FOUR
Beast Boy and Terra floated adrift in a calm sea of silent blackness. They could not move, for they had no bodies. They could not think, for they had no minds. They were blind, deaf, mute, numb. There was only the black emptiness.
After an interminable momentary eternity of nothingness, they were smacked in the face with reality. Cool morning air assaulted them, and they saw that the bubble they stood in was no longer on the roof, it was in the front courtyard of a large building that looked like a mansion. Terra and Beast Boy both leaned heavily on David, out of breath and inexplicably freezing.
"Wow," they both said.
Beast Boy continued, "Dave, the term 'jarring' does not do that justice."
Several young students were in the lawn, studying. They looked up at the arrival, but seemed little more than passing curious. The energetic bubble collapsed into the green light at the tip of David's cane, then went out.
"Welcome," David exclaimed. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute."
"Are those student superheroes?" Terra asked.
"Yes, or at least, fellow mutants."
One of the students gathered up her books and came towards the group. She was around 14, cute and petite, with a brown ponytail. "Hi, guys," she said cheerfully. "Are you lost?"
"No," David replied. "We're here to see Professor Xavier."
"He should be in his office right now," the little girl offered. "I could take you there."
"That would be great," David replied.
As they walked, the girl turned to face Beast Boy, then Terra, then Beast Boy again. "So, I'm guessing you," she said, pointing at Beast Boy, "are a new student."
He shook his head. "Guess again."
"You?" she said, pointing to Terra. "Are you a mutant, too?"
Terra seemed a bit taken aback by the bluntness of the question, and the young girl quickly continued. "No, it's OK. We're all mutants here, even me. Look," and she held out her hand to Terra. When Terra went to shake it, her hand passed right through the girl's like it was a ghost. The girl smiled. "I call it phasing. I can phase through anything. My name's Kitty, by the way."
"Kitty, I'm Terra, that's Beast Boy. And that's David."
Kitty laughed. "Beast Boy, huh? Best professional name you could come up with?"
"Don't pick on B.B.," Terra pleaded playfully. "He's my best friend."
Kitty laughed again. "Sorry, 'B.B.,' I didn't mean anything by it."
"So you got anything better?" he asked.
"I was called Ariel for a while, then Sprite. Those both sucked. Then we finally hit on something good. Get this … Shadowcat. Has a ring to it, doesn't it? So what's your real name, then?"
Beast Boy looked at the floor. "Garfield Logan. I'd prefer Beast Boy, though."
"Garfield Logan?" Terra repeated, then held out her hand to shake with him. "Tara Markov, nice to meet you."
David felt he needed to explain to Kitty. "They're superheroes 24/7 where they're from. No need for civilian names."
By that time they has crossed the expansive front lawn to the large double front doors of the school.
"Come on," Kitty said. "The Professor's office is this way." She led them down a short hallway to an office door and knocked.
"Come," came a man's voice from inside.
Kitty left the door closed and leaned through it, phasing her upper body through the door. "Oh, sorry, you're in class," she said, starting to back out.
"What is it, Kitty?" came the voice again.
"Terra and Beast Boy are here to see you."
"Do I know a Terra or a Beast Boy?"
"Tell him …" David started, then stepped up and opened the door, swinging it through Kitty's body. "Hi, Charles, it's David Blackwolf. Remember me? We need to talk."
"Of course I remember you, David. So good to see you again," he replied cheerfully. "Can it wait till after my lesson? I won't be ten minutes."
"No problem, Professor. Thank you."
"Kitty," the Professor called out. "Keep our guests entertained until I arrive."
Throughout the conversation, Terra and Beast Boy had been trying to get around David to get a look at this Professor. All Beast Boy could tell was that he was bald and seated. As David shut the door, Beast Boy gave a low, frustrated, "aagh," and Terra cried, "Well don't I at least get to see him?"
"The Professor said ten minutes," Kitty said seriously. "So we wait. Let me show you to the common room. We've got TV, video games, a pool table …"
"Video games, huh?" Beast Boy replied. "Do you have Super Turbo Blaster-"
"B.B., focus," David chided. As they sat down on large couches, Terra still holding Beast Boy's hand, David turned his attention to Terra. "While we wait, there are a few things I should tell you about this Earth. The geography is a bit different, as are the heroes and villains. No one here knows Metropolis or Gotham or Central City, and they've never heard of Superman, Batman, or the Justice League. Instead, they have the X-Men and the Avengers, Spider-Man and the Hulk. You'll learn who these guys are in time. Remember, Magneto is bad. Magneto is like Slade, he'd try to recruit you. Whatever you do, stay away from him."
