Whee, oneshot time! I've been reigniting the flame of my Teen Titans inspiration by combing through my Seasons 1 & 2 DVDs, and was struck with a oneshot idea in the middle of "Betrayal." This has no plot. Basically just Beast Boy's muddled, confused thoughts about why the hell Slade is tormenting him, and what Terra's been hiding all this time.
I don't get why he's doing this to me. I don't need this, and Terra doesn't need this. What does he want with me? More importantly, what does he want with her? ...Never mind. I don't want to know.
What I want to know is, why me? Why Terra?
Slade's already got beef with Robin, and how the leader of our team now lives his life is proof of that. Robin hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep since the H.I.V.E. infiltrated our tower and seeded Robin's mind with the riddle of who Slade is. Day in and day out, Robin wracks his mind and slaves his body, training hard in hopes of rising to Slade's expectations and overthrowing him someday. I really don't understand how his mind works, but that's not what concerns me at the moment—I'm digressing.
Slade already ruined one Titan's life. Why is he going after me now? What significance do I have to him? The rest of the team has already established that I'm worthless, except for Terra, but now I'm watching that all crumble down. I get this horrible feeling, looking into Terra's eyes, that she needs to tell me something but doesn't know how. Was it all a trick? Did I let myself fall for something stupid again?
Maybe this is another one of Slade's mind games. I've got to be cool, level-headed. Like Robin, or Raven...hell, right now, I'd even take Cyborg's composure. I can feel myself falling apart with every breath screaming through my lungs.
Terra could have easily killed Slade—she could tear the world literally in half if she wanted to, so why can't she cripple the guy? Not like I'm expecting her to kill him; she's not like that. Robin, maybe, but not Terra. Never Terra.
Terra's not like the other Titans. She doesn't overlook me—instead, it's more like she found me out and decided to stick with me.
Tonight was one of the greatest nights of my life, up till now. Now, when Slade is slowly but surely cornering us in the House of Mirrors at the carnival, I can feel that this night, this one perfect night I get with Terra, is being torn to shreds. By Slade.
Damnit!
I glance over at Terra again (or is it her reflection? I can't tell; there are so damn many of us here...) and see fear. Tears are brimming in her cornflower blue eyes, and her breathing is coming out in short, desperate gasps. She's acting like a caged animal; I'm the one in my zone. If it were just me and Slade here, I could tear every goddamn mirror in this room apart, never stopping until one or both of us was dead, if only to save Terra.
But she's here. I can't trust the reflections, and I can't trust the illusions.
Oh, the irony...