"Thank you," Slade began, glaring emotionlessly at Beast Boy, "for reviving my dear apprentice. No doubt, she will be more usefull to me now." Terra, who was sleeping peacefully, woke up.
"Beast Boy... put me down.", she said, sleepily.
"Terra! Slade, you bastard!" Beast Boy screamed.
Robin, Starfire, and Raven appeared in the doorway.
"Put her down, Slade." Robin said, coldly.
"Well, it does appear that I am outnumbered. I should best be going now." Slade said. With one fell swoop, he threw Terra out the window.
"Terra!" Beast Boy shouted. He lunged at Slade, but Slade kicked him aside.
"Farewell for now. Just remember that any time I want the girl, I can have her." Slade said, before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
Everyone ran to the window. Terra was safe, laying in Cyborg's arms. Cyborg gave everyone a thumbs-up, then headed back inside the tower.
"Alright, that was a little too close." Robin said when everyone appeared in the living room. Beast Boy had put Terra back to sleep, and was now intently listening to what Robin had to say. "Slade's crafty. He could strike at any moment. He could create a distraction for us, and take Terra."
"She's making things hard for us." Raven interjected.
"Not really." Robin started, "We need to leave three of us behind every time we go out to do something, or go out on a mission while Terra is incapacitated. Given her history, she might be likely to attack us. However, due to her constant tired state, she won't. We have to make sure that no one breaks in and makes any.... suggestions to her."
"Right now, her worst enemy is herself." Cyborg replied.
"When will she apologize to us, so that we may start the bonds of friendship anew?" Starfire questioned.
"Soon, Star." Beast Boy replied, "But not tonight."
Terra opened her eyes. Darkness. She painfully rolled herself over, so that she could look at the time. 4:00 A.M. What had woken her up? She couldn't move her legs, but.... her arms worked. Beast Boy sat there, sleeping. She remembered something. The sound of wind rushing up against her ears. Nothing she could steady herself against. She had been jumping? No, falling..... falling out the window. She had heard their anguished cries, but they had not jostled her from her restfullness. Then, she landed, but she was not hurt. She had been saved by the very people she had betrayed.
When Beast Boy woke up, Terra was turned towards him. She was asleep. Her pillow was wet, and she was smiling."Terra? Time to wake up.", Beast Boy said, softly nudging her shoulder. "Come on, Terra. Wake up." Beast Boy began to shake her, softly at first, but then harder. "Terra!", he shouted, wishing, hoping that she would open her eyes and that she would be fine. He was just about to call the others, but then he heard a cough, followed by what sort of sounded like a low growl. Terra's face grew red, and she began coughing hard. Terra's eyes shot open, and she began to calm down. The coughing slowed down, and then stopped completely, and her face returned to it's normal colour. She winced in pain as she sat up and ripped something off her neck, drawing blood. What she held in her hand was a mechanical spider, with razor sharp claws that could embed themselves in a person's skin in a moment. Angrily, Terra crushed the spider with her hand, and threw it on the floor.
"Terra? Are you alright now?" Beast Boy asked softly, as not to startle her. Terra turned to face him, teeth clenched and hands turned into fists. The look of concern that Beast Boy had on his face convinced her to drop her hands limply to her sides, and to close her mouth. Fresh red blood dripped down her neck. Fighting back tears, she lunged at Beast Boy, grabbing his midsection in a loving embrace. Smiling, Beast Boy scooped her up in his arms and left the room.
Beast Boy brought Terra to the living room, where the other titans were waiting. Beast Boy lay Terra down on an empty couch, and joined the other titans.
"Guys, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Beast Boy asked. They all complied. They moved to the kitchen, and Beast Boy went on to tell the titans of what happened minutes before. When Beast Boy finished explaining what had happened, Robin drove his fist down on the table.
"Damn, that's just like Slade. Wait until no one stands a chance, and then strike." He said.
"But how did Terra know of this nerve-manipulating spider?" Starfire asked curiously.
