A Safe Haven...?

~Chapter one – Half past dead~
Beast Boy sat up sleepily. He looked at his watch.
“Argh!” he cried, “Its half past dead! Why I am up so early???” he buried his face under his pillow, groaning. Something must have woken him up. But what? It must have been pretty loud, whatever it was. Slowly, he drew his head out from under his pillow. Yes – there it was again! What was that noise? He got up silently, following the sound.
“Whoa!” he yelped in surprise as he landed face-first in a huge pile of dirty washing. For once in his life, he wished he kept his room more tidy. He turned swiftly into a gopher and dug his way through, appearing as a teenager at his door. Beast Boy turned the knob, praying that it wouldn’t squeak. He didn’t want to loose the noise and get lost in the dark. He crept blindly along the pitch-black corridor, hoping against all hopes that he wasn’t leading himself into a trap. It seemed like hours, down hundreds of unfamiliar dark hallways before the noise suddenly stopped. He screwed his eyes up against the dark and managed to make out what was in front of him. It was a door. Leaning closer, he tried to read the sign.
“Raven’s room.” He gasped. So that’s where the noise was. Now he knew what the noise was. He knew who it was coming from.
Raven was crying.
He pushed open the door, and his mouth dropped open. Raven was curled up on the floor, her entire body shaking.
“R-Raven...what’s…what’s wrong?” he cautiously stretched out his hand to her, hoping that she wouldn’t yell at him for coming in without knocking. She looked up and Beast Boy nearly fell over from shock.

~Chapter two – What on earth…? ~
She looked up. Her face was covered in gashes and fresh blood trickled down her cheeks, mingling with tears. There was a blue-purple bruise on her chin and an oozing wound on her forehead. One of her eyes was swollen and puffy whilst her other fought to stay open. Beast Boy’s eyes trailed down her form; her leotard was ripped in several unmentionable places and he fought not to blush. Half of her sleeve was ripped off and her legs were bloodied and red where her tights were severed.
“Beast…Boy…” she gasped, stretching out her shaking hand to him. There were tears welling up in her eyes and he could tell by her quavering voice the pain she was going through. Suddenly, something in his brain clicked and he ran towards her.
“Raven!” he cried, “What happened?? Who did this to you?? How…” he stopped as she struggled to speak.
“He…I…big noise…he…”
“Yes?” he gripped her hand, wincing slightly at the feel of her blood on his hands. She gasped and he could hear the breath rattle around her rough throat. He loosened his grip slightly and her eyes filled with tears again.
“Oh…I…Beast Boy! I don’t…I can’t…but…so weak…and he…” her bottom lip quivered and Beast Boy could see her energy was being drained out of her, her blood levels slowly lowering. It was so hard for her speak already and if she didn’t get medical attention soon…he fought not to cry. Who knew what ordeal she had gone through? How long had she lain there, crying before he reached her? Minutes? Hours? He cursed himself for being so slow, so hard to wake. If only he had got up earlier. If only…
“It’s…going to be alright, Raven. I promise. I…I…” he looked down at her and felt the blood drain from his face. Her eyes were shut. And he couldn’t feel her pulse anymore.



