A/N: Sorry it took me so long to upload this. I wanted this to be perfect for you all. Honestly, I could make it its own story, but felt it fit with what I'm doing here. Besides, how could I not include this song in a collection of BBRae stories based on songs? Enjoy!

Africa (by Toto), Part One

Raven, or rather Rachel, fiddled with the holoring on her finger. She understood why Robin had insisted on them, but man did she hate it. It was always unsettling when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and she saw someone else. She sighed. At least Cyborg had figured out a way for the holoring to numb her empathic powers, with EMF or radio waves or something, she believed. It made sitting in first class on the commercial jet so much more bearable. Though it didn't stop her from feeling the dread rolling off her teammate next to her. She was too attuned to him, she guessed. She looked at the pale, blond man next to her. Seeing Beast Boy - Garfield with his holoring on - like this was strange, and it wasn't just the lack of green pigmentation. He was staring out the plane's window, quiet. He was never quiet. But he had been quiet ever since the call.

It had been a day like any other that was low on crime. Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing some video game. Robin was explaining the rules to Starfire, the two of them sitting hand in hand. Raven was curled up with a book, reading and sipping on her tea.

Right as Beast Boy was getting the upper hand, about to win, an incoming call covered the screen, stopping the game.

"Aw, c'mon, dude!" Beast Boy said, exasperated.

Robin hopped up and rushed to the control panel to answer. He hid his shock as Rita's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Titans," Rita said.

"Rita!" Beast Boy exclaimed. He jumped up off the couch, his controller tumbling to the floor.

Rita smiled sweetly. "Hello, Garfield."

Robin put a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, as if to hold him back from jumping through the screen, a slight smile gracing his lips. "What can we do for you, Rita?"

"Well." Rita paused. "I hate to do this, but I'm calling on behalf of Steve. We've been tracking a member of the Brotherhood of Evil here in Africa, and we're in need of Garfield's assistance."

Raven looked up from her book, to which she had been feigning interest, when she felt the mood in the room darkening. She watched as everyone turned to Beast Boy.

Robin pulled Beast Boy closer and whispered, "You know you don't-"

"I'll be there," Beast Boy cut Robin off shortly. Raven felt some weird emotions rolling off him.

"Beast Boy, are you sure?" Robin asked. "I know-"

"It's fine," Beast Boy cut him off again. "The Doom Patrol needs me; I'll be there."

"Thank you, Garfield," Rita said.

"I don't want him going alone," Robin said quickly. "Would you be willing to accept the help of another Titan?"

Rita paused for a moment. "I'm not sure Steve would necessarily approve, but I know the rest of us would appreciate the extra help."

Robin nodded and turned to his team. His eyes scanned them, as if asking who would be willing to go. "Cyborg-"

"I'll go." Raven stood up from the couch, her book falling to the floor and landing next to Beast Boy's fallen Gamestation controller. The other Titans turned to look at her in shock, though Robin also showed a hint of annoyance at being interrupted yet again. She could sense the negative emotions Beast Boy was emitting and knew something about this mission didn't settle well with him. She wanted to be there for him when he faced... whatever it was. Just like he was always there for her when she needed someone. But she couldn't tell her team that. They didn't know she had feelings for the changeling. "I can use my soul-self for a better defense, and if something happens, my healing powers could be of assistance. I'll go."

Robin nodded again "Raven will join Beast Boy, then. They'll be there as soon as they can."

Rita thanked the leader and ended the call.

The next few hours had been spent preparing for the trip. Since only the two of them were going, and five were needed to fly the T-Ship, Robin bought the pair flight tickets; the amount of money he had access to still shocked Raven, even knowing his secret identity. Cyborg was working on upgrading the holorings so the two Titans could fly in peace. Starfire dragged Raven to the alien's closet to find some cute outfits to take; no amount of Raven reminding her that it was a mission could deter her. "It is best to be the prepared," Starfire had said. Throughout it all, Beast Boy had been quiet, brooding.

A laugh too loud for the dark, sleeping plane pulled Rachel back to the present. She turned and glanced at the couple whispering to each other a few rows back. Turning on the small reading light overhead, she looked at her teammate. Instead of the usual green skin and hair she was used to, Rachel was looking at a lightly tanned man with dirty blond hair.

"Garfield?" Rachel placed a hand on his forearm. "What's wrong?"

