*A/N* This one was tricky, to say the least. I have to admit that I condensing this story to only three chapters has left the finale a little bulky, but hopefully it was worth the week-long wait. I also tried to go for a more heart-warming tone at the end instead of straight comedy. That's how I roll. Enjoy, especially you, tsk. *A/N*
"Wow, this place is super big! Where's the hot tub?"
The Other Raven's playful jokes went unnoticed as she was examined carefully by Cyborg, who was just as dumbfounded by her appearance as the other four teens were.
"Wait, rewind a bit, where did you say she came from?" Robin questioned, trying to wrap his head around just what in the world was going on.
"I don't know." Raven said shortly. "I turn down the hall, and she's talking to Beast Boy."
"And Beast Boy, you don't know where she came from either?" Robin turned to the changeling.
"Nope." Beast Boy said, the lie barely escaping his lips.
"OW!" The Other Raven squealed. Cyborg had just inserted a small syringe into her forearm. "Come on, man, that hurt!" she pouted.
"Sorry… I just need to run a couple tests." Cyborg said, trying to sound normal and failing miserably at it. He extracted a small amount of blood and put it in a small vial.
"Hey, Beastie, run this to the lab upstairs, and pour it into the machine marked BAAC 1-4. Green nozzle."
Beast Boy hastily snatched the vial from his friend's hand and hurried away.
Starfire knelt down to The Other Raven's level and stared into her face for a few moments before speaking up.
"Friend Raven, do you recognize me? My name is Starfire. We are dearest friends, are we not?"
The Other Raven giggled girlishly. "What country are you from? I like your accent. You're super pretty too." She then took a quick look around and pulled Starfire in close to her, so she could whisper in her ear.
"Just between us, that green boy with the ears? Can you spell S-T-U-D?" she whispered noisily, loud enough for Cyborg to nearly drop the equipment he was handling.
Starfire retracted slowly, issued a polite reply, and hurried back to her other two friends.
"This Raven is most unusual." She whispered.
"How did he do it?" Raven said to herself.
"How did who do what?" Robin inquired.
Raven beckoned her friends closer to her and issued her reply in a barely audible voice.
"Last night, I sensed a sudden burst of powerful magic after the Museum heist. This morning, I couldn't control my own voice, and now, another me appears. Beast Boy was acting more…sure of himself… this morning, like he already knew about it."
"Hold on, you're not suggesting that Beast Boy knows magic, are you?" Robin retorted disbelievingly.
"I'm not saying that he does, but I definitely sensed magic, and from the way he was acting, I know he has something to do with it." Raven insisted.
"Look, you need evidence to support your claim, Raven. I highly doubt that-"
Raven silenced her leader with a single raised finger and cleared her throat.
"Hang on. Robin, say something bad about Beast Boy."
"What? Why?" he demanded.
"Just do it!" she snapped.
Robin paused, exhaled in annoyance, and spat out a phrase as quick as possible.
"Beast-Boy-is-stupid, there." He said.
"Now, watch me try to say it." Raven said. "Beast Boy is st-" she ended the phrase with another faint gag.
"There! You see? I physically can't insult him! I can't even write anything bad about him, I tried that out. My pencil snapped in two."
Robin and Starfire traded concerned looks as Beast Boy re-entered the room, holding the empty vial.
"I put it in. It said that she's Raven." He said quickly.
"Duh! I've always been Raven!" The Other Raven replied. "That's what Daddy named me!"
The Real Raven turned sharply to face her doppelganger.
"Daddy..?" she echoed.
"Mmm-hmm! Why, would you prefer if I called him Pops?"
The Real Raven approached her double swiftly.
"Do you even know who your Father is?" she said tartly.
The Other Raven lost her smile. "You're starting to freak me out. You keep acting like you know everything about me." She narrowed her eyes as a thought crossed her mind. "Come to think of it… how do you even know how I dress?"
She then gave a soft gasp and placed a hand on her mouth. "Have…have you been stalking me?"
"No." Raven defended. "I know so much about you because-"
She couldn't complete her sentence before Cyborg abruptly swept her aside.
"I think we need to have a little talk." He said quickly, hurrying over to the others with Raven's arm in tow.
