AN: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 12

"How stupid is this girl?" asked Cyborg.

"And why would she return to Earth after taking Ravens voice?" asked Starfire.

"I don't care why she's here," said Robin through his teeth. "All that matters is that she's here and now we have a chance of getting Ravens voice back."

"We're going to have to capture her and force her to tell us how to get it back," said Beast Boy. "She said that if we remove the necklace then the voice will be lost. So there must be someway to get her voice back."

"Have you spoken to Raven, yet?" asked Starfire.

"No, I had to tell you guys first," said Beast Boy. "I swear I was that close to killing Adrienne right then and there."

"Don't worry, we'll get her," said Robin. "You go tell Raven. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that we may get her voice back."

Beast Boy nodded and went to see Raven. Now that there was hope again he knew she'd be a little happy. Of course, she would still think the cause was hopeless, but a little hope never hurt anyone.

He knew she'd be in her room, so that's where he headed for. He knocked on her door and said, "Raven, it's me." He heard the door unlock and he walked in. She sat on her bed, book in her lap. She looked up and acknowledged that he was there. He smiled and went over to her, taking a seat on her bed. "Hey, guess what just happened to me."

She shrugged.

"I just had a run in with Adrienne," he said.

That caught Ravens attention immediately and she turned to him, eyes wide.

"That's right," he said. "She's back."

Raven looked a little scared and her mind was racing. "Why?" she mouthed, looking for an answer in her own thoughts.

Beast Boy hadn't told the others about why Adrienne was back and he wasn't sure if he should tell Raven. He knew it'd just upset her. Besides, he could take care of himself. "Well, whatever she's back for, it doesn't matter," he said. "Cuz we're gonna get her and we're gonna get your voice back."

Raven closed her eyes and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She turned away from him. She knew there was no chance of ever getting her voice back. And she knew that Adrienne had not come back without a purpose. A bad feeling arose in her stomach and she felt scared. Something terrible was going to happen very soon. Of that, she was sure.

"Raven, please tell me," he said, scooting a little closer to her.

She simply shook her head and sighed. This was something she could not communicate to him about. Not with the way they were used to communicating. There was far too much going on.

"You don't have to be scared," he said softly. "Everything's gonna be okay. We're gonna fix everything, don't you worry."

She turned to him and looked at him with sad eyes. He knew what was going on through her mind and he didn't want her to be afraid. She'd been through enough.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," he said, looking her straight in her violet eyes. "I promise."

As happy as hearing that made her feel, she felt equally as upset. 'It's not me I'm worried about,' she thought. She felt very vulnerably suddenly. The thought of Adrienne being back made her scared to even leave her room. It made her fear for her teammates' safety. She looked down and closed her eyes once again.

Beast Boy could tell that Raven wasn't feeling comfortable. She knew that something was going on, even if she didn't know exactly what it was. But she knew. He hated that he couldn't tell her why Adrienne had returned, but he knew she'd never let him leave her sight if he did. He wasn't going to be Adrienne's; that he knew. And even if she did capture and force him to do her bidding, she would never have his heart. It already cried out for another.

And that's when he realized that his feelings for Raven were genuine. They weren't out of pity. They were real! She liked him and, now, he liked her. And seeing her this distraught made him want to do anything to make her feel better.

He slowly reached his arm over and wrapped it around her shoulders. He felt her tense up for a moment, but she relaxed and slowly looked to him. He reached his other arm around and brought her into a hug, which she accepted. She couldn't believe that he knew how she was feeling, even when she did her best not to give anything away. No one else had ever known her that well.

Suddenly the Titans alarm went off and Ravens room flashed red. The two jumped apart, startled by the siren. They both then sighed, got up, and headed out to the common room to find out where the trouble was this time.

The whole group assembled and Cyborg checked out what was going on.

"It's Red X," he said. "He's at the art museum."

"Titans go!" said Robin and the team headed out.

Raven might have been acting different since she had lost her voice, but that didn't mean she was any less powerful. She had become a sort of good Kid Wykked. The Hive Five weren't exactly happy about that, but what could they do other than complain? True, her powers didn't have as much of a kick since she couldn't say her mantra, but they still worked and they still easily defeated villains.

The group arrived at the museum and quickly made their way inside to find Red X. Sure enough, he was waiting for them inside, holding a priceless piece of art like it was nothing more than a poster.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," said Red X, casually, as he balanced the painting on his hand.

"Please, do not harm the painting!" said Starfire.

"That's the last thing I'd want to do," said Red X. "Do you have any idea how much one of these things'll go for?"

"No and we don't need to know," said Robin. "Now hand it over!"

"Sorry, kid, but this is just the first on my list," said Red X. And with that he put the painting under his arm and made a run for it.

