A/N: So I've finished my story! Yay! This is not the last chapter, so do not fear! There's eleven chapters in all. Yup, enjoy, review, blah, blah, blah. I'll update again soon when I'm not lazy.
"Glad you could make it," Slade says, a smile in his voice. Robin and I stay close to each other, prepared to fight. "There is no need to attack. As I said, I only wish to speak with you. All I ask is that you listen."
Robin puts away his staff, and I lower my hands, which I have been keeping at the ready. My brother moves closer to me and says, "We're listening."
"I realize that in the past, working as my apprentice has not been the ideal job," he begins. Robin's angry expression changes to stone.
"No." Robin takes my hand, starting to pull me away. "We're not interested. Come on, Terra."
"Wait," I protest. "Let's see what else he has to say."
"Are you out of your mind? All he wants is for us to work for him again! I don't even know why he's trying, because he knows that the answer is no!"
"Robin." I hold him back. "Wait. We haven't heard the rest of what he was going to say."
There is a short pause. Robin stops trying to pull me away and comes back to my side.
"That's Daddy's little girl," says Slade. I'm glad that he and Robin are completely unaware of the plan I have up my sleeve. If Robin knew, it would ruin the whole thing. "Now Terra, your brother was correct. I would like to have you two as my apprentices, to one day take over what your father started. There is no one else to whom I can entrust any of my secrets. Only my children. Robin, Terra, only you are strong enough. Only you are smart enough. There must be someone to carry on my work, and I want it to be my children."
"As I said," begins Robin through gritted teeth, "we're not interested." He tries to pull me away again. I yank my arm away.
"Speak for yourself!" I'm sorry, Robin. It'll make sense soon. I turn to Slade, trying not to reveal anything in my face or voice. "I'll take you up on that."
"Terra, no!"
"Robin, yes. Come on, don't tell me that you don't want to join Dad, too! We're the ones he trusts. And you can use your skills for something other than saving Jump City! Remember being Red X? You can be that again!"
"What are you thinking?"
"I want a family again." I go and stand by Slade. "And while you're my brother, this is my father. And I'm going with him." Please don't hold this against me, Robin...Beast Boy...Starfire...Cyborg...even Raven. If Slade weren't here, and if Robin would ever agree to it, I'd tell him what I was planning.
"That's my girl," says Slade, placing his large hand on my shoulder. I try not to flinch at the touch. "I always knew you'd come back to me, and see how much you need me. You will be able to control yourself again. I will make you great."
I smile at my father, and turn to Robin who is standing in shocked anger. "Last chance. Are you in or out?"
"Out!"
I shrug. "Fine then. Dad, I'd like to say goodbye to my brother."
"Take as much time as you need." Slade steps away and I walk over to Robin.
"What are you thinking?" he exclaims. "Have you lost your mind? Did you forget how horrible he was to us? Did he brainwash you or something?"
"Calm down," I reply, though I'm panicking myself. "I'm sure it won't be that bad this time. Come with me. We can help each other."
"No way. I'm the leader of the Teen Titans, and I'm not about to turn my back on them again, like you're doing now. I'm going back to them, and you're coming with me to fix your head!"
"I'm not going back!" Not right now.
"Terra...what's happening? You were finally a Titan again. When you got your memory back, you wanted to be with us, not Slade."
I pause. "That was before I had a father. But if you'll listen—"
He cuts me off. "Fine! Do what you want! But don't ever expect to be welcomed at Titans Tower—ever again!"
There is a sharp pang within me and I almost start crying. But I need to keep the act. "Is that really how you feel about your sister? Really, we just discovered that we're siblings, and now you never want to see me again?"
"I never said that." He turns from me, and as he starts to walk away, he says, "But I wish I didn't have a sister."
I wish I didn't have a sister. Which translates into, "I hate you." Out of everything he's said to me about this, that's what hurts the most. I suppose I've always known siblings say stuff like that every once in a while, but for some reason, I've been believing that Robin and I are different. Apparently, long-long siblings are no different than regular ones.
