Disclaimer :I don't own the Teen Titans, but I do own Jack Shoreshooter. So don't you use that character, unless of course you talk to me first.


His name was Jack, he was between 16 and 17 years old, he had a filthy appearance, and just wanted to get away of trouble. The Titans couldn't trust him though, they had let him live at the tower, but gave him a room near the basement, a big room which used to be for storage. Jack didn't complain about that, but did complain about having to cook on Sunday and clean on Wednesday, he said he had no time.

At dawn, Jack went up to the towers roof, got pass the pool and stood on the edge to see the sun rise. It wasn't that he was used to waking up early; it was just that he couldn't let himself sleep.

"At least one silent night" he said to himself. "At least that I can give them"

The sea turned golden as the shining orb lifted over the horizon and lit the city. A strong wind moved his hair and filled his lungs. It was always comfortable to wake up at dawn in another planet, or at least watching a new dawn… The wind brought the sea's smell, Jack enjoyed every second of it; after some weeks on a cramped spaceship feeling the ocean, any ocean, made him calm. He took off his black vest and jumped off the tower, off to the shore, in a free fall for some morning excitement. When he was twelve feet away from the bottom he used the tower, and his Nightmare-self to jump off, and shoot himself into the waves.

"Damn it. I should have seen the calendar before picking Sundays… how was I supposed to know it was the next day?" he complained while swimming into deeper waters. "Well, I suppose it is fine for a rent… I wonder if they would give me a real room if I help them out at the city without charge... Well, manage that later…"

He dived after a big fish he saw splash nearby. The Titans wouldn't wake up until a few hours, which gave him some free time for what he did best.

Beast Boy was in middle of one of those fame and fortune dreams when suddenly he smelled something…

"Why does my tofu smell like fish?" He asked Robin, his waiter in the dream.

"I can assure you sir" Robin said politely. "That it isn't your tofu, but a real fish being cooked in the towers kitchen."

"What are you insinuating?" BB said.

"Perhaps you should wake up and find out for yourself…" Robin snapped his fingers and BB woke up in his messy room, a soft fish smell came from outside, and incredibly it could be smelled between sweated socks and loads of rotten food.

He got out of his room, no one was awake yet. He walked through the corridor, only lit by the soft dawn's light, it seemed creepy and each shadow like an endless hole. The smell got stronger as he went to the living room, when he got there he only found a white smoke curtain and a humid smell of fish and fruit everywhere. He turned into a large bird and flapped the smoke to clear the room. Behind the breakfast table, he saw Jack, wet and humid from head to toes, with a pile of big fishes on his side and a frying pan on his hand. He was cooking a yellow fish among with some fruit. He looked back and saw BB sharply, got out his saber and went in battle pose; BB turned back to himself and went on battle pose too. Jack smiled in a mocking way.

"I scared you…" he said simply, storing away his saber and getting back to work.

"You shouldn't do that!" BB said getting nearer. "First you fill the tower with that nasty smell, and then you go like if you where going to attack me!"

"Nasty smell!" Jack said angrily. "This it's a delicatessen from my lands! Well, actually the seas… Anyway! You should be greetfull to me for…"

"What's that smell?" Cyborg said, exited, coming from the corridor. He saw what Jack was cooking and ran near happily. "Is it fish Caribbean fish?"

"Don't know, at the boat we used to call it Sweet Lady Sea. But I suppose both are alike…" Jack said proudly.

"It smells good!" Cyborg exclaimed. He grabbed the fish Jack had just cooked. "Can I have it?"

"Serve yourself" Jack said. BB looked sadly at Cyborg taking the fish to the table.

"I have been a fish Cy!" he complained. "Don't you feel guilty about it?"

"I usually don't like fish but… for this time I'll make an exception!" He gave the fish a big pair of bites ignoring BB's complains about animal rights and that kind off stuff he always did.

Two more figures came out of the corridor. Starfire and Robin sneaked out between the smoke looking for the others.

"What's with the noise guys?" Robin said. "It is half past six! Some people are trying to sleep!"

"Sorry!" Jack apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you up but cooking this bay fishes isn't easy, they don't get fried easily! And these fruits just have a strong smell mate!"

"You're cooking fish and…fruits?" Robin said rather sickly. Starfire on the other hand looked at what Cyborg was eating with interest.

"Caribbean dish!" Cyborg said happily still eating. "You should try it Rob!"

"Sounds good!" Starfire said coming near the kitchen. Hopping happily as always. She grabbed a dish and handed it to Jack. "May I have some?"

