Author's Note: This is it, the last chapter for this fic. I would like to take the time and thank ShadowMajin, GreeKnight. Stocktonbat, and Eris who keeps finding almost every chapter intriguing and fascinating. This is indeed the last chapter of this story, and info for what comes next is at the bottom. Thanks for reading and sticking around, and enjoy.

The Pretender

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say I will never surrender?

-The Pretender by the Foo Fighters


"There. That should do it."

Taking a rag, Morrow wiped at his forehead, removing the excess sweat. Placing down a small, soldering torch, he continued to wipe at his hands before settling himself in front of a computer terminal. Tossing the rag to a side, he began typing on the keyboard.

"I was surprised to get your call," Morrow continued, speaking mostly to hear himself talk. It had been a long three months, around the clock work, and a very sensitive operation, but within minutes, it would all be over. "I guess it goes without saying that we all thought your were dead. Imagine my surprise—"

"Are you finished?" he was interrupted. "Is he alright?"

Morrow didn't even pause in his typing. "We'll know soon enough," he answered. "I do have to ask, where did you get your hands on that tech? It's advanced, more so than anything I have ever seen. Is it alien?"

"It was what I was able to take before A.R.G.U.S. seized the rest."

"But do you know where it came from? Was it what he was working on?"

A large head shook, a beret remaining on without being thrown away. "It was a pretender, someone who offered to aid us, and nothing more. For what we lost, what I took was paltry payment."

Morrow nodded. Right now, S.T.A.R. Labs wanted nothing more than to study what was being described as beyond bleeding edge technology, and the most fascinating part was that all of it was safe. None was experimental aside from that radiation emitter. Naturally, A.R.G.U.S. was being a pain in the ass about it, and since they were government, that tended to conflict with the lab's creed.

Too much bureaucracy and ideals and not enough research.

Shaking his head, Morrow continued, "I wish there was more to save, but you have to understand, the condition you brought him to me in, it's a miracle that—"

"I know!" An angry voice interrupted, shaking some of the tools and equipment. "It was my fault! I couldn't protect him when needed me! But I will be damned if I can't save something!"

He hadn't even stopped, not even during the tirade. He waited several moments, letting passionate anger weaken first. "So far, everything necessary has been working. I still have been receiving signs of life. With this, we should be able to get some interaction."

The moments dragged on, but then final commands were issues, and Morrow allowed himself to relax. "That should do it. I am turning him on." Another button was struck, a mouse was guided and clicked on. One last hit of the enter key, and then the scientist was looking away from the terminal to gaze at his finished creation.

It was a tall cylinder of metal, hard enough to protect the essential insides. As was requested, it was designed for endurance and sturdiness. Even the dome at its top was tough, and transparent to allow one to see what was inside.

You could barely hear a hum, sound dampeners of the Kalanorian type doing their work. Life support systems of such an advance state that Morrow felt pride being physically close to it. And finally, the visage of a human brain surrounded in a synthetic cerebrospinal fluid was lit up for anyone gazing at this wonder.

Without taking his eyes off of it, Morrow encouraged the gorilla beside him. "Go on. Talk to him."

The beret-wearing gorilla took one step, then several forward, stopping only when he was in front of the small tower of technology. There was an audible swallow before, "Can...can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Silence reigned for only a few seconds, the crackling static of a speaker activating tearing it apart. Ma...Mal...lah? Is… Is that… mon petite monsieur?

"It is!" Mallah jumped at the recognition, placing a leathery hand on the dome as he fell into a crouch. "I am so sorry. I wasn't there when you needed me. I didn't protect you."

What...what happened?

"You were in critical state," Morrow spoke up. "Mallah was able to contact me, and I came. Your body, I don't know how long you were able to live that way, but it had sustained too much damage. There wasn't much I could save."

That… That voice. Thomas? Thomas Morrow?

Ah, memory had remained in tact. At least long term it had. Short term needed to be monitored for any possible impairment.

"It is I," he confirmed. "I wish that this little reunion had happened earlier, before this latest accident you've had. I did what I could, but…"

His words were allowed to trail off. Possibly it was for reflection. Even before, when Morrow had been a much younger man and meeting his mentor for the first time, it had always been hard to know what this man thought. This time was no different, even with the lack of a face of any kind.

I can't… How much? How much of my body…?

"There was only one part of you that was able to be saved," Mallah answered. "I can never atone for this."

Which part?

The gorilla hand stroked the transparent dome. It was almost intimate in its movements. "Your brain. That was all that could be saved."

My…? Even with a voice that was close to one you could hear from a drive thru, you could hear how he trailed off. Realization had to be be hitting him, and there was no way to tell how he would take this.

Ha.

Was...was that a laugh?

Ha. Ha. I...I am what I have been for so long. Now that is all that I am.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Mallah asked, distressed.

I am a brain.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Morrow began.

