Season 2, Episode 13
Vesuvius
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Disaster. There was no other word for it.
The bridge was supposed to be an overpass, providing a quick east-west route through the heart of Jump City while not impeding the street underneath that ran north and south. Now, though, both roads were beyond demolished- great slabs of concrete stuck up at every angle, and the ruins of the bridge were scattered on the ground below.
Cyborg slowly made his way through the debris. The very air still seemed to reek of dust and smoke, even though it had been weeks since the destruction had taken place. Twisted metal reached out from the remains of broken guardrails, exposed wires were nearly hidden among fallen light posts, and Cyborg had to be careful to avoid craters and fissures in the ground as well. "An'at's just one dang bridge," he grumbled.
An engine's growl caught his attention just before Robin pulled up on his motorcycle. "Updates?" he asked, taking off the helmet.
Cyborg spread his arms helplessly. "You serious, bro?"
The Titans' leader took a second to survey the area. "...Right," he winced. "Sorry I asked."
Placing a hand on a section of the overpass, Cyborg started to climb one of the smaller heaps of rubble. "I know this wasn't exactly downtown," he called back, "But Slade knew what he was doin'. Takin' out this bridge messed with half the traffic in Jump."
Robin's voice floated up from the ground level. "Does that make sites like this our first priority?"
"That's your call, boss man." A step closer to the top caused some of the wreckage to tumble down, and he pulled back quickly.
"Careful up there," Robin muttered, distracted. He rubbed his forehead, scowling. "So... the residential areas might have to wait, but if we focus on the major routes in and out of the city, then... And downtown is the most well-known sector..."
"The Boy Wonder, suddenly promoted to Chief of Civil Engineering." Cyborg grinned. "An' how's everythin' else goin'?"
He shrugged. "I'm trying to round up crews to get started on a few major construction projects, as soon as we figure out where to start. It didn't help that nearly everyone evacuated before this all started."
"So we gotta figure out how to get 'em back."
Robin turned to face the road behind him. "Right. Starfire's taking the news to nearby cities that it's safe to return."
A chunk of concrete fell away from the pile, nearly hitting Cyborg on the way down. "Think they will?"
He hesitated. "...I hope. Their lives were here. Still are, really. And Slade probably would have loved to see this place turn into a ghost town- I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
Cyborg took a second to rest, carefully balanced on a hunk of scratched metal. "How 'bout Raven?"
Robin chuckled. "She volunteered to track down the last groups of robots. I don't think I could have stopped her."
"Heh. Solid." Nearly at the peak of the rubble, he continued his climb. "Prob'ly throwin' a Four-Red-Eyes Special their way."
"I can't blame her for being angry." Robin sighed. "Slade destroyed the city, but those mechs were the hammer he did it with."
One of his hands finally reached the top, and he made sure his footing was secure before pulling himself up. "Real poetic, Rob," he grunted. "You should write that down, or maybe..."
His voice trailed off. From here, he could see much more of the city- the rising sun spread a golden light throughout the haze of dust and smog, throwing every building into an almost unearthly glow. No district had been completely spared from the rampage. The skyscrapers and towers of downtown looked like they'd been hit at random, with entire blocks completely leveled while others seemed completely unharmed. Closer to the edge of town, the suburbs and highways were a different story, with wide swaths of destruction marking the exact trail the robots had taken.
For an instant, Cyborg couldn't look away. How had one man done so much, in such a short time?
Well... not just one man.
He blinked in the sunlight, trying to keep this scene in his memory. The city that he'd loved all his life, in ruins. He wanted to save this moment- so that when they were finished rebuilding, and it was all over, he could see how far they'd come.
And so he could make sure this never happened again.
The climb back down seemed much faster. Robin still had the helmet in his hands, and the motorcycle at his side, as if he was ready to leave again at any moment. He must have noticed something in his friend's expression, because he let his gaze fall. "We'll fix it," he said quietly. "You know we will, right?"
Cyborg took the last few steps. "I know." He tried to keep the emotion out of his voice.
Robin didn't let the silence last long. Sliding back onto the seat, he paused before putting the helmet on. "I'll let you know when we're moving forward with construction."
