[2 months later] [Jump's Pizza]

Jason Barnes sighed as he waited in line. Tonight was a lazy night, so Edward asked him to pick up pizza for them tonight. He hated having to wait, but thankfully, in the time he's been with his half-brother, he did learn some patience. He stepped forward when it was finally his turn.

"Meat-lovers for Barnes", he said, knowing what they were gonna ask before they said. He had been here often enough to get used to them, much to his dismay. After an exchange of cash, the coveted pizza was in his hands, and while he still hated humans... pizza was a good invention.

He started walking home, expecting to arrive without anything interesting happening (again) when a rumble in the distance caught his attention. He paused, looking down the street where he should be walking... then toward the commotion.

"He won't mind if I'm a minute late", he decided, wanting to check it out. He was actually hoping to see the Titans; in the time he lived here, he had not seen them even once in person. His urge to fight was at an all time high. Even seeing a fight would help quell the urge to punch the next jackass that yelled at him for "jaywalking".

And he was not disappointed. He saw the team attacking what appeared to be a monster made of stone, who roared in anger as the much more mobile teenagers danced around him with no problem. Jason hunkered down behind a toppled car, watching the battle with interest.

The green one was currently shifted into an elephant, attempting to hold back Cinderblock wis his weight alone, but given the monster's size, it wasn't too hard for him to push the changeling back. A beam of blue energy shot at the creature's back, making him stagger.

"What's the matter, Rocky? Don't like the sound of my music?" Cyborg taunted, grinning.

The monster, in response, ripped a streetlight out of the ground, swinging it at the team.

"Impressive", Jason said in a hushed tone. "This is what these 'super heroes' can do? I never imagined I'd see mortals fighting in such a way... it's almost otherworldly."

As he watched the fight, a swirl of blue caught his attention while he heard the leader, Robin, call to the flying orange girl. The last member of the team was picking up a mailbox, hoping to at least distract Cinderblock while her teammates wailed on him. At first it worked, but she was too slow to dodge an attack, and got hit hard by the post. With a grunt, she got sent flying, and Jason saw she was heading right for the side of a building.

His legs moved before he could even think. He soon was flying through the air, catching her as he fell to the ground, rolling as they both grunted in pain. When his back hit the wall, he sat up, looking down at her. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was in pain.

"Did she get hurt?" Jason asked, sighing a bit. "Humans are weak... I should at least see if she has any head trauma." He reached up, pulling her hood back so he could look for any injuries.

The moment he saw Raven's face, he froze. Her grey skin seemed to glow a bit in the moonlight, and the look of her face made him feel like she was... otherworldly. In a way he never though a human could be. Once he realized he was staring, he shook his head, closing his eyes. "Focus, Filkiin", he muttered, before running his fingers along her scalp, checking for bleeding. After determining she was fine, he gently shook her. "Hey, wake up!"

Raven let out a groan, before opening her purple eyes slowly. "What the...?"

"No time. You're not hurt, and your friends are still fighting the rock thing", Jason said, helping her stand. "Go join them and take that thing down."

"W-was planning on it without your help, thanks", the empath said dryly. After shaking herself free, she took to the air again, leaving Jason behind.

The dragon in disguise watched only a moment longer, before collecting his pizza again and making a hasty retreat. Hopefully he won't be too mad at me for taking too long...

Edward, meanwhile, was wondering what was taking so long. But, within a few more minutes, Jason came in and got the pizza to the table.

"So?" Edward said with mild annoyance, "What happened?"

"Just ran into the Teen Titans," Jason replied, "They were fighting a golem."

Edward raised an eyebrow and turned on the TV. Sure enough, there was a Breaking News alert regarding the fight. Edward recognized the area and nodded.

"That's Cinderblock," Edward explained, "He's one of the stronger villains in the city and it usually takes all of the Titans to defeat him."

The TV showed where Raven was almost knocked into the building and he was stunned seeing Jason catching her and making sure she was unharmed.

Edward turned, "I see you didn't waste much time," he said, "Good work in protecting Raven."

