Author's Note: Ya! At long last, Chapter 12 has been completed, Beta read, and now posted! Celebration! Streamers and confetti and tofu cake PARTY! I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting, I have tried to make up for it with sheer mass. And for all of you who have been less than happy with the wait, your wrath has reached me, I've been sick as a dog ever since a month after last update. I know it was your wrath because I magically felt better when I sent this chapter off to the wonderful Jocelyn Torrent. You will have to forgive any dip in quality, Kilarra had to write this one mostly Muse-less (Once I get started, she can't help but come help out, so there are parts). And now my apologies have been made and I must get ready for school, and run out the door like a mad woman. Ya IB!

Disclaimer: Dudes, still just a broke fanfic author who doesn't technically own anything. I'm workin' on it though.

"You can't hide from the light!" Under normal circumstances, this battle cry would have provoked a witless reply or an amused laugh from Beast Boy. After that, Raven would have chided him for his lack of intelligence, tact, word choice, maturity, or some other trait and thrown a sharp comment at the villain herself. He would have taken one look at her looming form, given up, and cried like a little baby all the way back to his cell. Unless it was a good day, then he would simply avoid all eye contact and cower submissively. Beast Boy would have had a good laugh, annoy Raven with comments about how creepy, scary, or intimidating (not quite his own word, but that was the general idea he would be trying to convey) she was and earn himself several deadly looks. These would either encourage him, or shut his mouth for five minutes. They'd drop of the prisoner in his padded room, tuck him into his straitjacket, and go get pizza.

But these weren't normal circumstances. They weren't there; neither of them was there to fight. Raven and Beast Boy were back at the Tower. She was meditating or something similar to put a lid on her raging emotions before they blew out the power grid… again. Either that or she was moping. But it felt more sophisticated and high priority and overall more hero-worthy to say she was trying to save the Tower from utter destruction from the quiet of her own room. Moping just sounded so... pre-teen. Well, regardless of her original intent, Raven had now been landed with 'babysitting duty' as her charge had dubbed it none-too-fondly. That charge was their other missing teammate, Beast Boy. He was back at the Tower for… different reasons, reasons that were more related to diabolical, evil, Pinky and the Brain masterminds then pre-teens. Reasons that called for a greater degree of care and caution than Raven's bad mood, and that in itself was impressive.

Beast Boy was a bit unstable at the moment. He had some kind of bird human hybrid singing in his head. Thus far, he had left the Tower... in the middle of the night... without permission... or telling anyone where he was going... or leaving a note... at least twice. One of those times he had ended up in the middle of the ocean with no memory of how he got there and nothing to thank but the grace of God he wasn't some drowned corpse on the beaches near Hollywood with some crazy person poking his lifeless body with a stick! The jury was still out on the other. At least, that's what Robin kept telling himself. It was how he justified his decision to leave the green boy behind. That was how he could keep fighting even with Beast Boy's angry, hurt eyes burning in his head, how he felt he could continue to be the leader and stand by his decision.

But... Robin would never admit it verbally, at least, not in so many words, but he did have his doubts about his decision. What if Beast Boy was right and he was just being paranoid? What if he went to every shop in Jump and actually found some random guy professing to have given Beast Boy some free tofu because he owed him money for some arbitrary thing and he had paid of the debt last night so there was no reason to be harassing him?

He had stared into his eyes, like the rest of the Team, his wrathful eyes and what he had seen had scared him. Maybe he just didn't want to believe it, maybe he couldn't admit to what had happened. But there was no denying that that had been Beast Boy. Not quite the Beast Boy they knew, but not necessarily a foreign entity controlling his every move and expression. Was it really fair to just assume that this siren girl was so good at manipulation that she could just fool everyone around him into thinking that, no matter what he did, he was still their Beast Boy? Was any being truly that powerful? Or was Robin just too proud to admit that he had done this to the green boy, that he had made him into the frustrated creature he had argued with not a half hour ago.

Then again, there was call for suspicion. Why would he have gotten so defensive about it to begin with if there wasn't something to hide? This was by far not the first time they had gone a little over the line between privacy and friendship. Heck, Cyborg had been in that same messy room hundreds of time, digging through the mounds of junk in search of some game or another... or black mail material. But Robin wasn't sure if Cyborg actually did that to anyone besides the Boy Wonder himself. Oh well, they still had the pictures from Cyborg's second initiation, so they were relatively safe from the media at least.

Beast Boy had never gotten terribly angry about that. He usually just took the mature path and did the same thing to Cyborg's room, or hid some tools the next time he was in the garage, or added a few carefully placed bird droppings to the T-Car's shiny windshield. Nothing made Cyborg angrier than having to clean Beast Boy poo off of his car. And then there was that one time, when Beast Boy had gone into Cyborg's room, used his computer, and accidentally downloaded a virus into his main frame. He was still paying for the couch. And let' not forget the time when Beast Boy had snuck into Robin's room while he was on a private mission, gone through his stuff, tried on his cloths, played with his toys, and made a total mess of the place. Granted, the rest of the Team had joined in on that one, but Beast Boy had initiated it.

Of course, Robin had forgiven him easily, Beast Boy was still doing all of Robin's laundry, but he was completely and maturely forgiven. No room, except Raven's, was sacred in Titans Tower, and Beast Boy had violated that one too. A trip to Nevermore was enough to guarantee his continued absence, but Raven had added in a few extra incentives. It was entirely possible that Beast Boy still had nightmares. So really, Beast Boy had next to no right to have gotten so angry about the whole room thing, since it was such a common occurrence and he himself did the same thing on a regular basis.

