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

(A/N): Outright character bashing is against my nature, but the only thing I hate more then a thief is a traitor. Terra is both.


Chapter 4

Broken Minds, Broken Bones

Instinctively she jerked in her sleep. Unable to move she jerked again. Still unconscious, her body fought the straps that held it. Her weak form pulled futility at the bindings, unable to even budge them. The instinctual fight and the pain she was inflicting on herself slowly pulled Terra awake. Her eyes ripped open to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling in a dim room. She pulled harder, still unable to move. Panic tore through her body, every fiber of her being tensing and fighting, trying to break free. Memories flashed through her head. Slade…that suit…couldn't stop…

Her head thrashed and her hands clenched, desperately trying to call on her powers, unable to do anything. Her head whipped to the side throwing her hair clear of her eyes. It revealed something that was familiar. Beast Boy…only different. Bigger, stronger…and his eyes…were so cold. She began to stop fighting as she stared at him. He watched her impassively, no concern crossing his features. Her field of view expanded and she saw the other titans standing near him. They were older, as if some horrible time machine had flung her a year into the future. Slowly memories collected themselves. The fight with Slade…she felt the pain of every blow he had struck, the horror of losing control of her own body. She remembered the volcano that had threatened to destroy the city. She had taken that power and…stopped it…somehow. Her memory was gone…she remembered nothing after the waves of magma.

Trying desperately to gain some sort of focus she started to make out voices coming from the others.

"…right to call us Cyborg. I'm sure we all want to find out what going on."

"Of course. Sorry I had to wake you four up, I'm sure you were all tired."

"Eh…we can sleep later. We need to take care of this now."

"I think Raven's rubbing off on you B. Turning down sleep, to work? Messing with my mind."

"Good thing you're only half computer. Might fry your logic circuits otherwise."

"Raven! Was that a joke?" Terra forced her eyes to focus on the speakers.

"Now who's rubbing off on who?" Raven's head turned sharply and stared directly at Terra, all traces of mirth gone. "She's awake." The others also turned serious and turned to face her.

Her voice was weak and uncertain as she spoke trying to bring any reason to what she saw. "Beast Boy? Is that you?"

Beast Boy cocked an eyebrow as he stared at her. She had recognized him yesterday…hadn't she? He thought back and compared himself to what he had looked like when he she had last seen him. He had to admit to himself that he had changed quite a bit. He stepped forward and nodded slowly. He looked down at the girl he had once thought he might love and began to wonder what had ever been attractive about her. "Yes Terra. It's me." She seemed to relax slightly as if reassured at his presence. "Why are you here?" He spoke in a cold, harsh voice. He wanted to make absolutely clear she had no friend in him right now. Terra visibly flinched at his tone. Raven's eyebrow rose in surprise at the severity of his countenance.

"I…I don't…I can't…I don't know." She had no idea how she had gotten there huh?

"Not good enough. Why are you here?" She shook her head in response.

"I don't know! I can't remember!" Beast Boy took a step back away from her.

"Uh-huh. Cyborg…blast her."

"What!" Terra and the other titans all yelled at once. Robin took a quick step forward.

"Beast Boy! I don't think-"

"Good. Don't think. She's a liar, a thief and a traitor. Either she can't remember of she won't talk. Either way…Cy…?" Cyborg looked helplessly at Robin. Their leader was too stunned to say anything else. Beast Boy was so cold… "Cyborg! Blast her! We trusted her once and she betrayed us. I won't let it happen again. Do it!" Cyborg's arm transformed and slowly began to rise, shaking.

"No! Please!" Terra began furiously trying to fight her way free but the steel bands were too strong. Trying to summon her powers a very light glow appeared on her hands. A band warped very slightly but nothing else. The glow faded as her body thrashed the small amount it could trying desperately to move, her survival instinct stronger than anything else. The hum of the cannon reaching maximum charge and her cries for help filled the room.

For one tense moment that stretched to infinity each person in the room was frozen. Robin's face was contorted, as he was unable to stop what was happening. Star's had a look of horror, but she was unwilling to interfere without Robin's word. Beast Boy looked dead. No hint of emotion crossed his eyes now. Cyborg held his aim steady though the rest of him shook violently, fighting between his friend's wishes and his own conscience. Terra was the picture of terror, the knowledge she was going to die permeating every part of her. Raven alone seemed immune to the time freezing effect. Gliding forward she put a hand on the cannon and pushed it down.

"No." Everyone turned to her, shocked. Beast Boy wheeled on her furious. She could feel the rage flowing off of him, twisting his actions. Drawing back her hand she slapped his hard enough to spin him around. Before he could recover she approached the bed and opened the primary restraints with her powers. She left the padded cuffs on Terra's wrists and ankles in place. Leaning very close to the girl her eyes flashed a terrible red. She spoke only loud enough to make sure Terra could hear her. "I don't know why I just spared your life. But if you put one foot wrong…I'll kill you myself." She rose and turned sharply away form the terrified girl. Taking several brisk steps she halted just before passing Robin. Never turning her head she spoke again. "No one deserves to die that way." She continued on out the door, an enraged Beast Boy following her.

