Author's note:

Special thanks to:

CrazyPlotQueen;

Thank you for your reviews! It made me smile!

The Masked Man;

Thanks for the suggestion, I may just so that!

KaijuBoy455:

Thanks for the like, it made my night!

Now on to the story!

This takes place in the current Rebirth run.

Lies. It has been going on for months. I have been lying to the team, and to myself. I am the traitor, and I know it. I know the spiral tech can't call me out on it, because there was truth intermixed with it, but I am living a lie.

Worst of all, I had someone I truly cared for. Lilith Clay. How can tell her about all of this? She would think everything was a lie, but my feelings for her are not. They are the realest thing in my life. The first time I've had felt this since Syra's death, and I'm was terrified of losing it.

She deserves to know the truth, but at the cost of our happiness, was it worth it? Would she still love me, even if the love was based on a lie? This is the problem, I, Tempest of the Titans, face.

Garth… That's what everyone calls me. My namesake, not my birth name. Thinking back on how I acquired it, it did seem odd the relation I have to the name's previous owner, but I have agreed to uphold the mantle, and uphold it I did.

Garth had been one of the five of Orm's chosen protégés, I had been another. Syra was another, as was Tula, and Syan. Orm had hand selected us as his elite, the ones trained from birth to fulfil our destiny. Garth, Syan's and my were tied together. We were spies, infiltrators, and diplomats.

We were tasks with protecting Prince Arthur, and making sure if he was assassinated, those held responsible will pay.

For this task, we went through a mind melding, a sharing of identity. We physically shared memories, and feelings. We were connected, of one mind. This process was also used for wedlock, but we needed to see each other's thoughts, in case of torture, or death.

Us three became part of one another, which added awkwardness to Garth and I's relationship. Since before the melding, I knew Garth had a crush on Tula. That was obvious. But since Tula was my sister, I had mixed feelings about being sexually awkward around my sister due to Garth's hormones. I was sure Syan felt a similarly to how I felt around Syra, but that was beside the point.

The Melding happened, and Syan went to the surface. He was first to not only introduce himself to Arthur, but also be the first Aqualad.

The rest of us stayed home in Atlantis, going on the most awkward double dates in history, but those were some of my best memories.

Then, there was pain. Syan got kidnapped by Manta, tortured, and murdered. Both Garth and I had felt Syan's pain as we desperately tried to find him, but we were too late… we found Syra's body, gutted like a fish, and lying on a cold metal table.

We all cried, grieved and mourned. That had been the first of us five to fall, but not the last. Since Syra had just lost her brother, Garth volunteered to be Aqualad next, so I could stay with my girlfriend. Tula understood, and made him promise to write.

When Garth was up there, he dealt with a threat called the Antithesis. Then, he had met several others like him. For the first time after Syan's death, he felt Garth happy again.

Garth ended up joining the team. They called themselves, the Teen Titans, and they were a tight group. Garth was closest with two surfacers, one named Dove, and the other he referred to as Harper, Roy Harper.

They had been good for him, until one night, when a similar pain struck. Much too close to Syan's torture, I had felt my insides turn, as Garth screamed in pain. I didn't see what had caused it, but I knew it was hurting Garth.

It took me hours to find Garth, he was in a woods in Rhode Island. He was kneeling on the ground, breathless, staring at a dead body. Garth was covered in open wounds, and appearing bruising. When probing, I found someone wiped Garth's mind, clearing all history since Syan's death. Garth felt hollow, and just kept staring at the body.

Upon deeper inspection, I found the body was of a blond 17 year old, with blue eyes, and light skin. The boy was wearing a Blue button up shirt, and white pants. I recognized this as Dove, Donald Hall.

Garth was holding the dead warrior's ring, staring at it intently. I knew Garth had cared for this human deeply, so I transported the body to a grave of kings, before carrying Garth home.

Garth was looked at by psychiatrists, before they finally deduced he had been magically manipulated, then forcibly brainwashed. One name stood out among the rest as the culprit, Lilith Clay.

Tula and Syra were just barely able to keep me from finding the Clay Girl, claiming she may try the same thing on me. That was one lead I didn't pursue, and now, I was glad for it.

Garth was deemed incurable, and taken out of active service. I became Aqualad, but was ordered to keep a low profile about it. Since Garth had been the last in mantle, people just automatically called me that, and I didn't object, knowing that was the reason there was three of us.

Then, Politics started rising, and I was called home. I quit being Aqualad, and went to the Silent School with Syra, while Tula went to the Drift, and Garth was hidden in Scotland.

Then, the accident happened, and Syra died. That destroyed me. I left to become a bounty hunter, feeling no remorse or compassion. Those parts of me had died with the parts of my teammates.

It wasn't until Nereus took over the city with the Dead King that I returned. I was dragged back in chains, taken to a chamber. There, I found they had taken Garth out of Scotland, and brought back to the home country. The Dead King was obsessed, and demanded to know which of us Garth was.

It finally came out, after magic torture which ignited something within Garth. They scarred his face over his eye, leaving deep, painful, bleeding gashes.

Then, they threw me away from Garth, and into a cell of my own. That was the last time I saw Garth.

After months of silence, when Arthur finally came back, "Mera" led me out of my cell, and took me away to train in fighting with water as my weapon.

I became her bounty hunter, and returned with her to retake the throne from Arthur, who was leading the city to destruction. It was funny, how Arthur didn't even recognize me.

Going back to the city, I searched for any sign of Garth, but there was none, Garth had vanished with Nereus.

I reunited with Tula, then found "Mera" had been Hila, Mera's twin sister.

Then, I got a lead about Syan's organs. The ones still missing from his grave. They were being sold for profit. I interrupted the deal, killing the scum that had done that to my brother.

Upon returning to Atlantis, Tula told me Garth had given me his name as his last will and testament. Now, I was Garth.

Then, a woman, Lilith, started appearing in my mind. I was hostile at first, but then I met Grayson, and Troy, and Garth's memories started returning to me.

I remembered the night with the rest of them, and assumed the identity of Garth, the Tempest that night, knowing I would make my brother proud.

Now, it's been several months, and I haven't talked about my real name, or real identity. I feel like I should, but after the traitor thing had come up, and Nightwing showed he had made a horrible Lazarus contact, I'm wasn't sure I could trust anyone. Especially not myself.

I, Koryak of Atlantis, know what I have to do... but it was in no way going to be easy.