"She was being controlled. Controlled by some wily bastard who would rather see her dead than try to brainwash her again." Beast Boy shot back furiously.
"Beast Boy, she betrayed us, remember? Slade had nothing to do with it." Raven interjected. Beast Boy sighed.
"I guess you're right." He said, "But Terra was confused and lonely. What would you have done had it been you and not her?"
Raven blushed at the question. "I guess I really can't say." She said, sympathetically.
"And the rest of you. Could you say that you would have done the same?" Beast Boy asked. "What we have here is a lonely girl, who's inabilty to fully control her powers often left her without a home or friends. Slade promised to make everything right for her if she betrayed us. She was confused, and made the wrong decision. I say she deserves another chance."
"But how do we know she won't go back to Slade?" Cyborg questioned.
"She's already apologized to me. She wants to apologize to you guys, too, but there hasn't been an oppertunity yet. I say you should hear her out, and make what you think is the right desicion." Beast Boy replied.
"I guess we don't really have a choice." Robin said.
"Well, actually we do. We could completely stop caring about her and abandon her right now. It would probably clear a few of your conciouses, but she would probably just go back to Slade. We have to show her that she should be able to trust us, and that we have to trust her." Beast Boy replied, angrily.
"BB, calm down." Cyborg replied. "Let's do this."
Everyone went back over. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven sat on a couch on one side of the table. Beast Boy sat Terra up and sat next to her on the other.
"Terra," Robin started, "we've been told that you have something to say." Terra smiled.
"I do." She replied, softly. "My name is Terra. I made the wrong decision and betrayed the Teen Titans. I couldn't control my powers, and I went to the one man who promised he could help me. He was evil, and has since tried to kill me. I sent myself to a rocky grave so I could defeat him. The Teen Titans brought me back to life. They've clothed me and protected me, even though I'd betrayed them. I now see that the actions I made were wrong, and I have everything to regret." At this point, Terra's voice started breaking, and tears welled up in her eyes. "The Teen Titans may do as they will with my treacherous self, but I hope that they will give me another chance to redeem myself for all the bad I've done. My name is Terra, and I'm a traitor. My name is Terra, and I'm truly sorry." She then buried her face in Beast Boy's shoulder. He began to cry, as well.
"Are you guys happy now?" He asked. He then noticed that everyone else was crying too.
"That was beautiful...." Starfire softly said.
The titans on the opposite couch all stood up. They came over to where Terra was crying, and hugged her.
Beast Boy woke up. There was something wrapped around his neck. Tight at first, but getting looser. He looked over and saw Terra. Her hair was covering most of her face, and her teeth were clenched. She was strangling him! "Terra...." He said. He pushed her hair out of her face, only to see that there were two spiders sticking out of her temple. She wore on her face a look of pain. Her eyes were closed tightly, as if she was having a bad dream.
"Beast Boy......." Terra growled. "Hard..... to fight. Get Cyborg to...... remove from... brain tissue." Her grip began to tighten again. Beast Boy ripped back the blankets of the bed and picked her up. Terra's grip loosened almost completely, and Beast Boy had to bend down to support her back. Then, as he saw, from under the bed came more spiders. Dozens of them. He began to dash from the room, but not before activating the distress signal.
He met up with the other titans a little way down the hall. Spiders closed in on them from both directions. Thinking quickly, Raven put up a shield around them, so that the spiders could not get in.
"Slade must want Terra a lot to flood the entire tower with probes." Robin observed.
"Gee, you think?" Raven replied, sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was explaining to Cyborg what Terra had asked him to do. When Beast Boy was finished, Cyborg nodded.
"It's a delicate procedure." Cyborg said, "But I should be able to do it without hurting her. What we need to do is to get the probes to let go of her nerves. Think you can get her to fight them long enough?" Beast Boy nodded.
"Terra, it's Beast Boy. I know you can hear me. I need you to fight it, Terra. Fight it with all your strength. We just need a minute." Beast Boy said to Terra, full of hope. Terra leaned her head back, and her hair fell away from her face.
