Disclaimer: Like my other fics, I don't own what I'm writing about.


From Darkness Comes Light

By: Patattack

People who Care

'Why do I fight? Why am I here? What am I?' were the questions that ran through Gale's mind. The young teenager was laying face-down on an old beaten up mattress on the ground somewhere in the alleyways of Jump City. Fortunately for him, there hadn't been any crime in the area, thus enabling him to rest a bit more. But even though he'd tied off the brace of air around his broken wing, it hadn't had enough time to heal very much. Also, his lack of income meant that food was hardly in abundance. In addition, the laser burns on his back he'd gotten from his third encounter with Sladebots still pained him somewhat. Beyond that, he'd had a disturbed sleep the previous night.

"I fight because people need me," Gale reminded himself. "And I'm here for the same reason." As for his third question, it was oriented towards his origins. He knew that he had to be at least half-human, given his memories of living with his mother. But he'd never known his father, which made him assume that his powers and appearance had to have been inherited from him. Although, wondering about his origins was something that he had done before and he was hardly anymore advanced now about why he was so special.

He got up into a sitting position and stayed on the mattress. While he looked around, something shinny caught his eye. He looked in the direction it came from and saw it was a handheld mirror lying on the ground that had seen better days. Regardless of such, he brought it over to him with his powers and held it in the air. His reflection showed the weary look on his colored face, his bright golden eyes that still remained sharp and his haggard black hair. Decided to fix himself up a little, he molded some of the air nearby to form a pair of scissors. He then grabbed them in his hand and started snipping away. After doing the best he could, Gale's hair was cut short enough, if roughly done.

He dispelled his instrument, let go of the mirror and stood up. He stretched out his limbs, including his left wing, making sure to avoid ruffling his right one at the same time. Gale took note of how hungry he was and thought about going outside. He knew that he'd be obliged to do so to find some sort of food to sustain him, although since Slade's defeat, the Teen Titans had been looking out for him. Despite having fought alongside them twice and helped them out other times, Gale still didn't feel as if could handle being with them, so he remained hidden.

Searching about the alleyway, Gale chanced to find a beaten up brown coat hanging from a dumpster. It was worn and dirty, but was still in useable condition and was large enough to cover up his wings, plus it had a hood to conceal his face. He put it on, while remaining careful of his broken wing, pulled up the hood and went out into the streets, keeping his head down so people couldn't see his eyes.


Robin sighed in frustration. He was currently in the evidence room, or 'all nighter room', as dubbed by Beast Boy, the reason behind such being that Robin had spent many nights here doing detective work in order to track down criminals. However, this time he was not tracking a criminal, but rather attempting to find out more about their ally Gale. Even though there had been a few occasions when the Titan's leader had met Gale in person, it had been during times when they were more concerned with fighting against Slade. Therefore, he had not had the opportunity to learn much about him, safe what Raven had told them about her brief conversation with him.

Robin drained the bottom of his mug of coffee and returned to typing at the computer. He skimmed through the archives of the Jump City Herald from the time that Gale had first been spotted but found nothing that he didn't already know. He then pushed further back in his search and a short article popped up. It read:

Accident in Wayne Enterprises Laboratory

"An accident in one of Wayne Enterprises' laboratories yesterday resulted in some manner of experiment breaking out of the building and escaping into the city. The experiment in question left a path of destruction throughout the city, before being stopped. No one is aware of the nature of the experiment and no comments have been made by the leading researcher in the department responsible."

Robin briefly debated the possibility of Gale being the experiment in question. He figured that Gale's elusive nature fit in with what he read from the article. However, he was dissuaded from such thoughts when he opened up a few photos from the day of the incident. There was a shot from a security camera showing the figure of a giant man walking out through a hole in a wall, though the smoke generally obscured the view. But another one shot from elsewhere showed some of the giant's face, displaying a person with bleached white hair, eyes that were entirely black, a malefic expression on his face and a head surrounded with an aura of black energy.

