As Rose emerged from the portal, she looked around and saw the group standing in a semi-circle, waiting for her to join them. She proceeded to walk over to her team and looked at her father expectantly. Once he had made eye contact and acknowledged her presence, he began to speak.
"I want your opinion on Gar. Jaime and Cassandra, I know you have already met him and seem to hold him in high standards. And of course, I know your opinion of him Rose."
The team glanced at her with smirks and knowing grins. She held her head up to look like she wasn't affected, but all could see the growing blush on her cheeks. Grant made kissing noises and received a punch on the arm, followed by snickers from Jaime and Muhammad.
"I can't help it. For once, I found someone that interests me and he seems to be reciprocating."
Slade raised his eyebrow at her and smirked behind his mask. Normally, he would destroy anyone who would dare look at his daughter with anything that reflected desire in their eyes. Interestingly though, he seemed to be okay with it this time, even encouraging it. He watched his son and daughter banter for a brief second before speaking once more to the team.
"What are your thoughts on the boy?"
The other four glanced at each other, waiting for someone to speak. When no one immediately stepped forward, Rachel decided to speak up.
"He seems like a good addition. His powers allow him to be stealthy, as well as strong. He seems to have an aura that gives off a serious attitude, but can also be carefree and lighthearted. In this line of work, that would be great to have when times get stressful."
She looked around to see everyone else's reactions to her opinion. They seemed to be agreeing with her, with Shae giving a nod and Muhammad and Grant giving similar facial expressions of agreement. She continued on, this time about his situation with his current team.
"He seems to be distancing himself from them. At the press conference, he tried to hide his boredom and looked as though he'd rather not be there. When the reporter asked him about the rumors, it almost looked like he knew the question was coming, but had also hoped they'd keep quiet about it. His reaction to that other prick was quite interesting. He showed that he won't take being talked down to, but also showed a great amount of self control for not going overboard and making a huge scene."
Once she was done, Slade gave her a nod as if saying he agreed with her. Looking around, he locked eyes with Muhammad, silently asking what his opinion was. He stepped forward and began his assessment.
"Good guy. Seems to be willing to have someone's back and watch out for those he cares for. His demeanor makes me feel like I can trust him when we have to start going into dangerous camps and making sure we get out alive and in one piece. I don't know why the team seemed to have cast him off, but it looks like they realized their mistake and are trying to clean things up. Unfortunately for them, looks like it's too little too late."
Once he was done he stepped back after receiving another nod from Slade like Rachel had. Everyone seemed to agree with him as well, also recognizing what he had said about the Titans. They all had been watching, not just Slade and Rose. The boy seemed to be an interesting character and it intrigued them. He acted as a joker and the weak link before. Now, after the huge fight and bashing from his teammates, he seemed to change and show his true nature. He was an amazing fighter, and showed strength in animal and human form. He was agile and a quick thinker, learning fast and improvising and adapting on the spot. They also noticed that when he had enough, it was over. He could take a lot, but once he was pushed too far, he had made up his mind that it was time to move on.
Slade looked to Shae, then to Grant. Once he saw that Grant kept his eyes on her, as if he was going to go last, he turned back to Shae. She locked eyes with him and began her opinion of the boy.
"He's really interesting. He can joke around and be funny, but also deadly serious. He seems nice and sweet so I don't think you two would have to worry about him hurting Rose."
She nodded her head towards said girl and Rose couldn't help but smile. By no means was she a soft and easily manipulative girl, but Gar seemed to have a place in her heart. He made her feel different. Her usual cold and impenetrable heart had softened, and she couldn't help but have him on her mind constantly. When she had been in his arms, it had felt so warm and comforting that she hadn't wanted him to let go. She had never felt like this and wanted that feeling more and more. Of course, his appearance had helped things as well. He was no longer the scrawny and breakable looking string bean that her father had fought before. He was now lean and cut, covered in tattoos and it was hard to take her eyes off. His round face had lost its baby fat and was now square and looked cut of granite. She couldn't help but think that she was starting to fall in love with the boy.
Clearing her thoughts, she gathered herself as Shae continued on with her dialogue.
"I like him and I agree with Muhammad. He certainly has the pack mentality that most animals do. He looks out for them and makes sure that if they're in trouble, he'll protect them. He will throw his body into harms way if it means that it'll help distract the attacker and give his teammate the time they need to recover."
Slade gave her a nod as he did the others and Rose gave the two girls a warm smile. Both had shown that they thought highly of him and it had pleased her greatly. The two returned her smile and now all eyes were on Grant. He looked around before looking back at his awaiting father, meeting his eyes and began his answer.
"I like him. As the girls said, he seems to be very caring so I don't think we'll have to make plans on where to hide his dead body if he were to hurt Rose. He's tough and shows the initiative to get better at his craft. Once he's here, I would like to talk to him privately. Since it was in public, I didn't want there to be any awkwardness during the first meeting. But I would like to find out his intentions with my sister and ask him a few questions."
He turned his head to the other two girls, addressing them as if it were only the three of them in the room.
"You two do know that he's off limits, correct?"
