The Terrible Child

by Cdc100

The Titans are enjoying their Saturday when they run across someone new: someone who's lost, alone and has a deep, dark secret. RobStar, BBRae, possible OCBlack

4. Loyalty to the End

The Terrible Child

By cdc100

Summary: The Teen Titans are having a peaceful Saturday when they run across someone new; someone who is lost, alone, and holds a deep, dark secret. Robin X Starfire, Possible Beast Boy X Raven and OC X Blackfire.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure, non-profit fanfiction. I don't own anything related to DC comics. If I did, Teen Titans Go! would have been based on the comics rather than a series of chibi fiascoes.

4

Chapter Four

"Loyalty to the End"

The last slice of pizza had gone to J.

J devoured the piece, crust and all, once again with no regard for table manners.

"This stuff is amazing," said J. "It's got everything. Grain, meat, dairy and vegetable. Why don't people eat this more often?"

"A single dish, providing a balanced helping of nature's blessings: meat, grain and vegetable. How could anyone hate such a magnificent thing?"

"Well, it can get kind of fattening," said Raven.

"True," said Starfire. "I myself have never become heavier due to pizza, but many earth girls seem reluctant to eat it, for fear of gaining weight."

"Doesn't look like it's been a problem for either of you," said J.

"Say what?" asked Raven.

"What," said J.

"No, I mean, I beg your pardon?" asked Raven.

"Well, you and Starfire seem to be just fine," said J. "Must work off a lot of calories fighting crime."

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" asked Raven.

"No," said J. "Just trying to say you and Starfire are in pretty damn good shape."

Raven looked away from J.

"Well…thanks," she said.

"For what?" asked J.

Raven scoffed.

"Nothing," she said. "Never mind."

J shrugged and pulled out his cigarettes. He put one in his mouth and took out his lighter.

"J…" said Cyborg. "Seriously?"

"What?" asked J.

"You're actually smoking those?" asked Cyborg.

"Does it look like I'm doing something else?" asked J.

Cyborg shook his head.

"No, smartass," he said. "It looks like you're doing something very unhealthy."

"If what Raven and Starfire said is any indication, eating pizza isn't a whole lot better," J said, taking a drag.

Robin tapped J on the shoulder and pointed to a big sign on the wall nearby that said, "No smoking within thirty feet of the building."

J grumbled and pulled out a small canister he found on one of the robbers. He dropped the cigarette into it and closed it before putting it back in his pocket.

The Titans all rolled their eyes.

"What?" asked J. "You asked me to stop smoking it and I did, so what's the problem?"

"Never mind," Robin said.

J shook his head.

"Whatever," he said. "So what's next?"

"I actually was hoping to talk to you about what happened at the bank," said Robin.

"What about it?" asked J.

"Well, for starters, that plan of yours," said Robin. "How did you come up with it so quickly?"

"I didn't," said J. "I knew nothing about what was going on inside before we showed up. If I knew anything other than that the bank was being robbed, my idea would have been different, or come about quicker. It might not have taken as long to execute."

"Fair enough," said Robin. "What about the finer details? You know, Raven and Starfire staying behind, Beast Boy scouting ahead, Cyborg hacking the bank?"

"Starfire's really strong and Raven can move things without touching them," said J. "They seemed like the ideal people to stay behind to avoid any of them getting hurt, and having them outside made a perfect backup plan in case the robbers managed to overpower us and try to escape with the money. Having Cyborg on the roof avoids the problem of people being seriously hurt by him, but also keeps him in range so that he can help us with any of the electronic systems. Having you and Beast Boy with me was advantageous because Beast Boy can change size on a whim, making him the ideal scout and perfect for a surprise attack if we needed it, and because you and I are both versed in close-quarters combat, making us a good two-man infiltration team."

Robin nodded.

"You thought of all that in less than a minute?" he asked.

"No," said J.

"What do you mean no?" asked Robin.

"I mean no," said J. "It's just common sense, isn't it?"

"Well, I suppose, if you put it that way," said Robin. "What about when you distracted those guys? How did you know they would think to go check the noise the magazine made?"

"Think?" asked J. "I didn't assume they were 'thinking' anything. I assumed that they were paranoid enough to go check anything that seemed even remotely off."

"Guess I can't really argue with that logic," said Robin.

Raven looked over at J.

"You did override Robin, though," she said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but we had to act fast," said J.

"Well it's kind of hard to argue with the results," said Robin.

