Fan Fiction ❯ Will D. Beest ❯ Unleashed ( Chapter 12 )

Notes: Oh, and a note on crisis logic. For anyone who remembers that little scene in "Speed" where a pre-Matrix Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock make out on a crashed subway train, surviving a high intensity situation can supposedly bring two people closer together in…ahem…interesting ways. And it is hard to think of a superhero team where someone didn't get involved, either with another teammate, someone associated with the team, or an enemy (in Arsenal's case, anyway).

Today's lesson is this: Danger does something to people. Makes them want to have babies. Or at least hump like rabbits.

Chapter 12: Unleashed

Raven was aware of only two things when she finally woke up: the stabbing pains that tormented her body with every breath, and the sound of someone crying nearby.

It took her several minutes to make it to a sitting position, and that alone she would come to regret in the near future. But any thoughts of her own pain all but faded when her eyes took in the sight before her.

A few feet away, Beast Boy was crouched over Terra. He had definitely seen better days. The entire right side of his face seemed to be one big, purple bruise, and the left was decorated with angry, red scratches. There was no doubt that this was Terra's work, and Raven felt a renewed flash of anger roll over her as she glared at the blonde girl.

Who wasn't moving even the slightest bit, for whatever reason.

Raven paused and looked again. Now she could see a tiny, red-rimmed hole on the side of Terra's neck.

"She was going to kill you," Beast Boy said suddenly, raising his head to meet Raven's gaze. "I didn't believe it, at first. But then your face turned blue, and…" He trailed off, looking away. "I had to do it."

"Do what?" Raven asked, suddenly aware that something beyond the bruises was bothering her friend.

"What do you know about the Egyptian asp?" He was making an effort not to meet her eyes.

"One of the most poisonous snakes in the world. What does that have to…oh."

"I had to, Raven," he said at once. "I didn't want to believe that she could kill anyone. But you didn't see the look on her face. After what she did to me, I couldn't take the chance. Not with your life."

She wanted to thank him, but it didn't exactly seem appropriate just then. Instead, Raven gently placed her hand on his cheek. There was a brief flash of light, and most of Beast Boy's wounds vanished. "That's all I can do for now," she apologized.

"It's enough," Beast Boy replied quietly, the haunted look still present in his eyes.

Raven sighed. "Look, you didn't have any choice. Besides, if she had killed me, what would you have done different?"

"Torn out her throat," Beast Boy answered automatically, a look of horror crossing his face the next moment.

"So she was dead either way, wasn't she?" Raven asked, slowly getting to her feet. "You won't get any grief from me."

"But I'm a killer now," he whispered.

"You're the only reason I'm alive right now. Killers kill to take life, not preserve it."

"But…she's still dead. And I didn't have the right to-"

Raven suddenly placed her hand against his forehead.

Beast Boy blinked slowly. "…what was I saying?"

Raven's eyes flashed briefly, but only she was aware of them doing so. "She was dead when we got here. Slade must've been angry with her."

Beast Boy's eyes teared up. "She was so young. She could've changed."

"I doubt it, but it's too late to worry about it now. We'd better concern ourselves with the living. Including us. Now, help me walk, or you'll have to carry me, BB."

He paused as he approached her. "You called me BB. You never call me BB."

Raven allowed herself a tiny smile. "I'm feeling closer to you all of a sudden. Must be crisis logic kicking in or something."

"Uh…okay." Beast Boy slipped Raven's arm around his neck and looped his arm around her back, figuring that carrying her would only embarrass them both.

Raven's smile faded as her thoughts turned inward. She had never manipulated any of her teammates' thoughts before, and it left a bad taste in her mouth. But Beast Boy wasn't prepared to deal with what he'd done to save her, nor could they afford to have him thinking about it in the coming fight. It was only a temporary block, and she could remove it at any time.

The only problem was that Raven couldn't think of a single reason why she should remove it. Ever.

* * * * *

Supergirl heard a whooshing sound behind her, but she assumed it was just Jade shrinking herself so she could slip into the air vent. So she was more than a little surprised when the fireball slammed into her back with just enough force to sting, and that was really saying something.

She turned quickly, her eyes widening as Jade spat three more fireballs at her, a wild look in her dark eyes. "JADE!" Supergirl shouted in shock as she easily dodged the fire. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Taking you out," Jade replied with a wicked smirk. "Feel free to die at any time."

