Love Itself
By Mr Khan
As if on cue, flurries of snowflakes fell from an iron grey sky over the skyline of Jump City, many meeting their end as they melted against the glass and steel surfaces of Titans Tower. It was the night before Christmas, just the kind of setting for a tale of this nature. Clichéd as it may seem, the date of this tale needs to be distinctly understood, or that which follows will not seem as wondrous.
On that silent night, the residents of the tower slept in anticipation of the day to come. Now, the dreams of animals have been and remain a mystery to humanity. It is hard enough for people to imagine how animals perceive the world at all, so it is yet harder for humans to understand how the animals' subconscious minds translate those sensations into the world of dreams. Fortunately for zoologists, a person existed who was both man and beast, nominally able to translate the untranslatable. Unfortunately for zoologists, that person was Beast Boy, who had no interest in psychology, zoology, or any other "ology" that scholars could think of.
Whether or not he cared about the academics of them, Beast Boy's dreams were indeed unique, a mixture of human and animal, informed by smell, touch, and animal instinct as much by his human memories and emotions. The input from his heightened animal senses informed his dreams in real-time, so that he was alerted to what was going on around him even when his conscious mind was deep in slumber. A smell flowed into his dreams, as did the feeling of warm breath on the back of his neck. The smell was familiar, but at the same time foreign, at least to this time of day and this particular place.
The scent shifted the tone of his dreams, as the smell begat more human sensations, centering them upon the source of the smell in his dreamscape. It tugged at Beast Boy's conscious mind, too, the idea that the source of the smell was present in more than just his dreamscape, but that was impossible, right?
"Mmm…" he heard it. Definitely heard it, not just a dream-sound, but the real thing; a moan of contentment, an unfamiliar sound from a familiar voice. Beast Boy's mind swam for the surface, before something snapped him to wakefulness all at once; an arm reaching around his torso from behind and taking him in a loose embrace.
"Gah!" Beast Boy fell out of bed, rolling end over end before recovering enough to scramble over to the door and reach a gloved hand up to hit the light switch.
"Gah!" he yelped again, much louder this time, shrinking against the wall in horror at what he saw. "What the… Raven?!"
It was Raven, or at least a very reasonable facsimile. She had Raven's face, Raven's hair, and Raven's bindi. She did not have Raven's clothes, being dressed in a red satin nightgown, trimmed with white in the spirit of the season, and completely unfamiliar to the shapeshifter. Nor did she have Raven's face. Sure, the physical features were all present and correct; the violet-toned eyes, the skin and features as if they were molded from grey clay, but the face was showing an expression he had never seen before. Beast Boy had seen her elusive laugh, and recalled another Raven, a Happy Raven, but this was different. This expression was… well… he could only recall it from a woman on one of those premium cable channels that he had seen late one night when a technical error at the cable company had given them all-access for a time.
"What's wrong, BB?" Raven asked softly, a come-hither voice to match her gaze. "Come back to bed…"
"W-what did you…?" Beast Boy stammered. "What are you doing here? Why are you wearing that… wait… is this a prank?" He morphed into an ocelot, scrambling around the walls, frantically searching for a hidden camera. No, he stopped himself, don't be stupid Beast Boy. Raven would never do this even if it was a prank. He switched back to human form and began pacing, a difficult task as it required navigating around the debris of his bedroom floor.
"Okay," he said, trying to calm himself as his brain scrambled for answers. "Okay," he stopped and looked at the girl in his bunk for a moment. "Okay. A clone from Dimension 4 9/8ths?" He stopped pacing a moment, sizing up the girl on his bunk. "No, she'd be shrimpier…" he started pacing again. "Santa?" He shook his head emphatically. "No, Santa doesn't give gifts just to mess with your mind. A human replica android? But then how does it smell like her?"
Raven giggled. "Watching you try to think is too funny."
Beast Boy stopped again, staring. "Now you're sounding more like Raven." She giggled again. "Sort of." He resumed pacing, and then a germ of an idea sprouted in the changeling's mind then, a question that sounded just stupid enough to work. "Uhh… are you Raven?"
"Mm-hmm," the girl affirmed.
"No. There is no way," Beast Boy insisted. "I don't know what you're doing, but if you're not a copy and not under some sort of weird spell or something, there's still no way you're Raven." He turned, and then morphed.
An instant as a moth got him into the ductwork, and then a few minutes as a squirrel brought him over to the vent peering into Raven's room. A night-eyed opossum looked through the slats of the grate, peering into Raven's room. It hit him an instant later that this might be a singularly bad idea; spying on Raven to determine whether his Raven was actually Raven. He got confused by it all and resumed spying.
