:: Sorry if there might be slight continuity errors. As usual, I don't own any of these guys. If I did, you'd have to worship me...BWAHAHAHAHA! cough Okay, read and review and enjoy! ::
-Awakenings-
-Chapter 5-
"In public, you can't call me Static; you've got to call me Virgil." Static warned as he approached the house. "And Gear here is Ritchie."
"Alright." I nodded as we entered the house. His sister was in the kitchen cooking.
"Aw man, Sharon, why do you have to cook tonight?" Static complained
"Because if I don't do it, nobody will." Sharon shot right back.
"Fine, whatever. We'll be upstairs if you need us." Static ushered me upstairs.
"Who's that with you?" Sharon asked. I stopped, went back and introduced myself.
"I'm Terra. I'm lost and your brother and his friend offered to help me find my way home." I smiled.
"You're awfully trusting for a little kid." Sharon said with a dissenting tone.
"I always manage to pick the right people to help me." I said, turning back around.
"Are you lost often?" Sharon wondered.
"I just have a bad sense of direction." I shrugged and hopped back upstairs with Static and Gear.
In his room, we booted up the computer. And left the door open so Sharon or Static's father wouldn't get upset.
"So you need to get back to Gotham, huh?" Gear mumbled. "I'll look for a way we can get there without having to use the train or anything. I don't want to have to actually leave Dakota unless it's necessary. We still have to worry about our enemies."
"Okay." I said. I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out the Titans communicator. It beeped once. The signal was very weak, which wasn't very comforting. I was too far from Beast Boy and everyone at the Tower.
"I wonder what I did to get here." I mumbled, turning the device over. Gear looked over.
"May I?" He asked, reaching for the communicator.
"Sure." I shrugged, handing him the device. He fiddled for a few moments, and suddenly the beeping became louder. A light flashed in the far corner of the device.
"Now your signal is stronger, you might be able to get in touch with them." He handed the communicator back to me.
I pressed a button. "This is Terra, do you guys read me?"
----
Robin's communicator beeped and a fuzzy, crackling voice came through.
"Th- Terra, do you...read m-?" It was garbled and cracking, but it was Terra.
Beast Boy practically leapt for joy as he grabbed for his communicator and held down a button.
"Terra, this is Beast Boy. Where are you?" He said excitedly.
The Titans looked relieved that she was alright.
"She must have teleported herself somewhere else." Cyborg said, smiling. He was still inspecting the hole in the ground, but he was smiling.
"Dakota." Terra's voice cracked through then died.
----
"Dakota." I said, then the beeping stopped and the communicator died. "Damnit!" I swore.
"Died again?" Gear asked. "Sorry about that, I could only give you enough strength to get through maybe twice. Something really fried the circuits in there."
"Might have been when I got myself here. I built up my energy and borrowed some from the earth and let it go in a big bang sort of way." I shrugged and pocketed the communicator.
"Big bang?" Static questioned.
"Yeah, an explosion of energy all at once. I hope I got Slade." I said, leaning back on the bed.
"There was something here called the Big Bang that gave us our powers. It gave our enemies their powers too. We call them Bang Babies. Seemed to have stopped or slowed the gang wars though, all the important guys have banded together to take over the place." Static explained.
"Except that involved gas and not earth, Virgil." Gear said. "Sounds like it has nothing to do with us."
"Here we go, a greyhound bus runs right through to Gotham, but I guess you don't have money, do you Terra?" Static said.
"No, but I can go how I always go. I can walk back. Or, use the earth. I just need to get pointed in the right direction." I said.
"Hey guys and Terra, come eat!" Sharon called.
I got up with the other two, went down, and joined them for dinner. The food certainly was better than Starfire's. Static picked at his dinner and Gear ate what he had out of politeness. After everyone was deemed done, Static grudgingly helped clean up then we went back to his room.
"Terra, can I see your communicator again?" Gear asked, pulling out a tool kit.
"Um, sure." I said, handing him the round object again. He pried it open and fiddled around. It sparked a few times then came back to life.
"Whatever happened, you did a number on it, but here, this should be alright for now. When you get back to the city, it should be better. Rather like a cell phone, really." Gear said, handing it back. The screen was flashing again and making a beeping noise.
"Terra. Come in." A voice crackled over the device. It was Beast Boy again.
"I'm here." I replied. "I'm in Dakota."
"Alright. We're gonna send someone to get you. Robin is unsure as to how much of a network Slade has. We don't want to risk it." Beast Boy said. "I miss you." He said quietly.
"I miss you too. I guess my efforts didn't kill Slade, huh?" I asked. "And thank Raven for getting me down, it helped me out."
"No, but you did take out a chunk of the Tower." Beast Boy laughed. "And Raven says 'you're welcome'."
"Oops. I guess I don't know my own strength." I giggled.
"Yeah, so, Cyborg is gonna drive over to Dakota. Hang there for a few days." Beast Boy was trying to get back on track.
"But if even two of you leave, that makes the team weaker. I can just hoof it, or take a bus back to Gotham." I suggested. It was true; the team is what made the Titans so strong. They were all strong on their own, but together, they were a very formidable force.
"We'll get back to you, Terra. Take care of yourself." Robin said. "Over and out."
"Over and out." I repeated. I had gotten my hopes up of getting back to the Titans, and that hope had been crushed by terrible reality.
Slade was the reality. We didn't know how far Slade's network extended beyond the city. Slade was very powerful, even without the minions. It was possible that Slade's effect was in Dakota as well.
Using my powers to get back was out of the question.