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P.S: School will be starting soon and I may not be able to update as quickly or as often as I would like. I apologize for this in advance, but it can't be helped. Also, as I said before, if you wish for more chapters, please review. Otherwise I will not bother. Thank you and enjoy.

Stone Prison

By: Demonabyss

Chapter 15: Introspection

I worked silently late into the night with the information the Titans gave me. I didn't need sleep while in my rock form and as long as I kept the armor on they'd never know, except for Raven. I had showed her my rock form, though it wasn't easy. I've never liked showing anyone anything about myself, mostly because I've learned first hand how painful that can be. Needless to say, she had been shocked witless. The way she stared at me was, unnerving to say the least. It only confirmed my assumption that people would see me as a freak in my real form. At least Raven had the decency not to comment. She "inspected me" and then said she'd find out what she could on what I was. My guess is she already knows and doesn't want to tell me until this whole Trigon business is over with. Can't say I much blame her, as I wouldn't trust me either if I were in her shoes.

I knew she and the rest of the Titans didn't trust me, but then again I didn't expect them to. I mean I had "attempted" to kill them, why should they trust me? Actually let me correct myself. Robin and Cyborg don't trust me, Raven only trusts me to keep my end of the deal, Starfire isn't sure whether or not to trust me, and Beast Boy has been an annoyance since I got here. He's been trying to rekindle our friendship ever since he realized I was staying here. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. He turned his back on me after just a few words from Slade not even giving me a chance to explain, trusting his ENEMY over his FRIEND! I would rather not have any friends then have friends with so little loyalty, this decision coming from personal experience long before Beast Boy. In any case, I gave my word to Raven that I would do everything in my power to solve this situation with Trigon and that one-eyed fire-bending asshole. Though that little spiky haired twit is really testing my patience.

I don't know what Robin's problem is but he has to look at the bigger picture here. If we screw up, Raven's old man will total the entire DIMENSION and everyone and everything with it. We don't have time for his petty arguments. I know he's trying to tick me off just so I'll break the deal and be forced to leave. As much as I would like to (and smack that arrogance of his right out of him) I have to know what I am. I went through most of my life no knowing who I am and refuse to go through life not know what I am.

(Normal POV)

Raven paced back and forth in her room, unsure of what to make of the situation. Her demon father was coming soon to claim her soul and destroy this dimension. To prevent this she had made a deal not with a devil, but with an elemental, a true elemental! She had suspected but silently hoped it wasn't true. Terra was an elemental, an earth elemental. The situation had just become far more dangerous then any of the other Titans could imagine. Elementals were an ancient and extinct race of beings that embodied various primal forces in the universe, such as water, air, fire, ice, space, light, dark, or in this case earth. The reason they were extinct was because ancient and powerful sorcerers had wiped them out long ago, as they were extremely dangerous. According to ancient texts, elementals had only basic or simplistic sentience as they were the embodiment of the elements and thus their personalities and actions reflected those elements. Fire elementals for example were chaotic and destructive, seeking only to burn everything to the ground. As a result, elementals were highly mentally unstable, possibly even insane, and with the kind of power they wielded it was no wonder why ancient sorcerers hunted down and killed them all.

However there was one major difference between the elementals of the past and Terra. Terra had a human mind and soul whereas the past elementals were little more then sentient energy constructs. Once more, Terra was a fledgling elemental, not a fully-grown one. This meant that her mind should still be stable for the time being. How long that would last would be anyone's guess. For the time being, she decided not to tell Terra until after this Trigon business, if she survived that is. 'I just hope none of the others do anything stupid while she's here. That volcano had caused her transformation into an elemental. The upheavals might've accelerated her mental decay, but it doesn't seem like it. I have no doubt however that if she used enough of her power at once again, it could cause her "condition" to accelerate again. If that happens, I don't know what'll happen then,' she thought darkly as she continued to pace.

Starfire lay in her bed wide-awake, pondering the turn of events. Friend Terra had returned, but was she their friend? The alien couldn't decide. Terra had been staying with them for over a week now and things had been tense in the Tower. So far, Terra had kept her word about not hurting any of the others, in any way. There were a few moments like when she first arrived with Cyborg, which she obviously wanted to, but didn't.

Usually it was Robin or Beast Boy she wanted to hit and or shoot down but she was able to restrain herself with obvious difficulty. Robin kept making remarks about her working for Slade and other such things, though she either stayed silent or retaliated with remarks about Red X or him being a lot like Slade. Needless to say, the two did not get along and were rarely in the same room as each other. Beast Boy was trying to be her friend again, but she refused him at every turn though Starfire wasn't sure why. Cyborg wisely chose to stay silent around Terra, only speaking to her when necessary. Terra likewise did the same for him and the two tolerated each other for the time being. Raven was a lot like Cyborg in how he treated her, quiet and only speaking a little more than necessary. Other then Starfire herself, Raven seemed to get along with the blonde girl quite well, which was surprising considering how much Raven hated Terra after her infiltration for Slade.

Starfire herself wasn't sure what to consider Terra. 'On one hand, she did betray us for our hated enemy and is an outlaw from the Justice League. On the other hand, she did nearly sacrifice herself to save us from the volcano and she did come to Raven offering her services against her evil father and Slade,' the red head thought confused. As a result, Starfire had decided to start small and work up on her friendship with Terra, doing small things of kindness and just being friendly in general while still being careful. So far, Terra had reciprocated the small acts with small acts of her own. Giving Starfire a few cooking tips, explaining a couple of things, small things like that. It seemed the Tameranian was slowly gaining a friend.

