Guest-ha ha I'm glad I can bring the entertainment!

Deans 1000-okay then well here you go.

Castro-you humble me, sir.

Mag2K-whoa that's a lot of questions! And, yeah, I'm not too fond of the threesome situation either. But, it was in the original story so… As for the other stuff, this will be a more mature slowburn for a little bit longer I'm afraid, and I have no plans as of yet to involve The Beast but we'll see as we travel further down the road. For Cyborg, it could have been Jinx or Bumblebee, both were in the original version. I'm not particularly invested in either, but I tend to pick Jinx first.

San Juan- aqui, new chapter.

Guest-I know, I'm a real son of a bitch, ain't I? LOL

OdaStider-hey man, any review is a good review! I'm glad you enjoyed my work and that it helps you chill out.

KF fan-hey, thanks for reviewing! I'll try and be less annoying when I'm soliciting people to become followers LOL.

N0tInteresting-wow, better than the original? That some high praise! I'm right there with you about the whole Robin being central to the Trigon arc. Made no damn sense.

Hate Eater-hey, thanks for the tip about Nth metal, though I'm not sure what I came up with is any better. We'll see I guess.

Lou Buggins-the wait is finally over! Dive on in, my friend!

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Of his five natural senses, his auditory perception was the first to return. Distant, and muffled, it was hard to distinguish anything recognizable from the dull noise all around as it slowly faded in. Like listening to an argument two floors up. Next was his smell. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, and picked up a myriad of scents, making him aware of the people, things, and chemicals around him. Taste came back strongly, making him aware of his dry mouth, and the flavor of stale blood. Touch, and everything that came with it, became more prevalent as he realized he was lying on something hard, and cold. With one weak arm, he pushed himself up, the room spinning as his equilibrium readjusted. Opening his eyes to only a squint, everything flashed blurry and bright, causing a throbbing pain to burst deep in the center of his brain. He grimaced, clenching them shut. Just a touch sensitive.

When he opened his eyes next, a hand holding a glass of water had appeared before him. He took it gratefully, and drank greedily, relishing the cool, sweet taste of the liquid as it parched his burning thirst, and cleansed his mouth of the foul taste. He held the glass out to be refilled, and drained it twice more before finally feeling ready to talk.

"How long?" He asked hoarsely, closing his eyes again.

"Three days." A familiar woman's voice answered. "Give or take a few hours."

"Took your time getting here…"

"We didn't receive word until yesterday. And we were busy."

Gar coughed. "Typical." He turned to look at the woman standing next to him. She had brown hair, and warm green eyes. "I missed you."

Rita, his adoptive mother, gave a small, but loving smile. "Me too."

"How do you feel?" Another voice said from his other side.

Gar turned towards Larry, the heavily bandaged man who had asked the question, and nodded. "Dehydrated and undernourished, but everything should be fine otherwise."

The man nodded in return. "I see. Here." He stepped forward, letting a large duffel bag drop to the floor, and reaching in to retrieve a rectangular matte green package. Gar took it, ripping the corner with his teeth, and scarfing down the contents.

He was on his second bar when he looked around and realized the room was conspicuously empty. "Where is everyone?" He managed in between bites.

"They became agitated after observing the serum work on you." Larry explained. "Mento and Robotman have led them elsewhere to give them time to adjust. I do not think they understood exactly what we were doing."

Gar stopped chewing at that. "… Define 'agitated'."

"Argumentative, belligerent. Combative."

"Your friends are quite a handful." Rita mused. "Especially that Raven."

"Oh no." Eyes wide, the supplement bars slipped through his fingers. "Oh hell." Swinging his legs over the side of the table, he pushed off with his hands.

And immediately fell.

His legs, weak and unresponsive from being "dead", failed to support him as he collapsed to the ground. He cursed the numb appendages, struggling to rise, but his arms weren't much better.

"Calm yourself, no harm will come to your team." Rita soothed, kneeling down to help him. "Steve will treat them as gently as he can."

"You've got it backwards." Gar grunted, still half-trying for the door. "It's Raven. You know about her? What she is? Who she is?"

"We're still reading through everything in your reports." Rita said.

"A demon with titles." Larry blinked. "Nobility of some sort, yes?"

