Chapter 20: A new start For a moment, the green shape-shifter just stared at the girls in front of him in utter confusion. It doesn't have to?
Does that mean they just…forgot about all the conflict that happened because of Tezumi – because of how he acted because of her?
So did that mean that they forgave him?
Did it mean that…Terra might come back – that they all could be friends again?
A smile spread on the shape-shifter's face with that thought – even if it seemed very unlikely that he would ever see their friendship restored.
He closed his eyes, trying to make his eyes regain their focus but the pain was another thing that kept his mind occupied. "You know…" he murmured, opening his eyes again, "…I didn't really think it would either. But I'm happy…it's there," he said and a warm feeling spread through him, seeing that their smiles – their hopes – didn't falter.
Sound of dropping rocks and shifting cement filled the air and their hands left his shoulder only to land gently on his hands, letting him know that he wasn't going through this alone.
A large shadow spread over them, the darkness of it the last thing they saw before they closed their eyes.
"We will not let you die!"
Their eyes snapped open and moved towards the approaching wall, to see it suddenly exploding as apparently, a green starbolt collided with it.
Smaller rocks rained on them, still causing some minor damage, but at least it wasn't life-threatening.
"S-star?" Beast Boy gasped in shock, seeing the alien floating down towards them, her hands and eyes glowing bright green.
She was followed by Robin and Cyborg, the walls around them now starting to cave in.
"How did you find us?" Raven asked the Tamaranian but she was cut short by her leader.
"Now's not the time for that," Robin said and his eyes rested on the ex-titan and she avoided eye-contact.
"Robin? Don't tell me you're waiting to see a funeral?" the half-robot cried as the walls around them started to crumble. He didn't have to wait for another word and ordered the half-robot to get Raven outside before he approached the immobile shape-shifter and lifted him as he pulled out his grappling hook and fired as close to the exit as possible.
Starfire slowly approached Terra who had her eyes on the ground.
"Hurry, Star," she heard Robin call to her before her eyes narrowed in determination.
And with quick reflexes, Starfire pulled Terra to her feet before carrying her in her arms and flew upwards, occasionally shooting at approaching boulders.
Starfire was the first to reach safe ground, followed by Cyborg before to their shock, the ceiling and walls of the building suddenly gave way completely, the debris threatening to crush them.
Cyborg fired his cannon at the nearest wall before the two Titans rushed outside. Robin took out his explosive disks as more and definitely larger walls dropped towards them.
"Thanks…Robin."
The leader glanced in confusion in the direction of the low, strained voice before a small smile spread on his face.
"For what? For trying to get you kicked off the team?" he replied before he flung the disks at the pieces of concrete, shattering the remains in the air.
Carrying the shape-shifter piggy-back style on his back, Robin jumped through what remained of the entrance before the building completely collapsed onto itself. "Could you not jump so dramatically through the door next time?" the shape-shifter cried, trying to sit up.
"Could you not run off with your killer next time?" Robin retorted.
"How should I know she was trying to kill me?" Beast Boy replied angrily.
He received a stern look from Raven and he turned away.
"But then again…I guess I was wrong about who was trying to hurt you," the changeling heard Robin say and he looked up.
He was received with a hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe you were right about Terra."
The changeling's eyes widened at hearing those magical words from Robin's mouth and he spun around.
"Did you hear that, Terra? You can finally come…"
His words got lost before they managed to get out when his eyes were only faced with an empty, rainy alley.
"…home."
His eyes lowered, realizing that he had lost her again.
The next morning, Beast Boy woke up with the first rays of sunshine filtering through his window. He morphed into a cat, using this form to stretch his tired bones before he cried out in pain, his foot and wrist still retaining some of the damage.
His eyes opened in surprise, when he saw that both damaged body part were wrapped in tight bandages.
Who did this?
Robin? No, he was too busy for stuff like that.
Raven? A smirk spread on his face at the possibility of the stoic team member coming down from her high horse.
But then again, she came down ever since she rescued him from getting turned into Swiss cheese.
He walked into the kitchen and joined his already present teammates on the table for their breakfast. Just then, the crime alert rang and all of them jumped up before rushing to the T-Car.