"If you're looking for Gale, I don't think that qualifies." Robin turned his head and came face to face with the Titan's resident sorceress. "What's that about anyway?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Just a shot attached to an article from the Herald about an accident in Wayne Enterprises about seven years ago. Thought it talked about Gale until I saw those," he referred to the photos.

"Looks set aside, it doesn't fit with his powers," Raven said.

"It's been a week since he left off and none of us or anybody else has seen a trace of him."

"Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable with people approaching him, even us. You should just settle down and wait."

"How will that work?" he asked.

"Remember what I said before about him? He has a hard time staying put when there's a crime in progress. So we just have to wait for the next bad guy to come out of his hole and Gale will come out of hiding to try and stop him." Robin seemed unwilling to simply abandon his search so easily. "Robin, you still haven't found anything about him that we didn't already know. Just give over for once and things will work out, okay?"

Robin debated with himself, and then conceded. "Alright then."


Gale walked along the streets, keeping his senses alert to his surroundings. Whether in case of someone perpetrating a crime that he would need to stop, or simply for anyone who might be looking out for him. Fortunately, his disguise covered all that he needed to keep hidden from people walking by. However, he was taken by surprise when he turned a corner and happened to spot Cyborg and Beast Boy walking in the opposite direction. Deciding that to turn away would likely attract attention to himself, something that he didn't particularly want, Gale simply kept his cool and continued walking the same way.

"I'm telling you B.B, there's just no way we'll find Gale, no matter how much Robin's wants us to," Cyborg said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. This guy's like a ghost or something," Beast Boy responded. "I mean, we've almost checked out every single corner of the city and haven't turned up with anything."

"Even though, I doubt he's left yet," Cyborg said. "He can't fly with one wing broken so he still has limited mobility."

"Limited mobility?" Beast Boy asked with confusion on his face.

Cyborg scoffed at his friend's question. "It means he can't move as much. Which in turn means that he's can't be too far away."

'You have no idea,' Gale thought as he overheard the conversation. "Excuse me," he said as he passed by them.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stepped aside to let him go by. "Strange," Cyborg muttered as he walked away. "That guy seems almost… familiar."

Gale's ears twitched underneath his hood upon hearing his words. He simply continued walking at the same pace, intent on leaving them behind without arousing further suspicion. "Why's that?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not sure. If I saw his face I might recognize him."

"Isn't he kind of like Gale?" Beast Boy wondered. "Like when he first got here he had his cloak and was all covered up and we couldn't see a thing about him? Well, except for his eyes."

"Wait a second!" Cyborg exclaimed. "That guy's coat could cover anything he didn't want us to see. Including skin color, eyes and wings!"

"You're saying… Hey, wait up!" Beast Boy called out.

"Shit!" Gale swore as he knew he had been discovered. Not wanting to be caught, he immediately ran away from the two Titans. He turned a corner and went into a building on his left, closing the door quickly and hiding behind the wall. He stayed immobile until he saw Beast boy and Cyborg run past.

"Oh! A customer!" Gale turned around and saw the small elderly man that he'd met before the encounter with Johnny Rancid. He then realized that he'd just walked into the same bookstore as before. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just rearranging some books in the back."

"That's okay," Gale answered.

"Ah yes, I remember you," he said when he saw Gale's eyes. "You're that boy with the golden eyes who came here before all that mess with Slade."

"Yes," Gale answered uncomfortably.

"I heard you helped out with the Titans in defeating Slade and Terra." Gale was almost going to leave, but the man's tone reassured him, so he stayed. "Good to see you again. Please, feel free to look around." The man went to behind the counter at the front and sat down to read a book.

Gale walked to the back of the store where he had done so during his last visit. He looked through the selection of books and lo and behold, he found the exact same black cover book in the exact same spot as when he first came. Gale reached out and opened it up. He began to read it again, but at the same time, he made sure to keep his ears alert. The book in question was written like someone's diary, although the entries were not dated and the material inside was not what most people would write.

"Our birth was the work of Father Sky and Mother Earth. We were born from their flesh, the fire of their blood molded us, their tears filled us and their breath gave us life. We are their children, me, my two brothers and my sister."