"She's royalty, the Queen." He grimaced, trying to pull himself along the floor using the table leg. "For reasons that will become apparent, I've been doing a lot more research on their kind since joining this team. For now, just know that an angry Raven is seriously bad news."

"If something happens we will handle it." Larry crossed his arms. "We've dealt with others like her before–"

"There is no one like Raven." The changeling growled, whipping his head around to glare at the both of them.

The two Doom Patrol members exchanged a glance.

Taking a deep breath, Gar used one hand to rub his face vigorously. "Look, just help me up before something really bad happens, okay?" He sighed, realizing he wasn't making any progress.

With another dubious glance to each other, his two former teammates helped lift him to a sort of standing position, and then he used Rita as a crutch to limp his way out of the room. Each step down the hall, and toward the common room only made his anxiety worse as the telltale signs of destruction began mounting. Lights were blown out, carpeting was ripped from the floor in certain areas, and deep gouges scarred the walls and ceiling every few feet. Twenty feet from the door, and he could hear the fighting. The grunts and shouts of his friends, the dispassionate tone of his adoptive father. And over everything, a voice like a raging volcano.

"You will rue this day! You will repent ever thinking you could take what is mine!"

Gar groaned under his breath, and tried to quicken his pace. The doors slid open as he approached, and he quickly took in the scene they revealed. Jinx, and Starfire were floating in the middle of the room with Raven, the three of them tangled together as they attempted to calm her down. Robin and Cyborg had placed themselves between them and the other members of the Doom Patrol, poised and ready, though their attention was more focused on the three women. The tower shook as Gar stepped through the doorway, knocking everyone off balance as the ceiling seemed to explode downwards.

Through the falling debris and cloud of dust, Gar could see a section of I-beam engulfed in black aura as it was torn from the very skeleton of the building. Shrouded in dark energy, it twisted into a sharpened lance of iron, and with a scream, Raven launched it at Mento like a javelin. The older hero stepped to the side, mild irritation written in his eyes, if not on his serious expression, as the giant projectile narrowly missed him.

"As I said." The gruff telepath remarked, clucking his tongue. "Too emotional."

The demoness snarled, enraged, and the frenzied quaking of the tower intensified.

"Raven! You must stop now please!" Starfire yelled above the destruction. "You are breaking our home!"

"You seriously need to calm down!" Jinx shouted from her other side. "Or someone is seriously going to die!"

"Yes! Die! Suffer!" Raven screamed back, forcing the two women back with a blast of her powers."The world will burn, and there won't even be ashes remaining!"

Gar stood with wide eyes, his mind racing for a solution. Raven, and the other Titans were not handling this well, and the emotionally stagnant Doom Patrol leader was not helping. There was no time for subtlety or tact.

"Everybody!" He yelled, pushing away from his adoptive mother. "STOP!"

The room immediately plunged into silence as the occupants registered the voice. The very air itself seemed to freeze in place as the Titans turned in unison to look at him. They each wore stunned expressions, even Raven, her four burning red eyes extinguishing as she sank to the ground. Taking a breath, Gar opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly found himself falling backwards, his head swimming.

.

.

Another wave of nauseating lightheadedness hit Gar as he sat on the common room couch, his head tilted back. He needed to refuel. The "revival" process took a lot out of him, and replacing everything used in the process was essential to keep his body functioning right after. Fortunately, the door behind him opened to reveal his large bronze friend, Cliff, carrying the large duffel bag from the med bay. Unslinging it from his shoulder, his former teammate placed it next to Gar on the couch, and gave him a look.

"Beast Boy, eh?" He crossed his arms. "I see your sense of humor remains tragically intact."

"I don't know, Robotman, you tell me." The changeling asked sardonically, reaching into the bag and retrieving a handful of packages. Cliff snorted, an odd sound coming from a metal man, but said nothing else.

"Don't let him fool you. We all love the superhero names you gave us." Rita said, a small smile gracing her features.

"Thank you, mother." Gar replied, ripping open one of the nutrient bars.

"Wait, mother?" Cyborg asked incredulously. "This woman is your mom?!"

Gar turned to face the oldest of his current team. Glancing around, he found each of the Titans frozen in various positions across from him, staring. Shock and confusion were easily readable on every one of their faces. At the back of his mind, Gar felt guilt creep its way in for what surely had to have been a harrowing experience for them.

