Chapter Ten:
"This is crazy." Vix muttered under hear breath as the lights snapped themselves off throughout the hall way. Terra was in the room with her as usual, as they waited for their time. The plan had been talked over lunch earlier that day, and everyone agreed that this was crazy. But it was their only shot. Two guards made rounds around the two separate halls that held the captive teenagers. After watching for a few nights, Terra had learned where the keys where on their belts, and the time of which one of the guards passed. Terra's powers where their only hope, and she felt the weight of their trust.
Terra was starving, her stomach churned and growled with hunger. But at the same time, so did her inner power. She looked to Vix as the darkness took hold of the rooms. Her eyes glowing slightly, Vix looked to Terra as well before nodding her readiness. Terra closed her eyes and let the energy come to her, she let it tingle through her veins and send shivers down her spine. It was refreshing and a relief to use it, to allow herself the pleasure of this long bottled power. She opened her eyes and grinned before sneaking towards the plastic barred door. She reached her hand near an open space and tried to focus on her new attack plan as the guard walked past. A magnetic energy pushed against her, then pulled towards her, making her hand trembled with a confused pain.
Her mind was trying to use the pulling and pushing energy, but it was confusing and proved harder to manage than Terra had considered would be. All the same, she forced her brain to work harder, forced her power to obey her command. And as the guard passed, Terra was able to pull the keys from his belt. So hard was the magnetic force she had created, that the keys jingled and ripped the belt. The man swerved around and stared at Terra with surprise. She gasped so hard that her breath seemed to leave her for a moment. The next moments seemed only a blur to her, he quickly grabbed for his radio. But Terra would not allow him to call for help, swiftly without mercy her eyes caught onto her powerful color. The keys lifted themselves into the air and with a blood curling thump swung at his head.
He fell, somehow slowly... fell to the floor as blood started to tinkled from his forehead. The blood stained keys lingered in the air in front of Terra's face. Who was staring ahead, as if not even noticing the fallen man with the blunt gash on his forehead. Suddenly Terra came back to her surface and her eyes turned back to blue, she looked down and felt her blood rush. Her body shook so hard that she staggered back. But she had not the time to waist, and even as the scene haunted her Terra snatched the keys from the air and threw them to Vix. "Unlock the door." She said, her voice tinted with ice.
Vix was staring at her with wide eyes, her small mouth gapping open in shock. But she did as she was told and the gate was soon opened. She turned back to Terra as if she wanted to speak, but could not find words for herself.
Terra didn't even take notice as she stride past the body, careful however to avoid the puddle of blood that was leaking. Terra had shrunk back into a self state she wished she would have forgotten about. This was not the first spill of blood she had caused, and Slade's training and words of advice lingered in her mind. Guiding her through her mission, and even though she hated it... she needed it.
"They have cameras, and will see this in a minute. We have to move." Terra spoke as she quickened her pace without looking back. She felt the chill in her words, and the pale expression on her face.
"Don't look back. Once a life is taken it is gone." Slade had whispered in a cruel voice. Yet at the time it had seemed like wisdom. Perhaps, even now it could be in situations like hers. "Do not allow mercy to get between you and what needs done. If you let yourself feel guilt, you will fail."
Terra shivered at the remembrance of those words, but she forced herself to concentrate, alarms would be going off any minute. And she had a feeling that that man would not be the last one to bleed before this mission was over. When would it be over? What was she to do? What was her finishing point?
"Tara!" Fuse whispered harshly from his cell, Allen beside him. Terra looked to her left and then looked to Vix. Her friend got the silent message and took the keys to the cell and started fingering for the right ones.
Fuse held a bar in each hand, trying to look down the hall to see what had happened. But when he failed he turned to Terra. "What happened?"
But she didn't answer as Vix slid the door open with what would have been a look of laughing pride. But the whole bust out lost all humor a few minutes ago, and Terra could sense the morbid emotion dripping from the foxish girl. The blonde turned and kept going down the hall, smooth and serious steps she took. Knowing the other three where quietly following her, and most likely giving her odd looks of confusion. Their anxious rush was a feeling that seemed to grasp into the air. But Terra was calm, her steps careful, this seemed like every day work to her all of the sudden. Her eyes had caught back onto her vibrant yellow as she searched the building for it's weakness point. Terra could feel it, the depth and form of the earth around her, including the metals. The new and unused power drained her slowly, her legs started to trembled, but Terra turned to the corner into another room and quietly through a door without hesitation.
She found it moments later, it was still thick, but it would have to do. Time was against them in this matter, and they could not afford to waist any more. Terra raised her hand midair, her finger tips glowed yellow at first, but soon the rest of her hand caught on. Fighting against a pure steel wall Terra could already feel her head ache.
Then the alarms went off. Blaring their news as red lights flashed wildly throughout the entire building. The noise made Terra stutter from sudden surprise, but she put her mind back to work quickly. The others however where arguing and screaming at the horrible idea, yelling and even cursing. But Terra did her best to block it all out, she strained to keep her power intact. But the wall was only dented.
"Terra Hurry!" Someone yelped, but she played the voice no notice. All focus and strain was into this one part of the mission. Beyond this point was not within her planning. A small part of her doubted the completion of this part honestly, she doubted herself without trust to her own power. Her head throbbed and her hands trembled, but the wall started morphing. forming a small round-ish doorway. A few feet at a time, slow was the process, and the marching of feet could be heard in the back.