Garfield slowly turned away from the window, his eyes falling on Rachel's hand. "Nothing."

"Garfield." Rachel's voice had enough command that the changeling finally met her gaze. Freckles lightly dusted his nose, and Rachel couldn't help but wonder if he had those without the holoring, and she had just never noticed. His bow-shaped lips were coral in color, not his usual dark green. The only thing that looked familiar was his dark, forest green eyes. Well, almost normal. There looked to be pain in them that the sorceress didn't think she had ever seen before, and she'd known the changeling for almost ten years now. "You've barely spoken and you haven't touched your food. Not to mention, I'm an empath; I can feel your unease. What's wrong?"

The changeling swallowed heavily. "Nothing good ever happens in Africa." He pulled away from Rachel's touch and turned back to the window.

Sensing his apprehension, Rachel sighed. She could tell avoidance when she saw it. Hell, she was a master at avoidance. It was no use prying; he'd talk when he was ready. Rachel leaned her head back against her seat and closed her eyes. May as well try to get some sleep in before the mission.

~0~0~

Beast Boy flew high in the night sky, the moon luminous upon his wings. Below him, the Serengeti stretched endlessly, and the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro loomed over the land. Tilting one side, Beast Boy flew towards the mountain. Behind it stretched hundreds of miles of forest. The Congo. Something bothered the changeling about this, but he ignored the feeling and continued soaring towards the trees. If Beast Boy had thought the Serengeti had been endless, then this forest reached on even further into infinity.

The cool, night air slowly grew more humid as Beast Boy continued over the jungle. His star-dusted wings beat like the drums he heard so often in his childhood. Rising and falling with the thermals, the hawk-shaped changeling scanned the earth below him. There was movement in the canopy of the trees. Had Beast Boy been looking with human eyes, all he would have seen was leaves blowing in a breeze, but hawks had much better vision than man. A troop of monkeys, green monkeys, were leaping through the branches and vines. Beast Boy felt a pang in his right wing, about where his forearm would be, the ghost of a long forgotten injury.

"It's the Sakutia virus," an incorporeal voice echoed. "Damn monkey bit him.

"He's going to die if we don't try. It's the only possible cure."

Beast Boy wasn't quite sure where these words, this memory, came from, but he could feel it all the same. Fear and panic. A blistering fever. His muscles began to ache and cramp.

The sound of roaring water drew Beast Boy's attention back to the jungle below him. Wanting to rest his wings, he turned towards the noise. It was a large waterfall cascading over a cliff, trees and other greenery hugging it on both sides. Beast Boy landed on a branch and watched as the water crashed over the cliff and continued into the river below. Sunlight glistened off the moving water and created rainbows in the spray. It was peaceful.

Suddenly, a scream pierced through the sound of the waterfall. Beast Boy, startled, dropped to the ground and shifted back to his human form, scanning for the source of the interruption. He spotted a boat, a small dinghy, caught in the rapids of the river. Two people, a man and a woman, sat in it, frantically trying to turn themselves around with their oars, but to no avail. Beast Boy recognized the couple...

"Mom? Dad?" Fear froze Beast Boy in place, unable to move, unable to change. Unable to help. "Mom! Dad!"

"Garfield!" his mother called. "Fly, Garfield! Go!"

Beast Boy struggled, but he still couldn't move. He had to get to them. He had to save them, or else they'll die. Tears began to stream down his cheeks. The dinghy was almost to the edge of the waterfall. He had to act now, or else they'd go over. He strained, but whatever was holding him in place refused to budge. "MOM!"

"Go, Garfield! Garfield!"

"Garfield!" A hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him, startling him awake.

His heart was racing as he turned, wide-eyed with fear, as he turned to the owner of the hand. He found himself looking at an unfamiliar woman. She had pale, ivory skin and was sporting a short, black bob. Her lips were full and round, the lower one having a slight burgundy color as it rounded towards the inside of her mouth, as if she bit or chewed on it often. Her nose was small, though proportionate with her heart-shaped face, and was slightly upturned. He met her eyes and was engrossed. They were a dark blue with flecks of violet sparkling in them.

The woman put her hand on his cheek and he felt calm flow through him. "Garfield?"

At the sound of her voice, it all came crashing back to him. He was on a plane, on his way to Tanzania to help Rita. But he hadn't come alone, he had a teammate come with him. "Raven?" he inquired, his voice hoarse.

