Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. Beast Boy still isn't happy, what else is new? At least Cyborg redeemed himself somewhat.
Beast Boy munched on his salad as the other Titans discussed how best to find Mumbo.
"We just need another stakeout with a better strategy!" Robin says.
"We should do another searching of the city." Starfire suggests.
"Can't we just wait for the Titan's crime scanner to find him?" Cyborg whines.
"No! We won't just sit around idle!" Raven hisses.
"Hey, I wanna catch Mumbo too, but if we tire ourselves out looking for him we aren't being very useful." Cyborg points out.
"Not to forget we have a city to protect." Robin adds. "Cy has a point."
"But friend Beast Boy is in need of our help!" Starfire protests.
"I promised I would help, and I don't plan on backing out!" Raven growls.
"We aren't saying you need to stop helping, we just need to rest up, and make better plan." Cyborg explains.
"We also need to prioritize." Robin says grimly. "It's fine if we look for Mumbo when there are no other villain's attacking, but when other problems pop up we can't afford to put finding Mumbo over helping the citizens of Jump."
"I know..." Raven sighs, sounding defeated. "But until that happens..."
"We understand." Starfire says, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Ya, I woodn't wants pepls getsing in twoble cause of meh." Beast Boy calls from his perch on the table. He turns his head back to his salad and bites down on a leaf of lettuce.
Robin gives Raven a sympathetic look. "It's fine Raven. We'll get him back to normal at some point. Maybe not soon, but it will happen."
The empath mutters something about not really caring, but the other Titans already know she's lying.
Suddenly the alarm goes off, red lights flashing. The main screen displays a picture of the HIVE five: Mammoth, Gizmo, Billy Numerous, Kid Wykkyd, and See-More.
"C'mon! We just got back half an hour ago and now we have to go out again!?" Cyborg complained.
"No time for whining, Titans GO!" Robin yells commandingly. The four Titans fit for duty rush downstairs again.
Beast Boy looks on in irritation. He sighs and climbs down from the table using a small ramp. He waddles over to the main screen and climbs up into the main seat. He turns into a tiny giraffe in order to reach the buttons. He hits a few with his head and the map on the screen expands to full size.
"I migh no be able to figh, buh I can stiwl halp." He says, determination evident on his face.
###
"There they are, Titans get 'em!" Robin calls out.
The HIVE five, who are standing in front of a destroyed bank, whirl around to see four Titans charging at them.
"Attack pattern Beta!" Gizmo's obnoxious voice. The HIVE five charge the Titans as a group, rather than splitting up as normal.
The two groups clash. Starfire tosses starbolts, Robin throws freeze disks, Cyborg blasts away, Raven throws her foes around, Gizmo slashes with his metal legs, Mammoth smashes everything in reach, Billy Numerous mobs the Titans, Kid Wykkyd goes around behind the Titans and strikes, and See-More stays back at a distance and shoots isolated targets.
The fight deteriorates quickly into a brawl. Kid Wykkyd is the first to be knocked out, quickly followed by Starfire. Robin takes on Gizmo while Cyborg handles See-More and Billy Numerous, which leaves Raven fighting Mammoth.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" The half-demon cries. The chunk of road below Mammoth raises suddenly with the villain still on it. Mammoth grunts and leaps down off the chunk and tries to land on the empath.
Raven melts into the ground before she can be hit and rises on the opposite side of the street.
"I don't have time for this." She hisses. She holds her hands out towards the large teen and curls them into fists. Metal pipes and lamp posts burst from the ground and there spots in the road and wrap around Mammoth.
"Raaaagh!" Cries the large boy. He flexes his arms and the metal breaks. "That all you got?" He asks with a grin.
"Not even close." Raven replies, rising into the air.
###
"I spy with my little eye..." See-More jokes as he blasts away at Cyborg.
"A whole world o' pain!" Cyborg finishes, shooting his cannon at the HIVE member. See-More bends backward to dodge the shot.
"Sheesh, he got some issues eh Billy?" One Billy says to the others.
"No kiddin' Billy." Replies another. The small squad of Billys charge forward to strike at the half-robot.
"Just don't know when you're outmatched do ya?" Shouts Cyborg as he meets the charge.
###
"C'mon barf brain! Is that all you can do?" Says Gizmo, sneering, as he dodges several birdarangs thrown his way.
"Just wait and see." Robin replies with a smile of his own. The birdarangs turn back around and slice apart the metal legs of the tiny terror.
"Rasan-frasan..." Gizmo muttered as he pressed a button on his backpack. A small blaster popped out and Gizmo took a shot at the boy wonder.
The red orb misses Robin by a few inches as he cartwheels out of he way.
"Nice try, but I've been trained by the best. Your little blaster isn't going to do much."
Suddenly, several more blasters pop out of the backpack and aim at the stunned Titan.
"That changes things a bit..." The teen says, narrowing his eyes.
###
Beast Boy watches the fight from the Titan's computer. He winces when he sees Starfire get knocked out.
"Ouwch... Dat looked like it huwt." He mutters.
He continues to watch the fight as his friends split up to fight the remaining HIVE members.
'Cyborg looks a little outgunned.' The changeling think to himself, slightly worried. 'Hopefully Rob or Rae finish up soon to help him.'
###
"You're testing my patience." Raven says, annoyed that she can't KO her foe.
"I hate tests." Mammoth replies. He rips up a chunk of road and tosses it at the half-demon.
