A/N: Alright, here's chapter four. Sorry, no Terra POV in this one, but more to come in the next chapter.

Reviewers: I really appreaciate all the reviews I get. They keep this story going.

TK FoX: Welcome to fanfiction! Thank you. I did a bit of research on the comic Wintergreen and they really do respect each other. Yeah, Slade did turn into a jerk quickly; full explanation ahead. About the 'out of character,' I'm just being critical on myself. And the grammar: part love of English class, part spell/grammar check on Microsoft word.

Swizz: Thank you. I'm guessing you're referring to Terra's outburst in chapter two? At the moment, Terra was really upset and hurt. Deep down, she truly didn't mean what she said there.

Io Europa 2010: Thank you! I was very nervous about the Terra POV, but I'm glad you liked it. I'll put more in, especially during the 'Aftershock' stuff. Thanks for reviewing.

PsychoMindGames: Thanks for the review. Things will get more exciting very soon.

Thanks for reviewing! Now, on with the story.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything. goes and sulks

Chapter Four: Off You Go

Slade POV

"Get to it." Without a moment's hesitation, she began doing what I told her to do. I told her seven o'clock, now she's paying for it. I had my reasons for my sudden change of heart. She would figure it out for herself eventually. Or just ask.

She finished relatively quickly, and I could tell she was somewhat fit. She was a superb runner; very fast. But she tired far too quickly for my taste. However, that could easily be fixed with proper training. It would take some time, but it was definitely possible to do.

"So, are you ready to begin?" I asked as she came forward to face me. She nodded. "Your first task: defeat these androids in under ten minutes." Half dozen of the androids set on 'low' came forward as I pulled out a stopwatch. "Your time begins now." I set the watch and turned my attention to the girl.

She ran towards the android closest to her and threw a punch, which caused it to stagger a bit, but nothing else. It raised a fistfor a punch, but she backed out of the way. She tried to kick the android in the chest area, but it grabbed her foot and shoved her to the ground. Hand-to-hand combat. Not what I had in mind.

"Use your powers! That's what you're here to learn!" She looked at me, nodded, and raised a glowing fist. One of the smaller rocks, roughly the size of an infant's head, shot at the android's head and smashed it. More rocks were thrown, and the android was soon nothing more than a pile of metal. She defeated the next three in a similar manner. Her aiming's a bit off. It took her several tries for her to finally get the rocks to hit their target.

The fourth android grabbed her from behind. She struggled fruitlessly for a few seconds, and then used her powers to make the dirt floor the android was standing on shoot up, taking the android with it. It fell back to the floor, and a large rock finished it. The fifth was defeated with a few rocks to the head, and the final one was buried under a mound of earth. I checked the watch: eight minutes, fourteen seconds.

"Good, Terra," I said as she doubled over, panting. "That wasn't bad. Nowhere near perfect, but I wasn't expecting perfection your first time. You need to use smaller stones when aiming for their heads, especially when you're at close range." I led her over to where she used a rock the size of a boulder on an android's head. "You can see the head is entirely destroyed. Your method was nonetheless effective, but against a human being, the results aren't pretty." She nodded, apparently understanding.

I had her repeat the process several times fro the next few hours, each time shortening her allotted time, and offering advice. I noticed some improvement after the seventh go, and decided that was enough.

"Now, we need to work on your aiming." I hit a button on a panel on the wall, and a large target (a/n: like when you play darts), nearly covering the whole wall, lowered from the ceiling. "Now use that rock," I pointed to the largest rock in the room, "and try to hit the center." She succeeded, but barely. "Now use this." I held up a small pebble. It hit the target nearly three feet away from the bulls-eye.

"As you can clearly see," I stated, turning to face her, "the smaller the rock, the harder it is to control where it goes. We will work on that later. For now, let's have some lunch." As if on cue, Wintergreen entered carrying a tray, which held sandwiches, various fruits, and two bottles of water. "Thank you, William," I said, as he set the tray on the table in the corner. He gave a curt nod and left.

I walked over to the small table, Terra behind me, and we both sat down. She looked at me apprehensively. I nodded slowly, and she quickly took a bite into her sandwich, obviously starving from lack of breakfast. She suddenly looked up at me, with a curious look of concern.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" she asked, looking back at the tray.

