Titans: Elemental
Chapter 51: Titan Rising, Part 1
We see Titans Tower, with the sun setting behind it.
Dick is in mid-leap, a fierce growl in his throat and one fist pulled back past his head. He swings it forward and nails a flying volleyball; we follow it over a net toward Vic, Bryan and Starfire, on the other side. A metal-handed bump sends the ball up, and we pull back to frame the entire court: it is on the Tower's roof, and BB and Rose are Dick's teammates. Raven, Jack and Blackfire are nowhere to be seen for the moment.
We then see Raven meditating at the edge of the tower, chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…."
Jack and Blackfire are sitting on a bench, out of breath from playing.
The ball sails across, but BB hops up as a kangaroo and kicks it back hard. Starfire flies up to deliver a killer spike, Dick jumps for a counter-move, she slides across to bump. Bryan kicks the ball over the net, and Rose is able to jump up and hit it towards the other side.
Vic rushes in for the follow-up. As the ball descends toward the net, the big man gets ready to spike and suddenly finds himself facing an even bigger green gorilla with the same idea in mind. BB smashes the ball past both members of the opposition; it hurtles straight toward the back of Raven's head. An instant after he comes down from his jump, he resumes human form and panics.
BB, "Raven, heads up!"
The ball continues its flight, but stops dead an inch short of her cranium thanks to an annoyed glance and a bit of telekinesis. Rocketing back toward the four players as she faces forward to resume meditation, it slams into BB's breadbasket.
BB, "yow…! Thanks, uh….", he collapses, "... good save."
Dick looks worriedly at him, then at Raven.
Dick, "are you sure you don't want to play, Raven?"
Bryan, "yeah, it could be fun!"
Starfire, "yes, please, you must volley the ball with us!"
Vic, "come on", he removes his left arm, "I'll play you with one hand behind my back. "
Raven, "I can't. I have to meditate."
Jack, "and don't look at me, I'm dead tired from playing."
Blackfire, "same here."
Shrugs all around, after which Vic puts his arm back on and they resume the game. BB transforms while raising his hand to serve, and we pull back to show that he has again become a gorilla. After pounding it ahead, he hits the court and returns to human form, blowing his cool a second time.
Rose, "aw crap!"
BB, "heads up, again!"
The ball zooms toward Raven as before; this time, though, she does not stop it, but instead floats off to one side and lets it continue toward the edge.
Bryan, Rose, Dick, BB, Vic and Starfire, "OH, NO!"
Jack and Blackfire can't help but laugh at this.
All the players scream.
The ball flies off the tower. It bounces among the rocks and toward the shore. Back to the six players, whose panic gives way to resignation.
BB, "I'll get it."
He trudges toward the edge, but is brought up short by the reappearance of the ball, which sails back up from below to roll across the concrete and stop at his feet. BB looks up puzzled as something begins to rumble. A slender silhouette rises into view, long hair blowing in the breeze, hands planted on hips, standing on a floating object. The voice instantly gives away this person's identity and part in returning the ball.
"So…."
Her perch can only be a levitated rock, then. That one word is enough to demonstrate that something has fundamentally changed in her nature; not a lick of panic or fear or trepidation, all of which surfaced during her brief visit. Her face is set in a confident half-smile; instead of the crop top she wore last time, she now sports a turtleneck collar.
Terra, "... which team am I on?"
Terra's rock floats down to it and she leaps off; seen from the waist down in this shot, she has traded her denim shorts for yellow-orange ones, but still wears her old brown hiking boots.
Her shirt is now a black crop-top turtleneck with long sleeves, a yellow-orange Titan insignia on the chest, and no second shirt underneath. Same leather gloves, a matching belt, and a new pair of goggles around her neck. She tosses her hair back.
Starfire, "Terra!"
BB, "Terra!"
BB and Starfire, "Terra!"
They shoot dirty looks at each other; he swerves in front of her, but she elbows him.
Starfire, "Terra!"
He charges back into view as a gorilla and rams Starfire away.
BB, "Terra!"
