I do NOT own Teen Titans

Notes and replies to reviews:

Beast Boy will be using aspects of the beast. In the show he said he could still feel it inside, and in this chapter he uses that fact.

What can the Joker's form be used for? In this chapter you find out.

I very much doubt Robin would mind Starfire jumping in the shower with him, whatever the reason may be.

Time: A week later.


Premonition,... Most Glorious Morning,... The Celebration,... The Battle,... Nevermore,... A Resolution,...

"Another shower?" An amused, orange-eyed, girl asked as Raven and Beast Boy left the washroom..

"Hmm. Can never be too clean." A blushing violet-eyed girl replied. I need a bigger apartment. She told herself. Aeopie was still claiming a certain large chair as a bed, and it left her and Beast Boy little privacy during the times they most desired it. Not that there was anywhere else for her to sleep.

"Chocolate waffles for breakfast?" The telepath asked hopefully, changing the subject.

"I really wish I knew what was healthy for you." Beast Boy replied, thinking. "Given the food you had on the ship I'm pretty sure chocolate isn't bad for you. But ..." He sighed, obviously concerned over her nutritional intake. Cyborg had been allowed to carefully scan her after he'd promised not to place the data anywhere where it could be hacked. Future scans could be compared, and hopefully tell them if the girl developed any problems with her diet before it caused trouble. Still it was worrisome.

"Did your people ever eat anything like fruits and vegetables?" Raven asked.

"Long ago. But we only need trace elements from them." Aeopie replied. "If I drink a glass of orange juice, then can I have chocolate waffles?"

Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other. "I'm pretty sure she's healthy." The violet-eyed girl commented.

The shape shifter nodded. "Chocolate covered waffles." He agreed. "Again." He added under his breath which only caused the two girls to grin at him. Unable to resist, he found himself grinning back. Happily, he set about preparing the meal.

Raven sat back beside Aeopie as the two of them watched the shape shifter work. A slight ache in the back of her head distracted her and she rose. "I need to visit Nevermore. Back soon." She told them.


Levitating she studied the land below her, astonished at the change. The putrid swamp was drying up with a bright orange-colored grass starting to cover it. The color of Aeopie's eyes. She realized, wondering what was going on. The scent of chocolate rose to meet her as she descended. Okay, now this is weird. The girl muttered to herself. There's no way I can ever bring the kid here. She would try to eat the grass. A stand of trees, no longer weathered and dying stood to one side of the field, and she directed herself towards it. Thankfully the trees are normal. Raven sighed with relief. If one can consider pink cotton-candy trees normal. The color of the sky had partially returned to it usual yellow, and a single strawberry was floating around. The mixture of aromas was something only Happy could love. And maybe Aeopie.

"Morning." Knowledge said, pushing her spectacles up. They were no longer broken, and the emoticlone seemed quite content resting against a tree with a book in her hands. Her cloak was once again pure yellow, with no signs it had ever been stained by living close to a rotting swamp.

"Morning." Greeted a pink-clad emoticlone she hadn't seen for so long.

"Morning." She replied, and on impulse reached out to pull Happy into a hug. For some reason she found herself on the brink of tears. After a few second she stepped back. "Orange colored grass that smells like chocolate?" She asked.

Happy shrugged. "Thought it would be nice. You got to admit she has pretty eyes."

"She does." Raven agreed. "Still ..." She looked around, and smiled. "Weird, but I like it."

"Of course you do. You're me." The pink-clad emoticlone replied.

Raven looked towards Timid's labyrinth.

"She's made some changes too." Knowledge informed her. "She's extended the stone walls down on one side so it rests on solid ground. That fixed the tilt where it was sinking in the swamp. Sometimes when the wind blows the right way she opens an entrance. It seems she likes the new smell of Happy's domain. I suspect she'll be out soon."

"Good." The violet-haired girl smiled, truly happy. Once she'd hated this place, but when it was taken away she'd discovered she missed it.

"But that's not why you're here." Knowledge sighed, and her expression changed to one of worry.

"Oh?" Raven sat on the grass beside her, and then pulled Happy down next to her.

"I wish I could just tell you a shower would fix this, but it won't." The yellow-clad emoticlone spoke solemnly.

"Which isn't saying you should stop taking those showers." Happy spoke, grinning widely with her eyes lit up.

"No worries there." Raven replied with a grin, but she kept her eyes on Knowledge.

"Happy. This is serious." Knowledge stated, staring at her fellow emoticlone who suddenly calmed down.

