The first thing the new Titan noticed about the Tower wasn’t how tall it was—it was how loud it felt.

Not actual noise, not always. Sometimes it was quiet. But even in the quiet, there was this… hum. Like the walls themselves knew they didn’t belong to you yet. You stood in the main room, arms folded tight, watching the others move like they’d been part of this place forever. Robin was giving instructions, calm and sharp, like every word had a purpose. Starfire laughed brightly at something Beast Boy said, her voice filling the space in a way yours never could. Raven stood off to the side, quiet—but not the same kind of quiet as you. Hers looked… controlled. Comfortable. Yours felt like drowning.

“Hey, newbie!”

You flinched. Beast Boy grinned at you, already halfway turned into a dog for no reason other than he could. “You’re, like, super quiet. You always like this?”

Your mouth opened. Closed.

“Uh—yeah. I mean… I don’t know.”

Smooth.

He tilted his head. “Cool, cool. Mysterious vibes.”

You weren’t trying to be mysterious. You were trying not to feel like your chest was caving in.

Robin stepped in, saving you—or maybe just moving things along. “Training starts in ten. Be ready.”

“Right,” you said quickly, even though your voice came out smaller than you meant. Training was worse. Everything moved too fast. Too coordinated. They worked like pieces of a machine that had already figured itself out.

“On your left!” Robin called.

You turned too slow.

A practice drone clipped your shoulder, sending you stumbling back. The sting wasn’t what got to you—it was the pause afterward.