He nodded. The engine roared to life, and the leader of the Titans pulled into the street- then stopped. Flipping the visor up, he looked back. "That reminds me. Know where Beast Boy is?"
The dust must have been getting in his eyes. Cyborg tried to wipe it away, blinking quickly. "I think I can guess."
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"He's getting away!"
Beast Boy stumbled down the stairway, jumping the last few steps onto the marble tiles of the bank's lobby. "Beast Boy to Robin!" he yelled, raising his communicator as he ran. "Comin' your way- he'll be out in a few seconds!"
Sure enough, when he reached the front door, it was still swinging. He slipped through the gap without slowing, quickly scanning the crowded streets for his target: a flash of blue that caught the edge of his vision, then vanished around a corner. "He's already down Seventh!" he said quickly. "Where are you guys?"
No response but faint static issued from the device, and Beast Boy scowled, realizing what had happened. They weren't messing up the assignment- they were waiting for his signal, which thanks to a faulty communicator, would never come. He morphed to a cheetah, hurrying down the sidewalk, then used a parked car to launch into a road-clearing jump over the busy Jump City traffic.
A few startled pedestrians moved out of the way, and he landed near a streetlight. Switching back to human, he had an idea- pausing briefly to smile for a girl taking pictures with her phone ("No way! It's Beast Boy!"), he transformed into a monkey to clamber up the side of the pole. The higher elevation gave him a better view of the nearby avenues, and it didn't take long to find what he was looking for.
Mumbo Jumbo was still running, cackling madly as he shoved people out of his way. He had the money with him, too- Beast Boy had to grin when he saw that he'd actually put the stolen cash into his own burlap bags, featuring a giant green S-with-slashes money sign on each one. Classy.
A couple seconds of soaring as a falcon brought him directly over the robber's head, and he began falling the second he reverted to human form.
"Ohoho! A volunteer?"
Huh?
He was suddenly on the ground, blinking. Mumbo had dashed out of the way, now laughing and pointing at him. Beast Boy struggled to stand up, but something was holding his arms in place. Metal rings?
"But I haven't even started my act yet!" the villain chortled. He kept laughing at his own wit as Beast Boy tried to pry the circles away- but every time he slipped out of one ring, it was somehow connected to the others.
He really hated magic sometimes.
"Eh?" Mumbo stopped laughing when a green mouse scurried out of the magic trap, then shifted back to human form. "Oh, that's no fun! How about another trick?"
With a dramatic flourish, he procured a birdcage from the folds of his magician's cape. A white dove was perched inside, looking around peacefully. Beast Boy growled, then dashed towards the robber just as Mumbo raised a white cane and tapped the cage. "One, two, three- Alakazam!"
Before he knew it, he found himself hunched over in the very same cage, while on the street, a very confused bird waddled around. "You gotta be kidding me," Beast Boy hissed, but it didn't take long to slide through the bars with a quick insect morph.
By the time he stood up on his own feet, Mumbo had already taken off down the sidewalk again, difficult to see in the mass of people around him. Beast Boy tried his communicator again, but the transmitter was still broken- racking his brain, he tried to think of how to call the other Titans for backup. Further away, they wouldn't know where to go, but if any of them were already close to Seventh Street, maybe they would notice the commotion and-
Mumbo tripped.
The blue face had suddenly dropped below the others. Beast Boy shook his head and rushed to the scene, where onlookers were already clearing away, to find the villain grabbing at his foot, as if it was stuck in the ground.
He smirked. "Not bad." Looking around, he suddenly put his hands in his pockets, like the situation was already under control. "Took you long enough, though."
For his part, Mumbo seemed confused by the conversation, but yanked his foot away and started running again. He didn't get far before slabs of blacktop cracked away from the street surface and flew towards him, expertly knocking away the bags of money- at the same time, a burst of earth erupted in front of him, knocking him backwards.
"You're one to talk!" Beast Boy turned to see a boulder floating slowly towards him. His eyes were drawn to the figure standing on top of the makeshift platform, who laughed as she descended. "He got past you, like, twice!"