Had the fireballs been green, Supergirl might have been worried. At present, though, she was more concerned about Jade. This sudden personality shift didn't seem like her, even though they had barely known each other a whole day. That, and she really doubted Raven would put her trust in someone that couldn't be trusted. After all, Supergirl knew from personal experience that Raven's trust was not an easy thing to win.

Something had to be controlling Jade, then. Maybe that unknown girl was a telepath of some sort. Telepaths of the highest order could even take over a person's body completely, she'd heard. And somehow, she doubted the young, arrogant girl Starfire had described was that good.

"Well, you can't be mind-controlled puppet if you're out cold," Supergirl said, using her super-speed to slip behind Jade and deliver a solid blow to the base of her neck.

Jade stumbled, then whirled around and threw up her hand. A whole section of the wall broke free and buried Supergirl, and Jade grinned. "Good thing `motion to the motionless' is open to interpretation, huh, Supey?"

"Not really." Supergirl burst from the debris and slammed Jade to the floor. "I don't want to hurt you, Jade, but you're REALLY starting to annoy me. We don't have time for this."

"Hurting me is the least of your troubles," Jade whispered, her eyes glowing red.

Supergirl flinched, half-expecting heat beams. Instead, three pairs of hands suddenly grabbed her and threw her off of Jade. She gasped in surprise as three lean, black-clothed figures blocked her path.

"You haven't met my Shadowkhan," Jade chuckled. "They don't take kindly to my enemies."

"And I don't take kindly to mind tricks. Whoever you are, let Jade go before I really get mad!"

"Oooh, we're shaking," Jade teased. "Get her, boys!"

The Shadowkhan sprang into action…against their mistress. Jade's eyes widened as two of the demon ninja pinned her arms behind her back, while a third produced a long, white feather.

"HEY!" Jade shouted. "I said get HER! LET ME GO!!!"

Supergirl looked on in stunned silence as the Shadowkhan tickled Jade's nose with a feather. She resisted as long as she could, but was finally forced to sneeze. A strong, cold wind blew through the corridor, and Jade's body went limp as the Shadowkhan carefully lowered her to the ground and vanished.

"Jade?" Supergirl asked hesitantly, taking a step forward.

Jade slowly raised her head. "Sorry about that. I got body-snatched."

"I figured. But how did you…?"

"Horse talisman power. Removes any foreign presence from the body. Including body-snatchers."

"But…the feather?"

Jade rubbed her head. "Well, it's also known as the healing talisman, since it gets rid of disease. You have to sneeze to activate it."

"Oh."

The two girls stared at each other for a long moment.

"I'm sorry," Jade said at length, looking away.

"You didn't exactly hurt me," Supergirl pointed out as she pulled Jade to her feet, "but thanks, anyway."

"No. I mean, I know you don't exactly trust me, and this must've made things worse between us."

"Jade, you didn't betray me. You were…body-snatched. I could tell that much. You weren't in control."

"How did you know?"

Supergirl shrugged. "You're a thief, but you have honor. You wouldn't attack me from behind; you'd do it to my face."

"…uh…thanks, I think." Jade decided not to mention that in Supergirl's case, she actually WOULD have been more likely to attack from behind, if only to avoid being heat-beamed into ashes.

"Come on. We'd better hurry before I get body-snatched. Or worse, someone stronger than me does."

* * * * *

Wildy's huge paw lashed out, palming Lightning's head like a basketball and slamming it into the wall with a sickening thud.

"RELEASE MY BROTHER AT ONCE!" Thunder roared, pounding the beast's back with bright bluesonic waves.

More out sheer irritation than anything else, Wildy dropped Lightning and sprang across the room towards Thunder, snarling and frothing at the mouth as he closed in on his prey.

Thunder drove his fist into Wildy's face, releasing the compacted power of a thunderclap at close range. Naturally, he was surprised when Wildy only flinched, snarled even louder, and sank his teeth into Thunder's blue hand.

Thunder's terrified screams of pain did serve to awaken his brother, but all Lightning's attacks seemed to do was make the beast's fur stand on end.

"Y'know, he was actually down by now in the plan," Jinx pointed out as she helped Gizmo sit up. "What went wrong?"

The boy genius frowned. "Nothing. We did everything were supposed to, but the snot-blower just won't cooperate."

"It doesn't even look like he feels anything."

"He feels it, all right," Mammoth muttered, fingering his split lip. "He's just ignoring it. Somebody must've hit him in the crotch and got him pissed."

