I do NOT own Teen Titans

Notes:

A few ideas I've had tossing around in my head on how Beast Boy can defy the laws of science by shape shifting into different size animals. And is the Sakutia virus the real reason his skin is green? While it won't be BBxR at the start, that is, I assure you, where it will end. At least unless the story twists on me. *crosses fingers* There will be other pairing before it comes to that though.

Time: Around a year after Things Change. Excludes Trouble in Tokyo

The New and Improved Cinderblock,... The Dream of Home,... Waking,...

With a heavy heart Beast Boy watched while his friends battled the supervillain known as Cinderblock. Things had changed over the last year; the Titans had grown a little, as had the villains. For their current foe, once made solely of concrete, the changes had been pretty dramatic. No one, except perhaps the criminal himself, knew how it'd happened, but he'd grown at least three feet and was now composed mostly of titanium reinforced granite. On the bright side. The silent boy mused. He's still as dumb as ever. However, the days when he could challenge the sturdy construct as an elephant were gone. Taking a deep sigh, he continued to pay attention to every detail just in case there was some minor way in which he could help.

"Out of the way." Cyborg called to his fellow teammates. "I'm cooled off and ready to go sonic on his behind again."

"Okay friend Cyborg." Starfire yelled, letting loose with one last flurry of starbolts before she rose above the villain.

There was the sound of a sonic boom, and the titanium armored foe staggered backwards. Shaking its head, it reached down for an already demolished car that it sent towards the tall cybernetic teen. It was smashed to one side by a giant black fist that came out nowhere.

"Thanks." Cyborg hollered.

"No problem." Came the monotone reply from Raven who, acting as defense, hovered above the battlefield.

Frustrated, the colossal giant moved towards the T-car where the cybernetic Titan was hooked into the vehicle's power supply. By depending on the much greater energy it could provide the teen's sonic cannon had quadruple the power; however, it came at the cost of a fifty-second cool-down period. As the villain approached, Cyborg slowly backed his love and joy away from certain destruction.

"My turn again." Starfire joyfully hollered, dropping low to once again smite the lumbering stone construct with starbolts. As the battle plan dictated, she aimed for the eyes. Easily distracted, the dull-witted villain turned away from the T-car to face the more nimble threat whose attacks were vastly more annoying. Fumbling in the air, it was clearly half blind.

"Come on." Boy Wonder yelled, almost making it sound like a curse, as he tossed three explosive discs. "What does it take to bring this guy down?"

Ripping up a telephone pole, Cinderblock tried to use it like a fly swatter, or rather like a Starfire-swatter.

The shattered remains the of vehicle Raven had just smashed aside seconds before turned dark, and rose in the air. As the telephone pole was swung time and time again, it was always blocked by the poor car that lost more and more parts with each savage blow; eventually it just fell apart. Guess that's another fifty or so thousand we owe the city. The silent empath mused as she searched for another shield. She skipped over the Koenigsegg Agera S, which was worth more than a million, to choose the MAZDA3 which had a more palatable price tag of a mere fifteen grand. After they'd got into a fight with Gizmo near an auto show, their fearless leader, who'd been white as a ghost at the time, had sat them down to talk about expenses. How was I supposed to know a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster cost more than five million? The girl wondered apathetically, as she used the drastically cheaper MAZDA3 to continue blocking the make-shift club their foe swung with wild abandon.

Trusting her teammate to defend against any attacks, the Tamaranean focused on pouring forth her righteous fury at her foe. Other than making the rampaging criminal blink, and shake its head a little, the blasts of green energy that came from both her hands and eyes seemingly washing over it with no affect.

"Ready in five." Cyborg called out. "Three ... Two ... One..." When Starfire was clear he let loose with his sonic cannon again. This time the walking mountain actually fell down. Though it slowly struggled back to its feet, it was a sign that the end of the fight was near.

Beast Boy studied the villain. The concrete was now granite. That, along with the increase in height made Cinderblock twice, or probably closer to three, times as heavy as he'd originally been. Then there was the titanium. Spikes of it jutted through the massive form, essentially reinforcing it. The super-hard material covered his hands, becoming pointed at the knuckles; if they hadn't been deadly before, they certainly were now. Spikes of it also covered the one-man, or at least one-something, walking wrecking-ball.

