Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans East. Also, the unedited version of the lyrics used on this chapter is copy written by their respective artists.
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The next morning at Titans Tower: East.
The door to the main room opened to reveal Speedy who apparently just got out of bed. His hair was messed up and he didn't have his complete uniform on. He had on a simple red t-shirt along with his usual combat trousers and boots. He yawned wide as he walked down the stairs, around the pool, and into the kitchen.
This wasn't uncommon for him, being the first one up. This was probably due to his years of training as the Green Arrows apprentice. He was used to being the first one up almost every morning and no-one would be awake for about half an hour.
On his way, he noticed the remote control on the counter top. He picked it up and looked at it for a second. He used it to turn on the main computer. He fixed his hair as he turned on the music player function. He left the remote alone for a while as he reached into the fridge to retrieve a pizza box. He opened it and saw two slices left from last night.
He puts the two slices in the microwave and sets the time. He goes back to the remote and selects a song from the 'wake up in the morning' playlist Bumble Bee created. It contained a some up-beat songs and a few disco classics. Speedy browsed through the selection but couldn't find any preferences so he just put on shuffle.
The computer played an up-beat disco song. Speedy turned to the microwave and turned it on. The timer started to count down. Speedy watched the pizza slices spin on the microwave's glass tray. After a while Speedy unconsciously started to nod his head to the beat. He soon started taping his foot to the song. Eventually he was swaying his head from side to side.
Eventually the microwave gave its generic 'ding' sound to signify that the pizza was done. At that same moment the music player changed to another song. It happened to be one of Speed's more familiar hits which was Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive." Speedy, as he was taking out the slices from the microwave, sang along with the song. But, deciding to have a little fun, he used his own lyrics which went a little something like this:
"At first I was afraid to eat a pizza pie,
Kept thinking this is not good, this is a pizza pie
And I spent oh so many nights just eating my crispy fried prawn
And I grew strong, because of my crispy fried prawn."
He set down the plate where he put down his two slices and started dancing a bit as he moved around the counter and continued on with the first stanza.
"Then came a box from outer spaceI looked at it and took it with a smirk upon my face
I opened it and I was in shock
It was the biggest pizza pie I'd ever see
I took one bite, within five seconds
It was gone, just like potato chips!"
He grabs a long wooden spoon that was laying around on the counter and used it like a mic.
"And now pizza is what I adore
If you're not pizza pie delivery
You're not welcome anymore
Because for my pizza pie
I never want to say good-bye
And just for you, I would lay down and die!"
He started sidestepping and swaying his midsection.
"Because now I love pizza pie.
As long I've got pizza pie I know I'll stay alive
I want all my garlic beef, pepperoni, double cheese
All over my, my pizza pie…whoa!"
Speedy dropped the wooden spoon and spontaneously froze in place as soon as his sight went towards the entrance to the main room. Because standing in front of the door was Terra, with one arm clutching her gut and the other arm covering her mouth trying desperately to suppress the urge to giggle uncontrollably. Speedy's face turned beat red as he tried to mutter some kind of saying.
"Terra!…um I…uh…you…you see I, umm… How long have you been there?"
Terra got control long enough to answer. "Oh, around 'crispy fried prawn'…"
"Um… well the thing is…I, um…" he looked towards the plate of pizza and back at her, "…want some pizza?"
Terra giggled. "Sure, why not."
Terra walked down towards where Speedy was standing. She took the liberty of taking a seat on one of the stools and took one of the slices, taking a bite out of it. Speedy eventually joined her and sat next to her on another stool and also started to munch down on the remaining slice.
"Just for the record," said Speedy between bites, "I don't do this every morning, ya know."
"Really?" replied Terra, "That's too bad. I would have loved to her your take on tacos."
"Um, sure, yeah. Not a word to the others, okay?"
"Depends on how much you're willing to pay…"
Speedy stared at her.
"…I'm kidding…"
"You have a real sick sense of humor, you know that?"
"Yeah, I guess. But when you think about it, a couple of months training with Slade would do that to you."