~Chapter three – Strike two~
THUMP!
Robin sat up. What was THAT?
THUMP!
There it was again. He tensed his muscles, listening. The noises had stopped now, there was…silence. Complete silence. Maybe Beast Boy’s shelves had fallen down again? Fearing the worst, he jumped out of bed, snatching up his bird-a-rangs. He pushed the door open a notch and peered out. There didn’t seem to be anyone in his corridor.
“Phew,” he muttered. Then he froze. If they weren’t in his corridor, where were they? Cyborg’s? Raven’s? Beast Boy’s? Or maybe…Starfire’s…? He gulped; slowly making his way to the latter’s room. The walls of her corridor were bright pink, ditto with her room. He peeked in; everything in Starfire’s room was as it should be – the bed, the shelves, the sleeping pet silkworm Silkie. There was only one thing missing. Starfire.
‘She’s going to the toilet.’ His common sense reasoned with him. ‘She’s getting a drink. Having a midnight snack. Do not think about the 50% chance that she is battling an intruder, getting wounded…dying…’ his stomach did a back flip. This was too much. He had to find her before she got hurt. Before his head exploded with terrible possibilities and worry. He couldn’t let her…he smacked himself on the forehead.
“You are the Boy Wonder.” He told himself. “She’s an alien warrior princess. She can look after herself. Don’t worry your-” there was footsteps, running. Someone was running down this corridor. Someone was running away, being followed. Or were these mystery feet doing the following? He raced on, hoping he was the one doing the following. His legs felt like jelly but he had to keep going…Before he knew it, the pink walls had ended, lapsing into a deep purple. Raven’s corridor. Suddenly he halted. The footsteps had stopped. Was the person just not running anymore? Or had he missed a turning? Quickly, he retraced his steps. Left here…right turning….he gasped. There was a yellow pulsing light at the end of this tunnel. He had automatically skipped it, knowing it was a dead end. A DEAD end. Robin felt a tightening at the base of his throat. He peeked round the wall and his mouth dropped open in sheer horror.

~Chapter four – failed~
A figure was suspended in mid air inside a yellow bubble. A figure he knew only too well.
Starfire.
Her eyes were wide and her mouth open in mid-scream. She was frozen inside this strange aura of calm and yellow light. Robin charged at it.
“STARFIRE!” he yelled throwing himself shoulder-first at the barrier. To his surprise, he bounced straight off, landing heavily on the floor. He drew three bird-a-rangs from his pocket and launched them. Three deadly missiles that would explode five seconds after impact.
CHUK!
They cut through the outside barrier.
CHUK!
To Robin’s horror, they went straight through the barrier, crashed through the wall of Titan Tower and exploded in mid air. He groaned and sunk to the floor. That was it. If the bird-a-rangs wouldn’t work, what would? He pressed his face to the barrier.
“I’m…sorry Star…I…I couldn’t get you out…” he stopped. Was it just the tears in his eyes or…were Starfire’s eyes getting brighter? Sure enough, they turned first emerald, then jade, and then a dazzling shade of bright green. Realising what was happening, Robin scuttled back seconds before the barrier exploded, a brilliant light show. Starfire hovered in mid air, floating. Her eyes were hazed over and she looked like she had just woken from a deep sleep. Her eyes flickered before closing, her head slumped forward and she was suddenly falling. Robin dived to catch her, cradling her limp form gently in his arms.
“Starfire!” he cried. “Star – wake up!” tears ran down his cheeks. “Starfire…” he whispered. “Please…please wake up…” he nuzzled her cheek gently. “Remember that first day with the Titans, Star? You were scared…I promised to protect you…I failed, Starfire…I failed you…” he gulped “And now you’re gone…and I can never get you back…”

The two figures were momentarily lit up by a flash of lightning through the rain. A boy bent over a girl, sobbing.

hmm....shall I continue? alright then, one more chappie.....

~Chapter five – wake up call~
She was being chased. She didn’t know by who or why, but something was following her and she knew she had to get away from it. She took a left; a little further…a right here and then another left. She didn’t know where she was but she knew where she was going. She had to find somewhere safe; she had to loose this thing following her. Another right here and…a dead end! No! She had to keep moving! Double back on herself? No, the figure was there now, at the end of the tunnel. It was too late. He was getting closer and closer all the time and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t move and she couldn’t breathe and…she screamed.

Raven sat up, gasping for air. Where was she? And WHAT was she WEARING??? She touched it and burning memories flooded painfully back. She was wearing her white leotard. She blocked the memories with a sweep of her hand and turned her attention to the room. It had white walls and the bed she was in had white sheets. This was NOT her room. She touched the sheets – soft. Comfortingly so. The pillow was made of the same silky soft material and Raven lay back on it. Footsteps. Someone was running down the corridor. The door burst open.
“Raven! You’re awake!” Raven started in surprise.
“B-Beast Boy? How- I- I mean- where- who-“
“Whoa!” Beast Boy sat on the end of her bed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Most important thing first – how are you?” Raven frowned.
“I…don’t get what you mean…I guess I’m ok…” she gently felt her face; her left eye was swollen and puffy. There were gashes, plasters and bandages that she had never realised where there. She rolled up her sleeves and found a bandage from her wrist to her elbow on one arm and the other was covered in band aids. Her eyes grew wide.
“What…what happened??” Beast Boy shook his head.
“I found you all hurt like this. Only you know how this happened. Try to think back…” Raven closed her eyes……

