Hello again, finally got a chappie review (on the first chappie too! Last long story took me 5 chappies!)

Before you ask, I'm writing Beast Boy in this story as more than just a pranskter. Its already a well-established idea that most of Beast Boy's personality could be an act, designed to throw people off from asking about his past and fears. With Robin tossing him off, imagine that the Prankster "Beast Boy" is gone, now revealing only "Garfield Logan". When you've been around the world as much as Gar, you wouldn't be a total moron, you'd have an idea what to do. You don't survive on the Doom Patrol by being clueless.

Disclaimer: None of the characters, locations involved in the story are property of Erick von Long, only the idea. Scarecrow and Teen Titans belong to DC Comics and Animated Series belong to Cartoon Network and the WB. Don't sue me, I'm broke as is.

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The Watchman

Time Since Garfield Logan's Departure: 60 Minutes

Even after the biggest breakup in his life, Garfield Logan seems (on the outside) to be taking things in stride. Walking along one of Jump City's main avenues, chest puffed out proudly, he seems oblivious to the stares given to him by people passing by. Little children smile and point out his name while adults are surprised to see him in normal attire.

"Wow, what a nice day.." he happily muses to himself, staring up at the buildings reflecting sunlight across the streets and onto the people. "Hard to believe only a few hours ago I was chasing down some girl..."

Terra. It had to be her! Records could be forged, just like at Dick Grayson back in Gotham City!

No time for thoughts like that, Gar has a different problem on his hands.

"Where do I crash for the night?" Looking around, he notices he's in the mass of people heading from work and most likely home. For him though, he needs a "home" or he'll be making a local bench home.

A slight shiver "I am NOT bench-hopping tonight!" The statement surprises an elderly couple, Logan recovering quickly with an apologetic smile.

"Well, I'm lucky about one thing.." Slipping out a Jump City Regional Bank card, he smiles "At least I saved enough to get me through the week..."

Of course, as quickly as he says it, a thief runs past and swipes the card from his hands.

"YO!!" Gar yells as the man in black hauls ass away. "Oh fuck this, I ain't putting up with this shit today!"

Transforming into a cheetah, bag on his shoulder, he bolts off down the street after the offender. People duck out of the way at the sight of the jungle cat, giving him a wide berth. The man paces ahead, looking back once or twice between strides.

"What the hell?!" the thief cries out before turning down an alleyway, Garfield in pursuit.

"Give me my card back!" Logan asks now, back to normal form.

"Fine, take your little card!" the thief yells back, tossing the debit card at the ex-Titan.

"Good idea." He turns his back to the man and starts walking away.

Suddenly, he is thrown to his knees as a trash can hits the back of his neck. Waves of pain course through his body as the can comes down for two more blows.

"Stupid kid! You shouldn't turn your back on someone! Bad move!" the thief proudly taunts, happy to have gotten the jump on a Titan. He delivers a few more shots that Gar tries to block before laughing out loud. "Don't tell me all of you Titans are THIS easy?!"

A pounding roar echoes through the alley as Garfield punches the can away from the man's grip. Standing proud, tall, and just a few inches shorter than the man, he delivers a swift punch across the man's jaw.

"Oww! Damn, for a scrawny kid, you pack a punch!" the offender complains, holding his jaw. By the end of the day, he'll be lucky to have that.

"Titan? I'm not a Titan anymore, thanks to people like YOU!" Garfield places emphasis with "you" with a swift punch into the abdomen. The shot, fueled by adrenaline, throws the man back into the side brick wall. "You fucking low-life piece of shit!" He backhands the man, playing with his prey. "Of COURSE I'm stronger than I look! I'm A LOT MORE THAN WHAT I LOOK! FOR EXAMPLE..."

Now the thief is thrown face first across the alley into two trash cans and an empty pallet. Beast Boy, shirt slightly ripped on his back and eyes burning wildly with excitement, stands over the man with his hands folded behind his back.

Coughing a bit, the thief looks up "I thought you were a good guy, Beast Boy? Take me to jail already!"

Pausing a second, Garfield considers the situation. "You know.." he begins "I never liked the name "Beast Boy". It sounds like a goddamn child!" He curses the man with a swift kick to the ribs. "I never liked having to take people to jail when I know they'll just be out again in a DAY!" another kick to the ribs. "And I HATE having to play by the rules!" Garfield lifts the man up and throws him into the side of a dumpster.

A spit of blood drips from the thief's mouth. "You think you're tough, kid?" the thief asks honestly. "What do you know? You spent all that time up in your precious Tower, you don't know what it's like down here! I'm just trying to make a living!" He's silenced by a punch across the face.

