Lonely Together Chapter 5, a Naruto + Teen Titans Crossover fanfic

A.N. Welcome back to my story, everyone! Glad to see it's still so popular!

Now then, answering some reviews:

To King Devil Bringer: I'm happy to be doing your prompt justice! And I am sooo looking forward to Hydra's first meeting with Malchior MUAHAHAHA!

To Grand Regent Thragg: When it comes to Kurama, it's not sexual attraction to Raven so much as him soaking up the praise from Raven comparing him to a god. He's a very vain fox, after all.

To PleaseUseMyIdeas: Some of it is experimentation from Orochimaru, some of it is stuff Naruto did to himself.

To Whatif-inator: Kurama becoming a Tenko is in the realm of possibility. Also, yes, plenty of soiled undies for those fighting Hydra in his Four-Tailed Cloak lol.

To iloveM.A.D.B.: Sorry if the timeline wasn't too clear. Naruto arrived the same night Raven first met Malchior, and Naruto debuted as Hydra right after Malchior was released from the book. Also, I do plan on addressing Raven's emotional state this chapter. Props to you for picking up on that!

To everyone else, thank you for your reviews and your united hatred for Malchior!

Now then, let's see the Teen Titans handle an unstable shapeshifter, an unstoppable Shinobi, and an uncatchable thief! Oh, and there's a dance, too!

Let'sgetiton!

Disclaimer: OCMixmaster27 does not own any of the franchises represented in this story. This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.

"Hello there!": Speech.

'This is gonna be fun': Thoughts.

{My English can use some work.}: Foreign Language

[All systems are go!]: Mechanical/TV/Phone Speech

"How Dare You!": Monster/Demon Speech, Technique

Lonely Together

Chapter 5: Fury

Location: Raven's Room, Titans Tower

Time: Evening

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

Raven repeats her signature mantra as she floats in the middle of her room with her eyes closed and her body seated cross-legged in the air. She's currently in the middle of a meditation session to focus and unify her emotions, something that she was hoping she wouldn't have to do anymore.

Before Raven met Malchior, these sessions were absolutely mandatory. They were meant to calm her mind and bring her unruly emotions – especially her demonic rage – under control. Otherwise, if left unchecked, any emotional outbursts resulted in destruction and chaos all around her.

After meeting the handsome wizard of Nol, however, everything changed. The presence of a lover who understood and supported her helped her harmonize with her emotions without the need for meditation. The white cloak and leotard she wears is a visual representation of the unification of her Emoticlones.

Once Malchior was released from his prison in his tome, it was supposed to be the beginning of a life of romance, peace, and happiness. A life without repressing her emotions or destructive outbursts.

Then – almost immediately after Malchior's release – he arrived.

Hydra.

The Hive's newest ace, who's humiliated the Teen Titans time and time again.

A warlock with unstoppable power and a deviousness to match.

A chakra-wielding warrior from another planet.

A strong handsome hunk of a young man.

A teenager who proclaimed his love for Raven in the sweetest, most eloquent way possible.

A guy who followed up that proclamation by literally shoving his tongue down her throat and nearly making her cum in her leotard from just a kiss.

Raven shivers at the memory and suppresses a moan. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

It's been two weeks since that particular encounter, and the villain hasn't popped his head up once since then. Still, the sensation from Hydra's touches, the strong possessive way he grabbed her, the way his lips and tongue practically ate her up; all of those feelings have been imprinted deep in her mind. Of course, there's also the surprisingly pleasant memories of Raven's body being tied up by Hydra's Adamantine chains.

Even now, a scenario plays out in her mind; one where she once more faces Hydra in battle, with her being defeated yet again before finding herself chained up by her rival. This time, though, Hydra doesn't stop there. He goes for another devouring kiss, one that Raven happily accepts. Once the kiss ends, Raven smiles gratefully as she loudly declares her surrender, making Hydra grin victoriously before he grabs hold of her leotard and–

'Dammit, Passion! Knock it off!' an irritated Raven commands in her mind. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

Needless to say, several of her Emoticlones are in full support of a relationship with Hydra, with Passion leading the charge. Even Rage has joined Team Hydra, likely due to the power unleashed by Hydra's patron, Kurama. Apparently, it resonated well with the demonic side of her that fuels Rage.

Honestly, Raven hated to admit it, but if Malchior wasn't a part of her life, she would strongly consider pursuing Hydra.

Malchior. Her boyfriend. The other complication in her life.

The wizard that praised and understood her came out of the tome with barely a hint of magical power in his body. She assumes it was another part of the Dread Dragon Rorek's final curse. Ever since his release, Malchior's made himself busy trying to reclaim his power while teaching Raven new magical spells, some of them dark (misunderstood!) in nature. This, unfortunately, has left the couple little to no time to actually have some romance. This situation would have been bearable for Raven, just as long as Malchior was in her life.

Except that Hydra has run loose in the city this whole time. The villain has countered every single magical spell in Raven's arsenal, and has displayed a power level that easily dwarfs Raven and Malchior's levels combined. As long as Hydra is around, the future of Raven's relationship with the wizard is in jeopardy.

This, plus Malchior's weakened state, has brought the wizard's frustration to enormous heights. Unfortunately for Raven, this has caused Malchior to lash out at the poor girl.

The punch from Malchior during the Black Pearl incident was only the beginning. During training sessions these past two weeks, Malchior would often shock Raven with magical lightning. He said that it was a part of toughening her up for future battles. He would follow those up with healing magic, but the phantom pain would still remain. Also, Raven would sometimes vent her frustrations out loud concerning her current plights, or groan in annoyance during training. These outbursts would almost always be followed up by a slap to her face, a shove to the ground, or a grip on her arm that would leave bruises. Of course, Malchior would always follow those up with a heartfelt apology, a gift of flowers and candy, and some healing magic on the visible wounds.

Even so, the strikes have had their effect on the sorceress, to the point that any sudden movements or contacts make Raven flinch.

'This is just stress,' Raven has thought in her mind. 'He's just mad that he has to get his power back and deal with Hydra. Once I finally beat Hydra, everything will be okay. He'll love me again. NO! Not 'again'! He loves me! He cares for me! I'm sure of it!'

Despite the rationalization in her mind, an ever-growing part of her considers that maybe – just maybe – Malchior isn't the loving caring man she thought he was.

The reemergence of that idea makes Raven's white outfit shift back to indigo blue. The girl grits her teeth and forces the thought down, making the outfit change back to white. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

This is where she finds herself in her mental debate; between the wizard boyfriend that hurts her, and the warlock – who's supposed to be her arch-enemy – that's intent on stealing her heart.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

As it stands, Passion, Happy, Brave, and Rage are firmly in the camp of getting together with Hydra. By contrast, Timid and Sloth desire to stick it out with Malchior, though Sloth's reasoning is that trying to break up with their current boyfriend and find a new one would be too troublesome. Rude hasn't chosen a side, instead content on berating Raven for putting herself and her emotions in this situation to begin with.

Knowledge is neutral as well, her logical thinking driving her decision. She points out that Raven's status as a crime-fighter would make a relationship with the criminal Hydra highly complicated, something that the sorceress agrees with. However, Knowledge also determines that the current relationship with Malchior is becoming extremely harmful to Raven, making the emotion conclude that the best thing to do would be to reject both guys and go back to being single.

That thought terrifies Raven.

'I can't! I can't go back to being alone! My friends never understood me! They never could! They made me feel alone in this world! I don't want to feel that ever again!' Raven yells in her mind as she continues her meditation. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Azarath Met–"

"Raven! Keep it down, please! I'm in the middle of my studies!" Malchior calls out from the far wall of the room as he reads through yet another magical book.

Raven bites back a retort. The last one she vocalized resulted in her tasting copper in her mouth.

'Screw it! This meditation isn't working like I hoped it would,' Raven laments internally. 'I need to blow off some steam somehow.'

EEEERP! EEEERP! EEEERP!

For once, Raven is glad for the emergency siren going off in Titans Tower, as well as the call to her communicator.

Raven opens the device and goes, "Tell me I get to fight Hydra."

[I'm afraid not, Raven,] Robin reports. [It's an unknown villain calling himself Adonis. He's attacking the Stagg Enterprises facility here in the city. I know you haven't been working with the team lately due to your magic studies, but–]

"Say less. I'm on my way," Raven interjects before closing the communicator. "Malchior, I'm–"

"I overheard. Don't dilly-dally," Malchior says non-committedly.

Raven takes a deep breath before leaving the room via a black portal.

Location: Animal Testing Room, Stagg Enterprises Research Facility, Jump City

Stagg Enterprises is renowned throughout the United States as a successful and dependable pharmaceutical company. In recent years, however, the company has secretly experimented with bioweapons in an attempt to compete with the likes of LexCorp and other companies with military contracts. One of the facilities experimenting on such weaponry is located on the outskirts of Jump City…and it's just been infiltrated by a villain.

One of the rooms in this building is where potential bioweapons are tested on animals. The room itself has several vats and silos containing assortments of chemical concoctions, as well as rows of cages filled with a variety of animals, including dogs, monkeys, and cats. At the moment, the animals themselves are calling out and banging their cages due to being riled up.

The reason for them being riled up has just smacked Beast Boy across the room.

"WAAH!" a flying Beast Boy cries out before grunting as he bounces off a computer and some cages before landing in front of the other Titans.

The green changeling needs a moment to get back on his feet as his brain feels like it got scrambled from the hit. Also…

"I think my appendix and my spleen just switched places!" Beast Boy complains.

At this moment, the villain finally approaches the heroes. Said villain is wearing a tall bulky suit of red and grey mechanical armor, with two antennas sticking out of the head and an 'A' on his chest.

"You wimps think you can take down Adonis?" the villain taunts before gesturing with his hand. "Bring it on!"

As the Titans prepare for battle, Beast Boy retorts, "Dude, it is totally brunged!...branged!"

"Oooh. Bad grammar. That outta scare him," Raven remarks sarcastically, making Beast Boy annoyed.

"Titans! Go!" Robin calls out as the team charges into battle.

For his part, Adonis does well in blocking Robin's staff, Beast Boy's wolf form, Cyborg's sonic blast, and Starfire's starbolts. He's also able to tank Raven's magic, though it does knock him away several feet with a scorch mark on his chest.

In the background, the animals continue raging in their cages.

Robin attacks again with his staff. Adonis is able to avoid the swings, though not the foot that clips his chin. Robin goes for another staff strike, but Adonis catches the staff. As Robin tries to pull his staff free, Adonis punches Robin square in the face, sending the Boy Wonder flying into the ceiling before crashing into a desk below.

Adonis grunts as he bends the metal staff in his hands. "You're just making me more ripped!"

Several starbolts hit Adonis in the chest, which he easily shrugs off. This is a distraction, however, for the stone table that Starfire tosses right at him. Adonis is able to catch the thrown desk in a crouch, the ground cracking beneath his feet. The villain grunts as the machinery in his battle suit whines from the strain.

"No pain, no gain!" Adonis cries out as he tosses the desk at Starfire, who squeaks as the desk sends her to the wall behind her.

Adonis charges at the rest of the Titans, only for Raven to incase his suit with black magic to immobilize him. Cyborg goes in to subdue the villain, but Adonis uses his brute strength to break free of the magic. Cyborg gets flown backwards from the magical blowback, while Raven suddenly finds herself pinned down by the giant evil jock.

"Let me go!" Raven demands as she struggles to break herself free.

Her focus on magical studies has done little to boost her physical strength.

Adonis growls in delight at the gorgeous goth girl below him. "You're feisty."

In different circumstances, Raven would find that simply annoying. Given what's happened to her the past five weeks, however, the sorceress quickly becomes enraged by the audacity of this punk.

Adonis looks frightened by the murderous look sent his way before a massive burst of black magic sends him soaring backwards with a yell.

Raven floats back to her feet with a glare at the collapsed villain.

"Nobody treats me like that except Hydra," Raven growls quietly, before she realizes what she just said. "I-I mean Malchior. I mean – ugh!"

Robin and Starfire, having quickly recovered, regroup with Raven, who's clutching her head with a pained expression.

"Are you alright, Raven?" Starfire asks in concern.

"I-I'm okay," Raven answers through grit teeth. "It's all in my head."

Robin notices Raven's cloak flickering indigo blue and commands, "Pull it together, Raven. We've got a bad guy to take down."

Raven takes a deep breath as her outfit stabilizes to white. "Got it."

Meanwhile, Cyborg is busy punching out Adonis, who grunts at each hit.

"C'mon, big man! Show me what you got! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" Cyborg challenges.

Adonis responds by grabbing an incoming fist, halting Cyborg's arm that sparks out with strain.

Cyborg looks nervous. "Well, okay then."

BOOM!

That's the sound of Cyborg being tossed through a wall.

"Nobody outmuscles Adonis!" the brute declares with a smirk as he flexes his robotic pecs.

"Oh yeah?!" Beast Boy calls out from behind Adonis. "Well, my muscles may be small and ropey, but…they're not…I mean…"

Adonis cuts off the changeling's rambling by slamming his fists down at the hero, who has to leap away to avoid getting crushed. Beast Boy then transforms into a bull and charges at Adonis, who literally grabs the bull by the horns before tossing the beast into a nearby work desk. Beast Boy tries again as a monkey, but gets slapped away into a wall. Beast Boy tries a tiger, only to get smacked and crash into some research computers.

"What's the matter, wuss? Don't you know how to fight like a man?" Adonis mocks as he flexes his arms.

Within the computer debris, a now human Beast Boy's eyes narrow in uncharacteristic seriousness.

"I'm not a man," Beast Boy responds with a frustrated growl. "I'm an animal!"

Beast Boy turns into a Sasquatch and burst out of the rubble with a roar before leaping at his opponent. Adonis avoids the mid-air attack that crushes the desks behind him, though he's hit by the following punch. As Adonis staggers backwards, a green rhino smacks into him and sends him crashing into the support beam behind him. Adonis groans from the impact and looks up just in time to see an ankylosaurus's clubbed tail swinging right at him.

POW!

The hit sends Adonis tumbling away. Beast Boy turns into a lion that a recovering Adonis narrowly avoids, though not without some scratches on his chest. Beast Boy shifts into a bear and starts swiping at Adonis, who backs away from the bear's claws.

The other Titans regroup and watch their normally goofy friend savagely attack the villain. Starfire gasps as she and her fellow heroes notice that the two fighters are heading right for one of the chemical vats.

"Beast Boy! Careful!" Robin cries out. "The chemicals!"

Beast Boy pays no attention to the warning as he slams Adonis against the container, making it burst and spill green liquid all over the two of them. The changeling becomes even more aggressive as he claws into the brute's armor.

