Changes Chapter 16: Part 16, a teen titans fanfic

Part 16

The heart ponders all its life

An animal stuck in a cage

It beats onwards to the future

It brightest on the stage

To each know the time

When a love doth come

Take it gingerly

As soft as a gentle hum

Be not a clipped bird

And fall forever short

Take the good with the bad

The love and the hurt

Let the heart ponder

But let it step soft

Let the heart find

But don't tread too rough

Raven exhausted with trying to figure out Beast Boy and struggling to gain any sleep finally tried to get some rest early in the afternoon. She comically wrote a note and taped it to her door, "Knock at your own risk."

Beast Boy sat on the sidelines as he watched the other titans go through the training course.

"Star!" Robin yelled raising his hands, Stafire quickly swooped down and picked him up and tossed him over a robotic obstacle. He took out several exploding disks and knocked out several drones that were flying in the air. Star turned around and blasted the obstacle they just passed.

Cyborg aimed his cannon and shot a drone that flew up towards Robin's back, a missed shot would hit Robin, a good shot, would hit the drone – luckily Cyborg was a good shot.

"Augh!" Starfire screamed as she lifted up a huge piece of stone and through it towards a huge machine that was meant to crush the titans if they fell into it. It tried crushing the stones but its mouths couldn't close with the stone being placed inside of it. Robin flipped up onto the giant stone, and took his polearm and swated away a few drones that were hanging around the machine. He then pole vaulted over towards several robots aimed with lasers, he ducked under one shot and swatted at one of the robots legs and placed it onto the ground. He twirled his metallic pole through the air swatting away other blasts, Starfire blasted a second robot, and Robin round-housed kicked the head off a third. Cyborg jumped high into the air and came down crushing the fourth robot, with their backs against each other they looked for anything else that was going to come at them, but there was nothing.

The only sound was Beast Boy clapping from the sideline.

"We are victorious?" Starfire looked around.

Cyborg looked down at his display that was on his arm and clicked some buttons. "A few drones never made it out, technical error. Other than that, yeah that's it."

"You know I had that one drone," Robin crossed his arms looking up at Cyborg.

"Huh?"

"The one you shot at my back…. I knew it was there, I had it, you didn't have to take such a risk."

"You don't trust I can make the shot?" Cyborg stared down.

"I never said that," Robin retorted.

"But that is what you meant!"

"Just save the other drones for the next run," Robin shrugged.

Cyborg muttered something incoherent.

Beast Boy walked passed his room and did something that he hadn't done in a long time; he went to Terra's room. He looked at her door, pressed a button and went in. A cascade of yellow hit him as he entered. The blond walls that were painted to match her hair, he sighed sitting on a beanbag cushion that was there. He looked over at her dresser atop of it was the gift he made her.

He wondered what possessed him to come in here. It had been nearly six months since Terra had turned against them. Six months since she'd been turned to stone. Cyborg had been researching on how to get her out, Beast Boy wasn't sure if he was still.

Raven and Terra were never close. Neither trusted each other. They had a common bond though, and that was neither had total control of their powers. Now Beast Boy was in the same boat.

He had loved Terra, or at least he cared for her. He wasn't sure if it was more than just a crush. She was beautiful maybe even more beautiful then Raven. He debated it in his mind. Terra: blond, tall, skinny as a rail, beautiful eyes. Raven: pale, elegant, petite, and beautiful eyes. He laughed at his critiquing. Who was he to critique? Beast Boy: short, skinny, green hair, green skin, and a dumb fang.

He closed his eyes, his animal senses were strong, and he could still smell the remnants of Terra that was within this room. Her smell was different then Raven's. Raven's smell was more of a lilac smell, Terra's smell was rougher, he didn't know how else to describe it, there was nothing else that he could compare it to.

Raven had told Beast Boy that he wasn't weak. She said that he doubted himself too much. That he needed to understand that he was strong inside that he'd be capable of controlling what was dwelling inside of him. At the moment the beast wasn't fighting him. Beast Boy had no want of being turned into the hideous monster. He had no emotion of causing terror within his body. He hadn't felt so relieved since him and Raven had went and played golf and went to the café.

