Hey guys. Let me just say right now that this is going to be what I'm going to call my first time experience with writing a story the correct way. In other words, I already have the whole thing outlined for once. So I won't have as big a headache when I try to write it out from my brain.

Also, because of the outline, expect shorter chapters than normal. Since I now know how much of a scene I'm going to write. And it's not going to be a combination of many scenes all in one chapter like before.

Otherwise, enjoy!


Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. (Disclaimer the same throughout)


Just Thinking: Chapter One: Where Our Story Begins


We start our story on the outskirts of a humongous glowing city on the California West Coast, known simply as Jump City. A place where the people were sort of nice. Where common criminals were now too afraid to show their faces in fear of being caught. But was for the most part unchanged over the years that had passed. The Teen Titans still operated out of the T-Shaped Tower on an island in the middle of the bay. They still took down the random super villain, or villain wannabes. Seeing as Control Freak still hadn't made it onto the list of villains they really had to worry about. And each time, they still celebrated at the same pizzeria. Although the group was mostly different from before.

But that is what's inside the city. What they're doing isn't important at the moment.

Where we're going is on the outskirts of the city limits. Where the forest still covered most of the ground. From the hills several miles inland, up to within a few hundred feet of the three hundred foot clifftops. Overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. If you had looked to the left from there, you actually would have seen the T-Shaped Tower in the distance. Standing tall and proud.

About two hundred feet away from this clifftop. In an area where the forest had been cleared away for several hundred feet around. Rested a small, ordinary looking house.

It was two stories tall. With a small basement down in the ground beneath it. The house was painted a clear white. Shouting out ordinary to the world around it. The roof above the second floor was triangle shaped. Making enough room for a small attic to be up there. Sticking out of the roof was a brick chimney. The house also had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. Two of the bedrooms, a bathroom, the kitchen, and living room were on the first floor. The other two bedrooms and bathrooms were on the second floor. With the upstairs bedrooms having bigger closets than the ones downstairs. Not to mention better looking bathrooms.

Down in the basement, behind what would have been a pile of boxes. There was a small hidden tunnel. It's end point being about halfway up the clifftop. It's purpose wouldn't really make much sense to anyone who might have found it in the house. Or to anyone passing by in a boat underneath the clifftop. As it'd look just like a small cave in the rock to them.

The house itself had a plain white fence surrounding the property. Giving about one hundred feet of room on all sides. There was two giant birch trees located on both sides of the house. About fifty feet from the fenceline, and forty feet apart from each other. All four of which looked to be perfect for climbing.

Around the house itself was a perimeter of bushes. All of which were neatly trimmed to about three feet in height. Growing up to about three feet from the house. Before a line of bricks in the ground marked where the bushes couldn't grow past. From there, fresh mown grass appeared in every direction. Going out from the line of bricks that kept the bushes. All the way to the fence posts about ninety-seven feet out.

On the house, there was ten windows in total. Two located on each side of the house on the first floor. Evenly spaced out. All of which had the blinds shuttered to keep people from seeing inside.

The last two weren't exactly windows as they were more like glass doorways on the second floor. Both of which led out to an overhanging balcony that jutted about fifteen feet out over the backyard. There was two nice looking chairs in the middle of the balcony. Both of them being side by side, facing the ocean water.

Due to the location of the house, and it's proximity away from other houses. Passerby were a rare occurance on the gravel road that winded past it. With more people seeing it from a boat, even though it was harder to see from the ocean surface.

Those few passerby that would find this from either the road, or a boat on the ocean, would think it looked quite ordinary. That the location it was in was pretty good. That it might make for a nice place to settle down. To raise a family and whatever. Or to just use as a vacation home if they were to own it.

But to them, the house was just like it's appearance made it for them. Ordinary, just like themselves. There to simply exist, to be owned. To be used in whatever way the people who purchased it saw fit to do.

Those few that saw it never gave it, nor its occupants if they were to see them, a second glance. As an ordinary house with seemingly ordinary people is simply that. Ordinary. Barely worth a footnote in the thought processes of their minds.