"Magneto bad," Terra repeated. "Got it. What else?"
"The political systems of the world are pretty much the same. The USA is still the USA, it just has different cities."
"Hang on a sec," Kitty said, looking terribly confused. "Where are you from, again?"
"They are from an alternate reality, Kitty," came the Professor's voice. The older, well dressed man with a bald head and a wheelchair slowly rolled into the room. "Good morning, everyone. David, good to see you again, it's been too long."
David rose and shook the Professor's hand. "Good to see you, too, Charles. Allow me to introduce Beast Boy and Terra. Beast Boy is an accomplished superhero and a bad-ass in his own right …"
"Aw, shucks, Dave," Beast Boy said with a grin.
"… and Terra … Terra needs your help," David concluded. "Kitty, would you excuse us?"
"But-" Kitty started to object, but the Professor cut her off.
"Yes, why don't we continue this in my office?" he suggested as he began to roll himself that way.
>
The Professor sat behind his large wooden desk, Beast Boy and Terra sat in the chairs opposite him, and David stood behind them. The Professor put his hands together on the desk and looked to Terra.
"Tell me, young lady, how do you think I can help you?"
Terra looked surprised, like she didn't know where to begin. "Well …" she started nervously.
"Beast Boy," David said. "You did such a fine job with 'the tale of Terra' before, why don't you try it again, and fill in the Professor for us."
Beast Boy exhaled forcefully, wiped his face, cracked the joints of his fingers and neck. "OK. Here we go. I'm with a team of superheroes called the Teen Titans. A while back, we met this girl called Terra …"
OOO
"… so David said he should bring her to see you," he concluded some time later. "So, here we are. Can you help her?" Beast Boy asked earnestly. "Please help her."
The Professor considered for a moment. "That is a tragic tale you've brought me, Beast Boy. Betrayal is not a matter I take lightly. Apprenticing to a villain … these are weighty issues."
"But can you help her?" Beast Boy repeated after a moment.
In response, the Professor pulled back and wheeled around his desk and closer to Terra. "Do you know what a telepath is, my child?" he asked her gently. She just gulped and nodded. "Well, with your permission, I would like to perform a psychic scan of your memories. That is the clearest way for me to understand what everything that has happened has meant to you."
Still looking at the Professor, Terra reached back and grabbed Beast Boy's hand again. "OK," she muttered. "Go ahead."
The Professor gently took hold of her other hand. "This won't hurt, my dear," he said reassuringly, "but it may be intense. Close your eyes." Terra's body suddenly went taut as she tightly gripped their hands. "Easy, Terra. Relax. You're in the desert, you're meeting the Titans," he continued.
"It's OK, Terra," Beast Boy threw in.
Terra's face proceeded through a range of emotions, fear, anger, relief, hatred, terror, as the events of her life replayed in her mind. Half way through the brief session she slowly began to cry, and Beast Boy voiced his concern.
"Are you sure you need to be upsetting her like this?" he asked.
"Hush, B.B.," David said sternly. "Let the man work."
The Professor let go of Terra's hand and wheeled back slightly. Her hand went to her face and she began to cry more forcefully. "Omigod," she muttered, turning around to fall into Beast Boy's arms, sobbing.
"Now look what you did!" Beast Boy told the Professor accusingly, cradling Terra in his arms.
"Beast Boy, can it!" David snapped. "Professor?" he started again. "What's the verdict?"
The Professor slowly wheeled back around behind his desk. "You've been through a lot, my dear," he said gently. "Your psyche, your sense of self, are badly damaged."
"But can you help her?" Beast Boy demanded.
"Yes, Beast Boy, I believe I can," he replied, then turned to Terra, who was sitting up and wiping the tears from her face. "If you will work with me and trust me, Terra, I believe there is hope for you."
"Yes!" David exclaimed softly. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't let us down, Charles."
"Does that mean …" Terra started, regaining her composure, "does that mean I'm gonna live here, be your student?"
