Disclaimer: I do not own Terra or the Teen Titans. Those rights belong to a number of people—DC comics and Cartoon Network come to mind as possibilities. So give all credit to them, assuming you can figure out who it is. My money's on DC.
Author's Note: Terra made her return in Things Change as a schoolgirl with no memory of her past…but what if things were different? What if, instead of returning as a schoolgirl, she had washed up on Titans Island with at least some memory of her time as a Titan? This story is very loosely based on my Teen Titans roleplaying site, which can be located by going to my homepage from my profile. Whether or not you are a member of the site, however, will in no way affect the reading of this piece. So enjoy!
Revival
"Here you go, miss," the shopkeeper said, placing the parcel of food on the counter in front of him. The tawny-haired girl dug into her pocket, pulling out several crumpled bills, and placed them before the man. She wasn't exactly an expert in British commerce, but she was pretty sure this much would cover the transaction.
The shopkeeper didn't seem to argue--and, in fact, handed her back another bill as change--so the girl picked up the parcel and slowly walked away. She didn't really know what she was doing here, but she knew that she had to eat. Removing the sandwich from the bag, Terra took a single bite and immediately savored the tastes that flooded her mouth. "So good," she murmured in between bites, before diving back into the food.
It had been a month since she left, and she knew the Titans probably still didn't understand. After she told them of her decision to leave, she gathered her things and walked out of the Tower before anyone could try to question her. Her powers carried her as far as they could, and she took a bus the rest of the way. It wasn't until she was on the other side of the country that she felt like she was far enough away. Then she remembered the Titans East, and how they were on the east coast. A taxi took her to the airport, and from there she traveled over to England. The Titans didn't have an office over here.
Terra needed some time alone, time to find some answers. A little over a year ago, she had been found by Slade, a dangerous villain who taught Terra how to control her unstable powers. She grew to trust him, and the only thing he wanted in return was her help in defeating the Titans--a group who had, in Terra's eyes, betrayed her. She "joined" the Teen Titans, feigning friendship...and in the process, fell for Beast Boy. But the plan was already in motion...and she could not stop it. Slade's forces descended upon the Tower, and when Beast Boy found out it was her, he shunned her. Distraught, she retreated into Slade's arms once more...and fully embraced her destiny as the Titan's destroyer.
It didn't really work that way, though. During the final battle, Terra had rebelled against Slade to save the Titans, and in the process sacrificed herself. Fully expecting to die, she had, instead, been transformed into solid stone. The Titans tried everything they could to bring her back, with no success...until, one day, she woke up on the shores of Titans Tower.
She knows this. She understands all of this. The Titans told her all of it...but what they don't realize is that she can't remember it. No matter how many times they told her, Terra was incapable of feeling an emotional connection to those events. It was like the Titans were telling her about someone else's life. She could remember some of it...her happy days with the Teen Titans, when she forgot that she was working for Slade. Her romance with Beast Boy, and even the rivalry with Raven. But all the bad stuff? It just wasn't in her mind.
Since her return, Terra had done a little bit of research on psychology--nothing major, just some private reading. The human capacity for masking pain was incredible--if it deemed something too terrible to contemplate, it would simply seal it away and ignore it. Terra suspected that, perhaps, something like this had happened, and that was why she couldn't remember. But a lot of the time, being informed of the reality helped break a person free from their private delusions, and Terra still couldn't remember, no matter how many times the Titans told her. So it was still possible that an outside force was responsible.
It wasn't really likely that she'd find all of the answers she was looking for...but Terra could only hope that maybe she'd learn a bit more. And the Titans...if she was around them, they'd be halting the progress. They meant well, but their emphasis of being a team interfered with any individual agendas. She had to be away from them for now, until she could get the answers she was hoping for. And if you don't find the answers? her inner voice asked bitterly, almost as if mocking her decision. She pushed the voice off to one side. Terra was determined to find some answers, one way or another...even if she had to submit herself to extensive psychological therapy.
Fortunately, England wasn't exactly a major spot of superheroing. Nothing here to connect her to the Teen Titans, which would allow her to have a fresh start, free from adventure.
At least, that was the plan.
"Hello, England!" came a loud shout from outside, followed by a series of explosions. "Have you missed me?" Terra didn't have to wonder what exactly was going on--she could hear the screams coming from outside. She ran to the door of the diner, only to see...someone she thought was locked up in jail.
"Moddie's back!" the red-haired British supervillain exclaimed as he stood high atop a building, spinning his cane with flair. His glasses shone with the full glare of the sun, but that barely seemed to bother him any--he continued shouting as two large robots under his control slammed around the city, smashing up everything in sight.