"As the children of Father Sky and Mother Earth, we were each given great powers and the responsibility of watching over all people and caring for them. Our sister keeps guard on the very earth, near our mother. My two brothers split between the sea and flames. As for me, I was deemed to be leader and made my domain within the sky, though still below our father."

"It came so suddenly. A being we know only as 'The Destroyer'. It holds such power. Our father failed to keep it back and was defeated. Now it comes to destroy all that there is."

Gale couldn't help but feel captivated by the tale recited within these lines. He skipped over the parts he'd read before, which went up to the defeat of 'The Destroyer'.

"We have achieved victory. But it has cost must. The Destroyer succeeded in giving our mother a grave wound. My brothers, sister and I won only when we fought completely together as one being."

"Our mother is gone, and yet… she is not. Her wound has caused her to retreat deeply, and in doing so, she is no longer among us. But we can still feel her presence."

Gale closed the book as he happened to hear the bookstore's owner come in his direction. "Excuse me, but do you mind putting this book back up there?" the man asked him when he came around.

"Sure." Gale took the book the man held and placed it on one of the higher shelves where he pointed.

He then noticed the book the young teenager had been reading. "Strange… I don't remember seeing this book here before. Say, why don't you keep it?"

"You're sure about this?"

"Of course. Consider it a gift if you like."

"Thanks." Given the book's small size, it fit easily enough in Gale's pocket. That done, he went to the door and left after making sure that there were no signs of the Titans.


Currently in the living room of Titan's Tower, Starfire had dragged Robin to the couch in order to watch a documentary about ants. Try as he might, the team leader couldn't put together how it was that he had agreed. The boredom was almost starting to make him wish that he had simply ignored Raven's advice and stayed in the evidence room. Yet he managed to endure until he obtained a respite in the form of his communicator beeping. He picked it up and was greeted to the sight of Cyborg's face. "What is it Cyborg?"

"Thought you should know, Beast Boy and I just ran into Gale."

"You did?"

"Yeah. He was all covered up with an old brown coat with a hood and kept his eyes down, so we didn't recognize him at first. He passed right next to us on Elm street and we figured out that he looked familiar and why. But by then he ran off and we haven't seen him since. "

"Well, at least we know he's still here." It was right after that the alarm warned them of trouble ongoing in the city. Robin leapt off of the sofa and ran to a console on the wall. As he typed in a few commands on the keyboard, Raven emerged from the floor. "Punk Rocket's made an appearance at an outdoor concert around Central Park," he spoke into his communicator.

"Got it," Cyborg responded. "We'll meet you guys there."


Raven, Robin and Starfire joined up with Cyborg and Beast Boy on their way to stop Punk Rocket. Robin rode the R-Cycle, while the others flew, Beast Boy carrying Cyborg on his back as a Pterodactyl. "I thought it'd be Dr. Light who'd be the first bad guy to come back out," Cyborg said.

"Instead, it is the rocker of punks who is the first to terrorize people," Starfire spoke up.

"We're less than a minute away," Robin told them all.

Upon arrival at their destination, the Titans saw the stage that had been set for the concert. Rows of seats and benches faced the stage for the performers and bleachers had been erected for people to have a better view. However, there was only one person on the stage with an electric guitar hanging from his shoulders. The people who had been here for the concert were running away in panic. "Come on you blokes, how about you listen more to the sound of chaos," the villain on stage spoke. He followed his words by jamming his guitar, creating sound waves that crashed across the seats, wrecking a bunch of them and blowing people away. He was interrupted when a shot from Cyborg's sonic cannon hit the floor next to him. "Who dares interrupt Punk Rocket?"

"We dare!" He then saw the Titans standing aligned against him.

"Aww, the little Titans have come to listen to my music."

"Concert's over Punk!" Robin said.

"Hey! That's Punk Rocket, mate!" He projected another sound wave at them which they managed to avoid.

Robin chose that moment to shout his famed battle cry. "Titans, Go!"