But maybe it wasn't the room that had made him so angry, maybe he had just been venting. Yes, he had been unusually unstable and moody, but when put into perspective, that was completely understandable. He had been locked up, poked and prodded and questioned and studied and watched and tested and fed with one of those cute little baby spoons that was no bigger than his thumb. Beast Boy was a grown man, as much as Robin hated to admit it and as infrequently as he acted like one, but he was. In a fight, he could take care of himself, in a pinch he could follow through, in a maze he could figure a way out. He was strong and capable and he had proven it again and again and again. And what had happened? He had started hearing a song, something he couldn't resist, and followed it. He had lost one fight and they had locked him up like some kind of rabid animal and treated him like he was going to turn on them at any moment.

How would Robin have felt in his situation? There was little doubt that his patience would have run out quite a bit faster than Beast Boy's had. His temper turned a lot more brittle in a lot less time, and he may have actually become violent. He was a hero, bred to lead and raised to be strong, it was in his blood and he really wasn't good for anything else. Was it so impossible that he had that in common with Beast Boy? Was it so impossible that all the changes in him were due to his confinement and the lack of trust from his friends rather than an alien influence in his mind?

So many questions, so many scenarios, so many possibilities. Robin's mind was going so fast, switching positions every few seconds, adding and removing variables, calculating, thinking, feeling, trying to understand, it was a wonder he was able to fight at all. It came down to one thing, one thought, one question, one little basic question. Had Robin made the right choice? Yes? No? Maybe so? Over and over again in his mind. The truth was, he didn't know. He could have done the right thing and kept some unknown force at bay for the time being, holding it within the Tower with the changeling. He could have just shattered the trust of one of his most loyal friends, lost an essential member of his Team to his pride, and left himself vulnerable to an attack by the villains' union of Jump. Was the situation still salvageable? Robin didn't know, and he didn't like that he didn't know. And Dr. Light was really not helping.

"Robin, watch your-" A light beam struck him hard on his right shoulder and sent him flying. He flipped in the air, landed, recovered and began to probe the sensitive tissue, assessing the damage and cursing his incompetence. "Back," Cyborg finished lamely, his shoulders slouching. Honestly, it was bad enough being short two members, but did Robin have to be in 'La La land' too? He wasn't really in a fighting mood to start with and Dr. Light was hardly a challenging target. It was almost not worth the effort to fight him. He was tempted to just turn around and go get a hamburger. "Man, will you quit fooling around and help us out here!" He just wanted to be done and go back to the Tower. He just wanted it to be over.

"Sorry," Robin muttered harshly, looking like he was ready to take out the first person who said anything else about his obvious lack of interest. That meant he was embarrassed.

"Robin, you are not feeling well," commented Starfire, sending a ray of starbolts at the good doctor. He put up a shield and repeated anther lame light crack. The Titans weren't amused.

"I'm fine, Star," he shot back, tossing a few bird-o-rangs in the criminal's direction. They skimmed across the little white fin on the top of his head, causing him to start and turn around sharply.

"I was not referring to your physical condition," she called, taking the opportunity to strike the idiot in the back. He went flying and hit a wall. No one really noticed. "Perhaps you should go back to the Tower and talk to Beast Boy."

"There's nothing to talk about," he shot back, throwing her a fierce look. He was second guessing himself enough; he didn't need his friends pulling double shifts.

"You were a little sharp and you know it," called Cyborg. Dr. Light got up and began to advance, intent on taking advantage of the Titan's bickering. He got a sonic blast in the chest that sent him back into the wall. "You really should apologize."

"For what? I did what I had too. I made a decision to protect this city and this Team. Beast Boy understands that."

"Does he," asked Starfire innocently, hovering next to Robin. "It did not seem to me that he was particularly pleased by your decision."

"Well, he wasn't but-"

"If you do something to upset another, you are supposed to apologize, yes?"

"Yes, Starfire, but this is different."

"How?"

"This was a tactical decision."

"So that justifies hurting your friends and losing their trust?"

"Starfire, he could be dangerous."

"Or he could not be; you don't know if you don't give him a chance."

"I said I'd call him if we needed him."

"Well, I believe we need him." She was giving him a rather pointed look, like a parent telling the other their words were too harsh.

"It's Dr. Light!"

"Yes, and he is not going to defeat himself."

"Starfire, don't you think you're taking this a little too far?"

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that this is not an issue."

"How is this not an issue?"

"I'm the leader and I made a decision, just like I always do."

"I do not share your belief that this is the same."

"This isn't any different then when I told Cyborg he couldn't build a T-Limo."

"That would have been so cool!"

"As I recall, you apologized for that, Robin, and provided rationale."

"Yes, but that's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"We've been over this."

"I believe you are feeling the guilt."

"I'm not feeling guilty, Starfire."

"You are always stubborn, but more so when you do not wish to admit that you are wrong."

"I'm not wrong."

"You would feel better if you apologized to Beast Boy."

"You're overreacting."

"You are not being reasonable."

"I'm always reasonable!"

"That is untrue!"

"Have you forgotten something? Let me enlight-" Cyborg put out a hand, holding Dr. Light back and shaking his head in disbelief as the couple continued to argue heatedly.

"Don't go there, man. Mommy and Daddy are in the middle of something."

"Shut up!" Robin yelled, turning sharply and tossing a small sphere. Dr. Light looked from the sphere to Cyborg, then back again, slumping his shoulders. It exploded into a dozen cords that tangled themselves about the villain's body, effectively paralyzing him and knocking him to the ground. "We are not Mommy and Daddy! Now be quiet, both of you! Or, so help me, I will throw the two of you into Raven's room!" Dr. Light didn't understand the room reference, but he knew enough about Raven. Blood leaked from his completion and Cyborg shuddered. "And that was once," he added to Starfire. "Let it go already!" She hovered beside him, her arms crossed, her face patronizing.