And as it seemed, Plasmus was again on a wrecking spree, wreaking havoc in the amusement park. But it didn't take long for the 5 heroes to defeat the pink slime monster, particularly because of their improved teamwork.
After the pink monster was put behind bars, the members of the Teen Titans made their way back home, all running on empty stomachs.
The changeling though, stopped after his eyes spotted a familiar coffee shop, followed by Raven and then the others.
"It's ok," Raven said suddenly and Beast Boy turned around in confusion.
"What? No, it's not what-"
"I know if you want to be alone for a while. We can all understand," Raven interrupted and the changeling peeked a look at the others.
And he stared in wonder as his team gave him looks of sympathy and understanding – something he didn't see for a long time now.
"But what if you need me? I can't just-"
And once again, he was interrupted, this time by beeping sounds coming from his belt pocket. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he pulled out a communicator before a smile replaced his surprised expression.
"Just make sure we can reach you," Robin said and Beast Boy activated his device.
He took a deep breath before he asked one final question into the device. "Are you guys sure?" he shouted into the round object and it was a miracle that their ears didn't fall off.
"Don't make us change our minds, Beast Boy," Robin said through clenched teeth and the shape-shifter turned to the half-demon.
"It was you, right?"
"What?"
"You told Terra to look for me," Beast Boy said and Raven frowned at him, causing the shape-shifter to smile at her.
"So what if-"
A hand landed on her shoulder before he hugged her.
"Thanks, Rae," he murmured and she strangely wasn't repulsed by his rather intimate act.
He pulled away before dashing off into the coffee shop.
Raven turned away as the rest of the team made their way towards their tower. "No problem," she murmured with a smile.
The coffee shop was deprived of people, the glaring sunlight being one of the reasons. Beast Boy dropped himself onto a seat by the counter and ordered a fruit milkshake.
He pulled out his communicator once again, his eyes resting on the T in the center.
A small smile spread on his face. He might have lost Terra, or if he could even consider it – Tezumi – but at least…he didn't lose his team yet.
At least he had his friends.
And he was more than happy to see that his friends…were also Terra's.
Even if she…might never come back.
He let out a tired sigh, wondering why he still kept thinking about her.
And in that moment, his strawberry milkshake was placed onto the counter and his mouth watered at the sight of the pink glass.
At least something would take his mind off the heat.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw another milkshake being placed next to him.
He turned into that direction…and almost choked on his milkshake he had begun to consume.
Next to him, sitting by the counter in her school uniform sat Terra. He was about to call out to her…but he stopped himself. Just like his team understood his need to be alone – to decide for himself – so did he have to understand Terra's needs.
He reluctantly turned away from her and busied himself with his own drink again.
"I might have told you that I'm not a hero…"
Beast Boy's head shot up at her voice but he refused to look at her. Maybe she wasn't talking to him. Maybe she was with her friends.
"…but I want to know…are we still friends?"
Why would she tell that to her friends?
Or were they?
Okay, this was getting confusing – and he hated being confused. He looked up and was faced with blue eyes staring back at him intently.
The changeling looked behind him nervously. "Are you…talking to me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
And he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her nod her head slowly. "You…always were," he murmured, feeling the heat get to his face.
"And the others?"
Her voice was laced with worry.
"All of us, Terra," he reassured her and she gave him a small smile. "So is it…ok to start things over?"
"Why start over when we can just continue where we left off?" he smiled, leaning a bit closer to the blonde-haired girl.
"Because…things change."
He frowned upon hearing this sentence and she giggled at him.
"Chill out! At least we can fix…our mistakes," she murmured.
"What mistakes? Tell me one thing you did wrong," he demanded.
Her stare intensified. "Not telling you the truth," she murmured, leaning closer and the shape-shifter realized suddenly that they were getting too close – not that he minded though.
He closed his eyes.
At least they could fix this together.
"Oh," the girl gasped and he stole a glance at her and saw with disappointment that she stood up.
"W-what's wrong?"
She walked past him. "I gotta be home by now."
His eyes lowered in sadness. "Then I guess-"
"I'll see you later," Terra smiled at him and Beast Boy realized that things might change for the better now. He waved back at her before he rushed back to his team.