With that done, the five titans charged the music maniac. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon directly at him, but he reflected it by playing his guitar. The returned blast caught Cyborg in the chest and flung him back like a rag doll. Robin leapt in the air and aimed a birdarang at the instrument, but Rocket simply grabbed his guitar by the neck and hit the projectile like it was a baseball. Raven's telekinetic energy surrounded the returning object and halted it in mid air, though she was later knocked to the ground when Beast Boy crashed into her, courtesy of their opponent.

Robin jumped on the stage and rushed at the villain. He avoided the punches Robin threw at him and swung low with his legs. The Boy Wonder jumped to avoid the move and came down with a hard kick, which was dodged by the rocker jumping back. He then followed up by strumming his guitar, thus creating a sound wave that sent Robin crashing into the seats.

Starfire hurled a series of starbolts at him. He took off his guitar and leapt onto it, flying as it were a surfboard, except for the air. The alien teen tried again by shooting her eyebeams, but he did a mid-air roll, thus escaping harm and then slammed into Starfire with the flat end of his guitar.

He dodged left and right as Cyborg took shots at him from the ground with his sonic cannon and retaliated by quickly taking out his guitar, giving it one strong strum, then hopping back onto it before he fell down too much. The sound wave forced Cyborg to go tumbling into one of the bleachers.

He flew back down to the stage as he was being pursued by Beast Boy in the form of an eagle. Upon landing, he swung at the green bird with his guitar and managed to catch him with the flat and sent him careening in the stands. Another sound wave also forced Robin, Raven and Starfire next to him.

"Dude! He's tough!" Beast Boy commented as they all regrouped.

"Indeed," Starfire agreed. "His guitar is making rather difficult for us to defeat him."

"We've gotta find someway to get rid of it," Robin pointed out.

"But how're we gonna do that?" Cyborg asked.

"Well beat him somehow," Raven said.

Punk Rocket laughed loudly at them. "There's not a chance in hell you lot can beat me. Now just sit back and listen. Cause I've got someone special commin up."

"This can't be good," Cyborg commented.

To prove how much Cyborg was right, the rocker pulled out a remote from his pocket and pushed the only button on it. The stage's floor behind him opened up and a large speaker started to rise. When it was finished, the Titans could see that the whole thing was about 20 feet high and over fifteen wide. He pulled a cord that extended from it and plugged it into his guitar. "Really not cool!" Beast Boy added.

"You like it? Then you're gonna love this!" He punctuated his statement by giving one full powered strum on the guitar. A giant sound wave travelled from the guitar and slammed into all the Titans and hurled them back, even Raven who had managed to form a black shield, but only around herself, though she wasn't pushed back quite so far. "Looks like I should turn up the volume a little," he said in regard to what Raven had accomplished. He cranked the dial on his guitar even further. "So long, sucker!" He brought his arm overhead and swung it downward, give his guitar a powerful strum.

This created another large sound wave, and aimed directly at Raven. She attempted to brace herself… but the attack never hit. Punk Rocket obviously had nothing to do with that, given the look of shock on his face. Raven looked around and saw a figure nearby that brought relief. Gale had already shed the brown coat the moment he'd found out about Punk Rocket's rampage. He made his way so that he stood next to Raven and stretched his arm towards her. "Need a hand?"

"Thanks," she said and got up with his help.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Punk Rocket shouted at Gale.

"You should go check on your team, I can handle this guy." he told Raven, then turned to the man on the stage. "I don't suppose you're smart enough to surrender now, are you?"

"Yeah right, like I'd give up so easy!"

"Figures." Gale simply crossed his arms and gave the rocker a piercing stare. The villain didn't stay inactivate much longer. He turned the volume knob on his guitar just below the maximum and gave it a strum. Again, it created a giant sound wave, yet Gale simply watched all of this as if it were no more bothersome than a fly. Before it got anywhere close, Gale just willed it to disappear and it was gone.

The Titans watched, impressed at the ease with which he'd repelled the attack. "You might have been able to dodge that one, but you won't stand a chance against this!" Punk Rocket then pressed on the button of his remote again and two more speakers of the same size emerged beside the first. "Sayanora, fella!" He pushed the volume knob as far as it could go and launched a sound wave larger than all the others had been. This time Gale didn't wait for it to move any further than a foot away from its origin before commanding it to break apart.

