Chapter 9: Instinctual Issues

Starfire was scared. After five and a half years, she felt she knew her friends well. She had felt she knew them well enough to know just what they would do in response to practically anything. She also knew what they wouldn't do. Robin would never be slothful, or slipshod. Raven would never burst into peals of uncontrolled laughter. Cyborg would never rush into some course of action without considering the consequences. And Beast Boy never, ever, got angry. The sight of the young changeling screaming in rage was utterly alien to her. She was unable to picture him in the grips of pure, visceral fury. And that was precisely why the scene before her eyes terrified her beyond all reason.

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Beast Boy tentatively knocked on the door to Raven's room. When she opened it for him after a few moments, he took a breath to calm himself.

"Raven? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Raven was surprised to hear that tone from him. She could only remember him sounding like that for about three weeks, when they had all first met. The others had sounded like that for up to a year. Longer in Robin's case. It was a tone that was walking on eggshells. It very clearly said 'Don't kill me for talking to you, please'.

"Sure, Beast Boy." After an uncomfortable moment she added. "What's wrong?"

"I…kinda got mad."

Raven frowned. That was it? Then she thought for a second. This was Beast Boy. Getting mad was not his thing.

"What happened?"

"Well, you know you said Cyborg wanted to talk to me? It turned out that he'd done some snooping into my personal file."

Raven's frown gained a few furrows. "He hacked into Titans Mainframe?"

"No. He said Robin gave him permission."

"What did he look at?"

"My personal history."

Raven paused for a moment, and remembered who she was talking to just in time for her to store her righteous fury away for later. Yelling at Beast Boy would be counterproductive. "…Why?" She eventually choked out.

"He thought he could get a handle on this whole situation that way."

Raven was not happy. Cyborg had broken the cardinal rule: don't ask about personal histories; if people want you to know, they'll tell you. It was one of the foundations of superhero interpersonal relations, along with 'No mocking of each others costumes, even if they are spandex'.

"Why didn't he ask you?" That, at least, would have been better than going behind his back.

"He thought he would spare me the trouble." Beast Boy sounded uncharacteristically bitter.

"So what did you do?"

"I flipped. I yelled, screamed things at him that really don't bear repeating, and I think I gouged a few claw marks into his recharge table."

"You let him off easy."

"Not for me. I mean, I can kinda see where he's coming from, although he really should have asked, and now I'm pissed at Robin for letting him in the first place, but I never would have normally gotten this angry. But, with all the kinyeshi that's been going on, could it have something to do with that?"

"'Kinyeshi'?" Raven raised her eyebrow.

Beast Boy looked unaccountably uncomfortable. "I'll explain some other time."

"I'll hold you to that. Anyway, this isn't entirely unexpected." Although I really should have told you before hand, Raven refrained from adding. "Quite simply, you are starting to affect the Beast more, right?" Beast Boy nodded. "Well, it's a two way door." Raven waited for comprehension to dawn. It did, eventually.

"So the Beast's gonna affect my behaviour more?"

"Yes. Your instincts are going to become stronger now." Raven noted the way he froze up at this, and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Kinda."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Err…there's no easy way to say this."

"Try just saying it."

"Okay. I get the instinct to Mark."

Raven looked blank. Then, as she worked out exactly what he meant, she looked mortified. "Oh."

"Will this be a problem?"

Raven thought for a moment. "The only thing I can suggest is not…complying with this instinct and telling me if it becomes a problem. Any other 'difficult' ones?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yep. Hibernation and migration." And a third seasonal one, which I am not going to mention. This conversation is embarrassing enough already.

Raven tried not to wonder how you could hibernate and migrate. "I'm sure no one will begrudge you sleeping later than usual in winter" –Beast Boy brightened up considerably at this- "and as for migration, well, I'm sure you'll be first to volunteer for the long patrols." Raven stifled a smirk at the speedy collapse of Beast Boy's visage. "And what was the third thing, the one you weren't going to mention?"

Raven experienced feelings of mild trepidation when she said that. It wasn't as if she had meant to read his thoughts, but she had just come down from meditation, and her powers were overperforming. Besides, it had been the mental equivalent of a yell. Her feelings of worry grew when he started blushing like mad, and when he eventually answered "Mating Season", Raven decided that this conversation was going to stop now.

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After pacing around Titans Tower for a few minutes, Raven decided that the situation was far worse than Beast Boy had made it sound. Starfire had holed up in her room, apparently in mortal dread of something. She wouldn't say what, but Raven felt she could hazard a guess. And as for Cyborg…

Cyborg had gone into a practical shutdown, locking down all sensory perception. Why he felt this would resolve the situation, Raven couldn't guess. Nevertheless, with Beast Boy sleeping again (doctor's orders…) there was only one person she could turn to to sort out this mess, and it sure as hell wasn't herself.

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"Robin. Robin, wake up. We've got problems."

That last comment jerked the Boy Wonder from his stupour. "Is it Beast Boy?" No matter how many times he was told- and told himself- that fighting Beast Boy was the only solution, he couldn't help feeling guilty for the injuries he had casused.

"Yes, but not like you'd think. It seems Cyborg went snooping where he didn't belong. Beast Boy found out about this and got angry. Now Starfire's hiding in her room, and Cyborg's gone into Standby. Beast Boy still needs to sleep, and I need your help to get Starfire to leave her room."

Robin took a few minutes to process this information. "What about the Beast? Is there anything I should know?"

"Yes, but you should hear it from Beast Boy rather than me. Now come on, we have a team to save."