Author's Note: wow, been a long time since i've updated…woowoo. anywayz, hope u guys enjoy this next chapter! to give u a preview, it kinda explains a little more about what exactly happened to Beast Boy to make him gasp NORMAL. so yeah. srry its shorter, but i PROMISE i'm already workin on chapter five! IM SO FRIGGIN HAPPY! Now i've got like thirteen reviews for this fanfic, and if u guyz keep this up i'll have to go buy and mail u cookies or sumthin! ur personal replies are below, as always…and ONE MORE THING: i'm lookin for a joke about Beast Boy not being green that'll make Raven mad, so if u have any ideas, TELL ME AND I'LL LUV U FOREVER. oookay, mebe not forever, but u get the jist. toodles!

TDG3RD: yeah, i know its interesting and don't worry, its get even more so...srry again for the delay

Pluiesang: i luv that sentence too, and read ur new chapters, I DID!

Smileyfacedudet: we'll have to get a ambulance hotline or sumthin, then...

HOORAY FOR YOU: IM KEEPIN THE FAITH, IM KEEPING THE FAITH!

rogueandkurt: i luv my fanfic too. and of course i luv BB, me and him are tight!

dragoon-bane: God, i feel terrible, im sooo srry i didn't update sooner! FORGIVE ME

devilleader: yes he's really normal, no that's not how its gonna end and once again IM SO SRRY I DIDN'T DO THIS SOONER!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the Teen Titans show or comics.

Menlia Ragonu stared impassively at the surveillance screen, watching all the individuals scramble around the strip mall, going about their business as tiny ants scramble to do theirs. They were all as important to Menlia Ragonu as tiny ants, all intrigued with affairs that did not matter greatly in the least, but were deeply amusing to Menlia Ragonu just because the matters were so important to them. There, next to a tree outside the Old Navy entrance doors, stood a brother and sister, both around five, fighting over an ice cream cone. It was a petty argument, about who should get the next lick, and one could not help but give a small chuckle when the scoop of ice cream fell off the cone because both siblings tried to lick it for themselves at the same time. One could not help but shake one's head at the irony and arrogance of the situation.

Menlia Ragonu had long since passed by the uselessness of the rest of the world, worrying only of herself and nothing more. Or so she told herself. She hid in her office, lit with glowing black-lights and soft fluorescent lamps, computers covering one wall while shelves full of papers, books, beakers, tubes, broken Bunsen burners and broken microscopes covered another, not because she was afraid and scarred by the world's society; no, she sat at her desk layered with loose papers and examinations and sat on stools in front of her experiment table covered with chemicals and Petri dishes because she was observing the world around her so she could discover the ways to survive it. She had long ago learned how to tap into Jump City's surveillance cameras and systems in order to watch the people of the world she was so removed from and learn how to manipulate them, how to get from them what she wanted.

She had become quite good at it.

Menlia Ragonu typed in another password into one of the numerous computers, so displays of different areas in Jump City Downtown Mall appeared along the wall the computers were set against. Nothing exciting was happening today besides a minor disturbance on Old Alnon Highway, where an alley way had collapsed. The day had been quite ordinary, according to the individuals she watched. She suddenly gave a crude smile, looking like more of a pained grimace as it stretched and distorted her face. She usually did not smile.

The disturbance. Her disturbance.

A short laugh rang out from Menlia Ragonu's lips, echoing harshly off the dark, cool brick walls of her office and sounding eerie even to her own ears. Yes, her disturbance that one had been. She had to admit, IDR56 was working out much more successfully than the other fifty-five. It was one of her experiments she could actually be proud of, it was so well-made and accurately created. She did not have a lot to be proud of in her life.

See, even though Menlia Ragonu told herself she did not care for little games of society and the world she so despised, there was one thing that bothered her beyond anything else. Even though Menlia Ragonu claimed she snorted at those outrageous games the world played, she played her own games that weren't too far off. Playing with people's minds for her own amusement was one thing she did well, and conquered. And she hated losing her little games. But there had always been one life she had wanted so badly to play with, to mess with, and she never could.

Until now.

The door to Menlia Ragonu's left slid open without warning, a lithe figure attired in all black slipping into the room. Menlia Ragonu did not turn, however, and the figure merely walked to a corner of the room and stood patiently waiting, no sound issuing forth. Then Menlia Ragonu finally turned, letting her eyes pierce the figure with an iron stare. Silence remained in the room for a few more minutes. Only when the silence was almost unbearable did Menlia Ragonu decide to speak.