"Wait no, hold on, before that," Cyborg said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How the fuck are you alive?!" He shouted.

Gar exchanged a glance with Steve, his adoptive father, but The Doom Patrol leader only tilted his head in an ambiguous gesture. Did that mean he wanted to see what Gar would do? Well, fine. The changeling was sick of secrets, and sick of pretending. His head was pounding, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Dying, as it turns out, gives you one hell of a hangover.

With a sigh, he took a few bites, and leaned on one thigh with his hand. He regarded the Titans, his friends, thoughtfully. Silently. After a few moments, he swallowed.

"Axolotl." He said.

"Ax-oh what now? What the hell are you talking about?" The half metallic man asked, still struggling to come to grips with the situation.

Gar finished the nutrient bar in a couple bites, then opened another. "Axolotl. It's a type of salamander found in Mexico. It has an extraordinary ability to regenerate missing body parts, even including parts of its brain, because it's entirely neotenic." He explained. "Sea cucumbers can do the same. There are loads of animals capable of regenerating missing parts of their bodies. I can replicate that ability."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Cyborg yelled. "You didn't have a pulse! Zero brain activity!"

"You were dead." Jinx whispered, looking at him, eyes swirling with disbelief, confusion, and awe. "You had a hole in your skull, and you were dead."

Gar paused a moment to drink more water before he continued eating. "In the event of catastrophic damage to my person, I've trained my body to go into a sort of stasis, or hibernation. Put very simply, it shuts down my body almost to a cellular level, but also stops it from deteriorating for a time. Depending on the type of wound, and the severity, I can heal a great deal. If not," He pointed to his neck. "The serum they injected me with acts as a catalyst. A wake-up call, activating the regenerative abilities within my body, and kicking them into overdrive. The whole process uses a lot of energy and material, hence the bag of goodies." Gar finished, giving the duffel bag a light pat.

Looking at his team, he saw that this was a lot for them to process. No doubt they each had a million questions about who he was, and who these other people were, among other things. Gar glanced at Jinx. Maybe it was time to try and lighten the mood?

"But yes, technically I was dead." He conceded, then gave a small smirk. "Mostly dead. Not all-dead."

"No." Cyborg thrust a trembling finger at the changeling, his other hand coming up to wipe at his human eye. "Don't you dare reference beloved cinema right now, you sonofabitch..." Whatever else he might've said was lost as the big man started sobbing in earnest. Jinx broke from her stupor, and turned from Gar to comfort Cyborg.

"Beast Boy…" A quiet voice called from his left. Gar turned, and saw that Starfire had taken a few hesitant steps forward. Her eyes were teary, and one of her hands was reaching out towards him. "Is it truly… you?"

Nodding slowly, Gar answered. "Yes Starfire, it's really me." The alien Princess was wrapped around him before he finished replying, heaving great sobs into his shoulder. Still not entirely recovered, his first reaction was to push her off, but she wasn't crushing him, so he checked the impulse, and brought one tentative hand to pat her back gently. He had expected the Doom Patrol to be there, but other than that he hadn't known what else to anticipate when he "revived". Until he had joined the Titans, no one had really cared about his well-being. His eyes flicked towards The Doom Patrol, and their subdued reactions to everything going on. Or they weren't great at showing it.

"Why didn't you tell us? Not just about the healing. About everything."

Gar turned, but avoided locking eyes with Robin. "No one asked. Didn't seem important. Other things were happening. Lots of reasons." He replied with a shrug.

"How could we not know anything?" Robin shook his head. "How did you manage it? All this time we've been living with a stranger, and none of us ever questioned your existence. How?" His voice might have held a note of admiration in it, but was tempered by his anger.

"It was mostly just… misdirection and distraction." Gar shrugged again, still holding the weeping Starfire. He needed to regroup. Clear his head, and get his thoughts in order. "Look." He sighed. "You have a lot of questions, I get it, but I'm not really at one hundred percent right now. Can this wait until tomorrow?"

"No, you're going to answer all of my questions. Now." The Titan leader growled.

"Enough! You can squabble later, there is no more time to waste." The Doom Patrol leader barked.