"Wasn't me!" Gizmo snapped when Jinx gave him a look.

Jinx shook her head. "It must be something else, but we haven't got time to figure out what. I'd rather be torn apart than have to explain to Slade that I screwed this up."

"Can we take a vote on that?" Gizmo asked.

Jinx would've replied, but she was forced to duck as Thunder and Lightning sailed over her head. She gulped as Wildy turned his full attention on them, growling softly as he lumbered forward.

"I'll distract him as long as I can," Mammoth said. "You two take out the ceiling."

"What? But it'll cave in on us, too!" Gizmo protested.

"Would you rather be buried alive, or end up as his toothpick? At least this way, he can't get us."

"Yeah, but none of us get out," Jinx pointed out.

Mammoth shrugged. "So Terra will have to dig us all out. At least we'll have technically captured this thing by ourselves."

"Man, I hate winning on a technicality," Gizmo growled, "but I don't wanna be a toothpick, either."

Mammoth charged, driving his broad shoulder into Wildy's gut and driving him back several feet. Gizmo fired a volley of missiles at the ceiling, while Jinx fired hex bolts up with one hand, and tried to hold Wildy in place with the other.

It worked for a few seconds, but then Wildy broke Jinx's hex hold, knocking her out in the process. Then he brought both paws down hard on Mammoth's back, dropping him like a rock. It was all he had time to do before the ceiling came crashing down.

Gizmo honestly thought about running in an attempt to save his own neck. But he knew the only thing Slade hated more than failure was cowardice. At any rate, he was starting to feel a grudging sense of loyalty for his teammates, even to the point where he felt guilty about leaving them to die. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed the unconscious Jinx and mashed a button on his shoulder. "Good thing I thought to put this in at the last minute."

With a droning hum, an electromagnetic force field blinked into existence, forming a green, crackling energy sphere around the two. Gizmo closed his eyes and ducked his head as the debris covered them almost instantly. The shield held, and would do so until his power ran out. That gave them a couple of hours, at least. He just hoped that Slade didn't mess Terra up too bad, since they'd need her help to get out.

* * * * *

Static came to slowly, and knew at once that something was wrong. He was lying face-up on a table, and steel shackles restrained his limbs.

The last thing he remembered was following Livewire closely down a long corridor.

…but not too closely, since she kept stopping suddenly, and then accusing him of grabbing her butt. Not that she was complaining in the slightest.

Anyway, she'd just gone around a corner, and he'd been about to follow when Livewire turned on him, in every sense of the word. He was not ashamed that she'd knocked him out with one hit; had he been anyone else (except maybe Superman), an electrified fist to the face probably would've killed him instantly.

As it was, he now felt severely drained, and it didn't take him long to figure out why. He tried his powers, and couldn't even generate a tiny spark. Livewire had sucked him dry. That is, she'd absorbed all his electrical energy. Which meant that she was probably running around twice as powerful right now, and on the other side, no less. He doubted even Supergirl could stop her in that state without help.

It was then that he heard voices approaching.

"Terra isn't responding. Should I go check on her?" That was Livewire, he knew, but she sounded different, somehow.

"No," said a voice he didn't recognize. "I will deal with her in time. For now, we'd better make sure our newest recruit has a dependable power source."

They finally entered the room. Sure enough, Livewire was in the lead, followed by someone who had to be Slade. Something about the guy just screamed `evil genius'.

"Hello, Static," Slade said in an almost pleasant manner. "Welcome to my current address. Or would you prefer Mr. Hawkins?"

He glared at the man. "So you know who I am."

"I make it my business to know all of my guests," Slade replied. "Though I am surprised that Raven and Starfire didn't try to pull this off on their own. It would seem they've discovered the convenience of networking."

"So have you," Static replied, glaring at Livewire.

"Sorry, Sparky," Livewire said with a grin. "What we had was great while it lasted, but there are some things a hero like you just can't give me. I am grateful for the power boost, though."

"I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to trust you," Static muttered angrily.

"Hey, you win some, you lose some. Best to just be a good sport about it. We are keeping you alive, for now." Livewire placed a small, metal device on his chest.

Static eyed it with mild curiosity. "What's that? A bomb?"

"Nothing so diabolical, I assure you," Slade replied. "Livewire tells me that you eventually might regain some of your power. Should you do so, this device will merely put it to better use."