"How serious?" Raven asked, starting to feel more than just a little worried.

The yellow-clad emoticlone fixed her spectacles again. "When the fight starts trust BB to take care of himself." She stated with a frown. "Keep the girl safe. If she dies it will break him for a long time. Perhaps forever. He's starting to sense his true power, and should he lose control and take vengeance the price would be more than he could ever hope to pay."

"Fight?" She sank back against the tree. "Why is there always so much fighting? The last week has been nice. The villains are in hiding and I wake up with him beside me. Then there's Aeopie who's ..."

"Like a little sister." Happy asked.

Raven nodded. "She so precious, and so brave. She can't ever go back to her own people, but she still puts on a smile."

"Keep her safe, and those good times might continue." Knowledge said. "That's something we all would like. Even Rage."


Breakfast was good. Chocolate covered waffles was something she would've once laughed at, but she now realized it wasn't just the food that was important; it was the people you ate it with. Beast Boy sat across from her with their legs touching beneath the too small table. To one side Aeopie sat and silently ate, clearly content.

With a loud bang the door flew over the table, barely missing them, and slammed into a wall.

"Is it not the most glorious of mornings my precious friends." Starfire's bubbly voice spoke from the doorway. She floated into the room, radiating pure joy with her eyes glowing a bright green. "News most wonderful." She excitedly exclaimed, beaming at them with a smile that was pretty extreme even for her.

Raven gulped, and let the dark energy around her hands fade. "I hope you brought enough money to pay for the door." She intoned as the sheer joy of orange-skinned alien irresistibly flooded her.

"Door?" The woman looked confused, and then just shrugged as if it didn't matter. "The women of Tamaran are pregnant." She excitedly told them. "How? We do not know. But of the seven thousand of us a little over five thousand will bear children." She rose to the ceiling and bounced off, leaving a huge dent in it. "I told friend Robin and then had to come to tell you." She twirled around the room and in the excitement picked Aeopie up and whirled her carefully around.

"I thought it was impossible." Beast Boy said, smiling back at the beaming woman. "That Tamaran was too polluted."

"That was what we thought, and why we built the Citadel. It was to keep the air pure and be a place where women could have children as we rebuilt our world. But in the years since it was built not one woman ever gave birth in it. Now five thousand will." She flipped head over heeled through the air, still cradling Aeopie who was enjoying the attention.

"So what changed?" Raven asked.

"We don't know. We seeded the oceans with the new algae, and it grows; Tamaran will soon have a living ocean once more. But that has no affect on the people in the Citadel." She paused and smiled, closing her eyes as she held the small girl against her. Aeopie wrapped her own arms around the woman and hugged her back.

"Did any Tamaranians at all have children since it was devastated?" Raven inquired.

"Very few. Only those who abandoned our world and found ones filled with life. That is why we thought Tamaran was too hurt for us to bear children."

"Emotions." The violet-eyed girl simply replied. "You're a people based on emotions. Those who left would've accepted your home world was dying, and would've embraced a new life elsewhere. They would've felt hope. And with the prospect of your oceans healing the people of Tamaran would've felt hope. But I would've thought you would've realized that."

"Why would they?" Beast Boy asked. "They're inhumanly strong and tough. What need would they've had for medical science? Children would've been born and to them it would've been just the way it was supposed to be."

"Hope." Starfire breathed. "Yes. For the first time ever my generation feels hope." She smiled. "And with children to surround us there shall be more hope, and more children. No more will we see ourselves as a race dying, but as a race reborn."

"That is good news, friend Starfire." Raven beamed a smile back at her friend.

The orange-skinned alien had tears of unbridled joy running down her cheeks. "When your people have rebuilt the damage done by the silver minion we shall approach some of you for trade, and that shall bring us more hope."


"Good news." Beast Boy smiled an hour later as he and Raven tried to fix the door.

"Very." She agreed happily.

"Will I be allowed to play with them?" Aeopie asked, clearly doubting that she would.

"I'm sure you will." Raven replied, giving the girl a little hug. "At least when Starfire has kids you will."

"Good. How long before I can play with them?" Her eyes glowed with excitement.

"No idea." The violet-eyed girl admitted. "They got to be born first." She looked at Beast Boy.

He shrugged. "Don't look at me. I have no idea how long it take a Tamaranian to have a baby."

"You can change into one." She pointed out.

"A male one. They can't get pregnant." He looked up at the ceiling, appearing thoughtful. "At least I don't think they can."

