The sun had almost reached its zenith in the clear blue sky. It was a lovely day to spend one's time outdoors; citizens walking about their daily lives in realative peace and safety. Not a villain in sight. From his perch on a tree located on hill just outside the city limits, the superhero peered closer at the city's bay and its landmark structure built on the sole island in the middle it all. It was exactly how he had left it. Contrary to the cliche, he did not leave during a storm. Nor did he left at night and he was definitely not wounded or incapacitated in any way. He began to reminisce about the events that led to this moment.

Mento had contacted him the week after the Titans returned home from Tokyo. Forgoing the usual 'pleasantries', the older superhero surprised him by asking him gently if he wanted to return to Dayton Manor. The reason was to train him in advanced morphing skills as well as other skills necessary for a superhero to survive and excel in what has to be one of the most dangerous occupations ever. At first he refused, understandably suspicious of his adopted father's intentions. Indeed, they did not part under the best of circumstances. Now that was a cliché but such partings were what gave all those comic book writers their fodder after all.

It was Elasti-girl who managed to convince him. The suggestion to return to the Doom Patrol had been her idea. She mentioned that everyone in the superhero community were aware of what transpired in Tokyo including the Justice League. In all honesty, apprehending Daizo had been an impressive feat and it really gave the Titans the recognition that was long overdue from the wider superhero community. There was even talk of extending some form of nominal membership in the Justice League to the Titans to function as a sort of auxiliary force.

However, the reason why the Doom Patrol had asked him to come back was because of a more personal matter; the award ceremony honouring the Titans. Having also been a surrogate family to him as well as being responsible for his earliest training in harnessing his great potential, it caused Steve and Rita no small amount of grief to witness his treatment at the hands of his teammates specifically a certain purple-haired sorceress. While Elasti-girl did remark that he was acting like a jackass at that time, she did not think that the humiliation that he received from Raven was becoming of a teammate considering that they were in the public's eyes at the time. Ever the pragmatic and stoic leader, Mento agreed as he was still a member of the Doom Patrol as much as he is a Titan.

With the resources available to the Dayton Estate, it was easy for Mento to obtain the footage that captured the Titans in action. He came to the conclusion that while his adopted son is a likeable person as well as a dedicated and loyal teammate, he lacked a trainer's guidance which is necessary considering his rather short attention span. He had to admit that even though Robin had been dutiful in fulfilling his role as the leader, much of his son's progress in developing his abilities needed a more specialised touch. Rita was initially reluctant to agree with her husband. Nonetheless she eventually supported him. In addition, she was thrilled that it would allow her son to return home. Many things had been left unsaid amidst his departure from the Doom Patrol all those years ago. To be frank, everyone in the team had been affected. Even Steve who barricaded himself in his laboratory upon hearing news of his son leaving. It was Rita who found him weeping at his desk. It was a testament that Mento/Steve was many things but woe betide the fool who accuse him of never having any love for his son. Stern and unflinching he may be. Cruel even to an outsider's impression but only those close to him knew how much he loved and valued his family.

When it came to informing his team, the reactions from the rest of the Titans varied.

Starfire, of course, had been the most emotional. The Tamaranean was literally crying buckets and lamenting about something called 'rekmas' as she held him in a near-death grip. The princess from the stars was very sensitive when it came to relationships. She was very much upset at the slightest possible chance of the team breaking up, probably a result of her troubled relationship with her own sister and the fact that her home world of Tamaran is light-years away. It was only after he had promised to keep in regular contact that Starfire reluctantly loosened her hold on her teammate. Or the fact that the increasingly asphyxiated face became a critical point of concern.

Robin seemed to be on the other side spectrum. Since the capture of the Brotherhood of Evil, crime had been reduced to an all time low. This allowed the Titan leader to relax a bit and to be a bit more understanding in letting his teammate go. Still, his body language betrayed his surprise and sadness over the fact that a teammate was leaving the team albeit temporarily (he hoped). He of all people knew the feeling of leaving one team for another. Indeed none of the Titans ever recalled him mentioning anything related to his time in Gotham City. All he did was to give a reassurance that there will always be a home to come back to and that he will always be a Titan. The Boy Wonder would not even hear of taking back his communicator. "It's yours, Beast Boy," he had said with a smile. The two exchanged a bro fist before ignoring all pretenses to give each other a hug.

Cyborg threw a tantrum. Muttering softly to himself about crazy green elves who did not know what they were getting themselves into, he did not even want to acknowledge the person at first who is, in all aspects, his brother. Out of all the Titans, the two were the closest in spirit. They did everything together from fighting villains (and each other) to playing pranks (on each other). Just the thought of his green friend going off seemed like an anathema to him. He was the first person who accepted him as a person and not some half robot freak that he initially thought he was. Bantering, the two finally reconciled in the immature and corny way that only the both of them knew how; a round of Mega Monkeys Zombie Clash with the winner getting the mother of all noogies. Beast Boy left with a sore head.

Raven was predictably quiet. She always was but this time it was unsettling. It was as if she wanted to say more but was refraining herself. The sorceress had been pretty distant ever since Tokyo he had to admit. It was a stark difference from the ferocious giver of beatings which she portrayed herself to be. He even had some faint bruises leftover. Still, he was never one to hold a grudge especially against Raven. She was Raven. The mysterious one. There was something about her that drew him. Attracted him. Something intriguing. She was also really cute although he would never dare to tell her that lest he had to explain to Mento why his clothes are soaked in seawater. Maybe crushes would fade over time but for now, he would have been ecstatic if Raven would grace him with just a smile.

She didn't.

Beast Boy, or Changeling as he prefers to be known nowadays heaved a sigh. This was followed with a large grin which exposed his pearly whites sans the pseudo incisor which had been part of his trademark look before he left. The thought instinctively brought down Changeling's mood a few notches when he recollected the reasons why he left in the first place. It had not been the most positive of reasons. Pulling the straps of his haversack closer to his lean athletic frame, the young superhero took a deep breath and began to exercise his enhanced powers and concentrated them to his lower limbs. In an instant, he began to feel the changes as his appendages transformed to provide greater strength, speed and dexterity to make the last few kilometres to his final destination.

Titans Tower.

A/N: Hello everyone, after years of absence I thought I'd give fan fiction another try:) I hope to make this a relatively short story. I owe it to all of you readers to complete the ones I currently have. Until the next update!

-spartan585