Not Really All That Subtle Chapter 2, a teen titans fanfic

Not Really All That Subtle

By Concolor44

. . .

I received a couple of PMs (and one slightly irate review) indicating that I should strongly consider adding to this story. That hadn't been in the cards originally. But then my Muse started worrying the concept like a Rottweiler with a beef joint, and … well, here you go.

. . .

Chapter 2

. . .

Titans' Tower, September 13, 7:48am

Robin rubbed his forehead, hard, with the heels of both hands, blew a frustrated sigh and then stared again at the changeling. "You did what?"

"I was worried about her!"

"That's stalking, Beast Boy!"

"Is not!"

"It's creepy!"

Beast Boy threw his hands up. "It was my regular patrol and I just happened to be there and I saw …"

"Just 'happened' to be there? I don't think her neighborhood's on your route."

"Route-schmoute. I was s'posed to cover the north half of the city. Her house is in the north half of the city."

"For very southerly values of 'north', maybe."

"I'm supposed to try to spot 'suspicious activity'," and here he made little tic-marks in the air, "like you said. And you know how a hawk's eyes are! I don't miss things. He was skulking! I know a skulker when I see him, and that was a skulk if ever there was one! So I went lower and …"

"Is that when you noticed her? The first time?"

"… Um … yes?"

"You don't lie for crap."

Beast Boy suddenly found the carpet very interesting.

Robin's mouth twisted in a skeptical smirk. "Uh-huh."

His head jerked back up, mouth set in a thin line. "Well, so what? I was right, wasn't I?"

"I don't know. Were you? You said he disappeared."

"I said I couldn't find him later. Not the same thing. And isn't that suspicious just all by itself?"

"Why would it be?"

"Rob … listen to yourself. If you'd seen what I saw, you'd be all over it like ugly on a hagfish! You might've called the rest of us, but you wouldna come back here. Tell me I'm wrong!"

Robin had started to wave a finger in the air, but slowed and then stopped. Beast Boy was making a little sense. That, just in and of itself, was somewhat disturbing. "Okay, maybe. But you've really got to leave this girl alone. You said she told you she's not Terra, right?"

"… Well … yeah, but …"

"Why would she lie to you?"

"… I don't know. Maybe she's scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I dunno! Scared we'll be mad at her? Scared we might try to put her in jail for helping Slade wreck half the city?"

"Terra ended up saving the city."

"Yeah, I know that, and you know that, but I don't know what kinda shape her memory's really in! Maybe all she knows is that she did something bad and then everything else is a blank."

"Beast Boy …"

"Dontcha think that'd scare pretty much anybody?"

"Beast Boy …"

"An' we'll never know we if don't talk to her some more!"

"Logan! Zip it!"

He crossed his arms and pouted. Robin never called him 'Logan' unless he was pretty well pissed off.

"You may have a point." He had to calm the excitable changeling after that statement. "But … okay. Tell you what. I'll do a little digging. See what I can turn up. Maybe there is a connection." His finger jabbed the air in front of Beast Boy's eyes. "But you lay off. Got it?"

"… Got it."

. . .

Jump City, September 15, 4:45pm

"They just had to pick a neighborhood," Robin groused, "where the builders actually paid attention to good zoning practices."

Beast Boy grinned at his aggravation. "Miss havin' your tall buildings around?"

Robin just shrugged.

"I told ya we shoulda borrowed the T-Car."

"It's too recognizable, especially if you're right."

"… Okay. Point." He gestured around at their perch. "And squattin' in a tree isn't noticeable?"

Indicating his larger-than-normal cape colored in a random pattern of dark browns and greens, he said, "We're disguised." Then he glanced over at the other teen. "Well, I am. You're green anyway."

"Har-har." His ears pricked up. "Hey, there she is."

Robin swiveled the camera around. It was a high-tech custom job (duh) that was mounted to the tree for stability. He zoomed in on the girl of interest and adjusted the focus. Then he gave a low whistle.

Beast Boy's grin got bigger. "Told ya."

"Well. Huh. Okay, let me …" He took several pictures and uploaded them to Cyborg's computer. Then he opened his T-Com. "Cy?"

"Yeah, I got it. System's doin' the comparison now. Shouldn't take too … whoa."