"Did you accomplish your mission?"

The figure came forward with still no sound and laid a glove, torn and ripped in her outstretched hand. It nodded.

Menlia Ragonu felt another smile stretching back her cheeks, a wild sensation of adrenaline surging through her body, giving her eyes a strange, glistening look. She clutched the glove in her hands triumphantly, holding it tight against her chest.

"The smartest thing I did when I made you was making you silent and obedient," she whispered to her successful experiment, the black figure. She laughed again, surprised and pleased she had been able to laugh twice within ten minutes for the first time in a long time. She turned back to the screens showing the mall and switched them to where they were all trained on the distant Titan Tower. She spoke to IDR56, who continued to remain silent.

"And now, my diffident pet, we have our fun."

"But I am confused. Why must our friend stay in the infirmary of illness when he is not ill?" Starfire's huge eyes stared at Robin inquisitively, waiting for him to answer.

All the Titans had returned to the Tower, immediately rushing Beast Boy to the sick bay for assistance, though Starfire was right in the fact that he didn't seem very sick. Little was said on the way back, Beast Boy only responding to the few questions asked and everyone else too busy with transportation and preparing the infirmary through computer controls to prompt more conversation. Raven, Robin, and Starfire currently waited outside Beast Boy's rooms while Cyborg ran as many tests as he could to figure out what was going on with their "ungreen," as Starfire had put it, teammate. Raven was meditating next to the door of the infirmary, her voice a low, constant yet soothing murmur; Starfire was floating against the opposite wall, and Robin was pacing relentlessly between them in front of the door. He was anxious to get to his lab and begin investigating the dart and the black clad criminal, feeling useless at the moment. But he also didn't want to be the last on the team to know what was happening to one of his recruits. He cared about every single one of his friends, no matter that his attitude may seem so nonchalant at times, and had a tender spot for the young green shape-shifter that he and Cyborg had found for the first true member of the Teen Titans.

Robin shook his head in answer to Starfire's question, and knowing the motion had probably just confused her even more, he attempted to explain. "Beast Boy isn't sick with a disease or illness as far as we can tell, Star; Cyborg thinks it's something much deeper in Beast Boy's body." Robin stopped pacing and stood in front of Starfire to see whether she was gathering what he was telling her.

Starfire stared at him for a minute, and then asked, "Do you mean at the molecular level? Like when Silky grew large and uncontainable because the zorka berries changed him from the inside out?"

Robin nodded, reminded again that Starfire wasn't as alien and lost as everyone believed. "Yes, Cyborg thinks Beast Boy was changed from the inside out. Right now he's running tests to see exactly what was changed and if the change can be fixed." And if Beast Boy will die because of the change, Robin added silently.

Starfire continued to stare at him, but this time her eyes were distracted and her thoughts were once again to herself. Robin turned away and began pacing again, everyone reverting back to their former states: Raven meditating, Robin pacing, and Starfire floating. Suddenly Raven's murmuring stopped and both Robin and Starfire turned their heads towards her. She looked back at them, standing up as she did. "Cyborg's coming."

Starfire and Robin immediately lined up in front of the door beside Raven, watching the door nervously and waiting for the familiar swoosh to sound as it opened. It was like they waited for ages, every second ticking by slowly as a sluggish and boring day would. When the door did slide open, all three were surprised and started as if they hadn't been expecting it to open and for Cyborg to walk through the door. Fixing their composures, they gazed into the face of him, the human side of his face painted with weariness. He gave a short smile then stated, "Come on in. It's time for a little family discussion."

He said it easily and carelessly, but both Raven and Robin glanced quickly at each other before they followed Starfire and Cyborg through the door. Both had sensed the hidden tightness in Cyborg's voice, and knew something was definitely wrong. They seemed to be on the same page a lot lately, so they silently agreed to be strong for the team if their strength was needed.