"I moved without thinking", Jason admitted. "Humans are weak... even teenage hero versions. I simply didn't want her to be taken out by such an honorless attack." It was obvious he was just making an excuse, though; he genuinely didn't want her to be hurt.

"They might be weak by our definition of strength," Edward said, "However, as I have seen more footage of their fights, by mortal standards, they are quite powerful. Raven is actually quite strong with it comes to her magic use. Doing the right thing never needs to be explained. And, Jason, you certainly did the right thing in catching her and taking the brunt of the impact. That's certainly a good thing dragons have: Durability." He sat down at the table and grabbed a couple pieces of the meaty goodness.

"And, yes, that attack was without honor. I'm glad that you finally met the Titans. Helping Raven is an honorable thing. Remember that the duty of the strong is to protect the weak." Edward said with a smirk.

"Have you seen them?" Jason asked, grabbing a slice. "And, I do understand what you're saying, Edward. But, I still distrust the humans." His thoughts were only partially on the conversation; flashes of the empath kept him a bit agitated. Was she really okay?

"I haven't had the opportunity, yet," Edward said, "Oh, I would enjoy helping them out in fights, but, I can't reveal myself, yet. Circle's rules, remember? Who knows, maybe there will be a day when our kind can be out in the open?"

"How have you been able to hide in plain sight all this time?" Jason asked.

"Wasn't easy," Edward admitted, "When one doesn't age normally, one eventually attracts attention, so, I kept on the move. Going from town to town or living off the land itself. Sometimes, I could hang around a larger city by altering my age. By slowing adding gray hair and wrinkles would make people think I was actually aging. It was my immortality that was the issue at times. Minor cuts and scrapes, I could hide while they healed. Anything major and, well, it was hard to explain to people without them accusing me of blasphemy."

Edward noticed that Jason was distracted and decided to continue eating.

Jason, meanwhile, thought about the event, playing it over and over. Why was he limited by these rules? Why couldn't he do more to help? His plan backfired; now he was more eager to fight than ever before. Then maybe others wouldn't have to be afraid. A plan began forming in his head. A dragon was unacceptable... but what if he took a form that was neither dragon nor human? He munched on his pizza slowly, the gears in his head turning.

After eating for a bit, he decided to try and ask Edward something. "So... I'm assuming you've changed your human form a few times over the years. But I've thought of something that perhaps has never been thought of before. Is it possible that... instead of being forced to be either human or dragon, one could possibly be... both?"

"I do not see any problems with it," Edward said, "A hybrid form...Interesting thought. There's nothing in the 'rules' about it, just that we cannot reveal ourselves to be dragons. Also, we could stretch our wings more.

"And, yes, you would be correct in that I changed my disguise many times. I'd move on from some small hamlet or city and settle on a new look in case I'd be recognized later on."

"Well, if I'm correct, then a hybrid form would be as easy to pull off as modifying a human form", Filkiin said. "After all... there was a time when humans and dragons were compatible. Perhaps, if we can find a good balance, we could find an efficient, stable form that would allow us to pass of as these meta-humans? It would be nice to be able to fly again, even if it is a white lie that allows us to do so.". The younger of the two stood up. "I wish to spar as well, but I need to figure this out first. I'll return soon."

"All right," Edward replied, "we can spar when you return, if that is your wish. I know that you are getting in a mood to fight something. As the humans aren't up to a full on spar, I will have to do. Maybe we can figure out a hybrid form. I will work on that angle as well."

Jason headed out, giving Edward time to think things over. He had placed down some rules that Jason was expected to obey that he felt were fair. Jason glared at some of them, his anger evident, but, he didn't say anything right away.

Jason knew that if Edward pulled the plug on this whole redemption thing, the Circle was liable to execute him, so, he swallowed his pride.

Edward took the opportunity to write up another progress report for the Circle as well, mentioning Jason's progress and the big step he took in protecting Raven as well as the idea of a hybrid form (as well as asking for the Circle to approve the idea, just in case.) He was actually pleased that he did that for the Titan. But, he knew of her empathic powers and wondered if she got a good read on him.

