Disclaimer: Now what was I gonna say…Oh yeah…I don't own anything!

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In the depths of the man-made facility under False Vulcan.

In the large cavern that housed the main part of the dreaded GeoHammer, there was the usual buzzing of activity as wasp soldiers, drones and white-suited henchmen were all working together to put the finishing touches in the massive weapon. Several men were on computer terminal doing some debugging of the programs installed while others are finishing up small detail work like replacing metal panels to cover th internal mechanics.

Near the base of the vast space, close the vertical pit that ran deep into the earth, a large bay door opened up. From the doorway a single white-suited henchman walked out carrying a cylindrical steel case with him. He walked a few feet ahead of the doorway but the doorway doesn't close yet. Moments after the henchman entered, loud stomping sounds could be heard coming from the doorway.

Moments after the white-suited henchman entered, something else, something big, came through the doorway. The white-suited henchman looked behind him at the large thing in question and didn't even flinch. It was something the men working under Brother Blood nicknamed 'the stonecutter'.

A vague way of describing the stonecutter was that it was a giant, robot gorilla. It was a gigantic machine standing at over sixteen feet and it must have weighed at least a ton. It was humanoid, having two stubby legs to stand on, a torso for all the vital stuff like the engine and controls, and two long arms. The right are had a forearm ending in a three pronged claw, while the left arm, from the elbow down, was a large, high-tech looking drill. To pilot the thing, a single wasp soldier sat inside a vertical cockpit at the front part of the torso, behind a thick fiberglass canopy. In true HIVE fashion, the giant mechanical beast was mostly clad in black and yellow armor.

The stonecutter has been in the employ of Brother Blood for quite some time. It was mainly used as a construction robot. It specialized in ground work and digging, hence its name. Brother Blood had used this machine in making several of his underground bases. It definitely proved its worth here in the caverns of False Vulcan where the GeoHammer project took place.

The white-suited henchman put the metal case on the ground and opened it. He reached into the container and pulled out a familiar golden glowing crystal with jagged edges. The crystal's golden slow illuminated quite an area for its size. The white-suited henchman lifted it into the air as if offering it to the massive machine that is the stonecutter.

The pilot of the stonecutter acknowledged the henchman's offer and maneuvered the right claw arm of the stonecutter to gently grab the offered crystal, careful not to apply so much pressure that the crystal might break. Once the crystal was secured by the stonecutter's claw, the pilot gave a nod to the white-suited henchman who soon nodded back.

The henchman stepped back a few feet from the stonecutter as a safety measure since he knew what was about to happen. The stonecutter straitened its stance. On the back part of the torso, two tube-like attachments are obvious. They both started humming. After a few moments of humming, it was soon revealed that the two tubes attached to the stonecutter's back were parts of a built in jet pack. Exhaust came blazing from the underside of both boosters which slowly lifted the massive machine off of the ground. An amazing achievement when one thought about it.

Slowly increasing its speed, the massive stonecutter flew up the entire height of the vast space of the cavern. On several balcony floors, men took a moment of their time to watch the flying machine carry the golden glowing crystal in its claw arm. Some stared in amazement while others seemed a bit bored.

The stonecutter reached its destination when it reached the tip of the downwards pointing needle attached to the ceiling of the cavern. On the tip of the needle, upon closer inspection, was glass casing about a size bigger than the golden glowing crystal that had an opening. The stonecutter slowly approached this glass casing, hovering at a steady altitude. With almost surgical care, the pilot of the stonecutter inserted the golden crystal into the glass casing. The glass casing slide closed and completely encased the crystal.

The stonecutter retreated from the needle and slowly eased itself back down to the lowest level. Within seconds of the insertion of the crystal, the entire length of the giant needle started to glow a dim golden haze. Over a period of a few moments the golden glow became a bit brighter and seemed to have reached its peak brightness.

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Inside the comforts of a nearby control room.

Brother Blood and Professor Chang who stood next to him watched all the events the took place via a giant computer screen feeding in surveillance video with a certain degree of satisfaction. Everything seemed to have gone according to plan for them both. The GeoHammer was nearly completed at this point.

Brother Blood turned in his seat to face Professor Chang. "You've done exceptionally well, my friend. You've far exceeded my every expectation."

"Thank you," replied Chang, "Now all that's left to do is to wait for the final touches on the machine to be made and then we will be ready to fire it up, as it is said."

"And it will only be a short time before the GeoHammer is completely finished."

