Messenger from Azarath

Beast Boy and Terra lay in adjacent beds in the infirmary at Titans Tower. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire stood nervously around their beds, waiting for a sign. I stood a ways away, watching from a distance. I guess the Titans no longer considered me as the important issue. Compared to Marth, I was yesterday's news.

Beast Boy muttered almost inaudibly and his head rocked from side to side. His eyes pinched tighter and then flashed open. He sat up, the rags of what used to be his uniform fell into his lap, his hand reaching up to rub his head. The Titans all smiled in delight seeing their friend return to strength. "What happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"You morphed, into the Beast." Robin explained. "When you saw what Marth did to Terra, you became the Beast again and attacked him."

"Indeed," I said, "that were-beast morph of yours was actually causing Marth problems. I was impressed. I don't know if I could win a fight against it."

"Terra! Where is Terra!?" Beast Boy shouted. The Titans each looked down at their feet in sorrow. Slowly, the each stepped away and revealed Terra lying almost peacefully in the bed next to Beast Boy. Her body had aged considerably, her hair salt and pepper colored, her skin a pasty gray. Her breathing had slowed to a dull wheeze. "Terra!" Beast Boy jumped from his bed and ran to her side. He knelt down at the side of her bed and placed his hand on hers. "She's cold."

Terra strained to open her eyes. They blinked slowly, still as blue as ever. A smile slowly crept over her face. "Beast Boy." She whispered. A whisper was all she could manage now. Her eyes closed again. A tear formed in her eyes. Beast Boy began to cry, too. Slowly, gingerly, he slipped his arms under Terra's body and pulled her close to him.

"You have to do something, we have to save her!"

"We've tried, BB. There's nothing we can do." Cyborg replied.

"Of coarse not." I said. All eyes focused on me. I stepped forward, out of the shadows. "Marth has taken the life energy of Terra in order to fuel his own. As a result, her body is now as weak as that of an 85-year old woman, no amount of medicine or science will be able to save her life. Only Marth's defeat will save her now."

"But how do we stop him?" Robin asked. "The guy can take on the characteristics of anything he touches. He's invincible."

"I may have figured out how he does it." Cyborg said. He stepped over to the large computer screen and keyboard. "You know that tiny piece of skin BB got, I examined it and discovered something very interesting." He pressed a button on the counsel and the picture of the skin appeared on the screen. "It is not any known element. I even inspected it at a molecular level and found that the protons in the atoms are not constant."

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

"Say what now?" Beast Boy asked.

"Crash-coarse with high school physical science. Everything is made of atoms, even air. Atoms are made of protons, electrons, and neutrons. Protons are positive, neutrons are neutral, and electrons are negative. But the thing is that while electrons can jump from one atom to another, protons can not. Each atom has a specific number of protons and that number is what makes it an element. If that number where to change, then the element would change. That is what happens to Marth. That's how he shape shifts, by changing the number of protons in his atoms, but only when he's in contact with whatever the object is." Cyborg explained.

"What would happen if he had no more protons in his atoms?" Robin asked.

"Then, he would dissolve. Without the protons, the atoms would no longer be atoms and then could no longer hold together, he'd literally fall apart." Cyborg said. "And that is what is slowly happening. The more he shape-shifts, the weaker the bonds between neutrons and protons become. If he keeps it up, then soon he will no longer be able to be held together."

"That must be why he needs life energy, it must somehow be able to stabilize the bonds between some of the atoms. Some, but not all." I said.

"Then we can use this to our advantage, wait for him to dematerialize." Robin exclaimed.

"No. Some of his atoms are held together by Terra's life energy. We can't simply wait. We have to somehow get Terra's life strength back." I said.

On the ground, a circle of bright blue light appeared and started spinning. It spun faster, faster, faster still. Suddenly, a beam of blue energy grew from the circle and shot up to the ceiling. The beam expanded to fill the circle, then dissipated. Standing in its place, was an old man clad in a brown robe. His arms tucked inside the sleeves and his head was hidden by the hood. Slowly, he raised his arms and the sleeves fell away to reveal pale white fingers. The hands pushed the hood back and I saw the face of an old, wrinkled, bald man with a short white beard. "I am here to find Mistress Raven." He croaked.

Raven stepped forward. "Monk Almar?" She asked.

"Raven," he smiled, "my eyes may be old, but I still remember your face."

Raven ran passed us and wrapped her arms around the old man's neck. "Everyone, this is Monk Almar of Azarath, high priest of Azarath." The old man waved and smiled. "Monk Almar, these are…"

"Yes, I know." He said. "Robin; skilled warrior and team leader, Starfire; Tameranian princess, Cyborg; half human half machine, Beast Boy; animal shape-shifter, and Terra; gaiakenetic human earth mover." He stepped forward and looked me in the eye. He glared back at me, even though he stood a good foot shorter than me. "And this," he said, "is Master Slade; the Masked Master who defeated Marth and the entire Scath order 17 years ago as well as caused the downfall of Trigon." His glare changed to a smile and he bowed in reverence to me. "He is honored in Azarath as a hero."

"A hero? Slade?" Robin asked. "How can this guy be a hero? He's tried to destroy the entire city several times."

"Actually, I only did that once." I said. I bowed to Almar. "Monk Almar, what brings you here?"

"I am here to bring a message to you and the Teen Titans. It requests that the seven of you come with me back to Azarath, to escape your new foe." Almar said.

"You mean, run away?" Starfire asked.

"No, I am meant to bring you back to give you each a special trainer to help you defeat Marth. And under the care of our priests and healers, we can keep Terra save."

The Titans and I stood frozen in our tracks. A message from Azarath itself, requesting us to go and receive special training. But the thought in my mind pressed not so much on Azarath itself, but on who might be there. I once heard Raven talk about Azarath as the place she was born, so maybe, just maybe, she might be there. I found myself thinking at a thousand miles per hour, my heart pounding in my chest. Now, I can't tell you what I was thinking about exactly. Seconds felt like hours. Azarath. Azarath. If I could go there, then…..

"I'll go." I said.

"Me, too." Raven stepped forward.

One by one the Titans each agreed to go. Soon, the only one left was Beast Boy. All eyes fixed on him. He knelt by Terra's bed, his arms still held around her delicate body. "If it'll help Terra, then I'm coming, too."

Almar nodded. "Very well. Everyone, gather in the transportation circle and the spell will commence." The six Titans and I stepped into the circle of blue light, Beast Boy holding Terra in his arms. Almar held his arms out and chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Aldemil Heindering Azarath, Azarath, AZARATH!" The blue circle on the floor began to glow. The energy beam shot up from the circle and engulfed us. The energy dissipated, we were gone.