Starbolts from the Tamaraneans direction make him jump away; she runs back in and is about to collide with Terra.
Starfire, "Terra!"
She sweeps the returning guest into a monster hug, just as she did when they first met. This time, however, each squeeze makes Terra's head bulge more and more, as if air is being forced into one end of a balloon.
Starfire, "oh, hello, long-lost friend! You remember me, yes?"
Terra, "o-of course, Starfire. I still have bruises from the last time you hugged me."
Starfire releases her grip; Terra's head deflates as the air rushes out of her mouth. BB, in human form, runs to her.
BB, "Terra! You're…. I mean, I….", he holds out his hand to shake, "... how's it…. Heh…. Wassup?"
She hugs him. A pinch on the cheek leaves his entire face hanging slack, and he moans happily and keels over.
Vic, "well, if it isn't my favorite little rock-and-roller!"
A point between them; they reach into view for a high-five.
Terra, "Victor! Dick! What's shaking?"
Dick and her begin shaking hands, "good to see you again."
Jack high fives her and says, "hello my fellow earth bender!"
Terra, "what's up Jack!"
Rose, "hey Terra."
Terra, "hey Rose."
Bryan fist bumps Terra and says, "great to see you."
Terra says, "right back at ya."
Blackfire gives Terra a more gentle hug and says, "it's good to see you."
Starfire approaches; BB beats her to it.
BB, "good?! Are they kidding? It's great to see you again! I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
He delivers this last sentence with enough force to blow her hair back; she blushes at its end. Now he addresses himself toward Raven's back: she has not budged from her meditation at the roof's edge, and drags Terra over there.
BB, "Raven, wake up! Terra's back! Isn't that awesome?"
Raven, "super. Just help yourself to anything in the fridge, and don't forget to lock the door when you leave."
Terra, "actually, I kinda wasn't planning on leaving this time. I'm ready to take you guys up on your offer. I want to be a Titan."
The big smile on her face fades into uneasiness. The others stare confusedly at her.
BB, "uh…."
Terra, "got it. Sorry", she walks away, "didn't realize the offer had an expiration date."
Dick's hand lands on her shoulder, stopping her exit, and she sniffles a bit as tears form in her eyes.
Dick, "the offer didn't expire, we're just concerned."
BB, "yeah, it's 'cause, well, um, last time when you kind of freaked out and ran away, you didn't exactly…. Uh…. You weren't completely, uh-"
Raven, "you couldn't control your powers."
BB yelps, surprised; a pause. The rock Terra rode in on is still floating in midair behind her.
Jack, "er, yeah. As Raven bluntly said, you had a bit of trouble controlling your powers."
Rose, "and for the record, Beast Boy never told us that, we just figured it out."
Terra, "hel-lo? That's why I left! Dick said I needed practice, so I've been practicing", she puts on her goggles, "check it out."
She jumps backward, lands on the boulder, and quickly brings up four others. Bounding nimbly onto one of these, she rides it to a higher elevation and takes the three spares with her. Off she goes, guiding the stones through a loop-the-loop like a roller coaster; she drops from the lead one and lands at the end of the line. Dick, BB, Rose, Blackfire, Jack, Vic, and Starfire, are watching awestruck from the roof as Terra zips past.
Starfire, "glorious!"
Bryan, "wicked!"
Vic, "whoo-yeah!"
BB, "dude! She really has gotten better!"
Jack, "I'll say. Even I'm not that skilled with controlling Earth like that."
Raven, "she learned a few tricks. Doesn't mean she's any less dangerous."
Blackfire, "ever the optimist, ain't ya?"
The four rocks sail on, in a diamond formation with Terra in the lead. She circles the tower, skimming so low over Jump City Bay that her passage throws up a wall of waves. On she goes away from the Tower, the rocks now in a four-abreast line, and she begins a steep climb that sends them veering away from each other. A couple of quick barrel rolls, and she goes into a headlong charge straight toward the building. One of the other three rocks is approaching fast from that direction.
