Clash of the Titans by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
ACT TWO
Chapter 8
"HAH!"
From both her hands and both her eyes, Starfire shot streams of fiery green energy at the Earth Titan's two tiny heads, their glow lighting up the quarry. Cyborg added to the assault with his sonic cannon, smothering the monster's short, stubby legs in blue lightning. And Robin topped it off with a fan of explosive birdarangs, pelting the creature's middle with the miniature bombs.
For all the damage it did, they might as well have been mosquito bites.
The Earth Titan shrugged the attack off with a mighty roar and hammered the ground with one foot, splitting the ground beneath the teens into a fissure. Robin and Cyborg leapt sideways while Starfire floated safely away, while the fissure ripped onward, passing beneath a bulldozer. The machine fell into the fresh rip in the Earth and stopped some fifty feet down where it wedged between the walls.
"He's got to have a weak spot!" Robin insisted. "Star, try aiming for his eyes!"
Starfire nodded and flew upward to meet the Titan head-on. The monster swung two massive hands forward at frightening speed, trying to sandwich the Tamaranian, but she slipped through his grasp and fired a more precise blast at the creature's eyes. It let out a roar as the shot connected, but it was not a roar of pain; all she had succeeded at was making it angry. It raised a hand again and managed to grab Starfire around her middle, pinning her arms. It raised her high up above its head, roared again, and began to squeeze. Starfire pushed outward with her arms as hard as she could manage in her position, but even her Tamaranian strength was no match for the Earth Titan's crushing grip, and her consciousness was quickly leaving her…
"HANG ON, STAR!" Robin shouted. He whipped out a grappling hook and fired; it looped around and caught on the shoulder of the arm holding Starfire. He reeled himself up and onto the Earth Titan, whipping out another explosive – a much, much stronger one this time – and slapped it on the creature's bicep. It latched on and emitted a loud, high-pitched series of beeps, and a counter began blinking backwards from five.
Robin dashed down the length of the monster's arm toward Starfire's limp form; the bomb exploded just as he reached her, completely severing the arm from the rest of the Earth Titan's body. The hand's grip on Starfire loosened enough for Robin to sweep her into his arms and leap away as the severed limb began to fall. He fired the grappling hook again, and it looped around the neck of a nearby crane. He swung to safety with Starfire over one shoulder, landing smoothly on the roof of the crane's driver compartment.
"You okay, Star?" Robin asked, cradling her head in one hand as she recovered.
"Mmm…" she moaned. "I have…seen better days…"
A resounding crash stole their attention; the Earth Titan's arm hit the ground and smashed into pieces all over the quarry, motionless.
"All right, that got him!" Robin exclaimed. "Now we know how to hurt him…Cyborg, get ready for another attack run! This time we'll…we'll…"
Robin trailed off and stared in awe as the fragments of the Earth Titan's arm suddenly began glowing with a dull yellow light. The pieces shuddered in place, and then, as though they were magnetized, the hunks of rock slid along the ground toward the monster's legs.
"What the hell…?" Cyborg muttered.
The shattered arm was literally absorbed into the body of the Earth Titan, gone without a trace; that is, until the stub where its arm used to be began to glow as well.
"Uh-oh…" Robin said, sensing what was coming next.
Sure enough, the broken rock reformed piece by piece until the monster's arm was restored to its original form. With another deafening roar its arms extended, shooting like pillars of solid rock at the Titans. Robin scooped Starfire into his arms again and leapt away from one pile-driving hand while Cyborg back-pedaled away from where the second struck the ground.
"We're not getting anywhere, Rob," Cyborg pointed out. "We can't last like this forever, and I don't think big-tall-and-ugly here is gonna be gettin' tired any time soon!"
"As unfortunate as it sounds, Cyborg is correct, Robin," Starfire said. "We cannot expect to fight this monster and win in our present situation."
"What should we do Rob?" Cyborg asked.
"The only thing we can do…"
Robin set Starfire down, pulled out his staff, and spun it between his fingers, glaring at the monster before him.
"…We fight anyway."
And without waiting for the other two, the Boy Wonder charged.
For the entire trip from Titans Tower to Slade's one-time lair where Terra's statue now stood, Beast Boy flew silently alongside Raven, stewing over everything in his head. How Raven had told him she could bring back Terra from her stone prison. How she was the key to stopping the Earth Titan rampaging through the city. How after more than six long, torturous months of being without her, the love of Beast Boy's life could walk the earth again. Every emotion he knew of, and some he didn't, ran through him at one time or another along the way. And by the time they had landed at their destination and Beast Boy could stay silent no more, it was simply their bad luck that at that moment, it just so happened to be anger that filled the changeling's heart.