Eventually, the damage becomes too much for Adonis's suit, which crumbles away at the chest area, revealing a rather lanky teen at the helm of the mech suit. The defeated Adonis falls out of the ruined suit and collapses to the ground with a groan of pain.

Beast Boy shifts back into a human and glares at his beaten opponent.

"Who's the tough guy now?" Beast Boy says roughly before walking away.

The rest of the Titans watch as Beast Boy approaches them.

"Um…good job," Robin praises awkwardly.

"Nice…intensity," Cyborg compliments with a thumbs-up.

Starfire simply gives the green teen a concerned look.

Beast Boy ignores all three of them as he heads for the exit.

"Yeah. Have any good freakouts lately?" Raven snarks.

This time, Beast Boy stops, his shoulders shaking. He whips around and glares right into Raven's face.

"I just got sick of being pushed around," Beast Boy states before turning around and exiting the room, leaving the other Teen Titans to look on with worry.

Location: Hallway outside of Cafeteria, Hive Academy

Brother Blood walks towards the cafeteria with Gizmo hovering beside him, who's typing away on a device of his.

"My spies have reported that Adonis has been defeated by the Teen Titans. Needless to say, he failed his entrance exam," Brother Blood states. "My condolences to the loss of your battle suit."

"Meh. It was just a prototype," Gizmo says unconcerned before grinning wickedly. "Honestly, that scrawny dill-weed did me a favor by making himself a guinea pig to test out the suit. With the technical data I got from the battle, I can make the finished version way stronger."

"Excellent. Make sure you have the suit ready in time for the Big Day," Brother Blood instructs before looking saddened. "It's a shame we couldn't get our hands on that experimental super-soldier concoction from Stagg Enterprises."

"Maybe it's better that way. Messing with chemicals is way too messy. That's why I focus on machines," Gizmo says. "Besides, don't we have enough secret weapons?"

"One can never have too many secret weapons, my dear student," Brother Blood answers in a sagely tone as he and Gizmo enter the cafeteria, where the rest of the Hive students are having dinner. "Now then, run along and join your friends."

"Yes, Brother," Gizmo replies before flying over to the table where Hydra is cheerfully enjoying his meal with Mammoth and Jinx.

Brother Blood's gaze focuses on Hydra for a moment before leaving to have dinner in his office.

Gizmo's friends notice the short genius heading their way.

"Hey, Giz!" Mammoth calls out as he holds up a tray of food. "Saved you some!"

"Sweet! I'm starving!" Gizmo answers as he sits down at the table and accepts the tray.

"So, Hydra, finish that story you were telling us," Jinx says to her crush with intrigue.

"Of course. So, this bridge builder we encountered, Tazuna, had just told us about how this shipping mogul named Gato was terrorizing his home country and the only way of getting out from under the mogul's heel was to build a bridge to circumvent his shipping. The problem was that his home country, the Land of Waves, had no official military of any kind, and he was forced to try and hire Shinobi to protect him during construction. Seeing as how we had nothing better to do at the time and generally disgusted by what we heard, we decided to be his unofficial bodyguard while he was building his bridge," Hydra recounts, with Mammoth, Jinx, and even Gizmo listening in with rapt attention. "At first, we figured it'd be rather simple; keep an eye on Tazuna and his family, help out a bit during construction, slaughter our way through Gato's army of thugs, and eventually kill the greedy bastard himself. Well, it turned out that Gato had hired several Shinobi of his own to kill Tazuna. One of them was Zabuza Momoichi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He was a master of silent killing, hiding in mists he created to assassinate his targets, which was rather impressive given the fact that his weapon of choice was a giant sword that looked like a meat cleaver."

"Was he stronger than you?" Mammoth asks.

"We were far from the strength we have now, and he was an excellent opponent, but we were more than capable of defeating him. You should have seen the state of him afterwards," Hydra answers proudly as he takes a sip of water. "Actually, we became very good friends with him and his ward, Haku. In fact, all three of us teamed up with a local resistance lead by Tazuna's grandson, Inari, and we all were able to kill Gato and drive his army of thugs out of the country. After that, Tazuna took over Gato's company, and Zabuza and Haku became the official guardians of the Land of Waves."

Gizmo humphs. "Sounds pretty heroic."

"Oh, please. It was just us killing a bunch of thugs and bullies. There's nothing heroic about that," Hydra insists. "Still, we did learn quite a few valuable life lessons during that adventure. One that Haku taught us was 'when one is fighting to protect what is precious to them, that's when they're at their strongest'."

Gizmo rolls his eyes. "How inspirational."

"I certainly think so," Jinx says while glaring at Gizmo. She then smiles at Hydra. "So, is the Headmaster letting you attend the big dance tomorrow night?"

"We believe so," Hydra replies. "He made it a point for us to know that there wouldn't be any afternoon training with him tomorrow."

"Man, Brother Blood's been sticking you with all kinds of training for the past two weeks, morning, noon, and night," Mammoth points out. "How the hell are you managing to get any homework done?"

"Shadow clones," Hydra answers with a smirk.

"Getting back on track," Jinx insists, "I don't know if anyone talked to you about this, yet, but I was kinda wondering if any girls asked you to–"

Hydra suddenly puts a finger up to silence her as his head tilts to the side and the openings under his nose flex a bit. He quickly takes his dining knife and uses it to block the Sai heading for his neck. Hydra smirks as his friends quickly jump up from their seats.

"We thought you would have learned your lesson by now, Cheshire," Hydra says to the floating smile next to him.

The four at the table watch as the masked assassin fades into view.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," Cheshire remarks coyly.

Jinx growls at the other girl. "Dammit, Cheshire! What do you want?! We're busy!"

"Don't mind me, little Hex Girl," Cheshire answers playfully, making Jinx tremble in rage. "I'm just curious to see if Hydra found his date yet."

Hydra blinks in confusion. "Date? For what?"

Cheshire gasps in mock surprise. "Oh. You didn't know? Well, it's not that surprising considering the Headmaster's been glued to your hip for most of these past two weeks, but it's customary for a guy to accompany a girl to the event and dance with them throughout the night."

Hydra's face lights up in understanding before he turns to Gizmo. "Is that why you've been hovering around Angel lately?"

Mammoth grins. "Yeah, until Kyd Wykkyd chased him off," he says cheekily.

Gizmo looks mortified. "How was I supposed to know they were already dating?"

Cheshire chuckles before placing her hands on Hydra's shoulders while leaning in close to his face, making Jinx gasp in shock.

"Well, it's obvious that you haven't picked a girl yet," Cheshire says seductively while rubbing the boy's shoulders. "In that case…"

"HOLD IT!" Jinx shouts before pushing Cheshire away and embracing Hydra. "It just so happens that Hydra's taking ME to the dance tomorrow!"

Hydra looks at Jinx perplexed. "We are?"

Jinx's pink eyes glow with magic as she glares at the boy.

Hydra unconsciously gulps. "We are."

Cheshire gets back on her feet as Jinx gives her a big smug grin.

'Better luck next time, alley cat!' Jinx projects her thoughts through her face.

Cheshire smirks under her mask. "Well, in that case, I'll see you both tomorrow night." 'Round 1 goes to you, witch.'

With that, Cheshire saunters away while Jinx scowls at the assassin.

Hydra, still being held by Jinx, turns to the other guys sitting at the table. "What just happened?"

"Uh-uh. I ain't touching this," Gizmo insists while Mammoth shakes his head in agreement.

Hydra thinks in his head, 'Kurama, do you know–'

"Don't even bother asking, kit," Kurama interjects vehemently.

'…okay?' Hydra mutters in his mind.

Location: Training Room, Hive Academy

Timeskip: The Next Morning

Several priests watch from the sidelines impassively as Brother Blood is in the middle of a training spar with his student, Hydra. The monks silently note, however, that the younger villain appears to be in no need of training.

Brother Blood is on the offensive, throwing wide kicks in order to break Hydra's guard. Hydra simply moves his body to avoid the kicks, his crimson Sharingan eyes easily reading Blood's movements. In frustration, Blood goes for a palm strike, but Hydra blocks the attack before throwing several Snake Chops into Blood's chest, swiping Blood's head with an overhead Tiger Claw, and punching Blood's gut with a chakra-enhanced punch.

Brother Blood skids back, holding his gut with a pained expression, while Hydra reenters his Snake Stance. Blood looks with frustration at his own student, who doesn't have a scratch on him.

'Dammit! I will not be humiliated by my own weapon in front of my servants!' Brother Blood declares internally.

The Hive Headmaster magically launches himself at Hydra, who remains perfectly still as Blood opponent rapidly approaches the teen before teleporting behind him. Blood goes for a chop to one side, then a backhanded strike to the other side, but Hydra blocks both hits. Blood tries a roundhouse kick to Hydra's back, but the teen simply bends down, making the kick sail cleanly over him. Blood jabs his at elbow at Hydra and swings a left hook, but Hydra blocks the first and dodges the second. Blood goes for another roundhouse kick, only for Hydra to catch the kick and toss his headmaster away with a spin.

Brother Blood stops spinning and growls. 'Screw it!'

The headmasters eyes and hands crackle with red magic before he sends a stream of red lightning at Hydra, the older man intent on punishing the audacious teen.

Hydra simply smirks before disappearing just before the lightning can hit him.

Brother Blood only has a moment to be surprised before he senses a presence behind him. Blood quickly turns around and swings down for an overhead strike, but Hydra catches the limb with both arms. Hydra pulls Blood's arm down, chops the man's elbow, and knees him right in the face. As Blood stumbles back, Hydra spins towards his opponent and jabs the man in the chest with a Snake Strike, knocking the air out of Blood's body. Blood tries to regain his breath only to be sent flying back with a side kick. As Blood flips through the air, Hydra swiftly flashes through handsigns.

"Fire Style: Fire Skull Jutsu."

Brother Blood is able to land on his feet and stay standing, only to look up and see a screaming skull made of fire flying right towards him.

Boom!

The compact fireball hits Brother Blood square in the chest, making the headmaster fly backwards straight into the wall behind him. Just as Blood hits the wall, Hydra is right in front of him with a chakra-coated jab aimed straight for the older man's throat.

The priests in the room prepare themselves as Hydra appears to have their master at his mercy. After a few tense moments, however, Hydra's chakra dies down and he steps back while Brother Blood dislodges himself from the wall.

Blood forces his frustration down and chuckles. "Well done, my boy. It's good to see that your martial arts are on par with your magic."

Hydra smiles. "We've had excellent teachers."

"Indeed," Brother Blood agrees as he nurses his sore arm. "Well, that'll conclude our lessons for today. The dance is tonight, and it'd be best for everyone to be well-rested for the event."

"Actually, we were hoping for different kind of lesson," Hydra interjects.

Brother Blood looks at his student in confusion.

Hydra rubs the back of his head nervously. "You see, Headmaster, we were told that we would have to perform a 'formal dance' with our date during the event, and since we've never been taught how to do such a dance…"

Brother Blood quickly gets what the boy's implying. "Ah. Well, I'm not exactly fit for dancing at the moment, so…," he says before turning to one of his priests. "Sheila!"

The named priestess steps forward past her fellow devotees.

"Be a dear and prepare the boy for the dance tonight, will you?" Brother Blood requests before heading for the exit. "Meanwhile, I need a shower…among other things."

With that, Brother Blood exits the training room – though not without one last hard look at the student that wiped the floor with him – while Sheila approaches Hydra and two other priests pull out a boombox.

"Watch carefully, young one," Sheila instructs.

Hydra nods, his Sharingan ready to memorize.

Sheila grabs Hydra's hands and goes, "Hold my hand out like this with this hand and grab my hip with the other."

The Shinobian does as he's told, making the priestess blush from the contact with the handsome boy.

Hydra notices the blush and smiles disarmingly. "Don't worry, Sheila. Our heart belongs to another."

Sheila smiles back and composes herself as classical music begins playing in the background.

"Now, it's a three-count pacing for this kind of dance," Sheila teaches. "Just follow my motions and don't focus on the feet too much. They'll take care of themselves."

With that, Sheila waltzes with Hydra in the training room, with the latter paying close attention, intent on making his friend Jinx proud.

Location: Common Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

The sun is nearly at its apex as Robin is busy cooking his breakfast in the kitchen. Robin's been stuck in his room all morning strategizing new ways to possibly trap Hydra while repairing and improving the chakra disruptor that was destroyed weeks ago. Both parts are tall orders, what with Hydra being able to outsmart the Titans and overpower the disruptor using his…Raven called the thing a patron? A kitsune?

Robin never had much experience against the supernatural during his tenure with Batman due to the fact that most of the villains in Gotham were science-based. He knows that Batman likely has some Nth Metal weaponry that were collected to counter against magical foes, but it's iffy on whether that would work against Hydra. Besides, getting Batman involved would mean that the Justice League would take over hunting Hydra down, which would be seen as the kids from the Titans not being able to do their job without adult supervision.

This wouldn't do. Hydra is an enemy of the Teen Titans. It's the Titans that need to take him down, one way or another.

For now, though, Robin's mission is to take care of his hunger. After some hard work and dedication, the Boy Wonder finishes his creations; three eggs over-medium, a large hunk of ham, and a tall glass of orange juice.

Breakfast of champions.

Robin gleefully pulls out his special fork and knife to dig in to his meal.

"Oooh!"

A drooling Beast Boy suddenly appears at the other side of the table. The green changeling wastes no time in gulping down the eggs before swallowing the ham whole and spitting out the bone.

Robin looks like he's just seen a ghost. "Beast Boy…that was ham…and eggs."

Beast Boy busies himself with a toothpick. "Sure was."

"But you're a vegetarian," Robin points out.

"Not anymore, dude. Ever since I stood up to that loser Adonis, I feel like a new man – a real man – and real men don't eat tofu," Beast Boy declares before spitting out his toothpick and downing Robin's orange juice. "It's almost noon. You should get some breakfast."

Beast Boy heads for the exit, leaving Robin with a plate full of nothing.

"…That was my breakfast," Robin says in annoyance.

Location: Workout Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

"25…26…27…28…," Beast Boy grunts as he does some pull ups in the gym.

Normally, Beast Boy doesn't go to this area of the Tower, instead preferring his own room or in front of the massive TV for shows and video games. Usually, his only training consists of using his animal forms against drones and other fake enemies in the Danger Room. Since this morning, however, he's had a sudden urge to improve his physique, like a real "alpha male".

Eventually, though, Beast Boy pauses to catch his breath, his human form hitting its limit…which is when he switches to a baboon that continues the pull ups, screaming at each ascent.