Speedy was somehow silenced by that last remark. She mentioned Slade. That was something they thought she would never do. They made it a point to avoid such topics when they were talking to her and here she is bringing it up herself. Speedy was at a loss of words and could do nothing but stare at her again.
"…what?"
"Um, are sure you're cool mentioning Slade's name just like that?
"…Oh don't worry about it, I'm cool."
"But Terra…"
"You guys were right. It just the past. No use getting caught up in it. Sure a lot of bad stuff happened but above all that I had a lot to learn from those experiences. I should've come in to terms with it a long time ago but I was just pitying myself too much. I finally learned that despite of what I may have been in the past, the only ting that matters now is what I may become in the future."
"…Wow, what got you to thinking like that?"
"Yesterday, when you guys were out there fighting, I was worried about you guys. I was worried some of you might get really hurt. After all the stuff you guys did for me, I didn't want that happening. You guys were the only important thing back then so I started thinking 'to hell with the past'. I had friends that needed helping and I wasn't about to stand there and do nothing."
Speedy smiled. "I'm glad you see tings that way. Even if we told you not to, I should thank you for coming out yesterday like you did. God knows we owe you our butts and so does that kid from the mall."
"Oh that. You were there too. You would've found a way to save her even without me."
"Still, you reacted a lot quicker than I ever could have."
"Hmm, must all that training I've been through, both with Slade and the Titans."
"Training, nothing. I say it's 'cause you're a natural born hero. That's all."
"…Speedy…Thanks."
They have finished their pizza by then and Speedy took the liberty of taking away the dirty plate. On his way back, He took a couple of glasses which he field with water from a nearby dispenser. He handed one glass to Terra and kept one for himself. Terra took the glass and gave a nod on thanks.
Speedy raised his glass to Terra. "To the future, then…"
Terra looked at him for a while. Eventually, she raised her glass to his and made a clanking sound as the glasses hit each other.
"To the future…" she said.
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Somewhere in the secrete lair of Professor Chang.
A bunch of white-suited henchmen were doing some kind of work in a large circular room of some sort. Chang stood in one corner as he overlooked the entire operation as it took place in front of him. As he did, a small smile graced his wrinkled old lips. Everything was going according to plan, he thought to himself. Thing have finally began to move in their favor once again.
He took careful note of the things that he observed. On most of the walls in the room, there were plenty of computer terminals that were attached to the walls and floors. Wires connected every terminal to every other terminal in the room as well as to a myriad of other gadgets. Some of the henchmen were hard at work connecting the wires and cables to their respective ports. Others were on the terminals themselves doing a little debugging.
Chang looked around a bit more. He noted a special metallic chair that sat near the center of the room. One glance at the chair and anyone would know that it was strictly meant to hold someone down. Anyone who was seated at that would most likely be held down by five built-in shackles, tow for each wrist, two for each ankle, and one for the waist. Chang smiled a little wider, knowing who would soon be sitting in that chair.
Chang also noted one last particular device that sat in the middle of the room, just a few feet in front of the chair. It looked like a round pedestal that rose four feet off the ground at its peak. It had some kind of four-pronged claw at the top of it which looked like it was meant to hold something. At the base of the device, it had nearly five dozen cables attached to it.
Soon, a single henchman entered the room carrying with him what looked like an oversized lunchbox. Chang saw the man and went towards him. The henchman stopped and stood in attention as Chang approached him.
"Sir, the crystal is ready," said the henchman.
"Show me," ordered Chang.
The henchman walked to a nearby table and set the lunchbox down. Chang kept a close eye on the box, the whole time. The henchman opened the box and took out a large crystal. Chang walked up to the henchman who handed him the crystal. Chang examined the crystal more closely.
The crystal was colored in a brilliant shade of amber-orange and was roughly the size of a large watermelon but weighed just over a pound which allowed Professor Chang, in spite of his age, to carry it with relative ease. The crystal was not perfect, by any definition. It had uncut, rough edges and its general shape was irregular, same as the kind of rock that has just been dug out of the ground before you take it to a jeweler.
