A/N: Okay, here's chapter ten. Up earlier than expected because I was on a sugar-high and had to write all this, so there you go. Mostly Slade POV, but Terra's at the end. Yes, Terra POV lives, but not too often. Replies to reviews are at the bottom.
Terra's punishment was inspired by Signed in Blood and No Regrets, two amazing fics by Bloody Fae. I highly recommend checking them out, along with her other stories.
Ok, this chapter contains some cruel punishment and some blood, so I don't recommend for younger readers. (Say, under ten or so)
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, so please don't sue me and take away the eight dollars I have to my name.
Chapter Ten: Punishment and Promises
Slade POV
We walked back to the base in silence. I could tell she was furious, but not nearly as furious as I waswith her. She betrayed me, so now she has to pay for it. I never thought that this would happen. I sincerely thought that Terra was loyal to me and me alone. But I was mistaken. Something about her changed in those three months with the Titans. Before she went, she would never have dreamed of disobeying me. But now, she seemed able to stand up to me. But not for long.
We entered the hideout. Terra looked up at me in fear. She knows she's in trouble. I glared down at her in fury.
"Why?' I asked her in a cold, menacing voice. She was trembling now, terrified at what I would do to her when our little chat was over.
She cleared her throat. "Slade, I," she faltered, struggling to keep eye contact. "I… it was… you were right," she said in defeat, bowing her head. "I really liked Beast Boy, and I wanted to be with him. He… he was kind to me, Slade." She looked up at me again with a pleading look in her blue eyes. "I just didn't want to be away from him." She watched me warily, waiting for my reaction.
I'd figured that would be the reason. When I watched them at the amusement park, Terra had looked at Beast Boy in a way that only lovers would. A look I hadn't received from anyone in nearly ten years.
"Terra," I began heavily, slowly circling her, "the day I took you in, you made me a promise. You said that you would help me in any way possible to destroy the Teen Titans." She looked down at her boots, clearly ashamed. "Yet tonight, you went against that promise and betrayed me. The raid against Titans' Tower was unsuccessful. The androids were destroyed, and the bomb was deactivated." I waited for a response, but she said nothing, so I went on. "So, your little 'date' cost us everything we've worked for in the pastfive months." (a/n: yep, it's been that long) I stopped in front of her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
She kept her head down. "Nothing, except that I was wrong. Beast Boy's just an enormous bastard." She must still be mad about the whole 'you don't have any friends' comment. "I also want to say I'm sorry."
I lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me. "'Sorry' isn't going to cut it. If you want my forgiveness, you're going to have to earn it." I let go of her chin, and she lowered her gaze so she was staring straight in front of her.
"And how do you suggest that I earn it?" she asked, in what she must have though was a calm, polite voice. She sounded extremely scared, vulnerable and desperate.
"You will be granted forgiveness," I said, reaching up and stroking her hair, "when the Titans are annihilated." I withdrew my hand . Her hair was now covering the right side of her face, making her face resemble my own, if only because only one eye showed. "But for the moment," I said silkily, "you're in a lot of trouble, young lady." She looked up at me warily. She knew this was coming.
I reached up, grabbed the sleeve of her turtleneck near the elbow, and ripped it the sleeve off along with the glove. She her eyes shot up at me questioningly. Oh no, Terra, don't worry. I'm not that crude. I pulled a small knife from one of the pockets in my belt. She eyed it fearfully, so I held her arm tightly so she wouldn't jerk away. (a/n: squeamish people, sorry about this) I lowered the blade to her arm and punctured the skin about a centimeter (1/2 inch) deep. She gasped in pain. Serves you right. Then ever so slowly, I carved my trademark 'S' into my apprentice's inner forearm. Though her eyes were soon filled with tears of pain, she didn't make another sound. When it was finished, I used the sleeve I had ripped off to wrap around her arm.
"Now go," I said in a soft voice, stroking her hair again. "You know where your room is. Go there, and do not come back out until I say so. Take the time to decide where your loyalties lie." She slowly nodded, and left down the hall.
The punishment I had given her had its reasons. One, it would hurt like hell, but not cause her performance level to suffer after a few days. Two, the scar that the cut would leave would forever remind her that she belonged to me.
I heard quiet footsteps behind me. "Sir, I took the liberty of pouring you a glass of wine," came Wintergreen's voice. "You seem to be in need of it just now." Whatever gave you that idea? I took the glass and took a long sip, savoring the taste. Leave it to Wintergreen to cheer me up. I drained the glass and put it back on the tray.
"Thank you, William," I said quietly. It had to be at least three o'clock and for once, I needed sleep.
"Mr. Wilson, about the girl…" Wintergreen began slowly. "Well, I hate to say 'I told you so,' but—"
"Oh, shut up," I snapped. Wintergreen, smirking slightly, gave a small bow and walked off.
A week passed before I saw Terra again. Wintergreen brought her meals, but not once did she leave her room. The delay was simply to give her time to think over what she had done, and what she was going to do. It's either me or back on the streets. The Titans were never going to trust her again, so she couldn't go there. And when word got out that Jump City's favorite super herowasworking for methe whole time, she'd be lucky to last an hour in the city on her own.
