Returns and Chats
Downtown Jump City, Late Afternoon:
The Titans were getting thrashed. For the 3rd time, Beast Boy found himself hurtling through the air and landing hard on the cold street pavement.
"Dude!" Beast Boy complained, sitting up and holding his head in pain. "Isn't it about time we beat this guy?"
Adonis laughed. "Stupid Titans, your brains must be as weak as your muscles. Ya can't beat Adonis. I've upgraded." And he picked up two nearby cars parked on the sidewalk and hurled them at Robin and Cyborg as they ran toward him, laughing.
Robin ducked out of the way, but Cyborg was taken off guard by one car and was brought down with a loud crash. Robin jumped and avoided more of the projectiles Adonis launched at him, and threw several of his explosive disks at Adonis, who put up his hands to protect him.
"Ha! Weakling! You're gonna have to do better than that to bring down Adonis— UGH!" He was stopped in the middle of a sentence by an exploding disk caught in the face, throwing up a big smoke cloud.
Adonis coughed and growled. "You're gonna regret that," Adonis yelled, running out of the cloud and throwing at punch at Robin… and only going through air. "Huh?" Adonis spun around. "Where'd ya go, ya little twerp…?"
Just then, he was hit in the back with a sonic cannon blast and thrown to the ground. Adonis picked himself up, again, but then was brought back down by green bolts in the gut. As Adonis struggled to get back on his feet for the 3rd time, dark energy surrounded him and held him in place, also damaging his suit so he couldn't escape.
"Gotcha," Raven stated in her monotone voice, Robin and the others behind her, and Beast Boy hanging back from the group.
"Good work, guys," Robin said, smirking. He gave Raven a thumbs up and she nodded and let Adonis down, Robin tying him up tight for the police.
"Now let's go—pizza anyone?" Cyborg offered, rubbing his hands together. "Sounds ok," Robin said, and Starfire and Raven nodded their approval.
The rest of the group then looked at Beast Boy, except for Cyborg, who was already running to the pizza place.
"Beast Boy… you wanna come?" Robin asked. There was a silence as the others waited for an answer from the green teen.
"Naw… I'm good…" Beast Boy said, backing away. "I'll go to the Tower… blow off some steam…" And he turned into a pterodactyl and flew into the sunset to Titans Tower.
Starfire was confused. "Please, why does he act this way and not want to come eat the pizza with us?" Robin shrugged and the 3 of them followed Cyborg to the pizza place.
-Elsewhere-
It didn't take Beast Boy very long to get back to Titans Tower. When he first stepped through the doors after identifying himself as a Titan, he walked right to the training room, found the 150 pound weight, and began to do reps.
After about 50 reps of those, Beast Boy went to the punching bag and began punching it with all his strength. A couple of weeks ago he was denied by a girl he thought had been an old friend.
Beast Boy had gotten over it after 2 days of sadness, and helped the other Titans round up the monster they were fighting. Memories came back, and Beast Boy pounded the bag harder and harder.
"Things change, Beast Boy," Terra said, facing away from Beast Boy.
She turned around, a neutral expression on her face. "The girl you want me to be is… just a memory." Beast Boy had been speechless.
Robin had called Beast Boy on his communicator for assistance. "Come with me," Beast Boy pleaded after the message was over. Terra had shaken her head.
"No. You go. You're the Teen Titan, that's who YOU are." She had looked down at the floor. "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."
Terra began backing away as the school bell rang and students began flocking out of their classrooms, talking and chatting while walking to their next class.
Beast Boy didn't follow her or even say goodbye as the girl he had believed in disappeared into the crowd.
Back in the present, Beast Boy realized he was punching the bag so hard that there was now a small hole in it, leaking out sand. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and hit the bag once more, then turned around and left, going back to the entrance to Titans Tower.
-Back at the Pizza Place-
Cyborg was helping himself to his 5th slice of pizza, while everyone else ate their 2nd slice. Starfire was the only one who wasn't eating.
Robin finished his slice and reached for another when he noticed Starfire. He waved a gloved hand in front of her face. "Star… you there… Earth to Star…" Starfire shook her head as if waking up. "Yes, Robin, I am of this Earth…" Robin stopped waving his hand and got his 3rd slice of pizza.
"What's wrong, Star?" Robin asked, taking a bite. "You've been awfully quiet since we got here… something bugging you?" Starfire looked down at the floor. "I… am concerned for Beast Boy… he usually enjoys eating the pizza with us… why does he not wish to join us?"
Raven closed her eyes and sighed. "He's bummed about the girl he thought was Terra… remember what happened a week ago? He thought she had come back…?"
"I thought he was over that…" Robin said. "He said he was, anyway and seemed fine…" Robin took a bite of pizza again.
"Well it must've messed with the dude's head when the gal of his dreams rejected him," Cyborg said, stuffing another slice of pizza in his mouth without a care. The table was silent. Robin put his slice of pizza back on the platter. "I'm… not hungry anymore…"
-Back at Titans Tower-
Beast Boy exited Titans Tower and walked down the slope to where the waves crashed against the shore rhythmically.
He sat down where he and Terra had enjoyed skipping rocks when she was with the Titans, where he had first learned she couldn't control her powers, memories invading his head.
Beast Boy sighed and looked out at the water, the purple sunset reflecting off the waves, and at his reflection in the water. Slowly, Beast Boy bent down and picked up a pebble in his palm. He stared at the pebble for a bit, then brought his arm back and threw the rock.
It skipped across the surface of the water creating small ripples, and finally sunk into the water with a big plop, messing up a reflection.
A reflection—Beast Boy looked up, a confused look on his face that turned into a look of surprise almost right away.
Traveling across the water at an amazing speed was a blonde, riding on a large rock—a blonde Beast Boy thought he would never see again.
-Back at the Pizza Place-
Cyborg was paying for the pizza at the front counter as the others talked in a small group about Beast Boy. "We'll find out soon enough," Robin said, "Let's go home and see what this is all about…"
-Titans Tower-
He stood up, amazed, and watched the person come closer and closer, until she hit the shore and the rock dropped, her tie and hair blowing in the slight wind.
Beast Boy was speechless as the girl stood there on the shore, and still was when she grabbed him and hugged him.
Beast Boy's shocked expression turned into one of joy. "TERRA!" He shouted, and hugged her back enthusiastically and firmly.
"I didn't think I'd EVER see you again… what about things change… and school?" Terra laughed and stopped hugging Beast Boy. She looked down and blushed. "Well… I always remembered, well… y'know… my past… but I didn't want it to become part of my life anymore…"
Terra paused. "I had amnesia for a bit, but it wore off. I was really happy to see you, but never showed it… and I still had my powers, I just hid them…"
"After I told you that things change, something just didn't feel right, and I knew I shouldn't have lied to you… so I left and came here…" Beast Boy smiled. "I KNEW it was you… do ya know how you got out of the rock?" He questioned Terra, who looked down at the ground. "I don't know," she admitted.
"I just found myself… alive, and I had no idea what I was doing in a big underground cavern… or what I was doing or how I could control earth… so I went to school and found my own place to live."
Beast Boy smiled and hugged Terra. "It's awesome that you're back, Terra," Beast Boy said as the sun set and the two teens stood there, embracing in a hug… just as the other Titans appeared, Starfire holding Cyborg and Raven carrying Robin.
As they landed on the island with shocked expressions and raised eyebrows, Terra and Beast Boy broke apart from the hug, both blushing slightly. But Beast Boy quickly announced to the already shocked Titans, "Hey guys! Guess who's back to be a Titan again?"