In Purgatory's Shadow

Chapter 3: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

"What? Why can't I come in?" Isis pouted as she stood outside the Tower with the Teen Titans around her. She had traveled there with them but now Raven blocked her path.

"Why are you so eager to get into our tower?" Raven glared in a clearly accusing manner.

Isis took her look with a bit of confusion, "Um, because it's getting dark outside and I thought that you guys could help me find my sister."

"We never said that we would do anything of the sort!" Raven sneered.

"Fine! You know what? Screw you guys! I'll find my sister on my own, thank you very much!"

"Now just wait a minute ladies!" Cyborg stepped in between the two girls exchanging venomous stares; "This is my tower so I decide whom we welcome in. And I see no reason to shut her out."

"What?" Raven turned her anger towards Cyborg, "Didn't you learn your lesson from last time? I am not going to go through the same thing again!"

"Listen! This is not the same girl we're talking about here!"

"She looks like her, she sounds like her, she acts like her, and I don't want her anywhere near me!"

"You're being prejudice!" Cyborg scolded.

"Well, I'm sorry, but after what Terra did, you can't expect me to welcome someone just like her into our home!"

"Both of you stop talking NOW!" Starfire yelled louder than both of them combined, at this point Isis had completely backed away from the feud that was totally about her, "I cannot believe what I am hearing from you Raven. It is wrong of us judge Isis by the actions of her sister's… I know that none of you would hold me accountable for Blackfire's wrongdoings, so why is it that you can judge Isis in such a way?"

Raven looked at her friends in shock, studying their faces only to find that everyone was against her on this. She then turned away from them all and reluctantly uttered the words, "I'm sorry, Isis. It was wrong of me to treat you that way." Though she honestly tried, she couldn't make it sound like she meant it.

"No… you don't have to apologize," Isis said with a strange tone of understanding as she motioned away from the group, "I get this kind of thing all the time. Ever since we were born, Terra would cause trouble on a grant scale with her powers, and I was always guilty by association. I can tell that she must have caused a great deal of hardship to you guys. So… it's alright, she's probably moved on to another city by now, I'll be on my way."

She turned to leave but Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, "No Isis, I'm afraid that it's more complicated than that. Look, I'm inviting you in, but only because there are some things that will take a while to explain… and others that you should be sitting down when you hear."

"Thanks, you're probably the first people in a long time who didn't treat me like the plague," She glanced slightly over to Raven with contempt, "But, wasn't there a green guy with you?"

"You mean Beast Boy? Sensors show that he already returned to the Tower," Cyborg explained, "Yeah, sorry he didn't stick around for introductions, let's just say that there was something between him and Terra… this must be kind of awkward for him."

"Wow, so that's why he was chasing me yesterday. I just thought he was another angry person wanting revenge for something my sister had done."

Raven was about to give some malicious remark but Starfire cut her off, "Enough chitting of the chat. It is getting late. We should cease standing around outside and welcome our new friend into our home!"

"I'm her friend?" Isis asked Robin under her breath.

"She thinks of anyone who doesn't try to kill us as her friend," Robin smiled, "It's an endearing quality."

Once they were within the Tower, Cyborg gave Isis the grand tour, "Down that hall we have the medical sector, and over here we have the main room where we spend most of our hanging out time, a… oh, Beast Boy, there you are." The changeling in question was sitting silently on the couch. Facing away from the entrance, he didn't acknowledge their presence. Cyborg rubbed the back of his head while Isis looked on in curiosity, "Well, yeah, maybe it's better if we skip this part of the tour." But Isis ignored him and walked right over to Beast Boy.

She looked over the ledge of the couch to find that Beast Boy was deep in thought, looking over a small collection of photos that were taken of him and Terra together. "Wow, she looks so happy," She commented, which snapped Beast Boy out of his trance.

"Whoa? What? Who?" Beast Boy asked in surprise.