Slade is back at my side a moment later. Having him so close to me sends chills up my spine. I hate him. I hate him with all that I am. It's his fault that my brother just turned his back on me. If my plan is effective, then this won't last long.
Slade's new hideout is very similar to his old one, and it makes me feel sick. I go to my room—more like a prison cell—and sit on the hard mattress. So many nights were spent in a similar room, with my head in the right place, after resisting corruption from the Titans... Wait...right place? Corruption from the Titans? I shake my head. No, my head was in the wrong place when I worked for Slade, after I had resisted where I should have been in the first place.
I take out my Titans communicator, and as I start trying to contact the Titans, I just pray that they will answer and listen.
"Robin?" I say. "Beast Boy? Starfire? Anyone?"
Five livid faces appear on the small screen of my communicator. They must have me on the big screen. Relief floods through me, even as they all look like they want to kill me.
"Thank goodness," I sigh, hoping Slade doesn't hear.
"What do you want?" demands Beast Boy. It hurts me to see him hating me so much again.
"You guys don't understand!" I whisper urgently. "None of this is real!"
"Seems real to me," replies Raven. "I knew you'd turn on us."
"No! I'm not—"
"Look kid," interrupts Cyborg. "It's hard to trust you after you've turned on us twice to work for Slade. So don't count on us believing any story you have."
"But I didn't! If you would just listen—"
"We are no longer interested in listening," Starfire tells me.
"Please! Just—"
"Just what?" asks Robin angrily. "Just believe you as if you were still a Titan? You know what? You're out of chances. You've wasted them all. And now, I never want to see your face again."
My screen goes black. He may not have said it before, but now Robin really is saying that he never wants to see me again. And I'm not even truthfully working for Slade. This is all so messed up. I'm regretting ever thinking up this plan. I'm not evil. All I want to do is get Slade's plan, never return to the Titans, and destroy the city... Wait, what? No, I want to get the plan, return to the Titans, and prevent the city from being destroyed. But to do that, I need to keep my head on straight. I need to do it myself, but it would be easier with one of the Titans here. That's why I tried to convince Robin to come with me.
Now what am I supposed to do? The Titans don't believe me, and I have no idea how long I'll need to stay with Slade before I get his plan. And on top of that, my mind has decided to confuse me with all this crap about destroying the city.
I jump as my communicator goes off. Beast Boy's angry face appears, and as peeved as he is, I have never been happier to see him.
"Beast Boy!" I whisper, my eyes welling up. "You believe me? Please say you believe me!"
"As much as I want to," he says, "I can't. Dude, you're with Slade again. How am I ever supposed to believe anything you say? You lied to me all before, only to try to kill me! I don't know if you even liked me then, or if that was just part of the lie. So no, I don't believe a single word you said. I think you're a dirty, rotten liar who, ever since you met us, has wanted to destroy the Titans, and mess with me while you're at it. I can't trust you and I don't know why I ever did."
Soft tears roll down my cheeks and I look away from the green eyes, staring into my own blue ones—the ones like my father's. "Then why did you call me back? To yell at me? Make me feel worse than I already feel?"
"I want you to prove me wrong."
I look back at Beast Boy. His face is serious, but doubtful. And under the doubt, I see it: hope. There is a small flame of hope still burning within him. I have to get to it and turn it into a blazing fire.
"Beast Boy, I've hated Slade ever since the moment I knew that what I did was wrong. I hate myself for being his daughter and doing those things. This room feels like a prison cell, but my room at the tower feels like home. Nothing ever makes me happier than being with the Titans. I even love being with Raven! I promise, I'm only here to be a spy for you! I don't want to destroy anything!"
"Give me one good reason why I should believe you."
"If I were really evil, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd probably have already broken and thrown away my communicator. And much more."
"Then why did you try to make Robin join you?"
"So he could keep my head on straight, keep me on the good guys side. So I definitely wouldn't turn on you."
He doesn't respond for a moment. "I want to believe you. But I can't. And even though I don't trust you, I'm not going to give up on you. I'll need solid proof that you're not really working for Slade before I listen to another word you say." The screen goes black again.