"True," said Raven. "If we tried anything else…"

"One family might be missing a member today," finished Cyborg.

"Please," said Starfire. "May we please speak of something more pleasant? I wish not to discuss such an unpleasant notion further."

Beast Boy put a hand on Starfire's shoulder.

"It's okay, Star," he said. "We're just saying things couldn't have gone any better than they did."

"Amen to that," said Cyborg.

J raised his hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Robin.

"Ordering another pizza," said J.

"Wha-?" Beast Boy stuttered. "Another one?"

"I'm…sorry, J, but that's not in our budget," said Robin.

"Well, my budget just substantially increased," said J, fishing a few bills out of his pocket.

"What the-?" Cyborg gasped. "Where did you get that?"

"You're better off not knowing," said J.

The Titans all narrowed their eyes at J.

"I think I know where you got it," said Robin.

J sighed and scowled at the Titans.

"Where do you think this has more use?" he asked. "My pocket, or a police storage locker?"

"That isn't yours," said Robin.

"And how do you know it was theirs?" asked J.

"All the more reason that it doesn't belong to you," said Robin.

"Think for a second," said J. "On my person, these leafy greens have more of a purpose than they would in some cardboard box waiting for some bum to make parole. I don't see him needing it any time in the near future."

Starfire's face relaxed, and she turned to the other titans and spoke.

"I believe J has a point," she said. "Now that he speaks, I seem to recall that when we first apprehended the Control Freak, we did not give his remote control to the police. Instead, we took it back to the tower, so that he could never use it again."

The group looked down at the wad of bills J pulled out. They then looked back up at J. They each leaned back and remained silent.

As one of the pizzeria's employees walked by, J got his attention.

"One more meat lover's, one more vegetarian, please," he said.

The employee walked back into the pizzeria.

"So, why the second pizza?" asked Cyborg.

J shrugged.

"I like it here," he said. "And if I can't smoke here, I might as well eat while we're here, right?"

Robin nodded.

"Maybe we can just think of this as treating ourselves for a job well done," he said.

"Who said any of you guys get a slice?" deadpanned J.

The Titans looked at J with their mouths open.

"That was a joke," he said. "You really think I'm going to eat a whole vegetarian pizza to myself?"

Not long after that, a server brought two more pizzas out and set them at the Titans' table, and each of the teens took a slice and set it on their plate. After J had finished his extra slices, he got up from the table.

"You guys can consider these pies on me," he said. "I'll get you guys some go boxes and be outside when you're ready to go."

J turned from the table and walked back indoors.

As the group sat, Raven shuddered.

"What is it, Raven?" asked Robin.

"It's…that feeling again," said Raven. "It felt like something slithering up my spine…like a snake."

"Is it something bad?" asked Robin.

"It's hard to say," said Raven. "If it were really bad, it would most likely have surfaced already, but it hasn't."

Raven followed J with her eyes, and the other Titans followed her gaze to his direction. Starfire turned to look at Raven.

"Do you believe that these feelings you are receiving might be due to our new friend?" she asked.

"It's possible," said Raven. "I did start having them the morning we met him."

Beast Boy watched J walk downstairs after going by the counter.

"What do you think is up with him?" he asked. "He's like Raven with Robin's powers."

"Uh…I don't have any powers," said Robin.

"Exactly," said Beast Boy. "He relies on the same kinds of skills as you do."

"Beast Boy's right about one thing," said Raven. "If he had powers, I think we would have seen them by now."

"How do you figure that?" asked Cyborg.

"We've already witnessed some of his abilities firsthand," said Raven. "He's apparently trained in the martial arts just like Robin, and those abilities are perfectly natural to him, even without his other memories. It doesn't seem likely that he would remember how to fight hand-to-hand, but not any powers that he might have."

"She's right," said Beast Boy. "It doesn't make any sense, even to me. I don't know if I'd say he's normal, though."

"Me neither," said Raven. "A normal person would think twice before jumping off a cliff to avoid pursuers, but he didn't even hesitate."

"True," said Starfire. "He also did not hesitate when we saved the bank."

"You should have seen him take those weapons apart," said Robin. "It was like he'd been doing it all his life. And he knew exactly what model of gun they were using."

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "He even knew where they came from. I mean, I knew AKs came from Russia, but I only ever hear of the AK-47, not the AK-74u."

"What's the difference?" asked Beast Boy.

"Mainly the ammunition," said Robin. "The 74u fires a slightly smaller cartridge."

Robin scratched his chin.