Robin took a deep breath, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. He looked over to Cyborg who was shaking violently staring at his own hands. Starfire's hand brought his attention to the red head. "Robin…"

"Star…" He couldn't think he…he couldn't lead right now. "What…what should we do?" Starfire held him, for once worried at what she saw in his face.

"Perhaps…we should feed her?" He nodded slowly in agreement.

"Yes…take her…take her…" It was hard to form a coherent thought.

"I will take her to a guest room and find something for her to eat." He nodded again and she flew to the bed to remove the last restraints. Allowing Terra's battered form to lead she followed the girl to stumble out the door ahead of her toward the guest quarters. Unable to stabilize himself he approached Cyborg instead. He was still staring at his hands, shaking and mumbling to himself. His face rose slowly as Robin approached and set a hand on his shoulder. He was scared out of his mind.

"Cyborg?"

"I…I almost…I almost killed her, man! I was going to blow away someone who was completely helpless! I was going to fucking murder her!" He was becoming erratic. "How am I any different from those we hunt?"

"Cyborg! You didn't! You stopped, you didn't do it! That's the difference!" After several deep breaths Cyborg managed to stop shaking. "And I didn't try to stop you…or Beast Boy. Neither one of us behaved exactly as we should. But that doesn't make us criminals. It makes us human." Cyborg's mouth twinged just a little.

"The Boy Wonder admitting to being human?"

"It's in there somewhere."


Raven walked briskly through the hallways, not slowing for anything. She could hear Beast Boy stalking behind her and she had no intention of stopping until she reached her destination. The seething anger was still rolling off of Beast Boy, so strongly she could gauge how far behind he was by its intensity. Taking another turn she passed down a hallway and into the sliding doors of her room. Leaving them open long enough for Beast Boy to enter she came to an abrupt stop, spun around and waited.

"What the hell was that?" She had been expecting anger but he was on the edge of exploding at her. "Why the hell did you stop Cyborg?" She answered in the harshest voice she could find, trying to cut thorough the hate smack him back to reality.

"Because I care about you. And Cyborg. And I didn't want you to become murderers!" He stalked forward, somehow towering over her.

"You had no right! It wasn't your decision to make!" She drew her hand back to slap him again. This time his lighting reflexes caught her wrist before she could make contact. He held it roughly and actual fear crept across her features. "Why!" She pulled at her hand trying to free it; he wrenched it to the side in response.

"Aggh! Garfield let me go! You're hurting me!" Something about her tone and the look on her face managed to bore through the anger and cut strait through his heart. Releasing her arm as if burned he quickly shrank back horrified at what he was doing. His hand slowly extended toward her.

"Raven…I…I'm so sorry…I…" His actions and words over the last several minutes appeared in stark relief in his mind. His knees gave out under the crushing weight of what he had been doing. Had almost done. "God…I almost had Terra killed! I told Cyborg…and he was going to do it!" He looked up at her and then to the wrist she was rubbing and tears began to leak out the side of his eyes. He moved forward a few feet on his knees. "Did I…did I hurt you?"

Gently placing a hand under his chin she pulled him up to feet. "I think I'll live. Just glad to see you get some sense back."

"I…I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking."

"I don't think any of us are thinking particularly clearly right now. It must be hardest on you."

"I…I wanted so much to hate her. After the fight with Slade…I managed to suppress it, at least feel like it was gone. But when I saw her again…it just all came back…"

"It's okay. Now that you know about it, you can deal with it."

"Yeah…you sure I didn't hurt you?" She held up the wrist for him to examine.

"Want to kiss it and make it better?" He smiled wide and gently took her arm. He laid one gentle kiss on her wrist. The slight gasp this elicited brought a second and a third. He worked his way up her arm and her neck ending with a passionate kiss that held her lips for several moments. Just as her control was about to slip he pulled back and released her. Several deep breaths later she smiled at him. "Damn."

"I liked it to."


It was just after lunch when Terra entered the main room, escorted by Starfire. She was now dressed in a white shirt and dark blue jeans. She was guided to a seat at one end of the kitchen table. Robin sat at the other with Raven and Beast Boy on one side, Cyborg and Star on the other. Each of them watched her passively waiting for Robin to begin. Folding his hands his head rose and he stared directly at her.

"Why are you here?" A simple question that she had yet to actually answer. Looking lost she had no choice but to give the same answer.

"I don't know."

"Who sent you?"

"No one." He waited again before asking the next question.

"How did you get free?"

'"Free?"

"Yes, free. Last time I saw you, you were a statue."

"I…I was?" Pure shock showed on her face.

"You don't…remember?"

"No." She shook her head slowly…lost.

"Okay. What do you remember?" Each of them leaned forward now, wondering just what she would say.

"I…I remember waking up here. Before that…I was…fighting with Slade…trying to stop him." Memories were coming back to her…slowly. She could remember the month leading up to that, but those last few minutes…were incredibly fuzzy. "There was a volcano. It was going to destroy the city. I had to stop it. And I did…somehow. The next thing I remember is waking up here. And all of you had…changed. You're all…older." The last caught them off guard. Was she really unaware of the time that passed?