"What?"

"That really didn't take long."

"And?"

"ProfiMate says it's her."

Beast Boy punched Robin's arm.

"Okay, well … there are cases of identical strangers that …"

The changeling threw his arms up. "You gotta be kiddin' me! Seriously? Listen at yourself! That's Terra, I know it!"

"All right, calm down." They watched as the girl strode purposefully down the sidewalk, turning in at her home.

When Robin turned back to Beast Boy it was to see him in the form of an orangutan, balanced on the limb in the lotus position, eyes closed, the thumb and middle finger of each hand curled into an 'o' over his knees. "Ommm. Ommm. Ommm. Okay, I'm calm. Now what?"

Robin gave his friend a look and shook his head, fighting a grin. "Let me study on it for a while."

"Fine. Whatever. You study it. But I'm right. Even Cy's computer says so."

"We'll see."

. . .

Jump City, September 16, 10:50am

As it turned out, "Lisa's" parents were Seventh-Day Adventists. There weren't too many of them in Jump City, but the ones that were there had established a congregation, and the McMahon's were – ahem – religious about attendance at their weekly meeting. They'd only been gone about eight minutes when Robin finished defeating their security system and eased into the second-floor window of Lisa's room.

Hmm. She's a tidy sort. That's different from Terra, at least. He went to the bed first, looking carefully around the headboard and pillow and finally locating and extracting a single blonde hair. He was careful not to move anything, and to scrub out the few footprints he'd made in her carpet. After reestablishing the house's security, he eased back out the window and exited the property via the trees.

Not too shabby. I totally could have pulled off the Red-X deal.

Back at the Tower, he passed the hair over to Victor, who wasted no time in running it through the DNA sequencer. Twenty minutes later they were comparing the printout with Terra's file. They looked at each other. The cyborg gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Well, what were you expecting? BB was sure it was her. Her statue was gone. Don't tell me you're shocked."

"Not … shocked, exactly. Maybe a little mystified. Beast Boy said that roughly ten months had gone by since his previous visit to the volcano. How could she get so well-established in the system, and get adopted to boot, in that length of time?"

"Beats me. But DNA don't lie. Lisa McMahan is Terra, to a confidence level of one in almost four quadrillion. Bein' as how that's nearly a million times Earth's population …" He dropped the two sheets of paper on his desk and then leaned against it. "Question now is, what you gonna do about it?"

"An excellent topic for discussion. I will tell you one thing, though. By this time tomorrow I'll know everything there is to know – everything that can be gleaned from public records – about Lisa McMahan. Then maybe we can make some kind of determination."

. . .

Jump City, September 17, 1:45pm

Dave McMahan opened the front door for his wife and daughter and waved them into the house. "Go on in, pearls before swine and all that."

Marjorie reached up and kissed his cheek on her way past. "And aren't you just the cutest little piggy!"

"Thanks for lunch, dad! The sushi was great."

"You are certainly welcome."

"How'd you know they'd have vegetarian?"

"It's not that uncommon, really. Lots of sushi restaurants have veggie items."

"Well I loved it." She blew him a kiss and ran upstairs.

He stretched up on his tip-toes, his fingers just missing the ceiling (he was a rather tall, lean sort) and gave a long, satisfied grunt. "I think a nap might be in order."

"Oof. If I went to lie down now I'd get the mother of all cases of heartburn."

"I keep telling you: you need to talk to Doc Fowler about that. He can prescribe something so you don't have to go through a bottle of antacids every two weeks."

"Well …" She had the grace to look a little guilty. "… see … he kinda already did."

"… What?"

"Yeah. At my physical. We, uh, talked about it."

He gave her an exasperated look. "That was two weeks ago!"

"I've just been busy!"

Holding out his hand, he said, "Let's have the scrip."

She fished around in her purse and then handed it to him.

"Thank you. It undoubtedly escaped your notice that my schedule is an awful lot more flexible than yours. We've only been married eleven years, after all."

"No need for sarcasm, dear."

"No, but it's too much fun to pass up."

She smacked him. "Go take your nap."

. . .

