Teen Titans © DC Comics

Gan and Tavis

"Monsters!"

"Leave!"

"Never come back!"

"Get them! Get them!"

"Freaks!"

"Go away!"

"Stay away!"

"Fiends!"

"Destructive miscreants!"

"Your mother is ashamed! So is your misplaced father!"

"You will never be accepted from what you are!"

Thunder gasped as he awoke, bolting upright. A cool sweat dampened his forehead as he panted, staring ahead at cloud they resided on. Closing his eyes, he sighed and shoved the patch of cloud he slept underneath away. Stumbling to his feet, Thunder immediately looked around for his brother before looking down at his feet to find his brother.

Lightning slumbered peacefully, mouth a tiny gape with a large amount of clouds covering his lithe frame. Staring at him incredulously, Thunder let a small grin creep along his face as he tip-toed past him towards their communicators. Checking to see if anyone left them a message, he was relieved to find them empty. The last thing he wanted to do was stop a villain in the middle of the night.

Sitting down, he rubbed his brow and sat down. His legs dangled off the corner of their storm cloud, and he stared down at Steel City below. It was late, nearly midnight, and he could see locate several lights on at Titans East's tower. Mas y Menos must've shaved Speedy's head again judging from the fact that a few windows had been blown out. Thunder couldn't help but stifle laughter as their antics. Earlier that day, he and Lightning visited them, which ended with them, Speedy and Aqualad racing around the city in a war to outsmart each other. Neither teams won when Bumblebee obliterated all off them.

A vicious burst of wind sent him into a fit of shivers. Thunder rubbed his arms, looking up at the sky with a saddened expression. The stars illuminated the sky where no moon dared to pale their splendid exposition. Thunder glanced back over to his brother, watching as he slept. It was humorous, knowing that he could be trying his absolute best during the day and become similar to an innocent kitten as he dreamed. It was a comparison he would never reveal, though. The expression of horror Lightning would wear made him grin, following with an explosion of his namesake and a brawl that Thunder would lose. Thunder chuckled lowly underneath his breathe and lay back to gaze at the stars.

Thunder rubbed his temples, and the nightmare he jolted awake from came rushing back. Groaning, he sighed and closed his eyes to try and block out the images. The nightmare was a reflection of their past, something neither brothers rarely brought up ever. When Beast Boy casually asked them about their family after joining the Teen Titans, Lightning shouted that it was none of his business and dragged Thunder off in a rude huff. Thunder later apologized to Beast Boy for Lightning's crude response and stated that they never liked speaking of their family and past. Beast Boy seemed to accept his reasoning, but the inquisitive expression never left him.

The nightmare rushed back to his head, and Thunder shook violently. Cold pangs of wind hardly affected him anymore due to the siblings' ascension to living in the clouds from their rural village. Thunder wondered if things had occurred differently, maybe if they lived somewhere else, he and Lightning would still be home. Shaking his head, Thunder reminded himself that they were kicked out by a mob. The saddened, weeping expression of his brother as a child infiltrated his mind. Guilt consumed him, finding that his brother never cried ever since that day. When he would, Lightning cried in his sleep subconsciously, waking up with dried tears on his cheeks that were covered by his cheek guards.

Maybe if I reasoned with them, he thought sadly, kicking his legs in the air. I could have, but the outcome would possibly be the exact same fate.

Eight years ago, Thunder and Lightning were not Thunder and Lightning. They were born as conjoined twins, Gan and Tavis Williams, in Hsuan, South Vietnam. Their mother was a Southern Vietnamese woman named Cara Chi and their father was an American solder named Walter Williams, a second lieutenant in the army. He had left before they were born, and when they were born, their father never even came to see them. Their mother was horrified at the fact that they were conjoined, but the elders of the village used their magical prowess to separate them.

As they grew up, Gan and Tavis were immensely close. If one went somewhere, the other followed. It was usually the verbose Tavis dragging Gan on some random adventure. Hsuan was a small village, made of small houses clumped together crudely with a larger building shaped like a chapel as the central source of power. The elders congregated there, worshipping their god known as Hsuan whom they named the village after. Of course, the elders knew of Gan and Tavis because everyday, they would come by and pull curiously sinister pranks throughout the village.

"Where are they?" an elderly man boomed. He was the leader of the elders that Tavis dubbed the "Central Community of Crazy Old Men". Bao Tasun glared around at the group of less elders as they murmured about. "Where are Gan and Tavis? Their mischief making endeavors are to be stopped immediately! I have had enough!"