She rolled over restlessly. She just couldn’t get to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. She rolled over again and looked at the time on her clock. 4:00am. Great. She buried her head in the pillow. Another sleepless night…but why? She just seemed to have too many thoughts racing round in her head. And most of them were about-
SMASH!
Raven sat bolt upright. What was THAT??? Relieved to find an excuse not to sleep, she crawled out of bed and opened her bedroom door a crack. There was a figure creeping through a broken window at Beast Boy’s end of the corridor. She followed him down the green hallway, flying carefully, both eyes on his back. She was concentrating so hard on not making any noise that she didn’t see the light shade until it was too late…
“OW-” Raven covered her mouth but it was in vain. The intruder span round, and threw a bolt of light at her.
“Azarath, metrion, ZINTHOS!” her own powers combated those fired at her and drove them back. The figure growled and shot something else at her.
“Aza- WHOA!” the light hit her hard in the stomach and froze her limbs. She couldn’t move anything. She was suspended in midair by this bubble of energy. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to concentrate. But she couldn’t; as well as freezing her, this energy was tearing her apart! Her eye was swelling, she could feel it, and hot blood was trickling down her face and arms. Unseen gales ripped at her legs. She felt a stab of pain in her hip as a muscle tore itself. Bruises appeared on her legs; the skin on her forehead ripped. She’d had enough. This was torture. She forced her mouth open a crack and felt hot winds scorch her throat.
“Azarath…” she managed to croak, “m-metrion…ZINTHOS!” her eyes glowed white and the bubble burst, sending her powerful destruction and anger down the corridor towards the intruder. The might of this young girl’s power hit the man full in the chest, sending him flying backwards, into a wall. The impact also hit Raven, sending her flying into the door of her room. She guessed she had knocked the door down as the next thing she felt was a pain in her head as it smacked against the end of her bed then…nothing.

~Chapter six – recollection~
“…and that’s all I remember. Next thing I was lying in this bed and you came in.” Raven explained.
“After you blacked out you must have woken up again, because when I found you, you were crying.” Raven blushed. Her, crying? In front of Beast Boy? She was never going to live this down. Goodbye peace, hello months of teasing. But to her surprise, Beast Boy completely changed the subject.
“Get some rest now; you wanna heal quickly, right? Are you gonna go into that healing-trance thingy or are you gonna let it happen naturally?” Raven blinked.
“Uh…naturally. You might need my help later.” Beast Boy nodded.
“Good. You get some sleep now.” She lay back and he smiled, watching as she closed her eyes and slipped into a deep slumber. He glanced outside her room, checking no one was coming, and then he crept forwards and sat on the edge of her bed.
“Goodnight Raven.” he whispered, kissing her gently. Her lips were surprisingly soft; he had always imagined them hard. She was a hard nut and he had finally cracked her. Reluctantly, he broke away, sitting up. He gingerly touched his lips and felt a wonderful spark of electricity. He smiled again, holding his fingers to his lips and enjoying the sensation. Slowly, he made his way to the door and closed it softly behind him.

