The Doom Patrol

As the sizzle and pop of frying tofu bacon filled his ears, Garfield Logan was more worried about filling his stomach than anything else. You know what they say, most important meal of the day and all that, he mused as his breakfast was being cooked. While his teammates assumed that he slept well into the afternoon, he, in fact, was up at the crack of dawn most days. He hit the training room, usually for about a half hour or so, to work on conditioning, both in human form and in a few animal forms each day. After the fitness sessions, he would shower, and then come back up to the kitchen, and make himself a breakfast that was usually comprised of tofu eggs and bacon, along with some sliced fruit.

As he took the bacon out of the pan, and placed it onto his now completed plate, he realized that today's workout hadn't really took it out of him. The last few hadn't, and he should make them a little more intense, he decided. He dug in heartily, and, as soon as he finished, placed the dirty dish- and cookware into the sink, rinsed them off, and put them back in their places. He made sure the kitchen was, at the very least, in no worse condition than when he had arrived, and went back to his room.

He opened his door, and went to his desk. As he turned, he caught himself in the mirror. Maybe I should update the look, not sure this one is working. He had kept the same black and purple jumpsuits he had worn since he was a child. I'm almost twenty, for God's sake, I don't want to look like a child, especially when these jumpsuits don't rightly fit me anymore. While his teammates gave him grief for being the slimmest of them, Gar had definitely grown, in height and muscle mass. While no-one would mistake him for Superman, green skin aside, he had gained a layer of muscle that, while not as impressive as Dick or Victor's, was definitely a marked improvement from his younger days. His sleeves, which once went to his wrists, now stopped right around the elbow, and his newly gained height caused the legs of the jumpsuit to look like Capri pants. Hardly an intimidating costume, something he wanted to change. Maybe later, when I "wake up" I can talk to Dick about using a little of the Titans funds to design a new suit, or, at the very least, tailor these ones. I look like I'm wearing a little kid's clothes!

After checking himself out for a bit longer, he sat down at his desk, and started to do some schoolwork. Hardly what he wanted to do, especially on such a nice day, but, Mento couldn't let his son, the heir to Dayton Industries, assume ownership without knowing how to count his own money. Since superhero work wasn't exactly conducive to a regular student's schedule, he was forced to go to school online. He had already gotten the equivalent of a high school diploma, and was working on his bachelors. Luckily for him, UC-Jump City offered a fully online Bachelors of Science in Zoology degree. Well, they offered it to him, at least. One of the perks of being a Titan was that, something small like letting him attend school, on his terms, was something that was more than happily obliged. He continued to go through the lesson he had opened: snakes. Even though he already knew plenty about them, he skimmed through the lesson for some of the technical terms to remember.

He thought it rather ironic that he, who would have the highest level of education, was often considered the space cadet of the team. Sure, he wasn't always serious and scheming, like Dick or with a book stuck to his nose, like Raven, but he was hardly the idiot that she referred to him as. He had been doing well in the program, on pace to graduate by the new year. Would I get my diploma online too? Maybe the graduation ceremony would be with SuperVid. Who knows? As long as he was getting the work done, who cared? He would have a degree, and be a hero. All was right with the world.

Once he finished the work that he had determined to finish today, he checked his ChatMan account. Since it was linked to his private email, rather than his public one, there weren't mounds and mounds of messages and chat requests from his fans. He glanced through his contacts: nothing from anyone from Titans East, Jericho had sent him something about some goats he saw, Kid Flash had sent him a meme about cheetahs, nothing too out of the ordinary. As he went to close the window, however, he noticed something. A new message, and it looked like a group chat between the four titans he lived with. Strange, why wasn't he in it? He opened it. He saw Nightwing say something about new young heroes, needing a place to go, and the tower needing some fresh blood. Starfire had said that a new friend would be "glorious", and that she approved wholeheartedly. Cyborg said that, while there were new heroes out there, there were plenty of opportunities for them elsewhere. Raven pointed out that change wasn't always a good thing. Nightwing responded that there would be a meeting in a few minutes.

Gar got up, left his room, and went out to the common room, saying, "Couldn't wait for me, huh?", startling three of his four teammates. Cyborg and Starfire turned and jumped. Nightwing, who was deep in speech, hadn't noticed him come in, looked dismayed. Only Raven, whose back was turned to him, didn't react. "What's the deal, guys?" Garfield demanded.

Starfire immediately responded, "Oh, friend, I am most confused, why would you be at this meeting? It is about*"

"Don't tell him, Kori, it's better we discuss it without him." Nightwing interrupted.

"Yeah, nothing personal B, but this conversation isn't for your ears just yet." Cyborg added.

