August 12, 2010
Somewhere underneath Jump City
"No!"
"I'm the only one that can stop it."
"You can't, It's too late!"
"It's never too late."
Then came the last words. Before her sacrifice, before her ultimate sacrifice.
She was Tara D. Markov. Exiled Princess, scientific anomaly… betrayer, and friend.
"You were the best friend I ever had."
Her name was Terra, and as she turned to stone, the five closest people to a true family she ever had before left, having no choice.
It was what she chose for herself. To save millions of innocent lives.
Her eyes were locked on to where Beast Boy had disappeared from, as suddenly, darkness consumed her.
She had become one with what her very name suggested. This is what it's like to be nothing. No breathing, no thought. Just nothingness. A never-ending sleep.
It went on for months, years, even. But she couldn't feel scared, or helpless. She couldn't feel anything. She no longer existed.
December 21, 2012
2 years, 4 months, 1 week, and 2 days in the abyss.
Suddenly, a giant pulsation came from nowhere. Even she felt it from the abyss of nothingness. Then, another. But this one that following was different. It felt much closer, even… inside of her.
Then, suddenly, she felt a giant wave of sensations. It was like she had just been sent shooting millions of miles per hour, then came to a stop in a split-second. She was back, alive, in the flesh.
As she looked upwards, she noticed a glimpse of a giant white wall of light, just before it phased through the rock wall behind her.
She hurried to get to her feet, but could barely stand. Her muscles, her bones, her tendons… none of them wanted to work smoothly. A large crack shot up her right leg, and then her left. Nothing was breaking, but… all her joints began popping, loosening.
Of course, some sharp and intense pains came with them. Then, her head started pounding, blood rushing through like wildfire.
She made her way to the edge of one of the rocky cliffs underground, overlooking the dormant volcano that she had irritated so long ago. A rush of nausea hit her, and she began minutes of excruciating stomach pains. Her body was quickly and painfully getting itself running again.
She finally simply collapsed, laying face-up on the rocky surface.
"So, you're awake, I see," a deep voice echoed through the underground place.
Her eyes widened, and suddenly all the exhaustion was replaced by a rush of adreline. She pounced up to her feet instantly, her hands glowed yellow, and rocks around her began to raise. Slade.
"You! I ki-!" she began shouting furiously, but he cut her off.
"For the past twenty-eight months, you succeeded. But I made my deal, and your little friends pulled through in the end. Literally."
"I don't care what you say, but I'm going to put you back where you belong! In a grave!" she shouted.
"No, child, you will care what I say. Your friends succeeded in restoring this world…"
"What are you talking about?" she asked, still having her hands at the ready.
"Oh, right, you weren't around. In order to recover my own flesh, I made with a devil. Sold my soul, if you will," he explained.
"What soul?" she bitterly hissed, getting more enraged by the second, causing the ground to rattle.
"Hmm, somehow I don't doubt you're not one for believing what I have to say right now," Slade muttered.
"You think so? Tell me, what in this universe could you possibly tell me that I'd even consider believing. Please, be my guest!" she shouted.
"Terra…" he said softly.
"I've been practically in the darkest coma ever for, what, 38 months?" Terra continued.
"28," Slade murmured.
"28," Terra said once more, not losing a second of talking time, "So I've been a rock statue for over two years, and the first person I see is YOU, who was responsible for that in the first place, who, for a supposed criminal mastermind, should probably really that's a REALLY BAD IDEA."
At the last phrase in the sentence, the ground shook even more intensely.
"Terra, calm down. Let's not have this happen again," Slade beckoned.
"What? So now you actually care?" she snapped back.
"If I didn't care, I wouldn't have tried to have you as my apprentice, child. You don't seem to realize that while I have my best interests in mind, I also have yours."
"I'm not being your apprentice again," she hatefully replied.
"I'm not asking you to. See, there's a device that I made when I was trying to lure in another apprentice. Robin, to be exact. It stopped time, or at least it was supposed to. That project was a failure, so I used that to my advantage. Needless to say, that didn't go so well either. Well, a certain group named the 'HIVE Academy' took the schematics for the design during my absence. I need you to go retrieve them, and destroy any devices they're already made."