"How soon will the project be finished?"

"Well, me engineers tell me they hit a snag with regards to the weapons software. They found a lot of bugs that needed to be worked out before the weapon itself is to be fully operational. So, at this rate, we can expect the weapon to be done in just over twelve hours…"

"Hmm…it would seem this project is just full of snags isn't it, my friend?"

"Maybe, but at this point, it a trivial matter."

"May I remind you that the Titans are still alive and they seem to have captured one of my men. They could come here directly and become a problem."

"It doesn't matter. Whether they come here or not, it won't change a thing. The weapon is almost complete and there is nothing they could do to stop it. Even if they do somehow find their way into this place, I am quite prepared for them."

"You sound very full confidence, my friend."

"I'm always full of confidence when I know victory is assured…"

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On the roof of Titans Tower: East.

It was already late in the afternoon. The sky is colored in a beautiful shade of orange due to the rapidly setting sun. The ocean, colored in the same fashion as the sky, stretched over the horizon which almost made it look like it stretched on to an eternity. The sight was truly magnificent.

However, the sight's magnificence was the last thing on Terra's mind. She was again dressed in her usual white shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. She stood close to the edge of the roof top, overlooking the vast ocean in front of her. Her expression was blank, showing off almost no emotion. Her eyes were mostly looking down the length of the tower. The wind was blowing away her hair but she barely acknowledged it.

Last night and most of this morning was the absolute pits for her. After being told the complete story from Professor Chang himself, she wanted so desperately for the whole event to have just been a bad dream. The bad dream continued however when they got back to the tower. Bumble Bee calmed Terra down enough only to tell her about the little conversation Robin and Bumble Bee had. Not only did that shock the rest of the team but only served to break down Terra's spirits even more.

Hearing about Bumble Bee's conversation with Robin was like the final nail in the coffin for Terra. Her spirit was in shambles. They knew then that a single request to the Titans of the west coast and they will be provided with undeniable proof. There was no longer any denying of the clear and awful truth that Terra herself has finally reconciled to believe.

She was not real.

She was a genetically identical copy of the real Terra that was currently living in Jump City, all the way in the opposite coast. She was nothing but a man-made creation to be a part of a weapon designed to dominate the world. Nothing more.

The wind blew at Terra's hair again. She resumed staring at the vast ocean in front of her. A moment or two later she took a few steps closer to the edge of the rooftop. She was already accustomed to heights so the sheer altitude didn't affect her. It was a very long way down from where she stood on the edge. While she was staring down, a familiar voice called out from behind her which she recognized as Speedy's.

"By the time you reach halfway down this tower, I would've already shot a grappling cable to catch you and pull you back up so don't even try…"

Terra looked behind her to fully acknowledge Speedy. Though it wasn't really necessary she took a step or two away from the edge mostly for Speedy's benefit. She gave the archer a slightly insulted look then turned her head back towards the ocean.

"That wasn't what I was thinking to do, you know…" said Terra without even looking at Speedy.

Speedy folded his arms. "Could've fooled me."

"…What do you want?"

"To talk, that's all."

"Why would you wanna talk with me?"

"Umm… I don't know. Maybe it's because we're friends and talking to each other is what friends do for each other when they're in distress. Yo know, that kind of stuff."

"I don't wanna talk."

"I really think that you need to talk to me, Terra."

"Oh, so you're a professional psychiatrist now, Speedy?"

"No, Terra. But I do know that the best thing for you right now is to have a little chat with someone who actually cares about you, ya' know?"

"There's nothing to talk about. And besides I'm in no mood right now."

"You were in no mood during lunch. I was hoping you'd open up right about now."

"Sorry to disappoint you, now can you leave me alone?"

"No. The only person disappointing you is yourself. We have to talk and settle a few things. C'mon, help me out here and you'll see that it's the right thing to do, Terra."

"…Don't call me that."

"C'mon, what is your problem, girl?"

Terra did a complete one-eighty and faced Speedy directly. "What's my problem? Seedy, you've never woken up one morning and found out that you were artificially created in a test tube. You've never had someone point out to you that all the memories you are of things that never even happened to you. You never had to find out that you and the world you lived in was not even real! So don't ever come at me asking me what my problem is Speedy, 'cause you have no idea."

Speedy was taken aback. "Look, Terra I know this is hard for you but--"

"I said you have no idea!" At that point Terra was already up at Speedy's face.

Speedy glared back. "Then why don't you try and make me understand so that we can have a better conversation?"

