With two hills blocking both sides of the path, the young blonde teenager slowly walked down while observing the trail around her. Terra didn't know where the path lead (Most likely to a dead end, she mused), but she didn't really seem to care. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go. Though she didn't have much on her, besides the clothes she was wearing and maybe a few change in her pocket, she did have one thing that a lot of people didn't have. She had all the time in the world.
She lazily waved her hands around like a conductor at an orchestra concert and watched the small pebbles dance around her. Chuckling lightly to herself, she wondered how many other teenagers were out there with abilities like her. Though she's been to many places, she had yet to find someone like her. It's a hard thing to do though. It's not like you can just show people your powers. People get freaked out over anything unusual these days.
Terra thought back to the day when she first discovered her "special" ability. She remembered just being five years old. While walking home from school, she noticed a couple of her classmates (Landon and Jenny) by a pond skipping some pebbles. Wanting to join in on the fun, Terra ran full speed towards the two kids.
"Can I try," she asked while looking for a smooth pebble to throw into the pond with them.
The kids nodded and waited patiently as Terra swung her hand back and soared the pebble in the air... just for it to plop down into the pond. She felt the tears starting to form in her eyes but before they could drop, a light flashed before her eyes for a brief second. When she was able to see again, she noticed that her two classmates were staring at her in shock.
Confused, she tilted her head to the side and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jenny shakily raised his finger and pointed towards the pond. "The pebble. I saw it sink. But then it just jumped out of the water and skipped!"
Landon shook his head wildly. "Can you do it again?"
Smiling, Terra repeated the same process and once again, blanked out for a second. As soon as she was able to see again, she saw that her pebble was skipping happily down the pond.
It would've been a happy memory had she not told her parents about what happened that day.
But how could she not? It was an exciting moment for her. She has discovered that she had super powers! Just like the heroes on TV! Why wouldn't she tell her parents?
As it turned out, her parents were less than thrilled to hear the story. She remembered how they gave each other worried glances before sending her to her room. Then, she heard them screaming at each other. Never before had her parents fought until that day. And they were fighting about her. When the atmosphere finally calmed down, her parents came into her room and told her to never show or use her powers ever again.
Though Terra didn't fully understand why she shouldn't, she understood that her parents were serious about it so she tried her best to keep her powers a secret. The only problems were that there were too many dangerous things going on that Terra couldn't resist in trying to stop and she did not know how to control her powers.
Terra stopped walking. It hurt her to even think about those memories now. I hurt so many people throughout my life. Because of me, there were too many earthquakes, avalanches, mudslides... deaths...
Her trail of thought stopped when she heard a noise coming from behind her. Turning around, she noticed the movements of something running towards her. And it's big. She waited for a moment before identifying it as a huge scorpion. This will be fun. She started running down the path while hearing the creature catching up to her. If I know anything about canyons, there's going to be a dead end somewhere.
As she ran, the creature lifted his leg and struck it in the dirt right next to Terra causing her to skid across the ground and lose her hair clip. Okay, now it's personal. Getting up, she continued to run until she finally reached a dead end. Bingo. Turning around to face the creature, she covered her face as if surrendering. Above her, she heard, "Titans! Go!"
An audience. Perfect.
Feeling warmth run through her body, she noticed the rocks beginning to loosen and with the lift of her hand, she squashed the creature. That's for the hair clip.Feeling proud of her accomplishment, Terra decided to meet the audience that witnessed the scene. With a gesture, the ground plummeted her up to the top of the canyon where she laid her eyes on the Teen Titans.
No freaking way! Okay, calm down. Just be cool about it. Jumping towards them, she noticed that they all had a look of astonishment on their faces. "What? Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before," she asked. She waited for a response, but when she didn't receive one right away, she mentally wanted to slap herself. Come on, Terra. They are superheroes. What a dumb thing to say.
Luckily, Robin was able to stop her train of thought. "I'm Robin," he said while holding out his hand to shake. "We're the-"
"Teen Titans," Terra shouted excitedly while fist bumping his hand. "Rock on. It's cool to meet you guys. I'm Terra and you're Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and..."
Beast Boy, who at first stayed quiet, shouted, "Boy Beast!" She looked at him confused. "Uh, I mean... Bass Boot!" Terra smiled at that. "No!"
"Beast Boy," Terra finished for him.
Embarrassed, Beast Boy transformed into a turtle and hid in his shell.
How adorable. She couldn't help but laugh at his actions. "Dude! He's hilarious!"
"Hilarious," questioned Beast Boy while poking his head out of his shell. "Me? Really?"
How can he think he's not? Terra winked at Beast Boy causing him to turn back into human form, look love struck, and then faint.
Then, Starfire flew over to her. "Curiosity abounds. Please." Terra nodded her consent but nothing prepared her for Starfire's fast questioning. "Where did you come from? How did you get here? What is your favorite color? Do you wish to be my friend?"
Whoa. "Um... Earth, walked, red, and... sure."
Excitedly, Starfire pulled Terra into a tight hug. "Hello, new friend!"
When she was finally released, she noticed that Beast Boy was slowly inching his way towards her. I never thought that he would be the shy type. When he finally reached her, she noticed that he was a lot calmer than the first time they interacted. "So, what brings such a cool little chickie to our big groovy city, huh?"
Mentally, she cringed at that question. Even though many people asked her that question and she's said the same response multiple times, it was still hard for her to act calm when answering that question. Don't slip up. "I go where the wind takes me, you know? I get to see new places, meet new people, stomp a few bad guys here and there." Or at least that's one way to put it.
"You mean, you don't have a home," asked Robin.
Right on the dot. "The Earth is my home. I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill." Not the best way to live, but it's the best I can do.
"Unacceptable! I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness," said Starfire already feeling protective of her new friend.
Even though Terra thought it was sweet, she couldn't help but say, "I have a flashlight."
However, what she didn't expect was for Starfire to offer her to stay in the Titan Tower. What surprised her even more was that most of them were encouraging her to stay. I mean, they're known superheroes. Surely they have better things to do. When she turned, she noticed Beast Boy, and something about what he did and said made her say "Well, I guess I could stay one night."
And that's when her life changed.