Gale finally launched his counter attack and formed three waves of air, each of which arced towards the stage and sliced the speakers cleanly in two. Punk Rocket went crazy at this and jumped to the ground and went to charge at Gale with his guitar held high. However, he was met with a gust of wind which tossed him into the bottom of the stage hard enough to knock him unconscious. Gale walked to where the guitar was lying, materialized his transparent sword and stabbed it. He then dispelled it and turned around to face the Titans.

"Whoa! That was too cool!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Way to go dude!" Cyborg added.

Raven walked up to him with concern on her face. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he responded. "Just… just… tired, is all." Those words said, he collapsed and would have fallen to the ground, had Raven not been there to catch him.

"What's wrong with him?" Robin inquired.

"He's exhausted for one, and his wing's still broken," Raven answered. "I'll take him back to the tower right now."

Robin nodded at this. "We'll take Punk Rocket away and meet you later." The dark teen concentrated, and her powers enveloped herself and Gale, transporting both to Titan's tower.


Raven emerged in the infirmary of Titans Tower while supporting an unconscious Gale. She lifted him up with her powers and set him face-down down on the bed. Her hand glowed blue as she passed it over him to order to determine where his injuries were the worst. After a brief examination, she chose to begin with his wing. She gently placed her hand against the area where it was broken, feeling the brace of air he had created which still hung tight.

She concentrated her powers on this exact spot and started mending the bone. Luckily, the brace had done a good enough job at keeping it intact and made hers easier. Having done what she could, Raven then dispelled the brace, being that there was no longer a need for such. For the wounds on his back, she cut open his shirt with a sliver of her powers, though the laser marks had sabotaged a far bit of it already.

The young teenage girl focused her powers towards healing these particular injuries. As she was in the midst of doing so, Robin came into the infirmary. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"I've fixed his wing easily enough, his back's scorched from over thirty laser blasts and he hasn't eaten much in a while. Apart from that, he has a few minor injuries, most of which are about a week old or a fair bit older."

"How soon do you think he'll come to?"

"Not sure. After I'm done he'll need to rest for a while to recover from exhaustion. And when he's fit enough to get up, he'll need to take it easy. Even with what I've done and the brace he's had around his wing, it'll still need a day or two to fully recover. He'll need food too, but the injuries on his back will be alright just as soon as I'm finished."

Robin simply nodded at this. "I guess you were right about him. Do you think he's dependable?"

"He's reserved and has his secrets, but… he saved me twice and repeatedly put himself in harm's way to help us out. You're thinking of asking him to join?" The latter part was more a statement than a question.

"He's done almost all he has alone with his powers and with harsh enough conditions. Imagine how much he could help if he was a part of the team." Robin let this linger in the air for a moment. "We'll just have to wait for a bit before deciding." He then turned around and left Raven to continued patching up their patient.


A bright light forced Gale to squint as he regained consciousness. He blinked a few times before his eyes finally adjusted to the level of lighting. He remained on his back, regaining his senses one by one, as if he'd awoken after a century long sleep. As his senses came back to him, so did his memories, the better and the worse, including a vague one of a familiar group of people standing over him. Fully regaining consciousness, Gale felt the brace he'd created was gone, but his wing was fit and the burns from the laser wounds in his back no longer pained him.

He then took into account that he was lying on some sort of bed, dressed in his usual clothes, but for his shirt which was missing, though he was covered with a thin white blanket. The ceiling and walls next to him were a blank metallic gray color. Moving slowly, Gale managed to pivot his legs around and reached an upright sitting position. From his surroundings, he guessed that he was in some sort of hospital room, but he was the only one present, except for a girl sitting crossed legged in mid air at the other end of the room.

A brief look and he recognized Raven. She opened her eyes and stood up. "So you're awake."

"Raven?" he asked with a curious expression. "Where... where am I?"