So the passerby always did what they did. Pass by the house. To most likely forget they even saw it within ten minutes. As they passed another house just like it. And repeat the process all over again.

They'd go on without a clue in the world as to who could have lived there. Or what they might do for a living. Their curiosity not even interested in the outer appearance of the house.

But some things, as we learn, should never be based on appearances.


The time is currently 3:00 in the morning.

Normally, you'd think that anyone (besides honeymooners) would be asleep by this point. Snoozing away in the comfort of their pillow to some dream. Whether it be dancing with your crush, or being the superhero in your home town. In most cases, you'd still most likely be asleep. Even those studying for finals in college usually keel over on their books about this time. No matter how much coffee they were to drink.

So if you were to guess if everyone in a certain house you passed was asleep at about this time. Unless they were newlyweds, you'd most likely be right.

In this case however, you'd be wrong. As there is another thing that is the dread of every new parent as most come to learn.

From inside the house, a baby's crying could be heard. The cries were loud in volume. Echoing out through the walls into the forest a few hundred feet away. The sound making a bird that had been sleeping in it's nest in one of the great birch trees fly away to get away from the loud noise. As it flew somewhere else to catch it's sleep.

Said baby was currently being rocked by a medium sized man. Who was trying desperately to get his daughter to quiet down.

The man was at a modest height of 5'8". Slightly below the average American height of 5'10". But not really enough where he'd be considered short by most people.

He was stringy, but in the good kind of way. As he had some muscle showing on his bare arms and legs, but not to much as to make him look like a bodybuilder. Nor too little to make him look like a walking stick figure. Rather, he had enough to make him look like the average 24 year-old adult. Who tried to stay fit as he approached his prime, without going overboard on staying fit.

The man had huge bags under his eyes. Indicating his lack of sleep pretty clearly to anyone who would look at his face. His slightly bloodshot eyes were also a pretty good indicator to his lack of sleep. But thus is the curse of having to take care of a newborn.

Still, despite his obvious lack of sleep, his green irises shown with a radiance of happiness. Clearly showing he didn't mind about his lack of sleep all that much. Neither did his great smile, that stretched across his face indicate anything but love for the newborn who was bawling in his arms.

Maybe he had gone insane in the past month from lack of sleep. Or maybe it was because he had been abducted by aliens. Which, knowing his old line of work, could have happened to him before. Without him really knowing about it.

Whatever the reason though, it didn't seem to matter to him. As he gently rocked his rather palish daughter in his arms. That big smile of his still covering his face. As he tried to rock his little girl back to sleep. Whispering quietly to her words of comfort and love.

After a few minutes, the small baby's cries quieted down. Sounding like mere sniffles instead as she grew more tired. Exhaustion starting to take it's toll slowly, but steadily on her.

After a couple more minutes, she was sound asleep in her father's arms. Nuzzling up into his chest as she fell into a deep sleep. Feeling quite content to be so close to someone who gave her such a good reading inside her small and growing mind.

Her father held her to his chest for a couple minutes more. Enjoying the feel of this small warm bundle of life that laid so peacefully in his arms.

As he gently continued to rock her, he started to hum an African lullaby. One he had learned way back when while he was little from his parents. Parents whom he hadn't seen in years. Ever since the boating accident had taken them from him.

Finally, after he had held his sleeping daughter for ten minutes more. The African lullaby he had hummed to her completed long before that. He placed his little girl back into her crib. Conveniently placed beside him and his wife's king sized bed.

He gently tucked a small, purple blanket that matched the small bit of hair on head around her small body. Making sure that she'd stay warm through the night. Or at least, until she woke up and started screaming for her parents again. That seemed to happen at least three times a night now. Better than the six or seven that had happened in the first week at least.

The man took one last look at his child, and then kissed her on her little forehead. "Sleep well, my little Arella." he whispered softly to her. Even though she was still asleep, a small familiar smile appeared on her face. One that seemed oddly familiar to that of his wife when she was in a good mood.

