Disclaimer: I don't own the TT.
Where we left: "Pay no mind to that." Robin said directing his attention back to the 14 intruders in front of him "We want to know who are you, how did you get here and what do you want?"
The questioned team looked among themselves trying to find an explanation that could sound logical enough without actually revealing anything important; after a few seconds, all the eyes set on the leader, Derek.
"Me?!"
Now with the story…
The present is only the past of the future
Chapter 2:
The right place and the right time
"What are you guys thinking?" Derek asked, he didn't feel like talking to the Titans; even less if it was him who had to give them the explanations.
"You wanted to be the leader," The green-eyed redhead boy started "You have to act as one."
"I didn't want to be the leader Alex; it wasn't my decision." Derek retorted with a glare Alex could feel even through the shades "But anyway, I think I do a better job at this than you would ever do."
"If I was given a chance I-!" Alex was cut short, however, when someone put an arm in front of him to make him shut up; Alex turned to his side and found a dark-skinned teen looking seriously at him before he motioned to the other side of the room where the old Titans stood staring intently at them.
"This is not the time." The peacemaker said simply before turning to his leader "That goes for you too."
"Just keep him quiet and I'll do the same." Derek said making Alex want to reply, and he would have if it wasn't for the fact that his other teammate kept him in place with his extended arm.
"For a leader," Robin said, making the intruders look at him rather than the cloaked boy "You're quite impetuous."
"You should talk." Derek retorted crossing his arms over his chest while Robin frowned at the comment "You're in no position of calling me that."
"And you're in no position of talking back at me." The masked leader glared at the boy before him for a few seconds before continuing "Now answer my questions, one at a time; who are you?"
"The Teen Titans."
"Derek!" Derek's teammates exclaimed unbelieving; how could he just say it like that?
"What are you talking about?" Terra asked curiously "We are the Teen Titans."
"I told you they were clones!" BB said pointing at the intruders, but no-one really paid much attention to it.
"You're antiquities." Derek continued smirking "We come from the future, 20 years into the future actually."
"Derek, what are you trying to do?!" Beast Boy's clone asked standing in front of his leader "Don't you know that by doing this you're changing our future and our world? It'll be taken over by giant monkeys by the time we get back."
"If we ever want to get back we'll need their help, it was because of a teleporting machine we're here and it's through a teleporting machine we'll leave." The teen said simply.
"But now, because of this, maybe we won't have a future anymore." The green girl said standing by her brother's side.
"Ok, calm down everyone!" Cyborg yelled earning everyone's attention "Are you serious? You really are the future Titans?"
"We wouldn't lie about it." Assured the peacemaker nearing his leader "It's the whole truth."
"So…" Starfire started "You are our future family, yes?"
"Not really." The green-eyed blond boy spoke up "We're your protégés."
"You're our mentors." The pink-eyed boy continued "You teach us how to control our powers and abilities so we can protect Jump City."
"Really?" Asked Beast Boy "Cool! I never thought I could actually be an inspiration for anyone."
"You? Mr. 'Everyone-wants-to-be-me'?" Raven asked sarcastically "Life is full of surprises, don't you think?"
"You don't have the slightest idea." The little spiky-haired boy replied "But it's true, we're your apprentices."
"Aren't you too many for 6 people to handle?" Robin spoke up thoughtfully "As apprentices I mean."
"You six aren't the only ones training us; there are other six mentors living with us." Alex said crossing his arms over his chest.
"And no, we won't tell you who they are." The black-haired girl said before the old Titans could ask "We're giving away too much information already."
"All right, we'll accept that." Robin conceded with a nod "But now tell us, if you're from the future; what are you doing here?"
"It was an accident." The pink-haired girl said "We were playing on the roof and Tori accidentally hit Cyborg's teleporting machine with the basketball making it go crazy; then it stopped and Karla tried to turn it on, but then a portal opened and it brought us here."
"And what was my teleporting machine doing on the roof?" Asked Cyborg curiously not knowing why something as delicate as his new toy was in a place like the roof.
"You were trying to finally get it to work." The purple-haired girl answered quickly.
"What?!" The mechanic Titan yelled startling everyone in the room "You mean that in 20 years I will still be working on my machine? But how? It can't be possible! Please tell me you're joking!"
"I wish I was." The questioned girl replied with her gaze on the floor.
"I don't understand." Cyborg exhaled while rubbing his head "I ain't stupid, how can the machine not work after so many years of working on it."
"Let's say it's just prone to accidents." The little masked redhead said looking towards a couple of twins who tried to look as innocent as they could.
"But you don't have to worry about anything." The redhead girl said with a smile "I'm sure you'll get it to work soon."
