The Coup

"Damnit! I'm never gonna win." Hunter exclaimed as he threw the controller on the couch between himself and Cyborg and glared at the screen. Weeks had passed since Hunter's coma and all had returned to normal. The team was closer and more effective as ever with the addition o Hunter.

"What can I say. I just kick your ass that hard." Cyborg gloated as he too set aside his controller and turned off the game of Super Smash Monkeys 9.

"Man. They made it too hard." Hunter replied, pouting. Raven hid a smile as she sat next to Hunter on the opposite side reading a book.

"Come on B, even I could do better." Robin chimed in from the kitchen.

"Don't even start Robin." Hunter warned in mock anger.

"It's okay Hunter, you can read a book with me instead." Raven added as she offered her book to him, smiling slightly.

"Really?" Hunter replied as he was genuinely shocked by her gesture.

"Sure. I have more." Raven shrugged, blushing ever so slightly. Hunter gingerly took the book and started reading. Raven snapped her fingers and another copy of the same book appeared in her hands. The two sat and read silently as Cyborg and Robin stared in shock.

This carried on for hours with the pair completely oblivious as Robin and Cyborg went about playing video-games and examining the city on the tower supercomputer.

"Hey. Guys? Where's Starfire?" Robin asked, suddenly. Pulled from their books, Raven and Hunter both shrugged as concern fluttered across Robin's face.

"Her communicator's showing her in the middle of the woods." Cyborg said puzzled as he stared at the supercomputer. "Wait, no one's entered or exited the tower for hours." Cyborg added as he checked the security logs.

"Okay, that smells off. Let's look for her." Robin said, even more worry creeping into his voice. Cyborg connected himself to the supercomputer as he scanned all the tower's cameras at once. Raven closed her eyes soul searched for Starfire. Robin searched the inside of the tower meanwhile Hunter phased out and searched the outside. As they searched, Robin's voice came through their communicators.

"Titans, come to Starfire's room, asap." He said in a rushed voice. Before him he saw her room in tatters. The bed was turned upside down, various personal items were strewn across the floor, and there was a massive hole in the ceiling. The team arrived to witness Robin sitting on the upside down bed with his head buried in his hands. "I failed." He spoke, "I allowed a member of my team to be captured. Again." He added as he began to tear up. Catching himself, he looked up at Hunter and shook his head. Cyborg opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a strong electric shock to his power core. He powered down and fell unconscious as the team watched in horror. Hunter caught a flash of red leave the room. Before he could follow, however, a voice emanated from the speakers.

"Hello Titans West. Such a shame what happened to Starfire and Cyborg isn't it? Don't worry, the alien is safe and sound. You'll find her on the grass outside the tower. We'll allow you to retrieve her on the condition that you promptly leave the tower and never return. If you don't comply within the next ten minutes, I'm afraid Starfire won't be long for the world." A familiar voice rang out.

"Is that...Aqualad?" Robin asked, confused.

"Yes. He and the entirety of Titans East is here in the tower." Raven said as she opened her eyes.

"Are they betraying us?" Cyborg asked as he struggled to get up.

"I doubt it's willingly. But its seems so." Hunter said.

"We will have to comply." Robin ordered. The team nodded in agreement and Raven attempted to teleport them out only to be blocked by Jynx's magic.

"Ahh. So you took the offer. Excellent. Enjoy your homelessness. Titans." Aqualad mocked over the speakers as the Titans found themselves in the grass next to an unconscious Starfire. All except Raven. Hunter looked around for Raven only to sense her still in the tower. He immediately attempted to teleport back into the tower only to be stopped by a strong magical force. This one wasn't created by Jynx, at least not entirely. Deep within the tower, Raven's energy was being forcibly harnessed to create a powerful shield around the tower. Raven tried to struggle as she felt her power being drained. Jynx simply laughed as she added her own magic to the barrier making it impossible for Hunter to get through.

"Damnit! We need to get in there!" Hunter yelled in anger.

"Agreed. If they use Raven's magic they could very well kill her and themselves." Cyborg added.

"Well, Starfire's in critical condition so someone has to stay here and look after her. Without the medical ward, that someone has to be Cyborg." Robin countered as he kneeled next to her, concerned.

