Chapter 5

The blonde, thought to be Terra, fidgeted in her seat. Robin had pulled out his desk chair for her to sit on and she kept her feet planted on the ground to keep it from swiveling. Her eyes scanned the room and looked at the newspapers pinned to the wall, all will headlines referencing Slade. "So is this your room or office?" She asked as she leaned back in the seat and crossed her arms.

"Um, kinda both," Robin said over his shoulder as he picked up what he could and tossed it in the closet then sat on the bed. "Sorry. I usually prioritize work over sleep so the floor gets hidden sometimes."

"Yea, I get it. I share a room with three little girls so I hardly ever get a good night's sleep."

"So you have sisters?"

"Foster home. But I won't be at that place much longer, I'm sure."

"Why?"

She glared at him then shook her head. "Uh-uh. Enough of the prying questions. I'm here to get the Teen Titans off my back. You're their leader aren't you?"

"We are a team Terra."

"Stop that!"

"What" He blinked and sat up straight at her shouting.

"Talking to me like I know me!" She continued to vent, talking about this benefactor of hers who was threatening to pull funding from school. Shouting about Beast Boy and Raven. Little did she know that Beast Boy was, at the moment, inching his way into the room as a small green fly.

"Enough!" Robin said as he stood and Terra's rant came to a halt. "The Titans may be bothersome to you but it could be possible that we are onto something. The fact that this sponsor of yours is threatening you to stay away from is us suspicious, especially if it involves Slade."

"Slade? Who is that?"

"More is happening here than you know, so I need to have all the information. Now you can either start talking to me or you can get off Titan property and deal with it yourself."

"Ok! Fine... fine..." She looked down and took a breath as Robin sat down again and calmed his nerves.

"Now... what about this foster home. Why do you think you'll be leaving soon?"

"Because I'm starting to remember things."

"Remember? Do you... not know who you are?"

She looked up, giving him an expression as if analyzing if he was trustworthy then she said, "I remember wandering the streets earlier this year. I couldn't remember who I was or what I was doing. I saw my reflection in the window of a building and couldn't event recognize myself. I decided to find the hospital and the place was a madhouse. It wasn't until the next day when I heard about what had happened. Apparently everyone had been turned to stone by a villain but you and the other Titans had saved them."

"Oh... right. Well, we didn't. That was Trigon, Raven's father, and she is the one who saved the whole city."

"Her? She doesn't seem like the hero type." She heaved a heavy sigh then continued. "Anyway, I got scared because I was the only one with amnesia. The hospital spent a couple weeks trying to find out who I was before they discharged me to a foster family."

"Any luck on finding your real family."

"To be honest... I didn't bother looking."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because," she wrapped her arms around her subtly to hug herself. "In that hospital... everyone was with a friend or family member. My earliest memory was me wandering the streets... alone. I guess I'm afraid to find out that I have nobody."

"Then why run from the Titans? If anyone understands what you're going through, it's us."

"Because he wouldn't let me," she snapped.

"Your sponsor?"

"All I know is that at school I have real friends... close friends. I don't want to lose them. Beast Boy was nice, ok, but I shouldn't have humored him the first time we met. It wasn't until I got that letter from my sponsor threatening to cut my funding that I knew I had to avoid you all."

"And you've never seen this sponsor?"

"No..."

Robin glanced to the papers on his wall, riddled with Slade's name. He couldn't ignore what his mind was saying but he pushed the thought back and said, "I don't think you should go back to your foster home tonight."

"They'll worry."

"Terra, I think I know who is behind all of this. If he finds out you've been here you will be in danger."

"What? No No, I came here to stop all this. Ugh," she hid her face in her hands as Robin pulled out his cellphone.

"Here," he tossed the cell to her and she caught it. "Call your house and get things sorted out."

She blonde girl took a moment then nodded. "Ok. Be right back." All of a sudden, the anger faded from her face and she just looked exhausted. She stood and stepped out of the room.

Robing heaved an exhausted sigh then said, "I saw you come in Beast Boy."

"Dude!" The changeling squealed as he popped back to his usual form. "It's so Terra! Did you hear that?! That's why I didn't find her when I went back to the cave."

"Calm down, Beast Boy."

"Raven must have poofed her out of stone when she kaboomed Trigon away!" He began to flail his arms about as if reenacting a scene.

"Beast Boy..."

"It's Slade isn't it?" He asked as he turned back to Robin. "I know that look, Rob! You think it's Slade! He doesn't like to lose and you know that if we know about Terra than he has to know too!"

Robin didn't answer, but gave him an irritated glance.

"He's back. He's back and he is trying to keep Terra away from us so she won't remember who she is!"

"Beast Boy Stop!" Robin said in a warning tone then took a breath.