"What are you thinking?" asked Cyborg.

"Right now, I'm thinking J has more combat experience than he remembers," said Robin. "He might have been part of some sort of military program."

"That explains the gun use and what not," said Cyborg. "What about his amnesia, though?"

"If Robin's right, it's probably post-traumatic stress disorder," said Raven. "PTSD can cause short or long-term memory loss, depending on the case. And like I said before, amnesia has been known to have an effect on someone's personality, mannerisms, habits, attitudes."

Robin sighed.

"We're starting to talk in circles here," he said. "I think it might be best for us to talk to Officer Miller soon and take her up on her offer. She has access to stuff that we don't, and could help us answer a few questions."

"Sounds good," said Cyborg. "But before we do that, how about we give him some more time with us? He's just starting to get used to us."

"Agreed," said Starfire. "And when we go, we should all go with him. We are the closest thing that J has to friends, and as such, we should be there to provide him with moral support."

"I wouldn't have even considered sending him there by himself," said Robin. "Like Raven said, it's not a good idea for him to be by himself. And people are looking for him, so we might be sending him into a trap. All the more reason for us to be there when he goes."

"I could try something as well," said Raven. "I could do what I did with you when you thought that Slade had returned. It's risky, though. We might find something we won't like, or it might cause more damage."

Robin nodded.

"We'll use that as an absolute last resort," he said. "We don't need to make this harder than it already is."

The other Titans nodded and resumed eating.

After he got the go boxes, J went outside, then faced the pizzeria. He started to pace backwards, and counted with every step he took.

"Thirty," he said, taking the final step.

J reached into his pocket and pulled the canister back out of his pocket. He opened it and ejected the partially-burned cigarette he had started. He pulled the lighter he had back out and re-lit it. He took a long drag from the small tube and blew out a long wisp over his head.

As he stood, he looked up at the balcony where the Titans had taken their table. He watched the teens talk amongst themselves.

J took another drag and considered each of his newfound friends.

As he watched them speak, J heard more of the voices he had heard before.

"We're here to back you up."

"It's my turn to protect you."

"This time, I've got your back!"

"You're pretty good!"

"Pretty…good…"

"We're men, with names."

"Now go! Let the legend come back to life!"

"Have you ever…loved someone?"

"There's no one I'd rather have in a foxhole than you."

"Life isn't all about loss, you know."

J took another drag of his cigarette, which was now merely a stump. After the last drag, he dropped it on the ground and stomped on it.

J put his hands in his pockets and leaned against a nearby wall, still watching the Titans as he waited.

Back on the balcony, Beast Boy snapped his gloved fingers.

"Wait a second," he said. "Didn't J say that Miller lady seemed familiar to him?"

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "He did. She might be able to help us more than she thought."

"Maybe so," said Robin. "But I think it might be best if we see what we can find out on our own first."

"How long do you think we should press him?" asked Raven.

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'pressing him,'" said Robin, "but what if we keep him at the tower for another week or so before we do anything else."

"That's all well and good," said Raven, looking over the balcony, down at J. "But what are we going to do about that?"

Raven pointed over the balcony, prompting the other Titans to look over it. When they did, they could see J exhaling a cloud of smoke over his head.

"I'd rather not have to heal lung tissue," said Raven.

"It might be some kind of coping mechanism," said Cyborg. "My dad smoked for a time when he was stressed out."

"Cyborg's got a point," said Robin. "We'd probably be pretty stressed out about not being able to remember anything earlier than 48 hours ago."

"Besides, perhaps this is an indicator of his character," said Starfire. "While I do not approve of the smoking of cigarettes, the fact that he does so tells us more about him."

"And narrows the field of possibilities," said Robin. "There are fewer people in the world who smoke than people who don't."

"Flawless logic," said Raven. "Except that when we first observed his medical examinations, we didn't find any evidence of him having smoked in the past. This is a very, very new development."

"So we're back to square one," said Beast Boy. "Doesn't seem like we're any worse off than before. We're still dealing with a missing persons case."

"I guess," said Raven.

Robin looked down at the table.

"Let's box up this pizza," he said. "We'll discuss more at the Tower. We might still be able to derive something from J's dreams."

Soon, the Titans had their leftovers put away and came out of the pizzeria. J was leaning against a nearby building, his cigarette long since extinguished.

"Have a nice smoke?" asked Robin.

J shrugged and followed the Titans to the vehicles. He got in the back seat with Raven and Starfire, sitting on the passenger's side and looking out the window as the T-Car took off and passed all the nearby buildings.

