Chapter 5 Dark, Deadly Demon

Beast Boy placed his head in his hands. The others were busy building a tower out of cards on Raven's head, an activity that he was not willing to participate in. He hadn't even wanted to draw that moustache on her face with sharpie. Instead, he just stared into her milky white eyes, wondering what in the world could be happening in her head.

"Whoop whoop!" Starfire exclaimed when she placed another card straight on the tower. "We are the excellent!"

Robin crossed his arms. "I think you mean I am the excellent? It was my idea."

Cyborg shook his head. "You really are an egomaniac dude." Just as he said that did Beast Boy start to notice movement in Raven's face. He didn't know exactly where it was, but it was enough to make him feel more secure.. He perked up.

"Guys…"

Robin growled. "I AM NOT AN EGOMANIAC! I'M…."

"GUYS!" Beast Boy yelled once again. He pointed at Raven's face. "Look!"

The others all stared at their friend's face. Starfire even went so far as to poke her cheek.

"Friend Beast Boy, what troubles you?"

"I saw movement! I swears!"

Robin smirked. "If you saw movement…" he leaned against Raven's shoulders. "You must be…."

Before he could finish his insult, the Gentleman Ghost bust out of Raven's body. He screamed blue bloody murder, shaking like he had the plague.

"Monster!" he shrieked. "Dark, hideous monster!"

"Hey!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he waved his finger at the supervillain. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about!"

"Ex girlfriend, BB," said Cyborg.

"Whatever. You don't call her a monster! If you do, you have to…"

Crack!

Beast Boy blinked. Did he...hear that? Or was it just his imagination playing tricks on him? He turned toward Raven, and to his complete shock, he saw that there was a crack in her gem.

He gulped. "What's going…"

A midnight black sludge shot out of the gem, wrapping around Raven's body. Beast Boy stomach did flip flops, his eyes grew wide as he stared at the sludge. It grew and grew, festering like a boil. Sooner enough, it had taken over its host's body and was spreading across the pavement.

The Titans gathered together. "What is the happening?" Starfire shrieked.

Two bright, red eyes, complete with an evil red mouth, made itself known in the sludge. Wings formed, resembling bat wings crafted from darkness itself. The beast roared, stretching to its full height of ten feet and extending its long long LONG wings.

"Uhh," said Cyborg as he exchanged glances with the others. "Is this good or bad?"

The beast that had once been Raven directed its attention toward the Gentleman Ghost. It narrowed its eyes and shot a tentacle toward the supervillain. He dodged, but only barely. He fell to the ground in fear, grasping the pavement like a life preserver. He glanced up at the beast and whimpered as it roared at him.

"Nice demon demon," he whimpered.

The beast stretched its mouth wide open, and a combination of blackfire and arcane magic shot out. The ghost screamed as it hit him, and he was disintegrated into nothingness.

"Yes!" Robin shouted as he held up his hands in celebration. "We defeated Gentleman Ghost!"

The beast now turned its attention on the Titans, specifically Robin. Its eyes glowed red, and the leader was overtaken by a red aura. She flung him against the side of a building. Beast Boy cringed when he heard his back crack.

"Ouch." The beast slowly slithered over to Robin, awakening Beast Boy's protective instincts. He rushed in front of the beast, holding out his hands to get her to stop. "Mama! Please don't!"

"Yeah!" Cyborg shouted as he too got in front of the beast. "I know Robin deserves it, but you don't need to hurt him!"

"No!" Starfire shouted. "Friend Raven, please!"

The beast stared at the Titans in confusion. Beast Boy could see their reflection in her eyes, their scared, shaking reflections. He cringed, hoping to show to her how much pain she could potentially cause. He knew that Raven hated causing pain to others.

Thankfully, the beast seemed to get the message. It furrowed its brow and, to the Titans' delight, retreated back into Raven's gem. This left the shadowy sorceress to fall down to the pavement, her eyes closed and her body weak.

"Mama!" Beast Boy rushed over to her and turned her over. "You okay?"

Raven groaned. She placed her hand to her head, which wobbled a little as she tried to open her eyes. "Wha...what happened?"

Starfire approached, grinning despite her previous fear. "You did the butt kicking of the Gentleman Ghost!"

Raven blinked. "I did?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Cyborg. A monitor retracted out of his chest. "I got the whole thing on video."

With that, he showed her everything, from her transformation to her attacks on Robin. Her eyes were as wide as planets as she stared at the footage. Even after the video ended, she still couldn't move. She was frozen.

"Mama?" Beast Boy took hold of her hand. "You okay?"

Raven placed her hand to her head. "I...I did that?" She walked away from the others. "No. No no no, this isn't happening!"

"It the is!" said Starfire.

"You completely demolished the competition!" said Cyborg.

Robin came over, groaning due to his aching back. "I gotta say," he said. "Even though you got me pretty good, your strength is still pretty cool. We could become the best superhero team in the world with you and your...uh, whatever that was!"

"Guys, stop!" Beast Boy shouted. He looked at Raven, still shaking and staring down at her hands like they were dangerous weapons. "Mama…"

Raven shook her head. "This can't be happening. I made sure that...I thought that...I can't!"

Beast Boy felt a pang. She was clearly shook. He went over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Rae rae…"

"DON'T!" Raven shouted as she pulled away. "Don't touch me!" She turned toward Beast Boy, allowing him to see the absolute and utter terror in her eyes.

"Raven." He held out his hands. "It's okay…."

"No, it's not!" Raven shook, looking like she was going to burst into tears at any minute. "I need...I need some time alone." She snapped her fingers, and a portal appeared right in front of her. "I'll...I'll see you later."

With that, she vanished. It was then that Beast Boy realized that her nightmare had been like this, minus the other Teen Titans. Her worst nightmare had come true, and the others had celebrated it.

"Eh," Robin said with a shrug. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Come on guys, let's go get some donuts to celebrate!"

Beast Boy followed, but even as he did, he couldn't help but feel as if a very dark, very difficult journey was beginning for all of them.