"Keep them off me!" Terra snapped bitterly without removing her gaze at the wall. Oh how those moments dragged, as she watched the wall dent farther and farther. Ticking away the time themselves why the sound of footsteps grew ever closer. Terra could not hide from herself, her own anxiety. Her heart was pounding against her chest like a frightened animal. In the back of her mind, she could hear the foot falls, time was running out. And she was not the only one who was hanging by this thread, the three teenagers where still behind her, counting on her to save them. She could not fail them, they had a ounce of trust in her... and that trust was like a warm bed on a cold winters night to her. With a loud ear piercing scream Terra threw all her energy forward in a brilliant light of yellow that swallowed the make-shift doorway. With a weird nose that was something like scraping metal, and a loud POP, the doorway busted through. But a wall of dirt blocked the way.
Duh Terra. We're underground. She scorned to herself.
"There over here!" A loud voice cried over the alarm, and Terra knew it was not one of her friends. But still she did not look back, her eyes-though dimmed in color-still glowed yellow as she rushed forward. As she did, the earth moved aside into steps. As if making way for its goddess. Terra had no problem with it, it was like picking up stuffed animals after heavy boxes. Terra turned around, the others stuttering as they stopped as well and looked at her. She must of looked someone odd and cold. Her pale face was lit up by her eyes, and her hair fluttered around her head every now and then. And she dripped no emotion into the open, she was very much like the walking dead.
"Keep going!" Terra told them. And they obeyed, though Terra could feel their new fear of her. Just as the guards got to the entrance, surprise written over their faces that soon mingled with awe and fear. But Terra just swiped her hand upwards, and the dirt formed a hard wall. The metal would have taken too long to move again, and her energy was already drained. As Terra turned on her heels and ran back up the earth followed her in forming a thicker and tighter wall. Moonlight washed over the land that she could make out from her place in the hole. But the feeling of dawn was not far, its warming awakening was a tingle in the air. As Terra escaped from the hole and came onto level ground, the pit continued to fill up. A small twang of pride and hope fluttered inside her, trying to get into her heart so that she could truly feel the emotion. But those feelings died as soon as she looked over to the left. There, three bodies lay, like small mounds in this pale light.
Terra felt a jumble of feelings all at once, she went to rush forward but was taken back. The arm that took her was hard with muscle, and covered in black. Though she jammed her eyes shut as she was dragged swiftly behind a small hill, Terra knew who it was. She struggled against his strength, but hunger was taking it's toll on her, and she had neither the physical power, or her own earth-moving ones to help her.
"Stop squirming." He hissed in her ear.
Terra didn't obey, she still gave on in her little struggle. Though it did no good and the minutes ticked away until the sun peaked over distant mountains. Finally, he let go of her and Terra shot to her feet and then some before she looked back around at him. Fury raged through her like an angry sea, drowning control that she was fighting to keep. She looked to her right, her friends where gone, and no one was over there. She assumed they where searching the desert. But her friends would be thrown back in their cells, then most likely later asked questions. Trying to get information on her by any means... and no boundaries or laws protected Vix Allen, or Fuse. Terra shook with the thought, her skin shivered with an inner chill. They where beyond her help, as she had failed. But for now she looked back to Red X.
"You have a lot of nerve." She hissed. Her blue eyes watching him stand up.
"I should have stuck to my promises and just waved as you ran to recapture." He said without care.
"Yeah! You should have!" She screamed suddenly. "Do you know what you did?!"
"Saved you."
"Because of you, those guys are going to be drugged, beaten, and God knows what else! They could have been out of there, they-"
"You shouldn't have tried to lead them out."
Terra glared, her inner monster roaring with a unmasked fury. Anger boiled out within her, and her already rage was like a power boost to her merciless emotions. "Why?! Why not?!" She snapped.
"Your not in the position to try to help anyone else." Red X said, with a tone that seemed too cool with it. Though she couldn't see his eyes, Terra knew he was looking her over, almost with a pitiful vibe towards her. "C'mon, we don't have long. There going to be over here soon." Red X almost muttered as he turned around to walk away.
But Terra narrowed her eyes and glared at his back, her blue eyes filled with a fury and rage that seemed to boil back to her surface. Her fragile emotions where raging inside her again as her hands curled into tight fists, so that her finger nails dug deep inside her palm. Blood tinkled down her wrist, and made puddles inside her fists. But this pain was mild, and she didn't feel it. Instead, as Red X turned towards her to see if she was following, she threw her fists at his face. Out of surprise he failed to block and staggered back with wide eyes.
"You low life piece of-" Terra failed to finish as she glared at him, somehow seeming taller than she was a few moments ago. Her eyes became tinted with yellow and her hair fluttered above her head. "You think I'm going to follow you?" She snarled. "You sold me out to those guys. Do you have any idea what that was like?! DO YOU?! Hm?! To wake up in a cage, to find out that the only person left for you to turn to was another trap? WELL?!" She screamed, her voice filling the morning air with a betrayed hurt. Terra felt herself become harder, another layer of stone encase her heart, and her insides freeze further as if trying to protect herself.
"I was going to get you back out." He seemed small, as if no one had ever stood up to him before. But Terra didn't care.
She stared down at him, her body trembled again. She was weak, light headed and if found helpless. She looked towards where A.51's base was and shook her head. There was no way she could get those guys back out, not now. The time was running out for Beast Boy anyways, she had to get to him before "Champ" did. As once again Slade's training came to her mind.
"Leave the fallen, protect yourself and finish what you start."
Though she couldn't cry, Terra felt a sting of emotion towards her friends, but turned away and started back west, towards Jump City. If she backtracked, she might find Beast Boy before Champ did. Right now she had to hurry, her screams where sure to alert the outer guards. She started a weak run, leaving X behind, or at least she hoped so. She didn't look back to check. Terra didn't care anymore if her power was detected though, and when her strength returned, she would only dare someone to mess with her.
UHG! I hate writers block, and I had it sooo bad xD That and school started for me already -grumble-. So sorry about the update, can't wait to hear from you guys!
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