"There's no point in trying to draw a picture for you, Speedy!"

"First you call me a shrink, now you're calling me a moron?"

"I'm not calling you anything! It's just that you'd never be able to understand my feelings about this."

"Look, I just want to help you, Terra. We all want to help you. If you just give us a chance to help you, we might be able to work on something."

"Nobody can do anything to help me, Speedy. Don't you get it? I'm not real!"

"You really gonna buy that crap from that scrawny old fart? Chang said some things but that doesn't mean you should take them seriously, ya' know."

"Why shouldn't I? You've seen the evidence for yourself just now. I'm a clone. I'm artificial, synthetic. The real Terra is out there somewhere. I'm not her, Speedy, I'm not real."

"Is that all you're gonna believe? That you're not real?"

"Don't you believe it?"

"No, I don't."

"Then you're a bigger moron than I thought you were."

Now Speedy was getting mad. "You keep saying you're not real. But here you are standing right in front of me. This conversation we're having, you think it's not real too? How about all those times you spent with me, or Aqualad, Bumble Bee, the twins? Are those times not real to you as well. Do you think that the little girl you saved at the Shady Hills mall thinks you're not real? Are you saying none of those times matter to you? I don't matter to you?"

"Would you just stop caring already! I'm not worth it! I've tried moving forward like you guys said. But how can I move forward if I never had anything to start with? My memories are lies to me."

"That doesn't matter. You can always start out fresh. You're still alive and as long as you're alive, you don't need an excuse to stop living."

"Can it, Speedy. I'm not in the mood for any of that philosophical crap."

Speedy was so frustrated he was about to blow his top. "I'm just trying my best to help you in this situation. But if you're not gonna let me--"

Terra was also getting mad. "Why the hell do you care so much about me?"

Speedy was practically yelling. "Because I can! And if you won't be able to care about yourself, then somebody has to!"

"Stop it! I don't need your sympathy or anyone else's, alright. It won't change the truth about me. I'm supposed to exist. It's worthless trying to care about me so just stop tying, okay? Leave me alone!"

Terra turned away from Speedy who seemed hardly phased by Terra's outburst. In fact, he seemed even more ticked off. Terra, on the other hand, was actually on the brink of tears while turned away from Speedy. Imagine how hard of a blow it was to her with what Speedy said next.

"…You're right," he said, "It's not worth it, trying to care about you."

Terra's eyes widened when she heard this.

"Why should I care for someone who can't even see the worth in themselves," continued Speedy, "It's redundant. Like trying to draw water from a rock in the desert. I'm totally wasting my time…"

Terra was getting mad for some reason.

Speedy continued. "I shouldn't even be bothering with you right now. I have real friends that I could always count on. They may be a bit modest but at least they rank themselves a little higher than laboratory leftovers…"

Terra was almost fuming.

Speedy continued. "I could very well be spending my time with my friends or make new friends that'll actually return my sentiments, ya know. Talking to you is like talking to a wall."

Terra fumed. "…Shut up…"

Speedy kept on going. "All those times I spent with were all a big waste of my time. If I had known things would amount to this I would have never tried to get so close to you. The real Terra might have lost her memories and her powers but I would definitely bet that she would hear me out better. I was a complete idiot to think I could ever be close to you…"

Terra was struggling to keep in her rage. "Shut up!"

Speedy drove it home. "After all, you're not real…"

That last remark finally set Terra off. "I told you to shut up!"

Terra spun around to face Speedy in an instant, at the same time, throwing a fist towards his face. Speedy's highly trained reflexes allowed him to block Terra's fist just in time before it caused any damaged. Speedy was actually very surprised that Terra could deliver such an accurate and precise strike. He knew that a strike like that could have only come with years of some kind of training.

Terra then proceeded to show Speedy that she didn't need superpowers to kick serious butt. She threw her other hand towards Speedy nearly nailing him in the face again. Speedy managed to hop back and out of the way.

Terra charged at him. Upon coming within suitable range, Terra extended her leg in a powerful thrusting kick. Speedy managed to brace himself soon enough by crossing both arms in front of his chest to block the kick. The sheer force of the kick still managed to actually push Speedy back a few feet. Speedy soon recovered from the blow only to see that Terra was charging at him again.

Speedy went on the offensive this time, charging at Terra himself. They met halfway. Speedy tried to tackle Terra but the girl was skilled enough that she saw it coming and was readily able to counter the move. Just as Speedy's hands managed to get hold of Terra's shoulders, she shifted he weight and grabbed onto Speedy's own shoulders. She managed to flip Speedy up over her head then slam him down on the roof.

