Chapter Twenty Eight:
Beast Boy blinked; did she really just say that? Words he had been wanting her to say for what could have felt like ever, suddenly hit him, because he wasn't sure if he wanted her too or not. "What?" He asked, blinking again as his mouth draped open.
"I don't have anywhere else to go," Terra closed her eyes, tilting her chin down as her fingers curled back up again into their fist, this time she recoiled it closer to her though, her elbows bending in as she tucked herself within her own pocket of air.
"Why didn't you call Robin then?" Beast Boy shifted, feeling his face soften.
Terra shrugged, tilting her face away from him as her eyes turned firmly to the floor. The changeling stared at her for a little longer. The conversation, if it could have been called that, died suddenly, and as her stared at her expression, he felt himself give way a little bit. The nudge led to a breakage, and not being able to struggle against it, he frowned softly and stood up from the table.
"C'mon."
Terra looked up at him, blinking slowly as her lips pushed together.
"Let's go home." Beast Boy sighed, giving her a half-hearted grin.
The geomancer waited a moment, knowing she had strung the right tune, and that her knowledge of mercy had gained her the access. But her heart suddenly felt unmanageable, it was beating so rapidly, but its song was dead, it was then she knew that her quiet attitude wasn't part of the act she was playing, it was real. The self-hatred flourished, it spindled and danced with spiked feet under her skin, and she felt her blood go cold.
The trip back to the tower was a dull quiet, it was stiff, and the two exchanged as little as possible. When Terra got to the tower, she frowned and took notice that everyone had cleared the halls, the entry, no one was around. She was guessing they were all hiding out in the rec room… giving her an option of meeting them or not. Beast Boy had called them on the way home, letting them know Terra was coming to spend the night. The geomancer could have sworn she had heard Starfire scream with joy in the background.
But the Titan's offered her a quiet first-night back anyways, and as she came to her door, no one had yet to come and search her out; only Beast Boy had kept her company. Terra now pressed her hand against the door, holding her breath as her fingers etched around it for a moment.
"Do you want to wait to see everyone else ti'll morning?" Beast Boy asked, looking at Terra. The air between them still felt off, something about their tension just wasn't right.
Terra nodded 'yes' before turning back to Beast Boy. Her gut was tumbling so badly, it only worsened when his eyes touched hers. The impact was too much, and she had to look back away, her hair turning and shielding her from him. "Th-…thanks." She muttered.
"For what?" Beast Boy asked softly and she felt his eyes looking her over, it made her tremble despite best efforts for self control.
"Everything. Letting me come back and … everything." Sucking in her courage, Terra faced him, her somber look softening when he grinned towards her.
"This is your home too, Terra." Beast Boy reminded with a soft look towards her, his eyes where almost piercing, and Terra felt herself fall in them, she didn't notice right away when her body arched towards him, though her head stayed back as her look turned to one that was almost hypnotized.
Stop it. She hissed, quickly regaining herself and straightening her posture. She cleared her throat, looking around as her hands stuffed into her jean pockets. She had rejected him, she couldn't go back on that, it would only hurt him again when she … 'left.' It was better this way, she had been telling herself that for a long time, but as her eyes dared another small look towards him, something that remembered his softness told her it was a lie, it had to be, how could it be wrong? Because it just is, get over it. She sneered.
"So uh.. is breakfast still at seven?"
Beast Boy gave her a small joking grin. "I don't know, I'm never up in time." The joke was very small compared to how they would have usually gone about something like wake up time, but neither of them felt comfortable. Terra grinned his way though, and she swore she saw a light in his face appear at her expression. She wanted to hug him, but it wasn't appropriate anymore, so she looked away to her door.
"Well… I'm going to call it a night." She muttered, pushing the door open with her open palm. She took one step in then looked over her shoulder towards Beast Boy. "Tell the others I said thanks."
"Don't have too," Beast Boy shrugged. "We're all family here, Terra. You don't have to thank us." He grinned her way, it was a little easier, but when Terra's face frowned, her eyes getting a little wider like she would cry, he blinked and frowned as well. He seemed to drop a layer from his heart, because anxiety suddenly hit him and the same ol Beast Boy came back out. "I mean- like… if that sounded weird. We're all friends here?" He tried with a cringed smile, she wasn't responding though, for a minute he panicked, thinking briefly before trying again. "Oh hang on I totally got this. How about, we're all super-hero-pizza-loving-game-butt-kickers-and-totally-the-coolest-people-on-earth-and-beyound-thoughIamtotallybetter." He wiggled his eye brows up a few times, eliciting a giggle from the geomancer.
