Raven closed her book and let out a content sigh. She had finally finished a long chapter that had her heart running faster than a car.

"Hey, Raven," Richard said, "where are you going?"

"I'm just going to go meditate." she said.

"Oh." he said. "Well, if you see Vic, tell him to get his shiny metal ass out here. I need to talk to him."

Bender: (breaks down the door) Alright, Doggerwolf! You've crossed the line!

Doggerwolf: (stops typing) Bender, what are you talking about?! This is the first reference I've made about you!

Bender: Say it! (pulls out a bat) Say it before I beat the living shit out of you!

Doggerwolf: Alright! I don't own Futurama.

Bender: That's right. (storms off)

"Sure." Raven said.

When she reached her room, she had just entered when all of a sudden she felt someone grab her by the arm, pull her sideways, and press her up against the wall. She saw Garfield just centimeters away from her face with a roguish smirk on his face. She smiled as he slowly ran his hand down to her side. Garfield had gotten more muscular over time from growing up and working out.

"How long have you been waiting for me?" she asked as she placed one hand on his shoulder and the other around his neck.

"Does it really matter?" he asked before giving her a long, hard kiss.

She tried to pull away, but she couldn't resist it this time. So she let him get away with it by kissing him back. Soon he pulled away and brushed his mouth to her cheek and then to her ear, where he slowly started to tug her earlobe. She sharply inhaled at his sudden move before he placed his lips over where her jugular was. Very slowly, he began to suck her cool skin.

The crime alert went off, causing Garfield to lift his head.

"Goddammit," he growled.

The two ran out to the common room where Vic, Kori, and Richard were already standing.

"What is it this time?" Raven asked.

"Adonis," Richard muttered.

As they all began to run down to the T-car, Raven thought: This idiot better not try to flirt with me again.

Adonis was causing chaos once again. This time he was throwing cars, aiming them at bystanders and buildings. When the Titans arrived, he looked almost pleased.

"I'd like to see you try, Titans!" he shouted. "Adonis has upgraded again!"

"Again?" Vic asked, sounding very skeptical. "How many times have you upgraded? Four? Five? Ten? And each time you do, we beat your ass."

Adonis's face showed a level of anger never seen before. "Shut up! Besides, this time I'm invincible!"

"There's only one way to find out." Richard said. "TITANS, GO!"

Adonis turned to see Raven flying directly at him, ready to destroy him with black magic.

But Adonis simply smirked. "Well, beautiful, you think you can overpower me? Just watch."

Just before Raven could do anything, the criminal rammed his giant metal fist into her body.

A bright, hot light flashed in front of her eyes as she felt as if her stomach rammed into her spine, that her neck had been completely squeezed, that her ribcage had fallen apart like puzzle pieces. Then she hit the cement wall. She could literally feel her skull shatter. Then she fell almost slowly to the pavement. Her ears were ringing. She felt the blood pumping through the vessels in her brain. Her vision was blurry.

A figure stood over her and she could make out the image of Garfield standing over her. She saw tears in his eyes.

Garfield could feel himself losing his sanity as he cradled his injured girlfriend.

"Raven!" he screamed. "Raven! Stay with me!"

Raven groaned as she suddenly lifted her hand up to his face and rested it on his cheek. Then it slowly slipped away as she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

Garfield lifted his own hand up to the place where she had touched him, and felt something wet. He pulled his hand away to see scarlet blood covering his palm.

Then it happened. He knew what was happening, and this time, it was under his control. He wanted it to happen. Very slowly, he felt the strong feelings of hate start to rocket through his veins and into his head. He began to growl, and within two seconds it got deeper until it sounded dangerous and evil. His fingernails turned a charcoal black and got sharp enough to where they were now classified as claws. He felt himself get more bulky and muscular as he continued to grow taller. His eyes became dark and mean. His mandibles were now deadly enough to kill someone. The Beast had returned after two years of dwelling within Garfield, and he seemed as good as new.

The three other Titans witnessed all of this.

"Gar!" Kori started to run towards him. But Richard held his girlfriend back.

"Don't worry," he said, "this time it's for the best."

"Yeah." Vic stepped forward. "He has someone to protect."

The Beast turned to Adonis and let out a huge roar of anger. The villain's eyes became the size of dinner plates and they were filled with fright. The Beast began to charge at Adonis on all fours, snarling like a vicious predator about to murder its prey. He could already imagine eating the narcissistic son of a bitch who thought he was so much better than everyone in the world.

"Not again!" Adonis screamed.

The Beast swung the back of his giant hand into Adonis' face, causing the robotic suit to fall backwards into the side of a giant building. The Beast punched into the metal suit, breaking the whole thing and revealing the true meek body of Adonis, who was horrified. The Beast picked the twig-size human and began to lift him to his mouth...

"Okay, Gar!" Vic called. "That's enough."

The Beast turned towards the half robot, dropped Adonis, and slowly began to shrink back into Garfield.

Garfield fell to his knees, sweat running down his forehead before grabbing Adonis by the collar.

"You were lucky this time." he snarled. "But I swear to God, the next time you do that to my girlfriend, you'll be six feet under."

Adonis nodded frantically and Garfield released him.

The other three Titans ran over and Richard placed his hand on the green shapeshifter's shoulder.

"Great job." he said. "Now lets get you and Raven back to the tower."

Garfield watched as Raven's chest slowly rise an fall in sync with the heart monitor. She had cuts all across her face, which was a sight he could not stand. Adonis had broken four of her ribs. Luckily, he was only an inch away from hitting her spine. And if he did, Raven would never be able to stand again. Garfield knew that he had done the right thing, beating Adonis up like that, but he felt as if he had taken his vengeance too far this time.

"She'll be awake pretty soon," Vic said, "but it will take a while for her to heal completely."

Garfield turned to him. "Even with her powers?"

Vic nodded grimly. "Even with her powers. She'll be able to heal the most serious of her wounds, but not all of them. If she tries to heal herself completely, she'll just wear herself out and become even weaker."

Just then Raven began to stir and her eyes slowly opened.

"Gar..." she groaned.

He smiled. "I'm right here, Rae."

Raven managed to look into her green boyfriend's soft emerald eyes. "You turned into the Beast again, didn't you?"

Garfield frowned and looked at the floor guiltily.

"I'm going to let you two be." Vic said, leaving the room.

After he was out of sight, Raven looked back at Garfield.

"Did you?" she asked again, slowly sitting up.

He sighed. "Yes, Rae, I did. But I couldn't help it." He reached for her hand and wrapped his fingers tightly around hers. "What he did to you was just...awful."

"I know, Gar," she said, "and thank you." She smiled warmly.

Garfield ran his free hand up her forehead and let it run through her silky violet hair. "Why are you thanking me? I literally almost killed the bastard."

"Well, you shouldn't have taken it to that level, but you certainly saved me in a way." Raven said.

She cupped Garfield's cheek and pulled him into a soft kiss.

When she pulled away, she let his forehead rest on hers. "Don't you see, Gar? You're my guardian angel. You turn into this beast for me. To help me. To keep me living."

Now Garfield knew. He knew that he had done what he was supposed to do. He must have joined the Titans for a reason. And not just to be a superhero, but to watch over this beautiful empath. This monster within him knew when the changeling's love was in terrible danger, and that it probably loved her just as much as he did.

"I guess you're right, Rae." He kissed her again. "And I'll never leave you behind."