NOTES: I've been away from FanFiction for...a long time. It always bothered me that I lfet this story unfinished, so I decided to come back and give it another go. Here is the beginning of a revamped version of The Dark Side! (Sequel to The New Teen Titans)
When I originally started this series, the show had just started (or at least announced) the season 4 plot. So, I wrote a lot of this prior to the whole Trigon end of the world, and that incredibly lame series finale where "not" Terra came back. This is a world where Trigon never possessed Raven, the Titans grew up, and Terra came back 20+ years in the future. Enjoy.
Prologue
Lightning darted across the sky as torrents of rain pummeled the shattered ground. The entire block had been reduced to rubble, and the air seemed to reverberate in the aftermath of the blast. There were countless bodies strewn among the wreckage. Some struggled in vain to separate themselves from the debris, but most were motionless, their life long since extinguished.
At the heart of the chaos, the Tower's foundation stuck out like a sore thumb. The walls had been reinforced with a rare alien alloy that Cyborg swore would make the facility indestructible, but now it only radiated an eerie blue-green glow.
The tower was brand new, as were the Titans who now stood to defend it. They clustered together by the empty doorframe, panic dancing across their faces. This was their first real mission, and they had failed. Their headquarters was gone, the city was in ruins, and they were powerless; betrayed by one of their own. Alex had fallen. Her powers were greater than anyone could have predicted, and they consumed her.
Alex strolled toward her former allies, the earth beneath her feet trembled with every step. Pulse. That was her name now. Alex had always said she could feel the earth pulsing through her veins, as if the planet's heartbeat were in sync with her own. The name stuck. It was simple; oddly sinister. But her pulse went beyond mere dirt and stone. Everything had a pulse, and with enough practice, Alex could not only sense an object's inner rhythm, she could control it.
Disrupting the rhythm could turn solids into liquids, and allow her to pass through solid matter, but stopping the rhythm created localized explosions as molecules blew apart, unable to retain their physical form. Tara had walked the path of the destroyer. She knew where such a blatant abuse of power would lead.
Alex was her daughter, and these talents were a family curse. Tara did everything in her power to keep Alex out of the wrong hands. She raised the girl in the Watchtower, surrounded by the world's finest heroes. Alex had more role models and mentors than she knew what to do with, but when the rebellious teenager started having too much fun with her deadly abilities, Tara pulled too hard on the leash that tied her down, and Alex broke free.
This was her first real mission, and she had succeeded. The Tower was gone, the city was in ruins, and the Titans came to her like lambs to the slaughter. She was in control, and this was only the beginning.