I am. A brain. He was cut off by the programmable voice, one that he had allegedly been using for years, according to Mallah.

Morrow shared a look with Mallah, expressing concern and helplessness. Something was happening and neither of them knew what to do about it, turning to one another in the vain hope that either of them could do something.

I am a brain. The brain.

Morrow wasn't a man to believe in unseen forces, but right now, he felt as if there was some energy filling this room, with its electronic equipment and machines and tools and...and…

I am the Brain.


Sneakers scuffed against the sidewalk with each step he took, Tim taking his time as he strolled down the sidewalk. A light autumn breeze was ever so slightly cooling the air, but the day itself remained unseasonably hot. It didn't stop him from at least enjoying the sun as he walked home from school.

It was a rare moment when he found himself by himself, especially since his last talk with the Flash. Most of the time, he found himself spending a lot of it at the marina, doing exactly as the Scarlet Speedster himself had instructed. Whenever one of the big ones, a Justice Leaguer, told you to do something, you did it. Simple as that. Yeah, there were a lot of questions thrown his way, and he could only answer what he could. When no one sent information your way, you only had what you knew.

That's not to say he sat on his ass, twiddling his thumbs—that was an expression from his dad that he did not get whatsoever—he had called up Oracle and asked for her to see if she couldn't find something. After the incredulous "You want me to hack the Justice League, are you crazy?!" there hadn't been much or anything from his friend in Gotham. The only thing that came from that pipeline was something was going on, and that he needed to sit tight.

Either she found something and had a visit from whoever, or firewalls around the League were that good.

Waiting for something specific had a way of wearing your patience down.

Three months, and on this day he was taking his time. Yeah, he'd go to the yacht later on, but right now, felt some normalcy was due. Pretend to be a normal teen for a couple hours, do what normal teens did minus avoiding homework, then head out.

If one thing hadn't changed, it was that he still did regular patrols. With the increase in law enforcement at the federal level, some people decided to keep their heads down and slow some of their activity. They'd wait until A.R.G.U.S. decided to leave town before ramping up their operations, which meant only petty crimes were what he was on the watch for.

Yes, he did start extending some invitations, having a feeling that the initial response would be encouraging only to go the way they did last time with increasing disinterest. Interestingly enough, Kori tended to say yes more often than not. For Victor and Garfield, it depended on their moods, so about sixty-forty in favor of going out, and Raven tended to prefer her own thing. Cassie was closer to fifty-fifty, and was more likely to come if he was out alone. He was beginning to notice a lot of patterns here.

But it was mostly quiet out there. Nice, but that would only last so long.

The only other thing that the dark-haired teen found himself thinking about was Bart. That whole disaster still weighed on him. To be taken in by an imposter like that; he shouldn't have been too surprised when he heard no word about him. The young speedster hadn't returned, and no one else had spotted him in Jump, which wasn't saying a lot. If you could move faster than the human eye could track, and cameras could only get a blur at freezeframe, trying to keep an eye out was moot.

There was still guilt, but what could he do? It was all done, and there was a chance that this was the end of any association with Impulse. As much as he would like to say that the younger teen was growing on him, the timing was too close to when Inertia had been undercover with them. It just messed things up.

It was times like these when you wished second chances could happen. Life tended to give you one chance, and only one to get it right.

Such thoughts stayed with him, even as he turned the corner and continued onto his street. Just a few houses down was his house, and from where he was, he could see at least two cars parked in the driveway. As he drew closer, he was able to identify them as both of his parents'. While not really surprised about Mom being home, Dad was certainly here early. It was rare, but it did happen.

Of course, what normally happened when Dad was home early meant something was happening. That something was usually big, affected everything, and the changes stuck around for a while. The last major changed happened to be the move to Jump. Since then, there were maybe only three or four times Dad came home early, and one of those times involved food poisoning. His old man was not going back to that Red Lobster anytime soon.

Oh, and then there was that anniversary… Hopefully they remembered to lock the door this time. Was it an anniversary today? Crap, he couldn't remember! No. No, it should be safe. It was the wrong month anyway.

As he approached the front door, he pulled his house keys from his pocket, getting a grip on the correct key. First, he tried the door handle and was greeted to an open lock. Okay, interesting. For the past several years, they had always been keeping the door locked whether they were home or not. Either someone was feeling really comfortable in this neighborhood or they had forgotten. No biggie. He could lock up after he got inside.

With the handle turned, he pushed and opened the door, stepping into the house while giving a quick look around the small foyer. Nothing seemed out of place—

"That you, Tim?" he father's voice called out from the direction of the living room. "Can you come in here for a moment?"

Quickly, Tim tried to pick out any and all nuances to his father's tone of voice, but so far could not pick out anything that might have been ominous. He shrugged to himself, adjusted the single strap of the backpack that he wore, and strolled his way over to the living room.

