Author's Note: Revised & Reposted. Enjoy.

-Bert the Nomad

The day was the same as any other. The week…no different than the one before it. The sun rose and fell, the clouds rolled over each other, and the moon hung crescent in the bleak open sky like the Cheshire Cat's fading grin.

So normal…

But, somewhere out there…something was happening. Something…important.

She…just…knew it. She could feel it.

On a non-too-important floor, behind a non-too-important window in Titan's Tower, a girl stood hidden behind her window. Beyond her, Jump City had already become aglow in the afternoon sun, the air carrying with it the slow bustling of car horns, gull calls, and waves ceaselessly breaking on rocks.

The girl stood, hood up, hands behind her back. Her eyes scanned the city once more from the darkness of her room, in the privacy of her hood, in the seclusion of her mind.

Something is coming…

She swallowed hard, glancing back to her bed, then to her bookshelf…then out to the city once more. Something was coming alright. Something responsible for giving her the dream last night. The nightmare that woke half the tower.

Her dream of fire, of fear, and of…Trigon.

It had been the first nightmare she'd had in over a year. Until now, there was nothing left to give her nightmares. Everything that had existed before was over with. Everything about her past was over and done with.

So why the nightmare?

Everything had returned to normal.

The city was safe, her friends were safe, her hood was back up, her cape was blue again, her privacy was…back to normal.

…back to normal...but she still kept her hood up. She still lived inside her room. Sure she had opportunity to play with her friends, leave the tower, put her books back on her shelf and live a little…but she never took them. Conceivably, she had every reason to be happy.

The girl's head slowly eased forward and rested against the glass. She looked at her feet.

"But I'm not."

Something is out there. Maybe it's a storm…

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The school bell rung at 2:30 that day.

Instantly, Terra's head lifted from her desk, blinking from the 15-minute nap she'd sneaked in. With one hand slamming shut her respectable pillow of a textbook and the other sorely rubbing the back of her neck, she turned her gaze to the clock over the doorway.

"Two whole minutes early." She stated aloud, standing up from her seat. "Lucky day."

Terra slipped her books into her book bag, slinging them over her should and heading for the door. Robert and Roberta -her respected foster parents of five months as of yesterday, thank you very much- were expecting her home early to mow the front lawn. They were nice enough. Simple. Suburban. God-fearing. Hunkered down in their white, square house in the smack-dab middle of the safest neighborhood in Jump dressed up in iron-pressed, pleated clothes and sitting around on plastic covered couches. Yeah, it'd taken some getting used to, but she'd down it. She'd allowed herself to become tamed. That's what you had to do nowadays in order to get by. Getting a collar slapped on her neck by Society was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. Domestication meant safety. Sure, that collar may get tight at times, but as long as she wore it there would always be a hot dinner waiting for her at the dinner table, always be a fresh pair of clothes folded and ironed at the foot of her bed every Wednesday and always, always be someone there to wake you up and wish you good morning.

In other words: Collar equaled Security.

Sure there'd be sacrifices…but security was more important. When you had the collar, you don't get troubled by troublesome pasts. When you had the collar, you no longer need to be the one at the wheel all the time. When you had the collar, Fridays became the new Christmas. When-

Suddenly Terra's head went up.

Friday. Today was a Friday.

That meant-

-Thunk-

Something thudded against the window.

"Te-e-e-e-e-e-e-erra!"

Slowly, Terra's palm pressed against her forehead, her lips drawing back in a long bemoaning-

"Oh Jeeeeeeez…."

She'd forgotten today was Friday.

Friday was the day when a very particular stray dog would come and howl at her from over the fence of her yard. A stray dog with green fur and a single pointy tooth.

Fridays were the day that Beast Boy would come to visit.

Every Friday for the past 5 months she'd had the company of a little green bird, perched ever patiently on the branches outside the window to her seventh period classroom. She'd tried ignoring it, she'd tried confronting it, hell, she'd done just about everything except kick off her shoes and land a hard one across his cheek. Nothing she did though, seemed to be able to break the message across. Despite the begging, the skirting, the dodging, the yelling…nothing could make him see the collar she wore around her neck. Nothing could make him accept the fact that this white stallion had been tamed. Happily so as a matter of fact.