"Goodnight, Beast Boy." She smiled, walking inside her room and closing the door.
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"We already have everything we need." Ravager's squinted her eye, her face creasing slightly into gentle wrinkles. Her arms crossed, her hip swung, she stared at the touch screen with various informational packets on it. "There was no need to send Terra in there."
"Patience, Rose." Slade reminded, walking up beside her, even as she gave him somewhat of a dark look. His hands placed behind his back, his large shoulders rolled as he stared for a moment, before reaching out and touching the screen with his hand. His fingers opened a folder labeled 'Markov' with a tap, and he scrolled through until he rested on pages of Terra, an image next to them. "We still need one more piece. It's too fragile to grasp right away, we need her to come to us."
"What about Alex?"
Slade waved his hand in the air. "He's too blinded by rage to go astray. He has loyalties, as long as we have what he wants."
"Opportunity isn't much of a holding flag." She sneered softly, her thin silver white brows lowering over her face. "He's too prideful to take our help anyways. He was last time."
"He's had time to think about it this go around." Slade dismissed, closing the screen altogether with a press of the button. "Besides, after Terra is established, he won't go anywhere. Like a puzzle, my dear."
Ravager excused herself quietly, walking out of the room with a gentle turn around . The base was small, but it was also well hidden, and so she didn't complain about it. Walking past the bookshelves full of miscellaneous files and information packets, Ravager then swung her legs over the bashed door Terra had been kind enough too thrown aside for them. As she walked down the long, miner hall, her footsteps where soft clinks in the air, until she stopped. The orange in her suite gleamed slightly, her hair vibrant, as she turned and looked up towards the ceiling.
"I know you're there."
"Been practicing?" Red X called, lowering his upper body down into view. The lights touched him; he was hanging upside down apparently, his cape falling around him even as he twisted around like a monkey in a tree.
"No, you're just as obvious as a dog on a shed roof." She shot with a cross of her arms.
Red X lifted his brow, glad that he was steering her away from subject; that he had been eavesdropping. "Well, Mrs. Clause, you're no chameleon either." He scoffed.
Ravager reached behind her, tugging out a small black and deep orange hood. "I can when I want to be. Unlike you. Could you have picked more noticeable colors? A white face, and bright red X?"
"That's my name," Red X did a sit up, pushing himself up then over the rafter he had been swinging from, landing hunched over with his back to her on the metal floor, before standing up and facing her.
She scoffed. "Actually, it was Dick's, you just stole it."
"Hey," Red X lifted his hands up, palms out as he slung his shoulders down. "That's what I do best." With that one sticky patch x shot out from his palm towards her, before he turned on his heels and took off towards the exit.
Ravager ducked the fail attack easily, before snorting and watching him leave in his childish exit, letting him think he won as she turned her back as well, and left for the training room. Slade didn't believe in breaks, but that was what Ravager had right now. She had a few days to recoup herself until she would be sent out again, her agility and clever feminine ways got her into a lot of corners of places that weren't supposed to exist, she knew she was a important piece in the little 'game.'
She was waiting for Terra's call, though the young woman had a doubt about the geomancer. She had noticed the instability of her, and didn't trust it naturally. It was like hiking up a mountain t hat was collapsing, getting to the top quick enough was a challenge that it didn't seem many could make. Ravager though. had also noticed Red X had taken a liking to her. Can't see why, but whatever, that's his problem. He's going to regret it though, she heard herself say with a soft roll of her shoulders. She'd never seen him like this before; he always looked like the last person to let affections of all the stupid things in the world, get in the way of life. For as long as she had known him, she knew how out of character he was being right now, Ravager just hoped that it didn't become his downfall. Right now was a bad time to be tripping 'head over heels.'
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Outside, the morning sun was already up, and Red X felt himself begin to yawn from habit, he was ready for sleep. Even though he hadn't had any 'fun' in awhile, he hated to see the cities around his area stay peaceful without a visit from their neighborhood thief. But he was tired, his mind was weary, and things in it were not making sense.
He had learned what it was that Slade had sent Terra after; he knew what was in Robin's case, there had been a true reason to his own efforts to attain it what could have seemed so far away. The only thing that had stopped him- besides of course, the fact that he had thought he was superman on his past motorcycle anyways -had been his own inherited sense of honor, and the fact that he had rather Robin did hang onto it, then other petty so-called villains. Red X frowned, looking down as he felt himself become nervous. Terra was curious… he had a feeling she would look, and he didn't know if he was ready for her to know… "She couldn't figure it out anyways, not smart enough." He grumbled under his breath, the words inaudible from the dilution of the mask.
