A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was dreadfully busy last weekend with rugby and crap, so that is why this chapter wasn't up then. And I also wanted to think through a few things to make sure I wanted this chapter to be this way. But I'm excited for the near future of this fic. This chapter brings in a new character and shows you a lot about where the Titans are now. Please R&R! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada. I don't own any of the Teen Titan characters.

Chapter 8 School for the Gifted

"Gerard, what's this?"

The teen looked up from his book with wide green eyes. He observed the piece of note card in the girl's hand for a second, his face blank as he read the name Napoleon on it. Suddenly a broad grin planted itself there on his face as the teen leaned nonchalantly back in his seat.

"That right there is a nametag," Gerard said, the smile never leaving his face.

"Gerard," the girl chastised.

"Megan," Gerard mimicked in the same tone.

"These animals are not pets," Megan said. "You have to stop getting attached to them." Gerard just smiled calmly up at her. Megan sighed in frustration and said harshly to her partner, "One day that meerkat you have named will be tested on and will end up looking like…like this." She ripped up the piece of note card paper and sprinkled the destroyed pieces onto the boy's lap. She then stood back and waited for a response.

Something in Gerard gave the teen a twinge of pain as he watched the pieces float down to his lap lifelessly. A quick flash of hurt clouded the boy's eyes, but it was just as quickly gone, and his smile was back. It always returned. That smile could hide anything he felt. It was his greatest illusion, his mask.

"C'mon, Meg," Gerard said with a laugh. "You think I was serious? It was a joke. You really thought I was to be so bold as to name it?"

A relieved smile fluttered across Megan's cute features. She was tall for her age of 14. But you couldn't let the age fool you. The girl was born a genius, and that was why she had been kidnapped when she was four and brainwashed into living the life of any Stellar Inc. child would. She had her blond hair always put up in a tight ponytail and had a pair of glasses placed on her lightly freckled nose. She would consider Gerard one of her best friends, but sadly, Gerard wouldn't say that about her.

"Good," she said, "You've had me worried lately. You spend too much time with the lab animals, Gerard. Its rule number five in Stellar's handbook."

"Yeah, yeah," Gerard said before the girl could recite the dreaded handbook, "Something about not becoming attached to anyone here. It's a wonder how they keep anyone loyal that way."

"Gerard!" Megan gasped his name in horror, "I don't want you to say that ever again! What if someone other than me hears something like that?"

"Joking," Gerard said with a grin.

"Gerard Maxwell to the Main Office, please," the monotone voice of a woman echoed into the room. Gerard stared up at the speaker which the voice had come through near the door. He frowned slightly. He didn't want to go to the office.

Without another word, Gerard got out of his seat while humming the chorus to the Disney song A Pirates Life for Me. Megan watched him leave without knowing the worry the boy was going through. Gerard shoved his hands into his black trench coat's pockets as he briskly walked down the boring hallways. He didn't want another mission. His last one had gone quite bad.

When the teen finally got to the office, he knew something odd was going on. He was relieved he wasn't going to get another mission, but he was terribly worked up about what he was called there for. He knew something was different because all three of his brothers were waiting at the door.

"Late as usual," Alex said, his face lighting up with an evil grin. The brother next to Alex, Ted, greeted Gerard with the exact same smile as the last. The four brothers were quadruplets. All of them had the light brown hair, deep green eyes, and that persistent elfish grin.

It was hard to tell Alex and Ted apart from each other because they were so similar in the way they handled themselves and their expressions. And the two boys were always together. Anyone rarely saw them apart. Gerard took in their presence with the roll of his eyes. They were annoying, but that was the sole purpose of a sibling sometimes.

"Why are we all here?" he asked his other brother, Derek. Derek was born first from the four. He dressed and looked exactly like Ted and Alex, with the white jumpsuit with the green stripe going down the arms and legs. But Derek was different. He was quick thinking and hard headed. In battle, you wouldn't want to get him angry.