Does that mean they just…forgot about all the conflict that happened because of Tezumi – because of how he acted because of her?
So did that mean that they forgave him?
Did it mean that…Terra might come back – that they all could be friends again?
A smile spread on the shape-shifter's face with that thought – even if it seemed very unlikely that he would ever see their friendship restored.
He closed his eyes, trying to make his eyes regain their focus but the pain was another thing that kept his mind occupied. "You know…" he murmured, opening his eyes again, "…I didn't really think it would either. But I'm happy…it's there," he said and a warm feeling spread through him, seeing that their smiles – their hopes – didn't falter.
Sound of dropping rocks and shifting cement filled the air and their hands left his shoulder only to land gently on his hands, letting him know that he wasn't going through this alone.
A large shadow spread over them, the darkness of it the last thing they saw before they closed their eyes.
"We will not let you die!"
Their eyes snapped open and moved towards the approaching wall, to see it suddenly exploding as apparently, a green starbolt collided with it.
Smaller rocks rained on them, still causing some minor damage, but at least it wasn't life-threatening.
"S-star?" Beast Boy gasped in shock, seeing the alien floating down towards them, her hands and eyes glowing bright green.
She was followed by Robin and Cyborg, the walls around them now starting to cave in.
"How did you find us?" Raven asked the Tamaranian but she was cut short by her leader.
"Now's not the time for that," Robin said and his eyes rested on the ex-titan and she avoided eye-contact.
"Robin? Don't tell me you're waiting to see a funeral?" the half-robot cried as the walls around them started to crumble. He didn't have to wait for another word and ordered the half-robot to get Raven outside before he approached the immobile shape-shifter and lifted him as he pulled out his grappling hook and fired as close to the exit as possible.
Starfire slowly approached Terra who had her eyes on the ground.
"Hurry, Star," she heard Robin call to her before her eyes narrowed in determination.
And with quick reflexes, Starfire pulled Terra to her feet before carrying her in her arms and flew upwards, occasionally shooting at approaching boulders.
Starfire was the first to reach safe ground, followed by Cyborg before to their shock, the ceiling and walls of the building suddenly gave way completely, the debris threatening to crush them.
Cyborg fired his cannon at the nearest wall before the two Titans rushed outside. Robin took out his explosive disks as more and definitely larger walls dropped towards them.
"Thanks…Robin."
The leader glanced in confusion in the direction of the low, strained voice before a small smile spread on his face.
"For what? For trying to get you kicked off the team?" he replied before he flung the disks at the pieces of concrete, shattering the remains in the air.
Carrying the shape-shifter piggy-back style on his back, Robin jumped through what remained of the entrance before the building completely collapsed onto itself. "Could you not jump so dramatically through the door next time?" the shape-shifter cried, trying to sit up.
"Could you not run off with your killer next time?" Robin retorted.
"How should I know she was trying to kill me?" Beast Boy replied angrily.
He received a stern look from Raven and he turned away.
"But then again…I guess I was wrong about who was trying to hurt you," the changeling heard Robin say and he looked up.
He was received with a hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe you were right about Terra."
The changeling's eyes widened at hearing those magical words from Robin's mouth and he spun around.
"Did you hear that, Terra? You can finally come…"
His words got lost before they managed to get out when his eyes were only faced with an empty, rainy alley.
"…home."
His eyes lowered, realizing that he had lost her again.
The next morning, Beast Boy woke up with the first rays of sunshine filtering through his window. He morphed into a cat, using this form to stretch his tired bones before he cried out in pain, his foot and wrist still retaining some of the damage.
His eyes opened in surprise, when he saw that both damaged body part were wrapped in tight bandages.
Who did this?
Robin? No, he was too busy for stuff like that.
Raven? A smirk spread on his face at the possibility of the stoic team member coming down from her high horse.
But then again, she came down ever since she rescued him from getting turned into Swiss cheese.
He walked into the kitchen and joined his already present teammates on the table for their breakfast. Just then, the crime alert rang and all of them jumped up before rushing to the T-Car.
