The Roles we Play
Swan Song
Thank you to everyone who reads my stories.
***I do not own or make money on the Teen Titans. ***
"I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life." – Corazon Aquino
***TRwP***
"We're here." Cyborg quietly called out to the car full of Titans.
The heroes nodded slowly, each taking glances towards the utterly silent changeling.
Each of them worried about their teammate ever since they had received the news.
After parking the disguised car the various teenagers exited and walked slowly towards the funeral parlor.
It had been raining nonstop since their friend had received his mysterious communication.
'It always seems fitting to have rain for funerals.' Raven noted sadly, as she stole glances of her disguised lover.
Beast Boy had opted for going without an umbrella, allowing the rain to soak his features, almost as if it held his tears. Or perhaps it was the lack of tears that he was attempting to disguise.
All of the Titans, save Robin, had donned Holorings to mask their superhero personas.
The Boy Wonder had simply opted for going without a disguise after his green skinned friend had told him that it would be fine, that he would not be sticking out in this occasion.
As they entered the heroes glanced around at the small gathering that was seated.
Soft calming music was playing in the background as whispered conversations filled the room.
***TRwP***
"Richard?"
"Bruce?"
The two, no longer masked, heroes stared at each other, and each a bit shocked to see the other at the funeral.
"What are you doing here Richard? I thought you were still in class in Paris."
Robin shrugged as he flowed into the cover story, "Some friends of my roommate passed away, I wanted to show my support for him."
"I see… and you friend would be…"
"Ah Master Dayton I am glad you could make it." A finely dressed older man greeted Beast Boy, as the boy finally returned from speaking with another couple.
"Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world…" The boy responded in a sad tone.
The man nodded his head knowingly.
"Such a shame all of them passing away like that, the ceremony will begin shortly if you would like to sit up front."
Beast Boy nodded before following the man away from his friends.
"Richard is that…"
"Yeah, but I didn't know he was related to them."
"Who are the Dayton's Richard?" the green eyed girl inquired.
"They are one of the richest families in America that explains why you took the time from your schedule to attend their funeral Bruce." 'Richard' commented.
The billionaire nodded.
***TRwP***
"Thank you all for coming, as you all know the Dayton's were very private people, which is one of the reasons why the gathering is very small despite their influence. As some of you might have heard Steven and Rita Dayton along with their two closest friend Lawrence Trainor and Clifford Steele were killed in a private plane crash three days ago. Unfortunately their remains were never recovered. In accordance with Mr. Dayton's will all four were to be buried together in the same crypt upon their deaths." The man who had spoken to Beast Boy earlier on announced.
"I understand that you would like to say a few words Garfield?"
'Garfield? That explains why she called him Gar then… which means that when I called him that…' Raven cringed as she realized the boundary she had unknowingly crossed.
"Thank you Doctor Caulder, as some of you probably know I am the adopted son of Steve and Rita Dayton. They along with my two 'uncles' Larry and Cliff were one of the three families I have been blessed with in this lifetime. They are also the second of them to have been taken from me. Through them I was taught my love of theatrics, of late night movies, and of ice cream. I learned how to protect myself and how to survive. I was shown how to respect those around me who have earned it and how to look beyond the obvious. Through them I have grown not only mentally but spiritually as well. I can never truly repay what they have given me, I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they were willing to make, for the truths that they told, the knowledge that they gave, and the love that they showed. Without them I would not be here today, of that I have no doubt. They were willing to take a chance on an orphan that everyone else had given up on, an orphan that had no future. I can only hope one day to see them again, to laugh, cry, to rejoice, and to mourn. I look forward to when I can sit beside my uncle Cliff and watch all of the awful movies that he taught me to love, to stare up at the stars with Larry while he explains the beauty of the universe, to read my mother books while sitting in her lap and listening to her laughter, and to sit through one of my father's lectures on how to appreciate what you have been given, but to appreciate what you have earned even more. Finally I look forward to the day when all three of my families can meet, when I can listen to my mothers and sisters laugh about my antics. When I can watch my uncles and brothers compete in one of their many games. When I can see my father' exchanging stories about their lives. Until then though I will carry on and make them proud. My father would never forgive me if my last words to him, to them, weren't Semper Fi." As the changeling finished his speech he glanced towards coffins, filled with pictures and trinkets that he knew did not represent the real them. The true articles of worth were hidden away, only to be seen and reminisced over by those truly close to them.
With a last sad smile the boy walked from the podium, and took his seat in the front row, which was occupied only by him.
***TRwP***
Over the course of the next twenty minutes several others had gone up and given short speeches concerning the deceased, before walking over and offering their sympathies to the boy.
