I don't own Teen Titans just like everybody else.
Beast Boy was having one helluva week to put it plainly. He had been put through the wringer badly by bad guys all week and had refused being healed by Raven. They were all pretty frivolous and there were no broken bones so nothing to worry about, right? He had also been pranked by Cyborg everyday of the week and he had been having nightmares so his net total of sleep was about ten hours. He sighed and limped on his swollen knee into the living room. Hopefully, Cyborg would not play any pranks on him today and he would be able to relax.
-0-0-
Raven was reading a book when she felt Beast Boy enter the room and mentally winced. She looked up from her book to see something she thought she would never see. Beast Boy wasn't smiling. His eyes no longer held their natural little shine and instead seemed glazed over, like he wasn't even really here. He limped badly and he winced every time he moved his arms. She felt out to his mind to see what was wrong and pulled out from the turmoil and pain that she felt dominating his mind. She put her book down and levitated over to Beast Boy who was about to open the fridge which held a trap set by Cyborg. She said,
"Beast Boy?"
He kept limping and had his hand on the fridge.
"Beast Boy?"
He opened the fridge and a steak launched out and hit him in the face. Cyborg started laughing and said,
"Got you BB! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Beast Boy, instead of turning around, let the steak slide off his face and reached for his tofu bacon. Cyborg stopped laughing and finally picked up on the fact that something was wrong. Beast Boy pulled out a pan and put his bacon on the frying pan to cook his bacon on and completely ignored everyone else. Cyborg said,
"BB?"
He sat still, staring into space and still ignoring everything around him. Everyone in the room was now worried because Beast Boy had just ignored two people he always talked to and took a steak to the face without yelling at Cyborg.. Cyborg waved a hand in front of Beast Boy who kept staring into space and ignoring everyone. Cyborg opened up Beast Boy's ear and screamed,
"BEAST BOY!"
He was still unmoving and didn't react. Cyborg got a sly look in his eyes and said,
"Hey BB, Raven's naked."
To everyones surprise, he stood stock still in the same position and kept his eyes straight forward. Raven stared at him as if he was crazy because she knew that any guy in their right mind would jump at the opportunity to see her naked. Cyborg sighed and used the last idea he had left.
"Hey BB, Raven's staring at you."
Beast Boy shocked everyone into silence as his eyes went from glazed to fearful and he put his hands over his head and said,
"I didn't do it!"
Raven looked at him as if he slapped her across the face and said,
"Beast Boy..."
He cowered a little more before he realized she wasn't going to hurt him. He lifted his head nervously to see himself in the living room and he said,
"Huh? When did you guys get here?"
Raven said,
"Beast Boy, we've been here for the last two hours. You came in here ten minutes ago and completely ignored us."
He looked around in surprise and then rubbed his eyes. He said,
"Sorry, I'm kinda tired."
They all looked funnily at him and Starfire said,
"Friend Beast Boy, are you feeling unwell?"
He rubbed his eyes and said,
"Naw, I'm all right Star, just a little tired."
Raven looked at Beast Boy and said,
"No you're not. Your limping and wincing everywhere you go and the only thing you react to is threats. You look like you've had no sleep and you barely even acknowledge anyone. What's wrong Beast Boy?"
"Look, nothing is wrong..."
"Your a horrible liar."
He snapped,
"Oh? And why are you suddenly caring Raven? All you do is put me down, why start now?"
She backed away and everyone else stared at Beast Boy. Something was wrong and they were going to figure it out. Robin said,
"Beast Boy, your either going to tell us or we're going to find out. It's your choice."
He started to back away and move towards the door.
"No, I'm not telling you and you can't make me."
Starfire floated forward while Robin said something to Raven who looked surprised and then her face hardened. Starfire said,
"Please friend Beast Boy, let us help you."
He looked at Starfire uncertainly and then shook his head.
"NO!"
Cyborg came over and said,
"Look man, your not talking to us and I know you're hurtin'. Just tell us."
