Season 2, Episode 8
Light 'Em Up
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A villain... with fireworks.
Seriously.
Terra sighed, watching as the man strolled up to one of Jump City's many banks. Honestly, he wasn't even trying to be quick, or stealthy, or anything like that. He was just out in the open, where any old cop could grab his shoulder and say excuse me sir but why are you walking into the bank with two giant revolvers and a motorcycle helmet on?
Amateur.
She casually started across the street. She'd run into this guy before- he was the type to hold onto a motif so desperately that it actually made him weaker. Case in point, if he had actual bullets instead of freaking fireworks, she might be- at the very least- concerned.
But that wouldn't be different or original enough. Eugh.
Shaking her head, she made her way towards the front steps of the building. The man paused, half-turning near the top stair, and raised the guns. "Ah, Terra." A digitized voice emanated from behind the black helmet, and at the same time, colored lights flashed on the front to correspond with the sounds. "So good to see you again."
Let's see, how to play this...
After thinking for a moment, she shrugged. "Sorry, have we met?"
He growled, but tried to cover it up with a small laugh. "Surely you remember... the terror and fame of Lightshow!"
It was almost too easy. She scratched her head, giving a look like she was concentrating really hard, then smiled apologetically. "Did we, like, meet at a party or something...?"
Lightshow froze, and she grinned as she imagined what his face looked like under that mask. "How dare you," the electric voice snarled. "Perhaps this will jog your memory!"
He pointed one of the guns at the sky, and a rapid-fire burst of projectiles launched straight up. It wasn't more than a second before the lights exploded into color, reds and purples, vivid even in the midday brightness.
Somewhat distracting, actually.
Terra blinked, looking down to notice that Lightshow was running back up the steps, nearly inside the building already. Did I really just fall for that?
She flipped her hair back, annoyed, then focused on the steps in front of her. Once she recognized the type of marble they were made of, she made a quick note of Lightshow's speed, then-
Stepped.
The smallest bit of stone jutted up from the top stair, far too late for the villain to see, and with a surprised yell, he fell on his face. Both guns skittered to a stop a few yards away.
Smirking, Terra floated towards him on a levitating platform of rock, taking care to shift the modified step back to its original state. "Don't wanna cause any accidental vandalism," she said nonchalantly. "Which, by the way, could be the title of your autobiography. That you write in jail."
He jumped to his feet, but Terra continued. "You know, you don't even have to rob the bank now. I could getcha for setting off explosives on city property."
"Insolent-"
"Also, I don't wanna crush any dreams here, but I don't think Daft Punk is looking for new members."
Enraged, he dashed towards the closest revolver, hefting it and aiming in a single motion. Before Terra could react, he'd already fired a missile towards her-
Bright. Very bright.
She staggered back, temporarily blinded. Well, that's a new trick. Placing one hand on the ground, she tried to determine where his footsteps were coming from. Too close.
Her arm barely swung up in time, and Lightshow's kick caught her elbow, causing her to wince in pain. Frustrated that she'd been pushed so far off-balance, she scrambled backwards again, trying to come up with a plan, to get back in control of the battle, to-
She heard the launch of another explosive.
Lightshow must have aimed it too quickly for an accurate shot, but the firework crashed near her, and the resulting mini-explosion knocked her into the air. Too dazed to consider her next move, she hit the ground hard.
Blinking, she looked up through still-blurred vision to see the criminal walking towards her. Lightshow laughed, a hollow, crackling sound. "Well, little hero," he said through blips of static. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Terra gritted her teeth. "Practice makes perfect," she mumbled.
He tilted his head, and the lights on the mask moved diagonally. "Sorry?"
"I said-" She moved her hand quickly, bringing two fingers together on the ground, and a foot-high mound of earth encased one of Lightshow's feet. "Practice makes perfect."
Startled, he strained to get free of the dirt. The few seconds of distraction allowed Terra to focus her thoughts on a new idea- one she hadn't tried before. Two small, flat stones broke away from the marble steps and rose up- one pressed against the back of her hand, while the other fit perfectly against her palm. Concentrating, she kept the stones pushing together like magnets, which allowed her to hold both in place, even when she curled her hand into a fist. Once they were secure, she used her powers.
The rocks moved up.
The force of the punch pulled Terra behind it, letting her leap to her feet, while at the same time connecting with Lightshow's helmet faster than any normal attack she could have tried. He flew backwards, but with his foot still trapped, halted immediately and dropped to the ground.
Exhilarated, she grinned, saying the first thing that came to her mind. "Lights out."
With a roar, Lightshow raised the gun again, wildly firing explosives while still on his back. Terra moved quickly, avoiding the missiles and taking the time to connect another pair of stones to her other hand. By the time the villain ran out of fireworks, he'd also gotten to his feet again and raised his fists, almost daring her to make the next move.
Terra obliged.
As she charged, she noticed a few things. Lightshow had his arms up in front of him, clearly expecting another punch. He'd probably be able to block it this time, and he seemed to be ready to use his immobile foot as an anchor for balance. She'd have to change up her strategy.
Smiling, she took the last few steps at an even faster pace, rearing her arm back like she was about to strike. But just before she reached him, her last step pressed down against the earth- using her powers, she levitated a pillar of stone underneath her foot.
Terra flew upwards, instantly flipping back and catching Lightshow with a uppercut-kick to the chin. At the same time, she loosened the dirt around his foot, so there was nothing left to keep him from rising into the air with the force of the hit.
After landing, she glanced up to see Lightshow's helmet clatter against the steps. A normal, human face- bruised and a bit shocked- looked back at her in a daze, mumbling something before he collapsed forward.
