Summary: A drabble series of various Titans and villans having a chance meeting with one ordinary citizen and learning what it really means to be a hero.

Drabble One: Train Ride

"Crud! Nertz! Drat!"

Gizmo was throwing a small tantrum in the middle of Kick City Park. After a small mission from the H.I.V.E regarding the theft of a high tech microchip, it had once again been thwarted by the Teen Titans. In the confusion of battle, Gizmo had been seperated from his team, who were quick to flee. Now he was lost in another city with a broken harness, no microchip, no money, and therefore no way to get back to Jump City. So he vented the only way he knew how; like a spoiled little kid.

Finally he flumped exhausted onto a park bench and snuggled into his coat. At least he was warm enough...

"Isn't it a little late for kids to be out in the cold?"

Gizmo jerked up and saw a someone standing across from the bench. A older teen, she had flat, dull black hair, tired eyes, and was a good deal taller. Her clothes were simple, browns and maroons, radiating heat from the icy road. Gizmo sneered. In all sense, she looked so boring and ordinary, even with a broken harness she was a wimp.

"None of ya business lady!"

"You're lost aren't you?"

Gizmo was taken aback. How'd she guess?

"I told you its none of your business! So buzz off!" She shrugged in reply.

"Fine. But the next train to Jump City in in ten minutes and I'm only five minutes from the station." And she started walking off. Gizmo was getting fidgety. First she knew about him being lost, and now this? It was too coincedental. Maybe she was a Titan in disguise...didn't that Raven girl have black hair? He continued fidgeting. She was still in sight. And if she knew her wasy around, and was going to the station...

"Crud!" he cursed finally, before dashing full speed to her side. She never complained as he caught up, panting and shivering in the cold. She merely scooped up his hand and kept walking. Embarassed, he tried pulling feebly away, before giving up and shoving his other hand in his pocket, letting his other be held in the warm, gloved hand of the lady. He kept his head down and blushed, afraid to be seen by anyone, Titan, fellow H.I.V.E student, or regular joe. It was a warm, but odd feeling, having someone pull him along gently, like a little duck falling behind his mother. She pulled out a wallet as they descended down the stairs to the train station, pulling out an ID and some bills. He peeked at the ID. Myra Tucker; 19, Programmer for Jones Inc. Completely ordinary.

"One adult and one child ticket please," she instructed the ticketmaster, as if she'd done it all her life. As they pulled away, he muttered.

"I'm no kid lady!"

"You wanted to go home right?"

Embarassed at his lack of words, he pulled his head back down bashfully. This was so irregular. Some traveling lady just picks him up and acts like his freaking mother, when he hadn't...not for years at least...been familiar with being a son. Like in the park. She knew everything at a glance, but let him come, like a mom pretending to leave a child somewhere, only to have them come running behind them in realization that they're being left behind. And at the ticket station. She hadn't scolded him, but reminded with only a small lace of discipline. It was so weird.

They took a seat, him being tucked by the window. He protested to her picking him up and buckling him in, and fumbled around in humiliation as he did it himself. She packed up a duffel bag in an overhead compartment as an old couple chuckled at the fuming Gizmo.

"What a sweet little brother she has," the old wife complimented.

Gizmo boiled up and was about to retort she was a senile old cronie who didn't know what she was talking about, but simply huffed in annoyance. Myra said nothing once more, but a small twitch at her upper lip showed slightly. She pulled off a thick woolen jacket and set it in her seat.

"I'll be back, watch my coat okay?"

Gizmo mumbled something incoherent which Myra took as a 'yes' before walking off. Gizmo looked forlornly out the window. The train was moving now, and snow had begun to fall lightly outside. The scenery quickly began to change, from neon lights and cold concrete, to frosted fields under a dark, snowy sky. Gizmo was tired, physically and emotionally. First he gets his butt kicked by the Titans again, then he ends up getting lost, and now he's being coddled by a complete stranger. A Monday at H.I.V.E Academy was nothing like this...

Myra was quick to returning, holding two steaming cups. She held one out to Gizmo.