"Why would I-?" Terra began, but Slade cut her off.
"Because, the HIVE also has reality-transportation devices, not unlike Raven's powers. They could create a portal, travel to another reality, and set off the device. The Titans, not to mention billions of people, would be trapped, and they would be free to do whatever they wanted." Slade explained.
"And what if we fail?" she asked.
"There's always a second option. I'm going to have another personal helper of mine, a shape-shifter of sorts…" Slade began, but his eyes widened after seeing her gaze grow back into hatred. He realized what she had assumed, and quickly corrected it.
"Not a green shape-shifter, if that's what you were thinking about," he added, and her hateful glare turned back into a distrustful one.
"How do I know there is even a device?"
"There is. Raven unintentionally set one off a week or so ago, which forced the HIVE to make sure that it couldn't be manipulated… or allow people to be free to move in the time-frozen world. It made for an interesting fight," he answered.
"As I was explaining," he began again, "The non-green shape-shifter has already taken two reality-transportation devices, from two HIVE members, Jinx and Mammoth. Our shape-shifter thinks he will be receiving one of these in the case of the device being set off, when in fact, you will be receiving his."
"So, no catches, no secrets, no apprenticeship, no turning me on the Titans," Terra quickly demanded.
"None of that. In fact, the Titans knowing you're back is something I do not want, considering the first thing that will happen is that you and the green shape-shifter, Beast Boy, will begin having your little high school sweetheart dates and other things that will-" he began, but paused after seeing her reaction. She looked withdrawn, and momentarily looked away.
"No? What, still beating yourself up over that?" he asked, in a semi-cocky way.
"Shut up," she muttered.
"Fair enough. No catch, no secrets, and I don't expect you to be my apprentice. And no Titans knowing you're back," Slade agreed, at last.
"Good."
The more Things Change
The more they Stay the Same.
Stay the Same
A Teen Titans OneShot.
April 10, 2013
3 months, 2 weeks, 5 days since resurrection.
Hours upon hours of searching for the HIVE's devices. Weeks, months, and still, not all of them were dealt with.
It was coming close to time. Their shape-shifting minion had split from their side months before after figuring out Terra was going to be going with Slade in the worst-case scenario, not himself. On this day, however, he decided to attack the Titans on their return to Jump City, after defeating the Brotherhood of Evil, and freeing Tokyo from its corrupt Police Commander.
Robin and Starfire had hit it off. Cyborg had upgraded the T-Car with a new advanced AI unit. Beast Boy and Raven were being themselves. Quarrels, verbal exchanges, and Beast Boy actually forcing Raven to watch a horror movie with him, the whole time with her chanting "Not a good idea", referencing the last time she watched one.
Terra had assumed the insider role of a schoolgirl student at a high-class Private School in uptown Jump City. The principal of Murakami School, Mark Jones, had ties to the HIVE. And two of her fellow students, Janice Grant and Taylor Edison, also knew a lot about the HIVE academy, after mistakenly applying the be students there and going into a restricted room, snooping as usual.
I.C., as it was called, was the single most important room in the entire facility.
I.C. was short for Intelligence Center. It was the room with all the information on HIVE projects. The girls stumbled across the files of the time-stopping project, and threatened to alert the authorities if they were not given enough money to attend the high-price Murakami School. The blackmailing worked well, quite obviously.
Janice had asked Terra to go pick up a schoolbook from a shop on another block, and she decided to rush over there to grab it, before Taylor left school too. She was beginning to get somewhere with her.
In the midst of doing so, she spotted Beast Boy, tumbling through a construction site. She quickly skidded to a halt, as she also spotted the other shape-shifter pouncing across the site nearby.
Beast Boy skidded and conked his head on a lamppost, but the shape-shifter turned his attention to her. Enraged, he tossed a slab of concrete at her, causing onlookers to flee. She quickly brought up a rock wall to shield herself, which then shattered both the slab and itself, all over her.
She lost her balance from the impact, and covered her head to keep the debris from catching her in the eyes. The dust settled around her, and she noticed out of the corner of her eye. Beast Boy, staring right at her.
