AN: Upload :D! This is a bit late, but I did upload three chapters within five days, so there. Argh, don't want to say anything here before you read, so enjoy!
9
The red alert sounded again, but this time the four remaining super-teens groaned. They'd wished that after the ordeal they just faced, the Titans would get a break from crime. Obviously their wish wasn't heard. The four rushed to the bottom of their Latin letter home and jumped into the T-car, which had only been half-converted back into its original style. Parts still looked like the vehicle they'd traveled in to attend their crashed banquet, and it depressed them.
"You could've finished the T-car, Cy," Robin muttered bitterly, crossing his arms. The metal Titan looked to his right with a scowl, sighing and bringing his gaze back to the road.
"Just tell us the mission," he said. The Titan leader sat up straighter in his seat and breathed out, choosing to momentarily brush the chip off of his shoulder and give everyone the update.
"A car crash was seen in a nearby forest on the mainland. Nobody seems to be behind it, but they've called us in to investigate anyway." The others grunted in acknowledgment, but their usual enthusiasm was gone. Richard looked around the car and sighed, feeling like an antagonist. "Regardless of…earlier events, we still have roles to play as Titans. We're just going to have to-"
"Act like everything's normal?" Cyborg interrupted. "Just go on as if two of us haven't just disappeared?"
"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Robin asked. "Beast Boy and Raven or not, we're still heroes. Right now, we need to act like heroes." The masked Titan's statement caused the car to grow silent. Nobody bothered to start a conversation and soon the T-car came upon the cliff near which the forests were located. No activity of malice looked to be occurring underneath the trees, but a small line of smoke that carried into the air was coming up on the Titans' path. There wasn't a road for the vehicle to drive on, but a large gap in the side gate was apparent and tire tracks seemed to be leading to it. Cyborg stopped the T-car and everyone exited, looking around for any clues that might determine why a car would reel off without an obvious cause.
The Titans approached the gap and saw something burning at the base. It seemed as though most of the flames had already died down, so the four superheroes were in no danger. They all traveled to the bottom, either by flight or by being carried, and saw that the burning object was the crashed car. It looked nearly charred, but the super teens saw the silhouette of two corpses sitting in their seats; one in the driver's seat, and one in the back. The door to the passenger seat was left open, but there wasn't an answer as to why.
Since the initial cause wasn't evident, the Titans commenced searching for clues. Some debris lay about, but other than that, the scene looked clean. Robin ordered everyone to split into two groups, and Starfire took him into the air. While the alien Titan flew, the Titan leader surveyed the forest grounds. Nothing seemed to catch Richard's eye until he saw a trail running from the broken gap in the gate and away from the crash site. It ran down the steep slope of the cliff and into the trees, where it seemed to grow cold.
"Star," he pointed. "There's a trail over there." Starfire nodded in comprehension and lowered to the ground, letting go of the masked Titan's hand. They saw broken tree branches where the tail ended, but were puzzled by a new trail that went deeper into the forest.
"What could have happened here?" Starfire looked around. Robin was about to reply when the sound of a scream alerted them.
"She's dead," Terra spoke with Raven's lips. She stood in the middle of a floor next to a blank-looking Beast Boy, addressing her mentor. The former Titan swallowed as Slade contemplated her announcement from his throne, his fingers tentatively drumming their arm rests. He breathed and eyed the two that he'd welcomed into his lair, trying to find anything suspicious within their manner. Terra felt anxiety, wondering if Slade would punish her for not getting to the hospital sooner. The masked villain stood and slowly stepped over to his apprentice, stopping at her side. Terra struggled to keep her emotions in control, silently hoping that the dark Titan's powers wouldn't give her away.
Finally, Slade raised his hand, and Terra nearly flinched. He rested his fingers on Rachel's shoulder, patting it twice. He uttered a line of praise and Terra let her guard down, slowly breathing out a sigh of relief. As soon as the former Titan was calmed, the masked villain swiftly removed his hand, latching it onto the back of Raven's neck. Terra yelled out, but soon clamped her mouth shut when her teacher tightened his grip.