"Alright, Beast Boy, I'm in control. But not for.... long." Terra growled, a look of severe pain on her face. Beast Boy lay her on the floor, and Cyborg carefully pulled one of the probes out of her skin, not making any quick movements. Terra yelped and winced in pain, drawing attention from the other titans. Her eyes shot open, and she began to breathe heavily.
"She's going into shock, man. Try and stall her for just a few more seconds." Cyborg said frantically.
"Terra, come on, fight it!" Beast Boy urged, "It's almost over." Cyborg quickly removed the last probe, drawing a little blood. Terra gasped, and stopped breathing. Then, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she closed them.
"No, Terra!" Beast Boy screamed, tears streaming down his face, "Don't die on me! Dammit, don't die!"
"It is too late, Beast Boy." Starfire said, "She is gone."
"No!" Beast Boy screamed, driving his fist into the floor, "You lie! You lie...."
Everyone fell silent. Beast Boy bit his lip, tears in his eyes. He held his face in his hands, just above where Terra's body lay. There was a sound, though. A repetitive sound that seemed to echo. Full of hope, Beast Boy leaned his ear against Terra's chest.
"Beast Boy," Raven began, "what are you -"
"Be quiet." Beast Boy replied. He confirmed what he believed when the sound was amplified closer to Terra.
"She's still alive...." Beast Boy said, his voice breaking. "Her heart. It's still beating..."
"Are you sure you're not just being delusional?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy shook his head.
"Well, whether she's alive or not, we have a bit of a problem here." Robin reminded everyone, nodding to outside the shield where hundreds of probes were waiting.
"Just wait a damn minute, will you?" Beast Boy replied. He touched Terra's throat. "We have a pulse." He said, with some relief. "Dammit, Terra, breathe. Please breathe." Beast Boy pressed down on her chest. Terra coughed hard. She gasped for air. She clenched her teeth and her eyes tightened shut.
"Wait a minute. Look." Starfire pointed. The probes began to explode, as if some force was trying to break out from the inside. As the last of them exploded, Terra opened her eyes, and saw Beast Boy crouched over her. She slowly opened her mouth, and softly said,
"I don't want to die."
"Beast Boy... put me down.", she said, sleepily.
"Terra! Slade, you bastard!" Beast Boy screamed.
Robin, Starfire, and Raven appeared in the doorway.
"Put her down, Slade." Robin said, coldly.
"Well, it does appear that I am outnumbered. I should best be going now." Slade said. With one fell swoop, he threw Terra out the window.
"Terra!" Beast Boy shouted. He lunged at Slade, but Slade kicked him aside.
"Farewell for now. Just remember that any time I want the girl, I can have her." Slade said, before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
Everyone ran to the window. Terra was safe, laying in Cyborg's arms. Cyborg gave everyone a thumbs-up, then headed back inside the tower.
"Alright, that was a little too close." Robin said when everyone appeared in the living room. Beast Boy had put Terra back to sleep, and was now intently listening to what Robin had to say. "Slade's crafty. He could strike at any moment. He could create a distraction for us, and take Terra."
"She's making things hard for us." Raven interjected.
"Not really." Robin started, "We need to leave three of us behind every time we go out to do something, or go out on a mission while Terra is incapacitated. Given her history, she might be likely to attack us. However, due to her constant tired state, she won't. We have to make sure that no one breaks in and makes any.... suggestions to her."
"Right now, her worst enemy is herself." Cyborg replied.
"When will she apologize to us, so that we may start the bonds of friendship anew?" Starfire questioned.
"Soon, Star." Beast Boy replied, "But not tonight."
Terra opened her eyes. Darkness. She painfully rolled herself over, so that she could look at the time. 4:00 A.M. What had woken her up? She couldn't move her legs, but.... her arms worked. Beast Boy sat there, sleeping. She remembered something. The sound of wind rushing up against her ears. Nothing she could steady herself against. She had been jumping? No, falling..... falling out the window. She had heard their anguished cries, but they had not jostled her from her restfullness. Then, she landed, but she was not hurt. She had been saved by the very people she had betrayed.