"Told ya," she said in between gasping breaths, "I'd getcha."
The adrenaline didn't last long, and she suddenly realized how tired she was. Not only that, but quite a few onlookers were still staring, and Terra glanced around. "Already called the cops?"
Getting a few nods, she sighed. "That's... good. That's good." She stepped past Lightshow's groaning form, rubbing her eyes. The thrill of victory was usually pretty real, but it didn't always account for good old-fashioned exhaustion.
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It didn't take long to get to the bay. Terra found herself at the edge of the city, standing on the beach and looking out over the shining waters of the Pacific. The sunlight glinted off Titans Tower, and it was tough to look at anything else.
She could tell herself she was here for some other reason, but it'd be a lie. Staring at that building, she felt a surge of contradicting emotions. Afraid. Nervous. Excited.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She'd needed practice- they made that very clear. And she'd needed to prove it to them, but... to herself, too.
And now she was ready.
Without looking, she formed a lump of sand behind her into a smooth platform, just the right size to ride like a hovercraft over the bay.
It was time to become a Titan.
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Hey. Hey guys. Wanna know a secret?
Terra's back.
I think I've made my feelings about Terra pretty clear- in short, she's awesome. However, last time I was a little concerned that she just... showed up. Almost like an original character, plopping down into the story and making everything about her. But now, it's looking more and more like this was the plan all along.
I don't think I noticed it in the earlier episode 'Terra', but the Titans have surprisingly varied and interesting reactions to her character. Beast Boy, obviously, is completely crushing, while Starfire thinks Terra's just the coolest thing ever- but the other three are fascinating. Cyborg doesn't get a lot of lines, but I think he's cautiously optimistic, and Raven takes the focus of the episode, going from a complete distrust of Terra to, eventually, a hesitant friendship. Robin might be the most interesting- he's wary of trusting her, but not outright suspicious. Every time he talks to her, you can tell he's weighing everything in his mind. What she's done in the past, what the others think of her, the risks involved in trusting her... he seems to be considering it all. Even his decision to put Raven and Terra on the same team eventually works out- he's proven right when they, working together, save the day.
It's the perfect group dynamic. And even Raven's initial cold-shoulder attitude isn't just because the plot says so. She has real, legitimate reasons that she doesn't trust Terra- like I said, the events from before are a pretty important bit, but also because Raven knows exactly how difficult it is to get control of dangerous powers.
The plot's good, but it sort of takes a backseat to the characters this time around. In addition to Terra's-back and Raven-doesn't-trust-her storylines, we also get omnivorous giant worms that are destroying parts of the city. Turns out their real target is actually the Tower, and in a nutshell, the Titans- mainly Robin from a leadership standpoint, and Raven personally- have to trust Terra completely to save their home.
Oh, and Slade shows up.
*drops mic, walks away.*
How did I live without this guy? He's still the best, folks- the first time he shows up outside of a communicator screen, he immediately kicks Robin in the face.
One particular thing I'd like to point out here: the action. The longer fight scene, about halfway through the episode, really rocks. The burrowing worm-like monsters don't really fight so much as they keep eating, so the focus is completely on the Titans' powers and how they can combine in creative ways. Especially now that Terra's involved. Plus, it's another opportunity to showcase the difference between her and Raven- Terra tries a really dangerous tactic, and Raven completely shuts her down, basically demanding that she trust the Team first and foremost. It's really kind of impressive. I mean, Raven's never a pushover, but we don't always get to see her really stand up to somebody.
And in the ending scene, there's a particularly awesome moment where Cyborg drills a hole in one of the worms- then Beast Boy slips inside as a mouse to chew through the wiring. That's really creative.
Also, the music is good. I wish I had more to say about it, but how do you describe music in text? 'It sounded like DUH DUH, DU-NU DU-NU NUH'? Just... it's good.
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How do I funny: The Titans are in the middle of the most serious game of volleyball I've ever seen, and Terra appears out of nowhere with this line: "So, which team am I on?" Man, she's as cocky as ever.
Starfire and Beast Boy are competing to greet her first. That's hilarious. They try to knock each other out of the way and everything.
The first thing he says to her: "Terra, you're- I mean, I- howzit- heh... whassup?" I cannot deal with how dorky and pathetic he is when she shows up.
Beast Boy on Raven: "Eh, she kinda hates everybody." Master of subtlety, ladies and gents.
"Are you gonna give me that look EVERY TIME there's an earthquake?"
The three different worms show up, and it's awesome- but instead of fighting, they just leave. Beast Boy, incredulous: "Dude, we got snubbed!"
In the middle of this pretty-serious episode, we get a video-game-style shot of Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg chasing after the worms with 8-bit sound effects and everything.
The worms can fly? The worms can combine? THE WORMS ARE GONNA DESTROY THE TOWER?! That's all revealed in, like, the same two seconds!
Learning that her home is in danger, Starfire utters her most intimidating, battle-ready, angry speech... "I like where we live!"
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Notes: So yes, the story was based off of Terra's comment 'I've been practicing'. I know that's really a stretch to make that into a story, but... stretching's supposed to be good for your health. Wakka wakka.
Maybe normally I wouldn't like such a happy, everything-worked-out-okay ending, but here, I just feel all warm and fuzzy. Good job, great episode, 10/10.
Next up: 'Winner Take All'. Oh, please tell me it's a villain obsessed with games. Like the way Mad Mod put them in that bizarre-o school, or how Atlas kept playing video games.
(Don't... don't actually tell me. That was a joke.)