Disclaimer: I know why we put disclaimers up, but like most legal stuff, it doesn't really make sense. The website is about FANFICTION. Keyword: Fan! Shouldn't people understand that that means that no one is trying to take credit for anyone else's work? Sigh. Whatever. Teen Titans...blah blah...Cartoon Network...blah blah...DC Comics.

Author's Note: I've got this entire story planned out. Start to finish, chapter to chapter. I give you my word I'm not going to quit writing until I'm finished. It's not going to be easy, as apparent from past stories. I've had bad luck ending what I've started in the past. I get an idea, start writing, get bored, and then get a new idea. It's an endless cycle of plot bunnies and disappointment. BUT...I will finish this story...I WILL!

I know one particular aspect of any story that pretty much everyone is interested in. Pairings. I know, it's way too early for that, seeing as Tara is still little...but I'm too excited! Romance isn't a major part of this story, but it will include a lot of pairings. The most prominent is Beast Boy/Terra, of course. Others include: pre-canon Robin/Starfire, hints of Beast Boy/Raven, very minor Kid Flash/Jinx, mentions of Kid Flash/Raven, Kid Flash/Magenta and Kid Flash/Terra and some Outsiders and Team Titans pairings too.

Speaking of couples, I have a small issue. Slade. I can't decide how I want to represent their relationship. Should I have it similar to as how it was in the comics? Should it just be as how it was face-value on the show? Part of me wants to go all the way and keep the Slade/Terra relationship. Another part of me retorts with, "ew! No way, that's gross!" Then I think, "but oddly intriguing." Sigh. When we get to Slade, I'll make the decision...but advice would be nice. There will also be a passing mention of Slade/Adeline and the rest of the Wilson family (Jericho, Ravager I, Ravager II, Ravager IV) but we won't meet any of them.

Life was difficult for the Markov family during the following few weeks. Gregor had went to their parents about his chipped tooth but had orchestrated a cover that it had been the result of a nasty trip and fall while he had been exploring the grounds. King Viktor had sent him to a dentist who easily fixed the chip and since then, neither Brion or Gregor seemed eager to mention what really happened, if at all.

All three Markov children found themselves feeling differently about each other, their parents and themselves. Gregor was still serious and hot-headed, but since he finally revealed the secret he had been keeping, he had become more pleasant to be around. He seemed less reserved than usual, in fact, when Tara had asked her brothers if they wanted to play a game with her, it had been Gregor who volunteered. Tara always assumed that his frustrated -and frustrating- attitude was due to his role as the family heir. Perhaps his true stress came from harbouring their parent's secret.

Brion, who was usually the most easygoing of the siblings, had become extremely sensitive around their parents. For example, during one late-night dinner, everyone had been eating silently when the king looked up from his meal.

"Anna, may you please pass me the gravy?"

He said it politely but it still sent shivers up Tara's spine despite there being no underlying undertones that suggested anything less. The queen's hand was already on the handle when Brion stood up abruptly, causing his chair to creak backwards. Through gritted teeth he said, "no worries. I'll get it to you, Father."

He stomped past Tara, circled around the table and grabbed the small tub out of their mother's grasp. He clutched the gravy boat tightly and fast-walked over to his father. When Brion passed his brother's seat, Gregor looked about ready to question what was happening. Brion reached the king's chair and slammed the gravy boat down in front of him.

"Here you go," Brion hissed, "enjoy." Turning on his heel, he stalked over to the door. He did not even register the king's confused thank you before announcing to the table, "I've lost my appetite. I'll be in my room if anybody needs me. Good night."

"Brion! Get back here," King Victor called but was not heard over the loud slam of the door. The young prince was already gone, leaving his shocked parents and sullen siblings in his wake.

Tara couldn't blame her brother for how he was acting. On the contrary, she also acted different around her parents now. It was hard to say which parent was more difficult to be around; she was frightened of the king and could hardly bring herself to refer to him as her father with a straight face and she had to use large amounts of will-power around her mother. Many times had she had to restrain herself from blurting out that she knew the secret or asking to know more about- what was his name- John Davies, her biological father. Tara knew the risks of asking and it was guaranteed that she would not receive any answers about her supposed real father.