Location: Common Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

After that particular workout, Beast Boy is now back in the common room sitting on the couch in front of the TV. He has a bored expression on his face as he flips through the channels, trying to find something enjoyable to watch. The six open cans of soda strewn about the area around him show that he's been at this for quite some time.

It's this scene that Starfire walks into. The alien girl gives the changeling a friendly smile.

"Friend! My most favorite program of the television – World of Fungus – is about to begin," Starfire explains cheerfully. "Might we please watch?"

"No!" Beast Boy refuses.

Starfire looks confused. "But you are merely flipping."

"I said NO!" Beast Boy forcefully yells before downing the rest of his sixth soda. He then shows the empty can to Starfire. "Now, be a good girl and get me another root beer."

Starfire frowns and storms off, leaving Beast Boy alone to continue his channel flipping.

Location: Workout Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

"51…52…53…," a sweating Beast Boy counts as he's once again doing a workout, this time bench pressing.

The changeling is struggling with the 53rd rep when his pupils suddenly shrink, and he shifts into a Sasquatch. He throws the weighted bar through a nearby wall, wrecking both of them completely.

The green beast huffs in exhaustion before roaring in apparent victory.

Location: Common Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

Once again, Beast Boy's in front of the TV, except now he's in a heated competition with Cyborg.

The competition? Space Circuit 3.

Both heroes are piloting their own spacecrafts, with Cyborg's being white and blue and Beast Boy's being green and purple. The two ships are currently neck and neck on the gravity-defying road, and their operators are furiously mashing the buttons on their controllers. Cyborg's happy smile and Beast Boy's frustrated grimace are stark contrasts to each other.

Suddenly, the white ship clips the green one, making the latter explode on screen.

Beast Boy looks appalled. "Dude! No fair! You can't do that!"

Cyborg gives his friend a smug grin. "I can, I did, and baby, that's why I'm gonna win!"

Beast Boy leaps off the couch and furiously throws the controller to the ground, startling Cyborg.

"That's what you think!" Beast Boy growls as claws appear on his hand.

Slash!

Cyborg looks down and finds claw marks on his chest. The damage is only cosmetic, but Cyborg still gives the other teen a hurt look.

"Yo, man. Chill," Cyborg tells the other teen. "It's just a stupid game."

Beast Boy listens to nothing as he storms out of the room.

Location: Workout Room, Titans Tower

Timeskip: Later

Once more, Beast Boy has returned. This time, he's taking his anger out on a punching bag, which is swinging violently from the green teen's punches. Beast Boy grunts loudly as he fuels his punches with his frustration.

A particularly strong haymaker knocks the bag free from the ceiling and sends it crashing to the ground.

The impromptu boxing session has done little to calm Beast Boy down. If anything, his anger and aggression has grown, as seen by him transforming into a wolf and ripping apart the bag with his teeth.

Location: Headmaster's Office, Hive Academy

Timeskip: Later

Hydra enters the room and walks to the headmaster's desk, where Brother Blood is waiting patiently for him.

"We got your message, Headmaster," Hydra informs. "You said it was an emergency."

"Indeed, my boy," Brother Blood confirms. "I have a mission for you to accomplish ASAP."

Hydra is surprised. "A mission? But Headmaster, the dance is this evening. We promised to take Jinx as our date. We got the lessons from Sheila and everything."

"Fret not, my dear student. This is just a quick theft. If you leave immediately, even if things go pear-shaped, you should be done in two and a half hours maximum. That'll leave you plenty of time to clean yourself up for Jinx," Brother Blood assures the boy.

Hydra keeps down the sigh of annoyance. "We're ready for your instructions, Brother."

"You'll be teaming up with a potential new student to break in to a highly secure facility," Brother Blood informs. "Your partner has in-depth knowledge of the facility, which will be a boon if you want to finish the mission quickly."

The holes under Hydra's nose flare. "This partner wouldn't happen to be hiding on the ceiling above me, would they?" he asks knowingly.

Only Hydra hears the near-silent feet landing on the carpet behind him. He turns around and is greeted by a figure wearing a black bodysuit with a tattered black cape, gray gloves that resemble shredded bandages, and a mask with a bone-white skull on it. A symbol of a red X is on the skull, with one point going into the right eye. Similar Xs are on the figure's chest and gloves.

"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all," the figure praises.

"Hydra, I believe you're familiar with the infamous thief, Red X," Brother Blood introduces.

Hydra nods. "Robin used your outfit to try and get close to Slade. When that failed, Robin locked the suit away, until you stole it from him."

"And personally, I think it looks much cooler on me," Red X says smugly.

"From what we learned of your personality, you're not one for being part of a group. Why do you want to join The Hive?" Hydra asks.

"Look, kid, I'm gonna level with you; I don't have all of the bells and whistles that I need to really be Red X, if you know what I mean," Red X explains in displeasure. "I need to get my gear back, but I'm not strong enough to fight through the security that's in there. Long story short, you help me get my stuff, and I join your geeky school."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Mr. X. I'm sure you can learn a lot from our prestigious academy," Brother Blood encourages.

Red X scoffs. "Yeah, sure."

Brother Blood glares indignantly.

"Headmaster," Hydra interjects, trying to diffuse any conflicts, "Where exactly is this facility, if we may ask?"

Brother Blood cools his anger and grins dastardly. "Why, Hydra my boy, you will be infiltrating Titans Tower."

Hydra's eyes widen in shock. 'Titans Tower? But that means…Raven.'

Raven. The girl Hydra hasn't seen in weeks. The beautiful sorceress that's captured his heart.

Hydra matches the headmaster's grin with his own.

"What fun," Hydra mutters with laughter bubbling out of his voice. "Hehehehehe. What fun! HEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Red X slowly backs away from the Shinobian that's laughing maniacally in front of him.

Brother Blood, meanwhile, smiles proudly. "That's the spirit!"

Location: Hallway, Titans Tower

Beast Boy stomps his way through the tower with a scowl, his fists clenching as anger continues to boil and fester inside him.

"–said that the Kami of Japan would often select mortals to act as their champions."

Beast Boy looks ahead and sees Raven holding a book in front of her while speaking with Malchior. The changeling's glare worsens at the sight of the girl with her boyfriend.

"You're suggesting that Hydra is a champion of these Oriental gods?" Malchior asks skeptically.

Raven nods. "Most likely, he's the champion of Inari, the god of foxes, rice, and fertility."

"Last I checked, Inari was a benevolent god," Malchior points out to Raven, neither of them registering the incoming green teen. "Why would they make Hydra of all people a champion?"

"It's possible he was corrupted," Raven suggests, lying as she hides Hydra's true origins. "It happened before with Black Adam–Ah!"

The conversation gets cut off as Beast Boy and Raven bump into each other, making the latter drop her book. If one were looking at the scene, however, it would have looked like Beast Boy purposefully knocked himself into Raven's arm. Nevertheless, Beast Boy continues on his way, seemingly uncaring about the girl who's picking up her book.

"Sorry," Raven says politely.

Beast Boy stops and looks back. "You better be. Why don't you look where you're going?"

Malchior raises an eyebrow at the sudden behavior shift from the green annoyance.

Raven glares at the rude boy, her frustrations with her current relationship being revealed.

"On second thought, I'm not sorry and you're a wanker," Raven declares before walking away.

Malchior chuckles – for once, feeling proud of the girl – before following after her.

Beast Boy, his patience being at minus one, turns around and growls at Raven.

Malchior catches up with Raven. "Well done, my sweet Raven. Now, about what you were saying–"

"Hold up! We're not done here!" Beast Boy yells as he now stands right in front of Raven and Malchior.

Malchior points behind himself in confusion. "Weren't you just…?"

"You know, Raven, I've been a really nice guy for a really long time. I've put up with your insults and your attitude, and I've had it!" Beast Boy proclaims angrily as he gets in Raven's face. "Consider this a warning. As of last night, Mr. Nice Guy has left the building."

Raven glares back at the insolent little pest in front of her. "If you're trying to intimidate me, all you're in succeeding in doing is pissing me off."

Malchior watches the scene unfold with hidden amusement.

"You better take me seriously, Raven, or you're gonna regret it!" Beast Boy threatens.

Raven's magic flares up around her, making her cloak billow behind her.

"You've acted like a poor excuse for a clown for years and now you want me to take you seriously?" Raven asks incredulously. "Honestly, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Yeah?! Well at least I tried to get along with everyone!" Beast Boy argues. "You're the one who locks yourself away like a creep with nothing but your dusty books and your useless boyfriend!"

Raven and Malchior both look offended for completely different reasons.

"I beg your pardon?!" Malchior shouts indignantly.

"You heard me! All you do is eat our food and teach Raven magic that doesn't even work!" Beast Boy accuses before smirking. "I'm surprised that Raven isn't sick of you herself. She's got plenty of other options besides your free-loading ass."

Malchior clenches his fists while fighting down the want to devour the human boy in front of him. Instead, he laughs lowly and turns to Raven.

"My sweet Raven, perhaps you should teach this chattering little monkey a lesson about respect," Malchior suggests darkly.

"I'd like to see her try!" Beast Boy challenges before shifting into a Sasquatch and raising his fists up with a roar.

"BEAST BOY!"

The shout from Robin makes the group of three stop and see the Boy Wonder standing with Starfire and Cyborg down the hall.

"Leave her alone!" Robin commands.

"What's gotten into you, man?" Cyborg questions his friend.

"You are behaving like a royal zarbnarf!" Starfire states angrily.

Beast Boy shifts back into his human form and stomps past Raven and Malchior, though not without giving a glare to the sorceress. Raven glares back as Beast Boy approaches the other Titans.

"Look, this is who I am now," Beast Boy asserts. "You guys don't like it, tough!"

"Fine! If this is how you wanna act, do it somewhere else!" Robin demands. "None of us are interested!"

Beast Boy pants angrily at Robin, who stares down the green teen with a stony expression. Beast Boy suddenly jolts challengingly, making Robin quickly get in a fighting stance.

Beast Boy then straightens up. "Heh. That's what I thought," he snarks before walking away from the group and to his room.

As Starfire and Cyborg watch their strangely behaved teammate leave, Robin turns his sight to Raven's boyfriend.

"Malchior! What were you thinking encouraging Raven to fight Beast Boy?!" Robin questions strongly.

The disguised dragon shrugs and defends, "Well, nothing I could have said would have calmed Beast Boy down, and I knew Raven could handle the little twerp."

"That's not the point," Robin insists. "We're supposed to be a team. We're supposed to be working together and cooperating with each other. We can't have teammates fighting each other like this, especially with villains like Hydra around."

"Look, I want Hydra gone just as much as everyone else," Malchior says truthfully, "but let's face it; this seems like it was a long time coming."

The fake wizard then walks behind Raven and embraces her. Robin notices how Raven flinches slightly at the contact.

"In any case, I think it would be safe for Raven to stay in her room for the most part and continue her studies with me in peace," Malchior suggests before turning Raven's face to look at him. "Don't you agree, my sweet Raven?"

Raven smiles tentatively. "Y-Yeah. Th-That would be best."

Robin's eyes widen as memories suddenly pop up in his mind. He recalls the many interactions had between a homicidal clown with an obsession for Batman and the poor harlequin girl who followed the clown like a lost puppy, no matter how much said clown hurt her.

'Oh, fuck!' Robin screams internally.

"Well, I'll take your silence as an agreement," Malchior assumes. "If you'll excuse us…"

With that, Malchior leads Raven back to their shared room, leaving Robin to watch their exit with a horrified look.

Starfire approaches the Boy Wonder with concern. "Robin?"

"This is worse than I thought," Robin mutters.

Location: Outside Titans Tower

The sun is at the start its descent over the horizon, bathing the sky with a mix of yellow and orange. This low level of daylight is perfect for two individuals to sneak across the rocky shores of Titans Island and make their way towards the tower.

As Hydra carefully walks across the rocks with Red X, he scans his surroundings with a suspicious gaze, his eyes now pearl-white with no pupils and veins bulging around the sockets.

"Strange. We don't see any traps or scanners with our Byakugan," Hydra notes. "We thought there would be some kind of deterrent before we even went inside."

"You and me both," Red X says. "I guess Robin didn't learn his lesson from before. Kinda disappointed, to be honest."

"Do you know him personally?" Hydra asks curiously.

"First time I met the guy was right after I stole the suit," Red X answers. "Still, you'd think a guy trained by Batman would invest more in his security measures."

"From our understanding of both Batman and Robin, it sort of seems like the Boy Wonder is trying to distance himself from his mentor," Hydra guesses.

"I don't blame him," Red X mutters before pointing ahead. "Over there."

Hydra looks forward and sees a single metal door at the side of the building, with a small console right next to the entrance. Both villains quickly make their way to the door.

Hydra looks the console up and down. "You know the passcode?"

"Nope. Not even gonna try and figure it out. First wrong guess would trigger the silent alarm," Red X answers as his hand reaches to his side.

"What if we fry the console?" Hydra questions while holding up a finger crackling with lightning chakra.

"Again; silent alarm," Red X replies as he pulls out a small device with a cable attached.

Hydra observes as Red X plugs the device into the console and begins typing away. After about ten seconds, both the device and the console light up green, making the door open.

Hydra smiles proudly. "Impressive."

"I know this system like the back of my hand," Red X states nonchalantly.

Red X and Hydra quickly enter the building, just in time for the door to close behind them. As Hydra looks around for any traps, Red X wastes no time in flipping himself onto the ceiling. The masked thief takes a moment to get a solid grip on the metal surface with his hands and feet before looking to his side…and seeing Hydra just standing on the ceiling as if it was the floor.

Hydra adjusts the cap on his head a bit before noticing Red X's incredulous look. "What?"

"How the hell's your hat staying on?" Red X asks.

Hydra grins. "Ninja art."

"Hmph. Show off," Red X mutters before he begins crawling on the ceiling while Hydra walks beside him.

The two thieves carefully move through the hallway, with Hydra looking out for the Titans using his Byakugan.

"So, I gotta ask; what's with the whole 'we' stuff? You don't have some kind of multiple personality thing, do you?" Red X asks with a creeped-out tone at the end.

"Nothing like that. You see, there's another entity living inside this body," Hydra explains. "We share it together."

"What, like that symbiote alien thing from the movies?" Red X questions.

Hydra chuckles. "Sort of."

"Well, as long as you don't try and eat my brains, we'll be fine," Red X says coolly, only to flinch at the wide sharp-toothed grin and crimson red foxy gaze being sent his way.

"No promises," Hydra says sinisterly with a demonic tone.

The masked thief shudders in his suit. "Th-The elevator's just around this corner. We need to get to the sixth floor."