"What was that about?" Raven said after they were out of earshot, swatting Cyborg's hand away cantankerously.
"Cool your jets, Raven. I think I know what's going on here." Cyborg said.
"You do?" Robin asked.
"Well, this is just a theory, but judging from the data we got back on the DNA machine and the fact that hers and our Raven's body structures are nearly one hundred percent identical, and the fact that they act nothing alike… I think this is a Raven from a different dimension."
Starfire looked to Raven. "Friend Raven, you are the only one in the vicinity that can open portals to alternate dimensions. Is this your doing?" she inquired lightly.
"You honestly think I would bring another me into our dimension? Especially one as irritating as her?" Raven said flatly.
"It might have been an accident. Things like this have happened before, you know." Robin rebutted.
"Yes, but taking something from another dimension isn't the type of thing that would happen by accident. It's a process, you need heavy concentration and extremely potent magic." came the retort.
"So, what are you saying? You think someone else did this? Who?" Cyborg queried.
Raven shifted her gaze to the only teammate silent at the moment. The others turned to look at Beast Boy as well, staring vacantly at The Other Raven as she flashed him a few sultry movements and a 'call me' motion by her ear.
"Beast Boy, Raven is really confident that you had something to do with…her." Robin said, trying to not get The Other Raven's attention.
Beast Boy turned to look at Robin. For a split second, his face reflected fear, but it quickly shifted to defensive anger.
"Get off my case, will ya?! What do you think I've been doing, taking an online course for Hogwarts? She's just picking on me because…"
He balked on his accusation, and simply gave Raven a dirty look before turning away again, only to be spun back around by Raven.
"If you're so innocent, then why did you hang back in the Museum for so long after the robbery? I find it hard to believe that you were actually talking to a statue."
"Well, if you want to dig through our private lives, why don't I just ask you what goes on in your room? What do you want to hide from us all the time?"
"That's completely irrelevant. Answer my question."
"Answer mine first!"
Raven let her eyes glow white.
"Don't tempt me." She warned.
"HEY! Leave him alone, weirdo!"
The Other Raven darted across the room and slid in between the two of them, shielding Beast Boy from the sorceress.
"What did he ever do to you, huh?" she demanded.
Raven let her eyes darken, but she remained steadfast.
"You're protecting someone you've known for about fifteen minutes, I hope you realize."
The Other Raven raised an eyebrow and wagged a finger in her duplicate's face.
"That still doesn't give you the right to hurt him! Why do you hate him anyway?"
"My reasons are justified, believe me." Raven responded.
At that moment, Beast Boy felt his chest cave in. He opened his mouth a fraction in shock. Despite her curse, she had somehow found a way to get another lash in without using any insulting words. And this one stung the worst. So it was true…
"Oh, you're such a harpy!" The Other Raven exclaimed. She then turned to Beast Boy and smiled sympathetically.
"Come with me, babe." She said, taking his hand and escorting him out the door, as he complied without restraint.
"You poor thing, why do you let her bully you like that?"
The Other Raven sat on Beast Boy's bunk bed, seemingly oblivious to the state the room was in.
"The thing is… she's not totally wrong." Beast Boy admitted nervously, causing The Other Raven to tilt her head in confusion.
"Right or wrong, she still treats you badly. If someone said something like that to me, I'd show them patience and reasoning." She held up both of her fists. "Meet Patience, and meet Reasoning."
Beast Boy chuckled. This Raven was so much more bubbly and outspoken than the other. Still, even with the upgrade in personality, something still seemed kind of wrong with her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he couldn't trust himself enough to abandon these preconceptions either.
"Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?" Beast Boy inquired carefully.
The Other Raven smiled. "I'm no encyclopedia, but go ahead."
"Um…who exactly is your Dad?" he began.
"Everyone wants to know about that… well, since you asked politely, you should know that he's not exactly my Dad. I mean, he's my Stepdad. But he's millions of times better than my actual Dad, that's why I consider him my real Daddy. His name is Rex Roth, and he's a taxidermist."
Beast Boy paused. "So…you know who your actual Dad is then, right?"
