Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
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Beast Boy gently laid Terra's body down and looked up at Hiromi, who was levitating above the macabre looking altar.
"Never send a mundane to do a Mage's job." She taunted the green Titan.
Beast Boy felt the rage begin to swell within him. This woman, this witch had slaughtered Terra in cold blood and was laughing about it. He looked down upon Terra's dead face. This time she was gone for good, there was no hope of bringing her back like there had been last time. Terra, his first love, was dead. He caressed her cheek, which was still warm and remembered how much he had loved her, how much he had cared. How, had Slade not ruined everything when he preyed upon her weakness and insecurities, she might have become his mate, his wife.
"I love you too Terra, I'll never forget you." He whispered sotto voce.
"How touching! The Beast mourns the Beauty." Hiromi taunted him from afar.
Beast Boy's eyes turned red with outrage and he almost didn't feel Raven's soothing hand on his shoulder.
"We have to be smart about this Gar; we've already burned up a minute of Ministra Time."
"Damn! Why does it have to be so short?"
"I can give you two more minutes, but we have to use them wisely. Once it runs out I'll be useless."
He nodded his understanding.
"You take Andreas and I'll take down Hiromi."
Andreas had begun to intervene directly as his army of mages was being decimated by Li Meng and the three Titans, who were still unaware of what had happened to Terra. Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a passionate kiss.
"For Terra." She said.
"And for us." He added.
Beast Boy, still in his giant form lunged at Hiromi while preparing to strike at her with his giant sword. The enchantress barely dodged his strike which demolished the altar she had been floating over. As she retreated he extended his hand and eleven arrows of ice shot out of them flying at Hiromi. She conjured a shield of fire which both blocked and melted the icy daggers.
Raven engaged Andreas, her eyes glowing black. She raised her hands and aimed then at the sorcerer, and a blast of dark energy poured out of them. Andreas raised a dark shield and blocked Raven's attack, but winced in pain from the effort. With an unspoken spell he conjured 12 decoy replicas of himself, which began to move in random directions. Raven began to fire at them, and dispatched them easily while she kept an eye out for counterattack from the real Andreas. The sorcerer had managed to sneak behind Raven and launched 11 black arrows at her. Raven sensed his deception and teleported out of harm's way.
"You are a worthy opponent Raven, it's a shame that I have to destroy you."
"You and what army Andreas?" Her disembodied voice replied.
"It doesn't have to be this way Raven! Submit to your father. He will forgive you and take you back. You can even keep your mate."
"He already offered me that. My answer still hasn't changed: GO TO HELL ANDREAS!"
Andreas grimaced at her reply, but he remained resolute in his mission.
"Have it your way Raven, but I promise you this, only one of us will walk out here alive, and you will lose no matter who that is!"
"Wanna bet!" She shouted as her tendrils reached out and nearly caught Andreas, who leaped away at the last moment, narrowly escaping capture.
By this point only two disciples were left fighting Li and the Titans, and they were more skilled than their fallen comrades. Using powerful spells they were able to deflect anything Starfire, Cyborg and Nightwing threw at them. Li charged at them, throwing several Talismans at them, which they were easily able to neutralize with their staffs.
Li slipped, falling down onto the hard surface with a loud thud and the two mages saw their opportunity to take her. She hastily got back on her feet and they pursued her, their staffs crackling with magical power they intended to discharge on her at point blank. They quickly gained on her as she continued to stumble and as they drew close the leveled their staffs at her and prepared to fire.
Then to everyone's surprise a large magic circle formed underneath the mages, displaying mysterious runes and glowing. What appeared to be living ribbons shot out of the ground. The ribbons first disarmed the mages, snapping their staffs in half and then wrapped themselves around their bodies, tightly trapping them.
"That's Western Magic!" One of the trapped mages complained.
"What? Do you think that just because I'm Chinese that I can't do Western Spells?" Li grinned in triumph. "Nightwing, you and the others help Beast Boy, I'll assist Raven!"
Nightwing nodded his agreement when Starfire shouted.
"Nightwing, Terra is injured!"
"Go to her Star, we've got Beast Boy's back." He replied as he and the tin man ran off in Beast Boy's direction.