Gerard noticed something was different in his older brother lately. There was that perpetual sense that he was keeping something from him. The two brothers usually enjoyed each others company, but for a few months they had been avoiding each other completely. They were beginning to take interest in different things. Now their greetings were either sharp nods or narrowing of eyes. The drift between them was deepening every day.

"I guess we'll just have to go in and ask," Derek said coolly. He took in Gerard's apparel with a look of disgust playing across his face. Gerard had on a blue T-shirt with his black trench coat over top. Worn down and torn up jeans covered his legs, and blue Converse adorned his feet. The outfit was something none of the other brothers would dream of wearing. "Do you always have to dress like that?" he asked.

"Its call being a nonconformist," Gerard said with an overdramatic bow. "Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Derek. You're very good at those."

"You're pathetic," Derek spat back before marching into the Main Office. Alex and Ted followed after their brother without as much as a glance to Gerard. The teen stood there in the hallway alone till finally entering the room behind them.

The Main Office was like any other office you would see. People were busy with answering phones or typing things into their computers. The main desk sat right at the doorway. A name plate was crookedly glued to the dented oak desk.

"And you are?" the woman behind the desk asked in her monotone voice as she saw all four brothers enter the bright room. The woman was obese with a uni brow. Gerard had joked numerous times before that she didn't have a neck, and so far no one had proven the boy wrong. She sat there on her small wheelie chair that could barely hold her large frame. Her fingers that curled around the pen in her hand looked like little sausages. She was a piece of work all right.

"Miss, I mean Mrs. Ludlum, you know who we all are," Gerard said with fake cheer, naturally taking in the role as leader. "Are you sure it's Mrs.?" He asked, trying to keep a straight face. Alex and Ted were on the brink of laughter. Derek glared at his brother in aggravation.

Gerard always got a good joke in with Mrs. Ludlum. It was like a tradition to the foursome. Every time they met up with the lady, Gerard worked his magic to get her to express something. Usually it only ended with the other three brothers cracking up, but Gerard still tried.

But once again Gerard was only met with an impassive snort from the woman behind the desk. She blankly looked up at Gerard and his brothers. "And you are?" she repeated.

"The Maxwell brothers," Derek stepped in, pushing Gerard to the side. "You called us here five minutes ago."

"Do not become hostile, Mr. Maxwell," Mrs. Ludlum said with another snort. Gerard watched his older brother take charge with a spark of anger firing in him. He always dealt with the pig called Mrs. Ludlum. Since when did Derek order him around? None of the brothers had ever bossed another around. Sometimes they took on leadership, but they didn't naturally fight for that role.

"I'm not being 'hostile'," Derek growled at the lady. "Now why did you call us down here?"

"I advise you eat breakfast more often, Mr. Maxwell," Mrs. Ludlum suggested with no emotion. "A balanced diet will calm you. I eat very often, and look how composed I am."

"You look lovely, Mrs. Ludlum," Gerard butted back in, pinning Derek with a fierce look to back off. "Now, do you have a message for us or something? We are all very busy it seems."

There was a second where the woman just stared up at the boys. She snorted two more times then swirled around to her left. The chair screeched as the massive weight it was holding up shifted. All four boys winced. She turned back around and handed each boy a file with a name on it.

"You four get an assignment," she said. It took everything in Gerard to keep the smile on his face as he was handed his folder. His stomach tightened into a massive knot when he read the name of the person he was assigned to watch over. He couldn't do another assignment. Not again.

-Robin-

"And really bad eggs," someone sung from across the room before returning to his humming. Robin opened his eyes with a moan. He sat up quickly to find himself tangled in a wad of sheets on a soft bed. Confusion swept through the teen, picking at the panic starting to rise in him. He pushed the unwanted feeling away and took in his surroundings.

He was in a room, his room, which wasn't really his room. It was small, but big enough to hold a bed, a desk with a laptop, a closet, a chair, and a bathroom. The carpet was a bright red, and the white walls held a few pictures of rock bands he liked.

A teen around Robin's age was sitting on the chair by the desk. His feet were propped up on the desk as he precariously leaned back onto two legs of the chair. A mess of brown hair slightly hid his green eyes. The boy stared at Robin from his relaxed position with a knowing grin on his lips.