"So, how are you liking Jump City so far?" Beast Boy asked from the front passenger seat.

"It's alright," said J. "Don't really have anything to compare it to."

"You don't know about any other cities?" asked Cyborg.

"I know the basics about certain cities, like New York is our largest city, Chicago has the most crime out of all the cities in the US, Washington, D.C. is the capital and stuff like that, but that's about all," said J. "I don't even know if I myself am American."

"You sure sound like one," said Beast Boy. "Well, other than the battered throat, I mean."

"That could mean anything," said J. "I could be Canadian, Bermudan, maybe even Monacan."

"Well, do you know any French?" asked Raven. "If not, we might be able to rule out Canada and Monaco as your homelands."

"Off the top?" asked J.

He looked up in thought.

"Quand allons-nous retour à la Tour?" he asked.

Raven's eyes widened. The other occupants of the car did a double take.

"It shouldn't take us long," said Raven. "Ten minutes at the most."

"What was that?" asked Beast Boy.

"I asked Raven when we'd return to the Tower," said J.

"You never did like the French," said a voice in J's head.

"All that Catherine the Great aristocratic pompousness gets to me, that's all," said another voice. "Palace talk. They can keep it."

"What the-?" J asked.

"What is it?" asked Cyborg.

J shook his head.

"It's nothing," said J.

"Another memory?" asked Starfire.

J sighed and nodded.

"What was it?" asked Raven.

"Somebody talking about not liking the French," said J. "Something about 'Catherine the Great aristocratic pompousness.'"

Raven quirked an eyebrow.

"You asked," said J.

"Never said I didn't," said Raven, facing forward again.

"What do you suppose it means?" asked J.

"When we get back to the Tower, we're going to try and go over your dreams," said Raven. "We'll also need to know anything odd you might have experienced up to this point."

"You mean besides rooming in a Tower with a quintet of superheroes?" asked J.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "Besides that."

"That's going to be kind of hard," said J. "Everything's been just…crazy. I've seen and heard and felt stuff that just…isn't normal. Even by superhero standards. No offense."

"None taken," said Cyborg.

"Please, friend J," said Starfire. "Anything that will help us understand you and learn who you are, will be a great help. We do not care how odd or questionable it seems."

"Okay," said J. "So, if I told you I had some kind of hallucination?"

"You wouldn't be the first of us to have one," said Raven. "We've all experienced odd stuff like that."

"Odd," said J. "That actually makes me feel a little better."

"Yeah, you're not the only weirdo in town," joked Cyborg.

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "Like the man said, I'm green, half of him is metal, she's from space, and she's half-demon. You fit in just fine."

J chuckled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the box of cigarettes he'd pilfered and stuck one in his mouth.

"I know you not smokin' up my car," said Cyborg, glaring at J through the rearview mirror.

The other Titans looked at J with narrowed eyes.

J shrugged and put the cigarette back in the box.

"Hey, J," said Beast Boy. "I think we narrowed down the possibilities more."

"How do you figure?" asked J.

"I saw you ogling one of the servers back at the pizza place," said Beast Boy, waggling his eyebrows and ears.

J's jaw tightened and he looked out the window more intently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said J.

Cyborg grinned through the rearview mirror.

"Don't lie to us, kid," he said. "We saw you tryin' to check her out without a card. Someone should arrest you!"

"One more word, and I swear to God…" said J, bringing the box of cigarettes back out.

"You do and you're walking," Cyborg said, scowling.

"Maybe I'd prefer to risk having to walk than deal with any more of that shit," said J, taking out his lighter and flicking the switch.

"Alright!" yelled Cyborg. "Alright! I'm sorry! Just…put those away, will you?"

J chuckled and put away the cigarettes and lighter.

"Never threaten unless you're ready to deliver," he said. "Makes you look like a wimp."

Cyborg looked back through the mirror again.

"Seriously, though," said Cyborg. "Why'd you get so mad just now?"

"Yeah," said Beast Boy. "Nothing wrong with seeing a cute girl."

J remained silent.

"I hate to say it, but Beast Boy's right," said Raven. "You're a teenage boy. You're going to look. As long as you don't make them feel uncomfortable, there's nothing wrong with looking."

J remained silent still.

"Come on, man," said Cyborg. "Talk to us."

J groaned.

"Fine," he said. "I…looked."

Cyborg and Beast Boy reached their hands back to high-five J, but Raven scowled at them both, causing the duo to retract their hands.