She glanced at the window as she strolled for the exit. He waved back, cupping his hands over his mouth and yelling through the glass.

"Stay there! I'll be right in!"

She shook her head, yelled back.

"Go away!"

He cocked his head and leaned forward on his branch, lifting a gray-gloved hand to his ear and squinting.

"What did you say?"

Terra's bosom heaved as she raised her voice, wind-milling with her arms. "I said go away! Leave me alone!"

Just what Beast Boy heard through the glass, Terra will never know, but with a grand smile and even bigger wave, Beast Boy eagerly nodded in response.

"Gotcha! I'll be right in!"

Before she could even respond he leapt from the branch, sprouting green wings and fluttering towards the school entrance.

Just…like…last time.

Damn it…Terra readjusted her backpack and turned towards the exit running two hands through her hair.

Old time Alzheimer-fogged friend or not, she was not going to put herself through another session with Beast Boy.

She stepped out into the hallway, did a quick take towards the stairway, scanned the heads of the students for any green spiky tops, then made a move for the back exit. She got two steps down before she heard the doors explode open and a shout and could see the throng of teenagers ripple in half as a small, 5' foot even figure shoved his way through the crowd.

"Terra!" He yelled as he dodged and weaved between incoming students "Terra, wait up!".

Terra cleared her throat and quickly began to walk in the opposite direction, hoping somehow that the stream of children would somehow wash him downstream. Maybe. Somehow.

It didn't.

As soon as he saw her turn in the opposite direction, he leaped up and became the same bird he had been while perched outside her window and flittered over. None of the other students seemed to take much notice, for Beast Boy had been visiting the school every Friday for the past two semesters. Most of them had gotten used to random green animals running amuck in the hallways by now. Every Friday he'd just wait and wait outside her window, just to give Terra a big ol' slap on the back. Just to say his 'hi's and hello's' in high hopes of-what? That's she'd throw down her books, tear off her color and go riding off into a golden sunset with him?

Jesus, she didn't even want to imagine what that was doing for her social life.

Terra Markov; student, athlete, and eye candy to hormonal crime-fighting fauna. Just perfect.

The bird landed in front of Terra and within moments, she found herself staring at a little pointy white tooth sticking from the bottom lip of an abnormally large smile on the wide-eyed, scruffy haired face of the stubborn Teen Titan.

Terra, however, was frowning, her hands holding her books to her chest and her left hip sticking out slightly. "Hello, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy waved right back. "Well Hel-lo to you too, Terra." He said a little too loosely. "I just wanted to stop by again to say my hi's and hello's."

"Well, looks like you've done a good job. Bye."

She brushed by with a noticeable nudge of the shoulder. Beast Boy morphed into a snake in an instant, slithering up in front of her and turning right back into his green, adolescent self only now, he had his serious face on. He took her arm.

"Terra, listen to me, it's important that I keep after you like this-"

She jerked away. "I would hope so."

"-because you still are having memory lapses. You don't remember anything! Or you just won't let yourself remember! There's a very bad man out there and he might still be after you! You could be in danger."

"That could be taken as a threat you know." Terra said, though she didn't mean any of it. She knew that Beast Boy meant no harm. Despite that she'd love for him to take a long, hard hike over the tallest mountain…the last thing she wanted was to get him in trouble, or hurt him for that matter. The only thing she wanted to do right now was to go home, throw off her shoes, and read.

She smiled at him. "I really should get going now."

"Wait…" Beast Boy grabbed her arm again. "Then at least ask me why we can't still be friends? Just because you remember jack-diddily-squat about who you were, that doesn't mean that we can't be friends right? Can you tell me why you're being so distant? Why you don't think this can work?"

Terra was about to respond when a third, rather bubbly voice interrupted. "Ex-cuse me." It said. "Your Beast Boy, right?"