The Tamaranian shot to the geomancer's side and immediately saw the huge hole in her chest and that she was lying in a pool of blood. She noticed that Terra's complexion was ashen, almost as gray as Raven's pale skin. With tears in her eyes she placed a finger on Terra's neck and found she had no pulse.
Starfire formed a fist which trembled uncontrollably, and it was soon followed by her jaw. Her entire body began to glow green and she threw her head back and screamed.
"NOOOOOOO!"
Everyone on the temple had to cover their ears to shield them from the Tamaranian's alien wailing. The sound of glass shattering in the distance could be heard.
Still glowing green Starfire levitated and recalled the last time she saw Terra alive. It was when Beast Boy has been fighting Hiromi. She quickly scanned the room and saw Beast Boy attacking Hiromi with his giant blade. The Japanese mage was falling back; biding her time as she knew Beast Boy's clock was ticking.
At this point something snapped in the princess's mind and she released an unbelievable barrage of starbolts. The air in the temple smelled of ozone as she fired the deadly energy bolts with the speed of Gatling gun. Hiromi raised dark shields to block the barrage and was successful. It took every bit of her concentration to block Starfire's super-Tamaranian attack and she failed to see that Beast Boy had launched seven icy sagitta magica at her. She saw them at the last moment and performing an unbelievable act of contortion and acrobatics she was able to dodge five of them, the ones which were targeting her torso.
Unfortunately for her the other two struck her, each one piercing one of her thighs. The first one passed clear through her right leg, tearing her flesh apart. The other one hit her femur, shattering it. Hiromi screamed in pain as she fell to the ground. She saw Beast Boy bearing down on her, his sword raised above his head as he was consumed with blood lust. Hiromi knew that she had been defeated and that there was only one thing she could do if she were to survive.
She pulled a talisman out of a cargo pocket in her bloodied pants and slapped it on the floor.
"Talisman, talisman, help me escape!" She intoned in warbling voice.
A dark portal opened up below her and quickly swallowed up her battered body. By the time Beast Boy's blade came crashing down the portal had closed and the sword hit the stone floor, sparks flying from the impact. Beast Boy roared his displeasure with Hiromi's cowardly escape. He then turned and searched for Raven and saw that she, along with Li Meng and the others had cornered Andreas.
Remembering that the clock was still running he shouted 'abeat' and returned to his mundane form. He quickly ran to Raven's side.
"You OK Rae?"
"Barely, where's Hiromi?"
"Star and I took her down, but she escaped into a portal. She was hurt pretty bad, I don't think she'll be coming back."
Andreas was completely surrounded, Starfire had two jumbo starbolts in her hands with his name on them, ready to use. Cyborg had his supersized cannons ready, the ones he had once used against Trigon's Slade. Nightwing had several of his bat clan weapons ready to deploy while Li Meng had her wand trained on him.
"You've lost Andreas. Now undo the curse!" Raven hissed as her entire body was shrouded in crackling dark energy.
Andreas merely grinned in reply and strutted around like an overconfident rooster.
"No … I won't" He said with an air of smugness.
"Wrong answer!" She hissed back at him. "Comply or you will learn a new meaning for the word 'pain'".
He chuckled.
"I do not fear pain Raven. It seems to me that you have two choices now. You can capture and imprison me, and I assure you that there is no prison that can hold me. I will escape. You other choice is to destroy me here and now, in which case the curse will remain and will be carried out to its exquisite final result."
He laughed maniacally before continuing.
"I win."He gloated.
Raven reached into one of her belt compartments and extracted a tiny address book, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand.
"You aren't the only one who knows curses Andreas!"
Ravens eyes glowed black as she opened the small book and displayed the blank pages to Andreas.
"Wait Raven, what are you doing?" Andreas asked.
Ignoring him Raven uttered the curse, for the second time in her life.
"Alduron … elenthra … nalthos … sola … narisnor!"
A burst of dark energy leaped off the pages of the book, enveloping Andreas's body in what appeared to be black lightning.
"No Raven, not this!"
Andreas' body dematerialized and the dark energy was drawn back into the book's pages. Raven then slammed the book shut, completing the curse. She immediately reopened the book and Andreas' terror stricken face was visible on the otherwise pristine pages.
