I don't own the Teen Titans

Another battle, another near loss. This was their third close call in a row, and Nightwing was not happy. But then again, who would be? Dirty, bleeding, and having their pride wounded, the five made their way into the tower.

The car ride home had been a quiet one. Even Raven had wished someone would speak up. But the tension in the air was too thick for anyone to want to risk being the first to break it.

A slight hesitation, and a miniscule deviation from the plan, and all hell broke loose. Beast Boy didn't feel good about questioning orders, again, but he knew it wasn't going to work.


They had been surrounded by glowing, neon green robots. Nothing they couldn't handle, of course, but tiring nonetheless.

Turning into a therizinosaurus, the changeling swatted at the robots, sending a few into the air. He quickly changed back into his human form.

"Raven, heads-up!"

She turned in time to see a large robot heading straight toward her, and opened a portal, and a second towards another larger robot. It was effectively turned into an incredibly convenient projectile.

Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at her ingenuity. She looked back, returning a smirk of her own. So, she liked showing off now and then. Sue her. Both turned straight back into combat. Things seemed to be going well enough. The number of opponents was starting to drop quickly.

Nightwing was furiously swinging his bo staff and vaulting over enemies, quickly gaining the advantage over them.

Starfire was having no trouble keeping blasting her starbolts and tearing apart anything that got just a little too close.

Cyborg refined his cannon to be more deadly, easily cutting through the circuitry. As a safety measure, he also had to drastically reduce the distance it worked at to avoid collateral.

Unfortunately, even with the progress they were making, everyone was beginning to tire.

"Beast Boy!" Nightwing shouted. He trumpeted as a mammoth in acknowledgement. "There's a man on that roof!" He pointed to a building. "He's just standing there. He might be the one controlling these things. Get him!" He morphed back to his human form, using hand-to-hand combat.

"I don't think that's a good idea!" He shouted. "Even if he is, I won't make it there in time before one of these things grabs me out of the air." Some of the metal foes were equipped with jetpacks. Fast ones too.

"Just do it! We could put a stop to this!"

His gut was shouting at him that it wouldn't work, and he always trusted his instincts. Besides, if he left, the others could get overrun.

"I'm telling you, I don't think it's a good-"

"This is no time for a childish argument! Just listen to me!"

God, how he hated that word! Childish. Hearing that sent a cold feeling in his blood. The last two calls he had questioned ended up with him getting a knife in his calf, and had gotten Raven a nasty, but easily healed burn on her shoulder. So, he fought his instincts down and took off into the sky.

Barely a moment passed before the team was overrun and he had been plucked from the sky, thrown down and through a window of an old abandoned building. He was unconscious. Of course, the team had made a very fortunate comeback, since Kid Flash just happened to be passing through on his way to Steel City. When he finally came to, he saw Raven, sweaty and ragged from the fight, leaning over him. Her uniform was torn in multiple places and her cape was frayed straight up the middle.

"Wings…" he said in a daze.

"We can worry about food later, Gar." He let out a quiet laugh.

"No, your cape. Looks like wings." After a brief physical examination, she stood up and grabbed each side of her cloak, lifting it up to examine the damage. She scoffed.

"I suppose you're right." She offered him a hand, which he took. Getting back to his feet, he held his head.

"You look like a blue angel." She rolled her eyes.

"Can you morph?" Blinking a few times, he nodded.

"Yeah, I should be okay." She levitated and made her way out of the broken bay window. He hopped out of the window and turned into an owl, silently gliding down to the intersection where the battle had taken place. After reaching the ground, she changed back. Putting his hand back to his head.

"I thought you said you were okay." Raven was close to him, checking his head again. He gently swatted at her.

"I'm fine. Just a headache." He looked over and saw Nightwing glaring at him.

"Let's go home.


And now, he was right again. And he was fuming. But he kept his mouth closed and continued walking. The only sounds were their footsteps through the halls. Nightwing's voice broke through it like a pane of glass.

"Get cleaned up. Then to Ops for a debriefing." It was a cold, commanding tone Beast Boy was all too familiar with from his childhood. He quickened his pace and pushed past their leader.

"Sir, yes sir." His voice was like ice. Walking quickly, he put distance between his team and rounded the corner where his room was. By the time they rounded that same corner, he was already in his room.


"Damn him!" Beast Boy shouted in the shower. He hit a fist against the wall. "Damn it!" He shouted as pain shot up his shoulder. He finished washing himself, letting the hot water soak deep into his skin. He didn't want to get out.