Immediately, the crimson stare and fanged grin are replaced with yellow orbs and a warm smile.

"Let's go then. Time's a wastin', y'know?" Hydra says cheerfully before heading for the elevator.

Red X lets out a breath. "What the hell am I getting myself into?" he asks himself before following after the Shinobi.

Location: Raven's Room, Titans Tower

The sorceress growls furiously as she floats into her room, her boyfriend close behind.

"That no-good rotten little jerk!" Raven exclaims. "He wins one fight against a loser in a cheap mech suit, and he thinks he's God's gift to man! He's lucky I don't rip his soul out of his body!"

"For the record, I would not stop you should you wish to do in the future," Malchior says easily.

Raven takes a moment to breathe deeply and calm herself. "No. As much as I want to, I can't destroy him. Sending a coworker's soul to Purgatory isn't exactly heroic."

Malchior clasps Raven's shoulders, making the girl flinch. "Now now, my sweet Raven, you know what I've told you about those kinds of labels."

"'They don't matter for people like us'," Raven recites.

"That's right," Malchior confirms with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"I need a meditation session," Raven states as she heads for her usual spot.

A firm grabbing of her arm stops her in her tracks. The sorceress turns around and sees the disguised dragon still giving her a plastic smile.

"Malchior?" Raven asks nervously.

"You know, a thought just occurred to me," Malchior says with a voice like poisoned honey. "Back before, when Beast Boy said that you have plenty of options besides me, what exactly did he mean by that?"

Raven scoffs. "That was just him being a wanker," she states before she's pulled in closer to Malchior, who grips her opposite shoulder tightly.

"Perhaps, but I can't help but feel that there's a hint of truth to his words," Malchior expresses as his smile drops. "The problem is that the caped one and the alien girl are enamored with each other, the human golem is more focused on his machines than romance, and the green monkey despises you."

"I'm not dating anyone else but you, Malchior! I promise!" Raven defends. "You're my only boyfriend!"

Malchior glares right into Raven's eyes. "So, there's absolutely nobody that I should be informed about?"

Raven doesn't talk for a split second, making Malchior grab her face roughly.

"Don't you hide anything from me, Raven!" Malchior yells angrily.

Faced with the threat of her violent angry boyfriend, Raven cries out, "HYDRA WANTS TO STEAL ME FROM YOU!"

The sudden silence is palpable as Malchior looks at the girl wide-eyed.

"…What did you say?" Malchior asks quietly.

Raven steels herself. "D-During the Black Pearl incident, Hydra said he was going to steal me away from you. I-I guess he has a crush on me, or something."

"…Hydra, our most dangerous enemy, told you two weeks ago that he plans on making you his lover, and you're JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW?!" Malchior yells as he shakes Raven in his grasp.

"I-I-I told him no! I told him I have a boyfriend already!" Raven argues. "I didn't think it was important to–"

POW!

Raven's head is knocked to the side by the force of the punch.

"I decide what's important to tell me!" Malchior declares.

Raven's tears fall freely from the pain of the punch and Malchior's rage. "I-I'm sorry."

The sight of the girl crying makes Malchior sneer and backfist her, sending Raven to the floor.

"Your sniveling makes me sick, girl," Malchior says condescendingly. "I've taught you every kind of spell in existence, every strategy imaginable, and you've failed! You and your weakness and your pathetic need to be a hero. Your failure to defeat Hydra has disappointed me severely and endangered the both of us! It's clear that I'll have to take care of this my–"

"HROOOOAAAAARGH!"

"…self?"

Location: Hallway, Titans Tower

Both Hydra and Red X just exit the elevator when they hear the animalistic roar echo through the building.

"…The Titans wouldn't happen to have a guard animal, would they?" Hydra asks.

"Let's not find out," Red X advises before pointing at a room down the hall. "The vault's in there. Hustle!"

Location: Outside Raven's Room, Titans Tower

Raven quickly exits the room, using her hood to hide her beaten face as she checks her surroundings.

"Who's there?" Raven calls out.

Getting no response, the sorceress heads down the hall just as Malchior pokes his head out the doorway.

"Raven! Wait a moment!" Malchior insists in a hushed tone, only to watch Raven continue on through the corridor. 'Dammit! I still need to cover up her injuries!'

With an annoyed expression, Malchior catches up to Raven, who's just arrived at the door to Beast Boy's room.

"Beast Boy?" Raven calls out with trepidation into the locked bedroom.

Nobody answers her, but the sorceress leans in and hears animalistic growling coming from inside.

Malchior approaches her from behind. "He's probably having a tantrum. Let's just go–"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several large dents suddenly jut out from the door, making both magic-wielders flinch back. This keeps them clear from the next hit that launches the door off its hinges. Raven and Malchior look on apprehensively as a large hairy creature exits the room before focusing its white-eyed gaze on them. Raven only has a moment to conjure a magical shield before the beast launches itself at her with a growl.

Location: Outside Secure Vault, Titans Tower

Hydra keeps watch as Red X uses his device to hack into the console next to the sturdy thick steel door.

Red X tsks in his masks. "Of course, this is the part where Robin beefed up his security. This'll take a while."

Hydra unseals his sword. "We could always use this to cut through the door."

Red X sighs in annoyance. "I'm sure that thing can take care of solid stainless steel just fine, but what part of silent alarm don't you understand?"

Hydra glares down at his partner. "Don't be snippy with us. We're just giving you an option in case we need to hurry, y'know."

"Relax, kid. We'll be done and outta here, and you'll get to dance with your little girlfriend," Red X replies as he continues typing away.

Hydra scratches the back of his head. "Actually, Jinx isn't our–"

"AAAAAGH!"

Both thieves flinch at the loud cry echoing through the building. Hydra feels his heart clench in terrified recognition.

"Raven," Hydra mutters in horror as he looks up at the ceiling and activates his Byakugan.

"Kid? What is it?" Red X calls out.

Hydra pays no mind to the other thief as his gaze is focused three floors up, where Raven and another magic-wielder are locked in battle with two monstrous beasts. The Shinobian's heart clenches more upon seeing his love holding up a shield to try and fend off her attacker.

Quickly making his decision, Hydra puts his fingers in a cross. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Red X watches in surprise as Hydra duplicates himself, then confusion as the original hands the clone his sword.

"Watch him!" the original Hydra commands, not waiting for a response as he hurries down the hall.

"What?! Wait!" Red X calls out in vain and watches his partner speed away. The thief looks at the clone. "What was that about?!"

"Personal matter. Keep working," the clone responds, not bothering to try and explain anything.

Red X groans in annoyance before refocusing on his device.

Location: Living Room, Titans Tower

The two-on-two fight has moved to the common room, leaving plenty of destruction in its wake. Raven's opponent is a hulking red creature with black stripes through parts of its thick red fur, a long red and black mane shaped like a mullet, large arms with sharp claws, angry solid white eyes, and sharp teeth snapping at the girl. Raven makes use of her previous training and launches green fire at the beast, making it jump away.

Meanwhile, Malchior is occupied with another beast, this one primarily green in color. The disguised dragon sweats as he uses his shields to block the swipes from the green beast's clawed hands.

'Tiamat damn it! I've been so busy reading and teaching that blasted girl that I've neglected my own training!' Malchior thinks angrily. 'I could just devour this pest as a dragon, but it's too soon to reveal myself! This is so infuriating!'

A particularly strong swipe sends Malchior stumbling backwards. As the green beast leaps forward, Malchior snarls angrily before throwing his hands forward and launching a barrage of black lightning at the creature. The beast collapses to the floor and starts convulsing in pain, delighting Malchior, who continues torturing the creature in front of him just as he's done to Raven occasionally.

Unlike Raven, however, the beast has a thicker hide. White eyes flashing open, the beast roars and clasps its hands together. Malchior doesn't have time to react as the beast clocks his chin with a two-handed strike, sending the false wizard flying backwards and crashing into some computers.

The green beast watches its opponent groan in pain for a moment before looking behind and seeing Raven continue forcing the red beast back with lime flames. The green beast's eyes narrow at the sorceress with a snarl.

The door to the room opens, and Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg quickly enter the room, the three of them having been wakened by Raven's cry earlier. The newcomers see the room trashed, Malchior painfully raising himself from the damaged computers he landed on, Raven trapping the red beast in black tendrils while preparing a plasma ball…and the green beast rushing for Raven's back.

None of the three notice the figure moving past them from behind.

"RAVEN! WATCH OUT!" Robin cries out as he and the two Titans beside him look on in dread.

Hearing the shout, Raven has only a moment to look back and see the green beast leaping for her, its claws poised to slash right through her face.

"Universal Pull!"

Suddenly, Raven's body is yoinked away, making the green beast miss its attack completely. Everyone else watches as Raven's form is pulled across the room…and into the arms of an infamously familiar figure.

"Did you miss us?"

Raven gasps at the low voice in her ear and the possessive hold around her body. A good portion of her mind feels comforted and hopeful as she looks up and sees Hydra smiling down at her.

The other Titans in the room feel none of this comfort or hope upon seeing Raven in the grip of their nemesis.

"Hydra!" Robin cries out as he pulls out his staff.

"How'd he get in here?!" Cyborg questions as his arm shifts into a sonic cannon.

"Release our friend, villain!" Starfire demands while her hands and eyes light up with energy.

Meanwhile, Malchior has a panicked and enraged expression upon finally seeing the warlock he's been preparing to defeat in the flesh.

'You have got to be kidding me!' Malchior shouts internally. 'I'm definitely not ready to kill him yet! This is the worst possible time!'

Some snarls from a corner of the room get everyone's attention. The red beast, now released from the tendrils, joins its green counterpart in charging at both Hydra and Raven.

Hydra is unfazed as he releases his hold on Raven, who watches the boy weave through handsigns.

"Fire Style: Twin Fire Skulls!"

Hydra throws both hands forward, firing a flaming screaming skull from each palm. The two fireballs fly through the air and impact the two beasts, the resulting explosions sending the creatures crashing away.

Seeing the two beasts not immediately getting up, Raven and Hydra both breath sighs of relief. Raven then blushes as Hydra pulls her into a comforting one-armed hug.

"It's been too long, Raven," Hydra says yearningly.

Raven doesn't respond. She doesn't trust herself to fight back against the hold or even to tell the villain off, despite being surrounded by her teammates and boyfriend. Instead, she quietly and subtly accepts the warm embrace.

Robin approaches Hydra with a glare. "What are you doing here? Are those things with you?"

"Yes, of course. That's exactly why we shot fiery skulls at them; because they're our allies," Hydra answers sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "What incredible detective work."

Robin slouches with a scowl at the dig. Raven, on the other hand, can't keep herself quiet and snorts with a smile. Hearing that, Hydra grins proudly at the girl…only to lose the grin upon seeing the bruises on her cheeks. The villain quickly grabs Raven's chin and tilts her head up, surprising the girl.

"Those didn't come from the beasts, did they?" Hydra asks knowingly.

Raven and Malchior both pale at the question, which the other Titans notice.

Raven gulps. "I-I–"

"YOU! WARLOCK!"

Hydra turns and sees an older male with long feathery white hair wearing silver and black armor glowering at him.

"Unhand her at once!" Malchior demands loudly.

Hydra raises an eyebrow at the unknown man before looking back at Raven, who has a mix of fear and concern on her face. Quickly connecting the dots, Hydra looks back at the man.

"Malchior?"

The aforementioned dragon is startled. 'He knows my name? How–,' he thinks, only to be scared out of his thoughts.

This is due to the face-splitting fanged grin that forms on Hydra's face, and the piercing glowing red fox eyes staring right at the dragon.

"~Mal~chi~or~," Hydra sings sinisterly, terrifying Malchior with his killing intent and sending shivers through everyone else's spines.

'A being's killing intent is a reflection of that being's inner strength,' Malchior recalls as he sees the inferno of red malicious rage erupting out of Hydra's body, 'so how does this boy have so much power?!'

Malchior steels himself and generates black lightning in his hands. "You will do as I command, or so help me–"

"You'll do what, exactly?" Hydra challenges, still smirking. "Will you use your strongest attack on us while catching your 'girlfriend' in the crossfire?"

Malchior stills, unable to answer.

Hydra looks victorious as he separates slightly from Raven. "Considering what we've learned about you, Malchior, it wouldn't be a surprising tactic for you to use."

Nearby, Robin watches Malchior give a betrayed look to Raven, who's face pleads in denial.

The Boy Wonder's eyes narrow. 'I knew it.'

Malchior indignantly shifts his gaze to Hydra. "How dare you! I am Malchior of Nol, and I won't be slandered by–AH!"

The startled yelp is because Hydra's demonic grin is inches from Malchior's face in a blink.

POW! CRUNCH! "ACK!"

The pained gasp is because Hydra's diamond-coated fist is through Malchior's chest plate and punching his gut in another blink.

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg are surprised at seeing Hydra close the distance across the room and attack Malchior in just a second.

Raven, meanwhile, feels dread as her boyfriend painfully hunches over the villain's fist and vomits on the floor. 'W-Would he really…'

Hydra lowers his grin next to Malchior's ear. "What's the matter, Malchior? Can't take what you dish out?"

The disguised dragon growls in rage. "YOU LITTLE…!" he exclaims as he rises up and prepares to fry the warlock from the inside out.

POW!

Only to be hard-countered by a diamond fist impacting his cheek.

Hydra doesn't stop there. With both hands coated in crystal, the villain lays into the fake wizard. Punch after punch hits Malchior square in the face, his weakened dragon fortitude doing little to cushion the blows.

Nearby, Raven watches the one-sided beatdown with a conflicted look. 'My boyfriend's being beaten senseless right in front of me, and I'm just watching it happen. Part of me is even enjoying this. What's wrong with me?!'

Dazed and somewhat concussed, Malchior sways on his feet and weakly raises his arms for a guard. The action does little to protect him from Hydra's finisher.

Hydra begins with a diamond-coated right cross that cracks Malchior's jaw and forcefully twists his neck. Hydra then forms a diamond dagger over his left hand and stabs Malchior's leg, piercing the bone. Finally, ignoring Malchior's scream of pain, Hydra breaks the blade off his hand, forms a diamond club from his other hand, and swings it at Malchior's skull, fracturing bone and sending the disguised dragon flying backwards into the already damaged computers with a crash.

The Teen Titans, already wincing at every hit, cringe at the sight of the battered and bloody form of Malchior.

"Oh, damn," Cyborg mutters in horror.

"I think I've been getting it pretty easy," Robin says, remembering his own losses against Hydra.

"He's smiling, yet I can feel his fury from here," Starfire notes with a fearful look.