Something made him pause, just for a second. When Terra was smiling, it... it somehow changed everything else. Made it happier, almost. Like the whole world around him was brighter.
A scratchy voice broke him out of his daydreams. "Ooh, a pretty lady! Careful, you just might end up sawed in half!"
Terra leaped to the ground, concentrating to raise a half-dome out of the ground that trapped Mumbo in place. "Isn't that a little violent for you, blue man?"
Beast Boy barely heard his response. "You'd survive," the villain grumbled. "That's the whole point of the trick. It'd be boring if you didn't."
Instead, he focused on coming up with something clever to say as Terra walked up to him. "The police are on their way to pick him up. Woulda told you the plan, but my communicator's busted or something."
"No problem." She grinned, eyes shining. "I always love bailing you out when you can't handle missions on your own."
Beast Boy raised his eyebrows while they started walking. "Oh, yeah? Who was it who stalled him long enough for you to show up?"
"You keep tellin' yourself that." She punched his shoulder, laughing again. "I'm pretty much the Titans' MVP for the day."
"Whatever. Your jokes could use some work, though."
"Really."
He kept a straight face, not smiling at all. "Totally. I mean, 'blue man'? It's like you're not even trying. Now, if you'd gone with 'Blue Magic Group' or something, then we'd be making progress, at least."
"Ah, yes." She nodded sagely. "That's the pinnacle of high comedy, right there. Or I could have called him Mumbo the Flying Elephant."
"Genius. Call the late shows. Do it now."
As they talked, he couldn't help but glance over once in a while. Terra seemed altogether at ease, so different from before- but, then, he'd seen her in a lot of different ways. Trying to impress them, angry at them, scared when she thought the Titans would reject her for her lack of control... It was really something to see her so happy.
It struck him that Terra trusted him completely. She wouldn't be joking like this if she didn't.
He looked up at the sky, smiling into the sun. Jump City bustled and spun around him, and Terra's laughing voice sounded like a dream.
It was a good day.
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He didn't look at her, usually. Most of the time, he just stared at the ground in front of him, or let his gaze wander over the strange walls and warped ceiling of the stone cavern.
This time, though, he looked right at her. He felt like he couldn't speak, couldn't force the words, but after taking a deep breath, he sighed. "I, uh, didn't want to say this when the others were here."
Gray eyes bored into him, and he had to pull away, looking at the ground again. "I dunno, just... seemed kinda personal."
The air was still here, and he took a second to appreciate it. In Jump, things were always moving- the people, the weather, the sounds and sights... it was strangely comforting to be in a place that didn't seem to move through time. He blinked several times, then said quietly, "For a while there, I thought we could tell each other anything. Didn't really have time, though."
He shifted his weight to one foot. "No time," he repeated. "It wasn't... wasn't fair." Shaking his head, he closed his eyes tightly. "But I guess I was wrong about that anyway, huh? You couldn't trust me. And I shouldn't have-"
Built-up tears seemed to freeze, and he didn't move for a few seconds. "I shouldn't have trusted you." He covered his face with a hand. "No, that's- that's wrong. I didn't mean, like, I never should have trusted you, since-" Stammering, he didn't notice his own voice rising higher. "Sorry, it's not- I don't know."
He seemed to latch onto the words. "I don't know," he said again. "I mean, maybe trust isn't that simple. Or... even knowing what it is."
A sudden desire brushed the edge of his mind, to read the plate below the statue. He'd tried to avoid it, and he kept trying- for whatever reason, he didn't want to see the words. A sudden laugh escaped him, sounding unnaturally loud in the small space. "Sorry," he said again. "Sorry, it's just funny. You'd probably hate this stuff, you know? I sound all dramatic."
The figure before him somehow felt more silent than ever. "But there's not much else to talk about," he said with a shrug. "Feels like there should be, though."
He took a second to sit down on the ground. "I know I sort of already said it," he began, wrapping his arms around his legs. "But I wish we had more time to just talk. Like... I don't know, knowing more about each other. Being better friends."
