Chapter 10

Mind Mover groaned. His whole body ached and his head was spinning. He opened his eyes and saw four figures looming over him. As his eyes focused he saw that it was four Titans. Four very angry looking Titans.

"Oh good, you're awake," said Robin coldly.

Mind Mover attempted to raise his arms, but he noticed that they were tied to his chest. He tried to use his mind, but nothing happened. He was powerless. Now he knew he was in trouble.

"Do not try to use your powers against us," said Starfire harshly.

"What have you done to me? Why do my powers not work?" asked Mind Mover angrily.

"We've neutralized them," said Cyborg. Mind Mover noticed that there was a strange device on his head. "Trust me, you're not going anywhere."

"And where am I exactly?" asked Mind Mover.

"The same place you've sent my friend," said Beast Boy grabbing his shirt. Robin placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. Beast Boy reluctantly let him go and stepped back. He was so full of hatred and rage. He wanted nothing more than to gut this waste of a being. But they had questions that needed answering. Revenge would have to wait.

"What exactly did you do to Raven?" asked Robin.

Mind Mover said nothing, he only smiled. They had hoped that he would cooperate. But it was apparent that he wasn't going to talk without a little persuasion.

Robin leaned in close to Mind Mover and said through his teeth, "What did you do to Raven?"

"Take a wild guess," he said smugly.

Robin sighed angrily and backed away for a moment. He looked at Cyborg and gave him a nod. Cyborg nodded back and went over to the thief. Out of his arm popped an electric prod. Robin made Starfire look away as Cyborg jabbed Mind Mover with it. He gave a scream of pain and then Robin went back over.

"Are you ready to talk to us now?"

"Why?" asked Mind Mover wincing from the pain, but still smiling. "Is she starting to take a liking to the voice in her head?"

"Why you…" yelled Beast Boy and pounced at him. Cyborg caught him before he reached Mind Mover and put him up against the wall. "Let go of me! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Calm down, man!" yelled Cyborg. He wasn't trying to yell at him, just trying to calm him down. Beast Boy knew this, but he was still struggling to get free. "We've got to get answers first." Beast Boy looked at Cyborg and knew that he was right. So he took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. Cyborg released him from the wall and went back to Mind Mover.

"Okay, if you're not going to tell us what you did to her, then tell us how to stop the voice in her head," said Robin.

"You're too late," said Mind Mover. "She's far too deep into the process now; there is no coming back from where her mind is."

Starfire got a starbolt ready and grabbed him. "You will stop playing the games with us and tell us how to help her now!"

"I'm not playing any games," said Mind Mover angrily. "What I did to her mind is something that can not be simply reversed."

"Then what do we do?" asked Cyborg. "Tell us exactly what you did to her."

Mind Mover paused for a moment. Cyborg lifted his hand and showed the electric prod again. "I tapped into her subconscious and, let's say, planted a seed of doubt within it. It gave all of the insecurities she ever felt a voice. One voice, actually. At first it only appears when her mind was calm. But as it progresses and digs deeper into the nucleus of her mind it takes on a life of its own. Once it actually reaches the very center of her mentality the affects are permanent."

"And how long does that usually take?" asked Robin.

"I don't know," said Mind Mover. "It's different for everyone. It depends on the person's mind. Her mind may have already succumb, it might not have. There's no way of knowing. And before you even ask, no, there is no way to stop it. The only way to actually reverse the process would be to go into her subconscious and drive it out. So unless you have a way of getting into her mind, I suggest you accept the fact that your friend is gone."

They would have killed him right there, but then they realized. They did have a way to get into her mind. Her mirror!

"How would one drive the process out?" asked Robin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mind Mover almost angrily. "I told you, you can't stop it unless you can go into her mind."

"We have a way to go into her mind," said Starfire. "Now tell us!"

Mind Mover sighed. "I highly doubt that you do, but I'll humor you. The only way to drive this "voice" out of her mind is to best the voice and prove it wrong."

"So, all we have to manipulate the manipulating voice?" asked Cyborg.

"Exactly," said Mind Mover. The Titans gave a small smile and headed out the door. "Hey, where are you going?"

"We've got a friend to save," said Robin. This left Mind Mover quite confused. They locked the door of his cell and went off to get Ravens mirror. It might have been too late, but they had to try. There was still a chance.

The mirror still lay in the draw where Beast Boy had thrown it. He retrieved it and brought it out to the others.

"Alright, so all we have to do is go inside and convince the voice that it's the liar, right?" asked Cyborg.

"Right," said Robin.

They held the mirror in front of them and got ready to enter Ravens mind, but the alarm went off.

"Darn it!" they all said at once. They checked the scanners and saw that the Hive Five were attacking the mall.

"We can not just let the Hive of Five attack the mall," said Starfire. "We must stop them."

"What about Raven?" asked Cyborg.

"You guys go, I'll go in," said Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, I'm sure if…" started Robin.

