The Roles we Play
The Joker
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***If I owned Teen Titans it sure as heck would not have been a kid's show. ***
"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not." – André Gide,
***TRwP***
The Titans stood speechless, their friend and brother was standing in front of them… alive! He looked completely unharmed despite what had happened days earlier. In fact the only change he appeared to have was that he looked malnourished, that and the fact he was standing at military attention with an unreadable emotionless expression on his face.
"Sir!"
Mento caught sight of the items lying on the table behind his former teammate and nodded slightly.
"You may continue until you are balanced out, then I would like my report."
"Thank you sir!"
The teen heroes watched in shock as their friend turned around and continued devouring the laid out food and liquids. Nutritional bars, vitamins, bottled water, protein drinks, Soy products. All of it was being eaten as quickly as possible, yet he strangely wasn't making a mess of himself for the first time.
"B-Beast Boy?" Robin was the first to recover, only for the boy to apparently ignore his comment and continue eating.
"Let the poor kid eat, he needs to after all." It was Robotman who spoke up this time, looking warmly towards the former Doom Patrol member.
"B-but how!?" This time Cyborg whispered out, staring in disbelief at his self proclaimed younger brother.
A mumbled response was all that the boy gave before continuing his rampage through the acquired food.
"What he meant to say was Axolotl and Hydractinia." The bandaged wrapped man replied, earning dumbfounded looks from the Titans.
"They are animals that can regenerate their brains." The only female of the Doom Patrol clarified, while giving the green boy a warm smile.
"Okay… but how did Beast Boy do that, he isn't either of those two creatures…" The empath inquired, for once not having an answer despite being the self 'proclaimed smartest team member'.
After gulping down a large amount of what appeared to be protein shake the changeling in question responded.
"In my human form I am able to take on and evolve traits of various animals, such as regeneration, stronger bones, tougher muscles, enhanced reflexes and such."
"Why only in your human form though BB?" The cybernetic teen inquired.
"I had to learn how to shift into each animal form I possess, and acquire DNA from them in order to take on their likeness. Altering their forms after I have done so is far more complicated than just changing the form I was born in. It would be like working out and exercising your mechanical muscles rather than your human ones. Sure you can probably find a way to do it but it doesn't make it any easier. It is far simpler to just replace and upgrade them entirely rather than try and make alterations."
Robin couldn't believe the boy in front of them even was their former teammate, since when was Beast Boy so… intelligent?
As he finished up a protein bar the boy snapped back into military attention, returning his stare to his former commander.
"Go on"
"We arrived at the scene of a heist in progress at fourteen hundred hours. Surveillance was notably poor and the team was split into groups of three in order to surprise and flank the targets while escorting civilians to safety. It was an ambush."
The Titan's eyes widened in shock, sure the situation had gone wrong, terribly wrong, but the idea that it was an ambush hadn't even occurred to them.
"Reasoning?"
The green skinned boy shifted slightly and picked up a small object from a nearby tray, before throwing it directly at the older man, who easily caught it.
Glancing down he scowled slightly before handing it over to his robotic teammate, who had inserted it into a small compartment for analysis.
Robotman's eyes widened when it was finished.
"So I was right then?"
"Looks like it Beast Boy, how the hell did they get that stuff?"
"So the big question is… who did you manage to anger enough to warrant a hit of this magnitude?" The psychic man inquired again.
"No clue, but one thing is for sure, whoever it is has money. That crap isn't cheap no matter where you get it from."
"Get what from Beast Boy, what are you talking about?"
"Nth metal" The boy replied, earning a shocked look from Robin.
"Robin what is the metal of Nth?"
"It's complicated Star."
"Not really, it's a metal that negates magical properties. It was also what the first bullet that impacted me was made of."
"From your allies reports that was the one you intercepted for your teammate correct?" Mento inquired, earning a nod from his former student.
"I don't get it, what's the point?" Jinx asked, for the first time since arriving at the medical bay.
"If you were going to create a bullet to kill Raven with, Nth metal is what it would be made of." The green teenager clarified, sending a cold chill down the various Titan's spines.
"The second bullet seemed to be of a much higher caliber, way too high for normal encounters, but perfect for killing larger creatures, such as animals."
"So they were indeed trying to kill you and your team." The Doom Patrol leader mused, before turning to his team and noticing his wife's look of anticipation.
Giving out a sigh he gestured for her to proceed.
"Go ahead."
Elasti-girl started walking towards the youngest boy.
"Gar…" she called out in a warm, motherly tone
"Mom" the boy replied, back warmly before rushing forward and embracing the woman in a fierce hug.
