Our Friendship
3RD POV:
"You've got to be kidding me!" Bounty Hunter exclaims as she stands in front of Slade as he towers over her and she crosses her arms over her chest in protest. "When I took this job, I thought my rule for not working with you would still stand with them." She groans and walks away.
"You already accepted the job; you can't walk away, you'll be in big trouble otherwise," Slade warns her, and she stops in her tracks, thinking over her choices and knows the best one. Sabotage.
…...
Beast Boy trudges towards the edge of the top of Titans Tower, but stops short as their volleyball reappears, sailing back up from below, and rolls across the concrete stopping at his feet. He looks up puzzled as something begins to rumble, and a slender silhouette rises into view, long hair blowing in the breeze, hands on her hips, standing on a floating piece of rock. "So…" Terra announces herself as she perches on the levitating rock. "... which team am I on?" She floats down on her rock and leaps off.
"Terra!" Starfire exclaims in pure joy, and she tosses her hair over her shoulder.
"Terra!" Beast Boy exclaims in excitement and the two race against each other, calling out her name as the race over to her and Starfire wins as she sweeps her up in a hug squeezing her like a balloon almost ready to pop.
"Oh, hello, long-lost friend! You remember me, yes?" Starfire asks her, giving her an extra squeeze.
"Of course, Starfire. I still have bruises from the last time you hugged me." Terra tells her, and she releases her grip on her friend, and Beast Boy runs over to her.
"Terra! You're…" Beast Boy stutters and loses his nerve. "... I mean, I…" He holds out his hand for her to shake, "... how's it… heh… wassup?" He asks her, and she hugs him, she releases him a little to pinch him on the cheek, and he moans happily before keeling over.
"Well, if it isn't my favourite little rock-and-roller!" Cyborg greets her as him, and Robin walks over, and he and Terra give high-five.
"Cyborg! Robin! What's shaking?" Terra greets them and shakes Robin's hand.
"Good to see you again." Robin greets her and Starfire walk over, and BB beats her over.
"Good?! Is he kidding? It's great to see you again! I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" BB exclaims and Terra blushes at his words, BB turns around to look at Raven as she hasn't moved to greet their old friend and he drags Terra over. "Raven, wake up! Terra's back! Isn't that awesome!"
"Super. Just help yourself in the fridge, and don't forget to lock the door when you leave." Raven tells her not even looking back.
"Actually, I kinda wasn't planning on leaving this time. I'm ready to take you guys up on your offer. I want to be a Teen Titan." Terra tells them with a big smile that soon fades into uneasiness as she looks over the other Titan's faces filled with confusion.
"Uh…" BB stutters and Terra back off hurt.
"Got it. Sorry." She says and walks away. "Didn't realise the offer had an expiration date." Robin lands his hand on her shoulder, stopping her leaving and hears her sniffle a bit as tears in her eyes.
"The offer didn't expire; we're just concerned," Robin assure her cautiously.
"Yeah, it's 'cause, well, um, last time when you kind of freaked out and ran away you didn't exactly… uh… you weren't completely, uh-" BB tries to explain.
"You couldn't control your powers," Raven says cutting in, and he yelps in surprise.
"Hel-lo? That's why I left! Robin said I needed practice, so I've been practising." Terra informs them smiling broadly and puts her goggles on. "Check it out." She jumps back, landing on the boulder, and quickly bringing up four others, bounding nimbly onto one of these, she rides it higher and takes the three others with her. She goes off, guiding the stones through a loop-the-loop, she drops the head one handing at the end of the line, the others all watch thunderstruck from the roof as Terra pasts.
"Glorious!" Starfire exclaims.
"Whoo-yeah!" Cyborg joins in, and BB turns looking again.
"Dude! She really has gotten better!"
"She learned a few tricks. Doesn't mean she's any less dangerous." Raven comments as Terra uses the four rocks to sail on, in a diamond formation with her in the lead, she circles the Tower, skimming so low over Jump City Bay that her passage throws up a wall of waves. On her way from the Tower, the rocks in a line, and she begins a steep climb sending them veering away from each other, a couple of quick barrel rolls, and she goes into a headlong charge straight towards the building.