Luck was on his side, however, as he dodged scandal completely, instead seeing exactly what he expected to see: Raven, only her head visible above the covers of her bed, apparently fast asleep. His nose confirmed what his eyes saw, that the Raven in her bed was just as much of a living, breathing entity as the Raven in his bed, and smelled exactly the same.
Okay… random magic clones? But then why's the other one acting like a lonely housewife from a soap opera? The rat chased through the maze of Beast Boy's thoughts, sniffing out the elusive cheese of truth. As the mental rat ran the proverbial maze, a green rat ran an actual maze, returning from whence it came. It chanced to pass an open grate along the way, when the sound of a sliding door stopped both rats dead in their tracks. Again the possum emerged, peering out to see Robin, bedraggled and eyes barely open, shuffling back to his bedroom with a glass of water in hand. This time there was no danger, but how long could that last?
Crud. I have to get Raven, er… my Raven, out of here now! Before everyone else wakes up! Just have to get her out of the tower until I get some time to figure this all out. That would be the best thing. He could only imagine if Raven A saw Raven B, could only imagine the monster Zinthos that would come flying his way if Raven saw… herself acting that way towards him. If she was a magical clone, he knew some people (other than Raven herself) who could fix this discreetly. If she was something scientific in origin, well, he knew people who could handle that as well. This could end nice and easy without him getting fried by a dark magic spell.
Rat became gnat became Beast Boy as he returned to his bedroom, to the sensuously dressed Raven who had taken to meditating on his lower bunk, her crossed legs hovering just a few inches away from the tousled sheets. She opened her eyes, smiling again. "So what did you find out?"
"I gotta get you outta here," Beast Boy said hurriedly, otherwise ignoring her as he rooted through a pile of clothes. "Somewhere where the others won't see."
"A Christmas getaway?" Nighttime-TV-Raven floated over to Beast Boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds fun."
Beast Boy shivered, for a few different reasons, but soon found the object he sought: a spare communicator he used to contact the extended Titans network. He flipped it open and tuned to one channel. "Wally, come in."
A red-haired boy appeared on the communicator's screen. "Hey Beast-dude, what's up?"
"I got a girl in my room! I need you to help me!"
Kid Flash glowered. His relationship with Jinx endured, but as befitting a hero pursuing an ex-villain, it was not going smoothly. "Yeah, good for you. Now if you don't mind…"
"No, I'm serious! I woke up and there was Raven only she's not Raven but she says she's Raven and she's acting like a chick in a soap opera and I'm going to get cursed forever by the real Raven!"
It was fortunate that Beast Boy was talking to the Fastest Boy Alive, for Kid Flash made sense of that incoherent statement. "Alright, fine, how can I help?"
"I got some Christmas money, can you just take her and put her up in a hotel for a couple of days? Somewhere far away? Maybe ask Jinx for some help figuring this all out?"
"Hey!" not-Raven said playfully. "You're not getting away from me that easily!"
"I can help on the first two, not sure about the third," Kid Flash said, ignoring her outburst.
"Great!" Beast Boy said, likewise ignoring the silk-clad girl behind him. "How fast can you get here?"
"Well I'm in Barcelona right now… About 20 minutes?"
"Radical. Beast Boy out."
"Just stay here instead," not-Raven said softly. "It'll be an early Christmas present." She embraced him from behind, still hovering, and laid her head over his shoulders.
"Look," Beast Boy said, standing up. "It's not like I don't think you're… uh, Raven is… but the real Raven wouldn't want this."
"You don't have to be afraid of her," not-Raven reassured.
"I'm not afraid of her!" Beast Boy insisted. "Okay, I kind of am. But this would be wrong, right?"
Not-Raven giggled at his tongue-tied syntax. "I don't know, but there's only one way to find out."
"Well, there'll be a chance for that later," Beast Boy insisted. "Kid Flash will be here soon. Can you do that big black cloaky thing to get us out of the Tower?" he asked, spreading his arms.
Not-Raven closed her eyes, levitating. "Azerath Metrion –nope," she finished, opening her eyes. "I don't have all of my powers in this form."
Beast Boy thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. "Keep out of sight," he said, and suddenly a big green bear stood in his place.
Not-Raven took the hint, crouching down near Beast Bear as he shambled out of his room and following in his shadow. The bear moved steadily, but cautiously, senses attuned for anyone who might be out and about in the hallways. Fortune was on his side however, he saw nothing, heard nothing, as he descended from the dormitory level to the recreational level. Coming to the stairs, he stopped, bear-snout working intently. Unlike before, this smell was alien, but totally familiar.
"Starfire's in the living room," he breathed, barely above a whisper as he switched back to human form. He looked around, sure that none of the others were out of their bedrooms. "Stay here."
