Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
"You can't?" Raven said incredulously. "What do you mean you can't?"
"Promise me you won't get mad?"
"Too late! I'm already angry! Why the hell won't you be my boyfriend?" Her eyes began to glow red.
"Believe me Rae, if the situation was different I would say yes, really." He said with a worried tone.
"WHY? DAMMIT! WHY?"
Beat Boy cringed, clearly afraid for his wellbeing, if not for his life.
"I'll tell you." He stammered. "But please calm down first, OK? Please Rae?"
His fearful pleas only angered the sorceress even more. She extended her hand towards him and he was enveloped in dark energy. She then closed her open palm into a fist and Beast Boy felt the dark fingers grip as they began to squeeze him. He instantly recalled the thrashing Raven had given Slade under the old abandoned library over a year ago. His eyes grew wide and he felt his own body tremble with fear.
"Please don't hurt me Rae, I'm sorry."
"Tell me why, or so help me I'll …"
"Terra's my girlfriend!" he finally blurted out, not knowing what to expect next.
The Tower shook as every window in her room shattered.
"No! Nooo!" she screamed. "You promised me! You bastard! You promised me you wouldn't do that!"
"I'm sorry Rae, I really am."
"Why Garfield? Why? Why her?"
Still in her clutches he turned his face away from her.
"Because I love her Rae, I can't help it. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
Beast Boy summoned the courage to look at her face and his heart froze. She had spawned her four demonic eyes and her dark tendrils were pouring out from under her cloak. Her mouth sported an evil grin, complete with shark like serrated teeth. The tendrils reached out and coiled themselves around the helpless changeling's body.
"Please Raven, don't hurt me!" He begged, wondering what horrors she had in store for him.
"I hate you!" she thundered, again shaking the tower as she slammed him into a wall. He screamed in pain.
"Raven! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" He shouted.
"Oh I know what I'm doing. It's payback time!" She replied in a guttural voice as she repeatedly slammed him into the floor and the walls in her room. "You're going to feel my pain, you worthless piece of trash!"
Beast Boy began to beg for his life as he felt bone after bone break in his body. Eventually he lost consciousness. She opened the door and threw him into the hallway, slamming him one last time into the wall, and finally releasing him. He crumpled to the floor, leaving a bloody stain on the wall.
"BB! BB! Oh my God! Oh my God! What did she do to you?" Terra wailed as she ran up to him, her face a mosaic of horror, fear and anger. She pulled out her new communicator and flipped it open.
"Cyborg, Robin! Help!"
Robin was the first to answer. "Terra! What's going on? Are you OK?"
"It's BB!" she wailed. "Raven's hurt him! She's hurt him bad! I think he's dying!" she sobbed.
"We're coming Terra!" Robin shouted back before the link was cut.
By this point Raven had reverted to her human form, and stood at the threshold of her door, horrified at the sight in front of her.
Oh Azar! What have I done?
As Terra held Beast Boy's limp body in her arms she gave Raven the mother of all death glares, and Raven slowly retreated back into her room.
"You'll pay for this witch! I swear you will. And you'd better pray to that heathen goddess of yours that he doesn't die, because if he does …"
Cyborg and Robin arrived at the same time. Cyborg had a med kit in his hands and began to tend to Beast Boy's injuries while Robin grabbed Terra and held her back as Raven retreated further into her room.
"How is he Cy?" Robin asked.
The Bionic Boy shook his head. "He's at death's door. There's nothing I can do for him." He replied gravely.
Robin turned to Raven. "Tell me you can save him!"
Raven nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for?! Do it!" The Boy Wonder barked at her.
Raven ran nervously to Beast Boy's side and laid her hands on him, covering his entire body with her blue light.
"I'm so sorry Garfield." She repeated over and over between sobs as Cyborg watched the sensors built into his left forearm. The healing process went on for what felt like an eternity and Raven was drenched in sweat. They all remained silent, afraid of breaking her concentration until Cyborg broke the silence.
"It's OK, he's out of the woods now."
Raven stood up, her hair was matted to her scalp from all the sweat and her face was drenched in tears.
"I'm, I'm …" she began but was cut off by a blow to her face. She slammed into the wall behind her and tasted blood in her mouth.
"That's for almost killing my buddy!" The tin man growled as he picked up Beast Boy's unconscious form. "I'll be in the infirmary." He walked away without even looking back, followed by Terra and Robin. Only Starfire remained behind, staring in horror at her friend, who looked back at her with sorrowful eyes.
"Raven, what happened? Why did you harm your beloved?"
Without responding she phased into the floor and disappeared.
Raven materialized in an old graveyard that was outside of the city limits. It was an old abandoned cemetery that hadn't been used in over 100 years. No one ever came now to mourn the dead that were buried there, who were now long forgotten. Raven looked at the lonely tombstones. The one closest to her read: Emma Jones, Beloved Wife and Mother, March 18, 1858 – Nov 7, 1889. Life spans were short and cruel in those days. They were much longer now, but could still be just as cruel.
