Chapter 91

Beast Boy PoV

Dealing with the mail was pretty much the chore that everyone in the Tower wanted. It was highly coveted not only for it being incredibly easy to do most of the time, but because it took up a spot on the chore list.

Meaning if it was assigned to you, then not only were you given an easy chore that could be done in less than hour, but that you weren’t going to be given any of the other chores as well for that entire week. That’s right. That meant no cleaning the bathroom, no doing the dishes, no sweeping the hallways, no wiping down the living room seats, and no kitchen duty.

Pure, unadulterated, freedom.  

I was also pretty sure it makes you an inch taller as well, or something. Either way, it was practically the most sought out chore of them all. Whenever any of the Titans looked at the chore list that was given out at the start of each week, there was only one thing on their mind.

‘Did I get Mail Duty?’

There were a few theories on how this mythical chore came about. Kid Flash seemed to believe that it was created in order to reward Titans that were on Law’s good side. A claim made due to him having never actually gotten it once since it was instituted half a year ago.

Leading expert Cyborg on the other hand seemed to believe that it was made ‘just to give a Titan something to do, since the other chores were already taken.’ And that due to the fact that some people would be annoyed if there was a free chore spot, that Law just made a few token chores instead.

But I believe that the real answer was that Mail Duty was formed by the power of friendship. With all the Titans being a sort of parent.

And today just so happened to be my day with my son!

…Or daughter? I don’t know, this analogy is starting to lose me…

Either way, I was ecstatic when I got the chore. Letting me sleep in a bit after playing the latest Goo Fighter Zombies Eight!

…It wasn’t nearly as good as six, but it was still a pretty addictively fun experience. Though I wished they stopped with the whole loot box system. If it was in the morning or afternoon, I could resist purchasing anything, but after it passed midnight my ability to hold myself back crumbled into dust.

After leisurely going through the mail, I counted a few packages full of clothes for Starfire, several suspiciously book shaped boxes for Raven, some sort of mechanical part for Cyborg, and a letter for Law.

Letters to the Titans wasn’t anything new. Actually, we got quite a lot of them! But it was pretty rare for them to get past the filtering system. Which meant the letter hadn’t been designated as fan mail, junk, scam, or business related.

It was personal.

And Law never got personal mail. Which got me pretty curious as to what could possibly be inside. After a series of weird and wacky events, the letter had accidently been opened. Allowing me to read through it. Also on accident.

My eyes widened in sheer disbelief as I beheld the letter. Almost afraid of what was written there before immediately taking off. It didn’t matter that Law was in his Lab, or that he had asked all of us to never go in. This…this was an emergency!

Thankfully turning into a fly was more than enough to evade most of the traps and defensive mechanisms of the floor. And the ones that it wasn’t good enough for, I already knew about prior due to having fallen in them before! So I could just avoid the hassle the second time around.

After finding Law and morphing out of my fly form, I was greeted with a sigh. On Law’s face was some sort of cartoonish series of magnifying glasses as he peered down at some sort of…feather?

Huh. Weird.

Oh yeah, the letter!

“…You’d think after seven prior attempts to break in to the Lab that you’d have learned by now.”

Law remarked with a sigh. Grumbling to himself as he continued his strange examination. Only pausing as I stood up with the letter in hand.

“This is different, Law! This…this is super important!”

“…Uh huh.”

Law stated, in complete disbelief as he continued to…science things up? I didn’t really know what exactly he was doing, but it was probably very complicated, or something.

“I’m serious! You got a letter that’s-“

He paused at that.

“Since when did you start reading people’s letters?”

…Uh…

“It was...an accident?”

Law snorted at that.

“Right…remind me to permanently remove you from Mail Duty.”

That was terrible! Even as a joke that was too far! But…even so…

“This is much more important than some stupid chore! Law, seriously. You HAVE to read this.”

That finally got him to look over. Pausing a bit before taking a few steps in my direction after taking off the magnifying glass mask. He seemed to have trouble blinking for a bit as he swept back his hair before reading the letter.

He was a faster reader than me, as he didn’t even need a full minute to finish. Throughout him reading, I expected to see a plethora of emotions. From sheer disbelief, to anger, to maybe genuine excitement. Or even unbridled happiness!

But instead, he just…had the same frown reading the first word to the last. The only thing changing was an upraised eyebrow. Seemingly completely unaffected by the contents of the letter.

After finally looking up, he fixed me with a look before sighing…and going back to the mask he had put down.

“…Is that it?”

…What? How could he be so…so nonchalant about all of it!? Like it didn’t even affect him in the slightest!

“…Is…is that it? What do you mean? Aren’t you interested in meeting your parents!?”

