Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
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Beast Boy hummed happily to himself as he prepared breakfast for Raptor and himself. He grinned as he took in the aromas from the perfect vegan meal that was sizzling in the skillet. He had already set the table for the two of them. This had become a routine for the couple: Beast Boy would get up first, shower and dress and head to the kitchen. Raptor would drag herself out of bed just as he left for the mess hall. Unlike Raven she had a hard time getting up early in the morning, especially after a long night of passionate bedroom gymnastics with her green bean. Beast Boy had once suggested that perhaps she should try meditation to see if it would help her sleep better. She had dismissed the suggestion with a raspberry, and he never mentioned it again.
As Beast Boy prepared to serve the meal he heard the sliding doors open.
"Your timing's perfect babe, breakfast is served." He announced cheerfully without turning around.
"We need to talk, Zucchini Boy." Cyborg snapped at him.
Beast Boy whirled around. Cyborg was accompanied by Blackfire and Nightwing, and all three had stern expressions on their faces.
"Wassup guys?" He asked nonchalantly.
"You are." Nightwing replied.
"Huh?"
"Don't play innocent with us changeling." Blackfire interjected. "We know what you're up to."
"You do?"
"Cut out the smart aleck crap, kid. Just because you're bonking the boss doesn't mean we trust you." Cyborg growled. "You haven't proven to us that we can trust you."
Beast Boy put the skillet back down on the stove.
"What do you want from me?"
"You're going to help us rob a bank 'Beast Boy'" Blackfire announced. "The next time you do the nasty with Raptor, which I'm guessing will be after you finish breakfast, you're going to tell her that you want to join us on a mission."
"And what if I don't?"
"We'll turn you in to the Titans. You'll never see Raptor again."
Beast Boy frowned before replying. "You're bluffing; Raptor would skin you alive if you did that."
"Only if she finds out that we did it."
"Bullshit!"
Nightwing shrugged his shoulders. "Don't say we didn't warn you. But think about it. You would make a great addition to the team, and besides, when Raptor's happy we're happy. And she's been very happy lately. And how do you manage that? Do you morph into a donkey when you do her?"
Beast Boy exploded at the remark, morphing into a green version of Bigfoot. He grabbed Nightwing by his arms and lifted him over his head while Cyborg aimed his blasters at him and Blackfire conjured a pair of starbolts. Before the battle could go into full swing the doors slid open and Raptor walked into the room.
"What the hell is going on here?" She bellowed.
"He started it!" The others accused him, all pointing their fingers at Beast Boy who had quietly resumed his human form and returned to the stove.
"Ah crap, it's burned." He moaned.
Raptor gave her team a death glare that was reminiscent of the days when Beast Boy was convinced that Raven had PMS. She walked over to Beast Boy and hooked her arm around his.
"Don't worry about it Gar, we can go out for breakfast."
Beast Boy looked surprised at her remark. "Really? Where? I mean, won't we get arrested if we go out to a restaurant?"
"Not if it's far away from here." She replied as she swirled her cape around them, conjuring a black hemisphere. Within seconds they had vanished.
"This blows!" Nightwing complained. "He has her eating out of his hand. If we aren't careful she'll marry him and we'll really be stuck with that loser."
"Guys." Cyborg announced. "I think it's time for a change in leadership."
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Beast Boy and Raptor materialized on a sandy beach. It was still very early and the sun was just beginning to rise. Even though it was early the air was warm and balmy. It was also rife with tropical scents as his sensitive nose could smell the aroma of guava and papaya fruit over the rich lush smell of the tropics. He stared at the still pre-dawn ocean; the sun had yet to peek over the horizon. He turned around and saw a dense tropical forest lining the beach. The first thing that came to his mind was the old novel "The Lord of the Flies". He had once borrowed Holden's masterpiece from Raven and read it in a single sitting. He thought he could almost see Ralph or Piggy running along the beach.
"Where are we?"
Raptor lowered her hood as she also inhaled the rich pungency of the tropical air. She moaned happily before answering his question.
"A small, uninhabited island about 150 miles southwest of Fiji." She replied. "I found it a long time ago and used to come here when I wanted to be alone, back when I was still a Titan. What do you think?"
"It's nice, really peaceful. But I thought we were going to have breakfast?"
"It's still too early. There's another island about 30 miles away. There's a great beachfront restaurant there, but it won't be open for at least 2 more hours. It should be about 5 AM right now."
"So what do we do until then? Go for a swim?" He asked in a jesting tone.
"I have a better idea." She replied as she unfurled a large blanket she had tucked under her arm, which she lowered onto the sand. "How about we just watch the sunrise?"
The changeling smiled.
"Sure" He answered as he sat down next to her. She took his hand with hers, caressing his palm with her thumb. They sat together in silence, listening to the sounds of the tropical forest behind the switch from nighttime to daylight. After about 30 minutes Beast Boy cleared his throat.
"What is it Gar?" Raptor asked.
"They do have vegetarian food at that restaurant, don't they?"
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It was raining in Jump City, pouring actually. There had been a light drizzle that morning which had remained steady through the early afternoon, when it had picked up and become a full blow downpour.