He almost seemed delirious and he transformed into a bear and launched himself at Cyborg.
Robin said,
"Now Raven!"
Raven's soul self pitched forward and went into Beast Boy knocking him out and leaving everyone in the room knowing what had happened. Raven was inside of Beast Boy's mind.
-0-0-
Raven opened her eyes to see a vast Savanna surrounding her and a boy. The boy had blonde hair and blues eyes and actually seemed kind of cute. He looked around with a small smile on his face until he saw Raven. It turned into a scowl and he screamed out,
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY MIND!"
Raven stepped back and then said,
"Beast Boy?"
He looked away and said,
"Yeah..."
She stared opened mouth at the cute boy before her and said,
"I thought you were-"
"Born with my powers? No, I wasn't."
Raven looked around and said,
"Where are we?"
He smiled wistfully and said,
"Africa of course."
Raven looked around in mild shock and said,
"You lived in Africa?"
He looked like the usual Beast Boy with his casual smile and said,
"Yeah, did you know this is where I got my powers?"
She sat down next to him and said,
"No, no I didn't."
He smirked and said,
"Well, since we are in my mind, I guess I can show you my memories, right?"
She hesitantly nodded and he grabbed her hand. She hid the blush as best as she could and she felt a faint wooshing sensation. When she opened her eyes, she saw a small village instead of the open Savanna and saw a doctor carrying a younger blonde boy with a small green bite mark on his arm. The doctor looked over to two people who looked to be Beast Boy's parents. The doctor said something to his parents who nodded and the Doctor took out a syringe and stuck it into Beast Boy's arm. He immediately changed into a younger version of Beast Boy and seemed to mumble and come back to himself to the shocked and happy faces of his parents. Raven looked to Beast Boy who was smiling wistfully and she said,
"Beast Bo-"
"Gar."
She looked at him quizzically for a moment before he chuckled and said,
"My real name is Garfield Logan so while we're here, just call me Gar."
She said,
"Alright Gar, are those your parents?"
His face dropped from the easy going smile to a serious face that didn't seem right on him. He said,
"Yeah, those were my parents."
His choice of words were not lost on her so she said,
"Were?"
He looked over to her with a hard expression and a coldness in his eyes colder than any winter day.
"Yeah, were."
"What happened?"
He gave her a look that screamed 'gaging' and then said,
"Better watch what you say here, or you might just end up seeing it."
She made a mental note to herself about it and then all of a sudden there was the whooshing feeling and they were back on the plains. Gar looked over at her and she noticed to her relief that he was smiling again. He said,
"So, what do you want to see next?"
She mutely considered it but then pushed it to the back of her mind. She said,
"Look Gar, I'm here to see what's wrong with you, now are you going to tell me or am I going to have to see it for myself?"
Raven expected him to get angry, mad, anxious, protective but not what he actually did become. He became afraid. He backed away and started to mumble under his breath and his fear widened eyes searched around as if expecting something to happen. Raven looked at him awestruck and fearful herself at what could have caused him to react this way. She took a step toward him with a hand outstretched and said,
"Look Gar, I just want to see what's wrong and help."
The air pulsed with an invisible wave and Gar all of a sudden jumped up and looked at her, angry this time. He screamed,
"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU"RE DOING? I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP!"
She ignored him and took another step forward.
"Look Beast Boy, I just want to help, let me see what's bothering you."
The air pulsed one last time and the Savanna dissapeared to be replaced by a burning village. And there standing before her was a younger Beast Boy, wide eyed with blood covering his entire body and tribal men dead, littering the ground around him. She could hear him muttering something but she couldn't hear much of anything because of the shock she was in.
"G-Gar, what happened?"
She turned around to see Gar's bangs hiding his eyes and standing in a way that reminded her of an cornered animal about to attack. He didn't answer for a few moments and she was about to turn around when he shoved her forward and said,
"See for yourself!"