Finally the ceremony concluded, and the caskets were shut and made ready to transport.
As the various guests left Beast Boy stood staring at the containers with Bruce Wayne, as his teammates approached the pair.
"I heard rumors that a large group of terrorists were wiped out a few days ago, supposedly they were in the process of plotting the next major attack. I would imagine that whoever stopped them saved thousands of lives." The man softly spoke.
"Their swan song." The confirmed with a nod.
"Please, what is the song of the white birds?" Starfire inquired.
"It's said that the 'Cygnus Olor' or 'Mute Swan' is silent up until it is about to die, at which point it sings a beautiful song." Robin answered sadly.
Several moments of silence passed before Cyborg decided to continue that line of thought, "It's a myth isn't it?"
"Yes it is the swan does make a sound." Beast Boy clarified.
"They screech don't they?" Raven continued, looking towards the, currently blonde, boy.
Garfield just nodded in confirmation. "Yes, and they do not sing before they die."
***TRwP***
"I know that you have been through a large ordeal Mister Dayton, but I would like to give you at least the first part of your inheritance now, it is a small box of personal items that were to be delivered to you upon their deaths." Caulder intoned, upon handing a briefcase sized box to the boy.
The changeling accepted it with a sad nod.
"I will be in touch over the next few weeks about the rest of it, but as far as I understand they left everything to you." The man responded, before leaving the boy and his friends to their silence.
***TRwP***
"Beast Boy, do you want to talk about anything? I know it can be hard to lose your family but…"
"Nah its okay Rob, I just need to have some alone time for right now. I'll be okay though I swear." The boy replied, before leaving the common room and heading for his living quarters.
Once there he dimmed the lights, closed the blinds covering the window, and opened the box he had been given.
Inside were pictures, books, and four DVD's, each with one of his teammate's names on them.
After taking a deep breath the boy picked up the one marked by his commander and prepared to play it.
***TRwP***
"Beast Boy, if you are watching this then it means we have most likely been killed in the line of duty, I can only hope that you have survived unharmed. As you most likely have already been informed Rita and I are leaving all of our possessions to you, Cliff and Larry are as well should they be in the same situation."
The video recording of Mento paused for a moment, as if he was unsure of how to proceed, a gesture that the teen had never seen the man take before.
"Beast Boy... Garfield… I am sorry that things turned out this way. I know that we have never been on the best of terms and since you departure to the Teen Titans our relationship has been even more strained but… I want you to know that despite my attitude I have always considered you my son. I know that what we have given you virtually ensures your career through the rest of your life but… I never wanted this for you. I wanted you to be normal, to be happy. I wish we could have found a way to revert you back to who you were, to who you should have been but… well we failed you in that regard. I failed you."
The man took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before he let out any more emotion than he already had.
"I can only pray that you will find happiness someday, that you can find peace someday. Now I wish to let you in on a secret that we have kept for many years now. Back when you originally joined us you may recall a long weekend that you spent with Cliff while Rita, Lawrence, and I were on an extended mission. The truth is that this was not an official request by the government. We had drawn straws and Robotman came up with the shortest, meaning that three of us were sent to eliminate a different kind of target. He was a man who was a known human trafficker, child molester, and murderer, a man by the name of Nicholas Galtry. Although he was technically civilian level he put up a harder fight than we anticipated, forcing us to use far more force than what was normally required. Needless to say the man did not die easily, or pleasantly."
Mento paused for a minute on the video, as if allowing his son to process what he had just said.
"I hope you can forgive me some day son, and perhaps even consider me a father figure. Though I know I cannot measure up to Mark Logan, I can only pray that should I meet him in the afterlife he will forgive me for what I put you through. Goodbye Garfield, I love you son."
With that the video ended, and for the first time in many years Garfield Logan cried.
***TRwP***
"Hello Gar, as you probably know by now I am no longer among the living, and I have a suspicion that Steve has followed me. He never was able to function by himself, despite his bragging. I hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself. Make sure that you keep taking regular showers and brushing your teeth…"
At this point in the video tears began rolling down the woman's face as she struggled to slow her breath.
"I-I am s-so sorry Gar, for everything. I know that what we did was necessary for this life you were forced into but… no one should have to do this. I should have insisted that you be kept from the team, that you grow up with a normal life but… I guess I was too selfish to let you go. You were and always will be my son no matter what anyone tells me. I can only hope that Marie can forgive me for what I allowed to happen to you. I only hope that…"
Again the woman broke down into tears, silently sobbing at the knowledge of what had been done to her son.
"Just know Gar that no matter what happens we will always love you. Goodbye son."