"Terra?"
Terra's eyes widened a bit, and she began thinking.
"He spotted me. This isn't good. I've got to forget the book and go, fast. I'll say they were sold out," she thought, in a flurry.
"Terra!" Beast Boy shouted, dashing towards her.
She began composing herself for a cliche "You must have me confused with someone else" line, but luckily for her, a bulldozer got flung towards Beast Boy at the last second, causing him to dive out of the way.
Terra quickly used this opportunity to take what remained of the concrete slab, jump on it, and levitate up to the roof. She then landed both the slab and herself on the building's roof, left it there, dashed across the rooftop, then jumped down the 1-story drop onto another roof.
She then jumped down another story to street level, and rushed back to the school, with the eyes of onlookers staring in surprise.
She arrived back on campus, where both Janice and Taylor were waiting.
"Sorry, they were sold out," she explained, as she seemed to have come in while Janice and Taylor were going on about 'some girl' in another class that embarrassed herself.
They went on for nearly twenty minutes, all the while Terra trying to get more information from Taylor about the HIVE… before there was an interruption. At the most inopportune time, seeing as Taylor was about to blurt out something important.
"Hey, Terra!"
Terra nearly face-palmed, but held it back.
"It's me! Beast Boy!"
All three of them turned towards him, as Taylor was the first to speak.
"You know him?" she asked, as Terra simply shrugged. They all began to walk away, trying to distance themselves so they could continue their conversation.
Taylor and Janice were both highly dedicated to their studies, but were also snobby. Not only that, but they also knew the 'Teen Titans' as 'some local superhero group'. They didn't even know the members, and as such, didn't know who Beast Boy was.
"He's still there," Taylor whispered nervously, as all three of them turned to him, who was right behind them.
There was an awkward silence, broken by a silent hand-wave of Beast Boy's.
Then finally, Terra had enough, and decided to say something.
"Sorry, you've got the wrong girl."
This caused Beast Boy's mouth to gape in surprise.
"You don't remember me?" he asked.
"Should I?" she replied with a straight face, keeping composure well. Inside, her heart was telling her constantly. 'Tell him'. She wanted to, but she couldn't. Not until they found those devices.
"I'm Beast Boy. We used to hang out together. You thought I was funny…"
He then grinned and scratched the back of his head. That motion itself caused her to lose her composure, as she couldn't help let out a giggle.
She soon realized that she had lost composure, right as she heard the beeping noise. Her face went from a smile to stress. The beep meant a device was armed and was about to activate. She couldn't waste any time.
At the same time as the beep happened, Beast Boy said "See? I can still make you laugh…"
Maybe that caused him, Janice and Taylor not to hear the beep. She hoped so. She turned, trying to get to where she knew Slade would be.
"Like I said, you've got the wrong girl," she muttered, frustrated.
He quickly put a hand on her shoulder, which stopped her cold. Her composure was fading fast. She had to go, now.
"Maybe if we just talk, then you'll remember…" he begged.
"I've gotta go," she insisted, trying her hardest to maintain her self control.
"Just one pizza? I'm buying. What have you got to lose?" he continued, desperately.
To the rescue, her two friends saw her in trouble. Janice and Taylor both stepped between her and Beast Boy, and grabbed his arm.
"She's not interested," Taylor commanded, intimidating him.
"Yeah, get lost, Brat Boy." Janice chimed in, causing Terra to feel even worse.
Beast Boy was completely shot down, muttering hurt, "It's… Beast Boy…"
Terra felt nearly as crushed as he did. As his eyes began to water, she quickly spoke up.
"Maybe one slice," she replied. Her friends twisted their heads to her, mouths open and eyes wide. "What the hell?" didn't begin to describe their reactions.
Beast Boy jumped for joy, his expression enough to light up a thousand suns.
He quickly grabbed Terra's arm, and pulled her away.
"Great! I'll take you to our favorite place!" he exclaimed, as the two friends, left behind, stared in surprise.
"Creepy stalker guy," Janice muttered under her breath, as Taylor walked closer towards Terra.
"You sure you want to go with this guy?" Taylor asked.