The four missiles hurtle straight toward a collision above the roof. When they are within mere feet of crashing, though, all turn up into a sharp climb.
All the Titans brace for impact, but it never comes and Terra lands neatly before them in a crouch. Standing erect and groaning with effort, she sends the rocks high in a tight spiral towards the sky; as they are about to pass out of sight, they explode in a mighty display of pyrotechnics.
All of the Titans are wide-eyed and jaw dropped, well, except for Raven.
Starfire, "ahhh…."
Rose, "woah."
BB, "ohhh…."
Bryan, "that was incredible."
Vic, "fantastic."
Jack, "I gotta learn how to do that!"
Terra props her goggles on her forehead, "see? I've got everything under control."
A tremor shakes her out of this mood, and we see that it is also jolting the Tower and Jump City to boot. When it stops, nine very annoyed pairs of eyes look her way and she blushes a bit.
Terra, "wasn't me."
….
We see a close-up of a computer map of Jump City. Four pulsating dots are marked on it.
Vic, "earthquakes."
He and all the others are studying the map, which is on the window/screen in the operations center.
Vic, "small ones, but they're happening all over the city."
Terra, "too many to be natural."
BB pops up behind her, hearts in his eyes.
Jack, "you're right. Those can't be earthquakes."
Dick, "that's because they're not earthquakes. They're a trail."
Now spots have appeared to mark two more quakes.
Dick, "something is moving under the city. We need to find out what. Titans! Go!"
Starfire, Blackfire, Rose, Bryan, BB, and Vic charge out. Dick, Jack and Raven follow them, but stop well short of the door and turn back.
Dick, "are you coming or not?"
Terra, "does this mean I'm on the team?"
Dick, "it means we could use your help."
She gives him a satisfied nod and runs for the door, brushing against Raven as she passes. Three images flash by in quick succession, each one showing her desperately struggling to rein in her powers; they are followed by a split-second of Slade's face on a small round screen. The view clears to show Terra running out past the three Titans. Raven is badly unnerved by the sequence that has just played out in her head.
Jack touches her shoulder and Raven swears she sees the image of Terra's face floating past and vanishing. The features are set in a cruel smile.
Dick, "everything okay?"
Jack, "yeah, you looked like you saw a ghost, Raven."
Raven, "can't tell. Are you sure it's safe to have her around?"
Dick, "not entirely. But everyone deserves a second chance."
Jack, "Dick's right. We gave Rose and Blackfire a chance."
Jack and Dick run out.
Raven has clear distrust written on her face as she follows behind.
….
A little later in Jump City; it is now nighttime and very quiet. Traffic flows normally in one of the streets until something very tall and broad erupts from beneath the roadway, throwing drivers and pedestrians into chaos. The thing's shadow extends down the block, and it rears up to show itself in full detail: a long, wormlike machine with an enormous drill bit on the front end, which it had used to break through the pavement.
It rises to full height; it retracts upon stopping and is replaced by a head with a small, screeching mouth. There's a bus stuck at the edge of the worm's crater. Inside the shaking vehicle, the driver and passengers look up alarmed; in the sky, that head rears back and knifes toward the street to send people running for their lives.
The bus is hit with Raven's powers and pulled out of the way, an instant before the worm bites into the pavement and throws up a cloud of dust. When it clears, the head is pulling free.
Dick, Jack, Bryan, Rose, BB, Blackfire, Starfire, and Terra are a bit farther along the street. Raven floats down to them and sets the bus down safely behind.
Dick, "you missed the bus."
We see Vic holding up a taxi.
Vic, "looks like you'll just have to take a cab!"
He throws the auto and scores a bullseye on the worm's head; there is an explosion, which clears to show the invertebrate rearing up and roaring anew. It comes down, as does Raven.
Raven, "Azarath Metrion-"
Terra shoves her aside.
Terra, "I got it!"
She raises a large stone spike in the worm's path; it plows into this and is flung backward. The machine slowly overbalances and gravity gains the upper hand. It smashes to the asphalt, shaking the entire block and ruining a car or two.