“Nope.”

Law mentioned easily, like it literally meant nothing to him at all. His biological mom and dad that had abandoned him were now wanting to reconnect to their son. To make up for lost time and to explain their side of the story. To apologize in person!

And he just…didn’t seem to even care?

“I…I don’t understand. Why?”

It was…genuinely difficult to understand why he was acting this way. I’d get it if he was angry, or seemingly acting out due to genuinely hating them, but he wasn’t. He just seemed ambivalent about the whole thing.

And that bothered me.

“Because it’s probably some sort of trap designed by a villain.”

Law responded, after folding some rag on top of one of the tables. His eyes darting around as if attempting to find something that he had lost. A frown on his face as he peered around at the tables.

That…that made sense, and even allowed me to relax. That sort of paranoia perfectly explains his mindset. But…he wasn’t considering one important possibility.

“But what if it’s not?”

I asked, causing him to throw me a disbelieving look, before shaking his head.

“One, it absolutely is. And two, it still wouldn’t change anything because I still wouldn’t care.”

Law stated in a pretty dismissive fashion. Seeming to have already wrapped up the conversation on his side.

I understood if he just didn’t believe they were real, but even if they were, he still wouldn’t care? That can’t possibly be true. Family is…it’s everything. Law wasn’t a bad guy either, so it didn’t make sense that he could just ignore his own flesh and blood like…like they didn’t exist. Especially since he’s never had family before.

GASP!

That’s exactly it! The reason he wasn’t excited or anything wasn’t because he didn’t care, but because he couldn’t actually understand what that means. Because he’s never had a family, he wouldn’t know how important they could really be!

Honestly, I felt like an idiot for not having realized it sooner. It was so obvious in hindsight.

And if he didn’t know anything about family…then I guess it was up to me to show him!

But…I’d need help…

I’d need a crew.

And I knew just who to ask.

*~o~*

“Huh? This is just a trap.”

Confused, Ravager commented after reading the letter herself. Scratching the top of her head before fixing me with a look. One that seemed eerily similar to Law’s…

Was she copying him or something!?

“Maybe, but isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?”

“…And you came to us…for help?”

Raven asked in a deadpan tone. Betraying her thoughts on nothing, but making sure she sounds like she’s judging you with every syllable at the same time.

To be quite honest, I hadn’t expected Raven’s help with…anything, really. She kind of just happened to be at the right place at the wrong time. Even still, I wasn’t going to turn down free help if I could get it.

“Yeah. Are you in?”

I asked, only for Raven to shake her head.

“No. If Law didn’t want to meet his family, then I don’t think it’s our place to intervene.”

“But he doesn’t know anything about family to even know what he wants!”

That…actually got Raven to pause for a moment. Possibly because she was stunned something semi-intelligent came out of my mouth. Hey, wait a minute. Why was I bashing myself!?

I bet it had something to do with that look she gave everyone, that doubted their intelligence.

Even still, Raven seemed to have a response as she opened her mouth…but was beaten by the fourth Titan member here.

“Friend Beast Boy is right. We should find Law’s family. If there is even a chance of them being the ‘real of deals’, then we must take it.”

Starfire stated, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. I wasn’t sure how, but they actually seemed to be more swayed by her than anything I had said previously. Which kind of hurt, not going to lie.

Raven then sighed.

“Sometimes they aren’t all as cracked up as you’d think they’d be, Star. They can end up as nothing more than just a disappointment.”

I frowned at that, and Ravager even seemed to wince slightly. Frowning before looking in the opposite direction. Raven’s own expression seemed to darken through her own words.

Starfire however didn’t seem cowed in the slightest.

“Yes, you are right, friend Raven. But that is still only a chance. Without the shaking of the dice, how would we know what the conclusion will be?”

Everyone went silent after that. Whether it be because they didn’t have a rebuttal for that, or that they just didn’t understand what Starfire just said was anyone’s guess. But eventually Ravager sighed, and stepped forward.

“Alright, fine then. I guess I could keep an eye on things…but only for a bit.”

Raven took a longer pause before finally opening her eyes. Looking Starfire straight in her eyes before speaking.

“…Okay. I will offer whatever assistance I can.”

Huh, well that seemed to be a pretty big flip. Starfire must’ve really-

In a burst of speed, Starfire grabbed me, Raven, and Ravager all in one brutal hug off the ground. Squeezing the life out of us in one motion as she squee’d out loud in excitement.

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you friends! I just know that we’ll emerge victorious!”

She was met with a variety of grimaces, swears, and pained yelps. It would seem as though the mission was already starting off with its first obstacle…

Starfire’s enthusiasm.