"Yes, I know that that was an isolated incident. I was merely pointing out that you are behaving similarly now."

"Duly noted. But for future reference-" He was cut off by a rather obnoxious beeping originating from his communicator. Cyborg checked his right arm, noting the flashing red light and pressing a few buttons in quick succession.

"The museum is under attack," he reported, glancing at Robin.

"By whom?"

"Adonis, and he's moving fast through the exhibits."

"Any idea what he's after?"

"None, maybe he's just out for a joy ride."

"Or perhaps he is planning something, or acquiring an artifact for another criminal. He could be more dangerous than usual." Hint, hint. Robin scowled, less than amused by the implications.

"How'd he even get out?"

"Who knows, maybe he's upgraded."

"We may require the rest of the Team." Hint, hint, hint. He pulled his communicator, annoyed.

"Beast Boy, come in," he said blandly.

"Go ahead," came Beast Boy's voice as his curious face appeared on the screen.

"We've just got word that Adonis has broken out and is headed for the museum. We could really use yours and Raven's help on this one."

"Raven's in some sort of weird trance thingy. I don't think it's a good idea to wake her up."

"Fine, then come by yourself, and hurry!"

"Roger that, fearless leader!" He sounded overjoyed as he gave him a sad imitation of a military salute with his trademark grin back in place as if the earlier fight had never happened. It seemed a little odd, but Robin couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Then the screen went black. Besides, if he chickened out now he'd never hear the end of it and would face certain rejection the next time he tried to get a date. He put the device back on his belt, giving Starfire a pointed look.

"Happy?" She smiled brightly her hands outstretched, inviting him to the sky.

"Let us go kick the butt!" Robin couldn't help but grin as he accepted. That stupid, sweet, beautiful smile of hers, every time. Cyborg rolled his eyes, sighing and muttering as he headed back to the T-Car.

"Dudes! What took you so long?" An excited voice called as Starfire and Robin landed, startling them.

"How'd you get here so fast," Robin demanded.

"Well, duh, my little siren teleported me." Robin's eyes narrowed and his weight shifted tactically, despite his best attempts to appear amused. Beast Boy noticed, his smile flickered and his ears perked. "Whoa, dude, I was just joking!"

"Yes, and it was most humorous," exclaimed Starfire, clapping her hands and laughing excessively. Robin's eyebrows ascended into his hairline and Beast Boy blinked uncertainly.

"OK then, did I miss something?" Beast Boy asked. The T-Car suddenly squealed to a halt behind the laughing alien and Cyborg burst from it, cannon charged, grin set, eyes burning. "Cyborg!" All previous strangeness was forgotten.

"Hey, it's the grass stain!" The two friends ran up to each other, their fists meeting in a generic male greeting. Cyborg remained stationary, grinning insanely, clearly overly ecstatic. His green playmate stumbled back a good ten feet, apologizing incomprehensibly when Robin and Starfire had to dodge his flailing arms. "Feelin' good?"

"Never felt better!"

"We should celebrate our friend's return to 'The Field'!"

"Celebrate?"

"You know what that means!?"

"Totally awesome..."

"Once in a life time..."

"Absolutely epic..."

"Yeah, epic…"

"Breakfast party!" In their excitement, the two Titans began doing a sequence of oddly choreographed, acrobatic moves that may or may not have constituted a victory dance. Starfire had begun bouncing up and down excitedly, looking at Robin expectantly, as if she wanted him to join in the fun. Robin felt like he was stuck in a room full of kindergartners at recess.

"Um, guys," he said uncertainly, holding up one little finger in protest, "that sounds great and all, but shouldn't we take care of Adonis first?"

"Yeah," hissed Beast Boy, turning to face Robin slowly, his eyes flashing.

"You ready to kick some booty? Or are you too fat?" teased Cyborg, messing the changeling's hair affectionately.

"Dude, I was born ready!" Beast Boy playfully pushed his hand away, setting his body into a dramatic fighting stance and meeting Robin's gaze defiantly. Robin nodded, turning his attention to the door. The Titans set, ready to spring into action at the first noise from Robin, at the first sign of danger or movement. Garfield's eyes narrowed, his grin widening. It was all working out so beautifully, so perfectly. Every line in his script was being said; every piece of blocking being followed. Only Robin still suspected him of being anything but completely honest and sincere, of having anything but the purest of intentions and the most innocent of motivations.

But Garfield knew how that mind worked, and any gut feeling would be unjustified, any doubts little more than paranoia. Raven knew, she was a threat; but she was also quite asleep back at the Tower, and she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon so long as he had anything to say about it. She couldn't do a thing. Nothing would stop him; no one would even think he was up to something. At least, not until it was too late to do anything about it. Just beyond that door was the Half Heart, and just beyond it was Zinara. She would be free, and then...

Robin pulled out his bow-staff, readying several stun-grenades. Starfire's hands and eyes glowed nuclear green, Cyborg's sonic cannon a luminous cyan. They were ready. With one strike, the door was sent flying, banging the walls noisily.

"Titans, G-" The entrance hall was dark and still, silent except for the echoes of Robin's battle cry. There was no one.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," commented Cyborg, lowering his cannon.

"Where is he?" inquired Starfire, looking around frantically for her foe, as if she had been expecting him to be waiting for them just beyond the threshold.

"He must be somewhere else in the building," said Robin flatly, putting the grenades and staff away. "Beast Boy, can you sniff him out?"

"What? Oh," Beast Boy said, jerking and looking around rapidly. "His scent's all over the place, I can't really get a definite trail."