Robin spun to glare at him. "Squabble!?"

"Three days have passed, and you are no closer to finding the men who attacked you." Mento cut in gruffly. "Beast Boy, explain your understanding of the events that led to your incapacitation." He ordered.

"Sir!" With a sharp nod, Gar pried himself from Starfire's arms, so he could stand at attention. He wobbled at first, and then retained his balance. "We arrived at the scene of a bank robbery at approximately thirteen hundred hours. Law enforcement already in the vicinity had secured the perimeter, and the surrounding area, and provided us with the assumed number of suspects and hostages inside the building. As the incident was still in progress, time was of the essence, and we opted to enact a plan without confirming the intel. We have worked with the local police numerous times in a similar fashion, and we had no reason to doubt it. Our initial plan was successful, and we were able to evacuate all the hostages."

"Assessment?"

"Too easy. The hostages were gathered together too neatly, the supposed bank robbers ill-equipped and unprepared. I also detected a strange smell, but could not place it immediately. I suspected an ambush. Before I could voice my suspicions however, we were already under attack from the real threat." From the corner of his eye, Gar saw Robin's eyes widen through his mask as he caught on. "Their plan was to separate us, starting with the obvious critical targets. Cyborg was attacked first, followed immediately by Starfire, who was momentarily incapacitated by a second assailant. Robin attempted to engage the second man, but was rebuffed and sustained an injury. I was the only one to spot the third man, and I moved to intercept. My instinct told me he was the true threat. However, I don't believe they were counting on Starfire's toughness or the ferocity of her counterattack. They wanted us distracted and separated to pick us off one by one, but their plan fell apart when their gauntlet man was taken down, and their leader failed to take out Raven. At least, I inferred as much from the gunman in our brief exchange."

Steve crossed his arms. "Leads?"

"Very little, but there is something I do want to check." Gar said, before taking a step to the side. Still weak, his legs gave momentarily. Rita and Larry were by his side in an instant, helping him stay upright, and he nodded his thanks. "The bullet fragments, Robotman. On the counter in the infirmary."

Cliff nodded, leaving the room, and returning shortly after with the misshapen lumps of metal in a surgical tray. He picked one up and examined it for a second, before depositing it in a compartment in his arm. Almost immediately, his expression changed from one of curiosity to shock.

"Well that's a surprise." He remarked.

Gar blinked. Some part of him had hoped he wouldn't be right. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. This is fine grade stuff too. Not exactly cheap. You must have made someone really mad."

"Damn." Gar scowled, the uncharacteristic expression seeming alien on his face. "Damn."

Steve cleared his throat, obviously irritated. "What is it?"

"The bullet is 94% pure nullium." Cliff said.

There was a heavy pause as everyone in the room absorbed the information. Gar watched his friends, but the only one who showed any sign of recognition was, of course, the boy wonder himself.

"I do not understand." Starfire said, rubbing her eyes and regaining some composure. "The ammunition for such weapons is typically made from lead, yes?"

Sitting back against the couch, Gar crossed his arms. "Yeah. It would be. Unless you were hunting something else."

"I don't get it." Jinx spoke up. "What's so important about this null whatever?"

"Nullium." Gar corrected. "It's an extremely rare metal that completely negates the supernatural."

He paused, his gaze drifting to the one person in the room he'd avoided looking directly at the entire time. At least until he was sure his control wouldn't slip.

Raven. The last person in the world he wanted to hurt.

She looks… Paler than normal.

For a brief moment, there was an ache in his chest from seeing her so humanly delicate. All the fury and fire from before was gone. Her hood was down, and she looked completely unguarded, her emotions almost plain on her face. In her wide, bewildered eyes. No doubt she was feeling overwhelmed by everything that was going on, just as lost as all the other Titans. He wanted to tell her he was sorry. That he would never make her, or the others ever go through this again.

Gar blinked, and smothered the aching.

"It was made specifically to kill Raven." Steve concluded.

"Undoubtedly." He replied, shifting his gaze back to the older man. "She is, by far and away, our strongest and most versatile member. It would be my first move."

"This attack was planned, then." Larry said, thinking aloud. "Well-funded, intelligent. A contract hit."