"Please Raven, release me!"
"I'll release you when you break the curse."
"I can't betray my master, surely you must understand that."
"Then you will spend all of eternity in the book. And don't think that anyone will find it and release you, because they won't. I guarantee it."
"But this book won't last forever Raven, you know what that means?"
"Yes, I do. If the book is destroyed before you are released you will die and be trapped in limbo for all of eternity. I suggest that you think carefully about your future Andreas."
Raven slammed the book shut and slipped it back into the compartment in her jeweled belt.
"What about the other mages?" Cyborg asked. "Shouldn't we like handcuff them or something?"
"Leave them to me." Li replied. "I'm afraid that you have other business that requires your attention."
Nightwing turned towards Terra's lifeless body as Starfire embraced him and began to weep. He released her and approached the dead geomancer, dropping down onto a knee.
"I'm so sorry Terra …"
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Thunder rolled in the distance as a downpour blanketed the Jump City cemetery. Terra Markov was not a popular superhero, as the community at large had yet to forgive her earlier betrayal against the Titans and Jump City. It went without saying that her funeral had been lightly attended, with no one from or representing the Justice League present. No one from the Mayor's office came pay their respects either. Only Bumblebee came from Titans East and Kole and Argent were the only honorary Titans who attended. Li Meng did return from Hong Kong to pay her respects as well.
The Titans had commissioned a bronze monument for her grave, which depicted Terra as she looked when she first joined the Titans: her thin preteen figure contrasted with the more mature form she had when she died and every detail was there, down to the goggles on her head. She was standing on a boulder with her hands on her hips and a friendly smile on her face.
Terra's religious beliefs had been a mystery to her teammates as she never spoke with anyone about them, not even with Beast Boy. Because of that Nightwing recruited a Unitarian Minister to conduct the funeral ceremony. Beast Boy volunteered to give the eulogy. When the time came he stood up and stepped to the podium, carefully placing the sheets with the words he had carefully prepared by himself on the lectern.
As he looked upon the tiny assembly he felt great sorrow for his friend, she had died as a hero, twice in fact and the only thing the world wanted to remember was a really big mistake she had once made. He was wearing a black suit, as were all other males present. Starfire was wearing a long black gown and Raven wore a black version of her winter costume. Raindrops fell on the tent that shielded the funeral party with am arrhythmic pitter patter. Beast Boy cleared his throat and began.
"Being misunderstood is a terrible thing, perhaps what we as individuals fear the most. We care about how we are perceived by others because it affects our self image. Terra was no different than any of us in this regard.
I vividly remember the day I met Terra. She was an insecure girl with incredible powers that she couldn't control and more often than not they were a source of grief and rejection for her. She perceived herself as a failure, someone who was unworthy of being loved or even having friends.
Terra was not alone in feeling this way. I know I have often felt like this and I'm certain that other Titans shared in these fears as well. I know that I was able to overcome these fears because of the great and wonderful friends that I have, and especially because of my dear wife Raven.
Terra unfortunately had no one. I once tried to reach out to her and I failed, most spectacularly. Shortly after she had betrayed us, an act that I can tell you caused her great inner turmoil; she approached me and confessed her terrible mistake. My reaction was to reject her out of anger and spite. Had I not been so stupid and proud she would not have ended up being Slade's apprentice. Had I been understanding she might have returned to us, on her knees begging for forgiveness, and perhaps we wouldn't be gathered here today.
But even after being rejected and driven into Slade's arms she was able to find her way back to the light and sacrificed herself to save the city, an act that our citizenry has never acknowledged in any way to this very day.
So in the name of Jump City I want to thank you Terra, for all you have done. I also thank you for saving my life in Salzburg, a brave act that ended up costing you your own life.
Terra, you once told me that I was the best friend you ever had, and when you were dying as I held you in my arms you told me that you loved me."
Beast Boy paused before concluding.
"I love you too Terra and I'll always miss you. Rest in peace dear friend."
Beast Boy collected his papers and returned to his chair. Raven wrapped an arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.
It was then that they noticed that the rain had stopped pounding the tent that shielded them from the elements and the sun came out, shining brightly over the city that Terra Markov had once called home.
