Beast Boy's surroundings vanished as he locked lips with the only girl he ever truly loved. It had been nearly a year since he had last seen her at Murakami School, when she shoved him out of her life, telling him that she was no longer the girl he remembered … that 'Things Change'. The only thing that was real to him now was her soft lips, which he kissed repeatedly.
Shortly after the incident at the school he had written her off. That happened immediately. The broken heart lasted much longer, and unlike when Malchior broke the gray sorceress's heart no one consoled him … heck … no one even believed him. All he got for his troubles at the time was being assigned kitchen duty for a straight month for ditching the team and going off on what they thought was nothing more than a wild goose chase.
Now, all those experiences seemed null and void, as Terra continued to kiss him. She upped the ante as she slipped her tongue into his mouth, performing a sensuous ballet with his tongue. Beast Boy felt that he was losing all control, but a small voice of reason in the back of his mind began to shout above the cacophony of emotions that were raging in his mind. Summoning all of his willpower, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. She unwrapped her legs and landed on the floor, still gazing into his eyes.
"BB, what's wrong?" She asked in a clearly worried voice.
Beast Boy released her and turned away.
"Why?" He asked as he crossed his arms and frowned.
"Why? Why what?"
He spun around.
"When I found you at the school, why did you … dump me?"
Her jaw trembled and she turned away, also crossing her arms.
"I made a mistake." She stammered.
"A mistake? Is that what you're calling it?"
The blond wiped a tear away from her eye. She then reached out and took his hand.
"Let's go to my room, where we can talk in private. I'll … I'll tell you everything."
Gar's face became softer. But he still looked skeptical.
"Please?"
"Ok, fine, let's go talk."
-( scene break )-
Slade and Rose watched the reunion on a flat panel TV. Neither said anything until Terra took his hand and they left together.
"Good, well done Terra."
Rose snorted.
"I don't like her, dad, not one bit. She can't be trusted."
"I know, Rose. But this time it will be different."
Rose sat down at a workbench, where two katanas were resting. She picked one up and using a stone she began to sharpen it.
"She threw you into a lava pit."
"That she did."
"And you're OK with that?"
Slade picked up the other sword and joined Rose in sharpening the weapons.
"I made a mistake last time. I failed to recognize that she really did love him, and by threatening the changeling's life I turned her against me. This time, I will use those feelings to control both of them. I was a fool to not recognize that last time."
"You could still lose control. If they become too close they might decide they don't need us."
"And do what? Run away and be constantly fleeing from law enforcement?"
Rose crossed her arms.
"Terra's used to living in caves. And if they have sex, he'll follow her anywhere."
"I see your point, Rose. In that case, we won't give them a reason to leave, but many to stay."
"Like what?"
Slade sheathed the now perfectly sharpened sword and put it back on the workbench.
"Revenge, Rose, sweet revenge. They will become a thorn in the Titans' side, constantly tormenting them, and when the time is right … they will destroy them."
Rose shook her head.
"We're taking a huge risk, dad, especially if you teach the changeling to transmute. If he were to turn against us we wouldn't be able to stop him.
Slade took his daughter's chin in his hand and raised her face towards his own.
"I think you aren't telling me the real reason, daughter. You like the changeling, don't you? You want him for yourself."
Rose jerked away from her father.
"I believe I hit a nerve. I wouldn't have thought him to be your type, Rose. He is a 'nice guy', after all."
"Maybe I like nice guys."
Slade rubbed his chin.
"Hmmm … this could work to our advantage."
"What are you talking about?"
Slade began to pace around the room.
"Terra will no doubt be the more difficult one to control. As you have pointed out, she cannot be trusted. But … if there is competition for the changeling, I can 'pull you back' as a way of rewarding her."
Rose became red faced.
"You'd use me as a tool to control her? What about my feelings for Gar? Don't they count?"
"Trust me, Rose; you can do better than Garfield. He isn't even worthy of Raven. And she's a charity case if I've ever seen one."
"Shouldn't I decide who is worthy of me?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, but now is not the time, Rose … we still have much work to do."
-( scene break )-
Terra closed the door to her room. Beast Boy was already sitting on the edge of her bed and she joined him. She looked nervous and began to rock herself while staring at the floor.
"Slade can't spy on us here, I've checked; there are no cameras or microphones."
Gar closed his eyes and sighed.
"So what happened? How did you break free from the stone?"
"Slade told you the truth … he did some combination of alchemy and magic to revive me."
"I've seen him do magic before, when he conned Thunder and Lightning into creating a fire monster for him … but … alchemy? I mean, c'mon Terra."
"I'm not making this up BB; I've seen him do it. But he's right, he can't do real alchemy … he uses machines and magic too."
"And what about you? What was your deal at the school … you just … blew me off."
Terra dropped her head and tears began to slide down her cheeks.
