A/N: Yes, this is the infamous story I kept talking about writing. Puck had inspired me to a bunch of the meat of this one, but hadn't given me a beginning until about a week ago. Then, what I had to do was sort of merge the beginning with what I had. I'm going to be doing that for a bit still. I have, in total, about 31 pages worth of writing for this story...

...just...not all of it in chronological order.

I wanted to post this beginning at least before I go off for the bar. I've organized chronologically and consecutively, about 16 pages worth. (Course, it increases with making things fit, if that makes sense). I plan on posting at least through Chapter 2 before I go away for the Bar Exam which is next Monday. I'll probably post one chapter a day until I get there.

I'm also planning on at least starting to post Estranged before Monday too, since it's a gift for Kysra's birthday and her birthday is Monday and considering I'm going to be on a plane on Monday, I can't wait to post it on that day itself. So...all in all, you guys have two new stories to bear with, er...I mean, look forward to from me.

I've been trying to work on Instinct 2, I really have.

Not beta'd

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

Special Warning: Raven is going to act VERY out of character in this Prologue and through the next chapter too. She'll go back to acting mostly normal in later chapters, but she is going to be pushed to sort of act outside of her zone of comfort, so if you can't deal with that, then, 'see-ya'. Thanks for stopping by and giving me a chance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stupid Cupid
Prologue: Protection
by Em

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'll stand in front of you / I'll take the force of the blow / Protection"
- Protection, Massive Attack

What the Doctor found when he finally entered the room was certainly not what he had expected to find.

"Why is our captive not in pain and screaming!" he demanded, smacking the nearest lackey just for good measure.

Lackey 1 (for the Doctor never knew their names) looked at him sheepishly. "As soon as she woke up, she just closed her eyes again and started floating and we can't wake her up for nothing."

"I am surrounded by idiots," the Doctor declared. "And what are you doing to wake her up?" he asked with considerable patience. "Shaking her?"

Lackey 2 shook his head emphatically. "Nuthin' we do works, Dr. Chang!" he assured him. "Watch," he said, turning back to their captive. He pulled back his hand and released it to smack painfully hard across her left cheek. She jerked from the force of the blow, but never so much as flinched. "It's like she doesn't even feel it," he said, awed and somewhat frightened.

"And lookit dis," Lackey 1 added, approaching the petite girl with a scalpel in his hand. He slowly cut her cheek, a thin stream of red blood welling in the wound and overflowing down her cheek but before anything more than a few drops of blood could escape, the wound healed itself, the open skin literally pulling itself together right before their amazed eyes. Within a few moments, all that was left of the wound was the trail of blood drying on her cheek and some of it dripping off her chin.

Dr. Chang approached carefully, his face twisting into a form of respect and awe, "Clever girl..." he mused aloud. "She's put herself into a trance...a healing one apparently."

"How do we get her out of it, then?"

Chang, close enough to see whether or not she was breathing, suddenly realized that the titanium shackles he had ordered put on her wrists and ankles were lying uselessly on the floor under her. He scuttled backwards awkwardly until he was at least a few feet away from her and pointed at her, "WHY ISN'T SHE MANACLED!" he yelled, his voice going squeaky and high.

Both Lackeys looked at each other. "Well...she's so outta it..."

"Manacle her now!" he demanded.

Lackeys 1 pushed Lackey 2 and so Lackey 2 walked up to the girl and began the process of putting her in the restraints. "I dunno why we need to go through so much trouble...she's not even stopping us when we..."

Lackey 2 stopped talking as a hard metal instrument hit him in the back of the head, "She is a Teen Titan, you fool!" he exclaimed. "Never underestimate them!"

"So, what do we do to wake her up, boss?" Lackey 1 asked when Lackey 2 was done putting her in the restraints.

"Whatever you have to," Dr. Chang insisted. "What is the use of having gone through all the trouble to capture Raven of the Titans and to drug her if we cannot wake her up to ask her any questions?"

Lackey 1 nodded and, cracking his knuckles, approached Raven while Lackey 2 retreated to look for some tool they might use to wake her up. Without waiting, Lackey 1 pulled back and punched Raven right in the nose. He heard it crack and then he saw the bones under her flesh begin to reshape themselves.

"Perhaps if you are repetitive, she will be unable to retain her trance." Lackey 1 looked at Dr. Chang in confusion, so Dr. Chang sighed. "Hit her...a lot."

Lackey 1 grinned and pulled back, getting off one open handed smack and one back handed smack in quick succession before pulling back to repeat the process. Just before he brought his hand back down to try a punch across the jaw, he felt a sharp pain across his hand and travel up his arm. He pulled it close to his body and looked around for the source of the pain.

Only to find Robin approaching with deadly calm, a birdarang held between thumb and forefinger, ready to throw. "Do that again," he demanded, his tone so calm it sent shivers of warning up Lackey 1's spine. All the while, Robin continued to step closer to them. "Please."

Lackey 1 was not stupid, so when Lackey 2 attempted to move toward Raven and was smacked with a birdarang across the cheek, he decided he wasn't paid enough to tussle with a pissed off Robin who looked like he wanted nothing more than to have a reason to bust them up good. So, although he made a sudden move, it was only to run away.

