Chapter 19
"In."
She inhaled.
"Out."
She exhaled.
"In."
Inhale.
"Out."
Exhale.
"Feel the metal. Feel the grain, the forge it came from. The coldness of the blade."
Kagari's talons ran over each other.
"Now remember the skin. The softness, the feel of the fingerprints. The warmth of the flesh."
Saya opened a single eye to peek at her pupil.
"And remember to keep breathing." She deadpanned.
Kagari sucked in air, coughing as her depleted lungs were filled.
"What are you two doing?" asked Raven as she entered the room.
"I'm trying to get Roller Bash here to lose the hardware," she explained, "what I did was just think about my old body and I turned back, but it's not going that well with Kagari.
Kagari finally stopped coughing, "At least I can skate without falling over now, so I've got that going for me, which is nice."
"Hmm, and you?" she turned towards the other blonde in the room.
"Headed to the mall," replied Tara as she laced her shoes, "not all us are superheroes and my friends probably think I'm dead."
"Actually, that's not exactly an option," pointed out Robin as he came in wearing his workout clothes, "since you just rediscovered your powers, you need to be kept in quarantine for three days and you need to be trained. We already contacted your foster parents."
"Rediscovered?" she asked with a perplexed tone before she realized what she meant, "You too!? I'm telling you, I've never met you people before!"
"You have Terra's face." He pointed out as a comparison between her and Terra came out on the main monitor.
"So we look alike. That doesn't mean-."
"And voice print, and fingerprints, and powers. Everything is a 100% match."
"Listen here-."
"You were found in an alley a year after Terra's petrification," he continued, "all you said before losing consciousness was your name 'Terra' which was misspelled as 'Tara'."
"Then why don't I remember any of this!?" she cried at him, "If I'm your old teammate, why can't I remember it!?"
"Stone Hammer," stated Saya, "she was killed by a White from what I can tell."
"How do you know that?"
"I asked Strength to do a little digging after meeting Tara," she explained, "thanks to my meddling in the otherworld, I gained the ability to speak to them directly. She's quite mad at Yuu, but she's still talking to me."
"What did you find?"
"Do any of your enemies wear metal masks?" she asked before placing a gold and white mask on the table, "It kinda creeps me out to be honest. Reminds me of Deathstroke."
Robin flinched, "Deathstroke?"
"Yeah, he was a supervillain in Japan sometime in the seventies," she explained, "kept the cops busy and controlled the yakuza if the rumors are to be believed. Why?"
"Deathstroke and Slade are the same person," he explained before pulling up Slade's black and gold metal mask and Deathstroke's black and orange mesh mask, "So Slade's otherself killed Terra's, causing the memory loss and maybe the loss of her powers."
"Nah, Hammer's still down," scoffed Saya, "this and that are not related. Stone Hammer might return if she keeps hanging out here though."
"Well, what am I supposed to do then?" cut in Tara, "I'm not getting anywhere near the green kid again."
"You really should give him a break," said Robin, "you might not remember him, but you gave your life for us once."
"Didn't Terra betray you?" asked Tara, "Why would you want her back?"
"Terra was misled," explained Robin, "she gained a bit of a sadistic streak thanks to Slade, but other than that she was a good person. She was a hero."
"And what happens when the 'hero' has to pay for helping Slade?" pointed out the geomancer.
"Well, metas aren't above the law, so she'd stand trial," he admitted, "though we could probably get her community service like we did with Jinx."
"What kind of community service?"
"In this case helping Titans East, helping meta and mutant training programs, and clean up duty after large battles for two years."
"How's that any different from getting off scott-free?" asked Saya with a raised eyebrow before turning to greet the Izuriha's as they came in for breakfast.
"Well, she won't get paid yet."
"You get paid for this?" asked Hideki Izuriha.
"Honestly honey, who'd do this for free?" snorted Tsuyuki.
"You'd be surprised," pointed out Robin, "almost all superheroes started off by simply doing what they felt was right."
"How much do you earn anyways?" asked Hideki, receiving a slap on the arm from his wife, "What? If it's a good career, then Kagari should keep it in mind."
"I don't think there are high schools with superhero college courses in mind," pointed out Tsuyuki.
Robin turned to Saya with a raised eyebrow.
"Japan essentially invented helicopter parenting," she said, "few parents encourage individuality, and most kids will put a lot of weight in their parents' advice. My mother still arranges bridal meetings for me every so often when she meets a man she thinks would be good for me."
"I guess she doesn't know about Yuu?" asked Kagari.
"I told her she's a friend's daughter," she admitted, "I'm pretty sure I'd go to jail if the truth ever gets out."
"The otherself thing or the lesbian pedophile thing?"