Raven ran a hand across her stomach. It would be a long time before she thought herself ready for kids, but Starfire's excitement had been infectious. "Let's have a small celebration." She said. "There four hundred of them on earth, and we can do something."

In shock, Beast Boy turned to stare with his mouth open. It took him several seconds to recover. "You mean something like a party?" He asked, still shocked the violet-eyed girl would make such a suggestion.

"Well ..." Raven sighed. "That's not practical." She admitted with a frown.

"We can still do something." The shape shifter mused. "Starfire is a princess, so we can show our happiness at such an occasion by giving her a gift. And the top of the Tower is pretty big. We can hold an event there if Robin allows it. It's not like they actually need a place they can stand." He grinned. "Given how excited they probably are I'll bet they can't sit; they'll be all floating around in the air."

Robin gave approval and they set about preparing the roof. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for a party outside. Soon Cyborg was setting up tables. Jinx had arrived back from the Titans East and was helping him; at least when she wasn't trying to make out with him. Boy Wonder had phoned half-a-dozen catering services to help prepare the food, trying to get a lot of variety to give the Tamaranians a taste of what human cuisine was really like. To Aeopie's delight they'd ordered nearly a hundred cakes, along with over a thousand cupcakes. The poor kid was looking around in wonder, not knowing what to taste first. Her eyes were a bright excited orange.

Seeing the bright orange of the girl's eyes, Raven frowned. She found a nice cloak that would suit the telepath, along with some dark sunglasses. It might hinder the girl's excitement somewhat, but none of the Tamaranians other than Starfire knew she was one of the most feared races in the whole universe. She tried to make up for it by telling the girl she could taste any of the cakes she wanted even before the party began. It worked and the drooling telepath rushed off towards the nearest pile of cupcakes, hands outreached. Raven actually found herself giggling at the sight.

Preparation continued, and they called Starfire to ask her to assemble her people. The main gift came not just from the Titans but from Jump City as a whole, along with donations from other cities and groups. Everyone had seen them defeat the silver minion, and knew they had a debt to repay. Hundred of saved cities, with billions of people. To thank them, and to celebrate the Tamaranian children that were to be born, ten billion in credit would be offered so they could purchase whatever Earth could offer to help heal their world.


With four hundred people around listening to Starfire give a speech of thanks, no one noticed a little girl drop a half eaten piece of cake and start to walk away. Even Raven, who'd been carefully keeping tabs on her with her empathic senses briefly lost track.

"Aeopie." She simply stated to Beast Boy when she searched, and found the girl wasn't near.

He took to the air in the form of a falcon, surveying the area. Raven had told him about Knowledge's warning, and both of them had tried to keep tabs on the girl. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to keep someone in sight a hundred percent of the time. Frantically he scanned the ground with his keen vision. He could spot a rabbit at a mile, and the girl was a lot bigger than that. Nor was she making any attempts to hide as she quickly walked away towards a point that seemed to shimmer red.

Cloaked ship. The shape shifter realized immediately, having seen the heat signature of a cloaked vessel before when he'd become trapped on a Gordanian cargo craft. Shifting to the form of a Tamaranian he headed for the girl while using his communicator to alert Raven. She teleported to him, and he pointed out where the hidden ship was.

Who? The enraged half demon wondered, unable to sense anyone where Beast Boy claimed the ship was. Her hands blazed with darkness and she felt things she'd never felt before. A primal need to protect, to render apart anyone who dared to threaten what was hers. The closest she'd ever come to it was when she'd fought Trigon, but this went beyond that. Then she'd been protecting her precious friends, but now those threatened were her lover and her ... her child.

Beast Boy flew down and grabbed Aeopie, pulling her away from the ship. Immediately a familiar pain struck him. It was the same as when he'd first met the girl and she'd believed he would kill her; when she'd been trying to defend herself. But this was immensely greater, and it blasted into his mind like a wrecking ball. It's just pain. He told himself, and continued to fly away with the girl tucked under his arm. Still the agony continued to tear at him until he felt something rise inside him. The beast roared its own rage, a burst of pure emotion into his mind, and the pain faded.

Where do I take her. He wondered frenetically, knowing those who sought her would be able to trace her anywhere. Starbolts rained down around him, and he paused in his flight.

"She's ours." A female Tamaranian spoke. "She has broken our laws, and is of our people. Return her."

"No." He replied, still struggling to think of a safe place. He couldn't even run into space since that would kill her.