"Which means they won't give up after one try." Rita interjected. "If they're willing to spend the kind of money it takes to make a bullet out of nullium, then this won't be the last we see of them."

"Agreed." Cliff grunted. "Plan?"

"We shall stay in the city for the next few days, see what we can dig up." Steve said. "I also would like to keep an eye on you, Beast Boy. Until we are certain you have fully recovered."

"I understand. We have a few guestrooms on the floor below us that should be sufficient accommodations for you." Gar replied with a nod.

There was a loud bang as Robin slammed his fist against the wall he was standing next to. "You break into our home, go through our things, inject something weird into our supposedly dead teammate, lead us on a chase through our own halls, then act like we're not even here while carrying on in your own conversation…" He growled. "And you expect us to let you STAY here?!"

Mento turned, and made as if he was going to respond, but Gar beat him to the punch, stepping forward and holding up one hand to forestall the older man.

"Robin." The changeling said solemnly. "I know that this is a lot to process, and I know that you have no reason to trust them, but this is my family. They aren't going to hurt anyone."

"And how are we supposed to trust you!?" The Titan leader shot back. "You've been lying to us from the very beginning!"

In the back of his mind, this had been one of Gar's biggest fears and worries. If, or rather when, they found out, could the Titans bring themselves to forgive him, and put their trust in him? After years, and months of deception?

"Because you're my family too." Gar replied earnestly.

The two young heroes locked eyes, staring at one another. Despite the mask, Gar could see the outrage, anger, and hurt in his friend. And he hated himself for being the cause of that hurt, in any of them. He wished that he could say something, anything, but… words escaped him. A hand came to rest on Robin's shoulder, and the masked hero turned his head sharply. He found Starfire at his side, her face tired and her eyes sad.

"Perhaps…" She said quietly. "Perhaps it is best we get some rest. Today has been exhausting, in more ways than one."

"Starfire, I can't just –"

Robin's mouth snapped shut when he saw the pleading look in her eyes.

"Please? It… It is Beast Boy after all…"

His fists were clenched so tightly that his hands shook, but Robin didn't say anything. Throwing one last glare at Gar, he stalked out of the room, followed shortly by Starfire, then Cyborg and Jinx. Finally, it was just Raven. She hadn't moved, not since she calmed down, and she stood stock still. Her face showed shock, and confusion. Her eyes watched him in a daze. Was she waiting for something? For what? Gar had no idea. He took a step forward.

"Raven, I –"

She jumped, obviously startled, took a few stumbling steps backwards, then sank through the ground. He withdrew his hand, letting it fall to his side. The look she'd given him, like she didn't even recognize him… He almost wished that he had stayed dead.

.

.

The Titans, minus two, gathered in Cyborg's room, huddled together as they waited for their call to connect. They whispered with each other, all of them feeling awkward, but none more so than Robin. Considering who they were calling, it wasn't really a surprise. The call connected with a beep, and the room fell silent. A figure with a dark cowl appeared on the screen.

"Robin…" The dark knight said evenly.

"Batman..." Robin returned stiffly. "… It's been some time."

"It certainly has…"

A long silence drew out between them.

Jinx huffed an irritated sigh. "Jesus Christ, do we have to do this right now? Right now?"

Robin leveled a withering glare at her, cleared his throat and turned back to proceed.

"Batman, I'm contacting you to inquire about a group called 'The Doom Patrol'?"

It may not have been obvious to the others, but Robin saw the caped crusader go completely still when he heard the words Doom Patrol. Batman did not fidget.

"Do you have any information on them?" He asked carefully, trying to read the older man's expression.

"Am I correct in assuming this has something to do with your… Recent loss?"

"Yes, but there are extenuating circumstances. Our youngest member, Beast Boy, seems to have been a part of this group at some point."

Again, Batman had a strange reaction, taking on a serious expression as he seemed to think. "That's… surprising, to say the least. He's the youngest in your group, you said?"

"That's correct." Robin nodded. "Why is it surprising that he would be a part of them?"

"Because they are ruthless assassins." Batman stated plainly.

The room fell silent, like all the air had suddenly vanished.

"That would make Beast Boy a, a…" Starfire began after a moment, but trailed off, unable to voice the thought.