"Sort of. Mom said he was a complete tool, pardon my French. Like, she won't even talk about him most of the time. She said he was probably sent to her straight from Hell." She said jokingly.
Beast Boy felt a finger of ice stroke his spine. This Raven…knew nothing about her demonic heritage, did she?
"Truth be told, my name isn't actually Raven. It's Rachel, but Mom sometimes calls me that, and I think it sounds cool, so that's what my friends call me."
Beast Boy swallowed uncomfortably. "Um… so… you, don't have any…powers or anything?"
The change was instantaneous. The friendly smile on The Other Raven's face blew like a spent light bulb and became fearful and violated.
"Who told you that?" she demanded softly. "What do you know?" She got to her feet and raised the volume of her voice considerably. "TELL ME!"
A pile of clothes upon Beast Boy's dresser flew backwards against the wall, pushed by an unseen telekinetic force. The Other Raven saw this and took a few steps backward fearfully.
"Woah woah woah, calm down, Raven." Beast Boy said urgently, approaching her and clutching her hands. The Other Raven pulled away and grabbed the sides of her arms.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she stammered. "P-p-please don't t-t-tell."
Beast Boy narrowed his eyes in thought. She had reacted like she was terrified of her own powers, and apparently, she had no idea how to use them, either.
"I won't tell, Raven. But…you don't know about your powers?"
"I don't know… I…can't control it. It just happens sometimes…" she whimpered.
"Hey…" Beast Boy said in a comforting tone he was startled he pulled off. "Don't be afraid…"
She looked Beast Boy in the face. "How did you know?"
"Well… it's kind of hard to explain." He was promptly grabbed and shaken.
"Please! Tell me! I can handle it!"
Beast Boy sat her down and did his best to explain what Raven's powers were. He was extremely cautious about telling her who her real Father was, warning her multiple times that the answer was going to be shocking, and he still felt his heart sink when he finally told her about Trigon. She was in complete and utter shock for almost five minutes, but she allowed him to continue. After repeated insisting that Trigon was sealed away and not going to escape any time soon, Beast Boy continued on to tell her how she arrived here.
"…When that didn't work I asked him if he could somehow make Raven act actually like me. He said no at first, but then he said there was another way to do it. I didn't listen when he wanted to tell me what exactly 'it' was, and I made him go ahead and do it. When the smoke cleared, there you were."
The Other Raven remained silent for a while.
"So that girl who dresses exactly like me…"
"IS you. I know it's a lot to take in, and I wish you didn't have to find out like this."
The Other Raven smiled weakly. "Well, at least I know now. Could I ask another question?"
"Sure, whatever you need."
"…Are you satisfied with your wish?" she inquired.
Beast Boy felt a lump form in his throat. She just HAD to go there, didn't she? This was going to be even harder to say than that she was a Demon's baby.
"Yes…and no. I mean, I really like you, don't get me wrong, and I'd take you over My Raven any day. But… this wish is unfair to you. I don't have the right to take you from one dimension and drop you in another where you already exist. No one does."
The Other Raven nodded. "I understand… and you're right. Is there any way for me to get back home?"
"Yeah. I have one final wish. I can change everything back to the way it was."
"But wait… will I ever get to see you again?" The Other Raven asked.
"I'm sure that there's another Beast Boy in your dimension, too."
"Where? I've never even heard of him until now."
Beast Boy thought, then came up with something.
"I got it. Are you ready to go now?" he asked.
"I guess. I'd like to have a talk about my Dad with my parents. They've got a lot of explaining to do." The Other Raven quipped.
Beast Boy smiled, but it did little to halt the sadness welling up inside of him.
"Okay." He then turned to face the wall.
"Ikraam? Come on out!" he commanded.
Instantly, the room became alight with bright, widely varying colors as the bombastic Djinn appeared inside the room.
"Hello, Master." He greeted, looking over at The Other Raven. "What can I do for you?"
"Ikraam, I want to use my last wish now."
"Certainly, Master." The Djinn replied. "What is your final request?"
"Ikraam, I want you to revoke my first two wishes. Give Raven the ability to insult me again, and take this Raven back to her own dimension. But listen, this is the most important part."
Beast Boy turned to look at The Other Raven, then back to his genie.
