Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of the characters associated with them.
Author's Note: First off, again, thank you to all of you who submitted reviews. You guys rock!
Second, there were a few reviews I wanted to respond to.
Teleportal: About the mint chocolate chip thing, I actually love that flavor! It rocks! I only put that line in there because I'm going to use it for symbolism later on. Don't worry. ...Mint chocolate chip RULES!...sorry
Regrem Erutaerc: Yes! As a matter of fact, I will be using Raven's emotions in the very next chapter. And just so I don't screw anything up, I wanna go ahead and check to make sure I have all of the colors for the emotions right.
Happy-Pink
Timid-Grey or Gray, I don't know, lol
Brave-Green
Rude-Orange
Knowledge-Yellow
Wisdom-Brown
Anger-Red
Affection-Purple
Okay, so most of those I'm just guessing from small appearances from the episode "Nevermore" (which I don't own) and process of elemination. If any of these are incorrect please tell me in your next review (if you do review, which hopefully, you will).
Now, on to the story.
Chapter 3
The finish line was in sight. The two speeding cars were neck and neck. It was anyone's game…
Beast Boy's face scrunched in concentration as he leaned over, his thumb firmly situated on the throttle button. This was it! He had been racing Cyborg for the past hour and had poorly lost every single race due to the fact that his mind had been drifting back to a certain moment from the previous night. However, he was now catching up in the current race, and it was his big chance to get at least one win today.
The finish line was getting closer and closer…
All of a sudden, Beast Boy's concentration unconsciously shifted. The image of Raven's lips only inches apart from his immediately occupied his mind and every thought. Her lips had been so tender and gentle, unlike what he would have expected. They had felt a bit cold, but somehow, the experience had been pleasurable.
'What am I thinking? This is Raven! Raven doesn't kiss anyone. She can't even—'
A screeching and crashing sound from the TV brought Beast Boy back from his thoughts. Cyborg had used a simple "hit-and-run move" in which he used an accelerator boost to move slightly ahead of the other car and bump it into the railing. On any normal day, such a tactic would not have caused Beast Boy's car to crash, but because his mind had once again drifted to Raven, he had not been paying enough attention to avoid the move.
"Dang BB," Cyborg said. After winning sixteen games in a row, he had given up cheering. "I just beat you with a hydrogen boost. And you lost all those other races too…worse than normal, I mean. What's up with you today?"
"Nothing Cy," Beast Boy lied. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."
"Oh. Maybe you better go take a nap or somethin'. We got field practice this afternoon, and you remember what happened last time you dozed off at practice…"
"Yea, I guess you're right." Beast Boy spoke detachedly "Catch ya later." He got up and exited the room. In truth, he wasn't that tired. Though he had lost some sleep worrying about what had happened with Raven last night, he really did manage to get to sleep at a decent hour. His concentration was only suffering because that image of her lips so close to his kept reappearing in his head every so often.
As Beast Boy was walking down the hallway to his room, he passed another door: the door that opened up to the roof.
'Hmm…' he thought. Raven always goes up to the roof to meditate and junk. Maybe that would be a good place for him to sort this out.
With that, Beast Boy climbed the stairs leading to the roof. He opened the door at the top and was greeted by the sun's bright, golden rays. As he walked to the edge of the area, he was forced to squint his eyes a bit.
Finally, Beast Boy reached the edge of the roof and looked out at the sea surrounding the tower. It was rippling with small waves that glistened and shined in the sun. The water gently slapped the rocks on the shore around the base of the island. The constant rhythmic pulse of the sea was somewhat calming to his previously tense nerves. After a few moments, Beast Boy began to think.
'Raven…Raven, Raven, Raven…' he thought.
Beast Boy had kissed Raven…Raven had kissed him. That was the blatant, irrefutable reality. What did it mean though? Raven was a very complicated and reserved person. It wasn't like her to go around kissing people…especially him. Besides, her powers strictly prohibited this. She couldn't show emotion towards someone; she might cause something to blow up or melt.
Then, Beast Boy was struck by another thought. What did it matter? Why was it important whether she liked him that way or not? He certainly didn't like her like that…did he?
Beast Boy admitted (to himself, Raven would have killed him if he told her) that she was pretty hot. She had nice legs, good hips, and everything else was…agreeably proportioned. Then again, Starfire was pretty too, but he wasn't having any problems like this with her.
Raven also looked kinda cool when her cape blew around in the wind. And her nice, flowing, straight hair danced in tangles around her pale face.
'Ahh…her face' Beast Boy mused. He recalled the way the dark, ravishing color of her eyes matched her hair and contrasted her delicate features. When looking into her pupils, it seemed they went in forever, which was how long he could stare into them. And then…there was her gentle, succulent lips—
'No!' Beast Boy stopped himself, realizing what he was thinking about Raven. 'I don't like her like that. And she definitely doesn't like me like that. She barely likes me at all.'