"There you go." Jack served her a plated fish with some pineapple and stuff and she went to sit next to Cyborg and a frustrated Beast Boy. "Anyone else?"

"I'll pass" Robin said, coming near the kitchen and getting out of the shelves some eggs and bacon for himself. "I don't think Raven is having fish either you know…"

"You guessed right" Raven came downstairs to the kitchen as she wiped out the smoke with telepathy. "Ill have some tea, that smell made my headache come back."

"You have tea? I would like some; I didn't sleep at all last night." Jack told Raven when she passed behind him and checked the shelves for some teabags and a teapot.

Finally Jack came to the table with a dish of about ten fishes, fried, and covered in a sweet sauce. He laid the dish heavily on the table, got a knife and a fork and began eating the fishes ferociously. Everyone looked at him eat rather disgustingly, when he noticed this he gave them an ashamed look, swallowed the fish he had in his mouth and recovered posture.

"Ahem, Sorry." He apologized.

"Don't worry, Beast Boy has worse manners" Raven said shortly, having a gulp of her tea. Beast Boy looked at her angrily.

"You think I have bad manners? Well you should see Star!" he complained. Everyone looked at Starfire, eating the whole fish Jack had given her, swallowing it with bones and everything.

"You shouldn't…" Robin said this too late, Star had swallowed the fish, and after a little choking she managed to pass it through her throat. "…forget it."

"Robin, I was wondering." Jack said. "You told me I could stay if I helped with the cleaning and cooking right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well if you can call that cooking." BB complained still angry.

"Well I was thinking that, if I helped you guys at the city perhaps you could give me a better room?" When Jack said this everyone looked at Robin. He was the one that gave Jack the basement room, because he could be dangerous, but he hadn't told the others.

"Hey how about the room at…" BB covered Cyborg mouth to shut him up.

"We don't know who he really is Cy" he whispered. "Getting him at the basement will make him easier to watch."

"I heard you." Jack said, looking serious. Robin sighted.

"Please understand" he said. "We cannot trust everybody we meet"

Jack still had his serious gaze. He looked really pissed off. He took a breath and drew a melancholic smile.

"Don't worry." He said. "I myself had had some bad mates aboard of my ship. Okay how about this: I stay here till you trust me, and then, you give me a room with a view… How about it?"

"Deal" Robin said happily. "Let me try that."

He was about to take one of Jack's fish when… ALERT, ALERT. The huge screen monitor went red, and then showed some scenes of Dr Light, blasting jewelry alongside with Gizmo, powering him up.

"Titans, go!" Robin said, everyone got up the table and ran to the exit when Jack interrupted.

"Should I go?"

"Don't worry" Robin said quickly fallowing the others. "Stay at home and clean we'll take care of this!"

When they where all gone Jack turned around and looked at the mess they had all left. Fish bones, fruit sauce, eggs and tea all over the table and the floor, thrown apart in the rush to go to the rescue. Jack couldn't understand that commitment; he was used to do what he was paid for, not what he "should" do.

This is goanna take some work to clean- he thought. "Oh well, spooksters!"

Ghastly shadows emerged out of the floor, the walls, the ceiling and even from midair. The "spooksters" as Jack called them, where human shaped shadows that helped him in certain tasks, like cleaning, they were not strong, but very handy. The spooksters automatically began cleaning the stove, the table, sweeping the floor with ghastly shadow brooms and picking up all the Titans mess. Meanwhile Jack went to look at the Tower, last night he had explored the basement, the docks and the beach, but he was more interested, in the rooms.

He went through the corridor everyone had taken that morning for breakfast; he didn't know even where to begin to look for. And it would have been much more difficult if the doors didn't have each ones name on it. The first one to be found, BB's. Jack entered carefully, ignoring the hideous smell and skipping the rubbish thrown all through the floor. One of the spooksters showed his head over the doors frame, quite disgusted to have to clean the room.

"Don't worry" Jack told it. "We have to clean up the tower, not their rooms." He looked at something near of BB's bed. A photograph of him, with a slim, blond girl. Jack held it and examined it, on the girl's belt there was a yellow transistor just like the one Robin used. "Whatever" he said leaving the frame where he had found it. "Lets go."

Satisfied, the spookster fallowed his master out of the room and into the next one. At the corners turn, was Cyborg's. Jack was especially curious about this one, in his world, ciborgs where merely treated as machines; it was looked as an illness or incapacity. But when he entered Cy's room, he noticed it looked almost like a normal teenager room; apart from the Hi-Tec equipment and his weird bed, the posters, pictures and sports gear showed Cyborg's human side. The spookster was looking curiously at Cyborg baseball bat.

