Beast Boy found himself inside the holodome and was overwhelmed with a sense of dread. "Ladies and Gentleman, your next contestant, the verdant shape shifter who can become any animal in the world, both alive or extinct. A former Doom Patrol member and current Teen Titan, Beast Boy!" BB braced himself for what Control Freak had in mind for his challenge. He didn't have to wait long.

"For Beast Boy's challenge, all he will have to do is face one opponent, 7GORN7!" "Phew!" BB said. "That's it? I just have to kick this tin can's can?" Control Freak nodded. "Yup, it's that simple." "Sweet!" BB turned to face his opponent. "Dude, I'm so gonna kick your robotic butt!" the shape shifter said. The android said nothing. "Contestants ready?" "Bring it!" "FIGHT!"

7Gorn7 raised his blasters and fired. BB dodged the volley and began to morph into a velociraptor; his preferred high-speed combat morph. But, in the middle of his transformation, Control Freak hit his remote. "Not so fast, grass stain!" BB instantly reverted back to his human form. He tried to morph into anything he could think of, but he couldn't. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?" he demanded. "I took away your morphing abilities," Control Freak calmly replied. "What kind of challenge would this be if you had your powers?" BB fell to his knees; tears streaming down his face. "I can't do it," he cried. "Not without my powers." He was too busy crying that he didn't see the android raise his arms over his head.

**

"GARFIELD!" Raven cried. But, the changeling couldn't hear her. She covered her eyes as the android smashed BB into the ground, and then hurled him across the arena. "Beast Boy," Cyborg said. He placed his hand on the window separating the Titans from the arena. Starfire cried and found shelter in Robin's arms. "If Beast Boy can't morph, he's going to get killed," Cyborg said. "He never was very good at hand to hand," Robin agreed. "I should have made him spar more with me, if I did, maybe he'd be able to fight back." Starfire looked Robin in the eyes. "No, you could not have known that Beast Boy would need to fight the hand to hand." "Star's right," Cy said. "How were we supposed to know that BB would loose his powers?"

Raven raised her hood over her head and felt tears welling up in her eyes. As she watched the fight, she knew the others were right. 7Gorn7 was tossing the helpless changeling all around the arena, and there was nothing she could do to help him. She began to feel Rage boiling up inside her, but knowing she couldn't do anything without hurting her friends, especially BB, she released her pain through another outlet, her eyes. She fell to her knees and cried.

**

BOOM! The impact of the concussion missile hurled Beast Boy across the arena. "OOF!" he cried, as he hit the confines of the holodome. He fell limply to the ground. He struggled to get back up on his feet, but felt a mechanical hand tighten around his neck and hoist him off the ground. He opened his eyes and saw the merciless android staring back at him. Due to his animal instincts, BB immediately recognized the android's stance and understood its intent. 7Gorn7 was going to kill him, and Beast Boy was to weak to stop it.

The android aimed its blaster at the changeling's head and charged. Beast Boy watched helplessly as he saw the red glow building from the muzzle of the blaster. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see his own death. Then, he heard a shriek from inside his own mind. "NOOOO!" He opened his eyes and found that the arena was bathed in an eerie blue light. The android seemed to be frozen in time, everything seemed to be frozen in time.

"Whoa," he said. "I've heard of your life flashing before your eyes, I've even heard that time slows down before you die, but this is ridiculous!" Then, he heard her voice in his mind. Garfield! He looked around, confused. "Raven, is that you?" Yes, Gar, it's me, the empath said. "How, I thought that the dome was soundproof?" Then, the world around him faded and Raven appeared before him.

I'm not actually talking to you, tofu-for-brains, she told him, I created a mind-link with you. BB's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide. "So, you're in my head?" he exclaimed. She nodded. And you are in mine. BB scratched his head. "Can you read my thoughts?" he asked, hoping she couldn't, otherwise, she might kill him then and there. No, she said, I can only see what you want me to see. "Oh," the shape shifter replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

Gar, there isn't much time before my time stop spell wears off, the empath said. She grabbed BB's hands and looked directly into his eyes. You have to fight him, Garfield, you have to! "I can't," he said, averting his eyes from Raven's harsh, loving glare. "I don't have my powers, I'm just too weak as a human." No you're not! Raven said. She turned his head and locked eyes with him. Listen to me, please! she begged. BB relented, and let her continue.

Remember after your fight with Adonis, after Cyborg cured you? BB nodded. "It's a day I'll never forget, Raven." Remember what you told me? she asked. You told me that the beast you turned into came from you, the chemicals only let it out, but that it was still inside you? The changeling nodded. "You told me that 'having that thing inside you doesn't make you an animal, knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man.'" Raven smiled. So you can listen to me, she said. BB blushed and laughed nervously.