The corners of her lips twitched and her cheeks seemed to be slightly pinker than before. She quickly removed her hand from Garfield's cheek, dropping it to her lap. "Rachel."

Garfield nodded his understanding, putting together why she didn't look like herself. They were undercover.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Just a bad dream," he responded.

Unsure of what to say, comforting words had never really been her thing, Rachel took Garfield's hand and squeezed it, and Garfield felt himself calming down even more. He knew it was Rachel's doing, and, had it been anyone else, he would have been mad at the control he no longer had over himself, but he knew Rachel wouldn't sway anyone's emotions if she didn't feel it were absolutely necessary. She didn't like holding her power over others. "We're almost to Kilimanjaro," she said. "We'll be landing in about ten minutes."

Garfield grunted his understanding and leaned his head back against his seat. The two Titans sat in silence, neither fully aware that Garfield's hand was still in Rachel's grasp.

~0~0~

Rachel stretched as she stood waiting outside the Kilimanjaro International Airport, thankful to be out of the sardine can that was an airplane. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck. Azar, was it hot. And humid. She pulled her hair back into a small ponytail and looked around, hoping to see one of the Doom Patrol, but she didn't recognize any of the small number of people milling around her.

"Any sight of them?" Garfield asked, coming up behind Rachel with their luggage. He had offered to wait in baggage claim so she could get some fresh air after the flight. He handed her overnight bag to her outstretched hand.

"Not yet." Rachel put her hand up to her forehead to block the sun. Why didn't I bring a pair of sunglasses? She could feel a tickle of apprehension coming from her teammate next to her.

"Garfield!" a woman cried out.

The two Titans turned to see a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties walking towards them. She was tall and thin, with shoulder length, brunette hair in vintage curls. A scarf was tied around her neck and sunglasses were resting on her nose. Her dress had a tight, navy blue bodice with a bateau neckline and a white and navy floral skirt that pouffed out and fell to just below her knees. On her feet were a pair of navy blue, ankle strap pumps. She looked like an actress from the thirties had just stepped of screen and into real life.

"Rita!" Garfield exclaimed, his negative feelings instantly gone. He ran over to the newcomer and embraced her in a giant bear hug.

Rachel grabbed his suitcase he had left behind and walked over to the reuniting pair. "Hey, Rita."

The hero looked at Rachel over Garfield's shoulder. "Hello... Rachel?"

"Rachel," the empath confirmed.

"It's good to see you again," Rita said, finally managing to push away from Garfield so she could hug Rachel. "It's been too long."

Rachel stiffened in Rita's arms before snaking her arms up to slightly return the hug.

"So where are we going?" Garfield asked, causing Rita to pull away from Rachel, much to the empath's delight.

Motioning for the Titans to follow, Rita began walking towards the parking lot. "We've been on the trail of an unknown member of the Brotherhood of Evil for a few months. We're not quite sure what they're up to, but they've been stealing from the tribes throughout the continent." She led them to a Land Rover and helped them get their luggage loaded and themselves into the car, Garfield in the passenger seat and Rachel in the back, before continuing. "After following them deep into the Serengeti, we realized that, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't catch up to them, Steve thought it best to call in some help. And that's where you come in."

Rita pulled the car out of the parking lot and took off in the direction of the savanna. Garfield and Rita continued chatting, catching each other up on all that's happened since the last time they met. Rachel sat in the back, her head on the window looking out. The motion of the car and the low voices of her friends lulled her, and without even realizing it, she eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

~0~0~

"Wake up, Raven. We're here."

Raven opened her eyes as someone gently shook her awake. A green face filled her view. Beast Boy must have removed his holoring. He turned and walked towards a camp set up a few feet away. She removed her own holoring, thankful to look like herself again, got out of the car, and followed Beast Boy.

"Hey, look who made it!" a deep voice called. A large metal man clunked his way over to the two Titans.

"Cliff!" Garfield fist-bumped the robotic hero. "Long time, no see!"

"Hello, Garfield," Larry deadpanned, placing a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Raven." He nodded at the empath.

"Garfield." Steve stepped out from one of the tents.

Beast Boy's shoulders tensed. "Steve," he said, all excitement drained from his voice. He turned towards his adopted father.

Nobody moved as the two looked at each other, sizing each other up. The tension was thick in the air, and Raven could feel Beast Boy's resentment hit her like a tsunami.