"After Slade revived me, he did the same thing to me that he did to you. He locked me in a cell. I was wondering when you'd come looking for me BB. He showed me the news footage, of how you guys left me in the cave."
"But Terra, I did come looking for you …"
"When you found me I had just decided to leave Slade. Just like with you now, he revealed himself to me and gave me a choice. I decided to leave, to leave everything behind and just start over. I should have left town, but I lost my powers at the time and, well, I was scared, so I volunteered to be placed in a foster home. And then you found me, but I wasn't me anymore."
"Terra, that's not true."
"Yeah, I know that now, but I was still pretty messed up back then. Plus, people hadn't forgotten about me, what I had done as Slade's apprentice. I was really scared that someone would figure it out and I'd be toast. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go to the Titans, I mean, I tried to kill all of you, and that includes you BB…"
"I forgive you, Terra."
She smiled upon hearing his words, then returned to her state of melancholy.
"I didn't know that back then, or maybe I just couldn't believe it. Anyway, school didn't work out, my foster parents didn't work out and … I went back to Slade. That's when he told me that you'd be joining us."
"He's pretty damn cocky, if you ask me."
She nodded her head.
"He wouldn't be Slade if he wasn't."
"So, Terra, are you OK working for Slade?"
She paused before answering.
"I don't know, maybe … I mean … he did revive me and help me regain my powers … and BB … he's not joking about your powers."
"You mean you really believe that I could do all that alchemy stuff, you know, like that kid on the Japanese cartoon show?"
"BB … you already can do it. Slade's right, there is no other explanation. You're a natural."
Gar rose and started to pace around the room.
"So he trains me, then what?"
Terra stood up, taking his hands into her own and leaned forward, kissing him tenderly on the lips.
"Then we get even with our enemies, we teach them a lesson that they'll never forget."
Beast Boy became wide eyed.
"You mean the Titans?"
She nodded.
"Among others. I wouldn't mind kicking every other villain's butt while we're at it, but we do it right, none of this kid glove stuff. When we're done with them they'll never dare crawl out of their rat holes again."
He chuckled.
"I'd like that, to wipe that smug grin off of Johnny Rancid's face, permanently."
She wrapped her arms around him while a happy giggle escaped her lips.
"We'll be an unstoppable team, BB."
She kissed him again and smiled.
"BB, since we're gonna be a team, a real team, do you wanna be my boyfriend?"
His eyes trembled upon hearing her words.
"Terra, that's the only thing I've ever thought about since I met you."
He paused.
"But … I'm afraid."
She drew him into a tight hug and whispered into his ear.
"I'm yours BB, in heart, body and soul. I'll never leave you, I swear. I know that betrayed you and broke your heart in the past, but I swear that I'll always be there for you, I promise."
There was a little voice in the back of Beast Boy's mind that shouted to not give in. That she wasn't his friend; his friends were Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and even Raven. But he didn't care. This was what he wanted and desired his entire life. He wanted her to be his, he wanted to love her and for her to love him back.
"I love you, Terra."
The blond reached for the wall and turned off the lights.
"I love you, BB."
He then felt her hands reach and pull his purple Doom Patrol shirt off. He initially flinched and felt his cheeks become very warm, and felt very aroused. He certainly wasn't expecting this.
"Terra, are you sure …"
He felt her fingers on his lips, shushing him.
"It's OK, I've been dreaming about this for a long time. We're meant to be together, we aren't doing anything wrong."
She locked lips with him, and no more words were exchanged that night.
-( scene break )-
Terra and Beast Boy emerged from her room the next morning. He had a mortified look on his face, as if he had been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Terra pecked him on the cheek and took his hand.
"Come on, lover, let's get some grub, I'm starving."
Holding his hand, she led him down the long hallway to the mess hall. They passed several Slade-bots along the way, and none of them seemed to take any notice of their presence. Finally they reached the mess hall.
Ravager was seated at the table, with a sour look on her face. Gar was taken aback by her appearance, as his first memory of her was her smiling when she released him from the cell. He continued to stare at her until he felt an elbow in his ribs.
"I know she's hot, but you're mine, so don't forget it." She hissed in his ear. "Commitment is a two way street, you know."
He turned and saw a fierce look on the geomancer's face.
"Terra, you know you're my girl."
She smiled. "That's more like it."
"Good morning, Garfield. I trust that you slept … very well." Slade's baritone filled the room.
Beast Boy felt the indignation swell in his chest. What happened the night before, that was something private between Terra and him, something very private. He turned towards Slade's voice, ready to rebuke him for infringing on their privacy. What happened instead was that he gasped.
Slade was sitting at the head of the table, and was being served his breakfast by one of his droids. That in and of itself wasn't shocking. What caught Beast Boy completely by surprise was that Slade wasn't wearing his mask.
