Fortunately, Terra collapsed into Cyborg's arms, the mechanical man moving swiftly to catch her before she hit the ground. The gathered Titans quickly formed a circle around her, making sure she was okay. Moments ago, she'd been one of the most powerful metahumans in all of existence. Now she looked as delicate as fine china, as if the slightest touch could shatter her.

Appearances really could be deceptive.

"It... it really is her..." said Raven quietly.

Her appearance. Her personality. Her powers. Down to the way she screamed and threw a tantrum that shook the earth. The way she smirked when she was near victory. It -was- Terra.

Which is why Beastboy's next words surprised them.

"No... it isn't," he said quietly. As one, all four sets of eyes turned to look at him. "Terra... the Terra –we- knew... she's gone. I don't know who this is but... but it's not her."

The Titans paused for a moment to consider that. Usually, when one of them wanted wise words, they sought out Robin or Raven, and Beastboy would've been at the very bottom of that list. Yet, on rare occasions, he'd shown a most startlingly bright view of the world and how it was. He was a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for. And the Titans realized in this particular instance, perhaps he was right. Raven's words echoed in their minds.

"Last time we met we weren't exactly friends."

Settling back into his command, Robin's security, the mission, he issued orders for the rest of the Titans to take whoever the blonde girl was back to Titan's Tower for medical examination. She might've been injured in the attack. They complied. He, however, remained behind, and began to make his way towards the estate. Why the creature attacked it, and why Terra was here were questions plaguing his mind.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps) as he approached the building, a very distinct ticking... no... a distinct beeping sound caught his ear. And all his training instinctively told him to run. He gave into that, and hurled himself backwards and out of the building, firing off a grappling line that yanked him safe of the building just as it exploded, showing the surrounding landscape with bricks and wooden planks and all manner of flaming debris. Thankfully, none of it landed anywhere near the Boy Wonder as he watched from a nearby tree branch. His cape fell around his shoulders as his eyes narrowed dangerously, and he never looked more like his mentor than he did now.

The building was blown up deliberately, he was certain. And if he looked into the matter, no doubt by now all the records that he could trace would be erased. He would try anyway, but he knew what he would find... nothing. Which meant only one possible explanation.

"Slade."

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Senses returned slowly to the stunned girl, but unfortunately, it seemed pain was at the very top of the list, and she stifled a groan as she lifted her head, trying to clear the fog in her mind, as well as re-focus her vision.

"Terra?"

Everything snapped into sharp focus.

Terra almost leapt clear off of the hospital bed she was lying in, throwing herself back up against the wall, arms upraised in a defensive position as she'd been taught. Even when her senses and consciousness became normal, and she was completely awake, she didn't lower it.

Starfire stood before her... looking very hurt.

"Terra?"

"Starfire," returned the blonde girl.

"Are you alright Terra?"

"I..." quickly she did a check over herself. Her arms ached and her stomach was growling like a wild dog because she's missed lunch, but otherwise she felt fine. "I'm fine," she said. "Just... just fine."

"You're awake."

Both girl's heads snapped towards the doorway, which had slid open seconds earlier. All the rest of the Titans had gathered there... many still wearing expressions of disbelief and awe at the sight of Terra back in their Tower. Robin wore the most severe of expressions, his face carefully neutral, eyes hidden behind his mask.

"Terra."

"Yeah... yeah it's me," she said, almost defiantly, reaching up to tuck her blonde hair behind her ear. Then, self-consciously aware of how the others were all looking at her, she added "Look I'll… I'll just get out of your hair," she said, making her way to the door. She found the way blocked, unfortunately.

"Hey what a minute Terra… what happened… where've you been?" asked Cyborg.

"Why have you not contacted us?" added Starfire.

"I wanted to forget," she said. "I… I wanted to forget without even realizing it. I wanted to die… I wanted -Terra- to die," she stated darkly. "This ideal girl you all seem to think I am, this hero. She's not real. She never was."

The Titans took a moment to digest that. Surprisingly, it was Beastboy who spoke next.

"Maybe… maybe she wasn't all of who you are… but she was part of it. Part of you."

"I'm not a hero," replied Terra.

"You stopped that monster earlier today," he pointed out.

"Only because it… it made me mad," she replied quickly.

"Then who are you?" asked Robin, arms folded across his chest.

"I… I don't know anymore. You Titans… and Slade… you've totally shook up my life. I don't know who I am anymore. I thought I knew for a while… I was the Sixth Titan, I was Slade's Apprentice, I was an ordinary schoolgirl… but now I'm none of those things."