Why was he able to control himself when Raven was around? Was there some link there that he didn't understand? It had to be something, but he wasn't sure what. He remembered when he went into Raven's mind. It was very confusing, all her held back emotions free for him to see. And why was her cape paler now? When she was with Malachoir her outfit was completely white. At the moment she it was just a lighter shade of purple. Does that mean she loved Malachoir but she didn't have the same feelings for him? Maybe it meant she was beginning to get feelings for him? After all she had spent nearly a week with Malachoir, alone in her room, the same place she was now.

He pondered on whether to go and knock on her door, his mischievous side told him that he should do so, but he just didn't feel like doing it. She deserved some rest, after all it was his fault that she was so tired, his nightmares were what kept her up, his inability to being able to control himself was what had made her so drained. He wondered if she had even been able to get any meditation done recently.

He wondered if he could meditate. He jumped off the beanbag and sat Indian style on the floor, now what did he chant? Raven chanted something that was meaningful to her, but what should he chant?

"You are strong, you are brave, and you're a hero not a killer."

Thoughts of bravery filled his head, thoughts of times where he had saved the day, times when him and Raven were alone together….

Why did that just enter his mind? He opened his eyes and looked around – he was still in Terra's room.

"I guess meditation isn't going to work," he thought aloud. Starfire was able to meditate with Raven; maybe it was a girl thing? What is the male equivalent? Working out? Robin had him sit out of the training session this morning. He sighed, he was beginning to get hungry, he got up and made his way to the door, looked around one final time and turned out the light.

Cyborg cursed as a drone shocked him. He whacked the drone's shell and flipped it over, with a screwdriver he tightened the casing of the drone. He went over to the computer and began coding it for the next training session.

Robin threw a left hook into the bag; he then jumped and kicked the bag aside. He rolled under the bag, did a handstand flipping himself back to his feet and elbowed the bag aside. "Arg! Umph Grr," he landed left and rights into the bag, sweat beading down his mask and face.

"If I were the bag, I think I would've given up."

Robin stopped and looked over to see Starfire staring at him, "Maybe but I have to practice on something."

"I think you are attacking yourself," Starfire said innocently.

Robin grabbed the bag and stopped its movement. He looked at Starfire, "What do you mean?"

"I think you are upset over the quarrel you had with Cyborg earlier and the punching bag is taking all the abuse."

"Nah Star, I'm just practicing."

"We practiced this morning, now you are just upset."

Robin thought about this for several moments, "Maybe you're right Star. Maybe instead of hitting the bag I should apologize to Cyborg, after all I should have total trust in him."

"And he did make the hit," Starfire pointed out.

Robin nodded, "Yea, yeah he did." He walked over to Starfire and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks Star, sometimes your more human than many of us."

She blushed and smiled, "I thank you."

Robin grinned and went off to apologize to Cyborg.

Raven woke up with a yawn. Her sign worked, nobody had bothered her for the entire day and she finally got the rest and relaxation she desperately needed, she felt much better. Suddenly a thought hit her, maybe nobody bothered her because Beast Boy had changed and he had attacked the team? No, that was stupid, why did she think that?

Why did her mind jump right to that thought? She shook her head and sat up on her bed. She looked down to see her outfit had turned a lighter shade. Why?

She rubbed her temple and sighed, so many questions so little answers.

She got up and made her way to the kitchen to make herself some tea. On her way she looked at Beast Boy's room, she saw that he had taped a sign to his door. "Knock if you want to party." She rolled her eyes and teleported underneath the ground and reappeared in Beast Boy's room, she saw him sitting much like her, chanting.

"You are strong, you are brave, and you're a hero not a killer."

"Is it working?" Raven asked, causing Beast boy to jump back, "AH!"

"Not so fun is it?" Raven crossed her arms, reminded of the many times when Beast Boy has disturbed her in the middle of meditation.

"Why didn't you knock?"

"I don't party," she crossed her arms.

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she rolled her eyes. "That's an interesting chant you are doing."

"Someone inspired me to do so."

"Is it working?" She asked seriously.

He shook his head, "I don't think so maybe I'm doing the wrong chant?"

She shook her head, "I don't think meditation is going to work for you."

He sighed.

"Don't worry we'll figure something out," she was about to leave but a thought entered her head. "Listen do you want to go back out again? Maybe tonight?" Her voice normally stoic was now slightly shaky.

He offered her a kind smile, "Sure, what would you like to do?"

"Maybe just take a walk in the park? I've never really done so in the evening before."

He nodded to her, "Love to."

She nodded, "Good," and with that she teleported beneath the ground and to the kitchen.

- end of part 16