The last comment makes Raven suddenly remember Hydra's words from back in the caverns weeks ago.

'When you're hurt, we will muster all of power to avenge you.'

'I guess he's a man of his word,' Raven thinks to herself, parts of her mind touched by the gesture and turned on by the strength displayed.

The crystal around Hydra's hands disperses as he grins at his handiwork. He then sighs in satisfaction.

"Ah, bliss."

"Hydra!" Raven cries out, vocalizing her "distress" at seeing her boyfriend beat up.

"Don't worry, Raven! He's still alive!" Hydra responds easily. "…unfortunately."

Two sets of growls alert Hydra and the heroes to the beasts still in the room, both of whom were wakened by the beatdown earlier. Still enraged, the creatures growl at the heroes, who all prepare themselves again for a fight.

The heroes pause, however, when an officer's cap is gently placed on Raven's head. The Titans turn and see Hydra now standing next to the sorceress, his gaze firmly on the two beasts.

"The green one?" Hydra asks while unbuttoning his jacket.

"…Beast Boy," Raven answers, shocking the other Titans.

"The red?" Hydra asks while taking off his jacket, revealing his muscular body and making Raven blush.

"…Not Beast Boy," Raven answers while shyly looking away.

The magical girl is surprised when she feels the black leather jacket being placed on her body over her cloak.

"Good to know," Hydra says with a gentle smile before kissing Raven on her cheek.

Raven's blush spreads as she watches Hydra calmly walk towards the growling beasts.

"Now then, please be something more than a warm-up," Hydra confidently challenges while beckoning his opponents.

The two beasts respond by letting out savage roars before charging at the villain.

As the latest fight starts, Raven is quickly surrounded by her teammates.

"Did you say the green one was Beast Boy?" Starfire asks.

Raven nods. "Malchior and I found them fighting in Beast Boy's room before they attacked us."

Robin pounds his fist into his palm. "Of course! The chemicals from Stagg Enterprises! They must have mutated him!"

"So that's why BB's been acting like a jerk today," Cyborg realizes. "Those chemicals were messing with his mind too."

"If the green one is Beast Boy," Starfire says, "then the red one…,"

"Adonis," Robin confirms.

"So, how do we fix them?" Cyborg asks. "Better yet, how do we keep him from killing them?"

The Titans watch as the two beasts – one of them being their friend – try and slash Hydra, who easily blocks the attacks while his Sharingan tracks their fight patterns. Hydra then sends a kick into each of their sides before jumping up and split-kicking them both away.

"…I'm working on it," Robin mutters, doing his best to sound sure.

Raven, meanwhile, watches as Hydra admires his handiwork with a smile before glancing her way and winking at her. The girl shyly looks away to hide her smile at the gesture.

Location: Outside Secure Vault, Titans Tower

The Hydra clone taps his foot impatiently as he watches Red X still trying to hack into the vault.

"You know we have to ask; how much longer?" Clone Hydra demands.

"Keep your pants on, kid. I need to find a way to bypass the biometric scanner," Red X explains.

Clone Hydra groans in annoyance. "Screw this," he mutters as he brandishes his sword.

Red X goes wide-eyed seeing Clone Hydra approach the door with the sword. "No, wait!"

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

Clone Hydra ignores the cry as he slices around and through the door, making it collapse into hunks of steel. The copy walks into the room, while Red X growls in frustration and stomps after him.

"Nice job, asshat! Now Robin will know we're here!" Red X yells at the clone.

"The Boss has already met up with the Titans by now," Hydra points out. "They already know we're here, and time is our enemy."

The two thieves look around the room and see rows of what look like safety deposit boxes embedded in the far wall. Red X's tech is somewhere in one of those containers, just within the villains' reach.

First, they have to get through the electrical force field grid blocking the way.

"Well, genius? What's your plan now?" Red X questions the clone, who's looking around the force field using his Byakugan.

The duplicate smiles when he finds the power generator for the grid embedded in the wall.

"As Gizmo once said; 'Every machine has an off switch, even if you have to make one yourself'," Clone Hydra quotes as he points his sword at the wall and channels chakra into it.

The blade quickly lengthens and pierces through the wall and into the generator. Sparks travel from the broken machine into the grid, making the latter disperse.

"Good thinking," Red X says in an impressed tone.

"Improv is our specialty," Clone Hydra states as he pulls away the sword and gestures towards the boxes. "After you."

"Don't mind if I do," Red X replies as he pulls out a scanner and heads for his prize.

Neither of them pay any mind to the blinking camera at the top far corner of the room.

Location: Living Room, Titans Tower

Robin's pulled out of spectating the fight when he hears his communicator going off. The other non-mutated Titans watch their leader quickly open his device and look alarmed.

"Someone's broken into the Secure Vault!" Robin reports as he pulls up the security camera footage, with the others looking over his shoulders.

The Boy Wonder's eyes narrow as he sees another Hydra standing guard in the middle of the room, while another familiar thief scans the boxes.

"Red X," Robin growls. "Of course. Hydra's helping him get his belt back. This clone here must be to distract us."

"This isn't the clone," Raven corrects. "This is the original Hydra."

"How do you know?" Cyborg asks.

"His chakra signature is too big to be a clone," Raven answers, her eyes glowing blue with the Magic Detection spell.

She sees two massive eruptions of multi-colored flames emanating out of Hydra's body, both of them far eclipsing Malchior's. The sight makes her shudder as she rubs her legs together.

"In any case, we need to stop this," Robin declares. "Cyborg, you're coming with me to the vault. Starfire and Raven, you two make sure Hydra doesn't kill those two."

With that, Robin and Cyborg rush out of the room, leaving their female compatriots behind to observe the fight.

In said fight, the green and red beasts – Beast Boy and Adonis respectively – continue trying to tear apart Hydra.

Adonis reaches the Shinobian first and goes for a slash, but Hydra bats the clawed hand away before striking Adonis's chin with a Tiger Claw, sending the creature staggering away. Beast Boy tries next, but Hydra blocks the incoming slash and punches Beast Boy in the face. Hydra then spins Beast Boy to face away from him and puts the creature in an arm bar. Hydra trips the green beast before grabbing the fanged maw and slamming Beast Boy to the ground.

Hydra then looks up just in time to see Adonis's claws heading right for his cheeks.

Chomp!

Adonis goes wide-eyed as his pointer finger is now painfully trapped between Hydra's teeth, halting the slash.

Crunch!

Adonis's pain grows when Hydra's teeth cleanly bite through and sever the appendage.

"GRAAGH!" Adonis roars in agony as he staggers back and clutches his bleeding hand.

Hydra spits out the finger and retches in disgust.

"Toxic," Hydra comments while wiping his tongue on his hand to get the taste out.

Beast Boy leaps back onto his feet and goes for a bite of his own, but Hydra kicks him away in the chin, making his teeth crack. As Adonis tries to recover, Hydra hits him in the throat with a Snake Strike before side-kicking him in the head, sending the red beast spinning away. Beast Boy goes for an overhead slash, but Hydra blocks the attack with both arms, forces the arm down, chops the elbow, and knees Beast Boy right between the eyes. As Beast Boy flies back, Adonis gets back up and charges at Hydra. Hydra crosses his arms behind his back and simply moves his body to avoid the reckless slashes from the red beast.

Hydra then maneuvers behind Adonis. "Foxfire!"

Ethereal blue flames suddenly cover Adonis's body, making the beast roar from the burning pain. This leaves Adonis exposed to the Tiger Claw that snaps his head back and makes him collapse to the ground.

Still dazed, Beast Boy goes for a left-right combo, but Hydra blocks both slashes. Hydra then uses wind chakra to make two slashes of his own, slicing across Beast Boy's chest with his fingers. As Beast Boy recoils in pain, Hydra forms a ball of yellow chakra.

"Wind Style: Rasengan!"

Hydra slam the ball into Beast Boy's torso, grinding flesh and sending the green beast flying backwards.

Nearby, the eyes of the two heroines have been glued to each motion of the battle.

"I hate to admit this, but Hydra is…rather skilled as a fighter," Starfire confesses in astonishment.

Raven's gaze is squarely focused on the white-haired whiskered muscular young man, who's unharmed and stretching himself out for the next round.

"Yeah…yeah, he is," Raven murmurs with a smile.

Starfire covers her mouth while giving her friend a concerned look.

Location: Secure Vault, Titans Tower

The door to a box is opened, revealing a belt with a red x buckle and multiple pouches. It's a welcoming sight to a certain thief.

"Hey, baby. Papa came back for you," Red X says affectionately before grabbing the belt.

Nearby, Clone Hydra watches Red X put on his belt. "Not quite what we were expecting."

"That's because you haven't seen it in action," Red X replies. "But first…"

The masked thief pulls out a vial with a bright red chemical inside, making Clone Hydra tilt his head in curiosity.

"Zynothium ore," Red X explains as he inserts the vial into the buckle, making the x glow brighter as the liquid is injected in. "The fuel for the fun stuff. Good thing I snagged more than one vial back then."

With the suit now fully charged, Red X follows Clone Hydra out of the vault and towards the elevator, with the duplicate taking point with his Byakugan.

Peering down the hallway, Clone Hydra suddenly stops the other thief.

"Two incoming," Clone Hydra reports. "Robin and Cyborg."

Red X pulls out two X-shuriken. "Leave Boy Wonder to me."

After a moment, both heroes are within sight. Robin throws two Birdarangs at Red X, who counters with his X-shuriken. Robin jumps and swings a kick at Red X, who catches the foot and tosses the Boy Wonder behind him. Robin lands in a crouch before pulling out his bo staff. He points it at Red X, who has two X-Blades pop out of his gloves.

Meanwhile, Cyborg throws a haymaker at Clone Hydra, who simply dodges the punch and maneuvers behind the hero. Clone Hydra coats his sword with wind chakra and stabs at the cybernetic teen's back.

Only for a shimmering barrier to block the attack centimeters from said teen's body.

Cyborg grins at Clone Hydra's surprise before blasting the duplicate with his sonic cannon, sending him tumbling down the hall. Clone Hydra quickly gets back on his feet and observes Cyborg's new shimmering form.

"Personal force field generator," Cyborg explains smugly. "Let's see you try to cut me now!"

Clone Hydra grins at the challenge before him. "Yes. Let's."

Nearby, the Boy Wonder and the guy that stole his suit circle one another.

"I'd hoped that you would have learned by now that crime doesn't pay," Robin says.

Red X shrugs. "I'm a slow learner. Just ask my old man."

Robin growls at the thief before swinging his staff with a battle cry.

Location: Living Room, Titans Tower

Pow!

Beast Boy goes flying backwards thanks to the diamond punch from Hydra. The green beast takes a moment to try and get back up to fight before collapsing on his back with a groan. The creature then seems to shrink and lose his hair and savage features, revealing a cut-up banged-up human green hero.

Hydra lets the crystal disperse as he smirks at his handiwork, not paying attention to the scorched red beast behind him.

Raven spots it, though. "Watch out!"

Hydra only has a moment to register the warning before he finds himself wrapped up in a tight bearhug from behind.

The savage Adonis grins at the prey in his arms and prepares to take a huge bite out. The red beast doesn't notice the smirk on Hydra's face.

Sinkt! Sinkt!

He does notice the fact that Hydra's fingers have become claws and are now digging into his arms. Adonis cries out in pain and tries to break himself free of Hydra's hold, to no avail.

Hydra then speaks, "Dead Bone Pulse: Willow Dance."

SQUELCH!

Adonis roars in agony as multiple somethings pierce his body. As blood drips from between Adonis's chest and Hydra's back, the latter releases his hold and rips himself off his opponent…revealing a gruesome sight.

Raven and Starfire both gasp in horror. Adonis now has a hole in each shoulder, courtesy of twin white spear-like growths coming from the back of Hydra's shoulder blades.

Starfire gulps. "Are those…"

Raven nods. "Bones."

Hydra rolls his back with an uncomfortable look as the bone spikes retract into his body. He turns around and sees that Adonis has collapsed to his knees, his clawed hands trying to stop the bleeding. The red beast looks at Hydra as if he's begging for his life.

Hydra tilts his head in thought. 'Should we…'

"Hydra!"

The Shinobian turns to see Raven giving him a fearful look, one that tugs at his heartstrings.

"…Please…," Raven pleads quietly.

Hydra wastes no time in nodding to her, his eyes going back to yellow, before roundhouse kicking Adonis in the head, knocking the creature out.

As Adonis slowly shifts back into a human, Raven and Starfire float to Hydra, the sorceress still wearing his jacket and cap to his delight.

Raven's eyes then glow with black magic. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Black magic envelopes Beast Boy, Adonis, and Malchior. As the magic is infused into their bodies, their wounds begin closing up and their internal damage starts to heal. After a few moments, the black magic dissipates, revealing that Adonis and Malchior have their worst conditions taken care of, though they're still on a road to recovery. Beast Boy, meanwhile, is almost completely healed.

As the magic in her eyes dies down, Raven takes a moment to catch her breath.

Hydra smiles proudly. "Well done, Raven."

Raven looks away with a blush. "I haven't trained that much in the healing arts lately, and I used a good amount of magic fighting beforehand. I couldn't get every–"

"Raven," Hydra interjects. "You did a great job."

A tentative smile forms on the girl's face. "…Thanks."

Hydra then once again spots the bruises on Raven's face. He presents his hands, which are now glowing a familiar aqua-green, to the girl in offering.

Seeing the magic, Starfire powers up her starbolts for an attack only for Raven to halt the alien girl.

Raven nods to Hydra, allowing him to gently clasp her face. Raven sighs in content from the healing chakra and the soothing touch.

Starfire watches the interaction warily, only to hear a groan from a certain changeling. Reluctantly, she heads over to help Beast Boy up, leaving the two chakra-wielders alone together.

Once Raven's face is healed, she looks away hesitantly. "You probably think I shouldn't have healed Malchior, right?"

"Definitely," Hydra responds, not missing a beat.

"…I want it to work out with him," Raven says. "He's taught me so much magic. He's listened to me. Taken the time to understand me. He has plenty of sweet parts to him. I've seen it. I just…"

"You said he's been understanding of you, but how much do you understand him?" Hydra questions. "What has he told you about his past? His likes? His dislikes? His hobbies? His dreams? How much do you actually know about him?"

Raven takes a moment to think to herself. 'He's a wizard from the Middle Ages who fought a dragon, he likes meat, he knows a lot of spells…' She starts looking panicked. 'What else?!'