The shape shifter frowned as he looked at those spikes. Going hand-to-hand meant being impaled on those barbed tips, which would be sheer suicide; ramming as an elephant now would just earn him a one-way ticket to the afterlife. That meant only long ranged attacks could be used so, as a team, they'd devised a new strategy. Cyborg and Starfire would go full out attacking, while Raven would play the defense. Robin would rush in once in a while to add to the firepower by throwing explosive discs. It took time, but twice before they'd use it to handle the extremely durable villain.

I can't even throw discs. The boy fumed, looking down at the claws that adorned the tips of his fingers. His hands just weren't suited for throwing, and when you were missing around with explosives ... He sighed, letting his eyes take in every detail as the battle continued; he had a role to play too, even if it'd never been required. Should any of the others be hurt, he was to rush in and pull them to safety. Thankfully he'd never had to do that, yet it gnawed at him. He felt so useless, and wanted to do something, anything, other than watch... But the one thing he could do meant one of the others would have to get hurt, which he would never actually wish for, yet in the thought there was a sense of guilt.

"Ready." Came Cyborg's voice again, followed by the sound of a sonic blast. Cinderblock stumbled, and went down to his knees before staggering upright again.

"Blast it." Robin yelled, making a daring rush in to toss three freeze discs at their foe. "I'm outta explosives, again!" The angry boy fumed, screaming red-faced up at the lumbering giant who paid him no heed. "You have any idea how long it takes me to make those?" When facing the new and improved Cinderblock that was usually the case. Sometimes he even ran out of freeze discs as well.

"He will fall soon." Starfire yelled, dropping down in front of the villain who was still lurching forward, seemingly driven by some unknown need to wreak havoc. Bolts of green energy reached out for the rampaging giant's eyes once again.

Three more blasts from that souped-up cannon. Beast Boy automatically calculated. In three minutes it'll be over. He sighed, still keeping his attention focused on the fight. Sure, he'd done his fair share in orchestrating the battle plan, but he still wasn't part of the action. Watching, he saw Starfire rain down more starbolts around the villain's eyes. He'd suggested that, knowing keeping the creature blind would keep it from wandering too far, and lessen the damage it would do. He'd also pointed out that if Cyborg altered the frequency of the sonic cannon it might do more damage; that idea had come from video games he'd played. That Raven, who could create shields, and actually levitate cars as opposed to just throwing them, should play defense was obvious. He'd even suggested his own role in the strategy, or lack thereof.

"Ready in five." Came the voice of the cybernetic teen once more.

This time Cinderblock was on its knees for a whole twenty seconds before it managed to heave itself to its feet again. It had its left arm raised to shield its eyes, trying to avoid the starbolts that were now obviously causing it pain. On the verge of collapse, it moved forward several steps while it blindly search with its right arm for something to throw. It failed.

"Out of the way." Cyborg yelled.

The massive mountain of destruction shuddered beneath the sonic assault and collapsed. Still its hands moved as it struggled desperately to stand. It was back on its knees when a final blast of the sonic weapon sent it back to the ground, unconscious.

"Good work team." Robin yelled. "The authorities will be here in a few seconds." His reached down into the satchel that held his discs. "Now if only I didn't have to spend the night in the lab." He sighed, ignoring the large flatbed truck that pulled up.

Beast Boy moved to help the guards, who'd arrived in the truck, as they tried to attach chains to the overgrown villain. He was too late as Starfire lent her super strength to the task, while Raven infused her soul in the chains to manipulate them. Once again he was useless. Sighing, he took to the air as a peregrine falcon to follow the vehicle until it got to the prison. It was the only way to transport something the size of Cinderblock, but it also meant he could break free. The rest of the Titans followed as well; Starfire rode with him in the air, while the others used the T-car. All the while the mind of the shape shifter was focused one thing; I'm useless.

"Good work team." Robin spoke again once they were back at the Tower. Several time he looked towards the shape shifter, but left whatever he wanted to add unsaid.

He's including me. Beast Boy noted, reading their leader's expression. He also knows I'm down about something, but doesn't know what to say. "I'm going to my room." He spoke with artificial cheerfulness, heading towards the door. "Call me if anything happens."

"Will do." Robin assured him, smiling. "You know I think I can spare some time for a few video games. Want to play later?"