Speedy sprawled on the gravel that lined the roof of the tower. He was very surprised at how good Terra actually was in close combat. He soon realized that Terra was upon him again. Terra stood over Speedy and threw a hand, opened palmed, down on Speedy's face. Speedy narrowly escaped having his face flattened into the gravel by rolling onto the side.

Speedy rolled a few feet to the side. He hastily tried to get back up. He was very unfortunate since as soon as he got back on his feet, Terra was already in front of him. Terra was kneeling down close to the ground. Using all the strength from her legs, she propelled herself upwards in a backward flip. During the flip her feet swung out and nailed Speedy right in the chin.

Speedy was thrown back several feet from the massive back flip kick Terra performed on him. Terra landed expertly on both feet while Speedy sprawled all over the roof again. That was the second time Terra had to use that move in the last twenty-four hours.

Unlike usual, Speedy didn't recover as soon as hoped. Terra calmed down from her fit and soon came to realize how she beat the crap out of the archer. Terra's anger turned to concern as she quickly made her way to the downed Speedy to check up on him.

She knelt down next to him. "Speedy, Are you okay?"

Speedy reached a hand to rub his sore chin. "Damn, girl, you can sure kick butt."

Terra helped him up to a sitting position. "God, I am so sorry about that."

"Oh, don't feel so bad. I've taken harder hits before."

"Still, I shouldn't have exploded on you like that."

"With all that stuff I said, I was practically begging for it anyways."

"Speedy, why'd you make me do it? Why did you say all that stuff to set me off? I mean I… just can't understand it."

"I was trying to prove a point…"

"What point?"

Speedy stood up. "You're alive Terra."

"…"

"You're alive and you know it. The fact that you reacted the way you did to the things I said about you, proves that somewhere deep down you still believe that you're alive. You may deny it all you want on the outside, but you know that's the truth."

"Speedy…I…"

"If the rest of us can believe that, so can you with a little effort."

"Please, Speedy… just let it go alre--"

"You and I are both in the 'superhero' business, Terra. Being that, we should know that the most important thing to hold onto is life. We must never give up on life, Terra. It doesn't matter whether you're a clone, the real Terra, or anyone else. The life we live is the most precious thing in this world and is worth fighting for. I'm asking you simply, Terra, not to give on life just yet…"

Terra looked away from Speedy. She couldn't find the words to respond to him with.

"Remember what we told you, Terra," continued Speedy, "You're not alone…"

Speedy waited for an answer to come from Terra. He had said all that he could say to her. He knew that the rest would be totally up to her at that point. So even though it took a long time for her to say something back, he was patient. He trusted her fully.

"Speedy…I," said Terra, "…I can't just give an answer right now… I need to think things through a bit more."

"You need some time don't you?" inquired Speedy.

"Yeah, I…need to leave. I can't think straight here. Too many…ghosts…"

"I understand."

Neither of them said a word after that. Terra simply walked off to the elevator and disappeared into it, leaving speedy behind to take in the warm afternoon breeze.

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A little later.

Speedy walked out of the elevator, down the hall, and into the main room of the tower. There, the rest of the team, with the exception of Terra of course, has gathered in front of the main computer in discussion. Upon noticing Speedy, the twins were the first ones to him.

"¿Terra al tiene razón?" they asked.

"Chill guys," Speedy responded, "Terra's just fine. She needs a little time-off that's all."

Aqualad walked up to Speedy. "What happened to your chin?"

"Let's just say that reverse-psychology is not without its hazards,"

"I see. But Terra is alright, right?"

"She's fine, but like I said she has a lot of sorting out to do."

"I can't blame her," said Bumble Bee, "I was there when Chang broke the news to her and told her life's story. The expression on her face was terrible. Where is she now?"

"She left the tower."

"¿Se fue fuera?" asked Más.

"¿Ésa es realmente la cosa sabia para hacer por el momento?" asked Menos.

"She knows enough to avoid people. And at this point I don't think she is in any danger anymore from being captured by either Blood or Chang. We all know what already happened…"

There was a moment of silence.

"Well Terra may be safe for the moment," said Aqualad, "but that also means we have a major problem on our hands now, right Bee?"

"Right," replied Bumble Bee, "Since we know that Chang has already acquired Terra's powers, it means that they are one step closer to finishing the GeoHammer that Chang was talking about."

