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Edward 'Eddie' Bloomberg stood outside the veritable fortress that was partially buried in the mountain, scanning the skies for any sign of their assigned supervisor. He bounced on his feet, his talons digging into the dirt as he drummed his fingers against his dark pants. Flames spurted from his mouth as he huffed in annoyance, troubled by how late the evening was growing. As the sun descended behind the horizon, the day was growing cooler but the chill did not touch him, his body heated by the fire that burned within him. When he heard footsteps crunch through the dirt and gravel, he flickered back to glance at a teenager girl of about his own age with short, silvery-white hair. She had an athletic figure, emphasized by the green tanktop and tight jeans that she wore. Strapped about her head was an eyepatch colored like her hair and covering her right eye socket, and her remainder eye seemed to peer into the soul. Although she was pretty with the promise of beauty as she aged, her countenance was somewhere between bored and annoyed. A pair of long knives were strapped to her waist, crossed behind the small of her back.

"Why the Hell are you still out here? They probably aren't gonna show," she grumbled.

"That's a dollar for the swear jar," he returned, not taking his eyes from the sky.

She scoffed, "Right. I'll be sure to get right on that."

"What brings you out here?"

Pulling out a box of cigarettes from her pocket, she answered, "Whenever I try to light up in there, the damn sprinklers go off. Also, I'm getting sick of listening to that other chick's bi-"

"Ah. You already owe the swear jar two dollars. And you really shouldn't smoke. It's-"

"Save it. It's no more dangerous that what we already do," she answered around the cigarette, clicking upon the lighter before a small flame sprang up. With a flick of her wrist, the lighter clang shut and she slipped it back into her pocket. Taking a drag from the cigarette, she removed it and blew a puff at smoke towards Eddie who scrunched up his face at the acrid cloud before it dissipated. She chuckled to herself and looked out towards the coast of their inlet. Without much warning, she asked, "You wanna go swimming?"

He jolted at the inquiry and answered, "I don't have a swimsuit."

As he glanced towards her, he gave a jolt as he saw that she was already wriggling out of her pants and she smirked at him, "Neither do I."

For a moment, he opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say as his brain went on the fritz. She laughed as she kicked away her pants before grabbing the hem of her shirt and beginning to lift it when they both heard the flapping of leathery wings and strong gusts ruffled their hair.

"Whoa there, kiddies. Let's slow down before things get M rated."

The glanced towards an emerald pterodactyl that alighted upon the rocks that led down to the shore, a heavy duffel bag hanging from around its neck. While unable to actually form a smirk, it seemed to be doing so as it fixed the two with a stare, appraising the silver-haired girl as the daggers seemed to materialize in her hands. She settled into a low stance, ready to leap forward and attack while her red-skinned companion stared on in shock at the dinosaur. A strange, cawing sort of chuckle emerged from the beak of the shape shifter that took on a human aspect as his body did so. He looped the bag so that it was around his shoulder, and nodded at them in greeting.

"Not bad reactions, Ravager. A bit paranoid and violent, but eh. You get points for being willing to take on a threat in your skivvies. Just remind me never to sneak up behind you."

"You'll never manage to," she snorted in derision as she sheathed the sharp blades.

"Ooooohhh," Changeling shook his head with a grin, "Challenge accepted, bright eye."

She frowned at him and retorted, "It wasn't a –"

"Aaannnddd, you must be the Kid Devil. Your aunt was in the movie business, right? I met her a few times with Rita."

"Rita?"

"My mom. She used to be pretty big in the movie biz."

Kid Devil blinked and his eyes grew wide as he asked, "Wait . . . are you talking about Rita Farr? The huge old-time movie star? She's got to be one of the best actors pretty much ever."

Changeling beamed at him, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Kid, I've got a good feeling about you. You and I are gonna be the best of friends. You know, they show a lot of the really good old stuff late. I know all the right channels, and-"

"Still rotting your brain with the television, are you, Beast Boy? I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise."

He grinned as he turned about, plastering a large smile there as he looked up at the golden skinned woman who floated above him. She wore a strange organic armor, colored beetle black and armed with numerous spines and scales. It covered most of her voluptuous frame yet still managed to show off her attractive assets, leaving her athletic abdomen and a window of her cleavage visible. Black hair fell to below her waist, weaving about behind her as she floated in the air, violet eyes stared coldly down upon them. There was a regal sort of beauty to her haughty features and, with her hands upon her hips, it was obvious that she was used to being royalty.

"Blackfire. I'd say you're looking divine, but the reality is that you look for too naughty to be any sort of holy. By the way, lil' miss blackheart, it's Changeling now. Though you can call me Gar if you're so inclined."

"And I was getting berated for my hormones," Ravager hissed as she snapped the button on her jeans back into place.

"And I would say that it's a pleasure to see you, Beast Boy, but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Cut down on the deception and mayhem and such," she waved a hand dismissively. She deigned to descend to the ground and appraised the growth of the shape shifter before giving a nod that might have signed approval. "It took you long enough to get here. I was beginning to suspect that they had abandoned us."