"Make a LIVING?! BY STEALING OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF?" Lifting him up again, Gar looks him square in the eyes "How about we take a little walk up that fire escape and see first hand just how HARD it is living in this city?"

A bored laugh exits the man's lips "You won't, goody two-shoes! I know your type, the whole "never-kill" type because you'd get all angsty and blubbery and.."

His statement is cut off as an enraged Garfield Logan throws him head first into the brick wall. Although not killing him, the blow is enough to knock the man unconscious.

"Hey! What's going on here!" a patrol officer asks, looking down the alleyway with a flashlight. Before he can spot Beast Boy however, the green Titan grabs his bag, turns into an eagle, and flies off into the night. As he looks down, he notices the policeman helping up the criminal. A shriek, possibly one of animal annoyance, is heard from the bird as it ascends into the sky.

Minutes later, his keen eyes spot a local hotel down the street from his altercation. Landing behind the building as not to attract attention, he quickly shifts back into a human form.

"Oh, just great.." he mutters as he's covered in dirt and scratches from the brief fight. "And I actually LIKED this shirt too!" Swinging the bag back around his shoulder, he walks out of the background and towards the front entrance.

Inside, the tan and black marble floor reflects peaceful beige lighting from above, contrasting the polished tan walls. Candles light the entranceway, surprising Garfield in a pleasant way.

"Hello, may I help you?" a cheerful, red-haired woman inquires from the service desk. She's not that much older than him, maybe in her early twenties. Despite his green pigment, its obvious the woman is a resident of Jump City if she hadn't jumped back in surprise of his skin color.

"I'm having a really sh... bad day. I need a room for the next four days, no smoking, and with a fridge." Garfield tries to sound important but can't help but squeak out the fridge part.

"First time staying at a hotel?" she asks, tiny smile on her face.

"Yeah, wish it was for a different reason, but no time like the present." He answers, fishing for his wallet.

"I hear that. You have your ID and Credit Card Mr.?"

"Logan, Garfield Logan." he answers, slipping her the two plastic cards.

Her humor turns to surprise "You wouldn't happen to be..?"

"Formerly, now I'm just a regular person. Long story, rather not get into it." The last thing he wants is some cheery clerk getting snoopy into his private affairs.

"Sorry to hear that. Everything's cleared to go now, payment's been taken out of your account as well. Hope you enjoy your stay Mr. Logan."

A small wink on her part doesn't go unnoticed by him as he picks his cards up again "Maybe I will."

Bag in his hand now, giving his tired shoulder a break, he walks for the elevator. "Nice of them to give me a bay view..." he sarcastically whispers.

"Finally.." Garfield laments, tossing his bag onto the admittedly larger-than-expected bed. "Probably didn't need to carry THAT much."

Before he does anything else though, he looks around to make sure no one's watching. "Hey, gotta have fun SOMETIME." A broad smile passes his lips before he kicks his shoes off, looks at the bed, then runs into a flip onto the cushions. "Hehe.. May hate being a kid sometimes but it's fun all the same."

A quick flashback shines in his mind of him and Cyborg doing the same the first time their giant, red sofa was delivered to the Tower. Of course, that time Cyborg nearly broke the couch but they enjoyed themselves all the same.

"I'm gonna miss that." he sorrowfully reminds himself. \

For the first time since leaving, he finds himself in pure silence, staring at the ceiling looking back at him. From the corners of his eyes, he can feel the beginnings of tears starting.

"Not this again..." he tries to whisk them away but finds more coming. "I didn't have a choice.... my friends..." The words fall on deaf ears, or eyes in this case, as more start pouring out.

"Well, if you have to cry over this," he tells himself finally "then lets just get it out of the way now so we don't do it later, ok?" Seemingly satisfied with this compromise, he finally lets the floodgates open. For the first time since Terra's betrayal, the hot drops of water flow freely from his green eyes. "Listen to me, I sound like Raven!" he curses himself as he cried. "Why don't I just start calling these tears "pointless" while I'm at it?"

Tears coming to an end, he finally props himself up in order to look out of the window. Sure enough, Titans Tower stands proudly in the distance, almost obscured by a business building to his right. Lights burning bright amidst the sunset, the "T" looks like a beacon for all of the city to follow through dark times... all except one person at the moment.

"That man didn't fear me..." Gar remarks to himself, looking at the Tower. "After years being with the Titans, he didn't fear me. He thought I was just a sidekick." His puffy eyes start becoming more focused, more cold as he stares at the tower. "And why should he? Hell, Robin's the sidekick of Batman, no matter what he tries to tell himself. Starfire could set him on fire or throw him halfway across the city, Cyborg could crush his bones without any effort... and Raven's a walking, demon version of Scarecrow all over again*. Then there's me, "Beast Boy", the jokester, the immature one, the funny guy, the one who always needs help, the one without a brain..."

