stuff for you to do, okay?"

He whined again, but more softly this time. He stood to his full height, right in front of her. He leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. Raven's breath caught in her throat. Instinct told her to hug him, but she resisted with nerves of steel. He nuzzled her neck a few times as his arms gently climbed her back. To Raven's surprise a soft moan escaped her. The forest seemed to still around them. The others were probably too far away to…… He leaned closer to her face, lips slightly parted…

…she quickly jerked away, hovering into the air! She wasn't going to let it happen. No way. She roughly pulled her hood up, giving him her darkest glare. His slightly pointed ears wilted with rejection, and he disappeared into the thicket. "Ahhh…" was all she heard. Feeling just a little bit guilty, she turned to go. "DUDE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and Raven knew it was panic in his voice. She dashed in the direction he'd gone and found a small clearing!

There was a man standing there! He was so out of place it wasn't funny. He wore a pressed suite, tie, and sunglasses. "B-407." He said aloud. "I've found you." Raven emerged from the thicket and he stared at her, hesitating for a moment. "And a Teen Titan…" he murmured. "B-407, come!" He extended his hand. "We're going to a backup lab. Now."

"Ahhh? Dude?" Garfield tilted his head, unsure of what he was saying.

"He must not understand speech yet." The man mumbled. "Okay…" He reached into his jacket and Raven braced! Bolts of black energy formed on her hands as he pulled out… a lighter? Click… pang. Click… pang. Raven hesitated, unsure of what to do. What was going on!

"Are you the one who made him?" Raven demanded.

"One of many." The man nodded, fingering his lighter. A little panel popped open on the lighter, displaying a green grid screen. "Come, B-407! NOW!" He typed a short command into the little lighter/computer and the green teen's left hand began to glow! He looked at himself in wonder as a little light made itself known, right in the middle of his hand. Something was buried in the skin, nestled tight in the tissue. Something glowing… "NOW!" The man finished typing the command, and bolts of molten energy ran across his body!

B-407 screamed in agony, lifted into the air by his own pain! Raven's emotions suddenly peaked and the ground split open! The man in the suite staggered to one side, dropping the lighter! As he was scrambling for it, Raven desperately reached for her communicator. "Robin!" she said one word before dropping it and flying to attack! He recovered the lighter and shocked the poor teen again, just as Raven slammed into him! He grunted, crashing into a tree! Raven didn't usually use so much force on a normal person, but he was asking for it!

"B-406!" The man screamed suddenly. Raven skidded to a halt in midair as Garfield writhed on the ground, clutching his hand! The earth itself began to shake and an enormous tree began to move as though alive! Thousands of vines made a grab for Raven, and she conjured a dark shield just in time! She blasted a few that came for her, all the while falling back! Branches groaned and the trunk screamed as roots were ripped from the ground! "Attack! Now!" the man pointed at the gothic teen.

B-406 had become a giant tree monster! It had survived the blast!

The tree, had it been a normal tree, could've been three hundred years old it was so big! You could've carved a hotel out of it! It jutted high above the other trees as it stretched high to attack the fleeing goth! Raven blasted rapidly with her bolts of dark energy, frying bits and pieces as they came at her! Suddenly a vine caught her ankle! She cried out as another threw itself around her middle! She desperately blasted over and over, but her shots went in every direction as she was wrung like a rag doll! Dozens more snatched her up and she was being dragged downward again!

Suddenly, all her vision was green. Vines came from all directions, writhing, crushing, binding her in a tight squeeze! She groaned aloud with pain as they gave another hard squeeze! Raven felt her small frame begin to bend. Eyes squeezed shut in pain, she took the biggest breath she could. Like a snake, if she exhaled, it would squeeze tighter to crush her! But, she had no choice! She had to –!

The dark girl with pale skin exhaled hard, screaming two words before she lost consciousness. "Beast Boy!" Then, the vines consumed her into darkness.

Ahhh? What happens next? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! OO; Not even I know right now, so give me a day or so, ya? This is gonna be awesome, I promise! Bear with me, and I won't disappoint! Stay tuned for chapter seven of BARCODE! I love getting reviews! Suggestions are also accepted, if youhave any good ideas! Because, to be honest, I'm kinda making this up as I go! ;