When Beast Boy woke up, Terra was turned towards him. She was asleep. Her pillow was wet, and she was smiling."Terra? Time to wake up.", Beast Boy said, softly nudging her shoulder. "Come on, Terra. Wake up." Beast Boy began to shake her, softly at first, but then harder. "Terra!", he shouted, wishing, hoping that she would open her eyes and that she would be fine. He was just about to call the others, but then he heard a cough, followed by what sort of sounded like a low growl. Terra's face grew red, and she began coughing hard. Terra's eyes shot open, and she began to calm down. The coughing slowed down, and then stopped completely, and her face returned to it's normal colour. She winced in pain as she sat up and ripped something off her neck, drawing blood. What she held in her hand was a mechanical spider, with razor sharp claws that could embed themselves in a person's skin in a moment. Angrily, Terra crushed the spider with her hand, and threw it on the floor.
"Terra? Are you alright now?" Beast Boy asked softly, as not to startle her. Terra turned to face him, teeth clenched and hands turned into fists. The look of concern that Beast Boy had on his face convinced her to drop her hands limply to her sides, and to close her mouth. Fresh red blood dripped down her neck. Fighting back tears, she lunged at Beast Boy, grabbing his midsection in a loving embrace. Smiling, Beast Boy scooped her up in his arms and left the room.
Beast Boy brought Terra to the living room, where the other titans were waiting. Beast Boy lay Terra down on an empty couch, and joined the other titans.
"Guys, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Beast Boy asked. They all complied. They moved to the kitchen, and Beast Boy went on to tell the titans of what happened minutes before. When Beast Boy finished explaining what had happened, Robin drove his fist down on the table.
"Damn, that's just like Slade. Wait until no one stands a chance, and then strike." He said.
"But how did Terra know of this nerve-manipulating spider?" Starfire asked curiously.
"She was being controlled. Controlled by some wily bastard who would rather see her dead than try to brainwash her again." Beast Boy shot back furiously.
"Beast Boy, she betrayed us, remember? Slade had nothing to do with it." Raven interjected. Beast Boy sighed.
"I guess you're right." He said, "But Terra was confused and lonely. What would you have done had it been you and not her?"
Raven blushed at the question. "I guess I really can't say." She said, sympathetically.
"And the rest of you. Could you say that you would have done the same?" Beast Boy asked. "What we have here is a lonely girl, who's inabilty to fully control her powers often left her without a home or friends. Slade promised to make everything right for her if she betrayed us. She was confused, and made the wrong decision. I say she deserves another chance."
"But how do we know she won't go back to Slade?" Cyborg questioned.
"She's already apologized to me. She wants to apologize to you guys, too, but there hasn't been an oppertunity yet. I say you should hear her out, and make what you think is the right desicion." Beast Boy replied.
"I guess we don't really have a choice." Robin said.
"Well, actually we do. We could completely stop caring about her and abandon her right now. It would probably clear a few of your conciouses, but she would probably just go back to Slade. We have to show her that she should be able to trust us, and that we have to trust her." Beast Boy replied, angrily.
"BB, calm down." Cyborg replied. "Let's do this."
Everyone went back over. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven sat on a couch on one side of the table. Beast Boy sat Terra up and sat next to her on the other.
"Terra," Robin started, "we've been told that you have something to say." Terra smiled.
"I do." She replied, softly. "My name is Terra. I made the wrong decision and betrayed the Teen Titans. I couldn't control my powers, and I went to the one man who promised he could help me. He was evil, and has since tried to kill me. I sent myself to a rocky grave so I could defeat him. The Teen Titans brought me back to life. They've clothed me and protected me, even though I'd betrayed them. I now see that the actions I made were wrong, and I have everything to regret." At this point, Terra's voice started breaking, and tears welled up in her eyes. "The Teen Titans may do as they will with my treacherous self, but I hope that they will give me another chance to redeem myself for all the bad I've done. My name is Terra, and I'm a traitor. My name is Terra, and I'm truly sorry." She then buried her face in Beast Boy's shoulder. He began to cry, as well.
