Teen Titans (And Others)

- The pigeon soared through the sky relatively unnoticed. He may have been green, but some kinds of pigeons have a similar coloring on them. Sure, he’d spot the difference from a mile away, but most people didn’t have his encyclopedic knowledge of animals. It was a shame, really… He was more than willing to share what he knew. If only someone would actually listen to him… Oh well. Scanning the city from above, he spotted something peculiar. Among the sprawl of towering buildings, there was something that just didn’t seem to belong; a tiny white cube seemingly squished by the large grey structures surrounding it. Wanting a closer look, the changeling descended, landing on human feet once he was close enough to the ground.

The building was certainly small, but it struck him as cozy. There were flower boxes beneath the two widows and the exterior was painted a soft white with some accents in pastel pink, blue, and yellow. The sign on the structure read, ‘Tasty Treats and Vegan Eats’. Vegan eats? He liked to eat vegan! Curiosity piqued, Beast Boy cracked open the door to look inside. While the exterior seemed to be that of a bakery, the interior seemed to resemble a fifties diner with its round chairs, small tables, tiled floor, and jukebox. There seemed to be a single family in the bakery and no one else. He could only assume they were grandparents with their grandchildren. Beast Boy found himself smiling at the quaint little scene. An older woman sat in one of the chairs and bounced a little toddler girl on her knee. Across from the two sat an old man holding a triceratops figure as he did battle with the T-Rex figure held by a young boy sitting next to him. The young teen contemplated whether he should enter and interrupt. He sniffed the air and caught the scent of delectable baked goods. As he opened the door just a smidge more, the bell above jingled and alerted the family to his presence. “Oh! Hello, dearie,” the older woman smiled, handing the toddler off to the grandfather and standing up. “Come on in!”

“Uh… Okay?” Beast Boy tentatively stepped inside, waiting for the family to notice his strange appearance and kick him out. As the woman made her way behind the counter, the changeling eyed her. She was kind of tall for an old woman and had curly red hair with streaks of white. She was dressed in a white button up and a high waisted pink skirt. He had to wonder if she was blind, being so friendly to him… He approached the counter and looked up to see her eyes; clear and a pretty shade of blue. “I can’t say I’ve seen you here before. Would you like a free sample?” Not blind… weird. Wait. Did she say free? His ears perked up and he eyed the baked goods behind the glass, “They don’t have animal products in them? And I don’t have to pay you later or something?” “One hundred percent vegan and free as the air you breathe,” she smiled as she readied a few samples. “Oh, cool!” he perked up with a smile. As he watched the older woman go about picking out what to give him, the changeling’s large ears picked something out, swiveling towards the sound of small footsteps. Turning and looking down, he saw the young boy. Before he could say anything, the green teen was greeted with a loud, “Why are you green?!”

Beast Boy flinched a bit. Man, this kid did not have a concept of the inside voice. Then again, he could have the same problem sometimes. After wiggling his finger in his ear, he responded. “It’s part of my superpowers,” he shrugged. “I can turn into animals.” The boy took in a deep breath, eyes seeming to sparkle as his mouth split into a smile that took up nearly half his face. “That’s so cool!” the child loudly exclaimed, seemingly too young to be skeptical. Something he did was cool? Beast Boy pondered to himself. More often than not, he was seen as a freak for what he could do… most certainly not cool. “You thinks so?! You wanna see?!” “Yeah!” the boy bounced up and down. “Can you turn into a dinosaur? A big one?!” “Not inside, I hope,” the woman interjected, setting a few samples on the counter. “Here you are. Let me know how you like it!” The young boy slumped his shoulders as the hero’s attention was now taken by food. “Oooo!” the teenager uttered in awe of the treats before him. Taking the tiny plastic spoon in his hand, he dug into the small paper cup. Popping the dessert in his mouth, he let out a pleased, “Mmmmm! Coconut cream pie!” The woman nodded and gestured to the remaining dessert samples. S’more doughnut; macadamia nut cookie.” “Don’t mind if I do!” the changeling wiggled his fingers in anticipation, taking the morsels and popping them into his mouth. “They’re so good!” he exclaimed, giddy with his new bakery discovery. “How’d you make them so good?!” “Years of experience and experimentation. I’m lactose intolerant myself, while my husband is allergic to eggs. Our son turned out to be a vegetarian, so I had to learn to make foods we could all eat.” Beast Boy nodded, about to chip in with why he was a vegetarian, but the boy interrupted. “Can you turn into a dinosaur now?” The changeling looked over to the older woman and asked, “Do you mind if I turn into a little one, ma’am?”