Just when Raven was starting to think the silence would never end, Rita spoke. "Well. We don't have much longer before nightfall. We should help our friends set up the tent, then we can have dinner." She turned to Raven and Beast Boy. "I hope you don't mind sharing a tent. We only have one extra."

Raven shook her head. "Not at all. We're used to odd sleeping arrangements while on missions." She looked at Beast Boy, expecting him to make a stupid joke about how all the ladies want to bed him or something, but he remained oddly quiet.

"Good," Rita said. She directed Larry, Cliff, and Beast Boy to pitch the tent while Raven went to get the two overnight bags from the Land Rover. After about half an hour, and a lot of bickering among the three men, the tent was finally up and Raven had unrolled two sleeping bags inside.

The sun had begun to set, the savanna silhouetted against an orange and purple sky. The six heroes were sitting around the fire, eating the beans and hot dogs Rita had cooked while the others had set up the sleeping bags inside the tents. Cliff and Beast Boy were swapping ghost stories while Larry listened, Rita and Steve were talking quietly to each other, and Raven sat watching the embers from the fire float up and join the emerging stars in the darkening sky. She was in awe at how many stars there were this far from any light pollution.

"She opened her eyes and the psycho killer was still at the window, holding her dead boyfriend's head. Slowly, he raised his other hand, the car keys dangling from his fingers."

"Ooh, that's a good one, Cliff," Beast Boy said. "My turn."

Raven rolled her eyes. Despite the fact that Beast Boy watched so many horror movies, he was never the best at telling scary stories.

"There used to be this animal testing center. They worked with some real controversial stuff, like weaponizing dogs, but the public didn't really know about it. One night, the scientists were there working late. All of a sudden, the whole town lost power, including the testing center. The military, who was funding the operation, came out to restore power, but by the time they got there, not a living soul was left. No animals, no people. And no trace of them, either, besides a few splotches of blood. Nobody knew what happened, so the military paid off the scientists' families and swept the whole thing under the rug."

"You call that a story?" Cliff scoffed.

"Hush up, metal brain," Beast Boy shot back jokingly. "I'm not done."

Cliff put his hands up in mock surrender, but didn't say anything else.

"Years went by, and rumors began to spread, stories of howls in the middle of the night. Small animals going missing. The houses closest to the abandoned testing center were put up for sale, and for significantly lower than market price. That's how this one young woman, Stephanie, was able to buy a house and move in. It was a nice little two-story that backed up to the woods. She was from out of town, so she had never heard the stories. She lived alone, and for a while, nothing happened. Then weird things started happening. When Stephanie would come home from work at night, she'd feel like someone was watching her. She'd hear weird scratching and sniffing at night, but nothing was ever there. One day, she came home early to find large scratch marks at eye level on her door. That night's when the howling started. After weeks of little to no sleep, Stephanie finally decided to find out what was out in there. She grabbed the only thing she had that could be used as a weapon, a kitchen knife, and a flashlight and headed out into the dark forest. It was hours before she came across anything, but when she did, she felt her determination fade into terror. On the ground was a giant dog paw print, bigger than any she had ever seen before. A branch snapped behind her, and she turned around, but nothing was there. She decided she needed to get back to her house. Whatever was out here wouldn't get her there. She started running, but after a while, she realized she was lost. That's when she started hearing it. Far off, but coming closer. Twigs were snapping, leaves rustling, even though the air was still. Then, from right behind her -"

Loud chirps and yips whipped through the air, interrupting Beast Boy's story. Raven jumped, her hand instinctively shooting for her teammate's hand next to her.

Beast Boy chuckled. "It's okay, Rae. It's just African wild dogs."

Blood warmed to Raven's cheeks and she quickly let go of Beast Boy's hand. "Right. African wild dogs. Close to camp."

"We'll be fine," Beast Boy chuckled, placing his arm around Raven's shoulders. "As long as we leave them alone, they'll leave us alone."

Somehow, Raven's face felt even warmer. She pulled Beast Boy's arm off her shoulders and shot him a glare.

"I forgot you grew up out here," Larry said.

"You did?" Raven didn't know much about Beast Boy's time before the Doom Patrol.