The wooden doors of the compound opened, revealing two struggling young boys in the hands of four men in armor. The older boy was slightly taller with ebony hair that reached just past the nape of his neck while the other reached his shoulder with his black hair swept upwards. Both of them wore karate uniforms that seemed much too large on them with the older one's being blue and the younger's yellow, but in Hsuan, they trained either monks or warriors. At a young age, the brothers deducted that life in a monastery would be too dull. Both of the boys exchanged a sullen glance as they were shoved towards Bao.

"You two have gone far enough, Gan, Tavis!" Bao shrieked as Tavis covered his ears.

"We were merely amusing ourselves," Tavis growled, arms crossed haughtily. "It is you who cannot stand a joke."

Gan nudged his brother in the ribs, whispering for him to be silent. Tavis sent him annoyed, blunt stare that imitated his expression. Bao pointed behind him to a large mural that depicted their god, Hsuan, a vein propped up in his forehead. Neither of the boys could resist the smile stretching along their faces, and Gan chuckled to himself that Tavis instantly copied. One of the men slapped Gan on his shoulder, hissing at him to remain. Frowning, Gan rubbed his shoulder before gazing back at the mural and snickered absent-mindedly.

The mural behind all of the elders was plastered in neon shades of paint. The proud godly figure had a crude, French moustache drawn with a pirate's eye patch and buck teeth. His body was covered in pink and yellow paint as if to portray him as a woman. He even had a rose colored purse where his shield was and a goofy grin with his tongue sticking out. A once proudly Hsuan painting had been wrecked by globs of hideous graffiti on the boys' part.

"…He looks better," Tavis finally stated, grinning wickedly.

"Enough!" Bao roared, slamming his fist down on the table. His robes draped his wrinkled body, shuddering as he suddenly stood up. Internally, he grinned at their flinching, but his prominent rage immediately took control. "This is blasphemy against our village! Your actions are devious, crude and absolutely intolerable! You Williams Twins have been trying my patience the day I christened you from your conjoined bonds!"

"We were simply trying to have fun," Gan murmured quietly, shame coming to his cheeks as they reddened.

"Fun? Fun! I laugh at that testament!" Bao approached them slowly, striking his bald head with a liver-spotted hand. "This is either a warrior village or a monk village, boys, depending on what you choose. Fun is tolerable when work is completed. Do I make myself clear?"

Both grumbled, nodding their heads and bowed. Tavis clenched his hands, having memorized his rant from yesterday's banter. Sending them away to be dealt with by their mother, Bao turned and moaned audibly at the tainted mural of their honorable god.

Tavis wasted no time passing the armored guards and grabbed his brother's hand. "Who does that old man think he is?" he whined, crossing his arms as they strode down the dirt paths.

"Perhaps we went too far, brother," Gan suggested, shrugging.

"Too far? How could such amusement be wrong? We enjoyed painting the mural," Tavis suavely stated, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulder. "We only have to worry about Mother, now. That is all."

"Mother will not be pleased." Gan's tone, oozing with worry, dripped acid onto their poisonous situation as they reached the doorstep of their home.

The thatch door flew open before they could react. Cara stood there, her body adorned in a simple work dress. Both boys instantly screamed and attempted to bolt away when their mother snatched them by their hands. The door slammed shut behind them as she shoved both of them into their quaint living room. Tavis took an instinctive position behind Gan, peeking out as Cara locked the door.

"I hear you utterly ruined the great mural of Hsuan," Cara stated slowly, trying to collect the data.

"Yes, Mother," Gan replied softly.

"What were you thinking?" she shrieked as Tavis covered his sensitive ears. "Was that another one of your idiotic pranks? Yesterday, you shaved Elder Bao's head!"

Tavis snickered, proving to be a mistake when Cara snatched his arm and dragged him away. Struggling, he desperately shoved at her to free himself from her wrath. "No! I-I did not mean to, Mother, I promise!"

"You two also promised yesterday that you would not pull these annoying pranks any longer! You lied!" Cara screamed, slapping Tavis over the head and released him.

Tavis rubbed his sore head, frowning and groaning as he did so. Instinctive protection came over Gan as he stood in front of his brother. Cara sighed, crossing her arms and looked down in vivid disappointment. She closed her eyes, pinching her brow in slight disgust at her boys. She simply couldn't believe that they defiled a mural of their great god. She knew better than anyone that they were rambunctious and playful, always getting into trouble, but this was too far.

"Can I ask why you did this exactly?" she asked tentatively.

"Because…it was amusing?" Gan replied, shrugging questionably.

Cara frowned, kneeling by her sons. Tavis slowly removed himself from Gan's back, peeking out shyly. A saddened expression dawned her complexion that had been ravished from working in the fields all morning to gather crops to sell. She placed a hand on their shoulders, bringing them close.