"What do you want me to do then?" Beast Boy responded.

"Oh, I don't know, go read a book, train, do anything but be here." Raven responded tartly.

"Uh, okay. See you later, dudes!" Beastboy replied. Harsh, she didn't have to be so mean. I mean, I know I'm not her favorite, but jeez. He skulked up to the roof. Since I've had my fill of training and reading today, I think I'm gonna go on a flight. He got a running start, then, as he jumped off the edge of the roof, quickly transforming into a pelican and being on his merry way.

Meanwhile…

Nightwing looks out the window, and sees a green bird fly off into the distance. "Alright, he's gone. So, let's talk about this, as adults." He looks around, "Anyone have anything to say?"

"Yeah man. I don't get why Garr can't be here for this. He's just as much a part of the team as we are. He lives here too." Victor immediately replied.

"As much as Garfield might annoy me, he does have every right to be here. I'm not sure just how well he would be able to handle the news, but, he has a right to know." Raved stated with a little guilt, which she assumed her friends didn't catch.

"I know, he's our teammate. I know how hard it would be to break it to him. I had to break it to all of you. It's not easy to deal with having to leave here. I've been here for so long. Believe me, I know the feeling. It hasn't been easier for me either. I'm not sure how to break it to him. I mean, Kori and I were thinking about going to Bludhaven or New York, and you guys have invites to the Justice League. What does he have? I'm not sure if him and Mento are still on good terms, to where he could go back to the Doom Patrol. Either way, Batman and Superman want us out of here, so that these Young Justice kids can come in. I would tell him heh can stay, but, I'm not sure he would want to, or that they would want him here." Dick felt terrible. He really did wish things could work out for Gar. He knew that Gar had a lot of abandonment issues, and that saying Hey, sorry to drop this on you, but we're all scattering and leaving you behind would just pile onto them. He knew that going back after you leave was hard. That's why he had such a hard time going back to Bruce. Sure, things were good now, but that was after years of awkward calls and visits, as well as the conflict over just how much autonomy he really had. He really didn't want Gar to go through all that at this point.

"Boyfriend Richard, why don't we bring friend Garfield with us? He could certainly aid us in the crime fighting. It would also be nice to have another friend with us when we journey to the Bludhaven." Starfire asked.

"Kori, I don't want to just lump Gar in with us. We've all decided what to do, he has every right to too." Dick replied.

"Then why don't you tell him, so he can make arrangements for himself? At this point, I'm about to call the Martian Manhunter or Batman myself, and ask them if Gar can come with me." Raven tersely replied.

"Ooh, Raven, didn't know you liked the little green bean like that!" Cyborg bellowed.

Raven's face couldn't have been redder, as she replied, "No! That's not it! You just shouldn't hamstring him like that. If you want him to make a choice, give him time and options." How did Cyborg know? She thought she hid her affections for the green Titan very well. She had figured that none of her friends had noticed.

"Anyway," Cyborg replied, "Beast Boy's flying in now, so, when should we break it to him?"

"Later, Vic. I need to make a few phone calls, see what's out there for him. Don't anybody tell him." Dick stated. "Titans, you're free to go."

In the Air

That was relaxing. I made it up the coast a little farther than I expected, but, that was fun. I need to go out and fly more often. Garfield landed in his room, thankful he left the window open. His computer was still on, and his communicator was blinking. He checked the communicator; it was Herald, what could he want?

'Gar,

Hope everything's going well. Heard about your loss, you have mine and Karen's condolences. If you need anything, give me a buzz.

-Mal'

What's he talking about? What loss? This is weird. He sat down at his desk, ChatMan still open. There was one message, marked urgent, from his mother, Rita.

'Garfield,

I'm sorry I couldn't get a hold of you with better news, however, you need to know. When we were on our most recent mission, in the Balkans, the Doom Patrol fell into a trap. The Brain had us all captured, and Steve, my wonderful, amazing, Steve, broke us free. In the escape, however, he…he… he died, Garfield. We managed to make it back to Midway, but, we lost him. Please come home, Garfield. I need my son, especially with my husband gone. Remember that I, we, love you.

- Rita'

"Gah! No-No-No-No-No!" Garfield, one used to his loved ones leaving, was definitely in pain. He just wanted it all to go away, for everything to be better. Sure, he didn't always get along with Steve, but, he was practically a father to him. Steve took him in, adopted him, made him into a superhero. He shuddered to think just how different things would have been had he never met Steve and Rita. He needed to be with them. He quickly jotted down a note and left it on his desk, and headed right back out the window, back to Rita and Midway City.