A move Lackey 2 was smart enough to emulate.

Robin watched them go for a split second before tossing a net bomb at Dr. Chang before he could even consider running. Chang was enveloped and tangled in the net before he could let out a yelp.

In the next moment, Robin was standing before Raven, putting a hand gently on her cheek where the bruises that had blossomed from the Lackey's blows was already healing. The moment his finger grazed her chin, Raven's eyes popped right open, the dark purple of her irises never going back to their regular size even though she blinked at him a few times.

"Raven?"

She fell right out of her floating position and only his arms around her stopped her from hitting the floor. She raised her hands, shackles and all, to touch his cheek, as if to convince herself he was real. When he didn't disappear, she smiled brilliantly at him, "I knew you'd come," she whispered.

"Always," he confirmed, helping her to stand. She wobbled and fell on her butt on the concrete ground.

She looked surprised for a moment before she let out a brief bark of laughter. "I just fell on my ass!" she exclaimed.

Robin didn't want to find that funny, but he couldn't help but devote at least five seconds to how cute it was to see Raven so amused. "What did you give her?" he demanded of Chang.

"Thiopental sodium," Raven answered, watching him as he went about removing her shackles.

"Truth Serum?" Robin asked, turning to Raven. He did a quick visual scan of her. Her pupils were still dilated, her attention seemed to waver and she did seem much more relaxed than she ever did.

She nodded, "Yep," she said, grinning as he freed her wrists. "He wanted to ask me questions...he wanted me to tell him my secrets."

"Robin, come in," came Cyborg's voice from his communicator.

Raven smiled, "Cy's here!" she exclaimed.

Robin flipped open his communicator, "I've got Raven," he told him. "Beast Boy, Starfire, Chang's Lackeys escaped, one went east the other west, find them and take them to the police, Cyborg I need you here."

"Got it," they confirmed before the communication shut off.

"You have spiky hair, boy blunder," Raven declared as Robin had his head lowered while he worked on the shackles at her ankles.

He grinned and tried to hide it, "Yes, so I do," he confirmed.

"I like it better down," she said seriously.

He looked up at her and met her eyes. She smiled at him and reached up to touch his hair, but came across only the spikes. "See?" she told him, lowering her hand. "Can't touch it when it's spiky."

Before Robin could answer, the door to the warehouse burst open and Cyborg rushed inside, ready for anything.

"Cyborg!" Raven exclaimed, grinning and waving at him. "Look, Spiky, Cyborg's here!" she told Robin.

Cyborg practically fell on his ass in surprise. "Uh...hi?" he offered, turning a confused eye to Robin. "Huh?" he asked.

"Chang gave her truth serum," Robin explained.

"Damn," Cyborg cursed, then turned back to Raven who was playing with Robin's cape between her fingers and snorted in laughter. "Although she does look kinda cute so relaxed," he admitted.

"Can you stand?" Robin asked Raven.

Raven's expression turned serious and pensive. "I don't know," she finally decided.

Robin smiled just a little and rephrased his question. "Do you want to try to stand?" he asked instead.

Raven thought about that too for a moment before nodding, "Yes, I do."

Cyborg snickered and Robin swallowed his laughter.

It took her a moment, but even in her drugged state, she made a connection and turned to him, eyes wide with realization, "Maybe I should try to stand now?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I think you should."

She grinned, "Okay." Her expression then turned focused and determined as she leaned heavily on his arm and started to push herself into a standing position. She got about halfway upright before her knees gave out under her and she started to fall back toward the ground. Robin held her up and she giggled, "Oops," she said. "Guess I can't."

Raven didn't realize that she was letting Robin take all her weight and actually would've been quite content to sit back on the ground, but Robin didn't seem inclined to let her.

"Cyborg," Robin said, his tone all business again. "Can you take her?"

Cyborg stepped up to them and Raven was transferred to Cyborg's arms where he lifted her up easily. She giggled. "Howdy," she told him.

"Howdy yourself," Cyborg said.

"Take her to the T-Car and head home," Robin ordered.

"What about you?" Cyborg asked.

Robin motioned where Chang was still waiting wrapped up in sticky netting. "I've got something to take care of here first."

Cyborg looked at him for a moment before Raven chuckled, "Oooh...Chang's in trouble!" she exclaimed.

"For hurting you, you bet," Cyborg confirmed, walking her out of the warehouse as Robin stepped toward the bound Chang.

"Bai!" Raven exclaimed. She turned to Cyborg and grinned, "I'd always wanted to say, 'howdy'," she told him as if their previous conversation hadn't been interrupted.

Cyborg nodded as he led her to the car, "It's a good word," he confirmed.

xxxxxxxxx

A/N: I know you guys can probably know what the pairing for this is going to be, but remember the title...the pairing is subject to some change and/or modification... ((wicked chuckle)) By the time Chapter 3 comes around, you'll get the drift, I promise.

So, whaddya think? Worth it to keep posting? 'Course, the main story plot hasn't been revealed yet. This prologue is just setting up HOW she got into the predicament in the first place.