"Gan, Tavis, please, just stop with this cynical endeavors," she entreated softly. "I received a letter penned by Bao himself. One more offense and that is it."

"What is it?" Tavis asked curiously.

Cara stood, deciding it was best for the twins to read the letter themselves. She exited the room momentarily, entering their small kitchen where she dragged out an opened envelope. With swiftness of a loin attacking a gazelle, she tossed it threw the air like a knife and grinned when her boys snatched it in mid-air. Tavis tugged on the letter, ripping it clean from Gan's hands. The latter frowned, crossing his arms as his brother casually sneered and took the crumpled paper out. The smirk instantly vanished once he read the threat and shoved it to Gan.

"Exiled!" Tavis shrieked. "He-he cannot do this! Mother, Old Man Bao must be joking!"

"It was a serious offense, my son," Cara argued as Gan read in mystified horror. "Please, just behave, both of you." She glanced over her shoulder towards a clock that hung on a string. "It is noon. Go, you will be late for training."

Gan grabbed a grudging Tavis' shoulder, quickly dragging outside as he said his farewell. Tavis crossed his arms as they trekked throughout their village. It was small and quant, untouched by most societies. Their village reminisced something from a storybook told to children with small houses built by wood and no paved streets. Citizens carried crops and water back to their homes. Women dressed in form-fitting work clothes with cloths covering their heads to protect them from dirt along with gloves to shield their somewhat sullied hands from the toils of the crop fields. Men wore armor, signifying their rank to protect their village from any attack. Even if the attack came from their villages' most notorious trouble-making twins.

As they walked towards a small building crafted from mere bark, cold glares beckoned them. Gan learned to ignore them, but Tavis clenched his fist, coolly returning them. A few citizens would whisper about their actions, stating that they were clearly raised the wrong way. Cruel taunts would arise up that their mother displeased their missing father, which is why he left in the first place. Tavis glanced over his shoulder, finding a group of older boys coming their way, internally groaning.

"It seems the Williams Twins decided to grace us with their presence," the leader, a teenaged boy named Minh Nguyen with hair cropped into a short mop with armor like a samurai for clothing, jeered.

"It is always pleasing to see you as well, Minh," Gan coldly retorted, keeping a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.

"We heard that you ruined the mural of Hsuan?" Minh's preteen lackey, Phuong Payu, sneered. He was always pressuring others into giving him the information he desired.

"And if we did?" Tavis sneered. "What will you do if we agreed?"

"We smack you twerps around," Quan Wang, the oldest and stupidest of the trio, snickered. Like Minh and Phuong, he wore samurai armor, but without the headpiece.

"No one controls Gan and Tavis," the latter growled, motioning for Quan to continue with his threat. "Try us, if you dare!"

"Enough!"

Before a brawl could start, the five looked over towards their dojo where a middle-aged, balding man stood. Unlike the men in the village, he had a simple white robe on with matching sandals like everyone else. Hwang Mitchai narrowed his eyes down to Gan and Tavis before letting the shyest hint of a smile lighten his mood.

"Minh, excuse my interruption, but I recall Gan and Tavis defeating your trio the last time you had a bout," Hwang recalled.

Minh flushed, paling immensely as he scowled darkly at the sneering twins. "They got the upper hand. We were not prepared, Master Hwang," he blubbered.

"It was two against three," Hwang stated bluntly with a shrug. "I believe the upper hand belonged to you."

Gan and Tavis couldn't help but beam at the praise. Hwang was the honorable teacher. He became a father figure to them from a young age, scolding them, but treating them like children. The village was always harder on the boys than the girls, pressuring them to become greater than their fathers. However, without a father, the duo had no one to look up to, but Hwang dragged them under his wing.

"Fine! We shall return later for our listen," Minh growled, bowing. Quan and Phuong instantly copied him before they stalked off into a patch of shrubbery.

"That could have gotten out of hand if I had not stepped in," Hwang jeered, rubbing their heads with his massive hands. Smirking, he guided the boys into the dojo, stating, "I heard that you defiled a mural of Hwang, no?"

"We were simply having fun," Tavis explained casually. "They were the ones without a sense of humor."

"Well, it seems that I am just…" Hwang snatched their arms, throwing them across the barren floor of the dojo. "…showing how displeased I am! Come, today, I will teach you proper respect for our god!"

