Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything affiliated with it.

"Checkmate."

Her monotonous voice droned across the common room and into the ears of her four teammates- the youngest of whom reacted by flipping the chess board into the air, causing the remaining three on the sofa to laugh and turn to the polar-opposite Titans: Raven and Beast Boy. Those unfamiliar to Raven would have thought she sounded nonchalant. But to those closest to her – the Teen Titans – you could hear the subtle intonation of pride and pretension.

"Dude, you cheated!"

"I don't cheat."

"She doesn't cheat, Beast Boy," Robin agreed, walking over to them, avoiding the massacre of marble chess pieces on the floor. "You're just a sore loser."

"How would you know! You weren't even watching!" Beast Boy refocused his attention on the dark girl sitting across from him. He wanted to wipe the cute smirk off her face. "You probably used your powers to move the pieces when I wasn't looking!"

"She doesn't need magic to wipe the floor with you, Grass Stain!" Cyborg hollered from his space on the sofa, with no intention to move from the comfortable position he'd adopted since he'd sat down that morning.

With a wave of her hand, Raven enveloped the scattered pieces in dark energy and sent them flying over to the box before allowing them to delicately retake their positions in the purple satin spaces assigned to them. Closing the lid, she sent the box flying precariously in Beast Boy's direction.

"Loser puts it away," she winked, stretching her legs (which ached from being frozen in her cross-legged position for so long.) Muttering his disdain for the demoness under his breath, Beast Boy put the box away in the cupboard before heading into the kitchen area to prepare a vegetarian snack for himself. He had just kicked the fridge shut due his hands being full of tofu and beansprouts when the alarm rang, causing a red light to pulsate around the room.

The Titans ran to the computer. Robin, getting there first, furiously typed on the keyboard to find out where Jump City's latest attack was taking place: the docks.

"Plasmus is attacking a boat with a shipment of hazardous chemicals on board. Be careful. Titans Go!"

At his command, Raven grabbed Starfire and teleported them both to the roof so they could fly to Plasmus' location and scout the area from above. Beast Boy transformed into a cheetah and ran alongside Robin and Cyborg to the garage where the latter two powered up their vehicles and sped through the tower's underground tunnel to the mainland. The green Titan kept up the pace, dodging the civilian vehicles on Jump City's congested roads before getting tired and morphing into an eagle to join the girls in the air.

When they arrived at the docks –an area far away from residences and the business district of the city with less chance of collateral damage – they laid eyes on Plasmus, his magenta 'skin' oozing pus as he devoured gallons of neon-coloured chemicals, unaware of all the frightened workers fleeing around his feet. The three airborne Titans landed behind a stack of metal storage crates, keeping an eye on proceedings while they waited for Robin and Cyborg to arrive.

Starfire, noticing a man limping away from the ships starboard side with chemical burns, took to the air once more to assist the innocent person. Unfortunately, the sight of the Titan distracted Plasmus from his meal. Throwing the now empty container into the ocean, he released an ear-splitting scream and bounded towards the Tamaranian. She managed to set the man she was carrying down in a safe place just before Plasmus reached her. Her hands glowed fluorescent green as she readied a starbolt and fired it into the metahuman's chest. It barely left a mark. Plasmus roared once more, covering the girl in slime. Before he could grab her, a black wall summoned from the floor and blocked the giant monster's hands. He punched the magical barricade as the Titan who created it appeared behind it and took her battle stance beside Starfire.

Beast Boy, who had jumped into the ocean to retrieve the disregarded chemical container to avoid any remaining liquid contaminating the fish and other aquatic creatures, broke the cold water's surface in his whale form to see the T-Car and R-Cycle skid to a halt near the girls' location. He watched for a moment as Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at Plasmus, who ceased smashing his fists against Raven's weakening defenses, waiting for the opportune moment to assist his friends.

"Isn't it past your bedtime, Plasmus?" Robin scowled, throwing a handful of smoke grenades at the creature. Blinded, Plasmus stepped backwards onto an unoccupied ship. Black-covered shipping crates flew into him, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the chimney. Starbolts swirled around his head, disorienting the villain further.

"Raven, can you access his mind and shut him down?" Robin shouted up to the dark Titan, who was flying above her leader's head looking for more ammunition to add to her arsenal – she'd already thrown all the available shipping crates and didn't want to risk using boats in case any passengers were taking refuge on board.

"If you can keep him still," she messaged through their connection, not wanting her target to overhear her plan.

"Titans, hold him down!" Robin ordered. Beast Boy, turning into a thresher shark, used his teeth to cut through the rope of an anchor. He called over to Starfire, knowing the alien would have no trouble hoisting the weighted object out of the water. She didn't. Like a tomahawk, the Tamaranian threw the anchor towards Plasmus, who was taken by surprise. The rope wound its way around his muscular legs with the help of the momentum from Starfire's almighty strength, causing him to fall.

Cyborg used the opportunity to fire an electrical net from his robotic arm, trapping Plasmus underneath it. Whenever his viscous skin made contact with the net, thousands of volts surged through it. It became too much for him to handle. He finally lay still however he continued to roar in protest. Raven teleported close to him, careful to avoid the residual jumps of electricity, and used her demonic magic to gain entry into his mind and shut down the conscious areas of the brain. Within seconds, Plasmus began to shrink back into his normal human form. Cyborg disabled the net when he saw the skinny man snoozing on the damp floor of the dock.

"Excellent work Titans," Robin praised his team as they gathered around the sleeping body. In the distance, they could hear police sirens racing to their location. Knowing they'd be here to collect the villain and return him to the maximum-security prison, the five Titans began clearing up the debris from the fight – a job made easier by their various super powers. By the time they were done, Chief Lieutenant Duncan Holmes and his team of officers from the fifth precinct had secured the violent prisoner in a van.