The four rocks approach the Tower fast towards a collision above the roof, within mere feet of crashing, but they turn up into a sharp climb, the Titans brace for impact, but it never comes, and Terra lands neatly before them in a crouch. Standing up and groaning in effort, she sends the rocks high in a spiral, they pass out of sight, and explode in a might display.
"Fantastic," Cyborg exclaims as they all look in awe of the display and Terra props her goggles on her forehead.
"See? I've got everything under control." Terra assures them, and a tremor shakes them out of their mood, and the whole place is shaking, and suddenly it stops, and the Titans all look at her in annoyance, and she blushes a bit at the attention. "Wasn't me."
…...
Inside the Titans Tower in the operations centre, the Titans and Terra stand around looking at the map of Jump City on the computer with four pulsating dots on there. "Earthquakes," Cyborg announces to the group. "Small ones, but they're happening all over the city."
"Too many to be natural," Terra comments as Beast Boy pops up from behind her, with hearts in his eyes.
"That's because they're not earthquakes. They're a trail." Robin tells them as they look at the screen and two more marks appear. "Something is moving under the city. We need to find out what. Titans! Go!" And the others run out with Robin and Raven following them, but stop and turn back at Terra. "Are you coming or not?"
"Does this mean I'm on the team?" Terra asks him.
"It means we could use your help." He corrects her and she gives him a nod running for the door, she brushes up against Raven as Terra passes and Raven gets flashes of Terra trying to control her powers, and for a split-second, she sees Slade's face. The vision fades as Terra runs past the two Titans, Raven feels unnerved by the vision, Robin touches her shoulder to comfort her. "Everything okay?" He asks her.
"Can't tell. Are you sure it's safe to have her around?" Raven asks him.
"Not entirely. But everyone deserves a second chance." He tells her and runs out after the others.
…...
In a section of Jump City, the sun has finally set over the city, and it's quiet, traffic flows as usual, until something very tall and broad erupts from beneath the roadway, throwing drivers and pedestrians into chaos. The shadow extends down the block and rears up, showing itself in full, a long, wormlike machine with an enormous drill part on the front end.
The worm-drill rises to full height before retracting upon stopping and replaces ahead with a small, screeching mouth, a bus full of people struggle to back out of the edge of the worm's crater, the worm-drill rears its head back and dives towards the street sending people running for their lives. The bus is about to be hit when Raven uses her powers and pulls the bus out of the way, an instant before the worm-drill bites into the pavement and throws up a cloud of dust from impact. When the dust clears, the head pulls free, and the Titans and Terra stand farther along the street, Raven floats down to the others setting the bus down safely behind. "You missed the bus," Robin calls out, and Cyborg holds up a taxi.
"Looks like you'll just have to take a cab!" Cyborg exclaims and throws the car scoring on the worm-drill's head causing it to explode on impact, and it rears up roaring as it comes down, and so does Raven.
"Azarath Metrion-" Raven begins her chant when Terra shoves her aside.
"I got it!" Terra shouts and raises a large stone spiking the worm-drill's path, ploughing into it flinging it back and falls back on itself, smashing down on the road, shaking the ground on impact and ruins some cars. Once the worm-drill is down Beast Boy thunders over as a mammoth ramming the head into a nearby building, he trumpets looking at the thick curtain of dust rising. After a moment, an infernal red light begins to shine inside, and a beam shoots over nailing BB, he's thrown to the opposite side of the street morphing into his human form and bounces off the pavement and a building. "Beast Boy!" Terra shouts, and out of the plumes of smoke, the worm-drill rises once more, and a red spot glows on the head, when a yellow flare encircles it turning into a pavement fracture, the worm-drill fires at him, but she runs across, getting a chunk she brakes out, carrying him and herself to safety.
The two go up, the beam tears into the buildings as it follows after BB and Terra, once they rise past a rooftop, Starfire flies in with both hands ready and uses a barrage of starbolts striking the worm-drill. It lets go with another beam from its smoking head and swivels to sweep after her, Cyborg uses his sonic cannon, while Robin stands by him watching and BB and Terra touch down.
