Here's chapter five. I particularly liked this one. A pretty big Terra/Beast Boy chapter. Warning: Extreme Violence.
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Robin prodded, tapped, and in general examined all the different parts of Terra's suit. He knew that the transmitter could be anywhere, and finding it would make locating Slade a breeze. All they had to do was follow the path the signal was traveling, and boom. It would be over, it would finally end...
Robin shook his head. That would come in due time. Right now, he needed to get that transmitter. Cyborg was scanning all frequencies available in order to locate the signal itself. So far, his search was in vain. The other Titans stayed absolutely quiet, trying not to distract the concentrating boys.
Robin took a scalpel and, ignoring the cringe from Terra, began to tap all around the suit, being careful to avoid the rags that covered the rest of her. Suddenly, while tapping the S that was the symbol of Slade, he noted that it sounded more hollow than the rest of the suit. Putting his ear to it, he tried to listen for sound, but Terra's breathing was too loud to be certain.
"Terra, hold your breath." He instructed, and she obeyed, sucking up as much air as possible. Now with only her heartbeat making noise, he again placed his ear on the insignia. His blood froze. He heard a slight ticking coming from the inner part of the medallion-type object, and when he tapped it with the scalpel, he distinctly heard the rattling of extremely small pellets, each no bigger than the head of a pin. Robin guessed hundreds, and he froze solid, realizing what it was.
It was a Claymore Mine.
Fear galvanized him into instant action, adrenaline surging throughout his system as he grabbed the symbol and yanked it off the suit.
The others looked at the Boy Wonder with wide eyes. "Robin, what are you doing?" Beast Boy asked him, but his words fell on deaf ears as Robin held it as far away from him as his arms would allow. Throwing it out the shattered window, he threw himself behind the couch.
"Bomb! Everybody get down!"
They would have questioned him but for the urgency in his voice. As Cyborg ducked next to Robin, he saw Socks sitting at the window, watching the mine fly threw the air like a tiny saucer. Cyborg was about to go after him when he saw Raven tackle the cat out of harms way right as the detonator went off. The explosion rocked the Tower, and Robin could only wonder by what had been in that small medallion that could produce such an explosion. He saw that Raven was making a break for the couch. Cyborg reached out with his gigantic arms and pulled her behind the furniture with the others as soon as she was in reach. Had he not done this, Raven and Socks would have surely been dead, for the pellets whizzed through the space that Raven had vacated not even a second ago. Many whizzed harmlessly over their barricade, but some hit the soft couch, penetrating through to the other side. Robin could feel as the pellets bounced off his trench coat onto the floor. Looking at the others, he saw it was happening to the others. The small balls simply bounced off their skin, having lost momentum by passing through the couch. It all happened in the space of a second, but to the Titans it felt like an eternity. After several moments of silence, Beast Boy summed up the courage to cautiously look over the top of the couch. Seeing no danger, he stood up. Looking towards the others, he watched as they followed his example, rising slowly like another pellet might suddenly zoom into them.
Robin looked at where he threw the bomb. He saw that the shockwave had caused small waves to resonate outward, even from the top floor, which was where they were. Quickly recovering from the near-death experience, he stared straight at Terra.
"Come here."
"I didn't do it, I didn't know..."
"I'm not blaming you. We have to see if there are any more traps Slade put in the suit. Now get over here before another goes off."
Silently, she walked over to the couch that she had been lying on. After several sweeps over the suit, Robin found no other explosives, and he and Cyborg continued their search for the transmitter. Socks was trembling with fright, the loud noise of the bomb pounding in his sensitive ears. Raven handed him to Starfire, who began to pet the feline, talking sweetly in an effort to calm him down. Soon, Socks had recovered from his ordeal, again walking around the room, inspecting everything he found.
Cyborg's scanner picked up a signal. "Yo, Robin. Look at this." The Boy Wonder looked up from his work to the massive Titan. "What is it?"
"I think it's the signal."
Walking toward the teen, Robin looked at the screen on his friends arm. He saw a flat-line on the screen. "Are there any words?" he asked the mechanical hero. "Let's find out." Switching on the speaker, he instantly heard static. He was about to turn it off, when words suddenly came out through the static. It was Slade's voice.
"It's about time, Robin."
The static returned, and after a few minutes of waiting, Cyborg switched it off. Robin clenched his fists, Slade's words stinging him like a wasp. Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder.
"Dude, you all right?"
Robin jumped at his touch. He looked at the massive teen. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you locate its origin?"
"Yeah, 'bout six kilometers that way." He informed his leader, pointing toward downtown. "But it says that its nine-hundred-fifty meters below the surface. Taking into account our elevation, that almost eight hundred meters below sea level."
"Not surprised. Why would he want a big building? Too easy to destroy. But underground is more protected, easier to defend. We need a plan. Anyone got an idea?"
Before they could answer, the door blew in, and androids flooded the room, guns blazing as they tried to wipe out the Titans.
Cyborg fired his cannon into the advancing army. Several went down with smoldering holes, but many more took their place. The others joined in the battle, and soon there was utter chaos inside of Titans Tower. Aiming at Terra, a few androids released their bolts, hitting her in her legs and stomach, but none mortally wounding the injured girl. They were soon routed by Beast Boy, who bulled into them as a gorilla, swinging his arms to-and- fro, smashing the hapless robots to pieces. Throwing one onto the ground in front of him, he threw it into another who was attacking from behind. Noticing the robots had surrounded him and Terra, he became a tiger, dodging their shots and swiping at them with his claws. Snapping the neck of one with a slap, he bit another one in the same place, tearing out circuits where its jugular would have been. Becoming a bear, he boxed his way over to Terra, who was being overwhelmed by the androids. Not able to use her powers, as their was no rock around, she fought with hands and feet. But she would be taken down by the bots soon, since her ribs were still broken from her fight with Beast Boy. Beast Boy took them from behind, claws slicing into the androids with blinding speed, eyes blazing as he left a trail of scattered parts in his wake.
Cyborg had settled to firing from the safety of the cabinet, sniping the ones who would come up behind his comrade's. Shooting one who was sneaking up on Starfire, he saw another about to fire into Raven's unguarded back. The only problem was Raven happened to be in his line of fire. Without hesitation, he fired at the androids exposed head. Raven saw the beam fly past her head, and felt something land on her back. Whirling around, the headless droid fell to the ground, sparks shooting from the neck like blood. Ignoring the close call, she immediately headed on to the next one, her powers slicing through them as though they weren't there.
Starfire and Robin worked their way towards Cyborg, fighting through to their isolated friend. Arriving at his location, Starfire immediately began adding her starbolts to Cyborg's assault, both shooting with precision so as not to hit their teammates. Robin told them to cover him, and he took off toward Terra, who was still being defeated, despite Beast Boy's rampage. A jump kick sent one flying past her, and his staff smashed the head off of another. Birdarangs and shurikens went hissing through the air, each finding their mark as they brought death to the hordes of robots.
Raven made her way to the two, keeping Beast Boy from being overwhelmed with repeated bolts from her hands. Upon reaching Robin, she snatched Terra up with her abilities and placed her behind Cyborg and Starfire, who in turned attacked more aggressively, since they now had to protect an injured comrade. Robin and Raven made their way to Beast Boy, and together the three went into the middle of them back-to-back, slowly turning like a carousel of death.
Cyborg's group had been pinned down behind the cabinet. No longer able to send as many shots into the enemy as before, they concentrated on the one's firing at them, leaving Robin's group to tackle the rest. Robin knew that they would be overrun eventually unless they could clear out Cyborg's group. He felt the Colts in his coat pockets, and he immediately grabbed them. Firing with the grace of a ballet dancer but the deadliness of a marksman. He spun this way and that, firing the semi-autos as fast as he could. He emptied his cartridges, and not bothering to reload, placed them back into his pockets and brought out an explosive disk. Tossing it at the androids that were firing at Cyborg, it landed perfectly in the midst of them. The explosion destroyed most of the attackers, and the rest soon fell before Cyborg and Starfire's projectiles. With their problem dealt with, they turned their attention to the others, firing madly into the robots that threatened to bring them down. Soon, the androids were pushed back out of the room, and Cyborg ran toward the door, ducked into the man-under-fire position. Arriving at his destination, he began shooting at the robots, and Starfire soon followed his example. Robin was reminded of the first fight, when this same technique had nearly failed. But this time the momentum was in favor of the Titans, and they gave no quarter. Beast Boy, having no projectiles, headed back to get Terra. She was leaning against the wall, the cloth burned away in several places, exposing charred skin beneath. Beast Boy knelt next to her.
