Doppelganger

I don't own the Titans

Author's note: Hurray! We've finally reached the interesting/actiony bits!

Chapter 5 – Enter the Love Interest

The leftovers made Dorinda sick all the next morning. Apparently the reason the leftovers had been in the back of the fridge was because they were going bad. Dorinda had to make several trips to the bathroom that morning to get the stuff out of her system. Thankfully she was able to go to the bathroom without being seen. The Titans had left extremely early that morning to go rescue some girl in a canyon. Doppelganger hadn't really thought much of the rescue…that is until the Titans came home with an unexpected friend.

The girl was fairly pretty. She was blonde with enormous blue eyes. Beast Boy seemed completely taken by her, so naturally Doppelganger hated her right away. From what Doppelganger over heard of their conversations this girl's name was Terra, and she didn't have a home for some reason or another. A few recaps of what happened at the canyon led Doppelganger to believe that the girl possessed some sort of rock powers.

The girl was disgusting. She was dirty and she burped loudly. Doppelganger found her completely repulsing. After eating most of the Titans' food and taking a shower the girl began washing her clothes in the sink. Near Doppelganger's hiding place, the Titans huddled up. They were discussing Terra.

"Well she seems comfortable." Raven said, with apparent distaste flowing into her comment. As much as Doppelganger hated Raven, she agreed with her about this girl. Terra was much too intruding.

Beast Boy ignored her comment and said, "Wonder how long it's been since she had a decent place to crash for the night?" His face was riddled with concerned as he watched Terra curl up on the couch and fall asleep.

"She needs more than just a place to crash." Robin replied

"She needs a home." Starfire said, agreeing with him.

After a moment, Beast Boy cautiously brought out a very interesting suggestion, "Why not our home?" Doppelganger's heart fell at the sound of the proposal. 'How could he even suggest that? He doesn't even know her!' Her anger burned as Starfire eagerly agreed with him. Raven, who seemed at the moment the only sane one on the team to Doppelganger, expressed immediate contempt for letting this girl permanently stay in their home.

Cyborg tried to reason with Raven, "She would make a good addition to the team."

Robin began to consider it, "Maybe. Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow. We need to see what she can do." Doppelganger's boiled beneath her skin. She'd hoped that Robin would be the voice of reason. She loved Beast Boy, but it was apparent to her that this Terra girl was merely using him to get a free place to stay. Not only did she hate this new girl, but there was another wrinkle in her plan. Now instead of just being able to take Raven's place, she'd have to figure out what to do with this new girl instead. It was obvious that Beast Boy cared a lot for Terra, but did he still feel the same old way about Raven? And if this girl did become a permanent member of the team, whose place should Dorinda take? If she took Terra's place, there was always the possibility that Beast Boy would fall back into his old habits with Raven…but if she were to take Raven's place, there was the chance that he would forget about Raven entirely. It seemed that only time would tell her which person's life she should take over. Until then, her attention would be divided. She would have to watch Raven, Terra, and Beast Boy, not to mention she still needed to find the perfect place to bury the body of the girl she decided to kill. 'This is so aggravating' she thought as she watched the other Titans leave the room and turn out the lights. 'If only she'd never come…so much for a quick and clean transition…'

Several hours passed by. In the dark the green glowing numbers of the digital kitchen clock said 12:30. The new wrinkle in Doppelganger's plan was keeping her awake. The more she tried not worrying about it, the more she did worry about it. She couldn't stop thinking who she should become. Either way, she needed to know more about Terra...and the best way to do that was to touch her…to become her. From where she was sitting, it seemed that the girl was a fairly heavy sleeper; she could easily touch her and crawl back into her hiding space.

Dorinda gently loosened the panel, and crawled out of the wall. The blonde girl sleeping on the couch didn't move as Doppelganger moved in close enough to touch the her. Dorinda's hands longed to wrap themselves around Terra's slender neck. Dorinda's heart ached to rip the life out of the intruder. For a moment, she almost gave into her instincts…for a moment, she almost forgot herself, and killed the blonde. That would have been a fatal mistake. Not just for Terra, but for herself as well. She pulled her hands back toward herself. The sleeping form of the girl still didn't move. The fall of her chest was even. Oh, how Dorinda wished that she could kill her right now and take her place…the instinct was so strong…but she had to stay focused, she couldn't make that mistake.