After writing up the progress report, he went over to the mirror and allowed miniature wings to emerge from his back, then, a smaller version of his tail along with subdued spine ridges, his fingers and toes becoming dragonlike as well. He then deployed scales to cover himself. He opted not to add horns to this form to maintain a humanoid appearance. He also set up the pre-arranged signal that there was a progress report to relay.

He heard the door open and walked out to see Jason returning, making sure the door was closed before shifting. His fingers and toes popped, before eventually melding together. Instead of five fingers and toes on each limb, he now had four on his hands and three on his feet, similar to his true dragon form with his claws. His wings slipped out from under his shirt, taking a size suitable to carry him as his tail flopped on the ground behind him. Unlike his older brother, he allowed a pair of horns to slip out, keeping them at a manageable size, and as a final touch, his gold scales forming on his body and completing the transformation.

"It will be odd fighting in this form", he said, looking at his hand as he flexed his claws. "I am not used to fighting in such a small body... nor have I had practice in any of my martial skills in quite some time."

Edward smirked and said, "Luckily for you, I am used to this size. I will have to clear this with the Circle, mainly to cover our tails. There's a spot about 50 miles from here where we can spar without attracting attention."

Before Jason could react, Edward wrapped his tail around the younger brother and teleported to a small canyon.

"What in Oblivion?!" Jason stated when they reappeared.

"Teleportation, Brother," Edward said smirking, "I figured it was a good time to introduce you since there's no magic involved. I have a theory that when you helped Raven, she god a good empathic read on you. I didn't want her trying to trace a magic user, just yet."

"Dang, that's cold!" Jason said, as his wings spread out to absorb some heat as Edward's method was actually cold! "You couldn't have given me any more warning than just grabbing me and whisking me off to First knows where?!" He then looked around, realizing that the temperature was much warmer here, despite the fact it was dinner time back home. "Where are we, anyway?"

"We're about 50 miles east of the city. Here is where the Titans found Terra. We're in a desert, thus, the additional warmth.," Edward responded. We're out of view of the humans who like to visit, and, we can go all out in these forms. If I am correct, we can access our Blessings and breath weapons. I will keep mine to a low level, enough to get attention, but, not to harm.

"Sorry about grabbing you like that." He actually averted his gaze to show his humility.

Jason blinked, before, eventually turning his head, scratching his chin with his claw. "It's fine. Don't do that, it's weird when a stronger dragon does that. It feels... unnatural when you avert your gaze."

Edward raised an eyebrow, "All right, I can understand that. I merely wanted to return some of the respect you have shown me. You may be the younger brother, but, if you will be the chosen Heir, I will one day have to avert my gaze regardless."

"I am expected to show you respect," Jason countered. "You are the older and stronger brother."

"Jason, between brothers, it's voluntary, but, thank you anyway," Edward said, "I know you've been wanting to let off some steam and watching the Titans might not have helped much, correct?"

"Unfortunately", he said. "I thought it would have been amusing at the very least to watch them battle... but after intervening before Raven met the wall in aggressively... I just want to fight even more now." He looked at his claws. "My first bit of action since moving out here, and all I can do is act like a good samaritan making sure the 'real' heroes are safe. It's... humiliating, to put it lightly." He lifted his tail, letting it hit the ground hard in his agitation as he slipped into a battle stance. "I will not access my Blessing, Edward... I think this time we should focus on hand to hand; I need to get used to fighting this way if we are given permission to use these forms."

"Agreed," Edward said, "In that case, I will not access my blessings or breath weapons. Hand-to-hand only. There may be times when range weapons or blessings would not be possible in a fight." His own tail smacked the ground, indicating that he accepted the challenge presented.

