It has been very long since I last updated, and I am truly sorry. Some things came up, but that is no excuse, it is unfair of me to make those of you who have been reading this to wait so long. I adore you and respect you and hope you can forgive me. I do try and update this quickly, but things will come up, and I often get stuck for ideas. Again, if you have suggestions, I am totally open to them, and I will give you credit if I use them. However, I do have a general idea where I want this to go and know the basic outline.

Damn the long author's note. Enjoy the chapter.

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Raven's hand moved slowly and with purpose up Beast Boy's chest and settled on a spot just over his suddenly accelerating heart. Her fingers rubbed slow circles over him. Her hand was warm and heavy, and the material of the hospital gown slid smoothly across his skin.

"Raven… what….?" His voice was soft and unsure. She hushed him with a look, a grin pulling at her lips.

"I've always wanted to explore your body," she said softly, a blush passing across her cheeks. "Are…. Are you really green everywhere?" His skin had always been a tender subject for the changeling, but Raven's voice held nothing offensive in it, purely a joyful curiosity.

"Yes." Beast Boy didn't so much speak the word as breathe it. He didn't know if it was an answer to her question or a response to her hand rubbing on his chest. He couldn't believe this was happening. Was it real? Was it a fantasy? Beast Boy decided he didn't care.

Raven pulled herself up onto the hospital bed so that she was kneeling next to Beast Boy, hovering over him, her hand moving down to tickle his stomach. She looked down at him, straight into those warm brown eyes. Her free hand went to his face and she ran a finger up his cheek, smiling at the stubble she found there.

Beast Boy brought his hand up to the one Raven had placed on his face and gently removed it from his cheek, holding it up to study it in front him. He laced his fingers with hers and marveled at the contrast of pale grey on forest green skin. Her hand was smaller, more delicate, and incredibly soft, whereas his was slightly larger, not rough by any means, but sported a callus here and there from the hours of video game play. He brought her hand to his mouth and, hesitating for only a moment, kissed each of her fingers.

Raven, in a move Beast Boy felt was bold for her, but had absolutely no objections to, swung her leg over Beast Boy's frame and straddled his stomach. She felt heavy and her thighs radiated warmth, making Beast Boy nervous. Where was this leading?

"Raven," Beast Boy said, an edge of apprehension in his voice, "I…" Raven leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of Beast Boy's head, staring down at him. She was gorgeous.

"Yes, Garfield?" Her breath was warm on his face, tingling in the most pleasant of ways. Her eyes glinted with mischief, and her smile grew larger, lips parting to show her shining white teeth.

"You're beautiful," he said, bringing his arms up to wrap around her, pulling her down closer to him, swimming in the warmth her body draped him in. Slowly, so very slowly, Raven leaned down, her lips targeting Beast Boy's. Her hair stuck his cheeks and tickled his skin and finally her lips brushed his, shooting electric bolts down Beast Boy's body.

"Beaaaaaaaaast Boy……" Dark brown eyes opened like a shot. A heart beat dangerously fast, pounding out an erratic rhythm. Had that voice been in his head? Beast Boy sat up and looked around. It had been a dream. Looking down his body, the green Titan saw that, although Raven in bed with him had been a fantasy, his body had reacted as if it had been a reality. His erection throbbed painfully between his legs and he shifted his weight so that his it moved into a more comfortable position.

Groggily he tried to remember what had happened before he had fallen asleep. It came back to him after a moment of rubbing at his eyes. Robin had entered the room and called Raven to him. There was something strange about the way he had acted. His eyes never left Beast Boy, and it made the changeling feel an uncomfortable tingling in his stomach.

Raven had nodded to The Boy Wonder, telling Beast Boy she would return soon, and followed Robin out, dimming the lights as she left. BB had no idea how long ago that had been. When would Raven return? They still had things to talk about.

Now, what had woken him up? Whatever he had heard left him with an uncomfortable, strange feeling. He perked his ears up to try and better find the sound.

"Beaaaaaaaaast Boy……" There it was again. It filled up the whole room, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Beads of sweat began to form on Beast Boy's brow. That voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Over here," it said suddenly. The titan swung his legs off the bed and let his bare feet land on the metal floor. The skin on the soles of his feet screamed at him for the sudden change in temperature. He moved toward where he felt the voice had come, but until it spoke again, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint its location.

"You're getting warmer," it said, almost smugly. He took a step toward the noise. "Warmer... Warmer…" Beast Boy's eyes landed on a red plastic bag emblazoned with a black bio-hazard stamp. He placed his hand upon it and the voice rang out again, "You're on fire!" At these words Beast Boy felt something unpleasant trickle down his spine, and the voice let out a hearty laugh. Very carefully, he opened the bag and dumped its contents out, finding them to be the clothes he had worn earlier in the day. They were stiff and stained an almost black color by the blood that permeated their every fiber.