"The medical bay in Titan's Tower," she answered smoothly. "You collapsed after that fight with Punk Rocket so I brought you here. Your wing's no longer broken, the laser burns on your back are gone and everything else about you is working fine. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, all things considered."

She then tossed him a plain green t-shirt. "Your other shirt was pretty beaten so I took it off. You can have that one."

"Did you see… the symbol?"

"Yes," she answered curtly. He pulled the sheets off of himself. Dead center on his chest, there was something that looked more like a birth mark than a tattoo. It was a loosely shaped rectangle two inches wide and three inches long. The bottom was a brown earthen color. On top of that, there were two parts opposite each other, one blue like the ocean, the other, red like fire. The rest was blue green, like air. A thin white line surrounded the entire thing, which in turn was surrounded by another line, but black.

"I'm afraid I don't know what it is," Gale said as he put on the t-shirt, which conveniently had had holes put in the back that let him poke his wings through. "All I can say is that I've had that mark for as long as I can remember." Raven simply nodded at this. "So, how long have I been out?"

"Almost two days. But it would be best for you if you stayed with us a bit longer. At least until we're sure you've fully recovered."

Gale debated this with himself. On the one hand, he still didn't feel entirely comfortable with the whole situation, but on the other, they had put a good amount of effort into seeing him recover, so he chose to go along with this twist of fate for the time being. "Alright then. If you want me to stay, then I'll stay."

"Good. Why don't you come to the main room now? You haven't eaten much in a while."

As if it had heard what Raven had just said, Gale's stomach gave off a noise that confirmed her words. "Sure." He dropped off of the bed and followed Raven out of the infirmary. He tested out his right wing, extending it a little and found that it felt completely normal. "Raven…" The young teenager in question turned her head towards him a little as they walked. "Thanks, for what you've done."

"No problem. And thank you for helping me before."

"You're welcome." The two of them continued walking down the hallway in relative silence, the only sounds made by their footfalls. Eventually, Raven lead him to a pair of doors and split apart to reveal all the other Titans gathered in the room.

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Robin were all playing a fighting game on the game station, while Starfire was concocting something in the kitchen area. All four of them turned towards the door when they heard the two arrive. "Hi," Gale greeted them all simply.

"Hey Gale!" Cyborg waved.

"What's up dude?" Beast Boy asked.

Starfire flew from the kitchen and would have embraced Gale in one of her infamous crushing hugs, had it not been for Raven. "Starfire, it might be a better idea to wait a bit before you get too friendly with him."

Hardly deterred by her friend's words, the alien teen stood before their guest and introduced herself. "Greetings!" she said enthusiastically. "My name is Starfire, from Tamaran! Curiosity abounds! Please tell me, where did you come from, how did you get here, how are you feeling, how old are you and do you wish to be my friend?"

Gale gave Raven a sidelong glance, to which she rolled her eyes and left him to decidpher what Starfire had said. "Well, last I was around Gotham City, I walked and flew to Jump, I'm feeling well enough, at my last birthday I turned fifteen, and maybe," he answered her questions slowly and in the right order.

Despite his non committal answer as to whether they could be friends, Starfire still squealed delightedly and substituted a hug for a vigorous handshake. "Glorious! I am most happy to have you with us!"

After being freed from her grip, Gale went through the process of being introduced to Cyborg and Beast Boy. The former shook his hand, though not as much as Starfire and talked briefly. As for the green teenager, he excitedly spoke to Gale about the Titans and how cool the stuff he could do was. His manner of acting made Gale think of him almost as a male version of Starfire, except with a few differences. When that was done, then came Robin. "Nice to have you with us," he said as he shook his hand.

"Likewise," Gale responded. In the time that they stood facing each other, Gale and Robin looked at the other as if sizing the other up. "Not to intrude," Gale broke the silence, "but do you guys have anything to eat?"

"Just you wait!" Cyborg butt in. "I can make the best food you've ever eaten in your life! And while I'm at it, any one else want dinner?"

The other Titans acquiesced except for Beast Boy who seemed opposed to the idea of Cyborg cooking. "You don't wanna eat what he's making," he said to Gale.

