Season 2, Episode 12
Pangaea
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Systems check-
Scanning-
Scanning-
Systems online.
Cyborg groaned.
Monitoring vitals-
Scanning-
Scanning-
No permanent damage.
He slowly got to his feet, trying to clear his head. It was... dark, that was for sure. All he could really sense was a dirt floor under his feet, and if he was analyzing the echoes right, some kind of chamber with nearby walls.
A few thoughts filtered through his mind-
The battle. Terra.
...Beast Boy.
He'd still been up there, hadn't he? Cyborg ground his teeth in frustration, trying to remember. They were fighting Terra, and she- she opened up the ground, breaking through the floor of the chemical lab. He fell in, but Beast Boy was still fighting.
Hopefully.
He tapped the side of his head to activate a small flashlight. Swerving the beam around, he saw that he was in a tunnel, not a chamber, and it seemed to go on for quite a ways to his left. On the right, however, the faint blue light illuminated an intersection with another path.
But that didn't make sense. Had this always been down here? A system of underground passages, hiding beneath the plant?
Cyborg shook his head. It'd have to remain a mystery, for now. For no particular reason, he picked the left branch of the tunnel and started walking.
He'd taken a single step when he heard it. It sounded like... crying? "Who's there?" he called, running forward.
The noise stopped. "Cyborg?" He was getting closer- it sounded like it was around the next corner, just beyond another crossing that was rapidly coming into the light. "Cy, is that-"
"Oof!" Just when he reached the corner, a small form barreled into him. Cyborg staggered back, placing a hand against the wall for support, trying to get his breath back. "Geez, what was..."
He paused. "B?"
The pale glow fell on Beast Boy's face first, and it was all Cyborg could do not to flinch back. Streaks of dirt intermingled with numerous cuts, dripping some combination of blood and sludge- probably from the lab. His eyes were unfocused, and he was shaking as he blinked. "You're... okay?"
"Man, don't even think of worryin' about me right now." He tried to force a smile, for his friend's sake. "Look, we're gonna get you outta here, then take care of that mess on your face, all right?"
Beast Boy nodded slowly. "Y-yeah."
As they started walking, Cyborg put his hand on the smaller Titan's shoulder. "It's not bad," he said, racking his brain to think of what to say. "Robin'll probably know how to clean it up. Might even leave ya better-lookin'."
A hint of a grin appeared and vanished. Worried, Cyborg adjusted the light, increasing its power to reveal more of the tunnel before them. Another wall rose up in his vision before long- more intersections.
For a while, they navigated the caves, Cyborg trying to keep track of the turns and twists in his head, just in case they needed to head back. But it was tough to focus on anything except Beast Boy- more worrying than the minor injuries was his complete silence. He simply followed, seldom even looking away from the ground.
Until, abruptly, he swung his head up. "Cyborg."
"Huh?" He stopped, turning to face him. "What is it?"
A shuddering, broken breath preceded his words. "Did she try to kill us?"
The tunnel was completely silent. Cyborg stared blankly as he continued. "I saw you fall. She did the same thing to me." Beast Boy's voice caught on the last word, and he shut his eyes tight, letting his head fall down again.
Cyborg gazed down the expanse of darkness. The question seemed to echo, sounding out again and again. The answer was obvious, but he couldn't say it. "I think we're almost out," he said quietly. "Come on."
No sooner had Beast Boy nodded than they both heard something up ahead. Cyborg noticed a dim light, and Beast Boy's ears twitched- "The others," he said quickly.
Sure enough, another minute of walking brought them to a welcome sight. Starfire was hovering in the center of the passage, hands raised, where a muted green glow lit up the area. Robin and Raven stood near the wall, discussing something with grave expressions.
"Friends!" Her joyful cheer was immediately followed by a diving hug, as Starfire nearly collided with them both and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. "It is wonderful to see that you are unharmed!" She pulled away slightly, allowing the other two a view of Beast Boy. "Um... if you are unharmed."
