Yeah, I know, it's been a while. But I've been busy, working on this, a one-shot for a challenge (go read it!), another unrelated story, a one-shot, and mostly my school newspaper, so I've got excuses. Still, I want to get into this quickly, so I'll just take a moment to say the Hide and Seek was so flipping adorable—I fell off the couch at Raven's bedtime story, and I think I'm going to kidnap those little kids myself.

Anyway, now that my moment of insanity is over, I'll respond to my supertastic reviewers.

Koriat – Rain is nice…as long as I'm on my front porch, and not getting soaked. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you do like this chapter, and the rest of the story.

Hope Rising – Yeah, I think I enjoy messing with Beast Boy's head a little too much. And yes, poor Nina…I borrowed some of the mangas from my friend, and even though that part was pretty different, it still made me sad. –sniffs—

RexRox – Oh, his walks are important alright. And the girl won't be revealed for sure until a couple of chapters from now, so I guess you have to wait.

Silverchild of the winds – Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, chapter one was kind of weird, and it was mostly thought. There's definitely more interaction in this chapter.

Stars-Eclipsed – Thank you! I'm glad you liked SW, and I hope you like this story, too.

lovex3spell – I always look forward to your reviews—they're so fun, and you say such nice things –blushes--. Ah, but there's no James in this chapter—sorry. I'll get back to him next time, don't worry. As always, thanks for reviewing!

teentitansrock – This is the first time I've ever written an actual sequel. And I'm officially in love with that poem—but I can't go into all of that yet. Anyway, thanks for reviewing.

Blizzard Flame – I definitely wouldn't mind twenty reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed SW, and thanks for reviewing!

Confuzzle333 – Wow, confuzzle is totally one of my words. That's pretty spiffy. Okay, to get back on topic now, thanks for reviewing!

BigQuise88 – Well you know, it wouldn't be any fun if it made sense right at the start. ;) Thanks for reviewing.

Rachel Elaine – Yes, you do need to watch the show. I'm sort of a dork that records the really good episode (aka all of season 5) on DVD, so maybe you can borrow them sometime. It's really funny…and last night there were these adorable little kids, and a put two of them on my little brother list, and the girl was so adorable that I made her a little sister list. I know, that's pretty adorable. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Okay, now that's out of the way, so onto chapter two!

Porphyria

Chapter 2—Wondering

Rain drummed quietly on the windshield. Beast Boy chose to watch the droplets, determinedly avoiding the eyes of his friends. Still, he could feel their stares boring into him. It seemed best to ignore them, or else he'd have to listen while his teammates voiced their concerns…again.

Robin broke the stiff silence with a sigh. "Beast Boy…"

Great. Apparently he wasn't getting out of this one.

Beast Boy pressed his forehead against the glass. "I shouldn't run off and act like a zombie for three days. I got it."

Either that was a good enough answer, or Robin didn't feel like pursuing a pointless conversation. Beast Boy would have put money on the last one.

The rest of the ride was completely silent. Nobody really seemed to be in the mood for talking. The T-Car pulled to a stop in front of the tower, and Beast Boy exited quickly, not giving anyone a chance to say anything else to him. He was unbearably cold, with the kind of chill that penetrates the entire body--he headed straight for his room, and a hot shower. He stood in the water until his skin felt raw, but nothing would completely chase the chill away.

As tired as he was, Beast Boy couldn't bring himself to sleep. Nor was he in the mood to sit around in his room, moping. Instead, he ventured to the living room—it was empty, except for Cyborg, who was standing near the oven. Beast Boy sat down on one of the stools, propped his elbow on the counter, and rested his chin on his human palm. Although he was decidedly warmer and drier, he couldn't help but shiver.

Cyborg gave him a sideways glance, but didn't turn around. His body shielded his actions, so Beast Boy was left to guessing until his friend slid a mug across the countertop to him. Beast Boy caught it effortlessly, already accustomed to the soft clink as the handle collided with his metallic fingers. He stared aimlessly into the mug of hot chocolate.

"Drink it." Cyborg was watching him with concern, and Beast Boy sighed.