"You nearly failed," he whispered, throwing her away. Terra caught herself before she fell to the floor, almost standing up before the bottom of a boot met the middle of Raven's back. This attack brought her to her enemy's knees. Terra felt something attach itself onto the dark girl's hood, and soon she was being pulled up to stand. Slade laid his head on Rachel's shoulder, holding the hood of her cloak tight enough to make Terra's breath short.
"You almost let her live," he tightened his grip again, and now Terra was choking. She reached up and tried to pry the blue covering from Raven's neck, but Slade shook her, making the dark Titan's fingers slip from the clutch.
"You are hurting her," a voice called. The masked villain paused before looking over his shoulder. He saw Beast Boy facing them, his face blank and uninterested. Slade realized that the green Titan had stated it out of fact, and not as a protective instinct. There was no evidence in Garfield's face that would lead him to believe his autonomy had returned, so Slade wasn't worried.
"That is because her punishment is due," he replied, shaking Terra again. Beast Boy looked at Raven's body, which looked to be trying to free herself. He shrugged. At last, Slade decided to leave the switched blond to breathe, and Terra gasped as she fell to the floor. She curled up with a grimace on Raven's now red face. Slade bent down, took the dark Titan's face in his hand and brought her up to look him in the eye.
"Now, what should happen if she were found alive?" he whispered. Terra tried her best to avoid his gaze.
"Sh-She's dead. I'm sure of it," the former Titan said, trying to steady her voice. Slade looked at her for a while before letting go, straightening and placing his hands behind his back.
"You better be sure of that," he said, strolling over to Beast Boy. "Now, we'll commence Phase Two." He laid a hand on the green Titan's shoulder.
A small girl lied in the middle of a forest, unconscious. Muted thoughts swam within her mind just before she woke up, her eyes met by the blinding daylight. She squinted out of reflex, but relaxed once her vision adjusted to the light. She took a slow, deep breath and continued her few seconds of mental purgatory. But soon, she began to wonder. She wondered where she was. She wondered why she was there. But most importantly, she wondered about who she was. As odd as it sounded, the small girl didn't know her own identity.
The girl furrowed her eyebrows and turned her head to her right, seeing the dirty ground of the woods entwined with her blond hair. On sight of the long strands, the small girl saw a mental flash of a scene, where she felt herself screaming. The flash had gone as rapidly as it had come, and the girl felt confused.
She raised her hand, and another flash swept passed her eyes, showcasing her looking down at the exact same fingers, only she was in a white dress. This flash also showed her looking up and seeing three people in front of her, but she couldn't make out who they were. Again, the vision disappeared, and the girl was starting to feel worried. She tried to prop herself up on her arms, but a sharp pain shot through the right, causing her to squeal and fall back down. She brought the hurt arm around and held it in her left, gritting her teeth as she cradled it. After a few breaths, the girl decided to try and sit up again, only using her healthy arm this time.
She looked at her legs, and saw that one was covered in bruises, while the other had a foot that was bent in the wrong direction. She looked around, wondering where she was. Something slowly dripped down the side of the girl's face, and she raised her healthy hand to identify the liquid. She saw that her hand was covered in blood, and yet another vision displayed in her mind; this time a scene where she was on the floor, seeing blood drip onto her gown before being taken up and put in a stretcher. It continued on to reveal her looking at another girl. This one donned indigo hair and a black dress. The image of the strange female caused a pounding to occur from the girl's temples. She groaned in pain and the flash was gone in another blink.
The visions were frightening the girl, and she swallowed. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something optimistic. This made another flash appear, where she'd been thinking along the same lines, only to be interrupted by people in white lab coats who took her from where she'd been. The feeling she received from this scene made her yelp. She blinked again and was brought back to see the forest, but not long enough before another vision flew by. Before she could blink that one away, more came to her mind. Soon, she was attacked by a slew of mental images, all of them speeding up. The girl's mind was filled with a crowd of memories, and the thoughts had sped up so fast that they all seemed like one blur passing in front of her eyes. The scenes came to a sudden stop, showing one last vision, where she was screaming out her own name. She screamed and screamed that she was…Raven.
