Rocky Territory
By Letselina
Chapter One
Earth-Mover
A gloved hand brushed golden strands of hair from bright cerulean eyes. Her figure moved in the darkness of the cave, but no footsteps echoed in its depths. Her feet were planted on a boulder, but she still moved. The rock she stood on was encased in a yellow aura, as was the pair of hands now at her side. Finally, a smile crept across her lips as the rock gently decended from its hover, and she jumped off.
The area she stood in was well lit compared to the rest of the cave. The girl walked toward the ledge where something peculiar stood. "It's about time," she said, her voice resounding through the empty cave. She walked toward a statue standing near the ledge. She knew why the statue stood in the middle of a dark, damp cave, even though the idea of a statue for no one to see seemed pointless to build.
This statue was not built, however.
The rocky figure was of a teenage girl, the face carved much like the girl who stood before it. Her hair looked as if it had been frozen in the wind; it was blown slightly to the side. The girl held out her two arms at her side, as if opening her arms for an embrace. A breast plate covered her chest, and armor was placed on her waist, wrists, elbows, knees, shoulders, and calves. She looked like a soldier for some twisted war.
That wasn't far from the truth.
"Let's get this over with," the girl, not the statue, said. She jumped onto the rock where the statue stood, and placed her hands in each of the statues. Her cerulean eyes suddenly took the same golden color her hands had before, and the statue began to flare.
"Who are you?"
Releasing the statue's hands, the girl spun around to see five figures standing at the entrance of the room of the cave. The girl did not answer, but cried out, her eyes still glowing yellow. The ground beneath the five newcomer's trembled, and the shorter one in front, obviously the leader, yelled, "Titans, go!" The five figures lunged at her.
The earth split, and the girl cursed under her breath when her attackers did not sink in the ground. Two flew in the air, carrying the leader and the largest of the group. The fifth figure seemed to disappear, but she lost concentration when a flying bat dove at her head. She lost her balance, falling back against the platform the statue stood on.
The bat flew in front of her face, and changed before her eyes into a human. Time seemed to freeze as the girl's mind rushed for an answer. The male before her had green skin, and matching evergreen eyes. They held a mix of both anger and confusion. Slowly, everything came together again, and the girl realized she was surrounded. The green male stood in front of her, and around her and the statue stood the other four figures.
"Who. Are. You?" the green male demanded.
'The Teen Titans.' She knew exactly who they were. They were the ones who had left the plaque sitting on the platform her back was against.
"Gaia," the girl said quietly.
"What?" the green Titan scrunched his nose, confused.
The girl looked around, seeing two other male Titans on her sides. "My name is Gaia," she said.
"What are you doing?" the changeling questioned, not waiting a moment after her response.
Gaia's eyes flickered back and forth as she searched for an exit. "I'm not about to tell you." Without a warning, her eyes flared and she sunk into the ground, the earth swallowing whole.
The green Titan dived, attempting to stop her, but it was too late. She had disappeared before their very eyes. He pounded his fists into the ground where she had stood, letting out an aggrivated growl.
"Beastboy," the leader, a masked hero, walked to his comrade, setting a hand on his shoulder.
"You all right?" a half robot, half human teammate asked.
A tall red haired girl floated toward the green changeling. She looked from him, to the statue before him, and back to him. "Do you believe...?"
"It wasn't her," an acerbic voice chimed. A female cloaked in midnight blue made her way to her fellow Titan. "That girl was not Terra."
"She said her name was Gaia," Beastboy stood slowly, looking at his teammates. "I don't get it... She looked like her... She has her power... How is she not Terra...?"
Robin shrugged gently. "Terra still stands in front of you. It's possible there are others with her gift."
"But the alarm..." the alien known as Starfire sunk to the ground, putting something together in her mind.
Cyborg shook his head. "Slade is dead... So is Terra... It must have been a glitch... a prank... something..."
"But it wasn't," Raven mused. "Someone was here. Someone who knows about Terra. Someone who wants something with her."
Beastboy walked toward the exit, "It doesn't matter. She's gone." He left the four Titans in silence, a labrynth of questions before them.
-Titans Tower: Earlier that Day-
"How are you feeling, Robin?" asked Starfire.
The Boy Wonder shrugged. "Fine." He rested his head on the arm of the couch.
"Raven?" Starfire inquired.
The cloaked girl glanced up from her book, "Super." She turned back to her story, lost again in its depths.
The alien folded her arms over the chest, "Beastboy?"
The changeling didn't look up from the game he was playing with Cyborg, "Great! I'm winning!" he laughed.
"...Cyborg?"
Pressing pause, the meta-human turned around, looking at the usually-perky counterpart of the team. "I'm fine. How about you, Star? Is something wrong?"
"I do not know," Starfire shook her head, "I just feel like things have been too quiet, lately. I think something is going to happen."
"Girl, did you switch brains with Robin?" Cyborg chuckled. "Things just seem quieter because Blood is in jail, and the Titans East are dealing with any trouble in Steel City."
"Yeah, Star. You probably just aren't used to the idea of not fighting," Beastboy said.
The lime eyed girl sat on the sofa between Robin and Cyborg. "None of you feel this way?"
Raven closed her book, "Starfire, I'm afraid to say it, but Beastboy's right. There's nothing to worry about."
As if her words were a cue, the alarm began to blare, making the five Titans jump.
"Nothing?" Starfire glared at her dark friend.
Shrugging, Raven walked over to the computer. She typed something, and froze, staring at the screen. "No..."
"What is it?" Robin questioned.
Moving out of the way so the other four could see the screen, Raven looked for their responses.
On the screen was the face of a familiar masked man. "Hello, Titans."
"Slade..." Robin growled, clenching his teeth.
"How good to see you again," he spoke, obvious amusement in his voice. "I'm sure my apprentice is happy to see you too."
The five Titans stood silently for a moment, then Beastboy's jaw fell, "Terra!"
Again, on cue, said girl walked into view. A cruel smirk crept across her lips as she emerged from the darkness. Her bright cerulean eyes held hatred, and power. "Ecstatic," she drawled.
The two disappeared from the screen, and it went black.
"Trace it!" Robin yelled.
Cyborg immediately rushed for the keyboard, typing furiously. When he finished, he looked up, "It came from Terra's cave."
"Titans! Go!" Robin cried.
Gaia waited for the Titans to leave, and watched. She stood outside the mouth of the cave, shaking her head. They looked tired, confused, and angry. Her lips curled up as she muttered, "We'll meet again, Titans." She turned swiftly, entering the cave again. It didn't take her long to find the statue again.
Standing on the platform, she placed her hands in the statue's once more. Her entire body flared bright gold, as did the statue. A powerful and strangled cry was heard, but it did not come from Gaia's mouth.
The rock began to dissolve, and peach-colored skin began to show. Slowly, the aura dissipated, and the statue was no longer rock, but human.
Gaia sighed, the girl collapsing on the platform. "Morning Terra," she said quietly. Using her power, she lifted the boulder the two females were on, and left the cave.
A/N: Welcome to the rewrite of Rocky Territory. This is going to go in a completely different direction than the old version. It takes place about a month after Titans East Part II so Terra has been dead for more than half a year. I hope to see all the old reviewers and some new ones! Review on your way out. - Letselina