"What did you look at?" asked Raven.

"I'd…rather not say," said J.

"Come on," said Beast Boy. "What did we just say? It's okay to look. You think she's going to find out you were checking her out and then come back to beat you up?"

"As if," said J.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Beast Boy.

"What good would it have done?" asked J. "Even if she liked it, which I doubt she would have, it wouldn't make any difference."

"Hey, come on, man," said Cyborg, frowning. "You say that now, but you might run into somebody else. What are you going to do then?"

"Ignore her," said J.

"Ignore her?" asked Cyborg.

"Ignore her," said J.

The boys remained silent.

"Well you're boring," said Beast Boy.

"Okay, Mr. Ladies' Man wannabe," said J. "Enlighten me. What would you do in that situation?"

"I thought you'd never ask," said Beast Boy, smiling. "Allow me to demonstrate."

With that, Beast Boy looked back into the back seat, at Raven.

"Hey there, beautiful," Beast Boy said. "What's cooking?"

"Your brain if you don't get out of here," said Raven.

Beast Boy frowned and looked back ahead.

"Please, J," said Starfire. "Women love to be noticed. If you find the right one, they will appreciate your thoughts on their appearance as well as their personalities."

"I don't think there is a right one for me," said J.

All the Titans looked at J when Cyborg came to a red light.

"What in the world makes you say that?" asked Cyborg.

"When was the last time you saw a classified saying, 'Amnesiac martial artist looking for love?'" asked J.

"Um…never?" asked Cyborg.

"I rest my case," said J.

"It's not much of a case," said Raven.

"Raven's right," said Beast Boy. "Come on. It's not like we're going to hurt you if you tell us."

J sighed a heavy sigh then looked up at the ceiling.

"Fine," he said. "She…had a pretty face."

"Yeah?" asked Cyborg. "What was pretty about it?"

"Her eyes," said J. "They sparkled. They were calm, warm, compassionate eyes. Like Starfire's."

Starfire turned away to hide a blush.

"What else?" asked Beast Boy.

"Well…" J trailed off, "she had a cute…smile."

"Smile?" asked Cyborg.

"Yeah," said J.

"You don't sound so sure," said Raven.

"I was trying to be considerate," said J.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Look," she said, "none of us are going to judge you, okay? Your embarrassment is overwhelming, so could you please just tell us the truth?"

"Well, she did have a cute smile," said J.

"Duly noted," said Raven.

"What else?" said Beast Boy.

J looked out the window again.

"She had a cute butt," he said.

Raven quirked an eyebrow while Starfire blushed again and Beast Boy and Cyborg sniggered to each other.

"So we've got a butt man onboard," said Beast Boy.

"It wasn't quite as cute as Raven's, though," said J.

Raven recoiled at that, and Beast Boy suddenly lost his sense of humor. Meanwhile, Starfire and Cyborg both chuckled.

"Alright!" growled J. "I have now thoroughly embarrassed myself, so can we please stop talking about this?!"

Everyone in the car clammed up as the vehicle came to a stop in the garage of the tower.

Robin pulled into the garage shortly after that and left his helmet on the R-Cycle as the other Titans got out of the car.

"How was the ride?" asked Robin.

J stepped away from the car and walked past him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

Robin turned to the other Titans.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"We have found out that friend J finds my eyes to be calm and compassionate and Raven's butt to be cute," said Starfire, smiling.

The three other T-Car occupants looked at Starfire in horror (except for Cyborg, who just laughed loudly) while Robin's eye twitched.

When everyone got inside, they found J on the couch, laying down and staring at the ceiling.

"Come to embarrass me more?" he asked.

"No," said Robin. "The others and I are serious about wanting to help you figure out who you are. You're our friend now, so we want to help. It's also the reason why Cyborg and Beast Boy were ribbing you back in the T-Car. Friends do that to each other."

"I see," said J. "Well, I appreciate you guys thinking of me that way, even if you have a weird way of showing it."

Beast Boy and Cyborg clenched their hands into fists and extended them to J, who rolled his eyes and gave them each a pound.

"Blow it up," said Beast Boy.

"Don't push it," said J.

"Okay," said Robin. "Now that that's settled, what do you say we get down to business?"

J sat up on the couch and the others joined him.

"So," said Robin. "You mentioned having dreams. We were wondering if you could share the details."

"As discussed in the car, it might also be good if you could tell us about anything weird you've experienced since coming here," said Raven.

"Right," said J.