The first thing he saw were both of his folks sitting on the couch, his mom paging her way through some kind of packet. The second thing he noticed almost had him drop his backpack onto the floor.

"Yo, you Tim? Nice to meet ya!" a certain, red-costumed superhero greeted from a smaller couch that he was currently reclining back in, one hand raised up in a greeting wave. Yeah, his jaw fell open, because this was one scenario he had not been expecting.

Then his heart seized up because another concern, one much older than he cared to reflect on, suddenly weighed down on him. Was this how it was going to go? How it was going to happen? Was this how his parents finally found out?

Dad, oddly enough, gave a chuckle, turning to the Flash. "I told you he'd recognize you. I seem to remember a little bet…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pay up, don't you worry," Flash said, his hand wave becoming dismissive as it was aimed at the Drake patriarch.

Dad turned back to the shell-shocked teen. "How 'bout you take a seat, Tim. You got a lot of explaining to do."

Tim swallowed. Oh jeez, this was it. Suddenly, that little kidnapping three months ago was all sorts of bad. That was the moment that led up to this. Why hadn't he seen it sooner? Almost like a zombie, he allowed his backpack to slip off his shoulder and onto the floor, then stiffly trudged to a chair. It was a recliner, so it was all sorts of comfortable, which did not do anything to help him. He felt like he was going to be swallowed into the polyester-covered cushions.

His mom would be the one to hit the first nail in his coffin. "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

His throat was so dry, it nearly burned. He tried to swallow, but that was even more uncomfortable.

The second nail came. "When did you sign up for this?"

There was an inkling of confusion, but it was still overwhelmed by dread.

His lips parted open, his button lip almost wavering. "I didn't…"

"Didn't think we were going to pick you?" Flash cut in, a small smirk on his lips. "Yeah, there were a lot of guys and girls out there that applied, and I don't blame them. We'd thought you'd be the best for the position, though."

Now his dread was replaced entirely by confusion. "Huh?"

"There's been all that stuff about teenagers with powers lately. The Justice League decided it was going to do something about it," his father explained. "They're putting something together, and apparently part of it was getting some interns, about your age."

"We didn't want to make a lot of fuss of it, so a lot of people will probably be hearing about in the next few weeks or so," Flash picked up. "Doing all that paperwork was a headache, and I have superspeed. Still took forever."

Now he was officially lost.

That didn't mean he couldn't pick up on the lifeline that was being thrown to him.

"Yeah, I did it randomly. Didn't think anything was gonna come of it. That's why I didn't tell you about it," Tim said, scratching the back of his neck. "I saw a table and some poster and thought what the hell."

His mother looked at him and away from the packet, but that look was the one he normally saw when he swore in front of company. Then she held out the packet, and he had to get out of his seat and reach over a coffee table to retrieve it.

The cover had some generic screenshot of a random landscape with photoshopped lighting on it. It was something easily glossed over in favor of the title at the top.

"T.I.T.A.N. Initiative?" the dark-haired teen read outloud.

"Short for Teaching Intelligent Teens and Adolescent Network. Superman came up with it and it sorta stuck," Flash explained. "Kinda corny, I know, but no one came up with something better. Anyway, we decided to set up base and everything right here in Jump. Got some new digs for ya and everything. Just, um, don't make too much of an issue about its looks. That was a joke that got way out of hand."

While tempted to page through the packet itself, if only to buy some time to get his thoughts straight, Tim knew there was one matter that he needed to address first. "I'll take your word for it. But…" He turned to look at his parents, as if asking what they thought about all this. It was sudden, and for all they knew, legit.

He had a sneaking suspicion that there was so much going on beneath the surface. It was no coincidence that the Flash was here, in his home. Knowing who was part of the League, there was a great chance that some digging on their part would have led them straight to him.

Nevertheless, he wanted to know what his parents thought about all this. They must have picked up on his uneasiness, because both of them did that silent conversation thing they did and done all by looking at each other. Tim still didn't know how they did it.

"You mentioned this was an internship," his father began. "Is this unpaid or…?"

"There's perks. And a little salary thrown in," Flash answered, picking up on the cue. "Your kid's going to be safe, if that's what you're wondering."

"But why seeking out kids like Tim?" his mother pressed. "If this T.I.T.A.N. Initiative is for children who are...blessed with special powers, why have you selected our son to participate?"

Flash sat forward suddenly, no longer reclining. "That's the whole point, from what we discussed. See, these kids have super powers, right? But if they're going to be doing any good with them, they need to know what they'll be using it for, you know? Having somebody normal around, reminding them just by being there that there are people without powers who they'll be protecting. That's how Wonder Woman put it. There's more to being a kid than just super powers, you know? It's sometimes easy to forget."

It had lasted for a second, a literal second, but the Scarlet Speedster appeared to be solemn, and thoughtful, as if reflecting on something. It was gone just as quickly, but that didn't stop Tim from questioning if he had seen anything. Looking back to his folks, he waited to see how they would respond.