"You okay?"
"So far, so good. How's the fight goin'?"
Beast Boy grinned. "So far, so good."
Terra returned the grin, but it quickly changed to a look of horror as she stared at something behind Beast Boy. He turned around to see Slade himself standing between them and the Titans. Beast Boy looked to where the others had been, but they had moved down the hallway, out of earshot. They were alone. And Terra couldn't fight an android, much less Slade himself. The masked villain began to speak.
"So, you managed to escape from my drones, mmm? Quite extraordinary. Not many have escaped from a company that size. Not that many have tried. Well, it seems you bought her a few hours Beast Boy, but this ends now."
He pulled out his staff. Extending the weapon, he pointed it at Terra.
"You shouldn't have run, child. You have already given the location of my headquarters away. What else will you tell them, Terra? Perhaps ways to bypass my security systems? I let you pursue Beast Boy, and you betrayed me when I was willing to risk exposure to let you be with your boyfriend." His single eye glared at her, sending fear of the juggernaut through her body, and she scooted closer to Beast Boy, who protectively held her, returning the glare with as much intensity as Slade's.
Slade scoffed at her move. "You expect him to protect you, Terra? I'm surprised he even wants to. You tried to kill him, you destroyed his home. His feelings for you must be extremely strong." His voice became full of malice. "But he cannot protect you. He couldn't then, he can't now." he said, referring to their fight at the amusement park. "Child, you don't deserve life."
"And I suppose you do?" Beast Boy interrupted the masked man. Slade turned his attention to him.
"Yes Beast Boy, I do. You see, I don't think Terra has quite told you about her past. About the thousands upon thousands she has killed in cold-blood, and blamed it on her powers. And it's true. She didn't have control. But still she continued to use them, constantly losing control just to see people die."
Slade's again glared at Terra, but continued to speak to Beast Boy. "Men, women, children, the old, the weak, the sick, it didn't matter to her. She lives for the kill, nothing else."
He continued on, his look intensifying as he stared cold fire at the blonde. "She would travel from city to city, playing like she was a poor innocent traveler, weary from a long journey."
Slade looked back at Beast Boy. "They would happily welcome her into the city. And when she was done there, she would cause some sort of disaster. Perhaps an avalanche, or maybe an earthquake. She would purposefully lose control, causing an accident that would kill the residents. Their screams were music to her ears. She would laugh as the survivors would try in vain to free their loved ones from the devastation she had caused."
He spoke to Terra. "It was a thrill, wasn't it murderer? You enjoyed their suffering like a child enjoys candy." He returned to Beast Boy. "And she would repeat the process at the next city she came across. However, then she arrived here. She knew about the Titans, knew they would pose a threat to her entertainment."
Slade again spoke to Terra, hatred present in his voice. "So you befriended them, made them think you were a good guy. You never mentioned your past, and unfortunately, they never asked. But you slipped up." He faced Beast Boy. "She revealed that she couldn't control her powers. She made you swear not to tell, since you would try to stop her if you knew."
Slade spoke to Terra. "So you wanted to join up with them. What better alibi than to be with the Teen Titans, the heroes of the city? Which is where I found you." He snorted. "I thought I might be able to turn you from the path you had set on. But you refused. You didn't want to stop, did you?"
Terra had started to cry silently, but Slade ignored her, and turned back to Beast Boy. "But then Robin found out. And her trust in you was so strong that she didn't even give you the chance to respond. And she came to me. How foolish I was, taking her in. I should have known that I couldn't save her from what she had become."
He again began to talk to Terra, glaring at the cowering girl like a judge glares at an obviously guilty convict. "You wanted to get even with Beast Boy, didn't you, Terra? You wanted to get revenge on them for spoiling your good time. I took you in, helped you control your powers. And when I was ready to strike, you took Beast Boy out on a date. You tried to connect with him, get him to love you, which would make killing him all the more fun. But by then, I had begun to see the error of my ways. I tried to make Beast Boy hate you, so that if you did manage to kill him, he wouldn't feel too much emotion. I pitied him, Terra."
He stared her in her eyes, and she looked away from him, burying her head in Beast Boy's chest. "But I was too late. His feelings were strong enough that even through my best efforts, he still retained some love for you. But despite this, I foolishly continued onward with my plan. I ordered you to attack the Tower, and it nearly sickened me how enthusiastic you were. You thought you had killed them, but you didn't. I was almost relieved that they had survived. And you tried to use Beast Boy's love for you to save your own skin."
He turned to Beast Boy. "She obeyed my every request. She would have leveled the city, had I not insist that it remain standing. Even then, I was shocked by the chaos she caused. So I sent her on less violent tasks, such as tracking you down. I foolishly allowed her to try to get back with you, hoping your feelings for her could do what I could not."
He shook his head sadly. "Alas, you could not. You understandably struck out at her on sight. Being what she is, she struck back in anger, but you beat her. That speech you gave impressed me. I had hoped that it would change her."
He again turned back to Terra, but kept talking to Beast Boy. "But it didn't work. She betrayed me, and I saw she was beyond any hope of recovery. So I sent out a company of soldiers to dispose of her. But you helped her escape, and she has eluded me until now."
He continued to look at Terra. "She told you that you couldn't understand her." He shifted his gaze to the green changeling. "Now you do."
"You lie." Said the changeling.
"Am I? You said the exact same thing when she betrayed you. And it was the truth. There was no reason to lie then, and there is no reason to lie now. She is insane. I must destroy her before she causes any more harm."
He got in a fighting position. "All those that you killed are watching us, Terra. They are ready for their killer to die, so that they can finally rest. For their sake, I shall execute you like the scum you are. Not even Hell is enough punishment for what you have done, but it will have to suffice. Good-bye, murderer."
Slade thrust his staff at her, aiming for her throat in order to make it a clean kill. Terra held on tightly to the shape shifter. She knew that he was wrong, she knew that he was lying, but for some reason, she thought he was right.
Beast Boy's hand caught the instrument before it could reach her.
Slade looked at him. "Let go, Beast Boy. This is what needs to happen. She must die. She will do the same thing to you and your friends if she lives. Countless souls are watching us as we speak, Beast Boy. They are ready to see her reign of destruction end. She will leave you, Beast Boy. And she will kill you, like all the others. It feels wrong even to me, but it must be so. Let me put their souls to rest. Release the staff."
Beast Boy looked at Terra. He could tell by the way she was jerking that she was crying. His eyes began to become as hard as stones. He looked at Slade.
"Your right."
Terra stared up at him. "Beast Boy..." She started, but he simply pushed her away. She slid across the floor, bumping into the wall that the cabinet was attached to. She laid her head on the ground. Slade had won. She was going to die. And Beast Boy now hated her. She heard Best Boy speak. "But one question still bothers me, Slade."
"What is that?"
"What on earth made you think that I would actually believe you?"
With that, he became a gorilla and punched Slade in the gut. Slade flew across the room, landing on his feet, still breathing normally, despite the pain in his stomach, which disappeared within seconds. Standing up, he glared at the green ape that stood between him and his quarry.
"Beast Boy, do you not see reason? She is evil. She betrayed you, she betrayed me, she has killed thousands. What makes you think she deserves life?"
"Because I don't believe you. And even if I did, I still wouldn't let you. I love her, and if she did do those things, she has changed. You just can't see it. She would not kill someone even to save her own life. I, on the other hand, would."
Transforming into a tiger, he pounced at the man standing before him. Slade dodged out of the way, striking him in the back with his staff. Unfazed by this, Beast Boy struck out with his claws, but the man grabbed his paw and slammed him on the ground. Beast Boy threw off the man, and bit at his leg, attempting to lame him. Slade's staff smashed him in the head, sending the green boy back to the ground, seeing spots like he had just got his picture taken. Slade raised his staff to finish him off, but then a rock knocked him off-balance. Beast Boy looked up to see Terra standing up directly in front of the window, her hands glowing yellow, panting hard as she tried to stay conscious.
With a growl that soon became a shout, Slade charged her, staff at the ready. Beast Boy tried to stop him, but Slade simply swiped him out of the way, not even slowing down as he headed towards his former apprentice. He swung at Terra, his staff connecting with her broken ribcage. She flew back and hit the glass, not quite breaking through, but cracking it severely. Before she could slide down to the floor, Slade was upon her, punching the girl with all his might, which was considerably strong, and painful to its recipient. Terra could feel the glass behind her start to give way as Slade had her pinned to the wall with his volley of fists. Soon, he stopped his raging assault. Watching her slump to the ground, he picked her up by the head. He reared back his arm, ready to throw her through the window.