A door slid open and a hand reached out to the light switch, flipping it on. A long staircase became illuminated; its dull gray metal structure wound its way down into the basement.
The lone figure walked quietly down the long stair case, her footfalls barely making a sound as she slowly descended into the bowels of the Tower. After a few minutes she reached the bottom. The basement was pretty much unchanged from the days when the Tower was built. It was mostly a repository for Cyborg's collection of high tech junk and detritus and a place where old materials were archived in boxes that were stacked on industrial strength steel shelving.
What was new in the basement was a vault that Cyborg had installed shortly after they returned from Salzburg, which had been three months ago. The heavily armored safe box had a hand sensor on it and it would open for only two people.
Raven placed her hand on the sensor and the heavy reinforced steel door swung open, revealing its sparse contents. There were two steel boxes on a metal shelf, one was smaller than the other one and this was the one that Raven picked up. The box had a magic seal on it and whispering a short spell she opened it, extracting the tiny address book that served as Andreas' prison from it.
"So Andreas, have you been keeping yourself busy?"
Raven had opened the book, which revealed Andreas' angry face.
"My answer is the same as last time: Go to hell Raven."
Without saying another word she shut the book.
"I won't be back for another month, think about it Andreas. Oh and we are still looking for Hiromi …"
"Do what you want with her when she is found, I don't care about her anymore." A disembodied voice replied from the closed book.
"Always an incurable romantic, aren't you Andreas?"
"Taunt me all you desire Raven, for you see time is on my side. The curse will do its work, in fact it already has been, and you just don't know it yet."
"I understand that limbo can be a boring place Andreas. I will be back next month. Goodbye Andreas."
As Raven placed the tiny book back into its metal box Andreas got the last word.
"Feeling gray lately Raven?"
Raven sealed the metal box shut with another spell and placed it back on the shelf. As she prepared to leave she took a glance at the other larger box and picked it up. She paused for a minute, debating whether or not to open it, before placing it back on the shelf, still locked and unopened.
Even if he can help, there's no way I can set him free, and that's what he'll demand for in payment.
Raven trudged back up the stairs, pondering Andreas' closing words.
Feeling gray lately Raven?
She shook away the thought; he was no doubt taunting her over her premature gray hairs, which were now multiplying even though Beast Boy had said nothing more about it. She picked up the pace as she climbed, as it was almost time for her quarterly physical checkup and she knew that Cyborg would be waiting for her. She was nervous about this checkup, because she had a new question for Cyborg, one she had never asked before.
Could she and Gar have children?
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Andreas is captured and not cooperating while Hiromi remains on the lam. Poor Raven, nothing seems to go her way!
My much enjoyed Christmas break ends today dear readers, so the pace of my updates will slow, especially since I started a second story: Trouble in Mahora.
Thanks for all your many reviews. And now it's time to acknowledge those of you who are kind enough to take a moment to review. It's mailbag time!
Bigguido - "Great chapter got some battling going on major character death bad guy monologue cant wait to read on"
I hope that Andreas' capture wasn't too anticlimactic.
LoveBassClarinet - "So I'm expecting a really epic battle sequence in which the Titans miraculously manage to beat the snot out of Andreas and convince him to give them a cure.
Wouldn't it be a ridiculous twist if there really was no curse and it was just made up to cause Raven lots of heartache and stress, thereby giving her an early death...
:O What if the spell's target was Raven, not Beast Boy?
And how did Terra die when Beast Boy's supposed to be having kids with her in the future..."
It was a false vision, built upon Raven's fears and nothing more.
The Cretan - "A great way to bring in the New Year. Hated seeing Terra go but battles have a way of causing casualties. I'm interested to see what they do to avenge it. Awesome update. I'm interested in your new crossover idea, (crossovers are one of my things you know). It sounds interesting. I'm not the most familiar with mangas though. Do you have any to recommend? I have to travel a good ways to find mangas or animes, so I have very little knowledge other than what I catch on TV at odd times."
You can buy manga and anime online, even used, at Amazon, also many libraries carry manga and anime titles. The Teen Titans cartoon show has some VERY heavy anime influences.