And as it seemed, Plasmus was again on a wrecking spree, wreaking havoc in the amusement park. But it didn't take long for the 5 heroes to defeat the pink slime monster, particularly because of their improved teamwork.
After the pink monster was put behind bars, the members of the Teen Titans made their way back home, all running on empty stomachs.
The changeling though, stopped after his eyes spotted a familiar coffee shop, followed by Raven and then the others.
"It's ok," Raven said suddenly and Beast Boy turned around in confusion.
"What? No, it's not what-"
"I know if you want to be alone for a while. We can all understand," Raven interrupted and the changeling peeked a look at the others.
And he stared in wonder as his team gave him looks of sympathy and understanding – something he didn't see for a long time now.
"But what if you need me? I can't just-"
And once again, he was interrupted, this time by beeping sounds coming from his belt pocket. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he pulled out a communicator before a smile replaced his surprised expression.
"Just make sure we can reach you," Robin said and Beast Boy activated his device.
He took a deep breath before he asked one final question into the device. "Are you guys sure?" he shouted into the round object and it was a miracle that their ears didn't fall off.
"Don't make us change our minds, Beast Boy," Robin said through clenched teeth and the shape-shifter turned to the half-demon.
"It was you, right?"
"What?"
"You told Terra to look for me," Beast Boy said and Raven frowned at him, causing the shape-shifter to smile at her.
"So what if-"
A hand landed on her shoulder before he hugged her.
"Thanks, Rae," he murmured and she strangely wasn't repulsed by his rather intimate act.
He pulled away before dashing off into the coffee shop.
Raven turned away as the rest of the team made their way towards their tower. "No problem," she murmured with a smile.
The coffee shop was deprived of people, the glaring sunlight being one of the reasons. Beast Boy dropped himself onto a seat by the counter and ordered a fruit milkshake.
He pulled out his communicator once again, his eyes resting on the T in the center.
A small smile spread on his face. He might have lost Terra, or if he could even consider it – Tezumi – but at least…he didn't lose his team yet.
At least he had his friends.
And he was more than happy to see that his friends…were also Terra's.
Even if she…might never come back.
He let out a tired sigh, wondering why he still kept thinking about her.
And in that moment, his strawberry milkshake was placed onto the counter and his mouth watered at the sight of the pink glass.
At least something would take his mind off the heat.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw another milkshake being placed next to him.
He turned into that direction…and almost choked on his milkshake he had begun to consume.
Next to him, sitting by the counter in her school uniform sat Terra. He was about to call out to her…but he stopped himself. Just like his team understood his need to be alone – to decide for himself – so did he have to understand Terra's needs.
He reluctantly turned away from her and busied himself with his own drink again.
"I might have told you that I'm not a hero…"
Beast Boy's head shot up at her voice but he refused to look at her. Maybe she wasn't talking to him. Maybe she was with her friends.
"…but I want to know…are we still friends?"
Why would she tell that to her friends?
Or were they?
Okay, this was getting confusing – and he hated being confused. He looked up and was faced with blue eyes staring back at him intently.
The changeling looked behind him nervously. "Are you…talking to me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
And he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her nod her head slowly. "You…always were," he murmured, feeling the heat get to his face.
"And the others?"
Her voice was laced with worry.
"All of us, Terra," he reassured her and she gave him a small smile. "So is it…ok to start things over?"
"Why start over when we can just continue where we left off?" he smiled, leaning a bit closer to the blonde-haired girl.
"Because…things change."
He frowned upon hearing this sentence and she giggled at him.
"Chill out! At least we can fix…our mistakes," she murmured.
"What mistakes? Tell me one thing you did wrong," he demanded.
Her stare intensified. "Not telling you the truth," she murmured, leaning closer and the shape-shifter realized suddenly that they were getting too close – not that he minded though.
He closed his eyes.
At least they could fix this together.
"Oh," the girl gasped and he stole a glance at her and saw with disappointment that she stood up.
"W-what's wrong?"
She walked past him. "I gotta be home by now."
His eyes lowered in sadness. "Then I guess-"
"I'll see you later," Terra smiled at him and Beast Boy realized that things might change for the better now. He waved back at her before he rushed back to his team.