"The trashcan is right beside you," the teen said, predicting Robin's stomach.

Robin stared back at the teen, trying to get his mind over what had happened to him. Everything was different but familiar all at the same time. His brain was going through a massive clog, which gave the teen a sense of nausea. Before he could control it, Robin grabbed the pointed out trashcan and threw up into it.

"You'll be a bit queasy for the rest of the day, but by tomorrow you'll be right as rain," the teen on the chair said with a chuckle. "Everyone barfs after a purifying session. Some more than others, though. You okay?"

Robin put down the trashcan and rubbed his forehead. Everything was coming back to him now. He remembered half his memory being taken away and the one he was given. The teen had to steady his reeling emotions with a long sigh. He could do this. He could fake his way through this place.

"I'm good," Robin told the other teen. Quickly, he checked his new memories for one of the teen. When finding none, he asked, "Who are you?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that," he said with a grin. He got up from his chair and gave a bow to Robin, the grin never leaving as he introduced himself as, "I am the always amazing Gerard Maxwell. I have been assigned to look after you for your first month here at Stellar Inc. Academy."

Without missing a beat, Gerard stood up straight and grabbed something folded up on the desk. He threw the white jumpsuit at Robin, who caught it with one hand. "That would be your uniform," Gerard explained to Robin. "Once you have it on, I'll show you where the cafeteria is and we can eat breakfast." Robin made a face when the boy mentioned food. Gerard smiled sheepishly while adding, "Or you can just have some juice."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Robin said with a weak smile. Gerard nodded and exited the room without another word. Robin scrambled out of his bed, hastily made it, and then pulled on the white jumpsuit. He rushed into the bathroom and turned on the cold water in the sink. The stressed teen let out a long sigh as he put his head under the ice cold water.

"Steady yourself, Robin," Robin told himself. He let the bitter cold water trickle down his neck and chin, soothing his senses. As soon as Robin felt like he was ready enough to face the academy with a sturdy face, the teen turned off the sink and dried his hair with a hanging towel nearby.

Robin looked himself in the mirror. It was time to put his game face on. He folded his arms in front of his chest and morphed his features into a dark frown. His new memories told him that he had grown up on the streets and was forced into knowing how to take someone down. He had then enrolled himself into the military for a year and was taught how to use different weapons. Recently he had applied for the Stellar Inc. Academy for gifted young ones. It was time to embrace his second life.

Soon, Robin was walking along side of Gerard on their way to breakfast. With quick glances, Robin observed the other teen. He looked so much like the boy who had almost killed Gene six months ago. The only difference Robin could distinguish between the two boys was the feeling he had around them. The other boy always had a knowing, wicked smile on his face.

Gerard's smile was different. From years of training with the Batman, Robin could read someone's emotions as great as Raven could just by studying them. Gerard's smile wasn't exactly forced and pretend, but it was a mask. Robin wondered what the teen would want to hide.

They made it to the cafeteria a little late. Gerard went on about the different courses Robin was to take as they grabbed their trays and got into line. The place was alive with different teens ranging from ages 12 to 18, all seated on multicolored stools at long tables and wearing the same jumpsuit that Robin wore. Only Gerard wore something different.

At first glance it looked like any other cafeteria you would see at a public school with normal teens eating breakfast, but Robin soon started to see why the academy was for gifted teens. At random times someone's powers would go awry. Trays exploding, chairs flying across the room, and food combusting were all part of breakfast for these teens. It was interesting to watch.

The two boys quickly got their food, which Robin noted didn't look anything like the mystery meat he had to eat back in elementary school. Gerard led Robin to the table he usually sat at. They plopped their trays down and sat. Robin's heart started to accelerate when he saw who Gerard's friends were.

Sitting right across from Robin was Gizmo. Next to Gizmo, and talking excitingly about some new gadget they had recently made, was Zach. Across from Zach and on Robin's right was Megan. On the other side of Gizmo was a bored looking Argent. The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Robin sit down.

