Okay, since I need to place one of these here, I'll just say it now.

I do not own the Teen Titans. Or the Titans themselves. Unfortunately. So, I'll stick with what I DO have. This story IS my property.

(A/N: I revised a certain part of this chapter. Re-readers will recognize the change!)

D.O.A

Beast Boy flew over the congested streets of Gotham, his falcon eyes spotting every cab driver, disgruntled employee, and citizen of the dark city as they drove to their individual destination. He saw a family of three about one mile in front of him, the father in the driver's seat, his wife next to him, the golden-haired son sitting in the backseat jumping up and down as he recalled (to Beast Boy) what sounded like a boxing match.

Beast Boy then realized another problem. Beast Boy was his hero name; he couldn't use it anymore. From now on, he'd be just good ol' Garfield Logan. Green teen extraordinaire.

The people in the car laughed as their little boy made crude sound effects describing the sixth-round K.O. The child seemed completely happy, not a care in the world. The parents gave knowing smiles to one another, the father's mouth gleamed with his pearly whites. The mother wore a pearl necklace around her neck, the light reflecting off the expensive jewelry.

Gar's beastly instincts warned him about those three. Something was going to happen to them, and the green falcon would never be able to reach them in time. The car stopped at a red light, Garfield Logan's eyes widening in horror as his near-precognitive instincts flashed to him the events about to come.

The tail lights glowed a subtle red for only a moment, and then the car exploded into a blossoming plume of flame as the metal debris was thrown in every direction. The nearby cars were thrown away from the origin of the blast, and the ex-hero could only stare in horror as he dove as quickly as he could to the remains of the devastated car. The other vehicles on the road were blaring their horns, the stop light decimated along with the family.

Shifting into his human form as he landed nimbly on his feet, he sprinted over to the smoking ruins of the occupied car. Nearing the source of the explosion, he saw what truly remained of the car. The bodies were almost non-existent; the parts that "were" left were smoking and charred. The air was heavy with the scent of cooked flesh, his near-limitless senses making the smell only that much more powerful. He fell to his knees, dropping his head into his hands as he groaned in mental agony. He hadn't been able to save them. Just like he couldn't help his friends, the very reason he was here right now.

The Titans had been alerted to a disturbance in a research facility in the center of the city. They responded quickly and efficiently, arriving on scene as Slade stepped out of the shadow of a large generator.

"Hello, Titans."

"Slade," Robin spat. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, Robin. I'm disappointed in you. Didn't you do your research on this facility?"

"I got it man," Cyborg suddenly spoke out. "This is a… A weapons development center."

"Very good, Cyborg. It seems you've upgraded since the last time."

"Oh, yeah?" Cyborg returned with a sneer. "Well, I've got a whole new arsenal for me to shove up your armored…"

"Language, Cyborg," Slade interrupted.

"We aren't here to talk, Slade. We're here to get what you've come to steal." Robin stated confidently.

Slade only snorted his unconcern. He held up a small cylindrical device, and said threateningly,

"Here are your options, Robin. Either fight me, and take a chance at getting back exactly what I've "already" taken, or you can stay here and "defuse" the little situation I've left here."

"You're insane, Slade! There are people still in there," Robin shouted accusingly.

"Then I guess your duty as Titans has already made your decision. Farewell, Robin."

Ten minutes later…

"Beast Boy! Get to the bomb now!" Robin shouted.

BB dutifully nodded and transformed into a 900 pound gorilla, flinging the heavy Slade bots away from him like tissue paper. Shifting again into a cheetah, he charged toward a blinking device that beeped ominously every second that passed. The Titans behind him warred with Slade's mechanical creations, fighting unrelentingly against all odds. Slade had vanished before the battle, and BB had been charged with disabling the bomb whenever the opportunity presented itself. He morphed into his human self again, nervously staring at the bomb in front of him as he muttered incoherently under his breath in a panicked tone.

"Ah, Jeez… Why me?... Can't do this…Awww, crap!"

"Beast Boy, hurry up with that bomb already!" Robin's voice commanded.

"Yeah, B! Would ya' mind getting' a move on?!" Cyborg called out desperately as he wrestled against seven of Slade's bots.

"Just give me a minute! Okay…Let's see…The movies always show the red wire and the green wire. Just gotta get the green one and I'm fine. No problem, right?"