"It's okay. I'll see you tomorrow," Terra replied confidently, although she knew that wouldn't be the case.
"No she won't," Janice muttered, and turned away, "If she's gonna be dating that freak…"
"Hey! Don't be like that…" Taylor replied, as Janice walked away.
Merely 10 minutes later, Beast Boy and Terra were enjoying themselves. Terra, like so many times before, laughed at his corny jokes.
"You haven't changed a bit, Terra," he said gleefully, as she quickly went to protecting her identity.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked solemnly.
"Because you are Terra," he replied straightforwardly. This caused her heart to jump. He knew. He knew, and she was going to have trouble getting him off now, using valuable time.
"What makes you so sure?" she managed to conjure up, all the while kicking herself for making such a stupid comeback.
"You look like her, you talk like her, you laugh like her…" he began listing, as she used all the self-control she had not to pour it all onto him.
"Don't you remember anything from before?" he asked.
She clenched her fists, rifling up everything she had to compose herself.
"I just remember high school," she replied.
He then went on a huge history rant about her past life, further causing her to lose more and more composure.
"Why would you want to be friends with someone who was so much trouble?" she asked.
"Because I know who she really is," he replied back immediately, causing her to quickly draw her gaze away from him.
Suddenly, a whiff of a great smell caught her nose's attention. Her favorite pizza.
"This isn't helping," she thought to herself, as Beast Boy grinned at the pizza, and then at her.
"One supreme pizza with extra anchovies, hold the mushrooms. Just the way you like it," he said with a wink. But at the same time, during that sentence, the beeping noise came back again.
This sent her into a panic.
"I don't like anchovies. I'm allergic. I should get going," she quickly said, and stood up from her chair.
"No, stay! I don't eat anchovies either. We'll get whatever you want!" he exclaimed, as she froze again.
"I've got a lot of homework and I need to get to the computer lab," she muttered. It was where Slade would be, and she had to get there, fast. She had to know what was going on, and where the device was.
"We've got an awesome computer at the Tower! You can work there! Be finished in half the time!" he said in sheer desperation.
She turned, and saw him again, pleading. She couldn't say no, no matter how much her brain was pulling her away.
"Ok, but I've got to be home before dark," she muttered.
"K!" Beast Boy happily replied.
Nearly 40 minutes later, and several beeps later, they arrived.
"Wow! This is cool!" she said, as she faked excitement.
"Come on. I'll show you your room," he quickly said after showing her all the areas of the Tower.
Finally they got there, and after comments on the decor… he grabbed a metal box that he made for her several years ago.
"I made that for you. Remember, Terra?" he began, but at the same exact time, the beep happened. Louder.
"It's cute. Listen. I've really gotta go," she began, insistently.
"Maybe your friend is out there somewhere. I hope you find her," she added.
"I already have," he asserted solemnly.
With that one, she lost all her composure. She had to tell him. She had to. She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Beast Boy…" she began to say, about to completely spill her guts.
"Come on, you've got to remember something! Anything!" he exclaimed, interrupting her.
She shook her head, about to admit that she did remember, but… suddenly, he bent down to the ground, which confused her.
"You can move the earth!" he exclaimed, and threw a wad of rock at her, soil from the island the Tower sat on. She didn't care whether it gave her away or not, but… she wasn't ready enough to block it anyway. It hit her in the face, causing her to feel even more hurt. "Why did you do that?" she yelled. But quickly, she realized the opportunity. An opportunity to get away, at last, and talk to Slade. Then she'd be back. She would. She couldn't leave Beast Boy in tatters.
She ran off, back to the lab, before it was too late.
"Terra! I'm sorry!" he shouted, "Maybe you need more time to remember how to use your powers!"
He then ran after her, and continued shouting.
"Come back! I'll help you!"
A long time later, Beast Boy had returned to the amusement park they spent so much time at.
"How could she have forgotten everything?" he said aloud to himself, shaking his head.
"There must be something I can say to help her remember," he said, looking in the reflection of broken glass.
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed. Slade.
"Maybe she doesn't want to remember," he replied.
"Slade! I should've realized you were behind this!" he yelled, "Why did you bring Terra back?"