Raven was standing alone in the common room, staring listlessly out the huge windows. The skies were as gray as she looked and felt. It had been two months now since Beast Boy had been absconded to the parallel universe and there had been no progress in finding him. She was alone in the room, which was as silent as a tomb. She glanced at the GameStation console which was idle, its controllers abandoned on the coffee table. She recalled the countless times he had irritated her by playing those games he loved so much on it, trash talking Cyborg even though he seldom won. She would now give anything to see him seated on the circular couch, moaning and cheering himself on as he tried to top the high score on whatever game was in vogue that week.
But it wasn't meant to be. The GameStation remained turned off except for those rare occasions when Robin played with it. Even then she could tell that his heart wasn't into it as he would usually turn it off again after five or ten minutes. Cyborg didn't play at all as he and Starfire spent all their free time in the basement, using the captured machine to try and find the dimension Beast Boy was marooned in, searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. She could tell that the effort was beginning to take a toll on them, but their guilt was so strong that they kept pushing forward.
Looking at the clock Raven realized that they had not emerged from the basement for lunch, even though it was almost 3 PM. She trudged into the kitchen and opened the fridge. After surveying its contents she pulled out several packages of cold cuts and sliced cheese and began to assemble some sandwiches for them. Making their lunch had become a bit of a routine for her and she stuck to sandwiches as she could make those since it didn't involve any cooking which she still preferred to avoid.
After placing several layers of salami, ham, roast beef and provolone cheese on the slices of bread she had put on the tray she crowned them with lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Realizing that she had forgotten to get the mayo and mustard out she walked back to the fridge. The mayonnaise was on a shelf in the door but she couldn't find the mustard. Scanning the fridge she found that someone had wedged it in the back. As she pushed some items aside she saw it… a package of tofu, which was well past its expiration date.
She retrieved the shrink wrapped cube and held it gingerly, and as she stared at it the world vanished around her. She didn't even hear the sliding doors open or the heavy footsteps that followed.
"Are you OK Raven?"
Raven jerked and dropped the tofu on the floor.
"Uh? Oh yeah, sure, I'm fine. I uh, was making you guys some lunch and I couldn't find the mustard." She replied as she reached into the fridge and pulled out the familiar yellow container. "Starfire won't eat anything if it doesn't have mustard on it."
Cyborg reached down and picked up the white cube made of soy bean curd. He inspected it and looked at Raven, whose expression suddenly became sorrowful.
"We're gonna find him Raven, and that's a promise."
She nodded sadly as she reached once again into the fridge and retrieved a two liter bottle of cola, which she placed on the tray along with mayo and mustard containers, along with a couple of glasses.
"I know you're doing your best Cyborg. It just isn't easy, the wait, the uncertainty."
Cyborg nodded as he picked up the sandwich laden tray.
"Hang in there Raven; maybe we'll be lucky today. And thanks for the sandwiches." He replied as the doors slid open. He walked through them and they closed behind him.
Raven sighed. "What have I done to deserve this?"
You treated him like dirt, you idiot.
Raven wiped a tear away. There was no arguing with that, and in any case she never argued with herself.
"I hope you're OK Gar, wherever you are." She whispered.
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Jinx and Gizmo entered the Hive-5 common room and looked around. See-more and Kyd-Wykkyd were playing on the GameStation (which of course was stolen), Mammoth was watching TV (also stolen) while Billy Numerous was putting the final touches on a huge hero sandwich.
"Billy, our prisoner is hungry, take him something to eat."
"Sure thing Jinx, right after I give this sandwich the treatment it deserves."
Jinx cleared her throat. "Just give him that sandwich you just made."
"Are you serious Jinx? What am I supposed to eat?"
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Have a copy of yourself make another sandwich while you take that that one to the prisoner. It'll be ready by the time you get back."
"But he'll just eat it." Billy complained.
"And after you merge back together you won't be hungry anymore."
"But I wanna taste it." He whined.
A vein began to throb in her forehead.
"Then you stay and send your double with the sandwich."
"I'm telling you Jinx, he'll eat it before he gets to the cell block."
"Then I'll kick his butt!"
Billy grinned. "I think that'll work." He replied as he split into two and sent his duplicate off with the sandwich and a 1 liter bottle of soda. Jinx motioned to Gizmo to follow her to the far end of the room.
"And you wonder why I like our prisoner? How could I not? Other than you all of my teammates are morons."
Gizmo gave Jinx the best glare he could muster.
"In case you've forgotten Jinx they still remember that you ran off with Kid Flash and double crossed us."
"And busted all of you out of prison later on, after I dumped the moron." She reminded him.
"You did and that's the only reason we took you back as our leader. But don't kid yourself Jinx; we're still pissed at you for double crossing us for that pretty boy."
Jinx returned his glare. "Garfield isn't some sort do-gooder Gizmo; he's Beast Boy's counterpart from another dimension, and he was a Hive-5 member over there."
"That's what he says. For all we know he's a snot munching spy for the Titans. Don't tell me you trust him?"