They both turned, only Terra recoiled.

"Britney?" She asked.

The red-haired girl named Britney standing across from the two didn't respond. Neither did the trio of giggling girls that huddled behind her.

Beast Boy's gaze shifted from one girl to the next before finally clearing his throat, distracted. "Uhm…yes?"

Britney leaned back and a heated exchange of snickers and whispers were exchanged.

Beast Boy took a slow, unsure step forward. "Can I…help you with something?"

After a moment, Britney straightened fished a pad of paper over to the changeling, blushing madly. "Do you think…you could sign this for us? All of us?"

A girl from behind leaned forward, whispering. "Have him write one for all of us." This comment was quickly followed by cheers, giggles and Britney's smile widening as she handed him a pink, glittery pen.

"Could you? You're all of our favorites. Really."

Beast Boy glanced down at the paper, then back over to Terra who's gaze had suddenly withered into the unimpressed gaze of a jaundiced old woman.

"Terra…" He began moving towards her but she broke him off with a shake of her head.

Still frowning, Terra pointed at Britney and her posse. 'That'swhy' she mouthed and turned and walked briskly down the hallway.

"Dammit." Beast Boy hissed, pushing the paper back at Britney. "Listen, I'll sign this later, I really gotta go. Stay in school."

He took off running as the girls' shoulders all sagged with a unanimous 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw'.

He reached to top of the school stairs just as Terra was reaching the bottom. "Terra!" He yelled. "Terra, wait up! I still like you! I like you a lot! What happened back there was nothing! It wasn't a big deal!"

Terra stopped, but didn't turn around. She held her books tighter to her chest. "It is a big deal, Beast Boy." She called back. "You're a nice boy and all but I don't think you realize what you're asking of me. I am who I am now. I don't want to be someone who you said I was. You're a superhero, I'm a student. That's what we'll always be now. Jesus, can't you see that the fact that you like me isn't enough to make this work? Relationships just don't work like that! You're lucky I still keep that communicator you gave me!"

Beast Boy said nothing so Terra finally turned around. She searched out his eyes and managed a smile. "You're a nice boy." She said again. "But I'm afraid that's all I'm going to see you as. I'm…sorry, but what you want just can't happen."

A brief pause, then…slowly, Terra turned towards the door. "I…I should go now. Robert and Roberta are expecting me."

Beast Boy just stood there, feeling something that'd been cooped up in his shoulders slowly dribble down to his feet.

He never thought that she would…but she had. She'd said it. Right to his face even. After all these Fridays. After all these visits. She'd said it.

That confirmed it.

He'd lost her.

"Well…" He said quietly. "I guess…I guess that I'll see you around then."

She smiled back to him. An honest smile. "Maybe." She said simply, turning on her heel and walking out the front doors.

Beast Boy watched her go, then felt himself slowly melt onto the stairs. A mental sponge in a puddle trying half-heartedly to absorb it all.

He sat there for the better part of ten minutes, ears drooped, arms against his knees, and his eyes admiring his feet. Although he thought that it'd be the pristine opportunity, he didn't really cry. Hell, he wasn't even that sad. His relationship with Terra had always seemed like setting up a long row of Dominos. Even if you finished setting them all up, the only thing you could do then would be to push them over and start over.

The only problem was that he quite frankly didn't feel like doing that again. Two times was enough.

His communicator went off.

Again, half-heartedly, Beast Boy flipped it open. From the small screen, Cyborg looked back at him with an expression that meant he had important news.

"Hey, Beast Boy, you need to get back to the tower. Something happened in town last night. Robin has--"

He stopped. Noted his team-mate's drooped ears, listless gaze, half-lidded eyes…and slowly sighed. Cyborg had always been a whiz at reading Beast Boy like an olive-bound book since he first met him. He could tell what had happened before Beast Boy spoke up.

"She said 'no', didn't she?"

"Yeah." Beast Boy said lamely. "Something like that."

"You going to be okay?"