"Then we split up. Cyborg, you take the Egyptian exhibit, the wildlife and health rooms and the planetarium. Starfire, you always wanted to take a field trip and look at the gems and dinosaurs."

"It will be glorious," she proclaimed excitedly, though rather blatantly indicating that Robin had not gotten out of taking her to see the 'special, shiny, Earth rocks' personally. Her eyes flashed mischievously towards the gift shop as well, as though she had decided that she would acquire one strange object or another while in the general vicinity. Robin rolled his eyes affectionately.

"While you're there, why don't you check out the Chinese and Native American exhibits?" Starfire nodded fervently. "Beast Boy and I will take all of the temporary exhibits." Beast Boy shot him a rather queer look and Starfire and Cyborg blinked uncertainly. But no one protested, so Robin decided to simply continue as planned. "We'll meet back here when we're done searching, no more than an hour. Don't get too sidetracked, we do have a mission to accomplish." Everyone expressed their approval in one way or another, mostly through a sequence of grunts and inarticulate sounds. Robin jerked his head sharply. "All right Titans. Go!"

The group scattered like a school of fish, each intent on beating the other's back to the meeting place, leaving Robin alone in the center. Beast Boy morphed into a blood hound and began walking off without his partner. Robin sighed, following obediently. Time passed in silence as Beast Boy tried to distinguish weak scents from more recent ones. He caught something, his body quivering ever so slightly and his ears pricked forward. In a blur of green he changed back, his human body in a kneeling position, one leg bent before his chest while the other rested on the floor. His left fingertips were pressed to the tile for balance and his other arm rested on his knee. His eyes were unusually bright, almost luminous in the gloom of the unlit hallway. They were... creepy, surreal. Beast Boy raised one hand slowly, pointing towards a corner ten feet in front of them.

"That way," he said quietly, emotionlessly. Robin nodded and began walking in the general direction. The plan was for them to just check out the temporary exhibits, but he didn't want to be confrontational. They weren't in a kitchen, but it would do. He was, after all, with Beast Boy now to make friends, not to watch his every move and study for signs of treachery, insanity, or guilt. Nope, he was definitely there to play nice and mend the relationship. They were going to be friends again! Robin's shoulders slumped and he felt the urge to hit himself in the face. Yeah. Beast Boy got up and followed, a smirk playing in his eyes.

"Beast Boy," Robin said, stopping abruptly.

"Yes?" It was Beast Boy's voice, but at the same time, it was strangely articulate. He shrugged it off.

"I just want you to know that I- that is, the Team- well, we never thought you were a ... traitor." Not quite an apology, but it got the point across. He was trying.

"Excuse me?"

"Earlier, when you said you were sick of being treated like a traitor. That was never my intention." Trying, and failing. But at least there were brownie points involved in the trying.

"Forget about it," Beast Boy rolled his eyes and continued on, passing the teen hero. "I only said that to make you feel bad." It was Robin's turn to demand an explanation. He halted, stunned.

"Excuse me?"

"So that you'd let me on the mission. It worked, didn't it?"

"I never expected you to be so cunning," remarked Robin, not quite what one could call pleased. Had he just been metaphorically stripped of his pride? Had Beast Boy just completely invalidated his entire 'play-nice' and 'I-need-to make-friends-or-I'll-never-be-forgiven' strategy? He started walking again, trailing along behind the green boy.

"It comes from spending too much time with Raven."

"I see." They passed another long moment in silence until they hit another intersection. Beast Boy changed into a blood hound once more, sniffing each corner thoroughly. He transformed back, indicating the new direction silently. "So we're clear," Robin finally muttered, wanting to get things straightened between them. Robin wasn't the type to enjoy groveling unless it was for a very good, noble, just, and absolutely necessary cause. And, although being buddy-buddy with Beast Boy was all fine and dandy, he really wanted to be let off of his knees.

"On what?"

"That you're not a traitor." His tone was getting slightly sharper. He quite honestly found Beast Boy's evasion frustrating. He had to be enjoying the moment. That was the only reason Beast Boy could possibly have for keeping him in the wrong for so long. Robin frowned. How was this any fun whatsoever?

"Aren't I?" Garfield's offhand comment sounded quiet, dangerous, like the low, malicious whisper. The words rasped in his throat, so that Robin could just barely hear; not that he needed to listen to them to understand their meaning. Garfield's tone communicated all. He halted, turning slightly to gaze at Robin out of the corner of one, gleaming eye. Robin froze, eyes narrowing in confusion. The heat went out of the hall.

"Raven, Raven..." She groaned loudly, thrashing in disapproval. "Raven, are you there?" They were words, but they didn't make sense. They were noise. They were loud. Her hand found its way out before her face and she swatted at the source of the words. There was the sound of talons scuttling across marble and a sharp 'caw'. It was louder than before.

She rolled over, flopping one arm across her ear and using the other as a makeshift pillow. "Raven, come on! Stop fooling around." Something soft and smooth tickled her nose and lips, like raven wings brushing across her face. Her breath came in long, deep, rhythmic gulps, her amethyst eyes closed heavily. The wings were persistent, batting at her face gently. "Raven, you need to get up now." She was so tired. All that she wanted to do was stay exactly where she was and sleep till the next century. "Raven, Raven please. Raven!" Someone was calling her. Someone she knew. "You have to wake up! Raven, Raven! What did she do to you?" She? She did something?