He snapped his fingers and rotated on his heels towards the base built into the mountain, "Speaking of getting here, I'm pretty much amazed with the fact that my arms haven't fallen off yet. I'm heading inside to set my stuff up. Did you know that some hummingbirds can flap their wings around 80 times a second? They're also the only bird that can hover. Ooh, also, the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, is represented-"

"You're voice is growing grating, BB. I would advise that you cease the chattering," Blackfire arched an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her ample chest.

He returned her gaze evenly and retorted, "I'm afraid, my cold-hearted and hot-bodied comrade, that you think you're talking to that whelp from several years back. I'm running this team and if you can't play nice, you can't play at all."

Her lips pulled back into a snarl, but she made no further comment, surprised and the tiniest bit impressed with the way his eyes did not wave from her own. Accept her silence as understanding the rule, Changeling announced, "We're going to have training tomorrow morning at nine unless some sort of emergency arises. Make sure you're there. Now, I'm going to retire for the night. See y'all tomorrow."

Loping towards the squat base, he was soon joined by the red-skinned boy who eagerly struck up a conversation about the cinematic achievements of Rita Farr as well as other favorite film stars. Ravager stared after them and blew out a poof of smoke in mild annoyance, "Great. Those two are going to be annoying as Hell in no time."

Instead of a response, a bolt of dark energy streaked in front of her face, incinerating her cigarette instantaneously as Blackfire took to their air. Obviously still annoyed with the fact that the shape shifter had dared to stand up to her, she had taken it out on the nearest subject to earn her ire. She glanced down to demand, "Do not smoke those disgusting things in my presence. It takes forever to get the smell off."

The Tamaranean flashed towards the base and Ravager scowled after her, reaching into her pocket to draw out her pack of cigarettes, which she smacked against the palm of her hand. Flipping it open, she pushed up one of the sticks and captured it between her lips as she muttered to herself, "Almost makes me miss dad."

Inside the squat, near fort-like structure, Changeling was in the process of organizing his room and attempting to humanize it. There was a militant styling to the base, consistent with the mentality of the Doom Patrol. He took a second to stare in displeasure at the Spartan room, annoyed with the slate grey theme that closed in on him. Beginning to set up the photos around the room to bring some color to the room, he recalled his first time encountering the Doom Patrol. He had been young and only a child, relatively new to America, and possessing no survival skills connected to city living aside from sneaking and thievery. Escaping from the constant stares of others and the cruel caretaking of his court-assigned guardian, he had taken to the freedom of the skies of feathered wings. When coming upon the forested area, he had shifted through several different forms to explore the area before stumbling upon the base. Inquisitive as any child would be and far more adventurous, he had immediately set to breaking into the compound for no more reason than to try. After he had managed to bypass the typical security measures, he had been caught by the inhabitants of the base itself.

That in turn had led to a whole new series of misadventures that put him on the path to where he was today. As he removed a picture of his surrogate family, during one of the few times Rita had managed to convince Steve to sit down and actually take a photo of their odd little family, he smiled at it. Living under Steve's rule hadn't been entirely easy, but there were times that it felt like they were truly related. Cliff and Larry were like uncles, slipping him treats and spoiling him when Rita and Steve weren't watching. Rita was eager to exercise her maternal instincts and she was always the first to remind her husband that their adopted son was more than a soldier in his war against the Brain; he was a child. There were times when Steve did treat him as his son, rare moments when he released the near impenetrable defenses he had erected about himself. Those times weren't amongst his fondest memories of the Doom Patrol. That, and Rita's regularly scheduled film night.

Setting that photo between a faded shot of Mark and Marie Logan and a newspaper clipping that an intrepid photographer had managed to capture during the Teen Titan's first escapade, shortly after their victory over the Gordanians, he gave a contented sigh. Several similar photos, detailing him alongside the team he'd led against the Brotherhood or with the original honorary Titans, were lined along the shelf though the trio of his three families stood foremost. Turning away from them, he frowned at the bare walls before scribbling on a pad of sticky notes that he would need to search for screws and a drill tomorrow. After emptying his bag of all his fragile possessions, he proceeded to upend his luggage, dumping his civies and suits alike in a large pile on the floor. He considered the lump for a moment, scribbled 'bedding' on his notes, and hit the light switch. Leaping onto the bare bed, he crossed his hands behind as head as he bounced into the air and relaxed as he landed back upon the soft mattress and pillow. The clothes could wait; sleep's demands held greater sway at the moment.

We want to thank those who are reading and reviewing this story. Your comments are very much appreciated. We would like to note that this story mostly draws from the cartoon, but we're also pulling aspects from the comics, both pre and post-Flashpoint, and our personal ideas on how the characters can be developed. There is a possibility that we will introduce our own characters, but with all the allies, enemies, and background characters found in the entirety of the DC universe, it's unlikely that we'll have to.

Also if you want to get an idea of what Blackfire looks like in her new suit, copy and paste the following link: blackfire/29-12502/new-52/108-661804/blackfire/105-2596536/

By the way, chapter titles will be named after songs, tv shows, and movies. Don't know why.