"I had nothing to do with her return," he replied again, truthfully.
"You did something to take away her memory, and you took away her powers!" Beast Boy shot back, rightfully mad.
"I did nothing, dear boy. If the girl does not remember or does not use her powers, it is because she chooses so," Slade calmly replied, still being truthful.
Beast Boy, although, justifiably wasn't believing a word he said.
"Why wouldn't Terra want to remember? She was a hero! She had friends!" Beast Boy exclaimed. He then tuned down his tone, and said a bit more softly…
"She saved all of us!"
"Don't you see?" Slade began, preparing for his first lie of the night, "She no long wants to remember you."
This threw Beast Boy into a rageful sequence of smashing Slade's reflections in the already-broken glass.
Slade then jumped down from atop the nearby stall, and tried to hammer Beast Boy's skull, trying to knock him out. It didn't work, however, as Beast Boy dodged the strike by mere inches.
"I won't let you hurt her again!" Beast Boy shouted, as Slade recovered from the missed blast.
"You're the one who is hurting her," Slade began.
"Let her go," he said softly but demandingly, to no avail.
They began quarrelling again, further deconstructing the run-down theme park.
As they both came to a standstill, with Beast Boy slightly getting the upper hand, Slade began taunting him once more.
"Face it. She doesn't want to see you anymore," Slade cackled.
"Leave. Terra. Alone!" Beast Boy demanded, even more furious now.
He then jumped on Slade, beginning to pulverize him. Finally, when the dust had settled from the remaining buildings and rides in the theme park meeting their demise… he spotted Slade, laying motionless under debris.
But, then, he noticed something. The entire side of Slade's face… was gone. It was a Slade robot, nothing more. The real Slade wasn't even there.
April 11, 2013
3 months, 2 weeks, 6 days since resurrection.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get back, but…" Terra began, meeting Slade at the window in biology class.
"I know who you ran into. But that isn't important now," he muttered.
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"There's a device armed, but only I can get to it. And they're changed the wiring layout, so it's going to take some time," he explained.
"How much time do we have?"
"We have until noon. That gives us about half an hour. Do you still have the transportation device?" Slade asked. But she grew silent, eyes wide.
"Terra. Do you still have it?" he repeated himself.
"Yes, but… It's happening, isn't it? You can't defuse it?" Terra began. He stayed quiet this time.
"Without the shape-shifter, in all likelihood… I won't. If it isn't defused by noon, then turn on your transportation device. I already have it programmed to take us to another reality."
"Which reality?" she asked in curiosity, with her heart still beating fast from the realization things weren't going to last.
"Let's just say the Titans exist there too, but they won't be bothering us in person any time soon," Slade muttered cryptically, and then turned away from the window.
"I suggest," he added, "You quickly get Beast Boy off your back. I doubt you want him to be frozen in the way he is now."
"Ironic, isn't it?" Slade continued.
"What is?" Terra replied nonchalantly.
"That the Titans will meet their end doing what they always did. Fighting. Right now they're fighting our former friend at a steel melting plant in rural Jump City. And it's the one battle they won't win or lose, if we fail to defuse this one," Slade muttered, as suddenly, the bell rung.
"Remember, if the transportation device doesn't beep at noon… we have to go," Slade finally told her, as she simply nodded and turned away, to go out the door.
Though as soon as she was out the door, a certain someone jumped up and hurried after her.
"Are you going to keep running away from me?" Beast Boy asked.
This frustrated her. She wanted Beast Boy to be where he belonged when time froze. If time froze. Not here, worrying about her. Not fighting a losing battle.
"I'm not running from anything, go home!" she pleaded.
"Not until you talk to me," Beast Boy sternly demanded, as Terra sighed.
"You can't keep following me," she muttered, as she decided to enter the girl's locker room to get away.
"Why not?" he asked, as she stopped in front of the door.
"It's the girl's locker room," she replied, and quickly went inside.
As she got in, she quickly got out the transportation device, and checked it. It had a countdown on it. The time was 11:30 AM, and she had 30 minutes. They had 30 minutes. And possibly, the entire universe had 30 minutes.