"Yeah! You always can!" The smallest girl exclaimed clasping her hands together and smiling broadly, her smile was so charming it practically illuminated the whole room.
"Hey! Now I remember;" Cyborg started suddenly "You called me dad… Am I actually your dad?"
"Well! It's obvious she called you that!" The dark-skinned teen exclaimed taking the girl in his arms "She's Bumblebee's protégé; she's like a mother to her and you're like her dad. She's just a kid, what were you expecting?"
"Ok… I guess that makes sense." The so called 'dad' replied rubbing the back of his head, but at least, he now knew the name of another mentor who would live with them in a near future "Tell me little one, what's your name?"
"I'm Karla." The girl answered happily but still feeling a little confused by what was happening, however, she had to follow the game the others were playing or she might get in trouble.
"How old are you?" Cyborg continued asking nearing her so she could feel more secure around him.
"I'm six years old." Karla answered counting her years with her fingers.
"And what's your battle name?"
"She doesn't have one yet." The brown-eyed bald boy who seemed to be her brother answered for her "And I'm sorry but we aren't telling you our alias either; it's something we better keep in secret."
"That's weird." BB said amused "Usually one tries to hide his real identity from the others and you're doing it the other way around."
"We have our reasons, trust me."
"And what's your name anyway?" Robin asked the boy who still had Karla in his arms.
"I'm Adam." Adam answered plainly.
"He's my brother and he's 16 years old." Karla continued for her brother while hugging him with one arm.
"Siblings?" Raven asked with a quirked eyebrow "I guess it's no surprise, considering the way you've been acting towards her. And I bet they're not the only ones related in your team, am I right?"
"Unlike you who were born with your powers by inheritance we obtained ours before our parents planned on having us because of you." The little spiky-haired boy apparently changed a little the conversation directing his speech to Raven, it's obvious the reply was specifically for her, he then directed his attention to the rest of Raven's team "Your powers are great, but being exposed to them since before we even existed altered our parents' DNA and made us what we're now. If it wasn't because you once saw Derek using his powers you would have never started training new Titans to replace you."
"So that's the reason for your powers to be so much like mine." Raven said understanding what the boy was saying "Because my powers were practically transferred to you because your parents were exposed a little too much to my energy."
"Exactly." The boy said with a nod not believing she had actually believed his lie "The same happened with all of us and, as family, it just had to be the same for most of us. Same family equals same powers."
"So you're all family?" Asked Terra not quite understanding, Derek shook his head, catching up with his teammate's plan.
"Not all of us are related but our parents are very close friends, it seems they were in the wrong place at the wrong time… Or maybe the right place at the right time, depending on how you see it."
"And you're the leader because you were the first one to be found?" Robin asked.
"You could say so." Derek shrugged "I'm Derek by the way, 16 years old."
"And I'm his sister!" The purple haired purple-eyed girl exclaimed raising her hand, smiling back at Derek "My name is Emily and I'm 11 years old."
"Stop saying that, he's not your brother." The spiky-haired masked boy said annoyed "I'm your only brother."
"Derek is my brother too Liam;" Emily started also annoyed "Whether you like it or not."
"Whatever."
"Whatever." Emily repeated before sticking out her tongue towards her brother "That headstrong over there is my brother William, he's 13 years old."
"I am confused." Starfire admitted "How can he be your brother and not be your brother at the same time?"
"It's a long story I'd rather not tell." William answered.
"Onto other things…" The female hazel-eyed redhead started trying to end the awkward moment "I'm Deah; I'm 13 years old and these guys by my side are my brothers."
"My name is-"
"I'm Alex." Alex interrupted his younger brother, receiving a through-mask glare to which he was already used "15 years old. And this twerp is 11 years old; his name is Ottopus."
"My name is Otto!" Otto yelled, how he would love to punch his brother at that very moment.
"Alex! That was just rude." Deah said pulling Otto close to her, Alex rolled his eyes at the comment but decided to keep quiet.
"Hey guys, quit grabbing all the attention." Joked the blue-eyed pinkette "I'm Jenn, proudly 13 years old."
"And I'm James, her 15 year old brother." The pink-eyed redhead boy continued smiling "And the blond guy over there is my best friend."
"You just had to say it." The green-eyed guy said shaking his head amusedly "I'm 15 years old and my name is Trevor and my siblings are right there."
"I'm Terry!" Exclaimed BB's clone after his older brother had introduced himself "And I'm 12 years old just like my twin sister Tori."
"Hi there." Tori waved, Cyborg turned to look at her.
"So, you're the Tori who damaged my machine?"
"Me?... Well, I…" Tori laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, she knew it was Karla who had turned it on but she was only 6; she was just being herself and it wouldn't have happened if the Teleporting Machine had stayed untouched "Heh, heh; I'm sorry?"