"Malchior was telling the truth, wasn't he?" the green titan snarled as he resumed his elf form. "You've known how to free her for a long time now…ever since dragon boy first came along…haven't you?"
Raven refused to meet his eyes. That was answer enough.
"Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded. "Why did you let us go on thinking we couldn't bring her back? Why did you let her sit down here and rot all this time?"
"Terra betrayed us, Beast Boy!" Raven snapped, glaring at him. "She betrayed me, she betrayed you, she betrayed all of us! The only reason I'm freeing her now is because she's our only hope of stopping the Earth Titan. Otherwise she'd be staying right where she is. As far as I'm concerned she deserves to sit down here and rot for the rest of time!"
Beast Boy's arm shot out and grabbed Raven by the front of her cloak, yanking her forward until their faces were hardly an inch apart.
"THAT'S NOT YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE!" he shouted so loudly that his words echoed off the cave walls.
"You're touching me…" Raven growled.
Beast Boy shoved the dark girl away, hard enough so that she stumbled and fell backward to the cave floor.
"You think Terra deserves to be down here, fine," Beast Boy hissed. "But I don't. And I doubt Robin or Star or Cyborg think she deserves it either. You should've told us the truth, Raven! This is a human life; it's Terra's life. She was our friend. You can't condemn her like this all on your own! It's something we should all have decided on, together!"
Raven's own anger flared with a dull red aura of light. "Why? So you soft-hearted fools can set her free and lead her to betray us a second time? She's done it once, and she will do it again!"
"You don't know that!" Beast Boy countered. "You may think she's not worthy of trust anymore, Raven…but I knew her better than any of you, better even than Slade did, and I do believe we can trust her again. I believe she's changed. I believe she's sorry."
Raven breathed deeply, forcing her anger back down below the surface as she got to her feet. "Look, it doesn't matter any more. You win, okay? We need her help now, and in order to get it, we need her out of that statue. So get over here and help me."
Beast Boy took a calming breath of his own, and slowly followed the dark girl to the foot of the statue. He looked up at Terra's body; her arms were spread wide, her eyes to the ceiling, her face peaceful…serene…to him, she looked like an angel…
"A fallen angel," Raven murmured.
Beast Boy glared. "I wish you wouldn't do that."
"Not like I can help it," she countered. "Your mind isn't thinking about anything else right now. I couldn't block out your thoughts of her even if I tried. And I thought I told you to come over here and help me?"
Beast Boy moved next to Raven. "What do you need my help for?"
"Come here…" Raven pulled on Beast Boy's arms. With a flash of obsidian, the material of beast Boy's uniform around his arms shredded apart, exposing the green flesh beneath. She began muttering strange words under her breath and tracing her fingers in erratic patterns along the changeling's skin. As he watched, markings appeared where her fingers traced, adorning his skin like tattoos.
"What are these things?" he asked when she finished.
"Runes," she answered. "They mark you as one who holds a bond with the life that this spell is designed to revive. For the spell to work, I need someone with a strong connection to Terra, to help bring her back. Her consciousness is buried deep right now, physically and spiritually…if your connection with her is as strong as you think, you should work fine in helping her come back, if this works right."
Beast Boy started to nod along, but froze as he finished processing Raven's words. "What do you mean, IF this works?" he asked suspiciously.
Raven sighed. "There was…another reason I didn't try to revived her with this particular spell…"
"What reason?"
"It's not guaranteed to work. The better I can maintain control and the stronger the connection between her and whoever would help bring her consciousness back, the better the chances are of it succeeding. But if something goes wrong…if your connection with her isn't strong enough…or if I lose control…it could destroy her stone body completely."
"It…it could kill her?"
"Yes."
"No! Forget it!" Beast Boy shouted. "We're not going to risk killing her! No way!"
"It's our only chance, Beast Boy," Raven reminded him. "We don't have time to argue about this. Robin and the others are fighting the Earth Titan as we speak, and losing. Terra's the only one who can fight it. We have to try to bring her back."
"And what if we can't?" the changeling demanded. "What if this spell doesn't work? What if she dies, Raven?"
Raven shut her eyes, and when she answered, the changeling heard her voice tremble.
"Then the rest of the world won't be far behind."
Beast Boy had no response to that. He glanced back and forth between the two girls, as though weighing the risks…and the obvious choice became clear to him. "All right, then…let's do this."
Raven nodded. "Stand here," she pointed, "and face Terra. I want you to clear your mind of everything except her. Focus only on Terra."
