Officer Shaun Berkeley's shift had ended fifteen minutes ago, yet he remained crouched in the bushes in front of the Titans' house, watching the drama that was unfolding from the one uncovered living room window that he could see through. As far as he and the public were concerned, the Titans had become yesterday's news a long time ago. Having failed to defeat those mysterious orange masked robots, gotten themselves booted out by the politically conscious mayor and fallen out with just about every disappointed citizen in the city, the Titans had magically vanished without a trace. Of course, there was the one time that he could remember that Raven came back and made a big scene in the city but of late, even she had made herself scarce. He personally knew nothing about where her spaceship went or what the demons were doing because Raven had used a spell to keep her activities hidden. All he knew now was that there were four young people standing in the living room of this house where he had answered a neighbour's distress call about a few quarrelsome kids who "sounded like they wanted to kill each other". And what he saw was that these four looked and sounded a hell lot like Cyborg, Starfire, Robin and Terra - the long forgotten Teen Titans.
The intrigued officer kept watching as the minutes ticked by, both amused and concerned about the way Robin stomped around the room spewing out curse words that would make the devil cringe. From his observation, he had gathered that Robin was mad with what appeared to be the ousted member of the group - Raven. Apparently she had betrayed them, was too arrogant for her own good and thought she knew everything when she clearly knew nothing. He had never seen someone so angry in his life. It was almost as if some grouchy witch had cast a spell on the martial artist to make him unreasonably and fanatically wrathful. He ranted with the same intensity and fury that Officer Berkeley's mother-in-law had ranted with when she found out he and her daughter had eloped - the cop had never seen somebody talk so much and so fast for so long. It was like Robin didn't even have to breathe.
Once, the Titan glanced out of the window at the bush the officer was hiding behind and the seasoned policeman could've sworn he saw a glimmer of insanity in those eyes. He had never seen Robin without a mask and now that he had, it terrified him to think about what the unbalanced teen hero might do. His super-powered teammates appeared frightened, torn and undeniably frustrated. He could hear them saying - very loudly to overpower Robin - the things that they thought he wanted to hear them say in a bid to get him to shut up.
The more he analysed the disjointed contents of what was being said, the more he understood that the anger was a by product of two things, pride and envy. Somehow, Raven must've did something to grievously injure Robin's pride so much so that the only way he could deal with it was to react with anger. Yet for all the wrath he held against her for this mysterious thing that she had done, he could also tell that Robin was actually secretly envious of her. He had always wondered as a regular citizen whether Robin was ever jealous of his teammates who had the superpowers that he didn't have. Question answered: he was. The way he spoke made it evident that Robin thought that he should've been the spawn of the demon king instead of her and that he could make far better use of her powers than she ever could. The culmination of a bruised ego and a jealous heart served to amplify whatever wrath he had in him making him act out like someone deserving of a place in the mental institute.
"Someday I will find Raven that ******* **** and shove a **** up her *** to teach the bloody fool a lesson not to **** with me! Why the hell are you making that face for! Don't ******* lecture me you *****!" The officer's train of thought was broken by yet another heated outcry. "Shut the **** up!" The solid punch Robin landed on Terra's check was loud enough to be heard from the outside. The man in blue sprang into action, sprinting up the driveway and landing a fist on the door. This time, Robin had actually committed an offence that he could be arrested for.
"Let go of her you idiot!" He could hear Cyborg shouting from the inside, his yells accompanied by muffled screams and this strange thumping on the floor.
"Open the door! Police!" Shouted the officer, his gun poised at head level, finger on the trigger. "Come out with your hands up! This is an order!"
"****! Leave me alone you jack ***!" There was a crash in the living room. The cop immediately radioed for backup before sending a prayer heavenward. Then, he kicked in the door.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid me!" Beast Boy slammed his forehead into the wall over and over again, rueing his actions that could've just cost him the love of his life. He couldn't explain what had come over him in a way that he could accept it. His primal side had just taken over in that moment and for that split second, he had given in to the temptation to touch her. He had let the fear of her slipping away again overtake his consciousness, causing him to react with a premature urgency to hold her. He hadn't considered whether she was ready for it though he now knew he should've. Again and again, this explanation rang in his mind and he hated it. It was so frustrating trying to justify himself in a way that he actually felt justified.
