Terra was still staring at her arms in dismay, when some sort of shock wave threw her into the wall of the Civic Center.

"So, you must be Terra. You know, I really don't see how someone so weak could possibly be worth the sacrifice of a five-year-old girl."

Terra was immediately alert, her gaze darting over to the flagpole, where a person was now leaning casually against it. He seemed to be at least twenty, with ginger-colored hair. He was wearing plates of black and orange armor, a combination which was uncomfortably familiar to Terra, and though he wasn't wearing a mask, his freckled face wasn't one that she recognized. He began to walk towards Terra as he continued to speak.

"I mean, wasn't it the Titans' job to help people?"

"What are you talking about?" Terra asked, getting slowly to her feet.

The other smirked wryly. "Oh, they haven't told you?"

He was standing directly in front of Terra now. With her back against the wall, there weren't many options for an escape route, and Terra wasn't sure that she trusted her powers at the moment. In other words, she was trapped.

"They haven't told you how hard they worked to try to free you? How they became so desperate they would sacrifice my sister if there was even the slightest chance it would bring you back? And you know what: it didn't even work. My sister died for nothing."

Terra was dumbfounded. "But, if it didn't work, then how was I-?" She began to ask him how she had been freed, but she was interrupted.

"I bet your two new buddies know, not that you'll ever get the chance to ask them," he hissed, before he brought his hand back to fire another surge of sonic energy, which Terra suspected would be fatal at such close range, or nearly so.

I have to do something! She braced herself to raise a shield of rock, but before she was able to, a wall of blackness slammed into her opponent, sending him reeling. Raven, the mistress of magic herself, materialized in front of Terra.

"Terra, go join the others. I'll handle this," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

-O-O-O-

Raven watched Terra leave before turning around to face the other, who had just gotten back to his feet.

"Been a long time, hasn't it Rae?" he sneered.

"Timmy, what happened to you? We haven't seen you since Melvin..."

"Died? You can say it."

"What happened to you?" Raven repeated her unanswered question, gazing steadily at the boy who had once been like a son to her.

"Why don't you just read my mind, and find out? I'm an open book." He held his arms out in a welcoming gesture.

-O-O-O-

After Terra went back into the Civic Center, her first thought was of the stone color that had mysteriously appeared on her arms. She rushed to the women's bathroom, and went immediately into the handicap stall, which was one of those fancy ones with its own sink and mirror. Locking the door behind her, and taking a deep breath, she turned to face the small mirror. Terra was shocked to find that her arms were their normal, healthy tan.

Terra continued to check every inch of her body, until she was satisfied that everything was normal. She left the bathroom in a daze, mind swimming with questions left unanswered, but unable to focus on any one of them at a time. She barely noticed when she walked right into someone.

"Terra!" Ever exclaimed. "The show is over. We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Terra was dimly aware that Ever was talking to her, but she wasn't really listening. She also failed to register that Wildcard, Pulse, and Gar had appeared behind Ever. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong, green hands clasp firmly onto her shoulders. Garfield was leaning down, his worried face a few inches away from her own.

"Terra, what happened? Where's Raven?"

She blinked in confusion, forcing herself to focus on his deep emerald eyes. Answer, she told herself, come-on, say something. "I'm not sure. She-."

As if on cue, a very battered-looking Raven walked through the double doors, stopping to pull Garfield aside for a minute. They were speaking too quietly for Terra to hear, but their body language told her that something serious was going on. She watched their exchange until they both returned to the four young heroes.

"We're going to go back to my place," Garfield began cautiously, "and see if we can figure things out."