"Of course not." She replied indignantly. "We're going to test him, remember."
"I do." The bald midget grinned. "So what's it gonna be?"
"What do you think? I'm gonna have him fight with Raven on our next mission."
"Really? You mean like mano a mano?"
"You could put it that way."
Gizmo laughed. "Then he's dead meat on a stick. You remember what Raven did to us last time? She kicked Mammoth's, yours and Billy's butts all by herself. That changeling will be no match for her, not if he's anything like Beast Boy."
Jinx grinned. "I think he'll win because he is like Beast Boy."
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Beast Boy heaved a contented sigh as he wolfed down the last morsel of his breakfast, which he washed down with a healthy swig of mango juice. The sun was higher now as it was almost 9 AM. He and Raptor had lingered on the desert island longer than planned. The hand holding had slowly evolved to some gentle petting and after a while it was a full blown make out session. After that it was only a matter of time until they disrobed and engaged in a marathon session of lovemaking. They had to rest for almost an hour after they were done. All that "work" gave him a ravenous appetite.
As the waiter cleared the table he noticed that Raptor was staring at the now azure colored ocean, mesmerized by the rhythmic dance of the waves that crashed into the beach just yards from where they were seated. It just didn't get any better than this, he thought to himself.
He remembered that there was something he needed to talk with Raptor about, but was loathe to break the magic that permeated the air. He was so enthralled with the sorceress that he hadn't even thought about Raven that entire morning since they arrived. But he knew that it was important and it couldn't wait.
"Rae, there's something I wanna talk with you about."
Raptor snapped back into reality.
"What is it Gar?" She asked absentmindedly.
"It's your teammates Rae. They don't like me."
She smiled at him.
"Tell me something I don't know." She snickered.
Beast Boy's demeanor quickly became indignant.
"I'm not joking Rae." He snapped at her. "They're demanding that I join the Hive-5 and that if I don't that they'll turn me over to the Titans."
Raptor's face did not betray the anger she was feeling inside and she didn't say a word.
"Rae, did you hear what I said?"
She acknowledged him with a nod.
"Gar, I run the Hive-5, heck, I AM the Hive-5. That won't happen. I won't allow that to happen. Do you understand?"
He looked at her skeptically.
"Yeah, I do."
Raptor frowned. "But you don't believe me, do you?"
He shook his head.
"Of course, I believe you Rae. But what if they double cross you too?"
Raptor leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed and harrumphed. "They wouldn't dare!"
Beast Boy struggled to agree with her. He had seen the kind of people Nightwing, Blackfire and Cyborg were, and they were nothing like his friends back home. They weren't even like the Hive-5 from back home. They were scary beyond reason and he knew that they were extremely dangerous.
"Rae, let's run away and never go back. Just you and me. We can start a new life together."
Raptor's eyes betrayed the surprise she felt.
"Are you serious Gar?"
Before Beast Boy could reply a ruckus was heard in the open air restaurant. The other patrons got up from their tables, abandoning their unfinished meals and ran as fast as they could. Raptor turned in the direction of the disturbance.
"Oh no!" Were her only words. Beast Boy had also turned to look at the source of the disruption. He gasped when he saw what who it was: Gizmo and Mammoth were weaving their way through the restaurant and were headed in their direction. Raptor grabbed his wrist and took off like a rocket, smashing through the restaurant's thatched roof.
"We have to get out of here!" She shouted. "It's a trap."
"So they wouldn't double cross you, huh?"
He could see the unmitigated fury in her face.
"There's gonna be hell to pay for this!" She shouted. She was cut off as she had to dodge Terra who was on an intercept course with them, perched on one of her ubiquitous flying boulders.
With no warning they were hit by another boulder, which neither saw as Jinx used one of her hexes to distract them. The boulder had hit Raptor hard and she was in free fall. Beast Boy morphed into a pterosaur and grabbing her with his talons he stopped her plunge. The victory was short lived as he was hit by a concussion rocket that Gizmo had shot at him. Once again they were plunging to the ground and Beast Boy, who had been so stunned by the concussion bomb that he didn't know which way was up somehow managed to crash land on the beach. He immediately morphed back into his human form, unable to hold on to his animal form any longer. Raptor rolled away from him and regained consciousness in time to see the Titans circling around them.
"Give it up Raptor!" Terra shouted. "Make this easy on yourself."
"You'd like that wouldn't you Terra?" Raptor replied.
Mammoth picked up Beast Boy's still stunned form and threw him over his shoulder.
"Rae, help me! I can't morph!" He pleaded.
Raptor turned away from him and without saying a word she phased into the ground and disappeared. Beast Boy stared in disbelief.
She ditched me! She left me behind to save her own ass.
Beast Boy clenched his teeth as he fought back to stop the tears from forming in his eyes.
Raven would never ditch me.
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Well, this series is still alive. I thank the twelve of you who responded and because of you I will finish this story. As for the rest of you, who couldn't be bothered to drop me a note, well you're in luck. You will continue to enjoy the fruits of my labor without even offering a thank you. So be it. But to those who did reply: Thank You!
