Ravenlations (closed)

(closed for Mephistophelily)
[SIZE="-2"](with apologies to the unrelated hentai comic of the same name for my lack of originality )[/SIZE]

The afternoon sun beat down upon the large T shaped building which looked over the nearby populace of Jump City from its isolated island location. Waves of crystal clear water crashed against the shore, and up above one could see a white flock of birds soaring through the sky with a near perfect unison. Those blessed with good enough eyes, however, would notice that one amongst their number had an unusual green coloring to its feathers and, indeed its whole body. Garfield Logan, better known as Beast Boy, was one who often preferred the more technological and certainly noisy joys of life. At the same time, there was a side of him which could bask, albeit for short amounts of time, in the simplest (albeit peculiar) joys allowed by the powers given since childhood. Unfortunately, duty often called at the most unwelcomed of times.

"Beast Boy? Are you there?" The familiar voice of the boy wonder emitted out of his wing; frightening off his fine feathered friends and leaving the young Titan flying solo before altering its course toward Titan's Tower.

The special material which made up his costume allowed the teen to change into whatever he wanted without fear of ripping or losing his only means of modesty upon returning to 'normal'. His specially designed communicator was part of this, and clearly worked fine when transformed, but it was still easier to speak into your wrist when you weren't in a form that depend on you frequently flapping your arms about or keeping them outstretched for riding on wind currents. The fluttering fowl soon shifted its form; taking upon that of its natural, albeit uniquely colored humanoid self. His now booted feet landing onto the hard structure with a light thud, pausing for a moment to place both hands on his lower back and stretch a bit before bringing up his wrist and rolling up the glove to respond into the communicator underneath.

"I'm here. Just stretching out my legs. Well, arms. Wings. You get the idea." The teen explained, giving a shrug over the matter while elaborating, "Nothing else to do around here while everyone's busy with their own thing and Cyborg's not around for a video game butt whooping."

"Didn't Cyborg beat you at that racing game you picked up last weekend?" His leader inquired with an apparent hint of confusion in his otherwise straightforward tone.

With a slight shrug, the young Titan scoffed at the aforementioned victory, "Pft, it was a case of beginners luck."

"It was eight games in a row." The voice on the other line quickly corrected.

Sputtering for a moment, Beast Boy quickly yelled back at the communicator in a typical over the top manner, "Hey, whose side are you on?!"

Although Robin tried to maintain his composure in the face of this, you could practically see his eyes rolling in response as he finished, "Look, just meet me in the lounge area in five minutes. Starfire and I are about ready to leave, and I want to go over a few drills in the case of an emergency one last time."

"Sure, I'll be right in." He finally agreed in a defeated voice before their connection went dead; making a light scoffing sound and mumbling under his breath as started for the exit off the roof, "We already went through your 'drills' like a hundred times by now."

Once inside, the teen softly whispered to himself while making his way toward their departing leaders location. The majority of the main team would be out for the next few days; with only Raven and Beast Boy being left behind for looking after Titan's Tower and the city. Robin had his annual training exercises with the Bat. Starfire was feeling homesick after not visiting Tamaran for close to a year now. And Cyborg had left for Titans East yesterday to help with another complete systems overhaul.

Fortunately, there'd been a lull in any notable supervillain or even common criminal shenanigans for a while. And even if there was a spike in activity, they had plenty of reserve Titans which could be called on in a moments notice. It was with that in mind that the green teen lamented on how he'd already known that Robin's parting talk would deal with which Titans to call on for dealing with specific problems. Heck, the always prepared boy wonder had driven the information so far into his head that the green teen was seeing their his fellow team members faces in his sleep.

Upon entering the large living area, an alert Robin picked up on is presence and turned to greet his younger teammate while immediately getting down to business, "Good. You're here. Now, I want to go over a few emergency scenarios with you real quick."

Feeling a good amount of his pep abandon him, the teen's shoulders slumped, looking at the other founding member with a long face while complaining, "Ugh, Robin, we went over these yesterday. And the day before that, and the day before that. I'm ready for anything, okay?"

"Isn't this the face of somebody trustworthy and reliable?" The teen asked before suddenly shifting his form into that of a trusty old hound dog; wagging his tail at the seemingly stoic Titan while giving off a low whine and flashing a puppy dog look.

The masked boy wonder simply stared at the green hound dog, giving a silent answer which caused the teen to finally give up and return to his regular form; only with his arms now crossed and eyes narrowed as he half-jokingly warned, "I am so going to scratch up your leotards while you're away."

Showing little in an outward sign of being amused at Beast Boy's attempt at humor, Robin simply let out an exasperated sigh before going over several final instructions with the younger hero. He knew from their years together that Beast Boy always meant well and could be depended upon in a pinch, but he was still grateful that Raven, at least, would also be left behind to help keep watch over matters while he was away.

The room's lights were left off, a circle of candles dimly iluminating the surroundings as the hooded girl leaned over the mirror before her on the floor. She didn't move, save the light mumbling that left her lips; a repeated chant that seemed uttered more by instinct than actual thought.

Things hadn't been feeling right.
She had to fix it.

The others knew when to leave her be; when the door was tightly closed and refused to open. An announcement had been sent out via her comm moments before the last candle was lit: "If anyone needs me... Well, try not to need me."
And that was that.

Raven knew that certain members of the team thought of her as 'a downer', to use phrases overheard. She would have liked to be more like the others, able to enjoy herself more than the stolen few times she would let a smile slip or a laugh pass her lips. Still, being labeled the solemn one was better than letting her emotions overtake her powers... She would never forgive herself if she hurt her friends or those she promised to protect.

The murmured mediation continued to flow from her lips, her eyes closed as she levitated before the small mirror on the floor, a faint black haze surrounding the looking glass. Slowly she lowered back to the floor, her eyes opening as she sat there for a moment. "That should do it, for now. Suppose I should go attempt some formalities before they leave..."

A quick pass of her hand in the air extinguished the candles, another gesture causing the still black cloud-shrouded mirror to return to her dresser as she got to her feet. The cloak was pushed back to her shoulders as she opened the door to her room, starting down the hall and heading to the lounge. An eyebrow cocked slightly as she caught Robin's voice, a rather annoyed Gar responding. What was being said was still too far for her earshot, but it was definitely something that Beast Boy wasn't enjoying.

"I'll make sure to keep him from burning the Tower down, Robin. Don't worry. Try and... enjoy yourself... while you're with Batman." A doubtful tone rested in her voice with that.

"Friends!" The sudden bursting into the room from Starfire caused Raven to spook slightly- Not over the arrival of the alien girl, but more from the dread of what was imminent. Sure enough, the grimace that filled Raven's face as Kor gave her a far-too-strong-for-her-size bearhug was joined with some growled words, but they were lost under the cries leaving the orange-skinned heroine. "I shall miss you terribly! Oh, how I wish you would reconsider my offer in accompanying me, Raven!"

"I- gnughhh- don't think so." Squirming her way free from Star's death hold, she readjusted her cloak, clearing her throat before thumbing toward Gar. "Leave him here by himself? The entire city would be doomed." That worked. Use Beast Boy as the excuse. To have Starfire continue harassing her on coming along would only result in her most likely losing her temper. "They're your family, Star. You go have fun."

"Yes, I suppose... but I shall bring you back something glorious! A gift that shall leave you wordless and awed!" Another hug. Another bout of aggravated Raven. "Farewell to you, my friends!," she exclaimed while bestowing a breath-stealing hug on Gar before leaving the room.

Raven simply stood there for a moment, taking a glance to Beast Boy finally. "By the way... I wasn't joking on that part about keeping you from burning the place down." A faint touch of a smile managed to pull at her lips, turning her back to him as she started for the couch, taking a book from her cloak and settling onto the cushions before cracking it open.

The young Titan did listen to his leader, or at least listened about the best an average person would when they held little actual interest in the conversation. His responses were largely limited to the occasional head nod and paying just enough attention to know when he should say something and how to respond. It was an effective enough facade where Robin seemed to buy it for a few short while, before realization sunk in and the boy wonder began showing a slight annoyance over Beast Boy's reaction.

Fortunately for the green teen, both of the male Titan's focus promptly shifted toward the arrival of a third, often less cheery member of the team. In her usual manner, Raven seemed to do a fair job of both assuaging those lingering concerns in the Batman's apprentice and getting in a decent rib at the groups resident jokester.

"Hah hah. Very funny, Raven." Beast Boy responded with obvious sarcasm, although it seemed any annoyance on his part was mostly being played up for the moment as he looked at the other Titan with arms crossed.

The doubtful tone wasn't lost on the young leader, but Robin simply gave the girl an amused half-smile before nodding in understanding, "Thanks, Raven. I guess I'll leave things at that and trust in you both to take care of matters while we're away."

Finally, they were joined by the last of the Titans which remained within their home and headquarters. Aside from Cyborg, Starfire was perhaps the one Beast Boy would miss the most during the coming days. They weren't quite as close as himself and the cybernetic Titan, but the alien visitor always had a way about her which could make even the hardest of exteriors crack under her warmth. Of course, that wasn't the only thing she could crack, as the shape-shifter was reminded when she reached his direction and pulled him into a tight, the eye bulging, nearly bone breaking hug of friendship.

As he stifled a slight whimper from this embrace, Gar did manage to bring his arms up for a comparatively weaker hug, his voice nearly squeaking out as he spoke, "We-We're going to miss you, too, Star. Have a safe trip..."

His voice started growing weaker, as if winded from a lack of oxygen to his lungs, when the orange skinned beauty finally relented on her hug so as to leave on her long journey into space.

"We'll get going now. Good luck with everything and remember to call if there's any trouble." The masked hero reminded as he turned and headed out alongside his floating Tamaranian companion; planning to enjoy those few extra moments together before going on their separate journeys away of the Tower.

Giving a parting wave as the pair faded from sight while leaving for their respective trips, Gar's attention soon turned to Raven as she glanced his way; reiterating her earlier quip about his burning the place down and effectively getting a rise out of the teen while she headed for the couch.

"Oh, one time." He started before raising a hand with his index finger held up, reemphasizing, "Just ONE time I leave the foil on in the microwave." Tapping his foot a bit while giving a scowl, then looking away suddenly and moved his hand to rub the back of his head while admitting below a whisper, "Well, maybe it was two times."

But, wait, did Raven just sorta-almost-kinda-maybe smile for a brief second there? That wasn't a first, but it was certainly a rarity. So rare, in fact, that the teen gave a small smile of his own before deciding to try and get another out of the young woman. Problem was? While Beast Boy could be a tad overbearing at points with his attempts at humor, when it came to Raven, he tended to try a little too hard in making that girl smile. And as Beast Boy strolled over to the sofa where his teammate had settled to read her book, it would soon become apparent to any third person party watching the scene, that this was going to run the risk of being one of those times.

The teen leaned over the back of the sofa, his head peeking over Raven's right shoulder as he started with a smile, "Soooo, Raven? It's just the two of us for the next few days. What do you feel like doing?"

Quickly pulling his head back, Beast Boy then moved so as to this time peek over her left shoulder while suggesting with a note of excitement, "Oh! There's a new fright flick playing at the multiplex. 'Attack of the Devil Birds 3-D: Hell's Fowls'. It's about demons and animals, so I figure it's a good fit for the both of us."

Suddenly, the teen gripped at the back of the couch before leaping over it, landing a free cushion over from his often gloomy teammate, "Or maybe we can rent a movie? It'll be a lot easier to decide on one when there's fewer people to argue over it."