Heat in her cheeks, yells in her throat, fire in his eyes. Her face contorted, her body scrunched up. There was the scuttling sound again. Strong arms around her, a warm voice, a scared voice. She had been in the living room with Beast Boy, around the couch. He had told her something, told her goodbye. She pressed her palm against her exposed ear, trying vainly to remain in a semiconscious state. He had to do something and he wasn't sure if they could see each other after he did it. He had been scared, she had been scared, scared of what he was saying, of what could happen. She had to protect him. Lips against hers, soft, passionate, sad, lonely, insane. Yellow eyes burned into her, her body left. She fell, he was gone. She couldn't stop it, couldn't stop him. She didn't want to get up, didn't want to remember this.

"Raven! Please, please get up. For me if for nothing else, please get up. Open your eyes!" He'd leaned forward to smell her one last time, pressed his lips against hers, then she'd tried to look him in the eye, to understand exactly what it was he was trying to say. She curled into a tighter ball, wishing for the bliss she had felt before the intrusive voice had reminded her, yet realizing that she had to remember. Because she'd pulled his face up, forcing him to meet her gaze. But Beast Boy was gone, it hadn't been Beast Boy. She'd failed.

"No," she cried, sitting bolt upright, her arms flailing until they found their place at her sides. A large, green raven squawked, flying back in shock. Her cloak was strewn behind her, leaving her body exposed and chilled, her hair messed from napping. That wasn't true, she hadn't failed... she couldn't. "Where is she?" Raven demanded, addressing no one in particular. "What has she done with him?"

"Raven, you're awake," came the same voice from before, its tone brimming with a cocktail of joy and relief. She looked down at the green raven, actually noticing it for the first time. It hopped closer, cocking its head to the side and flapping its wings dramatically. "Thank goodness, you had me worried." Her face scrunched in confusion. True, her mind was still a bit fuzzy, her thoughts not quite as precise as they should have been. To deny that would be about as justifiable as denying that her father was a demon. Nevertheless, every logical fiber in her body was telling her that the sounds she was hearing could not be coming from the bird before her. "What's the matter, you look like you've seen a talking lamp," it joked, hopping closer to her and pecking playfully at her hands. She blinked uncertainly, looking around. No way, unless...

"What happened," she asked slowly.

"You don't remember?"

"Some, how did I get here?" Where 'here' was, was quite beyond her, but when one is dreaming, things turn out better when you just say what comes naturally.

"I waited until they weren't watching, then I pulled you in. We need to talk."

"You what?"

"When Zinara told you to sleep, she bridged our minds. Yours was unstable from the spell, so while they're preoccupied and not watching, I figured we needed to talk."

"So, I'm in your head?"

"Yes, like before. Only this time I brought you here." Her eyebrows knitted in confusion, her thoughts swimming, disoriented. "What's wrong?"

"Beast Boy?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, who'd you think you were talking to, Oprah?"

"Sorry," she mumbled pressing her palm to her forehead.

"You alright? You don't look well," he said, his voice laced with concern.

"Just groggy. What'd she do to me?"

"She told you to sleep," he stated simply, standing on her hand for a moment then hopping off, pecking at it lightly again. She reached up and stroking his back. "Any discomfort comes from fighting her."

"She can do that?" It seemed like way more than any siren she had studied could do. Then again, after all of this, there weren't many things that she should have found surprising. Stuff was just happening and her head hurt less when she just accepted it.

"It's part of her power; through me, she can affect the people around me. Not in quite the same way, or to the same extent, but simple commands, basic spells, stuff like that. It shouldn't hurt."

"It doesn't. Then what?"

"Well, your body is under a mild spell now. If you'd stayed there, you wouldn't have woken up until she said to. So I pulled you here."

"Here?"

He gestured with his beak to the wall just behind her, as though there was something blatantly obvious hiding there. She turned, and jumped half a foot in the air, causing Beast Boy to squawk in panic again and fly up. There was a tall, wide, cast iron gate between two grey stone pillars, covered in dead moss and topped with obsidian ravens with four garnet eyes each. The iron of the gate twisted and knotted elegantly, blooming into black roses sporadically graced by green granite, like leaves around the blossoms.

It hung wide open, revealing a view that, had it any eyes to look with, the top of the Titan's TV might have been used to. On the left was the Titan's kitchen, unnaturally clean and orderly, as if its users were terrified to get it even the tiniest bit dirty. To the right the Titan's equipment beeped and flashed innocently like something out of a Star Trek remake. Dead center were the main doors and just below them the couch. And on the couch a body lay limply, as if passed out or dead. Her hair was brushed carefully from her face and her cloak tucked snugly around her body to keep it warm and securely in place. "Is that me?"

Beast Boy nodded and, even though he didn't have lips, she could have sworn he was grinning at her, like a teacher pleased by the improved test scores of a particularly slow student. "And is that the door from my mind to yours?"

"Yep, one of them. Technically you're on the couch right now. But through a series of complex, high level, difficult to understand events, your mind is in mine. You see, when a telepathic door is opened between two people, those two people, in this case us, are able to-"

"Don't patronize me! I understand the mechanics of what's happened very well, thank you," she said hotly, receiving his bird-like smirk once more. He hopped closer to her and rubbed his head against her fingertips affectionately.

"I'm glad you're all right," he whispered, blinking up at her with black eyes. She offered her hand and he jumped on, his small talons tickling her skin as she pulled him up to her face.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, stroking his head. Somehow, as strange as it should have been, it seemed like the natural thing to do, the type of thing she would do in a dream. And the most logical explanation, the one her mind could grasp with the least amount of effort, was that she was dreaming. So, despite all the evidence to the contrary, Raven just continued with the natural, whatever popped into her head first method. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, pretending to not hear her. "Beast Boy, why wouldn't I be OK?" She slid her finger underneath his beak, forcing him to look up at her.

