A/N: Hey, guys, just letting you know no one dies in this chapter either. This chapter is an introduction for the alternate versions of their friends. We're going to get into all the good stuff next chapter and it'll be here sooner than you think. Thanks for reading and please excuse any proofreading mistakes! Also, thanks for the reviews :) They mean a lot…xoxo
Disclaimer: I do not own the Titans :)
3. Freaky Friday
"Aww, Dick, you're still in bed," the woman breathed and shook her head at the stunned, round-eyed teenager. "You're not going to have a chance to eat breakfast if you don't hurry."
Robin couldn't do anything but blink at the woman talking to him. He barely even heard a word she said. "Mom?"
"That's me," she chuckled and held the basket of clean clothes closer to her hip. "Now, up, up, up."
"Mom," Robin called as she happily turned to walk away, "is it really you?"
The black-haired woman raised a concerned eyebrow then proceeded to smirk at her flabbergasted, teenage son. "You know, Richard, I'm really starting to think all those tumbles to the head you took during acrobatic training really messed up your brain." Then, she snickered girlishly at her own remark and finally left the room.
Robin looked around the clean, orderly bedroom once more. Where was he? It felt way too real to be a dream. It obviously had to be some kind of trick Red X or Slade or Mumbo or someone was playing on him. And a cruel trick it was. Besides in dreams, he never thought he'd be in the presence of his deceased mother again and knowing it was all fake was just going to make going back to the real world even harder.
He looked at the fancy, iPod alarm clock sitting on the table beside his bed. 6:45, October 28, 2016. Eight days prior to the day of Terra's funeral and three days prior to her death. Well, that explained why he was going to school on what he thought was a Saturday. He didn't know what time school started around here, but he was sure it was soon. However, the real question was, was he really going to play along with this? Was he going to go to school until something cracked or was he going to find his way out of here?
He chose the latter. He jumped up out of the bed to find himself in nothing but red boxer briefs and a white tee. He scurried around the room, looking through all of the drawers for something other than the preppy button-downs in his closet. He finally found a plain, black hoodie deep under his millions pairs of thick black socks and settled on it. He walked swiftly over to the closet and saw a pair of blue jeans hiding in a corner and a pair of worn out red Converses stuffed into another.
For some reason, his hair didn't feel as bogged down and stiff as it normally did, so he hurried over to the mirror only to gag at the sight of the same, preppy hairstyle Mother-Mae-Eye tried to force him to wear the year before. His preppy alter ego apparently never used gel since there seemed to be none around, so he spiked his hair as best he could with mousse and hairspray. He rustled with the black fibers until they were closest to his normal do and sighed at his limp results.
Suddenly, he realized something else as he stared back at his reflection in the mirror. His spiky hair and uniform weren't the only things missing: so was his mask. He began to panic. Did people in this world know his identity? What if someone else from his world had gotten thrown into this one as well and discovered it? Someone like Red X or whoever the villain responsible for this was. He just couldn't risk it. Luckily, there was a pair of all black, reflective sunglasses perched on top of the dresser. He let out a sigh and rushed out of the room, grabbing the green backpack by the door on his way out.
What he saw when he stepped out was unbelievable. The house looked as if they'd been living there for years. There were family pictures everywhere, old arts and crafts of his when he was younger posted on the walls, homey decorations in each corner, and even a golden retriever who instantly jumped onto him happily with a wagging tail. Robin looked at the dog's blue collar for a name. Titan. Wow, this was really starting to get weird.
Robin had no idea where he was going as he sauntered around the unfamiliar place. He felt as if he'd made a couple of circles even though the house didn't seem to be that large. He finally found a bathroom and picked up a toothbrush he prayed was his. Then, he glanced at his unusual appearance in the mirror and knew it would be a long day. How was he supposed to find his way out of this? Was there some kind of spell or portal somewhere? Was there some kind of machine like a time machine but for alternate universes? Or was he just dreaming it all? He had no idea how to figure it out. He just hoped and prayed at least one of his friends had gotten pulled in with him. Only thing is he didn't know where to find them. His best bet would probably be the school. He figured if he was in school, they'd probably be, too.