Beast Boy barreled into him like a cannon ball.
As an ape, he was trying to smash Slade's head when the man slipped between his legs and delivered a sweep kick, knocking the enraged primate to the ground. A hard stomp to the back followed. After waiting a few seconds to see if the boy would get up again, he returned his attention to Terra. She was trying to get to her feet when a kick from the masked man sent her rolling across the room. Slade chased her as she hit the wall, and picked her up and smashed her against it again. Throwing her into the counter, she hit her stomach, knocking the wind from her. As she tried to regain her breath, Slade grabbed her by the throat and ran towards the wall. He slammed her back into it. He threw her onto the floor. Terra tried to move, but she felt his fist slam the middle of her back. She made a weak noise, but still tried to get away from the crazed man. Blood ran from cuts that were all over her body. Her ribs were in agony, but it paled to the pain in her back. Slade kicked her in the gut, and she went flying across the room to land near the couch. She could hear several bones in her arms and legs snap, and it sent agony shrieking up her body. Slade approached her again, murder showing in his one eye.
"You have lived far past what you should have, Terra. It's time to go to your eternal punishment. But not yet. Your mortal consequences are only beginning."
He grabbed her leg, and threw her upwards into the air. As she came back down, he punched her into the wall, and she fell face first to the ground. She couldn't move, couldn't see clearly. She could only feel as Slade grabbed her broken arm and twisted it. She cried out in agony, but was slammed into the ground repeatedly by the deranged man. Letting go, he stood back from her, for some reason giving her a breather. She used her good arm to head towards the still form of Beast Boy. Before she could reach him, Slade began his attack, grabbing her legs and throwing her across the room. She landed in a crumpled heap, not crying, but tears were running down her face. She picked up the rock she had used earlier, but he merely caught it and used the momentum to throw it back, hitting her shoulder. Leaping into the air, he intertwined his fingers and brought his hands slamming into her stomach with enough strength to put a dent in the floor. A kick to her side sent her sprawling over the floor, and a stomp to the chest finished the fight. At least on her end.
Slade again backed off, and she took this time to try to catch her breath, though it sent waves of agony through her ribs to do it. Seeing one last hope to stop his senseless assault, she grabbed a section of rock from the ground below. Using all her concentration on bringing the rock to the window, she didn't notice that Slade had discovered her trap, and was waiting for it. Sending the rock at him when it reached their level, she watched as he put his hands out and stopped its advance. Soon, he grabbed the boulder and rolled it at Beast Boy. Terra managed to stop it, but she was unable to stop the kick to her stomach and the following elbow to her shoulder as she left the ground. Subdued beyond comprehension, she didn't even try to stop him from tossing her into the boulder, which shattered with the impact. He caught her by the throat on the rebound, and slammed her into the ground next to the window. Slade went to pick up the staff he had dropped when he had first hit Beast Boy. He walked toward the girl, malice twinkling from his eye as he spoke with finality in his voice.
"It's now time for the earthly punishment to end, and the unearthly to begin. Good-bye, murderer."
Slade raised his weapon above his head, ready to bring it down on her head. Terra closed her eyes and waited for it to end.
Beast Boy struck him like a thunderbolt.
Terra watched as the insane man that was Slade and the green raptor that was Beast Boy go sailing through the window as though it wasn't there. She watched helplessly as they went tumbling to the ground below. She heard the screams and roars of their battle as they fell to their deaths. The sickening thud of one of them landing on the unforgiving rocks came up to her ears, and she began to pray that it wasn't Beast Boy who had met his fate on the sharp rocks below.
Her prayer was answered when Beast Boy as a hawk came flying through the hole that they had made. Turning back into human form, he ran to her beaten body. He knelt next to her and held her close. She broke down, tears falling down her cheeks as she cried what tears she had left into his shoulder.
"It's okay, Terra." He said softly to her. "He's gone, gone forever. It's okay."
Terra couldn't believe it. He was dead. Slade was dead. She wrapped her arms around him, hoping that the nightmare was finally over.
Beast Boy picked her up. She needed medical attention, and she needed it now. He heard her try to say something, but he shushed her. "Shhhhhh. Save you strength for living, not talking. Don't worry. He's gone. It's okay now."
She wished that it was over, but she knew that it wasn't over. She knew the nightmare was still going. She didn't want to admit it, but she also knew that Slade wasn't dead. He was still alive. She buried her head in his shoulder. The nightmare wasn't over. The nightmare would never be over. Terra felt Beast Boy carry her along the halls to the Titans that where somewhere in the Tower, unaware of what had taken place in the floors above.
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Cyborg shot another robot in the head. He looked all around as he waited for the next attack. They had nearly routed the robot army, having the advantage of terrain and superior skills on their side. Cyborg heard footsteps coming from the stairway behind him. Walking toward the entrance. He put his back to the wall, ready to jump out and blast whatever it was to Kingdom Come. Timing his move by the sound of the footsteps, he whirled around the corner and aimed his cannon.
Straight at Beast Boy and Terra.
Cyborg quickly deactivated his cannon. Staring wide-eyed at Terra's condition.
"Whoa. What happened to her?"
Slade, replied Beast Boy. "He got in while y'all where distracted, but that doesn't matter. She needs medical attention, and I mean now!"
"We'll get it as soon as possible, but we won't be able to do much. She needs a doctor, and I don't think any of us got a Ph. D. I'll get y'all to the others, but don't expect Raven to help. She's out cold from when a section of ceiling hit her on the head. Come on, she's gonna die if she's even tapped. Let's go!"
Again arming his sonic cannon, Cyborg went ahead of the two, now more careful than ever now that Terra was in the state she was in. They met no droids on the way to the safety of the others.
As they came into the ground floor from the elevator, Beast Boy saw the rest of the team in the center, being on the lookout for more of Slade's minions. Starfire noticed Terra's condition first.
"Oh, Beast Boy, what in Drenthorg happened?"
"Slade happened. Long story, but right now we need to get medical attention for Terra."
Robin looked at Terra, his mind seeing the entire fight as he surveyed her wounds.
"We'll get her something as soon as possible. We'll go after Slade, Beast Boy, stay..."
"Dude, Slade's dead."
"What are you talking about?"
"He fell from the top story. Nothing could survive that, nothing."
"Apparently Slade can, because we just saw him running back to the city."
Beast Boy looked shocked. He had seen him hit the ground, had heard his body break. How could he have survived?
Terra stirred. Beast Boy remembered the problem at hand, and turned to Robin.
"Whatever, just what are we going to do with Terra?"
"Find some bandages to put on those wounds, for starters. You stay here with her, we'll go after Slade."
"What about Raven?"
"We'll bring her to. I assume Cyborg told you what happened?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, we're going to wake her up before going in there. I don't want to be caught down there without her. We'll be back as soon as possible with some medical supplies. Just hold out here 'til we get back."
Beast Boy nodded, and the other four Titans went off to take on Slade. He carried Terra with him as he searched for some bandages, lest there be another attack. Finding some in a closet, he began to apply the pads to the wounds, sterilizing the cuts with a soapy washcloth. When Terra was done, she had only a few bandages, as Beast Boy decided that the small cuts would be fine. Taking her to the top story again, he set her on the couch, and sat down next to her. Terra soon woke up. She tried to sit up, and fell back with a hiss. Beast Boy looked over at her.
"Need somethin'?"
Terra tried to talk, but couldn't get the words to come out. Finally she managed to croak, "Water."
Beast Boy went to the kitchen and got a glass of water from the tap. Bringing it back, he helped Terra to sit up, and monitored how much she drank at once. When the glass was finished, she slowly handed it to Beast Boy, who put it in the sink for future washing. Sitting back on the couch, he asked if there was anything else. She shook her head, but then began to cough, and a small trickle of blood came out of her mouth. Wiping her lips, she saw the red liquid, and leaned on his shoulder and tried not to cough any more, shivering with a mixture of cold and disgust. Beast Boy saw the blood, and went to get the glass again. Refilling it, he gave it to her so she could wash out her mouth. Swishing the water around, she spat it back in the cup, keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn't see any more blood. He took the glass and rinsed it out, again leaving it in the sink. Returning, he sat down next to her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, trying to stay warm from the small breeze that had started coming through the broken window. Suddenly, waves of nausea hit her, and she threw up onto the floor, vomit mingling with blood as she got it out of her system. She didn't throw up too much, but enough to leave a puddle on the ground in front of her.