Raven opened her eyes and sat up. Tentatively, she felt her lips and giggled. She felt as if thousands of bubbles were building up inside her and she wanted to laugh and laugh until they all popped! But who knew what kind of damage that would cause? She would have to restrict herself to giggles for the moment. She lay down again, touching her lips. The electricity was gone, but the feeling of elation was still there. Somehow she knew this would not be the last time she felt this happy…

~Chapter seven - no news is good news~
Robin paced outside the room, brow furrowed. The door to the med bay opened and Robin braced himself for bad news. The doctor turned to him.
“Well…there isn’t going to be a funeral anytime soon.” Robin let out his breath, deliriously happy.
“She’s going to make it? She’s going to be ok?”
“Well…” the doctor dropped eye-contact with him. “She’s in a coma.”
“What?!”
“A coma is-“
“I know what a coma is. I…I just…” he bit his lip. “Do you know when she’ll wake up?” the doctor shook his head.
“That’s all up to her. It could be seconds; it could be a whole month. Who knows?” Robin winced. A whole month without Starfire? What would they do? What would he do? She was his best friend! How could he fight without her backup? Who would help him if he got depressed? Or angry? Who – but the doctor was still talking.
“…and playing her favourite songs might help. Don’t forget she can always hear you. Bringing over relatives, reading her favourite books, anything like that will help bring her back. I’ll visit once a week, but call me straight away if it looks like she might be waking up.” Robin nodded, trying to ignore the fact that the doctor said ’if’ not ‘when’.
“Can I go in now?”
“Of course, but I hope you’re not squeamish. There’s a lot of blood. I shall go and tend to the other girl, now. See you later.”
Robin frowned at the doctor’s words as he left. Squeamish? A lot of blood? When he had found Starfire there hadn’t been any wounds at all. She just wouldn’t wake up…he braced himself again, and entered.
“Oh my gosh…” he murmured, dropping to his knees at the side of the bed. Starfire was covered in bandages, some on her arms and legs, some on her face, even some on her torso. He took her hand (it was probably one of the only parts not bandaged) in his and tears shone in his eyes.
“Starfire?” he whispered, “Can you hear me? If you can, give me a sign…”
‘What are you thinking?!’ his mind reasoned with him, ‘How is she meant to give you a sign, for goodness sake?!’ he ignored it, searching round the room. Nothing. Sighing, he sat heavily on the chair next to Starfire’s bed. It was late and he had been up all night. Robin nodded slowly off to sleep.

~Chapter eight – Another attack?!~

Cyborg washed his car. He was not whistling like usual. Why would he whistle when two of his best friends had just been attacked, and now they were both in the infirmary, on life support machines, situations critical? He sighed and laid down the cloth. He had been trying to take his mind off Raven and Starfire. Unlike Beast Boy and Robin, he wasn’t spending every free second at their bedsides. He almost chuckled – it had always been obvious how Robin felt for Star, but BB for Raven? That had surprised him. When asked why he always annoyed her, Beast Boy claimed that he was flirting.
“Weird way of flirting.” Cyborg muttered, tossing the cloth over his shoulder.