"Don't touch anything" Jack told it. "We don't want them to know we where here right?"

The spookster nodded, they didn't talk, they couldn't, heir ghastly bodies where just mere holders of obedient minds, and didn't have to talk. Out of Cy's room they went, and fallowed the corridor till the next door stopped them. "Starfire" it was written on the door, Jack was almost sure of what he would find. The door opened and both him and the spookster entered Starfires cozy, fuzzy, pink-purple colored room.

This kind of stuff makes me sick- Jack thought looking at some pictures and posters on the wall. –Don't like this style, far too… pink…-

The spookster didn't like it either, they where used to move in the shadows, and light colors made them uncomftarble, after a quick look to the rest of the room they hurried to the next room.

Few feet away a door cached Jacks attention. "Raven" said on the door, and Jack felt in his Nightmare body a weird feeling of repulsion. She didn't like intruders on her room, Jack could feel that, but that just made it more interesting for him. Opening the door silently, he saw the dark room, the spookster slipped in and turned on the light, Jack dared the repulsion feeling going afoot. He felt really comfortable here; he stared at the collection of dark books on the bookshelf and the wooden globe on the right side of the room.

"Well, she's got some stile." He told the spookster. The spookster itself was inspecting the room maliciously, it looked at the round mirror on a table, it was weird, little decorated, but still it felt as it had something else… Jack just had to look at it to know what it was; he ran next to the spookster and took it gently. "Mort made one of these once. Remember? I didn't know they made them here too. Well, we should leave it here; we don't want a trip to her mind without permission eh?"

He left the mirror where he found it and went to look for the last room. Robin's room was at the other side of the tower; the corridor made a round trip along the rooms' floor and ended up in the living room. When Jack and the spookster opened the door they where surprised to find a darker room than Raven's. Robin's room just had a single light, over a table, with all kinds of artifacts and newspaper articles, the same that where all over the walls and even some scattered through the floor.

This guy is obsessed on his job- Jack though, looking at a replica of Slade's mask Robin had hanging on the wall. –Maybe I should show him how to… nah… too difficult. Besides it's not my business…"

On his way back to the hall Jack saw another door, the name on it however was hidden under a piece of metal. He tried to open the door, it was locked, then, he made a gesture to the spookster, it slipped under the door like smoke and seconds later came back, the door opened.

Inside, the desertic decoration was covered in dust, no one had entered it for some time. Jack could feel emptiness in it, a nostalgic feeling filled him and the spookster stepped back. Jack however managed to calm himself. "I'm okay." He said. "I can manage it." The spookster came near and they both inspected the room. "So there was a sixth Titan, guessed she had other things to do, other than keep an eye on this city. Cant blame her."

Jack saw a frame on a desk, with another photograph, this time, they where all the Titans, and once again, the slim, blond girl. Jack ordered the spookster to close the room when he left and walked away. The passed through the door frame.

With nothing left to find Jack went back to the living room, the spooksters had already finished the cleaning and even some of them had went down to Jacks basement room to clean up. One of them came near Jack, opened his palms and showed him what he had found.

"Hey... we could use that… I think…"

Meanwhile, the Titans had been looking all over the city for Dr. Light and Gizmo, which had disappeared before they had got to the crimes scene. Starfire was patrolling from the air, looking on the streets below for any sign of them.

"Have you seen them Star?" Robin told her by the intercommunicator.

"Not yet" She said. "Any news Beast Boy?"

"Nothing" his voice sounded on the communicator. "How do we know they went this way?"

"We don't" Robin said. "We're just waiting for them to come out."

"I saw them!" Cyborg exclaimed. "They're heading west through main and second. I think they're heading the old docks!"

The Titans met on the old docks, that where no longer used because of the new, better placed docks, and yet, some old fashioned boats where docked for exhibition or storage. Cyborg waited for them near an old destroyed building, in which the two villains had hidden. When the rest of them got there, Robin made up a quick infiltration strategy. Cyborg and Raven would wait in front of the buildings only exits, the garage and the front door, Starfire and BB would corner the windows as Robin got inside to let the two villains out out. Everyone took their positions; Robin got near a broken window and got in with an athletic jump. There was no sign of them however. Robin saw a movement, someone running towards a door, he shot one of his birderangs at it, but it just got stuck on the door when the fugitive crossed it. Then, an engine sound, he knocked off the door but just saw how Dr. Light and Gizmo escaped in an old dusty car.

"Cant this thing go any faster!" Gizmo complained as they broke the garage door, knocked down Cyborg, and drove away through the street. "They're catching up on us!"