"Make sure this Raven gets the chance to meet the other me in her own dimension."
"Very well, Master. I shall make it so."
The two teens turned to each other.
"…Thank you." The Other Raven said quietly with a faint smile.
Beast Boy couldn't control himself anymore, and let tears well up in his eyes.
"I'll be sure to say hi when I get back." The Other Raven graced her farewell with a hand on Beast Boy's cheek, before vanishing into a wisp of smoke.
"I apologize for our melancholy goodbye, Master. But I must depart." The Djinn said after a long pause.
"Fare thee well, Master."
Beast Boy didn't even turn to look as his genie made his exit in a plume of multi-colored mist. He simply stared at the spot where The Other Raven once stood, allowing himself to sulk silently as the only time Raven had ever truly appreciated anything he did entered his past.
His door opened, and there she stood. Raven moved to enter the room, but paused when she saw the state Beast Boy was in. She sensed his pain almost instantly, and shut the door behind her.
"How? And why?" she said shortly.
Beast Boy knit his brows and slowly clenched his fists, refusing to take his eyes off of where he stared.
"Go away." He said abruptly. Raven raised her eyebrow.
"No." she replied, equally terse.
He tore his eyes off of the spot where her duplicate once stood and fixated on the one he was stuck with. His eyes went from being silent and mourning to ablaze as he felt the fire of pent up rage flare up inside of him.
"So now you care, huh?" he inquired, his voice quaking.
"What are you talking about?" Raven inquired, keeping her voice calm, but secretly alarmed at how quickly and intensely his anger came.
"Don't act like you don't know!" Beast Boy snarled, advancing towards Raven and putting his face inches from hers. "You've got your reasons for hating me, huh?! Well, I've got my reasons for trying to make you stop!"
Raven remained steadfast, carefully looking over what Beast Boy had just said, never breaking eye contact with him. So, this wasn't an elaborate practical joke?
"Explain yourself." She said firmly.
Beast Boy bared his teeth and had to stop himself from growling.
"Did you hear what I just said?! You said it yourself! You hate me! Well, I wanted to make you stop, but I guess not even magic can give me a break, you heartless, bullying, termite-headed-"
Raven's eyes flashed white, but Beast Boy was too angry to care.
(Yeah, that's right. Go ahead and beat me up. That's your response to everything I do anyway. See if I care.) he thought.
To his confusion, he instead felt a cool, relaxing light upon both of his cheeks. It was so gentle and unexpectedly pleasant that he stopped mid-rant.
"Calm down." Raven said shortly.
Raven let the soft light fade when she saw Beast Boy's constricted face loosen a little.
"Start from the beginning. When did you start thinking that I disliked you?"
Beast Boy couldn't believe it. Raven…was actually listening to him? Well, it was probably just because she felt bad.
"Why should I tell you?" he said resentfully.
"Because I need to know how all of this got started… and I feel guilty for hurting your feelings."
"Oh, now you feel guilty!" Beast Boy laughed bitterly, turning away from her and walking over to his bed.
"Why do you say it like that? Beast Boy, you never once told any of us that something I was doing was upsetting you, or even that you were upset at all."
Beast Boy had to admit that she was right about that. He had kept all of his anger inside until now.
"So, enlighten me." Raven said, striding over to him and sitting down on his mattress beside him, removing her hood.
Beast Boy, quite shocked at her sudden warmth, cleared his throat noisily and opened his mouth, only to close it again. He looked into Raven's face, finding it frustratingly non-revealing.
"Well… I guess it all started about a week ago. I mean, it was nothing special, you just said something about me being loud or annoying or whatever, but I started to think that I wasn't anything more than a nuisance to you. It was like, the straw that broke the camel's back, or something like that…"
"Why didn't you tell me that I was making you feel this way?" Raven inquired.
"Because I didn't think you would care. I thought you'd call me overdramatic or one of those other fancy words you use."
"Well let me be the first to tell you that wouldn't happen. I'd be lying if I said that none of the things you do irritate me, and I find it prevalent to let you know when something is. But if you begin to feel chastised, you have to let me know. Sometimes, I say things that are unreasonably harsh. Like when I was arguing with…myself, earlier. Implying that I hated you was disrespectful and, frankly, chimerical."