“That’s perfectly fine,” she replied. “But please, call me Maggie.” “Thanks, Miss Maggie,” he nodded with a smile, turning to the young boy. “Alright! Here comes an eoraptor!” In a split second, the green teen became a small dinosaur, approximately three feet long. Turning his head to take in his surroundings and make sure he didn’t hit anything with his tail, he struck a few poses, almost like a museum display. “That’s so cool!” the boy bounced excitedly. “Well I’ll be,” the older man uttered, bouncing his granddaughter on his knee. “Did you see that, Clara?” The little dinosaur looked over at the little girl and greeted her with an excited trill. The toddler let out a frightened cry and attempted to hide herself against her grandfather’s torso. The eoraptor returned to a teen in an instant, ears drooped in worry and remorse. “H-hey, don’t be scared! I’m sorry! I can make it better! I can turn into other things!” He frantically looked over to the old man. “Does she have a favorite animal?!” Rubbing the little girl’s back, the grandfather replied. “She’s never without her koala teddy bear.” Beast Boy nodded and became a koala on the spot, doing his best to look non-threatening. “Look at that,” the older man nudged the girl and pointed her gaze to the fuzzy green koala. Clara’s eyes widened and her attitude quickly changed, reaching out in an attempt to pet the furry being. “Kala,” she babbled. “Give kala?” The green koala walked over and held his paws up to the older man. Knowing what the teen wanted, the man lowered his arm so the transformed teen could grab onto it. Lifting him up and placing him on his lap, he instinctually placed his hand on the marsupial’s back to keep him upright as one might a baby. The toddler promptly reached out and hugged the koala, cooing excitedly. “There we go. No need to be scared,” the grandfather assured. “Clara gets scared a lot,” the young boy informed, patting the toddler on the back. “That’s why I gotta protect her!”

The boy proudly puffed out his chest. “It’s what big brothers do!” Beast Boy turned to the little boy and gave him the koala equivalent of a thumbs up. It was a little clunky with his current digits, but he did have the bonus of two thumbs per paw. It was times like these he wished he could talk in animal form. He would tell the boy he was doing a good job. It’s something he wished he’d heard more often when he was younger. “You’re doing a good job, Chester,” Maggie assured. “You too, young man.” The changeling did his best to smile in koala form, mostly just showing his limited teeth. “I’m guessing you can’t talk while you’re an animal?” He shook his head no. “Well, hopefully she won’t take too much longer with you and you can go back to normal soon.” Beast Boy nodded and rubbed the toddler’s back, hoping to lull her to sleep. “I’m sure she’ll get tired soon,” the grandfather spoke up. “We call her our little koala because she needs so much sleep. More so than the usual two-year-old…” Chester frowned. “Yeah. She gets sick a lot and needs lots o’ sleep.” ‘Poor thing,’ the changeling thought to himself. He was really sick once… “But she’s been improving,” Maggie tried to lighten the mood. “She hasn’t been to the emergency room in months; just regular doctor visits.” As predicted, the toddler dozed off. Carefully prying himself away, Beast Boy slid the child’s plush koala back into her arms. He held up his paws as if the motion would keep her from waking up. “I think you’re good,” the grandfather chuckled and placed the koala back on the floor. “Phew,” the green teen sighed upon returning to human form. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare her.” “No problem, dearie,” Maggie smiled softly. “You made her very happy today. Not many children get to hug a real koala.” “And I got to see a real dinosaur!” Chester chirped. “You’re really not mad at me?” Beast Boy asked, hopeful, but a bit skeptical.

“Of course we’re not mad,” Maggie smiled. “Now you really must tell us your name. I can’t just call you dearie forever.” The changeling snapped to attention and placed the side of his hand to his head in a salute. “Beast Boy; ex member of the Doom Patrol and current Teen Titan, ma’am!” “At ease, soldier,” Maggie chuckled. “This is a care-free zone.” Beast Boy chuckled and lowered his hand. “Sooo… I should probably buy something, right?” “If you find something that strikes your fancy.” The changeling nodded and pulled out his wallet, confirming there was indeed some cash in there before he perused the selection. As he eyed the vegan cherry pie, his ear twitched at the sound of a bell. “Guess we’re popular today!” Maggie chirped as she greeted the newcomer. “Yeah. Right.” The man approached the counter and shoved Beast Boy aside. “Look, let’s make this easy. Open the cash register; now!” The old woman’s eyes widened before narrowing as she sneered, pulling out the dollar bills. “You’re lucky my grandchildren are here,” she handed the cash over. “I’d take you on if I was the only one at risk.” The changeling watched gobsmacked as the robbery took place. He had to do something. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his communicator. What button was it? Feeling around, he pressed one and dearly hoped it was the silent distress call. “Is that all?!” the robber snarled. “This is nothing!” The man shook the handful of dollar bills in the grandmother’s face. “Give me more!” “That’s all we have!” “Like hell it is!” the thug pulled a gun and aimed it at Maggie’s face. “I want everything you got!” Beast Boy watched in horror as the man threatened the kind old woman’s life, her husband desperately trying to guard their grandchildren.