Staring at the girl for a few seconds, the young hero waited a bit for any response, but then found his attention drawn to the book in her hands. After all, he'd only suggested stuff he was interested in, so it seemed only fair for him to inquire on what she was doing with her time. On the other hand, Beast Boy wasn't always the greatest at respecting peoples personal space, as he leaned in perhaps a bit too close while inquiring with honest curiosity, "So, um, what you reading anyway?"

Raven merely glanced over the top of her book as Gar's rebuttal managed to provide its own on her behalf, her gaze returning to the tome. "Heard that."

It had been some time since she had last read this book. More about the mythical heroes and evils that humans of this world once believed in, the tales on the exploits they made... It reminded her vaguely of the team she was currently a member of. Those with unbelievable abilities, capable of undertaking such amazing feats.

The Norse Gods. Ah. She hadn't made it this far before. Odin, Thor...
Loki, god of mischief. The trickster. A shapeshifter.

"Soooo, Raven? It's just the two of us for the next few days. What do you feel like doing?"

Gee. Loki reminded her of someone.

Sighing as she raised the book a bit higher, she simply shook her head and tapped her fingers against the hard cover. Wasn't the answer obvious to that question? Perhaps if she made it a bit more obvious and made him notice the book that she was trying so hard to focus on, he would get the point and stop-

"Oh! There's a new fright flick playing at the multiplex. 'Attack of the Devil Birds 3-D: Hell's Fowls'. It's about demons and animals, so I figure it's a good fit for the both of us."

Try to drown him out. Try to-
Wait, what? Had he just- A glare was quickly shot over her shoulder as she tightened her hold on the book, her fingers a much whiter version of their usual pale skintone.

He was gone already. Did he ever sit still?! When the others were home, it was far easier to lose herself in a book. Someone always seemed to have him occupied, away from her. She began to realize now just how much she owed Cyborg; he and his video games were a blessing in keeping that guy out of her hair.

But he wasn't here.
No one was here.
No one except herself and Beast Boy...

She glanced up as she felt him staring at her, her own eyes widening a bit. How close was he planning to get?! The only way this could have gotten any more disturbing would have been a vulture-version of him perched atop her book.

"So, um, what you reading anyway?"

"The story of the Norse God Loki the Trickster. He was a changling too, you know." Her voice was rather monotone, her finger sliding delicately across the page before she continued. The other gods bound him in entrails and left him beneath a venom-dripping serpent for bothering them too much." She gave him another glance over the binding with that, staring at him for a moment before looking back into the pages. "Hm."

The teen listened with surprising silence as Raven described what she was reading, with the occasional head nod on his part as an idle means of relaying that he was following along as she spoke. Beast Boy wasn't exactly well versed when it came to mythology, but his basic understanding helped in recognizing the figure his teammate was talking about. As she mentioned certain, well, gruesome details of his fellow changeling's fate, the young man's slow nodding would continue until she peered over at him.

From there, realization of what she was implying began sinking in, which caused his green features to almost take on a paler tone as he offered up a nervous smile before scooting away of the half-demon. Unfortunately, as he continued moving further away, it turned out to be enough so that the young Titan accidentally scooted his way over the side of the couch and onto the floor with little more then a yelp and a light thudding sound on his part.

"I meant to do that." He let out with a note of discomfort in his voice, reaching an arm up and onto the couch, before pulling himself back onto his feet followed by a little dusting off action on his uniform.

Looking over at Raven, a brief thought of simply letting things be and heading off to his room had entered the young man's mind. It was a very briefly lived one, however, as Beast Boy seemed to look her over for a moment while attempting to conjure up another way of approaching this. After all, it would make for a pretty boring couple of days if they simply relegated their non-Titans duties to the occasional passing nod whenever they crossed paths in the Tower.

"Okay, so you're not in a movie watching mood. Fair enough. That's cool." He finally stated while walking around the couch, lifting a hand to his chin and tapping on it as he explained, "But I'd still like it if we could do something together outside of the whole superhero routine. Something we could both enjoy!"

As he strolled around Raven's spot on the couch, the teen suddenly crouched down when behind the girl and slipped his glove fingers into the corners of her mouth; lightly pulling up on both sides to form a forced smile as he teased, "And it would be nice to see a nice big smile on your pretty face for a change."

The changeling pulled on her features for a bit, loosening the slack, then tugging again several times before finally letting go. From there, he moved over a few steps (for admittedly futile safety purposes), before leaning against the back of the couch; giving a slight shrug as he asked, "Soooo what do you feel like doing together?"

Staring at her, the teen's eyes widened a bit at remembering her earlier comments, which caused him to take another step away while adding with a seemingly nervous tone, "Preferably nothing that involves the disemboweling of often misunderstood but always lovable green pranksters."

She didn't even bother to look up with the thunk of his ass-to-floor, simply turning the page of her book and continuing to read. Maybe he would get the hint now and go find something to occupy himself without harassing her any further. This theory seemed to be getting a bit more merit as he came to the conclusion that she had no interest in movies, only for it to start to lose momentum with the addition of wanting to find something else.

*Oh joy.*

Raven closed her eyes, taking a deep breath behind the comfort of her book's pages-

And found his fingers suddenly shoving into the corners of her mouth.
Her eyes stayed closed, but were very. VERY. Tightly closed.

*Don't kill him. Robin would be furious if he came home to him dead.*

"Gar-" Her attempt to say his name was marred as he continued to play with her lips, her annoyance growing even greater with every pull of his hands. The book slammed shut without the use of her own hands, simply levitating in the black cloud conjured by the half demon.

But she said nothing after that. Simply sat there, letting the hood of her cape fall over her face as she tried to calm her nerves. Her teeth were grating. The sound of it was echoing in her ears, nearly drowning out everything else he had to say.

No disembowelment.
Well, damn.

"I think...," she started slowly, trying to speak in an even tone as the book continued to hold its position above the couch. "...I think that we might just need to take a few minutes to get ourselves used to be being alone together for the next few weeks. Now if you'll excuse me. I need to take a little TIME for MYSELF up on the roof."

She stood with that, glaring at him from the shadows cast by her hood, the faint red glow of her still furious eyes managing to cast out from the darkness as she started for the door. "By the way. Don't EVER touch my mouth again."

The floating book finally came down, by way of hurling itself at Beast Boy's head.

A quick stop by her room was made before heading up to the roof, Raven settling comfortably beneath the setting sun's sky and placing her mirror in her lap. Twice in one day. She hated having to delve into her own mind so soon, but she had to calm down. Gar had done quite well on getting her nerves near explosion VERY quickly. If she was going to be alone with him, she needed to be able to control herself.

*Focus. Think only on what resides within. Keep all negative energy from entering your mind.*

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos...." The chant barely escaped her lips, the sound turning to a weak mumble as she continued to repeat it. The wind passing over the tower roof was starting to pick up a bit, blowing the ends of her cloak free from beneath her as she began to rise, pushing her hood free of her face, but not succeeding in breaking her from her meditation. Stay focused... stay calm.

Don't kill Gar.

The young Titan listened with a bit of caution for any lashing out she may deliver his way, only to find himself both a little surprised and confused by her suggestion. Beast Boy knew he'd come across a little strong in his attempts at getting her to loosen up, but he didn't think he'd come of that strong. Well, okay, maybe he did, but still. As she moved to her feet, Gar took immediate notice of the way she glared his way from within the shadows cast by her hood. Kind of hard to miss it when a girl's eyes literally grow red with anger at you.

"Um, Raven?" He started to speak, noticeably nervous, as she made her way for the door; only to have anything else he may say cut off by her warning of never touching her mouth again.

"Duly noted." The teen stated with a nervous laugh, a forced smile on his features while watching the half demon leave the room and the source of her annoyance.

Just as he started to show signs of relaxing, the almost forgotten book suddenly hurled itself toward his head; nearly making contact before Beast Boy dodged with a 'woah!' escaping his lips while it collided with the wall behind him. Staring at the book for a second like it may grow teeth and try to bite him, Gar did eventually let out a sigh of relief. Not that it did much in completely settling his thoughts, as the green Titan glanced at the doorway Raven vanished through; his ears almost drooping a bit to match the look of regret on his features. Here he'd wanted to liven things up for both of them, and instead he only served in making a dull yet benign living arrangement into a strained one.

"Man, I'm such a..." He started to say before suddenly shifting forms; taking on that of a donkey and letting out a 'hee haw' to finish his thought while sitting there alone in the lounge area of the Tower.

Outside, the inexperienced, yet surprisingly powerful warlock had kept watch over the Tower for several days now. The team of young heroes had captured his interest a long time back, when they, or rather Raven, had soundly beaten the great magician Mumbo at his own game. Since then, Mystico had placed her upon the list of candidates to target when attempting to make a name for himself within the world of supervillians. And now looked as ideal a time to strike as any, after having earlier watched their leader and the Tamaranean departing for parts unknown. Not only that, but it seemed that his primary target was practically delivering herself right into his lap.

"Perfect." The man whispered with a smirk spreading itself across his features; his eyes glowing brightly while watching from the city, perched on top of the roof of a dilapidated building as Raven suddenly appeared upon the rooftop of the Titan's headquarters.

Raising a hand to his face, the young man muttered a few magic words and dispersed the spell on his eyes which allowed him heightened sight. With that out of the way, Mystico reached into his pocket, pulling out and flipping through a small spell book with specific incantations that were prepared for dealing with Raven and her team. First off, he had to get across that large body of water, and he knew just the creature of legend to help him in making his grand entrance.

Finally finding the right page after a few minutes of flipping back and forth (he really needed to number these pages or something), the young magician held the book out while whipping out a piece of chalk and drawing up the correct symbols within a circle on the floor. Then, snapping the book shut for effect, he took a few steps back in order to perform a few dramatic hand gestures; seemingly channeling the energy within him (plus he thought it looked cool and wizardy) before saying the magic words, "Mystico Magnifico!"

Despite his flare for theatrics, Mystico's work actually did prove itself fruitful, as a large puff of smoke quickly dispersed out of the circle; obscuring his own vision and causing a bit of coughing on his part as he tried brushing it away with his hands. Eventually, the smoke cleared, and, almost to his surprise, there before his eyes stood the fabled winged creature known as a griffin. One which, according to the spell, would loyally follow his every command upon being summoned.

"I did it!" The teen yelled out, pumping his fist into the air and practically jumping for joy before catching himself; making a throat clearing sound as he promptly collected his composure, "Of course I did it. Now then, my feathered companion, we have work to do."

The clearly inexperienced villain almost seemed hesitant in approaching the beast, yet did manage to climb onto its back. Once there, he took out his little spell book once more, only this time knowing exactly what page to go to for what he desired. A few one handed waves and his trademark magic words later, and he'd cast a cloak over both himself and the griffin that would shield their immediate presence from being felt by other magic users. After all, it wouldn't do for her to sense them coming and blast him out of the sky before even reaching the Tower.

With that, Mystico gave the command for his ride to take off, flying through the air upon leaping off the edge of the rundown building in the city. The beast soared through the sky, its passenger holding on perhaps a bit too tightly for comfort as it continued clinging onto his back. "Faster," the man would command, feeling all too eager for gaining the advantage before anything could give them away, and so the creature obeyed. Unfortunately, as they neared the roof of the Tower, it would seem that Mystico hadn't anticipated just how fast the beast could travel.

"Wait! Slow down, you blasted buzzard! You're going too fast!" He quickly called out, grabbing at the feathers on its back and pulling as if trying to rein in a horse; but it proved too little too late, and only served to distract the creature as the pair came crashing down directly into the location of the half demon Titan member.