She was Raven. Suddenly, all of the memories clicked and she remembered who she was. Something rose in her throat and before she knew it, Raven was screaming in sudden rage. She let out one long screech, causing birds to fly from the trees above her. As soon as the anger was out of her system, the dark Titan breathed, looking around and remembering how she'd ended up in the forest. Scattered images of her being thrown around in a falling vehicle entered her mind. She remembered grabbing onto something as she and two other people were tossed around and soon feeling nothing behind her. She remembered feeling herself fall away from the car and land on something hard, immediately blacking out. Raven chuckled in astonishment at remembering what had happened to her.
"Hello?" a male voice yelled out not too far from her. The dark Titan whipped her borrowed head around in the direction of the noise. She struggled to stand, using her healthier limbs to make up for the injured ones. Rachel staggered and had to lean on a tree, but she was standing. She heard rustling in the nearby bushes and she saw two shadowed figures beyond the trees.
"Who's there?" she asked.
"Worry not. We are the Teen Titans. We are here to assist you," a higher voice replied. Raven's spirits rose.
"Starfire?" she said. The higher voice made a confused sound, and soon Raven was joined by two familiar people. For a split second, she felt relief, but then remembered who she appeared to be.
Robin and Starfire came to a stop when they came face-to-face with Terra. They stared at the blond for a long while, not knowing how to react. She was the last person they'd expected to see in the middle of the woods, and given the recent circumstances, she was the last person they wanted to see at all.
Raven knew why they were staring at her, and knew that it would take a lot to convince them that she was their friend. She closed her eyes, wondering how she should start.
"How did you…" Robin started. Raven took another breath and opened her eyes.
"Guys," she addressed. "I-I don't know how to say this…"
"How about telling us how you got here," the masked Titan stated, hardening his face. Rachel bit her lip.
"Look. I-I'm not Terra," she said, looking at her friends. They had their faces contorted in bewilderment, which didn't help the dark girl. She knew she sounded insane, but didn't know another way to tell them. "It sounds nuts, I know, but please just listen to me." She looked at Starfire.
"Remember the Puppet King?" she asked the alien Titan, who furrowed her eyebrows. Koriand'r started to remember the small wooden villain and slowly nodded in comprehension. Raven felt slightly better about this and continued.
"Remember the remote he had? The one he used to switch our bodies?" she asked. Starfire narrowed her eyes.
"H-How are you knowing this?" she asked. "Surely you can't have this knowledge. Raven and I had been bodily switched. You should have no knowledge of…" the alien Titan trailed off as it dawned on her. "R…Raven?"
"She switched us," Raven nodded. "She had his remote. I don't know how she got a hold of it." Robin and Starfire stood jaw-dropped in front of the swapped teammate, and the dark Titan felt a small smile creep into Terra's face.
"Friend…" Starfire brought her hands to cover her mouth in shock. She took a step forward, and then another, and another. She kept taking steps until she was directly in front of Rachel. Despite remembering times of being told to never touch her, Koriand'r pulled her in for a hug. Tears sprang, and Starfire muttered short Tamaranian phrases of joy and surprise. Raven felt pain shoot up Terra's arm, but didn't bother telling her friend. For the moment, she was simply glad that someone believed her.
"Star, I think you're hurting her," Robin walked over to them. Starfire looked at the dark girl's pained expression and immediately let go, watching Raven soothe the former Titan's arm.
"Wait, that was you in the crash?" the Titan leader asked. Raven nodded.
"They were relocating her again," she said. "For some reason, the car just went off the cliff. I blacked out before seeing what really happened."
"Oh, no! You have tried to tell us at the banquet of masks, and we have ignored you! Oh, we are bad friends!" Starfire sniffled.
"Yeah, sorry about that kick…" Robin coughed awkwardly. Raven gave him a deadpanned look.
"It's fine. I would…more or less have done the same thing," she sighed, rubbing her arm. "So, where is Terra?" Robin and Starfire looked at her before gasping.