He sighed.
'Then why did she kiss me?' he asked himself, defeated. He raised his hand to his forehead.
"Dude, why does this stuff have to be so confusing?" he asked nobody.
By now, it was around noon and the sun had risen even higher in the sky. Beast Boy found himself getting a bit hot, not to mention sweaty. Wiping his hand across his forehead, he turned around and began to walk back inside.
When he finally got to the door, he reached for the knob. Before he grabbed it though, it turned on its own.
"Gah!" Beast Boy yelped, jumping back.
He calmed down when the door opened and it was only Raven who stepped out. His brief period of composure immediately dissipated when he remembered his current…"situation" with Raven.
Beast Boy merely stood, paralyzed by her presence. Eventually, she closed the door and looked up. Upon seeing Beast Boy, she jumped.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know anyone else was up here." She said with a slight tone of apprehension in her voice.
"Yea. I uhh, guess I'm really not up here that often." Beast Boy stuttered.
"Mhmm."
A brief moment of silence followed. It seemed that awkward situations between the two just weren't going to end. Finally, Raven spoke.
"Well, I'll just…go then."
"Oh no, uhh, that's okay. I was actually just leaving." Beast Boy stopped her.
"Oh, okay…Bye then." Raven said.
Beast Boy paused, realizing that he was going to have to walk right by Raven in order to get back inside.
"Yeah…cya." He said.
With that, Raven began walking away from the door and Beast Boy started toward it. As expected, the two's paths collided. They were now right in front of each other. Yet another awkward silence pervaded the area.
"Uhh…sorry." Beast Boy muttered. He stepped aside, not wanting to upset Raven.
"Thanks." She said as she began walking away. At this, Beast Boy also continued walking toward the door.
For a brief second, their hands brushed as they walked past each other. Both noticed this action, but neither said anything about it, and acted as though it hadn't happened. Unbeknownst to each other though, both of their faces became considerably red. However, they both continued to act as though nothing in the world had occurred. Beast Boy walked back into the air-conditioned tower, leaving Raven to do what she always came up here to do: think.
Leaning on the edge of the roof, not far from where Beast Boy had been minutes ago, she began to sort things out in her mind.
'What have I gotten myself into?' she thought with a sigh. 'I kissed Beast Boy…Oh Azar!'
In her head, Raven replayed the scene from the previous night. All the things they had talked about. What she had said about Beast Boy. When he had kissed her…
'That's right!' she thought. 'He kissed me.'
Raven contemplated this for a moment.
'Well, maybe I was kissing him too…just slightly.' She told herself.
As Raven continued to mull over the event, she recalled the feeling she had gotten before and while kissing Beast Boy. It was something she had never felt before. This sudden urge to be close to him and never let him go. But what did it mean? Why was she feeling it? She certainly didn't like him…did she? Of course not! She couldn't stand him half the time because he was bugging the crap out of her. He was constantly joking and bantering and…it just made her want to strangle him! She couldn't stand him! And he'd had the nerve to kiss her!
"That stupid twit!" Raven shouted, banging her hands on the railing. She was practically seething with anger.
Slowly, Raven regained her composure. Her body relaxed and she sighed.
"Who am I kidding?" she asked nobody. "I kissed him too…But why?"
As she asked herself this, Raven remembered that Beast Boy could be nice at times. After all, he had been the only one to sympathize with her after Malchior had broken her heart. Plus, he may have been an idiot, but he was, by no stretch of the mind, an unkind person. He had nearly gone insane when he thought he'd hurt her during the "Beast incident". He was also just generally a happy person, or so it appeared. It seemed he always had something to smile about.
'Ahh…his smile' she thought. 'He does look cute when he smiles. And sometimes he opens his mouth just a little bit and you can see his cute little fangs and…ohh.'
That feeling that Raven had felt last night was beginning to take over her body again. However, she noticed the change and quickly snapped out of her reverie.
"What am I thinking?" she spoke out loud. "I don't like him! That's all there is to it!"
'Then what is that feeling I keep getting?' she found herself asking once again.
She then thought of a way to discover the source of her problems. Raven decided that in order to get to the bottom of this new "emotion", or whatever it was, she should enter her mind. There she could consult her emotions about it. Perhaps she might even run into the source of this newfound feeling.
Raven walked back to the door and stepped inside the air-conditioned building. She continued walking until she reached her room. Once inside the darkened room, she faintly spotted her magic mirror lying on the dresser. As she went to retrieve it though, the alarm sounded and flashing red lights went off all over the room.
Raven sighed in annoyance and set off for the commons room, deciding to enter her mind another time. By the time she arrived, all the other titans had already gathered.
"What's happening now?" she asked, slightly irritated that her business had been interrupted.