***TRwP***
"Hey kiddo! Uncle Cliff here. Guess I bit the big one eh? Well that figures, hopefully I took a few of the bastards down with me in the process." The large robotic man chuckled.
"Mento and Rita insisted on us doing this whole 'last goodbye' thing, personally I think it's a bit too sappy but whatever. I guess they wanted me to tell you personal things and remind you of all the good times we had and such. But quite frankly I think that's a load of crap. You know how I feel about you kid, you always have been able to see right through me no matter how big and scary I am… you were one of the few to ever truly see… me."
Cliff became silent for a moment, looking down at his hands in contemplation before returning his gaze to the camera.
"So like I said none of that sappy crap you hear! If this reaches you before our actual funeral then you damn sure better be playing some awesome tunes rather than that sad piano horse crap that Rita is insisting on. I expect something like 'You can't always get what you want' or maybe 'Highway to Hell'. You know something appropriate for how badass we are. Then I expect you to have a giant movie marathon and watch all those great films that I have exposed you to, of course if there isn't at least three buckets of ice cream and four pizzas involved then I am going to be disappointed, just like that weekend we spent bonding eh? Speaking of which you should probably check out Steve's video or ask him about that weekend some time… although I drew the 'short straw' on that mission I still consider myself the winner overall."
The man grinned towards the screen before giving a ridiculous 'thumbs up' pose.
"Well kid I'll see you later, but not too soon okay? So don't you dare go and try and avenge us or some stupid bull crap or so help me I will kick your ass twice as hard as they do!"
***TRwP***
"Greetings Beast Boy, if you haven't guessed already this is my 'video will' as the others are calling it. Personally I do not see the point of such a thing, we both know you will remember the good times whether or not I am here to remind you of them or not, but I suppose it is nice to reminisce. I hope that you are not upset over our passing I suspect that we most likely will all go at the same time due to our team composition and relationship with each other. Instead I would like to request that you celebrate our lives rather than mourn our deaths."
The bandaged man paused for a moment before continuing on.
"I have always told you that death is just another stage of life, and even should I pass away I hope that you will remember this and take it to heart. All things must die Garfield, it is the final balancing act of the universe and I do hope that you can forgive us for what we have… forced upon you. To cement your fate in such a way is cruel beyond compare, even with your acceptance of the terms. You are far too young to have been enveloped into this life style, and far too innocent to have seen what you were forced to witness."
"So until we meet again my friend and my nephew, live well."
With that the final video ceased, leaving the boy in darkness.
***TRwP***
Hours later the changeling finally emerged from his room looking far worse for wear. His eyes were blood shot and dark circles surrounded them, indicating a severe lack of sleep.
"Hey Beast Boy how are you feeling?" Cyborg calmly asked, trying to show his support as well as comfort the boy he considered his brother.
"I'm… okay. I always knew this day would come but… it doesn't change the fact that it still hurts."
The man nodded. He had no idea what it would be like to expect his own family's death. After all his mother had been taken from him abruptly which had caused the distance he now had with his father.
"You need anything? You know I am always available to talk."
"Yeah I know Cy thanks I guess I just need time right now and maybe a giant tub of ice cream."
"Oh most wonderful! I shall have Robin go and pick up no less than fifteen of the tubs of creamy ice." The Tamaranean princess happily replied glad to see her friend making a joke.
"Wait what am I doing now?"
"Buying us all ice cream Boy Blunder, now hop to it. I would like strawberry mint if you would, and my man is going to want rocky road of course." The pinkette responded, as the conversation moved to them.
"Wait a second why am I the one who has to go?"
"You know what Robin is correct. That is completely unfair to him." Raven chimed in, earning a nod of agreement from the masked boy.
"Cyborg why don't you go and help Robin pick the containers up, I am sure that Starfire, Jinx, and I can 'take care' of Beast Boy while you are gone, he does need some 'cheering up' after all." The sorceress intoned, as the other girls snuck glances towards the boy.
"Y-you know what never mind of course I will go and pick the food up. I would be happy to! Cyborg you just stay here and make sure everyone stays in this room… at all times." Robin nervously laughed out, before grabbing the keys and bolting for the T-Car.
"Sometimes it is way too easy to manipulate that boy…" Cyborg shook his head while chuckling, "Nice work Raven, though a bit unbelievable that Jinx would…."
"You know she's right Vic, our favorite shapeshifter does look like he could use some cheering up." The girl purred as she stared at the young boy.
"That's not funny…"
The pale girl laughed at her boyfriend's expression.
***TRwP***
"So explain to me why you called in a Titan from another team without asking?" Robin asked the resident empath.