His head fell forward, so it was resting on his knees. "Maybe I could ask why you- you know." Strangely, he wasn't about to cry- he'd thought he might, but it didn't even feel like he was close. "Why you did those things."
"...It kinda sucks, knowing I won't get an answer."
On a whim, he looked up again. The blank eyes, that used to seem so quiet and impassive, suddenly seemed just as lost as he felt. Just as numb. "Maybe you don't know either."
The thought connected to another. "I wonder if you can hear me," he said softly. "They said it might not be forever, this... whatever it is." He sighed. "They said maybe you're still alive."
Moments passed, and he didn't look away from the ground. His own breathing was starting to seem too loud, like it didn't belong in this place. "It'd probably be really weird if you came back," he said, almost to himself. "After everything that's happened. Maybe not even possible."
He blinked. "Probably shouldn't hope for it."
She didn't say anything.
Finally, he closed his eyes again. "...I miss you."
Beep.
Startled, he jumped slightly. A faint light was blinking on his communicator, along with an alarm that silenced when he tapped the button. Standing quickly, he took in the cave around him.
It was tempting to stay, to keep talking and thinking and dreaming. Maybe some other time.
"I have to go," he sighed. "The Team. We're trying to, uh, fix everything. So it's like it was before."
For a second, he didn't move, feeling like he should have some kind of farewell. Then, head hanging low, he turned towards the entrance.
The thought to read the inscription hit him. He almost looked back, but realized it didn't matter- he already knew what it said.
Terra
A Teen Titan
A True Friend
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*watches episode*
Wow, what a great show! Now I just need to process my emotions from that finale, then sit down to try writing some notes for this chapter.
*boots up computer*
...
...
...
*throws computer out window*
You guys, I just... I don't. I can't. I have no idea how to explain this episode. For a while, I thought I was just writing down my reactions to each episode, right? But after a few, they turned into more mini-reviews, which also worked okay. But I'm starting to get the sense that I'm way out of my league. Like me trying to explain why Teen Titans is so good is similar to me trying to explain why the world is big.
Even so, I guess I'll just start at the beginning.
Picture this: a speech from Terra, remembering the recent events, as voice-over. Images of a completely wrecked Jump City. Quiet, subdued music. "My name is Terra. I have done horrible things."
"And I have absolutely no regrets."
I had chills right away with this one. I mean, they did it. Plenty of stories threaten to destroy the city, but it actually happened. Slade's robots are everywhere, the buildings are torn down... she really did it.
Even after the theme song, it's still eerie. Everything's just gray, and quiet, and surprisingly thoughtful, without any music or anything. We start to see flashbacks, with each place Terra goes to in the city, where she sees what it used to be like. It's not completely clear if she misses it or not. (And yes, Mumbo does make an appearance in one of the flashbacks- I didn't pull him out of the archives just because I think he's cool.)
But even if she doesn't miss that time, it's still a really sad scene. We see all the Titans, and the sunshine and clean air, even a few loony bad guys... and it always cuts back to a dusty, empty, dark city.
So naturally, I expected a fight scene, if it ever happened, to be loud and bright and colorful to offset the tone. But no- when the Titans do show up, it's really subtle. Creepy, even. They're hiding in the dust clouds, appearing as nothing but shadows and silhouettes for the entire fight, messing with Terra's head, firing attacks from hidden corners and shadows. It's awesome, and even better, it's new.
We move into phase 2 of the fight. Terra's running away, basically trying not to die, while the Titans have to deal with an army of 'bots and those three monsters from earlier (I don't always remember their names, so while I was jotting down notes, I called them 'Rock, Goop, and Zapper').
And then, holy crap, they combine. Like the Power Rangers. They just up and combine everything, then start fighting with electricity and rocks and toxic sludge all at once. It's fun.
Sidenote: I'm definitely a fan of Raven's new fighting style. And by 'fighting style', I mean she just throws cars and buses at everyone.
So this is where I'm thinking, 'Wow, these fights are so fun and cool and fast-paced! I love watching these action scenes!'