"I can't always... I don't always have..." he tried, struggling to find a way to express himself. She didn't let up, staring into his eyes the entire time. It made him uncomfortable, being beneath that gaze. He clicked his beak sharply, annoyed with himself. "Sometimes they don't listen to me. They don't mean to hurt anyone but sometimes, they... don't realize what they're doing. Sometimes they're willing to make sacrifices to achieve their goal. You were in the way, and they got impatient."

"Who are they?" He avoided eye contact avidly, preening himself instead, as though that was the most important thing in the world. "Beast Boy, who are they?" He shuddered visibly, glancing around, as if afraid of being overheard.

"Raven, please, don't make me-"

"You need to tell me, who are they? What's going on? Why are we here and not... out there?" She gestured to the open gate. She ran her pointer finger down his spine, trying to calm him. Beast Boy nipped at it softly, glancing at her. He knew what she wanted, and she knew he knew. A twisted, sick, uncomfortable, distortion of their usual game. Maybe this was real, Raven didn't know. She closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing.

"Zinara and... and, Raven, don't make me do this."

"Why can't you tell me who the other one is? What are you scared of?"

"If you knew who he was, who I am, you would be scared too. It's dangerous for you to know; he might hurt you."

"Hurt me? Beast Boy, what are you talking about now?" This wasn't making sense. Dreams were sounding more and more rational by the minute; she was, in fact, crashed on the couch or in her bed and it was three in the morning and her mind had finally cracked from the stress. But there was something in the green raven's eyes, a note in his voice, and oddness to what he was saying that she knew she could never actually create even in her strangest dreams. A new thought hit her, one that made up her mind and slapped her fully back into consciousness. To admit that this was a dream was to admit that she was dreaming about Beast Boy. Not happening. "I'm not dreaming," she stated, looking him right in the eye, her tone somewhere in between questioning and defiant. Beast Boy blinked back at her, grinning again. There was something almost... sad, about the way he was grinning, but he was grinning. For her, to make her happy. She sighed again, rubbing her temples with her free hand. She wasn't even getting paid. "I don't understand any of this."

"You think I do? Every morning I have to wake up and wonder what my name is," he joked, relieved that she had stopped attacking. But Raven wouldn't let up that easily. This wasn't a dream, so she couldn't just go with the flow. In dreams she could laugh at the less-than-humorous comment, but in real life, telepathic situations, she had to stand her ground. There was something here, something important, something that he didn't want her to know about. Something she needed to find.

"If you're going to play games then I'm just going to leave," she said sharply, setting him firmly on the ground and getting up.

"Wait, Raven," Beast Boy flapped his wings urgently, causing her to pause. "You can't go, not yet. We still need to talk."

"We've been talking, but all you seem to want to do is make sick jokes and blow off the entire situation. I have important things to do."

"This is important!"

"Doesn't sound like it."

"Don't you remember what I said before, that I needed to do something, that it would change things?"

"Haven't you already done that? Isn't it all ready too late? Face it, Beast Boy, you trusted me to help you and I let you down. And now we're in here making small talk while some 'other' is out doing who knows what!"

"No, that's not true, there's still time. If you go now, you can stop me before I hurt anyone."

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Freeing Zinara."

"You're freeing Zinara? Or 'they'?"

"I am. They are. I don't know! But people are going to get hurt if you don't do something; Raven, listen to what I'm saying!"

"Beast Boy, I don't know what you're saying," she muttered, turning and facing the gateway. "How do I get out of here?"

"If I tell you, will you stop it?" He asked softly, flying up and landing next to one of the stone ravens on the pillars.

"Answer me this, Beast Boy, who I'm stopping? Can you tell me that, or is this just another game?"

"Raven, why does it matter? People will get hurt; people could die, unless you do this."

"I can't just take your word on this, you should understand that. I need to know who I'm fighting and why. If you can't tell me that then there's no reason to it. I won't go in blind." She met his black gaze, willing him to yield, to tell her what she needed to know. He stared back, torn, afraid, the same look he'd given her before he'd left the first time.

"You don't know what you're asking. If I tell you this, if I tell you about him, there's no going back to the way things were. Everything will change."

"Everything will change if you don't! You can't ask me to do this based off of nothing more than the word of a green raven in the mind of a debatably unstable changeling who, might I add, has been taking midnight trips that he either doesn't remember or won't tell his friends about! Do you even know who you are anymore?" He gave the bird equivalent of a whimper.

"Just step through the gate, you should end up back in your body. That will be enough to break her spell." Silence. She looked away, towards her body on the couch, snorting. "I'm in the Mediterranean exhibit at Jump Museum, or at least, that's where I'm going. If you're going to stop me, go now." He wasn't letting up, he wasn't giving in. She bit her tongue, chewing on it in indecision. Swiftly, almost before she fully understood what she was doing, she offered her hand up towards the pillar, encouraging him to retake his perch.

"Just tell me, who are 'they'? That's all, Beast Boy. That's all I want- need, to know." He blinked at her, glancing from the gate and back, then down the hall, as if expecting someone to come waltzing down at any moment. Suddenly, he shrieked in frustration, spinning on his perch and stretching his wings.

"You're fighting me, okay?! I'm the one working with Zinara, going behind your backs, scheming against the Team! It's me, I'm the one! There, you happy?" There was a long pause, a long, silent, tense pause. He looked her straight in the eye, not blinking, not moving, and she, in turn, didn't withdraw her offer. Then his body slackened and he broke eye contact. Had he been human, he would have grabbed his head and slid to his knees.