Despite how she and her brothers were acting, many things about her life at the palace remained the same. The sun rose every morning just as the evening sky was always illuminated by the moon and millions of tiny stars. Her nanny was still infuriating and strict; the old woman hadn't noticed any change in Tara and treated her no differently than before. She still had to wear the frilliest of dresses, and, even though she knew better, she was still treated like a princess. Perhaps she was not a royal by blood, but everything she disliked about the title still existed. The offending list was long, but the topper was always the orders- the incessant commands directed at her by her parents, her nanny, everyone.

Outside the castle, right beside the royal gardens, there stood a fountain. It was fairly big and made of rough stone, but beautiful all the same. The fountain's centerpiece was that of a fairy holding a flower over her head. The fairy's long legs crossed together into a plié, and a pair of wings stretched out behind her. Water squirted out of the flower that she held in a way that it created an umbrella shielding the fairy from its own spray. Tara smiled softly as she stretched her hand out and cupped a handful of water. This was her favourite place in the whole castle; it was so serene and peaceful. She lowered her hand back and swished it around, creating ripples in the water.

"Princess!"

Tara reluctantly stood to her feet and faced Ms. Vichkanova. The woman glowered just as soon as she noticed the front of Tara's grass-stained dress. They exchanged no pleasantries for this happened too often for either of their tastes. They both knew what was next so, with one last condescending glance, Ms. Vichkanova began to head back for the castle. Tara rubbed her wet hand against her hip as she followed her nanny up the front steps of the castle. Ms. Vichkanova began a new rant against Tara's dirty appearance. "-looks like you haven't combed your hair in days! When we get back to the castle, you will wash up, change your clothes and-" Tara tuned the rest out and instead, preoccupied herself by kicking a stray stone that lay on the pathway. She had always disliked taking orders but recently it had become almost unbearable. Being forced to sit in a chair for hours on end while her parents and their visitors droned on about things she didn't even understand was hard enough, but when it got in the way of her doing anything enjoyable, well-

When she wasn't forced to sit in on royal proceedings, she had to attend school- not that she would actually classify it as school. There were no other students, no playground or other things you'd normally imagine when thinking of the establishment. It was just her and a tutor in one of the castle's many rooms. Her current tutor was nice enough, a good-natured English-woman in her late thirties named Marsha Wilkins. The problem was that Tara had never been studious or attentive enough to truly succeed in academia. Regardless, she was learning at varied levels; year six to year eight, depending on the subject. From what she knew, most kids her age would only be doing material at a year two or three level. This was a silver lining, at least she was past those lessons.

"Did you finish your English homework, Tara?"

Her best subject by far was foreign languages. She loved the strange words and the even stranger accents. One of her biggest dreams was to explore the rest of the world and interact with different people while soaking in the culture. She doubted the credibility of her wish seeing as she had only left the palace's property once in her life, and it had not been the greatest experience. She handed the slightly crumpled piece of paper to her tutor, already certain that she would receive a high mark on it. Along with her native tongue of Romanian, she was already fluent in English. She knew some words of other languages too but English had always been the one that fascinated her the most.

Martha scanned Tara's homework a few times before saying in a congratulatory tone, "well done Tara, it looks like full marks once again."

"Thank you." The reply was simple and distant. The smile on Martha's face dimmed slightly and she dropped the paper on the table between them.

"What about Mathematics," she asked, "I know you had problems with it in the past."

"I finished most of it," Tara flipped the pages of one of her notebooks, "but there were a few parts I didn't understand."

"Don't worry," Martha replied sweetly, "we'll clear up any problems you had." Tara nodded slowly, but dared not to smile. She knew far too well that she should not get attached to a tutor or a nanny. Martha would be gone soon; she didn't know exactly when, whether weeks or months or maybe she would be the second to last a full year. It didn't matter, not really. Tara thought it was pointless to warm up to Martha just to be disappointed when she would come in for her daily classes and see someone else in the teacher's seat. It had happened so many times before; Tara didn't really want to deal with that again. So, she stayed indifferent of Martha's presence.