Shaking Cyborg's hand with a grim smile, Robin turned. "...It will need attention," he said finally. "But you'll be fine until we can get out of here."
Again, Beast Boy only nodded. "But where is here?" Cyborg asked. "Speakin' of which, how'd y'all get here, too?"
Raven shrugged. "Some kind of pit opened up under the power plant. It basically kept me from drowning after the pipes were destroyed."
"The same thing happened in our fight," Robin said quietly. "There were passages leading into this tunnel complex from every site where we fought Terra."
"Why would she-" Cyborg stopped, eyes wide. "Uh-uh. No way. She didn't... try to save us?"
In an instant, a dozen details poured into his mind. She'd have been careful, incredibly careful, not to hurt them too badly in each fight. Until the final blow, when it would appear that she was ready to destroy them- and when she would open up an escape route, making it look like she had fulfilled her assignment from Slade, while keeping the Titans from being killed.
He glanced at Beast Boy, and immediately realized he'd made a mistake- his eyes were bright, full of a desperate faith, and for just a second, he seemed as alive as he'd ever been.
Robin's voice cut through the dream. "No. The tunnels were constructed by Terra- but it was to get the three criminals to each place as fast as possible."
The simple, factual deduction took the air from the cavern. Cyborg cursed himself for what he said, not daring to look toward his friend- he couldn't bear watching the hope leave Beast Boy's eyes.
"There's no doubt," Robin finished. Then, turning to Beast Boy, he sighed. "I'm sorry, but she-"
"No."
Startled, Cyborg ignored his worry and looked back.
He was leaning against the wall, still looking at the floor, but his expression was completely blank. When he spoke, only the nearly-silent tone gave any hint of emotion. "I should be sorry. I didn't listen."
"She's nothing but an enemy."
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...Larry. I'm so sorry, Larry. Bring back the wacky filler shenanigans. I miss you. Seriously, this is too much to handle.
See, after 'Fractured', I thought I was ready for a serious episode. I was wrong. We open with Terra swearing allegiance to Slade, in increasingly horrifying oaths. Serve him forever: "I will." Do whatever he asks: "I will."
"...And will you destroy the Teen Titans?"
Terra just smiles. "I thought you'd never ask."
THAT'S JUST THE OPENING AND I'M SCARED ALREADY.
I can't express how intense this episode gets. It starts with a wonderfully funny conversation in the T-Car, but everything quickly falls apart- starting with a gigantic boulder slamming into the car at an intersection. It's not even 'whoa, cool, action' or anything- it's genuinely unsettling, almost like an actual car crash.
And so begins the first of many fights.
Terra makes her entrance by demolishing the car (dang, I already feel sad for Cyborg), and instantly takes on all five of them at once. The action sequences in this show are, somehow, getting even better- we see her keeping up with everyone's attacks, while still firing back enough to keep them all on their toes. She has some great dialogue, but my favorite line comes after Raven warns, "Don't make me hurt you."
"...Don't make me laugh."
Suddenly, crazy. Terra is literally trying to kill the Titans, which is already surprising. Then she's making monsters out of living concrete. That is awesome. THEN we find out that, through a special suit she's wearing, she's 'linked' with Slade, and they can fight together. And then, just to make things even more incredible and action-packed-
...The Titans lose. Seriously. They couldn't even get to her- they were just fighting the monsters, and eventually Robin decides they have to run. That's just tough.
(Sidenote: Starfire is way stronger than I gave her credit for. In this first fight, she stops a giant boulder with only the energy in her hands, launches it back towards Terra, then vaporizes the whole thing when it comes back at her. And of course, finishes it all up with a laser eyebeam through the smoke and dust to knock out Terra. Wow.)
Suddenly, character development. The Titans are planning their next move, and the conversation is absolutely amazing. Beast Boy is the only one who wants to give Terra another chance, and actually convinces Robin through one particular line: "When you were working for Slade, did we give up on you?" And we see Raven trying to tell herself that she never really trusted her, even though they had an entire adventure's worth of working together and saving the Tower a few episodes ago.