J reached into his pocket and pulled something out. The group saw it and recognized it. Beast Boy reached out and took the object from J's hand. It was a light blue hair clip with an adornment in the shape of a butterfly.

"Where did you get this?" asked Beast Boy.

"I found it on a table in the room I shacked up in," said J.

"What happened?" asked Raven.

"I reached out to touch it and something…weird happened," said J. "It disappeared and I saw a glittering blue butterfly fly around my room. I also heard a helicopter rotor. The butterfly landed back on the table and the hairclip was back."

Beast Boy looked down at the clip.

"It sounds like you saw a morpho butterfly," he said. "Now that I think of it, it does sort of look like that."

"Tower, this is Morpho One! Do you copy?"

"I'm sorry I took it," said J. "It just…stirred something up, so I thought maybe I should give it a closer look…later."

"It's not your fault," said Cyborg. "I'd want to look at anything that made me experience something like that."

J nodded.

"Where did you guys get that, anyway?" he asked.

Beast Boy frowned as he looked down at the hair decoration.

"It used to belong to a friend of ours," he said.

"What happened to her?" asked J. "Who was she?"

"It's a long story," said Cyborg.

"Well, you can tell it," said J. "I'm not going anywhere."

The Titans all nodded to each other, and Beast Boy heaved a great sigh before he spoke.

"Her name…was Terra," said Beast Boy. "She came to us as a rookie. She had the ability to move rocks and earth with her mind."

"Geokinesis, huh?" asked J.

"We brought her to the Tower and let her stay," said Beast Boy. "We wanted to bring her onto the team, but she didn't want to stay."

"Why not?" asked J.

"She wasn't able to control her powers," said Beast Boy. "She was afraid of hurting us and having us banish her from the tower. She came to help us out with one of our most dangerous enemies – a guy named Slade – but Slade ended up getting inside her head. When she realized that we knew she couldn't control her powers, she left and joined forces with Slade to try and learn to control her powers. She came back to us, and we thought she would be a great addition to the team, but…"

Beast Boy's head sank.

"We found out that she was working for Slade," said Robin. "She betrayed us, and gave Slade everything he ever wanted to know about us. She helped Slade bring this entire city to its knees."

"But the truth is, deep inside, Terra was just a scared girl," said Raven. "She went to Slade and betrayed us because she didn't know what else to do. In the end, she helped us defeat Slade, sacrificing herself in the process."

"Bomb! There is a…"

"It's alright! We got it out!"

"There is another…in…my…"

"NO!"

J suddenly collapsed to the floor and started to breathe heavily.

"J!" exclaimed Starfire. "Are you okay?"

J heaved a breath and sat back up, laying his head against the seat of the couch.

"I'm fine," he said.

"What's wrong?" asked Robin.

"It was…like my dreams," said J.

"What exactly do you see in your dreams, J?" asked Cyborg.

"I don't really 'see' anything," said J. "I just hear a bunch of noise. People talking."

"Examples?" asked Robin.

"A bunch of different things," said J. "It's hard to pick any one out. There was a guy, telling another guy he'd better not die, another guy giving someone a 'good news, bad news' scenario…"

"What kind of good news, bad news scenario?" asked Robin.

"He said the good news was he was still alive, and the bad news was, the whole world wanted him dead," said J.

"What did you hear just now?" asked Raven.

"Something about a bomb," said J. "A person said they got one bomb out, but the other person said there was another."

"That's it?" asked Robin.

J nodded.

Cyborg scratched his chin.

"If he strains too much to remember, it might cause more damage," he said.

"Right," said Beast Boy, patting J on the back. "Baby steps, buddy."

Starfire and Robin both lifted J from the floor and gently sat him back down on the couch.

"I don't think it's a good idea for him to get up right now," said Raven.

"I have to agree," said Robin. "J, you should sit on the couch and chill for a while. We'll pick out a movie for you and you can take a nap for a little while."

J yawned and allowed himself to sink back into the couch.

"That sounds good to me," he said.

The group put on a movie of some sort and started doing their own thing in the common room as the movie played. Starfire went into the kitchen to cook. Cyborg went with her to help and supervise. Meanwhile, Beast Boy and Robin sat at the table playing a game of cards, and Raven sat at the end of the couch, reading a book.

J happened to look over at Raven and glance at the book. Evidently, it was a collection of poems and stories by someone named Edgar Allan Poe.

"So, which one are you reading?" asked J.