Not-Raven nodded as Beast Boy turned moth, fluttering over the steps and into the Tower's large living room. Flurries of snowflakes clashed and melted against the large windows, but the room itself was bathed in warm, Technicolor lights from the tall, thin Christmas tree chosen for the Tower. An assortment of presents lay below the tree, while in the nearby couch, sleeping in the dim light, was Starfire, with Silky resting up against her hair.
"It's Starfire," he said after returning to not-Raven's side. "Let's go." He morphed, this time into a surefooted panther, still large enough to mostly shield not-Raven from view. She moved to his left, so that Beast Boy was between her and the couch where Starfire lay, though the couch itself shielded Starfire from view as well. Together they paced, almost silently, towards the door.
What followed was something that Beast Boy long remembered, which is to say it was a story he was fond of retelling, even though he did not remember it all that clearly. He crept along, panther senses attuned, the strange girl who was Raven but not really Raven at his side, approaching the front door to the Tower, to where Kid Flash would soon arrive to whisk away his sultry, silk-clad problem for a time, when he heard something.
"Krifrag Sothin Mikarfordwar!" the Tamaranian battle-cry rang out, fierce in the night.
And then there was chaos. The warm Technicolor light from the tree was interrupted by brilliant flashes of green, obscured by smoke, and then struck through with the bright red of an alarm. The yowls and roars of a panther fighting for its life fought with the klaxon screech, with loud Tamaranian war cries and curses in an even mix. Down fell the tree, knocked aside in the melee. At last, it ended, as smoke flooded throughout the living room.
The alarm died, and the smoke began to clear.
"Starfire?" Robin's voice came through, hand at his utility belt ready to deploy something else "what's going on?"
"She was sleeping, and then she just attacked us!" said a voice that sounded like Raven's.
"Raven?" Cyborg's voice came now, and soon his figure too was visible through the clearing smoke. "Aren't you over…?" He turned, and indeed, Raven stood at his side.
"I am sorry, friend Raven!" Starfire said, floating over and hugging the red-silk-clad girl. "I did not mean to attack you!"
"Uhh, Star?" Robin said, glancing awkwardly between the Raven standing on the steps and the Raven squirming in Starfire's embrace.
"Yes, it is a holy night on Earth, I should not be fighting my friends. But this Earthly legend of "Santa Claus" has always reminded me of Deechar Makden, the Tamaranian spirit of misfortune who sneaks into our dwellings on the day of least sun. I wanted to be sure my friends were safe." This explained her peculiar habit of sleeping downstairs every Christmas Eve since her arrival to Earth.
"Starfire?" this time Cyborg spoke, also glancing in bewilderment between the two Ravens.
"Yes, that does not excuse the violence I inflicted upon Beast Boy, but…"
"Starfire!" purple-clad Raven shouted.
"Raven! You are… two…" Starfire stopped hugging the other Raven, who seemed glad for the change.
"Where's BB?" Cyborg asked, cutting through the awkwardness that hung thick in the smoky air.
"Oh no!" Starfire exclaimed, "I did not…"
"No, you didn't," Robin said, pointing towards the fallen Christmas tree. Within its boughs, a pair of squirrel eyes could be seen shining out, observing the scene fearfully.
"Do not hide, friend Beast Boy," Starfire said as she flew over to the tree. "I did not mean to harm you- eep!" As she approached, Beast Squirrel scampered, leaping out of the tree, onto her hair, and beyond, throughout the ruins of the living room.
"Come on, Beast Boy," Robin scolded, moving to chase his teammate.
"Yeah come on man!" Cyborg said, following. "You're gonna have to explain this!"
Beast Squirrel proved elusive, however, quite to the best of his ability, leading his three teammates on a merry chase through the destroyed living area. As they ran back and forth, Raven took a step down the stairs, and then another. Her eyes met the eyes of her double, and they glared. The tension flared between them, as if drawn on an invisible line, hardened violet eyes matched in steely glares. Both glares bore resentment, though Raven's was tempered by a growing dread, a sense of horror, as the reality of her double's nature dawned upon her. The body double, meanwhile, had the resentment of her glare tempered with a haughty smirk, fed by a delicious Schadenfreude in seeing the original's growing discomfort.
Raven did not let her terror master her, however, and continued to approach her double, glaring evenly as the hunt for Beast Boy continued. She stopped a few feet away, still glaring, as the chase continued.
"I saw you try to use our powers when you came in," not-Raven said smugly.
"Don't rub it in," Raven said, sounding like she'd rather be anywhere else in this or any other plane of existence. "And where did you first appear?"
"I think we both know that."
Raven shot her a look that could have curdled fresh milk. "Stop!" she roared to her teammates. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire stopped, while Beast Boy scurried back into the tree. "I need to fix this. Now."
The three Titans looked at each other, and then made for the stairs. A green squirrel clung to Robin's cape as he walked away. "Robin," Raven said simply.