He spat his toothpaste in the sink and rinsed it and his mouth out. He sighed then thought, 'Guess I'm going to high school.' And with that, he left out of the pristine bathroom and followed the fresh aroma of coffee, bacon, and maple syrup downstairs.
"Bout time you made it down, Son," a masculine voice teased as Robin strolled into what he discovered was the dining area. Robin knew he shouldn't have been shocked as he had just seen his mother literally minutes before, but seeing his dad's dark brown eyes focused on the morning newspaper as he sat at the dining room table drinking coffee just brought forth so many emotions. He never realized how much him and his father were alike, but reading the newspaper and drinking plain coffee was something Robin did almost every morning.
"Uh, yeah," Robin uttered shakily, he could almost hear the tears in his voice. This was going to be hard.
"Eat up, my Little Robin," his mom popped up out of nowhere and set a whole plate of steaming hot breakfast on the table for him.
"Mary, the boy's eighteen now," his father scorned and took a sip of his steamy beverage, "I don't think he wants you to baby talk him."
Mary rolled her sparkling eyes playfully, "Well, I know, John, but he'll always be my Little Robin." Then, she turned and rustled Robin's hair, much to his delight. "Isn't that right, Dick?"
Robin tried to muster up a smile as he eased into his seat at the table. "Right." The lady grinned happily at his response and made her way back into the kitchen.
John smirked and looked over at his son, "I know you hate it, but, don't worry, it's between me and you."
"Thanks," Robin laughed even though deep down he knew he missed hearing his mother's pet name for him. It'd been years since he'd heard it from such a loving voice. "So, does the bus normally pick me up for school?"
John raised a confused eyebrow as he lowered his paper. "You know you usually drive to school, Dick. You okay, Son?"
Robin's inner self went into fright mode. He couldn't let them know he wasn't him. "Oh, no, no. I'm fine. Just a little spaced out this morning. Didn't get much sleep."
John shook his head side to side and went back to reading his paper. "That Roy Harper kid finally got to you, didn't he?"
Robin narrowed his hidden, curious blue eyes. "What do you mean?"
"He finally got you to hit the bong, right?" John let out a manly, hearty laugh. "That kid's a stoner if I've ever seen one."
Robin didn't know what the heck he was talking about but he just smiled in agreement. "Yeah, but don't worry, Dad. He'll never get to me."
"Aww, lighten up, Dick," John chuckled once more as he stood up in his fitted, black tux and straightened his scarlet red tie, "you gotta have fun sometimes."
Minutes later, it was finally time for him to head to school. He had no clue how that was going to turn out, but he hoped and wished the others would be there to help him figure it out. There was only one problem. As he stood there in front of the key rack next to the front door, he had no idea which keys were his. His dad had already left for work, so there were only two pairs left. One with a Nissan logo and one with a Chevrolet logo. His parents already thought he was losing his mind, so they were sure to suspect something if he asked. Ugh, this was all so difficult.
"Hey, Mom, what kind of car do you drive again?" he called from the foyer, anxiety filling his body.
Mary stuck her head around the corner with a befuddled expression on her doll-like face, "A Nissan Pathfinder. Why?"
"Roy wanted to know," he smiled and grabbed the other keys off the rack. Before leaving out the door, he rushed over and kissed her on her round cheek. He figured it was definitely something his other self would do and hurried back over to the golden doorknob.
"You sure you're okay, Richard?" her worried voice rang before he could stepped outside into the bright sunlight of this new world.
He looked back and stared into her protective blue eyes that were completely identical to his own. He caught his breath and gave her an assuring smile before saying, "I'm positive." Then, he closed the door behind him and admired the vintage, red, 1963 Camaro parked behind the Nissan Pathfinder in the driveway. It wasn't quite the R-Cycle or the red, Ferrari 458 Bruce had bought him for his sixteenth birthday, but it was perfect for the middle-class, suburban life he was living right now. He popped open the lock and proceeded to get into the car, but was stopped by what sounded like a frantic woman screaming his name.