"Because as much as I hate to admit it Argent has a connection to Beast Boy. We all know he needs all of the emotional support he can get right now." Raven replied.
"Wait… what do you mean 'a connection'. Just how close are they?" Cyborg inquired from his spot on the couch.
The five Titans had been whispering amongst themselves while Beast Boy was busy making himself a sandwich.
"Close enough that it makes me uncomfortable." The half demon intoned.
"Wait a second… was Beast Boy…" Jinx started before being interrupted by the changeling himself.
"Did you guys seriously forget about my enhanced hearing? I could hear you whispering from across the tower if I wanted to."
The Titans took on sheepish expressions as the boy joined them.
"So uh Beast Boy…"
"Yes we had a relationship together."
"How far did you two…"
"We slept together."
"And by sleeping you mean…"
"Seriously Robin, we are all grownups here, yes we had sex, a lot." the green boy finished.
This just caused his brother to form a large grin on his face.
"So BB, you were pretty young when this happened. Does this mean that Argent was the one who… you know… stamped your 'V card?"
"Please friends, what is this card you speak of? Should I be given one as well?"
"No Star it means… well it is sort of like… uh…" Robin began, trying to make this conversation as painless as possible.
"It means she took his virginity Star, she was his first." Jinx interrupted, getting annoyed at how pathetic their leader could be when it came to explaining human concepts to the princess.
"Yeah so BB was she gentle for your first time?" The dark skinned male grinned slyly towards the boy, who suddenly became very quiet and serious.
"She wasn't my first."
"She wasn't? But you were pretty young then BB, you been holding out on…" The cybernetic man continued as his friend stood up and walked from the room, a strange look on his face.
"What the heck was that about?" Robin questioned, before noticing a concerned look on the pinkette's face as well.
Without a word she stood up and quickly walked after the boy, earning even more curiosity between the remaining Titans.
"What the heck is going on?" Cyborg asked out loud.
"She has seen that look before, as have I. It is the look of someone whose 'first time' was taken from them without choice." Starfire sadly commented, earning a horrified look from Raven.
"Starfire, how do you know that?" the empath asked hesitantly.
"Because I have seen that face on handmaidens from Tamaran who were forced to endure such things, I believe that those two share something in common that none of us can understand."
Cyborg's jaw dropped in horror as he realized what the girl was implying.
"Hopefully none of us ever do understand that feeling." Raven muttered, trying to hold back the bile that was threatening to leave her stomach.
***TRwP***
A few soft knocks echoed through the changeling's room.
"Beast Boy?"
"Enter"
The door slid open as Jinx slowly walked in, closing the door silently behind her.
She stood at the wall for a few moments, trying to figure out how to begin the awkward conversation with the boy sitting on the floor.
"I'm sorry."
The pink eyed girl looked up at the boy, confused as to why he would be apologizing.
"I have a habit of picking up on trauma and personal things like that you went through something similar right?"
The pale girl nodded in confirmation.
"I'm sorry… I was hoping that no one here would understand and that I would be alone to bear this particular scar."
"It's okay, I'm sorry too… do you want to talk about it?"
The boy shrugged before gesturing towards a chair for the girl to sit in.
She took a seat on the floor instead.
"How old were you?" the girl whispered out.
"Six"
"Th-that's… I'm sorry, at least the bastards waited till I was thirteen."
"Before or after joining the HIVE?"
"Right before, I guess it pushed me to becoming a villain. I was never treated well before, but that…"
"Yeah…"
"Besides if it happened when I was with the team Mammoth would have killed them."
"Nice to know you have a guardian angel huh?"
"Yeah…"
Silence once more reigned in the room, but it had turned into a more comfortable, understanding silence.
***TRwP***
An hour later Beast Boy and Jinx reemerged and joined the others despite the bonding they had there was still a feeling of depression in the Tower.
"I wonder if that's what will eventually happen to all of us…" Robin mumbled out, as the Titans sat together in the common room.
"What do you mean Robin?" Cyborg inquired.
"I mean, this job tends to take its toll but I can't really imagine doing much else. Will that eventually be us? Empty coffins with a few friends at a funeral? Never telling exactly what we did in life, just the fake lives that we had?"
Again silence filled the room.
"I always figured I would end up being a mechanic, or a chef. Maybe even a scientist like my old man." The mechanical man mused.
The other's smiled at the thought.
"I have always wanted to try my hand in writing novels, or maybe being a librarian." Raven responded with a smile.
"I always wanted to be a famous movie star or actress, or maybe a multi millionaire and then just retire to someplace sunny and sandy." Jinx threw in, laughing at the dream.
"I for one think you would make a very good retired millionaire Jinx." Beast Boy laughed, earning a giggle from the pinkette.
