Chap. 8
Bitter Reunion
Silence invaded the room, stealing away all the sound. No one spoke. Not the former Titans, too shocked by this final revelation to say anything. Not the children, who knew enough of Terra to be awed at her return. Not even the Knights, the immortals who had seen this scene countless times before, yet never knew what to say whenever it came up. But silence only rules for so long, and finally it was overthrown. "It's all true." Terra whispered, as she looked at the aged faces of her friends. Slowly, the girl advanced, as if to verify what her eyes were seeing. The Titans stood silent, unable to move. But then, Beast Boy came forward. He and the girl he had loved a lifetime ago met in the center of the room. They looked at each other, emotions old and new surging through their bodies. They remembered the joy and the happiness they had once shared together. But they also remembered the lies, and the pain that they had each caused the other. Slowly, Beast Boy reached up and ran his hand through the girl's hair. It brushed across his fingers with the same softness he remembered from so long ago. "It is really is you." He said.
Terra nodded, and ran her hand across the green one's face. It was covered with the marks and wrinkles of age, but it was the same one she remembered. "You've changed." She said with a tiny smile. Beast Boy nodded, and said with an equal smile, "You haven't." It was then he looked up at the Knights, as if he wanted to ask a question. But Brett knew the question that was already in his son-in-law's mind. "The stone kept her in hibernation. Her body hasn't aged a single day since she was…. Lost. But her mind's been asleep the whole time." "When she woke up, she only remembered that final battle with Slade." Eddie continued. "I suppose that was a bit of a mercy. Chiron always did have a soft spot." "What does he have to do with this?" Beast Boy asked. "Everything." Sara answered. "We finally figured out why Terra went into that state. It was a punishment from the Architects. Because Terra is part of the bloodline, she falls under their jurisdiction. After that whole…. Judas incident, they were prepared to punish her, as they would have one of us. But Terra redeemed herself at the end, so they decided to lock her away instead of destroying her."
"How did you find all that out?" Terra asked, as she turned back to face her 'family.' "Because Chiron told me." Eddie answered. "After I woke you up, you were too delirious to focus. I took you inside the Tower's old solar power shaft, and did what I could to help, while your body readjusted itself. Eventually, I was able to make contact with him, and he verified whom you were. He hadn't been able to find you before, but he was able to sense his power inside you. He'd already told me about the punishment, and that my touch had been the only way to end it. That's how I knew what to do when I found you." Terra listened, but she seemed loath to accept everything. Eddie saw this, and he moved up to the young girl and put his arms on her shoulders. "I was always looking, Terra. I wish I had found you sooner. I wish you could have grown up with your friends. From what Brett and Sara have told me, there would have been no better company for you." Terra remained silent, but she raised her head to look up into the dog's face. "But I didn't. I couldn't find you until now, when so much is lost to you. I know this is hard for you to deal with, Terra. It would be impossible for anyone else to deal with. But you aren't anyone. You are a girl with a legacy that you never knew about. You've seen the darkness in yourself, and you may have succumbed to it, but it never took you completely. And it never will again, because you're not alone anymore. You have a family. And you have a father that will spend the rest of his life making up for the time he missed in yours."
Terra remained silent, though the effects of Eddie's words were evident on her face. Slowly, she began to speak, choosing her words carefully. "I-I know what your saying is true. And I know you mean it." The young girl began. "But I don't know if I want to be in this family yet." Eddie's face saddened, and she quickly continued. "It isn't you. But this is all a lot to take in right now. It's hard enough knowing I've missed the last twenty years, but all this family stuff…. I just don't know. I've only been part of a family once, and I didn't really deserve it." She said, turning back to the Titans. "I wish I had been. But I can't take back what I did, and I don't know if I deserve to be involved in any of this."
She stopped then, and stood silent before the Titans. All of them had things they wanted to say, things that they needed to say, but it was Raven, out of all of them, that came forward. She stood right in front of Terra and said two words; "You're right." Terra looked up, expecting Raven to berate her, like it had always been between them. But instead the empath said, "You did do horrible things Terra. But it was a long time ago. You've paid for it, and frankly, we don't hate you for it anymore." "You don't?" Terra asked. "Twenty years is a long time. We've thought and talked about it. You were alone; with powers you didn't know how to control. You weren't ready to be one of us, and frankly any of us would've probably gone with Slade in your case. I guess we all forgot how scary it is when your powers are new, and you don't know what to do. We should've understood that. Especially me. I was even worse. At least you could admit what your problem was. I hid mine and it nearly destroyed us. But I learned something from it. You can't deal with it on your own. You deserve a chance to redeem yourself for the past, and maybe you can find it with those guys. And even if you don't, it's a lot better then trying on your own." Terra stared at the woman that she had once hated so badly, and asked, "When did you stop with the depression?" "If you live with him, it has to go away eventually." Raven answered, pointing at Beast Boy. Terra smiled a bit at that and said; "I guess I can't blame him for picking you, cousin." "Thanks for letting me keep him… cousin."
"All right. I think that's enough for one night." Brett said, as Terra moved to stand by them. "We'll continue this tomorrow night. For now, I think we should get some sleep." "Are you kidding?" Bart yelled. "You expect me to sleep after all this?" "Yes. Because unless I'm mistaken, you guys still have school tomorrow." Brett answered. "I'm not dragging your entire life into this." "Mom, do we have to?" Bart asked Raven, a pleading look on his face. "Sorry son, your grandfather's right." Raven answered with a smile. "Besides, it's already one in the morning." "Jeez, it's that late?" Sara said, looking at the clock. Turning to Robin she asked, "You want us to send you guys home, or can you take it on your own?"
"We'll do it. We only live a few block away." Robin answered. "And we're only a block away from them." Jinx added. "But where are you guys going to be?" "We'll be by the Tower, inside the shaft." Brett said. "We'll meet you there tomorrow night, when we reopen the Tower." "See you then." Sara said, as she suddenly glowed with light and vanished. The shadows began to cover Brett and he disappeared as well. Eddie placed his hand on Terra, and the two of them literally crumbled away, slipping into the earth under the floorboards.