"You've been warned. Return her." The orange-skinned woman spoke again.

"No." The shape shifter looked around, struggling to find a safe place to run. Panic threatened to consume him as he realized the true danger he was in; there were four hundred Tamaranian soldiers here for Aeopie's people to command. Few things could face that and survive. Around him the world burst into pain as nearly a hundred of them attacked.

Beast Boy knew he had only one form that could survive the inferno that roared around him. He became the Tree, and let its steel-hard skin absorb the impact. Aeopie he kept below him, hanging from a branch. As soon as the attack had started it faded. Immediately he switched into a Tamaranian and tried to fly away. His path was blocked in every direction, and he couldn't fight. If he was to try the battle would rip the fragile girl to shreds.

When the fight starts trust BB to take care of himself. Keep the girl safe. Knowledge's words echoed in Raven's mind. Immediately she teleported to Beast Boy's side and took the girl from him. A second later she reappeared on the ground. How far she could teleport was limited, but a series of short jumps swiftly took her away from the alien craft. In her arms Aeopie remained still. Something tried to reach into her to force her submission, but she'd already learned how to blocked such attempts. A black shield arose, not around her body, but around her mind and the sensation of someone trying to control her faded.

Freed from the fear of harming the girl he returned to the form of a Tamaranian. His own starbolts raged back against the mind-controlled army arrayed against him, doing little damage. He couldn't kill the innocent, but ... His eyes turned towards the ship. As the attack continued he whirled around, spinning dozens of times per second. Then he became the Tree once again with his ends moving in a circle at nearly ten thousand miles per hour. He bent and stretched beneath the massive forced that nearly shattered his steel-hard body, yet it held. The wind rose from the ground and a tornado of unheard of proportions formed around him, sucking up vast quantities of dust and water, creating a massive screen that blocked the sight of his unwilling foes.

Remembering where the ship was, he returned to the form of a Tamaranian and unleashed starbolts at it. Created by righteous fury, yet fueled by the rage of the beast that he felt dwelling within him, they smashed through the improvised smokescreen and slammed into the alien vessel like blasts of primal energy. Uncaring of how it drained him, he poured his very soul into the onslaught. The craft shimmered, and faded into view with parts of its hull clearly showing the effectiveness of his wrath. A force field rose to protect it, and for a while it held against his fury. Then, slowly, it began to turn black.

Hundreds of Tamaranians threw themselves into the howling winds and sought the shape shifter out. Their massed fire found him and his skin turned from green to black as it burned. Knowing he would soon die he broke off his attack and raced to a new place in the smokescreen of dust and wind. He managed a few more shots before they found him again. They couldn't see him, but the crew of the ship could sense him and then direction their mind-controlled army to him.


Raven raced away from the scene of the fight, frightened for the safety of her lover and the girl she held. Behind her half of the Tamaranians gave chase, and she knew for all her power she wouldn't stand a chance against them. She could try to run, but how do you hide from a telepathic race? There has to be a way out. She fumed, desperately seeking some method of keeping Aeopie safe. She could only trust Knowledge that Beast Boy could handle himself against the onslaught of a small army of the orange-skinned aliens.

Reaching out with her senses she found an abandoned building and teleported into it, only to have the mind-controlled army gather round and blast it into the ground. Desperately she moved to one building after another, hoping distance might allow her to hide. It was futile. A place where the sewage system ran deep also was found and starbolts blasted it oblivion, causing a huge section of it to collapse.

One or two I could handle, but two hundred? The violet-eyed girl suppressed her fear, and thought of the irony. This wasn't a good day to have a party. We just gathered a small indestructible army for them. Draining her energy she teleported again and again, even as the Tamaranians always found her. What would Beast Boy do? What's the obvious solution? Focusing on the vital need to find a way to safety, she randomly teleported again and again each time she was found.


Dozens of them found him, and he became the tree to absorb the impact of their starbolts. As powerful as the energy bolts were the Tree was immense. By his estimates it was around a million cubic feet, and each starbolt at most blasted less than a cubic foot from his tough outer surface. Even Tamaranians had their limits and a thousand starbolts each would tire them out. He could survive that. The Tree had no vital spots like a brain. No critical points that needed to be protected.

But while he was defending he wasn't attacking. For a second he shifted into Tamaranian form again, and hurled himself at the ship. In that brief instant his skin was burned even further, and the pain was beyond imagining, but he'd now become an immense spear aimed at the alien craft. His tip hit the shield and slipped along the top of it. His branches came next. Many of those snapped, but the ship's force field went down and the small vessel was tossed roughly along the ground. He became a Tamaranian and raced for the sky. For once the orange-skinned army didn't follow him.


