AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.

Chapter 12

It wasn't especially easy sleeping on a train but Raven did manage. But Beast Boy wasn't able to stay asleep for long. He drifted in and out for a few hours but in the end the anxiety over the next twenty-four hours was enough to withhold sleep from him. It was around four in the morning when he finally sat up and decided to take a walk to try and calm his nerves. He noticed that it was raining again, their small window had constant water running across it, and it was pitch black out. He managed to leave without waking Raven and proceeded to walk the cars for a bit.

It was very quiet, eerily so, but he didn't expect there to be much noise. Not only were most people asleep but there weren't many occupants on the train anyway. He made it to the dining car and took a seat at a booth. He looked out the dark window and rested his head on the cool surface of the table. What was he going to do? He had to split from Raven once they reached Empire City but he couldn't think of any way that he could do it without her finding out the truth. But she'd find out the truth once they got home and everyone talked about him being on television at a concert. The concert. He still wasn't even sure how he was going to get in and then on stage with the pop star.

He heard the sound of hurried footsteps and he raised his head to see who it was. A man entered the dining car and he did not look like a passenger. He was dressed outlandishly and his face was obscured by a pair of campy goggles. He was cradling a box no bigger than a loaf of bread in his left arm and his eyes darted about manically. He looked like…oh no. Beast Boy knew exactly what sort of person he was looking at: a criminal, a villain. And no sooner had he had this thought that the man spotted him. He reached into his belt and pulled out a pistol that looked very technologically advanced and pointed it at the changeling.

"Crud," Beast Boy sighed and went into Titan mode. He slipped under the table as a large blast occupied the space he'd just been sitting in. He crawled out from under it and sprinted out of the dining car as quickly as he could. "Jeez, bad guys are like spiders! They're everywhere!"

"Stop! None shall speak of the day I, Boomerang, performed the perfect heist!" the man called out.

"Whoa, relax!" Beast Boy shouted back at him.

"Never! Now yield to me!" Boomerang demanded and shot at the green teen again.

"Wait a sec, if you're called Boomerang then why are you using a concentrated energy based pistol?" asked Beast Boy as he continued to flee. "Where's the boomerang?"

"Because I put the 'Boom' in Boomerang!" the man laughed and shot again.

"Oh dude, lame," Beast Boy shook his head and shivered as he reached the car where the beds were located. He spotted the door that lead to their quarters but decided not to go in. He'd end up cornered and then Raven would be at this guy's mercy as well. No, he had to keep going and try to keep her safe. But he was certainly going to make a lot of noise as he passed. "Wah! Help! Thief! Trouble! S.O.S!" He ducked just in time to avoid another shot and continued on.

"How dare you call me lame?" Boomerang bellowed. "You who has stained his skin green and dyed his hair?"

"It's not dye!" Beast Boy shouted angrily and looked for some way to get out of the man's line of fire. It was hard to escape when on a moving train. "Why the heck are you targeting me? Make your escape now before you get caught!"

"I can't leave witnesses," said Boomerang and fired again.

Beast Boy was grazed that time and he grabbed his left shoulder in pain. What was he going to do? He couldn't keep running. Superpowers or no, he had to fight! He slowed his running a bit so that Boomerang thought he was gaining on him then, at the right moment, the changeling fell to the ground and let the villain trip right over him. They were tangled on the floor together and Beast Boy put his emergency training to use. He got the man in a headlock and did his best to pin him down with his knee. It was a terrible struggle to stay in control, but Beast Boy managed to keep the villain subdued.

From down the way he spotted Raven running towards them. "Beast Boy!"

"Oh good you heard me screaming," said the changeling. "This guy stole something then started shooting at me."

"Why didn't you come get me?" she asked, noticing his burnt shoulder.

"I didn't want him to know there was another Titan on the train," he explained. "If I'd gone to you I could've gotten both of us shot up. So I figured I'd get him away from you and let him come after me instead. I'm glad my yelling woke you up, though."

"So…you protected me?" she asked, astounded.

"Uh, well yeah, I mean I guess I-" he began but Boomerang smacked his head as hard as he could into Beast Boy's nose, startling him enough to release his hold.

He jumped to his feet and pointed his pistol at the two. "Titans? Oh this is delicious. If I take you two out I'll go down in villain infamy! Let's see them ignore my application for official villain status after this." He pulled the trigger on his gun to fire another round…but the pistol only died in his hands. "Drat, the core's exhausted. Now where did I put my extra-"

Raven took the opportunity to swipe the weapon out of his hand with her foot and then roundhouse kick him so hard he smacked into the wall. He slid down it and landed crumpled on the floor with a terrible groan.

"Who is this guy?" she asked.

"He calls himself Boomerang," Beast Boy explained while rubbing his poor nose. "Which is a real stupid name cuz he doesn't even use one! I mean, I get the whole clever name thing but you've gotta stay on theme, you know? You can't call yourself Boomerang and not use one or at least be Australian."

Said villain tried to get to his feet but Raven was quick to put her foot to his back and push him back down. "Did he say why he's here?"

"According to him he's performing the perfect heist," said Beast Boy. "And he had some box in his arms. Where is it…there it is!" He grabbed the box, which had flown out of the man's hands upon being kicked, and opened it. "Uh…looks like he was stealing a box full of storage disks. Dude, you can buy these at practically any store! You had to pull off a train robbery for these?"