Chang didn't seem to mind any of the crystal's imperfections however. He knew the true purpose of the crystal that he held and it was not to look pretty. He handed it back to the henchman that brought it in. He then gave an order to the henchman.
"Prepare it for installation," he ordered.
The henchman with the crystal nodded and walked to strange pedestal that was in the middle of the room. He placed the crystal on top of the four-pronged claw at the top. He pressed a hidden switch at the side of the device which caused the claw to clamp down on the crystal holding it in place.
The henchman then moved to a nearby computer terminal, turned it on, and began working. He entered a set of commands into the terminal that must have somehow caused the pedestal to 'turn on' as it began giving off a slight humming noise. As the final command was entered, the crystal suddenly sparked wildly with electrical discharge but quickly settled down. The crystal settled into a deep amber glow.
On the side, Professor Chang seemed pleased with the events that just occurred. He walked over to an empty computer terminal which was most likely there for his personal use. He entered a few commands on the keyboard. Suddenly, the façade of Brother Blood appeared on the screen.
"What is it, Professor Chang?" asked Blood's image.
"Preparations have been made, my friend," said Chang, "Now the time is ripe…"
Brother Blood smiled. "Excellent…"
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Some time later, back at the tower.
It was after lunch and three of the teens were on the couch in the main room. Terra and Aqualad were pounding on two Gamestation controllers while Speedy watched from one side of the couch. Speedy looked bored as Terra and Aqualad were engaged in an exiting battle in the virtual realm.
"You're pretty good," commented Aqualad.
"You have no idea," said Terra.
On the huge screen, tow virtual warriors fought in a brilliant display of speed, strength and fighting spirit. One character, a young swordswoman, wore a majestic armor reminiscent of old Greek goddesses. She looked to be in her twenties, long flowing red hair and brown eyes. She was armed with two short swords.
Her opponent was a tall, muscular barbarian. The man stood over six feet tall, had a full beard and hair that reached to his neck. He wore a myriad of animal skins and fur all over his body. For armor, he wore a simple-looking iron breastplate, a thick iron bracelet on each forearm, and iron laced boots. His one armament was a gigantic battle axe with a head as big as a dinner table.
The two faced each other as the stood on some kind floating arena in the middle of some lake. The arena was circular in nature and had ancient designs carved on to it and was very wide, enough to put a house over.
It was the barbarian who charged first, swinging down his mighty axe on the seemingly outmatched swordswoman. The swordswoman was, however, pretty quick on her quick on her feet and evaded the blow by quickly sidestepping out of the way. She then leapt into the air and slashed down with one of her swords at the barbarian.
The barbarian blocked the attack with one of his iron bracelets and forced the swordswoman back. The swordswoman slid back a few feet. She resumed her stance and readied herself. The barbarian lifted his axe once again and charged at her. He swung his entire body around along with the axe in a wide circle. The blade nearly beheaded the swordswoman but she ducked just in time.
She was about to attack but almost failed to notice the barbarians foot coming down on her. She rolled to the side to avoid it. The barbarians foot created a large crater on the ground showing just how much power it had. The swordswoman got up and readied herself once again.
She went on the offensive this time as she charged the barbarian head-long. The barbarian noticed and attempted to slice the swordswoman in half by bringing down his axe. The axe missed her by a hair's width hen became imbedded in the Continuing onwards, she slid in between the barbarian's legs and ended up behind him. From there she hopped up and swipe-kicked the barbarian on the side of his neck.
The barbarian stumbled sideways, away from his axe that remained firmly imbedded in the ground. He recovered and looked toward his opponent. She was charging at him again, twin swords swinging. The barbarian put up his dukes and managed to parry and block the oncoming attacks with his iron bracelets. After blocking an attack with one hand, the barbarian quickly threw a hand down to crush the swordswoman.
She reacted in time by crossing her blades above her head which met the barbarian's bracelet, stopping the hand from crushing her into the ground. The hand was heavy on her swords but somehow she managed to hold off and up his mighty hand. She summoned her strength into one powerful burst and threw the hand off of her blades. In that moment, she slipped from under the arm and hopped backwards out of the barbarian's reach.