She then hurried to the library, to try to speak to her friends Janice and Taylor one last time.
And so it was 11:49. 11 minutes until the deadline, and still no beep. No signs of defusal. All the transportation device was saying was "Time to transfer from Reality 5 to Reality 17", then showing how long was left until noon.
Beast Boy, from across the room, suddenly shouted 'I'm awake!', drawing her attention there. She thought he had finally went home, and this really bugged her.
"Go outside!" she whispered demandingly.
"So you're talking to me now?" he muttered.
"You're gonna get me in trouble! Go outside!" she begged him.
"Not unless you come with me," he whispered.
At this point, she was straight-up pissed off at his inability to leave her alone.
Finally they got to the hall, with Terra quickly checking the clock.
"You're got two minutes," she muttered, quite literally.
"Maybe you don't remember, but I do. You're my friend. You're a Teen Titan!" Beast Boy pleaded his case once more, causing her to shake her head.
"You're wrong," she softly muttered.
"You don't belong here, Terra…" Beast Boy replied, as Terra completely lost composure, and began to panic. She was running out of time. All the what-if's were hitting her. The Titans were still battling the shape-shifter, and needed their own shape-shifter. And there he was, by his lonesome, begging her to acknowledge that she existed.
"Stop calling me that!" she exclaimed.
"It's who you are," he replied, calmly.
"What do you want from me?"
"Why can't things just go back to the way they were? You were so happy then," he asked her, a bit withdrawn.
"Things were never the way you remember. Now just leave me alone."
"Here. Take this… in case you're in trouble," he told her, and held out a communicator.
"In case you need me. You can call me anytime," he added, as she shook her head.
"I don't need it," she muttered. But right after she said it… she realized. It was noon. And the device wasn't defused. She knew what that meant.
"Time's up," she whispered, in a state of shock.
"Terra…" he whispered.
"Things change, Beast Boy," she finally said.
"The girl you want me to be is just a memory."
Suddenly, Beast Boy's own communicator rang.
"Come in, Beast Boy!" Robin demanded, "We need your help!"
But Terra noticed before Beast Boy closed the communicator… that Robin's feed cut out. Not because he ended it, but because the time-freeze was going by. The entire sky outside suddenly turning into a spotlight was a sign of that. She only had about 30 seconds, or less.
"Come with me," Beast Boy finally said to her, as she shook her head.
"You go. You're the Teen Titan. That's who you are. That's not me. I'm not a hero. I'm not out to save the world. I'm just a girl with a geometry test next period, and I haven't studied," she finally said, and backed away, as the school bell rung.
In the midst of the crowd of students, she got out the transportation device… and turned it on. She then immediately vanished, out of sight.
"Beast Boy to Robin. I'm on my way. Over," he muttered into the communicator, not knowing all his teammates were already forever frozen in time.
He then turned around and ran towards the exit. As he went outdoors, the wall of bright whiteness that was freezing time consumed him, then rushed in through the school doors.
January 16, 2006
Reality Seventeen
6 minutes since the end of Reality Five
"So, we made it…" Terra sadly muttered towards Slade.
"Don't be so depressed, child. Your friends may be gone there, but they are still here. And your memories, theirs, and all your triumphs… even the ones over me… are here too. And you and I are the only ones that truly know about them," he explained, walking away from where they both had been relocated.
"Is this still Jump City?" Terra asked, looking around. They were on Titans island, minus the tower and most of the rock formations… but the city looked different. Brighter, and cheerier. Almost like one of those classic cartoons where everything is perfect. The sky was bright and beautiful. The waves were smoothly flowing, and the sounds of the crime-controlled city that was there before were no longer. It was no surprise that the HIVE was planning to come to this reality. It seemed so perfect at first glance. So beautiful…
"No, I'm afraid not. I never said things would stay the same," he said finally.
He then walked off towards another side of the island, as Terra stood there, solemnly.
She dropped the transportation device in the dirt atop the peak of the island, and walked off towards where he was going. Her body language told the story as she walked away. She felt like she had failed Beast Boy, and failed everyone. The story of her life.
And behind her laid the device, its screen flashing. Their current location was listed.
'San Francisco, CA'.