Robin glanced around every which way until his eyes landed on a dark-haired, petite girl jogging towards him. "Robin! Robin, wait!" It was Raven. But it didn't necessarily look like Raven. Her hair was instead black with one long streak of her natural, violet hair color in the front and it was much longer than its usual, blunt cut, bob style. She seemed to be thicker yet more lean and her skin tone was slightly less pale than her normal color. But only slightly. She was sporting a purple crop top, high-waisted black jeans, a thick, black cardigan, and knee-high, faux leather boots. Her brilliant red chakra was missing from her forehead and instead seemed to be replaced by the dull, black lip ring that was sitting so effortlessly in the center of her full, flesh tone lips.
Robin stuttered at the stark difference in her appearance. Pretty much everything about him was the same when he woke up in this world, except his spiky hair and mask while Raven looked totally different and somehow even more gothic than usual. But to Robin's surprise, he actually kind of liked it. It wasn't the typical bubblegum, girly way that most girls around him seemed to dress. She was atypical and he was intrigued by atypical. Not to mention, it fit her personality to a tee.
Robin realized he was gawking when her thick, dark eyebrows suddenly raised in irritation above her stunning violet eyes. "Raven, did you—"
"Where are we? What happened?!" she interrupted with her hands on top of her head. She seemed to be freaking out over this whole situation and Raven never freaked out. No matter how stressful the mission. Matter fact, was this his Raven? Her emotions seemed to be going haywire but nothing around them was blowing up or going up in shams. Something certainly wasn't right.
Robin squinted his eyes at the short, panicking girl in front of him. "Are you—"
"Wait," she interrupted again, this time folding her arms against her chest, "how do I know you're the real Robin? Everyone around here seems to be alternate versions of people in our world which means you could be one of them."
Robin scratched the back of his neck anxiously, "I-I was just about to ask you the same thing."
Raven tried her best to calm down. At least she knew she wasn't alone now, but it still didn't explain the weirdness of it all. "Where are the others? Who did this? Why do I have a hole and a metal ring in my lip?!"
Robin gingerly grabbed her by her fragile shoulders and tried to talk some sense into her, "You have to calm down, Raven. We're going to figure this out, but it's going to take a lot of thinking and patience. First, we should see if we can find the others. Then, we have to figure out who's behind this. After that, it shouldn't be hard to find a way out of here."
Raven took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Okay, you're right. Sorry. I just woke up with a pounding migraine in this dark, creepy room that could give my room at the tower a run for its money. Then, I tried teleporting only to realize I'm powerless here. And literally seconds later, I discover that I am living with my lunatic dad who's apparently some kind of satanic cult leader. So, excuse me if I'm freaking out."
"Trigon?" Robin questioned, concerned. He might not have known everything about this parallel universe, but if it was one thing he was sure of, it was that Trigon was evil no matter where he was.
"Yeah," Raven forced with the wave of her hand. "Apparently my mom ditched us a while ago. She refused to raise a child conceived through rape."
Robin frowned gravely. He hated that even in this world Raven was still motherless. A child should never bear the pain of being hated by the one person who's supposed to love you most in this world. At least he was lucky in that aspect.
"Well, somehow my parents are still alive here," he finally added after a minute of taking in the musical sound of birds chirping and the autumn wind rustling behind them.
Raven's huge, doe eyes grew sympathetic for the boy in front of her. It was a rare thing for him to see and it did something to his usually buried heart. "Wow. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her and pulled his book bag closer to his back. "Just a little weirded out. Well, a lot of weirded out."
Raven nodded her head in understanding. "I can only imagine."
"Yeah," Robin whispered, then cleared his throat more loudly. "Well, I guess we should go find the others. They're probably at school."
"Yeah," Raven agreed, then glanced over at the ancient but drivable car. "According to our maid, I usually hitch a ride with you every day."
Robin smirked as his memory flashed back to just moments before when he'd asked his dad about his transportation to school. "Do they think a coconut hit you over the head, too?"