"Bisexual," she corrected, "and the otherself thing. There's really nothing going on between me and Yuu, she's just too young."
"You keep telling yourself that," snorted Cyborg as he came in to make breakfast, "but just so you know, you'd be far from the weirdest couple we've met."
"Who'd be the weirdest?" asked Yuu as she followed him in.
"Well there's Kole, I'm pretty sure she's with Gnaark," he said as he pulled out the eggs, "well, there's a betting pool anyways. Then there's Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch with their twincest, Starfire and Robin aren't even the same species, Bumblebee started a poly with Speedy and Aqualad that didn't last too long, and Wolverine's a couple of centuries older than anyone he could date."
"Should you really be turning a blind eye to all that?" asked Yomi with a raised eyebrow.
"What people do in their own time is their own business," snorted Robin, "so long as no one's getting hurt or outright breaking the law, we don't really care."
"It might be best if you wait for her to graduate before making anything official though," pointed out Raven as she sorted the mail.
"You're not gonna leave me alone about this, are you?" she groaned, "There's something wrong about superheroes being this supportive about a pedophile teacher."
"We're not," snorted Cyborg, "why do you think Raven told you to wait till she's older?"
"There's still something wrong about this."
"It's not that big a deal," said Haha Kuroi as she walked in, "my husband's almost ten years older than me and I was in middle school when we first met. It took me a long time to convince him I was serious and he refused to touch me till I was sixteen."
"Was he your teacher?"
"Tutor."
Saya let her head fall on the table, "This is why educators get bad rep."
"Didn't that hurt?" asked Cyborg as he fried the sausages.
"A lot."
"Where are Beast Boy and Mato?" asked Robin.
"And Starfire?" quipped Yomi, she had tests to run.
"Starfire has the first patrol," replied Raven as she looked at one of the envelopes, "Mato and Beast Boy are still asleep."
"I'll get Mato!" volunteered Yuu before rushing out of the room.
"She's… energetic," noticed Raven before holding up a letter, "Robin, you should take a look at this."
An unintelligible shriek from Yuu interrupted them.
"Show me later!" The assembled heroes ran out of the room.
Mato really didn't want to wake up. She'd slept better that night than she had in days. Since the whole mess had started, she'd stayed up thinking about her inevitable conversion. Her newfound power, her nigh-invulnerability, and even the idea that she'd have to walk around in a lace bikini top had been on her mind.
It was overwhelming, to say the least.
That was why the Sun's presence was less than welcome.
With a groan, she rolled over and snuggled into her blanket, cuddling her fluffy pillow tightly.
Except, her pillow wasn't that fluffy, it actually felt pretty boney.
Groaning, she cuddled the warm object closer to herself, smiling as it hugged her back.
Her eyes snapped open.
Pillows don't hug back.
She stared at what she was cuddling.
Are those boobs?
She heard the electronic door whoosh open and she sat up in surprise.
"Mato! Awaken young one!" Yuu called as she burst into the room, "Tis time to embark in your journey to… the land of… break… fast."
They locked eyes. Mato was still in her pajamas with a spaghetti strap off her shoulder whilst wearing short shorts… and had a naked albino girl cuddling into her side, seeking the source of warmth that had keep her comfortable through the night.
Pop Quiz: the absolute worst thing you can say in this kind of situation is…
"This isn't what it looks like!"
We have a winner!
"MATO GOT LAID!"
"I DID NOT!"
Then the Teen Titans, minus Starfire, burst in.
"Yuu! What's going… on?"
Robin's inquiry trailed off as he took in the sight before him, plenty of time for Mato's face rapidly threatened to rival a tomato.
Kill me.
"I don't know Robin, she doesn't look like a sadist," said Cyborg with a raised eyebrow, "she just looks like some dopey kid."
Indeed, the girl was doing little more than looking blankly at the room around her. She seemed oddly uncomfortable in the oversized shirt they'd given her, as if she were unused to wearing so much cloth. So far she'd shuffled away from anyone that got too close and outright flinched away from anyone that tried to touch her.
"Here."
The girl looked up blankly into Ying's emerald eyes, who was offering her a large mug of hot cocoa.
She looked up blankly and took it before sniffing at the mug's contents. After deciding she liked the smell, she took a sip. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she hurriedly gulped down the warm, sweet, and creamy drink.
She smiled before returning to the kitchen.
"I don't know," grumbled Saya warily as she sharpened her talons, she'd flared into her otherself the second she'd spotted Shiroi and hadn't shifted back since, "I don't like this. I saw what was left over of the bullies' otherselves. Stone Hammer was left in more pieces."
"We'll keep an eye on her for now," said Robin, "I don't want another fight to break out in the tower."
