Tales of the Teen Titans: Misplaced:

Chapter 1: Meetings and greetings.

This tale was inspired by the Deviantart posting of "Beast Girl," by the artist, Nancy171112, who did such an outstanding job, and moved me to write this story. For some reason, I have been unable to email her and tell her what a wonderful job she did. I can only hope she's out there, and reading this. If so, please consider this my humble tribute to your excellent skills!

Terra stuffed her dishes into the dishwasher and headed back to the room she shared with Garfield. It had been a long, hot day, and she looked forward to their nightly shower ritual.

She didn't need to signal for entry; it was her room as much as Garfield's. She just opened the door, and plopped her books and iPad in their usual spot.

Then she noticed a slight green figure seated over by the mirror. A figure that was brushing its hair. Its long, green hair.

Warning bells started going off in Terra's mind. The figure, while definitely green and wearing the red and white costume her fiancé had come to use…..something was off.

And then the figure turned, and she knew something was definitely off.

Because it was the figure of a cute green girl brushing her hair.

For a moment, the two stared in shock at each other. The green figure recovered first. "Terry? Is—is that you?" She put her hands to her mouth. "My god. What—what happened to you?"

Terra stared, still in shock, hands over her own mouth, her face pale, taking it in: the green skin, the uniform, the features, all the other similarities. "Garfield? Is—is that…?"

"'Garfield'? I'm Gwendolyn. Remember?" and here the figure approached her, a bit fearfully, Terra thought, looking Terra up and down, "Or….maybe you don't?"

Terra hit the alarm button.

…

Ten minutes later, the other Titans were gathered in the conference room, with some of them still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. "Gwendolyn," or just plain "Gwen," as she preferred to be called, sat in the midst of them, in Beast Boy's usual spot.

"Okay," Robin began, "What's going on here?"

"I went back to our room, just like always, and, and, found, ub, uh, Gwen there"—she gestured at the green figure sitting next to her, "instead of Gar. I don't know what happened."

"Alright, let's begin by eliminating what we can. Raven? Can you examine Gwen, here, and see if there's been any sort of magical reason for this?"

"Of course, Robin." The sorceress got up to approach Gwen, when she noticed the latter's staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just…..you're a girl. I remember 'Ray' as a male sorcerer."

"Well, we all are what we are. Hold still a minute…." And she placed her hands on opposite sides of Gwen's head and concentrated. After a few minutes, she released her. "I can find no trace of any magics or anything that might account for any sort of transformation. I think 'Gwen,' here, must be from an alternate timeline, one where some things are….different."

Robin nodded his head. "Makes sense. We've encountered that sort of thing before. But how did she get here? And—no offense, Gwen, but—how do we get our Garfield back?"

"None taken," said Gwen, "Especially since I'm supposed to be married in a couple of days. I gotta get back for that."

Terra spoke up, looking at the green girl with a certain amount of doubt. After all, they had, at one point or another, been deceived by imposters. Though it was hard to imagine a more obvious imposter. "So I'm…Terry?...in your timeline? And we're….engaged?"

"Yep. See?" She held up her left hand, displaying the ring, its large payload glittering in the room's light.

Terra sat back. "Okay. Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. How do we know you're really Gar—I mean, Gwendolyn Logan? I mean, Brainiac recently tricked a bunch of us with doppelgangers, accurate right down to the molecular level."

Gwen looked at her, an amused smirk on her face. So much like my Garfield… "Let me see….if you're like my Terry, you've gotta very small birthmark right on your-*"

"It's him," Terra spoke up hastily. "I mean, her. Oh, I don't know what I mean, anymore." She laid her forehead on her hands.

Athena spoke up for the first time. "Robin. It's been my experience that, when major transuniversal changes are in the process of occurring in some timelines, sometimes things—and people—get…..misplaced. Something like stirring the waters of a pond: things get swirled about and may be transposed. I suggest we ask the Kindred if they've noticed anything unusual." She turned to the uncomfortable pair sitting next to her. "If it's any consolation, such things usually sort themselves out, eventually. Someone from another timeline usually cannot remain in an alternate one without a certain amount of preparation. That may not be of much comfort to you, I realize, what with the upcoming, uhm, events." Which I don't really understand, but I suppose that scarcely matters.

"You're right. It's not."