He climbed up the stairs from the garage into the living room. Sighing sadly, he dropped onto the sofa. He groped for the remote and switched the TV on, flicking between channels for his programme. Bother; adverts. His eyes travelled lazily from the tomato soup advertisement and to the window. Even counting lights on the city buildings was more interesting. Suddenly, he started. What was that? A blur of yellow, black and brown had just whizzed past the window. Forgetting about the TV, Cyborg raced over to investigate. There was no point – he couldn’t see. Whatever it was had just plummeted into the ocean. Should he tell Robin? No – he was too busy obsessing over poor Starfire. What was it, anyways? Suddenly a thought occurred to him – maybe it wasn’t what – but who was it? What if that falling thing was a PERSON?? Surely their life would be in danger? Cyborg sprinted down the stairs again and out the door. He raced to the water’s edge. There – a ripple! Pressing a button on his arm, he switched to diving mode and plunged into the murky sea.
“Lights.” He muttered through his breathing tube. A light appeared on his shoulder and shone a path on the rocky bed. Nothing…nothing…nothing…no! Wait – what was that? A…hand? His air was running out…kicking furiously with his legs, Cyborg reached out and grabbed what he thought was the hand and returned to the surface. Sputtering, he peered at the thing in his palm; it was a hand! And it was attached to an arm and body! He pulled the body up and gasped as he saw the face.
“Bee!” he cried in surprise.
‘Get her to shore, you idiot!’ his brain yelled. Cyborg did what it said and was soon sitting up on the rocks beside her.
“Bumblebee!” he shook her by the shoulders, trying to revive her. “Bumblebee – wake up!”
“Ugh…” she groaned, stirring. Her almond eyes flickered open. She clutched her head. “Ouch…what happened?”
“I don’t know…I found you in the sea…you nearly drowned!” her eyes widened.
“I did? Wow. I don’t remember anything, though…just a big pain in my head then…nothing. Black.” She rubbed the side of her head, wincing. Cyborg frowned.
“You don’t remember anything? Why you were here? “
“No,” she shook her head. “I can’t remember anything. It’s all a blur. Who am I, again?” he sighed.
“Your name is Bumblebee. You are a superheroine and are the leader of the Titans East, with Mas, Menos, Speedy and Aqualad. My name is Cyborg. I am in the Teen Titans, with Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven. Do you remember now?”
“No…it all seems so familiar…but I can’t remember them. Where are we now?”
“You’re outside the T Tower. Our base. In Jump City. You live in Steel City. Why are you here?”
“I already told you,” she cried, “I can’t remember anything!” she paused, clutching her head again. “No…wait…something…I was warning you…warning you about…something…I can’t remember what, though. Argh!”
“Try to think back!” Cyborg shook her by the shoulders. “It’s probably important. Try to remember!”
“I can’t!!” she sobbed, “There’s nothing there! I hate it! But…when I look at you…something familiar…you’ve got to help me remember! Please help me! I don’t even know who I am!! Please, please…Cyborg, please help me remember!” Bee was now crying into her hands, “I don’t like forgetting…” she sniffed. Cyborg took her hands and made her look into his eyes.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I will help you, but you’ve got to trust me. Do you trust me?” Bumblebee looked up into his chocolate-coloured orbs. Although she had only just met this boy, she could sense something about him that she trusted with all her heart.
“I trust you.”

~Chapter nine – a big problem~

The girl yawned and sat up. Where was she? She looked around the room. It didn’t really look familiar. The bed sheets were linen and the pillow fluffy. She smiled contently. This wasn’t so bad.
“Hey.” What? She looked up. A person was leaning over her. “You’re up.”
“I…guess I am.” Her voice was croaky from lack of use. “Where am I?”
“Titans Tower med bay. Do you remember yesterday?” he asked. She groaned.
“Not really. Just…water…can’t breathe…you…blank. Sorry to burst your bubble.” He sighed.
“I should have known.” She blinked
“How? How should you have known?” she enquired, shuffling along her bed until she was sitting next to him. He shook his head.
“Nothing. It’s fine.” He sighed again.
“What is it?” she put one hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.
“It’s just…you’ve woken up three times already in the past five days. But you don’t remember anything. You don’t even remember me. It gets kinda…depressing.”
“I do remember you.” She insisted. “Your name is…Byborg? Gyborg?”
“Cyborg.” He interrupted, smiling. “Close enough.”
“…And you are from the Teen Titans. That’s it. Oh – and somehow I know you?” he nodded.
“Can you remember where we met?” she shook her head.
“So…care to fill me in?” she asked. Then she added, “If you haven’t done it too many times already…”
“Ok. Your name is Bumblebee…”
“Yes, yes,” she grinned, “I remember that!”
“Good. You are the leader of Titans East…” he continued.
“Don’t remember that but…carry on.”
“We met in a place called the H.I.V.E. – a secret training centre for ‘bad-guys’. We were both undercover for the good side, but didn’t realise before Brother Blood ordered you destroy me and-“
“Brother Blood…?”
“The bad-guy leader. Anyways, he told you to destroy me then I totally whooped your butt.”
“YOU whooped MY butt?” she said, raising an eyebrow sceptically. He laughed sheepishly.
“Ok, it was a draw…”
“A draw?”
“Alright! Alright! You whooped my butt utterly and completely.” He sweat-dropped. “Not like it MATTERS.”
“Ok, but try not to make any ‘adjustments’ to my memories. I’d like to trust you to do that, but I find it hard. Am I wise?” she folded her arms, pouting. Cyborg paused.
“I won’t change your memories. Honestly, I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“I promise not to change your memories.” He repeated, grinning, “Come on, this might help trigger something.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the med bay room and into the one next door. Her eyes widened as she stepped in and saw the person lying on the bed.
“What…what happened to her?” she whispered. The boy crouching by the bed walked over.
“Hey Bee.” He greeted, smiling weakly.
“Hi…?” she replied, trailing off. Beast Boy remembered the girl’s condition and quickly added;
“…Beast Boy. How are you?”
“Fine thanks. Erm…what happened to…?” Bumblebee nodded vaguely towards the bed.
“Oh.” Beast Boy gulped. He seemed slightly awkward. “Raven? She was…attacked by the same thing that we think attacked you.” Bee glowered.
“Do you know who it was? I’d like to get my hands on him…attacking us both! Two people!” Cyborg sighed.
“Not…two people. Four.” The girl’s eyes grew wide.
“Four?” she approached the girl lying on the bed. The new bandages were matted with fresh blood and the only places not covered were her face (apart from one eye) and one hand. She was wired to a life-support machine.
“How is she?” Cyborg asked Beast Boy in a low voice. The latter dropped his eyes and his ears drooped.
“Not good. She got worse. She could talk last night. Now she hasn’t even woken up. If it wasn’t for that wiggly line-”
“Her pulse.” Cyborg corrected patiently.
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for that wiggling I would…” he shuddered. He glanced up. “I don’t know, Cy, do you think she’ll make it?” Cyborg sighed.
“It’s all up to her.”