"Can't you tell by the cover?" Raven asked, peeking around the cover at him.

"I can," said J. "I just wanted to know which poem you were reading."

"Oh," said Raven. "Well, I just finished reading The Bells. Now I'm reading The Masque of the Red Death."

"Good?" asked J.

"So far," said Raven. "Probably nothing you'd be interested in."

"Let me borrow it sometime and we'll see," said J.

"Alright," said Raven. "Maybe I will."

J faced forward.

"I'm guessing this kind of movie isn't really your thing," he said.

Raven looked up at the TV screen to see that some sort of action movie was playing; the kind with muscle bound men with big guns.

"Not really," said Raven. "What about you? Is it your thing?"

"Kind of remains to be seen," said J. "I mean, a lot of the stuff I'm seeing right now seems horribly inaccurate."

"Most movies are," said Raven. "Most of them aren't really meant to be accurate; merely to entertain."

"Maybe if I found something to focus on besides all the action sequences…" J trailed off.

"Yeah," said Raven. "Like how nice all those pretty women's butts look."

J looked toward the kitchen and away from Raven.

"I'm…sorry…about that," said J.

Raven set her book down and tapped J on the shoulder.

"J," she said. "Any of the others will tell you, if I had a problem with you, you'd know it."

J grunted in acknowledgment.

"Well, any time you want to give me some payback, I won't stop you," he said.

"Turnabout is fair play, huh?" asked Raven. "It's not like you insulted me or anything."

"Didn't I make you uncomfortable, though?" asked J.

"Only a little," said Raven. "But not for the reason you think. I'm just not used to compliments, is all."

"I would never have guessed," said J.

"Pardon me?" asked Raven.

"I figured you had guys lining up at the front of the Tower," said J.

As the duo spoke, Beast Boy scowled down at his hand.

"Is everything alright, Beast Boy?" asked Robin. "You haven't made a move in five minutes."

"It's…nothing, Rob," Beast Boy said, laying down a card.

"If you're sure," said Robin.

Robin picked up another card from the deck.

J looked over into the kitchen where Cyborg and Starfire were cooking something. He sniffed the air.

"That doesn't smell like anything I recognize," said J.

"If we were talking about any other food, I would say that could mean anything," said Raven. "But what you're smelling is probably another one of Starfire's alien dishes."

"I see," said J.

"Yeah," said Raven.

"You don't sound too thrilled about that," said J.

"Starfire makes a lot of dishes that Earthlings shouldn't even touch," said Raven. "Most of it is either still alive, or completely inedible."

"Still alive?" asked J. "Sounds like a good test of my survival skills."

Raven shrugged.

"Survival skills indeed," she said. "That's exactly what an earthling needs when trying her cooking."

J smiled.

"How are the rest of you at cooking?" asked J.

"Well, all Beast Boy ever cooks is tofu," said Raven. "I burn everything. Even water."

"I don't know," said J. "Those pancakes you made this morning weren't bad."

"Thanks," said Raven. "Well, you already know what Starfire's cooking is like. I think of the five of us, Cyborg and Robin are the best cooks. Ironic, isn't it?"

"What is?" asked J.

"That the majority of our team are boys and they're the only ones who can cook," said Raven.

"How's that ironic?" asked J.

"Girls are more expected to know how to cook," said Raven.

"I don't see what the big deal is," said J. "It's just like combat. Some people are suited for it and some aren't. That doesn't mean that one gender or another is better suited for it."

Raven shrugged.

"I suppose," she said.

"Both genders should at least have a basic idea how to do it," J said. "If you're out in the wilderness by yourself, who's going to cook for you? You."

"You really like to think in terms of survival, don't you?" asked Raven.

"Survival is how you ensure a successful mission," said J.

Raven nodded and went back to her book.

J turned to look at the TV screen again, and soon enough, he found himself asleep.

As he dreamt, J found himself in a large field full of white flowers, standing face-to-face with a woman. She was an older woman, who wore an all-white uniform with the front opened to expose her chest. Her long, wavy, blonde hair was drawn back in a ponytail.

The woman spoke to him.

"I taught you all I could," said the woman. "The rest you needed to learn on your own."

"Techniques, sure," J felt and heard himself say, "but what about how to think like a soldier?"

"There's a saying in the Orient," said the woman. "'Loyalty to the End…' Do you know what that means?"

"Being…patriotic?" J asked.

"It means devoting yourself to your country," said the woman. "As long as we have 'Loyalty to the End,' there's no point in believing in anything…even in those we love."