The two gave amused looks and looked back at him as if he had asked a really dumb question. Once he read their faces he raised a hand in defense.
"Just making sure. I would hate for three members of our team to mysteriously disappear."
Muhammad and Cassandra chuckled while Jaime gave a loud laugh. The girls rolled their eyes at him and Rose gave him a glare. Slade just looked on amused, but was pleased to see the camaraderie that had been built very quickly between his team members. He was also satisfied that they had all given approving answers on the boy that would be joining them.
"I'm glad to see that we've all reached an agreement. I have a feeling that it won't be long before he joins us. If Robin is as hard headed as I believe him to still be, he'll screw up before too long."
The others nodded. They had heard all about the Titan that was in charge of the main team. While others seemed to praise his bravery and so-called leadership skills, they had all noticed his flaws. He seemed to care more about the job getting done than about the morale of his team. He'd be harsh, especially on Beast Boy, and could say things without thinking. He was overbearing at times and seemed to lash out when things would go wrong. And more often then not, his target would be the youngest of the group, Beast Boy.
Shae had a curious look and decided to speak up.
"Do we know anything of his past?"
All eyes were on her, including Slade. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
She gave a quick annoyed look, before continuing on.
"We know nothing of him. When we hacked into his file, it showed no date of birth, place of origin, or even his parents. All it had was his name, current team, and mentioned he was on the Doom Patrol. Other than that, it was blank. No background information. It was almost as if he had just dropped down on the earth and started life as a hero."
The all had realized she was correct and their own curiosity kicked in. Slade turned to Jaime and Cassandra, looking at them as if they had any answers.
"All he told us was that he left the Doom Patrol after a huge fight. Mento wanted him to follow the Brotherhood of Evil and that it was more important than destroying the machine they created that would summon a black hole of some sorts. Beast Boy went against his orders and saved the team. While the others were thankful, Mento scolded him and said he was useless. After that, he left and came over to America. Ever since then, he had been with the Titans and Jump City became his new home."
Slade nodded and asked Jaime a question.
"How long ago was that?"
Jaime looked up in thought trying to remember before the usually silent Cassandra spoke.
"6 years. He was 13 when he left his team. Very young to be fighting such dangerous people."
The room was silent. That means the boy had been fighting crime at least almost half his life. Not only that, he had been fighting villains that were known murderers and much more dangerous than the ones he fought now.
Rachel spoke up.
"He's been fighting for this long? What happened to them? Are they still around?"
Jaime shook his head.
"The Doom Patrol were killed in a massive explosion. While it wiped out most of the Brotherhood as well, Madame Rogue still escaped. Beast Boy was heartbroken and depressed. He hid it from the team, but he told me everything. They've been gone for about two years now. He still thinks of them everyday."
This shocked everyone. Slade had known of them, but had wondered why they just disappeared. He thought they had retired and decided to live a calmer and relaxing life. He never guessed they had all been killed.
Rose couldn't help but feel upset for Gar. She knew what it was like to lose ones close to her, but to be the only surviving member of a team must have been tough. They had talked, but he never revealed his past to her. She decided right there that when he were to get here, she would make sure she knew everything. It meant she would also have to tell him of her past but she was okay with it. If she could help him, it was something she wouldn't even think twice about doing.
Slade saw the looks that accompanied everyone. Most looked in shock like his son and Muhammad, but the girls seemed to look sad and even upset. He saw his daughter looking like she was trying to hide her emotions, but he knew her enough to tell that she was affected by it as well.
Getting everyone out of their current state of mind, he decided to get them to do something that would keep them distracted.
"I have some files with names in them. This will be for our secondary team. I want you to go through them and pick out the ones that would be best to have on a team. Make sure that you emphasize that. While they might be great on their own, a team needs to be able to have control of their egos. I don't want a team full of alphas and hotshots. That will get them killed when out on the battlefield."
He gave the files to the other six members and turned to talk to Rose.
"I'd like to speak with you privately dear."
She nodded her head and they made their way to the exit. Before they got there, Grant spoke up to get their attention.
"Is Joey going to be joining us?"
Slade stopped, halting Rose in the process. She was secretly hoping he would, as she had missed her brother. She knew there was something going on between him and their father, but she wasn't sure exactly what.
Slade turned to address his son, schooling his features before calmly speaking.
"I haven't been able to speak to him yet. I'm not sure where he is, but I do know that Gar and him have worked together before. I'll speak to him about it and get his opinion on the matter."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out with Rose following. The others looked on and turned to Grant as they watched him watch his father leave. Once he was gone, he shook his head and turned towards the others.
"You heard him. Let's go through these and pick out some more members. Keep his words in mind as they are true. Compatibility is key when making a team. I don't want this team to end up like Gar's."
They nodded to him and followed him out to their Ops room to go over the files together.
Once Slade and Rose reached a room that overlooked the night sky of where they were at, he began their talk. Slade walked over to the window and crossed his arms behind his back, not turning to look at his daughter.
"You really like the boy?"
She nodded her head and spoke.
"Yes I do."