"Good work, Terra! Now help me get in his face!" Robin tells her, and she sweeps her hand through the air with a yell and a large chunk of pavement breaks loose and starts rising more up as floating staircase, Robin bounds from one to the next, dodging blasts the blow the steps into dust behind him, and goes into a leap with a handful of grenades flung forward.
The grenades sail toward the worm-drill's open mouth, Robin drops out of his leap and Starfire catches him carrying him away as a string of explosions go off inside the worm-drill, bulging out the monster's sides sending smoke belching from its mouth. Beast Boy, as a pterodactyl, flies in with Cyborg in his grip, he fires his cannon leaving the worm-drill reeling and recovers shooting back, but the two Titans easily avoid the beam.
Starfire carries Robin again, so low his chest barely clears a rooftop, she lets go peeling out, leaving him to drop into a dead run toward the worm-drill. Another cannon shoots, slamming into the metal body causing its attention, he pulls out a grappling hook, and leaps over the edge, firing, the line wraps around the body allowing him to swing down staying just ahead of the beam that slashes through the pavement behind him.
…TIME SKIP…...
The blast rips into the crumbling pavement pieces, blowing it to gravel and hurling Terra and Raven back in opposite directions, a wave of energy radiates out from the site sending the worm-drill crashing to the ground, when it subsides, Raven and Terra sit up on the sidewalk getting in each other's faces both boiling with anger. "Way to go." The girls say sarcastically together and pull away from each other with Robin standing in front of them.
"Come on!" Robin yells as the worm-drill submerges away from the Titans and Terra. "It's getting away!" The tail disappears under the surface as Robin, Cyborg and Starfire rush after, they stand at the tip of the burrow and stare into the blackness. The other three move up to them and a beeping draws Robin's attention; he pulls out his communicator, flipping it open to see Slade's face on the screen with some static. "Slade," Robin growls, and he feels a vibration and takes out his phone from Bounty Hunter. He flips it open to see on the screen a text from her; it reads: 'Robin, Slade is up to something, I only just found out he's my next job, I'm sorry, but I can tell you one thing kick his butt and it somehow involves you all.' He fights off the smile as he scowls at Slade's image.
"Robin. Good to see you again. I do hope I haven't called at a bad time." Slade mocks him.
"The worm! What are you planning?" He demands.
"Well, now, Robin. If you're so very curious, why don't you come down here and find out?" Slade taunts him, and the screen goes dark, and the six teens stare in confusion, at the silent communicator in Robin's hand.
…...
The teens make their way inside the long circular tunnels. "That evil worm has left a very long trail," Starfire complains as they walk along, with Cyborg providing light. "This tunnel continues for at least two more plinthorgs."
"And we're more than three hundred meters below sea level." Cyborg informs them, "what's it doing down here?"
"Whatever Slade tells it to," Robin tells them but keeps what Bounty Hunter told him not wanting to worry his friends.
"So, sorry about our little tug-of-war back there. You know I wouldn't have let anybody get hurt." Terra tells Raven.
"Whatever." Raven shortly replies.
"Okay, look. I don't know what your problem is but get over it. If I'm gonna be a part of this team, we have to get along." Terra tells her, and they stop walking.
"You're not part of this team, not yet! And if you endanger my friends again, you never will be! The next time I tell you something's too dangerous, take my word for it!" Raven snaps at her, and she stalks away, and BB takes her place next to Terra.
"Um, why does she hate me?" Terra asks him.
"Ahh, she kinda hates everybody, it'll be fine. Raven just need time to get used to you. I think she's still getting used to me." BB assures her, and they smile at each other as the group proceed along cautiously as they move into an ample open space.
"Dead end." Raven states and Robin steps across with his communicator out beeping.
"Not necessarily," Robin tells them, and he approaches the wall which causes the communicator to beep faster. "I'm picking up a signal from deep inside the rock."
"Way deep. Electronics and two heartbeats." Cyborg announces.
"Slade," Robin growls, and he knows who the other heartbeat belongs to with a smile as Terra steps forward.