Silence reigned for a short while. None of them quite knew what to say to that. Some had still not forgiven Terra for all she'd done as Slade's Apprentice. And some couldn't do anything -but- forgive her, for it was not in their nature to hold a grudge. Uncomfortable with the silence, Terra pushed her way forward, lightly (and gently) pushing Cyborg out of her way, only to find one final barrier between her and the corridor.

Beastboy.

But to her vast surprise, he just stepped aside. For a second, she was shocked… she didn't know what to say.

"Find out who you are," he said gently. "We'll be here when you decide."

Terra, unable to say anything, threw herself forward, sobbing, and clung to Beastboy, who hugged her back gently. No one, not the Titans, not Slade, and most especially not Beastboy had ever given her something like this before. They had always offered her one thing or another, but only if they stayed with her. Put her in a cage and told her how to live. None of them had, until now, given her what she truly wanted most:

Freedom.

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Of course once she'd hugged Beastboy she'd hugged all the Titans, even Starfire (earning herself a few broken ribs) and bid them all a misty-eyed farewell on the roof of Titan's Tower. She didn't have many things, just a few momentos she'd left behind from her time living in the Tower (after her betrayal to Slade) as well as few things Robin had brought away from the destroyed house. She'd told him all she knew, of course, but that was little. She hadn't realized who her guardian had been until he'd been revealed and she'd remembered.

Slade was out there, somewhere, she realized. But it didn't matter now. She'd been trained too well as his Apprentice. If he tried anything, she'd show him a thing or two.

So it was she lifted up onto her flying rock and soared off onto the horizon, allowing fate and chance to dictate where she would go. Right now, she was heading East. It would be nice to explore middle America, she hadn't seen much of it since she'd come to the states.

She'd had to pick up some new clothes, and she'd had to modify a few more. Robin had given her directions to a tailor in Jump City who worked on superheroes costumes on the side. He was able to design her new uniform… gold and black, with a mask (since some people still would recognize her face as that of Slade's Apprentice) as well as some strong gloves and boots, as well as a heavy leather coat she'd thrown on. She'd thanked him, and tried to pay, but he'd insisted he did it as repayment for the countless time heroes like Terra had saved the world.

She left the money on the counter as she'd left. Like her former mentor, she didn't like to leave debts in this world. She'd settled them with both the Titans and Slade. Now she was completely free.

She intended to enjoy that freedom.

Allowing her rock to race across the sky fast as a missile, she gave a whoop of joy as she sped over the highway, wind rustling through her hair.

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Off in the distance, on a solitary hillrise, a shadowy figure rested, dropping down the telescope in his hand. He gave a nod as he watched Terra soar off into the distance, until she was little more than a silhouette against the darkening skies.

"Good-bye Terra."

His work finished, Slade leapt down from his perch and made his way back to the city. His debt was repaid as well.

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Author's Notes:

And so Terra's story comes to an end. I'd initially planned Terra joining Titan's East (hence the direction she was travelling) but the idea fell through, and I decided to leave her ultimate fate up in the air. Still, I think this is a slightly more complete story for her, Beastboy and Slade than what we saw in 'Things Change.'

Elie101: I'm afraid all of my stories have to come to an end sooner or later. They tend to interlink with one another but they all have a defined beginning, middle, and end. .

Jimmy the Gothic Egg: Wait for my next brilliant idea to mutate into a new story?

Loveatfirstterra: Chopping writing and bad grammar/spelling errors are some of my worst traits, but hopefully my content makes up for it.

Guardian of Azerath: As you can see, Slade has fallen into retreat for now. His work is done.

Rocky-White Wolf of Curses: I said I wanted you to keep guessing, then prove you wrong. That's all. I delight in surprising people.

Todd fan: Thank you.

Ray1: Indeed... now we're cooking with napalm.

Terra106: I will when I am able. I do have a life, unfortunately.

ViciousAssassin: As you can see, he's done a runner... so the story comes to an end, and all loose ends are tied up. Unlike some elements of Teen Titans.

SxStrngSamurai: Oh you never know what you can do until you try, but thank you for the compliment, glad you enjoyed it. I always enjoy dramatic scenes myself.

Comet-hime: Epic, isn't it? Thanks Comet-sama, and I'm glad your artwork could inspire me to begin with. I don't think she's more powerful though... seriously how can she be?

TeenTitans4Evah: You predicted the return of the elemental monster? Not bad... not bad at all. You may be able to see past my madness. I see you do your research.