Inside of the Tower, the now human Beast Boy was laying on his side and doing a little channel surfing in an attempt at getting his mind off of earlier, when the screen suddenly switched over to the Titans symbol, alarm noises blaring for good measure and effectively startling the teen into falling off the edge.

"They really need to make these things with seatbelts." He whined to himself while pulling himself back onto the couch, quickly grabbing the remote and hitting the manual buttons to see what the sudden emergency was about.

Normally Robin or Cyborg were the ones who dealt with these details, but the teen knew how to work the controls for the screen as it came up with a big flashy warning of an intruder on the premises and a scrolling map of the Tower. He wasn't quite as quick on the uptake with these things as the two aforementioned Titans, but Gar figured it out fast enough, as the map highlighted and then blew up an image of the blueprinted rooftop for their headquarters.

"An intruder? On the roof?" He muttered to himself without any apparent feeling of urgency to his words, before a sense of dread hit him upon remembering with a start, "Raven!"

Not wasting another second, Beast Boy hopped to his feet, grabbed the back of the couch, then leaped over it while aiming for the exit. By the time Gar's feet touched the carpeted ground, his form had shifted, into that of a green furred leopard which worked all four of its legs as it raced out of the room and toward the staircase to the roof.

It was starting to subside; that feeling of overwhelming anger toward Gar. She really didn't want to get this furious with him... There was far too much time that was going to be spent between the two of them during this little lone "adventure" together. Wanting to kill him every few mintues wasn't going to make things any easier.

Find the anger. Force it to withdraw. Return to a calmer state of mind.

*Even though we JUST went through this.*
Stay focused. Her hands stayed tightly clenched around the mirror, her breathing slowly coming in soft puffs and pulls of air, her chest barely raising and falling as her eyes stayed closed. She was finally calming down, almost back to her usual state.

She would have gotten to it if something hadn't slammed into her, breaking her levitated position a few feet from the roof's surface and causing her to crash to the cement with the attacker's weight. Still dazed from both the abrupt end to her meditation as well as the collision, she quickly tossed up a barrier of magic to shield herself as she looked around. If this was something of Gar's doing to try and 'brighten her spirits'-

But she didn't see anything. Not just a lack of green hued creatures, but nothing at all that could have collided with her. Well, she had certainly felt something, and whatever it was couldn't have vanished THAT quickly... Unless...

That was it entirely, wasn't it? Whatever it was had already vanished. As in invisible.

"I don't know who you are or where you are, but you had better show yourself. NOW." She was back to her feet, her hands already raised to defend from any further attacks from whatever may be sharing the roof with her.

So much for staying calm.

"Taking a flat off attack on Titan Tower with one of us right on the roof? I'm not sure whether I should call you brave, or an idiot. At least you were wise enough to hide... But that's simply buying yourself only a few spare moments." She still couldn't see who or what was there, but could hear the alarms going off inside. That would (hopefully) be spurring Beast Boy up to the roof...

She could hear a faint groaning now. Invisible was one thing, but silent was another. Using her powers to pull the large cooling unit from the corner of the roof, she directed it toward the sound, trying to hit whatever was there. "If you don't have much in brains, let's see what you have in brawns!"

"S-Stupid....buzzard...." The unlucky magician groaned out under his breath as he laid there on the floor; his summoned companion having taken the blunt of the impact, yet having tossed him a few feet away of during the collision.

Mystico ended up laying there for several moments, only to be brought back to the reality of the situation when the unfamiliar voice of Raven caught his attention. He started to panic for a second, only for him to remember that he was currently invisible to her eyes, although the young man could see himself, his seemingly stunned Griffin, and everything on his person. With that in mind, the blonde paid little heed to the half demon's warnings; pulling himself to his feet a bit and letting out a groan somewhere along the way. Even he knew that was a stupid thing to have done during this time and place.

With her powers coming alive and focusing on making a nearby cooling unit into her weapon of choice, the nervous novice of a magician panicked and fell back on what first came to mind, "Griffin, protect me!"

Although recovering from earlier, the creature's spellcasted nature compelled it to leap forward and take the blunt of Raven's attack before ripping into the cooling unit with its beak and claws. While this happened, Mystico quickly moved aside, more so out of self preservation then part of any strategy for mounting a counterattack. But while the noises caused by the beast stifled his footsteps, the inexperienced villain decided this a perfect chance for a sneak attack; his hands hurriedly searching into the left pocket for a killing spell. Before he could hope to find one, however, the teen was caught by another persons unexpected (in more ways then one) sneak attack.

The door for entering the Tower from the rooftop was suddenly kicked open, with the green skinned Titan rushing out and spotting Raven seemingly alone as he charged forward, "Raven?! Are you okay? The alarms sounded and said that- ugh!"

What cut off the teens words was the sudden feeling of collision as he rammed right into the female Titan's invisible enemy. The impact was enough to send both of the surprised young men stumbling to the ground in their respective directions. Upon hitting the ground, Mystico began cursing whatever ill fortune had caused such a long thought out sneak attack to go so horribly wrong. And, as if this nameless fate decided on playing a crueler joke, he began to feel the effects of his cloaking spell wearing off; only seconds before both himself and the griffin he'd summoned were as visible to the naked eye as either of the two Titans on the rooftop with them.

Rubbing at his side as he sat on the unforgiving surface of the Tower's roof, Gar's attention was immediately diverted to their now visible intruder(s); causing the prankster to attempt in pulling a Robin by getting down to business, "Okay, buddy! What do you think you're...hey, a Griffin. Cool."

Beast Boy's temporarily interrupted train of thought aside, it was clear to Mystico that any chance he had of defeating Raven and taking/learning what he could for his own arsenal of magical weaponry was shot. As he considered retreat, however, his eyes soon caught sight of a certain object which he'd noticed having been in the possession of the magic user upon his initial arrival. Whether she dropped it during the chaos or flimsily had it on her at the moment, the magical opportunist took this chance as he dashed for the mirror; snatching it quickly and not stopping as his feet continued to carrying him toward the griffin.

Jumping onto the creatures back, the young man tried playing the entire debacle off, as he went out in an attempt at typical showmanship for his participating 'audience' of two, "I apologize for the sudden curtain call, but a miscue from my winged assistant here has irreparably hindered today's performance! Rest assured that while there will be no refund, you'll soon be granted a repeat performance by that up and coming young magician; The Magnificent Mystico!"

Blinking at the man as his aforementioned 'assistant' started to take off, Beast Boy paused for a moment to glance at Raven and dryly quip, "And people say I'm a ham?"

Recalling one of the few spells he remembered from heart, the young man clung onto the Griffin's back as it started lifting off, then directed his attention to Raven as he shouted out with understandable panic, "Mystico Magnifico!"

In a rare showing of competence, the spell seemed to work, least in the short term, as it struck the ground and quickly encircled the half demon and several feet around her in a triangular magical dome. It came very close to ensnaring Beast Boy within its grasp, but the teen hadn't been close enough to the target; leaving him there to timidly touch a gloved hand upon the barrier and receive a shock for his efforts.

Shaking out his hand like he just touched something too hot, Beast Boy stuck the finger in his mouth for a second before returning his attention to the spellcaster, "Hey! What's the big idea, you cr-" His words were suddenly cut off as he finally got a good look at the item in his hands, recognizing it from an earlier mishap involving himself and Cyborg during the teams earlier days.

"That mirror...." He started as realization hit him, causing Gar to give his fellow Titan a parting glance as he made a running start toward the ledge of the Tower, "Don't worry, Raven! I'll get it back!"

Making it to the ledge, Beast Boy leaped into the air, only to live up to his name in mid-jump by suddenly shifting into his often favored pterodactyl form in order to give chase. The green skinned extinct animal gave out a howl, flying high in order to prepare swooping down on 'Mystico' and the Griffin the villain was riding upon. They were about halfway across the large body of water which separated Titan's Tower from the city itself, when the rider of the mythical creature finally took notice of his pursuer.

Unfortunately for Beast Boy, the young magician memorized a basic energy attack which, while relatively low level, he assumed would pack enough punch for a green pterodactyl. Conjuring up his usual magic words, Mystico focused on the spell and managed an erratic, yet dangerous bolt of white energy which crackled in Gar's direction. The teen managed to dodge the blunt of it, but found himself struck in the wing, which effectively halted his flight and sent him spiraling down with a pained screech escaping his beak.

Almost surprised at having struck the Titan, Mystico gave an ecstatic smile and cocky salute from his position on the Griffin while mockingly calling out, "Sorry, friend, but I've already said no refunds!"

The teenage hero crashed into the waters below, sinking under, with perhaps his main saving grace being the forethought to change into a squid just seconds prior to impact. It didn't make the landing any less painful, but it allowed him to breath underwater following having the air knocked out of him from the downward spiral. Eventually, Gar managed to resurface, only to find that their attacker had managed to slip out of sight. Gurgling with great frustration in his current form, the teen shifted into a dolphin and quickly swam back toward the shore of Tower's island; where he took on the form of a simple bird in order to fly back to its rooftop.

Soon as he reached the top, Beast Boy quickly returned to his regular form; with one hand cradling the wounded arm a bit after fighting through the pain to make it up here. Glancing at Raven, it seemed that somewhere along the way, she'd either gotten rid of the magical barrier or it dispelled on its own. Neither seemed to matter much, given what had just taken place, and Gar definitely knew it as he gazed at the girl with an obvious expression of guilt on his features.

"Sorry, Raven. He got away." He confessed, although the female Titan probably figured out that on her own, even if she couldn't see the unfolding action from the top of the Tower. Knowing how important that mirror was for his teammate, the teen had to force a slight, optimistic smile as he tried to lighten the mood, "But, hey, I'm sure it won't take us long to track him down in the city. I mean, how hard can it be to pick up a police or air traffic report of a Griffin illegally flying over downtown?"

The teen followed this up with an obviously forced chuckle as he reached a hand up and rubbed at the back of his head; clearly a little nervous of how the previously peeved young woman may feel about this entire ordeal.

The rather horrified response of her attacker at the incoming air unit caught Raven off guard. That was a bit unexpected. Here she thought the person trying to infiltrate the Tower would be someone able to fight back quickly- but instead he was shouting for help?

As the metallic fixture was destroyed before her, she suddenly realized WHY that help was summoned. He had said Griffin... She had thought it was someone's nickname, but from the looks of it, he truly had one of the mythical creatures with him. This was going to be a bit more trouble than she had started to believe. Well, at least there was some common sense to the guy. If she could just pinpoint where it was, she could get out another attack on it; try to separate it from its companion and-

*BAM!* The door buckled outward, revealing Gar. Right on time.

"Beast Boy, look out, I-"
"Raven?! Are you okay? The alarms sounded and said that- ugh!"

The two were talking above each other, Gar not catching her warning before catching the attacker instead, tumbling back from the collision as she heard the other involved party crash to the floor as well. Sounds were helping to track him down, but the true location came as he was soon visible, Raven's eyes narrowing at the sight of him and his little- er, GIANT friend.

"Okay, buddy! What do you think you're...hey, a Griffin. Cool."

"GAR! NOT THE TIME!," She snapped furiously, glaring at her fellow Titan and his admiring oogling of the creature before them. Raven wasn't sure what this guy was up to, but she wasn't about to let him ruin the Tower- or anything else for that matter. His sudden movement of dashing across the cement roof caught her eye, looking back toward him to find him jumping onto the creature's back. The taunting speech given by this 'Mystico' left her infuriated, barely catching Gar's added snark as she raised her hands, trying to spot anything that could be used as a new projectile at the fleeing magician.

The door. That'd work for now.