She began to cry, feeling worse than she had ever felt. Beast Boy rubbed her back, trying to get the nausea to pass. He went back to the kitchen and got another glass. Getting water yet again, he brought it back to her, again to rinse the taste out of her mouth. When she was done, he just put it to the side. He began to rub her back again, trying not to put too much pressure on her damaged back. Terra felt better as he continued to rub her back. The aches from Slade's manic attack pounded, each throb nearly making the nausea return. She managed to keep it back, but the throbbing sensation steadily got worse and worse. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drive away the feeling. But it continued to worsen, and it was all she could do to not vomit again.
She laid her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. ''You're gonna be fine." He reassured her, and held her firmly, his body heat fending off the cold from the frail frame of Terra. Beast Boy laid his head back, thinking about the recent events. Slade had survived the plunge from Titans Tower. Terra was beaten close to death by the mad man. And now he was being tracked down by the other four Titans. Beast Boy felt Terra shift beneath his arm, trying to stay alive from the beating she had taken. Beast Boy went to get a blanket and pillow from his room. Coming back with the two items, he handed them to Terra and had her lay down. He went to get a rag to clean up the vomit. After getting most of the bile out of the carpet, the room smelt quite a bit better. Soaking another one, he placed it on top of her forehead. He looked like a parent caring for a sick child, which was not that far from the truth.
Beast Boy went back to the kitchen and was about to get a tofu burger, when he thought that eating in front of Terra was not the smartest thing to do. Putting it back, he began to pace behind the couch. He didn't know why, but something didn't feel right. Like something was out of place. The answer came in the form of a single android leaping down from the ceiling. Before it could hit the ground, Beast Boy had already smashed it into the ground, crushing the head of the robot. Becoming human, he looked around for more, but saw none. Settling down, he sat down on the floor next to Terra, keeping clear of the spot where she had been sick. Terra looked at him.
"Beast Boy?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you let Slade kill me?"
He was dumbstruck. "Isn't it obvious? He was lying, and I didn't fall for it."
"No, he wasn't."
"Your telling me that you killed those people out of fun?"
"No."
Then what's the deal? I couldn't care less if he had said you were going to blow up the Tower, no, the whole city. Slade just can't understand emotion."
"So you don't..."
"No."
"And..."
"Terra, let me put it simply. I do not care. You killed those people on accident. You are not a murderer. You couldn't be. It's not in your personality. Slade was just trying to get to you. Looks like it worked."
She smiled, and soon was fast asleep on the couch. Beast Boy smiled at her. She was happy, even through all the pain, she was happy. Socks, who had hidden inside the cabinet during the invasion, leaped gracefully onto the couch near Terra's head. He sniffed her, and soon began to softly lick her wounds, snapping his head up at the slightest noise. Like a mother protecting her kitten. Thought Beast Boy, and his smile broadened. Terra looked at the feline that was licking all the scrapes and bruises on her face. When he was done, he hopped off the couch and began to walk around the room, checking under furniture as though there might be another android lying in wait.
Terra shivered, and brought the blanket tighter around her. Beast Boy stroked her head, watching the antics of the cat as it began to sniff the carpet like a bloodhound. The three waited patiently for the return of the others, hoping that their mission would be a success. The fate of the city may be depending on it.
()()()
Two androids patrolled the halls of Slade's dominion. Coming to a doorway, their sensors picked up movement. With an automatic switch to thermal scanning, they entered the room to inspect for intruders.
Both were decommissioned when two of Robin's grappling hooks went through their heads. Pulling them up to the crossbeam he was crouched on, he expertly unhooked the grapples and signaled to the others to advance. Cyborg went first, cannon at the ready, followed by Raven, who they had woken up before entering. Starfire brought up the rear, and together they advanced towards the inner catacombs of the madman's realm, being extra cautious now that they were in enemy territory.
Two Elites rounded the corner. Starbolts ripped through them, sending them to the ground with gaping holes in their chests. Continuing on, they soon reached the lower levels. Robin stepped towards a door at the end of their hallway. It hissed open, revealing something that made Cyborg's mechanical body seem as complicated as a light switch.
A massive supercomputer in the center of the room, with wires connecting to the walls as it ran countless functions at a time, everything from the lights to the robots that patrolled the halls. Various sensory equipment were placed at various locations around the cylindrical behemoth, and many mounted turrets were visible all around the thing, and scattered chutes with hangar-type doors that looked as though they opened from the middle vertically, and Robin could only speculate their purpose. The ceiling was out of sight, and so was the top of the computer.
The sensors picked up thermal and sound readings from the entrance. A bio- scan confirmed their identities. An alarm began to sound, and the turrets powered up. The hangar doors opened, and masses of small attack drones similar to the ones they used in training poured out, locking on to the Titans and sending laser fire their way.
The teens scattered and began trying to hold off the air raid, and soon the air became covered with a flotilla of color as they exchanged fire with the leviathan computer. The defenses were soon decimated, leaving a battle- scarred room behind. The Titans had been hit in various places, but all were still capable of continuing on. They ducked out of the room, only to meet masses of droids that had responded to the alarm. Robin saw only one course of action.
They had to destroy the computer.
Filing back into the presence of the giant, Starfire took Robin on towards the top of the room. Raven and Cyborg followed them, with the mechanized teen sending shots at the computer while Raven dodged the return fire, trying to continue the ascent to the top of the room. Upon reaching their destination, they found that there was no way to penetrate through the black armor of the thing. They ducked over a ledge that circled the inside perimeter of the room that was the same shape as the monster it harbored. Various terminals and monitors were positioned around the edge toward the inside, and these provided decent cover from the turrets. Seeing a door, Robin and his team rushed through it. Slamming it as the drones crested the computers, they turned to find themselves in the main control room, with the man himself sitting at the controls. Not looking up from the monitors, he spoke to them, his tone once again calm, not with the cold madness that had possessed it earlier when he had nearly killed Terra.
"So you finally have arrived to my humble abode." He said, turning to face them, his single eye glancing casually at the teenagers who stood before him. Standing up from his chair, he extended his staff once more.
"Now, Titans, where is Beast Boy, pray tell? Trying to save the life of the traitor, no less, hmmm? Unfortunately for him, she won't survive."
"Yes she will." Growled Starfire, teeth grinding against each other as rage began to possess her.
"I'm afraid your wrong, my dear. You see, I could simply send more androids to your precious tower, and have them tear it to the ground. Beast Boy can't hold them all off, at least, if he wants to protect the murderer too."
"Your insane." The Boy Wonder snarled, extending his own weapon, but not attacking.
"Not really, my former apprentice. You see, Terra is a murderer. She has killed countless masses in the name of fun. I won't tell you in the detail that I explained to Beast Boy, but I will let you know that your friend is the one who is mad, not me."
He continued to speak to the group, not moving a muscle as he told them the story. "Terra's pleasure comes from death. But you would have stopped her if you knew, so she played the part of the poor misunderstood heroine, leading you to believe she wanted to gain control. What fools you were. I'm disappointed in you most of all, Robin. Surely you must have figured it out. But I digress. She would have killed you all, had I not intervened. But Beast Boy stopped me from finishing her off. I would return to the Tower post-haste. She might have finished off the changeling as it is."
Robin clenched his teeth. What Slade had said was probable, but it couldn't be true. Terra wouldn't harm Beast Boy... would she?
He turned his back to Slade. "Come on, we have to make sure."
The others stared in shock. "Robin? You actually..."
"No, but I wouldn't put it past her. She may be trusted by Beast Boy, but the past cannot be forgotten."
"What about your past?" Starfire inquired him, her voice blank as she reminded him of his time with Slade.
"He would have killed you if I hadn't. There's no motivation for Terra to work for him. She went of her own free will, I didn't. We have to check it out."
He looked to Slade. "I don't care if your right or not, we will be back, and we will end this once and for all."
"I look forward to it Robin. But I would hurry back. She might be done already."
Pushing a button on the console, the alarm stopped, and the door to the exit opened. "I would stop staring and leave, if I were you."
Robin led the Titans out of the building, and they met no robots on the way back. Exiting into the night, they all ran as fast as they could back to Titans Tower, seeing the logic in Robin's words.
As Titans Tower came into view, Robin swore that Terra would pay tenfold for every scratch he found on the changeling.
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Whew. Finally done. Over 7,000 words on Microsoft, and hopefully no words were lost during the upload. I won't explain Robin's reasoning, as I think the story tells all you need to know. 'Til next chapter.