Hairul The Nightrage Beast - "Oh shit, oh shit, Gar will go in a Berserker Rampage now as a Beast especially Terra's sacrifice, I think he will so embrace the Power of The Beast, no holding back. He will be so ripping Hiromi's and Andreas's head and put it as a trophy."
You weren't to far off! BB was about to hack Hiromi in half (good thing he didn't)
titanfan45 - "Terra is a huge loss to the Titans as she proved to be a valuable member dispite her mistakes. Her death certainly negates Raven's earlier vision of Terra and Beast Boy having a child together in the future. No doubt the Titans are really going to kick some bad guy butt as payback for killing a Titan."
I was really tempted to have Hiromi bite the dust.
lpwriter4life - "While I prefer a BBRae pairing, I think I may be one of the few people who don't hate Terra. She was just an insecure, confused girl who had her feelings manipulated by Slade. It's HIS fault she ended up turning to stone and losing her powers when she was freed, if you ask me. Anyway, great chapter. Happy New Year and update soon."
I think some people will hate me for Terra's eulogy.
Shyguy1 - "I've always hated Terra, even now that she's dead I can't really feel sorry for her. Meanwhile, this situation with Andreas is quite the predicament. However, I feel as though he doesn't have all the power that he thinks he does. I don't feel like you're the type to have some random hero just pop in out of nowhere and save the day. I'd be willing to bet that someone's allegiance has yet to be decided."
Andreas has his trump card. Will the fear of an eternity in Limbo shake him up though?
Author Penholder - "an anticlimactic end to Terra and a lack luster start to the battle but hey you have to save SOMETHING for future chapters, right? I notice Raven isn't being drained like usual when Beastboy taps into her power. How'd they manage that?"
As you mentioned the battle had only just begun, so there was still time left on the clock. And of course cocky Andreas never stood a chance. But the curse remains in place...
GreenRock - "Well, I for one am gutted that Terra had to perish in such an awful fashion (at least she's got one fan). However, he death has led to a number of possible outcomes in the next chapter. I am going to love to see how the Titans - BB in particular - will react to this event.
According to my invisible crystal ball, things do not look as though they are going to get any easier or better from here on in."
I've always felt sorry for Terra. Beast Boy will miss her.
Thowell3 - "For some weird reason "ding dong the witch is dead" came to mind when I read that Terra was dead."
Ah, you're mean! LOL!
FelynxTiger - "holly DC'characters
terra's dead has bring an other interesting twist to the story,
well done with the fighting scene there
Dr light LOL the poor guy will always have a bad reputation as a villian"
Thanks for the artwork, I updated the chapter to mention it. I also posted a link to it on my profile page.
xXCanaryXx - "Amazing Chapter, not that I expect any less from you.
Now not all Terra haters hate her THAT much. I feel a bit sad. Why do you make me guilty for hating her? Haha, just kidding. I just don't hate her entirely. When she acts evil i do, but at times even she can be a good person.
Well, forgetting the topic of Terra, I would like to say this chapter was excellent. :) (Annnd back to Terra) I cannot believe she is...d-dead. It scares me in a way.. sort of. Although I am a bit peeved at the fact she said she loved Garfield. Because she should've gotten over him after the years... but if you love someone you'll do anything for them. :) Even if peeved I'm still the teeniest bit sad.
Yes, Happy New Year! May your resolution come true and your entire year be filled with blessings.
God Bless!"
I had to have Terra tell him that she loved him. Yeah, it makes things messy, but life is messy. What can I say?
Mors101 - "A death! Well, in a story like this, even the good guys will take a few hits I guess. I was suspecting that Terra would turn traitor, again, but I guess I was wrong.
Anyway, a great story. I look forward to the continuation to this climax. I wonder how Beast Boy and Raven solved the time constraint on his Magi form? "
Like I said above, they didn't run out of time. The battle ended quickly.
almostinsane - "Great chapter! Poor Terra... At least she died quickly. Now, Beast Boy's sure going to put the hurt on. Thanks for writing this. God bless! "
Thanks. As most of you are guessing, we're moving into another section of the story: dealing with the curse (unless we can get Andreas to break it!)