Before she could manage a gesture, the shouted words hit her ears, the spell he cast taking its effect. She tried anyway. Nothing. "Damn it...,"she hissed, realizing the magic barriers intention before glancing to Gar as he tried to touch it. "Don't do th-!"

Too late. He shocked himself.

She needed to find a way out of this thing. Get that idiot back here, find out what he was up to and-

"That mirror...."

The whispered words from the Green Titan caught her attention, her eyes wide as she quickly looked up. Just as he said, the gleam of her meditation mirror could be seen under his arm, a horrified look coming to Raven's face. Oh no. It was bad enough when her FRIENDS got ahold of that. Someone like him- And if he realized what it did-?!

Beast Boy was already after him, leaving Raven to her confines and only able to simply watch. She grit her teeth slightly as she saw the two above the bay, crying out as Mystico attacked Gar with the strange bolt. She tried to shove her way through the barrier, grimacing again as it shocked her as well. "Gar...?! BEAST BOY!" There was panic in her voice, concern for him. Her fists tightened, her eyes closing as her mantra began to flow from her lips. Gar was hurt. He needed help, she had to get out of this thing...

Her powers finally resurged, the black abyss overpowering the faint triangular shape glowing about her and causing it to dissipate. Rushing to the edge to look for her fallen friend, she breathed a light sigh of relief as the green-feathered bird came to meet her, reverting back to the teen she knew. Seeing he was alright, her eyes trailed after the fleeing villain, a blank expression on her face as she slowly pulled her cloak back over her head.

His apology received only a soft puff of a noise as a response, Raven's gaze never leaving the vanishing figure above the city. He was saying something else... but she was oblivious to it, simply watching, unmoving.

"He... He stole my mirror..."
There was a hint of sadness in her voice, her face shielded by her dark robe as she started to turn away, a light sniff coming from the shadows beneath the fabric. She reached up, gingerly touching her cheek and finding that she was- crying?

Already?
It was happening already?

That reaction to Gar's fall, the way she felt while watching Mystico fly off-

Her emotions were already out of control from Beast Boy's earlier antics. Without the mirror to fully restore her balance, she was able to easily lose her grip over any newly arriving emotions... It was light now, but if that mirror didn't return to her soon, she would truly be a mess. Anything could set her off into a horrific emotional train wreck. A glance was shot back in Beast Boy's direction, Raven giving a weak little whine. Great. And she was stuck with the guy who knew how to set off pretty much every emotion possible with her.

She really was going to cry.

The teen wasn't quite certain what type of response Raven may have upon his return from the failed attempt at retrieving her mirror. At best, he figured the young half-demon give the other Titan a cold welcome before suggesting their nest course of action. At worst, she'd probably give him a big enough scare where the green teen would have to make a quick side trip to his room for a fresh change of underwear. Instead, after issuing his apology, she seemed rather unresponsive at first. In fact, she didn't seem to really acknowledge his presence, as her gaze remained largely fixated on the general area where this Mystico character had vanished from their line of sight.

"He... He stole my mirror..."

The hint of sadness in her voice was what caught his attention first. Beast Boy watched, confused, as the cloaked figure turned away. His mouth opened, about to say something, when the sounds of her sniffling quickly silenced anything may have said or asked. Gar knew from past experiences just how hard a toll Raven's emotions took on the girl, especially when her mirror was tampered with in any way. That fear of what she may do or say when he returned was slowly dissipated, only to find itself steadily replaced with a growing concern for his long time teammate.

Beast Boy suddenly felt very awkward as she shot a look in his direction, followed by a small whine that was very un-Raven of her. He blinked several times, obviously looking a bit lost on what to do, yet showing no sign of backtracking away of the young heroine. Almost reluctantly, he did take a few steps closer while watching carefully for a sudden change of emotions or any other type of subtle reactions on her part.

"Raven? Don't....don't cry." He spoke in a surprisingly soft tone; trying to refrain from any attempts at cheering her up, at least for now, as he assured the gray skinned girl, "He just caught us by surprise. Watch, we'll get your mirror back from that creep in no time! I promise!"

He gave Raven one of his more typical smiles following that last declaration. While continuing to show some caution, he was at the same time starting to feel a little more at ease around the woman. At the very least, it didn't seem like she was one wrong move away from flinging him off the side of the Tower. And given the way Gar seemed to continue favoring his left arm a bit, it was perhaps best that he avoid the need for any sudden and unplanned winged transformations.

Still, as the green changeling gazed over at the young woman, he somewhat impulsively reached out his right arm and placed a sympathetic hand on Raven's shoulder; asking the perhaps too obvious question with only a little hesitation, "Hey, are you going to be okay?"

Tilting his head slightly, Beast Boy then moved his hand, without consideration of his actions, to reach under the hood and try wiping away a stray tear as he tried assuring her, "C'mon, Raven. Things aren't that bad."

She nodded weakly at his attempted reassurances, still trying to withhold tears. Her emotional stability was something that she tried so hard to keep in balance, not only to prevent situations such as this, but for the sake of those around her. Raven had no control over her reactions in this state, easily going from one emotional extreme to another- and her actions in those extremes could be far worse than those of the usual solemn demeanor she tried so hard to keep in normal circumstances.

"He just caught us by surprise. Watch, we'll get your mirror back from that creep in no time! I promise!"

Her tears stopped abruptly, her hidden hands balling into fists beneath her robe. Get it back? It was HIS fault that moron had gotten his hands on it in the first place! If he had simply left her alone like she had asked, backed off when he had been given so many warnings, she never would have come up to the roof to get away from him and his annoying pesterings! She had half a mind to hurl him across the city right now- See if she could clear him into Gotham with one shot...

But his hand on her shoulder changed that frame of mind, her gaze shifting to see the other wounded arm that he had curled against his chest. He was hurt. He was hurt from trying to help her, and here she was getting mad at him? That wasn't nice at all. She owed it to him to do something for his injury, try to help him before worrying on herself.

"C'mon, Raven. Things aren't that bad."

She quickly reached up to remove his hand from her face, holding his wrist for a moment before pulling it away fully. "You're injured." The hood was pushed back with that, Raven looking to his other arm with a frown. "Because of me, you got hurt..." Her voice was soft, her eyes lifting to look at his. He really did care about her, didn't he? She cared about him as well. It was just... really, really hard to get that out.

"I need to help you with that. I have to. If I can't see that cute little bird again, I don't know what I'll do." She grabbed his hand again, all but dragging him back inside and to the infirmary, Once there, she released her grip on him to instead start pawing through the various drawers and cabinets to find gauze, tape, scissors- Anything that seemed like it would be helpful in 'healing' him was tossed over her shoulder to the center of the room. A rather large pile of random, jumbled medical equipment had developed by the time she turned back around.

"I'll fix you!" A smile was on her face with this.

The green Titan's body immediately started to stiffen on the spot as she reached for his hand; her earlier warning about never again touching her face suddenly coming to mind as he began to expect the worst. The concern was evident on his features, and following his forwardness in trying to keep her calm, Gar was half-expecting a sudden and violent mood shift that would make a building of agitated pregnant women gasp in unanimous disbelief. Beast Boy knew he shouldn't have slacked off for so long in writing out his final will and testament.

Instead, she pulled it away with surprising care while voicing a concern about his injury to the other arm. Nothing unusual there, as for all of her moodiness at times, Raven was far from heartless when it came to her friends injury. And it was those rare showings of warmth and joy that Beast Boy often tried, with very mixed results, to bring out of her every so often. Still, the wound wasn't anything too bad, and as she pushed her hood back to reveal her very concerned features, he immediately felt the need to try and assuage any fears on his behalf.

"It's really nothing, Raven. I've taken far worse hits and always bounce back." The young hero assured her , his eyes gazing into her own as he tried lifting and moving the injured arm about in a steady circle to show her, "Besides, it'll take a lot more then this to weaken these guns." He added before trying to move in a strongman pose; only to regret this as he flinched and whimpered a bit from the quick jolt of pain, "Oww..."

As she grabbed his other hand again in order to lead him back into the Tower, Beast Boy didn't put up any struggle, but did look understandably perplexed at her choice of words. Did Raven just call him cute? Well, one of his forms, anyway. It was a step up from earlier, he supposed, while following along as she practically dragged him into the infirmary. She finally released him when they got there; allowing him a chance to catch his breath a bit while watching her sorting through the medical supplies like a kid picking out her favorite items from a toy chest. And they called him the energetic one?

As the small pile of assorted medical supplies grew in size, the young changeling again tried to settle down the well meaning yet overwhelming superheroine, "Raven! Really, I don't think all of this is nec-"

His words were cut off as the girl suddenly turned around, that smile on her face and seemingly fully stocked by now on what she needed for taking care of her 'patient'. Including some scissors which Gar didn't feel too comfortable trusting her with at the moment.

"I'll fix you!"

"This is so not what I had in mind when I fantasized about us playing 'Doctor'." He practically whimpered while taking a step away; offering up a forced chuckle and very nervous smile while putting his hands up about halfway in a defensive stance for good measure.

"Look, it's really not that bad, Raven! Really!" The teen continued, quickly moving a hand up to tug at the bottom of his uniforms shirt; sliding it upward and peeling it away of his injured shoulder before tugging the upper portion of his uniform over his head to give them both their first good look at the damage.

The wound looked worse with his burnt uniform over it and adding to the imagery. Once the teen had slipped it over his head and kept it bunched around his arms, he could see to his relief that the earlier blast hadn't drawn blood. On the other hand, it did leave a few singed portions of green fur and a mild burn mark with slight signs of bruising. Hitting the water from so far above probably didn't do him any favors, either. The next time they talked, he'd definitely have to thank Mento for making his old Doom Patrol uniforms so resistant to energy attacks.

Quickly crouching down to the small pile of supplies, Beast Boy picked out a plastic jar of antiseptic ointment and hastily opened it before digging out a larger then needed glob of it. Without thinking, he slapped it onto his shoulder, causing him to let out a shudder in pain which he tried playing off with a pained smile as he assured his 'nurse' in training, "See? Just a little lotion and maybe a bandage for good measure and I'll be good as new!"

Rubbing the ointment onto his injury for a few seconds, Gar then grabbed a rolled up strip of gauze and tried wrapping it over the his shoulder. Unfortunately, the momentarily limited movement of his arm and the awkward place he was hit made this rather difficult. Trying to wrap it around his shoulder, the teen then tried grabbing the end which hung over the back of his shoulder. He started turning with the movements of his good arm, as if trying to aid it in latching onto the strand easier, only to wind up moving in circles like a dog trying to catch his own tail.

A few moments of this later, a now dizzy Beast Boy finally gave in; looking at Raven with a fairly meek expression as the teen admitted, "Okay. Maybe I could use a little help here." Moving to hop up and take a seat on the edge of the exam table, he gave a half-smile while hesitantly suggesting in a partially joking manner, "Just please? Be gentle?"

Raven simply stood there a moment, a roll of gauze in one hand and a rather large pair of scissors in the other as Gar insisted on his wounds being less than she believed, watching as he tore the shirt up over his head. "But..." she started, looking to the attacked area as it came into view.

It seemed he was right. A little singed, but nothing as horrible as it had appeared to her beneath the ruined uniform. "I don't think you're supposed to be that color there, though...," she said softly, still watching him like a curious puppy as he dug through the items she had thrown to find the tub of cream. Her eyes lit up slightly at that, starting to reach for it- but he did it himself, the attempt at hiding his grimace failing for her eyes.

A frown pulled at her lips, her arms falling to her sides.