Then this happens: we focus on Cyborg, who's nearly overwhelmed by a particularly strong robot. Suddenly Beast Boy shows up in T-Rex mode, and actually EATS the mech (um... vegetarian?... I don't know if that breaks the rules or not), then turns back to human, looking more angry than I've ever seen him. He stalks away, and Cyborg asks if the robots aren't enough of a fight.
Absolute fire in his eyes, Beast Boy utters, "I don't care about them. I want Terra." Then, in one single motion, he turns around, morphs to gorilla, roars his lungs out, and PUNCHES A ROBOT HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK IT IN HALF.
...Okay. I thought we were all having fun and good times here, but it seems I wasn't thinking epic enough.
Cut to Terra, back at Slade's hideout. I didn't expect this at all: he's actually really furious that she failed her mission and ran, so he hits her in the face and everything. He even makes it sound like he's considering killing her. She even tries to leave, walking away, but suddenly she can't because the suit is part of her and fused to her body and Slade controls the suit and there's nothing she can do-
Dang. Some major uncomfortable flashbacks to Robin's apprenticeship over here.
After the other Titans more or less win the robot war (including a bizarre moment where Robin detonates a gigantic bomb that was on his belt, and they only survive because Raven puts up a magic shield- does he carry around incredibly lethal explosives everywhere he goes?), Beast Boy makes his way to the hideout. It's pretty creative, in my opinion- he smashes through the door as a mammoth, then instantly goes to mouse to evade the security cameras and chew through the wires. That's some quick thinking.
Now, Beast Boy is BEYOND angry at this point, and I'm really wondering what's gonna happen when he finds Terra. But when he finally does...
"Destroy me! Quick!"
...
"Come on! Isn't that what you came for?"
This is incredible. She's not saying she wants to leave Slade, or be a Titan, or be a good guy again. She's saying she wants to die.
Dang.
And of course, the ending is just incredible. For a second, maybe just a second, you're with Terra- she tries to explain to Beast Boy that it wasn't her fault, she didn't have a choice, Slade's making her do everything-
"That's a lie! You always had a choice!"
Again, chills. I don't know, maybe this line really stuck out to me because I know that's something I do: blame others, or blame circumstances, for something going wrong, when all along it really was my own choice and I don't want to admit it.
So while I'm trying to wrap my mind around that, I suddenly realize that this ending area is stylized like a church. Seriously. The music is full of heavy organ and bells, there are stained-glass windows even though we're underground... it's really strange, but it makes for an amazing final showdown. The music is intense, the colors and shadows are top-notch animation, it's all great.
Finally, Slade uses Terra's power to position her so she's about to kill Beast Boy. This is already powerful, but suddenly the rest of the Titans burst into the room, and instead of trying to talk her out of it or going after Slade... they all train their weapons and/or magic on Terra.
They're ready to kill her if she kills Beast Boy.
That's the moment I remember best. Yeah, the fight keeps going- Terra fights back, gaining control of her powers again, and turns on Slade- but that's the scene that sticks in my head. All six Titans, ready to attack each other. It's kind of disturbing, honestly.
But unfortunately, our Slade-vs.-everyone fight is interrupted. By a volcano.
Ka-boom.
Let me tell you, I did not expect that. And good Lord in heaven, when Terra stopped the eruption by sacrificing herself and staying underground... That was tough. As a Terra fan, I didn't want to see her die, but that scene was absolutely incredible.
Besides, she might not be dead...? Seriously, I don't know. They were kinda vaguely saying something about 'trying to reverse the process', so I'm not sure if she's actually alive or not. (Also, Slade's mask burned up in the lava, but I REALLY doubt he's gone either.)
Beast Boy gives a speech at the end, mirroring Terra's at the beginning. "Her name was Terra..." Again, shivers.
Then, holy cow. That nameplate? That was powerful. Simple, not too many words, but it was really emotional.
And, guys... for the first time since I started, I don't have any funny moments to list here. Not a single one. I didn't find anything, but I figure that's alright, since this was so serious.
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Logistics: Like I said, I'll be taking a short break before I tackle Season 3 to work on another Titans project. It'll be a short story, but I'm gonna publish it all at once- you'll know it when you see it.
Thanks for reading, everybody.