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Robin prodded, tapped, and in general examined all the different parts of Terra's suit. He knew that the transmitter could be anywhere, and finding it would make locating Slade a breeze. All they had to do was follow the path the signal was traveling, and boom. It would be over, it would finally end...
Robin shook his head. That would come in due time. Right now, he needed to get that transmitter. Cyborg was scanning all frequencies available in order to locate the signal itself. So far, his search was in vain. The other Titans stayed absolutely quiet, trying not to distract the concentrating boys.
Robin took a scalpel and, ignoring the cringe from Terra, began to tap all around the suit, being careful to avoid the rags that covered the rest of her. Suddenly, while tapping the S that was the symbol of Slade, he noted that it sounded more hollow than the rest of the suit. Putting his ear to it, he tried to listen for sound, but Terra's breathing was too loud to be certain.
"Terra, hold your breath." He instructed, and she obeyed, sucking up as much air as possible. Now with only her heartbeat making noise, he again placed his ear on the insignia. His blood froze. He heard a slight ticking coming from the inner part of the medallion-type object, and when he tapped it with the scalpel, he distinctly heard the rattling of extremely small pellets, each no bigger than the head of a pin. Robin guessed hundreds, and he froze solid, realizing what it was.
It was a Claymore Mine.
Fear galvanized him into instant action, adrenaline surging throughout his system as he grabbed the symbol and yanked it off the suit.
The others looked at the Boy Wonder with wide eyes. "Robin, what are you doing?" Beast Boy asked him, but his words fell on deaf ears as Robin held it as far away from him as his arms would allow. Throwing it out the shattered window, he threw himself behind the couch.
"Bomb! Everybody get down!"
They would have questioned him but for the urgency in his voice. As Cyborg ducked next to Robin, he saw Socks sitting at the window, watching the mine fly threw the air like a tiny saucer. Cyborg was about to go after him when he saw Raven tackle the cat out of harms way right as the detonator went off. The explosion rocked the Tower, and Robin could only wonder by what had been in that small medallion that could produce such an explosion. He saw that Raven was making a break for the couch. Cyborg reached out with his gigantic arms and pulled her behind the furniture with the others as soon as she was in reach. Had he not done this, Raven and Socks would have surely been dead, for the pellets whizzed through the space that Raven had vacated not even a second ago. Many whizzed harmlessly over their barricade, but some hit the soft couch, penetrating through to the other side. Robin could feel as the pellets bounced off his trench coat onto the floor. Looking at the others, he saw it was happening to the others. The small balls simply bounced off their skin, having lost momentum by passing through the couch. It all happened in the space of a second, but to the Titans it felt like an eternity. After several moments of silence, Beast Boy summed up the courage to cautiously look over the top of the couch. Seeing no danger, he stood up. Looking towards the others, he watched as they followed his example, rising slowly like another pellet might suddenly zoom into them.
Robin looked at where he threw the bomb. He saw that the shockwave had caused small waves to resonate outward, even from the top floor, which was where they were. Quickly recovering from the near-death experience, he stared straight at Terra.
"Come here."
"I didn't do it, I didn't know..."
"I'm not blaming you. We have to see if there are any more traps Slade put in the suit. Now get over here before another goes off."
Silently, she walked over to the couch that she had been lying on. After several sweeps over the suit, Robin found no other explosives, and he and Cyborg continued their search for the transmitter. Socks was trembling with fright, the loud noise of the bomb pounding in his sensitive ears. Raven handed him to Starfire, who began to pet the feline, talking sweetly in an effort to calm him down. Soon, Socks had recovered from his ordeal, again walking around the room, inspecting everything he found.
Cyborg's scanner picked up a signal. "Yo, Robin. Look at this." The Boy Wonder looked up from his work to the massive Titan. "What is it?"
"I think it's the signal."
Walking toward the teen, Robin looked at the screen on his friends arm. He saw a flat-line on the screen. "Are there any words?" he asked the mechanical hero. "Let's find out." Switching on the speaker, he instantly heard static. He was about to turn it off, when words suddenly came out through the static. It was Slade's voice.
"It's about time, Robin."
The static returned, and after a few minutes of waiting, Cyborg switched it off. Robin clenched his fists, Slade's words stinging him like a wasp. Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder.
"Dude, you all right?"
Robin jumped at his touch. He looked at the massive teen. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you locate its origin?"
"Yeah, 'bout six kilometers that way." He informed his leader, pointing toward downtown. "But it says that its nine-hundred-fifty meters below the surface. Taking into account our elevation, that almost eight hundred meters below sea level."
"Not surprised. Why would he want a big building? Too easy to destroy. But underground is more protected, easier to defend. We need a plan. Anyone got an idea?"
Before they could answer, the door blew in, and androids flooded the room, guns blazing as they tried to wipe out the Titans.
Cyborg fired his cannon into the advancing army. Several went down with smoldering holes, but many more took their place. The others joined in the battle, and soon there was utter chaos inside of Titans Tower. Aiming at Terra, a few androids released their bolts, hitting her in her legs and stomach, but none mortally wounding the injured girl. They were soon routed by Beast Boy, who bulled into them as a gorilla, swinging his arms to-and- fro, smashing the hapless robots to pieces. Throwing one onto the ground in front of him, he threw it into another who was attacking from behind. Noticing the robots had surrounded him and Terra, he became a tiger, dodging their shots and swiping at them with his claws. Snapping the neck of one with a slap, he bit another one in the same place, tearing out circuits where its jugular would have been. Becoming a bear, he boxed his way over to Terra, who was being overwhelmed by the androids. Not able to use her powers, as their was no rock around, she fought with hands and feet. But she would be taken down by the bots soon, since her ribs were still broken from her fight with Beast Boy. Beast Boy took them from behind, claws slicing into the androids with blinding speed, eyes blazing as he left a trail of scattered parts in his wake.
Cyborg had settled to firing from the safety of the cabinet, sniping the ones who would come up behind his comrade's. Shooting one who was sneaking up on Starfire, he saw another about to fire into Raven's unguarded back. The only problem was Raven happened to be in his line of fire. Without hesitation, he fired at the androids exposed head. Raven saw the beam fly past her head, and felt something land on her back. Whirling around, the headless droid fell to the ground, sparks shooting from the neck like blood. Ignoring the close call, she immediately headed on to the next one, her powers slicing through them as though they weren't there.
Starfire and Robin worked their way towards Cyborg, fighting through to their isolated friend. Arriving at his location, Starfire immediately began adding her starbolts to Cyborg's assault, both shooting with precision so as not to hit their teammates. Robin told them to cover him, and he took off toward Terra, who was still being defeated, despite Beast Boy's rampage. A jump kick sent one flying past her, and his staff smashed the head off of another. Birdarangs and shurikens went hissing through the air, each finding their mark as they brought death to the hordes of robots.
Raven made her way to the two, keeping Beast Boy from being overwhelmed with repeated bolts from her hands. Upon reaching Robin, she snatched Terra up with her abilities and placed her behind Cyborg and Starfire, who in turned attacked more aggressively, since they now had to protect an injured comrade. Robin and Raven made their way to Beast Boy, and together the three went into the middle of them back-to-back, slowly turning like a carousel of death.
Cyborg's group had been pinned down behind the cabinet. No longer able to send as many shots into the enemy as before, they concentrated on the one's firing at them, leaving Robin's group to tackle the rest. Robin knew that they would be overrun eventually unless they could clear out Cyborg's group. He felt the Colts in his coat pockets, and he immediately grabbed them. Firing with the grace of a ballet dancer but the deadliness of a marksman. He spun this way and that, firing the semi-autos as fast as he could. He emptied his cartridges, and not bothering to reload, placed them back into his pockets and brought out an explosive disk. Tossing it at the androids that were firing at Cyborg, it landed perfectly in the midst of them. The explosion destroyed most of the attackers, and the rest soon fell before Cyborg and Starfire's projectiles. With their problem dealt with, they turned their attention to the others, firing madly into the robots that threatened to bring them down. Soon, the androids were pushed back out of the room, and Cyborg ran toward the door, ducked into the man-under-fire position. Arriving at his destination, he began shooting at the robots, and Starfire soon followed his example. Robin was reminded of the first fight, when this same technique had nearly failed. But this time the momentum was in favor of the Titans, and they gave no quarter. Beast Boy, having no projectiles, headed back to get Terra. She was leaning against the wall, the cloth burned away in several places, exposing charred skin beneath. Beast Boy knelt next to her.