"Let me guess. Free cable?"

"Not quite. Meet the recipient of your boundless generosity, Static."

There were two heavy footfalls, and Static found himself staring up at a figure that was half-man, half-machine. Even in the darkness of the room, he knew it could only be one person.

"Unfortunately for your little friends, Livewire isn't the only one that's had…a change of mind, so to speak. Although it took quite a bit of tinkering on my part to make him a willing servant."

"You won't get away with this," Static swore. "They'll stop you."

"You'll have to forgive me, young man, if I don't feel the slightest bit threatened."

* * * * *

Raven sighed and leaned against the wall. "I managed to get Starfire. She's on her way, and Robin's right behind her."

"What about the other people you brought? And Cyborg?"

"Jade and Supergirl had a close call, but they're fine. Static's been captured, Livewire turned on him. I'm not really surprised." She paused. "He also says that Cyborg's been reprogrammed to obey Slade."

Beast Boy groaned. "Man! This is just not our night!"

"I'm not getting anything from Wildy," Raven added quietly. "They probably knocked him out."

"Probably," Beast Boy agreed. "He's durable if nothing else. You wouldn't believe how many times I've caught him eating the T-Car's tires."

They lapsed into an awkward silence, and remained that way until Starfire flew up minutes later.

"Friends!" she said happily, swooping forward to hug them both. "You are…um…not severely damaged?" Starfire asked hopefully, noticing what bad shape they were in.

"We'll live," Raven replied. "Why didn't you just wait on Robin, instead of flying ahead? None of us should be alone in a place like this. It's too easy to get ambushed."

Starfire looked away, unable to answer the question.

Raven and Beast Boy traded confused looks, but before either could press the issue, Robin ran up to them, slightly out of breath.

"Star, didn't you hear me calling you?" he asked, both annoyed and concerned.

"I was occupied," Starfire said quietly, unable to meet his eyes.

"Is this thing neither of you wants to mention something worth any of us getting seriously hurt over?" Raven asked. "Because if it's not, you need to deal with it right now. I'm through taking bruises for no good reason tonight."

"I am a very bad friend," Starfire said at once, looking mournful.

Raven resisted the urge to smirk. "Are you crazy? I'd say you're too good a friend if anything."

"No! I am very bad!" Starfire insisted. "I…I abandoned Robin when he needed me. I admitted defeat to my sister. I did not try to save him from her."

"Well, like you said, I wasn't in any real danger," Robin hesitantly pointed out. "Blackfire didn't hurt me. In fact, she let me go, once she figured out your heart wasn't in it. I'm willing to forget all this if you are."

"I cannot," Starfire said sadly. "I am not worthy to be a Teen Titan anymore. Maybe I never was."

"Star, you're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?" Beast Boy asked.

"I am afraid so," Starfire whispered, taking out her Titans communicator. She started to hand it to Robin, then noticed the hurt look on his face and quickly pressed it into Beast Boy's hand. She had only taken a step when an iron grip closed around her arm. Starfire turned slightly, startled to see that it was Raven that had grabbed her.

"You. Are. NOT. Leaving." The really odd thing was that Raven had managed to say all of that through clenched teeth.

Starfire bit her lip. "Raven, I am sorry-"

"NO. I said you're not-!"

"Raven," Robin interrupted calmly. He separated them and looked at Starfire. "If you really want to leave, I won't stop you. But I don't think you do really want to leave. I think you regret a decision you made, and that you might regret making this one even more. So for now, at least, as leader of the Titans, I forbid you to leave the team, Starfire. After we're all safe, and you've had time to think carefully about this, then you can make your decision. For now, you are still a Titan in good standing."

"Then…I am a prisoner?" Starfire asked uncertainly.

"No," Robin answered with a smile. "But it does mean if you try to leave now, we'll keep coming after you until you surrender."

A green bloodhound sniffed loudly at Starfire's boots. "Got your scent," he said after reverting to Beast Boy. "Nowhere to run or fly where I can't find you."

"Anyway, Wildy would cry if you left," Raven added. "Then I'd have to come after you for making him sad, and things would get ugly."

"That means she'd miss you, too," Beast Boy whispered loudly.

Raven started to protest, then changed her mind and grabbed Starfire's hand. "I would," she said quietly.

"All of us would," Robin confirmed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We can't let you go that easy, Star. You're too precious to each and every one of us."