"Go on Beast Boy," Robin said, yanking the squirrel free from his cape and setting it on the ground. Beast Boy morphed back, still hunched on the ground and managing to look remarkably like a cornered rodent despite resumption of his human form.
The others left as the two Ravens towered over the crouched Beast Boy. "Heh, I must've hit my head. I'm seeing…"
"Don't say it," Raven spat, advancing on him. Not-Raven interceded, coming between the original and her target.
"Come on, you think it's cute."
"I don't think it's cute!" Raven retorted, rounding on her double as Beast Boy leapt to a standing position. "You think it's cute, so that I don't have to."
"Now you're just being obtuse," not-Raven said, as a vein began to pulse on Raven's head. "Don't drag this into a debate on metaphysics, just because…"
"Whoa, whoa!" Beast Boy said, now intervening between. "Metapho-whatiwhat? Raven, what is she?"
"You should know," Raven said, glaring at him. "From when you and Cyborg broke into my room and messed with my mirror."
"So this is… Sexy Raven?"
That was decidedly the wrong guess. The two Ravens mirrored each other, glaring at him in near-perfect sync. "Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" Together they could achieve what they individually could not, and Beast Boy found himself suddenly buried under a pile of the Christmas rubble.
It took a minute for a green centipede to wriggle free from the gaps in the rubble. "Okay, wrong answer," Beast Boy said. "So you are…?"
Not-Raven opened her mouth, but the genuine article shot her arm out, stopping the double. "She…" Raven began, her face reddening. "She represents… you…"
Beast Boy scratched his head, not following.
"She represents how I feel about you!" Raven barked, her face now better-resembling that of the superhero Hotshot.
For a moment, only the gentle sound of wind against the glass could be heard. Now Raven was the one who seemed like a cornered rodent, like she wanted nothing more than the return of her full powers so that she could phase right through the floor. Eventually, Beast Boy took the initiative. "So you… like me?"
"No!" Raven said.
"Then why am I here?" not-Raven said, giving the real Raven a very patronizing look. "You're not fooling anyone. Except maybe Beast Boy…" she added.
Raven shot her a look reserved for those who know beyond all doubt that they have been beaten, and who hate that fact endlessly.
"It's okay," Beast Boy said. "I get what you mean, Raven."
"You do?" Again the twin Ravens spoke as one.
"Well, kinda," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You can't help what you feel. I mean, we're really, really different, but I feel it too."
"You do?" this time the original Raven alone said it.
"Yeah," Beast Boy admitted. "You're pretty rad, after all."
"Rad," Raven said flatly. Infatuated-Raven giggled, and Raven Prime shuddered.
"Totally rad," Beast Boy said. Not that the clichéd adverb helped his case in particular. Not that this dissuaded Raven from stepping forward, as infatuated-Raven watched approvingly.
"Well, you're kind of special," she said.
"…the good kind of special?" Beast Boy asked sheepishly. "Or the other kind?"
"Special," Raven replied simply. She embraced Beast Boy suddenly, and kissed him on the lips.
"Hah!" infatuated-Raven laughed, and then her body formed into a beam of pink light which soared through the air, into Raven's bindi, and she was gone. The kiss lingered a moment longer, and then Raven withdrew.
"So that was all you had to do?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes, but that's not the only reason why I did that," Raven said, turning away from him and heading towards the stairs. Beast Boy looked after her curiously.
"Merry Christmas, Beast Boy," she said, turning back and smiling. She continued towards the stairs as Beast Boy thought for a moment.
"Wait," Beast Boy asked, "what did you get me for Christmas?"
Raven started walking faster.
"Agh, seriously!?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Eh," he added after a moment's thought. "I'll take it." He too headed for the stairs, ready at last to go back to bed.
Author's Note: I originally wrote this when I was voluntarily between jobs, about 18 months ago now. I was watching a lot of Boomerang at the time, and so wrote my first, and likely only, Teen Titans fic. I discovered it while cleaning out my hard-drive after a vicious semester of Graduate School, and decided to hustle it out in time for Christmas. The decision to do so made it an abrupt switch to a Christmas-themed one-shot, which is why the transition at the very beginning seems so sudden: the line about dreams was the original opening line, and I bolted on the Christmas bit to match the change in direction. The "metaphysics" here specifically is a cross between what happened in the episode "Fear Itself," as well as "Nevermore." The name chosen for the Tamaranian spirit of misfortune is an allusion to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
P.S.
Kid Flash shivered as he stood near the front door to Titans Tower, snow now swirling thicker around him. "Come on, come on," he said impatiently. "I know I'm the Fastest Boy Alive, but this is getting ridiculous."
End. (Thought I forgot, didn't you?)