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore." Cyborg exhaled and turned to the last girl standing "What was your name again?"
"Vivian but you can call me Viv." The black haired blue-eyed girl answered "13 years old."
"Anything important we should know about you?" Asked Raven eyeing the girl, apparently she was the only one without a sibling.
"I'm Trevor's girlfriend." Viv replied nearing Trevor and taking his hand in hers, at this Tori rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest; action that went unnoticed by everyone except for Terra and Starfire who looked at each other curiously.
"Aren't you a little young for having a boyfriend?" Robin asked raising an eyebrow.
"The fact that you haven't started a relationship with anyone at this point of your life doesn't mean I have to do the same." Trevor replied not really trying to offend anyone "Besides, I've lived with her my whole life; it was almost too predictable."
"I thought you said you were not related and that your parents are nothing but friends." Starfire said confused.
"Yeah, that's what we said." Trevor acknowledged with a nod confused as well.
"Then, why are you saying you lived together your whole life?" Asked the Tamaranian "Did your parents share a home like we do?"
"…" Now, that had caught the new Titans by surprise; Trevor had just let something slip and Starfire showed just how much attention had she be paying to their tale.
"Good job Einstein." Will whispered to Trevor, but the blond boy didn't give him any kind of reply; he was just too shocked for that.
"Umm… Well… Well!" Tori exclaimed suddenly "The thing is that… She's adopted!"
"Adopted?!" Asked her team to Tori who looked back at them.
"C'mon guys, they've gotta know the truth about this, at least." The green girl replied "Mom and dad adopted her when her parents died the same day she got her powers; she's they only one who got her powers after she was born."
"And…" Robin started raising an eyebrow "Your parents adopted her so easily because they were friends with her parents and they were used to have super-powered kids already?"
"Yup!"
"Titans, gather up." Robin instructed walking out of the main room with his team right after him. Once the door closed itself after all of them were out, the Titans formed a small circle and bent a little to the front as to make the conversation more private "What do you think about this?"
"I don't believe them." Raven answered plainly "Some of the story sounds convincing enough but most part of it sounds plain weird."
"Well, our life isn't the most normal one either." Cyborg commented "But you're right, something doesn't sound right here; parts of their story are just unbelievable."
"I do believe the fact that they come from the future, because I have traveled through time before." Starfire spoke up "And I do believe some of them might have gotten their powers through their parents who were exposed to our abilities for a long period of time or perhaps because they were hit with them by accident."
"Maybe Derek and William for example." Terra said "Powers like Raven's, Star's or mine can be transferred that way, but how about Tori and Terry; the green ones?"
"What about them?" Beast Boy asked "I'm green too, it's probable they have my same powers."
"Exactly." Terra acknowledged "First off, your powers can't be transferred unless they received some of your DNA someway or another and second; they boy is your clone, he's actually you but 6 years younger. What are the chances of finding someone exactly like you who wears the same uniform and color skin?"
"He could have gotten the same illness I got and survived as I did." Beast Boy retorted, Cyborg decided to talk back to that.
"If I remember correctly, you said that your whole body turned green; you told me yourself your eyes turned from blue to green and Tori's and Terry's eyes are blue. But anyway, they aren't assured to have your same powers even if they do look like you."
"And they're not the only ones who look like one of us." Robin said "Emily looks like Raven."
"And Karla looks like Bumblebee." Beast Boy commented "And Otto is Speedy's twin, some of the other kids also remind me to some of our friends but that can be mere coincidence, right?"
"What are the odds Beast Boy?" Raven countered "I'm not too comfortable with the ideas I'm getting now but what if… They're more than what they seem?"
"You mean as in our future family?" Asked Starfire "But, they are so many."
"Well, there are quite a lot of siblings but let's take a look to Trevor." Cyborg said "He's the twins' big brother and he doesn't look like them in the least."
"And Derek." Robin continued "William said he wasn't part of his family even though Emily says he is. And Vivian didn't mention to have a sibling or something of the sort."
"Alex doesn't look a lot like his siblings either except for their hair color, and the only way you can tell Jenn and James are siblings, is because they have the same face structure." Terra added in her two cents "Besides, Alex seems to hold a grudge against Derek for being the leader."
"I recall Tori acting upset when Vivian mentioned her and Trevor's relationship." Starfire commented remembering Tori's reaction to the announcement "It seems she is not joyous with her brother dating her friend."
"Maybe those guys are actually street kids?" Raven proposed "I mean, that's not so unbelievable."
"You think they could actually call someone out of their family 'brother' or 'sister'?" Robin asked "That last part with Vivian made me wonder; she was the only one who was called adopted, if any of the others were adopted I think they would have been called as such."