Jack flies on a piece of earth and shoots lightning at the machine. It merely shrugs the lightning off and hits Jack with a beam that nearly sent him into a building, if it weren't for Blackfire catching him.
Jack, "thanks!"
Blackfire, "don't thank me yet! We've still gotta take care of this thing!"
Once it is down, BB thunders in as a woolly mammoth and rams the head end into a nearby building.
He trumpets as best he can and looks at the thick curtain of dust that has risen, and after a moment, an infernal red light begins to shine within it. A beam shoots forth and nails BB; he is driven to the opposite side of the street in human form and bounces off the pavement and a building.
Terra, "Beast Boy!"
Out of the smoke plumes, the worm rises once more, and a red spot on the head glows to indicate where the blast came from that took down BB. We see BB, woozy, as a yellow flare encircles him and turns into a pavement fracture, Terra's powers at work.
The worm fires its laser down at him, but she runs across, gets on the chunk she has just broken out, and carries him and herself to safety on it.
Up they go, the beam tearing into the architecture as it follows them. Once they have risen past the rooftops, Blackfire and Starfire fly in with both hands ready to fire. A barrage of starbolts strikes the worm, which lets go with another laser beam from its now-smoking head and swivels to sweep it after them. Vic has his sonic cannon going full tilt, and Bryan is shooting his laser gun rapidly, while Dick and Rose stand by him and watch. Terra and BB touch down.
Dick, "good work, Terra! Now help me get in his face!"
Jack landed nearby and said, "I'll do the same with Rose."
Terra has a determined expression, then she sweeps one gloved hand through the air with a yell. A large hunk of pavement breaks loose and starts to rise; Jack does the same, and we see that they have brought up many such pieces to form a floating staircase.
Rose and Dick bound from one to the next, dodging laser blasts that blow the steps into dust behind them, and go into a long leap accompanied by two handfuls of grenades flung forward.
The projectiles sail toward the open mouth. Dick and Rose drop out of their leaps and are caught and carried away by Starfire and Blackfire. A string of internal explosions bulges out the monster's sides and sends smoke belching from the mouth. The weapons have just given it the world's worst case of indigestion. After the sisters tow them to a safe distance, BB, now a pterodactyl, flies in with Vic in his grip. The latter unloads a salvo of cannon fire that leaves the worm reeling; it recovers and shoots back, but the two Titans easily avoid the beam.
Now Starfire and Blackfire carries Dick and Rose in again, so low that their chests barely clear a rooftop; they let go and peel out, leaving them to drop into a dead run toward the worm. As another cannon shot slams into the metal body and distracts its attention, both of them pull out grappling hooks, leap over the edge, and fire. The line wraps around the body, allowing them to swing down and stay just ahead of the laser beam that slashes through the pavement behind him.
The two Titans' momentum carries them to the upper surface, where they land behind the head and bring out their fighting staff and sword for some quick twirls. Extending it to full length, Dick jams one end of his staff under the edge of a panel and leans with all his weight to try and lever it up, only to have the shaft break in his hands. Rose tries to do the same with her sword, but it has similar results. The worm rears up and thrashes about in an attempt to buck them off; here come Vic, Bryan, BB. The latter becomes a charging triceratops, while the two former leap onto his back, and horns and cannon blast/laser blast hit the hide together. They stagger backward, stunned briefly by the collision, and Vic gets his cannon going again once he comes to his senses. The same goes for Bryan as he starts shooting once more.
Terra jumps in behind them and starts to lift a piece of pavement; these chunks cover the full width of the street. Raven throws her powers over the mass to keep Terra from chucking it at the worm. Jack does the same, trying to slow the pavement down.
Raven, "no!"
Terra glares at her, "what are you doing?"
Raven, "it's too dangerous. Someone could get hurt", she pulls it toward herself.
Jack, "especially with how big that thing is!"
Terra, "I know what I'm doing! Trust me!"