Robin spoke up. "Athena. You said, 'major transuniversal changes.' What sort of major transuniversal changes?"

The Osiran immediately became evasive, or so it seemed to Robin. "I will confer with both Omega and the Kindred. I am sure, between the two of them, they have some knowledge of what is going on."

….

After the meeting had adjourned, Athena gathered what information she could. It wasn't much; she didn't have the scientific equipment she needed, and all she had was this small room, not much bigger than the standard bed that currently took up about half of it. That might or might not have been due to lack of space there at the tower; they were at almost max capacity. Not that she really cared all that much; she didn't need a large space.

She opened the door to go to the Kindred's Hive—she was learning to open doors rather than just phase through them; an Earthly custom, and she supposed she could see the sense in it—and there, on the other side, just about to signal for entrance, stood a familiar figure: Blackfire, Starfire's sister.

Blackfire immediately backed away, hands up in the air. "Peace! I, I just wanted to check in, to let you know I'm here legally this time. See?" And she held up her left ankle, around which was a thin silver band. "I'm out on furlough. I…couldn't think of anywhere else to go." She seemed to shrink before the Osiran woman. "I just wanted to let you know before we got into another battle royal. No point in, you know.

"So I'm just here on vacation this time. Not robbing any banks, nothing like that. Just a little 'out' time. Is all.

Athena studied the Tameranean girl before her. The last time they'd met, Blackfire had deceived her into committing a crime: robbing money from a bank. She had no reason to trust the dark-haired girl at all. "Why are you here?"

Blackfire looked down at the anklet around her foot. This was a very different girl than the devil-may-care mischief-maker she'd known, albeit briefly, Athena thought. Why? "Not really sure. I know Starfire won't be happy to see me; none of the Titans will. And the H.I.V.E. Five doesn't even exist, as a group, anymore." She looked down at the floor. "Well. I just wanted you to know I wasn't here to cause any trouble or anything. And you can track me anytime: here's the codes for this anklet." There was a pause while she fished something out of her duffel bag, a small disk, handing it to Athena. "I'll be going now."

"Have you a place to stay?" Athena spoke up behind her.

Blackfire half-turned. "No, but that's not really a problem for me. I can usually just find an old warehouse somewhere, that everybody's forgotten about. It's not the best accommodations, but it works for me."

"Then you may stay here. In my room, if you so wish." Athena surprised herself by saying that.

Now Blackfire stopped altogether. "Uh, say what? Stay in your room? I mean, last time, I tricked you into that bank job…."

"And I forgave you. Remember? It is past. Isn't that what forgiveness is? Besides, I can hardly claim to, to be any outstanding model of good behavior since my arrival here. Here." She led Blackfire back to her smallish room. "You may have the bed. They have reinforced it for me, but I still seldom use it."

"But—but the others, especially Starfire…..!"

Athena shrugged. "They have allotted me this space, this room. Until they say otherwise, it is mine to do with as I see fit. And I see fit to share it with you. That is, if you wish to." She smiled. "I'm sure it beats sleeping in an alleyway or deserted building."

It certainly does, thought Blackfire. She hadn't anticipated this at all.

The last time they'd met, Blackfire had tricked Athena into committing a crime for the H.I.V.E. Five, that of robbing a bank. Acting as if it were completely impulsive, she'd then thrown her arms around the alien powerhouse and kissed her, on the lips, in an "accidental" effort to learn the Osiran's native language.

How could she have known Athena didn't have a native language? That Osirans normally communicated by means of a shared Link, the artificial telepathic equivalent of a broadband internet connection? So she'd gotten a whole lot more than just a language. She'd gotten the alien girl's thoughts, feelings….going back years.

And since Osirans have racial memory, she'd also gotten the thoughts and feelings of all the warriors in Athena's specific gene-line, all those who had contributed genetic matter for her creation. Plus an unexpected sideline: since Athena had been forced to undergo a mind-share with Omega some years back, she'd also gotten his thoughts and feelings, going back years. And more than mere years: all the warriors who'd contributed to his essence also flooded her unprepared brain.

She'd learned of Athena's true feelings regarding Omega, why she wanted him dead, why she didn't believe they could ever be what they once were. Once, they were friends; she didn't know if they could ever be that again. Somewhere in the farthest reaches of the back of her mind, however, she had fantasized about being something more than just friends…..

