A/N: I don't own the TT or YJ.
Eris: Yeah, I tried to make everything as believable as I could regarding the reality of cartoons. And yes, he can turn into a Martian. And here's another update, hot off the press.
To all reading this: This will soon lead into the final arc. It's been real, everyone, but this may come to a close soon.
"Wait, you're a Martian?" Superboy demanded.
"I think I get it. He can turn into a Martian, right?" M'gann concluded.
"Yeah, remember that time I joined you in the mission? When I pulled you aside during the blackout, I got a good sample of your DNA. That's how I can turn into one of your kind, as well as a few alien species," Shiftling explained. "You can ask any other questions later. As for now, we should probably get everything squared away," the teen recommended.
After freeing Strange and Waller, the three heroes scanned the complex and herded the inmates together, each one receiving a new collar if needed.
"Well, that was fun. I might come back again," the green teen joked once everyone was back in their cells.
"Well, I must admit, you three cleaned up nice. It pains me to admit this, but I couldn't have kept this under control without you," Amanda offered when the three met in her office.
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
"Told ya."
The two teens and Amanda glared at Shiftling, who wore a rather smug grin from the praise.
"What? I did tell her."
"Now that the storm has passed, I guess it's only fair to let you go. Your sentence would have ended in two days, so there's no point in arguing to keep you here," Waller stated as she signed a few papers.
"I appreciate it. But before I go, can I have a quick word with someone?" the green changeling asked.
"There's nothing stopping you, just take these forms with you to show the guard when you head out." The signed papers were handed over to Shiftling, who folded them and slipped it into his pocket.
He had missed his old suit. It was nice to have the familiar texture against his skin again.
"Thank you. I guess I'll be going." Shiftling left the office and found his way back to his old cell, which was only occupied by Icicle Junior now.
"Hey man, you awake?"
The inmate, who had been laying on his back on the top bunk, sat up and stared at his former cellmate.
"What do you want?" he demanded. "You here to trick me again?"
"Actually, I wanted to make you an offer. You said you have a few years left in your sentence. When you get out, would you like a new team?"
"What're you saying?" Junior hopped from the bed and walked to the bars, where the two stood face to face.
"I'm saying you have a chance to dump Onslaught and try something else. I know your dad's the big boss around here and all, but you're not your dad. I haven't known you too long, but you seem like a good guy who fell under bad circumstances."
"I-I dunno man. Even if I were to outright accept your offer, there's no way I could keep it from the others, and if I turned my back on Onslaught, they'd probably come after me or something."
He wasn't taking the offer, but he had yet to suggest he was going to decline it.
"Look, when you get out of here, make your way to Jump City. It'll be too easy to find us when you get there, but if not, feel free to make a small disturbance. I'll let the others know we're friends and I'll see if I can't get you in the team."
"Why are you doing this? I'm still a criminal, and you just betrayed me, my dad, and everyone else who was part of the plan," Junior asked.
"Like I said, you seem like a good guy who just had bad blood. You don't have to choose now, but at least sleep on it," the green teen replied before walking away. With that, Junior was left with his thoughts in an empty cell.
The trip to the main entrance was actually entertaining. A bunch of the prisoners called him out as a traitor, which he couldn't help but laugh off for some reason. The final checkout was well organized, presumably because Waller had sent a message regarding the changeling's dismissal.
"Hey, need a lift?" M'gann and Superboy were hanging by Bioship, not looking to be in any hurry to leave.
"Sure. But don't you have anything more important to be doing?" the changeling asked as he walked up the ramp and into the ship. A pole emerged from the floor, which grew into a chair with tendrils that were waiting for him to sit down. He set himself in the offered seat and let the sentient ship do the rest.
"Well, KF and Artemis are likely at each other's throats again, with Robin doing his best to separate them. And Aqualad took a trip to Atlantis, so that just leaves us to entertain ourselves until we get a mission alert," Miss Martian explained. Shiftling felt for her, given he used to be the biggest source of misery for Raven and sometimes Robin back at the tower.
"That, and we could use a break after what happened last week," Superboy added.
The trip back to the tower was surprisingly fast, and Superboy was just finishing the story of how KF got himself stuck inside a vending machine while Robin had to find a way to get him out without any onlookers.
"So you mean to tell me that after all that, you just up and smashed the vending machine and got him out?"
"Yep. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest."
"Dude, reminds me of the time I told the others, 'I'm not smart enough to know everything, but I'm dumb enough to try anything'."
"Well, Wally's...unique...way of thinking has actually proven useful on a few occasions, so I can't actually say anything against that." M'gann admitted as the Bioship touched down on the roof of the tower.
"By the way, you never did explain just how you can turn into a Martian. I get that you used her DNA, but, how?" Superboy asked.
"Honestly, I don't fully get it myself. I wasn't even certain that DNA samples would actually work for extraterrestrial species. It was more of a hunch based on instincts," the teen explained as five figures rushed across the roof towards the ship.