He sighs, putting a hand up to the glass window.

"Why did I pretend all of this time? I'm sure the others guessed that I wasn't a complete idiot.. But maybe that's why they didn't say anything. Maybe I was supposed to be the stupid one. Without me, Cyborg would've been bored to death, Starfire would have to deal with Robin all the time, and Rae would've turned into a hermit."

A tiny chuckle exits his mouth.

"Would have? They'll probably end up that way now anyway." A snicker this time "And why shouldn't they? For once, let them see what it was like for me everyday in that tower. I didn't need a domino mask, a cloak, or a fancy digital eye to hide who I was, NO ONE knew who I was.... I can do that again."

A few of the lights dim in the Titan's Tower, right around where the living room would be.

"Hmmm.." His eyebrow raises a bit. "Looks like someone wanted to watch a movie I guess. "Its been a long day"" He imitates Robin's voice near the end.

After his gazing wraps up, he looks back at the bed with his travel bag on top. A more serious look spreads across his face.

"But that guy still didn't fear me. If a simple thief wasn't going to fear me, none of the big guys will either." Sitting on the bed, he looks around the room. "Hard to fear a guy who's shacking up in a hotel room, crying over a bunch of teenagers ditching him. Wow, don't I sound emo?"

Taking in a deep breath, he considers "Forget this for now, I need to relax. I'm not going anywhere thinking about this in circles! Know what'll cheer us up, Gar? PIZZA!"

Less than twenty minutes after making the call, Gar finds himself down in the lobby waiting for the pizza. Sitting at one of the chairs, he idly watches the TV displaying the financial markets progress throughout the day earlier. Garfield Logan might not be as clumsy a fool as most would imagine but even the ever rise-and-fall of the American market is beyond his thinking. At the moment though, its better than anything.

"Didn't picture you'd be the business type." The woman from the front desk asks, coffee in her hand.

Looking up mildly surprised, he answers "I'm not but its the only thing on."

Taking a seat from across him, she jokes back "That's why God invented the remote."

A laugh at the joke gets the woman to smile. "Nice one."

"Thanks. Waiting for something? Someone?" she asks, sipping her coffee.

"Unless her name's "Large Vegetarian Cheese With A 2 Liter Of Coke", I'm afraid its only a something."

Now she laughs at his joke in return, getting him to smile a bit more.

"Not many people laugh at my jokes these days." Gar sadly remarks.

"Heh, that's a shame. The name's Kristine, but please, Kris's better on the ears."

"Much better on the ears, even if mine are pointy. Call me Gar."

Two two exchange a quick handshake.

"So what's it like being out on your own? I haven't been home in a few years myself."

Gar smiles sadly "Actually leaving wasn't really my choice. I.. heh.. I sort of left after I was told to get out."

Smile on her lips, she holds her mug up a bit "You can't fire me, I quit?"

Nodding, he grins back "Something like that. If you have to go out, make it stick right?"

"Oh yeah. How bad did you give it to them?"

Gar sees the twinkle in her eye again, inwardly eliciting a grin. "After I cursed the whole crew out, "boss" tried to threaten me. Had me by the neck, I asked if he was gonna let me go or kiss me goodbye."

"Oooh! Nice one!" she offers her hand for a low-five.

"Yeah, I feel bad for some of it though. But, its too late now, right? Sometimes the bird's gotta fly on its own."

"You start singing Freebird on me, Mr. Logan, and I might have to call security." A wink is thrown his way. "A singer AND a crime fighter would draw a crowd, wouldn't want ya getting trampled."

"Pizza for a Mr. Logan?" A voice asks at the service desk.

"Well, that's my cue." Gar states, standing up. "Thanks for talkin' with me, Kris. Now I gotta go meet Ms. Veggie and Coke."

She shrugs and answers with a mock-hurt tone "Wouldn't wanna get in the way between you and your date."

Gar grins back at her, finally returning a wink himself. "Thanks again."

"No problem Mr. Logan, have a good night."

Paying for his pizza, Gar heads for the elevator, a smile still resting on his face. "Oh, I'm sure you do." he whispers to himself once he's out of her hearing range.

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Like, dislike?
As with most of my stories, they usually start with a growing sense of things, never just right into the fire. Right now, Garfield's in a small funk right now, its only his first few hours of freedom. But now, seeing as he's not "feared" like he should be, its starting to give him a sense of purpose.
Its only a light beginning, but trust me, Day is most calm just before the night... Believe me, the Night is coming.

Trivia:
- Scarecrow reference is for those that've read "Never Fear", my first major series.