Disclaimer: I own no part of the Teen Titans or their associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N): Now…how to make it original.


Chapter 3

She Lost to the Gods

"Terra?"

Beast Boy, like the other titans, was frozen in place staring at the thin blond girl barely able to lift herself from the floor. She looked at them; confusion and desperation painted her face. "Help…" As if the effort had sapped the last of her strength she collapsed onto the ground unconscious. Beast Boy took several steps forward and knelt by her side. He rolled her onto her back and checked her pulse.

"She's still alive." Raven's voice cut in from the back in a harsh monotone, black energy encasing her hands.

"That can be changed. I vote we blast her." Beast Boy was slightly surprised that he didn't rush to counter that. But then…the thought had crossed his mind too.

"I second that." Cyborg's cannon powered up as he took aim. Starfire's hands rose slowly. She didn't want to attack someone so frail…but the pain of betrayal still sat in her heart. Energy charged around her fists forming two concentrated star bolts.

"I agree with Raven. We can not allow her to betray us again." Beast Boy rose and stepped away. Another time he would have tried to stop them, tried to protect her. In her final act she had been heroic. But every thing that had lead up to that was horrid. They all looked to Robin, waiting for his decision. Robin looked to Beast Boy, searching for any indication of what he wanted.

"Beast Boy?" The changeling turned his back on Terra and took several steps, stopping just before he passed the group.

"Whatever you decide Rob. Your call." His voice was cold and empty, his face expressionless. After careful consideration Robin turned to the others.

"No." He could feel the objections coming. "I know she's dangerous, I know what she did. I was there. Remember? But I won't order the execution of an unconscious person who literally collapsed through our door asking for help." Slowly, reluctantly, the others powered down their weaponry.

"Well…" said Cyborg, "if we aren't going to kill her, the only other option is to help her." Kneeling beside her gaunt frame he easily lifted her across his arms. The others followed silently as he carried her to the medical bay.

Half an hour later they were gathered around a scanner as Cyborg went over her condition and compared it with the scans from her time as a titan. Still wary of her presence they had strapped her to the table to restrict her movements. "She seems, perfectly normal…just very, very tired. She's only aged a few weeks from her most recent scan…and that was well over a year ago. As far as I can tell…it's Terra all right."

"Anything else Cyborg? Like a reason she's not a statue anymore?" Robin wanted to know everything he could. The last time Terra had been in the tower…it had ended ugly. Raven stood watch in a corner, hood up, and face covered. Beast Boy stood near her, staring at nothing.

"Maybe…" Starfire stood next to Robin, watching the pained expressions coming from the unconscious girl.

"Maybe what?"

"I found traces of a foreign substance in her system. I managed to get a complete chemical formula for it, but I have no idea what it does. I'll try to replicate some and find out, but for the meantime, it's possible that it's the reason she's back among the land of the living."

"Okay. So…what so we do now?"

"We wait. She needs rest. And when she wakes I would assume she'll be hungry."

"Well…someone's going to have to stay with her. No way in hell I'm leaving her unattended."

"I'll do it." Everyone turned as Beast Boy spoke.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea B."

"Seeing as I'm the only one that didn't want to kill her…I think it's the only idea." Raven nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay too. Worst case we can pin her down long enough for you three to get here."

"Agreed. Call us at the first sign of trouble." They nodded and the other three made their way out headed for the common room. Raven and Beast Boy each grabbed a chair and sat near the wall, waiting.


Raven took another sip of tea as Beast Boy finished his last veggie burger. Cyborg had brought them a late dinner while they stayed on guard duty. Robin and Star had turned in early to get some rest before taking over the watch at midnight. Terra's condition was unchanged. She hadn't stirred in nine hours. Raven had tried to meditate a few times but couldn't seem to commit to it. Something else was on her mind. So she sat, quietly reading, or at least, appearing to read. She had expected Beast Boy to get antsy quickly but to her surprise he was still sitting absolutely still, watching the unconscious girl. He seemed to be lost in deep thought, as if wrestling with a problem of galactic magnitude. Normally she enjoyed silence, but this was actually becoming disturbing. Seeing no other course of action she finished the tea and set the cup aside.

"So…what's on your mind?" Beast Boy didn't respond, he was still in his own world. "Beast Boy? Beast Boy. Garfield." That caused his head to snap up and he turned to her.

"Huh? What? Oh…sorry Raven. What…what did you say?"

"I…was wondering what's on your mind. You okay?"

"Uh…yeah…I'm just a little…shaken." She nodded in understanding. "I just…I thought she was gone forever. I was sure of it…and then she just turns up on our doorstep. Where has she been, what's she been doing? How did she become…alive again? I don't know if I should be happy, relieved…or scared."

"I saw how much it hurt you when she turned. I wanted to say something…but I was in my own little world of hate. Losing her must have been horrible on you."

"She was like nothing I've ever seen. Bright, cheerful, outgoing…she lit up a room just by being there…"

"Everything I'm not." Raven spoke before she realized it and wished she could take the words back. At all costs she had wanted to avoid a comparison. She didn't want to put him in that position or risk the answer.

He considered that for a moment, Raven was too paralyzed to take it back. "Yes. That's true. You don't light up a room. You bathe it in a dark beauty that entices and seduces. She was also a liar and a traitor." He turned and took her hand in both of his, staring deeply into her eyes, as if looking straight into her soul, locking eyes with Fear to calm her. "You are nothing like Terra. And that's why I love you Raven, and not her. Now…and forever." A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she felt the anxiety that had been building in her for the last several hours melt away in a heartbeat.