The situation that had been placed, he had known it was coming. He had known that Slade would twist things around with him, but as long as X got what he wanted, he didn't care. But none of this concerned Terra, and though before he hadn't given it thought, and had wanted her to accompany him, he wasn't sure he wanted her involved anymore. Because though he didn't respect the treatment of other people, Terra was different. He couldn't explain it, because the feeling was completely new to him, he had no idea what it was. She brought things alive that no one else could, and it both frightened him, and intrigued him. No one else had ever done it in such a serenely way she had. And right now she was in a bad position; the entrapment that Slade had craftily placed her in would be difficult to break if not handled soon.
Red X frowned, the emotion feeling alien inside his chest, but it wouldn't budge; a need that sprouted within him to help someone else- no - to help Terra was there and it told him there was nothing he could do to get rid of it. Running, fighting, arguing, none of it would work, X had tried all of those methods to rid himself of Terra's poison, but he was stuck with the sociable, affectionate emotions towards one person, whether or not he wanted to accept it. His face cringed in disagreement, but the feeling stayed the same, and soon he sighed out and shook his head. Talk about rough.
Hugging his arms closer to him, Red X looked over his shoulder towards the base entry. He could try and hack Slade's computers, find out what he was planning, shove that in Terra's face, and let her wiggle out of the bad spot she was itching. But his brows cringed over his face under the mask as he thought about it. It would be getting on the bad side of Slade, the same person who was going to get X what he wanted. No matter what emotion hit his gut, Red X wasn't going to jeopardize his own mission for someone else, as he looked back ahead, he stared in the direction Terra was in. She would have to do her own thing… but he considered going over anyways.
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"You can do this, Tara." The girl muttered to herself as she walked down the hall. But the problem was, she believed herself. Still, no one had bothered her, even though she had spent the entire night wide awake. Now, at seven-thirty, she was drowsy, her body was too used to working that way, but it was still annoying. Terra stopped outside the big door, that she knew by heart would lead to the rec room. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her heart was thudding in her chest, pulsing vibrations to her throat and making it hard to breathe again. Her eyes cringed while closed, lines appearing on her face before she figured to stop stalling.
"Now or never." She muttered, eye opening she pressed her hands to the door and it opened willingly; giving Terra then a full view of the oh-so-popular rec room. The screen that doubled as work and play, had two floating race car-like vehicles, and Terra knew that was 'Space Ace' Cyborg and Beast Boy's favorite game besides Halo. But she saw Robin's hair sticking up from the back of the couch, and Beast Boy not sitting far from him. A pair of legs dangled over the back of the couch, she couldn't see whoever was hanging upside downs face, just their black pants and sneakers. Shrugging her eyes away, she turned and saw Cyborg and Starfire working happily in the kitchen, Raven sitting at the breakfast bar patiently with a book in hand.
The room smelled of waffles and eggs, and something else Terra couldn't identify. But it smelled good, she almost whimpered from the smell alone seeing how she hadn't had a good meal since she left the Titan's, her pitiful body confirmed that.
"DUDE!" Beast Boy cried in the room. "I didn't know there were short cuts! YOU USED A CHEAT DIDN'T YOU?!"
"Yes, yes I did." Robin nodded.
"THAT'S-THAT'S…."
"What?"
"CHEATING!" Beast Boy cried.
"Ooo, intelligent comeback." Raven rolled her eyes and sighed out, before engulfing herself in the book.
Terra took one step in, as if the room was covered in mines, she felt on the spot, even though no one was looking at her. Her hands stuffed into her pockets as she shifted then stood a few steps from the hallway door. Normally, she was out-going, and way too loud… but considering her situation, she found nothing to be happy about. Nerves were starting to sting her, and she felt sick to her stomach. That pain was quickly replaced, as she heard something hit the floor and Terra looked over, her eyes going wide at what she saw. She didn't know if it was fear that suddenly lodged in her chest, but Terra held her breath and waited for the worse.
Crud…
OMG SHORT CHAPTER. I'm so sorry... but if I added more (had to leave it at that... predictable cliffy) I would have made this over-detailed, and boring. I didn't want to wear out conversation between BB and Terra. So please forgive me :(
-evil cackle- This is really getting fun... -sigh- I looooooove drama, MUFUFUFUFU.
