Disclaimer: see chapter one.

This chapter is in Gar Logan's (Beast Boy's) POV.

The Random Sweater

"Whoa!"

Duckandmove, duckandmove, duckandmove!

Wow! I wonder if that's how quickly Kid Flash thinks. Eh…never mind. I room with him; I should know by now, shouldn't I?

Whoa! Duck! Mo-No, wait…Duck! I'll fly over this piece of rubble and turn into a T-Rex or something and just crush him under my big fat-

"Beast Boy! Watch the civilians!" Raven quickly reminded me, as I stopped short of one of her damn shields. Sometimes it feels like she's just in my head and sharing my brain or something.

Can't these people just clear out faster? I mean really, it's not like we haven't been fighting a GIANT WALKING, TALKING PIECE OF RUBBLE for the past oh…HOUR! Seriously, come on! Sometimes I wonder how many people in the world would just love to get front row seats to a train wreck. And by front row, I mean actually sitting on one of the trains that's about to slam straight into the other.

Guess my amazing plan gets pushed over to the side thanks to these mor-Oh! Camera! Hey!

I always wanted to be in show business growing up. Kind of get my chance with the Titans. Too bad we're either the "Freak Show" or the "Super Circus Teen Team". As Jabberjaw always said "No respect!"

Dude, I loved that cartoon!

Big foot! Crap. This stupid thing almost took my freaking leg off. "What's your name anyway, dude?"

"Arg," he grunted.

"Arg? You're not dressed like a pirate."

"Beast Boy!" Whoa! I look up at Robin as he pulls me onto a rooftop. "Less talking, more fighting."

"How can I fight this thing without harming the idiots still standing down there watching? Remember what happened the last time I did something with people just standing around?"

We got sued. "We won it. Star's still out for another two months and Wonder Girl's trying to get help the cops clear the area. We still got morons on the top floors of buildings. Turn into a rhino and try ramming this blockhead from behind."

Why the hell did Star have to leave to get married? She didn't even get married (luckily), but still – come on! Our biggest powerhouse and she got stuck with a three-month power suspension for leaving school grounds and traveling out into space. Technically, the school is responsible for her, but still, she went to go see her family. After breaking a number of school rules of course. She didn't sign out to say she was going to be off planet, under guise. She didn't come back in time for curfew. She didn't file for vacation.

…Our school's got some pretty dumb rules. I always wonder why they came up with most of those seeing that we stay there almost year-round anyway! Ninety percent of us don't even have any family to return to. I used to think it was a hundred percent until Starfire and Wonder Girl proved me wrong on that wonderful little trip that we had to file so much paperwork for.

I'd say a hundred yards away is a good starting point. Slam him a few feet into the air and Raven and Cyborg or just Wonder Girl can finish him off from there.

When I change, it feels like I'm stretching my body. It's kind of like a weird contortion-thing. Not really sure how to explain it. When I was younger, it used to hurt a lot more, stretching my muscles and bones like that. I'm still not even really sure how it works, just that the feeling's gone from painful to just plain weird.

Somehow growing a couple of green horns doesn't help the weird feeling go away. Makes the fact that I can transform even cooler, though.

The white rhinoceros is probably the most recognizable. It can run at about 45 miles per hour, but not for long distances. Once I hit fifty yards, I pick up speed and lower my head. Time to pull the old forklift.

Oh! And Wondy's in position up in the air. Forklift and slam. This guy's definitely gonna be knocked out.

Up and…Boom!

Without even thinking about it, I'm back to my human form and pumping a fist in the air. "Way to go, Wonder Girl! Who needs Star anyway?"

She giggled as she lowered herself to the ground and smiled at me. "I'll be sure to tell her you said that."

"Nobody likes a tattletale, Wondy," I quipped back with a wide grin.

"Did you drop him in a safe zone? Never mind. Just less populated." Robin answered his own question as he stood above us on the edge of a building, binoculars in his hands and comlink in his ear.

"They're starting to give us a – smile, Beast Boy – hard time, Robin," Wonder Girl replied, as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and smiled toward the cameras flashing around us. Give the public a couple of cheesy smiles and you have them eating out of the palm of your hand for a few minutes. Your face ends up hurting a little from smiling so much, but it's better than having the photogs take pictures of you at two in the morning, drunk out of your mind and being pulled into a van with padded walls so you won't hurt yourself.

"Let's take off. No interviews. Cyborg and I are leaving in the T-Car, we'll meet you three back at school," was all we heard as the cameras continued to flash. Public attention only goes so far.

"Let's hit the skies!"

"Finally," I heard Raven mutter before she followed.

One more wave and smile won't – damn, wedgie! "Alright, alright, Raven! I'm coming. Jeeze."