"Yeah. I spent a few years out here with my parents." Beast Boy smiled softly. "It was some of the best days of my life. My parents were scientists, constantly working with animals. It was great. Then my parents' research took us to the Congo. That's where I fell in love with monkeys." The changeling trailed off as he began to reminiscence. Suddenly, the smile vanished. "I... I think I'm gonna go ahead and go to bed. Night, guys."

Raven watched as he got up and went into their tent. "That was... unexpected."

For the first time since eating, Rita joined the conversation. "You don't know what happened?"

The empath shook her head. "He doesn't really talk about his past much."

Rita nodded. "I don't blame him. It wasn't exactly a great one."

"What happened?'

"It's not our story to tell," Steve said, cutting a silencing glance to the rest of his team.

"Just know that he values his family with your team so much more than you may realize," Rita said. "Now, I think it's best we all go to sleep as well. We have a long day ahead of us."

Raven helped clean up then found her way back to the tent she shared with Beast Boy. Her teammate was already in one of the sleeping bags, facing the side of the tent. She couldn't see if he was asleep or not, though his breathing was shallow and steady. With his back to her, Raven stripped out of her civilian clothes, put on her pajamas, and climbed into her own sleeping bag. She couldn't help but worry about Beast Boy. He was never this quiet, and, if she allowed herself, she'd feel unnerved. She considered prying with her powers, but she knew that would be crossing an unforgivable line. If Beast Boy wanted her to know what was wrong, he'd tell her. With a sigh, Raven turned on her side and fell asleep, unaware that her teammate next to her was still awake, tears staining his cheeks.

~0~0~

Shouting woke Beast Boy with a start. With barely a delay, his hero reflexes kicked in and he was out of his sleeping bag, pulling his shirt on. The clock on his communicator was reading 3:08 am.

Raven was much slower rising. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily as she pulled herself out of her sleeping bag and wrapped herself in her cloak.

Did I just see her in her pajamas? Beast Boy shook his head. He needed to keep a clear head if he was going to have to fight. "Not sure. Doesn't sound good."

"Garfield! Raven!" Larry called from outside the Titans' tent. "We're under attack!"

The two raced out of the tent. One of the other tents was on fire, and there were masked villains running amok. Rita and Steve were fighting back-to-back while Cliff and Larry were each fighting a number of bad guys on their own. With a nod at each other, they separated. Beast Boy headed towards Larry, who was fighting five men at once. He morphed into a gorilla and leaped onto the bad guy closest to him, knocking him out in an instant. He moved on to the next one, then the next, morphing into pterodactyl, tiger, t-rex, and hawk.

After what felt like at least an hour, Beast Boy morphed back to his normal self, panting with his hands on his knees. "Anyone else feel like there's no end to these guys?'

Suddenly, the villains all froze and slumped over.

"Androids?" Larry asked.

A giggle echoed through the camp. "Very realistic, aren't they?"

Beast Boy turned towards the source of the voice, only to see a shockingly confused Raven standing next to Cliff. Except something looked off about Cliff. With a look of melting wax, the robotic form of Cliff melted into that of a black-haired woman.

"Gemini!" Raven said with a gasp.

"That's right," Madame Rouge's daughter said, grabbing Raven and injecting something into her. Raven went limp, Gemini barely catching her before she hit the ground.

"Raven!" Beast Boy wanted to act, but his feet were frozen in place.

"Hello, again, Beast Boy. Long time, no see."

The remaining Doom Patrol members looked at Beast Boy with confused looks.

"Let her go," Beast Boy growled. Something was stirring deep inside him. Something he had almost forgotten about. He pushed down his anger, fighting for control.

Gemini smiled. "No, I don't think I will." She pulled out something and threw it at the ground. There was a bright light and a loud bang, rendering the heroes useless.

Ringing echoed in Beast Boys ears as his eyes tried to readjust to the darkness of the night. When he could finally make sense of the scene in front of him, he saw that both Gemini and Raven were gone. Rage began to overcome the changeling. Raven was gone, and all he had done was stand there like he was useless. His body began to shake. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was his own fault Raven was gone. Slowly, he began to grow, to morph. I couldn't protect her. His limbs grew and his muscles bulged. Raven. Beast Boy vision turned red as he went on a rampage. It didn't matter what stood in front of him or what got in his way, he had to save her. He couldn't lose her too.

"Garfield? Garfield!" someone's voice echoed.

Beast Boy felt something hit his head and his vision turned black. Raven. She's gone.