"And it's someone else, someone not me, someone different from me. I don't know, I don't understand it, or him, or what she did." He looked up at her, willing her to hear, to understand. "I just know that they are going to hurt people if they aren't stopped." With this, the frustrated fire returned to his eyes and he made another emotional 180. He took off, flying around to her back suddenly, scratching at it, trying to push her through the gate. "You have to go, go now! The Mediterranean exhibit at Jump Museum, hurry! Before something bad happens, before someone gets hurt!" She spun around, catching him in midair, holding him in place so she could look him in the face. He squirmed, carefully avoiding her skin. "Aren't you listening to me, you need to go now! You're running out of time!"

"I'm going," she said softly, calmly. "Thank you."

"For what," he spat, still struggling. "Let me go! There isn't time for this."

"For telling me about him, about what's going on. I'll go now, and I'll stop you, if that's what you want." His body slackened again, probably from some form of fatigue and he almost looked like he might just burst into tears.

"I don't know what's going on."

"Then I thank you for telling me what you know."

"Don't thank me," he whispered, meeting her gaze harshly. "Stop me. Stop us, or bad things are going to happen. I don't know what they are, or when they'll be, but bad things will happen, unless the Titans can stop them."

"What do you mean?" the Boy Wonder demanded, on edge, but trying to maintain the almost jovial mood.

"Aren't I a traitor?" Robin stared at him, disbelief and something akin to suspicion blooming across his face. This was Beast Boy, and it wasn't, a member of his Team, and an outside agent working for his own gain.

"I don't understand," he finally muttered, his gaze hard, his body tense. This was a game, just not the one he thought he was playing... and he wasn't sure if he knew the rules.

"Then let me make it simpler. Haven't I already used you to get what I wanted? Didn't I manipulate your Team to promote my own agenda? Doesn't it go against your better judgment to have me here at all?" Warning bells were sounding in his head, adrenaline pulsing unbidden through his veins. Here was Beast Boy, and at the same time, here was someone he'd never met, someone he couldn't, shouldn't, trust, a threat to him and the Team and the entire city. Something had to be done, now, before things went too far. But….

"That's not true," he denied fervently, still rooted to the spot. What was too far? What was he involved in? "I called you because I wasn't sure if we were going to have problems with Adonis and thought it better to have the Team as strong as possible."

"You called me here because you felt bad about leaving me behind."

"That's not all."

"Then why didn't you send me off on my own like the others?" Robin ground his teeth. Garfield smirked over his shoulder, amused. "The scent is strongest this way. We should keep moving." Robin frowned, following the changeling, but at a distance.

"Is that the truth? Do you really smell him?"

"It might be, it might not be. Can you smell him?" Robin frowned, his hands clenching unbidden into fists. Garfield grinned, almost laughing at his distress. "Then I guess you'll just have to trust me. I'll let you in on a little secret though." There was a charged pause. Robin refused to play the game, but there seemed to be little he could do to get himself off of the board alive. "The scent of what I'm looking for is strongest this way." More riddles.

"Beast Boy, is there something wrong?" he finally asked, his voice ringing in the hall.

"No, not really," Garfield responded carelessly, "I'm actually having a fairly good day. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You just seem a little... off. You sure you're fine?"

"You are a strange one, aren't you?" Garfield exclaimed, gazing at him over his shoulder. "An hour ago you were ready to chain me to my bed and now you want to know if I'm alright!" He laughed openly and loudly, closing his eyes and throwing back his head. Robin shifted uncomfortably, absolutely lost. He wasn't even sure where they were in the museum and every instinct in his body was telling him something bad was about to happen.

"Let's check in here," he said abruptly, gesturing to the Titanic exhibit.

"He's not in there. He's probably not even in the museum anymore," commented Garfield vaguely, not even bothering to slow down.

"How would you know that?"

"Because it would take a real idiot to not only show up at a place where there is nothing that could help him in any shape or form, then hang around to get caught by the Titans, wouldn't it? Not even Adonis is that stupid. Give him a treat and he'll roll over, but other than that he's out there to cover his own hide."

"Then we should leave too," stated Robin carefully, his gaze iron against the green boy's back. "If Adonis isn't here, then there's no reason for us to be looking for him in this building."

"But things were just getting interesting!" Garfield threw him another look over his shoulder, his eyes burning. "You were wondering if I was feeling good. Why?"

"Because you don't look good," said Robin bluntly, following for little other reason than to avoid being left behind. The hairs on the back of his neck were on end, his body tense and ready for confrontation, yet he still refused be believe that the boy before him was not Beast Boy. He had to be, anything else didn't make sense. And if he had to square dance around to prove it, so be it.

"Maybe," Garfield sighed absently. "Maybe I don't look quite right. That's understandable." He chuckled darkly, as if at some joke only he understood. "It would be downright creepy if I still looked exactly the same," as if the way he was talking was suitable for the Disney Channel.

"Beast Boy, what's the matter with you?" he finally demanded. He was so flustered and on edge, he barely noticed that they had entered the temporary Mediterranean Exhibit. Garfield was headed straight for the center piece, not really listening to the Boy Wonder.

"What do you mean?" Garfield asked, mock innocence spread across his face like too much honey. "Why would you ask me that? Are you saying something's wrong with me? Don't you trust me?" he sneered, flexing his fingers. He was toying with him, setting him up for something, like a cat batting cruelly at a terrified mouse in a corner, Robin knew that much. But why?

"Of course I trust you," he said slowly, cautiously. He was just out of reach, just far enough away that, should he be attacked, he could escape the first blow unscathed. "You're a member of my Team." Something was wrong, as odd as it sounded, as impossible as it seemed, Robin could feel in his gut that this boy, this creature before him was not the Beast Boy that had tried to be his sidekick all those years ago. It was... something else. Garfield positively leered.