Hydra continues, "You said he's listened to you. Was that because he wanted to know you, or because he needed to? You said he's taught you magic. Was it for your benefit, or was it to help him? You said he's been sweet to you. Was he truly being kind, or just sweet enough for you to tolerate his beatings?"

Raven flinches away, her trembling hands clenched tightly. "Please…stop…"

Hydra takes a deep breath before giving the girl a firm expression. "Raven. Look at us."

It wasn't a forceful demand, and he didn't yell at her. Still, Raven feels compelled to obey him.

Hydra says, "We like you, snakes, toads, peaceful walks in nature, a good bowl of ramen noodles, and company we can trust. We dislike ghosts, people who try to exploit us, and people who hurt those we care about. Our hobbies include combat training, experimenting with crystals, and taking care of our Snake Summons. As for our dream…" The boy smiles warmly. "…Anything with you in it sounds wonderful."

Raven blushes at the last part. "W-Why me, though? Why am I so different from anyone else?"

"Your hair, your beautiful face, your fighting spirit, the feel of your body in our grasp, your taste, your smile, the little snarky quips that make us laugh, the laughter we draw out of you in return," Hydra lists easily. "Need we go on?"

A beet-red Raven looks away with a smile, taking a moment to process all of the praise sent her way.

The sorceress twirls a lock of hair with her finger. "I mean, if you want to, you could–"

"RAVEN! WHAT THE HELL?!"

Both chakra-wielders whip their heads to see a wakened Beast Boy giving the two of them a heated glare.

While Raven tries to compose herself, Hydra sends Beast Boy an annoyed look.

"Do you mind? We're having a moment here," Hydra demands.

"Yeah, of course you are! What's wrong with you Raven?! You're getting all lovey-dovey with a villain while the rest of us are getting our asses kicked for the umpteenth time!" Beast Boy complains. "Typical Tuesday right there!"

Raven scowls, her good mood ruined. "I'm not trying to be lovey-dovey."

"Well, you're sure not fighting it!" Beast Boy retorts. "You watch this guy nearly kill us on a weekly basis, then he flirts with you for a bit, and you forget all about us! You're still wearing his hat and jacket, for crying out loud! What kind of malfunction is going on in your head?!"

Hydra's narrowed golden eyes glow with power. "Hey. Don't insult your friend like that."

Beast Boy scoffs at the demand. "Friend. Yeah, right."

Raven feels her heart clench at the three words.

Starfire flies in front of Beast Boy and waves her hands. "Beast Boy! You must desist immediately!"

Beast Boy refuses. "Why are you defending her so much, Star? She doesn't do the same for us. We don't matter to her."

Raven's eyes glow with black magic. "How dare you! I learned my magic to defend you! To protect my friends!"

"Bullshit! You've only ever been about yourself!" Beast Boy counters. "Ever since you joined the team, you've been locking yourself in your creepy room with your dusty old books! You only come out for food and tea, and you barely talk with anyone when you do – except for when you're insulting us!" He then points at the alien girl in front of him. "Hell, you only hung out with Starfire here once after that thing with Puppet King, and then it was back to usual!"

Starfire lowers her arms and looks away, unable to offer any arguments. Upon seeing this, Raven's eyes stop glowing and turn sad.

Beast Boy continues, "The only reason Malchior and Hydra want to be around you is that one's desperate to put up with you after being locked away in a book for centuries and the other one's a freaky chūnibyō that's just as creepy as you are!"

Raven flinches at this.

Hydra looks confused. 'Chūnibyō? Second school syndrome? What does that mean?'

"No idea," Kurama answers, just as confused.

Beast Boy then throws his hands up in frustration. "You know what? I give up! You wanna run away with Hydra?! You wanna leave us behind?! Fine! Be my guest! Everyone wins! Hydra gets his prize, you can lock yourself in whatever hole you want, and I don't have to waste my time trying to be friends with a creepy gloomy mean bitch!"

Starfire gasps in shock at Beast Boy's declaration, Raven looks away while tearing up at the boy's insults, and Hydra…is now standing right behind the changeling with a stony face.

"We highly suggest you apologize to her right now," Hydra demands lowly, emphasizing that it's not a suggestion.

Beast Boy growls and clenches his fist. "Don't you tell me what to DO!" he yells before throwing a haymaker right at the villain's face, one that sent a punching bag flying off its hook earlier.

Hydra is completely unfazed as his blood-red fox eyes glare down at the green Titan.

{Calm down, Kurama.}

Beast Boy barely registers the words as he suddenly finds himself in a darkened space…with a colossal nine-tailed fox baring its fangs at him with all of its anger.

It takes less than a second for Beast Boy's mind to be overwhelmed by the killing intent, as his pale unconscious body collapses to the ground.

Hydra scoffs at the scrawny form that has a soul escaping the mouth as he walks over to his crying love.

Starfire, meanwhile, watches on with a stunned expression, her mind trying to comprehend what just happened.

Raven continues shedding tears as strong hands grasp her shoulders, making her look at Hydra's serious face.

"Raven, we hope you understand that he is a useless annoying little green brat," Hydra states firmly. "Don't take his words to heart."

"…He's not all wrong, though," Raven mutters while her cloak flickers between white and indigo blue. "I never even tried to get to know the others unless I needed to. I watched you beat my fellow Titans and then let you turn me into putty. I saw you beat up my boyfriend – the one that I jumped at dating weeks ago, and all I could think about was how much I wanted you to fuck me. I'm so pathetic – AHN!"

Raven moans sharply as her hair is firmly pulled back, making her gaze right into Hydra's steely stare.

"You put that thought out of your head right now," Hydra demands. "You are not pathetic, you never have been pathetic, and we will not tolerate our beloved having that mindset. You will not call yourself pathetic again, publicly or privately. Do you understand us, Raven?"

Raven doesn't even bother resisting. "Yes, Daddy."

Hydra blinks in surprise. "Daddy?"

Steam erupts from Raven's bright-red face. "I-I-I uhm…"

Hydra smirks as his grip on Raven's hair slackens a bit. "We don't mind a bit," he says as he combs his fingers through the girl's locks while his other hand travels down to her waist.

Raven sighs in content at the soothing sensations across her scalp, and her pussy starts leaking from the possessive grab that pulls her body closer to Hydra's. Seeing the boy start leaning his face in, Raven closes her eyes and parts her lips.

'This is it! It's happening! He's going to steal me away this time!' Raven thinks, her lust taking over. 'Oh, Azar! I'm getting so wet right now! Oh, fuck! Oh, Daddy! Please–'

"CEASE AT ONCE!"

Raven's eyes fly open in surprise as Hydra suddenly pushes her away, allowing the starbolt-enhanced Karate chop to fly harmlessly between them. As Hydra backs away some, Starfire stands protectively in front of Raven with glowing green eyes and fists.

"I will not allow your seductions to continue, Hydra!" Starfire declares angrily. "With X'hal as my witness, you will never have Raven!"

Hydra looks surprised by the declaration, but then…

"Ha…Haha…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hydra laughs with his head thrown back.

Starfire and Raven both shiver at the laugh for completely different reasons.

Hydra brings his head down and gives Starfire a mad grin. "Never say never."

Location: Hallway, Titans Tower

Time: Five Minutes Earlier

Robin continues his fight with Red X as his bo staff gets sliced down the middle by an X-Blade. The Boy Wonder examines the two metal sticks in his hands before spinning them around a bit.

Robin smirks. 'I can work with this.'

Red X goes for some swipes with his blades, but his limbs get intercepted by Robin's sticks. Robin then smacks Red X in the jaw and stomach before kicking the thief away. Robin watches as Red X hits his belt, making the thief disappear. On instinct, Robin tosses a stick behind him, hitting Red X in the face just as he rematerializes and making him fall to the ground.

Robin catches his stick and regards the thief that's nursing his head.

"All that power and you choose to be just another thief," Robin admonishes. "You can be so much more than that, X."

Red X sits himself up. "What, you mean being a hero? I told you I don't like to."

"But you know how to," Robin points out. "I've seen you in action. You must have tried it sometime."

Red X gets back on his feet. "Yeah, well it didn't exactly work out the last time."

"So, try again," Robin insists. "Whatever happened in the past, you can't let it dictate your future."

"Oh, really? And what exactly happened to you in the past to make you Robin?" Red X questions.

Robin silently narrows his eyes.

"Figured as much," Red X says before charging back into the fight.

Meanwhile, Clone Hydra leaps across the walls to avoid Cyborg's sonic blasts. The duplicate then charges at the hero while channeling lightning chakra through his sword. Clone Hydra goes for a piercing thrust, but Cyborg's force field halts the blade.

Cyborg smiles. "Told ya you wouldn't be getting through my shields!"

Clone Hydra suddenly notices how the electricity from the sword seems to be absorbed into the shield itself.

The duplicate smirks. "Getting through the shields; probably not. But overpowering them…"

Clone Hydra yells as he pours a large amount more lightning chakra through his blade and into Cyborg's shields. The cybernetic teen watches as his force field fluctuates due to the excessive energy. Suddenly, an alarm goes off on Cyborg's arm, flashing red while showing a device inside his body. Almost immediately after, the hero's shield shatters into countless fractals and disperses.

Cyborg only has a moment to gasp at the sudden development before an electrified blade goes through both of his arms and dismembers him once again.

"Are you shitting me right now?!" Cyborg cries out as both of his lower arms fall to the floor.

The cybernetic teen watches as a yellow ball of chakra forms in the clone's hand.

"We're afraid not," Clone Hydra answers cheekily before thrusting his hand forward. "Rasengan!"

Nearby, the sound of grinding metal gets both Robin and Red X's attention. The two of them turn and see an armless Cyborg flying right for them. Robin tries to jump out of the way, only to be paralyzed by an electrified x on his leg. This leaves the Boy Wonder exposed to the airborne metal teen that collides with him.

Red X watches Clone Hydra approach him. "Nice work, kid."

"Why, thank you," Clone Hydra says with a smile as he spins his blade. He then holds out his hand as his eyes turn purple. "Almighty Push."

The invisible force crashes into Robin and Cyborg, sending them both yelling and tumbling down the entire hallway before crashing into the open secure vault.

Red X whistles approvingly. "Very nice."

Clone Hydra presents his sword to the other thief. "We need to disperse our body to inform the boss. We trust that you'll make sure this gets back to him at the rendezvous point?"

Red X blinks in surprise, not expecting the development or the amount of trust given to him.

"…Yeah. Sure thing," Red X answers as he accepts the sword.

"Great! See you there!" Clone Hydra says cheerfully before poofing out of existence.

"Definitely one of my weirder heists," Red X mutters before turning and seeing a groaning Robin stumble out of the vault. "Better luck next time, chuckles!"

With that, Red X presses his buckle and disappears, leaving a seething Robin behind.

Location: Living Room, Titans Tower

The original Hydra perks up upon receiving the memories from his clone.

"Well, it's been a fun night, but we have a schedule to keep," Hydra says before aiming his palm at a nearby window. "Almighty Push."

The invisible force bursts through the window, sending glass shards flying towards the outside.

Raven watches as Hydra looks back her way before quietly muttering something. Being able to read his lips, the sorceress clenches her fist over her heart.

The villain then leaps out the open window and begins falling towards the ground with open arms. Starfire quickly flies to apprehend the villain, starbolts ready.

When she looks down at the outside island, however, Hydra is nowhere to be seen.

Starfire sighs in frustration at having failed once again to capture Hydra. Her starbolts dying down, she quickly flies over to her female comrade.

"Raven! I implore you!" Starfire cries out while clasping Raven's shoulders. "You must not allow Hydra's evil romancing to corrupt your heroic heart!"

Raven deadpans at her teammate, "Starfire, I am not corrupted in any way possible."

Starfire smiles brightly and embraces the other girl. "Glorious! I have been put at the ease!"

With both girls looking over each other's shoulders, Starfire doesn't notice how Raven looks away unsurely.

Location: Outside Titans Tower

Making sure to keep out of sight from the tower above, Hydra makes his way across the rocky shore towards a small motorboat, which he and Red X used to arrive on the island in the first place. Upon arriving at the craft, the Shinobian finds his sword embedded in the ground right at the beach.

Red X is nowhere in sight.

Concerned, Hydra opens his communicator. "Headmaster. Can you hear us? Come in."

Brother Blood's face pops up on screen. [Hydra, my boy! How's the mission going?]

"Well, we and Red X were able to infiltrate the tower easily enough and retrieve his belt, but the two of us were…separated during an encounter with the Titans," Hydra recounts loosely. "We lent him our sword to help him escape, and now we're at the rendezvous point. Our sword is here, but Red X isn't."

Brother Blood looks alarmed. [That's not good. No matter. I should be able to locate his whereabouts using the tracking device I planted on him earlier,] he says as he starts typing away on his computer.

[You mean the one you put on my glove when we were shaking hands?]

Red X's mask suddenly appears on the split screen right next to Brother Blood's startled face.

[I got rid of it right when I got into the tower,] Red X explains. [Don't bother trying to track this signal, either. You won't be able to get past the scrambler in time.]

Hydra narrows his eyes in realization. "You planned this. You were going to ditch us during the escape."

[Sorry, kid, but I don't need some boring ass school to learn how to be a real thief,] Red X replies, infuriating the other person on screen.

[You backstabbing little brat! After all the assistance we gave you to get you your belt back!] Brother Blood shouts with bulging veins.

[Yeah. Thanks for that, especially you, Hydra,] Red X says. [Bit of advice; ditch this geezer already. You're on your way to being a legend in your own right. Later.]

Red X disappears from the screen, leaving a fuming headmaster on Hydra's communicator.

[You better not listen to him, my student!] Brother Blood warns with a glare.

"We weren't planning on ditching anyone," Hydra answers. 'yet.'

[Good! In that case, you had better hurry back to the campus. You have a dance, after all,] Brother Blood says before the communicator shuts off.

With that, Hydra pulls out his sword and heads for the boat, on his way to fulfil his promise to Jinx.

Location: Jinx's Room, Hive Academy

Timeskip: Two hours later

Jinx takes a moment to admire herself in her mirror. She twirls around in her frilly full-black dress that fully encompasses her arms and ends with a skirt that stops at her knees. She smiles as she kicks up her black high heels with black knee-high socks.

"Totally dressed to kill!" Jinx says happily.

Knock knock!

Jinx squeals excitedly upon hearing the knocks. She practically skips over to the door and opens it to greet her date.

The villainess blushes upon seeing Hydra clad in a full white suit, complete with a tuxedo, dress pants, bowtie, jacket, and dress shoes.

Jinx whistles. "Nice outfit."

"Likewise," Hydra replies with a smile. "Black suits you."

Jinx turns and waves her hand playfully. "Oh, stop, you."