"Look! I'm the one who promised Raven that I wouldn't let her be taken over by the voice. I'm the one who promised her that I would protect and never leave her alone. If anyone is going to prove that stupid voice wrong it's me," said Beast Boy in a strong voice. They had never seen Beast Boy like this, so… serious. So sure of himself.

"Okay, we'll be back as soon as possible to help," said Robin handing him the mirror.

"Good luck, man," said Cyborg.

Starfire gave him a tight hug and said, "I wish you luck."

"Thanks guys," said Beast Boy. He sighed and then held the mirror in front of him. A large black claw reached out and dragged him in. The Titans put the mirror on the table and headed off to stop the Hive Five.

Beast Boy landed on a rock in the middle of what looked like space. He remembered it well. He hadn't made a very smooth landing. He was on his back and could feel the rocky terrain underneath him. He slowly stood up and rubbed his sore back. He looked above him, expecting to see a black sky and stars, but instead he saw thick storm clouds. Lightning was brewing and thunder was rumbling. He didn't remember this.

"Hello?" he called. Suddenly he heard rocks lifting from nowhere and forming a path in front of him. He followed it and hoped it would take him to where he needed to go.

The Titans took the Hive Five down in less than twenty minutes. There was minimal damage and the Titans felt quite annoyed. They made sure to let the Hive Five know just how annoyed they were. They knew they wouldn't be hearing form them for a while.

They started heading back to the tower when Robin's communicator went off. He opened it and saw that it was the doctor from the institution. He had given him a communicator, incase of an emergency.

"Robin, this is Dr. Zinnerman."

"Is something wrong?" asked Robin nervously.

"Raven's been transferred to Jump City Hospital."

"What? Why?"

"When we checked her vital signs this morning she passed out. We took her to the infirmary and it looks like… her… her brain is failing. We transferred her, but they can't seem to figure out why this is happening."

"Wait a second, what do you mean by 'her brain is failing'?" asked Robin.

"We don't think her brain is going to hold out much longer, Robin. You should get down here." Robin closed his communicator and they made their way to the hospital.

The clouds above curdled together and tried to intimidate Beast Boy. But he didn't care. He wasn't about to let clouds scare him away. He kept walking. As he walked he started to pass through each of the emotions' homes. He passed through Happy's land and saw that it was dark and gray. He saw her and was scared by what he saw. She was simply lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. She looked to be dying. He forced himself to look away and continue on. He passed through Timid's home and saw that nothing had really changed, except it was even sadder than before. Then he went through Brave's land and found her weak and propped up against a wall. Every emotion that he passed seemed to be fading, dying. He knew that he was either too late or very close to.

He could tell that he had arrived at the center of her mind by the storm clouds above him. They swirled and almost looked as if they were about to descend into a tornado. He looked up into the eye of the storm and saw a small patch black with red stars.

"Hey you stupid voice!" he called out. "Where are you?" The clouds above him seemed to grow darker and meaner. "You said that I would abandon her, but I haven't. You said that I would hurt her, but I'm not. I'm here to save her. What do you have to say to that?"

'She is mine!'

"There you are you coward. She's not yours! She'll never be yours. You said that I don't care about her. Then why am I here?"

'You just want her back to use her powers.'

"I want her back because she's my friend!"

'You don't care about her, no one does.'

"I care about her most of all! Try to prove me wrong, I dare you! If I didn't care about her than why did I kiss her?"

'You were using her.'

"For what purpose? I have my own powers and abilities, I don't need hers."

'Then you were just using her body.'

"She wanted me to kiss her! How can you say that no one cares about her? Here I am, inside of her mind, trying to help her. Face the fact, you stupid voice, you're wrong!"

'I am never wrong!'

"Oh really? Well tell me this then, oh wise voice. You say that I have been using Raven, right? What have I used her for? At what point did I use her to gain anything?"

The clouds above lightened ever so slightly. The voice had not quickly responded and this gave Beast Boy a burst of confidence.

"What? No come back? Can't you prove me wrong? I never did use Raven, did I? I never gained anything by using her and manipulating her. You did that! You're using her and trying to kill her, not me! Now get out of her mind!"

'You're just trying to manipulate her, just like I've been telling her all along.'

"You're right; I am trying to manipulate someone. But I am trying to manipulate you, not her! This whole conversation has been between me and you, pal! You're the one who's been using Raven. You! Not me. That means you're wrong, voice! You are wrong! You… are… WRONG!"

The sky above gargled and seemed to descend upon Beast Boy. But he did not cower as he would have in a moment like this. He would usually have fallen to his knees and covered his head. But no, not this time. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and let the sky fall on him. For a moment he could feel a coldness that he had never felt before. It bit him and made him want to scream with pain. But he didn't. He let the pain run through his body. And then it was gone. The cold, the pain. He opened his eyes and saw that the clouds were gone. The black sky was above him once more. Suddenly a large black claw grabbed him and threw him into the sky. A portal formed in front of him and he was sucked in and out.