"Are you sure that's smart?" Robin was speechless. Garfield laughed again, loudly, openly. "You are so funny, you know that!? You think you just know what's going on, don't you? You think you have everything figured out, all the variables controlled. You! Human, you don't even know who or what you're dealing with." Garfield turned, facing him full on, his luminous eyes brighter than any flashlight, predatory, wild. "How long have we lived together? You never guessed that the prankster might have a few skeletons of his own?" Robin made a move to grab his communicator and call for backup. "Wait!" The sharpness in the changeling's voice made him freeze. "We're not done yet."

"What did you do to Raven?" He wouldn't play this game, not for a second longer then he had to. Things had gone far enough, this wasn't safe anymore.

"The half-breed? She's safe. Asleep, actually, which is more than I can say for you."

"Beast Boy, if you hurt her…" Robin threatened, reaching for his stun grenades. Beast Boy blinked uncertainly, his grin falling, his eyes losing their gleam. He looked around, as if unsure of where he was or how he got there, and then locked eyes with Robin.

"Why would I hurt Raven," he asked quietly. "Robin, you know I would never-" He cut off mid sentence, grasping his head and grimacing. His eyes closed and he turned away from Robin.

"Beast Boy," Robin called. No response. "Beast Boy, tell me what's happening. Tell me what I can do to help." Garfield's eyelids rose slowly and he threw Robin a dangerous look. His eyes were incandescent, stained with predatory yellow.

"Get out of my way," he snarled, bored with the game and annoyed by his slip. He turned sharply and proceeded towards the central glass case. Inside it glistened a small, smooth stone no bigger than a large marshmallow. Its surface was opaque and white, almost egg-shaped, and as the lights danced through it, it glowed with an internal spectrum which radiated out from the center. With each step Garfield took towards it this glow intensified, almost pulsating like a heartbeat."It's so small," Garfield commented softly, reaching towards the glass.

"Beast Boy!"

"Such a tiny thing," he continued, not paying any attention to Robin's cry. "Who would have ever thought it would be so powerful. Yet here it is, Zinara, all you wanted."

"Zinara? Beast Boy, what is going on?" He paid no heed, his nails lengthening into dagger like claws. He thrust these through the glass, his face hard and set. "What are you doing?!" Alarms were blaring, red lights flashing all around. Garfield didn't seem to notice, only vaguely aware of even the sharp glass shards as they showered across his arm, slicing his uniform and sometimes more. Robin reached for his communicator, advancing on the green changeling aggressively. "Titans! The Mediterranean Exhibit! Beast Boy's gone-" He was cut off when Garfield spun around, the Half Heart clenched in one fist while the other struck Robin square in the chest with a strength very much not his own, sending him flying back into a wall.

"Robin? Robin," called Starfire's panicked voice.

'Swallow it. Garfield, swallow it.' whispered a soft, melodic voice from within his mind. 'Swallow it and set me free.' Garfield nodded sharply, cradling the object in both his hands and bringing it to his lips.

"Beast Boy, don't," croaked Robin, clutching his ribs and trying to stand. Garfield looked at him once, smirk back in place, eyes a blazing yellow-green, and defiantly shoved the object into his mouth. It went down smoothly enough, despite its size, like a large grape. He emitted a choking noise, his eyes closed as his knees buckled beneath him. His hands lingered on his lips for just a moment before they slid down to his chest, grasping just below his sternum. "Beast Boy," Robin hissed, pushing himself up and limping over to the changeling. His back arched, his chin tucked into his chest. A small light began to glow just beneath his palms, pale and bright, like a fairy, glittering in the darkness.

"Robin, Robin, what has happened?"

"Hold on, man, we're coming, just a bit longer." Robin groped around, grasping at his communicator.

"Be careful," he panted, grasping his ribs. "There's something going on with Beast Boy, he's violent."

"What did you-"

"I didn't do this! Will you just get down here? There's something happening!" Garfield gasped, stretching his back further then looked natural and pulled the light from his chest. It pulsed like a heart, too fast to be human, but too slow to be anything smaller. He stared at it, amazed, as if it the small light in his hands was the most remarkable thing he'd ever seen. Slowly, gently, he nudged the glass from the floor, clearing a space and setting the light on the floor. It wiggled, protesting his withdrawal. "Beast Boy? Beast Boy, what is that?"

"Protect me, Garfield," cried a small, beautiful, melodic voice. It originated from nowhere and echoed around the room, timeless, weightless, disembodied. "He's human, Garfield. He'll hurt me. Protect me, keep me safe, please."

"Beast Boy, what's going on, what is that?" He was trying to be calm, trying to be level headed in the most bizarre of situations. Slowly, cautiously, as if approaching a wounded animal, he took a step towards the green boy and the light.

"Garfield!"

"Get back," he warned, not looking at Robin.

"Beast Boy-"

"Get back!" He turned, fast as lightning, nails long, teeth flashing. Robin back-flipped away, grasping at a tear across his chest. Garfield stood, body hunched, claws extended, fangs glistening. His eyes gleamed yellow-green, and within them was something inhuman. Something that didn't belong, something that wasn't natural. And in the same eyes was Beast Boy, a creature that had evolved, been nurtured through years of suppression, bitter and angry and single-minded. A Beast Boy that would stop at nothing, would lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, or even kill. Robin looked into those almost grotesque eyes and saw something that was going to protect this... this thing, defend it no matter what the cost. An animal that had no fear or conscience or reason not to simply tear Robin, or anyone else who walked through the door, apart without thought or remorse. And it had its gaze fixed unblinkingly on the leader of the Teen Titans.