"Yo B!" Cyborg cried as he wrapped his large arms around his friend. "It's been a hot minute, hasn't it?"
"Sure has, Cy. Any chance you're planning on letting me breathe?"
"Crap, sorry," the metal man offered before letting go. Shiftling took many deep breaths, some of which were comically exaggerated, before addressing the others.
"Good to have you back green bean," Jinx offered, which Robin seconded in a more formal manner.
"Yes, it is good to have you back. And it is good to see you two again," Starfire declared with a wave at the two visitors.
"Man, how often can you say you've got two and a half aliens on the same roof?" the green teen joked.
"Pretty much every other day at Mount Justice," Superboy said with a shrug, which was accompanied by an agreeing nod from M'gann.
"Anyway, we should get going. It was nice seeing you guys again," Miss Martian offered as she and her teammate returned to the ship, which quickly took off into the sky.
"So, what've I missed?"
"Not much, really," Cyborg started as the six walked into the tower.
"So, Adonis really made a suit just to fight me, only for Jinx to just...bad luck it apart?" The green teen laughed.
"Yep. Then Raven gave him a good thrashing," the pink haired sorceress added with a point.
"Man, I would have loved to see that." The comment got a smug grin from the half demon.
"Anyway, how was prison Beast Boy? Was it hard?" Raven asked.
"It was...interesting. Let's see, I made a friend, fought a few bullies, and stopped a major breakout. On a related note, I'm thinking of changing my name to 'Shiftling'. It's what I've used on a few occasions, and I think it's more fitting than 'Beast Boy'."
"You sure? After all, that's what we've always known you as?" Cyborg replied.
"Yeah, but it can't be too bad. After all, I'm pretty certain none of us are using our real names, save Star and maybe Raven. By that logic, a different name is nothing new to a superhuman society like ours."
"Well, I guess you're right. But it'll be hard to get used to," Cyborg muttered.
"Well then, Shiftling, what're you going to do now that you're back? The media will be out for you once you show your face in public, and a green rhino or dinosaur is going to get questioned," Raven asked, being the first to use his new name.
"I guess I'll just cross that bridge when I get there," he calmly replied, then went to the fridge and pulled out some snacks. "I must say, it's nice to have some choice in my meals again," he stated as he whipped up something.
"Will things go back to the normal now?" Starfire asked.
"I'd like that."
As things would turn out, going back to normal would be oddly easy. Sure, there were a few scares when the others forgot their green teammate had returned, but within a week they had gotten accustomed to his presence. Not there weren't still surprises, as his first fight back on the team would prove.
Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload had yet again broken out of their specialized containment cells and were going on a rampage in the city.
"Raven, Bea...Shiftling, you two take Plasmus. Starfire, you and Cyborg will go deal with cinderblock. Jinx and I will deal with Overload. Sound good?"
No one had any objections, so the three teams broke off and went to take care of the three villains.
"Remember the last time we had to fight Plasmus?" the green Tamaranean asked as the two flew into the city.
"Yeah, it was the first time I saw you use your brain," Raven joked, which got a chuckle from her teammate.
The giant mass of sludge came into view, and the Titans quickly went on the offensive.
"I'm going to try that again," Shiftling warned. His musculature drastically changed as a new functionality was added to his system. The hairs on his arms stood up straight, then the hair on his head. He quickly closed the distance and was about to strike when the monster threw a nearby car at him.
"Shiftling, look out!" Raven shouted as she used her magic to change the vehicle's trajectory. Even with her assistance, he had to jump back to avoid getting grazed by the car.
"Looks like he's learning, or just got lucky," Shiftling declared, then made another rush. Just like the previous attempt, the villain grabbed a nearby vehicle and threw it at the approaching teen, who dodged it and kept advancing.
"Try to hold him, or keep anything throwable out of reach!" the changeling ordered. At his request, his teammate formed a barrier around the sludge monster, holding him in place just long enough for her teammate to jump in and release the giant shock.
The sludge that composed the villain lost its grip and came off in large globs until all that was left was the unconscious host in a puddle of gunk.
"Do you realize how much time you would have saved us over the years if you used that attack the first time we dealt with him?" Raven asked while wrapping the host in a black band of magic.
"Yeah, but let's discuss that later. Are you okay with taking him back alone, or do you want me to stick around just in case he wakes up?"
"It should be fine. Besides, the others probably need help," she replied. The two made a quick plan regarding where to meet back up, and Shiftling flew to where the reports of Cinderblock had come from. It was pretty hard to miss the sights and sounds of the battle, which was going pretty well. Starfire had apparently remembered the starbolt fist, which gave the two powerhouse titans an edge in the fight.
Still, he landed near Cyborg, who was charging up his sonic cannon.