Both looked uneasy themselves, and they were doing that silent communicating thing again. The teen was fully aware that he was still a minor, so for legality, their input was necessary. Whatever Flash and the Justice League were putting together with this initiative of theirs, it could only include him if his parents agreed. There were some things even superheroes couldn't get around, and that was endorsing underaged minors for some huge project that for sure going to get media attention.

It was as if there was more at play than what was obvious.

And it would all be moot if either his mom or dad said they weren't comfortable with it.

"Well, since you did sign up, and you are getting older," his father began to speak, making eye contact with the young Drake. "It's your decision. Whatever you choose, we'll back it up, but we do have conditions. You're not going to be dropping out of school, and you will maintain your grades. No dropping out, no F's. Do that, and I think we can see this as some out of the ordinary part time job. You're going to be adult soon, so it's up to you."

Looking back at the generic cover of the packet and reading the title once more, Tim felt that anything else he did would only be stalling.

You could guess what his answer was, couldn't you?


Flash hadn't been lying about the digs. The biggest surprise, though, was how quickly something of this scale had been put together.

And who thought that putting it in the shape of a T was a good idea?

Still, it was impressive for what was planned to be the home for the T.I.T.A.N. Initiative. To stand at the base of this tower and to look up, it made the teen vigilante want to whistle in awe. So he did so. Then he went inside.

There were security protocols to get through. At this point, it was putting it all into the system itself. His "ID," some biometrics, choosing and inputting passwords, the whole shebang. From there, it was the tour, starting in the expansive lobby with its security station and then to the elevators. Yes, there was more than one, but there was a central one which was large and for general use.

There were a lot of floors. He got to see quite a few of them. There was a floor that had to be a researcher's wet dream. Computers, scientific equipment that could scan and analyze, and other devices that he had seen from movies or had done internet searches on out of boredom. Another floor had a lot of gym and exercise equipment, some with some interesting designs. Maybe more importantly, there were more than one floor that had rooms, bedrooms. Each with a private bath and everything.

And there was more, so much more. Whether it involved the cover story this place would have that was designed to be educational, or if it was recreational, or even a garage for tinkering with any and all kinds of vehicles, this place was packed with all sorts of things that would need hours to explore and even then not fully. Maybe a few days would be needed to find everything.

His last stop, though, brought him to a large room, one that definitely looked recreational with a long, curved couch, a massive television that was placed in front of a set of windows that had quite a view of the bay and a section of Jump, and in a corner was a kitchen and bar set up, and filled with all kinds of cooking gadgetry. Obviously, this was some kind of lounge, a place to relax.

It was also where he found the others. They were scattered about, poking and prodding about. Kori was investigating the kitchen, and you could tell she was admiring some of the pots and pans and various utensils. It wouldn't surprise Tim that she was thinking about the Tamaranian delicacies she could try and replicate in there.

His stomach was already screaming at him to run.

Looking away quickly, he found Raven on the U-shaped couch, and wasn't that a familiar looking packet she was reading through? Was she bored? Desperate for reading material? Being responsible? It was hard to tell since she gave no reaction whatsoever.

That left both Victor and Garfield who were doing most of their poking and prodding around the large, wide-screen TV, which might have been plasma, or perhaps a new generation that hadn't been released to the public just yet. Victor looked to be in his happy place, holding what must have been the remote in a hand and examining each and every button on it. Garfield meanwhile was looking away from the screen, still black, and happened to—

"Dude, Red! I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing you not wearing a mask! What's up!"

"Yo, you just get here?" That was from Victor who did the courtesy of looking away from the remote for a second to greet the teen while making eye contact. Then it was back to the remote.

"You seem to be enjoying yourselves," Tim commented as he took a few steps further into the room.

"The reading material leave much to be desired," Raven commented, not even looking up.

"This place has a library, right?" Tim asked and wondered. He must have skipped that part of the tour.

"Someone has bad tastes. I found cheap and badly written young adult fiction. All of it needs to be burned."

Rubbing the back of neck, he thought it best to leave that off there. A thought occurred to him, and he knew he needed to ask this. "So where's the boat? Still at the marina? Confiscated? Stashed away?"

"Docked here. You'd be surprised how quick those Justice League guys work," Cyborg answered, looking away form the remote. "We got a visit from both Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. I don't know how they found us, and they were curious if we knew who owned the boat. Never told us who, and never asked if we were returning it. Next thing we know, we're here, there's a dock, and now...we're up here."

Flash was pulling a lot of strings.

"The Hawkgirl was most interested in me," Kori spoke up, floating out of the kitchen area. "She was most curious about my presence on this planet, and not surprisingly performed a bird mood when she learned about my Gordanian captors. The Thanagarians have a long history of animosity and hostility with the Citadel."