"Well, she didn't try to bury me underground this time…so I guess it could be worse."

"Yes it could. For example, Robin could find out that you haven't really been going out every Friday these past few months to follow a new 'lead' you've come across in these murder cases and have instead been visiting the JumpCityHigh School to take sneak peeks at old girlfriends."

Beast Boy almost grinned. "Screw you, buddy."

"Yeah, that was in bad taste. I apologize. But I meant it when I said something important has happened."

"What is it?"

"Another murder."

"Oh man, who was it this time?"

"Professor Chang. And before you ask; yes, the same Professor Chang who built the gigantic Zinothium Cannon on top of the mountain overlooking the town and tried to vaporize us. We believe that from what the police are telling us, it looks like the same guy did it who did in the other two."

"Gizmo and Control Freak? How can we tell it's the same guy?"

"His signature. A black handkerchief left over the victim's faces. This guy's hitting all the technology flunkies in the entire city and is doing it before we can find any of them ourselves. We have no idea who he'll go after next."

"Can't we just get Raven out in the field to take care of it? She's had those 'out-of-body' stake-outs before hasn't she?"

Cyborg paused on the other side of the line. When he spoke, he sounded concerned. More than usual. "Raven…she's…been having some trouble concentrating again. You remember her nightmare last night?"

Beast Boy rubbed the insides of his ears. "Yeesh, how could I forget."

"Well, ever since then, I've been sort of worried about her. She's acting all…sad again."

"Since when have you cared?"

"Look, I'm just trying to say that we need you back at the Tower pronto. Robin thinks it's time we took a more serious approach to these murders. Get our hands dirty again. We haven't had contact with the Titans East for over a week and he's getting a little tense again. Everyone's been tense. If we can pull back together, we should be able to go out and find this guy together… cuz' I have a striking feeling that he's not going to come to any of us."

"Wet-work, eh?"

Cyborg noticed that Beast Boy's expression hadn't changed. He sighed. "Hey, B.B, are you sure you're feeling up to it? Not being able to get that girl you love is always a hard turn to take in life."

"And what do you know about not getting the girl in the end?"

A pause.

"Plenty. Now get down here."

Beast Boy smirked "Rodger Captain Heart-Ache. Over and out."

Beast Boy flipped the communicator shut and stood up from the steps, dusting his pants off and giving a very long, tired sigh. What a day this one had been. What a helluva day.

He'd taken two steps down the stairs when his communicator went off again. With an eye-roll, he pulled it back out, pushing open the screen with his thumb. "Look, Cyborg, I was just kidding about the whole Captain Heart-Ache thing-"

"Beast Boy…"

It was Terra.

She'd called him again.

But Beast Boy's overwhelming sense of joy was quickly squalled by an equally overwhelming sense of confusion. The display screen was nothing but static, Terra's voice sounded so course and grainy coming through the speaker. But even with it, Beast Boy could tell something was wrong. She sounded piss-frightened.

"Beast Boy…answer me…please. He says he'll kill me if you don't pick up…"

With that last sentence Beast Boy's heart jumped up into his throat.

"Terra! Who's going to kill you? Where the hell are you? Terra? TERRA!?!?"

His fingers mashed buttons but the screen remained a snowstorm of static. Terra said nothing more, but Beast Boy could just detect a particular grunting sound being stifled, like a gag being stuffed into her mouth.

For a moment, the screen went silent. Beast Boy was just about to dial in for his friends when...

"Beast Boy." …Another voice shifted its way through the speakers. A boy's.

It sounded soft, unsure, with just the slightest hint of an unnamable accent tickling his tone. He sounded no older than him.

"I am giving you one minute to get to Terra's house. I'm keeping count on the clock in her kitchen."

Beast Boy felt his hands tighten on the communicator, his best efforts failing to stifle the fear in his throat. "Who is this? Who the hell is this?"

"And I do have one of your communicators so I will be monitoring your frequencies. You cannot call your friends. You have one minute."

The screen went blank.

Author's Note: More coming soon.