"Well you do think it's him... don't you?" His voice was almost pleading, clearly desperate for an answer.

"Maybe. It could be that he's her sponsor... wanting to keep her dangling under our noses but just out of reach."

"But why?"

"Why does Slade do anything... revenge... power... because he can."

"And you're ok? I know the whole idea of Slade being back probably isn't sitting right with ya."

"No... it's not," he said grimly as the door opened and both boys faced it to see Terra walk in.

"They said it was ok if I stayed. I told them you were friends from school-" She stopped seeing Beast Boy. "What is he doing here?" Her tone cut right to Beast Boys core and he looked away as she asked Robin, "Has he been listening this whole time?"

"He just wants what's best for you."

"Then he should have just left me alone... then none of this would be happening."

Robin's eyes drifted between the two awkwardly, the silence so thick it could be cut with a knife. "I'll... show you to your room." As he walked by Beast Boy, he patted his shoulder and grinned then lead Terra out.

It was a few minutes before the changeling brought himself to move. For a while he had just been staring at the carpet in Robin's room. Turning to face the door he saw Raven standing there. "Oh..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked away. "Look... about before..."

"I deserved it. You were right."

"I was?" His voice let out its usual squeak in surprise as Raven narrowed her eyes.

"Don't get used to it." She sighed to control the conflicting emotions that had been ruling her all day then looked around the room. "Is Robin here? I figured he would be the most upset with me. Figured I would make peace and get it over with."

"Well that sounds sincere." He bit his lip as that came out. "Sorry, that was mean. Gosh, I don't know what it is. Whenever she is around, I get so defensive. I guess I just don't want her to get hurt again."

"You don't know that it's Terra."

"Yes we do. She just doesn't remember."

"Beast Boy..."

"Dude, if you don't believe me go ask her yourself. Or ask Robin. You would believe him wouldn't you?" He pointed his finger up the hall and held it there, raising an eyebrow as if to mentally re-ask the question when he got no response from Raven.

"Yes I would take his word for it... fine. But I'm not doing this because I'm curious, I'm doing it for you."

"And this morning when you followed her to school. That wasn't curiosity?" He smirked and crossed his arms. "That was for me too?"

To be honest, it probably was. She hated seeing the hold Terra had on Beast Boy. Why, she couldn't understand, but she was determined to set him free of that manipulative Terra if it was the last thing she did. She just turned on her heel and hurried up the hall, her lack of response leaving Beast Boy with more questions than answers. "Raven wait-"

The quiet, blonde girl ran her hand along the couch cushions in the room. She looked around the mural that was painted on the wall and peeked outside at the city lights. Her expression was blank, not a single emotion as she looked over the room that the Titans claimed she once called home. The door opened and Raven hesitantly entered. She looked Terra in the eye but neither said a word to one another. The hooded Titan looked from side to side, no sign of Robin.

"You just missed him," the supposed former Titan said as she took a seat on the sofa.

"Oh ok... Are you staying?"

"Just for the night. Robin suggested it."

"Goody for him. So... they think you're our old team mem- Terra, right?" She couldn't bring herself to refer to Terra as a team member.

"I guess so. I just can't seem to remember."

"Well, if you are who they say you are then we will help you remember. You would want that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would. Who want's to forget who they are? Forget their family, their childhood, their life before this?"

"... There are people who would pay for that, I'm sure." She let out a sigh and looked around the room to avoid eye contact. "Look, I know the rumor is that I don't like you, but... if you really are Terra then we owe you one."

"Do you?"

"You kinda saved our lives."

"Really?" This seemed to brighten up her eyes as she smiled. "No way!"

"Well don't get to excited. It was after you tried to kill us."

"Oh..." Her happy expression instantly vanished and she looked away. Raven, feeling uncomfortable turned to leave but was stopped when Terra said, "Hey, Raven."

"What?"

"What's this?" She held up a sliver heart case. "It was sitting here on the table."

"Oh, that's a gift from Beast Boy to Terra."

"He made this for her? For... possibly, for me?" Raven nodded and Terra tilted her head. "Did he love her?"

The question made Raven's expression darken. "Don't know. Don't care. Goodnight." With that she turned and walked out, the door gliding shut behind her.

The teen flinches on the couch as the door slammed then tucked her blonde hair behind her ear to further examine the box. She rubbed her sleeve, polishing the silver a bit. She turned it over in her hands. Finally, she opened it. The reflection she was met with took her aback. She stared at the heart shaped mirror, he hair slowly falling over her eyes, her stunning expression staring back at her. She had not seen an expression like that before... and yet she felt that she had. She began to remember something as if they are words on the tip of her tongue. She allowed her thoughts to process a moment longer before whispering, "Terra?" to herself then gasping and letting the box fall from her hands before it smashed on the floor.