Why wouldn't he let her help him? He was mad at her, wasn't he? She was just trying to be nice, and he didn't want anything to do with her. He was trying to do everything for himself, even with her standing right there, ready and willing to help....

He was fighting with the bandage he had attempted to wind himself, the gauze not cooperating at all. Raven smiled faintly as he tugged and pulled, giggling as the fight became a spin in the center of the room. He kept this up, he was going to end up dizzy and making a mess of the infirmary.

Oh wait. She had already done a fair job of that herself, something she realized as she looked around. A full laugh left her with that, the idea of HER doing something that seemed more Beast Boy's typical antics causing her to titter still as he came to a stop in his attempts on self-bandaging.

"I can be gentle," she agreed with a soft laugh, taking the rest of the gauze he had already managed to wrap and slowly passing it over and under his wounded arm. Her touch was cautious, her eyes raising slightly from her work to look at him.

Her emotions were a confusing thing for her at the moment, but they only reacted in ways that truly resided inside her... How ever hidden she may have tried to keep them. Her concerns on being around him in this state wasn't just because of her more dangerous aspects, but also over her feelings for him to surface too far. She had already let a few things slip thanks to uncontrolled words; the reference to his bird form as cute, the concern on his injury, the giggles (ugh, the giggles) at his antics moments ago.

"Almost done. Hold still... I need to cut the excess off." The scissors in hand, she snipped the small train of gauze, wadding it back up and setting it beside him. "There we are..."

She looked at him again, the thin smile remaining. He really was cute in his odd way when he wasn't being a pain in the ass. Maybe that was why she had those confusing feelings about him. He really didn't seem concerned on restraining his own true feelings; he was able to let out whatever he had on his mind, no holding back. As annoying as she may have found it, it was also rather- fascinating.

Just like him.

Her head tilted slightly, her eyes falling to the side of his head as she reached up. "Looks like he got you a bit here, too. Little scrape. Here, let me just..." She took some of the ointment from the tub he had found, running a tiny dot against the side of his scalp. Smiling, she leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss against the green-skinned boy's lips.

*Wait.*

Raven's hands were still on his shoulders.
They refused to move, but the Titan herself straightened, staring at him.

"I just... kissed you."

She yanked her hands off him quickly, shaking her head.

"We have to get that thing back."

The teen relaxed a bit at her reassurance, even if he remained partially on guard when she moved in closer to assist in the bandaging on his wound. Generally speaking, much like the other Titans, Gar trusted Raven with his life. But there remained a lingering concern in the back of his head that a stray thought or emotion may jerk into a completely different direction from where her emotions were pulling her at the moment. It was this concern which kept the changeling from completely relaxing, even as he felt himself grow somewhat at ease as she carefully tended to his injury. She really did have a surprisingly gentle touch when not keeping up that occasionally thick emotional barrier between herself and the others.

Looking at her up close as she alerted her friend of almost being done, the young changeling's gaze lingered on Raven's features for a few seconds. Up close like this, she really was a rather pretty young woman. True, there was her rather unique complexion, but it wasn't like his wasn't an appearance worthy of a few awkward stares. It was just a shame she kept her face hidden so often and rarely showed any real emotion for more then a fleeting moment. Well, present situation aside.

"There we are..."

With that, Gar snapped out of his momentary trance; his green eyes moving away quickly to inspect the bandaging which he almost forgot about in his admiration of her features. The young hero smiled a bit at seeing what a good job she did; moving his arm a little and testing out how he felt underneath the gauze.

"Hey, not bad! This is a lot better then whenever Star' offers to help out with the bandaging." He admitted while reflecting on a few incidents involving practical mummification with the Tamaranean's overcautious attempts at healing; not having noticed the way Raven as looking him over at first.

As he returned his head to looking in her direction, however, Beast Boy immediately noticed that strange, yet oddly cute smile on her features as she gazed at the teen. He felt rather awkward about it, especially considering how close she was, and let out an 'uhh' noise before getting cut off of saying anything else. She drew his attention to the scrape on his head, his eyes looking up as if they could somehow see it by doing so, before reaching up to take care of it for him. As she applied the ointment, Gar had seemingly forgotten about his earlier concerns, and returned the young woman's smile as she finished dotting at the cut.

Then, out of nowhere, Raven did perhaps the most unexpected thing she could have done in a million years. His eyes widened, slightly, as the half demoness leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss upon the male Titan's lips. Beast Boy didn't really have time to consider kissing back, but as she pulled away, he did find his head leaning forward a bit before catching himself in the act. Staring at her, jaw slightly slacked, there actually seemed to be a hint of a blush on his green-skinned features as she broke the silence.

"I just... kissed you."

"Yeah. You, uh, you sorta did, huh?" He responded, seemingly even more surprised at it then she was, yet showing little sign of disliking the unexpected act of tenderness. Actually, it was kind of nice. So nice that it took a moment for him to register the head shake on Raven's part and the mention of the mirror that followed it. Blinking several times as he gazed at her, the wheels in his head seemed to finally turn enough to sync up and bring him back to reality.

"Right! The mirror." The teen suddenly exclaimed, seemingly forgetting for a moment about the stolen magical object and the effect it was having on the half demon. Stupid Garfield. Of course, it was just an effect caused by the mirror. If it was Robin or Cyborg here in his place the results probably would have been similar.

Trying to push this aside for now, Beast Boy reflected on what Robin might suggest if he were here and offered up a few suggestions, "We could...we could make a few calls around the city? See if any of the honorary Titans operating within Jump City have seen or heard anything about this Mystico guy. Maybe also check out police reports for eye witness reports of a guy with a griffin."

That seemed a reasonable enough means for starting out on their search. There was also the possibility of Raven doing some hocus pocus of hers to try and track down the mirrors unique signature, but Beast Boy wasn't exactly knowledgeable enough to say whether or not that's even possible. Besides, with her present state, it may not be wise to get her too worked up. After all, if she would kiss him, then there was little idea of how far she may go if the more negative emotion took center stage.

His mind dwelled on that for a second, as he reached up a gloved hand to touch his fingers to his lips. Gar's gaze lowered a little, reflecting on Raven's immediate comment on needing to get the mirror back after their unplanned kiss. Can't blame a person for wanting to immediately correct a problem that's making them do stuff they'd never even consider doing otherwise. Still, as he looked into her deep eyes once more, the teen gave the young heroine a slight smile before almost literally squeaking out a question.

"It wasn't such a bad thing, was it?" The words came out suddenly, without mentioning the kiss specifically, but clearly referring to it as he looked over at woman standing before him. Almost immediately, however, he felt rather silly for bringing it back up and shook his head before raising his hands to wave off the thought, "Ahh, nevermind! It was just a silly little one time never to be repeated again kiss! Nothing to give a second thought about."

Raven simply stole a quick gaze at him, unsure of what to say. Try to regain that stone demeanor, try to lock everything away- it was so hard. Incredibly hard without her mirror. Those people that could make it seem so easy, to hold everything inside forever without hesitiation... So many people thought that she was one of them, simply keeping it trapped away without force.

They had no idea. There was so much she wanted to get out, so many things she wanted to say, do, release.

And- she just had. One of the biggest, most painful things to force herself to keep buried away. Her feelings for Beast Boy. She harassed him, scolded him, ignored him- but for her reasons. It was easier to help with that need.

But now he was staring at her like she was an alien. Well, that wasn't quite right, as they had a true creature of other-world origin amongst their ranks. More like she had sprouted a secondary head. There were many things her demonic side could manage to do, but spare appendages wasn't on that list.

"Inquiring with authorities might not be a path to use at the moment. It would show a slight sign of weakness on the Titans' part. Honoraries? That might be a good start, though." She glanced at him, smiling slightly as she nodded. "I'l go send out a message, see if anyone's noticed him."

Starting for the door, she stopped in her steps once again as she heard him shift on the bed he still sat upon. "You're alright?," she asked softly, worried that perhaps she had overdone her wrappings, or that her attempted help on the second wound was causing more harm than good.

He was looking at her weird. Weirder than usual Gar-weirdness.

"It wasn't such a bad thing, was it?"

Those words caused her to simply stare at him in return, not in shock or horror, but simply absorbing them, mulling them. He was saying something more, a dismissive apology on what had been uttered, but it was too late; the simple inquiry had already made itself known.

"You're right...." she trailed off a bit herself as she nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before picking up some of the tossed items from earlier, placing the bottles and containers back up on the shelves at the side of the room. "It wasn't such a horrible thing..."

Was he lingering on it? Had he- liked it? He wasn't yelling at her, horrified with her, anything like that... and he was the one to bring it back up. So defensive, quick to try and wave it away like an annoying bug... But if he was still thinking on it, then maybe it wasn't such a mistake. She had thought that-

...That...

She didn't know what she was thinking anymore. Every feeling inside of her was trying to find its dominance, the one boiling its way to the top now after seeing and hearing Beast Boy's reaction was her affection for him. "No. No, don't say that... When you say it that way, it sounds like you don't WANT it to happen again...." She frowned, glancing at him sadly. "I really hope that's not it... I rather- liked it. I just- I can't be doing this all the time! One thing, then the next- I can't handle being stuck on an emotional rollercoaster..."

She quickly pulled her hood back up, yet another turn coming to her. "I'm afraid of what I might do to someone if we don't get this fixed. What I might do to you. I don't want to hurt you, Beast Boy. Right now it's just me losing control on my own- but what if HE starts messing with it?"

She was nearly in tears once again, the thought of unintentionally harming Gar merging with the lingering affection she had shown moments ago. "I-I'm sorry. I should... I should be getting ahold of the others."

You're right, and we should put the entire incident behind us. That's what he kept thinking she would say in response of his attempt waving off the entire kiss. However, as she finished picking up a few of the tossed items from before, it didn't seem like she was going to be so quick on agreeing with this notion. In fact, as he carefully pulled the shirt of his uniform back on before hoping off the examining table to help in cleaning up anything she may have missed, it seemed that Raven had very conflicting feelings about simply brushing aside their first kiss. The first kiss. Now there's something Beast Boy never thought he'd find himself reflecting upon in a million years.

Holding a couple rolls of bandages, tape and other items in his folded arms; it indeed caused the teen to immediately pause in his mid-action as Raven gave her response. Her words surprised Gar considerably. For that matter, so did the frown upon her features as she glanced his way. Beast Boy hadn't meant to possibly hurt her feelings. What he said was more a reaction to what it was believe she might feel, but perhaps wasn't in the best condition for articulating without an unplanned emotion slipping forward. She meant it. She actually enjoyed their brief, yet obviously meaningful peck on the lips.

As she finished explaining about the whirlwind of emotions she was dealing with, of the fear about hurting those around her, the young Titan quickly tried to assure his teammate, "That's not going to happen! We'll find this Mystico guy and have him wearing black and white stripes before he even knows what hit him."

Problem is, not even Beast Boy was foolish enough to completely believe those words. If people with no clue about magic like Cyborg and himself could cause so much trouble for the half demon, then there was no saying how great of damage may be brought about by someone with even a little magical control. At the same time, despite the scares they had in the past, Gar simply couldn't picture Raven being able to hurt them. Not truly. Even when dealing with her father, she always saw to it that they got the least of his wrath. She could frighten him at times, but he came to always trust her where it counted.

When she turned to leave after saying her piece, Beast Boy seemingly forgot about the items in his arms as he quickly walked behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Raven! Wait!

There was a little cringing on the changeling's part, as the few rolls and small containers fell to the floor; their clattering temporarily interrupting his train of thought before trying to continue, "Sorry. I'll totally clean that up. But, hey, listen..." His words seemed to have trouble working their way out his throat, but with a small gulping noise, he pushed onward, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just, you know, figured you wouldn't want to....do that, again."