Raven, Beast Boy and Sarfire were coming after them, Dr Light turned around and shot a light beam at Starfire, which managed to dodge it, meanwhile Gizmo was using his backpack computer to drive the old car. Raven used her telepathy to lift up the car, Gizmo and Dr. Light came out just in time. Dr. Light stayed on the street fighting the Titans, while Gizmo ran to a nearby truck, hopped on and connected himself to it in order to drive. He drove like a lunatic away from battle, being chased by a hawk BB. The truck seemed out of control as it went knocking everything it could at the sides of the street. A young man stood out of the store he had just visited, the salesman said he couldn't hear him with all the noise outside, so he went to check out what made the noise. He saw the large truck heading his way, he stood in the middle of the street, right where the truck could hit him, stepped firmly on the ground, stretched his hands out towards the truck, like trying to stop it, and the vehicle crashed into a hard wall of nothingness. Gizmo slammed out of the trucks cabin and landed near Jacks feet, BB dived and transformed into a gorilla in order to trap him and take off his backpack.

"Sorry to interrupt" Jack said. "I know he is your prey, but I couldn't hear myself with all the noise.

Raven and Starfire came flying, quite surprised seeing how the truck's cabin was after the collision, and BB holding Gizmo firmly although he struggled to get out. Jack went inside the store again, perhaps this time he would get a descent price for that bed…

Back with Dr Light, Robin and Cy weren't having many problems, Dr Light didn't have his extra power without Gizmo, and so his energy rays and accuracy weren't so good either, Cy lifted Robin up over their foe; Robin fell over him with a powerful kick on the face turning the power maniac's lights out.

Jack got out of the store furious.

That's no price for mere wood! - he though –Maybe I can get some cheaper on the docks…- He came near where the Titans were handing both of the villains to the police. Starfire was the first to notice him, and hasted near him.

"Thank for your work earlier" She said greet fully. "We wouldn't have couth Gizmo if you didn't…"

"Course you would." Jack said with indifference. "That's why the town pays you right? By the way, I wont charge this one because it was also troubling me, but don't expect any more free help from me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a mercenary, remember? I only work for money, and if you don't pay, well, I don't work then." He didn't seem to even pay attention to Starfire's worried expression; he was looking at an old crashed wooden boat on the docks. "Who's the owner of that thing?" He asked Robin.

"It crashed there some weeks ago, when we had a battle with Cinderblock over here, the owner said it was just rubbish, but the city hasn't picked it up" Robin said, in a serious tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Think you can help me with something?"

The Titans finally rested at almost seven o'clock, when they finished helping Jack to decorate his basement room with the crashed boats wood and junk. Jack told them he would make some free works if they helped him out with it, besides; cleaning up the tower had its merit.

"I still don't get it…" Cy said nailing a wood plank on the wall. "How did you clean the whole tower in…? Two hours?"

"I had some help." Jack answered also working on the same wall.

"What?" BB mocked "Did you contract a cleaning…" He stopped creepily when a ghastly hand touched hiss shoulder, and a shadowy spookster "smiled" at him. BB freeze, his body had paralyzed with the spooksters cool touch, and when he finally could move, he shouted and ran behind a big wooden box they had used for bringing the plackets. "Did anyone see that thing?"

"Chill out, my spooksters can't damage you, not if I don't tell them to." Jack laughed along with the rest of the Titans, while BB came out of the box with an uncumfurtable expression at the spookster that kept smiling at everyone. More and more spooksters came out of the walls and floor creeping Starfire when they appeared behind her. Raven and Robin just saw them curiously while Cy tried uselessly to talk to them. "Get some rest, we will finish this."

"Okay..." BB said nervously. "But I don't want any of them on my room at night!"

"Don't worry, they can't talk, not smell. Places that smell like a trash can aren't their favorite." Jack mocked. "By the way. Raven, where did you get that wooden globe? I want one here."

Raven turned back ferociously. One of her eyebrows lifted, and her eyes went white. Black telepathic power appeared on hr hands. The Titans ran upstairs leaving the door shut, as they didn't want to be part of the, massacre. Halfway through the staircase and the tower trembled with a shout.

"How dare you!" Ravens voice was heard between blasts, noises, and Jacks apologies. "No one ever enters my room! And how could you read my books!"

That night Jack didn't sleep either, defending himself all night left both fighters exhausted, and after Raven finally went to bed (Around 3:15 am) Jack still had to clean up the mess all over the basement.


All right, this chapter it's not that important, but I didn't want you to forget I existed, and had to introduce the spooksters and confirm Jacks mercenary identity. R&RR&R&R&R&R&R&R&R