My point, Gar, is this; now is the time to let it out. "But I can't!" Yes, you can! Raven countered. You may not be able to take on the beast's form, but you can let its instincts guide you. You can let its strength flow through you. "How?" Beast Boy asked. Surrender to it, she said. That beast lives within you, so Control Freak can't take it away from you. BB wrapped the empath in a warm embrace, one she willingly returned. He let her sweet lavender scent fill his nose, and felt the cool silk of her hair play across the side his face. "Thanks, Rae," he said. You're welcome, Gar, she said. They pulled away, and Raven shut down the link.

BB returned to the arena, Raven's time stop still in effect. Reaching deep within himself, he summoned the beast. He let it surface and he felt its power coursing through him. His senses were heightened and his muscles twitched. Surrendering to the beast, the changeling retained just enough control in order to guide it, and so he wouldn't become lost within the beast. He saw color slowly return to the world and knew the time-stop was fading. Summoning all of the strength the beast had to offer, he wrenched the android's hand free of his neck and dropped to the ground. Time then resumed and he saw a brilliant flash of light as the android's blaster fired.

**

The Titans saw the crimson flash of light and felt their stomachs churn. "BEAST BOY!" they cried. Starfire buried her head into Robin's chest and wept uncontrollably. Cyborg punched the window as hard as he could, then he collapsed. "No," was all he could say. Robin couldn't bring himself to speak, because he knew if he did, he'd loose control. He needed to be strong for Starfire, so all he did was hold her trembling body tight against his.

The only Titan who wasn't in mourning was Raven. She scanned the arena floor, desperately trying to find the green shape shifter. Then, she saw him, latched onto the android's back, waiting to strike. "Um, guys," she said. The others looked and saw she was pointing at the android. "No way! The little grass stain made it?" Cy asked. "Friend Beast Boy is alive?" Star asked. Robin finally was able to speak. "But, how?" Raven smiled, her gaze not leaving BB for a second. "The beast."

**

Beast Boy was hidden from 7Gorn7's sensors, and once he was sure the android couldn't detect him, he ripped open the android's back, exposing circuits and sensitive electronics. Not knowing or caring which wire would disable the android, he buried his arms up to his shoulders in the robot's innards, and grabbed hold of a bundle of wires and circuits. Then, calling on the beast's strength, he ripped his arm out, taking most of 7Gorn7's internal systems with them. The android shut down and collapsed. Beast Boy climbed on top of the wreck and defiantly roared at the control room.

**

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg shouted. The Titans watched in amazement and disbelief as Beast Boy pressed the button that lit up the green light. Except for Raven, that is. Instead, she felt proud of him because he had listened to her, and won. She also felt a strange feeling of butterflies in her stomach at the mere thought of the shape shifter, something she'd never felt before. Before she could think about it, BB appeared in their midst.

Raven watched as Cyborg and Robin punched his arms and as Starfire choked the life out of him in her usual Tamaranian bear hug. Live it up, Gar, she thought. You've earned it. She began to turn away in order to get ready for her challenge when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew who it was, without even turning around. Placing her own hand on top of his, she turned and gazed into his shining emerald eyes. "Thanks, Raven," he said.

He pulled her close and held her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him just as tight. "Thanks for believing in me," he whispered into her ear. They pulled back just enough so they could look in each other's eyes. "I guess I'm next," she said nervously. "I guess so," he agreed. "Look, uh, I wanted to tell you," BB stared to say. Raven looked expectantly into his eyes. "Tell me what?" BB couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to, so he said, "I wanted to tell you, good luck." Raven looked down, disappointed, and said, "Thanks, Gar." Then, she was teleported to the arena.

**

"Ladies and Gentleman! Each of the previous contestants have proven their worth as Titans. Now, only one has yet to prove herself. And so, I now present to you, the most powerful of all the Titans, the half demon RAVEN!" Raven put her hood up and stood with her arms at her side, causing her cloak to wrap around her completely. Control Freak's voice again sounded from the loudspeaker. "The final challenge is a duel between Raven, and her most painful memory!" Two electrodes sprouted from the arena floor and attached to Raven's head. She could fell them pouring over her memories, searching for the worst one in order to throw it in her face. She knew who she was going to fight, and she wasn't looking forward to the re-match.