"You okay?"
"So far, so good. How's the fight goin'?"
Beast Boy grinned. "So far, so good."
Terra returned the grin, but it quickly changed to a look of horror as she stared at something behind Beast Boy. He turned around to see Slade himself standing between them and the Titans. Beast Boy looked to where the others had been, but they had moved down the hallway, out of earshot. They were alone. And Terra couldn't fight an android, much less Slade himself. The masked villain began to speak.
"So, you managed to escape from my drones, mmm? Quite extraordinary. Not many have escaped from a company that size. Not that many have tried. Well, it seems you bought her a few hours Beast Boy, but this ends now."
He pulled out his staff. Extending the weapon, he pointed it at Terra.
"You shouldn't have run, child. You have already given the location of my headquarters away. What else will you tell them, Terra? Perhaps ways to bypass my security systems? I let you pursue Beast Boy, and you betrayed me when I was willing to risk exposure to let you be with your boyfriend." His single eye glared at her, sending fear of the juggernaut through her body, and she scooted closer to Beast Boy, who protectively held her, returning the glare with as much intensity as Slade's.
Slade scoffed at her move. "You expect him to protect you, Terra? I'm surprised he even wants to. You tried to kill him, you destroyed his home. His feelings for you must be extremely strong." His voice became full of malice. "But he cannot protect you. He couldn't then, he can't now." he said, referring to their fight at the amusement park. "Child, you don't deserve life."
"And I suppose you do?" Beast Boy interrupted the masked man. Slade turned his attention to him.
"Yes Beast Boy, I do. You see, I don't think Terra has quite told you about her past. About the thousands upon thousands she has killed in cold-blood, and blamed it on her powers. And it's true. She didn't have control. But still she continued to use them, constantly losing control just to see people die."
Slade's again glared at Terra, but continued to speak to Beast Boy. "Men, women, children, the old, the weak, the sick, it didn't matter to her. She lives for the kill, nothing else."
He continued on, his look intensifying as he stared cold fire at the blonde. "She would travel from city to city, playing like she was a poor innocent traveler, weary from a long journey."
Slade looked back at Beast Boy. "They would happily welcome her into the city. And when she was done there, she would cause some sort of disaster. Perhaps an avalanche, or maybe an earthquake. She would purposefully lose control, causing an accident that would kill the residents. Their screams were music to her ears. She would laugh as the survivors would try in vain to free their loved ones from the devastation she had caused."
He spoke to Terra. "It was a thrill, wasn't it murderer? You enjoyed their suffering like a child enjoys candy." He returned to Beast Boy. "And she would repeat the process at the next city she came across. However, then she arrived here. She knew about the Titans, knew they would pose a threat to her entertainment."
Slade again spoke to Terra, hatred present in his voice. "So you befriended them, made them think you were a good guy. You never mentioned your past, and unfortunately, they never asked. But you slipped up." He faced Beast Boy. "She revealed that she couldn't control her powers. She made you swear not to tell, since you would try to stop her if you knew."
Slade spoke to Terra. "So you wanted to join up with them. What better alibi than to be with the Teen Titans, the heroes of the city? Which is where I found you." He snorted. "I thought I might be able to turn you from the path you had set on. But you refused. You didn't want to stop, did you?"
Terra had started to cry silently, but Slade ignored her, and turned back to Beast Boy. "But then Robin found out. And her trust in you was so strong that she didn't even give you the chance to respond. And she came to me. How foolish I was, taking her in. I should have known that I couldn't save her from what she had become."
He again began to talk to Terra, glaring at the cowering girl like a judge glares at an obviously guilty convict. "You wanted to get even with Beast Boy, didn't you, Terra? You wanted to get revenge on them for spoiling your good time. I took you in, helped you control your powers. And when I was ready to strike, you took Beast Boy out on a date. You tried to connect with him, get him to love you, which would make killing him all the more fun. But by then, I had begun to see the error of my ways. I tried to make Beast Boy hate you, so that if you did manage to kill him, he wouldn't feel too much emotion. I pitied him, Terra."
He stared her in her eyes, and she looked away from him, burying her head in Beast Boy's chest. "But I was too late. His feelings were strong enough that even through my best efforts, he still retained some love for you. But despite this, I foolishly continued onward with my plan. I ordered you to attack the Tower, and it nearly sickened me how enthusiastic you were. You thought you had killed them, but you didn't. I was almost relieved that they had survived. And you tried to use Beast Boy's love for you to save your own skin."
He turned to Beast Boy. "She obeyed my every request. She would have leveled the city, had I not insist that it remain standing. Even then, I was shocked by the chaos she caused. So I sent her on less violent tasks, such as tracking you down. I foolishly allowed her to try to get back with you, hoping your feelings for her could do what I could not."
He shook his head sadly. "Alas, you could not. You understandably struck out at her on sight. Being what she is, she struck back in anger, but you beat her. That speech you gave impressed me. I had hoped that it would change her."
He again turned back to Terra, but kept talking to Beast Boy. "But it didn't work. She betrayed me, and I saw she was beyond any hope of recovery. So I sent out a company of soldiers to dispose of her. But you helped her escape, and she has eluded me until now."
He continued to look at Terra. "She told you that you couldn't understand her." He shifted his gaze to the green changeling. "Now you do."
"You lie." Said the changeling.
"Am I? You said the exact same thing when she betrayed you. And it was the truth. There was no reason to lie then, and there is no reason to lie now. She is insane. I must destroy her before she causes any more harm."
He got in a fighting position. "All those that you killed are watching us, Terra. They are ready for their killer to die, so that they can finally rest. For their sake, I shall execute you like the scum you are. Not even Hell is enough punishment for what you have done, but it will have to suffice. Good-bye, murderer."
Slade thrust his staff at her, aiming for her throat in order to make it a clean kill. Terra held on tightly to the shape shifter. She knew that he was wrong, she knew that he was lying, but for some reason, she thought he was right.
Beast Boy's hand caught the instrument before it could reach her.
Slade looked at him. "Let go, Beast Boy. This is what needs to happen. She must die. She will do the same thing to you and your friends if she lives. Countless souls are watching us as we speak, Beast Boy. They are ready to see her reign of destruction end. She will leave you, Beast Boy. And she will kill you, like all the others. It feels wrong even to me, but it must be so. Let me put their souls to rest. Release the staff."
Beast Boy looked at Terra. He could tell by the way she was jerking that she was crying. His eyes began to become as hard as stones. He looked at Slade.
"Your right."
Terra stared up at him. "Beast Boy..." She started, but he simply pushed her away. She slid across the floor, bumping into the wall that the cabinet was attached to. She laid her head on the ground. Slade had won. She was going to die. And Beast Boy now hated her. She heard Best Boy speak. "But one question still bothers me, Slade."
"What is that?"
"What on earth made you think that I would actually believe you?"
With that, he became a gorilla and punched Slade in the gut. Slade flew across the room, landing on his feet, still breathing normally, despite the pain in his stomach, which disappeared within seconds. Standing up, he glared at the green ape that stood between him and his quarry.
"Beast Boy, do you not see reason? She is evil. She betrayed you, she betrayed me, she has killed thousands. What makes you think she deserves life?"
"Because I don't believe you. And even if I did, I still wouldn't let you. I love her, and if she did do those things, she has changed. You just can't see it. She would not kill someone even to save her own life. I, on the other hand, would."
Transforming into a tiger, he pounced at the man standing before him. Slade dodged out of the way, striking him in the back with his staff. Unfazed by this, Beast Boy struck out with his claws, but the man grabbed his paw and slammed him on the ground. Beast Boy threw off the man, and bit at his leg, attempting to lame him. Slade's staff smashed him in the head, sending the green boy back to the ground, seeing spots like he had just got his picture taken. Slade raised his staff to finish him off, but then a rock knocked him off-balance. Beast Boy looked up to see Terra standing up directly in front of the window, her hands glowing yellow, panting hard as she tried to stay conscious.
With a growl that soon became a shout, Slade charged her, staff at the ready. Beast Boy tried to stop him, but Slade simply swiped him out of the way, not even slowing down as he headed towards his former apprentice. He swung at Terra, his staff connecting with her broken ribcage. She flew back and hit the glass, not quite breaking through, but cracking it severely. Before she could slide down to the floor, Slade was upon her, punching the girl with all his might, which was considerably strong, and painful to its recipient. Terra could feel the glass behind her start to give way as Slade had her pinned to the wall with his volley of fists. Soon, he stopped his raging assault. Watching her slump to the ground, he picked her up by the head. He reared back his arm, ready to throw her through the window.