"Shouldn't be too hard…" the jokester couldn't help but mutter.
Raven ignored the remark. "You're going to feel the runes I painted on your arms grow hot. Try to bear it. Remember, don't concern yourself with what I'm doing. Focus on Terra. Nothing else."
Beast Boy nodded. He'd already, in fact, begun to do just that.
Raven sat cross-legged directly behind the changeling and waved her hands. A circle of runes appeared around her, glowing a pale blue. She closed her eyes…a second later the green titan did too…
And with a sudden murmur of chanting from behind him and a rush of heat burning on his arms, Beast Boy's whole world changed.
Terra…I can feel you here…you're so close by…where are you…?
'…Beast…Boy…?'
Terra…I'm here for you…come back to me, Terra.
'Beast Boy…where are you? It…it's so dark…s-so c-cold…'
Fight it, Terra! Fight the cold! Fight the darkness! I can help you, Terra; I'm here to bring you back!
'Why…? Why would you…help me?'
Now's not the time, Terra, just trust me! Reach out, I'm here!
'…Trust…?'
Yes! Trust me, Terra! Come back!
'I…I can't…'
Yes you can!
'No…I…'
YES you can, Terra! I believe in you! I've always believed in you!
'…?'
Come back, Terra!
'I…can…'
YES! COME BACK, TERRA! COME BACK!
"COME BACK!"
The changeling was suddenly aware of himself again, and the burning runes along his arms were making his eye water with pain. A light wind was blowing, tracing circles around the three titans. Beast Boy stood his ground, burning and all, and kept his eyes locked on Terra. He had no idea what Raven had done to send him on that little mental field trip, and he had no idea what she was doing now, but he didn't care. Every ounce of his will was focused on Terra.
Crack-crack-crack!
Beast Boy gasped. A jagged split tore like a lightning bolt down the length of one of the earth maiden's arms. A second later another traced its way down her other arm…and another diagonally across her front.
"NO! TERRA!" Beast Boy shouted. "Raven, stop, it's going to break her apart!"
"I can't…it's too late…to stop…" she grunted through the strain. "But she's here…she's so close…keep focusing, Beast Boy…she's almost out!"
Beast Boy leapt up on the pedestal, his terrified green face inches from the stone mask of Terra's. "Don't die on me, Terra! We haven't come this far just to lose now! You hear me, Terra? COME BACK!"
CRACK!
The stone mask split, and for a second Beast Boy almost lost all hope…until the fresh crack began to glow with a familiar, pale-yellow light…
"Terra…?"
The glow traced its way down each of the existing cracks, growing stronger by the moment. The whole underground cavern suddenly stared shaking, causing loose rocks to tumble down the slope of the hard ground.
"Terra…!"
"Her power…it's waking up…we did it…" Raven whispered from right behind him.
"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Terra's scream was ringing in the changeling's ears, but he didn't care, she was waking up…she was coming back…
A sharp tug on the back of his shirt told him Raven had yanked him down off the ledge to take cover, and Beast Boy realized why a second later; with a massive flare of gold, chunks of stone exploded from the top of the pedestal in every direction, burying themselves in the walls and ceiling. Beast Boy leapt up and looked again, only to find that the statue was no longer there; in its place, cold, naked, and covered in dirt…was Terra; emerged from the stone like a butterfly from its cocoon.
Her sky-blue eyes sparkled for a bare moment as they found the beady black eyes of the changeling, before they drooped and closed.
"Unnh…Beast…Boy…"
She pitched forward, her consciousness gone; without even having to think about it Beast Boy stepped forward and caught her in his arms. He could feel her slow, steady breaths on his shoulder, the earthen scent of her hair and skin…it was her…she was really alive…in the flesh…
A little too literally, he suddenly realized.
He squeezed his eyes shut before he could see too much and gestured to Raven. "Do you, uh…think she could borrow your cloak for a bit?"
"Unnhh…fine…" Raven muttered. She swept the garment off in one fluid motion and tossed it over. Beast Boy caught it and laid it over Terra's shivering form and rubbed it over her arms, trying to warm her a little.
"We should get her back to the Tower…get her some clothes," Beast Boy said.
"Fine. But we can't waste too much time. The others are still fighting the Earth Titan, but they can't last forever. We have to get Terra there to help them."
Beast Boy nodded agreement. He quickly took on the form of a gorilla, lifted Terra's sleeping form, and cradled her in his arms like a child. And as he carried her back to the Tower, he found he had never been happier. The imminent battle with the Earth Titan seemed far away. Right then, it seemed to the changeling, all that mattered in the world, he was holding in his arms.
We did it, Terra…you're home.