"C'mon, Cy, don't look at me like that. I promise I won't freak out on you."

If that comment relieved any of Cyborg's worry, he didn't show it. "You should still drink that," he told Beast Boy. "It might not keep you sane, but it'll warm you up. Three days in the rain, you're lucky you aren't sick."

Beast Boy raised the mug and took a sip. "I'm not crazy," he said calmly as he set it back down.

"I don't think you are," Cyborg assured him. "But BB, you know you're not taking this well."

That was true, but he didn't know how he was supposed to be dealing with it. Beast Boy decided not to respond to that one.

"Look, we'll find her."

Maybe Beast Boy could have believed those words, if he hadn't already heard them a thousand times.

"How?" Beast Boy asked bitterly. "By searching the city? It's not like we've done that a thousand times already. Slade could have taken her anywhere."

Cyborg shrugged. "Fine. But what you're doing isn't helping, either."

Once again, Beast Boy didn't answer, taking another sip of hot chocolate to mask his silence. There was no way he could make Cyborg understand the warped logic behind his actions. Strangely enough, the only time he felt like he was of any use to Raven was when he visited those places that reminded him of her. He felt like every other attempt to find her only led them father from the truth.

"And you know, the Justice League hasn't even found anything yet," Cyborg added gently.

It had been Robin's decision to let the Justice League in on the situation. It had cost him, though—Batman had called and ranted for hours, apparently about Robin's poor leadership. Robin had been down, and even more obsessive than usual, since that conversation. Still, they'd had little choice in the matter—it'd be impossible for them to watch for Slade across the globe—and the more open eyes, the better. And although Raven might not end up above world domination on the Justice League agenda, at least they were aware.

Robin wasn't the only one who'd gotten in trouble for the last four months. When they'd informed the Justice League of Raven's disappearance, they'd been forced to reveal the whole story—including Beast Boy's involvement in it. Stories like that apparently spread like wildfire through the high and mighty heroes—within two days, Beast Boy was contacted by Mento for the first time in years. Naturally, his old mentor was more than a little angry about the arm incident. Elastigirl had ended his tirade, and had been considerably more concerned about Beast Boy's well being. Beast Boy lost count of how many times he said "I'm okay," before she finally let him off the hook.

Now there were murmurs among the Justice League—should the Teen Titans be allowed to continue? They'd put their faith in a bunch of kids to look after themselves, and the past few months had been a disaster. There'd been numerous injuries, including a near-death experience and maiming, and now one of their members had vanished indefinitely. Robin had fought tooth and nail to avoid getting pulled back to Gotham, and even Mento had hinted that Beast Boy obviously needed more supervision, unless he was trying to look like Robotman.

It wasn't just the outside opinion of the Titans that had hit a low point—the team dynamic was at rock bottom. Beast Boy himself was admittedly reclusive, barely speaking to the others. Robin spent all of his spare time reviewing and researching, and Cyborg dedicated his life to building another T-Ship. Starfire was the only one making any attempt to hold it all together, and she was failing miserably.

Beast Boy sighed heavily. "Everything's falling apart, Cy. We have to get her back."

"I know. And we will. But for now, you need to get some sleep."

"I'm not tired," Beast Boy lied quickly.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Right. And exactly when did you sleep when you stood in the rain for three days?"

Beast Boy scowled, but he knew that Cyborg was right. He drained the rest of the mug, clutching the handle tightly with his silver fingers. As he stood to rinse out his cup, he was hit with a wave of dizziness, and standing upright was suddenly harder than he expected.

"See?" Cyborg tried to sound smug, but his concern for his friend was obvious. He pried the mug from Beast Boy's grip. "Now go to bed," he ordered.

Beast Boy had no choice but to obey. As he dropped onto his bed, the last thing on his mind before drifting off was the memory of a bloody night and a muddy field.

TBC

Hmm….so yeah, I know I only gave you an intro to James, and didn't even bother to mention him this time, but next chapter is about him. And I decided against putting the angry mentor conversations in there, so you could leave it to your own imaginations. –shudders—Yep, so…that's it for now. Thanks for reading, and please review.

Child of a Pineapple