He knew the debrief was going to be focused on the fact that he didn't immediately jump when told to. It seemed like debriefs only happened when he screwed up lately.

'Communication is key.'

'Following a plan leads to results.'

'Carelessness kills.'

It was always a roundabout way of blaming him for what had happened. Deciding he couldn't put it off any longer, he turned off the water. Stepping out of the shower, he looked himself over in the mirror. Ignoring the scars and marks he'd gained over the years before the Titans, he took in his body as a whole.

The extra exercise and combat training he'd been doing had definitely paid off. Instead of a flat, skinny stomach, he now had chiseled abs. His biceps were defined, and the muscles on his forearms even had a decent bulking. His legs were no longer stick thin, but instead had healthy, strong muscles adorning them.

Turning around, his stomach dropped. Catching sight of his right shoulder, he saw the dark bruise that covered most of it. It must have been the source of the pain he felt earlier. Sighing deeply, he grabbed a towel to dry himself off.


Nightwing was tapping his foot impatiently. Checking his watch, he frowned.

"He should be here by now."

"Take it easy, Dick. He went through a window and was unconscious." Cyborg tried calming their leader.

"He's been in the shower for almost forty-five minutes." He crossed his arms and locked his eyes onto the door. Finally, the doors opened revealing a less than happy Beast Boy.

"Thank you for joining us." Beast Boy just waved his hand dismissively and took his seat, wincing when his back hit the chair. Nightwing turned around and started writing on a large whiteboard. Raven noticed his discomfort and leaned over to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked quietly. He flashed her a lopsided grin.

"I'll live. Might have you take a look at it later though." She smiled at him. She knew enough to know he was in pain, but he just wanted to seem like a tough guy.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm made of tougher stuff than that, Rae." A clearing of the throat drew their attention back to their leader.

"Something you'd like to share?"

"No, Mr. Grayson." Raven answered. Beast Boy struggled to fight a smirk. Nightwing glared, but moved on. Looking at the board, Beast Boy felt his blood boil.

'Basics of Teamwork' the board read.

"Right, now. The importance of functioning as a team is just as, if not, more important than only looking out for yourself. There are others that trust you to have their back, and you have to trust others to have yours." He paced back and forth like a military General, his hands folded behind his back. "Now, when out on the battlefield, communicating with your team can literally be life or death."

Even though he wasn't looking at anyone, Beast Boy knew it was directed at him. After all, he was the only one who had stepped out of line.

"I'm just going to save you a lot of trouble" He said, standing up from the couch. He winced again and grabbed his shoulder. Me made his way to the board and wiped it clean. After writing for a moment, he capped the marker and sat back down.

'Beast Boy, you idiot. You ruined everything AGAIN' it now read.

"That about sum it up?" He asked. He went to cross his arms, but couldn't because of the pain.

"That's not what I-"

"Bullshit." The foul language took everyone by surprise. It wasn't often the changeling talked like that. "We both know what this is about."

"Wait, what exactly happened?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, you two have been at the odds it seems," Starfire added.

"Why don't you ask him?" Beast Boy responded, gesturing to Nightwing.

"I gave an order, and he wanted to argue. Again." Nightwing crossed his arms.

"And look what happened! I could have been killed, and you four almost bit the big one!"

"Because you hesitated." Beast Boy pointed a finger at him.

"No, because it was a bullshit call. Just like the other ones were! Last time I went against my gut, Raven got cooked like a steak. And before that, I was stabbed!" Raven slouched in her seat, remembering the pain, and the smell of her cooked flesh.

"It wasn't the call, it was the timing."

"If that helps you sleep at night, then you keep believing it." He put a hand on his shoulder again. The pain was getting worse. "Let me ask you something, Dick. Why is it that when things get too dangerous, you always get ready to send me in? Or Raven? Or Cy? But never your precious girlfriend." He turned. "Nothing against you, Star." She held up a hand showing no offense was taken.

"That's not the point. It's not a matter of partiality. It's just a matter of doing the right thing. Which is following orders."

"I don't want some bullshit lecture on morality!"

Nightwing stepped forward.

"It certainly seems like you need one."

Beast Boy's posture changed. His shoulders squared and his knees bent.

"From you?"

"Couldn't hurt."

"As if you have any moral high ground over me!" He growled.

"I'd like to think I do at this moment."

"I can think of five times you've snuck around on us behind our backs!" Now Nightwing stood defensively.

"That was for the good of the team!" He shouted.