Jinx then feels something being wrapped around her wrist. She looks and sees a corsage of magenta roses with black lace.

"We were trying to match your hair," Hydra explains. "What do you think?"

Hearts erupt out of Jinx's eyes. "Oh, Hydra, I love it!" she exclaims as she quickly clings to Hydra's arm.

Hydra smiles in triumph as he gestures down the hall. "Shall we?"

"Do let's," Jinx replies as the two teenagers head for the dance hall.

Location: Medical Room, Titans Tower

Beast Boy lets out a tired groan as his eyes flicker open. He sees Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg standing over him with concerned expressions while they're surrounded by white curtains. Between that, the uncomfortable bed he's laying on, and the steady beeping from the vitals machine next to him, it's not hard for him to figure out he's in the Med Bay of the tower.

"Uh, wakey wakey, BB," Cyborg greets with a tentative smile. "How you feeling?"

Beast Boy groans again as he sits up and rubs his aching head with both hands. "Ugh. Dude, who took out my brain and barbecued it?"

Cyborg sighs in relief. "Yep. That's our BB."

"Thank goodness," Starfire says with a smile. "I was hopeful that your deplorable behavior before would not be permanent."

"Huh?" Beast Boy asks in confusion.

Robin asks, "Beast Boy, do you remember what happened today?"

Beast Boy strains his face in thought. "Uh…feels like fog lifting…um…,"

The memories from this morning hit Beast Boy first, making him go wide-eyed in shock.

"Dudes! Why didn't you guys smack some sense into me earlier?!" Beast Boy demands while waving his arms up and down.

"We were rather hoping we wouldn't need to use violence," Robin replies.

"But I was so out of whack!" Beast Boy insists. "I ate meat! I bossed you guys around! I attacked you! I was being a…a…what did you call me, Star?"

"A royal zarbnarf," Starfire answers.

"Right! A royal zarbnarf!" Beast Boy exclaims. "Then I turned into this huge monster thingy and went on a rampage!"

"It was an experimental super soldier serum," Robin exclaims. "Those chemicals you were doused in last night? It was a mutagenic developed by Stagg Enterprises. Apparently, it's designed to unleash all of the primal attributes that humanity discarded during the evolutionary process, but it's practically impossible to control."

"Luckily, Stagg Enterprises supplied us with an antidote in exchange for us keeping our mouths shut about what happened," Cyborg adds.

"The villain Adonis has already been cured and sent back to prison where he belongs," Starfire states.

"I mean, I definitely feel better now," Beast Boy says, "But that thing…that Beast…it's still inside me. I can feel it, and it freaks me out. I don't want to hurt you guys. I mean, I nearly hurt Raven, and if it wasn't for that jerk Hydra, I–" Beast Boy's eyes go wide again as he gasps in horror. "OH FUCK! RAVEN!"

"Yo! Language!" Cyborg chides.

"I said all of those crazy mean things to Raven! I can't believe I did that!" Beast Boy yells as he clutches his head in regret.

"But Beast Boy, we know full well that wasn't you," Starfire says in an understanding tone.

"That doesn't mean I should have said those things! I'm the biggest zarbnarf in the galaxy!" Beast Boy self-berates as tries to get off the bed. "I gotta apologize to her!"

Cyborg grabs Beast Boy to halt him. "Whoa! Hold up a sec, green bean. Now might not be a good time."

"Where is she? Don't tell me Hydra kidnapped her," Beast Boy says with dread.

"She's here. She's at the other end of the Medical Room healing Malchior," Robin answers.

Nearby, Raven's hands glow with black magic as she heals Malchior's cranium.

"There. You won't have to worry about a concussion or anything," Raven reports with a straight face. "I just need to finish with your leg, and I'm done."

"Why, thank you, my sweet Raven," Malchior says with a grateful smile.

Raven doesn't even blush as she gets to work on the fake wizard's leg.

Malchior's smile wavers in the awkward environment. "…So…Hydra knows my name…"

"I did tell him I have a boyfriend," Raven points out bluntly.

"Right. Of course. Good on you for doing that," Malchior says. "It's just a bit concerning that our greatest adversary knows my name, and that he's apparently developed this…narrative about me."

Raven sighs gloomily. "I know what you're getting at. I screwed up. Again. I'm a failure. I'm sorry. You would have done better," she laments as her cloak keeps shifting from white to indigo blue.

Malchior has enough decency to wince. "Look, Raven, about what happened earlier–"

"I'm done," Raven says quickly as her magic ceases. "Rest up here for tonight. You can come back to my room in the morning."

"But Raven, I–"

Raven interrupts Malchior by kissing his cheek. "Goodnight. I love you," she says somewhat robotically before floating out of the room.

"Raven! Wait!" Beast Boy calls out before following after her.

The other Titans chase after the changeling, leaving Malchior alone in the Medical Room.

'I'm losing her,' Malchior thinks to himself. 'I can feel it. Her loyalty to me is breaking. I need to repair her faith in me until I'm strong enough to beat…him.'

The disguised dragon clenches his fists as piercing red eyes and the gleam of an inhuman grin still occupy his mind.

'It's all his fault. That…that damned demon!' Malchior declares internally as he clenches his teeth and glares at his lap with reptilian eyes. 'Tiamat curse you, Hydra! I will devour you if it's the last thing I do!'

Location: Hallway, Titans Tower

Raven's face is shadowed by her hood as she hurries to her room, eager to get away from everyone and register the events of today.

Unfortunately for her, there's a green cheetah chasing her down.

Raven growls as she stops and throws up a black force field behind her.

Whump!

"…I'm not in the mood, Beast Boy," Raven states to the big cat that's comically crashed into her shield.

Beast Boy shifts into a human and cries out, "Please, Raven! I need to tell you I'm sorry!"

"For what? Attacking me or calling me a creepy gloomy mean bitch?" Raven asks while glaring at the changeling behind her.

"Both! And threatening you earlier! And for bumping into you! And for all of the herbal tea I keep mooching off of you! I'm sorry for all of it!" Beast Boy loudly declares. "You can turn me into a rat or a chicken anytime you want! I'll do all of your chores for life! I'll do whatever it takes for you to forgive me!"

The other Titans catch up to their comrades and watch as Raven lowers her shield.

Raven chuckles humorlessly. "…I know you mean it, Beast Boy. I really do…but I can't. I can't forgive you right now."

Beast Boy's entire face droops in sadness. "Raven…"

"I can't trust you, Beast Boy," Raven continues as she hugs herself. "Honestly, I'm having a hard time trusting anyone right now."

"Does that include Malchior?" Robin asks, drawing everyone's attention.

Raven aims her glare at the Boy Wonder. "You should choose your next words very carefully, Robin."

Robin sighs. "Raven, we've all noticed the bruises you've been getting for the past two weeks. I know you've said it was because of training, but I've been training with Batman since I was nine years old, and I never got bruised up that much."

Raven narrows her eyes further. "What are you saying?"

"Look, I've seen situations like this back in Gotham," Robin explains. "Some women were in relationships where they were getting hurt on a regular basis by their spouse, but they wouldn't leave because they were either too afraid or too convinced that their spouse loved them."

Raven interjects, "If you even mention Harley Quinn, I'll turn your brain into soup."

Robin gulps. "I wasn't gonna."

"Malchior's been trapped in a book for almost a millennium only to have all of his magic stripped from him and an overpowered warlock running around the city. He's just frustrated, that's all," Raven argues.

"That is no excuse to hurt you, Friend Raven," Starfire counters.

Raven flinches upon hearing the same words spoken to her by Hydra weeks ago.

"Malchior's the first real romance I've ever experienced in my life." Raven explains. "He's the only one who's been able to truly understand me. More than my fellow Titans, or everyone else I've met in this world."

'Not everyone,' a voice suddenly says in Raven's mind.

'Stop it!' Raven shouts back.

Starfire slowly approaches her friend. "Raven, it is true that we have not fully understood you, but that does not mean that we don't care for you."

"Yeah! You're one of us!" Cyborg says cheerfully.

Robin adds, "On the other hand, just because someone understands you, it doesn't mean they–"

"Don't!" Raven suddenly cries out, making everyone else flinch. "…Don't finish that."

Robin raise his hands placatingly. "All we're saying is that you don't have to keep dating Malchior anymore if you don't want to. You don't owe him anything. You don't have to put up with him hurting you."

"Well, what other choices do I have?" Raven asks. "You and Starfire have practically been a couple since the team formed. You two just haven't admitted it yet."

Robin and Starfire both look at each other before glancing away with shy blushes.

"Cyborg hasn't shown a hint of romantic gestures to anyone that I've ever seen," Raven continues.

Cyborg rubs his head nervously. "Well, I mean…"

"And Beast Boy's made it clear about his feelings for me, and I'm not just talking about what happened today," Raven states with another glare.

Regret flashes on Beast Boy's face. "Raven, I didn't–"

"The only other being I've met who has any strong feelings for me just so happens to be the most powerful and dangerous adversary we've ever encountered," Raven says. "Hydra outright declared that he wants to steal me away and make me his…" the girl then smiles shakily. "…and honestly, part of me is willing to let him."

Starfire gasps in horror. "I knew it! That villain is using his magic and muscles to corrupt you! You must overcome his wicked advances, Raven!"

Raven hugs herself. "I wish I could, Starfire. I really do…"

The memory of her mind nearly being broken by Hydra's tongue throat-fucking her returns.

"…but he's made some compelling arguments."

Cyborg says, "You know, if your only options right now are a girlfriend-beater and a supervillain, you can just not date anyone. There's nothing wrong with being single until the right person shows up."

Raven looks crestfallen. "Except that I'll be alone again."

"You're not alone, Raven!" Beast Boy suddenly shouts. "I know you've felt that way around us, and I know I made things way worse, but you're our friend, Raven, and you always will be! You think you're alone, but you're not!"

Raven gives her comrades a tired and somber expression. "That's what everyone around here keeps saying." Tears then start dripping down her face. "A shame that I don't believe it."

A black portal appears below Raven, who descends into it before it closes, leaving the other Titans in the hallway. The remaining heroes are saddened by her departure, especially Beast Boy, who collapses to his knees in defeat.

Robin walks over to Beast Boy. "Give her a bit of time to herself, Beast Boy. You can apologize to her after."

"…Time to herself? How do you think this whole shitshow started?" Beast Boy asks with angst in his voice. "We screwed up, Rob. I screwed up."

Nobody else can refute this.

Location: Gymnasium, Hive Academy

The party is in full swing at the school for villains. On a raised hexagonal stage, a priest acts as a DJ playing a slow song for his audience. In front of him, the entire student body is currently either dancing with their partners or mingling with each other in the outskirts.

A notable exception to this is Gizmo, who's currently guzzling down some punch with a defeated expression.

"Couldn't find anyone?"

Gizmo glances over and sees Mammoth approaching in a black tux that looks ready to tear from his heavily muscled frame. Holding his arm is a teenage girl with her body completely covered in silvery metal save her hair and whited-out eyes. She's currently wearing a black and red dress skirt with matching knee-high boots.

Gizmo gives the two a dopey smile. "Hey, Mammoth! Hey, Bombshell!"

Bombshell smirks. "You enjoying yourself."

"Absholutely! I don't need no whiney chick to have a good time! I'm a Shigma!" Gizmo slurs before gulping down another cup.

Mammoth grins. "Looks like someone beat us to spiking the punch bowl."

Bombshell discreetly reveals the bottle of vodka in her free hand. "Their loss is our gain. We can share this after the dance, big boy."

Mammoth chuckles eagerly at his date's smoldering look.

On the dance floor, Jinx is ecstatic as she's twirled around by her own date.

"I never knew you were this good a dancer," Jinx praises.

"We had a good teacher," Hydra replies as looks over to a far wall, where Sheila is giving him a thumbs-up.

Hydra stops spinning Jinx and holds her waist while they circle each other, making the girl blush.

Jinx steels herself. "Hydra, I want you to know that these past five weeks I've known you have been the best times I've had in a long time."

"We're glad we've made you feel that way, Jinx," Hydra responds. "Admittedly, we were skeptical about being able to make new friends on this world considering our struggles back on Shinobu. Meeting you and the rest of the Hive has been a blessing."

"I'm happy to be your friend too, Hydra," Jinx says as she trails her fingers across Hydra's arm. "The thing is, I'm hoping that the two of us can be more than – Ouch!"

Hydra is startled by the cry and Jinx's stumbling. "What's wrong?"

"Something nicked my leg!" Jinx answers as she struggles to keep her footing. "Now my leg's feeling funny."

Hydra wastes no time in leading Jinx to a nearby chair for her to sit down. Hydra then kneels down, lifts Jinx's leg – making the girl's face go red – and notices a tiny scratch across the back of her thigh that's slightly bleeding.

Hydra touches the nick before tasting his finger. "Poison. Some kind of paralytic."

"No wonder my leg's going numb," Jinx comments.

"Something the matter?"

Hydra and Jinx both turn and see a girl with sharp Asian features and long wild black hair approaching them. She's wearing a green ao dai that clings to her curves and features a golden tiger on the front. The white and red cat mask attached to her hip identifies her as Cheshire.

Hydra stands up while Jinx looks away indignantly.

"J-Just taking a break, that's all," Jinx says unconvincingly.

Cheshire smirks as she grabs Hydra's arm. "In that case, your friend is in need of a new dance partner."

"But we can just heal the – woah!" Hydra tries saying before he's tugged onto the dance floor.

Jinx watches them leave with a pained look before she sees the femme fatale glancing back with a knowing smile.

Quickly connecting the dots, Jinx growls with grit teeth while her eyes light up with magic.

Back with Hydra, he starts his slow dance with Cheshire, though with considerably less enthusiasm.

"We hope that poison doesn't go past numbness, for your sake," Hydra threatens.

"Relax, killer. I'm not savage enough to cripple or kill a teenage girl at a dance," Cheshire assures her impromptu date. "I just need some alone time with you."

"We didn't think you were the type to enjoy these kinds of events," Hydra comments.

"There's quite a bit you don't know about me, though I'm willing to share for you. You've earned the honor, after all," Cheshire says while rubbing Hydra's arm seductively. "On that note, I heard the Headmaster's going to be showing you off to some supervillains two days from now."

"A demonstration of our abilities to potential employers," Hydra confirms.

"I've gotten word from Ra's al Ghul; he'll be watching your demonstration," Cheshire informs. "He intends to bid for you."

"And you're here to convince me to accept his bid," Hydra deduces.

"You're a ninja assassin from another world. You'll fit in well with the League of Shadows," Cheshire points out before reaching up and stroking Hydra's whiskered face. "If you're still unconvinced, however, perhaps I can persuade you to – woah!"