Starfire sniffled and wrapped them all in a bone-crushing hug, burying her face in Robin's shoulder. "You are all such wonderful friends!" she sobbed.

"Then why are you punishing us?!" Raven gasped.

"Uncle!" Beast Boy wheezed. "UNCLE!!!"

And from deep within the shadows, Blackfire watched the mushy display with a look of intense envy, before finally vanishing into the darkness.

* * * * *

"Well, this looks like the control center of an evil complex," Jade said, gesturing to the large computers that lined the wall. "So where are all the bad guys?"

"Maybe they're busy," Supergirl replied, glancing around the room. "Think you can hack in and find out where the Titans are?"

"Sure. But if a fight starts, remember to throw the flunkies AWAY from the consoles. I can't tell you how many times that's screwed up an otherwise perfect heist."

Supergirl frowned sternly and pointed at the computers. "Hack."

"Right. Sorry." Jade sat in the nearest chair and went to work.

Supergirl continued to scan the room, unable to shake the feeling that they had walked right into an ambush. Still, she could pick up nothing unusual with her super-senses, and she didn't want to leave Jade alone if this was a trap.

Roughly three minutes later, Jade waved her over. "Okay, this room caved in on itself," Jade said, pointing to a mound of rubble on one monitor. "My guess is Wildy brought the house down. I don't think anybody's getting in or out of there without help, not even him. But I think he'll be fine for a while."

Supergirl nodded. "Anyone in immediate trouble?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if we need to worry about her." The monitor changed to show a skinny blonde lying in dirt with her head propped up on a rock. "I think this is the unknown Starfire mentioned. No idea what happened to her, but she hasn't moved the whole time."

Supergirl leaned closer, peering at the screen. "She's not breathing. Two small marks on her neck, looks like a snake bite."

Jade rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Where were you and your super-vision when I was trying to get the zoom function to work?" She tapped another key, bringing up an overhead view of Static strapped to a table. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Static isn't the type to turn into a bondage freak in the middle of a mission."

Supergirl scowled. "Livewire. I really thought she'd changed."

"Well, he doesn't look hurt or anything. That's good, right?"

"I guess. But that might just mean he could absorb anything she threw at him. For his sake, I hope he can."

"Then all we've got is one real ray of sunshine." Jade changed the screen again, revealing Raven leading Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin down a stairway. "And there's our Titans. A little roughed up, but okay. Can't seem to get a fix on Cyborg, though. He must be somewhere the cameras don't show."

"Did you try right behind you?" a voice asked.

Supergirl spun around, her fist stopping inches from Cyborg's head. "Geez, Cy, don't sneak up on me!"

He smiled. "Sorry. Good to see you made it in one piece, Supergirl."

"You knew I was coming?" she asked in surprise.

"I had a feeling Starfire might go to you for help." His gaze moved to Jade. "Friend of yours?"

"Raven's actually, but I'm starting to consider being seen with her in public."

"Ha ha," Jade said dryly. "I don't suppose you've seen Blackfire around, big guy?"

"Nope. But then I was a little busy, what with being reprogrammed and all."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in, but it was all the time Slade's army of robotic henchmen needed to surround the two girls and Cyborg.

"Jade," Supergirl said softly, backing up to the console. "How many Shadowkhan do you have?"

"Three," said Jade.

"Well, how many can you get?!"

"Three!"

"Okay. Then what's…three hundred divided by four?"

"Wouldn't you make five?"

"No," Supergirl said patiently, "because I'm the only thing capable of stopping Cyborg from blasting you to bits, and I don't think you want me distracted just now."

"Good point. Oh, and feel free to throw him into the computers now; we don't need them anymore."

"Wonderful," Supergirl replied as she ripped an entire console from the wall and threw it at Cyborg.

* * * * *

"It's about time!" Gizmo snapped as he and Jinx were pulled out of the mound of rubble. It took him exactly three seconds to realize just who had pulled them out, though. "Aw, crudsicles…"

"What have you done with Fuzzy?!" Starfire demanded, giving him a good shake.

"She means the big, hairy beast that left you buried," Raven added helpfully.

Gizmo chuckled. "Well, Mammoth's right over there. But if you mean the OTHER hairy beast that WE buried, then he's in here somewhere, too."

"You are lying!" Starfire cried, her eyes glowing as she charged up a Starbolt.

"Actually, I don't think he is," Robin replied. "I just found Thunder and Lightning. They definitely mixed it up with Wildy…or at least got messed up by him."

