A/N: Thanks to leathman and Dextra2 for reviewing!

The following chapter is an example of how I have changed certain characters for Diamond Earth, so although the two girls in this story should be familiar to anyone who knows the Teen Titans, keep an open mind - they're not entirely the same.


Let It Snow

"It hasn't snowed yet."

Karen Beecher looked up from braiding her thick curly hair to stare at her friend. "So?"

Antonia Monetti looked mournful. "I want it to snow."

"Why?" Karen fastened her braid with a bright yellow elastic. "You have snow in New Zealand."

"But not at Christmas. In New Zealand Christmas is in summertime. We never have white Christmases."

"Toni, white Christmases only make it wet and slushy and difficult to go anywhere."

"Aren't you the romantic," Toni said dryly.

"No, I'm practical." Karen smoothed out the unbraided sections of her hair with a comb. "Trust me, snowy Christmases are never as fun as the movies make them out to be."

"Just like having special abilities, huh?" Toni said, absent-mindedly stroking her silver-tinged skin. Karen sighed.

"Oh, Toni," she said, coming over to put an arm around her friend. "At least you can say it's in your genes. Not like me." She let the jacket around her shoulders slip down to reveal a pair of translucent insect wings. "I had to get stung by a bee that escaped from the animal testing section of S.T.A.R. Labs, simply because I didn't listen when Mom told me not to go into the woods."

"But you love exploring the woods," Toni pointed out.

"Not anymore." Karen shook her head. "My point is, it's my fault I'm like this – but it's not your fault that an alien impregnated your mother."

"It's not your fault either," Toni told her. "That you got stung by that bee, I mean."

Karen smiled wanly. "Thanks, Toni." Then she brightened. "It's not all bad, though. Now that my wings are fully grown, I can actually fly."

"Yep," Toni agreed. "And I can do just about anything with my silver plasma." She held up her hands and generated some to prove her point. "Now if only those idiots in school would realize that we're not freaks just because we can do things they can't. I can't wait till I'm old enough to join the Justice League – then we'll see who's laughing."

"Ew, you want to hang out with a bunch of adults in space?" Karen crinkled her nose.

"Well, no one makes fun of them for having superpowers," Toni huffed. "Why are we any different?"

Karen looked thoughtful. "I think it's because we were both perfectly normal until we turned sixteen – when you turned silver and I got stung. And all our family and friends knew us as ordinary girls until we became…"

"Not so ordinary?" Toni suggested.

"Yeah." Karen nodded. "And I bet it doesn't help that we actually look different – not like the folks in the League."

"I don't know…Hawkgirl has wings, and the Martian Manhunter is, well…"

"He's a shapeshifter," Karen pointed out. "He can pretend to be an ordinary guy. And Hawkgirl's from another planet – she has every reason to have those wings. And her wings are pretty, feathered bird wings – like an angel's – I mean, who'd like insect wings better than bird wings?"

"I do," said Toni. "I always thought birds were bullies, anyway – it's insects who are underappreciated," she said seriously.

Karen grinned. "Have I ever told you I love your sense of humor?"

"No, but thank you."

Karen grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at Toni. "Idiot," she said fondly.

"Look who's talking."

"Seriously, though," said Karen, "the League?"

Toni shrugged. "Why not? Now that I've got these powers, I might as well use them – and use them in some way that won't get me alienated from everyone I know."

"Your dad still isn't speaking to you, huh?" Karen was sympathetic. Toni looked away.

"What did you think? After finding out I'm not actually his daughter, what can he say?" She sighed. "He's not happy with my mum, either. I tell you, it's a relief to be in America with you for Christmas. Thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome." Karen patted Toni's shoulder. "He'll come around, Toni, I'm sure."

"How are your parents taking it?" Toni asked.

"Um." Karen hesitated. "All right, I guess…Dad's still trying to file a lawsuit against S.T.A.R. Labs – he even went to the Supreme Court last week to plead his case."

"Can he do that?" Toni wondered. "I mean, I know he's a Senator and all, but S.T.A.R. Labs works directly under the U.S. government."

"Who knows?" Karen sighed. "Mom's learned to be okay with…with what I am – but Dad still hasn't accepted it, and I don't think he's going to anytime soon."

"He's still speaking to you, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he talks – but it's not the same as before, you know?" Karen asked. "He doesn't look at me the same – he avoids touching me, and he tries to pretend not to see my wings." She looked sad. "I'm pretty sure he likes to think his daughter died when she was sixteen."

Now it was Toni's turn to comfort her friend; she hugged Karen tightly, both of them understanding the pain of being rejected by their fathers. Toni then decided to change the subject.

"Have you decided what you're going to study in college next year?"

"Biological engineering and quantum physics." Karen replied. "I could find out more about the changed genetics of the bee that stung me, so I could learn more about myself and what I can do."

"Ugh," Toni said. "Complicated calculations that'll go straight over my head."

"Ha, ha," Karen said dryly. "What about you?"

Toni shrugged. "I don't know…maybe fashion?"

"Is that even a college course?"

"Sure it is!" said Toni. "I could be a designer, and I wouldn't have to go out in public to work – so there's no chance of people gawking at my skin. And it would be easy to take time off for the League."

"Point," Karen conceded. After a pause, she added, "You know, there's another alternative to the League, if you're serious about going into the superhero biz."

"Oh?"

"The Teen Titans are a team too, and they're around our age – and they're based on Earth."

"In Jump City, right?" Toni nodded. "Yeah, I've seen the news. But it's a little far from New Zealand, and they don't have Javelins."

"Maybe," Karen admitted. "But if I were ever to join a superhero team – and I'm not saying I will – it'd be the Titans. I think I'd be more comfortable with them than the League. The Titans are like the opposite of the League; Nightwing and Wonder Girl are the only ones who look normal – the rest are obviously different, but none of them hide or are ashamed of what they are. That's something I'd like to be able to do."

"You and me both," Toni agreed. Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief. "Tell you what – we'll both become Teen Titans and save our idiot peers from disaster, then we'll rub it in their faces that we 'freaks' are the reason they're still alive. Deal?"

Karen laughed, her wings waving gracefully. Toni smiled, and then she started laughing too – and then they were both giggling happily, two girls bonded by their differences and both determined to overcome the obstacles in their remarkable lives.

"Toni." Karen nudged her friend. "It's snowing."

Toni glanced out the window to see soft flakes of white brushing the glass on their way to the ground, and she grinned widely.

"Awesome."


A/N: Right, let's clear up some things. First off, for those who aren't familiar with these characters, Karen Beecher and Toni Monetti are the Teen Titans Bumblebee and Argent.

Next: differences with their classic versions. In the comics, it was Toni's father who was the U.S. Senator, and she lived in New Jersey, not New Zealand. However, since in the Teen Titans cartoon Argent lives in New Zealand, that's where I have put her; and Karen became the daughter of a Senator in New Jersey. The origin of Toni's powers and the effect it had on her skin is unchanged; but Karen is closer to her animated incarnation than her comic counterpart, and so, unlike the latter (who invented a suit that enabled her to shrink), her powers derive from the sting of a gentically modified bee - an origin I tailored to fit animated Karen.

TOMORROW: Christmas 2002 marks the Arrival of another time traveler.