"He sure won't want to even touch whatever you can make!" Cyborg replied.

"Yeah right!"

"Yeah, right!"

Gale pressed two fingers against his forehead as he watched them degrade into an unruly argument. Raven seemed about to explode at them, but Gale calmed them down first. "Can you two settle this peacefully, please? Before I feel tempted to jump out the window?" The two titans in question turned their attention towards him and apologized for their behavior. Both of them went to the kitchen and donned chef aprons and hats.

"So what do you want?" Cyborg asked.

"I'll have whatever you two are making." Separate from each other, Cyborg and Beast Boy began making burgers, vegetarian and with meat. Raven, Robin, Starfire and Gale settled down in the seats.

"So Gale," Robin spoke up beside him. "Do you mind if I asked you a couple things?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead."

"Since when have you had your powers?"

"I was born with them. My mother was a normal person and my father left before I was born. So I'd assume they came from him."

The Boy Wonder nodded at this. "When did you first realize you had powers?"

"When I was three, more or less. I could only do small things at the time."

"When did that change?"

Gale almost sighed at the memory that was attached with his answer. "Sometime when I was eight. I don't think my stepfather shed too many tears when I left afterwards."

"What happened after that?"

"I wandered around the country, fighting crime alone and surviving as best I could."

"Tell me friend, how is it that you are able to do so many things with your powers?" Starfire inquired.

"I'm fairly creative," was his answer. "I just move the air and do what I will with it."

"My friends," Cyborg announced. "I give you, dinner!" He turned around and set a platter with hamburger patties before them. He also set down the ketchup, mustard, buns and whatever else he deemed necessary. Beast Boy put down a plate of veggie burgers, of which one would be eaten by Gale and the rest only by himself.

"Thanks," Gale said as he made his own burger. The taste and smell were good, but even better was the feeling he got from eating his fill, something which he had not done in a while.

Though it wasn't exactly new, at one point Beast Boy and Cyborg found themselves in the middle of a meat vs. vegetarian argument, which had likely started by one of them making a remark about what the other ate. This time it was interrupted by Raven. She set her burger back on her plate and voiced her annoyance clearly. "Beast Boy, Cyborg." The two Titans in question stopped their verbal fight and looked at her. "Either stop arguing right now, or I will throw you out the window."

"I second that," Gale added. Their argument dropped dead like a rock after that.

They all continued eating in relative silence, conversing amongst themselves. Gale spoke about as much as Raven and usually when someone else did first. "Just wondering, how do you have your level of control over your powers?" Raven inquired.

"I've trained myself to use my powers a fair bit. Aside from that, meditation does help." She nodded at this, interested by the fact that his methods were similar to hers.

"So, does it always work?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean, have you ever lost control?"

As an answer, Beast Boy was the recipient of Gale's piercing stare. "You already know," was all he said. After they all had finished, Cyborg offered a tour of the tower, which Gale declined, saying that he'd rather sleep, as it was rather late, and told him that he'd take him up on his offer the next day.

"Raven, do you mind showing him to one of the empty rooms?"

"Sure," Raven replied to the team leader with a look of understanding. "Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep." Gale followed the dark Titan out of the main room, bidding the rest goodnight with a nod.

After they had been gone for a bit, Robin turned to the rest of the Titans. "Well?"

"Well…" Beast Boy began. "He's kinda creepy, doesn't talk so much and acts kinda like a loner, sorta the way Raven does. But I still think he's a good guy."

"From what Raven said and from speaking with him now, I would say that despite his dark demeanor, he does seem like a good individual," Starfire added.

"Plus, he's got pretty impressive powers," Cyborg said. "And he has control. Apart from that, we've seen and we know that he has the drive to do good."

The Boy Wonder nodded. With three Titans in favor of offering Gale a place in their midst, and with Raven already having told him her opinion, it pretty much made the descision official. "Right then. All that's left is to make him the offer and see what happens."


Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments about stuff (whatever it may be), feel free to drop a review. Till next!