Well, this wasn't exactly expected. Terra hadn't really thought that the Mad Mod would come back to his homeland and wreak havoc here--he seemed far more dedicated to trashing America, instead. But his motives really weren't that important. All that mattered was that he be stopped...and unless there was some secret superhero group around here, Terra was the one that had to do the stopping. Ducking back into the diner, she pulled off her jacket to reveal her black Titans shirt underneath, and put her goggles onto her head. She was ready to rumble with this guy, now.
A section of the streets came blasting up, slamming into the chest of a robot and sending it flying backwards, sparks emerging from it's broken chest. "Hello, Mad Mod," Terra called up, summoning another rock for her to stand upon and levitating it into the sky. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"Why, it's Terra!" Mad Mod exclaimed with a feigned gasp, jumping around in an exaggerated display of surprise. "Fancy seeing you here! I do hope you're enjoying the show."
The geomancer flashed a grin to the supervillain above her (although, truthfully, he wouldn't be above her for long--she was rapidly ascending, and soon would be eye-level with her foe). "I'm not a huge fan, no," she said to him.
"And why not?" he asked, obviously disappointed. "I thought this was the sort of action you hero-types liked to see...robots, destruction, bad guys all around."
"Well, it does add a certain zest to our lives," she admitted, finally as high as she wanted to go. "But you see, I know your secrets." she skipped off her rock platform, letting it fall back to the ground as she hopped onto the same building that Mad Mod stood upon. "We haven't met before, you and I, but I've read all about you in the Titans database. You're an elderly man, Mad Mod, and this youthful form is only a hologram now. You're not really here." To demonstrate her point, she deliberately reached out her arm to stick her hand through him.
Instead of her arm passing through the villain's body, however, something far different happened. The Mad Mod stepped to the side...and grabbed ahold of her arm. "Things have changed a little bit, my pretty," he said, no longer smiling. "I'm working for some new people now...some powerful new people...and with their help...I'm a different person, now." One of his hands left Terra's arm, and she tried to break free from his grip...but that proved to be a mistake. As she pulled backwards, he released his grip and spun, slamming her with his cane...and Terra was sent flying off the edge of the building.
Oh well, Terra thought to herself as she rapidly fell towards the ground. Villains have done worse to me, I suppose. She focused her mind, and the street below her blasted upward, catching her before she hit the concrete and died. It wasn't exactly pleasant, smacking into the elevated ground...but at least she was still alive. "That was not a good idea, Mod," she said angrily as she stood up, her eyes and hands glowing yellow. "You're going down."
The ground raged at her command, and the earth trembled with her fury. The remaining robot was pelted by pieces of earth moving at high speeds, causing it to collapse on top of several parked cars. Terra grabbed another piece of the road, riding it back up to Mad Mod. No more reasoning with him...this time, she was going to smash him down to the ground.
"Oh, bollocks," Mad Mod frowned as he saw the angry girl hurtling towards him, several boulders trailing behind her.
"You're done, Mod," the furious geomancer said as she came close to him. Soon, she would slam into him, and he would be defeated. Victory would be there in moments.
But Mad Mod, like earlier, did something...unexpected. "I'd love to continue this, Terra," he said, his goofy smile remaining on his face, "But I've got a mission, you see, and getting put in jail might make it difficult. I'll see you later, Terra." The gem on the top of his cane began to glow, and that glow extended to his entire body. "Cheerio," he said, and then vanished, just as Terra flew across the top of the building...and the boulders crashed into the building.
The damage was catastrophic. After barreling through the building, they slammed down on the other side of the street, obliterating three parked cars. Terra could only lower herself to the ground in shock at what she had done. "No," she whispered...not again. She couldn't be the cause of so much destruction again.
"What have you done?" a woman shrieked. "You've destroyed everything!"
"You didn't even catch the bloody bad guy!" a man shouted at Terra. "And now you've ruined the entire block! What have you got to say for yourself!"
"I...I..." Terra stammered, trying to think of what to say. What could she say? She didn't even know what to think anymore.
I wish I was out of here, she thought finally, but there wasn't really anything she could do about that. If she generated another platform, she'd just be causing more damage, and it wasn't really like that would be any sort of solution, anyway. They knew who she was--after all, there weren't many earth-moving blond girls around, and the fact that she wore a Titans T-shirt didn't exactly help her anonymity. But she still couldn't help but continue wishing. I just wish I could get out of here.
"Hey!" one of the men shouted. "What's going on? What are you doing?"
"Get back here!" a woman shouted.
"What?" Terra asked. "What do you mean?" But as she looked around, she was able to deduce what they were talking about. She was being lifted into the air...and there was a yellow glow on her back. She strained her head, trying to turn...and she saw them. Wings. Bright yellow energy wings emerging from her back...and, just like she had wished, she was being taken away.
Her destination? Unknown.
