"I'm not entirely sure yet, Cyborg. But I know we should start by talking to Beast Boy."
They found him in the kitchen, poking his fork at a plate of tofu eggs and propping his head up with his arm on the counter. Robin and Cyborg looked to each other and nodded in silent understanding. They slowly walked towards their distraught teammate and friend and took seats to both sides of him.
"Hey, B." Cyborg began, receiving only a grunt in response.
"So... You, uh, planning on checking in with Raven? I think she wants to see you." Robin, being not so good at working towards the chase cuts right to it, and the heartbroken green teenager let's his head fall to the table top and covers it with his arms, groaning. Cyborg shoots a disapproving look at his leader and places a comforting hand on his pal's back.
"I don' nuh wha do do!" Beast Boy's words become muffled through his arms but the other two boys manage to pick up enough.
"Well, green bean, I think you should start by telling us what happened so we can give you proper advice." Cyborg played the role of big brother very well.
"Whenever you're ready, Beast Boy." Robin offered assurance that he was there for him too.
...
About an hour later, Beast Boy had just finished recapping the past events in excrutiating detail, and his listeners had to take a few extra seconds to digest it all.
"Well." Robin cleared his throat, "Cyborg?" he passed the baton sheepishly.
"Alright, well. Sounds to me like this needs to be discussed again between you two, no running away. I'm sorry man, but my advice is that you two need to work this out. I got nothing else."
Beast Boy became noticably upset.
"But I don't know if I can do that."
"Ok that's enough. Cyborg, the gentle approach isn't working fast enough. Beast Boy, you have to talk to her NOW. She's sick and we don't know how bad it will get."
"What are you talking about. People get sick all the-"
"No, B. She's lovesick."
"Lovesick? You've gotta be kidding me! What are you, Dr. Phil?"
Robin stepped in Beast Boy's face and had an expression of pure seriousness. The young changeling quieted immediately.
"The embodiment in her mind is dying, and we have no idea what that could lead to." Robin tried to explain although he didn't quite understand the situation himself. Beast Boy's eyes grew wide and worry painted across his face.
"You gotta go in her head, man..." Cyborg said, with a hint of an ordering tone.
"But... Why me? I don't think she would want ME in her head after all this! And I don't know if I could handle that either!"
"Garfield, you HAVE to do this!" Robin tried to sound commanding.
"But-"
"She's only LIKE THIS because she LOVES YOU! And you still love her! You KNOW you do!" Starfire walked in after conversing with Raven again to hear Cyborg yelling. She apparently gathered more details about the situation at hand.
"You must go and straighten our friend's head, or she will die!" Starfire showed a rare sense of harsh urgency.
Shock travelled around the room and for a while, nobody could move.
Beast Boy was first to shoot up and began dashing towards Raven's bedroom, the rest of the gang some odd paces behind. Beast Boy wasted no time in unlocking the door and instead simply ripped it off it's hinged in the beast's form with a spine-shivering roar. He tossed it down the hall, shifted back and marched inside. The other Titans just stood there, completely caught off guard by their "comic relief" friend's 180 in attitude.
"Dang..." came Cyborg's oh so eloquent way to break the silence.
"Anyone else notice that the beast-" Robin, being always the observant one was interrupted (for once).
"Only comes out for friend Raven's behalf? Yes, Robin. I, too, was thinking the same."
"... Dang... BB's got more baggage than we've thought. And he's tougher than we thought, too."
"With the right motivation." Robin's eyes narrowed under his mask.
The tough guy in question was still rummaging around Raven's bedroom looking for a particular silver mirror.
"Come on Raven. Where did you hide it?" he said to himself from under the bed. He pulled his head back out and worked his way around the perimeter of the room, halting only when he came seconds away from opening a certain locked chest. He let out a sigh and stopped to think.
"Hey, uh, Gar?" Robin tried to offer his help.
"Huh? What is it?" Beast Boy turned to him eagerly.
"Maybe you could turn into a snake?" he offered and Garfield snapped his fingers.
"Right! Since the mirror is a part of Raven's mind, maybe my infrared can detect it! Dude!" he flashed his leader a thumbs up and changed into a cobra, spastically flicking his tongue. After a few seconds of circling, he slithered towards the pair of masks representing comedy and tragedy on the sorceress's wall, changed back to human form and lifted the d cor off of it's nail. He opened the small door behind it and pulled out the enchanted mirror with a determined nod. He marched to the door where his friends stepped aside, still in awe. He made his way to the med bay without haste and burst through the door to be met with a weak and questioning pair of violet eyes.
"Beast Boy?" she tried for an answer this time.
He swallowed hard and took a deep breath before responding, as if at war with his words.
"I'm gonna save your mind, Rae, even if I don't belong in your heart anymore."
And before she could open her mouth in fervent protest, he held the "beauty mirror" up before his face and chanted.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." He was pulled through a portal of vortex-like power into a dark, barren landscape.