Robin shivered as the small group came fully into the room, unpleasant memories surfacing in his mind. Two beds lay in the center of the room, a huge flat screen behind them. The bed closest to the door was neatly made with crisp white sheets, only occupied by various instruments and machines scattered across it. Beast Boy sat on the other bed, closest to the window, an IV in his wrist and a few monitors attached here or there to his body. Robin blinked at the shock of red hair on top of Beast Boy's head and missed a stride. Although he had traveled with him back to the Tower, Robin had yet to get used to Beast Boy's new appearance. Raven hadn't as well, but she hid it much better than the other team members. The differences she saw also ran much deeper. Beast Boy slouched against the wall and metal headboard of the bed, his proud and usually hilarious stature gone. His face was void of any emotion, a pale, blank canvas avoiding the eyes of his friends. The only thing that didn't seem to have changed had in fact changed—his forest green eyes held no laughter or twinkling, but were so dull Raven almost ran over to slap his cheeks in order to assure herself he was still alive.

Beast Boy shifted a tad away from the door when he heard it open, more than aware that the eyes of his friends were searching him. He kept his face carefully empty of feeling, as Raven had noticed, but was in truth tortured by confusion and horror inside his mind. He had seen the slight nods of worry and heard the grunts of disapproval from Cyborg as he was being scrutinized by him. To say he was scared was the understatement of the year—he was terrified, and he didn't even know what he was so frightened of. The one member on the team he felt closest to—Cyborg—was extremely anxious for him, and he couldn't understand why. Beast Boy wouldn't question or ask what was going on, for fear Cyborg would give some pep talk to him or the others would come rushing to his rescue. Most of the time that was how it was for him, since he was one of the youngest on the team. Raven sometimes even babied him, when she was just a few months older. There had been few times he had actually allowed his friends to see his true feelings in the past, though they didn't believe that, and he wasn't about to start now. The whole Titan team was now present, waiting awkwardly for their "family discussion" to begin. With Starfire in the room, it didn't take very long.

Letting out a peep of excitement, she rushed straight for Beast Boy and hugged him in a fashion similar to the one she had used a few hours ago, but the headlock was a lot gentler. "Oh friend! You are fine, and I am glad!" Beast Boy had no choice but to turn and acknowledge her, putting Robin, Cyborg, and Raven in his view. He decided he'd rather face his friends than snap his back in half.

"Yeah, Star," Robin said, walking forward and pulling Starfire off Beast Boy. He glanced over at Cyborg as he did so. "If he's fine, we're all glad."

Raven moved forward too, stopping at the edge of Beast Boy's bed. Starfire and Robin stood at the side of his bed and Cyborg came up to stand beside the headboard and computer controls.

"So." Everyone looked towards Raven, waiting for her to continue. It was typically easier to let her get to the point. She was the most efficient. "Since no one else will ask it, I will: What happened?"

Cyborg began typing furiously on the computer's keyboard, calling up numerous files until he had the ones he wanted. Beast Boy's outline and medical status appeared on the huge screen covering the wall behind the group, mapping his blood pressure, heart rate, brain waves and so on. Cyborg faced the group and said to Beast Boy, "According to everything I threw at you health wise, B.B., you're fine."

"Well…I feel fine, so no real surprise there," he replied timidly. He had a feeling Cyborg wasn't done. So did the rest of the team.

"Yeah, no surprise." Cyborg leaned against the wall. "But you're not really terrific, either." He pushed himself up from the wall and leaned on the headboard of the bed. "You said you were hit by a bomb?" Beast Boy nodded slowly, guessing this was going to go somewhere he wouldn't like.

Cyborg sighed. "Hate to break it to you, man, but you don't get hit by a bomb and survive. At least in one piece."

"So what are you saying?" Robin asked, puzzled. "That wasn't a bomb? Cyborg, the whole alley and part of a street—"

"Collapsed. Not exploded, or blew up; the buildings didn't fly apart in chunks of bricks or whatever. The street and alley caved in."

"Why then did the street cave upon the sewer, if the street was not blown into chunks of bricks or whatever by Beast Boy's bomb?" Starfire watched as Cyborg opened his mouth to answer. Raven did instead.

"Because this 'bomb' wasn't meant to cause any type of physically forced…damage. Something other than it made everything collapse," she stated calmly, as if anyone could've come to that conclusion as quickly and precisely as she had. She gazed at Cyborg, then added, "The 'bomb' was meant to target and cause damage to things much more subtle."

"Right," Cyborg said, nodding his approval. "Whatever the bomb was, it wasn't what we're used to, and something either was in sync with the bomb to make the street collapse, or it was a total coincidence."