**

"Dude!" cried BB. "That's so not fair!" "Tell me about it!" Cyborg said. Robin looked down and said, "This is bad." "Why is it bad, Robin?" Star asked. "Think about it," Robin explained. " Who was the one villain we faced that had hurt Raven the most?" Each of them knew to whom Robin was referring. "Trigon," he finished. What? BB thought. He knew Trigon had hurt her, but he didn't think that he had hurt the empath as much as someone else did. That's because he had been the only Titan to see Raven after that battle, and see just how hurt she really was.

**

The electrodes withdrew and the hologrid charged up. "Well, Raven," Control Freak said. "Ready to face daddy dearest?" So he also thinks it will be Trigon, Raven thought. But, she didn't say a word. Taking her silence as a yes, he hit the button. "FIGHT!"

Raven felt a presence behind her and twirled around to face her opponent. When she saw him, she knew she was right. "Hello, sweet Raven," the dragon said. Raven's eyes glowed white, and she raised her arms into a fighting stance. With malicious sarcasm dripping in her voice, she responded, "Hello, Malchior."

**

"MALCHIOR?" "I don't get it," Cyborg said. "Why him?" Before Robin could say 'I don't know,' Beast Boy surprised the other Titans by answering for him. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. From the blank looks on their faces, he could tell it wasn't. "Look, Control Freak said that Raven would have to confront her most painful memory, right?" Robin nodded. "Yeah, but I thought Trigon hurt her more than anyone else." Star and Cy nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yes, she hated her father," BB admitted, "but she loved Malchior." Star and Cy were still confused, but slowly, Robin understood. "Please," Starfire asked, "if Raven loved the Malchior, then why would it be painful." Robin answered this time. "It's painful, Star, because he betrayed her." BB nodded.

"When Control Freak said she'd fight her most painful memory, I knew it'd be that dragon because I know how she feels. I know how much it hurts when the one you love rips your heart out." Everyone knew who he was talking about, Terra. "But, why would that be a challenge?" Cy asked. "Wouldn't she love the opportunity to beat his brains out?" BB shook his head. "I'm betting that some part of her still loves him, just like a small part of me still loved Terra after her betrayal. Because of that, it will tear her up inside to fight him." He looked out over the arena, eyes full of sorrow. And since she's in the holodome, she'll feel like she's all alone.

**

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" A blast of dark energy in the form of a bird of prey, talons outstretched, roared toward the dragon. The dragon took off and dodged the blast, and breathed fire back at the empath. "You're going to need to do better than that, my sweet Raven," Malchior mocked. "I'm not your 'sweet' Raven!" she yelled, hurling another blast of energy at her former love.

Effortlessly, Malchior evaded the attack and again fire a stream of flame toward her. "Temper, temper, Raven," the dragon chided. "You wouldn't want to lose control now, wouldn't you?" Raven's grip over her mind loosened slightly and Rage struck. She powered her way in and assumed control of Raven's body and powers. Her eyes glowed red, and split in two. Her cloak changed color from blue to a deep, blood red.

"You're going to pay for what you did to me!" "I'm petrified," Malchior shot back. "RRAAGH!" Rage screamed. "AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!" The entire arena was engulfed in dark energy as Rage tried to bring the entire stadium down, just to kill the treacherous monster. "ENECKRINAM, HEZBERECK, MORTIX!" the dragon shouted, causing Rage's powers to overload and backfire, knocking the crimson-cloaked girl to the ground.

Raven forcefully regained control, and her eyes and cloak returned to normal. She tried to stand up, but her nervous system was still recovering from the overload. She watched helplessly as Malchior towered over her. "My dear sweet Raven," he mocked. "Why even bother fighting me?" he asked. "Even if you do win, it won't change anything. You'll still be alone."

**

"You will always be alone, my dear, sweet Raven." Beast Boy watched how hurt Raven was and felt his own heart wrenched out as well. "Dude!" he cried. "He's hurting her! We gotta stop him!" Robin looked at the shape shifter and said, "We can't, Beast Boy. There's nothing we can do."

BB was outraged. Who the hell does that bastard think he is! he thought. He's ripping her heart out again, and I'm trapped here and I can't do anything about it! Then he remembered what Raven had done during his challenge. Maybe he could use their mind-link to reach her. This probably won't work, but I have to try!

The changeling took a deep breath and assumed a meditation pose. Cyborg noticed and asked, "Yo, BB! What are you doing?" Annoyed, BB answered, "I'm trying to reach her. Maybe she'll be able to read my mind if I focus on her hard enough." "Why?" the halfa asked. BB rolled his eyes. "So she'll know she's not alone." Cyborg shrugged and left BB to his own devices.

BB cleared his mind and focused on the broken hearted girl in the arena. Raven? he asked. He didn't hear anything, but kept at it anyway. Raven, it's me, Beast Boy. I don't know if you can hear me, but listen! You are not alone! I'm here for you Raven! Remember when you beat him last time. He said that you were alone, but you're not! As long as I'm here, you'll never be alone!