"B-but, that's –" Cyborg sputtered. "That's ridiculous! This is BB we're talking about, we know him! He's not a killer! He doesn't even eat meat!" He practically yelled, looking around at the others for support.

Jinx nodded fervently in agreement. "It's true, Beast Boy wouldn't even hurt a fly if he could help it."

"But we don't know him." Robin said quietly, looking down as he leaned on the console. "Do we? Even after all this time, we don't even know his first name. Let alone what he did before meeting us."

Not for the first time, they all realized how very little they knew of their friend, and wondered what exactly that meant about him, and about them. In the solemn quiet, Robin turned back to the screen.

"Batman, can you elaborate on what the exact purpose of this Doom Patrol is?" He asked.

"I can. They are a group of rogues. A team of people with unique powers and abilities, with no affiliation, and one single goal in mind. Destroy evil, by any means necessary." Batman replied. "Their leader, Mento, is almost fanatical in his pursuit of that goal. They are highly secretive, as well as extremely capable. They've orchestrated coups, collapsed governments, manipulated, sabotaged, and killed on all seven continents." Windows of information and various images popped up on the screen next to him as he continued explaining. "They tend to stay away from the more obvious targets, like the villains you or the Justice League handle, instead going after the more obscure enemies. Although, I have made a few tenuous connections that might link them to a number of deceased mass murderers, corrupt political figures, and the like. In any case, they are very deadly. I would advise you to stay away from them."

Too late.

"Duly noted." Robin responded. "Thanks."

"Robin… I know how hard it is to lose someone, especially someone under your leadership." Batman said, pausing as if to search for the right words. "I'm sorry about the death of your friend."

Under normal circumstances, Robin might've been more heavily affected by his words. Bruce was not a soft man, prone to waxing sentimental. No, he believed in a strict regimen, self-discipline, and iron will. But he had his rare, genuine moments where you could see warmth, empathy, and even love. This was perhaps one of those few moments, and Robin might've said something to reflect that honesty back.

But these weren't normal circumstances.

"Don't be." The former apprentice said briskly. "He got over it." Then he ended the call.

The room plunged into silence, a dead quiet where no one moved, or even dared to look at each other. They were all shellshocked, their understanding of the world, each other, and especially Beast Boy shaken.

Cyborg eventually sighed in the aggravation, breaking the spell that had the four of them frozen in place. Dragging his hand across his face, he only had one word to say.

"Fuck."

.

.

Nevermore shook, the islands themselves in disarray as a direct reflection of Raven's state of mind. It took longer than normal to find the center, and when she did, what she found there was nothing short of disturbing. Her aspects, the parts of herself that represented her emotions, had returned, but they were far from normal. Some of them, like Timid and Happy, were at the very edge of the extreme, practically radiating their corresponding emotions. Others, like Brave and Rage, were unnaturally subdued, almost translucent compared to the others. And as with the last few times she visited, the black cloaked emotion stood waiting for her.

"What is happening?" Raven asked, distressed at the situation around her.

"No idea." Her twin said lazily.

"You have to know something! You're the only one acting normal!" Raven yelled, gesturing to the chaos surrounding them.

The emotion looked at her with a bland expression. "Listen. You were in mourning because someone extremely important to you had died. Then, by some strange turn of events, he came back to life. I imagine that's hard to process."

"No kidding." Raven gritted her teeth. "How do we fix it?"

"Meditation?" Depression suggested. "You, we, need time. You were spiraling way, way down, and now we've done an about-face. That's good, I think, but abrupt changes like that in the psyche aren't always… smooth. It'll take a lot to process everything."

"That's it? Just wait it out?" She sputtered, voice straining. "There is no time for that! At this rate my safeguards are going to rupture and I'm going to level the entire island!"

It was true. The moment Raven had returned to her room, a door inside her had opened, and violent cascades of power had surged from within. In all but a few minutes, everything in her room had been reduced to pieces, the walls, ceiling, and floor only barely maintaining their integrity due to the magical seal she had woven into every square inch of space. However, she knew the seal could not stand up in the face of her power indefinitely. She needed a solution, now.

Her darker reflection looked her up and down appraisingly. "You have to think about it, process it. All of it. There's no way around that." One pale hand slipped inside her cloak of depthless shadow as she stared at Raven with dead, black eyes. "But I might have something that will soothe you temporarily."