The swordswoman made a daring attack by throwing one of her sword like a javelin towards the barbarian. The barbarian notices early and catches the sword in mid-flight with one of his hands. He held the sword like a twig and snapped it in two just as easily. The swordswoman was taken aback and readied her one and only weapon.
The barbarian grinned at her. He brought his two hands together into a ball and slammed it down into the arena. The impact sent a shockwave that racked the whole area, even causing large ripples in the water that surrounded the arena. The shockwave threw the swordswoman off her feet and on her back. She was in a vulnerable state right then.
The barbarian did not dare waste such an opportunity to strike. He jumped high into the air. He fell down on the swordswoman, elbow first. The swordswoman went wide-eyed and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being turned into a pancake. She got up and prepared herself. Similarly, the barbarian got up and looked like he was about to charge again. The swords woman noted how close she was to the edge of the arena. The swordswoman smirked. She mockingly cooed the barbarian to charge.
The barbarian charged, the swordswoman stood her ground. The barbarian neared her yet the swordswoman did not move. When the barbarian was about to tackle the swordswoman, she finally made her move. She quickly slipped to the side and fell on her knees. The barbarians meaty arms missed her. From her low position on the ground, she struck her sword against one of his feet. The blade broke as impacted the iron-laced boot.
Though the blade was broken, the objective was achieved. The barbarian stumbled forward uncontrollably. As expected, the barbarian stumbled right into the water. He created a pretty big splash as he involuntarily dived into the lake. It was obvious at that point that the battle was now over
The swordswoman stood victoriously as the word "winner" floated above her head in bright golden, three-dimensional, computer generated letters. Back in the real world Terra was copying her virtual character in her victory stance.
"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed.
"Dude, that's five losses in a row," pointed out Speedy to Aqualad, "give up already."
Aqualad shrugged. "Yeah, you're right." He tossed aside the controller.
"Awww, giving up already?" inquired Terra.
"Yup."
"C'mon! best six out of thirteen?"
"I'm an Atlantean, not a shore crab. I know when I'm beaten."
"Wuss…"
At that moment, Bumble Bee came in through the door. The rest of the team looked towards the door. Aqualad, Speedy and Terra hopped over the couch so that they could face Bumble Bee.
"Welcome back," said Speedy, "what took you so long? I thought you guys were only going to the prison."
Bumble Bee nodded. "Yeah, but we stopped by a few places on the way back here."
Bumble Bee, along with Más and Menos, were gone for most of the morning right after breakfast. They went to the prison. They were going there out of a request from the warden as well as a little of their own interest. It was regarding Steamroller mostly.
Even before the villain escaped and caused the events of yesterday, he was a major nuisance within the prison itself. Bumble Bee, being a cybernetic engineer herself, devised a solution to the problem. The solution would guarantee that Steamroller would almost never be able to terrorize anyone ever again.
Before anyone starts to think about this seemingly cruel-sounding punishment, it should be explained that this punishment is by no means gruesome. Bumble Bee simply hacked into Steamroller's circuitry and activated the built-in limiter. She was one of the few people who knew that a limiter was built into Steamrollers armor. The others who knew were Brother Blood and whoever made the armor in the first place.
The armor that the villain wore was designed to enhance strength. But just incase the wearer decided to become a bit unruly, the built-in limiter would ensure that the armor would be in no means capable of doing any major damage. The limiter's job was to reduce the amount of power output from the suit. It would only provide enough power to the suit that would be the equivalent of normal humans. Just enough to survive with but not enough to cause damage to anything. All Bumble Bee had to do was to turn on the limiter and her job was done.
"Can I ask where?" asked Speedy.
"We dropped by the mall to pick up some stuff. By the way," she looked at Terra and Speedy, "I like what you guys did to the place…"
Terra blushed some, "heh heh heh…my bad."
"Oh, c'mon Bee, that wasn't our fault…mostly," said Speedy.