The familiar woosh happened and she ended up in the middle of the village under attack.
-0-0-
The other Titans looked on in trepidation as Raven's features took on one of fear and her breathing quickened while Beast Boy lay completely motionless on the floor. Starfire said,
"Friends, are we sure we did the right thing?"
Robin looked up and said,
"I'm not sure Star, I'm not sure..."
-0-0-
Raven looked on in horror as a group of men ran in with spears and Rifles and began to mow down the villagers. She watched as women were separated from their children and children were either dragged off or killed as soon as they were separated from their parents. The men who tried to defend their families were killed and anyone who tried to defend the village followed suit. Raven looked back to Beast Boy who had an unreadable expression on his face and looked at the scene impassively. Raven said,
"G-Gar, I-I don't want to see this, let's go."
He looked at her with that creepy impassive look and said in a expressionless voice,
"No."
She looked at him with tears beginning to form in her eyes and pleaded,
"Please, let's go."
Gar looked at the girl who was usually an emotionless ice queen breaking down and said in a much softer tone,
"I'm sorry, but we have to finish it."
She looked on helplessly as the entire village was destroyed before her very eyes. As she watched, she heard someone call out,
"Garfield take Mujji and run!"
"But Mom-"
"No Buts Garfield, RUN!"
She looked to see a younger Beast Boy and another boy leaving Beast Boy's mother behind. She looked to over to Gar who had tears in his eyes but was not making a sound. Raven turned away to see his mother turn and Beast Boy and Mujji duck behind a bush and hide. She saw the men who had massacred the village sprint out and scream something in an unknown language. The men leveled their weapons at the woman and shot her. Raven looked over to the bush that hid the two boys and noticed that they both were peeking out and watching the whole thing. Raven realized that this must have been the nightmare he was having and she said,
"Gar, I-I'm sorry, I didn't know."
He looked at the bush, still crying silent tears and said,
"It's not over yet."
She looked at the bushes and saw the Mujji boy gasp in surprise and scramble away from their hiding spot. She heard an inhuman growl from the bush that she wished she could have never heard again. The Sound of bones cracking and shifting could be heard and the men who invaded the village looked nervously at the bush and talked to each other in their native tongue and opened fire. Raven gasped and looked at Gar who had stopped crying and looked on impassively as the Beast jumped from the bush and began its massacre of the invading tribal men.
-0-0-
Robin looked frantically from his two catatonic teammates to his other teammates who were just as frantic as he was. Raven had all of a sudden started to cry and Beast Boy had followed suit. All of a sudden, Beast Boy stopped and became deathly quiet as Raven started to writhe and whimper. Starfire said,
"We must help our friends!"
Robin looked at her frustrated and said,
"Star, we can't touch them or we might hurt them both. We are just gonna have to wait."
Starfire looked over to Cyborg for support, but he just shook his head and said,
"I'm sorry Star, Robin's right. We'll just have to wait this out."
-0-0-
Raven watched in horror as the Beast literally ripped the men apart. As their numbers began to dwindle, the Beast actually played with them. He'd slow down so they could fire a shot off at him and then speed up and completely avoid the bullet while he'd use the speed to swipe at them and beat them into submission. She watched as the Beast's claws ripped through the men one by one until there was three left. She tried to turn away and not look but Gar grabbed her and roughly turned her around and forced her to watch. He whispered into her ear,
"You wanted to see this right? Well, what do you think?"
She stared fearfully at him through tear fogged eyes and said,
"Gar-"
"What does that thing look like to you Raven? Does it look like Gar?"
She watched as the Beast viciously bit through a man easily tearing him to pieces and licking the blood off it's snout with a satisfied growl.
"N-no."
"Does it look like Beast Boy to you?"
She watched as he ripped the next man to shreds and left little more than clothing and loose pieces of meat and bone.
"NO!"
"Then what does it look like to you Raven?"