Cyborg worked in his room quietly while thinking on the new turn of events. Terra being here was not an idea he liked, but he had decided it was the lesser of two evils. He'd rather deal with Terra then a dimension-conquering demon that was planning to take away one of his closest friends and if she could some how prevent that or at least save Raven, then he could work with her if he had to. 'It could be worse, I could have to work with Gizmo,' he thought amusedly. 'I just hope Robin doesn't push her to her limits. That girl has to have a lot of patience to put up with him, not that I blame him. I don't want her here either but I can understand why she wants to help. If Trigon gets here then we're all screwed, her included, and we need all the help we can get,' he thought as he worked on a security device Terra had asked him to build.

Despite their now "strictly business" attitude towards one another, Terra and Cyborg had come up with a number of ideas to keep Raven safe from Slade and her father. The device he was working on was an advanced type of security grid generator that would place a shield all around the Tower so that nothing could phase in like Slade apparently could. She had also instructed him to track down and attain any artifacts from the Order or Azar. After she noticed Slade wearing one of their rings where he hadn't before she had looked into it and found that it belonged to the Order that had originally imprisoned Trigon. The blonde had guessed that Slade wore it as insurance. Even Robin had to agree that that was something Slade would most likely do. Though it was unlikely Robin would agree to anything else where Terra was concerned.

Beast Boy sat in his room, thinking about Terra. Though she was just down the hallway, most likely working at her computer, she couldn't have been further from him. She had been avoiding and or ignoring him ever since she had gotten here. He had been trying to make up with her, but she wanted nothing to do with him. All his begging and pleading only got him looking down the business end of her gun with her just itching to pull the trigger. According to Terra, the only reason she didn't pull it was because she had swore to Raven that she wouldn't hurt any of them. 'Terra, I don't understand. I'm your friend aren't I?' he thought sadly when the words of Raven came back to his mind.

"Terra has masks to protect herself from others. She probably uses different masks for different situations just like you use different animal forms for different reasons. Just because she's not your enemy doesn't necessarily mean that you're not hers," her words rang in his head. He sighed, she was right. This was another one of her masks and just because she wasn't the enemy it didn't automatically mean she was his friend. He sighed, what was he going to do now?

Robin stared hard at the communications panel. Right now it was opening a channel to the Justice League. He couldn't allow Terra to remain here. She was too much a risk to both Raven and his team and he knew they couldn't take her down themselves. "This is Titans Tower to Watch Tower, come in Watch Tower," he said mechanically as he had done a million times. He waited for a response.

The voice and appearance of J'onn came over the system. "This is the Watch Tower. What's the problem?" he asked knowing that Robin wouldn't call them unless it was serious.

Robin sighed. "I wish to report that Terra is here," he said in a serious tone. There was silence for a moment.

The silence was broken by the dark monotone voice of his mentor as he came onto the screen, Batman. "Terra is there? Explain," he practically ordered.

Robin clenched his fist. This was exactly why he never liked calling the Justice League, Batman in particular. He was very bossy and liked to have COMPLETE control. "Apparently she made a deal with Raven to aid us against Trigon. I don't trust her. She betrayed us once to Slade and I don't want that to happen again. I know we can't take her by ourselves," he explained in a tone similar to Batman's.

On the other end of the com. link Batman nodded. "We'll plan an assault to retrieve her. Until then keep her there for as long as possible," he ordered. Robin nodded and cut the transmission. Batman turned to his teammates Martian Man hunter, Flash, Shayera, and Green Lantern. "Gather as many League members as possible. We won't have another opportunity like this again," he said as he went off to organize the attack to capture Terra.

Question watched from a distance, knowing this was a really bad idea. However, he didn't bother to try and talk them out of it knowing they'd just say that she was too much of a loose cannon to be left alone. While that was true to a point, however she was only dangerous to those who tried to capture or control her. Otherwise she was rarely seen at all. In any case, confronting her with a practical army of experienced superheroes all out to capture her in the middle of a city was probably not the best strategically move to make. The blue clothed, faceless man went back to his room and got out the communicator, which he hadn't used for some time, to contact Terra. "Terra, you there? This is important," he spoke quietly over the device just to be safe.

Back in Titans Tower, Terra's typing momentarily stopped. She quickly double tapped a specific spot on her right gauntlet and continued to type as if nothing happened. "This is Terra, what is it?" she spoke though no sound exited her helmet. She had installed the transmitter directly into it as well as a silencing device so she could speak freely without anyone hearing her. She had learned the value of silence and stealth long ago on the road. It was especially important when a certain spiky haired mass of paranoia was watching you.

"The Justice League knows you're at Titans Tower. Robin just informed them and they plan an assault on the Tower to capture you. I don't know any of the details yet, but I relay them to you when I can," he explained quickly and quietly.

Terra continued to work, making it look like she was searching for more information as she spoke. "Humph, I'm not surprised. This does complicate things however. Keep me informed. I'll figure a way out of this," she said clearly. Already gears turned in her head to find a way to keep her promise without being captured.

Deep within the earth, a familiar entity stirred. 'Fools, they know not what they do. Be careful daughter.' Once again, it went silent and continued to watch those above, ready to act if necessary.