"Okay, I didn't understand this question," Tara said, pointing at the appropriate page.

And so, the lesson began, just like it did every Monday to Friday.

Tara stared at her reflection indignantly. In a snobby tone, she mocked her nanny, "Chin up! Do this, do that! Curtsey to your elders, Tara! Eat with your mouth closed, Tara! Most girls would kill to be a princess, Tara!" She ripped the sash right off her dress angrily, "why do I even need a stupid nanny telling me what to do? Isn't-" she split the torn sash into two, then four, then six pieces, "it enough everyone else does it too? Why do I have to act like they want me to? Why can't I just-" tears began to form in her eyes, and the pieces of cloth dropped to the ground, "be who I want to be?" Not caring that she was having a tantrum, she stomped on one of the ripped pieces and sobbed, "Why? Why?"

That was all she really wanted, to be her own person. She didn't want a planned life, people telling her what she was supposed to do or be. She didn't want to live in fear of her father or fear for her mother. She wanted change, for things to get better. Some people would wish for a fairy godmother; to live life like a fairytale, to have their own Cinderella story. Others would pray to their guardian angel, hoping for guidance or hope. Several would even rub lamps, hoping for a genie to appear, eager to grant the person wishes. Tara didn't have a fairy or a genie or an angel but someone did grant her wish. She wanted change and that is what she got. Problem was, it wasn't for the better.

Her so-called fairy godmother?

General Immortus.

The first time she saw him was a few weeks after her eighth birthday. Although it was a sunny day outside, Tara found herself walking aimlessly around the castle's halls. She was just beginning to enjoy herself, a rare feeling for the princess now that her royalty-related duties had become more frequent. She turned the corner and immediately noticed the strange sight before her. Gregor and Brion were hunched over a door, arguing in low voices.

"Move over Brion," Gregor whispered, "I can't hear!"

Brion began to retort, "well, if you hadn't been hogging the middle-"

Before their fight could escalade, Tara interrupted, "what's going on?"

Brion put his index finger up to his lips. He warned her in a hushed tone, "we don't want any of them to hear us."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "We don't want who to h-"

Gregor pounced on her, covering her mouth with his hand. "Shhh, be quiet!"

Tara struggled against his hold, "shoo webbuh wet go..." He didn't seem to understand what she had said, because he did not let go of her. She kept thrashing, and bit his hand with slight pressure. He quickly retracted his arm in shock and glared. Tara crossed her arms together and demanded, "okay, what's going on?"

"They're talking about us," Brion answered, as Gregor massaged his hand.

"About-" There was a strange sound from inside the room and Tara flinched, "about us- why?" Brion mouthed something unintelligible under his breath and pressed his ear to the frame.

Tara blinked and stared at the door in confusion. The voices were garbled and hushed, and the closer she got, the louder the voices became. She was inches away from the door when, although still muffled, a few words popped out.

"Powers...opportunity...project...chance...Markovia...geokinesis," she heard an unfamiliar female voice say. Shaking her head, she was about to turn around and leave her brothers to their eavesdropping when she heard another voice- this time, it was a man's- mention her name. She hesitated and finally, curiosity overtook her and she returned to her spot.

Gregor furrowed his eyebrows together and whispered, "I can't believe this."

Brion lowered himself to the floor, lying on his belly, and pressed his head close to the crack underneath the door. He closed one of his eyes and tried to peek inside the room. When it did not work, however, he groaned, "I can't see anything!"

Gregor rolled his eyes, "of course you can't! Now move over!"

He elbowed Brion, which just led the latter to retaliate. Before their previous argument could begin again, Tara nudged in between them. "Shush, you two."

The voices were louder now, in fact, someone was speaking at that moment, "couldn't this hurt the children? They'd be in danger every day!"

Tara recognized it as her mother, and despite the obvious obstacle between them, Tara could still sense fear in her voice. Her mother was frightened, 'but of what?' Tara couldn't help but ask herself.

The unknown woman replied, "there is a risk, but this will be the children's choice. They will be made aware of what the dangers are and if they accept them, it will be for the greater good."