Rae loves when I change. "It's the only time you ever shut up," she had told me when I asked why. Most of the time, it's easy to think of these powers as gifts. I can change into any animal on this planet, and even some of Tamaran's, animal kingdom. It can also be a curse and there are setbacks that come with those curses.

Rae apologized when she realized why I didn't snipe back at her like I usually do. She said my guilt and sadness were flooding out and she tapped into my mind accidently…don't really mind if she did it on purpose really, as long as she knows how I feel about not being able to talk when I morph.

Flying would be a whole lot more fun without all the flapping! This is why, no matter what bird I turn into, I still can't travel long distances like them or really only have the complete speed of a cheetah or rhino for such a short amount of time. Even at peak physical condition, I can't really keep up with the powers for that long. And with all of the flipping and sliding and junk, I'm gonna be sore for a while.

Maybe I'll turn on my Gamebox 400 and just beat the snot out of some kid on the other side of the world at Space Monkey Shooters 13 for a few hours.

"You're forgetting the pyramid project we have for history class," Raven reminded me. I tried to let out a yell of surprise but it just came out as a loud squawk, causing her to plug her ears with her fingers. I hate when she gets in my head like that.

"You're not the only one who hates being in your head," she told me over the wind. "Pyramid project."

So…?

"It's due Monday, Gar."

Beast Boy, Rachel, and its Friday. We got out of our last two periods and the last thing I want to think about right now is some stupid project that's only due Monday.

She slowly shook her head, her indigo eyes still on the sky ahead of us, while my bird head was tilted toward her. "Don't expect me to remind you again," she warned before speeding up and catching up with Donna.

I'll get it done.

…Eventually. I mean, how hard is it to write a four-page paper on the construction of Egypt's pyramids. As for the model, that's what sugar cubes are for!

Everybody's just gotta overcomplicate things!

When we first arrived at the school, someone (whose name begins with a V and ends in –ictor Stone) decided it would be a good idea for Rachel and I to test out our powers on each other. I tried to rush her as a lion, she slammed me back with her…well, her controlling objects power. Then he had her practice her see-things-through-your-eyes power on me. Basically, she chants some mumbo-jumbo and mixes her mind with whomever she's trying to possess or whatever. Well…what ended up happening was she ended up getting almost all of my memories and can now read my thoughts whenever she wants, or even when she doesn't want to. Not really sure if it can work the other way yet. Needless to say, she doesn't plan on using that power again, and I don't ever plan on volunteering for anything ever again.

Cyborg still thinks of it all as a fun science project or something and even has us show up once every three months to see how close our wonderful mental connection is.

It is so much fun waking up at five in the morning some days and wondering if I can finish that riveting fantasy novel without Gar ruining my day. Wait a minute, I then think, I am Gar!

Basically, we have a two-way telepathic connection that neither of us knows how to control.

I squawk again out of annoyance. I hate days like those.

The moment I spotted the giant T lying on the green grass below, I swooped down and changed back to normal. Man, my arms hurt. Next time I'm driving back with Vic. Forget the extra exercise after fighting some blockhead giant and the training room practice we had at freakin' five AM.

My feet touched the grass for, like, two seconds before Donna grabbed me and lifted me back up. "We've got debriefing with the Headmaster, remember?"

Crap.

The guy's like Charlie from Charlie's Angels, only we don't even get to see the back of his head. Just the stupid speaker. If the Titans are the Angels, then whose the viewer?

She flew me to the garage before landing herself. Raven was already waiting there with the doors opened for us. We turned to the shadowy back corner where an elevator was hidden from view. It slid open when we were a few paces from it (still very creepy) and the bright light from inside lit the corner. We walked straight in and turned just as the doors closed.

I've been trying to convince Vic or Karen to install the theme from the Twilight Zone for the short ride since I first found out about this thing.

"Stop humming that stupid song," Rachel warned me with a sharp glare as the doors opened to the Titans Prep Facility.

T.F.P.

We need cooler acronyms.

"You three made it just in time," Robin announced as he took his seat, his mask still in place. Cy was already on his laptop working on something. "Headmaster will be calling in a few seconds for debrief on our fight with Cinderblock and the others should be coming down in fifteen for our weekly meeting."

Ugh. Bye-bye video games. I took my seat with a heavy sigh and burrowed my head into my arms. Some shut-eye would be good right now. Been up since four-thirty this morning and I really don't have much to say in these long meetings anyway. It's mostly technical mumbo jumbo and we've been talking about that ship Kory brought everyone back in a few weeks ago. Vic and Karen have been gutting it out and trying to upgrade the system to something all of us (not just Kory) can understand and use for deep space missions and such. How often we'll actually get to use the thing I don't know, but Vic's in love with that super engine. He's been working on a new one that can be adapted for the T-Car and the T-Ship.

