Her name was Terra. I'd met her only a few times, but she was my hero. I wanted to be just like her.
I'd lived in Jump City all my life. I remember when the Teen Titans first showed up. I remember when the Tower was being built. I remember seeing the news when they'd stopped their first bad guy. They all seemed like really cool people. But the only times I ever saw them were when they were fighting crime. They seemed too important to really look up to, too unattainable.
A little while ago, I'd gotten into a huge fight with my parents and ran away. I managed to get all the way out of town. That's when I met her. She was practicing lifting a boulder with her powers, and seemed to be doing pretty well. I knew I probably shouldn't have, but I spoke up.
"Wow! So cool!"
She gasped, and the boulder was sent flying into the air, landing with a crash right in front of me.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there," she apologized profusely.
I laughed with glee. "Are you kidding me? That was awesome!" I said. "I'm Charlie. What's your name?"
She smiled. "Terra. It's nice to meet you."
We spent the next few hours talking until I started to get tired. We said goodbye, and I went home.
Later, I found out that the reason she'd freaked out was because she couldn't control her powers. But at the time, all I cared about was this cool new girl I'd met who could move earth.
I didn't see her for a while after that. At least, not until I saw her on the news with the Teen Titans. She had on a cool new outfit, and she looked totally awesome! I told all my friends that I'd met the new Titan girl, but none of them believed me. Still, I kept cheering her on every time I saw her picture in the news. Sometimes, I'd even see her on the street and wave to her. She'd always wave back, saying "Hey, Charlie!"
One day, though, she stopped showing up. It was around the time that Titan Tower had been broken into. Everyone was saying it was her fault, but I didn't believe it. The Terra I knew would never betray her friends.
Then Slade took over. Everyone cleared out, even my parents, except me. I wasn't going to leave my home. What if Terra came back? The Titans were gone. She wouldn't recognize anyone. I had to be here for her in case she came back. I knew she would. She had to. The city was in danger.
A couple days after the evacuation, I got caught trying to steal food by one of Slade's robot friends. It dragged me to the center of town with my hands behind my back.
"Let go of me," I said, trying to wriggle from its grip.
"There's no point, Charlie." I gasped, staring up at Terra, the orange Slade symbol planted firmly over the chest plate of her new armor. "It's hopeless."
I couldn't believe my eyes. It had to be a trick. It had to be!
"You're not Terra!" I shouted. "I don't know who you are, but give Terra back!"
She gazed down at me with emotionless eyes. "The Terra you knew is gone. And she's not coming back."
"That's not true! She'll come back. I know she will. She'll come back and beat you and Slade and all these stupid robots. She's not gone. She's a Teen Titan!"
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Not anymore."
I remember tears coming from my eyes. This wasn't the Terra I'd met that day. This was someone completely different. "Fine. If the Terra I know is gone for good, then crush me. Squash me into a pancake. Go ahead! Do it!"
She lifted a boulder over my head, five times bigger than the one she'd been practicing with the day we first met. I gulped. She was really going to do it. I closed my eyes as the boulder began to fall. I heard the crash, I fell to the ground, but…I was still alive. I opened my eyes and stared up at Terra, who glared back at me.
"That was a warning. Next time, I won't be so nice." She kicked me in the head, knocking me out. By the time I woke up, everything was over, and the city was back to normal.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what happened. Was it really just a warning? If I'd tried again, would she really have crushed me? These questions haunted me for months. All the way up until my freshman year of high school.
I was walking down the hall when I saw someone I thought looked incredibly familiar. I ran up to her, grabbing her shoulder and turning her toward me. "Terra? Terra!"
The girl gave me a confused look. "Do I know you?"
"It's me," I said desperately. "It's Charlie. Don't you remember?"
The girl shook her head. "Sorry. I don't know anyone by that name. Listen, I've gotta get to Geometry. I have an exam today, and I haven't studied." She walked away before I could ask more.
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "You were there that day." I turned around to see Beast Boy. What was he doing here?
"What?" was all I could manage.
"When Slade took over. You were still in the city after everyone else left. Why?"
I looked out the window into the courtyard. "I had a friend who was still in the city. I had to make sure she was okay."
"There was nobody else in the city but you."
I smiled. "Yes there was." I gave the superhero one last look before walking off to my English class.
Her name was Terra. She was my hero. And someday…she'll be back.