"Who's the new kid, Gerard?" she asked in her usual snooty English accent.

"This is Robin," Gerard introduced Robin to the whole table. "I've been assigned to him for the next month. So be nice."

"I'm always nice," Argent said with her nose in the air. Robin watched in growing interest while the table laughed at her actions. Gizmo flicked a grape at the girl with an annoying laugh. Argent deftly countered the attack with a red energy shield shaped as a hand. She gave the kid a sly smile as she returned to her breakfast.

"Robin, let me introduce Argent, Gizmo, Zach, and Megan," Gerard said while pointing to each teen. "But you don't really need to know Zach. The kid is insane," Gerard whispered jokingly.

Zach heard this and looked up at Gerard, a wicked smile coming to his features. "Insane, am I?" he asked while snapping his fingers. Robin watched in shock as Gerard's cereal glowed pink for a second before exploding. The table erupted into laughter when seeing Gerard smothered in milk and Rice Chex.

"Good form," Gerard said with a chuckle. He shook his head and milk splattered onto the floor. The table tried to suppress their giggles. He picked out a piece of cereal from his hair and popped it into his mouth. "It still tastes good," he said with a grin. The teen was a smooth one. Robin found himself actually smiling. There was a charm to Gerard.

As the laughing died down at the table, Robin's mind started to wander. Sitting at this very table was a mix of villains and superheroes. At any other circumstance, all these teens might have been down each other's throats because they were such polar opposites when it came down to personality. But because of their brainwashing, all these teens were best of friends.

Was that machine that had tried to take his memory away really that powerful? The question didn't sit well with Robin's stomach. He sat, observing, as the table went on with their quick, sarcastic remarks and jokes. If this academy had already brainwashed these villains and superheroes, did that mean that there were others Robin knew that had already gone through the procedure? Were they eating like good little brainwashed teens too? How many had dared to go against the machine and came out like Robin?

Was the Boy Wonder the only one who knew what was going on? Suddenly Robin felt very alone. He could have been surrounded by old friends, but he felt like the only one who knew the truth. The feeling was close to overwhelming the teen. How was he going to help all these people? He didn't even know where to start.

"Hey, Gerard, take a look at who I was assigned to yesterday," a boastful voice boomed down upon the table. The whole table looked up to see the person bragging. Robin almost choked on his orange juice when seeing the kid who had almost killed Gene with his air bending abilities six months ago. Heart slamming against his chest, Robin averted his eyes to the table when seeing Starfire standing beside him.

The teen quickly blanked his mind of emotions and calmly looked back up to the pair standing with their trays by the table. He couldn't lose control! One wrong move could kill him. He had to pretend like he didn't know either of the two before him.

"How come you didn't get the nice looking chick, Gerard?" Gizmo joked with his annoying laugh. Robin saw Starfire roll her eyes and smile like he had seen Blackfire do. At the moment she looked a lot like her older sister. Just the way she placed her hand on her hip and gave off that carefree vibe reminded Robin of Blackfire.

"So who were you assigned to, Gerard?" the boy asked his look-a-like brother. Robin noticed the smile vanish from Gerard's face for a second. It was only for a brief moment, but Robin had caught it. These two weren't as chummy has he had thought they were.

"Derek, meet Robin," Gerard introduced the two already acquainted enemies.

"Have we met before, Robin?" Derek asked slyly, that evil grin widening. "Because I think I've seen you before." Did Derek know Robin was faking? Robin didn't care if the other teen did or not. He would make sure Derek wouldn't ever have any proof.

Robin let loose with his own cruelly wry smile. "You tell me," he said with an underlining cold tone in his voice. Derek seemed satisfied with this answer. For a second the kid narrowed his eyes on Robin. The Boy Wonder ignored the threatening look and drank some more of his juice.

"Are you two twins?" Starfire asked Derek sweetly. Robin had to keep himself from giving her a sad smile by reminding himself that the alien girl was not herself. It hurt him to listen to her usual innocent voice like this and have to pretend he didn't know her at all.