Last week they were gushing about the sensors built into the ships metal shell that nullified any radar and sensory systems that could detect its approach. Explains why we didn't know about Kory's ex-fiancée until we saw the smoke on our way back home. Still, it's no wonder she didn't marry the guy? He can't even land a freakin ship correctly. Crashed it right into the dirt. When we got back, Kory's landing was nice and smooth. She's a hell of a lot better at flying the damn thing than Karen was!

'Course it was a bigger ship and Karen and Vic did have to try and repair the piece of junk we crashed in the wilderness of Tamaran, but still…

"C'mon Gar, get up," I heard from above me as I felt someone sharply tapping my shoulder. Drifted off there. Roy was standing above me holding a red v-neck sweater in each hand. "Put this on and don't ask why," he told me as he dropped one of the sweaters on my head.

"Red's not really my…color…" what the hell was going on here? Everyone was slipping the stupid sweaters on.

"Boy just put it on before Wally shows," Karen chided me quickly. When did she even get here? How long have I been out of it?

Whoa, wait…

We're pulling a joke on Wally?

I shoved the extra large sweater over my head and sat back down, my eyes at the elevator doors. No idea what went down while we were gone, but I'm loving it already. Hell, somehow Roy even got Rachel to at least wrap the arms of the sweater over her shoulders!

The elevator doors slid open quietly and in stepped Wally, wearing the exact same sweaters we all had on, a pair of slacks, and some shiny dress shoes. His hair was slicked back with lots of gel (which he probably snagged from Roy), only Roy somehow made his brush cut look good while Wally's hair was longer and now looked glued in place. He was also wearing a white collared shirt and – ohmygod – he was wearing a tie.

"Hey guys, does this sweater…?" he started slowly, staring down at some imaginary lint of something. When he looked up at us we all grinned.

"Looks perfect Wally," Vic answered with a wide grin.

"Yeah, dude, makes your hips look nice and round," I added with my own toothy smile.

"Gives you a nice little beer belly," Karen joked along.

"Can't forget the awesome love handles," Rachel added with her own wonderful sarcastic flare. I only love it when it's not directed at me.

Before anyone else could say anything he flung the sweater off at super speed and turned back to the elevator. "Alright, I get it. I'll change."

"You really need to fix that hair too," Donna added gently.

"Where are you going anyway?" I asked. Seriously, he couldn't be planning on going to church or something. Not to say he doesn't believe or anything, that's really his own business.

"I'm meeting my girlfriend's parents," he muttered slowly, "and obviously I still can't find something decent to wear."

"It's not that you don't look decent, Wally, that sweater was just too big for you. Especially with the way it stretched at the bottom," Kory told him kindly. Of course the girls are gonna offer to play dress up.

"Yeah, Kid, it's a sweater, not a hoodie," Karen continued, as she pulled off the extra large sweater Roy had given her. "Maybe I can shrink it in the wash real quick so it'll fit better. Kory, Donna, you both gotta do something about his hair before all that gel he used causes it to fall out."

What is it with girls and playing dress up? I really don't understand how they think it can be so much fun.

"What if you shrink it too much?" Wally asked, his hands fidgeting around wildly.

"Dick's got a nice looking red vest from when he worked as a valet the Chemele Hotel last summer," Kory offered.

Karen looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to recall what the vest looked like. "Where are you going to meet them?"

"Herhouse," he answered quickly.

"Going out to dinner anywhere?"

"Ihavenoidea."

"You're really helping us out here, aren't ya?"

"Wannahurry? Thedatestartsin-!" Donna clapped a hand over his mouth.

"You're talking way too fast Wally. You've got to calm down. It's just a date," she told him gently, setting her hands on top of his own to try and keep him from fidgeting so much.

"I've got ten minutes!"

"What?"

"Well then why didn't you say so sooner?" Karen exploded, marching up to and pushing him back to the elevator with Kory and Donna in tow. "We've got way too much work to do in such a short amount of time. You've gotta wash that junk out of your hair or by the time you end up there you'll be bald! If there's any left, we'll slip a dab in before you speed off, now about…"

The elevator doors slid closed behind the four of them, quietly cutting Karen's voice off from the rest of us.

"This is actually pretty nice," I heard Vic suddenly mutter and glanced over to see him inspecting the double XL sweater he was wearing, "The material's really soft. And it fits snug like it's supposed to."

"Uh…you can keep it if you want," Roy hesitantly told him, taking his seat at the table, "Bobby snagged 'em for me about an hour ago. Didn't bother asking where he got 'em."

Bobby Thomas is a short-range teleporter and "former" thief. He's fourteen like Rae and me and his room is always filled with the best stuff. His roommate disappeared six months ago after reporting Bobby to some teachers about him stealing the stuff. Somehow, he didn't get kicked out and even though he's technically not allowed off school grounds, no one can really stop him from using his powers unless he's been caught.