"What 'stuff' did you get?" asked Aqualad.
"Well, you see--"
Bumble Bee was interrupted as a blur of red and white suddenly appeared out of nowhere and materialized into the form of Más and Menos carrying over a dozen shopping bags and shoe boxes. Everyone else was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the twins, nearly falling on their butts.
"Sra. Terra, mira todas las cosas que compramos para ti. Por favor échales un vistazo. ¡Sabemos que tú sólo los querrás!" blurted out the twins.
"How many time do I have to tell you guys never to do that!" said Speedy.
"¡Eso no es importante ahora mismo! ¡Trajimos a la Sra. Terra mucho de regalos que sólo adorará!"
The twins laid down all the shopping bags in front of the three teens near the couch. They were smiling excitedly the whole time.
"What is all that stuff anyway?"
"Let's just say that the twins got a little carried away with the credit card," replied Bumble Bee.
Speedy curiously ruffled through one of the bags and pulled out pink blouse with floral designs all over it. The three teens looked at it curiously. Speedy looked back to Bumble Bee.
"No offense, Bee, but don't you have a big enough wardrobe as it is?" said Speedy, "I would know, I've seen your closet."
"Don't worry about that Speedy," said Bumble Bee, "They're not for my closet, they're for Terra's."
Terra did a double-take on Bumble Bee. "What?"
"There all for you, girl. Consider it a housewarming gift…"
"For me?"
"The way I see it, if you're gonna be a part of this team, you're gonna need your own stuff so you don't have to keep wearing all my old spares like you are now, wouldn't you say?"
"Part of the team!" Terra was taken aback by that.
"Bumble Bee's right, you know," said Aqualad, "You've proven yourself to be a true heroine and a real team player. You've got the right stuff, Terra, whether that be natural or not, we believe that you'd make a valuable addition to this team. Gods know what this world needs is more heroes."
Terra smiled. "Thank you."
"I understand the whole 'part of the team' thing but isn't all this luggage a little excessive?" asked Speedy as he ruffled through more bags. He pulled out something that was small, satin, and had two cups. He turned red and quickly shoved the article back into the bag.
"Well, like I said," replied Bumble Bee, "the twins got a little carried away with the credit card."
The twins scratched the back of their heads as they apologized.
"Besides, you could never have too much clothing."
"Says you, Oprah…"
"Hey!"
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On some rooftop near the edge of Steel City.
Fallacy relaxed herself as she sat under the shadow of a smokestack. She was napping mostly, having nothing else better to do until she got a call from her boss. So she was on standby for the meantime simply waiting for something to happen. But in truth she didn't mind really.
It was rare for her to get occasions like this. As a hive student she was always busy. Her powers had many applications in training her fellow students. That Talent was not left unnoticed and was readily exploited by her schoolmasters. She didn't mind much all her 'extra-curricular duties' but that left her little time to relax.
Since the day the Hive Academy was destroyed, thanks to the Teen Titans, she found plenty of time to relax. However she did miss the thrill of the occupation so when she caught wind of Brother Bloods new scheme she was eager to join in the bandwagon. Blood told her that she was to conduct a very important mission and she readily accepted. Even so, she was thankful for these little periods of relaxation.
That relaxing atmosphere soon broke when a ringing communicator snapped her out of her trance. Fallacy grabbed the communicator from her belt and answered the caller. Predictably enough, it was Brother Blood. Fallacy knew what he was about to say, and even though her relaxing moment was over, she tingled with excitement.
"Fallacy," said Blood on the communicator.
"Yes, Headmaster?" replied Fallacy.
"The preparations have been made. Everything is ready for the girl's return to our grasp."
"Wonderful news, Headmaster. Does that mean the time has come to proceed with the mission?"
"Yes, the mission starts tonight. Professor Chang has sent some of his new creations to give you back up as well as provide the containment and transportation. They will rendezvous with you on that spot. After that, wait until night falls, when the best opportunity to strike presents itself. I know you're quite capable, my dear, so don't disappoint me."
"Have I ever, Headmaster?"