In the meantime, I had been working relentlessly on my latest 'project': a suit for the girl. It was finally finished, and I had to say, I was pretty damn proud of it. The suit was more or less metal kneepads, shoulder pads, armguards, breastplate, steel-toed boots, and special gloves. Underneath the armor, she'd wear bandages that wrapped around her entire body, simply because it looked good. Two metal clips that would attach to her hair, and eventually her skin, were designed to enhance her powers, and they gave me access to her nervous system. It would be extremely useful for when she fought the Titans again. I wouldn't have total control of her power, but it would be enough.
Packing up the suit, I set off to talk to her around two in the afternoon. When I knocked, she opened the door in mere seconds. When she saw it was me, she backed away hastily, looking terrified. She looked an absolute wreck. Her hair was wild and tangled, not at all like the soft, smooth hair I'd grown accustomed to. She was still wearing her yellow shorts, but was now wearing a white tank top. Her arm had healed, though the 'S' on her arm would be there forever, a permanent scar.
I walked in the room, which was also a mess. She isn't taking this very well. I sat at the chair by her desk and motioned for her to sit across from me, on the bed. She hastily replied, shoving trash out of her way.
"Well, Terra, it's time we decide what you're going to do now." She looked at me questioningly. "Your betrayal has proved that I cannot be entirely sure of your loyalties. So, have you made your decision?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yes," she replied instantly. "I want revenge on that ass-hole if it's the last thing I do." I looked at her in mild shock. This wasn't the reaction I expected at all. I'd thought she'd need a lot of persuading to stay. Butwhat Beast Boy had said must have hurt her very deeply. Once again, she's mine.
"Good, then you'll be needing this," I said, opening the box and pulling out the suit. She stared at it in awe, and slowly reached out and touched the cool metal. "Now, shower, get dressed, and report back to me in two hours." I left without another word.
I waited patiently for her, watching tapes of the Titans that Terra had retrieved. They were all playing some card game, laughing and having a grand time.
Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned around to see Terra, fully dressed in the suit. It fit her well and it looked good on her. As I'd suspected, the bandages looked good against the metal. Her hair was styled so that it covered the right side of her face, completing the look. I looked at her searchingly, trying to tell what she was thinking. But her face was quite blank, and her eyes betrayed no emotion. At least she paid attention to everything I taught her.
I turned my gaze back to the screen. "You have had doubts in the past," I said, watching Cyborg go through an obstacle course. "Made mistakes." I turned back to her, and she was looking down. "But all that is behind you, isn't it?"
She looked up at me. "Yes," she replied.
I walked toward her. "You belong to me now, don't you?" She rubbed her left forearm cautiously.
"I do," she replied after a pause. I walked around to stand behind her.
"From this day forward, will you serve me, and me only?" She stiffened a bit.
"I will," she replied, her voice calm.
"Will you obey my every command?"
"I will."
"Will you fight at my side forever?" I held up a disc with my insignia on it, designed to attach to the breastplate of her suit.
She stared at it for a few moments. "I will," she said finally, taking the disc and putting it on the suit. I turned my back on her. Time to drop the bomb.
"And will you destroy the Teen Titans?" I glanced over at her. She didn't flinch, or show any signs of fear or hesitation at all. She even looked a bit… was it possible… excited?
She smirked evilly. "I thought you'd never ask." I looked at her, slightly concerned. Her voice had been full of such hatred when she said it, much different than her normal voice. It was almost eerie.
"Mr. Wilson," came Wintergreen's voice from behind Terra. He stepped forward, looking slightly distressed. "My sister Pam has just called and said that the Teen Titans came in and ordered pie." So that means the Titans are out of the Tower and out in the city.
"Thank you, William," I said hurriedly, thinking fast. I turned back to Terra. "This is your chance, Terra. Go and intercept the Titans on their way back to the Tower and take them down. With a quick nod, she took off.
Terra POV
Finally, a chance to kick their lousy butts! I arrived at the intersection they would have to cross and waited, watching for any sign of the T-Car. The suit Slade had given me was extremely comfortable, but the things I had to wear on my head were annoying. It almost felt as if they were digging into my head or something. Oh well. I'd get over it.
I didn't have to wait long. Within minutes the T-Car was coming up. Miraculously, the light turned red so they had to stop. I took the opportunity and chucked a huge slab of pavement at the car, sending it flipping through the air. I stepped toward the car, waiting for them. After a few moments, they all got out, rubbing various body parts.
Beast Boy saw me first. "Terra?" he asked incredulously. The other looked around and stared at me in shock.
"Hey, guys," I said, smirking. "Miss me?"
A/N: Alright, that's chapter ten for ya! Since there'll be no oppurtunity to explain thislater, BB convinced the others to go with him to have some more of that pie. So, that's why they were there.Just so you know, I have to go back to school on Thursday (dammit!) so updates may come slower. I'll try to get the next chapter up by Wednesday, but I can't promise you anything. Now, review! No, wait, read your replies first, and then review!
To my awesome reviewers, who make this story possible. I owe you guys a lot.
Infamous One: Thanks! Yeah, her POV is necessary at times, so it's staying. Who betrays who? It does make you wonder…
Io Europa 2010: Thank you! Alright, Terra can stay. But only because you guys want her to.
TK FoX: Awe, thank you! I love your reviews, they're so detailed and nice. Sorry, Terra POV must live, but not as often. I'm a Terra fan, but I won't hit you. Hope I punished her enough for you!
PsychoMindGames: Thanks! It's not that that I don't think I write her well, but it's just that she's so damn difficult to write. When I get it right, it's good though. I think her punishment is ok.