What is the obvious way out? She racked her brains, and nearly kicked herself at how simple and obvious it was. For some reason the mind-controlled army had trouble finding her, and she teleported again and again, nearing unconsciousness. Barely standing, she reached her apartment and grabbed her mirror. Looking in it, she and Aeopie were teleported to Nevermore. Focusing, she brought the mirror with her. Landing in the strange landscape of her mind, she dropped to the ground knowing the battle wasn't over yet. Since she'd taken the mirror the portal out was still open and stable. She had to close it before they followed her.

It was too late. In the yellow sky an orange-skinned warrior appeared and hurled down towards them. The exhausted violet-eyed girl struggled to stand, but collapsed again. More warriors appeared behind that first one. They descended and prepared to send starbolts before them.

Raven blinked as the sky turned gray. Wearily, not able to move from the ground, she looked to see Timid standing, staring at the sky. She's using her stone to build a wall in the sky. But it won't work. Some are already through and she can't block all of it.

The girl blinked again, as a black barrier deflected the starbolts of those who were already inside. Standing a short distance away was Rage, and she was furious at the intruders. Blasts of black energy met and matched the orange-skinned foes, knocking them backwards. Eight had penetrated the portal before Timid had placed her barrier of stone over it, but against the dark part of her mind they stood no chance. Black streaks of lightning blasted from the four-eyed emoticlone as she poured forth her fury at the orange-skinned Tamaranians.

Brave joined the battle, kicking one male Tamaranian in the groin. She followed up with a kick to the stomach. The poor guy was in no condition to fight after that. The green-clad emoticlone immediately chose another opponent.

Eventually, between Rage and Brave, the orange-skinned aliens were driven back against the stone wall which briefly flickered, allowing them to be pushed out.

"Ego animus per manum meam porta claude; Nego aditus omnes renes mei;Sit Scriptorium obsignari." The words were chanted by Knowledge.

Raven sensed the portal close, and watched as Timid let her barrier of stone fade. Rage gave her a quick glance, and then disappeared. By my hand let the portal be sealed; I deny all access to my inner being; let the portal be closed. She let the words of the spell Knowledge had cast pass through her mind, still lying unmoving on the ground. Aeopie. She thought, turning to look at the girl. She was alive, but not moving.

Happiness and Knowledge sat down beside her and wrapped their arms around the girl to make her comfortable. Soon she had a yellow cloak for a pillow, and a pink one for a blanket.

"I doubt they can send their thoughts across dimensions." Knowledge calmly spoke, though her eyes showed some degree of worry. "And I'm pretty sure they can't cross dimensions themselves. They're telepaths only. To them it will appear as if the girl died."

"Will she be okay?" Raven asked, struggling to sit up.

"I don't know. I think so. They commanded her telepathically, but she's of their race. I think given enough time she can shake it off." The yellow-clad emoticlone looked at the unmoving girl. "At least I hope that's the case." She turned to look at Happy. "Stay beside her and keep positive thoughts in your mind. She will sense that and it'll help her."

Happy nodded, and sat beside the girl holding her hand.


Raven watched Aeopie, holding one hand while Happy held the other. Hours passed and nothing changed. Then, slowly, she started to sense emotions from the girl once again. Mostly fear and loneliness. She laid down on the ground and wrapped her arms around the girl. Happy followed suit, and whispered silly jokes in her ear. The sort of ones Beast Boy might've come up with.


Hours more passed, and the fear and loneliness passed. Eventually the girl opened her eyes and looked around. Seeing several Raven look-a-likes around her she frowned, puzzled. Her nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air. Then she looked down at the grass, drooling.

"Don't eat the grass." Raven warned her.

"What happened?" The girl asked. "Where am I and how did we get away from my people?" She looked around. "Where's Beast Boy?"

"This is Nevermore." Knowledge spoke from several feet away. "Think of it as another dimension that exists inside of Raven's head. Your people might be telepathic, but they don't have any skill for crossing dimensions. When you came in here you would've just vanished from their senses."

"Oh." Aeopie still looked confused. "So they can't come here, or reach me here?" She asked.

"Right." Raven told her. "As for those people who look like me, they're different aspect of my emotions. There's Happy, Knowledge, and Brave." She pointed at them. "And there're others around somewhere."