"Nay. I have stuff to do." The boy returned the smile. "Thanks thought." Feeling a bit better, he headed to his room. He knew their leader was out of explosive discs, and low on the freezing ones, yet was willing to spend time trying to cheer him up. The gesture was appreciated, and even made him feel more like a part of the team. That was something he'd been thinking a lot about lately; if he really belonged in Titans Tower playing the role of a Titan.

'Useless?' The unspoken word, laced with a hint of mirth, echoed in the sleeping boy's head. 'How could one such as yourself believe that?' It asked in a tone that was both warm and comforting. 'Look at your flesh and tell me, what color do you see? Tell me, what color are your eyes?'

The shape shifter looked up, knowing he'd fallen into the dream again; the same one he'd had once a night for more than a month now. Before him stood a woman whose emerald-green eyes stared piercingly into his own. Emotions he couldn't understand filled him, and he couldn't help but smile. 'Green.' He replied without words. 'But you see, that's just due to something I caught as a kid.'

'I see.' Came the amused reply as the woman's lips turned up in a smile. 'You've grown since that time.' Her piercing gaze faded a little as she appeared to become lost in thought.

The boy sniffed the air, becoming lost in memory himself. Africa. He immediately knew looking around; already knowing what he would see. Trees! Lots of trees. There were several Red Stinkwoods that, while not tall, caused his nose to twitch as the familiar scent of bitter almonds embraced him. His smile deepened as he gazed at the small red fruit it bore. Though bitter to humans, which he knew from first-hand experience, it was a favored food for gorillas. Wonder how they would taste if I tried them now that I can become a gorilla? He mused. If I ever end up back in Africa, I'll have to give it a try. Scattered among them were several Rose Gum trees which, while tall, he knew were not native to the area. They were a cheerful green, and rose to over two-hundred feet, towering over the native plants.

'Try some.' The woman spoke into his mind. 'No need to wait.'

Hesitantly, Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla, noting the woman didn't seem surprised at the transformation. Reaching out, he plucked several of the red fruit from a nearby Red Stinkwood and chewed them, enjoying the bitter though somehow sweet taste. 'Delicious.' He told the woman, merely letting the reply rest in his thoughts without speaking.

'I do enjoy them myself.' She replied.

He focused his eyes back on the woman, wondering how a human could enjoy the bitter taste. Studying her athletic form, he noted she was a little on the short side, and was dressed in a plain green robe; while her short hair was mostly blonde, it was heavily tinted a light green. From her came a sense of agelessness, as if time had no meaning to her. 'I don't even know your name.' He told her.

'Names? With our bond does such have any meaning?' The woman paused for a while. 'So many over the ages, but if you wish, call me Kishar.'

'Kishar.' He echoed the name in his mind.

'And what do I call you?' She asked. 'Is it Garfield? Or perhaps Beast Boy?' A tiny smirk filled her face, and her eyes lit up with a hint of lighthearted merriment. 'Or perhaps you prefer Beast Man?' She said in a tone that held a touch of humor.

'Hmm. I think Beast Boy will do.' The shape shifter gulped. Garfield was a name he no longer used, and somehow he knew if he told her Beast Man then she would break down in laughter.

'I see. Beast Boy it is then.' Her eyes looked around, peering behind the boy. 'Fitting I guess, since your room does look like a pigsty. Tell me, have you ever cleaned it?'

The red-faced boy gulped again, realizing that if he could see where she was, she might very well be able to see where he was. 'Ummm...' The only answer he had was a lie, and he didn't think he would get one past someone who could read minds, and who obviously knew him so well.

'Thought not.' Her eyes twinkled, and then faded as the dream ended.

Beast Boy blinked, waking up. This time the dream had been longer, and he'd even remembered to ask her name. "Kishar." He repeated it aloud, knowing he knew the woman, but not from where.

Shifting to a homing pigeon, he fluttered his wings as he flew to the window. He did know where to find her. Like seeking the comforting warmth of the sun on ones face, he turned until he faced the direction he knew would lead to her. Not close. The boy thought. She's thousands of miles away. In Africa. He smiled, recalling the land of his childhood.

Lost once again in the cheerful memories of his youth, the boy resumed his human form before walking into the washroom where he gazed into a rarely cleaned mirror; on his face he saw the red stain of the fruit he'd eaten.

End of Chapter.

Many thanks to those who read and review.