I am of the opinion that my brother is one lucky bastard. He's currently in Cuba for a week long martial arts tournament. I, on the other hand, am stuck here in the teeth of winter, with a naturally lower body temperature (we've been making jokes about it for years, but it was only confirmed this past summer... DAMN I'm weird...), bored out of my skull and it's only day one. So. Chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't have enough money to migrate to someplace warm each winter. If I owned the Titans, I would. Ergo, me no own. Plot is mine, though- steal that and I'll... bury you in that honking big snowbank in my backyard.

Chapter Three

The drugs were a problem. Slade had gone over the effects of narcotics and pain killers, emphasizing the loss of control, both mental and physical. Morphine was equivalent with getting really, really drunk, with the added bonus of addictive properties. The Titans were currently pumping Animal's veins with morphine, or some related drug. Fortunately no one was looking for a conversation, since Animal doubted he'd be able to keep control of his tongue.

He did have enough control not to babble, at least. He could also plan, but that was a bit beside the point. His plans, currently, consisted on how to get the drugs out of his system, preferably without the Titans or their medic figuring it out. Pain could be tolerated; giving away his mission because Robin said 'hello' couldn't be.

He turned his head, and stared at the door. He couldn't hear anyone coming down the hall, not that it meant much. The walls were metal, the door was metal, and the soundproofing was at least on par with most residential cookie-cutter houses. In other words, it effectively deafened him, even if all the monitors with their quiet beeping and whirring didn't do the job all on their own. His nose was useless, considering all the medicinal supplies.

So he'd have to be fast, then.

Animal reached over with his free arm, and took a deep breath. His hand and arm were nearly black from bruising, two of his fingers in splints. It might've been the morphine, but he had to wonder just how he'd been beaten this badly. He'd been fighting his hardest, and he'd still ended up in the Titan's private hospital.

He ran his hand down his arm, until his little finger touched tubing. He stared at the IV bags for a few minutes, figuring out just what was in each one. Liquids, antibiotics, and morphine. He could do without the liquids, now he was awake, and anything that could get past his immune system wasn't going to be taken out by antibiotics. He'd already obsessed enough about the morphine as it was.

The needle was taped down, so it wouldn't move around. Animal pulled the needle back, enough so that the drugs weren't put into his body, but the tape covered the tip. It'd be hard to notice, at least until the tape was taken off.

He'd handle that part. A quick prick of the claws and a jerk of the hand, and it'd look like he'd torn the needle from his arm. He'd get scolded, but they wouldn't know the truth.

That settled, he relaxed back and waited for the drugs to work their way out. While he was waiting, he might as well sleep. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, and once his system was clean, he was going to be in for a world of pain.

He was. He'd managed to doze, but when the pain hit, it hit hard. Only his training kept him quiet and immobile.

It was hard to tell just what hurt the most. His knees were pretty much the winner, with his stomach muscles a close second. He'd been beaten before, but never like this. Slade hadn't wanted to kill him when they sparred, after all.

Time blurred. It would have been disturbing, if Animal had any mental space to be disturbed. It could have been only a day since he'd cleared his system of drugs, or it could have been ten. However long it'd been, it felt like an eternity.

The Med Bay doors slid open, and from somewhere, he managed to find the strength to act normally. He opened his eyes a crack and looked over. His pain riddled mind threw a name up from the depths.

Raven. Raven had come to check up on him.

She looked pinched, her lips pressed together in a white line, her forehead scrunched up as if she had a killer headache.

Raven walked over to his bedside, and sighed. "Even with the drugs, you're in a great deal of pain," she murmured, as if she were speaking to herself, and not to Animal. "I'd better sit down."

He watched, unable to comprehend, as she got herself ready for- something. She gestured, and a chair skidded across the floor, coming to rest at her side. She sat down, arranging her cape so it didn't choke her, and leaned forward. Last, she rested one hand against his forehead, and the other against his chest.

Her hands were cool, he noticed.

And then he stopped thinking.

Blessedly cool light bathed him, soothed all the aches and pains he'd suffered. Fear melted away, curiosity dissolved, even his well hoarded suspicion dried up like water in a desert. All that was left was contentment, and a desire to not move, never leave this peace.

Then it ended.

He opened his eyes- when had he closed them?- and looked up at Raven. Should he thank her? What had she done, exactly? What next, fireworks?

She looked back, her eyes grave. Then they rolled back in her head and she tipped over to the side.

Animal moved.

He caught her. That was all he did, but it meant a few things.

He'd been healed. Completely. That light- that sense of calm- had healed him. His knees didn't hurt. His stomach was fine. His bruising was gone. He was in peak condition, as if he'd never been injured, as if any lingering damage from training had been wiped out. Fresh slate, start over- with all his abilities left intact.

He looked down at Raven, and frowned. She looked… fragile, cradled against his chest like that. Why'd she heal him, if this was the result? Was it only that being a Titan drained common sense? Or… He didn't know, he wasn't a civic minded wanna-be hero.