"Not to interrupt anything but… why did you call him 'Gar'?" Cyborg hesitantly spoke up, a bit confused on the matter.
"Because that is his name." The woman responded, as if the answer were obvious.
***TRwP***
"So uh Beast Boy, you mind clueing us in as to why you never mentioned the fact that you can come back from the dead?" Cyborg inquired in a somewhat accusing manner as the superheroes sat in the common room.
"I can't come back from the dead, I'm not magic."
"It sure seems that way, Cyborg read your vital signs and you didn't have any, plus the whole losing most of your head thing." Robin agreed as he stared questioningly at the young boy.
"I went into hibernation. My body is trained to do so should I suffer life threatening injuries. It basically stops my heart to avoid bleeding out and halts all but the lowest levels of brain activity and cellular functions so that the healing has more energy to work with."
"Which is why you are eating so much…" Raven suddenly pointed out from the other side of those gathered.
"Can't heal unless I have something to use to rebuild with, didn't anyone ever wonder why my emergency kit in the medical chambers was packed with nutrients and food?"
"Hehe just figured you wanted something to munch on when you got bored with all the tests and stuff…" Cyborg chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as a sign of embarrassment.
"That still does not explain why we were kept in the darkness, Beast Boy why did you not tell us of this power of yours?" The orange skinned girl asked, as tears threatening to come to her eyes.
"Never tell anyone exactly what you are capable of, that way if your enemies ever find out then they will always be unprepared. Plus if all of you were so willing to cause me bodily harm when you didn't know I could take it I can't imagine what Raven would have done to me knowing she could practically dismember me and not kill me in the process."
Raven stared down at the floor at this declaration, had she truly been that bad? Thinking back she realized that she wasn't much of a teammate or a friend to the young boy. If she had known of his powers from the start would she have held back even less at the teenager's expense?
"Well all that aside now we are back in business baby! I say to celebrate we order a metric ton of pizza and have a party! Course Doom Patrol is welcome to join, after all who doesn't love pizza?" the mechanical man happily declared as he pulled up the menu from their favorite post mission eatery.
"I believe we will pass. We traveled a long distance to reach your city and I believe a full nights rest would be the best for everyone." Mento declared as the other members of his team nodded in agreement.
"Oh well we have a few guest rooms setup so you are more than welcome to them, they are one floor down from us and are moderately furnished with everything you should need, if not just let us know. We hope you will stay around for at least a few days, if this mercenary group is in fact targeting us than it would be nice to have some extra firepower." Robin explained, trying to be as accommodating at possible.
The man nodded before issuing his team out with a gesture.
"Alright well what about you BB feel up for an eating challenge?"
"Pass, despite being in hibernation I still need to get some sleep to fully recharge. See you for morning training." The changeling replied before heading towards his own room.
"Well that was a bit weird…" Jinx muttered out after the others had left.
"Yeah he's like a different person."
"Don't worry about it Cyborg, he just managed to basically come back from as close to death as I can imagine, he's probably just tired and needs some time to recover."
"Yeah I guess your right Rob, well then more pizza for us!"
***TRwP***
The next morning found the Titans shocked beyond words for the second time.
Beast Boy was in the gym before any of them and was working out, with the other members of The Doom Patrol.
Glancing up Elasti-girl frowned at the way the Titan females seemed to cling to either Robin or Cyborg.
"I'm sorry Gar I see what you mean now. I can't imagine how hard it is living with that."
"You get used to it mom its okay, although I have missed you guys immensely."
"We missed you too you little brat. I thought we said at least one phone call a week." Robotman scolded playfully with the younger boy.
"Aw comeon I tried at least, it's not like you guys are always in cell range or anything. Plus I got yelled at last time I tried to call during a battle, I mean it was just Control Freak, not like we were up against Cinderblock or something."
"You know better than that Beast Boy, back to training now."
"Yes sir!"
The boy immediately snapped back into his exercises, earning a sigh from his two male teammates and a scowl from his 'mother'.
The Titans said nothing of the interaction, but were concerned nonetheless.
"Well since we have a new pair of eyes here I think it would be a good time to do some light sparring, maybe they can catch something that we normally wouldn't." Robin commanded as the Titan's paired off against their normal opponents, with Jinx facing off against Raven and Starfire against Cyborg instead.
Strangely enough Beast Boy didn't even move from his position at the weight bench, but instead glanced over at Mento in question.
"Uh Beast Boy let's go we don't have all morning, I am sure that your former teammates would be interested to see you in action against me."
"Actually that won't be necessary. We don't spar in the Doom Patrol." Mento replied, earning bewildered expressions from the Titans.