Depression withdrew from her cloak a book. A photo album, roughly nine inches tall, fourteen inches wide, and three inches thick. It's velvet cover was the color of lush, healthy grass, and there was an animal lightly embossed in each corner. Stuck in between the pages for a book marker was a ribbon of blue silk, with a single, pristine penny attached at its end. For some reason, Raven's heart skipped as she looked upon it.

"What is that?" The empath hesitated, one of her hands raising, but not quite reaching for it.

"This…" The emotion replied. "Is a book of some of our fondest memories."

.

.

"You like that Raven girl."

The statement, because it was a statement of fact rather than a question, caught Gar offguard, making him misplace his foot. The immediate result was him taking the full force of Mento's fist to his gut, a natural consequence for his lapse in focus.

"Concentrate, Garfield." His adoptive father reprimanded. "You've let your skills deteriorate to an appalling degree."

Gar sprang up from the mat and back into a ready stance, wary to keep his guard up. Mento didn't pull his punches when he was standing, and he sure as hell wouldn't do it while he was on the ground.

He really hadn't missed morning practice with the Doom Patrol.

"You didn't answer me." Rita said from where she stood outside the sparring area. Behind her, Larry sat with the folders containing Gar's detailed profiles on each Titan, and Cliff was using a bench press to exercise.

"You didn't really ask a question." The changeling shot back, dropping down to dodge another attack, and used the opportunity to aim a kick at Mento's front leg.

"Fine then. Do you like that Raven girl?"

"I don't see how it matters."

"It matters to me because I am your mother."

For a full minute and, Gar didn't respond. However, for the entirety of that time, he felt her gaze on the back of his neck as he faced off against his sparring partner, like two screws being slowly twisted into his spine. Finally, he sighed.

"I may have a… slight attraction towards her." He reluctantly admitted, catching Mento's leg and using the momentum of his kick to bring them both down to the mat. They grappled for a few intense seconds before Mento was able to slip out of the nearly complete arm bar Gar had attempted.

"Yes, that much is obvious from your file on her." Rita said, paging through said document.

Scrabbling up from the ground, Gar frowned. "Is there a point to this?"

"She's a demon."

Gar shot a glance at the older woman, eyes narrowed. "Half-demon. So?"

"So." She gave him a meaningful look. "You know what they're like."

The muscles in his jaw tightened, and he scowled. "I know what a lot of things are like. I also know that not everything is as it seems or as its expected." He said through clenched teeth, deflecting a jab as he delivered a low kick to Mento's leg.

Rita smiled knowingly. "Oh relax. I'm just making sure you know what you're getting into. She has a legacy after all."

"I'm not 'getting into' anything." Gar said. "She's already involved with other people."

"So you've noted." Rita observed, looking back down at the documents in her hands. "And how does that affect you?"

A fist smashed into the changeling's side, punctuating the question. He backed away for a second, but maintained his stance and guard.

"It's fine. She's made her choice, and I'll just have to live with that. Besides…" Gar shrugged, schooling his face to a neutral expression. "People like us, like me… don't deserve those things."

Before his mother could respond to that, the door slid open and the other Titans walked in. Both Mento and Gar relaxed their stances and stopped their match, waiting for the young heroes to approach. It was hard to read all of their expressions, but Gar did see that Robin and Cyborg were both still upset. He gave the group a small wave, but none of them returned the gesture. They just stared at him.

"Good morning, um," Gar scratched the back of his neck. "How did you all sleep?"

"Interrogation room." Robin ordered with a harsh bite to his tone. "Now."

.

.

So sorry this took so long to get out, but I'm diverging from the original story a bit. Bear with me here. This chapter was a particular challenge, because in the OG version everyone kind of shrugs off his resurrection like it's no big deal, and they try and go back to business as usual. Obviously, this would not be the case. There is a lot to process with death, especially violent, early deaths that happen to loved ones. And I'm willing to bet there's a whole lot more baggage to unload when they miraculously return to life. I'm kind of winging it, as I do with everything, but this is my paltry attempt at exploring those emotions, and how they would affect the team. Perhaps, hopefully, it's believable? Let me know.