Now the stone bulk moves toward her again. We see Jack and Raven's straining faces, then Terra's, then the slowly shifting rock. Raven and Jack again, then Terra, whose eyes go wide with fear. The sheer magnitude of their opposing forces causes fractures in the pavement; the breaks spread all over.
Bryan and Vic, still mounted on BB's reptilian back, keep a steady stream of fire trained upward as Dick and Rose land behind them. The worm rears up and prepares a laser shot.
Dick, "look out!"
The blast rips into the crumbling pavement piece, blowing it to gravel and hurling Terra, Jack and Raven backward in opposite directions. A wave of energy radiates out from the site and sends the worm crashing to the ground. When it subsides, Raven and Terra sit up from the sidewalk and get in each other's faces. Both of them are boiling mad.
Raven and Terra both say sarcastically, "way to go."
Jack gets in-between them and says, "alright, settle down."
Dick stands up in front of them.
Dick, "come on! It's getting away!"
The worm is submerging as he says this. The tail disappears under the road surface as Dick, Bryan, Rose, Vic, Blackfire and Starfire rush after it. As they stand at the lip of its escape burrow and stare into the blackness, the other three Titans and Terra move up to them and a beeping draws Dick's attention. He pulls out his communicator and flips it open. It shows Slade's face on its screen along with some static.
Dick, "Slade."
The sight matches what Raven saw at the tower!
Slade, "Nightwing. Good to see you again. I do hope I haven't called at a bad time."
Rose, "cut the crap dad. We know you're behind this."
Dick, "the worm! What are you planning?"
Slade, "well, now, kids. If you're so very curious, why don't you come down here and find out?"
The screen goes dark. All the Titans stare, absolutely confounded, at the silent communicator in Dick's hand.
….
We see a long circular tunnel. Everything spoken down here echo in the emptiness.
Starfire, "that evil worm has left a very long trail."
A spot of light comes into view, then starts to grow, marking the team's progress. They are in the burrow cut by the departing worm.
Starfire, "this tunnel continues for at least two more plinthorgs."
Blackfire, "maybe even three."
Vic, "and we're more than three hundred meters below sea level."
Jack, "we'll have to tell Aqualad that at some point. Imagine his reaction!"
The illumination is from Vic's built-in flash.
Vic, "what's it doing down here?"
Dick, "whatever Slade tells it to."
Rose, "so nothing good from the world's worst dad."
Bryan, "without a doubt."
We look at Terra, Raven and Jack in the back.
Terra, "so, sorry about our little tug-of-war back there. You know I wouldn't have let anybody get hurt."
Jack, "I'm sure you wouldn't."
Raven, "whatever."
Terra, "okay, look. I don't know what your problem is, but get over it. If I'm gonna be a part of this team, we have to get along."
They stop walking.
Raven, "you're not part of this team, not yet! And if you endanger my friends, or my boyfriend again, you never will be! The next time I tell you something's too dangerous, TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!"
Raven walks forward as Jack rubs the bridge of his nose and says, "my girlfriend, everybody."
BB steps into view to stare after her.
Terra, "um, why does she hate me?"
BB, "ahh, she kinda hates everybody."
Jack, "speak for yourself."
BB, "yeah, except for Jack. It'll be fine. Raven just needs time to get used to you. I think she's still getting used to me."
Rose muttered, "I think it's your jokes she hates more…."
Jack and Bryan snicker at that.
BB and Terra smile at each other. We soon see another part of the tunnel, the group proceeding along cautiously.
Raven, "dead end."
Blackfire, "did you have to say dead?"
Rose, "I'm assuming the answer is yes."
Dick steps across, communicator out and beeping.
Dick, "not necessarily."
He approaches a wall and is rewarded with faster beeps. Vic comes over and adjusts his eye implant.
Dick, "I'm picking up a signal from deep inside the rock."
Vic, "way deep. Electronics, and a heartbeat."
Dick, "Slade."
Bryan came forward and did the same with his eye, and said, "he's the only person in there. This is almost too easy."
Terra, "how about we dig down there and see what's up?"