"Why would that be? We were always told that sparring helps you understand your teammate's strengths and weaknesses." The empathy replied, glancing shyly over towards her leader, an act that did not go unnoticed by the telepath.
"Because it is not an accurate representation of someone's abilities, just because your leader can beat Beast Boy in a martial arts fight where neither is trying to inflict serious harm does not show what the capabilities of either are. The fact of the matter is that if it was an all out fight Robin would be dead."
"No offense man but Beast Boy is far from the best close combat fighter, and if Robin had his utility belt then…"
"Beast Boy would shift into a fly, shift back behind the boy and snap his neck. We don't train our members to spar and hold back during fights, which is why your 'leader' wins every match that he keeps making against Beast Boy. Our former teammate is not trained to do light sparring it builds bad habits that can get you killed in a fight."
"Showing restraint is a bad habit?" The grey skinned Titan replied in an accusatory tone.
"When your enemies are terrorists or mass murderers then yes it is. You have the advantage of fighting villains who are more interested in money or notoriety rather than simply killing and causing destruction. The Doom Patrol has no such luxuries."
***TRwP***
The next few days passed much the same way, with Beast Boy spending more and more time with his former team and less with the actual Titans, until it got to the point where Cyborg called an emergency meeting with the Titans, minus his green friend.
"Alright now that everyone is here we have a serious issue that needs to be addressed. The problem is with how BB is acting."
"Look I know you are worried about him Cyborg but don't you think this is going a bit overboard? I mean Beast Boy has never been so focused or serious about his training before. If anything I think it is an improvement." Robin refuted, his inner leader kicking in.
Raven just stared at the Boy Wonder in shock, could he really not see what was wrong with their friend? Did he think of them as nothing more than weapons and tools instead of family?
"I'm serious Rob it's like he's a completely different person. We don't know much about The Doom Patrol or how his powers work, maybe when he regenerated it caused brain damage or something, or maybe it's that Mento guy. I thought Raven confirmed he was a telepath the other day so maybe he's messing with our boy?"
"I believe Cyborg is correct Robin, Beast Boy is acting quite strangely. He has denied the contests of shoving food into one's mouth several times and has not been joyful since he his reawakening."
"Starfire I know you are concerned but maybe his near death experience has just shown him that he needs to improve."
"I don't think it's that Robin," Jinx spoke up, an analytical expression on her face. "He acts different around his former team than he does around us. It's almost like he's reverting back into one of them."
"He never stopped being one of us."
The voice of Mento echoed through the room as he walked in, his face taking on a neutral appearance.
"What do you mean exactly?" Robin's eyes narrowed in suspicion, although he wasn't worried about Beast Boy's changes he was secretly concerned by the fact that Beast Boy followed the older man's orders far more readily than his own.
"What exactly do you think Beast Boy's role is on either of our teams?"
"He's the heavy hitting melee expert obviously." Robin replied without hesitation, further worrying Raven, though she didn't show it.
"I think he means something different Bird Boy, he's the fun loving goofball, always there to lighten the situation." Cyborg corrected, earning a shaking of the oldest man's head.
"Both of you are incorrect, he is the joker."
"He is nothing like that monster." Robin seethed out.
"Not like the villain, I thought you were trained more in observation and detective work than this." Mento mused a bit annoyed with how quickly the opposing leader could fall into obsessions.
"Well he's got a good sense of humor but I don't know about being the funniest member, I still say that I got the little string bean beat." The cybernetic teen challenged, puffing out his chest like what he was saying was an accomplishment.
Mento let out a sigh before rubbing his temples, feeling a headache starting to form. How the hell did Beast Boy put up with these people?
"I mean as in the card. In a deck what does the joker do?"
Raven's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what the man was getting at, before it hit her as the man continued his explanation.
"He is the wildcard. Beast Boy fulfills whatever role he needs to in order to complete the team at the time, which is why he acts so differently among the various teams. I asked for a soldier and so that is what Beast Boy responds with when I am here. Elasti-girl has always wanted to be a mother and so he plays the part of the young son when she is the dominant person. Robotman and Negative Man need someone to relieve the stress of what we do and so he is the eager young nephew who has fun and jokes around."
"When it comes to your team it is much the same way, Robin feels the need to always be in charge and prove his worth as the 'alpha male' and so Beast Boy takes on the part of the younger student who always falls short and looks to him for guidance. Cyborg, you went to being a superhero much later in life and so lost out on having a family, so he takes on the younger brother to remind you of what you once had with friends and family. Starfire is much the same way along with Jinx who never really had truly reliable friends or family. Finally Raven, you have always felt like an outcast, which is why he pesters you to join into your team activities. Not only that but he acts the part of the goofball and freak to take the other's attention off of you, allowing you to feel closer to your teammates and less of a pariah than you normally would."