"How about we dig down there and see what's up?" Terra suggests and warms her hands up preparing to start, only to stop with a gasp when the whole place rumbles, rock fragments fall from the ceiling, Terra and Raven back away as the shaking dies down and Raven looks at the blond with a nasty glare. "Are you gonna give me that look every time there's an earthquake?" She asks her when the worm-drill cuts through the floor. "Whoa!" Starfire eases away, ready to throw a hit but stops gasping as another worm-drill break through the surface nearby, and a third comes up, and all three aim for the six teens.
"Titans! Ready!" Robin yells as they all gather, the metal monsters take off instead of attacking, and they charge at an empty patch of wall digging through it clean out, BB looks after them waving his arms around.
"Hel-lo? The good guys are over here!" BB shouts after them and turns around to face the others. "Dude, we got snubbed!"
"Because we are not their target," Starfire tells him.
"Three of these worms together could wreck anything in the city," Cyborg adds in.
"We have to stop 'em." Terra jumps in.
"We have to stop Slade." Raven corrects her.
"Split up. Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy… go after the worms. Terra and Raven, we're going after Slade." Robin orders them.
"Star, BB, let's move!" Cyborg exclaims, and they set off in pursuit of the three worm-drills, and Robin stares intently at the wall where he and Cyborg found the heartbeats are coming from inside the rock.
"I can make a tunnel on my own. Shouldn't she go with-?" Terra asks, looking over at Raven.
"No. Raven's almost as good at moving Earth as you are. We're digging through solid rock. I'm going to need you both." Robin tells her and Raven throws back a hard glance, and he checks his communicator.
"Nice try." Raven mocks her.
"I've got a fix on the signal. Forty degrees down, six hundred meters deep." Robin tells the girls, and they warm up.
"No problem." The girls answer combining their powers, hitting the stone face sending up masses of dust and fragments past them.
"Is that as fast as you can go?" Terra teases Raven.
"Not even close." Raven retorts.
"Careful. This rock isn't stable. Just take it a little…" Robin tries to warn the girls but stops himself as he looks in front of him at the girls. "...slow."
…...
The rock face with part of a steel framework shatters from the other side revealing Raven and Terra, and Robin is still behind them, and they stare at the enormous underground expanse walls lined with steel members, sitting at its centre is a cylindrical computer console, with keyboards spaced at regular intervals around its perimeter. A broad beam of green light emanates upward from the middle of the rig generating a holographic image, the computer stands on a platform that has walkways connecting it to the walls, and the hologram is of the Tower and the island it stands on. On the high end, three worm-drills joined to form a circle, oriented horizontally and spinning near the ceiling.
…...
Starfire, Beast Boy stand frozen in shock as Cyborg moves closer staring popeyed, as the emitter comes to life, firing a laser beam straight down cutting in a circular incision into the earth. The three Titans run for it as one of them rips towards them, once the dust clears Cyborg stands up and addresses his onboard communicator. "Robin! It's the Tower! They're attacking Titans Tower!" Cyborg shouts into his communicator.
…...
The worm-drills down underground start firing beams of their own up at the ceiling to chew through the rock from both directions at once. The hologram of the Tower now has a cylinder marking around it and a flashing red arrow pointing down from the bottom end to show the structures movement of intention and the three other teens make it to the computer console. "It's not just under attack. It's about to be underground." Robin announces to the other three above ground.
Robin whips a birdarang at it without effect, and Raven shot do nothing either, and they keep shooting, Terra warms up looking towards the wall, she brings two large boulders out projecting them at the worm-drills, but even they do not affect. "Not even a scratch!" Robin snaps and they run to the console, and he tries the keyboard. "If we can't break the drill, hacking this computer is our only shot at shutting it down!" His fingers fly on the keys, and Slade enters charging straight at Robin, with a furious roar launching a flying kick. The blow sends Robin past Raven and Terra dumping him on the walkway behind, Slade rushes him, as Robin sits up to rub his offended shoulder, another steel boot hits him on the head. Robin rolls away just in time, the two take a few pokes at each other without connecting as they work their way toward the shaft wall and the girls run towards the walkway.