"You're acting as though we have already agreed to this," the king's voice rung.

"Who better to protect the country than the royal family? Think of Markovia, Viktor."

The man's raspy voice added, "you are aware that Russia has made plans for an attack against Markovia, don't you?"

With an air of annoyance, the king replied, "of course I've heard of the plans!"

"Then," the man said, "you understand the importance of our proposal."

The Queen still seemed doubtful about whatever it was that they were talking about, "I still don't know about this. The children are so young, are you sure they will be able to handle this?"

"I don't see why not," the other woman said, "there are many other heroes their age all over the globe. In America alone, there are dozens, if not more. Of course, many of them are sidekicks or part of a team, like Aqualad to Aquaman or Wonder Girl to Wonder Woman...oh, or of course, Robin to the Batman."

"I'm quite familiar with a team of superheroes called the Doom Patrol," the unfamiliar man wheezed, "one of their members is a young boy called Beast Boy...he's around Tara's age, I believe." Said girl stiffened at the mention of her name and leaned in closer. "Your children wouldn't be alone, they'd be working closely with us and together."

"Exactly," the woman concluded, "don't you see? Your children would prove greater than any army."

"Perhaps you're right, after all, Dr. Jace," King Victor's voice faltered, "you and the General make a good argument. This could be for the best."

Tara's mother seemed eager to find a flaw in the plan. She stuttered, "this experiment? Is it safe?"

Dr. Jace replied firmly, "there is a zero percent chance of failure. They will be safe."

The only sound she could hear was the beat of her heart hammering against her chest and then King Victor said, "then yes. I give you my permission to go through with this experiment."

"But-"

She hardly made out her mother's concerned stammer, because the man's voice overlapped it. "You've made the right decision, my liege."

There were a few shuffling noises, silence, and then, the door handle began to turn. Tara, her brothers in tow, gasped and jumped back. The door slowly swung open, but Tara's feet were frozen in place, she could not find the will to move. She craned her neck slightly to the side and saw Brion biting his lip just inches behind her. She felt Gregor's leg brush against hers on the other side and heard the squeak of both their shoes against the floor as they took steps back. The door hit the wall and the three children were met with the sight of their parents and their guests coming out of the room. The King noticed them straight away, and in a gruff voice, asked, "how long have you been standing there?"

Tara shrunk back, suddenly feeling very self-conscious of herself. She lowered her gaze to the floor but didn't say anything. She could hear Gregor mumble incoherencies under his breath but it was Brion who responded.

"We were just walking by," he said icily, sticking his chin up.

"Brion," the Queen whispered, shaking her head. Brion's face softened as he looked away from their mother.

Tara stared up at the King, careful to avoid direct eye-contact, to search for a reaction. One eyebrow was raised, but his expression didn't seem convinced. Yet instead of challenging Brion's claim, he turned to his wife and the two others, "Anna," he said, "why don't you show our guests where they will be working for the rest of their stay?"

Tara's mother nodded mutely. As she led the two strangers away, Tara studied their appearances. The woman, Dr. Jace, was tall and thin. Her greying red hair was tied perfectly back into a bun, she had on glasses and was wearing a spotless white lab coat. She had a tired look about her and noticeable bags under her grey eyes. Her companion was a decrepit old man; he was short and appeared frail as he walked in step with Dr. Jace and Tara's mother. His head was bald, and like the rest of his skin, it was wrinkled. There were also round liver spots on one side of varying sizes. His apparel was even more formal than the woman's; he was wearing a blue army uniform decorated by many medals and black army boots. For a mere moment, he stopped in his tracks. It was so sudden, neither woman noticed him looking over his shoulder. His eyes locked with Tara's and his face twisted into a malicious grin. Tara gasped, but no one noticed, the General turned the corner and he was gone.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Brion was denying angrily.

The King replied, "I never said you did. In fact, I'm quite relieved that you were listening in to the conversation at hand."

'Apparently, we've been doing that a lot lately,' Tara couldn't help but think. It was true, not only had she learnt about her mother's affair by eavesdropping, but that was also how Gregor had found out, and how they now all knew about the King's true colours.