Man, that's nearly as exhausting as the action scenes.
...Aaaaand time for a prison break! Overload, Cinderblock and Plasmus are officially on the streets and this episode is only like halfway done. And Slade even sends each one to a location that kinda fits their character- Plasmus in a lab full of chemicals, Overload in a power plant, and Cinderblock at an abandoned construction site. Which leads us to...
Our next.
Four.
Fight scenes.
There's almost too much happening. Terra fights Robin and Starfire- Starfire ends up falling off a cliff. Terra fights Beast Boy and Cyborg- Cyborg falls into an abyss of doom, and she does the same thing to Beast Boy. But this time, there's a moment where he stares up at her, horrified, and yells, "Terra, you can't!"
She doesn't blink. "Watch me."
The final fight is Robin alone against Terra, and he is ticked. She actually has the nerve to taunt him about her murder of the other Titans. He finally asks why she did it, what they did to make her hate them so much, and she simply responds: "You were born." You guys, that's stone cold. Every line makes her more and more villainous. I sort of hate it and also love it.
And, to end part 1, they all decide that they have to take her down. It's pretty much as close as they've ever come to saying, "We are straight-up going to murder someone."
Now, you may have noticed that I haven't talked about a certain fight. After all, what happened when Terra went after Raven in the power plant? Well, I know it's still just my opinion, but I think it was the best fight scene in this show so far.
Terra doesn't only use rocks and boulders here. Mud, dust, sand- it's all up for grabs, and it's all used in the most creative ways possible. It actually gets to the point where Raven's powers aren't even enough to keep all the attacks away, and she goes completely rage-crazy.
And you know what? It still isn't enough. I know she survives, but at this point, it honestly looks like Terra drowns Raven.
And the dialogue... oh Lordy, the dialogue. Terra completely subverts what I was thinking, obliterating the idea that Raven was ever really suspicious, that Raven didn't really trust her. "Is that why you let me live in your house and steal your secrets?" When Raven finally, tearfully, furiously admits that she did trust her, it's a freaking powerful moment.
I think you can find that fight as a clip online. Seriously, go watch it. It's amazing.
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Not a lot of funny, but it's worth mentioning:
That opening conversation I mentioned earlier is golden. Starts with Beast Boy doin' his thing, tellin' duck jokes ('because they're always quackin' jokes!'), and nobody else laughing. Starfire is confused: 'Oh, I see! It is humorous because ducks lack the large brain necessary for the telling of jokes?'
Raven has an absolute gem of a line: after Robin shrugs and says it just wasn't funny, she deadpans, "Because Beast Boy lacks the large brain necessary for telling jokes."
Beast Boy just takes it in stride. "Come on, Raven- you know I'm hilarious! And I'm not gonna give up till I get you to smile." Hey, hear that? That was the sound of A THOUSAND SHIPS BEING LAUNCHED.
But he tries again, valiantly asking why the aardvark crossed the road. Raven gets him again: "...To beat up the idiot telling jokes about him." That actually makes the others laugh. Throw in Starfire, asking if an aardvark is some form of duck... man, I just love that whole bit.
There's a really, really random cut where we see the inside of an office building. Some guy: "Then I said, 'Chill out! It's not like the sky is falling'." And of course, Cyborg falls through the ceiling.
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Sorry this one took so long, everybody. College has kind of been kicking my butt, and I'm scrambling to get everything done. So, basically the same excuse as every student ever- I'm just so busy, you guys. Like, totalleh.
After the finale, I'm gonna take a short break before season 3. There's another project I've been working on- still Teen Titans- and I really want to dedicate some serious time towards having it finished. You'll know it when you see it.
Next up: 'Aftershock, part 2'. I mean, duh. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch it. Right now. Can't wait no longer.