"And that's the way a soldier's supposed to think?" asked J.

"The only thing we can believe in with absolute certainty…is the mission, Jack," said the woman.

J woke slowly, staring at the ceiling of Titans Tower as his eyes fluttered open.

"Jack…" he said.

"What did you say?" asked the voice of Raven.

J turned to look at Raven, and saw that she had put down her book. She was looking at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Another dream?" she asked.

"Yeah," said J.

"More voices?" asked Raven.

"More," said J. "Not just voices. I could see images, this time."

The other Titans came over from the other areas of the Tower and looked down at J.

"What did you see?" asked Cyborg.

J shook his head.

"A woman," he said. "We were standing in a field of flowers. White flowers."

"What were you doing?" asked Robin.

"We were talking," said J. "Just talking."

"What about?" asked Robin.

"She was talking about 'Loyalty to the End,'" said J.

"What?" asked Beast Boy. "What's that mean?"

"I wasn't entirely clear on that either," J said. "But from what she said, it means devoting yourself entirely to a cause. She said 'Loyalty to the End' means believing in the cause and nothing else."

"What cause?" asked Cyborg.

"I'm not sure," said J. "But I think it means something. She was saying that you have to devote yourself entirely to what you believe in. I think I'm supposed to find something to believe in, and devote myself to it entirely. In my dream I asked if what she was talking about was being patriotic. She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no, either. I suppose it's fitting to call a mentality like that 'patriotism.' Like you, Starfire."

"Me?" asked Starfire.

"You come from Tamaran," said J. "You share the customs of your home world with your friends. But you live on Earth. You live with your friends in Titans Tower. Every day, you help your friends save Jump City from some kind of catastrophe. Every day, you save Earthlings' lives.

"But of course," said Starfire. "I live here now. This is my home. I will stop anyone who threatens my home and I will not allow anyone in my home to be hurt."

"Exactly," said J. "You've devoted yourself to your home. You've devoted yourself to its protection. You're a true patriot."

Starfire smiled.

"Well, I suppose I am…flattered," said J.

"You shouldn't be," J said.

"I am…sorry?" Starfire asked, frowning.

"By devoting yourself to the protection of a planet you don't come from, which you have chosen as your home, you are doing your duty," said J. "You are showing loyalty to a cause. You're showing patriotism. For that reason, you're proving yourself to be a hero. You deserve recognition and have no reason to be humble."

Starfire's entire face turned red.

"The same goes for the rest of you," J said. "You're doing something that nobody asked you to do, because it feels like the right thing to do. You're showing true patriotism with your actions."

Robin grinned down at J.

"So what does that make you, then?" he asked.

"Guess my dream was telling me that I should find out," said J. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, it sounds to me like we need to do a full test of your abilities," said Robin.

"But how are we to do this?" asked Starfire. "As advanced as our equipment may be, we do not have all that is necessary to test all of his skills."

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "We have targets that he could use to practice, but we would have to be sure he couldn't hit anything or anybody else with his guns."

"He doesn't have any guns right now," said Beast Boy.

J smirked to himself at Beast Boy's remark.

"What?" asked Beast Boy.

"Nothing," said J.

"Anyway, even if he did, there's no way Robin would ever let him use them," said Beast Boy.

"If what Robin said is any indication, then J's skill with firearms isn't something we can just ignore," said Raven. "We can't just pretend they don't exist. That would be like asking Cyborg to give up his sonic cannon and Starfire to stop using her starbolts."

"Good point," said Cyborg. "And we've seen firsthand that Starfire's starbolts are more dangerous than any firearm."

"Of course they are," said Robin. "They're pure energy."

"So, if you guys are allowed to use things like that, there's no reason to stop J from using his skills with a firearm," said Raven.

"There's only one problem with that," said Robin. "Cyborg's sonic cannon and Starfire's starbolts aren't regulated. Firearms are. In order for J to use his skills uninhibited, we would need some sort of special permit."

Cyborg nodded.

"Maybe it's time we pay Officer Miller a visit," he said. "She did say that she'd trade help with us."

The other Titans nodded.

"It's settled, then," Robin said. "I'll call Officer Miller tomorrow and ask her to meet us."

"There's one thing I'm still wondering, though," said Raven. "Where does Jack fit into this?"

"Jack?" asked Cyborg.

"Yeah," said Raven. "When J woke up, I heard him say that name."

J scratched his head.

"In my dream, the woman called me Jack," he said.

To be continued…