Interesting. Glancing around the room, Tim began looking at it in a different light. Yeah, Flash had pulled a lot of strings, and there were interactions with the League galore, but was there something else going on here? Had to be. There always was.

Behind him, the elevator doors opened once more. "So the gang's all here? And Red, no mask? We're not in the Keys so this has to be a special occasion."

Looking over his shoulder, instead of feeling on edge, Tim felt himself relax. It seemed like Cassie was always the last to show, when she cared to do so.

"The gang's all here? Who'd they send to you?" Victor asked.

Blue eyes made direct contact with his. "Was the internship crap your idea?"

"I only found out today when Flash paid me a visit. Me, and the folks," he answered honestly.

"You're in the dark too? That explains a lot," Cue the rolling of those blue eyes. To the rest of the group, "My mom got to catch up with Wonder Woman. I got called out just to spend time on a girl's day out for old time's sake."

"Wait." The frown on Garfield's face was nearly turning the shapeshifter's youthful looks into one big wrinkle. "You know Wonder Woman? As in, you've met her before today. As in you used to hang out with her? When!"

"Green Bean brings up a very good point," Victor pointed out. Are you holding out on us, Wondy?"

"And is she as hot in person as she is on TV?" Garfield added.

The best word to describe the look Cassie gave the green shapeshifter was "dead." Whether she was about to show how dead Garfield was remained to be seen. "Yeah, we used to stay up in Gateway, but that was a long time ago, and we literally moved on."

"Does she know that you have taken on a moniker in homage to her?" Kori wondered.

There was a part of Tim that was so fascinated with seeing how the blonde was freezing up after that question. The tension in her body was so great that you had to be blind not to see it. Yeah, he had known about some of the stuff she was freely admitting to right now, but learning there was more stoked the fires of his curiosity. There wasn't a lot about what Wonder Woman did when she wasn't fighting crime or monsters or both at the same time. Hell, he didn't know if she was the kind of person to have an alter ego.

It's not like he could say he hung out with Batman in his off time. He didn't think Batman had anyone that he spent time with for no other reason than to do so.

Figuring that Cassie was suffering enough, though, Tim stepped in to save her. "You guys know what this place is all about, right? As cool as it is, it's not just a hangout spot."

"You're going to have to go into more details. Some of us here haven't read the packet," Raven cut in before anyone could respond to the dark-haired teen's statement.

Tim nodded in agreement, not bothering to stand up for anyone guilty. "The Justice League built this place, but they didn't do it from the kindness of their hearts. There's a cover story to go along with it, and if anyone wants to stay here, they'll need to do their part. This is all to keep an eye on us. If anyone has been keeping an eye on the news and whatnot, everything from three months ago is still on everyone's minds. So far, they had no idea how close they got to becoming City of the Apes, but everyone is wondering who stopped it, and they know the League had nothing to do with it."

"Are you saying they're spying on us?" Garfield asked, eyes wide and darting around, searching for any and all hidden cameras not visible to the naked eye.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Raven casually said.

"So unless you want out, which is now, then everyone is going to have to play along," Tim finished, looking from person to person.

Narrowing his human eye, Victor crossed his arms. "And what does play along mean?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders and gestured with an arm. "Oh, you know, basic K-12 education, maybe some college, some "physical education" which is code for training, and most importantly, keeping out of trouble."

Victor shared a look with Garfield before replying, "That last one sounds a bit too difficult."

Tim rolled his eyes. "There's a little more to it. Now, there is a part about civic duty and what not, and when I asked Flash what it meant, he told me it too was code."

"Code for what?" Cassie asked pointedly.

Giving a helpless shrug of his shoulders, "What do you think it means. I made sure I got specifics before anything else. Basically, 'protect the city and save the day, you know, superhero stuff.' It's what Bart told us all about the first day he showed up. About us being a team. Taking it seriously.

"And if you want no part of it, I won't force you, but you do know that we might be paid a visit or several by whatever League member is in the neighborhood. I don't think they'll enforce it because almost everyone here is a kid."

"Almost everyone?" Cassie repeated, adding in a raised eyebrow.

"I did mention there was training, right? They got a teacher for it, one Kori Anders."

"There's gonna be adults here?" Garfield said sullenly, and you could see his ears dropping at the news.

"I don't see what your problem is, she's standing right there," a hand gestured at Kori who seemed to be going along with it.

There were several faces that were slackening, a few jaws falling open, and a single Tamaranian who did not in the least bit feel self-conscious about it.

Kori tilted her head to a side. "There was much I discussed with Hawkgirl," was all she said.

"How—"

The question was obvious, and Raven sealed the offending party's mouth with a black-colored glow of power. "No one is asking that question. Ever."

"Yeah. So, Kori, I believe you'll be sticking around. It's gonna be a change from the boat," Tim slowly picked up, ignoring how Victor was bringing his hands up to his face and covered mouth.