"Gerard is just one of my three other brothers," Derek explained to Starfire. "But the dork can't really be considered part of the quad anymore. The guy is just too weird." He shot Gerard a smirk after longingly looking at Starfire for a little too long to Robin's liking. The superhero clenched his teeth and said nothing.

"Gentleman like, as always," Gerard said sarcastically to his brother. "Anything else you would like to say?"

"I bet Gerard's assignment could kick your assignment's ass!" Gizmo piped up suddenly. He and Zach laughed and high-fived each other when seeing Derek's angered expression.

"They have names, you know," Gerard said seriously.

"Actually, I'd like to see how that battle would turn out," Megan spoke for the first time. "I'd like to see both their powers in action."

"I don't have a power," Robin quickly pointed out. He didn't want to battle against Starfire. She was his friend and fellow Titan. He had fought her before, but that was for practice and they both held a lot back when doing so. He had a feeling this place didn't want their students to suppress anything.

Derek actually cracked up when hearing this. "You got to be kidding me!" he said through laughter. "If you haven't noticed by now, this place is for teens with powers. What is this academy coming to? And Gerard has to hang out with this soon to be drop out for a whole month! This is truly hysterical!"

"You wouldn't last two seconds in the Battle Arena, lov," Argent told Robin with a weak smile. He frowned at her as she added, "Just the facts."

"I didn't say I didn't want to fight her," Robin said before thinking. He couldn't believe these guys were making fun at him for not having a power. He hadn't ever been discriminated for not having any. It was a weird new feeling for the teen. His thoughts of going against Starfire were put on hold as the urge to prove them all wrong rose.

"You still want to fight her?" Gizmo asked. "You'd get creamed!"

"No, I won't," Robin persisted. Maybe it would be good for him to fight Starfire. It would tell any skeptical onlooker, like Derek, that he was brainwashed like all the others. The more his mind thought about it, the more it looked like it could improve his cover.

"You can't exactly fight Starfire until Gerard allows it," Derek said. "You're a newbie. It's the assigner's job to tell you where to go and observe what you do. Until this month is up, the assigner controls who you fight in the Battle Arena. So, Gerard, are you going to let this little norm kid fight Starfire?"

The group all looked to Gerard for his answer. The teen wasn't faking his emotions anymore. His smile was gone and replaced with a worrisome frown.

"You okay, Gerard?" Megan asked with concern.

The teen forced a weak smile and nodded. "I'm good," he said. Robin watched in awe as Gerard was able to rapidly put that smile back on. The teen was well skilled at his pretend game. "Hey, if Robin really wants to, I say go ahead and fight the girl," Gerard said with his smoothness returning.

"I hope you are skilled at fighting as you are bold, Robin," Starfire said unperturbedly down to Robin before walking off with her nose in the air. Robin watched her leave for a second before returning his attention back to Derek.

"Get there at three o'clock sharp, Bird Boy," Derek said to Robin. He gave the glaring teen a confident wink and walked away with his tray. That wicked smile still played at the corners of his lips.

"Dead norm walking," Zach muttered to Robin before picking up his tray and leaving along with the others, except for Gerard.

Robin finished off his glass of orange juice with a scowl planted on his face. "Jeez," he growled in frustration, "It's like they haven't ever seen a normal human fight before." He looked over to Gerard for a response. The teen was staring into his cereal bowl with a faraway look in his eyes. "Hey, you okay?" Robin asked him. "What's with the spaced out expression?"

Gerard snapped back into attention again. "Sorry," he said with a grin. "I'm just a bit tired. Let's get out of here," he said while standing up with his tray. "I need to give you a general tour of the place before classes begin."

A/N: I've never had to write a fight scene with any of the Titans against each other before. I'm excited for that one! So…what do you guys think of the Academy and Gerard? I'd like to know what you readers like or dislike with Gerard. I think I portrayed enough of his character to get you readers interested in him, but I can never be too sure. Well, please review. The next chapter will definitely be out by next weekend.