Removing his hand from her should when it seemed like she wasn't about to leave mid-sentence, the teen rubbed nervously at the back of his head; giving a light shrug while staring at the back of Raven's cloaked head, "Guess I wanted to keep from dwelling on it before you had to find a way of letting me down. Like, I didn't want to put you on the spot."

Tilting his head downward a bit, Beast Boy kept his eyes raised enough to continue watching her as the teen's hands were clasped together; nervously fidgeting his index fingers together while confessing, "But, to be honest? I kind of liked it, too." Turning his head a little to the side, he finally looked away like a schoolboy confessing to a crush as he added, "Okay, I kind of really liked it."

The green shapeshifter stood in silence for a while, before forcing out a throat clearing sound as he finally tried getting back to business, "But, hey, we can worry about this later, right? Let's focus on getting your mirror back for now."

With that said, Beast Boy made good on his unspoken promise of cleaning up the few remaining medical items strewn out on the floor. Fortunately, Raven had done most of this by now, so a few seconds later he was joining her in leaving the medical area. They had calls to make, plans to work out. Typical hero planning stuff. Stuff that Beast Boy would have to pull his weight on for once. Or try, at least, due to the current skeleton crew working in the Tower and a slowly building sense of guilt over everything. He was the one who got Raven worked up enough to force her out onto the rooftop. And he was the one who failed in retrieving her mirror. These were feelings that the teen tried keeping bottled up, yet they did seem to make him a little quieter then usual for a change.

Glancing at Raven briefly, the uncharacteristically quiet prankster gave the girl a mischievous smile as he offered, "Would it help to cheer you up if I told a few jokes?" A short pause followed on his part, before giving a brief chuckle before admitting, "Yeeeaaah probably not. Okay, I'll get to work on my part in tracking down this Mystico clown."

Starting to job ahead of her a little, Gar glanced over his shoulder, a teasing smirk on the corner of his features as he pointed out, "But the offer is on the table."

Suddenly turning into a green furred wolf, the now four-legged changeling raced ahead of the half-demon, ignoring any pain in his previously injured upper left leg as he made his way for the main area of the Tower. If she felt up for trying to pinpoint the location of this creep, then great. But he was determined to pull his weight in making things right with Raven by retrieving what was rightfully hers. And perhaps not unlike his attempts at making her laugh, he was showing signs of pushing it a little further then needed.

-----------------

Meanwhile, the villain behind this entire dilemma had finally managed to make it back to his secret lair. Which, in somewhat predictably cliché villainy fashion, turned out to be an abandoned theater near the outskirts of the city. Eventually, Mystico did remember to place a cloaking spell upon them once more, but it was only after realizing how much attention his current choice in traveling arrangements was drawing from the crowd. Even in a place filled with constant hero and villain fights, you tend to notice a giant griffin flying through downtown. He could only hope this mistake was rectified before anyone could hope to fathom a guess on his general destination.

The invisible figure flew in from the opened ceiling window, with only slight complications as the griffin's wings proved a bit too wide for a smooth landing. Still, as they landed roughly onto an aisle of nailed down theatre seats, it did prove a considerably lighter landing in comparison to what happened on the Tower. Not that it didn't keep the young villain from letting out a short string of pseudo curses while climbing off the creatures back before undoing the spell. For its part, the mythical beast simply licked at its wounds; only paying some attention to its clearly annoyed 'master' as he stumbled toward the nearest aisle.

"Well, that was a bust! All of that time spent hiding in the shadows, waiting for just the right opportunity. Wasted!" The novice magician complained while fuming every step of the way, before suddenly turning around and jabbing an accusing finger at his summoned companion, "And all because you don't know how to follow my commands!"

Although the creature couldn't say anything, it did seem to let out a roll of his eyes while glancing at the magician; whom seemed to already be focused on future attempts as he rubbed at his chin in thought, "Maybe next time I should try for something akin to one of those giant hawks from those silly Hobbit books."

This time, the beast actually did let out what could rightfully be construed as a sort of scoffing sound, which didn't go unnoticed by the male as he shot a glare at the beast, "Oh, go back from whence you came, already."

Raising a hand, Mystico channeled his mystical powers of mysticism and uttered a few familiar magic words before expelling a bolt of energy which made the creature vanish into a puff of smoke upon contact. And that was that, at least until the next time he'd need the beasts assistance, which the young man didn't plan on being soon as he strolled toward the stage. Along the way, he slipped a hand into the pouch strapped to his side. Inside were a few items needed for assisting in his spells, but the object he sought and slowly pulled out happened to be his one 'trophy' from the earlier raid.

Holding the mirror which the Titan girl had earlier by its handle, the magician raised an eyebrow while eyeing it curiously for a bit, "Funny. Never figured the little goth girl as the vanity type."

Ghastly looking thing, really. It seemed like a good idea to grab it at the time, but now the young man was considering junking it in a petty showing of smite to his enemies. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Mystico started wiping off a few smudges of dirt on his face that he could see in its reflection; before moving a finger to wipe at the glass to see whether one particularly frustrating smudge was on him for the reflection. Upon touching it, however, the reflection seemed to react to the residual magic left in his fingertips; sending out a sudden crackling of black energy which nearly made Mystico drop the enchanted item.

Gazing at the item with widened eyes at first, a faint smirk soon played at the corner of the villain's lips as he began inspecting it further, "Hello. What have we here?"

Cautiously returning his fingers to the glass, Mystico this time let out a stronger, yet controlled charge of magic in order to force another reaction. While the mirror could at times react to non-magic users, this allowed for a controlled response that at least ensured his own safety for now. Suddenly, two sets of red, glowing eyes appeared within the mirror; gazing at the young man with a look which could only be described as rage. It was enough to make the magician hold the mirror a little further away. Still, as he watched in surprise, feeling the energy within the object as it felt almost alive in his grasp, it steadily dawned on even this magical novice just what it was he stumbled across.

The imagery of those glowing red eyes vanished as quickly as they came, once again leaving only the reflection of a now grinning Mystico who seemed to grasp the numerous possibilities being presented to him, "Curiouser and curiouser."

She tried to force a smile at his attempted comforting words, but it simply refused to come forward. Instead, she ended up just staring at him with doubt evident in her features. The stare lignered for a moment, the half demon sighing as she shook her head, looking back toward the door- Only to freeze as the items he had so kindly helped to pick up moments ago made it back to the floor.

She closed her eyes.
Deep breath.
Don't let it-

His hand found her shoulder, causing her to glance back at him as he attempted to explain what was on his mind. The frown was slow to leave her lips, trying to understand what he was attempting to say. It all came clear as he continued, Raven finally managing to smile as the confession left his mouth, keeping it hidden in the shadows of her hood. "Hm."

She stooped to pick up some of the mess, placing the bandages back on the desk before peeking back to see him gathering the remains, her mind already trying to figure out who would be best to contact for help. Cyborg was with Titans East at the moment- but that was far too offbeat from their current position. She highly doubted that he had escaped to outside the limits of Jump City. To where in particular, however...

"It's something we can talk about later, Gar. When... there's not so much to worry about. I promise, once my head is a bit more cooperative, we can talk. And- whatever."

The mess cleared, and off to the main communications computer. It would be easier to get ahold of everyone at once. But how to explain it? She wasn't sure about including the stolen item, as that would require explaination on why she needed it. Far too much for something of such little time.

Gar's words caused her to glance up from her thoughts, her usual blank expression staring back at him over the offer to tell a few jokes. Before she could answer, he dismissed it himself, though did manage to pull a little smile from her lips as he added that the offer was left for later as well.

His shape changed, the green teen becoming a green wolf that darted off ahead of her. He shouldn't be doing that! She frowned, rising up from her steps to instead float down the hall at a higher speed. "Gar, slow down! You can't be-"

Her head was suddenly reeling, Raven gasping hoarsely as she fell from her levitating position. It wasn't a heavy fall, but certainly was enough to jarr her. What was that?! It had felt like someone had just... She wasn't sure how to describe it. Like they had electrocuted her mind. No. Her soul.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before getting to her feet. Gar was still running; she could hear the four feet hitting the carpeted floor around the corner. Just catch up with him. This was just a side effect of that idiot getting the mirror. Trying to figure it out, most likely. But that- that had never happened before. Perhaps her own fear was assisting in this... Making it easier for the mirror's effects to bother her.

Again.
Worse; a thousand times worse.

Raven cried out over the sudden resurgence, clutching her head as she fell back to the floor. He was playing with it- He was messing with her head-

She was going to hurt him. Hurt him so badly, hurt him in ways that mortals could never imagine. He thought it was funny to play with her, to mess with things unknown. Humans never understood the dangers of magic, especially a demon's magic. He wanted to know what would happen? He wanted to see true magic? She would show him. She would let him see, up close and personal. Tear his mortal flesh from his body, destroy destroy his mind. Let him suffer, feel the true power of a demon...

As perhaps expected, the wolf formed Beast Boy ended up beating Raven to the main section of the Titan's headquarters by wide margin. In fact, despite everything, it almost felt like a game of racing for the often jovial teen. Truthfully, if the changeling didn't feel a combination of concern and sympathy for his fellow Titan members plight, he may have teased and rubbed her nose into his 'victory' when she caught up. Actually, he may just do a tiny little bit of that anyway. Just a smidge, really. Heck, it might even bring about a faint smile after their earlier awkwardness in the medical area. That alone would be worth the slight pain in his shoulder from the brisk run in his previous form.

Or that's what he'd consider doing whenever she did arrive, at least, as it seemed the half-demon girl was dragging her feet while Gar had already gotten around to snatching up the controller and checking in on any recent police reports or alerts. Pretty boring stuff, at least for Beast Boy, which the green teen usually wouldn't bother with under normal circumstances. Of course, as he thought back on Raven's earlier mood swings, there was very little about any of this that could be classified as normal. Yes, even by their peculiar standard of what counts as 'normal'.

At the moment, he was wrapping up a quick conversation with a fellow Titan. Well, about as much of a conversation as one could have with a mute, "So you're 'saying' you did see some guy riding a Griffin?"

The blonde on the monitor nodded once more, his wide eyes focused on the green teen as he started to carefully move his hand in sign language to explain what happened. It was a fortunate stroke of luck for Jericho to have been in the area. While passing through Jump City only minutes ago, the mute hero was among the few whom were able to capture a glimpse of Mystico riding upon the supposedly mythic creature just as the novice magician remembered to recast his invisibility spell. As such, the Titan was able to give a better trajectory of the villains location then those whom spotted him in more crowded sections previously.

Unfortunately, such details were lost on the seemingly dumbfounded Beast Boy. The changeling gazed at the honorary Titan for several seconds, blank expression on his features, before moving both hands up to grip at his hair and frustration while complaining, "Ugh, don't you have a pen and paper nearby which you can use?? I'm no good at this sign language stuff!"

The quiet young man on the monitor could only blink a few times as he watched Gar's frustrated yet strangely comical outburst. The changeling rubbed at his forehead for a moment, seemingly trying to brainstorm a bit, his ears starting to slouch slightly before perking up along with the rest of him as his head shot up with an excited look on his face, "Oh! How about charades? I can do charades."

Joseph seemed to consider this for a second, before giving a gentle smile and nodding his head in understanding. From there the teen pointed at his eyes, then moved his arms in a slow flapping motion, before pointing up at the sky. He then moved one hand in a wavy motion, seemingly imitating the ungraceful motion in which the animal flew, before putting his other hand over it and making a 'poof' motion similar to stage magicians when they make something vanish under a handkerchief. For anyone else, this may have been more confusing then it was helpful. But judging by the way Beast Boy was nodding his head, it seemed the message got through clearly.