"I am used to much change, Red Robin. For now, I shall accept my new responsibilities and I believe you have as well," Kori replied. "I do not understand the concept that is internship, but from my briefings, it means I am your superior somehow, though I do not know how. If it is not wrong, I will be looking to you for direction as I learn this occupation I have been assigned."

Tim nodded in the affirmative, then voiced it. "You can count on me to help. Whatever you need." While all he received was a nod back, a sign that Kori was catching on to the more nonverbal of human communication, he then turn to the others. "What about you guys? Who wants to stay? Who wants out?"

Raven glanced at the two boys, the green one trying to help the larger cybernetic one with the sealed mouth, then directed her gaze to the most normal of the teens here. "The choice of literature here leave much to be desired. By that fact, and that fact alone, I should leave and never look back. However, if such a problem could be corrected…" The trailing of was deliberate, he knew. "...I might be able to stomach staying. For a little while."

Tim shook his head. "From my understanding, a little while is not acceptable. Maybe in a year or two, but not a few weeks. If you're going to sign on, then there needs to be a commitment. Most everyone here is a minor, and those without parent permission will have sponsorship from a member of the justice League."

"I read that part too," Raven said. "My attempt at a joke has fallen flat." She was joking? "You're going to need someone to keep those two in line." A head jerked in the direction of whom she was speaking about. "I will stay for the required time limit then reassess afterwards."

Tim gave a nod, then looked to Cassie.

"I'm here. Do you really have to ask?" the blonde asked rhetorically.

Simple and short. Alright, that left...hold on a second. "You mind letting Victor talk? I think that'll just distract the two of them for a while."

Raven rolled her dark eyes, but she acquiesced. Everyone found that out when a green-skinned teen fell to the floor having been pulling at the black strip of power, one foot on Victor's chest to get better leverage, and when the magic was dispelled, there was nothing to hold on to.

Victor rubbed at the lower part of his face and shot a glare at the pale-skinned girl responsible. "Warn a guy next time, will you?"

"I was stopping you from making a life-altering decision. You're welcome," Raven quipped back.

"Guys, I know you were distracted, but I hope you two clued in enough to know what I'm asking you guys of," Tim cut in. Then to head off any questions about what was being talked about, "Are you two in, or out?"

Keeping an eye on the smallest girl in the room, Victor said, "It's a better set up than we had before, and we have food, but now…" Now the eye was on Tim. "...now there's a lot more here. You've seen the garage, right? Who knows what can be built in there! And there's a lot more tech. I wouldn't be surprised if S.T.A.R. Labs was consulted or got in on this. Some of it has my dad's touch on it."

That was a first; a collaboration between the League and S.T.A.R. Oh yeah, there was certainly a lot more under the surface here. "Is that a deal breaker?" he asked instead.

Bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck, Victor did a quick look around before admitting, "No. It's not. I hope no one minds if I try to make the place more comfortable."

"I mind," Raven said dryly.

"Yes or no?" Tim pressed, hoping to hold off any argument.

Lifting and dropping his shoulders, the cyborg finally gave his answer. "Yeah, I'll stick around."

Which now left…

A green shapeshifter gave a smirk. "What do you think? I'm in." Garfield crossed his arms as if to punctuate his declaration, even though he was still flat on his ass.

There were two feelings to this moment. The first was that it felt like something huge was happening, something monumental. The second was how sappy it was all coming together. Everyone's agreeing? Half of them with no hesitation. No disagreements? No shade from the past? Just like this?

Only someone who was all about that kind of stuff, huge and sappy, someone who was gung ho from the beginning and believed in it from even before this became a thing. Well there was one person, and wasn't it ironic that at the very moment his claim from the future came true, he wasn't there to see it.

Doing a once over of everyone assembled, Tim said, "Then we're really doing this. We're going to do this T.I.T.A.N. Initiative. We're taking on responsibilities that before were optional. This isn't going to be easy, and I know that we're going to have fights over it. But you know what, I think we can get through this. We can make it our own. We can be something big."

"What are you looking for, a Gatorade dunking, coach?" Cassie quipped, her tone good-natured.

"This dunking of Gatorade, would you care to explain it to me?" Kori asked. The sport tradition of taking a cooler of a certain sports drink and pouring in on an unsuspecting soul from behind had lost the Tamaranian, though not maliciously. No one had gotten to explaining every single tradition on Earth...which was going to take a really long time to do.

Then Victor spoke out the not currently masked teen's thoughts. "I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that Bart would have loved to have been here. He was always talking about us being this big time super team before he got switched. Kinda a shame he isn't here to, you know, see this."

Even if someone might disagree—Raven—Tim still felt the melancholy. Moments like these—

"And that sounds like my cue!"

—he barely felt any air moving around him, and was vaguely aware of the blur that was everywhere. And then he had the sense that movement that he was just subconsciously aware of came to a stop. There was also the fact that someone new was standing in a location that would attract the most, if not all, attention whether it was because it was directly in front or off in the peripheral.