Beast Boy barreled into him like a cannon ball.
As an ape, he was trying to smash Slade's head when the man slipped between his legs and delivered a sweep kick, knocking the enraged primate to the ground. A hard stomp to the back followed. After waiting a few seconds to see if the boy would get up again, he returned his attention to Terra. She was trying to get to her feet when a kick from the masked man sent her rolling across the room. Slade chased her as she hit the wall, and picked her up and smashed her against it again. Throwing her into the counter, she hit her stomach, knocking the wind from her. As she tried to regain her breath, Slade grabbed her by the throat and ran towards the wall. He slammed her back into it. He threw her onto the floor. Terra tried to move, but she felt his fist slam the middle of her back. She made a weak noise, but still tried to get away from the crazed man. Blood ran from cuts that were all over her body. Her ribs were in agony, but it paled to the pain in her back. Slade kicked her in the gut, and she went flying across the room to land near the couch. She could hear several bones in her arms and legs snap, and it sent agony shrieking up her body. Slade approached her again, murder showing in his one eye.
"You have lived far past what you should have, Terra. It's time to go to your eternal punishment. But not yet. Your mortal consequences are only beginning."
He grabbed her leg, and threw her upwards into the air. As she came back down, he punched her into the wall, and she fell face first to the ground. She couldn't move, couldn't see clearly. She could only feel as Slade grabbed her broken arm and twisted it. She cried out in agony, but was slammed into the ground repeatedly by the deranged man. Letting go, he stood back from her, for some reason giving her a breather. She used her good arm to head towards the still form of Beast Boy. Before she could reach him, Slade began his attack, grabbing her legs and throwing her across the room. She landed in a crumpled heap, not crying, but tears were running down her face. She picked up the rock she had used earlier, but he merely caught it and used the momentum to throw it back, hitting her shoulder. Leaping into the air, he intertwined his fingers and brought his hands slamming into her stomach with enough strength to put a dent in the floor. A kick to her side sent her sprawling over the floor, and a stomp to the chest finished the fight. At least on her end.
Slade again backed off, and she took this time to try to catch her breath, though it sent waves of agony through her ribs to do it. Seeing one last hope to stop his senseless assault, she grabbed a section of rock from the ground below. Using all her concentration on bringing the rock to the window, she didn't notice that Slade had discovered her trap, and was waiting for it. Sending the rock at him when it reached their level, she watched as he put his hands out and stopped its advance. Soon, he grabbed the boulder and rolled it at Beast Boy. Terra managed to stop it, but she was unable to stop the kick to her stomach and the following elbow to her shoulder as she left the ground. Subdued beyond comprehension, she didn't even try to stop him from tossing her into the boulder, which shattered with the impact. He caught her by the throat on the rebound, and slammed her into the ground next to the window. Slade went to pick up the staff he had dropped when he had first hit Beast Boy. He walked toward the girl, malice twinkling from his eye as he spoke with finality in his voice.
"It's now time for the earthly punishment to end, and the unearthly to begin. Good-bye, murderer."
Slade raised his weapon above his head, ready to bring it down on her head. Terra closed her eyes and waited for it to end.
Beast Boy struck him like a thunderbolt.
Terra watched as the insane man that was Slade and the green raptor that was Beast Boy go sailing through the window as though it wasn't there. She watched helplessly as they went tumbling to the ground below. She heard the screams and roars of their battle as they fell to their deaths. The sickening thud of one of them landing on the unforgiving rocks came up to her ears, and she began to pray that it wasn't Beast Boy who had met his fate on the sharp rocks below.
Her prayer was answered when Beast Boy as a hawk came flying through the hole that they had made. Turning back into human form, he ran to her beaten body. He knelt next to her and held her close. She broke down, tears falling down her cheeks as she cried what tears she had left into his shoulder.
"It's okay, Terra." He said softly to her. "He's gone, gone forever. It's okay."
Terra couldn't believe it. He was dead. Slade was dead. She wrapped her arms around him, hoping that the nightmare was finally over.
Beast Boy picked her up. She needed medical attention, and she needed it now. He heard her try to say something, but he shushed her. "Shhhhhh. Save you strength for living, not talking. Don't worry. He's gone. It's okay now."
She wished that it was over, but she knew that it wasn't over. She knew the nightmare was still going. She didn't want to admit it, but she also knew that Slade wasn't dead. He was still alive. She buried her head in his shoulder. The nightmare wasn't over. The nightmare would never be over. Terra felt Beast Boy carry her along the halls to the Titans that where somewhere in the Tower, unaware of what had taken place in the floors above.
()()()
Cyborg shot another robot in the head. He looked all around as he waited for the next attack. They had nearly routed the robot army, having the advantage of terrain and superior skills on their side. Cyborg heard footsteps coming from the stairway behind him. Walking toward the entrance. He put his back to the wall, ready to jump out and blast whatever it was to Kingdom Come. Timing his move by the sound of the footsteps, he whirled around the corner and aimed his cannon.
Straight at Beast Boy and Terra.
Cyborg quickly deactivated his cannon. Staring wide-eyed at Terra's condition.
"Whoa. What happened to her?"
Slade, replied Beast Boy. "He got in while y'all where distracted, but that doesn't matter. She needs medical attention, and I mean now!"
"We'll get it as soon as possible, but we won't be able to do much. She needs a doctor, and I don't think any of us got a Ph. D. I'll get y'all to the others, but don't expect Raven to help. She's out cold from when a section of ceiling hit her on the head. Come on, she's gonna die if she's even tapped. Let's go!"
Again arming his sonic cannon, Cyborg went ahead of the two, now more careful than ever now that Terra was in the state she was in. They met no droids on the way to the safety of the others.
As they came into the ground floor from the elevator, Beast Boy saw the rest of the team in the center, being on the lookout for more of Slade's minions. Starfire noticed Terra's condition first.
"Oh, Beast Boy, what in Drenthorg happened?"
"Slade happened. Long story, but right now we need to get medical attention for Terra."
Robin looked at Terra, his mind seeing the entire fight as he surveyed her wounds.
"We'll get her something as soon as possible. We'll go after Slade, Beast Boy, stay..."
"Dude, Slade's dead."
"What are you talking about?"
"He fell from the top story. Nothing could survive that, nothing."
"Apparently Slade can, because we just saw him running back to the city."
Beast Boy looked shocked. He had seen him hit the ground, had heard his body break. How could he have survived?
Terra stirred. Beast Boy remembered the problem at hand, and turned to Robin.
"Whatever, just what are we going to do with Terra?"
"Find some bandages to put on those wounds, for starters. You stay here with her, we'll go after Slade."
"What about Raven?"
"We'll bring her to. I assume Cyborg told you what happened?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, we're going to wake her up before going in there. I don't want to be caught down there without her. We'll be back as soon as possible with some medical supplies. Just hold out here 'til we get back."
Beast Boy nodded, and the other four Titans went off to take on Slade. He carried Terra with him as he searched for some bandages, lest there be another attack. Finding some in a closet, he began to apply the pads to the wounds, sterilizing the cuts with a soapy washcloth. When Terra was done, she had only a few bandages, as Beast Boy decided that the small cuts would be fine. Taking her to the top story again, he set her on the couch, and sat down next to her. Terra soon woke up. She tried to sit up, and fell back with a hiss. Beast Boy looked over at her.
"Need somethin'?"
Terra tried to talk, but couldn't get the words to come out. Finally she managed to croak, "Water."
Beast Boy went to the kitchen and got a glass of water from the tap. Bringing it back, he helped Terra to sit up, and monitored how much she drank at once. When the glass was finished, she slowly handed it to Beast Boy, who put it in the sink for future washing. Sitting back on the couch, he asked if there was anything else. She shook her head, but then began to cough, and a small trickle of blood came out of her mouth. Wiping her lips, she saw the red liquid, and leaned on his shoulder and tried not to cough any more, shivering with a mixture of cold and disgust. Beast Boy saw the blood, and went to get the glass again. Refilling it, he gave it to her so she could wash out her mouth. Swishing the water around, she spat it back in the cup, keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn't see any more blood. He took the glass and rinsed it out, again leaving it in the sink. Returning, he sat down next to her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, trying to stay warm from the small breeze that had started coming through the broken window. Suddenly, waves of nausea hit her, and she threw up onto the floor, vomit mingling with blood as she got it out of her system. She didn't throw up too much, but enough to leave a puddle on the ground in front of her.