"You crud munchers should really rethink your membership screening process," Gizmo suggested. "That thing's plain unreasonable when it's mad!"

"Well, nobody made you take him on," Beast Boy snapped.

"Actually, I wanted no part of him. Animals are way too unpredictable. But Slade wanted him, so I didn't have much choice, did I?"

"We'll see," Robin said. "Beast Boy, see if you can pick up Wildy's scent. Starfire, you help him dig. Raven, I hate to ask, but could you…?"

"Yeah, sure," Raven muttered as she stood over Gizmo. "I'm already dirty all over, might as well have my mind feel that way, too."

"Hey," Gizmo said warily, "what are you-"

Raven glared at him. "Keep your mouth shut for once…if for no other reason to keep from screaming like a girl."

Thankfully, Gizmo did keep his mouth shut, and by the time Raven was done searching his memories, all he had the strength to do was pass out.

"He's telling the truth, Robin. They buried themselves to keep Wildy from ripping them to shreds. I hate to say it, but Wildy has a tendency to lose control easily, and that spell of Jade's might even be making him worse."

"But he's still our little Fuzzy!" Starfire insisted as she helped Beast Boy dig. "We must save him!"

"So do you think he's dangerous?" Robin said softly. "To us?"

"I want to say no," Raven murmured. "But…we need to be ready, in case-"

"WILDY, STOP!!!" Beast Boy shouted.

Robin and Raven looked over to see a thick, hairy arm emerging from the rubble. But caught in its strong grip was Starfire's throat.

"LET HER GO!" Beast Boy ordered as he tugged uselessly at the arm. "BAD WILDY!"

"Stop treating him like a baby; he's hurting her!" Robin ordered, whacking at the arm with his staff.

"But it's Wildy!" Beast Boy protested.

"And that's STARFIRE, Beast Boy!" Robin shouted, pointing desperately at the struggling alien girl.

That seemed to wake Beast Boy up, and he morphed into a lion, slashing mercilessly at Wildy's arm with his claws. However, the grip on Starfire would not be broken.

Raven began to reach for Wildy's mind, but all she found there was all-consuming anger, and if she got any closer, his mind would devour hers. Instead, she reached out for Starfire.

"Listen to me very carefully, if you can, Starfire. You're the only one that can make him let you go."

"Please tell me how, Raven! I can't breathe! I-I'm scared!"

"First, you have to calm down. I know it's hard, but you have to. The more you struggle, the more he'll try to hold you. Next, you have to reach deep within yourself…and stop holding back."

Their eyes met, and Raven knew what Starfire's response would be at once.

"Raven…if you know that I am holding back, then you must also know why! Wildy is our friend, and-"

"That's not what I mean. Stop holding back, Starfire. You're stronger than this, and we both know it."

"Please….do not ask me to do that!"

"Starfire, listen to me. If you don't do it, Wildy is going to kill you. And if he does that, then we will be forced to kill him. Is that what you want?"

"No…but-"

"Then stop being a victim and MAKE him let go!"

The first time they'd met, Raven had known at once that Starfire's loving heart would get her into trouble. She hadn't know when, or if it would get one of their teammates seriously hurt, or worse. And she certainly hadn't suspected that it would put Starfire's own life at risk. What she had know, however, was that Starfire greatest strength, and indirectly, her greatest weakness, was restraint. She had never struck anything or anyone with intent to kill, and she probably never would. Out of all the Titans, only Beast Boy had done so, and that was only to protect Raven. But even now, with Starfire on the brink of death, she still hadn't accepted that desperate times called for desperate measures.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for them all, Raven had.

"Forgive me," Raven whispered as she forced her way into Starfire's mind and took control.

Telepathy usually required, or at least inspired, a certain level of subtlety and skill in its users. There was none of that as Raven accessed Starfire's powers in a way the alien girl had never dared to.

"Sorry, Wildy," Starfire said in a voice remarkably like Raven's, "but you earned this spanking!" With that, she dug her fingers into Wildy's arm and released countless Starbolts directly into his skin.

Immediately, Wildy burst from the ground, snarling in pain and anger as he whipped his arms from side to side, as if trying to get Starfire away from him. But it was clear to all those present that the only one that refused to let go was Wildy himself.