"Tori was the one who said that and, as Star said, she doesn't seem to like Vivian much." Terra reminded them "I don't know, this is so confusing."
"I know, and we all know they're lying, but I can't blame them." Robin sighed before continuing "They know this will change the future and it'll affect them, maybe not the best way possible."
"But now that they're here, don't you think telling us lies will affect them in a worse way than telling us the truth?" BB asked earning everyone's attention "I mean, let's say Terry and Tori are actually my future children but I, right now, have the idea of them being street kids; making me want to look for them rather than actually worrying for have them."
"Maybe Beast Boy is right." Raven admitted a little surprised of herself for doing it so "One thing is for sure; the future will change no matter if they tell us the truth or not."
"You're right," Robin agreed with his teammate "By telling us lies, we're looking out for whatever they tell us; and, by telling us the truth, we might want to change it."
"But how do we know what's truth and what isn't?" Cyborg asked the question everyone had on their mind.
"I propose we watch them, spy them if you prefer." Robin replied "It'll help us know more about them and discover everything about the new Titans."
"It isn't the most ethical thing to do but, if that will help us understand the situation better, we might as well try it." Raven agreed with the plan, the rest of the Titans nodded in agreement.
"Ok then, they must not know we don't believe them." Robin said to his team "Act as if you believe what they're saying is true and let's see what exactly they want from us, we'll discuss about them later at the security room."
"Later when?" Asked Beast Boy checking his communicator to see the hour.
"I'll tell you when, in the meantime let's pretend we're ok with them." The leader said finally standing straight up "Ready?"
"Ready!"
The present is only the past of the future
: With the new Titans while the Titans were outside the main room:
"They didn't believe a word of what we said, did they?" Asked Derek to his team who didn't know how to answer.
"Don't be so un-positive Derek." Jenn said resting a hand on her leader's shoulder "They might find all of this weird but, if we keep the story going then they won't have a doubt."
"Jenn is right." Otto agreed "They seemed to believe at least some of it, if we don't let anything else slip then they will believe our story completely in a few days."
"That's impossible; they're not stupid." Alex countered his brother "I bet they're thinking on a way of sending us to Arkham or something already."
"Nothing is un-possible Alex." Jenn retorted "I think we were convincing enough."
"Yeah!" Terry cheered "If there is something we're even more talented at than fighting villains, is telling lies. They'll believe us."
"I'm worried though." Trevor spoke up "Maybe we should tell them the truth."
"What are you talking about? They're not supposed to know the truth, imagine what would happen then."
"Imagine what would happen now." The blond replied to his green sister "They think we're street kids; don't you think they'll be too occupied trying to find us to even try to have us?"
"I see your point Trevor." William admitted "But I think it would be better to keep it like that until we find a way back to our time. We don't want to make them nervous telling them anything about their future lives."
"Liam is right." Emily continued "If they know anything about themselves they might want to change it. We kept hidden until now everything about their lives except for uncle Cyborg's machine and I propose we leave it at that at least for now."
"Everyone agrees with Will and Emily?" James asked aloud receiving affirmative answers from everyone.
"It's ok, but when are we actually going to tell them the truth?" Deah questioned crossing her arms over her chest.
"That's up to you Derek." Adam directed to his leader "Have any ideas of when we should drop the bomb?"
"We have to wait until the right time arrives." The leader answered plainly.
"The sooner the better I'd say." Vivian proposed "That right time better be here soon."
"Aunt Raven says to never rush time." Karla pointed out "Let's wait until Derek decides the right time has arrived."
"Derek this, Derek that." Alex said suddenly changing the subject "It's always on him, isn't it?"
"He is the leader, Alexander." Deah retorted very serious "He has the last word."
"Yes, I know." Alex sighed trying not to start a fight again, as Adam said earlier, that was not the time.
"Why so quiet?" The New Titans' heads snapped to the side to find the old Titans entering back to the room, Robin continued "You had a fight?"
"Nothing of the sort." Derek assured "So, what did you decide?"
"We believe you." Robin answered "But tell us, what do we do first to help you?"
"Well," Derek started "You think there is a way of talking to our friends in the future?"
The present is only the past of the future
Sorry for the delay; I sent the chapter to my beta sometime ago but she's occupied and isn't able to check it at the moment so I uploaded the unedited version; that's why it isn't as grammatically correct as my latest chapters have been. Still, don't worry, I'll upload the new version as soon as I get it, ok?
Now, don't forget to leave your reviews; I really want to know what you think about this chapter. Remember you have homework; I told you about it last chapter and I also would like to know which one of the 14 OC you like the best.
That's it for now; thanx for reading!
Next Chapter: While Cyborg tries to find a way of talking to the New Titans' friends in the future, the kids are a little hungry…