"If that's true then why was he acting differently around me just before the mission?" Raven inquired, suddenly seeing the boy in a new light.
"I heard that you had an argument and that you told him to act more like a hero, so he reverted back to what he perceived as what you wanted, a person more like myself or Robin who put emotions behind their work."
"If all you just said is true then what is his true personality?" Jinx asked, now more confused than ever.
"I have no idea anymore. As you probably noticed Beast Boy is extremely resilient to mental techniques. He was trained that way just like the others were in order to prevent interrogation or information being taken from him when he works with us. In all honesty I haven't been able to fully read his mind in many years, which is the same for your empath I would imagine."
The other glanced over towards the girl in question, who just nodded in confirmation.
"For all I know Beast Boy's personality could be one of those he assumes, or something completely different. Worst case scenario though is that his true personality is the adaptation. That due to his evolutionary powers his mind is in a constant state of evolution as well, changing to meet whatever needs his body and senses perceive at the time."
Again the Titans began to worry for their friend, or what they thought he still was.
***TRwP***
"Well at least this little problem seems to have cleared up…" Raven muttered as she floated through Nevermore and noticed that her emoticlones seemed functional again, showing the signs of recovery from her depression.
As she landed the real empath glanced about at the others assembled in a large clearing before taking a seat at the head of the apparent meeting area.
"So how are you all feeling?"
"We have begun the road to recovery, as have you. Despite this there are still… doubts and worries that plague you and therefore us in return." Knowledge spoke up, her voice still slightly depressed but noticeably more sane.
"I am aware, that is one of the reasons I came here. Robin has been showing some… disturbing signs lately."
"Psh… lately? Try always, that guy is a few words short of a full incantation." Brave muttered out, earning an annoyed glance from the original.
"True, despite our more physical relationship with Robin he has always acted fairly distant in concerns to emotional issues, perhaps that is because of his upbringing? Either way it is yet another reason that he would not make a good match for us."
"What do you 'make a good match'? There is nothing wrong with Robin." Raven claimed stubbornly.
"He is too emotionally distant. He is far more interested in Starfire than he is us. He only participates in our nightly activities because it helps him maintain his 'alpha male' image. He belittles Beast Boy just to look superior in front of the others. Need I go on?" Happy chirped out, as she counted the list with her fingers.
"She is right Raven. Though the intimacy has been appreciated it is a far cry from true love, more like a crush that has turned into a 'teammates with benefits' kind of deal. Though I am not sure on the outcome I would say give Beast Boy a chance instead, not only is he far more mysterious and apparently darker than Robin is, which gives him that sexy edge, he knows when to comfort and apparently knows what we need emotionally more than we did ourselves." Affection finished up, putting an inquisitive expression on her keeper's face.
"Beast Boy? Please, he is hardly dark or mysterious, though I will admit he is a bit confusing lately. Robin is far more attractive, strong, and intelligent. He is the one we should be focusing on and who needs our atten…"
"WHO THE FUCK GIVES A RATS ASS ABOUT THAT PIECE OF SHIT!?" Rage suddenly shouted, gaining the attention of the others.
"I think what the dramatic one over here is trying to say is that we are more concerned about Beast Boy then about Robin right now. The Boy Wonder seems to be the same as always, a bit of a jackass. Meanwhile our green friend is having severe mood swings and now we learn that he could have some form of multiple personality syndrome or something like that." The green cloaked clone clarified.
"Most likely not multiple personalities but rather some new form of mental illness that we have not been able to clarify yet." Knowledge corrected.
"B-Beast Boy is sick? No… not again…. what if it was our fault? What if all the injuries we inflicted on him over the years lead to this? What if all the times we have picked on him or ignored him finally broke whatever was left of him and…"
"Timid, Beast Boy is stronger than that, besides you heard what they said, Beast Boy has been like this since The Doom Patrol and can heal virtually any injuries he receives. If anything this just relieves any need to apologize for…" The real Raven began before being interrupted by the lavender cloaked image.
"You should just get over Melchior because you have no real emotions anyway."
The silence that followed was deafening.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me… witch."
"HOW DARE YOU!?" The original charged into the embodiment of her affection before slamming her into a decaying tree and holding the girl by the throat.
"Don't you EVER say his name!"