Slade was silent for a moment. Rose began to think that this was another one of his traps to lure someone into a plan of his that would eventually get them hurt. How could she have been so stupid? She shouldn't have been so hopeful that her father would change. He was the same conniving and scheming asshole that was out for selfish gain that she had left years before.
Unknown to her, under his mask, he was smiling. He was happy that she had found someone that had broke through her shell. He knew he should be surprised that she fell for Beast Boy of all people, but he wasn't. He wasn't the same boy anymore and he had shown he was actually a strong and brave fighter. What she didn't know was that yes, it had been a plan of his, it was for her benefit. He saw the real Beast Boy and found himself thinking highly of him. He knew he had a big heart and would take care of those around him. If he could get into Rose's heart, it truly showed how good of a person he really was.
Rose had no idea about his intentions and her anger had started to rise. She snarled at him and began to berate him.
"You're using him aren't you, you selfish prick."
He schooled his features and turned towards her. He didn't say anything and this infuriated her more.
"I should've known. God, how stupid can I be? All this time I thought you changed but you haven't. What are you gonna do when he finally gets here? Tell him I'm off limits and that we're not allowed to be together?"
He finally raised his hand up to quiet her. Once she had stopped, he put his hand down and took a breath. Reaching up, he did something that he had very rarely done before and took off his mask. Rose gasped and looked at the face that looked back at her. She saw his long grey ponytail and sharp blue eye, the right one being covered by an eyepatch with a scar right above. Before she could speak, he finally broke his silence.
"No. I have changed and I wouldn't use you to lure him here. Was it a plan, yes, but it was to benefit everyone. I saw the way you looked at him when we started scouting potential members. You have never looked at anyone like that. You should know I have always valued my children's happiness. I figured since you were so allured by him, we'd talk to Grant and agree to allow you to go to Beast Boy. You see how much he's changed. He's strong and has potential greater than he realizes. I want to help him reach it, and if it ensures your happiness, I will let you be with him."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Couldn't believe what she was seeing. She might have seen his maskless face maybe twice in the 20 years she's been alive. For him to bear his soul to her and reveal that while he had planned it, it was to make her happy, really showed that he had changed. She started to tear up and was speechless. She had thought he was using her like he used to do and it had pissed her off. But to know that he was okay with it and actually all for it, it made her smile. She walked over to her father and gave him a hug. She felt him wrap his arms around her and she felt a tear or two trickle down her face.
"Thank you," she quietly whispered.
He gave her a pat and pulled back to look down at her. He smiled at her and wiped away a tear.
"I also plan to get Joey here. From what I know, Gar and Joey have worked together before, and did so very well. If I can get Gar to talk to him, and he hopefully listens, he'll be here to join one of our other teams. Believe me when I say that I have changed and I plan to help people. After everything that I've done, I only want to help those that I can."
She nodded her head and stepped back from him. Wiping her eyes, she calmed herself so she wouldn't look like some girly little princess.
"I'm sorry. I really like him dad and I want to be with him and help him. I want to find out everything about his past and what happened to him. I don't know what it is, but there seems to be something about him that he hides away. I know that there's hardly ever a hero with a good past, but there seems to be something he doesn't want anyone to know."
Slade nodded at her before walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright. I've been a bad father before, but I plan to change that. And I want you to be there for him. The boy has grown on me and I want to help him. If you can get him to open up, you'd have accomplished something no one has. He needs to know people care about him and don't see him as just a teammate. This team I put together was meant to be like a family. We're going to fight hard when we need to go all out to stop any terrorists from attacking, but we're going to be there to help each other out and grow. I want to fix the wrong I've done and give you and your brothers a life and friends around you to make sure you're doing your best."
She smiled and nodded before giving him a quick hug. She stepped back from him and gave him a smirk and decided a for a joke.
"You're getting soft in your old age dad."
He chuckled lightly and shot back a quick retort.
"I know. You damn kids bring out the soft side in me."
She chuckled.
"Why don't you go help the rest of the team out. I have to speak with the UAE and Saudi officials and let them know about Beast Boy's impending arrival. Obviously this is top secret. This news doesn't need to be spread to the States and I don't want Gar to get into any trouble."
She nodded her head in agreement and headed off towards where her brother and teammates were at. Slade watched her go and turned to look out the window again. He wore a smile that would usually look out of place and just weird on his face. He was happy that his daughter was believing his change. He was happy that she would be happy by being with the boy he was trying to get away from that toxic environment he was in. He had started to grow a soft spot for him and was determined to help him grow and become a hero that would surpass even the League. He had seen leadership in the boy's future and was going to help him reach it. The team was happy with Beast Boy joining, which pleased Slade. He had done so much and was proud to see that he was going about righting his wrongdoings in such a good way.
From this moment on, he would be focused on helping people and keeping them safe. He would make sure that he would do his job perfectly and make sure that the area he was tasked to kept safe and at peace would be. Once Gar got there, he would ask if there was anyway he could convince his youngest child to join them. He'd put him on a secondary team to make sure he was safe. He was going to make sure that they could be a family again, and this time he would get it right.