Brion opened his mouth to retort, but the King held out his hand, "don't say otherwise. I heard all three of you whispering out here. Well, mostly whispering, you were pretty loud at one point."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Now answer me; how much did you hear?"

He looked at Gregor, who was staring ahead, not blinking. Then, at Tara, but she shifted over to the side, hiding herself from his view by cowering behind her brother. Finally, he set his gaze on Brion, who mumbled, "not much."

The king's voice was getting colder -more impatient- with every word, "stop lying to me. What has gotten into you, Brion? You've become rude...angry, even! You're talking back, disobeying orders, and acting nothing like yourself! Whatever your problem is-"

"About us."

"Huh?"

"About us," Brion repeated, "you asked me how much we heard, well, I heard something about us. Dr. Joyce, or whoever, mentioned something about how we had to protect Markovia, and how they could make us...heroes?"

A beat passed.

"You weren't listening as long as I thought."

"What do you mean," Tara squeaked, glancing from behind Brion's shoulder.

"You only heard the gist of the story, and I suppose I now have to tell you everything else. This was why I wasn't angry that you were eavesdropping, I thought you would have already made your decisions...but fine. Dr. Jace and General Immortus came to us this morning; General Immortus had information...about a possible war in our future. I already knew there were plans for an attack but," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "a whole war? Thankfully, they also came with a plan. Dr. Jace specializes in genetic engineering, and she, along with the General, have been working on a project, able to give anyone powers, any powers. They're Markovians, and they said that their experimenting would be the perfect tool, the perfect weapon, against outside harm. I offered our army, sure that some of them would gladly volunteer to become the country's first genetically super-powered soldiers."

"Why were they talking about us then," Brion asked, a hint of defiance left in his tone.

"They seemed certain that the best thing to do was have the royal family lead the project by having you three become the first to receive powers."

He paused, anticipating an interruption. Tara wanted to ask a question, but thankfully she did not have to, because Brion asked, "what kind of powers?"

"Geokinesis," the king replied, receiving confused stares in return, "it means to control earth in all its forms...like rock, for example. At first, I questioned whether...well, their points were interesting and well-proven and I agree that this is the best thing to do."

"They said it was our choice," Gregor muttered, so softly that Tara barely separated the words into a coherent sentence.

The king seemed to be thinking along the same sides as Gregor. "It is your choice, however. If you need more time to decide, that's fine, but it would be better if we knew sooner rather than later. What do you say?"

Another beat, Brion put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "what do you think?"

"I-" she bit her lip, "I think he's right."

Brion gripped her shoulder tighter, "I'll do it, but only if you're sure."

She regained some of her confidence and said, "I'm sure; this is for the best, like Father said." Her tongue slipped at the 'f' word, but she quickly re-composed herself. She was not sure whether she just made the right decision but there was no turning back now without making a fool of herself.

King Viktor grinned, "what about you, Gregor?"

Gregor's head darted from his siblings to his father before replying, "no."

"What did you just say?"

"No, I said no. I won't do it!"

[1] Introducing General Immortus and Dr. Helga Jace!

General Immortus is part of the Brotherhood of Evil, if any of you need refreshing.

Dr. Helga Jace was the person who gave the Markovs their powers, as well as took care of Mammoth (and his sister Shimmer) for a while! I don't really know that much about her because every biography page about her is empty and I haven't gotten around to reading much of the Outsiders yet (this is the comic book with Brion as Geo-Force). I'll have to read more about them before I get to some of the future chapters though. Buuu-uuut I'm too busy enjoying Young Justice right now xD it's an awesome read, especially if you liked the Teen Titans cartoon (if you didn't –um- what are you doing in this section?) and it actually made certain characters likable!

[2] We get our first Titans mention in this chapter; Beast Boy, Aqualad, Wonder Girl and Robin!

[3] The countdown to Tara and Brion getting their powers begins now! It will probably count as the shortest countdown in history though: one chapter! Woot!

Where was I? Oh yea, keep on reading, reviewing and...something else that begins with R!