His punishment did more to depress him than he expected it would. His angry love had locked him in the private chamber of hers and despite all of his efforts, he couldn't find a way out. In typical Beast Boy fashion, he had tried everything he could to get out of here - no matter how stupid it was. He started out quite rationally, searching every inch of the walls for a point of weakness that he might bust through. When there was none, he tried the floors and the ceilings but there were no openings. He only could admire all the jewels, gems and potions that she had in the room for he knew next to nothing about what they did. Him trying to read the books that she kept in there was like him trying to explain the nuances of quantum physics - it ain't happening. Fifteen minutes later, he quickly grew impatient and started charging at the walls in the form of a rhino. Thirteen hits and a massive headache later, he started crying out "Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Waffles! Trigon! Dark side! Magic! Evil!" Perhaps the door to get out of this place was voice activated with a secret passcode. "Potions! Azar! Blue! Cloak! Depression! Depressing! Tea! Meditating!" Perhaps it might be something that she's allergic to? "Beast Boy! Immature! Funny! Happy! Chickens!" Still nothing. "Open this door!" He cried out, his forehead hitting the wall for the umpteenth time. Darkness brought its relief for a moment later, he slumped to the floor and closed his eyes.
Robin pulled himself off the floor, a trickle of blood running down the left corner of his mouth. Just a second ago, Cyborg had pulled him off Terra and used his robotic strength to hurl the attacking Titan across the room and right into a wall. His dilated eyes took in everything; Cyborg and Starfire poised to fight, Terra on the ground clutching her head in pain and the cop with a gun screaming orders that fell on deaf ears. Purposefully, he pulled out his staff and swung it around several times.
"Come get me." He said in a low voice, a threatening snarl warping his words.
"Rob, we don't wanna hurt ya. We just wanna help." Cyborg tried using a cliche to stall for time. Frankly, he wasn't thrilled about the idea of fighting with Robin because even without powers, the shorter Titan still packed a mighty respectable punch. He wasn't recognised as the leader of the Titans for no reason.
"I don't care anymore." Robin was gruff and direct. By now, Terra had pulled herself to her feet, frightened by the tone of his voice. She recognised this coldness and hardness in him for she had seen it before. Raven usually stole the limelight when it came to being the dark and brooding character but it was no secret that Robin too was capable of such 'Raven-like' behaviour. She could see Cyborg clenching his fists, ready for the worst. Only Starfire seemed relaxed and calm, as though she wasn't afraid of anything and didn't have a care in the world. Poor Terra had no clue that the Starfire that stood next to her was really her old mentor in disguise.
"Put your hands up where I can see them!" Roared the cop once more and for the first time since she had gotten to her feet, Terra noticed his presence. She could hear the wail of police sirens in a distance - undoubtedly the backup that this cop must have called for.
"**** you." Robin spat out before taking a flying leap to his right, smashing right through the living room window as though his body was a battering ram. Terra bolted over to where he had been standing and spotted him making a run for it through the shards of jagged glass. Deciding against following his unconventional route out of the house, she followed Cyborg out the front door. Holding out her gloved hand over the garden, she uprooted two boulders from deep beneath the soil and jumped on one, giving the other to Cyborg to ride on.
"Star! Ya coming?" Cyborg turned around and called out to Starfire as Terra guided the rocks full speed ahead.
"Focus!" She yelled at him as Robin's back came dangerously into view. Taking his attention off Starfire, Cyborg leapt off the rock and crashed to the ground right in Robin's path, causing him to come to a shuddering stop. Before Robin could bolt away again, the ground below his feet gave way and he found himself in a pit that was nearly fifty feet deep and so wide that he couldn't climb out even if he tried. "Sorry Robin!" Terra called from the rim of the hole as Starfire came running.
"Wait? Starfire running?" Terra frowned as the alien knelt down next to her and peered down at her boyfriend. "Since when does she run anywhere?" The blonde Titan began to feel extremely uneasy; a woman's intuition is a powerful thing. "Starfire should be able to fly but she didn't..." Terra backed away a little, hardly noticing that they were now swamped by men in blue. "Unless... The Starfire with us isn't really Starfire at all..."
"Hit him with the knockout gas!" She heard a cop vaguely shout in the distance. Convinced that they were all distracted by Robin, she cautiously pulled away from the centre of things in search of Cyborg.
"Cyborg?" Her voice trembled a bit. For a tall man with big muscles, he was certainly doing a good job of hiding from her. "Cyborg!" He was well and truly gone. He must have disappeared while she was peering down the hole at Robin. Terra felt a loathed feeling of panic rise within her as she pulled up the boulder and fled the scene. Something was not right with Starfire and Cyborg had totally vanished.
"Miss Terra Markov you come back here!" Hollered an observant cop who noticed her sudden getaway. "We need your statement!"
But Terra was gone. She wasn't about to stay there any longer. When she had first met Slade all those years ago, something about him gave her the creeps. He made the little hairs on her arms stand straight like the Statue of Liberty. When Starfire knelt down next to her, she felt the same thing. The feeling was as inexplicable as it was real. Meanwhile deep in the woods, a tall man made of metal came to and found himself flat on the ground with a massive headache that rivalled the worst hangover of his life.
"Good. You're awake. We need to talk to you."