Beast Boy hasn't given up on me. Which means I still have a chance to prove myself to him. And then he'll tell the Titans that I'm really on their side. If he can convince any one of them—especially Raven—then all of them will trust me, and finally be vulnerable enough for me to end them all... No! Wait! They'll finally accept me as a Titan again. I really hope that getting Slade's plan doesn't take long.
I hear Slade calling me into the other room, and I stuff my communicator under the hard, flat pillow, and go to him, though just being in his presence makes me want to throw up.
"Yeah, Dad?" I say casually, as though I've been saying it my whole life.
"Before I begin teaching you, you must dispose of that Teen Titans uniform, and put on the one I have prepared for you."
"Question."
His one visible eye shifts toward me. "Yes?"
"This new uniform isn't like the last one, right? Like, no weird embedded-in-my-nervous-system thing? I'll be able to change into something else? Because honestly, that was freaky."
Slade nodded. "This one is different. I predicted that you would object to the same thing again. With this uniform, all your movements are your own."
"Cool. Where is it?"
"At the foot of your bed in your room. After you get changed, we will begin training."
I head back to my dark cell and find the clothes laid out at the food of my bed: an orange tank top with Slade's trademark S in black on the chest, knee-length black shorts, a silver belt, and black combat boots, with black gloves that cover most of my arms.
Wanting nothing more than to stay in my room and try talking to the Titans again, I force myself back out and to Slade again.
"Very good," he says, seeing me in my new outfit. "Now we shall begin training."
I follow my father through a trap door to an area underneath the lair. Everything is made out of dirt and stones. Good, solid earth.
"Show me what you can do, Terra," orders Slade, stepping back to give me room.
Before beginning, I look around to judge how much space I have to perform my tricks for him. The area is quite large, and the top is at least fifty feet above me. Definitely enough room to do everything I can. I collapse a tunnel directly beneath my feet, so I fall into it, and come up about thirty feet away from where I had been standing. The next thing I do is lift the ground I'm standing on into the air, and then levitate several stones the size of my fist, all evenly spaced in front of me. Jumping from my rock, I grab hold of the first stone with one hand, then swing to the next, and make my way across them like monkey bars. At the end of them, I lift a rock just big enough for me to kneel on, and let go of the smaller stones, zipping to the top of the opposite side of the cave. The last thing I do is create the same staircase of stones I had made at Titans Tower. I bound down it, gently lower the stones, and stand, panting, before Slade.
"Impressive," he says. "Good. Much better than you were last time I trained you. But with a little work, I can make you great."
"Awesome. Can't wait to finally get control over my powers again. Start training me!" That way, I can improve, get the plan, and get out of here as fast as possible. I cannot stand being around Slade for much longer.
We are down in the cave-like structure for hours, doing nothing but training. But by the time I lift us both up to the trap door on a boulder, I have noticed some improvement. I'm still not comfortable with Slade so close to me, although it's not as horrible as it was.
I shut myself in my room and take the communicator out from under my pillow to see if anyone has tried to contact me. No one. Of course, I knew this would happen, but I still hope that Robin or Starfire or someone else hasn't given up on me. It's not likely that Cyborg believes me, much less Raven. She'll never believe anything I say.
Remembering that it's Sunday, I emerge from my room, communicator tucked safely away in one of the pouches on my belt.
"Dad?"
Slade is sitting in a large chair, observing a view of Jump City from above. He turns to me.
"It's Sunday night. I need to go back to my adoptive family. They'll wonder where I am, soon. I'll be back Friday afternoon."
He nodded. "Very well." He hands me an earpiece. "Take this with you. And under all circumstances, do not tell your new family that you are in league with me, and do not get mixed up with those worthless Teen Titans."
"Okay." I take the earpiece and stuff it into the pouch next to the one containing my only contact to the Titans.
I go back to my prison cell and change back into my Titans uniform so as to not make my family suspicious. Taking my new uniform with me, I leave, happy to be out of that place and to be going home. It's been a long, confusing weekend.