"Well, you'll have to excuse me if I don't always think you have the team's best interest at heart!"

"Garfield-" Raven spoke up.

"You're right. Let's bring the conversation back to how I screwed up again and need to have basic Superhero 101 classes again in front of the whole team. As if none of them know what's going on. We only have these meetings when I make a mistake. Not you, not Raven, hell, definitely not Starfire. Only me."

"Sometimes I don't feel like you're giving it your all."

"You think I wanted this?" His voice was loud and booming. He pulled the fabric of his stretching collar down around his shoulder, revealing the very large, dark bruise on his shoulder blade.

"Jesus, B." Cyborg said.

"Goodness!"

Raven was silently staring at him. He could tell by the look in her eyes she was disappointed in herself for not catching the injury. He reassured her.

"I didn't notice it until I was in the shower." He turned back to his leader. "So? Do you think that this is what I wanted to happen today?"

"I don't think you wanted it to happen, but with carelessness-"

"Enough with the lectures! Don't you get it! I don't want to hear it. If you want to berate me, do it one on one. Not with all of our friends sitting here to watch. Or do you like having the audience?" All of his animal instincts were telling him to make an example of their leader. To show him what a real top dog looked like. They were tired of sitting low on the chain of command. Not deemed even worthy enough to be a beta, let alone the alpha of their pack.

But he knew it wouldn't be worth it. It wouldn't really solve anything. He growled. "I'm going to my room." He began walking towards the door but was stopped.

"No, you're going to sit through this meeting." He turned sharply, glaring at Nightwing.

"It's hardly a meeting. It's just going to be you passive aggressively blaming me. So you'll have to excuse me for not leaping for joy at the concept." He turned to leave again.

"Facing the consequences of your actions is part of this hero business." With a groan, he turned back around.

"That's just it! I'm facing the consequences of your actions. I told you exactly what was going to happen if I had followed your plan. And it did." He walked up to Nightwing, getting into his face. "Face it, you're getting sloppy."

"Fellas, let's calm down a bit." Cyborg stood up and separated the two.

"Yes, can we please move past this disagreement? It is Friday after all. The movie night?" Starfire said, floating over to them.

"This goes deeper than us just having a disagreement. Doesn't it, Dick?" Beast Boy was glaring now. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"You're getting off topic." Nightwing shot back at him.

"See, you won't even answer the question!"

"Because it's not relevant to what happened today."

"And how is that?"

"What happened today was a sign of outright disobedience."

"Come on, guys-" Cyborg tried.

"No! This has been a long time coming!" He turned back to Nightwing. "I saved the world! I thought you all were dead! I thought everything I cared about was just ripped away from me. You got outmatched in martial arts and had to take a spiritual journey. And I never got any recognition for it! I'm not saying I want a parade, but it wouldn't kill you to take me seriously now and then! Maybe value my input here and there!"

"You did. But that doesn't mean you get to question me every time you don't feel like something is going to go right." Beast Boy felt a cloud of anger wave over him.

"You're forgetting the fact that I was right! I've been nothing but loyal to you and this team for years." He paced a few steps, trying to burn through the anger. "I always wondered why you've always been so shifty talking about your time with Batman. But now, I'm beginning to see why you left. All those stories of disagreements and arguments for you stepping a toe out of line. Are you seeing the pattern here?"

"You had better be very careful with what you say next." Nightwing said sternly.

"No. That's just it! I can finally say what's on my mind. You're scared of me, Dick. I scare you. So you feel the need to make me feel lesser. Like I'm not capable. Do you know something else? I'm great with computers. And I found your dirty little secret years ago." Nightwing felt his blood run cold.

"What's he talking about?" Raven asked.

"Just the fact that he's more like Batman than he likes to admit. Now, I didn't find it on purpose. I was just snooping around the computer system. Of course, I had no reason to think it would be in there."

"Dick?" Cyborg questioned.

"Richard?"

"See, ever since I turned into the Beast, I knew you thought differently of me. But a contingency plan?" He let out a low whistle. "That was something else." Raven looked at Nightwing, horrified.

"You didn't." Raven said.

"He did. And the worst thing is, even after I saved the world, the whole world, you still didn't trust me enough to get rid of it."

Everyone looked at their leader waiting for a response. His face was getting red and his forehead had a vein popping out.

"You weren't supposed to know about that."

"Ah okay." He turned to the team. "Hear that guys? It's okay because I wasn't supposed to know!"

"You don't get it! That thing is unstoppable!"

