Chapter 5

The three other Titans entered and found that Beast Boy and Raven were awake. Robin kept an eye on Cyborg to make sure he didn't say anything that would let the two know that they had seen them asleep in each others arms. Luckily, he didn't. They all got right to work on figuring out what was going on with Raven.

"So how long have you been hearing this voice?" asked Robin.

"I first started hearing it after we fought Mind Mover," said Raven. "I was just lying in bed, trying to go to sleep, when I heard it say something mean to me."

"Can you remember what it said exactly?" asked Cyborg.

"No," said Raven. "It's said so many things at this point I can't remember."

"And you're sure it only started two days ago?" asked Robin.

"I'm positive," said Raven. "Why do you ask?"

"Well my theory was that you may have schizophrenia," said Robin scratching his head. "But I've never heard of it getting this extreme over a period of two days. It must be something else."

"Perhaps there is a little person stuck in your brain," said Starfire. The others just looked at her queerly. "Do you not remember when Larry came and entered our dimension through Robins head? Perhaps it is happening again."

"I doubt it Star," said Robin. She looked down sadly. "But nice theory." She looked up and smiled.

"I have an idea," said Cyborg. "I can monitor Raven's brain waves while she hears the voice. Maybe I can pinpoint where in her brain this is coming from."

"It's worth a shot," said Robin. "How do you feel about it, Raven?"

"I'm up for anything that might stop it," said Raven. "I really don't want to freak out like I did yesterday."

Raven laid down in the bed and Cyborg attached many small sensors to her head. The other Titans left so that Raven wouldn't feel as if everyone was watching her.

"Are you comfortable?" asked Cyborg.

"I guess," said Raven. "So what do I do?"

"Just lie there and relax," said Cyborg. "When you hear the voice, push this button. It'll let me know and I'll pin point the moment in your brain."

Raven held a small control in her hand that had a single button. She held her thumb on it and waited. All around her were the sounds of monitors beeping and Cyborg occasionally typing something on the computer. She felt a little weird just lying there with Cyborg watching her brain. But she needed to find out what was going on. She concentrated and her mind began to calm down and relax.

'They think you're insane.'

Raven pushed the button as hard as she could. Cyborg saw a little light bulb turn on for a moment and he knew that she had heard the voice. Raven felt nervous for a moment, but she knew that Cyborg was there to help her. He wouldn't let this voice harm her. A few minutes passed so she took a big breath in and concentrated on staying calm.

'They're going to commit you.'

Cyborg saw the light bulb light up again. He also so Ravens heart rate speed up a little. A minute passed and Raven was calm again. She started to feel hopeful. Every time the voice spoke to her she was getting closer to getting rid of it.

'They'll leave you in an asylum and never come back.'

Raven pushed the button.

'You're going to be put in a straight jacket and tethered to the wall.'

Raven pushed the button.

'You are worthless. You are an evil witch that will never do any good in this world. Your mother feared you and your father used you. You bring nothing but terror and hatred with you. The world will be a safer place once you're gone. All the suffering you subject the people around you to will be gone. So end it. End it now!'

Cyborg saw the light turn on and off several times. Ravens heart was racing and all the monitors began jumping around. Cyborg peered around the corner and saw Raven pushing the button as many times as she could.

'You're life was supposed to be over a year ago. You know it. They know it. You almost ended the world. You almost killed everyone. You are weak. Your existence is meaningless. They all hate and despise you. You are not worthy of love. You do not deserve love. The world would be better off without you."

Raven held the button down so hard that the controller broke in her hand. All of Cyborgs scanners were going nuts and he knew that something was wrong. He looked over at her and saw her hyperventilating and moaning. She dropped the broken remote and grabbed the bed. She shook her head back and forth, trying to get rid of this voice.

'You can't trust anyone but yourself. You can't count on anyone but yourself. They keep everything from you. They know things that you don't, and they'll never tell you. You aren't worth informing. You have no purpose! End it now! End it now!'

"NO!" screamed Raven. Everything in the room became enveloped in a black aura and exploded. Cyborg dove under the computer desk as he heard everything around him shatter and break.

"Guys! Get in here!" screamed Cyborg. Within a few second the other three Titans entered and took for cover as well. Everything was spinning around the room like a tornado. Raven was tossing around in the bed as if she was having a seizer.

"What do we do?" asked Starfire.

"I don't know," said Robin above the chaos.

Beast Boy turned into a fly and flew through the flying debris. Once he reached Ravens bed he turned back to normal and landed right on top of her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her down. "Raven open your eyes!" he yelled. She was still twitched around so he grabbed her face. "Raven snap out of it!"

'All lies. They do nothing by lie to you.'

Raven could hear a faint voice behind the wicked one. "Raven wake up!"

'They will hurt you like everyone else.'

"Raven don't listen to the voice!"

'They don't care about you.'

"I know you can hear me Raven!"

'They'll be happier when you're gone.'

"Ignore it! It's lying to you! Come back to us! Open your eyes, Raven. Please!"

Raven pried her eyes open and gasped. The voice shut up and now she could see Beast Boy. He was right on top of her, her face in his hands. She was shaking and panting. She put her hands on his and closed her eyes. Then she started to cry. "It's okay, Raven," he said. She leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She nearly choked him, but he didn't mind. He held her close and sat up. She sobbed into his chest and he rubbed her back soothingly.

The other Titans saw that it was safe and went to her and Beast Boy. She was hysterical once again and in Beast Boys arms. He looked up at them, his eyes sad. "Guys, we have to stop this," he said almost in a whisper. They all nodded. This was getting serious.