"We're safe here?" The girl asked again, as if not believing it. To her, her people were all powerful.

"We are." Knowledge spoke again to reassure her.

"Where's Beast Boy?"

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. "He's pretty tough." Raven said, unable to suppress a tiny frown. "I'm sure he's okay. Remember, he's immune to your telepathic powers, and he once captured a Gordanian cruiser by tossing two hundred of the aliens off it. And they're pretty strong." A tiny tickle in her mind told her the girl was trying to read her mind. Wondering what she should do, she eventually dropped the shield she'd created and let the telepath see everything that'd happened.

Aeopie nodded. "He's strong." She agreed, trying to put on a brave front. She failed as her lips turned down in a frown. "How long do we stay here before we go looking for him?"

"I don't know." Raven admitted.

"If they believe I'm dead they've probably already left."

"You will stay here and let Knowledge and Happy take care of you." The violet-eyed girl decided. "I'll go and look."

The telepath nodded. "They won't be looking for you, just me."

"My emoticlone can see everything I do, so they will be able to tell you what's going on."


Raven walked among the Tamaranians who were shattered in mind if not in body. Believing they'd killed a child, guilt was consuming them. It alleviated a little bit when she reassured them that hadn't been the case, but still only a little bit.

The front of the tower was coated in mud, and the land around it was devastated. One Tamaranian managed to remain coherent long enough to speak of a massive wind that rose from the ground, hiding the shape shifter from them. Another finally told her they'd seen a green-skinned form rise from the ground and chased a fleeing ship. Starfire's people weren't stupid, and knew only one thing could've caused what happened. Who'd controlled them was obvious, and it must've been them in the vessel. Just as only one person would've given chase.

Straining, the violet-eyed girl teleported herself into orbit onto one of the scout ships. Ordering the crew to leave she set course for the Talynian home world. She wasn't worried Beast Boy might get hurt. She'd seen what damage he'd done and how he'd evaded two hundred Tamaranians. Immune to their telepathic power that race couldn't match him. But what might he do in vengeance? She chew her lower lip and worried.


Beast Boy turned in the sky, wondering where Raven and Aeopie were. In the distance he saw a blaze of fire erupt into the sky where he'd spent the last week living in bliss with the ones he loved. Below him the ship took to the air and the Tamaranians blinked in confusion as they were no longer controlled. Beast Boy knew what that meant. They'd accomplished their goal. Aeopie, and probably Raven, were dead. He close his eyes and watched the ship race into the sky too fast to follow. But that was okay. He knew where their world was, and he rose through the air, tracing the path the alien vessel had taken.

As he closed the distance to their world the shape shifter wondered if the telepathic aliens knew what they'd done. Raven and Aeopie were dead. They would pay for that. But the connection between Earth and Tamaran had been tainted and probably destroyed as well. Then there were was the fact that this was a day of celebration for the Starfire's people. The day they would announce that their race would be reborn, and their people were no longer sterile. But on this day they'd done what was to them the most unforgivable of acts; they'd killed a child. It wouldn't matter that they'd been forced by the Talynians. To them that would only be making excuses, and the guilt would consume them. How that would affect their race was yet to be seen, but he knew it wouldn't be good. Beast Boy frowned. He considered it likely that many of the warrior race wouldn't be able to handle what they'd done. Some would die by their own hand. And guilt, instead of joy and hope, would be passed onto their children. The Talynians might have killed another race. They would pay for that too.

Before him their world appeared in the distance, and he felt the intense pain that told him they were trying to command him. Compared to the hole in his heart it was nothing, and he let the beast rise. Pure rage flowed out through the Talynians touching his mind, and they ceased their attempts to control him. It saddened him, for the beast was more than just rage, but for now that was all it could feel. The world approached, and the shape shifter hurled down through its atmosphere.

It was beautiful. A garden world long nurtured by a race that knew how to merge technology and nature. By his hand it would soon be a dead world that would be as feared as the race that now inhabited it. A place no sane person would come to. Any ship that touched it wouldn't be destroyed by its own people when it reached home, for any ship that touched it would never see home again. He would see to it.

"Who're you?" An old woman asked as he landed on the edge of a small city.

"What does that matter?" He replied, looking around.

"Why have you come here?" Her eyes glowed orange, and he felt a pressure in his mind. He ignored it.

"To kill this world." The answer was unmistakably simple.

"Why? We only upheld the law of our people. You interfered and one of you paid the price. But the law is absolute." A sad, worried, expression flickered across her face for a second.