She warms up her hands and prepares to start moving bits of the floor, only to stop with a gasp when the whole place rumbles. Rock fragments fall from the ceiling; Terra, Jack and Raven back away as the shaking dies down, after which the Titan fires a very nasty glare at the wannabe.
Terra, "are you gonna give me that look every time there's an earthquake?"
Suddenly, the worm's drill cuts up through the floor.
Terra, "whoa!"
Elsewhere, Starfire eases cautiously away, ready to throw a Tamaranean slider, but stops and gasps as another drilling worm breaks the surface nearby. A third comes up for air, and we see all three drills aiming at the ten fighters.
Dick, "Titans! Ready!"
The metal monsters are off in a heartbeat, but instead of attacking, they charge at an empty patch of wall and dig through it to clear out. BB looks after them and waves his arms.
BB, "hel-lo? The good guys are over here!"
His words echoes in the broad path they have just cut for themselves, and he turns around to face the others.
BB, "dude, we got snubbed!"
Starfire, "because we are not their target."
Vic, "three of those worms together could wreck anything in the city."
Blackfire, "took the words right outta my mouth."
Terra, "we have to stop 'em!"
Raven, "we have to stop Slade."
Bryan, "we gotta do both."
Dick, "split up. Victor, Bryan, Starfire, Blackfire, Beast Boy…. Go after the worms. Jack, Rose, Terra and Raven, we're going after Slade."
Vic, "Star, BB, Bry, Blackfire, let's move!"
Blackfire, "I seriously need a nickname."
It takes the five no time to set off in pursuit. Dick stares intently at the wall he, Bryan and Vic checked out.
Terra, "I can make a tunnel on my own", she looks at Raven, "shouldn't she go with-?"
Dick, "no. Raven's almost as good at moving Earth as you are. Same goes for Jack. We're digging through solid rock. Rose and I are going to need all three of you."
Raven throws back a hard glance.
Jack rolls his eyes as Rose mutters, "this ain't gonna end well."
Dick checks his communicator.
Raven, "nice try."
The screen shows a grid with a blinking dot.
Dick, "I've got a fix on the signal. Forty degrees down, six hundred meters deep. "
Jack, Raven and Terra, "no problem."
Rose mutters, "here we go."
Their combined powers hit the stone face and send up masses of dust and fragments.
Terra, "is that as fast as you can go?"
Raven, "not even close."
Dick, "careful. This rock isn't stable. Just take it a little…."
They are already at least a hundred yards downrange and still going strong.
Dick, "... slow."
Rose, "I don't think Jack is even doing most of this."
Jack had stopped halfway through as he saw how aggressive Raven and Terra were working.
All three stare incredulously and stare into the bore.
….
Reviews:
Canadude2029: yep, glad she's back to normal. And I'm glad you liked the ending with Jack and Cassia.
Bailey Radcliff: glad you liked the chapter so much.
Ushindi: I'm glad you enjoyed that part. 1. I think Darkseid is pure evil, and wish he was taken down. 2. I think the Joker should be out. 3. Never played Injustice, but I think the story is really stupid. I never bought that most of the League would side with Superman if he turned evil. Especially Wonder Woman. I get that it was the New 52, where she had a thing for him, and that in this continuity Steve Trevor was a Nazi spy, but taking that out of the equation, I've NEVER bought her siding with Superman. If anything, I think most of the heroes would side with Batman!
Guest: Jack won't save Terra, but we will show her having more remorse over her actions, and I like Terra's new outfit of a black top brown shorts, yellow vest hoodie and same boots and gloves.
DaV1nc136: no problem. I'm just glad yoy enjoyed the chapters.
pokemonking0924: sorry, they slipped my mind. Anyway, glad you're enjoying this story thus far. And my bad on Beast Boy's transformation in chapter 40. I'll try to fix it. Anyway, glad you're all caught up, that you've enjoyed the story, especially my mix of various DC shows. And my extra additions. I'm gonna level with ya though: I've never seen Static Shock. I only alluded to it because it exists in the DCAU.
...
Oh, if only Raven had realized what was going on sooner...