"Terra…you've been a statue for nearly eighteen months." Her face fell as her eyes widened.

"No…it's impossible."

"It's true. You have no idea how that state came to an end?" She could only shake her head, too stunned to speak. "Do you remember what you did before you turned on Slade?" Slowly she nodded, recognition of what he was asking clear on her face. "Then you understand why we can't trust you. You'll be secured in the guestroom until we decide who to turn you over to. You are to go nowhere in the tower unescorted. If you try to escape or use your powers…you may not live long enough to be imprisoned."

"I…I couldn't if I wanted to."

"What?"

"My…my powers. I can barely lift a pebble right now."

"Hmm. Well, at least the temptation won't be there then. Star? Could you take her back to her room? Cyborg will give you the lock code." The three of them rose and headed for the door. Allowing Terra to get a few shaky steps ahead Cyborg whispered to Starfire before returning to the table. Robin glanced at each of them in turn. "Well?"

"I don't think she's lying. She felt genuinely concerned. Scared, confused…but not deceptive."

"Thanks Raven. So…what do we do with her?" Cyborg shook his head as if trying to shake a puzzle together.

"Well…if she has lost most of her powers…then any random prison could hold her. On the other hand…if they come back…nothing could."

"Any idea why her powers are gone?"

"No…it could be a side effect of that chemical I recovered from her system. I'll start running tests to see if I can find out." He stood and headed for the door. After he left Beast Boy rose and stretched.

"Hey Raven. You want to hit the training room?"

"Might as well. I'm not going to be able to sleep right now." She rose as well and Robin was caught about to say something as they passed through the doors.

"Damn," the Boy Wonder said to the empty room, "now what am I going to do?" A few seconds later Starfire returned. "That'll do."


Raven and Beast Boy were practicing a routine that Robin had designed for them during one of his uber teamwork phases that he went through every few months. It focussed on the two of them taking on multiple opponents. The punching bags near the center of the room had felt the full effect of their practice. Raven flew in and delivered a lightning fast series of kicks to the top of the bag as a bull smashed the bottom. The bag spun wildly on its chain. As it slowed back to its normal position they disengaged and stood, looking over their handiwork.

Beast Boy took a deep breath and glanced over to her calming form. A very light glisten of sweat covered her pale skin. Stepping over to the shelves he grabbed a pair of water bottles and two towels. Handing one of each over he wiped of his face and took a long drink. Raven patted some of the sweat form her own face, sat on a nearby bench and took several sips of water. Beast Boy joined her to catch his breath.

"That was an awesome training session."

"Yes…it was far more…intricate than usual." A small smile broke across Raven's face.

"Well, that's about it for me. You?"

"Actually…I do need to get going on my emotional training again. The last few days haven't left me any room for it."

"Need a partner?"

"Couldn't hurt. Me that is. I make no promises for you."

"That is a risk I'm willing to take. So…what do I have to do?"

"Hm…well…I think I know just the emotion I need practice on."

"Cool. So what do you need from me?" She slid closer to him and caught his lips in a surprise kiss.

"Just be yourself."

"I like where this is going."


Verge stepped through the heavy metal doors to the inner sanctum of his master's stronghold. They slid shut behind him and cut off all light from the hallway. The only illumination in the room came from a single lamp suspended high in the darkness. It cast a pool of light in the center of the indistinct space. Within that light sat Slade, cross-legged and meditating upon a slightly raised circle of floor inscribed with a red glyph in what appeared to be blood. Sans his hat and coat the strong thing frame of Verge became apparent. Wearing slightly loose black cargo pants and a black T-shirt he kneeled before Slade, one fist to the ground. His long brown hair hung down hiding his face and green eyes.

"You summoned me master?" Slade rose smoothly to his feet and stared at the apprentice with his one good eye.

"Yes. At the request of my master. He wishes to give you a gift as he gave one to me." The glyph in the floor seemed to pulse at that moment, and the glyph on Slade's forehead resonated with the beat. He took two steps back to stand just within the shadow. "Step forward and receive your gift." Nodding in acceptance Verge rose and stepped to the center of the circle. He could feel warmth pulsing up from underneath him. He waited, unsure of what was about to happen. "This will be slightly more difficult since you are still alive."

Without warning his world became pain. Agony tore though his body, causing every bit to spasm and quake. He could no longer see beyond his eyes. He might have screamed, he might have wept. He didn't care. Through the blinding haze of pain a voice began to speak clearly in his mind. He knew it instantly for that of Trigon. He listened carefully through the agony, knowing he would only be told once and missing something could cost him far more than his life.

After what could have been an eternity or five seconds the pain disappeared and he collapsed to the cooling platform. Slowly his vision returned and he forced his body to rise. He could hear Slade's voice. "Excellent. With everything I've taught you and the gifts of out master we shall finish this world once and for all. Tell me…did the master happen to send me a message?" Slade turned and headed for the door, Verge fell in behind him.

"Yes." It had been one of the last things Trigon had commanded him before the link broke. "He said you have continued to serve him well."

"Excellent. I knew he would be pleased." Verge silently slid a long bladed knife from his sleeve.

"But the deal's off."


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