"Robin! Hang on!" Terra shouts over to him.
"Forget about me! Shut down the drill!" Robin shouts back at the girls.
"Good, Robin. Now I have you all to myself." Slade taunts the young hero, and hits a button, bringing up a waist-high gate, and lunges for him. The girls watch as the elevator climbs the shaft wall until it passes.
"Looks like it's just you and me," Terra states, both looking up towards the ceiling, as one laser incises the bedrock above.
"We have to hack in," Raven says and runs toward the computer as Terra warms up.
"Why hack when you can smash?" Terra questions and propels a boulder toward the hardware, but Raven exerts her powers.
"No!" Raven cries out as she stoops the rock halfway between herself and Terra. "We don't know how this thing works. Destroy the controls, and we might never be able to stop it."
"Or we might stop it sooner and save our home." Terra snaps slightly angry as she puts more effort trying to move the weight, Raven increases her powers, resisting the push, and small fragments fall around them as a result of the strain. "Why can't you just trust me?"
"'Cause you don't deserve it! I have to meditate every day to keep my powers under control. And I'm supposed to believe that you can just suddenly control yours? Trust is something you have to earn!" Raven snaps back.
"How? How do I earn it?" Terra asks her.
"You can start by trusting me," Raven tells her, and she thinks it over, then relaxes her hold on the stone, as does Raven, allowing it to crash down onto the walkway. They both turn to the console to see Bounty Hunter smirking at them leaning against the console with a diamond shard at the ready and Terra not knowing who she is, warms up, but Raven pulls her hand out in front of the blond stopping her. "Bounty Hunter, you're working for Slade again?" She asks her, looking annoyed.
"Not by choice, didn't even know what the job was or is, not very clear what the job is but well better start doing it." Bounty Hunter jokes and throws the diamond shard towards Slade; it knocks against his head allowing Robin a hit at the adult and the girls look up from the console in alarm as the lasers continue to drill through the rock ceiling and a gigantic piece of stone falls from above crushing the system to rubble. Sparks fly everywhere as the three girls are thrown backwards from the impact, one of the emitters starts glowing much more intensely putting out a wider beam, breaking away the ceiling at a faster rate. All three lasers go into overdrive as the girls get to their feet.
"Okay. maybe smashing the computer was a bad idea." Terra jokes smiling nervously.
"You think." Bounty Hunter comments.
Robin and Slade still within the elevator continue to ascent as the fight ranges back and forth inside the car, Robin takes a blow knocking him back into the wall, the elevator jolts sharply throwing him to the floor, looking up, he finds that they've nearly reached the ceiling and the drilling worms. "The Tower!" Robin exclaims as the lasers make yet another pass, the interior section trembles sliding down, a shower of dust and rocks falls as the Tower's weight is enough to fracture it.
"Going down," Slade says, and he leaps nimbly over the half-wall of the elevator, when Robin rushes to the guardrail, to see the worm-drills and the approaching ceiling, he jumps out of the car just before it crashes. He fires off a grappling, catching it on a neighbouring set of guide rails, perching safely on one of the bracing members.
The sliding mass of rocks about to hit the drill, the girls all watch it happen. "We have to go! There's nothing we can do now!" Raven shouts over the rumbling and Terra warms up.
"Yes, there is! Trust me!" Terra shouts back, and it comes down, and two beams rise from her hands, and she lets out a savage yell, the energy strikes the lower face of the rock, smashing the drill apart as it stops and the worm-drills crash down all around her. After a few seconds in midair, the sheer weight of this formation proves too much for just her starting to drop again, as her knees buckle, Raven steps up next to her with both hands to help lighten the load.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven chants and the two girls use their powers, but the girls still struggle with the combined force. Bounty Hunter steps next to them and crouches down her hand on the floor, a crystal formation shoots up towering up to the rock and lightens the load, and the three girls' powers begin to push the collapsing rock back up the way it came.
…...
On the surface, the three other Titans watch as the Tower rises from the water standing tall as it did before. "...saved!" Starfire exclaims in joy.
"But how?" Cyborg wonders at the sight.