"Uh huh. You saw them flying uncordinated over the city? And then...they poofed? They vanished? Into thin air?" The youngster asked for verification while unknowingly giving his best Robin impression by rubbing at his chin in thought and giving a fairly seriously expression; knowing this meant they weren't likely to get any closer leads as he added, "Which way was he heading?"

In response of this, the blonde simply held up his communicator in the general area of Mystico's apparent destination; also making certain to move in close enough for Beast Boy to see what locales the villain had been flying over and beyond before vanishing.

"Sweet, at least it's a start and a lot more then I'm seeing in any official reports." The teen responded with a nod of his head before suddenly flashing a wide smile and giving Jericho a big thumbs up as he tried to praise the honorary Titan, "Thanks for the help, dude! Nice hear-uh, well, nice seeing you again."

The young man with the curly blonde hair seemed to give a silent chuckle in response, followed by a parting wave as they ended the transition on that awkward attempt at a send off by Beast Boy. Once the transmission went off and the screen returned to the Titans symbol, Gar let out a sigh of relief at having at least pulled this much off without any problems. As annoying as Robin's drills could be, he had to admit that the boy wonder was right in making sure the green complexioned hero knew what to do in different emergency situations. Not that Gar was about to admit that to him when he got back from training with Batman.

Glancing around, Beast Boy began wondering about the continued absence of Raven. Granted, it hadn't been more then a few minutes, but her absence in her condition left the young Titan somewhat concerned. Tossing the remote onto the couch, Beast Boy started backtracking in an attempt at finding the missing half-demon; albeit sticking to a human form for now so as to keep from further aggravating his arm.

Walking down the many adjoined halls of the Tower, Beast Boy put a hand up to the side of his mouth in a seeming attempt to amplify his voice; masking any concern with his usual jovial demeanor, "Raven? Oh Raaaaaveennn? Olly olly oxen free?"

No response there. Not even one to tell him to cut it out or anything. As he continued walking, the teen decided on a simpler, more honest means as he called again while searching for the girl, "I have a rough lead on this Mystico guy if you're interested in hearing it?"

There wasn't anything there either, but it didn't matter, as Beast Boy turned a corner and suddenly caught sight of the woman he was trying to locate. Whether she was hunched over in pain or managed to regain her footing at this point, it didn't take long for the young Titan to look her over from the short distance and realize something was wrong. Almost immediately, any remaining attempts at masking his concerns faded away as he raced toward his companion with a nervous expression marring the green skinned teen's features.

"Raven?! Hey, are you okay? What happened?" He called out while closing the gap between them; only starting to slow when he was a couple steps away of the young half-demon.

How long had she been like this? As he stood there staring at her with a concerned yet uncertain expression, Gar began to question his earlier actions; feeling a small sense of guilt over having rushed ahead and not expecting anything bad to happen while his back was turned for a few minutes. At worst, he figured she'd grab some crayons and begin drawing on the walls. Or something along those lines.

"Raven?" Beast Boy repeated once more, before cautiously leaning closer and almost timidly placing a gloved hand onto the woman's cloak covered shoulder.

She had tears in her eyes as she heard his voice, though he sounded a million miles away... Buried and lost somewhat in the flooding anger that poured through her. Raven knew it was Gar standing before her.She knew he only wanted to help.

He was her friend. He never intended this to happen. It wasn't his fault. She knew that.

But that anger inside her.
The demon inside her.

It didn't care. It knew, it knew quite well everything that Raven knew.
It just didn't care.

"Beast Boy...," she whispered, her voice wavering as she closed her eyes, trying so hard to keep control. The anger was flowing through her now, overtaking her. Anger... and fear. She didn't know what she was capable of doing in this state.

"Please...," her throat choked on the words, Raven still fighting with herself to keep control. No, don't lose it, not here. Not on him. He tried. He tried, DON'T!

But then he touched her.
That kind hand, placed in concern and friendship, landed on her shoulder, the heat and weight of it finally snapping the last confine of Raven's control.

"DO NOT TOUCH ME!"
Her arm flew out, the half demon leaving the floor to instead take to the air once again, levitating above him as her hood shrouded her face. The form before her was unrecognisable in this state, her head overcome by the demon blood's fury. It was simply there. Someone who touched her. Violated her area in such a terrible time. She had no control...

This- creature- had intruded upon her.

"A demon's fury...," she hissed, her cloak spilling open and encircling the shapeshifter with its shadow, a stronger force than her own usual powers dragging him into the confines of her cloak.

Raven screamed in her mind. She didn't want to do this. She knew who it was that she held now. Not to him, please... Not to him... Let go. LET GO OF HIM!

But her other self refused to listen. It forced him to see it, to feel it- everything that existed in the hell that was her father's world. The pain he created, the torture he put his daughter through with fighting this other side to herself. It forced him to see her true self. The self she never wanted to be.

She screamed.

NOT TO HIM!!

She let him go, only to collapse once again, gasping for breath before getting to her feet.

She had control again.

Not her demonic side, not one of her insane emotions... Her. The Raven she tried to always be.

She looked to him, a fear running through her. "Gar...? Gar, I'm- I'm sorry..." She reached out to him, her pale hand shaking. If she had hurt him, she could never forgive herself.

Her strained words had an impact on the changeling, albeit leading him to perhaps misunderstanding what she was trying to convey toward the young hero. If Beast Boy had known they were meant as an attempted warning, then the teen would have quickly heeded it. As it were, what latent animal (or even basic human) instincts there were within him had made the Titan weary of getting too close to his teammate. At first, at least. Unfortunately, Gar had misunderstood Raven's words as a call for his assistance, and foolishly invaded her personal space when it was one of the absolute worst moves he could make.

There was a sudden sense of inexplicable fear within the teen seconds after resting his hand on the half-demon's shoulder. This was only compounded as she suddenly snapped at her companion in a voice very unlike her own; causing a now frightened Beast Boy to take a few steps back before the pale young woman started to levitate above him. Her features were obscured by the hood, and that earlier sense of fear lingered as the often outspoken green Titan could only swallow hard while watching with frightened eyes.

"Raven?" He finally spoke, barely above a whisper, as those instincts started to compel Beast Boy into taking a tentative step backwards while gazing on the grim figure. It was the only true progress in escaping that the teen would make.

The only response she gave came out in a hiss, her voice carrying that same tone that sent a shiver up his spine, before her cloak spilt open with its shadow immediately lashing out at him. Terrified, Gar tried to turn and run, only to have the dark, cold to the touch shadows wrap themselves his limbs; pulling him toward her against his will. He'd seen this at least once before, during a past battle with Dr. Light. He didn't know what awaited him inside, but it didn't stop Beast Boy from grunting and struggling in vain, frantically calling out toward the girl he'd known for so long in an attempt at reaching her, "Raven! Don't! Please!!"

In the last moments, he tried changing shape, altering himself into other forms; a pterodactyl whose wings were quickly pinned from flying, a wolf which let out a whine as its paws scraped at the floor, a cat whose claws left small scratches upon the same floor. None of them, within the span of a few precious seconds, could gain enough slack to slip out. In the end, as Beast Boy was lifted into the air and saw the darkness cutting him off from the outside world, the young Titan could only turn back to normal long enough to call for her one last time.

"Raven!!!" His face was then engulfed, an arm being all that remained free, and it too was slowly swallowed into the shadow as the half demon's cloak closed itself around her captive.

Inside, the often cheeky hero was subjected to viewing horrors unlike anything he'd imagined. Nothing could prepare Beast Boy for what was seen in there. Nothing seen or read about in the works of fiction, not even full on glimpses given by Trigon's past attempts at taking over their world. Not only this, but during the entire time in there, Gar could feel the rage of her demonic side as it lashed out. He could feel it. And as frightening as Raven may appear from the outside, it simply paled in comparison of what she was forcing him to experience of her true self.

Finally, it seemed the Raven the other Titans knew had regained control. At least, she mercifully released him of her grasp; causing him to spill out from the cloak just as she herself fell to the ground. Beast Boy didn't even bother trying to cushion his short fall; instead hitting the floor like so much dead weight. But he wasn't dead. The lively look of fear in his green eyes made sure to prevent such misconceptions. Along with this, there was the way the teen had shook, as if still feeling the empty coldness and despair that wrapped itself like a cruel blanket inside of her cloak. He almost wasn't aware of the other person's movements until she spoke his name. His eyes immediately went toward her hands as the familiar half demon reached out for him.

"Don't touch me!!" His frightened words came out before thinking about them, followed up by similarly instinctive actions as he moved into a sitting position before scooting and pushing himself away of her by several feet; as if wanting to create distance without taking his eye off of her.

This continued until his back against a wall within the hallway, and even this seemed to draw out a surprised gasp from the teen, yet he didn't seem to have his wits about him to turn and continue 'escaping'. Instead, he simply sat there, body shaky, eyes showing a rarely seen sense of fear and sadness within them. He needed a moment. To catch his breath. To collect himself. To stop shaking. Simple needs, yet seemingly impossible to achieve at the time. Still, Beast Boy stared at Raven, confusion and distrust evident within his features even as the young hero realized she was back to normal.

"Raven..." He started to croak, voice shaky, much like the rest of him, as he tried to formulate a proper apology for his actions. But that fear was there, and it wasn't completely unjustified, even as the following response caused Beast Boy to feel a ping of guilt as he requested, "I'm sorry, but just...please...don't come near me right now...."

His eyes finally broke away of staring at her as they lowered themselves, slightly, out of a sense of shame before pulling his knees up and hugging them to his chest. Those feelings were still there. Fresh in his mind and body. As were those images. Such horrible imagery. Gar knew that Raven's father wasn't exactly father of the year material, but what he saw of him, what he saw of her true self? What he saw could only be described in vague, yet fitting words which defined abject horror and disgust. And she lived through that and fought against it to this very day. It would be a cause of newfound respect if he were capable of focusing on anything but the immediate here and now.

Calming himself, if only a little, just enough to not run away of someone whom (at least for now) didn't appear to have any intention of causing further harm; the young changeling resumed looking in Raven's direction. There wasn't much improvement in his response to her presence, but Gar at least didn't appear to be blinded by unfiltered terror of the girls presence. Still, as he tried to find answers, his voice continued to shake just like the rest of him, "What- What the heck just happened?"

She hesitated as he shouted in fear at her, pulling back and taking refuge in the shadows of her cloak once again. She had hurt him, hadn't she? She had lost control of herself, attacked him, lashed out at him in her blind fury- "Gar, I'm so sorry... Please, believe me when I say that it wasn't me...," she whispered, trying to think of some way to prove her honesty. She couldn't stand to see him like this toward her.

His request to be left alone was obeyed, Raven pushing herself to the opposite wall and lowering her hood. She couldn't look at him. Instead, she kept her gaze to the floor, her usual meditation pose taken, but her mind left to be clear. Part of her told him to fully leave him be, to go to her room and let him have time to himself, but the current emptiness of the Tower left her unsure of that course of action. She wasn't sure what type of state he'd be in after all that- nor her own. If it were to try and overtake her again, she didn't want to risk her anger taking its fury out on the city. Beast Boy could stop her if it came down to it, she was sure of it.


He could. But the matter was if he would.

He was so quiet.
Yet she could hear him, the shift of his clothing as he moved on the floor, the sense of dread that wafted from him. Fear. Because of her. Her eyes closed, a heavy feeling falling upon her as well. SHe hadn't meant for this to happen.

