Garfield Logan stalked through the alleyway, making his way home after another hopeless day. He looked around to make sure he wasn't being followed, then, when the coast was clear, slipped through an unlocked door. He emerged on the other side, where a bustling marketplace had been erected. He threw a couple of coins at his favorite vendor, Tuff Tofu, and grabbed some tofu-on-a-stick. He munched on it while touring the rest of the market, though he knew it by heart already. He hummed softly to himself, just quiet enough that no one else heard it. Garfield turned suddenly when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Gar!" Lucy said happily, waving at him. "You're right here. Why do you need to wave?" Garfield asked irritatedly.
"You know, 'cuz it's fun!" Garfield sighed. Ugh, not this again. "Listen, you know I love fun more than the next guy, but. . ." Something had been weighing on his mind ever since that weird laboratory lady had showed up at his doorstep that morning. "Well, Luce. . .You know. It's complicated." Lucy frowned. "You're usually ready to crack a joke or say something dumb to get me to laugh, Gar. What's wrong?" "Nothing!" he shouted, and all heads turned to look. "Nothing's wrong, Luce," he repeated in a more normal tone. "Really? Because it seems like it to me. And if you can't trust your best friend to tell, who can you trust?" she replied angrily, and stormed off.
"Ugh. Well. . .better get going if I'm gonna meet that weird lady," he whispered to himself, picking up his tofu from where he'd dropped it during the conversation, and speed-walking out the door. The lady was waiting impatiently outside. Garfield jumped a foot in the air. "Yikes! Geez, lady. You ever heard of knocking? Or. . .any other way of announcing your entrance? You know. . .not to scare the crud out of people you're visiting?" The lady regarded him with a cold and icy glare. "Yes, you'll be perfect," she murmured, and Garfield felt his hair stand on end. "Perfect for, uh, what?" he inquired, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Why, for the radiation exposure, of course." Garfield stumbled back, prepping himself to run.
"Oh, none of that." She motioned towards some bushes, and two armed thugs appeared. "Will you cooperate, or will you need some. . .incentive?" she asked, amused. She knew what he was going to choose. It had been carefully predicted before she had left. He would be a coward and stay. Then she could let him go. She just wanted to scare him. Garfield made a split-second decision. He sprinted away, dodging the bullets that the goons fired, and vaulting over the barbed wire wall, still let his legs carry him away. The lady scientist stared after his dust trail with a look of shock.
Garfield ran, and ran, and ran, finally slowing his pace two miles away. He felt suddenly sick, and ducked inside an abandoned alley. You see, although the lady had not thought he would run, she anticipated. She'd brought a tablet gun, shooting a green one at a lamppost. It had landed square in the middle, bouncing off to a canopy awning, flying into Garfield's open mouth. It was this that made Garfield stop, sick. He gagged, trying to eject whatever it was from his throat, but it forced itself down. He fell, nauseous, to the concrete.
He thought of the stance like one a tiger might make when it's about to pounce, and suddenly, his hands morphed into paws, with wicked sharp claws. The rest of his body was furry too, and he could feel his ears move to the top of his head, pointy and tipped. He stared down, and saw his paws were. . .green. He imagined them turning orange and black, like a real tiger, but nothing happened. He imagined himself, and he was back, but, when he looked in the window, the glass reflected him. . .with green skin, hair, and eyes. He even had on some sort of. . .purple and black uniform, with silver gloves. He looked around, confused. Was someone playing a prank? Nope, it was him, alright. What had he swallowed? It had felt like a medicinal tablet, but. . .medicine couldn't do this.
He whipped around as the lady's voice rang out. "Your new name is Beast Boy. You'll be joining a team called the Teen Titans, a group of superheroes. You will not be permitted to associate with any of your friends here. Are we clear?" Beast Boy nodded, slightly creeped out. "Just one question. Why am I green?" he asked nervously. "You're green because we haven't worked out that quirk yet. However, you can change into any animal you want, extinct or otherwise. So. . .you don't need a plan to travel to New York, I assume. Turn into a bird or some other manner of flying creature. Goodbye." He heard receding footsteps clacking against the pavement, and an engine roared to life.
He looked around. "Well, New York it is, then." He turned into a pterodactyl, spread his wings, and took off, cawing, "Sweet!". This sure beats a taxi. See you, Luce. That was his only regret. . .that he wouldn't get to see her again. Still, there would be plenty of hot babes in New York. . .he was sure of it. He smiled, which was painful to do with a pterodactyl's face muscles. New York, look out! Here comes Beast Boy!