"So guys, I was thinking we should head up to Colorado for winter break this year," Roy started and my ears perked up like a dogs in interest. "A buddy of mine told me about these cottages that can be rented out in the mountains. The six of us, if the girls are interested, can pull our money together and rent a large cottage and spend two weeks on the slopes!"

"How do'ya figure we can all afford that, Roy?" Vic sounded skeptical. "With our savings, we'd probably be able to only afford an outhouse for two weeks."

"No, I got it covered. The six of us each pitch in a hundred bucks, I can get us an awesome three-story cottage with a big kitchen and living room, fully furnished, and, although I'm sure at least you can Karen will be sharing Vic, six well-sized bedrooms on the top two floors. Each floor also has an nice old fashion fireplace and everything!"

"Let me guess," Dick cut in, "Bobby can hook you up."

Roy chuckled. "Fuck no. For that we'd probably be able to stay for free before being arrested for breaking and entering what we would have to think is an empty building.

"My boss has been renting it every year for however many years it is now. He and a bunch of his and his wife's friends usually stay and party during the break or something, but they can't this year 'cause of some little family reunion thing they got hooked into already. It's already paid for, and none of his friends plan on using it – don't know why – and he offered to let me take it for his share of the rent, which is six hundred. If Karen, Kory, Donna, and the three of us can pull it together, we get two full weeks of fresh powder and a nice white Christmas! And if we file for vacation time now, there's no way the school can deny letting us go, and Kory will definitely be off her suspension by that time."

"There are a few other things to think about Roy…" Dick trailed off. Yeah, dude, Donna's gotta file some stupid government reports and crap every week or something. Still don't really understand that bull, but…

"I know. Let me handle Donna's situation with the feds-" Wait, he knows? "Look, this is a big opportunity here! How often do we get to leave the area without being on official Titans business? We're at this school all year round! And since the six of us are over the schools age limit, we are allowed to at least file for city-leave for a while. It's a two-week vacation! Can either of you even remember going on vacation as a kid? During summer break? Spring break? Ever? 'Cause I've never been on vacation! It'll be fun to get away without having to worry about hero-stuff for a while."

The one thing I don't like about this school is all of the weird rules. Basically, anyone over sixteen who has a license can file for vacation time like they can with jobs or something. It's like they're treated like legal adults! Obviously, this counts Rachel and I out of the fun! But the school is still like a parent that can punish you and take away privileges whenever they want.

Like Kory's three month suspension! Obviously when she left, she wasn't planning on coming back. She was gonna be a Queen! Then she finds a loophole, comes back with us, and isn't allowed to leave school grounds for skipping school for a few days!

How is that fair? And she just accepted it like it was no big deal! Like she deserved it or something. Titans duty limited strictly to training sessions, no powers use other than in training sessions (and since she's so sweet and follows all the rules, of course she's not going to use her powers since they forbade it), and no trips to the city; she has to stay on school grounds.

…maybe Kory's a bad example. I really don't understand her. She's sweet and beautiful and can be a little scary with how freakishly strong and powerful she is, but…I just don't understand how her mind works.

Roy ended up getting suspended for six months last year for some reason after he came back from a Purple Dragon concert he had already filed with the school for. Six months! And the school knew in advance that he was going and wasn't going to be back until early morning. Even Vic went to pick him up afterwards and for some reason he still was suspended with pretty much the same rules Kory's got.

Just doesn't make any sense and really doesn't seem worth the hassle to leave anyway.

What's…? Wow. This sweater really is soft. I wonder if Karen can shrink this one down to fit me. Or maybe Bobby can…?

Will you stop playing with that stupid sweater?

Stay out of my head, Rae.

Not like I can really control it, Gar. And it's Rachel.

Is this meeting over yet?

Since they're talking about that ski trip now, I'm guessing yes.

Sweet. Gamebox here I come. I wonder if Vic wants to play Space Monkey Shooters 13 with me. "Hey, Vic, we're gonna head up. Wanna play Space Monkey Shooters with me? I'm gonna rip some kids apart around the world."

He smirked before shaking his big baldhead at me. "Sorry Gar, I gotta work on the engine. If you were paying attention instead of drooling on your arm, you'd know that it's gonna be ready for testing soon."

"Awe sweet! Can I-"

"No!" The room seemed to echo and I took a step back at the sharp reaction from everyone. Definitely not the group of people I'd considered yellers but…

"Fine. But I'm keeping the sweater!"

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! I've been very busy over the past few months and so writing has pretty much taken a backseat to everything else. I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up (which begins a new story arc) but I hope it will be soon since I've got tomorrow and the weekend off. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It still seems a little forced and rushed to me, but it's also something to post, so... let me know what you think.

Happy New Years! See you all in 2010!