"That choice is up to you, Terra," the Professor replied. "If you would like to stay, you are welcome here."
"There's also the matter of, um …" Beast Boy started, then hesitated. "Well, I think this should probably be kept a secret."
"Of course," the Professor replied. "A few of my staff will need to know your whole story, but the student body needn't know any more about you than you choose to tell them."
"Good, thank you," Terra said.
"I think you'll find," he continued, "that you need not make up some sort of 'cover story.' If you simply tell the others you'd rather not discuss your past, they will understand. Many of them have had troubled lives of their own."
"So … now what?" Beast Boy asked. "Is there paperwork? Can she just unpack?"
The Professor laughed gently. "I have little use for paperwork, Beast Boy." He paused, put his finger to his temple, and closed his eyes. "Kitty?" he said, apparently to himself. "Can you come in here?" A moment later she phased through the door. "Kitty, please take Terra to the girls dormitory and find her a room."
"Of course," she replied. "Come on."
As everyone got to their feet, Beast Boy looked to David. "We don't have to go back right away, do we?"
"Well, not right away," he replied with a grin. "Come on, let's let Kitty show us around a bit." David and the others followed Kitty to the office door, and she phased through it, leading David to a sudden stop.
"I hate when she does that," he muttered as he opened the door.
>
Kitty led them to the dorm, where Terra dropped off her duffle bag with her only belongings, then she gave them a quick tour of the campus. It was obvious that Kitty had taken an immediate liking to Terra, and was eager to help her settle in. They talked about the Institute's instructors, some of it's more colorful students, the course curriculum, and of course, the special sessions for honing their unique mutant powers. Eventually, the tour led them back to the Professor's office door.
"I guess that's it," Kitty said with a shrug. "What do you think?"
"It's amazing," Terra said.
"Very cool place," Beast Boy agreed.
"So … that's it, then," David said with finality. "Terra, welcome to your new home. Beast Boy, you don't belong here. It's time to go."
Beast Boy started to object, but didn't. He knew David was right. David knocked on the office door, then opened it and stepped in. "Kitty, you're with me," he said. "Let's give them a minute."
David and Kitty closed the door behind them, leaving Terra and Beast Boy alone in the hallway.
"I guess this is it," Beast Boy muttered. "This is goodbye."
Terra started to speak, then threw her arms around him instead. "I don't know where to start," she whispered. "Thank you, Beast Boy, for so much. You saved my life, you saved me… from Slade, you saved me from myself. You saved me from … the other Titans, you saved me from prison. You fought for me when no one else would, and you've given me a life again. I don't know how to thank you."
"You know what you can do for me, Terra?" Beast Boy whispered in return. "Have a good life. Be happy. That's all I ever wanted."
They held each other for a long time, both in tears, before they finally pulled away. "I guess we should …" Beast Boy started, motioning toward the door.
"Yeah," she whispered.
They entered the office to find David and the Professor talking seriously. "I'm ready," Beast Boy said.
David stood up and crossed the room to Terra, holding out his arms. "Do I get a hug?"
Terra smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for this, David," she said. "You've given me a second chance."
David shrugged. "It's what I do," he said modestly, then turned to say goodbye to the Professor. As he did, Terra looked curiously around the room. "I thought Kitty was with you," she commented.
"I sent her away," the Professor explained. "David and I had matters to discuss."
"But I didn't see …" she started.
"She left through the wall," David said with a grin. He grabbed his cane, stepped to the middle of the room, held it front of him, and the head began to glow bright green. "Ready, B.B.?" he asked. Without a word, Beast Boy took his place at David's side, his eyes never leaving Terra's. The light of David's cane exploded into an energetic green sphere around the two of them.
"Goodbye, Charles, goodbye, Terra," David said. "Ready, three, two …"
"Wait!" Beast Boy cried out, rushing out of the sphere to Terra. He cradled her head in his hands, leaned in and gently, firmly kissed her lips. They held each other in a tender kiss for a long moment, then Beast Boy slowly backed away.
"I love you, B.B.," Terra whispered, tears running down her cheeks.
"I love you, Terra," he returned, shedding tears of his own. Keeping his eyes locked on Terra's, he slowly backed into David's green energy sphere and took hold of the cane.
"Ready?" David asked softly. Beast Boy just nodded. "Three, two, one …"