"No, I'm afraid not," I said curtly. "You see, Terra, to eat would mean to remove my mask, which I will not do in front of you." She suddenly looked hurt, as if she were being discriminated against. "Do not be offended, dear child. No one but Wintergreen has seen my true face, so you need not feel rejected. She brightened and bit into an apple, looking thoughtful.

"Umm, Slade?" she said apprehensively a few minutes later, "about this morning… I'm so sorry I was late. You see, it's been forever since I've slept in a bed, and I guess I slept past the alarm or something," she was speaking very fast, clearly eager to get this out. "But then, I was all rushed and I left without the map, and by the time I noticed I didn't have it I was lost and I didn't know where to go." This is getting amusing. She rambled on. "But then Wintergreen found me but I was already late but he led me here and anyway I am so sorry for being late. And I promise it'll never happen again, I swear. I'm so sorry you got angry, and I hope you'll forgive me." She hung her head.

"My dear girl," I said, smiling. She looked up. "Yes you were late, which is inexcusable. However, your punishment was the first lesson you needed to learn. Before this morning, you saw me as a teacher, strict, but a bit caring?" She slowly nodded. "But when you came in, I reacted in a way you didn't expect. People are different once you truly get to know them, Terra. They will appear one way, but in reality, that is hardly ever the case. You have to understand this for when you go back to face the Titans." She looked up at me with confusion.

"Not to be rude or anything, but… what has this whole 'appearances are deceiving' thing have to do with me and you destroying the Titans?"

"Nothing," I said, earning an adorably confused look from Terra. "It has to do with your spying on them." Her mouth dropped open in shock. "Yes, Terra. You will go back to them, join the team, learn their secrets, and share that knowledge with me. Once I, no, we know their flaws, they can be taken down easily. All you have to do is earn their trust." She slowly nodded, still looking like she'd been slapped.

"But, Slade…" she began.

"We did have a deal, Terra. Don't worry, everything will be alright. When I'm through with you, there will be no reason for them not to welcome you with open arms. Besides, you don't have to worry about that just yet. You still have much to learn."


And so it went on. Training seemed to turn into an ongoing ordeal. The days turned to weeks. Theweeks turned to months. But Terra's progress was outstanding. She was a completely different fighter than she was when we started. She had finally obtained complete control of her powers, which took several long but very worthwhile weeks. Her hand-to-hand combat was very good. She was now very fit, and didn't tire out like she did before. She could destroy twenty 'high aggression' androids in a minute flat, and her fighting style was now superb. After two long, hard months, she was finally ready.

"Do you know what you have to do?" I asked her, as she looked down at the new uniform she was wearing. A black crop-top with the Titan's insignia in yellow, matching yellow shorts, a light brown utility belt with new matching gloves, and a new pair of goggles. There were five sets of the shirts and shorts packed away in her backpack, along with a specially designed laptop computer that would allow her to contact me without the Titans or anyone else finding out.

"Find out their weaknesses, get their security codes, send that info to you, and basically earn their trust." She sounded a bit apprehensive, but still excited. She turned to face me, her blue eyes dazzlingly bright. "Are you sure I'm ready for this?"

I looked down at her. This was the girl who'd given up hope with the Titans, and turned to me for guidance. She turned out to be a wonderful learner, and absorbed everything I taught her like a sponge. This was the girl who, for the past two months, I had wore out, cussed out, pushed to her limits, and ultimately come to respect. There was no denying that she was ready for whatever came her way. No problem.

"You are as prepared as you'll ever be, my dear," I said with full honesty. "I've taught you all that I know, and you've mastered it all superbly. Nothing can stand in your way now. Not even the Teen Titans. You are ready. Good luck, my dear apprentice. Now, off you go."

She nodded, picked up her backpack and put it on. She turned towards the exit, and slowly took two steps. Suddenly, she turned and rushed back toward me, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I hesitated, and then awkwardly hugged her back, still completely shocked. She broke away, sighed a heavy, yet determined sigh, gave me a warm smile, and left the base.


A/N: Alright, that's it for Chapter Four. I didn't go into the training, mainly because I can't write action to save my soul, not to mention two months of training would be pretty boring to read (IMHO). So, next chapter Terra's off to the Tower again. (AKA Titan Rising and other stuff).

Okay, just in case I don't update this before Thursday (unlikely, but still), I'm going to Florida on Friday and I won't be back until the 22nd. Just FYI.

Alright, that's it for now, so REVIEW! There will be no more until I get some reviews! They keep this story going!