Upstairs, Lisa exited the hall bath and walked to her room. Opening the door, she paused briefly and closed her eyes … and then they flew back open, accompanied by a dark frown. Several needle-pointed rocks rose from a terrarium in the corner and hovered here and there, seeking a target.

Something had tripped her passive alarm system. It was a trick that she'd been doing for a few months now, ever since she thought it up: she kept a tiny quantity of fine sand inside the casement of her window, which she would balance on top of the spring-loaded counterweight assembly any time the whole family left the house. If the window was opened in her absence, the sand would spill off, and she could feel it when she got back. It was neat, effective, and completely undetectable.

She examined the room closely. Her personal effects were carefully and neatly arranged so that she could tell instantly if anything was moved or missing. She'd picked up that habit from Cyborg, who had begun doing it himself in defense against Beast Boy's constant pranks. All appeared to be in order. She studied the carpet under the window, but nothing seemed amiss there, either.

Okay, I know for a fact there were no temblors. If it was one of Slade's old robots … no, they aren't that smooth. She tapped a finger against her lips. . . . . . . . Hmm.

It only took her a few more moments to come to a conclusion. No one but the Titans would have any reason to snoop her room, and the only one she could rule out completely was Victor Stone. Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven could all fly, and Robin was probably just that good.

No, scratch Raven, too. She wouldn't have bothered opening a window in the first place.

She let the floating rocks settle back into the terrarium as her thoughts turned to the other three. She quickly decided that Beast Boy wouldn't have bothered with the window, either. He would have simply morphed into something small enough to wriggle through the lock. That left Starfire and Robin. She smirked to herself. Starfire had many fine qualities, but subtlety was not listed among them. No way could she have gotten in without tripping their household security system. And that just left Robin.

Okay, then … why? Knowing that he'd been there, in her room, looking at her stuff, made her … well, maybe 'mad' was too strong a word. Irritated? Yeah. And a little scared. She valued her privacy and her new family, and he had crossed a line there. But that put her in a bind, because she didn't want to confront him about it because then he'd know that she …

"You okay?"

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around and knocking into the doorframe.

Her mother backed up a step and put up her hands. "Whoa! Sorry, hon, I didn't mean to startle you!"

Lisa's heart was beating double-time. She laid a hand over it. "Hooo. Mom. Don't do that."

"I'm sorry! You were just standing there with such a worried look, I thought …"

"No, it's okay. Just … just woolgathering. I'm a little tired."

"You gonna nap, too? Leave me the only conscious member of the household?"

She gave her mother a small grin. "Dad ate too much, didn't he?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Well …" She looked back into her room. "I guess it's not a bad idea."

"Okay, then. And don't forget there's the ice cream social tonight at seven."

Her hands flew to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Holy cra- … um, holy cow! I did! I forgot! Jeepers!"

"Oh, don't worry." She patted her daughter's shoulder. "You'll be empty again by then."

. . .

5:50pm

These guys, thought Raven, could argue a mountain into pile of sand. Even when the answer is staring them in the face …

The debate had been going for more than four hours and showed no signs of letting up.

Should they contact her? Would it do any good? What would they say? What might she say?

Could she be reintegrated into the team? Would she be willing? How much, exactly, did she remember of her days as a Titan?

Were her powers dormant? If she did remember everything already, why the ruse? If she didn't, how dangerous might it be to remind her?

Everyone had an opinion, and no two agreed. They did all finally agree to break for supper, though, and the team felt a lot more inclined to reasoned discussion after four pizzas and a box of ice cream.

Another hour of discussion led to Robin concluding with, "So, nothing just yet?"

Beast Boy looked back and forth between Starfire and Cyborg several times, and then threw up his hands. "Fine. Whatever. We'll … what was your word, Robin? Let her be? Fine. Great. Fine."

"For now, yes. I'll take a week or so, do a more thorough check of her background. Sift through the orphanage records, find out who did the forgeries and when and what for."

"I still say," put in Cyborg, "she did 'em herself."

"And I'll find out. Nobody covers his tracks perfectly. Or hers, probably, in this case." He glanced over at the team's resident empath. "You've been pretty quiet since supper, Raven. What do you think?"

She rose from her seat, pulled her cloak around her body, and floated upward. "I think I will go meditate on it." And she vanished through the ceiling.