Once they both were ready, they began circling each other, the two dragons eying each other. In a fight where they knew each other's strengths, they would already be ripping at each other. But in these forms, they aren't sure what they can do. After circling for a moment, Jason finally rushed forward, kicking at Edward's head. The older brother easily avoided the first kick, but grunted as the younger spun again, kicking him in the side. It wasn't too hard, but it did sting a tiny bit. In retaliation, Edward attempted to punch his brother in the gut, but feigned and instead struck at his shoulder, eliciting a growl from Jason.

The Heir Potential pushed back, keeping just out of arm's reach, and spun, attempting to use his tail as a bludgeon, but thanks to his decrease in size, it wasn't quite as effective as he had hoped it would be. Against humans, yeah, it would hurt. But Edward could easily shrug off the tail, retaliating by kicking at his brother's knee.

This went on for a while, the two brothers sparring and learning what they could use effectively in a fight and what they couldn't. Jason easily learned that while his tail was useless in this fight, his claws could be downright dangerous if he fought humans. He knew killing was a big no-no, so when he saw how easily he was able to cleave into a boulder, he shifted his fighting style to only punch and kick, saving his claws for when he would have to break through defenses.

Meanwhile, Edward was also learning how to be effective in this altered form and noted when Jason would change his fighting style as he would be fighting humans for the most part and was taking care to note when a more damaging or even fatal attack was likely. That pleased Edward greatly as he dodged an attack and countered it. He also noted that tail strikes were not very effective, at least from the younger dragon. Edward swung out with his own tail and Jason blocked it with a grunt of pain. Edward followed up with a simple karate move, causing Jason to hit the dirt. Jason didn't get up right away; his eyes were spinning, since Edward's tail did a good job of stunning him.

"That's going to take practice to perfect," Edward said as he helped Jason to his feet, only to see the crafty younger dragon flip him over and likewise into the ground.

"Gotcha", he said a bit proudly, though it was obvious he was still dazed. "I'll be good in a minute... but do you mind if I just lie down here and wait for the sky to stop spinning?"

That got a good natured chuckle out of Edward, "Excellent counter move! Sure, we can take a few minutes." Edward considered apologizing, but, Jason would have seen that as weakness and called him out for not wanting to go all out.

"Thanks", the younger said, plopping down onto the ground behind him. He groaned as he covered his eyes. "I know you're stronger than I am, but that hit me a bit harder than I expected... I'll have to be careful about using my tail and make sure I don't cause any head trauma to someone who doesn't deserve it..." After a moment, he looked to his brother. "How does it feel to fight in this form? Odd but familiar, right?"

"Yeah," Edward replied, "It's been a while since I've fought as a dragon, but, this has a good feel to it. I can go all out on you for the most part, but, likewise, I want to avoid unnecessary injury to my opponent. I size up who I am squaring off against and I know the amount of force necessary to defeat the guy without killing him. That's not to say I would not kill in self-defense and if there is no other option. Example, if attacked by a bear who is trying to have me for his dinner, I know that I might have a new bearskin rug. Or if someone is shooting at me or someone I am trying to protect where killing is the only reasonable option...well, I will defend myself. But, for now, since the Circle has decreed that you are not to kill a single mortal, I will refrain from using excessive force as well."

"I, unfortunately, do not have that experience", Jason admitted. "The few times I fought in a human form, it was in a life-or-death experience. I had to take their lives to either keep up appearances or to keep them from spreading information they had learned about me. And I have a lot more encounters of fighting against something that can dish out just as much damage as I can, so my standards for fighting are skewed. If I was fighting, say, the alien of the Titans, I'd let loose a little, but against a normal human like their leader, I'd have to either hold back or try to restrain him so that he couldn't attack me."

Edward glanced over to his brother, frowning. "That does pose a bit of a problem... but then again, the threats that pop up in Jump City are certainly more than human standards of threats. I think, if we do end up fighting them in these forms, we can let loose, even if only a little.

"Starfire, though, is extremely durable and not one to mess around with in a fight. Her strength can potentially knock a dragon out of the air."

Jason nodded, before standing back up again. "Ready for another round, Brother?"

Edward gave a smile, grabbing the extended claw. "You don't have to ask me twice."