Raven leered back and replied dryly, "That's an understatement."
##############################################################################
Moments later, the dark-haired duo took a deep breath as they pulled into the large parking lot of Jump City High. This was obviously going to be a crazy day. They had no idea who their teachers were or what their schedules were like. Were their friends even here or were they all spread out across the country? Were they even from their world or were they alternate versions of themselves as well? Little did they know, the answer to their last question would be answered much sooner than they thought.
"Nice hairdo, Robin," Speedy cackled as Robin stepped from the driver's side of his car. Raven promptly followed and noticed that the redhead was dressed in a distressed, black AC/DC t-shirt, tight, dark denim jeans, and the same red Converses as Robin. In addition, he was posted up on the back of a glistening, black Corvette next to a more mysterious Aqualad. The long-haired boy was instead dressed in a black, leather jacket, blue t-shirt, and light wash blue jeans. His shoes were basically biker boots.
"What inspired you?" Speedy continued to double over in laughter. "A triceratops?"
Aqualad nudged Speedy in the arm with his elbow as he noticed the annoyed expression on both Robin and Raven's faces. "Give it up, Speedy. You're making them angry and it's only 7:25."
Speedy raised his hands up in defense and finished the last of his chuckles. "Okay, okay. Sorry. It just caught me off guard."
Well, the two otherworlders guessed that meant Speedy and Aqualad were out. At least they all still had their superhero monikers. Robin rolled his eyes behind his reflective, black sunglasses and pretended not to sound crushed as he said, "Just wanted to try something new."
"What's up, guys!" "Ah!" Kid Flash popped up out of nowhere causing Raven to almost crap her pants. She hated this fearful, unsure version of herself. She couldn't control her emotions and had no idea how to react to literally anything.
"Uh, sorry," Kid Flash chuckled nervously, scared of Raven's wrath, but it never came.
"You should stop popping up like that," Speedy turned serious. "After what happened last night, anyone popping up on me like that is getting punched in the balls."
Aqualad lifted a teasing dark eyebrow. "What if it's a girl?"
"Well," Speedy started, then stood there thinking long and hard. Finally, he sighed, defeated. "Well, that just changes everything."
Robin glanced at the quiet Raven and instantly knew they were thinking the same thing. "What happened last night?" they both spat at the same time and speed.
The two redheads and long-haired boy glanced at them in amazement. "Wait, you guys didn't hear?" Aqualad questioned in shock. Raven and Robin only shook their heads slowly, not really knowing if they should know.
"You remember that super fine, blue-eyed, blonde chick from that private school BB used to date last year?" The two once again shook their heads, this time at Speedy's question. "Well—"
"She totally got butchered last night," Wally interjected impatiently. "She suffered one slice to the back and fourteen stab wounds to her chest area."
"Dang," was all Speedy could say as he shook his head at the horrible image of her mutilated body.
Aqualad eyed Kid Flash funnily and asked, "How do you know so much? They didn't reveal any of that on the news this morning."
Wally grinned a pompous smirk. "My Uncle Barry is the second leading detective on this case. I know all the details, my boy. Crime scene photos were gruesome, by the way. The killer showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever."
Raven and Robin ignored the chatters that were coming from their friends' mouths and eyed each other once more. This time also knowing that they were thinking deeply about the same question: Terra was murdered in this universe as well? How was that even possible when even their parents were still alive? Didn't that mean Terra should be alive as well? Didn't Terra die on Halloween which apparently hadn't come in this universe yet? This was all way too difficult to figure out.
"Shh, here comes BB. Act normal," Speedy said to the talkative KF as a gloomy Beast Boy made his way over to the crowd with Cyborg, Bumblebee, and Starfire following closely behind. Well, at least they assumed it was Beast Boy.
"Sup, dudes," the green-eyed teen quietly mumbled when he finally reached his destination.