"No, but now would be the lousiest time to start."
"I will not disappoint you, Headmaster. Terra shall be yours once again by the end of this day."
"I'll hold you to that. I will await your report for later."
With that, Brother Blood signed out. Fallacy closed her communicator and put it back in her belt pocket. She stood up and looked towards the east. She was able to make out the silhouette of Titans Tower: East as the sun was rising over the bay. She laughed softly at the sight.
"Soon," she said, "very soon…"
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Much later that afternoon.
Bumble Bee was alone in the main room. Terra had gone to her room to organize all the stuff they got her from the mall. With all the stuff they bought her, that ought to take a long time. The boys went on their regular patrols of the city. Bumble Bee had other business to attend to at the moment except for a little call to make.
She stood in front of the computer screen, typing a command into the keyboard. She stepped back as she finished and waited for something to happen. A while later , Robin's image appeared in the center of the screen.
"Good afternoon, Bumble Bee," said Robin's image, "To what do I owe this call to?"
"Hey there, Rob," greeted Bumble Bee, "Just wanted to ask you some information, that's all."
"What kind of information?"
"I need a detailed file on a villain named Professor Chang."
"Chang? Why do you need his file? Is he in Steel City?"
"Yeah. We think he's involved in a major scheme to bring down this city."
"So that's where he disappeared to. When he went missing from our radar, we were worried he'd try something someplace else."
"We have some files on him here, but they don't give us much detail. I know you had a little personal business with him some months back, am I right?"
"Yeah but those were some bad times and I really rather want to forget about 'em. Anyways, Sure Bumble Bee, I'll send you all the info we have on Chang right now."
A message appeared on the screen. A file was being e-mailed towards the Titans East computer in real-time. It took less than a minute for the whole file to be downloaded. After Bumble Bee acknowledged that the file was received, Robin's face reappeared on the screen.
"Thanks, Rob," said Bumble Bee, "we really appreciate this, me and the team."
"No sweat. We're all fighting one big fight against the forces of evil, after all. If there's anything else you need, we're totally there to help out."
"Thanks Rob, but I think we can handle things here just fine."
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Well actually…"
Bumble Bee cut herself short on her speech. She contemplated telling Robin about her. About Terra. He might be able to help out with her. He knew more about her than anybody else from the Titans East. Should she tell? Should she ask for help? Should Terra be—?
No. She told herself 'no'. She made a promise to Terra. This was Terra's decision and no one else's. She had no right to make that call. That was final. Besides, she knew that the original Titans were already in the middle of something big for them and didn't need the extra weight. For now, things will just flow along.
"Bumble Bee? What's wrong?"
Bumble Bee snapped out of her trance. "Huh? Oh nothing. Everything's just fine…"
Robin raised an eyebrow in doubt.
Bumble Bee, trying to evade, changed the subject. "Now I heard that you guys were in some kind of trouble for the past few days. Why don't you tell me about that and maybe we can help out. I mean you guys just gat back to Jump City from your trip right? What could be causing you trouble so early?"
Robin was taken aback by that inquiry. "Well…we, um…"
"Robin?"
"It's not really that we're in trouble over here…"
"Then what's wrong?"
"Well… it mostly has to do with Beast Boy and a recent discovery of his. It's something that caught us off-guard. It brought up some old wounds, ya' know?"
Now Bumble Bee was really worried. "What's troubling you then?"
"I rather not--"
"C'mon man, I'm here to help."
"…Do you really wanna know?"
"Yes."
"…It's Terra…"
Bumble Bee's eyes went wide. "What!"
"I was as surprised as you when I found out myself. I never thought it were possible too."
"But…how!"
"We don't know exactly how it happened. Her stone statue in the cave was there on minute then gone the next. I can't formulate any theories right now though, and I'm not sure I want to."
"How do you know for sure, that she's alive?"
"Because I saw her with my own eyes."
"What? Where?"
"Here in Jump City, where she is right now."
"Wait a minute, Terra is in Jump City right now!"
"Of course. Where else would she be?"
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