…..Except he was already in relationship with Kitten. And Kitten was also her friend.

Plus, there had been something dark and horrible in the very darkest, most secretive corners of Athena's mind, something Blackfire had found to be incredibly upsetting, even without knowing what it was. All she could tell about it was, it was bad raised to the tenth power.

It was a little like sitting down to do some light reading, and having the entire Encyclopedia Britannica shoved into your head, all at once, along with several history books and the daily news feeds from around the globe.

And something had changed about her, and her perspective. Previously, Blackfire had been the center of her own private universe. It existed solely to serve her.
And why not? She was the center of it, after all. That was part of her sibling rivalry with Starfire: Starfire wasn't the center of her universe; what was she doing there, anyway? Stealing her limelight?

But now…..now, her perspective had changed. There were actually other people out there, people who mattered, if not to her, then to themselves.

And some of them just might matter to her, as well.

"Well, I mean…..you're sure it won't cause a problem? With the others, I mean?"

"No, I am not sure of that at all. But my offer stands. If problems arise, I shall deal with them however best I can. You've stayed here in the Tower before. And I will scarcely be here, anyway. A problem has arisen with one of our members, and I will most likely be, most of the time, at the Kindred's hive."

"A problem?" Blackfire said, moving back towards the room, without being completely conscious that she was doing so. Soft beds and hot showers sounded soooo good….."What sort of problem?"

"We seem to have a transuniversal swap. One of our members has apparently somehow been switched with his counterpart from another universe.

"Really? Who?"

"Beast Boy is now apparently Beast Girl. And his and Terra's wedding is imminent, so we have to see what we can do about switching them back."

"I'll bet they're both all for that." Without actually realizing it, Blackfire had put her duffel bag down in Athena's room. "When did this happen?"

…..

Garfield and Terra's room. The two girls stood, looking at anything except each other.

Neither of them could move out, even temporarily. The Tower was full, and Terra's old room was full of the Osiran matter/energy manipulator mechanism.

"So," began Terra, sitting down on the bed, "Tell me a little bit about yourself?"

Gwen shrugged. The gesture was almost perfect Garfield. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Well, let's see. Are all the Titans gender-switched over, over there in your universe?"

The green girl came over and sat by her on the bed. "Not all. Robin's still Robin, and Starfire and Cyborg's the same, but Ray—I mean to say, Raven-*"

"Yeah, you mentioned something about her….being a him, over there. Somehow, I just can't see it."

"Yeah, well, he is. He's a pretty melancholy dude, too. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was prone to depression or something."

"So how do you and he…relate…..to one another?

Beast Girl looked up sharply, having caught the inflection. "Relate? Oh. I see what you're asking. No, we're just good friends, maybe best friends. Especially after the way that bitch Malchia led him on the way she did."

"Malchia? You mean Malchi-Ohhh, I see….."

"Yeah. He was pretty busted up about that." The green girl sat back on the bed, one knee clasped in front of her, in a gesture so familiar to Terra that it almost brought tears to her eyes. "We had several long talks. Probably longer than he's ever had with anyone, ever since he came to this—well, the other, but you know what I mean—dimension. Once, right after it happened, I," and here Gwen looked up at Terra, in a sort of embarrassed way. "I kinda ended up spending the night with him. I mean, nothing happened, you understand…..I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone. So I…..stayed over. And yeah, in the same bed. But nothing happened. Neither one of us wanted to go there. Although," she said, blushing furiously, "I…was, y'know, willing. You know, if he, like, needed it or something. But we talked it over and both of us decided not to, we wanted to remain good friends, but not…you know, anything else. I, uhm, haven't busted anything up for you and your Garfield, have I?"

Terra laughed. "Oh, no. It's alright. Besides, your sex life is none my business. Anyway," she thought for a moment, "I can kinda see my Garfield as doing the same thing. If she, if she needed or wanted it. Him, I mean, if she was willing, of course. He would'a been scared half out of his mind, but that wouldn't have stopped him. And you know what? I wouldn't have been jealous of it. At all. I mean, two best friends, one comforting the other when she needed it the most. It would've been…..well, sweet, that's the only word I can think of for it."

Gwen nodded. "Yeah. That's kinda the way I felt. A little freaked out—okay, a lot freaked out-, but I wasn't gonna let that stop me….if he, like….needed me, you know."