"What's the m-matter R-Raven," the girl gasped out as she struggled with her superior's chokehold. "I th-thought you c-could heal from any i-injuries, especially with your l-lack of emotions…"
The original's eyes shot open, immediately realizing what her doppelganger was trying to show her, and gently released the girl before helping her back to the gathering area, where the others looked poised to restrain her if need be.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I was just confirming what Beast Boy said earlier, why he never trusted us completely. If he had told me from the start about his powers I would have been even harder on him as an outlet. I am a monster…"
"No you're human. As much as we focus on our demonic side and all that it entails we often forget that we are just as human. These feelings and weaknesses are from that side just as the uncontrollable power comes from the other half. Ironic that it is Beast Boy who always tried to focus on the human parts though."
Raven nodded at the knowledge part of her personality before sitting down as well.
"Okay so, how awful have I been to him? I want you to show me everything."
"Raven… reconsider what you are asking, you might not like where this path takes you."
The girl in question turned toward the grey cloaked version of herself, who had a strange sorrow in her eyes. It wasn't the kind she was used to, the kind that showed depression and sadness. Instead it spoke of regret beyond volume.
"I need to know, I need you to show me so that I can understand what I have done and change what I will do next. How can I call him a teammate much less a friend if I won't even do that?"
Knowledge nodded before pulling out a large book from behind her back. It had a dark green cover and had vines and various animals carved into it as a design.
***TRwP***
"Wh-what do you mean you're leaving BB?" The cybernetic teen tried to hide the distress and sadness in his voice, but was failing terribly.
"I told you Cyborg, The Doom Patrol needs my help on a mission right now we both know that this was one of the reasons they came. Since everything has stabilized around here and those mercenaries have been confirmed at leaving the country it is a good time to go. Plus Jinx is here so you won't be understaffed or lonely."
"But BB you just recovered man…. Why can't you stick around and catch up? We haven't had any guy time and…"
"I know Cyborg, and we will catch up when I get back, I promise. But right now this mission is too important to disregard."
"What exactly are you going to be doing Beast Boy?" Robin inquired, not liking the fact that he seemed to be shut out of the younger boy's life.
"You know I can't discuss that Robin, just like we don't tell them everything that we do. It's not just privacy though it's secrecy. It is better if you not know."
"Oh my friend, please return to us safely and soundly I do not know if I can take another aching of the heart for your injuries."
"I'll be careful Starfire, I want you to look after Robin and Cyborg while I'm gone though. You and Jinx are going to have to be the excitement in the tower for a while."
"Don't worry Beast Boy we will take care of everything while you're gone. Maybe we can even purchase some hazmat suits and purge that room of yours." The pink haired girl mocked with a smile.
"No need to get extreme here Jinx…"
"Should we wait for Rae to come down? She has been locked up in her room for an entire day now…"
"Just leave her be for now Cyborg, She is probably just working on some emotional stuff right now. Besides I don't want to disturb her for something this trivial."
"I don't consider my best friend leaving us again 'trivial'. Do you at least know when you will be back?"
"I can't say for certain, my guess is no more than a few weeks though."
"Be careful Beast Boy, and come back as soon as you are able."
"Will do Robin, take care of yourselves."
With that the changeling walked onto The Doom Patrol's transport, which took off a moment later, destined for unknown parts.
***TRwP***
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"I mean he left Raven, we tried knocking on your door, yelling and everything else we could think of and you never answered. Beast Boy said to just let you rest or continue whatever you were doing."
"He didn't care about saying goodbye?"
Robin rubbed his temples as he was forced into this conversation with his teammate. As intelligent as Raven could be she was also obsessive when it came to certain details.
"He didn't think you would care one way or the other, neither was I to be honest. Yes he is going to be gone for a bit but if anything I would have thought that you would enjoy having some peace and quiet around the tower. Besides Jinx is staying in his place so it gives the girls slightly higher numbers than boys for once."
With that the Boy Wonder turned and walked down the hallway, intent on going over some crime files before they had dinner.
Raven just went back inside her room and sat back onto her bed, staring at the wall without focusing on anything in particular.
"How am I going to tell him now?"
***A/N***
Sorry to all my readers who were hoping for a magical or supernatural return on Beast Boy's part, but this isn't going to be one of those fics. I fully intend to make any and all of Beast Boy's powers based on traits from real animals, those mentioned are real creatures with real traits.
Sorry to say we are in for another chapter without our favorite green hero, but rest assured that he will be receiving far more 'screen time' later on in the story to compensate, also his powers will be changing during his break.
Next chapter is going to include some more drama and the culmination of the little "after dark" activities that have been going on in the tower, needless to say there are going to be some upset opinions all around.
Till then I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.