FAULT LINES ━━ titans [REWRITING]

TWENTY.

HOMEMADE DYNAMITE !
❝ REMATCH. ❞

GARFIELD LOGAN STEPPED FORWARDS AFTER A MOMENT OF SILENCE. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he edged forwards — someone had to, right? — and tried to ignore the way his skin was on fire under the gazes of the group around him. Not even Jess's (overly bright) encouraging smile could settle the pit rising in his stomach.

"Alright, kid," Noah nodded, watching as the boy walked towards the middle of the room, "Show us what you got."

He glanced over his shoulder, looking for Noah but catching Jess' eye, smiling as she stuck her two thumbs up beside her face with a grin.

"Preferably with minimum mauling!" Jess called out, garnering a nudge from Rachel beside her.

The boy smiled weakly, letting out a nervous laugh as he turned back around, wringing his hands before scratching the back of his head and turning around, "It's... it's kind of weird if all of you guys are — are watching?"

"You want us to... to look away?" Abby asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Yeah it's just... it's that's I tear through my clothes when I shift and, well, this is my favourite jacket," Garfield explained awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. Great. Hadn't even started and he'd messed up.

Noah crossed his arms, "Good job this is only a show and tell then, if it wasn't—."

"—We'd be dead," Kory muttered, cutting Noah off without even realising.

Abby blew out a reluctant breath and moved to the console embedded in the wall, tapping a few keys and watching as a stack of crates rose from the floor. Teenagers. She gestured to it, with a silent that good enough? to which Gar responded with an enthusiastic nod of his head as he hurried behind it.

Dick turned to look at Abby, with an uncertain look before back towards the crates, "Gar? Any time tod—."

A loud roar interrupted his sentence, ripping through the air around them, echoing loudly and fiercely. The group jumped, Noah and Dick taking a few steps back in surprise, the latter stumbling backwards until he was positioned just behind Abigail's elbow. At his arrival she rolled her eyes and scoffed. Typical.

Slowly, around the side of the crate, a tiger appeared, deep green and pattered with black stripes. It growled and grumbled violently, pacing back and forth, eyeing up the group before him. The mammal snarled and snapped, before deciding to pounce up on the wooden boxes, making his way to the highest one before settling down. But the closer she looked, the less afraid Abby felt. His eyes, they were still Gar's. The wide smile on Jess' fac was enough to convince her.

"That... that's him?" Dick asked slowly, beginning to relax as he peered at the roger, "That's Gar?"

"No," Jess drawled sarcastically, "it's the other boy behind the wooden crates."