How could he stop this when the man had a gun in such a confined space filled with people? Sweat beaded on his forehead. He had to tread carefully. “That’s all we have!” she held her hands up. “If you let me get my purse, I can get you more!” “You’re staying right there!” the criminal barked, turning his gun on Beast Boy. “You. Freak. Get the old lady’s purse and don’t try any funny business.” While he should have been scared to have a gun on him, the changeling found himself grateful to not have the gun pointed at the family. Beast Boy nodded and grabbed the purse from the table, slowly handing it over as he tried to kill time until the rest of his team arrived or he thought of a plan. The man snatched the purse out of the teen’s hands and set it on the counter. “You better have money in here, bitch,” he threatened as he dug through the bag with one hand as he pointed the gun back at Maggie with the other. “I bet you I have more money in my wallet than she does!” Beast Boy blurted out, wanting the focus to be off the poor old woman. “Like some kid has more money than a grown woman,” the gunman scoffed as he continued to dig. “I can prove it.” “Heh. Fine,” he aimed the gun at the teen. “Prove it. And no funny business.” Beast Boy slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and handing it over. Just as the man snatched it away, the changeling shifted into a fairy wasp, seeming to disappear. “What?! I said no funny business!” he snarled as he noticed the green wasp land on his hand. Raising his hand to slap the insect, he landed on scales. Large scales. He now had a green anaconda cutting off the circulation to his arm, rendering the gun unusable. Maggie was quick to jump in, leaping over the counter with surprising agility and ripping the gun away. “Dennis; get the kids out! We’ll hold him back!” “You fucking stupid hag! Rotten old bitch! I’ll- Mm?!?!” The assailant’s tirade was cut off as Beast Boy’s serpentine body curled around his mouth. The grandfather nodded and rushed the two children outside, Clara under his arm and Chester tugged by his wrist.

“Okay,” Maggie let out a hesitant sigh. “I think we’re alright.” Turning to the anaconda, she continued. “Without a gun, I can handle the likes of him. You can go back to normal, Beast Boy.” The snake raised and lowered his head in a nod and separated from the criminal, landing on all fours in human form. “That was close…” the teen panted. “Too close. Are you oka-” Maggie wasted no time in punching the man in the eye and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him towards herself. “If you come near me or my family ever again, you will not walk away in one piece.” “Whoa…” Beast Boy uttered in awe. “Way to go, granny...” “I’d prefer you call me Maggie.” “Can do, Miss Maggie,” he saluted. “We should probably call the police to come get this brute.” “I think my team is on the way, actually,” he pulled out his communicator. “I think I sent out a distress signal. I’m still getting used to this thing.” Pushing a few buttons, the screen flickered to life, revealing Robin’s face. “Beast Boy! We got your distress call and are on our way to your coordinates. What’s the trouble?” “Armed robber. We’ve got him subdued. If you can just send the police our way to arrest him, we should be good.” “You already have it taken care of? Great work!” Beast Boy gawked at the communicator a moment, unused to the praise, before perking up with a wide smile. “Thanks, Robin! I’ll keep it up!” “Good. You’re proving to be a capable member of the team.” The changeling couldn’t speak, merely making a high pitched gasping sort of sound. “Beast Boy?” “Thank you, sir,” he squeaked out.

“I told you not to call me-” The green teen ended the call before the other could finish. “Are you okay, dearie?” Maggie asked, placing a hand on the teen’s shoulder while holding the criminal in the other. “I’m fine,” he half whispered, fighting back tears. “He’s right, you know,” she gave his shoulder a few pats. “You’re growing into quite the superhero and fine young man.” Okay, he was crying now. “Oh brother,” the criminal grumbled. Maggie shook the man a few times before turning her attention back to the changeling. “You don’t hear that a lot, do you? You should.” “I’m not crying,” was all Beast Boy could muster. “Well, of course you’re not,” Maggie humored. “This is a happy moment. You just earned one free treat per visit for life!” He wiped his eyes and smiled at her. “Really?” “Of course! You’re welcome anytime.” The changeling momentarily contemplated if he could just visit the bakery moments apart and get all he wanted, but decided against it. That wouldn’t be right. He didn’t want to run this kind old woman out of business either. “Wow! Free doughnuts for life!” he beamed. “And other treats too!” Maggie chirped. “We also make non-sweets. Not to toot my own horn, but I make a mean corn chowder. We have some today, if you’d like to fuel up once this is all sorted. You are a growing boy, after all.” Beast Boy’s stomach growled and he laughed. “I guess I am!” “I would like to ask a little favor though.” “Uh, sure. What is it?” “Just keep an eye on this brute while I call my husband and let him know we’re okay.”