"You should try trusting her a little," said Tara, "from what I've gathered, mistrust tends to end badly with you guys."
"What do you think of that?" she asked as she turned her attention to Mrs. Kuroi.
She had been staring at "Shiroi" for some time now, while her daughter cowered behind her with a bewildered expression on her face.
After a moment of more staring, she held out her hand.
Shiroi just stared at it for a moment, before reaching out.
She flinched when she noticed everyone around her tense.
"Would you cut that out!?" snapped the mother, "You're scaring her!"
"We just think it'd be better to be prepared," said Robin, "I mean, you heard-."
"Yes I remember what Ms. Iniro said," she pointed out, "just because she came from that doesn't mean she's like that. She's a child, just like my daughter, just like you were when you started this career of yours. Origin means nothing if you have the will to look past it."
Robin's eyes darted towards Raven for a split second, before he sighed and signaled to call his team off. The tension left almost immediately, save for Saya who kept a tight grip on King Saw.
Haha raised an eyebrow at her.
"Let's just say I know better in this subject."
She let an exasperated sigh and turned back to her daughter…'s twin.
This is uncanny. She admitted to herself.
"It's okay honey," she said softly in Japanese, "no one's gonna hurt you."
White Rock Shooter's spawn darted her eyes from Haha Kuroi's face to her hand nervously, resembling more a scared kitten than a teenage girl.
"Mom," squeaked Mato warily, "be careful."
"Don't be rude Mato, she's practically your sister," she pointed out, before turning back to Shiroi, "come on."
The young girl, younger than anyone in the room really, slowly reached out and laid her hand atop the mother's palm.
"You know, it gets confusing to call you both Mato," noted Haha pensively, "I remember that Haji and I used to talk about having a second daughter. We even came up with a name!"
"Name?" asked Shiroi as she came closer.
"Do you like Stella?"
"Stella?" she asked, "I'm… Stella? Shiroi Stella?"
"Nonono, Kuroi Stella," corrected the mother, "you're family after all."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Tara, "I mean, you don't even know what she is."
"I know she's either Mato's sister or, in an incredibly messed up way, her daughter," she replied, ignoring the way Mato blanched behind her, "I'm too young to be a grandmother and I'm not telling anyone my daughter had a child at thirteen though, so I'm saying sister. Either way, she's family."
She ruffled the girl's hair, who surprisingly didn't protest, as she pulled her to her side.
"Besides, she's practically Mato with a palate swap," she said with stars in her eyes, "I can finally buy twin costumes in Halloween!"
Mato slouched, "This again," she grumbled, "mom, I'm too old for Halloween! Wasn't it weird enough when you dressed me and Hiro up as those vocawhatevers?"
"Hiro's too short to be Len," admitted her mother solemnly, before cheering up instantly and giving a thumbs up, "but if one of you cross-dresses, it's A-Ok!"
Mato's eye twitched, "Help me," she squeaked.
Robin watched as Mrs. Kuroi fawned over the twin costumes she'd be able to get, until Raven tapped his shoulder and jerked her head towards the hall. He followed her as the proud mother showed off several hundred gigabites of pictures that she'd collected over the years.
"So what's going on?" he asked, "I haven't seen you get this riled up since that Mewni Princess moved two towns south."
Raven visibly shuddered, "Nothing that bad, fortunately," she admitted, "we need to talk about this."
She pulled out a letter written on yellowed parchment.
"We're being summoned," she explained as she handed over the first letter, "the Otherselves' appearance is making a lot of people in high seats nervous, so they want to make sure they won't be a threat to the Statute of Secrecy."
"What's the Statute of Secrecy?" he asked as he read over the letter.
"An act that forces all mages to avoid using their powers in the presence of ordinary people," she explained, "I have a special permit since I never actually said I was a mage to the media, but they're worried that our guests will break a law that's already on thin ice."
"Who's showing up?" he asked before he noticed the location, "And why are we going to Orchid Bay?"
"The current and previous Te Xuan Zes need to see them," she explained, "the Te Xuan Ze is forbidden from leaving Orchid Bay to make sure it's guarded."
She looked back at the list.
"Other than that there are the American representatives for the Dragon Council, Kendra Sorenson's representing the magical creature reserves, a Serf Mage named Nita Callahan, Jean Grey, Danny Phantom-."
Robin's eye twitched, "Why does he have to come?" he groaned, "we don't even know for sure which side he's on!"
"I know you don't like him, but he's still one of the biggest names in paranormal research," she pointed out before frowning, "it seems Harry Potter got roped into this too."
"Harry Potter?"