Tavis flipped in the air while Gan nimbly slid across the ground on his heels. The former grinned, motioning for his teacher to come. Hwang leaped high into the air, striking the side of his hand onto Tavis' head. Crying out, he landed on his stomach as Gan rushed over to help him when Hwang punched him square in the chest. Gan gasped, eyes bulging in shock, but quickly summoned resolve. Straightening himself out as his master threw another fist, Gan snatched his arm and tossed him across the floor to his brother. Tavis, getting to his feet, smirked as Hwang snatched the ground, swiveling around to kick him when he leaped over the leg. Tavis walloped his heel down in Hwang's face, sending him crashing into the ground.

Hwang sneered, prepping himself and glanced over his shoulder to the charging boys. Tavis resided on Gan's shoulders, sitting on his left shoulder that left Gan unbalanced. Taking this as his contact, Hwang swiftly avoided Gan's fist and placed his palm out to grip Tavis by his elongated hair. Swiping him into the air, he smashed him down over Gan and arrogantly guffawed as they groaned.

"I believe respect has been smashed into you both, correct?" Hwang sneered.

"Yes, master," Gan murmured half-heartedly, helping his brother adjust to the sudden swirling colors they saw.

"I still do not see what the entire deal is," Tavis grunted. "If it makes a person happy, why should it matter? My bliss is more important than another's, and the same goes for Gan."

Hwang frowned at the younger twin as Gan suppressed a nervous gasp. "I can not believe what I am hearing, Tavis. It seems Bao was correct about your…underlying narcissism."

Before Tavis could ask what he meant, the doors of the dojo busted open, revealing Bao with the Central Community of Crazy Old Men. The elders of the village surrounded Tavis and Gan while Bao dragged Hwang to the side. Both brothers exchanged a worried glance with the impassive Hwang. As they watched Bao speak and Hwang nod his head, Tavis crossed his arms at the other elders before him. All they were to him was trouble that interfered with his reckless amusement.

"Are you sure, Elder Bao?" Cara suddenly pleaded. "Can there not be another way? My boys are still young and still learning! You can not blame them for this!"

"I know two troublemaking problems when I see them!" Bao screamed, spittle being hurled at her.

"They came straight here!"

"It is true," Hwang defended. "They were about to get into a fight with Minh and his lackeys when I intervened. Perhaps it was them, and you simply mistook the Williams for them?"

"I never make mistakes! Especially when it comes to those…those monsters!" Bao roared,

Gan flinched at the insult, but Tavis suddenly ran up to him, shouting, "Oh, really! What did we do now, Your Insane Elderness?"

Bao glowered down to him. Reaching into his cloak, he offered him a letter. Tavis instantly snatched it, grumbling to himself as Gan crowded behind him. Ripping it open, it revealed two small, gold chains with lockets with identical circles on them. Gan took one, investigating in curiously, panicking slightly when the lock on his broke. However, it only split into two halves, still connected. Tavis did the same, finding it to be slotted for something. Confusion aroused, they locked eyes before turning to Bao.

"These are from your father," Bao stated as the brothers' eyes went wide. "Reports that he has…how shall I put this?" Trailing off, the leader of Hsuan glanced warily towards Cara whose eyes were downcast. "Walter Williams, your estranged father, has apparently been captured."

Cara covered her face with her hands, sobbing audibly. Gan hugged her waist, feebly attempting to console her. Unlike their precious mother, the news hardly affected them. Their father had been missing for years. The fact that their father was kidnapped by some villainous force only proved that he was weak in Tavis' eyes. However, a tugging feeling constrained around his chest, making him squirm oddly.

"Those were apparently sent to you from years ago. We located them outside the village in some rubble and shrubbery." Bao's arms crossed sullenly. "The date on the letter stated that it was to be delivered five years ago."

Thunder's eyes became watery as he banished the memory. Getting to his feet as the stars dulled, he slumped back over to Lightning after breathing several deep gasps of cool air. It staggered in his chest before he collapsed down next to his slumbering brother. The look on Lightning's face was absolutely priceless: gaping mouth, slight drool leaking down his lip to the side and his neck was crooked. He already knew that Lightning's neck would ache in the morning if the black abyss ever decided to leave. Thunder placed a hand on his brother's neck, gently ushering it down into a more comfortable position. Smiling, he wondered if Lightning was subconsciously gazing back at him with the grin that slowly took place on his pale yellow face. Then again, Thunder and Lightning had a special connection that only twins had. Drifting back into sleep, Thunder had a feeling the nightmare wouldn't come back. At least for the night, hopefully.

---

This was supposed to be a one-shot, but everything just got hectic so I decided to make this a short story. This will probably be only a few chapters long, maybe around five or ten. Plus, Thunder and Lightning need more love.