"Girl of few words," observed Cyborg.

. . .

Jump City, September 18, 4:45pm

Maeve scooped another big spoonful of Double Dutch Chocolate Chunk frozen yogurt into her mouth and grinned at Lisa. "I gotta admit, girl. This was a good idea."

"Yeah," agreed Jazmyn, "don't know why you never thought of it before." She licked off her spoon and waved it around the small shop.

"It's 'cause we couldn't," objected Maeve, pointing at the GRAND OPENING sign in the window. "How'd you even find out about this place? They just opened, like, today."

Lisa paused, frowning. "Huh. I dunno." It seemed as if she hadn't entertained that idea at all, and that did surprise her a little. "Maybe … maybe I saw an advertisement?" She stared off into space for a few seconds and shook her head. "I don't really remember. But after that Calculus test, I needed something to take the edge off."

Maeve was unimpressed. "Pffft! You and Calc are, like, best buds."

"Yeah, what have you got to worry about?" added Jazmyn. "You're acing that class."

"A quiz on a Monday? Hello? I wasn't expecting it. Problem three had me sweatin' bullets 'til I remembered that integration trick he showed us last week."

"Problem three?"

"Uh-huh."

"Just problem three?"

"… Well … yeah."

The other two girls traded sardonic looks. Maeve scraped out the last bits of her rich, dark-brown treat and shook her head. "Practically flunked, you did."

"Pbbbb."

"Seriously, Lisa, you'll just sail through that course."

"… Sail?" Jazmyn jumped to her feet. "Holy socks! I forgot! I gotta work on the Homecoming float!" She gazed around for a clock, not finding one, and then jerked out her phone. "Aw, jeez! I'm gonna be late!" And she ran out the door without a backward glance.

Maeve's phone rang not five seconds later. "Yeah? … Oh, hey, Mom. … No, I'm just sittin' here with Lisa. … WHAT?! … Ohcrapohcrapohcrap!" She scooted off her seat and began gathering her things and stuffing them into her backpack as fast as she could. "I'll be right there! I'm sorry! Ohcrapohcrap …"

Lisa watched her friend in befuddlement. "What's going on?"

"Aunt Jeanne's in town!"

"… Yeah? So?"

"Tomorrow's her thirtieth birthday, an' there's a surprise party for her tonight an' I promised Mom I'd make her favorite pie an' …" Maeve's voice trailed off as the door clicked softly shut behind her.

Nonplussed, Lisa glanced around the small shop, noting that she was the only customer. Well. Ghost town, much? An uneasy feeling settled into her gut. This situation smacked just a little too much of other recent events for her taste. The store's attendant, a short, slight young man with dark hair, was working at the toppings bar, but even though he wasn't looking her way, she got a strange vibe from him. She quickly finished off her frozen confection, collected the other girls' cups, and dropped everything in the trash.

"I'd like to talk with you a little, if you don't mind."

The voice froze Lisa in her tracks. She turned and looked at the attendant, who was leaning against the display case, arms crossed.

"And, please, know that it is entirely up to you. I would appreciate it, if you can spare a few minutes, but I'll understand if you don't want to."

Knowing beyond doubt the answer to her query, Lisa nonetheless asked, "… Wh - who …?"

The 'boy' held out a finger and then removed the ring thereon. As soon as it cleared skin, the hologram faded, revealing the Titans' dark empath. She had on black skinny jeans and a light blue sweater.

Lisa backed slowly toward the door.

"Although I would like to say that I think you'll want the information I have."

The blonde spun and bolted outside, the door rebounding from the force of her departure.

Raven sighed, slumping against the case full of frozen yogurt. Well, you knew it wasn't going to be easy. She thought things over for a few minutes, came to a decision, and then looked around at the store. Standing tall, she raised her arms and drew a rune in the air. A series of arcane gestures followed a chanted incantation, and the illusion faded, the dull reality of a rickety, abandoned house replacing the bright colors of the yogurt shop.

"Eh. At least the yogurt's real. Guess the guys will have a little feasting to do tonight." And with a sweep of her arm, she and the frozen treats were swallowed by a black rift in reality.

. . .

A/N: Heh. Looks like Raven might have a hard row to hoe. All comments are welcome!