"Titans go!" ordered Robin and they each sprang into action.

Red X ran down the long corridor of the museum, looking back once or twice to see if the Titans were getting closer. Of course, they were. The person behind the mask smiled and picked up the pace. How predictable could the Titans be?

The Titans ran or flew as fast as they could after the villain. Suddenly he disappeared around a corner. The Titans made it to the corner but saw no sign of Red X. Just another very long corridor with exits to other corridors leading from it.

"Split up," said Robin. "Find him." They each took a different corridor and looked high and low for the thief.

Raven was appreciative of her new talent; stealth. She silently glided down the corridor, past dozens of prized portraits and sculptures. She listened carefully for the sound of footsteps or of something moving. But she heard nothing. Nothing but the sound of her own breathing.

Suddenly someone dropped from above her and before she could react, landed right on top of her. She was pinned on her stomach on the floor, a familiar figure keeping her down.

"I'd cover your mouth so you couldn't scream," said Red X. "But I know how pointless that would be."

Ravens eyes glowed black and she sent her powers at Red X. Oddly, they reflected right off of him. He gave a slight chuckle. She tried again, but ended up with the same result. Her powers weren't affecting him.

"Go ahead, keep trying," he mused. "You'll just tire yourself out."

She decided that if her powers didn't work then she'd have to use her physical abilities. She wriggled about and did all she could to get him off of her. He just held her down tighter; to the point where she could barely breathe.

"Raven?" a voice echoed through the corridor.

Raven then remembered. She pursed her lips and whistled as loud as she could. Red X hadn't counted on that. He had to end this. Raven whistled on and on and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed louder and louder. Red X balled up his fist and punched Raven in the back of the head, knocking her out instantly.

Beast Boy had searched up and down his corridor and had found nothing. Then his sensitive ears picked up male talking, and it didn't sound like Robin or Cyborg. He followed it and heard it coming from the corridor Raven had taken. He had called her name and was answered with her distress whistled. He sprinted back down his corridor and then turned down Ravens.

Just as he did he saw Red X vanish and leave Raven lying on the ground. "Raven!" he yelled and ran to her. He found her on her stomach, her cloak flipped over her head so that her back showed. He then saw something rather curious. A large piece of the backside of her leotard had been ripped away, exposing the pale skin of her back. He saw neither wound nor scratch, so he flipped her cloak back over.

Raven winced a bit as Beast Boy gently turned her over and held her in his arms. "Raven? Raven, wake up," he said, trying to awaken her.

She slowly opened her eyes, though they seemed to be spinning. Her vision was unfocused and she could make little out. Except for a green figure holding her. Her head ached terribly and her back tingled.

"You okay?" he asked.

She tried to get her eyes to stop crossing and wanting to fade away again. She shook her head and held it painfully.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked.

She rubbed the back of her head tenderly.

"Your head? Was that it?" he asked.

She thought and to the best of her knowledge that was it. She nodded and tried to sit up. He slowly helped her and supported her so she wouldn't fold back to the floor. He whipped his communicator out and dialed in Robin.

"Beast Boy, have you found Red X?" asked the team's leader.

"No, but he attacked Raven," said Beast Boy. "He knocked her out and fled."

"Is she alright?" asked Robin, concerned.

"She's awake and doing okay," said Beast Boy. "But she's still dizzy."

"Alright, you stay with her and we'll keep looking," said Robin.

"Gotcha," said Beast Boy and he signed off. "Don't worry, Rae, he's not gonna hurt you again. Why don't we head for the exit?"

She nodded and slowly the two headed off. Raven still felt a bit lightheaded and once or twice felt her knees go weak on her. Beast Boy was careful to keep a good hold on her so she wouldn't fall to the ground. He could tell that she was in pain for she kept wanting to hold her head.

"Don't worry, as soon as we get home I'll get you an aspirin for you head," he said softly, as to not upset her headache.

Just as they made it to the doors of the museum their three other teammates arrived. And no Red X.

"I believe he has gotten away," said Starfire.

"Again," added Cyborg.

"Well, we found the painting," said Robin. "Looks like he just dropped it and ran."

"He left it behind? Why would he do that?" asked Beast Boy.

"I don't know," said Robin. "But the point is the painting's safe and our job's done for now. Raven, you okay?"

She slowly nodded and rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head.

"Well, let's go home then," said Robin. "The police are on their way to guard the museum for the rest of the day and night."

"Man, this was a waste of time," grumbled Cyborg. "That Red X is a thief all right, a thief of our free time!"

The others rolled their eyes and left for the T-car. From the roof of the museum a figure watched as they left, smirking to them selves. The Titans had no idea how easy they were to manipulate or fool.