When he finally spoke to her, without telling her to leave him, without crying out in horror, she looked back up, pushing the hood free of her face. "That wasn't me. Please understand that. It was... He's playing with it. I don't know if he's figured it out, or is trying to, or what. But he's using magic on it, I can tell that much. It's effecting me horribly. He caused that. He forced out my anger with it. He attacked my psyche with it. It seems my demon side doesn't much appreciate that." She hesitated, looking back to him with faint tears in her eyes. "I didn't intend to hurt you, Gar. I truly didn't. It wasn't me. It wasn't..."

His gloved fingers gripped at his legs a little harder as they remained pulled up to his chest, as if he were trying to stop this continued shaking by simply forcing his body to stop. Unfortunately, that wasn't proving to be the case, but at least it was showing signs of getting better. Whenever he finally got to his feet, he changeling was probably going to find himself walking around on wobbly legs for a while. But at least the teen could focus less on the nervous state of his body and more on what his friend, the half demon was talking to him about. If only he could completely drown out those images which kept replaying in the back of his mind regardless of how hard he'd try to repress or ignore them.

Beast Boy didn't completely understand the workings of magic or Raven's mirror, even after having paid a rather eventful visit to it with Cyborg in the past. Still, the teen was able to follow the basic idea of what his fellow Titan was taking the time to explain. It explained the why, yet left the changeling continuing to question what exactly it was had happened after being pulled into her cloak. What it was he saw. Had felt. Had been forced to experience during those moments which felt like an eternity. At the time, not even Gar could find it in him to crack any jokes to try and lighten the mood.

The green furred/skinned young man sat in silence as he took in everything, almost missing it as Raven again tried apologizing for what happened. Gar didn't seem to know what to say at first, but soon noticed the tears which threatened to spill down the girls pale features as she spoke. It was enough to break his silence.

"Raven? It's...It's okay." The teen started to assure his friend, trying to ignore how his voice remained somewhat shaky as he spoke. He started echoing what she said earlier, and with a sense of conviction behind his words, even as they were noticeably marred by his current frightened state of mind, "It's like you said. It wasn't you doing that. Not the real you. It couldn't be. It can't be."

His words and thought seemed to trail off from there for a moment. That couldn't be the real Raven. She had her demons, both figuratively and literally. Beast Boy always knew that. But what he'd seen? That couldn't be her. Not the real her. That wasn't the girl Gar knew. The one he always tried to make smile to mixed results.

Shaking himself out of this funk for a bit, Beast Boy finally began pulling himself to his feet; using the wall nearby for added leverage as his legs threatened to give out from the momentary shaking. It would go away soon, but it'd take a while. In the meantime, as Gar gazed over at the woman on the verge of tears, he tried to move things forward a little.

"Let's. Let's just try to find him, okay?" He offered, finally able to at least stand on his own, even as he maintained a distance due to a combination of not feeling confident in his legs moving and residual fear from earlier, "I- I 'talked' with Jericho a while ago. He saw this Mystico guy and pointed me in direction he was heading. But if he's using your mirror, then, I don't know, maybe you can pinpoint where he is even better? Then we can work on finding this creep and getting things back to normal."

His words came out a lot clearer now, if a bit anxious, while also showing more sadness then fear at the moment. Lowering his head a bit, the changeling suddenly pleaded in a lowered voice, "Just, please. Don't cry, Raven."

Keeping his head slightly lowered, his features showing an unusual sadness on the frequently energetic teens face as he added at barely above a whisper, "I can never stand it when you're hurting."

He was trying to comfort her. Even after what she had just done... She was the one who had left him so horrified, hiding away from her, terrified of what was inside her; the inner thoughts of a demon, the things it longed to do, to create and destroy, to hunt down those who it felt were out to stop it.

And Gar was simply another target in its eyes.

Raven looked up at him hesitantly as he stood, nodding as he spoke of finding Mystico. Of course. The sooner they found him, the sooner they could end this; get her back the way she was supposed to be, the way she tried to be. "I can try. It is an extension of me... I'm just- a bit afraid to at the moment. If he were to do that again-" She hesitated.

She could hurt him again.
That thought tore her up inside.

He spoke so softly now, Raven's gaze still set on the floor. She heard him, but didn't acknowledge it, simply getting to her feet and starting back down the hall. Those thoughts, however, refused to leave her mind. To lose it again, become- THAT- again....

"Gar. I need you to promise me something. If he causes that to happen again with me.. and I can't get control... I need you to stop me." She glanced back at him, her face solemn. "I don't care how. Just don't let me hurt anyone. Don't let me- let it... don't let us do anything to the city. I trust you, Gar."

She took a deep breath, returning to her walk back down the hall and into the main room, settling onto the red curved couch and tucking her legs beneath her. Her mirror. Focus on it, nothing else... Try to find the magician fool who was tampering with it.

"I'll need to meditate for this, Beast Boy," she whispered out, her eyes still closed. "And that could leave another chance for him to get into my head. If I'm acting strange when I come out of it, do what you have to to subdue me until I get control again."

Another deep breath, Raven focusing hard to find her inner selves. They would know; they were the ones at risk here, they could see their attackers better than she could.

~~
The grey hood that appeared before her first was quick to turn around, the mirrored face of her own sobbing loudly as Timid threw her arms about Raven's neck. "We're doomed! DOOMED! Did you see what happened?! We're all going to be destroyed, I just know it-!"

NOT the one she was hoping to find first. "Where's Brave."

"Right here! HOOWAA!" The green cloaked version seemingly appeared from nowhere, jumping down beside her and flexing a muscle. "Don't worry! That freak shows up in here again, and I'll take him down!"

"Again? So you have seen him."

"Not exactly. We can feel his effects, and can sense where he is, especially with that last bout he gave us. That zap you felt? That was far, far more destructive in here. It's even left a slight portal back into your open psyche." Wisdom's arm outstretched with that, showing the devastation Mystico's magic was causing to the landscape of her mind. "We've been working on trying to focus the magic's source, however. He still leaves traces when he simply holds the mirror, and we've pinned it down to... ugh..."

"...A trashed out theatre on the far side of town. My kinda place," Sloth added with a smirk.

Raven nodded with that, giving a soft sigh. "Then I guess Gar and I have our work cut out for us. I think-" She paused, looking at the group before her.

Wait.
"Where's Happy?" Raven's voice was a mere growl with that, narrowing her eyes. That portal Wisdom had referred to... She had opened it more by coming in here...

As if Mystico wasn't bad enough.

~~

Raven's eyes opened slowly, looking around the room cautiously before falling on Gar. A smile quickly filled her features, getting to her feet. That incident back in the infirmary had been a large portion of her doing, and the chance to talk to him herself- without the other emotions trying to hold her back- well, that was just wonderful. Approaching him, she opened her cloak a bit more, thrusting it back with a push of her elbows, her hands reaching out to him.

"C'mere a sec, Gar...," She cooed, grinning.

The young Titan stood in silence following his comments, as he found himself at a rare lack for words at the moment. Normally one would offer to give someone time by themselves, and part of him wanted to put some distance between them for now, but that perhaps wasn't the best course of action. Not given the current situation where Raven could suddenly find herself attacked on a spiritual level within the blink of an eye. His legs were still shaking a bit, and they could move to take him away of here if he wanted, but the teen instead stood his ground as he showed patience with the female half demon.

Beast Boy's green eyes immediately focused on Raven when she broke the moment of silence which likely felt a lot longer then it actually had been. He listened, not simply to what she said, but how it was said, as his longtime teammate began to ask of him an important promise. His eyes studied the solemn expression on her features, his own green complexioned face showing a dreariness rarely displayed by the teen. The only change came with a sign of understanding in his eyes as she made her request known.

His right hand began to curl into a fist, squeezing tightly as he bit back any counterarguments or attempts at encouragement which may have come to mind; instead swallowing hard before giving a simple, yet difficult answer, "I'll- I'll do whatever...whatever it takes, Raven. I won't let you do anything you might regret. I promise."

Although he didn't say it, this promise wasn't simply to protect others from her demon side. It was to keep Raven from doing anything that would bring her greater pain once she recovered completely. Watching as she led the way toward the main room, the changeling actually did show signs of hesitation, before his legs finally began to move and carry him after her. Unlike their usual walks, however, this one was filled with complete silence on Beast Boy's part as that continued loss for words refused to leave.

Watching nearby as she took a seat on the couch, the nerves of Garfield Logan had obviously remained somewhat rattled, as even with the shaking have subsided, there remained a degree of fidgeting as she explained what was going to happen next. As she did so, it caused another gulping noise to emit from the teen, albeit one that seemed slightly played for more comical effect.

"I was afraid you might say that." He admitted with the slightest hint of a smile briefly touching his lips; his first attempt, albeit short-lived, at adding some levity to the situation since his early cape trip before adding in a more serious tone, "I'll do everything I can, Raven. Just be careful in there."

From there, the Titan watched as his longtime friend took in a deep breath before going into a meditative trance like so many others he'd witnessed in the past. Gar was frightened, of course, as he stood in front of the young heroine; his fingers fidgeting together the entire time she was in her meditative state. He'd have to be crazy not to be frightened. Or very stupid, which he wasn't, despite certain proof to the contrary. But more then any of this, Beast Boy didn't want to let her down. For as frightened as he'd become of what might be in there, he was just as scared of what may happen if she were left to deal with this alone.

A short time passed, with Beast Boy almost letting his guard down after being allowed a few minutes 'alone' with his thoughts. The teen immediately jumped to attention, however, when Raven's eyes began to flutter open as she stirred out of her trance. Watching her nervously, he waved a hand in front of her face and was about to ask exactly which Raven was home at the moment, when she suddenly fell forward and onto the shape shifting hero.

"Ahh!" He yelped out in surprise while trying to keep her from hurting herself. His actions were largely based on reflex then anything else, as he soon remembered just how this may not be a side of Raven that would be beneficial to his health.

"Uh, Raven?" He spoke cautiously, questioning just which specific part of her, if any, was in charge before having this answered by seeing the smile that quickly spread across her features.

"Okay, I know you can't help it, but these mood swings are really starting to get ridiculous. Even for me!" The teen complained after letting out a sigh, with a little more of his normal self being allowed to sneak through while feeling somewhat at ease as he rubbed at the back of his neck a bit.

Any further 'complaints' were pushed aside for now as the half demon got back to her feet, opening her cloak a bit before reaching out and offering her hands to him. The Titan could only stare at first, a little surprised at seeing such an apparently affectionate side of Raven.

"Whenever I start thinking I have a handle on this..." He muttered to himself, tilting his head slightly as his rubbed at his tender shoulder a little; obviously contemplating the offer for a second. Well, she did say to keep whatever came out subdued until she regained control. Better to keep her happy side, well, happy instead of risking any other emotions slipping to the forefront by his unwillingness to cooperate.

"Well, at least it's better then dealing with your last mood swing." Gar rationed to himself, before starting to take a step forward with noticeable hesitation on his part, "Just don't hold this against me when you're back to normal? Well, Raven-Normal."

The teen let out a small, nervous laugh there. There remained some fear, obviously, but she didn't seem to be a threat for now. With that, the gap between the pair was steadily closed, with his own gloved hands reluctantly reaching up and accepting her own within their grasp. It was a shame the gloves hindered actual skin on skin contact there, but the intent was there was he held onto her for the moment. Besides, as the changeling's eyes gazed into her own, the green skinned Titan had to admit that she was awfully pretty when she smiled.