"You took from me the ones I loved. And you may have condemned another race to death. That's reason enough." The shape shifter's eyes weren't on her. Instead he sampled the DNA of the organisms living in the soil beneath his feet. There was nothing suitable, but that was okay. If he didn't find anything he would just use one of the forms he already knew. Slowly he walked along the ground, touching and sampling everything.

"How did we condemn another race to death?"

He explained the situation of the Tamaranians and saw her winch in agony.

"We did not know. Those we sent only saw them as powerful warriors to accomplish their task. To probe too deeply in the mind of another is forbidden, and they tried to do the least harm by not subjecting them to that humiliation." The woman's face was no longer calm as she tried to deal with what her people had once again done.

"It's the last time you will kill another people. You won't suffer long." Beast Boy examined the DNA of another microorganism and found it unsuitable.

"What're you doing?"

"Examining the DNA of your world."

"Why?"

"To kill this world." Beast Boy gave the simple answer again.

"We're without weapons, but we can command others to aid us." She warned.

"So?" He peered around. "None of the microorganisms of this world are suitable for what I have in mind." He mused aloud. "Guess one from Tamaran will have to do."

"How will you kill us?"

"I will poison your world from the heights of its atmosphere to the depths of its oceans. It's really very simple. I'll just use an existing microorganism and change it a little. Nothing too drastic. I'll just ensure it will survive and spread across your world. Soon it will be the only thing alive. I suspect the algae from Tamaran will do fine. I'll just change it to generate the Joker's blood. It will be resistant to every toxin and pesticide you throw at it. Anything that touches it will die."

The woman's face went pale. "It was an accident." She insisted.

The pain in his mind started again, but once more the beast chased it away. When it did so he saw pain flicker across the woman's face. "No. It wasn't an accident. You deliberately set out to kill a nine-year old kid. And you used others to do the dirty work for you. It was no accident."

Several hundred of the frail Talynians suddenly rushed from several buildings. It came as no surprise, and the poor weapons they carried offered no threat. There appeared more to be tools reworked to act as weapons. A few starbolts scattered the makeshift army. Strange as it may seem, he doubted they were even trying to kill him. Just chase him away.

"Are you Tamaranian." The woman asked, still walking along side him.

"No. It's just a useful shape. Able to travel through space and all that."

"Oh. So you can choose what species you wish to be?"

"Yes."

"We can't touch your mind. That's probably why."

Her tone was sad, and he turned to look at her.

"If there were more people like you, we would be able to talk to other worlds." She explained, seeing his expression. "As it is we avoid others least we give in to the temptation to play god. We're only human after all."

The words made the shape shifter pause. In his mind he saw a frail form lying in a brig. Back then he'd thought he'd killed Aeopie. He frowned. "That's probably wise." Beast Boy admitted. The loneliness of the woman's tone echoed in his mind. "Your customs of killing children are barbaric." He added.

"It is." She admitted. "But if there's no deterrent then the law becomes meaningless. Even our children know the law before they can walk. And we were so afraid we would repeat the mistakes of the past, yet now we've done just that. It's just, a life for a life, a world for a world."

The shape shifter frowned. She seemed very accepting of her people's fate. "I would rather no one have died, and no world perish." Beast Boy simply stated.

She nodded. "That was our wish too. But the law was broken, so we've killed many times in the past where we might've used prisons. And now we might've condemned another race to death. It's unforgivable."

He took the form of a falcon and flew above the small city. Peering down he saw people going about their lives. Men and woman, as well as children. The last made him pause, and the part of his mind that'd been so focused on vengeance lost its hold. With regret he could kill a killer and live. But if he killed children he himself would die. He dropped down beside the woman again.

"I'm not like you." He admitted. "I could never kill a child."

"All the children we've killed in the past weren't like Aeopie." The woman said. "As I said. We're merely human. And some of us are created flawed. Every so often one of us is borned who has no ability to feel remorse or guilt. Still, we allow them to live their lives. But eventually they always try to break the law. We give them a chance, and they reject it. We end their threat."

"Psychopaths?" Beast Boy asked. "But Aeopie wasn't one."

"No. She was taken against her will, and forced to break the law. We were divided on what to do. But after twenty thousand years we let what had become our nature take its course. In my opinion that was wrong. We should've rescued her, but to many of us letting an exception to the law exist would've been too much."

The shape shifter frowned. "All the ones of the past were psychopaths?" He asked. "You're sure."

