Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
The Titans milled around the common room. Their eagerness was palpable in the air as Batman and Robin quietly conferred in a corner, putting together a plan. Robin knew this would be terra incognita for the Titans as they would be facing new and very deadly foes. They could not afford another fiasco.
Cyborg looked grumpy as he paced around the room.
"So now we get to do Slade's dirty work for him." Cyborg complained. "I can't believe that he's demanding that we arrest his rivals!"
"Would you really prefer an underworld war between Slade and Bane?" Batman replied.
"Batman's right, that's the last thing we want." Robin added. "They would tear Jump City apart."
"Then we must make with the haste and defeat the Bane." Starfire commented in her usual messed up syntax.
The Dark Knight sized up the Tamaranian. He was aware of her physical prowess and scientific intellect, but was taken aback by her overall naïveté.
"It's not that easy princess. We have to plan this carefully."
"Why Batman? Why not just go in and kick some butt?" Cyborg asked. "What's so special about Bane? He's just a juiced up guy with a Lucha Libre mask."
"No Cyborg." Robin replied. "He's anything but that. Batman and I have squared off against Bane more than once. When he's pumped up with his Venom he's just as strong as either you or Starfire. And he's as cunning as Slade. Believe me when I tell you that I'm not looking forward to tangling with him again."
"So what do we do?" Starfire asked. "Our dear friend is being held prisoner by these villains!"
Batman turned and swept his dark cape around him. Starfire could see why Robin always spoke of him with awe and reverence, even though they had broken up as a team long ago. The Dark Knight was indeed dark, and was far scarier than even Raven, even though he lacked superpowers just like her beloved Robin.
"We need to attack swiftly and quietly." Batman replied. "The element of surprise is on our side."
"Starfire should take on Firefly." Robin suggested as he printed out a dossier on the villain, which he handed to his girlfriend to study.
"I agree. Her ability to fly and her physical resilience make her the correct choice." Batman replied. "And I want you take on Ivy, Robin. She has some new tricks up her sleeve, so be careful. Cyborg and I can take on Bane, while Raven can even her score with Harley and rescue Beast Boy from the cell."
It was at that moment that everyone suddenly noticed that Raven was no longer in the common room. Heads turned frantically, in a vain attempt to locate the sorceress.
"Where is friend Raven?" Starfire asked in a worried tone, already knowing the answer.
Robin slammed his fist onto the table, cracking its surface. "I don't believe it! She left without us! She's already in Anaheim." Robin said angrily.
"There goes our element of surprise." Batman growled. "Robin, I thought your team was disciplined!"
"It is!" The Boy Wonder replied, defending his team's honor. "I can't explain it. This is so unlike Raven."
"Now do you see why I frown on team romances Robin? They lead to situations just like this one."
Starfire drew closer to Robin, wrapping her arms around him. "I would never disobey Robin's orders. He is my boyfriend but he is also our leader. And you cannot tell me who I can and cannot love, Batman!"
"Now is not the time to argue princess. We have a job to do. And precious little time to accomplish it."
"So what do we do now?" Cyborg inquired.
"We go kick some butt." Batman replied.
Raven materialized in the hotel parking lot, behind a wild and unkempt bush. The parking lot black top was beginning to crack and was filling with weeds. It was rush hour and she could hear the traffic just yards away on Harbor Blvd. She crouched behind the bush, surveying the derelict building, which was surrounded by a chain link fence with warning signs that threatened trespassers with prosecution. The earthquake damage was painfully obvious. Every window in the building was broken while some of the upper floors had buckled and partially collapsed. The wrecking ball operator could forget about getting any overtime on this job. Since the economy had tanked and tourism was slow the hotel operator was in no rush the rebuild the hotel. No one would be coming by. It was a perfect hide out.
Raven opened her empathic channels, searching for Beast Boy, and found him right away
He's in the basement.
She continued to scan the building and sensed 4 more individuals in the lobby area. Beast Boy was alone in the basement. Raven decided to get a closer look and phased into the ground.
She reappeared in the basement, which was actually an underground parking garage. She hid in a dark corner and surveyed the unlit basement. She quickly located the cell, which was dimly lit and facing away from her. She worked her way around the garage, carefully remaining in the shadows until she could see the interior of the cell.
She saw an unusual sight. There appeared to be someone dressed as a Halloween ghost, in the stereotypical white sheet, who was sitting down. She watched quizzically until the figure stood up and after a few moments removed the sheet, revealing a green changeling walking away from a strange looking toilet.
She suppressed a laugh as she watched him open a water bottle and use its contents to wash his hands with a tiny bar of soap, after which he sat down on his bed and began to read a comic book. Raven knew that the cell was under surveillance, and debated on how to get Beast Boy out quickly before the villains upstairs could react. She looked for the control panel, but couldn't see it in the darkness. She then heard some footsteps walking down the nearby stairwell and hid herself, partially phasing into the nearby wall.