"Hey, do you two have this under control? If so, I'll head over and see if Robin and Jinx need a hand," he said.
"Yeah, we got this, see ya later." The mechanical Titan sent a blue energy blast at the behemoth, which stumbled back at the impact.
Once again the green teen took off, this time flying towards the last two teammates. He found the two facing an unusually large electricity entity.
"He's a bit bigger than usual. Looks like he finally started eating his vegetables," Shiftling joked.
"He must've gotten into the major powerlines for the stores," Robin suggested.
"Jinx, can you tear up the pipelines?" Shiftling requested while pulling Robin out of Overload's reach. At his request, she sent hex after hex through the group, ripping up the asphalt and exposing three water pipes.
"Good job, now get back," he ordered. The two ran back, and Shiftling used one of his newfound powers to move the water through the air and straight at his target. As expected, the electrical villain shrunk under the water until all that was left was a red computer chip.
"Umm, what was that?" Robin asked as he and Jinx returned to their teammate.
"Martian genetics. Remember M'gann? Well, I ended up with a sample of her DNA when we first met," the green teen explained as he pocketed the chip.
"But, didn't you say earlier that you couldn't use female genetics because of incompatibility?"
"I lied, okay. I didn't want to replace Star as a Tamaranean, and that was the first excuse that came to mind," he explained as the other three Titan appeared. Raven had Cinderblock encased in her magic, and Cyborg was fiddling with his arm.
"Looks like we got the bad guys taken care of. That just leaves the reconstruction issue," Cyborg stated as he scanned the environment.
With a careful wave of his hand, Shiftling reconnected and realigned the pipes, then piled up as much of the rubble as he could in a large pile.
"Uh, S? You have something you wanna tell us?" the mechanical man asked when the changeling was finished.
"Martian genetics, M'gann from the other team, I lied about gender incompatibility so I wouldn't take Star's place on the team," he rattled off, counting each on his fingers.
"Soooo, you're a Martian at times?" Raven asked, pretty incredulously.
"Yep. Still have a lot to learn, though."
"Well, I think this is most grand. How many times have we needed the power a Martian could provide?" Starfire stated.
"Honestly, I have to agree. This new powerset drastically expands the possibilities of the team's overall performance," Robin muttered with a chin rub.
"That's good and all, but shouldn't we be more concerned with getting these guys back to jail?" Shiftling asked.
"Oh, yeah. Let's get on that," Robin replied. Within the hour, all three villains were back where they belonged, and the six heroes were back at the tower.
"So, what can you do as a Martian?" Cyborg asked.
"So far I've gotten the hang of telepathic links with just me and a recipient, flight, and some shapeshifting. I don't know exactly how far I can push any of them, but I was going to start practicing soon."
"Just don't push it too hard," Robin suggested.
"Yeah yeah," the green teen replied before biting into an apple he got from the fridge. Once he got down to the core, he tossed it out and walked down to the training areas.
In the middle of the large room, he used his powers and completely shifted into a Martian for the second time. He gently rose into the air and flew in small circles just above the ground. As expected, flying as a Martian was different than flying as a Tamaranean. It wasn't hard to learn, and soon he was zooming from wall to wall. Satisficed with his progress, he touched down and focused on his left arm.
The flesh burbled and twisted as his fingers turned into long claws. Then, a slit formed in the webbing between the middle and ring fingers that extended beyond the palm and all the way to the elbow. One hand became two smaller hands with an arm that split at the joint.
"Weird," he muttered to himself.
The separation at the elbow quickly fused back together and rose up along the arm until his hand was just the way it was before. He then gave himself another pair of arms, then a second set of legs.
Change after change was made, each one more drastic than the last.
'Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Batman!' he thought to himself as two large, fleshy wings and pointy ears grew on his form.
The last thing he wanted to try for the night was telekinesis. He had used it once just the same day, but that time had been in an emergency. Would the lack of urgency cause him to lose the ability?
Shiftling focused on a simple gadget lying around and tried to lift it. Slowly and slowly it rose until it was half a foot in the air.
"Not bad," a feminine voice stated. The object fell to the floor with a clatter when he turned to the source. In the doorway stood Raven, watching interestedly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she offered.
"It's fine. I was pretty much done anyway."
The green teen let his genome revert to that of his human form and approached the half demon.
"So, did you miss me?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Raven sighed, then gave a quiet chuckle. "You've asked that every day ever since you've gotten back. The answer isn't going to change."
"Really? I don't remember, what did you say last time?"
"Yes, I missed you," the empath replied with an amused and mock annoyed grin.
"Good. C'mon, I hear Robin and Star were going to watch a movie and I have a lot of party crashing to catch up on." He softly grabbed Raven's hand and dragged her upstairs.
She had to admit, she missed his energy.
A/N: Here we go! As I said earlier, the final arc of the story is coming up sooner than later. I hope you enjoyed the story. Leave a review and have a good day!