"And we could be facing a crisis here," said Speedy.

"Our main priority now is to find this weapon and stop it dead in its tracks. The world's safety is at risk here and we cannot waste time."

"But do we even have any leads as to where this mondo weapon is at?"

"Remember that henchman we took in last night. He's been quite generous in giving information. The chief of police has already forwarded enough information to us to get a pretty good idea as to where the GeoHammer is being built at. With this information we might be able to pull something out."

"Awesome, we can move out immediately."

"Esperar un minuto," said the twins, "¿ser ti sure que podemos dejar Terra a solas?"

"Um, yeah, can we really let Terra stay by herself?" inquired Bumble Bee.

Everyone turned to Speedy.

"Guys," he said, "Don't worry about her, she can take care of herself."

"Are you sure?" asked Aqualad.

"We may have only known her for just a short time, but I know her enough to trust her that she'll do the right thing."

The other Titans thought about this for a moment or two and they found out that they couldn't argue the truth in Speedy's words.

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Somewhere along the shoreline.

Night has fallen and the hazy moon has cast a pale blue light to illuminate the calm and tranquil beaches on the shoreline. It took about an hour or so for Terra to arrive here as she wandered trying to gather then organize her many chaotic thoughts.

She was walking on a wide beach area. To one side was the vast ocean, to the other was a sheer vertical rock face over ten stories high. There seemed to be no-one around except for her. This suited her just fine. Speedy already pointed it out earlier, that she needed time alone to think, and he was right. But still somewhere at the back of her mind she was wishing for some kind of company besides shore crabs.

She kept on walking for who knows how long. She did not bother to count time at that point. All she could think about was the things that Speedy and her talked about versus the things she said about herself and the things Professor Chang said about her.

She pondered many points. Is she really alive and worth living for like Speedy said? Is she just a worthless clone that Chang made her up to be? What would the other Titans be thinking about her? Did they really care? If she chose to resolve that she was just a clone, what would that amount to? If she chose to take a shot on life once again, what future could she possibly have?

Terra stopped in her stroll. All this thinking was not only filling her head with more questions, it was also feeding in an unusually large amount of frustration. Add that to all the tension she's been feeling in the past hours and she was ready to explode once again.

She turned towards the rock face. Her hands started to glow golden. Then she proceeded to vent out her frustrations.

She yelled. "What…"

She swung her arm to the side. Part of the rock face suddenly exploded and several broken pieces of stone fell onto the beach, making splashes in the sand.

She again yelled. "…the hell…"

She swung her other arm to the side. Another part of the rock face exploded in the same manner as the first explosion and rained down more debris onto the sand below.

She lastly yelled. "…am I?"

She raised both her arms and swung them down. The rock face exploded again in a much more powerful explosion than the previous two. Large chunks of the rock fell to the sand below which kicked up large splashes of sand into the air.

Terra calmed down a bit and let her arms drop. She stood back and saw her work. The rock face has been decimated. A complete half-dome has formed near the bottom of the cliff. The half-dome was big enough to live in. Terra dropped her head again. Her frustration had given way to disappointment.

Terra knew that no matter how many times she asked that question, nobody would answer her. Nobody could answer her. She has always been afraid of being lost. Now she felt the most lost she has ever felt. It filled her with more insecurities than any one person should have. At that moment, those insecurities were bringing her on the brink of tears.

"Oh my, why do young ones like you always make such an awful mess?"

The sudden voice of an old woman startled Terra somewhat. The blonde girl immediately turned her attention to the source of the voice. Terra's eyes widen as she stared at a very, very familiar old woman.

The old woman was short, about half of Terra's height give or take an inch. She was dressed in a simple red sundress under a long blue jacket and wore sandals on her feet. To emphasize her age, the woman had a face as wrinkled as a walnut with two beady, black eyes. Her long, gray hair was braided on both sides of her head and hung down to her waist. Topping her head was a brown derby hat. She gripped a wooden cane that was as tall as she was.

The True Master herself, Chu-hui.

Terra was speechless.

Chu-hui noticed. "How rude for you not to remember as quickly as you should. Children these days are so distasteful, at least the boy with the spiky hair was a bit more polite."

Terra stumbled for words. "M-Master? How did you get here?"

"The same way you did," said the True Master, "I walked…"

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Author's note: If you don't remember Chu-hui, she was in the Season 4 episode 'The Quest' where she was known mostly as the True Master.