None of the Titans knew of Raven's "quiet spot". She came here when she needed to get away from the tumult of life. The dead made for good company, as they never interrupted or pestered her. They also reminded her of her loneliness. Someday she too would be gone, and like them no one would miss her.
She sat down on Mrs. Jones dilapidated tomb and began to weep. She cried for what she had done to Beast Boy, for allowing her evil side to take control, for being unable to control her darker urges. And she cried for her friends, who she knew were now lost to her.
Suddenly she was aware that she wasn't alone among the "quick" in the graveyard.
"So it finally happened, didn't it Raven?" A familiar deep monotone voice broke the silence.
"Slade!" Raven snarled as she leaped to her feet, balls of dark energy forming around her hands.
"Calm yourself Raven. I'm not here to fight."
"What do you want Slade? And how did you find me here?"
"Oh, I didn't find you here. I've been waiting for you."
"Waiting for me? What the hell are you talking about Slade?"
Slade approached her, his single eye looked amused.
"I know what happened today at the Tower. It was only a question of time Raven, and you've known that all along."
"How could you know what happened?"
"Silly child, I've been spying on you, on all of the Titans actually."
"How?" Raven replied as the anger grew in her voice.
"Remember when I attacked the Tower with your father's fire demons? Well, while we were busy fighting, I had a few of them plant some bugs in the Tower. Some very advanced bugs. Cyborg hasn't a clue that they are there and that I've been spying on the Titans with impunity for over a year."
"I see you think of everything,Slade" Raven replied dryly.
"I'm a firm believer in hedging my bets, especially since Terra betrayed me. Speaking of which, I see you had some trouble with her."
"Shut up Slade, I don't want to talk about that!"
"You might not want to, but the Titans are certainly talking about you." He said as he activated a holoprojector and placed it on top of the tombstone. A 3-D image flickered to life. The Titans were in the infirmary, gathered around Beast Boy's bed. The changeling looked awful; his injuries were clearly visible in the low resolution image. Raven watched mesmerized as she listened in on the conversation.
"I can't believe she did this to Beast Boy." Robin sighed. "I guess I was wrong about her. The monks of Azarath were right, she really is evil."
"Look what she did to him!" Cyborg whined. "One more slam against a wall and he would have died. Not even her blue light would have saved him."
"I just wish you would have hit her even harder and more than once." Terra said through sobs. "My poor BB! I swear I'll avenge you."
Starfire was also crying. "I cannot believe that Raven would harm her beloved."
"He's not her beloved!" Terra shrieked. "He's mine! Get that through your thick Tamaranian skull!"
"But, she loved him." She replied with a whimper.
"She doesn't love anybody!" Terra retorted. "She's a demon for Heaven's sake. She's incapable of love!"
Starfire dropped her head and replied slowly. "I suppose you are right. Raven is no longer our friend."
Raven smashed the projector with her dark energy.
"I see you have accepted the truth." Slade remarked with a hint of smugness in his voice.
"And what would that be?"
Slade crossed his arms as he replied.
"Your greatest fear child. You are alone. You have shown your true nature to your friends, and they have now rejected you."
Raven turned away from him, hiding her tears from the former mercenary.
"You're lying. I can go back. They're still my friends."
"That bruise on your face says that's not true. Cyborg hit you pretty hard, didn't he?"
She turned and glared at him. "What do you want from me, Slade?"
"Want? I seek nothing. I came here to offer you something."
"What could you offer me?"
"A new life, one more in tune with your true nature."
"I am not my father!"
"Of course you aren't. He had an insane desire to destroy everything. You, well you only want two things."
"What?"
"Revenge Raven, you want revenge for having them ruin your life by bringing Terra back and then turning their backs on you. But above all, you want him, don't you? And not just to hold hands with him in a movie theatre. Oh no. Your demonic side had been lusting for him, am I right? You can have him Raven, it can be done. But if you do nothing he will eventually wind up in Terra's bed. And we don't want that to happen, do we?"
Damn him! How does he know all this?
"And where do you fit in, Slade, what's in it for you?"
"What's in it for me? Why the destruction of the Titans of course. And where do I fit in? I will train you so you can exact your revenge."
"Train me?"
"Raven, Raven, you are powerful, but you cannot take on the Titans on your own. They know your strengths and weaknesses far too well. But after I train you they will be no match for you. I guarantee it."
Raven stared at the villain formerly known as Deathstroke the Terminator, mulling his offer. It was tempting, of that there was no doubt whatsoever.
"Think about it Raven. And take your time, there's no rush. I'll be here tomorrow at noon for your answer."