Raven now wouldn't let Beast Boy out of her sight. He had proven to her that he would protect her from the voice and refused to let it take her over. Beast Boy had never been so counted on before. He liked it. For so long he had been like the little brother of the team. It was nice to feel like the protector.

"I don't know what's goin on inside of her head," said Cyborg. "Everything turned up negative and I couldn't find anywhere in her brain where this could be coming from. It has to be something psychological."

"This just doesn't make sense," said Robin. He was growing frustrated. "Why the heck would she hear a voice inside of her head for no reason? It's got all of the symptoms of schizophrenia without it actually being schizophrenia. I just can't understand it."

"At least she has found some comfort in friend Beast Boy," said Starfire.

"Yeah, she won't let him leave the room for a second," said Cyborg.

"And she has asked him to keep doing the chatting," said Starfire. "I believe it helps keep the voice away."

"Poor Raven," said Robin. "Of all the people in the world who would want Beast Boy to stay near her and keep talking, I would never have guessed it would be her."

"Yeah, she must really be sick," said Cyborg.

Raven couldn't stand being in the medical bay any longer and had convinced them to let her be in her room. It was obvious that nothing medical was going to treat her condition. Beast Boy had planed on sighting on the outside of her room, but she asked him to be right next to her. She was allowing him access into her room. Her room. That was the moment that the Titans knew that Raven must have been suffering.

Beast Boy sat in a chair next to her bed. Raven was lying down and facing him, listening to every word he said. He went on and on about why video games are more than a recreational waste of time. Then he talked to her about how tofu was the food of the future and would someday save the world. Raven was actually happy to hear every word that came out of his mouth and she actually had a small smile on her face.

"… so, as you can see, that is why laughter is the best medicine," said Beast Boy taking in a deep breath. "Well I need to get a drink." He stood up and headed for the door. Raven quickly sat up.

"What? You're leaving?"

"Just for a second."

"No! You can't. It'll come back."

"But Raven my throat is completely dry," said Beast Boy holding his throat dramatically. "Can't I just get a cup of water from the bathroom?"

Raven sighed. "Okay, but be quick."

Beast Boy gave her a wink and ran out of the room. As soon as he left Raven felt scared. She knew that it was coming. She knew it would start up again. She decided that the best thing to do was talk to her self.

"It's okay. He's going to be back in a couple seconds. Nothing's going to happen. That voice isn't going to start talking to me again. I just have to keep talking. I have to keep my ears full of sound. Just keep talking. He's coming right back. You're not insane, there's just a disembodied voice living inside your head. Nothing out of the normal for you, right? Weird stuff happens to you all the time. Why? Because you're weird. No! Don't think like that. Positive thoughts. Just keep thinking happy thoughts. Jesus, I sound like I'm getting ready to fly with Peter Pan. Oh well. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. What the hell do I know about happy? No, stop thinking like that. Beast Boy, where are you? Please come back. Please come…"

Beast Boy entered with a cup of water in his hand. "Alright, I'm back."

"Thank Azar," she said with a sigh.

"Did you hear it?"

"No, I just kept talking to myself."

"Oh. Well, whatever works," he said with a smile. He sat down in his chair and took a long sip of his water, quenching his thirst. "So, what do you wanna talk about now?"

"Whatever's on your mind," said Raven with a smile.

'She sure is acting weird,' thought Beast Boy. 'Oh well, she'll probably never let me talk to her again after this. Just enjoy it while it lasts.' "Nothin's on my mind. I've used up everything inside of it. You think of something."

"Why don't you tell me the coolest thing that's ever happened to you," said Raven lying back down. She was starting to fall in love with his voice. His voice, mind you. She loved to close her eyes and listen to him talk.

"The coolest thing that's ever happened to me, huh?" Beast Boy thought for a moment. "Actually, and this is the God's honest truth, the coolest thing that's ever happened to me was when me and Cyborg went into your head."

"Really?" asked Raven quite surprised. "Why?"

"A number of reasons. For one, I'd never been inside another person's mind before. That was a strange sensation. Not to mention that it was your head. All I knew about you at that point was that you liked to be alone and you never smiled or did anything fun. Then, when we were in your head, I saw all the other sides of you. I saw the Ravens that you couldn't be. I saw how sweet, funny, and strong you really were. I also never realized why you acted the way you acted, all numb on the outside. Once I saw the hatred part of you I finally understood. You gave up feeling anything to keep others safe. That really was the coolest day of my life. Not exactly the most fun, but definitely the coolest." He gave her a warm smile. She smiled back. It was one of those rare smiles. The kind of smile that you don't even know you're making until you see someone else smiling back at you because of it. God he loved her smile. It was a shame that she never used it.

"I just had an idea," said Raven sitting up.

"What?"

"Maybe I should take a trip inside my head. I might find some clue as to why I'm hearing this voice. Knowledge will probably know."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Do you want me to stay?"

"Could you?"

"Of course."

Raven smiled again, she had been doing that a lot lately, and looked over to her burrow. "Could you get my mirror?"

"It's not going to suck me in again, is it?" he asked cautiously reaching for it.

"No," she said with a slight laugh. "It shouldn't."

Beast Boy grabbed it and handed it to her. For a second their hands touched and a spark was sent through their bodies. Not an electrical spark, but one of another sort. Raven held the mirror in front of her and closed her eyes. "Azarath… metrion… zinthos."