As he walked away from his girl, a shaft of moonlight fell over her sleeping face from the window. Illuminating her pale skin that had a mysterious greenish tone to it for but a moment. Before the moon disappeared behind a cloud again. And she and the crib disappeared back into the darkness of the room.

The man, despite the fact that he was dead tired, still didn't feel like he could fall asleep just yet. So he quietly walked over to the two glass doors of their room. He gently slid one open. Taking great care to not wake his sleeping bundle of joy. And his not so joyful yet sleeping wife. Who was still recovering from giving birth to their child from a month ago.

Two weeks ago when she had complained that she was still suffering from pain in that area. He had asked her why she didn't simply just enter a healing trance to heal herself. Seeing as she had her powers back after the birth. He had received the mother of all death glares from her after saying that. And he hadn't tried to ask her about it ever since then. As he really hated it when his wife leveled a glare of that level at him. So like any wise man, he reined in his curiosity. Killed it with a shovel. And buried it in the backyard.

He gently slid the door closed behind him. Taking great care to not make a sound.

He walked to the edge of the balcony. Where a nice intricate red oak fence design rose for about five feet out of the floor. Keeping people from walking over the edge to have a painful fall onto the grass below.

He leaned on this fence. Simply deciding that the view of the Pacific Ocean would help to clear his mind.

He enjoyed the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks down far below. Over, and over, and over again. The sound of it lulling to his senses.

A shaft of moonlight appeared again from behind the clouds. Deciding to land on him for a brief moment. Making his features more distinct to the casual observer.

His green skin shined like a thousand small glittering stars. The fang poking out of his mouth now clearly visible. As well as the elfish pointy ears that rested underneath a thinning head of green hair on both sides. Something that his wife had joked to him more than several times. Saying it looked like their friend's view of the future from long before was coming true for him after all. That he'd one day grow bald. Although he'd go to hell first before he allowed himself to get a fat belly.

He let out a small sigh as the shaft of moonlight disappeared again in the clouds up above. Shrouding most of his features in darkness now. Although the brief showing clearly proved that he wasn't some ordinary person.

He stayed fixated on the ocean in front of him. Making out the dark blue of the surface out in the darkness with his excellent night time vision. And enjoying it when a shaft of moonlight pierced through the clouds again now and then. Making the ocean surface to almost appear as a pure white color. Making it look at times as if angels from up above were dancing on it's surface. Or maybe that was just the exhaustion getting to his brain.

Still, the whiteness of it, couldn't get his mind to stop thinking about a certain somebody. As white seemed to be her new favorite color. According to the apparel she now wore.

He let out another sigh, this one a little happier than the last. As he started to think about his wife again.

Who would have known. That he, the man who had been the immature jokester for so long. Who never appeared to take things as seriously as everyone else, including her. Who had played countless pranks on her. And annoyed the hell out of her to no end. Could have been the lucky one who had broken through her emotional barriers. That got inside that shell of hers. Who pulled her out to experience the real world of emotions as much as him. Who he was now married to. And had fulfilled his lifelong wish of having a real family of his own.

As he thought about his wife, he couldn't help it when his mind wandered. Going back in time in his mind's eye. Back to the time of his old life in the city.

Back to the time when he hadn't been known as Garfield Logan to those who knew him. When he hadn't worn a holo-ring whenever he was in public to hide his real identity. Back in time before everything that had caused him to be where he was today.

Back in time, to when he had been known as Beast Boy. Teen Titan extraordinaire. One of the five saviors of the city.

Back to the time where his life had been changed forever. And that my friends, is where our true story begins.


Author's Notes:

Okay, like I said, shorter chapters. I'm hoping that people will like it more since it's basically smaller than my other stories. I don't know if this also means I'll be able to update this quicker than my others. It all depends on what I feel like working on.

Review! Favorite! Follow! The three most important thing an author like me likes!

Till Next Time

Allen