Yellow. That and red was the color scheme here. There was a noticeable bit of brown that had to be hair and it was cut short. The prominent feature of a lightning bolt on the front of the torso was a giveaway of just who this new arrival associated with. Confidence radiated out of this obvious speedster and the pose he took as he threw his arms out into the air, his back archly slightly, and head tilted so as to have the light gleam off of him gave away that he wanted attention.

"Ta-da! What do you guys think?"

The voice was a dead giveaway. Still, had to check. Taking a step closer, Tim asked, "Bart? Is that you?"

The arms lowered only so that the hands could place themselves on hips. "You know it Red! Have you checked out the duds? What'd'ya think?"

You could hear the accelerated quality to the voice, but it wasn't so fast that words blended in with one another. The posing, though, seemed to be...very in character for some reason. Then again, it was animated, just like who the speedster confirmed himself to be. If it was attention he wanted, well, Bart had certainly gotten it.

"You look different," Cassie remarked, coming up to Tim's side with her arms crossed. Her head tilted to a side. "Did you get taller?"

"Had a growth spurt," Bart shrugged "And I felt like I needed some, you know, what's that thing again, starts with an m...maturity! That's it! Did a little of that soul searching stuff that's all the rage, had a lot of talks about finding my place, might have done a lot of reading but that's one of the boring parts, and I grew up some. But you aren't here to let me tell you all about it, though if you want, I'm totally...down with that. That's the right slang, there, right? Cause I was brushing up on a lot of what you guys say nowadays, though a lot of it makes absolutely no sense. What does lit even mean?"

"Is it not to set an object aflame? That was my understanding," Kori said, expressing her confusion.

"Did you get new duds?" Garfield asked quickly, an unspoken promise to explain slang later left behind. "Or is that an outfit that was in storage way too long? Isn't it normally white?"

That part about storage was way too much of a stretch. The shapeshifter was probably associating clothing with books. Given enough time, pages would yellow to show their age. Tim didn't think cloth did the same thing. That only left that the yellow was a deliberate choice. There were other details, like how the legs and waist were entirely red, the lightning bolt that once took up the whole torso was now a small emblem on the chest with a red outlined, white circle behind it. The rest of the torso and upper arms was solid yellow with red on the lower arms to serve as gloves.

No, this was a complete wardrobe change.

"Would you be surprised to know that this is what the Flash tried to wear once? The current one, I mean," Bart answered. "When he upgraded, well, this was put away, and well, I found it and decided why the frak not?" The speedster stopped talking, giving the impression he was falling silent, but experience had taught to wait a few seconds before trying to speak. "I felt like I needed a new start, you know? I needed to start over, and it's easy to do the outside.

"So, I'm not going to be trying to force a future on anyone. Or just keep dropping spoilers about it. I'm not going to be Impulse anymore. And since I'm not going to be that, I picked up a new name. A different one. More mature and—"

"You're calling yourself Kid Flash, aren't you?" Raven interrupted.

The speedster in yellow and red snapped his head around to stare at the pale-skinned girl. "Aw, why'd you have to steal my thunder like that!"

"I read. The plot's predictable. Plus, you kept bringing up Kid Flash this and Kid Flash that, and now, your future has come true. Yippie," Raven retorted, then added, "The change of costume was a big giveaway."

A yellow and red arm slung itself around her thin shoulders and the newly Christened Kid Flash poked a finger into her cheek. "Aww, you do care!" the speedster cooed. "Am I growing on you?"

"Keep touching me and we'll find out if your body makes good fertilizer," Raven growled.

And then the speedster was beside Victor. With one hand under his chin, and an elbow propped up with his other arm, Bart said, "You make a very good argument."

"So, everyone, just to be sure," Tim said loudly, seizing back control, "we're all on board. We're all going to participate. No shirking, no putting it off, no deciding I don't feel like it today. We're going to be a team, a real team."

He looked over everyone, waiting for any and all confirmation whether it be through nods, smiles, or verbal replies. They may be peer pressure on Raven's part since she tried to keep as vague as possible, but in the end, there were seven total yeses.

"Then, as a real team, I think we're gonna need a name," the former native of Gotham announced. Glancing at Bart in particular, he added, "And I think we might have a suggestion already."

Bart, for his part, blinked, looked around, then looked back at Tim and pointed at the small lightning bolt symbol on his chest as if to say, "Me?" After a second blink, eyes widened, and a mouth curved into an excited grin. "You don't mean…?"

Returning the grin, Tim said, "Any objections to Teen Titans?"


The view of Jump City lit up against the water would have been a nice sight if you paid attention to it. Garfield was looking out to the horizon instead, the night sky overhead sinking down into it.

That T-shaped tower still had the lights on, and everyone was still in there, making themselves at home and maybe having a little party while they were at it. Oh yeah, he had taken part in it, had gotten some help from Bart to get it started, and it was fun.