"Azar. You have less of a brain than Beast Boy." She mutters. Quickly stopping the projectile mid-flight, Raven sends it flying back at her large combat partner.
Mammoth is too slow to dodge the missile and is smashed into the ground.
"Ugh..." He groans. "What happened?"
"I happened." Says a raspy voice from behind him.
He turns around and is met with a massive black fist to the face. He flies across the street and skids across the ground. He stops just before hitting a wall and doesn't get up.
"Finally, that's over with." Raven says, relieved. She is about to go tie up Mammoth when her communicator rings.
"Waben!" The infantile voice exclaims as soon as she opened it up.
"What is it Beast Boy?" Raven says, an annoyed edge to her voice.
"Cybog need halp!" He exclaims.
"On it!" The empath said. She quickly whirl around and dashed down the street towards her friend.
###
"C'mon punks! Show me what you got!" The metal teen taunts confidently. Truthfully, Cyborg doesn't feel all that confident right now. He's battered, dinged, and his right arm is coming loose.
"This guy just don't go down!" See-More exclaims, grinning.
"You got that right, he just don't know when to quit!" Says one of Billy Numerous' clones.
"Why would I quit? The fun's just getting started!" Cyborg aims his cannon at See-More.
"Sorry Cyborg. But game time has been cut short." Says a certain dark empath, having arrived to help.
She rises out of the ground in front of the surprised HIVE members. A quick flash of black energy appears and a lamp post wraps itself around See-More's head, blocking his eye. The ground below all the Billy Numerous caves in and formed a bucket. Billy tries to duplicate his way out, but Cyborg quickly puts a piece of the road over top and the multiplier is stuck inside.
"Thanks for the help Rae, I needed that." The metal man says appreciatively, ignoring the isults coming from the HIVE members.
"No problem. Let's go see how badly Robin is beating Gizmo."
###
"Come on! Fight fair!" Complains the short teen as Robin holds him up by the back of his uniform.
"This is a street fight, not a duel. I don't need to fight fair." Robin snickers at the boy's anger.
"Looks like you beat the pants off little man here." Cyborg says, coming up behind his victorious teammate.
"Wasn't too hard. Turns out his guns were heat blasters, and my cape is extremely heat resistant." Robin explains, still smiling. "After that it was just a matter of getting close enough to hit him."
"Yeah, hate to ruin your "look at my awesome stuff" moment, but we should probably get Starfire back to the tower." Raven deadpans.
"Good point." Robin says, immediately rushing to the alien's side. He picks her up gently and brings her to the T-Car.
"Man, you can read him like a book." Gizmo mutters, now being dragged away by police.
"No kidding." Cyborg agrees. "Guy needs to spit it out already." Realizing who he is talking too Cyborg slams the police car door shut and they pull away.
"Let's get going!" Robin calls from the back seat of the car, Starfire laying next to him.
"Defiantly not overly concerned at all." Raven remarks sarcastically. "It's not like she's the toughest out of all of us or anything, right Robin?"
The boy wonder flushes upon hearing this and turns his head away.
Cyborg chuckles. "Let's get back to the tower before Robin has a panic attack."
"I am not that paranoid!" Robin says indignantly.
"But you are partially paranoid." Raven points out.
Robin shuts his mouth before anything else he says can be turned against him.
###
"Holla, holla, holla, holla, holla, holla, holla, ma nam! Teen Titans!" Beast Boy sings as he munched on a cookie the size of his head. "Haf of yo twubles will be gone! Teen Tians!"
Raven and Cyborg walk through the main room door to find the singing changeling sitting on the table, a stack of cookies next to him.
"Papa, schedal contwol. Mama, waih contwol. Wishes awwwr endwess. Teen Tians GO!"
Cyborg resists the urge to laugh.
Raven is once again forced to shut up her emoticlones. Happy in particular seems extremely vocal.
"Ever consider becoming a singer BB?" Cyborg teases.
"One or twice. Buh I decied against it becaws all dah odar singahs wol woose der jowbs." The changeling said confidently.
Cyborg snorts.
"We're is Stawfiah?" The green Titan asks.
"In the med bay. She took a hit to the head; minor by her standards. Mr. Paranoid is watching over her." Cyborg rolls his eyes as he mentions of Robin.
"Dat guy needs to gwoh a bahbon an cofes." The shapeshifter says, shaking his head.
He just manages to hear Cyborg say "He's not the only one." and he snaps his head toward the metal teen.
"I gonna get yous for dat." He threatens.
"Like to see you try little man." Cyborg taunts.
"You two are going into immature mode again, I'm going back to my room." Raven rolls her eyes as the two continue their verbal sparring. She walks through the door and is gone from the sights of the two other Titans.
The empath walks down the main hallway until she reaches a secondary hallway. She opens the door and walks through. She strides to her door, punches in the the password, and enters her room. The door closes behind her.
"I need to have a little chat with you all." Raven hisses to her emoticlones. "I'm coming in."
The half-demon locates her meditation mirror on the vanity and places stares into it. Her face is shown briefly before it is overlapped with two larger versions of her violet eyes. The four red eyes that were vied upon entering the mirror had disappeared since Trigon had been bested.
And black claw reaches out of the mirror and pulls Raven in.
Chapter 5 complete. Pointless HIVE fight? Sure, I'll let you think that. And no, I won't be showing Raven's conversation with her emoticlones. They will make an appearance in the story though beyond just talking to Raven at the odd moment, 'cause they are my favorites and I can't help but include them!