"Alright," Robin said, starting to understand. "But what do you mean, that the bomb was targeted towards something subtle?" The question was directed at Raven, but she didn't explain, just looked to Cyborg and waited. Robin did the same.

Cyborg readjusted his position uneasily, then went again to the computer controls. "It's…" His voice trailed off leaving the others anxiously attentive. He shook his head suddenly, then asked, "Everyone knows how radiation works, right? Wavelengths, nuclei and everything?"

Robin slowly nodded and Raven narrowed her eyes, Starfire did not say anything but continued to listen carefully, and Beast Boy began to get even more perturbed than ever. Cyborg heaved a sigh and rubbed his human eye with one of his hands. "Okay, I'll lay it out: that bomb dosed out radiation."

Raven's eyes narrowed further, and Beast Boy stared at Cyborg. Why was that such a tragedy? Starfire kept the interested listening expression on her face. Robin's heartbeat quickened a little, however, and he instantly asked, "How much? What type?"

Cyborg responded equally as fast. "Don't panic or anything, Robin, I wouldn't have let anyone in here if it wasn't save." He looked around the room, as if debating whether he really wanted to continue explaining or not.

"Here's the whole strange part. The radiation released by the bomb was all over the place when I requested a scan of the area from my system and the Titan system. It was covering at least within a 250 mile circumference." Robin began to groan, but Cyborg silenced him by going on. "I'm not done—apparently it affected nothing it touched. No plants or humans keeled over and died, no cells of as far as I could tell were destroyed in any ways, and nothing got sick. The food, water, and other substances in the area were completely safe, no contamination. The worst injuries people sustained, according to the police and hospital records, were sprains or cuts and scrapes from the collapsing road and alley."

Robin didn't groan, now looking at Cyborg with more puzzlement and disbelief. "Then what kind of radiation was it?" he demanded, wishing he had gone to work on the evidence he had gathered about the attack. He wasn't big in the medical world.

Cyborg shrugged. "It isn't anything I've ever seen. No gamma rays, no irregular isotopic signatures, no beta rays. Nothing. It seems either very random, or a type of radiation that only affects—"

"—Me." All heads turned towards Beast Boy, seeing as it was the first word he had spoken in the conversation. He glanced from face to face. "But why?"

Raven gave him her best answer. "We lost him at one point when we were chasing him. The attacker." She paused. "He had been waiting in the fire escape all along."

Silence weighed down on the room as everyone put together in their own minds what Raven was inferring. Robin was the first to speak. "A trap. The attack, the bomb, the street—you're saying it was all an elaborate trap."

Raven gave a grim smile. "Something like that."

"But why the street? Was it a coincidence?"

"An attempt to slow us down while the attacker of black escaped, possibly?" Starfire offered, her determined reason at once making sense.

"It worked if that was the reason," Cyborg said. "His bomb also worked." Cyborg typed in a code and Beast Boy's genetic code began to form on the screen. "You've heard the strange news. Here's the bad news: the radiation completely altered you're DNA, B.B."

"What does that mean…?" He actually had a good idea what that meant.

"It means your genetic code has changed to physically represent you as something else, and God knows what else. It could've changed your genes to favor any kind of hereditary disease, or it could've mutated you're genes to where you could suddenly develop a tumor on your big toe—" His voice began to rise, though he didn't really seem to notice. "It means a hell of a lot, Beast Boy. I don't know half of it! I do know that while it seems to have made your genetic code unpredictable, it also stabilized it…" Cyborg stopped to take a shaky breath. He was leaned over the computer controls, his eyes boring into the keyboard as he spoke. "Man, your powers, anything that would let you change into any type of animal, are gone!"

There it was. What Cyborg had been afraid to tell the team the whole time. But Beast Boy didn't care about that; he would deal with it later. He knew Cyborg was wrong about one thing. His genetic code wasn't altered or whatever. It had simply been reversed, back to the way it was when he was a little toddler, with nothing extraordinary about him. He also knew one thing that vexed him the most, and would for a very, very long time.

"But why me?" Beast Boy asked again.

His voice sounded small and hollow in the infirmary with its opened ceilings and landscaped window, as if he was asking anyone besides his friends standing around him. He probably was. The rest of the team stared at him, having no answers or explanations to give.