She watched the stairwell door intently as the footfalls became louder and louder and it soon opened. Harley Quinn emerged from the stairwell, carry a small paper bag and a jumbo sized soft drink.
"Lunch time, kiddo!" she called out as she approached the cell. She swaggered her tightly clad voluptuous figure as walked towards Beast Boy, swinging her derrière, clearly flirting with him.
Slut! Raven seethed as she watched her new nemesis approach Beast Boy.
"Taco Belch?" Beast Boy complained. "That's gross. I hate their food."
"Quit yer complainin'. It's this or nothin', ya pointy eared green freak!"
Hearing the hated harlequin call her beloved a 'pointy eared green freak' made Raven's blood boil. Something snapped in her and the next thing she knew she had materialized mid air next to Harley and kicked her in the face with a perfect flying side kick. Raven's heel made perfect contact with Harley's cheek and she went down like a felled California redwood, knocked out cold, her nose broken and bloodied. Raven landed gracefully on the floor and turned towards the cell.
"Rae!" Beast Boy shouted as he leaped from his bed. "You came to rescue me!"
"Not until I can find the controls for this force field."
"Can't you phase me out of here?"
"No, I can't. The force field surrounds the entire cell. And they removed the control panel! It's not here dammit!"
Beast Boy looked at Harley's prone figure lying on the floor. The ultra super big gulp was lying next to her, slowly dripping its fructose sweetened content.
"Raven, get the straw out of the cup!"
"What?" she asked.
"Just do it, there's no time to explain."
Raven reluctantly pulled the drinking straw out of the cups protective lid. She looked at him curiously, with a 'now what?' look on her face.
"Poke it through the force field, but not all the way." He instructed her.
Raven carefully pushed the straw though the force field, which offered no resistance to the flimsy piece of plastic. Beast Boy carefully grabbed the other end, making sure not to pull all the way through. He wrapped his lips around it and blew. Raven felt the air flow out the other end.
"Gar! You're a genius!" She beamed at him as they carefully lowered the straw to the floor.
"And I thought it was the pointy ears that attracted you to me." He joked.
Once the straw was on the floor Beast Boy morphed into an ant and scurried through his improvised escape tunnel. As soon as he emerged at the other end he resumed his human form and wrapped his arms around Raven. She planted a quick but fiery passionate kiss on his lips.
"Where do you think you're going, BB?" A familiar voice called out from the darkness.
The couple swerved around to see Terra, levitating on a rock, flanked by Bane, Poison Ivy and Firefly. Ivy walked up to Harley and doused her with a bucket of water.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" the clown complained.
"I swear Harl, sometimes you can be so useless." Ivy complained to her partner in crime.
Raven grabbed her cape, preparing to swirl it around her to teleport Beast Boy and herself to safety.
"I wouldn't do that, Rae." The Geomancer challenged her.
As Terra warned Raven a loud crashing sound could be heard. Starfire and Cyborg had punched their way through a solid concrete wall, bending the remaining rebar out of the way to make an entrance. Batman and Robin quickly followed them in.
"Well, well, the whole family came, and they even brought the Bat with them. I'm honored." Terra mocked the Titans.
"Give it up Terra! You can't win!" Robin howled at her.
"Oh, but I can Robin, in fact I've already won."
"We can take your team Terra. You can make this easy or hard, it's up to you!" Robin warned her.
Terra laughed. "Ever heard of the San Andreas Fault Robin?"
The basement fell silent. The stunned looks on the Titan's faces could be seen, even in the dimly lit garage. Even Bane and his cohorts were shocked at Terra's not so veiled threat.
"Terra, you can't be serious!" Raven howled. "Do have any idea of how many people would die if you triggered it?"
"Millions!" The geomancer grinned. "It's about time the big one finally hit, don't you think?"
"Señorita, you cannot be serious!" Bane bargained with her. "The destruction, it would be unparalleled!"
"You would be hunted down like an animal, Terra!" Batman warned her. "It would also mean the death penalty."
"So what? If I don't have BB I've got nothing to lose."
Raven wrapped her arms around Beast Boy.
"You can't have him Terra. He doesn't love you!"
"I can't Raven? I say we let BB decide who he'd rather be with." The Geomancer grinned evilly.
Beast Boy looked at Terra in shock.
"So BB, what will it be? Bliss with me, the only girl who's ever truly loved you, or the utter and total destruction of Southern California?"
"Terra, you can't be serious! What kind of life could we possibly have together?"
"You loved me once, BB, you'll learn to love me again, and unlike her I'll treat you the way you deserve, like a King."
"More like a prisoner!" He shouted. "Terra, this makes no sense. Please stop."
"I'm leaving now BB, and I'm either going to our new home or to the San Andreas Fault. The choice is yours. And don't try to catch me. There's plenty of smaller faults right here in Orange County and I can trigger all of them from right here. 9+ on the Richter scale, guaranteed.
Beast Boy turned to Raven and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
"I'm sorry Rae." He whispered to her.
She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.
"I understand."