Beast Boy held no emotion in his voice and his eyes buried anything that could have given him away. She tried to avert her eyes as the Beast played with the last man, breaking his bones and slashing his skin, forcing him to the ground.
"What does it look like Raven?"
The Beast looked hungrily at the man and leaned down to him as if to feed.
"...a...monster."
Beast Boy released her and let her cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the Beast feed and the man scream.
-0-0-
The Titans watched helplessly as Raven curled into a ball and covered her ears, tears streaming down her face. Robin held Starfire as she cried at seeing her friend like this and being able to do nothing. Cyborg watched emotionlessly as a girl he considered to be the strongest of them all and a sister to him broke down right in front of his eyes.
-0-0-
Raven opened her eyes after the screaming stopped and the crunching ended and looked to see the young Beast Boy, eyes widened in shock, looking at his hands and wiping them on his shirt trying to get rid of the blood. She could now hear what he had been muttering before and it would haunt her until her dying day.
"...won...ff...won't come...off...it won't come off. Why won't it come off? Where's Mommy? Mommy? Where are you?
He brought his head around and looked numbly around the area, as if in a trance.
"Where's my Mommy?"
He wiped his arm on his mouth and noticed more blood on his face. He kept wiping, faster with every stroke frantically trying to get rid of the blood on his body. He screamed,
"WHY WON'T IT COME OFF! WHY WON'T THE BLOOD COME OFF! MOMMY! HELP ME, PLEASE HELP ME!"
The little Beast Boy finally saw his mother's body and ran over to it. He shook the body, trying to wake her up.
"Mommy, why won't you wake up? Mommy? Mom...my?"
He finally noticed the bullet holes and the shock of the event finally caught up with him. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Are you happy now Raven? Did you find what you wanted?"
She looked up at the Beast Boy she knew and said,
"Please Gar, I want to leave...please..."
Beast Boy looked impassively at her and she blinked and saw that they were back in the fields that they had started in. He said coldly,
"Then leave."
She didn't need be told twice. As she left his mind and came back to normal world, three anxious faces looked at hers worriedly. She all of a sudden felt really sick and ran to the kitchen and retched into the sink until it was nothing more than dry heaves. She looked up to see Robin, Cyborg and Starfire looking at her with even more worried expressions. Robin said,
"What happened Raven? You've never gotten sick after doing something like this, what happened?"
Starfire said,
"Yes, you gave us quite a scare friend Raven. What happened?"
Cyborg jumped in and said,
"Did Beast Boy do something inappropriate to you in there?"
Everyone stared at him and he said,
"What? You never know what that green munchkin will do."
Raven looked past her friends and said,
"Beast Boy?"
Everyone looked around to see Beast Boy staring at them in a way that made their skin crawl. He was looking at them as if he was seeing through them and into their souls. He limped his way over to them and said,
"I'm...going to sleep. Wake me up when it's dinner time."
He began to limp his way out when a puffy eyed Raven said,
"Beast Boy..."
She reached out to touch him and Beast Boy said,
"Don't touch me Raven, just leave me alone. I need time to think."
She withdrew her hand and backed away, leaving him to limp his way to his room. Unfortunately, he wouldn't make it that far. He collapsed three steps later and fell to the ground, unmoving. Cyborg flew forward and said,
"BB? BB? Wake up man, stop playing around!"
Beast Boy's response was to wince and begin breathing rapidly. Robin checked his pulse and he instantly went into fearless leader mode.
"Get him into the Med Bay. Now!"
Cyborg and Starfire took Beast Boy downstairs to the med bay and left Raven and Robin alone. Robin sighed and said,
"Raven...you don't have to tell me but...what happened in there?"
Raven looked at him and said,
"I crossed a line I shouldn't have."
Raven dissapeared into a black ball and left Robin alone with a torrent of thoughts and wondering just what the hell happened to make Raven cry.
A/N: So...sue me, it sounded good at the time. R&R plz. Pretty please?