She began to cry, feeling worse than she had ever felt. Beast Boy rubbed her back, trying to get the nausea to pass. He went back to the kitchen and got another glass. Getting water yet again, he brought it back to her, again to rinse the taste out of her mouth. When she was done, he just put it to the side. He began to rub her back again, trying not to put too much pressure on her damaged back. Terra felt better as he continued to rub her back. The aches from Slade's manic attack pounded, each throb nearly making the nausea return. She managed to keep it back, but the throbbing sensation steadily got worse and worse. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drive away the feeling. But it continued to worsen, and it was all she could do to not vomit again.
She laid her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. ''You're gonna be fine." He reassured her, and held her firmly, his body heat fending off the cold from the frail frame of Terra. Beast Boy laid his head back, thinking about the recent events. Slade had survived the plunge from Titans Tower. Terra was beaten close to death by the mad man. And now he was being tracked down by the other four Titans. Beast Boy felt Terra shift beneath his arm, trying to stay alive from the beating she had taken. Beast Boy went to get a blanket and pillow from his room. Coming back with the two items, he handed them to Terra and had her lay down. He went to get a rag to clean up the vomit. After getting most of the bile out of the carpet, the room smelt quite a bit better. Soaking another one, he placed it on top of her forehead. He looked like a parent caring for a sick child, which was not that far from the truth.
Beast Boy went back to the kitchen and was about to get a tofu burger, when he thought that eating in front of Terra was not the smartest thing to do. Putting it back, he began to pace behind the couch. He didn't know why, but something didn't feel right. Like something was out of place. The answer came in the form of a single android leaping down from the ceiling. Before it could hit the ground, Beast Boy had already smashed it into the ground, crushing the head of the robot. Becoming human, he looked around for more, but saw none. Settling down, he sat down on the floor next to Terra, keeping clear of the spot where she had been sick. Terra looked at him.
"Beast Boy?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you let Slade kill me?"
He was dumbstruck. "Isn't it obvious? He was lying, and I didn't fall for it."
"No, he wasn't."
"Your telling me that you killed those people out of fun?"
"No."
Then what's the deal? I couldn't care less if he had said you were going to blow up the Tower, no, the whole city. Slade just can't understand emotion."
"So you don't..."
"No."
"And..."
"Terra, let me put it simply. I do not care. You killed those people on accident. You are not a murderer. You couldn't be. It's not in your personality. Slade was just trying to get to you. Looks like it worked."
She smiled, and soon was fast asleep on the couch. Beast Boy smiled at her. She was happy, even through all the pain, she was happy. Socks, who had hidden inside the cabinet during the invasion, leaped gracefully onto the couch near Terra's head. He sniffed her, and soon began to softly lick her wounds, snapping his head up at the slightest noise. Like a mother protecting her kitten. Thought Beast Boy, and his smile broadened. Terra looked at the feline that was licking all the scrapes and bruises on her face. When he was done, he hopped off the couch and began to walk around the room, checking under furniture as though there might be another android lying in wait.
Terra shivered, and brought the blanket tighter around her. Beast Boy stroked her head, watching the antics of the cat as it began to sniff the carpet like a bloodhound. The three waited patiently for the return of the others, hoping that their mission would be a success. The fate of the city may be depending on it.
()()()
Two androids patrolled the halls of Slade's dominion. Coming to a doorway, their sensors picked up movement. With an automatic switch to thermal scanning, they entered the room to inspect for intruders.
Both were decommissioned when two of Robin's grappling hooks went through their heads. Pulling them up to the crossbeam he was crouched on, he expertly unhooked the grapples and signaled to the others to advance. Cyborg went first, cannon at the ready, followed by Raven, who they had woken up before entering. Starfire brought up the rear, and together they advanced towards the inner catacombs of the madman's realm, being extra cautious now that they were in enemy territory.
Two Elites rounded the corner. Starbolts ripped through them, sending them to the ground with gaping holes in their chests. Continuing on, they soon reached the lower levels. Robin stepped towards a door at the end of their hallway. It hissed open, revealing something that made Cyborg's mechanical body seem as complicated as a light switch.
A massive supercomputer in the center of the room, with wires connecting to the walls as it ran countless functions at a time, everything from the lights to the robots that patrolled the halls. Various sensory equipment were placed at various locations around the cylindrical behemoth, and many mounted turrets were visible all around the thing, and scattered chutes with hangar-type doors that looked as though they opened from the middle vertically, and Robin could only speculate their purpose. The ceiling was out of sight, and so was the top of the computer.
The sensors picked up thermal and sound readings from the entrance. A bio- scan confirmed their identities. An alarm began to sound, and the turrets powered up. The hangar doors opened, and masses of small attack drones similar to the ones they used in training poured out, locking on to the Titans and sending laser fire their way.
The teens scattered and began trying to hold off the air raid, and soon the air became covered with a flotilla of color as they exchanged fire with the leviathan computer. The defenses were soon decimated, leaving a battle- scarred room behind. The Titans had been hit in various places, but all were still capable of continuing on. They ducked out of the room, only to meet masses of droids that had responded to the alarm. Robin saw only one course of action.
They had to destroy the computer.
Filing back into the presence of the giant, Starfire took Robin on towards the top of the room. Raven and Cyborg followed them, with the mechanized teen sending shots at the computer while Raven dodged the return fire, trying to continue the ascent to the top of the room. Upon reaching their destination, they found that there was no way to penetrate through the black armor of the thing. They ducked over a ledge that circled the inside perimeter of the room that was the same shape as the monster it harbored. Various terminals and monitors were positioned around the edge toward the inside, and these provided decent cover from the turrets. Seeing a door, Robin and his team rushed through it. Slamming it as the drones crested the computers, they turned to find themselves in the main control room, with the man himself sitting at the controls. Not looking up from the monitors, he spoke to them, his tone once again calm, not with the cold madness that had possessed it earlier when he had nearly killed Terra.
"So you finally have arrived to my humble abode." He said, turning to face them, his single eye glancing casually at the teenagers who stood before him. Standing up from his chair, he extended his staff once more.
"Now, Titans, where is Beast Boy, pray tell? Trying to save the life of the traitor, no less, hmmm? Unfortunately for him, she won't survive."
"Yes she will." Growled Starfire, teeth grinding against each other as rage began to possess her.
"I'm afraid your wrong, my dear. You see, I could simply send more androids to your precious tower, and have them tear it to the ground. Beast Boy can't hold them all off, at least, if he wants to protect the murderer too."
"Your insane." The Boy Wonder snarled, extending his own weapon, but not attacking.
"Not really, my former apprentice. You see, Terra is a murderer. She has killed countless masses in the name of fun. I won't tell you in the detail that I explained to Beast Boy, but I will let you know that your friend is the one who is mad, not me."
He continued to speak to the group, not moving a muscle as he told them the story. "Terra's pleasure comes from death. But you would have stopped her if you knew, so she played the part of the poor misunderstood heroine, leading you to believe she wanted to gain control. What fools you were. I'm disappointed in you most of all, Robin. Surely you must have figured it out. But I digress. She would have killed you all, had I not intervened. But Beast Boy stopped me from finishing her off. I would return to the Tower post-haste. She might have finished off the changeling as it is."
Robin clenched his teeth. What Slade had said was probable, but it couldn't be true. Terra wouldn't harm Beast Boy... would she?
He turned his back to Slade. "Come on, we have to make sure."
The others stared in shock. "Robin? You actually..."
"No, but I wouldn't put it past her. She may be trusted by Beast Boy, but the past cannot be forgotten."
"What about your past?" Starfire inquired him, her voice blank as she reminded him of his time with Slade.
"He would have killed you if I hadn't. There's no motivation for Terra to work for him. She went of her own free will, I didn't. We have to check it out."
He looked to Slade. "I don't care if your right or not, we will be back, and we will end this once and for all."
"I look forward to it Robin. But I would hurry back. She might be done already."
Pushing a button on the console, the alarm stopped, and the door to the exit opened. "I would stop staring and leave, if I were you."
Robin led the Titans out of the building, and they met no robots on the way back. Exiting into the night, they all ran as fast as they could back to Titans Tower, seeing the logic in Robin's words.
As Titans Tower came into view, Robin swore that Terra would pay tenfold for every scratch he found on the changeling.
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Whew. Finally done. Over 7,000 words on Microsoft, and hopefully no words were lost during the upload. I won't explain Robin's reasoning, as I think the story tells all you need to know. 'Til next chapter.