Beast Boy leaned closer in and kissed her gently. The kiss deepened, the world melted away, she felt her self giving in to him, wanting to be closer. With sudden force she clamped down on Love. He could feel her tense and he knew the reason. Accepting what he had to, he pulled back, brushing her cheek gently. She was cool again, serene. Calming the rising fire within himself he leaned back, pulled his chair closer and sat again, still holding her hand.

"That's good to know."

"So…anything else?" Beast cocked his eyebrow, inviting anything she might want to say.

"Well…what are we going to do when she wakes up?"

"I've been wondering the same thing. I don't think we can trust her again, not after last time. But she did come to us for help. How would it look if the Titans threw someone out of their tower that came to them for help?"

"Responsible? She did nearly destroy the city after all."

"Yeah. But in the end, she did save it. And destroy Slade."

"For all the good that did."

"We had no way to know your father would bring him back." Raven's face darkened at the mention of her father. Though Robin was unconvinced, She knew that was how Slade had returned. Brought back as his…vanguard.

"True. At the time, it was easy to let that act override the thought of everything else she had done. But now…looking back…did she really deserve that plaque?"

"She did good things to protect the city as a member of the team."

"Yeah. But in one day she undid all of that." Raven's voice was icy now, her eyes intense. "She should be in jail. Or the ground." Beast Boy was unable to argue with this line of thinking. Though the pain of her betrayal had dimmed he could still feel it. The fact Slade had been controlling her barely mitigated her final attempts to destroy them.

"We'll just have to wait and see."


Cyborg cracked his neck and took another sip of water. Setting the glass down on the workbench he got back to the schematics on his computer screen. Back when Terra had first turned he had started work on a way to control her power. After her fossilization the work had been dropped, only being drug up now and again when he was incredibly bored. It was one of several files locked away on a removable disk he usually kept on his person, protected by an unhackable random 2048 bit encryption key. He didn't like the fact that he was designing ways specifically to stop and defeat his own teammates…but after the first rumor that Superman had gone rogue, he felt it was his duty.

He had even developed ways to defeat himself. The thing was he had eliminated those weaknesses as he found them. He looked from the screen schematics to the work in front of him. In appearance they were two wide steel bracelets that would fit over her wrists. Incorporating some of the disruptive processes of a number of things in the evidence room, they might be capable of restricting Terra's powers. If they worked. He really hoped he wouldn't have to find out.

Ejecting the disk he returned it to its hiding place, stood and stretched. The bracelets he placed in a hidden wall safe. Before he closed it he looked over the sword and armor that rested there. Picking up the champion's sword he drew it and once again admired the craftsmanship. He could remember every moment of his foray into the past. He wondered what Sarasim and the others had done after they had won. He had enjoyed much of that time. But his place was here. Sheathing the sword he set it back on its mount and closed the panel.

Turning back to the worktable he picked up a thinner steel bracelet and checked it over. It had a built in locator that would keep track of her should Robin decide to let her move as she wished. Robin…and Starfire. He had been wondering if those two would ever get around to getting together. Unless he much mistaken they had gone rather farther than he expected. Well, Robin was level headed enough to know what he was doing and Star…was Star. And speaking of couples…Beast Boy and Raven? Where had that come from? In the process of shaking his head he noticed a small light blinking near the com screen. A silent call? Sitting down he activated the screen. A half-awake Bumble Bee dressed in what appeared to be black and yellow striped pajamas appeared.

"Did I wake you?"

"Hey Bee. Naw…I was just…working on some stuff. Isn't it like two in the morning there?" She nodded drowsily.

"Yeah…couldn't sleep. Thought I might call and say hi. So hi."

"Never figured you for an insomniac."

"I'm not. But sometimes it's the only quiet moment I can get around here. Living with four teenage guys can get a little nuts."

"I imagine."

"Speaking of which…sorry about the way they behaved. I am the leader, I should be able to control them better."

"Don't worry about it. Leading them at home isn't nearly as important as being able to lead them in battle. Best just to let them blow off steam while they can."

"I suppose. I was kind of hoping we could spend some time together though."

"Maybe next time. No, definitely next time."

"I'll hold you to that. So…anything new in your neck of the woods?"

"Well…Terra showed up on our doorstep this morning." Bumble Bee actually looked awake for a minute as she processed this.

"Terra? As in joined the Titans, betrayed the Titans, working for Slade, now a statue Terra?"

"The same."

"Uh…"

"To any question you might have, I don't know. She literally fell through the doors when we opened them and only managed to ask for help before passing out. She's been asleep in the medical bay ever since."

"Please tell me she's secured and guarded."

"Of course. We're not taking any chances."

"Good. So, what else has been going on? Rob and Star get together?"


Robin stretched on the edge of the bed and straightened his cape as Starfire stirred behind him. Four hours sleep had done wonders but they were scheduled to relieve Raven and Beast Boy in half an hour. Leaning back he gently kissed the red headed alien to wake her. Joining the kiss a moment later her eyes fluttered open. He pulled back and looked at her, smiling. "Time to get up."

"Okay." She responded still staring deep into his bright blue eyes. Eyes that seemed to glow even in the near total darkness of her room.

Robin stood and stretched, replacing the only part of his uniform he had taken off, his mask. He had been surprised at finding out that one of her requests had been that he take it off when they were alone together and clear of the others. He had acquiesced after only a moment. But now they had work to do. Starfire floated out of bed and stretched as well.

"Robin…do you believe Terra can be trusted?" He turned, shaking his head.

"I don't know Star. Part of me wants to believe, despite everything she's done." She floated closer to where he was and looked into his masked eyes.

"Perhaps I am not the only one that tries to see the good in people." He smiled at her and embraced her slender form.

"Maybe not." He gently took her hand and they headed for the door. "I bet Raven and Beast Boy will be glad to get some sleep. They both looked tired this morning."


(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.