"I'm guessing they're not empty," Raven rolled her eyes. "They probably contain information this guy can use to his advantage."

He mulled this over then got down low, twisting the guy's head towards him. "Is that true, buddy? You trying to steal important information?"

"I'll never tell," Boomerang grunted.

"Well that's a yes," said Beast Boy, standing back up. "So…what do we do with him?"

"Turn him over to the crew I suppose," she shrugged. "You made quite a commotion while being chased so I'm sure they're aware that something's happened." Just then they heard and saw a group of people running as fast as they could towards them. "See? Speak of the dev-"

A massive explosion erupted and threw everyone ten feet in all available directions. While the two Titans had been discussing the situation Boomerang had managed to manipulate one of his hands into his belt where he grabbed a ball the size of a marble. He pressed a small trigger button on it no larger than the head of an eraser and rolled it away from him. Five seconds later it combusted and blew a large hole in the side of the car.

The smoke was quickly sucked out of the gaping hole in the train but the damage remained. Beast Boy could hear nothing but a high pitched ringing and the wind was most certainly knocked out of him. He choked and banged his chest until finally he began to breathe again. He looked up and saw the train's crew on the ground hurt and in shock. He couldn't spot Raven. And Boomerang was staggering towards the opening in the car, box back in his arms. The changeling growled and forced himself to his feet.

"It's been a pleasure," Boomerang coughed, obviously as battered as everyone else, "but I better take my leave. Enjoy your ride." He smirked beneath his bloody nose and went to jump out. But as his feet left the floor he was tackled and in an instant both he and his attacker were half hanging out of the train. Beast Boy had managed to knock the box out of his hand but now was clinging to the side of the train for his life. "You fool! How dare you interfere with me again?!"

"Dude, shut up!" Beast Boy yelled and wished he could transform into something with claws to ensure his grip. Not only was everything jagged but the rain now battering them was making everything slick. "I'm a Titan! It's my job to interfere with scum like you!"

"Beast Boy!"

The teen looked up to see Raven crawling towards him. She had obviously taken the brunt of the explosion from the marks and burns all over her. But it would take more than that to stop her and of this he was glad. She grabbed onto his arms and began to pull him back inside.

"Pollywog! I've never been so happy to see you!" he grinned and tried get his footing while she pulled him in.

"Shut up and get in here before you get yourself killed," she said through her teeth as she pulled him with all of her might. She was injured and still in shock but was still giving it her all. He expected nothing less.

But just as he'd gotten his knees inside and was assured safety an arm reached out and grabbed Raven by the shoulder. Boomerang had grabbed her to help himself get back inside. He pushed her down to the floor so that he could propel his body inside the vehicle. He tumbled inside and had the wits about him to turn and kick her, returning the favor she'd given him minutes before. With a scream the empath flew out of the train and disappeared into the darkness.

"Raven!" Beast Boy screamed. He went to jump out after her but paused to look at the villain. He growled and bared his fangs, taking the communicator out of his pocket. "You wanna blow crud up? Well two can play that game, dude!" He hit the device's self-destruct button and threw it at the wannabe bad guy. And with that he leapt out of the train into the blackness of the night.

He was sure there must've been an explosion but he was too focused on the certain death he'd thrown himself into. He hit the ground hard and began to roll and roll; he felt as though he were being skipped across a cement lake like a stone. Finally he skid to a stop and rest in what he now realized was grass and mud. And there he remained for many minutes, being partially knocked out from the rough journey.

When he came to his senses he began to move bits of his body carefully, seeing what had been hurt and what had been spared. He'd never been so glad for his high level of durability. He might not have had the ability to transform into animals but that didn't mean he was an average human being. His body was still extremely flexible and this helped him avoid any major injuries. From what he could tell, apart from all over bruising and scratches, he'd sprained his wrist on the landing, probably broke three toes on his right foot, and hyperextended his right knee. He'd also chomped his tongue pretty badly and all he could taste was blood. So, considering that he should have been dead, he was alright.

He got to his feet and pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. He'd come to a stop no less than five feet away from a line of trees. If he'd been going a little faster or at a different angle he could have been launched right into the trunk of a tree and been killed. The air was cold and the rain colder. Not a good night to be alone and stuck injured in the middle of nowhere. Alone. Was he alone? He'd jumped only ten seconds after she'd been kicked out but the train had been going at a great speed. But he must've been somewhat close to her. He gained his bearings and headed back towards where she had to have been, calling out to her above the rain.

"Raven! Where are you? Call out to me! Are you okay? Raven!"

Walking was slow going, what with his broken toes and bad knee, but he wasn't going to stop. Not until he'd found her. The mud was a terrible obstacle and it only made his injuries even harder to deal with. The one thing he had in his favor was that his senses were still hyper sensitive. It was as dark as it could be and yet he could still see pretty decently. Unfortunately his ears were still compromised from the explosion but his sense of smell was undamaged. So he was counting on his eyes and nose to find his missing and injured teammate.

When he felt as though he'd walked a mile he took a seat to rest. It wasn't nearly a mile, obviously, but it sure felt like it. He sat in the wet mud and spat out more blood laden spit. He could feel that his fang had bitten right through his tongue and now it stung terribly. He hadn't felt this miserable in a very long time.