"We could see their thoughts, and their utter lack of compassion and remorse. We're sure."

That made him feel a little bit better about allowing them to live. It wasn't innocent children they were killing, but those that lacked the spark that defined what it meant to be human. He would've preferred they used prisons, but it alleviated his need to kill them. At least a tiny bit. "Change the law so that children like Aeopie are rescued and not killed." He offered. "And I will depart without harming your world."

"Gladly." The woman replied with a sad smile, looking tired. "That would compel us to change the law to allow for such exceptions, which is something I wanted from the start."

Beast Boy frowned. That would mean no more innocents like Aeopie fearing for their lives. But it wouldn't bring her or Raven back. Nor would it help Starfire's people. Still the source of the problem was fixed, and he was no killer of children. Some of the ones he'd seen might've even been Aeopie's friends; she might've laughed and played games with them. He sighed.

The form of a Raven darkened the city, and the form of a violet-eyed girl took form in front of him. She looked around. "Glad I got here before you did anything rash." She intoned. There was the sense of minds trying to probe hers, but her black magic prevented the attempt. "Trust me. It would be best if you stayed out of my mind." She informed the woman standing next to the shape shifter.

"Raven" Beast Boy stared.

She stepped forward and pulled him into a deep kiss. "I'm okay." She reassured him.

"And Aeopie?"

"Safe. They might be telepaths, but it seems a simple hop across dimensions is enough to escape them."

He close his eyes in relief. Then he pulled her close for another kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her, needing to make sure she was safe.

"Then my granddaughter is okay?" The woman asked, her eyes glowing a bright orange that exceeded anything they'd ever seen before. That the woman was overjoyed was clear.

"Granddaughter?" Beast Boy asked.

The woman nodded. "My daughter and I tried to get them to amend the law for such incidences, only to fail. Our culture is tens of thousands of years old and does not swiftly change. When we failed my daughter collapsed, seeking to end her own life. Knowing Aeopie is safe will help her to heal. Is she?"

"She's safe." The shape shifter replied. "Will your people be trying to kill her again?"

"No. I've already sent the threat you made to my people. It will take time, but the law will change." Tears of both joy and sadness poured down the woman's face. "I rejoice that she lives, and that now my daughter will no longer seek to die. But it's not yet time for her to come home. The law will change, and then it will be safe for her. Then I will be able to hold her once again."

"How're the Tamaranians doing?" Beast Boy asked Raven.

"Not well. They're incoherent with grief and guilt." She frowned.

The shape shifter turned to the woman, Aeopie's grandmother. "Can your people create an illusion. To make them forget the event would probably be impossible. But create in their minds the idea that they resisted. That they were ordered to kill, but that each time they threw a starbolt they resisted enough to make it miss. That we're alive would reinforce that view since nothing could hope to escape four hundred Tamaranian soldiers."

"We can, and we will. Though it would be best to hurry before they communicate with their home world." The woman smiled. Not only was her granddaughter alive, but they might avoid causing the death of another race.


They celebrated. The most feared race in the universe had tried to bend them to their will, and they'd resisted. It would be a proud legacy to pass on to their children. Not the one of defeat by the Gordanians, but one of triumph. Not that any one of them would dare test that fearsome race again, but they could claim an accomplishment no other could.

The caters had restocked the ruined food and they ate and talked. Cuisine that didn't move was totally alien to them; some loved it while some hated it, but everyone tried something. Especially a small form in a pink cloak that walked unnoticed among them, grabbing cupcake after cupcake. Behind dark sunglasses, shaded by a hood, her eyes glowed a bright orange. Her friends were okay, as well as her mother and grandmother. One day she might even be able to return home.

Starfire stood above the crowd to give another speech that wasn't interrupted, cementing the ties between two people. Tamaran would no longer stand alone. Now friends would aid them in the rebuilding of their world. Hope filled her people, and at the end of the speech few had their feet on the ground. Rather, unable to restrain their unbridled joy, they were floating all over the place.

"So, umm. Where do we sleep tonight?" Beast Boy wondered, with his eyes not moving from a small pink-clad form that moved through the crowd.

"Hmm. Don't really care so long as they got a shower." Raven grinned, her arm wrapped around his. Her empathic senses were on the same small figure.

That one was good. An excited voice echoed in the violet-eyed girl's mind. Mmmm, but this one is better... Oh, that one looks too cute to eat ... Raven smiled, hoping the little girl didn't leave too soon.


End of Chapter.

Many thanks to those who read and review.