Animal frowned, and lifted her up. Feeling the flex of his muscles as he adjusted to Raven's weight was… well, he hadn't thought he'd be feeling them work this soon. It was heady stuff. For the first time, he really understood just how strong he was.

He let Raven down onto the bed he'd so recently vacated, and cleaned up a bit. The IV was turned off, the needle collected and the tubing coiled up. He flexed his claws, and dug the tip of his thumb claw into his arm. A bead of blood welled up, and he wiped it away. The wound wasn't deep enough to do more then ooze a little. In no time at all, it'd be scabbed over.

He had time, time to think, to plan, to figure out all the details of his story…

Two, two and a half hours later, he had his story all worked out. Most of it would be vague- well, what street kid paid attention to things like dates or street names? And the kid Animal pretended to be, a freak, cared only about living one day at a time. The next scrap of food, the next safe place to sleep.

Though, for Animal's pretend history, there wouldn't be any drugs or alcohol. He'd be a smart street kid, and besides, bottles of rotgut and drugs just smelt bad.

Not much later then that, Raven began to stir.

Animal kept to his seat on the chair. He kept his expression- wary, curious, sullen- in place. First impressions meant everything. People saw what they wanted to see, and went by that ever important first impression. What he wanted the Titans to see was a street kid, tough from years of life on the edge, yet without having been turned into a feral beast. Once they'd seen that, accepted that was what he was, he could relax a little. Until then, he'd have to be very, very careful.

Raven opened her eyes, and blinked several times. Then, she looked around the room, stopping at him.

"I'm on the bed," she said, and Animal just kept from sneering. What was it about hero types and stating the obvious?

"Yeah," he said.

Raven took a deep breath. "How did I get up here?" she asked.

"I moved you."

He could see rising frustration, both at him and at her apparent weakness. She hadn't tried to sit up yet; maybe she couldn't. Animal hovered a little, just the way a street kid who wanted to help, but wasn't sure of his welcome, would do.

Raven licked her lips, and closed her eyes. "You are well?"

"Fine. Why'd you fall down?" Animal really wanted to know the answer to that.

"I overextended myself. The weakness will pass." She took a breath, and opened her eyes again. "You should be hungry."

"Yeah," Animal agreed, because he was.

But more, he was pleased. He was in the Titan's Tower, he already knew that one Titan fell over when she got tired- and that she could heal. All he needed to do was figure out a way to stay in the Tower, and get reports to Slade, and he'd be one happy man.

0O0

Raven didn't try to sit up again. If- Animal- hadn't caught her, she could have fallen off the bed. That would have hurt, and her own healing would be much slowed after what she'd done. She neither wanted nor needed a sprained wrist or sore elbow, though accepting a stranger's aid was annoying at best, humiliating at worst.

"Can't you call your friends?" Animal asked, crouched at the bedside. He looked a little strange, and surely his neck couldn't be comfortable at that angle, but he seemed content enough. Though, the fact that he ignored a chair that was right there was a little odd.

"I could," she admitted, and looked away. She could call them, and they would see her weak. Of course, a stranger had seen her weak. Her friends had seen her worse off, after a particularly nasty battle or- or perhaps they hadn't seen her as bad as this, exhausted without injury.

"Would you?" Animal asked, inching closer. She looked back, and caught his expression, closed off and sullen.

Without her empathy, she couldn't begin to guess at what went on, in his mind. After his seven days in the medical bay, surely he was hungry? A saline solution only did so much for the body, after all.

But if he was hungry, why didn't he just say it? Humans, all humans, were just confusing.

"All right," she agreed, and fumbled for her communicator. There was always the intercom, but she had never used it before, and never would if she could help it.

And if no one picked up their communicators, she'd turn the intercom on and then- feedback. Show her friends how foolish it was to ignore her summons.

Raven swallowed a half-hysterical giggle, and briefly closed her eyes. She was exhausted and her emotions were out of control. She needed to eat, sleep, and meditate, not necessarily in that order. Well, she could also do without Animal staring at her, but she would tolerate it. For now.

She did a quick run through of the Titans. No one was answering their communicators. And why should they? Everyone was in the tower, they had an intercom system- she thought, again, it was a stupid thing to have, it led to laziness just like this- and their guest was being attended to by one of the strongest of them.

Well, strongest when not laid out from healing, she thought to herself.

"Animal, if you would, there is a device on the desk, there. Boxy, about this big?" She sketched a shape in the air. "If you would, press the red button, clear your throat, cover your ears, and then hold the microphone to the speaker?"

It was hard to tell, with the green skin, pointed ears, and fangs, but Animal looked positively gleeful at her instructions. Raven plugged her ears.

Fifteen seconds later, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were in the med bay, and Animal was on the ground, twitching.

"I think it was the noise," Raven said, accepting Starfire's help in sitting up. "Can you hear me now?"

Animal groaned, curling up into a fetal position.