A low growl rumbled in his chest.

"That thing, as you put it, is the only reason Raven is still alive. The only reason I'm still alive." His pupils were narrowed. "He is a part of me, and we have a mutual understanding. But you don't trust me enough for that." Nightwing was silent. "As a matter of fact, empty your belt." He made no motion to move. "Come on, tough guy. Empty it out."

"Gar-" Cyborg was cut off by a raised hand.

"Empty. The damn. Belt."

"Richard, please do as Garfield asks." Starfire spoke softly. Slowly, he unclipped the belt and went through the compartments.

"There, happy?" On the table sat his usual tools and gadgets.

"Not really. How about we empty all of the pockets? Even the secret ones." With hesitation, Nightwing pulled the clip for his belt open, revealing a small, glowing pink vial attached to it. "Now I'm happy!" He exclaimed with a large, fake smile.

"So, what is that?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy walked over and plucked the vial from the belt.

"This, my friend, is the answer to a problem we don't have."

"More specifically…?"

"See, if this gets broken open, the liquid inside turns into a gas. It's basically knock-out gas. But with enough tranquilizer in it to down… what did the report say, again?" He asked Nightwing.

"Five bull elephants." He snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

"Yeah, that's it! Five bull elephants." He set the vial back on the table. "Which would knock out the Beast. And possibly put me in an unshakable coma, but those are just minor details."

"Are you out of your mind?" Raven shouted the question.

"Based on what we knew about that thing at the time, that was what the proper dosage was!" He ran his hand through his hair. "It wasn't an easy call to make-"

"What exactly wasn't easy? Having the damn thing made, or calling in a favor from daddy dearest?"

"You watch your mouth!"

"You are in no position to be making the threats!" Starfire shouted at him, her eyes glowing. She was absolutely shocked that he could go to such extremes. Nightwing was startled by her outburst.

"You strapped me to a chair and threatened to throw me in jail!" Beast Boy shouted in return.

"I'm sorry, what?" Raven asked sharply, shooting her eyes to Nightwing.

"I was under the impression that he had mauled you in a fit of rage! He couldn't tell us what happened, so we had no way of knowing if he was innocent."

"We already knew he wasn't himself that day." Her eyes were piercing, and it made him uneasy.

"So, shall we call the police and let them know about your escapades as Red X? Or for Cyborg's property damage when he had his virus?" She motioned to Starfire. "And you do know we are harboring an intergalactic fugitive, don't you?"

He was silent. There wasn't a way to come back from that one. So instead, he glared at the changeling, who had a more sad look on his face.

"I used to look up to you. I had posters of Batman and Robin in my room with the Doom Patrol. Do you have any idea how much it hurt me to find out that you did this behind my back?"

"It was necessary." His sadness faded, and the anger was back.

"Necessary? I'm not angry that you did this, I'm angry you didn't talk to me about it!" He shouted. "I'm angry that you don't trust me. That you think I'm just some ticking bomb that could just snap at any minute." His breath was loud. "And yet, you somehow still don't see the issue with what you did!"

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't discuss my secret weapon with the person it was intended for." Nightwing crossed his arms. "I must have misinterpreted the phrase." Raven made a move to speak, but Beast Boy grabbed her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. He appreciated her standing up for him, but he needed to hash this out on his own. And she understood.

"Just look me in the eyes, Dick. Take off the mask and look me in the eyes and tell me you take me seriously. That you don't still see that same dumb kid that used to run around here." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "If you can honestly tell me that, I'll let this whole thing go." The two locked eyes, but Nightwing didn't move.

He couldn't. He knew if he complied, it wouldn't be honest or genuine. Because he did still see Beast Boy as that same kid.

With a bitter laugh, Beast Boy turned away and began walking towards the door. He put a finger to his chin.

"Where were you when I saved you? You were a little Rob-cicle on a shelf like a trophy." That sparked a fire inside of Nightwing, who grabbed one of his escrima sticks and threw it at the retreating man.

With a flick of his ear, Beast Boy heard the commotion, recognizing it from the many times he'd heard it in battle and during practice, and quickly turned around. He caught the stick before throwing it back. It struck Nightwing right in the stomach, the wind knocked out of him. The other three Titans stared awestruck.

"I'll just wait in my room for your apology."

So, I know Nightwing might be a little out of character in this, but it was just a small idea for a one-shot I had while working on 'Jealousy and Shame'. It almost made its way into that story, but I felt it didn't fit. I hope you enjoy.