Ever so gently she reached down and clasped the girl's wrist. Suddenly the shock of information struck her. NAME: Tara Markov, CODE NAME: Terra, OCCUPATION: Vagabond, FAVORITE COLOR: Red, FAVORITE FOOD: Pizza, FRIENDS: None, LOOKS UP TO: Brion Markov (brother), LIKES TO: Listen to music…

Suddenly Terra's eyes flew open, and Doppelganger jumped backwards into the shadows. "Hello?" Terra said weakly, sitting up. "Is anyone there?" When there wasn't an answer, Terra shivered. Without a word she got up and began to put on her regular clothes. After getting dressed she headed for the door. Dorinda's heart jumped in her chest. 'She's leaving! She's actually leaving! This is so perfect! I can take her place as soon as she leaves and no one will know the difference…sure, there is always the hazard of her coming back, but I'm sure I'll be able to take care of her if she does…' Terra closed the door behind her and walked down to the water. She sat down and began using her powers to skip rocks. Dorinda's face fell. Terra wasn't leaving she was just going for a walk. Before her disappointment had time to sink in, Beast Boy walked in carrying a set of blankets. Her heart leaped in pleasure from seeing him, he looked so handsome in the half light…that is until he spoke.

"Hey, Terra! I…I thought you might want a blanket." Disappointment fell on his face as found the couch empty. Frustrated, he dropped the blankets on the couch. He walked outside in hopes of not feeling so stupid for coming to see her in the middle of the night. "What was I thinking?" he said to himself.

Dorinda couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked so upset that Terra wasn't there. She almost wanted to transform into Terra just to make him feel better, but she knew that she couldn't. If she did, there was always the chance that the real Terra would walk in, and then that would be distressing. Her love for him swelled inside of her. She couldn't leave him alone when he was feeling so down…even if he didn't know she was there. Dorinda silently followed him outside.

It was a full moon, and in the half light she felt exposed. While it would be hard to see her in the half light, there was still enough light for her to be slightly detectable, she had to be careful. She watched as Beast Boy sat down next to Terra with a half smile on his face. "So I'm guessing the couch was too lumpy?" Doppelganger crouched behind a brush just a few feet from where Terra sat. Terra's only reply was using her powers to skip a stone across the surface of the water. Beast Boy grabbed up a stone and attempted to impress her by skipping it, but he failed, and the rock splashed loudly in the water. Terra giggled at him and used her powers to drop another rock into his hand. Doppelganger's hatred for the girl grew, 'How dare she laugh at him.' Beast Boy successfully skipped the second stone, and playfully flexed his muscles. Dorinda can't help but smile at his lightheartedness. Terra and Beast Boy made a few silly faces at each other in the spirit of things, but after a minute they both grow tired of their childish game. Terra looked out over the bay once more and said, "I can't stay."

Beast Boy looked hurt upon hearing the statement, "Why not?"

"Places to go, people to see." Terra said. It was an obvious excuse and Doppelganger knew it. She knew Terra's secret…'Oh, Terra, you're making this too easy for me' Dorinda thought to herself as she thought of the numerous ways that she could use the secret against her rival.

Beast Boy didn't notice Terra's uncertainty and continued to try and convince her to stay, "Come on. You know you want to stay. We've got free cable, indoor plumbing, and all the tofu you can eat." Doppelganger was a little annoyed at his persistence, but it was one of the things she loved about him. He didn't give up easily…it was one of the things that fascinated her about him.

Terra giggled at Beast Boy's last statement, "Tofu? You sure know how to charm a girl." Apparently Beast Boy's persistence fascinated Terra as well, because she finally gave in, "I—I guess I could hang out for one more day."

Beast Boy's joy overcame him and he jumped up, "Awesome! We're gonna have so much fun! And I can't wait to see what your powers do when you really cut 'em loose."

Terra panicked and her powers lifted the rock that Beast Boy was sitting on and tipped him into the bay. He came up sputtering and spitting water. Terra was horrified, "Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm so stupid! Don't tell! Please don't tell!"

Beast Boy looked at the blonde with caring eyes, "Terra, its okay. You can't totally control your powers. So what?"

Terra was still afraid, "Promise you won't tell anybody—ever!" She remembered what had happened last time someone had realized she couldn't control herself, and it was still haunting her…she hadn't meant to hurt them…it was an accident.

"Sure." Beast Boy said, agreeing to not tell a soul.

His response didn't give her enough reassurance, "Swear it!" Terra said, her voice raising a little.

"Okay! Okay! I promise." He said, not quite sure at why she was so upset, "But really, it's no big deal. If my friends knew, they'd still like you."

Terra pulled her knees closer to her chest and turned her face away from him, "You just don't understand."

Beast Boy's face filled with concern. From the bushes Doppelganger continued to watch. 'He might not understand Terra, but I do. I understand you all too well.' She thought to herself with an evil grin. Because Terra couldn't control her powers she would be the perfect target. Doppelganger couldn't imitate super powers, but it would be so easy to imitate a person whose powers just wouldn't work sometimes. It was all too perfect, and Terra was making it all too easy.