"Are you guys happy now?" He asked. He then noticed that everyone else was crying too.
"That was beautiful...." Starfire softly said.
The titans on the opposite couch all stood up. They came over to where Terra was crying, and hugged her.
Beast Boy woke up. There was something wrapped around his neck. Tight at first, but getting looser. He looked over and saw Terra. Her hair was covering most of her face, and her teeth were clenched. She was strangling him! "Terra...." He said. He pushed her hair out of her face, only to see that there were two spiders sticking out of her temple. She wore on her face a look of pain. Her eyes were closed tightly, as if she was having a bad dream.
"Beast Boy......." Terra growled. "Hard..... to fight. Get Cyborg to...... remove from... brain tissue." Her grip began to tighten again. Beast Boy ripped back the blankets of the bed and picked her up. Terra's grip loosened almost completely, and Beast Boy had to bend down to support her back. Then, as he saw, from under the bed came more spiders. Dozens of them. He began to dash from the room, but not before activating the distress signal.
He met up with the other titans a little way down the hall. Spiders closed in on them from both directions. Thinking quickly, Raven put up a shield around them, so that the spiders could not get in.
"Slade must want Terra a lot to flood the entire tower with probes." Robin observed.
"Gee, you think?" Raven replied, sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was explaining to Cyborg what Terra had asked him to do. When Beast Boy was finished, Cyborg nodded.
"It's a delicate procedure." Cyborg said, "But I should be able to do it without hurting her. What we need to do is to get the probes to let go of her nerves. Think you can get her to fight them long enough?" Beast Boy nodded.
"Terra, it's Beast Boy. I know you can hear me. I need you to fight it, Terra. Fight it with all your strength. We just need a minute." Beast Boy said to Terra, full of hope. Terra leaned her head back, and her hair fell away from her face.
"Alright, Beast Boy, I'm in control. But not for.... long." Terra growled, a look of severe pain on her face. Beast Boy lay her on the floor, and Cyborg carefully pulled one of the probes out of her skin, not making any quick movements. Terra yelped and winced in pain, drawing attention from the other titans. Her eyes shot open, and she began to breathe heavily.
"She's going into shock, man. Try and stall her for just a few more seconds." Cyborg said frantically.
"Terra, come on, fight it!" Beast Boy urged, "It's almost over." Cyborg quickly removed the last probe, drawing a little blood. Terra gasped, and stopped breathing. Then, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she closed them.
"No, Terra!" Beast Boy screamed, tears streaming down his face, "Don't die on me! Dammit, don't die!"
"It is too late, Beast Boy." Starfire said, "She is gone."
"No!" Beast Boy screamed, driving his fist into the floor, "You lie! You lie...."
Everyone fell silent. Beast Boy bit his lip, tears in his eyes. He held his face in his hands, just above where Terra's body lay. There was a sound, though. A repetitive sound that seemed to echo. Full of hope, Beast Boy leaned his ear against Terra's chest.
"Beast Boy," Raven began, "what are you -"
"Be quiet." Beast Boy replied. He confirmed what he believed when the sound was amplified closer to Terra.
"She's still alive...." Beast Boy said, his voice breaking. "Her heart. It's still beating..."
"Are you sure you're not just being delusional?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy shook his head.
"Well, whether she's alive or not, we have a bit of a problem here." Robin reminded everyone, nodding to outside the shield where hundreds of probes were waiting.
"Just wait a damn minute, will you?" Beast Boy replied. He touched Terra's throat. "We have a pulse." He said, with some relief. "Dammit, Terra, breathe. Please breathe." Beast Boy pressed down on her chest. Terra coughed hard. She gasped for air. She clenched her teeth and her eyes tightened shut.
"Wait a minute. Look." Starfire pointed. The probes began to explode, as if some force was trying to break out from the inside. As the last of them exploded, Terra opened her eyes, and saw Beast Boy crouched over her. She slowly opened her mouth, and softly said,
"I don't want to die."