"I knew I would follow in Batman's footsteps, I never knew this much though. Maybe I will look into retiring someday. I don't want to turn into an old man who still tries to fight crime and obsesses over it."
"On my planet I am royalty but I have always dreamed of having a peaceful normal life, perhaps helping others in ways that do not involve violence."
"It sounds like you would make a pretty good councilor or teacher Starfire, the cheerfulness you have would definitely give you an edge." Jinx praised in agreement.
"What about you BB? What big dreams do you have of the future?" dark skinned male asked.
The boy took on a faraway look in his eyes before smiling softly.
"I guess when I was a boy I wanted to be like my parents, my original parents. They were scientists who wanted to cure diseases and save people. After… life happened and I was taken in by The Doom Patrol and trained I knew that I would be doing this job until I died."
"Is that what the tattoo means?" The empath asked.
"Yeah, we are 'dead men walking'. No one retires from this team ironically it was my suggestion that we get the tattoos."
"Why is that Beast Boy?" The Boy Wonder chimed in.
"Is it the same reason that Batman apologized to you?" Cyborg asked, being reminder of the strange incident.
"Yeah, having amazing regeneration makes me pretty darn hard to kill, but with all of those evolutionary traits I also have another one that I haven't mentioned, Biological Immortality. With all of my other 'perks' taken into account the only way I will ever leave this world… is violently. Meaning that I can't really have a normal life, if I get married then I will probably have to watch her age and die while I stay the same. Kids are the same unless they inherit this 'gift."
"That's… man I didn't know…"
"It's okay Cy I didn't really broadcast it so I never expected you guys to know, at least until Robin started getting grey hairs and wrinkles."
The Titan leader scowled, before subtly checking his hair in the reflection of the Television monitor.
***TRwP***
"This is a joke… right?"
"No Vic it isn't…"
"B-but this is so unfair!"
"Excuse me? I thought you were the one who gave me the 'get out of jail free pass after our little threesome with Bumblebee."
"Well yeah but… I mean I never thought that…"
"That what? I would be interested in 'experimenting' with someone else? Yeah well I never did until… this is different Vic, he needs this and I think I do too."
"But still…"
"Listen if you don't want me to then just say so and I won't. I'm not going to mess up our relationship for a onetime thing. Just remember this the next time you start eyeing up Karen."
"Alright alright fair enough. I guess I'm glad it's not Robin at least."
"Ugh God no."
"I still would like to know why BB though…"
Jinx sighed, she knew that this conversation was going to be awkward but her boyfriend had insisted that she be given a onetime consequence free cheat since she had allowed for the threesome with his ex.
"Because we had a connection, something that no one else in this tower, thank God, shares. It's something that only we can understand."
"Can you promise me one thing? Someday will you try and talk to me about what happened to you?"
"Yeah… just not yet Vic… it's too soon still for that conversation."
"Alright."
***TRwP***
"This is so unfair…" Robin muttered out as he and Cyborg were playing video games in the common room.
Games that had the volume cranked up so high they could barely hear each other, in an attempt to drown out any more screams of pleasure that might come from the changeling's room.
Raven had convinced Argent, Starfire, and Jinx to do something 'special' for the boy to try and make up for everything that had happened to him.
The others had agreed happily.
At first it hadn't been too bad, that is until Starfire had let out a scream of ecstasy the likes of which could cause even a porn star to blush.
Robin was still irritated.
"Sorry you say something Rob?" The mechanical man hollered over the sound of cars crashing.
"I SAID THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
"Sorry Rob your gonna have to speak up, unless this is about how Beast Boy just won at life, forever and always. In that case shut your trap and keep playing."
"OH AND I GUESS YOU'RE OKAY WITH THIS?"
"Hey I figure this is just karma for all the shit we put him through over the course of several months. The dude has earned a bit of payback. Plus I got my threesome out of the deal beforehand."
"Still bullshit…"
***A/N***
No cliffhanger this week but the story shall go on. I just need to think of how to introduce the next 'arc'.
I know a few people will probably be a bit upset at the whole "Beast Boy sleeps with like four different girls" thing, but let's be honest here, with all the crap I put him through in this story and especially this chapter I feel like I owe the poor guy.
Just in case anyone is worried, no this story is not turning into a harem fic. Beast Boy will remain with Raven as his 'serious' relationship and no one else.
For anyone who recognizes the "Swan Song" funeral scene, yes I did steal it from NCIS, it actually is one of my favorite scenes from that entire show and I feel it fits the part well.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I was a bit worried at first about making it sad enough but after basically crying through the 'video tape' part I feel like I did okay.
Read and enjoy!