**

"Garfield?" Raven asked. "Your precious Beast Boy isn't here Raven," Malchior hissed. "He abandoned you long ago because you were creepy." Raven stood up and glared at the dragon. "LIAR!" she screamed, hurling a wave of energy at him. "Sweet, beautiful Raven, you know it's the truth. He even called you creepy! Remember?" She fell to her knees. Of course she remembered that night, she'd never forget.

Alright, fine. You're way creepy, but that doesn't mean you have to lock yourself in your room.

Determination surged through her. She stood back up and defiantly glared at the dragon. "You're right, Malchior," she said, extending her hand. "Beast Boy did call me creepy." She felt for something that was hidden behind a dead tree. "But, you forgot what he said next!" Malchior laughed. "Oh really, and what was that?" Raven pulled the book into her hand. "He said, 'You think you're alone Raven, but you're not.'"

Before the dragon could react, she hurled the book at him and chanted, "Algeron, Enlenthronel, Volsolarniris, NOR!" The book open and a vortex erupted from its pages. "NOOOO!" cried the dragon, but it was too late. He was sucked into the book, trapped for eternity. Raven dropped the book and hit the disarm button. The violet light lit up and the bomb deactivated. The rest of the Titans appeared around her and congratulated her, but she only saw one of them in particular. She lunged at him and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you, Gar," she said. "You're welcome, Rae."

***

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Control Freak said as he appeared right in front of the Titans. Robin looked at him, slightly puzzled. Control Freak continued his rave. "Titan's East was great and all, but your challenges were much tougher, and you guys smoked them! I mean, WOW!"

"You know, Titans East did say you were stupid," Robin said. "Uh, why?" Control Freak asked. Then he belatedly realized that all five Titans were glaring at him. "Well, only an idiot pops in right in front of five angry teenage superheroes," Robin said. "I'll take that," Cyborg said as he snatched the remote out of his hands.

The Titans walked back to their vehicles. "Wait, you can't just leave me here!" Then, Control Freak felt something cold wrap around his body. He was hurled against the wall and was pinned there. "Don't worry," Raven told him. "We'll let the cops know you're here." Robin hopped on the back of the R-Cycle and invited Star to join him. Giddy, she put on the spare helmet and held on tightly to him as he sped off into the sunrise. The other three piled into the T-Car. Cy was surprised when he saw the passenger seat empty, and saw both Raven and BB in the back. He was going to say something, but he saw how Raven laid her head on the grass stain's shoulder and held his tongue. "Let's go home."

***

When they arrived at the Tower, the Titans went to bed, seeing how they stayed up all night fighting. But Beast Boy couldn't sleep, so he headed into the Ops room. Once there, he saw Raven sitting on the couch reading as usual. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked. "My window faces east," she replied. "Hard to sleep when the sun pours in your eyes."

BB sat down next to her and she put down her book. "Look, Raven, I wanted to thank you for what you did back there." Raven giggled softly and placed her hand on his. "If anyone should be thanking anyone, it should be me." BB looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. "When I was facing Malchior again, I believed him. I actually believed that I was alone and would always be alone." She felt tears well up in her eyes, but she held them back. She felt BB's arms wrap around her and hold her gently. "But at the moment when I felt the most alone, that's when I heard you."

"You-you heard me?" he asked. Raven couldn't fight her tears anymore. She felt them run down her cheeks, but she didn't care. This was Beast Boy after all. She looked into his eyes and said, "Yes, I heard you say that I wasn't alone, that you were there for me. For that, Garfield, I wanted to thank you." BB couldn't quite comprehend what she just said. "Did you just call me, Garfield?" Raven nodded shyly.

Then she asked, "Did you mean what you said?" BB stared blankly. "Mean what?" "When you said that as long as you were here, I would never be alone, did you really mean it?" "Of course I did, Raven," he said. "Why would you think otherwise?" "Well, when Mal-" BB cut her off. "Stop right there, Raven. I am not that bastard, got it." Raven nodded meekly.

Knowing she needed something to cuddle, he morphed back into a kitten and pawed at her leg. Mew She laughed and picked him up. Feeling tired, she stretched out on the couch and placed BB in front of her, and began stroking his head. He rubbed up next to her and curled up in the crook of her arm and fell asleep. She smiled at him, and fell asleep to the sound of his purring.

Episode III: Quoth the Raven: see profile for link

Teen Titans Animated belongs to Glen Murakami, Sam Register, DC Comics, and Cartoon Network
Teen Titans created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez