Robin sat in the training room, his workout all but forgotten. What wasn't forgotten, however, was the fear in the eyes of the boy when his hood fell down. Robin growled and sat up quickly, walking over to the punching bag.

He punched it with all his might, relishing in the faint throb the hits left in his hands. The look in that boy's eyes… was so similar to his own after his parents died.

Robin growled again and kicked the bag so hard it caused a tear in the fabric. Sand trickled to the floor. He wiped sweat off his forehead and headed to his bathroom. As he walked through the base, he could hear his team mates joking and talking.

Despite being the leader, Robin felt… isolated from the others. He knew they all had their own problems and their own demons to face, but his own seemed too different from theirs. Besides, Batman taught him to hide his emotions.

Turning on the hot water, Robin stripped from his uniform, taking his mask off last. As the mirror fogged up, he caught sight of his body in the reflection.

Pale white lines – almost completely faded – covered his arms, legs and chest. Seeing his scars filled him with several emotions. Disgust, because he let himself get so weak as to do something like that. Sick joy, because the sight of the orderly lines satisfies some sick part of his mind. Fear, because there's always the lingering threat of relapsing, despite him being almost six years clean.

Robin shook his head and got in the shower, letting the hot water clear his mind.

The boy – who still refused to use the name he was born with – woke up to the sun shining in his eyes. He blinked sleepily before jumping up. It was almost seven. That's when he met with Matilda, the lovely old lady who fed the birds in the park each morning.

With a grin, he transformed into a small green bird and flitted to the park. As always, Matilda was sitting on the usual bench by the lake, a bag on goodies on her hand. There were a few birds at her feet already, but the boy saw her looking around.

He landed on the bench right next to her, the old woman's face lighting up with joy.

"Oh and here I thought you weren't going to show up today little one." She said with a warm smile. The boy hopped closer, gently pecking at the woman's skirt. "Oh, are you hungry dear? Here, have some of the special bread." She pulled out a chunk of bread that was filled with nuts and seeds. If the boy had a human mouth, it would be watering.

He chirped happily and dug in, filling as much of his small stomach as he could before she left. The boy rarely got free food. Most of it he had to steal himself, and he hated stealing. It was his only option though.

"Oh, little bird… I don't know how much longer I can keep coming to the park…" Matilda said wearily, throwing some crumbs to the birds at her feet. The boy stopped pecking at the bread abruptly and hopped onto her lap, chirping frantically. "Oh hush you." She said with a fold smile, using her finger to scritch the feathers on his neck. "I'm old. I can't walk like I used to… the walk to the park already wears me out, and with winter approaching… I may not come back next spring."

No… no! The boy thought to himself. Matilda was the last person he had. He couldn't lose her too!

"Oh look at you, getting all fluffed up." She laughed softly. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you could actually understand me."

I can! I can understand you! I'm not a bird I'm a hu- but he wasn't a human. The boy cut off his inner monologue and chirped feebly. Matilda put a finger out and the boy hopped onto it. She brought him close to her face and rested her wrinkled cheek on his soft head gently.

"That's a nice purse you have there, Grandma." A deep voice said. The boy looked over to see a haggard man staring at Matilda.

"C-can I help you son?" She asked, letting the boy hop off her finger onto her lap.

"Yeah, actually you can. You can give me your purse." He said, pulling a large knife from behind his back. The boy felt his heart stop.

"I will not give you my purse!" Matilda said, shocked and scared.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, you old bitch." He said, advancing one step at a time. Matilda tried to stand, but she cried out and grabbed at her hip, falling back onto the bench. The boy didn't know what to do.

"Leave her alone!" He shouted, not thinking. They both stared at him, Matilda with curiosity and the man with horror.

"What the fuck man… that bird's talking." The man said, the knife shaking in his hand. The boy flew right at the man's face. The man flung his arm around wildly, the knife catching the boy's wing. He fell to the ground, reverting back to his human form.

He landed with a painful thump and groaned, the cut transferring from his wing to his upper arm. He knew it wasn't that bad of an injury but it still hurt.

"You're a f-fucking freak!" The man yelled, holding the knife in both hands at an arm's length. He swung around to face Matilda. "And you… do you own this freak?"

"I don't own anyone." She said, her chin stubbornly raised. She tried standing again, this time much slower. "And I think you should leave."

"I ain't leaving without your purse." He yelled, preparing to stab at her. The boy saw nothing but red as he watched the knife aim at her chest. He transformed into a tiger, tackling the man to the ground. Unfortunately, him throwing the man to the ground caused the knife point to make a shallow cut on Matilda's arm as it flung towards the ground. As he tackled the man, the knife pierced his side.

The man got away, crying and falling over his feet as he tried to escape. The boy returned to his human form and rushed over to Matilda, who was collapsed on the ground.

"Are you okay?" He asked frantically.

"I knew there was something more to you." She said, a faint smile on her face.

"W-we have to get you help." He said, his hands shaking from fear and blood loss.

"You're injured." She noticed the blood seeping from his arm.

"I'm fine! What about you?" He asked, his hands flitting around the wound on her arm. "We have to get you help!" The boy knew he couldn't make it to a hospital, mostly because regular humans would attack him on sight. There was only one other place he could take her. The boy transformed into something only heard of in legends.

Only one jogger saw a green dragon appear out of no where in the park that morning, and she decided seven am jogs weren't her thing after all.

The boy scooped her up gently in his claws and took off, his wing beating as fast as they possibly could towards the giant T in the middle of the harbor.

"Um, Robin?" Cyborg said, staring out the window.

"Not now Cy. I'm trying to find information on that boy." Robin said, not looking up from the console.

"Um… Robin?" Cyborg said again, a little more frantic.

"Seriously Cy, not now." Robin said, starting to get annoyed with his friend.

"ROBIN LOOK OUT!" Cyborg screamed, knocking the smaller Titan to the ground just before a shower of glass landed right where he had been standing. In Robin's place was now a giant dragon, writhing and clutching something in its claws.

"TITANS!" Robin yelled, but he didn't have to. The rest of the Titans came rushing in when they heard the crash. All four of them readied an attack when the dragon shrunk. Within moments, there was no longer a dragon but a small boy and an old woman.

"Shit!" Cyborg said, being the first to break from his shock. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees.

"Help her!" The boy said. The Titans instantly recognized the voice.

"You're-" Robin started, but the boy cut him off.

"Didn't you hear me? You hafta help her! She's h-hurt…" His voice lost its volume with each word. Cyborg lifted the woman with ease.

"Don't worry. We have her. You're safe." He said, hoping to calm the boy. It worked, because the boy instantly became limp, his breathing too shallow to be healthy.

"Cyborg, take the woman to the medical bay. She doesn't seem too injured." Robin commanded. Cyborg just nodded and left the room.

Robin rushed forward to help the boy, grimacing as the blood gushed over his uniform. He quickly took note of his injuries and cursed under his breath. The wound on his arm wasn't too bad, but the stab wound in his stomach was extremely dangerous.

"Clear the way. Raven, go ahead and prepare another station in the medical bay."

It took close to an hour to sew together the boy's wounds. Thankfully the woman's injuries weren't as bad. The biggest issue with her was the internal bruising from what Robin assumed was some kind of fall.

The woman was still asleep when the boy awoke. He was frantic, ripping at the IV that was connected to his left arm. There was a primal look in his eye, like a wild animals that had been captured and caged. In a way, that was exactly what the boy was.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Was all the boy would say. He didn't seem to care about his own well-being.

"She is fine, friend. She is resting now, as you should be," Starfire said, flying over to the boy, who recoiled as if hit.

"Is she really okay?" He asked, sounding more and more like a child.

"Actually-" Cyborg started, looking at a clipboard, but Raven summoned a large magic hand to slap him with.

"We tried our best. It's up to her now." She said, removing her own hood, hoping to make the boy less nervous. The boy sat up, his knees almost touching his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around his legs.

"I see… I should go then." He said softly before trying to stand. He got one foot on the ground before almost collapsing entirely. Thankfully Robin was right there to catch him.

"So, you can transform into animals?" Cyborg asked, more curious than worried about the boy's recovery. The half-cyborg has already seen amazing healing from the boy, so he wasn't too worried about the rest.

The boy didn't respond. He just sat back on the table and shrugged, looking at the floor. Now, in the light, the Titans could get a good look at the boy. He was incredibly skinny, each vertebra of his spine sticking out of the ripped jump suit.. His skin and hair were different shades of green, the latter darker than the former. He had one long fang that peaked out from his lip and pointed ears. The most unsettling thing about him, besides the massive amount of scars that littered his face and neck, was the hardened expression that he wore, as if he was expecting the Titans to attack him at any given moment.

"Yo!" Cyborg said enthusiastically. "You're some kind of beast, boy!" He laughed, going to give the boy a pat on the back. As soon as he got close, the boy fell into a heap on the table, cowering and shaking. Cyborg also fell back, feeling guilty.

"Beast Boy…" The boy whispered to himself, tasting the words on his tongue.

"Oh dear…" A frail voice came from the other side of the med bay. The boy's head instantly shot to the other bed, where Matilda had sat up and was holding her arm with a pained expression. This time, the boy managed to rip the IV from his arm.

He transformed into a bird and flew unsteadily over to her, one wing barely able to flap at all. Matilda held her hands out for the boy to land in, and instantly cradled him to her chest.

"I'm glad you're safe." The boy said to the woman, who chuckled lightly.

"Me? You're a funny one. I'm the one who's glad you're alright." She said, smiling warmly at him. "Though my heart is feeling a little funny."

"Your heart?" Cyborg asked, concerned. He checked her monitor with a frown.

"I'll be fine dear." She tried to say when a coughing fit overtook her words. The boy turned back into a boy and reached out a hand to her. Within moments, the coughing subsided, but the worry for the woman only grew.

"Now that you're out of immediate danger, it's best that you're transferred to a proper hospital." Robin said, already making the plans for her to move to the nearby hospital.

"B-but-" The boy said. Matilda placed a hand on his head and smiled.

"I'll be fine. You know, you remind me so much of my son… How I miss him." She trailed off, looking wistfully over the boy's shoulder.

"Come along ma'am. The ambulance will be here soon to take you to the hospital." Cy offered Matilda his arm, to help her stand.

"Thank you dear. I'm not as young as I look anymore!" She grinned and wobbled only a little when she tried to walk. Just as he was about to leave, she turned to the boy. "I never caught your name, love." The boy hesitated. He couldn't give her his old name… not anymore. Suddenly, something came into his head. He gave a shy grin.

"Beast Boy. That's my name." He said. None of the Titans said anything, which the boy – Beast Boy – was glad of. Matilda hobbled over to him and wrapped the small shifter in a warm hug.

"Well Beast Boy, I hope to see you in the park someday soon." She told him, letting go of the embrace and going back to where the tallest Titan was waiting patiently.

"Goodbye…" He said back, but his words were cut off by the closing of the doors.

I mean, my first idea was to kill Matilda off. Second was to have her have a heart attack. Instead she got to walk off scott free… maybe I'll go back to those first ideas though…

Well, now that he found his name, with he be able to find his place within the Titans? Or will he be an outcast forever? That's even cheesier written out than when I said it in my head… oh well!

Until next time!

~Starlight