"Will you wait for me?"
"Until the end of the time." She whispered back to him.
Beast Boy turned forlornly towards Terra.
"OK, you win." He muttered. "I'll go with you."
"And you promise not to run away."
"I promise. Like I have a choice." He grumbled.
"Aw c'mon BB, we're gonna have a great time!"
She reached her hand out to him.
"Do you trust me?"
He took her hand and stepped onto the boulder with her.
"I did once. Then you betrayed me and my friends."
Terra frowned but turned her attention to Batman.
"Batman, I propose a truce. Let Bane and his cohorts go if they leave and return to Gotham."
"But Señorita, that was not part of the deal!" Bane protested.
"Are you crazy, Bane? Do you really want to have a turf war with Slade? And have the Titans breathing down your neck? You will return to Gotham if you want to be paid."
"No deal ,Terra." Batman growled.
"You want an earthquake, Bats?"
"She used to be a member of your team?" Batman muttered to Robin.
"So I made a mistake. Sue me."
"You won't be so lucky next time, Miss Markov." The Dark Knight growled.
"There won't be a next time." She laughed as she flew away with Beast Boy.
"Hang in there Gar. I'll find a way to free you, even if it's the last thing that I do." Raven whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks.
The trip back to the Tower was a quiet and subdued one. Batman bade them farewell and returned to Gotham. Before leaving Harley had the nerve to punch Raven in the shoulder while saying "Ya got moxie kid. No hard feelings, OK?" It took all of Raven's willpower to not rip the clown into a million pieces with her dark energy. Lucky for her Rage was still securely bound in Ravens mind.
Starfire sat with Raven in her compartment in the T-Ship, consoling her friend while swearing by her Tamaranian goddess that Beast Boy would be recovered from Terra's clutches. No longer able to contain herself, Raven broke down and sobbed into Starfire's shoulder. She cried the rest of the way home while the Tamaranian hugged her and attempted to soothe her.
Beast Boy stood perched on Terra's rock as they glided silently over the greater LA area, which took quite some time due to the vastness of its size. Terra held his hand tightly and kept trying to kiss him, but he repeatedly turned his frowning face away from her.
"Lighten up BB, it's just a kiss."
"I never agreed to be your boyfriend ,Terra." He snapped at her.
"Oh BB, I'll be a lot more than your girlfriend. I want to be your lover!"
"What?" he said in disgust."You're kidding me?"
The Geomancer grinned. "Don't tell me you never thought about having a roll in the hay with me?" she teased him. "And don't lie!"
Still frowning he replied. "Everybody thinks about it, Terra. Doing it, that's another story."
"Would you have said yes had I offered myself to you when we were dating?"
"Forget it, the answer is no, and will always be no."
"If you don't I'll hurt Raven."
"WHAT!?" he screamed at her, before calming himself.
"Fine, go ahead and rape me, just don't expect me to enjoy it."
"Rape? Who said anything about rape?"
"You did! You're threatening to hurt me if I don't do it. That's rape!"
"Don't be silly BB, guys can't be raped!"
Beast Boy barely heard her response as he was staring down. They were thousands of feet in the air.
"Terra, unless you release me I'll kill myself."
"No you won't. Now will you stop it with the crazy talk?"
Without saying another word Beast Boy stepped off the boulder, morphed into a tortoise and fell like a rock. Terra went bug eyed as she veered her boulder into a steep dive to catch up with him. Seeing her coming her morphed into a Peregrine Falcon. This time his bones were healthy and he went into another 200 mph dive. Terra panicked as she realized she couldn't catch up with him as he headed straight for the ground.
"Stop BB, stop!" She screamed. "Forget about the sex, I won't hurt Raven, I promise."
Beast Boy continued in his dive, steadily pulling away from the Geomancer, ignoring her offer, it was going to be all or nothing. He was now only a few hundred feet from the ground.
"Stop BB, you win dammit, you win. Please, don't hurt yourself!"
Beast Boy spread his wings and was able to slow down and land gracefully on a sidewalk along Van Nuys Blvd. As he morphed back into his human form Terra caught up with him. Hopping off her boulder, she was sobbing as she ran up to him, wrapping him in her arms.
"You idiot! Don't ever do that again!" she cried as she buried her face in his chest.
Beast Boy looked surprised.
"Terra, you really do love me."
"Of course I do." She replied bitterly. "What were you thinking? That I wanted to keep you as a pet?"
He paused after her profession of love. "So, did you mean it?" he asked.
She turned away, nodding as she continued to cry.
"Yes, I did. You can go back to Raven."
She gasped as he hugged her.
"Terra, I do love you …"
"… as a friend. Big whoop." She replied.
"I still want to be the best friend you ever had."
She looked into his eyes and hugged him tighter.
"You are. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
"Consider it done!" he said with a grin as she wiped her tears away.
She hopped onto her still levitating boulder. By this point a crowd had formed, gawking at the two superheroes. She extended her hand to him.
"Let me take you home."