"If you don't drink something warm, you'll catch cold so I bought some hot chocolate at the dining car. I hope you like marshmallows."

He snatched it warily from her hands, sniffed at it, before tenatively taking a sip. It was hot, and singed his tongue, but it was sweet and had a quality that warmed him up inside. Myra was reading a newspaper and sipping at a coffee, looking boredly at the front headlines. Gizmo's chest tightened at the bold title: TEEN TITANS WIN AGAIN. Followed was an ovation of how the Titans managed to thwart even more criminals. Luckily, that night's headlines couldn't have been out yet. He couldn't help but be horrified at what Myra would do to him if she found out he was a villain. Somehow it was scary compared to what he'd been through in the past. It definitely would've hurt more...

The warmth of the drink buzzed through his brain hazily, as he suppressed a yawn. Myra peeked from behind the newspaper to see Gizmo steadily falling asleep. As his eyes began to shut, losing the fight against the drowsiness, a soft weight pressed him gently in the seat, and he felt coocooned somehow. Something tucked him in gently in an upright seat as he drifted away to dreamland. Myra simply smiled and patted his head lightly. It would be a few hours yet before they reached Jump City, and he needed rest after his busy day...

As he fuzzily began to wake, a soft light seemed to glow above him. He was coocooned in something warm and firm, like a spacey hug. He felt fleece tickle his nose as he opened his eyes slowly and yawned. He was tightly wrapped in a jacket, underlined with soft fleece and covered with rough, warm leather. It had an overall smell of pears and a sweet kind of sweat, worn out as the armholes curled and whisped in response to extra use. He was leaning against Myra, who had flickered on an overhead light and was reading the newspaper. He pulled away, body protesting from extraction from comfort. He grumbled slightly at the embarassing situation.

"How much longer is this gonna take?" he whined. Myra flicked his forehead, as if scolding a, well, a whining boy.

"We're here, but we need to wait for our car to be called for exit, and theres four other cars to go." she chided lightly, not taking her eyes off the paper. Gizmo grumbled some more before leaning back with a pout. It would be midnight soon, and he needed to get back to the base before Brother Blood...He shivered. He didn't even want to contemplate the horrors he would be faced with on his return. If it wasn't copying the Twenty Laws of Evil it would most definitely be make-up training. Either one was unimaginable and Gizmo very much would like nothing more than to stay on this warm train forever.

It took the gentle tug of Myra's hand on his to get him moving. They walked quietly along with the mixed and scattered group of people taking the late train. As they ascended the stairs and walked out the door of the station, Gizmo's insides twisted. It was terrifying; he had only discovered this odd comfort and now he he would be leaving it. Myra had led him through to the station, and without realizing it, he was leading them away. His own small hand was pulling her along, silently asking for comfort and protection until he returned to the Academy. About three blocks away from the H.I.V.E, he stopped and gradually let go of Myra's worn, gloved hand. She looked gently upon him as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"My home isn't too far off now....so...bye I guess..." he muttered. Myra kept looking at him as Gizmo looked down abashed at the ground. Of all the cliche' things to happen! It would so much easier if she just left...

Until a soft pressure on his forehead snapped his eyes open.

A small, sweet kiss on Gizmo's forehead made him feel even warmer and fuzzier than the hot chocolate and jacket on the train had combined. Myra knelt down to Gizmo's level and gave a rare smile, giving a motherly, tender stroke to his head.

"Gizmo...." he had to bite back a gasp at the realization, "Always know that there is always two sides to a person. It all depends on which side they choose to grow on. If you grow to be an honest person, you'll have a good honest future. If you don't then you'll find some of your branches to be twisted." she gave a soft, rare smile, "You're still just a little seed, so you can choose which way you want to grow."

Standing back up, still smiling, she turned slowly away and walked back down the street, catching snowflakes in her hair, crunching snow on the ground. Gizmo watched until she walked out of sight. His mouth gave a funny jerk at an attempt to smile before running down to the Academy.

She may have been out of sight, but she was never out of mind.