"Fine! You asked for this!" Starfire's eyes blazed with emerald fury as she wrapped her legs around his arm and twisted. There was a dry but audible crack, followed by an unearthly howl as Wildy fell to the ground, Starfire rolling away from him easily.

"Now," she said softly but firmly, "calm down, Wildly!"

Though he stopped making any noise other than quiet whines, the rage was still present in Wildy's eyes.

"Very well. If you will not be calmed, then you must be stopped." Starfire grabbed Wildy's head and slammed it against the nearest rock, sending him immediately into unconsciousness.

There was silence for a long moment.

"How did you get that strong?" Robin asked finally.

"She was always that strong," Raven replied. "She just never told us that she was."

Starfire collapsed next to Wildy, shaking her head and staring at Raven in disbelief. "Raven…how could you?! I begged you not to…you should not have done that!"

"Remember that choice you still need to make?" Raven asked, kneeling next to her. "Well, thanks to that extra power you never want to use, you're still alive to make it."

"But you had no right!" Starfire insisted, tears streaming down her face.

"He was going to take my best friend from me, whether he intended to or not," Raven said softly, stroking Starfire's hair. "I'd say that gave me every right."

"So what do we do now?" Beast Boy asked Robin.

"Wildy needs to be taken care of. Now. We need to find this Jade and have her undo whatever she did to him, before he gets worse."

"He was really going to do it, wasn't he?" Beast Boy whispered.

Robin looked away, finding little comfort in the fact that Starfire had seemingly forgiven Raven, and was now crying quietly in her arms. "Let's just say I'm glad we didn't get the chance to find out."

* * * * *

"You know, there's only one thing that I don't mind giving the Titans credit for, Livewire. They're always so…efficient. And the one thing my little operation has been lacking as of late is efficiency."

"Well, of course," Livewire replied with a smirk. "You didn't have me then."

Slade chuckled softly. "True. But I also had that Titan efficiency working against me. Now, however, I've found a way to put it to good use. Observe."

Cyborg entered the room, carrying the limp forms of Jade and Supergirl on his shoulders.

"Not that we ever doubted you for a second, Cyborg," Slade commented, "but do humor us with how you managed to capture them."

"Well, they put up a good fight," Cyborg answered. "But all we had to do was overwhelm Jade with numbers. Once we got her, Supergirl gave up to keep her from being hurt. Knocked them both out just to be safe, though."

"I expected nothing less." Slade stared into the eyes of his new recruit. "And you will have no problem whatsoever capturing the Teen Titans?"

"Not a one," Cyborg replied confidently with a wicked grin. "After all, who knows `em better than me?"

* * * * *

Next Chapter: These Eyes of Mine

The Titans reluctantly battle Cyborg & Livewire, with assists from Static & Blackfire. Starfire makes her choice, Raven makes amends, Beast Boy makes a change, and Cyborg makes a hand (it'll make sense later). All that, and Raven settles things with Sylvan once and for all (and not without some bloodshed).

Reviews~!

Chaos Damn It

I have read most all of your fics here on mediaminer, and I must say that you are one of THE BEST authors I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. Each of your stories is conveyed absolutely perfectly, with practically no flaws to be found. I have to say that your works are on par with the professionals of the world. But, that's not considering the fact that you possibly very well could be one of those literary specialists. Well, aside from all of that, I would like to let if be known that so far "Will D. Beest" has me on the edge of my seat, and that I find it particularly cruel of you to have such a long time between your updates. I know that things can happen and the will to write a story can be lost for a while, but having to stop right here, at such a drama intensive moment, really leaves me with the urge to bash my head in to a sharp corner. Just to let you know. So, I will leave you with a wish for expediency on the hopefully soon to arrive next chapter, and the same thing that I tell everybody to do: Keep up the good work.

Well, first, you must know that I don't make you wait on purpose, even if I joke about it every now and then. I am not a literary specialist, but a former one-time English major, so I'd like to think I learned a few things. I am not perfect, though I often wish I was in moments of boredom. As for why I pause on dramatic moments, that's something I picked up in my literary studies. You wouldn't believe how many legendary writers just leave you hanging for no other reason than because they can. I emulate what I've experience myself. It's only fair. Okay, not really, but there it is. I get distracted far too easily, can't help it, I'm a naturally curious person. I know it hurts to wait, never forget that I'm not just a writer, I'm a reader, too. I know how it feels to be screwed over a story that will never end, and I know how it feels to do the screwing. Not that I enjoy it, but it happens.