"Ex-Titans? Hahaha. If only you knew what we had planned. Thank you for gifting us such a powerful source of dark magic. It's so satisfying to hear her screams." Slade laughed from the tower's outer speakers as Raven's screams of pain could be heard from within. Cyborg and Robin both jumped as a loud growl came from behind them.

"No. Hunter. Beast Boy. Don't do it. Don't give in." Cyborg yelled as he turned and realized what was about to happen. "She'll be fine. We'll get her out. I pro-" Cyborg was interrupted as an earth-shattering roar burst forth from Hunter. His body began to transform. He grew to nearly 10 feet as his muscles began to bulge and grow to match. He hunched over as hair began to grow all across his body and his face became more feral. His eyes turned from black to bright green and his teeth grew longer and more jagged. Lastly, his hands and feet sprouted massive claws as he roared for a second time.

"The Beast." Robin said, horrified. The Beast glanced at the Titans with a wild look in his eyes as any remnants of Hunter had all but vanished. It took a step towards the Titans before turning towards the tower and leaping at it forcefully. Landing nearly 40 yards away, The Beast jumped once more smashing through the barrier with ease and crashing through a glass window of the tower. Landing forcefully in the living room, The Beast locked its eyes on Kid Flash. Staring in shock. Kid Flash let out a squeal as he rushed towards the rest of the team in the basement as fast as he could. Nearly matching his speed, The Beast was hot on his heels as it smashed through the doorways with ease causing the rest of Titans East to hear him. They rushed to intercept what they assumed to be a break-in attempt.

Raven looked up weakly as she heard the thundering footsteps and destruction above. She had been restrained by her hands and feet and was being blasted by an absorption ray. Nonetheless, she had a bad feeling about whatever was coming for them. Her eyes widened with terror as she saw Kid Flash run into the garage and The Beast break through the doors after him. Titans East froze as they recognized the deadly form. Regaining their composure, they braced themselves for a tough fight. Jynx immediately shot blasts of energy at The Beast meanwhile Mas and Menos ran around him attempting to confuse him. Bee then took off and attempted to slow him with her energy blasts. Aqualad braced himself for impact as he slammed his trident on the floor and summoned a wall of water. Lastly, Kid Flash was trying to create a mini tornado to push The Beast back.

The Beast grabbed Mas and threw him at a nearby wall as Menos was forced to catch his brother. He then swiped at Kid Flash catching him off guard and tearing into him. He then swiped a second time causing Kid Flash to be thrown against a wall falling unconscious with labored breathing. Raven tried to muster enough power to heal him but could barely keep from falling unconscious. The Beast continued on, unaffected by both Jynx and Bee as he rammed into Aqualad's water shield breaking through it and plowing into Aqualad at full force. Aqualad instantly lost consciousness by the sheer force and was thrown backwards directly into the machine generating the absorption beam. This caused it to break and the beam to cease. Raven felt her power slowly return as her powers began to replenish and heal her. The Beast was oblivious to this as it turned its attention to Bee and launched itself at her. She was caught off guard as The Beast grabbed her with both hands and began to crush her as hard as possible. Bee felt her ribs begin to break as she gasped for air. Jynx acted quickly and attempted to throw The Beast against a wall. She only served to move him a few feet. Nonetheless, it let go of Bee's limp form and launched itself at Jynx. Jynx was ready, however as she generated a shield to hold off The Beast.

The shield weakened as The Beast continually pounded on it with its fists. Jynx trembled as her magic weakened against the sheer force of the onslaught. With one final punch, The Beast got through the shield and picked up Jynx in its claws. It began to squeeze as Raven finally mustered enough strength to break the shackles and turn her attention to The Beast.

"Beast Boy, STOP!" She yelled as loud as she could. This caused The Beast to turn to her. It stared at her for a second before roaring and walking towards her. "I know why you're angry but I'm okay, see?" Raven said as she gestured to herself. The Beast stopped walking as it cocked its head to the side and considered her words. "Relax. Its over. I'm safe." Raven continued. The Beast began to turn back into Hunter as he stumbled and fell to the floor, unconscious from the strain. Raven breathed a sigh of relief as she began to heal the wounds of Titans East.