The changeling quickly took in the scene before him. Slade's face was haggard and rough. Like Rose, his hair was platinum blond and he wore it short. He also had a goatee and like his daughter wore an eye patch over his defunct eye.
"Slade." Garfield greeted him in a flat voice.
"Sit down, young man, and have some breakfast. We have much to discuss."
"We do?"
"Yes, I have already created a training plan for you …"
He opened a folder that was sitting on the table and removed a single sheet of paper from it, handing it to the changeling. Beast Boy examined the sheet, which had a strange symbol drawn on it, which was basically a circle with a triangle inside it, with various other smaller shapes and glyphs on it.
"Your first exercise is to memorize this symbol. You should be able to reproduce it on a chalkboard when you're done."
Gar looked up from the sheet.
"What is this?"
"It's a transmutation circle. It's used to perform basic alchemy. Once you are more advanced you won't need it, but all alchemists learn how to use them."
Beast Boy sat down and began to study the sheet. The circle drew him in; its effect was almost hypnotic.
"Our first lesson will begin after breakfast."
Rose and Terra locked eyes. Terra smiled at her and Ravager frowned back, after which she mouthed the word 'slut'. Terra returned the frown. She understood her situation perfectly.
She was going to have to fight for Beast Boy.
-( scene break )-
Three months later …
The Titans ended their ruse after three weeks and were once again visible in the Tower. Commissioner Bermudez officially announced that it was believed that Beast Boy had fled not only Jump City, but the country itself. The manhunt slowly fizzled out and the updates on the nightly news broadcasts ended soon after. Viewers had a short memory and now that their attention was turned to the latest Hollywood scandal Beast Boy was all but forgotten. That is, except by his teammates.
Robin continued to investigate quietly in his spare time, but all he ever found were false leads and dead ends. The only reason the Titans knew that the green changeling was still in town was because Raven would occasionally sense his presence. What was confusing to her was that when she sensed him, he was usually experiencing intense pleasure. When she reported her "sightings" she omitted to describe the emotions she sensed, mostly because it made no sense to her. The pleasure wasn't of the kind she associated with the changeling, such as watching a movie, playing a videogame or eating pizza. What she sensed was … carnal pleasure.
Raven herself was a virgin, but her demonic half easily recognized the sexual nature of the pleasure he would occasionally broadcast. It disturbed her to no end, but she hid her distress behind her emotionless mask and told no one.
Time continued to crawl by. Commissioner Bermudez ignored their presence for a few weeks, that is until Dr. Light decided to show up and engage in his usual photon based mischief. Bermudez summoned the Titans back into duty, which they grudgingly performed out of a sense of civic duty.
The appearance of a supervillain was the only occasion when Bermudez would ask the Titans for their assistance, which meant that they had plenty of idle time on their hands, which did allow them to continue with the search for their lost ex-teammate.
It was such a day when the call came in. They were hunched around the dinner table, eating pizza, while the strategized over a map, trying to figure out what they might have overlooked in their quest, when the klaxons began to blare. As always, Robin rushed to the console and began to type furiously. What surprised his teammates was that he suddenly stopped and gasped.
"Robin! What is the matter?" Starfire came to his side. She read the display and shrieked.
"Who is it? I'm so in the mood to kick some bad guy butt, it's not even funny!" Cyborg shouted as he pounded is restless fist into his palm.
Raven joined Robin and Starfire at the console. She frowned when she read the display.
"It says that Terra is back, and is holding hostages at a bank downtown."
"So the grass stain was right, she did come back."
"If this really is Terra." Raven added.
"There's only one way to find out." Robin announced. "Titans Go!"
-( scene break )-
Kid Flash was the first one to arrive at the scene of the crime. The bank was a large building, designed in neo classic Greek style with large pillars and a tall flight of marble steps that lead to the entrance. It was surrounded by police cars and other emergency vehicles with their lights flashing. A SWAT team was standing by, ready to be deployed. Kid Flash saluted the police Captain and then rushed into the bank. Moments later a loud explosion was heard and the officers waited for him to emerge. They became restless and the captain in charge wondered out loud where the rest of the Titans were. As if on cue, the T-Car pulled up.
Robin emerged first and approached the captain on duty, who informed him of Kid Flash's disappearance. The captain finished with his debriefing and as Robin turned his gaze to the bank Terra emerged from its entrance, wearing her old school Terra costume, dragging an unconscious Kid Flash by his collar. She reached the steps and threw him down, sending him tumbling to the street below.
"It's about time you cowards arrived. Next time, don't send a wannabe superhero ahead of you!"
Terra roared in laughter and returned to the bank's lobby, vanishing into the building. Robin's face was red and his right fist trembled in anger.
"Raven, you tend to Kid Flash. Starfire, Cyborg, you're with me. Titans Go!"
-( scene break )-
Another day, another cliff hanger. And for those following my other story, Deathstroke the Terminator, I just updated it.