"Are you okay, Beast Boy?" Robin asked out of habit. It might not have been the Beast Boy he lived and dealt with each day, but he was still his friend. For some strange reason, the guy looked almost identical to their friend, but there was one hugely significant thing missing: his green skin. Instead it was replaced with fair skin closely related to Robin's and his stark green hair was strangely blonde. Everything else though was exactly the same, including his boyish voice and round, green eyes.
"I'm a little dazed and shocked, but I'm okay," Beast Boy surprisingly answered. His way of grieving was already obviously different from what they were used to. "It'd been a minute since Terra and I talked, but it still hurts to know that she's gone."
"Just remember we're here for you, BB, if you need to talk," Cyborg promised and placed a brotherly hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. It took the two consciously aware Titans a minute to realize that Cyborg wasn't exactly Cyborg anymore either. There was nothing robotic around him. In fact, both sides of his body were completely human and symmetrical.
"I know," Beast Boy smiled a tiny smile, "thanks, dudes. Don't know where I'd be without you."
"Aww that's so sweet," Bumblebee teased and wrapped a motherly arm around his shoulder.
Seconds later, Robin felt Starfire's exuberant, emerald green eyes land on him. He couldn't ignore the fact that she instantly beamed when she caught sight of him. He was slowly beginning to wonder if they'd already dated in this world.
Months ago, after the whole Tokyo mission, he quickly realized that what he felt for Starfire was nothing more than an innocent crush on a beautiful girl. He was a teenage boy with caged hormones. What did people expect? Starfire's bubbly mood and clinginess always made him want to crawl into a hidden corner during their relationship. Not to mention the ungodly amount of trips they had taken to the mall had driven him out his mind. One thing he always loved about her though was her compassion and loyalty for her friends. And for that very reason, he couldn't break up with her. Their relationship was cute and fun. Just like a teenage romance should be. And in the end, she had been the one to break up with him, claiming that she believed they were better off as friends. Robin figured it was really because she couldn't handle his dark side as much as he could handle her bright one. His secretiveness and reserved ways dimmed her light and there was almost nothing worse than seeing a sad Starfire. Almost.
"I am much enjoying your new style of hair, Friend Robin," the always-happy girl chirped to the thinking boy.
Robin gave a friendly smile that he couldn't help but show whenever he was talking to her. "Thanks, Star."
Diiiiinnngggg, the morning bell rang signaling the start of the school day. Everyone groaned while Aqualad smoothly eased over to Raven and threw a long arm around her shoulder. "I'll walk to you class, my beautiful Sting-Rae."
To his surprise, Raven wasted no time taking his arm, twisting it behind his back, and push kicking him to the ground. "Keep your hands off me, you long-haired fish scale," she hissed angrily and dusted her hands on her sweater. All of that hand-to-hand combat and training Robin had forced them to do over the last few weeks had really paid off.
All of their friends save for Robin gasped silently and looked at her with wide eyes as Aqualad struggled to get off the ground with a deep frown on his face. Robin, being the kind gentleman he was, decided to lend him a hand, causing the situation to grow more awkward.
"Friend Raven, have you and Friend Aqualad done the breaking up?" Starfire questioned with confusion. It seemed to be the same confusion everyone else, especially Aqualad, was wearing as well. Raven squinted in her own befuddlement and then blinked a couple times. She looked at Robin who gave her the look he always gave her when he didn't really know what to say.
"Oh, no," she tried to force out in a playful tone, but ended up blushing in embarrassment instead, "I was just watching a ton of Chuck Norris movies last night, so it was a natural reflex."
Everyone just continued to stare in silence until Bumblebee decided to add her two cents, "Girl, that was so bad! You have to teach me your moves later."
Raven tried to smile, but apparently the corner of her lips didn't work in this dimension either. "Sure thing, Bee." Then, she turned to look at the quiet boy she guessed was her boyfriend. "I'm sorry…Sweet…heart…I just had a moment." Raven almost choked on her own breath as the word sweetheart forced itself out of her mouth. But if her and Aqualad were a couple in this dimension, she couldn't mess that up. There's no telling how things would change in the real world if she did.