Isis couldn't help giggle a bit as she boldly leapt over and plopped down right beside Beast Boy, leaning in to admire the pictures, "She must have meant something special to you. Listen, I'm sorry I ran away from you yesterday. I've gotten in the habit of running when people start to give chase. By the way, I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Isis," She extended her hand towards him for a friendly handshake.

Beast Boy reluctantly took the offer, "Uh, hi, I'm Beast boy." He said with caution.

"Cool, I saw what you could do in battle, pretty amazing stuff… You know, it's funny. Everywhere Terra has run to, and I've come in after to clean up the mess, I've never met people who were like friends to her," she took a photograph in hand, "And it looks like you were more than just a friend to her… thank you."

Beast Boy began to blush and then noticed that the rest of the Titans were standing right behind them, "Ahem, are we interrupting something?" Cyborg asked in a disapproving tone. Beast Boy then noticed that he was still holding Isis's hand, he screeched out of embarrassment as he let go. Isis smiled a bit but then saw that the majority of the people in the room did not appreciate her approach to their friend.

"You wanted to talk about your sister?" Robin asked with a loss of patience, "Then let's talk." He walked around to the front of the couch and sat in it, "Alright, long story short. When we first met her about a year ago, she was a drifter and had some trouble controlling her powers. She left us soon after to train on her own, then returned to become part of the team. She helped us out in a lot of battles. She was a good friend and a valued team member."

"You keep saying 'was', where is she now?" Isis asked.

"She died... saving our lives." Robin explained, recounting how Terra had selflessly sacrificed herself to save them all. Raven whirled around at Robin's words, glaring at him with an expression of sharp disapproval. She saw him mouth the word "Later" to her. Raven's scowl deepened, and she turned her back, her cape snapping behind her, as though to say everything she wanted to. Several nearby books toppled off a shelf as Raven walked past it, which Starfire discretely tried to pick up.

"She… she's dead?" Isis asked through a lump in her throat.

"She's not dead!" Beast Boy insisted. He had been silent for the retelling but now he was going to give his say, "And don't tell her otherwise! The only problem is that you guys have given up on finding a cure!"

"Beast Boy, please don't make this any harder for her," Robin pleaded.

"Wait, what cure? For what?" Isis asked with a bit of hope in her eyes.

Cyborg sighed, hoping that this wouldn't come up, "Okay, the jury's still out on this, but we thought at the beginning that we could reverse the process and de-petrify her body. Honestly, we poured all of our resources into it but came up with nothing."

"De… petrify?" Isis cocked her head.

"She has been turned into stone," Starfire explained sadly, "By her own powers. That's how she died."

Isis's eyes went wide and a chill ran down her spine. She shifted her gaze as she ran rapidly through her thoughts. A slight curl ran up the side of her lip, "The Gaia," She whispered under her breath with a hint of excitement. She then caught herself and looked up at the people surrounding her. To her relief, no one seemed to pay mind to her revelation, "Um, hey, can I… um, you know, pay her a visit?" Everyone looked at her, "You know, for closure."

"She's kind of in a hard to get to place that's a very long walk away from here," Robin explained, "But if it'll help you, we'll bring you to her… tomorrow, if nothing comes up that is."

"Something always comes up." Raven said flatly, rolling her eyes.

Beast Boy scoured at her and then turned to eagerly comfort Isis, "Don't worry, as soon as we get the time, I'll personally take you down to visit your sister. Until then, you can totally stay here. You know, we even made a room for Terra, I'm sure you can bunk there."

"Really?" Isis said with glee, "You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you!" She finished by hugging him. Beast Boy practically melted in her arms. Starfire smiled blissfully at this union, Raven had already left the room before she lost control, and Robin pondered for a moment before calling Cyborg over to a corner of the room to discuss something that was concerning him.

Later on, Beast Boy introduced Isis to Terra's room, left untouched for an entire year, "Here you go. Um, sorry it's a bit dusty in here."

"No problem, it's real nice of you to help me like this, you're very sweet." Isis smiled. Beast Boy blushed at her. Then, to his surprise, she gave him a peck on the cheek, "Goodnight," and with that she closed the door.