"Terra." Beast Boy boasts smugly, and Cyborg lifts his forearm to his communicator panel with Robin on the screen.
"And Raven and Bounty Hunter. Working together." Robin tells them, and the three heroes watch the island and structure push up the last few feet, back into its original position.
…...
Raven and Terra walk along the hall of Titans Tower, "So… friends?" Terra asks Raven nervously.
"Close enough," Raven tells her.
"Sorry, we kinda got off to a rocky start." Terra jokes and they stop at one of the many doors.
"Actually, I thought things went pretty well. Took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy." Raven replies and they both laugh.
"I was wondering who is Bounty Hunter, is she a Titan?" Terra asks Raven all serious.
"She's our friend, she helps us out and shes always on our side," Raven answers her and the doors open.
…...
The girls walk inside the dark room, Taven turns toward the wall as Terra steps forward, looking around the dark room. "Um… where are we?" Terra asks her.
"Your room," Raven answers as she slips the light switch, the room walls are of mountain landscape under a starry sky, with a big green bed at the far wall, a cactus next to it, bookshelves, a large couch and coffee table facing the window and the other four Titans and Bounty Hunter stand in front of her.
"SURPRISE!" The group exclaim and Terra looks around at them in shock.
"You guys did all this… for me?" Terra asks them.
"Yeah, since you helped save our home and all," BB tells her sliding to her, blushing cocking his eyebrows. "We thought you deserved your own room."
"You also deserve one of these," Robin tells her, and he holds out a communicator, and she takes it looking down at it in her palm.
"So I'm…" Terra tries asking them.
"... A Teen Titan." Robin finishes for her, and he holds out his hand for her to shake. "Glad to have you on the team." She shakes his hand in thanks.
"Aw, yeah! Very nice!" Cyborg exclaims.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me." BB beams with hearts for eyes.
"Welcome, new Titan!" Starfire exclaims joyously.
"Congratulations, Terra," Raven tells her and walks over. "You earned it."
"Well, this is very exciting." Bounty Hunter jokes as the newest teammate smiles at them.
"All right. There's only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion. Waffles!" Cyborg exclaims, and they all walk out but Terra.
"Mmm!" Robin hums in agreement.
"Perfect!" Starfire exclaims in agreement.
"Can they be non-dairy waffles?" BB asks.
"Sounds yummy!" Bounty Hunter exclaims.
"Sounds good. I'll catch up in a minute, okay?" Terra asks as she watches them leave her new room, the door closes after them, and she turns away looking down at her new communicator. "I don't believe it. They actually trust me."
…...
In the hallway, the Titans and Bounty Hunter walk towards the operations centre to make their celebration waffles, Bounty Hunter puts her hand on Robin's shoulder stopping their walk, and the others continue walking on unaware. "Robin, I'm real sorry about tonight. I had no idea that Slade was the one who offered the job. I did tell them I wouldn't be working for him anymore." She apologises to him, bowing her to him.
"It's okay, really, I understand, and I'm glad you helped save our home, I speak for everyone when I say you're forgiven. Even if there is nothing to forgive, you did the right thing." He tells her, and she nods smiling, trying to hide the blush on her face.
"Thanks, Robin, you guys are my only friends, and I'll talk to my boss again about Slade, I mean, it'll look bad if I keep losing to you guys when I'm with Slade." She jokes and walks around him, he smiles at her and thinks back to their last time at the prom and her words, then he knew he had to focus on the fight, but now he couldn't help the blush that fights to take over his cheeks. "You coming, Boy Wonder?" She asks him as she stops looking behind her at the Titan and he turns around after collecting himself.
"Yeah, I'm coming." He answers his voice going a little squeaky as he walks over to her.
"Feeling okay?" she asks him, and they walk along he nods his head no trusting his voice quiet yet.
Hello, and you have finished another chapter, also I just want to remind you that once it comes to the 20th of July I will be starting my One Piece story The Strawhat's Red Devil, and at the beginning of August I will announce if my third story Soul Eater Daughter Stein will be continuing or not and being replaced. So please cast your votes as soon as possible. Thank you. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!
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