"Chimera-cal?" Beast Boy echoed, not exactly sure what that last word meant.
"Chimerical, it means ridiculous, outrageous, insane..."
"Oh."
"So, is that what all of this has been about? You thought I didn't like you?"
"Not even that. Even if you didn't like me, I expected you to at least respect me as a team mate. But it seems like you don't even do that."
Raven frowned. This went much deeper than she thought.
"Well, you're wrong." She clarified. A few moments of silence proved that this wasn't an adequate response.
"Beast Boy, do I have to remind you that you were an instrumental part in both the takedown of Trigon and The Brotherhood of Evil? Without you, who knows where I'd be? I admit, you have a very…unorthodox way of handling certain things, but just because they're different from the way I might do it doesn't make them any less effective."
Raven, in a moment of cautious kindness, placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.
"No matter how many times I tell you otherwise, don't ever forget that I care about you. If I hurt your feelings, tell me. I apologize for making you feel this distraught."
Beast Boy looked at her and managed a small smile. "Thanks. I guess it was silly to think like that." Raven gave him another squeeze on the shoulder and managed a tiny, affectionate grin as well.
"Now, I think we should clear the air. How did you manage to use magic?" Raven asked.
"Um… promise you'll believe me here? I mean, this is gonna sound kind of… chimerical." Beast Boy said, his sense of humor finally returning.
"I'm willing to stretch my suspension of disbelief." Raven said, giving him a smile at his well-timed joke.
"Well, last night, I stuck around the Middle Eastern exhibit, cause I wasn't feeling all that great after you said something about me having no brain… anyway, I sat down near this bajillion year old Persian vase and accidently knocked it off of its stand, but I caught it. I put it back up there, but…" Beast Boy paused to inhale and exhale deeply. "Ho boy, this sounds so stupid out loud. Promise you'll believe me, 'cause I swear this is the truth."
"I've had a conversation with myself today, I'm ready to believe anything." Raven replied matter-of-factly.
"Okay… um… when I touched the vase, out pops this…sigh….genie. Yeah, yeah, I know, but it's true. Anyway, Ali Baba grants me three wishes, so I wished for you to stop insulting me. And, Presto, you can't."
"I suppose that explains why I was having trouble speaking this morning."
"Yeah, well, you couldn't insult me, but I forgot to specify you actually liking me." Beast Boy said somberly. Raven frowned.
"You didn't need to wish for that." The sorceress insisted.
"I was psyched out at the time, and Ikraam, the genie, I mean, says that he can't actually make you like me, so he speaks up about a Plan B. Me, being the genius that I am, tell him to go ahead and do it without listening to what it actually is."
"And that's where alternate Raven comes in." Raven concluded. She then looked about the room cautiously. "Come to think of it, where did she go?"
"I sent her back. It ain't fair to keep someone who already exists here around like some sort of pet. Besides, she needed to go back and talk to her parents."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, for one thing, they never told her about who her Dad was, or where her powers came from. She didn't even know what her powers were."
Raven gave Beast Boy a thoroughly shocked look.
"I…um…wow. That's unfortunate. So…you've used up all of your wishes, then?"
"Yeah. Ironic, huh? I use my last wish to get rid of the other two."
"That isn't uncommon. In fact, a number of Djinn add side effects to their wishes out of spite, they find being subservient to humans demeaning."
"Hold on, how do you-"
"Beast Boy, I'm a sorceress. I'm quite savvy with all manner of supernatural creatures."
Raven looked away. "Djinn are only summoned when those with powerful, soul-consuming needs touch their vessels. I had no idea you cared so much about… well, me caring about you. And…I'm truly sorry." Raven practically whispered the last part of her phrase.
Beast Boy felt his entire body become lighter when he heard this.
"My wish has been granted." He said, and as Raven turned to face him, he beamed and grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. Raven went rigid, but eventually allowed herself to unfurl and hugged him back.
*A/N* End of the first story. What's next, you may be asking? It's up to you! Send me an idea, and I'll be happy to discuss it with you. The story is fueled by you guys' ideas, so don't be afraid! *A/N*