"Thanks again, Titans. Jump City would be well and truly screwed without your help," Holmes said as he shook Robin's hand with gratitude.

"Our pleasure, Chief Lieutenant. Safe journey home."

"Likewise."

The police entered their brightly clad vehicles, lights flashing, and drove away from the docks, leaving the Titans standing around in a silent circle. Across the horizon, the sun was just about to set. The evening sea breeze danced around the group of early-twenty year olds, causing Raven to pull her navy cloak closer around her pale, toned body.

"Wanna ride with me?" Cyborg asked, knowing Raven hated feeling cold- although you'd never guess it with her chosen attire: a black leotard which only covered her arms and intimate areas. He could see goosebumps appearing on her exposed legs.

"I'll be fine, thanks," she replied, hating to reveal weakness. She'd just fly home quicker than usual.

Cyborg nodded, watching as she and Starfire took to the air again. Beast Boy immediately turned into a German Shepherd dog, excitedly bounding over to the T-Car and jumping through the open window onto the passenger seat; his huge panting tongue licked drool haphazardly from his open mouth.

"I swear man, if you get any slobber on my dashboard!" Cyborg cursed, running over to his precious creation before Beast Boy could damage it.

Robin let out a small laugh at the exchange between his friends before heading towards his R-Cycle, which was propped up by a vacant building – an old fish factory that shut down ages ago and had yet to be restored. As he grabbed his helmet, the sudden sound of a click sounded above him. On alert, he reached for his extendable bo-staff and allowed it to reach its full length. Looking all around him, he failed to find anything out of the ordinary so he let down his guard and straddled his bike. As Robin turned the key, revving the engine loudly, he stared up at the girls who had yet to move from their floating positions just twenty feet above his head.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Robin enquired through his on-board communicator, noticing the T-Car reversing alongside him in order to exit the docks.

"I sense something…" Raven said. Knowing she was rarely wrong about her instincts, Robin asked Cyborg to scan the area around them.

"My scanners aren't picking up anything out of the ordinary. Maybe you're just tired, Rae." Cyborg replied, turning off the scanners and putting the T-Car into first gear.

"Maybe..." Raven sighed, although the others could tell she wasn't convinced. The sun had now set, the darkness causing the streetlamps around the dock area to automatically flicker to life.

"Titans, move out."

The team set off: flying, levitating and driving away from the docks and back towards their home – ironically, the most conspicuous building in Jump City. In the air, the girls chose to cross the ocean as it was the quickest route home. Starfire flew slightly in front of her shorter companion, relishing in the freedom she felt when the wind attacked her luscious red locks. The alien was so focused on her delightful thoughts – the fuel for her flight – that she failed to notice Raven lagging behind.

Until she heard a gasp.

Stopping mid-flight, she turned to see Raven falling furiously towards the ocean below. Shocked, she swooped down and tried to grab her but the dark bird was out of reach. Summoning all her will-power, Starfire yelled as she pushed her body to its limits, falling faster and faster towards the unwelcoming water and the girl she was trying to save from its clutches.

Raven pierced the water's surface.

Panicked, Starfire pushed the emergency button on her communicator: the action linked her to the other Titans.

"Starfire, what's going on?"

"Raven fell into the ocean! I can't find her!"

"What!" the three protective men shouted in disbelief at her statement. Cyborg, who was driving along the coastal road back to the tower, swerved from the concrete road onto the grassy banks. In the distance, he could see Starfire's frantic body swooping back and forth around the spot where Raven had dropped. Beast Boy flew from the car as a hawk towards his friend and then cannon-balled as a shark into the depths of the ocean.

Cyborg watched from the T-Car as he loaded up the computer he had installed. He programmed the system to scan for Raven's physiological signature. He'd pressed the start button, causing a satellite dish to rise from the roof just as Robin skidded to a stop next to him. The R-Cycle fell to the bank in a heap, abandoned by the driver who was running towards the beach with his communicator in hand.

"Starfire, what do you mean she fell?" Robin tried to keep his voice composed but failed, his voice shaking slightly on the word 'fell'.

"I turned around and she was falling."

"She must have said something!" Robin shouted, angered by the lack of control he had in the current situation. Being the only member of the team without supernatural powers had its downfalls and this was one of them: he was restricted to the beach while Beast Boy and Starfire searched the aquatic area around them. They were too far from the shoreline where he stood, meaning swimming out there would be an ill efficient use of his time and energy. Starfire didn't respond to the shouting, her mind focused on the waves below her feet. She raised her fist and held a star bolt in it: a green beacon of light in the darkness to guide Raven and Beast Boy to her.

Minutes passed. The three Titans remained silent, listening for any sign of their teammates. Cyborg was close to punching the computer screen, the silence driving him insane, when finally he heard a beep on his radar.

"Beast Boy's coming up!" he shouted, slamming the car door shut and sprinting to stand next to Robin. Below her, Starfire could see a large shadow. She flew higher just in time: Beast Boy – in the form of a behemoth green whale – breached the water's icy exterior, sending a shock wave of salt water into the air before gravity played her part and pulled it back down where it belonged. He headed straight for the sandy shore where his leader was waiting and opened his mouth. Robin, too intent on seeing Raven to feel disgusted, reached into the mammal's mouth and retrieved his friend from inside. He lay her unconscious body delicately on the sand, reaching for her neck for a pulse.

"How did you find her?" Starfire asked when the whale shrunk into Beast Boy again. He gulped, unable to meet her enlarged eyes.

"I followed the smell of her blood..."