Beast Boy stood there outside the door with his hand on his cheek and a grin spread across his face. He then began to make his way down the hall humming happily with a skip in his step. Given that he was completely self-absorbed, he never saw the attack coming form the fork in the hallway. Dark matter gripped him by his ankles and wrists and threw him up against the wall, upside-down no less. Raven emerged from the darkness.

"You stupid, shallow, two-faced little pile of raging hormones! I don't know how you can live with yourself!" Beast Boy tried to respond form his awkward position but Raven willed the dark matter to laps over his mouth, "Cyborg was right, she looks like her, she sounds like her, she even acts liker her, but Beast Boy, she is not Terra. You told me that you would wait for her forever, that you'd never forget her! And how long did it take you to start drooling over her sister the moment she weaseled herself past our doors? I want you to think about her Beast Boy, I want you to think about Terra every time you stare into Isis's face. And know that you've betrayed her; that you've given up on her the moment another pretty blonde batted her eyes at you. Now I'll say this once and only once, she is NOT a replacement or a second chance for what you had with Terra! She is a different person entirely, and I… don't…like…her!"

Beast Boy muffled some sort of response and Raven reluctantly freed his mouth, "Why should you like her?" he retorted. "You never liked Terra! You always hated her! That's why you never bothered trying to find a cure for her! And while we're on the subject, wasn't it you who was telling me that I needed to move on with my life. That I had to accept the fact that Terra is dead and move on? Well I am, okay? Nobody wants to help Terra! But I can help her sister!"

"Looks to me like you're more interested in helping yourself to her sister."

"You know what Rae? I think you're jealous!"

"Jealous of what, the fact that Isis is practically throwing herself on you? Or that everyone is giving so much attention to this Terra look-a-like?"

"Take your pick." Beast Boy sneered.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him, "Goodnight Beast Boy," She said with malice as she slipped back into the darkness.

"Um, Raven, are you going to let me down?" Beast Boy asked but got no answer, "Come on Rae, I know you can't hold this all night. You have to let me down sometime!" And with that the dark matter pinning him to the wall abruptly disappeared, letting him fall, head first, onto the floor.

In another part of the building, Cyborg approached a door marked "Lab". He looked around to make sure that no one was around then entered to find Robin there, waiting for him, "Did you get the hair?" Robin asked impatiently.

Cyborg produced a long strand of blonde hair, "Pulled it off the back of the couch, now you want to tell me why we're doing this?"

Robin took the hair and held it up to the light, "Do we still have Terra's DNA on file?" He asked, ignoring Cyborg's protest.

"Of course," Cyborg assured him, "What? Are you telling me that you don't think that Isis is really Terra's sister?"

"I have no reason to doubt that," Robin answered without looking at him, "but there is something that's bothering me. They're twins, but their powers are so different."

"They both have telekinesis on a specific element, I say that counts as a twin thing. Whether it's ice or earth doesn't make that big of a difference."

"It's not that," Robin objected, "Isis mentioned that they were born with those powers, which makes them natural born medahuman twins."

"Aaaand?" Cyborg pressed.

"As far as I know, all medahuman twins, especially identical ones, have equal or shared powers, even if there are slight differences."

"Yeah, like Mas Y Menos, or if you want to go way back, the Wonder Twins. What are you getting at here?"

"Did you see how much Isis had to concentrate in that battle?"

Author's Notes:
Ooh, the plot thickens. Interesting isn't it? The Titans are completely divided on whether or not they trust Isis. While Beast Boy is falling for her, Starfire is just happy to have another person she can call her friend, Robin believes he has reasons not to trust her, Raven just all out hates her, and Cyborg is sitting on the fence. Before I go, I would like to make a request concerning the reviews for this story. Now there is no use reviewing this story for the sole purpose of telling me to update soon. I'll update when I update, so live with it. What I'm saying here people, is that if you are going to take the time to write a review for this story, at least give it a proper review. You know, tell me what you like or didn't like and why. To read responses like that will make me more interested in updating than just demanding me to update soon. Okay, bye.