Robin, she imagined, was glaring at her. "Raven," he began.

"You weren't answering your communicator again. He's healed- says his name is Animal. And I am exhausted. I'm going to sleep. Starfire, help me to my room?"

Starfire beamed, almost literally, and lifted Raven into the air. "Certainly, dear friend! I shall-"

"I can walk."

"Oh. My apologies."

0O0

It took two days for Animal to settle into his role. The Titans had accepted them- trusting fools- and had 'pried' his story from him. Street kid, named Animal, functionally illiterate, green for as long as he could remember, could turn into animals. They'd offered to teach him how to be a Titan. Or, well, Robin had offered, Starfire had welcomed him into the tower with something that looked like pudding, but was as alive and hungry as he was. Cyborg had kept a cautious distance, and locked the garage door whenever he wasn't in it. Only the fact that Animal was amused by that action kept him from being insulted. Really, a simple door lock keep him out of a room? Please.

Raven flat out avoided him. But then, she seemed to be avoiding everyone, so it probably wasn't personal.

After the two days, the Titans were used to how he kept his back to a wall, never looked anyone in the eye. Animal made a practice of stealing his way down the halls. His room was jealously guarded, though he had nothing to put in it. The only furniture was what the Titans had added; a bed, a dresser, a nightstand and table lamp. He had some clothes, too. He and Robin were similar in size, Robin a bit taller and broader in the shoulders, Animal a bit more muscular in the arms and legs. Jeans and sweaters worked well enough.

He ate whatever was put in front of him, finishing quickly, and then would sit and watch the other Titans eat. Starfire would always pile his plate high a second time, and he would wolf that down as well.

He pretended not to know how to work a TV, a DVD player, the radio. He avoided using the elevator.

And he made note of every security system, and how to get around it.

His third night up and out of the Med Bay, he got out through his bedroom window, and flew across the bay as a bat.

Time to check in with his master.

0O0

Animal landed on the apartment balcony, and hung upside down for a good minute. They hadn't been to this place before Animal got sent off for his mission. They'd been making use of an old warehouse. Slade probably still had it, but if you couldn't enjoy creature comforts like hot running water and a refrigerator that didn't turn off every half hour, then you were just utterly pathetic.

He jumped down, shifting in mid-air, landing on his shoulders and rolling to his feet. By the time he was upright, Wintergreen was at the balcony door.

"Welcome back," the butler said. He pulled the door open for Animal, and waved at the hallway. "Master Slade is in his office. He's expecting you."

"Thanks, Winter," Animal said. "Have any chicken? Flew across the bay."

"There will be something when you are finished with your meeting."

Animal nodded, and headed down towards Slade's office. He'd never been here, but he'd studied the layout. It'd been his homework, so to speak.

It was good to have Wintergreen with them. With the butler around, there wasn't any need to worry about little things like cooking or running out of gun ammo. And Wintergreen had been a field medic in some war or other, the same one Slade had been in. He was trustworthy, discreet, and never flinched. And, bonus, he made a mean stir fry dinner.

Animal knocked once on Slade's office door, and let himself in.

He ducked the knife thrown at his head, dodged the fist that would've buried into his stomach otherwise. He lashed out with a round kick to the head, jabbed at an armored shoulder.

Then the two combatants sprang apart and eyed each other.

"You have become very sloppy," Slade said, and straightened out of his ready position. Animal copied him, relaxing his shoulders and sauntering over to a chair.

"How long has it been?" he asked. "I spent most of my time unconscious." It galled him to admit it, but even Slade would have been laid up at least that long in healing.

Slade sat himself down behind his desk, and glared. He wasn't wearing his mask and armor, since this was his own apartment. The armor was for fights.

"What?" Animal asked, when his teacher and master hadn't so much as twitched a muscle. It was vaguely disturbing being stared at, especially when Slade looked as angry as he currently did…

"You did not follow the plan," the super soldier finally said.

Animal relaxed. That was it? "No, I adapted. Look, I know the plan went off the rails, but the Titans think I want to be one of them. They even gave me a room in their tower. How much easier will it be to spy on them?"

Slade drummed his fingers on his desk, and then sighed. "You are very lucky things have worked out as they have," he said. "Our schedule will not work like this. Report to me once a week from now on to deliver your news and get training. Once a month you will join me in attacking the Titans."

It was on the tip of Animal's tongue to ask: why not just sneak into the tower and kill them in their sleep? He knew the answer, though. Slade wouldn't do that- it wasn't sporting, or fair, or honorable. And since Slade wouldn't do it, neither would Animal.

"How long did the Brotherhood give us?" he asked instead. Had Slade told him that? He couldn't remember.

Slade leaned back in his seat. "We have six months. If we do not complete our mission by the end, we will pull back and give the Brotherhood a complete refund.

"I don't want to give them a refund."

Animal didn't flinch. It wasn't in his nature. He sunk his claws into the chair arms, bared the tips of his fangs, but he didn't flinch.

He didn't dare.