He ripped open the steel plate of the device and gasped as the most cruel sight filled his vision.

All of the wires were green.

"Aww, dammit!" he cursed. He looked pleadingly around for someone to help him. The shapeshifting hero never had to make a choice. Out of nowhere, Slade appeared in the shadows. The masked man nodded to his twisted machinations, and more than a hundred suddenly stormed his position, intent on rendering him unable to defuse the bomb. He fought as best he could, but many of them seemed to know his every move, every transformation that he could make. A score of the robots withdrew menacing weapons, and fired at him. Lances of sparking blue electricity arced through the open air and smashed into him, frying him with more volts than the "chair."

The bomb continued to beep, and with every moment that passed, Beast Boy watched the timer count down from ten seconds to five… then four…

Garfield cried out in pain as he sensed the incoming disaster. The only one who heard him was Raven. She saw the clock, a digital three beeping down to a two.

Beast Boy collapsed from his injuries, his eyes catching a glimpse of Raven chanting as quickly as she could, black domes rising up around all of the Titans. BB's last thought as black energy enveloped him was,

"I failed."

Garfield Logan sat in the middle of the street, police sirens coming his way. His eyes were obscured with angry tears as he clenched his fist. These people hadn't deserved this! Had they? The police sirens rounded the corner as five cruisers swerved onto the main street, ten armed policemen emerging with pump-action shotguns. One of the officers spoke through his cruiser's P.A.

"YOU THERE! Green! Don't move!"

Did they really believe he committed this…atrocity?

"Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground!"

Those people actually thought that "he" killed this family? And they thought they were going to take him to prison for it, too?

Wrong.

Standing slowly to keep the officers calm, he stared at the numerous guns pointed his way. He started to walk towards the officer holding the mouthpiece, the voice getting more urgent as he made more demands.

"D…Don't move! We will shoot!"

He ignored the man's warnings, continuing towards the policeman. The officer panicked, and drew his sidearm, his hands shaking as he pointed the nine-millimeter handgun at Garfield's heart. Gar kept up his advance, the officer hesitating only a moment as he squeezed the trigger. The changeling let his animal instincts take over, rotating his torso as the bullet sped toward him. The projectile zoomed harmlessly past him. He raised an eyebrow at the officer. They were willing to kill him so early? Meta-humans must have a bad rep in Gotham.

"More animal than man, dude," he said jokingly. "By the way, I hope your heart is better than your aim."

"Wh…What the hell are you?" the cop fearfully asked.

Gar's form shifted for an instant, and to the frightened policeman, it was as if the boy had simply vanished. The man lowered his weapon and looked over to his partner, raising his eyebrow to signal his confusion. The other man nodded back understandingly, tilting his head towards his shoulder as he turned on his radio to call in the situation.

It was then that out of nowhere, a gigantic T-Rex popped into vision and lowered its powerful jaws onto the unsuspecting cop. The man screamed as Garfield tossed him over the bridge without ever biting him. The powerful reptile's tail swung around like a whip crashing into three officers and sending them over the side, as well. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the dinosaur morphed into a mosquito, imperceptible to the other distant law enforcer. He flew behind the man and shifted into a boa constrictor, landing on the man's shoulder and quickly wrapping around the man's neck, choking him until he went limp and fell to the ground. Morphing back to his human self again, Gar relieved the police officers of their weapons and ensured that all of them were still breathing. The fall from the bridge had been a relatively short fall, and all of them had survived. Gar shuddered to think what could have happened, so he brushed the disturbing thoughts away and focused on his surroundings.

From the furthest reaches of the street, he heard a faint sound, and turning around to meet it he saw the silhouette of two figures approaching. One was definitely a man. Fairly tall and slender, his hands being the sound he heard. The man had been clapping, like Garfield's self defense was an entertaining Broadway show. The other was about a foot shorter than the man, walking in such a manner that he knew it was a woman. Gar snarled, readying himself as the mysterious figures stepped into the light. There standing before him, was a man known to every hero on the planet. He stood dressed in a purple silk suit, a cane at his side. His face was a ghostly white, the hair a shocking green and slightly styled back. His mouth was stretched into a menacing, toothy grin.

The Joker.

(A/N--Special Thanks to my first reviewer "Slade 8833"! Your encouragement is well appreciated, and I think this is the beginning of a long and enjoyable BB centric fanfic! Again, PLEASE NO FLAMES!)