"Anybody happen to know who I take first period…and do you also by any chance know where that classroom is…?" Robin questioned to take his mind off the discovery him and Raven had just made. 'Seriously, Aqualad? Otherworld Raven couldn't do better than him?!'
Once again all of their friends just continued to stare at them like they had both grown two heads without even realizing. Then, as if on cue, they all burst into fits of laughter and deep breaths. "Okay, what's the punchline? You've got to be playing with us," Cyborg chuckled and gave Robin a brotherly slap on the back.
Robin raised an annoyed, black eyebrow. "There's no punchline. I was serious…"
Everyone's laughter ceased and it was once again silent until Kid Flash decided to speak his mind, "You two are acting really weird. Almost like you've never been here before."
Cyborg took this as an invitation to start inspecting them in all the crevices and folds of their body he could visibly see. "You two haven't been replaced by clones, have you?" he interrogated while lifting up a now highly annoyed Robin's arm and sniffing his pits.
"Grr," Robin growled lowly to himself and snatched his arm away from the buffer teen. "No, we both just had a long night. That's all. Now can we get to class?"
Aqualad glanced at Raven then at Robin then back at Raven. "A long night," he whispered to himself, then asked the girl he thought was his girlfriend, "Were you guys together last night?"
"Together?" Robin repeated as if he wanted the boy to explain exactly what he meant.
Raven's cheeks flashed red and her violet eyes lit up with anger, "What exactly are you implying, Aqualad?"
Aqualad sighed and realized he instantly regretted suggesting that she cheated on him. He knew Raven would never do such a thing. Out of the six months of their relationship, this was the first day she'd seemed a little off. It was bound to happen eventually, and it definitely wasn't going to change the way he felt about her.
"Nothing, Raven. I'm sorry…it's just the way he put it," the long-haired boy admitted in all honesty, then wrapped another loving arm around her stiff shoulder. "Let's get to class before we're late."
Robin watched Raven's face as Aqualad slowly dropped his arm around her waist and squeezed her closer to him. It was a sweet, typical relationship gesture, but Raven looked beyond uncomfortable.
At that moment, the spiky-haired boy knew he had to get them out of there soon or else they would probably be forced into doing more things they didn't want to do. For some reason, he hated seeing Raven unhappy with all his heart. Ever since their minds had merged and they developed their unbreakable bond, she'd been the best friend he could have. She didn't usually say or do much, but she was always there to lend a listening ear and sound advice. Because of the strength of their relationship, she didn't hold anything back and most of the time brutal honesty was exactly what he needed to hear. And he'd probably never admit it to her, but he thoroughly enjoyed her sarcasm and insults to Beast Boy. They always made him laugh and smile on the inside and sometimes his heart just needed a little lightening up. His favorite memories of their friendship though was just the quiet mornings they'd spent watching the sunrise from the roof of the tower. Ever since that day she'd become Trigon's portal, they sort of made it into a habit. She'd sit there meditating with her legs in a lotus position, and he'd just sit there thinking, sometimes meditating himself, and secretly peaking at her out the corner of his masked, cerulean blue eye. If only he had been her boyfriend here instead of Aqualad…
Wait, what was he thinking? That might've just been even more uncomfortable for her. She had never shown any slight feelings for The Boy Wonder himself, but everyone knew she once upon a time had a small crush on the Atlantean. His tall, dark, handsome good looks and respectable, enigmatic, and sweet personality made him the perfect choice for Raven. Robin didn't think he could compete. Did he even like her that way? He didn't know, but at least she'd be faking it out with someone she knew. Sure, she knew Aqualad in their world, but there was something different about everyone here. They all seemed to be caricatures of themselves.
"I guess we'll play along with your little games," Bumblebee sassed, pushing him back into reality—whatever that was. "We take all the same classes, so you can just follow me until you remember your schedule."
"Thanks," he uttered lowly and pulled his book bag closer to him before following their friends inside the building. He let out a deep, audible sigh for the umpteenth time that week and once again thought, 'This is going to be a long day.'