Whump!

Hydra blinks in surprise for a moment before looking down at Cheshire, who's apparently tripped on her foot and fallen to the floor. The girl sits up with a groan before looking at her right foot and seeing that the heel has cleanly separated from the rest of the shoe.

"I just got these shoes yesterday. How–" Cheshire mutters before her eyes catch Jinx.

The bad-luck sorceress has magic crackling between her fingers and a smug smile on her face. "Oops."

Cheshire glares at the other girl before flipping herself into a crouch, kicking off both shoes in the process. She reaches into the back of her ao dai and pulls out her signature Sais.

In response, Jinx hobbles back onto her feet, her numb leg dragging slightly, before lighting up both hands with magic.

The two villainesses scowl at each other and prepare for a fight.

WHOMP!

The slamming of a foot not only startles the two villainesses out of their bloodlust, but also cracks the ground underneath, stops the music, and makes everyone else look at the Shinobian with the blood-red aura.

Hydra's blood-red fox eyes glare at both Jinx and Cheshire. "Hallway. Now."

Both girls gulp and nod.

Nearby, Gizmo laughs drunkenly. "~Drama~!"

Location: Hallway, Hive Academy

"What's the matter with you two?! This is supposed to be a night of fun and camaraderie, and you two are ruining it!" Hydra berates Jinx and Cheshire, who both look away with guilty expressions.

"She started it!" Jinx accuses Cheshire hotly. "She poisoned me!"

"Oh, please. As if I'm the only poison wielder in the Hive," Cheshire deflects.

"But you're the only one jealous of me asking Hydra to the dance!" Jinx counters.

"Only after I put my hat in the ring, and you were threatened by me," Cheshire points out.

"Threatened?! I'm not threatened by some girl that creeps in the shadows and stabs everyone around them!" Jinx yells.

"Says the fake goth who follows Hydra around like a lost puppy," Cheshire retorts.

"It's called 'being friends'! You don't know because you don't have any!" Jinx responds.

"Face it, little girl; you're just not compatible for him," Cheshire states coldly.

"You don't deserve to be his girlfriend!" Jinx yells.

"And you do?" Cheshire asks.

Hydra, who's been watching the back-and-forth, suddenly interjects, "Wait a minute. Girlfriend? Is that what this is about?"

"Yes!" Jinx responds hotly.

Cheshire smirks. "Here's an idea; let's let him decide."

"For once, we agree on something," Jinx says before she and the other girl get right up in Hydra's face. "Well, Hydra? Are you picking her or me?"

The teenage boy looks at the two faces in front of him, seeing clearly that Jinx and Cheshire both have romantic feelings for him.

However…

"As they say here on Earth, kit, 'rip the Band-Aid off'," Kurama says calmly.

Hydra takes a breath to steel himself before clasping each of the girls' shoulders.

"Jinx…Cheshire…we are honored to call you our comrades, and you both are precious to us," Hydra states gently. "That being said, we can't return either of your feelings for us."

Cheshire looks surprised by the rejection. As for Jinx…

"WHAT?!" Jinx exclaims, making Hydra wince. "Why not?!"

Hydra sighs. "Telling you would make you angry with us."

"What, are you gay?" Cheshire asks incredulously.

"We go both ways," Hydra answers evenly, surprising the two girls further. "We're not in love with any guys right now, though."

"What about girls?" Cheshire asks. "I've never seen you interact with any of the other girls at this school that closely."

Jinx suddenly gasps in dread before glaring at her friend. "Hydra, you can't possibly mean Raven!"

Once more, Cheshire is surprised tonight. "Raven? The Teen Titan?"

Hydra nods. "We're afraid so."

"That girl is one our biggest enemies! She stabbed you with your own sword! Why would you be in love with her?!" Jinx demands.

"Plenty of reasons," Hydra answers. "The way our powers interact with each other, the fun dances we have during missions, her drive to defeat and impress us, her hidden passion…we just resonate so well with each other."

"She's a Titan!" Jinx points out. "She'll never be one of us!"

"Actually, if things were different, she would have made an excellent Hive student," Hydra argues, "Just like we could have been a splendid Titan."

Jinx looks scandalized. "Don't even joke about that!"

"It's true. From our interactions with Raven, we've gotten to know quite a bit about her," Hydra says confidently.

"What exactly do you mean by 'interactions'?" Cheshire questions.

Hydra suddenly looks nervous. "Oh, you know, battles and missions and…stuff…"

Jinx slowly gets a horrid feeling inside her. "Hydra…did you…date Raven?"

Hydra scratches the back of his head. "Um, define 'date'."

Jinx suddenly grabs Hydra's tux and pulls him closer to her. "You never got…intimate with her, like kissing and such, right?" She asks with a strained and frantic smile. She then grabs Hydra's face. "Say 'I never kissed Raven'! I need to hear these words!"

Hydra's mouth is squished by Jinx's grip. "But…do you need to hear all dose wordsh ekshactly?"

SLAP!

Cheshire winces at the sound of the impact.

Hydra, meanwhile, finds his head rocked to the side while the opposite side of his face has a massive rosy hand-shaped imprint.

"You…YOU…UGH!" Jinx cries out, giving up on finding the right words to express her rage before she starts hobbling down the hall away from the dance.

Hydra nurses his face with his hand. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my room!" Jinx yells in response.

Hydra follows after her. "But…the dance…your leg…"

"Don't care, and don't care!" Jinx cries out as she tries desperately to hold back her tears.

She then yelps as she finds herself hoisted up into the arms of the last person she wants to be around right now.

"We're not abandoning our friend in her time of need. We'll take you to your room," Hydra declares before carrying the spooky girl down the hall.

"Hydra! Let me go! I'm gonna hex you! I'll make you bald! I'll make you sterile! I mean it! HYDRA!" Jinx shouts as she struggles in vain to free herself.

A distance away, a blank-faced Cheshire watches Hydra escort Jinx against the sorceress's will.

The Shadow huffs in annoyance. "So much for making a persuasive argument."

Location: Jinx's Room, Hive Academy

The door to the room opens for Hydra, who's still carrying a now pouting Jinx.

"Well, um, here you go," Hydra says unsurely as he sets Jinx down.

"Great. Thanks. Goodnight," Jinx replies shortly as she storms into her room and makes the door close behind her.

She hears a hand and foot halt the door halfway across before it's forced back open.

Jinx huffs. "I don't want to hear–"

"Jinx!" Hydra exclaims in a pleading tone. "…Please…"

Despite all of her anger telling her not too, Jinx robotically turns around to face the boy. She immediately regrets it upon seeing Hydra's remorseful expression and desperate eyes. The whiskers on his face make him look like a sad kitten, which violently pulls at the girl's heartstrings.

"Jinx…sorry doesn't even begin to describe how we feel right now," Hydra explains. "We've hurt you tonight. We understand that. We can't give you the type of love that you want from us. That doesn't mean you aren't precious to us, though. We are eager to fight by your side. We are willing to help you in a heartbeat. You have been so kind to us, and we will strive to repay your kindness with interest. You're the first and greatest friend we've made in this world, and we hope that we can remain friends until the end of – Mmph!"

Hydra's heartfelt apology is cut off by Jinx suddenly grabbing his tux and pulling him in for a kiss. It's simply a girl smashing her lips against a boy's, nothing erotic about it, but Jinx pours all of her emotions into it. After a nail-biting moment, the two separate.

"Jinx?" Hydra asks tentatively.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but right now, I wish you were a cocky womanizing jerk," Jinx says in a pained tone. "I would have forgiven you way more easily if you were. But I know you're not. That's why it hurts so much."

"…Could you?" Hydra asks hesitantly. "Forgive us?"

Jinx smiles sadly and chuckles. "Of course, I will…eventually." She then lets go of his suit. "Right now, I'm gonna cry myself to sleep. I'll see you at class tomorrow."

After a moment of silence, Hydra nods before stepping out of the doorway.

Jinx continues smiling at the boy. "Goodnight, Hydra. Thanks for the dance. It was fun."

The door closes, cutting Hydra off from his dear friend. It doesn't take long for his enhanced hearing to pick up sounds of sobbing from the other side. The heart-wrenching sound makes the boy lean his forehead onto the door while his hands draw blood from clenching them.

"Romance is a bitch," Kurama comments.

Hydra doesn't have the energy to respond back.

Location: Raven's Room, Titans Tower

In her room in a tower of steel and glass, another girl is weeping on her bed. After a long day of anger, hurt, and conflicting feelings, Raven finally has a chance to release all of her frustrations into her pillow.

'Dammit, Malchior!' Raven rants in her mind. 'Why do you hurt me so much?! Why do you yell at me so much?! Why do you make me cry so much?! Why did you have to get your ass kicked by Hydra?! Why do you have to be such a shitty boyfriend?! …Why can't you just love me?'

Raven clenches her pillow tighter as her inner raging continues.

'Beast Boy, you idiotic asshole! You can't call me all of those horrible things and then claim to be my friend! How can I be your friend if you can't stand being around me?! Why do you lie to me all the time?! Why do you hate me?!'

The poor sorceress is uncaring of her power lashing out at the items all around her room as her crying becomes ragged and tired.

'Why do you two…make me feel so alone?'

Raven takes her face off of her pillow, her eyes red and puffy. She looks around and sees that her entire room has been trashed.

Raven groans. 'I'll have to use my magic to fix it all. Great.'

She gets off the bed and walks over to her fractured mirror. Amidst all the broken glass, she sees that her cloak has fully reverted back to indigo blue.

'I'm back to square one,' Raven laments internally. 'Back to bottling myself up. Back to feeling alone in the world. Back to having no one care for me…except…maybe…'

She turns around and looks back at her bed. She walks over to it, kneels down, and pulls out a locked box she's just put under there hours ago.

She unlocks the box and opens it…revealing Hydra's jacket and cap.

Tentatively, Raven takes out the jacket, brings it right against her face, and takes a whiff.

As soon as the familiar scent registers in her brain, her anguish begins falling away. Raven falls to her side on the carpet while hugging the jacket, burying her face in the musky material to find some comfort in her tumultuous life.

Raven's eyes begin hazing over. 'Comfort.'

'We really scared you, didn't we? We're sorry.'

'All this time, he's been comforting to me…' Raven muses.

'We're so sorry! We weren't trying to scare you! Please, don't cry! Look! It's a flower! Pretty, right?'

'He never wanted me to be upset,' Raven thinks. 'He wanted…'

'We suppose, what we want is to make you happy.'

A flash of white catches Raven's eye. She's surprised to see her outfit flicker white just for a moment.

'My emotions…they're harmonizing…for him?' Raven deduces incredulously.

Flashes of memories suddenly barrage Raven's mind.

'You've definitely impressed us tonight, Raven! You're incredible!'

'You're cute when you pout, y'know?'

'Amazing! We can feel our chakra being suppressed! Well done, Raven!'

'Even your glares are beautiful, Raven.'

'We steal from others for a living, and you, Raven, are the greatest treasure we've ever laid eyes on.'

'We're sorry, Raven. It's just…the fact that anyone would hurt you like that – especially your 'boyfriend' – pisses us off.'

More flashes of white come from Raven's outfit as the girl clings tighter to Hydra's jacket.

'Hydra,' Raven thinks, 'you're supposed to be my enemy, so why do you keep protecting me? You're supposed to be my rival, yet you're always so proud of me. You heal me, you warm my heart, you pick me up, you make me swoon, you…you care for me, don't you?'

'You, Raven, are our greatest treasure. Seeing your smile makes it seem like our heart has been replaced by the sun. Watching your tears fall feels like a hundred swords piercing our body. When you're angry, we're willing to brave whatever storm necessary to make you happy again. When you're hurt, we will muster all of our power to avenge you. Gods, the thought of meeting you in battle again and again motivates us to train until our bones crack. We personally volunteer for missions that draw the attention of the Titans just for the opportunity to see you, and we want to savor every single moment with you. Honestly, it's taking every fiber of our being to not devour you right now. We were never taught the proper meaning of 'love', but we believe this is pretty close, don't you?'

Raven face goes warm in realization. 'You really do love me…and I…I…,'

"…I love you, Hydra…"

Raven feels a knot come loose inside her upon her admittance. She sees her cloak and leotard once again return to a white color.

The sorceress smiles. "I love you, Hydra. I love you, Hydra! I love you!"

Passion begins flooding her mind with suggestive images once again, scenarios of her being stolen away by the villain before she's bound in chains and made to submit to her new lover and master.

Raven doesn't block them out. On the contrary, one of her hands reaches down to her lower lips as she embraces them.

Her other hand goes to her throat and begins squeezing lightly. Raven gasps as she imagines Hydra choking her while peppering sweet kisses across her neck.

The girl turns herself over so that her face is buried into the leather jacket, allowing more of Hydra's scent to fill her mind, while her hips are raised high in the air. Anyone walking into the room would see the normally cool-headed Raven shaking her ass like a bitch in heat while her fingers rub her dripping pussy feverously.

'Smother me! Envelop me! Control me! Comfort me! Torture me! Penetrate me! Break me! Love me!' Raven chants mentally as she plunges her finger inside her, moaning wantonly the whole time. 'Oh, Hydra! Oh, Daddy!'

Hydra's last words to her come to mind.

'Next time, you will be ours.'

Raven giggles perversely. "Daddy…I'm already yours."

For the rest of the night, the room is filled with the sounds of Raven pleasuring herself while lost in the fantasies of her newest and truest lover.

Chapter End

AN: So, honestly, this could have been two chapters. Oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed this length of a chapter!

So, Beast Boy and Raven's relationship has definitely taken a turn for the worse in this reality. I found it rather odd that "Spellbound" ended with Beast Boy and Raven getting closer together, with Raven even hugging Beast Boy, only for the two of them to be at odds three episodes later. In this universe, with Malchior still around and Raven getting wooed by Hydra, Beast Boy has a lot more negative feelings for the sorceress, resulting in him exploding at the poor girl and driving a further wedge between her and the team.

Speaking of wedges, Hydra's days in the Hive might be numbered, what with him wiping the floor with Brother Blood and breaking his best friend Jinx's heart at the big dance. Here's hoping he has a good exit strategy.

On the other hand, he just got done beating Malchior to a bloody pulp before finally capturing Raven's heart. Hooray!

Next time, the love triangle of Hydra, Raven, and Malchior finally comes to a head as a "wizard" has his true colors revealed. Who will survive the resulting conflict, and how will the outcome affect Hydra's career in The Hive and Raven's place in the Titans?

Thanks for reading!

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