"Yeah, he killed a particularly problematic dark wizard a few years back and became a bit of a celebrity among wizards, so he gets roped into all sorts of meetings whenever he happens to be in the area," she explained, "he was in New York for a panel on Werewolf rights when the Magical Congress decided he could make this look more important."
"Ok, anyone else?"
"The Guardians of the Veil are flying in from Europe," she read out, "Hellboy's coming too, same with Parr-."
"Parr? Violet Parr?" he asked, "Why's the head of International Superhero Affairs coming?"
"They work closely with most magical governments," she explained, "a Global Justice representative will also come. And, since they're Japanese, the Manchurian Wizarding Empire will also send two representatives- ah crap."
"What?"
"Yelan Li and Lady Ying Fa."
"…and these are Nanako's old students! Aren't they cute?"
By the time Robin and Raven had come back into the room, they'd found that Mato's mother had moved past her children and was now showing off her sister in law on the main monitor.
"She's pretty short," noticed Yuu, "I think she might actually be my height. Is she a prodigy that got moved ahead?"
She was referring to the bluenette near the front that could've easily passed for an elementary schooler. The old fashioned swim suit didn't help in that aspect either.
"Nah, that's Konata. She's just short."
"Are all of them mutants?" asked Cyborg as he noticed all the weird hair colors. Blue, pink, lavender, salmon, and green accompanied two blondes and a brunette.
"Yep, they don't have powers though," she said happily, "unlike this one."
She switched to a video of a girl wearing a white dress with blue accents and a white hat, with long blue hair tied in ten braids.
"Oi, chibi! It's rude to film people!" snapped a voice off-screen.
"But that cosplay is so moe!" said a new, rather squeaky voice, "I don't know that character tough."
"Konata, stop filming her already!" snapped a new voice, "You're gonna get us kicked out!"
"Then maybe I should film you Kagamin," the camera turned to reveal the lavender-haired girl with pigtails from the picture, this time wearing a tank top bikini. The background revealed that they were in an open air beach restaurant of some sort.
"Quit playing around!" she yelled before she lunged to grab the phone.
There was some frantic motion on the screen as the two struggled, displaying nothing of real coherence.
"Let's see-de geso," said a new voice, "who ordered the squid ink spaghetti-de gesso?"
"M-me," said a new voice.
The camera finally turned back to reveal the girl in the white dress holding a plate in her right hand, a notebook in the left, and ten more plates in the braids.
One of the "braids" lunged past the camera with a plate to place it in front of a second lavender head, this one with short hair and a large yellow ribbon. The motion allowed the audience to see that it was actually a single, flat appendage. She spent the next five minutes passing out food with her tentacles with surprising dexterity, checking off the list in her left hand as she did so. Eventually, the final plate, curry and rice, was placed in front of the camera girl with the waitresses' right hand.
"Enjoy your lunch!" she said before turning to leave.
"Ah wait!"
"Konata!" hissed Kagami off screen.
"Yes, can I get you anything else-de gesso?"
"Um, are you a mutant or something?"
"No, she's an alien!" yelled a woman off-screen.
"I'm not an alien-de gesso! I'm an invader from the sea-de geso!"
"Hey! Ika! Table 6!" said yet another female voice.
"Coming Eiko-de geso!" she turned back to the camera and bowed, "enjoy your lunch-de geso!"
The camera panned back to Kagami's perplexed face before turning off.
"An invader?" asked Saya with a raised eyebrow, "Doesn't look like much."
"We should still check it out," pointed out Robin, who'd made it a point to have Starfire teach him Japanese, "she might be Atlantean, so I'll ask Aqualad to look into it. He could use some time away from Bumblebee and Speedy anyways."
"Yeah, polys never end well," said Mrs. Izuriha sagely, "it's why Hideki and I broke up with Hanako."
Kagari turned green.
"Now Tsuyuki that's hardly fair," said Tanaka Takanashi, "we've met plenty of polys that are still together."
Robin simply rolled his eyes at their conversation before he turned to go to the restroom. He was surprised to find it locked, however, since he thought everyone was in the living room.
"BeastBoy? Is that you?"
"Busy!" called a female voice.
He merely sighed and turned around to use the rest room on the male wing, passing by all six otherselves and their parents. He stopped as Starfire flew in through the window.
Who's in the restroom?
He paused for a moment, seemingly spacing out, before blinking and deciding it didn't matter.
Author's Notes: I've set my deadlines for every friday until I'm done with the first arc. As you can see, I'm making this a gigantic crossover, mainly as a challenge to myself to see how well I can keep the separate storylines coherent enough to join them in. As this implies, you can expect a Squidgirl/Teen Titans oneshot in the future, tough it won't actually affect the overall storyline.