But even he needed a little moment away. Some fresh air, and right where the bay itself met the coast. Muddy ground, large rocks, and the thinly-spread, unmowed grass did not make this an ideal place for a beach, but hey, right now, it was perfect for him.

Things were really coming together, weren't they? A few months ago, with Red saying they were breaking up, and the shapeshifter would not have believed any of this to be, well, like this. So far, he had met three members of the Justice League, and now they were going to be footing the bill for the new pad. It was going to be a little weird, you know, not sleeping on the water, especially after getting used to it.

What was there to complain about? Well, there might be something to complain about. He had just agreed to become a founding member to a bad guy ass kicking team of maybe future Justice Leaguers. That meant there was going to be a lot of changes. Red was really going to try to make them a team, and Kori was going to help train them all to be better fighters. And then they were going to go out and save the day and fight crime and all the stuff a kid dreamed of doing.

And he was about to do it. Talk about a full one-eighty—and ha, jokes on you, Raven! He could think ahead when he applied himself, so ha!

Anyway, how far had he come? Being freed from slavery, helping out some real heroes, finding out some of the stuff of where he came from and who and all, and saving a city from being Planet of the Apes. What would his parents think of all this? Would they have been happy? About it? For him? So much he had learned, and so much more to learn.

With his back against a rock, his rear slightly sunk into wet sand, he toyed with a small rock in his hand before impulsively throwing it out to sea, watching it skip a few times before going plunk. Was that four times or three? Maybe he should come out here when it was daylight.

So...really happening now. He was going to really need to be serious about this and stick with it. Raven had been right all those months ago; if this team was important to him, he would have to do more than be a member of it, but to fight to keep it together. There were going to be plenty of bad guys trying to tear it apart, no doubt, but there was also them, the members of the team. And the League now that he thought about it. Man, there was so much going on.

So how could he do this better? Be a better teammate, a better fighter, a better Beast Boy?

How was he going to fight to keep this new family he had the dumb luck to fall into?

His ears twitched, and he frowned. Huh, that sounded like either a snap or a crunch. Did they have some wildlife here that the construction didn't scare away? Heh, not that he was going to be a threat or anything, but it was dark out. The city was a little too far away to scare a wild animal away.

Then he heard it again, and it was closer this time. Whatever was making the sound, it was heading his way. Now, he wasn't scared, why should he be? But...maybe it would be smart to, you know, maybe get a little height.

A hand pushed onto the muddy ground and he got back onto his feet. Focusing on his hearing, he waited for the next—there it was, to the right. Okay, he was turning, doing his best to be relaxed. Thanks to it being night out, it was dark, and the light from the tower was way too high up to be of much use here.

Hmm, was it possible for him to only shift his eyes and not have to go full shift? Some really good night vision was looking like it would be great here—hey, over there! Though the grass was not very thick, in fact they were very long and thin blades, they were the source of the noise, specifically a foot stepping on the plant.

He could barely make out the dark outline of a person, but he was sure it was human. That brought up a great question in that what was someone doing all the way out here? They weren't running so it didn't seem like there was any emergency.

Squinting his eyes, Garfield found that didn't help whatsoever. Guess he ought to try and make contact then. "Hey? Uh, you're a long way from the city, you know? Are you lost?"

By now, he was starting to make out clothing, though not color. Someone was a little overdressed and he had the impression that the duds were ratty. Used and dirty, kinda like what he was given from Blood and his flunkies. From there, there were other features, and soon the lighting from the city that now was at his back was coming to help his poor not appropriate for night vision.

Sure, the city lights were so far away, but light was light, you know.

Short hair, and legs that peeked out from holy jeans showed how thin they were, and hands were stuffed in coat pockets. The skin was light, but it was hard to see eyes right now. Was this a guy? A girl? Someone in between, because, you know, nowadays.

"Hey, Gar. Long time no see."

Green eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, or at least that's how it felt. Garfield felt his jaw fall open, his body feeling weak all of a sudden. He knew that voice, knew it from...from…

It had been so long…

And then, finally, he found the power to speak, though, only one word was able to make it out.

"Terra?"


Author's Note: And here it is, the last chapter for this story. Age of Shadowed Legacies is now at an end. So, what comes next? Well, we head back to Gotham for anew Batman story, currently called Fifth Mystery of the Minoans, and it will be posted on my, Anonymous Void, account. Can anybody take a guess at which Batman rogues to expect this time around?

On another note, there is another Teen Titans story being planned, but that's for later. With the loose ends left with this story, there's of course going to be another installment. I do have a question, and I hope a lot of you answer it. What other Teen Titans would you like to see? Any suggestions? Big names, little names? Again, still development at this point, but hey, here is you chance to make a contribution. Who knows? I might take it seriously. Thanks for reading and see you guys in the next story.