Terra switched the subject. It was getting into some areas she didn't really feel comfortable with. And there was something she wanted to know. "But there's one thing I gotta ask: did 'Terry' ever work for Slade, betray the Titans?"

Again Gwen nodded. "But it was all based on a lie. Slade told him that without a certain component, some kinda chemical or something, that he'd go crazy, destroy the world." Her expression darkened. "But then when he started beating on my Terry…..it pushed all of my buttons, all at once."

"He beat Terry?" Terra could easily remember the beatings she'd endured, under Slade. She'd tried hard to forget, but pain is a hard thing to lose.

"He sure did. Once. But only once. He was trying to get Terry to kill all of us in some abandoned mine or cave or something. When he wouldn't do it, Slade turned on him, knocking him all over the place. I'm afraid I went all prehistoric on him," she admitted, a little shamefacedly. "Literally. I, uhm, er, well, I kinda ate him. As a T-Rex." The green girl shivered at the recollection, holding her stomach. "First meat I'd ever eaten. Over the lips and past the gums. He didn't taste good at all. Took a whole gallon of Pepto to get me right again."

"You ate him? I mean, you actually ate him? As in ate him ate him?" Terra was somewhere between being horrified, proud, and maybe just a little envious.

"Yeah. I'm just hoping there's no truth to the old saying, 'you are what you eat.'" She frowned, looking, for a moment, ten years more mature. "But nobody beats on my man. Nobody."

Terra nodded herself. "I think that's something you and I can both totally agree on, one hundred percent." She checked her watch. "Well. Shower time." Both girls stood up and started to undress, pulling at their clothes. Then they stopped, both looking at each other. "Oh."

"Yeah. Uhm."

"Awkward," they both chorused, looking away.

…

"I don't believe this. Blackfire, the Blackfire, that Blackfire, the same Blackfire you wanted to kill last time she was here, is actually staying in your room? Your room, of all places? " Robin couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes. Robin, perhaps I'm missing something but I fail to see the problem. Besides, she seems…..different than she was before. Go talk to her and you'll see what I mean."

"Forget about talking to her." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm wondering how I'm gonna explain this to Starfire. They don't exactly get along these days, you know."

"Do you need me to explain it to her?

"No, no. I'll come up with something. I just hope nothing….happens….before I can come up with that something."

Athena found Omega in the underground control room they'd recently installed. "You are aware of what has happened?"

He nodded without looking away from the monitors. "Yes. Evidently, some sort of transposition has taken place. What worries me is why."

She came up behind him, all the while wondering where Kitten was. Usually the two were almost inseparable. "Your thoughts?"

"Generally speaking, such transpositions only take place when there is a massive disturbance in the timelines. And not long ago, the others went on a mission into space to rescue Starfire. The Orb detected something out there that it really didn't want to meet, and that it urged them not to meet, either. I saw the reports on the…state of the Gordanians they found there." Pause. "It all correlates with the other data I've collected. The Hunters told us about a desolate sector they passed through….and now, this is transpiring."

She gazed at the instruments alongside him. "What?"

"I've been keeping tabs on that region of space. Several inhabited worlds…have dropped out of communication. And look." He indicated a monitor.

She shook her head. "I see nothing. The monitor isn't even on."

"It was up until a few minutes ago. And before that—" He pointed to another set of consoles. "Those have been remote-repaired. But up until a few minutes ago, they, too, were nonfunctional"

She saw. "And these areas being scanned….are in a direct line towards Earth."

He nodded. "Exactly. Whatever is knocking out my scanners…..is coming this way."

"What do you suppose it could be?"

"I have no idea."

She was silent for a while. Then, "Well, I will be consulting the Kindred regarding this…problem we seem to have. Do you suppose you will be needing me for anything here?"

He glanced at her, smiling. "No, this matter of 'Beast Girl/Boy' is something more along your line of expertise. I doubt I would have anything to offer there; of us all, I cannot think of anyone better qualified to research this matter, and possibly find a solution."

She looked thoughtful. "I certainly hope I can come up with something, though the matter may well be beyond any scientific knowledge any of us possess. Still," she continued, "what has happened once, can certainly happen again, under the right circumstances. I just have to determine what those are."

"You'll find them. I have faith in you."

She sighed. "That makes one of us."

To be continued…