"It's the Hive…and Cinderblock, down in sector 14. Titans, move out!" Robin responded urgently.
The rest of the titans sprinted out the door. Raven, still a bit perturbed, took her own pace.
"Great, them again." She scowled, then walked out the door and began to catch up with the others.
"Titans, Go!" Robin shouted as the rest of the group sprang into action. Cyborg sent a blast from his sonic cannon at Mammoth. Starfire picked up Robin and flung him at Cinderblock, where he began to throw bird-o-rangs at the villain. Beast Boy morphed into a rhinoceros and charged at Gizmo. Raven flew at Jinx and sent a ray of black energy at her.
"I don't know how all of you managed to escape prison, but you won't be out for long!" Raven shouted at Jinx.
"My, aren't you cocky today." Jinx spoke calmly as she dodged Raven's attack.
Meanwhile, Robin and Starfire were already near to subduing Cinderblock. Starfire had kept him distracted, while Robin's attacks weakened him. He threw a final bird-o-rang at the villain, while Starfire shot a large starbolt at him. Their combined attacks resulted in a bright flash and small explosion. Cinderblock swaggered, then fell over, shaking the ground.
Up the street, Cyborg was running towards Mammoth, hoping to detain the villain before he had the chance to recover from the previous attack. Unfortunately, Mammoth was already up before Cyborg got to him. This did not deter Cyborg though; he simply continued to charge. Eventually, the two collided and wrestled each other in a power struggle. Struggling to keep Cyborg at bay, Mammoth spoke.
"Getting tired?"
"Nope!" Cyborg replied grinning. At this, he quickly removed his right hand out of Mammoth's. He then brutally punched the large man in the stomach, sending him flying back.
This time, Mammoth was so dazed that he didn't have time to recover. By the time he could get on his own two feet, Cyborg had completely subdued and handcuffed him.
Back down the street a bit, Raven and Jinx were still fighting. Jinx sent pink waves across the ground, knocking Raven over before she had time to react. Some of the buildings around them began to crack slightly because of her magic, but it was nothing serious.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted once she regained her composure. The two lampposts on both sides of the street were surrounded by a black aura as they bent down and wrapped their ends around Jinx. Raven walked over to her, watching the witch struggle to get free.
"It's time to send you back where you belong: prison." Raven said.
"That's what you think!" Jinx grunted as she broke free of her bindings, sending a flash of magical energy from her body.
Raven closed her eyes due to the brightness of the flash. She reopened them just in time to see Jinx running at her. The witch sent an onslaught of punches at Raven, who blocked or caught every one. Suddenly, Jinx kicked Raven's shins, sweeping her feet out from under her. She raised her hands and sent a powerful hex at Raven. Unbeknownst to Jinx though, Raven had phased into the ground right before it hit her. The hex landed, sending debris and dust everywhere. Jinx smiled in satisfaction. However, when the dust cleared and Raven was nowhere to be found, that smile turned to a look of confusion.
Jinx felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around only to be hit square in the face by a burst of Raven's magic, sending her skidding a few feet back.
All the while, Beast Boy had been fighting with Gizmo nearby. Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl and flew high into the air. He turned around and swooped down at Gizmo. This attack however, was unsuccessful, as the techno-boy simply dodged the pterodactyl and left a string of bombs in his wake.
Luckily for Beast Boy, he was quick enough to notice this maneuver and turned around just in time to avoid the bulk of the bombs. He managed to escape with only very slight burns to his left side.
Meanwhile, Cyborg, having handcuffed Mammoth, went to join Robin and Starfire in watching the two remaining titans battle.
"Friends! Release the can of 'butt whoop' on the villains!" Starfire shouted excitedly.
All of a sudden, a rumbling shook the ground behind the three. They all turned around to see Cinderblock rising, ready to continue demolishing the city.
"Here we go again," Robin sighed, taking a bird-o-rang off his belt.
Robin threw the bird-o-rang at the giant rocky villain. It hit him square in the chest and exploded. Cinderblock was knocked back a few feet, but quickly recovered. Annoyed, he sent his fists crashing down to the nearest moving thing, which happened to be Cyborg. The half-metal man jumped back in surprise, barely dodging the onslaught. Once he skidded to a stop, Cyborg charged his sonic cannon, and shot it straight at the monster's face. Cinderblock immediately grabbed his head to assuage the pain.
Starfire took this momentary distraction as an opportunity to attack. She flew up to the villain, starbolts prepared. Once she got close however, Cinderblock started to flail around in rage, since he had been temporarily blinded. The girl managed to dodge most of the flailing, but was eventually hit and knocked back through the air. After regaining her composure, her eyes began to glow green and she began charging her starbolts. A few moments later, a large mass of glowing, green light had gathered around Starfire's fists. With a yell, she released the oversized starbolt and sent it heading for Cinderblock. The ball of energy quickly collided with him, resulting in a large explosion that sent dust and debris into the air. Once it had cleared slightly, Cinderblock jumped out and charged at Starfire and Cyborg, who still couldn't see through all the powder in the air.