~Chapter ten – Superman, bashed in brains and golf balls~

“Come on.” Bumblebee looked up.
“What?”
“You need to see someone else.” Cyborg replied.
“Oh. Right.” She followed him into the next room. Her mouth dropped open.
“Oh my gosh…” she murmured, clapping a hand to her mouth. A spiky-haired boy looked up from the side of the bed.
“Exactly what I said.” He replied, getting up and walking over. “How are you? Your arm seems to be healing well.”
“My arm?” with a jolt, she noticed a huge bandage wrapped around her left elbow. How could she not have seen – let alone felt – that? She ran her fingers over it. “How…?”
“A burn.” He answered simply. “We’re not sure how it happened, but he did the same thing to Starfire.” The boy seemed to be just as awkward about Starfire as Beast Boy had been about Raven.
“Who was the fourth? Cyborg said there was a fourth person attacked.”
“The fourth person? Oh. The pizza girl. She had a mild concussion. She is in the local hospital.” All eyes turned to the boy who had ordered the pizza. He was standing in the doorway, blushing sheepishly.
“How was I supposed to know?” he muttered. Bumblebee approached the figure on the bed, who was also swathed in bandages. She frowned and dropped to one knee, peering at her side. Robin noticed her sudden interest in Starfire and came over.
“What is it?” he asked.
“That mark.” She murmured, pointing to a lightning-shaped score on the patient’s skin. “It seems…familiar.” Suddenly, she jumped up and raced into the previous room. The boys glanced at each other before following her.
“There!” she cried triumphantly.
“The same mark!” Robin cried. He was correct – it was partly concealed by a bandage around her lower abdomen.
“But what is it? What does it mean?” Cyborg mused, frowning. Beast Boy scratched the side of his head. The situation seemed eerily familiar…
“Ah!” he cried, running out of the room and several minutes later appearing back with a comic in his hand.
“Look!!” he cried, flicking through the pages, and then pointing to the selected one. “There! Read it!!” Cyborg took the magazine from his friend.
“Superman? Beast Boy-“
“Read it!!”
“Ok…five bodies are found…bashed in heads…golf balls stuffed in mouths…found by rivers…Beast Boy what has this got to do with anything?“ Cyborg demanded. Bumblebee shuddered.
“Gruesome.” She muttered.
“No! Think about it! Bashed in heads and golf balls are this villain’s trademarks. What if lighting bolts are-“
“-Our villain’s trademark! Great work Beast Boy!” Robin congratulated the green teen. He beamed.

A/N What do you think? Please read and review!!