"Where the fuck are you?" The Titan asked impatiently, growing tired of this game. The voice did not answer. Beast Boy went through the pocket of the pants he had worn. His hand hit something in the right pocket of his jeans and for some reason it startled him, and he pulled his hand away for a moment before going back in and pulling the object out.

"Bingo," the voice said, and suddenly Beast Boy knew where he had heard it before. The object that had been in his pocket was a communicator of some sort, similar to the ones the Titan's used. Like theirs, this one had a view screen, but it was no a Titan that was staring coldly up at the changeling.

"Jinx." Beast Boy spat the word out as if it had pierced his tongue.

"That's right, Beast Boy," Jinx said, "I'm so glad you remember me. I was afraid you'd have a concussion after your little fight."

"What are you… Wait, so you know what happened to me?" Beast Boy was shocked. Had he fought with Jinx? The entire Hive Five?

"I do indeed," Jinx said, nodding slightly.

"We fought?" Beast Boy asked, not knowing why Jinx was talking to him at all. If they had fought, then the blood Beast Boy had been covered in had to have been Jinx's. There had been so much blood that some of it had to belong to her. But the witch looked fine.

"You and I?" She asked. "No, we did not fight."

"Then what happened?" Beast Boy asked impatiently. His eyes went to the door a few steps from his position. Where was Raven? Why hadn't she returned?

"Well, I guess I could tell you," The pink haired bitch mused, messing with something in front of her just off camera. "But I'd rather show you." Suddenly Jinx's face disappeared and was replaced by a breaking news story. Beast Boy watched and listened patiently as the story of the alley massacre was laid out before him. His breathing quickened steadily until a point at which he was barely taking any oxygen in. Purple and blue ghosts passed in front of his eyes and his body felt heavy and tired. He willed himself to breathe normal.

"That's not real," Beast Boy told Jinx when the newscast was replaced by his enemies face. His body was trembling slightly as he held the communicator in his hand.

"What? You think I'd make this up?" The leader of the Hive Five let out that laugh again, the one Beast Boy was growing to hate. "If you don't believe me just turn on your t.v., it's on every channel." Jinx hesitated for a moment before saying, "well, I guess you won't be able to do that after all."

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked skeptically.

"Oh nothing," she said, as if it were nothing, "it's just that there's no way you'd be able to get to a t.v., being locked in that room and all."

Beast Boy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes went to the door and he hesitantly took a step toward it. Would it be locked, or was Jinx lying? Had Robin seen the news report? Was that why he had come to get Raven? So many questions. It made sense, though, if Robin had seen what Beast Boy had seen, then he would have gotten Raven and locked him in here where he wasn't able to hurt anyone.

"I... don't… believe you," Beast Boy said slowly, trying to will himself to move faster toward the door.

"You don't sound so sure about that," Jinx said, voice cold and low. "Try the door." Slim fingers hung in the air like a spider on its thread. "Put your hand on the knob." Delicately, the spider fingers were pressed to the door's handle. "Turn." Nothing. Beast Boy tried again and again. He turned as hard as he could, but still the door did not open. Furiously he pounded on the cold metal.

"It's a lie," he shouted, "it's a lie."

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On the other side of the door, Starfire's eyes widened and she gasped. Beast Boy was beating on the door, yelling something that only came through to her as metallic echoes. Her face evened out and she nervously fumbled for the communicator she had in her pocket. Robin had told her to call if Beast Boy started to freak out.

"Robin?" Starfire opened the link and waited for Robin's face to appear. In less than a second, as if he had been expecting the call, Robin's face appeared on the tiny screen.

"What is it, Star?" He asked. She could see by the way that everything behind him was blurring that he was already on the move, coming to see what was up.

"It is Beast Boy," Starfire told him, "he is doing the… 'freaking out', and it would be most wise for you to get over her as quickly as possible." The girl suddenly shrieked in surprise as the door behind her gave a great metal groan and bent outward.

"I'm already on my way," Robin said, and moved to end the transmission.

"Robin?" Starfire asked suddenly. Robin's eyes met hers and Starfire nervously glanced over her shoulder. "Did Raven tell you what it is that is wrong with Beast Boy? Did she tell you what it is she saw within him?" Beast Boy's screams continued firing through the door.

"Yes," Robin said, nodding slowly, "she did." And then the screen went black, and the pounding and screaming ended.