Cinderblock raised his fists, still running toward his unsuspecting victims. Right before he could strike, a bird-o-rang collided with him. It exploded, then surrounded him with ice.
"Starfire! Cyborg! Are you guys okay?" Robin shouted. The dust had finally cleared, allowing the heroes to see once again.
"Yes, we are undamaged Robin," Starfire said as she gently landed on the ground next to Cyborg.
"This isn't workin'. We need a strategy, and fast. That ice won't hold him long," Cyborg said with irritation.
"Agreed," Robin said. "Starfire, can you carry Cyborg up onto Cinderblock?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Good, once, you're up there Cyborg, start hitting him with all your strength. Starfire, once you get Cyborg up there, come back down and help me attack his legs. Hopefully, that will be enough to divide his attention and defeat him."
The frozen figure of Cinderblock began to tremble behind them.
"It's better than nothing. Let's do this!" Cyborg shouted.
"Go!" Robin yelled once Cinderblock broke completely free of his icy prison.
Back down the street, Beast Boy was still up against Gizmo. The villain had recovered from his previous attack without trouble. Beast Boy landed on the ground and resumed his human form. He pondered which shape to take next, but had to decide quickly, seeing as Gizmo was running straight at him. Simply to save himself from the oncoming danger, he transformed into a mountain goat and used his horns to block the villain. Gizmo bounced off of Beast Boy's head and landed a few yards back.
Now feeling a bit more confident, Beast Boy gathered all of his strength and charged at the villain. Gizmo however, was far from defeated. He quickly recovered and stood up again. In annoyance Gizmo readied a rocket that he could attach to Beast Boy and use to send him flying. Beast Boy, completely oblivious to this plan, continued to run at Gizmo. At the last second possible, Gizmo pulled out the rocket and swiftly attached it to the green mountain goat.
Now, Beast Boy was being shot straight up into the air. Needless to say, he was a bit disconcerted. It took him a second to realize that he was in the air because of a giant rocket strapped to his back. Once he acknowledged this though, he devised a plan. He immediately morphed into a small bird, allowing the rocket's grip to slide right off. Once he was freed, he morphed into a large hippopotamus and began tumbling down to the earth.
"Oh," was the last thing Gizmo said as he looked up and the giant green hippo came crashing down upon him.
Not twenty feet away, Raven was still battling Jinx. It seemed her luck was finally beginning to turn around. Her last strike had made a direct hit on Jinx and sent her a few feet backward. While Jinx was getting up and regaining her composure, Raven phased into the ground and disappeared. Once Jinx was up again, she looked around with a confused expression, noticing that Raven was no longer there. However, she was no idiot. She knew that Raven was going for a surprise attack; she just wasn't sure how. In an effort to save herself, Jinx sent out a wave of her magic in all directions. Right after that, she somersaulted of the asphalt and watched with a smile as the entire street she had just been standing on collapsed; if the goth-girl had been hiding underground, there was no way she was still conscious. She also noted that the already cracked buildings around her became even more damaged because of the presence of her hexes.
As turned to leave, however, she was met with a punch in the face from Raven, who had apparently been able to foresee the attack and evade it. In desperation, Jinx sent out a wave of hexes at the goth. Raven though, was prepared. With a shout of her usual mantra, she shot a blast of energy at Jinx. The blast plowed through Jinxes magic and squared directly on her, knocking the witch out.
Nearby, Beast Boy, got up off of Gizmo's crushed body and resumed his human form. He looked down to see that Gizmo was indeed, unconscious. He smiled at his victory and turned around to find the others. However, in his glee, he had forgotten something: the rocket. The rogue projectile was now sporadically traveling in random directions. Normally, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. However, it was now a danger because many of the surrounding buildings had been damaged by Jinx's hexing magic. These new damages had caused the walls to become very weak. Any sort of impact would cause a torrential downpour of debris and rubble.
As Beast Boy began to walk away, he heard a crash and boom. He turned around to see the rocket crash into one of the damaged buildings. Pound after pound of stone and brick broke off and began raining down. As luck would have it, they were headed strait for Beast Boy…
Author's Note: Dun dun dun...Ooo, a really bad cliffhanger. Sorry about that, but you'll be okay. Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible, so I don't leave you guys insuspense for too long. I also think you'll like where I take this little situation.
Okay, I'd also like to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter posted. The first part gave me major writer's block, and I had a butt load of stuff to do this week.
However, you guys are all still alive (I hope), and this should keep you going till chapter 4.
Til' next time. GoldenBlade416
